Connections

The whispers and glances were obvious as he walked down the corridor. He couldn't help but smile back at the younger students - and a couple of older ones - who looked his way as he returned to his old room. The Professor had kept it empty for him and asked if he'd wanted it back once he'd woken, and he didn't hesitate to accept.

It had obviously been cleaned recently, probably when Xavier decided to ask the Avengers for help, knowing he'd be there, but the room still hadn't changed in his absence. Some of his designs for Stark Industries were still stacked almost a foot high on the desk, and a set of pictures of him and some of the kids littered the room, scattered on the shelves. Tony smiled. God, he'd missed this place, all the people, he'd regretted leaving for so long. He threw his bag onto the bed, and slipped on one of the packed hoodies, sighing softly. It was such a relief to be back, around old friends, back Home.

He started at a sudden knock at the door. "Mister Stark?

It took a moment for him to connect the voice to a name, and, opening the door, a smile on his face, he was greeted with black curls and a girl that wasn't taller that his waist. "Nyssa?" He tried to hide the uncertainty in his voice, but she grinned at him even if it WAS noticeable, bouncing slightly on her toes.

"Scott told me to tell you that Jean's brought food for us," she said quickly, barely pausing before asking, "Are you coming down?" The eager look on her face was enough for him, and he pulled the door shut behind him.

"Sure, kiddo." He felt a gust of wind through his hair, Nyssa glaring at him for a moment. "Well, that was rude." She started down the corridor, giggling slightly, and Tony followed behind her, raising an eyebrow. "I guess that means you've been working on your powers while I've been gone?"

She looked even happier at the question. "Storm's been teaching me how to use them," she answered, "Watch!" She stopped walking, and Tony watched her movements. Nyssa's face scrunched up momentarily, and her hands twisted towards the floor; seconds later, he could hear a breeze moving into the hallway, and her feet lifted off of the floor. She hovered, just for a few moments, about a foot in the air, before dropping back down.

Tony looked at her proudly. Last time he'd been here and seen her with the others, she could barely use her powers. "That was amazing," he told her softly, once she'd regained her breath. She blushed slightly, a small smile back on her face, before giving him a small tug on his arm to pull him back down the corridor towards the stairs.

As he entered the dining room, he couldn't help notice the few seats purposely left empty between the Avengers and everyone else, although he couldn't tell which side had left the space there. The Avengers looked at him with confused glances, seeing Nyssa, who was still holding onto his arm, and he sat in one of the empty spaces across from Jean, quickly taking one of the pieces of pizza left in the boxes scattered across the table.

"Who's this?" Bruce nodded towards Nyssa, sat next to him.

"Bruce, this is Nyssa. Nyssa, Bruce." Tony said simply, and she waved at Bruce, who did the same back uncertainly.

"You got any powers?" She seemed happy for the opportunity to show off her abilities again, and stared at the table near Bruce, where a small tornado began to form. She made it grow till it touched the glass in front of him, before letting it die down slowly. "Impressive." Nyssa beamed, before noticing the glare Natasha was giving her.

Tony followed Nyssa's gaze. "Have you got a problem, Romanoff?" he asked coldly.

"We need to talk." She stood up, gesturing to the door, and he followed, ignoring the concerned glances from the others. She shut the door behind him, and he raised his eyebrows.

"Something you don't want the others to hear?" She glared, again. "What the hell is your problem at the moment?"

"What do you think?" Natasha paused. seemingly considering her next words. "They're mutants. We can’t just blindly trust them."

He sighed, heavily. "Being careful to trust them doesn't mean hating a bunch of kids for abilities they didn't have any control over getting."

"That's my point. Most of them can't control their abilities properly, and they're putting us in danger."

“Bruce can’t fully control the Hulk, and unless this isn’t about control, that isn’t much different. I couldn’t control where my weapons were going, they got sold to terrorists, and those lives were on me, ‘cause I didn’t pay attention enough to Stane and SI. You’re still here with me, and I’m more at fault than they are for what damage was done.”

“That’s different.”

“Why?” He lowered his voice slightly, remembering the others nearby, and gestured towards the door. “Those kids in there, they didn’t choose these powers, but they’re doing the best they can. They could have been the ones we were fighting against now, but they chose to help us. You can’t fault them for making the best of a situation like this, give them some credit.” He paused, catching his breath for a moment. “God, I can understand why Magneto hates humanity so much when people act like this towards them.”

Natasha studied him for just a moment, then straightened her back and turned away from him. “I won’t argue this with you.” Ignoring the apprehensive glances from the kids who’d appeared in doorways around the corridor, she moved to the stairs and left. He gave a small smile to the few who looked his way and clenched his fist, forcing his fingers to stop shaking. There was something wrong with this. It couldn’t just be about trust, there was something else. He wished he knew. But getting anything from Romanoff was a challenge on a good day, and it didn’t seem like she’d be having any of those any time soon. He sighed, and turned back into the dining room. There was silence for barely a moment before everyone started talking again hurriedly, the Avengers avoiding his gaze.

Thanks. You didn’t have to do that. He recognised Jean’s voice in his mind almost immediately, and smiled minutely, thinking up a response for her to read.

She’s going to upset someone. I know half the mansion was listening in as is, and Nat’s not exactly popular. I’d have been polite, you know, team unity and all, but I can’t stop feeling like something’s off.

I’m sure they appreciate it, anyway. Thank you.