With the contract in place, Amora had no choice but to comply with Harry's order to answer questions. That didn't mean Fury would just trust her without Veritaserum. She soon gave them a lot of answers to their unanswered questions.
Apparently, she had decided to go looking for allies and found Thanos. She had appealed to him, stating that she could sneak her way into the vault of Asgard. Harry's Fidelius, which Odin had not wanted in the first place, since it would make Harry a bigger target, had made her normal means of infiltration impossible, so it was bypassed through making a deal with Surtur.
She had used a ritual to send visions of Ragnarok to Thor. Thor's visions would inevitably either drive him insane or force him to act. Then another one to stash herself away in his skull, where she would be undetectable, due to his own soul inhabiting it. Surtur had agreed to the bargain when she swore to complete his transformation, which he would never be able to do without her, considering the new protections.
She had waited to a predetermined time when Thanos would be sending his people to strike on multiple fronts. She didn't know where those were, but knew that he had modified his original plans when it became clear Asgard's newest prince had been making allies everywhere he could, empowering them as he did so. It was Maw's plan to strike after Harry's wedding, when they thought there was a higher likelihood that he would be unreachable.
Her original plans had included getting a psychic entity, known as the Shadow King to silently infiltrate the vault where the sceptre was kept, but he had been vanquished, all his accumulated power dispersed, and was now recovering in another dimension. He would not have the power to re-enter their realm for many years, having basically been destroyed and reborn. For that reason, she had set a new trap.
She had first liberated the Darkhold from its original protected location and used a spell it gave her to make it so that she could appear by its side no matter where it was. Then she unleashed it on Midgard, knowing its terrible power would warrant being placed in the most protected location on the planet. She had then used the Tesseract, once Surtur was being reconstituted to enact that plan. Her final act before meeting with Thanos on Nidavellir was to go pick up the staff and then delivered both to Thanos.
Harry had to admit, Frigga's warning had been right. Amora was a schemer and once she had set her mind on something, she'd go to any lengths to achieve it, making her contribution to Thanos immeasurable. It seems it was just pure luck that ensured that the Darkhold made its way to the vault two days prior to the event. That, or the Darkhold itself had a hand in it, trying to sow chaos as was its nature.
When she had spilled all her plans and submitted memories, Harry left her in the hands of EPI until the current situation was resolved. There was no way he'd saddle Hela with the conniving little bitch, while Hela could be more useful on the battlefield.
Harry had then taken the time to go to the island to ask her if she would like to join them for the fight that was to come. She had instantly agreed, apparently feeling cooped up. Even with her many simulations in her personal Room of Requirement, there was something missing, like the thrill of battle that could only come from facing unknown enemies with similarly unknown tactics.
Harry had then gone to check on the Dwarves. They were well taken care of and he implored with Eitri to keep his people on the moon for the time being. There was a small chance that Thanos might decide to return to have the damage he had done to the Gauntlet fixed. Eitri had pleaded for forgiveness for providing him with the Gauntlet to begin with, stating that Thanos had used Maw to torture him into doing as commanded.
Harry did not blame the dwarf. He was shocked when Eitri then delivered the Sword of Gryffindor back to him from an inside pocket, where he had stored it in a tube that was specifically crafted by himself to keep it safe and to prevent mishaps. Harry had asked why he didn't use it to free himself and to stop his opponents, but Eitri shook his head and stated that he would not risk Harry's treasured artefact by letting the enemy know it even existed.
Harry had appreciated the thought, but told him he'd rather his friends be safe. He realised the sword could be used by the enemy and that it would be a devastating weapon in their hands, but he'd still have preferred if Eitri had rather just gotten himself out, but by the time he had the sword, the Enchantress had used some form of magic to knock him out and had removed his portkey.
Harry was contemplating murder again, by the end of that conversation. Amora deserved worse than what she had gotten, and was responsible for a lot of chaos. He passed the information on and it was added to Amora's already long list of crimes. Eitri did ask for a quick return to Nidavellir, under armed guard if necessary. There was something he had to do and it would take him only a couple of hours. Harry promised to send someone along, after his next stop. He wasn't happy, but understood that Eitri wanted to contribute in some way.
He had finally gone to see the Asgardians, knowing they would be loath to see him leave without a personal guard attachment and several veteran soldiers to guard his back, despite the fact that Natasha seemed glued to his side since he had returned and Thor and Loki had not left his side either. When he arrived it was to a tumultuous uproar of cheering. Apparently they had been informed of everything, since Heimdall could now see everything inside of EPI, where they were currently being cared for. Fury had realised this and had already had him sign a contract as well.
Harry was engulfed in a powerful hug, by first Frigga and then Odin. "My son, we were so worried for you." Odin had said with relief on his face.
"I'm sorry I worried you." Harry said. "I got back to you as soon as I could, but I needed to check on our other allies."
"We know." Odin said. "We do not deny you your responsibilities, but we cannot let this happen again. Besides your value to your own people, you are also widely respected and loved."
"Don't worry." Natasha said. "I'm not leaving his side ever again. At least, until he finds a failsafe way for me to reach him no matter where he goes." she insisted.
Harry sighed, but nodded. He knew what his next project would be. "Fine." he sighed dramatically.
"Now what is this surprise Heimdall refuses to tell anyone about?" Frigga asked, jumping into the conversation. "He's been so mysterious since your return, saying you'd have to tell us yourself."
"I would not vex our Prince after all he has done for us." Heimdall said solemnly. "Also, I'm physically incapable of telling you. His secrecy magic wouldn't allow it."
"Okay, okay." Harry sighed and conjured a very long piece of rope. Very long. He had it spread through the Asgardians and asked them all to grab hold. When everyone was ready, he turned it into a portkey and activated it.
When they landed, it was to astonished silence. They were standing in the plaza. On Asgard.
"How?" Thor and Frigga said at the same time. "We saw Asgard destroyed with our own eyes!" Thor continued.
"Harry." Odin said with a hint of sadness in his eyes. "Isn't this…?" he asked.
"Yes." Harry said. "I didn't have a choice. I couldn't leave my people destitute."
"Husband?" Frigga asked. "Where are we?"
Odin sighed and grabbed Harry in another one-armed hug. "You are the most generous soul I have ever met, my son. I am more proud of you than there are words to describe." Then he turned to his wife and noticed all the eyes of everyone there was on him, also waiting for an answer, so he stepped forward and addressed everyone.
"A couple of months back, Prince Harry came to me asking for some help with a surprise he was preparing for his future wife. Since they offered their island to so many who needed a refuge, they no longer had the opportunity to be alone together, a problem I can sympathise with. They do not mind the company, nor do they begrudge anyone that visits them, since they feel such joy in the companionship it offers.
"What he planned was a new retreat of sorts, a hidden, floating island paradise. Prince Harry had needed help with some of the enchantments, since he knew not how to emulate some of the effects we had on Asgard, a place he considers his home.
"The details aside, it seems that when he heard of the impending doom of Asgard, he sacrificed his latest creation and used some method to reproduce Asgard, here on Midgard. What we stand on is not Asgard, but what he intended as his New Avalon." Odin said to the crowd.
Harry nodded. "I could not recreate all of the realm eternal, but I was able to recreate the city. Your homes should be in tact at least, missing contents notwithstanding."
There was silence as the announcement sank in and then there was a cheer, which was instantly picked up by all. People were hugging their families and cheering to the ingenuity of the wizard, their prince, at his latest great feat of artifice. There were tears and laughter, cheering and sobbing as all realised that they had been saved from not just the destruction of Asgard, but given the chance to start again.
Some of the royal guard walked forward, carrying the royal carpet and the larger one, which had been a priority when Surtur was first noticed. Harry had told them of the protections those items held, after all, and some of the guards had thought to bring the carpets to the royal family, should Harry's failsafe not work as planned.
They stopped in front of Thor and placed the smaller carpet, still big enough for the entire royal family to comfortably sit on, in front of him and unrolled the bigger one, which the royal guard and some of the more insistent warriors got on. It was their duty to know their land and they planned on traveling the perimeter to see what their duties would include.
Thor laughed and stepped on, indicating his parents, brothers and sister-in-law to follow. They were soon lifting up and below them they saw the large city, which before was surrounded by mountains and further out larger mountain ranges. Now there was simply nothing beyond the boundaries of the outer edges of the city.
As they flew around the perimeter, they noticed something which hadn't been there before, on the very edge of an area that had before been the start of a mountain. "What's that?" Thor asked, noticing the discrepancy.
"Idunn's Garden." Harry said. "It was transported here when the giant attacked, shortly after the portkeys activated." He pointed to a building that hadn't been there before either. "Through there, you'll find a few large expanded pocket dimensions, where I've taken the liberty of setting up a couple of fields, which can be used as farmland and a place to keep livestock."
"I've also taken the liberty of stocking the pantry in the Citadel and purchasing a vast number of necessities, which we'll need to distribute to the people. Things like beds, kitchenware, food, clothing and so on. I couldn't copy your technology, so we'll have to go through the rubble of the city, which I transported to a secure location. Maybe some of the things there will still be operable."
Everyone was staring at Harry. Odin was beaming with pride. "Just how powerful are you?" Loki finally asked. He couldn't imagine the amount of power required to do what Harry was saying he did.
"I recently had a bit of an upgrade." Harry said. "Sakaar now has a PMMG, which is used to help the local people. What extra power it generates, goes to my power ring."
"The time dilation!" Natasha said in shock. "You get a year's worth of power from the entire city every nine minutes!"
Harry nodded. "I only realised it after the fact myself." he admitted. "I have near limitless power now." he said with a shrug, not really knowing if it was a good thing.
The royal family were just gaping at him, until Loki scoffed, "Leave it to you to accidentally invent limitless power and then be modest about it."
"All I ever wanted was to be normal." Harry said. "I'm not complaining, mind you, but it would be nice to spend a year without fighting for something."
Odin was suddenly grinning widely. "Thanos will not see what hit him!" he enthused.
"Actually, it seems that the Stones can't touch me, for some reason, but I also can't attack them. Something about them and myself cancel the other out." Harry said. "Unless I'm manipulating Urubane. I suspect it's because it was created in this universe."
Odin's smile faded, but only slightly. "Then you'll just have to rely on your many allies." he insisted. "Asgard will be ready as well, when the time comes." Then he turned to Thor, "Yes?"
"Did you finally remember that you aren't the King anymore, father?" Loki asked with a grin, before Thor could answer, but everyone knew the answer.
"I never forgot." Odin defended himself. "I was just rallying the troops." The fact was, for a moment there he had forgotten. He had been King for thousands of years, after all.
The trip around the city was completed and soon Harry was asked to join Frigga as she told Idunn the good news and they went to inspect her gardens, after Idunn hugged the stuffing out of Harry. Harry had to place a Fidelius around said garden, since it was now so much closer to the people. When they arrived, Frigga was thrilled to notice her own garden had also been transported and now bordered on Idunn's. Her herbs and spices, flowers and other plants were exactly as she had left them.
Thor had ordered a feast be prepared to celebrate the resurrection of their home, while Harry helped transport the goods he had prepared to the Plaza. The royal guard were asked to leave the carpet there for people to transport their necessities to and from their homes in the meanwhile. The biggest problem people would have was food and clothes at this point. Harry had also procured for them reels of fabric and everything they might need to produce their own clothing.
The blacksmiths' quarters had been filled with what they would need to produce and repair armour and weaponry, with an added bonus of a rune engraver which would allow them to make their wares indestructible, since the metals on Earth were much softer than what they were used to. Since they were magical beings, they could power the runes themselves.
Harry finally had occasion to present Sif with his prototype sword. He had intended to give it to her as a gift for her contribution on New Atlantis and everything else she brought to the team. The sheath was made from Dragon Hide, some of the last Harry had from his home world, and he had enchanted the handle of the sword to be able to move as his did. It did not have the vibranium core, nor could it grow, but he suspected it would not be a problem for warrior of her skill and ability. She thanked him graciously and awed at the engraved design on the blade, in the shape of leaves caught in the wind. It was meant to represent her connection with the earth and nature.
She had instantly departed to the training grounds to test the weapon for herself and when she returned, just before the feast, her smile was radiant. The blade could cut through almost anything and she proudly proclaimed its name to be Vindr, as it cut down any in its path and was swift as the wind.
When everyone was gathered and ready, Thor stood up and addressed his people.
"Asgard. We are celebrating today in honour of our saviour and my brother, Prince Harry James Potter Odinson. King of New Atlantis." There was a huge cheer from the crowd and he waited for them to calm, before continuing, "Indeed, we owe him much. We also stand on the brink of a conflict, which will see many die if we are not ready, which I believe we are, thanks to him.
"What he has not told you, is that his working was greater than he had first told us. After the destruction of Asgard, he used his immense power to transport what he could to a safe location on one of the neighbouring planets of this system, called Mars, in a location he secured with his power, and he plans for a portal to be set up for our people to go find what they can and what can be salvaged.
"He further informs me that he has set his magic to sort through rubble and crafted items, so that they will be separated and ready for us by the time we arrive. I will ask only one thing; Let the warriors of Asgard stand ready for the battle and let those artisans and workers who do not occupy their time with battle be the hands of Asgard and retrieve that which can be of use.
"Until then, let us be thankful for what we have and the effort and sacrifice which bought us our second chance to live on this land, our New Asgard!" he cheered. "To Prince Harry, defender of the realm!"
There was a cheer as many jumped to their feet and toasted and yelled their defiance in the face of that dark destiny, which had so thoroughly been thwarted by the actions of the man they all considered the saviour of their people.
The feast was a joyous event and Thor had insisted that the other Avengers join them for the first time. The cellars were completely restocked, but nobody drank anything but Butterbeer, which there was a tap for now, since everyone was trying to remain ready for the fight which was sure to come.
It wasn't mentioned, but the law banning mortals was no longer followed, since it was they who had helped Harry perform the miracle which was the rebirth of Asgard. They had ranged out and placed the magical devices which would copy the structure of the city and imbue its grounds and wares, so that Harry could later transport them to a safe location.
The evening ended and there was no sign yet of an impending attack, but Fury, Hand, Brand and the leaders of their military divisions had not been idle. They had not had any rest as they formed strategies based on the known numbers and allies which they had at their disposal. They had no doubt that Thanos would come eventually, but while they still had time, they would plan. Fury had been glued to his foe glass. Apparently Thanos was getting closer, a couple of days away, a week at most, probably preparing and recruiting as he went. The artefact was now a timer for them, allowing them to prepare.
After the feast, Harry and Natasha descended to New Atlantis, since New Asgard was floating right above it, after greeting Heimdall, who was standing at his post on the non-functional copy of the bifrost. Harry had plans to set him up with a portal control the next day, which he could use as a replacement. He was just still considering how to achieve this using Heimdall's ability to see all.
When they arrived, it was to find Luna, Hela and Xera sitting at the bar, sipping on drinks and discussing the things they had seen. Across from them were some elves and around them swam a couple of elves and Nymphs. Harry hadn't expected Hela and Luna to get along, but Hela was apparently enjoying her perspective of the world and found it funny, smiling when Luna said something nonsensical. The fact that Luna accepted things so easily and didn't show an ounce of fear towards her must have been quite the change of pace for her. Loki, of all people, had taken the time to explain to Hela that Luna was different and didn't mean offense or disrespect, when she called a person by their name instead of their title.
Harry was greeted enthusiastically and many bowed and congratulated him on his victory over the witch who had taken him. They had all been worried, but knew he would win in the end. Luna's own attitude was an example they loved to follow. Harry would win in the end and that was all that mattered.
"Hi Luna." Harry said to her in greeting as Xera rushed to him to hug him. "I hear you've had a busy day?" he asked.
"Oh, yes." Luna enthused. "The people at your hospital were very happy when I started helping them. Apparently you only gave them the most basic of medical magics. I was able to help them through half of their patients. Did you know that they've been removing the stasis fields before they started healing the people? How silly."
Harry was surprised at this. "But they have to." he said. "The stasis magic and healing magic don't work together."
"From outside the field maybe." She scoffed. "And once you apply the magic, it works, but only as fast as the field allows. I helped them fix that, don't worry." she said easily. "I would have done more, but I ran out of magic and had to come back here to steal some from your island. I hope you don't mind?"
"Mi casa es su casa." Harry said easily. "I'll set you up with something sometime." Harry said. "Maybe a locket like the Nymphs." he thought out loud.
"It's not necessary." Luna said as she lifted a locket out of her top. "One of Xera's people already offered me one. They are so friendly. I'd love to visit their grove sometime."
Harry realised he was still the secret keeper and that there was a Golden Apple tree growing rapidly in its centre. "I'll have to get permission to give you access." Harry apologised. "There is something in the Nymph House that I promised to keep safe."
"I understand." Luna said easily.
"Speaking of which." Xera said with an excited smile, pulling him away from earshot, with Natasha following. "I suspect the tree was affected by our magic and it's about to give birth to a new life!" she whispered urgently, but equally excitedly.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked.
"I mean, we're about to have another sister!" she said with glee and a little bounce.
"Really?!" Harry asked amazed. "That's wonderful news!" he said hugging her and spinning her around. "Just wait until Idunn finds out. She's going to be so jealous!" he laughed.
"I'm sure she's going to be perfect!" Natasha smiled and hugged Xera too. "You've taken such good care of her tree."
"Thank you Natasha." Xera said as she hugged her too and kissed her on the cheek. Then she looked between them and nodded, before taking them both by the hands and pulling them towards the houses. "You are tired." she said. "Let's go get some rest."
They did not object, but waved a farewell with their free hands and allowed Xera to mother them a little.
The next morning they had a quick breakfast at the Avengers house. Everyone was there, including Thor, since everyone was on high alert. The next thing Harry did, was to set up a new portkey on a tiny device, which EPI medical staff injected into his body with a large needle. It would keep track of his vitals and could be remotely triggered to bring him from wherever he was, unless there was some sort magic field, which was set up specifically against such things.
He insisted that Natasha gets one as well, and she agreed readily. It was in the plans for more of these to be made, but it would have to be voluntary as it was quite the invasion of privacy. Luna had been set up with a permanent portkey to the medical centre where she went to work healing more aliens from Xandar. Some had been lost, their damage being too severe, but most were saved and Luna thought she'd be done by the end of the day. She wasn't struggling with her magical reserves either. It wasn't like she could channel the magic directly, but she was receiving enough contact to recharge like one would in a highly magical environment.
Next, Harry went to Heimdall and started working on the portal system. He'd had to teach Heimdall the new system, which he didn't have the time to create, so he simply stole it from one of the deep-space exploration ships that were ready to ship out as soon as the current crisis had been averted. It still took him many hours, but by mid-afternoon, it had been setup and tested as working. Then they started working on getting the intent right, so that Heimdall could set his destinations based on what he saw. That took the rest of the afternoon and by late evening they had perfected it. They had even tied it into a system so Heimdall could use his sword as the key, like it used to work. Harry had cockily called the completed device, Bifrost 2.0.
The news that the bifrost was up for business again prompted Thor to threaten another feast, but Harry begged off, saying he'd like a quiet evening on the island. When he and Natasha, still not trusting herself to leave him alone, finally descended back to New Atlantis, it was to find Odin and Frigga, with Xamantha sleeping on her lap, having come down hours before. They were sitting in comfortable reclining chairs, sipping on drinks and chatting softly as they looked up at Asgard, which floated half a mile above. It was hidden by Fidelius, of course, but all the Asgardians, the Avengers and certain members of EPI had been let in on the secret.
Harry had originally intended to keep it afloat with the MSC Shells, but it turned out that the magical populace now created enough magical power to power it themselves. As a backup feature, Harry had set up a contingency, which stored excess power in case the power generated became too low once the warriors of Asgard started regularly leaving the city on patrol or to defend the other realms.
There was a healthy supply of MSC shells already installed as well, which would power a shield, much the same as the one they had on Asgard to protect the Citadel, but this one surrounded the entire city. Thor had been given a quick tutorial of how to activate the shield and how to move the city if he ever needed to as well. It was not difficult. All he needed to do was activate the system from his throne, with intent, which let him see the city exactly as the cannon system in Midnight worked. He'd see himself from his torso up, looking down on a miniaturised view of the city. He could then use his will to activate the shields and movement. He was warned, however, that it would not be able to do so for long. The shields were very power intensive. Movement, not so much. Harry doubted they'd ever need the shields with the Fidelius, but added it, just in case.
Harry walked up to Odin and Frigga, who smiled at his presence and asked him to join them, while Natasha went to go get them some refreshments.
"You are faring better, I see." Odin said with a nod. "I was worried for you, my son. You seemed like you were strained after your return."
"I noticed it too." Frigga added. "I feared your time with Amora may have broken your spirit." she said with some concern crossing her face.
"I had a difficult time with her." Harry admitted, sitting down on a chair. "I wanted to destroy her so badly, by overloading her with the power she craved so much." He shook his head, "Should I have killed her, or given her the chance from the beginning? She was suffering so much and her pleas for mercy swayed me."
Odin sat up and got to his feet. He walked to Harry's side and placed a hand on his shoulder. "If you were anyone else, even the most noble of warriors, you might have saved her the suffering she so richly deserved and simply ended her existence when the opportunity arose." he said squeezing Harry's shoulder. "Instead you showed her the folly of her ways and then offered her redemption.
"You saw her realising her fault, forcefully maybe, but realising it anyway. And then you found it in your heart to offer her the chance to change. Were I in your shoes, I would not have hesitated to end her. I doubt I would have even taken the time to consider her personal desires and flaws. Instead, you showed mercy and saw her potential to change. Your heart is as it always has been; Gentle and forgiving."
Frigga had joined Odin, when she saw where the conversation was heading. One of the Nymphs had fortunately shown up to take the sleeping Xamantha away. She hugged him, then, and spoke with conviction. "Had you not created your own kingdom and been so important to your people, I would have given anything to see Asgard become your home. As things stand, I have no doubt that New Atlantis will one day reach higher than Asgard has ever striven for, and unite so many people.
"You may not be able to see the ties that bind people, but I do. In your short time on Midgard, you have gained more connections and followers than I have ever seen, even in Asgard. Even your father, at the height of his power, has never had so many who believed in him as you do at this very moment. Even those of Asgard believe in you more than they follow your eldest brother, though I suggest you never tell him this." Frigga said as she withdrew from him and smiled at him.
"The reason for that," Odin continued, "is because you see the best in people. Loki, Hela and even I with my own faults and knowing my own past and what I have done. You forgave us and saw our potential for good, even when I could not forgive myself, and you worked to fix that which was wrong. When I said I was proud of you, more than words could describe, I was not boasting or exaggerating. I simply could not find the words. You have succeeded in all of your quests, never because of your great strength, but because of your great strength of heart."
"I wouldn't have given her the chance." a new voice said from off to the side. Hela was standing there, having approached during the conversation. "But you are the forgiving sort. I once would have called you weak, but I now see the value in your ways. Had our father been more like you, when I was growing up, I may have not suffered as I had, but it was my choice to become who I did." she said. "I only wish you could have been there to share your strength of character with me, then. Forgiveness is not a weakness. It takes more strength to forgive, than it does to hate.
"I don't know if you have made the right decision with Amora. Not many are capable of repenting for their ways. Fewer, even, are capable of change. I will trust you to know when it is right to offer the chance, since I don't have your strength or experience, but I hope you will have the patience to teach me, in time." she said solemnly, before turning and walking away, just as Natasha turned up with a drink for the both of them.
"Did I miss something?" she asked with a smile, having noticed the conversation and delaying on purpose. She'd bring his mood back, once he heard what he needed to hear and experienced the support only a parent could offer.
"Your husband was doubting his actions." Frigga said as she got up to go retake her seat.
"This about Amora?" Natasha asked. When she received nods, she rolled her eyes. "Honestly?" she sighed exasperatedly. "I knew he'd find a way to make her his bitch the moment I heard she was called the Enchantress. It was never a matter of 'if', only a matter of 'when'."
Odin and Frigga smiled at Natasha as she handed Harry his drink and scooted a chair over to sit next to him. "Drink up hubby, Xera is waiting for us. She wants to try page seventy-five again." Natasha said with a smirk.
"What's this?" Frigga asked.
"I'm sure you've heard of Harry's infamous book?" Natasha asked, before Harry could interrupt. At Frigga's nod, Harry covered his face, not wanting to be seen blushing or his mother's reaction, but knowing he couldn't stop this conversation from happening. "Well, the last section of the book is specifically geared towards people in polyamorous relationships. We've been working through that section with Xera for a while now and I think we've almost mastered the section on temporary magical duplication of sexual organs." Natasha said with a smile.
"Oh my." Frigga said with a look of excitement. Harry couldn't stand the sound of her interest and got up to go to the bar, Odin following behind him, not wanting to know about the intimate details of his son's relations. When they were gone, Frigga nodded, "Well done. You are very good at cheering your husband."
"It's both my duty and my pleasure." Natasha said.
There was a moment of silence and then Frigga asked. "Would you mind telling me anyway?"
Natasha smiled and started talking.
The next day Harry helped Tony test his new armour. It was entirely made out of nanites. Billions of them. It was an idea he had had for a long time, but had only recently had the opportunity to work on. With all the alien technology they possessed, not to mention their own advances and the ability to shrink things, like the microscopic production plant and assembly line they had made, it was finally a reality.
The nanites all had an Adamantium shell which was runed for extra durability. The insides had IM shielding which needed to be powered specifically to be switched on and the whole thing was protected by repair runes, which could reconstruct the entire inner workings of the tiny devices. Tony had even set them up to reside in his bag, with a rune-portal to supply power to them all from a remote high-density power-supply. He was very excited.
They started the testing by first having it stand up to gunfire and then bigger explosions. The armour was still pristine, but Tony noted a few of the nanites had been blown off and lost connection to the power-supply, so couldn't return. Then Harry tested his magic on it. The more concussive a blow, the more nanites would lose connection and be blown away.
Still, a couple thousand was just a drop in the bucket when compared to the billions still working on the suit. When they were done, Harry had walked forward to the testing location and summoned all the nanites he could. The suit was still IM protected as it still had power, so it didn't move. Harry returned to Tony with what looked like a bit of dust in his hand and touched it to the armour. Suddenly, all of the nanites were back and working.
Suffice it to say, it was a great success, though Tony immediately set to work to change the connections they made, so that they would be harder to break away from the rest of the construct. Not all of the working parts were Adamantium, of course, so there was still a weakness in that regard, but when Tony had the connections set up the correct way, he'd be starting work on a magical version of the same suit. They had the technology after all. Why not have a suit made of both?
That day a meeting was called by Fury. Assembled were all the leaders currently on the Council of Earth, the leaders of the various hero groups, the generals of EPI's army and its different divisions, representatives from Xandar, T'Challa and his generals, Stephen Strange representing Kamar-Taj and Thor representing Asgard.
Fury stood before them and informed them that their plans had been completed. Instead of waiting for Thanos to ready all his troops or allowing time for him to get another infinity stone, since Heimdall had already informed them that he'd gotten the Reality Stone as well, they would set an ambush for the Mad Titan. He'd expect it, of course, but they didn't want to waste any more time and risk him getting even stronger.
The idea was to bring the unnamed person, who currently had possession of one of the Stones (Strange, to those in the know, which was few) to a designated location and out of hiding and to use its power. The current theory was that the Stone would then work like a beacon, as the use of the other Stones had been detectable worlds away.
When Thanos showed up, they'd wait for him to bring his full force to bare and then they would set out to stop him once and for all. The actual plan was much more intricate, with manoeuvres, tactics and preliminary strikes, which Harry didn't really always follow. He did note that they were planning on making Thanos regret ever deciding to go on this crusade of his. The amount of powers the people in this room represented was unfathomable, when taking into consideration the few Omega-level powered that were either there or represented.
Harry's part was to set up the battlefield on a planet far away from Earth and then to use him in battle only if it seemed that there was no other choice. While everyone agreed that Thanos needed to be stopped, nobody wanted the confrontation to happen on Earth. While the enemy was engaged, Midnight would attempt to take as much of the enemy air support out as it could from orbit, if they had a fleet. That would be easy considering its full capabilities after Brand started abusing the power of the ship.
There were one or two surprises being arranged by both Fury and Harry, but there was no doubt in anybody's mind that they would succeed.
The battle for the universe would start the next day.
---
The next morning the Monks of Kamar-Taj started opening sling Portals so that all their Allies could meet on Earth. The idea was to draw Thanos in first and then to send the troops in from where they were waiting, hopefully catching him off-guard. Midnight would be in orbit above the planet, Svartalfheim, and use portals to fire shots from the BFG and other weapons to decimate anything that tried to flee, hopefully boxing him in and bringing an end to the Threat of Thanos once and for all.
Since Midnight was now under Fidelius, it would literally be untouchable, while it fired on the enemy. Harry had struggled putting the Fidelius on, but it turns out that a Fidelius of this size needed to be stationary, so he'd had to add the ability to switch it off and on. It cost an astronomical amount of power, but an hour later his battery, which was half-drained after the casting, was full again. Sakaar was paying off more than he had realized.
When the troops were ready and the hidden command structures and mobile bunker ships, or flying forts, were in place and ready to react to reposition themselves, depending on where the enemy landed, the Avengers walked through a portal created by Doctor Stephen Strange.
Everyone was there, including Harry, since, if he wasn't there, it would be more suspicious. The portal closed and they confirmed that communications were up, before they looked at Strange and he nodded. He sat down on the ground and slowly lifted as his amulet started to glow and his head shook erratically in what seemed like fast-forward. When he came back to himself, he fell on the ground and breathed hard.
"Well?" Tony asked from inside his new suit. "What's the verdict?"
Stephen got up with a serious look on his face before he nodded.
"That's all I needed to know." Tony smirked as his suit covered his face automatically.
"Fury?" Harry asked.
"Oh, he's coming." Fury said, still looking at the Foe Glass. "Quickly, too."
It didn't take long for word to arrive that Thanos was there. Midnight spotted his ship exiting a jump point. The ship was immensely large. Brand judged it as twice as big ad Midnight, which was saying something. The ship slowed down, once it reached the planet and stopped.
"We're picking up immense power build-up! Orbital bombardment imminent!" Brand exclaimed.
Strange just looked at Harry. Harry shrugged and threw up a powerful shield, backed up by enlarging Urubane to maximum size and hovering it above the shield.
"Defensive measures taken." Harry replied. Soon it started raining energy weapon blasts all around them, but Harry's shield was not hit once, only protecting from shrapnel at that point. Urubane was stationary, but still protected all of them. The energy blasts lasted a full ten minutes. When it was done, there were craters and small fires everywhere around them, but they soon died out as there was no fuel for the fires to consume.
"The ship is descending from orbit. At current trajectory it will land north of the staging ground." Brand said.
"Mobile bunker ships, move in and take your positions." Fury's voice said.
Harry had made it so that only his people could see them. Badges and special tokens allowing only his side to observe the nigh-indestructible stationary floating walls, which had since been upgraded with Tony's runes to near immovability. When the bunker ships were in position, they locked those positions in and the crew would wait for enemy contact before making any adjustments and porting out, leaving the obstructions in place.
When the giant ship became visible, Harry whistled. "One would think such a big guy had proper proportions, but that ship says otherwise."
"Unless it's full of combatants and they actually need the space." Steve said.
"I like to think he's compensating too." Tony said.
"You are still on comms, people." Fury's voice came through their communicators.
Harry and Tony decided to drop it, but smiled anyway.
The ship soon came to a stop and a beam of white light descended. When it retracted, Thanos stood before them in his battle gear and a large double bladed sword in hand.
"Strange." he began. "Give me the Stone."
Strange smiled at Thanos. "Come and get it." he said.
Thanos tried, anyway. "The universe is out of balance. Every day there are more mouths to feed and less resources to do it with. It's the same on every planet, whether life is intelligent or not. I just want to correct the balance."
Strange was about to reply, but Harry interrupted him "Don't try to reason with him, Strange." he said. "He's incapable of change." he said, remembering Hela's comment.
Thanos had apparently heard him and frustration crossed his face for a moment before he replied, "Is that what your magic tells you? I knew the witch wouldn't be able to hold you. I know your weakness Harry Potter. You are capable of so much, with the energies you have stolen from the worlds you visited. The only exception is this." He lifted up the gauntlet. "The Stones cannot be touched by your power, but do you know why?"
"I stole nothing and do I look like I care?" Harry replied, aligning Urubane, still as big as it could be, with Thanos. "I don't need to hit you with my power, as long as I can control something from this universe with it." He had realised it as well. The Aether had resisted Harry's attempts to remove it from Jane Foster and couldn't be destroyed by his Fiendfyre and the Time Loop Strange had created to defeat Dormammu didn't bind him.
"That's just it. You aren't from this universe, which is why you are immune to the Stones. They can only affect things from this universe, from which they were created. But your friends are from this universe aren't they?" he smiled. "Do you think you can cut me down, before I can kill every last one of them?"
"Do you want to find out?" Harry growled and let his power out fully, readying himself for an attack. Urubane, even enlarged as it was, swirled around once, almost faster than the eye could see, breaking through the surface of the planet as it spun in a massive upheaval of rock and sand with a sound like an explosion that they all felt in their bones. The tremor even reached Thanos, but he remained impassive.
Thanos eyed the blade and sighed as he turned and walked away. "Have it your way." he said. Suddenly there was an impact as monoliths fell from the ship and rammed into the ground, staying upright as they opened up and streams of alien combatants exited them. More lights shone down from the ship and even more enemies exited.
Ebony Maw and Proxima Midnight appeared next to Thanos when he was on his side, where he apparently intended to lead from behind, and Harry decided to make an example of them. He lifted both hands and they lifted into the air. They had no way to resist, when Harry summoned them to where he and the Avengers stood. Maw tried to impede his own movement with his telekinesis, by summoning an earthen barrier, but Harry was too powerful and he was dragged right through it, hurting himself with the impact and leaving him bloody.
Proxima tried throwing her spear at Harry, but Steve caught it before it could make contact. When they arrived in front of Harry, Proxima was run through with her own spear and Maw was engulfed in a massive lightning bolt from Thor. Both of them still started to get up slowly, but a flash of green light from Harry later and they were both motionless.
Thanos stood there seething as his two strongest, and the last of his Black Order, were killed with so little effort. He needed to control his rage, for his people to fully engage the army he knew the Wizard had assembled. When they were fully engaged, he would use the Space Stone to grab Strange and then he could go back in time with it and the Space Stone to the last time the Soul Stone was seen and bring it to the present, to complete his quest.
He had intended on getting the information he was sure Gamora had about the Soul Stone, but had no misgivings about her using whatever method the Wizard had given them, to secure the knowledge. It was a nuisance, but Thanos would not be denied. He had always known there would be stumbling blocks on the road he was on.
When his Army was assembled, he smirked at the Avengers, but then portals started opening behind them as more and more people started coming to the aid of the Wizard. He had general numbers, but the amount of portals he saw were more than he had bargained on and the Army he saw stepping through the portals was much larger than he had anticipated.
The full army of Asgard took him by surprise. They were not seen since the destruction of Asgard and were supposed to have been destroyed. Their ferocity in battle was one of the reasons he had never gone to face Asgard directly. To have the whole army appear, in-tact, was not something he had counted on.
The army of Wakanda was another thing he had not counted on. He knew of them and had his suspicions, but their numbers were far greater than he had realised. Their vibranium weaponry was something he had known about as well, but with these numbers and the protections the Wizard would have provided them with, no doubt made them an equal force to the Asgardians themselves.
He knew about the Sorcerers of Kamar-Taj, but none of their abilities. They were a very well-kept secret. Every group of the opposing army had some of them mixed in and Thanos could detect the energies they wielded as each of them manipulated their power to form energy shields, to help protect their portion of the whole.
Then more powered individuals appeared, strange looking and some with power-levels he didn't think boded well for his army. His goal was simple though. His army would suffer, but he would have the Time Stone and then everything they did on the battlefield would be for nothing, when he activated the final function of the Gauntlet.
He had realized they had planned for him, in what would likely be the biggest fight he had yet to face, but he couldn't risk the Stone vanishing again, since he knew the Wizard could hide it on any world and he doubted he'd be able to force his hand into revealing it with his power to protect knowledge.
He even knew about the Midnight, their space warship, capable of doing massive damage with a single blast. He had therefore needed to rely on the Enchantress to retrieve from their vault the sceptre he had given Loki to take the Space Stone from them, when it was still on Earth. He had wanted to face them directly, originally, but none of his people could find the battleship, to either sabotage it or protect from it. It was an unknown that he would rather leave untested, until he had no other option.
What he heard from Maw, since he'd seen its power, left him in no doubt that it would be capable of destroying his ship with little effort. The fact that it could reach Xandar in minutes was just as worrying and he had half-expected an assault when he first arrived. He had no doubt that it was lying in wait for them, should they leave the battlefield in-tact, so he had decided to make this the final battle, before he took the last two Stones and finished his quest.
Harry could see the resolve in Thanos' eyes as he allowed their forces to assemble, no doubt that there were plans to use the distraction of battle to gain an advantage. The Space Stone and the Power Stone were their greatest worries. Stephen had assured Harry that the Time Stone was secure with him, having used his own power to make it so it couldn't be taken, even from his corpse.
If Thanos expected to lose the battle, there was no doubt he was planning to still win the war, so the first thing he'd try was either the Power Stone, to kill the assembled armies and take the Time Stone or to use the Space Stone to take Stephen and force it from him. Likely using the Power Stone as a threat to make Stephen give it willingly when he realized it was protected.
Either way, they had very little choice and when the fight started, both sides would be employing different methods to try and achieve their objectives. He had a surprise or two up his sleeve as well, but just like Thanos, he needed the fight to start before he could employ those methods.
When everyone was assembled, Thanos was the first to raise his weapon and point to the enemy. His army instantly started sprinting to them and Steve gave the order to attack and led the charge with the other Avengers, while Harry stood back with Loki, wielding Gungnir, Odin's spear, and Natasha covering him, while he watched Thanos, to know when he planned to strike. The battle was quickly started as the armies rushed at each other.
Before the armies could even meet, there were locations in the enemy army, where patches of utter darkness erupted, as the Magic Corps used Peruvian darkness powder to hide what they were doing. When the darkness lifted, whole sections of the enemy were revealed to be crushed by the use of gravity grenades and in other locations many were captured and being strangled as Devil's Snares were released from their shrunken containers in the perfect darkness only to flinch when the perpetual twilight of the dark world shone through. Not enough to kill them, but to make them shy away dragging the victims along, slowly suffocating them or until they were killed by the invisible Magic Corps.
The Wakandan armies were led by T'Challa himself with M'Baku, suddenly in his Giant Silverback Gorilla Form, at his side. He had not even waited to be injured, cutting his arm above the band to soak it in his blood. It didn't take long for a Giant Lion and Crocodile to join them. They soon went to attack the Giant Apes, who fell easily to their superior size, power and skills. Many ground troops were simply trampled and left for dead.
The X-Men and Fantastic Four were also doing what they could, enjoying the feeling of truly letting go of all restraint. Hulk and the Thing were bashing and clobbering, respectively, while Charles made the enemy attack their comrades and Jean simply snapped necks with her power tightly controlled, not wanting to endanger their allies by letting the phoenix out to play. Sue was using her force fields by creating them in the enemies' bodies and expanding them till the poor creatures chests exploded in a rain of gore. Reed soon found a downed enemy and was trying to hack into one of their communicators to extract what information he could from their ship. Knowledge is power, after all.
The Nova Corps and Ravager ships were firing on the enemy and their leviathans, while remaining at a level below where only they could the invisible bunker ships were located. Many of the leviathans met their end when they thought to attack from above and rammed into the magically invisible, immovable and indestructible vehicles. It allowed the enemy to become aware of their locations, when one leviathan simply lay dead floating in the air, on top of one of them.
One of their strongest assets, though, was Pietro Maximoff. After initial tests it turned out that he could take full advantage of Harry's time dilation enchantment, his mutation allowing him to function normally, but with a bit of extra drain on his stamina, turning him even more deadly. He simply disappeared from sight and started to lay into the enemy. Where he went they simply toppled as he punched them at supersonic speeds. Every now and then a head would explode or an alien would scream for a second as they realized a hole had appeared in their chests. Pietro was brutally efficient and he didn't even stop to look as he personally dispatched hundreds of enemy soldiers in seconds.
Thanos had not expected the amount of carnage he was seeing. He had estimated his army would slowly lose a long battle, but the Wizard had taken full advantage of the time he had gotten and it seemed he'd need to act sooner than he had anticipated. He looked from his quickly dying army and noticed Harry had yet to look away from him. He'd not be able to surprise him.
Growling in frustration, he looked to where he saw Wanda, dispatching enemies by banishing their bodies and summoning their heads simultaneously with two wands, one in each hand, decapitating them and making a large pile of heads at her feet. He smirked as he realised she was unprotected and raised his fist. The Power Stone shone and he released a beam of pure power at his enemy.
Harry had noticed where Thanos was looking. The moment he lifted his fist he quickly called into his earpiece, "Wanda! Withdraw!" Instantly she activated her emergency portkey and was taken away. They all knew Harry's priority and that when he spoke, it was because he noticed something.
Thanos let up on the Power he was channelling and realised that his target had somehow evaded him and disappeared. A few moments later he spotted the same woman walking out of a portal right behind the Wizard, where he had opened it for her. He was smirking at Thanos. It wouldn't be so simple to distract him and it seemed he could bring his forces back from wherever they escaped to. He spotted two other people leaving the same portal, but one of them disappeared almost instantly. The other was Hela. He had been informed of her imprisonment on Niflheim. He had not realised she had been released.
Harry spoke from the corner of his mouth, "Do you remember your part?" he asked of the man he had made invisible.
"Yes." the male voice said back. "You will remember your promise?" the voice asked, now from a bit above.
"I remember." Harry said, watching the individual enter his field of vision, even as he kept watching Thanos. "Your people will have what you asked for as long as they follow the rules." he promised.
Hela simply walked towards the battle with a vindictive smile on her face, throwing weapons at the enemy as she went, always hitting her mark. Harry had wondered why she wasn't on Agnar, but realised that she cared too much for the mount to risk him.
Wanda needed to get back to work, but she had had to stop to get a new emergency extraction portkey, before being ready and calling for Harry to open the portal. Permanent ones took too much power for Harry to supply everyone with such an artefact, after all. The person she had met waiting with Hela for Harry to open a portal was a surprise and she refused to make eye-contact with him. She never liked the man. She did greet Hela, as they both lived on the Island and while they didn't get along, per se, they had no problems with each other.
Harry was on his Mirror with Fury, hoping to bypass the slightest chance of being overheard by enemies scanning for their transmissions. "Is she almost here yet?" he asked.
"We don't have a way of speaking to her, but our sensors are picking her up on the outer edges of our solar system. It should only be a minute." Fury replied. The Nova Corps had sent someone in a new 'stealth' flyer, which was really just enchanted with invisibility, into Kree territory, where Captain Marvel was last seen and had made contact and she knew to be ready.
"Good. My asset is en route and I've set the location for our care-package." Harry said.
"Any idea what it is yet?" Fury asked. "You know I hate surprises."
"Sorry, he wouldn't tell me." Harry denied. "He told me it would be spectacular though."
"We could do with something spectacular." Fury allowed.
Meanwhile, Hela who had simply walked through the army in a straight line, killing hundreds in her path with conjured weapons and wielding the power granted to her by Harry through New Atlantis, had finally arrived in front of Thanos. They traded blows after a few words and their fight soon escalated. Thanos was a combatant of utmost skill and Hela actually lost a few of her conjured blades to his own double bladed sword, until Urubane, in its normal size, miraculously appeared by her side. Harry had willed the blade to her and she used it with devastating power. No matter how powerful Thanos' sword was, it could not stand up to the might of the weapon killing blade, which was Urubane. It took her but a minute to cut down and completely destroy her opponent's weapon. Before she could make an attempt for the Gauntlet, Thanos had already realised he was not going to win in a fair fight and hit her with the blast from the Gauntlet. She lay still on the battlefield and soon disappeared when her portkey was remotely activated.
Thanos then turned back to the battle which he had been forced to ignore. He saw the men-turned-beasts raging through his army, while others literally just lost their heads or their chests exploded. That was only some of the casualties and on many other fronts his forces were being decimated by blasts of energy, fire and those traps of darkness, leaving chaos and crushed bodies in their wake. He saw one man with claws ferociously ripping into his people, with a smile on his face while nearby a dragon spewed its molten flame over large groups of his people. His own people had been unable to tame those beasts, so it impressed him even as it caused massive damage.
With everyone fully engaged, he thought that this would be the perfect moment to strike, so he lifted his gauntleted fist and opened a portal to where he saw Strange levitating multiple of his men in the air and stepped through.
Harry had been watching and the moment Thanos made his move, he said, "Phase one!"
Immediately several things happened. Strange activated the new artefact Harry had gifted him, which would temporarily remove one of his dimensions, namely the physical one, and left him out of phase with the rest of the universe. Harry opened another portal, knowing Thanos would be distracted, and Rocket jumped through.
Harry opened another portal for him and said, "Wait for Phase Three."
"Yeah, yeah, I know." Rocket said as he jumped through the second portal. He needed to set up his little invention, the care package. "See you at the after party." he called behind him.
"I'm buying." Harry said even as he watched the Mad Titan grasp for Strange. When he was unable to touch him, another, red Stone, lit up and when he reached for Strange again, he caught the man and dragged him back through another portal and disappeared to the other side of the battlefield. He wanted to be seen winning.
Thanos was now talking to Strange after failing to just take the amulet from him, his hand seeming to have been burned by the contact. Stephen's spell was still holding, hopefully long enough to make a difference. By the way he was raising the gauntlet, Harry assumed he was now threatening dire consequences. Strange didn't even look scared as he replied.
Suddenly Thanos' arm, the one with the gauntlet, lifted into the air and he looked at it in shock, as something else appeared on his arm, slipping from invisibility as its primary functions activated, just below the Gauntlet. A metallic cuff. Eitri's addition to the fight, the item he had gone back to craft. It was meant to emulate the inhibiting cuffs Harry had told him about, from when he was captured. They knew it wouldn't affect his natural gifts or make the gauntlet any less durable, but it would interfere, at the least, with him channelling the power of the stones correctly, buying them the precious seconds they needed.
Thanos was trying to pull back his arm, which lifted him into the air as the gauntlet refused to come back down. Some of his own soldiers were staring at him in disbelief as he struggled against a power he didn't understand. He used his other hand to try and bash the cuff off his arm, when he realised he couldn't focus the power of the stones past it. He knew this was part of their plan, but try as he might, the band stayed in place.
Harry summoned Urubane into its scabbard and held it out, where it disappeared almost instantly as he kept his eye on Thanos which was now screaming for something. The next moment the cannons on the giant ship became active and started powering up. Before they could fire, however, a barrage of magical attacks filled the sky, all trained on the cannons themselves, destroying them quickly. Harry followed them back to a portal he hadn't been aware of.
"What the hell?!" Harry yelled.
"Didn't think we were doing nothing did you?" Brand's voice came through the comms.
"Brand?!" Harry asked incredulously.
"We've had a portal open since the ship stopped." Brand sounded smug. "We had the cannons targeted since then. We wanted Thanos to think he has a backup plan for as long as we could. Midnight has a lot of weapons, as you might recall."
"Not now!" Fury barked. "Phase one is almost complete and you have a visitor ready for a portal."
"Hi." A new voice said over the comms.
"That's what we've been waiting for." Harry said with a grin. He turned a portal to the Director's location, as planned and out came the form of Captain Marvel.
"I hear you need some help." she asked Harry.
"It's good to have you here. We need Thanos distracted. Do you think you can manage?" Harry asked with a grin.
Right behind her Rocket walked through the same portal. "I'm back." he said. "Didn't want to get caught, so I finished quickly." He showed Harry a control in his hand. "When you're ready, make sure our people are out and let me know." he instructed.
"Phase three is ready. Phase two, go!" Harry said, instead of answering.
Thanos had noted the new arrival and real worry crossed his face for a moment, before there was a flash of power and the inhibiting cuff shattered, but he stayed in the air as an invisible force kept it from falling. It had taken him some time, but he'd finally been able to channel enough power to break free of the restraint, only for whatever power was holding the cuff, focussed on the Gauntlet instead.
A wave of energy washed out from him and the form of Magneto was sent flying at the impact, losing his invisibility as he went. Harry had decided to offer him a part in the fight, for his immense power over metal, considering the Gauntlet was made of the stuff. He was never the last defence, though, and Captain Marvel was on him the moment he landed engaging in hand-to-hand with him.
"He has to clench his fist to activate the power!" Harry said urgently, having watched Thanos enough and knowing what Eitri had told him. "Someone get Erik out!" Magneto had landed hard and seemed to be unmoving. When he disappeared after he was encased in the glow of a stasis field, Harry stopped thinking about him. There were other things to concentrate on.
He watched as Thanos fought with Captain Marvel. She was immensely strong and seemingly as impervious as Thanos was rumoured to be. When she had him on his knees, gauntleted fist in her hand, he made to reach for one of the stones to use its power directly, but suddenly his free arm was lying next to him, having been completely and cleanly cut off.
He looked up in surprise at Harry, but Harry smirked and shrugged. Pietro stopped for a moment in front of Thanos, Urubane in hand, and said, "Didn't you see that coming?" before disappearing again. The next moment, Thanos was completely disarmed, literally. Thanos screamed his frustration, just as Captain Marvel kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying.
Harry sighed a sigh of relief and turned a portal, through which Captain Marvel dropped the Gauntlet. He then quickly opened his bag and levitated it directly in. His bag would have to do until he could make a permanent arrangement for it in an alternate reality, where it would have no power.
"Phase Three people!" Harry called. Everyone instantly activated their return portkeys, except for the flying vessels from Xandar and the Ravagers that had joined them, which turned and went into the sky, to get out of the atmosphere. The only people who stayed behind were the Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four, The Guardians of the Galaxy and the enemy army. Those that stayed behind, though, quickly made their way to Harry with help from his portals. Jean was levitating the Mad Titan to them, so that he could be tried by the people of Xandar. Harry simply wanted him dead, but he had been told it would make for a stronger impression of their power if the universe knew he was helpless before them.
"Fire in the hole!" Rocket enthused as he pressed the button, when everyone was safely behind Harry, before anyone could object and set off his trap. There was a couple of seconds, in which Harry hurriedly pulled up a shield, just in case, and Rocket looked at the control in his hand, before there was a groan from inside the giant ship. In the next second, the entirety of the ship, a good portion of the enemy army and a large piece of the planet's surface, simply vanished as it was sucked into a pinprick floating in the air, which vanished just as quickly.
Then there was a cacophonous noise and they were all ripped from their feet in the same direction as the vacuum that was left, in the wake of the disappearance of the matter that had just been swallowed, filled up with the surrounding air. When they picked themselves up from the boundary of the shield, which had caught them, it was to see the rest of the enemy army had been pulled into the crater left behind, but none of them seemed to be moving.
"What. The HELL. WAS THAT!?" Tony exclaimed as he righted himself and looked around them in case any of the enemy had avoided the final attack.
"Micro black-hole." Rocket said easily as he got himself up from the ground. He was still grinning like a loon.
"Black-hole?!" Harry exclaimed.
"Just a little one." Rocket defended himself. "It was perfectly safe, as long as you remember to keep your distance. I worked it out. We were safe." he assured them.
"That's it!" Tony said. "No more runes for you."
"But, it took care of the rest of the army!" Rocket defended himself with a smile. "… What was left of them anyway…" he finished, trailing off as he looked down at the bodies, which Harry had set aflame the moment he got up, to ensure they were all dead. None moved.
"Harry?" Charles asked as he got to his feet and looked at the fire that was slowly consuming hundreds of thousands of enemy dead and jumping from body to body as it multiplied. "Are you sure you couldn't have simply done this from the start?"
"Not with Thanos in possession of the stones still. It may have driven him to use the stones to destroy us all, if he couldn't have simply negated the effect." Harry said.
"You have doomed the universe." Thanos said from his position lying on ground.
"Oh, shut up." Harry said. He was about to hit him with a stunner, when he was beaten to it by half his team shooting him multiple times with stunning bullets. "Thanks." he said with a shrug.
Then he opened a portal and allowed the teams through before he followed with Thanos' unconscious form, which kept on receiving stunners, in case he could wake himself somehow, or that's what he thought they kept shooting him for, to the receiving area, where nobody had been told of the success of the mission. Thor couldn't keep the grin off his face and as soon as Harry, Loki and Natasha were through and the portal closed, there was an uproar as everyone celebrated their success.
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AN: So, I guess there will be complaints that I left certain things out or that I should have used different tactics. It was difficult to add in everything and I watched Endgame, probably ten times and the final fight even more. I could not hope to achieve a masterpiece like the movie. I tried to stick to my own writing style and wrote and re-wrote this chapter many times and this is what I decided on.
Here's the fun part. When Strange did his thing, he saw many possible ways to do this, so I'll be writing omakes to fill in the gaps for those who want to see different things.
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Omake #1 by burnable
"Well?" Tony asked from inside his new suit. "What's the verdict?"
Stephen got up with a serious look on his face before he nodded. "We can leave. Harry's got this." he said.
"What?" Loki and Natasha exclaimed. "I'm not leaving his side." Natasha said dangerously.
"Suit yourself." Stephen said. "The enemy will have one thing to use against him. Well done."
Clint didn't wait, and shot Natasha with a stun arrow, while she was incredulously staring at Stephen. When everyone looked at him, he asked, "What? She was being unreasonable."
Soon the Avengers had left with Stephen giving the Stone to Harry, to keep Thanos there.
They bombarded the area again, but Harry blocked as he had in another timeline. When Thanos came down, he found only one man waiting for him.
"Where are all your friends and allies?" Thanos asked, suspiciously.
"I sent them home." Harry said, before he pulled the Stone out, showing it to Thanos and dropping it in the pouch again, which disappeared. "I can handle you and your entire army on my own." Harry boasted. Thanos didn't notice that Urubane had disappeared, when Harry had shown him the Stone. A Wizard's most useful tool. Misdirection.
"You cannot hope to defeat me." Thanos smiled. "I have four of the Stones already."
"You mean you had four of the Stones." Harry corrected.
Thanos frowned and lifted his arm to look at the Gauntlet and smiled as he turned his hand to show the Stones still there. The next moment his arm was cut cleanly off as Urubane flew through the air at supersonic speeds, faster than even Thanos could react and Harry summoned the limb, which he instantly placed in his pouch.
"See, you had the stones." Harry continued, before he put a finger to his ear. "Brand. I have the Stones. You may go ahead and wreck Thanos' day."
"Understood." Came the voice of Director Brand from Midnight. "You heard the man, light 'em up boys!"
What followed was a bombardment the likes of which had never been seen. Midnight fired all three BFG cannons simultaneously and repeatedly, until there was nothing left but scraps. Thanos' body had been disintegrated by a direct shot. By the time the bombardment ended, the face of that portion of the planet looked like it had been hit by every nuke the Earth had and then some. The fallout would have destroyed any living planet with the nuclear winter that followed from all the dust and ash in the air and would last hundreds if not thousands of years.
When Harry got back to base, he was covered in dust, as he had stayed to watch the show for a while, but had to erect shields before long. The assembled armies looked at him, like they were expected to march soon. "Job's done." Harry informed them happily. "Who wants a pint?"