Harry sat back on the couch with his arm around his wife, simply enjoying the chance to relax. It didn't hurt that they had their own special show to enjoy at the same time.
"How long are you going to keep this up?" Daisy whispered into his ear sending shivers down his spine.
"A lot less time than I could if you're going to do that," Harry replied, emphasising his intentions by allowing his fingers to lightly trace up her side.
"Later, Magic Man, when we don't have an audience," Daisy replied, again in that same seductive whisper.
Deciding that, while having fun at his godson's expense was one thing, there were other, better things that he could be doing, Harry cleared his throat and leaned forward slightly.
"Teddy!" he called.
Unfortunately for him, the chameleon currently sitting amongst the basket of bright orange balls of wool that he'd conjured as part of this 'exercise', didn't even flinch let alone turn back into a teen boy. The professor in Harry nodded in approval; Teddy wasn't allowing anything to distract him to give himself away.
And really, it would take a jerk of movement for someone who didn't know that he was there to spot him. The chameleon's skin had changed colour to match the wool perfectly. Just as it had in each of the other half dozen coloured 'environments' that he'd had Teddy hiding in. No matter the colour, it seemed that Teddy's chameleon ability was perfectly suited for blending in.
Not that that had been the only tests that Harry had been putting his godson through that afternoon. He'd had Teddy proving how quickly he could transform to and from his Animagus form at random intervals as well.
Really, there was no need for all of this; Harry knew that Teddy was ready, that he'd now proven that he was fully and completely an Animagus. But really, what sort of Marauder would he be if he gave in too early, without some sort of 'initiation' test before giving Teddy his very own Marauder name? Especially when Teddy had been longing for it for so long.
"Teddy! Time to change back," Harry instructed.
This time, the chameleon moved, crawling out of the balls of wool in his slow, careful steps before shifting back to his human form.
"That's amazing, Ted!" Daisy exclaimed. "I think you've really got it down. If I didn't know that you were there, there's no way that I'd have seen you."
"Thanks, Aunt Daisy," Teddy beamed. "I'm ready, aren't I, Uncle Harry? I've shown you that I've mastered my form and changing back and forwards as quickly as you."
"Well, not quite as quick as me," Harry replied, "but yes, you've passed every test that I've asked of you."
"So, I can have my Marauder name now?"
For a brief second, Harry contemplated teasing Teddy some more, suggesting one or two of the strangest Marauder names that he'd come up with for just this situation. But then Daisy's fingers began playing with his hair and the back of his neck, sending even more light shivers down his back and across his shoulders and he decided that no, Teddy really should get his proper name now so that he could go and tell his friends about his achievement.
"Theodore Remus Lupin," Harry began officially, in as pompous a voice as he could – much like he remembered his own godfather once using with him, although sadly not for the same reason, "as you have now successfully demonstrated that you have achieved Animagus-status, like most Marauders before you, I dub thee: Camo ."
"Camo?" Teddy repeated sounding less than impressed.
"Hmm, you don't like that one?" Harry asked. "Fair enough. In that case, we'll go with my alternate idea. Since a chameleon is a type of lizard, I dub thee: Liz."
Just as expected, Teddy's eyes bulged in horror.
"No!" he blurted. "You named me Camo first. Camo's good. It's short for camouflage, isn't it? And that's what chameleons are best at. Like me and my metamorph abilities."
"I thought you'd see it my way," Harry grinned. "Now, scamp, I'm sure that Doreen, Peter, Gwen, Melati and the others are waiting to hear if you passed."
But before Teddy could take more than a step, all of their watches began vibrating and they all looked down at them in unison.
"Scratch that," Harry said, rising from the couch alongside Daisy. "Grab your gear and get to the portkey point immediately."
Teddy didn't wait to reply, instead racing from the room just as Harry raised his arm and wandlessly and wordlessly summoned his and his wife's uniforms.
ooo00ooo
The sound of the engine had Steve pausing and grabbing the swinging punching bag and bringing it to stillness. Engines in general weren't unusual at the Compound, especially as S.H.I.E.L.D. also used it as one of their bases. The difference this time was that it wasn't the distinctive sound of a quinjet.
"Are we expecting visitors?" he asked.
Without missing a single step in her own workout routine on the twin padded, vertical poles with 'arms' sticking out at regular intervals all around them, Nat, the only other one in the training room, answered him.
"Not that I'm aware of."
That was when his watch began vibrating on his wrist. Glancing at it had him raising his eyebrows.
"It's Hill," he said. "All Avengers have been summoned to the Compound's main briefing room."
That caused Nat to stop, turn and look at him. "Something's happened."
"And probably explains why we have visitors," Steve added, beginning the process of unwrapping his hands from the strapping that protected them when he boxed. "Think there's time for us to take a shower?"
"I wouldn't say no," she replied and the tone of her voice had him looking up to see a mischievous smile on her face.
"You know what I mean," he said.
"And where's the fun in that?" she shot back.
"I might just shock you one day, Romanoff. But right now is not that time."
"Promises, promises," she said, picking up her towel and wiping her face as she headed for the adjoining shower room.
ooo00ooo
The Compound tarmac was as full as Harry had ever seen it as he joined Steve, Nat and Clint just in front of the doors to the main building.
Maria, it seemed, had been quite busy. A quinjet had arrived from San Francisco carrying not only Scott but also Hope van Dyne. Another heavily modified quinjet that was barely recognisable as such had landed not five minutes before carrying the Fantastic Four. Off to one side was even a Wakandan jet, telling them that T'Challa was also there. The unknown engine that had originally interrupted Steve's workout had belonged to the largest craft currently there – the X-men's Blackbird.
The roar of a new engine had them looking not up, but out along their driveway to see a sleek, red vehicle racing towards them. Not one of them moved an inch as its brakes hit hard bringing it to a stop right in front of them.
"This looks eerily familiar," Bruce stated, looking not at them but at the tarmac as he exited the passenger side.
"I told you, it's something big. Had to be for an all-Avenger call," Tony stated as he rounded the car. "The whole gang here?"
Any answer was interrupted by the arrival of Thor directly landing directly in their midst. The Asgardian rose from the one knee that he'd landed on, Stormbreaker in his hand and a smile on his face.
"My friends, it is good to see you all!" he exclaimed.
"Thor. Nice flight?" Steve asked before switching his focus to Tony. "And yes, now we're all here."
"In that case, let's get this show on the road," Tony said, leading the seven of them inside.
ooo00ooo
"Thank you all for coming," Maria Hill said, having stepped up to the podium at the front of the conference room, "especially on such short notice. For those of you who were here the last time we held a meeting like this, you'll notice a few new faces. And for those of you who haven't been here before, I'm sure that there are a lot of people that you may recognise but not know. So, before we begin, I'll do a few quick introductions.
"On the table to my right are the X-men, led by Professor Charles Xavier. Those accompanying him are Scott, Jean, Logan, Ororo, Hank, Kurt and Warren. At the next table are the Fantastic Four – Reed, Sue, Johnny and Ben. To my left sit the Inhuman delegation from Attilan: Black Bolt, Medusa, Gorgon, Karnak and Crystal.
"The new faces sitting amongst the current Avengers and Avengers Academy members are Melati, Hope van Dyne – a colleague of Scott's – Luke Cage, Danny Rand and Jessica Jones, all with abilities who, until the Accords were introduced, did some 'hero-ing' in their local neighbourhoods. And lastly, Carol Danvers, who has spent much of her life off-world."
"I'm assuming that today's meeting has something to do with the Accords?" Charles asked.
"So I'm told," Maria nodded, before unconsciously looking up slightly. "Friday, could you please let Lavender know that we're ready for her and our guest."
Not thirty seconds later, the door behind her was opened and Lavender led US Secretary of State General Thaddeus Ross into the room. While not a single word was spoken by the assembled heroes, Maria noticed a great deal of shifting in seats. After indicating to the Secretary that the podium was his, Maria stepped back and away before taking up a position against the side wall where she could see everyone at once.
"I know that none of you are all that anxious to hear from me after the last time that I was here," Ross began.
"Whatever gave you that impression?" Tony snarked.
Ross merely glanced at him before continuing. "Believe me, I don't want to be here either. But we don't always get what we want, do we?"
Ross cleared his throat as he appeared to swallow whatever he was about to say.
"So why are you here, Mister Secretary?" Steve prompted.
"I was asked to come here today to inform you of some significant changes that have occurred recently within the United Nations that affects all of you," Ross stated.
He then pulled out a piece of paper from inside his inner jacket pocket, opened it and began to read.
"By a majority vote of the sitting members of the United Nations, the Sokovia Accords, also known as the Superhuman Registration Act, has been declared null and void in its entirety."
Maria started. She'd expected this but not for a while yet. And she was sure that there would have been a lot more worldwide incidents where extra-humans had created panic, upheaval, damage and death before such a decision was even debated, let alone reached. She'd also expected a large public outcry to precede it as well.
"I know what you just said, but what does that mean?" Harry asked. "Specifically."
"And why was such a decision made in the first place? I cannot imagine the United Nations delegates reversing such a major policy as this so unexpectedly for it to not have a root cause," Hank McCoy said.
"Better, when was that decision made? Something that big being in the works should have been making headlines for a while," Tony said.
"You're right," Ross replied, addressing Hank and Tony and seemingly ignoring Harry. "This change was completely unexpected. Secretary-General Gonzales initiated a closed-door session to discuss the Accords' effectiveness yesterday. The discussion lasted eleven hours and by the end, the vote was to revoke the Accords."
"What aren't you telling us, Mister Secretary?" Medusa asked in response to a flurry of hand movements from Black Bolt.
Ross' moustache seemed to move of its own accord and Maria was certain that Ross was either biting the words off that he wanted to say before they could escape or trying to convince himself to answer the question. Perhaps both, she eventually reasoned.
"The UN has been keeping a close eye on what has been happening around the world in terms of mutant, mutate and Inhuman situations."
"But not magical?" Harry questioned.
Ross gave him a confused expression. "You and your protégé there are the only magicals in the world, as far as we know. You two were being monitored the same way the rest of the Avengers and you others were. And believe me, you were all being closely monitored.
"Gonzales had compiled a report several hundred pages long about all the trouble those like you were getting up to in every country around the world. He even had a few delegates give verbal reports, including Ambassador Haley from the good of US of A. She only spoke about what's been happening here in New York but that was enough."
"Scorpion, Hobgoblin, Electro and Vulture," Spider-Man stated.
"Yeah, them," Ross nodded. "The real kicker, though, was the Delegate from Tuvalu."
"Tuvalu?" a confused sounding Thor asked.
"A small island nation in the Pacific," Reed replied.
"What happened there?" Steve asked.
"It's easiest if I just show you," Ross replied.
The images that appeared on the big screen had an immediate reaction from the X-men.
"Magneto!" Logan growled with an accompanying snikt.
"Did I hear that correctly? Did Magneto and the Brotherhood just evict an entire population and claim Tuvalu for themselves?" Scott asked.
"All nine islands," Ross confirmed. "Apparently it's to be the new home for all mutants. Genosha or something, this Magneto called it."
"Then it appears that your announcement about the Accords having been rescinded is indeed timely," Charles stated. "For even if they were still in effect, this is not something that we could ignore. Leave Erik and the Brotherhood to us; we know them best."
"Charles' is right," Logan agreed. "Magneto and his clowns are ours. We'll take care of them and get the Tuvaluan people their homes back."
"If you will excuse me," Ororo said, rising from her chair, "I will return to the Mansion and prepare the rest of the X-men. Charles, Jean, you will tell me the details of the rest of the meeting later?"
"Of course. And thank you," Charles nodded.
As she walked towards the door, Maria noticed Harry also rise from his chair and approach her. A few quiet words later and the X-man disappeared in a flash of blue, leaving Harry to return to his chair.
"Well, I can see what's lit a fire under the UN," Tony said. "I'm guessing that you're here to ask us to step back into the breach? To do the job that your military can't?"
"Essentially, yes," Ross spat.
"I'd ask how humble pie tasted, but judging by that look on your face, I think we can all tell," Tony snarked.
"On behalf of the United Nations, I am here to formally ask you all – Avengers, X-men, Fantastic Four and the rest of you who the world considers heroes – to come out of the retirement that was forced upon you and to help protect the innocent civilians of the world from the dangers that regular law enforcement and military are ill-equipped to handle," Ross stated formally looking like he was about to be sick.
For a second, there was only dead silence as everyone there looked at each other.
"To be clear," Matt said, standing up and leaning on his cane to give Ross the illusion that he was merely there as a lawyer, "the entirety of the Sokovia Accords has been revoked? There is absolutely no part of the Accords – law, by-law or guideline – that remains?"
"That is correct," Ross replied.
"Then, from a legal standpoint, my advice to my clients is to accept," Matt stated. "But, of course, only if you want to."
"Then on behalf of the Avengers, we accept," Steve stated.
"We agree as well," Reed said. "We'll do our part."
"While our primary focus will always be the mutant element within the world – both the good and the bad – you can be assured that the X-men will always stand in the breach between what is right and what is not," Charles said.
A series of hand movements preceded Medusa speaking on behalf of her husband and the Inhumans of Attilan.
"From our home on the Moon, we have little contact with the Inhumans here on Earth. However, if we are needed, Daisy is authorised to act on our behalf for the good of all Inhumans."
"One second," Harry said, standing with a hand and finger raised near his shoulder. "Let's make one thing clear. The whole world, from the ordinary citizens to the police to the military to the governments all know about the Sokovia Accords. They are all very aware that none of us are allowed to use our powers in any 'unauthorised' situation. Now, the Accords may have been revoked, but you yourself said that that was done behind closed doors. That means that the world does not yet know! We're not going out there to clean up the mess that you people made in the first place until the world knows that the Accords are no more. Too much chance for some of the good guys to try to arrest us or worse, otherwise."
"Harry makes a very good point," Steve nodded. "Well, Mister Secretary?"
"It is my understanding that there will be a special press conference in the coming hours," Ross replied. "Gonzales wanted me to tell you about it first so that you wouldn't hear about it second-hand or simply by hearing about it on the news."
"I can arrange a press conference for the morning and state our intentions," Lavender offered. "Help smooth over the population?"
"Thank you, Lavender, that'd work well," Steve said.
"Don't say anything about us going in to sort out Tuvalu. We don't want to spoil our surprise arrival," Logan said with an evil grin.
"Of course," Lavender agreed.
"Did you have anything else for us, Mister Secretary?" Steve asked.
"No. That was all that I was instructed to say," Ross replied.
"In that case, thank you for coming today. Lavender will see you out," Steve said. "The rest of us need to prepare; it seems we've finally got some work to do."
ooo00ooo
"I ain't never gonna get used to that!" Luke Cage stated as he arrived in a flash of blue in the middle of the main lounge of Avengers Tower.
"It gets easier over time," Matt assured him, tossing the hula hoop that they'd used as a portkey across the room where it landed on a coat hook.
"I'd rather take a taxi or walk," Jessica Jones replied. "Anything's gotta be better than that whirling crap-storm. This is Stark's place, right? He got anything here to take settle the stomach after that ride?"
"I think that there's some aspirin under the bar?" Jennifer told her.
"Bar? Now we're talking," Jessica replied as she turned, spied said bar and promptly made her way across to it.
"I'm going to call a taxi," Danny said, holding up his phone. "Anyone else want one?"
"Mister Stark has a number of vehicles and drivers waiting in his private underground carpark that will take you wherever you wish to go," the disembodied voice of Friday stated.
"If the guy's willing to pay, I'm not going to say 'no'," Jessica said after knocking back her second shot of bourbon in quick succession.
The ding of the elevator drew everyone's attention to Matt standing beside the opened doors. Without a word being said, the five of them piled into the elevator before Jennifer hit the button to take them to the carpark.
When the door opened, they found themselves facing a fleet of vehicles. Most of them were obviously Stark's private cars – the latest and fastest cars available on the market. On the opposite side of the carpark were more practical cars – mostly sedans, although there were a couple of SUVs and even a pair of limousines.
"Stark's paying, right?" Jessica stated. "I say we take a limo."
"Where do you live again?" Danny asked.
"Hell's Kitchen," Jessica replied.
"That's where we are as well," Matt stated, indicating himself and Jennifer.
"Harlem," Luke stated.
"I'm in Chinatown," Danny said. "That's not exactly on the way to either of those places."
"So? Stark can afford the gas," Jessica called over her shoulder as she led the way into towards one of the limos.
"The girl does have a point," Jennifer agreed.
"That okay with you?" Luke asked the limo driver.
"I simply drive," the man replied. "Wherever and whenever I'm asked to."
"Well, would you looky here," a delighted sounding Jessica said as she explored a small door set into the far wall of the limo. "Stark sure knows how to travel. Now, where are the glasses?"
"In the compartment to the right," Matt told her.
"Should we really be drinking Tony's champagne?" Danny asked.
"Don't be so straight-laced," Luke replied. "We're celebrating here! The Accords have been revoked and we don't have to be so careful anymore."
"You've got a point there," Danny said.
Before the limo had even left the carpark, the five of them had full glasses of champagne that were being clinked together. Talk thereafter was light as they finished not only their glasses but also the bottle. But it was as they were just on the outskirts of Harlem that their light-hearted banter changed.
"Quiet!" Matt ordered, holding up a hand.
"What is it?" Jennifer asked.
"Screams. People running, panicking. Two blocks east," he stated.
"You can hear that?" Jessica asked, disbelief clear in her voice.
"And a whole lot more," Matt replied.
"The Accords have been rescinded," Danny reminded them. "We should help."
"I'm in," Luke nodded.
Jennifer turned in her seat to tap the window to the driver. "Stop here. We need to get out."
Seconds later, the limo had pulled to the side of the road and the five of them quickly piled out.
"Hey!" Jessica protested, feeling her scarf being pulled from around her neck.
"I need to borrow this," Matt told her unapologetically as he wrapped it around his head and over his eyes, half-covering his face in the process.
Jessica stared at him for a moment before begrudgingly nodding. "Fine. Just don't make a habit of it."
At the same time, Jennifer was undergoing her own transformation. Her skin turned a vibrant emerald green and she green in size from her normal five foot ten to just shy of seven foot, muscles bulging on her arms and legs.
"Shouldn't your clothes have torn apart when you changed like that?" Danny asked, looking up at her and her perfectly tailored skirt, blouse and shoes.
"Once upon a time, yes, they would have," She-Hulk replied. "The benefits of being friends with a magical."
"Let's go! We're wasting time!" Matt called, taking off in a sprint down the sidewalk.
Just the very sight of She-Hulk barrelling towards the crowd was enough to have it part like the Red Sea, giving the makeshift team a clear run at whatever danger lay before them. The panicking crowd that Matt had heard, they found, was emerging from a small department store. People were scattering every which way out of the door, many slipping and sliding and barely keeping their feet in their haste.
"We're not getting in that way!" Jessica announced.
"She's right. We need another entrance," Danny agreed.
She-Hulk didn't even appear to slow down, instead only slightly changing trajectory and leaping, straight through the plate-glass window, sending a pair of mannequins flying as she barrelled through them.
"That'll work," Luke shrugged before following her inside, completely ignoring what remained of the glass still attached to the window frame.
"Well, what do we have here?" a masked man carrying a shotgun asked rhetorically as the others entered and lined up.
"Boss? It's She-Hulk and a bunch of do-gooders!" a second man called over his shoulder from beside the first.
The inside of the store was a shambles. Displays had been knocked over, glass counters had been smashed and wares had been scattered all over the floor. There were also a group of terrified people cowering in the middle of the floor, their arms covering their heads and barely controlled sobs escaping from a few of them.
As to the 'bad guys', there were easily a dozen of them spread out around the store. Each of them was wearing a balaclava and carrying a weapon – be it shotgun, handgun or, in the case of one individual, a pair of machetes. Three of them were currently at the cash registers, emptying the contents into gym bags.
"Haven't you heard, She-Hulk? You being here could get you arrested?" the Scorpion stated as he appeared from behind a tall display cabinet. "The 'good guys' aren't allowed to do any 'hero-ing' these days."
"Actually, your info's out of date," She-Hulk shot back. "The Accords were rescinded yesterday. There'll be an announcement about it tonight."
"Boss?" one of the masked men asked in a wobbly voice.
"Is that so?" the Scorpion replied, ignoring his own man. "Well, then, I guess that means that you'll be the first Avenger that I get to tangle with. First, but definitely not the last. Boys, this one's mine. The rest you can have some fun with."
Instantly, the guns that were already raised towards the group let loose with a staccato of rapid fire gun shots. Their bullets, though, hit only Luke or empty air as the team had already reacted.
She-Hulk had leapt high and forwards, over the heads of the nearest masked men and towards the Scorpion, a fierce grin on her face. Meanwhile, Danny had spun to stand back-to-back with the man with bullet-proof skin. Matt used his incredible acrobatic skills to twist, turn and dive out of the way, while Jessica simply cursed as she dove to the ground and behind an upturned display cabinet.
"You done?" Luke asked when the bullets finally tapered off.
And that was when Danny spun back out and around, his fist already glowing as he raced towards the nearest of the masked men before he struck the man, sending him flying across the room. Matt, too, got in on the action, leaping towards four of them and landing in the middle of them, his fists and legs a blur and he spun, punched and kicked at them.
Hearing the lack of gunfire, Jessica popped up, saw one of the masked men advancing on her and swore. Thankfully, a large fist reached out, grabbed the man's shirt to pull him to stop before an open-handed slap to the back of the man's head dropped him into unconsciousness.
"You can fight, right?" Luke asked.
"'Cause I can fight," Jessica retorted and nodded at Matt. "Just not like that."
Meanwhile, the Scorpion, seeing the She-Hulk headed towards him, had actually advanced towards where she would land. As she landed, She-Hulk could see the fist that was already on its way towards her head and thus simply dropped to one knee, allowing the punch to sail past overhead. Her uppercut lifted the Scorpion into the air and sent him flying backwards thus giving her time to get to her feet.
The Scorpion, though, didn't just respond with his fists once he was back on his feet. No, the suited-man had an extra appendage in the form of his tail, one that was incredibly sharp, as She-Hulk noted as it sailed past her face when she jerked her head to the right.
Seeing that, though, only made her grin grow. She'd trained with some extraordinary people, one of which even had a tail of her own, even if it wasn't part of a mechanised suit. And that gave her a strategy.
She-Hulk continued to trade blows with the Scorpion as she waited for her opening. Even her strongest hits weren't doing a lot of damage – his suit was simply that strong. Still, he was being rocked back on his heels with each one that he took and she thought that she could see one or two tiny cracks appearing.
Finally, her opening came. Scorpion's tail whipped over his shoulder towards her head and, at the same time as she dodged out of the way, her hand shot up, grabbed it and yanked. The unexpectedness of it jerked the Scorpion up onto his toes towards her and She-Hulk took full advantage, slamming her fist over and over into the Scorpion's face.
The clatter of a piece of metal hitting the floor was music to her ears, just as the sight of half of the Scorpion's face appearing delighted her. Before he could recover, she hit him again in the same place, opening up his cheek allowing blood to run down his face even as his one visible eye rolled up into his socket.
Opening her other fist, She-Hulk let go of the Scorpion's tail and the suited man simply dropped bonelessly to the ground in a tangle of arms and legs.
"Took you long enough," Matt grinned from beside a pile of unconscious masked men. "Everyone okay?"
"I'll live," Jessica replied from where she was leaning against a cabinet and wiping a trail of blood from the corner of her mouth, an unconscious man draped over the cabinet to either side of her.
"I'm good," Danny said.
"Do you think they've got this in a double-XL?" Luke asked, holding up a dark grey hooded sweatshirt in front of his now bullet-ridden shirt.