The corner of the newspaper fluttered in the breeze from the broken window. Steve stared down at the headline decorating the front page:

AVENGERS DEFEATED BY MASTERMIND AGAIN?

The silence of the abandoned church suffocated him. His fingers played with the thin paper as he chewed his lip. He never expected it to be this way when he started out. It'd been fun in the beginning as the challenge kept him on his toes and he'd had so many new ideas and plans.

But it turns out being an Evil Mastermind wasn't all fun and games. Not that he'd really classify himself as evil. Not really.

The challenge had all but evaporated. The best America had to offer, The Avengers, couldn't get a grasp on him. He'd even been playing an easier game for them the last few months. He sighed and rubbed his face. What's the point in being committing crimes if there wasn't anyone to chase you?

He was tempted to read the article about his latest victory but that seemed too narcissistic. He didn't do all this for his ego. He was just bored and lived for the thrill and rush of adrenaline. He folded up the paper and slipped it into his messenger bag before swiftly leaving the building. Steve pulled the cap lower over his eyes and pushed his glasses higher onto his nose. He didn't really need a disguise but it always felt reassuring. People didn't really recognize a superhero that they thought to be dead.

The back door, which he always used as his access point, was sticky on the hinges so he could jam it shut and nobody would be any wiser. The Mastermind slinked away wondering if it'd even be worth planning something new.

It was the day after their latest mission but many of the Avengers were still nursing some wounds. Clint had a deep gash across his upper arm that was bandaged tightly whilst Tony had several scratches across his face where glass had penetrated the helmet and shattered inside. Natasha was also sporting her own share of dark bruises. Needless to say, they weren't in the mood for this talk with Fury.

"Again?!" The Eye-patched man growled, "How can this happen again?"

"Maybe we're just not good enough." Dr Banner suggested, shrugging slightly. He held his glasses by one leg and span them around in his hand.

"We just need to get in his mindset." Tony disagreed with Bruce, shaking his head slightly. He squinted as though he was trying to solve an impossible puzzle; it wasn't an unfamiliar look on his face.

Clint and Natasha shared a look but didn't voice anything. She folded her arms and sighed.

Fury dictated the conversation again, "Well, it can't happen again. We have a reputation to uphold. We can't call you the protectors of America if you can't even stop one guy."

The team were quiet. After three previous attacks, it was undoubtable that this masked Mastermind would strike again but this time they had to stop him. The last few times the guy had just stopped for no apparent reason as though he sensed he'd been close to real victory.

Nobody spoke for the rest of the meeting.

This was it, the big day. Steve took a bite out of his French toast and perused the New York Times. The plan was supposed to take place yesterday but there had been a charity ball to raise money for sick kids and Steve wasn't that evil. He'd decided to postpone it.

So, as a result, today was the big day. At 2pm he was going to unleash his mind control wavelengths across New York with a few exceptions like the Shield/Avengers team and a couple of small areas that held some sentimental attachment. He reviewed the plan in his head and couldn't help but smirk at the absolute genius of it all.

It had taken almost three months but eventually it was ready. He'd used the satellites already orbiting Earth to relay the signal which will be transmitted from his microwave-sized device he'd built. It had been a challenge at first but once the basics were established then it was a simple case of taking the next step.

He wondered if the Avengers, wherever they may be, would be ready for this. Perhaps they'd lowered their guard in the time it took him to plan this next step. He'd followed them the best he was capable but Black Widow, Thor and Clint practically drop off the radar as soon as the missions were wrapped up. Tony was clearly the easiest with his press conferences and public figure status. Watching him had lead Steve to Dr Banner. The physicist who was crashing in his tower and using his science labs. It took some effort and several hours but he'd managed to hack into the security cameras at the tower which gave him a live feed of the inhabitants.

Steve swirled the last of his coffee around the cup before swallowing it down with a gulp. He left the payment and tip on the table as he waved goodbye to the familiar staff and left the small diner. He wanted to get some drawing done before it all kicked off later.

He headed out to where he had a good view of the Brooklyn bridge and pulled out his sketchpad. It was a foggy morning and he loved the way the white fog surrounded the brilliant red of the bridge. He'd been working as an artist for several years but it'd been only in the last couple years that his pieces had begun to gain traction. It wasn't enough to make him rich but enough to rent a small apartment on the outskirts of town with Sam.

He smiled and breathed softly. Moments like this made his life really worth living.

2 o'clock on the dot, Steve activated the device and it let out a gentle buzz as it began sending the signal up to the satellites high overhead. He smiled, it'd take a while for the wavelength to get projected out which gave Steve the time to make himself scarce.

He climbed down the stairs of the apartment building he'd used and out the front door. He headed towards some old office buildings that he'd checked were empty. He'd set up a TV and Internet there a few weeks ago when his plan began to come into play.

The hurried up the abandoned stairwell and into a small office. He switched on the TV and pulled out his tablet and set it to the news. Almost instantly reports were coming in of thousands of people lashing out at each other in horrendous acts of violence. Theories were being thrown around of viruses, water pollution and even zombie apocalypses. Steve wasn't concerned though; he'd ensured that the mind-controlled people's violence would not spread to murder or ruthless killing.

He sat now and waited for the world renowned Avengers to make an appearance.

They were completely over their heads. The five of them stood in a group staring at the chaos descending around them. People were swinging bats, throwing punches and being brutal to each other.

"I take it this isn't another one of your Earthly customs?" Thor asked, looking puzzled but curious. The team had been working hard to get him to understand what was normal on Earth.

"Nothing that I've seen before." Bruce reassured his friend with a weak smile.

They watched for a few moments more before Stark, decked out in his full Iron Man suit, said, "Okay, let's go kick some ass." His thrusters sent him shooting up into the air to patrol the skies. He always found a birds eye view to be useful when sussing out the opposition.

"J? Any idea what's going on?" He asked his AI.

"I'm picking up a signal, sir." JARVIS reported, "I should have it pinpointed in the next few minutes."

Tony landed beside a group of people who were battling it out on a rooftop. The pregnant woman swung a pole until it hit her opponent across the head which sent the 6 foot 2 man stumbling back across the floor. Once he was relatively pacified, she turned on Stark and swung for him as though he didn't have a bright red iron suit to protect him. Not wanting to hurt the woman, Iron Man flew away to hover over the city.

A voice spoke over the comms, it was the Norse God.

"I have just discovered that when I hit them extremely hard over the head they'll be restored to normal." The blond God sounded proud of this discovery.

Trust Natasha to rain on his parade, "I don't think it'll be great for our reputation if we're seen beating up civilians."

Tony peered down to the rooftop where the woman had attacked the man and found the guy cowering against the railing as he watched his friends and co-workers battle for their lives. It seemed Thor certainly was onto something.

He reported back to the group over the comms and continued to search for the cause of this sudden outburst. He was flying over the civilians, unable to stop them attacking each other. As more people were getting knocked out, more of them were beginning to run for cover confused by the behaviour of the other people.

He could see Natasha and Barton below, ducking and diving away from the crowds whilst rushing along the streets.

"Sir, the signal originates from satellites but the transmitter is on top of an apartment building on West 38th Street."

"Thanks, J." Tony muttered before zooming off in the direction it was originated from. It was a fair distance but he was already on his way. He told the team over the comms to ensure they were also coming.

Suddenly, Tony noticed a man dressed completely in black with a balaclava that only covered the top half of his face running over the rooftops along a few hundred foot from him. He was leaping the distance between the buildings and jumping any railings that stood in his way. It moved with ease and grace. How was this guy not being effected by the wavelength?

Tony, knowing when someone is acting weird, aimed his blaster at the man and sent his glove toward him. It hit the stranger mid-leap sending him off balance and tumbling down the gap between the buildings.

"Shit." Tony ground out. That was a significant drop that would do some significant damage.

He sped up and shot down the alley between the buildings but there was nobody there. He glanced up to see the man holding on the edge of a fire escape about 65 foot above him. The guy was struggling to hold on but he was desperately trying to pull himself up. The masked man just managed to stand back on the escape when Stark flew into him, sending both of them through the window of an apartment. The glass shattered around them and the panting man groaned as shard of glass fore the flesh across his back.

"Why'd you do that for?" The man exclaimed, rolling up off the floor whilst avoiding the glass shards.

Luckily the apartment was empty or they'd have a lot of explanation for to do. It was slightly dark where the only window in the room let out to the alley way.

"I don't know because I was in the mood for some friendly man wrestling? Of course not! You were looking shady as fuck running exactly in the direction that I'd just been told the transmitter is." His lifted his faceplate while talking to get a real face to face.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Steve began to walk back towards the window but Stark struck him in the shoulder, sending him stumbling back.

"I think you know exactly what I'm talking about." He ground out, taking an intimidating step toward the large man. "This has your name all over it. Just like the last two attacks."

"The last three." Steve corrected automatically. "This is the fourth attack that you imbeciles have not managed to quash."

"That's it." Tony growled before leaping at Steve, fully prepared for the man to dart but he didn't. He allowed Tony to pummel straight into him which sent them both crashing on the carpet. He was lying directly on top of the fiend and threw a punch to subdue him. It was after this action that he realised the man wasn't fighting back. He was just lying there. "What's up with you?" He asked, he took a second to appreciate the man's strong jawline that was exposed in the balaclava which stopped just beneath his nose.

Steve shrugged, "I'm not here to fight."

"But yet you cause utter destruction across the city?" To say Tony was confused was an understatement. Villains didn't usually want to go easily once they were caught. Instead they wanted to remain at large where they could continue causing havoc. The man had very plump lips but Tony had to prevent himself from thinking inappropriate thoughts.

The man shrugged again, "I don't do it to ruin the city. That just happens to be a byproduct of setting these challenges and upping the tasks each time."

"What the hell are you talking about 'challenges'?" Tony peered down at Steve.

"For a genius you're very slow." The criminal spoke slowly, almost as though he was scared his words would have some negative consequences for him. "I set challenges for you guys to solve. It's all a bit of fun really... Can you get off me? I'm not sure if you're aware but that suit weighs an actual tonne."

Tony rolled off the man and stood cross armed, watching as the man stood and rested down on a nearby couch.

"Look, I know it's an inconvenience but... Well, I'm sure you understand, as a genius, how hard it is to occupy your mind and I have the same problem. So, I spend my time devising plots for you to solve but so far you've nothing but disappointed... Perhaps I should move to Gotham. I hear there's a higher class of Superhero out there. Get the job done." He muttered the last few lines as though he really was just considering his options.

Stark remained unconvinced, "So that's it? It's not malicious intent or money? It's just you trying to keep your mind busy?"

Steve nodded and pouted a little, "I'm Steve." He held out his hand and waited.

Iron Man eyed his palm suspiciously before stepping forward and giving a curt shake, "Is that your real name?"

Steve nodded and thought for a second, "I'm actually surprised it was you who got me. I'd have put my money on Black Widow. As a super spy and all." He shrugged, "Plus, being able to watch you and Bruce meant I would know if you were planning something."

Tony's face dropped, "You hacked into my security feed?" Shock and the look of being impressed mingled across the lines in the playboys face.

"Yeah," He picked at lint on his pants, "It was a challenge, I'll give you that." The grin Tony received almost made him relax slightly. Steve didn't seem like the typical bad guy they dealt with.

"As it should be. It should be impenetrable since I designed it myself." He smirked, subtly stroking his own ego. "Nobody has managed to get in before."

Steve grinned, sensing a challenge on the horizon,"I'll tell you what." He leant forward to rest his elbows on his knees. A sparkle of mischief glistened in the blue eyes, "You up the anti and I'll see what I can do to get in again."

The older man raised his eyebrows, "How will I know?"

"I'll make it obvious." He bit his lip to try and lessen the extent of his grinning. "Anyways, I have a thing to be dealing with."

"You're going to turn it off?" He asked, mind suddenly thrown back into the game.

Steve nodded and began to walk back over to the window. He stepped out onto the fire escape and turned to face Tony, "That's what I've had to do the last three times."

The man jumped up and caught the next layer of the fire escape and pulled himself up. With a blur of black material he was gone. Seconds later, Tony followed out while closing his mask but there was no sign of his new acquaintance. He set off and tuned back into the comms.

"Tony? Tony?" Clint was asking, panic seeping into his usually calm tone. They'd obviously been trying to get in contact with him for some time now.

"It's okay. I'm here." He then ordered them, "You guys turn back. I have it all under control so it'll back to normal soon." He lied.

"You sure?" Bruce asked, clearly out of breath from running towards the transmitter.

"Yeah, before you know it everything will be-"

There was suddenly silence around them where there had been screaming and shouting from the riot. The silence only lasted a short period of time before crying, screaming and sobbing set in. Everyone clearly awakening from their mind control and witnessing what had taken place.

"Well done, Man of Iron!" Thor roared over the intercom. You could practically hear the smile in his voice.

"Good job. Everyone meet back at base?" Natasha confirmed, not wanting to hang around for the aftermath.

"Just give me a minute, I need to check something." Tony muttered and began flying out to where the device was positioned.

He landed and the roof was empty. There was no sign that anything had every been there nor had that thing taken over the minds of millions of people. Tony glanced around for a while to see if he could catch one last look at this genius who'd manage to even get past him.

He sighed before flying back to base.

What he didn't notice was a blond man in a tee and jeans watching him from the window of an apartment several buildings away.