Seasons of Sadness - Chapter 1

"Howie Stark, you get down from there right now, or I'll call Aunt Pepper, and she will not be glad to find out that you broke into Uncle Tony's workshop again."

"NOOO! Don't get Mom, Ana, please! She might even ground me from J.A.R.V.I.S. this time!"

"Then get down and take off those rocket shoes. Lunch is ready anyway."

Ana herded the three 8-year-old Stark trips, Howie, Joey, and Frankie, into the kitchen, where grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup awaited.

J.A.R.V.I.S.'s voice came over the loudspeaker. "Ana, Director Fury is on the elevator, would you greet him when he arrives? Mrs. Stark is still out at the store."

"Sure thing, J.A.R.V.I.S. Can you keep a camera on these guys while I'm at it?"

"Certainly."

"Thanks." She picked up her sandwich and turned to the boys. "Don't move, got it? Be good for J.A.R.V.I.S."

She sauntered over to the elevator, eating her sandwich along the way, and brushing the crumbs off of her designer patterned jeans and vintage Owl City tee. Ana was never too crazy about the name brands, but when you have a daughterless aunt who's rolling in it, well, who's to say you can't humor her? Plus, Owl City had some pretty skip music, even if it was old.

She didn't have to wait long by the elevator before it opened to reveal the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. himself, Nick Fury.

"Where's Pepper?"

"Nice to see you too, Director Fury. Aunt Pepper went to the store to get more stuff for Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday. It's just me, the trips and J.A.R.V.I.S. up here."

"Are any of your uncles home?"

"Uncle Bruce and Uncle Steve might be, but Uncle Tony's at a meeting downtown. Want J.A.R.V.I.S. to call him?"

"Please do. It's quite urgent."

"Will do. J.A.R.V.I.S., can you call my uncles?"

"I already am. Director Fury, do I need to summon Thor as well?"

"No doubt Heimdall has already alerted him." Fury replied.

"Alright then." Ana gestured to the living room. "Come in and sit down. Would you like a sandwich?"

"No, but thank you."

"Okay. Hey, have you heard anything from Mom and Dad lately? How's their mission going? We'd all really like for them to be home for Thanksgiving."

Fury flinched and Ana noticed. The director coughed and quickly continued. "You said the younger Stark boys were here? Is James?"

"No, James won't be here til tomorrow, but the trips are in the kitchen eating lunch. Why are you asking? Did something happen to Uncle Tony?"

"No, no." Fury answered, maybe a tad too quickly. "Mr. Stark is fine. But is there somewhere in the building the boys can go for the next couple of hours? The information that will be discussed is a bit, ah, sensitive."

"Ah, gotcha." Ana winked. "J.A.R.V.I.S. can look after them, can't you, buddy?"

"Sometimes I feel like a glorified babysitter. Very well, I'll keep a camera live to monitor them while they play in their room."

"Thanks big guy."

"I'm getting to old for this."

Ana chuckled.

Steve and Bruce exited the elevator, wearing their regular clothes. Bruce wore his lab coat over khacki pants and and pale green shirt, and Steve wore jeans and a blue shirt. Bruce had on slippers, like Ana, but Steve wore a pair of red and white sneakers.

Bruce straightened his spectacles. "What's the problem, Fury? If you need those test results, they're not quite ready yet, I need Tony to help me with the algorithm."

"You can give me the results whenever you feel like it, it's not urgent. But I'd prefer to wait until everyone is here before I start discussing my reason for being here."

Steve nodded, seeming to agree. Even though he was the oldest of the Avengers, old enough to be Ana's great-grandfather or even great-great-grandfather, the serum used to turn him into Captain America caused him to age at a slower-than-normal rate. One year for every three or four was Bruce's estimate. That plus the seventy years he had spent frozen meant Captain America would be around for a very long time.

After going into the kitchen to finish her soup and put the boys' dishes in the dishwasher,  Ana snuggled down into her favorite chair and opened up her holo-gamer to play her favorite puzzle game. After only a few levels, her Uncle Thor arrived in his usual clash of thunder and lightning. Ana ran up and gave her gentle giant uncle a bear hug, which he returned.

"How's my favorite mortal niece? It feels like cycles since I've seen you, and you've gotten so big! You'll make a fine maiden warrior one day, or my father isn't Odin!"

Ana giggled. Uncle Thor was always like this. "Of course I'm your favorite mortal niece, I'm your only mortal niece. But you can keep calling me that anyway. How's Aunt Jane?"

Thor grinned. "She is with child."

Ana gasped. "No way. I thought she couldn't have kids."

Thor smiled again. "I am not only the god of thunder, little one. I am also the god of lightning, storms, oak trees, strength, the protection of mankind, hallowing, healing, and..." The blonde man blushed a little, "...fertility."

"One: Ewwww! And two: Man, you wear a lot of hats."

Thor looked confused. "I do not wear lots of hats. I occasionally wear my winged helmet, but that is all."

Ana snickered behind her hand. All this time he spends on Midgard, and Uncle Thor still came across things that confused him.

J.A.R.V.I.S. spoke, catching everyone's attention. "Master Stark is landing outside, and Mrs. Stark is in the lobby."

"Thanks J.A.R.V.I.S."

"You're welcome, Ana."

Ana met her aunt at the elevator to help her carry the groceries. Steve also helped by carrying the huge turkey into the kitchen and putting it in the freezer. When Pepper asked where the boys were, Ana assured her that J.A.R.V.I.S. was watching them in their room.

Once all seven people were seated in the living room, Ana between Pepper and Thor, Fury cleared his throat.

"Ana, there is no easy way for me to tell you this, but we haven't heard from your parents or the rest of Strike Team Delta in five days."

"Hm?"

"As you know, this is the-"

Ana gasped and finished for him. "-maximum safe length for radio silence when agents are in the field."

The reality suddenly hit her like Mjolnir. "So Mom and Dad are..."

"As of right now, considered MIA. We've also lost communications with their vital-trackers, so we can't be sure of where they are or what shape they're in."

Ana slowly sunk to the floor and pulled her knees up to her chest. No, no, no, nonononono. This could not be happening.

Thor picked her up and sat her in his lap. "What can we do?"

But Director Fury shook his head. "Nothing. I've already sent a search party out to look for them."

That made Tony Stark furious. "Listen here, Patchy. You must be a, oh, word I'm not going to say in front of Ana, if you think the rest of us will just sit around here and twiddle our thumbs while Clint and Tasha are missing. Tasha has saved my life, and Clint saved hers before that. They're like the effing brother and sister that I actually enjoy having. Ana watches my kids everyday, and she spends so much time on our level when her parents are out that she feels like my daughter too."

Thor was obviously a bit upset too, as thunder boomed and lightning flashed outside. "She is like a daughter to all of us. Just because she was a chance child doesn't mean that we don't all, her parents included, still love her."

Everyone turned to look at Thor. The thunder god realized what he had said and clapped his hands over his mouth, but the damage was already done.

"What's a chance child?" Ana asked. When no one answered her, she asked J.A.R.V.I.S.

"Definition of 'chance child'. Child that is conceived when parents have no intention of having children, but keep the child and raise it like they would if the child were planned. Differs from illegitimate child in that parents are married. Chance children-"

Tony cut him off. "Hey, J.A.R.V.I.S.?"

"Yes, Master Stark?"

"Shut up."

"So that's what I am..." Ana whispered, hugging her knees even closer in Thor's lap. "I'm just an accident."

"Ana, honey, of course you're not an accident." Pepper soothed, reaching over to stroke her niece's hair. Thor wrapped his strong arms around Ana and squeezed her as gently as he could.

"If anyone in this room is an accident, it's me." Bruce said, his brown eyes briefly glowing green for emphasis.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME BEFORE NOW?" Ana wailed, sobbing now. "MY PARENTS HAVE DISAPPEARED, AND YOU CHOOSE NOW TO TELL ME THAT THEY HAD ME BY ACCIDENT?" She tried to thrash out and get away, but Thor continued to hold her close as the weather outside continued to storm. Once her thrashing had stopped, and her crying had subsided somewhat, he used his red cape to dry her face.

"Ana." Steve spoke in a soft tone, unlike his usual military-like voice. "Ana, look at me, please."

Ana sniffed and blew her nose on her Asgardian uncle's cape before turning to her American uncle.

"Everything has a reason for happening, whether it be good, bad, or questionable. With the exception of Thor, I have the most life experience of anyone in this room, and that belief in the purpose of everything has proved itself true all my life. There is greener grass out there. You just have to get to the other side to find it."

Ana smiled slightly. She didn't quite understand the thing about grass, but Uncle Steve's use of way outdated and obscure terms always cheered her up.

"There's that smile." Pepper said, standing up and helping Ana get up from Thor's lap. "How about we go to your room and make some more decorations, okay sweetie?" Ana nodded, and the two left, leaving all of the men together.

"There's one more thing that I didn't want to say in front of Ana." Fury said once the women were out of earshot. "The Council has decided that now that she's, for legal purposes, parentless, she could be volatile, and thus a potential threat."

The four Avengers started to protest, but Fury shook his head to quiet them. "I also disagreed, but they want to hear what you have to say as well. Thor, is there any way you could bring Jane?"

The blonde god shook his head. "It would be dangerous to transport her quickly while she is with child, and she has never met Ana anyway. Everything she knows about Ana, I have told her."

"Very well. Stark, could you pull up the Council?"

The screens in front of the couch came to life, revealing the Council.

"As Director Fury has no doubt already told you, we wish to interrogate you about the young Miss Barton." said the man on the third screen. "We would like you to tell us everything you know about her, and possibly some of her life's story. You must all remain in the room for the duration of the interrogation, including you, Fury. Are we clear?"

The men all nodded in agreement.

"Good. Who wants to start?"

"If I may," J.A.R.V.I.S. said, "I continuously record video in all the common areas of the building. May I continue recording?"

"Go ahead, J.A.R.V.I.S." Tony replied.

"Okay. I also believe I have some information from such recordings that you all might consider important. This is the raw recording and is not modified in any way. Would you like me to play it, Master Stark?"

"Yes. Show the Council too."

"I shall."

The Council members were swept to the sides of the screen, and a video began to play in the vacated center.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@