Quickening - Elenduen - The Avengers (Marvel) (2024)

Chapter 1

Chapter Text

Steve wasn’t sure what he expected when he was called to living room in their apartments in Wakanda by Natasha, probably a news station showing a disaster or something that they could help with and prove to the public that they were not the enemy and instead it was the accords. While Wakanda was undeniably beautiful and T’Challa had been a kind a gracious host, Steve could not settle here, was restless. He needed to go home, to show the world and all those that supported Captain America that he had not been defeated and that The Avengers would still be fighting for them.

What he most certainly had not been expecting when looked at the TV screen was a Stark press conference with text running at the bottom of the screen with capital letters proclaiming

TONY STARK PREGNANT!

Shock flooded Steve like a tidal wave, it overwhelmed him as he stared at the screen, only half aware of the world around. Wanda, Natasha, Sam, Scott, and Clint around him, all murmuring their own opinions on this, or loudly and vulgarly stating them as Clint was. Steve’s attention was on Tony as he stood before the press, a hand clasping his rounded stomach and a bright smile on his face as he answered the questions put to him by the reporters, flanked either side by a protective looking Pepper Potts, and a down right belligerent looking Colonel Rhodes who was standing with the aid of the remarkable braces Tony had made for him to overcome his paralysis.

“Mr Stark?” a blonde reporter called out

“Yes, Christine, I like your new hair!” Tony said greeting the reporter in a friendly fashion, the woman put a hand to her wavy, chin length blonde hair

“Thank you,” she acknowledged, “And congratulations on your pregnancy. But if I may ask, how far along are you and just who is the Father?”, Christine received several glares for this as other reporters had clearly wanted to voice those questions themselves and had been beaten to it.

“I am Twenty weeks and four days pregnant,” Tony replied quite calmly and Steve felt his stomach flip over in his belly. Twenty weeks and four days, five months, the exact time that had past since he and Tony had spent the night together following Peggy’s funeral.

“And the Father?” Christine asked, Tony sighed and gave the reporter a pained and slightly shamed expression. Steve steeled himself knowing that a verbal blow was coming but when Tony delivered it he was still left reeling as much as if Tony had struck him with the Iron Man gauntlet.

“I am sorry and somewhat ashamed to say that the Father is a drunken mistake that I made which bore unexpected fruit, the only good thing to come out of that sorry union,” Tony flashed a smiled at the cameras that was all teeth, “And I do very much mean the Only good thing, the act that brought about this pregnancy was deplorably unremarkable and completely unmemorable!”, scandalized laughter and gasps followed this declaration as Tony looked through the mob of reporters to select another to single out for questions.

“Will the Father be involved in the Pups upbringing at all?”

“Absolutely not,” Tony replied, “I do not ask for child support,” he shrugged and smiled, “I hardly need it, and there was not relationship between us, I am more than ready to care for this Pup on my own and ask for nothing from the Father.”

Clint snorted coldly, “Stark’s such a whor* he probably doesn’t even know who the Father is,”

“One of his drunken one night stands,” Natasha scoffed, “You’d think he would have grown out of them by now,”

“The poor kid though,” Sam murmured, “Having Stark for a Mother,”

Steve’s head was spinning, he felt like he might actually faint, something that happened frequently before the serum thanks to his inability to get adequate air into his lungs and through out his body.

“What of Iron Man?” another reporter called out,

“Obviously I am taking a leave of absence from Iron Man,” Tony said, he traced a hand over his belly, “The suit is getting to be rather a tight fit these days!”, this brought about a few more laughs from the press, “Also,” Tony went on once they had quieted a little, “I would not want to risk my pup by putting him or her in unnecessary danger, However, should the need arise then I will operate the suit via a remote control head set. But only in extreme circ*mstances, my Pup is my priority not Iron Man,”

“Ha, trust Stark to throw the towel in at the slightest opportunity!” Clint snorted derisively

“Oh come on,” Scott spoke up, a frown on his boyish face, “He’s pregnant, he can’t take the risk of getting hurt, and anyway his kid should be his priority, they should be any parents priority,”

Clint narrowed his eyes, “What are you trying to say?”, Scott opened his mouth to speak, probably to say something scathing but Natasha snapped something in Russian, shutting them both up. This was not the first time Scott and Clint had gotten into arguments over their families and they had nearly come to blows more than once as the weeks had past.

“Why have you waited until now to announce the pregnancy?”, Christine was speaking again over the other reporters,

“I wanted to wait until I was well into the second trimester,” Tony replied, “So I could be as sure as possible that nothing was going to go wrong,”

Wanda barked out a harsh laugh, “Somethings already gone wrong Stark the Pup’s inside you!” she spat at him

“I wonder who the Father is and what he thinks of all this,” Sam murmured

Steve didn’t even register the words leaving his mouth until he’d said them and the entire team had turned to stare at him in shock, “Me, it’s me,”.

Steve felt the blood rush to his cheeks in embarrassment at the sudden attention his revelation was receiving.

“You?” Natasha asked, one of her perfectly waxed eyebrows rising in surprise at this

“Since when were you and Stark together?” Wanda demanded sounding hurt, though Steve could not think of any reason as to why she would be hurt by this,

“It was only once,” Steve mumbled looking down at his feet which he shuffled feeling ashamed, his Ma had raised him better than this. She’d raised him to treat Omega’s and Beta Women with respect, to be prepared to marry them if he was serious enough to sleep with them. Of course back in those day a pregnancy out of wedlock was a huge taboo, the Omegas and Beta Women who were not married were ostracized by their community, often cast out by their families, or forced to give the baby or Pup up for adoption to protect their reputations. Today it didn’t matter, people didn’t care if someone was married or not, but Steve still felt ashamed that he had let his Mother down in such a way even though it wasn’t an issue in modern society.

“When?” Sam asked, “When did you and Stark…, five months ago we were fighting, when did you have the chance to f*ck?”

“Language!” Steve instantly said getting snort from Clint and an eyeroll from Natasha, “It was after Peggy’s funeral,” he said, “Tony was there, she was his God Mother, I ran into him there and we went for drinks, to talk about Peggy and we…,” Steve didn’t think his cheeks could get any brighter as he tried to explain about what had happened with Tony.

“It might not be yours Steve,” Clint said, “Stark’s a total slu*t, it could be anybody’s,”

“It’s mine!” Steve growled finding himself suddenly feeling possessive of the Pup, his Alpha instinct to claim what was his kicking in, “The dates are exact with when we slept together, the Pup is mine.”

Clint held up his hands in surrender and nodded his head, Sam let out a sigh and rested his hand on Steve’s shoulder, “I’m sorry man,” he said, “Stark’ll never let you near that kid,”

Steve frowned, “He has to, it’s my Pup!”

Scott snorted, “You’re kidding right?” he asked looking at Steve like he was stupid, “You and Stark aren’t married, you aren’t even bonded, you have no legal claim to that Pup, not if Stark isn’t asking you for child support, which he isn’t, so he has every right to deny you access if he so wishes.”

Steve shook his head, “But it’s my Pup!” he repeated, “I have a right!”

Scott rolled his eyes, “And what are you going to do?, in case you haven’t noticed we’re wanted criminals miles from America, you don’t even have a home to bring the kid up in!”

“Who’s side are you on?” Clint barked glaring at Scott

“No ones!” Scott snapped, “I’m just stating the facts, and the fact is Stark is holding all the cards here. He doesn’t have to let Steve see the Pup if he doesn’t want to, he can’t be forced to, he certainly can’t afford to try and take him through court in a custody battle!”, perhaps Scott saw the light rise in Steve’s eyes but he let out a disbelieving snort, “Really?” he asked, “You really think you can take on Tony Stark in a custody battle?”

“Why not?” Clint asked shrugging his shoulders, “Stark’s not fit to raise plants let alone a Pup, any court would award Steve with the Kid,”

Scott shook his head looking at Steve, at the others in disbelief, “You do remember the part where we’re all wanted fugitives from justice right?” he asked in a slow voice as if he were speaking to a handicapped child, “Plus Steve has no job, therefore no income, no home, no savings with which to support an infant, and the biggest thing against him is the fact he’s a wanted terrorist!, no court in the world will grant him custody, and he doesn’t even have a lawyer, where Stark has an army of them and the funds to drag this through every court on the planet!”

“We’ll go to T’Challa,” Natasha said decisively, “He’ll have an army of lawyers who can represent you, Steve, and make a good case for Tony not being a fit parent, he’s practically an alcoholic, he’s narcissistic, has the attention span of a flea, and is notorious for being unreliable and volatile, where Steve is a war hero,” she smiled at Steve, “Who better to raise a Pup than Captain America?”

Steve smiled back at her, what would he do without her?

“I have some savings,” Sam said, “I can help make the case,”

“They’ll be frozen,” Clint grunted, “All our savings will be,”

“T’Challa will see to it,” Natasha said, “I’ll go and speak to him right now.”

As Natasha left Scott headed to his bedroom while Clint and Sam headed out into the small garden they had outside their apartment leaving just him and Wanda in the living room.

“Congratulations,” she said sounding stiff and cold

“Thanks,” Steve said giving her a smile and patting the couch for her to take a seat next to him, slowly she sat down beside him, sitting stiffly and avoiding contact with him. “Are you alright with this?” he asked her reaching out and stroking the hair back from her face

Wanda shrugged, “I’m happy your having a Pup,” she said, “I’m not happy its with Stark though,”

Steve winced and sighed, “It wasn’t planned, it just happened, and We have to make the best of things,”

“We have to get the Pup away from Stark!” Wanda stated turning and looking at Steve with wide and impassioned eyes, “We’ll raise him together, raise him properly away from Stark!”

Steve grinned, “Him? You think it’ll be a boy?” he asked

“Yes, a big beautiful boy that’ll look just like you!”, Steve laughed and planted a kiss on Wanda’s head

“I’ll be happy with a girl,” he said, “A pretty girl like you,”, Wanda blushed and ducked her head before looking back up

“We just have to get the Pup from Stark, then everything will be perfect, one way or another we have to get the Pup.”

With a frown briefly flitting over his forehead Steve nodded, “We will Wanda, we will,”

“Steve?”, he looked over his shoulder to see Natasha, “T’Challa will see us both now, but only for a few minutes, I think it’ll be better if you tell him what’s going on,”

“Alright,” Steve rose from the couch and went to follow Natasha leaving Wanda alone. Curling her legs up she let her power flow through her, set it dancing in her fingertips and sparking up into the air until she had conjured an image of Steve in red. She had thought she was in love with Vision, but five months away from him she had realized that her love for him had been nothing but a puppy love, it was Steve she wanted, big, brave, strong Steve. She had always liked him and her love for him had grown since they had been here in Wakanda. She wished that he would look at her the way lovers on TV looked at each other, would see her as more than a friend. Maybe this Pup was a way to make that happen. After all, the Pup would need a Mother and she could be that Mother, could show Steve what a perfect family they would make together, all she needed to do was get the Pup from Stark. Maybe the courts would award Steve but there was no guarantee of that so it would be best if she came up with a back up plan to make sure that Steve got his Pup, and Stark would be unable to ever hurt them again.

Chapter 2

Chapter Text

Tony had loved his aunt Peggy. His God mother. She had been one of the few rays of sunlight in his childhood.

Where Howard was jealous of his Son’s effortless brilliance, felt threatened by the fact that Tony was outshining him so fast, and was disappointed that his only Son was an Omega and not the preferred Alpha or Beta that he’d hoped for, Peggy praised him for his intelligence, was amazed by everything that Tony accomplished at such early ages, and loved him regardless of his sex, telling him that his being an Omega made him no less important or perfect than an Alpha or Beta.

Unlike Maria, who tried to show affection to her Pup but really didn’t know how to care for him, was so easily overwhelmed by him and his constant need for stimulation to keep his rapidly developing mind engaged and utterly exhausted by his endless questions about anything and everything. Peggy was openly affectionate, would sit Tony on her knee to talk to him, answer his questions as best she could and always look for ways to engage his brilliant mind with some kind of mind teaser game or puzzle for him to work out.

Peggy, along with Jarvis (The human Edwin Jarvis) and his wife Ana, both of whom had the patience of a saint, were the ones who really raised Tony, Howard couldn’t be bothered, and Maria just didn’t have the skill or patience to raise a Pup like Tony. Throughout his childhood Tony adored his Aunt’s visits, had kept up correspondence with her when he was sent away to boarding school and MIT, and continued a relationship with her into his adulthood, right up until she had to be committed to the care home, her mind, once so sharp and agile now lost as Alzheimer’s ravaged her, sending her drifting into the long ago past, her childhood, and pure fantasy.

Her last few years were painful. More for the family and Tony than for Peggy herself, who’s mind was too far gone to know that anything was wrong anymore.

When he heard of her death. Peggy’s Sister calling him Tony had immediately arranged to go to the funeral.

He’d sat in the back, face shielded by his large shades and kept his head bowed to avoid attracting attention. This was Peggy’s day, a day for her family, not for Tony Stark. He was shocked when he saw Steve carrying the coffin, and by the look on the faces of a couple of Peggy’s relatives, her late husbands relatives he was not the only one who thought it was a little inappropriate, while Steve had every right to pay his respects he should have done so with discretion, not drawn attention to himself and away from Peggy.

Tony hadn’t been overly impressed by Sharon’s elegy either, making it all about herself instead of about Peggy’s life.

Tony hadn’t intended to speak to Steve at the funeral, or thereafter, he’d meant to go straight home in preparation for going to the UN, but Steve had spotted him and come up to him, unable to get away without seeming rude Tony had suggested they go for a drink, which had led to a lot of drinks, Steve matching him drink for drink but of course thanks to the serum being unaffected by the alcohol that by the end of the evening had Tony giggling and very flirtatious. Like with most people alcohol lowered his inhibitions, it also made him very affectionate and flirty.

He’d started to touch Steve by the start of the evenings, just pats on the arms or thighs, brief brushes with the back of his hands while he gazed into sparkling blue eyes and grinned toothily, the touches became more and more lingering, and far more sexual as Tony’s inhibitions lowered to nothing and Steve’s lack of protests spurred him on. In fact Steve was leaning into the touches, flexing his impressive muscles for Tony’s pleasure. At some point Tony had ended up nearly falling from his bar stool while telling some story of his childhood with Peggy to Steve, his arms flailing wildly and his body over balancing on the stood which sent him toppling down towards the floor. Steve had caught him and swept him up onto his lap where he’d held Tony for the rest of the evening before they went to a hotel which Tony’s credit card took care of, the receptionist hardly blinking as the rang up the charge, easily recognizing Tony Stark and giving him the president suite without question.

Tony was feeling sleepy and disconnected as Steve lay him down on the bed, he would have easily just fallen asleep had the kissing not started, hard and demanding kisses that demanded his response and left his breathless and gasping as his mouth was ravaged.

“Steve?” he whispered breathlessly

“Yeah honey,” Steve purred, his hands already on Tony’s belt buckle, undoing his belt and then his pants, “God Tony, I want you!”

Tony hummed, his eyelids flickering with alcohol induced sleepiness and he fumbled more than he helped Steve, his movements uncoordinated and sloppy as he undressed and undressed Steve, then the Soldier was on him, thrusting inside him. Tony couldn’t say he wasn’t receptive, that he didn’t reciprocate the act, he wrapped his legs about Steve’s hips, arched his back and squirmed beneath him as Steve thrust in and out of his pliant body. Steve was not gentle with him, his fists gripped Tony’s wrists hard enough to bruise, his mouth was rough on the Omega’s throat, the bucking of his hips painful against Tony’s pelvis. It wasn’t the first time Tony had had rough sex, and Steve wasn’t as brutal as some Alphas in the past had been, but he lacked skill, he used his size, and his strength to make up for his lack of talent, thrusting into Tony hard and fast, spending himself quickly and collapsing over Tony before the Omega had a chance to org*sm himself.

Sore, bruised, and more than a little disappointed Tony let sleep take him, sleeping right through until the alarm on his mobile awoke him the following morning to get him up in time for his flight to Vienna.

Hung over, sore, aching, and only just able to recall what had happened the night before Tony had been keen to put some distance between himself and Steve, vowing (Once again) not to get that inebriated in the future, he was getting too old for this sort of sh*t!.

Of course he should have known that if a day started out bad then things were only going to get sh*ttier. Everything went completely to hell, the UN being bombed, T’Chaka being killed, Barnes being suspected, Steve and Wilson going after him, refusing to back down, the team getting into a fight which resulted in Rhodey being maimed for life, and then finally a show down between himself Steve, and Barnes in Siberia as he learned the horrific truth over his parents deaths.

Steve had known for more than two years that Barnes had murdered Howard and Maria, had known it and not said a word to Tony, whom he’d berated through the Ultron debacle for keeping secrets!

Tony had to find out from a video. Shocked, angered, grieving he’d lashed out, fought both soldiers and lost, been left with broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder, fractured skull, and broken collar bone, trapped in a broken suit in a Siberian bunker for fourteen hours before Vision had found him and taken him home.

*****

Two Months later

Tony hadn’t noticed that anything was wrong at first. He’d been so busy caring for Rhodey, getting him walking again, dealing with Ross, with all the sh*t Rogers and his merry band of dickhe*ds had left behind that he hadn’t noticed how nauseous he was feeling, that he was throwing up daily, was suffered bouts of dizziness and that his breasts were sore. Not up until he fainted while in a meeting with Pepper that landed him in hospital where tests revealed something he had never been expecting to hear.

He was pregnant.

“Jesus Tony!” Rhodey whispered as the Doctor broke the news to the stunned genius

“Are you sure?” Tony asked hardly believing it

The Doctor nodded his head, “Positive Mr Stark, you are eight weeks pregnant,”

Eight weeks, two months, the exact time that had past since he and Steve…, Tony closed his eyes and let out a deep breath as his forehead creased in shock and fear. Here he was, pregnant, by the Alpha who had lied to him, betrayed him, pissed off round the world leaving Tony to deal with his mess, leaving him to deal with this, with a Pup alone.

“Who’s the Father?” Pepper asked staring at Tony, wide eyed and shocked, her relationship with Tony might be over but she had never expected for this to happen. For Tony to get into a relationship with anyone so fast and she couldn’t help but feel wounded by it,

Tony shook his head, “It was one night Pep, I was drunk, really drunk, Aunt Peggy had just died and we just.., I.., f*ck!” Tony wet his lips and took a breath, he wanted to panic, he wanted to give into panic but he couldn’t do so right now, he had his Pup to think of, that wouldn’t be good for them… and holy sh*t! He was already thinking of the Pups welfare and he hadn’t even decided if he was keeping the Pup, or had he? Tony considered right then and there whether or not to have an abortion. The second the thought ran through his mind he knew he didn’t want it, he wanted to have the Pup, consequences be damned.

“Tony, you said that you went drinking with Rogers the night..,” Rhodey broke off, his eyes closing as he put two and two together

“How drunk were you?” Pepper barked suddenly looking angry,

“What?” Tony asked, confused as to why Pepper would be angry over anything,

“How drunk were you Tony?” Pepper demanded, “Alcohol has no effect on Rogers, how drunk were you?”

Oh, Oh!, “No Pep it was consensual,” Tony said, realizing that Pepper thought Steve had taken advantage of him

“Was it?” Rhodey asked, his voice a growl of anger and if Steve Rogers had been present then he would have been in a lot of danger of getting his face kicked in by the irate Colonel

“It was,” Tony said firmly, as far as he was concerned it had been consensual, he hadn’t said no, and drunk as he’d been he’d known what he was doing enough to participate, albeit not very actively, nor had he particularly enjoyed it, but he had been complicit.

“God Tony!” Pepper sighed, she sat down heavily in the chair at Tony’s bedside, “You’re too old of a safe sex lecture!”, Tony made a whining noise in his throat and threw her a kicked puppy look that had her rolling her eyes and sighing once again, “What do you want to do?”

“Keep it from the press,” Tony said decisively, “As long as possible, the sh*t is going to hit the fan when this becomes public and I want to hold that off as long as possible,”

The Doctor cleared his throat, having remained silent up until now, “I’m afraid there is something very serious we have to talk about Mr Stark,” he said drawing Tony’s attention once more, “The reason you fainted, at first we thought it was due to the pregnancy, to anaemia, hormonal imbalances, and even dehydration from morning sickness, but I’m afraid it is more serious than that.”

“What?” Tony asked sitting up, “Is there something wrong with the Pup?”

“No, no the Pup is fine, perfectly healthy, its you that is in trouble Mr Stark,” the Doctor said, “Your heart, it is not withstanding the stress of pregnancy, as I am sure you are aware there is a lot of scar tissue on your heart, that the valves and arteries have been damaged by the shrapnel and the surgery to remove your…electro-magnet. I am not a Cardiologist and I recommend that you see a specialist immediately but I am very concerned that your heart will not be able to survive the additional work that will be put upon it over the next seven months.”

For once Tony was speechless, he sank back against the pillows chewing on his bottom lip. He knew his heart was damaged, Extremis might have been able to repair a lot of damage, made it possible for the shrapnel to be removed, but some of the damage was irreversible, the internal scarring being the biggest issue, he’d already been told he would probably need a bypass in the future but his Cardio-thoracic consultant had said there was nothing to worry about at present, but then neither of them had been expecting Tony to become pregnant.

“What are you saying, Doctor?” Pepper asked looking worriedly at Tony and then back to the Doctor,

“What I am saying Miss Potts, is that if Mr Stark continues this pregnancy, he may not survive this,”.

“No!” Rhodey breathed, “f*ck no,” he looked to Tony his expression tragic, “Tones, I..,”

“I’m not having an abortion!” Tony stated firmly, he looked at Rhodey, at Pepper, at the Doctor, “I am having this Pup,”

“Tony you..,”

“I am having this Pup!” Tony all but screamed, so worked up was he that he actually jumped up and out of the hospital bed, pulling the sticky tapped pads attached by cords to monitors from his chest as he went and began to search for his clothes, “I don’t care what it takes, I don’t care if it kills me I am having this Pup not matter what!”

“Mr Stark Please you need to stay in the hospital for more tests,!” the Doctor protested

“Tony calm down!” Rhodey pleaded and Tony whirled round

“Don’t f*cking tell me what to do!” he screamed, his face red and body shaking violently as anger an panic filled him, “I want this Pup, Rogers has taken everything from me I’m not letting him take this too! I won’t let that happen…,” his breath caught in his throat and he felt that horrible feeling of losing his equilibrium, of that he couldn’t breathe!

“Alright Mr Stark sit down on the bed and put your head between your knees,” the Doctor instructed recognizing the panic attack for what it was, “Take slow and steady breaths in and out, in through the nose and out through the mouth,”

With tears running down his cheeks and his body shaking Tony complied with the Doctor, slowly but surely getting his breathing under control and allowed himself to be laid back on the bed. Pepper was sniffing now, wiping her eyes and Rhodey’s eyes were suspiciously red as he held back his own tears.

“Please!” Tony whispered imploring everyone in the room, “I can’t lose this Pup, one way or another I want to have him or her,”

“Tony you could die!” Pepper cried

“I could die anyway, I could get hit by a bus, I could get cancer, I could get struck by lightning!, there are many ways I could die Pepper!”, the Beta woman let out a chocked sob and covered her mouth, “I’ll do whatever it takes,” Tony said looking to the Doctor, “I’ll follow whatever diet plan I need to, I’ll give up coffee and Iron Man, I’ll even go on f*cking bedrest if I have to but I want this Pup and…, and I am begging you to help me do this,”

Chapter 3

Chapter Text

“This is punishment, its just the American public trying to get even with me, or the entire world collectively getting together to make me suffer!”

Rhodey rose an eyebrow at Tony’s declaration that the entire world was conspiring against him to make him suffer, he didn’t bother saying anything though, Tony’s rants could go on for hours and make very little sense and it was always better to just stay silent as he would grow bored with the rant if he got no attention for it.

Vision, sadly did not have this past experience to call on and made the mistake of asking Tony what he was babbling about instead of just letting him babble.

“This!” Tony exclaimed pointing his fork at the fruit salad he was being forced to eat for breakfast instead of his preferred gallon of coffee which he topped up with yet more coffee, and a chaser of coffee and continued to keep his blood/coffee content topped up through out the day. For a drink he had a totally caffeine free summer fruit tea with a little honey which he was grudgingly sipping between bites of fruit.

“The world is conspiring against you with fruit?” Vision asked looking very confused.

“No,” Tony said stuffing a piece of pineapple into his mouth and chewing, “The world is getting its revenge on me for having the ability to have been living off junk food for the last twenty odd years and not getting fat from it. People are jealous of this and now making me suffer for it by my having to give up all nice and delicious foods and having to survive on…,” he made a dramatic shudder, “Healthy food!”

Rhodey snorted, “Tones, the only reason you didn’t get fat from your steady diet of pizza, burgers, chips, ice-cream, and chocolate is because you go for days on end without eating anything at all!”

“That’s not true!” Tony said, “I have smoothies!”

Rhodey rolled his eyes, “Smoothies do not count as a meal,”

“Do so!”

“Very mature!” Rhodey drawled and didn’t respond to Tony sticking his tongue out at him.

Tony had been put on a strict diet by his OB and Cardiologist in an attempt to get him through the pregnancy. Low fat, low sodium, low sugar, no caffeine. Pretty much all the foods Tony adored were now banned to him, especially coffee. He was also placed on restricted activity. He would not be pulling all nighters in the lab or workshops, Pepper was keeping him limited to 9-5 with two thirty minute rest breaks in which he actually left the lab to go and eat rather than just gulping down coffee or whatever barely safe for human consumption concoction that the Bots had blended for him. His exercise regime had been limited too, absolutely no weight lifting, running, boxing or anything strenuous or risking injury. He was allowed to walk, swim, do Yoga or Thai Chi or any gentle exercise that would stretch his muscles but wouldn’t really get his heart rate up.

Tony was naturally already complaining about this, when it came to exercise he took to it like he did everything else, a full extreme. Unless he was doing something that took every ounce of his energy then he wasn’t interested. Rhodey, however was in charge of this and was ensuring he got a daily work out and ignored the complaints Tony gave when he was made to walk on a treadmill rather than run.

Being made to sleep a minimum of eight hours a night wasn’t going down well either, this was Vision’s job, he took Tony to bed at eleven, literally picking him up and carrying him there, even tucking him in and staying until Tony had fallen asleep to make sure he didn’t try and sneak away to work! Bed rest may well become necessary later in the pregnancy but for now Tony was being allowed to go about his life, even if it was very much changed.

“This is for your own good,” Vision stated, “For the good of the Pup you are gestating,”

Tony winced and a guilty expression crossed his face, “I know,” he said looking at Vision and at Rhodey, “And I appreciate it.”

Rhodey smiled and lay a hand over Tony’s abdomen, “Just take care of yourself and my nephew or niece and its all good,”

“Whatever you say Uncle Rhodey!” Tony chirped popping a grape in his mouth, he checked the clock on the wall and quickly finished the rest of the fruit and the last of tea before rising from the chair, “Got a meeting with Pepper,” he said taking the bowl and cup to the sink.

“Don’t work too hard,” Vision cautioned, “And remember to keep your fluid intake up,”

“Yes Dr Vision!” Tony drawled with a playful grin, “Now let me go or I’ll be late and Pepper will scalp me with her shoe heel!”.

*****

Pepper was in her office and had the legal documents already out on the desk before her when Tony came in, only five minutes late which for him was a record best!

“Good morning my delicious Pepperoni Pizza!” he greeted her, “You look even more bright and beautiful than the sun in the sky, your beauty gives off twice as much radiance and light!”

Pepper rolled her eyes, “Flattery will get you no where Tony,” she said

Tony shrugged, “Can’t blame a guy for trying,”, he sat down and stretched his legs out before him under the desk folding his hands over his abdomen, it was too soon to feel anything and he had no bump yet but he couldn’t stop touching his abdomen as if wanting to constantly reassure himself that the pup was still there.

“The Lawyer has drawn up the necessary documentation,” Pepper said handing him the documents, “In the event of…,” she paused and cleared her throat, avoiding mentioning a possibility of Tony’s death. “Your Son or Daughter will be placed in care of myself, Rhodey, and Bruce Wayne as legal guardians until her or she reaches eighteen, at which point he or she will be emancipated and come into part of his/her inheritance with the rest being available at twenty-one having been held in trust until then.”

“Right,” Tony said reading through the documents and taking a pen from Pepper’s desk and added his signature to them.

“Will you call Bruce?” she asked him

“Yeah, I’ll do so today,” Tony said, placing the documents back on the desk, “I can’t keep the pregnancy secret forever and When Steve hears about it he’ll know he’s the Father and when that happens I’ll need all the support I can get to keep him from Max.”

Pepper blinked, “Max?” she asked

Tony grinned, “Max for a boy, Maxi for a girl, what do you think?”

“Max Stark, it works,” Pepper said, “Though I think Rhodey was hoping for James Junior!”

“Then he can go and impregnate someone!” Tony said, “This Pup is being called Max or Maxi, with Edwin or Maria for a middle name.”

Pepper grinned while silently wondering what Steve Rogers response to Tony’s pregnancy would be. She was already making plans to keep him away from Tony and the Pup, having access to Tony’s credit cards, since he never thought about such things and barely remembered his own pin number, she had gotten the receipt from the bar Tony and Steve had been drinking at and the CCTV footage of the two of them together, had seen just how drunk Tony was when Steve had half carried him from the bar. To add extra evidence of Tony’s inebriation and inability to fully consent she had sent the receipt to a lab along with Tony’s height and body mass for them to work out what his blood alcohol content would have been. If Steve tried anything legal (A first for him) then she would make this a legal matter too, Tony might not want to face the fact that Steve’s actions were rape and Pepper hoped that it would never have to become public knowledge as it would kick of a sh*t storm of some people screaming No means No and other side screaming out that Tony was obviously asking for it and that considering his sordid past he could hardly be considered an innocent victim.

Pepper didn’t want to cause this much stress for Tony, not least of all because of his heart, but if push came to shove she would do so and would have all the evidence she needed to prove it to a court.

*****

Gotham

Bruce massaged his temple as he heard shattering glass and the shout of swearing in a foreign language that came from his spoiled demonic brat AKA Damien Al Gul-Wayne. He also ignored the American accented yelling that came from his third adopted brat, Tim Drake. The fighting, furniture and other things getting smashed or broken, and the swearing were a daily occurrence.

It was the first time Bruce had two proteges under his roof at the same time. With Dick who had been the first Robin it had been a learning process, being older brother, Father, and mentor to the troubled and orphaned young boy who seemed to grow up so very fast and eventually stepped out of Bruce’s shadow and his childhood persona of Robin and became Nightwing. He still had regular contact with Bruce, came to dinner two or three times a week, the only times he wasn’t living off pizza Bruce suspected, and this helped him and Alfred deal with the Demon and the Terror which was how they referred to Damien and Tim as they fought with each other, pranked each other, and slowly drove Bruce and Alfred into insanity!

Jason was a guilt that Bruce would never get over. The Joker killing his second Robin, a Robin he’d unwittingly compared to Dick without realizing it until he was lost to him. He would likely have lost himself in his grief and guilt had it not been for Tim coming into his life, the boy had been following the adventures of Bruce himself and Dick when he’d been Robin, having recognized a move that only Dick Grayson could perform from Robin, having seen him do such a performance during the last show of the Flying Graysons. Bruce had been reluctant to take on another boy and have another Robin, but then Tim’s parents had been murdered and there was no one to care for him and the choice was made for Bruce.

Tim definitely saved Bruce from himself, he would have undoubtedly ended up killing himself one way or another had he not had Tim come into his life. Finding out a short while later that Jason was alive but had been subjected to drastic alterations had both helped and worsened his guilt, Jason was now Red Hood, he still fought criminals but he killed them too, he and Bruce rarely saw each other and their relationship was tense to say the least.

Damien was Bruce’s biggest challenge, his unknown Son, now an adolescent having been dumped on him by his mother Thalia al Gul when an attack on the League of Shadows had threatened Damien’s life. Damien had been a test tube baby, Thalia had gotten Bruce’s sem*n and impregnated herself. What her plan had been for that long term Bruce still wasn’t sure, but he was thankful that she had cared enough about their Son to send him to Bruce when she realized she couldn’t protect him.

Damien was a problem child. He’d grown up practically as a Prince, he was exceptionally arrogant and difficult, confrontational, defiant, and reckless.

As Alfred said, he was clearly Bruce Wayne’s Son!

Slowly but surely Bruce had managed to form a relationship with Damien and was now being called Dad by the boy who took up the persona of Robin as Tim became Red Robin. At fifteen he was Damien’s big brother/best friend/antagonist/partner in crime.

Bruce had grown use to being pranked, to having buckets of God knows what landing on him, salt instead of sugar in his coffee, whoopy cushions filled with custard and other substances placed under his seats, and itching powder in his clothes! As Alfred was responsible for the boys food supply he was considered off limits so Bruce was their constant victim!.

As a door slammed shut following further curses Bruce hoped that he might get at least a few minutes peace, then the phone rang. Letting out a groan Bruce answered the call and immediately sat up straight as he heard a voice on the phone he did not expect to hear.

“Tony, is everything alright?”

“No, no its not,” Tony said sounding strained, “I’m sorry to impose on you but I need to speak to you in person.”, Now Bruce was getting worried, he and Tony may have completely ended their on/off relationship just after the turn of the century but he still cared very much about the Omega, always felt a pang of regret about losing him and wondered just what might have been had things been different. He’d been infuriated by Team Cap’s treatment of Tony during the press dubbed Civil War, had been sorely tempted to get involved himself and teach Rogers a lesson he would not forget.

But then Rogers had seemingly disappeared after rescuing his fellow f*ckwits from a maximum security prison and Tony had returned from Siberia, with evidence that his parents had been murdered by Roger’s friend Barnes and had almost gone into seclusion. Bruce was worried that despite the claims to the contrary Tony had been seriously injured and this was why he was calling.

“What’s wrong?” he asked

“Uh, that’s something I’d rather tell you face to face,” Tony said “So if I could..,”

“I’ll be in New York in a few hours,” Bruce said rising from his desk, “I take it your there?”

“Um yeah, the Tower, but…”

“I’ll see you there.” Bruce hung up before Tony could argue and walked to the door, he found Alfred picking up pieces of what had been a crystal vase that had been broken in Tim and Damien’s latest squabble, “I’m going to New York,” he said to Alfred, “Tony called, he’s…, I have to go to him,” he ignored the all too pointed look Alfred shot him, that man could be a smug bastard when he wanted and he never cut Bruce any slack, especially when it came to his love life, or lately lack there of!

“Very well Sir, I’ll take care of the boys until you get back, please give Master Tony my regards,”

Bruce hummed an agreement and jogged up the stairs to his bedroom to pack an overnight bag. He made quick goodbyes to Tim and Damien, not bothering to tell them to behave themselves as he knew they wouldn’t and ignored the wolf whistle and cat call he got as he departed. Putting the bag into his Lamborghini he started he engine and set off for New York and Tony Stark.

Chapter 4

Chapter Text

While he waited for Bruce to arrive in New York, which with Bruce’s driving would take far less time than it would anyone else, Tony wasn’t sure what to do with himself. He was too unfocused to work and he felt too restless to just sit and watch TV or read.
He decided to make a start on purchasing baby clothes and other items off line. After all he needed to get a crack on getting the nursery together, or rather two nurseries. One here at the tower and one at the Mansion which he was currently having renovated. For the most part the mansion wasn’t in too bad a state, there was a lot of cobwebs and dust which he had cleaners in to deal with, but the place needed full redecoration to get rid of the outdated wall paper and colours. There was also some damp damage, and staining from Howards smoking. Along with his bottle of scotch a day Howard had been smoking his way through twenty odd cigars which had left the mansion thoroughly smoke stained which Tony wanted removed before he brought a baby home.

As he scrolled through the babygrows, adorable little t-shirts and impossibly small trousers and booties, Tony wondered how he could possibly select just a handful of items or choose between them when they were all so cute! Well, since he was a Billionaire he could afford to buy everything, which he did figuring that whatever he didn’t use could go to charity.

With enough clothing for at least five babies Tony moved onto the cots, prams, car seats, high chairs and baby baths. He put in orders for everything twice over, falling in love with the lace canopy over the faux antique cot which he just had to have. He bought two prams, one a retro nineteen fifties style with big wheels and a spacious bed for the baby, and a modern three wheeled pram made for jogging.

He figured two car seats would come in handy, one that could be transferred from car to car and one he could use in the house until the baby got old enough for a play pen and a bouncer/walker.

This inevitably led to toys and holy sh*t! Tony wished he was a kid again so he could play with all fun things available, and okay maybe he did go a little over the top with the toys and the nursery would have to have an additional room added to accommodate everything he had bought, or an entire floor, but he didn’t want his Pup to miss out on anything.

“So what d’you think Max?” he asked his Pup, laying a hand over his belly and addressing the tiny life in there, “Do we have everything we need for now?”, hmm, he hadn’t considered bottles or nappies had he? Should he get a breast pump too? Figuring it would be a wise move Tony typed in the request and began to make purchases. This naturally brought him to looking at maternity clothes and Dear God did everything have to have flowers and lace and paisley patterns on it, and why, why put horizontal stripes on maternity wear for God Sakes! Did designers have no sense at all, by the time you wore maternity wear you didn’t exactly need anything to make you look bigger!

“So much for looking elegant or cool,” Tony murmured wondering if it would be considered very vain if he called in his tailor to make him custom stuff, at least he would look less…floral!

*****

Tony and Bruce had met at MIT. Bruce was two years older than Tony, had been sixteen at the time and in college early like Tony who had entered MIT at thirteen and had already been there a year when Bruce had started his first year.

They had met at a party in one of Frat houses. Tony had actually been unconscious at the time, drunk and off his face on cannabis and benzodiazepines. He’d been passed out on a bed and his then “Boyfriend” of sorts Ty Stone had been in the process of stripping his jeans and underpants from him with the clear intent to have his way with the fourteen year old boy. Bruce had been looking for the bathroom when he’d walked in on the sight of an unconscious Tony about to be violated by Ty. His intervention had saved Tony and put Ty in the hospital with two broken arms, a broken ankle, broken jaw, and ruptured testicl*s. As there were many people ready to back up Bruce’s claims that Ty had been about to rape the underage and drugged to the eyeballs Tony, Ty had opted not to press assault charges in return for Tony not pressing charges so he wouldn’t get kicked out of MIT or sent to prison as a pervert.

When he’d sobered up and heard about his saviour Tony had gone to seek him out to thank him personally. That stilted conversation had been the start of a friendship which had blossomed into a relationship that became sexual as soon as Tony was of age, as Bruce wouldn’t have sex with him until he was. No matter how much Tony tried to get him to relent. One would think that would be it, that there would be a happily ever after, but of course nothing was every that easy. Both Tony and Bruce had problems which they weren’t dealing with.

Bruce was possessive and obsessively over protective to the point of being over bearing. Having lost his parents like he had, having learned just what horrors lurked in the dark Bruce was scarred by them, didn’t know when to take a step back, he was a control freak and wanted complete control of Tony who was not a man who dealt well with being controlled. He felt smothered by Bruce, resented being chained down or controlled even when he was spiralling completely out of control, what had already been brewing in college became extreme in his twenties and early thirties. Alcohol and drugs had dominated those years and led to many fights between Tony and Bruce, as many as Bruce’s possessive streak, inevitably their fights led to them breaking up, though they always got back together until Bruce decided to run off to the far east to find himself and deal with his issues.
For nearly a decade he was missing, joining the league of shadows for a while, until he discovered they were hellbent on genocide. Then he returned to America and The Bat was born.

Tony was one of the few who knew who The Bat was, had helped Bruce develop the tech, made sure he was wearing the best Kevlar available, and for a time they had tried again with their relationship, but while Bruce had learned to deal with his possessiveness “Somewhat” he wasn’t completely through it, and Tony was still in the grips of his addictions, something that didn’t change until Afghanistan.

After three months of cold turkey cleaning him up and drying him out he wasn’t going back to it when he returned to America, and shortly thereafter Iron Man was born.

Bruce had gone to Malibu when Tony came back from Afghanistan, needing to see him in person, and they had spent a few nights together in bed. But their relationship was still over. Bruce had Dick to think of by then and a volatile relationship with Tony who was still figuring things out would not have been a healthy environment for him to grow up in, so they had decided that it was for the best if they remained separated no matter how much it hurt them to do so.

Now, seven years on from then Tony and Bruce were seeing each other again for the first time. Both of them were nervous.

Tony was up and pacing when FRIDAY told him that Bruce had arrived, and Bruce was walking back and forth in the lift as he rode it up to the penthouse where Tony was waiting for him.

“Hi,” Tony greeted giving Bruce a tremulous smile

“Hi,” Bruce returned stepping into the penthouse, he set his bag down and for a second just looked at Tony who stared right back at him, they remained like this for a few seconds then they moved as one, falling into each others arms, Bruce enveloping Tony into a powerful embrace while the Omega snuggled his head under Bruce’s chin breathing in his musky Alpha scent and emitted an involuntary purr.

Bruce couldn’t help the pleased growl that rumbled in his throat and leaned down to nuzzle Tony’s throat breathing in his scent, and froze. At first he thought he was mistaken, but then he took another sniff and knew he wasn’t mistaken at all. He pulled Tony off him and held him back by his shoulders, looking the Omega over.

“You’re pregnant,”

Tony let out a slow huff of weak laughter, “Can’t get anything past you can I?”

Bruce narrowed his eyes and levelled a glare on Tony, “This is why you called me? To rub my face in it? To show off that you’re happily bonded and breading just before you go into oestro-cession,” he shook his head and just about spat out his next words, “Congratulations Stark, I hope you and whomever will be very happy together,” Turning on his heel Bruce made to go back to the lift and leave New York but Tony called out to him, making him pause.

“Bruce there’s no one,” Bruce half turned, giving Tony a moment to explain himself and to do it well or he would be gone. “There isn’t any mate, I’m not…, sh*t!” Tony ran a hand through his hair and drew in a shaking breath, reminding himself to stay calm. “It was one night, one time, I was drunk and Steve..,”

“Steve?” Bruce barked, turning fully now, “You and Rogers?”

“I was drunk!” Tony repeated, “Really drunk and he…,”

“He what?” Bruce growled, he might not have the voice distorter but his tone was only a fraction from Bat Mans most menacing snarl, “What did he do to you, did he rape you?”

“No,” Tony whispered shaking his head, “I didn’t say no,”

“Were you in any condition to say anything at all?” Bruce pressed, “Could you have stopped him? Did he hurt you?”

“Bruce, please!” Tony whispered, he let out a yelp as Bruce suddenly grabbed him by the arms and shook him,

“Did he hurt you?”

“Yes!” Tony screamed back at him, “He hurt me, he lied to me for years, he left me for f*cking dead in Siberia, and now I am pregnant with his Pup and having it might well kill me!”.

Bruce paused at Tony’s words, his brows furrowed and he tried to process what Tony had said, “What?” he asked finally

“My heart,” Tony said wetting his lips, “The Doctors don’t know if it’ll withstand the pregnancy, there’s a good chance it won’t, that I’ll die and my baby will be born an orphan.”

*****

An hour later Bruce and Tony were sat at the kitchen counter drinking tea and sharing a plate of biscuits. Slowly but surely Tony explained to Bruce what the Doctor’s had told him, what they were doing to try and give him the best chance possible for survival. He didn’t go into details of his night with Rogers, he shied away from that, clearly not wanting to discuss it, and while Bruce wasn’t letting this go he wasn’t going to press Tony for information at the risk of upsetting him and possibly leading to causing him a heart attack.

Tony did however explain to him what he and Pepper were planning in the event of his death, of herself, Rhodey, and if he agreed, Bruce being made legal guardians of Max/Maxi.

“Jesus!” Bruce breathed picking up a double chocolate chip cookie off the plate and nibbling at it, “I hardly know what to say,”

“Yes?” Tony asked, “Yes to being guardian in the event of…,”

“You are not going to die,” Bruce stated firmly, “I won’t allow it,”

“What, you gonna make my heart survive?”

“Yes!”, it was absurd, it was a stupid statement, yet it gave Tony hope, more hope than he’d had in so long that he could hardly remember the feeling.

“I don’t know how I’ve lasted these years without you,” he admitted to Bruce who rested a hand over his and gave him one of his rare smiles, “And what you’ve been through, Dick growing up, Jason dying and getting resurrected, Tim, and your Son, what’s he like? Your Damian?”

“An insufferable brat!” Bruce said rolling his eyes

“Takes after you then!”, Bruce gave Tony a heatless glare,

“Just you wait, once that little one is born you won’t know what’s hit you!”

Tony smiled and lay his free hand over his belly, “I just hope I’m there to see it,” he startled a little as Bruce’s hand joined his and held it there securely, he looked up into Bruce’s warm hazel eyes and felt a warmth start to spread into him and get to work on melting the ice that had remained since Siberia.

“You’ll be there,” Bruce promised, speaking softly, “I’ll do whatever I can to help you through it, and I will be there on the day you hold that Pup in your arms for the first time.”

Chapter 5

Chapter Text

“So are you two f*cking then!?”

The completely inappropriate question came unsurprisingly from Bruce’s demonic hell spawn Damian who was perched on the metal cage above the computer screens tossing his stiletto back and forth in his hands and somehow managing to not slice his hands to shreds while he did so.

“I am not dignifying that with an answer!” Bruce grunted

“That means yes!” Dick unhelpfully offered and in a show of his maturity stuck his tongue out at the glare Bruce levelled on him.

“Won’t it be weird to bang him while he’s knocked up by someone else?” Tim asked as went through weapons maintenance,

“For God Sakes!” Bruce groaned pinching the bridge of his nose as he felt an all to familiar headache forming,

“Pregnancy is said to make Omegas and Beta women super horny!” Dick offered, “Oh, but I guess it’d be best if you aren’t screwing him then, given your age you’d probably have trouble keeping up!” Damian snickered while Tim all but rolled on the floor laughing.

“I’ll show you exactly how old I am if you carry on!” Bruce growled at Nightwing who leered back, Christ he use to intimidate the brat, he use to be a feared and respected figure in this household, now he was the butt of jokes, victim of pranks, and had absolutely no privacy at all!

“So when are we gonna go and kill that Rogers prick?” Damian wanted to know, “I’ve got like five plans to take him out and make it look like accidents, suicide, or a Hydra assassination, and I’ve got like half a dozen plans to just maim him, you know, like amputate all four limbs without pain relief, snap his C2 vertebra, shatter all of his joints to powder, flay him..”

“Yes, thank you Damian, I get the picture,” Bruce said cutting his Son off before he could continue to outline his plans for maiming or murdering Captain America. Though if Damian did follow through and put his plans into action then Bruce wouldn’t exactly stop him so much as make sure nothing incriminated the boy.

“We could dip him in acid up to his neck!” Tim suggested, “He’d survive that and be in agony,”

“No hot tar so when Doctors come to help him they have to strip all his skin off!” Dick said, “We could chain him up like in Saw and make him hack off his own limbs and gauge his own eyes out!”

“I saw a movie where a person had to cut open their own abdomens to get out a key to padlock!” Tim said with a terrifying eagerness and Bruce had wonder about the influence their nightly activities were having on them!

“So when are going to meet Auntie Tony?” Tim asked looking to Bruce who’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline

“Auntie Tony?”

Tim shrugged, “Well he’ll be step-mum to Demon Spawn..,”

“f*ck you Drake!”

“Language Damian,”

“But to be he’ll be like an Aunt, so Auntie Tony.”

Bruce decided to let this one go, Tony would probably find it funny. Actually Bruce was dreading the meeting between Tony and his band of misfits because he knew that they would instantly strike up and unholy alliance and he would come under even more fire from pranks than before!

“He’ll be coming out to Gotham at the end of the month,” he said, he went to turn back to his computer then paused and shot the three nightmares a warning look, “Please remember he is fragile right now, not just because of what Rogers and that bunch of assholes have done to him, but also his health, he doesn’t need a lot of stress and certainly doesn’t need to be subjected to surprise attacks, pranks, or anything you three might have in mind.”

“We wouldn’t!” Tim cried placing a hand over his heart as if he were wounded, “What do you take us for?”

“Insufferable spoiled brats that I made the mistake of teaching how to fight and strategize!” Bruce dead panned

“Ah, not unlike yourself then Sir!” Alfred said from the top of the stairs. As Bruce’s cheeks coloured the boys fell about laughing at his expense, honestly was a little respect just too much to ask for?

“When Master Stark visits will he be staying in a guest room or your room, Sir?” Alfred asked adding fuel to the fire and making Bruce feel like an embarrassed teenager again,

“A guest room will be sufficient, thank you, Alfred.”

“Very good Sir, I believe the room adjacent to your own is suitable!”

“It’d make a good nursery too!” Dick offered, “Nice and close to the master bedroom,”

“Yeah, not far to go when the baby cries at night,” Tim agreed

Damian wrinkled his nose, “Nappies,” he muttered darkly

“I could still send two of you to boarding school in Switzerland,” Bruce threatened Damian and Tim,

“Don’t be ridiculous, Master Wayne,” Alfred scoffed, “There wouldn’t be a school left if you did that!” This sadly was very true and Bruce hadn’t to think what the casualty rate would be in such circ*mstances.

****

Rhodey paused in the doorway of the common area main computer terminals where a dozen holographic screens hovered above the table. Upon them were images of foetuses in the uterus, of new born babies, toddlers, and pregnant Omegas and Beta Women, there were also a couple of running commentaries about Foetal development, the care of Pregnant Omegas and Beta Women, caring for new born babies and Pups, and the after care of post natal Omegas and Beta Women.

Vision stood before this display engrossed in the information that he was rapidly accumulating.

“Are you going to become a Paediatrician?” Rhodey asked finally walking over, “Or a Governess?, perhaps a midwife?”

Vision glanced up from the screen he was studying, which was showing how Fundal height was measured with a tape measure, “I merely want to ensure Mr Stark and Baby Max’s health.”

Rhodey grinned and looked over the various screens, “You learn all of this and you’ll be able to give him better care than the OBGYN!”

“He needs to have his feet elevated,” Vision said apparently ignoring Rhodey’s teasing

“Who needs what?” Rhodey asked

“Mr Stark, he should have his feet elevated at all times now,” Vision said and paused in his reading to type this out on a tablet where he seemed to be listing the things he needed to know about pregnancy, birthing, and post natal care, “It’ll help with water retention in the ankles and varicose veins,”

“Anything to help with stretch marks?” Rhodey inquired, “He’s been whining about it, between whining about dying from lack of coffee and I quote “Starving to death on a rabbit food diet only fit for rabbits and other herbivores!”

Vision rose an eyebrow, “Ah, I believe cocoa butter may help,” he said, “Cocoa butter massages, and there are several massage techniques we can use…,”

“Whoa, whoa, hold up, we?” Rhodey cried shaking his head, “No we here, you wanna massage the pregnant, hormonal, and highly volatile Omega then it is your funeral, keep me out of it!” he sighed and shook his head, “I have enough to do dealing with the fact he has decided to decimate the entire stock supplies of all baby stores in the country, for God sakes how many rattles and chew toys does he think will be needed?”

“Have his cravings started yet?” Vision asked, once again ignoring Rhodey, he was going to get a complex at this rate!

“Yes,” the Colonel shuddered, “Don’t even go there!” Vision gave him an unimpressed look

“He needs to indulge his cravings, they can be a sign that his body is lacking in something and so he will crave foods to supplement the lack, Chalk for instance is often a lack of calcium and a very common craving, people are also known to have cravings for charcoal, and sorrel…,” Rhodey began to tune Vision out as he listed cravings and their probable causes, he was still emotionally scarred from Tony’s craving that had reared its very ugly head two days earlier. Custard Cremes dipped in BBQ sauce!

Honestly just the thought of it made Rhodey’s stomach churn and he’d had to actually see Tony eating them! He’d also mentioned something about ham and lemon curd sandwiches!

“Do you think Captain Rogers will be a threat?”

Rhodey startled out of his revolted thoughts on the cravings Tony was having, “I’m sorry, what?” he asked the Android

“Do you think that Captain Rogers will be a threat to Mr Stark and the baby?”

“Its Tony, Vision, Tony,” the Billionaire in question said padding bare foot into the common area with a pack of custard cremes under one arm and a bottle of BBQ sauce under the other making Rhodey cringe, “And I think he’ll be a threat once he learns of the pregnancy,”, setting his snacks down on the table top he hopped up into a stool and looked at the information Vision was amassing, “Wow, they get finger nails at four months?”

“And you’ll be able to feel movement after about three months,” Vision said, “It is reputed to feel like butterflies in the abdomen, the kicking won’t start until about the sixth month, but you will be aware of movement before then,”

“I wonder what that’ll be like?” Tony mused taking a biscuit out of the pack and opening the bottle of BBQ sauce, he poured some on the biscuit and bit into it letting out an obscene moan at the taste

“That is disgusting!” Rhodey exclaimed, “That is completely disgusting, must you eat that here?”

“I’m hungry,” Tony said about a mouthful

“He is eating for two now,” Vision stated, “He must pay attention to his cravings,” Tony grinned devilishly

“See, my personal physician says I need this,” he said brightly, “And if I need a deep pan with extra pepperoni and double extra cheese, an extra large mocha milkshake, and a tub of ben and jerrys chocolate fudge brownie then..,”

“NO!” both Vision and Rhodey yelled, Tony pouted at them and helped himself to another biscuit

“When you are moaning that you’ve gained ten pounds in a few weeks time I’m going to remind you of this!” Rhodey said

“Oh, that reminds me!” Vision interjected before Tony could speak, “You need to start wearing loose clothes about your waist as anything tight could constrict the Pups growth,”

Rhodey looked to Tony, his gazed flickered down to his waist as if he was assessing the tightness of his jeans and T-Shirt

“Want me to strip tease?” he asked with a leer

“You should start wearing maternity clothing, and you need to sit with your feet up from now on,” Vision instructed Tony who shrugged as he took out a third biscuit

“I’ve got my tailor looking into it,” he said, “The hell am I wearing anything with flowers or stripes!”

“Vanity is a sin,” Vision said, “Another name for Pride I believe,”

“Along with gluttony,” Rhodey said looking at the biscuits and BBQ sauce with distaste

“Eating for two!” Tony sing-songed, “And will you be massaging my back and feet when they’re hurting?” he asked the pair, Rhodey looked appalled

“I’m not going anywhere near your feet, I know where they’ve been and that you’ve had athletes foot twice!”

“I thought that was Herpes!” Vision asked with a frown

“Hey!” Tony protested, “I have never had herpes!”

“Cold sores are a form of herpes Tony,” Rhodey sighed rolling his eyes and looking pointedly at the sore spot on the top of Tony’s lip which he fingered self-consciously, “Anyway, on the subject of massages, won’t dear Bruce be doing that for you?”

Tony would deny to his dying day that he blushed at this, or that he mumbled something incoherent as he grabbed his biscuits and BBQ sauce and scuttled off to his lab to the sound of Rhodey’s triumphant laughter!.

*****

Three Weeks later

With Bruce, Pepper, Rhodey, and Vision stood beside Tony’s bed in the hospital, where he lay with his shirt undone and his trousers unbuttoned and rolled down to expose his belly that had just the smallest curve to it.

“The gels a little cold,” the Sonographer said as she squirted it on him and got the scanner ready

“Can we learn the sex today?” Tony asked eagerly

“I’m afraid the foetus will still be too small,” The sonographer said with a regretful smile, “However we will be able to see organ and bone development.”

“We’ll see the heart beating,” Vision said knowledgeably, “It, along with the brain and spine are the first things to form,”, the Sonographers eyebrows rose and Tony grinned

“He’s my personal Midwife!”

“Behave!” Bruce scolded

“I am!”

“Yes, badly!”

“People, can we please let the nice Sonographer do her job?” Pepper asked with an exasperated sigh, “And possibly not give her a nervous break down or psychotic episode!”, Tony shrugged

“I wouldn’t hold your breath!”.

Trying and failing to hide her smile the sonographer moved the scanner over Tony’s belly and slowly but surely an image formed on the monitor. As expected the room melted with various coos at the sight of the foetus inside Tony.

“I think it has your nose Tones,” Rhodey said looking at the fuzzy image on the monitor

“His flat feet for sure!” Pepper chuckled

“Development seems normal, though perhaps a little on the large side for a twelve week old foetus,” Vision said eyeing the measurements that the Sonographer was taking, “You couldn’t be further on than you thought could you?” he asked Tony who had been staring at the screen with adoration in his eyes,

“No,” he said, “Rogers was the first in months,”

Vision frowned, “The Pup does look large though, even if it is an Alpha or Omega and not a Beta,” Alpha and Beta Pups tended to be larger than Beta babies, this was because they would not grow for the first three months following birth but instead would develop more internally, their organ maturing enough to digest soft solid foods at three months which was when they would be weaned from the breast.

“The Foetus is large,” The Sonographer agreed, “But nothing appears wrong, all developments are normal,”

“The Serum?” Bruce murmured with a frown, “That could have an effect couldn’t it?”, Rhodey shrugged, there was simply no way of knowing, no super soldier had ever gotten anyone pregnant before now, at least not to anyone’s knowledge, all of this was very new ground for all of them.

“You’re sure everything’s alright?” Tony asked looking at the monitor worriedly, it would be his luck wouldn’t it? For the damn serum to have effected the baby, to have done something that would make the baby…., God, what if there was something really wrong? At his age Downs syndrome had been his biggest concern since it seemed there was a greater chance of that in later pregnancies, but what if it was something that medicine had never seen? Something that couldn’t be treated or cured or just…,

“I really don’t see anything wrong Mr Stark,” the Sonographer said, “But if you’d like I could go and get the Obstetrician to take a look?”

“Please,” Tony said, the Sonographer gave him a smile and excused herself, meanwhile Bruce, Rhodey, Pepper, and Vision crowded about Tony assuring him that everything would be fine and that he had nothing to worry about. Tony nodded his head and forced a smile to his face but until he had proof that there was nothing wrong with the Pup he wouldn’t relax.

The Obstetrician came after a few minutes waiting and reviewed the scan, confirming what the sonographer had said, that beside being larger than average the Pup was perfect, nothing to worry about, certainly no signs of abnormalities.

“So its just going to be a big Pup then,” Bruce said helping Tony wipe the gel off his belly

“Very large if this level of growth continues,” the Obstetrician said, “We could be looking more than fifteen pounds if not heavier!”, Tony made a whimpering noise

“You are already scheduled for a caesarean at thirty-seven weeks,” The Obstetrician said, this had been decided early on, a natural labour would be too much stress on Tony’s heart, so a scheduled C-Section was pre-booked for his own good, “If the Pup is as large as I predict then you would not have been able to deliver naturally anyway,”

“Thank God for small mercies then!” Tony murmured, he looked up at Rhodey, “Still think I’m over indulging my cravings?” Rhodey held up his hands in protest, to be fair Steve Rogers consumed upwards of three and four thousand calories a day thanks to the super soldier serum effecting his metabolism, if the Pup had inherited traits of the serum then it was likely going to require more nutrition than the average foetus.

“Will this have an effect on his heart?” Bruce asked, worried that the extra size of the Pup might put more stress on Tony’s weak heart

The Obstetrician shrugged his shoulders, “I’m afraid only time will tell on that, however,” he looked to Tony, “I would like you to start having more rest already, take a nap in the afternoons, try not to exert yourself.” It was clear Tony was concerned as he agreed without an argument and let Bruce help him up from the bed.

“We have another difficulty too,” Pepper said making everyone look at her, “If the Pup is growing this fast and continues to do so, then hiding this pregnancy from the press is going to be impossible very soon.”

Chapter 6

Chapter Text

Gotham

Tony was set upon the moment he stepped into the manor. Bruce had tried to get the zoo under control, but, being the impetuous little brats they were, Damian, Dick, and Tim would not be restrained and threw themselves at him the second he was through the door.

“Alright, alright, back up, don’t suffocate him!” Alfred cried as Tony was squeezed in a hug by Dick and Tim. Damian held back a little, his arrogance keeping him from hugging Tony like his brothers were.

“How are you? Its been way too long,” Dick gushed planting a kiss on Tony’s cheek, “How’s the Pup? Is your morning sickness bad? Ohh do you need something to eat, you’re eating for two now right?”

“You’re cuter in person than you are on TV!” Tim said, “I can see why Bruce likes you, oh you’re already starting to get a bump! Is the Pup kicking yet?” he pressed his hands to Tony’s rounded belly trying to feel kicks,

“Drake you are an imbecile,” Damian sighed with an exaggerated roll of his eyes, “Foetuses do not start kicking until the end of the second trimester.”

“Oh suck it Demon Spawn!”

“Enough!” Bruce barked, “Let Tony go before you strangle him.”

Tony was blushing and looking rather bewildered as he was finally released from the double embrace, Bruce spread his arms and sighed, “Welcome to the mad house!”

Tony grinned and exhaled, “You did try to warn me,”

“Nothing can quite prepare you for it though,” Alfred dryly mused, “Certainly not Master Damian!”

The Demon in question narrowed his eyes at Alfred and muttered something under his breath that had Bruce smacking him upside the head in reprimand, “Language!” he scolded, for a second Tony had a brief recollections of Steve saying the same thing to him when they were in Sokovia just before he went and ran into Hydra’s Scarlet whor*. However, this was different, Damian was thirteen and had been swearing at Alfred and needed discipline, his reprimand was called for where Steve’s had been absurd to say the least.

“We’re planning to kill Rogers for you!” Tim piped up and Tony’s eyebrows rose to his hairline

“Umm…, thanks?” he looked helplessly at Bruce who just shook his head

“C’mon,” the other Billionaire said, “Lets get you settled in,” Tony chuckled in relief and made to follow Bruce but was stopped as Alfred took his bag,

“I can..,”

“You’re pregnant master Anthony, it wouldn’t be right,” Alfred said, he was an elder Alpha, chivalry towards Omega’s in his time had still been very prominent, Omega’s did not open doors, Alphas and Beta Men did so, they pulled out chairs, they stood up at the table when an Omega left and on dates they were the ones who paid, none of this split the bill stuff. While he most certainly agreed with Omega’s having autonomy, the changing of the law that stated “Heat does not mean Yes!”

That one had been changed at the start of the nineties, for years before then it had been an argument that Alphas and Betas could not be convicted of rape if an Omega was in heat because of the pheromones that an Omega would be giving off and wouldn’t be saying no.

The argument to that was that once in Heat Omegas were incapable of saying No, they were incapable of saying anything at all, certainly of fighting off an Alpha or Beta, so unless an Omega had given verbal and clear consent prior to Heat then the Alpha or Beta would be taking advantage of their condition.

A counter argument had been made that an Omegas pheromones were impossible for Alphas and Betas to resist but it had been quashed when it had been made clear that an Omega in Heat gave of a scent strong enough to be smelled far enough away for the said Alphas and Betas to inhale it and still be unaffected by the pheromones.

Tony had been one of those who marched in the protests to get the law changed, was an impassioned supporter of Omegas rights and a patron of OURS This was an acronym for Omegas United Rights and Support. It was a charity much like the Maria Stark foundation, but where the Maria Stark foundation gave charity in the event of emergencies following disasters to all, OURS was for the purpose of helping Omegas get out of abusive relationships, finding them sanctuary and support in crisis.
Alfred agreed with all this, but he still felt that it was the Alphas place to do certain things for an Omega like carry their bags and on that he would never change.

*****
Tony was settled into the room adjacent to Bruce’s and Alfred gave Bruce a knowing look to which the Billionaire glared at him and sighed deeply before turning back to Tony.

“I’m sorry about the boys,” he said, “They’re a little…,”

“They’re great!” Tony said grinning at him, “Damian is definitely your son, I can see all that Wayne superiority and arrogance in him already and he’s not even fully grown yet”

“Tell me about it!” Bruce grumbled tiredly he sat down on the bed and sighed heavily, “At least I’ll get the chance to say the same back to you when your little one is born and driving you up the wall.”

Tony rose his eyebrows and placed a hand over his heart, “Are you saying my little Max won’t be the angelic saint I believe he or she will be?”

Bruce snorted, “Angelic in looks maybe in actions? That I very much doubt. He or she will take after you and you will have to suffer all the mischief and mayhem you have put us all through over the years.”

Tony let out a groan and threw himself down on the bed beside Bruce, I don’t care how much trouble he or she gives me, I just want to be there to see it.” He looked at Bruce meeting sympathetic hazel eyes that shone with kindness and understanding. Bruce was probably the one person he had always been able to talk to about anything, been able to trust with anything and everything, that was something that hadn’t changed one bit through out the years and right now it made him feel safe and comforted.

“I’ve wondered if I’m doing the right thing,” he said, lowering his gaze and tapped his fingers on the coverlet, “Is it right to bring a Pup into the world when I might not be there to see him or her grow up? When I know I will probably die? But I just can’t not give them a chance at life, I mean what were the odds of conception?” he shook his head, “I wasn’t in heat, my heats have been erratic for the last few years, I’ve missed more than I’ve had, I was heading into Heat-cessation, will probably go right into it after I’ve given birth, at the most I must have been in the cusp of heat at which point I had a one in hundred percent chance of conceiving, that fact that I did, after only one f*ck? Its gotta mean this Pup is meant to be, especially when you consider the fights I was in right after conception.”

Bruce nodded, “The odds were against it,” he agreed and smiled, “But then you’ve always been a miracle.”

Tony blushed and ducked his head, “I’d hardly say a miracle,”

“Oh come on! You miniaturized the arc reactor in a cave, you built a suit from scraps in said cave, survived assassination attempts, apocalyptic threats, you created a new element while you were dying of heavy metal poisoning, you are not just a miracle you are amazing and impossible!”

It was rare that Bruce gave such speeches and when he did he always spoke from the heart, meant every word he said which he did right now, Tony smiled tremulously and tears filled his eyes,

“Oh sh*t!” Tony cried swiping at his eyes, “I don’t know why I keep doing this, balling my eyes out!”

“Hormones,” Bruce said, rising from the bed and going to tissue box on the nightstand and getting a couple for Tony to use to wipe his face and dry his eyes, “They’re making you tearful, emotional, giving you cravings…,”

“Huh, Viz said its my body lacking things that’s causing my cravings,” Tony said blowing his nose and screwing the tissue up, he took aim and tossed it into the waste paper bin, “Custard cremes and BBQ sauce isn’t that weird is it? Or lemon curd in ham sandwiches? Ooh and sugar snap peas with peanut butter!”

Bruce was looking more and more revolted by this but managed to smile and shake his head “Trust you to do things in the extreme!”

“Oh you’re one to talk about extremes!” Tony snorted snatching up a pillow and throwing it at Bruce who of course had to retaliate and throw the pillow back at him. Tony batted the pillow away and grabbed another one, he grinned at Bruce and launched himself at the Alpha battering him with the pillow, laughing Bruce grabbed the pillow on the floor and defended himself, taking care to be gentle as he hit back at Tony laughing as he did so and letting himself be bested, the Omega climbing on top of him and pinning him down, loudly declaring his victory over Bruce.

He gazed down at Bruce with his eyes shining and a grin bright on his face, Bruce stared up at him mirroring Tony’s expression, his hands were on Tony’s hips supporting him, his crotch beneath Tony’s backside and Tony could feel his growing erection. A frown flitted briefly over Tony’s forehead a look of surprise that Bruce was showing desire for him even now when he was pregnant by another Alpha. Bruce smiled at him, reached up with his right hand to cup Tony’s face, his thumb stroking over Tony’s goatee reaching for his lips, he traced the pad of his thumb over Tony’s lips and the Omega kissed it, sucking it into his mouth and licking very gently with his tongue.

Bruce took a couple of deep inhales as the feel of Tony’s tongue sent lightning bolts through his body right the way to his co*ck, pulling his hand free he grabbed Tony and pulled him down into a deep kiss, his hands running all over the Omega’s back, getting under his clothes to grasp skin and feel the flesh he had missed for so many years.

Outside the bedroom, knelt on the other side of the door Dick, Damian, and Tim were crouched peeking through the keyhole and listening.

“Fifty bucks Drake, I said they’d be screwing in less than an hour!” Damian crowed

“Oh screw you Demon!” Tim grumbled with a scowl

“Damn, Tony’s kind of hot you know?” Dick said, still looking through the keyhole, “If he were a bit younger..,” he nearly yelped as he was pulled back by Tim and Damian

“Don’t be so gross they’re practically our parents.” Tim hissed at him

“Not by blood, and Tony is f*cking hot, his ass is like a fricken peach!” Dick shot back, Damian snorted and rolled his eyes muttering something in his native tongue

“And just what do you three think you are doing?”

Alfred grinned in self congratulations as all three boys leaped up off the floor as if they had been burned and tried to hide their guilty expressions under masks of innocence. Well, Dick and Tim did, Damian just scowled as always.

“Nothing!” Tim said, “We were just seeing if Bruce and Tony needed anything, weren’t we?” he looked to Dick who nodded so much that he looked like a nodding dog from the Churchill adverts

“Yep, uh-huh, that’s exactly what we were doing!”

A loud moan from the bedroom brought colour to all their faces and Damian looked a little sickened,

“I don’t think that either Master Bruce or Master Tony need you right this moment lads,” Alfred said, “How about you go and find something else to occupy yourselves with hmm?”

Taking the out they had been offered all three boys bolted leaving Alfred chuckling in the hall, he paused for a moment as the sounds of Tony and Bruce echoed in the hallway, he smirked and nodded his head, “Under our roof for just over half an hour!” he chuckled to himself, “That’s a new record even for them!”

*****

Tony reached back over his head and grabbed the headboards railings, white knuckling them as he arched his back and moaned in utter abandon as Bruce thrust inside him, filling and stretching him to the point where it was just the right side of pain. Bruce always excelled in everything he did, he was an over achiever and sex was no exception. When Bruce Wayne took you to bed you would not only be seeing stars, you’d be walking with a limp the next morning and wouldn’t get the grin off your face for a week!

Unlike Steve who had simply taken what he’d wanted, spent himself in a few painful thrusts, Bruce took his time. He kissed every inch of Tony’s throat and mouth, caressed his torso, stroked his thighs and his belly, petting and teasing him, setting every nerve ending alight before he entered the panting and squirming Omega, and he took his time in doing so, making Tony whine and shamelessly buck his hips as he poised with his co*ck head just resting outside Tony’s body enjoying the flush on his cheeks and the desperate pleading Tony gave as he implored Bruce to take him, to f*ck him before he went mad! When Bruce finally granted Tony his request and sank inside him, the Omega had wrapped his legs about him and held him in an almost painfully tight grip, his knees digging into Bruce’s back and his heels resting on Bruce’s backside as he thrust in and out of Tony’s body, slow and gentle at first so as not to hurt Tony, and to give him time to get accustomed to Bruce’s girth, then speeding up and added more force. At first Tony’s hands had been on him, gripping his shoulders and spanning his back, but as he’d started kissing and biting at the Omega’s throat Tony had reached up to grab the railings and meet his thrusts with bucks of his pelvis.

Bruce could feel Tony’s erection between them, feel his flesh hard and damp, Tony’s breathing became more erratic and his eyelids flickered as his climax drew near, Bruce slowed his thrusts and aimed them expertly to hit Tony’s sweet spot every time, drawing out the moment, taking Tony to the very brink before finally tipping him over the edge into bliss.

As Tony moaned and shuddered beneath him, Bruce came, filling Tony’s body and only just managed to keep from falling on top of him, he remembered at the last second and flipped over onto his back panting.

They lay like that for a few minutes then Tony let out a bewildered laugh and sat up, propping himself up on his elbow, “Didn’t take us long to fall back into an old routine did it?”

“Longer than I wanted,” Bruce said, smiling a little as Tony rose an eyebrow, “I wanted you that day I came to the Tower, I wanted to bend you over that counter and f*ck you right there and then.”

“Oh but every the gentleman you restrained yourself,” Tony purred, trailing his fingers up Bruce’s chest, “I can hardly believe that you still want me,” he said, “I’m knocked up by another Alpha, I’m old and scarred and..,” Tony was cut off by Bruce covering his lips with his own and silencing him with a gentle but lingering kiss.

“In case you haven’t noticed I’m no spring chicken myself,” Bruce whispered to him, “I have scars, thousands of them and even more mental than physical, I’m not exactly a catch to most Omegas..,”

“The hell you’re not, you’re Bruce Wayne and Bat Man, only a demented dickwad wouldn’t want you!”

“And only a braindead moron wouldn’t want you,” Bruce said stroking Tony’s face, “And I want you, I want you and I want your Pup, I want us to be a family, all of us,”

Tony beamed at Bruce then frowned, “How are the boys going to take this?” he asked

Bruce snorted, “They’ve been taking bets since you contacted me on how long it’d take for us to get together, and they are planning to murder Rogers.”

“Does that mean I’m welcome in the family?”

“Utterly and completely”.

Chapter 7

Chapter Text

Tony had done hundreds if not thousands of press conferences in his life time, but never had he been so nervous as he was right now.

He hadn’t been seen in the public for weeks now. The Pup had continued to show an accelerated growth and Tony hadn’t been able to hide the bump past the fourth month. He’d lain low for another four weeks getting all the legal matters dealt with before revealing the pregnancy to the press.

“Nervous?” Rhodey asked noting the way Tony kept wringing his hands and tugging at his loose fitting maternity shirt as he paced back and forth, waiting for Pepper to tell him it was time to go before the cameras.

“Not nervous, more scared sh*tless!” Tony replied giving a little laugh, “f*ck I wish Bruce was here,”

“I’d be insulted that my company wasn’t good enough, but I ain’t the one banging you so I’ll let it slide,”

Tony shot Rhodes a leer, “You can’t say I haven’t given you plenty of chances to tap my sweet little JLO,” he said slapping his backside for emphasis, “And you know, if you’re ever up for a threesum…”

“Whoa, whoa, hell no, shut up right now!” Rhodey cried waving his hands and shaking his head, “I have to deal with enough of your crazy and weird without anymore okay?”

“Oh Rhodeykins, my Sugarpuff, my cuddlemonkey, how can you say such things to me?” Tony whined, “Don’t you know how I love you and admire your firm and distinguished ass!”

“Why do you always have to make everything so damn weird?”

“Its his special charm,” Pepper said interrupting the banter, “Its time,” she said to Tony, “The vultures are awaiting!”

“Okay,” Tony said fixing his press smile on his face, “Lets go feed them.”

*****

Wakanda

As he waited outside the Throne room with Natasha, Steve silently pondered Tony and the pregnancy. He couldn’t say he was unhappy about Tony being the bearer of his offspring. He had always wanted a family, he was an old fashioned man at heart. He’d been brought up to expect to get married and have children or pups, to spend his adult life working to provide for his family, to have a loving and caring wife or mate who would care for their home and their growing family while he took care of them as a Man and an Alpha should.

He’d hoped, for a while that he would have that with Peggy, that after the war they would marry and have little ones. He’d hoped for four, two boys and two girls, had even thought of names for them. Sarah and Grace for girls, James, and Sean for boys.

Then that had gone to hell, he had gone into the ice and spent seventy years there. Peggy had gone on to marry and have children, but not with him.

Steve had thought he would spend the rest of his life alone, would be without the love of anyone, without a family for the rest of his life. Sure he liked Sharon, but he compared her to Peggy and always found her wanting. Exactly when he’d started to notice Tony as not only a team mate but also as an Omega he wasn’t certain, it had just sort of crept up on him until he couldn’t help but to notice the unmistakable scent of an unbound Omega when Tony was near, would find his eyes fixing themselves on rounded hips, curved thighs, a plump and pert rear.

Around the time he had finally acknowledged this he had started to dream of Tony. He had been use to his dreams being filled with Bucky, with the past, with Peggy and the fantasy life he had hoped for them. But then they were replaced, or rather Peggy was replaced and it was Tony who he was married to.

He would see them together time and again, living in Brooklyn, a nice large house with a fence surrounding the front garden that he and their first born, a Son had painted together while Tony had watched from a deck chair, heavy with their second, a daughter.

He’d see them celebrating Christmas together, sat in pajamas beneath the huge brightly decorated tree, handing out parcels covered in brightly coloured wrapping paper, the little ones shrieking with delight over their presents and Tony beaming at him as they exchanged their own gifts to each other and bore the “Eeeewwws!” from their little ones when they kissed.

He saw birthdays with huge cakes with candles being blown out, party hats and dozens of presents.

He saw him and Tony taking the little ones to the beach, helping them build sand castles, taking them camping, going to ball games, he saw Tony coming to him to tell him of another addition to their family growing inside him, saw their Son and Daughter cuddling around Tony’s growing belly as their sibling moved within him.

He saw himself bringing Tony home from the hospital after the birth, introducing the Son and Daughter to their new brother for the first time, even saw a repeat of this with a fourth Pup being introduced to the family.

He saw the perfect life being laid out, himself as Captain America, providing for his family, keeping the world safe, while Tony tended their home, giving up the spot light and Iron Man to care for their little ones as a doting Mother and devoted mate.

These dreams had been in his mind when he’d sat in the bar drinking with Tony who’d grown increasingly flirtatious as the night had gone on, when he’d pulled Tony into his lap and held him close he’d known that this would be the start for them, the beginning of their lives together.

When he’d taken Tony to bed, undressed him, he’d smelled the scent of pre-heat on him, the sweet fragrance that came a few days before the actual heat itself. As he had sunk into Tony’s pliant body he’d thought about laying with him in weeks time, bonding with him, perhaps making their first Pup. They’d have to get a move on with having Pups of course, Tony wasn’t young, his fertility was waning and if they were to have a family it would have to be right away.

Then the bombing had happened, the Airport, and finally Siberia, and Steve had thought he had lost any chance of those dreams ever becoming a reality, because by the time Tony finally got over this and started to see sense he would likely be in Heat-Cessation and unable to bear Steve a family making any bond between them utterly pointless. After all, what would be the point in bonding with an Omega who couldn’t give you Pups?

He’d resigned himself to never having Tony as his mate only to have everything suddenly turned on its head as Tony revealed his pregnancy to the world, no, not HIS pregnancy, their pregnancy. This was their pup, their family growing inside Tony. His dreams it seemed would not be for naught, all he had to do was to convince Tony to stop being stubborn and they could have it all, a family together just like he’d hoped.

“The King will see you now.” One of T’Challa Dora Milaje said to him and Natasha.

“Thank you,” Natasha said briskly and led the way into the Throne room.

T’Challa was seated on the throne of course, in his formal robes finishing saying a few quiet words with some court official or other who eyed Natasha and Steve coldly as he left.

“Miss Romanoff, Captain,” The young King greeted, “How may I assist?”

Steve wet his lips and glanced to the Dora Milaje in the room wishing that it were just himself, T’Challa, and Natasha to speak about this, it wasn’t exactly an easy subject after all and he didn’t want to share this with all and sundry if he could help it.

“I do have another appointment shortly,” T’Challa said, “If this is something that will take a great deal of time to discuss then I suggest that we arrange for another appointment when time is not so limited.”

Natasha frowned, “You’re King, why don’t you just cancel your appointment?”

T’Challa gave her look of contempt at this suggestion and spoke icily in response, “My first duty is to my people, Miss Romanoff, I do not cancel appointments my subjects have waited weeks to obtain without very good reason. The Whims of yourself and your friends are not what I would deem sufficient cause.” The Dora at his side glared at Natasha, her eyes shining with malice, an emotion reflected in the eyes of her fellows. Natasha opened her mouth to argue but Steve held up a hand to silence her, he didn’t want to waste what little time they had on a fight, they needed to get their case across to T’Challa here and now, so he could get the ball rolling and get them back home so he could talk to Tony and sort all this out.

“Tony is pregnant,” he said, his cheeks flushing at revealing this so bluntly before T’Challa and his guards, “He just announced it to the world.”

T’Challa rose an eyebrow, “And what is that to me?” he asked

Steve straightened and lifted his chin proudly, “The Pup is mine, Your Majesty, Tony Stark is pregnant by me.”

Steve wasn’t sure what reaction he had been hoping for from the young Beta King, but the blank expression on T’Challa’s face was not it. T’Challa seemed completely unfazed by the shocking news completely uncaring of it in fact. As the silence stretched between them Steve began to grow a little uncomfortable as T’Challa stared at him without speaking and completely expressionless.

Sighing, Natasha rolled her eyes and took over, “Stark is unfit to raise a Pup,” she stated matter-of-factly, “He is looking to go for sole custody and refuse Steve any access to the Pup, probably won’t even put his name on the birth certificate.”

T’Challa pursed his lips, “As is his legal right,” he said quite calmly, “I assume the two of you are not bonded Captain?” he asked, his sharp eyes moving to look at Steve who shook his head, “Then considering the fact that he is a free Omega, is not demanding child support from you or any kind of aid, I do not see what argument you can put to his decision to be a single parent.”

Anger and indignation suddenly flowed into Steve and had him striding forward pointing at T’Challa to punctuate his words, “That Pup is mine, I have a right to him as his Father and I demand to be granted that right!”

“You demand nothing of me!” T’Challa suddenly roared, standing up from his throne to his full and impressive height, the Dora moving to flank him, ready to attack Steve and defend their King if necessary.

Steve struggled to hold back the desire to teach the impudent young Beat some manners, he hated having to swallow back his anger and swallow his pride before the young King, knowing that he needed his help.

“Please your Majesty,” he said, “I have to be with my Pup, Tony has no right to do this, no right to keep my Pup from me!” he paused, he was starting to shout again and that wouldn’t help him here, “I won’t take the Pup from him, I won’t go for sole custody but joint custody, and I’ll make Tony see sense and..,” T’Challa held up a hand cutting off Steve’s speech,

“You want to fight for custody of the Pup you claim is yours?”

“Is mine.” Steve growled

T’Challa shrugged, “So you claim. But how do you plan to make this custody battle?” he asked “You are a wanted fugitive living in my country under my protection, you have no income, no real home, and several criminal charges against you. How on earth will you make such a case? How will you even find the thousands of dollars it would take to procure the legal representation to challenge Tony Stark? let alone the thousands it would cost in court fees.”

Steve rolled his lips, “I was hoping..that uh, you could..,”

“Ah,” T’Challa smiled without any mirth, “You expect me to use my money, the money of my countries Tax payers to fund your court case,” he shook his head, “No Captain, you ask too much. You made your bed in regards to Tony Stark when you left him for dead in Siberia, now you will have to lay in it.”

“What?” Steve couldn’t believe it, couldn’t understand why T’Challa would say this, would do this,

“It is time for your next appointment,” one of the Dora said

T’Challa nodded, “Our business is concluded,” he said to Natasha and Steve, “Please return to your apartments.”

With no way to fight this argument Steve walked stiffly with Natasha from the court back to their apartments.

“I can’t give up Natasha,” he said shaking his head, “I can’t, they are mine, Tony and the Pup are mine!”

“So don’t give up,” She said, “We’ll find another way.”

“How?” Steve asked, “Where will I get the money to go to court?”

“Sam said he’d help,” Natasha said, “And I can get some more,” he glanced at her and decided not to ask how she’d accomplish this, “Obviously we can’t stay here, nor can we go back to America, we’ll have to go to a country that’s neutral and launch the case from there, maybe find some legal loop hole to get us back in America,” She shrugged and schooled her expression, “The first thing we need is to get the money together and find a good lawyer, and we’ll need a damn good one to go against Stark’s pack of legal representation.”

Steve smiled at her, “Thank you Natasha, I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Natasha shrugged, “Its time Stark got took down a peg, his ego is running wild and that is not what is needed to care for a child, he can’t be allowed to raise that kid, the best thing we can do is to get it from him.”

“I meant what I said Natasha,” Steve said, “I want Tony as part of our lives, I don’t want to keep the Pup from him.” Natasha nodded her head,

“Sure, Steve, but with an ego like that, it’ll take a miracle to make a decent parent out of him.”

Chapter 8

Chapter Text

“Oh Mr Stark I can’t believe you’re pregnant, I saw it on the news and I am so happy for you, and wow you are so big already, oh sh*t I’m not supposed to say that am I? well I didn’t mean it as a bad thing, you look really good, like really good, have you decided on a name yet? You know Peter is a good name, but I suppose you’ll want to go with Anthony right? That’s cool, you know if you want a baby sitter sometime I’m good with little kids, and if I can help you with anything just say the word.”

“Peter breathe,” Tony laughed at the excitable star struck boy, “And I thought I told you to call me Tony.”

“Right, yes, sorry Mr Stark, I mean Tony,” Peter babbled, “Are you really giving up Iron Man? Well I suppose you can’t fit in the suit now, ohh not that I mean that in a bad way, you’re pregnant not fat or anything so of course you don’t fit in the suit it’d be more weird if you did. Have you planned out the birth? Cause I’ve been looking on line and they say a water birth is the most relaxing and you should listen to whale music while in labour as it helps relax you, I saw read that they give you an enema before you give birth, you can choose not have one of course, but if you don’t then…,”

“Whoa, okay, enough, button it kid!” Tony cried clapping a hand over Peter’s rampant mouth, “We are not discussing enemas now or ever, and yes I know I’m big, the Pup is larger than average, and since you seem so interested in the information, I have a caesarean scheduled for thirty seven weeks.”

Peter mumbled something behind Tony’s hand, which the Billionaire moved for him to speak, “Okay, sorry, why is the Pup so big? Is it because of when you used extremis or just a quirk of nature, and how big is big, I’ve read average weights and sizes on Pups and babies, and Pups tend to weigh between eleven and fourteen pounds so if its bigger than that then its gonna be huge and by the end of the pregnancy you’ll be like….,” Peter actually managed to stop his over active mouth at this point, though it didn’t stop the glare that he was receiving from Tony,

“So uh, what did you uh, wanna see me about?” Peter asked squirming a bit, Tony had called a few days before, speaking with Peter’s aunt and arranging for Peter to be allowed to stop over at the tower for the weekend. Peter had jumped at the chance, literally jumped and ended up on the ceiling at which point his aunt had handed him a duster and told him to make himself useful if he was going to hang around up there and clear away the cobwebs!

Having not seen Tony in the flesh in several weeks Peter had been very excited to do so, especially after the press conference and Tony’s revelation of a pregnancy. The pregnancy was all everyone at school was talking about, speculating on who the Father was, whether it would be a boy or a girl, some even going so far to claim that it was an IVF baby with a sperm donner and the one night stand thing was just a ruse. The Health Science teacher actually had the audacity to use Tony’s story as an example of what could happen if one were to practise unsafe sex! Of course the decrepit old fossil was under the impression that the best form of contraception was abstinence and that there should be no sort of sexual behaviour until one was married. Peter had spent the class paying as much attention as he always did, and doodled pictures of Iron Man and Spiderman in his note book!

Taking a deep breath Tony put an arm around Peter’s shoulders and lead him to the sofa, placing his feet up on a pouffe and flexing his toes.

“There’s something I need to talk to you about,” he said to Peter, trying to keep his tone light and a smile on his face, but Peter could already sense that something was wrong, very wrong.

“What is it?” he asked, “Is it Team Crap? Because I swear if you need me to go and kick the f*ck out of them then I will, I’ll web them up so good that they’ll need machetes to get free.”

“Team Crap?” Tony asked startled,

Peter grinned, “That name is like all over Twitter, along with Captain Douchebag, Captain f*ckwit, Steve Dickwad, and..,”

“Okay, I get the picture,” Tony said, cutting off the list that he was sure would be lengthy. “And no, this is not about them, this is about me.”

“Oh.” Peter sat back looking momentarily relaxed and not so hyper he was going to start climbing the walls. Tony felt a pang of guilt strike him when he looked at Peter’s young face, the boy had already lost so many people, his parents, his Uncle. Like it or not he did see Tony as a Father figure and now he was potentially going to have to face losing him too. Tony hated being the cause of more pain for him, hated that he had to put Peter through this, but the Kid had a right to know what was happening, what may well happen, and it was better he heard this from Tony than from someone else.

“I don’t really know how to tell you this,” he said to Peter, “So I’m just going to say it. I’m not well right now, really not well and it may get worse as the pregnancy progresses, so much so that there is a possibility that I may not survive this pregnancy or the birth.”

Peter’s expressive eyes widened and filled with tears, “Mr Stark?” he whispered, his voice catching in his throat, “No!” he cried shaking his head violently, as if by denying this information he could make it not be real, “You can’t…you.., how? Why?”

Tony took Peter’s hand and squeezed it, “My heart,” he said with a gentle smile, “It was badly damaged nearly ten years ago, damage that had been exacerbated over the years and is now under far more strain as it is supporting not only me but also the Pup,”

Peter frowned, an expression that became a scowl, “How long have you known?” he asked, his voice turning accusatory,

Tony steeled himself, he’d expected anger from the kid, it was natural that he’d be angry, hell Happy had gone and broken a finger punching a wall when he’d heard and he was a grown man not a hormone ravaged adolescent.

“Since I found out I was pregnant.”

“What!” Peter was up off the couch and glaring at Tony, “You knew and you went ahead with the pregnancy anyway? Are you insane? Why didn’t you just…,” he cut himself off as he realized what he was about to say and bit down on his bottom lip,

“Have an abortion?” Tony finished for him, patiently letting Peter shout and get his anger out of him, not that the kid could sustain anger for long it seemed, he quickly snapped to upset again and anxious, very anxious, for Tony, for his approval, his support, hell probably even his love, which he already have. It was impossible not to love Peter, he was adorable in every sense of the word and Tony knew that when he met Dick, Tim, and Damian they would form some kind of unholy alliance that would likely decimate The Tower, The Compound and everywhere else their mischief went.

“I’m sorry,” Peter mumbled, “I shouldn’t have shouted,”

“Come here kid,” Tony said holding out his arms for Peter who fell into a hug, he may have shed a few tears on Tony’s shoulder but the Billionaire pretended not to notice them, knowing that Peter would be mortified if he did. “Its okay, I understand.”

“I don’t want to lose you,” Peter said, sniffing hard, “You’re like…well, you’re everything, to me I mean, and I don’t want you to die.”

“And I won’t,” Tony said, rubbing Peter’s back, “Its not a guarantee, and I’m doing everything the Doctors are telling me to, I’m taking care of myself and taking things easy…,”

“Oh I can totally help you out!” Peter was suddenly beaming excitedly at Tony again, his eyelashes shining with tears but his eyes bright once more, “I’ll do whatever you need me to, hey I can even carry you around!”

“I don’t think it will come to that.”

Both Tony and Peter jumped slightly, and turned to see Bruce Wayne exiting the lift with Alfred, Tim, Damian, and Dick following him.

Bruce was dressed in smart/casual clothes, expensive jeans with a tailored shirt and fitted jacket, designer sunglasses and boots that were polished to brightly they actually shone. Alfred was as always in his three piece suit with his pocket watch and carrying most of the bags, though the boys and Bruce were helping, even Damian who looked very put out about being made to wait on himself.

“Holy sh*t, you’re Bruce Wayne!” Peter yelped, leaping off the sofa, all big eyes and wide grins, if he’d had a tail then it would have been wagging ten to the dozen.

Bruce, who’d been the one to speak gave Peter a small smile, “Indeed I am, and you must be Mr Parker.”

“Yeah, yep, that’s me, Peter Parker, wow! I knew Mr..I mean Tony knew you but I never thought I’d get to meet you, and it is so cool that I am, you are like super cool and kinda baddass and I like totally dig that.”

“Breathe Peter, remember to draw breath at regular intervals,” Tony coaxed as he rose from the couch, rubbing his back as he did, “I actually invited you here to also introduce you to Bruce and his family, since Bruce and I are seeing each other again.”

Tony really didn’t know how it was possible but Peter’s eyes actually got bigger, “Totally f*cking awesome!” he exclaimed

Damian eyed him disdainfully and sniffed, “This is the Spider freak?” he asked, “Does he talk as much in battle, for if so he must announce his presence long before his prey should be able to hear him.”

“Its Spiderman, Asshole, and who the hell are you?” Peter shot back before with Tony or Bruce could speak,

“Oh don’t worry about Demon Spawn, he was dropped on the head as an infant and raised by wolves in outer Mongolia or something!” Tim said with a bright smile, “I’m Tim Drake, pleased to meet you.”

“Pleased to meet you too,” Peter said

“Oh why don’t the two of you get a room?” Damian spat

“Hey, Damian, play nice,” Bruce cautioned getting a death glare from his Son, “Or you’ll be helping Alfred with the laundry for a month when we get home!”

Damian muttered something under his breath and scowled darkly. Not to be out done by his younger Brothers Dick introduced himself next and wrapped an arm about Damian’s shoulders to keep the sulky brat from stomping off to some corner to plot world domination or something.

“So, Auntie Tones, you said something about a PS4?” he asked looking hopeful

“Oh yeah, its in the game room, FRIDAY can you show them the way?” Tony asked

“You got it Boss man.”

“Auntie Tony, you call him auntie?” Peter asked looking to scandalized to laugh,

“I most certainly do not.” Damian coolly stated

“Yeah, no one cares Demon.” Tim said

“Suck it Duck,”

“Its Drake not duck,”

“Don’t call me Demon then,”

“Well don’t act like the spawn of Satan and I won’t.”

Sighing deeply Dick herded the squabbling boys and Peter to the game room, the wall panels lit to show him the way and give the grown ups some time to themselves.

“I do want a tower left you know?” Tony called after them, dreading the damage this interaction would cause,

“I’d not hold your breath on that Master Tony,” Alfred said, “And if your lovely assistant could also show me the way to our rooms I’ll get things set up.”

“Ah no, let the brats do that for themselves,” Bruce said, “You just settle yourself in, Alfred,”

Alfred gave Bruce a pitying look, “If I do that Master Bruce, they will be living out of the suitcases for the weekend, and this entire room will become covered in underwear, used underwear at that!”

Tony wrinkled his nose at the thought and Bruce flushed, he hadn’t spoiled them that much really, had he?

“I’ll show you to the rooms Mr Pennyworth,” FRIDAY chirped

“Much obliged, and its Alfred, Miss,”

“My pleasure, Alfred,” With practised ease Alfred took the bags and followed the directions FRIDAY laid out for him.

Hearing the sounds of yelling already coming from the game room Tony sighed and turned to Bruce, “Shall we go to my lab?” he asked

“How about your bedroom?” Bruce asked, his voice turning husky, “I’ve missed you, very much.”

Tony grinned, “On one condition,”

“Name it.”

“You have to wear the Cowl!”

*****

Avengers Jet

T’Challa had not stopped them leaving Wakanda, but he had made it very clear that they would not be welcomed back within its borders once they had departed.

That was alright though, Steve wasn’t planning to return, not unless Bucky was defrosted and cured and T’Challa had promised he’d be contacted if so. He’d even given them provisions to go with and refuelled the jet for their departure. Enough to get them to Europe. Northern Cyprus to be exact.

Natasha had selected the location, The North of the country did not have an extradition treaty with America so they would be safe there, they were also not one of the 117 countries who voted for the accords which added to the appeal of the country.

“The first thing we do is find a good lawyer,” she said to Steve from the co-pilot chair, Clint was piloting while Sam and Scott were playing chess and Wanda was listening to music on her MP3.

“We need someone capable of going up against Stark Industry Lawyers, which means they’ll cost an arm and a leg.”

“Right,” Steve agreed, he didn’t like the thought of hiring someone like that, someone so greedy and materialistic, but he knew that Natasha was right, Tony’s lawyer would be just the same and if he wanted to win then he would need a lawyer as good as those Tony could afford.

“Sam can’t get access to his money, the Government have locked it up tight, the same with out accounts too, we could try and hack them, but its not likely we’d succeed.” Natasha went on, “However, Clint and I know of off the books cash dumps that Shield had that we can raid, they put money in safety deposit boxes for agents who were on the run and couldn’t get back to HQ and needed to lay low. Deposits of ten to twenty thousand in local currency that we can use.”

“We’ll need a sh*t ton though,” Clint said, “We need to get accommodation, and start to make a nursery, that costs a f*cking fortune, believe me, I know.”

Steve winced, thinking about Clint’s kids, hopefully if they won the case for his parental rights it would give them some leverage with the American government and they’d be allowed to go home. After all, no one would want the baby and Tony uprooted to Europe unnecessarily, the logical thing to do would be to pardon the team and let them go home. Steve daydreamed about that, about them gong back to the compound, a contrite and heavy Tony greeting them, head downcast, hands clutching at his round belly, apologetic and remorseful as he should be. There would have to be several conversations about his behaviour, but Steve would forgive him, he would let Tony know that, would hug him right away, maybe even lift him up and carry him to bed where he would spend several hours learning the changes in Tony’s body and feeling their Son or Daughter kick.

Things would probably be difficult for a while, awkward, but they’d get through them, the team slowly but surely forgiving Tony, as Steve would, and helping them make ready for the birth, Steve couldn’t yet picture his Son or Daughter’s face in his mind, but he could imagine himself beside a tired, sweaty, and ecstatic Tony as their little one was laid on Tony’s chest for the first time, their Sarah or James.
He could imagine showing his little one off before the press and adoring fans, “Baby America, Captain Junior, Mini Cap” would be the nicknames they called as they snapped pictures of the proud Father and adorable new born. Tony would probably want to keep out of the spot light until he got back into shape, he was terribly vain and the press could be so spiteful theses days. Steve would have to make sure that he didn’t try and spend all his time in the gym, the Pup would be the priority after all, not Tony’s ego. Of course the others would help them, little James or Sarah’s Uncles and Aunts helping out, Tony would probably want to hire a nanny but Steve would put his foot down, their Pup wouldn’t be brought up by staff but by himself and Tony. After all, Tony wouldn’t be Iron Man anymore, he wouldn’t be working for SI, he’d be there and could care for the Pup himself, it wasn’t like their equipment upgrades would take that much of his time, and Steve would be there for when he was in the lab so there would be no need for a Nanny at all.

“You know it’ll get nasty in court,” Natasha warned Steve, drawing him out of his day dream, “You’ll need to brace yourself for it.”

“I know,” he said with a smile, “I can take it, whatever it takes, so long as I get my Pup.”

“And get him away from Stark before he has a chance to corrupt or hurt him like he does everyone and everything else.” Wanda said, her ear phone removed, “Let him learn what it is to lose something for once.”

“Its not about that Wanda,” Steve said with a patient smile, “Its about doing whats right for my Son or Daughter.”

“I know,” Wanda said with a bright smile, “And getting him or her away from Stark is the best thing we could ever do.”

Chapter 9

Chapter Text

Despite staying up till after midnight playing PS4 with the Wayne boys, whom he had learned over a dinner of pizza, were in fact Nightwing, Red Robin, and Robin, and Bruce Wayne was in fact Bat Man.

The pizza was a treat for Tony who’d been sticking to his diet “Grudgingly” for weeks now and had managed to wheedle a night of junk food from Bruce on the promise he’d go back to his “Rabbit food” the next day.

Bruce had wilted under the power of Tony’s puppy eyed gaze and agreed, much to the amusem*nt of his sons who had spent the evening teasing him relentlessly.

While Damian was an arrogant little prick who acted as if he were superior to everyone else around him, however, once you got used to his attitude and razor sharp tongue he was pretty good company, and was as intelligent as Bruce and Tony, though darker somehow. There was a darkness to him, his eyes were shadowed with something mysterious and intriguing, something that made his eyes shine with a dangerous gleam.

Peter might be enhanced but he didn’t want to fight with Damian Wayne because he really wasn’t sure he would win.

Dick was easy to get along with. While he was in his twenties and meant to be an adult there was a lot of kid in him, which he easily gave into as he spent time with Peter and his younger brothers. He acted as mediator between Tim and Damian when they started to squabble, and seemed to have genuine respect from Damian which, considering the brats attitude, was amazing. Tim clearly looked up to him as a role model and in quite a few ways imitated him.

Hero-worship was something Peter was very familiar with. He saw Tony as Tim saw Dick, this similarity between them helped them fall into an easy comradery that was likely to lead to a lasting friendship.

Yawning and stretching, Peter got up out of the guest bed he was sleeping in and went into the ensuite bathroom to relieve himself, clean his teeth, and splash some water over his face. He was hungry, his stomach was making itself known and he was in the mood for donuts. Deciding he would shower when he got back to the tower, Peter threw on some clothes and bounded out of his room heading for the lift.

To his surprise, he found he was not the only one awake, Tim, Damian, and Dick were all up and about, sipping coffee and juice, picking through the fridge and cupboards looking for food for breakfast.

“Hey, fancy pancakes?” Dick asked, locating some eggs. Pancakes were one of the few dishes he could actually cook without burning the house down.

“I was actually going to go and get some donuts,” Peter said, “They do low fat ones so Tony can have some too.”

“Boston Kreme,” Tim practically drooled, “And jelly, I love jelly,”

“Blueberry,” Damian said in a firm tone,

Dick set the eggs back down, “I could go for Chocolate glazed, or a Cruller.”

“Lets get muffins too,” Tim said, jumping off the bar stool, he finished his orange juice and took the glass to the sink, rinsing it out, “Bruce likes Apple and Cinnamon muffins, and Alfred likes those English breakfast ones.”

Peter grinned, and patiently waited as the three of them got dressed to go out into New York, Dick remembering to leave a message for the adults before they went so no one would worry if they got up and found that they were missing.

Peter worried briefly, as Damian insisted on going to the most expensive pastry shop in New York to pick up the pastries that he might not have enough money to afford this, but Dick patted his shoulder and said that breakfast would be on them, Bruce had set up a trust fund for him, and was generous with allowances for Tim and Damian so they would pay.

As always when they left the tower, there were photographers hanging around outside looking to get pictures of Tony, and recognizing the Son and adopted Sons of Bruce Wayne, eagerly took photos of them and shouted out questions that they resolutely ignored as they made their way down the street.

“Dick, is Bruce Wayne in the Tower? Are he and Tony back together?”

“Is Bruce the father of Tony’s Pup?”

“What does Bruce think of the pregnancy?”

Unused to the press’s attention, Peter kept his head down, his cheeks flushed and palms sweating as he hurried along with the boys. Damian lead the way, his head held high, nose in the air, a look of contempt on his face for everyone and everything around him. Tim and Dick reacted unconcerned and appeared as relaxed as ever having grown used to the interest in them for being Bruce Wayne’s Sons.

“You don’t think that Bruce or Tony will mind the press knowing about them?” Peter asked feeling a little anxious. While no one had confirmed the speculations, the press would publish their theories over Bruce and Tony’s relationship, which up to now had been kept under wraps.

“I doubt they’ll care,” Dick said with a nonchalant shrug, “They’ve both been dealing with the vultures all their lives, they’re used to this kind of thing.”

“I wonder what Rogers will think,” Tim murmured. Peter mused the same. He’d been shocked to learn that Captain America was the Father of the Pup. He’d originally thought that Bruce might be the Father, but that had been corrected when Tim, Damian, and Dick shared their ideas/schemes to murder Rogers, since he had already fought Rogers, they pumped him for information on fighting styles and weaknesses they could exploit!

Peter was very happy, after hearing some of the plans to torture Rogers to death in explicit detail from Damian, that he was on his side, because he wouldn’t want Damian plotting against him.

*****

FRIDAY informed Tony, when he awoke, that the boys had gone out for donuts and would return soon.

Padding through to the bathroom he used the toilet and turned on the shower, pausing the look in the mirror and wrinkled his nose at the sight of his body, turning left and right and scrutinizing form.
His belly, in his opinion was huge, sporting several stretch marks that he was not loving in the least, his navel was protruding, forming a nub in centre of his abdomen. His pectorals were now breasts, had lost the muscular shape he’d always been rather proud of and now sat rounded and heavy with milk, his nipples enlarged and reddened from extra blood flow. The corded muscles of his arms and legs were softened, having to cut back on exercise and not being allowed to do any heavy lifting in the lab he had naturally lost some definition there which he wasn’t overly happy about. By luck he wasn’t suffering water retention (Yet) so his face, hands, and feet weren’t swollen, but he suspected they would be before the end of the pregnancy. Twisting round he looked at his backside in the mirror, trying to see if that was bigger too, and caught sight of Bruce silently watching him from the doorway.

“Polite people knock,” he said, blushing a little at having been caught like this.

“I never said I was polite,” Bruce said, crossing the bathroom and wrapping his arms about Tony’s waist, or the area he used to have a waist. “You look fine,” he said to Tony, “I know that to you it doesn’t seem that way, I know you feel heavy and too big, but I promise you look perfect to me.”

Tony hummed and leaned back into Bruce’s embrace, “Even with stretch marks?” he asked, looking disdainfully to the purple marks on his stomach that were likely to have company before the end of the pregnancy. Bruce chuckled and nuzzled Tony’s throat,

“Stretch marks and all,”

“I am sorry to interrupt, Boss man,” FRIDAY said, “The boys have returned, and Alfred is making fresh coffee, tea, and hot chocolate.”

“Thanks honey,” Tony said, he looked up a Bruce, “Think we have time for a quicky in the shower?”

Bruce positively growled and just about leaped into the shower, pulling Tony with him.

*****

Northern Cyprus

They stayed on the jet at first, while Clint and Natasha got the money they needed to get a villa, pay for the custody case, and support them while they stayed in Cyprus.

This took five days, Natasha and Clint going to Mainland Greece, to several of the Islands, emptying the Sheild cash drops and managing to get them One-Hundred-Thousand Euro.

This they used to rent a nice Villa for the next six months, with an option to buy once the initial six months were up. The Villa had four bedrooms, One full bathroom, and one washroom, a Kitchen, and a Living room, with a veranda and a small garden surrounded by a two foot rock wall.

The bedrooms were split with Natasha and Wanda sharing one, Sam and Scott sharing another, and Steve and Clint in the third. The fourth was to be the Nursery which they were going to have to spend a lot of money on. Steve could hardly believe the price of cots, prams, pushchairs, and other necessities, how could these things be so expensive? And he would have to buy the best because he knew that Tony would be doing so and couldn’t be seen to be doing less.

With the need of extra beds more money was spent, they all needed new clothes, of course they needed kitchen wear and food, and decent computers to work on, to keep track of what Tony was doing, what the Accords Council were doing, and an eye out for Hydra, they needed decent cars too and bought two large four by fours that could seat them all. This put another dent in their money and they had yet to buy all the things they needed for the nursery, let alone find a lawyer, so, Natasha and Clint went off again, heading this time to Turkey to get more money for them, another twenty-thousand to cover the extra costs.

While they were gone Steve and Sam began looking into lawyers while Wanda and Scott went into the town and amused themselves watching TV and reading papers and magazines. Steve didn’t pay much attention to the papers or gossip rags, never believing what was printed anyway, but one story caught his attention and set his blood boiling.

Photographers had snapped shots of an unknown young man, The Son, and three adopted Sons of Billionaire Gothamite Bruce Wayne, leaving The Tower. Later that weekend they had managed to get further shots of Bruce going out with Tony in a Ferrari to one of the many up market restaurants for what they described as “A romantic meal”

Images had been taken of Bruce pulled out the chair for Tony, holding his hand on the table, grinning indulgently at him while Tony laughed at something, the two gazing adoringly into each others eyes.

This had led the press to going wild over the rekindling of the Billionaires Off Again On Again relationship with rumours running rampant that Bruce was the Father of Tony’s Pup.

“How dare they?” he seethed throwing the paper across the kitchen, “That Pup is mine, not this Gothamite, and who does he think he is moving in on Tony like this? He’s pregnant for God Sake, the bastard is taking advantage of that!”

Clint shrugged from where he sat at the kitchen table flipping through some sports magazine, “Stark and Wayne have been together on and off since the eighties, Stark always runs to him in times of trouble,” he snorted, “Waynes an airhead, a spoiled brat just like Stark, had that kid of his by some unknown woman who didn’t even tell him about said kid for ten years!”

Scott looked up from his mechanical magazine with a frown, “He did adopt those kids though, and he lost his parents tragically,” he looked to Steve, “They were murdered in front of him when he was child, shot in an alley.”

“I saw my parents die too!” Wanda immediately shouted, throwing her juice glass into the sink with such force that it shattered on impact,

“What does that have to do with this?” Scott cried in protest, “I was talking about Bruce Wayne, not you.”

“It’s a difficult subject for her,” Clint said in Wanda’s defence, “Give her a break,” he rose from his seat and went an put his arm about Wanda’s shoulders, pulling her close and letting her bury her face into his chest,

“God sakes” Scott muttered, getting up and going out of the kitchen.

Steve shook his head, “What’s Tony thinking?” he asked out loud, “Getting together with another Alpha, he should know better.”

“He’s a slu*t, he’s always been a slu*t,” Clint said, “And its not like the two of you are bonded or anything.”

Steve winced, that much was true, but he was prepared to bond with Tony, would do so the first chance he got. It was only right that they bonded, for their Son or Daughters sake. He would have to make Tony understand how wrong he was in doing this, how much hurt he was causing everyone. But once he did so he knew they could make it work. Tony just needed the firm guidance of an Alpha to temper him and his bad habits and Steve was the Alpha to do so.

“Hey man,” Sam said, sticking his head around the door, “Nat and I think we’ve found a Lawyer to take on the case.”

Steve let out a breath, “Good,” he said, “The sooner this is all cleared up the better.”

The Lawyer selected was as extortionate as Steve feared he’d be, but he was what he needed to represent him, so he called the office and arranged an appointment to meet with the Lawyer, a Mr Markus Kyriakou for the following day to get the ball rolling.

Going out on to the Veranda that evening he took the flip phone in hand and gave into temptation to call Tony. Immediately a robotic voice told him the call could not be connected as the number was no longer in service. He tried another three times before giving up and dialling Tony’s personal number, this was of course answered by FRIDAY who disconnected the second he spoke and then, when he tried to call again, the number was blocked.

Frustrated, Steve crushed the flip phone in his hand. Why did Tony have to make everything so difficult? Why did he insist on acting so childish even when he was pregnant and should be growing up and thinking of the Pups wellbeing? If he would just stop being so stupid then they could talk things out, get everything sorted and this court case wouldn’t be necessary, but no, Tony had to make a song and dance about everything and was going to continue being difficult, forcing Steve to do these things and waste thousands on legal fees when all Tony had to do was get over his ego and let them come home.

Part of him wondered if Wanda was right about taking full custody of the Pup. If Tony carried on like this, being so self-centred and uncaring about the Pups well-being, then perhaps it would be for the best he not be involved in the Pups life.

Steve hoped it wouldn’t come to that, he really did, but if he wasn’t left with another option then he would seek sole custody and keep his Pup away from Tony Stark.

Chapter 10

Chapter Text

Markus Kyriakou proved to be just as extortionate in his fees as Steve had feared he’d be, he also seemed to find the whole notion of Steve’s demands for parental rights and Custody laughable, though he did not turn down the case and did agree to represent Steve in court.

“You do of course realize that your chances of success are slim to none?” he said, in heavily accented English, “Tony Stark is the Mother and nine times out of ten the court favours the Mother in custody disputes, he also has a permanent place of residence, several of them in fact, and both the income and wealth needed to support a Pup.”

Steve frowned, not liking the lawyers attitude one bit, “Money isn’t everything,” he said, “When I grew up My Dad died when I was young and my Mum struggled to keep a roof over our heads and put food on the table, but she still did it, and she raised me well.”

Kyriakou looked at Steve’s dispassionately, “Raising a family is not cheap, Mr Rogers, there are many expenses to consider. Medical expenses for one, the Pup will need regular visits to a Doctor to monitor development, will need inoculations, both of which will cost you a fair amount of money, and, if you are granted custody, then Mr Stark can charge you for the cost of his own medical care for the entire pregnancy, the birth, and his after care, that alone will add up to several thousand dollars. This also, does not include possible complications, no birth is without risk, not even these days, and not all Pups or Babies are lucky in having good health, if the Infant had health issues then that too will cost you in on going medical care.”

“I’m not looking to go for sole custody,” Steve said, cutting in when Kyriakou paused to take breath, “I want joint custody of the Pup,” he smiled, wanting to appeal to Kyriakou, to show that he was not being unfair on Tony, was not going to rip the Pup from him, that he only wanted what was best for them both. “A Pup or Baby should have two parents, I want that.”

The Lawyer shrugged, “Joint custody will not be cheap either,” he said, “You will have to pay maintenance of the Pup, a weekly or monthly contribution to his or her upbringing, I believe the average is between Four Hundred and Thirty, to Six Hundred and twenty five dollars per month.”

Steve balked at the huge fee, where the hell would he get that kind of money from?

“Why would Tony need that?” he found himself asking, “He’s a Billionaire.”

Kyriakou laughed at the question, apparently finding it amusing, “Whether or not he is rich makes no difference Mr Rogers, Tony Stark will receive these payments to go towards the Pups upbringing, to buy clothing, food, pay medical bills, and educational expenses, the money will not be for him, but for the Pup.”

Steve decided it was best to end this line of conversation right here. Money wasn’t a subject he wanted to get into, and frankly he couldn’t see why Tony would need any money at all, he could afford to pay for everything without an extra couple of hundred a month, anyway, their custody wouldn’t be like Scott and his ex-wife, he and Tony would be living together in the compound, they would be sharing the responsibility of the Pup’s care, he wouldn’t just be sending a check at the end of every month like Scott did and seeing his offspring once a week for a few hours.
“Do you still wish to go ahead?” Kyriakou asked,

“Of course,” Steve said,

“Very well, I will begin legal proceedings,” Kyriakou said, “Before I do, are there any other issues I need to be aware of that might be brought up in court?”

“Well I’m sure you know about the Civil war…,”

Kyriakou waved a hand up dismissively, “Other than that. Anything Mr Stark could use against you in a court of law, anything we could use against him to damage his case against us?”

Steve thought about it, he couldn’t think of anything Tony could use against him, but he could think of several things to use against Tony, he didn’t like doing so, didn’t want to drag the Omega through the mud, but if needs must then he would do so, “He has problems with alcohol,” he said, at last, “He’s also prone to being obsessive and narcissistic, has a volatile temper.”

Kyriakou nodded, “Has he ever been violent toward you?”

“Yes,” Steve said, “He attacked me in Siberia, while in the Iron Man suit, seriously wounded Bucky, and would have killed him had I not prevented him from doing so.”

Kyriakou made a note of this, “Very well Mr Rogers, I will compile the case and be in touch, I suggest you prepare yourself. Custody cases get ugly, this will not be easy, especially since you are a wanted fugitive,”

“I know, but I’m prepared,” Steve said with a smile, “I’m sure that will be resolved once this case is sorted,” the lawyer did not look convinced but nodded and held out his hand to Steve to shake,

“I will do my best for you, Mr Rogers, but I do not promise miracles.”

Well, that was pessimistic but also fair, Steve figured that Lawyers always said stuff like that, they didn’t make promises in case it didn’t work out and thus got sued. Still, it didn’t matter, once they got to court and he got to put his side of things over everything would sort itself out.

As he drove back to their villa, Steve indulged in a little day dreaming.

He imagined making ready the nursery at the Compound with Tony, himself on the ladder painting the ceiling while Tony did the lower portion of the walls, it wouldn’t be safe for him to be climbing ladders in his condition after all. He imagined Tony being shy and introverted, as he had been on the few interactions they’d had post ULTRON, before the Accords began.
Tony would be feeling insecure and vulnerable, wouldn’t understand his place or that Steve wanted him as well as the Pup. That was probably why he’d run to this Wayne character, he needed the comfort and support of an Alpha, wasn’t strong enough to do this alone, well, of course he wasn’t, he needed his Alpha besides him, making sure he was taking care of himself. He was likely afraid that he was going to have to do it all alone, would be a single parent, thought that Steve didn’t want him, had only had a one night stand with him. Steve would have to put that thought to rights, though, it wouldn’t do Tony any harm to have to work for his approval, to understand that there were consequences to his actions, that He couldn’t just have everything fall into his lap if he threw enough of a tantrum. Making Tony wait a while before he bonded with him would teach the spoiled Omega to value having Steve as his Alpha, would make him appreciate it more. He would not be cruel to Tony, nor abusive as some scorned Alpha’s might, to make their Omega’s atone, he would be professional towards him, friendly but stand offish, make Tony wait and wonder and wish for him before he finally gave the Omega what he wanted.

Wayne wouldn’t be a problem, Steve figured he’d be long gone as soon as he knew that the court case had been lost and Tony’s true Alpha was coming home. It was probably his idea to keep Tony from reaching out to Steve, an attempt to keep Tony to himself, a way of controlling a vulnerable and pregnant Omega.

Steve shook his head in disgust, such Alphas were unfit to be mates and parents, he would make damned sure that Gothamite never came near Tony again if it was the last thing he ever did.

*****

Gotham

Bruce had been to every jeweller in the city and viewed every single item they had in stock before he finally found what he wanted.

A solitaire cut, three carat diamond set between two smaller single carat diamonds onto a band of flawless white gold.

It cost him well over a Hundred thousand dollars but it was more than worth it. Or at least, Bruce hoped it would be worth it. This was not a mere trinket he was buying, this was an engagement ring.

Somehow, despite his numerous romantic partners, Bruce had never seen himself getting married, never imagined buying an engagement ring. Maybe because aside from Tony he had never really felt like any of his relationships would be long term, Selina was perhaps the closest, but Selina was not the sort of woman who settled down, She was too much of a free spirit, not only had she grown up on the streets, she liked living on the streets, she liked the freedom, playing by no ones rules but her own. Marriage for her would be like a cage, she’d never take to it, no matter how large or luxurious a cage it was.

Tony was Bruce’s soul mate, if such things existed, he was the only one he’d ever really regretted losing over the years, the only one he’d wanted to do things differently with and wished he’d been able to turn back time and change the mistakes of his past.

He’d not thought he would get the chance to do so, thought that he would spend the rest of his life alone, save for brief and meaningless trysts to warm his bed on occasion.

But by a twist of fate he had another chance with Tony and he wasn’t going to waste it.

This time they would make it work. They were both older now, wiser, (He hoped) less quick to temper and mellowed some what by age and experience, matured and ready for this.

Well, Bruce hoped they were, hoped he was mature enough, though his palms were sweating like crazy at the thought of proposing, he wasn’t even certain how he’d do it, if he should just come out and say it to Tony, present him with the ring on the spur of the moment, or if he should arrange a romantic meal, or something fancy.

He was in fact still debating this when he walked through the manor, to the family room and stopped dead in the doorway at the sight before him.

Tony was stretched out on the sofa, his feet up on a pouffe, his maternity jeans rolled down, and X-L T-Shirt rolled up to bare his big belly, which Damian, Dick, Tim, and a visiting Peter were touching and placing chocolate coated raisons, popcorn, and M+Ms on!

“Hey, there he goes again!” Tim cheered, as a raison seemed to jump on Tony and then rolled off his belly to be caught by Tim and popped into his mouth,

“Damn, he’s getting active in there,” Dick mused,

“Don’t I know it,” Tony drawled, allowing popcorn to be placed on his belly and laughing along with the boys when it was enthusiastically kicked off! “I think he’s going to be a kick boxer.”

“Maybe a soccer player,” Peter said running his hand over where the popcorn had been, which Tim and Dick were gobbling up, he grinned as he clearly felt a thump under his palm, “Hey, little Max, are you having fun in there?” he asked, addressing the bump, “Have you got another kick for your Uncle Peter?”

“Can Max hear us, do you think?” Tim asked curiously, the question was directed at Tony, but it was Damian who answered,

“They say a Foetus can hear the Mother’s voice, but no one knows if other voices can be heard, and even if they are the foetus would not understand what is being said as the brain is too under developed.” He smirked obnoxiously, “Rather like yours Duck!”

“Screw you Demon!”

“Hey, not in front of Max,” Peter admonished, “You’re setting him a bad example,”

“Or her,” Tony said running a hand over the upside of stomach,

“Nah, its gonna be a boy,” Dick said, “I’m sure of it,”

“Yeah, how would you know?” Damian demanded, Dick tapped his nose,

“I’m psychic,”

“Bullsh*t!”

“Damian, language.” Bruce admonished from the door, finally alerting everyone to his presence,

“Oh, hey Bruce, we’re playing with the Pup,” Tim said, and placed more popcorn on Tony’s bump for Max to kick off,

“So I see,” Bruce said, going over to the sofa and dipped to kiss Tony, “He’s decided its playtime, has he?” as the Popcorn was kicked away, he placed his warm palm over Tony’s bump and felt a thump from within, “Maybe he’ll tire himself out and you won’t be kept up tonight,” he said to Tony, who rolled his eyes,

“I won’t hold my breath on that.” Since Max had started to kick he’d been very restless at night, keeping Tony awake as he squirmed around in his watery home, wriggling all over Tony’s bladder which sent him hurrying for the bathroom, cursing under his breath all the way there. Thumping at his stomach and intestines which gave Tony heart burn and indigestion, and just generally making his presence known even as Tony pleaded with him to settle down so he could get some sleep.

To try and make up for the lack of what he was getting at night, Tony was having to nap during the day, which of course was cutting into his work in the lab, he’d been resistant at first, but then become so exhausted that he just couldn’t keep from giving in anymore, and so, between the hours of two and five he would go and take a nap everyday and for once let his R+D department do the majority of the work instead of doing it himself.

Bruce had never experienced a pregnancy before so he didn’t know what was normal or what wasn’t. He knew the Pup had an accelerated growth, was much larger than average for this stage of development so he figured that the movement was more forceful because of that, because damn did those kicks feel strong some times.

“Maybe you should drink camomile tea before bed,” Damian suggested, and Tony’s disgusted look could have done him proud!

“Tastes like cats piss!” Tony grumbled, he was still resentful over his lack of coffee, and Bruce knew that he’d sweet talked Peter into getting him some, along with a few other restricted items like Burgers and Pizza. The start struck boy just couldn’t say no to his idol, and Tony was not above using that when it came to getting a caffeine fix or junk food.

“Hot cocoa works for me,” Peter offered, “Aunt May makes it for me properly, warmed milk and everything, not the instant crap.”

Tony smiled a nostalgic smile, “Ana used to make that for me when I was Pup.” He murmured, probably not meaning to say it aloud, “If I got nightmares then I’d go to her and Jarvis, they didn’t mind if I woke them, and would make me hot cocoa and tell me stories until I fell back to sleep.”
The boys all looked to Bruce, who nodded his head to the door, indicating that they should give Tony some space right now, when he got reminiscent he often got emotional, and Bruce knew he wouldn’t want them to see that.

Making excuses the boys left, and Bruce moved round to sit beside Tony on the sofa, putting an arm around him and letting him talk, “Do you think they’d have been proud of me?” he asked Bruce, “I’d like to think they’d have been proud, but I don’t know, I was so young when they died, and I did so much wrong, messed up so much, maybe they’d not be happy with me, would be disappointed in me.”

“I don’t believe that,” Bruce said, softly, “I think they’d have been very proud of you, and that they loved you very much.” Tony’s relationship with Ana and Jarvis had been very much like his with Alfred, only instead of having his parents taken from him too young like Bruce had, Tony’s had been negligent and uninterested in him, leaving him with no one to care for him except Jarvis and his wife. They had been Tony’s parents in all but blood, had really been the ones to raise him, While Howard had been too obsessed with his work and finding Captain America, and Maria had been too overwhelmed by Tony, and too keen to blot out the misery her marriage had become in endless co*cktails and Valium, the kind old Butler and his wife had brought Tony up and cared for him until he was sent away to school, and then they had kept in touch with him, had him with them during the holidays when his parents were too busy or just couldn’t be bothered to be with their Son. Losing them had been devastating for Tony, perhaps even more than the loss of his parents.

Bruce wished that he had met them once in his life, was certain he would have gotten along with them, but sadly they had already been deceased when he and Tony had met.

“I miss them,” Tony murmured, he sniffed and Bruce felt a dampness on his sleeve, Tony was crying again, something that had been frequent during his pregnancy, “I miss them so much, Bruce.”

“I know, Honey, I know you do,” he said pulling Tony closer and kissing his head, “But I’m sure they’re watching over you, and love you very much.”

Tony looked up at him, his brown eyes shining with tears, “Do you really believe that?” he asked, sniffing a little,

“I do,” Bruce said, “Just as I know that you are going to make a wonderful Mamma for Max and that we’ll raise him or her together, along with our four trouble makers,” He said four as he was including Peter in this, the boy might not be officially adopted by either him or Tony but he was definitely family now.

Maybe this wasn’t the best time, maybe he should wait and do it another way, but Bruce decided to throw caution to the wind and reached into his pocket, taking out the small velvet box and opened it up, revealing the ring inside, “Tony, will you marry me?”

Chapter 11

Chapter Text

The news of Tony and Bruce’s engagement only remained secret for about a day, before someone spotted the ring on Tony’s finger and posted a picture of snapchat, from there the internet exploded with congratulations for the couple, photos of the two of them together, photo-shopped images of them in wedding suits under a Churches arch. Hashtags began trending Billionairehubbys, BillionaireDads, Pupmakesthree!

Both Tony and Bruce’s press offices were inundated with demands for interviews and offers for official rights to the wedding photos, even documentary crews wanted a piece of them, wanting to film their big day, and the weeks leading up to it.

The only responses given were official statements from Tony and Bruce, saying that they were very happy, thanked everyone for their congratulations, and that their wedding would be a small and private affair with family and friends only.

Tony had to release a second statement to deny the rumours that Bruce was the Pups Father. He did not say that Steve was in fact the Father, simply stated that it was a once night stand and the Father was not going to be involved.

Speculation on who the Father was did follow this, with people even wondering if Rhodey was the Pup-Daddy at one point. Something which sent Tony into a fit of hysterics when he saw Rhodey’s insulted expression, as Vision read the posting off line.

“How could they even remotely think that I’m the Father?” Rhodey demanded,

Tony shrugged and looked down at the schematics in his hands, frowning when they didn’t appear to make sense. Between them, he, Vision, and Rhodey were setting up the nursery in the mansion.

The entire Mansion had been redecorated, including the nursery, which Tony had painted in violet and mauve, with stencils of birds painted onto the walls. The nursery at the tower was identical but instead of birds, there were teddy bear stencils on the walls.

Bruce was in the process of arranging a nursery at his manor, in the room adjacent to his bedroom as his Brats had suggested and were still ribbing him over. He had decided on an aquatic theme for nursery when Alfred had firmly vetoed any notion of bats!

He’s gone with turquoise for the background colour with a decoration of tropical fish in bright colours.

Tony wondered if Bruce and the boys were having as much trouble with putting the crib together as he was. Honestly, it would have been easier to have just built the damn thing from scratch in his work shop that try to deal with this shop bought nightmare!

“I don’t think that goes there…,” Vision mused, frowning as he held up one of the legs, tipping it up and down in his hand as if he were testing its weight and composition,

“I’m not sure where any of this goes,” Tony grunted shaking his head, he scowled at the schematics again, “This is absurd, I can build high tech suits of armour, miniaturize arc reactors in caves, survive going to space and delivering nukes to genocidal aliens, but I can’t build a damn crib!” He tossed down the schematics in disgust and rubbed his aching back,

“Its insulting,” Rhodey said, apparently still going on about the rumours of his fathering the Pup, “I would like to think that I am the sort of man who would stand by someone I impregnated, supported them even if we weren’t in a relationship, I wouldn’t just leave them to fend for themselves.”

“Oh get over it Platypus,” Tony said, waving a dismissive hand, “People like to gossip about crap, forget about it.”

“Why would people wish to discuss bodily waste?” Vision inquired, Tony snorted in amusem*nt while Rhodey just rolled his eyes and sighed heavily,

“Bossman, the Bosslady has arrived,” FRIDAY informed Tony, “And I should warn you that she looks to be on the war path.”

“Does she have paint on her face too?” Tony asked, making to get up, but found he couldn’t shift himself without the help of Rhodey, “God, I’m getting huge,” he complained, “I can’t even see my feet anymore, I only know that they’re still attached because they hurt.”

Rhodey chuckled rubbed Tony’s bump, “It’ll be worth it in the end,” he assured him, “And once you’re healed and back on your feet, me and Bruce can help you shed any extra pounds in the gym.”

Tony gave him weak smile, not looking forward to all the work he’d likely have to put in to getting back into shape. However, he didn’t have a chance to dwell on this, as Pepper appeared in the doorway, her expression one that he could only describe as livid.

“Umm, so far as I know I haven’t done anything to earn your ire lately Peppercorn,” Tony said to the irate woman, “So who’s been bugging you, where are they, and do you want me to kill them?”

Pepper’s expression softened a little, though her eyes remained steely and the veins in her temples pulsed with anger.

“What’s going on?” Rhodey asked,

Pepper glanced at him, then back to Tony, “I think we should all sit down,” she said.

Something in her voice set Tony on edge, whatever this was about it wasn’t good news, “What’s going on, Pep?” he asked, folding his arms above the bump and set his feet apart refusing to move.

“Tony, maybe we should…,” Rhodey began, but Tony cut him off,

“No, I want to know what’s going on.”

Pepper sighed, she didn’t want to do this, didn’t want to be the bearer of bad news, but she thought it would be best that this come from her, rather than one Tony’s lawyers.

“I have some news,” she said, trying to figure how best to brake this to Tony,

“News?” the Billionaire repeated, raising an eyebrow,

“About Rogers,” Rhodey growled at the mention of Rogers, and Vision shifted, looking uncomfortable, “I’m afraid he has heard of the pregnancy, as is not unexpected considering the media storm, and he has worked out the dates and realized that he is the Father.”

Tony sucked in a breath sharply. Like Pepper had said, this was not unexpected, he’d known that Steve would learn of the pregnancy eventually and figure out by the dates that he was the Father. But he had been hoping that it would not be for a very long time to come.

“I assume you didn’t just come to tell us this, Ms Potts,” Vision said,

“No, I didn’t,” Pepper confirmed, she gave Tony a sympathetic look, “He and the rogues have settled in Northern Cyprus, there’s no extradition treaty so they are safe there. They, or rather Rogers has sought out a lawyer, and he is petitioning for joint custody of the Pup.”

*****

“I still think we should take him to the hospital.”

“No, he’s alright, he just needs to rest,”

“We should get a Doctor just in case, call his midwife and OBGYN.”

“No wait, I think he’s waking up,”

“Tony? Honey can you hear me?”

Tony groaned as he opened his eyes, gazing up to see Pepper, Vision, and Rhodey standing over him, all looking worried and stressed.

“What happened?” he asked, pushing himself up, he was laying down on his bed and had no idea how he’d gotten there. The last thing he remembered was Pepper telling him about Steve…., Oh, yeah, now he remembered.

When the news had come he’d felt like he couldn’t breathe, had felt horribly dizzy and sick, he’d heard Rhodey, Pepper, and Vision talking to him, asking if he was alright, but he’d not been able to answer, the floor had been rushing up to meet him and then everything had gone black.

“You fainted,” Vision said, taking Tony’s wrist to measure his pulse,

“You had a panic attack,” Rhodey said, giving Tony a gentle smile, “How do you feel now?”

How did he feel? Tony really wasn’t sure there was an answer to that except worried, “We…, I need to speak to my lawyers,” he said to Pepper, she nodded,

“I’ve already contacted our legal department to set up a counter suite, while this will go to court I doubt very much that Rogers’ stands a hope in hell,”

“He is Captain America,” Tony murmured, setting his hand over his belly when Vision released his wrist,

“Your pulse is elevated,” The Android said, “One hundred and fifty at rest is not good,”

“I thought the heart rate increased in pregnancy,” Rhodey said, looking at Vision, who nodded,

“It does, however 150 is still a little too fast, especially since Tony is at rest, not doing any activity right now.”

“Maybe we should go to the hospital,” Pepper murmured, but Tony shook his head and made to get up,

“I’m fin…,” he didn’t finish the sentence as his attempt to get vertical resulted in his head spinning once more, and he would have fallen to the ground had it not been for Rhodey’s quick reflexes. The older man helped him get back on the bed and ran a hand over Tony’s forehead as if he were feeling for a fever,

“I’m calling the doctor,” Pepper said decisively, Tony made a noise of protest, but she was already dialling the number and walking out of the room,

“Shouldn’t someone call Mr Wayne?” Vision asked,

“No!” Tony cried, right as Rhodey yelled,

“Yes!”

“No, I don’t want him worrying,” Tony protested to Rhodey, who ignored this, looking to Vision,

“Call him, explain the situation,”

“Of course,” Vision replied and phased from the room,

“I’ll never get used to him doing that,” Rhodey murmured, with a dramatic shudder, he looked back at Tony with a small smile, “Are you in pain anywhere?”

“No, or no more than usual,” Tony replied, he rolled his eyes at Rhodey’s worried look, “I’m six months gone with a giant pup, Rhodey, everything hurts!”

Rhodey huffed a small laugh, “No chest pains though? Tingling in your arm, tightness in the chest or pain in the jaw?”

“No, I’m not having a heart attack,” Tony said, moving to sit up again, he sighed and rubbed his face tiredly, “What am I going to do?” he asked, “What if Rogers wins the case? He still has fans and people that support him, what if they decide Max will be better off with him and they make me give him or her up?” There was genuine fear in Tony’s voice that made Rhodey’s blood boil. He longed to get his hands on Rogers, to beat him into a bloody pulp for all the damage he’d done to Tony, for all the further damage his custody case was going to do. Sure Tony could afford the best lawyers and put together one hell of a counter suite, but that didn’t mean that it wouldn’t be stressful for Tony, and stress was one thing he needed to avoid right now.

Vision chose that moment to phase back into the room, making both of them jump, “I swear I am getting you a collar with a damn bell!” Rhodey groused,

“Mr Wayne is on his way,” Vision said to Tony, who pulled a face,

“How did he sound? Pissed?”

“Murderous would be more accurate,” Vision replied,

“He isn’t the only one,” Rhodey murmured, grinding his teeth as he clenched his jaw, he lifted his head as Pepper’s high heels announced her presence before she entered the room,

“The Doctor’s on his way,”

*****

Since it was several hours drive from Gotham to New York, Bruce elected to use one of Wayne Enterprises helicopters and flew to the tower, landing on the pad and be welcomed into the building by Vision.

To say he was furious was an understatement.

He’d wondered if Rogers would try something like this once he heard about the pregnancy, but he had hoped, foolishly it seemed, that the man would at least have enough decency to stay the hell away from the Omega he’d already hurt so much. But no, it appeared that Rogers didn’t have a decent bone in his body.

How Rogers could think that a court would ever grant him custody was beyond Bruce. The man had no job, no income, no permanent home, and was wanted for several criminal charges, on those grounds no one would grant him so much as visitation rights, let alone custody of a Pup.

No doubt he would try to use his propaganda to win the judges approval, make the song and dance (No pun intended) about how he stood up for the little guy, was on the side of righteousness and goodness, blah, blah, blah. He probably thought himself justified in demanding parental rights simply because he’d impregnated Tony, had the same out dated views on sexual politics as he did everything else.

Well, if he thought that those who loved Tony were going to take this lying down then he was in for one hell of a wake up call, because Bruce was prepared to fight tooth and nail for Tony to get sole custody and for Rogers to never be allowed in the same state as them, let alone the same room.

As he stepped off the chopper he nodded to Vision, the two of them ducking under the blades and headed into the penthouse.

“How is he?” he asked Vision,

“The Doctor is checking him over as we speak,” Vision, replied, “He fainted when Ms Potts told him the news, and has suffered further dizzy spells,”

Bruce pursed his lips and clenched his fists, wanting to hit something, preferably Rogers face.

Pepper was on the phone when they came in, and Rhodey was pacing the room, looking rather like a caged beast looking for an escape route.

“Thank you, yes, yes I have all the evidence, credit card receipt, CCTV footage from the bar and the hotel, plus a lab report on what his Blood Alcohol content would have been,” Pepper said into her phone, “I hoped it wouldn’t come to this, but I don’t want to take any chances. With The Black Widow undoubtedly at his side, Rogers will go for deformation of Tony’s character, so I want us prepared to do the same back to him, with all the evidence needed to back it up.”

Catching Rhodey’s eye, Bruce nodded for him to come over, and together they walked to the bar, which was stocked with as many soft drinks as it was hard liquor, “What’s she doing?” he asked the Colonel, who set about pouring himself a drink and motioned to a second glass, Bruce nodded his head and took the scotch Rhodey poured gratefully,

“She’s keying the lawyers up with evidence that Rogers raped Tony the night Max was conceived,” Rhodey said, taking a seat on one of the bar stools and swirling the ice in his glass, “She was worried he might try something like this, so she took steps just in case.”

Bruce nodded, grateful for Pepper’s forward planning,

“We’ve also got the suitcams recording of the fight in Siberia, and the video of Barnes killing the Starks, and Rogers admitting that he knew of the murder two years prior to Tony finding out.”

“That alone will damn him,” Bruce said, “Failure to report a crime, is a crime, and it was a double murder, he’d be looking at a long stretch if not a life sentence for that alone, and he can dress it up however he wants, his not going to the authorities with the information he had was, by the laws view point, Accessory after the fact, and aiding and abetting a criminal.”

“Which with a rape accusation, terrorism charges, resisting arrest, prison braking, multiple charges of ABH, GBH, and wrongful death, he doesn’t stand a snowflakes chance in hell of winning this case.”

“Let us hope that the judge agrees.” Vision intoned, making both men leap about a foot in the air at his sudden and silent appearance,

“Seriously, I am getting you that damn collar before you give me a heart attack!” Rhodey exclaimed.

Presently, the OBGYN came out of Tony’s bedroom and was met in the centre of the living area by Pepper, Vision, Rhodey, and Bruce.

“He’s sleeping,” he said, “His blood pressure is a little high, and his pulse rate is up, but considering the shock he’d just had, that is not unexpected, and neither is cause for concern right now, so long as it gets no higher.”

“And the fainting?” Bruce asked,

“Anxiety,” The Doctor replied, “Not my area I’m afraid, you’ll need to consult a psychiatrist for such matters. As for his physical health, I’ve put him on bed rest for the next two days, and I want him to have complete rest, no activity at all until his blood pressure comes back down. Then I want to see him at the hospital for another check up. If it has not come down then he’ll be on bed rest until the birth.”

“Damnit,” Rhodey muttered, “He was doing so well, Rogers just has to go and f*ck everything up!”

“We won’t let him f*ck this up,” Pepper said, squeezing Rhodey’s arm, “We’ll sort this out, Rogers won’t win, we won’t allow it.”

“Can I go and see him?” Bruce asked, longing to get to Tony.

“So long as you don’t wake him,” The Doctor said, he glanced at his watch, “I’m afraid I must go, but if you need me don’t hesitate to call, and if he starts to worsen take him straight to the hospital.”

“We will, and thank you Doctor,” Pepper said, shaking the mans hand,

“I’ll show you out,” Vision said, with a smile, and guided the Doctor to the lift.

While Rhodey and Pepper sat down, talking quietly, Bruce headed to Tony’s bedroom, quietly letting himself in and made his way over to the bed. Tony was curled up on his side, arms wrapping around himself, with his legs pulled up into foetal position.

Not wanting to wake him, Bruce dropped a gentle kiss on Tony’s forehead and carefully got onto the bed behind him, wrapping his arms about the Omega, forming a protective cocoon about him.

“I won’t let him take Max from you, Tony,” He whispered, quietly, “No matter what it takes I won’t let him win, He’s taken enough from you already, he’s not getting anything else, you and Max are mine now, we’re family, and nobody takes family from me.”

*****

Cyprus

Steve tossed the newspaper across the room in disgust. On the front page there was a feature about Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne’s engagement, with a clear picture of Tony’s left hand, sporting a large and clearly very expensive engagement ring.

The two had confirmed their engagement, but not set any dates, and were not going to have any press at their wedding, once they had planned it.

Steve’s only consolation was that Tony had denied the rumours that Wayne was the Pups Father. But he had not said who was, refused to name the Father at all.

How Tony could do this, could even think about getting engaged to another Alpha was beyond Steve. Was he really so desperate for support that he would throw himself to the first Alpha he could find so he didn’t have to raise the Pup alone? Didn’t he realize that all he had to do was swallow his damn pride, call Steve, apologise and get this mess sorted out, and Steve would go home, and they’d be a family.

Why did Tony have to be so stubborn, so arrogant? If he’d just get over his damn ego for a moment then there would be no need of this court case, no need to waste so much money, yet, because Tony couldn’t get past this and grow up, they were going to have to spend thousands, just so Steve could get home and start taking care of both Tony and the Pup.

“Stark’s a whor*,” Wanda said, coming the room and sitting down the bed besides Steve, “Don’t let him upset you, we’ll get the Pup from him and everything will be fine,”

“He’s not a whor*,” Steve said, frowning at her language, “He’s just…, misguided, he needs the stabling influence of an Alpha,”

Wanda scowled at that, turned her gaze towards the paper and Tony’s image with Bruce Wayne, her expression turned hateful and her eyes filled with red, as she lifted the paper and began to twist, tear, and shred it into confetti.

“You should go for sole custody, Steve,” she said to him, as he opened his mouth to chide her for making a mess with the paper, “Stark is unfit to be a parent, nothing can redeem him, you should get the Pup away from him, and we’ll raise him or her together.”

Steve smiled at Wanda, “We’ll be doing that anyway, Wanda,” he said, “All of us, we’ll be living at the compound, and between us we can make up for Tony’s short comings,”

“But…,”

“Now don’t you have a hand to hand tutorial with Natasha?”, Wanda let out a breath and nodded, getting to her feet she stalked from the room, glaring down at the remains of the paper and imagining it was Tony she had shredded. Clearly Steve still thought Tony could be redeemed, was worth his time, but he was wrong, and she would make him see that. Once she did, he would turn from Stark, would see her, really see her, as a woman, and a Mother to his Pup, and they’d fall in love and be the family that she had longed for since losing her own.

All that stood in her way was Stark, and he wouldn’t be there for long, one way or another she would eliminate the threat he presented and build the family she dreamed of.

Chapter 12

Chapter Text

Kyriakou called Steve into his office several days after Tony had been alerted about Steve’s desire to gain joint custody. He was not really surprised when not only Steve came, but all of the Rogues. Having read about the team he had figured they would come in force, probably to show a united force. Perhaps they thought this made them seem strong, that their unified front would be admirable, and, in other circ*mstances that would probably be true. But coming into a lawyers office like this, it just made them appear like a common street gang showing it’s muscle.

Nodding to his Secretary, Kyriakou showed the Rogues into his office, beckoning for some of them to sit, while the others would have to stand.

“Well, I have approached Mr Stark’s legal team and filed an official suite for you to seek joint custody of the Pup Mr Stark carries,” Kyriakou said, as he sat down behind his desk, and picked up a very elegant gold plated fountain pen, both to take notes and to give his hands something to do with.
hClint snoted, “I’ll bet Stark’s thrown a hissy fit over that,”

“Hush,” Natasha hissed, She looked to Kyriakou, “Go on,”

Kyriakou nodded, “I have had word back. Not unexpectedly Mr Stark has decided to challenge your claim for joint custody, is going for sole custody and to have you stripped of parental rights permanently,”

The words struck Steve hard, but he swallowed them down, making himself take them on the chin. Like Kyriakou said, this was not unexpected, this was Tony lashing out, this was Tony’s narcissism acting up, he was thinking with his pride, not with his head, and inevitably, as it had been in the past it would be his undoing.

“I have also applied to the US for temporary clemency to be given to all of you so you may enter the country for the court hearing,”

“We’ll be going to America for that?” Scott asked, surprised, “I would have thought we’d be doing it in this country.”

Kyriakou shook his head, “That is simply not possible. Owing to Mr Stark’s health he cannot fly at present, so, the court case will have to take place in America.”

“His health?” Steve repeated, frowning, “You mean his pregnancy?”

Kyriakou shrugged, “I have not been given details, nor do I expect to be, Mr Stark’s medical status is confidential,”

Natasha made a humming noise and tapped her finger nails on the desk. Confidential it maybe, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t hack a medical database and find out what Stark was hiding.

“Now,” Kyriakou said, “Our case hinges on the claims that Mr Stark is not fit to be a parent, due to alcoholism, destructive and violent behaviour, and an incapability to take on true adult responsibility.”

“To say the least,” Sam murmured, recalling Tony shooting him right after Rhodes had fallen. Though, to be fair, had the situation been reversed and Sam had been the one seeing his friend laying broken on the ground, then he would probably have reacted much the same as Tony. But, this rash and impulsive behaviour showed Stark’s volatile and impulsive nature. Not something that should be around a child, at least not unchecked. Steve would help be the calming influence, give the kid stability, something he or she would certainly not get from Stark.

“Now, while we are pursuing a joint custody claim, I am moving to a motion for yourself to be made Custodial parent.” Kyriakou informed Steve, “This means that you will majority custody of the Pup and Mr Stark will have court approved visitation, he will also be the one to pay the child support to you.”

Clint looked ecstatic at this, and Steve couldn’t help breathe a sigh of relief, since he had been worried about having to pay Tony up the six hundred dollars a month, though why he should when Stark was a Billionaire, Steve hadn’t a clue. Being made the custodial parent sounded great, that way Tony could be involved but would not be a harmful influence on the Pup. A dark part of Steve suggested that it would also be a good leverage on him to make him leave this Bruce Wayne and come home to Steve. He didn’t want to dangle their Pup over Tony’s head like a carrot, with a promise of being around the Pup full time if only Tony stopped behaving so recklessly, but Tony was as stubborn as a mule, he would likely need a push, and the need to be with his Pup all the time might just be the one he needed.

“Will they take the Pup straight from him, the second he delivers?” Wanda asked, a malicious glee lighting up her eyes, at the thought of Tony screaming in anguish as his new born was carried away from him without even being given the chance to hold him or her.

“Ah, no, I doubt it,” Kyriakou said, “It is likely that a recommendation will be made for the Pup to remain with the Mother for the first three months so he can nurse,”

“Breast is best,” Scott said, quoting the speech midwives gave,

Wanda snorted and screwed her nose up, “This is Stark we’re talking about, anything he produces will be toxic, the kid will be better off on the bottle.”

Steve shook his head, “No, everyone knows that Mothers Milk is rich in nutrients, it helps strengthen the immune system for one thing,”

“It will give the Kid the best start in life,” Clint agreed, “Laura nursed all ours for as long as she could, however,” He smirked, “That doesn’t mean Stark has to actively nurse, he can express milk, that way little James or Little Sarah will be getting the best nutrition and Stark needn’t be more involved that completely necessary.”

Wanda positively gleamed at this, the thought of arrogant, spoiled, self-involved Tony Stark being milk like a cow on a daily basis thrilled her. She would have to find a way to get images of it. Closing her eyes she indulged in picturing a weeping Tony being pinned down, his milk heavy breasts roughly handled by uncaring midwives, milking them like udders, heedless to his cries of pain. God, yes! The thought of him suffering like that would be better than having him dead.

“Let’s cross that bridge if and when we come to it,” Steve said, turning back to the lawyer, “Do you know how soon we’ll get a court date?”

“I am hopeful that it will be within the next six to eight weeks,” Kyriakou replied, “In the meantime, I urge all of you to keep a low profile, it will help show the court that you are not the dangerous individuals that you have been painted as.”

“What does that mean, exactly?” Wanda asked, her eyes flashing dangerously, “Are we on house arrest, like Stark did to me?”

Kyriakou flinched away from the Witch, he knew of what she could do, the whole world knew of what she could do, and he didn’t want her violating his mind as she done to so many others.

“He doesn’t mean that, For Christ sakes chill out!” Scott snapped at the young woman, “He mean keep out of trouble, not to get into compromising situations, avoid anything that could lead to an altercation.”

The Lawyer smiled gratefully at Scott, “Precisely,” he cleared his throat, looking again to Steve, “Do you intend for all of you to be living together with the Pup?”

“Of course!” Steve said, wondering why Kyriakou would even bother asking such a question,

“Why?” Natasha asked, leaning back in her chair and crossing her legs, making sure Kyriakou got a good look at them, though he did not seem the slightest bit interested.

“An argument could be made that you would not be providing a suitable environment for a young Pup,” Kyriakou explained,

“WHAT?” Wanda exploded, red mist flaring in her hands,

“How are we unsuitable?” Clint demanded, “f*ck me, I’ve raised three Kids of my own, and Lang here has a daughter, we’ll be the best support Steve could ever hope for in raising one of his own.”

“He’ll need help and support, especially in the first few weeks when he’s getting the Pup into a routine,” Sam said,

Kyriakou let them all say their piece before he spoke again, “Except, when that argument is presented in court, it could be argued that if Mr Rogers is unable to cope with the Pup on his own, then he should not be given custody.”

It was a logical argument, even the Rogues had to admit that, though Wanda screwed her face up into an ugly scowl, “You bet Stark’s f*cking lawyers will make that argument,”

“They’ll likely argue that you are not safe to be around Pups, Miss Maximoff,” Kyriakou daringly said, “You’re…., shall we say, mistakes, have been well publicized, it is well known that you do not have complete control of your powers, your being around such a young Pup may not be seen as advisable to a court.”

Wanda looked both hurt and furious by this suggestion, “I would never hurt him!”

“Not intentionally, but accidents happen,” Kyriakou said, he looked to Steve, “You have stated that the compound is where you wish to live,”

“Yes,” Steve said, “It is our home,”

“It is also a base of, for arguments sake, military type operations, a military base if you will,”

Sam let out a low groan and slumped his head forward, “They don’t have kids on military bases for a reason,” he said, looking to Steve, who had turned to him, “The families of serving personnel, live in military accommodations, close to the base, but not on base, because it would be too dangerous.”

“So, what you’re saying is, Steve needs to have a home that is not in the compound,” Clint said, to Kyriakou, “Great, how is he supposed to sort that out, when we are not even allowed in the country right now?”

“There is my Condo,” Sam offered, “That would do temporarily,” he looked to Steve, “One we’re back in the US you can start looking for something closer to the compound,” he offered him a grin, “You won’t be training for the first few weeks anyway, all you’ll be doing is trying to find a few hours sleep between nappies, feeding, burping, washing, and comforting.”

Steve grinned back at Sam, imagining holding his Son or Daughter in his arms as he or she cried, comforting them and gently rocking them back to sleep. Of course, he imagined doing this with Tony at his side, the two of them sharing in those precious moments with James or Sarah, he did not see himself doing this alone, in fact, the thought of doing it alone was terrifying. But, like a soldier, he pushed down his fear and nodded his agreement to the Lawyer.

Okay, he’d get an apartment separate from the compound, it did make a sort of sense, they did have weapons in there, and that wasn’t something a child should be around, under any circ*mstances.

Perhaps he could get Tony to build an adjacent building on the estate, that would be better for him, he wouldn’t have such a commute to and from training, there wouldn’t be the rent issue either, though, he supposed Tony would have to take care of that anyway, with him being custodial parent.

Leaning back in his seat he let Kyriakou prattle on, already thinking that in just a few weeks he’d be back home, and from one short court case he would have custody of his Pup, and once he did he could start making Tony see sense.

******

New York

“Irresponsible, volatile, destructive!” Tony roared, making Pepper jump as he threw the legal document across the desk of his office, “How dare he, how f*cking dare he call me that after the sh*t he has done!”

“Tony, calm down,” Bruce instructed, placing a firm hand on Tony’s shoulder, “I know you’re upset, you have a right to be, but you need to keep calm,”

Tony made a scoffing noise, “Calm?” he asked, sarcastically, “Calm? How the f*ck am I supposed to remain f*cking calm, when Steve f*cking Rogers is threatening to rip my Pup from me?”

“Because if you don’t you’ll have a damn heart attack!” Pepper shouted, “Now calm down, take deep breaths and rationalize this,”

Tony let out a disgusted noise but did as instructed, closing his eyes and making himself breathe evenly,

“I take it you have a counter suit in place?” Bruce asked Pepper, glancing at her, but his focus was Tony,

“We do,” Pepper stated, “We will show that it is in fact Steven Rogers who is destructive, irresponsible, and abusive in every meaning of the term, including sexual.”

Tony jerked his head up, gazing at Pepper in surprise, “Sexual?” he asked, “How is he..,?”

“Tony,” Pepper sighed, she shook her head, she didn’t know if Tony truly thought that what had happened between him and Rogers was perfectly okay, or if he was just in denial, either way, he would have to face up to it, and admit the truth to himself, even if it hurt, and it would hurt.

“Pepper got a copy of your credit card receipt from the bar,” Bruce said, to Tony, who turned to look at him, bewildered and confused, “She sent the listed amount of alcohol consumed by yourself to a lab, along with details of your BMI. The results showed that your blood alcohol level was far over the legal limit, you were not mentally competent at the time to consent to intercourse with Rogers.”

Tony flinched, the fingers of his right hand cupped his bump protectively, “I didn’t say no,” he whispered,

“But you weren’t legally capable enough to say yes,” Pepper stated, “Do you even remember it? Were you a willing participant? Because with that much alcohol in you, I doubt you were capable of doing much more than passing out.”

“I remember it,” Tony ground out, speaking through gritted teeth, a dark scowl knitting his eyebrows together, “He was…., he f*cking sucked! It was the worst I’ve had!”

Bruce couldn’t help the small chuckle that escaped his lips, a malicious part of him hoped Tony would say the exact same thing in court! It would be worth it, just to see Rogers reaction, and just think of the headlines, Captain Crap Shag! Rogers fails to Roger! Sexually disappointing super soldier!

Pepper’s lips twitched too, as she thought on the same lines as Bruce, but she cleared her throat, making herself remain professional, “Did he hurt you?” she asked Tony, who shrugged,

“Define hurt,”

“Tony!”

“What?” The Omega cried, “Sex can be rough without being rape, so I had bruised wrists, so I bled a little, its not a big deal!”

“Yes it is!” Bruce growled, wanting more than ever, to string Rogers up by his balls, or better yet, coat his balls and co*ck in honey, and leave him hanging over a red ant hill!

“I don’t want people thinking Max is a product of rape, I don’t want him or her growing up with such a stigma attached,” Tony said, looking imploringly to Pepper, “I don’t want to do this, Pep, I really don’t,”

Pepper sighed, her lips puckering sympathetically, “We can make sure that the details in court are kept from the press,” she said, “But I would urge you to allow the lawyers to use this, it will strengthen your case immeasurably, and,” she paused, hating adding to Tony’s discomfort, “We want to use the recording from Siberia to show that your attack on Barnes was justified given the circ*mstances, that Rogers had already defeated you and risked your life when he delivered a final blow, and left you stranded in a frozen wasteland without a seconds hesitation.”

Tony groaned, he’d given the evidence to the accords committee and to the UN, but had kept it from the press, to release it like this would pretty much guarantee that it would get out into the public domain, as would Rogers date rape, Pepper could say that they would keep it just in court, but they both knew that all it would take was a single asshole looking to make a quick buck, going to the press, for the story to become public knowledge.

“I know it isn’t fair honey,” Bruce said, to Tony, “But I think Pepper’s right, using this will show Rogers as being wilfully obstructive to justice, a danger to you and other, and wholly unfit to be a parent,” he looked up to Pepper with a small smile, “You show that he had prior knowledge of Barnes murdering your parents, and he will be shown as perverting the course of justice, an accessory after the fact, both of which, considering it is a double murder, could give him very long stretches inside.”

Tony sighed, intellectually he knew this, he knew all of this, but he hated doing this. God, he hated that he was going to have to go to court at all. Why, why did Steve have to come back? Couldn’t he have just buggered off with his returned-from-the-grave Boyfriend and left Tony in peace?

All he wanted to do was make ready for his Pup, enjoy what was left of his pregnancy, spend time with the Bat brats, Peter, Vision, Rhodey, and Pepper, and make plans to marry Bruce.

But no, Steve had to butt back into his life and start f*cking everything up again, just like he always did. Goddamn him, God f*cking Damn him and his f*cking supporters, damn them all to hell!

Feeling a steely resolution settling into him, the same resolution that had been there when he’d refused to build the Jericho for Raza, Tony nodded his head to Pepper, “Alright,” he said, “Let’s hit him with everything we’ve got.”

Chapter 13

Chapter Text

It took a full two months to get the court date and arrange temporary clemency to allow the Rogues back into America for the court case.

They were to stay at a non-descript hotel while in the country, and, should the trail go south and they not be given amnesty for their “Crimes” then they would be given a full twenty four hours to return to Northern Cyprus.
Kyriakou had pulled off a miracle to arrange them this, and by God he had charged for it. The Rogues kitty was drained, and they hadn’t even got through the court case yet, and would have court fees to pay on top of this, plus Kyriakou final fee for all his services.

Natasha was worried about this, as were Scott and Sam. On Kyriakou advice they had kept a low profile, and so, Natasha and Clint hadn’t been able to raid anymore Shield Cash Dumps, which meant, they were pretty much broke.

“If this goes to hell, we are screwed,” Scott said, his legs bouncing nervously, as he sat in his seat on the Avengers jet.

“It ain’t gonna go bad,” Clint snapped, glancing over his shoulder from the co*ckpit, “Stop jinxing us for Christ sakes!”

Scott rolled his eyes, “Jinxing, really? Christ you’re full of sh*t!”

“You wanna shut your mouth, you little prick, or I swear I’m gonna shut it for you!” Clint snarled,

“Hey!” Sam shouted, “Pack it in the pair of you, we don’t need this sh*t right now.”

“We don’t need it ever,” Natasha growled, “We need to be strong, for Steve,” she looked to him with something fairly close to a smile, “This is going to be ugly, Stark’s lawyer’s will dredge up every piece of dirt they can to try and besmirch your character,” she said to him, “You need to hold it together, stay strong no matter what he does,”

Steve smiled back at her, “I will Nat, I promise.”

“They won’t believe anything Stark has to say,” Wanda said, “The judge will see through his pack of lies.”

Scott shook his head and snorted, “Best hope so,” he muttered, slumping in his seat and turning to the side so his back was to them,

“I’ve got his medical records,” Natasha offered, but Sam shook his head,

“You acquired them illegally, nothing in them will be admissible in court, the judge will dismiss it without even hearing it,”

“True,” Clint agreed, “It’s a nice thought Tash, but you know what Judges are like,”

Natasha pursed her lips, “Just getting the lawyer to pose the question of Stark’s health to him, will be enough, without bringing up details,”

“Details?” Steve asked, frowning, “What details?”

“That he’s dying.”

Natasha said this with blunt indifference and actually seemed surprised when everyone gaped at her, “What?” she asked, scowling at them,

“What?” Sam mimicked, “What the f*ck? What’s wrong with Tony?”

“His heart’s f*cked,” she said, with the same bluntness, “Can’t handle the pregnancy, he’s not expected to survive,” she snorted, “He’s been booked in for an early caesarean to give him a chance at surviving.”

“f*ck,” Clint breathed, shaking his head, “f*ck, f*ck, f*ck!”

Wanda shook her head and scowled, “Why deliver the Pup early? Why not just let him die? Surely it’s the Pup that matters, not Stark.”

“Are you brain dead?” Scott asked, disgust clear in his tone, “The Mother’s life is always the priority, and how can you show such complete disregard to a mans life?”

Wanda immediately flared up, her eyes darkening into blood red pools, “Because that man is Stark,”

“It makes no f*cking difference you psychotic bitch, he’s still a human being, he’s still that Pup’s Mother!”

Wanda smirked with obnoxious and sad*stic amusem*nt, “Soon to be dead Mother.”

“Christ!” Sam cried in outrage,

“Wanda, enough,” Clint barked at her, “That ain’t cool,”

“No, it really isn’t,” Steve agreed, frowning at her, “You’re better than this Wanda, don’t let us down,” recalling her youth and making allowances for it, he leaned forward, “I need you to be strong Wanda, I need your support,”

The red in Wanda’s eyes faded and she smiled at him, “I support you Steve, you know that,”

Steve’s smile became full and he relaxed in his seat, trying not to think about Tony being ill, trying to convince himself that it was nothing, that the Doctor’s were just over reacting and exaggerating. Besides, Tony had beaten the odds before, he could do it again. Closing his eyes, Steve tried to picture what it would be like to see Tony again after so long. Over the last few weeks Tony had not been seen in public, he’d been keeping to the Mansion, The Tower, or Wayne’s Gotham estate, being driven to and from, or flown on a chopper. Whether or not this was due to his health, or advice from his lawyers to stay out of the public eye, Steve didn’t know, but he couldn’t wait to see Tony again, in the flesh, for the first time in months.

*****

Green and White.

The traditional colours of Omegas on their wedding day. Symbolising Virginity and Fertility.

On Pepper’s recommendation, Tony had gotten a suit in white with an emerald green shirt and short tie that would finish above his bump rather than laying over it.

The suit was maternity cut, high waisted, then loose and flowing, finishing at the mid-thigh, matching trousers, and shirt cut in a high waisted tunic style, to be both comfortable and smart.

Standing before the mirror, he tugged on the sleeves of his suit jacket and nervously nibbled at his bottom lip.

“You’re going to be fine,” Bruce said, coming up behind him, wrapping his arms about Tony’s waist, or where his waist used to be, resting his hands on his bump, “Once the judge hears the evidence he won’t let Rogers anywhere near you and little Max,” he smiled, and rubbed Tony’s belly, “Not so little though,”

Despite himself Tony smiled too, looking down at where Bruce’s hands rested, slowly, he lay his own over them, “Promise me, we’re going to get through this?” he asked, twisting his neck to look up at Bruce, the Alpha dipped to kiss him, and whispered against his lips,

“I promise,” Another soft kiss, “And once this is over, we’re going to go back to the mansion, and you are going to let Pepper give you that Baby Shower she’s been raving about,” Tony groaned and rolled his eyes, “And you’ll go on bed rest like the Doctor wants you too…,”

“Boring!” Tony moaned, and squirmed as Bruce tickled his sides,

“You’ll suffer through afternoon soap-operas, and terrible afternoon TV Movies, and in a few more weeks you’ll go into hospital and then little Max will be in your arms, and then, a short while after that, once you’re fully recovered and back on your feet, we’ll get married, and spend the rest of our lives together,”

“And maybe give Max a little brother or sister?” Tony asked, he smirked at the surprised look that came over Bruce’s face and he shrugged, “Maybe I can manage another before Heat-Secession, and it’d be nice for Max to have a sibling his or her own age,”

“It would,” Bruce agreed, “It’d be great to have a Pup with you Tony, I would love that, but, if we can’t, then I’ll be happy for us to just have Max and the pack of brats we’ve already got!” Tony snickered at the mention of the Brats, all of whom were coming court with them, as was Alfred, Rhodey, Vision, and Pepper.

“I had a dream of it,” Tony said, leaning back into Bruce’s chest, “We had a daughter, she had my curls and your eyes. I saw us with her, you had Max on your knee, and she was in my arms, all wrinkled and red still from being born,”

Bruce kissed Tony’s cheeks, “What was her name?” he asked, resting his head against Tony’s,

“Mia, we called her Mia,”

“Mia Stark-Wayne,” Bruce murmured, “That sounds perfect Honey, our Max and Mia.”

“Yeah,” Tony breathed, letting out a deep sigh,

“So lets get today over with, and then we can look into making it happen.”

*****

There were picket lines set up outside the court. One side had several dozen, with effigies of Captain America, Billboards declaring Alpha’s Paternal Rights, Team Captain America, First Avenger!, and Screw Stark!

On the other side there were literally thousands of people, lining the streets, hanging off lamp posts, standing on cars, and completely blocking the road. These were cheering for Tony, carrying Iron Man effigies, and Billboards declaring, OURS!, Team Iron Man, Iron Man 4Ever!, Team Cap R Crap!, BillionaireHusbandsROCK!, BrunyWark&Pup!

Police lined the metal fences to keep order, since insults and threats were being thrown back and forth by the crowds which could easily escalate into something physical, which the Police wanted to avoid.

The Rogues were the first to arrive. Having been collected from their hotel, which was not a five star to say the least. There was no WIFI, no cable, and certainly no room service. Meals were provided for them, Breakfast of coffee/Tea/Juice. Toast, and Cereals. The Lunch would be pre-packaged sandwiches, and soft drinks. Their dinner would likely be some kind of take-away.

As they hadn’t the funds to buy decent suits for court, they had all decided to go dressed in their uniforms.

This had seemed like a good idea at the time, certainly when their supporters cheered for them, even as the opposite side heckled and booed. But when Tony arrived, dressed in a suit of silk in traditional Omegan colours, looking like he had stepped off the catwalk after doing a shoot for some new couture maternity range, Steve realized that uniforms might have been a mistake.

“Damn,” Scott breathed, taking a good long look at Tony, as he was helped out of the limo by Bruce Wayne, who was dressed just as impeccably in an Armani suit of such a dark green that unless the sunlight shone in a certain way it almost appeared black. “Those two look good together,”

“Really good,” Sam agreed, the two of them blind to Steve’s look of betrayal,

“He’s big,” Clint commented, “Really big, sure it isn’t twins?”

“Maybe its just a big Pup,” Natasha said, squinting in the sunlight,

“Maybe Stark’s just fat,” Wanda sneered, linking her arm through Steve’s, “C’mon, let’s get inside.”

“Yeah,” Steve murmured, his eyes lingering on Tony, on the huge swell of his stomach, as he slowly made his way towards the courthouse steps, he and Bruce paused to speak to their fans, posing for a couple of photos, and signing a couple of autographs before they began to make their way up the steps, flanked by Bruce Wayne’s Sons and his butler, That Peter Parker who was interning at SI, Pepper Potts, Vision, and Rhodey. Tony looked good, pale, he’d probably not been outside much, his hair was longer than Steve had ever seen it, and his features were softer and rounder with baby weight. With the sunlight shining on him, dressed in white, he appeared to actually be glowing. Time seemed to slow down as Tony all but glided towards the steps, an enigmatic smile on his face, the wind blew his chin length hair back from his face and for a single second his eyes met Steve’s.

Steve froze, just staring into those familiar doe brown eyes, remembering seeing them dilated, the pupils blown wide as he had bent Tony back on the bed and made the Pup that now swelled his belly.

With Tony’s name on the tip of his tongue, he made an abortive move to go towards Tony, but Natasha lay a hand on his shoulder, shaking his head, “Time to go in,” she ordered. Regretfully, Steve allowed her to pull him away, turning his head and heading into the court.

Tony was impressed by the amount of support his side had gathered. The roar from them completely drowned out the noise that Team Cap was making, and it was easy to turn his back on them as he and Bruce made their way to the steps.

“Ready?” Bruce asked, taking Tony’s elbow, to help support him up the steps,

“As I’ll ever be,” Tony said,

“Well don’t worry,” Damian said, “We’ve got your back, and if it goes to sh*t we’ll kill Rogers right there!”

“Great, thanks for that,” Tony sighed, rolling his eyes at Bruce, who just shrugged, at least he and Alfred had made sure that no weapons had been brought!

*****

Naturally the two teams were made to sit on opposite sides of the gallery, Tony’s on the left, and Steve’s on the right, with the two of them sitting in the front with their respective legal teams, before the judge.

Tony’s Lawyer, a MS Penelope Caine, made her opening statements, stressing why Tony should be granted complete and sole custody, denouncing Steve as abusive, untrustworthy, volatile, immature, unreliable, and incapable of providing a safe and healthy environment for a Pup.

Kyriakou made his opening statement countering this, denouncing Tony as self-centred, controlling, emotionally unstable, a borderline alcoholic, and dangerously volatile.

“Are you f*cking kidding me, you bunch of..,” Dick yelled out, the judge banged her hammer on the desk,

“Silence in court!”

Tony shot him a grateful look over his shoulder, before looking back towards the judge, making sure he didn’t look to the right, where Steve was sat.

Caine stood again, after Kyriakou had finished, and approached the bench, “In light of Mr Stark’s condition and the fact he is very easily fatigued, I request that his testimony is taken now,”

From the gallery Wanda quietly snorted, “Trust Stark to try and steal Steve’s thunder,”

“Hush, it doesn’t matter,” Natasha hissed at her, frowning,

“Sustained,” The Judge agreed, “Mr Stark, approach the bench.”

With some difficulty, Tony rose from his seat and made his way to the dock where he was sworn in.

“Mr Stark, could you, in your own words, describe how you found yourself to be pregnant?” Caine asked,

“I…, I fainted, after several weeks of feeling…, well I wouldn’t say sick, just…, not right, I didn’t realize I was pregnant, I hadn’t even thought that I might be, it was a complete shock when the Doctor’s told me.”

“You didn’t think to contact the Father?” Caine asked,

“No,” Tony kept his eyes fixed on his lawyer and not on Steve or his cohorts, he rested his hands over his bump, feeling Max move and drew strength from him or her.

“Why, was that, Mr Stark?” Caine asked, “Why not contact the Father?”

Tony swallowed hard, looking down at the courtroom floor, “Things had not ended well between myself and Mr Rogers. In fact they had ended terribly.”

“Could you be specific?”

Taking a deep breath and stealing himself, Tony began to reiterate all that had happened during the civil war, missing out nothing, including how Siberia had gone, how Steve had known about the Stark’s murder for years and said nothing to either Tony, or, to the appropriate authorities, how he had been left in a broken suit for several hours, until rescue had arrived. He spoke of the injuries he had suffered during the war, how his recovery from them had likely been the reason he hadn’t noticed the symptoms of his pregnancy right away. He also supplied the letter and bullsh*t flip phone Rogers had sent, stating that both had just been adding insult to injury, that they were not an apology but an attempt at Rogers justifying his deplorable actions.

“We have video evidence of the fight in Siberia, your Honour, and, the evidence of the Murder of Mr and Mrs Stark by the Winter Soldier.” Caine said, to the Judge, who took note. The TV was then put to use, and the video evidence from Tony’s suit was played before the court.

“As you can see, Your Honour,” Caine said, as the video ended, “Steven Rogers is not remotely fit to be a Father. He is contemptuous of the law, he is a danger to Mr Stark and to others, he is incapable of taking responsibility for his actions, refuses to listen to reason, and, if we bring up his well documented actions in Bucharest, Germany, Nigeria, and DC, then we can safely say that he shows flagrant disregard for the lives of others.”

Steve swallowed hard and looked over his shoulder to his team, whom were all glaring at Tony. The Billionaire was attempting to make himself comfortable and prepare for Kyriakou’s questioning.

Kyriakou approached Tony with a congenial smile, “Mr Stark, may I offer my apologies for the murder of your parents?”

Tony looked momentarily stunned, before whispering a Thank You,

“How do you feel about this now?” Kyriakou asked,

“I’m sorry?”

“How do you feel about your Parents deaths now? Are you still angry?”

“Yes, of course I am,” Tony replied, resisting an eyeroll, it was his parents who’d been murdered for God sakes!

“Would you kill to avenge them?” Ah, so that was the angle Steve’s lawyer was taking, Tony mentally breathed a sigh of relief as he found his footing again,

“No,” he replied,

Kyriakou rose an eyebrow, “In the video you attacked Mr Rogers and Mr Barnes with what looked to be every intention of doing them serious injury if not killing them…,”

“Objection your Honour, the council is leading the witness,” Caine protested,

“No, it’s alright,” Tony said, glancing to the judge, “I’ll answer,”

“Sustained,” the Judge agreed, but looked sternly to Kyriakou, “Keep your opinions out of my court room in the future, I deal in facts not beliefs.”

“I apologize your Honour,” Kyriakou said, he looked to Tony, who cleared his throat,

“I did attack Mr Barnes and Mr Rogers in Siberia. Unprovoked, they had every right to defend themselves and I am glad they did, I couldn’t have lived with myself had I killed them.” He shrugged, “I wasn’t thinking clearly at the time, Christ! I wasn’t thinking at all, seeing my parents be brutally slain like that…., I just lost it, intellectually I know Mr Barnes is not to blame, its those bastards at Hydra who f*cked.., sorry your Honour, messed with his mind, who tortured and brutalized him in ways I can’t begin to imagine. I have been tortured myself in the past, so I know something of what he has gone through, but not the full extent. However, back in Siberia, seeing that tape played out before me, I couldn’t rationalize, I reacted badly, a knee jerk response to what I had just seen and I do apologize for it.”

Even Kyriakou seemed impressed with Tony’s reply, he continued with his questioning, bringing up Tony’s past behaviour. His drunken fight with Rhodey from several years before, to which Tony reminded him that he had been suffering severe blood poisoning at the time, that his brain was not receiving enough oxygen and nutrient rich blood for him to be able to think clearly or make rational decisions.

Kyriakou tried to bring up Ultron, but, Tony’s legal team already had all the evidence to counter him, proving beyond any doubt that the Mind Stone was to blame, and showing footage from Sokovia of Wanda using her powers on Tony as he approached the sceptre.

Knowing when to admit defeat, Kyriakou stated he had no further questions and Tony was allowed to step down.

Owing to Tony’s pregnancy, the Judge ordered a brief recess, and for proceedings to continue in fifteen minutes, giving everyone time to go and refresh themselves before they came back. The two parties were kept in separate suites, with refreshments being brought to them, and bathrooms available through an connecting door.

“You did brilliant!” Tim declared, hugging Tony tightly, “You completely trashed that lawyer of Rogers!”

“Ha, when you speaking about Siberia, I thought he was going to cry!” Peter crowed, “No way is that judge gonna side with Rogers after all this,”

“If she does, she’ll need her head examining,” Damian stated, he frowned, “Is it just me, or does it seem like Roger’s lawyer isn’t really trying?”

“It’s not just you,” Tony said, shifting in his seat, trying to get comfortable, but with a very big Pup inside him, that was an impossibility, “He’s doing his job, asking the right questions, but he’s not bothering to push, he doesn’t care, he’s doing this for the money, not because he believes in Rogers or wants to win,”

Alfred snorted, “Well, its not like a reputable Lawyer would want to represent him in a case like this, is it?”

“You wouldn’t think so,” Bruce agreed, he sighed, “I suppose we’ll have Rogers testimony next,”

“Good!” Damian said, a wicked gleam in his eye, “I want to see him burn!”

*****

Kyriakou only asked Steve a handful of questions before letting Caine take over, she stalked towards Steve an ice cold and steely expression on her face as she spoke to him
“Mr Rogers, do you know how the law defines consent?”
Steve blinked at the lawyer, “Yes,” he said, looking around the court uncertainly, why would anyone be asking him about consent? “No means no,” he added,

“Correct,” Caine said coolly, “That is a basic view on consent, No means no, Yes means yes. However the law goes on to state about a person’s ability to consent. If a person is below the state or countries legal age then they are unable to give consent. If a person suffers from a mental impairment such as Alzheimer’s disease can not give consent, if a person is under duress then they can not give consent, if a person is under the influence of excessive alcohol, or drugs, are, sleepy, asleep, unconscious, or semi-conscious then they cannot give consent.”

Caine stared at Steve, who shifted uncomfortably, still not sure where this was going.

“Alcohol has no effect on you does it, Mr Rogers?” She asked,

“No,” Steve affirmed, he really hated the fact he was being referred to as Mister and not Captain and this snooty Lawyer with her ice cold gaze and passive aggressive manner was grating on his nerves. She smiled, the same smile a cat would have on its face when its just caught the canary.

“You are completely unaffected by alcohol, you can not become impaired even to the slightest degree?”

“No, the serum makes me immune,” Steve said starting to get terse, Where the hell was she going with this, what in the hell did this have to do with him getting his Pup?

“Interesting Mr Rogers,” the Lawyer said, “Considering that you believe you understand consent so well. Mr Stark on the other hand is a base line human, suffers the full effect of alcohol, correct, Mr Rogers?”

Steve stole a glance towards Tony who was staring at the floor his hands clasping his belly, perhaps feeling the Pup moving beneath his hands, “Mr Rogers?” the Lawyer prompted

“Uh, yes,” he said,

“We have a copy of the credit card receipt from the Bar you and Mr Stark were drinking at, and medical personnel have calculated what the blood alcohol content would be in a man of Mr Stark’s height and weight by the alcohol he consumed that night. Would it interest you to know that the amount of alcohol consumed by Mr Stark the night of the conception of the Pup was 0.13 percent? That means that while you were stone cold sober, Mr Stark would have been on verge of passing out and not in full control of his faculties.”

The sudden realization of what the Lawyer was getting at hit Steve like a bucket of cold water, he was being accused of rape! Him! Captain America, the man who stood up for law, justice, truth, and freedom!

“He consented!” he shouted pointing a finger at Tony who flinched and wrapped his arms about himself, “He was all over me in the bar, he was sitting in my lap!”

“Yes, we have CCTV footage of that,” The Lawyer agreed, “Of a very inebriated Mr Stark nearly falling from his bar stool and being lifted into your lap by yourself, where you held him until the end of the evening when you practically carried him from the bar as he was too drunk to walk,”

“You rapist bastard!”

Steve didn’t know who the slur had come from, a dark haired, dark eyed adolescent who was glaring at him murderously from the gallery where he was quieted by Bruce Wayne who shot a look of pure hatred at Steve. The other young men besides him looked equally as filled with rage,

“You lying f*ck, Stark!” Wanda shrieked, “He’d never rape you!” between them, Sam and Natasha grabbed her and silenced her,

“Silence in court,” the Judge called sternly,

“I didn’t rape him!” Steve cried, he stared at Tony in shock and betrayal, “How can you say this? Have you no honour, is there no depths to which you won’t sink?”

“That is enough, Mr Rogers!” The Judge shouted, “You will refrain from speaking to Mr Stark and only answer questions posed to you, or you will be held in contempt of court.”

Steve opened his mouth to protest, but Kyriakou wisely shook his head, ordering him to stay silent. Gritting his teeth, Steve did so, forcing himself to remain silent even while he was seething with anger at Tony’s betrayal.

“I will state for the court that Mr Stark has not brought about Rape charges against Mr Rogers,” Caine said, to the Judge, “But, from the evidence we have, it is clear that he was not capable to consent at the time of the Pups conception,” The judge nodded and made a note, letting her go on,

“Now, turning away from this for a moment, let us speak about your decision not to inform the authorities of the Stark’s Murder.” She said to Steve, “Did you know that it is a crime to fail to report a crime? That by doing this you are in fact breaking the law, and for a crime as serious as double murder, you could face life imprisonment?”

“I was just protecting Bucky.”

“Ah, Bucky Barnes, yes, a man for whom you are willing to maim and murder it seems,” Caine said, a tiny smile on her lips, “We have a list of people injured and killed in the tunnel collapse at Bucharest. A dozen Police Officers injured, five of whom, will never work again, four who required extensive medical leave to recover, and three died of their injuries.” Steve swallowed hard, but Caine wasn’t done. “There are also the civilians in the tunnel. Ten died at the scene, another five died in hospital hours, or days later, with more than twenty suffering life changing injuries, including a ten year old girl, an aspiring ballet dancer, who was so good, her parents were both working two jobs to pay for her to have professional training. She was expected to become the next Darcy Bustle. But thanks to Mr Rogers, her Father lost his life in the tunnel, and her legs were crushed requiring amputation above the knee and three quarters of the thigh, meaning she will never walk again, much less dance.”

Steve felt sick, he’d known there had been injured, and dead in the tunnel, but God, a ten year old crippled for life? Dully, he heard Caine go on to speak of the other injured, the boy on the motorbike, who had lost an arm and needed a full knee replacement. Of a man in a car who’d also lost both legs and suffered nerve damage to one of his arms. Of a very gifted law student whose head trauma had left her in a vegetative state and requiring round the clock care from others.

On and on it went. DC was brought up, lists of all the agents, who had not been Hydra, who’d lost their lives, or suffered injury due to the data dump, the families of the agents who’d also been affected, those in witness protection who’d been caught up in it and been killed by those whom they’d been hidden from.

The fight at the airport was brought up, Steve leaving behind those he called friend, just to do what he wanted without thought of the cost for others, His last blow to Tony, which was not self defence, since Tony had already been beaten down, that the blow could very easily have been a killing blow, how Steve showed complete disregard for anyone but Buck Barnes, and could not possibly be considered a suitable choice for custodial parent of the Pup, especially when, he had no job, no source of income, not even any savings he could use to get by for a time, no permanent place of address beyond the Compound, which was Mr Stark’s property, how he frequently broke the law, or bent it to suit his needs, how he allowed unstable (Wanda), and untrustworthy (Natasha) persons to run about unchecked and endangering lives while claiming to be in command. How he had spent hundreds of thousands of Tony’s personal fortune to search for Barnes, while not even having the decency to tell Tony of Barnes’ involvement in his parents deaths. How he seemed to expect the world to adhere to his outdated, Ends Justify the Means views, and had been content, it seemed, to live at the expense of another, never bothering to update his education, despite offers from Mr Stark and Shield to get him classes to bring him up to date, never looking to get any kind of work once Shield fell, and certainly never expecting to answer to anyone for his actions.

By the time Caine was done, Steve felt completely drained. The recess passed in a blur, Wanda comforting him, Natasha cursing quietly in Russian, Sam, Scott, and Clint keeping their distance, non looking happy at all. Steve almost wished his lawyer had brought up Tony’s health, but the man had refused, saying it would never be accepted by the judge and would not win them any points to reveal Natasha had broken the law. So, Tony’s fragile health had gone unmentioned, while Steve’s character had been flayed alive by bigoted views and slanderous lies. Morosely Steve doubted it could get much worse, but, once again, he was wrong.

Character witnesses were brought in after the recess, Pepper Potts, James Rhodes, Helen Cho, Maria Hill, to speak on their experiences with both Tony and Steve. Maria was the only one on Steve’s side, and even her testimony was barbed, she still resented his actions in DC and while she didn’t like Tony, she didn’t crucify him the way Pepper, Rhodey, and Helen did Steve.

As the case drew to its conclusion, and the Judge made her decision after reviewing all the evidence.
Steve risked a glance to Tony, he was half laying in his seat now, clearly uncomfortable, his legs spread wide to accommodate his girth, and his hand resting on the bump, moving every so often as he clearly felt movement from within.

“Having looked over all the evidence, having heard testimony from both parties, and witnesses, I find myself coming to a very clear conclusion,” the Judge said, “Tony Stark, while flawed and fallible as every Human since the dawn of time, is not, wilfully or maliciously harmful to others, has shown no sign of being anything but a doting and diligent parent to his unborn Pup, without the need of any emotional or financial support from another. Mr Rogers however, has been shown to be dangerously violent, contemptuous of the law and views of others, incapable of adult responsibility, and both physically and sexually abusive to Mr Stark, to which I believe he and his team would pose a very genuine threat to the safety and well being of both Mr Stark and the Unborn Pup. Therefore I declare complete and sole custody of the Pup to Mr Stark, with no visitation or parental rights to be granted to Mr Steven Grant Rogers, and further more, I order that he is to make no contact with Mr Stark or the Pup, and keeps a distance of two hundred feet from their presence at all times.” She slammed down her hammer as the court room erupted into cheers from Tony’s side and cries of outrage from Steve’s.

Chapter 14

Chapter Text

The roar from the crowds outside the courthouse was deafening, cheers from Tony’s camp and boos from Steve’s as the news was broken.

News reporters could hardly make themselves heard as they spoke into microphones, standing just an inch from the cameras, the noise was so loud.

“We have confirmation, that Tony Stark, AKA Iron Man, has won his custody battle against Steven Rogers, formally known as Captain America. The details of the case have not been given, but the judges decision is to grant Stark complete and sole custody of the Unborn Pup,”

“The hero turned criminal, Steven Rogers, has lost his battle against Tony Stark, in gaining custody of the unborn Pup Stark carries, this is yet another fight that the former Captain America has lost in the past year,”

“Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne will be celebrating tonight, as they have succeeded in gaining full and complete custody of the unborn Pup that Stark carries, Rogers challenged Stark for custody, claiming that he was an unfit parent, but had failed to provide sufficient evidence of this, and in light of his own past behaviour, this does not really come as a shock to anyone but himself.”

Steve walked from the court room in a daze. He saw Tony, with his friends, all beaming smiles that shone so bright that they rivalled the sun. Bruce Wayne had his arms about Tony, his Sons and the Parker kid were bouncing along beside them, once of the boys, the elder teen, held one of Tony’s hands, was speaking animatedly to him, as Tony happily agreed with whatever was being said. Rhodes was shaking his head, but had a grin on his face, Pepper too, was smiling, even Vision looked happy and on board with whatever the boy was saying.

Steve could see Natasha and Wanda at his elbows, could even hear them saying something, but he couldn’t focus on what was being said, there was a buzzing in his ears that was deafening him, he couldn’t think of anything but the fact he’d lost.

The Judge had sided with Tony, had said he was unfit to be a Father to the Pup.

It just didn’t seem real, didn’t make sense. Didn’t the judge know who he was and what he stood for? All the good he had done?

“It can’t be over, not just like that,” Wanda said, her voice distant and vaguely dream like,

“It can and it is,” Sam grunted, from behind Steve, “Rogers lost, accept it.”

The name Rogers instead of Steve stung, and Steve turned jerkily to look at Sam, nearly recoiled at the glare he received from the other man, Scott and Clint had matching stormy expressions on their own faces, and both hunched over, ducking their heads and raising their hands to shield their faces when they got outside and were greeted with the flashing lights of reporters.

“Rogers? How dose it feel to have lost your parental rights?”

“Will you be filing an appeal against the judges decision?”

“What will you and the rogues do now?”

“Have you anything to say to the victims of your actions in Bucharest and Germany?”

Steve was inundated with questions, microphones being shoved into his face as he descended the steps of the court house, being hurried to the car by Natasha.

“How do you feel about Tony’s engagement to Bruce Wayne?”

“Will you and the Rogues continue to remain fugitives at large, or finally allow justice to be performed?”

“Say nothing, and just get in the car,” Natasha ordered, shoving Steve forward when he paused, wanting to speak to the reporters,

“Stark can’t get away with this,” Wanda said, climbing in the car after Steve, “It isn’t right, that Judge is corrupt, she must have been bribed by Stark!”

Scott snorted, as he got in the car, rolling his eyes, “You just don’t quit do you?”

Wanda shot him a dirty look, as Sam and Clint climbed into the car, Natasha being the last, who shut the door behind her, drowning out some of the noise from outside.

“I have to appeal,” Steve said, suddenly, making everyone look at him, “I can’t let this stand, I can’t ugh!” he let out a yelp as a fist suddenly his jaw. It didn’t hurt so much as it surprised him. Rubbing his chin he looked to see Clint nursing his knuckles while glaring at him.

“You are a lying sack of sh*t!” he spat, his face twisted into a malicious mask of anger, “I trusted you, I believed in you, I left my family, turned my back on my friend, all for you and you lied to me, you lied to us all!”

Steve’s eyes widened, he gazed at Clint in shock, looking to Sam, who’s own expression was one of betrayal and contempt, Scott looked furious and disgust, Natasha…, well, it was never easy to read her, only Wanda was clearly on his side, her eyes rimmed with red and fists balled in anger.

“I didn’t lie,” Steve whispered, “I never lied to you, Clint,”

“Yes you f*cking did!” Clint yelled, looking like he wanted to hit Steve again, but Sam placed a hand on his chest, holding him back,

“He’s not worth braking your hand,” the Falcon pilot said to the irate archer, and that hurt more than a blow would have,

“Sam!” Steve cried, shock and betrayal stinging painfully,

“Don’t Rogers,” Sam snarled at him, “Don’t say a damn thing, I can’t bear to hear a word out of your mouth right now,”

Steve reeled back. What was happening? Why were his friend turning on him like this?

“How dare you?” Wanda yelled, her face darkening with anger, “Steve’s our leader, he..,”

“He’s a f*cking rapist!” Clint bellowed, almost lunging out of his seat, “He’s a rapist and a lying bastard who’s f*cked everyone over, including Tony Stark!”

“He didn’t rape him, Stark is lying!” Wanda screamed, red tendrils of magic escape from her person, and slammed into the car windows, causing them to splinter with tiny spiderweb like fractures,

“Are you deaf?” Scott sneered, “didn’t you hear the evidence in court? Or see the f*cking videos?”

“Stark made them up, he’s a lying murderer, who killed my parents, my brother, and nearly destroyed the world!” Wanda ranged, sounding on the verge of hysteria, which Steve could well understand given the circ*mstances,

Clint gave a hollow sounding laugh that held now mirth, and he looked at her cold and mocking, “ULTRON killed your Brother, and nearly destroyed the world. The Machine that you manipulated Stark into making, the machine you chose to work with before you realized that he was going to destroy you too, and as for your parents?” Clint snorted and shook his head, “I looked into it, through old Shield contacts. The Missile that was dropped on your house, along with a handful of others was old, Vietnam era. They were designed by Howard Stark, Tony’s late Father, you know, the man Barnes killed!”

“Bucky is innocent!” Steve cried, and yelled as Sam of all people kicked his shin,

“Let the man talk,” he snapped, “You at least owe him that,”

Clint continued to glare at Wanda, not flinching or backing down in the face of her anger, “At the end of the Vietnamese war in 72, all American weaponry should have been collected and brought back to the US to be disposed of, but, like in most cases, this never happened. The Officers charged to do this were more interested in lining their own pockets, and so, sold a good chuck of the weaponry to the highest bidder. Black market weapons dealers, the kind that sell to War Lords and Terrorist cells, or anyone who can’t go through legit channels to get their arsenal. Some of Howard’s bombs were sold, and eventually were bought by the Soviets, likely backwards engineered so they could improve their own tech, then patched back up and put into storage. Until, during their civil war, The Sokovian Government purchased weaponry from Russia. Owing to the fact that Sokovia was not a wealthy country, they couldn’t afford to buy up to date weapons and tech, they had to make do with stuff that was thirty and forty years out of date and hope for the best.”

Wanda was breathing hard as she stared, wide eyed at Clint, “What are you saying?” she hissed,

Clint leaned forward, his eyes boring into hers, “I’m saying that Tony didn’t build or sell the bomb that killed your parents, Howard Stark did, back in the sixties or seventies, your own Government purchased it when they were trying to fight off Hydra, they launched it at Hydra, but since it was so old and likely damaged from Soviet tampering, it malfunctioned and landed on civilians. Your Parents.”

“No!” Wanda cried, shaking her head in denial, “Its not true!”

“It is,” Natasha whispered, so quietly that her voice was barely audible, “It is true,”

Wanda looked at her, tears brimming in her eyes,

“You want to blame someone?” Clint asked, sneering as he spoke, “Blame the arms dealer who sold it to the Soviets, blame Hydra for attacking your country, blame the f*ckwits general who illegally sold it along with God knows what else, but stop blaming Tony!”

“NO!” Wanda screamed, “You’re lying! Stark is a murderer, he’s a liar and murderer and some how he’s twisted your mind too!”

Scott snorted, “Isn’t that your party trick?” he asked, sneering at her and Steve, “You know, you two make a pretty good couple, a pair of rapists together!”

“I am not a rapist!” Steve bellowed, his fist thumping the seat hard enough to dent it,

“You are, Rogers,” Sam snarled, “Tony was black out drunk and you took advantage of him, maybe that was acceptable back in the f*cking forties, but these days that is rape!”

“He didn’t say no!” Steve protested, “He didn’t try and stop me!”

“With that much alcohol in his system he wouldn’t have been able to sit up, much less do anything else, you f*cking pervert!” Clint roared, he slumped back in his seat and stared at the roof of the car, “I had a wife, a family, I was contented, adjusting to civilian life, and I threw it all away for a f*cking rapist!” He shook his head, “I don’t know what makes me sicker, myself and my stupidity, or you Rogers, because God knows, you make me f*cking sick right now!”

The venom spewing from Clint’s mouth hits Steve like a beaker of acid. His words burn, find each one of his nerves and searing into them brutally. He wants to speak, wants to contradict Clint’s words, wants to explain that it wasn’t like that, he hadn’t raped Tony, they’d had sex, consensual sex. But, for some reason, he just couldn’t get his mouth to work, couldn’t get the words past the painful lump that had formed in his throat. All he could do was gaze mutely at the others, while Natasha spoke in an emotionless monotone.

“That is enough. We cannot afford to fight amongst ourselves, we need to stick together if we..,” She was cut off by Scott speaking up and shaking his head,

“I’m done here, I’m gonna speak to the lawyer and turn myself in.” He shrugged, “Even if I go to prison I’ll can get visitation with my daughter, which is a sh*t sight more than I’m getting here and now.”

“Fine, Go!” Wanda petulantly snapped at him, “You’re not an avenger anyway.”

Scott sneered at her, “Darlin’” he drawled, “If you are the example of what an Avenger is, then I am very happy not to be one!”

“Make that two of us,” Sam suddenly piped up, and Steve’s mouth dropped open in a wordless protest, “I’m done with this, I can’t follow you anymore Rogers, not after all this, not after all your lies.”

“I didn’t lie,” Steve managed to whisper,

“Make it three,” Clint grunted,

Natasha’s eyes widened, “Clint?”

“No Tash, this is sh*t, complete and total sh*t,” the Archer said to her, “If you’ve any sense you’ll get out too,”

Natasha lifted her chin, her expression icy, “I do not abandon my friends,”

Clint let out a mirthless laugh and shook his head, “Sure you don’t,” he said, “Except when it suits your needs.”

“You’re all traitors!” Wanda screeched, crimson tears flowing down her cheeks, “Back stabbing traitors, just like Stark!”

“Put a sock in it will you?” Clint spat at her, while Scott thumped the door between them and the drivers compartment, urging the man to hurry up in getting back to the hotel so they could split.

Steve slumped in his seat, fighting the urge to cry. How could this be happening? How could his friends, his team mates be abandoning him like this? He desperately longed for Bucky to be at his side right now, ached for him and his friendship as he watched his world crumbling down before him.

*****

Tim suggested going out for dinner to celebrate their success, and everyone agreed. While he was tired, Tony would be going onto bedrest within the next few days and wanted to make the most of his freedom while he could, he even managed to wheedle Bruce into taking them to one of the many Pizza Parlours in the City and was allowed to enjoy a deep pan pepperoni with extra cheese, on the assurance that he would be spending the rest of his pregnancy following his diet to the letter.

All of them crammed into the largest booth in the restaurant, Tony sitting at the end of one of the leather seats, since his need for the bathroom was frequent and urgent.

“I swear I thought Roger’s head was gonna explode like a tomato he went so red on the stand!” Peter exclaimed, “And when Caine started pressuring him I really thought he’d just erupt and we’d be picking bits of exploded Captain America off the ceiling!”

“Oh what a lovely visual!” Rhodey drawled, having just taken a bite of pizza,

“Spontaneous human combustion is a myth,” Vision stated. He alone was not eating, but was instead sipping at a large soda, enjoying the bubbles fizzing in his mouth as his family shared a meal. Tony had suggested trying to invent taste buds for him at some point, but both were still rather stuck on how to actually achieve this, and while Vision would like to one day experience the sensation of taste, he did not actually require food to sustain himself the way humans did, so it was not something that he dwelled on or found important.

“I’m not so sure about that!” Tony said, leaning back in the leather seat, trying and failing to find a comfortable position to sit in, but no matter what he did, the Pup was pressing heavily against his organs and putting pressure on his spine, making him have painful cramp in his legs and pins and needles in his feet, which were now so swollen, he’d had to kick off his shoes in the car or risk having to have them cut off. He ran a hand over the large swell of belly with a rueful smile on his face, “If I get much bigger I think I might explode!”

“It’s not that bad Tony,” Pepper said, getting an incredulous look from the genius, who was still smarting over the waist measurement his tailor had taken when fitting the suit.

“Anyway,” Bruce said, putting an arm around Tony’s shoulders and giving his opposite shoulder a rub “Its only five weeks until your caesarean, Max won’t grow that much more in that time,”

“Wanna bet?” Tony snorted, “With my luck I’ll be out here somewhere by then, and you’ll need a damn forklift to carry me to the hospital!” he extended his arm far before him in a ridiculous impression of how big he might get,

“I believe that even if that should happen, that I will have the strength to lift you,” Vision offered,

“Thanks Viz, that makes me feel so much better!” Tony drawled, sarcasm dripping from every word,

“You know, everyone at school thinks you’re having twins, and a couple of people think it’s triplets!” Peter piped up, only flush and duck his head when he was given a glare from Tony,

“Why don’t you web your mouth shut before you say anything else incredibly stupid?” Damian asked,

“Oh bite me Demon!” Peter threw back

“No, I’ll leave that to Drake, since the two of you are making pathetic puppy dog eyes at each other all the time!”

Peter turned crimson and looked on the verge of passing out, while Tim glared at his younger brother in outrage, “You demonic asshole!” he yelled, throwing his empty soda cup at Damian, who caught it with ease and threw it right back at him,

“Don’t blame me because the two of you are pathetic and make out when you think no one is around to see you!”

“OH I’m gonna f*cking kill you!” Tim bellowed, he made to leap over the table and grab hold of Damian’s neck, but Alfred and Dick held him back,

“This isn’t the place for a brawl,” Alfred said, “You can seek revenge later, preferably in the gym where the damage will be minimal,”

“Alfred, don’t encourage them!” Bruce sighed, “They really don’t need it, and Damian, stop tormenting your Brother,”

Damian scowled petulant and put out, “They’re being pathetic, and their moony looks are disgusting!”

“Screw you, hell spawn!” Tim snarled, “At least I can get a boyfriend, all you’ll get is rejects from the pits of hell!”

“I can so get a boyfriend if I want, or a girlfriend,” Damian immediately shot back, “But I won’t demean myself as you and Arachne-boy here do, I’ll have some dignity and pride,”

“It’s Spider-Man, Douche-nozzle, and the only the only date you’d get is someone on day release from the local looney bin!” Peter snarked back, in defence of himself and Tim, who snickered,

“Do they do day passes from Arkham asylum?”

Bruce snorted, “Considering the amount of brake outs they have, they might as well do so”, Honestly, that place leaked worse than a sieve with a bloody great hole cut out in the centre!

Damian muttered something that sounded foul in some obscure language and shoved the last slice of pizza into his mouth,

“Just wait till Max is a teenager!” Rhodey teased Tony, who looked pained at the thought!

“Let’s survive his or her infancy and time as a toddler before we start thinking of the hormone ravaged years,” Bruce suggested, Tony managed to give him a tremulous smile, dreading the teenage years Max would have. Well, at least having Peter, Damian, and Tim around would mean he’d have experience, so when Max did reach that age he would know what to expect, at least, that was what he hoped anyway.

*****

Since it was closest, all but Vision, Pepper, and Rhodey headed back to the Tower, after dessert at the best ice cream parlour in New York.

Tony proved that Peter was not the only one who could make Puppy dog eyes and Bruce crumbled under the power of them, allowing Tony to get the coffee and chocolate ice cream sundae he wanted. Pepper assured him that there wouldn’t be cake at the baby shower, only healthy foods, to which Tony wrinkled his nose and complained about anything healthy being tasteless and boring!

As Pepper went back to her apartment, having work in the morning, and Rhodey and Vision headed for the compound to do maintenance, the others went to the tower, high spirited and arguing good naturedly over whether or not to play board games or PS4 when they got home.

“I’m not playing Cluedo with Demon again, he cheats!” Tim protested,

“I do no such thing,” Damian sniffed, “I simply make the game more practical,”

“Practical? You can’t have an armed assassin be the killer, its got to be one of the characters using one of the weapons in the actual game!”

“Which is foolish and unrealistic. I is perfectly plausible that Professor Plum would be assassinated by a rival company, they should write that into the game, after all, what motives would Colonel Mustard or Mrs Peaco*ck have? And why would they use something as absurd as a candlestick to commit murder?”

Tim made an exasperated noise and threw himself back in the seat, giving up on getting Damian to understand,

“We could play poker,” Tony suggested, wiggling his eyebrows at Bruce, “We haven’t done that in a while,”

Besides him, Peter made a noise of protest, “Children here guys, only activities fit for our delicate eyes!”

“I’d second that,” Dick agreed, “I don’t need to see Bruce’s decrepit ass!”

Bruce narrowed his eyes at the impudent whelp, “You won’t have an ass left if you continue!” he growled, not that it had any affect on Dick, it never did,

“What about risk?” Alfred suggested, knowing this was a favourite, as the limo pulled into the tower’s car park. Agreements for this followed and he moved, opening the door and stepping out just as everything turned scarlet….

Chapter 15

Chapter Text

Tony had only a second to register that there was something wrong, as everyone around slumped down in their seats, and Alfred toppled to the ground like a boneless fish. Panic shot through him as a red mist seemed to settle in the air, surrounding him like blanket, a suffocating blanket of terror.

He wanted to scream, wanted to run, but both were impossible, not just because of whatever it was Hydra’s whor* was doing, but because he was far to heavily pregnant to do more than waddle right now, hell, he even needed help getting out of chairs!

“Stark.”

The sound of his name sent a shiver down Tony’s spine, and he forced himself to look through the open door of the car to where the Scarlet was stood, smirking at him, “You didn’t really think it was over yet, did you?”

Tony wrapped his arms about his belly, trying to shield the innocent Pup within from the demented psychopath in front of him, swallowing hard, he unstuck his tongue from where it have become glued to the roof of his mouth and spoke as calmly as he could manage.

“What do want Maximoff?”

Wanda let out a laugh that was like nails of a chalk board, and Tony shuddered, avoiding making eye contact with her red tinged orbs that danced with a malicious insanity. Abruptly she stopped laughing, too abruptly, it was like someone had just smashed a record player, the silence was so swift, and the maniac grin that had been on her face was immediately replaced with glare.

“Justice Stark, justice is what I want.” She stepped back and made a motion with her hand, “Out of the car,”

Tony wanted to protest, wanted to stay in his seat, hell, he wanted to get the hell away from Maximoff not closer to her. But his body was forced to comply with her demand, the red tendrils wrapping about him, making him jerk forward, too fast, his centre of gravity was off and he fell to the ground, hitting his knees painfully hard, “Move it!” Wanda barked, using her magic to jerk him forward by his wrists, so hard that painful bruising appeared about his wrists as he was dragged forward. Shuffling on his knees, Tony got to the car door and his hair was grabbed hard as he was dragged out the rest of the way and left to drop down on the ground before Alfred. He wanted to check the aging Butler was okay, wanted to know that Bruce, Dick, Peter, and Tim were okay, but Wanda didn’t give him time, she had him yanked up onto his feet, and sent staggering towards a non-descript and rather battered ford.

The car did not belong in Tony Stark’s garage, that was filled with sports cars, and high powered 4by4’s, clearly Wanda had brought it with her, likely stolen it.

“Get in,” she ordered, opening the car door with her magic, and starting the engine, “You’re driving,”

“Where am I driving?” Tony asked, wondering if he could even get behind the wheel right now with his bump so big, with some discomfort he managed to squeeze into the car and got his hands onto the wheel, any thoughts of trying to crash the car went right out of the window as more red magic settled around him.

“We’re going to the hospital Stark,” Wanda said, settling into the passenger seat, “You’re going to have a caesarean tonight!”

Tony’s eyes widened and his knuckles turned white as he gripped the wheel, besides him Wanda laughed, “I wanted to cut you open myself, but I couldn’t be sure that I wouldn’t hit the Pup by accident, and as much as I want to hurt you, I won’t risk hurting Steve’s Pup, so, I’ll have trained surgeons cut the Pup from you instead,” Her voice lowered as a malicious glee filled her words, “Without any pain relief of course, we wouldn’t want to risk the Pup being born strung out now, would we?”

Tears were filling Tony’s eyes as he was forced to pull out of the car park and into the street, and start driving towards the nearest hospital,

“He or she will be early Wanda,” he said, hoping that maybe he could reason with her, reach out to some trace of humanity that she might have left within her, “Delivering them now will be putting them at risk of serious complications, premature infants need very specific care, often need help breathing, regulating body temperature..,”

“It’ll be fine!” Wanda snapped, She reached over, and Tony felt his skin crawl as she groped his belly, “Good and big, no reason it should have problems,”

“You don’t know that!” Tony protested, fighting the sobs that were threatening to break free, tears were running down his cheeks and his body was shaking violently. To his complete mortification he felt a dampness spreading under his thighs and knew that his squashed bladder had released due to the stress he was under, God, if anyone could see him now, Tony f*cking Stark, first class asshole, Iron Man, pissing himself in fear.

“We’ll be the perfect family,” Wanda was muttering besides him, talking to herself apparently, “Me and Steve, we’ll raise little James or Sarah, we’ll get married, have a big white wedding, James can be page boy or Sarah can be bridesmaid, and we’ll settle down together in a lovely big house and no one will ever bother us again!”

“Oh my God, you’re insane!” Tony choked out, “You and Rogers? He thinks you’re a child, he looks at you as a sexless being, a girl that has barely hit puberty, not as a grown woman, and he may be f*cked up but even he draws the line at Paedophilia!”

A stinging slap his Tony’s cheek and Wanda glared at her, “That’ll change when he sees me being Mother to James or Sarah,”

“It won’t Wanda,” Tony said, taking in a shaky breath, “He’ll never look at you as you want him to, he'll only ever see a little girl and act as a Father or Brother, he is never going to look at you as a Lover..,” Tony’s mouth was suddenly clamped shut, so fast that he nearly bit his tongue, only just managing to miss it with his teeth as Wanda’s magic silenced him.

“Just drive Stark,” She growled, “The only sound I want to hear from you is screaming, and you’ll be doing plenty of that soon enough.”

All too soon they were at the hospital, pulling into the car park in front of the A+E, Wanda frog marched Tony into the hospital, sending out a wave of her magic that engulfed every single person in the department, preventing anyone from raising the alarm, most froze, just became motionless, their bodies poised in a statue of what they had been doing, a Doctor was frozen as he took a stethoscope from his ears, a nurse was poised with a swab to place beneath the clearly broken nose of a man with swollen black eyes and bloody rags beneath his mangled nose, a Mother was trying to comfort her wailing child, who’s swollen arm looked broken, and by the bicycle helmet and grazed knees it was easy to guess how the brake had occurred.

“You!” Wanda ordered, pointing to the eldest Doctor present, “Are you a surgeon?” she demanded of the man, who’s expression became zombified as he responded,

“I am a trauma surgeon,”

“Good,” Wanda said, and Tony found himself shoved forward, walking with jerky movements to the nearest gurney, “He needs a caesarean,” she said to the Doctor, “Right now,”

Unable to fight her demands, the Doctor walked mechanically to the trauma bay, where surgical instruments were kept for emergency surgery in triage, he took out a scalpel, forceps, a clamp, and scissors.

“Please, no!” Tony whimpered, his mouth finally released, he tried to move, tried to make his body rise from the gurney and get away, but Wanda’s magic held him fast, forcing him to lay motionless as she tore open his jacket and shirt, rolling down the elastic waist of his trousers to bare his belly for the surgeon.

Memories of Afghanistan, of Yinsen cutting him open to put the damn electro-magnet into his chest, filled Tony’s mind, sobs escaped his lips as he began to hyperventilate, but those sobs became screams as the surgeon cut into his belly.

Wanda watched with a sick fascination as hot red blood spurted from Tony’s distended abdomen, it flowed down from the incision, seeping over his hips and thighs, spreading onto the gurney’s white sheet and began to drip down onto the floor, Tony’s anguished cries were music to ears as begged the surgeon to stop! To not do this, to fight the magic that was forcing his compliance, but it was no good, the Surgeon couldn’t fight, instead he placed the forceps into the incision spread it wide.

White hot blinding pain seared through Tony’s body, and for a moment he thought he would pass out, but no such luck, he was held on the brink of unconsciousness, made to stay awake and feel everything, feel the surgeon digging deeper into his body, reaching inside him and opening his uterus which sent a flood of amniotic flood gushing down his bloody body.

He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, all he could do was watch in horror as the bloody body of his pup was pulled from within his womb, for a second the pain was forgotten as Tony beheld the sight of his Pup, all curled up and chubby limbed, with a tuft of dark hair dusting over a bloody scalp. Then the Pup gave a cry, coughing and spluttering as the Surgeon lay the small body down onto Tony’s belly to cut and clamp the cord,

“Well, what is it?” Wanda demanded, impatiently,

“A boy,” the surgeon said, he went to one of the storage units and got a towel to wrap the Pup in.

Tony stared at his Pup, his boy, whimpering and seemingly impossibly small despite being larger than a full term infant, he wanted to reach for him, hold him, smell his new skin and gaze into his eyes, but the Surgeon was lifting him up, wrapping him in the towel and placing him in Wanda’s arms!

“NO!” Tony cried, trying to sit up, trying to do anything to stop this, “Give him back, give…,” an overwhelming dizziness assailed Tony, he felt like he was on a boat in a storm, his body being rock back and forth on waves as the world swirled,

“Goodbye Stark,” Wanda said, her voice mocking him as his drifted out of consciousness, “Steve and I will take the best care of little James.”

Tony let out a final sob as darkness descended over him, hearing, just before he passed out, the Surgeon give a cry of horror as his sense came back to him and saw the horrific sight before him that he had, unwillingly created.

*****

Bruce’s head throbbed worse than it had after a three day bender. Groaning, he clutched at the back of his head and forced his eyes open to see his family in similar states, all coming back to consciousness with expressions of pain on their faces.

“What the hell?” Dick asked, pinching the bridge of his nose, and taking several controlled breaths, looking as if he were fighting nausea, which, Bruce could sympathize with, his own stomach was churning right now.

“Red,” Tim murmured, doubled over in his seat, “I saw red,”

“Me too,” Peter agreed, massing his temples with his finger tips,

“And me,” Bruce murmured, he frowned, looking around, “Alfred, Tony?”

“Here Master Bruce,” Alfred said, shakily, and looking pale and haggard, Alfred appeared in the doorway of the car, peering in at them,

“Tony?” Bruce called out, panic starting to make his heart beat faster,

“He’s not here,” Dick said, looking around, “Where…?”

“Rogers!” Bruce growled, cutting Dick off, he surged forward, climbing out of the car, and nearly doubled over as a wave of vertigo assailed him,

“Take it easy, Master Bruce,” Alfred said, taking hold of Bruce’s bicep to steady him,

“They’ve taken him,” Bruce said, shaking his head to clear it, “That Witch, her power is red, she’s taken Tony!”

A foul sounding explosion of foreign language came from the car, and Damian scrambled out, his face a mask of murderous rage, “I’m gonna f*cking kill them, I’ll gut that rapist bastard and stuff his intestines down his throat! I’ll half drown that witch bitch on a ducking stool, then burn her at the stake! As for the rest of them, I’ll shatter all their limbs, and douse their skin in battery acid!” For once, Bruce didn’t scold the boy for swearing, he was too busy reaching into his pocket for his phone, he briefly toyed with calling Rhodes first or the authorities, but before he could chose his phone started to ring!

“Damn, that’s creepy!” Peter murmured, he was supporting Tim, who looked sick to his stomach, and Dick wasn’t looking much better either,

“Who is this?” Bruce demanded, answering the phone,

“Mr Wayne?” a voice, Bruce did not recognize asked,

“Yes?” Bruce said, frowning,

“Mr Wayne, this is Bellevue Hospital Centre, you are listed as next of kin to Mr Tony Stark…,”

“Tony? What’s happened, is he alright?” Bruce cried,

“Mr Stark is…, in surgery, we…, the details of his admittance are rather confusing, however the police have been called, and we hope to have things clearer by the time they, and yourself arrive here,” the receptionist said, sounding strained, if she had been a victim of Wanda’s magic then Bruce wasn’t remotely surprised, and what worried him more was the mention of surgery,

“What’s happened to him?” he asked, “Is the Pup alright, is he alright?” the length between his asking this question and the receptionist answering was telling, and Bruce felt sick to his stomach, “Are. They. Alright?” he demanded,

“Mr Wayne, I think it is best if you come here now,” the Receptionist said, and Bruce felt his heart seize in fear.

*****

With the limo being able to accommodate all of them, they took that to the hospital, with Alfred putting his foot down all the way, not giving a damn to how many red lights he ran or other traffic violations he made, right now, all any of them cared about was Tony and the Pup.

Bruce phoned Rhodey, while they were on the way, telling him what the receptionist had said, and that they had been attacked by the scarlet Witch. Swearing and promising vengeance on the Hydra whor*, Rhodes said he and Vision were on their way to the hospital, he also took charge of calling Pepper, so she too would know what was going on and likely meeting them at the hospital.

No one said anything on the way to the hospital, there was nothing anyone could say, but useless platitudes, like “He’ll be fine,” or “It’ll be okay,” and everyone knew that this could very easily not be the case, and no one wanted to speak about that.

When they got into the hospital the police were already present, speaking to hospital staff and patients, well, ones that didn’t require treatment anyway.

“What the hell’s going on here?” Dick murmured, looking around,

“Nothing good, that’s for damn sure,” Alfred grunted,

Ignoring them, Bruce went straight to the reception desk, he didn’t even have to say who he was, the receptionist recognized him immediately and called a Doctor over, who was accompanied by the Officer in charge of this investigation.

“Where is Tony?” Bruce demanded, only just keeping his temper under control,

“Mr Wayne, if we can..,”

“Just tell me!” Bruce shouted, refusing to be made to sit down, or taken into another room to be spoken to,

The Doctor glanced to the Police officer, and then took a deep breath, “Mr Stark is in surgery, he has had an…, abdominal injury..,”

“Abdominal?” Peter yelped, his eyes widening in fear,

“The Pup,” Tim whispered, a hand going to his mouth,

“The Pup has been…, delivered via a caesarean section,” The Doctor said, “We…, from what we can determine, the Scarlet Witch brought Mr Stark into the hospital and used her powers to force our senior trauma surgeon to perform surgery upon Mr Stark, a caesarean to deliver the Pup, she then disappeared from the hospital with the Pup,”

Bruce felt all the air rush out of his lungs as if he had been gut punched, for a moment he thought he might pass out he felt so dizzy, had it not been for the quick reflexes of Damian, suddenly supporting him then he might have fallen to the floor,

“Tony.., is he alright? The incision is surgical?” Tim asked,

“Yes,” the Doctor said, his expression remaining troubled, “But no measures were taken to limit blood loss, nor was any pain relief administered,”

“Oh Jesus Christ!” Dick cried, clasping a hand over his mouth, looking ready to vomit,

“He was awake!” Peter gasped, torn between tears and anger,

“Yes,” the Doctor said, with a large expulsion of breath, “The Surgeon who performed the caesarean is working with the Gynaecologist to stabilize Mr Stark as we speak, he was also swift to act as soon The Scarlet Witches influence had worn off, and were it not for his actions Mr Stark would surely have bled to death…,”

“I don’t think there will be any charges brought to him, Doctor,” the Police officer said, “It’s clear he was not acting on his own volition, anymore than anyone else was with that…, whatever she is, on the lose,”

“She’s a dead bitch is what she is,” Damian growled, his face as dark as thunder, Alfred placed a hand on his shoulder, offering both support and encouragement for him to remain calm, loosing control wouldn’t help anyone right now.

“Is Tony going to be alright?” Bruce ground out, “Where is the Pup now? Where has that deranged bitch taken him?”

“We’re searching already, an Amber alert has already been launched,” The police officer said, “They’ll not get far,”

Damian snorted derisively, and Peter rolled his eyes, “You’re talking about a Hydra created Witch who attacked an entire hospital department without breaking a sweat, what makes you think that you can do a damn thing to stop her?” he demanded of the Police officer, who looked taken aback by the boys vehemence,

“Not to mention a Super soldier, a couple of highly trained assassins, an ex-air force officer, and a pain in the ass with a size modulating suit!” Tim stated, “The donut brigade aren’t exactly capable of handling this!”

“No, but we can.”

The new voice startled everyone, and all turned to see Vision and Rhodey in the War Machine armour arriving,

“What the hell is going on?” Rhodey demanded, as soon as the face plate was up, “Where is Tony, Where is the Pup?”

*****

Steve was sitting on the bed in his hotel room. He’d been alone there since they had come back from court. Sam, Scott, and Clint had gone together to the speak with the lawyer, who was arranging them some kind of deal, Wanda had gone to her room, and Natasha had done the same.

Not since the day Bucky had fallen from the train had Steve felt so alone.

He’d lost everything and he didn’t see how to make it better. He was torn right now, between anger and sorrow. Anger at Tony for doing this, for accusing him of rape of all things, of carrying such a vendetta against him, of robbing him of his chance to be a Father. Part of him wanted to take the arrogant Omega and beat some sense and humility into him, but another part of him was aching with loss, the pain and aguish of being kept from his Pup, of not being able to be a family with Tony.

He wanted to cry, he wanted scream at the unfairness of everything that was happening, but he couldn’t do it, he couldn’t seem to do anything but sit there on his bed trying to figure out where everything had gone wrong, as if his mind was on an endless loop, just going round and round in circles.

A knocking on his door startled him out of his thoughts and Steve cleared his throat, “Its open,”

The door opened and Wanda, spattered in blood, clutching a squirming bundle to her chest, came into the room with a beaming smile on her face,

“Wanda?” Steve whispered, rising to his feet, his eyes wide and confused, Wanda approached him and Steve’s confusion became astonishment as he saw the infant in her arms, “What…?”

“You’re Pup Steve,” she said to him, “I got him for you”.

Chapter 16

Chapter Text

Steve gaped at Wanda, at the bloody infant in her arms, he stood, frozen, just staring at the Pup, not able to fully comprehend what it was he was seeing. The Wanda was moving, was placing the Pup into his arms and he found himself staring down into beautiful blue eyes, that were almost a perfect copy of his own, and a face that was very nearly a perfect copy of Tony’s, and he felt his heart melt with a powerful surge of love.

“James,” he whispered, taking in the sight of the Pup, who stared at him for a few moments, then let out a piercing wail!

“Uh, I, uh, what’s wrong?” Steve asked the Pup, as if he could answer with anything other than howls, “You don’t feel wet, and you don’t smell, so I don’t think it’s a nappy change, and you’re not wearing one anyway, so..uh, hungry, are you hungry?” The Pup just continued to wail, high pitched sobs that made Steve’s ears hurt and his nerves fray as he realized he could do exactly nothing for the Pup, he had no supplies, no formula, no nappies, not even a baby grow to put the Pup in.

“Make it stop!” Wanda demanded, scowling at the Pup and Steve,

“How?” Steve snapped back at her, he tried to soothe the Pup by rocking him, and bouncing him gently, as he’d seen people on TV do with crying infants, but neither seemed to have much effect, in fact, James just wailed louder!

“What is…Oh My God!”

The question and exclamation came from Natasha, as she came in from the neighbouring room, having been drawn by the sound of the crying.

Her sharp eyes tracked from the bloody and crying Pup in Steve’s arms, to the blood splattered Wanda. “What have you done?” she whispered, her normally guarded expression gone, and open shock clear on her face.
Wanda shrugged, “What I had to,” she replied, “The court failed us, and Steve deserved his Son, so I did what was needed,”

“You…,” Natasha swallowed hard, looking sick, “Tony…, is he…,”

“I left him in the hospital,” Wanda breezed, “I wanted to cut him open myself, but I might have hurt James, so I had a Doctor do it instead,” She spoke so calmly that she might as well have been discussing the weather, not the attempted murder and mutilation of Tony Stark!

Tony.

Tony was hurt, badly hurt. Wanda had him cut open, had James ripped from him like a prize from a cracker!

Natasha cursed in Russian, shaking her head, staring at Wanda as if she had never seen her before, “You’re mad!” she whispered, “You’re completely insane!”

“I did what I had to!” Wanda shrieked, red magic dancing about her hands and her filling her eyes, the sound of sirens screaming made her jerk her head in their direction, which was when Natasha launched herself at the Witch, making to take her down, but Wanda reacted too fast, lashing out with her magic, hitting Natasha and sent her flying across the room, out of the open door and over the balcony railing, falling two stories to land with a sickening thump on the ground below.

“Nat!” Steve yelled, his voice reaching over the sound of James’ howls for a second,

“C’mon!” Wanda cried, grabbing his arm and pulling him towards the door, “We have to go!”

Moving like a zombie, Steve ran, following after Wanda as she led the way down the balcony to the stairs. Drawn by the noise, Clint stuck his head out of the door of his room, his eyes widened, but he had no time to react as Wanda’s magic hit him in the face, sending him flying back into the room, where cries of alarm followed, most likely from Sam and Scott.

“We have to get to the Jet,” Wanda said, panting a little as they reached the stairs and began to take them two at a time, “We have to get away from here,”

“And go where?” Steve demanded, trying to hush James, who continued to sob against his chest, poor little mite, he was probably starving hungry and Steve had nothing to feed him with,

“Brazil!” Wanda stated, “We can go to Brazil, there’s no extradition order, I saw it in a movie, we can go there!”

“Great,” Steve muttered, he paused for a moment as they reached the exit, and he saw Police Officers gathered and coming towards them, but Wanda was ready for them, sent them flying with her magic, clenching her fists she summoned up another wave of energy, which she sent into the Police cars, crashing and mangling them into pieces of twisted metal.

“C’mon!” she yelled to Steve, running for the nearest car, she opened the doors with her magic, and climbed into the driver’s seat. Steve climbed into the passenger seat and had to brace himself with his feet against the floor when Wanda started the engine with her magic and the car shot forward,

“Careful!” he snapped, rocking poor little James. His cries were getting a little fainter, as if he were slowly giving up, and Steve hated it, hated that such a tiny precious being would give up on getting something a simple as food.

“We need money,” Wanda said, turning a corner sharply, with a wave of her hand, the traffic lights turned green, letting them through without stopping, “Did Natasha tell you where any Shield cash dumps are?” she asked, looking to Steve, and scowling at the fact his attention was on the Pup, “Can’t you make him be quiet?”

“No!” Steve snarled, frustrated and frightened, James was so helpless, completely dependant on him, and he couldn’t provide for him, couldn’t get him something as basic as food!

Wanda cursed under her breath and took another sharp turn, “We need Tony,” Steve whispered and was nearly thrown through the windscreen when Wanda slammed on the brakes!

“WHAT?” she screamed at him, James sobbed louder than ever, the loud noise upsetting him. Steve cradled him close, trying to shield him from Wanda,

“James needs his Mother, Wanda, he needs milk, we can’t provide that for him,”

“We can get formula,” Wanda argued, but Steve shook his head,

“Tony,” he insisted, “Take us to the hospital, now!”

Wanda glared at him, at the Pup in his arms, snarling under her breath she started the car again, putting it in reverse and turning round, to go in the opposite direction.

*****

Clint’s head was throbbing. He could taste blood in his mouth, and by the swelling of his eyes and the fact he couldn’t breathe through his nose, he knew that his nose was broken.

“What the f*ck?” he grunted, slowly sitting up and gripped his head as it throbbed all the more,

“Wanda,” Sam growled, he and Scott were knelt before him, both looking down at him worriedly.

Clint frowned, regretting it immediately when his bruised eyes were pinched, and hissed with the pain, then recalled seeing Steve and Wanda running down the balcony, “Where’s Nat?” he asked, having not seen her, though he supposed it was possible she’d gone on ahead of them. Sam’s eyes widened, cursing he got to his feet and left the room, clearly going to check on Natasha, a second later there came a horrified cry and both Clint and Scott were scrambling to their feet and following on Sam’s footsteps, finding him looking down over the balcony to the ground below, where the broken form of Natasha lay in a crumbled heap.

“NO!” Clint yelled. He shoved away from the railing and ran to the stairs. Sam and Scott were right behind him, one of them, Sam he thought, on the phone calling for an ambulance for Natasha.
“Oh God, Natasha!” Clint cried, stumbling towards her with tears filling his eyes and blurring his vision, he fell to his knees besides her, reaching out to touch her then stopping, remembering that moving someone who has fallen from a height is the worst thing to do as you could add further injury to the spine.

The memory of what he had said to Tony at the raft sprang to mind, and Clint felt sick at the thought of Natasha having suffered similar injuries to Rhodes.

“Is she breathing?” Scott asked, startling Clint by the fact he was kneeling besides him when the archer hadn’t heard him drop down, Clint shook his head helplessly, Scott frowned and reached forward to place his fingers under Natasha’s nose, “She’s breathing,” he said, turning his head to look at Sam, who was still on the phone, carefully he reached for her wrist and took her pulse, “I’m no doctor but I think her pulse is too fast?”

‘Jesus Christ, Tash, please don’t die!’ Clint silently begged, there came a noise from behind him, and he turned sharply, as did Scott and Sam, to see Police Officers, who looked battered, dizzy, and sick, making their way over,

“What hell happened to you?” Scott asked, his eyebrows raised,

“The Scarlet psychopath!” one of them spat, disgustedly, he looked at Natasha, “Is she..,”

“An ambulance is on the way,” Sam said, cutting him off, “She’s hurt bad,”

“Hey Sarge!” a voice from above called, and looking up, they say another Police officer looking down from the balcony, “Rogers and Maximoff are gone, there is blood in the room, could be from Stark,”

“Stark?” Clint asked, “Why would Tony’s blood be in Rogers room?”

“Because Maximoff had the Pup cut out of his belly and abducted the infant!” the Police Sergeant stated.

Clint’s blood ran cold in his veins and he had forcibly swallow down the rising sickness that burned the back of his throat. Scott was not so lucky, he made a gagging noise and staggered over to some bushes where he vomited, Sam was pale, his normally dark skin had turned a sickly grey and he was white knuckling the phone.

A noise came from overhead, and within a second, War Machine had landed, and Rhodes was striding over to them, Vision following a step behind him.

“Where is Max?” Rhodes growled, his voice as low and deadly as an angered tiger,

“Max?” Clint asked, truly baffled, “Who the hell is Max?”

“The Pup you insufferable dickwad!” Rhodey snapped at him,

“Gone,” Scott murmured, he had dropped to the ground, was sitting on his backside with his arms about his knees, “Wanda and Steve are gone, the Pup must be with them.”

Rhodes cursed and ground his teeth so hard that Clint swore he could hear them creaking!

Vision stepped forward, a frown on his usually impassive face, “What has happened to Natasha?” he asked,

“Maximoff, I’ll bet,” Clint grunted, looking at Natasha’s body, praying to any Deity that might listen that she would be alright,

“Where would they go?” Rhodes demanded, ignoring Natasha’s condition right now, Clint wanted to blame him for that, but he knew, if Nat was the one in hospital and he were in Rhodes’ position, then he would act exactly the same, so for once he held his tongue.

“We don’t know,” Sam replied, “They just took off,”

“They can’t get far,” the Sergeant said, “There is an Amber Alert in effect, and their Jet has been impounded, they will not leave Manhattan Island.”

Vision rose an eyebrow, just as the wail of an ambulance siren sounded in the distance, “You are speaking of The Scarlet Witch and Captain America. I think you underestimate just how resourceful they can be,”

“They might, I don’t,” a new voice growled, and Clint’s eyes became dinner plates as The Bat of Gotham rappelled from the hotel roof, followed by Nightwing, Red Robin, and Robin. The four of them landing on the ground and stalking over.

Not many people intimidated Clint, but The Bat was one of them, there had been an unspoken rule in Shield, when it came to The Bat. Do Not Engage. Rumours had it that he’d been trained by The League of Shadows, had been their best and had turned on them, Shield both feared and respected The League, and were not about to start an all out war with Gotham’s Dark Knight, or his entourage.

“Uh Sarge, do we arrest them?” one of the cops asked, and Clint snorted, yeah, like cops could really take on The Bat and expect to win!

“Are you brain dead!” the Sergeant snapped at him, clearly thinking along the same lines as Clint, “They’re Gotham’s problem anyway, this is New York, and right now, we need all the help we can get,”

“No sh*t!” Robin sneered, he twirled a wicked looking sword in his hand, “Now where’s the Scarlet whor*?”

“Gone,” Rhodey said, “With Rogers, and Max,”

“Motherf*cker!” Nightwing spat,

“Then we are not need here,” The Bat said, with a swirl of his cloak he turned and began to stride away, his companions doing the same, but Clint stood, calling out to them,

“Wait!”

Batman paused, and looked back at him, his face, what was visible of it, impassive. Clint swallowed hard, “I want to help.”

*****

Tony winced as too bright lights shone down onto his face. There were voices around him, too loud and distorted. He couldn’t make out what was being said and, Oh God, did he hurt!
His abdomen ached angrily, a red hot line of pain from hip to hip making him feel like he’d been cut in half!

His body felt leaden, he couldn’t make anything work, even his eyelids felt heavy as he tried to open them. His head was spinning and his brain felt like it had turned into cotton wool. Nothing made any sense, he didn’t know where he was or what was happening, but there were people saying things to him, and his eyelid was being peeled back so an even brighter light could be shone into his eye, making him recoil into the pillow his head was resting on.

“He’s regaining consciousness nicely,” a shrill voice said, Tony winced at the sound, wanting everything to be quiet and peaceful,

“Very good, continue to monitor him even fifteen minutes,” another voice said, this one male, gruff sounding, a voice deepened by age and cigarettes,

“Whaasginon?” Tony mumbled, not able to make his mouth work properly, a straw was shoved between his lips and he drank a blessedly cool drink of water, before it was sadly withdrawn,

“Hush now, just rest, you’ve been through a terrible time,” the shrill voiced person said, Tony wanted to scowl at that, to tell her to shove off, but he didn’t have the energy, he couldn’t do anything at all, he didn’t even bother cracking open an eyelid when there came muffled shouting in the room and the sound of skin hitting skin followed by a dull thud of a body hitting the floor, then the were hands stroking his face, and the sounds of machines beeping as…., things were being pulled from him, something painful tearing from his hand, making him moan a bit. Then he was being lifted up into strong arms, his head laid against a solid chest.

“Don’t worry Tony,” Someone said, “I’ve got you now, you’re safe, you, me, and James will be together now.”

Chapter 17

Chapter Text

Steve was loathe to leave James in the car alone, but he didn’t have a choice. He needed Wanda to take care of the hospital personnel and any police that may be around Tony, and he couldn’t take James with them into the hospital, as he needed to be able to carry Tony, so, reluctant as he was, he left James on the car seat, wrapped in the towel as he had nothing else for the poor boy.

James’s sobs had faded, he was still crying, but not with the same force, he was weeping over his hunger and misery, but not demanding food as he had been before. The whimpering cries broke Steve’s heart, he hated that his Son was so unhappy, was having to suffer hunger like this, but he consoled himself over the fact it would soon be over, soon he’d have Tony and once he did, James could nurse at his breast and all would be well again.

Wanda’s magic took care of everyone as they made their way to desk at the main reception, Her Magic worked just as well on the receptionist, gaining them the location of Tony in the hospital. The recovery unit, having undergone emergency surgery to deliver the placenta and stop the bleeding.

“Trust Stark to survive,” Wanda muttered, as they made their way to the Recovery Unit, “He’s like a co*ckroach, he’ll survive anything,”

Steve grit his teeth, clenching his fists angrily at Wanda’s callous attitude to Tony’s health. Just how close had she come to killing him? Far too close, and Steve wasn’t standing for it anymore. Wanda had gone too far now, he had been too lenient with her for too long, he had to protect Tony and James from her at any and all costs.

A red mist encompassed the entire recovery unit, leaving the nursing staff and Doctors in unconscious heaps on the floor. It also took care of the two police officers on the door of Tony’s room, without Steve having to get into a fight with them.

Tony was laying in a narrow cot bed wired up to monitors that were checking his blood pressure, heart rate, and other readings. There was also a canula in the back of his left hand which was hooked up to a drip pumping blood and saline into his veins. His face was pale and his eyes looked sunken and shadowed from blood loss. Gently Steve reached out and brushed a lock of hair back from Tony’s pale face, feeling a stirring of relief when the actions brought a small frown across the brunets forehead.

“Wake him up,” Wanda snapped, with an impatient sigh, she set about turning off the machines that were monitoring Tony, with her back turned she did not see Steve raise his arm and wasn’t able to fight him as he brought his forearm down on the back of her neck and head, knocking her unconscious.

Wanda crumpled to the floor, taking the heart monitor with her, where it smashed on the ground with sparks of electricity and breaking glass. The horrid smell of burning wires filled the air as Steve, pulled back the bed sheet and carefully lifted Tony into his arms, resting the Omega’s head against his chest.

“Don’t worry Tony,” he whispered, to the slumbering Omega, “I’ve got you now, you’re safe, you, me, and James will be together now.”

*****

Steve carried Tony down to the car park. Wanda’s magic had not yet worn off, so there was no resistance, he was able to get back to the car with no difficulty at all.

Figuring it would be better for Tony to be laying down, Steve laid him out in the back seat, making him as comfortable as he could, considering the circ*mstances. Tugging down the loose fitting hospital gown, he bared Tony’s heavy breasts and then went to get James from the front seat.

The pup whined and wept unhappily, continuing to cry, until Steve had laid him on Tony’s chest. Carefully he manoeuvred the Pup, until his rose bud lips were over Tony’s nipple and stroked his cheek as he began to suckle hungrily.

Steve smiled at the tender sight of his Son nursing at his Mother’s breast, he wanted to stay here, to watch this and capture the moment in his mind in perfect detail, so he could recreate it later on paper. But he had no time, Wanda’s spell would wear off sooner or later, he had to get them moving or risk a confrontation with the police, which was not something he needed with Tony and James relying on him to take care of them.

Closing the car doors, he went round to the driving seat and climbed in. He and Wanda had left the engine running, which was good as he had no idea how to hot wire a car, taking care not to disturb Tony or James, he pulled out of the car park and began to drive back to the main road.

*****

Tony felt cold and his stomach was aching angrily, when consciousness came back to him.

Moaning, he opened his eyes and reached down, with his hands to rub his bump, freezing when he didn’t feel the firm round dome he’d been sporting for months, and instead felt only soft flesh beneath his hands.

Panic struck Tony and he sat up, too fast, his head spun and agony shot through his belly at the motion. He gripped the soft swell of his abdomen, fighting the urge to scream or vomit as the pain ran through him,

“Tony,”

At the sound of name, the Omega turned, wincing again as he turned too sharply, tugging at the wound in his abdomen. He saw Steve rising to his feet from where he had been sitting on an upturned crate, but his eyes did not remain long upon Steve, the went straight to the Pup resting in Steve’s arms.

“Max!” he whispered, forgetting how dizzy and pained he was, he made to get to his feet, clambering off the crates he’d been laid on as a make shift bed and nearly fell to the ground as a wave of vertigo struck him.

“Careful!” Steve scolded, moving over to Tony, he shifted Max’s weight so he was holding him with one arm, and offered his free hand to Tony. The stubborn brunet glared at him, refusing to take his hand, and instead clambered to his feet unaided, and reached out for the Pup,

“Give him to me.”

It was not a request but an order, part of Steve wanted to refuse, but Tony had a right to hold their Son, and so Steve complied, handing James over. The change in Tony was instant, the dark fury that had been on his face melted away, as he held James close, lifting him up to kiss his soft cheek and breathe in his scent.

“My Max,” he whispered, “I thought I might have lost you forever,”

Steve frowned, “Max?”

Shooting him a scowl, Tony turned away, moving on unsteady bare feet, gently bouncing James in his arms, “It’ll be okay sugarplum,” he assured the Pup, “I won’t let anyone hurt you, and we will never be separated again, I promise,”

Feeling a swell of protective love fill his chest, Steve walked up behind Tony and wrapped his arms about him, a mistake, as Tony immediately yelped in pain.

“Damnit, I’m sorry!” Steve apologised, silently cursing Wanda for what she had done to Tony. The brunet’s cry of pain awoke James, who began to cry once more. Panting with pain and nearly doubled over, Tony tried to comfort James, his whole body shaking and sweat beading on his forehead. Taking charge, Steve took Tony by his shoulders, his tongue clucking when Tony flinched at the touch, and guided him back to the make-shift bed. Pushing him to sit down.

“Ssshhh little one, it’s alright,” Tony soothed, rocking the Pup back and forth, he shook his head and looked up at Steve, “He needs to be checked over by Doctor,”

“He’s fine,” Steve said, crouching down before Tony and James, a frown on his face, “He’s fed well, and he’s…, relieved himself,” Steve had, had to get rid of the towel the Pup had been wrapped in, as it had been completely soiled, thankfully there had been a blanket in the back of the car, which he had used to wrap the boy in, it would do for now, but they needed to get him nappies and real clothing, and soon.

Tony shook his head, he refused to ask or even think about how Max had fed, by the soreness of his left nipple he guessed that his Son had nursed, but there was only one way that Max could have done so, and that was if Steve had put him to his breast, not something he wanted to think about at all.

Glaring at the idiotic Alpha he tried again to get Steve to see reason, “Neither of us could possibly know that!” he cried, again wincing for the pain in his stomach, “He’s early Steve, he’s big but he’s still premature, he could have problems we don’t know of, and he needs a vitamin K shot, all infants need that at birth!”

Steve had no idea what vitamin K was, so he didn’t argue with Tony, instead he looked at James, who was slowly settling once more, making only the occasional whimper,

“You have to let us go,” Tony said,

“No!” Steve stated, firm and determined, but Tony would have none of it, and met Steve’s blue gaze with one of anger,

“You are putting Max’s life at risk by holding us here,” he growled, “For Christ sakes he doesn’t even have clothing or a crib! You’re keeping me and a newborn in…,” he looked around, taking in the decrepit warehouse in disgust, “Rogers,” he said, taking a deep breath to try and calm himself, “If you have any sanity left in you, let us go now,”

“I can’t Tony,” Steve said, he made to take Tony’s right hand, which was resting on the Pup’s flank, but Tony flinched away again, he sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose, growing frustrated with Tony’s behaviour, “I promise you, you and James are safe now. Wanda will never hurt you again, I won’t let her near you or James..,”

“Max!” Tony declared, “My Son’s name is Max Edwin Stark, and when we are married, it will be Max Edwin Stark-Wayne,” pale as he was, exhausted and pained as he was, Tony still lifted his chin in defiance, refusing to bow down to Steve’s desires, “Let us go now and I won’t press charges against you, I won’t look for you, I’ll let you be.”

“Tony..,”

“Jesus f*cking Christ, Rogers!” Tony cried, “This is kidnapping, you’ll get a life sentence for this, you’ll never see the light of day again! Please,” he tone turned from anger to desperate pleading, “Just let us go,”

A frown knitted Steve’s eyebrows, and he found himself unable to meet Tony’s large brown eyes and instead looked down to Tony’s lap, where his frown became an expression of alarm at the scarlet stain on Tony’s hospital gown, “Tony!”

“What?” Tony snapped, “What now Rogers? What idiotic thought must you impart now..,”

“You’re bleeding!”

Steve’s words silenced Tony, something, under other circ*mstances would have made Steve smile at the incredible act of actually shutting Tony Stark up! But right now he was far more concerned about the blood spreading on the hospital gown to find humour in anything.

“Let me take him, so I can have a look,” Steve said, but Tony pulled away from his hands, refusing to hand James over, “Tony come on, you’re bleeding, you need to let me look,”

“Then look while I hold Max!” Tony didn’t want to have Steve looking at his body, but he didn’t have much choice in the matter right now, he couldn’t afford to lose more blood, and the chances were he’d pulled stitches or loosened the surgical glue or something, which would need taking care of or he would lose consciousness and be of no use to Max, or worse, he’d die.

He lay back down on the crates, keeping Max against his chest, while Steve lifted the bloody hospital gown to examine his belly.

Steve carefully rolled back the bloody hospital gown to bare Tony’s belly, and the blood soaked adhesive dressing that covered the surgical incision. As gently as he could, he peeled back the dressing, wincing himself when he saw the long inflamed incision that lay beneath the round curve of Tony’s soft abdomen. Surgical glue had been used to seal the wound, but the flesh had split and was leaking blood at an alarming pace.

“You need stitches,” he said, replacing the dressing, standing up he ran a hand through his hair, inadvertently getting blood in his hair, “A chemist,” he said, nodding his head, “I’ll take you to a chemist, we can get dressings, nappies, something for you to wear, and something for James,”

“Max,” Tony grunted, sitting up, with difficulty, “And how are you going to buy these things?” he demanded, “I’ve no f*cking money on me, have you?” At Steve’s blank look he rolled his eyes, “Assault, kidnapping, imprisonment, and now theft, why not just add murder to your crime spree and be done with it!”

Steve ignored the commentary and simply picked Tony up, ignoring his protests, while carrying him to the car, “Can you talk me through a hot wire?” he asked, setting down in the passenger seat,

Sighing deeply Tony nodded. He hated this, hated assisting Steve at all, but right now he had no choice, so he talked the Alpha through the process of hotwiring the car, and sat back in the seat, letting Steve take him and Max to the nearest chemist, hoping that Bruce and the others rescued him and Max soon, because right now, he was in no state to help himself or his Son.

Chapter 18

Chapter Text

Hospital

With an aching head and slightly blurred vision, Wanda came too on the floor, groaning in pain and blinking owlishly as she wondered where she was. Her momentary confusion was lost as she took in the broken heart monitor and empty bed, where Stark had previously resided, anger replaced her confusion and she let out an ear splitting screech of rage, that, along with an explosion of her power, shattered every window in the hospital, sending all those outside running for shelter as glass rained down upon them!

“Stark!” She screamed, and with a wave of her hand, letting loose more power, she sent the entire contents of the room hurtling against the opposite wall, with such force that the wall actually cracked!

“Always Stark!” Wanda screamed, stamping her feet, and letting out more power, which resulted in the floor beneath her feet cracking, “He ruins everything, he takes everything from me, I should have just killed him and been done with it!” She let out a bellow like that of an enraged bull, and blew a hole in the side wall of the recovery suite, showering the neighbouring room in debris. The nursing staff, who had been checking over a man recently out of surgery screamed and tried to cover their heads, getting hit by plaster, brick, and other debris, that rained down upon them. Still unconscious from his anaesthetic, the patient just lay there, being covered in the dust and debris that filled the room from Wanda’s rage.

“Get out!” Wanda shrieked at the nurses, “Get out, or I’ll kill you all!”

Sobbing, and shaking with fear, the nurses picked themselves up off the floor, unhooked the patient from the various machines he was wired up too, and took the brakes off the bed, wheeling it out of the room and into the corridor, where security guards, orderlies, Alfred Pennyworth, and Pepper Potts were gathering, having been drawn to the floor by all the commotion.

“What in Gods name is going on?” Alfred barked, his co*ckney accent thickening as he spoke, “Is there an earth quake?”

“It’s the Scarlet Witch!” one of the nurses cried, “She’s gone mad!”

“She was already mad.” Alfred muttered,

Besides him, Pepper gasped, “Tony?” She looked to the frightened nurses, “Is he in there with her?”

“I don’t know Ma’am, She just yelled at us to go or said she’d kill us!”

With her heart in her mouth, Pepper made to go forward, to run into Tony’s room, but Alfred blocked her, holding her back with an arm about her waist, “Alfred let me go!” she cried, trying to squirm free, “It’s Tony in there, she’ll kill him!”

“And she’ll kill you too, which is why I’m not letting you in there with her,” Alfred stated, keeping firm hold of Pepper, despite how much she struggled, “Neither of us will be any use to Master Tony if we’re dead,” grimacing, as Pepper dug her perfectly manicured and very sharp nails into the skin on the back of his hand, Alfred looked to whom he assured was the chief of security for the hospital, “You need to evacuate this place, Mate, that treacle in there, is off her bleedin’ rocker, an ain’t gonna get any better any time soon,”

The chief shook his head, “It would take hours to evacuate the entire hospital, we have women in labour, people in surgery, we just can’t do it,”

Alfred rolled his eyes, “Then evacuate this floor at least,” the second the words were out of his mouth, Wanda let out another screech of rage, and the doors in Tony’s room flew off their hinges and were sent flying across the room to shatter against the wall. Alfred gave the chief a pointed look, “See what I mean?”

The chief took hold of his radio and began to order the evacuation of not only that floor, but the one beneath and the one above.

“What about Tony?” Pepper cried, as Alfred pulled her away, and began walking her to the exit, intent on getting her out of harms way,

“Bruce will be here soon, and so will the others,” Alfred replied, “They can take care of the Chicken Jalfrezi in there, and Master Tony will be alright, Sweet’eart, I promise,” Reluctantly, Pepper allowed him to lead her away, and guide her down the stairs and out into the car park, where Alfred took out his phone to call Bruce and alert him to what was going on, however, he needn’t have bothered, as War Machine landed right in front of them, startling a yelp out of Pepper at the abrupt arrival.

“Where’s everyone else?” Alfred asked, “I was just about to call you, that Radio Rental Tart is up there, ripping the bloody place apart!”

The face plate slid up, and Rhodey scowled angrily, “The others are following, Wanda attacked them, Natasha was thrown from a second story balcony and Barton got thrown into a wall,”

“Christ,” Pepper whispered, looking up at the hospital, her gaze fixed on the third floor, where Wanda was,

“Is MS Romanov alright?” Alfred asked, and Rhodey shrugged, not looking especially bothered either way,

“Is Rogers and the Pup in there?” he asked, glancing to the right as Vision appeared besides him,

“I can sense Miss Maximoff’s power a great deal,” Vision said, his expression troubled, “She is expending a massive amount of energy and power here, a dangerous amount, even to herself,”

Rhodey frowned at him, but Alfred spoke before he could, “We didn’t see Rogers or the little mite, but they could have been in there,”

Rhodey straightened up and schooled his expression into that of a decorated Air Force Colonel, taking charge of the situation, “We need to create a perimeter, I don’t want anyone getting caught in the cross fire, we do not need another rerun of Largos, or Johannesburg,” he looked to Alfred, “Is the hospital being evacuated?”

“They’re evacuating a couple of floors, but the Rent-a-Cop said it’d take too long to evacuate the entire hospital,”

Rhodey pulled a face, unhappy with the situation, however, the wailing of sirens, and roar of The Bat mobile, and high powered motor bikes alerted him to the arrival of the others, including the ambulance carrying Natasha.

“Cavalry is here,” Pepper murmured, tucking her hair behind her ear, as Bruce, in full Batman garb stepped out of the Bat Mobile, his Sons getting of their respective bikes, with Spiderman climbing off Tim’s where he’d been hitching a lift.

Clint, was riding in the ambulance with Natasha, who was carried out on a stretcher, with the EMT’s taking her straight to the emergency room for treatment, Sam and Scott had been driven in one of the police cars, and joined Rhodey, both wearing their combat gear, ready to fight.

“What have we got?” Batman asked, his voice distorted by the modulator built into his suit,

“Maximoff is hold up on the third floor in Tony’s room,” Rhodey replied, “We don’t yet know if Rogers, Max, or Tony is with her, or if she’s alone,”

Robin growled, and drew a katana, twisting it in his hand, “Then lets get the f*ck in there and find out!”

Rhodey held up a hand, “Hold up kid, we can’t burst in there without a plan, that bitch has a hell of a lot of fire power, and she could do a massive amount of damage, and not only to us,” Robin snarled and made to just charge straight on into the hospital regardless, but the firm and unyielding hand of Batman on his shoulder restrained him,

“We can’t afford the casualties,” he stated, “We need a plan, to go in, and deal with her, without anyone getting hurt,”

“Anyone but that bitch, right?” Spiderman asked, bouncing from foot to foot with nervous energy,

“Uh, I could maybe get some info?” Scott offered, holding up a hand, “She won’t see me if I’m miniature, I can do recon without the risk of her seeing me,”

Rhodey glanced to Batman who shrugged his shoulders, they needed the intel, and Wanda’s magic was probably screwing up any security cameras, so sending in Lang in the Antman Suit was the best way to get that info,

“Alright Lang, you’re on,” Rhodey agreed, “Go in, find out where she is, what she’s doing, if she has hostages, and then get out, do not, I repeat, do not engage,”

Scott let out a nervous laugh, “No worries there man, I ain’t stupid,”

“Can we have that in writing!” Robin snarked, making Alfred grin and stifle a chuckle,

Scott ignored the jibe and prepared to shrink down, but the crushing grip of Batman’s hand on the back of his neck made him freeze, and he felt a shiver of fear run down his spine as the Bat growled into his ear, “If you betray us Lang, I promise you, there will be no hole deep or dark enough for you to hide from me, and what I will do to you, will make what Joker did to Dent seem like a love tap!”

Since Harvey Dent had half his face burned off, this was a threat that Scott wasn’t going to bluff, gulping and only just managing to keep control of his bladder, Scott nodded his head, and hurriedly shrunk down in his suit, charging into the hospital, wondering briefly if it was weird that he was less scared of Wanda than he currently was of Batman.

*****

With how much blood Tony was losing, Steve did not bother being picky over the pharmacy he took him to, he chose the first one that was available, parking the car in the alley besides the store, and hurried round the passenger door, opening it up and lifting Tony and the Pup up into his arms.

Tony wanted to protest, he truly did, but he knew, from the amount of blood that had collected in his lap, that if he tried to stand he would pass out, the world was spinning enough as it was, so, he bore Steve touching him without complaint for the moment.

The young woman behind the counter let out a shriek of horror when Steve burst into the store, a bloody Tony in his arms, and a sleeping Max in his.

“I don’t want to hurt anyone,” Steve said, in his Captain America is speaking so you must listen and obey, voice, “Tony need’s stitches, bandages, my Son needs nappies,”

“He needs clothing, nappies, wipes, talcum powder, the freaking works,” Tony stated, his voice slurring with the fatigue that was rapidly spreading over him. The young woman, had backed away from the counter, was pressing herself against the wall looking utterly terrified, while an elderly man, the owner of the pharmacy came out from where he was locking up the drugs for the night, he took in the situation, at the amount of blood on Tony’s hospital gown and nodded his head,

“Bring him through,” he said to Steve, who sagged with relief, the young woman gaped at him,

“Granddad!” she protested,

“A man’s life is in danger Kirsty,” the man said, his words lilting slightly with a German accent that had been dulled by years of living out of the country, “Go through lock up, and pack a bag for Herr Rogers, with all he needs,”

Kirsty did not look happy at this, but did not argue with her Grandfather, instead she went to the door, shutting and locking it, and changing the sign to closed. She then began to get nappies off the shelves, along with the other items Tony had listed, while Steve carried Tony and Max through the office, where he lay him down on a reclining office chair.

“I am not a Doctor,” the Pharmacist said, getting out latex gloves, adhesive dressings, butterfly stitches, and disinfectant, “You need to see a Doctor, Herr Stark,”

Tony made a face and nodded in Steve’s direction, “Captain sh*t-For-Brains might have something to say about that,”

“Tony,” Steve sighed,

“You are putting his life at risk, Herr Rogers,” the elderly man said, his accent thickening as he got out a set of very sharp scissors to cut bandages, “He needs more treatment than I am equipped or capable of providing,”

“Please,” Tony said, exhaustedly, “Do what you can,”

“Ja, I will see what I can do,” The Pharmacist said, getting down on arthritic knees to tend to Tony, Steve chose to pluck Max from Tony’s arms, and Tony made to protest, but then grinned an laughed, even though it pained him to do so, as Max chose, at that moment, to release his bladder, all down Steve’s front!

“Look’s like Max feels the same for you as I do, Rogers!” Steve scowled, saying nothing as he went to find Kirsty and a nappy for the wet Pup, and a change of clothing for himself!

The Pharmacist peeled back Tony’s blood soaked hospital gown and tutted as he examined the wound, “This is enflamed, Herr Stark, you may be getting an infection,”

“Not much I do about that right now,” Tony sighed, hissing in pain, as the man disinfected the wound,

“I can call the Police if you wish,” Tony shook his head,

“Wait until we’ve gone,” he stated, “I don’t want to risk Rogers hurting you or your Granddaughter,”

The old man nodded, continuing his task, cleaning the wound, and began to lay on butterfly stitches, which would not hold very well, but would be better than nothing, he then layered over adhesive dressings and unrolled a pack of bandages, “This will provide some support for the wound if I bind them tight,” he said to Tony, “Can you sit up straight for a few moments?” Weakly, Tony nodded, and had to support himself on the table as the man wrapped the gauze about his middle, tugging it uncomfortably tight, but giving the dressings more hold over the wound,

“I will give you a shot of Penicillin in case of infection, and a shot of morphine for the pain..,”

“No morphine,” Tony said, at once, “I need to be alert, for Max,” The old man frowned, looking troubled, as he took off his gloves,

“You must be in pain, Herr Stark,”

“Pain I can live with,” Tony stated, stoutly, and tugged his soiled hospital gown back down, he wrinkled his nose at the damp bloody cloth, “I don’t suppose I can trouble you for something to wear?” he asked, hardly able to believe that he was so desperate that he was having to beg for clothing,

“Ja, I may have something,” the Old man agreed, “Stay here, I will bring it.”

For the first time since he’d awoken, Tony allowed himself a moment to relax, stripping off the hospital gown and balling it up, he sat, very still for a few moments, his eyelids growing heavy, and his body swaying as fatigue caught up with him, he might well have fallen asleep, had it not been for Steve suddenly returning to the room and calling his name.

Yelping, Tony covered himself with his arms, and glared at Steve, “Can I have some f*cking privacy?” he snapped, very aware that he was wearing nothing but hospital issue paper pants and a layer of bandages, Steve misinterpreted Tony’s reluctance to be seen all but naked, and offered him a smile,

“You look fine honey, you’ve only just given birth, a bit of extra weight is to be expected,”

Tony rolled his eyes, because really? Did Captain dickhe*d really think he gave a flying f*ck about his appearance right now? His reason for protest was because he didn’t want to be gawped at practically naked by the man who’d abducted him and his Son, not because he had body image issues.

Presently, the old man returned to the room along with his Granddaughter, who was carrying Max, now in a clean nappy, and a baby grow, looking content in her arms, on seeing Tony’s state of undress, she promptly turned and went back into the shop to give him privacy, while the old man kept his gaze averted and tossed Tony a set of cheap pajama’s, the kind that people would use if they were going into hospital for a few days and wouldn’t care if they got stained.

Tony very gratefully pulled them on, not caring that they didn’t really fit, he was just happy to be wearing something that wasn’t covered in blood, Steve was wearing a shirt similar, having had to discard his uniform top thanks to Max’s timely bathroom visit, and he frowned as the old man filled a syringe and used a disinfectant wipe on Tony’s upper arm,

“What’s that?” he asked,

“Penicillin,” the old man said, “In case of infection,”

“Oh,” well, that made sense, Steve supposed, “Is he going to be alright?”

“Nein!” the old man stressed, “He needs a Doctor, I have done what I can but it is not enough, you must take him to the hospital,”

“That is out of the question,” Steve stated, he looked to Tony, “Are you ready to go?”

Tony glanced at the old man, and took his arm, giving him a smile, “Stark Industries will reimburse you for all you’ve given us,”

“I don’t care about the money, Herr Stark, I care about you, and the Pup,” the Old Man said, “You are not well, and that Pup needs you,”

“I’ll take care of them,” Steve stated, letting a bit of his Alpha growl show in his voice, the Old man, However, was not impressed,

“You endanger them both needlessly,” he stated, glaring at Steve, “You are not a hero, you are a menace to society, and you believe we should be grateful to you?” the old man scoffed, “You are a deluded fool, and have no right to call yourself, Captain America,”

Steve’s expression became offended, and Tony quickly intervened before the matter could escalate, sliding off the chair, he got unsteadily to his feet, forcing himself to walk towards Steve, “Lets just go,” he said, struggling to keep his knee’s from buckling under him,

“Wait, before you leave,” the old man said, taking a bag of sweets from his desk, and a bottle of still water, he handed both to Tony, “And take more from the shop, if you are nursing then you need the calories and fluids,”

Tony nodded and gave the old man a warm smile, “I will not forget this,” he promised, “I’ll pay you back tenfold for what you’ve done,”

The old man shook his head, sighing, as Kirsty lay Max into Tony’s arms, and Steve picked up the shopping bag filled to the brim with supplies, which she quickly added to, with bottled water, juice, chocolate bars, cereal bars, and crisps,

“Just be safe,” the old man said, resting a hand on Kirsty’s shoulder,

Tony nodded, walking slowly to the door, and letting Steve usher him through it, out into the street and back to the car.

The second the door was closed, Kirsty ran for the phone and dialled for the Police, knowing they would want the evidence, her Grandfather left everything where it lay in his office, and simply sat down, saying a quiet prayer for Tony and little Max, praying that both would soon be safely at home, with Captain America behind bars.

Chapter 19

Chapter Text

The distance from the car park to the third floor was made much longer when one was just the size of an ant. So it took Scott several minutes to get up to the third floor, where Wanda was pacing the hallway, muttering to herself, with magic sparks dancing from her fingers and a glow of red filling her manic eyes.

Not wanting to alert her to his presence, Scott, kept well out of her way, as he ran down the halls, looking into the various rooms, checking for anyone who might still be there, as well as Tony, Steve, and the Pup. He nearly jumped out of his skin, when Wanda let out a bellow of rage, and another door went flying down the hallway,

“Die, he has to die!” Wanda snarled, whirling around, her hair getting into her face, nearly hiding the mask of hysterical rage that her youthful features had twisted into. Her red eyes burned with fury, and her mouth continued to spit out curses and snarls, as she walked back and forth, lashing out at the hospital walls, doors, chairs, and anything else she could rip apart with her magic.

“Crazy ass bitch!” Scott muttered to himself, once he had established that Wanda was indeed alone, he ran back down the corridor, and back down the stairs, reaching the car park panting and returning to normal size.

“Well?” Batman barked, as soon as he’d arrived,

“She’s alone,” Scott said, resting his hands on his knees as he caught his breath, “No sign of Stark, Rogers, or the Pup,”

“I’m not sure if I’m relieved by that or not,” Rhodey murmured, looking up at the third floor with a scowl on his face,

“If she’d in there alone, where the hell is Stark and Steve?” Clint asked, voicing the question in everyone’s mind,

“Roger’s must have taken him,” Spiderman said, his voice cracking as he did so, and behind his mask, Peter flushed as he got a risen eyebrow from Clint,

“You don’t think there is any possibility that Tony could have gone with Steve willingly?” Sam asked, and he stepped back as the entire Bat Family whirled on him, glaring behind their cowls,

“Willingly?” Robin snarled, looking truly frightening for someone so young, “He was fresh out of f*cking surgery, he wouldn’t have even been conscious, you brain deficient f*ckwit!”

“Language!” Batman scolded, and for a moment Clint was reminded of Steve, but only for a second, this was different, Robin was clearly adolescent where as Tony had been a grown man, and his exclamation of “sh*t” was far less obscene than the expletives coming out of this kids mouth.

“If she’s alone, that means we can just bust right on in, right?” Red Robin asked, The Bat,

“Definitely,” Robin purred, taking a wicked looking katana from a sheath, and ran a gloved thumb over the razor sharp blade,

“Hold up a second mate,” Alfred said, actually daring to put a hand on The Bats shoulder, something neither Clint or Sam, and certainly not Scott, would have dared to do, “You can just go bursting in there guns blazin’ yeah she might not ‘ave ‘ostages now, but there’s still patients in there, Doctors, Nurses, Visitors, they could all get hurt if she goes even more gaga and drops one of the floors down.”

Vision, who had been staring mutely up at the third floor, turned at this, and spoke up. “I believe, if I can get close enough, I can neutralize Miss Maximoff’s powers,”

For a moment there was silence, then Clint slapped his palms together and pointed at Vision, “Now we’ve got a plan!”

“Prick!” Robin muttered,

“Lame,” Red Robin agreed,

Nightwing frowned at Vision, “How close is close?” he asked, The Android tilted his head considering the question before replying,

“I’ll have to be right in front of her, and bring her into physical contact with the Mind Stone,”

“That’s close,” Nightwing murmured, not looking thrilled at the thought of Vision getting so close to the woman who’d thrown him through several stories of solid concrete, Scott, meanwhile, was shaking his head,

“That ain’t gonna be easy, man,” he said, quite serious, “She,” he pointed with his thumb over his shoulder, “Is freaking out, I mean like seriously freaking out, she’s talking to herself, lashing out at the walls, she’s a powder keg just waiting to blow,”

“if she wasn’t currently putting other lives at risk, I’d say just let her blow,” Batman said, and slapped Nightwing round the back of the head when he snorted at the word ‘Blow’

“Colonel Rhodes? Can we have a word?” the Police Sergeant asked,

“Hold on a minute guys,” Rhodey said, and made his way over to where the cops had set up.

“Soooo, what are you thinking?” Red Robin asked, The Bat, “You have a plan right?”

“The start of one,” Batman replied, “Rhodes can fly, and Spiderman can cling to the outside of buildings, both could provide distractions from the outside, draw her fire, while you, me, Robin, get onto the floor, and engage in a more close range fight, restrain her, and let Vision…, remove her powers,”

“Works for me,” Spiderman agreed, bouncing on the balls of his feet, Sam put up a hand,

“I can fly too, I’ll draw her fire too,” he said,

“And I have years of close combat experience,” Clint said, “I can also distract her with some low level rounds of exploding arrows,”

“How low level?” Nightwing asked, frowning,

“Think of a party popper that’s been supped up, with enough of a flash to blind someone for a few seconds,” Clint explained, he grinned, “I’m good at getting through vents too, I can get onto that floor without her knowing I’m there,”

“I guess I can…, unbalance her,” Scott offered, not overly keen to get that close to Wanda, but still willing to help, “Get under her feet, and in her way?”

“I’m sure you’ve great experience at doing that with others,” Robin drawled snidely, a malicious gleam in his dark eye,

“And what should I do?” Vision inquired,

“Wait until she’s restrained, then move in,” Batman said, glancing up as Rhodey returned, he rose an eyebrow at the Colonel who looked worried, “What?” Batman demanded,

“A pharmacy owner called the police, Roger’s was at their store, with Tony and Max.”

The news had everyone brightening for a moment, then, with the worry remaining on Rhodey’s face, it slipped away, and the familiar feeling of fear took it’s place,

“What is it, Colonel?” Vision asked, when no one else spoke. Rhodey paused, having to wet his lips and draw breath before he could talk, clearly having to fight down his emotions in order to remain calm, not a sign that had anyone feeling any better over the situation they were in.

“Tony’s hurt bad, bleeding heavily, the Pharmacist patched him up as best he could, gave him a shot of penicillin, but Tony need’s immediate medical attention, the longer this goes on, the greater the risk of serious infection, and other complications.”

Other complications meaning death. Behind his cowl Bruce’s face creased with anger and fear, anger at Rogers for putting Tony at such risk, and fear for Tony’s health the longer he was denied medical attention.

“How was Stark?” Sam asked, quietly,

Rhodey gave him a withering look, “He’d just had his Pup cut out of him and kidnapped, undergone major surgery to repair that damage, and been abducted from his hospital bed, how the hell would you be, Wilson?”

Sam held up his hands in surrender, backing away from The Colonel’s ire.

“We should go and talk to the Pharmacist,” Robin said, “He might know something more,”

Rhodey shook his head, “He and his Granddaughter are with the Police, will be for hours yet, and from what I’ve already been told, they had no idea what Rogers plans were,”

“Plus, we need to deal with the crazy ass bitch before we go after Rogers,” Nightwing said, he held up a hand when Bat Man whirled on him, “Once she’s dealt with, we can focus on Tony and Max, lets get her in a straight jacket and carted off to Arkum, so we get kick the sh*t out of Rogers, and get Tony and Max back to the hospital.”

Sighing heavily, Batman nodded, he turned to Rhodey, “The plan is for you, Wilson, and Spiderman, to draw her fire from outside the hospital, while myself, Lang, Barton, Nightwing, Robin, and Red Robin tackle her inside, and get her restrained for Vision to strip her powers,”

“Sounds good to me,” Rhodey said, sliding the visor shut, “Now lets get this done.”

*****

Wanda was pacing back and forth when Spiderman appeared at one of the windows, actually waving at her! Letting out a shriek, Wanda threw magic at him, but the Spider easily evaded the energy and disappeared from view,

“Little sh*t!” She snarled, starting towards the window,

“Takes one to know one,” came a voice behind her, she turned, seeing Sam in the Falcon gear, and lashed out, but he dodged, and War Machine appeared, and fired a shot at her, which Wanda barely had time to dodge and get off a shot of her own, before the damn Spider creature was back and flinging webs at her!

Screaming in fury, Wanda let out a shock wave of power, so intense it nearly knocked her off her feet. She cringed as the pain in her head she had been feeling since she climbed up off the floor, increased,

“Hey Hydra bitch!”

Wanda spun round, trying to strike the Spider, but he was too fast, and then War Machine and Falcon were swooping back for another go, forcing her to unleash another wave of power, this one knocking her off her feet, sending her to her knees, panting and shaking. Before she had a chance to regain her bearings and arrow exploded to her left, and then another to her right, blinding her as she fell back, blinking furiously, and looking about with unseeing eyes, waiting for her vision to return.

Just as the dark over her eyes began to lighten, there came a battle cry, and a boot struck Wanda in the face, smashing her nose and throwing her onto her back, where she remained for only a second, as she was grabbed by the wrists, lifted up and kicked brutally hard in the ribs and the back of the knee, making her fall forward once more.

Screaming in pain and anger, Wanda summoned her power, and lashed out at the two figures she was starting to see clearly, hitting them and sending them sliding down the hospital floor, to slam into the wall with painful groans.

Grunting with the effort it took, Wanda got to her feet, frowning when she felt something run over them, then suddenly her left foot was yanked out from under her making her crash to the ground once more, she landed heavily on her left hip and didn’t have a chance to catch the breath that had been knocked out of her before her right hand was being grabbed and pulled up over her head.

“No!” Again she used her magic, and a yelp was heard as something or someone was sent flying across the hospital floor, Scott appeared in the Antman suit against the wall a moment later, and Wanda bared her teeth, only to have another arrow blind her. Snarling in fury, she staggered to her feet, reaching out blindly, her magic burning and surging inside her, slowly her vision began to clear, a dark shape taking form before her eyes, pulling back her lips, Wanda growled, intending to lash out, but a vicious kick hit her in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her and sending her sprawling down onto the floor again.

Coughing, Wanda gazed up and saw in astonishment, The Batman standing before her, reaching down for her, he lifted her up by her up by her coat and his fist smashed into her face, over and over, knocking out her front teeth, destroying her nose, and fracturing her cheek bones with the force of the blows, she tried to bring her hands up, tried to struggle against him, but her left arm was seized in a strong grip, and then her right, and her legs were kicked out from under her, bringing her to the ground again, where Batman paused, delivering one final blow to her face, before he moved, with astonishing speed, to the side, yanking her head back by her hair, and holding her head still as Vision appeared before her.

“Viz..,” Wanda whispered, spitting blood from her torn lips,

“This has to end Wanda,” Vision said, “This power should never have been given to a human, perhaps, with it gone, you’ll find some peace.”

Wanda’s eyes widened, and she tried to protest, but Vision lay his head, the mindstone against her forehead and Wanda felt like electricity was being pulled out of her, she felt her veins burn and her blood bubble inside them, as her magic was pulled out of her and back into the mindstone.

A long wail escaped her lips, which became a desperate howl of agony, and as Vision stood away, nodding to Batman, Robin, and Red Robin, they let go of her, and Wanda fell to the floor sobbing like a child, curling her limbs up to her stomach and burying her face as she cried out for her Brother, who would never be there for her again.

“It’s done,” Batman said, into his com, “She’s powerless,” he sighed heavily, “I think she needs a Doctor, and not just a medical Doctor, I think she’s had a complete breakdown.”

Chapter 20

Chapter Text

Max was hungry again, his demanding cries filling the car and making Steve’s ears hurt.

Tony hastily pulled off his T-shirt and took Max to his breast, wincing as the Pup quickly latched on and began to suckle in earnest. For moment, as he gazed at his Son feeding at his breast, Tony was able to forget his current situation, the whole world fell away leaving just himself and Max bound together in this tender maternal embrace.

Then that moment was broken, as Steve spoke, reminding Tony that he was not safely at home in bed, with his Son nestled in his arms, and Bruce close by, but on the run, in a stolen car, being held captive by deranged super soldier.

“You should eat,” Steve said, “You need to eat more when nursing don’t you?”

Tony sneered at him, “No sh*t,”

Steve sighed, his hands tightening on the wheel as he strove for patience while being faced with Tony’s constant animosity. The Omega was nothing if not stubborn and defiant, and while in some respects Steve admired this about him, he also resented right now, if Tony would only swallow his pride and show some humility then they could make everything right again!

But no, the proud Omega refused to bend, continued to glare and glower at Steve, when he looked up from stroking James’s dark haired head, the only time he was not scowling was when he was looking at James. The Pup hungrily nursed in Tony’s arms, eventually falling asleep as belly filled, and hardly awoke when Tony put him over his shoulder to burp him, before settling him back down again.

“He’ll need changing soon,” Tony said, running a hand through his hair, it was damp with sweat, and even to his own palm his forehead felt warm. Great. He was running a fever. The Pharmacist was probably correct about the infection then, though, Tony supposed this could be his body reacting to whatever drugs he’d been given when undergoing surgery following Wanda’s butchery.

Just thinking about that nightmare brought a shudder to Tony’s body, he knew he’d be seeing that over and over in sleep for a long time to come, that his subconscious would replay the horror of his Pup being cut from his womb and stolen before his eyes.

The only thing he could be thankful for was that she had a surgeon do the incision, if she had done it herself there was no way he would have survived it.

Sighing heavily, Steve tapped his thumbs on the wheel of the car, “I’ll find us somewhere to spend the night,”

Tony scoffed and shook his head, “Where? Another warehouse? In case you haven’t noticed you have no money, no way of getting any money, no way out of the city without being apprehended by the authorities, and both Max and I need medical attention.”

“You’re both going to be fine,” Steve insisted, he risked glancing over his shoulder, “I’ll take care of you,” Tony threw him a disgusted look and turned away, reaching for the water bottle and taking a drink. His head was aching, but that was nothing compared to the agony of his stomach. The tight binding of the bandages was agony on his wound and dug painfully into the rest of his skin, making it sore and reddened. The wound itself burned angrily, and Tony longed to rip the bandages off and stretch out on a bed, to go to sleep and give his body a chance to recover, but he couldn’t risk closing his eyes, couldn’t risk going to sleep. He’d lost too much blood, if he wept to sleep he might not wake up, and if that happened there would be no one to take care of Max.

“What about the Mansion, or the Tower?” Steve asked, making Tony startle, his thoughts had been wandering, his exhaustion making it hard to concentrate, he so desperately wanted to rest, he was so uncomfortable and so tired that he was pretty sure he’d sell his soul to the highest bidder if it meant he could go to sleep in a bed.

“What about them?” he asked, taking another swig of water, the car went over a speed bump and he hissed for the pain that shot through him,

“Could we go there?” Steve asked, and Tony lost it. The stress, the fear, the exhaustion, and no this idiotic question just finished it for Tony. He gave up and burst into hysterical laughter hardly able to believe the idiocy that was Captain America.

“Those would be the first places that the cops will look, they’ll be under guard, there’s no way you could get in there without getting arrested, and the same goes for the Compound, they’ll all be under guard.”

“Well we have to go somewhere!” Steve cried, growing frustrated, “We’re getting low on gas, I can’t keep driving us around, we need a place to stay while I figure out what to do next,”

“Do? Roger’s there is nothing you can do, there is no where you can go that you won’t be found. This is a double kidnap, and it’s the kidnap of a child which means a full Amber Alert will be in effect, the whole country will be on the watch for you, they’ll have the FBI in to coordinate with the City Police, and as you’re a wanted fugitive facing charges of treason and terrorism, they’ll bring in the national guard and military to deal with you,”

“I am not a terrorist,” Steve growled, white knuckling the wheel, but Tony ignored him,

“There really will be a shoot on sight order this time Rogers, and they won’t bother just winging you, they’ll take a head shot, and that’s just the normal services who’ll be out for you, but in case it slipped your mind, you’ve gone a pissed off the Avengers, they’ll be out for your blood, as with The Bat.”

The words fell from Tony’s lips without him meaning to say them, no one knew Bruce was Batman, no one but family at least, and no one could know, but Tony’s sleep deprived mind wasn’t functioning at 100%, he had just let his mouth do what it wanted while his brain tried to take a brief nap, and the words had just fallen out.

Steve frowned, “The Bat?” he asked, dimly he recalled Natasha and Clint speaking of some vigilante in Gotham City who went by the pretentious name of Bat Man, is that who Tony meant? But why would Batman be involved here? Before he could ask, the car engine began to sputter and cut in and out. One look at the fuel gage showed why and Steve bite back a curse, pulling over to the curb and stopping the car.

“No what Einstein?” Tony sassed, “Any other brilliant ideas?”

Steve grunted, taking off his seat belt and opening the car door, “Now we walk.”

*****

Sobbing and completely insensate, Wanda was put in a straight jacket and loaded into an ambulance, to go straight to a secure unit for evaluation so the authorities could figure out what to do with her, most likely incarceration in a mental hospital, though the government might decide to wash their hands of her and deport her to Sokovia, where she might be made to stand trial for her crimes even if she were found insane.

“They should just find a dark hole, drop her in and throw away the key,” Was Tim’s view point, Damian however, was more bloodthirsty.

“They should strange her and put a stake through her heart, then bury her at a cross roads in an unmarked grave!”

“It’s not the middle ages,” Bruce scolded, rather half-heartedly since he really couldn’t give a damn about what happened Wanda, so long as she never darkened Tony’s doorway again. He didn’t care about Natasha either, though Clint, Sam, and Scott certainly did, eagerly going to the Doctors for information on her condition.

Remarkably she had escaped with no spinal damage, she had a nasty concussion, several broken ribs, and a dislocated shoulder, but the majority of the injury had been to her lower body, specifically her hips and pelvis, all of which had sustained severe fractures that had required pinning and plating, with an Ex-fix cage being used to align her pelvis. She also had a broken femur in her right leg, and both the tibia, and fibular in the left.

While these injuries would mean she’d be off her feet for months, it could have been much worse considering the height she fell from.

However, these injuries would have long term consequences for Natasha. She would have to undergo months of physio and rehab when she was able to stand again, and that would be for a good six months, she’d be pinned to the bed in the ex-fix for three months, and then confined to a wheelchair quite likely for another three before she could even hope to start using crutches. While the Doctors were confident that she would walk again, they did not believe it would be unaided. She would likely need to use a cane for the rest of her life, if not a full crutch, and she would certainly never be able to move as she had before, her body simply wouldn’t be capable of such dexterity, and she would frankly not be able to stand the pain trying to do so would cause.

So, while Natasha Romanoff had survived, The Black Widow was dead.

How Natasha would cope with this had yet to be seen, and what the authorities would do with her, since she could not possibly leave the country in her current condition, was also unclear. Police were posted on her door, more for her safety than anyone else, she wasn’t going anywhere right now, and wouldn’t be for a long time to come.

Out of compassion, and in lieu of their assistance in taking down Wanda, Clint, Scott, and Sam were allowed to remain at Natasha’ beside until she woke, so she would at least have a friendly face when she did so.

Plea bargains were being arranged by the lawyer, most likely with them turning states evidence against Steve and Wanda. Scott was going back to prison no matter what, he’d broken his parole and would have to complete his original sentence, but, if successful, he wouldn’t have to do more time than that, or it would be served on house arrest. Clint was likely to get house arrest, assuming his wife let him go home, Sam was more complicated due to his actions in Bucharest, but if the majority of the blame was laid on Steve, then he might get off light, though his military pension was likely to be revoked and his army record would now have a dishonourable discharge.

Leaving them with Natasha and letting the authorities deal with them, the Bat family, Vision, Spider Man, and Rhodey continued to work with the Police in tracking down Rogers.

Finally, when dawn was breaking, they got a hit on the stolen car, and drove at top speed to where it had been abandoned.

The amount of blood on the car seat sent a shot of fear through Bruce, he didn’t need to be told it was Tony’s, he knew it was, and his fury for Roger’s increased even more.

“If they’re on foot they couldn’t have gotten far,” The Sergeant said, “Stark’s injured, weak, he wouldn’t manage to move with any real speed, and if Rogers is carrying him then that will slow him down too.”

“You are talking about a Super Soldier,” Spiderman said, disdainfully, “I’ve fought him, carrying Tony and the Pup won’t slow him down much, he will still be able to cover a hell of a distance,”

“I can take to the sky, try and get a complete view of the city,” Vision suggested, feeling just as frustrated as everyone else, though, unlike everyone else, he was not fatigued, his body did not require sleep, so he was still as energetic as ever, where everyone else was feeling the burn.

“It’s worth a shot,” Rhodey said, “If you see anything, call it in straight away, but don’t try to engage on your own, I don’t want to put Tony or Max at risk,” Vision nodded his head in agreement, and took off to the sky, beginning his search of New York in the morning sunlight.

“What shall we do?” Robin asked, “Go street to street?”

Bruce was tempted to do so, he really was, but, they would have to fight a Super Soldier, and while he was confident his skill set was far greater than that of Steve Rogers, the former Captain’s strength outmatched them all, they would need to be strong to fight him, and a lengthy search that would likely be fruitless would only deplete their energy all the more. So, he shook his head,

“No, we let the Police comb the streets, we go back to the tower and look through CCTV footage, traffic cameras, and any other form of surveillance there is to find a lead. We also refresh ourselves so we’ll be strong and prepared for when the time to fight comes.”

He addressed the boys like a commander addressing a soldier, putting forward a logical plan and the reasons for it, he didn’t waste time on adding sentiment, he didn’t need to, they all knew he was worried about Tony and Max, knew it was driving him crazy not knowing where they were, but, he knew better than to exhaust himself with futile activities when his energy could be put to better use elsewhere.

“You know, you should have considered joining the services,” Rhodey said, as they headed to their vehicles to head to Stark Tower, “You’d have made one hell of an Officer,”

Bruce cracked a half smile, “Better than Rogers?”

Rhodey scoffed, “Even that raving, homicidal lunatic, Deadpool would be better than Rogers!”

*****

Tony had only made it two blocks before his legs gave out and he fell to the ground, unable to take another step. Steve had carried him from there, with the shopping bags stuffed with supplies on his wrists, and Tony and James held in his arms, he’d moved through the streets as fast as he could, trying to figure out where to go and what to do.

After they’d been walking for an hour, Tony begged him to stop, and astonishingly pushed James into Steve’s arms, though the reason for this became abundantly clear when he doubled over and vomited on the street.

There was hardly anything in his stomach to bring up other than water, and the act of vomiting left Tony shaking and sweating profusely, and more worrying still was the red stain on his pyjamas. He was bleeding again, and getting sicker by the minute.

Feeling more desperate than he could ever recall feeling before, Steve picked Tony up again, carrying him another block and coming to something that was becoming very rare on the city streets. A Pay phone.

Steve didn’t have any money, but he could reverse charge the call, dialling the operator and giving her the emergency phone number he’d memorized years before, praying that it was still operational and the call was answered. His heart leaped in joy when the call was accepted and a familiar voice came on line.

“Hey Fury,” Steve said, “I need your help.”

Chapter 21

Chapter Text

A long dry chuckle filled Steve’s ear, as he held the receiver to it, his grip so tight on the phone it was actually threatening to crush the plastic.

Tony was sat crumpled on the ground at his feet, shivering violently as he rocked James in his arms, the Pup thankfully asleep and unaware of their current situation.

“Captain America,” Fury finally said, after his laughter dried up, “Or, should I say, former Captain, turned wanted fugitive, and more recently, Kidnapper.”

Steve flushed at the former Director’s words, part of him, a good part of him wanted to slam the phone down just out of spite, but one glance at the increasingly pale Tony reminded him of the severity of the situation, so, he forcibly swallowed his pride and cleared his throat.

“I need your help.”

Fury barked a laugh, “My help?” he asked, sounding both amused and incredulous, “What you need, Captain,” and he said the title with caustic derision, “Is professional help, the kind that I am not qualified to give you, but, as a favour to an old…, well, friend is a stretch but it’ll do, I can give you the number for a good psychiatrist,”

Steve grit his teeth and spoke through them, “Tony’s sick, I need a place to take him, somewhere safe,”

“How about a hospital?” Fury drawled, “It’s where he needs to be, the infant too,”

“You know I can’t do that..,”

“No, not can’t Rogers, won’t,” Fury corrected sharply, “What in the hell are you thinking right now? Are you thinking at all? You abduct a man fresh out of surgery, put his life at risk, along with the health of a premature infant, do you have any idea how many warrants have been issued for your arrest? Or how many agencies are pushing for a shoot to kill order?”

“I know it’s bad, but I didn’t have a choice, I didn’t know what Wanda was going to do, I didn’t agree with it, and I’ve been trying to make the best of it since..,”

“The best being the abduction of Tony Stark?” Fury snorted, and there was a sound of ice knocking against a glass, Fury was taking a drink of something, probably alcoholic, “Put Stark on the phone,” he ordered, Steve balked,

“He’s right here, but he’s not..,”

“Stark right now, or you can shove any hope for my assistance up your Star spangled backside!”

It was testament to how dire the situation was that Steve didn’t continue to argue, instead he rested the receiver on top of the phone and bent down, taking Tony by the upper arms, helping lift him to his feet,

“Fury wants to speak to you,” he said, putting the receiver between Tony’s shoulder and ear so he didn’t have to put the Pup down,

“Hey Captain Pugwash,” Tony said into the phone, trying to sound jovial, but his voice was too hoarse and filled with pain for him to pull it off,

“What’s your situation Stark?” Fury barked, straight to business,

“Oh, you know, infected wound, losing blood, held against my will, same old, except I have Max to think about, but he seems okay, he’s fed well, and he pissed all over Rogers!” he gave a giggle at that, sounding drunk,

“Wish I’d seen that,” Fury chuckled, then turned serious, “A lot of people are looking for you, Roger’s can’t evade them forever, how long do you think you can last?” Before you lose consciousness or die, went unsaid,

“Not long,” Tony admitted, doubting he’d stay on his feet for more than an hour at this rate, his shirt was becoming weighted with blood, and his abdomen felt horribly bloated, the tight bandages painfully constricting his flesh and making it hard to breathe,

“I might be able to help,” Fury said, “There is somewhere Steve can take you, and I can pass that information on to..,concerned parties,”

Tony glanced at Steve, he was standing too far away to hear them, even with the serum, keeping an eye out for Police, “What do you want in return?” he asked, knowing Fury wouldn’t do this for free, not for him, if he would for anyone else, though that was unlikely.

“Since the fall of Shield, I have been working on setting up something else, something that your involvement will be greatly appreciated, and that of a certain individual with whom you have a certain…association, an individual who in his own City is something or a legend,”

Tony clenched his teeth, he could easily guess that Fury meant Batman, probably even suspected that the Bat was Bruce, and he wanted to have the Bat in his arsenal along with Iron Man.

“I can’t do that,” he said, refusing to betray Bruce for anything,

“I’m not asking for his identity, just a meeting, on his terms, you pass on a message and he can get in touch with me,”

Tony considered this, he didn’t like it, didn’t trust Fury as far as he could throw him without the armour, but he couldn’t refuse this offer, he was getting sicker by the minute and could not afford to lose anymore blood, he didn’t have a choice here, he had to accept Fury’s offer and the damn manipulative bastard knew it.

“Fine,” he gritted out, “But I make no promises of what He will do to you when I tell him about your conditions for offering help,”

Fury chuckled, “I’m sure I can handle what ever he throws at me,” and Tony scoffed, Fury wouldn’t know what hit him when the Bat came calling, Tony hoped that he’d film the scene so he could watch it later.

“Put Roger’s back on, and hang tough Stark, this is nearly over,”

Letting out a sigh of relief, Tony called Steve back over and leaned his weight against the phone, while Fury gave Steve an address he could take Tony to, a safe house Shield had in the City that was still secure. Thanking the former Director, Steve hung up and lifted Tony back into his arms, setting off for the safe house.

*****

Stark Tower

While no one was hungry, they all forced themselves to consume a decent sized breakfast, knowing they would need the energy whether they wanted to food or not.

On several screens, Bruce, Rhodey, and the boys went through hours and hours of CCTV footage, trying to find any sign of Steve Rogers. Sadly it appeared he wasn’t a complete idiot, and his time with Shield had taught him how to avoid CCTV, by avoiding main roads and taking back alleys where the cameras were fewer and easier to evade.

They got the footage of him abandoning the car, and helping Tony get out of the passenger seat. The grainy grey image didn’t show much detail, but by the slow way Tony moved, it was clear he was in considerable pain and Bruce wanted to kill Rogers for putting Tony through all this.

They managed to follow the pair and the Pup for half a block, then Steve led Tony into an alley and they disappeared from view, the trail going cold.

“Can I shoot Roger’s knees out when we find him?” Damian asked, pulling a pistol from God knows where, and Rhodey didn’t want to find out to be honest,

“Be my guest!” Bruce murmured, ordinarily he would discourage Damian from such actions, but these were not ordinary circ*mstances and he wasn’t going to stop Damian from knee capping Rogers if he got the chance to do so.

Presently Vision returned to the tower, coming in through the landing pad, his expression down cast, having obviously not found Tony as he had hoped he would.

“Have you made any progress?” he asked, looking around the penthouse, Peter and Tim was sharing the large comfy recliner, laying in each others arms, forehead to forehead, watching CCTV footage on a tablet, Damian was sat straight at one end of the sofa using a lap top, while Dick lay on his back at the other end, one foot flung down onto the floor while he used a tablet. Rhodey and Bruce were sat at the bar, their breakfast plates pushed to the side, and coffee mugs placed on top of them while they used a tablet each.

“f*ck all,” came Dick’s grunt of a response,

“You have no luck either I assume,” Rhodey said, rising to go and refill his coffee cup and taking Bruce’s with him to get him some too, Alfred was with Pepper, and together they were working with Lucious to deal with the press storm over the abduction, already there were rumours of Tony’s death on the internet, speculations that he’d died when Wanda had cut him open, or that Roger’s had killed him and hidden the body, even that Roger’s had decided to commit murder/suicide, and driven himself, Tony, and the Pup into the river drowning them all!

These stories would only get worse the longer Tony was missing. The police were also having to deal with cranks calling with false information in the hopes of getting a reward, or just looking to be dicks for the hell of it. SI and WE had received similar calls, which the PR departments were handling, the same had happened when Bruce had spent several years missing, and during Tony’s three month abduction, some people just got off on the suffering of others.

“Excuse me Colonel Rhodes?” came FRIDAY’s voice, “I have an incoming call from a Captain Pugwash!”

Vision’s eyebrows rose, “Is that not a cartoon character of a highly inappropriate television show?”

Tim snickered, “Seamen Stains and Master Bates!”

“It’s also Tony’s nickname for Fury,” Rhodey said, setting down his coffee, “Put him on Fri.”

The room fell silent as Friday connected the call, and Fury’s voice came over the coms, “Colonel Rhodes?”

“Speaking, what can I do you for, Director?”

Fury snorted, “You spend too much time around Stark, Colonel, in any case, it’s more what I can do for you,”

“And what would that be?” Rhodey asked, “And what will it cost us?”

“Far too long around Stark,” Fury said, “It’ll cost you nothing, the account’s already settled, I know where Roger’s has Tony and the infant, I’m sending the address to FRIDAY now,”

“And you couldn’t have just said that?” Rhodey sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose as if it pained him,

“Give Stark my regards,” Fury said, “Tell him I’ll pay a visit when he’s recovered.” He disconnected the call before anyone could tell him what he could go and do with himself, or make references to his relationship with his Mother, or his parentage in general!

“Friday?” Bruce asked, standing up from the bar,

“I have the address, Mr Wayne, it’s in the Bronx.”

“Then lets go!” Damian cried, flipping onto his feet, and spinning his katana blade,

“Hold on a second,” Rhodey said, holding a hand up to the teen, at the risk of having it amputated if he annoyed Damian enough, “We need a plan,”

“I have one,” Damian said, “I’ll gut Roger’s like a trout, and you guys can get Auntie Tony and Baby Max,”

Bruce wasn’t sure if he should be proud or not at this point,

“I meant something a little more in depth,” Rhodey said, “Our priority is Tony and Max, they have to gotten out of there and taken straight to the hospital,” he looked at Vision, “You and I will be best equip to do that as we can fly them there,”

“I concur,” Vision agreed,

“That leaves the rest of us to deal with Rogers then,” Peter said, pulling his mask down over his face, “Tag team him?”

“Sounds good to me,” Dick said, with an easy shrug,

“I must caution you all, Rogers is a super solider, he has four times your strength and may years of combat experience,” Vision warned them, “He will not be easy to take down,”

“As the Bucharest police force, and a German airport can attest,” Tim murmured, Damian lifted his chin proudly,

“We can deal with him, super serum or not, he’s going down.”

*****

The safe house was in fact an undecorated flat, with only a few pieces of furniture, and a toilet that didn’t work. As hide outs went, it sucked.

The bed was a low slung, fold up bed with a futon mattress with springs that stuck into Tony’s back as he laid down. Settling Max down besides him and lifted the pyjama top to examine the bloody bandages on his stomach. He long to take the bandages off, they were far too tight now, the bloating from the infection was making them unbearable, but he didn’t dare remove them, knowing that if he did then he would start to bleed far more heavily than he already was, so he let them stay put, forcing himself to ignore the pain and just lay back and wait for help to arrive.

There was no gas or electricity in the flat, so the stove was useless, they did have water though, and Steve made use of that, refilling the water bottles, he also got some chipped plates out of the cupboard and put together a meal of crisps, chocolate, cereal bars, and jelly babies, taking it and the water through to the bedroom.

He paused in the doorway, momentarily moved by the sight of Tony, curled up on his side, curling around the Pup, who was quietly snoring contentedly. Were it not for the shabby rooms and their current predicament then the sight would have been perfect.

Walking over to the bed, Steve set the bottles down on the floor, and the plates at the foot of the bed, then gently shook Tony’s shoulder to wake him,

“Hey honey, I have breakfast.” Tony didn’t move, didn’t blink, he just lay there motionless.

“Tony?”, Steve quickly reached for the Billionaire’s throat to feel for a pulse, he was relieved to find one, but it was far too rapid and thready, the heat coming off Tony was just as worrying, as was the blood that had soaked through the bandages along with a truly foul smell that could be nothing other than a very nasty infection.

Grabbing a water bottle, Steve tore the cap off and tipped a third of it over Tony’s face, hoping to cool him down and bring him round, “Come on Tony, wake up honey,” he urged, sitting Tony up, the Genius’s head lolled back over his arm, and Steve pressed the water bottle to his lips, tipping it up to get him to drink, “Tony please!” he whispered, blinking back tears, “Don’t do this, I need you, James needs you, you have fight, you have to wake up!”

Water trickled down Tony’s chin as it leaked from his mouth, splashing down onto his front as he lay limp in Steve’s arms, “Tony!” Steve’s plea was hoarse and choked with a sob, just as the front door was kicked in, along with the bedroom, kitchen, and living room windows shattering.

Chapter 22

Chapter Text

As soon as he was through the window and into the flat, Rhodey wasted no time in dealing with a startled Rogers, whom he blasted in the shoulder with a repulsor, sending Rogers flying back across the room, and through the door, to land in a heap in the hallway, momentarily stunned.

“Vision, he’s in here!” Rhodey yelled out, going to the bed and wincing at the sight of Tony laying there, pale and flushed with sweat rolling off his skin, turning his hair damp and soaking into the cheap pyjamas he is wearing. The blood on the material over Tony’s distended abdomen is even more worrisome, as is the unpleasant smell coming from that area.

“Are they alright?” Vision asked, fazing through the walls of the flat, to join Rhodey,

“Not in the least,” Rhodey replied, carefully scooping Tony up into his arms and positioning him so the repulsors in his gauntlets won’t burn the Omega, “Can you get Max? and we’ll get out of here,”

Vision hesitated, looking troubled, “I have never held an infant before in my life, I would not wish to damage him,”

Despite the circ*mstances Rhodey couldn’t help but to grin, “Just be careful,” he advised Vision, “Be gentle, and remember to support the head,”

Vision inched closer to the bed, cautiously lowering his hands to lift the Pup, who at the moment chose to awaken with a cry, and if Vision had a tail it would have puffed out three times it’s usual size!

“I believe there is something ailing the infant!” he said, looking helplessly at Rhodey, who could barely hold back his laughter,

“He’s probably hungry, or needs a change,” the Colonel said, “It’ll be fine, just pick him up, he won’t actually bite you know, his first set of milk teeth won’t come in for a good three months!”

Still looking as close to terrified as he ever had, Vision cautiously lifted Max, holding him against his chest, cradling him as if he feared he might break!

“Tony!”

Roger’s yell alerted both Vision and Rhodey and served to get them moving, “Straight to the hospital,” Rhodey said, leading the way to the window, “Let the others handle Rogers ass kicking.”

****

Steve righted himself from the hallway floor and ran back into the bedroom just as Vision and Rhodes took off with Max and Tony, heading for the hospital to get them both much needed medical attention.

“No!” Steve bellowed, he made to take a step forward but something looped about his right ankle, then about his left, and suddenly his legs were pulled out from under him and he was crashing to the floor face first!

“That’ll teach you to hurt Mr Stark!” a familiar voice said, Spiderman, Steve’s brain supplied, they had fought in Germany, Kid had a mouth, never stopped talking, had some kind of hero worship going for Tony.

Bracing his forearms on the floor, Steve attempted to pull himself up, only to have the webs on his ankles pulled sharply and he was dragged along the floor, lifted up and thrown back out into the hall,

“Your turn guys!” Spider man called, and Steve lifted his head just in time to see Nightwing’s fist rushing towards his face.

Super soldier he may be, super human he was not, and Steve felt the blow that Nightwing landed, he also felt the painful twist of his right arm, as Nightwing lifted him up and slammed him against the wall with enough force to crack a rib or two, then delivered a couple of agonising kidney punches before throwing Steve down again.

“Your on Red,” he called, and Red Robin stepped up spinning a staff weapon in his hands with such speed that the object forms a perfect circle in Steve’s vision and he nearly didn’t remember to block the blow that comes out to him until the last second, managing to catch the staff just before it had the chance to shatter his nose.

Red Robin was unfazed by this, and swiftly brought the weapon back around, catching Steve over the side of the head making bright lights explode behind his eyelids, two more blows land, on Steve’s shoulder and his back before he reached up and grabbed hold of the staff, stopping the boys momentum and pulling Red Robin to him, if he’d expected the boy to be cowed though he was in for a big disappointment, as Red Robin used Steve’s strong hold on the staff to volt himself into the air, flip over and deliver jaw cracking kick to Steve’s face, loosening a couple of his back teeth and knocking him to the ground once again!

“Asshole!” Red Robin spat at Steve, taking hold of his staff once again, and backed away, “All yours Hell Spawn!”

The drawing of steel was Steve’s only warning before a wickedly sharp Katana blade was slicing down towards his head!

Super soldier reflexes were all that saved Steve, giving him a chance to roll out of the way before the blade could slice his head off his shoulders, Robin let out a snarl and slashed at Steve again, Steve brought his arms up under the sword, managing to keep it from doing him serious injury, but a long thin cut was still dealt him across his chest, and the impossibly fast adolescent delivered a vicious kick to his thighs, then a round house to his solar plexus, and pulled his katana back to building up enough force to drive it through Steve’s lower abdomen, skewering him on the blade.

The look of satisfaction in the boys eyes was as shocking to Steve as the blade actually piercing his skin, a child shouldn’t look so pleased with himself for committing such a brutal act. But he didn’t have time to think about it, as the boy suddenly kicked him in the stomach, getting him off the blade and sending him tumbling through to the living room, where another foe was waiting for him.

“Well,” the distorted voice of the bat said, “Just you and me Rogers, time to make you pay.”

*****

Hospital

A Paediatrician took Max from Vision at the hospital, whisking him away to do all the usual tests on premature infants, and to get him weighed, measured, and a birth certificate drawn up.

Tony was taken straight into emergency surgery, the Doctors in the ER diagnosing internal bleeding and peritonitis. His abdomen needed to be opened up again and flushed clean of the puss building up inside him, along with the blood, and the bleed needed to be located and dealt with.

Rhodey called Pepper to let her know that Tony was in the hospital and undergoing treatment, and that Max was being checked over. Relief filled Pepper’s voice as she said that she and Alfred would join them at the hospital as soon as they could.
Letting out a deep sigh, Rhodey joined Vision in the waiting room, sitting down heavily and stretching his legs out in front of him.

“How are you doing?” he asked, “Getting over your first experience of holding a baby?” he meant it as a joke but Vision looked thoughtful,

“It was a very unique experience,” he said, “To hold something so new and so full of life in ones arms, I am not sure I have to words to describe how it felt. I was greeting a brand new soul to this world, a soul that Tony has nurtured inside his body for these past months, a life that his body has brought into being, and while pregnancy and childbirth are natural events, I find that I am moved by them both, especially by the end result, of a perfect being coming into the world.”

Rhodey smiled at the lengthy explanation Vision gave, he supposed that too an Android, someone who would never experience pregnancy and child birth as anything other than a witness, not a participant, it was an almost alien experience, perhaps that was why he had been so fascinated in all the changes Tony had undergone during the pregnancy, wanting to know everything and document it, God knows he had looked like he was about to take flight when he’d felt Max kick for the first time!

“Do you think Bruce and Tony will have more offspring?”

The question took Rhodey by surprise, and for a moment he floundered in shock, “I…, have no idea, I would think that…, well Tony isn’t young or in the best of health, but I suppose they might consider it,”

“Do you think Tony feels the loss of Max being inside him?”

Okay, so Vision was going to be giving Rhodey all the tough questions tonight it seemed, “I really don’t..,”

“The sudden loss of weight must be disconcerting, the abdomen going from firm to soft and becoming remarkably smaller must be strange, though I wonder why the muscles don’t just snap back into place, one would think that nature would take care of such things with far more swiftness than it does,”

“I guess its just one of those things,” Rhodey murmured, wishing he wasn’t the one being bombarded with all these questions that he couldn’t answer, where was a female Beta or an Omega when he really needed one?

“I wonder if the infants miss the comfort of the womb,” Vision continued to muse, “It must be so calm and serene inside, perhaps they feel disconcerted to leave such a sanctuary,”

Rhodey opened his mouth to say something, to change the subject, but a nurse came into the waiting room with a smile on her face,

“I have some good news,” she said, as Rhodey stood, “Baby Max is doing very well, his large size has definitely benefitted him, he won’t need any further treatment, and we’ll transfer him to his Mothers room once Mr Stark is out of surgery,”

“Oh thank God!” Rhodey breathed in relief, at least Max was alright, wasn’t suffering any ailments like weak lungs from being born early,

“Is there any word on Mr Stark yet?” Vision asked, the Nurse shook her head,

“I’ll update you as soon as I have news.”

As the Nurse left, Rhodey sank back down into his seat, “At least that’s some good news,” he said, “Now all we need is for Tony to pull through this and everything will be fine.”

*****

Batman’s boot caught Steve in the side, and he wrapped his arms about Batman’s leg, intending to pull it out from under him, but Batman moved too fast, planting that foot on the ground and kicking Steve in the stomach with his other foot, raising said foot, and brought it down on Steve’s hip as he curled in on himself, his abdomen throbbing from being stabbed and kicked.

“Should have known you’d be too weak to fight back,” Batman growled, kicking his leg free from Steve’s arms, “You’re nothing but a pathetic coward,” he grabbed Steve by the forearms and body slammed him into the wall, breaking a couple of Steve’s ribs and began to punch him in the face repeatedly.

Steve’s head cracked back against the wall with every blow, his skin splitting and skull fracturing, along with his nose, his eyebrows split open and small capillary vessels burst in his eyes blurring his vision, desperately he brought his knee up, hitting The Bat in the stomach, Batman grunted, his armour taking most of the blow, but with enough to give Steve a chance to get him off and deliver a blow to the cowl covered face, knocking the Bat back a few steps.

“I am no coward!” Steve snarled, rubbing the back of his head, the Bat didn’t reply, he moved, jumping up and delivering flying kick to Steve’s head, which he only just managed to deflect, and fired some sort of repel into the ceiling, swinging across the room, then kicking off the wall, coming back at Steve, unhooking himself from the repel cord and coming down on him hard, arms wrapping about his neck and legs about his torso, hard enough to cut off Steve’s breath and send him crashing back down onto the floor, where he was treated to another rain of blows onto his head and face, before he flipped the Bat off him.

The Bat landed heavily on his back and lay still. Not buying for a second that he was finished, Steve ran at him, jumping up to bring his elbow down onto the Bat’s stomach, but Batman reacted faster, catching Steve by the arms, his foot wedging against Steve’s abdomen, and with an almighty thrust threw Steve across the room and out of the window!

A scream tore out of Steve’s mouth as he fell down to the street landing painfully on the ground, his right arm breaking under him, along with more ribs, and possibly his ankle.

He lay on the ground panting for several seconds, then a thump came from behind him, and he was being lifted by his collar and thrown across the alley into steel trash cans, the contents of which landed on him, smearing his uniform in rotted food and other house hold waste.

“That’s the right place for trash like you,” The Bat said, standing before him, his repel dangling behind him from the window he’d thrown Steve out of, “You know, I’ve fought the scum of Gotham for years, gone toe to toe with Joker, Riddler, Penguin, Scarecrow, and Two Face, and you know what? They don’t disgust me nearly half as much as you, because unlike you they are in fact insane,” he sneered at Rogers, “What’s your excuse?”

Steve forced himself back onto his feet, balling his fists, “I don’t need an excuse, I am a hero!”

“You’re a rapist kidnapper,” The Bat spat at him, “And you’re going to prison for the rest of your life,”

“The hell I am!”

Steve aimed at kick at the Bat, but the Bat dodged and he ended up kicking the wall and breaking several toes in the process, he was subsequently brought to his knees by the kick to the back of them, grabbed by the back of the head and smashed into the wall, once, twice, three times, knocking the air out of him and breaking one of his front teeth before he was thrown down onto the ground again coughing and groaning as he tried to catch his breath, something that was prevented as the Bat was suddenly on top of him, hands closing about his throat and cutting off his air!

“I want to kill you,” the Bat growled, his dark eyes full of hatred and malice, “I want to rip you apart, flay you for what you have done, but I know, if I give into that, if I do it, then I will be no better than you, and I would sooner die than become like you,”

Steve scrabbled at the Bat’s arms, trying to break his grasp, his head was aching, his eyes bulging as he slowly strangled to death, then, just as he was about to pass out, the hands left his neck and he could breathe.

Steve let out a long exhale and drew in a huge gulp of air, only he found himself struggling to do so, found himself coughing and feeling agonisingly winded, he still felt dizzy too, and his body was in absolute agony!

Fighting the nauseating dizziness, Steve forced himself to sit up and let out a howl of horror at the sight of himself.

Gone were his strong muscled limbs, his rippling abs, and powerful torso, in their place were his scrawny, skinny twig like limbs, hollow sunken stomach, and pathetic weak chest that fluttered like a bird as he struggled for air.

“What…, what did you do to me?” he rasped at the Bat, who smirked at him,

“A special task force in the police was brought in to deal with you, when you and Maximoff attacked Mr Stark, they were equip with power dampening collars, one of which was given to me to use on you,”

Steve reached up to feel his neck, and sure enough, the collar was there, stopping the serum from doing it’s magic, leaving him in his old useless body. Balling his fists he tried to get up, to lunge at the bat, but was brought down by a harsh coughing fit, that left him struggling not to pass out,

“The cops are on their way,” Spiderman called, swinging himself down the building, followed by Red Robin, Robin, and Nightwing on repels, “Damn, he is scrawny in his natural state,”

“I think my co*ck’s thicker than his thigh!” Nightwing tastelessly guffawed,

“You bastards!” Steve wheezed out, “Take this thing off me!”

“Still has a mouth on him,” Robin sighed, “Can I break his jaw to shut him up?”

The sound of Police sirens was his only answer, and The Bat straightened up, “Time for us to go,” he said, and gave Steve a malicious smile, “Enjoy your stay in prison, I’m sure the inmates will be…, enthusiastic, in greeting you!” with a flash of his cloak he departed with his team, just as the cops arrived, levelling guns on Steve, then relaxing as they saw the state he was in,

“We won’t need any special containment for this guy!” one of them laughed, picking Steve up with one hand under his left arm, and let out a laugh as Steve’s pants slipped down his thighs! Mortifying the former Captain as his skinny body was revealed to all and sundry, “Get him in a van in read him his rights,” the Cop said, shoving Steve over to another officer, who cuffed him, not really caring that Steve’s broken arm was jostled painfully.

With the cop telling him his rights in his ears, and the flash of blue lights blinding him, Steve was led, stunned and humiliated to the back of a police van and pushed roughly inside. Sitting on the cold metal seat and he bit his bottom lip, realizing that his missing teeth wouldn’t be growing back, or his nose healing, he didn’t have the healing factor now, his injuries would take weeks, months to heal, and it was unlikely he’d get dental from anywhere.

Fighting tears, he closed his rapidly swelling, bruised eyes and rested his head on the side of the van, wondering how he would get out of this and get Tony, James, and his team back now.

Chapter 23

Chapter Text

“You need to raise the bottle more Sir, if he swallows air he’ll be screaming the place down with colic,”

“Alfred, don’t backseat parent, I know what I’m doing,”

“Really? So you meant to put the nappy on so loose that it fell straight of Master Max when you lifted him up?”

“Sarcasm is not a becoming trait, Alfred,”

“No, but a necessary one for my sanity, Sir!”

This was the conversation that Tony awoke to, laying supine on a very firm bed, his head feeling like it had been stuffed with cotton wool, and a soreness to his abdomen.

“Don’t forget the towel when you burp him this time,” Alfred said, “It’ll take a miracle to get the staining out of your suit jacket!”

“Are you ever going to let me live that down?” Bruce asked, sounding both exasperated and amused, “God, for such a small creature, Max certainly eats plenty, and excretes plenty, should it be so toxic? That can’t be normal, it must be a side effect of the serum,”

Alfred chuckled darkly, “Very normal, Master Bruce, I considered wearing a gas mask to change your nappies when you were Max’s age,”

“I’m not sure if I should be insulted by that or not!”

Forcing his eyelids open, Tony squinted at the harsh light that met his pupils, and looked about himself. He was in a hospital room, there was no doubt about that, not with the canula in the back of his left hand, hooking him up to a drip that stood besides the bed, next to an empty cot. The reason for the cot being empty was the two men in the room, tending to the Pup, who burped quite impressively given his small size, and spit up milk into the towel that Bruce had over his shoulder.

Tony smiled at the heart warming sight of his Alpha tending their Pup, trying to appear completely at ease, while being completely terrified and baffled by the small being he held in his arms.

Unlike when he’d been held by Rogers, Max was relaxed and at ease in Bruce’s arms, settling quickly into sleep, now he’d been fed and burped.

Bruce rose from the chair, went to place Max in his cot, noticing that Tony was awake for the first time, “Welcome back to the land of the living,”

Tony smiled up at him, “Good to be back,” he said, automatically reaching out for Max, whom Bruce immediately placed into his arms, easing him down to rest against Tony’s torso. “Hey Sugarplum, have you been a good boy for your Papa?” he asked Max, stroking his cheek tenderly, not wanting to wake the Pup,

“Papa?” Bruce asked, looking a little taken aback by the name,

“If that’s okay?” Tony asked, feeling a little uncertain, maybe Bruce wouldn’t want to be called Father by a Pup that wasn’t his by blood…,

“That’s more than okay, it’s perfect,” Bruce said, erasing Tony’s fears with just a few words, he turned his head to look at Alfred, “Can you take a few pictures of us together before Max goes into his crib?”

“Certainly,” Alfred replied, happily taking out his phone and swiping the screen to turn on the camera, taking several snaps of the small family before Bruce carefully lay Max down in his crib, tucking the woollen blanket over his legs and up to his waist. Max stiffened, his fingers going claw like for a moment, then relaxing as he settled into sleep.

“I’ll leave you two, to have a little peace, God knows you won’t get any when the lads get in here,” Alfred said, lifting his jacket from the back of his chair and heading to the door,

“Thank you Alfred,” Bruce said, giving him a tired smile, as he drew up a chair besides Tony’s bed, “For everything,”

“My pleasure, Master Bruce.”

Once alone, Tony reached out and took Bruce’s hand, which the Alpha held very carefully so he wouldn’t bump the canula. “What happened?” he asked, “The last thing I remember was laying on a fold up bed next to Max, bleeding and sickening with an infection,”

Bruce nodded, “That’s where we found you. You must have fallen unconscious, you weren’t responsive when Rhodey and Vision took the two of you from there and carried you to the hospital,”

That made sense, Tony had been on the verge of passing out by the time Rogers had gotten him and Max to the flat, that he’d managed to stay conscious for as long as he had was a miracle.

“You’ve been very ill, Tony,” Bruce said, his eyes slipping down Tony’s body to look at his abdomen, which appeared much smaller than Tony last remembered, “You had an internal bleed, and developed peritonitis. The Doctors had to operate to clean your abdomen out, and locate the bleed. You were in surgery for nearly four hours, and intensive care for three days after that, it was only forty eight hours ago that your fever finally came down and they could be sure that you weren’t going to develop septicaemia!”

Three days, forty eight hours? Tony frowned in confusion, “How long have been unconscious?” he asked,

Bruce sighed heavily and stroked the back of Tony’s hand with his thumb, “Five days Tony, nearly six,”

“Six days?” Tony could barely believe it, his Son was a week old, a week! And he’d missed it all because he was sleeping!

“Oh no, I know that look,” Bruce said, seeing an all too familiar look on Tony’s face, one that meant he would be pulling tubes and pads from his body, climbing out of bed, and leaving the hospital within the hour, if he were not stopped, and quite possibly forcibly restrained.

“You need to stay here for at least another week,”

“But..,”

“The infection was very serious, you’re still on IV antibiotics, and you’ve got a drain in your abdomen that won’t be coming out for a few days yet, so don’t get any ideas about leaving, because it isn’t going to happen,”

“But…,” Tony sagged against the pillow and looked to Max,

“He’ll be staying here with you,” Bruce assured him, “And I will too,” he nodded to the cot bed that was set up on the other side of the room, the sheets neatly folded and placed under a hospital issue pillow, along with a pair of silk pyjamas, and a fluffy dressing gown.

“You’ve been here this whole time?” Tony felt something inside him melting at the thought of Bruce being so determined to be at his side, he had slept in the hospital with him.

“I’m not losing you again,” Bruce said, fiercely, “Not after all we’ve been through these past few days, all you’ve been through,”

That brought up another question that was bugging Tony, “What happened to Rogers, and the other Rogues?” he asked, already knew that Rogers had knocked out and betrayed Wanda, but he didn’t know about the others,

“We took care of Rogers and Maximoff,” Bruce said, looking proud of this, and he had every right to be, it wasn’t just anyone who could take down a Hydra Witch and a Super Soldier, and he and his family had done both.

“After Roger’s left her in your old hospital room, she awoke and began to rip the entire floor apart. Peter, Rhodey, and Wilson distracted her from outside the hospital windows, while Barton, Myself, Lang, Tim, and Damian got onto the third floor and took her down, restraining her long enough for Vision to strip her powers from her.”

“Lang, Barton, and Wilson? Why were they helping?” Tony asked, truly perplexed, and Bruce smirked,

“It turns out that they weren’t privy to all that Captain Douche bag had done, Siberia, how Max was actually conceived, and they were no happier with him than anyone else. They were already looking to part company with him when Maximoff…, attacked. She took Max straight to Steve, Romanoff must have gone into Rogers’ room at some point and was likely not down with the idea of kidnapping, Maximoff, true to her past behaviour, decided to attack, she threw Romanoff off the balcony, a two story drop, and threw Barton into a wall, at which point she and Rogers escaped, going to the hospital where he turned the tables on her and betrayed her.”

It was a lot to process, and Tony was astonished that Barton, Lang, and Wilson even cared that Rogers had done any of those things, though, to be fair, he didn’t know a damn thing about Lang, not really. But Wilson had been head and shoulders up Rogers arse, and Barton had made it very clear what he thought of Tony, so, their turning for Captain America because he’d raped Tony, had left him for dead in Siberia was very confusing.

At length he spoke, asking about Natasha, since he doubted she would have walked away from such a fall.

“She’s been hurt badly,” Bruce said, “Some of the damage will be permanent. She won’t be the Black Widow again, it’ll be months before she’s able to start attempting to walk, and even then she’ll like need crutches for the rest of her life.”

A small and malicious part of Tony felt glee at Natasha finally getting brought down, at her learning at long last what it felt like to be betrayed by someone you considered a friend, and for the consequences of that to be so very severe, just like they had been for Rhodey. Though, unlike Rhodey who’d been accidently hit by friendly fire, Natasha’s injuries had been deliberately caused by Maximoff, and Tony had no intentions of developing tech to help her, as he had for Rhodey.

Aside from that small part that took pleasure in Romanoff’s injuries, Tony mostly felt relieved that The Black Widow wouldn’t be lurking in the shadows, waiting to attack him again at any given moment.

“She’s not taken the news well, from what I’ve heard,” Bruce went on, “She’s been demanding compensation in fact,”

“Compensation? From who for God sake? Maximoff and Rogers?”

“No,” Bruce scoffed, “Maximoff has had a complete psychotic breakdown, what little sanity she had was lost when Vision striped her powers. She’s in a padded cell, either catatonic, or screaming for her Brother, and attacking the thin air.”

That was almost pitiful, Maximoff, for all Tony had loathed and feared her, had become pitiful. Tony wondered if Wanda had been driven mad by the experiments done on her by Hydra, or if she had already had some mental health which had been exacerbated by the mutations. What would she have been had Hydra not interfered with her? Had her parents and brother lived normal happy lives? It was one of those things that would make Tony pity Wanda, pity the little girl she had been, the woman she might have become had things been different for her, rather than the monster she turned into.

“Rogers is sitting in a prison cell right now, and can’t help himself, let alone Romanoff,” Bruce said, “No, she has been demanding compensation from you!”

Tony gaped at Bruce, not sure if he’d heard correctly, “Me?” he asked,

“Yeah, something about how her decision to stop Maximoff and Rogers resulting in her getting hurt, was her inadvertently helping you, so you owe her!” he shrugged, “She did have a head injury so it is possible she’s been brain damaged!”

Tony shook his head, no, this wasn’t brain damage, this was Natasha, always thinking of Number One, and he supposed that now she was effectively crippled she was out of a job, and he doubted she had much of a pension with Shield having been destroyed, so money was likely an issue for her now, especially considering she’d have medical bills to pay, and likely a few legal issues too.

“Pepper has been into see her,” Bruce said, smiling a little at the memory. Pepper had voluntarily worn a microcam for the meeting, so Bruce and the others could watch Natasha’s reactions on a laptop.

To say that Miss Romanoff had been shocked to her core by Pepper’s ice Queen demeaner, and firm stance on Tony and subsequently Stark Industries owing her precisely nothing, was an understatement. Pinned to a bed, hooked up to monitors, reliant on nurses to take care of her catheter and temporary colostomy bag, to wash and feed her, was humiliating and demeaning for someone like Natasha, frightening, since she couldn’t hope to defend herself like this, she was at the mercy of others for the first time in many years, and she clearly wasn’t handling it well.

What was going to happen to her on a legal standing was still unclear. There were potential charges of Aiding and Abetting, perverting the course of Justice, and, since she had also known of Barnes’ involvement in the Stark’s murder, failure to report a crime and accessory after the fact.

From what Bruce had heard, the government and legal system was torn over what to do with her. Some wanted her charged and brought to trial, where others simply wanted to wash their hands of her. She wasn’t an American citizen, and Russia was more than willing to have a turncoat returned to their custody. At least the America legal system would just mean a lengthy prison sentence. Russia would mean interrogation, torture, and eventual execution. Either way things went for Natasha, she was finished, utterly and completely.

“What about Rogers? Is he being held in a SuperMax like The Raft?” Tony asked, hating himself for being nervous that Rogers might escape and come for him and Max again.

“No need,” Bruce said, smirking, “After myself, Tim, Peter, Dick, and Damian kicked the sh*t out of him and tossed him out of a window, I put a power dampening collar on him. He is now as he was before the serum. Small, scrawny, asthmatic, and suffering with several injuries that aren’t healing over night.”

“Seriously? Captain America is…, Scrawny, mouthy runt, Steve Rogers again?”

“And Vision is looking into ways of making this permanent,” Bruce affirmed, and continued, “He’s been charged with double Kidnap, failure to report a crime, conspiracy to pervert to cause of justice, accessory after the fact, several accounts of grievous bodily harm, actual bodily harm, wrongful death, manslaughter, attempted murder, wilful destruction of private property, wilful endangerment of human lives, and terrorism.” He drew a breath, “Frankly, he’ll be lucky to see the outside of a prison by the next century!”

By the century after that, considering the grocery list of charges against him!

Tony felt tired just thinking about all the legalities Rogers would now be facing, was glad he wouldn’t have to be involved, only…, “Will I have to testify?” he asked, with a frown, “I was the err, kidnapee? Abductee?”

“I don’t know,” Bruce admitted, “You’ll have to speak to the cops of course, but, not until you’re better, and it’ll be a while before a things come to trial, a long while. So don’t worry about that, justv focus on getting better, so you can get out of here with Max, and come home with me.”

At the mention of going home Tony smile, “The sooner the better,” he said, “I hate hospitals, I’m allergic to them, I come out in hives!”

“Soon,” Bruce assured him, with a grin, and rolled his eyes as there was a knock on the door, “Do you feel up to entertaining a zoo of brats for a little while?” he asked, getting to his feet, “I should get a Doctor to check you over now you’re awake,”

“It’s fine, let them in,” Tony said, scooting up the bed, and sitting up a little more, and wow, was it easy to move without a huge bump weighing him down! Hell he could eve see his feet again! Of course, things wouldn’t be completely great until he got the drain removed and got the hell out of this hospital and back home. But, for current purposes, it wasn’t so bad, not when Max was sleeping secure in a crib by his bed, and his room was invaded by loud, excited teenagers, a twenty something vigilante, a grinning Rhodeybear, a slightly reserved Android, and a smiling Pepper Potts, all of whom hugged and kissed him, even Damian, though he glared at everyone after, daring them to say something about it!

Yeah, right now, things were pretty good, and Tony settled back to enjoy it.

Chapter 24

Chapter Text

Natasha was once again counting the cracks in the ceiling tiles above her bed when she received an unexpected visitor.

“How the mighty have fallen.”

The words were spoken in a sardonic tone, and Nick Fury’s face looked down at Natasha with a smug smirk playing on his lips, or perhaps smug was not the right term, amused may be more accurate. He was amused to see her like this. Broken, both literally and figuratively speaking.

“I did not think you would come to see me,” she said, coldly, refusing to give him the satisfaction of showing any emotion, especially not how much pain she was in. The Nurses were not exactly being generous with the morphine, they gave her enough to keep her from screaming or passing out, but not enough to keep the pain from being constant and wearing down on her. So she could get no respite from it.

The only thing worse than the constant pain she was suffering, was the daily humiliations of the Nurses changing her catheter, her colostomy bag, and washing her body with sponges and lupe-warm water. Oh they were efficient at their jobs, went about it in a business like fashion, but being washed and changed like an infant was demeaning, and Natasha was loathing every second of it.

Having to be assisted to eat was almost as humiliating, unable to sit up she couldn’t coordinate very well, and so Nurses had to help her spoon food into her mouth, and hold cups for her so she could take and drink and not choke.

The only thing she could say was remotely pleasant about meal times, and it certainly wasn’t the taste of the food because that was completely tasteless. It was to actually have human interaction and something to do, other than staring at the ceiling, counting the tiles, and going over and over things in her mind.

Fury coming here could at least provide some respite from the constant boredom. She gave Fury one of her lip quirks that might be the start of a smile on someone else, but never quite formed on Natasha’s lips, as if her mouth were just incapable of forming a pleasant expression, or in fact any at all.

“Why are you here?” she asked, hoping to open up a conversation, or at least the start of one, Fury shrugged his shoulders, his leather duster rising and falling with the motion,

“I just thought I’d drop in and see how my former operative was doing, and if she has figured out what she’ll be doing from here.”

Natasha’s eyes narrowed, “You mean besides learning to walk again?” she asked, sarcasm heavy in her tone, “What can I do?” she asked, “Go back to Shield?”

Fury barked a laugh, “Shield, thanks to you, Rogers, and Wilson, is dead and buried. I do have something new going on, but…, I don’t see how you would be any benefit at all,” he drew a breath and gestured to Natasha’s body, “It’s not like you’ll be able to fight anymore, and without your physical skill set…, well, what use are you to anyone?”

This stung, it really stung, and Natasha had to use all of her training to keep from showing just how much that hurt. Because deep down inside, she knew what Fury was saying was true. Without the skills she had learned in The Red Room and during her years as The Black Widow, she was without any skills that could not be done by hundreds of others.

Except maybe one.

“I am a profiler,” Natasha said, “I can profile targets, potential recruits, just like I have done…,”

“And failed on numerous occasions,” Fury said, cutting her off, he made a face, looking as if he were struggling to recall something, where in fact he wasn’t, he was just making a mockery of this, of Natasha. “What was it you said about Stark? Not a team player? Volatile? Narcissistic? Where you by any chance talking about yourself?” Fury smirked at Natasha as she glared back at him, “When have you ever thought about anyone but yourself first? Whose back are you always watching before anyone else? How fast do you jump ship the moment things start to go south?” Fury chuckled without humour and shook his head, “Volatile? No, I wouldn’t say that about you, you are controlled, once thing that can be said of you is that you think things out, everything you do is cold and calculated, manipulative, you enter every situation seeking an advantage for yourself, and, I admit, I do the same, we are spies after all, being sociopathic goes with the job.”

Fury admitted this with his hands up, giving a Mea Culpa.

“But,” he added, lowering his hands, “Do you know what I am not?” He leaned forward, so he was in Natasha’s face, and it wasn’t as if she could get away, not in her current position. “I am not a narcissist, and neither is Stark. Or at least no more than the next person. The two of us can admit when we are wrong, that we make mistakes, that we are fallible. But not you, Natasha, according to you, its everyone else who is wrong, everyone else who makes mistakes, where you are always perfect,” he smirked, and looked over her broken body, “How’s that working out for you now?”

“Go to hell!” Natasha growled, “Just get out and don’t come back!”

“Oh I won’t,” Fury said, cheerfully, “I doubt you’ll get many other visitors though. Lang has gone back to prison to complete his original sentence, although, Hank Pym has decided to step in for him and arrange house arrest after that, so he won’t be serving more than his remaining sentence. He will, however, be working off his debt to Pym for the rest of his life, several million dollars worth of debt, since Pym paid for all the damage the Ant Man suit caused in Germany. Wilson has had his military pension revoked, along with his medals, and his service record now ends with a dishonourable discharge.

The lawyer you and Rogers hired is working to keep him out of prison for his actions in Bucharest, I believe they will be putting all the blame on Rogers for that sh*t storm, but, whether or not they can keep him out of prison I don’t know. Barton, well, Stark isn’t interested in pressing charges for the damage to the compound, and he wasn’t involved in Bucharest, just Germany, he may avoid prison altogether, though he will still have to find someway to pay for the property damages, as will Wilson. Maximoff is in the nut house and that is where she will be staying, even if she is sent back to Sokovia, which is likely, the only place she’ll be going is another loony bin, and Rogers?” Fury laughed aloud, “He’s had his serum stripped by a power dampening collar and is now languishing in prison awaiting trial which will undoubtedly send him back to prison for the rest of his life.”

“I think that is everyone of your “Friends” accounted for, but, since you’ve got to account for your own actions in Germany, your decision to let Rogers go, aiding and abetting terrorist and wanted fugitives, etcetera, you’ll probably have a lot of legal visits in the not to distant future, and, there is also your green card,” Fury gave Natasha a chilling smile, “I hear that Russia is quite keen to have their wayward spy come home,” reaching out, he tapped her cheek patronizingly, “You think about all that, and get well soon,” he spun on his heel and headed for the door, talking over his shoulder with his duster sweeping out behind him, “You’ll have so much to look forward to in coming months and you’ll want to be in tip top condition for it all!”

Natasha swore in Russian and slammed her head back into the pillow, letting out a frustrated snarl at her inability to chase after Fury and beat the hell out of him, in fact, for her inability to do anything but lay on the bed staring at the ceiling and wait for others to come to her.

*****

Natasha was not the only person that Fury chose to visit in the hospital, the next visit he made, was to Tony.

After a lot of persuasion on both Tony and Alfred’s parts, they finally got Bruce to go home, spend a night in a decent bed, and take some time away from the hospital, even if it was just for a few hours, because if they hadn’t done so, he would have remained at Tony’s bedside until Tony was released from the hospital, and while it was sweet, it wasn’t really practical or healthy. So the two worked together and forced him to go back to Gotham, with the reassurance that Rhodey would be staying with Tony in the interim, and after school, Peter would be visiting, along with Vision and Pepper. Likely coming to bring him in even more balloons, fruit selections, cartons of juice, packets of biscuits, and boxes of chocolate, all of which he had been inundated with since he’d awoken, so much so that it was a struggle to find places for it in the room anymore!

When Fury came to visit, Tony was sitting up on the bed, in a pair of loose pyjamas and a dressing gown, with Max laying in his arms, being fed via a bottle, as Tony spoke to Rhodey, who had a towel over his shoulder ready to burp the Pup after he’d fed.

“He’s grown since I first held him, I’m sure of it,” Tony was saying, as Fury pushed the door open, “He feels heavier in my arms, and I think he’s a tad longer than he was,”

“A tad? What kind of measurement is that, Genius?” Rhodey teased,

“The same kind they use to measure your penis, microscopic!” Tony shot back, and dramatically lay a hand over Max’s eyes when Rhodey flipped him off, “Not in front of Max, you’ll be a bad influence on him, teach him terrible habits!”

“Oh like he won’t get enough from you, and he’s to young to even know what he’s seeing yet,” Rhodey scoffed,

“No he isn’t, he already knows my face, don’t you precious?” Tony cooed at the Pup, who was far more interested in his milk than in anything else going on about him, “He smiled at me today, he grinned when I picked him up,”

“Wind,” Rhodey said,

“No, it was a smile, and he made a sort ooohhh noise and face,” Tony said puckering his lips to show Rhodey what he meant, the older man rolled his eyes and shook his head, letting Tony ramble, “You’re going to be a genius aren’t you, Max? you’ll be the smartest most handsome baby boy in the whole world!”

“How sickeningly endearing!”

Fury’s intrusion was not well received by either Tony or Rhodey, The Colonel actually rose from his seat and took a protective stance besides the bed, shielding Tony and Max from Fury, who ignored him, sauntering into the room as if he were welcome there, and actually had the cheek to help himself to one of the cookies laying on the tray table.

“You look good Stark,” he said, appraisingly, “Got colour back in your cheeks, hair glossy, got that maternal glow going on, Motherhood suits you it seems.”

Tony didn’t bother giving Fury back a sarcastic comment, he knew he was still pale, his hair was washed clean, but un-styled, and he looked every inch the tired new Mother, not a pampered and made-up magazine spread Mother. But in all honesty he couldn’t have given two f*cks right now, he was alive, was healing, and his Pup was healthy, and he was back with his family, everything else didn’t matter at all.

Shifting Max in his arms, and raising the bottle a little so he wouldn’t swallow air, he was upset at having to give up nursing, but the IV antibiotics were tainting his milk so it was no longer safe for Max to consume, and was now drying up, the nurse who had examined him that morning said it’d be gone before the week was out. Tony contented himself with the fact that he had nursed Max, and the Pup wasn’t suffering any hardship by being on the bottle. Right now he wanted to enjoy feeding his Son and chatting with Rhodey, not make snide comments at Fury, he didn’t want the man here at all, and so, decided to just ask what the hell he wanted to get rid of him quickly.

Fury spread his arms, “Can’t an old man come and visit an old friend?”

“We’re not friends Fury, we never were,” Tony deadpanned, “And in case your single eye has failed to see it, I am actually busy right now, so if you could just get a move on with what ever the hell it is you want, I would be deeply grateful,”

“And I won’t have to piss off the hospital by throwing you through the doors!” Rhodey said, getting a grin from Tony,

“Ohh, straight to the point then,” Fury sighed, “Okay, I can do that. Bat Man.”

“Is tall, dark, and easily pissed off,” Tony said, with a tight smile, “But I have passed on your…, shall we call it a request? It does sound nicer than blackmail doesn’t it?”

“It wasn’t blackmail.”

“Oh really?” This came from Rhodey, who stared incredulously at Fury, “Tony was sick, bleeding, holding a new born in his arms, while standing in the street, a prisoner of a deranged super soldier, and instead of just offering him help, you made him make a deal with you to get help. In what f*cked up universe is that not blackmail.” He paused, looking to Tony and the Pup, “Sorry,” he apologised, meaning the language.

“You’re forgiven, this once,” Tony said,

“Everything worked out alright,” Fury said, as if that made everything okay,

“Tell that to The Bat, see how he takes it,” Tony said, an icy smile spreading over his lips, “Because that meeting you wanted with him? It’ll happen, but it won’t be on your terms honey, it’ll be on his, and if you think I am volatile…” he let out a low whistle, “Oh, baby, you have no idea what’s coming your way.”

To his credit Fury didn’t look shaken, he didn’t look bothered at all, but it was only a front, he was shaken, only an idiot didn’t fear The Bat, and pissing him off was never something anyone with half a brain did.

“I’m just looking to talk,” he said, congenially, as if Tony could, or would intervene for him, “Nothing nasty, just a friendly chat,”

“Hmm, he doesn’t really do friendly chats,” Tony said, shaking his head, “He’s more of a, break bones first, and leave comments on the casts later, kind of guy!”

Fury straightened up, and ran a hand down his leather duster, “I can handle myself,” he said, stoically,

“You better had,” Rhodey said, a small smile on his lips, “Because with the Bat on your ass, you’re gonna need to.”

Fury gave them both an unimpressed look, and made his exit, “Have fun changing nappies and cleaning up puke Stark” he called over his shoulder, “A far cry from your Hero days, eh?”

“Closer than you and yours will ever be,” Tony sing songed back, handed Max up to Rhodey for burping, which Max did with enthusiasm, which made Rhodey cringe and Tony praise the Pup he eagerly took back into his arms.

“Who’s a good boy then,” he cooed tickling Max’s belly, “Who’s my good boy? Now are you going to be a very good boy and have a nap so you’re nice and awake for when Uncle Peter, Uncle Vision, and Auntie Pepper come visiting later?”

Max blinked at Tony and blew a spit bubble which Tony took to mean yes,

“Any idea on what Bruce has planned for old Cyclops?” Rhodey asked,

“No,” Tony admitted, glancing up from tickling Max’s chubby little palms, “But whatever it is, I doubt Fury will enjoy it.”

*****

Not enjoying it was an understatement.

Fury had been driving back to his safe house that very evening, he’d been only half a block away in fact when there was a sudden thump on the roof of his car, a high pitch screech made his ears throb and the glass in the car crack enough for a fist to smash through the windscreen!

Fury didn’t even have time to hit the brakes. Bat Man landed on the bonnet of his car, reached inside the vehicle, slashing the seatbelt in half, and took hold of Fury by his Duster, lifting him out of the car and hauled him up onto the car roof.

He aimed a wrist at one of the buildings and a repel was fired up at it, and they were then being swept up to the roof top, where Bat Man easily climbed onto the roof, and held Fury over the edge, his heels hanging off the side, and his body being kept from falling only by The Bat’s hand.

“Well,” Bat Man growled at the Director, “You wanted me, now, you’ve got me!”

Chapter 25

Chapter Text

Fury gulped, his feet scuffed the edge of the rooftop as he tried to get his balance, something that was impossible with how Batman was holding him. Panting with both fear and the chill of the wind at this height, Fury reached up to brace his hands on the Bat’s arms, only to have them knocked away, and his body pushed back even further!

“I am not your enemy!” he cried, fighting to urge to look down, since he knew it would only make the vertigo he was suffering even worse,

The Bat chuckled darkly, “Were you my enemy, you could tell by the fact you’d have been on the ground at this point,” he lifted Fury a little, and leaned forward, leaning over him, “You can ask Rogers about that!”

Considering Rogers was in the medical wing of a maximum security prison after he had tangled with The Bat, Fury was suitably shaken by the threat. Though, not shaken enough to keep from speaking.

“I want to talk,” he said, “I wish to form an alliance!”

“Alliance?” The Bat scoffed, and suddenly, Fury was being lifted up, and tossed across the rooftop, landing and rolling over several times before stopping, laying flat on his belly, and when he tried to rise, a boot hit the small of his back, throwing him back down and successfully pinning him.

“Why in the name of God, would I make an alliance with a blackmailer like yourself?” The Bat growled, “A pathological liar, a manipulator of such talent that I doubt even you could see through the tangle of lies that you weave. I fight for justice, I fight criminals, what would possibly persuade me to form an alliance with one who is practically in league with them?”

“I am not,” Fury protested, his dug his fingers into the gravel of the rooftop and tried to push himself up, but the boot on his back grew heavier the more he struggled, “I am not a criminal,” he panted, turning his head to look at the cowl covered face, “And as for why you should join with me?” he grinned, “I know who you are. Mr Bruce Wayne.”

The smile on his face faltered when the Bat remained impassive, and Fury opened his mouth to speak again, only for the Bat to reach down and haul him up onto his feet again, pulling him so close their faces were nearly touching. The Bat’s hands were about his throat, not quite strangling him but making it hard to breathe none the less.

“If you think you can scare me, Nicholas Fury, then you are even stupider than I first thought!”, his broad shoulders shrugged off Fury’s hands, and he kicked the directors feet out from under him when he tried to get a leg between Batman’s in an obvious attempt to try and bring him down.

“Should you try to use this information about Bruce Wayne to blackmail me, as you used Tony Stark’s desperation to blackmail him, you will suffer far worse consequences than I already have planned for you,”

“I didn’t blackmail him!” Fury protested, “I made a deal..,”

“He was dying!” The Bat roared, shaking Fury and making his head spin, “Twice now, he has been dying and you have blackmailed him, forced him to dance to your tune, NO MORE!” He let Fury go, so abruptly that the man fell like a stone, thumping painfully on the ground. The Bat was on him again in a second, straddling him, one hand at his throat, the other pinning his wrists above his head, keeping him down and fighting to air.

“You will cease these attempts to gain a foothold with both myself and Tony Stark, and anyone who is associated with us. You will make no further attempts at contact with either of us, and should you dare try to make trouble for us…,”

Fury was hauled up again, dragged across the roof and unceremoniously thrown off!

A scream tore from his throat as he plummeted to the ground, the air whipping past him with such speed that it stung at his skin, just seconds before he was about to impact the pavement, a cuff wrapped about his left ankle, and his fall was broken!

Shaking like a leaf, Fury stared at the pavement, which was just four feet from his face! To his shame he realized his trousers were wet and knew his bladder had released in fear from the drop, a fear that was not alleviated when he suddenly began to rise back up towards the rooftop, taking him back to the Bat, who took hold of his collar when he was close enough and tossed him down on the rooftop, his nose wrinkling at the scent of urine.

“I trust you understand me now?” he said, retracting the repel, “And as for this identity you think I possess, I can assure you, that Bruce Wayne will have more than a dozen witnesses to verify his location this evening, and you already know where Mr Stark is.”

Fury grit his teeth, “Naturally,” he growled, hating admitting defeat, but knowing when he was beaten,

“Then our business is concluded,” he turned, then seemed to pause, “Except for one more thing,”

With a blinding speed he had spun back around, punching Fury so hard that the man actually lost consciousness for a few moments, and when his sense came back to him, he saw that his coat and shirt had been torn open to bare his chest, he opened his mouth in alarm, but all that came out was a scream of agony, as a burning brand seared into his chest.

“Just something for you to remember me by.” Batman growled, holding the brand against Fury’s chest a few moments longer, then ripped it away, letting the man sag back on the roof, panting and gingerly feeling at his chest with shaking fingers.

“And remember,” Batman said, as he headed for the edge of the roof, “If you go near those under my protection again, you will face worse than has happened here tonight.” He fired a repel and swung off the roof, leaving Fury to find his own way down, and consider himself lucky for the Bat showing him this much mercy.

*****

Hospital

Changed out of his Batman suit, and into a sinfully well fitted Gucci shirt, slacks, dress shoes, and a jacket of the finest Milanese leather, Bruce made his down the familiar hospital corridor, to Tony’s room, where his family was gathered, and spectating Max’s nappy change, or so it appeared. Peter, Dick, and Tim were standing back and trying to keep their gazes averted, while Damian was voicing his disgust.

“Are you sure that creature is normal? Surely such foul smelling filth cannot come from a regular human being, have you been feeding it Enchiladas?”

“Him, Damian, him not it, and yes this is very normal,” Tony replied, swiftly changing Max’s nappy and cleaning him up, then put the truly toxic nappy in a disposal bag, and wrapped the new nappy on the oblivious pup, slipping him into a fresh baby grow, washed his hands in a disinfectant gel,

“I am never having one of them, they smell disgusting!” Damian declared, revolted by the process,

“Thank God for small mercies, I doubt the world would survive you breeding!” Tim snickered, sticking his tongue out when Damian shot him a glare,

“It is pretty gross,” Peter said, then widened his arms in shock, “Not that he’s not super cute, Tony, because he is, he’s adorable, it’s just the…,” he gestured to the disposal bag, “Is.., not so cute.”

Grinning, Bruce pushed open the door and entered the room, being greeted with a couple of hellos from Dick, Tim, and Peter, a kiss from Tony, and a sulky grunt from Damian, who was still sore about not being allowed to torture Fury with him!

“Everything okay?” Tony asked, lifting up Max for Bruce to take, the Pup wriggled a little, and made a murmur of protest before settling again, blinking big eyes at Bruce that slowly closed as he settled in to sleep once more,

“Everything’s perfect,” he assured Tony, bouncing Max a little to encourage him to settle,

“Did you kill him?” Damian asked, sitting himself down on the end of Tony’s bed, and began to look through the treat assortment on the tray table, selecting a snickers bar and tearing it open, “Did you make it hurt? Please tell me you made it hurt!”

“I didn’t kill him,” Bruce said, frowning at Damian, he really should do something about the boy’s blood lust,

“You scared the sh*t out of him though, right?” Tim asked,

“Language in front of Max,” Tony scolded, “I don’t want him picking up bad words,”

Dick snorted, “He won’t be speaking for months!”

“Don’t be so sure,” Tony said, “I was talking at seven months!”

“And haven’t shut up since!” Dick ducked as Bruce aimed a slap for the back of his head, and dodged the pillow Tony threw at him,

“So, that’s Fury taken care of then?” Peter asked, taking a seat in one of the hospital chairs, he looked up at Bruce, though his gaze was drawn to Max with curiosity,

“Would you like to hold him?” Tony asked, guessing that Peter was keen to do so,

“Can I?” he asked, looking both excited and nervous, a frequent expression for Peter Parker, who was equal parts enthusiasm and nervous energy,

“Go ahead,” Tony said, and Bruce turned to the teen, lowering Max to him,

“There you go, support the head, arms under the back, there, perfect,”

Bruce stood back, watching at Peter sat rigid, slowly relaxing with Max in his arms, “Hey Max, I’m your Uncle Peter, well, not your real Uncle as such, more a big brother I guess, though, um, not..,”

“You’re Family Petey,” Tony said, “You’re as much his big brother, as Damian, Tim, and Dick are.”

Peter looked up with a grin, as gasped as Max yawned, “Oh, that is the cutest thing ever!”

“He is adorable,” Tim agreed, pulling up a chair next to him, “Hey little Brother, we are going to have so much fun together, just wait until you’re walking, we’ll teach you how to fight, how to do back flips and spin kicks, and Dick will teach you how to do acrobatics…,”

“Lets leave that for a while,” Tony suggested, “Let him get to at least double digits before we start teaching him how to kick box and other things,”

Damian looked up at that, “I was training as soon as I could stand.”

“Yeah, and look what happened!” Tim teased, sticking his tongue out at the glare Damian shot him,

“Screw you, Drake,”

“Suck it, Demon!”

“Come here and say that!” Unfortunately Damian rose his voice enough for the sound to disturb Max, who let out an ear splitting cry, startling Peter, who looked truly alarmed!

“Um, what do I do with him?” he asked, looking like he was holding a bomb, not a baby!

“Give him here,” Tony said, getting off the bed, he shook his head when Bruce made to support him, he might still be a bit unsteady on his feet, and sore, but he was strong enough to do this unaided. He padded over to Peter and took Max into his arms, rocking him gently, “Hey now, what’s all this fuss about?” he asked, looking down into big sorrowful eyes, “It was just Damian being noisy, nothing to worry about,”

Tim shot a dirty look at Damian, “Nice going, hell spawn!”

Damian snarled something that sounded truly foul in a different language that had Bruce clipping his ear, and fishing into his pocket for his wallet, and sending all of them out to get some decent coffees, and to give him and Tony some space.

As Max refused to settle, Tony began to pace the room, bouncing him a little, to help encourage him to get to sleep.

“Are you sure you want more?” Bruce asked, as the boys arguing could be heard as they went down the corridor, above Max’s cries, Tony shot him a grin,

“Well I didn’t think it’d be all easy,” he said, swaying back and forth in a motion he’d found Max liked, “Besides, we’ll be well practised by then,”

“True,” Bruce agreed, with a deep sigh, “And if we can survive Damian, we can survive anything!”

Tony chuckled, then spent several moment blowing soft raspberries at Max, to distract him, further encouraging him to settle, his cries becoming less and less as sleep began to take hold on him once more, “There is something I meant to discuss,” he said to Bruce, looking up again,

“Oh,”

“The Chemist and his Granddaughter, Kirsty,”

“What about them?”

“I’d like to invite them to Max’s Christening.”

*****

Maximum Security Prison

With his injuries still healing, Steve hadn’t been placed into general population, yet, that “Joy” had yet to happen.

The guards had made it quite clear that they were very keen to introduce him to his fellow inmates, but, since the Doctors were still trying to stabilize his asthma, he couldn’t be allowed out from the hospital wing yet. They were placing him on inhalers, and steroids, which he had been warned would likely lead to weight gain, something his skinny frame could definitely use, though, it wouldn’t be the kind of weight he wanted, it wouldn’t be muscle, and with his asthma as bad as it was he wouldn’t be able to work out like he used to. He couldn’t lift a 0.5 k weight like this, let alone the hundreds of pounds he’d been lifting just days before. He wouldn’t be able to beat heavy duty punch bags to ruin, or to run for miles without really building up a sweat, he could hardly manage to hobble across the hospital floor to go to the toilet without getting winded.

He was also bored, he had pretty much no entertainment. A Pro Bono lawyer had been in to see him to discuss his case. He had been told to plead guilty, to enter a plea bargain in order to get a reduced sentence. Apparently he was looking at life without parole, there were even petitions for him to be given the death penalty!

Steve had stopped listening at that point, ignored the lawyer and his endless babble, it didn’t matter, he was going to stand up in court and tell the truth, make them see the truth. That he had only be trying to keep Tony and James safe, not do them any harm, the real criminal here with Batman and his feral brats. They were a menace to society, needed to be locked away, not him, not Captain America.

Again he reached for the collar about his neck that was keeping him in this pitiful condition. He had to get this thing off, get the serum back, once that happened he could get out of here, get his team back together, and be with Tony and James again.

Sighing heavily he looked at the TV that the Nurses had playing constantly, it was a small screen, with a poor quality picture, but good enough for him to see the Hospital Tony had been taken to, and very much good enough for him to see the press gathered outside as Tony exited the hospital, carrying James in his arms, with Bruce Wayne at his side.

Sitting up in bed, he listened to the news report with anger boiling inside him.

“Ten days after his attack by The Scarlet Witch, and Captain America. Tony Stark is leaving hospital with his new Son, named Max Edwin Stark-Wayne, in his arms, accompanied by Bruce Wayne,” The news reader said, “Tony Stark appeared to be in good health and well on the road to recovery, as he made his way to the car, to go back to his Long Island Mansion, with his Son and Fiancé, which, considering all he has endured in the past fortnight, is amazing, and is a testament to his strength.”

“Stark-Wayne, eh Rogers?” said one of the other inmates, currently in the infirmary, recovering from having one of his legs broken in a fight, “Don’t look like you’ll get a look in there!”

“Shut your damn mouth!” Steve spat at him, hating how weak and hoarse his voice sounded, “That’s my Son, mine, and his name is James!”

“Yeah, didn’t sound like James to me, sounded like Max,”

“Shut up!” Steve snarled, making the inmate laugh all the more at him,

“Face it Dipsh*t!” another inmate, this one, recovering from appendicitis, called out, “You ain’t Captain America no more, no one cares what you say, and Tony Stark don’t want nothin’ to do with you,”

“Why would he?” the first inmate jeered, “When he’s f*cking Billionaire Bruce Wayne!”

“Shut up both of you!” Steve roared, then began to cough harshly as his body struggled to cope with the exertion, panting, and feeling like his lungs were on fire, Steve grit his teeth as the inmates laughed and continued to torment him. Once he had the serum back he’d make them both pay for this, once he was back in fighting form he’d make everyone pay for this indignation.

Chapter 26

Chapter Text

Gotham

“You know, little one, we’re going to have to have a talk about this habit you’ve got of vomiting on me!” Bruce said to Max, who was grizzling in his arms, suffering from a bout of colic that prevented him from settling.

Tony was taking a nap, so Bruce was on baby duty, not something he resented, but something that he did find challenging at times, like right now.

Why? Why? Did it seem so easy for Tony? Max was an angel for him, settling after a cuddle in his arms and beaming at him when he chatted to him. With Bruce he always seemed to take hours to settle when he was crying, and loved to puke a truly alarming amount of milk when burped, not to mention the colic that was now tormenting him.

“Having trouble?” Alfred asked, as Bruce paced the floors of the nursery, bouncing Max to try and shift the colic,

“I can fight Joker, Riddler, Penguin, and a dozen other villains aside, but when it comes to infant Pups, I am utterly inept!”

“Nonsense,” Alfred scoffed, “You’re just too stiff is all,” he rolled his eyes when Bruce turned to look at him in complete confusion, “You need to relax, Baby’s are sensitive, they can tell if a person is tense and react to it.” He chuckled, “I learned that the hard way with you. Took me weeks to learn that you’d settle far faster if I was relaxed and at ease with you, though God knows you kept all of us up all night when you were teething, could scream like a banshee when you really wanted to.”

Alfred patted Max’s back and the Pup burped, spitting up on Bruce’s already soiled shirt,

“Thanks,” Bruce scathingly said to Alfred, in the weeks since Max’s birth he’d pretty much given up on having any of his clothes survive the Pups infanthood.

“Ah, that’s better isn’t it, Max?” Alfred said, taking the Pup from Bruce so he could clean up a little, Max squirmed, grumbling a little, his cheeks still red and breathing agitated as he slowly got over his crying fit. He squirmed and grunted, then a less than pleasant smell filled the air.

“Ah, looks like its time to go back to Papa Bruce!” Alfred said, happily handing the Pup over to Bruce for changing, God knows he’d done his fair share of nappies when Bruce was an infant and wasn’t keen to do anymore.

“Remind me, why do I keep you on?” Bruce asked, his nose wrinkling at the smell coming from Max,

“Simple, Master Bruce,” Alfred called, as he headed for the door, “No one else could put up with you!”

Bruce snorted and looked down to Max, shaking his head, “Looks like it’s just us then, little one,” he said to the Pup, “So lets get you cleaned up, and maybe given a bath, God knows you smell like you need one!”

An hour later found Bruce asleep in the nursery, with Max sleeping against his chest, tiny face snuggled into his neck, completely contented.

Bruce’s jeans were sporting damp patches, his shirt was rumpled, and the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, his collar undone, and hair messy from where he’d ran wet hands through it and let it dry as it had fallen.

Tony stood in the doorway grinning at the sight of his soon to be husband, in an embrace with their Son.

Quietly he walked into the room, frowning when Bruce stirred. It was something that he’d gotten this close to Bruce, whose senses were razor sharp, it proved how tired he was, that Tony had gotten as close as he did before The Bat had stirred.

“Sorry,” Tony apologised, “I didn’t mean to wake you,”

“It’s fine,” Bruce said, shifting slightly, and placing a hand over Max’s head when the Pup murmured in discontent at being disturbed, he settled again quickly, and let out a stream of drool down Bruce’s collar, “Oh charming!” the Gothamite sighed, “You know, I’m starting to think he’s got something against me!”

“Rubbish!” Tony chuckled, getting a tissue to wipe Max’s mouth,

“He’s always throwing up on me, and drooling all over me!”

“He’s spit up on me too, and peed all over poor Peter the other day!”

“That was because he didn’t put the nappy on properly,” Bruce said, “He’s lucky pee was all that ended up on him,”

Tony snorted, and set about getting the cot ready, as Bruce rose from the rocker and carried Max over, carefully laying him down, Max wriggled and murmured, his eyes blinking a couple of times, before he settled back into sleep, curling up happy when Tony tucked a blanket about him.

“I can’t believe how much he’s grown,” Tony said, shaking his head, “Six weeks, I swear he’s doubled in size!” Max had definitely shown an impressive growth, nothing that could be considered unusual, he was a big baby, would likely be a large child and a tall and broad man when he was grown, but not abnormally so.

“He should do, with how much he eats!” Bruce chuckled, stroking a finger over Max’s cheek, “He certainly has a healthy appetite,”

“Get’s it from Steve,” Tony said, his voice growing quiet, as it always did when he spoke of the disgraced Captain America, “His metabolism, Max has inherited it,”

Sighing, Bruce wrapped his arms about Tony’s waist, keeping them loose out of habit. Following the surgeries, Tony had not liked having his abdomen touched, it caused him too much pain too easily, and brought him memories of Steve holding him like that, and making him bleed.

Tony stiffened briefly, then relaxed into Bruce’s embrace, leaning against him, “His metabolism and size will be the only things he’d inherit from Rogers,” Bruce said, kissing Tony’s cheek, “Everything else he’ll get from you, his intelligence, his wit, his curiosity, humour, hair colour and skin tone, his good looks,”

A grin spread over Tony’s face at that, and he turned, his mouth meeting Bruce’s in a linger kiss, “I think he’ll inherit some things from you too,”

“Oh?”

“How to say exactly the right thing,” Tony purred, turning now, so he was facing Bruce, “How to be a charmer, and seducer,” his hands were at Bruce’s belt, and the Alpha was not complaining, in fact he was backing away, with Tony, to go to their bedroom, his own hands tugging on Tony’s clothes, eager to get naked and into bed. They’d not made love for weeks, Tony simply not having the energy or being in the mood when he’d come out of hospital, so there was an increased urgency to Bruce’s desire, having gone without for quite some time while still being in Tony’s proximity.

“Are you sure that I’m the seducer?” Bruce asked, chuckling as Tony pushed him back on the bed and climbed onto him, straddling his hips, and leant down to kiss him again, teeth nipping playfully at his lips, “You seem to be doing a fair bit of seducing yourself,”

“Maybe he’ll get that from both of us then,” Tony breathed, running his hands up Bruce’s and pinching his nipples, eliciting a gasp from the Alpha, who flipped them over, pinning Tony to the bed and greedily kissed his way down the Omega’s torso, while helping him squirm out of his pants, and wriggling free of his own. Gently, but eager, he ran a hand up between Tony’s thighs, finding him wet and hard, “You sure you’re ready for this?” he asked, knowing that if they went much further he wouldn’t be able to hold back and he didn’t want to hurt Tony,

“I’m healed,” Tony assured him, tugging on Bruce’s shoulders to pull him closer, “I want you inside me!”

Bruce needed no further provocation, he thrust inside Tony’s body with a loud exhale of relief, canting his hips he began to move in and out of Tony’s pliant embrace. The Omega wrapping gripping tight to his shoulders, kissing and biting at his throat while his thighs clenched against Bruce’s hips, knees digging into his sides, as he clung to him, holding him tight, bucking his hips up to meet every thrust and pull Bruce in deeper and harder, wanting to feel the Alpha for hours after this was done.

Bruce showered Tony’s chest in hot kisses, nipping at his breasts that remained slightly rounder and plumper than before his pregnancy, inhaling the scent of his mate as he squirmed beneath him, letting out shameless cries of bliss at every deep thrust Bruce gave, his inner muscles squeezing and tormenting his co*ck, encouraging his knot to expand and lock them together.

Taking Tony’s hands, Bruce placed them above their heads, entwining his fingers through Tony’s and covering the Omega’s body with his own, pressing himself against Tony as his Knot fully expanded and he came, shuddering against the Omega, and continuing to thrust until Tony was moaning and shivering beneath him with his own org*sm.

“God, I’ve missed this,” Bruce breathed, pushing himself up and rolling off Tony as soon as his knot deflated, it would not remain expanded except when Tony was in heat and he was keeping the sem*n inside the Omega’s body to be better ensure a conception. “I mean, I understand why you weren’t…, up for anything, but.., I’ve missed you,” he stuttered, not wanting to offend Tony, who smiled contentedly, and curled up against his side,

“I know, I’ve missed you too, missed this,” he said, “Have a Pup certainly makes your sex life more complicated, and less frequent,”

“Just wait until he’s walking, then we’ll have to worry about him running in here and catching us in the middle of it!”

Tony let out a groan at the thought, Max’s demands for food, changing, and attention might be putting a dent in the frequency of their sexual activities, but at least he wasn’t yet old enough to catch them doing something he really should never see!

“Think we can convince Alfred to give him the Birds and Bees lecture?” he asked Bruce, looking hopeful, he was really dreading that!

****

State Prison

With his asthma finally stable enough to permit it, Steve was moved into general population.

He was put in a cell which he was sharing with three others. Two Beta Men, one convicted of arson, the other of GBH, and an Alpha woman, convicted of Manslaughter.

The Alpha regarded him with utter contempt, her booted foot only just missing his skinny thigh, when she clambered up onto the top bunk and flopped out to read a magazine.

The two Beta’s sat on the top bunk across the eight foot cell, whispering into each others ears and trading kisses that made Steve’s nose wrinkle in distaste.

He did not approve of same sex relationships, to him it should only be Alpha females with Beta women or Omega’s, Alpha men with Beta Women or Omegas, Beta men with Beta women or Omegas. Not two Beta men together, so openly like this.

“Must you do that?” he asked, as their lip smacking grew louder,

“f*ck off knob end!” one of them, the arsonist sneered, giving him the finger,

Steve scowled, “You should show more respect,” he scolded, getting to his feet. The two men paused in their kissing and looked down at him, unimpressed and irritated,

“Or what?” the Arsonist snorted, “What you gonna do?”

Steve balled his fist, “Teach you some manners,”

The GBH convict burst into malicious laughter at that, “Dude, you couldn’t teach a f*cking sheep to bleat!”

With a snarl Steve started forward, but a strong hand grabbed hold of his skinny shoulder and hauled him backwards. He stumbled, and a moment later found himself tossed back down on his bunk, the Alpha female glaring at him, having gotten back down from her own bunk.

“You listen Rogers, and you listen good,” She spat at him, her heavily body pierced face twisted into a glower, “This is my cell. What I say here goes. Those two f*ckwits wanna f*ck around with each other, fine, keeps ‘em quiet and gives me some f*ckin’ peace. You wanna stay in here and stay in one piece then you learn the rules. You keep your trap shut and your sh*t opinions to your worthless self, Got it?”

Steve opened his mouth, leaning forward to speak, but a fist to the face had him rocking back into the mattress, clutching at his bleeding nose, “I said, Got it?” the Alpha growled at him,

“Yes!” Steve cried, pinching his nose and scowling at her,

“Good,” she said, rising up again, “Then keep quiet, and don’t get blood everywhere, it’ll make the place untidy!”

As she went back to her bunk, the Arsonist jumped down from his, grabbed some toilet paper from the open toilet, wadded it up and threw it at Steve to use for his nose, then jumped back up onto the bunk, going back to kissing his boyfriend, ignoring Steve.

With anger burning in his stomach, his nose hurting, and blood on his lips, Steve turned his back to the room and glared at the wall, he had to get out of this place, get this collar off, and get back to being Captain America, some way, some how he had to do this or he would go mad.

Chapter 27

Chapter Text

It was a full year, before Steve’s case came to court.

With so many charges against him, and so much evidence to gather, it had taken a while to get a court date, and to bring in enough Police to guard the court from the mobs that gathered outside, some of which were very ready to do the former Captain America some damage.

Despite his Lawyer telling him to do so, Steve refused to plead guilty and make a plea for a lighter sentence. He also insisted that he would testify, though his Lawyer told him straight that it would do him no good at all. A year in prison had done nothing to lessen his arrogance or stubbornness. He was still determined to return to being Captain America, still convinced of his own propaganda and ability to win everyone over to his side once he explained “The Truth”

On the morning of the first day of his trial, Steve was awoken early. He now had his own cell. Since he had managed to alienate his former cell mates to point that they beaten him into needing hospitalization more than once, and the rest of the Inmates were ready to do the same, the guards had been forced to move Steve from General Population for his own safety.

At first he was in solitary confinement. In a cell, with just a bunk, a toilet, and a sink to wash his hands in. There was no communal Tv as there was in general population, no gymnasium to use, (though with his asthma he couldn’t use it anyway) no phone calls, no visits, nothing but four walls to stare at day and night.

Steve had broken after a week of this, begged to be allowed to go back into general population, he may loathe those there, but at least he would have human interaction that lasted more than the ninety seconds it took for those of kitchen duty, to deliver his food three times a day.

The guards, not wanting to have to deal with dragging Steve’s battered body down the infirmary for the umpteenth time, decided not to put him back into general population, but instead moved him to the segregation wing.

This was for the prisoners who couldn’t be in general population, because the rest of the convicts would kill them.

The Paedophiles and other Sexual deviants.

These twisted vermin were Steve’s new neighbours, and no more friendly to him than the rest of the inmates, though less inclined wring his neck than the others were.

Steve was given time to wash and dress, in a suit that his lawyer had purchased for him. His other clothing no longer fit, being far to long in the arms and legs, loose on the chest, and probably snug on the waist.

The steroids, shoddy prison diet, and Steve’s inability to exercise had taken their toll on him, he’d gained a good three stone in the past year, and none of it was muscle.

Once he was dressed, he was allowed a swift breakfast, then he was taken to the prison van, where his wrists were cuffed, the cuffs then shackled to the van floor to prevent him from escaping.

“You sure we got the right one?” one of the guards asked, as he sat before Steve, “I thought we was s’pose to be takin’ Captain America to court?”

“We are,” the second guard said, and the first one snorted,

“Wouldn’t f*ckin’ know it to look at him!”

Steve flushed and scowled at his feet, the collar about his throat tight with his stiff shirt collar and tie, the sooner he got the damn things removed the better, then the serum would take effect again, his muscles would come back, he’d stand tall and strong once more, and everything would be back to normal.

Steve had to be taken into court under heavy guard, the mob outside pelting the officers with vegetables as they went, snarling abuse and threatening Steve’s life, as he was hurried up the steps into the court.

Unlike the last time he was in court, he wasn’t sitting with his lawyer, he was standing in the dock, behind a plexi-glass screen, with a microphone to speak through, and a speaker so he could hear.

The Gallery swiftly filled, the Judge taking his place and calling the trail to order.

The Prosecution presented their case against Steve, listing the multiple charges against him, Manslaughter, (The charges of murder on the officers and civilians killed in Bucharest had been dropped to Manslaughter since it was easier to prove than premeditated murder) Grievous bodily harm, actual bodily harm, two accounts of kidnapping, false imprisonment, failure to report a crime, perverting the course of justice, aiding and abetting a wanted fugitive, destruction of private property, resisting arrest, and endangering lives.

Steve’s defence presented their case, stating that they would prove that Steve was only acting with the best of intentions, striving to protect another (Bucky) and be with his Son, never meaning any harm to Tony Stark.

Steve had refused to allow them to use PTSD as a possible defence or any mental illness at all, he was determined that only “The Truth” be used in his defence.

*****

As the trial progressed, Officials from Romania, and Germany were brought in to give evidence, the surviving Police officers who were fit enough to travel, and several of the survivors from the tunnel collapse gave accounts of their own experiences. Most damning being the little girl, now eleven years old, who had lost both her legs in the tunnel collapse.

The court listened, many of the jury with tears in their eyes, as she recounted the horror of the tunnel coming down on the car she and her Father were in, of being trapped in the rubble for hours, in agony with her legs crushed, one of which having to be amputated at the road side in order to get her free, then the other in the hospital, when it became clear that the limb could not be saved. Further surgeries had followed as the wounds he failed to heal, and more of the legs were taken, until finally she was left with just a few inches of thigh from her hips, too little to attach prosthesis to, (Though Stark Industries had taken an interest in her case and were working towards creating tailor made prothesis for her) Or rather Tony was doing so.

She spoke of her Father, whom she missed, who had lost his life when the car had been crushed, how her Mother was struggling to pay medical bills, how they’d had to move into a flat instead of their house, because it was cheaper on rent, and because it was easier for her to manage in a wheelchair.

“I wanted to be a dancer,” she said, addressing the court, “I love Ballet, it’s what I always wanted to do, what I have devoted myself to since I could walk. But now,” she paused, sniffing and wiping at her cheeks, “Now I’ll never dance again, even if Mr Stark can make me prosthetics to walk, I’ll never be a ballerina, Captain America took that away from me,” her tear filled blue eyes met Steve’s and the former Super Soldier felt a twinge of guilt in his stomach, “Just like he took away my Father!” she whispered, breaking down into tears.

The judge called a recess after this, the Defence having no questions for the child, and even if they had, they had no stomach to ask them after hearing her terrible ordeal.

“Proud of yourself are you?” One of the guards snarled at Steve, as they waited to be called back into court, “You’ve ruined that poor girls life, you utter bastard!”

Steve flinched, “I never meant for anyone to get hurt,” he whispered, and the guard snorted,

“What? Thought you could drop a bridge on people and they’d all walk away with a few bruises?” He sneered at Steve, “A super soldier might be able to pull that off, but us mere mortals ain’t so lucky.”

****

To Steve’s shock, the next witness brought in was Clint Barton.

Clint had been given house arrest following turning himself in, he was having to do community service to make reparation for his actions in Germany, but, with his actions in helping the Police, Bat Family, and Avengers during Wanda and Steve’s rampage in New York being taken into account, he had avoided Prison, and would have the electronic tag on his ankle removed in another six months and be a free man.

“I Clinton Barton swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God,” Clint recited, sitting down, and giving Steve a glare when their eyes met.

The prosecution questioned Clint first, asking him how he came to be involved in the Civil War, what had happened from there, and how he had come to breaking with Rogers and Maximoff a year before.

“I was at home with my family when Rogers called me, claiming that there was an emergency, five Winter Soldiers that a man named Zola was going to awaken. He told me to free Wanda Maximoff from The Compound, where he claimed she was imprisoned, something that I later learned was untrue, Tony, Mr Stark had not imprisoned her, he had suggested to Vision that for her own safety that Wanda should remain on the property considering the public response to her actions in Nigeria. I didn’t know the details at the time, and helped her escape, wounding Vision in the process.

We went to Germany, with a Man called Scott Lang, Ant Man, he stole a suit belonging to Hank Pym, that enabled him to shrink and enlarge. We went to their airport, to take a Quinjet, where Mr Stark and the other Avengers, and King T’Challa attempted to stop us. Instead of explaining the reason for urgency, Steve decided to just fight, the fight thankfully cause no civilians to be hurt, but tragically, Colonel Rhodes suffered a spinal injury. Steve Rogers and James Barnes escaped on the Quinjet, while myself, Wanda Maximoff, Sam Wilson, and Scott Lang were arrested and taken to The Raft, where we were liberated three days later by Steve Rogers.

It was not until eight months later, during the custody battle between Mr Stark, and Steve Rogers, that I learned of what had occurred in Siberia, how Steve had concealed the murder of Howard and Maria Stark by the hands of the Winter Soldier, how he had nearly beaten Mr Stark to death, and left him in Siberia in a disabled suit, endangering his life, nor how he had raped Mr Stark a day before, taking advantage of him while he was drunk.”

“Objection, your Honour,” The defence called out, “Charges of Rape or Sexual assault are not being prosecuted and there is no reason for the Witness to bring this up,”

“Sustained,” The Judge said, he looked to Clint, “Please keep your testimony to the questions asked, Mr Barton,”

“Yes, Sir,” Clint said, not bothered, the damage was already done, the Judge might have dismissed his words, but the Jury had already heard them and couldn’t be made to forget.

He continued to give evidence, answering the prosecutions questions, detailing his fight against the Scarlet Witch at the hospital, his aiding of the Avengers and Bat Family against her.

The Defence came next, trying to counter all the evidence Clint had given, trying to make it seem like he had exaggerated or was misleading the court. To his credit Clint never faltered once, answering their questions clearly and without hesitation.

Another recess followed, in which Steve was given lunch, that he only picked at, his appetite quite lost, and then Sam was brought in to give evidence.

Unlike Clint, he had not avoided prison, he’d been sent down for his actions in Romania. Though, he had plead guilty and made a plea bargain for a lesser sentence, with his actions in stopping the Scarlet Witch being taken into account. He’d been given eight years, but was likely to be out on parole in just another two.

He placed the majority of the blame on Steve for what had happened in Romania, though admitted he had been a willing participant, and admitted to his actions in Germany, though, stressed he had not known of the deal Tony had offered for Steve, nor, of what had occurred in Siberia until the custody battle, just like Clint.

“I was horrified when I saw the video of what happened there,” Sam said, swallowing hard, “I only knew of the Winter Soldiers there, I had no idea of what Barnes had done while under Hydra’s control, nor that Rogers knew what had happened. No one could blame Tony for reacting as he did, I know if I saw someone murder my Mother I would try to kill them. Steve never told any of us of how he left Tony there, in a disabled suit, injured, and alone in a freezing wasteland, he said nothing about what had really happened there, he had us all believing that Tony was the one at fault, let us all turn our backs on him and malign him without cause, he is no hero, he isn’t even a decent person, and I am sick to my stomach to think that I ever willingly followed him.”

Again the Defence tried to make it seem that Sam was exaggerating, as they had with Clint, but it did no good, nor did it do them any good when Scott gave his evidence.

After this, The judge called an end to the session and for the trial to continue on the following day, in which Natasha would be called, as would Tony, and shockingly, Bucky.

Bucky had been awoken from Cryostasis, and between BARF and Wakandan technology, had been freed from the trigger words. He was both in America facing his own court case for his actions as the Winter Soldier, though it was pretty much guaranteed that he would be acquitted on the grounds of diminished responsibility, and his actions in Romania and Germany on account of severe PTSD for which he was being treated.

Steve was shocked to learn that Bucky would be testifying, shocked that he was awake, and keen to see his old friend. As he was driven back to prison that night, he felt a stirring of hope inside him, he knew that Bucky would help make the court see the truth, would stand by him as he always had in the past, between his testimony and Steve’s own, Steve would be freed once more and able to be Captain America again.

Stark Mansion

“Mamma, Mamma, Mamma!” Max chanted, as Tony carried him to bed, at year old Max was becoming a handful and a half. He was talking, so much that he hardly shut up at all, had learned to say Mamma, and Papa, and couple of words that everyone wished he hadn’t. He was also crawling, at remarkable and terrifying speed, getting into anything he could get his hands on, and pulling himself up right to stand on his feet, only a little away from taking his first steps.

“Bed time Maxi-cub,” Tony cooed, a frequent nickname for the Pup, who giggled and yawned at him, arms about Tony’s neck, snuggled warm in his Spiderman onesie that Peter had bought him, to go with the Batman onesie, Iron Man onesie, and the rest of the Avengers and Bat Family onesies, along dozens of cuddle toys in their super hero images, the favourite of which was Batman, which Max had received when he was three months old, and had loved to chew on with his whelp teeth. The toy was rather battered now, and had to be stitched up several times where Max had chewed a hole in it, but he still had it at his side and slept with it every night.

“Batsy Mamma!” Max demanded, as Tony lowered him into his cot, smiling Tony handed Max his beloved toy and tucked him in, the Pup immediately snuggling with the plushy and popping a foot into his mouth to chew on!

“Sweet dreams Sugar Plum,” Tony said, placing a kiss on Max’s head, and stroked the Pups dark curls back from his face until he fell asleep, his batman pressed up against him, tucked under his chin.

Quietly, Tony went back down stairs to the living room, where Bruce and the others were, joining Bruce on the Sofa and putting his feet up on a pouffe,

“Nervous about tomorrow?” Damian asked,

“A little,” Tony admitted, he hadn’t seen Rogers since the kidnapping, he really didn’t want to see him at all, but, he wasn’t going to let Rogers make him cowed and had refused a screen, which had been offered to him,

“Between the evidence given today, and Romanoff, Barnes, and Yours tomorrow, there’s no way in hell he’ll get off,” Dick said, he grinned, “And once he’s been sentenced to…, I don’t know, two thousand years! You and Bruce can finally tie the knot!”

Tony snickered and Bruce growled at Dick, who, as usual was unaffected. They had meant to get married sooner, but, looking after a new born was one hell of a lot of work, and Tony had still been recovering at first, then there had been the Christening, when Max was twelve weeks old, which had been an extravagant affair, neither Tony or Bruce sparing a penny on the event, and had Kirsty and her Grandfather attend both the ceremony and the celebration after.

Shortly after that there had been trouble for Peter, with a Villain called Vulture, then Penguin had launched another scheme that had kept Bruce occupied, Joker had escaped Arkham (Again) and was still on the loose with his deranged girlfriend Harley Quinn, and to top it all off Dr Doom, or as Tim had so helpfully put it Dr Doomass! Had decided to be more of a dumbass than normal and launched an attack with doombots, requiring all the Avengers and the Bat Family to fight his forces.

This meant that a full year had gone by without Bruce and Tony having a chance to get their wedding plans sorted. Pepper had finally insisted they set a date, which they had, and prayed that no villain would decide to be a dick on that day, which was, two months from now.

“I hear that Barnes is likely to be acquitted,” Alfred said, to Tony, carefully,

“Good,” Tony said, “He wasn’t really responsible, and he’s suffered enough, too much, he needs help not further persecution, and I’m glad he’ll get a chance at a fresh start,”

“I’ll bet Roger’s thinks he’s gonna have his back in court,” Peter snickered, “f*cker’ll be in for a surprise!”

“Language!” Bruce scolded, by habit, since Max was talking and already knew a few swear words, they were trying to keep him from learning anymore,

“Munchkin’s in bed, he’s alright,” Tony soothed, another nick-name for Max, Munchkin, “And he’s also right. Roger’s is in for one hell of a surprise come tomorrow.”

Chapter 28

Chapter Text

Steve’s routine was the same as the previous morning, with an early wake up call, shower and breakfast. The only difference was that one of his “Charming” neighbours had gone into his cell while he’d been in court and written a few choice names and remarks about him on the walls.

Steve grit his teeth and reminded himself that he would be out of this hell hole very soon, and all of his suffering would be a painful memory that he could work on forgetting.

The mob gathered outside the court had not lessened any, neither had their vehemence against him. Once again he and the officers escorting him were pelted with vegetables, eggs, and other stuff, until they were safely inside the court. Once inside Steve let out a sigh of relief, only to have his breath stolen as he heard the sound of a child’s voice.

“No go Mamma, no, NO!”

Unable to help himself, Steve turned and to his shock he saw Tony at the end of the long hall, dressed for court, in a smart designer suite that he was creasing as he knelt down to address a toddler, his toddler, their toddler.

“Rogers, move it!” One of the guards snapped at him, but Steve refused to move. He stood and stared at the sight of Tony, on his knees, before their Son. His precious James, who’d grown up so much since he saw him last.

“Play Mamma, go play!” the toddler cried, tugging on Tony’s jacket, which he held tight in fat little fists, his cherubic face upturned to plead with Tony,

“I’m sorry munchkin, but I can’t take you to the park today,” Tony said to him, his face creasing as the toddler let out a distressed wail at the denial,

“Hey now, come on sugar plum, its alright,” Steve’s gut clenched as he saw Bruce Wayne kneel down beside Tony and James and take the little fists into his hands, turning the toddler towards him, “You’re going to the park with Grampa Alfred, Uncle Peter, and Tim, that’ll be fun won’t it?”

“Yeah honey, we’re gonna have so much fun!” a young man, Peter Parker? That Intern of Starks, said to him, “We’re gonna play on the swings, and the slide, and we’ll get ice cream…”

“Ah, he’s allowed three teaspoons of ice cream, no more,” Tony said, “I don’t want a repeat of last time,”

The intern made a disgusted face, and Alfred patted his shoulder, “I’ll make sure he’s not given too much ice cream,” he assured Tony, and bent down to James, “Now what do you say, Little Man? Want to go and play on the swings?”

This seemed to be the exact right thing to say, as James stopped whining and turned to give the man addressed as Alfred a big smile, lifting his arms from Wayne, to hold them out to Alfred, who chuckled and lifted him up into his arms,

“Now say bye bye to Mamma and Papa, and we’ll see them later,” Alfred said, and James turned, reaching out a hand to Tony,

“Bye Mamma”

“Bye Max,” Tony said, taking his hand and kissing his cheek, “Be good for your Grampa, Uncle, and Brother,”

“Have fun Max,” Bruce said, taking his turn at getting a kiss from the Pup and bidding him farewell,

“Good luck,” Alfred said, to Tony and Bruce, he eyeballed a rather sulky looking dark haired young man, “And you behave!”

“Rogers!” the shout had the group turning and seeing Steve staring,

“Tony,” Steve whispered, as the Omega turned away from him, moving to hide their Son from him, “Tony please!” Steve called out, trying to move towards them, but the guards dragged him away, forcing him to turn from his Son and Omega, leading him to the court.

***

Bruce clenched his teeth as he saw Rogers getting lead away. He placed a hand on Tony’s shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“Are you alright?” he asked,

“Sure,” Tony said, forcing a smile and nodding his head

“Mr Stark?”, Tony turned and saw one of the Court ushers, “Time to go in now,”

“Right,” Tony gave Max another kiss, and took a deep breath, “Lets do this.”

***

Natasha had been fortunate in not getting extradited back to Russia. It had not been done as a favour to her though, it was done because the Government felt she had far too much knowledge of their defences and military for it to be safe for her to be taken back to another country, especially one they had a shaky relationship with.

So Natasha was allowed to remain in the US. In Prison.

She had escaped charges of Treason by the skin of her teeth, the situation regarding the data dump being too complex to build a decent case against her, and charges of espionage wouldn’t stick since she had been working for a division of the US Government at the time. What she had been charged with, tried, and convicted for were Failure to report a crime, aiding an abetting wanted fugitives, perverting the course of justice, and accessory after the fact to a double murder (The Starks Murder)

She’d been sentenced to twenty years in a maximum security facility, where she would have to serve a minimum of fifteen years before she’d be considered for parole.

As she hobbled into court, Steve felt his stomach lurch.

Natasha was walking, she had recovered enough to not require a wheelchair, but she was reliant on two crutches to support her as she moved, and her movements were far from her usual grace. They were slow and pained, each step causing Natasha agony as her plated and pinned bones grated against each other.

Ashen faced, panda eyed, and with limp dull hair, Natasha took her seat and answered the prosecution and defence’s questions, making it clear she was neither’s side and was only doing this because it got her a day out of prison, she wouldn’t look at Steve, wouldn’t acknowledge him at all, rising and leaving without looking his way once.

Natasha’s coldness stung a little, but Steve consoled himself by the fact that Bucky was here, would be speaking for him, and soon they’d be together again, like they were meant to be.

***

Bucky was nervous. He couldn’t say that he was anything but nervous. He’d been awake for six months now and still felt like he was finding his way in this century. While he’d lived in Romania for two years, he’d kept himself isolated, not bothering with new tech or finding out about the world as he’d struggled to differentiate himself from the Winter Soldier. Then Steve had burst back into life, turning everything upside down, and hurt a lot of people doing it. In the aftermath Bucky had gone back into Cryostasis and known nothing until T’Challa was standing beside his bed after he’d been thawed out once more.

T’Challa had kindly explained all that had happened since he’d gone to sleep, and filled in a lot of details that Steve had left out.

He hadn’t believed it at first, hadn’t wanted to believe it. That Steve, the co*cky little punk he’d known could have changed so much. He’d known there was something different about him back in the war, after the serum, but it was war time, everything was f*cked up, everyone was f*cked up, and you just got on with it and made the best of it. But Bucky had never thought in million years that the boy he’d grown up with would become a rapist, a kidnapper, an abuser.

When the evidence was presented to him, Bucky had spent a good twenty minutes vomiting up everything in his stomach.

Had he been able he would have gone and ripped the little punk a few new ones, given him the pounding of his life, but, he’d had intensive work to do, with Wakandan Doctors and Starks BARF tech, and God did he need to get a better name for that! And Bucky had been busy sorting his head out, dealing with his memories and figuring out who he was.

It had taken many months and a hell of a lot of hard work, but he had gotten there, knew who he was for the most part, sure, the Soldier was still part of him, but not massively so. That part was more like a second internal monologue, nothing he couldn’t live with, and sometimes it was even amusing to have a different opinion on things.

Though one thing he and the remnants of the Winter Soldier did have in common though, was their opinion on Steve Rogers, and their desire to make sure he never got the chance to hurt another person.

Well, The soldier’s idea was to break his legs and tie them around his neck and strangle him with them! But Bucky felt they could compromise and just have Steve go to prison!

Seeing Steve across the Courtroom was a punch to the gut for Bucky. He looked so different to how Bucky remembered him. He wasn’t the big and strong Captain America anymore, he was back to being the short kid he’d grown up with, though, he wasn’t skinny anymore, prison and whatever meds the had him on to deal with his asthma had made him decidedly chubby, not a look that Bucky ever thought he’d see on Steve Rogers.

Familiar blue eyes gazed at him with such hope that Bucky felt a pang of guilt for what he was about to do, but that pang lessened when he remembered the evidence, the list of casualties from Romania, Stark’s injuries, the kidnapping, and everything that Steve had done.

Hardening his heart Bucky swore on the bible and began to answer the prosecutions questions, detailing the fight in Siberia. How Stark had been forced to witness his parents brutal murder at the hands of the Winter Soldier, his hands, and how Steve had known about it, known for a number of years that the Stark’s had been murdered by Hydra and that the Winter Soldier had likely been the assassin and had said nothing. Had even lied to Stark’s face right there when he asked him!

“It wasn’t you Buck! It wasn’t you!” Steve called out from the dock, The Judge slammed his hammer down calling for order,

“If you can continue, Sergeant Barnes?” The Prosecution council said,

“Of course,” Bucky replied, clearing his throat, “Stark hit Steve, knocking him down, he then turned to me, I raised the gun I was carrying and fired at Stark..”

“It was self-defence Buck!” Steve cried,

“Silence in Court!” the Judge shouted, “One more outburst from you, Mr Rogers and you’ll be held in contempt of court!”

“But..,” Steve tried to protest,

“For once will you put a damn sock in it!” Bucky cried, addressing Steve now, who looked taken aback by this, “Look at you punk, you’re facing charges of manslaughter, terrorism, accessory to Murder after the fact, crimes that’ll get you a life sentence and you wanna risk making things worse?” He shook his head letting out a sad sounding chuckle, “I thought I knew you, Stevie, I thought I knew the man you were, God knows I grew up with you, getting you out of scrapes, dealing with all the sh*t you got into because you couldn’t keep your damn mouth shut or learn when to walk away. I knew you had an attitude problem, a chip on your shoulder, but I thought you were a good man at heart, a noble man.”

Steve stared through the glass at Bucky, his eyes welling with unshed tears and his throat painful with the lump forming inside it, “I am Buck, everything I’ve done..,”

“Is sh*t!” Bucky roared back, making Steve reel in shock, “Everything you’ve done has been for you, to prove that you are better than everyone else, that you can be what that bullsh*t propaganda said you were. Christ,” he shook his head, “You got lucky saving us in Germany, and you didn’t do it alone, though you were the one to get all the praise, never mind Peggy and Stark risking their necks to fly you into enemy territory, and facing Court Marshall or death had it all gone to sh*t. You managed to pull it off by the skin of your teeth and suddenly you were proclaimed a hero, and you started believing it, believing that you were a God among men, the best of us all, and sure, your physical abilities are amazing, but when it came to strategy, to the planning, to making sure casualties were kept to a minimum, that was all down to other people because you can’t think past putting your fist into someone’s face! God, I saw it, I saw how you started regarding yourself as better than the rest of us, how you’d look down your nose at the howlies when they’d get tired before you, how you’d scowl every time you were questioned on something, how you’d treat them with contempt when they wanted to cut loose and go drinking and finding some willing women and Omegas in the down time, and I ignored it, I pretended it wasn’t happening, because I never thought you could sink so low as to become this.”

“Bucky, please!” Steve whispered, pleading with Bucky to stop, in truth the Judge should have stopped it, but everyone in court was frozen, they were entranced by Bucky’s speech, his reprimand to Steve Rogers, who was actually crying at the other super soldiers words,

“You raped Tony Stark, he was drunk and you took advantage of him,” Bucky snarled, “Then just forty eight hours later, you beat him half to death and left him in a frozen wasteland, you left him to die without a second of hesitation, and to top it all off you then go and demand custody of the child you impregnated him with, and kidnap both of them when you didn’t get your way! You allied yourself with Hydra, f*cking Hydra, Rogers! Do you know what they did to me, for decades, the torture, the mental abuse, the brain washing?” Bucky stared at Steve as if he were a complete stranger to him, “You call yourself a hero, America’s greatest Soldier. Yet you never knew the first thing about being a soldier. About never leaving a man behind, not even an enemy, about taking responsibility for your actions regardless of orders, about defending civilians, serve and protect, not take laws into your own hands regardless of the consequence.”

Bucky paused, needing a minute to steady himself, he wasn’t going to lose control, he was past that now, but he needed to reign in his temper for his own peace of mind. When he felt more under control he looked at Rogers again, who was sobbing in the dock, “If your poor Mother could see you now she would weep for what her Son has become.”

Steve bowed his head, he wrapped his arms about himself and cried piteously. Bucky had turned on him, his best friend had turned on him. He felt like his whole world had been pulled out from under him and he was left falling into an endless pit.

The rest of Bucky’s testimony past without Steve hearing it, the defence took their turn on questioning him, then a recess was called. That too past without Steve noticing, he was lost in his grief over Bucky turning his back. There was only one explanation for it. Stark and T’Challa must have done something with the BARF, brain washed him into hating Steve. It was just like Tony to do that, to be so spiteful, and from where he was there wasn’t a damn thing Steve could do about it.

Finger the damn collar, Steve sat back in the dock after the recess and glared across the court as Tony took the stand.

***

To say he was shocked by the change in Steve’s appearance was an understatement. Tony hadn’t recognized him at all, short, pudgy, and in a cheap suit, he looked nothing like the strong Alpha who’d kidnapped Tony a year earlier, or the man who’d fought against him in Siberia, at Leipzig, or dropped a bridge on civilians in Bucharest. He was certainly not the man who haunted Tony’s nightmares, the Alpha he feared coming back into his life and taking Max from him. He was person of no consequence, someone who you’d pass in the street and never give a second glance because they were forgettable.

With that in mind, and the supporting bodies of Bruce, Damian, Pepper, and Rhodey in the gallery, Tony took the stand and recounted his kidnapping for the court.

“I awoke in a warehouse. Cold, groggy, and in incredible pain. I was wearing nothing but a hospital gown, was fresh out of surgery following my Son being cut from me but a Doctor under the control of Wanda Maximoff, during which I was awake and felt everything,”

The Jury all looked sickened at the thought, Steve scowled, while Wanda had been wrong to do what she did, Tony didn’t have to bring it up, he was just trying for the sympathy vote, just trying to make Steve look bad.

“I was disoriented and afraid, not just for myself but for my Son,” Tony said, “He was a few hours old, premature, I had no idea if he was healthy, if he needed help and Steve wouldn’t let me go to a hospital, not even when I began to bleed. He just took us to a chemist and made him and his Granddaughter patch me up and give us supplies. I couldn’t fight him, I could barely stand, I was getting sick with infection and blood loss, I needed medical attention, my son needed medical attention but Steve wouldn’t take us to a hospital. He called Nick Fury for help, but thankfully, Fury set him up, sent him to a former SHIELD safe house and gave the address to Rhodey, who rescued me, with the help of Vision, Batman and his friends.”

Tony gave a smile to Bruce and Rhodey, “I was unconscious by then, the infection had taken hold, and they had to rush me to hospital where I had to undergo further surgery to save my life. I was then unconscious for days, in intensive care. My milk became tainted by the anti-biotics so I couldn’t nurse Max anymore, I missed out on a week of his life because of Steve Rogers, I nearly died because of him, and my Son was nearly left without his Mother.”

There was little the defence could say to that testimony, oh they made an effort to contradict Tony, but not much of one, they knew they were beat and weren’t going to drag this out anymore than necessary.

After Tony’s testimony, Kirsty and her Grandfather give their evidence of Steve entering their chemist and forcing them to aid him, how he was holding both Tony and baby Max hostage and refusing Tony the medical aid he desperately needed and was determined to keep them both from their family.

“He’s screwed,” Damian whispered to Bruce, “The Jury’s gonna hang him, they have to,”

“Lets hope so,” Bruce whispered back to him, there was only one last testimony to go, and that was Steve’s, which would be given the following day, then the Jury would retire to consider the verdict, which in every sane mind was guilty on all accounts.

“One more day and its over for good,” Pepper said, as they rose from their seats and began to file out of the court, “Rogers will go down, and this will all be done with at last.”

***

Sitting in his cell that night, Steve shed bitter tears over Bucky, snarled over Tony’s spite and malice, how the vindictive and twisted Omega had made everything seem so perverse and wrong just because he wanted to hurt Steve.

Tomorrow he would take the stand, he would make everyone see the truth, would show Tony for the liar he was, the backstabbers that Sam and Clint were, Wanda was in a loony bin in Sokovia so she didn’t matter, but the others, they would have to pay for turning on him like this, and once he was Captain America again, he’d find a way to fix Bucky and make sure they paid for this.

Chapter 29

Chapter Text

Tony and Bruce were met in the Court House by Bucky, the following morning as they headed into court for what they hoped would be the final day of the trial.

“Wasn’t expecting to see you here after yesterday,” Tony said, by way of greeting,

Bucky shrugged, and looked down at his feet, “I need to see this through,” he said, looking back up and meeting Tony’s eyes with difficulty, “Listen, Mr Stark..,”

“Tony,” the Omega corrected, “I think, all things considered, that we should be on a first name basis,”

“Okay,” Bucky agreed, nodding his head, “I just wanted, well I wanted to say thank you for the BARF thing, and, I know it doesn’t make it better and it’s no where near enough, but I want to apologise for your parents, for what I did..,” he paused as Tony held up a hand to him,

“It wasn’t you,” he said, “You’re body yes, but not with your consent, you were just a puppet with Hydra pulling your strings, they’re the ones I blame, not you, and I’m sorry for trying to kill you, or, at the very least maim you,”

“Don’t be,” Bucky said, shaking his head, “Had it been the other way around, had I seen you kill my Ma and Dad then I’d have gone for you just as you did for me, so I guess what I’m trying to say is, no hard feelings on my account,”

“Nor mine,” Tony assured him, he glanced over Bucky’s shoulder and rolled his eyes, “My over-protective shadow is never far!” he chuckled, “C’mon, I’ll introduce you to my soon-to-be-Husband, and Son,”

Bucky was astonished as Tony took his flesh arm and lead him to where Bruce Wayne was standing close by, watching their interaction with toddler on his hip, a Batman plushy in one hand, and the toy’s head in his mouth!

“Bruce, this is Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes, Bucky, this is Bruce Wayne,”

“Please to meet you, Mr Wayne,” Bucky politely greeted, he refrained from shaking Bruce’s hand since he didn’t have one free until Tony took the Pup into his own arms, grinning as he was greeted with a delighted “Mamma!” from the boy,

“Pleasure,” Bruce said rather stiffly in return, he didn’t smile at Bucky, but his eyes lit up when Max blew a kiss at him, though sadly it also had a spit bubble!

“Max, I want you to meet someone very special,” Tony said, to the Pup, “This is your Uncle Bucky,”

Bucky’s eyes widened at the title he’d been given and the smile he gave Max was a little stilted, at least until Max grinned at him,

“B’kay?” he asked, mangling the name a little, but in the most adorable way,

“Hi Max,” Bucky said, “How are you doing?”

“Guh,” Max replied, “Ooow?”

“That means good and you?” Tony translated for Bucky,

“I’m great, thank you,” Bucky informed the Pup, “You’re a real charmer already, aren’t you?”

“He takes after his Mamma,” Bruce said, taking a handkerchief from his pocket and wiping the spit from Max’s chin, “Though you weren’t so charming at five this morning, were you?” he gently scolded the Pup, who just grinned at him unrepentantly,

“Oh he just needed some attention, didn’t you Munchkin?” Tony cooed, “You missed us,”

“Stay today?” Max asked, hopefully,

“Oh, we’d love to sweetheart, but we’ve got to go back into Court, so Grampa Alfred is gonna take you again,” Max pouted at this, at least until Alfred appeared and held out his arms, then Max was eagerly getting swept into a hug,

“Isceem?” Max asked, meaning Ice Cream,

“A little bit later, if you’re good,” Alfred said, he drew a deep breath, looking to Bruce and Tony, “Heres hoping it’s finished with today,”

“Amen to that,” Bruce said, planting a kiss on Max’s head, “See you later, trouble!”

“No tubble!” Max babbled, pouting, until Tony kissed him, “Bye Mamma, wuv ooh!”

“I love you too Max,” Tony said, giving him a wave, as Alfred took him out of court for another day at the park,

“He’s beautiful,” Bucky said, “A credit to you,”

“Thank you,” Tony said, “You’ll have to come to ours for dinner when this is all over, see him outside of this place, and meet the other boys too, God Knows we have a whole circus!”

“I wouldn’t want to intrude..,”

“You wouldn’t be, would he Bruce?” Tony gave his Husband-to-be a speaking look that Bruce knew better than to argue with,

“Of course not,” he said with his press smile, “We’d be happy to have you,” at Bucky’s uncertain look, Tony rolled his eyes and patted his shoulder,

“Don’t worry about him, he was raised by wolves in the black hole of Calcutta for a long time, and has suffered many head injuries, its cause him to lose any social graces he ever knew!”

“Hey!” Bruce protested, “It was Tibet, not Calcutta,”

Tony shrugged, “Close enough!”

“Entirely separate countries,” Bruce sighed, “Your Geography is worse than Tim’s and he got Scotland and Ireland mixed up on the map!”

The light hearted conversation continued until the three went into the court gallery and took their seats falling silent as the Judge arrived and called the court to order, calling Steve Rogers to the stand.

***

The defence had no questions for Steve, they had urged him not to speak on his own behalf, knowing it would get him no where, but Steve had insisted, and now had to face the prosecutions questions and try to explain himself. Firstly over his actions in Bucharest.

“I was simply protecting an innocent man from wrongful persecution,” he said, to the Prosecution council, “Bucky was innocent, it was Hydra who made him do those things, the Police had no right to try and harm him,”

“No right?” the council asked, “Mr Barnes was illegally in their country, was a wanted fugitive from justice, and had a history of extreme violence and murder. Granted, he only did these things under duress, but never the less, he did them, and has freely admitted to doing so,”

“He is innocent!” Steve cried, and the judge banged her hammer,

“You will refrain from shouting, Mr Rogers,”

Steve scowled at being called Mister and clenched his jaw, “I had to get him away from there, Sam and I were doing so, when T’Challa attacked..,”

“After you severely injured several Police Officers, using your full strength as a Super soldier, you mean?”

Steve narrowed his eyes at the woman questioning him, she was trying to trip him up, make him say something he didn’t mean, well, she wouldn’t succeed, he was too smart for that.

“We were escaping, were heading for the airport, when T’Challa attacked, had it not been for him, then we could have escaped the Police and no one would have been hurt!”

“Mr Rogers, you are not truly saying that the blame for all the happened in Bucharest lays solely on king T’Challa and not also with yourself and Sam Wilson?”

“No,” Steve said, “We all share blame, but what I am saying, is that if the Police and T’Challa had left well enough alone then none of this would have happened!”

Cries of outrage filled the court, along with shouts of disbelief at Steve’s words, until the Judge ordered silence once more, and the councillor continued with the questioning, bringing Steve along to his reasons for not informing the authorities of the Winter Soldiers in Siberia, when they would be a threat to everyone.

“Because non of them could be trusted,” he said, “Ross had everyone in his pocket, and Tony wouldn’t listen to reason, he was crazed and..,”

“You mean the ex-secretary Ross I assume?” the Councillor said, “And why would you think he had Foreign Police or Military in his pocket, or the UN for that matter?”

“Because of the accords, he was in control of everything, he had an agender, he couldn’t be trusted, no one could, the only people I could trust were my team!”

“Your team? Was Antman a part of your team prior to Leipzig?”

“Well, no but..,”

“What about Natasha Romanoff and Vision? Weren’t they a part of your team, and hadn’t Mr Stark been a part of the team?”

“Tony had quit after he screwed up with Ultron, Vision was not a field member, and Natasha has only ever been loyal to herself!” Steve did feel a little bad about saying this about Natasha, but he knew the truth about her now, she had turned her back on him, just as she had on Tony previously, she was untrustworthy and he couldn’t protect her anymore.

The Councillor raised an eyebrow, a slight smirk on her face, “But you deemed the now proven unstable and psychopathic Wanda Maximoff as trustworthy?”

Steve flushed a little at that, “Wanda had everyone fooled, I am sorry to say I didn’t see her true nature until almost too late,”

“Almost? You don’t call her working complicity with Hydra as being too late? What about her involvement in the creation of Ultron, the violation of your team mates minds, setting The Hulk loose on Johannesburg, or how about her actions in Nigeria, and the deaths she caused?”

“She was a kid when Hydra tricked her,”

“But she had mind powers, telepathy, empathy, telekinesis and other powers, how could she not have known the truth?” the Councillor asked and Steve swallowed hard, not having an answer for that, “Now, onto your actions at the airport? Why did not simply explain your need for expedience to Mr Stark and the rest of your team, explain to them why you had to go to Siberia?”

“because I couldn’t trust them, there wasn’t time,” Steve replied, “Lives were at stake, and it was our duty to protect them,”

“Protect them, by risking them with a full scale battle in a public airport?”

“No one was hurt!” Steve protested,

“Ah, in actual fact, someone was hurt, permanently, Colonel James Rhodes received a spinal injury as the result of your fight, and several million dollars worth of property damage was caused by that battle,”

“That’s not my fault,” Steve said, shaking his head, “He and Tony should have just let us go,”

“Tony Stark and Colonel Rhodes were acting on orders from the united nations and the US Government to bring you all in, they had thirty-six hours to do so, or a shoot to kill order would have been issued,” the Councillor corrected Steve, but it only made him shake his head,

“More government red tape, and they should have told us!”

“Oh, you expect complete trust from Tony Stark and yet you kept secrets from him, refused to give him the trust you demanded in return?”

“He had done nothing to earn my trust, I had no reason to think he wouldn’t betray me,”

“Even after several years of being his friend, and deciding to go to bed with him?”

“Objection your Honour, council is leading the witness!” the Defence cried,

“Sustained,”

“I apologise, your Honour, lets move on, to your actions in Siberia, Mr Rogers.”

****

Steve recounted Siberia and his actions when the fight had broken out, defending his reason for leaving Tony there and for not telling him of his parents murder before hand, which would have spared them the whole situation.

He then defended his reasons for breaking his team out of the Raft prison, and why they took refuge in Wakanda, before leaving to go to Cyprus, and eventually returning to the US for the custody case, and what happened after that.

“I had no idea Wanda would do anything like that. She just walked into my motel room with James in her arms..,”

“You mean Max Stark-Wayne,”

“I mean James, my Son James,” Steve stated, firmly, “Wanda had him in her arms, was covered in blood, Natasha came in because James was crying and I.., well Wanda attacked her and Clint and everything just went crazy, I knew I had to get to Tony and having Wanda take us to the hospital was the most expedient way,” Steve explained, “I took care of her at the hospital, so she couldn’t hurt anyone else, and rescued Tony..,”

“Rescued him, from what?” the Councillor asked, “Mr Stark was in recovery from major surgery when you abducted him..,”

“I didn’t abduct him, I took him from the hospital to be with our Son, I was going to take care of them both, as an Alpha and a Father, I would never have hurt them,”

“What about when Mr Stark started to bleed? When he began to sicken with infection?”

“I took him to a chemist..,”

“Who was unable to treat the kind of wound Mr Stark had,” The Councillor said, “He was losing great amounts of blood, had a raging fever, why didn’t you take him to a hospital when it was clear he needed immediate medical attention?”

“I.., it would have brought attention from Ross’ people, from others who wanted us to be apart,” Steve stammered, “I called Nick Fury, I thought he would help, but instead he betrayed us, turned his back on us like everyone else, and then That Vigilante Batman attacked me with his friends, they threw me from a window!”

“The Vigilante and his associates actions are not on trial your Honour,” the Councillor said, “And I believe I am done with my questions,”

“They are insane!” Steve cried, leaping out of his seat, “Look what they did to me!” he gestured to his body and the vast change between his physique as Captain America and the one he had now, “This collar is inhuman, its taken everything from me!”

“That is enough Mr Rogers,” The judge ordered,

“No!” Steve cried, “I need this thing removing, I can’t be Captain America like this, I can’t be the Father and Alpha James and Tony need!”

“Return to the dock and be silent!” the Judge roared banging down the hammer. Steve was pulled away by his guards, and the Judge had the Prosecution and Defence present their closing arguments and sent the Jury to deliberate.

Only an hour went by before the Jury had returned with a unanimous verdict.

“Guilty on all accounts.”

“What?” Steve bellowed, “You can’t be serious!”, his fist thumped ineffectually on the glass window of the doc,

“Silence Mr Rogers,” the Judge ordered, waiting for Steve to be restrained before she passed sentence upon him.

“Considering the nature of your crimes, the multitude of crimes, and your complete lack of remorse for any of your actions, I have no cause to show you any leniency and therefore I sentence you to three consecutive life sentences with no possibility for parole for a minimum of forty years if your behaviour improves as the result of mandatory psychological therapy sessions.”

“No,” Steve gaped, “No!”

“Take him down,” The judge ordered,

“How can you do this to me?” Steve cried, as he was pulled away, “I’m Captain America!”

“You’re nothing Rogers” Bruce Wayne called, “Nothing but a waste of space,”

“Damn you Wayne, Damn you Stark! You won’t get away with this, I’ll get James, he is my Son, you hear me? MINE!”

“His name is Max you dickless wonder!” Tony said, giving Steve an unimpressed look, “And you will never see him again, except on a Newspaper or TV,” he smiled nastily, “Enjoy prison, I’m sure the inmates will be glad to have your company for a very long time.”

***

As Tony and Bruce went to celebrate with their family, inviting Bucky along with them.

Steve went back to his cell in shock. He couldn’t believe this, couldn’t accept that he had lost the case.

“I’ll appeal,” he said, “I can appeal, I have that right,”

“Put a sock in it Rogers,” the guard said, shoving him in his cell and locked the door, “Appeals cost a fortune, and you’re skint, so just give it up and shut up for once.”

As the Guards footsteps walked away, Steve’s neighbours began to call out to him,

“Nice to see you back Captain Cupcake, just can’t stay away huh?”

“Did Supersize America not win his case?”

“Screw you!” Steve yelled, hating his neighbours, “Leave me alone!”

“Aww, now he’s gonna cry into his pillow like the puss* he is, no Omegas or kids to beat up in here tough guy, only us now,”

“You’re a bunch of disgusting perverts and I hate you!” Steve screamed,

“Feelings mutual blubber butt!”

Further insults and jibes followed as Steve buried his face into his pillow fighting tears and trying to figure out what he would do from here.

Chapter 30

Chapter Text

While the traditional colours for an Omega on their marriage were white and green, Tony was not a traditional Omega.

If he were, then he would have married before he had children, instead he had a pup out of wedlock by another Alpha who was now languishing in prison for the rest of his miserable life!

So, Tony and tradition did not go together, therefore he wasn’t wearing white and green, he was wearing red.

His wedding suite was in a very daring scarlet, with a silk shirt of black, and his tie was in black with a pattern in scarlet to match his suit.

Rhodey was naturally giving him away, and wore his dress uniform for the occasion, looking incredibly smart. For the day, Tony had made an ultra thin version of the braces so they wouldn’t show under his trousers which did not have much give in them.

“Do I look alright? Is the jacket hanging right in the back? My ass doesn’t look huge right?” Tony babbled, as he looked in the mirror, his hands shaking as he scrutinized his appearance, “Maybe I should have gone for more subtle colour, red isn’t really a forgiving colour is it? And my hips have been wider since Max, do the pants make me look pear shaped?”

“You look fine Tones, perfect,” Rhodey said, uncomfortably, he really wasn’t great at this kind of thing, and as Tony began turning back and forth, looking over his shoulder at his backside, Rhodey made a discreet exit and went to get Pepper, who was in the nursery with Vision, Peter and Max.

Peter was a groom, along with Tim, Dick, and Damian, although they were with Bruce and Alfred, and were wearing suits to match Bruce’s while Peter and Vision were in dark red suits and black shirts to match with Tony’s suit and Pepper’s brides maid gown, which was a strapless empire waisted chiffon gown in cherry red, with a chiffon shawl of black that was decorated with tiny red roses of silk that matched the rose fascinator in her bouffant hair style.

“He is freaking out!” Rhodey said, pointing over his shoulder, “He’s going on about his ass, and his hips, and loads of other things that are way too gir..,” he paused at Pepper’s glare and rethought his choice of words, “I think its more your domain than mine,”

“Men!” Pepper snarked, setting Max down in his play pen, instead of wearing a suit, Tony had decided to dress him up in an adorable Iron Man onesie,

“Pepep pepep!” he called after her, waving his hand,

“She’ll be back soon, little man,” Peter said, lifting him up and making a dramatic grin on his face for the Pup who laughed in delight,

“At least he isn’t freaking,” Rhodey sighed, flopping down into the rocker, “What is it about weddings that make Omegas and women go crazy?”

Peter shrugged, “I don’t know,” he replied, rocking back and forth with Max,

“And why am I asking these things of a teenager?” Rhodey asked himself shaking his head, wondering how his life had become so crazy and subconsciously blaming his teenage self for getting sucked into Tony’s crazy!

“it is probably just nervousness,” Vision sagely said, “Tony is excited to be getting married, he’s anxious that something might go wrong, he wants everything to be perfect,”

Rhodey rose an eyebrow, “Thank you for that psychological insight Doctor Vision!”

“And sarcasm is not becoming,” Vision replied,

“Blow me!”

Pepper drew a big breath before she entered the bedroom and let it out with a groan when she found Tony clenching his ass cheeks before the mirror!

“You look great, the colour is dramatic and suits you perfectly, your ass is a perky bubble butt, so stop fretting, stop running your hands through your hair, let me sort your tie out and lets get on the way to the church!” amazingly Pepper managed to say all this without drawing breath, and while Tony’s brain was trying to figure out how she managed that, Pepper was wrapping the tie about his throat, fixing a neat Windsor knot, smoothing his collar, grabbing his wrist and dragging him from the room!

“Pep, pepperoni, wait a minute!” Tony cried, tugging on Pepper’s arm and forcing her to either stop walking, or risk falling off her impossibly high heels, “I need.., I need a minute,” he said running his hands over his beard, “I’m getting married, I’m actually getting married!”

“Yes you are,” Pepper agreed, pulling his hand down from his chin, “In about, thirty minutes, so, with city traffic, we need to get on the road to the Church,”

“Right, yeah I know but…,” Tony paused, letting out a breath and swallowing hard,

“What?” Pepper asked,

“I just…, I’m gonna throw up!” Tony turned and bolted for the bathroom, only just reaching the toilet in time,

“I guess those nerves are getting to you,” Pepper said, following him into the bathroom, getting his tooth brush and tooth paste ready for him to use, “I wonder if Alfred and the brats are having this much trouble with Bruce.”

***

Bruce was pacing back and forth, his suit jacket and waist coat off, and Tim following back and forth with an electric fan to keep him cool so he wouldn’t sweat from pacing like this.

His suit was a more traditional black, as were Alfred’s and the boys, with scarlet shirts to match with Tony’s scarlet suit.

“I’m doing the right thing aren’t I?” he asked, looking to Alfred, who just rolled his eyes, not bothering to reply since this was the tenth time he’d asked this, “This is the right thing, I love Tony, he loves me.., he does love me doesn’t he?”

“Yes, for the thousandth time yes!” Damian cried, “He’s moony eyed and sickeningly dopey about you, and your all pathetically moonstruck on him, with the longing gazes and cuddles, this is the right thing, so stop f*cking around, get f*cking dressed, and go get f*cking married!”

For a moment nobody said a word, they were all too gobsmacked by the teenagers outburst to say anything, until Alfred chuckled,

“Out of the mouth of babes!”

Dick shot Bruce a sh*t eating grin, “I think you just received your orders!”

“Clearly!” Bruce murmured, snorting, and for once not bothering to scold Damian for his swearing, he just did as he was told, got his waistcoat and jacket on, let Alfred fix a red rose into his top button and smooth the silk handkerchief in his top pocket,

“Alright,” Alfred said, “Places people, its time to go into battle,”

“Once more into the breech dear friends,” Tim quoted, straightening his suit,

“Lets do this,” Bruce said.

***

Oh heavenly day,
All the clouds blew away,
Got no troubles today
With anyone,

The Smile on your face,
I live only to see,
Its enough for me baby,
Its enough for me,
Oh heavenly day, heavenly day, heavenly day.

Peter and Vision went down the aisle first, followed by Pepper carrying Max instead of a bouquet, the Pup waved a chubby hand at Bruce when he saw him, “Papa!” he declared, causing the guests too Aww at his cuteness,

“Quiet now, Munchkin,” Pepper whispered to Max, as she took her seat,

“Papa an Afed!” Max babbled, all he could manage of Alfred’s name,

“It is, now shush,” she whispered, bouncing him a little to quiet him.

Looking as nervous and excited as Bruce felt himself, Tony walked down the aisle on Rhodey’s arm to Cannon in D, smiling tremulously when he reached the altar. In tradition, Rhodey placed Tony’s left hand into Bruce’s officially giving him away,

“Hurt him and I’ll break your kneecaps!” he whispered to the Alpha, who nodded, accepting the warning, and knelt with Tony before the priest, while Rhodey and Alfred stood back with the rings until they were called upon.

Tomorrow may rain with sorrow,
Here’s a little time we can borrow,
Forget all our troubles, in these moments so few,
All that we’ve got right now, the only thing at all that we really have to do.

Is have ourselves a heavenly day,
Lay here and watch the trees sway,
Oh, can’t see no other way,
No way, no way.

Heavenly day, heavenly day, heavenly day.

“I Bruce Thomas Wayne.”

“I Anthony Edward Stark.”

“Do take thee to be my lawful wedding husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer for poorer, for better for worse, and forsaking all others until death do us part.”

“With this ring, I thee wed.”

The church erupted into cheers as Tony and Bruce kissed, rising to their feet, arm in arm, married.

No one at my shoulder,
Bringing me fears,
Got no clouds up above me,
Bringing me tears,

Got nothing to tell you,
I’ve got nothing much to say,
Only I’m glad to be with you
On this heavenly, heavenly, heavenly, heavenly, heavenly day.

The reception was held at Wayne Manor, which had been decorated for the occasion by the wedding planners hired by Pepper and Lucious, since Tony and Bruce were useless at such things.

A Marquette tent of white and red had been erected in the gardens, leading from the living room that had been made up with flowers, balloons, and ribbons, as had the dining room, and lounge, so there was plenty of space for the guests, but the tables and chairs were set up for the dinner in the tent, as was the dance floor where Tony and Bruce took their first dance to Right Here Waiting For You, by Richard Marx.

Once the first dance was done, other couples joined them on the dance floor, Tim offered his hand to a flushing Peter, who took it, and the two ventured out to dance among the adults who cooed at the sight of young love. Damian scoffed at the display of affection as he always did, but did not refuse Pepper when she asked for him to join her in a dance, and insisted that he had not blushed crimson despite what anyone said!

Pepper was a popular dance partner, dancing with Rhodey, Vision, Alfred, Dick, Tony, and Bruce, as well as Damian, who had bolted to hide behind the dessert table after that single dance, and glared every time the photographer came his way!

Max was well behaved through out the day, clapping his hands, and babbling the few words he knew, eating his dinner of mashed potatoes, boiled chicken breast meat, soft carrots and peas, without protest for his usually detested vegetables, though Tony suspected it was because they were blackmailing him with the promise of getting cake.

Max was given a very small slither of cake, enough for him to enjoy the taste but not enough to upset his stomach or get him high on sugar. After that he went down for his nap easily, giving the adults a bit of alone time, while a nanny, hired for the day, watched over him.

“You wouldn’t believe how nervous Bruce was this morning!” Tim laughed to Tony, ignoring the scathing look that Bruce shot him, and the muttered “Traitor!”

“Oh he would,” Rhodey chuckled, “He was freaking out himself,”

“I so was not!” Tony lied, “I was very calm and collected!”

Pepper snorted, and nearly spat her champagne out, “You threw up!”

“Tattle tale,” Tony sniped at her,

“Did you really?” Bruce asked, grinning at Tony, at least he hadn’t been that bad,

Tony sniffed and put his nose in the air, “Unless you want this marriage to be even shorter than Kim Kardashians first and second marriages, I encourage you to never ask that question again,”

“Duly noted, Mr Stark-Wayne,”

“Very wise, Mr Wayne-Stark,”

“Ugh, now you two are going to be even more gross and mushy!” Damian complained, digging into a second helping of the dessert mousse,

“What a little romantic you aren’t,” Alfred chuckled, lightly tapping the back of the boys head,

“You never know Damian, in a few years you may be in love too,” Tony said, earning a scowl from the sulky brat,

“Never!”

“Yeah, only Harley Quinn would be nuts enough to date him!” Tim teased and caught the balled up napkin thrown at him,

“Now boys, behave,” Dick scolded, “We’re to be on our best behaviour today, no being bad at the table..,” he glanced at Bruce and Tony and groaned, seeing them indulging in a very deep kiss, “Or just do whatever, God knows they are!”

All the troubles gone away
For a while anyway
For a while anyway,
Heavenly day, heavenly day, heavenly day.

It was getting on for Two am when Bruce and Tony finally got to bed.

Bruce lay back under the bed covers waiting for Tony, who was taking a while in the bathroom,

“Babe, c’mon, I’m getting cold without you here,”

“Just another minute, or, ninety seconds,” Tony called back from the bathroom.

Sat on the toilet he stared at the plastic stick in his hand, counting the seconds down, waiting and waiting, until…

“OH MY f*ckING GOD!”

Bruce was up in an instant, bolting for the bathroom, where he found Tony holding a positive pregnancy test.

“OH My God!”

“We’re having a baby!” Tony whispered, then shrieked, “WE’RE HAVING A BABY!” he flung his arms about Bruce’ neck, being lifted up into Bruce’s arms as the Alpha spun him around, kissing his face and neck.

Tony was laughing and crying as Bruce set him down, the usually stoic Alpha mirroring his emotions,

“Just when I thought today couldn’t get any better,” he breathed, leaning forward to place a kiss on Tony’s forehead, “Now everything is completely perfect.”

Heavenly Day, Heavenly day,
Oh, ohh, Heavenly Day.

***

Seven Months Later.

The second pregnancy proved easier on Tony’s body than Max’s had. His heart was still a worry and he had to follow the strict diet and light activity again, but without the super soldier serum effecting the Pups growth, it was a lot less draining for him than Max had been.

The toddler was fascinated by the prospect of a sibling, patting his hand at Tony’s growing belly, and squealing in delight when he was rewarded with a kick, and yelling loudly at the bump since he seemed to believe that would make the Pup hear him better.

The room opposite his was made into a second nursery for the new Pup, with Tony going just as nuts with buying things as he had with Max, and having additional nurseries set up in the Compound, Tower, and Stark Mansion.

This time Pepper did get to give him a baby shower, which she’d not gotten the chance to do the first time around, thanks to Wanda, and Tony was treated to a thoroughly enjoyable Victorian Tea Party which Pepper set as the theme, with tea and coffee being served in fine bone china cups, dainty cakes, sandwiches, and pastries being served in wafer thin plates, and eaten with dainty silver forks, while waiters dressed in Victorian livery served them.

At the start of his seventh month he went on maternity leave from SI and Iron Man, though he’d only being operating the suit via a headset in extreme emergency situations.

With Bruce he counted down the days to his thirty seventh week, and then went into hospital for a scheduled caesarean section.

Under a spinal block, Tony held Bruce’s hand and waited as the surgeon cut him open from behind the sheet, delivering the Pup, who let out a rather disgruntled sounding cry at being disturbed,

“A healthy girl,” he called out, Tony burst into tears and Bruce only managed to hold back his, until he saw his daughter, bundled in a towel being laid on Tony’s chest, then he too broke down into tears,

“Mia Martha,” Tony said, stroking her cheek with his finger, looking into baby blue eyes that would likely turn brown over the next few weeks, “She’s got your chin!” he said, pointing to the cleft in the Pups chin that matched Bruce’s

“Your nose, and your hair,” Bruce said, noting the dark curls on the Pups scalp, “Hello Mia, hello my little Princess,”

“Not even an hour old and already has a nickname,” Tony chuckled, sniffling, he sighed unhappily as the nurses took Mia to be washed, measured, and weighed, but it was only a few minutes before she was back in his arms and he was stitched up and being taken to maternity, where the family were waiting to meet the new born.

“It’s a girl!” Bruce cried, as he burst into the waiting room, “Mia Martha, and she is perfect!”

“Told you!” Damian crowed to Dick, who groaned, reaching for his wallet and handing over fifty dollars!

“Sister, Bubbee sister!” Max chanted, wriggling to get free from Alfred’s arms, but not succeeding as Alfred rose, to go with Bruce and the others to Tony’s room, to him and little Mia,

“Oh Tony, she’s gorgeous!” Pepper sniffed, on seeing the newborn Pup in Tony’s eyes, “Oh why did you have to do this? Now I can hear my body clock ticking!”

“Well you know how to get them Pep,” Tony chuckled, “Tell Rhodey to pull his finger out!”

Rhodey flushed and began to open and close his mouth in protest, he and Pepper had been trying to keep their relationship quiet, but apparently Tony knew anyway. Pepper grabbed him by the shirt, pulling him close, “Impregnate me!” she demanded,

“Here?” Rhodey gulped,

Damian sneered at them, while Dick doubled over in giggles, as did Tim and Peter.

Vision co*cked his head in their direction, “If you are serious, MS Potts, I believe it will be in your best interests to track your ovulation, keep a chart, test your mucus levels..,”

“Thanks Viz, we’re good!” Rhodey said, holding up a hand in protest, “Go and enjoy the Pup,”

Vision did as suggested and floated over to the top of the bed, where Bruce, having taken Max from Alfred, was carefully sitting the toddler on the bed beside Tony, so he could meet his new sister,

“Bubbee!” he giggled, reaching out a chubby hand to her face, “Sister, Meeah?”

“Yes, this is your sister Mia,” Tony confirmed, kissing Max’s curly head, “Isn’t she pretty?”

“Pweetty like Mamma!”

This brought a round of awws from everyone, though Damian tried to hide his adoration under a scowl, his eyes kept going to his new sister and little brother and a smile tugged on his sulky lips regardless.

“She is very like you Tony, and you Bruce,” Vision said, “A perfect blending of your genetics, very well done on your breeding!”

“Uh, thanks Viz,” Bruce said, a little bemused at the androids word choice,

“She’s smaller than Max was,” Peter said, “But no less as cute,”

“She’s perfect,” Tim agreed, snapping a couple of photos on his phone,

“She has got your chin, Master Bruce,” Alfred said, repeating Tony’s earlier observation, “And I reckon she’ll be a heart breaker as she grows up, and keep you on your toes, just like her brothers do now!”

“I’m sure she will,” Bruce said, sitting down on the side of the bed, pulling Max into his lap, and slipping an arm about Tony’s shoulders, “Thank you,” he whispered to Tony, “For making her,”

“Me? You did half of it,” Tony chuckled, “And you!” he tickled Max’s side, “Are going to have to be quiet, babies need a lot of sleep, can you do that?”

“Uh huh,” Max nodded his head agreeably,

“We’ll all help,” Tim volunteered, ignoring Damian’s protests about toxic nappies,

“You hear that, Princess?” Tony said to Mia, “Your big brothers are already planning to take care of you,”

“Me too,” Max declared, “I’m gonna be supper halo!”

“Super Hero,” Bruce chuckled to the Pup, “And I’m sure you will.”

*****

Twenty Years Later

The years had not been kind to Steve Rogers. Without the serum he aged at a normal rate, and a prison lifestyle had made that aging harsh.

His hair was thin and grey, with a large bald patch in the middle of his scalp, his face was deeply lined and wrinkled, jowls hanging heavily, his nose was crooked and spread over his cheeks from being broken repeatedly in the many fights Steve’s mouth had gotten him into during the past twenty years. He also had a pronounced limp from where his kneecap had been damaged during one such fight, and had developed arthritis in his hips, which, with the pot belly he was sporting, had turned his once proud march into an inelegant waddle.

Aside from a handful of journalists wanting an interview with the former Captain America, Steve had received no visitors in the past twenty years, and had been surprised and elated when he was told that a Max Stark-Wayne wanted to see him.

Max Edwin Stark Wayne was now twenty-two years old. He stood at six ft two inches tall. He was slimly built, with broad shoulders that sported a healthy amount of muscle mass. His face was sharp rather than square jawed, and complimented by a little scruff of a beard on his jaw and around his mouth. His eyes were a brilliant blue, his skin a golden olive tan, and his hair a mass of chin length black curls that he couldn’t be bothered to cut, no matter what his Papa said about it being untidy!

He was snappily dressed in a pair of grey jeans with false patches on the knees and back pockets, which were high in fashion, a collarless long sleeved button down shirt in black, which was also high in fashion, as was the suede and denim waist coat he wore over the shirt with the stiff high necked collar.

He tapped the table top as he waited in the private visiting room, looking up as the door was opened and Steven Grant Rogers was brought in, his wrists chained to the table and ankles to the floor.

“One hour,” the guard said to Max, who nodded, “I’ll be outside the door if you need me,”

“I’ll be fine,” Max said, giving the man a smile, that faded as he looked to the Alpha who had sired him, “Hello, Mr Rogers, permit me to introduce myself, I am Max Stark-Wayne, the Pup you kidnapped twenty-two years ago along with my Mamma,”

Steve stared at the young man before him. Max looked so much like Tony it was like looking at a younger version of him, only taller and maybe a little more angular, as well as blue eyed, seemingly the only feature besides his impressive height he’d gained from Steve, or rather Captain America.

“I, hardly know what to say,” Steve stammered, “You look…, you are.., I haven’t seen you since you were a year old,” God was it really more than twenty years? Steve could hardly believe it, could hardly reconcile the handsome young man before him, with the memory of the new born and the chubby toddler he had in his mind.

Tony might have once said that the only images of Max that Steve would see were in news papers, but in fact he hadn’t seen him at all. Living in the pervert wing, any and all images of people, especially children, were cut out of newspapers before the inmates were given them to read. Their TV was heavily edited too, nothing that contained sex, nudity, children, or violence. It was pretty much cartoons or nothing, so Steve had not see Max or Tony since that day in court over twenty years earlier.

“I’m a man now,” Max said, “I am Iron Man in fact. Mamma retired last year, I took over as Iron Man, though, with the super strength I inherited from you, I don’t need the full suit, I only use repulsors, a chest plate, and helmet. My Sister, Mia, she is Iron Maiden and wears a full suit, complete with spikes on it!” Max grinned at the thought of the design Mia had insisted on.

Damian had taken over being Batman, as Bruce had finally retired, and had Peter and Tim’s adopted Son, Graham as his Robin protégé.

Pepper and Rhodey’s twin daughters, Tonia and Tammara had taken over as War Machine, and Iron Bat, despite their parents protests. Rhodey had also retired from the field, handing over his suit to Tonia when she turned eighteen.

Dick was married now, he was still Nightwing, and fought along side Damian, Peter, Graham, and Tim. His Son, Bruce Jr was likely to inherit Nightwing from him when the time came for his retirement, but at ten he was too young yet.

“That’s great,” Steve said, grinning, “I’m sure you’ll be brilliant, and Tony…, he’s..,”

“Happy, with Papa, living on a private Island with Auntie Pepper, Uncle Rhodey, and Grampa Alfred,”

Alfred was well into his nineties and needed taking care of himself these days, but still insisted on his independence and caring for Bruce and his family as he always had.

“You know, Uncle Bucky took over as Captain America?” Max said, “He carried the mantle for ten years, until he decided to retire, had the serum removed from his blood so he’d age normally, Vision finally sorted the antidote to it, well.., you know that,” Steve had had the collar removed ten years earlier, and had been given an injection that had destroyed the serum in his blood, killing his hope of ever being Captain America again completely.

“He’s married too now,” Max said, “A former shield agent, Bobbi Morse. They moved to Calgary, have a kid together, a little girl called Rebecca,”

Steve hadn’t known this, hadn’t known that Bucky had become Captain America, or that he’d retired, married, and had a daughter,

“But, anyway, I suppose you’re wondering why I’m here,”

“You wanted to meet your Father,” Steve said, thinking it pretty obvious, “I wanted to call you James, you know, James after Bucky, but Tony..,”

“Already had Max chosen for me, and no, my Father is the man who raised me,” Max said, cutting Steve off, “Bruce Wayne is my Father, he has loved and cared for me since the day I was born, never cared that I wasn’t his by blood, never treated me any different to Mia, or any of his Sons. He has loved me, taught me, guided and supported me, he’s been the Father I needed, and I love him and my Mama very much,”

Steve grit his teeth, “Bruce stole you and Tony from me, I should have been the one raising you, you’re my Son, Bruce poisoned Tony against me, turned his heart, made him have me locked up so I couldn’t be with you like I should have been! I was going to care for you and your Mamma, I was prepared to do that, I wanted to do that!”

Max scoffed, “You mean when you kidnapped my Mother from the hospital when he was recovering from major surgery, after Wanda nearly killed him, dragged him and me around New York, while he was bleeding and sickening to death?”

“It wasn’t like that,” Steve protested, “James you..,”

“Max!” the young man snarled, banging his fist on the table, “My name is Max, not James,”

“It should have been James, to me you are my James.”

Max shook his head and rose from the plastic seat, “I thought that maybe, after twenty one years in here you’d finally be seeing sense, after all, you had therapy for years. Guess it didn’t pay off,”

“Those psychiatrists are idiots,” Steve scoffed, “Telling me right from wrong, that I am delusional, they’re the ones that are delusional!”

Max snorted, “Yet here you are, still calling me James, twenty one years later, and believing you were right to kidnap me and my Mother,”

“It wasn’t kidnap..,”

“That’s exactly what is was Rogers,” Max stated coldly, and Steve reeled back in shock at being addressed as Rogers by his Son, “You kidnapped us, put our lives at risk, because you couldn’t accept the fact that Mamma didn’t want you in our lives, that you actions had made you unfit to be a parent,”

Steve stared at the young man, his eyes wide and burning with tears, “Jam…, Max please..,”

“I’m leaving now, Mr Rogers,” Max said, slipping a leather biker jacket over his shoulders, “And I won’t be coming back, I just wanted to see you once, see the man that nearly killed my mother, hurt so many people with his arrogance and inability to admit fault or defeat.”

Steve’s breathing was becoming ragged and tears were starting to spill out of his eyes, “Max,” he whispered, desperately, “Don’t go, please don’t, I don’t have anyone, I don’t have anything, its all been taken from me, I have nothing!”

Max smiled at Steve, a small bitter smile, “That’s right,” he said, quite calmly, “You have nothing, and do you know who is to blame for that?” he learned forward, whispering to Steve, “You are.”

Steve dissolved into tears as Max walked to the door, knocking on it and being let out by the guards, who took Steve back to his cell, where he curled up on his bunk sobbing into his pillow, wishing he could go back in time and do everything differently, wishing he could undo all his mistakes and make things right.

Outside the prison, Max joined Mia, who was waiting with their suits, “Ready to go?” she asked, her hazel eyes shining bright, and shoulder length black curls bouncing as she moved,

“Yeah,” Max said, getting into his exoskeleton suit and powering up the repulsors, “Lets head home.”