Tony looked at the pile of boxes. He had a sneaking suspicion his son had learned a bit too much. "JARVIS? Why is there a box of Red Bull?"
"Your son ordered it, sir. I did limit what he bought to under what you spent on his clothes in each category."
"Category?" Tony had to wince. He knew how much the clothes had cost.
"He found some other clothes he wanted to try and the Red Bull, which will be delivered monthly thanks to Amazon.com. I switched it from weekly on him as I didn't think he'd need that many a week." Tony looked at the nearest speaker. "I also kept it under that amount when he found the candy stores online, sir."
"He spent how much on candy?" Tony demanded. He opened the boxes, wincing at the sarongs in wild flower prints. And the dhotis. The bags were marked. And a real kilt and two bags so that solved that issue he had tried to stop. He found the three largest boxes from Amazon had candy. Another large box had bulk candy from a local bulk candy store. He stared at it. "Pepper?" he called. A few minutes later she came off the elevator. "Help me hide his stash?"
Callia rolled in and looked then at him. "At least I don't internet shop. If I want candy I go find it." She grabbed something and rolled off.
"Hey, mine!" Chris complained.
"I stole a Red Bull too, Chris. Daddy found the candy stash. Nice job!"
"Callia!" Tony complained. "Son, let's talk about how you have to have all shopping online approved by me or Mom, okay?" He walked him off to talk to him. Pepper was staring in horror at the candy. When Steve got there he helped her hide it up where the kids couldn't easily reach it. They hadn't counted on Callia building something to levitate stuff with Andrew. By the morning, all the candy was hidden in other places. Which Tony still found with the workmen who were going to be starting on that level's renovations soon.
Callia helped the most. She showed Chris how to budget and that his trust fund went down each time he ordered candy. That worked because he thought college sounded neat. He had been watching college movies to see what his sister was going to be doing in a few years.
***
Steve, Pepper, and Tony had a meeting about the kids in the office. The kids were all asleep. JARVIS was to tell them if any of the kids got up. They were going over the various issues they were having.
"Callia's clothing," Steve said. "It's gotten a bit tarty."
Pepper snorted, looking at him. "It is not."
"She has cleavage."
"All women have cleavage and unless she's wearing turtlenecks, which she can't in the summer, it's going to show. She's almost always kept it at a tasteful level and most of those were because she was outgrowing things." Steve slumped. "Women don't wear their shirts buttoned to the collar, Steve. In fact, a lot of button-up shirts for women don't have collar buttons." She looked at Tony. "That does bring up the subject of kilts."
"He's growing tired of it because he got told it meant he had to keep his legs closed. Our eldest is really good at handling him."
"I'm sorry, I don't like kilts," Steve said. "He's not Scottish. He's not whatever you call those funny looking kids at the mall."
"Actually, he and Philip are both a bit goth," Pepper admitted. "And I'd like them to be for more special occasions than daycare days." Tony nodded that was fine with him. "He needs to learn to set a schedule."
"He does. So does Liz," Tony agreed. "Which we're working on."
"Good. Because I can see them flunking out of college because it runs on a schedule and they don't. Callia too."
"By the time she gets there, she's only going to have project hours," Tony said.
"Damn." She crossed her legs. "She does sometimes keep one."
"She does most of the time," Tony corrected. "She makes it to physical therapy unless she's been up all night in the lab and she's cut back on those nights to make it to physical therapy."
Pepper nodded that was true. "Then the bikinis get to disappear, right?" Steve asked.
"No," Tony said. "She's allowed *tasteful* suits. Her black and blue zip top that goes near to her bellybutton is tasteful and we'll expect her to get more tasteful bottoms." Steve glared. "Welcome to the modern age. Have you been to the mall recently? Seen the booty skirts and shorts? Which her mother used to wear a lot." He pulled up pictures of Buffy. "That was her mom's frequent patrol outfit, Steve."
"She's an adult." He got comfortable. "I'm not pleased that she's showing more than telling."
Pepper shook her head. "She's not a nun, Steve. She's not dressing in business clothes. When she can comfortably put on jeans again she'll be back in them and leotards."
"Does she...."
"Yes," Tony said. "She does. She wore them for years in gymnastics. She wore them in swimming. They're her version of my concert t-shirts. They clean easily, let you sweat less in the lab, and they're comfortable." Steve slumped. Tony pulled up sites for teen girls to show him. "What would you rather have her wear?"
"Not those. Can't she dress like a young lady?"
"She's not wearing skirts in the lab," Pepper said. "It'd only cause her problems."
"They make pants."
"That you'll never get grease out of," Tony said. "That's why we wear jeans or chinos or khakis. Because you can get grease, dirt, and sweat out of them."
"She's got to do more than be in the lab."
"She's got her plans and it's a good one," Tony said. "I would've went that way if I thought my father would've let me. She'll still be in the lab all the time but she'll have her group of geeks that'll help her turn her ideas into things that do more for humanity." Steve nodded. "I was in the lab most of my twenties. I only came out to bar hop and get laid for the most part." Pepper laughed and nodded. "And the occasional meeting that I got forced to. I didn't own a suit for five years in there because I didn't need one."
"I don't see why they can't dress more nicely even in things that are lab appropriate. MB manages it."
"She's a chemist. They sit on a stool and mix things," Tony said. He banished the first screens and pulled up different lab views. What he and Callia did when they were tinkering together as well as him and Chris versus MB and others like Bruce. "We get into things. They mix. They study under a microscope."
Steve stared. "Can she learn to like that stuff?"
"No," Tony said. "She liked chemistry when they taught her stuff but it's not her love. You go into any science due to the love of it. It's in your blood and it's what fires you."
Steve grimaced. "I still think the kids all look sloppy half the time."
Pepper snorted. "They're not going to dress up to be at home, Steve."
"They have good clothes they consider play clothes."
"No they don't. That's all stuff that's too small. They're playing with it by giving it to the siblings to make them wear it. That's why Chris has dresses."
"They went to the Salvation Army," Tony said.
"Good!"
"So did Liz's old ones." He grinned.
"Thank you. That saved me a ton of work." She looked at Steve. "Girls aren't the same as they were in your day, Steve. They don't go out and play in dresses with dolls. They don't just jump rope and play hopscotch. Even my generation did a lot more than that. Girls have bikes. They have rollerblades. They have all sorts of things that require not only jeans to keep themselves from being hurt, but also they do more these days. And sometimes less when it's a video game day."
"I still think it's unnecessarily showy. It's flaunting her new shape."
"The one she used to hide by illusion?" Tony asked. Steve scowled. "She did."
"She did," Pepper said. "I worried about her self image because of that. We were all embarrassed but we learned they were just boobs and we got over it after about a year of our first periods and having to learn how to grope ourselves to put tampons in."
"Eww," Tony told her.
She smiled. "Few years from now, Tony."
"I know." He looked at Steve. "Callia's usually fairly conservatively dressed for her generation."
"There's girls that wear more."
"Yeah, they're future nuns, Mormons, and kids who do *nothing* all day. They're the ones who expect to be future wives and mothers. Even the 'wear a skirt daily' women who are trying to make women move backwards don't do all that much in them. I realize women in your generation wore things a lot longer and buttoned up. We gave that up outside of maxi dresses and those look like sun dresses and usually show off your upper figure." Steve grimaced. "She's not going to be wearing power suits. She'll probably have a few in her closet for necessary meetings but otherwise that's not who she is. You don't have a problem with Dawn's outfits, do you?"
"She's not my daughter and yes, she's a bit flirty."
"She's not that flirty."
"Linda wears pants."
"So does Dawn half the time," Pepper agreed. "They expect women in business to be steel backboned feminine women. It's a strange dichotomy that gets us underestimated. Dawn being that tiny bit flirty and feminine means that people underestimate her. They see a pretty assistant and don't see the language or self defense skills."
"What does her uniform look like?"
"Black shirt and pants or skirt and a red blazer," Tony said.
Steve grimaced. "Button up?"
"Up to her," Pepper said. "They're not that restrictive." He nodded. "She's picked out some black t-shirts without pockets and a few prettier shirts that have v-necks so it doesn't choke her when it rides up. She's debating pants over skirts due to the chair. Pants give her fits."
"She can't cross her legs so it'd be skorts," Tony said.
"That's an option I gave her but she was horrified and said they were for dorks."
"They can be," Tony agreed. "Depends on the style." He considered it. "Can we tailor them so the zippers are on the side to make it easier on her?"
"The tailor is making two, one on each side. That'll open up the hip area so she doesn't have as many problems. We got them a size too big in the waist too so she could sit more comfortably." He nodded. "I'd say leggings but she's still got that problem with pulling them up."
"They're tights," Steve said. "Without feet."
"Some," Pepper agreed. "Some are meant to be worn under a long shirt. They're cute and fashionable."
"They're tights," he said.
Tony shook his head. "Nothing is going to be as loose as they used to be, Steve. We found nylon elastic and it became part of everything. For that matter, Callia's got the body to carry it off. She used to wear leggings all the time." Pepper nodded she remembered. "By the way, she caught onto your 'watch old movies with me to see how women were classy' thing you had going. She said that's great and they'd probably love panty hose instead of stockings. Though, Pepper, she did talk to Dawn about pantyhose versus stockings to see why she wore them." Pepper nodded she knew that. "And the verdict was?"
"When she's older and it matters, she can switch if pantyhose give her problems like Dawn had. Dawn tried them for about a month and then ended up at the doctor's twice in three weeks. He told her to give them up and it cured the issues."
"Huh?" Steve asked.
"Pantyhose can cause yeast infections," Pepper said. "It traps moisture. It can cause itching, rashes, all sorts of nastiness. That's why Dawn wears stockings instead."
"I remember seeing her in them a few times," he complained. "That pink dress and the black one."
"That's ancient history," Pepper said. "The black dress was because everything else in her closet got slimed by a neighbor's science experiment. She had that and club clothes." Steve shuddered.
"I told her to wear the pink dress to make it look like she wasn't concerned. Sometimes the show is enough to change your mood," Tony said.
"Joyce still thinks it was a darling outfit, and I agree. Dawn looked like a cute young woman in it," Pepper said with a grin. Tony smiled back.
"Still too flirty."
"Welcome to the new millennium," Tony said dryly. "Women are expected to be slightly sexy, competent in their fields, and have it all."
"Which is unfair since guys only have to be presentable," Pepper quipped.
"True," Tony agreed with a smile. "Though you, Dawn, and Liz always make sure I look sexy."
"That's because it fits you," Pepper said.
Steve stared at them. "Guys." They stared at him. "She's still too young to be that flirty. She's eleven."
"She's not that flirty," Tony said. He pulled back up pictures. "The recent leotards are a bit loose but she's also mid-growth spurt."
"It's the last one she'll have for about a year," Pepper said. She looked at Steve. "I like how she looks. It's comfortable, tasteful, not trashy or overly showy."
"She shouldn't have clothes like that until she's eighteen," he said.
"Today, girls are women at sixteen and boys are guys at eighteen," Tony said. "Is she coming out, Pepper?"
"We haven't talked about it." She made a note. "I'll ask her."
"Why would she?" Steve asked.
"Because as a Stark, we're members of higher society," Tony said. "I'm a billionaire, Steve. It's part of the job sometimes." Steve stared at him. "It's the same reason we go to the symphony now and then and plays. Not as often as some of the society cows but often enough. I was announced and if I had a sister she would've had a coming out party."
Pepper nodded. "It's not the first time it's been asked," she said. "I did get asked about Liz."
"Up to you. She's my daughter, even if she's not biologically, Pep."
"I know, Tony. I'm considering it. It could help her future career unless she went into something really low class like being a waitress."
"She likes medicine, law, and business so far, plus art," Tony said. "Have her come out." She nodded, making note of that. "So, that means we'll have to have sixteenth birthday parties." Pepper nodded. "We can plan that."
"She doesn't need to one of those spoiled heiresses," Steve said firmly.
"She's not going to suddenly change just because she got introduced," Tony said. "That's how you raise your kids, not how they're born. It is expected she'd get a huge present at that time. Usually something like a car. Which I've always said we'd hand-build. So I'll have to start that at least a year before."
"Which she's going to help you with," Pepper said.
"She's going to hand-forge things?" Steve asked.
"Yeah. She's been wanting to learn," Tony said with a smile. "This is how she's going to learn. I've told her that all along."
"Do you think you pushed her into science?" he asked him.
"No. I think if she hadn't liked science she would've told us and we would've found what she did like. There for a while I thought for sure she'd end up a Veterinarian. Which was perfectly fine with us. All the kids will find their fields of interest and future work. None of my kids will ever be one of the spoiled slut society. They'll all have jobs. If Maeve or Liz want to retire after they start having kids that'd be up to them at that point. I wouldn't like it, it'd be wasting their potentials, but that's up to them."
"So if Liz wants a job like Dawn's?" he asked.
"She's getting a job like Dawn's if she wants to run the company or any business," Pepper said. "She's going to learn how to run it from the lower levels up. That's the best way to do it and it means you don't forget the normal people when you're running it. No one's going to hand her a high powered position on her name. She'll have to prove herself and women in business still have a glass and wire ceiling above us. Like any other job, she'll start out lower and work her way up. If she wants to go into business she'll have summer jobs with Dawn or someone here."
"Or law," Tony said. "I asked and Gloria said she's doing it with her own son starting next year. I agreed that a paid internship during the summers would teach him not only about how you really worked at a job but also make sure that's what he wanted to do before he spent all that money on college."
"Then what?" Steve asked. "They go to college?"
"Yup," Tony agreed. "Even if they're not sure what they want to do they're going to college. Most jobs these days take college, even if you're going into art. We'd make sure she had a minor or second major that was more practical so she could live on that while she starts to work on her own art collections. The kids are only getting small living stipends when they hit eighteen until they're twenty-five then they have yearly restrictions on how much of their trust they can pull out unless it's an emergency and either us or whoever is managing her trust agrees. I fully expect them to save up for their first homes. I took my part of the sale of my first design to buy my house in Malibu. I only lived on my trust for about four years and that was because I was in college. After that, I ran the company, poorly but I did run it, and designed things. I built the company beyond what Dad had done."
Pepper nodded. "He did. Used to drive him nuts." Tony smiled and nodded at her.
"Can Callia dress more like you, Pepper?"
"No. Because what I wear is practical for meetings and being in the office. She's not going to be in the office, Steve. She's going to wear what's practical for her career and in her life. Beyond that, I have shirts that are more showy than hers and you like me in them."
"You're not my daughter."
"No, I'm not. Or eleven. She's allowed to pick her own clothes within reason. It's not like she picks slutty looking things. We haven't had a single pair of short shorts, even on the beach where she could get away with it as a coverup. Speaking of, we have got to get Liz jeans, Tony."
"I bought her six pairs," he said.
"Thank you!"
"I like how Liz dresses," Steve complained.
"She can't play in it," Tony said. "You can't play in a skirt, Steve. Beyond the whole flashing everyone thing that happens sometimes, you can't get on the floor and play with blocks or sit at the coffee table and do your homework that way."
"We have a table."
"And it's for dinner time," Pepper said. "We're going to overrule you on this, Steve. The kids are going to be wearing things that are easy for them to play and explore in. If we're in North Dakota at the house there, I fully expect the kids to hike into the woods and explore. Or the grounds in Malibu."
Tony nodded. "Me too. I want them to run, jump, and play, not have to sit perfectly so they don't flash panty. I want my kids to be down on the ground wrestling with their friends and all that. That's what kids do."
"Girls don't...."
"They do now," Tony said, staring him down. "That's changed. I know it's hard for you but yeah, girls now play football and basketball. They wrestle." Steve grimaced but slumped. "They can act like polite little society girls but they're not. They're never going to be the polite little society girl sort. They're girly enough and it's fine with us. Eventually, Callia's going to get back into sports. Chris might find he likes sports beyond playing pool."
"He did?" Pepper demanded.
"Yeah. Clint taught him." He grinned. "I asked him to so he had some guy sports time. Though he did like horse jumping when Liz showed him. So did she."
"Callia's school has that as a lesson set. We can enroll them in it when they're old enough. Liz could go next year." She made that note too. "She's a bit ahead but not terribly like Callia was."
Tony nodded. "She's a smart little mini Pepper." She grinned at that. "They also have art history classes and art classes."
"How are they getting to a school an hour from here?" Steve asked.
"Happy," Tony said. "I asked and he said he'd be more than glad to get the kids there and back. Callia's already talked to the band teacher, and admitted she slacked on her music since the accident, but he's going to let her have practice space after school." Pepper grinned. "It's good for her to have a lot of interests and hobbies."
"It is," she agreed.
"She's playing the bass," Steve said.
"Yeah, some women do," Tony agreed. "She can't practice that was as well. It's still awkward for her so she's dropping that one for now. She'll pick it back up later when it's easier for her to properly sit around it."
"That's fine," Pepper agreed. "I caught her playing her autoharp the other day and she sounded good. The cats were staring at her like she was a goddess again."
"She is their goddess most of the time."
"She could wear those broomstick skirts," Steve said.
"For school maybe," Pepper agreed. "She got a few knee length ones but they were A-lines. I'll suggest that for her school look."
Tony nodded. "They're loose cotton and comfortable from what Dawn's said."
"They are. Very light so not in the winter." She made that note too. Tony stared at her. "I've been forgetful."
"They said it happens." She smiled weakly. "We're behind you on that. Mostly so you can't hit us with anything, Pepper." She snorted but shook her head with a slight smile. He looked at Steve. "Any other topics?"
"The music thing," he said. "It's loud. It's annoying."
"It's how we think," Tony said. "My lab almost always has music on."
"Which is loud and slightly jarring," Steve said.
"Their labs are going to be soundproofed. The kids have been exposed to all sorts of music and they like a variety, including big band stuff you showed them. When they're working they do what I do and play hard rock or heavy metal. Though I'm a bit worried about all the Breaking Benjamin going on in Callia's lab. Pepper, can you talk to her about being a bit angry and depressed? I figure it's normal but I don't want her to get *depressed*."
"I have. She's still on the okay levels there. It's driving her to do better instead of making her give up."
"Thanks."
"Welcome. I worried too. Then again, she was playing a song she got from her aunt last night. She was sure she'd never be that sort of bad girlfriend but sometimes it fit her aunt very well when she teased Clint."
"Why does she know about that?"
"Because she's studied them," Tony said. "She studies people. She knows people a lot better than I do. She knows how to talk to them and how to inspire them. That plus tabloid stories about them going out to club sometimes."
"Is Dawn maybe a bad influence?"
"No," Pepper said firmly. "She's not." Steve grimaced but let it go for now. She and Tony shared a look. They'd let Dawn handle that one. Her phone beeped. "We're in here, Chris."
He leaned around the doorway. "I know." He grinned. He looked at Steve. "I didn't know you were like those preachers on tv who have not a clue and hate us." He looked at his father. "Maeve has Liz's snoring problem. I was up and heard her do that funny hiccup Liz still does sometimes and put her alarm on her. It started to go off once I hitched it down, which woke her and made her wail a lot. Callia came in to help. Where's the travel one? Callia can't find it."
"It's in my closet," Pepper said, getting up. "Thank you." She cuddled him. "You should've called."
"JARVIS said you guys were talking about adult stuff."
She carried him up there to get the spare alarm. Liz still slept with an apnea alarm just in case. Maeve was fussy but the attached oxygen meter was low. "Tony, she's got a low pulse ox."
"JARVIS, get one of the docs up here please," he said, checking the machine. "The air tank is low. It's not concentrating right. It must need serviced." One of the docs hurried off the elevator. "She's got Liz's apnea."
"I heard she had some." He came over to check her, looking at the low pulse oxygen rate. He adjusted the monitor and tickled her. It went up some. "Want me to set up a tent?"
"For tonight until I can get the machine serviced," Tony said. "Liz, want to go sleep in an oxygen tent?"
"Nope," she said. She took the travel alarm. She knew how to set it up for herself. They checked to make sure but took Maeve down there. "She'll get used to the mask," she told Chris when he climbed in with her. He cuddled her. "It's okay. They caught me not breathing at all." He gave her a squeeze and cuddled. She let him. It was nice to be cuddled.
"Chris, you have a bed," Steve said quietly from the doorway. "You're too old to sleep with your sister."
"She needs cuddles," Chris said, glaring at him. "Go away."
"I'm your father. Go back to your bed."
Tony came up and shook his head, walking Steve off with him. "He can cuddle her. Not like he's going to grope. Even if she had something to grope. He's being a protective brother." He handed him to Bucky when they ran into him. "Talk to him about that stuff, Steve. Maybe he can show you how things are now."
Bucky stared at him. "Which topic? I know you've been scowling about the clothing."
"That too. I just tried to get Chris back to his own bed instead of Liz's."
"Liz has that breathing problem and Chris is really sensitive to that stuff. Besides, I caught him in my Playboys the other day to see what big girls grew into. He was not amused by all the hair." Steve glared at him. He walked him off to talk to him about that stuff. Bucky had sneaked dirty pictures too and it hadn't hurt him. He'd get Steve to relax. Hopefully.
***
Dawn came back her first day back and looked things over, settling in to fix that page on the agreement. Linda hadn't gotten to it Friday. She smiled at Pepper and Steve as they came off the elevator. "I'll have this fixed in a few minutes. I also moved all the bigger documents to the shared folder Linda and I both have access to."
"Thank you. She said she couldn't find that one," Pepper said.
"Not a problem. I didn't even think about it. I sent her an email about where it was found on the server." She got back to work. "What happened?" I sense the air of gloom."
"Maeve started to do the hiccup/not breathing thing," Pepper sighed. Dawn stopped typing to stare at her. "She's fine. Liz's system wasn't concentrating properly so it's being fixed by Tony today."
"Okay. I'll add that to my mandatory pack list." Pepper smiled and went in to her desk. "Just got here so I didn't check it yet, Pepper."
"I know I'm early, Dawn."
Steve watched her type. Dawn was in a modernly modest dress that girls in his day would've thought was too showy. "Dawn?" She saved the document and looked at him, turning her chair to cross her legs. "I'm a bit worried that some of your...flirty ways are influencing Callia a bit too young."
She stared at him. "Women aren't like they were in your day, Steve. We don't believe that women's bodies are shameful things that should only be seen in classical art and nickel movies on Saturdays. These days, women learn to appreciate our bodies and accept it for the flaws it has. Some don't learn acceptance very well but they do eventually when all the fighting against what you have naturally wears you out. I don't think she's been overly flirty or showy. The new leotards are a bit loose but that's because she's went up a size in the last two months and is probably going to go up about another two in the next year. Even then I don't think it falls too low and it's mostly baggy around her waist. So why do you think that?"
"She had cleavage."
"All women have cleavage. The bras they design make sure of it. There's not a whole lot of getting around that if you wear a bra." He gaped. "That's the whole purpose of a bra. It's just that girls are getting breasts earlier now than they were before. We've went from around thirteen for them starting to come up to some girls getting them at eight and nine now. All that within the last decade. I know Callia's not interested in anyone seeing hers. She's still embarrassed by her body. Especially with her injury. It's twisted how she sees herself somewhat. Any major injury does. I had some of that when I had the huge divot in my neck from that acid attack." She tipped her head slightly. "I'm sorry she's going through what girls used to do at sixteen but we grow up sooner. That's just a biological fact."
"I think you're teaching her the wrong things about her body. She has been awfully showy."
She snorted and shook her head. "No, she hasn't. She's not shown one hint of anything inappropriate. Pepper and I both monitor those things."
"She's got a strapless gown for that award she didn't get to get."
"Yes. It fit her the best," Dawn said. "And I didn't help her pick that out. Pepper did. It fit her frame and the restraints of the wheelchair the best. It's also not all that showy. It covers up her entire breast area. You can't even see cleavage with the way the tailor fit it to her." Steve gaped. "I saw it during the final fitting. It sits above the cleavage line. I'm told she was going to wear a shawl over it to cover her shoulders. Which is totally modest even by older standards."
"It's slutty!"
"It's not," she said calmly.
"Steve," Pepper warned.
"She's showing her to be a flirty little slut!" Steve complained, pointing at Dawn. Who stood up and punched him into a wall.
She stared at him. "Tell me that to my face, Captain." He blinked, mouth open. "C'mon. Women aren't helpless little bimbos anymore. We're trained from very early on to be fully aware of who we are, what we are, and what we can do." She snapped her fingers and brought something to her hand. "You can find out if you want."
"Dawn," Tony said, taking the choker from her hand. "That's mean." He walked Steve off. "Finish that contract?"
"Nearly done, I'm fixing the typos I apparently left in last time." She settled in again to type that up and talk to Clint and Natasha, who told Bucky.
Bucky showed up where Tony had Steve and hit him again. "For insulting Dawn from Natasha." He stared at him. "She's not a whore. Your daughter's not turning into one either. You accused her maternal aunt of warping the girl into a slut. You do realize that Dawn can kick you around and then kill you?" Steve opened his mouth. Bucky held up a hand. "Girls today get what they used to get at sixteen at twelve. Or sooner. Girls start their periods now at twelve and thirteen, Steve. There've been kids who've had babies at ten." He shuddered. "So you need to get over this. Now. Before Callia herself kicks you."
"I'd never kick him. I might hurt myself," Callia said from behind them. "Then again it might be worth the broken foot since someone thinks I look like a slutty heiress sort." She glared at him. "Are you actually Steve Rogers?" He stomped off. She waved. "Come back when you're normal, Stepmom. Because I don't need this shit on top of all the other shit in my life. I can dress like the other girls my age if you want."
"Like hell," Tony complained, staring at her. "You okay?"
"Yup."
"How much did you hear?"
"I eavesdropped through the security cameras. No matter how many times JARVIS shut them off." She stared at him.
"We don't have a problem. You always show taste and decorum."
"Thank you!" She rolled herself off. "I'm going to hug my aunt. She's pouting and upset because of him. She's not in trouble, right? Because if she is we three kids will overrule you."
"Not even if he presses charges," Tony said dryly. "I'll forgive that arrest." He followed her, giving Dawn his own hug. "I find you appropriately flirty and tasteful. Thank you for making sure she was too." He went into the office. "Steve stomped off."
"We'll handle it," she sighed.
Callia rolled backwards to look at them. "We're all dressing like the normal mall kids today." She rolled back to hug her aunt some more. "He's confused because even in his day girls wore pants if they weren't outside." She nodded. "Finish up. We're going to dress like normal kids."
Dawn looked at her. "Hot Topic?"
"Cheaper. Old Navy. That way I don't spend tons on an outfit like them." She smiled and rolled off. "Dad, taking Happy and my shopping card."
"If you must."
"Yup, I must." She gathered the other two and took them down to the car. Happy was waiting. "We need to hit Old Navy, Happy. Stepmom thinks I look slutty."
Happy Hogan winced. "No you don't."
"Apparently I'm not uptight enough." She let the kids get into the car first then transferred in and let him fold up the wheelchair to put in there. She got them buckled into their booster seats and Happy drove them off. She got out first since it was easier. Then Liz got Chris out. She looked at them. "Two outfits at the most," she warned. They nodded. She rolled in there, smiling at the saleswoman. "We need to look like normal kids at the mall. My stepmom thinks I look too slutty in this. We're showing him what eleven, six, and five year olds wear."
"I can do that. What's your budget?"
"Under two outfits. Mine I have to be able to get into."
"I understand. My daughter's been on the arm crutches now for over a year thanks to a car crash. She has to watch the length of her pants and shirts." Callia nodded. She found them a pretty fashionable look. Then let them pick the colors. The cute little boy wanted something more delicate but Liz handed him one and it was good enough for him. They got changed and she nodded, picking out another one. This one was a bit more...trendy, and slightly more tasteless. She knew that struggle very well. Her own daughter had done something similar. They checked out and got back into the limo. She hadn't noticed that but she knew that driver. She checked the slip and smiled. That explained a lot about why they wanted 'normal kid' looks.
***
Steve came off the elevator in time for dinner, staring at his kids. "What are you wearing?" he demanded.
"Trendy stuff. This is what the kids at the mall wear in our ages." Liz smiled at him. "I kinda like the skirt but it's short."
"It is," Callia agreed. "Knees together, Liz. I don't like polka dots."
Liz huffed but did that. "Why did you get pants?"
Callia looked at her. "Because right now my knees won't meet."
"Oh yeah. I forgot." Callia hugged her for that.
Chris hopped up. "See, Liz picked it out, Stepmom. It's what kids wear."
Tony and Pepper came off the elevator. Pepper stared. "Liz, that's way too short, dear."
"It's how they wear them these days," Callia said dryly. "They were *all* that short. In my size range they came mid thigh. Hers at least nears her knees."
"No! Skirts are not to be above your knee!" Steve said firmly.
Callia stared at him. "That's how we normally do it and you think we look like sluts." He flinched back. "You want it, you got it, Toyota," she quipped. She adjusted the shirt. "This boob thing sucks."
"It does," Pepper agreed, helping her adjust the shirt. "That's your right size too."
"Yup. Tight is in this year." She shrugged. "According to Old Navy."
Pepper nodded. "No, go change." She grinned and they went to change. She looked at Tony.
"At least Old Navy's cheap."
"It was sixty for all six outfits," Liz called.
"Thank you," Pepper called back. "Six?"
They came out in the other ones. "More trendy and hip for mall times with our group dates," Callia said with a smile.
"Dating?" Steve squeaked.
"Yes, most girls my age go out in packs that meet up with packs of boys at the mall. Then we hang out and do boring things while flirting. That progresses to one-on-one dates about fifteen or sixteen."
"Heck no!" he said firmly, pointing. "Go change."
"You thought *what* was bad?" she countered, staring at him. He glared. "Try it," she offered. He backed up, shaking his head quickly.
"He wouldn't," Tony soothed, coming over to hug her. "He'd never hurt you. You know that."
"Not by the look on his face. Maybe he's possessed by the ghost of bigoted grandfathers past. We should see." She went to change into pajamas. So did the other two.
"I'd never hit her," Steve said.
"She knows," Pepper promised. "We all know that. It's just that you were getting really mad and she had to break that before you started to shout." Steve calmed himself down and nodded. He went to the bathroom to calm himself down away from everyone. She looked at Callia. "Huge overreaction."
"Sorry. I'll apologize. I misread his body language," she said quietly. Tony cuddled her on the couch. She sank into his arms. "Do I have to be uncomfy, Daddy?" she asked quietly.
"No, you don't. Your clothing rules have not changed. None of yours have." Liz and Chris piled into his sides. "Now, when you're old enough to date, they change a lot." She snorted but it was a happier sound. He cuddled all the kids to him. Maeve fussed from her playpen so Pepper sat down on Liz's other side with her so they could cuddle too. Steve could join then when he realized he was being an idiot. Bucky came off the elevator. Tony pointed. He went in to talk to Steve. And possibly kick him around since Bucky had a date tonight.
***
Dawn looked up from her typing the next day when someone walked up to her desk. "Yes, how can I help you?"
"Mrs. Barton?"
"Romanoff-Barton."
"All right. I'm Agent Decker with the FBI, ma'am. May we speak?" She pointed at the chair across from her desk. "In private?"
"My boss is in a meeting and I shouldn't leave my desk at the moment. Beyond that, we're pretty well alone at the moment outside of my niece." She pointed at Liz, who was reading fashion magazines in the corner. She was 'hiding' from her homework. "What's happened now?"
"Mrs. Romanoff-Barton, we need to borrow your husband for an undercover mission. It'll be about six months."
"You do realize that my husband is fairly popular and plenty of people know who he is? That vastly limits his undercover opportunities."
"We can install someone in his place in your household so it doesn't look odd."
"So you think you can replace my husband in my household and you what, expect me to treat him the same?"
"Yes, we would."
"You're smoking what sort of crack?" she demanded calmly.
"It's highly important."
"Important enough to get my husband killed?"
"I doubt he would be. The person he's going in as has been imitating him."
"Probably without success. And who did you think this other person would be?"
"I'm told he has a brother Barney?" he suggested with a pleasant smile.
Dawn stood up, noticing Liz had run off. "Excuse me? You want to put my brother-in-law, who I nearly killed for kidnaping my children, in my home to pretend to be his brother?" she demanded coldly. "The one that's killed over a hundred people?"
"I'm sure your husband has quite the kill count at his job."
"No, Barney is a wanted felon who was in SHIELD custody. He's not an agent," she sneered. "And I doubt this little plot of yours will ever work. Even if I was inclined it would not work for multiple reasons," she said, enunciating very clearly. She realized she was starting to glow and didn't really care. "I doubt any of this would work since every single person in the US knows what my husband looks like. He's been on the cover of Newsweek six times in the last five years. He's the second most recognizable Avenger behind Stark." The man wasn't looking scared.
"Dawn, can you calm down before you destroy the city?" Tony said, coming up the hall. He was trying to look calm. He was shaky. He had not seen Dawn this mad in years. He never wanted to see it again after last time. Certainly not in his office building full of people and technology.
"No, I cannot, Tony. This nice agent, Decker wasn't it?" She looked at her boss with a frigid smile. "He wants to send Clint on an undercover mission for six months and put *Barney* in his place."
"Oh hell no," Tony said.
"Mr. Stark, this isn't really your call," Agent Decker said. "Agent Romanoff....."
"I'm not Agent Romanoff. I'm the other wife," she said dryly. "I'm the dangerous wife actually."
"Aw, come on, I'd never take what's Clint's unless you offered," Barney said as he came off the elevator. Dawn lashed out without looking and slammed him through a wall. "Ow. I wasn't going to hurt you."
Dawn looked at him. "Shut. Up. Barney." His mouth disappeared. She looked at the agent again. Now he was starting to look worried. Agents started to come off the elevator. Including Natasha and then Clint. "Natasha, he thought I was you. I think he needs his eyes checked as I'm not a curvy redhead."
"You are not but you cannot be this upset, Dawn. We do not want you to destroy the city."
She stared at her wife. "Did he tell you of his crackhead plan?"
"I did protest and he said I did not understand national security." Dawn let out a bitter sounding snort. "Please calm down?"
"Fuck no!"
Clint got between them. "Dawn?" She stared at him. "I'm not going. Not at all. Even if they could send in someone like Gamble I wouldn't leave you and the kids alone like that." She took a deeper breath because he prompted her to. "Please calm down? The alarm's going off. Your mother's scared and Bruce is taking her to the bunker right now. Okay? We need you to calm down before you destroy the state." He moved closer. "See, right here. Barney's not getting near you or the kids." He picked her hand up to put on his arm. "See, right here."
"Make him go," she said quietly. "It will save humanity."
"I can do that," Tony promised. "Guys, take her to the admin breakroom." Clint nodded, leading Dawn that way. Natasha saved what she was working on and put her computer to sleep then followed. "How fucking stupid are you!" he shouted. "Did you mean to make her threaten humanity! The agent flinched back. "Guys, let's go. I don't want this in the building." The SHIELD agents helped him get him outside. He pointed at a reporter looking worried. He knew at least one would be out there with the way agents had rushed to the towers. "Tell him something for Dawn."
"Sure, Mr. Stark. What's going on?"
"He wanted to send Clint undercover as someone else and put Barney in his place for six months."
She let out a whimper. "Oh, god, the kids will have to see her kill him. Possibly a few times with the way someone keeps making him a new body." She looked around at the other reporters starting to gather then at him. "Um, doesn't he know that we follow you Avengers everywhere?"
"Apparently not. Or heard of the conventions or anything else," Tony said. "Dawn said to please inform him of things."
She looked at the agent, clearing her throat. "There's multi-thousand people conventions to the Avengers team and Clint Barton is the second most recognized Avenger, after Mr. Stark here, and unless the Hulk is huge and green. Then we all kinda recognize him and run for our lives. Um... Wow, you took a victim from Dawn. You're really brave, Mr. Stark."
"Sometimes but she didn't have any of the poisons with her," he quipped. "He thought she was Natasha."
"Oh, he's that sort of stupid," she said, nodding.
"SHIELD teaches people to use poisons?" another reporter asked.
"There's classes in it," Tony said. "Dawn took some of them over Agent Coulson's shoulder. She's actually really good at it." The reporter was still giving him a funny look. "Did you think any assassinations had to be done by sniper?"
"Well, I never thought about it."
Tony nodded. "They're all very talented." The agent struggled and Tony prayed at Coulson because the alarm was still going off. Tony Stark wasn't normally a praying man but he could hear Dawn stomping his way and he really wanted saved.
"Oh, please, Alexander," one of the reporters prayed. "Save us from Dawn!" Dawn stormed out full of green glow, her hair moving in a breeze that no one else felt, her clothes melting into her light battle uniform, with the leather vest.
Agent Phil Coulson appeared and stopped her, staring at her. "It's my job," he said quietly. "Let me do it."
"Get out of my way."
"No, Dawn. Calm down. Please?"
"He threatened Natasha with going to jail if we didn't cooperate. Fuck. Him."
"Let me handle it," he ordered, staring her down. Xander appeared beside him, axe in his hand. "Xander, please," he said calmly.
He looked at his spouse. "I'm backing up Dawn." The reporters started to pray. He looked at him then at Dawn. "Maybe he could send Gamble in Clint's place there and you keep Clint?"
"I don't care and I doubt they need any version of Clint."
"Probably not," Coulson agreed. He called in for particulars. "I'm sure she won't be destroying humanity, Agent Hill, turn off the alarm. Before the city panics. Thank you." He listened. "I think that's a bad idea." He turned off his comm, looking at the agent. "I'm Senior Agent Phil Coulson. What makes you think SHIELD would lend the FBI an agent for such a suicide mission?"
"If he's any good it wouldn't be."
"We have over a thousand pictures of Agent Barton this year," one of the reporters said. The guy gaped at her in horror. "He's an *Avenger*. You save the world you get noted for it. Dawn, can I please live?"
"I'm not going to destroy the city. Linda wanted to make sure too so I wouldn't let her mother die. I'd never do that to my kids anyway. Just this one spot. I can even fill in the hole I create."
"No, Dawn," Phil said. "We may not harm the city at all. Even to plant an idiot in the ground as traffic hazard." He stayed between them. "Please calm down? Where's Clint and Natasha, Stark?"
"They were with her. Though, Barney's got a new body. She just removed his mouth."
"Great. He doesn't need to eat and I doubt he'll want it in prison anyway," Xander said with a grin. "Makes the other cons work harder." Dawn looked at him. "They will."
"I know." She glared at the man between her and her target. "I can kill him around you."
"We may not kill an FBI agent. Even if he did just suggest you be raped by your brother-in-law for a few months before he kills you and the children."
"I want her arrested," Agent Decker demanded.
Phil looked at him. "Denied." The agent gasped. "Shut up. Now please." He looked at Dawn again. "I can see the point in it but you're going too hard. You're too hot. You'd end up doing collateral damage. You don't want to pay for the rebuild, right?"
"No," she ground out. "Not really." Clint came jogging out and she got free of him grabbing her wrist. "Let go."
"Nope, sorry." He picked her up and turned her around. "You can be dangerous and deadly later, Dawn. We love you like that. And the way the suit fits you now because the baby did your body good again." She blushed, giving him a slightly peeved look but a slight grin too. "You got booty again." He moved up behind her, walking her off by hugging her from behind and walking them both off. "C'mon, we'll go calm down. That way you don't have to rebuild Stark's shiny towers or anything."
"Just one little poison?"
"No. If he's going to be poisoned I'm going to do it for trying to get me killed." She stared at him, stopping them. He grinned. "It's okay. I'm not going. He can bite me. I'll quit SHIELD first. Okay?" She hugged him. He cuddled back. "You're not losing me. It's okay." He rubbed her back. "Hey, reporters, quit. Now! Do you want to piss her off again?"
They quit taking pictures and looked at Phil and Tony. "Can we ask why?" one asked Phil.
"Some wanna be warlord who thinks he can imitate me," Clint snorted. "He doesn't look like me. Can't shoot worth a damn. He's not flexible. No way in hell. Cap, we're good," he said, spotting him.
"What is she doing?" he asked.
"Trying really hard not to destroy humanity for that douchebag of an agent trying to get me killed and putting Barney in my house in my place for six months."
Steve looked at the other agent. "I want your side of it."
"I don't know who you are...."
"He's the director of SHIELD," a few of the reporters said.
"That would be Captain America," another said dryly. "If you don't know that, where did you grow up? Are you an alien? Even demons on other planes know who he is. Captain, fast question. That one bearing concubine you took in? Boy or girl and did she go back?"
"She did go back and it was a boy." They smiled at him. "Joyce even gave her a pretty baby blanket." They grinned and took notes on that. He looked at the idiot agent. "Which agency are you with?"
"He said FBI," Dawn said quietly. "I'm sorry, boss."
"No, I would've destroyed humanity for a threat to my family too," he said. "You've seen me nearly do it before, Dawn. I'm just glad we got you calmed down. Can you change back?" She shrugged and sighed, pushing her hair back. Natasha came out to walk her back inside.
"Why isn't she being put under arrest. Civilians aren't allowed to threaten agents!" Decker yelled.
"She's an adjunct SHIELD agent," Steve said dryly. "Why do you think?" The agent backed down. "Coulson, please call the head of the FBI for me?"
"I believe he's coming this way, Captain." He pointed. "That appears to be their sort of SUV."
Steve walked over when it stopped. "Your agent just tried to steal one of mine for an undercover that's unreasonable and deadly, then put his criminal, murdering brother in his place inside his house to harm his wife and children."
"What?" the local head of the FBI asked. He got out and walked over. "Decker," he sneered. "File." It was handed over so he looked at it. "This Barton?"
"Hawkeye?" Tony suggested. "Blond guy with the bow? Husband of the one they just pissed off to the point where she was going to lose it?"
The FBI head sighed but mostly ignored him. "This brother?"
"Wanted for killing about a hundred-twenty people," one of the reporters said. "He keeps being given new bodies." She looked at Stark. "That's kinda comic book."
Tony nodded. "We noticed. We even think there's another clone of Deadpool running around doing it."
"Aww, the one that Dawn flirted with?" Tony nodded. "Greatness!" She shuddered.
"Basically," Xander agreed.
The head of the local FBI office looked at him. "Why do you have a battle axe?"
"I'm Alexander, God Protectorate of Humanity." He let out his glow. "Nephew of Thor." The FBI head winced. "It's my job to protect humanity. This time I was going to back Dawn up killing Agent Decker here so the rest of humanity would be spared."
Phil looked at him. "I would've helped more."
"She has poisons on her, Coulson, and Xander probably needs a workout," Tony said. "So why don't you both go spar with Dawn for a while until she calms down?" He could still see a bright green glow from one window.
Xander looked up then at him. "She's interrogating Barney. He's vowing up and down on his soul that he's never going to hurt her kids or her family because he knows how well she'll kill him after torturing him." He grinned. "I taught Dawn so well."
"You did," Tony agreed. "Especially since that demon took her idea to glue his front to a popcorn ceiling." One of the reporters laughed. "From his knees to his neck," Tony told her. They all shuddered. "Full naked skin contact from what I heard. So yes. Please go help Dawn calm down?" he asked nicely. They nodded, going to do that. Tony sighed in pleasure once they were gone. He looked at Steve. "Joyce?"
"Safe. Bruce has her." He looked at the local head of the FBI office. "So, Under Director Mullins. What are we going to do about this?"
"I'm going to fire that agent," he said. "This isn't his first bad idea. Are you going to charge Summers?"
"No. This man nearly caused her children to be harmed and her husband. We wouldn't have let her destroy anyone but him but I'm not going to arrest her for it."
"Fine. Can you make her go to the other coast?"
"No," Tony said. "She's our assistant." The Under Director huffed. "Tough. Dawn will calm down. She didn't mean to threaten everyone. She was just really mad. Any good spouse would be that mad. If you don't love them enough to kill the people threatening them then you don't really love your spouse."
"I guess," he muttered. "Decker, car. We have a meeting with the Director when we get back." He trudged that way. "Why are the reporters here?"
"SHIELD agents rushed here. We knew it was a problem if they rushed that way," one said. "That's our job. We report on emergencies or Avengers battles."
Tony nodded. "Some of them do great business with the coffee shop in the other tower." One of them smiled at him. He looked at the Under Director again. "I hope this goes better than the last thing we had to work on together?"
"I'm hoping so as well, Mr. Stark. Just...calm her down?"
"She's got both spouses and people she can spar with if she needs to. She'll be calm soon enough," Tony said. He nodded and went back to their SUV's to go back to the office. He had an agent to beat to death for endangering humanity. Tony looked at Steve, who shook his head. "The alarm finally off?"
"We turned it off. Coulson programmed the most annoying alarm ever for that one." He looked at them. "What?"
"There's an alarm for when Dawn loses her temper?"
"For when she lets go with major amounts of magic," Tony corrected. "That way we can find out where and when she's beating people who've tried to kidnap her." They laughed but left since the crisis was over with. He looked at Steve again. "Go save the kids?"
"Sure." He went up to do that. Dawn was cuddled in Clint's lap, head on his shoulder. Xander and Phil were having some coffee, talking to Natasha. "That target, can we deal with him in other ways?"
"They wanted him to infiltrate since the idiot had died," Natasha said. "It's not tenable even if they had perfected an illusion for him. He had no skill and a lot of pretension. Earlier he thought I was Dawn and she was me. He called her Agent Romanoff."
"You don't look a thing alike," Xander quipped.
"He was an idiot," Natasha reminded him. "Stupidity knows no bottom to their well." She sipped her coffee, watching Dawn calm down. "She's calmer."
"Then why is there a green glow?"
"Have we checked Liz?" Clint asked. Steve hurried to check her. Yup it was Liz losing her temper and Callia was trying to calm her down. Steve picked her up to walk her off so he could calm her down. She was little so she cried a bit and was better. "Anyone else really tired?" Phil nodded he was.
"I could use a good nap," Natasha said. "I think it's her exhaustion."
"JARVIS, we're going to take a short nap," he said.
"I'll tell Mr. Stark of that fact. There's a throw blanket behind the left throw pillow, Agent Barton."
"We're good, thanks, JARVIS." He flipped them so Dawn was smooshed against the back of the couch and he was holding her, protecting her. Dawn sighed in pleasure, wrapping herself around him to give him more room on the couch. That worked for them and Natasha sat at the foot of the couch to watch over them. Xander went to talk to Liz. Phil got a report from Natasha for the records. He was sure someone would be complaining sometime soon. They noticed when the battle outfit faded to Dawn's suit. Not like anyone would care that her bare leg was over her husband's thigh. He surely didn't.
Pepper leaned in and blushed. "She had been wearing her battle outfit," Phil said.
"I saw. How did she do that?" He shrugged but smiled slightly. "Great. Liz?" He pointed. "Thank you. Are they...."
"Napping," Natasha said.
"That's great. You know, if you want to leave SHIELD you can be Dawn's helper, Natasha. There's too much work for her and Linda." She went to check on her daughter, who was snuggling her uncle. She picked her up to look at her. "You have to let us handle adult things."
"I will, Mom," she said quietly. "I just got really mad. So did Auntie."
"So did I but I don't glow." Liz hugged her and she cuddled her. "We'll figure it out together." Liz nodded and pushed her down so she could snuggle her and her uncle.
Tony walked in. "Xander, are you stealing my wife and daughter?"
"She demanded," Pepper said with a smirk for him. "Like I'd put up with anyone else?"
"Good point." He kissed her, then Liz on the head. "Dawn?"
"Taking a nap being protected by Clint. Her clothes changed back."
"Wonderful." He went to glance in there, nodding at Phil. "Liz has him wrapped around her fist again."
"I figured she does. He does like the children." Tony nodded and left them to handle Dawn's calming down. He had to stop his two geniuses from making something evil. He could hear them arguing over repulsor (Chris) or chemical weapons (Callia). He walked into the room they were in. "The FBI is harming their own agent. If he comes back we'll figure out how to handle him in the most messy way possible."
"MB said biotech is working on something that'll make your insides explode," Callia offered with a smile.
He looked at her. "Bit psychotic today are we?"
"Yup, because he was going to have my cousins killed and I was going to kill the fucker for it. If he survived Liz and Auntie Dawn."
"Which he wouldn't. I was standing right there and would've gotten him to spare humanity from the fit." He stared at her. "Besides, Dawn's got a poison that already does that." She huffed. He walked off happier. His kids would bug Dawn later about the poisons. They could learn that so they could learn how to counter them. It'd do them good. He went to the infirmary to take something for his nerves. Dr. Pigalli looked at him. "Pepper's Valiums are locked up."
She handed him one. "That's the only one."
"Thanks." He took it and dry swallowed. "Dawn's calmer. Clint's calmer." He spotted
Barney and his lack of mouth. "At least you'll have less fun on prison."
Barney wrote on the pad someone had given him. //I know better than to piss off Dawn or hurt the kids. She taught me that lesson easily. I was going to take out the agent to show my loyalty to the family.//
Tony smirked. "Good." He walked off to go take his own rest. He was really tired. "JARVIS, do we have a sleep spell or something going on?"
"I believe Dawn may still be broadcasting a bit, sir, but it's calming down the deeper asleep she's going."
"Sure, we can handle a siesta today. It's a good day for it." He went up to make himself a margarita since it was siesta time. It seemed to fit. Maeve was in the daycare. Tony got the huge couch all to himself. Yup, a great day for a siesta. And napping meant he didn't have to deal with city officials when they showed up. That was Coulson's job.
Downstairs, Phil looked up with a scowl. "Fine, Stark," he muttered. Natasha looked at him. "He's taken a margarita to his nap on the couch up there. He said I could deal with city officials."
"I don't wish to and Dawn probably won't be able to."
"Sure." He went to stop him since he saw him coming up the street when he looked. He came out the doors and walked him off. "Sir, the situation is handled."
"What happened?" Phil explained it briefly and the Mayor stared at him. "Is she under arrest?"
"No. We are not going arrest her for that. Frankly the rest of us wouldn't have allowed ourselves to be stopped." The Mayor glared. "Nor is that a matter for the NYPD to butt into." He walked off. "Everyone else is recovering and napping." He went back inside to talk to Natasha. They hadn't chatted in a while. He missed them all living in the same building. The Mayor huffed off to talk to his police commissioner, who agreed. That wasn't a state or local charge. He had no jurisdiction. They'd have to figure it out later.
TBC....
Old Ones 61: School Trips for Future Old Ones.