While Billy headed off for his first day of school, the Avengers resumed the meeting that had been temporarily interrupted so Tony could make sure the kid wasn't late. Once the doors closed behind him and Billy was officially on his way, attention shifted back to the matters at hand.
"So where are we with the investigation into our monster situation and Fury's disappearance?" Tony asked as he settled back into his seat. Before anyone could answer, however, he raised a hand and added, "Strange said he'd look into things from his end, but so far he's come up empty." His gaze swept across the room. "So I wouldn't count on any breakthroughs from him just yet. We need to keep digging and see what we can find ourselves."
With that, Clint rose from his seat and made his way to the front of the room. The large display behind him flickered to life, making it clear he had come prepared to give a proper presentation.
"Thanks to S.H.I.E.L.D., Damage Control, and several other cleanup agencies, the government managed to put together a story for the monster incident and, well... clean everything up," Clint began. "They leveraged the media and every other tool at their disposal, and honestly, the cover-up was pretty effective. It helped calm public fears, answer enough questions to satisfy most people, and prevented widespread panic from taking hold."
He clicked to the next slide before continuing. "The fact that the incident never spread beyond the immediate vicinity of Central Park worked heavily in their favor. Combined with our rapid response, the situation was contained before it could escalate, which made the cleanup operation far easier to sell to the public."
"Even the incident in Queens yesterday, where Captain Marvel assisted Spider-Man, was handled well enough," Clint added with a shrug. "At this point, the only person still making noise about it is Jameson over at the Daily Bugle, and let's be honest—he'd probably find a way to complain even if aliens descended from the sky and handed out free money."
"And people actually buy that crap?" Steve asked, still struggling to understand how effectively the government could shape public perception through the media.
"Like magic," Tony replied from his seat. "Sure, there are always people who refuse to swallow whatever narrative the government decides to push. But when they try voicing their concerns to a majority that's already been conditioned to accept the official story, they're either dismissed as having a fringe opinion that goes against popular belief or labeled outright crazy." He spread his hands casually. "Most people don't need to be convinced. They just need a version of events that's easier to accept than the truth."
The explanation seemed to clear things up for both Steve and Thor, neither of whom had much experience with the more subtle ways governments influenced the public.
"Moving on to Fury's disappearance," Clint said, bringing the discussion back on track. "So far, nothing directly connected to his disappearance has surfaced."
A wave of disappointment threatened to settle over the room. After the buildup of his report, several of them had expected at least some kind of lead. Tony, in particular, looked moments away from declaring the entire update a waste of everyone's time. Fortunately, Clint continued before anyone could voice their frustrations.
"But I am meeting with someone later today," he said. "A trusted high-level S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. He's still got access to resources and information channels that most people don't, and he may be able to help from the inside. According to him, he's stumbled onto something worth looking into."
Clint shrugged lightly. "Whether it actually leads anywhere is another story, but it's the closest thing we've got to a lead right now."
It wasn't much, but it was enough to inject a small measure of hope back into the room while reminding everyone not to get ahead of themselves. The investigation had already produced plenty of dead ends, and there was no guarantee this would be any different.
With his report concluded, Clint returned to his seat. As he did, Bruce rose from his own chair and made his way to the front of the room. The display behind him shifted, ready for the next presentation.
"The creature Captain Marvel fought was operating on an entirely different level compared to the others we've encountered," Bruce began.
As he spoke, the screen displayed an image of Carnage that had been pulled from media footage captured during the incident, the grotesque red figure instantly drawing the attention of everyone in the room.
The image displayed on the screen was enough to make several of them pause. Its mouth was filled with numerous jagged teeth, giving it the appearance of something ripped straight from a horror film rather than a living creature that had been roaming the streets of New York.
"I suspect this was either some kind of alien lifeform or the product of a biological experiment," Bruce continued. "I can't say with certainty what it was because its origins remain completely unknown. What we do know, however, is that it possesses at least one identifiable weakness. It was highly susceptible to Captain Marvel's lightning."
"Of course it would be," Thor said, giving an approving nod as a sense of pride crept into his voice. "Only beings possessing certain properties can withstand a divine attack."
"Or," Tony cut in casually, "it was just really weak to electricity."
The simple remark immediately punctured the air of grandeur Thor had been building around himself. The God of Thunder shot Tony a look while the billionaire merely shrugged, looking entirely too pleased with himself.
One thing about the team was that whenever Billy wasn't around, they tended to speak of Captain Marvel with the respect he had earned. They all remembered the towering champion who had stood beside them in battle and witnessed firsthand the incredible power he wielded. Yet whenever Billy was present, they often treated him like the teenager he actually was.
Occasionally, they'd even treat him like a kid, fully aware that it irritated him. Billy was always eager to remind everyone that he was practically an adult and deserved to be treated accordingly. The Avengers, however, rarely took those protests seriously.
The truth was that they wanted him to enjoy being young for as long as he could. Most of them had learned the hard way that adulthood wasn't nearly as exciting as it seemed when viewed through the eyes of a child. Responsibility, expectations, endless obligations, and all the other baggage that came with growing up had a way of weighing a person down.
Those who had experienced a good childhood often found themselves looking back on those simpler days with a surprising amount of nostalgia. Because once adulthood arrived, life had a habit of getting complicated a lot faster and becoming far more than anyone expected.
Having witnessed Billy's world literally cease to exist and knowing next to nothing about the life he had lived before arriving here, the Avengers found themselves wanting him to hold onto his youth for a little while longer. Even though he possessed the power of a god and had repeatedly proven he could handle himself, they didn't want him rushing toward adulthood any faster than he already was. There was something about his innocence—however diminished by tragedy—that they felt was worth protecting.
The feeling was partly born from experience. Every single one of them carried scars, some visible and others buried deep beneath the surface. There was no telling how much the loss of his family, friends, home, and entire world had affected Billy. He rarely spoke about it, and when he did, it was usually with a calmness that felt almost unnatural.
Yet there were moments when the mask slipped. Sometimes they'd catch him standing by a window, sitting alone on the rooftop, or leaning against a balcony railing, staring off into the distance with unfocused eyes as though lost in thoughts he never shared. In those moments, he whatever was going through his mind remained a mystery to everyone around him.
"Its skin may be a different color, but it does bear some resemblance to the monsters we encountered the other day," Bruce continued, drawing everyone's attention back to the meeting.
The room grew noticeably more attentive. This was the first time anyone had managed to identify even a fragmented connection between the recent incidents. After several encounters with seemingly unrelated creatures, the possibility that there was an actual link between them immediately elevated the importance of Bruce's findings.
"Could this feller be one of them?" Tony asked. "Maybe a different species or some kind of variant?"
"I don't know," Bruce admitted. "What we do know is that during the previous three encounters, every single one of those creatures was pulled back through whatever means they arrived here. None of their remains were left behind for us to study."
"Maybe this guy got left behind," Tony suggested. "Found a place to hide in the sewers and stayed there until Spider-Man ran into it."
Judging by his expression, however, Tony wasn't particularly enthusiastic about the possibility. If anything, he looked like he hoped Bruce would immediately prove him wrong.
"Or they've been here the whole time," Steve said, voicing a theory that caused the atmosphere in the room to noticeably shift. "Hiding. Staying out of sight until whatever happened recently forced one of them into the open."
The implication sent a chill through the team. Several of them instinctively straightened in their seats. The idea that unknown creatures could have been living unnoticed among the population for weeks—or even months—was far more unsettling than another sudden invasion.
"And if they are," Thor said thoughtfully, his expression growing serious, "what have they been doing all this time? And for what purpose did they come to Midgard in the first place?"
No one immediately answered. The questions lingered in the room, hanging over the meeting like a storm cloud.
This was precisely why the Avengers held these briefings. Beyond keeping everyone informed, the meetings gave them an opportunity to pool their knowledge, challenge assumptions, and build on each other's theories. More often than not, a breakthrough came not from one person finding all the answers, but from several minds piecing together fragments of a much larger puzzle.
- - -
Happy had barely finished dropping Billy off at the tower before driving away, though not without reminding him one last time to be completely ready by the time he came to pick him up the following morning. The reminder had been delivered with the tone of someone who fully expected Billy to try finding some excuse or loophole to avoid another day of school.
Making his way toward his room, Billy noticed a familiar figure standing in the hallway. Tony had a glass of alcohol in one hand while his attention remained fixed on a portrait hanging on the wall. The painting depicted Napoleon, and for a brief moment Billy wondered whether Tony was genuinely admiring the artwork or simply waiting there for him.
"Oh, you're home already," Tony remarked, his trademark sarcasm present in every syllable. He made no effort whatsoever to hide it.
'Yeah, like running into you here was some unbelievable coincidence,' Billy thought dryly.
"So..." Tony began, still studying the portrait before finally turning his head toward him. "Quite the surprise, right?"
Billy immediately felt a string of colorful thoughts trying to force their way into his mind.
'This motherf—'
He shut the thought down before it could fully form. Experience had taught him that somehow, some way, Tony always seemed to sense when he'd gotten under someone's skin, and Billy had no intention of giving him the satisfaction.
"I have to admit," Billy replied with a small nod, "talking to kids my age was a pretty refreshing experience. Definitely an interesting development."
"Figured we might as well get the whole school thing sorted out before registration for the term closed," Tony said casually before taking a sip from his glass. "Otherwise we'd have had to wait until next term. Unless that's what you were secretly hoping for."
The knowing look Tony sent his way made it abundantly clear that he had seen right through Billy's strategy. Billy had intentionally dragged his feet whenever the topic of school came up, quietly hoping that some future crisis, world-ending threat, or unexpected complication would conveniently derail the entire plan before it became a reality.
"I only wish you'd told me beforehand," Billy replied. "Or, you know, told me about it at all."
"It was a last-minute thing," Tony replied. "Registration was getting pretty close to the deadline." He lazily twirled his glass, stirring the amber liquid inside. Ice cubes clicked softly against the sides before he raised it to his lips and took another mouthful.
"Just don't go around giving people super wedgies," he added offhandedly.
Billy raised a brow at that. It would be a pretty bad look for Captain Marvel if he started secretly bullying his oppressors as, even if he could pull it off so fast that the victim never got so much as a glimpse of him.
"What about Xavier's Academy for the Gifted?" Billy asked.
"You can visit whenever you want," Tony said with a shrug. "You'll still get to spend time around other superpowered kids. Think of it this way—you get to sample both options. One's a full-course meal, the other's more like a complimentary tasting."
"Hm."
Billy nodded thoughtfully before turning and continuing toward his room.
"Bruce mentioned something, though," Tony called after him.
Billy slowed.
"Said Hank and a few teachers at Xavier's Academy who saw you use your powers during your last visit are pretty interested in you."
That immediately brought Billy to a stop. He halted mid-step and turned halfway around, casting a curious look back at Tony.
"Looks like all the shenanigans you got yourself tangled up in the last time you went there weren't enough to get you restrained or expelled before you could even dream of applying," Tony remarked.
Billy was particularly relieved about that last part.
'Good thing they didn't hold a grudge,' he thought to himself.
Giving Tony one final nod, he turned and continued toward his room. As he disappeared down the hall, Tony watched him go, idly swirling the remaining drink in his glass.
Part of him wanted to ask Billy how his day had gone, but the words never quite made it out. The whole guardian thing still felt a little awkward. He was Tony Stark—the billionaire playboy, philanthropist, genius inventor, Avenger, and occasional world saver—not exactly someone who had ever pictured himself responsible for a teenager. Anything beyond what he was already doing felt strangely forced, like he might be trying too hard.
Still, he couldn't deny he was glad things had worked out the way they had. Billy wasn't rebellious, difficult, or constantly looking for trouble like plenty of kids his age. If anything, he was surprisingly easy to get along with, and good natured, which had been one of the reasons Tony had agreed to become his official guardian in the first place. It gave him the ability to step in if Billy ever found himself in serious trouble, and knowing the kid's track record, there was a chance that could happen sooner rather than later.