Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or the Avengers

AN: Sorry for the late release but here's the next chapter. I've tried to add some more detail to the chapter and will be looking to do that in the future. I had also planned on a chapter a week but until I finish school it might be moved to every 2 weeks like this chapter was.

Anyways thanks for the reviews and hope you enjoy.

Chapter 3

Looking out from his hiding spot, Harry took in his surroundings. To his left was a small clearing, if it could be called that. It was barely discernible with the foliage from the surrounding oaks surrounding it and covering it from above; leaving only a small opening.

To his right was a forest of trees and brush; the same as he hid behind now. He could hear the crickets chirping and the rustle of leaves as the inhabitants scurried across the forest.

What held his attention was the cabin sitting in the middle of it all. Modestly sized, it only had a single floor and it's most distinguishing feature was the porch facing the clearing. The rest of the cabin was surrounded by the trees forming a half circle around the perimeter.

He had been tasked with finding his target's tracks and had followed the clues through the forest to make it here.

He was about 100 feet from the cabin hiding in a small bush under a tree and needed to find a way in but was clueless on any of the schematics of the inside.

Keeping his magic tightly controlled he reached out and let it slowly permeate the house until he was able to discern a rough layout in his mind. A trick he had learned in the war when attacking Death Eater manors, he created a kind of ward to surround the house and allow him to sense what was awaiting inside. It was weak enough to be able to slip past any wards and not disable any electronics.

He knew that there were two people inside and the place was rigged with different kinds of surveillance systems. There was a laser system that surrounded the interior walls and was designed to sound the alarm if someone made their way inside.

Sending a small burst of magic through the house he disabled the cameras and silently apparated to the small window. Looking inside he spotted a small shadowy corner to which he then apparated.

Throwing on a quick silencing charm and disillusionment charm he started making his way to the room to which he knew his target lied. He snuck past the kitchen and down a hallway passing a couple of other rooms while using his magic to make sure his target hadn't moved.

Finally, he reached the end of the hallway and crouched outside the door to plan his next move. He could sense that there was a person in the middle of the room and another person in one of the corners of the room.

He knew he had to be fast so he created an illusion then got to work. Imbuing his body with his magic he was able to slow down time by a fraction. It was enough as he blew the door open and immediately sent the illusion in.

Before anyone had time to react he sent a banishing charm at the hostage and sent them to the corner of the room and spelled a shield over them. Apparating to the corner left of the door he was able to spy his target as he dove out from under a desk.

The man went for the legs hoping to flip his target over and subdue him, alas he only met air. He didn't even have time for his shock to register as everything went black.

Harry slowly rose checking the room for any other assailants as he registered his success.

It had been a year since he first arrived for tutelage under Viktor Kovalev and it had been the hardest he had ever worked.

He had been put through the ropes as he learned muggle martial arts and underwent an insane training regime to get in the best shape of his life.

He hadn't been disappointed either as he now felt better then he ever had before.

While not only had he become faster and stronger his stamina had increased two fold. His magic had started taking less energy to cast and he could tell he had increased his casting speed.

When he wasn't enhancing his combat skills he was learning to be a perfect S.H.I.E.L.D. spy.

He had been given a crash course on the technology he would meet and was taught how to sneak around and disable them. He had practiced clearing hostile buildings and staying undetected.

This had been his final test and he knew he had learnt all he could. Sneaking around the woods near the encampment he had slowly learnt the best ways to fit into the environment and besting his teacher was the finale.

Dispelling the shield around the dummy hostage, he conjured a chair and sat in front of the man who had been a mentor for over a year before awakening him.

"Ugh," Kovalev said as he shook out the cobwebs, "you really got the drop on me this time. You've certainly become more creative. When you first arrived all you wanted to do was overpower everybody."

"Well it's like you always said why work smarter not harder. If I can complete a task in half the time while exerting less energy it's gonna be the best option," was the response.

"If you learned anything while you were here I'm glad it was that."

"So am I." Harry said as he helped him to his feet.

"Fury wanted to be contacted when I deemed you ready for field action, so I'd get ready when you head home. He's not the type to take things slow and wait around."

"Got it sir, thanks for everything."

ooo0ooo

Harry was barely home for 5 minutes when he heard the quiet thum of an engine. Stepping outside he leant against the porch and he waited for the Quinjet to land.

Spinning around, the hatch opened to reveal Nick Fury walking down the ramp in his traditional trench coat.

"Viktor said you weren't a complete idiot, so how'd you impress him so much?"

"Just smacked him around a couple times. You know, the usual for me."

"Well you'll have plenty of opportunities to back up that talk; starting now let's go."

"Y'know I got a little tip that this might happen so I came prepared," Harry said cheekily as a duffle bag appeared in his hand and he made his way to Fury.

"Here take this, it'll bring you up to speed on what's been happening in the world while you were off the grid. It also contains a little bit to know about your first mission," Fury replied as he handed him a vanilla folder and went to take his seat.

"Has there really been so much change that it's the first thing I need to learn about," he questioned with a quirked eyebrow.

"You'll find it's what has changed. It'll also provide some background into your first assignment.

"Understood."

ooo0ooo

After reading through the file Harry was left shaking his head. The contents he had read were mostly a synopsis of a collection of terrorist attacks by a man named the Mandarin, until his eventual defeat in Miami.

What had shocked him was that Tony Stark could be so foolish as to give out his address. He had been given a rundown of the Avengers after he had arrived and knew that Stark was considered brash, but this bordered on stupidity.

Without knowing what was going through the man's mind he decided to forget it and write it down as a loss of focus.

Getting away from those thoughts, Harry thought it was fairly obvious what his new found job was going to be. After going through the rigorous stealth training and a rundown of the most recent terrorist attacks, he believed he was going to be a weapon to stop attacks before they happen.

"So what's going through your mind right now," Fury asked, shaking him from his thoughts.

"You obviously didn't show me this for Stark's accomplishment. My guess is this whole fiasco has caused something you don't like."

"And you'd be correct. With the Mandarin putting the country in a fritz it's given confidence boosts to other groups like his," he confirmed, "You'll be briefed about it more at the helicarrier but the basics is you'll be going in and eliminating some of the more zealous groups before they can cause too much damage."

"So I'm a hitman."

"If you want to consider yourself that then sure. I, however, believe you to be more of a precautionary measure."

"Of course you do," Harry said with a snort.

"Think of it what you will, but it's still your job to carry out."

"I have no qualms about the job, just call it what it is. I'm here to eliminate your enemies for you," to which he only received a shrug in reply.

"Anyways there wasn't much in the way of details for my mission so spill. I know I'm targeting terrorists, but what kind. The file talked about the attacks being based around something called the Extremis virus that made people explode. Are we going to be tracking people who've used it or what."

"Wait another 10 minutes and you'll have your answers; we're here."

ooo0ooo

They landed with minimum fanfare and Harry was guided to an empty briefing room without difficulty. It was a simple room with a table in the middle and chairs facing a screen at the front of the room.

When everyone had taken their seats a picture of a man, he recognized as Aldrich Killian from the file, was thrown on the screen immediately.

"So you know about the attacks and the acts Killian did as the Mandarin. The Extremis virus has been put out of commission by Stark, but other terrorist groups have been riled up a little," Fury started as another picture popped up on the screen.

"This man is the leader of a small sect of the Juarez Cartel. Name's Fernando Loreto and we think he's behind something big," he started.

"So it's a small part of a cartel. From what I know they don't usually commit mass terrorist attacks so what's changed," Harry questioned.

"There's been rumbles of something big happening and more of their men have been seen trying to sneak into American borders. Recently the government took in a defector so we believe they could be planning to get him back. If they carry out an attack it could leave hundreds dead and a major problem for the country's morale."

"Alright so these guys are getting cocky. What's your preferred course of action."

"Your job is to sneak into his base and collect the information we need. What are they planning and is it a threat to American security? If you can eliminate Loreto and end the threat he and the plan creates then do it. "

"So you're not worried about an American operative going in and eliminating foreign threats? Couldn't that cause an international crisis?" was the inquisitive reply; not that Harry cared much about the politics.

"Maybe if you get caught, but you've been trained not to. Besides you and any mission you carry out won't be going on any file. You're going to be our ghost, you go in and complete the mission. We don't ask any questions, just accept the end results," Fury confirmed.

"Very well then when do we get started."

"Now, you'll be taken by Quinjet to a site about 200 miles from your target. You'll have to scope the layout and make your own way there, but once you're done use this phone and let us know to pick you up," he said. "It's a secure line that goes directly to me," he clarified after seeing Harry's raised eyebrow.

"I think I got it all, let's get started."

ooo0ooo

Before boarding the Quinjet, Harry had been given another file containing more information about this part of the cartel and the acts they had carried out.

Taking a seat in the back, he wasn't bothered by the pilot and they quickly took off. Seeing that the pilot had no interest in trying to figure out his identity or what his job was, he leaned back and pulled out the file.

It seemed his target, Loreto was a mid level boss, but his penchant for violence had gained him a reputation. Carrying out attacks on small towns seemed to be his calling card and he didn't care who he hurt to get what he wanted.

He would publicly execute any who would go against him and had carved out a small piece of land to call his own. His actions had made him someone that others couldn't bother to mess with and so he was mostly left to his own devices.

Harry had no qualms, however, about putting down the violent and possibly mad man. Even if he didn't plan to attack the U.S. he was far too willing to kill innocents for Harry's liking. He had become accustomed to having to kill on the battlefield and had even gone a little too far against their families, but he still would never go out of his way to kill innocents.

For the rest of the flight he entered a meditative trance to focus his mind and come up with a plan. He knew he couldn't go in guns blazing and needed to try and end the threat quietly especially if he wanted to keep government involvement to a minimum.

The pilot's voice awoke him from his trance as they were arriving. Getting up and stretching he looked out the window to see nothing but desert.

"I'm not entirely sure why, but this is where the director said to drop you. There's nothing around here for miles," the pilot said as they landed.

"It's fine, I'll be able to make my way from here," he replied as he got ready to depart.

"Whatever you say," was the mumbled reply that he barely caught.

As soon as he had made his way down the ramp it rose back up and the Quinjet departed. Checking his surroundings he confirmed the pilots statement as he saw there was nothing in sight. Luckily, Fury had let him know about this and had given directions.

Looking around he tried to spot the sign he was told about. The sun had long since started to lower and it was getting difficult. Finally, he spotted the small rock formation that he had been told about and knew he would need to use one of his more complicated pieces of magic.

After watching Voldemort successfully fly without a broom, he had tried to replicate it anyway he could. Near the end of the war he had a breakthrough and was able to do it, albeit without the smoke.

With nary a thought he rose and took off in the direction where he knew the base lied.

ooo0ooo

After what seemed to be a couple of minutes he arrived at his destination, the lights of the camp exposing it. Slowing down he took in his surroundings which seemed to be surrounded by small hills of sand. His target was the encampment in the middle of the valley.

It seemed to have been a former village turned into their homebase with houses surrounding the perimeter. In the center of the village was a 3 story manor that was considerably larger than anything else around.

From his vantage point above the village he was able to make out the sniper towers and knew he would need to take them out first. After making sure he accounted for each one he silently disapparated to one of the towers.

He appeared facing the back of his target, but they must have sensed something as they started to turn around. A quick flash of green ended the threat before it could become imminent. He quickly transfigured the body into a rock and flung it through the air. It would be a while before it ever turned back into a body and when it did it would already be buried by the sand.

Quickly doing the same for every tower he was finally ready to make his way into the main building. After using his magic sonar to check the area he started making his way there, silently dispatching any who would be a threat.

He had eliminated 5 of the guards before he arrived at an alley next to the house. It was surrounded by 6 men with more inside and Harry wasn't looking to get in a fight before he completed his mission. He still needed the intel and he knew he would have to be quiet about it.

From his spot in the shadows of the valley he decided to try and use his magic to find the location of the computer. He was in luck as although there seemed to be a singular laptop in the entirety of the house.

Even better was the fact that there was only one person in the room. Taking a guess that this was his target he came up with a plan. Flying to the roof of the neighbouring house he made sure he wasn't spotted before looking across to his target.

He spotted a window leading to the same floor his target was on and after making sure no one would see him he vanished the glass and flew through it.

Finding himself in a dark hallway with a singular door at the end of it he knew this is where he would find his target. After putting up a silencing ward to cut him and his target off from the rest of the house he made his forward.

Bursting through the door, he found a man previously asleep jolt upward. Not wasting any time he hit him with a quick stunner before he made his way to the computer on the desk and got to work.

He quickly plugged in the USB and watched as the program did it's work. Harry quite frankly didn't care what the man's ultimate goal was and just wanted to finish the job. So he didn't read any of the information he collected and quickly rose to decide his next course of action.

The man in front of him needed to die and any plan he concocted needed to end. Not trusting the cartel to quit with his death he knew what he had to do.

Not even bothering to pay any attention to the man he had just stunned, Harry disapparated back to the roof he had been spying from. Gathering his magic he sent it forward an overpowered blasting curse designed to level the building.

Not staying around he disappeared back to the top of the hill to marvel at the destruction. He had leveled every surrounding building and any who were near the blast would have been instantly vaporized.

The place was a wreck with everyone running around trying to combat the flames. He knew there would be no survivors and this would be a significant setback for the group.

While some might have their suspicions it would be jotted down as an explosion caused by a gas leak. With the mastermind, his men, and the computer containing the plan all gone he believed he'd done enough to halt any plan in its tracks.

With a satisfied smile Harry left the scene completely, apparating away to await an extraction.