Chapter 17
Arcane led the past Avengers through the winding corridors of the compoun "We've assigned rooms for all of you during your stay," he announced, stopping in front of a large set of double doors. "You'll find everything you need inside."
As they entered the main room, they saw Arsenal talking to Spider-Woman and Ghost Spider. "Are you two crashing at the base tonight?" Arsenal asked.
Ghost Spider shook her head. "No, MJ and I are taking Jake back to Avengers Villa for the night."
Arsenal nodded as the two spider women walked out of the room. Steve Rogers, curious, stepped forward. "Avengers Villa?" he asked.
Arsenal turned to face him. "Yeah, the Avengers eventually got too big to fit in the tower and mansion, so I created a villa where members of the team could live."
Quicksilver, leaning casually against the wall, smirked. "And I'm sure it's not just because you thought the Justice League putting a Watchtower in orbit and the X-Men having a giant mansion was one-upping us."
Arsenal crossed his arms. "You think I was going to let them get away with that?"
Scarlet Witch placed a hand on her husband's shoulder, "Love, I don't think they were one-upping us."
Arsenal chuckled, shaking his head. "Maybe not, but they needed to know they wouldn’t be able to anyways"
Toni looked at the future version of her children. "So, what about the Justice League and the X-Men? How do they fit into all of this?"
Tarantula stepped forward, "They were among the many hero teams that formed after the Thanos battle. The world needed more protectors, and they stepped up."
Spider-Man smirked, adding, "The Fantastic Four were one of those teams too. And guess what? Two of Steve's grandchildren are members."
Steve sputtered, his eyes wide with surprise. "What?"
The past Avengers turned to look at Steve, who was now visibly reddening.
Iron Man couldn't resist a jab. "Seems like Cap here got a little freaky during his tour in WW2. One of the women he slept with ended up pregnant with Johnny and Sue Storm's grandma. They figured it out pretty quickly when they saw that Johnny Storm looked like a young version of Steve."
Steve's face turned an even deeper shade of red as he stammered, "I... I had no idea."
Scarlet Witch smiled mischievously. "I can't wait for the two Storms to come to the tower. Steve, you're going to love meeting your grandson."
Rhodey raised an eyebrow. "Why's that?"
Arsenal chuckled. "Because Johnny Storm is a massive Fuck Boy. He even cucked Doctor Doom on his wedding day."
Steve's eyes widened in shock. "What!?"
Quicksilver nodded, smirking. "Poor T'Challa looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there that day."
Iron Man laughed. "Namor found it hilarious."
Steve shook his head, still processing the information. "I can't believe it."
Toni's jaw dropped. "Wait, so you're telling me that Cap's grandson is a notorious playboy? This is too good."
Natasha raised an eyebrow, a smirk playing on her lips. "I never thought I'd see the day when Steve had to deal with a grandkid like that."
Sam chuckled, shaking his head. "Man, I can't wait to see how you handle this one, Steve."
Clint just laughed at Steve.
Spider-Man stretched and yawned. "Alright, folks, I think it's time we all head to bed. I've got a couple of teenagers to talk to."
Iron Man sighed, muttering under his breath, "I'm just glad I only have to deal with a newborn."
Just then, a blur entered the room, causing the past Avengers to turn in surprise. A young man with windswept silver hair stood there, looking slightly out of breath.
"Tommy," Arsenal said, turning to his second oldest, "we told you guys to watch the younger ones while we were dealing with this. Stevie got into the room and said he snuck away while you were arguing with May and Peni, and Noah got webbed to the wall by May."
Tommy looked sheepish. "Sorry, Dad. May and I were just having a... disagreement."
Arsenal sighed, rubbing his temples. "Alright, let's get this sorted out. Everyone, get some rest. We've got a lot to deal with tomorrow."
Steve and Natasha were walking to their assigned room, as they turned a corner, they saw Arsenal talking to a young red-haired boy. The boy had small flames flickering around his fingers.
"Stevie," Arsenal said gently, "how many times have your mother and I warned you not to play around with your powers until you can control them?"
The red-headed boy, Stevie, whined, "But Dad, I was just trying to practice."
Arsenal sighed, placing a hand on his son's shoulder. "I know, buddy, but you need to be careful. We don't want anyone getting hurt."
Stevie nodded reluctantly, the flames disappearing from his fingers. "Okay, Dad."
Arsenal smiled, ruffling his son's hair. "Good. Now, let's get you to bed."
As Arsenal and Stevie headed down the hallway, Steve and Natasha exchanged glances.
Scarlet Witch lay down in bed next to Arsenal, her mind heavy with thoughts. Arsenal turned to her, concern etched on his face. "Are you alright?" he asked softly.
Scarlet Witch sighed "I'm not looking forward to reliving Pietro's and my time in Hydra," she admitted
.
Arsenal wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close. "I know it was a difficult time for both of you," he said gently. "We're all here to support you."
She nodded, resting her head on his chest. "Thank you. It helps to know that."
Arsenal kissed the top of her head.
The past Avengers walked into the kitchen for breakfast, the smell of freshly cooked food filling the air. They found Arsenal, Magneto, Charles Xavier, and other Avengers scattered around the room, engaged in a heated discussion.
"He's not joining us," Arsenal said, crossing his arms defiantly.
"Oh yes he is," Charles snapped back.
"NO."
"I insist."
Arsenal smirked, leaning back in his chair. "Throw in Wolverine and Jean Grey and you got a deal."
Charles narrowed his eyes. "We're not playing that game, you sly bastard."
Magneto interjected, "How about we flip a coin."
Arsenal scoffed. "Do you think I'm stupid enough to flip a coin against the master of magnetism?"
"Fair point."
The past Avengers exchanged curious glances, wondering what the argument was about. Steve stepped forward, clearing his throat. "Is everything alright here?"
Arsenal turned to theme "Just a little disagreement about team dynamics. Nothing to worry about."
Natasha raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like some things never change."
As the past Avengers settled in for breakfast, Quicksilver couldn't help but comment, "You guys are just lucky Arsenal and our father haven't tried to kill each other while you're here."
Both Arsenal and Magneto quickly responded in unison, "We've moved past our dislike of each other."
Scarlet Witch raised an eyebrow, clearly skeptical. "Really? Because I distinctly remember you two attempting to kill each other over a tiny dispute just two weeks ago."
Both men muttered under their breaths, "He started it."
Toni turned to the children sitting around the table, her eyes softening. "You must be our grandchildren," she said with a warm smile.
"Yeah, I'm Billy," one of the older boys replied, his mouth full of cereal.
Olivia, sitting next to him, gave him a disgusted look. "It's not nice to talk with your mouth full, asshole," she said before tapping Billy's glass, freezing it completely.
The past Avengers stared in surprise, while Billy's face turned red with outrage. "Olivia!"
"Olivia Stark!" Scarlet Witch scolded, her tone firm. She shot a dirty look at her husband, father, brother, and the others who were snorted at the girl's words.
Arsenal tried to suppress a grin as he turned to his daughter. "Olivia, you know better than that."
Olivia pouted, crossing her arms. "He started it."
Scarlet Witch turned to Olivia, her expression stern. "Olivia, where did you learn that word?"
Olivia pointed at Iron Man and her father. "From them."
Scarlet Witch scowled at the two men.
"Are they going on the naughty stair, Mom?" Stevie asked from where he sat.
"Yes, love," Scarlet Witch replied, still glaring at Arsenal and Iron Man.
Arsenal grinned mischievously. "So you’re going to punish me?"
Noah groaned, putting his head on the table. "You people are so gross," the teen muttered, ignoring the laughs from everyone
Hi, I'm Peni," one of the girls sitting by Spider-Man said "And this is May."
May waved. "Nice to meet you all."
Peni continued, "I didn't inherit my father's spider powers, but I built the Sp//dr mech suit to help out."
May smiled. "Yeah, Peni's a genius. And I'm following in my dad's footsteps as Spider-Girl."
As the conversation continued, Peter turned to May and Peni, curiosity evident in his eyes. "So, who is your mother?"
May smiled at him. "Our mother is Michelle Jones."
Peter's eyes widened in recognition. "MJ? I married MJ?" he asks, Harley and Henry snickering at his blush
Clint looked around the room and noticed Jeff the Baby Land Shark peering up at him, accepting a head scratch from Olivia and a piece of sausage from Tommy. "What's the deal with the land shark?" he asked.
Iron Man walked in, grinning. "Oh, he was engineered by one of the supervillains about ten years back. We took a shine to him, and now he's the team pet."
Jeff let out a pleased "MRRRRR!" at the words, clearly enjoying the attention.
The past Avengers exchanged amused glances, finding the idea of a land shark as a team pet both strange and endearing.
Iron Man grinned as he watched Jeff. "Don't let the cuteness distract you, though. Jeff once trashed my lab with the Hulkbuster."
Olivia immediately protested, her eyes wide. "That's not true! Jeff would never do that!"
Iron Man raised an eyebrow, smirking. "Oh, really? Then who was it that activated the Hulkbuster's systems and caused all that chaos?"
Olivia crossed her arms, pouting. "It wasn't Jeff's fault. He was just curious."
Iron Man then turned to the past Avengers smiling proudly. "I also have a newborn daughter named Anna and a six-year-old boy named James at home."
Clint grinned. "Looks like you've got your hands full, Harley."
Iron Man chuckled. "You could say that. But it's worth it. They're amazing kids."
Natasha nodded, a soft smile on her face. "It's great to see how much the team has grown, not just in numbers but in family too."
As the room buzzed with conversation, an A.I. voice suddenly interrupted. "Alert: Someone is hacking into the computer system."
Everyone turned to the large screen as an image of a man in a white mask appeared. "WHERE'S MY GODDAMN MONEY?" the man roared.
The past Avengers stared in disbelief, while Spider-Man sighed. "We've told you before, Dracula isn't even an Avenger, Moon Knight. So stop calling here, you drunk, crazy asshole."
The man on the screen paused. "He's not an Avenger? THAT LYING FUCK!" he roared again, before Arsenal hung up the call.
Sam Wilson, choking on his coffee, managed to ask, "Did you say Dracula?"
Arsenal nodded, looking exasperated. "Yeah, he owes Moon Knight money or something."
The past Avengers exchanged bewildered glances, trying to process the bizarre exchange. Clint shook his head,. "Well, that's a new one."
Arsenal checked the time and turned to the past Avengers. "Alright, it's about time for you all to continue your viewing. Stinger has offered to watch it with you this time."
The past Avengers nodded, curious about what they would see next. Cassie walked into the room with a friendly smile. "Hey everyone, ready for the next part?"
Steve smiled back. "Thanks for joining us, Sting."
Stinger nodded. "No problem. It's always interesting to see how things have changed and to help you all understand the future a bit better."
With that, the group made their way to the viewing room, ready to dive back into the events that had shaped their future