A/N - Hi, Avenger! Even though the review didn't post so robbiepoo could read it - I shared with her what I saw ... and we can't wait to see the rest of it! So ... here!

Chapter 119 - Multiple International Incidents

Everything about the tour of Oxford felt … different than the other college tours - for both James and Scott. It wasn't just because of their unresolved awkwardness, either. Most of that had melted away during their discussion during the Independence Day celebration at Xaviers. Of course, they hadn't discussed anything between them about how both of them were off, but that wasn't quite it either.

For James, it was the incredibly attractive approach they took, completely devoid of the rush of press that had been overly familiar stateside. It was quiet. More professional. And they didn't have entirely the same tone of pushing the other schools had taken, though it was clear they were still trying in their own way.

Campus was busy, but quiet - and though there were still clear moments of recognition, the students and teachers seemed more capable of keeping it to themselves.

The only time James hesitated at all was when he took the time to sit the exams, which left Scott to his own devices, even if he was wearing an inducer at the time. The proctor was quiet, but even then, James felt like the man had a penetrating stare that was uncomfortable, and not just because he wanted to do well if he chose to pursue something entirely different.

Scott, for his part, couldn't help but think about Charles while he was there. He'd even at one point spotted him in an old picture - obviously from when he was much younger and before he'd lost use of his legs. It was strange, like looking at a yearbook picture of his parents or something. Like looking at someone else entirely.

Yet it was easy to imagine the professor there in those halls. He fit it almost too well. It was nice, considering the recent resurgence of questions about the original X-Men, to think about the professor without thinking about loss.

Maybe it wouldn't be too bad if James went there.

Eventually, he met up with James again and nodded to the proctor, who seemed intent on what he was doing and barely looked up at Scott before going back to reading over the test results without a word spoken. But he was smiling to himself, and Scott waited until he and James were well out of earshot before he couldn't help but say, "Looks like you're impressing people everywhere you go. Not that I'm surprised."

"Well when their expectations are low to begin with…" James couldn't help but say as they started off to leave … taking a route that one of the staff had advised Scott to go. "How bored were you?"

"Actually, not terribly. I found an old picture of the professor featured with some other famous alumni," Scott said. "It was… odd. But he looked like he was happy here."

"I'm still not sure what to think of this place," James admitted. "Little bit of whiplash, you know?"

"Totally understandable," Scott promised.

The two of them didn't have a whole lot to discuss for a while, though they made attempts using the school and the competing schools as something to talk over not only on the winding path off campus but most of the way back home. James took the time to hash out a plan with the advisor from Harvard in the plane, though he hadn't told Scott that if Harvard didn't want to work with him on the genetics side of things … he might have to lean more to London.

But that wasn't how it worked. Everything seemed to be falling into place nicely, which left James wondering when the other shoe was going to drop.

And then, they had a safe landing … and an easy passage through customs … and aside from an excited group of teenagers begging for pictures - that James went along with - it was quiet. Until it really, really wasn't.

Scott had turned off the inducer on the plane, and had kept it off to go through customs and hadn't turned it back on now that they were in the States. He was still getting used to being in public again, but considering the way the press was coming after James because of Emma's video as well as leaks from the upcoming Genosha press release on the investigation into Magneto's death, Scott thought it was the right call to make sure it was clear, publicly, that he was always going to be there for James.

But that also meant that both of them were targets for the press the second they were through customs. And the reporters

\ weren't pulling punches on their line of questions.

To James, the questions started about Oxford and the absolute circus that had worked itself up surrounding his choice of college, but those got drowned out fairly quickly with the tabloid stuff that shifted from the usual romantic entanglement questions to some nasty stuff directed at both of them:

"British press doesn't have a picture of the two of you together in London," one of the reporters started to say, but Scott made a sharp motion with one hand to cut him off.

"He was on a school tour and I'm not going to encourage dragging attention away from him or distracting him when he's got a big decision to make. Which you're trying to do right now," Scott pointed out.

James did a fair job of covering how surprised he was that Scott was diving in so quickly, but was smirking quietly to himself as he watched Scott do … apparently what he used to do years ago.

"Seems like there might be more of a reason for the distance," the reporter tried again. "Seeing as this is the first time we've seen the two of you together. Even in the video that outlined Emma Frost's power loss - James Howlett wasn't there with any of you. Even if Billy Maximoff was."

"Seems like you're reading too much into it," Scott shot back. "I'm supporting my son. Part of that is not entertaining the media circus I got myself dragged into alongside his media circus. I think we can all agree you guys can be too much, right? Mobbing us the second we got here was a nice touch."

"It's the first opportunity anyone's really had to find out what's really happening behind the scenes," another reporter said. "And this is kind of what we do. You shouldn't be surprised by it."

"No, not surprised. Just pointing out that you're aware this is what you do and somehow shocked that I tried to keep James from having to deal with just one big news story without adding mine to it at the same time," Scott pointed out. "Really, guys, this is simple. He's a genius, I'm proud of him, and wherever he decides to go to school will be lucky to have him."

James tipped his head slightly when Scott looked his way - an old silent gesture to try to get out of wherever they were a little quicker, though James hadn't had to use it with Scott since he was younger. It was no longer a case of neither one of them being comfortable with single moms hitting on his dad. The situation still had a lot of that same kind of feeling … In James' opinion, they were using him as an excuse to push Scott. And he wasn't okay with that. Even if it was pretty mild so far. Lord knows they'd hit James with worse, even if it hadn't made the rounds.

They started to move through the crowd, and for the most part, it seemed like Scott was handling himself well. James had been too young to remember Scott's public appearances as Cyclops, so it came as a bit of a shock that Scott was genuinely good at this, considering how hard Scott had tried to stay away from publicity of any kind.

In fact, Scott was doing a fair job of redirecting most of the juicier questions to be about how proud he was of James, or how proud he was of the team - he was handing them good press about the people he loved that they wanted to report on. But the loudest among them didn't seem to be looking for a feel-good story.

Just after Scott had talked up the team, someone else stepped in: "So you're proud of teenagers like Billy Maximoff dispensing absolute justice without the benefit of a trial? Proud that he's stealing people's powers out from under them like he did with Emma Frost?"

Scott turned fully toward the reporter who asked the question. "Emma Frost hasn't faced nearly the consequences that she should have faced for all that she's done over the years. Not that anyone's surprised to hear a privileged rich white woman-"

"I'm sure you could tell us all about her activities," the reporter said with a smirk.

James saw the trouble and found himself pushing a growl down as he stepped between Scott and the reporter that was successfully pushing his buttons. "And that's a step over the line," James said, drawing himself up and looking a lot more threatening just by stance than he had been a moment before. "If you want to support Frost in the kind of predatory crap she's pulled for decades, that's your option. Keep your kink to yourself. And while we're at it - let me make myself perfectly clear: my dad, family, and Billy Maximoff are off-limits." He was glaring hard at the reporter that had pushed, and his tone had shifted to a rougher, more gravelly tone that sounded far more like Logan than himself. "You've been writing anti-mutant garbage since before I was born. I'd imagine mutants going after each other with some of them walking away without their gifts would be something for you to celebrate, not show your bias toward whoever will pay you the most. Get your damn facts straight and mind how you speak to those I'm closest to, or I promise you, as far as I'm concerned, you'll never get another response from me for the rest of your career."

For just a second, everyone - even all of the reporters - fell silent. And then, Scott couldn't help but smile - because James really was so much like Logan sometimes, and it felt familiar in the best way. They'd always gotten along best when they had each other's backs like that.

"C'mon," Scott said with a quiet smirk as he put his arm around James's shoulders. "Let's get home."

"Good idea. Jet lag has me wanting to punch someone in the face," James said, not trying to keep his volume down at all. The reporter that he'd dressed down looked properly abashed and backed off as the two of them stepped past him.

"Yep, jet lag will do that," Scott said, grinning wider, though he did drop his voice to add, "Billy's going to blow up your phone when he sees that air; you know that, right?"

"Well you're holding it, so … enjoy."

Scott chuckled. "Yeah, love you too."

"Scott," Wanda said as soon as he'd picked up the phone. Her tone was relieved and rushed and anxious all at the same time. "I'm so glad I got through to you. I"m so sorry, but I had to warn you before the media breaks it."

"Take it easy, Wanda," Scott said as he took a seat with a serious look. It was clear something was wrong - if nothing else because Wanda simply didn't get this frazzled. "What's going on?"

"The tribunal finished their investigation, and they're going to announce the results of their findings - along with charges against you and your kids. You need to get a legal team in place right now if you don't have one already. I'd advise you find at least one mutant to defend you, too. An all-human team won't play well here."

Scott stopped, double-checked that the door to his room was closed, and held the phone a bit tighter. "When are they announcing?" he asked. "Do they have - God, we just got through with one public debacle…"

"They'll make their announcement today. But they aren't assigning degrees to the charges right now. They'll be keeping them as open charges as far as I know, to let the jury decide what would be most fitting."

"Okay, Do you know what they're pushing for?"

"They're hoping that you'll be found responsible for first degree attempted murder and conpsiracy. Nate and Rachel will be up for accessory and conspiracy. James will be facing conspiracy and open murder, though I know they're gunning for first degree there, too."

Scott pinched the bridge of his nose and held his breath as he thought it over. "Logan had Matt Murdock on retainer. I'll talk to him… I think Jamie's got a good partnership…"

"Jamie … Madrox?"

Scott chuckled despite himself. "Yeah, after the team broke up, he got a position at one of the big firms here in New York. He made partner a couple years ago. I keep tabs on the old team, you know."

"That … okay. Good. When you solidify that, let me know and I'll be sure to get them copies of the laws."

"Yeah, they'll need to familiarize themselves with Genoshan law." Scott nodded to himself. "I'll talk to Jan, too. She knows a few good lawyers…" He trailed off and leaned back, tipping his head up to the ceiling. "I knew it was coming, but …"

"I held them off for as long as I could," Wanda admitted.

"I know," Scott said. "And I appreciate that. It gave James a chance to be a kid." He sighed. "I read some of the leaked interviews. Someone leaked Billy's deposition - or parts of it, anyway. I know Billy's staunchly insisting James didn't act until he was stabbed. We can work with that," he said, already strategizing out loud.

"He didn't," Wanda agreed, then let Scott know at least enough to ease his mind. "Lorna didn't destroy the tapes."

"Good. That's good for James," Scott said, knowing full well that the tapes would also show him stabbing Erik.

"I'll have Vision bring you everything I can find that will help the four of you," Wanda promised. "But I had to let you know it was coming so you can prepare. I'm sorry, Scott. It shouldn't have gone this far."

"Hey, you may be queen, but even you can't -" He paused, chuckled, and said. "Well, you could."

"They would have bent for my father," she agreed with a little smile in her voice.

"Then we'll consider this a sign that you're a better leader than he was - more accountable," Scott decided.

"That's a kind spin on things," Wanda said. "I'll be in touch. Call if you need anything."

"Thanks. I'm sure you'll hear from me as soon as I get a team together," he said - and immediately called up Matt Murdock as soon as Wanda hung up. Wanda was right; they needed to get ahead of this.

When the kids heard the news, obviously, they took it hard. Even though their dad assured them multiple times that the footage of the fight would show that they hadn't done anything but try to stop him from dying, the fact that this was going to trial was downright terrifying - and frustrating proof that Magneto's acolytes still had enough power in Genoshan government that they couldn't just move on.

Billy was furious, too, because he'd practically shouted from the rooftops that his grandfather had brought on his own demise, and he was muttering to himself half the time about having to fight the universe just to keep the man he loved from getting torn away - which was about when America suggested that they all go out and at least try to relax or the Summerses and Billy were going to wind themselves up into knots they could never untie.

Kate jumped on the suggestion, and the next thing anyone knew, they were out to dinner at a little Italian place that Rachel suggested when America all but demanded she pick somewhere she liked. The food was good - and so was the wine - and Rachel half hoped that would be good enough to keep attention off of dangerous conversation, anyway.

The waitress didn't bother checking all of their ID's, and as soon as she set down a glass of red wine in front of Kate, James casually knocked it off the table without looking at her or the glass.

"James," Kate said, exasperated.

"What?" James asked, turning her way as if nothing at all had happened.

"I was going to have that!"

"No, you don't want to do that," James said with a mild frown as he straightened up a little. "Too many cameras around. Don't want to get you wrapped up in bad press with us."

"The protective look is cuter when your brother does it," Kate said irritably as she picked up her now-empty glass and whispered an apology to the waiter.

James shrugged, then turned toward America as he gave Nate a look that said he'd do it to him too if he wasn't careful.

Nate sighed and pushed his glass toward Rachel. "Anyone else weirded out that James is the responsible one here?"

James raised his hand slightly. "Totally."

"Okay, as long as it's not just me."

Rachel shook her head, smirking hard. "He's not wrong, though. Three different tables with reporters since we came in."

"Yeah, I noticed."

"And still ordered wine."

"Yep. It's that kind of day."

Kate sighed and leaned over to rest her head on Nate's shoulder. "We'll just have to order extra dessert. Oh no."

"How is that unusual?" Billy asked quietly.

"Fair point," Kate said. She let her shoulders drop when she saw Billy's expression, though. "Hey, chin up."

"This is exactly what I didn't want to see happen," Billy pointed out.

"Yeah, but I grew up around Jen, and I know Matt got my dad out of some trouble - well, lots of trouble - plenty of times."

"They met in a dumpster, didn't they?" James asked

"Okay, that is the joke, but to be fair, that was the second time they met. The first time was when he was dating my mom, so they just don't talk about it," Kate said, pulling a face.

"I have no room. Turns out I inherited my father's lawyer … extended retainer. And … I don't know how that even happened," James said.

"Hey, I'm not asking questions like that when it means you have really good lawyers on your side," Kate pointed out. "And I know it's a trial and all, but it's also Genosha, and literally the whole royal family has made it clear they don't blame you guys, so that's going to count for a lot, like it or not."

"We'll see," James said. "It is what it is."

"I thought the whole point of going out was to not talk about depressing legal stuff," America pointed out.

"I'm not trying to bring you down, Miss America," James said, and his tone wasn't going against that. He was trying to keep a neutral stance as much as possible, considering the charges he had.

"Besides," America said with a casual shrug. "If it goes too far south, I'll just-"

"No," James said, shaking his head.

"Okay, but conjugal visits-"

"Oh my god," Kate said, covering her face with both hands. "Subject change please."

"I dunno," James said. "Kate might be suddenly single again…"

"Tempting, but I like the firebird I've got," America laughed, and Kate threw a wadded-up napkin at her. "You had your shot, princess."

Just about then, though, the waiter returned - and let them know as he put plates in front of them that their meal was going to be completely covered. "Dessert too."

"Why?" James blurted out with a frown, always far more suspicious than his siblings about things like that, even if it happened now and again.

"About four different tables offered," the waiter explained, gesturing over his shoulder, and Nate did a quick scan to catch the others up on which tables had done so.

"Okay, but … why?"

The waiter smirked quietly. "Probably has something to do with the news," he said. "People don't forget when a supervillain destroys their city - and they don't forget who stopped him either."

The group of kids were quiet as the waiter stepped away, but once he was out of earshot, James turned toward Nate with his tone incredibly low and quiet. "Oh, I do not like this."

"Quick scan says one's an older mutant couple, table of teenagers who think it was 'badass', a family who lost their home to a car flying through their apartment on a Magneto rampage… only one table offered to comp because they're anti-mutant and think we did them a favor stopping him."

"I'm sorry, what the hell?" James asked with his nose scrunched up. "How does that make sense?"

"I mean, not to defend my grandfather here, but he was actually effective," Billy pointed out.

"He was," James agreed.

Kate was watching Nate, though. "Is that… the consensus?" she asked quietly, waiting for his eyes to stop glowing for the answer.

And Nate didn't look like he entirely knew how to react. "So, uh…" He switched to projection. Sounds like almost everyone's on our side, he said, but James was still blocking him. "James, you dork. I'm trying to keep this private."

"Then keep it private, I'll catch up later."

"You could literally just let me project to you like we've done our whole lives."

"Hard pass."

"James, seriously. Whatever the hell this is, it's not funny anymore," Rachel said. "You're not letting either of us in."

James turned her way with a sigh. "I am dead serious. Not trying to be funny at all."

"So you're purposefully giving us both the cold shoulder because, what, you feel like it?"

James knew it had been brewing for a while, but he hadn't expected them to feel the need to use telepathy … until the charges came out, and he was running out of ways to say no. But he couldn't hide the background concern he had going for Kate's sake, and he knew better than to let either of his siblings get even the slightest peek. Especially now that they were both overly curious about why he wasn't going along with them. It was too tempting, and it would blow it for Kate; she deserved to announce when she was ready. "I am … extremely uncomfortable letting either of you know what I'm thinking lately." Better to take the fall, he decided.

"Since, what, since Emma?" Nate asked in a harsh whisper.

"It's not too late for me to go full Magneto on her," Billy offered, only half teasing.

"No, I want to keep that charge for myself," James teased, then turned back toward Nate. "Not just Emma. Please, carry on without my input. I doubt I have much to add."

"That's stupid. We'll just talk and I'll put us in a telepathic shield," Nate grumbled. "Besides, I was just going to say it seems like just about everyone around us is on our side for one reason or another. That's all."

"Okay," James said, then sat back in his seat. "Weird, but good to know, I guess."

"It makes sense," Kate said slowly. "I mean, Genosha was secluded for so long that most people away from the island don't know him as anything but the ruler of a faraway island who sometimes came and threatened humanity when he was raging."

"It was also the safest place for mutants to be for over a decade," James countered. "And he didn't threaten humanity when he stayed home."

"Right, I'm just saying when he was out and about, he was scarier," Kate shot back. "Thus the support here. Heck, I was relieved when I heard he was gone, speaking as one of the humans he hated. No offense, Billy."

"None taken, but it is a little weird," Billy said, cringing slightly.

"Yeah, we'll just let it be weird," Kate agreed. "Probably going to be that way the whole trial, honestly. Like, yeah, this guy was genuinely the only reason a lot of mutants survived, but…"

"He was only scary because he was terrified of something happening to his family," James said. "Again."

Billy bit his lip as he glanced toward James. "Well, yeah," he said slowly, "but let's also not forget the part where he was okay with killing all the people me and Tommy dated or with just dictating everything we did."

"I didn't forget the overprotective thing," James said. "The extremely overprotective thing."

"Or the death threats or the enslavement threats or the pissing off Doom," Kate listed on her fingers.

James shook his head at that and half waved it off though. "Now you're just nit-picking."

"Right, I forgot you don't care when people threaten you. Me, on the other hand, I don't forgive or forget."

"And you shouldn't," Rachel added, frowning at her brother. "This definitely took a weird turn, guys."

"Yeah, let's focus on something else. Like - oooh, hey, America, what's the best place for you to bring Scott and Annie for an extradimensional wedding?" Kate offered.

"Wherever I can find with a sweet tea fountain," America said without missing a beat.

"Sold," Kate agreed. "Absolutely perfect."

As Kate and America got rolling, though, Nate and Rachel locked gazes. Even without telepathy, they both knew they were going to have to talk to their dad about the fact that James was going quiet and defending Magneto ahead of the trial. That didn't bode well. At all.

The team was finally starting to get into a groove again, and everyone but the press had relaxed after James grudgingly did a small press conference after the tour at Oxford. It was a tough call after having seen the campus, but ultimately, he was pretty sure he'd be convicted … and he didn't want to be kicked out of a program halfway though for reasons like that. So, instead of taking the chance, he stuck with the surer thing and decided to go with Harvard.

The school was supportive, optimistic, and close to home - which was a much larger factor than James had initially thought when he considered all the non-Genosha family matters. Besides … after Genosha announced their intentions to prosecute half the team, they were no longer being touted as Magneto's lackeys. The details weren't all out there, but the fact that he was the only one being charged with open murder made the findings pretty clear. But beyond that - everyone had an opinion, and most members of the general public outside of Genosha seemed to be relieved that Magneto was no longer wreaking havoc. And a large number of those in Genosha felt the same way.

But that didn't stop the hate groups spewing their vitriol toward mutants in general and the team specifically. A lot of it was the same tired rhetoric that had been used when Scott's team was young. The new angle they were pushing, though, was to blame the X-Men for the damage that Magneto had done, saying that Magneto was the product of the X-Men's meddling and refusal to simply go away and stay on Genosha.

"You think they just saved those signs from twenty, thirty years ago?" James asked as the team came in toward the anti-mutant rally where the men being labeled by the news as 'domestic terrorists' were waving signs calling for an end to mutantkind and burning effigies of a few of the different team members. "Same stupid mottos. Looks like they didn't get the dust off of them, either."

"That's a really twisted heirloom if that's what they did," Rachel said, the fire dancing in her eyes as she took in the scene they were headed toward.

"So, the answer is probably yes," Nate said in a slow meter.

"Likely," Rachel agreed as she and Nate scanned the crowd for trouble and Kate looked over the intel they had on the display.

"Good news is that the police think they're the problem right now, so … yay us?" Nate said as he backed off of scanning. That much raw anger in one place gave him a headache if he wasn't careful about it.

"It doesn't look like something we'd need to call in help for yet," Kate said slowly. "But … that … will probably hinge on what the futz they're doing with those kids they have surrounded."

"They're new teen heroes," Billy said from over Kate's shoulder.

"They're not coming back as mutants on the scanners, either," Kate said. "So I don't know … what?"

"The idiots rioting are grasping to compensate and are dumb enough to think that all hero kids are mutants?" Billy suggested with a shrug. But that only had Kate letting out a little sound of irritation and muttering something about racists.

"Alright, everyone to their usual positions," Rachel said. "Kate, Mia, Nate, and I will work on getting to the kids in trouble - James, America, and the twins - deal with crowd control, please."

"Oh yeah, we get the best job," Tommy said with a smirk as he bumped James' shoulder and smacked his fist into the palm of his hand.

"Hit idiots real hard?" James said, smiling at him. "Sounds like fun."

The little group lined up, ready to head out as soon as the jet touched down - with Nate in the pilot's chair - and just before the hatch opened, James stole a quick kiss from Billy as the kids pulled on their masks, cowls and hoods - depending on who you were looking at. The jet was cloaked, of course, so when they did deplane, it was almost as if they burst out of nowhere.

Tommy was first out and on the far side of the rally by the time James and Billy were out of the door and headed for the most troublesome-looking groups to try and make a path for the rest of the team to get the rag-tag team of new heroes out of the crowd and to safety.

What they hadn't counted on was the group they'd come to rescue immediately rallying when they saw the X-Men arrive. There was a kid in a black and red hoodie wearing a mask and goggles that started bouncing off of one guy after another - ricocheting and swinging from trees as he fought back roughly against the angry, circling mob. The girl next to him was wearing a blue tunic and red leggings with a long, red headscarf that only revealed her eyes as she grew her limbs well out of proportion and showed a clear level of super strength as she, too, tried to push back the crowd that was pressing in on them.

Beyond those two, there was another teen in what looked to be a Nova Corps uniform, though the helmet … and everything else … was clearly too big for him as he worked alongside a massive almost Hulk-looking kid with dark hair and a wide grin doing what Hulks do best. But all of them were fighting, and all of them were obviously untrained.

This is the kind of thing Dad's been worried about, Nate projected to the rest of the team. They're doing good work, but it's over their training level.

From what I can see, they showed up when the rally was still gathering, Rachel added - taking the more tactical route of gathering whatever intel she could from those around them. They tried to observe, but the outfits had someone in the crowd on edge. She narrowed her eyes as she watched the group. I'm going to try reaching out to one of them.

Not the rocket-man, Nate said. He's likely to crash into something if you say hi.

Rachel smirked at that and reached out to try for the kid wearing the hoodie and goggles as he was perched in a tree near the makeshift stage. Of course, the moment she reached out, the young man startled with a loud "Augh!" before he fell out of the tree entirely, crashing into a group of rioters under him. Which was what had Rachel swearing to herself and rushing to get him out of that mess on her own, if need be.

It's alright. I'm a friend. I'm Prestige - I'm one of the X-Men!

Give a guy some warning! The young man replied, one hand over his heart as he tried to get his breath back. I mean, hi, big fan and everything, but Jeez.

Rachel tried not to smirk too hard. Hi. We came to break up the riot and saw you in trouble. You're not mutants by our scans, though.

No, but we've got powers, so people assume we are, the young man said. I'm, uh, well, everyone's just calling me Spidey until we can figure out something else?

Just hang tight, we're coming to you. Try not to get hurt if you can help it.

"I'm with you, Prestige," Kate called out before Rachel could ask for back up - especially when it was clear that the little spider-wannabe was in trouble with the crowd.

The two of them floated over closer to where the young man was - but had to get to ground level when the crowd started throwing things at them. Rachel was excellent with her powers, but under high stress, she was still learning to do multiple things at once - and TK to float along with a telekinetic barrier was still tricky. As they touched down, America made her presence known - grinning from ear to ear and both hands still balled up in fists from the damage she'd been doing as she 'cleared the crowd'.

"You got a real light touch, Miss America," James teased over the comm - though between the two of them, James was the one trying to gently persuade the angry group closing in around him to move along peacefully… with mixed results.

"You worry about your side, I'll worry about mine," America shouted back as she cleared the path for Kate and Rachel. When the little group of girls got to the obviously overwhelmed spider, Rachel cleared a path while Kate zipped over to the new guy.

"So, do you swing around too, or do you just have the spidey name and look?" Kate asked. "Because I've got a grappling arrow that can get us out if you don't web-sling."

"No! No, I can sling, it just … requires more than a short tree every now and again," he replied. "And I don't really want to leave my team behind." He rubbed the back of his neck and puffed his chest out a little. "You know how it is."

Kate gave him a brilliant smile. "Oh, I totally get it. It's just that my team is getting your team out, so you're not leaving anyone behind, I promise! It's just riot time, and you do not want to be around for riot time."

"Got the memo, thanks!" he said, ducking and taking her with him as something that looked heavy flew at their heads.

Kate grinned, turning as they both popped their heads back up. In a smooth move, she brought her bow around with her to fire a smoke arrow into the crowd, effectively dispersing them as several people ran away, coughing. "Ha! Take that!"

He stared after the smoke cloud for a moment. "Okay. that was cool."

Kate grinned and twirled her bow. "Hey, I'm a Hawkeye."

"I thought Hawkeye went for precision … wasn't that kind of a … broad way of dealing with the issue?" He held up both hands quickly. "I'm not criticizing! Just an observation!"

"Oh, did you want me to try to pick them off one by one in a crowd this size?" Kate said, one eyebrow raised.

He laughed nervously, clearly trying to regain a little bit of cred. "No, no that would be ridiculous, no I just … um … Where is Miss Marvel?" He turned to look behind him halfway through their awkward conversation. "I thought she was closer …"

"Which one is she?" Kate asked. "I can ask Prestige or Cable to look."

"She's the only girl on our team," Miles said. "And she's a powerhouse. She can change her size, she's super strong … she heals …"

"Sounds awesome," Kate agreed. "Girl power, right?" She tossed her hair over her shoulder. "So that means the helmet-wearing someone is a guy. Good to know. Can't really tell when everything's too big on him."

"Sa- I mean …. Nova. That's Nova."

"You're pretty new at this, aren't you?" Kate said with a kind smile. "I mean, no judgment. I was kinda - I mean, look at my teammates. Second generation is a whole other level of prepared."

His shoulders dropped and again, he gestured widely. "It's that obvious, huh?"

"Hey, everyone starts somewhere. Totally no judgment here," Kate swore. "Just easier to spot for me when I grew up in it, you know?"

"We've been doing stuff for a while, but you know. Neighborhood-level stuff. We didn't think this was going to be as big as it is."

"Yeah, these guys seem like they're feeding off each other," Kate agreed, looking around before she quickly reached out to Nate telepathically to let him know the story, then tapped the side of her temple. "So. Cable says he and Speed are talking to Nova. Speed says he's a dork. Just so you know."

"Is that … is that a good thing?" Spidey asked.

"Depends on the mood Speed is in," Kate said, grinning wider before she seized his arm. "Come on. We've got a riot to break up - and your team to reunite and keep safe."

"Yes, please," he agreed, rushing to keep up as Kate led the way back. "So … second generation, huh? Does that mean you all have like … parents or mentors … how does that work?"

"If you want, you can head back with us and talk to some of the Avengers," Kate offered. "We all had to be Avengers first to get training to become X-Men. So yeah, we all got mentored. They're kind of careful about young heroes after what happened to the first X-Men, you know?"

"Not really," he said. "But I'm willing to learn - at least, if you've got someone that might know anything helpful …"

"Well, I know a friendly neighborhood Spiderman who just sent his Spider-gal off to college."

"For real?"

"For real." Kate grinned at him. "And hey, I share a name with the first Hawkeye. I'm sure Spiderman can work something out with you too."

"Hey. Don't … don't make offers you can't follow up on." Spidey had one hand up as he pointed her way. "That's just not nice."

"Um, I will make him work out a name," Kate said, one hand on her hip. "But I won't have to, because he's a giant sweetheart, so he'll totally work with you without me sticking an arrow in his face, I swear."

"Lead the way, Hawkeye," Spidey said, gesturing to the crowd, but when they only got a few steps into the mess before the crowd seemed to notice them there, Spidey grabbed a hold of her and swung them high up into a semi-nearby tree, all while apologizing profusely for doing so. "Oops! Sorry! I should have asked before I swooped!"

Kate was already laughing before he'd even finished his apology. "Seriously no problem," she promised. "I'd rather be swooped than stomped on."

"Yeah, well, me too. Being a spider kind of goes against the squish factor, so … woosh." The two of them landed next to Rachel and America, who were already chatting with Miss Marvel.

"Hey look, Spidey, now you're the odd one out. Welcome to the girl squad," Kate couldn't help but tease.

She's just like this, Spidey, Rachel projected to Miles - even as Miss Marvel was telling Kate about their team. And she gets more competitive as you go. Fair warning.

Oh good. Because what I need is a competitive girl who got mentored by the Avengers in my life.

She likes to share, too, Rachel said. I'm sure she'll teach you whether you like it or not.

Okay, that part I'm actually okay with?

Rachel was smirking a little wider to herself as she turned toward where the other half of this new team was trying to keep out of trouble - relatively speaking. "Who's the big guy, and what is he trying to do?"

"Oh, um, our … Hulk? I guess? We don't really have a better name?" Spidey rubbed the back of his head. "He's just like that. He flirts with everyone." He gestured to where his friend was trying to charm Mia - who was turning up the charm in return on pure instinct and only feeding the whole thing.

"Well … it's actually kind of hilarious from here," Rachel said. "I think they're trying to one up each other on flirting."

"Oh no," Miles said.

Kate laughed. "Oh, Nightcrawler's just like that. Competitive, charming - poor Speed. He hasn't really had competition before." She cackled and clapped her hands together.

"Well, he does now," Miss Marvel said.

"Step up your game, Speed!" Kate called out, her hands cupped around her mouth - which got the driest look out of Tommy, since he was in the middle of vibrating a sinkhole to drop a few rioters into.

Billy was clutching his stomach laughing. "I love this. Let's keep them."

"Hawkeye already said we could maybe, you know … find mentors through you guys? Maybe?" Spidey said. "And I think it's pretty clear that we need a little guidance."

"Yeah, the Avengers will definitely want to talk to all of you and work out some training or something," Rachel agreed. "We all had to work with them before we could go on missions. They've got a thing about making sure young hero-"

"Yeah, I gave him the spiel," Kate cut in. "Super protective older generation, yadda yadda - I want to see Spidey's face when I tell him he's got to share his name like Hawkeye and I do because he so has to share!"

Rachel laughed at that before she turned to Miles. "Come on," she said. "Let's get done and get out of here."

What the group hadn't seen was that the section of the crowd that James had successfully managed to settle out enough to let the women and children away from the riot had only done so to get the women and children out of the way before they attacked him. James had been on his guard as much as he could be, all things considered, and he was ready for the fight.

James knew it was a risk- but the crowd had stayed back a respectable distance as the women and children slipped out, and he'd ignored the vitriol from the troublemakers almost stoically as they called him every name in the book and started hurling the old tried and true accusations of being nothing better than an animal. The second the last of the kids passed James by, the crowd closed in behind him and shut off his exit to leave too. He could feel them behind him and he turned in time for one of them to spit on him and another to throw a brick. It was a solid hit - cracking him in the back of the head and making him see stars as he stumbled forward.

The hit pushed James toward the crowd in front of him, and even as he reached out to stop from bumping into them on instinct, one of the biggest guys in the crowd hauled off and cracked him in the face wearing a pair of brass knuckles paired with a foul anti-gay slur that James … honestly hadn't heard directed his way before. He didn't entirely catch himself as he hit the ground, either. And before he could push himself up, they were taking the pot shots.

With a growl, James fought to get back on his feet - but even that was a trick when the rule was 'don't kill' and the crowd was pushing him closer and closer to a berserk break with the dirty hits and foul names. Adding to his troubles, he could hear the shuttering of camera lenses as several people snapped pictures of the whole thing. The sensation of being pinned down just by sheer numbers was getting to James, and he could feel the growl rising up more with every hit. He took a nasty kick that broke his arm as soon as he managed to get on his hands and knees - and he let out a snarl that had some of them backing off, but others seemed more excited to get in there and help take him down, shouting horrible things from every angle.

One thing the crowd had going for them was that James didn't want to kill anyone. Definitely not when he knew it was all being recorded. If he snapped now, it could sink the team. So, fighting his instincts to let loose, James managed to hit the button on his belt that would call in backup - and alert his team to the fact that he was in trouble - if they hadn't noticed it already.

Nate glanced down at his comm with a frown and turned to see what was wrong - especially since the last time he'd looked, James was doing better than the rest of them had been with breaking up the crowd. It was a mark of what kind of trouble he was in when Nate couldn't get him to respond to his telepathic check in. Blocking his siblings from telepathic link ups off the field was one thing … he never did it during missions like this. "He still won't let me in," Nate said to the gathered and mixed team with a hard frown.

"We can help," Miss Marvel offered - then started to grow to giant size as the rest of them tried to make a new, clearer path out of the crowd, but Nate was watching her with a look of curiosity. He recognized her voice… he just couldn't place where.

"Not without me you're not," Kate called out cheerfully as she and Billy took off with Miss Marvel to help. "He's kind of our damsel in distress, you know."

"You'll need someone to watch your back for the mood these guys are in," Billy added. "And unfortunately, he seems to bring out the extremes in people."

The three of them rushed in while James was doing his best to block the hits - but with as many of them as there were in the angry crowd, and for how willing they were to play dirty - James didn't have a lot of hope of fighting his way out without killing someone. Which was hard enough to keep in check from just the beating he was taking. It was bad enough he had to back off and try to protect his head… but when someone pulled out a knife … he only saw a flash of silver before he took a swing to protect himself, but he was a little to punch-drunk and beaten down to follow through on his hits. The swing went wide, and someone dove to grab his arm, followed by several others that rushed to secure his arms and legs to keep him from fighting back. There were way too many of them for him to get a foothold.

The men holding James down made it clear what their intentions were as they wrestled to hold him still and James began to truly panic. He couldn't handle being restrained like that. Not after Viper. He shouted for his team, and lost his breath with a heavy punch to the stomach an instant before he got stabbed, but to his shock, it didn't go much further than that before some of the men were tossed aside. The mob started to scramble, and James was mostly forgotten as they stampeded to get out of there. He didn't notice what was going on, and he rolled to his side, curling around his injury. He didn't even pick his head up until someone picked him up with one very large hand - and then the young woman that had picked him up began to immediately freak out. But considering that she had gotten him away from the people that were trying to beat him to death, James didn't even try to say anything to her other than a muted, rumbled out 'thanks' then relaxed for the time being, hands on his knees and half bent over.

"Are you hurt?" Miss Marvel asked, looking concerned even as she headed for the gathered group of X-Men.

"Yeah… but I'll heal," James said, then gave her a crooked, bloodied smile. "I'm feeling better already."

"You don't look it," she said, though she was smiling at the very corner of her mouth. "I'm Miss Marvel, by the way."

"Oh, good, you found my favorite idiot," Kate called out as Miss Marvel got closer. "Maybe don't try to beat bad guys with your face next time, huh, Wolverine?"

"It didn't start out that way," James defended. "And they had cameras going like crazy. Had to keep it cool."

"Still. You had to have something better than using your face. Our resident Wiccan likes it the way it is!"

"I was using my fists and feet until they swamped me," he said flatly, half holding on to Miss Marvel's offered arm to keep his balance, quick to turn his attention to the wide-eyed Miss Marvel as the crowd regrouped. "Thank you, seriously."

"No problem," she replied, smiling crookedly as the little group took in the problems around them. They were gathered up in a small group as Rachel and Nate dealt with the rest of the rogue teenage crime fighters. As Kate and Billy turned away from the slowly dispersing crowd that was still shouting obscenities at them, someone broke ranks from the mob and shouted something descriptive and foul at Billy. He turned, eyes narrowed just in time to catch a fist in the face that dropped him - and before the others could respond, the sound of gunfire echoed around them.

Miss Marvel had crouched down for Billy already, and at the first sound of gunplay, Kate turned toward the sound like it was a challenge - only to get a full body tackle when James took her down and kept her down by blocking her entirely from moving.

"Would you quit squirming and keep your head down already?" James said as he stayed over her while the gunfire was still going - and even shifted to block her head with his. .

"Get off me, you lunatic," Kate said. "You're acting like I'm new!"

"Kate, you got shot," James said. "I'm not moving."

"I got grazed," Kate said. "Get off."

"Make me." James let out a huff. "I'm not letting you up until that gets under control. So just … deal with it."

"James, I know how to take cover by myself. We've got genuine newbies to worry-"

"When's the wedding?" James asked, just to see how she'd handle it.

"The hell - is this really the time?"

"Yeah, I think so," James said, nodding lightly. "Besides, Miss Marvel has Billy down flat on the other side of you, so they're covered already."

Kate blew out a breath that moved her hair. "It's whenever he proposes, now get off. Why are you like this, you weird interrogator?"

"I'll move when Nate and Rachel give the all clear. Like I said - cope. Fifty bucks says your parents will be fine with this."

"Well, I'm not. I can stay down without you forcing me into it, and you're just… this is stupid!"

"Kate, they were still firing and you were looking for the shooter instead of taking cover. What kind of dumbass move is that?"

"It was a reflex," Kate said. "And I don't know if you noticed, but I was also in motion to go down before you forced me faster."

"Is that the same reflex that lands you in dumpsters?" James asked. "You were in motion once I hit you, genius."

"This is a crappy way to tell me you don't trust me with my own safety," Kate shot back, genuinely mad about it, too.

"It's not that, Katie and you know it," James said with a little heat. "I'll get over it a helluva lot faster than you if I'm the one to catch a bullet the wrong way."

"And I hate letting you take hits, so how about get off and stop treating me like you're a bodyguard instead of my teammate."

"Katie, I was your bodyguard a lot longer than I've been your teammate. Besides, I'm just doing what my dads told me to do."

Kate wriggled a bit more but truly couldn't move. "You know I hate this, right? You know I hate when you actually treat me like the breakable one."

"I know, and I'm really, honestly sorry. But I'd do the same thing with anyone else that got shot and had a laser on them." He pulled back enough to look her in the face squarely. "They were aiming for your heart, Kate. I'll apologize for making you feel bad, but I'm not going to apologize for blowing their shot."

Kate met his gaze and then sighed and dropped it. "Damn, that's a good reason, but I'm still pissed about it."

"You can hit me later if you want."

"Takes the fun out of it if I have permission."

"You can use me for target practice?" James offered with one eye closed.

"Again, it's the principle of the thing," Kate said, smiling in spite of herself.

"Okay … fine … Don't you dare hit me, you mean old Hawkeye."

"You're ridiculous," Kate said, shaking her head even as Rachel and Nate headed their way.

James turned to see them coming then quickly got to his feet and offered Kate a hand up. "Sorry, Kate."

"Yeah. Just… next time just tell me, okay?"

"Step in front of it? Okay."

She slugged him in the shoulder. "No, you goon. I don't mind you pushing me out of a laser sight but, like, don't lie on top of me and act like I'm not gonna be pissed without a good reason."

"Katie, you can be pissed off even with the best reasons," James said as he offered Miss Marvel a hand up, too.

"Oh, I'm definitely still pissed about it," Kate promised. "I'm just also gonna get over it faster if, you know, you let me stay down on my own by telling me what the futz the problem was in the first place, you dork."

"Noted," James said with a nod. "Is this going to be on the test?"

Kate shook her head as she headed over to Nate. "Your brother is driving me up the wall today, which is endlessly annoying because he's usually my favorite and I can usually count on him to beat up the people treating me like the fragile human. You can dangle him upside down and get on his case when we get home, right? For me?" She fluttered her eyelashes - and also shot James a look and stuck her tongue out at him for good measure, truly acting the part of annoyed little sister.

"Oh, absolutely," Nate agreed, though he'd started looking over her injuries while James tried to help Billy with Miss Marvel hovering around them in helpful concern. "Upside down to start. How dare he?"

"I'm very sure you're not taking this as seriously as I want you to," Kate said, shaking her head at him.

Nate looked at her and blinked, then did his best to put on his most serious, angry face. "Is that better?"

"Closer, yes," she said and kissed his cheek.

I don't know what his problem is, Nate projected to her. He's been acting stupider than usual. He still won't talk to me telepathically, either.

Yeah, I've noticed that too. It actually makes me feel better to hear you say that? I thought maybe I was just sensitive. She blushed lightly. Sort of… you know… a tender spot for me. The whole… breakable human… yeah.

I just don't know if this is leftover Frost issues or … what.

Oooh, yeah definitely please look into that, Kate agreed. That would make way more sense than me thinking I'm just overly emotional because I'm due to, y'know, start any day now. Pretty sure the Emma-related stress made me skip one, so now I'm all emotional and my calendar is off. Ugh. Which reminds me… you're on deck for banana bread. Totally craving it. I got shot, you know. Whatever excuse you want to use.

Nate chuckled at that. Banana bread it is, he said, purely for the grin she gave him.

"We need to get back to the jet," Rachel decided, breaking into the back and forth between them. "It's time - things are settling down - the crowd is pretty well dispersed -now that they're not beating on our Wolverine or shooting at Hawkeye." But that had James and Kate both giving her an honestly betrayed look.

"Is that because the press says we're the team leaders?" James said just for the glare he got from Rachel - and the fresh grin and slow, confident nod from Kate as she crossed her arms next to him.

Rachel rolled her whole body as she pointed one finger at him,. "Oh, shut-"

"SHIELD is handling everyone that hasn't gotten a clue," Nate cut in, getting an affectionate kind of smirk from Kate when she saw he cut Rachel off. "And it looks like the crowd is dispersing nicely."

"Are you okay?" Billy asked James, who was still a little dazed and buzzing from all the healing he'd been doing. He'd reached out to help steady James, and James had taken his hand without thinking about it to steady himself.

James nodded, then he scrubbed his hands off on his pants to wipe off some of the blood, though now that he was wearing mostly yellow instead of black, it was a whole lot harder to brush off. "Yeah, I'm fine. I might need Hank to reset the arm they broke-" He covered his left arm just below the shoulder where it had been broken. "-but I'm alright. You're the one that got knocked out."

"Yeah, but they were really wailing on you," Billy said, earning himself a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Come on, guys," Kate sang. "Take the post-mission make out session off the field. We have new people to show around - and you know how excited Wasp is going to get when she gets to design for new people!"

James and Billy shared a look, and James tipped his chin toward Kate with a bloodied, crooked smile. "Go ahead. I'll cover your back, little prince."

"I'll save you a seat," Billy replied, matching his smile before he started to fly to catch up to the others.

James smirked at that and paused when he heard a different kind of shout from the crowd on the far side of the park. Just as angry as the people that had been beating him before, but the tone was somehow more serious. He paused and turned back to the crowd, earning himself a few more shouts closer to where he was. Something was off, but he didn't know what. He did a double take when one of the men behind a barricade was glaring hard and screaming 'traitor' at him, but that was enough to turn him back to his team. He had more pressing things to work out and he was exhausted.

He wasn't far enough behind the team to run yet, and he had to figure out how to explain what he'd just pulled with Kate. He barely dodged his dad at the football game on the fourth. This? Totally different and hard to worm out of. He drew in a deep breath as he turned to start after the group, adjusted how his cowl was sitting, then decided to try and drop Kate a hint. He was taking too much flack for refusing to link up with his siblings. That was going to bite him - and she needed to know so she could be more careful. He nodded once to himself and took all of two steps before a single shot rang out and he crumpled, mid-step.