Chapter Twenty-One: Explosions Both Verbally and Physically

"Me?" Thor repeated.

"Last year, Earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge match that leveled a small town," Director Fury began explaining. "We learned that not only are we not alone, but we are hopelessly – hilariously – out-gunned."

"My people want nothing but peace with your planet."

"But you're not the only people out there, are you?" he snapped, on a roll. "And, you're not the only threat. The world's filling up with people who can't be matched, they can't be controlled." Spider-man's fingers had halted their anxious drumbeat on his legs and Hiro brushed his velvety ear against the boy's cheek worriedly.

He knew the teen had sensory overloads sometimes, had helped with one or two himself, including the one when they first learned Aunt May was gone, and hoped this wasn't what that was. Or maybe he did hope for a problem as simple as that, as cruel as it sounds, because Peter was always moving and tapping and doing something unless he was completely wiped out and needed rest or something was very wrong with him. It was… scary to see someone he liked – no, loved, because he really did love the boy – so unlike themselves.

"Like you controlled the cube?!" Captain Rogers was accusing in the background.

"Your work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it, and his allies. It is the signal to all the realms that the Earth is ready for a higher form of war," Thor insisted.

"A higher form?"

"You forced our hand!" Fury practically shouted. "We had to come up with some—"

"Nuclear deterrent," Mr. Stark interrupted. "'Cause that always calms everything right down."

"Remind me again how you made your fortune, Stark?"

Captain Rogers scoffed in a very un-Captain-Rogers-like way. "I'm sure if he still made weapons, Stark would be neck deep—"

"Wait – wait! Hold on! How is this now about me?"

"I'm sorry, isn't everything?"

"I thought humans were more evolved than this." And now everyone really was yelling and screaming over each other in a worked-up, frankly ruddy stupid argumentative state.

"Excuse me did we come to your planet and blow stuff up?!"

"'Tis your champion's—"

"YOU'RE NOT MY CHAMPION!"

"Are you boys really that naïve? S.H.I.E.L.D. monitors potential threats."

"You furious? I'm furious."

"And Captain America is on the threat poll?"

"We all are!"

"That's not your concern, doctor!"

Now Hiro's head was spinning in a thousand places at once as they shouted, and Spidey sat away from everything, uncharacteristically quiet, and the staff began to glow – wait, what? The blue gem on the end was shining fiercely and he could sense another signal magic being sent out to something, whatever that something was, he knew it couldn't be good. But his meows were lost in the cacophony, so all he could do was butt his head up against Peter and hope to Merlin that his friend would be okay.

"You're on that list? Are you above or below angry bees?"

"I swear to God, Stark, one more crack…"

"You're a threat! VERBAL THREAT! I FEEL THREATENED!"

"Show some respect."

"Respect what?"

"Yeah, manhandle me now, that'll be a good—"

"You speak of control, yet you court chaos!"

"It's his MO, isn't it?" Dr. Banner's voice cut through as some of the background arguments faded away, Hiro feeling how the scepter adapted the situation, focusing its power on the doctor and the two opposites in the room. "I mean, what are we, a team? No, no, no. We're a chemical mixture that makes chaos. We're – we're a time bomb."

"You," Fury pointed, "need to step away."

Stark began to run his mouth again and clapped a hand on the captain's shoulder. "Why shouldn't the guy let off a little steam?"

"You know damn well why! Back off!" Rogers swatted his hand away belligerently.

"Oh, I'm starting to want you to make me."

"Yeah, big man in a suit of armor," the blonde scoffed. "Take that off, what are you."

"Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist."

"I know guys with none of that worth ten of you. I've seen the footage. The only thing you really fight for is yourself. You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you."

"No, that's me," Spider-man whispered dejectedly. Rogers gave him a startled look, eyes wide like he'd just come up from almost drowning and getting a breath of fresh air above the water before Stark drug him back into the yelling match. Dr. Banner might've heard, but nobody knew what was going on in the conflicted man's head right now.

"I think I would just cut the wire," the self-proclaimed "genius" proposed.

"Always a way out," he frowned disapprovingly. "You know, you may not be a threat, but you better stop pretending to be a hero."

"Okay," the youngest spider said silently, the barest muttering escaping past his lips. Stuck in his own head, he must've thought that last bit was directed at him, Hiro realized with a choked breath. All the turbulence of self-hatred in his head, the kit had experienced things like that before, but not on the level he'd seen in his teenaged friend. No, no, no, it wasn't for you!

"A hero, like you?" Stark continued on, oblivious. "You're a laboratory experiment, Rogers. Everything special about you came out of a bottle."

"Put on the suit, let's go a few rounds."

Spider-man spoke again, mouthing words no one heard to himself. "No… don't want to hurt anyone else." But Hiro heard, and he was screaming, pounding in his head for a way out, anything, any way out of this cat's body so that he could help! This was worse that the time on the building after the little girl in the tree, worse than the days after May's death, almost, when he wanted so desperately to be there but couldn't!

He cursed fate, destiny, Death, God, whoever in every language he knew, which, granted, wasn't a lot, but an impressive string of swears nonetheless, for getting him stuck like this, unhelpful and useless, simply sitting to watch events go by. Yes, Harry had asked to start over and Hiro had found a new life and new people to cherish, but when his loved one was in pain, even emotionally, and there was nothing he could do, it was infuriating! He wanted to help, he needed to help, yet he couldn't!

"You people are so petty, and tiny," Thor laughed.

"Yeah, this is a team," Dr. Banner mocked half-heartedly, most just tiredness and anger acting up.

But, of course, Fury took it the wrong way. "Agent Romanoff, would you escort Dr. Banner back to his—"

"Where? You rented my room." It was suddenly silent.

"The cell was just—"

"In case you needed to kill me, but you can't, I know, I tried!" Was it possible for the room to be any quieter? "I got low. I didn't see an end, so I put a bullet in my mouth and the Other Guy spit it out. So, I moved on, I focused on helping other people. I was good until you dragged me back into this freak show and put everyone here at risk. You wanna know my secret, Agent Romanoff? You wanna know how I stay calm?" The click of snaps on the gun holsters of the director and agent echoed like cannon blasts on a battlefield. Steve was the first to say something.

"Doctor Banner… put down the scepter." The man's head jerked down, where he found the spear waiting in his hand, somehow. He hadn't picked it up, he didn't know he picked it up. Hiro gave his brunet friend one last cuddle to snap him out of it, which seemed to work, as he perked up with his eyes flitting about the thickly aggravated room, before gracefully, but cautiously, trudging over to the doctor.

He hopped onto the desk and placed a soft paw on the man's arm, doing his best to ground the curly-haired man physically, for there was nothing he could do on a magical level anymore. Maybe he was being hopeful, but he saw Dr. Banner relax a bit, the scepter's hold loosening. The sudden ring-ding-a-ling of Stark's fancy computer snapped everyone's heads to the opposite side of the room and the spear was replaced on the counter. The location of the cube had been found.

"Got it," Director Fury announced unnecessarily.

"Sorry, kids," the gamma expert absentmindedly scratched Hiro's head before striding over to the locating tech. "You don't get to see my party trick after all." Instantly the room was filled with chatter again and the kit sighed in a long-suffering way. They really couldn't leave it alone, though it was most likely just the scepter's influence over the gathering. But still, Stark and Rogers' little rivalry wasn't helping matters.

"Located the Tesseract?"

"I can get there faster."

"Look, all of us—"

"The Tesseract belongs on Asgard, no human is a match for it."

Stark turned to march out of the room, only to be stopped by the blonde's hand. "You're not going alone."

"You gonna stop me?" he smacked the hold away.

"Put on the suit, let's find out!"

"I'm not afraid to hit an old man!"

"Put on the suit."

Yeah, if Captain America himself was acting like this, there was something in the water. Or, more accurately, air, Hiro thought with a glare shot at the manipulating spear, which sat innocently on the table. Over by the upgraded laptop – well, that's what he thought it was – Dr. Banner's eyes went wide as saucers, his breath catching in his throating and bringing the cat's attentions to him. A shaky hand was brought up, he took off his glasses.

"Oh my god."

And something exploded.

I'm happy happy happy happy! Because reasons! Don't ask (or do if you actually care, you do you).

Sorry-not-sorry for the cliffhanger on the end! Eep, I feel like Uncle Rick! It's kinda fun…

But poor Peter! At least he has Hiro, even if Hiro is currently cursing out every powerful being in the multiverse. 'Cause he's a sweetie and really wants to help but can't. Don't worry, those two will figure themselves out at some point…

Lucky

To Dylan-A-Friend: Thanks! You're awesome.

To The Red Dementor: Yay! I thought they were both good ideas, but I'm also just weird so you never know if it's just me.

To Yo (Guest): Just you wait, things will get interesting soon enough.

To Vladimir Mithrander: No, not yet. I WANT TO SO BAD THOUGH! Thank you for the compliment!

To Christina (Guest): Holy cannoli, thank you! I seriously can't believe that THIS crazy thing is your favorite Avengers/Harry Potter crossover! You read "Heroes Assemble!" by Stargon1 or "Fates Be Changed" by The Homing Pigeon yet? They're much better. I actually need to catch up on "Heroes Assemble!" … I'm off track, sorry. But thanks so much!

To Augurey-GT96: I don't know… you mean Carol Danver's cat/alien right? I haven't seen the movie (and I'm dying because of it. Figuratively.) and I only know about Goose from the comics, so I'm not sure.