Prologue
When Tony Stark first saw the profile on Captain Steven Rodgers he was struck by how little they had on him. No birth certificate, as it supposedly it had burned in an apartment fire, and very little other records. There was his mother's green card, and things, and he had some medical files. However, very little was known about America's hero. Tony, in true Tony Stark fashion, hacked into every database in the country that could have one drop of information on Steven Rodgers.
He found the Captain's estranged father and his half-siblings, and all of his great nephews and such. He had 20 great nieces alone. However he also found a very interesting letter from James 'Bucky' Barnes which peaked Tony's curiosity. Why was Bucky calling his captain 'kid' when according to the age Steve gave to the army Steve was older than him? So he dug a little deeper and what he found shocked him.
Apparently no one researched enough to find out the simple truth. Captain America aka Steven Rodgers was a kid, and one who had just turned 17 a month earlier.
So with this information in hand he forced himself out of bed after having a nightmare about going into the portal. He confronted the Captain about it. His eyes went wide and he got pale, and Tony knew right then that Captain America was only a kid. A kid with no one in the world, who was experimented on, forced to kill, became a national hero, and lost everything.
"You mean to tell me you went into the army at 16?!" Tony might not look it but he cared for kids. He didn't like when they were bratty, but he didn't support child abuse and had donated quite a bit to charities that helped kids that were down on their luck. So to find a kid who had drank, smoked, and fought in a war didn't really help his morning mood.
"Yes." Steve wasn't even looking at him anymore; instead he was looking at his twisted up hands that he was wringing for all he was worth.
"Jarvis please get everyone else up. We have to discuss something."
"Should I tell them sir?"
"No, just get them up here."
A few minutes later the Avengers came in. They were all in various states of undress and wakefulness. It seemed that only Thor was awake.
"What do you want, ya tin can? Can't it *yawn* wait. It's too early." Tony glared at the secret agent.
"First of all it's almost 11 o'clock. Second no this is really important. The captain here turned 17 a month ago." All of them immediately sobered up.
"Why are you so sad friends?! This is cause for celebration!"
"Not on Earth it isn't," Bruce explained, "child soldiers is illegal and unethical."
"But why he became a man early."
"It's because for some kids killing really messes them up in the head. It can lead them to go insane or it can leave them with mental scars for life." Natasha says, "I'm the prime example. Now why'd you do it?"
"I didn't want to be forced to live with my dad. He abandoned my mother for some other woman and left herself and me to fend for ourselves. He didn't want me and I didn't want to go. So I lied about my age and joined the army. No one really cares to look into things when you're so sick you're practically disabled."
"You are sick?"
"No, Thor, I was sick. I had a very bad sickness, one that made it hard to breathe. I wasn't always like this. In fact I used to be so weak that on some days I couldn't even support myself."
"But how are you like this now?"
"I got this thing called the super soldier serum. It got rid of my asthma helped me grow almost 2 feet and I turned into this."
"Oh, so what will happen now?"
"No drinking, smoking, and in the fall you're going to school."
"School?"
"Yeah, you are still in school. What are you a junior?"
"Yes, but I never got into school that year."
"We've noticed, kid."
"You do realize that I am still older than you by a fair margin, right Hawkeye."
"Yes but technically you're a kid. Have fun in high school, 'cause it's a bitch to go through now."
"It wasn't fun in the 40's either."
