Being a superhero is sort of like being a Maid. No matter how many messes you clean up, it's just gonna get dirty the next day. For Ben Tennyson, it wasn't even 10 minutes.
After going through one heck of a day helping the X-Men rescue their long-lost teammate, Jean Grey. The Teen hero had just left them at their mansion to return home and take a much-needed rest…
Only to be called by his close friend and X-Men member, Laura to be told that Jean had been kidnaped again.
It's like the universe just refused to give him a break. Of course, he was worried about Jean and wanted to get her back. But his fatigued state couldn't help but groan at the inconvenience.
But he needed to push those feelings aside, his friends needed help and there was no time to waste.
A flash of green light later and XLR8 burst through the doors of Avengers Mansion and booked it towards the X-Mansion.
The Alien Teen felt bad about leaving before checking on his team, but time was of the essence in these situations. The longer he took, the colder the trail will get and unlike earlier with the Marauders, Emma may have a harder time using Cerebro to track Jean as her powers may not be active.
Even if Jean does become active, what will happen this time? Last time that woman freaked out, her powers put a large portion of the State into a coma. And if those strange fire powers he saw her display in Mr Sinister's lab was any indication, there was more to this woman than even the X-Men knew. Who knows what kind of devastation she could cause if she freaks out again?
It was moments like this where Ben could understand what humans feared about mutants. A normal human is dangerous enough with the number of weapons that have been created over the years. But a mutant could have the power to destroy cities with a sneeze and they wouldn't know it until their powers activate. It's actually a terrifying concept when you think about it.
But he really couldn't think of it now as he raced through the front gates of the X-Manor. Strangely enough the front gates where already open. Were they open for him or were they left open by whoever took Jean?
Before he could ponder on that, Nightcrawler teleported in a puff of smoke to the mansions roof. The Blue Mutant looked checked his surroundings. Upon seeing XLR8 at the mansion's front steps, his eyes immediately widened, and he teleported down to him.
"Ben. Thank God you are here. Ve need all ze help that ve can get." The German Mutant told the Teen. His expression a mixture of worry and anxiousness.
"Don't worry, Kurt. We'll get her back… Again." Ben said awkwardly. His concern for the Red-Haired Mutant was absolute and he was dead serious about finding her. But he still couldn't help but reflect on the absurdity that in less than a day, this woman has been kidnapped twice and not even a full hour had passed from the last rescue mission.
"Do we know if Sinister is behind this again?" Ben questioned.
Nightcrawler shook his head. "Nein. It would appear zat ze attack vas of a telepathic nature."
"Really?" Ben responded with a raised eyebrow. Another telepathic attack on the same day certainly raised more flags in the Young Heroes mind. It couldn't be Jean having another freak out as everyone in the city was still conscious, when he ran back. This was a concentrated attack on the X-Men. But the only telepaths Ben knew about were Jean and Emma.
"Can you think of any other telepaths that could do something like this?" The teen asked the blue mutant.
"Several." Nightcrawler answered. "But Emma is trying to narrow ze list using Cerebro."
"That's good news. Maybe I can help further." Ben stated.
"Vat are you going to do?" Asked Nightcrawler.
"Take me to where she was taken. I can go from there."
Nightcrawler nodded as he grabbed Ben and they disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Almost instantly Ben and Nighcrawler appeared in what appeared to be the X-Men's medical bay, likely located in the sub-levels of the mansion. Looking around, Ben couldn't help but notice some similarities between the X-Men's medical gear and the equipment in the Avengers own med-bay.
Which kinda made sense to the teen as when treating beings with superhuman powers and abilities, you would certainly need medical equipment to compensate. Still, he was surprised by how a majority of the equipment overlapped with each other.
"Zis vas vere Jean was before she was taken." Nightcrawler explained, pointing to an empty cot.
"Ok. This is perfect. I'll be able to find out what happened here. No problem." Ben stated confidently.
"I am not sure how, both Logan and Laura have been tracking her scent for a while now and even they have not…"
Nightcrawler was interrupted when the doors to the med-bay slid open and Laura came rushing into the room. The Female Mutants eyes locked on Ben as she rushed over to him.
"You did not tell me that you had arrived, Ben." Laura stated, sounding slightly sad, by the Alien Teens lack of communication. "I picked up your scent from the front door."
"I'm sorry, Laura." Ben responded sincerely. "But I literally ran into Nightcrawler the moment I arrived. I didn't want to waste any time finding Jean."
Laura turned her gaze from Ben for a brief moment as she considered Ben's explanation. She then returned her attention to him with a softer expression.
"Your reasoning is understandable. Jean's safety should take priority in this situation. But I do feel saddened that you did not talk to me when you arrived."
"I promise, next time I come over. First person I tell is you. Sound good?" Ben asked, playfully.
In response, Laura cracked a small smile at him and nodded.
"So have you and Logan found anything?" Ben asked his friend. While he had his method of finding out what happened. He figured he'd see just what Laura and Logan had managed to find out already. With both of their tracking abilities combined, he might not even need to do anything at this point.
"We managed to track Jean's scent to the outside. However, I tracked you down here the moment I picked up your scent, so Logan is still outside following the trail." Laura explained.
"Were there any other scents you could pick up? Like who took her?" Ben asked.
Laura shook her head. "There were no new scents that I could detect inside the mansion. Although…"
Ben raised an eyebrow as Laura trailed off. If something was throwing her off, then if must be important.
"What is it?" He asked.
"Emma Frost's scent was unusually high in the areas leading to the front of the Mansion." Laura stated, much to the confusion of the Alien Shapeshifter and Blue Demon.
"What do you mean by that?" Ben questioned her.
Laura seemed to have trouble finding the words as she elaborated. "A person's scent fades over time. The scent is strongest when a person has recently been in an area. But Frosts scent. It was stronger than her normal levels. Like there was more than one of her."
That was certainly unusual. Both Ben and Nightcrawler were thrown by the Teenage Clones explanation. Even Laura herself seemed to be confused by her own statement.
Still, that did throw some red flags up in Ben's mind. He could kind of understand what Laura meant about scent levels, as his forms like Wildmutt and Blitzwolfer had heightened senses that allowed him to track others easily. And yet, he can't recall ever smelling something close to what Laura is describing.
"Could zat not mean zat Emma is vearing more perfume zan normal?" Nightcrawler asked.
"No. This was Emma's natural scent. Her normal brand is not enough to mask her scent from senses like mine." Laura clarified.
"Well let's see if I can't shed some light on this little mystery." Ben said as he activated the Ultimatrix and started cycling till he found Clockwork's hologram.
"Don't bother!" the gruff snarling voice of Logan cut through the room as he marched past the med-bay…
Dragging Emma Frost behind him.
The Clawed Mutant had the White Telepath, by her dainty wrist as he dragged her behind him. His eyes burning with rage and his fangs bared.
Emma was struggling against Logans grip, but she was helpless against the overwhelming strength of the Wolverine.
Stunned by what they are seeing, Ben, Laura and Kurt all followed Logan out of the med-bay, running into Cyclops at the door as he was chasing after Logan himself, demanding to know what he was doing.
"Logan, we need her on Cerebro!" He yelled at Logan as he ran behind him.
The Gruff Mutant ignored Scott as he dragged the blonde telepath a little further down the hall until he reached a certain door and entered with Emma practically digging her high heels into the ground as she's dragged through the doorway.
The present X-Men and Ben follow them into the room, which contained a large containment cell, with transparent walls as Logan shoved Emma inside it and closed the door, locking her inside.
"You're making a mistake, Logan." Emma stated angrily as she glared at Logan through the glass
"No, I MADE a mistake... in trusting you." Logan snarled back at her. Venom pouring from his mouth as Ben and Laura noticed the tips of his claws breaking through the skin, he was so enraged.
However, Scott seemed to match his rage as he seized Logan by the shoulder and spun him around forcing him to lock glares with the red lenses of Scott's glasses
"Are you out of your mind?" Scott screamed at Logan.
"She was in the infirmary last night." Logan responded, without missing a beat as he was completely unfazed by his teammate's outburst.
"And out front when Jean was taken by chopper!" He finished, glaring back at Frost. Who simply narrowed her eyes at Logans accusation.
Scott seemed taken aback from this revelation as Ben and Kurt both looked on with surprised expressions. Laura only narrowed her eyes at the blonde telepath as if the news made complete sense to her.
Scott looked past Logan to the imprisoned telepath. "Emma?"
"I was the first to awaken, so I went looking for her. But she was already gone!" Emma simply responded. Her tone so passive and annoyed, like the mere idea of her kidnapping Jean was an insult.
Logan narrowed his eyes at Emma, clearly not believing a word she said. "Yeah, we'll see. Because when I get back, the truth is coming out. One way or the other."
With that Logan turned his back to her and marched towards the door, passing everyone as he exited.
Ben wasn't sure what to make of this. He'd known Emma for as long as he'd known the X-Men. She may have acted cold, but she seemed to care for others and was willing to put herself on the line for her teammates. Then again, he wasn't really in a position to make any kind of judgement. He wasn't an X-Men and didn't have to familial bond that they all share. He was just an outsider lending them a hand.
Still, he had a feeling there was more to this situation and it was high time he found out what it was.
Running out of the room Ben quickly caught up to Logan. Laura and Kurt followed, with Scott the last one about to exit.
"Scott!" Emma cried out causing him to stop. He turned back to look at the Frosty Telepath as she leaned against the transparent walls of her cell. Her stunning eyes pleading to him.
"Scott, I was the one who found Jean, remember? But I can't find her again from in here."
The crimson eyed mutant averted his gaze, unsure on what his next step should be.
"Hey, Wolvie. Hold up!" Ben yelled as he caught up to Logan, who continued to march forward, not even looking at the Teen.
"Look man, I know things are tense right now. But if you just give me a sec, I could clarify whether Emma really did kidnap Jean or not."
"It was her." Logan snarled back. "I tracked her right outside. Her scent was just as strong as Jeans. She was there the same time as Jean was taken by chopper."
While Ben didn't question Logans tracking abilities. If Laura's abilities were anything to go off of, he was likely spot on with his deductions. Still Ben had a feeling that there could be some details he and Laura may have missed. Tracking a person scent can only get you so far as opposed to actually witnessing the events unfold with some time manipulation.
"Ok, but still. I think there could be more we can learn. All I have to do is turn into Clockwork and we'll know…"
"There's no time!" Logan shouted at Ben, snapping around after stopping so sharply, Ben was startled and jumped back from Logans sudden outburst.
Moments like this reminded the Young Hero just how intimidating the Clawed Mutant can be. But now Ben was suspecting there is something more to all of this than just a kidnapping. Sure, Jean is apparently an important person to the X-Men, but with how Logan was acting. It's possible there was a bigger picture going on that Ben wasn't seeing.
Just then, Ben felt a hand on his shoulder, and he turned to see Nightcrawler behind him as he gently pushed Ben aside to face Wolverine.
"My Friend. I zink it is time zat Ben knew ze truth." Kurt said in a calm tone.
Truth? Ben thought. So, his suspicions were right. There was something going on with the X-Men.
"What Truth?" Laura asked, confused.
Wolverine didn't answer as his expression softened and his body relaxed.
"You're right, Elf. Come on, Kid. Time you met someone." He said, grabbing Ben by the jacket and dragging him along.
"Hey, hey, watch the jacket, dude!" Ben complained as Logan now dragged him along.
Laura was about to follow, when Logan turned back to her.
"Just, Ben. I need you two to round everyone up. We'll need everyone ready to head out when we come back." Logan ordered his Clone and Friend.
Laura looked like she was about to protest, but Ben gave her a wink and a confident smile.
"It's ok. I'll meet up with you later." Ben told her, assuredly. Laura's demeanour relaxed on Ben's words as she nodded in response. With that, she headed off, Nightcrawler teleporting in a puff of smoke. Leaving Wolverine to continue dragging Ben behind him.
After a minute of walking, the Clawed mutant opened a door at the end of a hallway into a large open room, with various high-tech equipment scattered around it. Almost resembling the Med-bay Jean was resting in. Only in this one, there was a raised platform in the centre with a glass dome. Inside the dome was an elderly man, his head bald and skin white and wrinkled as he slept soundly within a comfortable looking bed with silk sheets.
Ben wasn't sure why Logan had dragged him into the X-Men's senior citizen's centre. But upon closer inspection, Ben recognised the face of the old man as Charles Xavier, the man who created the school they were under and the X-Men, by extension. He'd seen the man's portrait in the Mansion above and also from a news article Ben looked up back home during his shift on monitor duty.
The article was related to an event that happened a few months ago where an explosion of unknown origin, happened on campus resulting in the school's closure and the disappearance of Xavier and Jean.
Back when Ben first met the X-Men, they told him they were remodelling the Institute when he noticed the lack of students at this supposed school. After learning about the explosion, the young hero understood their vague response. He doubted anyone would be comfortable talking about an event like that. He also figured that Xavier died in that explosion, adding to the sensitivity of that topic. So, he never once pressed the topic of the Professor to any of the X-Men. Figuring they would open up about him when the time was right.
Seems that now is that very time. But why? What does showing him the comatose body of their mentor have anything to do with their current situation?
Ben watched as Logan walked up to elderly mutant. "Charles. I need to talk to you."
The Teen raised an eyebrow in confusion. Was this guy in a coma? Ben did remember Kitty telling him that the Professor was a powerful telepath like Jean and Emma, so maybe he could still communicate with them with his mind while his body remained in his little cocoon.
Ben smirked as this situation kinda reminded him of an old TV show with a similar setup involving 'Teenagers with attitude'.
Suddenly, Ben felt a tingling sensation in his head. Like he'd just stood up to quickly and got a head rush. Only this felt slower and felting more like a flowing sensation than a rushing one.
His vision became blurry as the entire room started to fade away. At first Ben thought he'd pushed himself too far today and his exhaustion had finally caught up to him, but a quick glance to his left and Logan was still visible, completely out of synch with the fading room as the entire area turned into a white void.
Suddenly a figure appeared from what seemed to be white fog, walking towards them. As the figure got closer, Ben saw that it was Charles Xavier himself wearing a dull battered version of an X-Men uniform, with the X logo faded and partially peeled off in areas. The rest of the clothing looked like it was barely holding together, with rips and tears on the shoulders, pockets and seems. And yet, the collar was still flattened, with the sleeved rolled up and the shirt tucked in. Like the man had just walked through a warzone but still took the effort to look presentable.
He also wore, what looked like mechanical braces on his legs, appearing to be armor. But, as Ben has been living with a couple of tech geniuses for a while now, he immediately recognised the hydraulic motors and power banks incorporated into the braces.
"Logan." Charles greeted before turning his attention to Ben. "I see you have brought a new friend with you. Greetings, I am Professor Charles Xavier."
The old man smiled and held his hand out to Ben. The young hero shook his hand and returned the smile. "Nice to meet you sir. I'm Ben, Ben Tennyson."
"Ah yes. Logan mentioned you in our previous talks. I am grateful to all the help you have given my X-Men in these troubled times. I had hoped to make your acquaintance in the future. Though sadly that hasn't been the case." Charles informed.
Ben raised adopted a confused look at the Professors statement. He was talking like Professor Paradox did, mixing up his tenses.
Charles then turned his attention back to Logan. "I was hoping to see Jean with you. How is she doing?"
At that moment Logan bowed his head in shame and sighed. "I screwed up. Chuck, I let her get taken."
Concern was present on Charles face as he approached Logan with a calm and level-headed aura.
"What happened?" He asked, calmly. Clearly attempting to reduce Logans stress levels in order to get a coherent answer.
"We were laid out by a psychic blow and then someone snatched her." Logan explained.
"Psychic?" Charles brow furrowed at the mention of the word. He's calm demeanour slowly evaporating. "Do you know from whom?"
"Oh yeah. Emma Frost." Logan spat the name out like it was so bitter in his mouth. "But she wasn't working alone."
"Find out what you can from her." Charles ordered as the entire situation just took a very ominous turn. "Jean must be found. She must be controlled before the war begins. Or it will be too late."
That felt like a very good moment for a certain Teenager to chime in.
"Woah! Hey! Time out. Did you just say war?" Ben asked alarmed.
Up until this point, Ben was trying to keep a level head and let everyone deal with their stress and he'd help out any way he can. After all, he just assumed this was just a kidnapping of a close and personal friend to this group of heroes and he would just help find her, bring her home and then kick back in his room with a smoothie and an evening of video games.
Now he just got hit with a bombshell of an information dump that apparently a war was about to break out and he didn't even know it. What was going on here?
Charles blinked for a moment as if just remembering the Teen was still with them as he turned to Logan. "You haven't told him?"
"Figured it would be better if he heard it from you." Logan admitted crossing his arms, while glancing at Ben.
Charles turned to the Young Hero with a hardened look as he walked over to him.
"This may sound strange to you, Benjamin. But I am not communicating with you from the present. The coma you see me in shall last for the next 20 years." Charles explained to Ben.
"Ok cool. So, you're talking to us from the future using your psychic powers to transmit through your comatose body." Ben summarised casually, without missing a beat.
Professor X seemed to be taken aback by the Young Heroes complete nonchalant attitude towards this absurd scenario.
His stunned expression was met with a casual shrug from Ben. "I've seen a lot of weird stuff."
Charles narrowed his eyes slightly at Ben before smiling. "Yes, I believe you have."
"Read my mind, did ya?" Ben asked rhetorically.
"My apologies. I try not to pry without permission. Rest assured I did not dig very deeply." The Telepathic mutant assured the Teen.
"It's cool. You're giving me a cheat sheet to the future. Only fair you get a peak in my past." Ben quipped back as he mimed having a pen and pad in his hand. "So, who wins the next couple of world series?"
Charles chuckled at the Teens upbeat attitude. Even though he could tell the young man was dreading the news he was about to share.
Closing his eyes, Charles concentrated and focused his telepathy. Suddenly, the white void they were standing in started to change. Shapes started taking form and grew darker, looking like buildings. No, destroyed buildings and rubble, structures on fire, smoke bellowing from wreckages.
The calm, white void, turned into a hellish landscape. Something straight out of a post-apocalyptic movie. Before Ben could even register what were he was, the ground shook beneath his feet as a shadow passed over them.
Ben turned and gazed up at the source and his eyes widened in shock. Marching towards them, were giant humanoid robots. Each one standing somewhere between 20 or 30 feet tall, with different shades of purple armor covering their metallic bodies. Darker purple on their chests, forearms and shins and lighter shades on the rest.
A menacing purple light glowed from their eyes along with a circular window in the centre of their chests that seemed to resemble the arc reactor housing unit in Iron Mans armor.
Looking around, Ben quickly saw that there were hundreds of these monstrosities, stomping around the crumbling city, some with hands raised and a bright beam of light projecting from them like a search light as they marched through the rubble, some even flying overhead with powerful jet thrusters in their feet.
This really was a scene out of an Apocalypse movie. Which allowed Ben to quickly put the pieces together.
"This war. It's against these things, right? They were a weapon and they ended up destroying everyone?"
Charles nodded. "The Sentinels were constructed by humans to wage a war with Mutants. Their sole purpose was the extermination of Mutant kind. But since humans can also carry the mutant gene, the Sentinels A.I concluded that all sentient life, human and mutant alike, needed to be exterminated."
As predictable and cliché as that outcome sounded. Seeing the end result, after having just prevented another genocidal robot from attempting the exact thing. A scary thought entered Ben's mind as he turned to Charles.
"Do you know the name of the A.I. that did this?" He was almost terrified of the answer.
"Its name is Master Mold." Charles answered.
Ben mentally breathed a sigh of relief. At least it wasn't Ultron. This mission would've been way more complicated if it was.
Then another thought entered his head.
"Hold it!" He yelled. "You said the coma you're in lasts for 20 years, right?"
Charles was slightly perplexed by the question. But indulged the Teen. "Yes?"
"And there are other people there, right? Not just you?" The Teen questioned.
"There are very few of us left. But yes, there are others with me."
Ben quickly started running numbers in his head. If he's talking to a man 20 years in the future. That would mean…
"YES!" Ben cried out in joy, pumping his fist into the air.
This sudden reaction left both Logan and Charles with very confused expressions.
After his little victory party, Ben quickly composed himself as he faced them.
"Sorry. I know were still in panic mode and this is super serious. But I just couldn't help it. Cause a while back, I met a time traveller that tried to kill me cause of something that happens later. He showed us Earth 10 years in the future, and it looked way worse than this place." He explained, gesturing to the surrounding hellscape.
"So, if you're still here 20 years in the future. Then that means, we already prevented the future I might cause." Ben finished, with a slight giddy inflection in his tone.
Charles and Logan glanced at each other as the Telepathic Mutant looked at Ben with a solemn expression. What the teen is saying may be true. But, time is unpredictable and the little he understood, nothing is certain. That being said, now was not the time to question the fundamentals of time travel, especially with some much on the line.
After one last little celebration. Ben calmed down as his serious demeanour returned as he looked around Professor X's projected future.
"What I don't get is. How did these machines take over? I mean they were targeting Mutants at the start. Wouldn't the Avengers step in to help?" Ben asked.
It did really puzzle him, as these giant robots sure looked tough. But not in the same league as Ultron was and if they were only designed to fight and attack mutants. Then heroes like the Avengers, who have a literal god, an unstoppable rage monster, some of the smartest beings on the planet and of course him. Could really be taken out by these things?
"I'm afraid there were many factors that contributed the eventual fall of humanity and rise of the machines." Charles explained. "I have had my X-Men prevent several events that would have resulted in many casualties that would have assured their victory. But one of the deciding factors in this war, is Jean."
Now the pieces were falling together. It wasn't just that Jean was an important friend. She was a major player in this coming war. Could this be linked to those fire powers she has?
"So that's why it's important that we get her back. Jeans got some kind of hidden power in her and if she goes nuts, she could cause a lot of damage. That about, right?" Ben asked.
"Indeed." Charles confirmed.
"Hard to believe she has enough power to beat my teammates and even me." Ben said. He didn't intend for that to sound a bit egotistical. But given the things he'd faced before and the kind of power he has strapped to his wrist. He just found it hard to belief he would go down so easily.
"Actually, until Logan first mentioned you. I had not found any information regarding you in my time." Professor X informed.
"Really?" Ben asked a little taken aback
"Yes. I found tributes to the fallen heroes of the past, the Avengers being one of them. But of the names of the fallen. Yours was not among them." He elaborated.
That certainly stumped the Teen Hero. How could he not be listed among the Avengers, when he was there the day they were formed? Was it because he was such a new hero to this world, that he was forgotten in favour of the heroes that were there longer than him? Or was there something else that lead to his absence.
Before he could question the Elderly Mutant any further, the ground began to rumble under their feet. Like an earthquake, which confused the Teen as how could a psychic projection have earthquakes.
He looked to Charles, who was looking around alarmed as the vision faded back into the white void, but the shaking persisted. Professor X gasped as he fell over and the vision dissolved into smoke and Ben and Logan were back in the telepathic mutant's room with him unconscious in his little bubble.
"Charles? Charles!" Logan yelled in alarm.
"What happened?" Ben asked, confused.
"Something must be happening in the future. We can't wait on the Professor to get back to us now. We're on our own now." Logan replied, grimly.
"Well at least we know what we need to do right?" Ben stated, as they both started to head out of the room. "We find Jean and prevent these Sentinel robots from coming online. The Avengers already delt with one psycho A.I. We can handle another."
Logan grunted as they walked into the hall. Apparently, he did not share the Teens optimism. "Thing is, the Sentinels should've already been stopped." He admitted.
Ben momentarily stopped in his tracks, trying to process what he'd heard. Already stopped it? Then what's with Professor X's prophecy of doom?
For a moment, Ben was wondering if this whole thing was actually a branching Timeline deal, and the future was already prevented, and Professor X is just stuck in the bad version of the future. Or the future he's in keeps changing due to all the events they change in the present. If that's so, does that mean it's a new Professor X they talk to each time?
Ben could almost feel the smoke coming out of his ears from his brain trying to understand all this. Moments like these really make him hate Time Travel. All these complicated twists and turns that just make no sense. No wonder Professor Paradox went insane for thousands of years trying to understand it all.
Shaking it off, Ben ran to catch up with the Clawed Mutant. "Wait, Logan. What do you mean you stopped the Sentinels?"
"Means exactly what I said." Came Logans simple answer.
Course Ben needed more. So, Logan went into more depth. He explained that in their last attempt to prevent the war, they brought who they believed were the main driving forces behind the war, the Mutant leader of Genoshia, Magneto and Senator Robert Kelly an anti-mutant politician, that's spent years preaching anti-mutant propaganda in his political campaign, who also started the Sentinel program.
The X-Men kidnapped both of them and brought them to Charles himself so he can show them the outcome of the war they will start. This strategy seemed to work as both Magneto and Kelly seemed to reach an understanding with the Senator even terminating the Sentinel program and turning over a new leaf.
"But according to Charles, the future is still the same. So, there's gotta be something we missed, that sets this all off. And with Jean missing, I gotta a feeling things are about to go down." Logan finished his long-winded speech. Given how gravely his voice is, Ben has to assume talking this much, must really be hurting his throat.
It was all pretty overwhelming for Ben to hear. All this time, a war was brewing between humans and mutants, and he had no idea. He would've figured Laura would've mentioned something like this to him at least once.
To think, he believed the Avengers were the only ones keeping the Earth safe from threats. From the Break-Out, Gamma World, Kang, Ultron, Hydra, Malekith and all the others, he never once considered that there were other heroes out there dealing with world ending threats just like them. Some that haven't even happened yet.
It really made the Young Hero reflect on things, how it wasn't just the Avengers looking out for the world. There were other heroes, saving the world and he was completely oblivious to them. If Ben had been knocked out like the others during Jeans psychic attack, or if he decided not to go and find her, would he or any of the Avengers even be aware of this war before it was too late?
He was so lost in thought that he almost bumped right into Laura as he and Logan, rounded the corner. Ben almost jumped out of his skin, while Laura was completely unphased by his sudden appearance. Probably because she would've detected his approach due to her heightened senses.
"Thought I told you to round up the others?" Logan asked.
"You did and I have. They await you upstairs. I was just coming to get you." Laura responded, simply.
"You could've called?" Logan stated.
"I was already close by. So, I thought I would simply retrieve you myself." Laura replied.
Logan grunted as he walked by her, and Ben walked beside her. He casually glanced at the female clone and noticed her breath was slightly elevated and she seemed a little jittery. Like she had just been running.
"You weren't close by, were you." Ben stated as they walked.
Laura dropped her head as she looked at Ben out of the corner of her eye. "You were gone for 15 minutes. I started to worry." She admitted.
Ben gave her soft smile as he patted her on the shoulder. "Don't worry. We just had a quick chat with Professor X. Got way more info than I was expecting, but I'm all caught up now and ready to help you guys stop this war."
Laura raised her head and gave Ben a confused look. "War?" She asked.
Ben eyes widened as he turned to look at Logan, who was still marching ahead of them. Then his eyes narrowed in anger at the clawed Mutant.
"You didn't tell her?" He accused, slightly enraged that Logan would keep her in the dark like this. She was supposed to be a part of this team. How could they keep something this big from her?
"It was on a need-to-know bases, Kid." Logan replied, offhandedly.
"Oh, so what. Are you the only one who knows about this war?" Ben questioned.
"No. The others know. Laura and the younger mutant's upstairs are the only ones who don't know." Logan explained.
Laura's expression remained neutral, while Ben felt his anger rising. How could they keep this information from her? Did they not trust her? Was she not an X-Man like them?
"How could you keep this from her. She's apart of your team, isn't she? She deserves to know." Ben yelled at the X-Men leader.
Quick as lighting, Logan stopped and spun around, his eyes locking with Bens, starling him for a brief moment.
"Look kid. This information affects the future of the entire world." He snarled at the Teen. "We didn't know who to trust, so we had to keep the circle small. It wasn't until I was certain we could even trust you that I let you in on this."
Bens eyes narrowed as he locked his glare with Wolverine. "Ok fine, but why keep Laura in the dark?"
"Cause for reasons that escape me right now, you're the only one she considers a friend and trusts you without question. She would've told you everything to try and protect you and you would insist on helping, bringing in your Avengers buddies, which would only complicate things more. Last thing we need is a public group like the Avengers, shining a spotlight on us and bringing the MRD to our doorstep!" Logan stated viciously.
"Oh, that's a load of…" Ben started to say, when Laura placed a hand on his shoulder, grabbing his attention.
"He is right, Ben." She said, calmly.
"Huh?" Ben responded, his brow arched.
"Keeping me in the dark was a sound strategy. I would have informed you immediately as you are my friend and my trust in you is unconditional." Laura stated soundly, with no hint of animosity in her voice or body. "I accept, Logans reasoning behind his choices."
Seeing how content she was being, Ben's mood started to ease. While emotionally, he was still annoyed by Logan's actions. But if Laura was fine with the situation, then he really didn't have a leg to stand on here.
"Alright then." Ben said, relaxing his body. Although he gave Logan one last glare before they moved on.
As they walked, Ben took this opportunity to catch Laura up on everything he learned. She was calm about the whole, message from the future concept and the war, end of the world ordeal. While her face didn't seem to react, Ben could tell she was a little on edge after Ben told her that the Avengers and possibly himself die in this war. If she wasn't fully motivated to prevent this future, she was now.
"Did the Professor say anything about what starts this war?" Laura asked.
Ben shook his head. "No. Don't even think we got a date. Really the biggest thing he told us was that Jean was the key. So finding her would be our best bet."
Laura immediately froze as her eyes widened. "I am a fool."
Before Ben would ask what, she meant by that. The Female Clone took off in a full sprint down the hall. Dashing past Logan and turning the corner, in the direction of the detention cell.
Seems Logan caught wind of what's happening as he sprinted after leaving Ben to run behind them, wondering what's going on. Though he was momentarily distracted by the how fast Wolverine can move. For a guy with indestructible metal covering every bone in his body, the dude moved like an Olympic gold meddler.
By the time he was able to catch up with them, the young hero was puffing as he braced himself against the doorframe.
Though, he didn't have much time to recover as he immediately heard the smack and thud of a body hitting the ground as he looked up to see Laura standing over Cyclops, with her claws extended.
Ben couldn't register what he was watching as Logan just managed to grab the teen mutant and drag her off the Crimson Eyed Mutant before she could do any serious harm. He was about to ask her what was wrong, until he noticed the cell that Logan had locked Emma Frost in, was empty. Seeing Cyclops on the ground and Laura's reaction, Ben could easily put the pieces together.
With Laura struggling in his arms, Logan had to focus on keeping her from tearing Cyclops apart as he wrestled with his own contemplation of allowing her.
"You got any idea what you've done?" Logan berated Scott. "She was our only link to finding Jean!"
As Cyclops got to his feet. He grunted slightly from the pain of being hit by the former assassin.
"Which she couldn't do sitting in a cell!" He responded, giving Logan a hard look.
"So, you just let her out?" Ben asked, confused. "Did she go back to Cerebro?"
"With how Logan was acting? No, she took her car and headed out to look on her own." Cyclops stated angrily.
Now Ben was feeling the urge to slap some sense into the One-Eyed Mutant. Did he really think that letting a woman, who is the primary suspect in Jean's abduction, just walk out of the front door was a good idea?
Though Ben had to remind himself that this woman is a telepath and based on her choice of attire, probably familiar in ways of getting men to do what she wants. If anything, leaving her alone with anyone was a bad call on any of their parts.
Logan, on the other hand, was still firmly in the blame camp as he snarled at Cyclops. "You've got stars in your eyes, Summers. Or you'd see it too! She's involved!"
Cyclops didn't flinch as he stood talk and locked eyes with the Savage Mutant. "I believe in her, Logan."
It was hard for Ben to really get a read on the situation. When a telepath is involved, he can't really be sure. But from his perspective, Scott seemed genuine in his words. Like he truly believed what he was saying.
Granted, telepaths were not the young hero's strong suit. But he had to guess that if someone really did mess with your mind to do something against your will, there would be some level of doubt in your actions that would make you question what you are doing.
Yet, Cyclops didn't. He was completely honest with his words. That only meant that he did it on his own free will.
"If that's true. Then where is she now?" Laura snarled at him as she continued to struggle in Logans grip.
For the first time in this conversation, Cyclopes confidence faltered. It took all of Ben's willpower not to facepalm. He'd heard love can make a guy to stupid things. But there's stupid and then there's full on braindead.
But before anyone could question him further, Logan received a call on his communicator.
"Logan. You'd better meet me in the war room." Beast's voice sounded from the device. "We have a problem."
"Terrific." Came Logans response as he tried to walk out of the room, but Laura's angry thrashing made moving difficult.
So, Ben stepped in an placed his hand on her arm to catch her attention.
"Emma's a telepath, Laura. She may have done something to his head to let her out." Ben stated. Granted he couldn't be sure of that, but he also couldn't rule out the possibility. That and he couldn't just let Laura cut Scott to ribbons because he made a mistake.
Laura settled down at Bens words, allowing Logan to put her down. The Female Mutant gave Cyclops one last glare, before leaving the room with Logan.
"Thanks for that." Cyclops said as he walked over to Ben.
But Ben shot the one-eyed mutant a glare of his own. "I did it, only cause the stakes are too high to be down a man." He snapped at him.
"Seriously dude, what were you thinking just letting her go like that? Did it even cross you mind once that she could've been a part of all this?"
Cyclops looked unsure at first. But then raised his head to meet the Teens gaze. "I know it sounds crazy. But I just have a gut feeling that Emma is on our side and will do help get Jean back."
Risking everything on a gut feeling. Ben can certainly relate to that. But faith is a tricky thing, and when things are at their worst, it's all people can have to get them through.
While it was still a bonehead move, Ben had to have faith in his friends call. After all, when it comes to saving the world. Sometimes you just have to take a chance.
"I really hope you're right about this." Ben replied as the two headed up to the War Room.
As he walked, a beeping sound drew Ben's attention to his pocket. Reaching inside, he took out his Avengers ID card. The little device was lighting up, alerting him that a call was incoming.
"Oh boy, this will be interesting." Ben thought to himself as he knew what was coming.
"Hey Scott, can you go ahead. I gotta take this." The Crimson eyed mutant nodded as Ben held back till he rounded the next corner before answering the call.
"BENJAMIN KIRBY TENNYSON, WHERE THE HECK ARE YOU!" Janet's voice erupted from the speakers of the card. Fortunately, Ben saw this coming and held the card away from him so her outburst wouldn't destroy his eardrums.
"Ok Jan, I get it. You're worried." Ben said as he held the card a little closer. The video screen on the card showed Wasp's face clear as day. She was not amused.
"You bet your Green Jacket, I'm worried. I wake up in the med-bay, find out I've been unconscious for hours and you're nowhere to be seen!" The Size changing heroine shouted at him. "And to top everything off. JARVIS said you took off, by yourself and then disappear off the radar for hours."
"I was literally at the front door an hour ago." Ben replied, defensively.
"Oh well, I must be going blind, cause I don't see you anywhere in the mansion." Wasp countered in a sarcastic tone.
This was getting them nowhere. "Look Jan, I get your ticked and I'll accept full responsibility later. But I'm kinda in the middle of saving the whole world, right now. So can you calm down for five minutes so I can give you some information that might help save your life?"
While her angry expression remained where it was, she did stop talking and allowed Ben to speak. He gave her a very quick rundown of everything he'd learned in the last 9 hours, from Jean, Sinister, the X-Men, the message from the future and finished with Jeans second abduction.
Saying it all aloud, Ben felt like he was summarising the plot to a full season of a TV show.
"And right now, we're just about to follow a lead to where Jean might be. I don't know what's gonna happen next, but I'll need everyone ready to help if things go south." Ben finished, taking a breath as he didn't realise how fast he was thinking.
Janet blinked a few times in stunned silence as she processed everything the Young Hero just said. Then her face turned to that of concern.
"Are you sure about this, Ben? You yourself said that time travel is a tricky thing. How can you be sure, what you're doing won't make that future happen?" She asked. "I mean, we still haven't figured out Kang's prophecy of the future."
Bens eyes lowered. While he does still believe that the future Kang predicted has been prevented, due to the existence of Professor X's future. The fact that the events that would cause that future have yet to happen, did unnerve the Young Hero.
"I know, Jan. But right now, the future can wait. Someone is in trouble, right now and I'm going to help save her. Whatever happens next, I'll deal with it. And I hope I can count on you to help me." Ben replied with a determined look on his face.
"You know I'll always have your back, little bro." Janet said with a warm smile. "I'll catch the others up and hear what they have to say. But I'm pretty sure I know what the answer will be."
"Thanks Jan. I'll call back when we have a plan on this end." Ben said as he disconnected the call.
At least this time, he can call in some backup. Having the Avengers by his side, certainly made the Young Hero feel calmer and more confident about the impending fight.
As he reached the X-Me's War Room, he found everyone gathered. Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Laura, Bobby, Kitty, Beast, Storm and Cyclops.
Beast was sitting as the computer, wearing a very large lab coat and wearing glasses. As he displayed an image of a woman, in her early 20s, with blue eyes and long brown hair. She wore a scarlet headdress that looked like a big M that covered her hairline and reached down her cheekbones.
"Ah, Ben. Glad you could join us." Beast addressed the teen.
"Glad to be here. Who's the girl?" Ben asked pointing to the picture.
At that point, Logan stepped forward. "This is Wanda Maximoff, also called the Scarlet Witch." Is eyes then narrowed at the next piece of info. "And she's also Magneto's daughter."
"Oh." Came Bens response.
That certainly brough back some memories for the Teen. He recalled his last encounter with Magneto, how he'd beaten him and how his daughter showed up and looked at him with such fear. In that moment, Ben was the bad guy to that girl.
From what he could remember, the daughter he met that day had green hair and was way younger than the woman on the screen. So, she must be the elder sibling. Ben also recalled, Magneto's son, Quicksilver. Ben was glad that speed freak didn't make another attempt on him after their first fight. He was almost curious to what this sibling would think of him. Would she want to get some payback for what he did to her father?
"So what's her deal?" Ben asked.
"We just received a communication from her." Beast explained.
"Why? I thought you and Magneto were enemies? Doesn't that extend to kids? I remember the brother being, less than nice, when we met."
Hearing the mention of Quicksilver, Laura immediately clenched her fists. She never forgave the silver speedster for attacking Ben.
"Remember how I said Kurt had a thing with Magneto's daughter a while back?" Kitty said.
"Yeah?" Ben replied.
"Well..." Kitty glanced at the image of Wanda and then to Kurt, who started to look a little bashful.
Bens eyes immediately widened at the realisation as a playful grin appeared on his face. "Dang Kurt, you dawg. Dating the bad guy's daughter. That is savage!"
Nightcrawler groaned in response, no doubt he's received this kind of teasing before. "I am not dating her. Ve are just friends."
"Yeah, yeah, sure pal. Whatever you say." Ben said, teasingly as he held his fist out to Bobby, who responded in kind, by bumping his fist with Bens.
"Anyway." Logan said, harshly, returning everyone back to the present.
"The Red Broad just filled us in. Magneto has lost his mind. He's replaced Senator Kelly with an imposter and is gonna launch the Sentinels to attack Genoshia."
Ben had to really think about what he had just heard. There was no way that was right.
"I'm sorry, wha?" Ben said, befuddled.
"Magneto is going to attack Genoshia with the Sentinels, to make it appear as though humanity has waged a war with mutants and Magneto will use this to provoke the other mutants to attack." Laura summarised as clearly as possible.
In that moment Ben didn't know what to think. What kind of madman would launch an attack on his own people all just to start a war? Despite the fact, that Charles had warned him that this is a war that no one will win.
He couldn't believe someone could be that evil. He thought that all Magneto wanted was for mutants to have a safe place to live and not be discriminated against. But now, he's willing to risk destroying the world because he hates humans that much?
There was no way he would let that happen.
"When will this happen?" Ben asked, a serious aura radiated off him.
"Tonight." Logan stated. "Not clear on the time. But given how its already sunset. I'm thinkin we only got an hour or two before this war begins."
"And if that happens. It's the beginning of the end." Beast finished.
"So, what are we waiting for. Let's go smash that factory, before the Sentinels can be launched." Bobby stated, punching his fist into his palm as his arms turned to ice.
"Wait, what about Jean? She's still missing." Scott spoke up, earning a glare from Logan and Laura.
"We don't have time to waste, Summers. We only got one shot at stopping this war. Jean can wait." The Clawed mutant snapped back.
Scott looked like he wanted to argue, but Storm placed her hand on his shoulder. "I understand your worry, Scott. But we must be rational. If the war begins, there might not be a world for Jean to return to."
The crimson eyed mutant tried to think of a counter argument, but he couldn't. No matter what his heart was telling him, logically, taking out the Sentinels was the smart course of action.
Begrudgingly, Scott nodded and remained silent.
"Good." Logan said as he addressed his team and Ben. "We move out now. No matter what, we can't let a single one of those things, reach Genoshia."
The others nodded as the started to head out. As they did, Ben glanced over to Cyclops, who's crestfallen expression really empathised with him. Ben knew how much Jean meant to him, so this was a big sacrifice he was making. Even Ben didn't like the idea of abandoning the search, as there's no telling what her kidnappers could be doing to her.
After all, if it was anything like Mr Sinister and they were after how power, there's no telling what they could do with her kind of power. Especially that flame power she showed off in the last fight, psychic power alone could render a whole city unconscious, he could only imagine what that she could do with those fire powers.
"Jean must be found. She must be controlled before the war begins. Or it will be too late." Charles Xavier's voice echoed in Bens head.
The Teen stopped as those words echoed in his head. Charles was insistent that Jean had to be found before the war began. From his tone, the entire fate of the planet hinged on Jean being under control. And if Ben knew anything, a warning from the future like that, was not something that should be ignored.
"Hang on!" Ben yelled, stopping the X-Men.
"You gotta question. Ask it in the jet, Kid. We ain't got time to waste." Logan barked as he glared back at him.
"I know. But listen." Ben replied as he spoke up. "Charles said that Jean was important for the war, right? He said that she needed to be found before the war begins."
"Chuck didn't know what was going on at the time kid. Probably got some details mixed up." Wolverine countered.
"But what if not saving her is the reason we lose the war?" Ben stated, earning a confused look from the X-Men. "Think about it, she already caused every person in the city to black out for hours after one freak out. What if she wakes up in the middle of World War 3 and does it again?"
The gathered mutants all pondered Ben's theory.
"He does have a point." Beast agreed. "If Jean were to panic and unleash another psychic blast that rendered us unconscious again. It would leave us unable to defend ourselves when the war begins."
"Which could be how the Avengers got taken out so easily in the future." Ben concluded. "We need to save Jean, so she can't be used against us."
The X-Men all turned to Logan, as the team leader it was his call. But the Clawed Mutant himself was conflicted and Ben understood why. If they go and save Jean, the Sentinels are launched and the war begins, with countless innocent lives taken in the battle. But if they go after the Sentinels, they could prevent the war, but whoever has taken Jean could still turn her power on them, leaving them helpless from another side.
Cyclops then stood forward. "I'll go after Jean. I can rescue her while you all go after the Factory."
"And how exactly are you gonna find her, Summers?" Logan asked. "You suddenly install a mutant tracker in those goggles of yours?"
Scott glared at Logan, gritting his teeth. His frustration about the whole situation had reached a boiling point, when…
"I'll go after Jean." Ben said, stepping forward. "I got a bunch of aliens that'll let me track her down. I can find her, bring her back, while you guys can take out the Sentinels."
Cyclops and Wolverine both looked at each other and considered his idea. When Laura stepped forward.
"I'm going with you." She stated, her tone making it clear it was not a request.
"Laura, we need all hands-on deck for this." Logan told her.
"You have enough power on the team to destroy that factory. I am a skilled fighter and assassin. But stealth will not be needed for a frontal assault. My tracking ability and infiltration skills would be better served in a rescue operation as saving Jean is of equal importance in preventing this war." Laura countered.
While Logan wanted to argue, her logic was sound. She would be better utilised with Ben's rescue operations and at this point he really didn't have time to argue with her. Especially since it would be pointless as with Ben involved, there was no swaying her decision.
"Fine, kid. Do whatever it takes. Our future is riding on this." He yelled as he turned to head out, the others following him.
Before he left, Scott turned and gave Ben one last look. The Teen nodded at him, silently promising that he will get Jean back. Scott smiled and nodded back before heading off.
With their objectives set, Ben and Laura started heading towards the mansions main entrance. As he walked, Ben reached into his jeans pocket and clicked a button on something, before reaching into his jacket pocket to retrieve his ID card.
"Are you going to call the Avengers to reinforce the X-Men?" Laura asked.
Ben nodded, while smiling. She knew him so well.
"Yep. Figured it wouldn't hurt to have some extra insurance to make sure those robots don't reach Genoshia." Ben confirmed.
"But you won't ask them to reinforce us as having strangers battle around her would have Jean panic and potentially lash out with another psychic wave." Laura added.
"Righteo." Ben replied. However, Laura raised an eyebrow at that response. "It means you're correct."
Laura nodded in understanding as her expression softened. It was honestly cute how little things like slang terms just fly right over her head. He could only imagine what she would be like on social media.
He pressed the call button on the card and watched the lights blink until Janet's face appeared on the screen.
"Ben? What is it? What's going on?" She asked, worried.
"Jan, I need you and the others to help the X-Men stop a bunch of robots from attacking Genoshia." He said.
"Robots? Genoshia? What?" Janet responded confused.
"I don't have time to explain. If those robots get to Genoshia, it's the beginning of the World War 3. Please, Jan trust me. You guys have to get there now."
With that he hung up before Janet could respond. He just hoped that his teammates will be able to get there in time to help.
"Wait, Ben. Where are they going? Who's doing this?" Janet asked, but it was too late. Ben had already hung up.
The insect themed heroine groaned as she slipped the ID card back into her pocket. She then turned around to face the rest of the team, who had already assembled and heard Ben's call.
"So, the kid wants us to dive into a fight with robots to help a bunch of Muties?" Hawkeye summarised. "This day just keeps getting weirder."
"If Ben wants us to smash something. That's good enough for me." Hulk stated, punching his fists together.
"But he is operating on knowledge received from the future." Black Panther pointed out. "As our encounter with Kang has revealed. We must proceed with caution when time travel is involved. Any action we take, may guarantee the devastation that Ben foretold."
"Maybe. But we are talking about innocent lives here. I don't care what the future hold. Right now, we have a choice to either do nothing and let the X-Men face this threat alone. Or we fight and save as many lives as we can." Captain America spoke to the team, his rousing speech lighting a fire in most of the team's spirits.
However, Iron Man didn't show much enthusiasm as he sat at the war table with several holographic images floating around.
"I hear ya, Cap. But are we really sure we wanna get wrapped up in Mutant affairs?" Iron Man asked, leading to a stunned expression from the Super Soldier. How could he say something like that?
He wasn't the only one to think that as Wasp stepped forth. "How can you say that, Tony? Weren't you listening? If we don't help, the whole world could end. We have to go now."
"I'm just saying. Mutants are wrapped up in some serious politics." Tony explained. "If we go and help a group of Mutants attack a government facility. It could reflect badly on us. With everything we've already done to tick Hill off. Can we really afford the bad press?"
It might seem cold hearted. But as hard as it was to admit. He did have a point.
"Iron Man is correct." Black Panther agreed, stepping forward.
"Seriously T'Challa?" Janet exclaimed, raising her hands in exacerbation.
But The Wakandan King continued. "If we were to act now. We could potentially save the world from an impending disaster. However, in the eyes of the public, we would be aiding in an act of terror. The X-Men are not revered as we are and have committed what are considered criminal acts against the MRD. Should we be seen aiding them in their latest actions against a government official. We would be considered accomplices in their crimes."
The other heroes lowered their gazes. They had not considered that. While they technically were vigilantes themselves, they were beloved by the public and have been allowed to save and protect people from the villains that have escaped. But, the X-Men were a different story. Mutants have always had a rough history, especially in the eyes of the law. If the Avengers go to help them, it could turn the public against them. Giving SHIELD more ammunition to use against them.
As they contemplated their next course of action, Captain America clenched his fist as he walked towards the door, his boots echoing through the room, gathering the others attention.
In his mind, the Soldier out of time, felt great shame. He had allowed himself to become blind to the suffering of the people in his own country. The war he had been told was over, had just simply evolved. People were being hunted, locked up, persecuted all because of what genes they had in their body. That was beyond deplorable, and yet he was ignorant to it all.
How could he call himself a hero, if he stood by and did nothing? How could any of them?
The Super Soldier then stopped and turned to face his teammates. He reached up and removed his mask, letting them all look at the face of Steve Rogers.
"When I took up this shield. I swore and oath." Steve stated, hold up his signature weapon. "To defend America and her people. To stand for truth and justice for all."
"The world I came from wasn't perfect. We made our fair share of mistakes; did things we were not proud of. But we did it so people would be free. Some people would disagree with our actions, twist the facts to fit their narrative. But the opinions of others, does not affect our choice to stand for what is right."
He looked to each and every one of the gathered heroes in front of him.
"Today I've made a mistake that I didn't even know I had made, until today. Being blind to the suffering of the people within this country. I won't stand by as innocent people are prosecuted for something they cannot control. I only ask, that you stand with me."
Without hesitation, Wasp and Thor walked over to Cap, the former having a smile on her face.
"We're with you, Cap." She said, confidently.
Thor reached out and placed his hand on Caps shoulder. "While your body is mortal. You're spirit rivals that of any of the warriors in the halls of Asgard. You shall have my thunder in this noble endeavour."
The three turned to the others as Black Panther was the next to approach.
"As a King. I must consider the impacts of my choices and the repercussions they may have on my people." He spoke clearly. "But as an Avenger, I will never turn my back on my allies and the people of this world."
Steve smiled at the Wakandan King and nodded his head in approval.
They turned back to the three remaining Avengers, who had yet to voice their choices.
Hulk simply shrugged as he walked over to them. "I get to smash a bunch of robots. Like I'm gonna turn that down."
"Thank you, Hulk." Steve said as the Gamma Giant grinned with anticipation. The Super Soldier turned his attention to the Archer. "Clint. I…"
"Sure fine. Whatever, I'm in too." Hawkeye interrupted with mock annoyance as he twirled an arrow in his fingers. "You have my bow and all that. May as well save the world a fourth time this year."
And that only left one. Iron Man remained silent throughout the whole ordeal. Seemed the Billionaire was still hesitant to get involved. It's not that he didn't want to, he was all for saving the world. But, he couldn't help but consider the consequences that this could lead to.
So far, he's been able to keep the Avengers activities legal by having the team registered as a private security sub-group under the Stark Industries banner. That has at least made their actions and apprehensions of supervillains be a lawful arrest. Also, with him there, if his suit is damaged in a fight, the criminals have damaged property of his company and therefore granting his teammates legal action to engage.
That's been the official claim he made, when he formed the team in order to keep the Suits in Washington off his back. However, what the team is talking about is attacking a facility under the ownership of a US Senator. That crosses into some very mirky waters for them that could put not only the team, but his entire company in hot water.
Tony blamed Cap for this. Before, Tony wouldn't have wasted a second thought on taking action. But due to his influence, the Armored Billionaire found himself doing something he wasn't used to. Being responsible.
Suddenly, the sound of crashing sounded above them as Tony pressed a key on the desktop.
"JARVIS, report." Tony ordered.
The AI brought up a new screen, showing the gates to the Mansions garage, bursting open as Ben's car, the DX Mark 10, flew out of the gates and onto the road. The vehicle proceeded to skid out of the driveway and into the street, weaving through traffic like a wild animal on the hunt.
"It would seem, Master Benjamin's car has broken through the security gates of the mansion and is heading to his current location." JARVIS reported.
"Looks like even the Kids car wants to get in on the action." Hawkeye commented with a smirk. "How about it Stark? Gonna let a car out do you."
Tony said nothing as he watched the screen for a few seconds, still contemplating his course of action. He then stood up, turned off the holo-projections and locked eyes with Steve.
While he needed to voice his concerns. In the end, the Super Soldier was right. There is no thinking in this situation. Not when so many lives are on the line.
"Avengers Assemble." Iron Man said as he placed his helmet on his head.