My Hero Academia - Into the Marvelverse

by ShadowNinja77

Class 1A find themselves captured and sent to a new world, a new universe, filled with new kinds of heroes and villains. Now, they'll have to work together to make sense of this new world and find a way back home. I don't own any of these characters. Closed to art commissions!

12. Next Steps

The Helicarrier

Uraraka took a good look at the 'Fantastic Four' as Reed Richards had called them. She wished Deku was here with her for the millionth time, though this time more because he would have a field day asking these four questions about their Quirks, no, powers and all the things they could do. Part of her was tempted to do it for him but she was a little intimidated when the big rocky guy walked up to them, a stern look on his face.

"So these are the little rugrats we'll be looking after then, huh?" he asked.

"Don't be like that, Ben," the blonde woman told him.

"Be like what?"

"What's so special about them anyway?" the blonde guy asked, stepping forward. "Why did Hydra want them so badly that they literally traveled across universes to get to them?"

"That is a very good question that we all want answers to," Fury said.

"You know we didn't ask for this," Uraraka said, drawing their attention. "So stop talking about us like we're just another problem for you."

"Yeah," Asui said, stepping forward beside her friend. "Sorry for the inconvenience, but this isn't actually our fault."

"Of course it isn't," the blonde woman said, an apologetic look on her face. She shot another look at the rocky guy and the blonde man who instantly looked to the sides, obviously not wanting to meet her eyes.

"Hey," Carter said, walking up to them. "How are you doing?"

"After finding out that we're in another universe with no way home?" Asui asked.

"Yeah, stupid question. Well look, we have a few leads on the villains you ID'd for us and we'll let you know if anything new happens."

That was right. She'd been so focused on the fact she was in another universe that her mind had pushed aside the fact that she wasn't alone. All her friends and classmates were still out there, captured by the villains of this world. "How can we help?"

"Well, you've given us all your classmates' names but seeing as those names are only applicable to your universe, as far as we can tell anyway, we will need you to provide accurate descriptions of each individual as well as their abilities."

"But what about the search?" Rin asked. "We'll be going too, right? They are our friends!"

Fury regarded him carefully and suddenly Uraraka felt the need to take a step back. "We'll see," he replied. "I understand these are your friends and I also understand that you are students of a hero school back on your world and that you are apparently licensed to do hero work under the watchful eye of a, as you said, pro hero. But this isn't your world. Things work differently here. I can't just take your word for it. Right now, I have people working round the clock on this whole mess. So, for now, I want the four of you to go with the FF here where you will be assessed on your skills and abilities. And, if they give me the green light, then I will allow you to accompany my people on their missions if the circumstances allow it. Is that clear?"

"Of course," Asui said immediately, Tsunotori quickly following suit. Rin took a few seconds but nodded as well.

"Yes," Uraraka said. She could understand Fury's position given that they didn't have any real proof of their own skills, their provisional licenses possibly even worthless in this universe. Still, the idea of just sitting back and doing nothing while her friends were in trouble didn't sit right with her. She'd done that when Bakugo had been captured and later learned five of her classmates had gone after him, even rescuing him. Part of her had always wondered what would have happened if she'd gone too. Now, she'd done her training, had a provisional license, and was even doing a work study with real experience under her belt. She was ready for this and she would make sure to prove it to them. Because when the time came to rescue her friends here, she wouldn't sit back.

Especially not for Deku.

"So, who are the FF?" Asui asked curiously.

"That's us!" the blonde guy grinned, gesturing to the number 4 on his uniform. "The Fantastic Four! Greatest superhero team to ever exist!"

"Avengers," at least seven people said.

"Really Fury?" the guy asked, turning to the man. "That's not friendship!"

"Exactly," he replied.

The woman just sighed, rolling her eyes. "Apologies for my brother. But yes, we are the Fantastic Four. Reed, Ben, Johnny, and me." She smiled kindly at them that for some reason reminded Uraraka of the way her mother looked at her. "I'm Susan Storm by the way. In the field, I go by Invisible Woman."

Uraraka blinked at the name. "Wait, really?" she asked in surprise.

"Yeah." A second later, the woman disappeared completely from sight before reappearing again. "For obvious reasons of course."

"Oh wow," Asui mumbled. "One of our classmates has that ability. She goes by Invisible Girl."

"Damn sis, that's what you used to go by!" the guy named Johnny laughed. "Wow, copyright infringement much?"

"Shut up Johnny, it's not that unique of a name," Susan sighed. "Besides, we have two Spider-Men, a couple Captain Marvels, a few Captain Americas," she said, gesturing to the two men off to the side, "and I don't even know how many Wolverines. And don't get me started on the Ghost Riders."

"Alright, fair point, fair point," Johnny said.

"Plus, you took your name from the original Human Torch," Steve said, arms folded over his chest. "You don't hear him complaining, do you?"

"Ok, ok, I get it," Johnny complained. "Man, can't say anything these days, can you?"

"Just not the stupid stuff," his sister told him, pinching his cheek.

"Ah sis, quit it!"

The rocky guy walked over to Uraraka and the others. "Hey there," he said, smiling broadly. "I'm Ben Grimm, the ever-lovin' blue-eyed Thing, beloved idol of millions!"

"Yeah, don't let the rough exterior fool you," Sam grinned from the side. "The big lug's just a big ol' softy."

"Aw shaddup!"

"And I'm Johnny Storm, the Human Torch," the blonde guy added, posing for them as his body caught on fire. Uraraka felt herself gasp, not having seen anything like it. She'd seen Todoroki's father Endeavor on TV, the most powerful fire hero in Japan and even perhaps the world. But this guy's body was wreathed in flames, looking like it might even be made up of them. She could feel the heat emanating from him.

"Storm, dial it down before you set off any alarms!" Fury snapped.

"Right, sorry," Johnny said, the flames vanishing.

His sister, Susan, just rolled her eyes, obviously used to his antics. "And that's the team," she said. "Together, we're the Fantastic Four."

"Yeah, we've saved the whole world and sometimes even the universe maybe a dozen times, no big deal," Johnny said as he put a hand through his hair.

"Wait, what?" Asui asked.

"The world?" Tsunotori asked.

"The universe?" Rin added.

"Yep!" Johnny grinned. "We're the big leagues, kiddos. We go after the heavy hitters. Galactus, Annihilus, Doctor Doom, need I go on?"

"Uh…who are they?" Asui asked.

Johnny blinked before wincing. "Right, multiverse. Well, let's just say they're individuals with so much power that it's almost godlike. Well, maybe not the Doc, he's just…"

"Strategic?" Reed offered.

"Crazy?" Carter chimed in.

"Psychopathic?" Susan sighed.

"Power hungry?" Steve added.

"Annoying," Ben grunted.

"Dangerous," Fury finished.

"Sure, those things and more," Johnny said. "But don't worry about all that. All you need to know is that you'll be coming to stay with us at the Baxter Building for now. That's our headquarters, by the way."

Uraraka wasn't sure how to respond. She wasn't really sure about a lot of things right now. Everything around her just seemed to confuse her even more. Nothing in her training had prepared her for this.

Focus, she told herself. Maybe her life had descended into certain levels of insanity, but she just had to stay focused on what really mattered right now. And that was getting her friends back safe and sound.

"So, where should we give you the descriptions of our classmates?" she asked Fury.

"Ah, right over here," he said, gesturing over to a conference table where several people stood by, waiting patiently. "These agents will document everything and we will immediately beginning running recognition programs to find all your missing classmates."

"Ok," Uraraka said, taking a seat across from the agents. "Then let's get started."

---

"So what leads we looking at right now?" Susan asked while the kids were giving out the descriptions. She eyed them carefully. They couldn't be more than 15 or 16 and yet had been thrown into a whole new universe. At this point she barely remembered when that happened to her since it had happened so often from then on. She was still wondering if that was sad or not.

"Still investigating the major players," Fury informed her. "Some solid leads on A.I.M. given their history. We got in touch with Walters and she gave us the last known address for Titania and her husband so we'll be following up on that."

"What about Wolverine?" Steve asked.

"No response. You know how he is."

They all rolled their eyes simultaneously. "Ben, you're a gambling buddy of his," Susan said, looking at her friend. "You have any ideas where the lug might be hanging out?"

"Yeah, I got some ideas," Ben nodded. "After we drop the kids off, I'll go check 'em out."

"Good," Fury nodded. "We also picked up something. We would have missed it if we weren't actively looking. It's some sort of atmospheric interference that was logged in the time frame of when the kids were brought over. We initially dismissed it but given what we know now…"

He tapped a few things on the monitor, showing the information. Almost instantly Reed leaned forward, eyes scanning the data. Susan rolled her eyes again. It was like he couldn't help himself sometimes.

"I see what you mean," he said, taking a seat at the monitor and typing rapidly on the keyboard. "Looks like nothing but there are a few inconsistencies here and there that gives off the impression that someone is trying hard to just make it look like nothing. Hold on, let me…try…this…ah."

The screen changed, showing off a ship flying through the atmosphere. Susan felt her breath hitch as she recognized it. "That's the High Evolutionary's ship, isn't it?"

"It is indeed," Fury growled. "Damn it. He must have some of the kids too for his own experiments."

"We need to find them," Steve said.

"That's obvious, but they could be anywhere in the universe at this point," Carter pointed out. "Where would we even start looking for that guy's ship?"

"I could call Carol, she should have an idea," Sam suggested.

"The Guardians probably would have a better one. Especially Rocket," Susan said.

Fury nodded. "Make the calls to both. Really to anyone out there that we can. We need to find that ship and get those kids home as fast as possible."

"Right."

"Should we tell them?" Ben asked, looking over at the kids at the table.

Fury sighed. "Probably not a good idea. They just had their minds blown wide open today with the whole multiverse thing. Let's no worry them further with the fact that some of their friends are out in space somewhere."

"They have a right to know," Susan told him.

"That kind of information would only do more harm than good right now," Fury replied.

Susan looked back at the kids. She wasn't so sure. From her experience, kids were tougher than people gave them credit for. She knew the urge to protect them and keep them safe from the world, she was a mother after all. But she also knew just how resilient Franklin and Valeria were after everything they'd been through. She knew plenty of adults who would break after all that but her kids still went on. Even Ben's new additions Jo-Venn and N'Kalla, who'd spent most of their lives forced to kill each other in an arena, had managed to pull through and were doing so much better.

Susan had seen the look in those kid's eyes, especially the brown-haired girl. They had been lost and confused by everything happening around them, but then they'd focused on the task at hand. They were worried about their friends and she felt like they did deserve to know that there was a lead on at least some of them.

But…she also knew the fear and worry that came with not being able to do anything. It could eat you up so quickly. So, for now, she would keep quiet on the truth. But only for a little while, hopefully until they had a true lead on the High Evolutionary.

"Well, I'd better be off," Sam said. "I should probably get a meeting together for the Avengers, give them everything I can on the situation."

"Right, the more hands the better," Fury agreed.

"And what about us?" Johnny asked. "We're really bringing the kids with us?"

"Well they can't stay here," Fury said.

"Why not? They are heroes in training after all. Right here, they'll get all the training they need. Plus, information will come a lot faster to them here."

"It's not just that," Reed interrupted. "I'll have a much better chance of locating their home universe with them at the Baxter Building. Everyone leaves a trace behind of their home universe's frequency. And I can't look for their universe here as I need all my equipment in order to track the-"

"Alright, enough already, I got it," Johnny sighed.

Beep.

Fury reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, sighing as he looked at the message on it. "Damn it, I have to go inform the World Security Council and try to convince them that this is a priority."

"Why wouldn't it be a priority?" Susan asked, anger rising up inside her. "We're almost certainly dealing with some sort of superhuman trafficking ring. This needs to be shut down fast before it gains any more traction. It's already tracked attention from Hydra as well as the High Evolutionary so who knows who else is involved."

"Whoa sis, calm down, jeez!" Johnny tried. Susan hit him with her death glare, making him back up fast. "Yeah, knew it as soon as I said it ," he muttered.

"Sue's right, the people already confirmed to be part of this are big players," Reed interjected. "If they're involved, there's no telling who else might be. If that's the case, clearly the one behind it all swung for the fences and seems to have landed a home run."

"Damn Stretcho!" Ben blinked. "You actually got a sports analogy right!"

"I pay attention…occasionally."

"Yeah, but it's just that last week you confused football with synchronized swimming."

"I was comparing the movements of both sports, that hardly counts as-"

"Gentlemen!" Fury interjected, rubbing his nose. "Look, getting back to topic, the World Security Council is currently juggling crises across the whole planet and even outside of it. Right now, to them this feels like an isolated incident."

Steve folded his arms over his chest, his face becoming like stone. "We have possibly 40 teenagers with superpowers from another dimension scattered across the world and, evidently, the universe. It was one incident now because we caught on to Hydra. That won't be the case for long. Who knows how many incidents will occur unless we act fast."

"Agreed," Fury nodded. "I'll deploy as many resources as possible. But that's why it's imperative we get you guys and the Avengers working on this as well."

"Absolutely," Sam nodded. "The sooner we put a stop to this, all the kids will be safe. Not just the ones captured."

Susan smiled. She sometimes forgot that before he'd joined the army, Sam had been a social worker, specializing in kids. This struck home for him and she knew no one here would take it as seriously.

She looked out the room's window towards the main room where the kids were sitting. They were so young still. It was hard to see some of the newer heroes at there, especially the Champions, get thrown into life-threatening situations. They shouldn't have to do that. She knew from her own experiences raising Franklin and Valeria the kind of scars that lingered with kids after events like that.

But, then again, this was the world they lived in. One where a power-hungry god could crash into the street and destroy buildings with the sweep of a hand. And one where kids like these had powers and were asked to use them to help make that world a better place.

Ten minutes later, they were all ready to go. Sam had already left, heading back to New York and Avengers Mansion to update the rest of the team. And the kids had been changed out of their dirty pajamas into plain shirts and pants that looked directly from their boot camp's laundry basket.

"You guys really like to slap your logo on everything," Rin muttered, rubbing a finger over the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo on his shirt.

Fury smirked at that. Susan couldn't help but note that he didn't have any logo on his leather jacket. "As promised, we will keep you informed of any updates relating to your friends and classmates. And make no mistake, we will find them. For now, try not to worry as impossible as that seems, and work with the FF here. Once they've approved you, I can do the same on the extraction missions."

All the kids nodded firmly. Susan sighed as she watched them. She wondered how Franklin or Valeria would adjust if they'd just been snatched from their home and dumped in another dimension. Sadly, they were used to things like that never having a 'normal childhood.' She wondered what kind of experiences these kids had already gone through.

"Don't worry, sis." Sue raised an eyebrow as Johnny appeared next to her. "We'll take care of them, no problem."

"I know, thanks Johnny."

"Hey, what are little brothers for?"

"Annoying the hell out of me?"

"Yeah that too."

"So where are we going now?" the frog-like girl Asui asked them.

"The Baxter Building in New York City," Reed replied. "Our headquarters. There, we can properly begin your adjustment to this world and figure out the next steps to get you back home."

"Good luck," Fury said as they walked out of the room, heading for the elevator that would lead them up to the runway as well as the pogo plane.

---

Space

"So come on and put your hands up, we're gonna bring the house down…"

"Why are we listening to this again?" Peter complained, rubbing his forehead.

"Because it's my turn to choose the music and I went with this one," Rocket replied, bobbing his head to the beat. "It's from my own mixtape that I made on our last trip to Earth. Some band called City Wolf."

"Yeah, but we have plenty of great music from my own collection."

"All your shit is from like 50 years ago. Sides, this one's got a nice beat to it."

"I don't care for it," Drax interjected.

"Drax, your ideal music is no music at all," Gamora told him from the seat next to Peter's.

"Wrong. My ideal music is absolute silence. That is the most productive noise of all."

"But absolute silence isn't noise," Mantis reminded him.

"Exactly."

"I am Groot."

"I don't have a problem with Quill's mixtapes other than we listen to it on a constant loop with no room for anything new. I like to branch out. Is that so freaking complicated for you all?"

"I am Groot."

"I am calm!"

BEEP. BEEP.

The Guardians all looked up at the central monitor as it began flashing, indicating a new message.

"Who the flarg is calling us at…yo Mantis, what time zone are we in?"

"According to Dolo-Mayan time, it is 5:30 in the afternoon."

They all paused for a few seconds, absorbing that information, before turning to look at Mantis directly. She grinned brightly at the sudden surge of attention.

"Mantis," Gamora began, "we stopped at Dolo-Mayan over a month ago."

"Yes," she nodded.

"So why are we operating on that time zone?"

"Yeah, we just left Hala like two cycles ago for that bounty-hunting mission. And before that we tracked down one of those dweller thingies for Lady Hellbender's army on Seknarf Nine," Rocket added.

"Yeah, but Dolo-Mayan is the last place where we stayed overnight."

"Three nights," Drax corrected.

"Yes, Drax, I know."

"I was just making sure."

"I didn't need you to."

"But I did it anyway."

"Alright, whatever," Quill sighed. "Let's just take a look at the message."

Gamora clicked on it and frowned. "It's from Earth."

"Oh great, what do those nutjobs want now?" Rocket sighed. "Are they involved in yet another civil war? Or their umpteenth alien invasion? Or what, do they have vampires raining down from the skies now?"

"Missing kids," Gamora said, her voice both becoming softer and taking an edge to it as she read the full message. "A bunch of kids with abilities were taken and shipped out to multiple buyers. They're trying to track them all down."

While Quill looked sympathetic and Groot lowered his head in sadness, Rocket just rolled his eyes. "Well boo hoo for them, but what does that have to do with us? Sounds more like an Earth problem. So why the flarg should we get involved, huh? Unless these yahoos are paying us some hefty units, I don't see why…what?" he asked, taking in Gamora's expression.

"Rocket, one group was taken into space," she said slowly. "That's why they asked for us. Or, more specifically, for you."

Rocket raised an eyebrow. "For me?" he asked. "Why? I know I'm special but rescue missions like this really aren't my…seriously, what?" he asked again, getting fed up with Gamora's expression.

"I'm sorry Rocket," she said, causing a pit to form in the raccoon's stomach. "The person who took the kids, it's the High Evolutionary."

Rocket felt his stomach flop at the name, the memories rushing over him. The shouting, the explosions, the smell of death, it all threatened to overwhelm him.

He felt something touch his shoulder, a familiar winding tendril that was both firm and gentle. "I am Groot," his old friend told him, his branch holding onto Rocket.

"Thanks bud," Rocket told him. "I'm good. So that red-faced bastard wants to experiment on more kids, does he? Well then, time to shove my gun so far up his ass it'll be coming out his flarking throat!"

Drax took a good look at Rocket's gun. "But your weapon is puny and small and the High Evolutionary is very tall. There is no way tha-"

"It's an expression!"

Quill and Gamora shared a look, snickering silently. "Alright, where are we headed then?" Quill asked. "Ol' Redhead's got his own mobile fortress. That's gotta grab attention somewhere."

"I am Groot."

Gamora sighed. "Yeah, she's probably the best person to ask. She may not know but she'll know where to point us at least."

"Alrighty, setting coordinates for Knowhere."

"And sisterly bonding!" Mantis added happily, clapping her hands together. "I have missed Nebula!"

"She never missed a chance to yell at you and insult you," Rocket reminded her. "It was very funny."

"Indeed," Drax nodded. "Hilarious."

"But that is just how sisters act," Mantis nodded sagely.

Gamora shot a look up at Mantis. "Uh, but you're not her sister. I'm her sister."

"Yes. We are all sisters. And brothers. We are a family, no matter where we might be."

"If that is true, then what Quill and Gamora did last night is illegal in most nearby systems," Drax said.

"Hey!" Quill cried while Gamora hunkered down in her seat, a faint blush gracing her green cheeks.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Rocket burst out, ignoring the death glare Gamora sent his way. After all these years together, he'd become somewhat immune to it. "Yeah, you were like raging ultrasaurs the way you two were going at it. HAHAHAHAHA!"

"I am Groot!"

"Yeah, those too bud."

"Oh my god," Gamora muttered. Still, she couldn't help but smile. A few years ago, she was living in hell. Now, she was living the best times of her life. So while embarrassment was filling every part of her, there was no place she'd rather be.

"Strap in," Quill said, firing the thrusters to the nearest jump point. The hole in space opened up in front of them and they blasted through to another point in space.

---

New York City

The pogo jet came down on the New York City skyline. Uraraka stared out the window and couldn't help but gape a little. She'd always wanted to travel around, see the world. But because of her family's finances, it always felt like a pipe dream. She couldn't believe it when Yaoyorozu had invited her to I-Island, the first time she'd ever left the city, much less the country. Of course, the trip had been sullied by the attack on the Central Tower. Despite that, the thrill of the journey never left her.

Now here she was, seeing New York City. The sun was just rising up, bathing the city in a glorious light. She could see a few of the famous monuments. The Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, Central Park. She could even make out the Statue of Liberty. The obvious spots.

She wished she could enjoy it more, but everything just felt twisted now. She shouldn't be enjoying this view, not when so many of her friends were captured by villains. She just wanted to be out there, looking for them. But she couldn't. Which was why she was here. She needed to prove herself, so that she would be able to be a part of the missions to rescue her friends. And she couldn't allow herself to fail.

There was a suddenly flash of light, making Uraraka blink before she realized it was Johnny Storm. The Human Torch had decided to fly back to New York on his own power, his fire so powerful that he was able to easily fly through the air with it. Again she was reminded of Endeavour except she didn't think his flames were powerful enough for sustained flight, especially the way Johnny was flying. It was crazy to her that someone like Johnny would be stronger than Japan's No. 1 ranked hero. In her world at least.

That actually brought something to mind.

"Hey," she said, turning to Susan Storm, "do you have hero rankings here?"

"Hero rankings? Probably," Susan nodded. "I don't pay much attention to them though. Sadly most of the ones featuring female heroes have the words 'sexiest' and 'hottest' 'and shows the most so-and-so.'"

Uraraka sighed. That was actually a big thing in her world too, Miss Midnight being on most of them and apparently being proud of it. She knew Mineta kept his own private list and she was pretty sure he'd even ranked her and the other girls in another list.

"So do you have a No. 1 hero?" Asui asked.

"Yeah, like All Might?" Rin chimed in.

"All Might?" Ben Grimm asked, chuckled. "A little corny but not too bad. I kind of like it. He your strongest hero then?"

It was still amazing to meet people who hadn't heard of All Might. He was the hero that everybody knew, even if you weren't that into heroes. He was probably the first hero Uraraka even knew, the man always appearing on her TV screen. Other heroes had been more background characters to her as a little kid. She got to know the female ones more later on, but All Might was just instantly recognizable. That just made her wonder if they had someone like that.

"Yeah," Rin said, evidently as surprised as she was from his tone. "Well, he was. He had to retire a little while ago after a big battle. But he was the top hero in Japan for a few decades. We all called him the Symbol of Peace from how he single-handedly held back criminals and villains all those years, making Japan have one of the lowest crime rates in the world."

"Impressive," Ben acknowledged.

Reed, however, seemed to be frowning from his position at the front of the plane. "A symbol of peace?" he asked. "Hmm, that doesn't sound sustainable."

All four students looked up at his words. "What do you mean?" Asui asked.

"Like with anything, this All Might and his role as Symbol of Peace wouldn't last forever. It's not rational to build up a system where everything is dependent on one man. Because that man will eventually fall."

"He did," Uraraka said sadly. "A little while ago."

It had been an epic sight, the man's battle with his enemy All-for-One. She'd been in her room, watching with bated breath as her teacher and the hero she'd looked up to for so long almost died in the battle. It had been a true shock to see his skinny and skeletal form like that. But then he'd prevailed and won the day like always, but at the cost of his power and his mantle as Symbol of Peace.

It wasn't the same after that. Endeavour and the other heroes tried to pick up the slack, Endeavour doing most of the work to be seen as a new symbol, but it just wasn't the same, the villains making more dangerous moves. Shie Hassaikai and the Yakuza were proof of that.

She explained all that and Reed nodded. "That's why it isn't wise to place one man on such a pedestal. Nothing lasts forever. He may have had good intentions, wanting to provide hope the way he did, but it would have been better to have a more solid foundation and had more heroes on that pedestal with him. It's what makes our team work so well. We all work together as a family, each having our own roles, and no one standing above the rest."

"Though some stand out more than others," Ben said, clenching his fist tightly. Uraraka frowned. His words sounded like a brag but his tone didn't.

"It's not just us," Susan added. "It's true for all heroes. Especially the Avengers."

"The Avengers?" Asui asked.

"They're the primary superhero team around. Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Some consider them to be first line of defense for any major attack or threat," Susan explained. "Sam Wilson is a current member. We've worked with them on plenty of occasions before, when the situation called for it."

Uraraka wondered why there were called the Avengers. Sounded more like a villain team looking for revenge than a superhero team. She wondered what other kind of heroes were on it. They'd have to be pretty strong to be considered the Mightiest Heroes of the world. At least some probably on All Might's level. Though Sam hadn't seemed too powerful and he'd rescued them without getting a scratch on him.

"So you don't have a No. 1 hero?" Tsunotori checked.

"Not that I know of. A hero's popularity isn't really a good indicator of their power."

Ben nodded sagely. "I mean, look at ol' Spidey. He's had one of the worst reputations cause of that damn Triple J running his name through the mud over the years. But we've worked with him plenty of times and he's one of the strongest and most noble heroes around."

"Spidey?"

"Spider-Man," Susan corrected. "He's a good friend of ours. He's actually even served on the team every now and then."

Uraraka recalled that Susan had mentioned Spider-Man before, back when she'd been talking about heroes with the same names. There were evidently two running around.

"On our world…wow that's still strange to say," Tsunotori said, "the No. 1 U.S. hero was a woman called Star and Stripe."

"Star and Stripe?" Ben snorted. "Sounds Captain America level of patriotic there. Maybe even U.S. Agent level. She strong?"

"One of the strongest around," Tsunotori told him. "She has an amazing power. I was never quite sure what it was but she's practically invincible. Almost All Might level."

"Hmm, I think I'd like to meet her."

"Maybe we will," Reed said. "Anyway, enough chit-chat, we're here."

Uraraka looked out the window again, seeing them coming to a stop over a particular skyscraper. There didn't seem to be anything special about it until she noticed the roof was in a circular form with the number 4 marked on it the same way as the Fantastic Four's costumes.

The plane set down on the roof and Uraraka was expecting for the doors to open up, letting them out. Instead, the whole roof made a booming noise and the part the plane was on began to descend below. Uraraka blinked as they entered a large chamber where she could spot a bunch of other jets and even a few cars.

A few seconds later, after they stopped moving, the doors opened and Ben led the way out the plane. "Welcome to the Baxter Building," he said, grinning.

"What took you guys so long?" Johnny asked, appearing from nowhere as he slurped down a large drink. "You take the scenic route or something?"

"Aw shaddup!"

"Ben!"

They all turned to see a woman with short brownish-blonde hair coming towards them. Behind them, Uraraka spotted four kids. One seemed to be her age with black hair while the girl next to him had blonde hair and seemed to be a few years younger. The two other kids seemed to be the same age, the boy having bright blue skin while the girl had scaly green skin.

"Alicia, baby!" Ben cried, rushing over and pulling the woman into a big hug. "Sorry about the rush there. Didn't want to disturb ya while you were workin'."

"You know the rules. Missions are always worth disturbing me for," Alicia admonished.

"But it wasn't a mission!" Ben protested. "It was basically a pickup for these little rascals."

"Rascals?" Rin and Asui echoed, tilting their heads.

"Rascals?" the blue kid cried, suddenly charging forward. "I, Jo of House Grimm, will not permit you to pass further. You will be-"

"Oh can it would you?" the green kid said, slapping him upside the head. "Dad was clearly kidding. Jeez, you really need to get your sense of humor fixed."

"And you will need to get your everything fixed when I'm done!"

"Oh yeah? Bring it!"

"Hey!" the woman Alicia snapped, stopping the two right before they could trade blows. "Enough of that! We have guests. And remember what we talked about. Never immediately jump to violence."

"Yes mom."

"Yes mother."

Uraraka stared at the two in bemusement, not quite sure how to react. Before she could dwell on it further, Alicia turned to her and smiled. "Hello there," she said. "I'm Alicia Grimm, this big lug's wife." She patted Ben's rocky forearm fondly. "It's nice to meet you."

"Oh, nice to meet you too. I'm Ochaco Uraraka."

"Ochaco? What a wonderful name," Alicia said, shaking her hand. As she did, Uraraka noticed how she didn't meet Alicia's eyes, the woman stared ahead absently. Or, more accurately, blindly. "Welcome to the Baxter Building," Alicia continued. "And these two rascals are my kids."

"Jo of House Grimm!" the blue kid called, pounding his fist to his chest proudly. "Former Kree battle warrior and now proud son of the Grimm household!"

"I'm Nicki," the green kid said, rolling her eyes at her brother's antics. "And yes, I'm a Skrull."

"Oh, uh, nice to meet you," Uraraka said, not sure what a Skrull was. Or a Kree for that matter. She would have normally thought it might be a variation on a mutant-type Quirk but given where she was now, she couldn't make that assumption.

"And these two are my kids," Susan introduced, patting the black-haired kid and the blonde on the head. "Franklin and Valeria."

"Hey," Franklin said.

"Yo," Valeria waved.

"Hello," Uraraka replied.

"So why are you here?" Franklin asked curiously.

"Uh…" Uraraka started before realizing she really had no idea what to say. How did she even start to explain what was going on. Fortunately, Reed stepped up.

"These four are from another universe," he said simply, tapping on the pad in his hands. "They were recently rescued from Hydra. We're going to help them find a way back home. Actually, I could use both of your help if you don't mind."

"Sure," Franklin shrugged.

"Sounds fun," Valeria grinned.

"Great. Meet me at the main lab and we'll get started. Susan, why don't you show our guests where they'll be staying for the time being?"

"Of course. Here," Susan said, leading them out of the hangar. As they walked Susan gave them a sympathetic smile. "I know this must be overwhelming for you so take your time in adjusting."

"I don't think I could ever get use to this," Asui said, shaking her head.

"I thought that at first," Susan sighed. "But eventually, other dimensions, alien races, and terrorist organizations became my new normal."

Uraraka pondered that. For her, Quirk society was her normal. She was used to seeing heroes fighting villains on TV and occasionally in real life. But recently, fighting them herself had started to become normal as well. But other dimensions? People with powers that weren't Quirks? And evidently aliens? She had no idea how that could ever be considered normal for her.

"Look," Susan told them, "just get some rest for now. And feel free to use the internet to help adjust or ask any questions you like. All of the guest rooms are equipped with top quality computers. The kitchen is right down that hall," she pointed. "Just be careful which room you go into. Especially the labs. Reed is constantly working on multiple projects at once and you never know what you might be walking into."

Uraraka couldn't help but think of the support student Hatsumei and the way she blew up the design studio. Yeah, she didn't think she'd go wandering into any labs on the slight chance Reed was like her.

"So how long do you think we'll be here?" Tsunotori asked.

Susan gave them a look. "Hard to say. Reed is your best bet at finding your home universe so I'd like to say not long. But we're also looking for your friends and that might take longer. I won't lie to you, the people under investigation are very powerful people and it will take a lot of resources to confirm whether your friends are with them and even more resources to mount any rescue."

Uraraka thought about Shie Hassaikai and the rescue attempt on his compound for Eri as well as All-for-One and his League of Villains and the rescue attempt for Bakugo against him. Both had been major operations and nearly ended in complete disaster. Were those the kind of people they were up against?

It didn't matter. She still would rescue her friends no matter what.

"Do you mind if we can research these people?" Uraraka asked a little nervously but still firmly. "These villains? So we can be prepared."

Susan gave her a careful look and Uraraka was almost sure she would say no. Before she could say anything, Uraraka suddenly felt her stomach give off a loud growling sound. As if in sync with her, the others' stomachs all growled suddenly as well.

Susan chuckled while Uraraka's cheeks flared a little in embarrassment. "Sure," she said, surprising Uraraka. "You should be made aware of them honestly. Like I said, we don't know how long you'll be here. Let's talk about it over some food."

At the word food, Uraraka's stomach growled again. She hadn't realized she was so hungry. But it made sense, she hadn't eaten anything in hours. She happily followed Susan into the kitchen, ready to devour anything put in front of her.

I hope they have mochi here, she thought.

---

Fisk Tower

Kendo nervously entered the room alongside Ojiro and Kirishima, eyeing the other members of the Thunderbolts with trepidation. They were in the waiting room near the main hall where the press conference would take place, presenting them to the city of New York. Kendo was nervous about that plenty but she was more wary of her new 'teammates.' She'd done her research last night on all of them and was right to be worried. Almost all of them were former criminals, making her wonder why they'd been chosen to lead a program meant to provide people with hope about heroes. Then she remembered it was Wilson Fisk, the man who helped kidnap them, who was leading this program. He obviously wouldn't want actual heroes in his team but people who worked for him i.e. former criminals.

At least Walker didn't seem too bad. He was evidently a former soldier and had been known as 'Captain America' for a time but had retired from the role due to unknown reasons. Still, he seemed genuine enough.

Kendo couldn't find anything on either the White Widow or her new partner Ghost though other than small clips on YouTube. But the Ghost there seemed different than this one somehow. And the footage of the White Widow was too blurry to really make anything of it.

All this just told her that she needed to be even more wary, something she'd told Ojiro and Kirishima to be. Ojiro especially. From what she'd seen, Boomerang seemed to just be a low-level criminal who hadn't done too much. But Sandman was a major threat, able to transform into a giant if he had enough sand at his disposal. He'd evidently recently launched an attack on the city, destroying much of downtown in the process, before two heroes both called Spider-Man stopped him. Ojiro had gone very pale at the information.

Kendo had also done plenty of research on the local heroes in the area. It seemed Fisk was right about vigilantism here as there were no pro-agencies or licensed heroes here. So no way to really contact anyone. Still, she had heard about a group known as the Avengers, considered to be the greatest heroes in the world. And they were based in New York.

I wish I could just contact them, she thought wistfully. But she didn't know what kind of people they were. After all, Fisk was Mayor here. The fact that the Avengers didn't seem to answer to him was a good sign but how could she know they were good people? That they were actually heroes?

The rules had been flipped upside down for her and she had to navigate this new world the best she could which meant playing things very close to the vest. The only ones she could trust were Kirishima and Ojiro until she knew more. So that was her goal. On her patrols, she would keep a lookout for these unlicensed heroes and see if they could help her of if they were just fakes.

The doors suddenly opened up and she felt a twinge of fear as Wilson Fisk stepped forward, dressed in a prim white suit, a large jeweled cane in hand. "Good morning," he said, a small smile on his face. "Walker, you've briefed them, yes?"

"They all know their roles," Walker affirmed.

"Wonderful. Wesley is currently setting everything up before the press conference begins. Now, none of you are to say anything except for Walker, is that understood?" he asked, menace creeping into his voice.

"Yeah, yeah," Rhino snorted. "We get it."

"No problemo," Boomerang added, lounging on one of the couches.

"Hmm." Fisk stared at them, unconvinced. "Just remember, I'm taking a chance with all of you. But you are easily replaced. There are plenty of individuals out there waiting for a chance like this. So don't screw this up for yourself or you'll find yourself right back in prison."

"Crystal clear boss," Moonstone told him, looking completely unconcerned.

"As for you three," Fisk said, turning to Kendo and the others after giving Moonstone a hard look, "just remember our deal and everything will work out nicely."

"Yeah, we know," Kendo said, glaring back at him.

"Like we can forget," Kirishima muttered.

"Ooh, what's all this about then?" Moonstone grinned.

"Something that does not concern you," Fisk told her sharply.

Before any more could be said, there was a knock at the door and an aide entered. "We're ready for you now, Mr. Fisk," he said.

"Wonderful. The rest of you line up and be ready," Fisk told them before walking out.

"Alright, you heard him," Walker said. Line up behind me. And you three," he pointed to Kendo. "Stay at the back. You'll be brought in last."

"Why the hell are they getting presented last?" Boomerang demanded. "You always save the best for last so why d-"

"Because they're the most essential selling point of this program," Walker told him firmly. "Now do as I say and line up!"

They quickly all filed into a line, Kendo winding up next to Ghost at the end of the line. She wasn't sure what to expect of this. She'd already done a modeling job thanks to her internship with pro-hero Uwabami. And she'd also done the whole beauty contest thing during the School Festival. But this was so different. Here she was, presenting herself to a whole world of strangers that she was a hero that would protect them. There were so many mixed feelings there that she didn't know how to process them all. A major thing though was that if people would be able to trust her if they saw the kinds of people she was paired with. If people knew who Rhino and Sandman and her other teammates were, they might lump her in with them.

If any heroes watched this and already knew about who Fisk really was, would they even try to come save her if she reached out to them? Or would they just think she was as bad as he was for working for him?

If there was one silver lining, it was the fact that presenting herself like this was sure to get her noticed by a lot of people, hopefully some of them being her lost friends. Maybe some of them were free already and could help free her too. Or maybe they'd just see her and…well, feel a little more hope in their situations.

"Hey, you ok?"

She turned and saw both Kirishima and Ojiro looking at her with concern. "Yeah," she nodded, plastering a smile on her face. "Yeah, I'm ok. Just…"

"Yeah," Kirishima nodded. "I always knew interviews and stuff like this would be part of the hero gig but…not like this."

Ojiro nodded. "Yeah. I kind of imagined my first one when I got accepted into the hero course. What I would say, what I would do. Wondering if my family was watching it live. Now…it just feels wrong."

Kendo sighed. As much as she thought her internship with Uwabami was a waste of time, it had felt nice to present herself as a hero to the world, even in a dumb commercial. Well, here she was, forced to be a part of some weird rehabilitation act for former villains, some of whom didn't seem too eager to take part in it either, and act like a hero for a whole new world.

Well, why did she have to act?

"Just remember guys," she told Kirishima and Ojiro. "We're heroes first and foremost. So, while this is…not what we wanted, let's still go out there and show everyone who we are. Maybe it's not our city or country or even world, but we're still trying to be the best heroes we can be. And if it's going to be here, so be it."

Kirishima grinned, pumping his fist up. "Right!" he exclaimed quietly. "No matter what, I'll be the best damn hero around!"

"Yeah," Ojiro nodded in agreement, tail swishing behind him. "Even if these guys aren't heroes, we will be."

"Exactly," Kendo nodded. She didn't care how many twists and surprises life threw at her, she had always wanted to be a hero and nothing was going to change that. So even if she did have to work alongside former villains right now, she'd still be the best hero she could be.

"Hey, pipe down over there!" Walker called to them. "It's starting."

A few seconds later, she heard Fisk start speaking from behind the doors as well as other voices and knew the press conference had begun. She took a deep breath and looked at her fellow Thunderbolts. Ghost and Sandman were still expressionless, Ghost mainly because of the mask. Walker looked a little uncomfortable but mainly bored. Rhino just looked bored. Moonstone seemed to be doing something with her hair and Boomerang was apparently…posing. And White Widow…wasn't here.

Kendo blinked in surprise, never having realized that they were down one member and no one seemed to notice. Why wasn't she part of this?

Kendo didn't have time to think on it as the doors suddenly opened up and the aide returned. "Alright, you're up," he said.

"Let's move it," Walker told them, leading them out the doors and into the main hall. As they walked, Kendo took a deep breath.

Here we go, she thought.

---

Parker Residence

"New York City is known for its resilience," Fisk said through the TV.

Peter glared at him as he rocked Mayday up and down on his knee, the little girl giggling up a storm. "At least one of us is having a good time," he muttered.

"What is he doing on our TV?" MJ asked, walking into the room and spotting Fisk.

"He's giving some kind of speech or something. Jameson and Betty are down there now, reporting it for the Bugle. She texted me to listen in. Said she tried to get you too."

"Did she?" MJ asked, checking her phone. "Damn, I forgot to charge it! Hold on."

"We have suffered wave after wave of attacks, of destruction, brought down on our great city. And at the heart of almost every one of those are 'super-heroes.' Vigilantes and lawbreakers who feel as if they have free reign to do as they please. Perhaps they do some good in stopping 'super-villains' but that 'good' usually comes at a cost to the regular citizens trying to live normal lives."

Peter snorted. Fisk had done nearly ten times as much harm as superheroes ever had in his time as crime lord. Ben Urich himself had come inches away from death and had been in the hospital for months with a fractured larynx because of the man. And now he was somehow mayor and he was trying to judge them?

"And when we attempt to hold them accountable? They get preferential treatment, a slap on the wrist, and then they're free to go and continue to do what they've always done. Whatever they want with no one to hold them accountable. This city is filled with the finest law enforcement officers and yet they are always side-lined by these super-heroes. But they're the ones with the authority to serve and protect this city from threats and they are held accountable for their actions."

"What is he getting at here?" MJ asked.

"I don't know," Peter replied, but a sinking feeling had started up in his stomach. He had an inkling where Fisk was going with this and he didn't like it one bit. He didn't even realized when he stopping rocking Mayday up and down.

"But because most of the time they are seen as helpless in the face of super-villain attacks and other such calamities, we allow the super-heroes to handle matters which gives them the mindset that they have permission to do as they will. Well, here in New York City, we feel that enough is enough. It is long past time for a change. Some years ago, a certain Act was passed across the nation."

"What?" Peter gasped, standing upright so fast he surprised Mayday, making her cry out.

"He can't be serious!" MJ gasped as well, taking the crying Mayday from Peter's hands.

Peter stood there, trembling. The Superhero Registration Act. A law that had divided the country and the superhero community, starting a war between them all. He had first been supportive of it but when he'd seen the lengths to which the pro-registration side was going, he'd switched sides. It was too late then of course, he'd already exposed his identity to the world. At the end of it, Aunt May had almost died and it had taken all of Doctor Strange's powers as well as very useful memory spell to undo it. Of course, Peter had had to ensure that May and MJ were excluded from the spell's effects to the doctor's annoyance.

Just glad I didn't push it farther, even if I did have to go out and redo the talk with a few other people afterwards, Peter thought to himself.

Still, that time of his life had been the hardest he'd ever faced. That most of them had ever faced. The Avengers had broken apart and Norman Osborn had launched his own initiative. The Skrulls had invaded. Everything went to hell.

Was Fisk really going to…

"However, that Act caused a great rift and in the end did more harm than good."

"At least he admits that," MJ muttered.

"So where is he going with this?" Peter wondered darkly.

"But I am here to tell you that myself and my fellow lawmakers have been hard at work these last few weeks to reinstate a program of super-heroes that work under the law, not above it. These new heroes will be the first wave of super-hero law enforcement officers dedicating to helping the citizens of this city without causing unnecessary harm to them."

"His own personal enforcers," Peter growled.

"Yeah, just what this city needs," MJ agreed, shaking her head.

"And to all the super-heroes and vigilantes out there, I say this: do not continue to act as part of the problem but be a part of the solution. Join this program now while you still can. Because make no mistake, this is only the first step in my goal to eradicate vigilantism and make this city safe once again."

Peter snorted again. When had Fisk ever cared about making this city safe? All he ever wanted was it under his thumb.

"Now, without further ago, it is my honor to present the new Thunderbolts as your protectors!"

The Thunderbolts? Peter thought but he didn't have time to wonder about the name and its implications as the first team member walked out onto the stage. He frowned, recognizing the person from somewhere.

"John Walker," MJ supplied. "He acted as Captain America a while back and now goes by U.S. Agent."

"Oh right, that guy," Peter nodded, remembering now. When Steve Rogers had backed away from the mantle, the government had handed it to this guy and he'd…done some things that made Steve come back to it. Made sense he'd be working under Fisk for the Thunderbolts.

But Peter barely processed him before the next people appeared. And with each one, his anger and shock grew. Moonstone. Rhino. Sandman. Ghost. Boomerang. "You've got to be kidding me!" he exclaimed, seeing the lineup. "These are supposed to be New York's protectors? Fisk is practically just bringing back Norman's Dark Avengers!"

"Like I said, just his enforcers," MJ said, shaking her head.

"I understand there may be concerns given the past and reputation of some of these members," Fisk said. "However, this new act is all about second chances and giving heroes a better image. This latest iteration of the Thunderbolts will strive to be the heroes that New York deserves, despite what they may have done in the past. I have the utmost confidence they will live up to the ideals that their fellow law enforcement officers have set."

At that moment, Mayday suddenly spit up.

"Exactly," Peter nodded.

"However, that is not all," Fisk continued. "As many are aware, more and more heroes have begun popping up in the last few years, a majority of them young, burgeoning boys and girls who are following in the footsteps of the heroes, or vigilantes, that came before. But this program is here to show these fledgling heroes the right way forward. And what better way to do that than with examples. I am proud now to present to you the debut of these fine young heroes that will headline the Thunderbolts and pave the way for all heroes going forward. Let me introduce Battle Fist, Red Riot, and Tailman!"

Three new people emerged onto the stage. Two seemed to be wearing martial arts uniforms, the blonde boy in a karate outfit while the red-haired girl was in a more colorfully decorated one. The third kid a bright redhead with spiky hair, was bare-chested with strange looking gear like clothing over his shoulders.

"Who are they?" Peter asked but MJ shrugged, wiping up Mayday's little mess.

"Never seen them before. Must be new, like Fisk said."

"Great."

"These new heroes fully embody the spirit of what we are now terming 'licensed heroes,' heroes who are governmentally trained and certified to operate as heroes in this city. I hope that the example they set will allow other heroes out there to see the error in their ways and inspire them to join us as we create a better, safer city. Thank you for joining us and-"

Peter turned the TV off, having heard enough. He sighed, rubbing his head. This was going to be a problem, a serious one. Fisk's act might seem like the better way to go given the massive controversy around the Registration Act, especially since he wasn't outright targeting other heroes. But that was clearly his goal.

In another world, Peter might have agreed with him. He had signed up with the Registration Act because he believed it was the right thing to do. And the idea of licensed heroes was a fair one. There were too many heroes out there that took things too far, that believed their powers gave them free reign as Fisk had said and a way to curb that mindset was actually a good idea.

But Peter had seen firsthand the chaos brought on by governmentally controlled heroes. The Avengers currently operated alongside the world governments, neither for them or against them. Their actions and powers not just on the world stage but on a the universal one had made it clear that they were more than responsible enough to answer to themselves, especially given the threats they went up against.

Besides, this was Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin of Crime. Mayor or not, his mindset hadn't changed one bit. He still wanted control over everything. This was just his way of doing it legally. There wasn't a doubt in Peter's mind that he would abuse this new act to take down any hero who would oppose him and in such a way that the citizens would actually cheer him on.

"Well, that's to be expected," MJ sighed, looking at her charging phone. "Jameson's apparently moving back and forth on whether or not he agrees or disagrees with what Fisk is doing. Betty's just gone to the pharmacy for a fresh bottle of aspirin."

Peter sighed again. Jameson was one hell of a headache inducer. But he had been actually very helpful ever since Fisk became mayor, challenging the man at every turn and scrutinizing every law and policy he enacted. He may still be the president of the anti-Spider-Man crusade, but he was also president of the anti-Fisk crusade.

"I guess time will tell whether or not ol' Triple J will be helpful here or not."

"Yeah. And I'll be the first to know," MJ said, still scrolling through her phone. "Robbie just texted me, wanting me back at the Bugle. One guess as to what it's about."

"Go," Peter told her, taking Mayday off her hands. "I've got babysitting duty now. Let me know what's happening down there."

"Will do,," she said getting all her stuff together. She swung her workbag over her should and came back over, rubbing Mayday's head and causing her to giggle up a storm. "Bye sweetie," MJ said to her before turning to Peter and kissing him swiftly. She then rushed out the door, slamming it formly behind her.

"Well now," Peter mumbled, looking down at his daughter. "What should w- oh hang on," he suddenly said, feeling his phone vibrate. "Did she forget someth-oh!" he exclaimed in surprise, seeing who was calling. He hit the answer button and held his phone up. "Hey Matt. I'm guessing you saw the news. Oh, wait, not saw," he corrected, wincing at his blunder. "Heard the news."

"Yeah and we need to meet up, asap," Matt Murdock told him over the phone.

"Uh…" Peter grimaced, looking down at Mayday who was grinning back up at him. "I've kind of got my hands full here. Why don't you just come over? That'll be better all around."

"On it."

"Oh, and let's make it out of uniform. Don't want the neighbors talking."

"Understood. Be there soon."

Peter put his phone down and took a look around the messy apartment, seeing spilled food from Mayday's breakfast shenanigans, her toys scatted all over the floor, and the growing pile of laundry in the corner that was looking more like a mountain.

"Ah, he's blind, he won't notice."

---

Doom's Private Jet

Deku stared at the documents in his hands, feeling that sinking feeling build up inside of him. It was a roster for this Winter Guard, the apparent top team in Russia. Deku was familiar with the top Russian heroes back in his world but now he had to quickly learn about a whole new list of people that he would almost certainly go up against in order to rescue one family. Luckily, studying and analyzing heroes was what he did best.

They were all currently on Doctor Doom's private jet, flying directly to Moscow where Doom would begin negotiations with the Russian government to free his people. In the meantime, Deku and his team would infiltrate the facility holding the prisoners and free them. Deku had wondered why Doom couldn't just handle this himself but it was Honenuki who pointed it out to him. Doom didn't want to give the Russians a single thing in exchange.

Doom was currently seated close to the back of the plain in a specially made seat for him. Deku wasn't sure what to expect but evidently Doom never relaxed his position, always sitting regally in his seat as if any other way was beneath him. Deku also noticed the man's fingers twitching every now and then and noted how the man seemed to be stared silently ahead, figuring he must be watching something behind his mask and moving things around with his fingers.

At least he was leaving the rest of them alone.

Honenuki and Sero were both trying to get some sleep. Tokoyami was studying his own pamphlet, Dark Shadow doing his best to help him out. Shiozaki was meditating in her seat, her vine-hair moving around restlessly.

Deku sighed as he looked at them. He had brought them into this. They didn't have to get involved in such a political and almost certainly criminal mess but because of him, they felt obliged to come alone. He was responsible for them now. He had to make sure they all came back safely. Which meant he had to study every document as much as he could to prepare.

Ursa Major. Had the ability to transform into a large brown bear except so much stronger. With his enhanced, speed, strength, stamina, and overall durability in his animal form, he was a savage warrior on the battlefield. Deku shivered at the thought of running into him.

Crimson Dynamo. Had no abilities or powers which was still surprising to Deku. Instead, Dynamo used a mechanized suit of armor that granted him flight and a range of weaponry. He was categorized as a one-man air force with only a couple American heroes with similar suits able to match him. Deku recalled on the rooftop when he'd been captured there had been one villain there with a similar suit, but his had been green, not red. Something to follow-up on later.

Vostok. An apparent synthezoid or robotic being that replicated every aspect of the human body from organs to cells with a synthetic, organic like substance. And this one had a large array of abilities such as flight, enhanced strength, self-repair, phasing, mechanokinesis, and energy projection among others. Deku had thought the robots at U.A. were advanced but this clearly took it to another level.

Darkstar. She was able to manipulate something known as the Darkforce, some kind of extradimensional energy that felt like it could blow Deku's mind as he read about it. This Darkstar could apparently make constructs from it, use it to fly, and even make portals through it.

As Deku read about her, he couldn't help but look up at Tokoyami who felt his gaze.

"I know, I saw," his friend replied. "It does seem…similar. Though her constructs do not seem to be alive."

"Still, if we run into her, do you think…"

"It would be best not to at all, but yes," Tokoyami said. "If it comes to it, I will take her."

Deku nodded. Doom had already gone over the plan with them and it actually seemed to be a good plan that would help them avoid the Winter Guard. But they had to be ready for anything. He'd learned that when going up against Shie Hassaikai.

He turned his head back down to the rest of the team, looking at the final members.

Vanguard. The leader of the team who had an ability called 'repulsion field.' With it, he could create force fields, fly by repelling against the earth, fire off concussive beams of energy, and redirect any energy repelled by his field back at its source such as with bullets. He also wore a shield as his primary weapon and used it to amplify his power. A dangerous ability and one that, according to Doom's files, Vanguard used to great effect in combat.

Red Widow. Deku noted that this one had special tag on it that meant this one he considered dangerous, making Deku want to gulp. She had enhanced physiology from a certain serum known as 'super-soldier,' making her strength, durability, speed, reflexes, and agility far surpassing that of anyone else. Deku also read that she had a ruthless and brutal mindset and carried out her missions with lethal efficiency, making her one of the most dangerous women alive.

And yet, somehow, none of these so far were the causes for concern.

Perun and Chernobog. Actual gods. Even though Doom had already explained to them all that gods and magic and all that actually did exist in this universe, it was hard to fully believe in that. And now, Deku was flying directly into a confrontation with two of them.

Perun was a Slavic storm god, looking like a Viking from the old history lessons Deku had in school, and Chernobog was a Slavic god of darkness, looking like some kind of demon from Deku's darkest nightmares. It was mainly because of these two that they were going to have to do everything possible to sneak in.

Again, Deku shot a look towards the stationary Doom. He knew he was saving a family here but it still felt wrong on many levels to have to break the law to do it. He knew he'd broken a few rules every now and then to help people, like when he'd fought Stain with no license to save Iida and when he and the others had gone after Bakugo when he'd been captured. But those were tiny compared to what he was doing now. This was an international espionage mission where they would be actively going against heroes from another country under the orders of the leader of a foreign power who also happened to be a supervillain. It went against everything U.A. was teaching him.

But he also knew that if he didn't do this, Doom would find another way to free that family. Or, perhaps, even just remove them for causing him an inconvenience. Maybe he would free them but cause so much collateral damage in the process, killing the Russian heroes and all the government workers as well.

Deku knew he was being played by the man here into doing what he wanted but if it meant less collateral damage and that no one got hurt, then Deku would handle it.

Besides, since Doom wanted to see how they'd operate so much, Deku knew he would just come up with some other test or mission as equally dangerous. Right now, Deku wasn't even sure whether or not Doom might have actually set up this family to get captured just to test them. It seemed a little devious and perhaps far-fetched, but this was a man willing to buy superpowered kids like they were slaves just to see how they operated.

He sighed, leaning back in his seat. This whole thing was such a mess. He wished he could talk to All Might about this. Obviously, if he could, he wouldn't be in this mess in the first place, but since he was, he needed advice on how to handle it. And he couldn't think of anyone better than the No. 1 hero. He must have an idea, he had been the previous wielder of One-for-All after…

Deku's eyes shot open wide and he almost gasped before quickly covering his mouth. He looked over at Doom but saw no change and relaxed marginally.

Why hadn't he thought of this before? Maybe he couldn't talk to All Might, but there were other wielders he could talk to.

He could already converse with the first wielder and he'd held a conversation with the fifth wielder as well after he inherited Blackwhip. Plus, Nana Shimura, the seventh wielder had managed to communicate with him briefly. He'd never actively tried to initiate the conversation, but maybe now was the time to try.

He closed his eyes and rested in his seat again, trying to relax. As he did, he focused his mind on one purpose: going back to the core of One-for-All where all the vestiges were.

---

Secret Lair

"Truly fascinating."

Doctor Otto Octavius examined the subject known as Tenya Iida's x-ray scans, pouring over all the information discovered. There were many scientific subjects that drew his attention. He was a doctor of many fields after all. But his main field of study would always lie with cybernetic and prosthetic studies and the like. It was how he had wound up the mechanical arms attached to his back and propelled him so far in life after faltering for so long. The study of the bond between organism and machine was a fascinating one and he was always eager to learn more.

He was of course aware of the various cyborgs and machine men and synthezoids and whatnot out there. But here was something so similar and yet so different too. This boy, at first glance, seemed to be partly cyborg because of the engines in his legs. One might assume from that glance that he was a person who wanted to run really fast and had thus installed said engines to do so.

But, on closer study, it was clear that wasn't the case. These pipes that jutted out from the boy's thighs were connected to engines that intertwined with the boy's bodily systems in such a natural way that there was no way it could have been done by hand. It was the most pure bond of organism and machine ever seen before as it was clear the metallic parts had actually grown from the boy's own body since birth.

"The powers of this newfound world are beyond what I thought possible," Octavius murmured to himself. If he could somehow find a way to duplicate that process for himself, for his arms…how much stronger would he become? The ideas that flashed across his mind made him grin.

Then there were the other subjects. Honestly, he'd responded to Power Broker's call on a whim. He had seen the powers of Mutants and Inhumans and the like and was naturally curious as to what else was out there. When he had seen the possibilities, he became more intrigued and now he was more thankful than ever he had taken part in the operation. Still, he'd only really wanted Iida. The other boys he had taken had been on another whim, their powers vaguely interesting.

Still, they were remarkable. The bug boy, Togaru Kamakiri, could produce blades across his body it seemed judging from the multiple attempts he'd made to break free. Not too impressive but it had given Octavius ideas about some upgrades to his arms. He'd never really thought about adding blades before, always relying on the pointed claws to handle that level of combat. But, the heroes he fought seemed to rely more times than naught on breaking his arms to defeat him, especially Spider-Man. He always attempted to remedy that by making his arms stronger, but perhaps that was the wrong way. Perhaps if he added blades along his arms, then that problem would be solved.

Octavius's eyes flicked over to the third subject. Mezo Shoji. A mutant if he ever saw one considering how his limbs grew out. But it was for that reason that Octavius chose to study him as well. It seemed he could stretch out his limbs and grow extra appendages at will. He could even grow fresh eyes, ears, mouths, any part of his body really. Truly fascinating if not a little gross.

Most of that was uninteresting to Octavius, but the idea of continually growing out limbs intrigued him. If he could consistently grow out fresh limbs from his tentacles…that would be beneficial in a multitude of ways. Of course, with him the power would be more similar to a telescope than to what this boy had. Still, he wanted to keep the boy around to study how his power worked, just so he could improve his limbs that much more.

And then there was the final test subject, Minoru Mineta, who had the power to grow purple balls from his head that stuck to anything. When Octavius first heard that, he'd almost laughed. What a ridiculous power. Of course, he could still see the possibilities. He had run tests and seen that the balls stuck to whatever they touched and were next to impossible to remove afterwards, making them a true asset when capturing targets.

But that was it. Other than that, they didn't really serve any purpose. He had done a deep scan of the balls' properties, seeing if it could be possible to recreate them. But since besides that he had no real use for them, he had no real use for the boy. And it was a hassle keeping prisoners.

Plus, he was also a pervert. Octavius didn't have many female employees but the ones he did have had already made a few complaints about the boy. And while he knew that he himself was a villain in many different ways, he had to admit the boy's comments did reach the line for him. So, he gave the order.

"Dispose of the little one. His services are no longer required."

---

Fight Club

BOOM!

"And the Hippo is down!" the commentator cried out as the crowd roared its approval. "Lord Explosion Murder has won again, taking down his opponent in under a minute! What a sight folks!"

Bakugo sniffed as he walked away from the arena. "Wasn't much of a fight," he muttered. "Shocker was better than that."

He saw Count Nefaria waiting for him, the villain smiling as he approached. "Well done my boy, well done," he said. "I never had a doubt this time. Which is why I put such a hefty gamble on you. Though to be honest I still didn't win too much. Seems most people bet you would win."

"Damn right," Bakugo replied. "Didn't even work up that much of a sweat. Give me a real challenge."

Nefaria gave him a look. "Hmmm, why don't I let you pick? I'll show you the catalog of all interested fighters this week and you can choose who'd you like to go up against."

"Sounds good to me."

After getting his ass handed to him by that skull-faced guy back at U.A. and then being basically enslaved by Nefaria, Bakugo knew the time for waiting was past. He had to get stronger, as quickly as possible. Nefaria was using him in these matches for his own amusement, but to Bakugo they were his next level of training. He was going up against villains, matching his power to them, and pushing himself to the limits over and over again. He needed to survive in this world, needed to become strong enough so he would never be beaten again. So for now, he'd play Nefaria's game. He'd fight whoever he needed to fight until no one could stand up to him.

Then, he'd come for Nefaria himself.

"I must say, so far my investment with you lot has been rewarding. My new night club was a major hit last night thanks to your sparkly friend."

"We are not friends!"

"Ah yes, you're beyond such attachments, are you? Very wise."

"Shut up!"

"You know, I originally wanted you for your power, but you're actually very amusing. I'm glad I took you in."

I'm going to murder him so freaking hard! Bakugo seethed inwardly.

"Oh, and your other not-friend woke up. I received the call while you were fighting."

Bakugo looked up at that. After his fight with Shocker, the Hairy Beast kid from Class B had gone up against a fighter calling himself the Eel. It had been a tense fight, the Eel's slick-like skin and electric powers giving him an edge, wearing Hairy Beast down more and more. Eventually, Hairy Beast had managed to grow to his maximum size, using his fur and raw strength to power through the electricity, and cornered the Eel, slamming him into the cage hard enough to knock him out. He then passed out himself after his victory was called.

Bakugo was glad. He'd thought about jumping into the fight himself at certain moments but Nefaria seemed to be aware and stopped him. He'd been glad that his fellow student had managed to win, though it came at a price.

But now he was awake. Bakugo smirked, thinking of the lecture he was going to give the guy on how weak he was. They couldn't afford to be weak here. There were no teachers around and this was no training session. This was the real deal and one misstep would get them killed. Right now, Bakugo knew he wasn't strong enough to protect all of them so he needed this guy to step up so he could protect himself well enough until Bakugo could take on everyone alone.

As Nefaria kept talking, Bakugo eyed him carefully. Just you wait you bastard. I don't care how long it takes, I will crush you.

---

Helicarrier

"I'm sorry but there was nothing more I could do."

Fury grunted, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he felt that familiar headache coming on. "Don't they realize how serious this could be?"

"Unfortunately, no. They see it more as a wild goose chase. Currently they're more interested in what's currently going on with Hydra at the moment as well as what's happening in Russia at the moment."

Fury couldn't help but sigh at that. "If those damn Russians want to piss off Doom, that's not our problem. Their funeral."

"Agreed. Look, I laid out all the facts but the Council wants to prioritize other things. We've had multiple reports over the last few days concerning some big names out there, including some omega level threats."

"I've been received reports too and almost all of them seem to be connected to this mystery!"

There was a brief moment of silence. "Fury, I get it. Look, as of this moment, the Council has declared that no more S.H.I.E.L.D. resources will be used to search for these kids. However," the man said before Fury could speak, "you are Nick Fury. Your resources are near infinite. You believe that all these events are connected to these missing kids. Get the proof, overwhelming proof, for me to show the Council. Then, we can get to work. That's all I can say for now."

"I know," Fury sighed again. "I get it. Thanks for trying anyway Pierce."

"Anytime, old friend."

Fury ended the call and huffed, thinking things over. "I suppose for now it's all up to you guys then," he muttered. "Still, I'm not out of this game yet. Time to shake a few branches."

---

Avengers Mansion

Sam Wilson swooped down over the city of New York, coming in for a landing in the front yard of Avengers Mansion, headquarters to Earth's Mightiest Heroes. It had been destroyed and rebuilt several times over the years. It had even been a tower once though that had been sold off to someone. Sam had wondered knew once or twice but it didn't seem like that big a deal.

Now the building had returned to being a mansion and honestly Sam was happy about that. When the Avengers first formed, they'd had a mansion. The first time he'd been an Avenger, even if it was on reserve, it had been a mansion. Seeing it like this when he was a full-fledged Avenger gave him a satisfied feeling he couldn't really explain.

He walked up to the front door and rang the bell. Most people took a look at the place and always wondered why a location containing some of the most powerful people on the planet was so open and inviting with such little security. Well, they missed all the traps, safeguards, and security measures that littered the yard, walls, fence, roof, and surrounding areas that would not hesitate to neutralize any incoming threat. As Sam had approached, he knew that he was being scanned by at least a dozen different sensors, each one with a different setting to ensure he was actually Sam Wilson and not a clone, alien, sorcerer, android, duplicate, or anything else. There was even one that scanned all his mannerisms and movements to ensure he wasn't being mind-controlled or had a villain swap bodies with him (that had been a real shock to learn from Spidey). Of course, they couldn't account for everything but they did came damn close.

The door opened and Sam smiled at the familiar bald-headed figure that was the Avengers' personal butler Edwin Jarvis. The man had been through a lot, serving the Avengers like this, but he was an indispensable member of the team and Sam honestly didn't know what any of them would do without him.

"Ah, Mr. Wilson, good to see you again," Jarvis greeted. "I trust your flight in was a pleasant one."

"You say that like I flew commercial to get here Jarvis. But yeah, it was pretty nice. I just wish the news I had was more pleasant."

"Speaking of which sir, the rest of the team has assembled in the main conference room."

Sam gave him a look. "Really Jarvis?"

"My apologies sir, but allow me my small pleasures," Jarvis said. Sam couldn't help but smirk at his expression. The man was a master of keeping a straight face.

"Alright. Oh, and I hope you don't mind my asking but this might take some time so if you could…"

"Not to worry sir, Mr. Stark has already requested refreshments as well."

"Course he has. Alright, better head on in then."

It didn't take long to reach the main conference room, Sam pushing through the large wooden doors and noting who was present and who wasn't as soon as he entered, conversations quieting as he walked through. The Avengers chairwoman Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel stood at the other end of the circular table though it was in hologram form. Sam knew she was currently several light-years away dealing with a fanatical cult making waves near Xandar. Sam wouldn't have thought it would take this long for her to handle a cult giver her power level but evidently they were stronger than they let on. Or at least good at hiding from her. But Sam had no doubt she'd handle it. In terms of power, there were only a handful of individuals who could match against her, even in the whole universe.

Directly on her right was Wanda Maximoff aka the Scarlet Witch, one of the most powerful magic users on the planet as well as a mutant. Sam knew that it the last few years she'd gone through some serious shit and almost had a complete mental breakdown. But she'd managed to recover and build herself back up, now running a magic shop and dedicating herself to helping anyone who needed it.

On Carol's left stood one of the founding Avengers, Janet Van Dyne aka the Wasp. Her abilities and personality made many underestimate her which was usually one of their last mistakes. The woman was an expert in combat and even better in espionage, her size-changing suit allowing her to take out combatants before they even realized it. While she still ran one of the largest fashion companies in the city, she was an Avenger through and through.

Closest to Sam as he walked in was Tony Stark aka Iron Man, another founding Avenger. The man had come in today in a normal shirt and jeans that had Led Zeppelin branding on them and was currently leaning back in his seat with his feet up on the table. Sam didn't let that fool him for a second though. He knew that in an instant, a suit would form up around the guy ready to take on any sort of threat. He was one of the smartest and most powerful human beings on the planet for a reason.

Across from Tony was a figure with one of the most unreadable faces Sam had ever seen. The Vision. A synthezoid made by the Avengers' enemy Ultron to destroy them, the Vision had broken free and had spent more than a decade now learning and growing like any human being would, becoming his own personality. While those eyes might seem cold, Sam knew that the Vision had one of the most caring and warm-hearted personalities of anyone here, sort of like the Tin Man.

Next to him was another hologram, this one displaying the royal personnage of the King of Wakanda, T'Challa aka the Black Panther. Another one of the smartest men on the planet and one of the most skilled hand-to-hand fighters as well. Sam and T'Challa had a history that had plenty of high and lows. Right now it might have been a low moment due to the events concerning T'Challa's adopted brother the White Wolf, but that didn't lessen Sam's respect for the man.

Across from him was the last founding member present and another royal to boot, Thor the God of Thunder. Sam had to admit, when he found out that the Norse Gods were real, he hadn't been sure what to believe. But it hadn't taken him long to see despite his godlike status and power, Thor was just as human as the rest of them. He may be one of the strongest beings in the universe right alongside Carol and he may exude an aura of nobility wherever he went, but Sam also knew he was complete riot especially at parties, no one making as much noise or indulging in as much food and drink as him. And he was also one of the most loyal people Sam had ever met.

And last, but certainly not least though many people did consider him that way and quickly paid for that mistake, Clint Barton aka Hawkeye. The man may seem like his only contribution was with a bow and arrow and surrounded by such other figures, it seemed small. But Sam knew that the bow and arrow was just the best method for him to utilize his uncanny eyesight and accuracy, able to strike down targets that others couldn't hope to hit. Sam knew he'd single-handedly gone toe-to-toe with beings such as the Collector, one of the Elders of the Universe, and come out on top. He had more than proven himself amongst the people in this room.

Together, the nine people in this room made up the current roster for the Avengers.

"Ah Sam, good to see you," Tony said. "You know, usually the people who call the meetings are the first to arrive."

"Not my fault I was farther away," Sam said, shrugging. "Now, we have a lot to discuss. So let's get started."

---

And we are back. Hope you enjoyed this chapter cause I sure did enjoy writing it. And I also hope you enjoyed all those little easter eggs I placed.

I'm curious as to who people would rank as their own No. 1 heroes for the Marvel Universe. Honestly, my top guesses would be Captain Marvel, Captain America, or Iron Man if it were to happen though my own No. 1 hero would be Spider-Man which I'm sure is the same for a lot of people out there.

I just want to say thanks to all the great comments from people and the support against that specific reviewer. I must ask again that whoever that person is to stop barraging writers with their own personal opinion on how the story goes. Don't like it, write your own. It's that simple.

I hope you enjoyed the Avengers roster I put together. I took from the current roster as well as the roster I'm reading now from the 80s (the Wasp for example). And I had to have Hawkeye there. He's one of my favorite heroes, No. 7 to be exact, so there was no way I wouldn't include him. Also, for any interested, I posted last Sunday my ranking of the best Avengers stories from the 70s up on my site imagineworlds . org if you want to check that out.

Things are heating up but I have noticed some comments so I want to make this clear. When all the kids are together, that's kind of basically it. Reed Richards, being who he is, can locate their home universe easily. So if they all get rescued, the story would probably come to an end. And I have one goal with this story: explore as much of the Marvel Universe as possible. So, don't go expecting everyone to get rescued anytime soon. I will be taking my sweet time with this story and I have so many exciting developments.

Until next time.