The Quinjet hummed through the night sky, cutting through the clouds like it had somewhere better to be. Inside, the team was in various states of exhaustion, satisfaction, and—for some—outright gloating.
Harry Potter stretched out in his seat with a long, satisfied sigh. "Well, that was fun," he said, as though they hadn't just embarrassed one of the most powerful mutants on the planet in front of his own people.
Across from him, Bucky Barnes was still grinning, shaking his head like he couldn't believe what had just happened. "Okay, I'm just gonna say it. That was way smoother than I expected. Usually, when Magneto shows up, it's a whole thing—metal flying, speeches about mutant supremacy, us getting thrown through a few buildings."
"Yeah, well," Harry shrugged, "we came prepared. Plus, it's hard to be intimidating when your evil-mastermind plan gets shut down by a simple material upgrade."
"Which reminds me," Steve Rogers cut in, looking over at Lily, who was seated in the pilot's chair, effortlessly guiding the Quinjet through the sky. "Since when did SHIELD have vibranium jets?"
Lily glanced at him through the rearview mirror—because, of course, the Quinjet had a rearview mirror. "Since Adler, Howard Stark, and I decided we weren't interested in playing fair anymore."
Peggy Carter, seated beside Steve, raised a perfectly skeptical eyebrow. "You're telling me Gellert Grindelwald designed this thing?"
"Reformed Gellert Grindelwald," Lily corrected, flipping a few switches. "Don't get me wrong, he still has that 'holier-than-thou' attitude, but he's been useful. He and Howard managed to blend magic and tech in a way that even I didn't think was possible." She patted the dashboard fondly. "This baby? She's not just a Quinjet. She's a spell-cast, rune-inscribed, magical masterpiece. Think of her as a flying fortress with an attitude."
"So basically, a Stark invention with extra steps?" Harry asked.
"Exactly."
"Now hold on," Tony Stark's voice cut through their comms. "I heard my name, and since I'm not currently in the jet, I can only assume one of two things: either you're crediting me for a job well done, or you're blaming me for something that exploded."
"I'd say fifty-fifty," Rhodey chimed in. "Safe bet when Tony's involved."
"Wow. Betrayal. And here I thought I was the heart of this team," Tony said, sounding wounded.
"Tony, you're more like the ego of this team," Natasha Romanoff muttered, not even looking up from where she was casually cleaning her gun.
"Yeah, yeah, love you too, Romanoff."
Harry rolled his eyes and turned back to the others. "Alright, so we've got a magic jet, an unconscious scientist in the cargo hold, and we just publicly embarrassed Magneto. Where's our next stop?"
"Prague," Lily answered. "Safehouse on the outskirts. SHIELD has an old facility there that we've repurposed for cases like this. It's warded, reinforced, and off the grid. Nobody's getting in unless we let them."
Harry snorted. "And how much do you wanna bet Magneto's gonna try anyway?"
"Oh, I'm counting on it."
Sirius Black, lounging in one of the seats with his boots propped up on the table like he owned the place, let out a low whistle. "Man, I missed this kind of chaos. Nothing like pissing off the most powerful mutants on the planet to really get the blood pumping."
James Potter, seated beside him, grinned. "You just like showing off."
"Obviously," Sirius said, waving a hand. "It's a gift."
"You know, it's truly inspiring to see the legendary Marauders act like teenagers with a fresh learner's permit," Erica remarked dryly, flipping through a file.
Steve, who had been rubbing his temples since the conversation started, sighed deeply. "We should be focusing on what comes next. Einhardt had information. If Magneto was willing to go to these lengths to silence him, then we need to find out why."
"Agreed," Peggy said, crossing her arms. "Once we land, we get him stabilized, then we start asking questions."
"Interrogating," Natasha corrected. "Let's not sugarcoat it."
"Hey, let's be fair," Clint Barton chimed in from the back. "We can sugarcoat it. We just… won't."
"You all scare me," Alexei Shostakov muttered.
"Good," Moody grumbled. "You should always be scared."
Harry leaned back, staring up at the ceiling as the Quinjet continued its journey. "You know, for once, I was kinda hoping for a quiet mission."
Bucky snorted. "Kid, I don't think you know what a quiet mission looks like."
"Yeah," Harry admitted, grinning. "Probably not."
As the Quinjet soared toward Prague, leaving behind the battlefield and the wreckage of yet another showdown with Magneto, one thing was clear—this was far from over.
And if history had taught them anything, the worst was yet to come.
—
If there was one universal truth in the multiverse, it was this: nothing good ever happened in an abandoned warehouse.
The Quinjet touched down just outside Prague with the kind of smoothness that only came from either very skilled piloting or very expensive technology. The safehouse looked exactly like the kind of place where bad guys stored crates full of mysterious glowing substances—dusty, ominous, and somehow always dimly lit no matter the time of day.
Inside, however, was peak SHIELD: reinforced walls, high-tech security, and more holographic screens than an Apple keynote.
Melinda May led the way, her face locked in its usual expression of "I could kill you five different ways, and you wouldn't even see it coming." Beside her, Erica Hayes took one look around and huffed like she was expecting something cooler.
"This is it?" she asked. "I thought spy headquarters would be more—" she gestured vaguely, "—James Bond and less Home Depot clearance section."
"Welcome to government budget cuts," Clint muttered, stretching out on top of a crate like a particularly lazy cat.
Meanwhile, the unconscious problem of the day—Dr. Einhardt—was dumped into a chair in the middle of the room like an unwanted Amazon package. The magical runes binding him glowed softly, making sure he didn't suddenly wake up and cause a scene.
Steve Rogers, standing like a living monument to heroic posture, crossed his arms. "Alright. Let's see what we're dealing with."
Tony Stark, who had already perched himself in front of the nearest console like a kid about to beat the final boss, pointed at Einhardt. "What we should be dealing with is why we just played European hide-and-seek with a human potato sack. So, let's crack open his files and figure out why our favorite metal wizard wanted him so badly."
"Already on it, boss," Rhodey said, nodding toward the sleek setup where JARVIS's familiar voice materialized on a holoscreen.
JARVIS, ever the perfect British gentleman (who also happened to be an AI), spoke smoothly. "Sir, I am currently processing the encrypted files retrieved from Dr. Einhardt's systems. However, I must report an anomaly—conventional decryption methods are proving ineffective."
Tony frowned. "Ineffective how? This is Stark tech. We've cracked alien mothership codes, hacked HYDRA, and I'm pretty sure I once broke into NASA just to prove a point. What's different about this?"
There was a brief pause. Well, as much as an AI could pause for dramatic effect.
"The encryption appears to be… non-standard," JARVIS admitted. "The mathematical sequences do not conform to any known computational cipher."
Clint, still lounging like he had all the time in the world, frowned. "That's not unsettling at all."
JARVIS continued, "In fact, the symbols seem to shift in response to external input, resembling a self-sustaining algorithm."
Tony scowled. "So you're saying this thing thinks?"
"More accurately, it reacts."
There was a collective pause. Then—
Lily Potter groaned loudly. "Oh, for Merlin's sake."
Tony turned. "I really don't like that tone."
James stepped forward, took one look at the screen, and let out a deep sigh. "Oh yeah. That's not just encryption. That's Arithmancy-based rune-weaving. No wonder JARVIS can't crack it—he's trying to logic his way through something that isn't just logic."
Sirius crossed his arms, looking way too smug about it. "Long story short? You're trying to outthink something that isn't built on thinking. No offense, Stark, but your AI is a genius in the wrong language."
Tony blinked. "You're telling me that magic has better encryption than my billion-dollar AI?"
James smirked. "I'm telling you that magic plays by different rules. And it looks like Einhardt knew that when he set this up."
Sirius clapped Tony on the back. "Don't worry, mate. Even geniuses like you need a little magical flair sometimes."
Tony threw up his hands. "Of course it's magic. Because why wouldn't it be magic? You people couldn't just write down a password like normal people? 'Password123' too simple?!"
Natasha, watching with her usual mix of amusement and exasperation, smirked. "You do sound a little jealous."
Tony pointed at her. "I am the smartest person in this room. My tech is just—" he waved a hand, "—taking a tactical pause."
"Sure it is," Natasha deadpanned.
Steve, being Steve, decided to step in. "Alright, so how do we get into this thing? If magic is the key, can we bypass it?"
Lily, James, and Sirius exchanged a look.
Then, at the exact same time, they grinned.
"Team effort?" James suggested.
"Team effort," Lily confirmed.
"Oh, definitely a team effort," Sirius added. "Haven't cracked magical encryption in ages. I love a good heist."
Tony groaned. "I hate you all."
Harry, who had been quietly watching, finally decided to chime in—with a smirk so deadly it could be classified as a weapon.
"Cheer up, Stark," he said, stepping forward and examining the runes like a man who had personally broken into a Gringotts vault just for fun. "You're getting front-row seats to a master class in how real security works."
Tony narrowed his eyes. "You know, I've let a lot of things slide, but I will not be cyber-bullied by a wizard."
Harry grinned. "Then buckle up, Iron Man, because you're about to watch magic work circles around your AI."
Bucky, leaning against the nearest wall with his usual brooding assassin aesthetic, gave a low chuckle. "I like him."
"Of course you do," Steve muttered.
James clapped his hands. "Alright, let's get to work. This thing's not going to crack itself."
JARVIS, who had been very patient throughout all of this, chimed in. "Might I request that, once the decryption is complete, one of you kindly explains the process in a way that can be archived?"
Harry smirked. "Sure, JARVIS. If you promise not to cry when you realize how basic your security looks compared to ours."
A pause. Then—
JARVIS, in his smoothest, most dignified tone, responded: "Sir, I do not possess the ability to cry. However, if I did, I would consider this a deeply distressing moment."
Tony threw his arms in the air. "Oh great, now my AI is getting bullied, too."
And with that, the magical hacking session began.
—
If Tony Stark had a nickel for every time magic ruined his day, he'd have… well, too many nickels to fit comfortably in his wallet.
And that was saying something, considering his wallet had more security features than most military bases.
Unfortunately, no amount of technology could save him from this particular headache. Right now, he was stuck in a Prague safehouse, watching a bunch of wand-waving troublemakers try to outwit a sentient magical encryption system that apparently had a personality and attitude.
To make matters worse, they were enjoying themselves.
James Potter, Sirius Black, and Lily Potter huddled around his holoscreen with the kind of energy usually reserved for teenagers breaking into a concert. The grin on James's face? That was the look of a man about to cause maximum chaos.
"Alright, let's do this the Marauder way," James declared, cracking his knuckles. "Step one: figure out what we're dealing with. Step two: cheat."
Sirius nodded sagely. "My favorite strategy."
Lily sighed. "I married this man willingly."
"To be fair," Sirius said, smirking, "you also voluntarily associated with me, so your judgment's been questionable for a while now."
Lily groaned. "Merlin help me."
Steve Rogers, who had been quietly observing the mess unfold with the patience of a saint, crossed his arms. "So, let me get this straight. The security system is learning from us?"
"Yup," Lily confirmed. "Every time we try to break the encryption, it shifts. Think of it like a door that changes the lock every time someone fails to open it."
Tony ran a hand down his face. "Fantastic. I built an AI that can hack global security grids in under thirty seconds, and it's losing to a wizard CAPTCHA?"
"Correct," Sirius said, grinning. "And may I just say? That is deeply amusing to me."
JARVIS, because he absolutely had a sense of humor, chose that moment to chime in. "Sir, I believe the appropriate phrase here would be 'you have been owned.'"
Clint Barton outright cackled. "Owned by magic. That's gotta sting."
Tony pointed at him. "You're off the Christmas card list, Barton."
Natasha smirked. "Wait, we get Christmas cards?"
"You were going to," Tony muttered. "Not anymore."
Peggy Carter, who had been watching the entire debacle unfold with the air of someone who had definitely seen worse, leaned against the console. "Come now, Stark. You should be used to being outclassed by now."
Tony turned to glare at her. "Et tu, Carter?"
She smirked. "Always."
"Alright, Prongs," Sirius said, rolling his shoulders like he was about to fight the encryption in hand-to-hand combat. "Hit me with the game plan."
James tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Okay, so usually, when you break a magical lock, you either brute force it, outthink it, or convince it that you belong inside."
Natasha tilted her head. "That last one sounds promising."
"Except it won't work," Lily interjected. "This system is selective. It's designed to only open for someone who has the exact right magical signature. Think of it like a retina scan, but with personality."
"And I take it none of us match?" Bucky asked.
James grinned. "Not yet."
Rhodey narrowed his eyes. "I really don't like the way you said that."
James ignored him, turning to Sirius. "Alright, Padfoot, you're up first."
Sirius cracked his knuckles like a man preparing for battle and pulled out his wand. "Watch and learn, Muggles."
He tapped the edge of the holoscreen. Instantly, the runes flared—then shifted, rearranging into something even more complicated.
"Uh, what just happened?" Clint asked.
"Introduced myself," Sirius said, grinning. "Apparently, it's not impressed."
Lily pinched the bridge of her nose. "Try being less you, Sirius."
"Impossible," Sirius said cheerfully.
"Alright, alright," James said, stepping forward. "Let me try something a little… less Sirius."
Natasha raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "Was that a pun?"
James grinned. "I'm a dad. Puns are my birthright."
He flicked his wand, muttering an incantation. The runes shimmered again, but this time, a few of them clicked into place, locking into a partial sequence.
"Ah-ha!" James said. "Progress!"
"That's one sequence," Erica pointed out. "We need the whole thing."
"Then we're halfway there!" James said.
"You're five percent there," Lily corrected.
Sirius peered at the runes. "Alright, so brute force is out. Trickery is mostly out."
"Which means we have to outthink it," James said. "Figure out the pattern before it shifts again."
"Great," Tony muttered. "Magic Sudoku. My nightmare is complete."
"Alright, enough stalling," Lily said, stepping up. "This thing reacts to magical intent. So instead of trying to break it, let's make it think we belong here."
James's eyes lit up. "Like sneaking past security by pretending to be janitors?"
"Exactly," Lily confirmed. "Now, everyone stand back."
Sirius, James, and Lily raised their wands simultaneously. The runes flared—then flickered, almost like they were nervous.
Then, in perfect synchronization, the three of them murmured an incantation.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then—
CRACK!
The runes twisted, flickered—then suddenly stopped moving. A low, vibrating hum filled the room, like a machine powering up. The holoscreen flickered, then unlocked, revealing the encrypted data.
James smirked. "And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you hack magic."
Tony stared. "You guys just sweet-talked the most advanced magical encryption I've ever seen?"
"Basically," Sirius said, smug.
JARVIS, ever the professional, confirmed, "The encryption has been bypassed. Files are now accessible."
Tony threw his hands up. "Fantastic. Magic and charm. I officially hate you all."
Peggy smirked. "Oh, come now, Stark. You must be used to being outclassed by now."
Tony groaned. "I am never going to live this down."
Lily, who had been scrolling through the files, suddenly went still. Her face, once playful, turned deadly serious.
"Alright," she said. "Jokes aside—let's see what Einhardt was hiding."
The room tensed.
They had the files.
Now they just had to survive whatever came next.
—
If Tony Stark had thought hacking Einhardt's files was the hard part, he was in for a very rude awakening.
Because the moment JARVIS cracked the encryption, the files didn't just unlock—they reacted.
JARVIS, ever the embodiment of British patience, delivered the bad news with unsettling calm.
"Sir, it appears we have triggered a failsafe."
Which, in normal human terms, translated to: You just tripped the magical equivalent of a landmine. Well done.
The holoscreen flickered, and bright red numbers blazed across the interface.
00:30
00:29
00:28
"You have got to be kidding me," Tony groaned, already swiping frantically at the interface. "Why does this always happen to me?"
"Because you always break into things?" Natasha suggested, cool as ever.
Sirius, who had been reclining smugly over the back of a chair like a king surveying his domain, squinted at the countdown. "Well, that's just rude."
James cracked his knuckles. "Alright, new plan—grab whatever we can before this thing wipes itself."
00:20
Steve, ever the strategist, leaned in. "JARVIS, how much can you extract in twenty seconds?"
"Not enough to be satisfying, Captain."
Bucky made a face. "Can we just unplug it?"
"Sir, I do not recommend that," JARVIS interjected. "The files are likely tied to a magical self-obliteration spell. Removing the power source could activate it immediately."
Rhodey sighed. "Why do all of your plans end in something exploding?"
Alexei, who had been suspiciously quiet, huffed. "This is why, in Mother Russia, we keep secrets on paper."
Tony shot him a look. "Yes, well, in America, we enjoy not living in the dark ages."
00:10
Erica stepped forward, arms crossed. "Harry, can you stop it?"
Everyone turned.
Harry, who had been quietly scanning the glowing runes on the holoscreen, tilted his head. "Yeah."
A beat of silence.
Tony pinched the bridge of his nose. "Would you like to elaborate on that?"
Harry, utterly unbothered, twiddled his thumbs. "Give me a second."
00:05
Sirius leaned toward James. "I feel like we should be more concerned."
James, ever the Gryffindor, shrugged. "Nah, it's Harry."
Lily sighed. "I hate that that is a reasonable argument."
00:03
Harry flicked his wrist. The countdown froze.
Then, just to rub it in, he waved his fingers, and the numbers reversed—
00:02
00:03
00:04
Tony's eye twitched. "Did you just hack time?"
Harry grinned. "No, I just told the spell it was being dramatic."
JARVIS made a distinctly impressed noise.
"Mr. Potter, I must say, that was elegantly done."
Sirius clapped Harry on the back. "That's my boy."
Clint whistled. "Okay, that was sick. I'm stealing that move."
Harry shrugged. "Be my guest. Just don't get yourself vaporized."
Rhodey exhaled. "Alright, now that we're not about to die, can we focus?"
With the failsafe disabled, the files finally gave up their secrets.
What followed was a whole lot of very bad news.
James scanned the decrypted notes, his frown deepening. "Einhardt wasn't just some rogue alchemist. He was Hydra's last-ditch magical failsafe."
"Great," Tony muttered. "Because if there's one thing history needed, it was immortal Nazis."
Lily, flipping through Einhardt's research, looked like she wanted to burn it on the spot. "He wasn't just a scientist—he was the kind of lunatic even Grindelwald thought went too far."
Natasha arched a brow. "And that's saying something."
Bucky squinted at the files. "What the hell is Project Ragnarok?"
James grimaced. "It's worse than it sounds."
Tony crossed his arms. "Define worse."
Lily answered, voice grim. "They were trying to create an immortal Hydra."
A long, uncomfortable silence followed.
Clint broke it with a dry, "Well, that sounds perfectly normal."
"They were experimenting on wizards," Erica muttered, scanning another document. "Trying to merge their abilities with alchemy and dark magic to create something that wouldn't stay dead."
Moody growled. "Bloody bastards."
James kept reading, expression darkening. "Einhardt wasn't just trying to make supersoldiers. He was trying to make a Hydra that could regrow from a single cell."
Sirius scowled. "That's... disgusting."
"It gets worse," Harry added, flipping through another set of documents. He turned to Peggy. "You remember Schmidt's obsession with ancient magic?"
Peggy, ever sharp, nodded. "The Red Skull? Yes."
"Well," Harry said, voice deceptively casual. "Turns out Einhardt took that obsession and ran with it. He was trying to tap into something older."
Steve tensed. "How old?"
Harry clicked his tongue. "Does magic predating recorded history sound fun?"
Natasha sighed. "It never is."
JARVIS projected a new set of notes, featuring a ritual so disturbing that it came with skull doodles in the margins. Always a good sign.
James exhaled. "Okay, new plan."
Bucky raised a brow. "Oh?"
James grinned. It was the kind of grin that meant he was about to do something very, very illegal.
"We find whatever Einhardt was working on."
Sirius clapped his hands. "And then we destroy it."
Harry cracked his knuckles. "Works for me."
Tony sighed. "Of course. We just finished breaking into one evil lair, and now we have to break into another."
Lily smirked. "Welcome to our world, Stark."
Peggy patted Tony's shoulder. "It builds character."
Tony groaned. "Why is my character always built through trauma?"
Rhodey patted his other shoulder. "Because you're special."
Alexei grinned. "And fragile."
Tony threw up his hands. "Fantastic. Let's go stop the immortal Nazis."
JARVIS, ever the professional, simply said:
"Shall I prepare the jet, sir?"
—
If there was a way to kill someone through sheer force of will, Nick Fury would've vaporized the entire team through the fancy holographic communication mirror.
Unfortunately for him—and fortunately for everyone else—reality didn't work that way.
So instead, he settled for glaring. Hard.
"Stark."
Tony, in his infinite wisdom, saluted lazily. "Director Angry Pirate. Always a pleasure."
"Do you have any idea what kind of headache you just handed me?"
James, ever the responsible adult (which, let's be honest, was a low bar in this group), cleared his throat. "Okay, good news first—we cracked Einhardt's files."
Fury's glare intensified. "And the bad news?"
Sirius, because he was physically incapable of resisting an opportunity for chaos, smirked. "Oh, you're gonna love this."
Bucky pinched the bridge of his nose. "Why do I feel like I'm about to regret everything?"
Because, dear Bucky, you were.
Harry, being the helpful individual that he was, swiped through the decrypted files and sent them straight to Fury's end. "Long story short? Hydra was trying to play Frankenstein. But instead of lightning, they went with dark magic, alchemy, and a god complex so big it could have its own zip code."
Fury studied the files, his eye twitching. "Tell me this isn't a 'we accidentally reanimated Hitler' situation."
Natasha winced. "Not quite."
Peggy, who had mastered the art of being both terrifying and classy, crossed her arms. "They were trying to make an immortal Hydra."
Fury inhaled slowly through his nose. "Of course they were."
Clint, because he had zero sense of self-preservation, grinned. "Oh, and they were mixing wizard DNA with dark magic. You know, for that extra 'why the hell not' factor."
Fury exhaled so hard the screen pixelated for a second. "Do I even want to know what Project Ragnarok is?"
Harry grinned. "Probably not, but I'm gonna tell you anyway."
Rhodey clapped Tony on the back. "You've been a bad influence on him."
Tony smirked. "I prefer 'inspirational mentor figure.'"
Ignoring them, Harry pulled up a section of Einhardt's notes and sent it over. "Hydra wasn't just playing around with dark magic. They were trying to merge with it. As in, full integration. Creating agents who can't die, no matter how many times you punch them in the face."
James, ever the realist, deadpanned, "So basically, unkillable Nazis."
Fury took a moment to stare at the abyss of human stupidity. "You've got to be kidding me."
Moody grunted. "Wish we were."
Morrigan, who had been quiet up until now, studied one particularly nasty set of instructions. "This isn't just dark magic. This is older. Something predating wandlore. If they had succeeded, they wouldn't just be unkillable. They'd be something else entirely."
Fury's face went blank. "Tell me they failed."
Lily, flipping through the data with the same intensity she used to hunt down Harry's missing socks as a child, frowned. "We think they did. No sign any of these... things were ever deployed. But…"
"There's always a 'but,'" Bucky muttered.
Lily sent another section of the decrypted files over. "Einhardt had a secondary facility. One that wasn't on any of our maps. And that's where he was working on whatever the final phase of this insanity was supposed to be."
Steve, golden retriever energy in full force, frowned. "You're saying there's a chance some of this actually worked?"
Harry flipped a coin in the air, caught it without looking. "Only one way to find out."
Fury rubbed his temples. "You cannot seriously be suggesting—"
Sirius grinned. "Oh, we're absolutely suggesting."
Tony sighed dramatically. "C'mon, Patchy. We just finished breaking into one Hydra base. Might as well go for the two-for-one special."
Fury stared at them all, possibly calculating the logistics of faking his own death and living out the rest of his life on a beach somewhere.
Finally, he growled, "Fine. But I swear to God, if I have to deal with immortal Nazi zombies, I will personally put all of you on Fury's Most Wanted list."
Erica smirked. "Oh, we're already on that list."
Fury grunted. "Damn right."
JARVIS, ever helpful, chimed in.
"Director Fury, shall I prepare a tactical rundown of potential threats?"
Fury waved a hand. "Sure. Why not. It's not like I enjoy sleep anyway."
Tony grinned. "That's the spirit, Patchy."
Rhodey groaned. "Tony, for the love of—"
JARVIS, undeterred, continued.
"I have also taken the liberty of tracking Einhardt's last known location before his disappearance. Cross-referencing with the available files, I have identified a likely site for the secondary facility."
Steve straightened. "Where?"
JARVIS displayed a map.
Natasha's eyes narrowed. "Siberia."
Alexei sighed. "Oh, great. Cold, miserable, and full of old Russian nightmares. Just like home."
Tony clapped his hands together. "Alright, pack your snow boots, people. We're going Hydra hunting."
Fury's sigh could probably be heard across dimensions. "God help me."
—
Tony Stark was pacing back and forth in front of the makeshift war room, muttering to himself like a man who had just realized he'd left his favorite suit in the laundry. The whole place was set up like a command center straight out of a spy movie—except for the fact that it was more likely to end with explosions, one-liners, and a very real chance of death.
"JARVIS, you magnificent British genius, make me proud," Tony muttered under his breath, not really expecting an answer.
The AI didn't disappoint.
"Director Fury, I have successfully accessed Hydra's internal network. The blueprint for the secondary facility in Siberia is now ready for review."
Tony paused mid-pace, squinting at the air like he could see the digital files JARVIS was handing over. "See, this is why I keep you around, Jarv. You're the brains, I'm the... eccentric, slightly insane, yet undeniably effective genius. Teamwork."
Fury didn't even flinch. He was used to Tony's random outbursts by now, though the man was starting to wonder if Tony didn't just make things up as he went along.
"Well, look at that," Fury said, looking at the digital blueprints JARVIS had projected onto the screen. His one eye narrowed as he scanned the information, but he stayed calm. "All we needed was for Tony to shut up and let JARVIS do the work. Who would've thought?"
"Not a fan of that idea, but fair enough," Tony said, raising both hands in mock surrender. "I admit, JARVIS is the real MVP here. But you know, it's not like I'm completely useless."
"I'll let that one slide," Fury grumbled, trying and failing to hide his irritation.
"Guys, focus," Natasha cut in, sitting back in her chair and tossing a glance over at Clint. "We've got blueprints. We've got a location. What we don't have is time. So, let's get moving."
"Right," Tony said, snapping his fingers as if he'd just remembered he had an appointment. "The facility's in Siberia. 400 miles northeast of the Ural Mountains. Minimal resistance. We get in, get the intel, and then... well, I was planning on having a long, relaxing vacation, but no, Hydra had other plans."
"Yeah, they always do," Clint chimed in from his corner, giving Natasha a grin. He was pretending to pay attention, but the guy was way more invested in his snacks than the mission. "We're what, crashing their big villain party in the snow? Should be fun."
"It's not a vacation," Natasha quipped, shooting Clint a look that could freeze a man solid.
Clint shrugged, unphased. "Can't hurt to hope, right?"
"I'll bring the ski poles," Bucky said, leaning back in his chair with an unamused look. "But the snow's probably not going to be our biggest problem."
Harry, who had been silently observing the entire exchange, leaned forward, a look of pure concentration on his face. "Wait. Hold on. This facility... If Einhardt was mixing dark magic with some kind of immortality project, then we're not just talking about some rogue Nazi experiment. We're talking about something far worse."
Sirius, who had been leaning casually against the wall, nodded grimly. "Yeah, it's not exactly your average science fair project. More like Frankenstein's twisted cousin—on steroids."
"I'd agree, but that's a level of understatement even I can't wrap my head around," Harry said, cracking his neck. "So, we go in, break a few things, interrogate a few Hydra goons, and walk out with some answers. Simple, right?"
"Simple?" Bucky snorted, eyebrow raised. "Have you met Hydra? Those guys are more stubborn than a cockroach at a nuclear fallout shelter."
"That's why I'll be there," Harry said with a grin that could melt steel. "And I plan to make sure they don't get up after we're done with them."
"Great," Fury said, his voice like gravel. "A walking nuke. Just what we need."
"Hey," Harry shrugged, hands up in mock surrender. "You said it, not me."
"You sure about that, kid?" Bucky teased. "Last time I checked, that was your nickname. Mr. 'Don't Mess With Me, I've Got Magic And Firepower.'"
"Yeah, and don't forget the part where I can throw a punch like Thor and still look good doing it," Harry shot back, his smirk lethal. "But don't worry, I'll save the big blows for Hydra."
Fury pinched the bridge of his nose like he was trying to ward off a headache. "Alright, listen up. The plan is simple: no heroics. We get in, we take out the big bad experiment, and we get out. No detours. Understood?"
"I think we've all heard the 'don't split off' speech before, Fury," Steve said, his voice calm and steady as always. He was staring at the blueprint like it was the last thing standing between him and saving the world. "And you can count on me to follow orders."
"Of course you will," Tony muttered under his breath. "He's Captain America, the walking definition of 'straight-laced.' I, on the other hand, am more 'loose cannon,' but it's all good. We balance each other out."
"Just don't blow up anything important," Steve warned. His eyes were now on Tony, the weight of a thousand war stories in them. "We've got a mission, not a circus."
"Fine, fine," Tony said, holding his hands up. "But if we're talking about blowing things up, I've got that covered. I'm basically a walking demolition team."
"I'll bring the explosives," Bucky offered with a dry grin. "I've been practicing. Maybe a little less boom, more precision this time."
"I'm not even going to ask how you've been practicing that," Tony said with a shudder. "I think I prefer my buildings standing, thanks."
"We'll have to make do," Peggy added with a smile. "And yes, Tony, I've noticed the 'no blowing things up unless necessary' rule. But we can handle it."
"Great. Fantastic," Fury muttered, rolling his eyes. "JARVIS, how long do we have?"
"According to the latest intel, you have a two-hour window of minimal resistance before Hydra reinforcements arrive."
"Two hours," Natasha repeated, eyes narrowing as she processed the info. "That's our window. We go in, do what we came to do, and we leave. Fast."
"I'm assuming this is going to be more 'find and destroy' than 'sneak and gather intel,' right?" Clint asked, munching on what looked like an unhealthy amount of trail mix.
"Definitely," Bucky said, nodding. "And I'm betting there's going to be a lot of punching involved."
"Well, I can handle that," Harry said with a grin. "It's practically my thing. But don't worry—I won't outshine you all too much."
"I'm betting on you showing up with a flamethrower or something ridiculous," Clint teased.
"Dude, I've got firepower," Harry replied, his grin turning mischievous. "But if you want to make a bet, I'm game."
"Alright, enough jokes," Fury barked. "Let's move out. And remember, I'll hold every single one of you responsible if I have to fill out another form for the destruction of property."
"Don't worry, Fury," Tony called over his shoulder as he walked toward the exit. "We've got that covered too."
As the team moved into action, the tension was palpable. Harry could almost feel the coming chaos—and, honestly? He was all in. With this team, and his own... special skills, nothing was impossible. Not even taking down an immortal Hydra experiment in the heart of Siberia.
"Let's go," Fury barked, and the team scattered. "And remember, if anyone mentions heroics, I'm officially sending you back to paperwork duty."
"Got it, boss," Tony called, his voice fading as he moved.
And Harry? He was already picturing the chaos in his head—he was just looking forward to putting on a show. After all, who didn't like a little bit of mayhem with their morning coffee?
---
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