It was a quiet day in the tower until it wasn't.
Bucky is sitting Maria in her playpen for her nap with her Winter Soldier and Iron Man plushies when the elevator dings the arrival of someone in the penthouse.
“What are you doing here Rogers?” Bucky hears Tony say and sure enough when Bucky looks up Steve, the Widow and the Witch are stepping out of the elevator. Bucky positions himself between the elevator and them. He doesn't think Stevie would intentionally hurt her but past experience has taught him that when he's fighting he doesn't really think about the people around him.
“We want to talk to you about starting up a contract with Stark Industries,” Natasha says taking the lead from Steve and Bucky wonders of she was the one who came up with this idea.
“If you would like to open a contract with SI then you will need to contact Miss Pepper Potts, the CEO of the company,” Tony says hands clasped on the coffee table in front of him.
From his position he can see Stephen begin the makings of a portal behind his back. No doubt to forcibly remove the Rogues from the tower. Bucky doesn't blame him. Something about this time around just feels off. There's a tension in the air that has Bucky on edge and worried. He wishes that Maria had gone on the picnic that Pepper had planned but she was too tired and grumpy.
“We don’t know Pepper as well as we know you. We want to work with you directly,” Natasha says and Bucky has to wonder if she actually expects this to work.
“But I have no power over SI, Miss Potts decides the contracts,” Tony says.
“Enough of this Stark. Make the contract,” Wanda says stepping forward her hands covered in red mist and the mist is seeping across the floor.
“Back away,” Bucky says pulling a knife as the mist gets close to Maria.
“Wanda?” Steve says confused.
“You ruin everyone else’s lives Stark. Now it’s your turn,” Wanda says and focuses her eyes on Maria in her playpen.
“No!” Tony shouts jumping in front of the blast just as Stephen raises a shield. Bucky pulls Tony close to him and grabs Maria who is screaming at the top of her lungs and gets them into the other room as Levi zooms in in order to settle themself on Stephen’s shoulders.
“You dare!” Stephen snarls banging the sides of his hands together rougher than usual and a circle shoots outward from his hands and right at her. Steve jumps in front of her with his shield and ducks behind it.
“You’re defending her? She attacked my daughter!” Tony snarls from his position out of the battle zone. Bucky can feel his Soldier side tugging at his mind and he draws his knife and hurls it and it embeds itself right in the center of the shield, causing a crack to form in it.
“Don’t do this! She needs help not to die!” Steve shouts ducking down and pushing through Stephen’s magic. Bucky looks around and finds that Natasha is gone. The coward couldn’t even stand by her team in the fight.
Bucky pushes thoughts of Natasha out of his head as Wanda throws an attack at Stephen who blocks it again and suddenly the ceiling is coming down and Bucky hears a familiar rumble of thunder.
“You dare hurt my niece!” Thor growls raising his hammer.
“Thor! Stand down!” Steve shouts as all the red mist disappears from Wanda’s body and she drops to her knees.
“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!” she shrieks at Loki who had arrived with Thor.
“I stripped you of your powers,” Loki sneers stalking forward drawing a dagger.
“Loki stop she can’t defend herself,” Steve says trying to get past Thor who is blocking him off.
“Like my daughter couldn’t defend herself?” Loki asks voice like ice.
“Daddy!” Maria says as Levi floats her in front of her face and Loki immediately checks on her to make sure that she is okay.
“If you hurt her you are no better than she is,” Steve tries again and Loki focuses on him.
“You don’t speak to me,” Loki snarls and his face softens when he looks at Maria.
“Sweetheart are you okay?” Loki asks and Maria giggles a little and kisses his nose. Loki sighs and carries her back to her playpen while Stephen shoves Wanda through a portal.
“Where did you send her?” Steve asks wide eyed.
“To the accords council with a video of everything that happened. She attacked us and under the accords she can be arrested,” Stephen says simply as though he is talking to a toddler.
“She’ll likely be sent somewhere to have her mental state monitored she’s not all there,” Tony says and before Steve can say anything he’s swept up into a portal and finds himself back in the compound, alone.
“Is she okay?” Tony asks as Stephen examines Maria.
“Yeah, I think her natural seidr protected her from the witch,” Stephen says as Loki fixes the damage he and Thor caused to the tower.
“When Quill gets home they have to plant a sleepy Maria in his lap in order to keep him from going after Wanda as well. Bruce, when he finds out nearly goes green but Maria distracts him by insisting he sing along to “The Wheels on the Bus.” Rhodey, who is normally the calmest of them threatens to have Wanda go before a firing squad and it takes all of them to calm him down.
Tony has never seen his husband so mad he bursts into tears before but that’s what happened. Maria, sensing her daddies being upset, exhausts them to the point of passing out so that they can have good sleeps and then falls asleep herself.
She doesn’t have a nightmare because she is not afraid of that second rate witch. She knows her daddies will always protect her.
They’re superheroes, it’s what they do.