(A/N): Hi. How's it going? Hopefully better for you than it has been for me- this past week was a little soul-sucking, not gonna lie. I am ready for a break.
Many thanks to Cassie-011, Alyxia, peachx89, Sora Loves Rain, Breyanaxo, Keira-House M.D., bookluver45679, Westcoast222, Adharablack85-2, Najada, lilphipp, Catzandbookz8, Silas Serenity, alexaguamenti, and Guests for reviewing! I'm glad to see so many of you enjoyed the previous chapter and that you liked that I presented you with a Draco that has undergone extensive amounts of therapy.
Now, THIS IS IMPORTANT SO PLEASE EVERYONE READ THIS. Okay, so, confession time: I did a thing. You see, during my break, I might have made the mistake of watching the Marvel Netflix show The Punisher. And then I went back to watch season 2 of Daredevil. And then my muse did a thing. This is the one thing my friend singingmyheartsong could not talk out of doing. I felt like these character and this storyline NEEDED to be a part of this- especially with how this story is going to go. For those who have seen the shows, hopefully you'll enjoy having it more fully brought into the MCU and being able to see these characters again. Fair warning: I had to give up on figuring out the actual timeline for the show. It was just such a mess that I decided to just do whatever I wanted. For those who haven't, you do not need to watch the show in order to understand things. I promise. There will be references to Daredevil Season 2 in this chapter. I have (hopefully) given enough information though that you'll be fine. Either way, please trust that I know what I'm doing. I am not just bringing this in to fill space. I am not adding this show for fun. I am doing this because it is important for Hermione's development in the future.
Alright, now that we got that out of the way. This chapter is still unbetaed because I don't have one so any mistakes are on me.
I really do hope you guys enjoy this chapter though I do warn you, there is a lot of set up for future things going on. Big events will be happening in the next few chapters.
Thank you all for reading! Enjoy!
One year. That was all the time that he had been granted.
The past few years had not been kind to him. Since he had returned to Hala in shame, he had been forced to fight his way back into a position of power and strength. He'd had little success in doing so though. Every time another planet was annexed from the Kree Empire, every time a legion of their warriors never returned, he was punished again for failing to do his duty all those years ago.
It was all her fault. They had taken her in, protected her, helped her become a powerful warrior, and how had she repaid them?
She had gone to their greatest enemy- the Nova Empire- and helped them swell in strength and numbers. She'd attacked as many Kree outposts as possible in her bid to destroy everything the Supreme Intelligence had touched. And now, after so many years, she had finally succeeded in carrying through with her threat.
The Supreme Intelligence was no more.
And then, not even a day after the Kree had lost their greatest leader, they received a message from her, with the Nova Empires backing.
If the Kree Empire does not surrender by this time tomorrow, I will do to you what I did to your precious Supreme Intelligence. Let us know your decision.
If this pathetic halfling thought that she could threaten them without consequences, then she was far less intelligent than he had given her credit for. That mistake was going to cost her dearly.
After all these years, he would have thought that her attachment to her birth planet would have waned by now. He thought that she would have learned the importance of locking down her emotions and releasing all attachments. Instead, she allowed C-53 to become her greatest weakness.
He had seen the footage- he knew that she must have been alerted of the Thanos' intentions to attack the planet and come racing to its rescue. One of the greatest challenges they'd had in the past was trying to find her- anticipating where she'd strike next. Now, they didn't need to search for her since they knew just how to summon her to them.
Once they had her, there would be nothing standing in their way of returning their empire to its former glory. No, he corrected himself, they would make it even greater than it had ever been in the history of the Kree. The Nova Empire would fall before them and then they would move on to attacking the Asgardians. They had always thought themselves better than the Kree- had called them petty, cruel, and savage creatures. As though the Asgardians had no blood on their own hands. As though they hadn't left a trail of destruction in their wake in their thousands of years of existence. The only real difference between the Kree and the Asgardians were that the Kree were always looking to adapt and expand while the Asgardians were content to remain stagnant in their little empire.
"Sir, we are approaching the jump point."
He smiled. It was time.
He would not fail.
"I have a meeting with the Mayor this morning at 11 about the upcoming election," Pepper told Mia as she was slipping on her shoes. "Do you plan on joining us?"
Mia looked up from her coffee cup. "Don't tell me he's running for reelection," she scoffed. "After everything that happened with Wilson Fisk, does he really think that he's going to be in office for another term?"
Not long after the Battle of New York, a businessman by the name of Wilson Fisk become a major player in the city. Fisk was generally seen as a quiet, withdrawn man but one who could be very persuasive and charismatic when it suited him. He had gone relatively unnoticed for quite some time, bringing numerous police officers, city officers, and even local FBI agents onto his payroll in order to keep his activities hidden. Fisk had first come to Mia's attention when his company- Union Allied Construction- had been granted the government contracts for rebuilding Hell's Kitchen after the battle. Money had come pouring into the city and, since a large part had come from Stark Industries, Mia was given a position on the committee overseeing the reconstruction efforts in Pepper's place.
Most other members on the committee had immediately liked him but Mia had always felt there was something off about him. She couldn't say what exactly it was about him that had set her on edge, but a nagging sense of wrongness had creeped its way into her mind. Perhaps it was in the way he spoke about cleaning up the city- how it sounded less about rebuilding and more about tearing things down. Or, perhaps it was the way he twitched whenever he was spoken to by someone with a tone. She'd had JARVIS digging into his information when the Union Allied scandal had broken in the New York Bulletin and everyone discovered that it was a front for money laundering. After that, she and JARVIS had done a deep search of anything even remotely related to Fisk and started to compile evidence against him on their own.
That was the start of the end for Wilson Fisk. As more and more crimes were brought to light that could be tied back to his name, Fisk had found himself backed into a corner. He hadn't gone quietly though- he'd turned the city on its head and unveiled the widespread corruption of the justice system before finally being taken out by a vigilante in Hell's Kitchen.
The number of corrupt police officers, civil servants, and Federal agents had been so large that numerous departments weren't even close to being recovered yet. Ever since, Mia had requested JARVIS to continue quietly check into every police officer, federal agent, and city worker's backgrounds to see if they were clean.
It was absolutely an abuse of power- she was well aware of that- but at least the actual federal leaders based in D.C. had done some of the work for her. When the higher-ups figured out what had been going on under their noses, they had been furious. They had done a deep clean of their offices with every corrupt agent being thrown in prison and the remaining agents all being transferred elsewhere for safe measure. All new people were now staffing the local offices and the main headquarters were still watching them closely.
Tony, who was standing next to her at the counter eating a bowl of cereal, swallowed and reminded her, "People have short memories, kid- if he plays his cards right, he could win again."
Mia had no proof that the Mayor knew anything about Fisk's activities, which was the only reason he wasn't rotting in jail alongside Fisk. Her disdain for the man was returned wholeheartedly because she had gone directly to the Feds with proof of Fisk's wrongdoings and a list of corrupt government officials and police officers without alerting the Mayor's office of anything. When the numerous arrests began, the Mayor was blindsided and was still bitter about having been kept in the dark.
Setting her cup down on the counter, Mia smiled pleasantly and said, "Well then, I best go and start getting ready."
As she was leaving the room, she heard Tony saying, "At least she's not going to be making a new enemy today- just reminding an old one that she still owns him."
"Yeah, well, she gets that from you," Pepper retorted.
"Oh no, this level of deviousness is all you," he protested. "That's not really my style."
"Senator Stern," was all Pepper responded with.
The elevator doors opened and Mia stepped in.
"He's a senator though! Her archnemesis is just some lowly city worker!" Tony exclaimed as the doors closed.
Oh, if only the Mayor was her archnemesis.
"JARVIS," Mia asked, stepping onto her floor.
"Yes, Miss Stark?"
"Is there anything in the local news I should be made aware of before this meeting?"
"Would you like me to send you the articles for you to read yourself or would you like me to summarize?" the AI asked.
Striding into her bedroom, Mia requested, "Just the summaries please. Though, I may ask for you to pull up the articles later so that I can review them myself if I feel it's necessary."
"Very good, Miss Stark." There was a short pause as JARVIS collected the requested data and filtered through it. "I believe the most relevant pieces of information are about a large number of deaths occurring in Hell's Kitchen, mainly involving members of the Kitchen Irish, the Dogs of Hell, and the Mexican Cartel- though, I have noted that there is also an increase in murders involving other criminals.."
Humming in thought, she asked, "Does the police give any explanation for what they believe is happening?"
"They have stated that they believe these attacks to be a result of gang-on-gang violence. However, it seems that they have received word from the Office of the District Attorney- in this case, Samantha Reyes' office- that these were all the result of one man's actions. That information has caused them to change the direction of their investigations."
Mia paused, holding the suit she'd just pulled out of closet in mid-air and looked up at the ceiling. "JARVIS, did you just hack into police communications?"
"Of course not," he told her, sounding almost offended that she had to ask. "I have been monitoring them since the Fisk scandal, as per your request. All relevant information is noted down for review."
"I see. Let's not admit that to Pepper." Tossing the outfit onto the bed, Mia stripped out of her pajamas. "What else have you discovered?"
"This unknown killer has been given the name The Punisher. It would seem that name was actually given to him by the District Attorney, and the information on who his targets are- the Irish Kitchen, the Mexican Cartel, and the Dogs of Hell- were given to the police by Miss Reyes' office as well. Though, I would image that after the first few attacks, the police would be able to piece together who was being targeted on their own."
Pulling on her pencil skirt, Mia frowned. "That is unusual, isn't it? You said that the District Attorney providing this information is Samantha Reyes? Why is she involving herself in this now? I thought that a D.A. didn't insert themselves into an investigation until there was an actual suspect."
"They generally don't, Miss Stark. Miss Reyes' actions are certainly outside the norm."
Standing in place, Mia ran a hand through her hair as she thought. On the surface, it all looked so innocent- so unimportant. Yet, it was also against expected behavior. Why would a DA have information on a criminal that the police did not? The police initially believed it to be gang violence so what gave Reyes the confidence to say that all these deaths were done by one man? Why would her office even be investigating something like this on their own? "JARVIS, please forward me those articles," she finally decided. "And if you can do so without being detected, please do a deep search into Reyes' background."
"May I ask what you hope to find?"
"Of course, JARVIS- you can always ask me any questions you have. I want you to look into Reyes because I'm concerned that she may be a corrupt official that we missed previously. You've currently been focusing your searches on incoming people, not continuing to look at those we've already cleared."
"Because of the Punisher?"
"Because you just informed me that a D.A. appears to have more information on a supposed killer than the police do and has enough to pull with them to cause them to change the entire direction of their investigations simply by telling them to. She has also given this criminal a title- something that is generally left to the media to do- and with a title like that, I am almost certain that she plans of releasing it to the media herself. A name like The Punisher... it's as though she wants the public to fear him."
It was more than that though. Mia could feel in her bones that there was something wrong here- she had lived through the return of Voldemort, had seen more than her fair share of corruption and coverups, and saw how the press was used as a tool to sway the general public. She knew a smear campaign- a smokescreen- when she saw one, even if it was the very start of one.
"Well, as the biological daughter of Loki, you would be able to spot a manipulation better than most," JARVIS responded with the dry wit that Mia adored. "I will send you the information you've requested as soon as I acquire it."
"I couldn't ask for more. Thank you, JARVIS."
As she rode the elevator up to Pepper's office, Mia read over the information that JARVIS had started to send her on Samantha Reyes and what little she had already been given did not paint a pretty picture of the District Attorney.
An ADA that took the fall after Reyes mishandled informants in the Teller murder case the previous year. Another ADA by the name of Nicole Kent booted from the DA's office after she failed to quiet the EnSynth scandal. A third worker- Chris Davidson- fired after the State Supreme Court disqualified the entire DA's office from the Pell case due to widespread misconduct.
In every case, it appeared as though Reyes did something wrong but always made sure that someone else took the fall.
"Something wrong?" Pepper asked, having watched Mia's expression grow more and more stormy as she read whatever was on her tablet.
"Yes," Mia said, turning her tablet off. "But I need more information before we can find a solution."
Pepper linked her arm with Mia's, pleased that the younger girl seemed to be automatically including them in her plans. It had taken awhile, but Mia was finally realizing that she didn't have to do things on her own. "Let me know if you need anything."
"I will- you'll certainly be of more help with this than Tony would be. I do believe we have another case of corruption in our local government."
"Of course we do," Pepper sighed as the elevator came to a stop and the stepped off. "Because God forbid that we manage to make it through even a month without finding another trash human being."
"Speaking of trash human beings," Happy started, stepping forward to meet them. "Just got a call from downstairs that the Mayor is on his way up."
Mia smiled brightly at their new Head of Security. "It's things like that that remind me of why you're my favorite."
"Glad to hear it, kid. Also, Pepper, after your meeting, we need to discuss some new security measures for the tower."
"Of course, Happy," Pepper agreed, giving him a slightly strained smile. "Once this is finished."
Once they were settled in the office and Happy was out of hearing, Mia asked, "He still driving you a bit mad?"
"More than a bit," the other woman groaned. "This is getting out of hand. You know how many complaints we've gotten about him in the month since he got the job?"
"He's just trying to keep us safe, Pepper," Mia laughed. "After everything that's happened, can you truly blame him for being a bit overzealous?"
When Charles Wessling strode into the office a minute later, both Pepper and Mia stood up to greet him. However, while Pepper stood out of professionalism, Mia stood in order to truly see and appreciate the look of disdain on his face when he spotted her.
"Mayor Wessling," Pepper greeted, holding out a hand for him to shake.
"Miss Potts," he responded with a charming smile. "Good to see you again." Then, with clear reluctance, he turned to look at Mia. "Miss Stark."
"Hello, Charlie." When she saw the way his eyebrow twitched, Mia grinned.
Charles Wessling was faintly tanned with dark brown hair and hazel eyes. His trim figure was emphasized by his tailored dark blue suit. Objectively speaking, the man was somewhat handsome but all the attractive qualities in the world couldn't make up for the stupidity that spilled out every time he opened his mouth.
"It's Charles," he reminded Mia through gritted teeth.
"Oh, I know." Flopping back down in her seat with the same amount of arrogance that she'd seen Tony have, Mia continued watching Wessling.
Hiding her smile, Pepper also sat back down. Out of all the habits Mia could have picked up from Tony, it didn't surprise Pepper one bit that Mia had taken on Tony's knack for finding the one thing that would annoy a person the most and grabbing hold. "So, Charles, how may we help you today?"
Taking a seat in the chair next to Mia, Wessling kept his focus solely on Pepper. "Well, as you know, election season is coming up and I'm preparing my campaign."
"Bold of you to be running again," Mia interjected, placing her elbow on the arm of the chair and resting her cheek in her palm. "Considering the Wilson Fisk fiasco."
Scowling, he retorted, "The Fisk scandal was handled in a quick and professional manner."
"After being illegally released from FBI custody by a group of corrupt agents, Fisk was beaten and recaptured by a vigilante before being dumped at the feet of a police officer," the brunette snorted. "That's hardy what I would deem a 'professional manner'."
Face flushing, Wessling tried to move on. "Regardless, as Fisk is now in jail where he belongs, he's no longer a concern. We need to continue looking to the future."
"And how can Stark Industries help with that?" Pepper asked before Mia could continue riling the man up any more than she already had.
Pulling himself together, Wessling smiled at Pepper again. "Stark Industries has been a tremendous help this past year with the rebuilding efforts after the Battle of New York. Without your support and aid, we wouldn't have been able to do so much."
"I wouldn't say that," Pepper told him with a polite smile. "All thanks should really be going to the generous people who donated to their time and money to helping the citizens of this city. Without their kindness, we never would have gotten this far."
"No need to be modest," he told Pepper, waving her words away. "Everyone sees just how much you've done, Miss Potts."
Only Mia spotted the brief flash of disdain that crossed Pepper's eyes. "Mia has really been the one taking charge of all Stark Industries fundraising and relief efforts- all thanks and praise should be going to her."
Flashing a serene smile at the now uncomfortable mayor, Mia stated, "It was my pleasure to be of assistance. After all, I do know how much of a… struggle, this past year has been. It's unfortunate that things still appear to be troublesome for you."
"And what exactly do you mean by that?" Wessling snapped before he could stop himself.
"Why, the issue of the killings in Hell's Kitchen. I was surprised to hear that the D.A. believes this to be just one killer. Sounds like such difficult affair."
By the way Wessling stiffened, both women could tell that he hadn't been expecting for that issue to be brought up. "Not really. I have it on good authority that the police are close to catching him."
Crossing her legs, Mia continued to keep her tone casual. "As I'm sure you're aware, I was raised in Britain, so I didn't grow up with the American justice system. Tell me, is it usual for the DA's office to be the one directing the police in how to do their job and for them to be acquiring and using information that the police have no access to?"
Pepper's eyes flicked from Mia to Wessling. So, this was what Mia had been concerned with earlier.
"Reyes tends to work more closely with the police than other DA's," was Wessling's short reply.
"That doesn't answer my question," Mia reminded him. "I'm asking if it is usual for a DA's office to have significantly more knowledge about a criminal than the police do, are able to direct the police in their investigations, and can withhold their information from the police without any consequences."
"Are you accusing Reyes of something?"
"Not yet, but I'm wondering if maybe someone ought to."
Wesslings fingers dug into the arms of his chair. "Reyes is one of the most dedicated and talented lawyers this city has. The fact that you would even attempt to accuse her of any sort of criminal act is reprehensible."
"And Wilson Fisk was nothing more than a generous philanthropist working tirelessly to better this city," Mia shot back. "One would have thought that, after everything that happened this past year, you of all people would understand that some individuals aren't what they seem."
Deliberately clearing his throat, Wessling forced his body to relax. "This is not what I came here to discuss."
"No," Mia snorted. "You came to request that we publicly support and endorse you in the upcoming elections despite everything that has happened this past year to demonstrate just how incompetent you truly are!"
"If you want our support," Pepper interjected before Wessling could give a reply that would fully set Mia off, "you need to prove that you're actually worth supporting. Mia's right, this past year has been an absolute mess for the city and, despite your claims, I'm not altogether sure that things are any different now."
"Because of Reyes?" he sputtered in surprise.
"Because Mia just asked you several questions that you haven't been able to answer properly," Pepper corrected. "And because I've also read the recent news articles and I have the same concerns as she does. The DA's office has unofficially announced to the public and officially announced to the police that these are the acts of one man without giving sufficient proof- even though this truly looks like it's nothing more than gang-on-gang violence. Reyes has a history of manipulating cases and people in order to achieve her desired outcome and there are rumors that there are a number of cops always willing to help her out. We're in the business of politics too, Mayor Wessling, and right now Reyes appears to be playing yet another game that we have no interest in being a part of. You want us to say that we want you to continue being our mayor? Then prove that you're actually capable of doing your job and get your people in line."
It was clear that things really had not gone as Wessling had planned for them to. Though, how the man could have thought that things would go any better for him was beyond Mia.
Tony strode into the room then, Happy hot on his heels. "Get out," he told Wessling abruptly.
"Tony," Pepper sighed, assuming at first that her Tony was just being Tony until she caught the look on his face. While Wessling was still gaping at Tony, Pepper looked at Happy, "Happy, please escort Mayor Wessling out of the building."
Mia stood up as Happy all but dragged a protesting Wessling out of the room. "What's going on?" she asked her brother, worry coursing through her at the hard look in his eyes.
"I was hoping you could tell me that," he responded shortly. Handing his sister the tablet that he had been clutching, he watched her eyes widen in alarm as she stared at the image on the screen. "Any idea what the hell that is?"
The image was grainy- clearly shot by a low quality camera from some distance away- but it was still obviously a ship of some sort hovering high in the sky.
"Is that…" Mia trailed off.
"A spaceship?" Tony finished for her. "Why yes, yes, it is." When it was clear that Mia had no clue what was going on, Tony forced himself to relax. "You have no idea what that is?"
"None," she whispered, mind racing. There were many options of what could be going on and none of them were good.
Turning away, Tony started back out of the room. "Well then, I guess we should go talk to someone who might."
"And you're sure that it was really her?" Ron asked again. "Not just someone who looked like Hermione?"
"Yes, I'm absolutely positive that it was her," Harry answered in exasperation. "It was definitely Hermione."
Ron ran a hand through his hair and sat back in his seat. "Blimey. How the bloody hell did she manage to hide from us all this time? And why?"
Staring down at his desk, Harry sighed. "I've no idea. I don't think she's been hiding from us this whole time though- I think something else happened at the manor. Ron, she looks exactly the same."
"What do you mean?"
"She hasn't aged." Harry could still see it in his head- the moment Hermione had appeared on that video screen beside the Muggle agent with an eyepatch.
"We are not friends. Considering your actions after I was gone, we apparently never were."
"Should I tell the world just what kind of man Harry Potter truly is?"
Perhaps Hermione hadn't aged, but she certainly had changed.
"She barely looks any older than when we last saw her," Harry continued. "I think that maybe she was under some sort of stasis spell. Or maybe she time travelled. I don't know, really."
Ron's eyes widened. "That would explain why none of could find her. Where is she now? Why didn't you bring her back with you?"
After picturing a still-young Hermione in his head, it was jarring to see how aged Ron seemed compared to her. Ron's previously thick head of red hair had begun to thin and- hidden beneath the many hair products he now used- he had gained a bald spot on the back of his head. The years of gorging himself of fine foods and doing little exercise gave him a bit of a gut and too much alcohol gave his skin a perpetually red tint.
"She doesn't want to come back here, Ron," Harry told him bluntly. "She doesn't want to have anything to do with us."
"Why not?" he demanded. "We're her friends- we're her best friends."
"We were her friends," corrected Harry. "And then we betrayed her. We lied, Ron. We lied, and she knows it."
Standing up, Ron waved a hand through the air as if brushing aside Harry's words. "We didn't lie about anything big really. We did it for the greater good, you know- surely 'Mione can see that for herself."
'We did it for the greater good.'
"I'm well aware of the fact that when something went horribly wrong, something that could have been avoided, it was usually either Dumbledore's fault or it was yours."
"Dumbledore died as he lived: working always for the greater good."
"We didn't do it for the greater good," Harry responded, the words spilling from his lips without thought. "We did it because we wanted to- we did it for ourselves. Because we had this idea and didn't care how it affected anyone else."
Ron obviously didn't understand what Harry was trying to say. "You're the youngest Head of the Auror Office and we defeated the Dark Lord, mate. Of course we know what's best for everyone."
Please leave a review on your way out!
