Avengers: Vengeance

Unexpected Arrival

Thor woke to find that Helion was getting dressed with his back to him. Moving off of the bed they had just shared, he took the smaller man into his arms and kissed along his throat. The prince turned around and melted into his embrace as they looked into each other's eyes

"What is it?" Helion asked.

Thor kissed his forehead. "I was so distracted with all that has happened, I had forgotten about the Destroyer."

"Destroyer?"

"The being that pursued you to Doom Empire. The one that was taken away by the green beast. It is from my home."

Helion listened intently as he was finally given some background information on the mysterious and indestructible stalker. "Why was it after me?" he asked.

Thor shook his head. "I do not know. The Destroyer is beholden to the will of my father, Odin. Why he would send it to Midgard to find you is beyond me. Unless you are an enemy to Asgard and I simply do not know it yet," he said with a flirtatious smile.

"I had never even heard of Asgard before you," Helion asserted.

Thor grew silent as he pondered why such a thing could be taking place. Why would Odin send one of its most powerful weapons to Midgard and order it to kill the prince of another world? He couldn't fathom Helion being a threat to Asgard. The facts should have told him that there must be something about Helion that was dangerous to Asgard. The Thor of yesterday wouldn't have questioned this; he would have taken Helion for an enemy. But a deeper intuition told him that the beautiful prince in his arms was no danger to him or his people.

"Are you trying to decide whether I'm a threat to you or not?" Helion asked.

Thor cupped his face in his hands and stared into his eyes. "I do not question anything about you. It is...strange...feeling this way. I have lived for centuries and never felt this connection before. I do not know why or how. I only know that I do not want to be without you."

"So...what's the plan?" Rogue asked as she, Colossus and the psychics stood together on the forest.

"We need to get to Cerebro..." Xavier said.

"If it's actually around," Kyle added.

Rogue nodded. "It is."

The others regarded Rogue and Colossus with hopeful expressions.

"If we can secure Cerebro, I can use it to reach every mind on the planet," Xavier explained. "I can free everyone from this...delusion Magneto and his friends have impressed upon everyone."

"Where does he keep it?" Emma asked.

"It's in his quarters," Colossus revealed. "He keeps it in a locked room built from a metal he called Vibranium. It can only be accessed by him."

Emma smirked. "We'll see about that." She turned to Xavier. "Well, Charles. It seems you and I have a date with Cerebro."

"The rest of us will cause a nice little ruckus," Rogue said with a tense smile. "Get their attention."

"Once the others start to move in on us, the telepaths can bring them back," Kyle said.

"All except for those already loyal to Magneto," Colossus cautioned.

Kyle shook his head. "I'm not really worried about them. They should be worried about us."

The team approached the edge of the sleeping city and watched for a heartbeat.

"Alright, Piotr," Jean said with a bright smile. "You ready to do your best Hulk impersonation?"

"Dah," Colossus said. His skin rapidly shifted into organic steel once more with a metallic clang.