At fourteen Alex had never been ill, had recovered from all injuries miraculously fast and been used to coasting in school especially PE and his extra curricular karate classes. Instinct meant he had even held back with Ian. The man was always disappointed, expecting more, not understanding that those early lessons for his nephew in not standing out were now ingrained. The cycle of hiding in plain site broken by his rendition to the US prison built for the Hulk, but now housing any person categorised as enhanced, as circumstance, fate, state funded or involuntary experimentation automatically made you a criminal. He sat an watched the street below the lover's secret hideout. Wanda and Vision met on odd occasions, this time in Edinburgh's old town, like any other couple on a city break. The illusion of normal for the pair.
Alex automatically providing cover for his partner. A reciprocal arrangement as she had helped him manage his own hook ups with the dashing Captain Daniels. He noted the pair exit for a late night walk in the deserted city, an hour after the clubs had closed and before the early morning deliveries started. Wanda's favourite time of any day as the curse of enhancement was the sparse need for sleep and with most of the city asleep, it provided respite from the back round noise for her latent telepathy. Alex was aware of the threat, before the lovers and he moved to protect instinctively. Too focused on their target and burdened with the assumption they were superior, they failed to anticipate his attack. Wanda switched to full attack mode that instant Alex provided the distraction. No longer afraid of her powers, she was as lethally effective as her Malogosto trained partner. A lethally effective partnership between the two who moved fluidly together to neutralise the three attackers who were using lethal force.
Vision spoke first after inspecting the appearances each corpse, their strange armour and weapons, "these are definitely extraterrestrial, but not Asgardians, Chitauri or a Dark Elves ... We must call our teams. This must be a precursor to another invasion."
Mentally compiling his report, noting that Vision had been the focus of this attack; which made sense to Alex that these aliens were after the three Accord sanctioned Avengers. Less chance of targeting Clint, Natasha and Steve as well, not the recent misfits. Sure, the unofficial rescue team was backed by The Red Cross and funded for by several billionaire backers, but without UN sanction they moved often with no official base of operations. "Odds are you were not the only target. Call Hill and Rhodey, Vision. I'll call Natasha and Okoye. We need to work together on this." Left unsaid were his messages to MI6 and the CIA. He knew Natasha would warn Clint, Scott, her contacts in Russia, and the remnants SHIELD. Alex then messaged warnings to his friends and family: Edward and Liz, Sabina, Tom and Jerry, Ben Daniels, James and Dieter Sprintz, Hugo and Rudy Vries and Paul Roscoe. From those small beginnings the prediction of invasion would spread. He knew Dieter, James, Hugo and Rudi would get to safety. All knew to get away from population centres or military targets. Ben was in Germany with his unit and would be deployed or more likely he would be seconded back to MI6.
In the railway station car park, a SHIELD jet with Wakandan improvements landed without alerting the local police or any RAF radar installations. Inside were Natasha Romanov, Sam Wilson and Steve Rogers. The tall super soldier was finally getting comfortable in this time, helped by his close friends and the fact Bucky was happy and healthy in his new home. He had fought and 'died' for America, he had been betrayed by the attempt from General Ross to control him. In exile, he strove to be a good man, guiding Alex and Wanda. Finding another close friend in Natasha, who was dating Sam. Each now happier than they had been in New York even with their nomadic lifestyle.
Within minutes two MI5 agents had arrived and were pulling on hazmat suits to bag the alien remains. Alex's phone vibrated, he read the message from Okoye, there had been another attack in New York. Tony Stark and Dr. Stephen Strange had been abducted. He sighed, "Simultaneous Attack in Manhattan. Target Steven Strange. Stark was with him, both are missing and are assumed to have been abducted. There are over seventy casualties, another ten confirmed fatalities. The vessel used there is no longer in orbit. Oh and Banner has resurfaced."
At that moment Steve's dinosaur flip-phone started was ringing.
...
Rhodey stared at the kid sat with Wanda and Vision, the three were snuggled side by side on the sofa holding hands, all their attention on Steve and Natasha, who were talking strategy with Bruce. Sam was busy fixing drinks and snacks. The blond kid was nervous as a helicopter was heard in the distance, then he calmed when it got close enough and the Roscoe-Drevin company livery was evident. The passengers on board were the pregnant Pepper Potts and her fiancée, Paul Roscoe. Paul, at 6'4" was taller than Steve. He ignored everyone and strode up to Rider arms wide. The kid jumped up to bear hug the billionaire.
Alex broke off, then scowled, "My warning was heads up so you guys could get the hell out of dodge to hide out on your island in the middle of the nowhere. Love of your life and unborn child is at ground zero here."
Pepper sat on Alex's vacated seat on the sofa next to Wanda and accepted the herbal tea magicked up by Sam, "children, plural. It's twin boys. Seth and Caleb. Our jet is on the way here. It's collected Lucy, Clint and the kids. When we get to the west coast we're picking up Scott and his family. The joint boards have been made aware of a family emergency. Hugo is collecting Sabina and her boyfriend. Your parents are staying put in Geneva. They practically live on top of the CERN Hadron collider anyway."
Rhodey had missed something, knowing Pepper was dating another CEO was one thing, but the couple had a close friendship with the kid kidnapped from a Swiss ICU and imprisoned at the Raft without adequate medical care. Like Wanda, a teenage victim of enhanced human experimentation, and like Barnes, kidnapped, imprisoned, tortured, brainwashed and stored in cryofreeze by HYDRA.
Paul shrugged, "Pepper insisted on saying goodbye to you guys in person, because phone calls can be missed. As you know, I do as I'm told. We both had loose ends to tie up at work. The markets have tanked, which means Dieter's working on his next billion and the diamond trading is up as well. Not the best time to buy gold. So, Guys, try to keep Alex out of trouble. Keep us in the loop." She did not mention her best friend was missing. She stood and hugged Rhodey. "If Ross tries anything come join our hideaway. Alex knows the coordinates. Dr Cho and her full team are safe there as well."
The Hideaway had been suggested by Alex for his friends to protect themselves after his breakout from the Raft. Justifiable after Ross had abducted a critically ill patient from the oldest neutral country in the world, then the man had remained in power despite the international fallout. Any associates, family and friends could be potential bargaining chips for a man as ruthless as that. The threat today was galactic, with a chance that hiding in an atomic blast proof shelter on an isolated island in the Pacific may not provide adequate protection. Thoughts shared between Wong, Vision, Alex and Wanda. Their sacrifice was required as the world, possibly the universe was at stake.
...
The door closed on the basic room Alex had been assigned, not that he would sleep while on enemy territory, the sooner they left for Wakanda the better. Conducting a security check on the room, he was not surprised when a portal appeared and Wong sat down on desk chair and started up a conversation on the one topic not verbalised over the past three years. "You keep your gift secret. I understand why you and Wanda did not tell. I do not think being magically adept would cause a bad reaction from friends and allies. James Rhodes has sided with us because Stark has followed Dr Strange. He has more than happy to oppose Thaddeus Ross. However, your team and the Wakandan's suspect your gifts are beyond any genetic inheritance. Even lacking memories or actual documented proof, your enhancement does suggest Von Strucker used the spectre on you in 2012. Rejection of alien energy infusion was killing you until you met Wanda. Dr Banner has stated HYDRA only stabilised the enhancement process with the twins. It is your close connection to her that has let you accept this boon and it could save us all facing a being with six infinity stones."
Alex turned to look out of the window, not trusting his normal poker face when faced with being outed as a freak of nature. He knew Wong had secured the room from all eavesdroppers both digital and enhanced, Alex had learned to organise his mind to use subterfuge to keep his other work private from Wanda, mainly to stop her worrying and mothering him. "I remember meeting The Baron, his disgust that I was less than a perfect guinea pig. He was desperate for success. It was unspeakable what he did in Sokovia, to Wanda and Pietro. I have been testing my limits in private. I have control and to answer your unasked question my power frightens me. Then again, destroying Vision's stone, may destroy me. A small price to pay for you, my friends and family."