"You know, we never had such tall towers in Novi Grad, did we sister?"
"There was never anyone in Novi Grad that had a need for such grandiose displays of wealth," Wanda answered, a hum escaping my lips as we stood in front of the Avengers' tower.
It was a tall tower, probably one of the tallest in the city with a large A insignia on the front of the building. There was also the large helipad-balcony that stuck out from the top floor, making the tower an eye-catching sight overall.
"That is true."
"Okay, I can't take it anymore. What is with the fox?" She asked, gesturing to Tails who peeked out from my jacket. I just smirked as I scratched between his ears, a low purr escaping his lips as I turned to Wanda.
"This is a nine-tailed fox and his name is Tails. I found him in the Ta-Lo dimension or he found me. We then bonded and voila! Now, we're close partners."
"You do understand that this is not the best place for him, yes?"
"Yeah, I wanted to go give him to Shang Chi and Xialing, but I also kind of forgot about it."
"As expected. So, what do we do with this?" She asked, gesturing the large group of police officers surrounding us. A perimeter had been set up as civilians were pushed back and I hummed as I looked back up at the Avengers Tower.
"I was hoping that us showing up here would be enough to pull their attention back down, but I guess-"
"Agents of HYDRA."
"-we just needed to wait," I finished speaking, staring with a smirk at the three figures walking forward.
The first was a tall, muscular blonde man dressed in a blue spandex bodysuit with white stars and red stripes all over his body. He also had a red, blue and white styled circular shield on his left arm, a large white star in its centre.
The second was a rather beautiful red-head, dressed in a black bodysuit that hugged her form as her eyes flickered between Wanda and myself.
The last was another handsome blonde, dressed in some kind of Viking-styled armour with a red cape and a small hammer with a large head held in his right hand.
"Hmm, it appears they sent out quite the powerhouses," I whispered to Wanda, who hummed in agreement as the three heroes stopped a few paces away from us.
"Hello there."
"Captain America. You...are not as tall as I was expecting," I responded, the man raising an eyebrow at my words.
"Is that so? Well, I suppose the image crafted by HYDRA makes me seem more dangerous than I truly am."
"I wouldn't really know. We're not HYDRA."
"Yeah, we've heard that one a few times," Black Widow spoke up and I turned to Wanda who shrugged.
"I did tell you that we have no way to prove that we aren't HYDRA."
"You did. Is there any way we could figure this out without it resulting in a fight?" I asked, staring at the heroes before I turned to Thor as he spoke.
"Lay down your arms and come to the tower willingly. That will show us that you are not a threat."
"I'll do that. I'm not sure she will."
"What arms would I need to lay down? I have none," Wanda answered with a raised eyebrow and I chuckled as I saw them narrowing their eyes at her.
"What she means is that we'll come with you guys, though I would ask that you try not to attack us while we're up there."
"You have my word," Captain America nodded, which I returned before I turned to Wanda with a grin.
"See? I can be diplomatic."
"Let's just go before I decide to go back," She spoke with a roll of her eyes, making me chuckle as we followed after the three heroes.
"So, anyone wanna talk?"
"I would not mind conversing with you, young warrior," Thor responded, tapping Mjolnir against his leg as I walked beside him with a grin.
"Cool. So, are you like actually a god or are you an alien?"
"Us Asgardians are known to be gods, but we are also synthetic beings that are simply much stronger than those from other races."
"So, alien god. That makes sense. I have met an actual god and she felt a lot different compared to you."
"Who?"
"I can't say. She promised me not to," I answered with a shrug, snickering at Thor's frown before he nodded.
"I suppose that is fair. Most gods do not like to have it known that they have slept with mortals."
"Slept wit-No, it's nothing like that. She taught me a few things and I haven't seen her since."
"Hahaha! That is a shame then! There is nothing better than laying with a goddess, especially goddesses skilled in the sensual arts of fornication."
"I do not want to hear you talking to my brother about sex."
"I don't want to hear you talk about sex in general," Black Widow said after Wanda spoke, Thor and I grinning as Captain America just looked amused at our antics.
"Fine, another topic. Can I lift that?"
"Mjolnir? You can try," He said as we walked into the elevator, placing it down on the floor and gesturing for me to proceed.
"How many people have lifted it?"
"I...have not tested."
"I'm fine/ So am I," Wanda and Black Widow answered respectively, Thor shrugging as I reached down and wrapped my hand around the handle of Mjolnir.
As soon as my fingers gripped the handle firmly, a faint tingle of static electricity crawled up my arm. Then, I stood up, but a frown adorned my face when the hammer stayed still even as I strained to pick it up.
"...Yep, I'm not lifting that," I spoke with a shake of my head, letting go as Thor picked it up with an amused smile.
"You sure you're not magnetizing it to the ground?"
"No, that is simply the power of worthiness, young friend," He answered with a grin. "Only those whom Mjolnir deems worthy may wield it."
"Well, then I suppose I'll have to become worthy."
"When are you going to do that when you're helping the Masters fight interdimensional demons?" Wanda asked with a raised eyebrow and I blinked before shrugging.
"I'm not a student of your group so I can come and go as I please," I countered, her glare at my response making me grin before I turned forward as the elevator doors opened.
"You know, I send you three down to get rid of the threats, not invite them up to my penthouse," The Tony Stark spoke up from where he was standing behind a desk, Bruce Banner standing beside him with a confused yet wary frown.
There was no sign of Hawkeye anywhere, though I caught Tony glancing once or twice above our heads.
'So, he's on some kind of rafters behind us with an arrow ready to fire, huh?'
"We were, but then they told us that they were not HYDRA agents."
"You believed them? Oh, you poor naive soul," Tony spoke as he walked around his desk and I smirked as I could feel the swagger in his every step.
'That arrogant swagger. It is both admirable and irritating.'
"Hey, we are not lying. We were in a HYDRA base, but we were not a part of their organization."
"Sure, and I was never part of a billionaire weapons company. Oh wait-"
"You were. Yes, I would know considering that your weapons were the ones that killed our parents," I responded, noting Wanda's glare at his words as Tony paused.
"The last time we saw the word 'Stark' was when one of your missiles malfunctioned, stabbed into the ground just a few inches from our faces.
The apartment around us was collapsed and we stared at it for two days, wishing that it would take us so that we could be with our parents," Wanda spoke, a frown on my face as I saw strands of scarlet energy radiating from her body.
"Alas, the gods spared us and let us live. So, forgive me if I do not feel gracious to be in front of you. It is only because Pietro wishes to speak to you all that I do not erase you where you stand."
'Well, I knew that she didn't like Stark, but man, did I underestimate the anger she holds for Stark,' I thought, reaching forward and placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Calm yourself, sister," I whispered, Wanda's shoulders tensing before she slowly relaxed and let out a slow breath.
"Thank you."
"Always," I whispered back, hugging her softly before turning my gaze to see Stark's conflicted look.
"Like I said, we are not your enemies. We are simply here to retrieve the sceptre and then leave."
"That is unfortunate, but we cannot allow it to land in unknown hands," Captain America spoke up and I hummed while letting go of Wanda.
"Do you even understand what it is that you have?"
"Do you?"
"You believe that it is a simple sceptre, but the stone inside of it is called the Mind Stone. It is one of six Infinity Stones that were formed by the collective cosmic energy of the Big Bang," I explained, Black Widow raising an eyebrow at my retort before I turned back to Tony.
"I understand that you do not want to let it fall into enemy hands and you will find no better place than the Masters of the Mystic Arts to keep it safe."
"And how come we do not know about these Masters of the Mystic Arts?" Bruce asked and I gestured to Wanda as she rolled her eyes.
"We have no need to show ourselves to the common public given that we face cosmic entities from various dimensions every day. We simply make sure that the Earth and this universe survive on a day to day basis."
"Uh-huh. How about this? I do feel bad for the fact that my dark past was the cause of your parents' passing so I'll let you two go and we'll scrape your criminal records."
"Wanda..."
"I did tell you that they were not going to give it up. Can you feel it?" She asked and I narrowed my eyes, ignoring the vibrating cosmic presence of Wanda beside me.
Other than her presence and my own, there was no other that vibrated at the same frequency on this floor. However, as I extended my senses, I smirked as I felt its presence to the far right.
"I can."
"Good. Then, you're on your own," She responded, the Avengers tensing as she formed a portal and walked through it, closing it behind her.
"Don't worry. She just left for their HQ. I have to ask though. Are you sure that we can't have the sceptre?" I asked, watching as Tony narrowed his eyes at me.
"No, you cannooooot~" His voice slowed down to a snail's crawl as I walked away, looking up to see Hawkeye hidden on the second floor with an arrow aimed at me.
I just smirked as I continued moving, following the presence of the Mind Stone until I came to the room it was in.
"Yep, there you are," I murmured with a grin, staring at the sceptre placed on the desk in the room with numerous holograms around it.
The security measures implanted onto the table didn't even get a chance to trigger as I lunged forward, grabbing onto the sceptre and pulling it free.
With the sceptre in hand, I ran back and stopped at the spot where I began, the world around me accelerating once again as loud pops echoed in the room.
"Well then, I guess I can just take it," I spoke, holding the sceptre in one hand as I saw them all immediately tensing.
"Oh, and you up there, Hawkeye. I could have taken everything from you and thrown you out of the building, but I didn't. That should show you all that I really am not here to fight."
"You say one thing and then do another." Captain America spoke and I raised an eyebrow at that.
"I hate to agree with the cap, but for someone trying not to start a fight, you're doing an incredible job at starting a fight," Tony added, my head turning before I stared at the suit forming around him.
"I'm just taking what doesn't belong to you. After all, you were going to use it to build something called...Ultron? An A.I. system, right?" I asked, everyone turning to Tony as he narrowed his eyes.
"No clue what you're talking about."
"No need to lie. I saw the files and before you can say anything, I can imbue anything I touch with the same superspeed that I have if I wish."
"Put the sceptre down, son," I looked at Captain America again as he stepped forward with his shield lifted. "You want to prove that you are not a threat? Start here."
"The man of America speaks the truth. I sense great power in that relic. If you are wise, surrender it to us so that none may misuse it."
"I would agree, but I just saw him trying to make another weapon out of it," I said while pointing at Stark, who rolled his eyes while his mask formed around his face.
"Listen, kid. I was not making a weapon. I was making-"
"A suit of armour around the world to protect the people of this planet. It's always the same thing over and over. No, I'm taking this to the Sanctum where the Masters can contain it."
"Okay, that's enough. Kid, what makes you think you're walking out of here with it?" Tony asked and I raised an eyebrow as he levelled a repulsor at my chest.
"Stark, you can't stop me," I spoke and the world exploded into motion.
The entire room went still as I walked past Thor and Captain America, the former being mid-swing while the latter was mid-step with his shield half-raised.
I turned my head as I heard vibrations, turning and raising an eyebrow at the brilliant beam of light almost catching up to me.
'Well, I'm not light-speed yet so it would make sense,' I thought as I moved out of the way, watching it fly past before I raced over and leapt off from the balcony.
I grunted as I skated alongside the side of the building I hopped to, catching my footing before lunging down and racing down to the street.
The world around me was slow as I raced through the streets, looking for any landmarks before I slid to a stop in front of a large, eerie home.
I didn't care for the people outside as I walked into the building, opening the door and raising an eyebrow as a figure stood in front of me.
"I assume that is it?" Daniel Drumm, the Master of the New York Sanctum, asked as I entered and I nodded as I held the sceptre in hand.
"It is."
"The cosmic energy of it is incredible. You understand that it cannot be kept here, yes?"
"Yes, I know that the runes here cannot hide the cosmic energy coming from it. I just needed to know if you can make me a portal Kamar-Taj."
"Eas-Why is there a nine-tailed fox in your jacket?" He asked and I looked down before grinning at Tails' head peeking out.
"I completely forgot you were in there. So, what are we going to do with this?" I asked as I lifted the sceptre, raising an eyebrow when Daniel shrugged.
"That is on you. Good bye."
"Really?" I asked, blinking as Daniel nodded and walked away.
"Yep, take it to the Hong Kong Sanctum and let Tina store it there. Now, bye," He spoke with a smile and I blinked as space shifted, finding myself standing at the bottom of the steps to the front door of the sanctum.
I just looked between the front door and the sceptre before looking down at Tails as he looked at me.
"Let's...yeah, let's get out of here."
A/N: A bit of a filler chapter to set up the next arc, which was going to be the Ultron arc...or could still be. I have something planned, but I'm going to keep it in the back pocket.
Also, Pietro is getting a bit arrogant with his power, but will that arrogance last long? Who knows?
Like always, you can go to my Pat-reon-.-com-/-KingCrimsonNova to read ahead on this as well as many other stories & even some that haven't been released out to this site yet. If you want to, you are free to, but if you don't want, all's good as I will still be uploading here. This is just me trying to get some extra cash.
Anyway, as always, read, enjoy, review and until the next one…
Ba-Bye~!!