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Multiversed

A/N: I hope you enjoy this newest installment of Multiversed…

Eight

Natasha crept silently into the women's locker room, following after the lush form of her newest teammate Rogue. The woman was an oddity to Tasha, although she'd only skimmed the dossier the Director put together. As the Black Widow she'd taken pride in being one of the deadliest women on the planet, a spy and assassin without equal.

Now here comes the elusive, illustrious Rogue. A creature so deadly that the smallest of touches could take your life and one so powerful that even the careful Director offered her a spot on the Avengers after only the briefest of investigations.

Odd.

The whole situation was just odd to Tasha.

She gave herself a mental nudge, forcing herself to be honest – at least with herself.

A big part of her unsettlement was over losing her coveted spot of being the lone female Avenger.

There'd been a couple close calls over the years.

Scarlet Witch. Elektra. Lady Deathstrike.

But Fury had dismissed them all after careful consideration.

They just wouldn't fit with the predominantly-male team without causing too much drama.

But Rogue…

There's no denying the drama-factor with her. Between her extremely obvious relationship with Wolverine and the even-more-obvious attraction Stark has for her – one that seemed to be reciprocated there was drama a-plenty. And that was before one added in her murky past, dubious employment history, and apparent talent for breaking-and-entering.

Yes. Rogue was a whole ocean of drama and trouble.

But a really-freaking-powerful and talented ocean of drama and trouble nonetheless.

The Director had finally found another female that could play nice with the boys during the day and kickass with them at night.

The Rogue.

Tasha simply hoped that her addition to the team didn't make too many waves.

Because as usual it'll be Tasha's job to smooth them out.

She shrugged as she came face-to-face with an impatient-and-irriated Rogue.

At least her presence is making life interesting at Stark Tower.

R ~ & ~ T

Well, Rogue thought ruefully. So much for my epic storm-out…didn' take long for one-a them to follow me.

Arms folded across her chest and tapping one foot, she waited for Black Widow to catch up, letting herself have a little internal laugh over the woman's blatant shock at being spotted and confronted. Rogue thought wistfully of the comfy bed waiting for her on Tony's personal floor before letting her inner bitch rage. She'd only been here a little over a day and she's been attacked, sedated, locked up, interrogated, exploited for her knowledge, stalked by superheroes, gone toe-to-toe with Fury as well as several of the Avengers, and kissed Tony Stark senseless. And those were just the highlights. She's too damn tired too pussyfoot around with yet another Avenger.

"What do you want?" She asked bluntly as Natasha came around the corner. Her tone was blatantly impatient.

"I was just…"

"Either you have orders to keep eyes on me or you were just bein' damn nosy." Rogue cut her off. "Either way I've maxed out my congenial nature for the day. Try me again tomorrow."

As Tasha stood there stunned from being caught in the first place let alone Rogue's rudeness, the feisty southerner exited the locker room, deciding to head straight to her room and the attached private bath. At least up there the likelihood of being peeped on by anyone other than Tony or his AI was greatly reduced.

Before she could make it to the elevator, the other Avengers together with Fury and Agent Coulson caught up with her.

"Rogue." Fury stopped her before she could hit the button. "Our discussion wasn't finished."

Facing the group, including a distracted and whispering Tony and Dr. Banner, Rogue rolled her eyes at the one-eyed director.

"It was as far as I'm concerned." She said drily as Logan coughed into his hand to hide his grin.

Gotta love the kid, she never changes too much.

"Not quite." He shook his head in mock-regret. "We still need to get you up-to-speed and quarters assigned."

"Oh, I think you'd be surprised how "up-to-speed" on the Avengers and S.H.E.I.L.D. I am, Director." She arched a brow at him as she hit the button to call the elevator. "As for the other…" She craned her head around Fury's leather-clad form and smirked at Tony. "Care to keep your new neighbor, shugs?"

"Of course, gorgeous." He grinned back at her looking up from the Stark-tablet he was doodling on with Bruce. "Mi casa es su casa. And don't be afraid to run around naked in the mornings," he winked. "I won't mind a bit. Whatever makes you comfortable…"

"Like leaving our adjoining door unlocked?" She drawled over her shoulder as she stepped into the elevator, catching a good look at the shocked faces of the S.H.E.I.L.D. agents and Director as well as her new team before the doors closed.

"Especially leaving that door unlocked." He shot back on the closing door, barely catching sight of her answering wink before she was gone. "Jesus what a woman." He mumbled under his breath as he and Bruce wandered off to the good doctor's labs.

"Ahh…" Hawkeye asked as he shifted from foot to foot. "What was that?"

"That," Wolvering growled as he rolled his shoulders. Hell, not that long ago she was a kid with a crush on him, now she's rooming and flirting with Tony-fucking-Stark. "Was the sound of hell freezing over."

The rest of the team couldn't help but agree. While they couldn't say one way or another how out of character Rogue's behavior was, Tony's was definitely strange. Letting a stranger, a woman, no matter how attractive live with him?

It had to be one of the signs of the coming apocalypse.

"So…" Steve drawled carefully, humor lighting up his eyes as his teammates turned to face him once the others had all scattered. "Who wants to bet on how long it'll take Tony to figure out a way around her mutation?"

Wolverine scoffed, clamping a cigar between his teeth as he strolled away.

"That's not what y'all should bet on." He tossed out as he ambled back towards the gym. "You should bet on how many times she lays his ass out before he figures it out."

R ~ & ~ T

Deep within her cocoon of blankets, Rogue indulged herself in a deep, joint-popping stretch. She wasn't sure how long she'd been out for but it was definitely what the doctor ordered. Using Logan's mutation like she had to basically cure cancer was a labor-intensive ordeal, one that she hadn't recovered from completely before going head-to-head with him in the ring. Let alone everything else that had gone on.

What she'd needed was more along the lines of a temporary coma instead of the glorified cat-nap she'd gotten after Tony caught her on the roof.

She released her stretched and heaved a sigh.

Well, she'd finally gotten it, her brain still a little fuzzy from her long, deep sleep. Her internal clock was telling her she'd been out well over twelve hours, probably closing in on twenty-four or more if she wasn't mistaken.

Hell.

That probably did nothing but freak Logan and the rest the fuck out.

Although…

There'd been no nightmares and no interruptions so they couldn't have been that concerned.

Rogue gave a little chuckle thinking about how Tony is likely to react the first time she has one of her Wolverine or Magneto induced nightmares. Not that she found them funny, if anything the fact that they still plague her was more saddening than anything. But new people's reactions to them tend to be priceless once the dreaming-induced panic and hysteria wears off.

Heh.

Remy's first time dealing with a Wolverine PTSD nightmare was epic. Complete with total nudity and utter panic.

Yeah…

The nightmares aren't a walk-in-the-park, even after all these years, but at least she's gotten to the point where she can enjoy the peripheral benefits from them.

Perk number one: no nosy roommates.

The first time she springs out of bed screaming bloody murder was usually enough to chase them off. At least that was how it worked at the mansion, Remy and Daken were made of sterner stuff. Time would only tell how Tony and the rest would deal.

Perk number two: no one is lining up to wake her up.

Sleeping in, bundled up in a nest of warm blankets, has to be one of her all-time favorite things. It's right up there with chocolate and the scent of Logan's cigars.

She heard one of the doors to her new accommodations open and shut as someone walked into her room, no doubt alerted by the ever-present JARVIS that she was awake. Burrowing her way out of her nest, she peeked her head out and blinked her eyes at the tray-burdened form of Iron-Man – suit and all.

"You wear that thing to make breakfast?" Was all she could get out as her grumbling stomach forced her to refocus on the tray itself instead of her armored host. Mmmm. Eggs benedict, French toast, coffee, hot cocoa, a mixed fruit salad, and a de-thorned long-stemmed blush-pink rose in a bud vase along with a linen napkin and silverware. Tony Stark certainly knows how to put together a spread.

Tony retracted his helmet and gave her a grin as she sat up further allowing him to set the tray over her lap.

"Not usually." He said as he went into a series of flexing and superhero poses, hoping for and getting a giggle from her as she dug into her food. "But JARVIS told me you were waking up when I was running some diagnostics and rather than have to start all over again I just kept it on."

She nodded as she took another bite of her perfect eggs benedict before taking a sip of her hot cocoa.

"Besides it's not every woman who can say Iron Man made and served her breakfast in bed." He finished charmingly as he heard JARVIS chime in his ear. "But it looks like my diagnostics are finished so I'm going to go get out of my glorified tin-can…" He watched her eyes darken for a moment before continuing. "You've been out for a while…almost a whole day. Wanna meet me for coffee in the den once you've gotten cleaned up?"

"I'd like that." She smiled softly at him, enjoying his uncharacteristic thoughtfulness.

"Excellent." He bounded for the door. "Coffee, my place…two hours?"

She waved him off, knowing full well that JARVIS would tell him when she was ready to meet up. Tony Stark. The world's most eccentric superhero/billionaire.