Hello, I'm back. The mandated quarantine in California has caused time to become available. I'm gonna shake out the old cobwebs and keep on going. We have an odd story to finish.

Disclaimer: See all other disclaimers.

Bobby zoomed into the foyer with the two gloves and baseball. A thin layer of ice graced the items. Embarrassed, Bobby quickly shook the items and patted them down, "My bad."

The young mutant boy, Arthur, gave the room a huge smile. He had no idea that he was being a part of media ploy, did he? A part of Netanya felt guilty, but they needed the world to see that even the leader of the Avengers was friendly toward mutant kind. Arthur, a boy who looked akin to the famous Nightcrawler, bounced with anticipation as he waited for the go ahead that he could go outside. The kids had also been shelter in place. Everything had recently escalated, and most of the kids craved the sun and fresh air. Most of the occupants hoped this would work, so there could be some normalcy and distance.

Watching from her room in her mind's eye, Netanya shifted closer to Bucky who easily pulled her closer. He could feel how tense she was from this whole ordeal. This idea needed to work. A part of him knew this type of storm had been on the horizon, Hydra had to plan for the mutant question and the Avengers. The dark organization had easily infiltrated SHIELD and took over from within-nearly destroying the reputation of the Avengers and all that SHIELD had ever done. Fortunately, Steve had been able to show the world that the Avengers were not a part of that deep, strong, ominous fascist shadow. Heck, most of the Avengers had been on various missions, dealing with other world issues. Steve had been the one to take Bucky on, and in the end, he helped him remember-just for a minute. 'Til the end of the line.

He had awoken in a holding cell. Bucky knew that he had deserved to rot. Unmentionable acts had been committed by his hand. Then again, there was one act that he'd need to eventually divulge. Tony deserved as much.

Mission Report, December 16th, 1991.

As if the 'play' button had been pushed, his mind began to replay the whole sequence again, and he could not stop it. Toward the end, he felt Netanya shift in such a way that he knew she was distraught over what was being broadcast. "You killed them? I remember that day." She stated into the silent room. Surprise was evident in her voice.

"I was under orders" He defensively murmured as he sat up and turned his back to her. A habit he's always had-run away from the problem. Quickly moving to hug his back, she whispered, "Sha, I know. It was entirely out of your control. I'm just surprised this never came up in session." The brutality that he operated under did not change how she felt or viewed him, but it did make her understand more of what he was capable of. 'You have no idea.' Her father warned. 'Always butting in?" She challenged. 'We will talk later. There is much to navigate here.' Hanging her head slightly, she knew that he was right. This was uncharted ground.

"Me too. Maybe I was most ashamed of that one? Who knows?" He shrugged, but pain gripped him. Tony had gone out on a limb for them, and this was no fair return.

"We will tell him when this settles. He'll understand. You can even show him, okay? All of it. The processing, etc. He's no dumby."

"Right." He roughly returned as he placed his head in hands.

"James, I'm going to give you space. We'll rest together later. We have time." She murmured into his neck as she planted a kiss a nudge. Moving as quickly as possible, she warned all the telepaths, "No one says anything to Stark." She could sense their mental nods; they all knew how integral he was to this war. They could not lose him.

"It seems there is much we can't lose." Professor Xavier commented.

"We all know how impactful all these moving parts are." She returned with slight irritation.

"Yes, now let's see if Captain Rogers can play the simple game of catch."

"You're back?" Logan questioned as she took her place beside him. He could feel the discontentment rolling off her, and he knew it had nothing to do with the mutie haters.

"Yeah, the anticipation was too much to rest. James elected to stay behind and rest." She replied with a look that communicated plenty to her fighting partner.

Steve awkwardly cleared his throat and stated, "Okay, let's do this. Arthur, you're ready? Tony?"

"It's all set up." Stark lazily confirmed from another doorway. Happy and Pepper hovered close by. All of this was new to them, and they were clearly on edge. Steve turned his attention to Arthur, "Ready, kid?"

"Yes, Captain America." He respectfully replied. Steve couldn't help but smile at the bluish skinned boy. His bright eyes clearly showed the older man how much this meant.

Steve motioned for the kid to lead the way, and he excitedly did. "Play ball!" Tony called out in jest causing most to roll their eyes.

Planting his feet on the freshly cut grass, Steve took his time to discreetly glance about and take note of the cameras and the many, many suits guarding the perimeter. Tony had been quite busy leading up to this moment. Was his dream bothering him again? Pepper had mentioned in passing that he'd have night terrors. Paranoia from what he'd witnessed in that giant wormhole? They'd need to debrief later.

Arthur walked at least 10 feet from him and asked, "Is this okay, Mr Captain?"

"Absolutely kid. It's not too far?" He asked.

"No, I could go much farther, but I don't think that'd go over well for whoever's watching." 'Perceptive kid.' Steve complimented. 'We're used to being used.' A familiar voice commented. Shrugging her sad comment off, he tossed the ball and Arthur easily caught it. In fact, Steve could tell the kid was a natural. The tossed the ball back and forth and carried on a conversation about Arthur's life. Steve couldn't believe that a kid from Olympic, Washington had already walked a life full of trouble. The bullying from peers and lack of understanding from his parents caused Steve to ponder his suspicion of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters even more.

"Yeah, when Professor Xavier and Doc came to my house and offered me school and a place to belong. I don't think I could even describe the relief. And when I got here, I met people even weirder than me! I finally fit in."

Steve smiled. He knew what it felt like to search one's whole life for a niche, and when one finally finds it, the relief and surrender.

"That's awesome Arty. That's exactly how I felt back in training, before the experiment. Lost but determined. I knew there was a calling for me, but every door kept getting shut in my face, that is, until Dr. Erskine believed in me."

"And he made you, you, you right? Doc covered your entire saga in history class. Everyone considers you an honorary mutant!" Arty offered with a large, toothy smile. Steve was hit hard in the gut; he'd never thought of himself that way. He was one of them. Different. Not human. He was a mutant of sorts. His DNA forever changed.

Welcome to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.

'Good to be here.' He mentally commented back. He threw the ball and continued on asking about the kid's likes and dislikes. Meanwhile, in the mansion, Tony was smirking from ear to ear.

"The ratings are insanely high. This is huge!" An older student commented, from the stairway, as they typed away on their smart phone.

"Trending on Twitter!" Squealed Nature Girl. "This is so amazing! When was the last mutant story trending positively?"

"But will it change people's minds?" Logan huffed. This whole song and dance was great and all, but did this mean they could stand down? Would this be enough to sway the public's opinion? What about the President?

"It's a start. It's all we can hope for. And for the record, there are more mutants arriving. Tony, you and I need to discuss the biometric scans, etc." Netanya replied with a small, hopeful smile. Whatever she could sense, Logan felt that it was somewhat good news.

"See, that's why I even agreed to come here. You've got a brain." He taunted, and then grunted in pain when Pepper smacked him in the arm and warned, "Place nice."

"Don't I always?" Tony murmured back to his partner. He dramatically batted his eyes for effect.

"No." The room supplied unanimously.

"The room has it." He announced with a clap of his hands. "Doc, shall we?"

Short, I know. But I'm back. Next few chapters will be much more formative. This more of a transition into the next phase.