Chapter 8

"Did you really think you could convince Xavier to move against this new savior of his people, Stark?"

Tony Stark scowled, the haughty condescension in Namor's voice was grating enough under normal circumstances, but having to deal with the Atlantean prince's bullshit on top of everything else was pressing on his last nerve. "YOUR people too, Namor. As you seem to forget so often, you're a mutant too."

Namor just scoffed "I am an Atlantean before anything else, as I always have been, Stark. I will do anything to safeguard my kingdom, even if it means going along with this plan of yours. Out of any of you, only me and Black Bolt know the true weight of a crown."

Black Bolt remained characteristically silent as the group walked through the silent, tomb-like corridor towards their usual meeting place, though Stark thought he could discern a slight nod from the Inhuman regent at Namor's word. Whatever their motivations were, he hardly cared as long as they understood the importance of what they were about to undertake. Ginnungagap had to be brought to heel, one way or another. The fragile peace he had managed to establish had to be preserved.

At the junction just before the door to the meeting chamber, they were met by the two final members of their alliance, atleast out of the ones intending to be present at the meeting, as Stephen Strange appeared out of a glowing portal to the left, while Reed Richards stepped out through a hole in space on the right. Stark caught a glimpse of what he recognized as Reed's lab in the Baxter Building on the other side just before the hole closed.

"Showoffs" Stark muttered lightly. "Glad to see everyone could make it. Strange, did you look into what I asked when I called the group together."

Strange nodded, a serious look on his face "I did, Tony, and I can confirm that this Ginnungagap is entirerly mundane in nature, comparatively speaking. His abilities seem to be tied completely to his mutation, despite his power he's leaving no trace of magical energies, nor does his change of the fabric of reality have any impact on the astral plane, atleast not directly."

Reed, never comfortable with the seemingly arbitrary nature of magic, despite having long since been forced to accept it's existence, took over "While I'll take Stephen at his word for Ginnungagap's magical nature or lack thereof, I have compared what information we've managed to gather with other recorded instances of beings with reality warping abilities, especially those of Kevin MacTaggert and Owen Reece. I've also tried to confirm rumors about a reality warping mutant that Captain Britain encountered several years ago, but he's strangely reluctant to speak of the issue."

Stark nodded gravely "Might be something to look into in the future, the UK is a contributor to SHIELD, and we should be able to petition the government for any information on the subject. We've been far too lax with this kind of thing in the past, and just look what happened. Ginnungagap just showed up out of nowhere and almost ruined everything we worked for without even trying. The next one isn't going to be as nice about it."

Namor rolled his eyes and pushed past him, pressing the chamber door open "You'll have your opportunity for your full pitch in a minute, Stark. Let us sit down fi-"

Someone was already waiting for them inside the chamber.

Sitting crosslegged on the meeting table was a tall, heavyset man they all recognized from the Genoshan TV broadcast, even if his clothes were a bit shabbier.

"Hey, guy!"

....

Black Bolt is the first one to move. Shoving the rest of the Illuminati aside, I see him begin to open his mouth.

"Nope!" I point at him, and Bolt's eyes widen as he realizes nothing is happening. Clutching his throat, he tries yelling, but not a single noise leaves his throat. Strange is the next to try, and I see him begin to raise his arms, even as he's starting to speak.

"Also nope!" I make a flicking motion, and Strange keels over, unconscious. I don't have any experience with magic and I don't particularly want to try testing my limits with it right now, so knocking out the Sorceror Supreme seems like the most expedient thing to do. Finally, the remaining three seem to snap out of whatever shock they're in and call for their Stones, with Bolt joining them when he notices what's about to happen.

Which is exactly what I was waiting for.

"YOINK!" Before they can even finish taking the Stones out, I snatch them from their grip, and the cosmic artifacts fly across the room and right into my waiting hand, along with the one still hidden in Strange's robes. Five in all, since I decided to let the professor keep the Mind Gem. I watch them hover over my open palm, I can feel their power pulse through my body even without using my own power to sense for them.

Namor begins to move towards me, his fists clenched "You miserable sack of-"

I just give him a bored glare "Namor, you're not stupid, so why don't you just shut the hell up for once? There's no way you'd even be able to touch me before I turn you into a sea slug so just walk over to the corner and sulk like a good little prince." Namor actually looks taken aback and his face begins shifting in various interesting shades of red before Stark finally decides to try and be diplomatic all of a sudden.

"Listen, Ginnungagap, I don't know if Xavier told you where to find us or-"

I roll my eyes "Reality warper, a-doy. All I had to do was will myself a way to find where you guys meet and BOOM!"

"...right. Okay, that doesn't matter, you need to listen to us. You don't understand how dangerous those stones are, we divided them amongst ourselves so they would never fall into the wrong hands again, and only be used under the most dire emergencies-"

"Oh, you mean like right now when you were planning on killing me with them?" Stark freezes mid-speech "Yeah, I'm not an idiot, Stark. I knew my actions would draw unwanted attention, and for reasons that are frankly none of your fucking business, I already knew about your little super secret club too. It was only a matter of time before you decided I was too much of a threat to the fascist status quo you've built up and had to be brought down."

Stark finally finds his voice again "We-we weren't going to kill you, not outside a last resort. But we had to have some way of countering your powers! We had to make you understand what kind of threat you represent to the stability of the world! You can just wave your hand and the fabric of reality responds, that's too much power in the hands of one man! You've irresponsible caused all sorts of damage with your reckless use of your abilities!"

"Oh yeah, I've been a real bastard. Let's see, I fixed every depowered mutant on the planet, a problem one of YOUR Avengers caused because you couldn't pull your head out of your ass long enough to deal with her, I brought millions of unjustly murdered people back to life and I've been healing people with them. Yeah, I'm clearly the next Doctor Doom, better call that crew of collaborators, pressganged supervillains and wifebeaters you have the gall to rent out the Avengers name to."

"They have my complete confidence, and are lawfully registered under the SRA" Stark says, and he's actually starting to look angry now "I'm not going to discuss legalities with you, as the director of SHIELD, I'm deputized to handle all superhuman affairs by the U.S government, and as such, I'm informing you that you are required to register as part of the SRA, and follow SHIELD guidelines for the use of your superhuman abilities, as well as returning the Stones, which are classified as dangerous property!"

I nod calmly. "No."

"...what?"

"I said. No. What are you going to do about it?"

Stark was obviously expecting a refusal of some sort, but the brevity of my response seems to throw him for a bit before he continues "Being powerful enough to flaunt the law does not-"

"Okay, let me stop you right there, because while I AM powerful enough to just tell you to fuck off, the SRA does not apply to me. First of all, I'm a mutant, which you already know, so the Act does not apply to me and it's not my fault you never bothered to think that other mutants might appear one day. Second, I'm not a U.S citizen, so you have no jurisdiction over me in the first place. Third, the act technically only applies if you're going to engage in crime fighting, something you seem to forget whenever it's convenient! But also I'm powerful so I'm telling you to fuck off. That clear enough for you?"

Reed finally decides to try his luck and steps in "Please, I know your frustration but you do not understand what you are risking with your actions. The SRA was an unfortunate necessity at the time, and can hopefully be gradually reappealed in the future, but both myself and Tony performed extensive research into the issue, and we both came to the conclusion that co-operating with the government on the issue was the only way to avoid outright conflict between the superhuman community and society! No matter which side had won, the result would have been devastating for the entire planet!"

"Yes, Reed. I'm well aware of your view on going against the precious government" I tell him, pushing as much cold as I can into my voice "I know what happened to Uncle Ted after all."

Stark looks surprised, but Reed actually pales, which I didn't think he was even capable of anymore. I keep going. "Ah yes, Ted Richards, who committed the unforgivable crime of refusing to comply with the anti-communist hysteria of the 50's, and so of course his entire life had to be destroyed, because god knows we can never go against the government no matter how cruel and draconian they are, they make the laws after all! Remind me again who signed off on that unsanctioned space flight that gave you and your best friends your power? No one? You're a sanctimonious hypocrite? Glad we got that out of the way."

"The American people-"

"THERE ARE OTHER COUNTRIES ON THE PLANET BESIDES THE UNITED STATES!!" The chairs around the table slam into the walls as I inadvertently throw them away. I clear my throat, ignoring the fear on their faces. "Hrrm. Sorry about that. Anyway, I've held you up long enough, so before I leave, I'd just like to say this; I will be giving the Stones out to more deserving holders, and if I catch you sniffing around for them, you'll be spending the rest of your lives as cockroaches with your minds intact. And don't think you're off the hook for any of the bullshit you've pulled over the past year. There will be a reckoning, and you will pay for everything you've done. I'm leaving you with this sword hanging over your heads, and remember, there is nowhere for you to hide from me."

And then, I'm gone.

....

"Miss Walters, your next appointment is here to see you!"

Jennifer Walters, better known as She-Hulk, looked up from the case files she was studying at her desk, looking around her office in confusion. "That's strange, I don't have a secretary. Or an intercom for that matter."

Before she could ponder the mystery any further, the door opened, and a tall, bearded man with a mohawk stepped in, tossing a glowing green gem in his hand. "Miss Walters, it's great to meet you, I'm a big fan! Quick question, how would you like to get payback on the people who pumped you full of nanobots and shot your cousin into space?"