Tony had taken command at the school, and through the first day, like a good leader, delegated jobs.
Bruce and Helen Cho were the doctors of the school, running the nurse's office.
Maria Hill and Peggy Carter were in charge of organising sleeping arrangements and making sure everything was safe.
Two odd-end ragtag kids named Fitz and Simmons had been put in charge of keeping the generators running.
Richards and the kids who lived on his street were in charge of distributing the food, even though Tony didn't trust this "Johnny Storm" kid.
Pepper and Rhodey, of course, were Tony's right-hand man and woman.
Everything was running fine, until Tony was told that several kids had gone missing: Steve's group and the new twins.
"Alright, Pepper, Rhodey, you're with me. We'll go search town and bring back any Xavier kids we find." He left Reed in charge, as was per usual.
The walk into town was usually happy, but in the low evening light and dull, musky air, the broken windows and smashed shop displays stood out even more. Broken glass strewed the streets and dogs padded back and forth. One large dog took a liking to Tony, following him and whining softly. The animal was huge, with large jaws and deep-set eyes.
Tony, ever unaware of danger, bent down to pet it. Fortunately, the animal seemed friendly.
"Geez, Tones, didn't anyone tell you about rabies?" Rhodey wrinkled his nose as the dog licked Tony's hand.
"It's not rabid, and I kinda like him." Tony brought a hand to his chin, thinking. "I'm gonna call him Jarvis."
"You guys had better leave," A voice declared. Four or five large teenagers appeared from around the corner, carrying various weapons. Tony smirked.
"We're not afraid of you guys. Honestly, I'm more scared of Jarvis," Tony patted the dog, not looking up.
"Oi, you heard Marko, get out." One of them said, his accent strong and foreign.
"We're just looking for our friends. You don't have to do this." Pepper attempted to be the voice of reason.
"You ain't looking for nobody, got it, bitch? Now get out of here before we lose our patience."
Tony stood, adjusting his school tie. "I'm sorry, why should I be afraid of you? After all, without your precious weapons, your low income housing means you're malnutritioned and weak. It also impacts your mental output, so you might want to think before you open your mouth."
"What did you just say?" The boy readied the broken bottle he was carrying and charged. Tony easily sidestepped and tripped him, sending the assailant into the ground.
"Look, we're looking for a bunch of Xavier kids, in uniforms like us. They must have come through this way." Rhodes kept his voice steady and his language neutral. "Do you know which way they went?"
The group's leader stood. "North, into the woods. Looked like they were headed for the bunker. Little fuckers took a few shopping carts full of food with them."
"Thankyou." Rhodes and Pepper nearly dragged Tony away, although he was not even close to satisfied.
"Okay, so that's the last of it," Steve shouted up to Pietro and Clint, who were sorting out the large bags of flour in the house's basement. Pietro and Wanda, upon getting to know the group on the journey to the house, had welcomed them with open arms.
"So, what brought you to Xavier's?" Pietro asked Clint as they went across to the river to cool down. The night air was hot and musty, with bugs hissing in the plants.
"I ran away from my abusive home and got put straight into another one," Clint said, skipping a rock on the water's surface. "I got put into a second home, and while they were rich and everything, they didn't really care. I suspect they took in three or four foster kids just to send them off to live in their own tatty apartments. Publicity, probably."
Pietro made a face. "That sounds like fun."
Clint sat back on a rock, sighing. "Yeah, I just hope Barney's okay. And Laura, too. She's a nice person, she deserves it."
"Hey," Pietro ruffled the hair of Lila, the cheerful little blonde labrador, as she brought him a stick to throw. Pietro had never interacted with a dog before, and he found he loved Clint's companions. Lila in particular, with her bright personality, had latched onto him.
"So I heard you and Wanda's story. What did you think of Xavier's? For the two hours you were actually there, I mean." Clint's voice rose into a chuckle.
"It seemed like a good school, but I guess that doesn't matter now. I wonder what the others are doing." Pietro threw Lila's stick again.
"Tony and his group have probably taken control and started dictating. He's most likely going to crown himself king and lead there. God knows he'll be in trouble if he talks to the kids from the other end of town - he's bound to rub them up the wrong way."
"Pizza's ready!" Natasha called from inside. As a first-night event, Natasha, Wanda and Sam had decided to cook up some microwave pizzas. None of the students knew how to cook in great detail, and figured that until they learned, the prepackaged, guaranteed-safe food was the best way to go.
"Pietro, here's your Hawaiian... and Clint's is the one with all the toppings." Natasha sighed as she handed Clint his pizza, which he grinned and bit into. It was laiden with every topping he'd found in the custom pizza box. Honestly, he lived on the things: a plain pizza and a few tubs of toppings to pick and choose with for a small price. Usually, being the scrooge he was, he would heap on all the food and get his money's worth, even if it meant that the toppings were a few inches thick.
The group, for the first time that day, felt safe as they ate.