Disclaimer: I own nothing...(checks)...yep still don't own it.

A/N: Read and Review

-Xavier School for the Gifted-

Warren Worthington III floated above the floor of the danger room as the young shapeshifter ran the circumference dodging laser fire from the rooms auto turrets. Scott and Logan had a rule about underage mutants going on missions, they had to survive a fifteen minute danger room session. So far the kid had gone twelve with only a handful of nonfatal strikes, the Archangel smirked as he fired a wave of feather blades at him.

Ajax surprised the seraph mutant when he dodged the first two feathers before grabbing the second two. He then used the weapons to deflect other incoming blades. One of the deflected blades sliced the power cable on one auto turret, while another spun wildly at Archangel. Warren dodge quickly by gaining altitude, then turned back to see his opponent throw one blade into the barrel of the remaining turret. Looking at the timer hanging above his head the former horseman folded his wings dropping to the floor below.

Scott's voice echoed around the room, "Well done Ajax, you passed the test, though Warren seemed to have taken it easy on you."

Turning to where Cyclops, Rahne and Emma Frost stood Archangel glared, "I'm not a sadist like Logan, and all this training session has done is delayed our departure. The Professor agreed with me, the boy needs to learn his origin...besides I highly doubt we'll run into either Sinister or Apocalypse."

"No, but you're intending to walk into one of Sinister's labs. Who knows what traps he's left behind." Cyclops turned to Emma, "Have you decided who's going with you?"

The White Queen smiled, "Obviously Rahne and Ajax. Warren, Kurt, and James have already agreed to come. Gambit and Rogue have volunteered, and Jubilee will be coming to watch the kids."

"Kids?" Cyclops frowned, "What are you thinking?"

Emma crossed her arms, "Please Scott, you think I would intentionally endanger our students. Gregor is leading the support team, Kelly twisted his arm into letting her go...of course Julian wouldn't pass up a chance to go on an adventure, the little hellion he is. Kurt joining the team of course led to Talia learning about it, she and Megan are already planning to stow away."

"So instead of stopping them we just let them go." Scott shook his head, "I don't like this...surprised you're not including Daken and Laura."

"Oh, I'm sure they would come as well, but there's no way Logan would allowed them anywhere near SHIELD." Emma turned to where Ajax had moved to next to Rahne, "Now I think it's time we all suit up...what's a mission if we're not properly attired."

-Locker Room-

Ajax stood before the red clad scientist Hank Pym as he explained the new uniform he made for the shapeshifter, "So this stuff will grow when I grow?"

"Exactly," Hank indicated the wristband with a readout, "This monitors the bioenergy your body processes, when you emit the wavelength that stimulates your growth it will stimulate the Pym Particles in the suit, making it adjust to your new size. When the wavelength begins to weaken the suit will return to its normal size." Hank then indicated a series of lights on the wristband, "These lights indicate the strength of your bioenergy. Once all lights go red you have no more bioenergy to use, meaning your healing factor will shut down and you'll return to your normal size. McCoy is still analyzing your powers so I'll keep in contact to make adjustments as needed."

"Umm...thanks for doing this." Ajax rubbed his neck, "Kind of got tired of ruining all my clothes when I lost control."

Pym chuckled, "I know the feeling kid, first time I shrunk to the size of an ant I was standing in my lab in nothing more than my birthday suit. We'll have you squared away before long, and until then this prototype suit will prevent any embarrassing moments."

Turning away from the Avenger Ajax caught a jacket thrown by Julian, "You need to show your colors man." Ajax looked down at his new uniform, which was only a navy jumpsuit. The jacket Julian had tossed to him was a darker shade of navy, almost black, with two bars of yellow running from the waist up over the shoulders on the back the bars proceeded to cross forming the X symbol. Julian nodded as Ajax pulled on the jacket, he was wearing a similar one with the bars in red, "That's just the standard issue we all get," He swept some imaginary dust from his sleeves, "Mine is custom made."

Ajax snorted, "Impressive rich boy, does mommy and daddy dearest know you spend your allowance on tailoring your superhero outfit."

"No, but what would they care." Julian glanced at the Avenger scrutinizing them, "Anything else Doctor, or are we good to go?"

Shaking his head Giant-Man motioned for the door, "Nope, just going to head for the hanger...I'm hitching a ride back to the helicarrier with your group. I'm sure it's going to be a truly educational moment."

-Hanger-

An X-jet, the smaller and less stealthy cousin to the famed Blackbird. While the Blackbird is the height of aerospace technology, the lesser known X-jets are designed along the same specifications as a SHIELD Quinjet. A versatile transport with minimal arms and stealth capabilities.

Ajax turned his gaze from the jet to the open ceiling, sounds from the school above echoed down to the hanger. Many of the younger kids were probably amazed seeing their basketball courts split open. "Alright, gather around we're already behind schedule." Looking over he saw Warren waiting for everyone to join him.

A squad of MRD troopers stood checking their equipment, he took note of their weapons. These weren't the normal guns the perimeter guards carried or the sidearms the agents hid under their sport coats in the school. High powered energy weapons that could drop mutants like Sabertooth or Strong Guy, they could even make the Blob think twice. Gregor snickered as he saw him watching them, "Don't worry kid," he tapped the sidearm on his hip, "Beast calibrated this one just in case you need a boost."

A hand landed on his shoulder and he looked up into the red eyes of Gambit, "Aye, and let's hope we don't need to use it."

Moments later everyone was gathered, Sam and Dani having thrown in last minute. Warren looked everyone over lingering on the five minors clustered in the middle of the group, "As you've all been briefed we're going on a bit of an intelligence gathering operation. About a week ago Ajax and his twin rampaged..." he smirked at the growl and glare from mentioned young mutant, "...well his twin rampaged, Ajax was just following. Anyway their recovery has led to more questions, and those questions beg answering."

The White Queen stepped up, "Our first objective is the SHIELD helicarrier over Manhattan, we'll pick up someone who has some knowledge as to our ultimate destination. After that we will retrace Ajax's path, and hopefully discover what set off his brother's rampage. We have also another task, locate the lab Rahne was taken to."

"This mission isn't expected to turn into a combat situation, but we're not taking any chances." Gregor looked at the kids in the center of the group, "You five are to stick to your guardian or supervisor," he held up five wristbands, "and just in case you get separated we'll be using tracing bands. Be warned if you try removing these without the proper code they'll emit a hypersonic alarm that'll fry most electronics and knock out most organics in a thirty foot radius."

Kelly frowned, "Don't you use these on prisoners?"

Gregor sneered, "While designed for that we learned to utilize the tools at our disposal. My job is to make sure we all make it back in one piece."

"As you said we're not expecting to walk into a combat situation. Though it is always good to be prepared." Emma Frost continued, "Let's load up, sooner we leave the sooner we get back."

(45 Minutes Later; New York Airspace)

Gregor exited the tail section of the jet walking toward the cockpit. As he passed the kids he checked their crash harnesses and tracking bands before moving on. A nod to Archangel he passed the winged mutant and moved to stand behind the pilot and copilot, "We at the coordinates for our rendezvous?"

Checking his instruments the copilot grumbled, "Yes sir, just hovering off Manhattan Island, no sign of the Helicarrier."

Gregor turned as Hank Pym entered the cockpit, "If you don't mind I'll take the controls from here." The three humans shared a look before Gregor motioned for the pilot to surrender his seat. Pym sat down and switched the comms channel as he put on the headset, "Cap you got your ears on? Ant Man to Sky Home One, got some guests who are a bit impatient. Would appreciate it if you'd drop the cloak and open bay three."

The comm crackled to life as Steve Rogers voice responded, "Rodger that Ant Man...we'll be in position in forty seven seconds. Your landing window will be ten point six before the cloak will be reactivated."

"Copy that Cap, see you in a minute." Antman indicated the back section of the jet, "Might want to tell the rest of them to get ready, Fury isn't a man to be kept waiting."

Walking into the back Gregor noticed the younger members of the group watching out the windows their recently checked crash harnesses no longer holding them into their seats. Shaking his head he turned to where White Queen and Archangel were speaking with Nightcrawler. The blue furred teleporter huffed, "The fewer of us who disembark the better...Wanda will no doubt wish to see Talia, we could leave the girls with them until we return to drop of the SHIELD personnel back off."

"And what if she gets called out on Avenger business, who will be here to keep those two out of trouble." White Queen was obviously against leaving any mutant behind on the Helicarrier.

Deciding to add input Gregor answered, "Jubilee and two of my troopers could remain as well, we'd need to leave a small group behind anyway. The jet is already almost at capacity."

"Gregor is right. Rogue and I could fly alongside the jet to decrease the load, but we're still near the threshold on the overload limit with the extra supplies Scott insisted we bring." Archangel glanced toward the kids who were watching the jet enter the Helicarrier hangar bay.

A snarl from Rahne drew their attention toward the back section of the jet where Vision had phased through the tail hatch, "Pardon my intrusion, our sensors detected an anomalous energy reading."

"Sorry, that's the Shi'Ar shield generator. Thought we had it switched off." The Pilot walked over to a console and opening a panel switched off power to an alien device, "You're lucky you didn't try phasing in here when that shield was actually active."

Vision looked nonplused as he turned to the older mutants on the jet, "I would have noticed such an energy field. Fury is waiting for you on the command deck. We ask your MRD forces remain in the hanger."

Gregor was about to object by was preempted by White Queen, "We understand, they will remain in the hanger. Kelly Wainwright though is not officially MRD so will accompany the group meeting with Fury, and have an open communicator to her cousin."

Unable to counter the argument Gregor watched as the android superhero processed the counter and responded, "That will be acceptable. Those not attending the meeting are free to explore unrestricted areas of the carrier. I am told the view from the observation deck is most enjoyable."

(Later)

Ajax followed his mother and the other older mutants through the Helicarrier, Kelly at his side fidgeted as they walked down the metal halls. He could understand her discomfort as his only recollection of SHIELD were blurry memories of their emblem through the tank's glass. That and everyone he trusted disliked them.

They had just reached the command deck when his mental catalogue of scents sent off alarms. Two familiar scents lingered in the air, faint but relatively recent. The aircraft's ventilation swirling it amongst the numerous others. His snarl sent the others on edge, it was his mother who reacted first, "Ajax, what's wrong?"

Growling he resisted the urge to transform, "Two people I recognize their scents...from back then."

"Surprising you can recognize their scents from six years ago, but we were expecting them." Archangel frowned, "From what I've learned they are the only survivors from that encounter."

Entering the bridge they found Nick Fury standing with Captain America and Iron Man. Standing on either side of the two superheros were older SHIELD agents. The one next to Cap was wearing a suit, clean shaven and his brown hair was receding. The one next to Stark wore the standard SHIELD fatigues altered to accommodate cybernetics, he'd long since gone grey in both his mustache and head.

Fury stepped forward, "Welcome to the Helicarrier," He indicated the rest of his group, "You all know Rogers and Stark. The other two are your guides as it were. Phil Coulson and John Garrett, two of my most trusted agents...six years ago they were on an op to root out a Zodiac cell in the Rockies. That op led their team to Sinister's lab, he was apparently supplying them with genetic engineering assistance."

Rhane looked down at Ajax, "He manipulated Ajax's genetic code. He added the genetic material of several other mutants."

"You're lucky he didn't turn him into the monster the others in that lab were." Garrett frowned, "We lost six good men to some sort of fish man, and another to a flying lizard."

White Queen looked to Ajax, "How much older were your two brothers kept in that lab?"

A flash of knowing crossed Ajax's eyes as the programed portion of his mind activated, "Several years...they weren't meant to be released from their tanks. I don't know why, they were just genetic material." With that his eyes returned to normal as he looked at the adults with confusion.

Rhane glared at White Queen, "Emma, please don't do that without warning him. It's hard enough to get him to trust people without you flipping that damn switch at every whim."

"I apologize Rahne, but we needed to know." Frost then turned to Fury, "What happened to those two?"

Fury shook his head, "We don't know. The team removed the tank holding the girl from the lab. Apparently that tripped some sort of security measure that unleashed them. During the ensuing fight the tanks holding the twins were compromised, safety measure on those tanks flushed them into some sort of escape tunnel." Fury looked to Coulson, "Phil shot a tracking round into one of the twins, but it went inactive within minutes."

Archangel nodded, "Their bioenergy can be used to disable electronics and part of their mutation absorbs energy from external sources." He looked over at the agents, "Were you able to tag either of the other two?"

Coulson shook his head, "Couldn't get a clear shot. We pulled out, but that fishman mutant had some sort of venom. The six men he bit all died before we could get them to medical attention. The agent killed by the other one was the last one up the escape route, his back was ripped open by claws. What we pulled up was barely recognizable."

"So you pulled out and never went back?" Archangel was skeptical of that fact.

"Wasn't worth the potential loses." Fury looked toward Ajax, "We also figured Sinister would wipe the site after he recovered his subjects."

Rhane frowned, "So he hasn't?"

"No, our initial survey of the area show zero activity, but the lab is still there." Garrett frowned, "We'll be taking Coulson's team and the bus, your jet doesn't have a cloaking device. Our first drone surveying the lab was shot down by an optical targeting system, the second didn't have a radar scrambler but was equipped with an optical cloak."

Kelly leaned into Ajax, "We're not seriously driving all the way out west are we?"

"Hope not...I don't do well in confined spaces." Ajax rubbed the monitor on his wrist, "We're lucky I'm not shorting out this whole aircraft."

Stark looked down at the young mutant, "Well we did ground your suit. That wrist monitor is powered by your excess bioenergy."

Kelly looked at the monitor, "You have excess bioenergy?"

"Yep, shocked Julian at breakfast this morning while passing him the tongs for the bacon...got Karma when she came to wake mom and me." Ajax snickered, "Also got Mister Worthington during that training session Mister Summers forced me to go through."

Archangel glared, "Yes, and you're lucky I chalk that up to an accidental discharge."

"Come on Warren it can't be that bad. He sleeps at my hip most nights and I haven't even noticed." Rhane shared a knowing look at her son.

White Queen smirked, "Of course not Rahne, seeing as you're blood relatives his powers should have no effect on you."

"Actually it's her healing factor that keeps his powers from effecting her. Neither Ajax or Caine can actually harm anyone with a healing factor." James crossed his arms from the back of the group, "Though I doubt that stops them from feeling the pain of actually getting hit by those bioenergy shocks."

Fury shook his head as he turned to Rogers, "Cap, which Avengers you taking?"

"Scarlet Witch, Vision, Wasp, and Antman should keep us balanced. With Tony and Daisy we should have all our bases covered." He turned as a group of SHIELD agents walked into the room.

Coulson stepped toward them, "Everything ready May?"

"The Bus is prepped for departure. Fitz and Simmons are escorting their team from the Observation Deck. Triplette is getting the others from the hanger." Agent Melinda May said as she came to flank Coulson.

Phil indicated the three agents, "This is part of my team, my second-in-command Agent May. Our specialist Agent Ward, he's not much of a people person. Last, but not least, our computer specialist Agent Daisy Johnson."

It was James who noticed the arm bracers on the young woman named Daisy, "You have powers?"

The underlying tension in the room rose as Daisy rubbed her arms, "Yes..." She looked between Cap and Coulson who both nodded, turning back to the mutants she dropped her arms and stood as tall as she could, "I'm an Inhuman."

The resulting reaction was immediate. White Queen activated her diamond skin and moved to separate the children, while the others took aggressive stances. Kelly slipped behind Ajax as he gained mass and reverted to his four-legged state.

On the other side of the room the SHIELD agents and Avengers moved into a defensive formation. Tony with his repulsors aimed at a hovering Archangel huffed, "What the heck? All she said was she's an Inhuman."

"That's kinda the point...Mutants and Inhumans are like oil and water." Fury, the only agent not to pull a weapon stepped into the no man's land between the two groups, "Quake isn't a threat to you...she's an outcast to both those who follow the Royal Family's Laws and those of the splinter group."

Archangel landed but kept his wings at the ready, "You'll have to forgive our reaction, but our last encounter with her kind left our home in ruins and several of our people dead."

"Really? That mansion of yours gets demolished at least once a year." Stark winced as every mutant's gaze landed on him.

It was a disembodied voice that responded, Professor Xavier's mental projection appearing next to his X-Men, "The damage or destruction of our home matters little. In that misguided attack Black Bolt killed five children himself. That doesn't include all the others killed by him and his Royal Guard."

Daisy winced at the mention of the King's attack on the X-Mansion. It had been her mother and father who instigated the attack, planting evidence the X-Men were planning to aid in overthrowing the Inhuman Royals. Black Bolt had attacked feeling he was justified, not knowing the target of his aggression was a school.

She may be an outcast to her people, but Medusa had told her that didn't mean she couldn't be loyal to them. Swallowing the lump in her throat she spoke up, "He didn't know it was a school."

Every eye in the room landed on her, "What do you mean?" The hard edge in White Queen's voice even unnerved the children she was shielding.

"Black Bolt didn't know it was a school when they attacked...hell he didn't even know what a school was then." Daisy looked to May who nodded for her to continue, "After I gained my powers the Royal Guard detected me, the Queen told me about the attack...and how neither side has really tried to talk."

Warren glared at her as his wings retracted, "I don't like this, but we're on a clock."

"You're right," Fury turned and walked out of the no-man's land, "Wheels up in five."

AN: So welcome Phil Coulson and John Garrett to the stage. Some notes Coulson will basically be the same as from the Cinematic Universe but altered a bit to fit into this reality. Garrett will be a combination of his comic and television incarnations. No Hydra infiltration in this story.

AN2: Thought I'd get further in this chapter, but it got a little long so next chapter the field trip continues.