Chapter 27: It's What Heroes Do, or Don't Do
Thanks for all the reviews. I changed a small bit in the last chapter. Like having Siriusly's nickname be Siri. And added a bit more action for Deadpool. Nothing drastic enough that you have to reread it.
Hphphp
"Wait, can't I meet my godson first?" Siri asked, looking at the little boy she had thought of the entire time she was in that hellhole. The fact that she was innocent, and that he was alive and out there, was all that kept her sane. "Harry, I'm your godmother, Siriusly Black. You can call me Aunt Siri," she said, going to stand in front of him and squatting down to his height. He looked just like that git James, but with Lily's eyes.
"Okay," Harry said, letting go of Ivy's hand and holding it out to shake. "It's nice to meet you, ma'am. I mean, Aunt Siri," he said, shaking the hand that enveloped his. He sure hoped this aunt was nicer than the last one.
"It is wonderful to finally meet you again," she said, then she stood and looked at Ivy. "You are just as adorable as Harry," she said, looking at the miniature version of Lily with Potter's nose and hair. Those curls had to come from the Potter side. At least she got Lily's coloring.
"Thank you, Miss Siriusly," Ivy said, sincerely. She liked this woman; she'd be good for Harry. There was an air about her that said she loved the boy.
"Please, you can call me Aunt Siri too," she said, holding out her hand to the girl.
"Okay, Aunt Siri," Ivy said, cutely. She took the hand and shook it.
"Okay, let's go get my money," Siriusly said, turning to the adults. She was more than ready to get herself, and Harry, established in this new reality. If she had to go see the goblins and bleed to do that, then that's what she'd do.
Deadpool, Tony, Pepper, Ivy, Harry, Sirius, and Siriusly all went out to the cars. Happy drove them, of course. He seemed to take the new person for granted. They took the limo again, and Harry and Siri were impressed with the luxury of it. Harry had been in a car before, but never one like this. It was an entirely new experience for Siri.
"I have to ask," Siriusly said to Deadpool as they were travelling, "Why are you dressed like that? I almost didn't come with you when you freed me." She hadn't wanted to be rude before, but the man showed that he was not one for politeness. It had been itching on the back of her tongue since she laid eyes on the man.
"I am hideously scarred under this costume. I'd've scared you more if you had seen my ugly mug. That and I'm an anti-hero," Deadpool said proudly puffing out his chest.
"What is an anti-hero?" Harry asked, wrinkling up his cute little nose. He knew what a hero was, but not an anti-one. Didn't anti mean opposite?
"The easiest way to explain it is someone who does good things but doesn't have morals," Ivy said, looking at her friend, Mr. Wade. She knew he was a good man, so did that mean he didn't have morals? "They also tend to fight for the fight's sake and not the reason behind it," she added, trying to put it in words a kid would understand.
"Hey, I have morals," Wade said, pointing to his chest. "I don't kill kids," he inserted as if that was a great moral, which it was. He had a few more, but they were his to keep to himself.
"That is a good one to have," agreed Sirius and Siriusly. They looked at one another and nodded. They were from a dark family and had few morals as it was. They had kowtowed to Dumbledore during the war, but that was to not argue, not because they agreed with the man. Not that each other knew that about the other.
"Okay, then in this case someone that has few morals, but does good things. Like rescuing Harry," Ivy said, hugging her dimensional twin to her side.
"He did that for greedy purposes," Tony pointed out, getting glares from everyone, except Deadpool who was nodding along.
"And the comedy of it," Wade agreed. "Though if I had known about Harry, I would have done the same. I just don't go out of my way to know," he added, still relishing in what he had done to that fat lard of an uncle the boy had had.
"Don't you care what is going to happen to the people in our reality?" Siri asked, not sure if she did. They had left her to rot after all.
"No," was the succinct answer.
"I don't either," she decided. "Though, I'd like to rescue Reba at one point. Even if we don't, she'll be okay I think," the busty brunette said, tapping her lips in thought. Reba was a resourceful werewolf. She would be fine without Harry and her around. She had been all this time; she could do without them now. Still…
"Good," Deadpool said, not sure how much he could fool with the fabrics of reality before it started coming apart at the seams. He didn't get the science behind it, but there had to be a limit. He was sure he was going to get a lecture from the Ancient One when he gave her back her ring. He so wasn't looking forward to that. However, if rumor was true, the woman knew what he was doing before he did it, so she was just as compliant.
"I'd like to see what's going to happen with your reality now that their savior is gone," Sirius said, looking at Harry. He still couldn't get over how much like James the boy looked.
"Savior?" Harry asked, not having heard about this yet.
"What savior?" Siri asked at the same time. she too didn't understand the reference. Harry was just a kid.
So, this reality's locals launched into how Ivy was the hero of the wizarding world, and Harry was probably the same in the other. They told of the Potters' deaths and the events that had happened after right up until Tony walked into Ivy's life. Then everything changed.
"So, Dumbledore knows all of this?" Siri asked, folding her arms under her chest. It was just like the man to keep things like that a secret. She wondered if he had anything to do with her incarceration.
"He does," Sirius answered her warily. She had that tone that he got right before someone got some payback.
"That reality can go flying off into oblivion," she said, hugging Harry to her side.
"What about the other Harrys and Ivys?" Harry asked, not wanting all those other kids to be abused.
"We can't go dimension hopping and rescue them all," Siri said, though it was tempting. She was getting an idea in her head.
"From what I could get in my short time in your reality, there was no Deadpool there," Wade said, bringing all the attention to him. "There was a Wade Wilson, but he never went through what I did, and died of cancer," he explained.
That had been quite a blow to him. That there had been a Wade that hadn't taken the chance to be cured. Then again, the man didn't go through the hell that made him Deadpool. He wondered if his Francis was still around. He had thought the man dead before, only to have him pop back up. Oh well, he'd just keep on killing the bastard if he had to.
It was then that they reached the mall's entrance. They all trooped to the bank, with Tony, Pepper and Ivy going to their vaults while Siri, Sirius, Deadpool and Harry went to get the two out of towners' money.
Hphphp
The getting of the money was relatively painless. They just had to prove who they were to their reality and empty their vaults. A quick blood test and portal later and it was all over. Since Siri was Harry's guardian, she could get his money. They awarded the goblins of Siri's dimension all the goblin-made artifacts and Grimmuald Place. She wrote a quick will and gave Reba a bunch of money and deed to a cottage in Ireland. She left her with a note that said that she had escaped and was not to be found in that world.
Deadpool had snuck in and relieved that reality's Malfoy of his fortune too, but they didn't figure that out until the portal had closed.
Harry and Siri needed a whole new identity. Well, they could use theirs, but they needed papers, and then to be added to Ivy's and Sirius' family. They decided to be branch members of those family trees, since they had their own fortune. It was actually a simple matter of a blood test and a ritual.
Now that they were all loaded down with gold, the group when shopping. The two newcomers needed a completely new wardrobe, but since they both needed to gain weight, they decided a few outfits were all that was necessary.
They stopped at the hospital and got a meal plan, nutrition potions, and all their shots, or the equivalent of. Harry was given a complete physical and had all his injuries fixed. He looked like a shiny new button when he was done.
"Where are we going to stay?" Harry asked, hoping to stay with Ivy.
"We'll find our own place," Siri said, putting her hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, I brought you here to be my weapons of cuteness," Wade said, pointing a finger at the cute little boy.
"I am not a weapon," Siri snarled, baring her teeth, which had been fixed at the hospital. "Neither is Harry," she added, bringing the boy to her side protectively.
"I can be cute," Harry said, making his eyes go wide and puppy doggish, like he had seen Ivy do when she wanted something.
Everyone melted, except Ivy who nodded approvingly. He had gotten his eyes fixed at the hospital. With the horcrux gone, his eyes weren't as bad as they had been, so it was a minor fix.
"Very good, Harry," Ivy said, giving him a cute smile and giggling her adorable giggle.
"I don't want you to be used," Siri said, still glaring at Deadpool.
"I won't use him for evil, or anything," the man protested, holding up his hands. "Just to get me out of trouble now and then," he mumbled. "Besides, you two have to meet Vanessa," he said, knowing his girlfriend would want to meet the two of them.
"You can stay in the tower in New York," Tony said, conceding that they might as well since it was open right now. That way they would be able to keep in touch with them via Jarvis.
"Where is New York?" Harry wanted to know. He hoped it wasn't too far.
"It's on the other side of the country. But, Jarvis will let us talk every single day," Ivy said, thinking it was just as good as if they lived together.
"You can go to school there," Tony said, thinking maybe they should do the kid a favor and give him the same potion that Ivy got.
"I'll give it to him," Siri said as if reading his thoughts.
"I thought you might," Sirius said, knowing what she was talking about right away. They were technically the same person. Well, he was sure she had a different life, what with being female.
"He'll need it if he's going to keep up with Deadpool here," she snarked, pointing to the still raving man.
"I'll keep him around to keep Wolverine off my back. Those X-men are still trying to make me a good guy," Wade was mumbling to the blank air off to the side. "Really, it's all for the better that I do this," he said, sounding for all the world like he was trying to convince someone that he was doing the right thing.
"Is he trying to break the fourth wall?" Sirius asked, looking at Siri.
"What's the fourth wall?" Siri asked back, a confused look on her face.
"I don't know, but he's failing at it this time," the dogman said, slapping Deadpool upside the head. "You're looking in the wrong direction," he told the man.
"Hey, don't blame me. I'm not writing this story," Deadpool said, pouting sullenly.
"What?" came the question from everyone.
"Never mind. Can we go now?" he asked, tired of doing boring shopping.
"Yeah, we're done," Tony said, taking out his phone and looking up flight schedules. "I can either book you a flight, or you can take my jet over," he offered.
"I'd like to take you up on your jet offer," Siri said, not sure which was the best, but he made it sound like it was the better option.
"Okay, I'll have you guys fly out tomorrow night. That'll give you time to get to know Ivy," he said, getting on the phone and making arrangements. "Wade, are you going with them, or staying?"
"I'll make my own way home," Deadpool said, knowing he had the sling ring and he needed to return it.
"Hey, Tony, we need to get back to Britain. Can we take your jet? I and Remus have never taken a jet before," Sirius asked. They had always travelled by portkey.
"Sure, do you have a passport?" Tony asked, still going over the schedule with his pilot.
"What's a passport?" the dogman asked, answering that question.
"You guys get a passport, and I'll let you fly in my jet," the billionaire said, waving him off for the moment.
"Don't worry, I'll help you," Deadpool said, being nice for a moment. It might have something to do with Ivy giving him a sweet look, but he wasn't going to confess to that.
"More like I'll help you," Pepper said, getting out her phone and calling Gringotts.
Hphphp
Later that evening, while everyone was enjoying whatever it was they did in the evening, Fury decided it was time he checked in on the group. Carlson had been busy and hadn't been giving him any reports in over a month, so he felt he needed to know what was going on.
"Sir, Mr. Fury is at the door," Jarvis warned Tony, who was in his lab, as usual.
Pepper, who was there just reading some reports, said, "Let him in, Jarvis." She spent her time off down in the labs with Tony, or she never saw her fiancé. She didn't work with him, but they talked when he had a breakthrough or some downtime.
"Why do you cater to that pirate?" Tony asked, putting his schematics away. The last thing he wanted was Fury to see what he was working on.
"Because if we don't then he'll just make our time hell," she answered, putting the reports away and starting towards the stairs. She gave Dum-E a friendly pat as she passed him. She liked to think they were thinking beings, it made things easier.
"I can make things hell right back. I own most of SHIELD," he argued back, but followed her up the stairs. "Fury," he said, when they got up to the living room, where Fury was glaring at Loki, "What can we do for you this fine evening?" He stepped to the bar and poured himself a Coke, but didn't offer anything to the spy.
"I hear you've had quite the bit of traffic coming in and out of this place the last few months," Nick said, pointing an accusing finger at the man.
"It's my house. Who I let come in is my business," Tony said, going and sitting in a chair. Pepper sat on the arm of it and settled.
The Avengers and the Asgardians moved to flank him in various seats around the room. The magicals didn't know what to do with themselves, so they followed suit, but kept their wands handy. The kids were all in Ivy's room watching a movie.
Fury noticed the new woman and pointed to her. "Who is this?" he asked, noting that she looked a lot like Black.
"That's my cousin on my mother's side, though it doesn't really matter whose side she's from since my parents were cousins," Sirius said, but he grumbled the last part, making all those who hadn't known cringe.
"That's sick, man," Clint said, not understanding how cousins can marry cousins.
"Welcome to the wonderful world of pureblood mania," Siri said with a sniff of her nose. "My parents were also cousins," she added, just to make Sirius feel better. Sure, they were the same parents, but Fury didn't need to know that. She didn't know who this bloke was, but the others didn't seem to trust him. "Where if you're desperate enough even siblings marry," she said, gagging a bit. She had some concerns about Bella's husband and his brother. Then there were the Carrow twins. She shook her head and dispelled those thoughts. Now was not the time, if there ever was one.
"Why are you here?" Fury wanted to know. "Does it have to do with Ivy?"
"Only if it is to introduce my godson to his goddaughter," Siri said sweetly. "Children," she called into the back.
There was the sound of the pitter-patter of little feet coming from the other room as four children came running. Fenrir came in first, looking for trouble. He spotted Fury and immediately went on the defensive. He stood firm in front of Ivy and Harry. Gandr did the same when he saw his brother's stance.
"Who is this, Father?" Fenrir asked, his deep voice throwing Fury off.
"This is Nicholas Fury," Loki said, waving for the boys to relax, which they did marginally. "He is a friend of sorts," he added, making Tony and Bruce snort.
"Yes," Thor boomed, not getting the tension like everyone else was, "Nick Fury is the one who introduced all of us together. He started the Avengers," he stated in his outdoor voice, making the glasses rattle.
"Sure, we can go with that," Tony said, lifting his glass and taking a drink.
"Who are they?" Fury asked, pointing to the three new kids. Everyone ignored him. It wasn't his business who family was. Who the kids were was private. He could find out on his own.
"Mr. Nick, are you being mean to Daddy again?" Ivy said, coming from behind Fenrir, but patting his hand as she passed, making sure he knew she appreciated his protection.
"Of course not, Miss Ivy," Fury said, a deep blush on his face. This little girl always made him feel like he was being a bully.
"Did Daddy tell you that Miss Siri and my new godbrother came to visit?" she said, waving Harry to join her.
"We were just getting around to that, little bug," Tony said, a smirk on his lips.
Harry came over, looking as adorable as Ivy. He was looking at Fury with the same big green eyes and he smiled politely. "Hello, Mr. Nick. My name is Harry," he said, holding out his hand. They had decided not to give his last name out unless absolutely necessary. If asked, then he too was a distant cousin of Ivy.
"You two could be twins," Fury said, looking at those identical eyes. Both of them stared at him, making him feel like he should be minding his Ps and Qs.
"They're distantly related. He's a wizard," Sirius said, nipping it in the bud. "We're all related in one way or another," he added, which was true. There wasn't a tree in the wizarding world that didn't touch, no matter how distantly. Well, the British world at any rate.
"Nick Fury is there a reason you are here?" Thor wanted to know, hoping for an enemy to fight.
"I was just wondering why a group of superheroes wasn't out saving the world?" the director of SHIELD said as if they should be suiting up every night and stopping criminals.
"I didn't realize we were being paid to do that?" Bruce was heard to say.
"Superheroes don't get paid," Fury stated. In his mind they just did what they were supposed to do, which was stop crime. He must have read too many comic books as a child.
"Then they can't afford to save the world daily. Call me when something those getting paid can't handle comes along," the alter ego of the Hulk said, getting up and going back to his lab. He had finally cracked the cure for the common cold with Remus' help. Loki had helped too, and they were coming up with ways to market it. Tony had his team in the R&D department at SI trying to find a way to test and distribute it.
The problem was they were not a pharmaceutical company. They were going to have to start a whole new branch in their business. However, for this Tony was willing. There were six other cures that Bruce had reconfigured, and they were going to make all of them richer and the public healthier.
Remus, who was not really a part of the discussion, got up and went with him.
Deadpool decided to show up around that time, and Fury groaned at seeing him. "You even have Wade Wilson coming around?" he moaned. Nothing but chaos followed that man.
"Fury, you old has-been, what the fuck are you doing here?" Deadpool said, throwing his arm around Fury's shoulder.
"Cuss jar," Ivy said, pointing pointedly to the jar that was half full of money. There were all sorts of domination of money in it. Asgardian, wizard and regular.
"I don't carry money in this suit," Wade tried to say, but she wasn't buying it. She just kept pointing at the jar. Harry decided to add his arm in the act, making it double the cuteness. Deadpool sighed and dug into his pouch and pulled out a fiver and put it in the jar. He had a feeling he was going to be saying more than one cuss word. He took out a twenty from the jar on the sly, but he did pay his five.
The Asgardians figured they were no longer needed and filed out of the room to go and discuss how to get Sleipnir to Midgard. He was the trickiest because he was under constant watch from both Odin and Heimdall. There was talk of enlisting Frigga's help. Thor would have to go home and talk to her on the sly, and he was not good at subterfuge.
Clint and Natasha stayed to hear what their boss had to say, and the Magicals wanted to hear as well. Though Siri was confused as to who the man was, and why he was so important that everyone was on edge around him.
Tony and Pepper were the hosts, so they too stayed. Ivy and Harry were simply playing host as well, even if Harry didn't live there. He was learning cuteness from Ivy, so he was mimicking her.
"So, Pirate John, why are you here?" Deadpool tried again. He didn't like Fury on principle.
"None of your damn business," Nick said, only for Ivy to point at the cuss jar. He sighed and put a dollar in it.
"Well, now that you know nothing nefarious is going on, can I show you the door?" Tony asked, in the most unpolite way possible without coming off as an ass.
"I do want to know why you are not out there taking down drug lords," Fury said, looking at the kids and wondering if he should have them leave the room.
Tony must have felt the same way because he said, "Little bug, take Harry back to your room, please."
"Okay, Daddy. However, Mr. Nick, it is not my daddy's responsibility to clean up the world. He doesn't get paid for that. You do," she sniffed and took Harry's hand and left, not caring that she came off as a spoiled little brat. Sometimes you had to make a stand. Even if it wasn't cute.
"You had no problem taking down the drug lords before," Nick pointed out.
"Before, they were using my weapons, and before I didn't have a daughter at home," Tony said, getting up and pouring himself some more Coke, wishing it were whiskey.
"He's got a point," Siri said, not sure who the hell this man thought he was, telling regular men to go and fight crime.
"Look, lady, you don't understand who this is," Fury said, jotting a finger at Tony. "He's got this suit of armor that can take out anyone. It's his responsibility to use it," he added.
"I have a wand that can kill, does that make it my responsibility as well?" Siri asked, confused as to where he got his logic. They had stopped and gotten her a wand earlier that day. Since she knew her old wand's components, it was simple and fast.
"Does that mean that everyone that owns a gun is supposed to take up the life of a vigilante?" Pepper asked, seeing what Siri was trying to say.
"No, of course not. That's illegal," Fury said, missing the point.
"It's the same thing, cupcake," Deadpool said, making kissing noises at him. Why he was doing that no one knew, but it made Fury uncomfortable. Which was probably why. "I have a gun, and two katanas, does that mean I can go unalive some drug lords? I will do it for free," he asked in an eager voice. He then made some more kissing noises at the man.
"Stop that," Fury said, moving as far away from the costumed man as he could get. "If I catch you unaliving anyone, I will have you arrested," he stated, pointing a finger at the man. Deadpool just plain creeped him out. He knew the man couldn't die, and that was not natural.
"Boss, that is the point," Clint said with a put upon sigh. "Tony doesn't work for you. He can't go after anyone. It's illegal."
"If you ask me again, I'll sic my shiny new lawyer on you," Tony said, downing his Coke like it was whiskey. He then made a face at the bubbles in his throat.
"Forget I asked," Fury said, frustrated that he wasn't going to get his way. "Just keep your ear to the ground about anything you can help with," he said, moving towards the door.
"I'd say it's been a pleasure, but…" Tony said, not moving to see him out.
Pepper did though. She closed the door behind the man and sighed.
"Well, he's a ray of sunshine," Siri said, moving to get some juice from the bar. She couldn't drink until she put on some weight. Mediwitches orders.
"Isn't he though," Sirius agreed.
"Well, I'm off," Deadpool said, making a portal in the middle of the living room. On the other side was his beautiful girlfriend. "I'm getting laid tonight," he added in a cheery tone and jumped through.
"Lucky bastard," both Sirius and Siriusly said, then looked at each other and sighed. Clint and Natasha laughed.
"Come on, we'll take you for a night on the town. Maybe you'll get lucky too," Natasha said, getting up to take Siri to get dolled up.
"That might be fun," the other woman said, desperately needing a night out. Even if she couldn't drink, she could dance.
"I'll watch the kid," Tony said, like it was a major putout.
"We'll watch Harry," Pepper reiterated, waving it off like it was not a major deal.
"Thanks," Siri said as she followed Natasha.
"For her sake, I hope she gets lucky," Sirius said, getting up to get something to drink. He remembered well the first few months after Azkaban. It had been a nightmare. Maybe finding companionship will help her. He knew having Remus around helped him, not to mention the one-night stands that he had. He didn't know if it was the same for women though.
"Me too," Clint said, joining him at the bar.
It had been a good night for the four of them, even if they decided that getting lucky wasn't the thing to do. Well, Clint was a married man, but the other three just danced the night away and went home to sleep it off.