Chapter 15 -

"I'll have that drink now" Loki said, referencing Stark's earlier offer of a drink.

"We could always drown you" Harry offered.

"Can I just shoot him?" Hawkeye asked hopefully.

"Raven" Thor interrupted and Hawkeye groaned as he realised his chance to shoot Loki had probably gone. "I know Loki has caused a lot of harm but..."

"Yes, yes" Harry cut him off "I had promised you could have him and I am a man of my word. We'll restrain him for now and you can take him with you when you leave."

"Thank you" Thor said appreciatively as he smiled at Harry.

"The mighty Thor turned into a lapdog by a wizard" Loki sneered.

"Yeah well...hold on...why is there a Loki shaped hole in the floor?" Harry asked as he looked around, he noticed Loki glance at Hulk. Harry looked at Hulk who grinned and looked proud if anything "Nice job big guy"

"Hmm" Hulk grunted "Hulk like bird man" Hulk patted Harry on the back, though for Harry it felt like ten people were trying to push him at the same time, fortunately he managed to stay standing.

"Thanks" Harry said before he turned to Loki "what were you saying again? Because I stopped paying attention the second you started talking"

"You think you're all high and mighty?" Loki sneered again, Harry felt like Loki was somehow trying to channel Draco Malfoy from another universe "You're magic is nowhere near as skilful as my own, you second rate..."

"In case you have forgotten, the wizard is the one standing while you're on the ground" Natasha said in defence of Harry.

"Do not speak to me like that mortal, I am Loki, you are merely a red-headed whore who..." Loki was cut off as he suddenly found himself thrown up, he bounced off the ceiling and crashed down on the floor. At the same time Natasha found herself pushed towards Harry until her back was against his chest.

"Oops" Harry blurted out "damn, my magic is playing up"

"I was right!" Natasha said proudly as she grinned at Tony who rolled his eyes.

"Right about what?" Harry asked

"How dare you?!" Loki interrupted as he sat up "I am Loki..." Loki took about a minute to realise that no sound was coming out of his mouth. He glared at Harry.

"I didn't even do it that time" Harry grinned "give us a sec guys, I just need to get my magic under control" Harry closed his eyes and concentrated for several seconds before he opened them "yeah, that'll be good for now." Harry waved his hand and wrapped Loki in chains "These are unbreakable chains" Harry informed Loki "if you don't know what that means then Merlin help because you are an idiot. So, right about what?" He added the last part to Natasha.

"Romanoff thinks that you're magic is sentient" Steve answered on her behalf "she thinks that's what brought you back after you were stuck on the other side of that portal"

"Well" Harry thought about it "I think she's right"

"Is that because she's right or because she looks good in black?" Tony asked his expression was innocent though his voice was teasing.

"It's because she's probably right, but she does look damn good in black" Harry said as he looked Natasha up and down and gave her a wink, he then turned to the rest of the Avengers "when I was a child my magic used to act out when I was emotional. Like one time a teacher was yelling at me and I accidently turned her hair blue, another time some bullies were chasing me and I somehow ended up on a roof. It's possible that my magic reacted to my emotions and brought me back here"

"I'm glad it did" Steve said as he placed a hand on Harry's shoulders "you did good out there today"

"Thanks but I wasn't the only one out there" Harry replied "you all did your jobs brilliantly, you protected, you defended and you saved many people today. Barton, Romanoff, you didn't have any powers or armour yet you still went out and showed skill and teamwork is valuable, Thor and Steve, you guys are both the stuff of legends and you lived up to them. Tony..."

"Yes?" Tony asked with a smile.

"You're a dick" Harry said and Tony's smile turned into a frown "but I suppose that you're not a total dick."

"Thanks" Tony's face had a smile again.

"Just mostly a dick" Harry added

"You've got to stop doing that" Tony said as the smile dropped again.

"Fine" Harry sighed "you were pretty good, you've shown intelligence and bravery and you put your life on the line. You're a hero, never forget that, no matter what anyone says"

"I knew you liked me" Tony grinned while Harry rolled his eyes

"Yeah well..." Harry stopped when he caught sight of the city from outside of the window "damn, that's a lot of damage"

"Yes, I can only apologise" Thor said

"It wasn't your fault" Harry said a he waved his hand and Tony's apartment fixed itself, the glass windows were fixed, the hole in the floor was no longer there and the whole place looked exactly like it was before the alien invasion."

"Awesome" Tony said as he looked around the apartment "oh I've got to have you work for me, you know how much cooler you'd make everything? And think of the money we could make."

"Can you guys deal with Loki?" Harry asked, ignoring Stark.

"Yes" Thor nodded.

"What about you?" Hawkeye asked.

"I'm going to go and try and repair the city, or at least as much of it as I can." Harry said, he then turned to Natasha "I just..."

"Shush, I know" She smiled "go be a hero, we'll talk later."

"Yep" Harry kissed her on the lips before he put his mask on and pulled his hood up, he then teleported out of the room.

"So cute, so the spider and the bird eh?" Tony asked Romanoff.

"Jealous Stark?" Romanoff raised an eyebrow.

"Nah" Tony laughed "I've got my own redhead, speaking of, I should probably give her a call"

"Oh Merlin" Harry groaned as he dropped on to his sofa, his clothes shifting into a pair of pyjama bottoms. The top half of his body was naked while he allowed his bare feet to rest comfortably on the warm carpet. He had spent hours doing his best to repair the city, he didn't repair all of the damage but he did do as much as possible. His main focus was on making sure to get rid of all of the alien tech. He didn't really think it would be a good idea to just leave it for all people to mess with.

He wished he could trust the people not to do something stupid with it. The problem is he knew they were pretty much guaranteed to do something stupid with it.

Harry had turned a lot of the alien stuff into portkeys, his magic could remember where he was when he was on the other side of the portal. Anything he couldn't burn or get rid of quickly, he portkeyed back there. He had to take a few potions to keep his energy up but he managed to do it. Getting rid of the leviathans took a lot of energy, though he felt lucky there was only a few of them.

Now he was back home, he was going to maybe watch an hour or two of TV then he was going to go sleep. After all he had to talk to Fury about maiming whichever idiot decided to send that nuke, he knew it wasn't Fury. Fury, despite all his faults, wouldn't be one to even suggest nuking an entire city. Someone was going to pay, and he'd be there to collect.

Knock, knock.

"Harry" Natasha's voice came from outside the doorway "can I come in?"

"Nat?" Harry stood up and rushed over to the door, he opened it and found Nat standing in the doorway. She was still wearing her same outfit from the battle, but she had a grey jacket on to make it look more normal.

"Hi" She gave him a small smile "can I come in?"

"Yeah" Harry nodded and let her in. He closed the door once she was inside. "I guess I should probably put on a shirt" He said as he remembered he was currently shirtless

"I'm not complaining" Natasha grinned as her eyes landed on him, looking him up and down. "In fact I wouldn't mind you staying like that"

"I can see that" Harry smiled "how come you're still in your 'work clothes'?" Harry asked

"Well" Natasha said as she took off her jacket "I didn't really get much time to change. I was going to go home and change but I wanted to see you first"

"And I'm honoured" Harry said with a dramatic bow as she and him both sat down on the sofa "so what's up Nat?"

"I just wanted to talk if that's alright with you"

"Sure" Harry nodded and gave her his full attention "what do you want to talk about?"

"First off, I just want to say you were brilliant today"

"Thanks, so were you"

"Well" Natasha rolled her eyes "I wasn't much help compared to you"

"Doesn't mean you weren't any help at all" Harry responded "we had a god of thunder, a super soldier, a man in a suit of armour and an immortal wizard on the team. You know what else we had? We had you and Barton, the two of you were there proving that it's not just the fancy gadgets that make a hero. You took out your fair share of aliens, both of you did. Barton's aim and his eyes were valuable today, so was your brains. You worked out how to close the portal and you did exactly what I told you to do. Most people would crumble under pressure, run away, most can't handle non-powered human thieves and you were there fighting aliens. Face it Nat, you're a badass"

"You know just want I want to hear don't you?" She smiled at him

"I know what you need to hear, and in this case it was the truth." Harry smiled back "Are you alright by the way? No permanent injuries or anything?"

"Just a few bruises and cuts"

"Let's fix that" Harry waved a hand and her body tingled as she felt her bruises heal along with her cuts.

"Thanks"

"Anytime. What about everyone else? Nobody is hurt are they?"

"Nah, Barton's a bit annoyed at not being able to shoot Loki in the eye but apart from that, we're all fine"

"That's nice"

"By the way, Stark has invited us both to a party"

"Party?" Harry raised an eyebrow.

"He's inviting the whole team." Natasha replied "Are you going to come?"

"Not like I have anything better to do" Harry shrugged "though I will have to try and fit it around my meeting with the idiots who sent that nuke at New York. I know it wasn't Fury"

"If I had to guess I would say it as the 'World Security Council', they're Fury's superiors"

"Probably" Harry nodded "they've pissed me off so I'm going to make sure they pay"

"I almost pity them" She smirked

"Don't, if that nuke hit then not only would a city be killed, but so would you"

"Me?"

"You're a strong woman Nat, I know that. But I've stopped caring for people as individuals for a long time. Then you worked your way into my life, and now I care. And I would do anything for those I care about" Harry said as he looked her in the eye, his bright and emerald shade of green meeting her darker shade. Silence reigned for several seconds.

Natasha leaned forwards, she placed her lips against his own, her hands on the side of his head. One of his hands ended up resting on the small of her back while the other gently stroked her thigh. Eventually they broke off.

"Harry" Natasha said.

"Yeah?"

"Do you want to do it?"

"Nat...we've just been in an alien battle and we're emotional...I don't want you to regret..." Natasha cut him off with another kiss.

"I won't regret anything" She said in a determined voice "I've mastered my emotions a long time ago. This...this is because I want to do it, the question is if you want to?"

"You're brilliant" He couldn't help but smile "did you know that?"

"I've been told a few times" She smirked.

"Expect to be told a few more" He said as he pulled her into another kiss, this one wasn't slow nor was it painful, it was passionate and emotional. Natasha straddled his lap and the two continued for several minutes, Harry's hands had wondered down from her back and grabbed a handful of her bum.

"Someone's feeling adventurous" She said in a husky voice between kissing.

"Yeah well I think you enjoy it" Harry grinned back in the same voice.

"And if I do?" She said with a challenging yet seductive tone.

"I think you'd enjoy it more from the bedroom" Harry said as he locked lips with her again, he stood up now, holding her by the bum as her arms wrapped around his neck and her legs around his waist. He walked towards the bedroom, carrying her as he did so. Eventually he got to the bed, he placed her on the bed as he got on top of her. "Are you ready?" He asked. She responded by flipping her over so she was on top of him and straddling him.

"I have a better question" She whispered as one hand went behind his neck and the other traced along his chest "are you ready?"

"Fuck yes!"

"Captain America saved my life" One waitress said on one of the various news channels that were talking about the battle of New York.

"They were amazing" A police officer said on a different channel.

"They saved my dads life" A girl said on another channel.

"They were amazing, totally spectacular!"

"I still can't believe it happened"

"It was chaos, it was like fire and destruction raining down on us"

"I saw Iron Man and this one guy with a bird symbol flying around"

"This guy, with the bird symbol on his chest, he starts flying around and waving his hands and everything starts fixing itself. It was like magic!"

"I couldn't believe it, he not only fights for us but he also goes around spending hours trying to clean up. If other people were half as dedicated to helping each other than the world would be a much better place"

"He was like a guardian angel"

"I think his name is Raven"

"I don't know where they've gone, I don't know who they are, but thank you. All of you"

"They're calling themselves the Avengers."

"Wherever the Avengers have gone, you have our thanks"

Fury muted the screens, his face right now could only be descried as smug. After listening to everyone doubt him, he had finally proven them wrong. The Avenger's weren't just a possibility now, they existed and they worked together. Raven held them together, he not only kept them together but he also leaded them into victory. His plan worked, and everyone knows it. He turned to look at the screens showing the world security council.

"Where are the Avengers?" Gideon Malick asked.

"I'm not currently tracking their whereabouts" Fury replied "I think after all they've done, they've earned a leave of absence."

"And the tesseract?" Councilwoman Hawley questioned Fury with a slightly hopeful voice, one that Fury could see right though easily. He knew they still wanted the tesseract so they could build weapons, fat chance of that happening now.

"It is right where it belongs," Fury answered "out of our reach"

"That was not your call" Malick said, trying and failing to hide his disappointment and anger from Fury.

"I didn't make it, I just didn't argue with the god who did."

"So you let it take it and the war criminal Loki who should be answering for his crimes?" Malick asked with a touch of disbelief.

"Oh I wouldn't worry about that" Fury smirked, though it vanished near instantly "there are things you may have to worry about. Things that concern you all."

"And what would that be?" Councilwoman Hawley asked.

"From what I understand, you have completely and utterly pissed off Raven" Fury replied.

"Raven? Isn't he that sorcerer?"

"Wizard" Fury corrected her "dangerous wizard. A dangerous wizard who was battling as part of the Avengers, he was also the one who took that nuke you sent up into that giant portal."

"He works for shield, you control him" Malick reminded Fury

"Please" Fury snorted "I wish I controlled him, but I don't. He doesn't even work for shield, he is just a consultant. In his eyes, you sent a nuke that nearly killed him and his friends, you've committed a crime and you'll have to pay for it."

"If you cannot control the man then just arrest him" Councilwoman Hawley said as if it was an problem with an obvious answer, which to her it was.

"You think shield is capable of holding him?" Fury raised an eyebrow "Not only can he fly, teleport and pretty much blast his way out of any cell we put him in, he is also friends with Iron Man, Captain America and the god of thunder himself. He is not someone we want to mess with. He was and is the best shield has to offer, whenever we had a mission that was too difficult to risk regular agents on we sent him. He may very well be one of, if not the most dangerous person alive. I've seen him get filled with bullets and walk it off like it was nothing. You have all made a very powerful enemy. Though he is willing to compromise."

"Compromise?"

"Yes" Fury nodded "he had sent me a message earlier, he said 'Fury, I won't kill them but if you don't get them to resign then I will hurt them'"

"Is that a threat?!" Malick demanded.

"No" Fury shook his head "it's a warning. He will come after you if you refuse to resign."

"We have worked too hard to achieve our positions and we will not lose them now!"

"That's fine with me" Fury shrugged "I just have to warn you. I will keep an eye out for when you resign."

"I just said we won't be resigning"

"Repeat that sentence to me after he get's through with you"

"I don't think you fully understand what you're doing Director Fury" Councilwoman Hawley frowned "letting the Avengers lose on this world, they are uncontained and they are dangerous."

"Exactly, and the whole world knows it. EVERY world knows it."

"Was that the point of this director? A statement?" Malick asked

"No" Fury shook his head "a promise." He turned and began walking away "Say hi to Raven for me" He said over his shoulder before walking out.

"Hello Malick" A voice said right after Gideon Malick ended his call, he was about to turn around when suddenly ropes ties him to his chair. His chair spun around and he found Raven standing in front of him. He looked quite an intimidating site when viewed up close. "Don't bother calling for help, all of your security systems are disabled and your guards are currently asleep."

"W...what do you want?!" Malick demanded, trying to sound brave.

"You see, when a man has nothing to lose, that's when he's most dangerous. That applies to me, or at least it used to but now I have something to lose. You're little nuke would've cost me not only my friends, but also New York city. And after losing so much...I'm not in a real hurry to lose more"

"What do you want?!"

"I want your resignation and once I'm done with you then I'll be off to go visit your buddies."

"I...I've worked too hard to get this job...I can't just resign"

"I was hoping you'd say that" Raven replied with a glint in his eye and an expression that told Malick that Raven was smiling under his mask "I was really hoping you'd say that."

That night, the members of the world council responsible for the nuke all handed in their resignation. At the end of the night Fury was sitting in his desk with a smug expression, he knocked back a glass of alcohol right before the words 'I told you so' came out of his mouth.