Red Winter: Timeline

Chapter Twenty-Seven: X-Men

If a day spent in bed was a day wasted, then today was a complete wash. With their arms wrapped around one another and their bodies intertwined it was a day spent good. Bucky felt whole, like everything was falling into place aside from the unknown threat of the metal moving man. When Bucky sat up to the sound of his door knob turning he threw a blanket over Wanda and turned to see Sam open the door.

"Oh!" Sam turned away and crossed his arms, facing the hallway.

"Again??" Bucky shook his head, "I want a lock."

"My bad, my bad." Sam was smiling, though they couldn't see it. Wanda sat up, holding the sheet around her and looked over to Bucky who was shaking his head still, yet sporting a small smile. "We have a call at five."

"With who?" Wanda spoke up, looking over at the back of Sam's head.

"Someone named Xavier." Sam shrugged, "Clothing not optional." Sam went to close Bucky's door just as he was throwing a pillow toward him, the pillow hit the door just as it closed and fell to the floor.

Wanda smiled, plopping back into the bed and looking up at the soldier, "Maybe we will get answers on that man." She pulled the sheet closer and tucked an arm under the pillow, "Who he is."

"What he is." Bucky looked down at her, leaning back into the bed and reaching over to place his hand on her hip, "He wasn't human. That whole beam moved because of him."

Wanda closed her eyes, "I'm not human."

"Yes you are." She opened her eyes and looked up at him, "You're human, something happened to you that changed you, but that doesn't make you any less human."

Wanda reached out and touched his face, he starred into her eyes as she admired him, "Superhuman." She smiled.

"Super soldier." He laughed, pulling her closer to him and holding her close.

"Human." She mumbled into his neck and kissed it softly, "You're still human too."

They got dressed and headed to the meeting room just in time for the call Sam asked for them to attend. Pepper joined remotely, her image on a screen from home, so the three of them sat in a row and watched as a man appeared on another screen. "Greetings." He man smiled kindly, he was bald and had withered eyes, like he had seen many lives. "My name is Professor Xavier."

"From the school?" Wanda asked, she had heard of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. "For special children?"

"We prefer the word gifted, but yes." He nodded, "Mutants," he continued, "As I am sure you are not strangers to the word."

"Tony spoke of the X-Men once, it came up in conversation with Fury." Pepper spoke, "We've never had the pleasure of meeting them."

"There's a time for everything I suppose. The time for that, is now." Xavier noted, "As the man who you ran into in Russia was a mutant. Magneto. Very powerful, he can bend metal." Bucky looked down at his metal hand and made a fist with it, "Not to worry soldier." Bucky looked up at the man on the screen, confused, "Vibranium is not something Magneto can control. Your arm is safe, so is your shield Captain." Xavier turned to Sam, "This metal is what I recommend you use in battle."

"Are we going to war?" Wanda asked, not hopeful as she was growing tired of wars.

"One cannot say. Magneto works in the shadows. I do believe he learned about HYDRA and used it to his advantage." Xavier said.

"What advantage is that?" Sam asked.

Xavier looked over to Sam, "To meet the avengers. To gain control of The Winter Soldier, which he failed. But...there is one more he wants to control..." Xavier looked at Wanda. Wanda's face was confused, as she tried to read the man's mind, but was having difficulty, "Wanda..." Suddenly his voice was in her head, no one else could hear him but her, "Your powers are unmatched. You are one of the strongest mutants I've come across."

"I'm not a mutant." Wanda spoke out, Pepper, Sam, and Bucky turned to her, very confused.

"Loki's staff granted you these powers, you are a mutant created, not born. A mutant nonetheless." After this, Xavier spoke aloud again, Wanda sat back in her chair, Bucky reached over and touched her thigh under the table, a caring gesture. "Magneto wants mutants to rule the world. Mutant strong. Mutant proud. This time, he will try and use the Avengers to make that happen."

"We won't let him." Sam crossed his arms over his chest.

"Captain, you don't know what you're getting into." Xavier nodded, "She is your key." He looked at Wanda, "She will be what he is after." Wanda looked at Professor Xavier, she found him looking at her and she quickly looked away. "Magneto will dig deep and try to take Wanda and create his own army to take over the government."

"What makes him think I am willing to that?" Wanda asked.

Xavier looked back to her, "Magneto is good with words. He my convince you. Don't let him."

"I won't." Wanda was sure, but the way Xavier looked at her made her wonder just what he was worried about.