A/N - robbie - NO it's not really bad that you're enjoying Azazel because I sure as hell am too. (ba dum tssss) He's so clever and charming ... and it's clear where Kurt got it from. I do feel badly for Clint though. Well ... and the other Avengers right now. that was kinda bad, guys. Yes. Yes, K is in deep, and I don't know how a full-blooded demon couldn't be a top tier bad guy. he IS responsible for SO MUCH corruption and evil ...

griezz - yes. that exactly. Impatient at having to WAIT. But with him, he's not just jumping forward so he can watch what happens when they all interact. he needs to gather intel on her. I too, though, loved how she spanked Creed.

KJAX - The history with Creed is the same, she's just ... a little hardened to him since Erik got her out. She knows he isn't going to do anything with Erik watching, but that doesn't mean he doesn't need a clear warning. As far as Vrykolakas/Azazel - he's pretty open with what he's after - just not WHY he wants what he wants. If you know about him and Nightcrawler - then you know what he's up to, if not ... it'll come out eventually. And if you aren't familiar with him - well. He is biblical. And he appears in several religions as a MAJOR demonic figure. So yeah. He could fight Magneto and win if it was a caveman contest. And Cap ... well. He has to do what he thinks is right. This is NOT the last of the back and forth with both Avengers and Hawkeye ... they all just need to regroup and figure out a new strategy to handle each other.

Chapter 14: Hell Over Earth

All was well and good on the way to the transport to Avalon … until K spotted a little kid that was laying perfectly still on the concrete, not far from where the rally had taken place. She froze when she saw the little one, then rushed to her only to go into panic mode with her ears ringing when she realized the little one had no heart beat. She knelt next to her and called for help - there were plenty of emergency services around, but where this kid was - half behind a building, and blocked from the street by trash cans - they clearly didn't see her.

A pair of medics saw her come up to where the kid was, but it wasn't until K had started trying to revive the little one that they swore and grabbed their gear to come and help. Which was how Erik found her on his way through - on her knees helping the medics to do CPR while one of them set up the leads and monitoring devices to see what the story was. All of them were wearing identical expressions, and Erik paused a respectable distance away to watch. Any of his followers that came through that might have had something snide to say stopped when they spotted her trying to revive the little girl, and for a moment, it was clear that at least Erik and his family were not pleased with what had happened to that child.

As soon as the kid was on the monitors and packed up to go, the medics rushed her to the ambulance leaving K on her knees trying to catch her breath. She wasn't expecting Pietro of all people to slowly come forward and put his arm around her shoulders to get her to her feet.

He didn't have a word to say, but the tight, tense look on his face spoke volumes of what he was thinking. The little girl had the same wide, blue eyes that both Maximoff twins had - and her hair was long and blonde. And even though Pietro knew there was no way that this child was his little Luna, the rough resemblance was enough to set him back and knock him silent.

The mood going up to Avalon in Magneto's transport with Pietro and K was a somber one, and K had more or less made up her mind to talk to Erik later about the close call she had with Captain America, but he beat her to it.

"Had you kept away from the Avengers, like you said you were going to," Erik said, immediately getting a look of almost horror from Pietro, "... then you might have been able to get to that child much faster."

"Father, no," Pietro said, shaking his head as he dove in to argue with him. "Before you saw that kid, you were hell bent on getting after her for not fighting the X-Men. Just … stop. You can't have it both ways, and she was doing the right thing."

K frowned, pulled from her thoughts by that. She hadn't expected Pietro to ever have defended her over anything. But … she'd never really expected to find herself in a position where Captain America was trying to make her eat dirt either. "You told me you had things covered," K said in a low, even tone. "I don't carry a general communicator since you dropped those and elected to have the White Bitch serve as a link up for the team - which, incidentally, she can't reach out to me."

"That's only because you won't allow her to," Erik pointed out.

"Yes, because you're in a rush to let her into your head, too," K said, her dander rising. "The woman is screwing with your game and your strategy. She's a neon bright liability and you know it."

"She's also incredibly useful to me for now," Erik snapped. "Which is more than I can say for you if you don't want to fight."

K bristled. "I've been by your side helping you streamline your strategies-"

"I don't need your help in that area," Erik said quickly, cutting her off. "And I don't need you saving children that will only grow up with a vendetta to fulfil."

"Then quit killing their families!" K snapped with a snarl, and a moment later, the next thing she knew, Pietro was holding her up and trying to get her to relax.

Instead of stretching her out like Erik usually did as if she was on a rack, he forced her to extract her claws - and then bent one almost to a ninety degree angle. Of course, that wasn't all he'd done, compressing her ribs and spine for a moment before Pietro stopped him.

And now, the speedster was doing all he could to get her to just … breathe. K's hands were shaking and Pietro tried to get her to not look at her hand, even going so far as to take the shock blanket from their craft and wrapped her arm up to at least keep her from having to see it. He was seated on the floor of the craft with K practically in his lap - one arm around her torso, holding her arms down, and his other hand holding her wrist as he spoke low and quick, drawing her attention even after she managed to quit making sounds of sheer pain.

"I have no intention of hurting you, my dear," Erik said, not even looking her way. "But I can and will if you continue to disobey me."

Tony was in rough shape, even after they got him back to the tower. The stab wound from Vrykolakas was deep - and Steve had Natasha searching every database known to man to find out who this newcomer was. He was livid, and there was no way he was going to watch another Avenger die because of one of Magneto's followers.

The armor had been rough to get off of him, and once it was off, the triage to stop the bleeding was enough to have most of the Avengers upset as Tony didn't stay conscious long.

But while he and Dr. McCoy both were being stitched up for far more serious injuries than they were used to seeing, Steve and Scott were putting their heads together.

"I'm making it a priority," Steve said. "I want her brought in, and I want it done now. Fury promised me that SHIELD has a cell that can hold her. We just need to put her in it."

Scott paused, a frown on his face as he watched Steve pace, and though the very last thing he wanted to do was to contradict one of his childhood idols … he simply couldn't let Cap think that all was well with that plan. "Captain Rogers, I'm sorry, but you can't let SHIELD get their hands on her."

Steve turned toward Scott with a frown as Scott held up both hands to get him to slow down. "SHIELD has an extensive record of brainwashing and forcing people to do their bidding. Logan's had to put up with it recently, and when he was done with one of Fury's deals, he took the time to do a little digging of his own. They have plans for her, yes. But it's not to simply hold her. They have controls they want to utilize and make the most out of what they're calling a 'loose asset'. They're looking at it as a means to recover a weapon."

Steve narrowed his eyes as Logan stepped in to continue where Scott left off. "SHIELD has protocols in place if she's captured. They were originally intended for me, but seeing as the X-Men are looking more like the good guys … she's up."

"What's the idea?" Steve asked, already crossing his arms and looking uncomfortable.

"Honestly? Wind her up and set her off after whoever's highest on the public's love-affair list. Right now, out of your team that looks like Hawkeye," Logan said.

"And if it's our team, they'd set her against Logan so they could prove the dangerous mutants angle. We'd like to bring her to the school," Scott said, cutting in. "Like I said before: we have the means to hold her, and we have Logan if she tries to get out."

"Didn't she break out last time she was there?" Steve asked, glancing over to where Clint was helping Jan get Teddy something to eat - and to distract the boy from the discussion at hand.

"She did, but the cell we've got waiting for her won't give her the chance to use the same tricks. It's a lot more aggressive and if she tries … it'll hit her back instead of try to contain her," Scott said. He tipped his head toward Logan. "Wolverine couldn't get out of it."

"I helped with the deterrents," Logan clarified. "She won't get out."

Steve thought it over for a long moment, then turned to Natasha in silent question. "They're not wrong," Natasha confirmed. "SHIELD would absolutely use her to turn the tide of this war - not only in PR, but in assassinations. It will only get worse if they get a hold of her."

Steve let out a breath as he considered the angles. News reports were coming in already about more rogue sentinels wreaking havoc in some of the most populated cities in the US. Non-mutants were being targeted, just like at the rally - but on a much larger scale.

"And," Scott said. "If you find that the Tower isn't a good HQ anymore, the school's sublevels would be more than secure for you."

When the transport got to the docking point in Avalon, Erik gave Pietro a raised eyebrow look, and as soon as he'd gotten out of the way, Pietro picked K up and zipped her down to her room. "Wait. I'll be back with Lorna. We'll fix this, I swear."

K simply stared at him for an instant before he zipped off only to return a few moments later with Lorna in tow. The green haired young woman looked wide-eyed even before she saw the damage - and as soon as she saw how extensive it was, she covered her mouth with one hand and met K's gaze to quietly apologize on her father's behalf.

"I'll keep her from stabbing you," Pietro said as he made his way over to get a solid grip on K - which … to his surprise, she gently coached him on how to get her into a tighter hold.

"I can't … I don't know that I won't try, even knowing …"

"I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to put that claw through his eye," Pietro said. "Lord knows I want to more often than not."

But K couldn't concentrate enough to relax, and Pietro by himself wasn't enough. So of course, he and Lorna were more than pleased when Vrykolakas seemed to appear at just the right time. He narrowed his eyes at what he was seeing, and as he strode in, he waved his hand, freezing K into place. When he got within arm's reach, he put both hands on either side of her face and concentrated hard to simply knock her out, leaving Lorna to straighten her claw in peace.

It was still a disturbing enough sound that when she bent it back to the right angle, Lorna flinched before she very gently looked it over. "How do we make sure it's okay now?" she asked softly in a voice so quiet that they almost strained to hear her.

"Back away," Vrykolakas said, and a moment later, he'd woken her up.

K was awake with a start, gasping in a breath of air before she skittered back - and popped all the claws on both hands.

"Are they okay now?" Lorna asked from behind Pietro, who obviously was ready to grab her and run out if need be.

K blinked a few times, and as it came back to her what had happened, her hands started to shake again and she looked down at them. She let out an uneasy breath, and with no other way to know, she retracted them. When all went back with no trouble, she let her shoulders drop then popped and retracted several times. When she was finally done, she put them away and gave Lorna a tired sort of smile. "Thank you for helping me," she said genuinely. "You too, Pietro."

"Don't mention it," he said. "Ever."

As Lorna opened her mouth to say something to K, Pietro zipped her away, leaving her alone with Vrykolakas. He didn't say a word at first, instead closing the distance to stand at the foot of her bed, watching her.

Of course, K didn't have anywhere to go, so in short order she simply slipped down to sit cross-legged at the head of her bed facing him. "And you still think you're doing well enough here?" he said, not breaking her eye contact even to blink.

"What do you want me to say?" K asked, shrugging her shoulders up before she wrapped her arms around her knees.

"You don't have to say anything. Today's actions from Magneto speak for themselves. If you didn't know that you were at the least his prisoner, you most certainly do now," he said. He held up one hand, disappeared, then reappeared a few moments later with a bottle of red wine and two glasses. She opened her mouth to speak, only for him to shush her as he poured them both a measure of wine and handed her the glass then took a seat on the foot of her bed. "Take your time, even for as much torment as you've seen in your years, I know that his betrayal was somehow unexpected at the least."

She let the wine breathe in the glass, her bottom lip lightly held by her canines as she took in the scents. "What do you smell in that, my dear?" Vrykolakas asked as he raised his own glass to his nose and slowly inhaled.

"I thought …"

"Business later," he said in a relaxed and easy tone, almost brushing the idea off. "Pinot noir now. I'd like to know what this particular vintage tastes like to you."

She frowned slightly but when she saw he was waiting for her, she shook her head. She hadn't even gotten it near her nose, but she wasn't entirely comfortable with whatever game this was. "It's bold," she said, the glass still in her hand near her knee. "It smells almost … jammy. Blueberry, black cherry … oak …cumin."

"Yes, I can smell that much myself. Go deeper; tell me more."

She tipped her head to the side and looked at the glass, still not raising it. "This was a cooler weather pinot," she said. "From a dry year. The spices are cumin, tea leaf and dry tobacco aged in a sessile oak barrel from Tronçais." She finally lifted the glass to her nose, mostly to confirm her thoughts before she very delicately tasted it - and tipped her head. "Silky. Violets, red cherry, tannins and mushrooms." She paused and tasted again. "Wet forest floor - moss and fern. Earthy. Big and bold. Very elegant. No residual sugar." K tipped up her glass and took a deeper drink. "It would be good with duck."

Vrykolakas smiled at that. "Is that a request?"

K shook her head. "No. Just an observation. Is that what you wanted to know?"

He smiled and leaned toward her. "And all of your senses are that acute?"

She took her time swallowing the sip she had in her mouth before she nodded.

"Yet that fool wastes your talents so callously and treats you like a base animal." He took a drink and let out a long breath. "You're a treasure, my dear. And you are unhappy here to say the least."

K leaned back and unfolded her legs before she shifted her posture until she was lying on her side, reclined. "Yeah, but I'm not special in that way. I don't think anyone really wants to be here." She took another drink and watched him, sure he was keeping a lot closer eye on her than he looked. "Besides, I can't leave." When he gave her a more interested look, she obliged without further prompting. "I know too much of his plans and strategies. I know what he wants to do, and how he plans to accomplish it. If I were to leave, he'd just reach out and find the metal." She gestured to herself, her hand sweeping from her chest down, resting on her hip before she realized that somehow the wine was getting to her head. And she wasn't more than a glass into it.

She frowned to herself just as Vrykolakas began to fill her glass again and moved a bit closer to where she was stretched out. "And what if I can promise that he won't find you?" he asked low.

"What did you do to me?" she asked, ignoring the beginning of his proposition.

He smirked crookedly. "I have my means."

"So you want to get me drunk," K said, though she only paused a moment before she tipped the glass back, took a long drink then laid her head down on her arm.

"As charming as that would be, my intention was to get you to relax after Magneto showed you exactly how much he thinks of you." He paused then poured her glass full again. "Of course … intoxication could be a welcome distraction as well."

"That's a lovely way to say you want my defenses down so you can get into my pants."

"Half of that is true." He smiled wickedly. "Perhaps a bit more than that I suppose. I'd like you to reconsider my offer from before," he told her in a quiet rumble that she wasn't entirely sure was out loud or in her head. Though the second half she knew was in her head. I can kill him. Or wipe all of his memories of you from his mind. Remove his threat and take you to the villa on my island where you would want for nothing while you stayed. Days … weeks … it would be a worthwhile break for you after running and fighting for so long.

She was watching him but shook her head, then picked up the wine glass. "That deal would cut down on my drinking terribly," she said, taking another drink.

His eyes narrowed for a moment, but he kept his temper in check as he continued to try and charm her. "Yes, but that cretin could never again threaten you, nor should he be allowed to speak in such a vile manner to one with your charms. And again … our nights that would be more than perfunctory ….."

She smirked and let out a little noise after she took another sip. A moment later, she'd set the wine glass on the floor then rolled onto her back to scrub her hands over her face and shake her head. "That won't work."

"Of course it will," Vrykolakas said, sounding perfectly insulted.

"No, it won't," K countered, uncovering her face and turning toward him, though it was obvious that the alcohol had loosened her up by the way she was moving. "But you know … I'm not even going to argue with you: the offer is a good start."

He perked up at that, honestly not having expected her to consider it yet by the way she'd been consistently shooting him down. "Then by all means, my darling girl - make me a counter offer."

K took a long moment and weighed it out. "I'll give you what you want," she said in an almost smoky tone that had Vrykolakas paying much closer attention and almost holding his breath. "But you need to take away Erik's ability to manipulate adamantium."

Vrykolakas grinned. "An easy enough endeavor," he said as he leaned forward and rested his hand on her waist. "To strip him of his powers -"

"No," she said, shaking her head lightly before she covered his hand with hers. "Not all of his powers. Only his ability to manipulate and detect adamantium. I don't want to take anything else from him."

He scoffed. "That's ridiculous. It would be simple to take away his gifts. I could do it right now."

"My good sir," K said, her eyes flashing as she kept a solid hold of his hand. "I have many reasons to want to keep his powers in tact. I won't even lie and say that one of the big reasons wouldn't be to see the look on his face when he couldn't stop me from walking up to him and slitting his throat." She let her tone soften.

But that had Vrykolakas grinning again. "I do so like the way you think. Maximum fear before he pays for his sins."

"There are other reasons, of course," she said.

"Yes, I'd assumed the children here came into play," he agreed. "As I've said before - you're perfectly suited to give me strong and clever progeny."

Her panic returned on hearing his phrasing, but he seemed to breeze past it. "It would be tricky, of course," Vrykolakas mused. "It's not a pure metal is it … an alloy born of vibranium and … some secret formula." He shook his head as he thought it over. "A challenge fit for the prize, I think."

"Do that for me, and we have a deal," K said. "But, I'll need to know your side of the deal is done first."

"No faith in me?" he teased as he leaned a bit closer. "How do I not have your trust?"

She matched his motion, stopping when her lips were almost brushing his ear. "I know you're powerful. I know you can wield magic and that you have many convinced you're a mutant. But you're not a mutant. What troubles me is that I don't know what you are … and of course, you've still neglected to give me your name." She pulled back to meet his smoldering gaze. "I would need that before we were to climb into bed. Call me old fashioned like that."

"I wonder if you're clever enough to figure it out yourself," he said.

"If I am?"

"Then I can promise that our time together will be that much more enjoyable," he said. "As I said, you'll find me to be an agreeable master, my dear."

"Right after you strip him of the means to touch my metal," she agreed.

"Then this game will be the finest I've played in a lifetime," he said, grinning wider.