"Hey, Clint," Natasha called, sauntering into the teacherless classroom. It was her fourth year at Xavier's, and she hadn't seen her friends all summer. First on her list? Clint.

"Hey Nat," Clint said through a mouthful of whatever it was he'd concocted and called food. "Did you hear about the new kids?"

Natasha shook her head, a small frown appearing on her features. She was always up to date on gossip, and was surprised she had missed this.

"Well, after the big Thor-Loki thing last year, they left, and it opened up two spaces. There's these new weird kids coming in. German? I think she said they were german."

Natasha shook her head. "So how are Steve and Sam doing?"

Clint laughed, rocking back in his chair. "Last time I checked, Steve was still hung up on his not-so-secret crush and Sam's spent the whole summer with his dad at the local base. He's nearly as strong as Steve and I now! It'll almost be a contest for the rugby auditions."

"Not if these new kids don't audition. Thor left, remember? The team's gonna be pretty lost without him." Natasha quipped, taking a seat and removing her hoodie as Mr Summers strode into the classroom.

"Alright, everyone, I am Mr Summers, and that is what I will be called. I am going to be your tutor for this year. Rules apply, but I'll be lenient with mobile devices as long as the volume is kept to a minimum."

Natasha smirked as she watched Summers adjust the red sunglasses on his nose. No doubt he'd been drinking with the PE teacher, Mr Howlett. Oh well, anything was an advantage at this point. Natasha pulled out her phone and checked her notifications. None.

"So, there's the new kids." Clint was still chewing, albeit with less food (was that even food?) in his mouth. He flicked a finger to the very edge of the class, by the window. The new kids, presumably twins, had sat next to each other, sharing a conversation in what appeared to be German. Natasha was rusty - she hadn't taken German classes since Year 8. She could pick out the occasional word, like Father, School, and Class. Nothing of use or interest.

"No doubt the Tony Squad is going to be late. Again. I can't wait to see his face when he gets a detention. They've introduced a new rule this year: more than five minutes and you get a detention." Clint grinned.

"Knowing Stark and his friends, they've probably gotten into the system and marked themselves on time for the rest of the year." Natasha scowled. She had no patience for Stark, as she refused to acknowledge him by his first name, or his equally irritating, smarmy friends, Reed Richards and Bruce Banner. Well, Bruce wasn't so bad, in Natasha's eyes. He was just a bit of a doormat. An intelligent one.

"Hey, Clint, Nat," Sam's voice came from behind them, so the pair turned and saw Sam pull up two chairs: one for himself and one for Steve, who was talking to Maria Hill. "How are you guys doing?"

"I have literally done nothing but play video games." Clint responded, twirling a pen in his fingers.

"I'm good." Natasha replied, keeping her voice even. "Russia was nice. I heard you spent the summer on base with your dad and Steve?"

Sam grinned, looking down and stroking a finger across his forehead. "Yeah, that was pretty cool. Lots of running in the mornings, ya know? Anyway, let's get Steve over - Hey! Buddy!"

Natasha turned to Clint as Sam summoned Steve.

"I forgot to ask - how's Laura?" Natasha asked. Clint's face went dark. He made a phone symbol with his hand, pressing it against the side of his face. Natasha knew very well what that signal meant. She pulled out her phone and opened up their private chat while Steve and Sam made loud jokes about times spent on the base together.

Natasha: What happened?

Clint: She cheated, it wasn't fun.

Natasha: I trust you don't want me to murder her?

Clint: No, it's fine. Just please don't spill.

Natasha: You can trust me.

They put their phones away almost instantly afterwards, joining the vivid conversation Sam and Steve had going.


"Hey, Brucey," Tony laughed, taking off his sunglasses one handed and folding them into a pocket of his tailored school blazer. "What's going on?"

Bruce shook his head. "It's nothing, Tony. Just a new teacher who doesn't seem to appreciate how much leniency like this will cost him."

Tony clicked his fingers out of habit, sitting. "Epic. I like easy teachers." Reed rolled his eyes from where he sat next to Bruce. "I didn't mean it like that!"

"So there's some new kids," Bruce pointed out. "Wanna go say hi? They seem kinda okay."

"Hmm, I don't know," Tony said, glancing over. The boy was tall and lanky, with dark curls. The girl was pretty in an odd way, with long, wavy brown hair tied back and a rounded face. Both looked bored. "At least they realise how boring this place is."

"Hey, it's not that bad," Pepper walked up, putting her uber-high-tech smartphone into a pocket. "Also, hello Tony."

"Well, it just got significantly less boring," Tony grinned. "Hey, Peps! Oh god, save me from the swathes of boring peasants."

"Ah, well, if it isn't Mr Stark himself, gracing us with his presence," Steve's sarcasm was lethal. "You wanna budge a bit so I can get past?"

"Steve, you could roll under a door- WHat the fuck?" Tony struggled to hide his surprise at Steve's new appearance. "Have you been on steroids or what?"

"No, Stark, I just got off my ass. Now can you please do the same?" Tony obligingly stood, not used to the new attitude or appearance. It was like a completely different person.

"Well, man, now I have the heeby-jeebies for the day. Jesus." Stark shivered. Today was going to be odd.