[3rd Person POV]
On the way to the facility Vera was eerily quiet, seemingly in deep thought. "Vera." Tony spoke quietly, looking at her from his position in the jet. She looked up, her eyes closed off.
"Yeah?" She asked, voice monotone.
"What's going on with you?" He asked, trying to read her but failing. It worried him but he wouldn't out right say it. She sat silent for a moment, as if she was trying to figure out what to say.
"Nothing. It's nothing." She spoke quietly, swallowing thickly. Just as Tony was about to say more, the jet landed and she got up swiftly. Tony watched her hurry off the jet then his eyes met with Steve who had been watching the exchange.
"I think she's just rattled about everything that happened." Steve tried to reassure him but Tony just sighed. They all went inside and scattered around. Logan remained watching out one of the facility windows for the rest of his friends while Vera silently followed Bruce to the hospital wing and Clint followed behind them, his hand on Vera's back.
"I've alerted all intel to keep an eye out for Magneto, we have operatives on the ground gathering intel about what he could be planning." Fury told Steve, coming into the commons area as Steve nodded.
"Good. I have a feeling this is far from over so we're gonna need as much information as possible. Our priority is to make sure that Vera is safe and that we can retrieve the Professor."
"I do not mean to interrupt but you are Steve Rogers, correct?" Kurt had walked over to them as Bobby followed close behind and Steve looked him up and down before nodding.
"I am. You're.." He drifted off as Kurt eagerly filled him in.
"Kurt Vagner but others call me nightcrawler." He held out his clawed three fingered hand and Steve looked down at it before taking it and shaking his hand awkwardly. "It is nice to meet the Captain America in the flesh. I had heard stories of you but to meet you in person is remarkable."
"Oh.. uh thank you, Kurt. I take it you're a mutant like Vera?" He asked as Kurt nodded.
"I am. Vera and I are close friends, ve have been for a long time."
"Well any friend of Vera is a friend of mine." Steve told him with a polite smile as Kurt grinned.
"Vonderful!" He exclaimed. "And Fury, it is nice to see you again under better circumstances." He nodded to him as Fury smirked at that.
"Indeed it is, Mr. Wagner. I take it you're faring well?" He asked as Kurt nodded.
"Yes, I no longer run or am outcasted since you have enlisted me in protection under Shield."
"I'm glad to hear it."
"Guys, we've got cars pulling up." Natasha informed them, walking up. Kurt teleported over to the windows and looked out it before smiling.
"It is the rest of my friends." As they all gathered in the commons area, more people filled it and looked around at them cautiously.
"Where's Vera?" One man asked, his tone sharp and expression angry.
"She's in the hospital wing, Scott. Chill out." Logan told him as Scott simply crossed his arms.
"What I think our friend Scott means to say is thank you for protecting her. It's nice to know that she has you on her side." A white haired woman told them, a soft smile on her lips.
"And you are?" Tony asked, walking towards her and sticking his hand out.
"Ororo Munroe but I'm called Storm by most." She lightly took his hand and shook it. "This is Scott Summers or Cyclops, Jean Grey or Phoenix, and Anna Marie or Rogue. We're part of the X-Men."
Tony took a step back and examined them while they examined them as well. Neither was sure how to interact with one another and a long silence stretched until suddenly Bruce, Vera, and Clint appeared from the hallway. "Oh you guys are here!" Vera walked over and was wrapped up in a hug by Storm.
"Sweetie we were so worried. I'm so glad you're okay." Storm pulled back but cupped her face. "You look sad." She murmured lowly as Vera tried to smile but failed.
"I'm okay. Have you heard from the Professor?" She asked and Storm nodded as she let go and Jean pulled her in for a hug too.
"Xavier is on his way right now. It didn't take much for him to get out, with Erik preoccupied trying to take you, he was able to take control of some of his goons and released himself. He should be here soon." Storm explained as Vera sighed in relief as Jean let her go.
"That's good to hear." Vera said as she looked to Rogue who grinned at her and Vera couldn't help but grin back.
"V!" Rogue threw her arms around her and Vera hugged her back tightly. "It's been forever." She murmured as she held her tightly but quickly let go once Vera gasped. "I'm sorry, I-"Vera held up her hand.
"Don't apologize, I wanted to hug you. I'm not hurt."
"What was that?" Tony asked as he rushed over to Vera and he looked her over in worry, grabbing her shoulders to steady her.
"Rogue's powers. She effectively sucks the life force out of anyone and can harness powers for a small duration of time depending on how long she touches someone for." Vera explained.
"Okay so we don't touch her, got it." Pietro said with raised eyebrows.
"Yeah I uh, I don't mean to. I can't control it, ya know? It's a complicated power to have." Rogue told them sheepishly, wringing her hands nervously.
"You're fine, we understand not being able to control powers." Bruce reassured her as she smiled at him for a moment before looking down.
"I know ya do, Dr. Banner. I heard about you on the news.. it must be tough." She murmured as he shrugged.
"You get used to it." Another lapse of silence as everyone absorbed everything.
"So, what's our plan guys?" Natasha asked.
"Let's go sit and talk." Steve motioned towards the couches in the commons room and when they had all sat down, Vera was the first to talk.
"We know that Erik wants me for what I assume is my powers but not why he wants them. He could have some convoluted plan like when he kidnapped Rogue." Vera said as Scott nodded.
"Let's hope not. If that's the case then whatever he's planning needs to be stopped as soon as possible." He responded, his arm casually resting on Jean's shoulder as Logan stared at Jean and Scott for a moment before swiftly turning away. Sam raised his eyebrow and looked at Vera then glanced to Logan and back while Vera just shook her head at him and mouthed, "complicated."
"If you don't mind me asking, what happened when he took you?" Steve asked as Rogue sighed.
"He hooked me up to this machine he made to transfer his powers to mine, and sent waves of radiation to turn world leaders who were gathered at a summit meeting into mutants like us in order to gain the upper hand for a super human society. We stopped him, but barely."
"So whatever he's planning is probably nuclear." Rhodey pointed out as he paced around. "That's not good news, I'll have to alert Congress of what's going on."
"Aren't you Colonel Rhodes?" Bobby asked sharply as Rhodey harshly sighed.
"Yes I am Bobby. Nice to see you." He told him politely, his arms crossed defensively. Bobby scoffed at his response, glaring.
"Like hell I'm working with this monster." He spat out as he stood near Rogue, holding her clothed hand tightly.
"I'm not a monster!" Rhodey defended himself, throwing his arms out in exasperation. "I didn't know then what I do now, and I had orders from the President himself. If I could go back and do it all again, I'd have chosen differently."
"It's okay Bobby, it's in the past. That was so long ago." Rogue tried to sooth him with no results.
"Not long enough." He muttered as Sam whistled in astonishment, raising his eyebrows as he stuck his hands in his pocket.
"We have to get past this. Bobby, I know that this is hard for you, it's hard for me too but you have to believe me when I tell you that Rhodey isn't a bad person, he really just did make a mistake." Vera told him as he stared at her for a moment before sighing.
"I don't like this." Was all he said as Jean patted his arm.
"Thank you for this." Storm gave his arm a squeeze from where she sat.
"I don't mean to interject, but what are we planning on doing about the old man who can wield metal as if it's second nature?" Thor asked, crossing his arms impatiently.
"For once, I agree with what Thor is saying." Loki chimed in, leaning against a back wall as Jean squinted at him.
"You're Loki." She spoke blandly as he groaned.
"We're doing this again, are we? We just went about this with Colonel Rhodes. I get it, I did bad things and I am working to atone for them which is why I'm in this god forsaken hero club. Back to my point, our priority is Vera right now and she's in danger so does anyone have an actual plan?" He asked as he looked around the room. "Great, in that case I'd like to propose a pla-"
He was interrupted by Tony who lifted a hand. "I've got a plan reindeer games, don't worry." Loki just glared at him, his jaw set tightly. "Now as we've gone over, Erik Lensher AKA Magneto is a fanatic mutant who is hell bent on eradicating humans so we have a pattern. He wants to recruit the strongest to his side and use them for the annihilation of man kind. He is able to create extremely sophisticated weaponry so we should go under the assumption that he has something built already and if he doesn't, then he's building something."
"And that means no matter what, we're going to have to fight him so we can't run and hide out or else we'll give him time to regroup and come up with another plan." Steve added as Tony nodded.
"Exactly, you're catching my drift Cap. That means if we want to have any chance of facing off with him we have to figure out who he has on his team, how we're going to tackle the swinging metal issue, and potentially all of his other ally's." Tony looked around at all of them as everyone individually nodded or acknowledged what he was saying.
"That means we will have to have to perform a stealth mission of sorts to gather the information." Vision said, his hand on his chin in thought. "Which could be hard considering Magneto possibly knows everyone here, so sending someone covertly will require extra planning on our part to ensure their safety."
"I think you guys are making this more complicated then it needs to be." Vera told them as everyone looked at her. "If what you guys are saying is accurate then the only thing he needs is me and if I take myself out of the equation then he can't accomplish any of his plans."
"What are you thinking?" Clint asked as Vera wrung her hands nervously.
"What if I go away for awhile? I mean, think about it guys. The farther I am away from Erik, as long as I hide out, he has no weapon."
"No, no, no, we're not doing that." Tony shook his head vigorously. "I mean come on V, running away from this isn't going to help." He told her as Fury stepped forward.
"She's right though. If we keep her hidden from Lensher then he doesn't have his weapon- and every Shield agent, past and present, knows how to drop off the radar successfully. It wouldn't be hard for Vera to hide out for a while why we capture Erik."
"No!" Tony exclaimed, throwing his hands up. "This is ridiculous, I can't believe you're agreeing with her Fury. You're always the one that says to fight."
"But not when we're putting the one person he's after front and center. We can keep Vera out of the way and go in to subdue Magneto and any of his lackeys." Natasha explained as Fury nodded.
"I too have to agree." Everyone jumped to see The Professor in his chair.
"How did you get there?!" Tony exclaimed as Xavier shrugged.
"I came in through the door." He told him nonchalant, moving his way over to Vera. "Vera my dear, it's so good to see you safe and sound." He smiled at her as she got up and leaned in to hug him.
"Thank you Professor."
"Charles, nice to see you unharmed." Fury told him with a smirk as he walked closer.
"Yes, well Erik wasn't going to hurt me. He only needed me for the bait."
"You're Charles Xavier then?" Steve asked, striding over to shake his hand. "Steve Rogers, sir." The Professor smiled at him as he shook his hand back.
"Oh I know. It's nice to meet you in person instead of looking into your head." Steve froze mid hand shake.
"What?" He asked as he let go of his hand.
"Well I've been inside all of your heads at least once to make sure none of you had bad intentions. I have never dug through though, so don't be alarmed."
"Wait so-" Pietro started and was cut off by The Professor.
"Yes, I can read your mind Pietro, like your sister. I can read more then surface level however. Where Wanda can manipulate the mind into nightmares, I can control someone." He explained as Pietro's eyebrows raised in surprise.
"How interesting, can you read mine?" Vision asked as Xavier nodded.
"Indeed I can. My intention is not to invade anyone's mind. Your thoughts come off like you're speaking to me so I can't avoid hearing them but to see more then that, it requires me to take extra steps and I don't do that unless I have to of course."
"Cool, baldy." Tony spoke, coming over. "Nice to formally meet you though, I've heard a lot about your work."
"The sentiment is mutual Anthony." Tony made a face at that, pretending to gag.
"The only person who called me that was my father and unless you're a giant asshole with a superiority complex and the last name Stark then please, Tony's fine."
Loki tilted his head at that with a smirk. "I believe you're describing yourself, Stark."
"Ahaha, we've got a comedian." Tony's voice dripped with sarcasm as he rolled his eyes.
"Do you all bicker this much?" Kurt asked, teleporting near them and crouching down on the couch.
"Good God! Stop that shit, you little creepy blue devil." Sam clutched his chest as Kurt grinned.
"How do you all get anything done, hm? You have the slick backed hair vith the ego and the other vone who has a bigger ego."
"Come back vhen you can pronounce your w's." Tony snarked as Scott scoffed.
"Kurt's not wrong, you guys are one big flaming mess. You can't even come up with a plan without fighting with one another." He pointed out as Loki rolled his eyes.
"And where were you all when we were fighting the metal wielder, hm? Not only have you all provided no useful talking points and problems you have with us, but I don't see you pulling your weight besides bringing the danger straight to us."
Excuse me, we were looking for The Professor! It's not like we were just skipping out because we were out having a walk in a park." Jean defended, glaring at Loki.
"Hey, things are getting out of contr-" Vera attempted to say but was interrupted by Fury.
"But this isn't the first time you've been tricked by Magneto, and you haven't learned from previous mistakes?" He asked as quickly it all devolved into everyone arguing.
"I caution everyone to take a moment." Everyone froze, quieting down as The Professor's voice rang through their heads.
"That was weird." Tony muttered, shaking his head.
"Guys, we can't let this get the best of us. I know that everything is tense right now but if we don't stay focused as a group then it could have dire consequences." Vera told everyone, looking around to each person individually. "I've devised a plan already so hear me out, and any questions or concerns can be addressed."
"Okay, let's hear it." Clint told her as she nodded, mustering up her courage to keep going, taking the lead was never her strong suit but for the sake of her friends safety, she felt like she had to.
"I will stay with Wade, I know how to find him and if I find him we can lay low together. I'd propose Kurt come with me, so I can teleport where I need to go, and as a quick escape if it came down to it. Laying low with someone who can protect me is optimal, especially since he's already off the grid. From there, you will send in somebody to gather intel and assess the situation. I'll keep a burner on me in case you need to call me but don't do it unless it's important because I wouldn't put it past Erik to have a way to tap phones."
"I don't get why you think running away from this is going to help. If Magneto is as conniving as you're saying, he'll find you if you hide." Tony told her, his face scrunched in irritation.
"Because I don't want you to get hurt! " Vera suddenly snapped then hung her head, her hair hiding her face for a moment. "I can't let you get hurt.. not again. I can't lose someone that I love because being near me is too dangerous, I won't." Vera looked up then, tears streaming down her face.
There was silence as Tony strode over and grabbed her, holding her against his chest tightly. Everyone understood that she was thinking about what happened to Conrad and worrying that something would happen again. Loki looked away in shame, his eyes on the floor and crossed his arms.
"I'm made out of metal, don't worry about me getting hurt." Tony finally spoke as he pulled back somewhat to look at her. She looked at him back, her eyes searching his face for a second.
"Do you love me like I love you, Tony?" She asked as he took in a sharp breath. The blood drained from Vera's face as he was silent and she took a quick step back and he suddenly reached for her but she took a few more quick steps back, stumbling a bit to get away from him as if she'd be burned if she touched him.
"Vera wait, I-"
"I'm so sorry, that was a stupid question for me to ask." Vera muttered, turning away from him. "I need a minute." She spoke and walked out the door, Loki slipping out quietly following after her.
[3rd Person POV]
"For someone who claims they're so smooth, you're hilariously bad at being so." Steve told him as he shook his head in exasperation.Clint glared at Tony before pointing at him angrily, striding over to him and getting in his face.
"Don't fuck with my sisters feelings, Stark. You pursued her hard for months now, practically forced her to move in and be close to you, then the moment she really lets her guard down, you crush what little bit of her heart that she offered you!"
"What do you want me to say, Clint? I like her a lot!" He defended himself as Clint scoffed, shoving his chest.
"I'm so glad you like her a lot! How sentimental!" He spit out sarcastically as Tony glared back.
"Wanna think about putting your hands on me again, Legolas?" Tony asked him quietly as they both stared at each other, a silence falling over everyone for a moment before Natasha finally walked up and put her hand on Clint's shoulder.
"Clint, we don't have time to argue. We still have to figure out a plan to keep Vera safe." Natasha told him, trying to steer them away from a fight.
"Yeah, yeah. Let's get on with it." He mumbled sourly before walking away and leaning against the wall.
"Everyone who agrees that she should go into hiding, raise your hand." Fury called out, bringing the attention away from the two as Kurt raised his hand, then Professor Xavier, Sam, Steve, Natasha, Clint, Storm, Jean, Fury himself, and Scott all did after. That left Bobby, Rogue, Vision, Tony, Logan, Pietro, Wanda, Bruce, and Thor.
"Ten to nine. If Loki votes no then it's a tie." Tony spoke, looking around the room. "Annnddd.." He drifted off in confusion, not seeing him. "Where is he anyways?"
[Vera POV]
Vera stood silently, looking up at the rainy sky as Loki stood near her, his eyes locked on the back of her head. "Do you believe in true love?" She finally asked, still looking at the sky. Loki took a moment to mull over her question before finally speaking.
"If you had asked me a few years ago, I'd have said no. But things have changed.." He trailed off for a moment as he took a step closer, his eyes looking at the back of her head as if he was trying to look into her thoughts. "So yes, I think I may."
"That's a nice sentiment." She murmured. "I wonder if that means Conrad was my true love and everyone I may try to love after is just filling an irreplaceable spot, or if he was never my true love and I'll always be searching for that one, maybe never even finding them."
"I think true love is subjective, not defined to just one person. That's the nature of love, isn't it?" Loki asked as finally, she slowly turned her head to glance back at him. "We love in many different ways, and seemingly all of them are true in a sense."
"I never took you for someone so sentimental or poetic." Vera told him as he got closer, his hand finding hers and grabbing on with a small squeeze.
"Neither did I." He responded quietly as Vera looked down at their entwined hands, then looked at his face. He stared back and suddenly as if in impulse, he leaned in and kissed her softly. For a moment, Vera was caught by surprise but slowly closed her eyes and kissed him back for a moment, his hand cradling her cheek and as he did so, she jumped away from him as if she was burnt by him.
"What was that?" She asked him, perplexed. Loki stared back at her, dumbfounded with the entire situation as if he didn't know what just happened.
"I suppose I kissed you." He said simply as she blinked rapidly at his calm and nonchalant demeanor.
"Yeah, you kissed me! What was that?!" She whisper yelled and he pointed at her accusingly.
"You kissed back!" He retorted as she stopped moving and stared at him like a deer caught in the headlights at the realization.
"I kissed back."
"You kissed back." He repeated her as they lapsed into silence for a moment before suddenly Vera laughed then stopped before laughing again, putting her hand on her mouth as Loki looked at her as if she had just grown two heads.
"I fail to see what is so fun-" He stopped his indignant rant mid-sentence as her laughter turned into a sob as her body shook.
"Why did you kiss me?" Vera sobbed out as Loki at her in alarm at her crying, running his fingers through his hair for a moment with his brows furrowed.
"I didn't think I was such a bad kisser that I'd make someone cry. Was it really that awful, love?" He asked quietly as she shook her head rapidly, hugging herself tight.
"No! That's the thing," Vera wiped her tears with her hand. "It wasn't bad at all, it was amazing actually. That's the problem. I haven't felt that-that feeling in my chest since.." She trailed off while looking around distraught then looking at Loki before throwing her hands up. "Conrad! And I don't need that. Not now, not while I'm with Tony." Vera finished quietly as Loki groaned in frustration.
"You're not even with him!" He shouted, surprising Vera at the change of attitude. "He said it himself earlier that you two hadn't even been on a first date when you tried to introduce him as your boyfriend, and then when you asked him if he loved you, he's silent! That's the man you're giving your heart to, that man." Loki spoke urgently, his thoughts racing as his eyes glared into hers, trying to show her the truth with his words.
"That's not fair." She muttered harshly as she met his glare with one of her own.
"Tell me how it's not. You and him have been in this perpetual state of him flirting with you for months from what I've heard and yet, he dances around anything serious when it suits him. Tell me you don't feel something for me, feel the things I do, and I'll leave you alone forever." He whispered fervently, getting closer as he held her hands with his own, his head leaned down close to her own as his eyes flickered all around her face. "Say the words and you have my word, I'll stay away from you."
Vera was silent at that, words not forming as she opened her mouth then closed it. "I can't." She finally told him quietly, her eyes softening as she looked at him.
"I want to come with you wherever you're going. You can hide but I want to hide with you, it doesn't matter where. Being by your side is my main priority." Loki said as she stared at him silently for a minute, seemingly contemplating it.
"Okay." Vera finally told him as his face washed over in relief. "I can't believe that this is happening right now. What are we going to say to everyone? What am I going to say to Tony?"
"We don't have to say anything right now. You're under no obligation to reveal any information you're not comfortable saying." He told her as his thumb caressed her cheek as the rest of his hand cupped the back of her neck.
"I'm scared." Vera whispered and looked down. "I just want everything to be okay." Loki pulled her in and held her against his chest as her cheek laid against it. One hand was tangled in her hair while the other one wrapped around her tightly.
"Don't be. I won't let anything happen to you." He told her firmly as his eyes stared in the distance, steely, as a thousand thoughts flew through his mind.
"Guys, we-" Loki and Vera jumped apart as Scott stared at them with his mouth slightly open, surprised.
"Scott, hi, what's up?" Vera asked quickly, flustered as she stared at him, not making any eye contact with Loki as Loki glanced back and forth between them.
"I- uh.." Scott drifted off for a moment and it was hard to see where he was staring or what he was thinking because of his sunglasses. "Was I interrupting something?"
"No." Vera told him quickly just as Loki spoke at the same time as her.
"Yes." For a moment, they both looked to one another in frustration before turning their heads to Scott.
"Okay.. We voted. 10 for you to go into hiding, 9 for you to stay with us. Loki is the deciding vote so we need you guys to come inside." Scott then swiftly turned on his heels and hurried back inside, not bothering to look back.
Vera sighed as her hand rubbed her face. "This has been the longest day."
"And it's not even over yet." Loki added with a smirk as she rolled her eyes but smiled a little bit.
"Well, let's get this over with."