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hymn2000 · 5 years

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Chiquitita - MCU AU fanfic - C1

Story summary: Something strange is happening. Someone from space has made their way to Earth, armed with a strange weapon. Targeting teenagers, their ray gun, when fired, turns the victim into a toddler. The Avengers set out to stop this, and find a way to reverse the effects. However, they don’t all come out of the battle unscathed.

Part of my Frostiron and Spiderson series.

Warnings/themes: de-aging, family stuff, corporal punishment (early chapters only), mental health stuff, hurt/comfort

Chapter 1 - Here We Go Again

Loki walked into the living room, reading over a letter. Tony was glued to the telly, Peter on his lap.

“Loki, what do you know about this?”

“Hm?” Loki looked up. “Sorry?”

“This thing. Do you know where it’s come from?”

Loki peered at the telly. He recognised the segment: he’d seen it several times already that day. He and his colleagues at the hospital had gathered round the television in the waiting room early that morning, no one knowing quite what to say. This strange being was turning teenagers into toddlers. The motives, if any, were unclear. It didn’t seem to be an effective strategy for... well, anything. Aside from distressing the family and mussing things up a bit, it didn’t really have much of an effect. It certainly wasn’t a global scale scare-story, anyway.

“This is the first time I’ve come across them too” Loki said, folding his letter and folding his arms over his chest.

“It’s weird, isn’t it?” Peter said, biting his thumb. “What’s the point?”

“I have no idea” Loki said. “There’s a lot of weird things about up there”

“You really don’t know anything about it?”

“No, Tony, I don’t. I don’t know everything in the universe” Loki sighed. “What’s that look for?”

“I... Well, I’ve been talking with Steve and Bruce. We think we need to do something about it”

“What, found a cure, have you?” Loki raised an eyebrow.

“Well, no. But we could stop it from happening to another kid. I told your brother about it, too. He said he might be able to find someone who could reverse it, if he had the original weapon”

“It’s a bit strong classing it as a weapon, don’t you think?”

“Loki, people are being de-aged. Sure, in the grand scheme of things, it’s not physical harmful, but it’s still an attack, right?” he squeezed Peter tight, kissing him on the cheek. “How would you feel if our baby was hit with this weird ray gun?”

“I’m sure we’d manage” Loki said, yawning.

“Boring you, am I?” Tony said, scowling.

“Sorry, darling. I’m tired. It’s been a long day. We’ve had every conversation possible about this at work today” he said. “The kids aren’t hurt. After they’ve been hit, they don’t remember being big. They remember people, places, their likes and dislikes, that kind of thing”

“That’s a little bit beside my point” Tony said. “We need to stop this creature. What is it they’re calling him again?”

“Kindsprengen” Peter said. “It’s taken from German. Macy was saying. It’s the words for child and blast”

“That’s a rubbish name” Loki said. “Humans are idiots”

Tony rolled his eyes. “What would you call him, then?”

“How do you know it’s a he? Why do we need to name it?”

“For the tabloids” Peter said.

“Tony, you need to take a step back. Even if you can get the guy down, get the weapon, there’s no guarantee Thor can find a reversal”

“Oh what, so we’re just supposed to sit around and let it keep happening?”

“That’s not what I said”

“It’s what you meant” Tony shook his head at him. “The Avengers are supposed to look after the Earth. If it means taking down this guy - this Kindsprengen - then we’ll do it”

Peter looked back at the TV, even though the segment had long since finished.

“It’s kinda scary, don’t you think?”

Tony looked at him, and kissed him hard on the cheek. “You’re safe here, kiddo”

“I can help though, can’t I? With the battle?”

Tony laughed slightly. “Sure thing, kiddo. We’ll find a way to incorporate Spiderman. Daddy will help too”

“Uh, sorry, what?”

“I said, you’ll help”

“Uh, no, pacifist, remember?”

“Oh don’t pull that card” Tony sighed irritably. “You’re good at this kind of thing. You can step up just this once”

“I’ll think about it. Now, if you’ll excuse me, my bed is calling me”

“Loki”

“Hm?”

“It’s six o’ clock”

“So? I’m tired”

“What about tea?” Peter cut in.

“I had a quick bite after my shift. I’m not going to starve to death over night” he kissed Peter on the nose. “Goodnight, chick”

Tony shook his head and sighed as Loki went off. He looked at Peter, and squeezed him tight.

“We’ll keep badgering him. He might not get on with the whole team, but he’ll help, and he’s good at the fight”

“I know” Peter said. “I don’t think he likes it though”

“No, he doesn’t” Tony said. “Still, we all have to do things we don’t want to do sometimes”

“...Why’s this guy going after teenagers?”

“I don’t know, chick. None of it makes any sense. All I know - all we know - is that it needs to be stopped. It’s not right and it’s not fair”

“We’ll stop him together, dad”

Tony couldn’t help smiling at him. “Yeah, of course we will. Me and you. And a handful of super-hero friends”

“Oh for fucks sake” Loki grumbled to himself, walking into the living room after another long shift to find the Avengers scattered around.

“Hey Loki” Tony said brightly.

“Hey dad!” Peter smiled.

Loki cleared his throat. “You didn’t tell me we were expecting company, darling”

“It was a little impromptu. I forgot to text, sorry”

“Never mind. I’ll leave you to it, shall we?” he said, turning on his heel.

“No, wait! We need you” Tony said. “Bruce, this blueprint-”

Loki sat down heavily, crossing one leg over the other, supporting his head with one hand, just his fingertips against his cheek bone. Peter jumped onto the sofa beside him.

“Hello again, Loki” Steve said.

Loki offered him a small, reluctant smile. He didn’t offer anyone else the same courtesy. He put an arm round Peter and ignored the room, wondering how it had come to this yet again. He didn’t like getting involved. To his credit, he did manage to weasel his way out of it a good 95% of the time. But that still meant that 5% of missions called for him. And that wasn’t ideal.

Loki didn’t even bother listening to them. At first he kept tickling Peter and giving him sly little pokes, trying to make him laugh, but the boy glared and pushed his hand away, focusing his full attention on the conversation at hand. Loki sighed and sat daydreaming for a bit before getting his phone out.

“Loki” Tony said as soon as he had done so. “Can’t that wait?”

Loki narrowed his eyes but slowly put his phone back anyway. God, this was dull. There were only slightly more enemy agents than Avengers, and only one had the weird de-ageing gun. Surely they could just take down the main man and the others would fall behind? Whatever. Either way, the big worried discussion ahead of planning didn’t seem to be 100% necessary.

“Wait, so there’s no way to protect ourselves from this gun?” Peter said.

“This guy isn’t targeting adults” Clint said, and then stopped, realised the error of his sentence, and sighed. “Just stay out of his way”

“Robin Hood over there is right, Pete. I want you sticking to the background soldiers. Stay away from the main man” Tony said.

“I don’t think that’s necessary” Wanda said. “This kindsprengen won’t know that he’s a kid when he’s in his suit”

“They will if he speaks” Tony said. “Whatever, I just want him out of the away. You’re a helping hand, kid, not a main part”

“What?! Where’s the fairness in that?!”

“Hey, don’t get defensive: Wanda, Bruce, and Nat are helping hands this time round, too” Tony said. “You’re on the sub-team, lets put it that way”

“What about daddy?”

Loki felt the whole room turn to look at him.

“...What?”

“You’re on my team” Tony said.

Loki blinked at him, trying to think of a suitable response.

“You haven’t listened to a word of this, have you?”

“I’ve had a long day”

Tony gave him an exasperated look, and shook his head. “Whatever, just know you’re on the front line”

“With?”

“With me. And your brother and Cap and Clint”

“Oh, I see” Loki said. “No Rhodey this time?”

“He’s away” Tony said. “So, are you going to cooperate?”

Loki didn’t say anything.

“Not really in your nature, is it?” Clint said.

Loki shot him a look. “Ever considered dropping the ‘n’?”

“Shut up! You make that joke every time you see me and it’s never once been funny”

“Is that so? Well, Natasha over there seems to think otherwise”

Clint quickly looked at Nat. “Are you serious?”

Nat shrugged, trying not to smile. “It is a little bit funny”

“Oh for gods sake” Tony sighed. “Can you two stop it? Please, at least leave the inappropriate jokes until after the sprog’s in bed”

“Dad, I’ve heard far worse from you” Peter said.

“Don’t get cheeky. Right, so, strategies. Bruce?”

Nat and Clint started drifting, talking quietly amongst themselves. Wanda tried to look like she was concentrating while she went off in a daydream. Even Peter started getting bored, until it was just Steve, Bruce, and Tony still contributing to the conversation. Thor caught Loki’s eye, but Loki quickly looked away, absentmindedly running his fingers through Peter’s hair. He was tired. He could feel his eyes drooping - and then his ears pricked up at the sound of the front door opening.

“Who the fuck is that?”

“Loki!” Tony snapped. “How many times? I don’t like you talking like that in front of Peter”

“Sorry, sorry” Loki said. “Whom the fuck is that?”

Tony didn’t even dignify him with a response; just glared at him.

“Who is that?” Peter said, looking worried. “Uncle Thor’s already here, and he’s the only one who never knocks”

Tony had stood up, listening. The footsteps approached, and someone entered the room.

“Mumma Carol!” Peter exclaimed, jumping up quickly.

Nat and Clint exchanged a look. “Mumma?”

“Hey, trouble” Carol said, smiling at him.

“You’re back! You didn’t say! Why didn’t you say? I’d’ve got you a present!” Peter said, near enough vibrating with excitement.

Carol looked at him, head to one side. “Come on, then”

Peter grinned and leapt into her arms. Carol caught him easily, spinning him round while he laughed.

“Have you been good while I’ve been away?”

“Uh-huh!” Peter grinned up at her fondly.

“Good to see you again, Cap” Tony said.

“I thought that was my name” Steve said.

Tony rolled his eyes at him, and looked back at Carol. “Peter, let go of her now”

Peter reluctantly did so. Carol addressed the room.

“Good to see you all again”

“Come to lend a hand?” Clint said.

“Just checking in” Carol said, sitting down on the arm of the sofa and putting an arm round Loki’s shoulders. “Loki”

“Carol” Loki said, and smiled. “It’s nice to see you again”

“What are you staring at her like that for?” Clint said accusingly. “You fancy her or something?”

Loki turned to him. “Yes. What, and you don’t?”

“That shut you up” Nat said, laughing at the look on his face.

“Yeah, shut up, Clint” Peter said, sticking his tongue out at him. “We don’t take jokes from people whose names are one letter away from a vag-”

“PETER!”

Peter flinched a little. Tony glared at him, and at Loki.

“That’s your fault”

Loki, like most of the room, was too busy laughing to take him seriously.

“It’s not funny!” Tony frowned. “You’re a dreadful influence”

“Oh yes, I know!” Loki said.

“You could at least back me up, here”

“Why? You can’t seriously tell me you don’t find that funny”

“Right, that’s it-!”

Tony pounced at him. Loki was quick, and all too willing to join in. In a matter of moments they were wrestling on the carpet. Wanda leant close to Steve.

“Should we stop them?”

Steve sighed tiredly. “No; they’re always like this”

As usual, Loki won, pining Tony down by his wrists. He leant close, resting his nose against his husbands.

“I win”

“Yeah yeah, ok. Get off me now”

Loki did so, giving him a quick kiss before returning to his seat.

“You’ve got something to discuss, haven’t you?” Tony said to Carol, as though there hadn’t been a break in conversation.

“Yeah, just between the two of us, though”

“What?” Peter said, sitting down on Loki’s lap.

“Never you mind” Tony said. “We’ll wait until the kids in bed. We’re just finishing up here”

Carol nodded. “What have we got?”

“Some weird guy turning teenagers into toddlers” Bruce said. “We’re baffled as to why: we’re just putting a stop to it”

The meeting wrapped up relatively quickly after Captain Marvel’s arrival. Peter stayed on Loki’s lap, listening intently to everything Carol had to say. She always came back with such interesting stories - and lollipops.

“You said you’d been a good boy” she said, tapping the boy on the nose with a Juicy Drop Pop.

“Oh, Carol! I asked you to stop bringing him sweets” Tony sighed.

“Aww, don’t be such a dad” Peter grumbled, shoving the lolly into his mouth quickly, just in case Tony made a grab for it.

"I’ll continue to be a dad for the foreseeable future, thank you very much” Tony said, checking his watch. “On that note, it’s bedtime, young man”

“What?! No!” Peter grabbed Loki’s wrist, looking at his Rolex. “It’s not even that late!”

“It’s perfectly late enough, chick” Tony said. “Bedtime. Now”

Peter sighed in an exaggerated fashion, flopping back against Loki’s chest. Tony raised an eyebrow at him, which Peter pointedly ignored.

“You’ll need to rest if you’re fighting with us, little boy” Thor said.

“It’s not like we’re doing it tomorrow” Peter pouted.

“Loki, can you-”

“Hey, don’t worry yourself” Carol said. “I’ll take him. Come on, kid”

Peter whined. “Do I have to?”

“Yeah. I’ve got a whole bunch of other stories to tell you. Secret stuff” She stood up, holding a hand out to him. “Come on”

Peter looked at her, and craned round to Loki. Loki gave him a little squeeze.

“Go on, chick. Say goodnight to everyone and go” he said, giving him a quick kiss.

Peter sighed, clicked the lolly back into its plastic, and hauled himself up. He went and gave Nat and Wanda a hug, and said goodnight to everyone. Tony caught the boy, tweaking his nose.

“You’re naughty, did you know?” he kissed him hard on the cheek. “Goodnight, kiddo”

“Night dad”

“You ready, trouble?” Carol said.

“Just coming, mumma” he said, giving Tony a hug before trotting over to her and letting her guide him out of the room.

Clint let out a low whistle once he was out of the room. “I can’t believe that’s the same kid we let out onto the battlefield”

“He’s a good fighter” Wanda said.

“Yeah, but it’s times like this when you realise he really is just a kid”

Carol let Peter ramble on excitedly while he got ready for bed, filling her in on just about everything she’d missed since her last visit.

“Hey, motormouth” she said eventually. “I’m meant to be taking you to bed, remember?”

“I’m 15: I don’t need to be ‘taken to bed’, yknow” he said, but he flopped down on the bed anyway. “What are you gonna be talking with dad about?”

“Just stuff” Carol said.

“Is it about me?”

“No, not this time”

Peter sat up, looking at her. “Hey, mumma? Can I talk to you about something?”

“Is it about me?”

Peter smiled, and shook his head, looking away. “No”

Carol stopped, and then sat down on the bed, facing him.

“That’s not a happy face” she said. “What’s up?”

“...I think there’s something wrong with dad. Can you find out for me when you’re talking to him later?”

“What makes you think something’s wrong?”

“Well... He’s been acting funny. He’s been... Well, he’s been real strict with me lately. He’s been kinda harsh”

Carol took one look at the tears in his eyes, and reached for his hand.

“Hey, talk to me, baby. Has something happened?”

Peter shrugged. “Kinda”

“Recently?”

Peter nodded. “The other day...” he was quiet for a moment or two. “Y’know he has that thing about me not leaving the house without telling one of them where I’m going first? Well, I went down to the shop on the corner and forgot to tell him first. I was only gone for about ten minutes”

“Ok” this wasn’t something new: Peter was always forgetting when he wasn’t going far. “So what happened when you got home?”

Peter shifted uncomfortably. He looked down at their hands, and kept his gaze focused there.

“It’s happened before. Me forgetting. But this time... Well... He really shouted at me. He got cross because I hadn’t answered my phone either, but I couldn’t, because I didn’t take it with me, ‘cos I knew I’d only be a couple of minutes. But he still got angry, and then he hit me. Usually he just gives me a little tap, but it was different this time. He proper put me over his knee and everything, and he hit my legs really hard, and the backs of my knees. It was awful, it really, really hurt-”

“Hey, hey, don’t cry! Oh baby” Carol sighed, pulling him close and hugging him tight. “It’s ok”

“I’m not crying” he said, knuckling his eyes.

“Sure you’re not. What did daddy say about all of this?”

“He was at the hospital, so he didn’t know”

“Ah, I see”

“Mm... Dad's been real weird about me going out for a few weeks now, actually. He even stopped me from going out with my friends, and he didn’t give a proper reason; just that whole; ‘because I said so’ stuff. I don’t get it”

Carol rested her chin on top of his head. “Maybe he’s just scared about this guy that’s out targeting teenagers. Maybe he just doesn’t want you getting zapped”

Peter thought for a moment. “But I can look after myself. I wouldn’t let that guy zap me”

“You’re a fierce little fighter, but if you got in front of that ray gun, there’s no going back. One pull of the trigger, and that’s a baby Peter right there”

“Well, that’s not going to happen” Peter said. “And besides, uncle Thor said they’ll find a reversal once they’ve got the original gun... I know it’s weird, and it kinda creeps me out, but why would dad be scared about it?”

“He’s your dad: he wants to make sure nothing happens to you” she looked down at him. “I know you’ll be fine, but you know what your dad’s like: he’ll worry about anything. Remember the soluble paracetamol incident?”

Peter couldn’t help laughing. “Yeah, he’s a worrier. Daddy said maybe he’s been reading too many parenting books and is trying to show me who’s in charge”

“Well, even if that were true, it’s a load of rubbish: we all know Loki is the real head of this household”

Peter nodded, sitting back. “You’re right about that”

“I know. You know, I wanna hear about your success when you and those Avengers have finished this fight you’ve been so meticulously planning”

“Oh yeah, of course! I’ll tell you everything. Wait, does this mean you’re staying?”

“I’ll stay until you’ve taken down this weird guy and his age-gun” she promised. “I’ve got some stuff to sort out with Mr Mechanic anyway”

Peter giggled, and hugged her again. “We can go out to celebrate afterwards!”

“Sure, sounds good to me” She kissed him on the forehead. “You should probably get some sleep now”

“Aww, ok” Peter sighed.

Carol stood up, and Peter wriggled under the covers and got himself comfortable. Carol smiled, ruffling his hair.

“Go to sleep. I’ll see if I can be here in the morning” she said. “Goodnight, trouble”

“Goodnight, mumma”

Loki had made his escape by the time Carol got back to the living room. Wanda and Steve had taken their leave too.

“Hey, Tony” she said, leaning against the door frame. “You ready for that chat now?”

Tony stopped what he was doing. “Sure. I’ve got some stuff to ask you”

“Good. I’ve got some questions for you, too”

“Oh dear, that sounds ominous” he raised an eyebrow at Bruce.

“Shall we?”

Tony got up. “Yeah, ok, lets go into the study”

Carol leant against the big mahogany desk, folding her arms over her chest.

“You’re scared, aren’t you?”

“...That’s not really what you wanted to talk about”

“It wasn’t. But it is now”

Tony sighed, flopping on the sofa. “What changed?”

“I was talking to Peter. It’s just something he said. He might not be able to read you all the time, but I can”

“So..?”

“I know you’re scared. It’s this guy you’re taking down, isn’t it? You’re scared that Peter’s gonna run into him and get in front of his gun”

Tony looked at her in silence for a moment. “...What did he say?”

“Enough. It’s not hard to figure out. This guy has been around for a few weeks, and in that time, you’ve gone into panicky over-protective dad mode: not letting him go out, harsh punishments, that kind of thing. You know where I’m going with this”

“Ok, so what? He’s my son: I’m allowed to worry about him”

“I didn’t say you weren’t”

Tony bit his thumb, thinking. “I didn’t want him helping with this. I don’t want him in the line of fire. But you know what he’s like; he’d get so upset and offended if I left him out of it”

“No one is going to let anyone hurt him. You’ve got a good team there. Peter will be fine”

“I know” Tony sighed. “I have been harsh with him, I know that. I’m just upset about a whole bunch of stuff right now. He can be so much like Loki sometimes: so stubborn and headstrong. He knows what he wants and he goes for it. It’s hard to look after him sometimes”

“Well, next time, maybe you should sit down and talk to him about it. You know, instead of smacking him for any little mistake”

Tony looked at her guiltily. “Ah. He told you about that”

“He told me you hurt him and scared him after he forgot to tell you about going to the shop”

“Mm... Whatever, look, this’ll all be over soon, and then everything will be back to normal. It’s just the getting to that point that’s the problem”

“Like you said, it’ll be over soon. Which brings me on to the next thing”

Tony nodded to the seat beside him. “Sit down. I have a feeling it’s going to be a long night”

#my writing #fanfiction #mcu fanfiction #marvel fanfiction #frostiron #irondad and spiderson

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