Tony Stark sighed, shutting off his computer. The die had been cast, and there was no going back.
When he'd first reached out to Daisy Johnson, he'd seen her as someone he could help. She was a small time resistance fighter who was savvy with tech. She'd been a good place for him to start, and just one of several irons he had on the fire. Something had shifted recently. She'd indicated, subtly, that she'd gathered a lot of friends, and that they were preparing to make a move. She'd asked for information, and he'd just sent everything to them- his location and a detailed layout of the facility he was in. It had been an impulsive decision, but not one he regretted.
He had many regrets, but betraying Hydra wasn't one of them.
Tony was startled at a knock on the door. It was the swift, confident rapping of a military man. Tony swallowed his anxiety. If they suspected him of betraying them, they wouldn't give him the courtesy of knocking, he told himself.
The knocking repeated, and Tony hurried to the door. He affected a nonchalant persona as he greeted his visitors. "Ah, Captain… or should I say Colonel Erics?" Hela's number one henchman was decked out in full uniform and flanked on either side by flunkies.
"Stark." He said brusquely. He had the bearing of a man who knew he was untouchable, and why shouldn't he? With Hela's blessing, no one dared disagree with him, not even the heads of Hydra. "I've been told that you have upgrades prepared for your armor system?"
"Yes." He said, not letting his smile fade. "And me, being the generous guy that I am, decided to let you have first crack at them."
There was a flicker of apprehension in his eyes. "They're safe?" Ah, he was afraid of being a Guinea pig. Cute.
"I can assure you; these updates have been fully tested. They'll work just as intended." Tony waved his hand dismissively. That was true, technically. He had no doubt that his upgrades would work as he intended. If the resistance was about to make a move on Hydra, he was going to be ready, and he would make sure it opened up with a bang.
-----
Harry frowned at the schematics projected into the air. Skye had retrieved an impressive trove of information about Tony Stark and the facility he worked in. The complex was massive, holding not just labs, manufactories, and living quarters, but a massive prison complex that ran along the depth of an old mineshaft, driving deep into the ground. The security level increased with depth, and Harry had to wonder if there were more allies waiting for them there. There were, after all, a few old friends Harry had yet to find.
His team was doing a splendid job of planning their assault and developing contingencies. They were working together, all of them, better than ever. There was one problem, one that Harry had his own plan for. He doubted they'd be very pleased with it. "This is all great. But you're forgetting something." Harry said. "Taking out Hydra, freeing Carol, getting Tony and his tech, that's all good." Harry nodded. "But we need to deal with Hela- with Death."
"Well yes, of course Harry." Hermione said matter-of-factly. "But we were leaving the plan for that to you."
"Oh." Harry said. "In that case, I do have a plan."
"Let me guess." Natasha said. "You're using yourself as bait."
"Well… yes." Harry said lamely. He braced himself for pushback, but it never came. "She's fixated on me. And frankly, I'm the only one who could make it out of a fight with her alive."
"True." Natasha agreed. "But you're going to need to 'distract' her for a while. Maybe she has a thing for you, but I doubt you'd be able to fool her for long. How do you plan to do that?"
"It's not going to be like that." Harry's face heated, to giggles from Skye, Ginny, and Shuri. "It's just- I'll use the time stone. Speed up our personal time, give you the time you need to get in and get out."
Natasha nodded, eyes narrowing. "And if she realizes it's a trap and attacks you?"
"Hopefully, I'll be able to make it out unscathed, but it's possible she gets the better of me. I've been practicing setting up a save point using the Time Stone. That… still needs a little work."
Natasha nodded, satisfied. "We'll move when you feel ready. How do you plan to get her attention?"
"She's going after wizarding communities, right?" He said. "We'll need to stake them out. When she attacks- I'll be there."
"Hm." Natasha nodded, seemingly satisfied. "It'll have to do.
"We'll need to optimize our operation for speed, then." Skye added. "You can't guarantee how much time you'll be able to give us."
"We could just get in, get Stark. Get out." Natasha mused. "But what happens if the situation escalates? What if Carol is there?"
Harry grimaced. Beyond his personal loyalty to her, they couldn't afford to let Hydra keep its hold on Carol. They needed the essence of the Space Stone that she held within her. "We need her, we can't afford to abandon her to them." He said decisively. "If we're going to do this, we go big. I'll give you the time."
-----
Despite their busy schedules, Harry made a point to spend time with Lily, T'Chone, and Septimius. Breakfast with Nat, Shuri and the kids was a good excuse as any for family bonding time- a temporary lull in the chaos of their lives. The mood, in general, had darkened over the past few days. As soon as Hela showed herself, their plan would go into action. Until then, all they could do was wait, and prepare.
Septimius, in particular, worried him. Taking the herb had undoubtedly improved his physical health. He no longer needed the elixir of life, and he was starting to show some of the physical strength of the black panthers. However, something about the vision he'd had left him haunted, and he hadn't said a word about it. Not even Lily or T'Chone could get him to talk about it, they'd told him.
There were times where Septimius seemed to want to say something to him, but he lost the nerve every time. Harry had told Septimius gently that he could talk to him about anything., but something seemed to be holding him back.
"So dad, any idea when we'll be fighting Hydra?" T'Chone asked casually.
"Oh, you won't be fighting anyone." Shuri said.
"I can fight!" T'Chone protested, and Lily coughed. "I mean, we can fight. We infiltrated Hogwarts, we were in Wakanda. Isn't there a whole prison full of people to save?"
"We have plenty of people to help with the mission." Harry said. "I know you want to help, but it would make all of us feel better if you stayed safe."
"Like you did when you were our age?" T'Chone challenged. God, they were already in the 'rebellious teen' phase, and Harry wasn't ready for it. "Are we going to get a chance to help at all, anymore? Or is this it, we just sit on our hands while everyone we care about risks their lives?"
"Its because I grew up in a war that I want to spare you that." Harry said. "You know that its not all glory and heroics. You could die."
"I know." T'Chone grumbled.
"Lily could die, too." Harry added, drawing the knife in. T'Chone looked wounded, while Lily squawked in indignation.
"Hey! I can take care of myself!" She said, before hesitating, perhaps remembering her terrifying encounter with Riddle. "Mostly."
"Look, I understand, I really do." Harry said. He'd been on the receiving end of being locked out and ignored by the adults around him. He didn't want to do that to them. "You'll both get your time to shine, I promise."
"Okay, dad." Lily said unexpectedly. "We just wanted to help." T'Chone looked ready to protest, but Lily elbowed him, shooting him a significant look.
Harry relaxed. "Thanks, both of you. I know it's hard to look from the sidelines. It won't be permanent, I promise."
It didn't occur to him that Lily might be lying.
-----
"Thank you for welcoming us, sir." The Indian witch, who had introduced herself as Amina, groveled profusely. "If there's anything I can do for you…" Harry withdrew his hand from the woman's grasp as delicately as he could manage- which wasn't very, as she tried to cling to it even as it became clear he was trying to disengage.
"Alright, enough of that." Hermione barked in warning, and the witch let go.
In their efforts to find wizarding communities to stake out, they'd encountered many wizarding refugees. In almost all cases, these refuges were witches and children. The men had long since been recruited by the Order and sent to the front lines. Given the social structures of the Order's society, it was decided that Harry, Neville, or Ron would be the ones to introduce these women and families to the way things worked here. Though it made Harry somewhat uncomfortable, they'd be more likely to respect the authority of a magical person, and a man.
There was only one problem with this arrangement, it occasionally led to these women throwing themselves at him. Harry knew that Neville and Ron had taken advantage, but he had no interest in hooking up with a woman he didn't know. For Harry, the problem became worse as it was clear to them that he was 'in charge' around here. Whether it was because they were 'pent up' or just seeking a form of protection (Wanda said that it was usually a combination of the two), Harry had to turn them down, and inform them not so gently that things worked differently around here.
It normally left them poleaxed, to be told by a powerful wizard who they perceived to be in a position of authority to them, that everything they'd been taught about non-magical people was wrong, that they'd be living with them now, and that they were to treat them with complete respect. Harry then offered the carrot, that the gender ratio, and the gender roles, in their sanctum wasn't nearly so skewed as it was in the Order.
The Order had just about the most uneven gender ratio in the world due to the positively medieval way they treated men and women- men as cannon fodder and women as breeders- and because their civilian population was mostly protected from war, hunger, and disease. Wakanda sat at the other end of the spectrum, having been able to mostly hide from the war, it had an even gender ratio. Harry hadn't realized that the rest of the non-magical world didn't look quite like Wakanda, not until they'd linked up with the mutants and begun taking in refugees. Aside from elite groups like the Black Widows, Hydra primarily conscripted men and had no qualms about using ill-trained conscripts as cannon fodder to wear down the Order's limited manpower reserves. On balance, that meant that there were more women than men with them, which perhaps made Harry's obvert polyamory tolerable.
Still, even though he took a lot of ribbing from Ron and Neville for his lechery, he had his limits, and Hermione was there to help him enforce them. After lecturing the witch on 'the way things worked around here', they escorted her to her new room. So far, they'd only had one incident. A wizard had reacted… poorly to realizing there were Asgardians among them and had attempted to hex them. He'd been banished. Harry had hated to do it, but his wizarding friends had argued in favor- they needed to set an example. It had worked, ever since, no one dared rock the boat. Those who had issues with Wizards, or Asgardians, or Mutants, or any other group kept them to themselves.
"Those witches." Hermione shook her head in amusement, as they left the woman to settle in. "Maybe we should warn them off of hitting on you before they even meet you."
Harry snorted. "Do you think that'd work?"
"Maybe if Ginny threatened them."
Harry laughed at that. "Yeah, she could probably manage it."
"It reminds me a bit of our sixth year." She mused, and Harry nearly stumbled. "Let's hope none of them try to slip you a love potion."
"You remember our sixth year?" He looked at her with a spark of hope in his chest.
Hermione blinked in surprise, perhaps she hadn't even realized what had just happened, until Harry pointed it out. The same process had happened with Ron, and Neville, and even Thor. "Oh, oh!" She gasped. "I remember, Romilda, she tried to drug you!"
"That's the first thing you remember?" Harry chuckled.
"I was so furious with her!" She fumed. "And…" Something else seemed to occur to her. "Wow, you were totally clueless about girls, back then."
"Well, it seems that I can learn." Harry agreed. "Remember the Slug Club party, where you brought-"
"That stupid Quidditch player." She groaned, rolling her eyes at his smirk. "Okay, you don't need to rub it in."
"I would never." Harry said, with faux seriousness. He looked at her, feeling something soft and warm rise up in his chest. "I missed you."
Hermione softened, and rushed Harry in a hug. "I did too, I mean-" She fumbled for words. "I'm really glad that you're here."
"I am too."
-----
Perhaps Harry should have expected it. He'd known that Ginny and Luna had become intimate. Ginny had told him, of course, and it was impossible to miss the new closeness between them. She'd been coy, however, about whether Luna wanted more with him. Considering that the two of them were snogging, naked, in his bed, he had his answer. Wanda, in his head, stirred in interest.
"Am I interrupting something?" He asked.
The response was immediate. Luna's eyes flew open, and she stared up at him. Then she covered herself, holding her arms in front of her in a futile attempt at modesty. No… not modesty Harry realized, sadly. Shame. Oh, Luna.
"You're beautiful." He said. "If you're not comfortable with this, I understand. But please don't doubt that for a second." Luna shivered under his gaze, and Ginny cuddled closer to her, whispering soothing words in her ear. Falteringly, Luna lowered her arms. He didn't try to hide his admiration. Tattoos or not, she was gorgeous.
He approached the bed, holding his hand up to her. "Is this alright?" He asked, and she nodded quickly. He slid his hand up her flank, noting with satisfaction the goosebumps he left in his wake. She gasped and shivered when he reached her breast, fondling the soft flesh gently. "Fuck, you're hot." He said, unscripted. It was that blunt compliment that got her to open up. Propping herself up, she fumbled into him, lips smacking into his. Harry chuckled and kissed her properly, pushing her back down into the bed and diving after her. He drank in the adorable whining noises Luna made, while her hands pawed at his chest and arms.
"Wow." Luna whispered, her hand gripping his bicep and squeezing experimentally. "You're strong." Harry flexed, and Luna giggled.
Ginny sidled up behind him, crooning. "Looks like you're overdressed, Harry."
"Oh, yes." Luna bobbed her head in agreement. Ginny grabbed the bottom of his shirt and tugged it up, momentarily obscuring his vision in fabric. When he could see again, Luna was again staring at him, eyes wide and cheeks flushed.
"Phht." Ginny huffed playfully. "She didn't react to me that way."
"But… he's a man." Luna defended, not taking her eyes off him. Her insecurities seemed far from her mind now, and Harry wanted to keep them that way.
"Well spotted." He said.
"I mean, I've never seen one… you know, like this." She continued, her voice turning husky.
"He is hot, isn't he?" Ginny smiled. "Go on, Luna. He's all yours."
Luna took Ginny up on her offer, blatantly feeling him up. Chest, shoulders, arms, torso- no part of his upper body was spared from her curious hands. Then she leaned in, nuzzling into his neck and taking in a deep breath through her nose. "He smells good, too." She hummed dreamily, rubbing her face against his chest. She was in his lap now, and as she settled in, she suddenly squeaked, her face flushing almost luminously red, the color even spreading down her neck.
"Are you alright, Luna?" Ginny asked, but Harry knew what had happened.
"He's- he's-" Luna tried, her voice dipping in volume. "Hard."
Ginny laughed. "Of course he is. C'mon, why don't you take his trousers off, and see just how hard he is."
Luna shifted from his lap, her hands flitting to his crotch, feeling the bulge in his trousers. Her own arousal had left a damp spot in them, but neither commented on that fact. Luna's hands fumbled with his trousers for a few moments, and Harry went to help her. In a tangle of fingers, they undid his trousers and pulled down the zip. He shifted his hips, letting her tug them down. He shucked off his boxers, and she stared.
Finally, after a long moment of silence, she said. "So that's what it looks like."
Ginny snorted. "So, you've imagined it?" Harry teased.
"Well, of course." Luna said, not taking her eyes off his shaft. "I thought about it last time too, you know, when we were in Hogwarts together. After we became friends."
"Oh?" That was news to Harry.
"After you took me to that party, I imagined… you know, doing things."
"What things?" Harry prompted.
"Well, like…" Her hand reached out, grasping his shaft. Harry's breath hitched, his cock throbbing at the touch.
"It moved!" She tittered.
"You're making him feel good." Ginny said. "Keep going." Luna began to stroke him exploratively, her fingers sculpting him out, until Harry couldn't take it anymore. With a groan, he flipped her onto her back, propping himself up above her.
"You imagined this." He said breathily. "Did you touch yourself to me?"
"All the time." Luna whimpered.
"Show me." He told her.
"But I want you to touch me." She whined.
"Oh, I'll do more than touch you." Harry promised. "Show me how you make yourself feel good."
Luna brought a hand down to her sex, circling her fingers around her clit. "That's good." He praised. "What did you think about?"
"I- it wasn't complicated." Luna demurred. "Just us, you know, you asking me out, telling me that I was beautiful, us kissing, taking our clothes off. You putting it in."
"No foreplay." He chuckled, and Luna pouted.
"I wasn't… trying to be realistic. I just wanted… you."
"You have me." Harry promised, and then he kissed her. When they parted, she grabbed his shaft again. She was beyond words, but her eyes told him everything. She was ready. "I'll go slow." Harry promised. He pressed his cockhead against her slit, feeling her wetness. It'd be so easy to slide himself in, but he rubbed himself at her entrance first. "You can keep touching yourself, if you want." He said. Luna nodded but she didn't lift a finger.
Slowly, ever so slowly, he eased himself in. She felt so perfect around him. Luna stared at the point where they joined, while Harry catalogued her every reaction- each gasp, shiver, and flutter. Then, about halfway in, Luna pressed her hips into his, fully hilting him. They both moaned.
"How does it feel?" Ginny asked, stroking Luna's hair.
"Sogood." Luna moaned. "I feel… full."
"Should I move?" He asked.
"Please." He moved, slowly at first, but picking up speed.
"There's nothing like it." Ginny egged Luna on. "Cumming on his thick cock. He's fucking you so good and deep, isn't he?" Luna moaned in response. "Do you want him to fuck you harder?" Luna moaned enthusiastically. "You heard her, Harry."
He took it up a notch, building up a steady, deep rhythm that seemed to drive Luna wild. This continued for several minutes, and as he staved off his own rising pleasure he wondered if he'd be able to get her there like this. He was about to ask Ginny to 'help her along' when Luna's moaning pitched up, taking on a more ragged quality. "Please! Like that. More! More! I'm-"
He kept his pace. Reaching out to cradle her chin in his fingers, he met her unfocused eyes. She was beautiful. "Cum for me." He said, and she came apart, moaning and convulsing. He let his control slip, then, finding his own release in her.
They came down together, and all three of them cuddled, contented. "I love you." Luna breathed, sounding euphoric.
Harry cradled Luna to him, kissing her forehead. "I love you too."
The door slammed open, shattering the moment. Ginny, the most alert of the three of them, sprung to her feet first, but stilled when she saw that it was Nat. "It's time." She barked.
"What?" Harry asked, rising at the urgency in Natasha's voice.
"Sorry, but it's Hela. She's been spotted."
"Got it." Harry dismissed her apology, it wasn't necessary. Duty came first. "Let's do this."