Fury had been to the island before, but usually it was on an occasion with many people. During late afternoons and evenings. Now, it was mid-day and his heavy black leather would not work. "Where's my room?" he asked Harry.
Harry pointed, "That building. Just walk in and take the first room that appears."
"What floor?" Fury asked, looking at the double story building.
"Doesn't matter. All the rooms have privacy and appear a couple of floors up, with three-sixty degree views of the island and sea." Harry informed him. "The rooms also stay as long as you are on the island. It's like a registration thing. Once you walk in, the building creates your own rooms. Once you leave, it disappears. That way I don't have to clean up behind people."
"It's a Room of Requirement?" Fury asked.
"No. While we do have one on the island, the guest-house is enchanted differently." Harry said.
Fury nodded and walked off to go look at his lodgings and find something else to wear.
Harry led Natasha to the Room. "I have a surprise for you." he said.
"Is it that Fury will leave us alone for the next two days while we get re-acquainted?" Natasha asked with a saucy smirk.
"I don't know, possibly." Harry said as he walked to the entrance for the room. "Observe." he said as he paced in front of it. When the door appeared, Harry opened it and called, "Would the staff please present themselves for duty?"
An older gentlemen dressed as a butler stepped out of the door and stopped in front of Harry, behind him followed twenty other people, all dressed for different positions. The older gentleman, with the bored face stepped forward once everyone was assembled and waiting. "Your staff is ready to serve, master."
"Good. I will give the chef the menu for tonight along with the ingredients in just a short bit. We have one guest at the moment, who's staying in the guest house. He will have every luxury he could ask for. Have the bartender make us some cocktails and send out the masseuses for myself and the lady." Harry said as he took a stunned looking Natasha by the arm and turned around. "We will be in the pool area." he called back.
"Of course, sir." the apparent head butler said as he started giving out orders.
"Did you just turn the Room into our own private person factory?" Natasha asked looking behind her to see as more people came out carrying massage tables and oils. Following two female, Swedish looking, athletically built masseuses. They looked professional, too.
"I just had an idea to expand the radius that the room could extend its reach. It could always make constructs, so why not use them? They can't go very far yet. They reach to just a bit beyond the houses as it stands. I intend to extend that reach further, like to the greenhouses, for example?" Harry said with a smile.
Natasha's smile was radiant. "You've seen the potential in what we originally thought was a mistake and turned it into an asset!" she exclaimed.
"Yes, and now we have room service." Harry said with a smile. "But first, let's get rid of that tension. I am fortunate to have experienced a massage by a very talented young lady, who I met once on a mission. Her name was Nadia and the girls following behind us, having been made by my subconscious, should have similar skills."
Natasha was still considering the options made possible by Harry's latest invention, when there was the sound of exclamation from down the beach. They looked up to see Fury marching up to them. "Why are there maids here that try to help me get dressed?"
Natasha laughed, "You did tell the man to have Fury afforded 'every luxury he could ask for'."
Harry signed before turning to Fury. "Sorry about that. As for these people, they are all part of the Room of Requirement. I found a way to have it extend its reach and now we have staff." he explained simply.
"These are all constructs?" Fury asked looking at the men carrying the massage tables and the masseuses leading them.
"We are, sir." the maid that had followed him said. "Please let us be of service."
Fury scowled for a second, before he nodded at the maid. "This could be useful. Please send a masseuse to my room too, along with a bottle of firewhiskey." He said as he turned around and walked away. "This is one of your best ones yet, Harry." he called over his shoulder. "My room at the Agency better be able to do this too!"
Harry and Natasha looked after the man for a moment before shrugging and going to lie down on the massage tables. An hour later, they were so relaxed, they didn't want to get up, but decided to go for a soak in the hot springs anyway. The staff had been working out fantastically. Their drinks were refilled without them needing to ask and when Harry didn't go to the chef, the chef brought a portable station out to Harry. Harry summoned the required ingredients for a couple of meals for Natasha, himself and Fury and then sat back as the chef prepared the meal exactly as he would have, magic included.
A maid showed up to take Fury's meal to his room, where he had apparently decided to spend the rest of the day, probably just enjoying a drink and the view of the ocean. They didn't mind. The meal turned out just as good as if Harry made it and they followed it up with some ice-cream from Harry's soft serve machine.
Harry had not noticed how tired he had been until he woke up, in the middle of the night still lying in the hammock with Natasha, where they had been watching the ocean while listening to the music from the bar. Harry summoned something to cover them and went back to sleep.
Harry and Natasha spent the first two days in relaxing pastimes, except for when he remembered the soldier was still in an enclosure and went to deal with him as well. It didn't take long, and he subdued the man and put him with the rest in stasis. He had, just in case, confined the arm in solid marble, which he conjured with enough magic to last a month.
They ate, slept and unwound as they chatted about things that had not been mentioned in their limited time together over the last three months. Harry had decided to go get Coulson and his team on the third day when relaxing stopped feeling like an urgent mission.
On the morning of the third day, Harry informed Natasha that the Nymphs had still not given up hope that he would spend more time with them. He had told them that he would make the decision with Natasha when she came back. What that meant, though, was that he had hoped that she'd make the decision for him. He didn't mind hanging out with the beautiful wood nymphs, but he would not do it if Natasha wasn't on-board with it.
She had slapped him on the arm and demanded that he open a portal for them to come join them by the pool. He had shrugged and opened the portal. Natasha stepped through and came back with all the nymphs in tow a couple of minutes later.
"Good morning, Lord Potter!" Xera was the first to say. "We are so happy that you have chosen to spend some time with us today."
"We're just hanging out, right?" Harry asked.
Xera looked at Natasha, who said, "Spend time, like friends."
Xera then nodded, "Of course! We have been made aware that physical acts of intimacy is considered taboo, when someone is already in another relationship." she said. "While it does not make sense to us, we can accept it, as it is your culture we are adjusting to." She seemed to huff, "Honestly, you should have just said so." she said as she pouted. "We could have been much closer friends by now if you'd just taken the time to explain your point of view. Even us Nymphs sometimes don't share."
"Okay, okay. You've made your point. Sorry that I didn't explain my worries properly." Harry said.
"Who are all these women?" Harry heard Fury say as he walked up from the bar with a tropical drink in hand. "More constructs?"
Harry looked around from his deck chair. "No, these are the Nymphs of New Atlantis." he said.
The Nymphs all seemed to get some sort of thrill at being described as such and started hugging each other and clapping hands. Xera explained with a genuine smile and a tear in her eye, "New Atlantis is your land. If we are the Nymphs of New Atlantis, that means we are your Nymphs. You do not share our customs or history, but you have made us very happy by claiming us like this."
"I'm happy for you Xera." Natasha said. She had spent some time with Xera in the past and had started to understand a bit of their drive. They didn't want to be property like when they were being captured and sold, but they do did want to belong and for that they needed to be claimed or accepted.
"What's going on here?" Fury asked in confusion.
Xera decided to introduce herself. She walked up to him and gave the startled man a hug. "Good morning, I am Xera. I am the leader of the Nymphs of New Atlantis. You are a friend of our Lord's?"
Fury stood ramrod straight until she let go. "Um, hi. I'm Nick Fury. Please call me Fury." He said extending a hand for her to shake. She took his hand and shook.
"It is a genuine pleasure to meet another one of Lord Harry's friends." She said. The other Nymphs gathered around and waved happily, while looking at the man curiously. Xera saw the glass he was holding and asked, "What is that?"
Fury looked at his glass and then Harry, who shrugged, then replied, "It's a tropical fruit drink, with coconut rum."
Xera looked at it and asked, "Does it taste nice?"
Harry instantly got up, before the Nymph ruined Fury's calm. "Let's go get you girls some fruit juice. I don't know how your bodies would react to alcohol." He said as he led Xera to the bar, where a bartender was waiting for anyone to serve.
"We have had alcohol before, you know." Xera said. When Harry looked at her strangely, she continued, "Wine is not uncommon where we come from."
"Oh," Harry said, "And you can have it without fear of alcohol poisoning or damaging your tree or something?"
Xera smiled at him indulgently, "We could probably handle as much as those from Vanaheim, which, if I'm not mistaken, is more than humans can."
"Fair enough." Harry said as he looked up at the bartender. "I'll have a Bahama Mama for each of the ladies, please."
"Of course, sir." the bartender said.
"Okay, I'll be by the pool. This man will make you your drinks and hand them to you. Don't be shocked at how cold it is, it's meant to be served that way." Harry said as he turned around and headed back to his deck chair, where his own crushed ice infused drink was waiting.
"Are these new arrivals?" Fury asked from his own chair, where he was looking at the Nymphs.
"They've got a grove up by the enclosures, but they will start spending more time around here. Just let us know if you feel an unnatural desire to follow one of them around." Natasha said. When Fury looked at her in question, she explained, "They have a supernatural ability to seduce men. Part of the agreement for them to come here is that they keep their 'allure' in check around us or our guests. They sometimes struggle to keep it under control."
"Is this like what that Asgardian Woman was doing, which Coulson reported about?" Fury asked, looking back at them as if assessing them.
"Kind of." Harry put in. "Nymphs do it naturally though and start off having no control over it. According to Coulson, that Asgardian woman was doing it on purpose and wanted to control people. The Nymphs just want a safe place to belong." When he noticed Fury's calculating look, he said, "No. They are not assets, they are the last of their people. The rest were hunted down and sold into slavery. We cannot afford to play with their future like that."
"Just them?" Fury asked. "What happened to the males of their species?"
"They have no males in their species. Any children they have are always Nymphs, so always female." Natasha said.
"When you said sold into slavery…" Fury started.
"Yes." Harry said. "But we don't talk about it. My vision gets kind of red around the edges when I think about it."
"Let me know if you ever end up acting on that impulse. I'll set you up with an alibi." Fury stated.
Harry thought about it for a moment, but shook his head. "Better not to go down that rabbit hole. It won't fix the past. I'm looking out for the future." It was then that the sounds of moaning reached their ears. "Damn. I forgot about the syrup in the Bahama Mamas." he chastised himself.
"What's going on now?" Fury asked, looking back at the Nymphs.
Natasha chuckled, "Nymphs have a… unique reaction to sweets."
Just then Xera reappeared, "This is better than wine!" she said holding the glass in her hands like it was a precious treasure. The others soon re-joined them and sat down around them on the ground and with their feet in the water, enjoying their drinks. They were giggling and slowly enjoying the drinks, while basking in the sun. Every now and then, one of them would brush a hand against Harry, and act like it was an accident, only to giggle and continue what she was doing.
"Why are they hanging around you, rather than the bar, if they're enjoying it so much?" Fury asked.
"Harry's magic is like the sun to them." Natasha said. "This is the first time we've given them permission to hang around. We're hoping that they get enough before Coulson and his team arrives." she said. Then she looked at him, "How are you doing? No desire to run off with one of them, I hope?"
"I don't seem to be supernaturally affected if that's what you mean." Fury replied. "And that's probably a good idea. I don't want to know how they would react to all of this." he said while indicating the lounging girls in minimalistic attire.
A short while later, the drinks were completely consumed and the giggling stopped. Harry did not offer them more drinks, hopefully they had had enough. It was not the end of their scandalous behaviour though. No sooner were the drinks finished, than they started getting in the water. Harry diverted his eyes, when he saw the white cloth becoming translucent. Natasha smirked at him. "I'll sort them out before next time." she whispered.
"They really have no shame, do they?" Harry asked.
"No they don't." Natasha said as she looked at them swim. It took her a moment to realise Harry was looking at her scandalously. "Oh, I'm sorry. They are distracting! How are you not watching them?"
"It's not that I don't want to, you know." Harry groused.
Once they were all in the water, Xera asked, "How is even the water filled with your magic, Harry?"
"I made this pool with magic, the way the water is brought here from its source is magic, it's kept clean with my magic and it's heated and cooled with my magic. At this point, it should be pretty magical." Harry said.
Fury had gone quiet and Harry looked over at him. He saw his face had gone blank, like he was controlling his emotions. "Are you okay, Fury? Are you being affected?" he asked.
"Not supernaturally." he said as he looked away from the sight. "But it is pretty distracting."
"Good enough for a holiday getaway?" Harry joked.
"I can't honestly say I've ever laid down on a deck chair on a private beach, next to a bar tended by a construct, watching a pool filled with frolicking Nymphs. This is a first." He took a sip of his drink. "Not a bad way to spend a holiday, honestly." Then he lay back and closed his eyes, or he seemed to. With that eye-patch, chances were he wasn't missing a moment.
Harry chuckled and followed his example, laying back, closing his eyes and enjoying the moment, while listening to the girls laugh and play. Natasha, next to him lay back as well and took his hand in hers. "Strange though this is, it's also calming and refreshing to have them around." she said.
"I know what you mean. They aren't shameless as much as they are innocent, I think. I can get used to this atmosphere, as long as they stay away from the sweets. Nobody would believe them innocent when they heard that." Harry said.
"I haven't seen them this happy since they arrived." Natasha noted peeking at them for a moment. "Your influence is definitely improving their quality of life."
"Did you notice the island's plant-life seems to be flourishing?" Harry asked.
"I was going to ask about that. Did they drain all the nutrients out of the island already or is Logan just running around madly trying to keep up?" Natasha asked back.
"I'm not certain how, but the ground seems as fertile as ever." Harry said.
"That's because I learned my lesson that day in the greenhouse." Xera's voice was suddenly next to Harry. "We have been focussing on the life-cycles on the island after a couple of discussions with Master Logan. He has been giving us basic instruction on fertilizer and how things grow best. As it is in our natures, we can feel these things, but didn't necessarily understand them. We have made some progress in helping the plants along without straining the land."
Harry looked over to her, but quickly diverted his eyes again. "That's wonderful news, Xera. I'm glad you've been able to find something to do around here."
"Hank and Bruce also helped us understand some of the plants in your greenhouses, which were foreign to us. Your magic running through them helped. We were able to help increase your crops and nurture the fields for the next season as well," Xera said. "Lady Sif helped us understand the needs of the creatures in your care, and introduced us to those who can communicate. The Unicorns also seem to follow us around when we're out taking care of your lands."
"That's probably because they feel your connection to the island." Harry guessed. "The land that supports and sustains them now has caretakers that are in tune with it. They probably just want to make sure you are always accompanied. Unicorns are more intelligent that people seem to think."
"That's not what you told me." Natasha said with a bit of curiosity in her voice.
"I'm almost certain they are smart enough to know how amazing you are." Harry replied unrepentantly as he squeezed her hand for a moment.
"Nice save." Natasha replied, with a smile.
They heard a soft snore from next to them and realized Fury must have fallen asleep. Not wanting to interrupt, they continued chatting quietly for a while.
Natasha informed Xera about the need for proper swimwear next time and the fact that they would be receiving guests soon. They were by no means required to stay away, but it would be best if they avoided sweets and wearing clothes that became transparent when wet, especially when guests were around. Natasha would be helping them look for outfits later.
After lunch, Harry sighed. He'd enjoyed the downtime. "I think it's time I go get Coulson."
"Probably a good idea to check up on Hill as well." Fury put in. "I would have thought she'd be in contact already."
"Okay, you try and call her and I'll go get Coulson, while Natasha sorts out the Nymphs. Something tells me our guests will meet them one way or the other." Harry said as he got up. The Nymphs had yet to leave the pool area and seemed to be making themselves at home. Fortunately they had stuck to drinking wine, though Xera had taken a couple of sneaky sips of Harry and Natasha's drinks, while she thought they wouldn't notice. Her moan of pleasure gave her away every time, but Harry and Natasha let her indulge a bit, so long as all of them didn't do it.
"Giving orders already?" Fury raised an eyebrow.
"Asking a friend." Harry replied easily, before donning his armour and popping away.
"Are you friends?" Natasha asked.
"If you knew how many times Marauders Den was the only place I could sleep and actually rest without interruption, you'd understand why I do consider him a friend. Not to mention the Ghost Squad, the work he did and the Firewhiskey. I'd be stupid not to." Fury scoffed, as he took out his mirror.
Harry arrived at the location he was told to meet Coulson. There was the sound of a pop and he looked over to see a device pointing at his designated drop site. It was one of the same devices Tony had once lost trying to measure his magic. Harry smirked. He should have known Coulson's scientifically inclined friends would not be able to resist.
The next moment there was the sound of running feet as Fitz sprinted around a corner and came to a stop in front of the smoking machine with his hands in his hair, "Oh, come on!"
"Didn't Coulson warn you?" Harry asked.
"Well, yes, but I thought…" Fitz started.
"You thought EMF shielding would help?" Harry asked. It was the first thing Tony had tried. Fitz nodded. "You think like Stark. You'd get along, if what Coulson's told me about you is true." Harry said as he walked up to the machine. "Sorry about your toy."
"Toy?! This thing costs more than I make in a year!" Fitz complained.
"I'll ask Stark if he's got any spares lying about." Harry offered. "He popped a couple trying to do the same thing and he tends to buy in bulk." Fitz just nodded dumbly, thinking that he might be able to repair it and learn a bit more that way. "Where are the rest?" Harry asked.
"We're here." Coulson said as he led his team into the hanger. "I was just rounding up some chairs for the demonstration." He said pointing over his shoulder as one of his men carried a couple of chairs. "But we've got a guest here, you might want to talk to first." He looked over his shoulder, "Agent Hand, if you'd please join us?"
"… confirm with me the moment everything is settled in there. I'm meeting with someone who might be able to offer support, right now, so I have to go." A woman stepped through a door, talking on a cell phone. She was dressed in a professional pants-suite, had dark hair with red highlights and her walking pace seemed to indicate that she was a busy woman, with way too much to do.
When she reached them she extended her hand at Harry and said, "Hello, my name is Victoria Hand. I hear we have you to thank for stopping this mess before it got a chance to do any real damage."
Harry took her hand and shook it. "I had some help." he said.
"Well, thank you for whatever you did and coming to pick up the trash. Any chance I'll get to see those bastards punished?" Hand asked, with a flash of anger crossing her face.
"As I told you, they are in suspended animation. Once we have sorted out a plan for the future, we'll put someone in charge of the detention facility and start getting them through trial." Harry said.
"Probably better to leave them as they are." Coulson said. When Hand looked at him strangely he explained, "Some of these agents are experts at escaping confinement. We do not want to send them to some prison, where they can escape. Sending a bunch of them in together, would be asking for a mass breakout."
"What about you?" Hand asked Harry. "Got any tech or powers that can make an inescapable prison?"
Harry thought about it for a moment. "It is possible, but I'd have to put some thought into how." he said. "That's not what you wanted to talk about, though."
"No, it's not." Hand confirmed, accepting the change of subject. "What's this I hear of a new agency, one that can't be infiltrated?"
Harry looked at Coulson. "We were seeing a bunch of people with growing trust issues worrying about the future. I thought I'd give them some hope. Weren't you planning on giving all current SHIELD staff the option to come work for EPI?" Coulson explained.
"I was hoping to not be personally involved with recruitment. That will be up to Hill and Fury." Harry said.
"I'd heard they were your first recruits. That's why I decided to talk to you. I want in. I've also got most of the personnel here at the Hub convinced to come with me." Hand said. "We've seen you in action and with your latest achievement of stopping a seventy year old plot by Hydra, of all organizations, while nobody even saw you coming, with intel you got, that SHIELD apparently didn't have access to, who in their right mind would not want to join an organization with those kinds of resources?"
"Like I said, why speak to me? I'm sure you will be well placed by Hill. She's head of HR after all." Harry said.
"You don't understand. I want in at the top. The people here at the Hub will follow me, but not if there's a council hanging over our heads, making decisions like New York." Hand explained.
"I think I see the issue." Harry nodded. Pierce was bad for business and damaged trust everywhere. He'd already handled that part, but he couldn't tell that to her without having assured her loyalty to the cause. "You'll need to make a call to anyone that might need you in the next couple of hours. You're going to have to come with us if you want that kind of unrestricted access."
"I've got a couple of people who will be really lonely with me out of eyesight." Hand said, pointing at the two armed guards who had unobtrusively entered and stood by the door watching them closely.
"If you want them there, they can be, but they are signing contracts and stowing the weapons. We don't normally allow weapons on the island. If you have them, they are hidden, for people's ease of mind." Harry said.
Hand looked over at her men and indicated for them to come closer. When they arrived, she said, "We're going on a field trip. No visible weapons." The guards looked at each other and left to return the semi-automatic weapons they carried to the armoury while Hand made a quick couple of calls.
Harry lifted his arm and activated his mirror, "Director Fury." he said and waited for Fury to answer.
"This better be important. I was shot you know." Fury answered in his usual grumpy manner.
"I'm calling to let you know that Victoria Hand will be joining us when we come by just now. She wants to be division head of the Hub, where I'm told she's already recruited most of the SHIELD staff to transfer to EPI." Harry informed him.
"Coulson's been putting out fires, I see." Fury nodded. "Okay, I'll be ready at the bar in ten minutes. Do me a favour and go collect Hill. She's been inundated with requests to transfer. She's still at SHIELD HQ."
"What do you mean, still?" Harry asked.
Fury smirked, "She never left. After she approached the first person to ask if they'd be interested in transferring, word got around and she's been working around the clock."
"But it's been three days! You can't mean she's been awake that entire time!? What about the people, are they just standing around?" Harry asked incredulously.
"Believe it or not, she's apparently been assigning people to do a host of things for her, some of which we can discuss when you're back here. She did seem a little tired though. Maybe you can help her with that when you go get her?" Fury asked.
Harry chuckled. He'd not even officially hired anyone and it seemed he was already in charge of a large and efficient group of people. "Sure thing. See you in a bit." Harry broke the connection and looked up at the people watching him.
Fitz was the first to speak, "How does that device work? It seemed like it had a full range of vision. Is it some kind of three-dimensional rendering with a layered display? If so, how does it have so many focal points, to…"
"Whoa there, Agent Fitz. You can ask your questions later. First though, I have to go fetch my overworked Head of HR." as he said it he smirked and lifted a hand at Fitz. "Want to come with?"
Fitz shook his head, but Skye instantly grabbed onto the hand. "Yes, please!" she exclaimed.
Harry was shocked, but only for a moment. "You are hoping to get more information before I tell you the answer, aren't you?"
"Maybe." Skye answered. "I've already left my tech in my bunk on the plane."
"If I take you with and show you too many things, that reward is no longer on the table, you know that right?" Harry asked.
"That's not a problem, I've already figured it out." Skye said.
"Do tell," Harry said as he apparated them to his landing spot at the Triskelion.
Skye grabbed her stomach and held it there for a moment, before relaxing. "That was definitely different. At least I didn't hurl." Harry gave her a moment to get herself in order and then she looked up, "You're an alien. Your powers are too varied. You have a spaceship in orbit somewhere, that's doing things for you, while you make it look like superpowers."
"Is that your final answer?" Harry asked.
"Of course. I'm right, why would I change my answer." she said confidently.
"Okay, if that's what you think." Harry said as he turned around and walked to where he felt the largest amount of magic. Hill always had her bag and mirror with her after all.
"Wait, aren't you going to tell me I'm right?" Skye said as she followed him.
"Why would I?" Harry joked back and continued walking until he came to a large office. There were people sitting in chairs in what looked like a waiting area and at least four people in front of computers, two of which were on phones, while they typed away. The moment Harry rounded the corner, one of the people noticed, tapped their co-worker on the shoulder and pointed him out.
"Mr Ghost!" said co-worker exclaimed, causing everyone to look up. "Are you here to see Miss Hill?"
"I am," Harry replied.
"One moment, please?" she asked and tapped something on her computer, before pressing a button on what looked like an intercom and whispered something into it.
"Please see him in." Hill's voice replied at a normal volume.
The secretary got up and walked up to Harry before holding out a hand to shake his. "Miss Hill will see you immediately." After Harry shook her hand, she continued as she led them to the door, "I just want to say thank you for what you did. None of us would be here if you hadn't."
"Captain America and Widow was there as well. They did just as much as I did. Probably more." Harry argued.
The secretary just smiled indulgently. "Of course, sir." she said. Harry didn't think she believed him.
She opened the door for him and let both of them through after looking at Skye strangely as she followed him in. "Ghost, it's good to see you. Who's your friend?"
"She's one of Coulson's people." Harry replied. "She decided to come with me when I decided to come pick you up." As he said it he walked up to her and handed her a vial. She looked at it for only a second before popping the top and downing the pepper-up potion.
Skye jumped and almost screamed when steam shot out of Hill's ears, but Harry silenced her. "We don't want all those people out there running in here with guns, do we?" Harry asked. Skye shook her head and Harry cancelled the silencing.
A much more energetic Hill looked at Harry and said, "I can't leave. There's too much to be done."
"Are you telling me you'd rather not have the job?" Harry asked.
"Of course not!" was Hill's indignant response.
"Then get your things together. You're coming to the island and then getting some rest. You've got people out there who can change your appointments for you." Harry said.
"I can't just leave them here to handle everything!" Hill said.
"Then make sure you bring your cell phone, so you can apologize. We're having a staff meeting on the island and it will last at least two days." Harry said, before looking at her sternly. "If the head of Human Resources can't see when someone's not taking care of themselves, I don't think she's in the right position." he threatened.
"Okay, fine." she finally relented. She picked up her bag and a couple of things from the desk and walked to the door of her office. "I'm leaving for a couple of days. Could you handle my calls and reschedule things in my absence?"
"Yes, ma'am!" One of her secretaries actually saluted with a smile. "We've been worried about you overworking yourself before we even see the new agency."
"Well, thank the boss here for dragging me away to rest." she said pointing at Harry, "Apparently I'm supposed to take time to sleep and recover now. How will things get done if I'm sleeping every day?"
"Most people do that, ma'am. It's considered healthy." the same man smirked. "It's good to know we'll have Ghost at the top."
"Fury's at the top." Harry corrected. "I'm just the one with the resources."
"Same thing, Sir." the man said, still smiling.
Harry led his two companions around the corner and apparated them to the others at the Hub. When they appeared, Fitz jumped from the pop and then looked at Skye who was handling the jump much better this time. "Huh, you do get used to it." she said.
"Agent Hill," came Hand's greeting. "Good to see you."
"Agent Hand." Hill greeted back.
"Okay, please sit down. For this part of the demonstration…" Harry went through the demonstration of the contracts, delighting at the shock that showed on most of the faces. Coulson and Hill just smirked, having already seen it. Then Harry presented the Island contract.
"Why does this thing say, any knowledge learned on or about the island or its inhabitants will be forfeit?" Simmons asked, apparently reading faster than Fitz, who was inspecting the paper as if expecting to see circuitry.
"How do you think we can guarantee the safety of the new Agency?" Harry countered.
"The way Ghost described it to me, people will be given clearance based on what contracts are active on them. That way if someone on a project goes AWOL, gets captured or desserts, they will forget what shouldn't get out." Coulson explained. "If you try to come into the Agency under false pretences, you'll be found in violation of the contract immediately and we'll know."
"But how?!" Fitz asked.
"You must sign to find out." Harry said.
He was shocked when Skye handed him the contract back almost instantly. "Come on people, sign or leave! I want to know what he's protecting on that island." she said excitedly.
Hand was the next person to sign, followed by her two guards. Then Triplet, May and finally Fitz and Simmons also signed.
"Why aren't they signing?" Hand asked indicating Coulson and Hill.
"I've been signed into his secrets for a year and a half." Hill said. "Coulson's been in on his secrets for what, almost two years now?"
"More like two and a half." Coulson corrected. "I was actually the first person to ever sign one besides Ghost."
"The demonstration?" Hand asked, and Coulson nodded.
Harry looked over the contracts and nodded, before making them disappear. He waved his hand casting some privacy spells, just in case there were any cameras in the hanger and said, "I am also an inhabitant of the island, so my secrets are also covered. I have just made this immediate area private. Any tech you want to bring will be able to come with, with this particular form of travel, so please, feel free to go get them."
Skye seemed to perk up, before running off to her bunk. Everyone else walked. When everyone else was back, Harry asked, "That everyone?" When everyone just looked at him, he lifted a hand and pointed off to the side, pinkie and pointer extended. Then he turned his hand and everyone watched as a portal was formed in front of their eyes. "Step on through to New Atlantis." he said as he stepped through himself.
He waited on the other side as Coulson and Hill immediately followed. Then Hand and her two bodyguards and then Skye, May and Triplet. Then nobody. Harry waited another couple of seconds before sticking his head through and seeing the two scientists inspecting the portal, rather than go through. Sighing, he summoned them through the portal and closed it, leaving them in a heap on the sand.
Simmons pushed Fitz off of her before getting up and dusting herself off. "That was not very nice, we were just inspecting the event horizon to see how it interacted with the surrounding matter."
Harry looked off into the sky when he felt something, then smiled. It seemed Fury had decided to make a dramatic entrance. He quickly dismissed his armour and stood there in his standard beach attire. "Once again, welcome to New Atlantis. Home to a refuge for magical creatures and plants. I am your host, Harry Potter, sometimes referred to as Ghost." he said, before starting to point things out. "This is my Pool, that's my Bar and here comes my fiancée with your boss."
As he pointed into the sky, the guests saw two hippogriffs flying down towards them. Hand's guards almost pulled their guns, but Hand had the forethought to hold a hand out indicating for them to not draw their weapons. The magnificent animals landed close by and trotted towards them. Harry saw that Fury was back in his black clothes and decided to take pity on the man by casting a cooling charm on him. Fury only looked at him for a second in thanks, not breaking his BAMF image, before dismounting and walking up to them.
Natasha also dismounted and her mount took off again, as she gave Harry a hug and a kiss.
"Agent Hand. Good of you to join us." Fury said, holding out a hand.
"Director Fury." Hand said, shaking the offered hand. Her guards saluted and stood back. "This is highly irregular." was all she said as she indicated the animal. Said animal suddenly lifted its head and pawed at the ground angrily.
"Don't insult a Hippogriff." Fury warned. "They don't take crap from anyone."
Hand held up her hands and quickly backed up, "I meant no offense."
The creature stopped pawing at the ground and calmed instantly. Harry walked up to him and scratched at his neck. "Charlie is actually quite fond of people, but Hippogriffs don't understand sarcasm or certain turns of phrase, so be straightforward when you interact with them."
Fury turned around and patted the animal, "Thanks for the ride Charlie." Then he walked off to the bar, where the bartender was pouring a drink for him already.
Harry looked up and saw Coulson and Natasha leading Hill, Hand and her men to the bar area. He saw Skye just staring at the animal with awe. "Do you want to say hi?" he asked.
Skye nodded her head and made to approach, but Harry said "Stop." quickly, and she complied. "Before you can approach a Hippogriff, you must first bow to it. It shows him that you respect him. If he bows back, you may approach."
Skye looked at Harry for a second, but then straightened and bowed to the animal. When he bowed back, she sprouted a smile and slowly approached the magnificent animal. Harry showed her how to scratch it and then surprised her by magically lifting her on and tapping Charlie on the behind. Charlie started running and took off.
"Shouldn't you warn the creature before depositing people on his back?" May asked. The scientists looked like they wanted to ask their own questions. Triplet was still just staring after the animal. He had been very quiet since he found out his mentor was with Hydra. He was quickly getting over it, though.
"Charlie is usually the one to take people for their first flight. He'd simply leave if he didn't want to take people for a fly." Harry responded with a shrug.
A couple of minutes later they landed and Skye jumped off, before hugging the creature around the neck. "Thank you! That was amazing!" Charlie puffed out its chest in pride and looked to the others. May actually walked closer and bowed very elegantly. When Charlie bowed back, she approached and scratched it like Harry had shown Skye.
"You're good with him." Harry said.
"I've always liked animals. Never seen one as magnificent as this one, though." May replied as she stroked his plumage.
"Do you want to take him for a fly?" Harry asked.
"That does seem like the thing to do, doesn't it?" she asked, before stepping to the creature's middle and mounting it with relative ease. Pretty soon Charlie was in the air again with May leaning forward and pointing things out to the creature. It surprised Harry when Charlie complied and flew her closer to the things she pointed out.
A couple of minutes later, they landed and she thanked Charlie for the ride as well. When she approached them, Triplet followed the same process, bowing to the Hippogriff. Soon he was taken for his own flight. "You have unicorns on the island." May said.
"We do." Harry confirmed as he started walking to the bar too, where Fury, Hand and Hill were deep in discussion, seemingly lost to the world. Hand was drinking a glass of water, but Hill was drinking a butterbeer. She seldom had the opportunity.
Harry led them to the other side of the bar and switched the music on with a wave, just loud enough so that the two groups could not hear each other clearly. He informed the bartender to pour some beer for Hand's agents. They first refused, until it was explained that it could not make them drunk. He had the rest of the team order something to drink, and then sat back. "Okay, ask your questions."
"What are you? How does the contract work? Where are we? What was that creature? How did you make that portal?" Skye started. Harry took a sip of his firewhiskey and blew out a gout of flame. "What is it that you're drinking?" she finished.
"Let's see," Harry started, "I'm a Wizard, Magic, New Atlantis, a Hippogriff, Magic and Firewhiskey. Respectively, I think."
"You're telling us that magical creatures exist and that you're a magician?" Fitz asked.
"I use magic, not stage tricks. I'm a wizard, not a magician." Harry said indignantly.
"It does explain Potter Innovations' success with worldwide relief efforts." May said with a straight face.
"You know what, Agent Melinda May? I like you. You're a straight shooter. For that you get one free spell. Whenever you want it." Harry said with a smile. He was being honest too. She had not once questioned him either. She simply accepted what was going on and her instant connection with Charlie told him she was a good person.
"Lucky!" Skye complained. "Why does she get a free spell?"
"Why don't we ask her? I suspect she knows." Harry said looking at May.
"Was it because of Charlie?" May asked.
"Partially." Harry said. "You're also just so damn cool."
Skye looked between Harry and May with astonishment. "And I'm not?"
"You're cool too, but you got your free spell already." Harry said.
"What, when?" she protested.
"Let's just forget that time I saved your life and go with today, when you almost screamed when Agent Hill drank a Pepper-Up potion. I had to silence you before you had all those people outside rush in, guns drawn." Harry said.
"That was magic? Damn, I missed it." Skye whined. "And here I hoped I'd see lights or hear a chant or something."
"I don't usually need incantations. I got over the need for that years ago. Unless it's a large and intricate spell, like when I make enchanted items." Harry said. "As for the lights, magic sometimes has a visual aspect, but most of the time that would be only because the spell needs it or that's its purpose. Strangely, most attack magic also has a visual aspect. Maybe the spells were designed that way?" Harry pondered aloud as he cast a light spell, which shone from his fingertip.
"ET!" Skye exclaimed.
"I am human, even if I come from another reality." Harry said.
"Don't you mean dimension?" Fitz asked.
"No, I mean reality." Harry stated. "Shortly after arriving in this world, I was made aware of the fact that there are other dimensions and I don't come from any of them."
"Where did you hear that?" Simmons asked.
"I'm not at liberty to reveal that." Harry said.
"Hold on," Skye said, "You're literally the boss's boss and there's stuff you can't tell us, even with magical contracts that enforce our silence?"
"It has to do with keeping you safe. The moment you learn some things, they can affect you greatly." Harry said. "I'm not refusing because I'm being mysterious. There's some things even I wish I didn't know. Like the hell dimensions. Did you know they existed?"
"Hell?" Fitz scoffed. "You're religious too?"
"No, but my one friend, Kurt Wagner is." Harry said.
"The so-called 'teleporting' mutant? I've heard of him. Nightcrawler, right?" Fitz asked.
"First off, I don't like that word. I call them enhanced. Secondly, it turns out he doesn't so much teleport as pass into another dimension and then reappear in ours. Because of the difference in the fundamental rules that governs the space dimension in both dimensions, he can manipulate his re-entry destination to a degree." Harry said, "Or that's what I've been told. Apparently he goes through one of those hell dimensions."
After that sobering thought, Fitz thought of something, "So you say Tony Stark has been looking into how your magic works?"
"Oh, we figured that out ages ago." Harry scoffed.
"And?" Fitz asked.
"That information is above your pay-grade. Tony himself only barely made the cut to know." Harry said. "What did make him feel better, was when he learned that even magic had rules and limitations." He held his hand above the counter and conjured a red rose. He then picked it up and handed it to Natasha.
"Harry conjured this. When something is conjured it forces the magic to emulate the particles that make up the rose. He has to remember everything he can, to make it as lifelike as possible. If he forgot that it's supposed to smell like a rose, it won't. The magic then maintains the form as long as it can. The more magic he puts into the conjuration, the longer it will last, because it takes longer to dissipate more energy." Natasha explained. Harry had once used the same example.
"So, is magic a particle or some sort of energy?" Simmons asked.
"Magic is like light, where it can be described as both a particle and a wave at the same time." Harry said. "I had a genius for a friend back in my world. She did a lot of research into how magic works. Her dream was to make it available to non-magical people." Harry said with a soft smile. "Her parents weren't magical, you see."
"Where is she now?" Skye asked, having noticed the sad smile.
"Everybody from my old reality is dead." Harry said. "We had a power-hungry dark wizard who set the governments of my world to fighting each other. One nuke was all it took. Mutually Assured Destruction took care of the rest."
There was silence until Natasha spoke, "That's why Harry is working so hard to create a better world. His old, magical government wouldn't let him help people using magic. Here, there is no such thing so he does what he wants. And he wants to help."
"Imagine a world with free water, power and communications." Harry started.
"The distribution centres!" Skye exclaimed. "Of course that's magic! But wait, I thought you said magic breaks technology."
"Unless you have MI tech." Natasha said and took out her phone, holding it out to Harry who levitated it above his hand using magic. "The outside is normal plastic and glass, but every circuit and chip is protected by Stark Industries and Potter Innovations Magic Immune technology. Or MI Tech. My phone will work after taking a direct blast from an EMP. And radiation glides off it. I can apparate with Harry with no fear that I'll need a new phone."
"Apparate. Is that the teleportation thing?" Simmons asked.
"That's one of them. There's also Portkeys. Those are item based transport. Harry made them for the Avengers and certain people in the know." Natasha held up her arm and showed the Avengers bracelet. "I say the correct command phrase while touching it and I'm teleported to Avengers Manor. Or here. Or SHIELD."
"Avengers Manor? There's a place where the Avengers hang out and stuff?!" Skye asked excitedly.
"Sure. It used to be my house, and then Bruce moved in and then Natasha, and then everybody got a room. Only, most of the team have other homes. Sif is often off world with Thor or Bruce or Logan. Thor stays in Asgard. Hawkeye has other places to be. I tend to spend most of my time here and do my research and experimenting in my Workshop." Harry said.
"Workshop is the name of a hidden location where he can experiment without fear of hurting innocents." Natasha clarified. "It's not here on the island."
"What kind of research?" Simmons asked.
"As you've probably figured out, Magic has many fields of study. Harry is a master enchanter, which means charms and effects that he can make permanent in objects or with commands and intent. He's also very good at many of the other arts, thought enchanting is his passion. This entire island is ten times bigger than it used to be, because he made it that way." Natasha bragged.
"Did you teleport sand from the bottom of the ocean or something?" Fitz asked.
"Space expansion charms." Harry replied. "Go check out your rooms in the guest house and see for yourself." He said while pointing the building out. "A door will appear for all of you. If it was already there when you walk in, it's already someone else's. To remember your room, mark it with permanent marker. When you leave the island it will disappear anyway, so you don't have to worry about damaging the property."
There was a rush as the scientists and Skye ran to the building, with May following after them, but more sedately. Harry clicked his fingers and the bored looking older butler seemed to appear from thin air. "You called?" he asked.
"Yes, please send some maids to the guesthouse to supply our guests with whatever they need." Harry asked.
"Of course." the butler said as he disappeared.
"Did you make a change?" Natasha asked.
"I thought having them appear as necessary would be better so I reconfigured the room." Harry replied.
"Potter!" he heard from the other side of the table and saw Fury beckon him. He smiled and got up. Fury would always think of himself as the boss. Probably part of what made him a BAMF.
"How can I help?" he asked as he arrived.
"You can pull up a chair and talk business for a bit." Fury told him. "Hand has expressed an interest in a leadership position as you know. We have agreed to work things as originally planned."
"I especially enjoyed hearing that the council has been turned into a committee that has only the power to make suggestions." Hand said with a satisfied smile. "Hearing how you did it, was just the cherry on top."
"While doing the work for us at the UN, yes." Fury nodded. "That was a good way to handle them. But now we need to discuss your plans. What do you have in place and what do you plan going forward?"
Their discussion lasted a couple of hours before Harry dismissed Hill to a room in the guesthouse. He escorted Hand back to the Hub, with her guards. Hand assured him she'd leave the extras behind next time after Fury explained how secure the island was. She did, however, extract a promise for vacation time on the island for senior staff, managers and team leaders in the off seasons. Harry had joked about there being no off seasons as it was basically summer all year long on the resort, if not the entire island.
Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons had never run out of questions and Jemma had latched onto the idea of Unicorns when she realised May had not been joking. Since then she'd been enquiring about all the magical creatures. The biologist in her was itching to explore and see the creatures. Natasha had had to promise to have Harry show them the creatures the next day.
At some point Skye had decided to go for a walk, and Natasha had to take a broom to go stop her before she reached the limits of the Room's influence. Her swimsuit was provided by one of the maids, after all. If she had gone much further, she'd have been in a very embarrassing situation. The broom, of course, led to more questions about magic and requests to go for flights. Natasha had been explaining the process as well as she could while Harry and Fury chatted.
Skye had run into her room to get dressed so that Natasha could take her for a flight and May had been right behind her. After May's flight she had come to Harry and pointed at the broom. "I want one of those."
"You sure?" Harry asked. "That would be your one wish." he joked. Technically he'd promised her a spell, not an entire series of enchantments that could take hours, but her instant support of the broom, had him smiling.
"I'm sure." she said.
"Okay. I'll have it made for you by tomorrow." Harry promised. He'd had an idea he wanted to try anyway.
"I'll be waiting." May replied before getting herself another drink and going back to the others.
After that Harry turned back to Fury and created a miniature illusion of what he already had created for the headquarters of EPI. Then he walked him through the levels indicating what was there and what he had planned.
"If you want I can tell you where it is?" Harry offered.
"No, I'd rather nobody ever know the true location of the building. It serves the dual purpose of nobody being able to tell where it is and keeping that Heimdall guy from watching us. I can only imagine how the government, of whatever country the building is based in, would react if they realised they have an international instant transport hub based out of their country." Fury smirked. "I can't wait for ours to figure it out. They will try to come knocking, only unable to find out where."
Harry smirked at the idea as well, "That does sound like it might be fun. We just need the other parts in place first. Once we start out, there's no going back. People will know we're here and will start requesting help. There will also be demands from the UN. Any idea how we'll handle those?"
"The UN will have no power over us as we are affiliated with no one country. We are an international entity. Earth is our country now. Once you and Stark crack space travel, maybe we should put a base on the moon. Then we'll tell them that's where we're based out of, just to mess with them." Fury smirked at the thought.
Harry actually like the idea more and more, every time he thought about it. "What about our emblem? SHIELD had an Eagle. I was thinking a Hippogriff. It continues the tradition set by SHIELD, but has a magical spin to it."
"Why not a Phoenix, then?" Fury countered. "The symbolism is right. Reborn from the ashes of the fallen predecessor."
"Fawkes?" Harry wondered, knowing that saying it would bring the Phoenix to him. When Fawkes appeared, Harry scratched his head. "What do you think of becoming a symbol for hope?" Fawkes trilled and Harry responded, "I know, but this will be much bigger. We're starting an agency to help the world and Fury thinks a Phoenix would make the best impression." Fawkes looked at the one-eyed man and chirped before disappearing and reappearing on his shoulder. "I think he likes the idea."
"Better not let anyone see him like that though," Natasha said as she walked back to them from the others who had started relaxing by the water. "I can already hear the pirate jokes."
May and Coulson had joined their conversation for a bit, but had retired to their rooms. Coulson had taken a bottle of Firewhiskey and Harry suspected they were sitting on one of their balconies enjoying night air, the sounds of the waves and a drink.
When the time came for bed, Harry went to the Workshop to go fetch something he had intended to enchant for a while now and brought it back to his house. He and Natasha said goodnight the way they normally did and Harry almost fell asleep until Natasha reminded him he had a promise to keep. He wasn't happy about getting up, but once he started tinkering, time just started flying by.