Natasha Romanoff stared down at the baby in her lap, who gazed back at the Avenger with curious eyes.
"You know, if you keep staring at her like that, you might actually burn a hole through her."
Rhodes was thoroughly enjoying watching the interaction between the two, especially seeing Natasha in a situation that was clearly outside her comfort zone.
Natasha only hummed in response, her lips curving upward as the baby girl reached out with both tiny hands to grasp at her red hair.
"It's not funny," Natasha said flatly as she gently held Mara Jade's hand, and the infant instinctively gripped her finger and giggled happily.
"If that's not adorable, I don't know what is," Sam said with a chuckle.
"You seem like a natural, Natasha," Cap observed.
Natasha wanted to protest somehow, but couldn't, as Mara's laughter made her smile too, bouncing the baby gently on her lap.
"So we're going to be babysitting these little ones indefinitely?" Scott said, looking at the small green child from Yoda's species, who was staring at the Avengers with wide, curious eyes.
"They say he's Force-sensitive," Quicksilver said, crouching down next to Baby Yoda and carefully picking him up.
"Pietro, that's not how you hold a baby," Hope said, frowning with concern.
"How was I supposed to know?" Pietro asked defensively.
"Call it maternal instinct," Hope said dryly. "Scott taught me about this when his daughter was little."
Pietro looked at her, then at Scott, then at the baby in his arms, who stared back at him with blank confusion.
"So what's the proper way to do it?"
"Hand him over," Scott gestured. Pietro carefully approached and transferred the baby to Scott's arms. Scott felt a familiar sensation as he made sure to support the child correctly.
"Like this, just like that," Scott explained, indicating the arm that supported Baby Yoda's entire body. "Nice and secure for the little guy."
"This is surreal," Peter said, staring at the infant.
"I'm supposed to be filing paperwork for my next court case," Matt commented. "And now, here I am."
"We all have responsibilities back home," Cap said with a heavy sigh. "And we're still missing Wanda and Vision, plus this prince you mentioned."
"T'Challa, yes," Peter said, releasing his web-line and dropping to the floor. "He was with us when we got teleported."
"Meaning he's out there somewhere, just like Wanda and Vision," Matt noted.
"We've been incredibly fortunate so far," Sam pointed out. "Every one of us has either found their way back to the team or been found by the team."
"So... what?" Rhodes said. "We just keep hoping we get lucky? I'd rather not leave that to chance."
"Especially after what you four told us," Natasha said, looking at the three New Yorkers. "It's possible that other enemies have arrived in this galaxy."
"Which could also mean more allies might come through," Pietro said thoughtfully.
"Hmm," Scott sighed. "That doesn't exactly fill me with confidence."
"So what's our endgame here?" Sam asked. "We've been helping the Jedi and the Republic for weeks now. They've offered us sanctuary, but honestly, I'm not particularly interested in staying here indefinitely."
"Agreed," Pietro said, gently playing with the little Yoda in his arms. "I'm comfortable enough staying at the Jedi Temple, but eventually I want to return to our world."
"What about the children?" Peter asked, now approaching Natasha and Mara Jade, who looked up at Peter with curious eyes. "Can we take them with us? Would we even be allowed to?"
"Besides Scott and Hope, the rest of us probably have zero experience with childcare," Sam admitted.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Dude, you're a father."
"Not the point," Scott waved dismissively. "Are you saying we can't take them?"
"Have you forgotten? These little ones are Force-sensitive and supposedly need protection from the Jedi Order," Rhodes pointed out.
"You mean turning them into emotionless soldiers for the Republic?" Natasha said, pulling Mara closer protectively.
Several of the Avengers shifted uncomfortably, especially Matt, who gripped his billy club tighter.
"From what I've learned, children are typically recruited into the Order as toddlers, and within a few years they're walking and talking normally," Steve explained.
"What about this little guy?" Pietro indicated Baby Yoda.
"...He's a special case," Rhodes said bluntly.
"Why?" Hope asked.
"Obviously because he's from Yoda's species, and they age very differently compared to the rest of us," Rhodes explained.
"Master Yoda mentioned he was almost nine hundred years old," Steve recalled. "And this little guy is only fifty."
"So... what? We have to wait a century for him to reach adolescence?" Sam asked rhetorically.
"Cap, not to be morbid here, but I'm pretty sure the only one among us who could survive those hundred years is you," Scott observed.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Your super-soldier stubbornness will outlive all of us," Natasha said dryly, causing Cap to snort.
"I think we should give this little guy a proper name," Scott suggested, lifting Baby Yoda slightly. "It feels weird to keep calling him 'the child' or 'Baby Yoda.'"
Several of the Avengers looked at Baby Yoda, who stared back at them with his large, innocent dark eyes.
"How about Kevin?" Peter suggested.
Natasha frowned. "Kevin?"
"Why Kevin?" Sam asked, confused.
"I don't know, just popped into my head," Peter said with a shrug.
"We can discuss that later. Maybe give ourselves time to come up with a proper list—not random suggestions like 'Kevin,'" Sam said.
Peter just pouted and rolled his eyes. "At least I suggested something."
"Friend!"
FRIDAY suddenly spoke up to get their attention, causing Mara Jade to startle and begin crying, with Natasha immediately trying to soothe her.
"Keep your voice down," Rhodes said, frowning.
"My apologies," FRIDAY said contritely. "But I have important news for everyone!"
"This better be worth waking her up," Natasha complained. "It took forever to get Mara to settle down last time."
Seven rectangular devices emerged from a nearby workstation.
"Thanks to the timely arrival of Matt and Peter, I have finally completed Mr. Stark's secondary project for the expanded Avengers team!" FRIDAY announced proudly. "Your new Avengers communication devices."
Everyone except Scott and Natasha (who was still calming Mara) approached to retrieve their new devices.
"So how exactly do these work?" Cap asked.
"Retrofitted with optimal communication capabilities," FRIDAY boasted. "Extremely difficult to jam, able to connect to any available communication network."
"What's the range on these?" Scott asked. "Since we don't have satellites to work with originally, what's the coverage area?"
"Given the networking requirements within this star system," FRIDAY explained, "I had to adapt and optimize the Republic's communication infrastructure for use within their controlled territories."
"Wait, so we can actually communicate with each other across different planets?" Pietro asked excitedly.
"Perhaps we should field-test them at some point, just to be certain," Rhodes suggested, and many nodded in agreement.