A/N: And here we are folks! The final chapter of this story! It's almost enough to bring tears to my eyes! Just kidding! I can't wait for this thing to be over with so I can get on to the sequel which has been plaguing my brain for the past few weeks now! There will be a very large twist at the end of this chapter and story which will lead off into the sequel! I hope you all like it and there will be a poll at the very end of this story because I'm thinking of dabbling in an Avengers AU story. Anyway, that will be explained later. Now, on to the final chapter! By the way… I kind of lied. This is well over 1,000 words and isn't as short as I thought it would be!

Disclaimer: I don't own Avengers of X-Men.

Avengers: Rise of Alliances

Chapter 10: Surprises

"Hey guys!" Kitty shouted as they approached the Institute. All of the X-Men had returned from their relief effort trip in South Africa, and were waiting to greet their missing members as they arrived. Kitty was clinging on to Warren as he flew towards the grounds. Beside them was Thor, carrying Gene on his back and Tony who had Remy. The others were in the Quinjet being driven by Clint and Natasha.

It had only been a day after the whole debacle with Jason. Word around the Hellicarrier was that Jason's face was unrecognizable and that he had severe injuries. Of course, no one knew for sure except those who were in the room that night seeing as Jason mysteriously disappeared. Rumors were already spreading about anything from murder, to dungeons, to being dumped in the river somewhere. No one really knew or cared though. As soon as interrogations were over, everyone had gone to sleep, thoroughly exhausted. The mutants all paired up and shared rooms, John and Warren rooming with Piotr and Logan, while Remy slept on the floor of his sister's room, not wanting to leave her alone for so long. And because of the whole 'overprotective brother' routine, Clint never got a chance to talk to Gene.

As soon as the group touched down, Kitty and Gene jumped from whoever was giving them a ride and ran over to the group of X-Men. "Professor X! Storm! You're back!" Gene called out as she and Kitty launched themselves over to hug Xavier and Ororo.

"It's good to see you girls save and sound. We've been told what happened," Xavier started.

As soon as they started a hug fest, everyone swarmed around them. Soon bodies were being lifted in the air- much to their dismay- as Jean made her way to the front of the group and hugged the two girls, Wanda and Rogue not far behind. "What happened ta ya?" Rogue asked after hugging the two girls as she noticed the bruises and cuts on Gene's face and the dark circles under Kitty's eyes.

"Just duty as usual," Kitty shrugged.

"Duty, nothing!" Ororo exclaimed as she looked over the two girls. She then peered over their heads to look at Logan who was approaching the group with the rest of the Avengers. "Logan! What happened to my girls?" She shouted.

Everyone in the Avengers gave the two a confused look. They hadn't known that Logan and Storm had a thing going on and that along with Evan, Storm saw Kitty, Gene, Remy and Rogue as her own kids. "You got a thing with the weather witch?" Tony asked in amusement.

Logan snarled. "Don't be calling any of my girls witches."

Kurt appeared just beside his sister and best friends and tackled them in a hug. "Homme!" Remy called out. "Watch it! Ma belle etoile is still hurt!"

Gene rolled her eyes. "Ignore him. Mon rocher is just being overprotective."

"Ya blame me? Ya see how much trouble ya get in?"

Professor X cleared his throat and cast a glance at the Avengers who were shifting awkwardly, all with the exception of Thor who was beaming. "Why don't we invite our guests inside, and get to know each other a bit better? Shall we?"

"You guys are SO cool!" Bobby gushed as he looked up at the Avengers. The group talked for a while and got introduced to each other after explanations were all said and done and now they were being given a tour by some of the X-Men. Noticeably absent from the group of tour guides were Kitty, Gene, Remy, Piotr, Logan, and Ororo. Logan and Ororo were in a meeting with Jean, Scott, Xavier, and Evan about how the mission had gone. Remy and Piotr had gone with Gene and Kitty to get them checked out with Hank to make sure they were okay, and to shower and change. So, instead the group was being showed around by Rogue, Wanda, Bobby, Kurt, and Illyana.

"Well thank you! We are pretty awesome aren't we?" Tony asked as he strutted around in his Black Sabbath T-Shirt and blue jeans, finally happy to be out of his suit.

"You want me to sign these for you?" Steve asked softly as he smiled down at little Illyana, holding up the two comic books, and ten trading cards she had handed to him. All of them had pictures of him as Captain America on it. The small Russian girl said a few words that were directed at Natasha, before running to hide behind Wanda in embarrassment.

Natasha smiled. "She said that she would appreciate it if you did, and that you're one of her favorite superheroes aside from her brother, Remy, John, and Gene. She also thinks you're very handsome."

Steve's face flared red as he quickly autographed each item, making sure to keep pace with the group. Rogue noticed this and laughed. "Don't worry about it sugah. Illyana is always a sweetheart and just started ta get into the whole 'boys' phase."

"Aw, look at Capsicle! Making the little girls swoon!" Tony teased, earning a glare from the super soldier.

"What powers do you all have?" Bruce asked curiously.

Kurt 'bamfed' from beside Rogue to beside Bruce, startling the man. Everyone looked at Bruce to see that he hadn't been frightened enough to turn into the Hulk and sighed in relief. "I have ze power to transport from place to place," Kurt answered, grinning.

"I can do magic," Wanda answered waving her hand around slightly and causing the water hose nearby to start slithering around before lying dormant again. They turned to corner around the building and Bobby used it as his opportunity to show his skills. He transformed into ice before going making an ice slide and going ahead of the group.

"I can control ice!" Bobby spoke up as he landed by Illyana who was smiling and saying something in Russian, still not thoroughly comfortable with her English.

"She says she can control magic like Wanda, but she can go to a different world," Natasha said a bit skeptically for the young girl.

"And you?" Thor asked, his eyes bright and his entire demeanor childlike as he gazed at Rogue. Rogue smiled before tapping Bobby on the shoulder and creating ice in her hand. She then tapped her brother and transported behind Illyana, scooping the girl up into her grasp.

"Ah can absorb powers, memories, and energy," Rogue explained at the confused and shocked looks of the Avengers.

Tony pouted. "No fair. You mutants have the cool powers."

"We do?" Bobby asked in shock. "You guys are the Avengers! You made your own suit of armor that gives you cool powers!"

Rogue nodded. "As much as Ah hate ta say it- and Ah don't say this often- Bobby's right. Ya'll are awesome."

"You guys were the ones who handled the whole invasion just a few months ago, right? We saw it on the news," Wanda informed them. "We were on a mission in Asia, so we were happy with the assist. And you guys looked pretty cool."

"Well thanks!" Steve thanked, glowing with pride. The rest of the Avengers all gave grateful and proud looks to the X-Men.

"You call that a roundhouse? C'mon Rahne, I know you can do better than that!"

The group looked over and saw Kitty and Gene out on the field in front of them. The two girls were both standing in front of a group of younger X-Kids looking no older than 12 or 13 dressed in their uniforms. Rogue rolled her eyes. "Leave it to those two to immediately pick up on combat training the second they get back."

"Combat training?" Natasha asked with a quirked brow.

Wanda nodded. "Kitty and Gene are the best hand-to-hand fighters in the whole Institute aside from Logan, so they teach the younger and more inexperienced fighters before they move to the advance classed with Logan."

"Interesting…" Natasha spoke up, a small smile on her face. She would be asking for a spar with the two girls in due time.

Clint looked forward at Gene. She was in her quite form fitting uniform accentuating her curves, and the headgear covering her forehead and travelling down the side of her face to connect just under her chin, drawing attention to her face. The cut just under her eyebrow was scabbing over, as were the splits in her lip. The cut on her cheek had disappeared but the purple and black color on her skin showed the extent of her injuries from her time in the Hellicarrier. But it also showed that she was a fighter; showed the amount of pride she had as her black and red eyes scanned the area. Despite her injuries and the slight unnatural look of her eyes, Clint thought she couldn't look more beautiful.

"Ahem."

Clint tore his eyes away from Gene to see all of the Avengers and X-Men (minus Thor and Illyana; the former giving a piggy-back ride to the latter) staring at him with knowing looks.

"Starring is rude, Legolas!" Tony spoke up with a grin on his face.

Steve pointed over his shoulder. "I can see if I can find some flowers somewhere…"

"Someone mind filling us in?" Rogue asked.

Bruce nodded. "Clint has a thing for Gene."

"Gene? Our Gene?" Kurt asked, his brows furrowing.

Wanda looked back and forth between the archer and the Cajun before shrugging. "I've seen worse couples... actually scratch that. Me and my boyfriend are a worse couple. I think you guys could work."

"Wait! Does Remy know about this?" Bobby whispered as if he had the biggest secret in the world. Everyone ignored him. The answer was obvious. If Remy knew then Clint wouldn't be standing there at that very moment.

"You know, now would be a good time to talk to her."

Clint sighed. "And if she's still pissed? What then, Nat?

"Then you grow a pair and deal with it like a big boy," Natasha spoke as she nudged him slightly, getting a couple 'ooh's' from the men. "Quit dancing around it and go and talk to her."

Clint glared at his friend for a second before realizing she was right. Taking a deep breath, and taking one last look at his friends, he headed across the field over to where Kitty and Gene were watching the younger kids spar, occasionally shouting out bits of advice. He saw when Kitty noticed him, and he was well aware of the fact that she had hit Gene's shoulder and gestured in his direction. Gene's eyes met his and his heartbeat quickened. He felt as if his heart would pound right out of his chest as he saw Gene walking to meet him. The two stopped when they were a few steps away from each other, Gene's eyes narrowed a bit, no longer hiding her demonic eyes.

"What's up?" Gene asked her voice a bit tense.

Clint exhaled slowly before speaking. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for everything I did and said. Had I'd known what you were doing… but it shouldn't have mattered. I said some harsh things, and I know I came off as a jerk, and if you never wanted to speak with me again I'd under-" Clint was cut off by soft lips on his. He was shocked at first but soon melted into the gentle kiss before Gene pulled away, a smirk on her face.

"You were babbling."

Clint grinned. "Are you going to kiss me every time I start talking too much?"

Gene shrugged. "I was thinking about it."

"Ooh! I see some kissing!"

Gene narrowed her eyes a bit before whirling around and firing a magenta blast of energy towards Sam, who dove to the ground and shrieked like a girl. "Got something to say Cannonball? I suggest you dust the dirt off of your skirt and get to sparring! Jubilee, give him something to keep him occupied!" Gene shouted, eliciting a grin from said girl as she started to attack her friend.

"So… you're not mad?" Clint asked after gaining her attention once more.

"Nah, not really," Gene answered honestly. "I get pissed and I say a lot of crap. And you being scared of my eyes, was kind of unfair seeing as you weren't expecting it. You just tried to do what you thought was right, and I can't blame you for that. You were hurt and said things and, again, I can't blame you. Besides, you took care of me even after you thought I betrayed you. I never did get to thank you for that."

"So we're good? Because honestly, even though I didn't get a chance to say it, I have strong feelings for you too," Clint admitted.

Gene smirked. "I know. Actions speak louder than words after all. And I recall some pretty loud actions back in the lab."

"Chaton! Genevieve!" Kitty and Gene both turned to look at Remy who had jogged up to near where they were. Kitty ran up to meet them and gave him a questioning look. Clint noticed that behind Remy were Kurt, Bobby, Rogue, Wanda, joined by Jean, and Scott, all waving towards him and pointing to Remy, making scary and death gestures. The Avengers, however, seemed to amused to try and warn him about Remy. "Mags is at it again! Just took the Brotherhood losers out for an early mornin' destruction session! We gotta move!"

Gene groaned dramatically before turning to look back at Clint. "Duty calls."

"I see it does."

Gene pulled out a slip of paper from her pocket and handed it to the marksmen, kissed him once more, before running to fall into step behind Kitty and Remy, who had already taken off towards the X-Men. "Sunspot, get Warren to run training!" Gene called out as she ran. Clint noticed that Rogue and Wanda sighed in relief that Remy hadn't seen him share a kiss with Gene before they also started running, the mutants falling into an easily practiced routine. Gene didn't spare a glance back as she and the other mutants got onto the X-Jet and flew off to who knows where. Clint just stood there for a while before his fellow Avengers ran up to him. "So, how'd it go?" Natasha questioned.

Clint grinned and nodded, prompting Natasha to offer a small smile. "What did she slip you?" Tony asked like a giddy child.

Clint unrolled the piece of paper and smirked at what was written inside.

Yeah, I knew you'd come apologize. Genius, remember? Call me. My number's already on your phone. Which, by the way, I kind of stole from you without you knowing. It's back in your bag now though! Being a thief has it's perks.

"I think I've got myself a potential girlfriend."

"I like Xavier and his merry band of mutants!" Tony spoke up as he took another drink from his glass. The Avengers were currently seated inside of one of Tony's limos, headed to who knows where. The billionaire hadn't specified where they were going after leaving the Institute, only saying that he had a surprise for them all. "I'm inviting them to my house warming party!"

"House warming party?" Natasha asked with a quirked eyebrow. "You're getting another house?"

"Kind of…" Tony trailed off, grinning like a child.

Thor smiled. "Where is this house of yours, Man of Iron?"

"I thought you lived in Stark Towers?" Steve asked with a pout on his face.

Tony snorted. "No, that's just my penthouse. I stay there whenever Pep needs help with work. I have two different houses."

"Then why do you need a third?" Clint asked.

Tony looked out the window, and smiled before answering. "Who says this house is just for me? If I'll direct your attention to your left." The group did as they were told, with Thor completely pressing his face against the window. What they saw took their breath away.

Coming just into view was a large gated property with stone walls covering the parts that weren't gated. Just beyond the gates was a beautifully kept lawn with different types of trees scattered around everywhere, offering shade, beauty, and making it look like there was a small forest within the gates. Past the greenery was a huge white mansion with a regal look to it and stones steps leading up to the front door. The one thing that stood out though, was the large red 'A' on the middle of the house, just above the door.

"Welcome to Avenger Mansion!" Tony spoke up with a proud tone. "You each have your own rooms- personalized by me and Pepper- there are three weight rooms, a sparring room, eight spare rooms, two labs- one for you and me each, Bruce- nine bathrooms, a huge kitchen, a military grade pantry and weapons locker, a shooting range in the basement, four different entertainment rooms, a medical area, a swimming pool out back- with a water slide I might add- and over twenty acres for us to have fun with!"

"And a girl sitting outside on the steps!" Thor exclaimed excitedly.

Tony nodded. "That's right Thor! And a girl sitting-" The billionaire cut himself off as he jumped over to the left side of the limo and noticed the same girl Thor was talking about. Clint and Natasha both shared a nervous glance. The girl on the steps was the very same girl that they had seen as Tony's screensaver for his laptop. The only differences were her hair being pulled up into a high ponytail, being decked out in a pair of denim shorts, black sneakers, and a green shirt, and there being a suitcase next to her leg. But they weren't worried about the girl, oh no. They were worried about the fact that the girl was standing in front of Pepper, both seeming to be talking seriously about something.

Tony didn't even wait for the limo to finish parking. He jumped out of the limo and ran over to the two women, his teammates jumping out after him. "You take Pepper, I'll get the girl out of here," Clint spoke to Natasha who immediately nodded. They didn't want a catfight on their hands.

"Alyssa!" Tony shouted. The girl looked over at Tony and beamed. Pepper turned around and- much to the surprise of the two assassins- had a huge smile on her face. The girl, Alyssa, took off down the steps and jumped into Tony's awaiting arms, the billionaire laughing as he hugged her and kissed her cheeks. "What are you doing here? I didn't expect you back until next Friday!"

"Will let her hop a flight sooner than anticipated because of an emergency at work," Pepper explained as she walked over and gave Tony a warm smile. He returned the gesture and leaned over to kiss her on the lips after placing Alyssa on the ground.

"Uh, Tony?" Tony turned around and looked at Steve who had spoken up. The rest of the Avengers had confused looks on their faces, for good reason. "Who is this?" Tony, realizing he hadn't introduced his teammates to the young girl beside him, beamed.

"Oh right! Alyssa, these are the teammates I've told you about. Guys, this is my daughter, Alyssa."

Silence.

"DAUGHTER?!"

Hey guys! I actually have a question for you all! I'm thinking of doing another Avengers story (in addition to the sequel that'll be coming up), that'll be an AU story. Now, I say this because I want to know what YOU guys think! Should I write one? And if I do, what should it be? A high school where the Avengers are teachers? Them as cops? Military men (and women)? Apocalypse story? Whatever you can think of! Whatever idea you think would be cool, I want to hear your ideas! The one I like the best I'll use to write the AU story, and any story I write will incorporate the X-Men and my OC's! Write ideas in the review or PM me!