Okay, chapter 3.

Now, to answer a few questions that were asked in the previous story before the rewrite:

xNightShroudx: Yes I do plan on the Avengers finding out later. It isn't part of Nero's character to reveal everything to complete strangers. If he did, he wouldn't be a good hunter, besides, it's out of character. But it will be made known later on.

rmarcano321: The reason I choose X-23, Psylocke, Ms. Marvel, Silver Sable, Enchantress, and Emma Frost is because they each connect with a part of his personality.

X-23 is underrated and there are some similarities between her and Nero.

For Psylocke, I chose her because she is fun, flirtatious, teasing, and generally very fun to be around, which would pair nicely with him.

Ms. Marvel is the textbook girl, but has a good heart, defends her friends, honest, and true, which are some characteristics Kyrie had.

Silver Sable is a Princess but is also a highly trained one as well, and I think it would be fitting somewhat, like the not-so-distressed-princess and the not-so-holy-knight-in-shining-armor.

As for Enchantress, it can easily be assumed that she would develop an interest in someone of Sparda's blood as he is extremely powerful and Nero is no pushover either.

And for Emma Frost, uh, just a random option I came up with.

darthwolf: I do plan on giving Nero a villain, but just not certain who would work. Taskmaster comes to mind but he's used in Avenging10 so no go there. Got flak from him about how similar Avengers: Prime was to his story, and he was right, it was very similar to his to the point it was almost copied and pasted with some minor changes here and there.

Red Raven 007: The reason Nero didn't just outright use Yamato is that he hasn't fully mastered it yet. I think I sent you a PM explaining more.

And answering some more recent reviews

To Logic Soldier and Red Raven 007: I hear ya. I won't use the wiki as I do agree that it can be pretty inaccurate at times. But there is still the problem on how to gauge Nero's upper limits. But if you know of a site where I can get specs and facts about Nero that can be taken seriously, let me know, I would really appreciate the help.

If anyone has an idea, leave a comment or send me a message.

Also, the poll results are in, and Psylocke is favored by the majority. Thank you all for voting for her as she was my favorite and I think Psylocke deserves a little more love then what she was getting currently.

But I'm willing to give her a shot. Don't really know how I would introduce her and give her a reason for Laura to hang out with Nero, but I'll think of something. I might have to introduce the X-Men first before I do either Betsy or Laura.

Another thing I would like to make the mention that I plan to give Nero some wrestling moves, some of which might be in the game of Devil May Cry 5. It wouldn't be that much of a stretch as Devil Bringer lets him do some pretty physical attacks so don't act surprised when I have moves like the Powerbomb, Neckbreaker, Chokeslam, Suplex and other moves that would not be permitted in regular wrestling.

Okay, onto the story.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, Capcom owns Devil May Cry and Marvel owns Avengers: EMH.

Avengers May Cry

Chapter 3: Some Assembly Required

Manhattan, New York

In Manhattan, people walked around the city doing their usual routines under the midday sun, but some citizens gave some wary looks as they passed a specific group of people.

A young woman of a standard build, with red hair, green eyes, wearing a dress jacket, plain shirt, gray skirt, and high heels. She was Pepper Potts, assistant to Tony Stark as well as a friend. In her hands was a Stark Data Pad which she used to schedule Tony's appointments, though some may ask why she bothers to considering Tony almost always misses a meeting.

On her left was a giant green muscular man, wearing torn purple pants. The Jolly Green Giant (Though you should never call him that if you want to avoid getting smashed) was known as the Hulk: The Strongest One There is, as he claims.

On Pepper's right was a young teen, who looked like he belonged at a convention due to his attire. He was wearing a blue coat with a red interior, a sleeveless red hoodie, and underneath a black muscle shirt. He was also wearing blue jeans, tucked into brown boots. The sleeves of his coat were rolled up, the right being rolled up further to accommodate for the demonic appendage that was the right limb. He had a brown bracelet wrapped around his left wrist while two silver rings were on his pointer and pinkie. The teen had platinum blonde hair and baby blue eyes. He also had a giant red sword strapped to his back, which added to the whole convention thing.

His arms were folded as he leaned against a fence where he, Ms. Potts, and the Hulk waited. Normally, Nero would have his right arm in a cast to conceal Devil Bringer, but true to his prediction about a week ago, he was on the front page of the newspaper with Devil Bringer out in the open. So he figured he wouldn't bother trying to conceal his arm now that everyone knew about it.

The three were standing in front of a steel gate, leading to a large mansion. Tony, aka Iron Man, asked the newly formed Avengers to meet him up in front of the mansion for some sort of meeting. At the moment, Nero and Hulk were the only ones on time, the others no doubt had some other matters to deal with and were running late. They should probably pick up the pace in order to avoid Hulk's frustration as he was getting impatient.

Looking at her wristwatch, Pepper checked to see the time before huffing in annoyance. She then looked over at Hulk and Nero, "Thank you two for actually being on time, unlike the others," said the assistant with a mix of gratitude and annoyance, likely saved for Tony since he is almost always late for a meeting or misses it entirely.

"If I was like myself when I was younger, I'd be the last one here," shrugged Nero as he shoved his hands into his pockets, "still surprised I'm early considering I don't even have a watch."

Hulk only grunted as his response, getting a grim expression as he waited for the others to arrive. But they better hurry up, he wasn't very patient.

As the group waited, the demon hunter began to recall the events that happened in the week prior to joining the Avengers. Safe to say, that the team was pretty diverse so far. It went without saying, the team has been working together for the first time, even taking down a villain by the name of Mandrill. Apparently, he was a baboon-like villain who could hypnotize and produce pheromones. While he was confident he could take on Iron Man and Wasp, but he quickly lost all form of confidence when the other Avengers arrived along with Nero, who had Red Queen resting on his shoulder. While the fight was a let down in his opinion, he had nothing to really complain about as there were many more villains to go.

About 72 to be precise

"Never said it was going to be easy," muttered the hunter to himself. Just like it wasn't easy explaining who he was without revealing he was from another plane of existence and was part demon.

*Flashback*

Shortly after the battle, S.H.I.E.L.D. had taken Graviton into custody and started working on figuring out how to get the Helicarrier out of the bay. However, what was the main focus was the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the newly formed group of heroes, the Avengers, had retreated to Stark Tower to speak with one person in particular. There, Nero learned that unlike comic books in his universe where heroes had secret identities, here it was common knowledge about which hero was who.

Ant-Man or Giant-Man, depending on his size was a scientist by the name of Hank Pym. Wasp was his assistant who's real name was Janet Van Dyne (however, Nero could clearly see that they had a thing for each other). Hulk was actually a scientist by the name of Bruce Banner who had a sort of split personality disorder, similar to doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Thor as it turned out, was the literal Thor from Norse Mythology, much to Nero's surprise and some interest. And lastly was Iron Man, which everyone knew as Tony Stark: billionaire, genius, playboy, philanthropist, and the owner of the building they stood in.

The Avengers and Fury were situated in Stark's private office that overlooked the entire city. There, Nero stood before them, his thumbs hooked into his pockets as the heroes and director wait for his explanation. The heroes, still in costume (Hank and Tony having removed their helmet and mask respectively) waited for the teen to explain who he was, but the hunter wasn't so certain about everything. If he revealed that demons were actually real, he'd be painting some pretty big targets on their backs. Not to mention, even if he didn't tell them, joining them could still put them in danger, however, they had all risked their lives for him during the fight with Graviton, they deserved at least to know who he was, but where he comes from and his heritage as a demon was off-limits.

Nick Fury was the first to talk, "So why don't you tell us exactly who you are."

"Right, right," shrugged Nero as he brought his left hand to his nose and scratched it a bit as he thought about where he was going to start, "Well, where do I start."

"Who you are could be good," offered Jan kindly.

"Right, well, obviously, you know my name; Nero," said the hunter as gave a slight nod, letting out a sigh as he figured he'd just tell them and get it over with. If they believed him or not was on them, "And I'm a Demon Hunter."

There were varying levels of surprise and some intrigue from those gathered, even Fury, who despite his usual cold and collected self, raised an eyebrow at that revelation.

"A demon hunter?" asked Fury, clearly not believing him, not that Nero cared.

"Yeah."

"How long have you been one?" asked Ant-Man.

"I started out being a hunter when I was sixteen, about two years ago," answered the teen.

That caught their attention.

"Since you were sixteen," repeated Fury, not believing the teen one bit. One thing about running an international peacekeeping organization is keeping tabs on any potential threats. This included every metahuman on the planet, hero and villain alike, and S.H.I.E.L.D didn't have anything remotely resembling this boy, so that made the S.H.I.E.L.D Director suspicious of the person in front of him. He would prefer to have him in a secure location so he could be restrained and properly interrogated, but it seemed that he had the support of the other heroes.

"How come we've never heard of you?" asked Jan.

"If you haven't heard of me, then that means I'm doing my job right," replied Nero vaguely. as he strolled to right a little and glanced down at Devil Bringer.

That really drew the attention of everyone in the room. The hunter decided to add more fuel to the fire.

"Reason being, demons tend to be the worst of the worst," elaborated the teen as he looked back at the heroes, "They don't care about anything, they disregard consequences, and they kill because it's fun for them. Better for everyone to view demons as just stories then cause panic."

"But how have you evaded S.H.I.E.L.D. for so long?" demanded Fury as he wanted to know how this slipped under the radar, his attention then fell to Nero's right arm, "And would mind explaining your right hand?"

"Like any criminal or organization, just pay off the right people, make a few calls, and somethings look like an accident," answered Nero grimly as he glanced at the director with a neutral expression, he then grasped Devil Bringer with his left hand, "And as for the arm, well, let's just say I took a pretty bad hit one job from a demon. Don't know what happened by my arm just healed like this."

Fury held his gaze as the teen continued, "Also, haven't really stuck in one place for long. So not enough time for people to get all the details about me."

"You isolate yourself to fight these demons for the sake of all," surmised Thor, "Very honorable."

"Honor's got nothing to do with it," countered hunter as he sat down in a chair, "just the only thing I've been good at."

"What are you doing here then?" asked Tony, curious about what brought the kid to the city that never sleeps.

"Didn't plan on coming here," answered Nero as he stood up and folded his arms, "Was working on a job elsewhere when I got blindsided by a demon. Opened a portal that sent me here. Willing to bet that wasn't what that demon had in mind."

Nick Fury, then pulled out a phone, hit a couple of keys then pushed it across the table to the hunter, "Then I guess this is yours then," was all the man said.

The teen dropped his arms as he stepped towards the table glanced down at the screen. When he did, his eyes widened slightly from what he saw on the device. It was a Plymouth roadrunner being loaded into some sort of S.H.I.E.L.D. transport.

"That's my car," stated the hunter in disbelief, "Where'd you find it?"

"Our sensors picked up two energy spikes in the city, one was in an alleyway, the other was in a car park," answered Fury, "We'll have it shipped to you once we've finished inspecting it."

"Somehow, I feel that's more so you can bug it," retorted the teen dryly as he glanced at the Director. Fury didn't dignify that with an answer, however, it seemed he wouldn't need to as Hank cut in.

"Where do you live, Nero?" asked the scientist.

"As I said before, never stayed in one place long and always traveled light," Nero shrugged as he folded his arms.

"You don't have a home?" Jan spoke up, looking a little surprised.

"Harder to track for reporters and demons," elaborated the teen.

"Any family?"

"Got an uncle, but no clue where he is."

The heroes all looked at each other, the only one who really knew what it was like to have nothing was the Hulk, who was actually feeling a sort of kinship towards the young hunter, especially if he was avoiding S.H.I.E.L.D like he was.

Before Fury could question him more, Wasp spoke up, "Well don't worry. Now that you're with the Avengers you can just stay with us," she gave Nero a bright smile. However, the hunter didn't share the same levity as his expression darkened.

"Yeah, I'm not really with you," stated Nero as he folded his arms, "Only reason I helped was that I didn't want anyone to die. But now that the problem is done-."

"This crisis is far from over," interrupted Thor, giving Nero a hard look. They were far from done as many villains had escaped.

"Thor's right, there's still 74 villains out there," agreed Iron Man, sharing a similar look of seriousness, "And it took all of us to take down Graviton."

"Think you could've done it without me," retorted the teen as he tried to find a reason to not do this.

"Maybe," nodded Tony after a moment of thought before continuing, looking Nero right in the eyes as he stood up from his desk and walked around it stand in front of, "but it would have taken a lot longer and probably half the city could have been torn down before we took him down."

"Face it, kid," stated the inventor giving Nero a hard look, "we need you."

Nero sighed as he shook his head, "Trust me, you don't want me on a team."

"I don't get it," interjected Wasp, giving the teen a confused look, "Why don't you want to be a part of the team or even a hero?"

"I was never a hero and I've never been good at teamwork growing up," repeated the hunter as he sighed, "besides, being around a demon hunter is dangerous."

Almost everyone present looked confused at this statement. Thor, however, thanks to his centuries worth of experience, saw something in the young man's eyes: pain. The Asgardian had seen that haunted look many times in the battles he had fought before. The pain of losing something truly important. what had this boy seen that could have given him this feeling?

"Being a demon hunter is a seldom career," sighed the hunter as he gripped the wrist of Devil Bringer, "Demons are relentless, petty, cruel, and will use whatever tactic they can to make you suffer. Even going after people around the hunter. People that mean something to him or her."

He steeled himself, trying to keep his hand from drifting to the necklace that hung from his neck, "Trust me, none of you are ready to deal with what these things are capable of."

The heroes all looked at Nero with sympathy and a tad of honor. He was basically denying himself to be apart of the team to keep them safe. He didn't want them to go through what he likely experienced. Some of them have seen death before, but the way he spoke, it was likely that none of them would ever experience the same level of pain. However, Thor might, as he had lost family the same. Something told him that a similar event happened to Nero.

"Besides, I barely know you people," continued the hunter, as his expression hardened, "If I trusted everything at face value, a demon would've killed me already."

"Then I suggest you come with me," Nick Fury said, as he got up from his seat and walked up to the teen, "We can't risk the possible coming of demons to this world. And if you have any information about them, then I suggest you tell me. So until further notice, I'm gonna place you in SHIELD custody and-"

"And then what?" demanded Ant-man, interrupting the super spy, glaring at the man, "You're gonna turn him into one of your stone-cold agents, or just find everything you need from him than just dump him when you don't need him anymore?"

Nero growled as he tightened Devil Bringer into a fist. He wasn't anyone's attack dog, not since Fortuna, the Order of the Sword, and Sanctus. He was his own person and he made his own decisions. If someone had an issue with him, they could say it to his face. But he wouldn't become another pawn, not after what happened last time.

"The power he has," started the Director, staring hard at the heroes gathered in the office, however, spared a quick glance at Nero's right arm, "It has to be kept safe. Not to mention if he has knowledge that could save lives, he has to tell me. Which is why he's coming with me."

Fury stepped towards Nero once more, the hunter reached for Blue Rose, his hand coming to rest on the grip. He wasn't going to be pushed into this. If this guy wanted to take him by force, then he'd better be ready to drag him kicking and screaming. However, just before the hunter could draw the firearm, a large green figure stood in front of the teen, towering over the S.H.I.E.L.D Director. Fury looked up to see the Hulk glaring down at him.

"Not gonna happen," he snarled at Fury. Nick Fury then began to reach for his gun, but then Thor stood beside the Hulk, Mjolnir gripped firmly in his hand.

"T'would be wise to listen to the beast," Thor added, giving Fury his own glare. Soon the other heroes joined them, Jan probably giving the man the worst one. The action caused Nero to look at them with some surprise as he didn't expect this at all. The acts of kindness... they were foreign to him.

"They're right, Fury," stated Iron Man, speaking on behalf of his team, "Nero's with us. You're not taking him anywhere."

"He literally gave up everything to keep people safe!" added Wasp, rather angrily to mention as well, "He risks his life with no credit whatsoever! Despite all that, you're gonna just ship him off to some facility like an animal?! Not gonna happen!"

Nero felt his left-hand slip from Blue Rose while Devil Bringer loosened his grip as he resumed his passive expression. However, he was internally really surprised by this. They literally just met him like half an hour ago, and they were treating him as if they were friends for years. It made the hunter think; Fury held his position for a moment; the Avengers kept glaring at the Director, Hulk almost daring him to give him a reason to smash him. He then decided that fighting a group of superheroes would be bad for his health so he put his gun away.

"I'll give you 24 hours for you to decide what you're going to do," he said to Nero, the hunter narrowing his blue eyes at the director, "after that…" he let the threat hang.

"May the best man win," returned the teen, his tone stone cold as he met Fury's stare with his own.

Both hunter and director held their glare for a second. Daring the other to blink first. It seemed like Nero was the one to give, but Fury backed off at the last second. He sighed as he then turned around and left the room. The heroes then relaxed and faced each other. Nero sighed as he glanced down at Devil Bringer, mentally cursing the demonic limb.

*End Flashback*

He wouldn't lie and say the decision was easy for him to make. But at the moment that didn't matter. Aside from superheroing, Nero's actually been getting to know the world a little better. However, one change that happened was that he moved into Janet's apartment, mainly to get away from Thor and Hulk. Reason being the two would regularly butt heads, and Nero figured he wouldn't really have a good word to say to stop the two from fighting. However, a fight had yet to break out surprisingly.

Also, when he wasn't on the team, and the heroes had time to relax, Nero had actually been getting to know the others pretty well. The hunter didn't really talk much about his home, as he still didn't fully trust them, but was warming up. Albeit slowly, but he would get there. He did share stories about some demons he fought, but things like his own nature as being part demon, Sparda, Fortuna, and Yamato were off the table. Not just because he didn't fully trust them, but because S.H.I.E.L.D. might be listening.

Nero had also gotten to know the others a bit better.

To start with was Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, and self-appointed leader of the Avengers. At first, Nick had his doubts about Stark leading the team, being a billionaire, playboy with an ego bigger than the Savior, that and Tony did not really seem like the hero type at first glance. However, after reading Tony's file, Nero could see why he chose to become a hero. Apparently, Stark Industries used to develop weapons for the military, weapons far more powerful and advanced than most weapons, leading to a test in the Middle East.

There, Tony was attacked and held hostage and prisoner by a group of terrorists who possessed and used his own weapons against him. The group wanted Tony to build new weapons for them so that they may overthrow the local military. However, in the initial attack prior to his capture, Tony took a chest full of shrapnel incredibly close to his heart. In order to keep him alive, the terrorists placed an electromagnet within Tony's chest to keep the shrapnel from entering his heart and killing him. A few months of imprisonment, Tony was able to create a miniaturized version of a self-sufficient reactor called an Arc Reactor to power his heart and keep the shrapnel from killing him. With a new drive, Tony built a suit of armor from the parts he was given by the terrorists to create the prototype of his Iron Man suit. Using his new suit, Tony escaped, and since that day, he has devoted himself to destroying the weapons he created and completely stopped all production of Stark Weapons. Something that Nero respected, though would never say it to his face.

Next in line was Ant-Man and Wasp, the former Nero figured would be better placed in a lab, or anywhere besides someplace violent, or even the hero work. Henry Pym, or Hank as he was called by everyone, was a scientist. A Genius, yes, but also a general absent-minded doctor and pacifist, who would rather use communication and rehabilitation to deal with villains, not the normal find them, fight them, arrest them, and figure the rest out later shtick. During his studies, Pym discovered a series of unstable particles, which he named Pym Particles. The particles have the ability to rapidly enlarge and shrink an object exposed to the particles. While shrunk down to the size of an inch, Hank was able to develop a specialized helmet that allowed him to communicate and control ants and other insects.

Nero didn't think on it for very long that Hank was cut out for this, which annoyed the hunter to a degree; mainly for the mans' strong resentment to any form of violence plus his need to try and find other ways to help the villains. Commendable, true, but that can be done after villains have been arrested or taken down. Besides, it's not easy to help someone who doesn't want to be helped. While it might be his own opinion, or that Nero just isn't fond of the whole pacifist thing, the teen could see the only reason he went along with this was that of Jan.

Speaking of which, Wasp was known as Janet Van Dyne. Despite his own anti-social nature, Nero couldn't help but crack a smile when he was around her. Not to mention, even though he could be a little dense at times, the hunter could see there was something going on between the two. Jan was without a doubt the nicest person on the team; a constant source of optimism and kindness, which Nero actually enjoyed as it reminded him of someone he once knew. So, it was a little rough at first, but the hunter would agree that they were friends, even after a week.

Sometimes, after missions, Nero would agree to hang out with Jan, do some shopping, even just chat at times. The hunter found it refreshing to just talk to someone, even though at times it was a little one-sided, however, Jan didn't seem to mind. Also, it was worth noting that when they were talking about a place to stay, Jan offered her apartment, to which Nero tried to wave off and say he was fine where he was, but caved in quickly when she pouted in a way that made Patty look mature. So the hunter stayed with Jan until they found a place of his own.

It should also be worth noting that Janet Van Dyne is also Hank's business partner and a fashion designer, which would explain the trying on countless combinations of different clothing she and Nero were buying new clothes for him since he had only the clothes on his back when he arrived. Janet's powers originated from the Pym Particles, giving her the ability to shrink her size at will, grow insect wings, and shoot bio stingers from her hands. From what Nero could tell, she was a hero basically for the thrill of it. Something Nero was okay with but could get a little annoyed at times, but mostly enjoyed Wasp's attitude.

Next up was Thor, the Norse God of Thunder. Turns out he really was the god, which made the hunter wonder if there was actually a God. Anyway, despite the man's medieval personality and mannerisms, Nero found the thunderer somewhat likable. However, it should also be noted that Thor was actually from an alternate dimension, a realm as Thor would refer to it as, named Asgard. Living with his father, Odin and adopted half-brother, Loki, Thor was surprisingly headstrong (more than now) and cocky as a child. Later when he was older, Thor went to another one of the nine realms, Jotunheim, home of the Frost Giants, against his father's wishes.

As punishment, Thor was stripped of his godly powers and banished to Earth, specifically New Mexico. Without his powers, Thor had to learn how to respect other beings in the world, however, Loki was revealed to be jealous and attempted to overthrow Asgard. Thor was able to regain his powers after being reunited with Mjolnir and return to Asgard to defeat his stepbrother. Since then, he and Loki have been fighting ever since, but also, Thor had come to consider Earth as a second home and swore to protect the world. This bit of information made Nero somewhat wary that if Thor was from another plane of existence, could that mean he heard of Sparda? Also, was there a means of getting back home?

Moving along, there was only one last member of the team, and that was the Hulk. Initially, the Green Giant and the Hunter couldn't really get along, however, put their differences aside and the teen was soon the only person whom the Jade Giant didn't threaten to smash regularly. The two got along okay, but there was still a little tension, however, Nero could see that they were alike in some ways, mainly figuring things out later after trashing them.

From what Nero's found out about the gamma bruiser, Hulk was formerly known as Bruce Banner, leading expert in Gamma Radiation. While working for the military to attempt and recreate the formula for the 'Super-Soldier Serum' for General Ross. During the creation, Banner was so convinced that the experiment would work that he performed it on himself; the result was the creation of the Hulk. Everyone thought the Hulk was a mindless animal, but apparently, Bruce Banner can turn into the Hulk when he gets angry, and the Hulk is rage given form. The military has been trying to capture the Hulk so that they may use him as a weapon, but after Harlem, New York, Bruce discovered a way to communicate with the Hulk and influence him into becoming a hero in an attempt to show the world the Hulk is not a monster. Clearly, that was still a work in progress as shown during the aftermath of the Graviton incident.

It was safe to say that the Avengers were a bunch of mismatched heroes, some being a little unstable, but it could be worse. Besides, Nero figured if things went sideways, he could probably start his own business similar to how Dante did a few years back. But it seemed like the teen wouldn't have to as the heroes started arriving.

Noticing a shadow approaching, Nero glanced up to see Thor flying in towards them. Using his hammer to slow his momentum until he landed on the sidewalk beside the Hulk. On his face was a wide grin as he greeted his team.

"Ho Miss Potts, Hulk, and Nero," said the prince, greeting the three, "'Tis good to see you again. Are you ready for the coming battles?"

Hulk raised an eyebrow before scowling slightly, "You ready to get a watch?"

"Gotta agree with Hulk," added Nero, giving Thor his own annoyed look, "been standing here for almost an hour. What took you so long?"

Before the Odinson could answer, two more of their teammates arrived, "We're here!" announced Wasp as she flew to the center of the group before hovering at eye level.

"Sorry we're late," she apologized, "I had to tear hank away from his lab."

"It was an important experiment," defended Ant-Man who appeared beside her, growing to full size. His method of transport was the form of a small ant that flew away as the scientist removed his helmet.

"Friend Pym, I did not see you there," said Thor in a somewhat surprised tone, "I had expected you to be giant."

"Really?" asked the scientist, turning to the former Norse myth with a confused expression, "Why?"

"Thy giant self seems more useful," elaborated the prince. If he was being honest, he couldn't really see the use of a size so small when many of their foes were so large. It only seemed natural to be larger than them in order to defeat these villains and return them to justice.

"Wouldn't really be a good idea in the city," commented Nero, figuring that Hank used his small form in order to get to their meeting place without drawing too much attention or breaking the sidewalk in the process. Last thing they need is property damages and S.H.I.E.L.D. coming after them more than they are now.

However, the moment was interrupted by Hulk who finally snapped, "Where's Stark?!" burst out the gamma hero as he stopped drumming his fingers along his bicep impatiently.

"Sorry. Sorry, everyone," Iron Mans' voice rang out above them showing the armored hero hovering down to the ground before landing near the group as he took off his helmet, "I got caught up in a meeting,"

His attempt to excuse himself proved pointless as he received a look from Pepper who knew he was lying, "Yeah, I missed that one too." admitted Tony sheepishly before turning to the Avengers, "Anyway, thank you all for coming and welcome to Avengers' Mansion."

To indicate what he was talking about, the billionaire gestured to the massive building behind them. It was an old Victorian-style building, with a large, red brick wall, with marble thrown in and a large iron gate. On that gate was the letter A, which Nero thought was convenient. The building itself rose about three stories with a huge yard. Internally, Nero was smirking widely at the reaction Dante would have if he saw this place.

"This was my-," Iron Man began to explain, but Hulk was done standing around and smashed the gate open, breaking the steel gates right off with a distinct clang before walking towards the mansion.

"You know that was really rude," commented Tony as he looked at the broken gates with a startled expression.

"That's what you get for being late," jabbed Nero, as he unfolded his arms and walked passed the inventor, however, turned on his heel to thrown in a little joke, "Besides, what'd you expect from making the Hulk wait so long?"

Tony scowled lightly, however, couldn't suppress the smirk of his from forming. Jan giggled as she followed Nero and Hulk into the massive building. In all honesty, it seemed a little surreal to her. She was soon followed by Thor, before Pepper, Hank, and Tony joined them for the tour of the mansion.

Inside the mansion, Pepper and the Avengers stood inside the homes giant main hallway with white marble columns and a grand staircase that lead up to the other floors of the mansion. Nero was internally ecstatic, mainly thinking one simple thing; 'Dante, eat your heart out,' was all the teen could think as a smirk was plastered on his face. He was so glad he told S.H.I.E.L.D. to fuck off because this was way better than some plain one-roomed dorm.

While the heroes and hunter were looking around the hallways, Thor's attention was on some sort of terminal or panel built into the wall. However, the prince was caught by surprise when the wall started talking.

"Greetings Thor Odinson," The sudden British voice from the terminal as the optical sensor flashed while it spoke caused Thor to reel back in surprise, "May I offer you a drink?"

Thor turned to Tony with a look of surprise, "What manner of palace is this?" he asked the inventor, a little unnerved that the walls could talk.

"This was a museum for the Maria Stark Foundation, my mother's home," explained the armored hero, "I've had it upgraded since the breakout. I thought this could be our headquarters."

"Swanky," commented Wasp as she flew up in the air to get a better view of the hallway. Nero only snorted as he folded his arms.

"We're playing superheroes at your mom's place," stated Nero, though his tone was sarcastic, "Seems like we're all kids again."

Tony chuckled, as did Pepper, while Jan just giggled.

"Anyway, the mansion is run by J.A.R.V.I.S.," picked up the billionaire, gesturing to the terminal in the wall that had Thor's attention prior, "my personal artificial intelligence. Anything you need, J.A.R.V.I.S. will provide. Say 'hi', J.A.R.V.I.S."

"Indeed," responded the A.I. as the optic lit up again.

A minute later, Tony began the tour of the mansion, explaining all the details of the house and what each room was and what you could do in them. Their first stop was the kitchen.

"We've got a full kitchen, Chef on call," explained Tony. Wasp flew to Hulk who was at the fridge and landed on his shoulder. There she had a front-row seat to Hulk helping himself to the food inside. Wasp grimaced in disgust when Hulk let out a large belch, however her expression only caused Nero to snicker every so quietly.

The tour then took a turn to go upstairs where the bedrooms were located.

"There are twelve rooms, maid service, laundry, room service, theater and lounge, satellite TV and movies; every form of entertainment on the planet," explained Tony as he turned to Nero for a moment before leaning in to whisper to him to make sure Janet wouldn't here, "I thought this would be a better place to live for you, Hulk, and Thor. The tower doesn't exactly have a homey feel for Thor or Hulk, and Janet can be a handful."

"Won't hear any complaints from me," replied the teen as he nodded, "She wears you out faster than you think."

Internally, he was thanking Tony as he said, Jan can wear a person out pretty quick. However, it went without saying that he was really surprised by all the work the billionaire put into this place. Also, he was surprised that he also made living accommodations for them. Obviously, Nero couldn't live with Jan forever, and the teen would be lying if said that in the event Dante does come to this world, Nero would want to rub it in his face that he was living in a massive mansion while the older hunter was still living in the run-down building of Devil May Cry. Also, the mansion had a homelike feeling, despite its massive size, so Nero doubted he would mind.

The Avengers then made their way into what appeared to be the main lounge area. With a large couch and a fireplace. Janet and Nero both sat on the couch; the heroine grabbed a remote and pushed a button. A painting that was on top of the fireplace slid up revealing a 90-inch plasma screen TV, Jan grinned wildly at this while Nero smirked and kicked back, resting his boots on the coffee table.

"Are you serious Stark?" asked Hank as he looked around, "This is what you spent a week preparing?"

"Uh, no, I haven't even gotten to the good stuff yet. You're going to need one of these," answered Tony as he reached into his pocket to pull out a handful of cards. Roughly the size of a credit card with a large light blue A on the lift side and in the right corner was a black screen with an image of each Avenger in it, "These ID cards are linked to the entire Stark Satellite Network and will keep us in audio and video communication anywhere in the world. They also give you full access and control of the mansion."

"Was hoping it would get me free coffee or lunch someplace," joked Nero as he took a card from pepper and turned it over with Devil Bringer. He wouldn't be lying if he said that it wasn't cool, "But in all seriousness, I gotta say, you don't disappoint."

Stark smirked at the compliment as Nero tucked the card into his inside pocket. Soon, each Avenger was checking out their card, Jan giddily looking it over while Hank had an indifferent expression while he was inspecting his. Thor repeatedly turned the card over, intrigued by such a small object, though was certainly impressed by mortal technology. The teen then glanced to Pepper who just gave the Hulk his card, however, somewhat hesitantly.

"I can show you how it-," began Pepper, but was cut off by Hulk.

"You think I can't figure it out?" snapped the jade giant as he took the card from Pepper. The assistant shrunk back as she looked a little worried.

"I'm sure you can," replied Pepper as she held her hands in a placating gesture.

Nero sighed, knowing the feeling of being disliked all too well, not mention singled out for most of his childhood. While he might not understand what it's like to be hated and hunted down like an animal for as long as the Hulk, but even he could tell that the big guy was so used to that treatment, kindness was extremely foreign to him. The teen wasn't much of a team player, but he figured that hanging around these guys long enough might do some good.

Thor, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes at the treatment of Pepper Hulk was giving and marched right up to the jade giant, "T'would be wise to treat the lady with respect."

"Which lady do you mean, blondie?" shot back Hulk as the two bruisers began to stare each other down, daring the other to blink. The tension getting thicker by the second.

"Not sure about you guys, but I'd like to find out what else Stark's got in store," cut in Nero, drawing their attention as he jerked his head to the inventor, "I doubt this is all he's got."

Tony nodded and walked to a terminal that was in the room. Holding it up, the device beeped and was followed by the sound of gears moving. soon the fireplace began to rise up, revealing a hidden elevator passage

Eye's lighting up with interest, Janet shrunk down and flew towards the elevator, "Nifty."

Filling the spacious elevator, the team began to descend into the Earth. After a moment, the elevator shaft disappeared, revealing a massive underground chamber, at the center, was some sort of large pyramid-like structure comprised of some black glass-like substance.

"And voilà, the sublevels," presented Tony as the elevator continued to descend.

Once the elevator arrived at its destination, the Avengers all left the machine and walked into a huge open area with ridiculous amounts of technology placed around the area. All-in-all, it looked like something out of a sci-fi movie or tv show.

Continuing the tour, Tony explained the area to the present heroes, "The mansions' got a beyond state of the art lab, space for Hank's modular lab, as well as an armory."

Looking around the area, Hank stopped for a moment to look at all the tech, slightly giddy to working with such sophisticated technology. But if Hank was one thing, it was one of the few people who thought the Avengers wouldn't work as a team. You can't just bring people together and say they're a team, a team needs to earn trust, and for a bunch of strangers who formed over a week ago, trust was going to take time.

Continuing on towards another room, the Avengers came across a massive body of water contained in a large pool. The room was surrounded by glass walls a large roof above. At first glance, a person would think this is a pool.

"Wow, big pool," commented Wasp when she saw it.

"Pretty sure the pool's someplace else," countered Nero as he folded his arms.

"And you'd be right, the pool's actually on the roof," confirmed Tony as the sound of mechanical movement followed his sentence. The water suddenly split apart, revealing a hidden area underneath. From the open area came a large, highly advanced aircraft, painted mostly red and white with the red Avengers A on the front left and right side of the nose.

"This is a fully functional hangar with two prototype high-speed aerial shuttles. The Quinjets," As Tony explained the aircraft, several hatches opened up, revealing an array of weapons while a force field appeared around the jet, "Weapons, shields, and an airspeed of Mach 8 for those of us who can't fly."

Soon Ant-Man and Hulk looked at Tony glaring at the inventor, "But they can also go into space," added Tony quickly after seeing the glares from both people.

"Now that's sick," stated Nero, chuckling as he glanced at Tony.

Said inventor laughed before he gestured for the other's to follow, "There is also a training room," informed the billionaire as he led the heroes and hunter. Nero raised an eyebrow while Wasp gave a curious look.

"What, like a gym?" inquired the heroine as she and the others followed Tony.

"Well, kind of," answered Tony while smiling mischievously at the heroes, making them slightly uncomfortable.

A minute later, the Avengers were testing out the new training room in different areas and before long, they realized this was not a gym, this was a death trap.

Quite literally, the entire room was designed to try and kill them. Wasp flew down a dimly light hallway, several missiles chasing after her. Managing to dodge the first two, Wasp was knocked out of the air by the third when it exploded too close for her comfort. The blast was enough to send into a raised platform, causing her to crash into it and wobble in the air for a moment. As she regained herself, another panel opened up and fired three missiles at Wasp who didn't even have time to react to the incoming projectiles.

Before the incoming projectiles could hit Wasp, three repulsor shots impacted with the missiles, causing them to explode. Hovering above Wasp, Iron Man held his gauntlets out, the repulsors powering down. Iron Man then landed in front of Wasp, raised his arm, a small section folding back revealing a miniature rocket. He fired the rocket at the panel that fired the missiles destroying it in a massive explosion. Not sticking around, Wasp and Iron Man took off into the air as more weapons emerged from the walls.

In a dimly lit room, elsewhere in the training area: Ant-Man was walking around, till the lights suddenly turned on and mechanical tendrils shot out from the walls. The tendrils began to wrap around Ant-Man, however, the size-changer was able to escape thanks to his belt by shrinking his size down to slip free. Only making it a few feet, the floor beneath him split apart, catching the miniature hero off guard, causing him to fall in before the panels closed up above him. A few seconds passed before the floor exploded, revealing a semi-annoyed Giant-Man, his upper torso being the only thing actually seen.

Elsewhere, Thor wasn't doing so well either as he was presently flying up a long, cylindrical tube with a center pole connected to several large wrecking balls that swung around in circles. Essentially, it was a test to see how maneuverable you could be and not get smashed. The Prince was actually doing pretty well until he got slammed by one wrecking ball and was smashed into a wall.

Tired of this, the Asgardian decided to retaliate as he charged right at one of the arms connected to the wrecking ball. Raising Mjolnir, he slammed the mystic weapon right into a wrecking ball when it was swung at him. The result was the hammer snapping the incoming mass right off the arm holding it. The wrecking ball collided with a wall and got stuck to it, allowing Thor to move one.

However, the prince didn't get further than he already had before a large mechanical arm came out of a wall on the far side and pinned him against the side of the tube. Thoroughly getting annoyed, the Asgardian channeled his annoyance through Mjolnir, letting a massive bolt of lightning to fly out and obliterate the arm, freeing himself.

While some of the heroes were struggling to get through the course, Hulk was taking his time. And by that, he was standing in place while the training room did it's worst. So far, the jolly green giant was standing in place in a large hallway, arms folded as he scowled while parts of the wall began closing shut. However, he was hardly worried as the closing walls got closer to him. After several more doors shut, the last one shut right onto the Hulk.

But the giant didn't call himself 'The Strongest One There Is' for nothing as soon the doors began straining and the Hulk appeared between them. Using his incredible strength, the green bruiser easily pushed the machine apart. A very small part of him was impressed by the machines as they actually made him have to put some effort into it.

With a grunt, the doors parted further while the machine strained to overcome the Hulk. However, trying to do this only caused the internal mechanisms to overheat and malfunction. Hulk grabbed one of the doors and ripped it out of the wall and hurled it through the adjacent wall where the Avengers had regrouped. A few heroes looked exhausted from the training, however, Nero was missing from the group.

"Is that the best you've got, tin-man?" Hulk smugly shouted at Iron Man, obviously proud that he completely destroyed the machines meant to test his limits.

"It's self-repairing thanks for asking," stated Iron Man as he hovered just above the wreckage, though his mask hid it, Tony smirked at his next sentence, "By the way, that was level 1; of 10."

"Seriously?!" gasped Wasp as she barely managed to keep herself in the air, however, she quickly noticed that one of them was missing, "Hey? Where's Nero?"

"Master Nero is still currently training, engaging several LMBs," informed JARVIS over the microphone system that was built into the I.D. cards that Tony handed out prior.

"Let's see how the kid's doing," suggested Tony as he flew in the direction where the hunter would be. Huffing, Wasp followed the inventor. Joining her was Ant-Man and Thor who walked after her while Hulk brought up the rear.

"You think Nero's in over his head?" asked Ant-Man to Thor, glancing at the prince from the corner of his eye.

"I have faith in young, Nero," assured Thor, "Despite his age, he has proven to be an exceptional combatant."

"Yeah," agreed Wasp as she flew in front of Hank, "Nero's a lot tougher than you give him credit for."

"It's just that-," started the scientist before being cut off.

"Wait, do you hear that?" asked Wasp as she listened carefully.

"Friend Wasp, I do not...," started Thor before stopping as he indeed hears something, it sounded like music, but it wasn't like anything he heard of before, "Actually, I do."

"If you guys are done talking," called out Iron Man, bringing their attention to the entrance into the room where Nero was, "You might wanna take a look."

Heeding his advice, Wasp flew right on ahead, followed close by Thor and Ant-Man. Hulk was a bit slower as he didn't see the point in finding out what was so interesting. The Avengers gathered right at the entrance to training where Nero was supposed to be and they were treated to a rather interesting sight and sound as well.

Taking on at a minimum of twenty LMDs was Nero. However, there was something interesting about what was happening. The teen was blasting music from a set of headphones that were flipped around to function as speakers while he took on the machines singlehandedly.

*Battle Music: One For The Money. By Escape The Fate*

With Red Queen unsheathed the hunter charged right towards the robots. With a yell, he swung the mighty sword right at the machine, slicing it right in half before rolling to the side to avoid some shots fired at him by two other drones. Rolling to his feet, Nero swung his sword around, deflecting a few shots before leaping into a backflip as one drone tried tackling him from the side. As he flipped in the air, the hunter maneuvered himself around so that he sliced LMB in half, lengthways.

Quickly following up his attack, Nero revved the Exceed and used the blasting flames to propel himself right towards three LMDs. Swinging his sword with enough force, he decapitated all three robots at once before kicking one into a pair of other LMDs that tried to rush him.

Quickly sheathing his sword, Nero drew Blue Rose and rushed towards a drone, firing off one shot directly into the stomach. While it wasn't done, it gave him the opportunity to rush past it and shot another drone in the stomach like he did the last, however, he changed things up by swinging out his right arm and wrapping it around the waist. With his arm securely around the waist, he flipped back, and fired a shot into the previous LMD's head, destroying it as he wrapped his legs around the neck of the robot he held onto.

Using the momentum of the maneuver, Nero was able to spin the robot around and fire another shot into the head of another robot that tried to attack him. While the momentum of his swinging did spin the LMD he hung onto around, it had the effect of knocking it down, which Nero used by releasing his hold he had on the robot with his legs and flipped onto one hand when the robot hit the ground. Whilst upside down, Nero shot the drone in the head before flipping to his feet and shooting another LMD in the faceplate.

Taking down over half the drones in the room, Nero decided to try something he only really reserved for demons.

When one LMD tried to tackle him, Nero leaped into the air the moment it did so. Flipping in the air, he holstered Blue Rose and quickly grabbed Red Queen's handle and whipped out the sword. Falling back down to the ground, the hunter landed on the back of the robot and plunged his sword directly into the back.

"Let's go!" shouted Nero as he revved the Exceed.

A blast of flames shot out of the exhaust and had enough power to propel Nero forward. Essentially, the teen was riding the back of a robot-like some sort of hellish motorcycle. He angled the sword's exhaust in a way that allowed him to control where he was going and his direction, was wherever an LMD was. He plowed through the robots until only three were remaining.

With a bit of finesse, Nero flipped off the LMD he'd been riding and swung Red Queen around. The way he swung the blade allowed him to basically hurl the remains of the robot at the three last drones and knock them all down while Nero finished his fight with a little flourish, entering a stance that had Red Queen held back behind him while his right arm crossed his chest, two fingers extended in his final stance.

*End Battle Music*

The gathered heroes were all very impressed and honestly surprised by Nero's combat prowess. Each with their own opinions, though, Wasp was the first to voice them.

"You sure do things in style, Nero," complimented Wasp as she flew over to the teen.

"If you're gonna do something, might as well look good while doing," smirked the platinum blonde as he relaxed and sheathed Red Queen across his back, "So, how'd you like the place?"

"I don't know what's going to kill me first: the villains or the gym," panted Wasp as she sat down on Nero's shoulder.

After a brief moment of rest for the heroes, with the exceptions of Thor, Hulk, and Nick who weren't even fazed by the training room, the tour ended in a large hall with an enormous round table with a red ring on the outer edge, blue in the middle, and a large black A on top.

"And this is the Assembly Hall," informed Tony as he walked in.

The walls stretched up to the roof and seemed to go on forever and were all colored black with a shine.

"All this money you've thrown into this is impressive Tony," commented Ant-Man, though his tone said something else, "Were you bored? Are we your new pet project? Why are we here?"

"Oh, that's a good question. Kind of angry, but that's okay," replied Tony while the team gathered around the round table, "J.A.R.V.I.S., bring up the most wanted list."

From the center, a large hologram appeared displaying the faces of the 74 super villains that escaped earlier in the week. Nero recognized a few names of the villains, having brushed up on whatever information he could find that wasn't classified by S.H.I.E.L.D. He immediately recognized guys like Mandrill and Graviton, having taken them down already, but most of them were still unknown.

"74 supervillains escaped the day of the breakout," stated Tony, "Graviton is being held by S.H.I.E.L.D. We caught Mandril, but we've got more work to do."

"Any idea on how these guys got out?" asked Nero, memorizing the faces of the villains, folding his arms as he looked at the large array of enemies.

From what he's learned, there were 4 supervillain prisons: the Vault, which held tech-based villains; The Cube, a place for villains whose powers come from radiation (mainly gamma); the Big House, the mini prison that was on the Helicarrier, which apparently held many of the regular super-powered villains; and the Raft, which held the most dangerous villains ever to exist on earth. And apparently on the day of the breakout, all these prisons security systems just shut down mysteriously, setting every prisoner free.

This raised a lot of red flags in Nero's opinion.

"No," answered Tony as he looked at the teen hunter, knowing where he was coming from, "S.H.I.E.L.D. hasn't given any word on how all four prisons across the planet shut down simultaneously."

The inventor folded his arms, letting out a tired sigh, "It's either Fury is keeping this on an above need to know basis or he doesn't know himself. Either way; just leaves us with work that needs to be done."

"Dammit," swore Nero quietly, "Lot of help they'll be, and since we don't know how this happened, there's no way we can tell if this will happen again."

However, in the corner of his eye, Nero spotted Hulk brooding in the corner of the Assembly Hall. He looked to be talking to himself, which prompted the hunter to turn to the Hulk, raising an eyebrow at the jade giant. Hulk noticed Nero looking at him and faced the teen.

Nero gave the giant a shrug, however, Hulk just snorted and looked off in another direction. In any case, that was a positive reaction from the Hulk. When Nero turned back to the conversation, he missed the tiny glow green energy in Hulk's eyes before it faded away.

"I know many of these villains," said Thor as he looked at one picture in particular, "The Wrecker and his crew are formidable. His weapon is of unearthly might."

That's when Ant-Man interjected, "If we do recapture them all, where do we put them? The Big House is destroyed. The Vault is Destroyed. We haven't heard anything about the Cube."

"I'm working with a colleague on something now," answered Tony, "Reed Richards has proposed a prison that is actually outside this dimension. In a place, he calls the Negative Zone."

"Negative Zone?" asked Nero, raising an eyebrow at the name, "That like limbo or something?"

"It's a plane of existence comprised completely of negative energy," answered Hank.

"Sounds like hell," muttered the teen. It was at this point, the Hulk finally got fed up with all this and unfolded his arms.

"Too much talking," grunted the Hulk, saying something for the first time since they got to the Hall, "We should just go get these guys."

He punched his fist into his hand for emphasis. Nero just sighed and shook his head, he was like the Hulk a while back, more interested in a fight then plans. Hearing a slight snore, the hunter glanced to his left to see Wasp was starting to doze off at the edge of the table.

"Just take a second, Hulk. We just got here, might as well call it a day and get to know our new home before taking on the bad guys," spoke up the teen hunter, "Can't take out the bad guys if we don't know how to."

"At least one of you knows what you're doing." snorted Hulk coldly, but this comment was the last straw for Thor.

"I've had enough of you, creature," stated Thor angrily as he marched up towards the jade giant while a few Avengers watched, "Your insults end here."

"You want to go, Goldilocks?" shot back Hulk, itching for a fight, "Let's go."

"Woah, Woah, Woah, you two," stated Nero, becoming the voice of reason, strangely, "As much fun as it would be to watch you guys kick the snot out of each other; save it for my birthday. And since we'll be the only ones living here most of the time, I think everyone, myself included, would appreciate it if we didn't level it on the first day here."

Hulk only grunted and proceeded to leave the hall. Thor seemed to relax slightly with Hulk and then turned to talk with Iron-Man and Ant-Man. Nero let out a sigh of relief and pinched the bridge of his nose with Devil Bringer. On his left, Wasp walked up beside him.

"Wow," commented Wasp in a sarcastic tone, "he's gonna be fun."

"And I have to live with him," muttered Nero as he folded his arms, "staying with you is looking much better."

"Is that an insult?" teased Wasp as she threw an arm across Nero's shoulder, causing the hunter to chuckle.

"Can be whatever you want it to be," he snorted, "but if I'm being honest, I'll give it a shot. Just need some help moving out of your place to here."

"You know you don't have to leave yet," offered Wasp as she and Nero began to leave the room while the three other Avengers remained to talk.

"I don't, but I think Hank might be getting jealous," teased the silver-blond hunter, causing his friend to blush at the comment.

That night, the Avengers were all on break, Ant-Man went back to his lab in Grayburn College, Nero and Wasp went back to her apartment penthouse where Nick packed up his clothing, Hulk and Thor were back at the mansion, hopefully it would still be standing, and Tony was in Star Tower finishing up some business he had.

When Tony was giving the tour of the rooms inside the mansion, Nero placed dibs on a specific room, one that he would be living in. A good sized room, one that was much larger than the one he had back in his world. It came with a California king-sized bed, a very large walk-in closet, a built-in bathroom that came with a walk-in rain shower, a bathtub, two sinks, and a large cabinet. The bedroom had plenty of space for the bed, a large desk, small gas fireplace, a plasma screen tv, some pieces of furniture like an armchair that looked into the fireplace, two bedside tables, each with their own lap, and lastly, a small balcony that looked out into the backyard of the mansion.

All in all, it was a very good room. Which is why he wanted it. In the event that Dante finds a way here to this world, Nero wants to rub it in his face that he's living in a mansion, rent-free and doing it in style.

*Later...*

After a quick ride back to Janet's apartment, the hunter was currently packing up the clothes Janet helped pick out for him when he came to this world. His reasoning for why he didn't have any close was because he was constantly traveling and taking clothes with him all the time wasted space and gas for his car. So he traveled light until now that is.

Using a suitcase that Janet lent him, the silver-haired teen was finishing up packing his belongings. With everything he needed, all that was left, was to pack his car and head over to the mansion and settle into his room.

"Thanks for lending me a case, Jan," thanked Nero as he zipped up the suitcase he was borrowing.

"Hey it's alright," said Janet as she stood outside the guest room Nero had been using since he arrived. Once he had all his clothes packed, he and Janet left her apartment to head for the street. Parked outside the building on the curb was the hunter's sportscar.

So far, things had gone off without a hitch, but Nero knew better than to think everything was fine when nothing is happening. And he was right.

Avengers Mansion, Manhattan, New York

Back at the mansion, things were pretty quiet. However, it wouldn't be that way for long but it should be noted that the terminals within the building allowed J.A.R.V.I.S. complete control over all the devices and systems built into the Victorian building. But it wasn't without weaknesses as some terminals began to fill with static, glitching out till they shut down. Before each terminal shut down, it was able to discern the outline of a feminine figure.

Unable to compute what was happening, the A.I did the next thing it could do in its' programming and alerted the closest person.

Thor was currently sitting in the lounge on the couch, watching the fire within the fireplace blaze. As being raised within a magical realm, Thor had little to no interest in television, not that he fully understood how to operate the device. So continuing to watch the flames, Thor recounted dozens of battles within his past, lost in thought until he was interrupted by a polite British voice.

"Pardon me, sir," said the voice of J.A.R.V.I.S., "There would appear to be something wrong."

"What be thy concern, ethereal voice?" asked Thor, more than a little discomforted about what might make a machine concerned.

"I have no physical evidence of this, but I believe the mansion's systems are being tampered with. I believe there is an intruder."

With his natural Asgardian luster for battle, Thor stood up from the couch and summoned Mjolnir to him. Out of the corner of his eye, Thor saw Hulk walking passed the doorway.

"Come Hulk," announced Thor cheerfully, "Let us patrol the grounds. The house believes we have been infiltrated. Perhaps if we are lucky, we will find battle this night." Holding up Mjolnir to help prove his point.

In spite of his joyful personality, Thor failed to discern the faint green glow that emanated from Hulk's eyes. Hulk merely grunted and stomped up to the Thunderer.

"I don't battle. I smash," growled Hulk as he looked down at Thor, "And if you talk to me again, hammer face, I'll smash you."

Thor's grin dissolved quickly, he should have guessed that trying to make merry with an ill-tempered beast like Hulk would be fruitless. Scowling at Hulk, Thor adopted a combat stance.

"If you wish to test your mettle against an Asgardian, I am happy to oblige."

The two heavy hitters stood their ground, glaring at the other, daring the other to back down. The tension within the Mansion had become so thick someone could have cut through it like butter. A moment passed before Hulk growled before stepping back.

"I don't need this, I don't need anyone. Tell the others I quit!" Hulk yelled as he stomped out of the mansion.

"Good riddance," stated Thor coldly as he watched Hulk leave. A second had barely passed before the television within the lounge flared to life. On the screen was a very concerned Pepper Potts.

"JARVIS just told me the Hulk left," said Pepper as she looked through the screen, "Thor, you have to bring him back."

"Why would I do that?"

"Because he's our responsibility. And with the mood he's in, he's liable to tear down the whole city," explained Pepper, "Please go get him."

Thor grumbled as he grudgingly followed Pepper's request. The woman made it practically, if not entirely, impossible to say no to. Besides, it wasn't like she was wrong either. They did have a responsibility to the Hulk as well as Nero after their meeting with Fury. So with no other option, he left to go search for his foul-tempered companion.

New York Streets, New York

In the streets of New York City, people were running terrified of the appearance of the angry Hulk. Despite not done anything aggressive, his mere presence was enough motivation for crowds of people to run screaming.

The people's cries of fear were not helping the Hulks' mood in the least, but what got on his nerves the most was his counterpart: Banner. This was a topic never discussed with anyone, mostly because it was none of their concern or business that he talked with Banner on some occasions. It was Banner who convinced the Hulk to help the other heroes, to prove that he is not a monster like everybody believes. But now something changed, Banner was now telling the Hulk that the Avengers would turn against him, like everyone else, they would only see him as a monster and would try to imprison him the first chance presented.

But Hulk didn't believe so; Iron Man, Ant-Man, and Thor aside, Hulk actually believed the heroes were pretty nice, particularly Nero and Wasp. Some unapparent reason left Hulk feeling that the former was actually in some way, believing in him without letting any hint out. Could it be that S.H.I.E.L.D. wants to turn him into a weapon or use his knowledge to create super soldiers, or is it because he had as much as Hulk?

Before Hulk could make a conclusion, he was interrupted by a very annoyed Thor who landed directly in front of Hulk.

"You are to come back to Avenger's Mansion with me, Hulk," stated Thor; actually is was less a statement and more of an order from the Asgardian. His tone leaving no room to argue.

Not even bothering to argue, Hulk just growled and tried to push passed the Thunderer. A few paces later, Thor grabbed a hold of his arm.

"T'was not a request."

This set him off; the bad move on Thor's part caused Hulk to roar and smash a giant fist into him, sending the Prince of Asgard flying through the street and into the side of a building. Thor rose from the debris and stared the Hulk down, a tiny smirk formed.

He finally had a reason to fight the Hulk.

Avengers Mansion, Manhattan, New York

A navy blue muscle car came to a halt within the Avengers car park, the vehicle rumbled idle for a moment before it pulled into a space where it's engine shut off. Stepping out of the vehicle, Nero and Janet both got out after getting his belongings from her apartment. Heading to the trunk, the hunter grabbed some two suitcases just as the heroine closed the door to the passenger door.

"So you and Hank?" said Nero suddenly as he closed the trunk and grabbed the two suitcases. The sudden mention of the scientist and her caused Janet to blush slightly, "Kinda curious how that happened."

"How do you mean?" asked Janet as she tilted her slightly.

"You're the party girl that's a ton of fun to be around while Hank is kinda the nerd that is extremely cautious and wants to think things through more," explained the hunter as he glanced over his shoulder back at the heroine, the two entering the mansion and started towards the room where Nero would be living in, "Kinda an odd mix in my mind."

"Maybe," sighed Janet, however, a mischevious look soon appeared as she gave the young adult a teasing smirk, "But what about you? Any special girl you have?"

Nero stopped dead in his tracks as he looked blankly ahead. His eyes narrowed ever so slightly as he tightened his grip on the suitcase handles. Jan noticed his sudden change in behavior and gave the young man a confused look.

"Nero?" she asked.

The hunter didn't reply, not that he could as a beeping sound suddenly started. Looking down at his pocket, Nero set down one of his suitcases and pulled out his I.D. card. The communication device was flashing, letting both of them know there was trouble.

"Ask me later," was all Nero said before he dropped the suitcases and sprinted towards his bedroom while Wasp flew out the door. She knew he'd catch up, he just needed to get his sword.

Central Park, Manhattan, New York

The peaceful night air was a welcomed presence within Central Park but was rudely interrupted by the sudden impact of an Asgardian Prince, crashing into the ground. Center of the park, a massive cloud of dust was cast up when Thor impacted with the ground.

Hulk landed near the impact site, searching for his opponent. His short search was cut even shorter when Thor charged out of the smoke, letting out a war cry as he charged. Mjolnir raised above his head, Thor slammed the mystic weapon directly into Hulk's head, knocking him off balance long enough for Thor swing his hammer again, sending Hulk into a statue. The collision was enough to knock Hulk's I.D. card out of his pocket, but the sight of the card made Hulk angrier as he crushed it under his massive foot. The with a massive roar, Hulk charged forward and leaped at the Asgardian, tackling him mid-air and sending them both through a line of trees. The impact carved a wide trench, marking over half the park.

Hulk and Thor continued to battle, wrestling with each other to a standstill as of present. The fight was interrupted when Wasp and Nero ran in. The young man had Red Queen strapped across his back as he stood by the side.

"Hulk, please stop," Wasp begged, holding her hands in a calming gesture, "Why are you doing this?"

"Hulk, what the hell is wrong with you?" demanded Nero, as he adjusted his stance slightly, ready to grab Red Queen should Hulk attack.

However, it wasn't the green giant that would, instead it was Thor who slugged Hulk right across the face, sending him flying back a few yards. Nero snapped his head around to look at Thor, the Prince heading to follow up his punch. However, Nero got in the way, grabbing the Thunderer by the arm, "You're not helping right now."

However, a low and rather angry growl drew their attention back to the Hulk who was getting back to his feet. An enraged glare on his face as he stomped towards the heroes. About halfway between them, Iron Man suddenly flew down in front of Hulk and tried stopping him, however, even his jet boots weren't powerful enough to stop the Hulk as he tried pushing the gamma giant back.

Right now, Hulk's attention was locked firmly onto Thor. His eyes were full of anger.

"Hulk! Hulk stop this!" demanded Iron Man as he tried pushing harder, "You have to listen!"

The Avenger's attempts of reasons fell on deaf ears as the Hulk was focused solely on Thor. However, during his vain attempts, his systems picked up something coming from the Hulk, and it wasn't the usual Gamma Energy.

"Alert," announced JARVIS through the Iron Avenger's hud, "unknown energy detected."

Sure enough, thanks to Tony's sensors, he could see a green aura surrounding Hulk's head. It was on a spectrum invisible to the naked eye, but not to the inventor's sensors.

Hulk, wait, there's something...AH!" cried out Iron Man as Hulk suddenly grabbed a hold of his head and slammed him into the ground. Before the giant could attack, several bio-stings struck the jade giant taking his attention off Iron Man. Hulk was then hit by Nero when he charged right at him and drop kicked the giant right in the face, knocking him back several.

As the Hulk steadied himself, he growled at Nero who landed back on his feet, "Mind if I cut in?" quipped the Demon Hunter.

The Hulk only growled as he had new targets to smash. As the giant was focused on them, Thor had run over to Iron Man to help him up.

"There's some kind of weird energy around the Hulk, informed Iron Man, he then looked down at Mjolnir, comparing the energy it was giving off to the energy affecting the Hulk, "Thor, it's similar to what you hammer is giving off."

Thor's expression darkened at the realization, "Tis dark magic. The Hulk has been enchanted."

Nero jumped back as Hulk punched the ground where he previously and landed next to both Thor and Iron Man, "So the big guy has someone pulling his strings. Any idea who might that be?"

Before Thor could answer, an angered growl emerged from the Hulk as he stalked towards the heroes. Now, he was ready to crush them all. But before he could make it any closer to them, a massive hand came down on top of him, pinning him in place. The one responsible was Giant-Man, he had a confident grin on his face.

"I'm guessing this isn't a trust-building exercise." quipped Giant-Man.

Before anyone could respond, Giant-Man was the flipped over the heroes and landed on his back. Hulk released his hold on Giant-Man's hand and leaped into the air. Nero drew Blue Rose and fired several shots at the Hulk, but thanks to his invulnerable skin, the bullets were nothing more than mere pellets. The giant landed on Giant-Man's head, who was just getting up from being flipped over. Hulk raised his fists into the air, ready to crush Giant-Man's head. Before he could, Hulk saw something coming out of the corner of his eye, it was Thor who was flying right at him, hammer poised to strike him.

The Asgardian swung Mjolnir at Hulk, but he dodged it. The attack caused Thor to lose balance when he missed, leaving him open to Hulk who grabbed his cape and began to spin him around. After picking up enough momentum, Hulk threw Thor across the park.

Giant-Man attempted to get Hulk off, but the green bruiser was not making it easy. Iron Man attempted to fly in, intending to tackle the Hulk, but the strongest one there is saw him coming and countered Iron Man's attack by clotheslining him, sending the armored hero into some trees.

Hulk jumped off Giant-Man's head and landed on his shoulder. The size changer then turned to face Hulk, but Hulk sucker-punched him in the face. The impact was enough to knock Giant-Man back onto his back, unconscious. Hulk then landed on Giant-Man's chest, hands held up to take his advantage.

"Get away from him!" cried out a voice that was followed by several bio-stings and twin Thorns from both Nero and Wasp, the latter was the one who called out.

The remaining heroes continued their attack, Nero holding back somewhat as he was still their ally and he didn't kill people, only demons, but they couldn't let Hulk hurt the others.

"Come on big green, come and get us," taunted Nero as he jumped back as the Hulk went after them. Suddenly, Hulk pulled his hands back clapped them together, creating a giant shockwave. The power behind it was strong enough to send Wasp flying back and into a tree where she crashed into the plant and fell to the ground.

Nero was merely blown back several feet as he kept his footing. The hunter looked back to see Wasp down. He gritted his teeth as holstered Blue Rose.

"Okay, Hulk, I tried pulling my punches, but that didn't work," grunted Nero as he cracked his knuckles while the Hulk growled, "Guess hurting you, is the only way of helping you."

Hulk roared and lunged at the teen raising his right fist, however, at the last second, Nero leaped over the green bruiser and used his back as a springboard to put some distance between the two. Landing back down on the ground, the demon hunter spun around to see the jade giant charging right towards him. Both fists raised into the air as he swung down at Nero. At the same time, Nero channeled energy into Devil Bringer, opening his palm as energy collected. The hunter let out a shout as he thrust his open palm right at Hulk. The result was a massive burst of energy, taking the form of Spectral Bringer that slammed right into Hulk's chest.

Hulk was completely blown back by the surprise attack, landing on his back, digging a small trench. Nero, for his part, shook his hand as he grimaced, not used to doing things like that. However, without warning, another roar caught his attention, prompting the hunter to look back in time to see Hulk charging right towards him. Crossing his arms, Nero tried blocking the backhand from the jade giant that sent him flying across the area where he smashed through a tree.

"Dammit," swore Nero as he got into a sitting position, however, he didn't get far before Hulk landed in front of him, an enraged expression on his face. The giant pulled his right fist back and punched the hunter into the ground, creating a large crater.

A pained yell came from Nero as he felt his bones crack under the strength of the punch. He groaned as he went limp and entered unconsciousness, being taken off guard really hurt. Hulk glared down at the demon-human teen before him, raising his hands ready to crush him. Within Hulk's mind, Bruce Banner, who was mysteriously chained up within glowing green chains broke free from his bonds. The release of Banner broke the enchantment that Hulk had been under. Hulk shook his head as he cleared it cleared his confusion and now realized what he had done. Hulk looked down at Nero, guilt almost immediately flooded him as he saw the one person who didn't treat him as a monster was nearly killed by him. The first person to ever come close to be a friend to Hulk, and he had almost smashed him, killed him. With that, he and the entire team would only see him as a monster, nothing would change, ever.

Hulk sighed sadly before he leaped away from the Avengers, just before Nero came to and saw the Hulk leave.

"Dammit," swore Nero as he got back to his feet and decided to regroup with the others.

They needed to figure out what Hulk's change in behavior meant.

"That went well," said Iron Man sarcastically as he addressed the team, "Is everyone-GAH!" yelped Iron Man suddenly as a giant battle-ax became embedded into his armor. The armored Avenger fell back with a thud.

Both Nero and Thor were taken by surprise, however, thanks to his reflexes, the Demon Hunter was able to dodge the blast of green energy shot at both him and Thor. The Asgardian was knocked back several feet, dropping Mjolnir in the process, while Nero regained himself and drew Red Queen, eyes narrowed as he glared at the owners.

Thor tried reaching for his hammer, but another blast of energy surrounded the weapon in a green aura. The aura zapped Thor when he tried picking up his signature weapon.

"The Avengers," said a smooth, feminine voice, causing Thor to join Nero in looking at the owner, "How unimpressive. You had better hope someone more capable chooses to avenge you."

The first was a hauntingly beautiful Caucasian woman with a slender body, long blonde hair that reached down to her waist, green eyes and light pink lipstick. She wore a green skintight suit, revealing her curves as well as leaving her shoulders exposed, and a matching mini skirt. She also wore long green arm sleeves that almost came up to her shoulders, black tights that had green circles on the sides, and on her head was a green tiara.

The second figure was a large, well-built man, almost the same size as Hulk. He was completely bald, several tattoos crossed his body and had a walrus mustache. He wore dark black and red armor, silver shoulder pads, red chest plate, and black gloves.

The two new arrivals stood above Iron Man, his armor shut down from the impact of the ax in his armor.

"J.A.R.V.I.S? J.A.R.V.I.S, raise the shields," ordered Iron Man, his voice betrayed he was panicking.

"Not possible, sir," responded the A.I. "Armor systems are in critical condition and are losing power."

Right after J.A.R.V.I.S. had finished, Iron Man felt a jerk as the ax that was wedged in his armor was yanked out, exposing the large hole in his armor chest plate.

Thor recovered after his moment of shock, seeing an old enemy return, as well as from the shock of her spell cast upon his hammer that zapped him. He glared angrily at the two attackers.

"How dare you attack us, Enchantress!" yelled Thor at the woman who was not worried in any way at all as she placed her hands on her hips, eyeing him.

Nero glanced at Thor for a moment before resting Red Queen on his shoulder, "Okay, I'll bite; who's the witch and axe-fetish?"

"The Enchantress and her Executioner, they are Asgardians," Thor explained though with some bitterness lacing his words.

"Not your friends then," drawled Nero as he glared at their attackers. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Thor nod, confirming they were not allies, "Great."

Thor nodded before returning his attention to the pair of Asgardians, "Why have you come here, Amora?" he demanded.

"Oh, you love Midgard so much, Thunderer," explained Amora tauntingly as she raised her hand that soon became enveloped in magic, "We thought we would come and see what all the fuss is about."

She then pointed her hand at the Prince and Hunter, firing a blast of green magic at them. Thor and Nero jumped away from the blast that struck the ground where they previously stood. Rolling across his shoulder, the Demon Hunter sheathed Red Queen and drew Blue Rose. Taking aim he fired a dozen shots at the witch, however, his bullets struck the barrier she formed to defend herself. The hunter gritted his teeth in annoyance, however, he then had to jump back to avoid the large ax that was swung at him.

The silver-haired teen grabbed Red Queen with his right hand and drew his sword before facing the Executioner who raised his ax and charged at Nero. The hunter sprinted towards the Asgardian, raising his own sword. Both their weapons clashed with each other, a shower of sparks flying at the point of contact.

The hunter suddenly took aim with Blue Rose and tried shooting Amora's servant, but missed when the Executioner used the flat side of the blade to block the twin rounds. The brute kicked Nero in the stomach, causing the hunter to stumble back.

"Guess you're tougher than you look," snorted Nero as he held his stomach. The Executioner said nothing as he adjusted his grip on his ax.

"Silent type, huh?" taunted the hunter as he holstered Blue Rose and took Red Queen back into his left hand, "Well... that's annoying."

He then lunged right at the Asgardian, Exceed roaring as he slashed at the Executioner. The burly man raised his ax and blocked the strike, but frowned as he felt himself strain under the power of the strike, his boots digging into the grass a bit. The hunter continued to viciously attack the villain, hacking and slashing at him, but the Executioner proved by an excellent combatant, blocking each swing from Nero.

It wasn't until the demon hunter suddenly gunned the Exceed as he went in for an upward slash. The miniature engine roared as Nero launched into the air, spinning while landing a brutal attack. The strike was strong enough to send the Asgardian sliding back several feet.

Landing back on the ground, Nero chased the Executioner, slashing mercilessly at him, forcing the Asgardian backpedal under the aggressive assault. It was when the Demon Hunter suddenly slashed up, knocking his foe's weapon up, he sent a surprise punch right at the Executioner's chest, landing a brutal punch right that sent him sliding back several yards.

The Executioner frowned as he held his chest. Removing his hand, he raised an eyebrow when he saw a fist-shaped dent in his armor. The Asgardian frowned as he returned his attention back to Nero. Flipping his ax around, he charged right towards the teen, raising his axe.

Nero brought Red Queen up to block the weapon, both blades clashed in a shower of sparks, however, the hunter was taken by surprise when the Executioner backhanded him away. The force of the blow was enough to send him stumbling back. Looking back up, the teen saw the Asgardian swing his weapon at him again. Instead of raising his weapon, the hunter braced himself and brought up Devil Bringer. The glowing appendage met the Asgardian weapon.

From the point where the blade meets Nero's demonic arm, a burst of energy flashed before a massive shockwave blasted the Executioner away while the teen was knocked to the ground with a gunt, his back bouncing off the grass and flipping around before coming to a rest on his stomach.

"Nero!" shouted Thor, seeing his young friend go down. He tried to go over and help his friend, but he was stopped in his tracks by Enchantress who shot a beam of magic at the prince, forcing him back. However, before she could fire again, a yellow beam of energy struck the sorcerer, causing her to backstep. Wasp flew down, firing her stingers in a frenzy after she saw Nero take such a hard hit.

"I'll handle the witch!" shouted the heroine as she continued firing at the Asgardian Sorceress, "Go help, Nero!"

Thor nodded and then ran over to his injured teammate with anger plastered across his face. But before he got close, he saw something that amazed him; Nero's arm was completely fine. The demon hunter was back on his feet and shaking Devil Bringer slightly.

"Okay, I'll admit, that was pretty good," commented Nero as he directed his attention to the Executioner, "but then again, so is this!"

He then thrust his right hand right towards the Asgardian, a larger spectral hand appeared and grabbed the Executioner. The hunter yanked the larger man right towards him before essentially ragdolling him. Smashing him into the ground a few times before hurling the man away, the hunter snorted as he rested Red Queen on his shoulder.

He then noticed Thor, who was looking at him in shock. The hunter smirked as he held up his right hand, "Magic doesn't really mean much to me," explained the hunter, "also, I hunt demons for a living. Wouldn't be around if I couldn't take a hit."

"If that is true, hunter," interrupted a sultry voice, bringing the attention of both Nero and Thor to the Enchantress who had defeated Wasp with her magic, "Let's see how much punishment you can take."

The two Avengers took fighting stances as the Executioner returned and stood by his mistress. The two groups charged and the battle continued.

Elsewhere...

As the battle in the park took place, the gloomy figure of the Hulk lumbered into a small ally before sitting down and leaned against the wall. Hulk crossed his arms over his legs and stared glumly at the ground, he could believe that within a day he had almost killed his new teammates, the first people that didn't run or try to lock him up the moment they saw him.

His thoughts were interrupted by a voice that called out in his mind.

"You have to go back."

Before the Hulk and man appeared. He had a rather weak build while being chased by various people and a scruffy beard, brown messy hair, brown eyes. He wore dark blue jeans and a hoodie with a white shirt underneath. He was Bruce Banner, alter ego of the Hulk and one of the smartest men on the planet.

"Someone is manipulating you. They wanted you to fight the Avengers. You have to go back and make sure they're okay," Bruce pleaded in a calm yet urgent tone to his monstrous alter ego. But the Hulk merely looked down at his feet, his scowl at its maximum.

"Everything you said was true. I am a monster," He grumbled at the scientist.

"It's only true if you let it be," Bruce replied as he figment walked over to the green giant and laid a hand on his arm, making the Hulk look at him, "Walk away now and it will be."

Back in the park, the fight was going about as well as you'd expect. Not good at all. Iron Man's armor couldn't replenish its power faster than it was losing it, Thor was still missing his hammer; without it, he was at a pretty big disadvantage compared to his enemies. Wasp could only do so much as her stings only annoyed the Executioner and Amora could easily shield herself from any attack with her magic or teleport away. As for Giant-Man, he was doing pretty well, using his enormous size and strength to his advantage, trying to smash Executioner into the ground. Nero for his part was holding his own, but it was clear that the Asgardian's experience gave them an advantage.

Executioner stood over Iron Man, his ax raised above his head.

"Oh, this gonna hurt," gasped Iron Man, but before the villain could slice him in two, Wasp charged right towards him, stingers blaring as she tried to force the Asgardian back. Taking his attention off the downed Avenger, he tried swinging his ax at her but missed.

"Hey, chatty!" barked Nero, causing Scourge to turn around and receive a brutal right hook that sent him stumbling back. Following up his attack, Giant-Man launched a colossal punch at the Asgardian. However, the servant of Amora evaded the blow by jumping back.

Executioner dodged from left to right, avoiding Hank's attempts to punch him. It was after one punch did the Asgardian decided to retaliate. Ax glowing bright red, he swung the weapon towards Giant-Man's head, shooting a fireball right towards the hero. Taken by surprise, Hank let out a shout as he reverted back to his normal size, trying to put out the flames that surrounded his head with hands. Once the flames were out, he fell onto his back.

Nero gritted his teeth as he let out an angered yell and charged right towards the Executioner. Amora's servant turned to the Hunter and raised his ax and swung at the teen. Nero fell to his knees and leaned back, sliding across the ground underneath the blade. Spinning around, he drew Blue Rose and began shooting mercilessly at the Asgardian. Scourge, raised his arm, the bullets striking his tough skin but not quite able to pierce his flesh. Frowning at the annoying cur, Scourge hurled his ax at Nero. Eyes widening in surprise, the hunter raised Devil Bringer and blocked the weapon with his demonic arm.

The force behind the through caused the teen to slide back a few feet. His demonic biology was the only thing keeping the hunter from being sliced in two by the Executioner. Gritting his teeth, Nero charged right back towards the Asgardian, who recovered his weapon and charged as well.

As for Wasp, she flew over to Iron Man, who was still lying prone on the ground, his armor still crippled.

"Iron Man," addressed Wasp, her tone full of trepidation that he might not have anything, "now might be a good time for some kind of... something."

"Armor's leaking energy faster than I can recharge," groaned Iron Man, sparks coming out of the large slice in his chest plate. He clearly sounded like he was being strained, "Unless you got some spare batteries lying around, or an electrical socket..."

Before he could ask anything else, a green mist appeared around Wasp and yanked her away. Standing above Iron Man was Amora, her own hand surrounded by that very same energy that held Wasp. The heroine struggled to get free but it was hopeless.

Thor also suffered a similar fate, forced to his knees while a ring of mist pinned his arms to his sides. Her glared at Amora for her treachery, but looks could only do so much. This left only one Avenger standing.

The demon hunter was knocked away by Executioner's ax, Nero using Devil Bringer to defend himself since it was the only part of him that was invulnerable to pretty much everything except the Yamato. The teenager hit the ground hard on the path leading to Amora and the restrained Avengers. Red Queen had been knocked out of his hand and slid across the ground toward Amora who planted her boot on the weapon to keep it out of Nero's grasp.

The hunter growled as he got back to his feet, shaking his head slightly.

"You have been very impressive, boy. It has never taken this long for my Executioner to fell anyone before," remarked the Enchantress, her tone full of interest while her gaze fell upon his right arm, "And your arm, it holds great power."

"Yeah?" snapped Nero as he glared at the Asgardian woman, "What about it?"

Amora sent the young hunter a naughty smile before a ring suddenly appeared around Nero. The teenager gritted his teeth as he struggled against the magic when Devil Bringer suddenly started glowing brighter. The Avenger watched with confusion as some mist floated from the ring around Nero and into Devil Bringer.

The hunter growled as the bonds suddenly broke. Instead of being shocked or enraged that her spell was broken, Amora was now much more interested.

"There are only a few creatures in the world that have such resistance to my magic," noted the Asgardian. Nero growled as he charged right towards the woman, "however, I must be sure."

It was then Red Queen was covered in green magic lifted off the ground. Nero pulled his right hand back, intending to slug the Enchantress right across the face when suddenly, pain erupted through his chest.

"NERO!" Screamed Wasp in horror at what she saw. Nero stepped back and looking down, he saw he had been impaled by Red Queen. He stumbled back before falling to the ground. Blood began seeping out of his wounds as Amora stood over him. Executioner then joined her, looking down at the hunter, watching as his eyes close.

"Such a waste," sighed the witch, when she heard a groan. Looking to the side, she saw Hank Pym coming around. Glancing at her servant, Executioner nodded before walking right up to the downed Hank Pym; who's mask was also sporting some burns from Executioner's last attack, which made the Enchantress grin slyly, "but he won't be alone for long."

"The giant man first," ordered Amora, "His head will make a good trophy, along with the boy's arm once we remove it."

Executioner nodded, then raised his ax to its zenith, ready to decapitate the size-changing hero.

"Hank, Nero...," wept Wasp as some tears fell from her eyes. Unknown to the Avengers, the teen wasn't out yet.

Nero's eyes snapped out, burning red as some energy began to flow around him. The hunter let out a growl as Devil Bringer started shining brighter and brighter, gaining the attention of the heroes and their attackers. What followed next was a massive blast that erupted from Nero. Amora had to shield herself from the blast while Executioner just tanked the hit. A large cloud of dust was thrown up into the air, shrouding Nero from view.

Slowly, the dust beginning to clear and allow an azure glow to shine through. Everyone's eyes widened in shock to see Nero back on his feet, Red Queen still stabbed through him. Energy surged all around his body while the Spectre floated just behind him. While in his Devil Trigger, the hunter frowned as he gripped his weapon by the handle and proceeded to rip it out of his chest, sending a shower of blood onto the ground.

"That wasn't fun," stated Nero ominously as he sheathed Red Queen across his back, "But it did fool you."

"H-how are you...," stammered Amora, completely shocked. The boy was completely impaled! How was he still alive?!

"Wanna know how I lived?" demanded Nero harshly as he held out his right hand. In the palm, Yamato formed, the Spectre mimicking his movements, "How about I give you a hint!"

Nero then swung Yamato in the Executioner's direction, a wave of energy flung right towards him while the Spectre followed the hunter's movements. The wave smashed right into the Asgardian and exploded on impact. The wave was so powerful that it knocked the brute through several trees and across the ground. With the muscle out of the way, Nero turned towards Amora, flipping Yamato twirling Yamato around in his hand, the Spectre following him.

"Your turn," stated Nero as he started towards the woman.

"I disagree," smirked Amora as she clenched her fists, causing the bonds surrounding the other Avengers to tighten, making them winch in pain. Nero stopped in his tracks and glanced between them and Amora.

Enchantress gave the devil hunter a sickly playful smile and waged her finger. "Uh, Uh, Ah" she taunted, "You wouldn't want me to do anything … Unfortunate to you little friends would you?" The bonds tightened even further as both Thor and Wasp winched at the pain.

"Hostages Amoura?" Thor spat as the glared at the witch, "Have you no honor?"

His question was left unanswered as the Enchantress kept her gaze on the hunter, whom she was thoroughly enjoying to torment. She then glanced behind Nero, however, the hunter easily caught on. His glowing red eyes flashed for a second, the Spectre suddenly moved on its own and blocked the Executioner's ax that was swung at Nero with its own ghostly version of the Yamato. The Spectre then launched a brutal punch that sent Scourge flying back and across the ground.

"You gave your hired help away, lady," snorted Nero as he dismissed Yamato and folded his arms while the Spectre sheathed its own sword in the organic sheath attached to his arm. Amora frowned at the boy.

"Even still, you cannot beat me," stated Amora, however, she adopted a confused look when she saw him smirk, "You are the only one still standing and I have all your friends."

"Who said they were 'all' here?" asked Nero rhetorically.

It was then a massive impact hit the ground at the edge of the clearing, startling everyone, except Nero as he calmly glanced at the origin. The collision also knocked Amora towards the Executioner who had just come back to see his lady knocked down. A loud growl echoed through the night as the Hulk joined the Avengers.

"Had a feeling you might come back," said Nero, gaining Hulk's attention who only snorted in response. As a result of the impact, Amora's concentration had been broken, freeing the Avenger's from her spell.

The now free Thor held out his hand, summoning Mjolnir to him. He held his mighty hammer aloft, summoning a bolt of lightning to him, which sparked and crackled in every direction. The Enchantress stood her ground and opposed the Asgardian Prince.

"I do not fear your lightning, Odinson." She spoke defiantly "Your magic is nothing against mine."

"You are not my target, witch." Thor then stood aside, revealing Iron Man; now back on his feet with lighting sparking across his armor recharging it.

"Armor energy reserves at 214%," J.A.R.V.I.S announced to Tony as he showed the armor's systems on the HUD, making the Iron Avenger grin. He then activated his thrusters and narrowly avoided a slash for the Executioners ax, then fired a repulsor blast into his chest, knocking him back to be right next to his mistress. Iron Man then landed and regrouped with the Avengers, minus Giant-Man.

"Take them down." Iron Man ordered as the Avengers charged at their enemies.

Wasp fired several stingers at the Enchantress, who blocked the attack with a magical shield; then before she could counter, jumped away from Thor's hammer strike.

At the same time, Executioner raises his ax to block a punch from the Hulk, but the green giant's strength proved too much for the brute as he was sent sliding back a few meters. Wasp then flew forward, firing her stingers at the Executioner's face, but the brute blocked them with his axe; which then lite up blue, the Asgardian brute then slammed the axe blade into the ground and a wave of ice traveled across the ground to were Hulk and Nero charged from. Nero leaped over the attack, leaving Hulk behind who was unfortunately frozen in ice. While in the air, Nero sent Spectral Bringer right at the Executioner, the Spectre mimicking his movements and grabbed right onto the Asgardian's face. Nero let out a yell as he yanked the Asgardian into the air towards him. While still suspended, the hunter hurled Amora's lackey around and right at a nearby bridge, smashing him through the stone.

Back at the other end of the field Iron Man and Thor were having a tough time with the Enchantress. True to her claim, her magical ability proved to be stronger than any of them. She created a shield to block another of Thor's blows, then nimbly avoided two more swings before blasting the Thunderer with her magic making him crash into Giant Man, who had just regained consciousness, sending them both into a nearby lake. Iron Man then swooped in and fired his repulsors at the Asgardian witch, but she merely teleported a few feet away to where she was. Iron Man continued to fire a barrage of repulsor blasts, each time Enchantress would teleport away, taunting the armored hero. After another fail attempted to hit her, the Enchantress raised her arms, which then became surrounded by green magic; then Iron Man was surrounded by the same aura, with a flick of her wrist, she sent Iron Man hurling into a statue nearby.

Wasp in the meantime was doing her own taunting as she was flying all around the Executioner like a mosquito, stinging him all over; the Asgardian brute was so large and slow compared to her that she could easily avoid his axe. This soon proved to be nothing more than a distraction as the Hulk charged out of the blue and delivered a powerful haymaker to the Executioner's face sending him flying over the tree line.

The Enchantress seeing this, and knowing that the Avengers already hade numbers on their side, decided to even the playing field. While she would have preferred the boy due to his intriguing nature, she had already planted the spell inside him; raised her hand to the Hulk, surrounding his head in a green aura. The green giant then turned to her in a trance making her grin.

"Destroy them all, my creature," she ordered as the Hulk advanced towards her. Suddenly he stopped, shook his head, then glared at the Enchantress with hateful eyes.

"NO ONE, CONTROLS THE HULK!" he roared as he stamped his foot into the ground causing a shockwave of the earth to flow straight to the Enchantress, knocking her off her feet. With her down the Avengers took their change as Iron Man fired his repulsors, Thor unleashed his lightning and Nero sent another wave of energy with Yamato.

All the attacks met on the Enchantresses location, causing a massive explosion.

When the dust cleared Iron Man, Thor, and Nero stood around the unconscious form of the Enchantress. She had several scratches and bruises but nothing to serious, which really made Nero hate Asgardian durability. The heroes' attention was caused by a groan from Giant-Man, who was being supported by Wasp, the fact that he was still moving gave the hunter some relief. A part of him would admit that Tony was right, neither one of them could have beat them on their own, well he could have if they didn't take him by surprise, but the point still remained; they worked better together as a team.

'Could use some work though,' thought Nero as he dismissed Yamato and folded his arms.

"Watch out!" Wasp suddenly screamed the others turned only to get swatted aside by the Executioners ax. The Asgardian brute then slung the Enchantress over his shoulder, then used his axe to open a portal allowing both to escape before anyone could react.

Giant-Man and Wasp walked up to the others as they got up from the surprise attack.

"Aah, does somebody want to explain what that was all about?" Giant-Man asked, his voice a clear reflection on how sore he was.

"Old enemies from Asgard," Thor explained, "The Enchantress has ever found joy in causing me pain."

"The hell did you do, stand her up at a date?" demanded Nero annoyedly as his Devil Trigger faded.

Thor ignored the Question and instead walked up to the Hulk who stood to the side, with his trademark scowl.

"You have won the day, friend Hulk," Thor praised, "Truly thou art a warrior to be reckoned with for few can resist the Enchantress' charms."

He held out his hand for the Hulk to shake, but the green giant merely grunted.

"Nothing's changed," He stated, "You all thought I was a savage monster. You were gonna take me down. You're no different than Ross and SHIELD. Expect they're honest about it."

He then turned and walked away from them.

"Hulk, come on," Wasp called out.

"I'm done," stated Hulk before he leaped into the sky while his former team just watched him go.

"So much for a team," stated Nero bitterly.

"Okay, so not the most promising day two," Iron Man stated as he looked to the others, "Let's head back to the mansion I think we can all agree that we need some rest."

The others nodded in agreement, however, Nero just watched Hulk leave. He frowned as the giant faded into the distance. The hunter just sighed and turned away while shoving his hands into his pockets. He figured Hulk would be back, he just needed some time to himself. He was sure of this because this is exactly what he would do.

'Just got to wait and see,' thought Nero as he followed the others, however, he was suddenly stopped by Wasp, placing her hand on the center of his chest.

The hunter looked at Janet confused, "What?"

"Nero," she said extremely calmly, but the way she said his name made him feel very uneasy, "Want to explain how you survived being impaled?"

Nero glanced up and saw that the others were still heading to the mansion before looking back at Wasp. He could see she was not going to let this go no matter what he said or did. So, the hunter could only let out a tired sigh.

"I'll explain later," he finally said, earning a nod from Wasp, however, he grasped her shoulder and leaned over to her ear, "but just you. This is something that's personal."

Letting go of the brunette heroine, he started for the group leaving Janet behind for a moment. The heroine looked at Nero with confusion and some worry. What was so secret that he didn't want to talk about it?

To Be Continued...