Kree, Shi'ar, and Skrulls, Oh My!

Delivered: One Summers

It had been a week of good food and good company before they got back to Earth, so the entire group was looking and feeling much better when they returned than when they left. They were in high spirits, joking around and laughing once they reached Earth, but before they dropped off the Young Avengers, Logan and Scott made a point to pull Tommy in to have a little talk.

"You do good work, kid," Logan said as they made to get a cup of coffee.

Tommy looked surprised at the compliment but then shrugged and grinned, stretching out his arms as he hobbled forward on the crutch he was still using. "Yeah, I'm pretty great," he agreed.

"You should know that compliments don't come easy from him," Scott said with a crooked smile. "But, if you ever re-think joining up somewhere, we'd be happy to have you."

Tommy looked between the two of them in mild disbelief. "You're kidding, right? You've seen me blow stuff up, right?"

"And you've seen Logan try to kill everyone in sight, right? It's almost a requirement to need a little polish," Scott said. "One wrong move with my quartz, and I can take out a building as quickly as you can."

Tommy grinned at that. "We're gonna have to find a ghost town and test that theory."

"I can think of a few," Scott replied, his smile widening.

"And we'll continue to encourage you to destroy things — when they need it," Logan added.

Tommy looked at both of them for a moment, all but bouncing in place as he thought it over. "I eat a lot," he warned.

"I know," Scott said. "I've been reliably informed - but we feed everyone well. It's a school full of teenagers for Christsake. We do massive quantities of food."

Tommy nodded. "And if I don't want to go on a mission?"

"As long as the world isn't ending — you don't have to. And in some cases, if it is — you don't have to," Logan agreed. "No contracts. We just want you to keep trying to get better."

Tommy looked them both over again and then broke into a wide grin. "Okay. Sure. Why not? Sounds like it could be fun."

"Great, come by the place when you're ready," Scott said. "Storm or Bobby will set you up with a room, show you anything you might have missed."

Tommy beamed at them both and then indicated the little crutch. "Give me a bit to stop being a hopalong — but I heal fast."

"Like I said, whenever you're ready," Scott reiterated. "The offer is open."

It was practically a given at that point that when they dropped Scott back off at home, Annie would insist that they come in. This was made even clearer when they got back to Alaska and Scott called home to let her know that he was back — and she made a point to tell him that everyone had to come. No arguments were allowed.

"Your girl's a little bossy, Summers," Logan teased.

"She's just used to dealing with children," Scott countered with a smirk. "So she knows how to deal with you."

"She's had a lot of practice with you; guess it's time to move up a bit. Argument wise."

Scott chuckled and shook his head. "Don't argue with Annie. Even if you win, you lose," he told him frankly.

"Sounds like she's got you trained up already," Logan said with a smirk. "Good for her."

Scott just shook his head at Logan and led the way down the picturesque streets to the little home, where it looked like they already had company, if the number of cars in the driveway was anything to go by.