Alright, so little aside from robbie: This chapter right here. This one is where we start to pull a little more away from the current 616. You'll see. But I am pre-emptively stating. Right now. That this is a different Marvel universe so we do what we want here. Remember, this is still an AU. This is not canon. But all of the seeds for our stories come from 616 canon or from earlier seeds in our other volumes. This one… I'll direct you to the Runaways/Young Avengers crossover. That's all I'll say about seeds. No spoilers shhhhh.

From CC: Well … there is so much there to respond to, Griezz, so let me see. I guess the most glaring thing that brings me much concern is … what … part of that interaction looked like flirting to you?

Now. I'm not saying you're wrong in regards to both Heather and Jean about having an interest … but, you're not right either. If you wanted to get technical? On both counts he wasn't being terribly bad about it (unless you seek out and enjoy the idiots that overplayed the Jean thing, then I just can't … I can't help you at all. That was dumb storytelling on their part.)

I'd also like to point out that when Heather turned him down, he left Alpha Flight to keep from causing any troubles between her and Mac (settle down Scott, he just liked making you complain - but .. come on. He was gone a LOT from Westchester too.) And when he knew for sure that Jean really wasn't interested - *gasp* he didn't push!

Now. yeah, I'm blatantly ignoring that totally idiotic storyline where he left Scott in the Savage Land for DEAD to hook up with Jean bc - let's be real. She knew. One of the most powerful psychics in the world and she couldn't tell that her husband, whom she had a psychic link with, was still alive? I call bullshit. So yeah, I ignore that storyline because it was basely stupid and written by a guy that admitted he really didn't like or understand why anyone liked Logan OR Scott. So. *poof* begone, shitty characterization.

Seriously. There was no flirting. Annie is … definitely off limits. (or did I read you wrong on that review?)

also HI Scruffy :) ... hopefully this brings up the Logan requirements we seem to NEED.

Chapter 7: "The Boss Lady"

The next morning, Annie was surprised to find that she wasn't the first one up. There was a full pot of coffee ready just before dawn — and Logan was in his usual spot reading the paper.

Kurt wasn't far behind him, and Storm had been through just before Annie and Scott. Annie did feel a little bad when Scott went right for the coffee with his shoulders slightly slumped — she hadn't slept except fitfully toward the end of the night, and that meant he hadn't gotten much sleep either. It had just… been so long since she'd done anything but teach little Alaskan five- and six-year-olds, and this was such a big change. She wanted to get this right. This was Scott's home, and his school, and she wanted the whole thing to be perfect.

Scott pressed a cup of coffee into her hand before he filled a second cup for himself, and she sat down at the table with her notes for her first class in her hands as she read over them for about the third time already that morning. She had a list of the children in her class as well as pictures with their faces, and she was determined to know every single one of them as they came in.

"You'll do fine. They'll love you," Scott promised her for the fifth time since they'd left their bedroom when he saw the worried expression on her face, and she just let out a breath and kissed his cheek but didn't say anything else.

Breakfast passed far too quickly for her tastes, and she found herself all but holding her breath as she got to her classroom and set up shop early, smiling brightly at each student filing in and, mercifully, managing to get every single one of their names right as they sat down in their seats — and relishing the look of pleasant surprise on their faces when they realized the new teacher knew them.

By lunchtime, "Miss Annie," as she still preferred to be called by her students, was slightly less of a ball of pure stress, though she simply ate a quick bite in her classroom and took the opportunity to peek in on one of the other classes, curious to see how the other teachers conducted their classes at the school and to see if she was doing this right — no matter how many meetings she'd had with an ever-patient Storm to make sure she had the right idea.

The history class caught her attention, and she slipped into a seat in the back, half-curious to see if Logan even had anything prepared after coming so late — though she was pleasantly surprised.

By the time they were ten minutes into the class, Annie was just as enthralled as the other students as Logan started them off in World War I, with far more detail than Annie had expected, and by the second half of the class, the students were asking questions for a Q & A that had her raising her eyebrows at all the specifics he was able to give so readily with no notes in front of himself.

Clearly, he knew what he was doing. In fact, she had thoroughly enjoyed herself the entire time, and she was even surprised when the class was over at how quickly the time had passed and had to rush back to her own classroom — now slightly less stressed as she felt confident the students were in good hands.

By the end of the day, Annie was in a great mood. She'd remembered every student's name, the kids seemed to honestly enjoy her more interactive approach to teaching, and she'd been able to sit in on both Logan's lecture and a literature lecture from Storm that had Annie wishing she was a student again just to take some of these classes.

Of course, with no stress and adrenaline keeping her upright, this also meant she was entirely exhausted, and she made it just long enough to get through dinner and gush to anyone who asked about how amazing this school was and how lucky she was to be part of it before she simply went up to her room and crashed contentedly.

Noh had gotten a message from SWORD about a follow up briefing from the debacle of a mission he'd purposefully botched in Antarctica, so that afternoon, he dropped by after Jubilee's class to give her a quick kiss and tell her where he was going.

He wasn't expecting the hug he got or the very very involved kiss before she told him to be careful, though he wasn't complaining either.

"I'm really not too concerned," he assured her. "As unlikeable as she is, I believe Miss Brand and I may have an understanding."

"Yeah, well. I still don't trust them any further than I can whip her by her stupid ponytail," she replied without letting go of him.

"Neither do I, which is why I've told you where I will be," Noh said with a soft smile before he kissed her forehead. "Do please come storm the place if you feel it's necessary."

"I'll make them regret every single life decision that has gotten them to that point if you're hurt," she promised. "And then I'll get mad."

"If you get mad, I believe the only step left to you is global domination," he teased.

"Then I'll do that," she agreed with a nod.

He just laughed and kissed her. "You would make a marvelous queen." He kissed her once more and then left her to the next wave of students — several of whom let out whistles on seeing the long kiss in the middle of the hallway — before he made his way down to the hangar, powered up his ship, and flew off toward Brand's coordinates.

He was surprised when he arrived that there seemed to be more traffic to the station than there had been last time, though he'd only had a few dealings with SWORD in the past, so he wasn't entirely sure what was normal for them. Still, it had him a bit wary as he docked with the station — that many people in uniform, in his experience, usually meant something was going on.

Maybe this wasn't going to be as simple as a debriefing after all.

Noh sighed and clenched his hands in fists to hide the ends of his fingers as he folded his arms over his chest, sharp nails now ready just in case — they couldn't exactly disarm him in that regard. He'd told Brand that he didn't want anything to do with whatever power struggle was happening inside SHIELD and SWORD, and this time, without Jubilee to worry about in the crossfires, he was prepared to prove he was serious.

But thus far, no one was attacking him or asking him to take on a mission — in fact, he didn't see Brand or anyone that he'd been in contact with after the Antarctica mission the entire way down to the briefing room, and as he took a seat in the empty room, he was starting to wonder what was happening here.

He had been sitting, alone, in the room for some time before one of the monitors switched on, and when he saw that it was Maria Hill on the other side of the screen, he stood up immediately, teeth bared, and let out a low hiss.

"I was not impressed with the … work you did in Antarctica," Hill said, the glare on the other end of the monitor entirely too familiar. "It seemed sub-par for your usual level of difficulty. So what happened?"

"It may be hard for you to believe, but it is possible for even someone like myself to make an occasional mistake," Noh said with as much venom as he could muster.

"I don't believe that for one second," she said.

"Believe what you will, then," he said. "Your opinion doesn't interest me."

"Well it should," Hill replied, the fire flashing in her eyes. "Because you aren't done with your obligations to SWORD."

Noh gritted his teeth in frustration, wishing he had Hill in the room instead of a screen so he could tell her what he thought of her obligations. "I wasn't aware I had any at all. I did SWORD a favor as a courtesy."

Hill smirked slightly. "Well, if that's what you thought, you were wrong. And I'm going to make sure you fulfill your end of the bargain." With that, the room started to fill up with a shimmering blue gas. "The doors are locked. You won't be getting out under your own steam, so just make it easier on yourself and have a seat before you fall down."

Noh just glared at her before, just to satisfy the need, he put all five of the nails on his right hand through the screen so he wouldn't have to see her. In a flash, he was at the door, trying to break through the lock — but as she said, it was bolted shut and reinforced against even enhanced strength, and the room was airtight, considering the gas. He tried everything from kicking to throwing his shoulder against it to trying to blow up the locks with his nails... to just trying to pull it off its hinges. But despite it all — he slumped down to the floor at last.

When Noh woke up again, he almost thought that he hadn't — that he was dreaming. He recognized where he was instantly, and the full panic seized him before he'd even fully shaken off the effects of the gas.

This was the Cube. He'd spent months in this place, and he'd know it anywhere. When he had been running it, he had tried to change it to be a sanctuary — but now it looked almost exactly as it had when he was a prisoner, right down to the chamber where the warden would conduct his experiments in torture just down the hall, the door open — strategically, Noh was sure — so that he could see the full-body restraints and other tools that already had him closing his eyes against the memory of what had been done to him here. He had even been placed in the same cell as before, close to the warden — a place of honor for the man's "pet project" until he grew tired of the Kree fighter.

This ... was not good.

He shook his head and pushed himself to his feet, looking around, taking in his surroundings, trying to think… Jubilee wouldn't know to look for him here, nor would any of the X-Men. And his comms were gone… But he knew from experience that until someone came to remove him from the cell, he was stuck there. The walls were reinforced. The energy crackling through the doors had specifically been designed to put enhanced aliens like himself on the ground if they attempted to break through.

He let out a growl of frustration and hit the wall with the side of his fist so hard that it would have left at least a large dent if the walls were any weaker, swearing in Kree under his breath. "I should have razed this place to the ground rather than take it over," he muttered. "And I will — the moment I get out of this."

He muttered out a few more threats, but when there was no response in the dim light of the Cube, he finally just had to sit down and lean back against the wall, his eyes closed as he just… waited, half-expecting the warden to show up, even though Noh had been sure to kill that man.

But there was nothing. Nothing at all. Not for a good, long time.

It had been, by Noh's count, exactly 47 hours and 32 minutes when someone finally showed up. He had nothing to do but count, and he would rather be aware of time than to lose track of it, when it was so easy to do so in the Cube. Though he wasn't sure what time it had been when he first woke up — so he couldn't know how much time had passed since he left the mansion.

He heard the footsteps coming down toward his cell long before he saw any sign of them, and he already had his nails done in claws and his every muscle poised to spring by the time Maria Hill arrived, looking smug.

"Are you ready to get to work, or should I come back in a few weeks?" Hill asked. She was far enough back from the door that even if he could have broken through the energy barrier, Noh couldn't reach her, her arms crossed as she smirked at him.

Noh glared at her. "This is a prison for criminals. You cannot keep me here," he half snarled.

"I can and I will — unless you're going to do this the easy way." She tipped her head to one of the assistants, who stepped forward with a cuff that matched the one that he'd gotten from Brand almost exactly. "Matching set — or at least to the naked eye."

"I doubt this was made in Hala," Noh said, eyeing the band with distaste.

"It wasn't," Hill admitted. "But you're going to wear it just the same. If you want out of here, that is."

He glared at her again, arms crossed. "Captivity is the same no matter the size of the cage," he said. "Or its location."

"I suppose in a philosophical light, that's entirely true. However, you might want to consider a few other issues that you may have overlooked." Hill tried to sound reasonable as she relaxed her posture. "You are aware that all of the mutants on this planet are required to be registered. And that those that have slipped through that safety net are in violation of several laws meant to protect this planet."

"I was here when that was decided, yes," Noh said with narrowed eyes. "I had other things on my mind at the time." He gestured around himself at the cell, which had been his home during the registration fight, rather than give any other explanation.

"Yes, I'm sure you did," Hill replied almost conversationally. "But there is a certain resident of 1407 Greymalkin Lane that, frankly, is not registered. It would be a shame if this ... former vampire found herself imprisoned at an undisclosed location for failure to comply." She waved her hand. "Clearing those charges can take years, too, while we determine what the extent of their abilities are. Particularly if they're experiencing a secondary mutation."

Noh stiffened and leaned forward despite his best efforts. "If you touch her — or harm her in any way—"

"You won't do a thing about it because you'll be here, and anyone there that tried to stop us would find themselves in a cell with her," Hill replied coolly, though something like a smile was pulling at the corner of her mouth as it was clear she knew she had Noh backed in a corner.

Noh paced a small path in his cell, fuming as he ran both hands over his face. "And if I bargain with you — what will you do about Jubilee?" he asked at last, the fury barely checked in his tone as he tried to sound reasonable.

"We'll send her the forms and notify her that she 'forgot' to register when she got her abilities back," she said with a tight smile. "A simple matter of paperwork."

He sat down for a moment, one hand on the bridge of his nose as he simply couldn't bring himself to look at Hill. "Then … I will bargain," he said, slowly and carefully. "After you give your word of honor that she will not be harmed."

"Of course," Hill said soothingly, and even though she was being sincere, it was still hard to swallow. Her assistant stepped up to the door as she added, "Along with the band is the file of your next assignment — an infiltrate-and-decimate on a lab in Mongolia"

He didn't look up at her. "Then let's get it over with, shall we?"

It had been a few weeks of settling into classes, and Annie really felt like she was getting the hang of teaching at the institute. But what was different about this particular school — besides the students themselves and the subject material — was the fact that the teachers were constantly meeting for training with each other as well.

She had known about the existence of the Danger Room for some time, since Scott took her on a tour of the house, but she had never actually been down there while a simulation was running. It just hadn't come up — either because she was with her family when a session was scheduled or because she was working on lesson plans… She just hadn't made it a priority.

But she was curious, and she knew there was a team exercise scheduled for that night, so she managed to convince Scott to let her watch from the booth so she could see the team in action during one of the simulations — and she wasn't disappointed at all.

Scott had them running a simulation against Magneto and his so-called Brotherhood, and Annie settled in to watch the team together, simply grinning to herself when she saw the way they were so comfortable with each other, teasing and prodding even while they fought — she had been right when she insisted that this was Scott's family.

But when things in the sim got heavy — she was pleased to see how seamlessly the jokes faded off and they focused so well. Wordlessly working as a unit — covering each other and filling gaps where they needed to be filled.

Kurt was teleporting left and right, attacking bad guys and moving teammates where they'd be most efficient. Kate was shooting anything that needed it — which seemed to be just about everything even as Kurt would switch her vantage point between arrows. Bobby and Jubilee were an amazing little team that managed to simply take down their opponents with much smiling going on even if it was a serious looking job they were doing.

But Logan and Scott were just ... really really on. Scott was taking those further out while Logan covered anyone trying to get too close to him — and the two of them were working their way through their section of danger at an incredible rate. When it got too thick, Scott made the call to the team as a whole to drop using their abilities and go hand-to-hand — and then it really got interesting.

Logan and Scott working back-to-back was every bit as efficient as they had been moments before with lasers and claws, though they were switching positions much faster and the opponents were clearly more often knocked out than eviscerated — though the way some of them shimmered out of the sim had Annie wondering how hard they were hitting the bad guys.

The team kept it up until the room was cleared, and Scott looked entirely pleased with the whole exercise. "Really excellent work today, guys," he said with a grin. "Bobby — that was a nice move flinging Jubilee back there. And Kurt, that third sword — I think that's the best I've seen on the triple wield."

"Had to be in top form when he was introducing me to Sim-Mom," Kate teased.

"That was a lot nicer than she really is," Logan told her. "At least — after the first half of the sim was over."

Kate stuck her tongue out at Logan as she pushed her headband back. "How am I ever going to get to know his family if you just keep stabbing them?" she laughed.

"Read their criminal records," Logan suggested with a shrug.

"And you really don't want to meet them in person anyway," Kurt pointed out.

"This is true," she admitted. "But what kind of girlfriend would I be if I let that beautiful teasing opportunity pass me by?" She bounded over to Kurt to kiss his cheek. "I like your blue better than hers. It's deeper."

"Careful, someone might think that your favorite color isn't purple anymore," Kurt replied with a grin.

"Well, maybe blue's growing on me," she said with a sly smile. "I think I'm starting to like it."

"How do you two even find the time to train at the rate you go?" Scott asked, shaking his head at the pair of them as Annie came bounding down from the booth.

"Don't review the tapes, Slim," Logan advised quietly. "For your own good."

Scott raised an eyebrow at that, but before he could say anything, Annie had hugged him around the middle. "I've never gotten to see you in action with the whole team!" she gushed before she planted a kiss on his cheek. "I should come down for training more often. That was amazing!"

"You picked a good day to come," Scott told her. "It's not always this seamless."

Logan half snorted to himself at that and simply headed out before he got drawn into any conversations, sure to skew Kate's headband on his way past her — and she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Well, I must just be lucky," Annie said with a soft smile as she grabbed Scott by the hand.

"You never know," Scott said thoughtfully, a smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth as he pulled her in a little closer. "Maybe knowing you were watching helped keep them on their best behavior."

Kate laughed and saluted Annie with two fingers. "That's right — gotta impress Mrs. Boss."

Annie just laughed when Scott flushed slightly. "Well, color me impressed," she said warmly. Then, grinning wider, she added. "Now, come on. You all smell horrible. You, mister, need a shower," she told Scott, pulling him along by the hand as the other X-Men just chuckled at his expression.

"Sure it's not Mr. Boss and the boss-lady?" Bobby whispered to Jubilee with a smirk.

"Either way, she ranks higher than you do, popsicle," Jubilee replied with a little smile, though she wasn't her usual chipper self.

He just shrugged back at her. "Maybe. But I'm wondering if one of them would pack cookies in our bags for long missions if we're really nice to her."

"Oh, I'm sure of it," Jubilee said with a wide eyed nod. "You should plant that seed when she's in a good mood."

"So — not when she's actually making cookies," Bobby surmised.

"No. Just like ... mention how long the trips are? And how miserable it is with whatever crap we have on board to eat. She'll pack like, six weeks worth of cookies and banana bread before you turn around."

"Evil genius," Bobby grinned.

"You sound like you're surprised, somehow," Jubilee said as she tipped her head back a bit. "So surprised."

"I've been brushing up on my acting skills," Bobby teased. "Not surprised by you and evil cookie plans at all."

"Whatever, I'm hitting the showers while you go work on your sad 'I need cookies' face," Jubilee said with a wave.

"Wonder if it would be too much to throw in a sad puppy whine," Bobby laughed.

"It might be — I'd say you'd get more traction if you just asked for her recipe," Jubilee suggested. "No way would anyone let you loose with the oven when you can't even boil water without setting off the smoke alarms."

Bobby just grinned, stuck his tongue out, and waved at her as the rest of the team split off to get changed and showered after the session in the Danger Room.

Jubilee spent a long time in her shower, and when she stepped out of the bathroom in her towel with her hair dried and a little frown on, she very nearly let out a squeak as she spotted Noh looking pitiful waiting for her, though he looked up at her with a small smile as he held out the box of chocolate-glazed donuts he'd brought as an apology.

"Sorry to be gone for so long. I wasn't anticipating such a ... lengthy trip," he said quietly.

She crossed the room in three steps to nearly tackle him as she hugged him and kissed his cheek. "I'm just glad you're here," she nearly whispered as she squeezed him.

He hugged her back, nestling his face into her hair. "I missed you," he told her in a low tone.

"I missed you too," she replied, grinning at him when he loosened his grip enough for her to look at him properly.

He very tenderly kissed her on the forehead. "You'll have to tell me what I missed in my absence," he said. "In this business of ours, so much can happen so quickly — did you fight any invasions? Anything of note?"

"No, we save that for you," she said before she kissed him properly. "Just normal X-Man nonsense. Little rescue missions. Political standoffs. Gymnastics classes. Nothing fun."

"Political standoffs?" Noh repeated with a raised eyebrow.

She waved her hand. "Same old, same old," she said. "Politicians pushing for more regulations. Scott looking serious and fighting for our sake alongside Captain America."

He nodded thoughtfully and just held her a bit tighter. "Yes, well, those can be dangerous fights. I seem to recall the whole business of regulation and registration taking a toll while I was still learning about Earth. It was not a good introduction to your government."

"Sorry about that," she said, looking like she somehow had a hand in it herself with the properly guilty look she pulled off. "Government sucks."

"Yes, that seems to be an interplanetary theme," he agreed before he just nestled in deeper into her hair and sighed. "Though on Hala there was not nearly so much paperwork."

"So you must somehow manage without bureaucrats. Amazing."

"Oh, we still have them," Noh laughed. "Though it seems we were much more streamlined under the Supreme Intelligence."

"Very likely," Jubilee agreed. She snuggled into him a little deeper for a moment before she glanced up at him. "So — you're back from some horrible, dreadful thing, I'm sure. Is this a pancake celebration, or was it a terrible loss that I need to console you over?"

He sighed. "It was… a mission. Honestly, Jubilee, I don't think pancakes or consolation would be appropriate."

"Then ... we need to turn on some music and figure out something to cheer you up."

He smiled quietly at her. "You cheer me up, Jubilee. I'd just like to stay here with you and do whatever it is you would like to do."

"Well," she said with a little sigh. "It's a little bit cold in here. I could use a blanket and a very tall, handsome teddy bear."

"Your wish is my command," he said as he grinned and swept her up to carry her off. "Blankets and cuddles it is."