Capítulo 283: The Villain Wrangler Vol 2 by lil'hawkeye3
Words: 14k+
Link: -https://m.fanfiction.net/s/13601806/1/The-Villain-Wrangler-Vol-2
( Sick and injured children asking to meet the super-powered elite isn't unusual when it comes to wishes, but when one of them asks to meet an infamous villain? Someone's got to take the job. Hopefully, they've all got a compassionate side... )
Chapter 1
A/N: Let's consider this a trial run, yeah? After literal years of y'all asking, I now give to you a Marvel Villain Wrangler! This isn't set in any particular Marvel universe. It's gonna be a mash of a lot of them, just like the DC one. I can say this will include MCU and various animated shows. I'll try and explain where I drew the characters from in end notes. If you like it, please leave a like or comment so I know to continue this! If you have any suggestions or characters you'd like to see, please feel free to comment! I may change the category of this story as it continues and the universe develops.
A dosage of real life before we begin: the goal of my DC Villain Wrangler story and this one is to show how a little more compassion and understanding for others can go a long way. All I ask is you do the same in real life too. Treat others the way you want to be treated. Be kind to each other. -lilhawkeye3
It had started out a normal day at World of Wishes for Tara Knight.
She was seated at her coveted window desk, typing away mindlessly at the usual press release required for a celebrity visit to a sick child. She needed to have it done soon, as pictures always began to appear on social media quite quickly when such a famous person fulfilled a wish– especially when it was someone as showy as billionaire-superhero Tony Stark. If a snuck-in phone wasn't the first to leak it to social media, then it'd be Stark himself who did.
She had just sent off the finished piece to the head of the publicity team and was leaned back in her chair, reaching towards the ceiling as she arched her back in a well-needed stretch after staring at her laptop screen for so long. A starling flying by the window caught her eye, and she swiveled to watch it soar on the air currents created by the block of skyscrapers. She wondered what it'd be like to fly. Ironic, considering that's exactly what the child had asked Iron Man to do only a few days ago.
But alas, she had more work to do. Tara scooted her chair forward and cracked her knuckles, ready to dive back into her work. Every tweet, every blog post, it all came from her first before going through two others to be tweaked depending on what was trending at the moment.
She didn't have a chance to get far, though, as she looked up when someone approached her desk. That was odd. Her boss typically sent messages over the office network when she needed to meet with someone outside of a scheduled meeting. What was she doing coming to Tara in person?
"Hey Kirsten, is something wrong?" She asked, eyebrows furrowing. Maybe there was an update on the child from this case. Tara always dreaded that type of news, especially if it was before they could fulfill a wish.
Kirsten gave her a strained smile that sent Tara's stomach plummeting. "If you're not busy, can you step into my office for a moment?"
Tara nodded, shutting her laptop so it auto-locked before getting up and following Kirsten. Several of her work friends sent her questioning glances as they crossed the main floor, and Tara could only give them a shrug in response. She closed the door behind her once they were in Kirsten's office, and she watched anxiously as her boss walked over to her desk and picked up a case file.
"You're one of our best guest procurers," Kirsten said as she handed it to Tara. "This one needs to be… on the down low, and I couldn't think of a better person to do it."
Tara smiled in thanks, but it quickly slipped off her face as she opened the folder to read the first page. "Is this real?" She blurted out as she looked back at the older woman for confirmation.
The blonde nodded, her dangle earrings swaying as she did. "Yeah, upstairs thinks it's worth a shot."
Tara's eyebrows raised dramatically but she dutifully turned back to the file, reviewing the relevant information she needed to know. As much as she tried, her eyes kept drifting back to the request line.
Kenneth Powers, age 11. Recovering from collapsed lung and lost arm in recent unknown superpowered attack on Brooklyn Bridge. Wishes to meet Magneto for help in creating a metal prosthetic arm 'and additional request upon arrival.'
"I need to make a phone call," Tara muttered, rubbing at her forehead in a futile hope of reducing her forming headache at the scope of what she was being asked to do. "Several phone calls and possibly a long-distance rental car. And a heavily caffeinated drink."
Her boss smiled widely and clapped her hands together at Tara's acceptance. "I can certainly help with the last two! You start making phone calls– I'll get a group order together for coffee and have it up to you before you head out."
"You're the best, Kirsten," Tara said with a grin before she left the small office and went back to her desk to start her search.
As luck would have it, Tara didn't end up needing a rental car. Her several phone calls with more famous members connected to the powered community had all suggested she contact someone she had met before, and that man had given her a meeting time and location of later that day in Central Park.
It was just after lunchtime, and the bustle of the New York City streets soothed her as she headed off the main avenue and set off into the park. Tara liked to jog on the paths on warmer mornings (she would not be caught out on a rainy day), so she was well-acquainted with the park and didn't need to check her phone to know she'd reached the designated meeting spot.
It was a picnic area with a dozen or so tables that were all set up with chess games played by people of all ages. She was glad to see some kids even partaking in the event, with several of the games surrounded by eager young spectators with matching red backpacks, probably taking a break from their field trip. Tara's gaze drifted over the relaxed crowd, looking for the pair she expected to find. A bit of tension leaked out of her shoulders once she spotted them at the farthest table. One of them looked up as she began to walk towards them and held up a hand in greeting.
The players of this particular chess game were a pair of older men, one completely bald and the other with a neatly styled head of white hair. The bald one was wearing a spiffy grey suit, his tie in the most perfect knot Tara had ever seen, while his adversary was in black slacks and a leather jacket that Tara was sure cost at least twice as much as her cell phone. Although her view was blocked by the table, she knew that the former would also be seated in a wheelchair.
"Ms. Knight, always a pleasure," he said in his smooth British accent, just as he had over the phone earlier that day.
Tara nodded politely as she stopped next to their table. "Wonderful to see you too, Professor Xavier. Sorry for such a last-minute request." She wondered slightly if she should introduce herself directly to the other man or wait–
"Not to worry, Ms. Knight. As it so happens, we were in town anyways," the Professor cut into her thoughts, a knowing twinkle in his eyes. Tara had to resist the urge to roll her eyes in response. Clearly he'd heard her and decided to help her out. "If I might introduce you to my companion, Erik Lehnsherr. Erik, this is Tara Knight from World of Wishes."
Tara smiled as she finally turned fully towards the man she'd been looking for and held out her hand. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Lehnsherr. As I've told the Professor before, Tara is fine."
She could've sworn Erik Lehnsherr had the same ability to read her mind due to the intensity of his gaze as he surveyed her for threats while he firmly shook her hand. "Perhaps if this was a social call, but Charles tells me you've come on business today."
Tara couldn't keep her guilt at interrupting their day from slipping into her smile. "That is correct. I'm so sorry, but I wouldn't be seeking you out without a proper meeting if it wasn't urgent."
Lehnsherr raised a single eyebrow in response. "Oh? Well, Ms. Knight: how's this?" He gestured at the chessboard on the table in front of him. "You're welcome to explain your proposal as long as you remain in the game."
Tara glanced down at the half-played game and tried to keep any strong emotions from showing on her face. "As long as Professor Xavier is alright with it…" She agreed conditionally, not wanting to step on any toes.
The Professor gestured welcomingly at the board. "Be my guest."
Tara pulled up a plastic chair that had been moved to accommodate the Professor and sat adjacent to Erik Lehnsherr, but angled just enough so their ends of the chessboard could face them.
"I believe it's your move?" She said, lacing her fingers in her lap as she carefully observed the board. There were so few pieces left. Interesting. The game had not been heading towards an easy or convenient win for either men.
Lehnsherr silently moved one of his black knights before looking back at her expectantly. "You are here because a child wants to meet me," he said calmly.
She wondered if they knew she was in her element. "Yes. A young boy named Kenneth lost an arm during the recent battle on the Brooklyn Bridge and wants your help with a prosthetic." She moved a rook, neglecting to take his remaining bishop. "You may be familiar with the parties involved?"
"Familiar, yes, but uninvolved and rather disappointed in their execution of plans," he allowed. His pawn moved to take a white counterpart. "Why should I consider this request?"
Her bishop slid to block his queen's path if it moved towards her king. "From a publicity standpoint? To show that you are not in league with the rogues who have been the cause of the several recent battles that have ended with high civilian casualty rates and thus detract from the senators trying to use the events to villainize your cause."
His gaze held hers for a long moment. "Interesting. Are you saying you're in support of mutant rights?"
Tara simply tilted her head slightly in reply. "It's your move, Mr. Lehnsherr."
He shifted his rook. "And if I do not require the free marketing?"
Tara nudged her queen into the spot left undefended. "Then perhaps his off-the-record wish to help protect a young innocent," she emphasized with hidden meaning, "would convince you. Of course, you'll have to ask him about the details." She leaned back in the chair with an inaudible sigh of relief. "I do believe we've come to a draw."
Out of all the reactions she'd imagined, hearing Magneto lowly chuckling was not one of them. "You are an intriguing opponent, Tara Knight."
"Back at ya, Erik Lehnsherr."
Tara watched curiously as he unzipped the top of his leather jacket and reached inside it, she assumed to a hidden inner pocket. Her guess was proved correct, as he pulled out a disposable cell phone and held it out for her to take. She took it with a quick thanks, turning it over in her hand as she examined it.
"I assume he's at a city hospital?"
She pulled a folded slip of paper out of the back pocket of her jeans and gave it to him. It was the standard information sheet that wished-for guests would receive regarding their case. "He's at NYU Medical Center in the recovery ward."
He nodded curtly as he stowed the paper away in his inside pocket and stood. "Expect my call, Ms. Knight. Charles," he turned towards his friend, "same time as usual?"
Professor Xavier smirked. "As always." He and Tara watched the white haired man head off the grass and back toward the main path heading towards the West Side. "Tara, would you care for another game?"
Shaking off her surprise at the offer, Tara moved to sit in the now-vacant seat across from the Professor. "Why not? Sounds like fun."
Tara was glad of her habit to stay awake so late at night when she heard her phone vibrating from where it rested on her desk. She placed her book down open on her bed and got up to answer it.
"Hello, this is Tara Knight."
"Hello, Ms. Knight," Erik Lehnsherr answered in his infamous drawl. "I will meet you at the side entrance to the University Medical Center in forty minutes."
"I'll meet you there," she said with a nod, laughing slightly after she'd hung up because she knew he couldn't see her.
Ah, well. She'd known this case would be unusual on many counts. It was only right that this continued onto the actual visit as well.
Tara made her way across town in record time, although she had found herself glancing over her shoulder and checking dark alleys far more often than ever before. She didn't feel like she was in danger, but she wouldn't be surprised if Lehnsherr had sent some of his people to keep watch, just in case. Despite this, she made it to the meeting point without seeing anything suspicious.
"Hey!" She called quietly with a smile as she rounded the corner of the hospital and found Magneto waiting for her. At his side was a man in a long, hooded trench coat that Tara was sure she'd seen in grainy new footage before. While much of his face was shadowed, she could still see the light glint off his sharp canines as he silently bared his teeth in warning. She fought to keep from rolling her eyes, knowing it wouldn't be good to aggravate the man, but she did shoot him an unimpressed stare.
"Thanks for waiting," Tara settled on saying as she glanced at the thick double doors they stood in front of. "I don't want to assume, but can you get us in? Otherwise I can call a friend I know who works inside…"
Magneto (she called him this as he was dressed the part with his iconic helmet in place) smirked at her as he merely flicked a finger and caused the metal doors to swing open. "After you," he offered.
Tara had been to NYUMC many times before, mostly for her job but there had been one or two slip ups that had landed here as a patient herself. She easily led them up the stairs and through the halls towards the children's ward.
She was glad she'd texted ahead warning of their arrival, as the lights were still on at the nurse's station adjacent to Kenneth Power's room. Good, he'd be awake.
Magneto's companion let out a low growl when the nurse at the desk looked up at the sound of their footsteps. Tara held her hand out to keep the two men back.
"It's alright," she said softly. "I did say I had a friend inside." She waved at the dark-skinned woman, who winked back at her. "Lydia'll be keeping watch– both for and on us. She's eagle-eyed," Tara added in a teasing tone, despite being completely serious. Lydia's mutation really gave her vision an edge.
"And eagle-eared, don't you forget!" The nurse called out playfully as she got up and went over to room 405, wrapping her knuckles gently against the frame before she opened it and popped her head in. "Kenny, sweetie, you have some visitors!" She backed away so they could enter.
Tara pointed firmly at Magneto's bodyguard. "You can wait outside. It's late, I don't want to over-excite the kid."
The mutant's snarl was now fully trained onto her, but only for the briefest moment as Magneto cleared his throat meaningfully.
"It's quite alright, Victor," the older man reassured. "I won't be too long."
Normally, Tara would be annoyed by such a statement, but seeing as she hadn't truly expected Magneto to agree to such a visit, she swallowed her complaints as she led him into the room.
Kenny Powers looked like he had just woken up to see Santa Claus arriving, due to the insane bed hair he had and the way he was bouncing in excitement. He couldn't fully get out of bed due to the various machines hooked up to him, but he had swung his legs over one side so he could sit up. The bottom half of the left arm on his long sleeve shirt dangled emptily against his side, although his right hand was gripping the prosthetic that Tara assumed was originally planned to fill his sleeve.
"Woah!" He breathed in awe as he gazed up at Magneto. Tara had moved off to one side to supervise and had to smother a laugh at the downright joy on Kenny's face. "You really came!" His own words seemed to snap him out of his amazement as he tossed the metallic hand and forearm towards Magneto, crowing in delight when the mutant raised a single eyebrow and stopped the prosthetic mid-air.
"Ms. Knight mentioned you requested my help with this?" The mutant asked as the prosthetic rotated to allow him to inspect it.
Kenny nodded. "Yeah, it's one of the more advanced versions but it doesn't fit me. I'm too small," he muttered sullenly, before perking up again. "So I was wondering if you could help resize it for me!"
"Hmm." Magneto plucked the prosthetic out of the air as he began to manipulate it. "A relatively simple task for me." He walked to stand in front of the boy and waited patiently as Kenny rolled his sleeve up to reveal his healed amputation site. Magneto gently but firmly grasped Kenny's arm as he began to mold the metal prosthetic around the stump. "Was there nothing else you wanted to ask?"
Kenny chewed on his lower lip for a moment as he watched Magneto work. "I lost my arm and broke a lot of bones in the attack that happened weeks ago, on the bridge." He shifted his stare to the white tiled floor. "My family only survived because my sister, Amelia. We didn't know she had powers until she kept our car from flattening under a big truck. But my parents…" Tara's heart broke a little as tears welled up in the boy's eyes. "They've never liked mutants. Say 'they're touched by the devil.' Even my baby sister. She's only eight, but I think I saw a bruise on her arm the last time she visited." He looked imploringly between Tara and Magneto, who'd gone dangerously still. "I heard that you were fighting for a safe place for mutants. Can you take Amelia? Keep her safe?"
Tara knew with 100% certainty that if Magneto couldn't do anything, she'd take it into her own hands. She wouldn't let that little girl go another day in such an awful situation.
It looked like she wouldn't have to. "Your sister will not have to deal with such hatred any longer," Magneto said slowly as he finished altering and attaching the prosthetic to Kenny's arm and pulled away. "I know of several places she can stay securely while in my care or that of those I trust."
Kenny's newfound hope shone brightly through his smile. "Thank you, Mr. Magneto."
"I am curious, though," the older man asked as he gazed at the boy with respect. "Why didn't you ask for one of the X-Men?"
Tara had to hold back her own grin as Kenny smirked mischievously. "Well, I did technically request you only to help with my prosthetic," he slyly informed as he wiggled his arm for emphasis.
All attention quickly turned to the door as Nurse Lydia's quiet knocking alerted them to her presence. Tara could see the other mutant, Victor, standing warily behind her, his shoulders tense as he stared off down one end of the hallway.
"Time's up," Lydia told them regretfully, although Tara could see the way her eyes lit up at the sight of Kenny's new forearm. "Security's almost here on their rounds– y'all need to head out."
With a solemn nod from Magneto and a cheerful wave of Kenny's new hand, Tara led the two men out of the wing and back the way they came, down the four flights to the ground floor and then out into the alley they'd arrived in.
"Thank you for coming tonight," Tara said as she turned to leave. Her part of the job was over, and she figured that the two mutants wouldn't want her to see which direction they departed in. "You've helped set Kenny on a path to truly healing, something no one else has been able to do for him."
Her back was already to them when she heard Magneto's response. "Thank you for giving me the opportunity to do so, Tara Knight."
Mission accomplished.
She had already rounded the corner, so perhaps the next words were conjured up by her imagination. Either way, the grudging respect she heard in the gravelly voice was the cherry on top of her night.
"Not what I expected from a normal civilian."
It was no surprise when Tara saw the headline later that week: Girl disappears during visit with injured brother at NYC hospital!
The following phone call informing her that Amelia Powers had been temporarily brought to Professor Xavier's school, under the condition she be allowed to keep contact with her brother, was thus understandable and extremely appreciated.
The file Tara's boss handed her the next day with the instructions of "Work your magic again, Tara!" was far less appreciated once she read the requested name.
Looked like this was set to be her new reality.
A/N: Professor X and Magneto: mainly from X-Men movies, a bit from the 90's cartoon.
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