Goodnight
“What are they making?” Torres asked as he sat down at Logan’s living room table.
“If I had to guess, pry potato pancakes,” Logan responded with a shrug.
It was odd that he, Bucky, Sam, and Walker were all in Logan’s apartment. Most of all, it was unusual to see the three mutants in such a casual setting. A few days earlier, they’d been instructed to come dressed casual and to act like nothing was going on and that Kitty had successfully decoded the file and had it ready.
Now here they were, dressed casually and waiting for Kitty and Kurt in the kitchen while Logan sat across the table from Walker and Torres. Sam and Bucky stood near the entrance to the kitchen.
The two men peeked inside the kitchen, finding Kitty and Kurt rapidly at work making a dish of sorts. Kitty was working on frying spoonfuls of some kind of mixture in oil before pressing them down and turning them into patties. Kurt set down a large plate and she began placing the patties onto the plate once they turned a golden brown color.
As she repeated her process, Kurt got out seven small plates and stacked them before taking them to the other room. As Kitty worked on the final patties, she glanced over at Sam and Bucky.
“Can one of you grab the sour cream and applesauce from the fridge?” She requested as she dropped another latke onto the plate.
Bucky moved forward and opened the fridge, plucking the sour cream and applesauce from the second shelf. Kurt then walked in and took them from him and spun around back to the other room.
Kitty finished making the latkes and then turning off the grill and then placing the dirty dishes in the sink behind her. She then gestured for Sam and Bucky to move into the other room as she lifted the large plate loaded with latkes from the counter. She phased through the wall separating the rooms and set down the plate in the center of the table.
“Dig in,” She spoke and then grabbed a plate for herself, scooping up a couple latkes and then grabbing a glob of sour cream to smear on the latkes.
Kurt went the opposite route and grabbed applesauce instead of sour cream for his latkes while Logan just kept his plain. Initially, the group of four hesitated, but Sam shrugged and took the risk by grabbing a few potato pancakes for himself and then a bit of sour cream and applesauce to try. Torres followed soon after him and picked up a few for himself with a bit of sour cream. Bucky did the same as Torres while Walker just had his plain.
The group ate in comfortable silence for a while. At one point, Kitty broke off a piece of latke for Lockheed to devour in seconds.
“These are fantastic, what are they?” Torres asked as he used his fork to scoop up another latke.
Kitty finished chewing, “Latkes, their English name is potato pancakes. They’re my mom’s recipe.”
“Well they are delicious,” Sam complimented and Kitty gave a thank you in response.
Sam then continued, “If we continue this partnership, I’m gonna invite you guys down to my hometown for some genuine Louisiana barbecue.”
“Oh! I have never eaten zat before!” Kurt perked up as he finished his plate.
“Guess we’ll have to hold you to that promise,” Kitty replied. Logan nodded his head as he finished his last latke.
“Whose idea was this exactly?” Sam asked as he set down his fork and knife on his empty plate.
Kurt raised his hand bashfully. Kitty smiled at him. Logan then spoke up for them, “It was all Kurt. He calls it ‘Dinner and Debriefing.’ Something about ‘the best way to get somebody’s trust is through their stomach.’ I dunno, he said most of it in German.”
Kurt nodded excitedly, “Back vhen I vas in ze circus, ve vould initiate new members vith food.”
“They ganged up on me and made me agree to this,” Logan admitted as he began stacking empty plates. He took the empty plates from each person and then put them in the kitchen before sitting back down.
Kitty got out her laptop and connected it to her watch on the table, the orange hologram hovered above them. Kitty, Kurt, and Logan had already read the decoded file and were now watching Bucky, Sam, Walker, and Torres’s reactions.
Sam finished reading first, “So there’s a mole and a gala.”
“A mole within the United States government. That seems highly unlikely,” Walker denied.
“And yet it’s right there in the Power Broker’s files,” Logan vaguely gestured to the lines on the file with his drink and then took a swig.
“It looks like the gala is where the Power Broker is gonna strike a deal for another chunk of mutants,” Bucky read off.
“Which means they have a contact there,” Sam followed up.
“The gala itself is at the Sovereign Hotel which means it’s sectioned off between the outer lobby and the main hall. The main hall has more open space, so that’s most likely where the contact will be,” Kitty explained and then changed the hologram to a picture of the hotel, “We just need a way in.”
Sam and Bucky exchanged a look, and Sam quietly asked him, “Do you think-?”
“Probably,” Bucky nodded reluctantly.
“Probly what?” Logan raised a brow.
“Alright, hear us out. Remember that friend we told you about who used to live in Madripoor?” Sam posed the question.
“Carter?” Kitty tilted her head.
Sam nodded, “I know you’re wary to trust anyone, but she’s got the connections to potentially get us in there.”
“Are you sure ve can trust her?” Kurt inquired.
“Sharon risked everything for us. We can trust her,” Sam affirmed.
Kurt, Kitty, and Logan all looked at each other with uncertainty. Kitty looked like she was genuinely calculating and considering the options. Kurt was watching her and they locked eyes for a moment, having a silent conversation with their eyes. Logan rubbed his chin and then looked between the two of them as if looking for an answer. Kitty nodded to the two men.
“Fine, but make sure ya get invites for all of us. If we don’t go together, we don’t go at all,” Logan asserted, setting down his drink firmly.
“Will do,” Sam pulled out his phone and went to message Sharon.
“Isn’t it 21+?” Walker asked, looking directly at Kitty.
Kitty opened her mouth to clap back at him, but was stopped by Kurt’s hand on her shoulder. She then calmed herself and replied, “I’m a few days away and it’s Madripoor. Nobody’s going to ID me.”
“And she’s not gonna drink,” Logan added.
Kitty knitted her brow and turned her head to look at Logan, “I don’t know about that.”
He shot her a look and she rolled her eyes. Kurt giggled at them and then looked to Sam, “Has she responded?”
Sam nodded, “She’ll be able to get us invites by this Friday so we can make the gala on Saturday night.”
“So all seven of us are going, huh,” Kitty asked rhetorically.
“Yep, so we’ll meet at the same base as before, get all dressed up, and head in?” Sam proposed the plan.
“You do realize you guys will need disguises, right?” Kitty leaned back in her seat with a slight smile.
“Und do Avengers have formal vear?” Kurt built on her comment and matched her, leaning back in his chair with a playful smile.
Sam found this amusing, “Avengers stuff aside, a man’s gotta have style. Since when are criminals the experts on that kind of thing?”
“Immer,” Kurt exclaimed, “Und ve are not criminals, ve are.. Vhat is ze vord?”
“Vigilantes,” Kitty suggested.
“Defenders?” Torres went to add.
“Outlaws,” Logan shrugged.
“Antiheroes,” Bucky spoke up, ending the list of suggestions.
“You can call yourselves whatever you want, it doesn’t change the fact that the three of you are operating outside of the law,” Walker shared with mild irritation.
Walker’s words and overall attitude dampened the mood and caused the group to fall back into discomfiture.
Sam decided to break the silence, “We’ll make a game day decision once we get there.”
“We probably have some extra stuff lying around we can use to disguise you and your teammates,” Logan said and then looked at Kurt and Kitty, “Don’t we?”
Both of them nodded and then Kitty’s phone buzzed. She looked down and removed her phone from her pocket. She read the text and then looked at Kurt. She mouthed something to him and he nodded.
Before he could place a hand on her shoulder Logan looked over, “Where are ya headed?”
Kitty initially hesitated and lowered her voice, “I think Riri overheard Lockheed in my dorm and now she thinks there’s a raccoon in my dorm. I have to go make sure she doesn’t see him.”
Sam leaned over to Bucky and whispered, “Isn’t Riri the girl we took the watch to?”
Bucky nodded, “Guess they’re friends,” They then both turned their attention back to Kurt, Kitty and Logan.
“I have to go. It was.. Nice to see you all,” Kitty bid them farewell and then Kurt teleported them both away, leaving Logan alone with Walker, Torres, Bucky, and Walker.
There were a few moments of silence until Logan spoke, “You four better listen to me and listen to me good. Whatever happens during that mission, you better make sure those two don’t get hurt. Not only are they your best shot at surviving if there’s a gun fight, but if they get hurt because of you,” Logan’s face darkened, “I’ll kill ya myself.”
Sam looked at him with shock. Bucky watched him carefully, he could tell the threat was genuine. Walker looked like he was going to threaten him as well, but held back. Torres matched Sam’s expression of shock.
Surprisingly, Bucky was the first person to say, “The last thing we want is to make any of you our enemy.”
“And you can count on our word with that. We have no intentions of double crossing you and your team,” Sam nodded, making an addition to Bucky’s comment and then looked to Walker and Torres, “Right?”
Torres nodded immediately and Walker nodded grudgingly. Logan didn’t seem convinced, but wasn’t going to press the threat further. He’d rather let it sink in.
Kurt reappeared moments later, looking confused after seeing the tense room, “Ich denke, it is time for you to go.”
“Agreed,” Sam stood up and then went towards the door, being followed by Bucky, Torres, and Walker.
“Danke for coming. Ve enjoyed your company,” Kurt opened the door for them with a smile.
“Thanks for the food,” Sam also gave him a smile and then shook his hand as he stepped out. This small action caused Kurt to light up with excitement.
Kurt repeated the action with Torres, Bucky, and Walker, not showing a hint of disrespect or resentment. It was refreshing compared to Logan’s gruff, blunt behavior that had been shown moments prior.
After the two groups had parted ways, both halves were left with a precognition that something was on the horizon. Of what that was, they had no idea.