Hey everyone! Sorry for the lateish update. Work, school and real life got in the way for a bit! But school in over for now! I will need feedback on how Logan is going to play in all of this. Thank you for all the reviews and favorites!
It took another three months until the Avengers decided to go to the X:Men for help. By this time Quicksilver and Wanda had decided while they were still part of the team, they weren't really part of it. Not like the originals. They went off on their own. Fury placing them somewhere they could be of use. If they were ever needed again. They were there. Other than that, they enjoyed life on their own.
However, now wasn't that time. Both were called early in the morning and forced to join the team for a briefing then a flight to Xavier Mansion. The team was tensed during the flight. Not only would they be forced to join with a team completely different from their own, they would also be forced to learn about them. Not only this but by going to see the X: Men they would also be seeing Loki again. Good for Thor, awkward for most and bad for Bucky and Tony.
"How do you think it's going to be?" Clint asked, glancing towards Thor who stared off in the distance. "All will be well." Thor responded and Clint frowned.
"Loki will behave himself?" He asked, regretting it as Thor turned a sharp glare onto him.
"My brother does not need to do anything. That is his team we are going to. It will be all of you whom behave yourselves. " He turned back to look out the window and Clint nodded uneasily.
"That's what I meant. Sorry." He managed, while the God ignored him. The rest of the team shifted uneasily and Bucky closed his eyes, breathing through his nose.
It was a tense flight.
Wolverine and Cyclops greeted them as they landed, both mutants looking relaxed and casual. Dressed in jeans and stained t-shirts, they stood right outside the manor's grounds, arms crossed. Once the team exited the plane, the two mutants approached.
Steve and Natasha moved to step forward. Cyclops met them have way and shared a greeting with them. Logan however remained aloof in the background.
"So this is the sorry sack of shit the humans are so tickled about." Wolverine stated. He looked them over. "And look they need our help." Wolverine clicked his tongue. "Alright kiddies follow me." Without allowing Steve or anyone else to speak Wolverine turned and began to walk back to the mansion. Cyclops nodded to Thor in recognition.
The Avengers followed the X:Men towards the manor, blinking in surprise at its beauty. Flowers bloomed under the windows and the grass was emulated. Wolverine made his way up the stone steps ignoring Steve and he explained the situation to a friendlier Cyclops.
"So how much help do you need?"
"Anything at this point. Quicksilver was nearly killed during an attack." Cyclops glanced at Quicksilver and the two greeted each other.
"Where are the attacks coming from?"
"We don't know. Attacks just keep coming." Bruce commented. Behind him Bucky glanced around the hallways, taking in the antiqued wooden walls. Three children ran by the group happily shrieking while Wolverine scowled. "I thought Rouge was with them." He muttered. Shaking his head he motioned the others forward. "I think the Professor is sitting in on a class right now. Come on."
Dressed in a pair of dark slacks and a white dress shirt, Loki Odinson looked gorgeous indeed. His hair was pulled out of his face, held in a light ponytail. Loki casually walked by the desk, hands behind his back as he observed the students. This was an older group of students. Teenagers who were coming into control of their abilities. A girl was explaining her view on the Mutant vs Human situation and was quickly shot down by the boy sitting next to her.
"It's not about being nice! It's about being treated right!" He snapped and the girl huffed at being interrupted. Loki nodded still watching as the students bickered back and forth.
"Prejudice is quite a problem these days is it not?" He asked and another student nodded. "It's sick!" Loki hummed and nodded.
"Quite so."
"They treat mutants like we're second class!" The boy from earlier declared.
"Even though we protect them!" Another snapped. Loki observed his feet for a moment. Looking back up he cocked his head to the side.
"Odd isn't it? How one group of beings are regarded as inferior and dangerous, while another is reveled?"
"Like the Fantastic Four!"
"Or the Avengers!"
Quickly Loki tossed each student a small piece of candy he had behind his back. The students caught the pieces grinning.
"Exactly. Now why do you think that is?"
Silence.
Loki tutted and continued his casual stroll.
"Perhaps it has to do with the control." He suggested lightly.
Still silence.
"Think of it like this. The Fantastic Four has relations with the city to keep them safe. They form an alliance and work for the city. The Avengers are the working dogs of SHIELD. But the X: Men? The professor made sure that his team would not be affiliated with any organization. He made sure that no one could dictate their moves and choices. Which gave them freedom. Which made them dangerous."
"Which made them a liability and an enemy." A girl murmured and Loki tossed her a chocolate. "Precisely. Now you have your freedom. But it came at a price." Loki observed the class.
"Now on other realms the same situations have occurred. Alliances brought protection and loyalty, while isolation brought distrust." Loki gracefully tuned on his heel and approached the chalkboard. He quickly drew a diagram representing the different factions of heroes and their 'sponsors'. X:Men stood alone, with a line pointing to the Brotherhood as allies of chance. "Now can anyone tell me why this is all relevant?" He asked.
"Because we need to know what the real world is like." A familiar voice dreamed and Loki slowly smiled, not turning around. "Not exactly what I was looking for, but I suppose that earned you a chocolate, Logan." He turned to toss it to him when he noticed a familiar group behind him. Loki blinked. "Ahh."
Thor opened his mouth to speak, but Loki turned away to study his class. They watched him expectantly.
"Class dismissed early today. I expect you all to finish your reports by Thursday." The classes murmured their understanding and Loki tossed a few more chocolates to them before sticking one into his mouth. The students filed out of the room, saying goodbye to Loki and Logan and shooting the Avengers uneasy stares. Once the last student had left, Loki turned to Wolverine and the Avengers.
"Why are they here?" He asked, eyebrow raising in annoyance. Steve shifted and Bucky met Loki's glare. Wolverine made a face. "I guess they need our help or something." Clint fidgeted uncomfortably.
"How quaint." Loki replied, voice dripping in disgust. Steve shifted again and looked to Loki. "We're not here to fight with you. We just need the X:Men's help with this. We're not here to cause trouble." He stated, voice placating.
"That is questionable." Loki replied. He quickly made his way to his desk and grabbed his messenger bag and teacup off of it. Slinging the bag over his shoulder, he studied his empty up for a moment.
"It's good to see you." Wanda offered from beside her sibling. Loki glanced at the woman wishing to snap at her. But no. This woman wasn't Indries. So he nodded silently. Logan glanced at the Avengers, watching as Thor tugged Tony back, ready to give Loki his space.
"Alright snowflake. I'll take 'em to the professor then we're gonna go out, okay?" Logan murmured, looking back to Loki who was leaning against his chair.
"Out?" Loki spat and Logan shifted. "Yeah, anywhere you want."
"I want to be gone within the hour." Loki finally stated in annoyance. Wolverine nodded. "Gotcha. Okay kiddies, follow me." Wolverine ushered the team out of the classroom, Tony hesitating only to be dragged out by Thor.
Loki closed his eyes and threw the rest of the candy across the room. Even here he could not escape them.
The meeting with Charles Xavier had not been as hard as they all thought it would be. Charles was polite, friendly and well informed. And he knew Steve. Or knew of. He had been quite a fan as a child.
Wolverine had vanished as soon as he had shown them in. Barely even throwing a goodbye and he shot out the door. Charles had sighed and shook his head fondly. "He is quite taken with our newest member." He mused and Natasha looked towards him.
"Loki?"
"Yes. Logan has what would you call it…a soft spot for him. They enjoy drinking copious amounts of alcohol and then having loud conversations about whatever strike their fancy that night." Charles smiled and looked around. "Last Thursday it was lasagna versus bacon."
"Is it true you grow your own weed here?" Clint suddenly asked while Steve gawked. Charles smiled mysteriously. "Is it true that SHIELD and HYDRA play poker on Saturday nights to settle any recent disputes?"
"Is it?"
Charles just laughed.
That night, everyone retired to their rooms. Bucky had been quiet through the whole day and was quick to get under the covers to the bed, ignoring Steve. Steve sighed and sat down beside him.
"You're looking pale." He noted and Bucky shrugged. "I'm really worried about you." The captain continued. Bucky finally glanced at him.
"You don't need to." He stated casually and Steve sat down beside him.
"Bucky, we're best friends. Talk to me…please?" Bucky turned away without answering and finally Steve relented.
"Fine. I guess we'll talk in the morning." Steve quickly made his way to his own bed and threw back the covers.
"I still have them." Bucky Barnes suddenly spoke up. Steve turned. "Still have what?"
"Nightmares. I dream of it."
"Of…of HYDRA?" Steve asked softly. Bucky did not answer for a moment, sitting up and studying his feet. "They've gotten worse. Sometimes…sometimes I wake up and forget who I am. I think I'm…the Winter Soldier again and I wonder where I am and how I got here." Steve blanched.
"Why didn't you tell me before?"
"I didn't think it was that important."
"Important!?" Steve hissed. "Bucky this is really important!" Steve ran a hand through his hair, face troubled.
"How long?" He finally asked.
"Four months now." Bucky replied, watching as his friend closed his eyes.
"We're going."
"Going?" Bucky questioned, eyes widening as Steve began to repack his bag.
"Yeah, we're going to go somewhere and get you help."
"We're on a mission. We can't leave right now."
"Screw the mission." Bucky's mouth dropped open. Steve snapped, throwing his backpack over his shoulder and nodding to Bucky. "Pack up. I'll write something to the team."
Bucky stared.
"Go on! Get ready!" Steve urged and headed out the door.
Tony lay on his bed, tossing his rolled up sock in the air and catching it. Bruce sat on the bed beside him, reading. They sat in silence for several moments. The chirping from crickets outside the manor the only noise.
"You think this will work?" Tony asked as he caught the sock. Bruce glanced at him. "It should. Professor X seemed willing to help." He stated and Tony tossed the sock again.
"You know once this happens, SHIELD will want to become involved with their team." The billionaire commented. Bruce turned the page.
"Well I figure the X:Men will be smart enough not to let that happen."
"We let it happen."
"We're also not all that smart."
"Touché."
Miles away, down a deserted street Loki sat in the passenger seat of Logan's car, a bottle of vodka between his legs. Logan drove down the road, music humming. Every so often he would reach for the alcohol only for Loki to bat him away.
"Not while you're driving." He snapped.
"Yes mother." Logan griped. "Where are we going anyway?" He asked, watching the road.
"Anywhere." Loki shrugged, taking a swig. Logan snorted. "Not fair."
"Not driving." Loki replied lazily. Logan shook his head with a laugh.
"I'm sorry by the way."
"Sorry?"
"Sorry they're here."
"I should have figured they would show up eventually. I should be happy it took this long." Loki looked out the window. Logan glanced at him.
"The Professor is sending Storm, Cyclops and Rouge to help them out. He says they need to destroy Doom's original robot to kill the rest."
"A hive…" Loki mused and Logan nodded. "Once that's over with. Then they can go away."
"But what id they don't."
"What do you mean?"
"What if this becomes a regular occurrence? What if they want a joint team?"
Logan shook his head.
"Won't happen. Like you aid in your class, the X:Men have a different set of rules compared to the Avengers. Charles would never let SHIELD breathe down his neck like that." Logan pulled down a side road and Loki glanced out the window smiling.
"A bar Logan?"
"Life's little stress decreaser." Logan quipped pulling into a parking spot. Loki laughed. "I've already been drinking." He stated gesturing to his half empty bottle. Logan snickered, putting his keys in his pocket.
"And now you can drink some more." He responded opening the door.
Loki rolled his eyes.
"You're paying." He replied, stepping out of the car. The air whipped his face and smelled of stale cigarettes. Logan scoffed. "I always pay."