From robbiepoo2341:: Robbie would like to say thank you kindly to those who are enjoying Kate, because yes, she is the best ever. (Biased.) And she's soooo glad that everyone is enjoying the fic so far.
Because guess what? The best is yet to come. We haven't even introduced everyone's favorite fuzzy elf. Which we will do. Shortly. And it is perfection. Every bit of it. Because it's Kurt, and because it's Kate, and just.. yes.
From CC:: Well hello! So nice to hear from so many of you - my goodness you guys are fast!
robbiepoo2341 and I have been tickled to read your comments, and I promise - we have LOTS more on this one for you guys.
Lots of thanks to Retrokill, Silmarilz1701, Ophelia Claire, griezz, abrokencastiel, and ScruffyLovin for the great reviews!
Silz, O, and Cas - you know we ADORE you guys, right? Like - fanclub presidents right here. Griezz - all the credit for Kate and her sass goes to robbie. I am increasingly more convinced that she IS Kate. (sorry. Blew your secret identity, Trickshot.) Now, Scruffy - as far as a RoLo - I am NOT a member of that shipping crew, though - I might be coerced into writing up a Stormy/Forge or Stormy/T'Challa story. You're giving me ideas and THAT is something that needs to be fixed. For real.
To our fellow Freelancer Collaboration writers - Guys. GUYS. Please stick around. We got some goodies for you. And for those of you NOT in the Collaboration - read THIS - but then GO and be FREE and read the Collaboration's story for us. We are greedy writers and love reviews from amazing people like you.
"The Terrible Twosome"
Logan just sat back and smirked as Kate piloted their stolen SHIELD jet toward the little blip on the screen that marked where the school was when the alert came through to all available SHIELD personnel that there was a disturbance in midtown.
"Well," Logan said with a little sigh as he slapped his hands down on his knees. "Duty calls it seems." He redirected her on where to go and started telling her how to land the jet, standing up as he finished up the quick version. "Auto landing should take over if you come in too fast, you'll be fine."
"This just keeps happening to me," she muttered, shaking her head, though the grin was firmly in place and it was clear she was having a blast as she followed his instructions. "First time in a spaceship my instructor ditched to fight too."
"Then I don't need to worry about you - you've got experience. Meet you down there," he said, pausing before he opened the hatch. "What's your codename anyhow?"
"Hawkeye," she called over her shoulder.
He frowned a little and just froze in place, watching her with a more purple filter to his judgement. "Tell me you're not related or ex lovers with the other one."
"No. No way. Ew. No." She shook her head several times over as he outright laughed her way. "He was dead when I got the name. He's just - the other Hawkeye. No relation."
"He didn't pick up 'Ronin' again did he?" Logan asked and let out a relieved sigh when she shook her head 'no'. "See you on the ground then," he said before he just - jumped out leaving the parachute behind.
She leaned over slightly to watch him jump and shook her head. "X-Men," she said, laughing slightly before she put her focus back on bringing the jet down.
By the time she'd done that, she could see the Skrulls causing havoc and had to shake her head. This - was exactly like when she'd learned how to fly Noh's ship.
When she came across Logan again, he was positively splattered in dark green and seemed to be having a good time slicing and dicing a whole lot faster than she was used to seeing from the other, older Logan.
She nocked two arrows and shot a pair of Skrulls near him as a sort of 'hello' to let him know she'd joined the battle before she jumped into the fray on her own, working her bow in a fast tempo to match his speed as best she could. The fighting aliens thing? She could totally handle it.
Of course, it wasn't a good fight unless she could see the whole thing, and Kate made her way up one of the taller buildings to get a good bird's eye view - oh, Clint was rubbing off on her - of the battle below. Some of the Skrulls followed her up, and she absolutely grinned as she turned to fight them, too, swinging out with one hand still gripping the side of the building to kick one of the Skrulls off and then complete the swing up onto the roof to keep shooting.
She was about halfway through her quiver when one of them managed to grab her bow, and then two more - and that was a tug-of-war she just couldn't win, even though she planted her boot into them as hard as she could. Another three of them scrambled at her arms, and the next thing she knew was that she was falling over the edge as they more or less flung her over.
Okay. This looks bad, she thought as she tried desperately to think of something, because that was a long way to fall, and she didn't have a stupid healing factor like her newest - and very possibly last - partner.
Bamf! She could barely focus on the very dark blue face that was very close to hers - eyes glowing yellow above a broad, pointed toothed grin. "Guten Abend, frauline," her rescuer said in a comforting low rumble as he pulled her close. Bamf!
It had hardly taken a matter of seconds, but it was the strangest sensation she'd ever felt. She didn't really have anything to compare it to - it wasn't like traveling with Loki or Billy or America or anyone else. It was for more instantaneous and a little bit like an entire roller coaster packed into one second. Not that it wasn't enjoyable, though…
Before she could fully blink, she felt her feet on solid ground, and with a bit of blue and purple smoke, she could see that her rescuer was standing right beside her. "Are you alright?" he asked, concern etched on his features as he gently kept one hand on her shoulder. "Not everyone can handle teleporting with me. I'm not sure if it's the sensation or the brimstone though, to be honest."
She had to take in a quick breath and double-check that she was all still there. "Looks like I'm fine - all in one piece," she said at last, shaking her head to get herself grounded again before she turned back his way. "Uh - thanks for the save," she said, faltering the slightest bit at the disarming, pointed grin. Come on, Kate. You're a superhero. Sound like one. She straightened up and tried to explain that she wasn't in the damsel-in-distress business: "If I'd had my bow - I could've made it. I think, probably."
"Say no more," he said with that same grin before he disappeared in a poof of purple smoke, only to reappear a few moments later with her bow and quiver in hand. "At your service," he said before he grasped her hand and kissed the back of it incredibly gently. "Just call if you need anything else."
She couldn't stop the wide smile at the gesture, taken a bit off-guard by the old-fashioned blue man in front of her, and she bit her lip for a second before she managed, "Hawkeye. I - I'm Hawkeye."
"I'm charmed," he replied. "Kurt Wagner, better known as Nightcrawler. What's a nice girl like you doing in a Skrull battle like this all alone?"
Kate grinned. Now that was a line she knew how to work with. "Shooting things," she said with a twinkle in her eyes. "And for the record, I could totally take them alone, but I brought a friend." She pulled out an arrow and twirled it between her fingers before she glance his way again. "The one and only Wolverine. My partner for the night."
He frowned for a moment, no whisper of his grin left anywhere on his features, "You must be mistaken," Kurt said haltingly. "I'm afraid Wolverine is no longer with us. I thought for sure everyone knew."
"Do you want to meet him?" she offered with an understanding smile. She'd been through the best-friend-back-from-the-dead-thing before, and she knew it was a rough ride. "SHIELD ran him through the gauntlet, and it's the real deal, I swear. They even brought the… lovely witch of hellfire or whatever the heck she is to say hello."
Kurt raised his eyebrows. "Oh, did they now? No offense to the White Queen, but I think I'd very much like to see it for myself before I take anyone's word for it."
She nodded, a smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth. "If you can't believe a Hawkeye, believe your own eyes - last I saw, he was in the middle of Third Street," she said. "But that was about five minutes ago."
Kurt considered her for just a moment and looked down toward where he could hear the fight taking place. "Would you like to join me?" Kurt offered, his hand extended as he turned his gaze her way with the ghost of a grin playing at the corners of his mouth. "It will only take a few moments."
She smiled with her tongue between her teeth as she took the offered hand. "I think I'll like this teleporting thing better with the warning," she said.
He grinned widely, and a few bamfs later - complete with that same roller coaster sensation that Kate was still trying to figure out if she enjoyed, though she was leaning toward 'yes' in that regard - they were standing on top of a building looking down Third, where Kate quickly pointed out the knot of aliens getting shredded. "So he's moved down a few blocks," she said. "But he's still here."
Kurt just watched, his expression one of clear disbelief as he watched Logan working on a persistent group of Skrulls. He just stared down for a moment before, without any warning, he bamfed away. She watched as little poofs of purple and blue light appeared around the knot of Skrulls before suddenly Logan was just standing in the street with no one to fight, half out of breath with green blood dripping from his claws.
As she watched the two X-Men, she felt a light tug on her sleeve and looked down at the little curly-haired blue cherub next to her. She had to stop and stare, a half-disbelieving smile stuck on her face as she'd never seen anything like it - except maybe Nightcrawler. The little blue thing looked up at her with a quizzical expression before he asked, "Bamf?"
She had no idea what that was supposed to mean, but it just kept staring at her. "Um - I'm Hawkeye," she offered, wondering if it was trying to talk to her.
It just grinned up at her and seized her hand before it bamfed her down to street level in time for the show as Kurt apparently had gotten enough of just staring at Logan - who could see Kurt's reluctance and had made no move to startle the teleporter.
Kurt frowned deeper for just a moment before he disappeared and reappeared in another poof about a foot from Logan, his head tilted to one side. "Is it really you, my friend?" he asked, soft and quiet, his tone hopeful.
"Hiya, Elf," Logan replied as he looked up at him fully, a smile starting to stretch across his face. "It's been way too long."
Kurt all but flung himself around Logan with a grin, arms wrapping around his neck in a tight hug that Logan returned just as enthusiastically. "I should have known you would find a way to cheat death again," Kurt said, with a little disbelieving laugh.
"Alternate timeline - apparently switched a while back with the guy that died - Cable fixed it," Logan told him.
"Remind me to thank him later," Kurt said.
"He's a Summers; he'll remind you himself," Logan pointed out before he looked over Kurt's shoulders to see Kate standing there with a few bamfs around her feet and one playing in her quiver despite her best efforts to keep it out of there. "Have you met my new friend? We stole a SHIELD jet a little while ago."
"We've had the pleasure," Kurt said with a smile Kate's way before he shook his head at Logan. "You've been back for how long and already you are teaching young ladies felonies?"
"It's a secondary mutation," Logan defended with a shrug. "You know that."
Kurt just laughed, his hand on Logan's shoulder. "I would have hoped you at least could stay out of trouble for a few minutes on your return - but then, you would not be Wolverine." Logan just smirked up at him and nodded his head in agreement before he stepped back and started to shrug off some of the Skrull blood clinging to him.
"C'mon Katie - bout time for coffee," Logan called out as he and Kurt started to walk together, arms over each other's shoulders as they went down the street.
"It's just Kate," she said as she finally wrestled the bamf out of her quiver and then tickled it with a little triumphant grin and a whispered cooing noise that she usually reserved for Lucky. "Or Hawkeye. Not Lady Hawkeye or Kate Hawkeye or whatever else you might've heard."
"I stand corrected," Logan said, raising one eyebrow as he turned to Kurt, getting a laugh out of him.
"Do these belong to you?" Kate asked, indicated the bamfs around her, who seemed to have figured out that she would tickle and play with them if they bugged her enough and were fully taking advantage of it to sit on her shoulders and feet. "Or are they independently in the flirty, saving business for themselves?"
"A bit of both," Kurt replied with a little shrug, sounding a bit subdued as he spoke of them. "I've adopted them - but it's a long story for a first meeting." He gave the little cherubs a bit of a narrowed eyed glare and most of them seemed to back off just a bit, at least not pestering her quite as badly as they had been moments before.
"They look like you," she said as one of the more persistent ones got brave enough to tug on her bow and she tutted at the little guy and shook her finger at him before she looked back at Kurt. "I'm just asking - you know. Bad form taking your kids to work this little."
He smirked a bit her way, and she could have sworn she'd seen a bit of a blush raise on his cheeks while he rubbed the back of his neck. "They aren't really children - but, as I said that is a rather long and complicated story."
"I like them." Kate grinned up his way.
"They seem fond of you too, liebling," Kurt replied and Logan just flat grinned to himself with a little chuckle.
"So you two have met then," Logan said with the smile firmly in place. The look he was giving Kurt had his old friend trying hard not to smile at him.
Kate shook her head at Logan. "No. I think I'd remember meeting him."
"From the stories I've heard, I'll just bet you would," Logan teased. Kurt just gave him a look for a moment, in total disbelief that the picking had started up already.
Kurt leaned toward Logan and very barely breathed out "Don't do that, mein Freund, I just got you back, I do not want to have to kill you." Logan just chuckled a little to himself and waved Kate over closer.
She looked between the two old friends and had to just shake her head before she slipped over to toss her hair over her shoulder and grin at them both. "So is that coffee still happening, or are you two going to bromance some more?"
"Can't we do both?" Kurt asked as he turned the full force of his smile her way. "I'd give you a hug too if you'd allow it."
She laughed. "I'm not opposed to hugs," she said as the beginnings of one of her most horrible, teasing grins started. "But I'm not quite as much of a hugger as Wolverine here. This guy seems to attract hugs like a magnet. I've never seen Fury so emotional." She laughed again. "Or - emotional at all." Kurt raised an eyebrow but offered Kate his arm.
"Maybe we should make sure he's not an imposter," Logan suggested. "I'll poke him in the eye. I mean - he sure as hell smelled like him, but - hey. What do I know? I'm the one that everyone's questioning."
"Well, I can understand that," Kate said with mock seriousness as she took Kurt's arm, though her attention was on teasing Logan. "I mean, you're so nice. Old you was much grumpier. And stabbier."
"I'm insulted on all counts," Logan said with a little glare. "I'm not nice and much more stabby."
"Uh-huh." Kate was grinning, clearly enjoying the glare Logan gave her. "But you - you give hugs. And Old You stabbed everybody. You have more… restraint." She shrugged at him, tongue between her teeth and the full teasing sparkle in her gaze. "It's a compliment."
"Who is she talking about?" Kurt asked Logan with a little frown.
"Apparently there's another one - from a different timeline and from the future. Alternate future where I age horribly horribly fast very suddenly for no reason," Logan replied with a shrug. "And hugs are a gateway drug, you know. Leads to much more interesting things."
She made a face at him. "If you're gonna hit on me, I'll just leave," she teased him.
"Sweetheart, if I hit on you, you'll know it," Logan replied with a twinkle in his eyes. "That wasn't it."
"Good. Because you should know better," Kate said before she just snorted and turned back to Kurt to explain the Old Logan situation. "It was the time travel aspect of the Old Him that was hard to deal with. Thought he was from the future until I realized he didn't know about female Thor or any of the other stuff. But alternate universes? Yeah, much easier - and not all that new for me, since my best friend opens portals between them with her feet, so... " Kate shrugged, realizing she was probably rambling and deciding to change the subject slightly. "If you think three alternate Logans are hard to keep track of, I could tell you nightmare stories about the bunny dimension." She shuddered. "Serious nightmare fuel."
The two of them just looked at her for a moment before they both seemed to just shrug it off. "I'm gonna go ahead and ignore that for now - but only because I've heard another lunatic muttering about bunnies. Come on, coffee's waiting - and Kurt's buying."
Kate laughed at both of them when Kurt gave Logan a bit of a look. "Well, how can a girl turn down an invitation like that?" She asked with a smile as Kurt led the way, his hand covering hers on his arm.
They were nearly to the diner at the end of the block when the street lit up and the SHIELD operatives made their presence known, seeping into seemingly all the streets at once. "I thought I smelled gun oil," Logan muttered to himself. "You gonna be in trouble, Kate?"
"For probably the third time this week," she sighed, shaking her head.
"That on its own is enough to earn the Hawkeye title. Tell 'em I coerced you," Logan said with a smirk as he leaned her way.
"Lies. I coerced you," she countered. "You are the sidekick here, mister."
"Hey," he said seriously. "I am never the sidekick. This is a teamup if it's anything at all."
"Fine. I'll take it."
The three of them were still smirking at each other when Maria Hill stepped forward, arms crossed. Kurt released Kate's hand and prepared himself to defend them both. "You've been back for all of five minutes and you've stolen SHIELD property and disobeyed orders to stay under wraps. I'm surprised there wasn't a 'welcome home' banner parade to boot."
"Your smilin' face is good enough," Logan teased. "But - I wasn't technically ordered, and seein' as I'm an Avenger, I didn't really steal it."
She just raised an eyebrow his way. "You're not an Avenger. Not on the roster - not authorized for anything. What you are though? You are coming back to the helicarrier, and you are staying there until we sort this out." Logan bristled at her tone and took a step forward with a scowl in place.
"If I'm not an Avenger what the hell makes you think you can give me orders, Miss Maria Hill?" Logan countered with a touch of a growl before he straightened up again, glaring up at her.
"Because I'm the one who has to sign off on any kind of reinstatement," she said with a single raised eyebrow.
Logan considered her for a moment, but the slight movement from one of the overly armed soldiers at the fringe had Logan straight up, ready to fight, and certainly not trusting Hill. He couldn't stop the growl that slipped out before he leaned toward Kurt. "I'm not going back for them to make me sit in a cell," Logan whispered to Kurt, and Kurt simply set his jaw before a moment later the two of them were just gone.
"Well, I feel like a sack of potatoes," Kate muttered under her breath before she heard a little chorus of giggles and saw a few of the bamfs climbing up over her shoulders, and one of them landed in her arms with a troublemaking grin.
Hill spun toward Kate and made it all of five steps closer before the little bamf in Kate's arms giggled and poofed her away too.
When they reappeared, Kate was surprised to find that they were in some kind of mansion - long halls, gorgeous windows, not a soul in sight... it looked like something she might have played in while she waited for her dad to finish talking with his 'friends' when she was growing up. It was late enough that nobody seemed to be awake, so for a moment, the only sound was the little bamfs giggling and playing in the moonlight and curtains.
The little guys more or less shepherded her around as she took in the sights, by herself. "Did you troublemakers take me somewhere away from the boys?" she asked as two of the bamfs poofed up to sit on her quiver before she pulled them out and shook her finger at them, which only seemed to delight them instead of discouraging them.
It was another long few minutes of trying to keep bamfs out of her weaponry and also finding her way around the dim halls before she caught up with Logan and Kurt, at last. They were in a large, well decorated office, both of them with their heads together and trying to figure out what to do with Logan now that he was back - and SHIELD was after him, presumably to keep him 'safe'.
"I can't stay here, you know that, Elf. It'd bring SHIELD down on you and the school," Logan said with a shake of his head.
"You don't have many options," Kurt reasoned. "Your estate was divided up. You don't have anything anymore."
"I got along just fine without any money," Logan said with a tired smile. "Kinda prefer it that way most of the time. If it gets to be a problem, I'll just call the right people."
"If you need an advance," Kate said quietly, waving her fingers a bit as she slipped the door closed behind her. "I've got a trust fund I just aged into last year that's hardly been touched."
"I'm not taking your money," Logan told her flatly as he glanced up at her from his spot next to Kurt. Kurt seemed much more surprised by her appearance, however, as he stood up a bit straighter and tried for an easy smile.
Kate raised a slight eyebrow at Kurt's surprise - she'd thought he would know she was coming, after all, considering the bamfs - but decided to just shrug it off as she turned back Logan's way. "Hey, I've done the comedown into sudden poverty before. It's no fun."
"You don't understand," Kurt said gently. "He saved the money living like that on purpose. He's used to it." When one of the bamfs appeared right next to him with a broad grin and a giggle he gave him a look and muttered "Sie sind nicht Ehestifter." The little imp paused for a moment and then fell apart in stitches before it bamfed away from him.
Logan glanced at Kurt with a clear look of disbelief. "You sure about that, Elf?" Kurt glared slightly and shook his head at his old friend.
"Do not encourage them," Kurt said through clenched teeth as the bamfs erupted in a chorus of giggles.
"Don't encourage them to what - save my skin from SHIELD?" Kate asked with a bit of accusation in her tone.
"No," Kurt said with a frown. "No - that …" He sighed and his shoulders dropped a bit. "I'm quite glad that they kept you out of trouble, but they are causing trouble too. Don't worry about it; they'll behave as much as they are capable."
"Which doesn't say much," Logan muttered out the side of his mouth Kurt's way before he let the amused little smirk rest on his features.
Kate looked between the two of them and shook her head, deciding she didn't really want to know what was going on. At least, not right then. She could be patient. "Well, at least let me set you up somewhere. I have friends on different planets and dimensions," she offered, turning to Logan. "Seeing as SHIELD is on your tail."
"I'm not running from SHIELD," Logan said with a wave. "Let 'em catch me. If they tick me off too much, I'll crash their damn helicarrier. I just need to get Kitty or someone to hack in and figure out what they want me to deal with before they let me loose," Logan told her.
She let out a little snort of a laugh at that. "Oh my gosh it's like living in summer repeats today. Old You wanted into SHIELD's files too when I met him," she explained. "Give me a laptop and five minutes, assuming they haven't blocked my access."
Logan looked over to Kurt and just held his gaze until Kurt looked between the two of them, trying hard to ignore the audience of bamfs surrounding them before he finally cracked and pushed his open laptop her way. "Be my guest."
She grinned delightedly and curled up into the nearest chair with the computer, and with one bamf looking over her shoulder. When she got into SHIELD, she pushed the laptop back Logan's way, half the information already pulled up and the other half in tabs at the bottom of the screen that she definitely hadn't peeked at, nope. "What do you want to know?"
He just started scrolling through what was in his files - seeing what kind of havoc had happened in his absence and starting to connect the dots, his expression more serious as he looked through the intel. "Well, I was right," he said finally. "There will be ninjas."
"Excellent. When do we start?" Kate asked, leaning forward, but Kurt was quick to hold up a hand.
"You can't possibly leave without at least saying hello to a few people here," Kurt told Logan, shaking his head for a moment. "You've been dead. They will want to see for themselves that you are alive - they'll want to see you again. We can leave after that."
"That sounds like you're inviting yourself along, Elf," Logan said with a smirk. "Is that your condition? I gotta be friendly before we go?"
Kurt looked over at Logan with a look. "I didn't think I needed an invitation," he shot back. "And besides, I just got you back, mein Freund. I do not intend to let you out of my sights so easily."
"That just made this whole thing sound like a lot more fun," Logan said. "When do we leave, partner?"
"As soon as you've said hello to the other teachers - the ones that are here, at least," Kurt said in a tone that brokered no argument.
"We're gonna have to go before SHIELD shows up," Logan pointed out. "I'm sure they know you took me here."
"Then we will just have to wake them up quickly," Kurt said.
"Let 'em sleep and leave a note," Logan countered. "You wake 'em up now and they're going to think we're under attack."
"We certainly will be if Storm finds out you were here and never dropped in," Kurt pointed out. "Half of them are gone right now anyhow."
"Can't argue with that," Logan replied. "You're running the show - obviously." He gestured to Kurt to do what he thought was best before he got up and started rummaging through the bookshelf in search of a bottle of whiskey. "I'll just - what? Wait for you to figure it out?"
Kurt just grinned broadly before he disappeared - bamf - only to reappear a few moments later with a half-asleep, still groggy, pajama-wearing Peter Parker as Logan tipped back his glass of whiskey then started to swirl the remaining liquid in the glass - the ice cubes clattering against the crystal.
It took Peter a moment to register what was happening, and he outright stared at Logan as he rubbed at his eyes for a second. "So - sleepwalking? Sleep-bamfing? Right? That's what's happening here? We're dreaming in tandem and you brought me here and I'm going to wake up in Madrid in my pajamas?"
"Now that sounds like a good prank," Logan said with an amused little chuckle. "Only slightly better'n putting Slim out on the inflatable mattress in the middle of the lake. What are you doin' here anyhow, Parker? I thought you had to be a mutant or an alien to teach here."
"Your confidence in me is touching," Peter said, shaking his head as he looked Logan over before he took a running start and just flat out tackled him in a hug that knocked him flat on his back. "But reassuring - must be you in there."
"Petey, you gotta let go," Logan told him. "You spilled my drink."
"Not sorry," Peter said, shaking his head. "Just making sure you're solid and I'm not dreaming - or nightmaring."
"I think I might be nightmaring - are you wearing Avengers pajamas?"
That got Peter to release him quick as he practically sprang backward and looked down at himself. "Ah - Tony has a stockpile of merch? At the mansion?"
"Is that what he supplies his other dates with too these days?" Logan teased. "What exactly did you have to do for that merch, Parker?"
Instead of answering, Peter just let out a long sigh and looked up at the ceiling. "Yep. It's good to have you back," he half-grumbled with his arms crossed.
"Missed you too, Petey," Logan replied with a smirk. "Even if you did spill my drink. Which -" he handed the glass to Peter. "You spilled it - you can refill it."
"Been alive five minutes and already he's turning me into a bellboy," Peter grumbled, though it didn't have much bite to it, and he was grinning.
Neither of them had noticed Kurt leave until after he returned - this time with a less-groggy but more wary Hank McCoy, who was looking Logan over like a science experiment before he took a few slight steps forward with a sniff.
Logan just narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms as he waited for Hank to finish. He'd just started to open his mouth to say something when Henry pounced and positively crushed the air out of him. "Every bit of data I had said that you were dead," Hank said in a rush. "How?"
Logan just kind of tapped his arm - it was all he could do with his arms pinned in Hank's crushing hug. When Hank released him, it was only to readjust his grip, and smile in a very tight way as he grabbed Logan by the side of his neck and one shoulder just - clearly tickled.
"It seems the one we lost was from an alternate dimension," Kurt explained while Logan was still getting his breath back. "This is the original. Cable brought him back."
"Well we need to run some tests - make sure everything is where it should be - has your baseline changed? I need to check your abilities." Hank was already running down his mental checklist as Logan slipped back away from him.
"No, no. I'm fine - no tests. Forget it," Logan said. "And you still have fleas."
"His healing works fine," Kate piped up with a clear look of amusement, her feet propped up on one side of the chair that she was sitting sideways in. "Saw him fighting Skrulls, and trust me, if it wasn't working, you'd know."
"See? Eyewitness, we're good," Logan said as he stepped back from Henry. "Though - if you have a change of clothes for me before we take off again? That'd be great."
In a flurry of little poofs, all of the bamfs disappeared at once, only to come back a few minutes later - every single one of them bearing a different outfit, except for the one who reappeared on Logan's shoulder to jam a cowboy hat on his head.
"Okay, that works too," Logan said before he gave the little guy a smirk. He turned to Kurt with one eyebrow raised. "You have them trained now?"
"They are marginally more civilized," Kurt explained with a shrug. "But only when they know that adventure is coming around the corner. They like you because they know what your reappearance means."
"That's why I like him too," Kate said with a muted smile, seeming to address the comment at the little bamf who had brought sweatpants and nothing else.
"Well, now that you have a change of clothes or six - you cannot leave just yet," Kurt said quickly, holding up both hands and then disappearing. It took him a bit longer this time to reappear with Storm, who was not in pajamas or a nightgown but in a comfortable set of slacks and a shirt and who looked far more prepared than either of the other two had been; Logan suspected Kurt had actually told her what was going on in better detail than he told either of the others.
She strode forward and simply wrapped her arms around his neck. "So - you are back."
"Sure looks that way," he replied, tightening the hug before he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Glad to see someone with sense running this place for a change."
She shook her head at him. "And you have not changed either. I suppose you never do," she teased lightly.
"Too stubborn or stupid," he agreed.
"I don't suppose you've come back to teach with us," she said with a soft smirk as she looked him over. "That would be too much to ask."
"That was the plan if you had a place for me - but SHIELD thinks I shouldn't be doing anything yet." Logan let her go to look up at her. "But I'm going to fix that and see where things stand."
"SHIELD has no business in my hiring practices," she said with one eyebrow raised.
"They seem to think otherwise - had to get creative to get off the helicarrier," Logan said with a little smirk.
"Please tell me you didn't jump out of that thing again," Storm replied with a weary tone.
"Wasn't alone or I would have," Logan told her, gesturing toward Kate, who waved her fingers in greeting. "She was my accomplice."
Kate stuck her tongue out at him. "Partner. This is a teamup. You said no sidekicks."
"Accomplice gets equal charges leveled against them, don't worry," Kurt told her with a barely contained chuckle. "If they're serious enough you'll get 'co-conspirator'."
She flat-out grinned his way. "Well, that's officially the most trouble I've been in with SHIELD if that's the case."
"It's early," Logan promised. "Doubt they have a full list of charges yet."
"Oh good. Dad would be proud - I'm a fully-realized criminal now," Kate said, rolling her eyes but still grinning playfully.
"By the way, I'm not an Avenger anymore," Logan said as he turned from Storm toward Peter and Hank. "Straight from Hill. So - actual charges this time."
"Puts you and me on equal footing, seeing as I wasn't invited to the Avengers party either," Kate teased.
"Don't worry," Hank said. "You'll be reinstated before this is over, Logan. That's how they'll let you out of the charges. Sign a new contract."
"I'm not signing anything if they don't want to let her off the hook too," Logan said before he turned Kate's way. "Might be a little bargaining tool."
"I can yell at Hill on my own, thanks… But ninjas first, right?" Kate asked, looking between the X-Men with a hopeful sort of smile.
"First, second, third, and last," Logan agreed. "And we should be going soon."
"I'm sure we'll be back soon enough," Kurt said with a soft smile. "After SHIELD blows off some steam and this little problem is resolved."
"I'm sure it just needs the Wagner touch," Logan said.
"I have no doubt," Kurt agreed, grinning wider.
"So - are we… teleporting our way across the country?" Kate asked as she absently tickled a bamf that was trying to get her attention again, twisting his tail around her wrist.
"I'm taking a shower first - get rid of the goop from those Skrulls - and then we can figure out the details. I'll see you in the hangar in fifteen," Logan said. "Doesn't matter to me one way or the other how we get around." He slipped out the door and left the two of them to discuss it."
"I kinda like it," Kate said with a grin Kurt's way as she settled deeper into the chair, nearly upside down and still smiling up at him. "The teleporting thing. I've decided it's fun."
"He's overstating a bit," Kurt told her. "He does care how we go. We'll fly. The brimstone overloads his sense of smell and I know it's a bit more disorienting for him than most." He tapped the side of his nose. "It's the enhanced senses."
"Oh, well, that makes sense," Kate said, nodding as she sat up a little straighter and looked around the room for a moment. "What kind of jet do you have? I just learned how to hotwire a SHIELD one if we need something small - or even if we just want to."
"We have a very unique one," Kurt said with a smirk. "And when it's actually yours - you don't need to hotwire it. Though we may need those skills down the road. You never know when you're travelling with Logan."
"You'll need all my skills down the road. Just sit back and be amazed," Kate teased as she finally got herself untangled from the chair and stood up - and then was surprised when Storm crossed the room to put a gentle hand on her arm.
"You seem to have a bit of Skrull blood on you, my friend," Storm said with a kind smile. "Why don't you come with me to clean up - I can give you something clean to wear, and to take with you."
"We won't leave without you this time," Kurt promised with a little smirk. "And Ororo will show you how to get to the hangar."
Kate seemed to consider this for a moment. "Can I take one of the little blue Cupids with me?" she asked at last. "They seem to be good at keeping up with you."
"They're called 'bamfs,'" Kurt explained as he ruffled the hair on one of them, affectionately. "And I doubt they'll leave you alone - they seem to like you."
"Oh good. Then they'll take me with you whether you want me to or not," she said with a decisive sort of nod, which had several of the bamfs giggling.
"Yes, they would," Kurt said as he glanced at the chorus of giggling imps. "I think they want you to come along… And at any rate, they are helpful if we become separated. They can always find me."
"That's useful. I wish I had something like that for my other partner," she said with a little smirk before she nodded at Storm. "Okay. Clean clothes? That sounds lovely, thank you," she said, gesturing for Storm to lead the way. "That's really nice of you."
Storm waved off the compliment and led her to her attic suite. Once they were apart from the boys and Kate had a chance to get cleaned up, and set up with clothes, Storm made sure to give Kate a bit of a heads up.
"Those two together are more fun than should be allowed - but they are also pure trouble," she warned with a sly smile. "Keep on your toes and don't let them get killed." Storm shook her head with a fond sort of twinkle in her eye. "They really do need someone to watch over them, and from what I understand, a Hawkeye is every bit as observant as a weather witch."
Kate brightened at the compliment and nodded quickly. "I won't let them get killed… but I can't keep them out of trouble, you know. That's not in my job description - at all."
"Goddess, no. No one could keep them out of trouble," Storm laughed. "When we have more time, I'd be happy to tell you how the three of us made a team when we all joined the X-Men together."
"I'll bring pajamas and snacks," Kate said with a teasing smile.
"I look forward to it, Hawkeye."
Kate was a bit surprised that Storm accepted her half-joking invitation, but now that she had an opening? She was absolutely going to get her weather witch sleepover. With that in mind, she grinned and bounced slightly as they headed back down the halls. "Thanks again - seriously. I've always sort of been curious to see the X-Place," Kate said with the bounce still putting a rhythm in her stride. "You guys have a really cool setup."
"It seems to be in a state of constant change," Ororo admitted. "Though I will admit it's not usually our intention to redecorate and rebuild so often." She smiled, her head tipped to the side a bit. "When you return, I'll introduce you to our favorite room," she promised with a sly look down at Kate.
"If you like it, I'm sure it'll be fun," Kate said with a light shrug as the promise just sailed over her head before she cocked her head at Storm thoughtfully for just a moment. "Any other tips on keeping up with the boys?" she asked. "I mean - that's basically my job description, keeping up with and showing up people with more powers and experience than me... but you've got experience with X-boys."
"Just stay close, and be prepared for them to do stupid things to save you - whether you need it or not. They may look like they're involved in their own battles - but both of them will be watching out for you. Kurt will take you out of it, and Logan will take the hit for you. Don't take advantage of it," she advised. "Try to make them stop from time to time. They forget that they need rest. And water. Water. Not whiskey."
"Feed and water them and don't let them take chivalry too far," Kate recited, listing the advice off on her fingers. "Yeah, I think I can do that." She glanced Storm's way. "Don't worry - I won't let them baby me. That's how people get hit. And I don't let people treat me like a china doll anyway. It's a little rule I have, seeing as I'm the resident 'normal' archer girl."
Storm's smile only widened at that before she just shook her head and laughed quietly. "Good luck," she said, "I'm sure you'll do wonderfully. But for now, I"ll take you to the terrible twosome."