Masters of Chaos

When Everything went tits up.

I'm doing things my way. My way or the highway. Stuff from Infinity War and Endgame are still going to be in this though. Thanos is still a threat in this, I just don't like the way it was handled. At all. Say bub bye to the those trainwrecks, we don't make jokes out of serious issues like PTSD here.

Nick Fury walked down to SHIELD prison. He wasn't pleased about this Thanos guy and what he wanted to do. He'd already contacted Captain Marvel and any Avengers still on the grid. They were all meeting in Stark Tower later. Now he was going to have two different people who could use Chaos to their advantage on the squad.

But it was necessary to get all the help they could. Nick knew they couldn't refuse this plea deal. It was too good to miss.
"Ah, Xir Avery. How's life been treating you in prison?" he asked as he sat down. Avery looked at Nick and laughed.
"Oh it's been fantastic! My powers bound, not even able to use my wings, being jumped every couple of months because of a mission YOU sent me on. It's simply paradise in here, Fury." They said sarcastically.

Nick gave Avery an apologetic look.
"I know Stark and I did you dirty but-"
"There shouldn't be a but, Fury. You and Stark betrayed me. And then expected me to take it tongue in cheek. She wasn't supposed to die. You know that. I warned you and Stark about what would happen if you betrayed me. I told you that I wasn't going to back down. You both knew she wouldn't leave my side no matter what I said." Avery spat.

"Which is why I'm here to make it up to you. I managed to get you a deal. You'll have full use of your power and wings. No parole obligations. You'll be a free person again once you're out of here." Nick explained. Avery looked at Nick suspiciously.
"What's the catch?" they asked.
"You have to work with the Avengers. We need you to help us out." Nick said.

"You're kidding, right? You want me to work with Stark of all people? And his group of little pansies? Are you mad?" Avery glared at Nick. "One mission, for now. We might need you again, we'll see how it goes. Plus this was Stark's idea. He feels guilty. We know how powerful you are and this mission could really benefit from your strengths. We want to prove SHIELD is worth trusting. And make it up to you." Nick coaxed.

"Do I look stupid?"

"No."

"Then don't fucking patronise me. I'm not one of your little toys, Fury. The world has fucked me over plenty of times. Why should I care about what happens to it?"Avery asked maliciously. "Not to mention you aren't really sorry. If you two really felt bad I wouldn't have been locked up the last ten years. You're only saying these things because I'm suddenly useful again. You ran out of Super Soldiers. So now you need me."

Nick looked at Avery sadly.
"We really fucked you up, didn't we? Look I-"

"No shit Sherlock. Do you know what it's like having your powers shut off? It feels like pins and needles. All over your body. It. Doesn't. Go. Away. My wings? They're constantly aching from being trussed up like a bloody chicken. Find me a reason to take this deal, and make the terms a hell of a lot better, Fury. There's too many loose ends. Or you'll have to do this "special mission" without me. And you must be pretty desperate to ask for my help." Avery smiled, a glint in their green eyes.

"Fine. Send me the terms you want added. I'll be back." Nick replied.
"I'm tittering in anticipation." Avery said sarcastically.

****
Fury headed back to Stark Tower. When he arrived everyone was in the kitchen hanging out in civi clothes.
"No luck. They won't take the deal without major improvements and a dang good reason." he shook his head. Tony swore and Thor and Loki looked at him.
"Who exactly is this mystery person? You talked them up pretty big." Thor asked, leaning against the counter.
"They're a former agent. But they got locked up ten years ago because of a crime that they claim they didn't commit." Nick explained.

"Plus we screwed them over. Big time" Tony added.
"How bad?" Loki asked.
"Long story." Nick said dismissively.
"Well if we know we could help." Bruce said.
"What he said." Valkyrie replied, sitting down and getting herself comfortable. Nick and Tony looked at each other and nodded.

"We're the ones who got them thrown in prison. They were my protogée for years. Avery O'Hara is their name. We sent them on a mission and didn't tell them it was basically suicide. They were too powerful and we were hoping to kill two birds with one stone. They survived, found out what we did and defected. My niece wanted to help Avery. Refused to leave their side. She was killed in a fight and Avery was blamed. We got them sentenced to life and their powers bound." Tony explained.

The others stared at the two men.
"That's pretty bad." Carol said with her eyebrows raised.
"Yeah. Because these guys ruined their life! Anyway why are we still referring to them as if we don't know their gender? you're not keeping their identity hidden anymore." Bruce asked. "They're non-binary. You misgender them you'll walk away with no teeth. Powers or not." Tony said.

"They sound scary." Peter gulped.
"Well kid, you could always go home." Tony responded.
"You offered me a spot on the Avengers. Clearly you don't think me being sixteen matters too much." Peter replied. Tony glared and Peter started frantically backtracking
"I mean I'm grateful to be included but like can we please stop using my age against me? I've proven myself already. I mean I think I have. Have I proven myself Mr Stark?" Peter asked.

Steven looked at Peter. Peter looked at Steven. "Do you think I made it worse?" A few chuckles echoed around the room.
"I like this kid." Nick grinned.
"Anyway our main problem is how do we sweeten the deal? They'll be free with no parole requirements and they'll have full access to all their abilities. How do we make it better?" Nick asked.

"Give them a bank account with wages from SHIELD. A LARGE wage." Steven suggested. "You could guarantee they'll have all their rights and will be treated like a regular citizen instead of a felon. So they'll be able to vote and stuff." Peter piped up.
"Promise them you won't bother them again after this mission unless it's absolutely necessary. Complete privacy from SHIELD. No tailing them, nothing. They'll have a fancy home, courtesy of Stark. Don't look at me like that. You can afford it." Loki suggested as Tony glared at Loki.

"Counselling if they need it to help them adjust." Carol chimed in.
"Any amenities they might need like a gym or lab, depending on their interests." Bruce suggested. Nick took everything down.
"Ok. This is pretty good. I need to make some calls. Now think of reasons why they should take the deal. And "saving lives" or "being a good person" aren't reasons to O'Hara." Nick said as he left the room.

"Ok Loki. If we offered this deal to you, hypothetically, what could we say to you that would convince you to take it?" Thor asked. "Why are you asking me?" Loki asked defensively.
"You've been locked up the most." Happy said bluntly.
"Ah. Makes sense. I'd take the deal more so to prove to myself I'm not a bad person. I'm sure Avery has been told several times they're the villain. And they've probably started to believe it. This would be my chance to prove those suckers wrong. Freedom doesn't seem to mean too much to O'Hara if it's a world that wants them dead. So make it petty. Seeing them succeed would annoy the crap out of the people who don't like them. Telling them all the cliches about justice isn't going to work here." Loki said as he looked out the window.

"You got all that from them not wanting the deal?" Peter asked. Loki looked at Peter.
"Being painted in the wrong light, being told you're a monster, messes with your head. Being USED messes with your head. Make sure they know they don't owe SHIELD, SHIELD owes THEM. They were completely screwed over for shit they couldn't control. Say that the only reason O'Hara has to do an Avengers mission is to appease the public." Loki suggested. Thor looked at Loki guiltily but said nothing.