Avengers vs. mutants?
Disclaimer: none of the characters are mine, but belong to Marvel™.
Note: the story contains spoilers.
The man was old, or at least more old than middle-aged. He spoke with a slight Eastern European accent, and walked with a slight stoop. His name was Eric Lensherr and he was looking for Steve Rogers – he had a present to give to him. The S.H.I.E.L.D.-sponsored guards at the Avengers' tower took one look at his present and complied.
You just did not say no to the master of magnetism.
/ / /
"Hello, captain Rogers," Lensherr spoke a while later, once the Avengers assembled to meet him. "I see that life in the 21st century has agreed with you."
"And good day to you too, Mr. Lensherr," Steve Rogers is not shaken – it would take a lot to shake Captain America, and this does not quite make the cut. "I see that you've recovered after the alien invasion of Stuttgart?"
"Yes, yes," the older man nodded, "and I admit that I came to visit you again – please forgive an old man his forwardness, but it is nice to see one's heroes of old return to their youth."
"That's not exactly how it happened," Clint says carefully, not sure if he has to flank the older man, or that he even should, without any of his specialized arrows at hand.
"True, but give an old man his due," Eric Lensherr doesn't appear to be offended, "and in any case, I wanted to thank you for giving me your autograph the last time we met, captain Rogers – I confess that it was too forward of me, perhaps-"
"Think nothing of it," Steve says quickly, "and besides, this time you're the one bearing...gifts?" he adds, a trifle uncertainly.
"That I have," came the nonchalant reply. "I sincerely hope that you will appreciate an old man's attempt to furnish you with furniture? Having been a single man on and off, I know how hard it can be for a bachelor to properly furnish his pad – ah, and you must be Stark."
"And you must be the mutant master of magnetism," Tony Stark answered a question with a question as he gazed upon what was once Ultron – a robot security system that had cost tens of thousands dollars to make, was about to cause millions of dollars worth of damage (not to mention the loss of human lives), and who had ran afoul of the wrong master of magnetism and his family. "Nice job you have done with Ultron, very avant-garde."
"Really? If you say so," the older man looked rather sceptical at this statement, before turning to a more urgent matter. "Mr. Stark, I didn't tolerate it when Stryker had tried to harass the world with the Sentinels, and I see no reason to tolerate you, just because your version of those robots was smaller, more man-sized."
"Hey! Ultron was nothing like the Sentinels! For one thing, all of his bodies shared a brain-"
"They were still robots, they didn't have a brain in the first place-"
"Father! Please! Do you have to argue with Mr. Stark? He may be odd, but he still means well," the Maximoff twins spoke up for the first time, or at least Wanda did – Pietro was more quiet (the physical similarity between him and his father was quite noticeable, more so than in case of Wanda).
"Wanda, Pietro," their father grew noticeably more sombre and solemn. "I am very sorry for not being there for you when you needed someone to be; I am sorry for neglecting you and for thinking less of you, because of who you were; I am sorry-"
"Father, don't, please," the twins gave the speaker a hug, in a manner not unlike the one Luke and Leia might've once given to Darth Vader, if they had had a chance.
There was a pause, which was broken by an "Aw," spoken by a young woman, somewhat younger than the twins were, but again, physically similar to the father of the family.
"Lorna? You're here too?" Pietro asked, as the latter moved to join her father and older siblings in their hug.
"Yes; do you think that father would've delivered all of this metalwork by himself?" Lorna sceptically asked. "Not to mention made it so avant-garde in the first place?"
"Good point," Tony spoke up, even though he probably should have kept quiet at this point in time. "He does look more like a man whose tastes prefer the classics."
"There is nothing wrong with the classics, they've become classics because they were good in the first place," Eric Lensherr replied with more passion than before. "And speaking of first places, Charles and his people should be arriving here soon – they want to speak to Fury, or Hill, or whoever it is that runs S.H.I.E.L.D. here in the first place."
"Yes, that is Fury," Steve Rogers finally re-joined the discussion. "You say that the professor is coming to visit him?"
"Yes. His people and S.H.I.E.L.D. had an off-again, on-again relationship for a while, and it most certainly didn't include S.H.I.E.L.D. sponsoring the recreation of Sentinels in a smaller, more man-sized package."
"For the last time, this wasn't the Sentinel program!" Stark jutted his jaw and stood his ground. "This was completely different, schematics and otherwise!"
"Mr. Stark," Eric Lensherr does not budge, but neither does he go onto the offensive (at which the Iron Man would be at a disadvantage). "The problem isn't with the schematics or anything else like this, the problem is with the result, and from what I've seen, this Ultron version wasn't any different from the original robots, save that it didn't have to deal with the initial restrictions that forced it to hunt only our kind, but could go after all the human species at once."
"Yeah, good point," Tony gives him this one. "So, is the professor here to chew me as well?"
"No, just Fury. Or Hill, or anyone else in charge of S.H.I.E.L.D.," Eric shrugs. "Anyways, captain Rogers, I sincerely hope that you will accept your gift on behalf of me and my family-"
"Of course I will," Rogers said quickly.
"And if you ever can find time to visit Genosha, please give us a chance," Eric continues nonchalantly. "It's a good place and a friend of our family-"
The elevator dings, interrupting him.
"Ah, that must be Charles," Eric Lensherr exchanged a look with his children. "Somebody, call colonel Fury – his guests are here!"
"What guests?" Fury mutters, then stops, as the elevator doors open, releasing an aged and bald gentleman, as well as his companions, all of whom are dressed in certain uniforms.
"They're here to talk to you," Lorna says brightly as the professor – Charles – looks at Fury with a look that is disappointed rather than angry. "About S.H.I.E.L.D.'s part in the Ultron fiasco."
Fury stares at them; his mouth opens and closes several times, before he gives-up. "Let's just go to my office, please," he says, "where I will explain why this wasn't S.H.I.E.L.D.'s fault," he tells the newcomers, as he leads them there.
"Well, that's my cue to follow them," Tony shrugs as he follows them. "What? I was the main driving force behind this, so I am going to be called anyways, plus I owe it to director Hill. Have a good evening, gentlemen and ladies!" and he leaves.
The others exchange looks. "Look, does anyone actually wants to stay here and not listen to Fury get chewed out?" Clint says at last.
No one responds.
"Then let's go and join them!"
And everybody does. And Nick Fury goes through one of the more embarrassing chapters of his life in public.
End