Next Avengers: Secret of the Spider

Part 15

Pym, Torin, Penny and Peter stood beside the large fallen tree, a bit overwhelmed.
"How are we supposed to find Hawkeye in this?" Pym asked.
"Well, I know he likes to sit near the tops of the trees," Penny replied. "So we could start working from there." Taki and Saki came screeching up, jumping on the backs of Torin and Penny.
"Whoa," Peter said. "What are those?"
"Our resident monkeys," Torin replied, scratching Saki on the head. "The one I am holding is Saki, the girl, and the one Penny is holding is Taki, the boy."
"Cool," Peter said, rubbing Taki on the head.
"I'm gonna go in," Pym burst out, shrinking down. "I'm the only one small enough to fit."
"Then I wish you luck," Torin replied.
"Me too!" Penny added.
"Eh, I might as well," Peter finished with a smile. Pym nodded and flew in, disappearing quickly in the tangle of branches.

Pym found Hawkeye relatively fast, since he was near the top of the tree like Penny said.
"Hawkeye!" he yelled, flying up to him. He was nearly pinned under a huge branch he was holding up, and generally beaten otherwise.
"Pym!" Hawkeye exclaimed happily. "Finally, someone found me. Look, I'm stuck under this huge branch that'll crush me if I let it fall, so I really can't go anywhere."
"Uh, yeah," Pym replied. "I'm going to go get bigger help." He turned and flew back.
"Hurry!" Hawkeye called after him. Pym burst out of the tree, growing to normal size.
"He's right over here," he said, running towards where he had found Hawkeye. "Cmon!" The others followed him until he stopped in front of a spot that had been particularly caved in.
"He's in there?" Torin asked.
"Yeah," Pym replied. "But he's holding up this really big branch and we have to get it off him first."
"On it," Penny said. "Cmon, dad." She set Taki down and jumped into a tree, climbing onto a limb that stretched over the fallen one.
"Yay, daddy-daughter time," Peter said, jumping up after her.
"Look for a really big branch," Penny said, scanning the area.
"There!" Peter said, pointing to a huge branch that had smashed a hole through most of the branches. The two shot webbing at it, jumping backwards off of the branch and making a makeshift pulley out of the branch, their combined weight lifting the branch as they dangled.
"Grab him!" Penny yelled. Torin ran into the tangle of twigs, and making a path with her sword. Hawkeye groaned in relief when the weight was taken off of his arms, letting them fall limp at his sides. Torin picked him up like a child and flew out, Penny and Peter releasing the webs holding the branch up and letting it smash its way to the ground. Torin set Hawkeye gently on the ground, everyone else running up. Hawkeye looked blearily up at them, then smiled when he saw Penny.
"Never thought I'd be the one being rescued by you, beautiful," he said cheekily.
"Shut up," Penny replied, blushing and pecking him on the cheek. "Just be glad I didn't leave you under there."
"Do you two have a thing?" Peter asked. Penny nodded. Peter smiled. "As long as you can make it work, Im okay with it," he said.
"Thanks, dad," Penny replied, smiling up at him.
"Where's Tony?" Hawkeye asked.
"Looking in the crater," Pym replied. "With James and Azari."
"Idiots," Hawkeye breathed, sitting up and wincing. "Ow."
"Take it easy," Peter said. "You've been under a lot of stress."
"Literally," Pym added.
"Think I don't know?" Hawkeye snapped back. "It hurts more than the time James caught me trying out his shield." Pym snorts.
"That was funny."
"Shut up," Hawkeye grumbled, kicking his shoulder.
"Ow," Pym whined.
"Stop it, both of you," Peter snapped. "Hawkeye, what hurts?"
"Arms, head, chest," Hawkeye replied. "Legs are okay."
"Good," Peter said. "Cause you're walking to the med bay." He grabbed Hawkeye around the chest and lifted him to his feet with incredible strength, making sure he was steady before walking off.
"That's what my dad used to call it," Hawkeye said, walking beside him.
"I know," Peter replied. "That's what everyone in Avengers Mansion called it."
"But you're not an Avenger," Pym interrupted. "How would you know?"
"You wouldn't believe how many times I got hurt nearby," Peter replied. "Back then, my identity was a secret, so I couldn't just go home with burns and a broken leg and say I got in a fight. So I went to your parents." He smiled at the memory. "They never took my mask off. Not once. They knew that I wanted my identity secret, and they respected that."
"Why did you keep your identity secret?" Torin asked.
"Well, I didn't want to endanger my friends or family," Peter replied. "I couldn't be responsible for them getting hurt or killed."
"Well, you don't have to worry about that anymore," Penny said. "I've got your genes. I'm just as cool as you ever were."
"Don't be so sure," Peter replied. "Ask Tony what the coolest thing he's ever seen me do is. Bet it'll top your coolest thing."
"How much farther?" Hawkeye asked, sounding exhausted.
"Not too far," Peter replied. "Want to ride on my shoulders?"
"Nah, I'm good," Hawkeye replied, attempting to stay strong.
"Wonder what crashed through the tree," Pym said, thinking out loud.
"Wow, I don't know," Peter replied, crossing his arms and thinking. "What do you think it was?"
"An alien," Pym replied.
"No way," Hawkeye said. "This thing was shiny. Bet it was Ultron."
"I think it was my cousin," Torin said. "Although, I'm not sure how he'd get out of Asgard..."
"Your cousin?" Peter asked. "Who's your cousin?"
"Kier," Torin replied. "Though, I've never even seen him. I've only been to Asgard once."
"Yes you have," Hawkeye said. "Remember when he started turning us all into his slaves?" All of the kids shuddered.
"Don't even bring that up," Penny growled.
"I remember that," Peter said. "Loki took out a lot of mutants to get here."
"The other rebels that Azari talked about?" Pym asked.
"Uh-Huh. They're led by the Human Torch. There's a lot of them."
"Wow," Penny sighed. "My friends."
"Everyone's fine," Peter said. "Tommy and Billy took the worst of it."
"Who are they?" Torin asked.
"The twin sons of Scarlet Witch," Peter replied. "Billy's known as Wiccan and Tommy as Speed. They usually lead the charges against Ultron."
"Wish we could help," Hawkeye grumbled.
"Me too, kid," Peter sighed. "Me too."
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"We have to go," Reptil hissed.
"No!" Kier snapped. "I have to see who crashed."
"We can do that later," Reptil replied, grabbing Kier's arm. "Now COME ON, before we get caught!"
"Fine," Kier growled, wrenching his arm away and turning into a blackbird, fluttering up towards the roof, Reptil grabbing his amulet and turning his arms into wings, flying after him. Suddenly Kier convulsed in midair, turning back into himself and crashing into a branch.
"Aaaaah," he said, his voice cracking as he slowly, painfully hauled himself fully on the branch, tears leaking from the corners of his eyes.
"Kier!" Reptil said, stopping, landing beside him. "What's wrong?"
"I can't do it," Kier replied, shivering in pain. "It hurts too much."
"Well, we can't stay here," Reptil said, looking around. "We'll get caught."
"I know," Kier replied, seeming to recover slightly. "But my powers aren't working."
"I'll carry you," Reptil said. "We can make it out."
"Okay," Kier replied, his whole body shaking as he stood up. He fell onto Reptil, who shifted him to his back, making sure he had a good grip before taking off.
"What do you think happened to your powers?" Reptil asked.
"I don't know," Kier replied. "Usually when this happens there's some other powerful energy source around."
"Huh," Reptil replied, pushing open the biodome and flying out. "We'll have to ask your dad."
"No," Kier said instantly. "No way. No no no no, NO."
"Okay, okay," Reptil said. "We'll figure it out. Alone."
"Thank you," Kier sighed. "Aaah, my stomach's cramping up."
"Throw up on the ice, please," Reptil said.
"I've got nothing to throw up," Kier groaned. "Remember? We haven't eaten in weeks."
"YOU haven't," Reptil said.
"Well, I don't eat birds," Kier snapped. "Cause I am one!"
"Can we just drop this?" Reptil sighed.
"Yes," Kier replied. "But only if you get me a donut." Reptil laughed, shaking his head.
"Fine."
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A/N
Okay, I know that you guys are reading my stories, whether or not you actually care is a different story. Thanks so much to avengers412 for actually commenting on my last chapter! She guessed that the mystery man in the crater is Tony's son, and I can tell you now that answer is not correct. So, if you guys have any other ideas or wild guesses, please let me know! I'm not going to reveal who he is (which means no new chapter) until I get at least 5 guesses! Good luck!
-Rune