Avenging Justice:

Two Worlds Collide

Part II

Earth, New York, New York City, S.H.I.E.L.D. Facility 1941

Steve Rogers still felt cold. It had been a week since he had woken up in the SHIELD facility. Seventy plus years stuck in the ice, frozen in his attempt to save New York City from HYDRA's attack. Everything he remembered was gone or changed so much. The Allies had won, that was something.

He put a punching bag onto the hook and started working out. Flashes of scenes from the war played with each punch. Leading the Howling Commandos, facing the Red Skull, rescuing Bucky and the others, and how he crashed the massive HYDRA airwing into the ice. A painful memory surfaced, Bucky falling to his death during one of their raids against the Nazi backed group.

Steve stopped, his breathing hard, but he wasn't winded yet. His hand shook, not out of fear, but the pain he had seen trying to make things better. Facing off against an evil organization he could do, live with it and all he lost, he was learning. A soldier couldn't change their circumstances, just how they met them.

From behind him the door opened and a man walked in with the air of authority to him. His long black trench coat and eyepatch made him unmistakable, and he was one of the first people Steve had met after coming out of his deep freeze. He was Nick Fury, Director of SHIELD.

"How are you doing, Captain?" Nick Fury asked with a genuine interest in his voice. "The world has changed much since you last walked it."

"It's been an adjustment," Steve admitted. "You here to get me out into the world."

Nick Fury straightened up and held out a folder, "To possibly save it. In the last five years we have seen multitudes of powered people show up. SHIELD has been unable to track them or determine their origins, most of them. We need a response force, just in case they turn out to be dangerous."

Steve Rogers took the folder and opened it up to see multiple pictures and descriptions. Looking them over, some were easy to make out, others were blurry and looked more like cryptid evidence. One picture was of Superman, he knew of him from the news broadcasts on tv. Another was a blurry image of what looked like a bat the size of a man. Another was of a woman in two different pictures. Of the two, one was obviously from the Great War, known now as World War I. The second was a more modern image, in full color.

"I recognize this one, who are these other two?" Steve asked.

Nick Fury explained, "That blurry one is from Gotham City, locals call the creature, the Batman. The second is called Wonder Woman, we haven't been able to track either. The other images in your folder are for Green Lantern, the Flash and Aquaman. Don't look at me, I didn't name them. Agents have possibly identified them as Hal Jordan, Air Force officer, Barry Allen, forensic scientist and Arthur Curry, occupation unknown."

"With respect nothing surprises me anymore," Steve commented. "So, what are you wanting me to do?"

Fury smiled, "Ten bucks says I can. I want you to lead a team to determine if these people are threats or allies. Secondary objective will be to invite them to join the Avenger Initiative. To aid you, agents Romanov and Barton will be assigned to your team."

"What if they refuse to join the club?" Steve asked, gauging Fury's response.

Nick shrugged, "If they are friendly, nothing. If they are threats, you do what you do best Cap. I'll be contacting Tony Stark, his Iron Man might be helpful when you contact this Superman."

"I'll get started then, sir," Steve said. "This should be interesting."

Earth, New York, West Chester, Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters

A large mansion houses a school for those that are different than others. Born with the X-gene, these mutants are gifted with fantastic powers. Some had physical differences that marked them as mutants, and this school was their only safe haven. Some viewed these new mutants as enemies, others as the next step in human evolution, but most were unsure what to make of them.

Here the mutants could learn how to control their gifts, and get an education for when they entered the world. Charles Xavier had turned his ancestral home into this school, and he was the headmaster of it. Their first rule was secrecy, only inviting mutants to the school. To do this he created a machine with Erik Lenshier, that pushed Xavier's own mutant abilities to a global scale.

Once a mutant was found, he would send his team out to offer them a place at his school. Other times he had allies within the surrounding cities and counties, that would funnel runaways to him, if they might be mutants. His contact team was given the X-Men by the other students, and were made up of some of his first students. Cyclops, Beast, Marvel Girl, and Ice Man made up this team.

Under the school, what once was a very large bunker, had been remade into the X-Men's base of operations. Inside was Cerebro, the machine Xavier used to find mutants, the Danger Room and the hanger for the Blackbird. The Danger Room was where the X-Men trained, and the Blackbird was their transportation. The hanger was built below the basketball court, and the blackbird could take off and land vertically. There was a medical bay and a kitchen dining area away from both of those, and a small sleeping area.

Charles Xavier was connected to Cerebro. There had been a massive psychic feedback, some event had happened, but what he didn't know. He scanned the mutant and human populations, not sensing a change in their numbers. Something was off though, but what was it? Behind him, Jean Grey, known as Marvel Girl, was learning from him. Once she could control her abilities more, she might have the ability to control Cerebro.

"Professor, have you found it?" she asked.

Professor X pulled the Cerebro helmet off his bald head, "No, Jean. There was a brief flash down in Arizona. For a brief moment the signature I locked on was different than any mutant I felt before, but it resolved. I think Beast may need to look at Cerebro and do a diagnostic."

"You're not convinced," Jean Grey said. "What is it?"

Professor X smiled, he knew better than to hide things from her, "Why don't you and Cyclops head out to Arizona. Take Bobby with you, he'll enjoy getting out of the school grounds."

"I'll let them know," Jean replied. "The new students seem to be settling in fine."

Professor X arched an eyebrow, "I'm glad Ms. Pryde and Mr. Rasputin are feeling at home. What about Piotr's sister?"

"He's overprotective of her, but they are good," Jean advised. "I'm getting the sense that Kitty is very interested in the big Russian guy."

Professor X couldn't help but laugh, "This is a school, Jean, not a prison. We'll keep an eye on them, in case they need help. Otherwise let them be teens, they'll have a hard enough time out in the world as it is."

An hour later the Blackbird was blasting through the air. Behind Professor X watched it go with interest. He hoped that whatever he was sending his students into, wouldn't be more than they could handle. They were his first real class, his first students he felt were ready to be sent on missions. Like any good paternal figure though, he worried about them.

It had been a miracle so far that the regular public hadn't caught onto his school's real purpose. If they did, those in power would want to control it. He had faith that humans and mutants could live side by side in peace, but there was a good way to introduce them together. They had to see mutants as fellow humans, and not an invading species. Too bad Erik didn't share his outlook, he hated having his old friend going down a dark path.

Across the ocean, on an uncharted island, Erik Lenshir looked up to the stars. Almost as if feeling his old friend probing for him, but knowing it to be unlikely. The helmet he wore would block out all telepathic searching and mindreading. He still respected Charles, but Xavier was foolish. Homo Sapiens would never live peacefully with Homo Superior, they would always be jealous of mutants' power. No, Erik was building an army. Soon the world would tremble at mutant might, and they would cede power or suffer. They would know his name, his moniker, Magneto, Master of Magnetism.