A/N: Yes yes, I deserve to hang and be burned to ashes to erase my disgusting existence (Please don't do that). Anyway, here is chapter 16. Don't expect 17 any time soon. I'm quite busy and uninspired.

Chapter 16

As soon as they entered the room everything went still. The room became as silent as a graveyard. Hadrian almost held his breath as he felt the growing tension between the two groups. 'Please don't…' "You guys sure did get yourselves screwed." Hadrian pinched the bridge of his nose at Liam's attempt to break the silence. 'Never mind.' Tony composed himself enough to point almost accusingly at the new arrivals. "I understand Thor but what are THEY doing here?" he asked Fury, pointing at Phoenix's members. Itachi's eye twitched minutely but years of dealing with the children in Phoenix taught him patience. He instead chose to follow Hadrian's lead and sat down in the empty seats opposite the Avengers. Liam bounced into the seat to his left and the rest of the group around them. All in all, the new arrivals were Hadrian, Itachi, Liam, Sasuke, Alex, Thor, and Loki. The latter was the most shocking to the Avengers and SHIELD.

Many people already had their hands on their weapons. "Calm down Stark. We just happen to be good at cleaning up other people's shit." Sasuke drawled, drawing attention to himself. Loki relaxed minutely. Before anyone could say anything else, Hadrian spoke. "Director Fury has called for us to help you with this Ultron fellow." "We have it under control." Tony ground out. Hadrian leveled him with a look. "Ultron has in his possession currently unknown amounts of vibranium, a whole army of robots gallivanting around the city, one of the most brilliant minds that you can get your hands on, all the information the world has to offer, and a body that is just waiting to be possessed, and that's just what we know. So no, I don't think you have anything under control." Tony swallowed thickly as Hadrian leaned forward just a bit. "You have no idea what you set off when you decided to create an AI with free will without all the cards. You made it to do one task and one task only. Get rid of all the things that have corrupted the world. Who do you think that is, huh? Every single human being on this planet he is going to wipe out." He paused long enough for that news to settle firmly in everyone's mind. He motioned to his right and Alex placed a memory drive in his awaiting hand. He slid it to Fury across the table. "We have managed to create a virus that would stop Ultron's rapid evolution and perhaps also degrade his capacity to that of a normal AI. Only catch is it would last for only a few minutes. Hopefully that would be enough time to destroy the main body."

Fury received the object. "It's been three days. You already found a way to destroy him?" he asked disbelieving. "We made a deal Director and I always finish my end of the deal." "I see." Loki spoke up with a small smirk. "And your end of the bargain, Son of Fury?" Fury tensed a bit. Bruce scowled. "Doesn't anyone find it weird that Loki is not in cuffs?" Thor sweatdropped but did not get the chance to speak. Loki sneered. "Unlike you Banner, I am not an animal that needs to be chained." "That is enough." Natasha said with controlled calmness. Loki frowned. "Do not presume to tell me what to do." Steve broke in. "You're a criminal." Thor tried to calm everyone down. "Friends, this is not the time." "No, I think this is the perfect time to address the elephant in the room." Bruce quipped. "First of all, why is the man who tried to take over the world sitting across from us as if he has the right to be here? Why do we have the very people we have been suspecting of have nefarious intentions apparently now helping us without even getting the slightest hint that they would be here? And what the hell is this deal is Loki talking about?" Bruce was panting at the end of that diatribe. Tony set his hands lightly on the table. "So many questions we'd love to get answers to, but I'm especially interested in this agreement that our dear Director has made with Mr. Peverelle. Care to enlighten us?" The question was directed at Fury.

The one-eyed man almost winced at the attention directed at him. Steeling his nerves, he addressed them. "As you now know I sought help from Peverelle and we struck a deal. They help us safely deal with Ultron and I give them something in return." Everyone noticed his hesitation. Natasha fixed her stare on him. "And what is that something?" "It is someone rather. We would relinquish control of doctor Banner to Imperius in exchange for their aid." Silence reigned on the room once again, but this silence was of a different kind. Bruce was looking at Fury in a mixture of rage and betrayal. He was starting to turn green. "You WHAT?!" the last part came out as a roar. Many people jumped to their feet as the man smashed his fist into the table and it splintered. "Merlin." Liam breathed. His face was a mixture of horror and intrigue as he watched the normally calm doctor start growing into a raging monster. Itachi turned on his sharingaan ready to defend his comrades but a slight raise of Hadrian's hand stopped him. He raised his eyebrow but stood down.

Just as the hulk was about to leap at Fury Hadrian raised his hand towards him. 'Incarcerus.' Thick ropes leapt from his hand and bound the beast. The Hulk tried to break free but the binds tightened and bit into his skin, drawing an even angrier growl from him. Hadrian calmly walked towards him, having enough room to navigate to him as everyone else had scrambled away from him. With magic imbued in his tone, Hadrian's voice rang around the room. "Peace." The Hulk focused on him immediately. He growled at the tiny human trying to manipulate him just like everyone has always been. That voice resounded again, with Hadrian's hands raised in a calming manner. "You are safe. No one is going to hurt you. Isn't that what you seek? Assurance. I can give it to you. I can, and would protect you from everything. Everything." The words rang in his mind, stopping every other thought. Safe? He's never felt remotely safe in his life. No one can give him that. Surely he must be lying. No one ever cared much about his well-being. Yet, looking into those green eyes…They were void of emotion, cold and unforgiving. Yet held no deception in them. He just wanted to stop being a puppet. Can he? "You don't have to worry about anything."

The Hulk fell to his knees, already rapidly losing mass. "That's it." Hadrian advanced on him and stroked the now normal half-naked Bruce's sweaty locks. To the room's shock, the doctor leaned into the touch with a small sigh. "Good." With a half-smile at Hadrian's words and the irony of this situation, Bruce passed out cold. Hadrian addressed the room. "I will be taking him with me. Itachi." "Hai." Itachi responded. He rushed over to grip Hadrian's shoulder and they along with Bruce apparated from the room.

"What is he going to do with him?" Natasha asked, eyes focused on Thor. The brutish man did not know what to say, so just shrugged helplessly. Loki came closer to him. He whispered in his ear. "I think it is time to leave, brother. I don't even know why we came here in the first place." Thor nodded and looked towards Alex. The brunette sighed and nodded. The two brothers were whisked away by a portkey. "Our discussion is not over, so we are not leaving yet. We may have provided you with the means to defeat Ultron but we need to talk about what happens after." He said. Clint scoffed. "What, have another deal you made which none of us know about?" "Don't be so bitter about it." Liam muttered, flicking his wand to conjure up a stress ball which he then proceeded to squeeze as hard as he could. He was getting nervous around here surrounded by all these enemies. Sure, they were on the ground this time instead of a flying death trap but still… He glanced nervously around the room at the angry and cautious individuals. 'I wish that idiot Naruto was here.'

"You and I have a long chat waiting, and it doesn't involve a lot of talking." Tony said icily, eyes narrowed at the carefree brunette. Liam just smiled. "Oh, that." Alex cut in. "We have a proposal to make." "I'm not sure anything you have to say is a good thing." Steve said blankly. Alex continued as if he didn't hear him. "Manhattan has faced two catastrophic events so far; an alien invasion and now a robotic invasion. Funny how the Avengers are involved in both of them, or so the world will think. At this rate I wouldn't be surprised if a third catastrophe struck, with you right in the middle of it. One is chance, two is a coincidence, three is a pattern. How long do you think it will be before there is an uproar and the Avengers are being bound by all sorts of laws and contracts?" "What are you implying?" Steve asked suspiciously. "Humans are such feeble beings and sooner rather than later will start pointing fingers. When that happens you will need help on your side, help that doesn't come with attachments to the U.S government. You will need us."

"Fat chance Gandalf." Tony protested. Steve spoke up. "For once I agree with Stark. We will not rely on our enemies." Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "So we're enemies now? Trust me, if we were enemies you would have been dead long ago. Not only are we stronger but we have more advanced technology." Nick narrowed his eyes. "Are you threatening us?" "Threats are getting pretty old Director." Alex said. "We do have the means to destroy the world a couple of times over. However, that is not our goal. Hadrian has firmly forbid us from harming Earth. We live in it after-all, we all seek peace. Even so, we will not allow the likes of you to dictate how we live out that peace, as you seek to do. That said, we ultimately have the same goal; to protect Earth. We can work separately and have yourselves crumble to pieces, or we can work together and achieve world stability." "Before you came everything was fine." Fury ground out, not liking the insinuation that they wouldn't, couldn't, conquer on their own. Alex stared him in the eyes. "If we didn't come the world would fall apart. We are your best hope of winning. How about you admit that and we all move on."

"You know, I hate people like you. Who presume greatness just because you can." "But you acknowledge we can." Sasuke smirked. Liam stood up, chair crashing to the ground with the stress ball squeezed to its limits. "Stop it!" Silence settled on the room, eyes now set on Liam. The man blushed but glared determinedly. "All we have done was argue. It doesn't matter who is stronger than who, who came first, who caused what to happen. We are here, together, because we want to fix it. I admit, we have been jerks. I'm sorry. We have communicated our intentions. At least think about it. We can argue all we want when it's all over. Ok?"

"Idiot." "What did you say?!" Liam shouted, glaring at Sasuke. The raven gave a small smile, startling the brunette. "Never mind. We have said what we want, we can leave them to ponder it." He stood up, grasping Liam's shoulder. Alex too stood up, looking at the Avengers. "As Liam said, we are here to fix thing. Beyond that we want to ensure the safety of our planet. Think about it." He said, and they all disappeared with a sharp crack! Fury sighed. "I hate to admit it but we do need to work together. The whole point of bringing together the Avengers was to form a force strong enough to keep threats at bay." Tony clapped his hands then spread them in the director's direction. "That's it. The sign that the world is about to end." Despite himself Steve chuckled. "Only you, Stark." "Now we just need to find a way to bring back Bruce." Natasha said. Clint just frowned. So many questions, too few answers.

~Scene Change~

Thor stared outside his window as he has been for the past hour. Today was the day he and company would discuss how to kill his father. Although he had made up his mind he still felt like this was a dream. He was plotting to murder his father, damn it! He sighed silently. "What interests you so out there?" a voice questioned. He turned just enough to see Loki standing there staring at him. He turned back to look outside. "My mind is not on this realm, brother." Loki came to stand next to him. "You still want to preserve your father." Thor shook his head at the statement. "No. It's just…I never thought my life would come to this. Now I have seen the error of my father's ways I find it hard to respect him like I once did." "But you still love him." The blunt words caused him to look at Loki. His green eyes held a concern that he had never seen before. Has Loki always looked out for him? "Yes. He is my father." "I see. Can you still go through with it?" Thor was again looking out the window. He nodded resolutely. "Yes. I need to think about my people."

A knock drew their attention. Zack was at the door. Loki still felt something crawl up his spine at the look of utter adoration in the boy's eyes. He shifted subtly to stand a little behind Thor's hulking form. "Uncle Harry says things are almost ready. You should go downstairs." Thor nodded. "Aye. Come brother. The child beckons us." "I'm not a child!" the boy protested. Thor smile. "Of course, of course." The two demi-gods moved past the sulking child to make their way to the meeting room. They got there to find everyone sitting in chairs around the round table. Hadrian stood at one side with an overlarge map in front of him. "Glad you could make it." He greeted. They took their seats. Zack hovered at the door. Hadrian motioned him in and he happily went to sit next to Loki. The man frowned for just a moment.

He took a closer look at the map and his scowl returned. "Pray tell, how did you get a map of the palace?" Alex answered. "Before Harry went to get you he release a few bugs with magical sensors on them to move around every nook and cranny of the place they could find. It took only a couple of days to map out the entire castle. The details were automatically drawn to produce this map." "Your magics are truly astounding." Thor complimented. Harry waved a hand in dismissal. "Yes, back to the matter at hand." Everyone focused on him. "As you know our goal is only to take out Odin. That demands subtlety. It's an assassination mission. The biggest issue would be getting to him. With the stunt we pulled the last time Heimdall would be paying particular attention to who goes in and out." "Do we have a plan to counter that?" Samuel asked. Alfred spoke up. "Our ticket in is Thor." He, Naruto, Alex and Itachi had agonized over it over the days. Thor looked surprised. "Me?" Itachi nodded. "Yes. No one would find it strange that you came to Asgard. It's normal for you to go in and out at odd times." "How do I get you in then?" "We will give you a modified Portkey. I used Death Magic so it's possible carry people across realms. It will certainly get us into Asgard." Harry said. "Heimdall would still know as soon as you're inside." Loki argued. Naruto spoke. "If we can get to Odin fast enough it wouldn't matter. If we manage to catch him and Odin off guard killing the king would be simple."

Thor frowned. "I doubt catching him that off guard would be feasible. Odin spends most of his time in the throne room. It is riddled with sensors that notify him of possible threats. He would know of your presence too soon." "And engaging him in a fight would draw unwanted attention." Harry muttered, marking the throne room on the map in red. He did the same with his bed chambers. "We need a disturbance, something that would draw him to an unprotected space." "How about outside? I can act as a decoy to draw Odin out. I'm sure he is itching to get his hands on me." " That would require ample preparation." Alex said. "Why don't we take Heimdall out of the equation? Hit him with a dart or something." Liam suggested. "That way, we can prepare as much as we want without his interference." "Heimdall has something of an existence in the spiritual plane. Even unconscious he can still send warnings." Loki informed. Samuel asked. "Can he be convinced to side with us?" "That would be difficult, and would tip Odin off if it fails." Loki said. Hadrian shook his head. "Not to mention he is tied in servitude to the throne. It would be better to misinform him. However, I don't trust Thor's acting skills to enact my plan."

Thor huffed. "True warriors fight with truth and honesty." Loki rolled his eyes. "You still have much to learn, brother." Suigetsu said. "How about we use a glamour, or a polyjuice potion. Thor can be Loki and vice versa. The fake Loki won't need to say anything." "That sounds like an idea. It would be as if Thor has finally brought me in to my punishment." Loki commented. Hadrian let the men continue developing the plan, interrupting occasionally to make a few comments. A few hours later the plan was complete and everyone had their orders. "Alright then. We leave at dawn."

~Scene Change~

"You think they can really deal with Ultron, crippled as he may be with the virus?" Alex asked his boss. Harry replied. "Even if they don't Imperium will take care of him. She has already embedded herself into at least half of his code. Since Ultron is always evolving he would only notice it as an advantage to himself until it's too late." "How about the body he's making? The witch and her brother?" "Miss Maximoff is probably the only being on this planet or perhaps this universe that can destroy the infinity stones. Her power is alike to their essence." "But we're not from this universe. You're not from this universe." Harry nodded. "Yes. Although whether we can destroy infinity stones remains to be seen." Alex nodded in acceptance then looked ahead. They were about to board a helicopter that would take them to…somewhere. "Where are we going again?" "Sanctum Sanctorum." Surprised, a dirty blonde head turned to stare at him. "I thought Strange was kidnapped." Harry smirked, climbing on with his companion. "You'd be surprised." And they took off.

Some time later they were in front of an old looking building that looked rather out of place in their eyes. "Want to knock?" Alex asked. "It's quite polite." "Of course." Was Harry's reply. Alex knocked. They could hear the sound echo into the house eerily. No one answered. He tried again until he had announce their presence thrice, still no answer. Harry stepped up and with a lazy wave the door blew open. The door banged loudly into the wall and they both listened to the echo for a minute. "It seems no one's home." He muttered. Alex walked in. "We'll let ourselves in then." He drew his wand just in case. They wandered around for a few minutes until a whirling sound reached their ears. With quick movements Alex brought up a stone shield then banished it to the attacker's direction. A pained and surprised groan was their response.

Harry banished the shattered rock and dust away to reveal Wong lying in a dazed heap, wrists still glowing from the protective barrier he had brought up. He wasted no time tying the man up. Just as he started to recover he said with eyes glowing. "I am here to see the Sorcerer Supreme." Wong gave a dazed "Wha…" then nodded sluggishly. They let the man free to lead them down some stairs into a room covered in symbols. Wong gestured complicatedly with his hands glowing with fiery symbols and the room shifted. Space warped around them, shifting until they seemed to be in a whole different world, then pieced back together. It was as if they had never left. "Harry?" Alex whispered nervously so only the raven heard him. Harry just followed Wong. The sorcerer led them along multiple corridors until they reached a room. In there they saw the one and only Dr. Strange meditating, hovering inches from the floor. Alex gasped but quickly schooled his features but did not fully lower his wand.

"What have you done with my friend?" Strange asked, not stopping what he was doing. Harry sat in one of the awaiting seats, Alex moving to stand by his side. "Call it forceful persuasion. How did you fake your so-called kidnapping? I promise I won't tell." Strange ceased meditating and slowly got up, his cape straightening itself. "An illusion on one of the enemy that had passed out cold. I figured Hydra wouldn't want to admit for the longest time they had been tricked." Harry tipped his head to that. "Right. Now, to my reason for visiting. I assume you still hold the Time Stone close." The sorcerer's eyes narrowed. He made a small hand movement and Wong broke out of his dazed state. As soon as he got his bearings he shot a crackling whip at Alex. Quick to react, the blonde brought his wand up in a twisting gesture and pulled. An invisible force grabbed the whip and Wong lurched forward. Wooden bonds sprung up to catch him. Wong produce a ring of energy ready to slice the attack. To his surprise his defense disappeared in wisps and the wooden bonds disintegrated into dust so Wong crashed into the bare floor.

Alex whipped around to scowl at Harry. "Boss!" "We're not here to fight. Stand down." Was the calm response. Alex huffed but did as told, still stubbornly keeping an eye on Dr. Strange and Wong. The sorcerer had moved back also staring them down. Harry addressed Strange, who had stayed silent throughout. "I want that stone." "Many want it, but I have not handed it to them." Was the brunette's response. Harry leaned forward, eyes alight with determination. "Let me rephrase that, Stephen. I WILL have it." Strange felt a force enter his mind but managed to rip it out. Harry was momentarily stunned then grinned. "I shouldn't have expected less of the Sorcerer Supreme." Stephen's wrists were glowing with some attacks and defenses at the forefront of his mind. "You want to forcefully extract its location." "Yes. Unless you can tell me willingly. I assure you, the next tap wouldn't be as gentle." "Never."

Some tight chords wrapped around his throat and wrists, binding him to the chair. Alex was about to react when the wand disappeared from his hands. He stepped back in shock, this having never happened to him but steeled himself. Wandless magic was exhausting but a possible alternative. "It's ok Alex." The words reached his senses and he whipped his head to see Harry still bound in the chair. Their eyes met. "Just look into my eyes and don't look away. Trust me." Alex did. The world slowed down. There was a commotion and screaming that sounded muffled in his ears but he did not look away. Those green orbs, the color of death, held him in place. He couldn't possibly look away even if he wanted to. He blinked and everything seemed to start up again. Harry's eyes moved from his and he followed that gaze. Dr. Strange and Wong were on the floor passed out. "What happened?" Alex asked. "You'll know." Was Harry's response. "Let's go." Alex gaped. "But, they're right there." He tried to protest but Harry was already out the door. He ran to catch up. Once he did he stayed silent, refusing to think he was sulking.

Once they were at the front doors again they stopped. Harry placed something in his hands. He opened them to see a golden watch. "A time turner?" Harry nodded. "Three turns. I'll be waiting." Alex's eyes lit up in understanding and, wasting no time, gave three turns and disappeared. Harry only had to wait a minute before Alex came out of a corner. He had a smirk on his face. "You never told me your brand of ligilimency was inescapable with skin-to-skin contact." Harry smirked right back. "Would have spoiled the surprise." He brought his hand out as if for a shake. Alex willingly grabbed it. He closed his eyes as a sensation like cool water rushing into, through, his head overtook him. As soon as it had begun it was over. Harry nodded and started walking again. "Your mastery over evasion spells still shocks me." Alex almost blushed. "Yes, well. It was necessary. Will you be able to call forth the Time Stone?" "Yes." Silence fell between them, then the brunette asked. "Had you engaged in battle, would you have won?" For a minute the dark-haired youth was silent, then he said. "I don't know who would have won, but a battle between us would have probably destroyed half the city block at the very least." They fell silent again. In due time they made it to the helicopter and flew back home.