Before he knew it, morning had come and he quickly went to his trunk to get some sleep in a new hidden location, where he could use his time-turner without fear of being discovered. Six turns later he had a decent night's rest and could even set an alarm to go home and wake up next to Natasha.
When Natasha stirred, Harry was just about ready to wake up anyway and decided to join her for her morning workout. They got dressed for exercise and stepped out, to see May and Skye doing some sort of slow martial art form with Skye following May's movements.
"Good morning." Harry said as they approached.
"Morning." Skye said, sleepily. May kept silent as she continued her form. "She wanted to work out, but there was no gym equipment so she decided to come do some Tai Chi forms instead. Apparently it's good for balance and concentration." She said as she continued to follow May's movements. "Want to join?"
"We're about to go train in the dojo with our Sensei. I suppose we could join for a bit." Harry said, only to notice May had stopped moving. "Or you could join us…?"
May dropped her arms and turned to them. "Where is this dojo? Are we teleporting to Japan or something?" She said it with serious curiosity.
"Harry made us a place here on the island. You'll love it." Natasha said as she turned and led them to the Room.
Harry stopped just before they reached the room and let Natasha walk up and down where the door would appear. "What is she…" Skye started, but she never got to finish as the door appeared. "What the?!"
Harry smirked and bowed with a flourish, gesturing to the door, "Welcome to the Room of Requirement."
As Natasha opened the door, Skye asked, "What's a Room of Requirement?"
Natasha replied, when she realised they didn't have time for a long discussion. "Holodeck."
Skye stopped on the spot and looked like she was going to have some sort of fan girl attack. She ran in before Natasha could stop her who hid a smile when Sensei appeared and knocked her on her ass with the same warning he had given her all that time ago. "No shoes!" May had stopped in the door and was looking on in shock. "We do not allow an audience in this dojo! Enter and participate or leave!" the old man said.
"That sounds familiar," Harry said as his clothes changed after he left his shoes by the door.
Sensei turned to Harry and pointed, "YOU, will have my personal instruction today, after I have graded the newcomers." he said with a wicked smile.
"Of course, Sensei!" Harry responded crisply and took his position at the side of the mat.
Natasha smirked at him from next to him then waited for the others to be graded.
Skye stepped up first having taken her shoes off and wanting to kick the old man's ass for dropping her. "I'm going to hurt you for earlier." she threatened.
The old man said nothing and took a combat stance. "Begin." he said. Skye unleashed with a kick first and was quickly dropped to the floor again by a hip toss. She tried punching next and was blocked. It carried on for a couple of minutes until Sensei called for a halt. Her clothing changed to a gi and she was given an orange belt, having been in training for a while now.
May stepped up next and bowed respectfully to Sensei. He bowed back and signalled for her to start. Soon the punches and kicks were flying and a couple of minutes later Sensei called for a stop. Her clothes changed to a gi with a black belt with three dan, just like Natasha. Harry was impressed. Here was a woman that might just be just as deadly as his own girl.
Sensei started them off on forms and warm-up exercises and then the other instructors appeared for personal sparring. As promised Harry was paired with Sensei and he was bruised all over by the end of the session. When he bowed to Sensei, the man said, "You will never progress if you do not maintain your health. Sleep is important to balance and balance is life."
"Yes sensei." Harry responded with another bow, looking over to Natasha. She must have noticed him not getting in bed till late. Her look confirmed it.
When they left the dojo and Harry started pacing for the door to the servant's quarters, May asked. "Where does Sensei go when the dojo disappears?"
"Back into my subconscious." Natasha said. "The Room of Requirement can make anything, and I mean, anything. So long as you can imagine it, it can be real. When Harry first showed me the Room, I wanted a good place to train. The Dojo appeared, but with it came Sensei."
"So you can imagine someone with more skill than yourself and they will appear?" May asked.
"He's technically got the same skills as I can imagine, but he's faster and more trained as if he's dedicated his life to the art. The way I understand it, I will never reach his level, since, as I become stronger, so does he." Natasha explained.
May was silent for a moment. "That is very useful."
"EPI will have one of these for every branch." Harry informed her.
May just smiled. "Are we doing this again tomorrow?" she asked.
"Natasha does this every day. I tend to do it two or three times a week." Harry said.
"Do you want to join tomorrow?" Natasha asked.
"Please." May said and then looked at Skye. "She'll join too."
"What? Why?!" Skye exclaimed.
"Because you need the exercise. I can see you benefiting from the instruction of an instructor that uses different tactics." May explained.
"But I'll still be sore tomorrow!" Skye said as she pointed to where she was developing a bruise on her middle ribs.
Harry stepped to her and held a hand over the bruise. It quickly faded. "How's that?" he asked ignoring her blush.
"I, um." she started, putting a hand over the spot and feeling it, before her eyes widened and she looked down. "It's gone!" she looked up at Harry and blushed again, "Thanks." she said softly.
"Any other bruises?" he asked.
"Um… no." her hand made its way to her bruised behind. No way would she tell him about that. She'd probably freak if he held his hand anywhere near… She banished the thought. Then she turned and started making her way to the guest house.
"We're going to the hot spring if you're interested. It's enchanted to help heal sore muscles and relax a person." Natasha called after her. Skye stopped and looked back. "Swimming costume." Natasha answered her unasked question and she nodded, before continuing to the guest house.
When everybody was clean and ready, breakfast was served and Harry excused himself to go work on the project he had started earlier that day while Natasha handled the tour. He had done it enough, with her attending, for her to know the creatures. When they returned, Harry was sitting at the bar, playing with a pack of exploding snap cards.
He had just finished his latest project. "Hey May. I have that item you requested." he said. May quickly walked over to him and looked at the broom lying next to him on the counter. "No, that one is mine." Harry shook his head and got up. "Follow me." He said as he led her back to his house, where a garage magically appeared out of thin air. "Added the extension last night. It's only temporary, though." Harry noted everyone had followed, including Fury.
Before opening the door, he looked Melinda May in the eyes, and said, "I need to explain something to you first." He took a breath and then started, "When people started coming to the island I started making flying brooms for them. I couldn't give them all the speed I'm capable of providing, because there has never really been a person with sufficient skill not to kill themselves at multiple times the speed of sound. You know how to work a plane and more importantly, you have a firm grasp on friction, wind, turbulence and everything that goes into sustained flight. You also seem to accept magic and never question the need to keep it secret.
"When I make someone a flying broom, I have to have them leave it on the island, since I can't afford to take chances. Fury told me that he trusts you and that you are one of his best agents. So I've designed something new with you in mind. Something you can take off the island and explain without mentioning magic once." Harry said as he reached for the door. "I give you, your very own, and first of its kind, Skyline special." He opened the door with a flourish, presenting a sleek, streamlined motorcycle.
"What you're looking at, is the PI special order, one of a kind, wind resistant, flying motorcycle." Harry said.
There were dropped jaws everywhere as they looked at the machine. It wasn't so much the fact that it was big, so much as it was that it was smooth, futuristic looking and all shiny and black, with green highlights, a high window with fairing that seemed to be designed to completely remove the person on the bike from the airflow and an engraved design on the tank, with the letters PI and the word Skyline in cursive script and a Chinese dragon curved around the words. It was animated to move and curl around the words. The symbolism of a wingless dragon, which still flew, seeming very apt to Harry.
May was standing there open-mouthed, until she got her emotions under control. "Can… Can I take her out for a spin?"
Harry smirked and said, "There is one caveat. If I don't take my girl out on this first, I'll never, ever live it down." Harry had noticed Natasha's look. There was a tinge of envy he had never seen. She wanted to get on this bike. She wanted to own it.
May seemed to struggle as her fists clenched, but then she nodded. She said nothing as she just stepped back with visual effort. Harry saw her jaw clench.
When Harry had opened the door, Melinda looked and saw the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. It looked like something that was designed in a dream that one forgot, but felt regret at not remembering the next day. When he said it was hers, her heart may just have skipped an actual beat, so shocked and excited was she. The Skyline was a work of art and it called to her. She needed to get on it, to feel its power between her legs. She asked if she could take it for a spin and Harry broke her heart.
She was a trained professional and she could control her emotions, even while something in her screamed that it wasn't right. This was her bike, her baby. She should be the one to ride it first, to connect with her, for it was definitely a 'her'. She was too beautiful to be anything but.
Natasha noted May's distress and she realised that Harry had just taken a gift and tarnished it, all for her. He saw her desire for the machine and chose her, over giving the gift to its rightful recipient. She took a breath and approached Harry. Then she hugged him and whispered, "It's not right. You gave it to her and now you are making her wait." Then she looked him in the eyes, "Take her for a spin. Show her the features. Let her learn how to use it." Then her eyes got a new light to them, "But when you come back, you're not getting in our bed again until I have my own Skyline. That beast wants to be ridden and I want to tame my own." She finished with a hungry look and kissed him passionately before breaking away.
Harry looked after her and then smiled. "I should probably listen to my future wife, huh?" There were nods all around. "Okay May, let's take her for a spin." Harry said as he indicated for her to mount the bike first.
"You want me to be the driver?" May asked, nodding at Natasha in thanks. She would have to thank her properly later.
"This bike is special. She'll be bonded to you like no other magical device can be. This was something I had in planning for a long time and invested quite a bit of magic into. It is a prototype of intent based flight magic. It's basically something that hasn't existed before on this or my world, because the magic involved is something that didn't exist there and Asgardians haven't thought of doing because they don't know my kind of magic." Harry explained. "I need you to sit on the bike, so I can bond you two."
May didn't delay. She climbed on immediately, running her hands over the smooth metal. She stood the bike up, noting it was heavier, since the fairing was all metal. There was not a scrap of plastic in sight. "She's a heavy girl." May said, still running her hands over it.
"Not for long." Harry said as he placed a hand on her back and the bike's tank. He closed his eyes and focussed on the enchantment cluster. It was a big one and it took a moment for him to grasp the whole thing with his power. When he had it, he created a tether, a stream of magic, which flowed between the bike and May. And then he locked it.
May was watching as Harry concentrated. She could feel something happening, but it defied description. Then she noticed his features smooth, just before a jolt of… something entered her body and she suddenly knew her bike. The Skyline was connected to her, personally. She could feel the pressure on the tires and her weight on its seat. It felt right, somehow, like she was meant to be there. She ran her hands over its tank and felt her touching it. It felt, almost, giddy at her attention. "Is she alive?" she managed. She somehow felt there was supposed to be some kind of ceremony involved with something so personal.
"Magic is sentient, so in a word, yes." Harry explained. "That bike is enchanted with so much intent magic, it could be said to have thoughts, an intent to its purpose as it were. And I just finished the enchantment. You were the last piece." He said. "I could use this machine, by using my magic to operate it, but you are its heart, now. She'll never be complete without you." Technically, Harry could connect it to someone else, but even he felt the idea was somehow wrong, now that he had connected it to her.
"You should name her." Skye said, still struck with awe at the machine in front of her. She would beg for a ride with Melinda later, but for now, it seemed almost like she'd be interrupting a moment if she asked.
"She's not wrong." Harry said. "It will make for a good connection in your mind, but think about it well, before deciding. Learn how she handles, how she feels, first."
"She feels thirsty." May said, not knowing how she knew, but feeling an emptiness in 'her' tank. "Do you have gas on the island?"
Harry smirked. "She runs on water."
"What?!" most of the people there exclaimed.
"Latest development by PI. In conjunction with Jarvis, actually. We worked on it together. The fuel injectors also transfigures water into high octane gas. Perfect for her to run on and completely without impurities. Once the gas is burned up, it turns into steam and dissipates, so it's environmentally friendly as well.
"Other than that, Jarvis helped me take her apart and enchant every single part to be unbreakable. She'll never need a service, an oil change or a replacement, but it might be a good idea to take her apart sometime, to really get to know her." Harry smirked as he walked over, opened her tank and made clean water to fill her up.
"Won't it hurt her?" May asked.
"She's a machine. She has no brain, so there's no risk in causing pain. Her functions, her thoughts are all cast, moulded directly into her being. The only thing she will feel is the freedom of movement and the joy of you riding and playing with her." Harry explained. He had put a lot of work into her, but something in him told him it was the right thing to give it to May. He had procrastinated finishing her for months until this opportunity arose. Suddenly he was able to finish it and in record time. Sure he'd be able to do it faster next time, but it's like the bike needed a burst of inspiration and May was the one to deliver it.
May swayed the bike left and right when Harry finished filling her up. "She's lighter. Is it because she's mine, now?"
"Felt that, did you?" Harry asked with a smirk as he closed her tank. "She's lighter because you want her to be. Anyone else gets on her, she'll feel like she weighs a ton."
Melinda smiled and leaned forward, leaning on the tank to grab the handles of the bike. No sooner had she touched the handles than the bike roared to life. She jumped for a moment, but didn't let go. She felt the engine roar under her when she turned the throttle. It was music to her ears. She dropped into first gear and took off before Harry could even say a thing. He just smiled. It was like they were meant for each other.
May rode on the sand and it felt like she was on a road. There was no give as something in the bike stopped it from sinking into the soft sand. Curiously, she looked down and saw for the first time, she was not touching the ground. Her wheels were a foot off the ground. She smiled as she suddenly understood instinctively how the Skyline's flight worked. Harry had even said it. It was light because she wanted it to be. It was responding to her intent.
Harry watched as May slowly rose from the earth until she seemed to notice for herself. Then there was a whoop of joy as she took off into the sky. Harry quickly summoned his broom and followed her. He had not warned her about the barriers around the island. He followed her as she increased her speed and whooped for joy again when she completed a loop.
Harry decided to show off and got his broom under his feet, controlling it with his magic. He flew next to her and casually cast a spell to be heard over the noise of the wind. "Enjoying yourself?" he asked.
Melinda almost drew her gun, before she realised who it was. She should have known. "She handles like an extension of myself!" she screamed, trying to be heard over the wind. The wind that didn't seem to touch her.
"Ouch! Don't scream. I've got communication magic up." Harry chastised.
"Sorry." Melinda said.
"It's okay, you're not used to it." Harry let it go. "First off, you should be asking how we're even talking. Look at the speedometer."
She did and was shocked. "How are we going Mach two and a half and you're standing on that thing? For that matter, why do I still have my skin?"
Harry wiggled his fingers and said, "Magic. You should start getting used to it." He smiled at her. "Okay, a few things we should have covered before you took off. First off, you'll need to remember that the island is hidden by magic. You won't know how to get back without me, because you passed its boundaries a long time ago. Secondly, we're about to fly into monitored airspace, so please activate stealth mode."
"Stealth mode?" May asked.
"Put your hand on the tank and will yourself and the bike unnoticeable." Harry said. "It's not invisibility, so much as it is a compulsion for people to ignore you."
She did that and felt something happen, but couldn't see it. "Did it work?" she asked.
"Don't ask questions you know the answer too. The only reason I see you is because I see through my own magic and that bike's enchantments are all my magic." Harry said as he sat down again. "Okay, flight test one, follow the leader." He said as he took off and raced ahead of her.
An hour later, Harry and May arrived back on the island. May came in for a vertical landing, somehow just knowing she could do it, all while not creating one gust of wind. Nobody seemed to notice her until she remembered to cancel stealth. Suddenly everyone was looking at her. "May? When did you get back?" Coulson said.
"Just now, actually." She said as she got off the bike and went to go get a cloth from the bartender to wipe the bike down. It wasn't dirty, per se, but she wanted to admire all the angles and corners.
"She is a beautiful lady. Almost as pretty as my Lola." Coulson said as he walked up to admire the bike as well. He was about to run a hand over her, when May gave him a look that promised dire consequences. The bike growled to life as well, in warning. May smiled in satisfaction when Coulson quickly withdrew his hand.
"Don't touch what you can't afford." May said and continued her inspection. Not one insect hit the body, it was still pristine.
"Oh, come off it!" Harry said. "That thing is bullet-proof. Coulson couldn't scratch it if he tried. And you don't need to wipe it down, its protections don't allow debris through, so it should stay clean, no matter what you put it through, even on the ground."
May looked at Harry in annoyance. "Could you not?" she asked. She was enjoying herself.
"Okay, okay." Harry said with a smile before he got himself a drink and looked around. "Where is Natasha?" he asked.
"She went into your house." Skye said from where she was looking up what kind of bike May had, but couldn't find anything. Harry must have literally built it from the ground up or heavily modified something else.
Harry sighed. "I've got a long couple of days ahead of me."
"Yeah, she really wanted a ride on the Skyline." Skye said. "When she heard it was unique and bonded to May, she got up and went to the house."
"I'd better go handle that." Harry said with a sigh.
He left the guests and walked to his house. When he entered, he was jumped by Natasha. His drink fell from his hand and shattered on the ground, its contents spilling everywhere, as he scrambled to catch her. She kissed him deeply and Harry was shocked at her passion… right now, at least. "I thought you were angry?" he asked in confusion when she let him up for air.
"I was, until you bonded it to her. I was confused after that until I thought about it." Natasha said still in his arms.
"What did I do this time?" Harry asked exasperatedly as he walked with her to the lounge and sat down.
Natasha looked at him and smirked. "Why, Mister Potter, are you asking me to explain magic to you?" she asked. When Harry smiled and nodded, she continued, "Okay. Can you tell me, what kind of magic you put in the bike?" she asked.
"Flight, wind resistance, damage resistance, stealth, and a few other features. Why?" Harry asked.
"You missed the most important one. Intent." she said.
"Yes, and?" he asked.
"Who did you intend to give that bike to when you started making it?" Natasha asked.
Harry scratched the back of his head and admitted sheepishly, "I was thinking of giving it to you when I finished it actually, until I got stuck, mid-way." he admitted.
"Don't worry, I understand, but you obviously don't." she said as she grabbed his head in her hands and looked into his eyes. "Intent magic, Harry. You told the others it's basically alive with intent magic and you just told me you intended it for me originally. What does that tell you?" she asked.
Harry thought about it for a moment until it clicked. The reason both Melinda and Natasha had such extreme reactions to seeing it, was because it was literally made for them. It must have called out to them like siren song. "Oh, I see. I'm sorry." Harry said, knowing it must have been hard for her to give up on something like that.
"It's not a problem." Natasha assured him. "The moment you bonded it with her, the compulsion faded." Then she hesitated.
"What?" Harry asked. She looked at him hopefully. "You still want one anyway, don't you?" She nodded with a smile. "Okay, I can do that. Are you going to motivate me or are you going to threaten me again?" he smirked.
Natasha grabbed his hands and placed them on her behind, "Oh, I'm sure I can find proper motivation." she said as she leaned in for a kiss.
Two hours later they re-joined the group. They had heard the bike flying around a couple of times, probably giving people lifts, to get them to stop asking. They found the group gathered around a fire, with Logan cooking some steaks over the coals that he worked on the side. Apparently Bruce had decided to stop by and he was deep in discussion with Jemma about potions and the properties of the animals and plants used, while Fitz stood by and tried to get a word in here and there.
May was actually enjoying a conversation with Logan about the work he did on the island and supporting the animals, while Coulson, Triplet and Fury were standing by the bar, watching a football game on the big screen, which had been moved into the bar area after the institute's children left.
Harry headed over to help with the food and Logan waved him off. Apparently he could handle it, so Harry went to make some side-dishes, but Bruce had apparently already beaten him to it. Shrugging, he went to lay down on the hammock with Natasha. They started planning her bike, since, now that she knew he was going to make it, she had some say in its construction.
The next couple of days were busy as Harry, Natasha and their friends introduced the team to the magical world which Harry had basically invented and/or brought to the island. Fitz/Simmons were ecstatic when Harry offered them access to the databases Tony and Bruce had been setting up, respectively. Both of them were starting from scratch, but with the resources provided and the research started by the original two geniuses, there was much promise for their future enhancements to the field. Jarvis was controlling what Fitz could learn, in case he became too curious or wanted to experiment.
Fitz had been overwhelmed by the concepts of the powers that were and could be applied to the sciences he already knew, while Simmons was trying to update her biological knowledge with the ingredients and influence of magical substances on pharmaceutical grade drugs and chemicals. Suffice it to say, they would be busy for years before they caught up with the original two, especially with them still researching and upgrading the databases, while the new scientists added their own findings and applications to their respective arts. That and doing their jobs at the same time, that is.
Harry had taken the time to consult with Jarvis and Natasha on motorcycle design and, not wanting to copy the original, decided to go with a different design. That of a chopper, rather than a sports bike like May's. Harry had worked tirelessly for many evenings, while extending his rest time in ways he never really explained to anyone. The only person who might suspect, was Coulson, and he had no way of knowing. Coulson had been told about the time-turner, but had planned to and would take the information to his grave, if he had any choice in the matter.
May had finally ended up calling her bike 'Skyline One', in reference to hers being the original. It was also to stop the others from calling it 'Giddyup' as they had started calling her, in reference to May's nickname of 'The Cavalry'. Natasha had simply referred to hers as the 'Sky Hog' while Harry was still working on the enchantments. She had felt it was apt for her bike, which she felt was a definite male, as it sounded like a beast when it idled. Natasha had obviously requested some extras, like a Gatling gun, not to be outdone by Skyline One. Harry had told her she'd need to wait till he could figure out how to mount such an addition and she had let it go for now.
Five days after Coulson's team arrived, Harry had the new bike ready and Fury wanted to end the vacation to start working on the EPI SHIELD Agency. He and Harry had been discussing it whenever they had time, while Agent Hand joined them every other planning session and Jarvis had been keeping note and setting priorities for Harry. It had been decided to keep SHIELD as part of the name as it was an institution and a trusted name for over half a century. Coulson was relieved when he was told he could continue introducing himself as an agent of SHIELD, even if he had to tack on the 'EPI' part. Despite what he said, it had affected him deeply when he was told the original agency was shutting down.
After their holiday ended, Harry started working on the new base and had the branch connections set up in a month. Setting up the branch connections had taken time and effort, since all the exits were connected via portals that he had to permanently enchant to work for those agents in the know. Every agent had to sign a document, which was connected to a main one hosted in a secret location, which was only viewable by a select team via camera system.
They then had to sign different contracts, depending on which magics they were allowed to use and only when they completed training, in-house, for those magics and how to keep their use secret. Harry had been astounded when Fury's people had come up with protocols and contingencies upon contingencies for when or if anything went wrong. They had them in place within a couple of weeks of start of operations. For those situations there were four different teams with four different and more difficult to acquire clearance levels who would respond given any situation that might require intervention.
Active agents were monitored via magical and technological means, to ensure their safely in any situation. Any data given would be saved on a central database, which was only accessible by the senior staff, who had a completely different set of credentials and clearance levels. Every level of the system had redundant security and protocols, to ensure that everyone knew they were safe and could trust their colleagues.
Every signed contract provided the signer with a set of protections including letting people know when they or their loved ones were in mortal peril. This was a big attraction for those who knew what happened to their colleagues who did not sign on with Hydra willingly.
Speaking of which, those people who had been forced into service were given trials first. With Veritaserum and a Contract to confirm their loyalty, they were allowed to re-join the ranks of the newly formed SHIELD while their family's individual safety was confirmed before they were offered the chance to leave or continue.
To Harry's great shock, the majority of those people joined as soon as they found out their family was finally safe, with a minority of the people deciding to leave to spend time with the family they thought they'd never see again. Harry had ensured their names were kept on a list, in case they ever changed their minds. These people deserved a second chance even if they needed to rest first.
Fury had decided that one of the new SHIELD's priorities would be to inspect and ensure the safety of the distribution centres, which Harry, in turn, had to create portals to.
Coulson's team was told to continue with their previous mission, investigating the appearance of powered individuals and alien technology. They had strict orders to preserve life and offer support where necessary.
EPI, as it was called in the press, was getting a lot of good publicity, even when governments started demanding whatever technology was allowing the agents to respond as quickly as they did. EPI had its own public relations department, which was very capable. They were claiming proprietary tech and refused to say more. The few times someone tried to take an agent in for questioning, they had simply activated the failsafe, which was a bracelet that had a one-time use for repelling unwanted attention. Then they just walked away.
Some of the items were enchanted specifically for one-time use, to ensure nobody abuses them. If an item was used, it would also change colour, so that it could not be hidden that it had been used and the agent then had to give a written report for the reason the use was necessary. Fury had insisted on redundant security and checks on items given to agents to use. Nobody argued, as it would be easy to abuse magic, without rules in place.
The Rooms of Requirement had been renamed to Augmented Reality Training or ART Rooms, for short. It allowed the agents to discuss their recent training sessions without fear of being overheard, not that Room of Requirement would mean anything to anyone, anyway. Either way, the ART Rooms were a huge success, as Agents could be subjected to specific situations with as many variables, unknowns and people as were required, without spending massive amounts of manpower and resources on setting up training environments and simulations with support staff and security measures.
Another use that Harry had not thought about, was as a rudimentary Pensieve, where a person could show what had happened in a situation by showing a re-enactment in the room. Harry had arranged a bonus for the agent that had come up with that and given them access to the room for an hour as a special reward. This had become a common request and they had had to setup a waiting list for when the rooms would be available, and a reward system was put in place for acquiring the rights to use the room as well. Harry refused to make more rooms than the singular ones at every base. They were also strictly controlled, with only the branch managers capable of arranging any kind of access.
As a result of the ART Rooms' success, Agents were able to train with magical artefacts that were created in the room without needing Harry to enchant and bond items every time. Only once a certain level of proficiency was reached, would an Agent be given the opportunity for Harry to bond them with their new gear.
Another side-effect of having everyone at the new Agency aware of magic, was that they could now be treated for chronic diseases and conditions. Enchanted replacement limbs became available and people who wanted the opportunity were brought out of retirement. Hill had had the bright idea of approaching soldiers who had lost limbs with an offer to serve a new agency, as long as they signed the necessary contracts.
Needless to say, that opened up the recruitment options tremendously and EPI suddenly had more recruits than it could handle, until older veterans were approached for their experience and they were offered similar deals. Some of them just wanted a potion to sleep at night without nightmares, while others just wanted to feel useful.
The amount of respect Harry was receiving from anyone he walked past was very flattering and humbling at the same time. Those people who were ex-military, would actually stop and salute him, whenever he passed them. Harry had actually needed to order one man, who had just received two prosthetic legs and an arm to sit down and get used to the additions first, before he hurt himself. The tears of gratitude in the big man's eyes were touching.
If an employee needed to, they could apply for a family member's treatment as well, as long as contracts were signed. So far, no family members had lost their memories of magic, which was unexpected, especially with how their lives had been changed.
A rumour started circulating that known members of EPI had access to medical advancements that was not available to the public. When stories of miraculous recoveries started spreading, with those people affected refusing to explain how their recoveries occurred, people started asking why. When Harry was informed that plans to arrest those people they had helped were in the works, he had simply called for a press conference.
Tony, Bruce, Charles and Hank were there with him, on the day of the conference, with many Agents stealthily mixed into the crowd. They waited for the press and very large crowd of civilians to quiet down and then started. Harry walked forward and took the podium. This time he was not experiencing any nerves, as he was angry at what he had heard was planned for the people they had helped.
"Good afternoon. My name is Harry Potter. I am the CEO and founder of Potter Innovations." he started. He waited patiently for the spontaneous clapping and cheering to stop. "I have called this press conference to discuss some things that I believe the public should be aware of." Here Harry paused and looked behind him. "I should probably introduce my colleagues first." He said and pointed at them one at a time.
"First we have Tony Stark of Stark Industries, who has been working with me on some gadgets and prosthetics we hope to release to the public in the next couple of years. Next we have Doctor Bruce Banner, who is a biochemist and the Head of PI's Medical Research department. Next is Doctor Henry McCoy, who is a geneticist that has recently started working with Doctor Banner and is the Head of PI's Medical Application and Delivery department." Harry said.
"Mutant!" came and angry yell from the crowd. Harry just smiled and looked behind him where a large image of the bigot appeared. The bigot's face lost all colour.
Captain America walked out of the building and to the podium where he spoke to the crowd, "I dislike that word." he said. "I find it humiliating that I live in a country where such intolerance is accepted. It sounds like the things I heard back in Germany. Just because someone is different, doesn't give them any less right to live." Then he looked directly at the bigot, "It doesn't give you the right to judge them, either."
Harry nodded in thanks to Steve and shook his hand. "Ladies and gentleman, Captain America!" There was clapping and cheering and Harry noted the bigot was being escorted from the crowd. It didn't even look like any of his people were doing it. That gave him hope. "Yes, wow! Tony, you should warn me when your Hero friends are around!" he said with some humour, "I didn't even have something for him to sign!" There was some more laughter from the crowd at that.
Harry then turned back to the crowd and held up a hand for quiet. When the sound lessened, he started again, "Lastly, you may recognize Professor Charles Xavier, who is a known enhanced that has been working for years to protect those with and without abilities, along with his X-Men." Harry smiled at the man sitting in his wheelchair and he nodded. "You may ask why he is here, and the answer is simple and related to why this conference was called." Harry paused, for effect before continuing.
"The reason he is here, is because he is also a patient of our Medical Research department." Harry turned to the man again, "Professor, if you would please join me at the podium to greet the people who have come to see us?"
Charles smiled and rolled his wheelchair to the podium, where it was lowered for him to speak into the collection of microphones. "Hello, and thank you for inviting me Mister Potter."
Harry smiled and said, "It's good to have you here, Professor. Could you please inform these people and those at home why you are here?"
"Certainly, Harry. It would be my pleasure." he said as Harry took a step back and Charles took the prime position. "Good afternoon America, and all the other people watching around the world. My name is Charles Xavier and you may know me or my team, the X-Men, from our various missions around the world, protecting those without power from those who abuse theirs.
"I have known Mister Potter for just a bit more than a year, ever since he helped us with some trouble we had been having. As you know, he has been involved with some revolutionary machines that use techniques only his company has been able to come up with and as such we had to turn to him with one of our issues.
"That issue, however, is not the reason we have been working with Mister Potter since. He's been working with us simply to help the children. He has made generous donations and even sponsored a camping trip for the children, since not many resorts cater to the enhanced community. These children have not seen his kind of selfless kindness since before their enhancements presented themselves and many of them were forced to leave their homes.
"I was quite surprised to be contacted one day by Doctor Banner about a breakthrough he had made. It was unfortunately quite experimental and he needed to speak to someone in the field of genetics and Mister Potter referred him to me. I helped as far as I could, but my time is limited, and even though I really wanted to, he needed someone with more time than I, so I suggested he speak to Doctor Henry McCoy, who knows the subject even better than myself.
"They have since made breakthroughs in delivery systems that will, one day soon, eliminate the need for adjusting treatments to individuals, beyond dosage, that is. There is also another reason why Doctor Banner contacted me, personally." Here Charles rolled back and threw the blanket off his legs, before slowly standing from his chair. The podium extended again and Xavier walked up to it. The crowd was completely silent and gawking as realization settled in.
"As you can see, some of these treatments work perfectly. There is much I cannot discuss with you, legally. That is also the reason why so many people refuse to speak. Some of them may need treatment in the future as well, and breaching contract would definitely make them ineligible to continue treatment." The crowd was, fortunately, still quiet.
Harry walked up to the podium and shook Xavier's hand and thanked him before turning to the crowd again. "Okay, so now that you have an example of what we're working on and know why the people behind me are here, I'd like to state one thing; while we'd love to make all these treatments available to you, if the governments of the world continue with their plans to arrest and interrogate our patients, we might end up needing to close the department, for fear of endangering our patient's lives."
There was an almost collective intake of breath, before the majority of the crowd started making their objections known. Harry held up his hand again and had to wait a couple of minutes, before the crowd started controlling themselves again. "I'm not going to say which governments, even though I do know who you are, but I do not want to cause a panic. What I will say is this: if any of our patients are taken, we will recover them and stop offering our support to that country until the government or government official responsible has been replaced.
"Like the American government, we do not negotiate with terrorists. If a government of any country abducts its people or threatens them, they will go onto PI's registry as a government run by terrorists. That is our response to your plans to terrorise your people. Thank you." Harry finished. He had been angry and he'd said his part.
Hopefully the way he stated things would make it inconceivable for any government to do as they had planned. He'd avoided mentioning any specific country, so none of them would be able to blame him for any of what might happen should they ignore the warning.
The first country to ignore his warning was China. They had abducted five people, who had been recovered within an hour of their abduction and offered asylum until they could go back. Harry had debated on dismantling the distribution centres, but decided to leave them in place, but to use the infrastructure, via the IRDR network, to send a message to anyone on the network telling them of who was taken, from where and what was done for them by PI.
The government tried to use a scapegoat, but testimony under Veritaserum gave them a different story. The man was obliviated of the experience, but more information appeared on the network. Two months later, PI publically declared they were once again supporting China, when the Prime Minister was voted out of office for treason against the Chinese people. No other countries tried again.
That did not mean people were not abducted, but fortunately that just led EPI to more people who needed to go to jail or EPI's personal detention facilities.
That had been another development that Harry didn't necessarily like, but which he put in place for all the different branches. Fidelius protected prisons. Most of them already had enough space for him to enlarge, modify and enchant, but those that didn't soon had. Harry didn't put too much effort into them, besides a blanket calming effect and hiding the exits from people who were meant to stay incarcerated.
He'd had to add specific protections when powered individuals started being arrested, but so far, there had been nothing he couldn't handle.
Steve had ended up becoming a field officer for training recruits and leading missions. He had signed up the minute Harry informed him of what they had uncovered about the soldier, AKA Sergeant James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes. Since then Steve could be found visiting him in the special containment room, which Harry had set up for him, once he realised the man had been brainwashed.
Harry had used a combination of potions and spells to help Bucky remember his past, which was coming back slowly. He then allowed Steve access to his Pensieve, so that Steve could share memories, much as he had done with Logan. Bucky had been slow to trust, but by the end of the first month, he had asked for Harry to enter his mind, to see if he could fix some of the things he could feel was wrong.
Harry had reluctantly agreed. Fury had set up a room for him, with Bucky restrained and his arm pinned down with heavy machinery, just in case Harry's influence activated some of the soldier's programming. Once everything was ready, Harry dived into his mind. What he found was a whirlwind of locked up emotions, memories and experiences. It seemed that whenever his mind was wiped, it simply locked the memories behind a wall of pain, which the mind shied away from.
That and the damn control words. That was quite deviously done. Even if he regained his memories and successfully escaped those who would control him, if they ever found him again, they could re-activate mind-control, simply by saying a string of specific words. That would not do, at all.
Harry had ended up obliviating the memories of the pain, which held his memories back and the control words in their entirety, before exiting the man's mind. "I found something, and did what I could so that your memories can come back naturally." Harry paused and looked him right in the eyes again, "I'm going to warn you, a lot of what you did is going to disturb you, but you have to remember, you were being controlled. I've seen what happens to people who refuse to accept that they were not in control. Don't let your actions under mind-control define you." he said seriously.
Bucky looked at him and asked, with palpable apprehension, "Did they have me kill innocents?"
Harry looked at him, and nodded. "A couple of times you killed women. But you soon became unstable and they had to wipe your mind again. It seems you didn't want to do it and that was when you started fighting your programming."
Bucky could not maintain eye contact. "Could you not just wipe my memories of the last seventy years?" he begged.
Harry looked at him, "I could try, but your mind has been messed with so much, that I might do irreparable damage. It would be best to wait for your memories to come back and your mind to settle, before attempting something like that."
Steve walked into the room. He had been watching and listening. "Don't do it." he insisted. "I just got my best friend back. I refuse to lose him again."
Bucky looked at Steve, "Listen, Steve…"
"No! You can't do this!" Steve insisted. "You've only just escaped your nightmare, why would you want to chance permanent damage, when you might start to live your life again?"
At this point Harry excused himself and let them talk. He assured Fury that he found and removed his triggers and that he would need to be kept in observation for a while yet, while his memories came back. They'd need to keep a suicide watch on him, too. There were some horrors, which Harry had glimpsed, including the murders of Howard Stark and his wife, Maria, Tony's mother, that might push him over the edge.
"This could become a problem." Fury said. "We should definitely keep this from Stark, especially if we don't want to fracture the Avengers. Steve would stand up for his friend and Stark would go on the warpath to see his parents avenged."
Harry shook his head. "While I agree with you that Tony will be unreasonable when it comes to his parents, I think that keeping this from him would cause more damage. If he ever found out, he'd blame anyone that knew and didn't tell him. I refuse to be on that list. If you want a bit of time, I can give you that, to work up a strategy on how to tell him, but I refuse to keep this from him forever."
Fury did not look happy, but saw the logic in Harry's reasoning at least. "Fine. Give me a month and I'll have everything set up. I might require a contract from you, for Stark's piece of mind. I'll probably already have to use Veritaserum." he groused.
"Fair enough. You have a month." Harry said, then he looked Fury in the eyes. "Thank you for understanding."
"Thanks for not making it an order." Fury said. "I know we said we're partners, but everyone at EPI knows that you're the ultimate authority, and the one that signs the pay-cheques." he finished with a smirk.
"I didn't because I know you can probably handle these things better than me." Harry replied honestly. "The only benefit I get out of our current situation is that you can't order me around. If I wanted to tell Tony after you forbade it, I could simply do it anyway." he said. "And I don't want to force your hand, but you know I'm right about this."
"I know what makes and breaks teams, Potter." Fury said with a straight face. "I'd just rather we don't put our people through this kind of emotional stress, needlessly. At least if we do it, we can make sure it doesn't pop up when it's inconvenient to us."
Harry left the detention facility and went back to his lab, where he was busy working on rune and charms experiments. Tony stayed in near permanent contact via remote connection. He was finally able to crack sustained flight and was now working on things that would be necessary for space-travel. Tony wanted their first sojourn into space to happen before the end of the year, but wanted to get inertial dampening sorted out first.
There were charms for that, but he really wanted to get the runes to work. He was close to a success too, so Harry didn't think his goal was unachievable. Tony had almost finished his first flying car. Only some internal parts were still in production and he'd test-drive it with Harry in the next week, as Pepper had insisted, just in case. It was sleek and modern, with retractable wheels and repulsors for extra speed, not that he needed them, but it also added credence to it being a technological achievement.
Tony had decided that once he'd succeeded in space travel that he would consider himself a Master of Ancient Runes and Harry had agreed that it would definitely be enough for him to have access to Hermione's research. Actually, he already thought Tony was ready, but he'd also noted that Tony wanted to prove something to himself and this was a challenge he needed to overcome. He'd not be surprised if Tony's next move was to create a fully magical Iron Man suit, once he could crack magical data storage and processing that is.
Harry in the meanwhile was busy with Jarvis on the construction of the first rune-based muscle, when he wasn't busy enchanting items for the Agents of EPI. They had confirmed successful functioning of the artificial nerve and while heat, cold, touch, pressure and vibration sensing nerves were working fine, the pain sensing nerve was still not working. Harry had asked why Jarvis wanted it so badly, and Jarvis had explained that he wanted to experience pleasure as well. Apparently you couldn't have one without the other.
Harry was astounded and encouraged at Jarvis's fierce desire to have the whole human experience, so he was helping a part of Jarvis that wasn't busy with Tony's work. Harry had actually asked Tony to expand on Jarvis's mainframe, so that he could do his own work. Harry had even offered to pay for it, but Tony had refused. Instead he had added the expansion himself and added a remote workstation for Jarvis for his own experiments. They'd still have to share the fabricators for automatic assembly, but Jarvis had no problems waiting for when they were available.
Jarvis was also working on plans for emulating the effects of hormones and chemicals on the brain, so he was researching the physiological effects and in near constant communication with Hank for that. Hank had been more than willing to help. If Jarvis was able to do what he'd set out to do, they might one day be able to produce replacement organs, fix severed nerve clusters and produce working artificial skin-grafts, though apparently there was already a scientist working on that particular project.