Wanda felt as much as saw the amulet containing the Mind Stone drop. Instantly, she whipped her hand around, holding it outstretched to grab the falling amulet with her magic. It flew to her, but she had miscalculated. Her focus had shifted away from the magi-mechanical hydra. She had thought that without Madame Hydra controlling the thing, she'd have at least a little breathing room.
She was wrong. The instant she took her eyes of it, the thing attacked. Something latched against her leg, while a beam of energy struck her shoulder, searing against the synthetic fabric armor of her suit. The armor did its job and prevented her arm from being lopped off, but it still hurt.
She fell, one hand against the floor to break her fall, and the other still outstretched. One of the hydra's appendages jabbed at her, binding her hand with magic that felt remarkably like one of Harry's body binding spells. With her final hand she brought up a hasty telepathic shield, and it wasn't a moment too soon. A beam of energy and a fourth probing appendage both ricochet off it.
"Fuck!" She hissed. Glancing to the side, she saw that Skye too had been pinned. And the Mind Stone… Damn. "We need backup. Harry and Madame Hydra are both gone, we need to secure the Mind Stone, ASAP. I'm pinned down." She didn't have the luxury of looking behind her at the Mind Stone, but she could sense it being lifted into the air, hear the whir of machinery, and hum of energy. Someone… or something was claiming it right from under them. "Shit!"
"Language." Steve reprimanded over the comms.
"On my way." Pietro said. "Anything for my little sister."
"Did… you just reprimand Wanda for her language?" Tony asked.
Wanda, meanwhile, entertained herself by bantering with her brother while trying to fend off this… thing one handed. "You're only twelve minutes older than me." It had been an argument roughly as old as they could talk, and one that wouldn't die soon.
"It just slipped out." Steve said, abashed "We're busy here, if you haven't noticed!"
The Mind Stone had already been lifted out of the room when Wanda heard a rap on the heavy metal doors outside. "Someone got a key?" Pietro asked.
"Got it." Rhodey returned. The door exploded.
A moment later, Pietro was there. Despite herself, Wanda did feel better to have her brother with her. Even if the situation was dire.
Then… something happened. It was much like the moment when Madam Hydra had broken open the scepter, only this time Wanda was up close. She cried out and would have clutched her head with her free hand. Her only saving grace was that the mechanism grappling her (and indeed, all of the other constructs) had briefly rebooted simultaneously.
In a flash, Pietro pulled her away. Or more accurately, he grabbed the appendages that were binding her foot and hand and pulled them away with her.
It turned out these things did not hold up well to super-speed. Pietro was able to disconnect them, but they did not go offline. Wanda was free, but both her foot and hand had a metallic hand magically bound to it. That comparative inconvenience was far down her list of priorities because something was coming. "Pietro… everyone. Something just happened. Someone else has the Mind Stone. I don't like this."
"Shit." Steve cursed.
"Language!" Tony chimed gleefully.
That was when all hell broke loose.
-----
Zola hadn't fully considered the benefits of once again having a body. He hadn't been allowed to consider it while under Sinclair's thumb, and before that… it wasn't healthy to obsess over the impossible.
But this body… it was better than his human body had ever been. His old body had been… temperamental- sensitive to food, allergens, far from the most physically capable, and particularly in later years wracked with illness. The only part of it that had been worth saving had been his brain, which he had.
He had lifted himself up into the air. The body had the ability to fly, but it still shouldn't have come naturally. Except, with the Mind Stone he now had the processing power to learn anything in a trivial amount of time. He looked down, observing the chaos unfolding below him, and then his body. The elegant white metal looked firm and solid. He felt powerful, he could feel it pulsing just underneath the surface of this new form and buzzing in his brain.
He extended his will out to the constructs. Sinclair hadn't had the ability to control them properly. And it was a shame- it had given the Avengers the opportunity to learn their weaknesses. No matter, with him in control, their performance would improve dramatically.
And even if they failed, he was eager to give this new body a test run. He had run through this scenario thousands of times, he knew exactly what he wanted to do.
He could kill some of the Avengers, at least. Harry Potter was out of his reach, and some of the others may prove to be a challenge to overwhelm quickly. Regardless, he could certainly eliminate a majority of them.
But it wasn't that simple.
Because yes, he could kill most of their team. But in all likelihood, some would manage to escape, waiting for a chance to strike back. And they likely would have a chance to. Because he knew that if the Avengers failed to protect the Earth, Carol Danvers would avenge it.
Yes, he knew of Carol Danvers, and he knew that she was supremely powerful, able to take out an entire alien fleet. And as powerful as she seemed, he was even more concerned with his lack of information on her. He had no idea what she was truly capable of, and that scared him more than anything. He could make plans if he had information, even if she was overwhelmingly powerful, he could devise a strategy. But without information, he was guessing.
Regardless, if Harry Potter and Carol Danvers teamed up, he did not like his chances. So, he was not going to take those chances. He was not going to go into that fight alone. Who better to fight his battles than Earth's mightiest heroes?
He plunged down through the roof of the complex- it was the final straw for the building which had taken plenty of punishment in the battle, and it crumpled in on itself. Pietro Maximoff- 'Quicksilver'- had maneuvered he and his sister through the falling rubble. "It's a shame. You never should have left Hydra." He told them "You could have been rulers, instead…" Quicksilver dashed towards him. If he had been human, he would not have had a hope of keeping track of him.
Zola was not human. He was not as fast as Quicksilver, but he could predict where he would be. A beam of energy shot from the Mind Stone- embedded in his forehead- and precisely cut through Quicksilver's wrist. He gave a cry of pain and crashed into a half-destroyed wall, clutching the cauterized wound. His hand tumbled to the ground, still wearing the vibranium bracelet that had protected his mind from outside intrusion. "…you will be slaves." In a flash, Zola was on him, pressing a thumb to his forehead. The man shuddered, his eyes going wide as he quickly overwhelmed his mind.
But just as quickly, his progress was stopped in its tracks. "No." Wanda bit out in fury.
Ah, yes. He would have to take care of her. He directed the nearby construct to attack her, ensuring that it moved with more speed and precision that Sinclair could manage. It whirred back to life, and quickly rebound the detached components back to itself, ensuring that the Maximoff was once again bound. She went down with a cry, though impressively, he found that she was still trying to protect her brother. He could feel her focus wavering, however, and knew she wouldn't be able to protect the rest of the team. Controlling her would take considerable effort, he would have to address more immediate concerns first.
Stark and Rhodes landed on each side of his peripheral vision. "Care to explain… what you are?" War Machine asked.
"Probably Skynet. Or a wannabee at least." Stark quipped. Oh, he wanted to permanently shut the man's mouth. Meanwhile behind him…
"Ah, Captain Rogers. So nice to meet you again."
"Its… German." Stark said. "You know this creep?"
"Can't say that I remember you." Rogers said evenly.
"Oh, you would do well to remember. The last time we fought, something… unfortunate happened to your friend." He cast his mind to the other constructs. The Avengers had gotten the upper hand on them up until the moment Sinclair lost control. Thor had found that brute force alone could disrupt the runes, and the others had begun ripping the constructs apart piece by piece. Now that he was in control, however, the battle swiftly shifted. It was the surprise as much as anything that did them in, and the constructs quickly accumulated a collection of stunned or unconscious bodies. "I do not blame you, it was seventy years ago, and my body quite different back then, Captain."
Rogers grimaced "…Armin Zola?"
Zola twisted his face into what he believed approximated a smirk. "I've come up in the world, yes? I became a key asset for Shield, so much it was deemed necessary to preserve my mind even as my body failed me. But now… now I have a body fit for this mind. Nothing can stop my Vision for the future."
Wanda screamed. She had done an admirable job of holding her attacker at bay, but in her current position she couldn't hope to protect herself for long. An arc of electricity shot from an arm and was striking her leg. His goal was not to kill her, but to hurt her, wound her, incapacitate her, to force herself to lose focus so that he could gain control.
Their teammate's pain spurred the three men to action, and they attacked simultaneously. Bullets pinged off his body harmlessly, and even the barrage of small missiles Stark sent at him barley phased him. His vibranium body was too durable to sustain damage from such things. Rhodes went down easily. Zola punted the man to the ground, and when he landed on top of him, he reached through his armor. His new body had the unexpected ability to phase through matter, perhaps through a synergistic interaction between the Mind Stone and vibranium. It was a unique ability, as far as he knew, and it had many uses. For now, it made it easy for him to grab that protective bracelet that all the Avengers wore and phase it through his body.
No sooner had he gotten it off had Rogers closed the distance. His shield struck Zola's arm, clanging dissonantly. Zola threw the man off him, and closed the distance to Stark, who responded with a repulsor blast. Though he didn't suffer any damage, the force of the attack did push him back. He returned fire with an energy beam. "Shit!" Stark cursed, holding his arms up to protect himself as the beam ate through his armor. By that point Rogers was back, and Zola was forced to return his attention to the man.
He would let Rhodes disable Stark. "You are every bit as stubborn as I remember, Captain."
Rogers threw his shield, which Zola deflected. It spun up in the air as Rogers rolled to the side in anticipation of dodging his beam attack. Unfortunately for him, Zola had predicted his move and hit him regardless. Just for fun, Zola got a few good punches in, staggering the man who had once been the bane of his existence. Still Rogers struggled back to his feet. "I can do this all day."
"Oh, I'm sure you can." Zola said with mocking indulgence. "But I'm afraid-" He wouldn't get to finish the sentence, as he was knocked back by another repulsor beam.
"Yeah. Not the first time Rhodey's been forced to fight me." Stark said, "Get new material." Thunder rumbled above, and Thor touched down between his two teammates.
"It's time to finish this." He said swinging his hammer behind him.
Interesting… he was not infallible. For all his computational power, he'd gotten too focused on Rogers. It was time to take this a bit more seriously.
Fighting the three heroes was a balancing act. Stark's repulsor beams were an inconvenience, but his true concern was Mjolnir. He did not know the true potential of that Asgardian weapon, and he didn't want to test it.
So first he focused on Rogers, weaving between attacks until he closed that gap and divested him of his wrist band just as he had Rhodes. Then he set his sights on Stark, persistently gauging his suit with his energy beam as Stark staggered back into a pile of rubble. It wouldn't take much more to take out his suit and neutralize him as a threat. Zola dodged Mjolnir, but again he miscalculated. He had not anticipated how quickly the hammer could change course. It swerved behind him and plowed him off his feet.
It hurt.
He didn't have time to recuperate before the weapon slammed into his chest, pinning him to the ground. Meanwhile, Stark had gotten to his feet and was charging up his reactor. He was going to use the unibeam, Zola realized, the most powerful attack his suit was capable of.
That was the thing about knowledge. While Zola didn't know everything about the Avengers' capabilities, they knew almost nothing of his. So when Zola phased through Mjolnir, neither man expected it, and neither was prepared to respond when he grappled Thor from behind, forcing him into the path of Stark's weapon.
His timing had been exquisite, neither Avenger could do more than flinch before the weapon fired. Zola did not particularly enjoy being taken along for the ride, being pushed through wall after wall, but was satisfied that the Asgardian was taking the brunt of Stark's attack. When they finally impacted in the wall of a bunker on the outskirts of the complex, Zola wasted no time in bashing the god's head into the wall until he stopped responding. He was distracted when an arrow struck him, moments before exploding. He was sent crashing fully into the bunker, but in moments we was back up, phasing up through the roof and targeting Barton with a single, precise beam aimed for the chest. It would take him out of the fight, but he would recover and be useful in the future.
He took stock of his surroundings. Skirmishing between Hydra and the Wakandans was still ongoing, but that was beneath him. Already, he was extending his presence across the world. His first priority had been hacking into Stark Industries and the Avengers mainframe. It had been difficult, and Stark's AI had fought him tooth and nail, but he had been able to wrest control and compromise the software that controlled Stark's suits, and the Ultron program. He stretched himself further. With spy satellites he had vision nearly everywhere on the planet. With the intelligence agencies he had the ability access to every social media post, phone call, and text message. He would go further, inserting himself into the markets, into corporations, into personal computers and devices, ensuring that no one would be free. Freedom was the enemy, after all. The toxic illusion that drove men to act like animals. Only he could keep order in this world.
Zola was drawn from his workby a sudden realization- Wanda was breaking free. Her magic burned bright against his psyche, dispelling all other thoughts. He pivoted, about to take care of her personally, but before he could act on the knowledge, he was again sent plowing through the ground unexpectedly, soil churning and being flung in the air as his body cut a wedge into the earth. "SMASH!"
Internally, Zola sighed. It appeared he had a beast to dispose of. He had no illusions about controlling the Hulk. Killing it would be ideal, but he frankly had no idea how it could be done. For now, he'd have to settle for punting the creature as far away as possible, and he'd need to do it quick.
-----
Pain.
Wanda was not a stranger to pain. She'd been bombed, beaten, and shot. She'd even volunteered for it when she joined Hydra. Pain was just a message, a signal from your body telling you that something was wrong, telling you to stop it.
So even while Zola did his best to torture her, she focused through the pain. Whatever his reason for not just killing her, he would regret it. She reached out with her magic as she had practiced many times with Harry and felt the power of the thing that had entrapped her. The runes were well made, they worked together elegantly, almost a work of art.
That interconnectedness, she realized, was a weakness. The runes were woven like a spider's web, each relying on the others. In some ways, it was even durable. Even physical separation did not sever the magical connection, not entirely. But in other ways it was so… very… fragile.
First, she attacked the source of her pain, ripping apart its bonds with the other segments. The electric current stopped as the runes flickered and then went dormant, until finally Wanda telepathically wrench the piece away with a shower of sparks. She turned her focus to the appendage binding her hand. It lasted seconds before she severed it too, launching it across the room as it sparked erratically.
From there she dismantled it. It felt brutal- ripping something apart as it writhed and struggled against her. Even after she destroyed all its weapons, it tried again and again to grab her, to drag her down deeper into the rubble as she clawed her way back up. With every strike, she severed another segment, ripping, tearing, destroying it bit by bit.
Eventually she resurfaced, and she lifted the hydra into the air. Or rather, what was left of it. Its limbs had been shortened into stumps, yet still it whirred and hissed with agitated energy. Wanda made quick work of it, stressing and straining its magic until it ripped into its component parts, runes sparking, flickering and dying as segments scattered to the floor.
She heard an impact behind her. "It is a shame, Fraulien. You had such potential, if only you had stayed with Hydra. Instead, you were being seduced away by a pretty face." She was being surrounded- Steve, Bucky, Pietro, Skye, T'Challa, Sam. All had been taken over while she'd been occupied. Maybe she could free them, but to do so while fighting Zola? It felt impossible.
She only had one option, stall until Harry could get back.
So, she turned to Zola with a cold glare, and with all her might she pushed. Zola crashed through the rubble, across the complex, and into the forest.
"Fuck Hydra."
-----
"I take it you have a reason for why you didn't contact me before now." Harry said archly.
It had been a surprise, learning that this world had a secret magical society after all- even if it was one fundamentally different from the wizarding world. The New York Sanctum was certainly impressive, and he knew it was only one of many scattered across the world. This brand of magic was very clearly different from what he was familiar with. Sling rings instead of wands. Portals instead of apparation. Even the robes were different.
The surprise and curiosity faded quickly, however, to be replaced by questions. Perhaps Harry had become jaded, but it was hard to trust so easily. After all, Strange could have reached out an any time. Having the help of a magical order could have saved lives at any point during his time in this world. Yet he hadn't, and Harry knew better than to just blindly trust his reasoning.
"I do." Doctor Strange responded "Follow me."
Instead of taking him on a tour of the Sanctum, Strange opened a gold rimmed portal and beckoned Harry through. The room was empty, except for a dais at the center that held a small amulet. "This is the Eye of Agamotto." Strange lifted it up and laced it around his neck, then with a motion of his hands, he opened it, revealing the green gem within. Harry instantly understood what it was.
"It's an Infinity Stone." Just how many Infinity Stones were on Earth?
"The Time Stone." Strange clarified, then with a decisive gesture the air between them filled with branching lines of light. "Each of these is a possible future from this point onward. guide the world into the best possible timeline."
"That seems a little controlling, isn't it?" Harry challenged "Who are you to judge what timeline is best?"
"Clarification." Strange said "One of my responsibilities as Sorcerer Supreme is to find a timeline in which the universe doesn't blow up."
"Oh." Harry uttered "Is that… hard?"
"Harder than you'd imagine." Strange said, his voice betraying a weariness. "Every one of these lines ends with the destruction of the universe as we know it. I've looked through millions of them, trying to find a solution. Do you know what they have in common?"
Harry shook his head mutely, gazing at the innumerable timelines displayed before them as the twisted, arched, and eventually flared out of existence.
"You."
Harry opened his mouth, but no noise came out. "I'm sorry." Strange said, though he didn't sound particularly sorry "It's a lot to take in, and as far as I can tell, it's not your fault."
"Why?" Dread gnawed in his stomach. This felt like a cruel joke. Perhaps not by Stephen Strange, but by fate itself. Why else would every good thing that ever happened to him come with such a price? His very existence might cause the death of everyone he loved in either of his lives.
Strange collapsed the magical display and closed the Eye of Agamotto. "You're not from around here, are you?"
"No, I'm not. I didn't exactly choose to come here, either."
"…how did this happen?"
"I died. Then I woke up in this universe." Harry shrugged, not willing to divulge who had sent him to this universe. "There are... differences."
"Hm." Strange grunted, unsatisfied "I suspected as much. Its the only thing that made sense. Travel between universes is exceptionally dangerous. Having someone from one world interact too intimately with another tends to bring them together. If the two universes collide… well it'd essentially destroy them both. It's what we call in the business an incursion." He said this all matter-of-factly, as if he wasn't discussion to destruction of everything either of them knew and cared about.
"Oh." Harry said numbly.
"Yeah. So, I've been trying to finesse a situation that doesn't end with everyone dying horribly. It's been a bit of a challenge." By Harry's reckoning, Strange was horrifically underselling it. If he'd lived through millions of timelines to try to find one where they survived... it was almost unimaginable.
"Would it help if I died again?" Harry asked, unable to keep the note of pleading out of his voice. If he died whatever tied his two worlds together would stop, right? If that was the price, he would pay it in a heartbeat.
"Jeez, really eager to jump to that, are you?" Strange smirked "And no, I looked into that. Your death doesn't seem to help matters. Which makes sense if dying just sends you to another universe." Harry had no doubt that if him dying had resolved things, Strange would have pursued the option if he had to. He tried to make sense of this, put it into context for what he already knew, but he was lost. He knew that Death had sent him here, that she had designs on him. But he could only speculate on what they were, and how they played into this. He shook his head, he needed to prioritize.
"What is your plan, and why didn't you tell me about this sooner?" He asked.
Strange created another portal and stepped through it. Harry had little option but to follow. The room he'd led him to was some sort of storage area, tables, drawers, and racks with artifacts collected on them- weapons, pieces of clothing, armor, tools, jewelry. "Whatever is triggering this incursion, you're the key to it." Strange told him "I'm not stupid, Harry. I know there's more to how you came here than what you let on. People do not just die and end up in another universe, something sent you here, something powerful."
Harry held Strange's gaze. It was hypocritical of the man to chastise him for holding back information when Strange himself had apparently done that to Harry for years. "Perhaps there is, but you still haven't answered my question."
"The plan, Harry, is you. I've tried everything I can. This... is the only way."
"What?"
"You've been fighting with both hands tied behind your back." Strange told him, a small smile forming as he gestured broadly to the room "How about we give you a knife."
-----
Strange's use of the Eye of Agamotto had allowed Harry to peruse the room without urgency. The world outside of them was frozen while they worked, giving Harry time to search, and to think. What he was looking for, he wasn't sure, but he was certain that he'd know it when he saw it.
He also wasn't sure of what to make of the sorcerer's explanation.
It reminded him of Dumbledore- holding secrets, constructing plans, even sacrificing people for the greater good. Harry's thoughts on his old Headmaster remained conflicted. He resented many of the man's decision, but at the same time he wasn't sure how well he'd handle the situation if he were in his position. Harry didn't think he'd make the same mistakes Dumbledore had, but he certainly would have his own series of blunders.
Strange's logic made a certain amount of sense. If whatever had brought Harry to this universe was going to cause an incursion, then he was uniquely positioned to stop it. To that end, Harry needed to be prepared. In a way, his time without proper tools or resources could be considered a training regimen- like running with weights, or (as Strange had put it) fighting with his hands tied behind his back. The problem was that Strange didn't (couldn't) know what he was asking Harry to do. That the being that had sent him here was Death itself, and he had no way of fighting Her. It was impossible, or so it seemed.
That was Harry's thought process up until the moment that he saw it.
He'd recognize the cloak anywhere. He had marveled at its sleek, silvery material when he was eleven, and it had been a constant companion for the next 6 years, with him until the very end. Almost disbelieving, he reached out to feel the fabric of the cloak, the familiar magic hummed against his fingertips. His eyes stung, sweet nostalgia welling up. Hello old friend.
It was only after Harry had wrapped the invisibility cloak securely around him did the implications register with him. This wasn't just another magical artifact. Even the implications of another object from his old world carrying over into this seemed trivial. This was a Deathly Hallow.
His breath hitched, and his eyes scanned the nearby shelves and racks. Nothing of note. After a moment's deliberation, he held his hand out. "Accio Elder Wand!"
There was a rattling, and then the subtle sound of an object whistling through the air. Harry would never forget the first time he'd held his wand- the burst of magic that had filled him with awe and wonder, that had stirred the air around him and literally created sparks. It was the feeling of magic, of being chosen, a wand paired with its wielder.
The moment his fingers closed around the Elder Wand's shaft was like a lightning strike. It was like the first time he'd worn glasses and realized he'd been squinting at fuzzy shapes this whole time, when he could have been seeing the world in clarity. Power interlaced his body, thrumming triumphantly and then pulsing outwards. Strange shielded his eyes from the light. Furniture around him rattled backwards and artifacts scattered to the floor.
Harry grinned, he felt invincible.
Not only that, he had two of the Deathly Hallows. He wondered what Death would do with herself if he got all three.