"Professor, you know we can help!"

Charles Xavier pinched the bridge of his nose for what felt like the millionth time that day, feeling his stomach drop just a bit lower. "Scott, I know how eager you are, but remember, you're all still teenagers in training." Scott Summers was agitated, and it didn't take a psychic to notice. Charles frowned at the red cheeks, the flailing hands, the tense shoulders of the teen. "I'm sure that New York will live to see another day."

Scott gestured wildly at nothing in particular, a tic that only showed itself when he was at the end of his rope. "But you don't know that! We could be down there in ten minutes, easy. Think of how many lives we could save!" Scott had put on his uniform almost instantly after seeing the news report, only to be stopped seconds before boarding the Blackbird with the rest of the team by Storm.

"You are untrained for a situation of that scale!" Charles raised his voice more than he had intended. Scott's high emotions were much more contagious than anticipated; Charles dropped his volume to a much more suitable level. "I will keep my students safe, and that is final. Letting you go to New York to fight aliens of all things is the last thing I plan to do!" He looked around his office, the large windows letting in an almost cruelly cheerful late spring sun. "Scott, I know this is hard, but sometimes the best thing we can do is to stay out of the way of others."

Kitty pulled away from the office door. "The Professor says we can't go," she announced to the others standing nearby. They had been waiting for Kitty's eavesdropping to reveal some development. Jean had left to lie down not long ago; she claimed everyone's nerves were giving her a migraine. Evan had joked about Jean "feeling a disturbance in the force," but shut up once she admitted that she could feel the pain from the people in New York.

"Not even a rescue mission?" Rogue asked.

Kitty shrugged. "I don't know; Scott isn't asking about that. The Professor seems, like, super intense, though. I think he's really worried for us."

"I hate just standing around all useless and crap," Evan announced. "This sucks."

"Maybe we could organize a blood drive at school?" Kitty suggested. "Or a donation box, like for cans and stuff."

"What do you think is gonna happen to us?" Kurt asked,. "I mean, Iron Man is fighting with other people with powers. Do you think some of them could be mutants?"

"It's possible," Rogue replied. "If the Professor would let us go to New York, we could get some good mutant PR out there." She leaned against the wall. "But if he's made up his mind, there ain't much we can do to change it."

"Scott, I admire your willingness to help others," Charles said, "but it's just too dangerous. How would you feel if one of the team was hurt, or worse?" He watched Scott's face fall and his fists clench. "I'm very sorry."

Scott took a few deep breaths. Professor Xavier made a great point; if someone died, it was on him as team leader. "Thanks for hearing me out, Professor." He turned and headed through the office door. "I'm guessing you already know what he said," Scott said, finding the team in the hall.

They nodded. "It's ok, man," Evan said, "we can all go next time if we work hard enough."

"Evan, why the hell would you want there to be a next time?" Scott scolded. "I'm gonna go watch the news. You're all welcome to join me." He walked away, pulling off his goggles and replacing them with his sunglasses.

"You seem to be someone who can recognize a grand opportunity."

Loki was losing. He realized that from the second that big green…thing had managed to give him a decently-sized concussion, break two ribs, his left ankle, and his ego. His injuries weren't major; Loki was shocked that Midgard was putting up such a fight, and needed time to recalculate his plan. The Chitauri were being routed and overwhelmed by Thor and his new friends, his Scepter was nowhere to be seen, and he had to manually pop his ankle back into place so it could heal.

"I can give you what you've always dreamed of and what you never knew you wanted."

Loki pulled himself up and walked to the edge of the building, feeling the strong updraft through the shattered window. He scanned the battlefield below, then at the large portal in the sky, though Chitauri were no longer coming through.

"I imagine you want something in return? I'm not so much of a fool as to blindly accept any generous offers that come my way."

This would likely be the last time he would be on Midgard for a long while, if not ever. He certainly wouldn't be given the warm welcome he had a thousand years ago, not after failing to enslave half of humanity, assuming he would be free to return. Loki imagined it was more likely than not he'd either rot in the Asgardian dungeons, given that mad Titan didn't kill him for his failure.

Loki's head spun as he recalled the chain of events that had brought him to this moment. A low point in his life, he decided.

"Of course you're not. It's a small price for someone of your skill, and you'll be able to take out a bit of your anger while you're at it. This is the Tesseract, an item of near limitless power in the right hands. I need it, and I need you to get it for me. It's on a planet called Earth, guarded to the best of their feeble ability. Of course, you can't simply take it. Half the planet must die. The other half is yours."

"Killing half of a planet's population sounds rather dreary."

"I have an army for you, and a weapon unlike no other."

Loki felt a fog lifting from his head, and took inventory of his remaining strength and magic. Not nearly enough to fight what Midgard could throw at him, especially the green beast and definitely not Thor. Midgard's little protector. No doubt Thor would take full credit for Loki's defeat. Parades would be held in his honor, feasts had. Loki scowled, summoning the strength for a distant projection.

Thanos took a glowing Scepter from a kneeling servant and twirled it a few times. "Earth will be the first of many worlds that fall under your hand. The Stone in this Scepter can make anyone bend to your will with the slightest touch."

He collapsed to the ground after his efforts, laying back against the ruined floor. The last of his magic gone, Loki estimated when he would be able to escape the building he was in and slip through a hidden portal to another realm. The nearest branch of Yggdrasil, nearly a hundred miles away, was too far to make it in his current condition; he needed time to rest, time that he didn't have.

Thanos reached out and tapped the glowing end of the Scepter to Loki's chest before he had time to react. Loki's green eyes flooded with a bright blue, matching the glow of the Mind Stone within. Thanos let Loki stumble to one knee before offering the Scepter down to him.

Loki took the Scepter and used it to support his weight as he stood. "This will prove useful in my conquest of Midgard. I'll have the Tesseract to you shortly, my Dark Lord."

Thanos smiled. "Yes, I imagine you will." He signaled the Chitauri soldier to open the wormhole to Earth. "I will be in close contact." Thanos followed Loki as he limped to the portal; it really was a shame Loki had been so disagreeable when the Black Order had found him floating through space. "And Laufeyson, don'tdisappoint me."

Loki rolled over and pushed himself up, groaning with effort. No. Thor's group of humans stood over him, aiming their weapons and glaring down at him. He thought he'd have more time! Loki counted the seconds, seeing his former thrall draw his bow, and decided that he must've passed out as a cosmic insult. "If it's all the same to you," Loki said, composing himself, "I'll have that drink now."

Logan raised his eyebrows at the TV, crushing a can of beer after taking a long drink to empty it. "I'll be damned," he said. A shaky camera had zoomed in on a swarm of aliens flying through the streets of New York. The footage continued until a car exploded nearby and the camera was dropped. The news station switched back to an anchor in the studio, with a small picture of Tony Stark in the top right corner. He reached out for another can, but Ororo pulled it out of his reach, popping it open and taking a sip without her eyes leaving the screen. "Since when do you drink?"

"…the source of the invaders is still unknown. Residents across New England are advised to remain inside and a state of emergency has been declared nationwide. It has been confirmed that Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man, is on the scene along with other powered individuals. We are receiving reports…"

"We could be out there helping," Ororo replied, ignoring the question. She tapped her fingers on the kitchen table.

"Yeah, but then who'd watch the kids?" Logan replied, making his way to the fridge. "If those whatever-they-ares show up here, they can't protect themselves, even if they think so. Besides, you really think the world's ready for mutants? Give 'em some time after this, 'cause they've already got to get used to aliens and whatever the hell else is in New York right now."

"…numbering in the thousands. The individual responsible has been confirmed to be the same man who initiated the attack on Dr. Heinrich Schafer in Germany Wednesday. This man has not been positively identified yet, but we will keep you updated…"

"The world was ready for Iron Man."

Logan snorted around his newly opened can. "No, the media was ready for Iron Man. Somethin' divisive to draw in the viewers. They were arguing over whether Stark was a menace to the nation or the savior of mankind two days ago. Wasn't till that horned dickhead showed up in Germany that they figured it was time to choose a side."

Ororo shook her head at the bitter taste after downing more of the can. "It is still a step in the right direction."

"Hmph, just you wait." Logan sat back down at the table. "I'll bet that they'll be blaming Stark and his buddies in some way by next week."

Lyra grinned as she looked up from a thick book. "Hello, Mommy!" She rested the book spine-up on the floor and stood. "I'm glad you're finally back! You were gone a very long time." Lyra crossed the floor and earned a hair-tousle.

Her mother smiled down at Lyra, eyes clouded and the corners of her mouth fighting between twitching up or down. "My little raven, I'm going to go away soon. Perhaps forever." She knelt down until she was looking up at her child. "Your mother has made one mistake too many, and that's going to cost us both. I'm going to have to send you away, now."

"Send me away? But-but I don't want to go!" She grabbed her mother tight around her middle, squeezing as hard as she could. "Don't leave me, Mommy!" A tear slipped down her cheek when Lyra heard her mother grunt at the hug; she had never heard her mother make such a pained sound before.

"I know, I know, but things are out of mommy's control," Lyra's mother pulled her away by her shoulders and knelt down to eye level. "You're more ready than both of us realize. I'll be back, before too long." Her voice cracked. "Stay strong and get stronger, little one, for both of us." She embraced her daughter in a hug, ignoring the shot of pain it sent through her body.

Lyra held on tight, feeling her mother's form begin to fade into incorporeality, nodding into her shoulder once, twice, then her arms squeezed together as there was no longer a mother between them to hold. Lyra cried, wiping her eyes as the room around her, the room she had called home for a decade of living, with its thick fur blankets and thicker tomes and windows showing far off realms and the big chair her mother always sat in and told stories of long before and far away, began to fade just as her mother had.

"Manhattan has always been our place!"

Chiron absent-mindedly examined the balance of an arrow, listening to Mr. D rant for the fifth time that hour about the current…situation.

"I never been to Boston, you know why? 'Cause those Scandicknavians would have my ass! I can't believe Father just wants to ignore the horn-heads right outside our front door!" Mr. D opened a new can of diet coke-his seventh, Chiron noted-and downed it in one long drink, ignoring the long rumble of thunder outside. Though, Chiron figured it could be from the distant battle. "Not that I care," he continued, "I just think it looks bad. How do you think this is gonna look to the other pantheons? Not good. The Egyptians still make fun of us for that Titan thing."

"I'm sure your father has his reasons," Chiron replied, grateful that the schoolyear had just begun. He didn't know how he could keep the entire camp put whilst New York went up in flames. The few year-round campers were antsy enough. Dinner tonight would likely be full of enough questions to keep him answering for the next few centuries.

Chiron figured Percy was in hysterics; he worried how the boy would react, given that a similar event was likely to happen in less than a year's time. He hadn't received an Iris-message from him yet, though Annabeth had wasted zero time in sending one wondering what "the actual Hades" was going on, to which Chiron replied to the best of his ability.

Mr. D snorted. "Doesn't he always? Look, all I'm saying is that we should be kicking their asses right back to…to something-guard."

"Asgard."

"Yeah, whatever."