Summary: After the night Harry's X-Gene activates, Harry has to learn how to deal with both the blessings and curse of being a mutant. Not knowing what to do, Harry falls into a state of decline. That is, of course, until Bruce Banner finds him one day. Can Bruce and Prof. Xavier help Harry before he falls completely into the darkness?

Author's Note: Still undecided about the pairings, although if any of you have ideas just put it in the review box! ^.^ First Harry Potter/Avenger's story. The first chapter may be a bit slow, but it will pick up pace next chapter. I just had to get all the introductions done.

WARNING! ABUSE ELEMENTS, MARVEL UNIVERSE AND DEPRESSION.

A five-year old boy laid out in the middle of the garden, enjoying the warmth from the sun above him. His bright emerald green eyes watched as the light danced across his milky white skin. The boy had always been pale for his age, to the point where he even looked sickly. He hadn't ever been bothered by the trait, but his aunt had added it to his list of freakishness.

The boy sighed at the thought of his aunt. He had been tending her garden for hours and was completely tired. The weeds he had been ordered to pull were stronger than he originally thought, and were extremely hard to uproot. His short stubby arms burned from the amount of force he subjected himself through, and his eyes drooped tiredly as he fought to stay awake. Although, he told himself he should be used to the work load by now.

Two weeks ago was Harry Potter's fifth birthday, and as soon as the day rolled around Petunia said he was finally old enough to 'earn' his keep. The next hour he received a long list of work that his uncle had made, and was now in charge of a range of things. Petunia reluctantly took the day to show him how to do his chores. The woman shrieked at him or roughly slapped the back of his head each time he messed up, and Harry soon learned to get the chores right the first time he did them. There was no room for mistakes, not when he had Aunt Petunia hovering behind him, watching Harry's every move. So far Harry had learned how to cook breakfast, clean the kitchen, vacuum the carpet, do the dishes, clean Dudley's room, and tend to the garden, which he had just finished.

The boy sighed as he snuggled deeper into the warm grass. Maybe if he took a nap for a few minutes his caretakers wouldn't notice. Even if they did at least he would get a few minutes of sleep, and sleep was something Harry hadn't gotten lately. His cupboard was too cold to sleep at midnight, and no matter how many blankets or clothes he piled on himself he still stayed dead cold all night long. The only nights Harry would get any sleep was when Uncle Vernon left the heat on. Then Harry would curl around the ventilation vent letting the warm air wash all over him.

Harry couldn't explain why he was so cold all the time. Petunia said it was because he was a freak, but Harry didn't think that was the reason. Harry thought he might be cold blooded like he read from the books he stole from Dudley's room, but only lizards, snakes and reptiles like that were cold-blooded. At least that's what the books said, and Harry was a human so he couldn't be cold-blooded, right? Though, it would explain why he liked basking in the sun so much.

The boy sighed in discomfort as a small wispy cloud blocked the sun from view, casting a light shadow over the Earth's surface. He opened his eyes and sat up with his hands behind his back. His fingers dug into the cool grass as he waited patiently for the cloud to move and the sun to come back out. After all, napping was no fun when it was cold. Suddenly he heard the back door open and a small gasp. He sucked in a breath knowing what was about to happen.

He had been caught.

Harry turned around and looked at his aunt. Aunt Petunia didn't turn red in the face like her husband when she was mad. No, instead her ears turned a light pink as she gave the boy a deathly glare that turned his insides cold. He inwardly braced himself for her high pitch voice to start shrieking, but she didn't. Harry watched as she moved across the yard in seconds with short brisk paces. To anyone else she would seem calm, but Harry knew better than that. It was when she was calm like this that she was the most livid. The woman looked at him then over at the weeds he had placed in a garbage bag like she had told him to. Her face looked normal, but then he saw her eyebrows furrow. She took a look around making sure nobody was around. All of their neighbors were mostly out for summer holidays, and Harry knew that he wouldn't be getting off easy tonight.

"Freak!" She said in a harsh whisper as she roughly grabbed his arm and pulled him up from his sitting position. "Don't you know the difference between flowers and weeds?!" Her voice rose a few pitches hurting Harry's ears.

Harry's eyes looked over to the weeds he had pulled. He thought they looked like weeds at least. Most were a pasty green and didn't have flower petals like the pretty flowers he saw in his kindergarten classroom did. How was he supposed to know those were flowers? Maybe Petunia was just a terrible gardener? Although he wouldn't say that out loud. Not if he didn't want to get punished when Vernon came home. However, he had a feeling he would be getting punished anyways.

"Unreliable, ungrateful, stupid brat!" Petunia said dragging him towards the open back door. He looked back longingly at the cloud covered sun. The heat was nice while it lasted. He sucked in a breath as Petunia shoved him into the doorway, making him fall onto his knees almost hitting his head on the counter next to him. Petunia slammed the door shut, cutting them off from the outside world. The woman continued to grab the boy and drag him to his cupboard. She threw the light boy in and shut the door, locking it from the outside.

Harry didn't know what to do as his aunt left him in the cupboard all day long. He was cold, but he was more importantly hungry. He had missed four meals now, and his stomach rumbled in discomfort. The boy ignored the pain of an empty stomach though and curled next to the vent as warm air passed through it. At least his aunt had the heat on. With the heat next to him, he could almost forget about the pain that was racking through his stomach. The boy scolded himself though. He should be used to not getting fed by now.

He laid on his bed and looked at the horse figurine he had snitched from Dudley's second bedroom. The boy began to pretend it would somehow turn into a life-size horse and take him far away from this placed. It would take him to a place full of people like him, and a place he would be loved.

He listened to Dudley walk down the steps, jumping on a certain step that caused dust to fall into his eyes. He coughed as his eyes happened to tear up from the dust. Dudley laughed hearing him cough from outside the door and went towards the kitchen for what appeared to be dinner. Harry smelt spices travel through the air and inwardly groaned.

Smells always seemed to taunt him. He always had an exceptional nose sometimes even smelling things from meters away. He also realized that every person had a specific smell. Aunt Petunia smelled like dirt and flowers, Vernon smelled like oil and rust, and Dudley smelled like bacon. Sometimes he would even be able to smell a person from across the house and recognize who the smell belonged to.

Harry once admitted about his sense of smell one day to Dudley, but when the boy told his father Harry was locked in his cupboard for two straight days. Not that, that could happen with him attending kindergarten class now. People would get suspicious if he was gone for too long, and if was one thing the Durselys liked it was a perfect reputation.

Harry snuggled into his semi-warm bed and tried to fall asleep only to wake up thirty minutes later to the front door opening with a bang. He heard the slow, clumsy steps of his uncle as he maneuvered throughout the hallways. However, today Uncle Vernon's steps were even sloppier than usual and Harry smelled something sharp hit his nose. The boy grabbed his nose to keep it from smelling the putrid smell. However breathing through his mouth made the smell even stronger.

"Vernon have you been drinking again?" Petunia asked standing in the hallway as she helped her husband take off his coat and hang it in the hallway. Harry heard the two move together towards the kitchen and Harry pressed his ear to the door. What was wrong with drinking? Dudley drank water every day and Petunia never sounded so concerned like that. Harry thought it was normal for people to drink. Then the putrid smell he smelled earlier hit his nose again. Maybe whatever smelled so bad was the reason Petunia was worried. Harry felt a sharp pang in his heart. He had never heard someone sound worried like that about him, and Harry felt jealousy run through his veins. Why did his aunt never address him that way?

"Bad duay at wurk." Vernon slurred as he stumbled through the hallway/kitchen door. Harry thought he heard Dudley say something, but he wasn't sure. He couldn't hear very well through his door. He heard the chair scratch against the floor as his uncle sat down at the table with Dudley.

"What happened at work that made you drink?" Petunia asked as she scooped up food and placed it onto plates. Harry didn't know what it was, but it smelled heavenly to his rumbling stomach.

"McDonald truied to get muh fiireed." Vernon grumbled as he drunk something that smelled faintly like coffee. "Messed up tha whule assembly line."

"The McDonalds? The ones that live two streets down? I never liked them. They always acted so high and might because their daughter was a genius. Ha, like that could ever improve their social reputation!" Petunia sneered as she sat down at the table with her family. "Their daughter acted like a spoiled brat anyways. She doesn't even compare to Duddykins! I heard Mrs. McDonald even cheated on her husband with her daughter's teacher. I always knew she was that type. I've known it since high school."

"Yeah? Well tha maan's going to get it when I go bac tummarah." Vernon said getting up from the table and stumbled over to the fridge.

"You sure you want to go in tomorrow? You're probably going to have a hangover in the morning." Petunia said sipping something Harry guessed was tea.

"Yer, I wanna. Gotta show hem who's boss!" Vernon said angrily as he slammed the fridge door shut after looking inside it. "Dun't want them to think they can run all ova meh."

"Okay then, I'm probably going to mend my garden tomorrow. Don't want the brat to be touching it again." Aunt Petunia said with a hiss.

"Wut the brat do now?" Vernon asked staggering over to his wife.

"Pulled out half of my flower bed, he did. Nasty little thing, I'll make sure he stays in the cupboard until he learns his lesson this time." Petunia said finishing her tea and putting it in the sink.

"I'll do betta than that." Vernon mumbled as he exited the kitchen in a hurried wobble. Petunia didn't miss the angry face on her husband's face when he left towards the cupboard, and she couldn't help but feel uneasy about what was about to happen. Then the woman shrugged her shoulders.

The freak deserved it anyways.

Harry sucked in a breath as he felt his ribs crack under the pressure of the man's fist. This was the first time in Harry's life that he truly just wanted to go and die. Why was Vernon doing this to him? He didn't know. He could only shake in fright as the man backhanded him across the face. Harry was thrown to his side under the force of the blow and felt his cheek numb in pain. The five year old did his best not to cry or groan. He didn't want his attacker to see any weakness.

The boy curled into a small boy as his attacker started to kick him while he was down. A shout erupted from his throat as the man had kicked hard into his eye. Pain exploded through his head as he covered his bleeding eye with his tiny hands. He couldn't take it anymore. The pain was too much. Cries escaped from him and his body shook as he sobbed.

Vernon stopped his assault as the boy shakenly stood to his feet. The older man huffed and gave the boy one last backhand to his face before he left towards the master bedroom. The boy held his cheek that had just been backhanded and his lone eye widened in shock. The backhand he had just received didn't hurt like the boy had been expecting.

His fingers brushed his cheek and he gasped when he felt something hard on his cheek. Then Petunia came in and ushered him towards the cupboard, obviously not wanting him to bloody up the hallway. But, just as he was being forced into the cupboard he saw his reflection in the mirror in the hallway. His eye was black and bleeding at the edges, and bruises littered his form. But that wasn't what shocked the boy the most. On his cheek where he had been slapped were green scales.

As he was locked in his cupboard, his fingers went back towards his cheek, and he felt the scales slowly disappear back into his skin.

What-what just happened?

He didn't have any time to ponder what was going though as pain erupted throughout his body once more. But this time it was different, a flame was lit inside of him, consuming his entire being. The boy felt like his whole body was re-arranging itself. Every cell burned and his mind screamed in agony. His eye pulsed and throbbed under the pain and Harry felt as if he was finally dying.

The boy had to bite back his screams. If Petunia or Vernon heard him, he might get punished again, and he would do anything to never get punished like that again. So he put his arm over his mouth as pain took over his body. Tears streamed down the boy's face and he shut his eyes, and the blackness slowly overcame him.