I'm trying to capture the essence of Leverage in the way the con has gone down, I hope I got it right. Thanks for reading! And thank you for the review! Glad to know people are enjoying the story!
I own nothing but the story-line, Boo for me.
Thor's voice reverberated in Nate's head; he hated being called a traitor. Katherine phased into the passenger seat beside him and squeezed his arm; she knew from all Elliot had told her about his boss, and how hard this was hitting him. Nate tossed her a grateful smile. He calmly parked the van in front of the Brewery the Leverage Crew owned and climbed from the front seat. He had made it to a barstool, surprisingly enough, before Fury, the two Avengers and the two X-Men from the van descended on him.
"What do you think you are doing?" Tony yelled. "You just left Sophie, who I had taken to be your girlfriend, back there with Loki…Not to mention that she has taken out her communication device!"
Nate just swirled his finger in the air at a pretty, young, waitress and heaved a sigh, listening to the grunts and banging noises he could hear through his com. Amy set a glass of whiskey in front of Nate with a sympathetic smile, "You guys are crazy, you know that?" She had figured out a little bit about her bosses side business since Parker had enlisted her help when the blonde had spotted thieves in the bar and had no use of her leg. "I'll have the others' drinks out in just a few minutes…" She turned to the Avengers, "Pick your poison."
Tony smirked, though his eyes stayed hard, "Scotch, best you can find." Fury nodded his agreement with Tony's order, Bannon and the girls shook their heads. A light thump-a whump and a small skid was heard, hardly causing any patrons to even look up.
"C'mon, order up a drink, everyone else will be in here soon." Nate said, a half-smile playing at his lips as he lifted his glass for a sip. Katherine slid onto the barstool next to him with a soft sigh, her legs were cramping from the climbing she and the other girls had done that night.
Hardison opened the door, holding it wide for Eliot who was cradling Natasha in his arms. Eliot veered off to the back of the restaurant to a more private room, reserved for parties, nodding to Nate as the older man slipped from his barstool and followed him. Katherine smirked at Fury's slack jaw and followed the Leverage Crew's Mastermind. She had been the only calm one in the van, and she stood protectively by Nate's side.
"How in the hell did you pull this off?" Fury demanded just as the rest of the Avengers and Leverage Crew gathered in the private room.
"He is a very smart man." Said a new British voice, his smile could be heard in his words.
"Professor Xavier." Nate nodded in thanks to the man in the wheelchair as he rolled into the room.
"How is she doing, Eliot?" The professor asked, ignoring Fury's aggravated sigh and exaggerated eye roll he typically reserved for Tony.
"She's a lot better since you removed the collar." Eliot's voice was tinged with concern and love for his sister.
"So," Parker said, skipping into the private room with a huge grin, several people following her. "Is it all set?"
"Yes. Sophie's hooked Loki, so we are ready for part two." Nate said with a grin.
A woman with light cocoa skin and white hair stepped up to the Professor, Logan staying protectively close to her. "Charles…are we sure we should be doing things this way? I mean, we are involving innocent people." She nodded toward Nate, Parker, and Hardison who were sticking close by Eliot's side.
"Ororo," The Professor smiled kindly, "There is no way to keep them away, they are Piotr…Eliot's family. They won't leave him to fight this battle without them."
Ororo shook her head and looked at the long haired man who used to belong to her team with a gentle smile. "So it's Eliot now?"
"Yeah," Eliot's face reddened sheepishly.
Parker started bouncing up and down excitedly, bumping Eliot's shoulder with her own. "So how do you have such a great southern accent if you didn't even learn English until you were a teenager?" She had learned a few things when she had helped get Natasha safely back to the Brewery.
"The Prof." Eliot chuckled. "I asked him for help to…reinvent myself…get some distance and perspective…he used his powers to imbed the accent and speech patterns into my brain. Probably the easiest way to learn a language ever." He shrugged, watching his sister slowly come out from under the drug's effects as she lay on a booth.
Parker nodded, satisfied with his answer and turned to Ororo. "So what are your powers?"
Ororo cocked an eyebrow and smiled indulgently, "I am called Storm, as I can control the weather."
"Oooh! Cool." Parker shrugged and moved on in her own version of interrogation. She turned on Logan. "So how about you? I saw how you tossed Eliot across that boxing ring with a single punch, so do you have super-strength?"
Ororo quietly admonished the man in question and glared at him. "He deserved it…trust me." He spoke quickly to Ororo.
Amy entered the room then with two trays of drinks, one with two pitchers of soda and several stacked glasses the other with a pitcher of beer and a bottle of Nate's favorite Scotch. "Should I just bring a couple of bottles back here?" She asked Nate, and then noticed the unconscious Natasha. "Or do you need the medical kit?"
"No, we're good on the medical front," Nate turned to the newcomers, "Anything in particular you prefer to drink?"
"The sodas are Pepsi and Coke, and there's the house beer and Scotch." The waitress explained.
"We should be fine with these for now, thank you." The professor nodded his thanks to the young girl who nodded and left the room.
"Quite the staff," Ororo commented.
"I think she's figured out our side-business." Nate threw a knowing look to Parker who shrugged sheepishly.
"So conning people is your side business?" Tony asked.
"Yeah, man," Hardison spoke up, proudly. "This is our Brewery!"
Logan cocked an eyebrow and eyed the glass of beer he had just poured himself warily.
"It's good," Eliot offered with a grin.
Logan grunted and took a hesitant drink. Nodding his approval he took a longer draw of the amber beverage before setting the glass down carefully. Parker was standing right next to him, eyeing him with curiosity and suspicion; she poked his arm, and then the back of his hand experimentally.
"Your hands are hard." She stated, continuing her inspection. There was not a straight face in the room as the woman who seemed to be more like a girl circled the large-built man, poking at him every now and then.
"Parker!" Eliot admonished, embarrassed by the girl's actions, but amused as well.
Logan held his arm up at his side and three deadly metal blades grew from between his knuckles. "Don't poke me again."
Parker jumped back, clearly surprised, then returned to Logan's side faster than he would have expected. She held his hand and inspected the claws. Logan threw Eliot a helpless look.
"Parker, leave the man alone. You have no idea how many ways he's learned to hurt people with those claws in the last…four hundred and sixty six years." Eliot told the blonde calmly, rolling his eyes heavenward; Katherine had explained to him that Logan had regained his memories in recent months, and Logan had even told him some of his life's more interesting memories.
Parker's head jerked in her friend's direction comically. "Four hundred years?" She looked at Logan's face closely. "Cool." She stated, then turned to walk toward the Cajun man whose accent she adored. "So what're your powers?"
The Cajun just smirked and tossed her a playing card, Eliot protesting loudly. Parker shrieked and jumped when the card exploded in her hand in a flurry of red sparks.
"I didn't charge it too much." The Cajun drawled with a smirk at Eliot. "By de way…I has a question for our ol' tin-man." At Eliot's nod Remmy's face reddened and he looked at the ground for a moment before glancing at Logan and finally letting his gaze settle on Rogue. "Be my best man in June?"
Logan's growl had Eliot grinning. "Of course I will, Remmy! It took you long enough to ask her!"
Rogue was gripping Logan's arm as the man slowly stalked over to the Cajun man. "Logan! Ya can play protective-daddy ovah a lot a' thins but not this!" She said through gritted teeth. "Ah love him!"
Logan stopped and stared hard at the Southern girl, then turned on Remmy, "If she ever cries because of you, you will face me." He said menacingly.
Eliot smiled at Katherine deviously. "I'm still gonna keep my promise, darlin'." Katherine's eyes looked everywhere but at any of the people in the crowded room.
Clint spoke up before Logan could launch himself at Eliot and find out exactly what promise he was talking about. "So what are we going to do about your girl…Sophie?"
Suddenly Thor entered the room with a wide, self-satisfied grin; Steve was lagging somewhat behind him with Sophie, both shaking their heads at the over-exuberant man in front of them. "My friends! You are certainly most amazing in your talents!"
Nate nodded to Sophie questioningly as she joined him at the tall table he sat at. Her answering smile drew an answering one from the mastermind as he leaned in and kissed her quickly, making the Leverage crew grin madly.
Eliot turned quickly, the sudden movement drawing everyone's attention, and helped Natasha to sit up. She stared at him in confusion before launching herself into his arms.
"Piotr!" She cried, her surprise causing her to revert to her natural language. "How did you…why…It's so good to see you!" Natasha's back straightened instantly and her tearful smile disappeared as she turned to look around the room. She pulled carefully out of Eliot's grasp and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "What took you guys so long?" She asked in her typical stoic demeanor.
Tony started to laugh, but was silenced by the look Natasha threw him. Clint answered with a small smirk to Tony. "We were trying to find a way to get to you without the world realizing that Loki is here. So that meant stealth, and then we realized that your brother's team were planning on running a con on him…so we had to stop them first."
Natasha swung around to face her brother who shrugged, "I missed the update meeting so didn't see any pictures; I didn't realize that it was Loki."
"And that right there is exactly why no one will miss update meetings anymore!" Hardison said, his tone warning.
Natasha glanced around the room, taking note of who was in the room. "So…" She glanced back at Eliot, "This is your new team?" He nodded and watched as she appraised the people he considered family. Her lips turned down and her eyes drooped sadly for a fraction of a second before she smiled tightly at the Leverage crew.
Eliot was about to ask about the look when Sophie spoke up, a warning look to Eliot in her eyes. "Alright. We are onto phase two of the plan." She said proudly. "Loki now thinks I am Sola the Charlatan from Vanaheim."
"How did you manage to make him believe that with Emma Frost by his side?" Fury asked. Natasha spun around to look at Eliot, fear in her eyes.
"It's fine. She's been…taken care of." Eliot soothed his sister with a hand running through her hair. He glared at Clint as the other man approached and hugged Natasha.
"Leave my boyfriend alone." She told Eliot. The Avengers and X-Men wore various expressions of shock and amusement at her endearment. "Not a word, Stark." She warned, not bothering to look at the billionaire whose mouth had been half open to comment.
Eliot huffed and Logan smirked, saying "Welcome to my world, bub."
"I'm surprised I'm alive," Eliot told the older man, "if you feel this way about my dating Katya."
"You know that thing that's keeping you still right now?" Logan asked, "That's what keeps me from killing you."
Eliot nodded his understanding, "Well, hold onto that feeling for a bit longer." He turned to Katherine, his eyes pleading. "Katya, you know now why I have not ever told my crew before this about my powers or you or the X-men…why I have held so much of myself back these past ten years. Please, can you forgive me for being so stupid?" He dropped onto one knee and captured Katherine's hand in his own. "I love you, and I am hoping that you can love me despite my faults. So, Katherine Anne Logan, will you marry me?" He pulled a small box from his pant pocket, revealing a small white-gold ring with a hammered-gold rose and small canary diamond chip in the center, an emerald leaf jutted out over the band to the right of the rose. Sophie's breath caught and Parker audibly gasped. Nate smiled and Hardison held his fist to his mouth, his eyes somewhat glassy.
Katherine's eyes filled with tears as her lips slowly spread into a wide smile. "Yes, Eliot. Yes, I will marry you!" Eliot leapt to his feet to spin Katherine around in his arms before setting her on her feet and kissing her passionately.
"Logan…" The warning came from four female voices, one of which had the Leverage crew jerking their heads around. Maggie stood in the doorway, her arms crossed over her chest and her ankles crossed, she was watching Eliot with Katherine with her head resting on the door frame. A large blonde man stood behind her.
Katherine pulled back from Eliot enough to turn her head towards her father. "Dad…will you walk me down the aisle?" She asked quietly her voice telling him that she wasn't sure he would.
Logan's shoulders sagged and he opened his arms to the girl he had considered a daughter long before the truth had come out. "Yeah, Half-Pint, of course I will." Katherine walked from Eliot's embrace into her father's. She thanked him quietly and sighed when he kissed her hair. He looked over Katherine's head to Eliot, "You know that warning I gave LaBeau?"
"I know, Logan…and I'm going to do my damndest to never hurt Katya in any way." Eliot couldn't stop smiling. He was happy Katherine had agreed and he was happy to also realize that he was proud of the man he had become, and it was that pride within himself that had spurred him into proposing finally.
"Congratulations…to both couples." Xavier smiled at his former students proudly.
Rogue cleared her throat. "Prof? Ah…Ah was wonderin' if ya would escort meh down the aisle?" She asked, shyly.
Xavier's face couldn't have beamed more proudly, "Of course I will, I am honored that you would ask me."
"Sorry to interrupt the wedding plans and all…" Maggie stated as she walked further into the room, "Congratulations, though…" She nodded to the two couples, "But we need to figure out how to deal with the Loki and White Queen situation."
"The White Queen is in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody, currently being transported to the prison where Juggernaut is held." Steve informed her.
Maggie's eyes went wide and she turned to her ex-husband, "So, Nate, are you sure you aren't a mutant? Too many things just bend to your will." Nate smiled and shook his head.
"I have hooked Loki," Sophie told the group. "And with him thinking I am some sort of goddess and that his little psychic is out of the picture, this con will be easier than the San Lorenzo job with Moreau!"
"Moreau?!" The Avengers and X-Men All turned shocked faces toward Eliot.
The typically stoic man shrugged and averted his gaze. "It was take him down or let Nate go to jail…" His eyes held the same pain they had when he first told the Leverage crew that the worst thing he'd ever done, he'd done for Moreau. He turned to his team apologetically. "I wasn't entirely honest with that job either…When I said that the worst thing I had done was for Moreau, well, it wasn't…not exactly. I was a part of a…group… f mutants that was…loaned out to Moreau for the job. It was before I became one of the X-Men, that job sent me running to Professor Xavier, though, for help." He threw a grateful look to his mentor, who nodded. Sophie sent the man she thought of as her hitter/brother a sympathetic look.
"Wait," Said Parker who was lounging back in Hardison's lap in a booth. "What're the X-Men?"
"My students that chose to use their powers to defend people from other mutants who would harm them." Xavier explained easily.
The blonde nodded her acceptance of his response then turned on Maggie. "So you were an X-Man…X-Woman…X-Person?"
Maggie grinned, her look implying a private meaning to the smirk. "I never joined the team; but I did fight with them occasionally. Angel saved my life when I was a child." She explained, "I didn't like hearing that someone was after him."
Hardison shook his head and covered Parker's mouth with his hand to stop her barrage of questions.
"So back to Loki…" Bruce said uneasily. "What're you planning for him?"
"Well," Nate started with an evil grin, "We're going to do what we do best…bring down his little 'evil empire' and give the people he's hurt some compensation from the company assets; we'll let you guys handle Loki himself."
"Now, how are you planning to do this?" Tony asked, thoroughly amused by the entire situation.
"Well, Xavier helped me out on that one." Nate smiled.
"He gave me the memories and thoughts of Sola the Charlatan." Sophie grinned, "Which is why I had to take my com out at the party; sorry if that caused you any worry, Thor." Sophie smirked a little at actually addressing a demi-god. "Couldn't very well let the White Witch hear you guys in my head when I had no idea who you were at the time…Xavier was able to completely hide my own true mind from even myself…something I find to be a very frightening thought now." Sophie's smile faded a bit.
"I never use my gift without permission unless absolutely forced to," Xavier soothed.
Sophie just shook her head. "I'm glad we're on the same side. Anyway, I am going to meet with him tomorrow…Loki thinks that Frost was going to give he and Natasha to the X-Men so that they wouldn't try to hunt her anymore, so when he sent guards to her room to check on her and found nothing there, he was more than accommodating to my suggestion of a partnership."
Nate took up the narrative, "Now here's the plan…"
