A/N: Ha! First dibs on D. Gray-man/Avengers crossover! Heh. You know, when I first found out that there weren't any of these around, I was pretty put out. And then I tried to put them together myself and was like 'oh'. But. It does work! This is proof! Not sure how many people will be interested, though... *depressed* Still. Please read!

Title: Fear of Infinity

Author: liketolaugh

Rating: T

Pairings: None

Genre: Drama/Adventure

Warnings: None

Summary: When Loki mentions two more Infinity Stones, aside from the Tesseract, that fell to Earth thousands of years before, the Avengers are thrown into a centuries-old war between Dark Matter and Innocence - also known as the stones of Mind and Soul.

Disclaimer: I only wish I owned D. Gray-man, and the Avengers are but a dream that is not my own.

Thousands of Years Before

"Daddy?"

Road Noah looked down at her father with wide, violet eyes. Noah smiled up at where she perched in a tree, one of the few that had survived the flood. "Yes, Road?"

"What's this?"

She held out her hand, a smooth, round green gem nestled in it, almost too big to hold, seeming to almost glow from within. Noah looked startled.

"I can't say I know."

Road pouted. "But Daddy-!"

"Where did you find it?" Wisely looked fascinated, leaning close to the gem to examine it.

"In the tree," she said quietly. "It had a big gash in it, and this was inside."

"Put it back, dear. It might be dangerous," Noah told her.

She sighed and slumped, dejected. "Okay." And she reached up to put it back, but it tumbled from her small hand and fell to shatter against the ground.

When it broke against the hard earth, it exploded, green light washing over all of them and burning, burning, burning…

And the other gem, one much like it, kept in Noah's pocket, but a dark purple, flared up in response, wrapping all of them in deep violet, protecting them, changing them.

And they woke up. Grey-skinned and gold-eyed, they woke up, one by one – Adam, Noah's eldest son, then Road, then Tyki and Sheryll, and Wisely and Fiidora and Maashiima, and Toraido and Skinn and Jasdevi, and then Lulu and Maitora, golden eyes opening two by two.

Noah alone did not wake up.

In the end, the violet gem had dissolved to dust and passed from Noah to them, sinking into all of them, changing them right down to their genetic composition, while the green one was shattered and thrown to the corners of the Earth.

And they hated the green gem, with everything they were.

Present Day

"Thor!" Fury roared the instant they were in the debriefing room, voice dangerous and eyes blazing. "What the hell are the Infinity Stones?"

Thor cringed slightly, looking ashamed of himself. Loki, by contrast, looked faintly amused.

The Avengers had just returned from a battle with the Enchantress, and while not much talking had gone on (it was, after all, a fight), the woman had made several references to the Infinity Stones and their many apparent hazards. And their presence on Earth.

And Fury really, really wanted to know why he hadn't heard of them sooner.

"I know little," Thor admitted, looking shamed. "These Infinity Stones… they are stones of great power, of which there are six. You know of one of them: the Tesseract."

"You mean there are more of them?" Clint demanded, voice low and horrified. Tony couldn't blame him, considering the experience the man had had with it.

"Yes," Thor confirmed gravely. "The Tesseract, the Space Stone, is but one of the set, and perhaps one of the least volatile."

"And you didn't feel the need to mention this sooner?" Fury asked dangerously, vein practically popping out of his forehead. When Thor merely continued to look shamed, he continued, "No, don't fucking answer that. Are there any more on Earth?"

"I know not," Thor admitted, hunching over and not meeting Fury's eyes.

"With the Tesseract gone," Loki interrupted, drawing Fury's attention away from his poor brother, "there are two more. To my knowledge, the stones of Mind and Soul both fell to Midgard long ago."

Thor's eyes widened, apparently catching something that escaped the rest of them. "But the Mind and Soul stones-"

"Yes. Their rivalry could destroy Midgard," Loki agreed, grim. "It would only take a catalyst."

"What the hell is this?" Fury demanded, nearly shaking with tension. "And you didn't feel the need to say anything?"

Loki looked mildly ashamed as well now, particularly with all eyes on him.

"I thought nothing of it," he confessed. "They have been here for longer than I have lived, and I believe that I would notice if anything particularly untoward was going on."

Fury took one deep breath. Two. "Loki. Do you remember what I said about coming clean?"

"Of course." Loki cast his eyes to the table, contrite.

After he had helped his brother against the Dark Elves, he had surrendered himself to Midgard for their own punishment, having been exonerated in Asgard - perhaps there was something to be said for having nothing to think about but for how much you had done wrong.

After much negotiation, Fury had finally agreed to let Loki stay and make up for his crimes as an Avenger, under the Avengers' supervision. The methods had been wide and varied, but one of them had been an agreement to keep no secrets.

After quite some time, he'd earned their trust, but no one forgot what he'd done.

Unnoticed by anyone, Thor also cast his eyes to the ground in shame, flushing. If he'd only paid Loki more attention…

Once he'd decided that Loki had had enough, Fury asked, "Can you find them?"

"To get them under control?" Loki looked back up raised one eyebrow, something like amusement flickering through his eyes (though it was somewhat forced), but he answered anyway. "I can, with effort, track the magical signatures of both stones. However, if they have shattered – and with the Soul Stone, that is highly likely – then I cannot track all of them, and we will instead have to, ah, ask around, if you will. It is likely that all pieces that may exist have manifested in the same, or a similar, manner. I believe that cults form around these things?" He chuckled wryly.

"Do it," Fury ordered him, back stiff and straight.

"Which one?" Loki asked, an almost bored drawl to his voice, though he was smirking, recovered from his reminder.

"Whichever one of them is most fucking dangerous!" Fury snapped at him, fast losing patience.

Loki raised an eyebrow again. Clint swore that he was enjoying this way too much. "Dangerous? Danger takes many forms, Director, you know that. The Mind Stone is the more destructively inclined, but the Soul Stone may well be the most fearsome of all the stones." A slight grimace tugged at the side of his mouth, brow furrowing.

"Why is that?" Natasha asked, voice sharp and eyes intent. If it disturbed Loki...

Loki leaned back slightly, a slightly contemplative expression on his face as he pondered how to explain. "The Soul Stone is very, ah, willful, shall we say. When in pieces – and it is often in pieces – it tends to bond with humans. It is from there that it is... frightening."

"Explain," Fury ordered curtly, one step from pacing.

Loki shrugged. "The Soul Stone is a powerful magical object. With a bond, it gains close ties to the subject, which gives it a large locus of control. From there… well, I cannot say, for I do not know. But trust me, Director, you do not want to be under the control of a magical object." He smiled tightly. "It is bad for one's state of mind."

"Why aren't you certain it's in pieces if it's been broken already?" Steve wanted to know, frowning in thought, trying to think of anything he might have seen or heard.

Loki waved a hand dismissively. "The Infinity Stones can be reformed; all that must be done is to find the largest piece. It's a rather simple matter, actually, at least for one such as me." Then, expectant, "Director? The stones?"

Fury let out a long, irritated breath, paused in thought, and then, finally, decided, "Search for the Mind Stone. Sounds to me like it'll be easier to find." He raised one eyebrow expectantly. "And the Soul Stone shouldn't be much of an issue on its own… should it?"

"I should think not," Loki admitted. He smirked slightly. "Very well."

And he closed his eyes, stretching his senses out for the signature of the stone he'd felt only once before, but remembered so well.

Eh heh heh... So the premise is a little out there. Still, you got this far, so I hope you like it. *smiles hopefully* Please review!

Edited 3/26/2015

Edited again 7/17/15