Following Instincts

Sowing The Seeds

Practice with Jean at the helm was a lot less different than the team had expected - likely because she and Scott were in constant contact all the time anyhow and any time that Jean found herself unsure of a direction, she could easily cheat and use Scott's knowledge and exhaustive list of plans and options with a thought.

But it was enough to keep Scott happy. She was out of the way - safe - and keeping an eye on the group in a way that was next to impossible unless one was in an elevated position. And she could still very easily keep the team in close contact with a telepathic link up.

To Scott's surprise though, Logan was still questioning Jean's calls. Not necessarily because he suspected Jean was using Scott's plans - but because he was honestly questioning the calls. And for the first time, with the filter of Jean between them, Scott could more objectively listen to what Logan was saying. Maybe because he didn't have the pressure of digging through the options himself while being in the thick of it.

On its own - that could have really helped things if not for the fact that as soon as practice was over, Scott caught it out of the corner of his field of vision when Logan gave K a long kiss and started off at a jog with Hank right behind him. "Damnit," Scott breathed out, knowing perfectly well that the two of them were headed to the Avengers.

I take it you haven't talked to him yet, then? Jean projected to Scott.

Yes. Well - No. I thought I'd have time after this, to be honest. We got cut off before practice.

So take the time to think over what you want to say. I'm sure he'll be home tonight.

Right. Scott let out a breath as he headed to the locker room to clean up, reminding himself that he'd been the one to put off this talk.

Meanwhile, Hank and Logan were both a little irritated as they headed to the tower. Neither of them had time to shower or change - and though Hank knew Scott was under the impression that this was for a meeting on the training academy that Steve had decided needed to be built, it was simply another team practice. It was only unusual in that they almost never happened so close to one another.

But ... there was just enough time for the two of them to get there and race for the simulation room without missing either practice. It was just their luck that both teams were acting as though it was mandatory for them to be there suddenly.

Which, Logan was sure was a load of crap - until they actually got into things. Enough people had been added or rotated into or out of the roster that they actually did need the work. No one was entirely gelling and it was clear that the group had grown too reliant on one member or another to the point that they weren't functioning. Nothing was as easy as it had been in the past. Even the tag team work Logan was doing with Spider-Man wasn't coming as easily as it usually did, which made Cap's summarization at the end of practice sink in a little more as Peter pulled Logan to his feet from where he'd been slammed into the ground. The Avengers teams needed a lot more practice together. It didn't matter what the root cause of it was - the fact was simply that they needed it to work seamlessly. Especially with the trouble they were getting from Hydra.

And when Steve said they were moving up their practices from once a week to three times a week - required outside of missions - Logan had to agree. That practice was bad enough that he couldn't find an angle to argue it.

"Looks like you and me get to spend a lot more time together, eh, Wolvie?" Peter said as he draped one arm over Logan's shoulder and leaned into him.

"Get off me," Logan grumbled, shoving Peter back by a few paces.

"See! This is what Cap was talking about - there's a dissonance here. We have to fix it -but if you're gonna be a jerk, I'll just request a different partner!"