A/N : Story number two of the three still tied for top spot in the poll. There's still plenty of time to vote if you want to see another, so go ahead and do that from my profile if you'd like. This is a crossover, and I'll admit that I don't know Avengers as well as I know X-Men, so perhaps allow a little more leeway on my characterisations whilst I get into this? Constructive criticism is, as always, very welcome.

1.

It was a big risk, an event like this. Hank wondered why he had ever agreed to help, knew that there were many out there who did not share Professor Xavier's egalitarian views or his kind and loving heart. To open the Mansion up like this felt like it was asking for trouble, even if the Professor had agreed to put the younger members of his team very visibly on guard to discourage any such trouble.

"Are you almost ready?" Xavier asked, watching Hank fuss with his tie yet again, "You look fine, I promise. Every bit the eminent scientist you are"

Hank turned, pulled at the tie, gave him a deep concerned frown

"Are you really sure about this, Charles?"

"It's a little late now if I wasn't" he replied, "Most of the delegates have already arrived. Hank, I do understand your caution, I really do, but we need to stop hiding. A conference is the perfect way to do that"

"I know, I know… and we'll reach so many other Mutants like this. But really, you know yourself that not all of us are on the side of good"

"Which is why we have our best and brightest standing guard" he said reassuringly, "Except yourself of course. I doubt you'd want to give your address in your uniform"

At last, Hank smiled. In truth he wouldn't have been any less comfortable either in his uniform or his true hairy form than he would be in a suit and tie. Public speaking wasn't his forte, and he knew that some of the ideas he'd be presenting were radical. Charles had assured him that the time was right for his theories on the X gene, and what it could mean for the future of both humans and Mutants, but like anyone more comfortable in a laboratory than a lecture theatre, he was knotted with nerves at the thought.

A floor below, a similar conversation was taking place. Jean laughed at her friend, reached to lay a hand on her shoulder and reassure her

"You look gorgeous" she soothed, "You're going to knock 'em dead"

Jean winced at her unconscious poor choice of words, glanced in the mirror to make sure that Angela had put her gauntlets on and that nobody would be literally knocked dead. Saw the girl give her a dubious look in the mirror. Jean looked so good in her uniform, black leather with red detail that brought out her firey hair to gorgeous effect. Angela felt she'd never look as effortlessly poised and perfect as the older girl, turned and examined herself from a few more angles

"Are you sure it's not trashy?" she said, straightened her white satin shirt a little, examined her butt clad in metallic gold leather pants. Jean laughed again, but kindly

"No! Of course not. I think matching outfits are cute anyway"

"I'm not matching" Angela scowled at her, "I like gold. It suits me"

"Oh... well, yeah of course. You do look good. I just thought that maybe…"

"Yeah yeah, Gold and Silver, like the song" she said, "It'll have to do I guess. Are you excited about today, or scared to death?"

"A little of both," Jean admitted, "I spoke to Scott, he says there's at least 150 people here already, we've had to restrict accommodation at the mansion to only family and people who've come a long way there's so many"

"All Mutants?"

"Most of them. Some relatives of Mutants, a few academics. It's probably the most there's ever been in one place at once" she watched Angela brush out her hair one last time, walked with her down to the hall where later, they would be watching the inaugural address of the first Xavier Academy Conference. Jean could feel the pressure of excitement and nerves in the house, waved to Storm and Kurt as she passed the room they had commandeered for the evening to act as a base for the youngest students, in case they got frightened by the big crowds and needed some time out with the woman they had all taken to calling "Auntie 'Ro" with alarming speed. Later, Kurt would leave her to it and take up his post, had already slipped into his uniform, and was currently trying to clean lemon curd off the front of it with a cloth. Typical, Jean thought, she just hoped he'd be keeping his hands off the pastries from now on, it wouldn't do for one of the guards to have jam all over his fuzzy blue face at such an important event.

Xavier had really gone to an effort to make this look as professional as possible – Jean supposed he was an academic himself after all, so organising a conference and presenting everything properly wasn't out of his sphere of experience, but picking up a copy of the timetable of the day's events she was still impressed.

"You didn't tell me your Dad was going to be speaking" she showed the programme to Angela, pointed to the name halfway down the page, "That is your Dad, isn't it?"

"Yes, and he didn't tell me either" she huffed, annoyed that he hadn't mentioned it. Perhaps he had wanted it to be a surprise, but she would have liked to have known before she realised she'd be sitting in a hall listening to him talk about the psychological impacts of living with a mutation. About to say something else when she had spotted Peter striding toward them, pulling at the high collar of his uniform as if it was strangling him. Erik had forced him to tidy up his hair for the occasion, and he looked uncomfortably like a boy forced into his Sunday Best and not happy about it. Accepted Angela's hug, but only gave her a shadow of his usual cheeky smile.

"Hot damn" she said, ran her hands down over his arms admiringly, "I will not be concentrating on a word anyone says today, if you stand where I can see you in that thing"

"You look great too, Honey," he kissed her lightly on the cheek. Even his lips were shaking with nervousness, "I love you in gold – hey we make a nice matching pair, don't we?"

Jean raised an eyebrow at her friend, stifled at laugh at the frown she aimed at her boyfriend

"I do not match you," she said patiently and slowly, as though addressing a particularly slow child, then softened and gave him an odd look "Are you okay? You don't look so well"

"Fine. Pretty sure I'm gonna throw up from nerves, but fine. Oh no… that's all I need"

She turned to where he had caught sight of someone walking in – a handsome, designer-suited man with dark glasses covering his eyes and a perfectly groomed beard. He looked as if he paid someone well to style it for him every morning, and she could tell both by the swagger and the suit that he was rich and he really knew it. He strode over to them, one hand held out and a smirk on his face. Peter took the hand reluctantly

"Mr Maximoff, good to see you on your home turf for once" he shook Peter's hand vigorously, turning to the two girls and saying "And who are these charming young accomplices?"

"This is Jean Gray, she's one of our team" he said, glad that the man had turned away so he couldn't see the sneer that Peter couldn't help, "And this is Angela Goldsmith, one of our newer students and *my girlfriend*"

He emphasised the last part, bristled when the man give him a little look before taking Angela's hand and raising it to his lips Continental-style, planting a delicate kiss on her knuckles.

"Enchanted, of course" he smiled, "Tony Stark, pleasure to make your acquaintances, especially you Miss Goldsmith. You look ravishing in that outfit"

"As in Stark Enterprises?" Jean said, open-mouthed with shock, "Wow! What are you doing here tonight?! You're not…?"

"A Mutant? No" he brushed back the sides of his expensive jacket, stuck both hands in his pockets in a way that was intended to be casual but looked entirely cocky instead, "But I have donated a fairly large lump sum to the Academy. I'm just making sure my investment is well spent. Which I'm sure with lovely young students like you, it will be"

Jean giggled, blushed a little. Peter rolled his eyes and folded his arms defensively. The last thing he needed right now was this arrogant egomaniac making him feel even more like an idiot, though at least if he was here, that might mean that his sister was going to be as well. The thought brightened his mood a little bit, even as he seethed with dislike for the man who had apparently spotted someone more interesting to talk to and headed off into the main hall, where the visitors so far were milling around chatting quite happily.

"What a creep" Angela muttered as he left, curled a lip a little, "Guess you can't buy good manners, huh Puppydog?"

"I thought he was lovely" Jean said, a little dreamily, "What a nice man, donating to us like that. The school won't run itself will it?"

"Another member of the Tony Stark Fan Club is born" Peter sighed, "You girls go mix for a while, I'm gonna go for a quick run, try to relax a little bit. I'll be back soon"

Obligingly, they let him go. Wandered in to where the guests were slowly gathering, spotting Jubilation speaking to a tall, broad-shouldered man with long blonde hair, who was apparently telling a story she didn't find all that comfortable, and going to her rescue.