Lost Soldiers (Avengers Fan Fiction #3)

Chapter 2

Home.

Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters stood in front of me, tall and bold like I remembered it to be. The tan castle-like building was big enough to keep a fully functional school and boarding for students, almost like a safe house from the outside world. Not a lot of humans were fond of mutants. The giant windows reflected the sun's rays at certain angles as we walked closer to the large front door. The grass surrounding the place was dead and currently being buried under the fresh snowfall. A cold wind swept through the air, causing the leaves on the ground to blow in the same direction.

I pulled my jacket in tighter and trudged on. All of my wounds had healed from the battle, but I was physically drained. My powers took up a lot of energy, and in addition, having to retreat from the fight weighed me down. I hated that we had to do that. The whole world probably saw us run away for the second time...we let them down, but we will come back and fight. That's all we could do.

Peter walked beside me, his eyes wandering all over the place. He kept himself occupied by focusing everywhere but his left arm, which had been torn off in battle. We had to wait until he was out of shock in order to leave for the school. Peter would never forgive me if I went there without him. His lips widened into a grin and he sighed in amazement. "I can't believe I'm actually here!"

Bruce and Steve watched Peter geek out over the school. They walked behind us slowly, still tired from battle. Bruce wrapped up in a blanket, covering his loose shirt and semi-ripped pants. Steve winced in pain erupting from his left shoulder. He cradled both pieces of his red, white, and blue shield in his hands. He huffed sadly at the sight of it. Steve never thought his shield could break. All of us were smeared in dirt and blood, but didn't have enough time to clean up.

This situation was much worse than I thought. It made getting hunted down by the government look like a tiny incident, and I thought that was harsh enough. The only bright side was Peter's identity hadn't been released to the general public. Only ours were because we're idiots and display our faces and identities out in the open. Now, Loki reigned terror upon the eastern seaboard and we're gathering up reinforcements. Injuries, pain, suffering, nothing good would be in the outcome of this battle.

"Just be nice, alright? Please?" I asked tiredly as we stood in front of the door. I knocked on it a few times, the hard wood hurting my knuckles. The front door was always locked and I didn't remember where they hid the spare key. Peter put his hand on my arm and squeezed, showing his excitement.

Steve raised an eyebrow and questioned softly, "When aren't we nice?" I rolled my eyes and chose to ignore his comment. He knew they weren't always nice. The first few times we talked when we met proved that.

Scott Summers opened the door and instantly smiled. His red tinted sunglasses covered his brown eyes completely. He moved his brown hair to the side to get the few loose strands out of his line of sight. "Lil? Finally come for a visit?" His grin faltered and his light tone dropped a bit when he saw the others behind me, "And you brought guests."

I pushed passed him and headed towards the Professor's office on the right. "We need help. This is urgent."

Scott closed the door behind us and rushed to catch up to me. "No hello?" He saw the determination in my expression and he frowned. "This is about the battle you guys fought, isn't it?"

I nodded and stepped into the open office. My boots clinked against the wooden flooring and slightly echoed through the big room. A book case on the wall full of books, a chess table in the corner with one chair, a big window accompanied by plants on each side, beautifully carved wooden walls, the dark oak desk in the middle of the room, everything still looked the same. "Professor?" I called out, trying to get his attention.