Guard Me

by FanfictionForYou

Summary:

Tony Stark’s son is in need of a bodyguard. Derek Hale is in need of a job. When the Man of Iron is captured; it’s up to his son and a misfit pack of wolves to come to the rescue.

Notes:

Please give this a try.

Chapter 1: A New Stark

Tony Stark was beginning to think that sleeping around hadn’t been the best of ideas.  He had thought that he had been lucky.  There had been no women stepping forward saying that he had fathered their children; now there was a woman he had slept with a very long time ago saying that he had fathered her son.

“You’re joking right?  If this is some sort of ruse to get money out of me then you can forget about it.  I’ll fight it in court.”

The woman didn’t look anywhere near as attractive as she had when he had slept with her…over twenty years ago.  Actually she looked kind of sick.

“I don’t want money Stark.  I’m dying.”

“Excuse me?”

The woman sat down across from his office chair without being given the go ahead.  Pepper was watching silently from the corner.

“A year ago I was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.  It’s spread to most of my body at this point.  I have…at most…a few months.  The doctors are surprised that I’m even still standing.  My son, he’s a good boy but he’s still young.  He’s too young to be on his own.  We don’t have much and he’s been working non-stop to pay the medical bills.  He even had to leave college for it.”

She shook her head slowly.  “He has your mind Tony, but he’s still so young.  All I’m asking is that you meet him.  That you take a DNA test if you don’t believe that he’s yours.  That you take care of him when I’m gone.”

Tony sat down with a huff and crossed his arms across his chest.

“Why didn’t you come to me when he was born?  Why…what is it…twenty two years later?”

The woman looked guilty.

“You’re rich Tony.  I was afraid that if you knew about him that you would do anything in your power to take him away from me.  He was all I had Tony.  I didn’t want my baby boy taken away.”

Tony sighed.  “Pepper, set up an appointment for the DNA tests.  Make sure they’re kept quiet and that they’re put on a rush so that we have them as soon as possible.”

Pepper was so shocked, that she simply nodded and walked away to get her job done.

Tony turned back to the woman sitting before him.

“You have my word, if he is my son; then I’ll take care of him.”

The woman smiled slowly before standing up to walk away.  Tony didn’t see the tears slowly sliding down her face.

***

He knew who the boy was the second he saw him.  It wasn’t just because of the fact that he stood at the fresh grave, still dressed in his suit in the middle of the pouring rain.  The boy had Tony’s dark hair, but was taller like his mother.  All in all, he looked more like the woman whose grave he was standing over than himself; but the tests didn’t lie.  He knew that for a fact, he had sent them to several different companies run them himself…they all came back as a match.

The boy was his son.

He lifted the umbrella he was holding higher and walked towards the boy so that the umbrella protected both from the rain.

When the boy turned to look at him; he noticed that they were a deep chocolate brown…the same shade that the late Mrs. Stark’s eyes had been.

There was no way that this boy wasn’t his son.  Now that he was looking from so close; he saw his own mother in the boy, as well as his own father.

“Are you Talon?”

The boy…for that was what he was in this moment as he stood over his mother’s grave…nodded.

“I’m…”

“Tony Stark.  I know.  Everyone knows who you are.”

“You’re mother paid me a visit before she passed away.”

“I know.  She told me.”

“Did she tell you why?”

The boy shook his head slowly and Tony took a deep breath before letting it out slowly.  Suddenly this was much more difficult than he had thought it would be.

“She came to me because I’m your…I’m your father.  I promised her that I would take care of you.”

The boy looked utterly shocked and Tony had a feeling that the shock on top of the cold of the rain and the sadness of the day was not a good combination.

“Come on.  Let’s get you inside and warmed up.”

***

Tony hadn’t made anyone hot chocolate before.  Luckily Pepper had brought two tall steaming mugs of it from a little shop in town.  She had brought some clothes that would fit Talon as well.

The two were currently sitting in front of the fire place.  Tony was dressed in jeans and a worn out t-shirt while the kid was dressed in some sweat pants and an overly large shirt.

It made him look even more like a kid despite his twenty two years.

Tony tapped on his hot chocolate cup as he watched the boy…his son…take a small sip of the hot concoction.

Tony didn’t know what to say, but luckily the boy started.

“So if you’re my father…where have you been for the past twenty two years?”

This was the question he had been most worried about.

“I didn’t know that you existed.  If I had, I would have been there.  Your mother was afraid I would take you away from her if I knew.  After thinking about it…back then…I probably would have.”

He seemed to accept the answer.  Tony watched as the boy closed his eyes.  He could see the deep dark bruises that came with lack of sleep.  It seemed like the kid hadn’t slept for over a year.  He probably hadn’t.  He had been busy taking care of his mother after all.

“Talon.  I would like to make this official.  I…I want you to become a Stark.”

The boy’s eyes snapped open.  He tilted his head to the side as if he was confused before slowly nodding.

“So I’d be Talon Stark?”

Tony nodded.

“I think…my mother would have wanted that.”

***

It was a full month since the death of the woman that had given him a son.  Talon had officially taken the name Stark.

There had also been two kidnapping attempts in the weeks since it had been revealed that the great Tony Stark had a son.  One had been from desperate man who needed some cash and thought kidnapping the kid would do him wonders; the other from one of Iron Man’s enemies.

Tony had taken out the normal every day Joe that had attempted the kidnapping, Talon had accidently taken out the super charged villain. 

It had been accidentally because the kid had been out on a range trying out a device that he had created (with his father there to watch over him of course…Tony had been standing there with a fire extinguisher at the ready).  The villain had been trying to sneak up on him just as he powered up the device.  All the metal the man had been wearing had caused an arc of electricity to hit him square in the chest and he was out for the count.

It’s why Tony and Talon were currently standing in Tony’s lab with a large map spread out against one wall.

It had been decided that living here with his father was not the best idea; and that he should also find a body guard.

Their method for choosing a new home was to have Jarvis project a map of the United States onto the wall and to throw a dart at it to choose his new home.  Tony had already tossed the dart for his ‘choice’ and had ended up with choosing some middle of nowhere town in Texas.

Talon took a deep breath and tossed his own dart; hitting in Northern California.

“You’ve landed in Beacon Hills, California.”

“Jarvis.  Bring up information on both locations.”

As it turned out; the town in Texas was pretty much filled with farms and painfully hot weather.  Beacon Hills on the other hand was still a small town; but it had forests, a large high school, a warehouse district, and many activities that one could enjoy.

There was also a nice house for sale that was in the middle of the woods.  It would be easy for Tony to upload a second version of Jarvis into the building as well as the latest in defense tech.

He could even build his son a lab there.

“Beacon Hills it is.  But you’re not moving there until the house we get is up to my standards.  Until then; you’re either under house arrest or stuck with me.  I’ve just gotten you; I’m not about to lose you.”

Talon wanted to argue that sending him away was ‘as good as’ losing him; but he didn’t have the heart for it.

***

Pepper was not a happy camper when she had to reschedule a large amount of Tony’s appointments so that he could work on the house in Beacon Hills in quiet.  It was lucky that each of the men he was to be having appointments with were father’s themselves and understood the need to do whatever you could to protect your child.

It only took the genius two months to update everything in the house and around the ground surrounding the area.

Talon was utterly amazed when he stepped out of the car to look at the newly renovated house.  It was almost like a fortress.  The outside seemed large; like a small mansion.  There was a garden in the back with a desk and grill as well as a pool.  The house itself had four bedrooms and five bathrooms.  The kitchen was what any professional chef would dream of.

And the lab…that lab was amazing.  He had access to tools and components that he never would have had access too if he hadn’t been the son of Tony Stark.

“This place is amazing but…Don’t you think it would get a bit lonely?”

Tony smirked.

“That’s why you’re going to have a live in body guard.”

Tony smacked his son on the back lightly before leaving the kid to fiddle around in his new lab.

***

The Hales had money.

When the majority of the family died; that money was passed down to Laura and Derek Hale.  When Laura and Peter died, Derek became the sole heir of the family’s fortune.

He had inherited so much money that it would have been nothing at all to have his childhood home rebuilt; but he left it as it was as a grim reminder of what had happened; and the pain that he had caused.

He could easily have purchased himself a new home…but he just couldn’t bring himself to care enough for it.

He spent his day…doing much of nothing.

He would mostly exorcise, or stalk his pack to make sure they weren’t doing something stupid.

Really, now that he was no longer trying to discover who the ‘alpha’ was, his day had become achingly dull.  He was getting close to banging his head against the wall just to give himself something to do.

God…he was spending way too much time around Stiles.

It was official.  Derek Hale needed a job.

***

Tony had gotten Pepper to do the interviews while he spoke some of the questions into her ear and watched from the other side of a one way mirror.

The Sheriff of Beacon Hills had been happy to lend him the use of the interrogation room; especially after the offer of buying new cruisers for everyone on the force.

People from all over the state had come.  All they knew is that they would be protecting some rich man’s son; and that they would be living in home with the kid.  Tony wanted it that way.  They less people that knew where his son was; the better.

Pepper’s questions were simple enough.  First it was checked if the potential body guard had a police record.  They were then asked if they had any special talents.  Were they good with weapons?  Were they willing to take a bullet for the kid? Did they have any special powers?

The powers question was actually quite relevant.  In a world where super powered humans known as mutant’s existed…well…Tony was actually hoping that one of them would get the job…but only if their power was something that could be used to defend his son.

It was after almost an entire day that Derek Hale came in.

Tony sat on the other side of the glass and looked through the young man’s file.

He was twenty four, just a couple years older than his son.  Derek was a native of Beacon Hills but had lost his entire family save for his sister and uncle in a fire.  After that he had moved to New York before finally moving back to Beacon Hills earlier that year…at the same time as several animal attacks.

“Mr. Hale…looking here at your records I see that you’re not exactly hurting for money.  Why are you looking for a job?  Especially one like this?”

Derek shrugged.  “I have nothing to do during the day.  A few days ago I nearly found myself banging my head against the wall just to ease my boredom.  Protecting someone would give me something to do.”

“Do you have a criminal record?”

Derek shifted uneasily in his chair.

“Yes, but I was declared innocent of all charges.  You can speak to Sheriff Stilinski about that.”

“Do you have any knowledge of weapons training?”

“Don’t need it.  I’m more of a hands on kind of guy.”

Still, things were not looking good for Derek and getting this job.

“Do you have any…powers?  Any mutation that would give you abilities that would help you protect your client?”

Derek smirked and his eyes flashed red for an instant.

Tony’s eyes widened on the other side of the glass.

“Yes I do.  Though they are not exactly mutations.”  He could hear her heart pounding and hear the heart of the man on the other side of the glass.

He had heard the Sheriff speak the man’s name when he had first entered the interrogation room.  He looked directly at the spot where he knew Tony Stark was.

“Not everyone with powers is a mutant.  Some of us were never human to begin with.”

“And what are you Mr. Hale?”

“I’m a werewolf.”

He could hear Mr. Stark laughing on the other side of the glass.

“And what does that entail Mr. Hale?”

“The most basic is that I have heightened senses.  I can hear everything going on inside of this building.  My sense of smell is stronger than any domestic dog’s or any natural wolf’s.  I can see in near total darkness.  I’m faster, stronger, and I heal at super human rates.”

At this point he reached over and took her pen before slamming it down through his hand.  He winced; finding it dumb that he was doing this.  But he really wanted this job.  He held up his hand to show the pen completely through his hand.  The poor woman looked like she was about to pass out.  He removed the pen from his hand and let her watch as the skin knitted itself back together in no time at all.

“The more complex is that I can change into two other forms.  The first, the one I’m going to show you is a beta form.  The second is an alpha form and is much more wolf like.”

His image shifted before Pepper’s eyes.  His eyes began glowing red again and his teeth grew into fangs, his nails grew into claws and his ears became pointed.

He could hear running feet and knew that Stark was coming.  Stark burst into the room and pulled Pepper behind him quickly.

Derek let his image switch back into human easily.

“I’m the alpha of my pack.  It’s small right now…just two other werewolves and a few humans.  You ask if I can protect your son.  I can.”

“Those animal attacks in town when you arrived?”

Derek leaned back and closed his eyes.

“Not me.  I did however take out the one that did the killings.  It was an alpha that had gone insane. I was only a beta at the time.  Alphas are…so much stronger.  At the time I had help.  I dealt the killing blow through and inherited the power of an Alpha.”

“You said you have two forms.  Show us the second one.”

Derek laughed softly.

“This is an interview.  Not a strip show.  I’m not taking my clothes off for you and that is what it would require.”

Stark scrunched up his nose.  “Fair enough.  Mr. Hale…you have the job.”

Thank God.  After confessing to being a werewolf; he really couldn’t afford to not get the job.

“And Mr. Stark?”

“Yes Hale?”

“Don’t tell anyone what I am.  My kind are hunted as it is.  I don’t need the world knowing about us.”

“I won’t tell a soul.”

Chapter 2: The Wolf and the Stark

Summary:

Derek and Talon meet for the first time.

He was floating on a soft cloud of warmth.  It was dark and safe here.  He could almost imagine that he was being held in his mother’s arms.  He could almost imagine that he could hear her voice.

“Talon…Talon it’s time to wake up sweetheart.”

A soft smile came to his face and he snuggled deeper into the warmth before the illusion shattered.

“Talon.  It’s time to get up.”

The darkness that surrounded him was suddenly filled with blinding light and the warmth was ripped away from him harshly.  Talon curled up tighter to try and preserve some of the warmth that was so rudely taken from him.

“Are you insane man!?  It’s freezing!”

“You would have had time to adjust if you had woken up an hour ago when I had first come in to wake you up.”

Talon opened his eyes and squinted at the bane of his existence; his own father. 

“Huh?”

“Don’t huh me.  I came in an hour ago and told you that there was someone here I wanted you to meet.  Now get your lazy ass out of bed, shower, get dressed, and come down for breakfast.”

Talon watched as his father left the room before pulling the covers over his head and groaning.

It was really far too early for this shit.

***

He was dressed in a pair of beat up jeans and a shirt that had been warn to the point of turning from black to gray.  Talon practically floated into the room and pecked Pepper on the cheek before grabbing the plate of bacon, eggs, and toast that she was holding out for him.

“You are a wonderful woman Pep.  Don’t ever change!”

“I would fire her if she changed.  I like her just the way she is.  No one else could ever succeed in keeping me in line.”

Pepper simply hummed before setting a hot coffee down in front of the youngest Stark.  He took a sip before shoving a piece of toast into his mouth.  He chewed and swallowed before licking a bit of melted butter from his lips.

“So, where is this person I’m supposed to meet?”

He suddenly felt hands placed on his head and allowed Pepper to direct his head upwards until he was looking at the man sitting directly across from him.  He jumped slightly in shock.

“Where the hell did you come from!?”

“Please take note of this Mr. Hale; my son is oblivious to almost everything but food and the people giving it to him in the morning.”

The man simply grunted before taking a sip of his own coffee.

“Hey, I’m not oblivious!  I’m just single-minded.  There is a difference.”

Tony hummed before patting Mr. Hale on the back lightly.

“He must take after his mother with that.  Anyway, Talon, this is Derek Hale.  He’ll be your new bodyguard.  He’ll live here in the room across from yours.  He’ll go where you go.  You are not to go anywhere without him.  Don’t even try ducking out on him because he’ll quite literally sniff you out.  Now; I have a conference in Seattle so Pepper and I have to leave.  Derek has his orders.  So…get to know one another and try not to kill anyone!”

The last was called out as Pepper was pushing Tony from the front door.

“Hey!  That was one time!  And he was a super villain!  And I only knocked him unconscious!”

He huffed and crossed his arms over his chest.  “Seriously…other than that the energy blast came out the wrong end…the test was a complete success.”

Derek took a sip of his coffee as he looked calmly at the youngest Stark.  He was trying to hold back a nervous twitch.  He was worried that the kid might turn out to be exactly like Stiles.

That…would be hell.

While he could tolerate Stiles for shorts periods of time and saw the teen as pack…he sure as hell didn’t want to live with him; or babysit him as the case may be.

Talon grumbled lightly under his breath before letting out a soft sigh and pulling a small circular disk like device from his pocket.  He placed it on the table before pressing a small button in the center.

Derek’s eyes grew wide as he saw the small computer like display appear as a holograph above the device. 

Talon moved his fingers over the streams of projected light that was a small keyboard; typing in his request and bringing up a news section.

“News has come in for the Stark Industries expansion.  The company has reportedly purchased the majority of an abandoned warehouse district on the outskirts of the small California town of Beacon Hills.  If plans for the new building are accepted by town officials; then we can expect for Stark to begin breaking ground within the next few weeks.

“Stark had reportedly been looking for a new location for a friendlier branch of Stark Industries for a few years now.  When asked why he had chosen the location, Mr. Stark simply told reporters that the location ‘felt right’…”

Talon waved his hand in front of the device again and the image changed to some news article instead of the video.

Talon quickly finished up eating his breakfast before bringing his plate and coffee mug over to the sink, rinsing them, and putting them in the dishwasher.  He turned slowly and rested his hip against the counter as he looked at the man who had remained silent.

“So, Derek Hale huh?  Any particular reason why my father hired you?  You’re not a member of S.H.I.E.L.D are you?”

The other man looked up before sighing and taking one last final sip of his coffee before walking over towards the dishwasher and putting the mug away.

“No.  I don’t work for S.H.I.E.L.D.  Your father hired me because he felt I would be the best at protecting you, and at blending in.  We’re close to the same age…no one would suspect that I would be a bodyguard and not a friend.”

“So, you do speak.  Good to know.”

He patted the man on the shoulder before grabbing the device he had used to view the news.  He slipped it into his pocket before heading into the ‘basement’ of the house.

This particular basement was much more like a laboratory.  It had everything that Talon needed for his own experiments and inventions.  He hadn’t been expecting for his bodyguard to follow him down though.

“You know, I’m quite all right by myself most of the time.  Feel free to head upstairs and watch TV or something.”

“I have my orders.  I’m supposed to get to know you and your habits over the next few weeks.”

Talon sighed and sat down in his work chair before turning slowly and seeing that Derek was sitting right next to him on his own stool.

“Is this really necessary?”

“Yes.”  Derek then proceeded to pull a fire extinguisher out from under the work table and give a self-satisfied smirk.  Talon simply shook his head and pressed a button on the table that brought up yet another holographic display.  This one seemed to be blueprints to some sort of …well if Derek was completely honest…it looked like some sort of high tech suit; but one that was very different and much less bulky than the ‘Iron Man’ suit of armor.

Derek watched as the boy pulled out a small box filled with incredibly small circles of some unknown type of metal.

Talon brought forth two tweezers and a pulled over a mounted magnifying glass before pulling out a small patch of metal links that had already been connected.  Derek watched with silent awe as Talon slowly added more and more of the links to the patch, using the magnifying glass to see where the holes were in the loops and closing them with a small zap from one of the sets of tweezers that appeared to also be some sort of welding machine.

“So, mind telling me why my father really hired you?  I mean…what is it?  Weapons training?  Mutation?  Gamma radiation?”  Here Talon looked over at Derek before shaking his head.  “No, not Gamma.  You wouldn’t look human if it was Gamma.  Not unless you turn into a giant like the Hulk when you get mad.  So what was it?”

Derek wondered if he should tell Talon the real reason why he had been hired.  He had told Tony and Pepper, but at the same time he had done it on an impulse and out of desperation to actually have something to do during the day.

Still, he didn’t want to start off their little relationship with lies.

“I’m a born lycanthrope.”

It was honest and perhaps Talon wouldn’t know what that meant.  He watched as Talon froze.

“That’s quite impossible.  Lycanthropes don’t exist.  While we’re at it; neither do vampires.  Ghost…well their possible as they’re really just a form of energy.”

Talon shrugged and went back to working.  A low growl started building in Derek’s chest but he kept it in.  He got off of the stool and removed his clothes before letting himself shift into his alpha form.  He moved closer to Talon, his hot breath ghosting against the youngest Stark’s neck.

“Derek, that’s really quite distracting.”  Talon turned slowly in his seat before his eyes grew wide.  “Okay, I take it back.  Werewolves exist.”

There was silence for a few moments.  Derek simply remained standing before Talon and Talon remained looking at Derek.  After those few moments, Talon cocked his head to the side before slowly reaching out.  He slipped his fingers into Derek’s fur and rubbed a few strands between his fingers.

“So soft.”

Derek was in shock by what Talon did next.  The boy buried his face in his fur and took in a deep breath.

“Something tells me that you would make the world’s best living pillow.”

The shock caused Derek to take a few steps back and quickly shift out of his alpha form. 

“You’re not afraid?”

“No.  If you wanted to kill me you would have done it the second my father left.  Besides…I’ve always had a thing for werewolves.  I use to wish that I could be one.  Wolves were always my favorite animal.  I find them…majestic…and…are you naked?”

It was obvious that a blush was suddenly building on Talon’s cheeks.  The younger man was looking at absolutely anything but Derek now.  Derek cleared his throat lightly before whispering a small ‘sorry’ and pulling his clothes back on.

“Let’s just…never speak of that again.”

“Yea, I’m all for that.”

Talon turned back to his work and Derek sat back down on his stool.

Talon worked in silence for another hour.  The patch of metal that had once been an inch square had become two, then three and four inches square before Talon put down his tools and straightened up to crack his back.

“I need a break.  So, packs.  Werewolves have packs right?  Do you have one?  Are you the alpha?”

Derek smiled softly.  Somehow he didn’t mind talking about it with this young man.

“I am the alpha of my pack.  Though, it’s not a very big one.  There are only two other wolves, both of them are just teens.  Then there are four human teens in the pack as well.”

“Actually sounds nice.”

Derek laughed bitterly. 

“Oh come on now.  It can’t be that bad.  Packs are supposed to be like family right?  That means that you have a family consisting of six other people.  It’s more than what I have.”

Derek suddenly looked sad.  “My real pack…my real blood family died in a fire six years ago.”

Talon froze for a moment.  He was worried that he had said the wrong things.  He slowly reached out and took Derek’s hand.

“I know what it’s like to lose your family.  It was just me and my mom for twenty two years.  She died a short while ago…cancer.  She was the only family I had until my dad came out of the woodwork.  But Derek…you don’t have to be alone anymore.  I think that one day…you’ll have a family again.  Just hold on and things will get better.”

***

Derek had left the lab after their conversation.  He started patrolling the border of the property and trying to forget about the horrible night of the fire.

He had failed his family.  What if he failed his new pack?  What if he failed Talon Stark?  He sat down in the garden and closed his eyes. 

Maybe this job hadn’t been the best idea.

Chapter 3: Suit

It had been a week since Derek Hale had started his job as bodyguard to Talon Stark.  He had decided to stick out the job.  It wasn’t like he was going to make the same mistake that he had made with Kate again.  Besides; he found that he enjoyed spending time with Talon; and that the younger man would often simply listen to him.

Derek ended up telling Talon everything on the second day.  He told how he had been seduced by Kate Argent and it had led to the death of his family, to his uncle going insane and killing his sister, and to him being forced to take the mantel of Alpha; a title and position that he had never wanted.

Talon had insisted that it hadn’t been his fault.  Derek had been a child at the time; and Kate had been an adult.  Kate had also been in Talon’s words ‘the psychotic pedophilic she-bitch spawn of Satan’.  Any hormonal teenager would have jumped at the chance to have sex with a hot older woman.  Hell; woman had used their bodies to trick men into giving up their secrets since the beginning of time.  It hadn’t been Derek’s fault. 

Furthermore; Talon had insisted in meeting Derek’s pack and that pack meetings be held at his place as well as that the wolves hunt on his property during the night of the full moon.

That way Derek wouldn’t be neglecting his duty as Talon’s body guard.

The first few days Talon had let Derek simply spend time with the teenagers and made himself scarce.  Besides; he was working diligently on his invention and making a twelve by twelve patch of tiny interlocked pieces of metal for testing was not the quickest of projects.

On the fourth day he had finished his patch and had invited the entire pack down into his lab.

“Oh my god.  This is the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen.”  Lydia practically squealed in delight at seeing the laboratory around her.  “Who exactly are you?”  She had to admit that this man was becoming more and more attractive to her by the second.  Not only was he beautiful; but he also appeared to be a genius in his own right.

“I’m Talon Stark.”

Talon raised an eyebrow when the group looked at Derek with their jaws dropped.

“Dude, you didn’t tell us that you were babysitting the son of one of the world’s most powerful men.”

“I’m not babysitting him.  He’s capable of taking care of himself.  I’m just here to protect him from another kidnapping attempt.”

“May not have to worry about that much longer.”

Talon opened the hand that had been clenched at his side.  Inside of it sat a small ball of metal links.  He shook it out revealing the twelve by twelve patch.

“That doesn’t take up much space at all.”

“That’s the idea.  It’s also incredibly light.  It’s made out of Vibranium.”

Lydia laughed softly.  “That isn’t possible.  There is no way that you could get your hands on Vibranium.  What did you do?  Melt down Captain America’s shield?”

Talon smirked.

“The current king of Wakanda is a member of the Avengers and is friends with my father.  He gave my father some as a ‘congratulations on being a father’.  He then gave a portion of it to me to experiment with.”

Talon pinned the patch of metal to a sensor before turning on the computer.

“Derek.  Could you attack the patch please?  I need to measure its resistance.”

Derek simply shrugged and began punching the patch.  He actually winced and shook his hand out.

“Punching a tree hurts less.”

Talon nodded before pulling a box out of the desk drawer.  He opened it to reveal a gun which he then loaded.  He stood and pointed at patch before firing off several shots as he got closer and closer.  Each bullet ricocheted off and harmlessly onto the floor.  When he had exhausted the bullets he put the gun away and began tapping at the keys on his computer as he looked over the data he had collected.

A smirk came to his lips.

“Even the closest bullet strike barely registers.”

He turned around in his seat and smirked.

“This is going to be fun.”

***

Over the next few days; Talon had locked himself in his lab.  Derek was the only one permitted to enter; and even then it was only to bring him food and drink.  Talon didn’t even leave the lab at night; instead opting to sleep on a small cot in the corner.  He was in the process of an amazing break through and he wasn’t about to just stop working.

From time to time Derek could hear him cursing or banging but every time he came to check on his charge he found that he was in high spirits.

It was finally after two weeks that the pack was once again allowed down into the laboratory.

Talon was standing in the center of the room dressed in slightly dirty clothes with a manic grin on his face and a strange device on each arm.

“I did it.  I finally did it!  I finished stage one of the suit.”

“And where is this suit exactly?”

Lydia was sitting in Talon’s chair and filing her nails as if she wasn’t impressed at all when inside she was jumping up and down with excitement.

“Right here.”

Talon pressed a button on the device on his left arm and both seemed to wake up as if they were living things that had been asleep.  Streams of the connected Vibranium links erupted from both devices and linked themselves together covering his body in painted black metal.  It looked like it was one solid piece.  It looked as if he was made of liquid black metal.  It covered every inch from the bottom of his shoes and ending just beneath his chin and going partly up the back of his neck stopping a few inches after the hair line.

“Stage one, the actual suit.  Bullet proof, knife proof, sword proof.  It can protect me just as easily as my father’s armor can protect him.  I just lack the bells and whistles.  Stage two is to create a helmet with an internal computer display and stage three is to create my own version of repulsors.”

“What about flight?  Or speed?  And how much does that thing weigh?”

“It doesn’t weight all that much.  Five pounds perhaps.  As for flight, I would probably freak out.”  He sighed softly.  “Besides, I don’t have an arc reactor in my chest to work as a power source.”

He shrugged softly.

“Besides.  I don’t expect to actually need this anytime soon.  I only rushed stage one because my father was eager to see what I can do.”

He pressed a button on the right wrist device this time and the streams of Vibranium seemed to rush off his body like black water and slip into the wrist devices.

“Well, I for one think it’s cool.”

Stiles walked over and patted Talon on the back.

“Can I have one?”

The entire room chorused the exact same thing.  “NO!”

***

He looked and felt like an idiot.  Then again, Talon was in the same boat that he was…even worse because he was one of the two people that people were actually looking at.

The plans for the new branch of Stark Industries had been accepted and it was now time for the proverbial ‘ground breaking’.  Derek was dressed in a nice suit standing off to the side.  His eyes scanned the area making sure that there was no danger to Talon.

He had tuned out Mr. Stark’s speech a few minutes after it had started and tried to hold in a small smirk when Talon gave a sheepish wave when he was introduced.

The press took pictures of the father and son before the two put on hard hats and together dug shovels into the bit of ground where the pavement had been cleared away to give way to soft dirt.

Soon, there would be a new branch of Stark Industries.

Talon felt a small sting at his neck as he was turning to get into the car.  He slapped at the spot and frowned.

“Freaking bees.”

He didn’t see the tiny dart that fell to the ground after he had slapped at the area; and neither did Derek.

***

Tony was impressed.  He hadn’t expected his son to use the resources he had been given in such an amazing way.  Hell, he hadn’t known that Vibranium could do what his son had made it do.

“Impressive; but why black?”

Talon looked down at the metal covering his body and ran his covered fingers over it.

“I’m not sure really.  I guess I just didn’t want to be as tacky as my old man.  You know, he flies around in red and gold armor.”

“Hey!”

Talon smirked at his father before getting a hug from the man.  He could barely even feel it through the suit.

“Keep up the work.”

Tony was about to leave when he felt his son’s hand on his shoulder.

“Wait.  I do have a few questions.  See, I need to come up with a power source for the helmet and the weapons.  Plus Lydia thinks that it should be able to fly.”

He shrugged softly before pressing the button that had the suit going back into its ‘casing’.

“Solar seems to be a bit too…sporadic.  I was thinking though…of somehow trying to convert my own bio energy into some sort of power source, but I doubt that it would create even close to enough energy to power anything.”

Tony nodded in agreement.

“And obviously an arc reactor is out of the question.  I just…I can’t think of an energy source that is portable and powerful enough.”

Tony rested a hand on each of his son’s shoulders.

“You’ll think of something.  I know you will.”

Notes:

The dart will be explained in the next chapter.

Chapter 4: Change

He was dead.

He had missed his target and instead hit his target’s son.

This wasn’t good at all.  The serum had been designed to work with Tony Stark’s unique DNA; not with the DNA of his son.  There was no telling what it would do to the young man.

He was dead.  His boss wouldn’t let him survive after making such a grievous mistake.

He was dead, all because Tony Stark was alive.

 

***

He was burning up.

It had been midnight when Derek had heard the pained moans coming from Talon’s room.  The scent of sweat and fear had been potent in the air as he opened the door to see the young Stark tossing and turning.

He had touched the other man’s skin and been shocked by just how hot it was.

“Talon?”

The only answer he got was a pained moan.  He flipped on the lamp on the bedside table and a soft glow filled the room.  His charge’s eyes were open but clouded over.  Derek doubted that he could see anything at all at the moment.

He lifted the younger man into his arms and carried him into the bathroom before setting him into the tub and filling it with cold water.  He needed to get his temperature down.

“Shit….shit shit shit…”

He was panicking.  He didn’t honestly know what to do.  Talon was sick; possibly dying.

He ran from the room, slipping on the floors as he grabbed his cell phone and dialed up the boy’s father.

“Hale…it’s after midnight.  Why are you calling me?  Wait…if you’re calling me…what’s wrong?!”

“To be perfectly honest; I’m not sure.  Talon…he’s burning up and his eyes are fogged over.”

Derek looked at the young man who was shaking in the bath and touched his skin to see if his temperature had gone down any.  He took a deep sniff and growled.

“There is a foreign scent on him.”

It was then that he noticed the mark on the back of his neck; like a bruise with a small bump; almost as if he had been stung or bitten by an animal.

“There is a mark on his neck.”

His mind flashed back to earlier in the day.

“Is he allergic to bees?”

“What?  No?  Why?”

“Earlier it seemed like he got stung by something.  There is a mark.”

He could hear cloth rustling on the other end of the line.  He was sure that Tony was getting dressed to leave his hotel and come to the house.

“It wouldn’t be acting up now.  The reaction would have happened instantly.  I’m coming now.  When I get there; I want you to head out to the construction site and see what you can find.”

***

Tony had never been so scared in his life.  He had never worried or cared about anyone as much as he cared about Talon.

He hadn’t known the young man for long but already he had made his way into his heart and settled there for good.  It was strange.  Tony had been worried for Pepper before but never had his fear for her been as strong as his fear currently was for the boy before him.

“He looks so small.”

Talon was currently laid out on the bed with ice packets all around him.  A doctor was currently looking him over but couldn’t seem to find out what was wrong.  He sent an assistant away with some blood to be tested.

“He’s going to be okay Tony.  He’s strong.”

“But what if he isn’t going to be okay?  I mean…you know what happened to his mom.”

“It’s not cancer Tony.  Derek said he could smell something foreign.  He said that he got stung by something earlier.  I’m sure he’ll find something.”

***

A massive wolf sniffed around the construction site.  There were two teenage boys waiting at the edge of the lot.  One of them held an evidence bag while the other held a cell phone; ready to dial the house with any news.

The wolf was searching frantically.  He could smell that foreign substance but it was a bit hard to locate it.

He had searched most of the area when his eyes caught on something glinting in the moonlight.  He slunk forward and sniffed the thing; growling when he caught the same scent that had invaded Talon’s body.  He let loose a howl, causing the two teens to jog over to him.

Scott leaned down with his flashlight and his eyes grew slightly wide.

“It’s a small dart.  Like a miniaturized version of what people use to deliver tranquilizers to animals.”

Scott carefully scooped the dart into the evidence bag while Jackson pressed the ‘call’ button.

“We found it.  We’re bringing it in now for analysis.”

***

He hadn’t wanted to leave Talon’s side; but the doctor was still watching him and Pepper hadn’t left the boy’s side either.  He was needed in the lab though.  He needed to figure out what had gotten into his son’s blood stream.

“I can’t believe I didn’t see it or sense it coming.  Someone must have been on one of the roof tops.”

“I don’t blame you for not seeing it Hale.  It’s so small and was probably moving so fast…I doubt even you would have been able to see it…even if you had known it was coming.”

He booted up the equipment that his son had never had a need to touch.  It was designed to analyze chemical compounds.

“Let’s just hope that there is still enough of it in this thing to be analyzed.”

Tony struggled with trying to pop open the back end of the dart before finally handing it over to Derek who grew out his claws and slipped them in the tiny crack between the backing and shaft.  Tony slipped a small bit of cotton into the shaft coming back with a slightly blue compound on its surface before slipping it into the machine.

“It could take a while to analyze.”

“Tony!  Get up here!”

Pepper’s voice was frantic from over the intercom.

***

The fever had left abruptly; but his eyes were still clouded over as if he was blind.  Tony and Derek both burst into the room just in time to see his body arch off of the bed.  His body began floating a few inches above the mattress before small arcs of electricity began to emit from his skin.

“Oh my god…what…what’s happening to him?”

Tony shook his head at Pepper’s question.

“Get out.  Everyone get out.”

Tony could feel the energy on his son’s skin rising and he didn’t want to risk anyone else getting hurt.  At the last moment, Derek pushed him out of the room as well before shutting the door.

Derek turned just in time to see large arcs of what appeared to be lightning ripping from Talon’s body.  One hit him directly in the chest and his world grew black.

On the other side of the door, Tony, Pepper, and the doctor were able to see the light flickering before growing dark and silent.

Tony opened the door cautiously.

The room was destroyed.  It was as if a small bomb had gone off.

Derek was lying on the ground unconscious; but still breathing and Talon was once again lying on the bed.  He wasn’t breathing.  Tony ran over to his son and was about to start CPR when Talon gasped and sat up right quickly.  The fog in his eyes cleared leaving them as bright as ever.

“Wha…what just happened?”

***

The results for the chemical compound had come in early the next morning.  Derek was still unconscious but Talon had honestly never felt better.

“So…I don’t get it.  What did that stuff do to me?”

Tony sighed softly and continued looking at the screen in front of him.

“I think…I’m not sure…but I think it triggered a genetic mutation that resulted in your levitation and the discharge of electrical energy.”

Talon blinked a few times.

“But how?  All the articles I’ve read on mutation say that it usually gets triggered during times of extreme stress.”

“Last night your body was under extreme stress.  It could be that this compound put your body under so much stress that a latent x-gene was triggered.  But what really worries me is that this compound is a personalized virus.  It’s designed to kill someone, but only to kill the person it was designed for. “

“So someone tried to kill me?”

Tony shook his head slowly.

“No.  Someone tried to kill me.  You survived because you only have half of my DNA.”

Talon sat down heavily on the stool beside his father.

“So someone is trying to kill you?”

He sighed softly.

“Yea, what else is new?  I’ll figure out who it was and I’ll take them down.  Right now; I have even more motivation because they hurt my kid and no one gets away with hurting my kid without getting a whole lot of pain.”

Talon smiled softly, but it didn’t last.

“So I’m…what…a mutant now?”

Tony turned in his seat and rested his hands on either of his son’s shoulders.

“Yes, but that doesn’t matter to me Talon.  You’re my son; no matter what.  A silly little genetic mutation won’t change that.  But you will be working with Derek to learn to control it.  I don’t want you to risk hurting yourself or others.”

Talon nodded.

“In the meantime; as much as I hate to leave you; I need to get back to New York and I need to have a little talk with Nick Fury and see if he has any idea who exactly would have the ability to create such a virus.”

Tony stood and hugged his son.

“I’m so glad that you’re okay.  I don’t ever want to lose you.”

Notes:

The pack is going to start being more integrated come next chapter!

Chapter 5: Something in the Water?

The first thought that came to Talon’s mind the next day was that he had found the solution to powering the suit and the helmet that he still had to design.  The second thought that came to him was ‘why the hell did I get the ability to fly when I’m terrified of heights?’

He had woken up that morning with his face pressed against the ceiling.  He had screamed in shock and much to his embarrassment, Derek had run into the room with only a towel wrapped around his waist and water dripping from his hair and body.  The further shock of seeing a high attractive man naked and dripping wet had caused his own personal flight capabilities to ‘malfunction’ and Derek had been forced to catch him.

The sudden movement had caused the alpha’s towel to slip and it was hard for Talon to ignore the fact that he was in the arms of a very attractive, very wet, and very naked man.

Of course, Derek’s pack had heard about what had happened and had come over bearing gifts…or rather Stiles had brought over fresh baked cookies and Jackson had gotten everyone a pizza for lunch.

Lydia, Stiles and Danny seemed to look at him differently than the others were looking at him though.

It was after only a couple of bites of pizza that he tossed down his slice and growled at them.

“What!?”

“I’m a mutant too.”

Stiles’ eyes grew wide and he covered his mouth with both of his hands like he had just given away his deepest darkest secret.

“What!?!”  Scott was up in an instant and had grabbed Stiles and hauled up out of his set.  “I’m your best friend!  Why haven’t you told me!?”

Stiles balked at Scott.

“Okay, first off; It’s only been a few months since it happened an second; you’ve had your head so far up Allison’s ass…no offense Allison…that you wouldn’t have listened even if I had told you.”

He spread out his arms in a ‘so there you go’ gesture and Scott slowly let go of him.

“I’m sorry I’ve been a shitty friend lately.  Wait…that wasn’t why it happened was it?”

Stiles shook his head slowly.

“No man.  I think it was my body’s way of protecting me for all the crazy shit that I started doing after you got bitten.  I can put up a force field around myself…and I can do this.”

Stiles held up his right hand like it was a gun with his thumb up and his index finger pointing at Scott.  “Bang.”  A blue light shot out of Stiles’ index finger and hit Scott directly in the chest; causing him to be thrown across the kitchen until he hit a wall.  There was a scorch mark on his chest.  “I can throw the shield like it’s a projectile.”

Scott pulled himself up and coughed as his body healed itself from the hard hit.  “What the hell did you do that for?”

“Quite honestly, with how you’ve been acting lately…you deserved it!”

Scott looked ashamed.  “I’m sorry man.  Can you forgive me?”

Stiles sighed softly.  “I don’t know why but I always do.”  Stiles opened his arms wide and Scott gave him a big brotherly hug.

“By the way.  I call myself Force.  It’s lame but…well…Somehow it just fits.”  Stiles smirked suddenly and turned to look at Lydia.  “Now, don’t you have something to confess?”

Lydia blushed before sighing and shrugging before floating a new slice of pizza over to her plate.

“After I got attacked by Peter and was in my coma; my mutation kicked in.  I was able to use my telekinesis to fight off the lycanthropy infection so I’m still human.  I didn’t think it was all that important so I only told Stiles.  And that was only because he caught me floating my clothes around my room.”

Everyone was silent for a moment before Danny bit his bottom lip nearly hard enough to make it bleed.

“I…I’m a mutant too.”

“Son of a…is there something in the water around here?!  Wait…Why did YOU never tell ME?”

Danny winced when he saw Jackson’s glowing blue eyes filled with hurt.

“Because…my mutation is probably one of the most dangerous in this era.”

Talon leaned forward.

“It won’t leave this room.  I promise.”

Danny took a deep breath.

“I’m a softwire.  I…I got that term from a book about a kid that could do the same thing.  I’m able to integrate my mind with any computer.”

“Damn…no wonder you didn’t tell anyone.”

Everyone looked at Talon for an explanation.

“There are those that would have him killed or locked away simply because he’s a security threat.  Others would force him into slavery and use him in their attempts to gain global domination.  I doubt even the Stark Industries security would be able to keep him out.”

Danny nodded slowly.  “I worry about my family and my friends.  They would be used against me to get me to cooperate.”

Talon reached out and took Danny’s hand.  “You’re under my protection now Danny.”

“You’re under mind as well.  You’re my pack and I’ll do everything in my power to protect you.”

Danny gave a soft smile to both Talon and Derek before sighing.

“I guess you want the origin story though.”  Everyone nodded so he continued.  “When I was thirteen I discovered that I was gay and at the same time was dealing with the possibility of going to Juvie Hall for hacking into someone’s phone.  On top of that; my folks were going through a rough patch and my grandmother had just died.  It was all just so much stress.  One night I fell asleep at my computer and the next thing I knew I was ‘in’ the computer.”

“Well, let’s not let my dad find out.  He’d probably use you to test all of his computer systems.  It would probably pay well though.”

Danny laughed softly.

Suddenly, Jackson turned to Allison if expecting something.

“What?”

“Well, all the other humans in this pack are mutants.  What about you?”

She laughed softly.  “Normal.  I’m just boss with a bow.”

***

It became common place for the group of teenagers to find themselves at the Stark house after school and on the weekends.

At the current moment in time; the group could be found in the garden, watching as Talon practiced with his new ability to manipulate electricity.

Stiles was standing a few yards away from Talon, a blue bubble surrounding him as he provided the youngest Stark with a target.

Jackson soon found himself jumping out of the way as an arc of lightning came a bit close.

“Hey!  Stilinski is the target!  Not me!”

Talon winced.

“Sorry Jackson.”

“You need to focus.  Electricity if volatile and tends to do what it wants.  If you don’t focus hard enough then it will choose its own path instead of following the one that you want it too.”  Lydia spoke all of this while flipping through some random fashion magazine as she lounged on the grass.

“Right. Focus.”

“You had this down yesterday.  Why are you so unfocused today?”  Derek’s words were true.  Talon had mastered the basics of ‘throwing lightning’ (as he liked to call it), several days ago.  But for some reason he had been a bit out of it all day.

“My father is coming tomorrow…in the suit.  He says I need to learn how to fly.”

Sounds of understanding came from everyone in the group.  Derek finally made his way closer to Talon and rested a hand on his shoulder.  “We’ll call it quits for today then.  You’re only going to hurt someone if you keep going like this.

Talon nodded slowly.

“Right then…” Stiles let his force field drop.  “Does that mean it’s time for pizza?  Because I’m starving.”

Chapter 6: Take Flight

The day was gloomy as the clouds hung heavy in the sky.  He was pretty sure that it would be raining soon; and when his father had arrived his armor had been dotted in small drops of rain that came from flying through the clouds.

It was as if the sky knew just how bad this day was going to be for Talon and had made itself look appropriate for the occasion.

“Do I have to?”

“Yes.  You need to know how to use these new powers.  I won’t be around forever Talon and you now have the power where you don’t have to have Mr. Hale following you twenty four seven.  Don’t you want the freedom that comes with knowing how to use your abilities?”

Talon groaned and let his head fall forward before reaching back and rubbing the back of his neck.

“Right.  It would be nice to have some freedom.”

Derek had been camping out on one of the lawn chairs; but now he stood and brought over Talon’s iPod with him.  He slipped the ear buds into Talon’s ears.

“You always seem so much calmer when you have your music in.  Just keep it low so that you can hear your father.”

Talon nodded slowly before putting on the first song on his work playlist.

Workin' your fingers to the bone
Driving you mad and you should've known
Wrap it up baby I'm takin' you home,
Get off your throne
I want you alone

Talon took a deep breath before bending his knees.  He felt deep inside of himself for the sensation that he knew controlled his newfound abilities of flight.  He pushed off of the ground, taking high into the sky like a rocket.  The clouds were still at his back; but Derek looked like a small speck of black against the ground.

Take just a little bit of time
Just to make you feel right
Just enough to ease the bite
Hit the lights

“Good start Talon.”

Talon looked over at his father and nodded.

“Now, try and follow me.”

His eyes grew wide as his father took off in one direction.

“This is going to suck.”

He fumbled around in the air; trying to figure out how to use his body for steering.  It took a little bit but he was finally able to maneuver himself in his father’s direction before shooting off after him.

You've got pressure dripping off your shoulders
Let me be the one to relieve it.
Lets get unprofessional
Don't you know it's gonna' feel much better with

(OH)
Just a little bit of
(AH)
Just a little bit of
(OH)
Just a little bit of
(AH)
Is what you need

Tony looked back at his son.  He was smirking beneath his helmet as he saw the boy catching up with him.

“Well Jarvis; he’s doing pretty well for a first time flyer with a problem with heights.”

“Indeed sir.  In fact; I would imagine he could reach speeds faster than even you can reach.”

“You’re right.  He does seem to be holding back.”

Tony did a quick maneuver; making a tight turn and shooting back past his son.  Talon was much faster in turning this time and ended up side by side with his father; the wind whipping through his hair.

(OH)
Just a little bit of
(AH)
Just a little bit of
(OH)
Just a little bit of
(AH)
Is what you need

Feeling the tension, feeling the stress
I've got a motion I wanna' confess
Looking so good when your hair is a mess
I'm tearing the buttons right off of your dress
(OH)
Working you overtime
I'm getting you over the line
I'm climbing your ladder and making you better
Cos' it's what you need

“Looks like you were right Jarvis.”

He pulled up closer to Talon so that the boy could hear him over the music that was pumping in his ears.

“Time for some more advanced maneuvers.  Don’t think about, just do.  Trust yourself.  I believe in you kid!”

Tony shot down towards the ground, Talon hot at his heels.  Tony pulled up at the last second.  On the ground, Derek was ready to catch Talon if he should fail…but at the last second Talon pulled up and shot back into the sky; surpassing his father and breaking through the cloud cover.

You've got pressure dripping off your shoulders
Let me be the one to relieve it.
Lets get unprofessional
Don't you know it's gonna' feel much better with

(OH)
Just a little bit of
(AH)
Just a little bit of
(OH)
Just a little bit of
(AH)
Is what you need

It was exhilarating.  Talon had never felt more alive in his life.  Never felt freer.  Suddenly the fact that the ground was so far beneath him didn’t really matter.  Eventually; Tony landed beside Derek and the two watched as Talon broke through the clouds again; ripping a hole in them and making turns sharper than even Tony could make in his clunky armor.

“He’s making me look like some clumsy thing when it comes to flying.”

Derek could only twist his lips in something that resembled a smirk…but which may have been a smile.

***

Even from this distance he could feel the prickling heat of the flames that were currently devouring his home and his family.

“No!”

He started running towards the burning house.  Maybe he could save someone?  He nearly yelped when strong arms wrapped around him and pulled him back.  He turned his head to see his sister; her eyes glowing red with the power of an alpha…a power she would only get if their father had died.

Tears prickled at his eyes before he began full out crying.

“No!”

“No!”

Talon had been in the lab working on his helmet.  It was finally time for him to get some sleep.  It had been a long day with learning to fly and working on fabricating the remainder of Vibranium that he had.

Now as he was walking past Derek’s door to his own room he heard the pained cry and couldn’t keep himself from opening the door and peeking inside.

Derek was tossing and turning; still asleep in his bed and fighting a nightmare.

“Derek?”

There was no answer; only whimpering and fearful gasps.

Talon made his way into the room before sitting on the edge of the bed and resting a hand on Derek’s chest.

“Derek.  It’s not real.  It’s just a….”

He was cut off as Derek startled awake; his hand wrapping around Talon’s throat on instinct and squeezing lightly.

“It’s me Derek.  It’s Talon.  You’re safe.  It was a bad dream.”

Derek was breathing heavily; sweat covering his body as his hand slowly released Talon’s neck.  He fell back against the pillows; rubbing his face slowly.  He removed his hands from his face and his eyes snapped open as he felt Talon crawl in beside him.

“What…what are you doing?”

Talon simply smiled in the darkness.

“I used to crawl into bed with my mother when I had nightmares.  It always chased them away.  Now go to sleep.”

Derek wanted to protest; but he was so tired.  He had done the same thing with his parents when he was a pup…he hadn’t had anyone to sleep beside in such a long time.

He reached out slowly so that the edge of his hand was brushing against Talon’s side…he felt instant comfort and contentment fill him.  Sleep pulled him back down…and his dreams were filled only with the good memories; not the bad.

***

He was warm; warmer than he had been in a long time.  It was the type of warmth that came only when you were content, safe, and with someone beside you…someone who knew you could count on.

He didn’t want to wake up; but the sun was breaking through the shades and burning his eyes. 

Where was he?  Who was in bed with him?  He took in a silent sniff and took in the scent of Talon Stark.  His eyes opened slowly and he noticed that Talon had his head resting directly over Derek’s heart.  Derek moved slightly and watched as Talon seemed to burrow deeper into Derek’s side before humming and slowly opening his eyes.

“Mm.  Morning.  Did you sleep well?”

Derek could only nod before watching as Talon stood and left the room to take a shower in his own bathroom.  If Derek was completely honest…it was the best sleep he had since before the fire.

Notes:

Featured song is 'Just a Little Bit' by Kids of 88

Chapter 7: Costume

It didn’t look like much.  It looked like a slightly thick piece of metal that went over the eyes and covered the ears.  There was more to it than that though.  It was made of Vibranium and a special type of glass.  The glass; of course, went over the eyes but would appear like a computer display to the one that was wearing it.  Strategically placed sensors would both take in the excess electrical energy coming off of Talon’s skin and work as neuron transmitters that would control the computer display without the spoken word needing to control it by tracking his brain patterns.

It also happened to have a night vision function and the Vibranium.  Small speaker like devices had been added over the ears to pick up sound and amplify it when needed.  It could also connect to his father’s suit for communication as well as several communication devices that he had made for the pack.

The pack was currently standing before Talon now.  He once again activated the suit to cover his body before placing the metal strip on his face over his eyes.  He let out a small electric current through his skin; causing the mask to activate and open up; covering his head.

The glass over his eyes was clear; showing what his eyes actually looked like beneath the mask.

“Wow; that kind of looks like a venetian mask!”  Lydia clapped her hands.  She loved masquerade balls; so of course she would love the way Talon’s helmet looked.

Talon gave a low sweeping bow.

“Just call me Masquerade.”

Derek walked around Talon slowly.

“How does your electrical ability work while you’re wearing it?”  It was a good question.  Derek needed to know that he could use that ability while suited up.  Tony would want to know as well.

“It works just the same.”

He threw out his right hand and shot a perfect arc of lightning directly at a generator that had been constructed to run off of his power source.  The arc was perfectly straight like a laser and only slightly wavy.

“Well if you ever want to be a superhero; you would do great.”

Talon let the current surrounding his body stop; causing the mask to revert back to the single strip of metal.  He smiled softly before pulling it off and causing the suit to go back into the ‘gauntlets’ as he had come to call them.

“Thanks.  I’m glad you approve.”

***

Fire prickled at his skin…he could see the screaming faces of each family member…he was in the woods…looking down into his sister’s cold dead eyes…

Derek shot up, heart pounding in his chest.  A look at the clock told him that it was only one in the morning.  There would be no way for him to get back to sleep tonight…not unless…

Derek pulled himself out of the bed and silently padded into the room across from the hall.  His arms were wrapped around his bare chest.  He hadn’t felt this self-conscious in years.  But what if Talon told him to go away?  What if it had only been a one time thing?  Still; he needed to give it a try.

He slowly opened Talon’s door.  Talon was awake; reading something by the light on the bedside table.  He looked up at Derek and gave a sad smile.  “Bad dream?”

Derek only nodded.

Talon marked his page and set the book to the side before slipping over to one side of his bed and folding down the opposite corner.

“Go get your pillows and hop in.”

Derek nodded slowly and headed back into his room to grab his pillows before returning to find that Talon had shut out the light and had curled up on his side of the bed.  Derek placed his pillows down and crawled under the covers, reaching out so that his hand rested on Talon’s shoulder.

At some point in the night; Talon ended up using him as a pillow again…but he was more than okay with that.

***

The other side of the bed was cold and it took Derek a moment to find out why.  He whimpered softly as he was pulled from his sleep to look at the empty side of the bed.  Somehow his heart ached.  He reached out slowly and rested his hand where Talon had been sleeping before burring his nose into the other’s pillow and taking a deep breath.

He let his senses stretch out as he searched for Talon’s heartbeat.  He found it what he assumed was the kitchen.  He could hear the younger man fiddling around with something before soft music reached out and touched his ears.

The stars lean down to kiss you
And I lie awake and miss you
Pour me a heavy dose of atmosphere

Derek sat up slowly in the bed and ran a hand through his hair.  What was happening to him?  Lately he just couldn’t get Talon out of his head.  He was always there…

Cause I'll doze off safe and soundly
But I'll miss your arms around me
I'd send a postcard to you, dear
Cause I wish you were here

The words to the song sounded sickeningly true at the moment.  He had never slept as peacefully as he did with Talon beside him; curled up into his side and using him as a pillow.  He missed the way Talon fit perfectly against his side; like another piece to a puzzle.

I'll watch the night turn light blue
But it's not the same without you
Because it takes two to whisper quietly
The silence isn't so bad
Till I look at my hands and feel sad
Cause the spaces between my fingers
Are right where yours fit perfectly

Derek looked at his hands as he made his way into his bedroom to change.  He imagined Talon’s fingers slipped between his own.  Talon had long elegant fingers…almost like a girls.  They would fit perfectly between his own.

Oh god…what was happening to him?!

I'll find repose in new ways
Though I haven't slept in two days
Cause cold nostalgia chills me to the bone
But drenched in vanilla twilight
I'll sit on the front porch all night
Waist deep in thought because when
I think of you I don't feel so alone

I don't feel so alone
I don't feel so alone

As many times as I blink
I'll think of you tonight
(Tonight, tonight, tonight...)

I'll think of you tonight

Now he was fully dressed and entering the kitchen where Talon was making pancakes shaped like Mickey Mouse.  They even had chocolate chips in them.  He bit his bottom lip lightly as Talon loaded a plate with mouse shaped pancakes, bacon, and eggs before setting it at Derek’s spot on the table along with a mug of coffee that he could tell was made just the way he liked it.

Talon had made him breakfast.

When violet eyes get brighter
And heavy wings grow lighter
I'll taste the sky and feel alive again
And I'll forget the world that I knew
But I swear I won't forget you
Oh if my voice could reach back through the past
I'd whisper in your ear:
"Oh darling I wish you were here"

Talon smiled softly up at him as he began fixing his own plate of food.

“Good morning Derek!  Did you sleep well?”

Derek took a few steps forward; unsure of what he was doing.  His body was moving on its own and soon his arms had wrapped tightly around the slightly smaller man.  He pulled him into a close hug; trying to cover every inch of Talon with his own body.

“Yes.  Thanks to you.”

Talon had stiffened at the sudden hug; but Derek could feel him relaxing now.  The younger man’s arms reached up and wrapped around him, pulling him in just as tightly.

“Good.”

“Yea…good.”

***

They didn’t talk about it.  Derek wasn’t ready to talk about it.  They had pulled away after several minutes of hugging and gone about eating their breakfast as if nothing had happened at all.  They had just finished eating when the group of teenagers burst in; loud and breaking the peaceful atmosphere that had settled down around the two residents.

Derek growled in annoyance and watched as Lydia walked over to the pot of coffee to pour herself a mug.

“Do you guys ever knock?  Hell…don’t you have a home and parents?”

Stiles shrugged.  “Dad’s working.  We went to breakfast early this morning so now I’m here.  I didn’t expect them to show up but they pulled in just as I did.”

Scott sat down and sipped on a cup of his own coffee.  “My mom’s new boyfriend spent the night last night.  Do you know how gross it is being able to hear your mom doing…that?  Anyway; I fled after breakfast because it was just too awkward.  Allison drove me.”

Allison was supping her own cup of coffee.  The two had obviously stopped to get some on their way over.

Derek’s eyes moved to Lydia and Jackson who had also come together.

“My parents were fighting again.  Really they should just get divorced and end all this stress they’re putting on one another.  I called Jackson to pick me up.  We’re going to go buy some fabric to make costumes.”

Talon blinked.

“Costumes?  It’s almost summer. What do you need costumes for?”

“Duh, you’re not the only one of us who is going to be a superhero.  Just call us the ‘Next Avengers.’  It’s going to be so fun to design everyone’s costumes…well except for yours.  You already have your suit.  Which reminds me.  I need everyone’s measurements and that includes your alpha measurements Derek.  You’ll probably just end up in some short of shorts or something…like the Hulk.”

“No.  No no no.  This is not happening.  I’m not going to become a superhero and neither are you.  You’re teenagers!”

“Yea, well Robin is like…twelve.”

“Robin is a fictional character!”

“That’s beside the point!  Besides…I have this…really bad feeling that we’ll need them sooner rather than later.”

***

There was no stopping the tornado that was Lydia Martin.  She got everyone’s measurements and brought out sketches of what she thought people should have. 

Derek’s was slightly odd but seemed to work.  There would be a pair of pants that went down to his knee attached to a sleeveless shirt that zipped up the front.  He would simply have to unzip the shirt before shifting into full alpha form and it would rest around his hips.

Allison’s was made of tight pants and a leather jacket.  Really; the important part was the mask that would hide her face but leave openings for her eyes and mouth and allow her hair to fly freely.

Scott and Jackson would be in something similar to Derek; though the pants would cover their legs completely and the shirt wouldn’t have to be unzipped as they didn’t have the alpha form.  They also had hoods on their shirts that would hide their faces until they shifted to their wolf forms.  To help hide their faces, there was a bit of fabric that would cover the bottom half of their faces as well.

Scott would be in Black with White trimming while Jackson would have blue trimming.

Stiles and Danny both had suits that looked as if they were reminiscent of the Fantastic Four.  Both had masks much like what ‘Robin’ from ‘Batman and Robin’ had; though the edges came down to cover part of their cheeks as well.

Lydia’s was perhaps the most ‘bad ass’ as she called it.  It consisted of a red body suit with a black full length leather jacket and boots.  Her mask was also red and looked much like Allison’s.

Talon reluctantly handed over his credit card and Lydia pulled Jackson from the house to hit several stores for supplies.

“We’re going to regret this…but she’s right.  I have the same feeling that something very bad is about to happen very soon.”

Notes:

Song is 'Vanilla Twilight' by Owl City. Also, the masks I'm thinking of for Allison and Lydia are black and red versions of what Artemis wears in Young Justice.

Chapter 8: Vacation

It was early morning and the sun was just beginning to rise over the horizon.  Derek ran his fingers through Talon’s hair; a soft smile on his face.  It had become normal that Derek slept in Talon’s room now.  It was the only place where he could actually sleep.  He had become addicted to Talon’s scent, to his heartbeat, to his very presence.

He slowly slipped out of bed and began making breakfast.

He had to make a lot today.  It was the first day of summer vacation and the entire pack was planning on spending the day together so that they could plan some sort of pack vacation.

The girls wanted to go to the beach.  Stiles and Jackson wanted to go to some amusement park.  Talon wanted to go to New York.

Talon…he had become pack so easily.

He could hear soft feet padding down the steps and smiled as he turned to see Talon walking into the room; his hair a total mess and a slightly sleepy look on his face.

“Smells good.”

Talon began working on the coffee as he yawned before sitting down on the counter and watching as Derek cooked breakfast.

Talon watched Derek intently.

Derek was…beautiful…but that was only putting it lightly.  Derek was perfect in Talon’s eyes.  Everything about him was perfect…his human form, his beta form, his alpha form.  Hell; last full moon Talon had curled up against a very furry Derek when the wolf had obviously started having a nightmare.

It had gotten to a point where Talon didn’t sleep comfortably unless Derek was in his bed, or he was in Derek’s.  It didn’t matter which.  The point was that they had become dependent on one another to get any actual sleep.

He laughed softly when he remembered how a few days ago a very tired Derek had stumbled into his lab at two in the morning and demanded that Talon come to bed.

In the end, Derek had been forced to carry him into bed and Derek had collapsed onto him and been out like a light.

He had watched Derek as he slept and couldn’t help but run his fingers through the wolf’s hair.

He had been falling in love with Derek for months now.  He couldn’t help it.

“I still think we should go to New York.  Lydia would like it because we could visit my dad’s office.  Then you have all the museums, Broadway, all that shopping.”

Derek smiled softly as he worked on cooking.

“I fully agree with you.  I liked in New York for a few years with my sister.  I felt…safe in the city.  No one knew who or what I was.  It was nice.”

Talon nodded slowly before pouring coffee for both of them.  He made Derek’s just how he liked it before making his own and taking a small sip of the hot beverage.

Talon sat back down on the counter and took a deep breath of the coffee, his eyes falling closed as he moaned at the scent.  Derek gulped as he watched; wishing that Talon was smelling him with such a look of bliss on his face.

He had to push away his wolf side which wanted to pin Talon to the wall and mark him.

He had been fighting it for a while now.

They both looked up as Danny stumbled into the house; looking tired.

“Way too early for this.  Please tell me there is coffee.”

Talon laughed softly and stood to pour the teen some coffee.  The teen drank it black with a bit of sugar and moaned as it slid down into his belly.

“So good.”

Derek nearly growled in agreement as he took his own sip of coffee.

“So, where do you think we’ll end up going?”

Talon shrugged.  “Derek thinks we should put it to a vote.  I still think we should just go to New York.”

“Well you are paying for most of it.”

“See!  That’s what I said!  Besides…I miss my father.”

The door chose that moment to open to Lydia and Jackson who was holding several bags.

“I’ve finally finished.  The costumes are ready!”  She squealed in delight.

Stiles, Allison, and Scott chose that moment to walk in.  Scott took one look at the bag and tried to run; but Allison stopped him.

The group ate together with basic chatter until it turned to what they should do for vacation.

“Just so you know…if we go to New York we’ll be staying in the Avenger’s Mansion.”

Everyone froze when eating.  Stiles’ eyes grew wide.  “That’s it; my vote is changed to New York.”

Lydia nodded as well.  It would be amazing to stay in a house with such amazing technology.

In the end, it was indeed decided that New York would be their destination.

***

They were all fully costumed as the flash lit up the lab and captured their image.  Lydia walked over to the camera and smiled at the picture.

“It came out great.”

Talon couldn’t help but laugh at the grumpy face that Derek was making.

“Aw, why so grumpy Derek?  You look good.”

Derek held back a blush; but he didn’t look grumpy anymore.

***

Lydia forced everyone to pack their costumes. 

They were currently in the air on Tony Stark’s private jet.  Alligator Sky by Owl City was playing over the stereo and Lydia was dancing with Jackson.  Jackson’s smile was wide.  The two had really fixed their relationship.  It was amazing how becoming a werewolf had solved all of Jackson’s abandonment issues…at least when it came to his friends and Lydia.

When he was with pack he was happy as could be.  This was his family.

Derek yawned before stretching out on the couch that he was sharing with Talon.  He rested his head on Talon’s lap before closing his eyes.

Talon silently began running his fingers through the alpha’s hair, causing him to doze off.  Danny was the first to notice.  He knew in an instant that the two would end up together some day.  Besides, Talon had admitted to being gay when they had first met.  And it was obvious Derek was different around the youngest Stark.

Lydia and Jackson noticed next and simply looked at one another with a knowing look.

Stiles was the next to notice and gestured for Allison and Scott to see it too.  Allison understood instantly…Scott just looked confused.

***

A limo had picked them up at the airport and now they stood before the biggest building that any of them had ever seen.  It took up an entire city block and was three stories high.  They had also been told that there were three basement levels.

“It’s…so big.”

“Yes it is.  My dad grew up here.  Now it’s where The Avengers train and form strategies.  Those that need a place to stay, stay here as well.”

Talon was the first to walk through the gate.  The security system accepted the group to enter.  They set their bags by the door as they looked around the entrance hall. 

Tony Stark chose that moment to walk down the stairs and wrap Talon in a hug.  Talon laughed softly and hugged his father back.

“It’s good to see you son.”

“It’s good to see you to Dad.”

Father and son pulled apart and Tony smiled brightly at the group.

“Welcome to the Avenger’s Mansion.  So, Talon, care to introduce me to your friends.  I know Derek but…”

Talon nodded.  “This is Danny, Jackson, Lydia, Stiles, Scott, and Allison.”

Tony nodded and shook everyone’s hand in turn before gesturing to the group that had formed at the bottom of the stairs.

“I’d like you to meet Steve Rogers, also known as the living legend Captain America!”  Steve waved happily at the group.  “Next we have Thor” Thor gave a bow of his head in greeting.  “Natasha and Clint also known as The Black Widow and Hawkeye.”  Natasha smiled happily and Clint gave a bit of a salute to the group.  “And finally we have Dr. Bruce Banner.  Please, don’t get him angry.  He turns into the Hulk and I won’t be held responsible if he throws you through a wall.”

Bruce waved happily at the group.

“This place…is…so…..COOL!”  Stiles pumped his fist in the air as he looked around in pure joy.

***

It turned out that the superhero group wouldn’t be there for their visit.  They had come to meet one another; but they all had something else they needed to do.

Thor had to visit Asgard.  His father was going into his sleep and Thor was needed to watch over the place as king in his place.

Natasha and Clint had both been given orders by Nick Fury and had to leave on a mission.

Dr. Banner had gone off to help a friend who had been exposed to gamma radiation and was now transforming into something…else.

Finally, Steve Rogers was expected in DC to accept a belated medal from the current president of the United States.

Tony Stark was the only one who was remaining in New York.

Tony Stark was the only one in the city to protect it.

***

Light lit up the night sky as Tony stepped out of the Stark building.  He squinted up at it; about ready to head back into the building to get his spare suit of armor before a dart hit him in the side of the neck.  He pulled it out and felt his limbs growing heavy.

“Son of a bitch.”

The light had been a distraction.  It had worked.  Now some goon was loading him into a van…but he was able to send out a preprogramed message by clicking a button on his phone before the world grew black.

Chapter 9: Missing

The next morning dawned with the serious lack of one Tony Stark.  The man was supposed to be staying at the Avengers Mansion with his son and his son’s new friends; but he was nowhere to be found and his bed was un-slept in.  A bad feeling filled Talon from head to toe.  His father had promised that he would be there in the morning with bagels and coffee for everyone before taking them to Stark Tower…but he wasn’t there.

***

Tony groaned as he slowly opened his eyes and shifted on the small cot he had been deposited on.  It was like a bad memory; like being held captive in the caves again; only this was a dark and dank sell that smelled like death.

The room was bear except for the cot which was really nothing more than a flat mattress on the floor; a toilet which was more like a hole in the floor, and a sing which was…actually a sink though it didn’t exactly look all that pretty.

There was nothing in the cell that he could use to escape.  There were no windows; light coming from holes set deep in the walls and a door with bars that allowed him to look out into a long corridor.

“So, who kidnapped me this time?  Terrorist group?  You want me to make something for you?  What is it?”

A speaker outside of his door came on and he heard some laughter.

“It’s nothing like that Mr. Stark.  You see, we want you dead.  Unfortunately my former employee missed his shot and hit your son instead.  So good to see the poor boy survived though.”

“So, you want me dead and yet here I am…in a cell.  That isn’t exactly death.”

There was a soft sigh on the other end.

“Yes, about that.  I figured that it was best to do the deed myself; and at the moment I’m so very far away.  I’ll get to you when I have the chance.  Until then; enjoy your captivity.”

The speaker cut off and Tony watched as a door at the end of the hall opened.  There was a guard carrying food.  He opened up a small flat at the bottom of the door before pushing the tray into the cell.

The food consisted of moldy bread, murky water, and a bit of cheese.

“Lovely.”

 

***

“When did we receive this?”

“Last night sir.  Just after that odd light in the sky.  The preprogramed transmission came in.”

“Play it.”

An image of Tony Stark appeared on the large monitor in the S.H.I.E.L.D helicarrier. 

“If you’re receiving this; then I’ve been captured but have had enough time to send this prerecorded message and activate a tracking device that I’ve placed on my person.  This message should have made its way to S.H.I.E.L.D and Nick Fury.  Nick, you know the codes for my tracker.  Send the Avengers after me.  However, in the event that the Avengers are otherwise occupied, send my son.”

“His son?  He has got to be kidding me.  The kid is untested!”

Agent Coulson looked at his boss and shrugged.  “I’m sure Stark has his reasons.  The kid did recently become a mutant after all and Stark says he has a handle on his powers.  Furthermore he has his own armor.  We should give the kid a chance.  I even heard he had his own team.”

***

It was one in the afternoon when there was a knock on the door.  The pack looked up from playing video games and Stiles was the first to speak.

“Who the hell knocks on the Avengers’ door?”

Talon shrugged before standing and walking to the door to open it.

“Are you Talon Stark?”  Talon raised an eyebrow at the man that stood on the other side.

“Who’s asking?”

“I’m Nick Fury, head of S.H.I.E.L.D.”

Talon stepped back from the door and let the man step into the mansion.

“My father isn’t here.”

“I’m well aware.  I’m here to speak with you and your friends.”  Fury frowned when he noticed that Talon’s friends consisted of a group of teenagers.

“Well what is it?”

“Your father was abducted last night.”

“What!?”

Talon’s eyes grew wide, and the pack walked over to him when they heard what was going on.

“He was able to send a prerecorded message to S.H.I.E.L.D as he was abducted; as well as activating a tracking device located just beneath his skin.  Normally I would send in the Avengers to rescue your father; but they’re all busy with other things.  You and your friends are the only ones that will be able to go in and rescue him.”

“Wooh!  Yes.  Time to superhero up!”

Everyone turned to look at Stiles who was fist pumping in the air and jumping around.  Danny quickly whacked him in the back of the head to keep him from acting like an idiot.

“But first, I would like to test you and your friends…see if you have what it takes to go into the field.”

Talon sighed softly.

“I…I’m in.  But it’s up to the others what they decide.”

Derek was the first to step forward.  He rested a hand on Talon’s shoulder.  “Mr. Stark is my boss.  I’m in.”

“Well obviously I’m in!”  Stiles looked like Christmas had come early.

“I’m in because no one else is going to keep Stiles from getting himself killed.  Besides, I can take down any security system we may encounter.”

Scott and Jackson looked at one another.  “If Derek is in then we’re in too.”

Allison walked over to Scott and took his hand.  “I’m in.”

Lydia looked at the group, looking like she was seriously pondering what she was going to choose.  “Oh who am I kidding; I was always in.”

Chapter 10: The Test

Notes:

Sorry it's so short.

The helicarrier was a true marvel.  The group stood looking out of the vast wall of windows at the ground so far below.  Stiles gave a low whistle as he looked down towards the ground.

“Well, I think I’ll be quite for the majority of this little excursion because I suddenly have an intense fear that Jackson will push me out the door.”

Jackson simply turned to look at the hyperactive teen with a little smirk.

“Teenagers…it just had to be teenagers.”

Fury ran his hands down his face as he looked at the group of kids.  Talon stood behind the group, and Derek stood behind Talon.

“Look, my father isn’t going to rescue himself…except for that one time when he did.  You want to test us before we go on this mission so how about we stop standing around like a bunch of jackasses and get to work?”

Fury finally smirked.  “As you wish.”

***

“You just had to provoke the man, didn’t you!”

Stiles meeped and wrapped his arms around Danny; putting his force field around both of them as a volley of projectiles came their way.

Allison was shooting a new set of trick arrows at several robotics that were coming after her.

“Stiles, get me to the control panel!”

“Easier said than done!  We’re being pinned in place!”

Lydia was sending projectiles back at the guns that were shooting them and using her power to protect Allison as she shot at the robots.

Jackson and Scott were dodging projectiles and ripping and fighting the robots that were coming after them.

Derek was in his alpha form and was ripping apart the guns with his teeth.

“Hold on, I’m on my way.”  Talon sent streams of electricity at the guns that were shooting at Stiles and Danny.  The bullets simply bounced off of his suit as if they were peas being flung in a food fight.

“Go!  I’ll cover you!”

Stiles and Danny moved to the control panel.  Danny touched his hand to the panel and closed his eyes.

He was floating through a sea of wires and data streams.  He saw very clearly the data needed to shut down the program.  He reached out and as if flicking a switch; the robots and guns shut down.

A few minutes later Fury walked into the room.

“So, we got a trio of werewolves, a daughter of a werewolf hunter, and a trio of mutants; one of which is the son of a super genius and a genius himself.  What do you call yourselves?”

Lydia stood proud.  “Phoenix”  Allison slipped her bow across her back.  “Huntress.”  Stiles clapped Danny on the back.  “Force.” “Softwire.”  Derek stepped forward with Scott and Jackson.  “Alpha.”  “Beta.”  “Omega.”

Fury turned to the last member of the group whose mask was retracting so that it covered only his eyes.

“And you, Stark?”

“Masquerade.”

He gave a nod before gesturing for the group to enter another room in the hellicarrier.  There was a jet waiting there.

“One of my agents will fly you to your location; but from there…it’s up to you to rescue Tony Stark.”

Chapter 11: Rescue

The cell was dark and Tony had been stuck inside for two days; so when the door finally opened; he was blinded at first.

He was hauled upright by two pairs of strong hands and carried into a large, well lit room.  He was chained to a chair and left to sit for a full hour before anyone entered the room.

“You know, if you’re going to kill me; I really wish that you would just go ahead and do it already.”

It was a man in his late sixties to early seventies that came to stand in front of Tony.  He held a cane which he clearly used to help support his standing position.

“Tony Stark.”

Tony knew that voice.  It was the same voice of the man that had threatened to come and kill him.

“So, an old man want’s me dead.  Care to tell me why?”

The man simply smirked.

“You killed my daughter.”

There was a loud commotion from outside and the man turned to look at one of the guards that came running into the room.

“Sir, we’re under attack!”

“The Avengers?”

The guard shook his head slowly.  “No.  It looks like…a bunch of teenagers.”

***

Five Hours Earlier

“Tony’s beacon is distorted; but it seems to be coming from somewhere around here.”

Nick Fury brought up a map on the main monitor in the helicarrier.

“But as you can see, there is nothing here.  Just a bunch of forest.”

“Looks can be deceiving.  The beacon is probably distorted because my father is probably being held underground.”

“That was one of our thoughts.  We looked into who owned the area and we discovered that it is currently owned by the State.  However; it was donated to the state twenty years ago by an Alexander Talbot.”

Derek could smell the sudden change in Talon’s scent.  There was fear and confusion suddenly pouring out of his charge.  Derek tilted his head to the side slightly and noticed how Talon seemed to be clenching his jaw tightly.

“You’ll have to search the forest for an entrance point.”

 

****

The forest was overgrown.  For those stuck on the ground; it was hard to move.  Even the werewolves had a difficult time picking their way through everything.

“This will take ages.  Maybe we should split up.”

Talon shook his head at Jackson’s suggestion.

“No.  We’re new at this.  We stay together.”

“Who the hell made you the team leader?”

“I never said I was.  But we have to do this the smart way.  We’re new to this; we don’t know what we’re up against.  Derek and I are the oldest so we’re the leaders.  Not to mention Derek is your alpha.”  Here Derek growled in approval.  “Lydia, does your telekinesis allow for flight?”

“Yes.  Though I’m not the best at it.  Why?”

“You and I are taking to the sky.”

“How are we supposed to see anything through the canopy?”

“We won’t.  You’ll stay hovering over the group and I’ll use the mask’s thermal vision to see if I can’t find something.  It will at least give us a direction.”

Lydia nodded and lifted herself up through the air until she floated above the trees with the rest of the team beneath them.

Talon was much faster in rising.  He gave a simple thought and the neuro transmitters in his helmet switched the vision from its normal setting to thermal.

Directly below him he could see several red blobs.  Three of the blobs were hotter.  He knew that these three signatures had to belong to Derek, Scott, and Jackson.  He took a deep breath and began his sweep.  He started making circles that continued getting larger and larger until he finally saw what he was looking for.

Far below there were heat signatures moving in a strategic pattern.

“They’re circling the base…”

He turned back towards where he had left Lydia and the others.

“We need to head west.  There are guards circling something.  I’m guessing it’s the entrance to the base.  Tell the boys to shift into beta form.  They’ll be able to move easier.”

“What about Allison, Stiles, and Danny?”

“I’ll take care of Stiles and Danny.  Can you lift Allison?”

Lydia flicked her hand downwards before causing a small squeal.  Allison rose up through the trees and floated in midair.

“Lovely.”

***

Derek could see the entrance.  It was just a small cement shack with a security control panel.  He figured that the door probably opened to stairs that would lead down into the base.  He turned to Jackson and Scott who were on either side of him.

“We incapacitate, we don’t kill.  Got it?  We got to clear the way for Danny.”

The two younger wolves nodded and began moving to circle around while Derek slowly made his way forward, using the undergrowth and the growing darkness to hide him.

He heard a grunt from his left, soon followed by one coming from the right.  The man before him was about to look to see what had caused the commotion; but instead felt a blinding pain that knocked him unconscious.

From above, the rest of the group descended from the sky.

“Okay Softwire, do you’re thing.”

Danny slipped off of Talon’s back and made his way over to the door.  He pressed two gloved fingers over the device and pushed.  The door clicked and he happily turned the nob before gesturing for the others.

“I’ll take point.”

Derek reached out to stop Talon from heading into the stairs first.

“Are you sure?”

Talon smiled beneath his mask.  “I’m bullet proof.”  Then he slipped into the darkness.

***

“Wow, I was not expecting this.”  Lydia cocked her head to the side as she looked out over the large open room.  It went down and down and down.  There were at least three sublevels with catwalk like areas crisscrossing over the open gap that led to the bottom floor.  Doors lined the walls.

“I’m not surprised.  Someone who kidnaps Tony Stark has got to be pretty badass, though I’ve never heard of Alexander Talbot before.”  Stiles looked out over the vast chasm and sighed.  “But where the hell would they keep Tony?”

Talon took a deep breath and let it out slowly.  “Good question.  My guess…the deepest darkest depths.”

Talon turned slowly to look at the others.

“This is where we split up.  Force, Softwire.  You stick together.  Force keep your shield up around both of you.  Your goal is to find a computer terminal and search for where they’re keeping Tony; as well as whatever plans they may have.  Softwire, make a link between your com device and the terminal and send the schematics and other relevant information to my helmet.  Also, disable any alarm system.”

Stiles and Danny nodded.  Stiles took Danny’s hand and put up his shield.  It went out from his body and stretched over Danny’s body.  They took off in one direction.

“Huntress, Phoenix; you’re partnered as well.  I want you girls to create a distraction.  Do as much damage as you can to this place without actually risking its structural integrity.  Furthermore; protect each other.”

The girls nodded and headed in the opposite direction that Stiles and Danny had gone in.

“Beta, Omega…I know you haven’t worked well together in the past but it’s time to put your high school rivalry aside.”

“What’s the job boss?”  Scott smirked behind his mask.

“Take out the guards.  Use your strength; your claws, and your teeth but don’t deal any killing shots.  You both have enough control for that.  Right?”

The two nodded and ran off together across in another direction.

“Guess that leaves you and me Masquerade.  Or are we big enough boys to split up?”

Talon shook his head slowly.

“I…I need you with me.”

Derek frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“My last name…before I turned it to Stark…was Talbot.”

Realization dawned on Derek’s face.  He nodded.

There was a sudden ding inside of Talon’s helmet.  The schematics of the building appeared before him and he scanned them quickly before seeing where his father was currently located.  He was right.  The very bottom.

“Danny came through.  You and I are going to the very bottom of this place.”

He walked over to Derek and wrapped one arm around the alpha’s waist.

“When we get to the bottom, go full wolf.  Got it?”

Derek nodded.  Talon lifted them over the side and lowered them quickly to the bottom floor.

***

Force and Softwire

 

It was quite shocking that the first room they entered had a computer system.  It seemed that luck was firmly on their side.  Danny pulled away from Stiles and sat down at the computer before resting his fingers on the side of the monitor.

He frowned slightly.

“They have the same amount of defenses that most government computers have.”

“Can you hack it?”

“Of course I can!  It’s not like it’s a Stark system computer!”

Stiles rested his hands on Danny’s shoulders as the other teen slipped his mind deep into the computer system.

It was like he was standing in a long white corridor with thousands upon thousands of doors.  Each door led to a different file within the system.

He focused his mind and demanded the schematics of the compound while his outside form brought two fingers to the communication device at his ear.  He pushed the files through his own body and into the comms device before bringing up a second file that showed Tony Stark’s location.

“Okay Force, I sent off the schematics to Masquerade.  Now I’m working on disabling the alarm system.”

A bright red door appeared before Danny.  He opened it carefully and gave a low whistle.

“Damn.  Luckily there are no trick wires but if anyone is caught then the guards can send this entire place into lockdown.  It will take a few minutes to disable.”

“I’m not sure we have a few minutes.”

On the outside; a man had stepped into the room with them.

“Who the hell are you kids!?  How did you get in here?!”

“Sorry sir, but you need to go to sleep now.”

The man raised his gun but didn’t get to fire as Stiles had made a gun like gesture with his fingers and shot a portion of the force field directly between his eyes; causing him to lose consciousness.

“I really hope that didn’t cause any brain damage.”

Danny jerked suddenly and turned to see the man on the ground.

“What happened?”

“We were caught was what happened!”

A voice came in over the radio that was at the unconscious man’s hip.  “Fields?  You there Fields?”

The two heard footsteps coming towards them.  They slipped out of the room, holding hands so that the force field could cover them both.

Two men were walking towards them.

“There!  Intruders!”

“I’ll start the lockdown sequence.”

One of the men ran to a panel in the wall and began typing a code.

“The sequence isn’t working!”

“Softwire…I think we should run now.”

Danny nodded and tugged on Stiles’ hand; leading him down another corridor.  It turned out to be a dead end.  The two rested their backs against the door and Stiles stood in front of Danny; a look of determination on his face.

“Sit tight wire.  I’ll get us out of this!”

A volley of bullets began speeding towards them and smashed into the shield at full force.  Stiles looked like he was slightly strained as he began shooting back at the others.  But it just wasn’t enough.  The shield was going to fail and they would be Swiss cheese.

“Softwire…if we don’t survive this…tell my dad I love him.  And make sure Stark sets him up for life.”

“Shut up, we’re both going to make it out of here.”

Danny reached out at a nearby control panel and pushed into it.  A second later, a heavy metal door slammed down between them and the guards.

“It’s okay now.  Let the field down and rest.  We’re safe for now.”

Stiles didn’t so much let the field drop as it blinked out of existence.  He had never needed to keep it up for that long, or under that much attack.

He was exhausted.

Danny slowly ran his gloved fingers over Stiles’ head as he clutched the teen to his chest.

He pressed his finger to the com in his ear to turn it on.

“Force and I are pinned down.  He’s out but we’re safe.  There is a heavy metal door between us and the guards.”

Scott’s voice came in over the com, distorted by his fangs.  “Is he okay?”

“Yea, the field just took a lot out of him.  He’s asleep.  But we’re stuck here until it’s time to go.”

Jackson’s voice came in next.  “Good, Softwire.  Stay there and don’t risk anything.  We’ll get to you as soon as we can.”

***

Huntress and Phoenix.

“Whoops.”

Lydia smirked as she lashed out with her power and completely destroyed the room they were standing in.  Allison laughed softly.

“I’m not exactly sure that this is what Masquerade meant.”

“Well why can’t we have a little fun?  Hmm?  We got the kiddy job.”

Allison rolled her eyes.  “We’re supposed to be the distraction.  I think it’s supposed to be more something like this.”

Allison stepped out of the room and hooked an arrow into her bow.  She let it fly down to the other end of the corridor where it exploded.

“You know, Hawkeye’s arrows are so cool.  Better than what my folks make.”

There was a loud commotion at the other end of the hall as several men came running towards them.

“Um…Phoenix…they have guns!”

A few shots were fired in their direction; but Lydia came out of the room just in time to create her own version of a force field around them; repelling anything that tried to get too close.

“Fire away girl!”

***

Beta and Omega

“Five.”  Jackson smirked as he took down another guard.

“Ten.”  Scott smirked back.

“Gah, no fair!  The bite was supposed to make me better than you!”

Scott smirked.  “You’re an omega.  If you had become a beta you probably would have been; but you’re not.  Besides, I’ve had more time to learn.”

Jackson crossed his arms over his chest.

“Don’t sulk.  When this is all over we can start sparring together.  We’ll train regularly and we’ll get you up to my level.  Okay?”

Jackson actually smiled softly.

The two jumped when Danny’s voice came in through their com.  He and Stiles were pinned.  Jackson growled lightly and both of them switched into their more wolf like forms.

“If they hurt Softwire I swear I’m gonna…”

“Stay calm.  This is what we wanted.  We need to get the guards to the upper levels to keep them away from the rescue mission.”

Jackson nodded slowly before the two began running off down another hall.  They skidded to a halt when they saw a large group of guards all with guns pointed at them.

“This is going to hurt…isn’t it?”

Scott sighed and nodded.

“Well…this is what you wanted.”

Jackson hung his head and sighed.  “I’m such an idiot.”  He suddenly got a look of determination on his face.  “I’ll take the left, you take the right.”

“Sounds like a plan to me.”

The two let lose loud roars, showing off their fangs and causing the guards to take a step back in shot.  They began tearing into the group before the first shots could even be set off.

***
Alpha and Masquerade

It was quiet down in the lowest level.  They had been forced to hand between levels two and three for a moment as several guards ran upwards to stop the teens that had started the attack.  When they finally touched down, Derek unzipped the upper part of his shirt and pushed it down his back before taking his alpha form.

Talon reached out and ran his fingers lightly through his fur.

“I know where he is…let’s go.”

“Not so fast.”

The two turned to see a single guard pointing a gun at them.  He shot at Talon, only for the bullet to bounce off of his armor and hit the guard in the leg instead.  Derek growled and went to stalk towards the man until Talon rested a hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t.  He just hurt himself enough with that little stunt.  Let’s go do what we came here to do.”

Derek gave a nod of his wolfish head and followed Talon through the deserted halls.

As they got closer, Derek could hear a guard talking to who could only be Alexander Talbot, telling him that they were under attack by a group of teenagers.  The same door opened again before slamming shut when Derek was spotted.

***

“Boss, there also seems to be a giant man-wolf standing outside.”

Tony smirked.

“It looks like my ride has arrived.”

Tony froze when a gun was suddenly pointed at his head at the same time as the wolf burst through the door and threw the guard to the side; causing him to be knocked unconscious as he hit the wall.  Derek growled at Alexander before stepping aside for Talon to enter.

“Put the gun down.”

The old man smirked and cocked the gun.

“And why should I listen to you?  I don’t even know who you are.”

Talon closed his eyes behind his mask before it retracted and he slipped the strip off of his face, revealing himself.

“You know exactly who I am grandfather.”

The old man’s hand became shaky.

“Then why should I not kill him!  He is the reason that your mother is dead!”

Talon growled and stepped forward.

“You know that is not true!  Mother had cancer!”

“Wait, hold up.  Can we discuss the fact that my son’s apparent grandfather want’s me dead?”

“Shut up, Stark!”

Derek growled at Alexander before slowly slinking towards Tony, ready to snap the chains around him at the first chance he had.

“She started getting sick after you were born!”

Talon looked down.  “Then it is my fault that she died and not his.  If my birth is the cause of her death…”

Alexander lowered the gun.  “Never think that.  You are the child of child.  The heart of my heart.”

“And I would not exist if it wasn’t for the man whose death you have been plotting.”

Alexander growled before flipping open the top of his cane.

“Then let us all go to meet your mother together!”

He pushed the button on the top of the cane causing a counter on the wall to start counting down.  At the same time; Derek had ripped open chains that bound Tony Stark.

“It’s a bomb.  Talon we need to go.  Now!”

Alexander was laughing manically and Talon took a few steps back, eyes misty.

“He’s gone insane.”

Talon shook his head slowly and put the mask back on before pressing the com device on the side.

“Everyone needs to get out now.  There is a bomb.  We have ten minutes.”

***

Lydia threw out her arms, causing the remainder of the men attacking them to be forced back against the wall to fall unconscious.

“We’re heading to Softwire and Force’s location now.”

***

Jackson brushed some blood off of his face from where he had been hit by the butt of a gun.  The men who they had been fighting were all unconscious.

“You heard the boss.  Bomb.  Let’s get Softwire and Force and get the hell out of here.”

***

Danny looked up when he heard fighting from the other side of the wall.  Jackson’s voice sounded in his ear.

“You’re safe to get rid of the door.  We need to get out of here…now!”

Danny touched the panel and the door slid upwards.  Scott made his way towards the two to pick up the still sleeping Stiles, but Danny lifted him easily and began running with him towards the door.

“There was no bomb tied to the computer.”

“It probably wasn’t tied in.  It was probably a remote detonator.”

The group made it out of the door and into the woods to get away from the bomb that would soon explode.

***

Talon wrapped one arm around his father and the other arm around Derek, who was now looking human again.  He shot up through the compound before setting them both down on the upper level; across from the door.

The three ran out the exit just in time as the bomb went off early, creating a crater in the ground where they had once been and throwing them forward with its force.

***

His ears hurt.  There was a ringing in them and he felt something wet dripping from his forehead.  Derek reached up slowly and noticed that it was blood.

“Derek!”

He turned his head slowly to see Talon was looking down at him, his mask resting by his side.

“I’m okay.”

“No…No Derek, you’re not.  Don’t move.”

Derek frowned before looking down to see the piece of twisted metal sticking out of his stomach.

“Huh…I don’t feel it.”

Talon pulled Derek’s head into his lap, calling his name as the world once again grew dark.

Chapter 12: A New Day

There were three resting figures in the helicarrier’s medical bay.

In the first was Tony Stark who was getting IV fluids to help with the dehydration he had suffered in the days he had been locked away.

In the second bed was Stiles Stilinski whose father, the Sheriff of Beacon Hills had been notified as to what the child had been up to as well as how he had helped to rescue Tony Stark.  His father was at one side of his bed as Stiles slept and Danny was on the other; holding his hand.

On the third bed, Derek Hale lay resting.  The wound from the twisted metal of the doorframe that had gone through his abdomen had already healed; but he had yet to wake up.  At his side sat Talon Stark, head downcast.

In the first bed, Tony sighed before standing up and rolling his IV towards the very last bed.

“So, is there something you want to tell me kid?”

“What?  About my grandfather?”

“No.  Your grandfather was a man insane with grief over his only child’s death and was looking to blame whoever he could for it.  I’m talking about how you haven’t left his side…not once…since we got here.”

Talon leaned back in his seat, Derek’s hand held firmly in his own.

“I…care about him.”

Tony raised one dark eyebrow.

“Does he care about you the same way you care about him?”

Talon shrugged one shoulder.  “I don’t know.  It doesn’t really matter though…because it won’t change what I feel.”

Tony nodded slowly and patted his son on the back.  “Well, even if you do love guys; I still love you.  No matter what.”

Tony made his way back over to his bed and lay down.  He wanted to get some rest before the Sheriff started pressing him for answers.

***

The first bed was the first to clear.  Tony had been allowed to leave when he had finished the IV.  He had been dropped off at his home in New York already and the helicarrier was slowly making its way to California and the town of Beacon Hills.

Stiles had woken up a few hours ago; and promptly been kissed by Danny.

Apparently seeing Stiles so helpless after being so heroic and protecting them both had caused something to click inside of the other teen.  Stiles had fumbled a bit at first; but had quickly gotten the hang of the whole kissing thing.

The Sheriff had given them a few minutes before clearing his throat and proceeding to lecture Stiles about running off into danger without at least notifying him first.  But Tony Stark had paid off the mortgage on their house for the kid’s help and bought new cruisers for everyone on the police force so…he couldn’t be as mad as he wanted to be.

Still, he forbid Stiles from doing something so half assed ever again…at least until he graduated high school.

***

Derek was the last to wake.  His eyes opened slowly and he took stock of his body.  His body was sore; but all injuries had healed.  Furthermore; there was a hand holding his own.  Turning his head to the side he discovered Talon who was resting with his upper body on the bed; asleep.

Derek shifted slightly and ran the fingers of his free hand through Talon’s hair.

Talon stirred and slowly opened his eyes to look up at Derek.

Talon was fully awake in an instant.

“Are you okay?  How do you feel?  Do you need anything?  Can I…”

He was cut off by a set of lips on his own.  His body went stiff at first before he relaxed and let Derek pull him down to rest beside him on the bed.

“Did you just kiss me?”

Derek simply nodded.

“Why?”

Derek’s eyes had fallen closed again; but they opened now.  “Because you feel like home.”

***

A lot had happened over those few weeks since they rescued Tony Stark.

For one, Stiles and Danny had become an official couple and Jackson almost had an aneurism when he found out that his best friend was dating such a hyperactive loser.  Danny had simply replied with ‘But he’s sweet, and not exactly bad to look at either.’

Tony had made good on his promise to pay off the mortgage on the Stilinski house.  The Sheriff no longer had to work such long hours to make ends meet anymore so he had more time to spend with his son.  Furthermore; the entire squad had new cars with the best technology to help in catching criminals.

Nick Fury had asked the group if they would become a standby team for the Avengers to help out with some of the lesser criminals that may appear in the area where they lived.

Sheriff Stilinski and Chris Argent had promptly told Fury to go screw himself; but had agreed to letting the kids train to become stronger and better able to take care of themselves in case they decided that it was something that they wanted to do when they were of legal age to decide for themselves.

Fury had gone ahead and made them specialized uniforms anyway that would help protect them from bullets and other damage in case they ever did decide to join up; and had graced Allison with a lifetime supply of trick arrows from the same stock that Hawkeye used.

Perhaps the biggest change took place beneath the Stark roof in Beacon Hills.

Derek had cleaned out his own bedroom and moved his things into Talon’s room.  The two were together now; having admitted to having feelings for one another.

The pack was shocked by just how calm Derek seemed whenever he was around the Stark heir.

Yea, things were pretty damn good; but the new branch of Stark Industries would be opening in town soon; and the group knew that with its opening would come dangers to the town that they would have to fix…parents be damned.