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ericadawn16Title: Friends to the End: The One with Pepper's Uterus
Author: Ericadawn16
Prompt: The wonderful mash-up of Friends and Avengers
Character/Pairing(s): Clint/Jessica Drew, Jessica Drew/Vange Whedon, Tony/Pepper, Phil/Clint, Clint/Natasha, Clint/?, Natasha/?
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Slash, lots of slash, mild language
Spoilers: a few references here and there, nothing big
Summary: Coulson tells Darcy some news about Luke Cage, Kurt has a personal request for Pepper, Pepper finds out something that changes everything, half the team goes on a mission and Loki talks about Sleipnir.
Beta: BIG Thanks to lavendergaia and Valoscope
The One with Pepper's Uterus
August 1, 2016
"So, what's up, boss man?" Darcy asked, sitting down in Coulson's office. She was even wearing a suit and everything.
"We have a little situation for you to know about," he spoke. She found herself expecting anything to come from his mouth. 'Little' was usually an understatement. "Luke Cage was a little too productive at Parker's graduation party."
"Productive?" Darcy asked before thinking aloud, "The one six weeks ago? OH! Baby Avenger?!"
Coulson nodded with an expression that she couldn't tell was approval or not.
"This'll be great. The public loves babies and Ben is nearly two and a half now. Are they marrying?" she asked, imagining the possibilities.
"I'm not sure if that's an option. They seem to be mildly tolerating each other," Coulson told her. "Rand's been a big help going between them."
So, it was one of those hook-ups, Darcy thought. She was a little surprised that the future mom would even keep it.
"What's the plan then?" she asked.
"I think you should talk to both parties, especially her, about what they want," he suggested.
"Wait, she's not like...a regular person, is she?"Darcy questioned.
"No, luckily, her name's Jessica Jones. You know her better as Jewel," Coulson answered.
Ooh, she was going to meet Jewel but then, she remembered what Coulson had said before.
"I thought you said she was too young for our superhero gang?" she asked.
"I didn't say that. I didn't think she was ready. I still don't. She's still figuring out who she is," he explained. If Luke was only nineteen, how old was Jessica?
"How old is she?" she asked.
"Twenty," Coulson replied. Even just being thirty, twenty felt like a lifetime ago.
"Okay, get me her contact information," Darcy told him.
"Be careful about where she wants to meet or if she tries to introduce you to anyone. Some of her contacts are on our watch list," he explained while putting together what looked like his travel kit.
"I'll be fine. I'm getting high marks in weapons training," she said with a smile.
"Except for being trigger happy," Coulson remarked.
"There's nothing wrong with that as long as no one gets killed," Darcy argued. She saw Phil's forehead furrow ever so slightly.
***************************************************************************
BAMF!
Pepper looked up from her desk to see Kurt. Tony wouldn't be happy with that lax in security. She wondered if that meant Loki could just appear whenever he felt like it. Was that what he did that day of the invasion?
"Kurt, you can always ask to see me or we could have lunch," she suggested.
"This was faster," he explained. She was happy to see him but he almost seemed nervous.
"How's Amanda?" Pepper asked.
"Very well, thank you. It's just-"
He trailed off and she waited patiently.
"Amanda and I have been trying for a baby for years now but with no luck," Kurt explained.
"I'm sorry," Pepper told him. "If there's anything I can do, any doctors you need or recommendations or anything..."
"Actually, there is one thing that Dr. McCoy suggested. Amanda was too shy to ask this. The doctor thinks that part of the problem is that she's not a mutant and her body is fighting it. It is possible that a surrogate with a mutant gene might be best," Kurt explained.
"Who do you have in mind?" Pepper asked.
"You, actually. The baby would be of your blood, too. Maybe it would be better that way," Kurt spoke.
Pepper was stunned. Not only had she just been asked to carry their baby, but her brother seemed to be implying that she was a mutant herself.
"Kurt, I'm not a mutant. I'm-"
She caught herself before she said she was normal. Wasn't she normal though? She looked at the photo of her adoptive parents on her desk.
"But we share a mother. It is possible. I do not want to pressure you. Dr. McCoy at the mansion can tell you how much you take after her or not," Kurt explained. Pepper nodded. It was a lot to think about. He disappeared.
***********************************************************************
Natasha smoothed out her dress. An up-raised eyebrow dared Clint to make another crack about her blonde wig. She knew the time would come eventually when they would be too recognizable for these covert operations but she liked the simple plans where they just had to con.
"Cresten should be coming into your line of view any second now," Sitwell announced in her earpiece. She carefully put on her gloves and went to meet him.
*****************************************************************
Pepper wasn't sure exactly why she was doing this. That's not true. She had ideas. Curiosity had always been a strong motive and she felt like she owed it to Kurt.
It just wasn't her. She was careful and calculated. Everything was measured. This was impulsive.
Plus, she was lost. The helpful directions to find Dr. McCoy really weren't that helpful.
"Ant Peppa!" called a voice. She looked to see Ben hanging from a wall. Resisting the urge to laugh and shake her head, she plucked him off and held him.
"Ben!" called Vange's voice.
"Evangeline, I have him!" Pepper called and saw the other woman.
"Ant Peppa, I'm with Mimi taday," Ben explained.
"And she took you to work with her, that's nice," Pepper spoke. Ben smiled. When he did that, Pepper could imagine what Clint must have looked like at that age but she knew he hadn't had as much to smile about.
"I like it," Ben agreed.
"Ben! You had me so worried! You can't just disappear like that. What if something had happened to you?" Vange asked the boy and took him from Pepper.
"I'm sorry, Mimi," he apologized.
"I accept," Vange said and kissed his forehead. Then, she turned to Pepper, "Coulson went on some mission with Jess and Clint's already somewhere with Natasha. What brings you here?"
"I'm supposed to have a meeting with Dr. McCoy," Pepper explained. "But I got lost."
"We can take you," Vange said and Pepper followed them. "He delivered Ben."
*************************************************************
"I bet you say that to all the girls," Natasha spoke to her mark.
"Oh, just you," Cresten insisted. He twirled her away from him. She was careful not to touch anything before spinning back into his arms.
"I don't normally do that with a guy I just met," she spoke. Her voice was extra breathy and she left her lips open just a bit.
"Oh, you could make an exception for me...can't you?" he asked.
"Well, maybe..." she spoke.
"Good, Penthouse suite, I'll be expecting you," he said into her ear before kissing her and giving her butt a firm squeeze. She waited until he was out of earshot before whispering, "We got him."
Then, Natasha gingerly pulled off her gloves.
***********************************************************
"Luckily, I'm not an ordinary doctor. I have my own methods so I do have your test results already," Dr. McCoy explained. Pepper knew that during her earlier examination that he said it would only take an hour or two but she was still surprised. It felt like she was about to find out whether her whole life would be different. She had always thought of mutants as different from her and not something she completely understood. Ben and his moms and Kurt seemed nice enough. She just didn't know that many that well.
"What is it?" she asked.
"You do carry the mutant gene. That alone doesn't make someone a mutant. It just means they have the potential and that they can pass that potential onto their off-spring. However, you do have some off results. A regular doctor wouldn't have caught them. You have a good memory, don't you?" he asked.
Pepper nodded. Sometimes, she wished she could forget, like Maria as she died.
"Yes, most would refer to it as photographic memory. It probably comes in handy a lot working with Stark," McCoy continued. She nodded again. This was true. "Next month, you turn forty-three. Typically, after thirty-five or forty, the human body starts deteriorating. Reading glasses are necessary. Cancer becomes more common. Memory becomes harder. Men and women find it harder and harder to conceive a child. Most doctors would think of you as a folly. You're over forty and this would be your first pregnancy but here's the thing. Mystique's powers allow for regeneration as well as transformation. How old do I look?"
Pepper studied his face covered in blue fur and the blue eyes almost hidden.
"Fifty?" she guessed.
"Seventy-six," he revealed and she didn't hide her surprise. "When I was young and naive, I wanted to fix my differences. I thought Mystique's blood was the key. Instead, it made me into this and gave me a longer life span. Your blood and internal organs share this as well. You're physically more like a twenty-five or thirty year old."
There it was then, she was a mutant. She just hadn't known it.
"What exactly-" she started and had to pause in order to form the words that usually came so naturally to her. "What exactly does that mean for me? What's going to happen?"
"Barring anything unnatural which is a real possibility in lives like ours, you could easily live to be a hundred or more. You also shouldn't have any problems carrying a child for Kurt or even your own in the future," Hank explained.
She had sort of ignored the truth about her age in that respect. She had made her peace that she probably wouldn't be a mother but always kept a small hope that it would still happen despite what the calendar said. Now age wasn't an issue. There was something else to think about.
"You said that her blood made you blue and she's blue and Kurt's blue. How am I not? Do I have that gene?" Pepper asked. Things were getting better but children were still cruel.
"Your father's genes seem to override it but you do possess that gene mutation as well, yes," he answered.
"And walk me through this process about carrying their baby..."
******************************************************************************
There had been too much radio silence. Natasha met Clint at their rendezvous point.
"Have you heard from Sitwell?" she asked and Clint shook his head. "Something's wrong."
She hid the evidence bag with the gloves down her cleavage and took out a small pistol. Clint did the same with his weapon as they opened the door to the room that Sitwell was using. The back door was propped open and they nodded at each other before bursting through it into the night outside.
As soon as they exited, a woman screamed. Sitwell was busy tying an unconscious man. Natasha put her gun away and Clint followed her lead.
"He beat him up! He beat him all up for me! Like a superhero or something, I never had that before," the lady babbled. There was dried blood on her lips and cheek. Natasha also noticed multiple track marks on her arms and her clothes were unkempt.
"He was going to kill her," Sitwell explained as he stood up. Then, he went over to the woman and gave her a hundred dollar bill. "Get a room tonight."
She nodded but Natasha didn't believe her. They went back inside and closed the door.
"She was lucky that you had your smoke break right then, but you know she's going to spend it all on drugs," Clint commented.
"Maybe, maybe not...I can pretend. Did you get the prints?" Sitwell asked. Natasha reached down and pulled out the bag, handing it to him. "Let's hope that was the hard part."
*************************************************************************
"So, Thor, when your brother's blue like that, does it stay the same or...?"
Tony punctuated his question with a sound and a gesture of something becoming smaller.
"Because you know the cold can cause shrinkage issues," Tony continued.
"What is your preoccupation with my brother and his genitalia? You weren't even present," Thor complained.
Other people had seen Loki naked? Tony would have to investigate that.
"It's because he's not getting any so he's horny," Wanda spoke as she sat on the couch at Stark Tower. Tony glared at her. "It's true though. Everyone knows Pepper wanted a break and you haven't been with anyone else."
"You're talking about it, too. Maybe you're also 'horny'," Tony retorted.
"Maybe I am and I'm just more reserved about it," Wanda replied back.
"Careful, he might take that as a challenge," Sam warned with a smile.
"He won't, he's still too hung up on Pepper," Wanda told him. Tony thought about arguing back but she was right.
Even still being friends, he felt a little lost without her being the first and last thing he saw each day.
Almost as if to further prove her point, Pepper walked in.
"Tony, we need to talk."
When he was younger, he would have ignored this in favor of chatting with Wanda or the guys some more. Now, he saw the expression on her face and went to her without another word. He walked her to the elevator and they went to his floor. It used to be their floor but now she insisted on a separate one. He waited for her to explain as they walked onto the carpet.
"Kurt asked me to be the surrogate for him and his wife," Pepper revealed.
"But that would mean that you would be pregnant with their kid for nine months," Tony said, trying to understand.
"Yes, if I decided to, you would have to step up more with the company," she spoke. It was clinical and logical yet impulsive. It was all wrong. There was something else at play.
"Why?"
"Why? Because they're good people and I could do this for them and-"
As she was talking, he suddenly realized.
"It won't bring her back," he stated, cutting her off.
"Who?"
"Maria, she'll still be dead if you do this and it won't make you feel better. It's still going to hurt," Tony said. Her blue eyes glared at him.
"This isn't about that," she retorted with too much anger for him not to be right at least a little bit.
"It is and have you thought about afterwards? You'll spend nine months getting attached to this baby and then giving it away to their real parents. Do any of us really have any idea how that feels? None of us have given up a baby for adoption and it's not like you can ask Mystique," Tony argued. He hated being the rational one. Pepper was supposed to be the rational one. Even scarier was the expression on her face. It was the one she had when she had an idea and probably one he wouldn't like.
"I think I do know someone actually," Pepper stated and walked swiftly for the elevator. Tony watched her leave.
**************************************************************************
Pepper knocked on the door, not really expecting an answer. Then, she let herself in with the key that Phil had given her.
"He's not here so I see no reason why you should be," Loki complained from the couch.
"Funny, the legends always describe you as eternally talkative," Pepper pointed out.
"The legends are little more than fairy tales. I doubt there is much if any that is correct in them," he retorted back.
"But they do mention Sleipnir and you confirmed his existence," she reminded him. He relaxed against the couch.
"So, this is your reason for coming. You wish to speak about my son," Loki guessed.
"I'm considering carrying a baby for my brother. Tony thinks it's just because of what happened with Maria and that I don't fully understand how I'll be giving the baby up," she explained. His green eyes were pensive and he was silent a moment.
"You don't. You can't until that moment. Most of the stories are correct about Sleipnir," he confirmed and laughed. It was hollow and seemed out of habit. "I felt like I deserved it. I had failed them so I deserved every pain and discomfort. I was too young to know better and too young to really care for him once he was born. I hadn't a clue how to care for an infant, much less a colt. For his sake, I gave him over to our horse master. I grew older, Balder was born and I felt like I could be responsible but the second time, I knew something was wrong. The baby felt too different. There were no legs. When Jörmungandr was born, he was declared a monster, pulled from my arms and cast into the sea. Time passed and I decided to try again. This was my favorite pregnancy. His fur tickled and made me laugh. This time, Odin said that the Midgardians had a prophecy that Fenrir would help bring about Ragnarok and I could not keep him. He was stolen from me, too."
She'd never thought about the tales that way. They always made him seem accepting or pleased with not having to raise them himself.
"And the others from the tales? Hel and the children with Sigyn?" Pepper asked. Loki shook his head.
"Fairy tales, I have no daughter, only sons and I have met no Sigyn," he explained.
"Loki, I'm-"
"Sorry? You feel sorry for the monster? That's all I ever was and all I'll ever be, that's why my three children could never be with me," he spat.
"Loki, it doesn't have to be that way," she said. Loki stood up in an instant. His green eyes were blazing.
"Get out! You have your answer. Get out!" he commanded, thrust his hand towards the door and it slammed open. She took her leave before Loki could become more violent.
Still, he had convinced her of things. It turned out Tony was right. She had felt like she deserved real punishment for Maria's death even if she hadn't been the one to pull the actual trigger.
Maybe bringing a new life into the world would sort of cancel things out or help even the score.
She still couldn't imagine how attached she could get to the baby but it would be her niece or nephew. Pepper would always be a part of their lives.
**********************************************************************
Six days had passed since he had last seen New York. Clint literally jumped onto the Quintjet that was about to take off from the Helicarrier. He had finished his debriefing and medical. Now they were free to leave. Six days was far too long to be away from his little boy especially when he wasn't allowed to contact anyone.
Then, he noticed Jess strapped in already.
"Where's Ben?" he asked.
"With Vange," she explained. "I haven't seen him or heard from him in three days. I'm going crazy."
"Me too, and it's been six," Clint reminded her.
"Pepper has an announcement to make at Stark Tower so I've arranged for Vange and Ben to meet you there," Phil explained, walking onto the plane and grabbing onto an overhead loop.
"Pepper?" Jess asked. Clint shrugged as did Steve, Natasha and Sitwell.
"I don't even know what it's about," Phil said. This was the weirdest part. Phil and Pepper seemed to be each other's biggest confidants. His curiosity grew as they reached New York and rode to the Tower. Was Pepper pregnant?
He tried to imagine Tony with a kid. He did alright with Ben but...
The elevator doors opened and he heard his son's voice, "Mommy! Daddy!"
He and Jess both hugged his little body.
"You know we hate leaving you," Jess told him and kissed his cheek.
"Then don't," Ben told them.
"We have to," Clint said.
"Why?" the boy asked.
Jess and Clint looked at each other.
"Because we have to save the world from bad guys who want to destroy everything and hurt little boys like you," she explained.
"That not nice," Ben stated.
"It's not so we stop them," Clint said. "Do you believe us now that we don't like leaving you?"
"I guess," Ben said. Jess took him in her arms.
"But you were here with Mimi and you love her, too, right?" she asked.
"Course I do," he agreed and Vange kissed the top of his head before embracing Jess.
Tasha had a strange expression.
"What is it?" Clint asked.
"I heard something. Steve did, too, but we can't see anything," she explained.
"Everyone, I'm glad you came," Pepper spoke in her authoritarian voice. Everyone watched her to see what it could be."I know I'm not one for announcements or big speeches. That's Tony's department, but you're like family and as such, I wanted you to know that I'm going to be a surrogate for my brother and his wife."
"When?" Darcy asked.
"Possibly now? They implanted the embryo this morning, just one since I've never done this before," Pepper explained.
There was a pop and Loki appeared in the middle of the room.
"Let me be the first to congratulate you," he announced and held out his hand. Clint mentally told her not to do it.
After some hesitation, Pepper took his hand and shook it.
"I wish you much success," he said and disappeared.
"I don't like it. He's up to something," Bruce spoke. Even Thor looked contemplative.
"I'll have JARVIS e extra vigilant about anything odd although thanks for the warning that he was here," Tony growled.
"My programming does have limitations, sir," the computer replied.
"But the pregnancy shouldn't affect my duties too much although Tony will have to do more with the company," Pepper stated. Jess laughed. Everyone looked at her.
"Sorry, but..." Jess had to pause because she was still laughing. "That's what we all say. It won't affect me. I'm not going to annoy everyone with photos of my kid. I'm going to be the cool mom. It doesn't work that way. Pregnancy kicks your butt. It just does and there's nothing you can do about it. I'm not saying it's not worth it because he is but-"
Jess started for the elevator.
"Call me when you start having the heartburn and hemorrhoids and constipation and you realize it's not as easy as you thought," she said, making some of the male members squirm and shrink back in their seats. Cage looked particularly mortified.
Vange followed after her, and then stopped at Clint.
"You want to eat dinner with us tonight? Chinese?" she asked and nodded toward the elevator with Jess and Ben. Clint smiled back and the four of them went down together.
**********************************************************************
If you're a fan of Friends, you can probably guess what Loki did.
Author: Ericadawn16
Prompt: The wonderful mash-up of Friends and Avengers
Character/Pairing(s): Clint/Jessica Drew, Jessica Drew/Vange Whedon, Tony/Pepper, Phil/Clint, Clint/Natasha, Clint/?, Natasha/?
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Slash, lots of slash, mild language
Spoilers: a few references here and there, nothing big
Summary: Coulson tells Darcy some news about Luke Cage, Kurt has a personal request for Pepper, Pepper finds out something that changes everything, half the team goes on a mission and Loki talks about Sleipnir.
Beta: BIG Thanks to lavendergaia and Valoscope
The One with Pepper's Uterus
August 1, 2016
"So, what's up, boss man?" Darcy asked, sitting down in Coulson's office. She was even wearing a suit and everything.
"We have a little situation for you to know about," he spoke. She found herself expecting anything to come from his mouth. 'Little' was usually an understatement. "Luke Cage was a little too productive at Parker's graduation party."
"Productive?" Darcy asked before thinking aloud, "The one six weeks ago? OH! Baby Avenger?!"
Coulson nodded with an expression that she couldn't tell was approval or not.
"This'll be great. The public loves babies and Ben is nearly two and a half now. Are they marrying?" she asked, imagining the possibilities.
"I'm not sure if that's an option. They seem to be mildly tolerating each other," Coulson told her. "Rand's been a big help going between them."
So, it was one of those hook-ups, Darcy thought. She was a little surprised that the future mom would even keep it.
"What's the plan then?" she asked.
"I think you should talk to both parties, especially her, about what they want," he suggested.
"Wait, she's not like...a regular person, is she?"Darcy questioned.
"No, luckily, her name's Jessica Jones. You know her better as Jewel," Coulson answered.
Ooh, she was going to meet Jewel but then, she remembered what Coulson had said before.
"I thought you said she was too young for our superhero gang?" she asked.
"I didn't say that. I didn't think she was ready. I still don't. She's still figuring out who she is," he explained. If Luke was only nineteen, how old was Jessica?
"How old is she?" she asked.
"Twenty," Coulson replied. Even just being thirty, twenty felt like a lifetime ago.
"Okay, get me her contact information," Darcy told him.
"Be careful about where she wants to meet or if she tries to introduce you to anyone. Some of her contacts are on our watch list," he explained while putting together what looked like his travel kit.
"I'll be fine. I'm getting high marks in weapons training," she said with a smile.
"Except for being trigger happy," Coulson remarked.
"There's nothing wrong with that as long as no one gets killed," Darcy argued. She saw Phil's forehead furrow ever so slightly.
***************************************************************************
BAMF!
Pepper looked up from her desk to see Kurt. Tony wouldn't be happy with that lax in security. She wondered if that meant Loki could just appear whenever he felt like it. Was that what he did that day of the invasion?
"Kurt, you can always ask to see me or we could have lunch," she suggested.
"This was faster," he explained. She was happy to see him but he almost seemed nervous.
"How's Amanda?" Pepper asked.
"Very well, thank you. It's just-"
He trailed off and she waited patiently.
"Amanda and I have been trying for a baby for years now but with no luck," Kurt explained.
"I'm sorry," Pepper told him. "If there's anything I can do, any doctors you need or recommendations or anything..."
"Actually, there is one thing that Dr. McCoy suggested. Amanda was too shy to ask this. The doctor thinks that part of the problem is that she's not a mutant and her body is fighting it. It is possible that a surrogate with a mutant gene might be best," Kurt explained.
"Who do you have in mind?" Pepper asked.
"You, actually. The baby would be of your blood, too. Maybe it would be better that way," Kurt spoke.
Pepper was stunned. Not only had she just been asked to carry their baby, but her brother seemed to be implying that she was a mutant herself.
"Kurt, I'm not a mutant. I'm-"
She caught herself before she said she was normal. Wasn't she normal though? She looked at the photo of her adoptive parents on her desk.
"But we share a mother. It is possible. I do not want to pressure you. Dr. McCoy at the mansion can tell you how much you take after her or not," Kurt explained. Pepper nodded. It was a lot to think about. He disappeared.
***********************************************************************
Natasha smoothed out her dress. An up-raised eyebrow dared Clint to make another crack about her blonde wig. She knew the time would come eventually when they would be too recognizable for these covert operations but she liked the simple plans where they just had to con.
"Cresten should be coming into your line of view any second now," Sitwell announced in her earpiece. She carefully put on her gloves and went to meet him.
*****************************************************************
Pepper wasn't sure exactly why she was doing this. That's not true. She had ideas. Curiosity had always been a strong motive and she felt like she owed it to Kurt.
It just wasn't her. She was careful and calculated. Everything was measured. This was impulsive.
Plus, she was lost. The helpful directions to find Dr. McCoy really weren't that helpful.
"Ant Peppa!" called a voice. She looked to see Ben hanging from a wall. Resisting the urge to laugh and shake her head, she plucked him off and held him.
"Ben!" called Vange's voice.
"Evangeline, I have him!" Pepper called and saw the other woman.
"Ant Peppa, I'm with Mimi taday," Ben explained.
"And she took you to work with her, that's nice," Pepper spoke. Ben smiled. When he did that, Pepper could imagine what Clint must have looked like at that age but she knew he hadn't had as much to smile about.
"I like it," Ben agreed.
"Ben! You had me so worried! You can't just disappear like that. What if something had happened to you?" Vange asked the boy and took him from Pepper.
"I'm sorry, Mimi," he apologized.
"I accept," Vange said and kissed his forehead. Then, she turned to Pepper, "Coulson went on some mission with Jess and Clint's already somewhere with Natasha. What brings you here?"
"I'm supposed to have a meeting with Dr. McCoy," Pepper explained. "But I got lost."
"We can take you," Vange said and Pepper followed them. "He delivered Ben."
*************************************************************
"I bet you say that to all the girls," Natasha spoke to her mark.
"Oh, just you," Cresten insisted. He twirled her away from him. She was careful not to touch anything before spinning back into his arms.
"I don't normally do that with a guy I just met," she spoke. Her voice was extra breathy and she left her lips open just a bit.
"Oh, you could make an exception for me...can't you?" he asked.
"Well, maybe..." she spoke.
"Good, Penthouse suite, I'll be expecting you," he said into her ear before kissing her and giving her butt a firm squeeze. She waited until he was out of earshot before whispering, "We got him."
Then, Natasha gingerly pulled off her gloves.
***********************************************************
"Luckily, I'm not an ordinary doctor. I have my own methods so I do have your test results already," Dr. McCoy explained. Pepper knew that during her earlier examination that he said it would only take an hour or two but she was still surprised. It felt like she was about to find out whether her whole life would be different. She had always thought of mutants as different from her and not something she completely understood. Ben and his moms and Kurt seemed nice enough. She just didn't know that many that well.
"What is it?" she asked.
"You do carry the mutant gene. That alone doesn't make someone a mutant. It just means they have the potential and that they can pass that potential onto their off-spring. However, you do have some off results. A regular doctor wouldn't have caught them. You have a good memory, don't you?" he asked.
Pepper nodded. Sometimes, she wished she could forget, like Maria as she died.
"Yes, most would refer to it as photographic memory. It probably comes in handy a lot working with Stark," McCoy continued. She nodded again. This was true. "Next month, you turn forty-three. Typically, after thirty-five or forty, the human body starts deteriorating. Reading glasses are necessary. Cancer becomes more common. Memory becomes harder. Men and women find it harder and harder to conceive a child. Most doctors would think of you as a folly. You're over forty and this would be your first pregnancy but here's the thing. Mystique's powers allow for regeneration as well as transformation. How old do I look?"
Pepper studied his face covered in blue fur and the blue eyes almost hidden.
"Fifty?" she guessed.
"Seventy-six," he revealed and she didn't hide her surprise. "When I was young and naive, I wanted to fix my differences. I thought Mystique's blood was the key. Instead, it made me into this and gave me a longer life span. Your blood and internal organs share this as well. You're physically more like a twenty-five or thirty year old."
There it was then, she was a mutant. She just hadn't known it.
"What exactly-" she started and had to pause in order to form the words that usually came so naturally to her. "What exactly does that mean for me? What's going to happen?"
"Barring anything unnatural which is a real possibility in lives like ours, you could easily live to be a hundred or more. You also shouldn't have any problems carrying a child for Kurt or even your own in the future," Hank explained.
She had sort of ignored the truth about her age in that respect. She had made her peace that she probably wouldn't be a mother but always kept a small hope that it would still happen despite what the calendar said. Now age wasn't an issue. There was something else to think about.
"You said that her blood made you blue and she's blue and Kurt's blue. How am I not? Do I have that gene?" Pepper asked. Things were getting better but children were still cruel.
"Your father's genes seem to override it but you do possess that gene mutation as well, yes," he answered.
"And walk me through this process about carrying their baby..."
******************************************************************************
There had been too much radio silence. Natasha met Clint at their rendezvous point.
"Have you heard from Sitwell?" she asked and Clint shook his head. "Something's wrong."
She hid the evidence bag with the gloves down her cleavage and took out a small pistol. Clint did the same with his weapon as they opened the door to the room that Sitwell was using. The back door was propped open and they nodded at each other before bursting through it into the night outside.
As soon as they exited, a woman screamed. Sitwell was busy tying an unconscious man. Natasha put her gun away and Clint followed her lead.
"He beat him up! He beat him all up for me! Like a superhero or something, I never had that before," the lady babbled. There was dried blood on her lips and cheek. Natasha also noticed multiple track marks on her arms and her clothes were unkempt.
"He was going to kill her," Sitwell explained as he stood up. Then, he went over to the woman and gave her a hundred dollar bill. "Get a room tonight."
She nodded but Natasha didn't believe her. They went back inside and closed the door.
"She was lucky that you had your smoke break right then, but you know she's going to spend it all on drugs," Clint commented.
"Maybe, maybe not...I can pretend. Did you get the prints?" Sitwell asked. Natasha reached down and pulled out the bag, handing it to him. "Let's hope that was the hard part."
*************************************************************************
"So, Thor, when your brother's blue like that, does it stay the same or...?"
Tony punctuated his question with a sound and a gesture of something becoming smaller.
"Because you know the cold can cause shrinkage issues," Tony continued.
"What is your preoccupation with my brother and his genitalia? You weren't even present," Thor complained.
Other people had seen Loki naked? Tony would have to investigate that.
"It's because he's not getting any so he's horny," Wanda spoke as she sat on the couch at Stark Tower. Tony glared at her. "It's true though. Everyone knows Pepper wanted a break and you haven't been with anyone else."
"You're talking about it, too. Maybe you're also 'horny'," Tony retorted.
"Maybe I am and I'm just more reserved about it," Wanda replied back.
"Careful, he might take that as a challenge," Sam warned with a smile.
"He won't, he's still too hung up on Pepper," Wanda told him. Tony thought about arguing back but she was right.
Even still being friends, he felt a little lost without her being the first and last thing he saw each day.
Almost as if to further prove her point, Pepper walked in.
"Tony, we need to talk."
When he was younger, he would have ignored this in favor of chatting with Wanda or the guys some more. Now, he saw the expression on her face and went to her without another word. He walked her to the elevator and they went to his floor. It used to be their floor but now she insisted on a separate one. He waited for her to explain as they walked onto the carpet.
"Kurt asked me to be the surrogate for him and his wife," Pepper revealed.
"But that would mean that you would be pregnant with their kid for nine months," Tony said, trying to understand.
"Yes, if I decided to, you would have to step up more with the company," she spoke. It was clinical and logical yet impulsive. It was all wrong. There was something else at play.
"Why?"
"Why? Because they're good people and I could do this for them and-"
As she was talking, he suddenly realized.
"It won't bring her back," he stated, cutting her off.
"Who?"
"Maria, she'll still be dead if you do this and it won't make you feel better. It's still going to hurt," Tony said. Her blue eyes glared at him.
"This isn't about that," she retorted with too much anger for him not to be right at least a little bit.
"It is and have you thought about afterwards? You'll spend nine months getting attached to this baby and then giving it away to their real parents. Do any of us really have any idea how that feels? None of us have given up a baby for adoption and it's not like you can ask Mystique," Tony argued. He hated being the rational one. Pepper was supposed to be the rational one. Even scarier was the expression on her face. It was the one she had when she had an idea and probably one he wouldn't like.
"I think I do know someone actually," Pepper stated and walked swiftly for the elevator. Tony watched her leave.
**************************************************************************
Pepper knocked on the door, not really expecting an answer. Then, she let herself in with the key that Phil had given her.
"He's not here so I see no reason why you should be," Loki complained from the couch.
"Funny, the legends always describe you as eternally talkative," Pepper pointed out.
"The legends are little more than fairy tales. I doubt there is much if any that is correct in them," he retorted back.
"But they do mention Sleipnir and you confirmed his existence," she reminded him. He relaxed against the couch.
"So, this is your reason for coming. You wish to speak about my son," Loki guessed.
"I'm considering carrying a baby for my brother. Tony thinks it's just because of what happened with Maria and that I don't fully understand how I'll be giving the baby up," she explained. His green eyes were pensive and he was silent a moment.
"You don't. You can't until that moment. Most of the stories are correct about Sleipnir," he confirmed and laughed. It was hollow and seemed out of habit. "I felt like I deserved it. I had failed them so I deserved every pain and discomfort. I was too young to know better and too young to really care for him once he was born. I hadn't a clue how to care for an infant, much less a colt. For his sake, I gave him over to our horse master. I grew older, Balder was born and I felt like I could be responsible but the second time, I knew something was wrong. The baby felt too different. There were no legs. When Jörmungandr was born, he was declared a monster, pulled from my arms and cast into the sea. Time passed and I decided to try again. This was my favorite pregnancy. His fur tickled and made me laugh. This time, Odin said that the Midgardians had a prophecy that Fenrir would help bring about Ragnarok and I could not keep him. He was stolen from me, too."
She'd never thought about the tales that way. They always made him seem accepting or pleased with not having to raise them himself.
"And the others from the tales? Hel and the children with Sigyn?" Pepper asked. Loki shook his head.
"Fairy tales, I have no daughter, only sons and I have met no Sigyn," he explained.
"Loki, I'm-"
"Sorry? You feel sorry for the monster? That's all I ever was and all I'll ever be, that's why my three children could never be with me," he spat.
"Loki, it doesn't have to be that way," she said. Loki stood up in an instant. His green eyes were blazing.
"Get out! You have your answer. Get out!" he commanded, thrust his hand towards the door and it slammed open. She took her leave before Loki could become more violent.
Still, he had convinced her of things. It turned out Tony was right. She had felt like she deserved real punishment for Maria's death even if she hadn't been the one to pull the actual trigger.
Maybe bringing a new life into the world would sort of cancel things out or help even the score.
She still couldn't imagine how attached she could get to the baby but it would be her niece or nephew. Pepper would always be a part of their lives.
**********************************************************************
Six days had passed since he had last seen New York. Clint literally jumped onto the Quintjet that was about to take off from the Helicarrier. He had finished his debriefing and medical. Now they were free to leave. Six days was far too long to be away from his little boy especially when he wasn't allowed to contact anyone.
Then, he noticed Jess strapped in already.
"Where's Ben?" he asked.
"With Vange," she explained. "I haven't seen him or heard from him in three days. I'm going crazy."
"Me too, and it's been six," Clint reminded her.
"Pepper has an announcement to make at Stark Tower so I've arranged for Vange and Ben to meet you there," Phil explained, walking onto the plane and grabbing onto an overhead loop.
"Pepper?" Jess asked. Clint shrugged as did Steve, Natasha and Sitwell.
"I don't even know what it's about," Phil said. This was the weirdest part. Phil and Pepper seemed to be each other's biggest confidants. His curiosity grew as they reached New York and rode to the Tower. Was Pepper pregnant?
He tried to imagine Tony with a kid. He did alright with Ben but...
The elevator doors opened and he heard his son's voice, "Mommy! Daddy!"
He and Jess both hugged his little body.
"You know we hate leaving you," Jess told him and kissed his cheek.
"Then don't," Ben told them.
"We have to," Clint said.
"Why?" the boy asked.
Jess and Clint looked at each other.
"Because we have to save the world from bad guys who want to destroy everything and hurt little boys like you," she explained.
"That not nice," Ben stated.
"It's not so we stop them," Clint said. "Do you believe us now that we don't like leaving you?"
"I guess," Ben said. Jess took him in her arms.
"But you were here with Mimi and you love her, too, right?" she asked.
"Course I do," he agreed and Vange kissed the top of his head before embracing Jess.
Tasha had a strange expression.
"What is it?" Clint asked.
"I heard something. Steve did, too, but we can't see anything," she explained.
"Everyone, I'm glad you came," Pepper spoke in her authoritarian voice. Everyone watched her to see what it could be."I know I'm not one for announcements or big speeches. That's Tony's department, but you're like family and as such, I wanted you to know that I'm going to be a surrogate for my brother and his wife."
"When?" Darcy asked.
"Possibly now? They implanted the embryo this morning, just one since I've never done this before," Pepper explained.
There was a pop and Loki appeared in the middle of the room.
"Let me be the first to congratulate you," he announced and held out his hand. Clint mentally told her not to do it.
After some hesitation, Pepper took his hand and shook it.
"I wish you much success," he said and disappeared.
"I don't like it. He's up to something," Bruce spoke. Even Thor looked contemplative.
"I'll have JARVIS e extra vigilant about anything odd although thanks for the warning that he was here," Tony growled.
"My programming does have limitations, sir," the computer replied.
"But the pregnancy shouldn't affect my duties too much although Tony will have to do more with the company," Pepper stated. Jess laughed. Everyone looked at her.
"Sorry, but..." Jess had to pause because she was still laughing. "That's what we all say. It won't affect me. I'm not going to annoy everyone with photos of my kid. I'm going to be the cool mom. It doesn't work that way. Pregnancy kicks your butt. It just does and there's nothing you can do about it. I'm not saying it's not worth it because he is but-"
Jess started for the elevator.
"Call me when you start having the heartburn and hemorrhoids and constipation and you realize it's not as easy as you thought," she said, making some of the male members squirm and shrink back in their seats. Cage looked particularly mortified.
Vange followed after her, and then stopped at Clint.
"You want to eat dinner with us tonight? Chinese?" she asked and nodded toward the elevator with Jess and Ben. Clint smiled back and the four of them went down together.
**********************************************************************
If you're a fan of Friends, you can probably guess what Loki did.
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Date: 2013-04-13 06:31 am (UTC)