Logan and Kate were halfway to the lake with Kurt, Noh, and Jubilee laughing behind them when SHIELD made its presence known — all bright lights and helicopters and more agents than was strictly necessary, just to put on a show as they crowded the ground of the school.

"Well, crap," Logan muttered as he finally let Kate down. "I'm still gonna get you, chicken hawk."

"And I'm still taking you with me," she replied without the slightest pause even as they were both settling into defensive stances.

"Like I said — that is the plan," he shot back.

The others caught up to them, and Logan straightened up, ready for a fight. "Who all is wanted?" he asked the group over his shoulder before the main craft landed on the lawn.

"Possibly me still," Kate teased, but Noh behind her was also raising his hand with a sheepish grin.

"Well, strictly speaking, I am not supposed to be on Earth," he admitted. "Though that ban was instituted a long time ago, and I've not had a complaint recently."

Logan frowned at that. "How long ago?"

"Not very long, by Earth standards," Noh said, though he hadn't lost the sheepish look inthe slightest. "A matter of few years."

Logan did a little double take at his answer before turning to face him properly. "How old are you — by Earth standards?"

Noh thought about it for a moment. "Twenty-four years, as of a few months ago."

"You're a damn kid," Logan said in a disbelieving tone. "They can't ban a kid."

"To be fair, I didn't exactly do myself proud," Noh said in a subdued voice.

"Just be quiet and let me handle it," Logan said his way with a wave and an incredibly irritated look on his face as the doors to the transport opened and Miss Maria Hill stepped out with a rather large armed escort. "Well this is just perfect," Logan said low as he crossed his arms over his chest, glaring already even before Hill had taken the time to speak.

She gestured with one hand, and the little group was surrounded by SHIELD agents before she looked to Kurt. "You've been harboring fugitives."

"I suppose that depends on how you define it," Kurt replied with a frown as he met her glare with one of his own. "You could argue that all of our students are fugitives."

She let out a hollow little laugh and crossed her arms, her hip cocked to one side. "And you know full well that I'm not talking about any student. As per your agreement with Director Fury, students are exempt unless they're causing major problems."

"Then you only have one fugitive," Logan cut across her. "And good luck takin' 'im in."

"Logan, you're standing in a dampening field," Hill said dryly. "Attack me and I'll just haul you back to SHIELD full of bulletholes." Logan narrowed his eyes at her as she looked toward Kurt. "And don't try teleporting. That won't work either."

"If you're gonna open up the discussion like this, then I'm not talkin' to you," Logan said dismissively. "Get your boss down here."

"Actually — if you want to talk to him, you'll have to go with us," Hill replied. "It's up to you if it's voluntary or not, but this time, you are going." Logan thought it over for a minute as Jubilee squeezed his arm.

"Just me?" Logan asked with his head tipped to one side. .

"No," Hill replied. "You, Bishop, and Noh-Varr are all wanted — plus Wagner for harboring a fugitive." She didn't take her gaze off of Logan as she almost lazily gestured to the others.

Noh stiffened a bit at that, almost unconsciously, and glared at Hill. "I have no intention of going back into your custody," he said coolly.

"Don't worry, Bug Boy," Logan said. "Stick tight to me. Anyone crosses you, I'll stab 'em in the face myself." He turned to Hill. "Banning a kid. You should be ashamed of yourself."

"I didn't institute the ban, but I agree with it. That kid took off with a piece of the Phoenix force to give to the Kree," Hill said coolly. "You of all people should understand those stakes."

"Shame on them for puttin' a kid up to it," Logan countered. "But please, go ahead and try to lecture me on the Phoenix force. I'd love to see what your vast experience reading about it has taught you compared to all the times that I've actually helped to stop it."

Noh-Varr cleared his throat a bit and tried to step in. "I'm no child, Wolverine. I can handle—"

"You're in your twenties. That makes you a kid, like it or not. I've got a solid hundred years on you. So stuff it," Logan shot back without even turning to look at him, still glaring at Hill. "You didn't trust me with Quire, but that worked out. I'm not giving you a choice on this one either." Logan took a few steps forward, away from the little gathered group right toward Hill. "And until I hear from Nick, no one is going anywhere with you, Hill."

Logan didn't blink, and neither did Hill for quite a while until finally she let out a breath and let her shoulders fall. "Fine," she said quietly as she handed him her direct link to Fury. "He's not going to be too happy."

"I care. So much." He flipped open the comm and kept his eyes on Hill as he listened to Fury start off in a pretty damn severe tone before Logan told him to get a grip. There was a beat of silence before even Hill could hear from where she stood that, at the very least, the director's tone had changed entirely. The two shared a quick, friendly word before Logan closed the comm and tossed it back her way. "At least now he knows we're coming."

Hill caught the comm and looked somewhere near livid for a good long moment before she crossed her arms. "But you are coming."

"For Fury," Logan clarified. "There will be no restraints, and no one touches my friends and fellow fugitives."

She sized him up for a moment and just spun on her heel. "Not since you're coming willingly," she agreed as she motioned for them to follow.

Logan snorted to himself and turned to Kate. "No yelling needed," he muttered half under his breath to her.

"And I was all primed and ready," Kate teased.

"If it makes you feel better, I'll yell at Fury," Logan countered. "Throat's feeling a lot better now."

She just grinned and shook her head. "No, no. Clearly the way to deal with Fury is to hug him," she said, though she said that last part in a low whisper.

"Okay — you try that and tell me how it works for you."

"It only works for giant hug magnets."

"And you're just a cuddle ball."

"Yes. Yes I am." She grinned at him as she grabbed Kurt by the hand. "Little purple ball of sass and cuddles."

When they got to the door of the transport, one of the guards tried to stop Jubilee from joining them. But that was something that the guard simply wasn't prepared for as Jubilee unleashed on him, her face contorted into an approximation of a snarl as she dug into him and tore him down a few pegs. The rest of the group paused, and though even Kurt was a bit wide-eyed, Logan just had his head tipped to the side a bit until she was done.

"Feel better?" Logan asked quietly, to which she folded her arms over her chest, stuck her lip out and nodded.

"Much. And I'm going too," Jubilee replied defiantly, to which Logan nodded and waved her forward.

Noh turned to face her with a little frown. "That might not be the best of ideas." It was the first time since SHIELD had arrived that he had let any of the obvious fear and distrust he had for them into his voice.

"Don't you worry about me, mister. I can handle SHIELD," Jubilee replied with none of the heat that she'd just handed the guards as she very gently squeezed his arm. "I've dealt with these losers since I first became an X-Man."

"And I since I first arrived on Earth." Noh raised an eyebrow and then sighed. "You are capable. It's just... " He waved his hand. "Never mind."

"You didn't have an in back then," Jubilee said as she took his arm, all of her heat gone as she just watched her cute little space man for a moment. "Have a little faith. You've got one now."

He kissed the side of her head. "We'll just see how this goes," he told her. "Last time I was in SHIELD custody... did not go very well for anyone involved."

"That sounds like just about every single ending to every single story Wolvie and I have that involve SHIELD custody," Jubilee said with a smirk. "Except the time Fury picked us up in a helicopter. That was fun."

"Chopper rides with Sabretooth are not fun," Logan corrected as he gave her a little look.

"They are when you throw him out," Jubilee defended with a grin that had Logan just shaking his head.

The little group stuck close together for the duration of the transport to the helicarrier, all but daring the SHIELD agents to try to separate them with body language alone. Once they were on board, Hill led them — the long way — through the improved facilities on their way to the bridge.

Noh had his arm around Jubilee's shoulders and a satisfied sort of smirk on his face as he tipped his head down a corridor in particular. "They've refurbished since I was last here. I think that entire wing was destroyed," he whispered to her.

She looked up to him and put her arm around his waist to give him a little squeeze. "Was it their own stupid fault?"

"Naturally," Noh said with a little smile.

"Then I guess they were asking for it," she replied. "Which ... they do. A lot." She half nuzzled into his side for a moment before she had to ask. "What did they do to ask for it, if you don't mind telling me?"

He looked a bit surprised. "You mean Kate didn't tell you about the first time we met?"

"Kate tells her own stories," Jubilee said with a shrug. "There is such a thing about letting people have their own say when it comes to the bad stuff? Her stories are almost always cheerful and fun."

"Ah, then she wouldn't have told you about that," Noh said, nodding thoughtfully. "It wasn't a proper first meeting at any rate — I was not myself, and I'm afraid I completely demolished her team and captured many of them for SHIELD."

"For SHIELD?" Jubilee asked, tipping her head up to look at him better. "You're going to need to expand on that, cutie."

"Don't worry, Jubilee. I'm no SHIELD agent," Noh said with a little frown, though he was clearly trying to play it off, worried that he had just given Jubilee reason to distrust or dislike him. "I was not then, either. I suppose the proper description would be something like — an unwilling operative? To put it mildly."

"How about the realistic version?" Logan asked suddenly, half turned toward him.

Noh looked up to meet his gaze. For a moment, a flicker of something that passed too quickly to identify crossed his expression before he simply looked away again, his voice quiet as he explained, "At the time, my mind was not my own, and SHIELD sent me on missions, including one to capture the Runaways and the Young Avengers. I demolished the facilities used to control me afterwards for the insult."

"Not your own," Logan said quietly before he turned his head a bit, watching Hill as it was clear she was eavesdropping. "And who was holding the choke chain?"

"A man I was sure to kill," Noh said, waving his hand. "I know he received his orders elsewhere, and I know SHIELD was aware of his... projects," he added, looking pointedly at Hill, "but this man was... warden of the Cube."

Logan slowed a hair and Kurt nearly stopped as he watched his friend's dander rise. "Assistant Director Hill," Logan said, incredibly professional-sounding suddenly. "What reason would SHIELD have to put a nineteen-year-old in the Cube?"

"Besides the fact that he was declaring war on the entire planet every chance he got to speak?" Hill shot back.

"He was nineteen. They all do that."

"Not every nineteen-year-old has the means to do it," Hill said coolly.

"Yet you've let plenty of nineteen year olds that did have the means just ... walk. What you got against Bug Boy — in particular?"

Noh tried to put a hand on Logan's arm. "Really, Wolverine. When I first came to this world, I didn't do myself proud. Earth... did not make a good introduction."

"And whose fault was that?" Logan was glaring at Hill.

"As far as we understand it, a megalomaniac who shot a Kree ship out of the sky. We just moved in to contain him before he could raze Earth for being the site of his defeat." Hill held his gaze for a moment. "His age wasn't a factor."

"Well maybe it should have been," Logan countered. "You can't tell me you've never had road rage. You're a prime candidate. But someone like Hank McCoy would have talked to a kid like that in a helluva lot more reasonable tones that SHIELD. It's not like SHIELD knows how to talk to adults properly, let alone kids. Why didn't you call in Charlie? He knows aliens and kids."

"As it happens, we did have Professor X and others speak with him," Hill said.

"Before or after you threw him in the Cube?"

"After," she admitted. "Before then, he wasn't exactly contactable."

"Yeah, that's where I'm having a problem," Logan growled out. "You shouldn't have pulled crap like that. Not when you weren't anywhere near qualified to deal with it."

"Wolverine, please," Noh said, shaking his head. "This is basic time travel 101 — you cannot change the past. Any cadet knows this."

"I'm well aware," Logan replied easily. "But there's something to be said from learning from your mistakes — and that's one thing SHIELD thinks they're above, because people like the assistant director here think they are incapable of making mistakes. It's a little hobby of mine to point out how wrong they are."

"At any rate, the point is moot. The warden was killed, and I overtook their facilities," Noh insisted. "And as much as it pains me to admit it, SHIELD was right to feel they had to stop me. I would have regretted losing this Earth and its wonders."

"Glad to hear you're a fan," Logan replied, though he still hadn't taken his eyes off of Hill. "We done takin' the scenic route, or do I need to go to Fury's more direct on my own?"

Hill glared his way for a moment before she just nodded once. "I thought I'd give you time to read me the riot act, but if you're finished complaining, we can go."

"Oh, I'm nowhere near done; I'd just rather talk to someone with more authority seein' as all I'm getting from you is half-assed excuses and no remorse."

"I'm sure he'll be pleased to deal with you in a mood like this," she shot back.

"I'm delightful; you're just mad that I'm right," Logan said back to her with a crooked smirk.

"Yes, delightful is the word I was looking for," she said dryly.

When they got to Fury's office, Hill stopped and knocked, but Logan just stepped around her and opened the door for himself, pushing his way through before Fury could address them. The little group followed suit as Hill tried to hurry up and at least catch up to Logan, who was already nearly to the director.

Fury turned, took in the entourage, and shook his head for just a moment before the two of them shook hands. Kate saw Logan mutter something to Fury, but she couldn't see what it was. It became immediately clear though: "Logan, how delightful to see you here so quickly," Fury said with a well-concealed smirk.

"Get the popcorn," Kate whispered very quietly in Kurt's ear.

"No kidding," he replied. "I thought I was the one for showmanship."

A moment later, Logan took a cigar out of the box on Fury's desk and leaned against the desk as he lit it. "So, your secretary director — or whatever you wanna call 'er," Logan said, just trying to tweak her as he took a good puff. "Not sure who pissed in her oatmeal, but she's got a little attitude with me."

"Imagine that," Fury replied dryly. "Assistant Director Hill is a good second in command."

"Right. But there's a reason she's second," Logan said with a nod — as if Hill wasn't standing there at all. "She wanted to take us in — though I'm not sure who her original target was." Both Fury and Logan looked to Hill for her answer.

"You've been running around unauthorized for months, Logan," she said with a bit of heat that didn't match her usual levels. "I'd say I've been more than patient until now."

"And me runnin' around teachin' kids — that's more important than anything else SHIELD has on its radar?" Logan asked with a look of pure disbelief. "I didn't think I rated that high for you, Hill. Or — you looking for a big name on your catch list?"

She snorted. "I have plenty on my catch list. I'm just making a point to show that big names don't excuse you when you cross SHIELD."

"Fair enough," Logan conceded. "Nothin' a friendly phone call wouldn't fix though. So what am I in trouble for, exactly that warrants a full SHIELD team? Breathing? Or were you hoping that your escaped convict that came after me last night would just fix that for you?"

Fury looked a bit surprised by that one. "Who escaped?"

Logan just crossed his arms, the cigar in his mouth and looked toward Hill.

Hill met his gaze with a glare. "After your little tussle, we sent agents after his trail, but we haven't picked anything up on Sabretooth's position. When he shows up again, we'll get him back."

"As I understand it, the only reason you had him in the first place was because he turned himself in," Logan replied.

"And the only reason he escaped was to get to you," Hill countered. "Which was one of the many reasons we didn't want you to be in public."

"So you want to lock me up so that people like him won't come after me?" Logan shook his head. "No way."

"We wanted to control the leaks, make sure those who found out you were back were on our side — at least the ones who found out first. I'm sure you thought letting half the Eastern underground know before most of the Avengers knew was a suitable response." She glared at him.

"I was working under the notion that the Director of SHIELD and Captain America could handle that much all on their own without little old me to be there," Logan said before he looked up at Fury. "You did tell the others, right? I mean — the ones that didn't show up to poker?"

Fury tried to hide his amusement before he nodded quietly. "It came up, I'm sure." He shook his head and let out a sigh. "Okay, Logan. What's it going to take to get you to play nice with Hill for twenty minutes just to get this all wrapped up?"

"Drop the charges on my friends here," Logan replied easily.

"Done," Fury agreed. "Now go — deal with whatever paperwork and ID cards or whatever Hill wants from you." He looked up at Hill. "I'll want all the files of charges on these four."

"I'll have them on your desk," she agreed, then added with a little smirk, "Of course, I'd need a hand cart to bring all the files for Logan if you'd asked for those."

"Not a bad idea - we can keep those around as a warning to intrepid young heroes," Fury said with a smirk. "But I will want everything on the others. Shouldn't take more than a box or two." WIth that, Hill left with Logan, though she wasn't even trying to hide the glare she was giving him.

"I think we should be insulted," Kate whispered to Jubilee in a stage whisper. "Should we be insulted?"