The years passed quickly after the battle of New York, it was in that time period thatThor had his heart ripped out by Jane Foster. He left Midgard and did not return for a year. While Thor was gone, there had been a few changes. Namely Bruce asking Alina to come work with him and Tony at Stark Tower.

"Why do you want this kid working with us?" Tony asked when Bruce suggested it.

"Because she is a very intellegent young lady and has a lot of talent."

"Oh, yeah, and what type of talents does she have, Brucey?" Tony asked wiggling his eyebrows.

Bruce frowned at Tony's insinuation. "Is that the only thing you think about? She just so happens to be a Harvard graduate with degrees in physics, engineering, micro biology, medicine and law. And she graduated at 16 years old."

Tony's mouth fell open, "You're kidding me?"

"Nope."

"Oh this I gotta see." Tony stated as he began to hack into Harvard's data base, "Holy shit, she graduated top of her class in every single time." Tony said as he continued to to do research into Alina.

"She grew up at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, she's a mutant?"

Bruce looked up from his work, "Yeah, do you have a problem with that?"

"No, no of course not. It says here her mother abandoned her when she was three and that her father is unknown."

Bruce didn't look up from his work, he only smirked to himself, if Tony only knew.

"Hey what kind of freaky powers does she have?" Tony asked, poking Bruce in the ribs.

Bruce looked away from his screen, then took off his glasses, "Well she's what Xavier classifies as an Omega mutant, one of the most powerful mutants in existance. She's on par with him and Magneto, she's telepathic, telekinetic and elemental."

"Wow, do you think she'd be interested in joining the Avengers?" Tony asked.

"Doubt it, she's part of the X-Men."

At hearing the name X-Men, Tony bristled. He resented the fact that the X-Men did not help out when New York was attacked, they could have used their help. Bruce noticed the dark look on Tony's face at the mention of the X-Men, Bruce let out a sigh.

"Don't tell me you have something against the X-Men?"

Tony rolled his eyes, "Noo, why should I have something against a group who has more experience fighting together, just because they ignored a life or death situation in New York. It's not like the attack on New York wasn't going to affect the whole world or anything, oh, wait, it was." Tony said bitterly.

"So, what, just because they couldn't help, you don't want Alina here?"

Tony was typing away on his computer before he answered. "Maybe it's not a good… Holy Shit, she's gorgeous! Why the hell didn't you tell me she was so hot?!"

Bruce chuckles, "I didn't think that was going to make such a big difference."

"Are you crazy, of course that makes a difference, she has everything, beauty and brains and she's sexy as hell. Yeah, why don't you offer her that job here after all." Tony says as he stares at Alina's photo.

There was a roll of thunder after Tony's comment. Bruce looked up, wondering if it was the actual weather or an irate father.

"Tony you're such a pig."

Tony blew Bruce a kiss, "Yeah, but you love me, now chop, chop, Bruce, get calling."

Bruce laughed, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed Alina's number, she answered on the second ring.

"Hey, Brucey, how are you, how are the Avengers treating you? Do you need me to go kick Stark's ass for you?"

Bruce chuckled as his eyes flicked to Tony, "No, not yet, but I'll keep that in mind. I was actually calling to offer you a…"

"A job, working with you and Tony Stark? While I would love to work with you, Brucey, I don't know if I can handle Mr. Stark."

"I promise I will try to rein him in if you come work here."

Tony gave Bruce a questioning look, Bruce just pointed at him. Tony gave him an offended look, causing Bruce to roll his eyes.

"Come on, Alina, it'll be fun to work together again, I'm sure you can handle Tony, after all you can handle Remy."

"True, very true and if he gets too annoying, I'll just electocute the hell out of him."

Bruce smiles, "That's my girl, when can we expect you?"

"Well considering that Professor Xavier already told me that you were going to ask and my clothes are already packed, it depends on how you want me to arrive. The conventional way or in my own special way."

Bruce's mouth fell open, "You already knew I was calling to offer you a job?"

"Yeah, I knew three days ago."

"I just thought of it today!"

"Yeah, well, what can I say, the Professor is good. So my arrival, how would you like it?"

"Why don't you do it your way, it's faster."

"Okay, then, see you soon." Alina says to Bruce.

"Okay, Munchkin, see you soon." Bruce hangs up the phone.

"Soo?" Tony asks.

"So, she accepted and she'll be here soon."

"How soon is soon?"

Bruce looked at his watch, "Like right now."

Tony gave him a weird look when suddenly a bolt of lightning hit the floor and Alina appeared with her luggage. Tony was so surprised he fell out of his seat and hit the floor hard.

"Holy Shit!" Tony exclaimed as he covered his head with his arms as the chair he was sitting on fell on top of him.

Alina looked around, spotting Bruce she dropped her luggage and made a beeline right for Bruce.

"Brucey, it's so good to see you!" Alina exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around Bruce's neck.

He hugged her around the waist, picking her up off the floor.

"Hey, Kiddo, how are you? Did you have a hard time getting away from Papa Bear?" He asks as he kissed her forehead.

"Oh, I'm excellent, and yes, I did, but eventually I convinced, my Logan to let me go, which reminds me…"

Alina turns around to look at Tony. "Hello, Mr. Stark, my name is Alina Macleod, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Tony gets up off the floor, he walks over to Alina with his best flirtatious smile.

"The pleasure is all mine, Kitten." He says as he takes her hand and kisses it.

Alina frowns, she looks at her hand then up at Tony, then over at Bruce. She gives him a big smile, "I was warned about you, Mr. Stark, you are quite the flirt aren't you?"

Tony beams at Alina, "Well, I do my best."

"That's what I was afraid of, well I'm sorry to say this but since you are exactly how you were described I have a message for you."

"Oh yeah, and what's the message?"

Alina sighs, "The message is from a dear friend of mine. Wolverine wanted me to tell you that if you keep on shamelessly flirting with me, he will personally come down here, gut you and hang you by your own intestines outside of Stark Tower."

Tony's eyes widen as he takes a step back. He's been threatened by Logan before, but never so graphically.

Tony smirks at Alina, "I'm sure, Pin Cushion was just bluffing."

Bruce snorts at Tony's comment. "Uh, Tony, I can guarentee you that Logan wasn't bluffing, Alina is like a daughter to him. He's already put five guys in the hospital in critical condition, because they wouldn't leave the Munchkin alone. If I were you, I wouldn't take his message too lightly."

"Yeah but there two major differences between me and those other guys. One, hello, it's me. And two what I do is just harmless flirting, you know I'm perfectly serious about Pepper."

"Okay, Mr. Stark, it's your funeral if he finds out." Alina tells him.

"Don't worry, Kitten, what Papa Bear doesn't know won't hurt me." Tony says as he wraps an arm around Alina's shoulder as he leads her out of the lab with Bruce following behind them.

"So that was a pretty awesome way you arrived just now, one of your mutant powers?"

Alina turns her head to look at Bruce, giving him a smirk. "Something like that." She states.

In point of fact it was not a mutant power it was a godly power that Zeus himself had taught her how to do. It was one of the ways he uses to travel. Alina was his only Half-Blood offspring strong enough to ever pull it off.

Tony nods, "So any other tricks you can do?"

He suddenly yelped and pulled away from Alina as she shocked the shit out of him.

"Some."

Bruce burst out laughing as he noticed Tony's hair standing on end. Tony gave him an odd look, but gasped when he walked by a mirror. He immedietely began to run his fingers through his hair trying to placate it.

He glared at Bruce, "Ha, ha, very funny. Come on Kid I'll show you to your room. I figure since you and Bruce are so close you wouldn't mind sharing a floor."

Alina shook her head, "No, not at all, if it's alright with Bruce that is." She turned to look at Bruce.

"Yeah that's fine with me, it'll give us a chance to catch up."

"Great, glad that's settled I'll let you get settled into your new room. I'll see you guys at dinner and welcome to Stark Tower, Kitten." With that Tony left Bruce and Alina alone.

Bruce wrapped an arm around Alina, "Come on Munchkin, let's get you settled then we can have a nice cup of tea and you can tell me the latest from Olympus.

Later on that night, The Avengers and Alina got together on the main floor to have dinner. At which time she was introduced to the rest of the Avengers and Pepper. They bombarded her with questions from how she knew Bruce to what her mutant powers were. Finally Tony couldn't take it anymore.

"Bruce mentioned that you're one of the X-Men, right?"
''Yes, Mr. Stark, that is correct and I already know what you're going to ask. You want to know why is it that we didn't help out in the battle of New York. The answer is very simple, we didn't help out of fear."

Tony scoffs, "You can't sit there and expect me to believe that a group like the X-Men, who fight Magneto and the Brotherhood almost on a daily basis were afraid of a few aliens?"

"No that's not what I'm saying at all. Tell me, Mr. Stark, since the battle of New York do any of the Avengers have any anonimonity anymore?"

The Avengers looked at each other, "No we don't, our faces are plastered all over the place." Clint answered.

"Now honestly, do any of you know who exactly is part of the X-Men team besides Professor Xavier and now me?"
"Well, I know that Logan is part of the X-Men." Natasha answered.

"Are you sure about that?" Alina asked.

Natasha thought about it for a moment, to be honest she didn't. Not even S.H.I.E.L.D. knew for sure who was part of the X-Men.

"No, you don't, it's obvious by the expression on your face."

"The reason we didn't help is because we can't afford to have our identitities known. If people knew who we are, it would make it easier to hunt us down and kill us. Not detain us, not question us, or for that matter, even experiment on us anymore, just outright kill us."

The Avengers looked at Alina stunned, Steve couldn't believe it.

"No, S.H.I.E.L.D would have kept you all safe."

"Oh really, Mr. Rogers, then tell me, where has S.H.I.E.L.D been this whole time that mutants have been rounded up by the MRD, tortured and murdered?"

The only thing that Steve could do is clear his throat, what Alina said was true.

"S.H.I.E.L.D doesn't have the man power to keep up with everything that happens in the world." Natasha said.

"And yet they have enough man power to keep track of me all these years, and keep other interested people away from me." Bruce said. "Besides, the X-Men also run a school for mutant children, do you honestly think they would expose themselves and put all those kids in the crosshairs? Personally I don't blame them at all for not getting involved. Why should they risk their lives for people who will only turn on them the second it's over." Bruce says as he comes to sit down next to Alina.

"Does that answer your question, Mr. Stark? And let me add that we do protect you humans from the likes of Magneto and other who want to eradicate the human race on a daily basis without complaint or help."

Tony looked down into his drink and swallowed. "Yes, Miss Macleod, that does answer my question, I had no idea."

"Of course you didn't, the government doesn't broadcast when they are silently trying to eradicate a species for no other reason than being born different." Alina tells Tony.

There was an awkward silence that fell over the group as they sat there at the dinner table, until finally Pepper stands up.

"Well, how about some dessert in the living room while we watch a movie?" Pepper suggests.

Alina smiles at Pepper, "That sounds like a great idea, Miss Potts."

"Please, call me Pepper."

"In that case you can call me Alina."

Clint suddenly claps, "Alright I'll get the pies, and Steve you get the plates and silverware."

With that everyone makes their way to the living room, but Tony holds Pepper, back for a minute.

"Pep, in the morning, I want you to make a ten million dollar donation to Xavier's School For Gifted Youngsters. Make sure that they don't know it was from me."

Pepper, smiles at Tony, then kisses him on the lips. "You are so sweet, Tony."

He kisses her back, then smirks, "I know." Pepper smacks him in the back of the head and rolls her eyes.