Playing With Fire (EDITING)

Great Divide

When I stood and set my blankets and pillow under the table, I caught a glimpse of Doug's injured expression. I didn't care what he thought of me any more than I cared what anyone else thought of me, but it hurt to see that he knew I wouldn't trust him with my past. But it wasn't just him. I wasn't about to trust anyone with the details.

True- I'd told Doug most of the major events in my past that had changed the course of my life and some that hadn't, but what happened to Uri was not something I wanted to recount to anyone at any time. And I'd never told anyone about Daniel so I wouldn't start now. It wasn't Doug's fault, but how to make him understand that? I trusted him with my life but my nightmarish past was my burden to bear, not his.

When I left the room, drowning in deep thought, I literally bumped into Tony. He seemed startled, but when he recognized me, he smirked. "Ah, chickadee. Fury wants you and all your other mutant friends in the conference room asap."

"Why?"

"Just said he had something important to discuss," he explained.

"What's so important that it needs everyone?"

"Don't be asking me." He let his eyes take in my stiff posture, tired eyes, and miffed attitude. "What's wrong with you? Not used to sleeping on the floor again?"

"Shut up, Stark," I snapped.

"Or just not getting any sleep with your boyfriend around?" he teased.

Too far. I felt the patience fuse end and the bang came next. I bit back the nastier remarks I could have made and probably would have and instead glared at him in response.

I passed the message to Doug before going off in search of Megan, Kitty, and Kurt. When I found them, I wasn't surprised they'd hid in the kitchen. "Guys, Fury wants us in the conference room." When no one moved, I added. "Now."

They hopped off counters and pushed in chairs, following me to the conference room with the large oval table. I took a seat on the far end between Kurt and Megan and watched as the Avengers filtered in one by one. But even when they were all sitting, more agents appeared. Commander Hill and Director Fury had their heads bent close together and were speaking intently but quiet enough that I couldn't distinguish their words from the whispered conversations around me. A threesome of high ranking SHIELD agents were last to claim their seats at the table.

When Fury cleared his throat, the room fell silent. "I won't bother beating around the bush, so here's the point," he began. "Xavier tricked us. When I made a deal with the Professor, he promised that the charges would be kept safe while SHIELD settled before returning them where they belonged. Instead, he kept them safe for his own army of mutants."

"We're not an army," Kurt butted in. "The X-Men are a team of teens and adults with supernatural powers. We don't take orders like an army either; Prof isn't a general that commands us around like mindless soldiers."

The look Fury gave Kurt as he spoke would have burned a hole in the forehead of any normal person but Kurt seemed unphased. As he glared at Kurt, the director continued, "Anyway, as I was saying, Xavier plotted to turn our assets into his personal weapons, just a few in his arsenal. I even received word that he knew of a hidden advantage we were unaware of until Xavier exploited this advantage as a weakness. But he still has Logan."

"Ace," I corrected without thinking.

"What was that?" Fury demanded, unable to believe I'd spoken out already.

"She goes by Ace, not Logan," I repeated.

Fury rolled his eyes and plowed on. "Wolverine's daughter is still with Xavier and his...team." The word team carried traces of a tone of mockery and disgust; as if the X-Men could never be a real team but the Avengers were. "Personally, I don't see why she should be recovered except to send her back to Africa where she came from."