SAVED BY THE AVENGERS

FAMILY

Everything in the kitchen froze for a moment when Fury walked in, then there was a flurry of movement. Steve stepped into the Director's direct line of sight while both Bruce and Thor moved in front of Peter, pushing him behind them protectively. Clint and Natasha stayed where they were, but they both stiffened, ready to act at a moment's notice.

"Well, I'm waiting. And while you're at it, I want to know why two civilian minors are currently residing in the tower."

"As I told Agent Coulson yesterday," Tony drawled, walking into the room and getting right into the director's face, "I don't see why that is any business of yours or of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s."

"It is if my response team suddenly decides to suit up and go on an unauthorized mission."

"And what are you going to do about it Nick?" Tony replied. "Because however long your reach is, it means nothing going up against mine. And I really don't think you want your entire team mad at you."

Stark, I have no reason to fear you or whatever influences you may have. And you still haven't answered my question to my satisfaction yet." Fury's attention was drawn to Thor, who had a small face peering out at him from behind the god's legs.

As soon as the boy got a good glimpse of the director of the most covert and most advanced militaristic force in the world, the small face disappeared. "And here I thought Coulson was kidding when he said there was a five year old in Avengers Tower."

"And what are you going to do about it?" Tony spat. "Cause you're going to have to get through every single one of us if you want them gone."

Fury raised the eyebrow that wasn't covered by the eyepatch. "And here I thought you didn't do kids Stark."

"People can change. Self-obsessed, volatile and doesn't play well with others, remember?" Tony shot back.

"You're still all that Tony," Steve said, getting between the director and the billionaire before blood could be drawn. "Coulson was not kidding, Director Fury, when he said that there was a five year old in the tower. He and his sister are going to be staying with us for the foreseeable future."

"Sister?" Fury asked.

Just as Steve was about to answer, there was a new voice added to the mix. "Uncle Blackbeard?"

When she had first seen the strange man standing in the doorway, Gwen had been a little unnerved, but seeing as every single one of the avengers was in the room between him and Peter, she wasn't too worried.

But something in the back of her mind was trying to get her attention. She knew that voice. But she couldn't place where. He wasn't a lab rat, she remembered faces very well and his wasn't one of them. Besides, she had good feelings associated with the voice. Being happy and, amazingly, memories of her mother were coming to the forefront of her mind.

"Coulson was not kidding, Director Fury, when he said that there was a five year old in the tower," she heard Steve say. "He and his sister are going to be staying with us for the foreseeable future."

Fury. She knew that name. Suddenly, everything clicked. She stepped into the kitchen. "Uncle Blackbeard?"

Gwen knew she was right when he turned and she saw the eyepatch. With unadulterated joy, she launched herself at the man she thought of as an uncle.

"Gwen, you're getting a little too big for tackle hugs," Nick Fury replied, returning the hug, much to the shock of every one of the Avengers. "Sei cresciuto. (You've grown.)"