Let The Sparks Fly

Summary:

Quinn Masters has been elected to act as the mutant correspondant between the X-Men and the Avengers. Full of snarky comebacks, blunt opinions and taking every day as though it is her last, she definitely stirs up trouble for the members of the Avengers.

Of course, not all is what it seems when it comes to the Mistress of Electricity.

And Tony Stark is dead set on learning all of her secrets.

He just never expected her own past to be as twisted and dark as his own.

Author's Note:

I know I've spotted a story in this fandom that has an OC with the ability to control Electricity, but I assure you, this plot is all of my own creation. This is a slight cross-over with the X-Men and the Avengers, as some familiar faces from Xavier's will appear in future chapters. This story is going to be full of humor, laughter, excitement, drama, tragedy, romance, friendship and action. I can't stand when I read stories that have nothing but drama and torment for the characters, and while my OC does have a harsh past, she does not let it affect her on a daily basis.

I do want to point out, that this will most likely be a Tony/OC fic, and this has nothing to due with a dislike for Pepper, because I think she is awesome. I just have this plot bunny running through my head and need an outlet. Pepper will appear in the story as a close friend/surrogate sister to Tony, but nothing more. This will NOT just focus on a romance, and said romance will NOT just start from the first few chapters of the story. I want to build friendships between my OC and the team, and from there the friendships will grow.

I do take ideas, thoughts and opinions from my readers, but I will not take well to flames. If you do not like the story, don't read it. I love input from my readers, and if you want to see something occur between the entire team, let me know. I like my stories to be interactive with the readers, while still remaining on plot.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and please review/subscribe/fav! Also note, each chapter will have a quote that is used in the story, and any music/lyrics/movies/movie quotes used in this story will be disclaimed at the end of the chapters.

Chapter Nine
'Ya' hurt Quinn, an' Remy blow ya up into dust. Comprendre, mon ami?'

"So, I was wondering if it was alright if I had two of my friends come over?" Tony glances up, blinking at the sight of Quinn standing in his workshop, her gaze traveling over his multiple 'Iron Man' suits.

"I'm sorry? What?" He asks, a sense of pride forming in his chest at the open awe in her gaze.

"My friends, Rogue and Gambit, have been wanting to meet the team I'm spending most of my time with nowadays. I told them we have team dinners on the weekend, and they wondered if it would be alright if they drop by," she replies, her moonlight eyes staring at the chest piece of the battered Iron Man suit Tony was working hard on.

"Why are you asking me?"

Quinn smiles sardonically, "Well, this technically is your house. I didn't want to invite people over that might make the others uncomfortable, or without acknowledgment beforehand."

"Tell me about them," Tony states, as he turns his gaze back to his work.

"Well, Rogue...she is a sassy-thing-of-a-woman. I won't lie, when I first met her, I thought she was the most pathetic creature on this planet. She flinched from every person and walked on eggshells around everyone. See, her mutation is in her skin," Tony quirks an eyebrow without looking up from his work, making it known to her that he was listening, "She can absorb energy, life-force, memories, and in the case of a mutant, powers. She had absolutely no control over her mutation. When I actually pushed past her little bubble, she began to show more of herself. She's straight-forward and doesn't beat around the bush about anything. She knew her ex was having an affair with another teammate and called him out on it, though he denied it insistently. She's...one of those people you can't help but adore, you know? Kind of like that assistant of your's, Ms. Potts."

"Sounds like quite the woman. Her mutation sounds like it would make her a powerhouse if she knew how to control it," Tony replies as he reached over for a new tool.

"Well, she had partial control now. She can prolong the absorption by fifteen minutes, a half-hour if pushed, and she can choose what she wants to absorb. She...she is a powerhouse. See, before I was offered to join this team, there was another mutant, Carrol Danvers; or Ms. Marvel. If it wasn't for an accident, where Rogue absorbed the woman's entire psyche and rendered her comatose, Carrol would be here instead of me," Quinn admits, and Tony finds himself slightly thankful Rogue had put the other woman under, "Rogue has permanent attributes from Carrol, like flight, super-strength and invisibility to projectiles."

"What about this, Gambit character?"

Quinn giggles, "I've already told you a bit about him," Tony looks up in question, "He's the master thief I am friends with. Gambit is charming, handsome, charismatic and above all else, he is Cajun. He always makes a joke of things, even when things get serious. He tries to make people feel comfortable around his person, because, like me, Gambit has an abnormal eye color that causes people to become fearful of him. He and I have abilities that are so similar that we connect easy and in the midst of a battle, or fight, we work together flawlessly, without a single word needing to be passed between us."

Quinn pauses in her words, smiling gently, "They will most likely bring Hunter, as well." Seeing Tony's quick glance, she continues, "Hunter is a mutant with the ability to shift himself into animals. He's a good person, but...can sometimes have trouble controlling the feral-side of his mutation. He's one of the mutants rescued from Maxwell's experiments," At those words, Tony stands upright, eyes widening, "He was subjected to more...mental scarring than most of the others. Maxwell used his abilities as a way of...uh...saving endangered species."

"By saving you mean?"

Quinn visibly winces at the thought, but nods, "Yes. He didn't have a choice. It was either he helps...produce more numbers to an endangered species, or Maxwell was going to kill another mutant he saw as a friend and mentor and make him watch. It took a lot of therapy, and I'm afraid that if Maxwell is helping Hammer Industries, then Hunter will end up relapsing."

"Go ahead and invite them to the team dinner this weekend. If they want, they can stay in some of our guest rooms," Tony states, breaking the prolonged silence.

A wide, thankful grin appears on her face, "Thank you, Tony."

With a nod as her only reply, Tony watches as Quinn practically bounces her way out of his workshop. Such an odd character, that one, but Tony found their timid friendship growing on him. He liked not arguing with her at every turn. He found that he actually enjoyed talking to her. She was quite an insightful woman. She didn't pander to anyone and held no pity toward them. She didn't walk on eggshells around Bruce, or Natasha for that matter. She was constantly giving Steve lessons in modern-day life and while they differ from his fifties-era, that the patriotism still lives within the hearts of every American. She played a living, moving target at one point for Clint after telling him that his aim needed work. Tony smirks at the memory of watching Clint becoming more irritated with every slander she sent toward him. At one point, Clint sent an arrow at her as she disappeared in the meadow (after the prank war, they weren't allowed to do any destructive tasks in the Tower) and she let out a scream. Clint had dropped his crossbow and went searching for her, only to end up sprawled on his back and her foot pressed against his chest.

Every week, she made it a point to get the entire team together to just...do something. Anything. As long as it included everyone.

Quinn pouts as she watched the Avengers suit up, getting ready to head out to a mission. Bruce had explained, while she was fit enough to make her way around the tower without any help, she wasn't healed enough to join them on the mission. Each of them gave her a gesture of some kind as they pass her on their way out, Clint even going so far as to ruffle her already messy hair.

Feeling her phone go off, she checks the screen before answering, "Yes?"

"Remy an' the gang should be arrivin' in 'bout an hour. Ya' think ya' can handle waitin' dat long ta see this handsome face?"

"Good Lord, Remy, if I could punch your teeth down your throat through a phone, I would," Quinn retorts playfully, rolling her eyes at his arrogance, but smiling nonetheless.

"Remy just be makin' sure, soeur."

"Well, I'm going to run an errand real quick, but I'll be back in time."

After a while of being completely bored, Quinn collected the keys to her Ducati and leaves the tower as well. To hell she was going to stay in a tower all by herself. She hates being left alone. Pulling into the parking lot of a shopping mall, Quinn taps her wristwatch before removing her helmet. With an air of determination, she stalks through the crowds, with her mind set on one thing.

Tony groans as he lands on the roof of the tower, disgruntled at finding no new information. Stepping off of the landing port as his suit is taken off of him, he fixes the sleeve of his shirt as he enters the common area. Instantly hit with the deep scent of spices and food caused his stomach to rumble in protest of not eating. The sound of old Rock music playing from the kitchen, mixing with giggles, shouts and barks of laughter, causing Tony to quirk an eyebrow. Watching as the team make their way out of the elevator, Tony wonders who is currently in the kitchen with Quinn.

"Oi! Don't ya be hittin' Remy, soeur! Remy be tellin' ya, der ain't 'nough peppers in dat!"

"That's because you keep eating them, you backwards swamp rat!"

A giggle breaks between Quinn and this 'Remy' arguing, "She's got yah there, Rems."

Another pause before Quinn's giggles fill the air, "Don't make those puppy eyes at me, Remy LeBeau! The eyes of Le Diable Blanc kind of kills the look."

"Now, dat's just a low blow," Remy's voice retorts, though amusement seeps through his words.

A sickening smack sounds, "I told you to stop eating the peppers, Gumbo!"

"Ya' know, ya startin' ta sound like Monsieur Claws," Remy's voice states.

Tony and the rest of the team share a significant look and as Tony steps forward to greet Quinn and whoever else, the soft patter of feet echoes down the hall, "Quinny!"

All eyes in the living room stop short, watching the small boy as he runs pass them without notice. His mess of auburn hair fell into the line of sight, his golden gaze nearly glowed with excitement.

"What is it?" Quinn's voice calls from the kitchen.

"I found your guitar. Can I play it?" the boy asks, not even trying to step into the kitchen.

"Of course. Just remember to put it back when you are done!"

The boy grins widely before turning on heel and pausing to look at the Avengers, "Um...Quinny! There's some weird people standin' in your living room!"

Silence follows the boy's words and Tony watches as the door to the kitchen swings open and Quinn appears with a cutting knife in her hand. Tony felt his greeting catch in his throat at the sight of her short, choppy black hair. The short layers framed her face in a carefree manner, the back of her hair splayed out as though she was a pixie. Her eyes brightened at the sight of the team.

"Oh hey guys!"

Clint blinks, "You're in the kitchen?" Quinn nods curtly, "And nothing has blown up yet?"

"So says the archer that can't hit a moving target," Quinn shoots back playfully, "No. I'm just cutting up the peppers for the jambalaya. Remy's doing all of the cooking."

"Remy?" Steve inquires.

Quinn's lips make a small 'o' in realization, before she shouts over her shoulder, "Oi, Rogue, and Monsieur Dumb-Ass, get out here so I can introduce you to the team."

"Remy be takin' offense ta dat," a tall, auburn-haired man comments as he steps through the swinging door, his red-on-black eyes shooting her a playful glare, "Remy be home-schooled as a fils."

A beautiful auburn-haired woman steps through the swinging door, her gloved hand connecting with the back of his head, "Says tha Cajun that can't even speak proper English." Her emerald eyes turn to the Avengers, "It's nice to finally meet all of ya. Ah'm Rogue."

"Remy, or Gambit, if ya prefer," the young man adds, with a mocking bow.

"I'm Hunter!" the small boy greets with a wide grin, "Are you guys really superheroes? Quinny tells me all about you guys."

Tony blinks, looking down at the boy. This was Hunter. This boy couldn't be any older than eight, nine at most. Tony swallows back the bile rising in the back of his throat at the thought of the torture this boy went through. Tony watches as Quinn gently takes the boy's hand in her own and leads him over to the team, taking the time to introduce him individually to everyone.

"...and this is Tony Stark. Mr. Stark is the man that pilots the Iron Man suit," Quinn states in the softest voice the engineer had ever heard.

"Wow! Quinny said that you are a genius. What is it like? Being able to make something so...cool?" Hunter exclaims in excitement.

Tony swallows back the slight nervousness. He's never...dealt with kids before. At least not on a personal level, "It's...not something I would recommend just anyone to do. Having this suit makes me responsible for anything it does."

"Well duh!" the boy responds, scoffing slightly, but smiling nonetheless. "I mean...what does it take to make such...awesome mechanics?"

Quinn giggles at Tony's wide-eyed look, "Hunter is extremely bright for his age. He's always working in the garage, taking stuff apart and putting it back together"

Allowing this to sink in, Tony gives the kid a small smirk, "If your caretakers will allow it, I can take you down to see the workshop. You can get a first-hand look at the modifications I'm making to my suit."

Tony didn't think the boy's eyes could get any brighter. They almost glowed in excitement. Quinn flashes Tony a small smile and nods, watching as Tony motions for the boy to follow him.

Tony watches the boy look over every inch of every Iron Man suit located in his workshop. The boy definitely showed some promise as an engineer, as he points out various circuitry and tools strewn across his work table.

"Wow. Quinny wasn't kidding when she said you were a genius. Thanks for showing me this stuff, Mr. Stark," Hunter comments lightly.

"Well, I know if you work hard enough, you could achieve just as much as I have. If not more," Tony adds, "And please, call me Tony. So...how is it, that out of all of the kids at Xavier's, you happened to be so close to Quinn?"

"Quinny saved my life, she did," his small voice comments lightly, "She fought tooth and nail to get me away from the bad doctor. She was the only person that didn't run from me when I had accidents with my ability. I attacked her once," Tony watches as the boy runs his fingers along the red chest piece of one of his suits, his eyes growing dark with memories, "One of the kids was making fun of me, saying that my daddy sold me to the bad doctor because he didn't want me. Quinny stood between us and let me attack her. Even when I bit her, she still stayed by my side. She told me, while my daddy might be a cruel man that didn't want me, it didn't mean there weren't people at the mansion that didn't love me."

Tony swallows, his throat feeling thick as memories of his own father's negligence threaten to run rampant through his mind, "She does have a habit of putting herself in harms way to help people see the brighter side of their lives."

Hunter nods sadly, "Yeah. Quinny always worked with me, training me on different ways of controlling my shifting. It's hard, keeping control of it all, but I want her to be proud of me."

"Well, I can tell you that she adores you," Hunter blinks up at him, "Quinn has stated that she adores you, and the other two that are here. Something about being the only family she knows of." Catching sight of the time, Tony stands straighter, "Why don't we head upstairs? Since you are staying over tonight, you can come and help me in the shop tomorrow."

"Really?!" Hunter's grin appears brighter than before, "Oh thank you, Mr. Stark! I mean, Tony."

Quinn smiles softly at the sight of Hunter, fast asleep on her bed, before she shuts the door with a soft click. Silently making her way down the hall, she meeting Remy at the end of the hall, the two heading for the elevator to take them to the roof. Arriving on the rooftop, Quinn notices Rogue and Natasha sitting out on lawn chairs, talking with glasses of wine in the grasp.

"So," Remy and Quinn both look up at the sound of Tony's voice, "I might have promised Hunter that he could help me in the workshop tomorrow."

Quinn and Remy share a knowing look, both grinning before Quinn replies, "That's awfully nice of you, Tony."

"So, Remy. How did you manage to weasel your way into Quinn's good graces?" Remy quirks an eyebrow at Tony's question, "She regards you as an asset and a great friend."

Quinn rolls her eyes, muttering to herself as she walks off to the makeshift bar they had set up, J.A.R.V.I.S. playing bartender, and Remy shakes his head with a small grin, "Remy wasn't really a member of da X-Men when he first came across her. We nearly blew each other up, actually. Remy had been thievin' at da time, and Quinn got in me way. After Remy woke up at Xavier's, it took a while before he came across her again. We both had so much in common. Both of us had similar mechanics to our abilities, we both be reckless in fights, an' we always turn collective fights into competitions."

"One day, Quinn was hurt, very hurt on an emotional scale. She was at a breakin' point. Wantin' ta give into da pain an' just give up on life itself. Remy had been der before, o'course, so Remy did everythin' he could ta help her through it all. Remy don't think either one o'us knew how close we had become until der was a fight an' we both were fightin' hard, back-ta-back, never givin' into any injuries. She told Remy dat she didn't want ta see 'im hurt, and Remy felt da same o'course. Quinn be...famille, an' Remy n'ver go back on his famille."

Tony smiles slightly, realizing Remy had a strong point in his chatter of Quinn's character, "What happened to her? That day?"

"Not be Remy's story ta tell, homme," the mutant replies candidly, "It be a hard story fer even Remy ta stomach, but it ain't his ta tell."

Tony nods in understanding, "From what I've heard, the girl could use some good in her life."

"Vous n'avez aucune idée," Remy retorts in French tongue.

Tony quirks an eyebrow, 'You have no idea', didn't exactly sounds forthcoming. Glancing back at his mutant teammate, Tony feels a small smile form on his lips at the sight of her and Clint bantering back and forth as always.

"Ya better be takin' care of ma soeur," Tony looks up startled at Remy's hardened words, "Remy be seein' da way ya be lookin' at her, an' ya better be takin' care o'er. Quinn ain't be da passin-through type. Ya' hurt Quinn, an' Remy blow ya up into dust. Comprendre, mon ami?"

Tony's brow crinkles in confusion. He had been looking at Quinn in a way that caused this mutant to threaten him? Tony nods, slightly unsure of what the red-eyed mutant meant. Quinn was his teammate. Sparky. They were almost-friends. That's it. There was nothing more to it.

Right?

Tony shakes his head, looking back at Quinn, who was currently knocking back a shot, in time with Clint.

Yeah. Just almost-friends.

Thanks for reading and PLEASE! Be sure to review. I hope this makes some of you pleased. I'm trying to hit the accents Rogue and Remy both have (taken from the original X-Men: Animated show...I kind of like Rogue's personality more, no offense to any of the movies/shows that are recent, but I didn't like Rogue being so...depressing all the time. The original Rogue, in the original animated series was more...open to using her powers). Let me know what you guys think. Next chapter will be aimed more to solidifying Quinn's place in the X-Men mansion. Rogue's story will open more doors to Quinn's more...recent...past issues.