Harry Potter always knew he was different. He was slightly stronger than most his age despite his malnourishment and he was actually quite smart despite his bad grades. But the big thing was that even on a hot day, his skin would always be cold. That was just another reason for his relatives to beat him. Vernon used the belt, Dudley used his fists, and Petunia used her cruel words. Yeah, he wasn't a happy kid, but he managed, somehow. But soon he would get a new home, he just didn't know it.
Right now Harry was on a trip with his relatives in America. Apparently, Uncle Vernon was supposed to negotiate a contract with Stark Industries. Grunnings bought four tickets for Uncle Vernon so that it could be a vacation for the family.
But Vernon decided that he didn't want to see Harry unless absolutely necessary. So Vernon left him at the front of the hotel and said that if Harry wasn't back before dark, they would go back home without him. Then Vernon left with Aunt Petunia and Dudley to Stark Tower, leaving Harry to his own devices.
Deciding to do some exploring, Harry started walking in a random direction with no real destination in mind. As he walked, he kept a mental note of every street he passed so that he didn't get lost. Eventually he found himself outside of a construction zone which actually was empty and quiet, when all of a sudden, a massive green blur whooshed past him from overhead, followed by another blur that happened to be a darker green.
People scattered and screamed, running away from the giant dust cloud that formed from the impact. But Harry didn't run but rather he slowly got closer when he heard sounds of fighting. When he found his way to the source of the sound, he hid behind a wall next to him, realizing what exactly was happening.
A battle between the Hulk and the Abomination.
They kept hitting each other over and over again until the Hulk pushed the Abomination away towards a stack of I-beams. The Hulk lunged at his foe only to be hit across the head with one of the I-beams. The blow sent the Hulk crashing into a ton of construction supplies and equipment, seemingly unconscious.
Harry felt something deep down and could easily tell that the feeling was serious anger and a need to help. And help he would. The Abomination was looming over the Hulk, who was definitely unconscious, and was about to attempt to stab the Hulk in the heart with some nearby rebar. Though before he or Harry could do anything, a woman's voice called out. "Hey Blonski! If you can't fight him unless he's knocked out, then maybe you really are weaker than him!"
Harry, while still hidden, looked over and saw what he first thought to be a flying woman from really far away before he realized that she wasn't actually far away but was instead very small. He identified this woman as the Wasp, another superhero. She was soon accompanied by a man in red and gold armor. Iron Man, aka Tony Stark, aka the man who Uncle Vernon was supposed to be meeting with today.
Iron Man flew in to hit Abomination, but was whacked away with the rebar he was holding, landing and damaging his chestplate and leaving him stuck. Wasp got close and started stinging him with energy, but Abomination grabbed her and started squeezing with a cruel grin on his face.
Harry couldn't take it anymore and made it known. "Stop! You'll kill her!"
The three looked at Harry, Iron Man and Wasp with worry and Abomination with annoyance. "Don't try being a hero, kid. Now beat it, before I beat you." The monster said menacingly.
All Harry did was glare with rage in his eyes and stand his ground.
"Alright. If you insist." Abomination said. Then he walked up to Harry with Wasp in his hand and swung the rebar into his side at full force. But before the rebar could actually get too close to him, the air got really cold, frigid even, and a very strong and freezing wind flew into Abomination, sending him back. The sudden cold made the gamma mutate unwillingly let go of Wasp and she flew over to Harry to get him away. But the blistering cold wind kept blowing and she was sent flying back to Iron Man and Hulk who were getting back up.
The air got colder and colder and before long, Iron Man stated "Uh guys, whatever is happening is making the air almost zero degrees fahrenheit, and it doesn't look like it's gonna stop anytime soon! We need to get everyone out of here!"
Before any of the Avengers could clear the area however, Harry started to get covered in frost while Abomination fell to the ground, starting to get covered in ice. Before long, the gamma mutate was encased in a literal block of ice. Harry fell to the ground too, but not because he was cold, but because he was getting sleepy and relaxed. A moment after Abomination was subdued, Harry was asleep on the ground. Another moment later, the cold began to dissipate and Shield finally arrived.
The Avengers that were present ran to check on Harry while Shield agents surrounded the frozen super criminal. As Abomination was being loaded into the transport using a load lifter, the news crews arrived while Iron Man looked over Harry.
"His vitals are low, really low. I'll get him to the Mansion's med-bay. Jan, you're with me. Hulk, stay with Shield until Abomination is secure." Iron Man commanded.
The other two nodded and the Hulk went over to the Shield agents while Wasp and Iron Man flew off with Harry. But not before a bunch of camera men managed to get a good look at Harry.
When they made it to the med-bay in Avengers Mansion, Ant Man was already there, working at a mini chemistry lab. They both burst in, startling the scientist. "What?! What is it?! What's going on?!" He said, worried that there was an attack of some kind.
"This kid was nearby when Hulk was fighting Abomination. The whole place got really cold and the kid and Blonski were in the middle of it. The kid passed out and Abomination got completely encased in ice." Wasp said quickly while putting the kid on a hospital bed.
"We need you to check him." Iron Man said.
"Right." Was Ant Man's response and he got to work. He started by doing a full body scan. Luckily, they didn't even need any X-ray radiation, so there was no harm done in the process. The kid's vitals were indeed much slower than they should be, but his brain was functioning normally. Something else he noticed was that the kid looked unhealthy. Not from the cold, not even from eating junk foods that kids liked. No, he was unhealthy as in he wasn't eating enough, healthy food or otherwise. This made Ant Man frown more than he already was, but put it aside in his mind for now.
When the scan was done, Ant Man pulled the kid out of the full body scanner and was surprised to see that the bed had little bits of ice forming around some of it. Looking inside the scanner, he saw some ice forming inside the machine as well. When he pulled his head back out, he noticed that the kid's skin was still cold and still blue. Not a deep blue, but rather a light blue. After checking to be certain, Ant Man was happy to know that the child didn't have frostbite. A beeping from the computer alerted the three Avengers to the fact that the DNA analysis was done. Looking over the results on the screen, the main problem started making sense.
"That explains it." Ant Man said.
"What? What is it?" Wasp asked worriedly.
"This kid is a gamma mutate. It looks like the blue skin, the ice, and the cold is from his powers manifesting." Ant Man explained.
"Well it does somewhat make sense." Iron Man said.
"Yeah, but he also seems unhealthily thin. He also has some scars on his back, and I don't think either are from his powers or Abomination."
"What do you think?" Wasp asked, dreading the answer.
But before Ant Man could answer, a wall panel started beeping. "Sir, I'm sorry to interrupt, but Mr Dursley is outside with his family and he is demanding to see you. He claims that you still need to discuss the contract." Jarvis said.
"Ugh, that's right. I was in a meeting when I heard about the fight. Fine, Jarvis, let them in but keep an eye on them and make sure they don't mess with anything, especially their kid, he seemed like a real brat. Also, keep an eye on the kid on the bed. Run facial recognition, try to find his name." Iron Man told the wall panel.
"Of course sir."
Tony, Janet, and Hank were heading back up to meet with the Dursleys and relax respectively, though their minds were mainly stuck on the poor kid in the med-bay. They came out of the hidden elevator and saw the Dursley kid on the couch with the remote, about to watch tv, the parents standing behind him waiting.
"Sorry about leaving like that, Mr. Dursley. An emergency required my attention." Tony apologized.
"Hmmph. Well, you're here now, so let's get back to business." Vernon Dursley grunted.
Hulk had arrived and entered the living room with little issue, even though the Dursleys looked at him with barely contained disgust.
"How is he?" Hulk asked, worried.
"He's fine, just resting." Hank answered, knowing who Hulk was asking about.
"Who are you talking about?" Petunia asked snootily, being a natural gossip.
"Just someone who got hurt in a fight between Hulk, Janet, and I against the Abomination." Tony dismissed. "So Mr. Dursley, let's head to my office and get back to business."
"I want to stay here!" The Dursley kid demanded.
"...Alright then. Hulk, Janet, Hank, mind staying here and keeping Mr. Dursley's family company?"
They nodded and shrugged their agreement and Tony led Vernon to his office.
Janet was getting rather annoyed by the woman sitting next to her. Mrs. Dursley was very chatty and seemed to want to learn more about them. Janet would've thought that she could be some kind of spy, if it wasn't for the fact that rather than wanting important information, she wanted gossip. Janet answered her questions without revealing anything embarrassing but the woman wouldn't stop pushing. Hank, who was fiddling with his helmet between them at the table, seemed fine until you looked at the way his eye was twitching constantly.
"Why are you turning on the stupid news?" The kid, Dudley, suddenly asked angrily.
"Cause I want to." Hulk answered shortly.
"But the news is stupid! Put on Tom and Jerry!"
"No." Hulk said gruffly.
"But I want to watch Tom and Jerry!"
"Not happening. Deal with it." Hulk said, starting to lose his cool.
Dudley started tearing up and was about to throw a tantrum when he saw the news.
"Why's the freak on TV?!" He said, sounding jealous.
Everyone looked confused and looked at the TV and saw the kid that saved them and that they saved in return on the screen. Then Hulk looked at Dudley and asked what the rest of the Avengers in the room were wondering. "What do you mean, freak?"
"The freak that lives in the cupboard. He's on TV! Why does he get to be on TV?!"
Hulk's eyes narrowed dangerously, as did Hank's and Janet's. Hank turned to Petunia. "Does the kid on the TV live with you?" He asked.
Petunia was very pale and was hesitant to answer. But when Hulk looked at her, she began to talk. "Yes, he lives with us, but we don't have enough room in the house, so we have to let him sleep in the cupboard."
"Why not let him and your son share a room?" Janet asked, suspecting what was really going on.
"I'm not sharing a room with that freak!" Dudley said angrily.
The Avengers' eyes went back to Petunia. "Talk." Hulk demanded, letting a snarl appear on his face.
Petunia, seeing no way out, talked. About how the 'freak' was left on their front doorstep. About how the 'freak' would do all the chores because it was all he was good for. About how Vernon would try to beat the 'freakishness' out of him. And about how they did nothing wrong and she felt no guilt. Little did she know that not only was Jarvis recording everything, but Tony was watching the whole thing from his office, live.
"So. If you didn't know, Stark Industries has a morals clause in all contracts. Morals that you don't seem to have. So, should I escort you out, or are you going to need the Hulk to carry you out, since it looks like you're about to have a heart attack?" Tony asked, mouth smiling and eyes narrowed. And he wasn't wrong, considering the level of red on Vernon's face.
"I'll show myself and my family out, then we'll find our nephew." Vernon said quietly and with barely suppressed rage.
"Your nephew is here, and I can assure you that he won't be leaving with you." Tony declared.
Vernon would like nothing more than to leave the freak with the other freaks called the Avengers. But that bearded freak made it clear that his freak nephew was keeping him and his family protected. "I can have you charged with kidnapping in an hour!" Vernon bellowed.
"I can have an army of press here *snap* like that." Tony returned. "I can assure you that anything you THINK you can do to me is like a toddler throwing a tantrum compared to what I KNOW I can do to you. Take the rest of your family and get. The hell. Out." Tony commanded.
Three minutes later, the Dursleys were gone from Avengers Mansion with less than what they entered with.
Eventually the rest of the Avengers were assembled in the Mansion by around 3:30 and were briefed on the events that occurred earlier.
Steve seemed calm but there was a fire in his eyes. Even with his great resolve, unbreakable will, and strong moral code, he found himself struggling to not find the scumbags who did this and use every bit of his super soldier strength to introduce them to Brooklyn style street justice.
Clint was the same as Steve, if not more so, considering the abuse he suffered as a kid. He knew that abuse was never easy to deal with, and with this kid being so young and living with those punks for as long as he could probably remember, this kid was going to need help with getting past this. And that's all assuming that the kid could still be saved.
Vision was very stoic being a machine, but even he was as angry as he was capable of being. He had always thought that humanity was in a way, a form of perfection. That's why he went against his creator Ultron, because he had very opposing ideals than his 'father.' But in moments like this, he could see exactly what Ultron was talking about.
T'Challa was very grim. As a hero, he had to maintain greater morals than those he fought, but as a king, he would demand the abuser's head on a pike. Wakanda was a nation that greatly valued its children. Crimes of this nature were always treated with little mercy, if any.
Thor was the same as T'Challa. On Asgard, children were considered the future, and were treated with love and care. When this kind of thing happens back home, those responsible would be executed, and it's not always done quickly. He knew Midgard had problems, but this is a problem that should not be allowed to continue. Unfortunately though, not every problem can be solved by hitting it.
Carol was angry. While she wasn't abused like the kid, she was told that she has a specific place in the world simply because she was a woman. She always struggled to prove herself to be capable despite her gender, but the process never really got easier. So hearing that this kid was not only abused, but was also forced to do just about every chore where he used to live because it was supposedly 'his place,' it made her mad.
Tony found himself doing something he didn't usually do: thinking irrationally. His dad wasn't mean, rude, or abusive. But he was neglectful, though not on purpose or because he didn't care, he was just really busy working. At least Tony had his mom who was just fine. This kid had neither. He had no one to care for or about him. So yeah, he was imagining what horrible things to do to Vernon Dursley and his family, and he would gladly admit it if asked.
Hank was a believer in words before fists, peace before violence, but this was something he would consider an exception for his beliefs. There was no reason for this. No excuse. No other side to the story. This was completely wrong and needed to be punished.
Janet was stuck in between two emotions: anger and sadness. She was so angry because this kid literally saved her life, however unintentional it may have been, but he get abused for no other reason than he is different. Sadness because she felt sympathy for this kid so badly. For once, she really didn't have anything to say to lighten the mood.
Hulk was angry, but not like usual. This was a rage that was tempered with experience. Banner's experience in particular. Banner was abused horribly by his dad. He created Hulk as a coping mechanism, and was an imaginary friend until the gamma explosion made Hulk a real being. The kid being a gamma mutate was surprisingly similar to his own story, but one problem at a time.
"We got his name from facial recognition. Harry Potter. 9 years old. Parents reportedly died in a car crash. He's from Britain, we tried to find any remaining family that could take him in, but there's no one else." Tony said quietly.
"But how did he get exposed to gamma radiation?" Clint asked.
Hank answered. "Actually, the scan was somewhat incorrect. As far as I can tell, he wasn't exposed to gamma radiation at any point. It looks like the radiation was there to begin with. His body was always affected by gamma radiation, but it seems like it wasn't really noticeable until now."
"How could he have always been like this?" Carol questioned.
"The gamma is hereditary." Hank said.
Silence reigned for a moment. Then Steve asked the big question. "Who were his parents?"
"Records say his parents were Lily Potter nee Evans and James Potter, but his DNA tells a different story. I ran a parental search and got a hit. His dad is alive but it isn't James Potter." Hank said.
"Who is it?" Janet needed to know, as did everyone else.
Hank hesitated for a moment, then said "Bruce Banner."
Okay, so this was an idea I had and wrote on a whim. So tell me if you want to see more of this and if you have any ideas, please don't hesitate to write a comment. You all might have ideas that don't occur to me, so even if it sounds silly, dumb, or even completely ridiculous, write it anyway!
Please keep all criticism constructive and have a wonderful day!