Hey! It's me- Son of the Mourning. coming back with another WIP that i will probably regret adding to my already large list of projects.

this comes as the result of a plunnie that just wont go away.

This is a marvel/xmen crossover. There will be characters from xmen and shield as well as avengers and the some other marvel comics that I cant say so I dont spoil it.

***THERE WILL BE TRIGGERS! Self harm- alcoholism- drug abuse- possessiveness- torture***

I want to make a huge shout out to TheGrandDisciple for putting up with my late night messages asking for advice. Faded Galaxia for helping me choose between picture a and b constantly with my aesthetic photo. Pilot's Mistress for helping me once again and giving it to me straight with her feedback.

side note- SAP is abbreviation for South African Police.

feedback always welcome- just dont be a meanie.

questions will always be answered- guest reviewers will be answered in the next chapters author notes since there isnt a way to respond directly.

next chapter is ulysses musings and possible meet up with mina again.

It all happened so fast. One minute he was negotiating on the phone, the next he was face to metal with a Stark product making deals. At first, he thought it was going to end in a shootout, but then he saw the money hit his account and knew this was the real deal. Then he had to run his mouth and everything went to shit. It wasn't the first time he'd talked himself into trouble.

He should have gone with his gut, then maybe he would still have another hand to shoot with. After he got over the initial shock of losing his left arm, he scrambled his men together and hastily made his escape. If a Stark toy had gone rogue, the creator wouldn't be much farther behind, and Ulysses Klaue knew when to stand down.

He had a pistol in his right hand, pointing to his men as he barked out orders. "Cover me! Get your asses out here and do what I pay you for!"

Just as he expected, explosions and heavy gunfire could be heard around him. The Avengers had arrived and were destroying his hideout.

"Stop blowing holes in my fuckin' ship!" he yelled over his shoulder as he ran through the narrow halls.

"Boss! Over here! We got a truck running!" a man called out from the end of the hall.

It was Frank, his number two who jumped into action as soon as the power went out. He was good at what he did, that's why he was Ulysses' highest paid and longest working employee. Frank had immediately started finding an exit plan for his boss and got all the important stuff like laptops, phones, money, guns, and liquor.

"Where the fuck've you been? Let's go!" Ulysses ordered and ducked under fallen debris.

"I can't believe this shit! Did we have a rat?" Frank punched the steering wheel as he drove the getaway truck.

Explosions could be seen, heard and felt behind them. All of the missiles that were still on that ship were doing off, well as the Avenger and Ultron firefight.

Ulysses was in the back, sitting sideways and taking up most of the seat. He was trying to cradle what was left of his left arm, he was kicking the front seats and punching the roof with his other arm. "Who's got my arm?! Where the fuck is my arm?!"

Frank looked in the rear mirror, watching his boss have a raging fit and wondered if his gun still had rounds in it. Last thing he needed was for that maniac to start shooting off. "I saw Jackie with it earlier. He's in the other truck. What's the plan boss? What now?"

"Yeah boss, we going to the big safe house?" Lekan asked from the passenger seat.

Ulysses growled angrily, "Get me to a fuckin' hospital!" He was sweating, his face red and breathing heavy. He was going into a panic attack.

"Boss, I don't think that's a good idea. Stark is one of the good guys now and- and he's probably got the authorities on their way." Frank pursed his lips and breathed heavily through his nose when he heard the gun cock. He was all too familiar with his boss' temper, reactions just made things worse.

Ulysses nearly jumped to the front seat, not caring about Frank holding the wheel to their lives. With the gun shoved roughly in the back of his head, right below his ear he roared angrily, "I said a fucking hospital!"

Lekan turned in his seat, trying to calm his boss down. "The nearest hospital is nearly six hours away, by then it will be too late to save your arm."

BANG

Ulysses brought the pistol down across the back of his head, making Lekan scream in pain and quickly put his arms around his head for protection. He pressed the gun to Frank's head again. "HOSPITAL."

"Alright- alright! Look, we're too far away from one-" Ulysses growled in anger, but Frank kept going. "But there's gotta be a- a Urgent Care or something in Alexander Bay we'll go there. They got a small airstrip too."

A convoy of trucks pulled into the parking lot of a small clinic, Frank popping the curb and slamming on the brakes to a hard stop. Everyone got out of the truck and rushed in behind Ulysses with guns at the ready and rushing in for crowd control and to make sure that no one tried to stop them.

It was a small clinic, the only medical facility in the small town that worked with the poor surrounding community. It was a stand alone building that had an E. R. entrance with large sliding doors for paramedics to bring in stretchers. Ulysses had rushed in and waved his gun around the waiting room. At first no one noticed him, which just pissed him off even more. He fired a round into the air, shooting out one of the florescent lights above him.

"Where are the fucking doctors?!" he demanded.

Many people ducked and screamed, others tried to run but his men wouldn't let them. Frank went to the front desk where two scared women were trying to hide. He picked up the phone on the desk and ripped the cord out, throwing the phone across the room and against the wall.

"No SAPs and no one gets hurt! We need a doctor!" Frank announced while pointing his AR-15 around the room.

Seeing that no one was moving to get him what he asked for, he forced his way into the back room where patients went to get treated. He kicked the doors open and fired off another round. "I said I need a fucking doctor! You! Come 'ere!"

He pointed his gun to a man wearing green scrubs and a white lab coat, he was frozen in fear and dropped his clip board. Ulysses used his gun to beckon him closer, "I need you to fix my arm."

Frank was right behind him, holding onto his boss' pale, stiff arm. "I got it, boss."

The shocked man snapped out of it when he saw it, "Oh my god…" He was in awe that Ulysses was not only standing but he was awake, aware and there wasn't blood all over the place.

Ulysses had advanced on the man, shoving the barrel of his gun under his chin, making him look up at him. "Fix it."

"Uh- uh… I mean- " he gulped hard, sweat starting to form on his brow.

Frank stepped forward and pushed the man towards one of the rooms close to the opposite wall. "Take his vitals and shit- aren't you a doctor?"

Some of his men started to file into the room, covering the exits and pushing the other staff and patients into their small rooms and towards the walls.

"Am I? I mean- yes. Yes please take a seat and I'll see what I can do." He stammered and moved to the bed.

Ulysses growled but did as told, sitting with one leg on the ground and the other hanging off the side of the bed. He kept the gun pointed in his hand but resting on his thigh. The man grabbed a pair of gloves and his stethoscope from around his neck, he tried to put it up to Ulysses' chest but stopped when he lifted the gun again.

"My fucking arm was cut off- you got your diagnosis. Don't fuck me around with that shit."

He put the stethoscope down and cleared his throat awkwardly. "Can you- can you tell me how long ago... uh you…" he pointed to the arm on the table and waved his hand.

"Doesn't fucking matter, put it back on!" Frank snapped from the foot of the bed.

He jumped and shuffled closer to Ulysses, carefully moving his stub of an arm to look at it closer. "How did this-" seeing the curled lip and scowl of Ulysses he stopped before he could finish the sentence.

"I want another doctor. Get me another doctor." He snapped.

"I'm the only doctor here- we don't have anyone else. Sir, I am sorry to say that the arm cannot be attached. The wound looks like it was already cauterized, that's why there isn't any blood. I could clean it up, close the wound right- we can get you into surgery right away and start clearing any possible infection."

Frank winced and clicked his tongue, murmuring to himself "Shouldn't have said that."

Ulysses' lip curled even higher, his eyes flashed dangerously. He jumped to his feet again and put the barrel of the gun right between his eyes, "FIX IT OR I WILL KILL YOU."

"STOP!" a female voice behind him yelled.

Ulysses turned quickly, pointing his gun at her when she came into his view. She had her brown hair piled up on her head in a messy bun and wore blue scrubs. She walked with her shoulders square and her head high, when she looked at him he could see her big eyes behind those glasses that were a bit too large for her face. She was much shorter than him, coming up to his chest as she stepped closer.

She moved in between the shaking doctor and Ulysses, putting herself in line with the gun. "Please just stop. I will help you- but please… don't hurt anyone." She ended her sentence in a softer tone. Her accent didn't match any Afrikaans that he knew, she sounded American.

Ulysses lowered his gun and stepped closer to her, bending down slightly and tilting his head. "What can you do that he can't? You ain't a doctor."

Instead of backing down like he expected, she took a deep breath and looked up at him with her own head tilted. Had this been a different situation, one might think their stance was intimate. Frank said nothing but his brow was lifted and he was trying to read his boss' face.

"I can't explain how, just- just trust me." She stammered.

"Trust you?" Ulysses chuckled. He looked down at the little plastic badge that was attached to her front pocket. "Why should I trust you… Mrs. Hawkins?"

"It's Miss – Look, if I can't do it then you can kill me. Not them, leave them alone and let them go." She scowled up at him as she pushed the Doctors hand off her shoulder. "Not now, Daniel. Go with the others."

Frank moved in the small room, he put Ulysses arm on the bed and used the barrel of his rifle to push Daniel the doctor away from her. He nudged his head towards the hallway and pushed him roughly in the back, he was taking him to where the other staff was being kept, leaving Ulysses and the woman alone.

"You work some voodoo magic or somethin'? I had about enough of that shit today." Ulysses scoffed and shook his head at the thought of the redheaded woman who worked for Ultron. He holstered his weapon, there was no way this little thing would overpower him and he already had her scared.

"Something like that." She gave him a lopsided smirk.

Ulysses let out a quick heavy breath through his nose, "You've got a pair on you girlie." He looked down to her chest and back to her, giving her a predatory smile and flashing his gold teeth when her face turned red.

She took off her blue rubber gloves and threw them aside, not caring where they landed, to hell with protocol at this point. She reached for his arm that was still attached. He pulled it back out of reflex, she slowly put her hand on his arm to bring it between them.

He had a cut on his arm that he hadn't noticed with all the chaos happening around him. She carefully reached for him again, softly placing her hand over his cut. He watched her close her eyes and bite her lip, when she opened her eyes she looked from him to the cut.

He looked down and saw the large gash closing quickly and a soft white glow emitting from under her hand. His eyes shot back up to hers, "You… you're enhanced?"

She pulled he hand back and wiped the excess blood away with some gauze from the small cart next to her, "No. Enhanced means you went and signed up for testing at that fancy facility they advertised for. I was born like this." She made a face while she talked. With the skin clean, he could see that it was smoother than before and no scar was left.

Ulysses knew that she was talking about Strucker, he also knew that she was a mutant. He'd never met a mutant before, at least that he knew of. He'd heard stories and saw the X-Men on the news but never got to have contact with one. He winced suddenly, unable to fight off the migraine that had been pulsing behind his eyes.

She reacted instantly, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her fingers in his hair. He felt the pain and pressure leave immediately. Whatever she was doing was amazing, because he started to feel as if he was high on something better than morphine. He looked down at her, she was so close he could smell her sweet scent of vanilla and something fruity.

Her glasses made her eyes seem a bit bigger, he could see little specks of gold in the deep green color. She was warm and soft, having to press herself against him to reach around his neck. Frank had come back and opened his mouth to say something, but Ulysses put his hand up at him without looking. Sending the message that they weren't to be bothered. Frank turned about face and stayed outside the room to guard it.

Ulysses let out a deep groan, he wanted to close his eyes and lean into her touch. He felt no more pain and anger, the wound up spring inside of him had uncoiled gently. Peace was the only word that he could think of to describe it. She slowly trailed her hands down the back of his head, scraping her nails lightly on his scalp then moving them to his neck and sliding them down his shoulders and his chest. He didn't realize that he was breathing heavy until he watched her hands move with his rising chest.

She could see the tattoos on his chest by the top of his collar that led down and to his shoulders. She reached for the buttons on his shirt that weren't undone, third from the top and started to undo them.

He chuckled, "If you wanted me out of my clothes all you had to do was ask."

Blushing bright pink, she pulled her hands back. "Well I thought given your condition that you could use some help."

"Hmm. Keep going." He nodded his head for her to continue. Putting holding his arms out to make it easier for her to take his shirt off. "What's your name, Bokkie?"

His term of endearment shocked her, "Mina. Mina Hawkins."

Her big eyes looking up at him for as she grabbed his shirt and untucked it, trying to ignore the playful smirk on Ulysses face. Once she got his shirt off she stepped back to assess his injury, but let her eyes trail his muscular form. He had sparse chest hair that trailed down to his firm stomach, then disappearing down his waist line. She eyed his tattoos that covered his pecks and a few on his ribs and biceps.

His left arm was cut off right above the bend of his elbow, there was a black singe from the laser that cut his arm off. She lightly touched the tender area, making he hissed in pain and flinched. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" she said suddenly.

She moved to the bed and grabbed his separated arm, bringing it to where it was supposed to be on his own. "Hey! You- come here and help me!" she called out to Frank.

He came in and put his rifle on the bed behind Ulysses, grabbing the arm and holding it in place for her. She looked up at Ulysses and bit her lip briefly, "I don't know if this will work. Honestly, I don't – but I will try everything I can. I'm not going to lie, this might hurt badly. Are you ready?"

Ulysses took in a deep breath and nodded, using his other hand to brace himself against the bed behind him. She wrapped her hands as best as she could around his large bicep and covered the separation line with her palms.

"Hold it still. Keep it tight- there you go. No matter how much he moves I need you to keep still." She instructed the taller man. If she had seen a man like Frank on the street she would have kept her purse closer and maybe crossed to avoid him. He was tall and muscular, with a square jaw and a five o clock shadow. His nose looked like it had been broken more than once and shook the thought of offering to fix it for him and closed her eyes.

First he felt the warmth of her hands, then the sharp sting of the skin trying to merge back together. He grit his teeth and looked away, trying to focus on anything else but the pain in his arm and the sweet smell of her hair that was so close.

"ARGH!" He finally yelled out in pain.

After a few minutes of her struggling with it she pulled her hands back and swayed backwards. Ulysses caught her with his good arm, bringing her to him he could see the distant look in her eyes and the sweat covering her face.

She shook her head and pulled herself together then reached her hand to the stump of an arm and closed her eyes again. The warm light taking away the throbbing pain that he was feeling. The euphoric high returned and replaced all the pain but she was now clenching her own teeth and gasping in pain. The skin around the wound became smooth and rounded around the bone, making it clean and healed fully as if his amputated arm had been there for years.

"What the fuck?" Frank cursed as he watched the skin change before his eyes.

"What are you doing?" he growled.

"I can't attach your arm. I tried. I can't create cells- I can only heal them." She explained and pulled back from him. She clutched her own arm in pain that mimicked his injury. She gasped in pain and doubled over.

"What did you do?" he asked and looked down at her.

"I'm sorry." She sobbed. Her eyes began to water. "I'm sorry I can't fix it."

"What. Did. You. Do." He demanded firmly.

"I took the pain. I can't fix it but I can at least take the pain and make you comfortable." She said through grit teeth. She put a hand out and caught herself from falling to the floor on the medical cart next to her.

Frank ignored her and moved in front of Ulysses, "If she can't put it back then we have to go. We got the airstrip cleared and a plane ready. We gotta get to the safe house."

Ulysses pushed him out of the way to get to her. She stood up with tears streaming down her face and her arms at her side. "You remember the deal. I tried the best I could. You leave those people alone and you kill me."

He couldn't believe how selfless she was being. For what? Some civvies and some co-workers? What did they matter? She had a gift that could make her millions! "I ain't gonna kill you."

"Thank you. Please- just leave. I don't know your name- I don't want to know your name. Just go before someone tries to be the hero and call SAPs." She said and pointed to the door.

Frank didn't need to be told twice. He threw Ulysses' shirt at him and grabbed the dead arm. "We have to go- NOW!"

He looked back at her, she was still in pain but making her way over to where the others were being held. Growling in frustration at the lack of time to speak with her, he quickly threw his shirt on without buttoning it and followed Frank back to the truck.