Two months later and Jarvis's research had paid off, and they could now inscribe a rune scheme on any conjured item and have it cycle the energy almost indefinitely. Almost, because some energy still ended up escaping over time, especially in space. But the loss was so minimal, it could be considered negligible. One unit of MPE over the course of a month, instead of the original seven hundred plus. The lifetime of the conjured MSC Shells just went up from just over four hundred days to more than eight hundred years, estimated.
Harry had finally had a breakthrough with the MSC Shells, too. It was a cheat, but it worked wonderfully, when he wanted to take the time to make one really powerful MSC Shell. He created a pocket dimension, wherein he created a room, which he filled to the brim with the discs normally found in the MSC Shells, which had the runes on them to store the MPE. He had taken it one step further and had Jarvis inscribe the runes on small discs which he enlarged first and then shrunk to their normal size, before adding them to the room.
The effect did not increase the capacity of each disk tenfold like Harry had hoped, but it did double the storage capacity. Add to that the fact that the volume of the room could be expanded almost indefinitely, and the new Shells were capable of vast more storage capacity. Jarvis had kept track of the amount of disks and had helped Harry set up the interior of the room with the required adamantite wiring, so that all the disks could be charged from outside the room. It nearly depleted their stock.
When that was done, Harry shrunk down the opening of the pocket dimension to fit inside the normal casing of an MSC Shell and Jarvis added the required runes to monitor the power levels. The result, was the first MSC Shell that could store exactly ten thousand times the amount of MPE of the original MSC Shells. Since this shell wasn't conjured there was also no loss over time.
The total amount of power in that one MSC Shell scared Harry at one hundred million MPE, which took most of the stored energy from all his Magic Farms over all the worlds, stored over the last two months as well as all of the previously stored energy Jarvis had collected. There was no chance he was putting that on Midnight, so he kept it in a new workshop of his, which happened to be on Svartalfheim.
He did not want to risk something setting all that potential energy off and blowing up the Earth. He had originally decided to start working on his more dangerous experiments on the moon, until Tony had pointed out that he could very easily damage the moon with what he was playing with, so Harry had relocated.
He decided to make only one other Shell like that, which was now the repository for all the energy farmed from all the worlds. His enchantment factory could then be tapped as necessary, through a rune portal, to conjure and charge new MSC Shells, before being inscribed by lasers to sustain the conjuration. This process took place at EPI under the strict supervision of Nick Fury. Director Brand was not happy about that, but agreed that it was a good idea to have someone keep track of who used how much power and where. She'd have just preferred herself being the one in charge of it.
Harry had decided to keep the original MSC Shell in case of emergency and had Tony help him set up a way for him to access its reserves quickly, should the need ever arise. With that done, Harry's magical potential, which was already more than any magic user on the planet had ever seen, was suddenly even more impressive. Tony had even had the grand idea to set it up so that Harry could deposit magical energy into the Shell at the end of the day, seeing as he recharged most of said energy himself during the night. The ring with the connection was always on him, for safety. He was worried that he would start looking like a gangster, now that he wore a ring on both hands, so he kept them invisible.
Tony, in the meanwhile, had finished his first magical computers. One was for himself, one for EPI's moon base and the other for Midnight. He was still writing the operating system for them, so they were not installed or really in use yet. Harry had ended up using some of his own stores of adamantite, to help the project. He had found it hard to locate the dwarves, until Thor informed him that the dwarves didn't live on the plant anymore. They had relocated to a dwarf-built station around the sun of their solar system. It was where they harnessed the sun's energy for their forges.
Harry wanted to go to them, but didn't want to go empty-handed, as he knew he could make or enchant something to impress the dwarves. He put that on the list of projects as well.
One of Tony's other projects might help them with their dwindling supply, though. He was working with Bruce and Hank to try and crack the alchemy side of potions. They had already even produced a small amount of adamantite, but the conversion ration left much to be desired, so they were working on finding out how the magic did what it did. Normally applied magic had a temporary effect, but with the formula they found, it was a permanent change and they needed to understand it, since nobody wanted to mess with atomic bonds and accidentally set off an A-Bomb.
When Tony wasn't writing an operating system, with some help from Jarvis, or messing with the fundamentals of the atom with Bruce, Hank and sometimes Jemma Simmons, he was busy planning the creation of beacons, which they planned for Midnight to deposit throughout the solar system. These beacons would detect organic life, movement and anything out of the ordinary entering the solar system. They would be connected via IRDR, through which they would receive data and get their power.
Unfortunately it seemed they were hitting a snag, in that there were not enough resources on the planet to create the amount of beacons they would need to seed just their solar system, so Tony was working on finding ways to monitor bigger areas of space and use less beacons to cover greater distances. This project promised to take many years as the technology they needed didn't exist on Earth and they needed to create it from scratch.
In the meanwhile, Midnight's multiple observation decks, which functioned much like the weapons array Fury had used, were permanently occupied with people watching the skies. The fact that they could magically zoom their sight more than any earthbound telescope could, was just a bonus.
Tony was quite insistent that the Stark/PI International Space Station would have just as many, if not more, observation decks, which would then serve a similar role, while allowing the astronomers free reign and allowing them to do their research at the same time. If anything was spotted, the systems would automatically inform them as well.
SHIELD had started putting select scientists in Ancient Rune classes, with Jarvis's program teaching every class. When they realised what they were being taught, the waiting list for the class sky-rocketed as those attending the class told their colleagues, where their contracts allowed. Harry hoped to have a staff of specialists in the next couple of years, whose combined intelligence outshone even Tony's brilliance. Not to invalidate Tony, but rather, so that he and Jarvis didn't have to handle all the work as they had been doing of late.
--- Three months later ---
The team had been assembled, since their mission was so urgent. They had discovered a possible location of the sceptre in a Hydra Stronghold. Tony had chastised himself for not acting on the intel he had months earlier, when someone from Sokovia had attempted to hack into his systems. Now he suspected he knew who it was. Baron Strucker was one of the last of Hydra's men, which they had never been able to track down.
On this mission, The Avengers were playing a diversionary role, while EPI sent in the Ghost Squads to infiltrate. They had received word that there were many layers of security, but the team of thirty had gotten in safely. Then they started tagging the priority enemies in the base so that, when the time came, they could be disabled instantly, with as few as possible fatalities, at least for the non-combatants. Veritaserum solved a lot of problems for SHIELD and they loved two things above all; Intel and kicking Hydra butt.
When the information had come in, almost all the agents that heard, who had suffered under Hydra's influence before being rescued by Ghost and his people, had volunteered. SHIELD's private military had been itching for something to do and this seemed to be the perfect testing ground.
SHIELD's military had loved the ART Room and Harry had had to relent and set up another one specifically for military drills and combat simulations. Those soldiers with magical prosthetics had needed the time and experience to get used to the replacements, but by this point, none of them had any issues and would be able to outperform most special ops military.
There was protocol in place for this kind of engagement, so a rune-based stealth ship, which was made for only two people, would drop in and open a portal door for the military, who was standing by. Next they set up a camp, by opening three magic tents, which Harry had enchanted for them. The first being for those in command, the second for the arsenal and the last being the infirmary, where they would bring any wounded civilians and soldiers that did not need immediate extraction.
Speaking of which, a whole other branch of SHIELD was already on standby to set up a perimeter around the nearby town. Their job was to ensure the safety of the innocents. Hydra was not known for their restraint, after all. Once the bullets started flying SHIELD was to escort the civilians to safety. Or protect them with what equipment they had. Thus the mobile bunker ship, or flying forts, as the soldiers had started calling them.
Rune-based ships that were made with two purposes; taking fire and building walls. Each of the ships were twenty feet tall, forty feet long and five feet wide. They were heavily enchanted and runed for protection. They could also latch onto one another and stack to create a barrier. Thor's hammer could probably bend one or send it flying, but it would not break, which was the point, so nothing short of a cement truck ramming them at full speed would move them or affect the protections offered by these ships. Best part of these ships, was that they were invisible to anyone not wearing the enchanted gear afforded to all EPI personnel.
Everyone was equipped with three stasis-field portkey discs and the protocol was that if you had used two of them, you were to withdraw and let someone else take your place. The third was built into the uniform. You could not save lives if you were dead, after all.
Once everyone was in place and communications were up, with the command tent having a view on all active combatants and a remote activation for each soldier's last stasis disc, the Avengers started moving in. Their goal was to draw the attention of the enemy while the soldiers moved in and the Ghost Squads did what they were meant to do. By disrupting the chain of command, they hoped to have an easier victory.
The signal was given and the Avengers leapt into action completely destroying the first bunker they came to. Hulk was really enjoying the game he and Wolverine started, of counting how many they could each put down. Sif and Thor had decided to go with them, and so far she was leading, not really shocking anyone, but that didn't mean they were giving up, either. Natasha and Clint teamed up as they often did and Steve went in with a bike. A normal one as Steve decided to leave his own Skyline at home, considering he tended to use bikes in battle as disposable commodities. Tony was trying to take down the facilities' energy shield as the Ghost Squad had been unable to find its source.
Harry was fuming as he had been told that he would be backup and needed to stay in the command tent to monitor where he might be needed. With the Ghost in play, the soldiers wouldn't 'get to have any fun', the field commander had said. He made a good point, though. While all the soldiers respected Harry a whole hell of a lot, they had not been able to prove themselves useful to the company. This was to be their first engagement and they all wanted to prove themselves. With the Avengers already helping, morale could not be higher and the soldiers were ready for war.
So when the order was given, it was with quiet determination and not a cry of war that they descended on their enemies from a flanking position. The Hydra soldiers didn't seem to know what to do, and soon they split their focus between the two attacking fronts, making them all the easier to take out.
The mobile bunker ships had already moved into position to help protect the town from the fire it could potentially start taking and before the shots started raining down on the town, they had been stopped. One bunker ship was also in front of the three tents, just in case.
Harry watched as everyone did what they did best. He may have watched Natasha more than the others, but nobody would blame him for that. She was magnificent as always and it was while he was watching her that he heard Clint grunt. His view showed him lying on the ground, having apparently been bowled over by something. "What's going on Clint?" Harry asked.
"Someone- ah!" he yelled as he was struck by a weapon of some sort.
"I'm on my way." Harry said.
"No need, sir!" a soldier said and Harry noticed the same one who had to have two legs and an arm replaced, run up to Clint and placed a disc on his chest. Clint disappeared.
"Good job, soldier!" one of the commanders said. "Did you see what happened?"
"I only saw him get up and take the shot from the cannon, sir." The soldier said as he took cover behind a tree from the cannon which was still firing in their direction.
Harry saw Natasha throw one of her new surprises into the bunker from a different angle. She had been on her way to Clint, to do the exact same thing, when she noticed the soldier get him out. She then diverted and threw the grenade-like enchanted weapon into the bunker. Two seconds later the bunker collapsed in on itself. There were no screams as two-hundred G's of gravity hit in a twenty foot radius of the grenade. It was not a pretty sight to see the broken soldiers around the bunker.
"We have an enhanced on the field." Steve said suddenly and Harry looked at his monitor.
"What did you see?" Harry asked.
"It was a blur." Steve answered. "I've never seen anything like this."
"I'll keep an eye in the sky for this blur. When I see it, I'll make it stop." Thor said as he approached and then took off.
Iron man had finally breached and disabled the energy shield and was going inside to find the sceptre.
SHIELD's soldiers had closed in at this point and the rest of the enemy combatants were put down quickly. Very few surrendered. Steve and Natasha entered the building in search of Baron Strucker. One of the Ghost Squads had reportedly tagged him but nobody saw him when they activated the stun rod.
Harry decided to join them at this point, seeing as how the only danger was an enhanced and he was uniquely qualified to capture those, so he apparated to Natasha and followed behind them invisibly. They couldn't see him, nobody could, but they knew he was there because they heard him arrive and Natasha could feel him and she signalled Steve, who didn't confirm it one way or another. It was a strategy they had used before, when they were looking for enhanced. They would keep their eyes forward and Harry would cover their, apparently, unguarded backs. It worked very well.
It was a couple of minutes later that they spotted Baron Strucker lying in a corridor unconscious. It seemed he was on his way out of the complex when he was knocked out. Natasha went to secure him, when she was knocked down the hall by a wave of energy. Harry didn't waste any time and fired a stunner in the direction of the wave, where he then saw a figure go down. He then went to Natasha while Steve went to place a marked disc on the unconscious figure. It was marked to indicate that the person was an enhanced.
Natasha got up gingerly, smirking at Harry's concern, "My fiancé gave me this nifty dragon-hide armour. Someone would need to hit me a lot harder for it to even hurt." she joked. No sooner had she finished her words than a man appeared where she had been standing and she went sailing down the hall again.
"How was that?" the man joked before he turned to Harry, "Where is my sister?!" he demanded.
"Behind you." Harry said. He couldn't be sure, but it was possible that the man had looked and turned back so quickly that Harry couldn't tell. "So you're fast?"
"Faster than-" the man started only to crumple to the ground.
Natasha came out of her own invisibility with her hand behind where his head was before he was knocked out. "Why do they always talk?" she asked as she placed another marked disc on the man, who soon joined his sister. When she got up she was holding her ribs gingerly, "That one actually did hurt."
Harry smirked at her as he went invisible again. "Better get to Tony, before he does something stupid. I'll heal you later when I can get you out of that dragon hide."
"Guys, come on." Steve whined.
"Relax, Steve. Dragon hide is magic resistant. He literally needs to get under it to heal me." Natasha said with a smirk as they turned down the hall to go look for Stark. Natasha put a finger to her ear, "We had a second enhanced, but Ghost got one of them and I got the other. We're on our way to Stark."
What they found in the basement was a treasure trove of Chitauri tech and half-finished robots. The prise of the day, however, was the sceptre once wielded by Loki. Tony was checking through the system when they got to him. "Hi guys. I was just checking what they were doing here." Tony said. "Where's Ghost?" he asked.
"Right here," Harry said.
"He's staying concealed in case there are other enhanced." Natasha said.
"Good idea." Tony nodded. "Anyway, you remember the day we gave Jarvis a makeover?" he asked, not waiting for an answer, "Well, there was a hack that day, but they were blocked. Apparently it came from here. From what I can see, they were trying to make some sort of AI. They probably wanted help with the programming, by copying some of Jarvis."
Steve looked around. "Haven't you already faced robots?" he asked.
"Not individually intelligent ones, no." Tony said. "If they were trying to make some sort of learning adaptive robot, it could have actually started posing a threat. Especially with the sceptre running the show. We still don't know what it's capable of."
"How long until your copy is complete?" Natasha asked.
"It should be done soon." Tony said. "Any chance we can get this to a secure location through a portal?" he asked pointing at the sceptre.
Harry smirked and opened a portal and banished the sceptre through it, before closing the portal again. The sceptre was now safely in backup plan. Nowhere safer on the planet.
"Good. Let's finish up here and get our troops out." Steve said. He may have mentioned it once or twice, but he was really happy to be back among the men in uniform. The uniform may be different, but the cause was the same, if not slightly better. "I need to see the butcher's bill, before we can start celebrating."
The mood became sombre quickly and Harry apparated out. He wanted that information too, but he needed to see it himself, not just hear it. He went to the field hospital first. There were only a few people there, mostly strays and ricochets.
Next Harry went to the command tent. "Give me some good news gentlemen." he said.
The men in the Command tent turned to him and his spirits rose ever so slightly when he saw smiles all around. "Our boys did a good job out there and they looked out for each other like they were trained. We have zero fatalities, though we do have one man that lost an eye. He is currently in stasis, so that he doesn't suffer." One of the Commanders said. He was an older gentlemen, served in the marines, if Harry remembered correctly. He was one of those who just wanted to feel useful again, after retirement. A couple of potions to fix a bad knee and repair some muscle damage and he was jumping at the chance to be of help. Literally.
"That is great news!" Harry said in relief. "We'll obviously sort out a replacement for him, and make sure it looks just like the one he lost."
"The boys like to brag about how much of them have been replaced. An eye scores you some high points." the same commander said with a smile. "He'll probably not miss the one he lost."
"That's horrible." Harry said.
"That's what being a soldier means. We joke about it because if it's not funny, it's painful." the commander said with a straight face.
"Fair enough." Harry said. "Do me a favour and treat the men to a couple of rounds on me?"
"Can do, sir!" the commander replied with a salute and a smile.
Once everyone was gathered and behind closed doors, Harry transported them to the detention facility. There he looked for Clint and when he found him, he removed the stasis, stunned him and healed him. Once that was done he woke him up again. "Welcome back, sleeping beauty." Harry joked.
"Don't start." Clint said as he touched the unblemished skin where he had, from his perspective, been hit less than a minute ago. "How did it go? Did you get the fast guy?"
"Yeah, he's in the special detention facility and we got the sceptre." Natasha said.
"Who took him out?" Clint asked with a smirk as he got up and dusted himself off. He was still covered in the dirt of the forest. "Where's my bow?" he asked suddenly realising the bow, which was lying next to him in the forest, was not with him.
"Oh, right." Natasha said as she took the miniaturised bow from her pocket and cancelled the magic on it. "Harry shrunk it for me." Natasha had found that, as long as it was a magical function that was prepared beforehand, she could activate it.
"Thanks." Clint said. It was his favourite bow. It was still the indestructible one Harry had given him more than two years back.
"Natasha took the fast guy out." Harry said, changing the subject. "He decided to hit her and turn his back on her to start a chat with me."
"They never do that with me." Clint whined. "Talk, I mean."
"That's because you attack from far away." Natasha chuckled. "Are you ready to go say hi to your new friend?"
Clint just grumbled as he got up and started walking to where the special detention facility was. Harry smirked and turned a portal in front of him and he was suddenly there. "Oh, right." he said lamely, when Harry smiled at him. "Give me a break, I was literally just shot, knocked out and healed in the course of a couple of minutes."
They arrived in front of the small cells, where the two powered individuals were still unconscious and in stasis. Harry summoned the stasis discs and enervated the man first. His eyes opened and he was up and looking around instantly. "Where is my sister?"
"Hey fast guy, remember me?" Clint said.
"Where is my sister?!" he demanded.
Harry made their adjoining wall invisible so that the man could see her. "She's safe and sound. Just unconscious." he told him.
"How did you capture us?" he asked.
"What, didn't see that coming?" Clint mocked him.
"You will not hold us forever." he threatened.
"We don't intend to, though we very well could." Harry said. He lifted his arm and called, "Professor Charles Xavier" into his mirror.
A couple of seconds later, Charles answered, "Ghost. How can I help?" He knew Harry would be all business when he called in his armour.
"Do you have a moment to come speak to a new friend in our special detention facility?" Harry asked.
"I can be there in a minute." Charles said instantly.
"Good, thank you." Harry said as he closed the connection. "Charles Xavier is the man you want to be friendly with. He's the man who will see you either in a jail cell or in therapy. I warn you to be nice to him, as he's the only one that's on your side, after you attacked my people." To emphasize his threat, he used his magic to levitate the man and held him to the wall. "Don't try it again."
Natasha spoke up then, knowing Harry was playing the role of bad cop. "You have to forgive Ghost. He's kind of protective of his people. When people like you, who work for Hydra, try to attack his teammates and friends, he takes it personally." She said with a shrug. "Also, please know that no matter what Professor Xavier finds, you will still be tried under truth serum, so I suggest you speak the truth from the beginning and willingly."
The man had frozen and looked at Ghost with narrowed eyes.
"He's worried that you have the same power as his sister. He might even be right…" Charles Xavier said as he walked up to them, having come as soon as he could using the portkey he had for this purpose. He was always the man that they called when working with enhanced. His job was to evaluate and decide how to handle each case.
For some, he suggested that Harry help them with some sort of modification or item that could help them fit into society, which was their cause for doing what they did, when they were rejected for being different. For others, he suggested a temporary block on their powers, which he or Harry had to handle on a case-by-case bases. Both of those cases would receive therapy as well.
Sometimes, though, they ended up having to stop their powers permanently, by using whatever means would work, before having them locked up. Therapy would still be offered, but only to help settle people into prison. It was unfortunate that people's powers were sometimes the cause of their behaviour, though, more often than not, a criminal was a criminal by choice. The power was just a bonus.
"Really? Huh." Harry said. "We'll have to prioritize her assessment, then. Let me know if there's anything you need."
"I can handle these two." Charles said with a smile. "Congratulations on your victory." Harry nodded in thanks, conjured a chair for Charles and started walking back to the exit, not wanting to show the man his portals. Charles eyes widened as a thought crossed the man's mind. "And Ghost," he called after him, "Be careful with that sceptre. They were doing something with it. Preparing it for something big."
"Thanks for the heads up." Harry called back as the man rammed the cell's door in impotent rage.
"Now, where should we start?" Harry heard Charles say before he opened the portal and they left the psychic to do what psychics do best.
"I'm going to go look in on our soldier who lost the eye." Harry said as he closed the portal behind them. The team had to still write up reports and debrief. He could skip that, which he loved reminding Natasha about. She just reminded him that once they were married, she'd be able to do the same, because who in their right minds would think they could order the boss's wife?
The soldier had already been transported to a hospital bed and Harry found him just in time, before they could remove the stasis. When they did, he instantly hit the man with a stunner. A quick look confirmed it was beyond his ability to repair, not like he had for the man in Germany, whose retina was still intact. Hopefully by the time they woke him up, his new eye will be in and he won't even notice the difference.
He let the doctors take him to surgery, so that they could remove the remnants of the ruined optical organ, and to clean out the wound. Then they would use some of doctor Banner's potions to heal the open wound, before inserting the replacement eye. Fortunately there were a couple of the enchanted eyes in stock. Harry would have changed the colour, had the eyes not had replicable irises, for that specific reason. That was something the techs had come up with.
Harry next went to look for the soldier that had rescued Clint. He found him at the barracks, doing push-ups of all things, with a big smile on his face. "Do those even do anything for you anymore?" Harry asked as he stepped up next to him.
The soldier looked up and instantly jumped to attention and saluted Harry. "Sir, yes, sir!" he said with a face splitting smile. "I still have one limb of my own, sir. The doctors refused to take that one and give me the full set, sir." he joked.
Harry chuckled, "At ease, soldier. I've told you guys, I'm not brass, I'm just the one that pays the bills."
The soldier went from attention to parade rest, but seemed more at ease in that position anyway. "Between you and me, sir? It doesn't really matter. Without you, I wouldn't be here. I was in a bad way after Afghanistan. I wasn't going to be a burden on my family. I really believed I should have died with the rest of my unit."
"I'm sorry to hear that." Harry said sadly. He didn't know every soldier's background after all. He very seldom connected with these guys. On a whim he conjured an ice cold butterbeer for both of them and handed the other one to the soldier. "To the fallen." he said holding out his drink, thinking of the days he was also on the frontlines of a war.
"To the fallen." the man toasted, but he did not drink.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked.
"I'm an alcoholic, sir. I've been clean since I joined up, but I don't want to risk it..." the soldier apologised.
Harry nodded in understanding, before waving his hand and removing even the taste of alcohol from the man's drink. "It's clean, you don't have to worry." Harry said. "I'll see about setting up a non-alcoholic beer dispenser in the cafeteria for those of you who'd prefer that." Harry understood that even though the drink would turn to water later, the taste of alcohol might have a negative effect on recovering alcoholics.
"Wouldn't that be expensive, sir?" the soldier said as he took a sip and smiled. "This is really good. What's it called?"
"Butterbeer." Harry said. "The ones I make are normally non-alcoholic anyway, but it would taste like an alcoholic drink. I only recently figured out how to modify it so that I could offer it to children. They always complain that it smells good and I didn't want to get them used to the taste of alcohol." he explained. "As for expense, even if I couldn't make it so that it turns water into a temporary drink, you guys deserve it for your hard work."
"Thank you sir." the soldier said.
"What's your name, by the way?" Harry asked.
"Corporal John Kowalski, sir." the now identified John said.
"John, I hear you guys like to brag about how much of you has been replaced." Harry said. "How much of that is true?"
Jack smiled broadly. "The replacements don't get tired, so those of us with two or more replacements have started outperforming the regular soldiers. They joke that we are the lucky ones. I tend to agree, though I do wish I could have kept the tattoo I had on my old arm. It was the one I got with my old unit." he finished sadly.
Harry perked up and quickly retrieved his Pensieve tablet from his desk again. "Do me a favour and close your eyes and think of the moment you saw your tattoo the first time." The soldier closed his eyes instantly and did not react when he felt a finger on his temple. "Good. Now open your eyes."
When John opened his eyes, he saw two stools and a table in front of him. Harry indicated for him to take a seat and placed the tablet, which held the memory on the table. "This is my way of thanking you for being there for Hawkeye. I know it was your duty, but where I come from good deeds are rewarded." Harry said, when the man looked like he was about to object.
"Now, I want you to place a finger on the tablet, like this." Harry said as he placed his own finger on the tablet's face. He had already cast some privacy charms for them.
Harry was waiting in the memory when the man arrived. He recognised the scene instantly and knew what he was seeing. The sad smile on his face was all Harry needed to see to know he had made the correct decision. They watched as a younger John inspected the tattoo for the first time in a mirror while two of his friends were still being tattooed and the rest stood there smiling and laughing and telling jokes.
Too soon, for John, the memory ended and he quickly looked away to hide the tears. "Thank you, sir." was all he said.
Harry had wanted to see the tattoo, but now he had another idea. He quickly opened a small portal and took a rune-reinforced vial from one of his workshops. Then he lifted the memory out of the tablet and put it in the vial. Before the man could look back at him, Harry cast a spell and placed the same marking on the man's new arm.
"Here." Harry said holding out the memory-in-a-vial. John turned to him and Harry said, "This is the memory you just watched. This is tangible proof of your bond with your old unit. Even if that," Harry pointed at the reproduction of the tattoo, "is just a replica, the memory is real."
John looked at his arm before taking the vial of shimmering blue liquid. He was too moved to speak at this point. Harry noticed and said, "Don't worry about people seeing you right now. This place is hidden for the next five minutes. Take your time."
As Harry made to move away, John spoke, "Thank you, sir. For everything." Harry nodded and continued on his way. His next stop was to go give a recommendation for Corporal John Kowalski to get a promotion. He knew it wasn't his place, but he felt he owed it to the man anyway. He would by no means force the issue either, but he wanted it on John's record that he had been recommended for promotion at the least.
After that, he went to go speak to Tony, who was back in his lab working on one of his many ongoing projects. His other wall now had another mirror that showed Bruce's lab, making all three of theirs seem connected, even if they were, in fact connected by portals. "How are things going here?" Harry asked.
"Just going over some of the data we collected from the Hydra base. I wanted to find out how they had modified the enhanced. Hydra did not have that kind of power before." Tony said.
"Probably something to do with the sceptre." Harry said. "Xavier told us that Hydra was preparing for something huge and that it had something to do with the sceptre."
"Maybe I should analyse it then? To find out what exactly they were doing with it." Tony suggested.
"I don't think it's a good idea, Tony." Harry said. "That sceptre has only given us grief."
"Who's going to have access to it here? We're in three of the most secure locations on the planet. The only people who have access are under contract." Tony said as he pointed at Bruce who had just walked into his own lab, with a sandwich halfway raised to his mouth, where it froze. "Do you think Bruce is going to want to play with the glow-stick of destiny?"
Bruce lowered the sandwich back to the plate, "What are we talking about?"
"Tony wants to have access to the sceptre and I'm thinking it's a horrible idea." Harry said. "At least, look through the data first. I don't want that thing affecting your systems. You saw what they were building down there. For all we know the sceptre was supposed to power those robots."
"Harry does have a point. You have all the fabricators, not to mention the rune facilities all connected to your lab." Bruce agreed.
Tony nodded, "I'm not going to argue about that. It's just so damn tantalising. I know where the last puzzle piece is and if I had it all this data would make sense, but you are right, both of you." Tony relented. They would have to just wait for all the interviews, and Strucker's interrogations to be completed.
---
A few days later, Harry's face had blanched when everything came together. "You're telling me there's a malicious AI, which they built from scratch, since they couldn't copy Jarvis, all set up on the sceptre, which Strucker used to control scientists to both modify the Maximoffs and plan the creation of a Vibranium-based robot that he wanted to unleash on the world. Did I miss anything?"
"There were also the beginnings of what looks like a plan for an android body with some really nifty abilities." Bruce put in from his workstation. Only after all the interviews were complete did they get all the information they needed to finish the puzzle.
"Don't-" Tony said suddenly as Harry looked at him smugly, "-tell me you told me so. I listened to you then, you don't need to rub it in." Tony then turned to Bruce and walked through the portal to his lab. Harry followed. "How was he going to make this android?"
"Like I said, it's just the beginnings of a plan." Bruce clarified. "There's not a lot here. There's a mention of the Vibranium and Doctor Helen Cho from Seoul. We were working together on her Cradle a couple of months back. It's a wonderful machine that can print living tissue, like a 3D printer." Bruce said.
"You don't think they were planning on…" Tony started as he went through what was there.
"Let me know if you need me." Harry said.
"Sure thing…" Tony muttered as he continued working and looking at the data.
The techno-babble became too much for Harry, who decided to rather retire to his own lab and continue his personal super-soldier project. He almost had the first part down. He was working on a way for one enchantment to be connected to other enchantments, the way he could seemingly channel one enchantment through another already. Once that was done, he planned on seeing how many of what kinds of enchantments could be run through one item.
He suspected that he would, personally, be able to connect to as many as he was aware of, although normal people would struggle past a certain point, unless they trained at it. The more familiar someone became with a piece of magic, the easier it would become to control more enchantments.
Harry's constant effort and involvement with enchantments, while simultaneously learning how to think differently by the geniuses he surrounded himself by, and the fact that he had quickly mastered the intent based magic of the Aesir, had left him with a very unique perspective and his love of his craft just kept growing.
There was seldom a day that passed these days that Harry was not in at least three different workshops for the entire day, on top of spending a normal day at work and spending time with his girl. He would sometimes take her along so that she could have a day off. She was completely aware of how much time he was spending on his projects, but didn't mind as long as he kept being honest with her.
Jarvis had begun suspecting that something was going on when Harry suddenly got a whole week's worth of work done in ten minutes, or what seemed to be ten minutes. Harry had finally relented and told him of what he was doing, but not how. Jarvis understood and resolved to help Harry plan his days better, now that he knew what was possible. His studies into psychology had given him the insight he needed to suggest for Harry to take time off too, since no man could do all of what Harry was doing and stay mentally stable.
Harry had admitted that there were days that he missed Natasha, but he knew another him was spending time with her already that day, so he couldn't see her. Fortunately that just meant he had to go to sleep, break the cycle and see her the next day. That did not sate him entirely, but he did sometimes take an entire weekend off so that he could shower his girl with love. She never complained.
A month after they had taken down the Hydra base, Tony had had the bright idea to upload the AI in the sceptre to a virtual environment. Jarvis had helped set it up and a copy of Two-Point-Oh was placed on said environment for the malicious AI to connect to. When that was set up, all physical and wireless connections were cut and interrupted and a magical barrier was raised around the whole setup.
One day after powering on the mainframe, the virtual environment had a catastrophic failure when the angry AI decided to rather die than reveal any of its secrets. Little did it know, that it was on a machine in a machine, and there was no way for him to access the outside world or destroy the physical systems from inside. Tony had loved going through the data, until he discovered the AI's tendency toward escalation and violence. There was even some sort of plan, dreamt up by yet another scientist, which would use some of the Vibranium to create an artificial extinction level event.
Tony had reluctantly told the team that his earlier plans to inspect the sceptre might have caused the unleashing of an enemy that could have done more damage than Loki had, had it not been for Harry and Bruce's insistence that they take things slowly.
It was heartening for Harry, when Steve was the one to stand up for him, saying that Tony was not to blame for the machinations of others and that the situation was handled correctly. He had clapped Tony on the shoulder and told him that he had come a long way from 'Doesn't play well with others'. Tony had smirked at him and told him he could still kick his ancient ass, before acting like he was sorry about swearing. Steve just shook his head at the jab about his slip in the field, during their attack on Hydra. It was something for the team to laugh about together, and Steve didn't mind that at all, even if it was at his expense.
It was yet another couple of months later, that Tony and Bruce had a breakthrough with Doctor Cho.
They had already found and returned the stolen Vibranium to Wakanda and opened talks with their King. It was a big victory as Wakanda was a very secretive country and rarely opened their borders to outsiders. EPI was now on a very short list of friends to the Wakandan people. Harry had secretly gone to visit them and discovered their reasons to be secretive, but didn't reveal anything, except to stress how much they needed to ally with them. He'd have to pay them back at a later date for the broken holographic generator his magic had accidentally destroyed.
They had gone to their other supplier for Vibranium: Yondu. He had been more than happy to help and supplied them with what amounted to be five times the amount as they had returned to Wakanda, for the low, low price of a thousand bottles of fully enchanted, fifty-year old Firewhiskey. He did not say where the Vibranium came from, but it looked like it came from the hull of a ship.
Harry had decided it was about time that they signed a new contract. Theft would be okay, it was Yondu's profession after all, as long as nobody died or died as a result of the theft. Yondu had grumbled about people being unreasonable, but had signed it anyway. As an added bonus, Harry promised to install a Room of Requirement for his ship, for their next delivery, even though he'd have to put it under Fidelius and only he and his first mate, Kraglin would be able to use it.
Yondu had been more than happy with what he got out of the deal and was planning on targeting a mine he knew about for more precious metals for his generous new benefactors.
The Vibranium went straight into storage in Harry's vault, but he allowed Tony to use it as needed. As long as Harry also had some to play with. He had some ideas for what he could do with such a versatile metal. Tony already wanted Harry to help him with his Vibranium projects,
Bruce, Tony and Doctor Cho worked with Jarvis to create what would later be known as the Vision. An android seen in a vision by a scientist under the sceptre's influence. Jarvis had done the programming himself and the Vision would be a second body for his consciousness. Nobody wanted to trust such a powerful android body to an unknown or untested Artificial Intelligence, and they kept the sceptre far away from the project. Jarvis had agreed, but only as long as he wasn't used as a weapon. He was a person and he wanted to live his life without regrets.
Speaking of Jarvis, there seemed to be some sort of connection forming between him and the Maximoff girl. Wanda had been loath to believe what she had been told about the AI's plans for the world until she saw the memories herself when he and Jarvis went to confirm them. When she couldn't read Harry's mind, Jarvis offered her his own assurances.
She had marvelled at the mind she had found in Jarvis and had sought him out after that. She was not really given free reign, but had been given a demonstration of the contract and how it worked, without revealing anything, and after much deliberation and a caveat that they didn't have to interact with Stark, she and her brother had signed.
Where Wanda went, there also went Pietro. Or Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, which were apparently their code names.
Harry had been assured by Charles that, while the twins were still emotionally unstable, they weren't bad people. His own contract with EPI ensured that he kept private information off the record for the patient's safety and peace of mind, unless it was life-threatening. Harry had taken his word for it, but that did not stop protocol from having them go through questioning while under the effects of Veritaserum. Because of his depth of knowledge and the fact that he knew which questions to ask, Charles Xavier did the questioning. It confirmed a deep hatred for Tony based on losing their parents to a bomb strike, using Stark Industries weapons, when they were young.
Harry couldn't fault them, but he wouldn't blame Ollivander for selling a wand to Tom Riddle, either. After all, if Stark Industries hadn't sold the weapons, the people who needed them would have gotten them somewhere else. He resolved to have that discussion at a later date. For now, he wanted to start looking into Wanda's supposed magic powers. It certainly felt like magic to him.
So it was that Harry invited the Maximoffs to New Atlantis, so that he could introduce them to the idea of magic, as he knew it. Natasha was both at the office and with him, but nobody knew about the former, since it was still the best kept secret Harry had. That and being the Master of Death.
When they exited the portal, he welcomed them as he always did. "Welcome, to New Atlantis." he said with widespread arms. A couple of Nymphs were around the pool, sunbathing and chatting happily. Or they had been, until Harry showed up. That's when they all got up and ran over to him giggling and hugging him merrily.
"And you are fine with this?" Wanda asked.
Jarvis, who had yet to experience new Atlantis in the flesh, had tagged along. Harry had made him promise not to work and he had complied. When on New Atlantis, do as the New Atlanteans do, after all. "Natasha encourages it." he replied for her. "Those are Wood Nymphs. They are magical beings, and they have a need for physical contact with Harry since he's basically their god and king."
"He is not a god, though." Wanda said with a frown.
"Exactly!" Harry encouraged from where he was still hugging the girls.
"Well technically-" Natasha began.
"No, you heard her." Harry said with finality. "She's obviously an expert at these things. Come, let's have a drink and relax before the rest show up." he encouraged, having successfully changed the subject.
"What do you mean rest?" Wanda asked.
"Nice! You have a bar." Pietro said before Harry could answer as he zipped to it, intent on getting himself a drink. Unfortunately the magic protecting the bar kicked him out at the same speed he had entered and he went flying into the pool, with a huge splash.
"Yeah, you can't enter Harry's bar without permission." Natasha said to Wanda, conversationally as they walked up to it. "It's magically protected. Only three people on the planet can enter it."
"Five," Harry said, "You forgot Loki and Xamantha."
"Right, but that only counts when you are here for Xamantha, and Loki isn't on the planet right now." Natasha countered.
"Technicalities." Harry scoffed as he walked behind the bar. "What can I get you?" Harry asked as a sopping wet Pietro walked to the bar. He lifted a hand and Pietro was suddenly dry.
"Useful." Pietro said.
"You don't know the half of it." Jarvis chuckled. "Could I try a virgin Bahama Mama, please?"
"No." Harry said easily. "You wanted the human experience and today you will have a drink with me."
"Are you sure it's wise?" Jarvis started.
"Would you rather wait for Tony to be here?" Harry asked.
"Good point." Jarvis conceded. "Very well, but can you keep it light? This will be my first drink and I'd rather enjoy the flavour than the effect."
Harry smiled and nodded. As he reached for the required ingredients, they started moving on their own. Harry watched in shock, "Why does this keep happening?"
"Is your magic doing something new, again?" Natasha asked. "I've seen you do this with your magic before, it's nothing new." she shrugged. "Maybe your magic is trying to be useful?"
"But it's not supposed to be useful without my telling it to!" Harry exclaimed. Suddenly the bottles fell to the floor, as if invisible strings had been cut. Harry looked at the mess with narrowed eyes, before he looked up with realization. "Loki! Get your ass out here, before I have to come looking for you!"
As ever, Loki made an entrance, by appearing in a seated position inside the bar with a smile on his face. "Good afternoon, Brother!" he said with an evil smirk.
Harry glared at Loki and pointed at the bottles on the floor, "Fix this."
Loki chuckled and stretched his hands out to retrieve the bottles from nowhere, while the broken ones on the floor disappeared. "I would never tarnish the right you gave me to enter this bar." he said. It was so much fun to hold it over Thor's head. He'd never push Harry so far as to kick him out.
Harry was still contemplating just that, when he relented. It was what Loki did after all. "Fine, but you get to play bartender all weekend." As he left the bar, Harry added a ward to keep Loki in.
Loki had felt the magic happening, but didn't know what it was until it was too late. "I suppose I deserve that." he said as he realised he was truly locked in. How was Harry able to form a ward that quickly? Even he needed a couple of minutes for it.
"What are you doing here anyway?" Harry asked as he stopped feeding from his personal magic reserve. He'd feed it some energy over the next couple of minutes and it will be full again. He'd discovered that having a vast source of energy to tap, as fast as he wanted, allowed him to form spells much more quickly. He would have been able to do what he did just now reasonably easily, but never as quickly, not without an enchantment. He smirked at the look of confusion from Loki, but didn't explain.
"I heard you were planning on bringing a new magic user to the island. How could I resist?" Loki asked.
"Her power is definitely magical, but I don't know if it's the same as ours." Harry said. "I'd like to explore that before we get into training her." Loki nodded, but was stopped from talking when there was a sound of many bare feet following the path to the bar, quickly. "And here come the rest." Harry said as he left his seat at the bar and walked to the approaching hoard of Nymphs. Their number had increased quite a lot. As Harry hugged them, he remembered how they had found the new additions.
---Flashback---
Sif had heard of a possible location, where more Nymphs and some Elves were being kept as house pets on Vanaheim. She reported that she had found the owner having fallen upon his sword, before she could get to him. The fact that she was cleaning her sword as she said it, didn't register with Harry at all. He didn't even plan on having her sword enchanted so that she'd never need to clean it again. No, sir. Not at all.
Harry had gone to fetch the Nymphs as they could not leave their trees, which was apparently how their kind was traditionally kept hostage. If they stepped out of line or refused to listen, their trees would be threatened. The elves were threatened by the same means. The Nymphs would suffer for their misdeeds.
The ex-slaves were questioned and some alarming news came to light. There were more, so many more. So Harry started getting any information he could.
Next, Harry planned a couple of raids to the nobility of Vanaheim, all done invisibly with Natasha, Logan and Sif. What he found in some of the manors and castles astounded and sickened him. Fortunately not many of the nobles were guilty, as most were loyal to Asgard and followed the laws. The few though, that thought themselves above the law, were made note of, even as the slaves were quickly and quietly extracted back to a safe location, where Frigga was waiting with her healers. There were also some wealthy merchants to liberate from and every time, their list of people to rescue grew when they questioned the slaves.
On the last raid, which Sif had specifically left for last, Harry had liberated another twenty-two Nymphs and some thirty elves. Harry had returned them all to Asgard as well, where they would be cared for by Frigga's healers. When he closed the portal, having given his last smile in reassurance to a little girl around Xamantha's age, his vision, which had started getting red around the edges, burst into full blood red.
"Oh, shit!" Natasha cursed when she felt his emotions explode from him in waves of menace. "Harry, we need to get out of here before you do something you'll regret."
Harry looked at her, tears flowing down his face, even with his rage having taken him completely over. He did not want to suppress this feeling, not after everything he had seen. Some of these nobles delighted in neglecting their slaves. This last one, though, liked to leave them laying around, after beating them to within an inch of their lives. He delighted in it, because the Nymph would heal as long as their tree was there for them to return to. He'd allow them just enough time to recover before doing it all over again. That's why he had so many, so that he could do it every day.
"I can't do nothing!" Harry pleaded. "Didn't you see the little girl?!" he finished vehemently as his emotions started icing over when he saw a vision of Xamantha, bruised, beaten and half starved.
He was about to unleash his Fiendfyre on the castle, when he heard a voice he did not want to hear at that moment. "Harry, listen to me!" Harry turned to see Natasha holding up her mirror to him. Odin's face was on the other side, "Listen, son! You are scaring Natasha!" there was an urgency in Odin's voice and a look of fear in his eyes, "You are scaring me! Please let us handle this, do not sully your hands with this man's unclean soul! What awaits him in Hel is his deserved punishment. I will see to it that justice is carried out myself, I swear it!" The last was spat with real anger. Odin did not like what he was hearing and this last man would wish his tormentors were as kind as he was to his slaves, before he would be granted the mercy of an honourless death and the tortures that awaited him thereafter.
Harry stood there while contemplating. The rage had somehow summoned a calm over him. A sort of mad clarity. How long had he been doing this? Harry was certain at that moment that he should have killed this man, and all men like him, a long time ago. There was something wrong with a world that allowed such evil to live. This monster had to die, be destroyed completely, it was as simple as that. He could not be allowed to continue living and cause more pain to people. Harry wanted to see the look on his face when he realised who exactly he had angered.
Harry was about to turn away again, when he saw Natasha's face. What emotion was it that he saw in her eyes? It was so tantalising for a second, to try and figure it out. He'd seen it before, he'd experienced it. Then it hit him. She was showing pure, unadulterated fear. Not fear of him, but for him. Why would she be afraid for him? Nothing could hurt him. He was the Master of Death. Nothing could harm him, not for long, anyway. It would take just one spark and the Fiendfyre would devour this pit of evil and all who dwelled in it. No evil would be able to dwell here again.
That's when he heard a voice in the back of his head, "I want you to look at me when I kill you! I want to see the light leave your eyes!" Tom Riddle, a madman, had once spouted this to him as they fought in a graveyard. Harry had seen the madness in those eyes many times. He feared that madness, more than he feared the man. The madness that meant he would do anything, hurt anyone to achieve his goals. There was no stopping it, once he'd made a decision to do something. And what he had decided, was monstrous. Is that what Natasha was seeing?
This thought finally shook him back to his senses and he worked up the willpower to fortify his Occlumency to contain his emotions. Odin nodded with relief and ended the connection from his side. For a moment, Harry saw a face he did not recognize in the reflection. His eyes were still shining a cold, bright green, but they were cast in an unnatural shadow, so it looked like his eyes were the only thing under the mask and hood. His whole visage was overlay on a background of undulating black and red. In the moment he saw it, he saw the shadow was quickly fading, as was his aura. Odin had likely closed the connection so that he could see himself, and know.
Harry sat down where he had stood as he suddenly realised he had been unconsciously channelling the power of his ring, the one connected to the most powerful source of stored magic he knew of, and owned. The magic sang in his veins, but it needed a release, or it might just explode from him and kill those around him and he couldn't store it back fast enough. He looked at Natasha in worry as he started to shake from the effort of holding the power, when half an idea hit him.
He loved her so much, he could almost instantly fill his entire mind with the feeling and so that's what he did, completely rejecting any other feeling so that he could make the spell work, just as he learned to, so many years ago. Then he started applying his intent to the magic; protection, love and support. Then, before he could even think of the spell, a Stag erupted from his hand. There was an actual recoil as all the excess energy left him and he was bowled over and rolled on the ground for a couple of yards.
When he came to a stop, he looked up to see a white Stag. It was not a spectre and it was not a patronus as he knew it either. It seemed to have real weight as it stepped on the soil and nuzzled at Natasha's neck. She was looking into its glowing green eyes in awe. Some part of her was aware of Harry laying on the ground and getting up slowly, but what she felt from this creature was more than she thought possible and she couldn't help but stare at it. When it nuzzled her, she felt more loved and secure than she had in her entire life. Her face was wet with tears as the creature made her feel unworthy of what she was feeling.
Harry was unaffected by the presence of the Stag, as it could only promote the amount of feeling that he had put into it. He was aware of the fact that this creature had actual substance, when, in a flash of fire, Fawkes appeared and landed on its back. Fawkes started communicating with him in the way familiars do. Harry 'listened', before nodding and opening a portal to the island. The Stag nuzzled at Natasha one more time and then walked through the portal, to go become what it was meant to.
Harry looked after it in confusion. At least it seemed there was a reason for all of this. When he looked back, Sif, Logan and Natasha were staring at him. "Sorry." Harry mumbled.
"Don't worry about it, kid." Logan said, recovering first and smirking. "I've gone nuts a time or two myself. You did pretty good controlling yourself. Last time I lost control, a lot of people died."
"It is fortuitous that you found yourself." Sif added. "I would have missed the person you are now, had you decided to become what you were becoming."
"And what's that?" Harry asked softly, as Natasha walked to him and embraced him softly, tears still rolling down her eyes.
"An Avatar of Vengeance." Sif said simply. "Your power was so great, that I feared any that touched you might be hurt." She had meant to say, 'cease to be', but decided to spare him that revelation. From her perspective, Harry's face had darkened, his eyes had shone and his power had started moving the ground beneath their feet in ways only she could feel. Massive amounts of energy had leaked from him and suffused the ground in such a way that those predisposed to magic, might one day find this spot and find that it is a place of power, as spoken of in the legends. His aura of power had changed in size and colour from its usual limited range from his skin and faint yellow, as she perceived it, to large enough to swallow any person who came too close and in an angry dark red.
"I'm sorry that I scared you." Harry whispered in his girl's ear.
She nodded and just held him. After a minute, Sif whispered, "A guard is on his way. Are we still undetectable? Your power must have roused many this night." The castle was a bit away from the town, so they had felt safe enough when the guards seemed rather lax in their attentiveness. Who would attack their lord, after all? A couple of spells had made the guards take a nice nap while giving them the freedom to search the castle and its grounds.
Harry was shocked for a moment, not because of the invisibility, because that was still fine, but because of the fact that he had seriously contemplated burning down the castle with all the servants and guards still in it. He shuddered. Natasha must have noticed and she looked up at him, "You'll be fine. You didn't lose yourself."
Harry nodded at her and then looked at Sif, "We are still hidden, but we might as well leave. I need to rest and all the slaves have been freed." He turned a portal into being and allowed the others to step through first, but Natasha held his hand. He was not sure if it was to make sure he followed or if she simply wanted the contact, but he didn't mind.
They arrived back on the island and Harry turned to the house, while Natasha stayed for a moment to thank the others for going with to help.
"No problem." Logan said looking after Harry as he disappeared into the house. "Go take care of your man, while I go see what the newcomer is doing." Logan looked off to the side where there was a soft glow over the closest hill. It was fading into the forest-like foliage that had started to sprout since the Nymphs took residence in their new home. He could also feel the same power coming from off in that direction as he'd felt from the Stag, back on Vanaheim.
--- Logan POV ---
Logan had watched Natasha go to the house and then he'd started stalking towards where he knew the Stag had gone, in the middle of the island. Sif following behind him. Her own connection to the earth telling her something big was about to happen.
They arrived to find the Stag standing in the middle of a clearing in the woods, which was right next to the plateau where Harry had planned to put a waterfall at some point, since there was a rock face that would make for a nice water-feature and would create a perfect place for Harry to put water-dwelling creatures, when they found some one day.
The Stag was standing on a rock outcropping, which was surrounded by a pool of shallow water, which was fed by a waterfall that hadn't been there before. When did that happen?
That's when the Stag turned and looked right at Logan. Something passed between them, and Logan didn't understand it, but he knew this creature was intelligent, somehow, even though it had only been created a short while ago.
Sif gasped and Logan looked at her, "What?" he asked.
"I have heard of it, but never thought I'd see it…" she said, not answering the question as she went down on her knees and sat down a respectful distance away, behind the treeline. The Stag looked at the plateau, which could be said to be the heart of the island, being in the centre and where most of the magical creatures called home.
Fawkes lifted up and hovered above the Stag, while singing a song of protection, love and support. The very emotions and ideals Harry had used to create the living embodiment of those things.
"What's happening?" Logan asked again as the Stag started to glow. He had noted some of the creatures under his care had started showing up, but none of them entered the clearing, staying just on the other side of the treeline. Something very natural, but also primal, was happening here, if the animals and creatures knew what to do in this situation. None of them looked worried, though, so that helped him relax as he decided to follow their lead and stepped back to where Sif had taken her seat.
He sat down next to her in the same position, which he recognized as the Seiza. When he was seated she spoke to him very quietly. "We are witnessing the birth of something. Harry refers to this as a genius loci. He mentioned to me once that his old school was supposedly alive and could do things on its own. This is the start of New Atlantis' life. I have never witnessed the beginning of such a thing, but I have been to many living locations."
Logan, suddenly realising the importance of this, took out his mirror, "Harry Potter." he whispered into it. He just knew Harry would like to witness this.
"Yes?" came the sad reply a couple of seconds later.
"Are you aware of what is happening on the island, right now?" Logan asked.
"Fawkes informed me, yes." Harry said sadly. "He said he'd let me know how it went."
"Don't you want to see this?" Logan asked watching as the Stag's glow started extending into a pure white aura and Fawkes' song grew in strength. The aura was starting to flux, elongate and move toward the stone face as the energy pulsed every couple of seconds, much like a heartbeat.
"Of course I do." Harry said. "The problem is, my emotions aren't quite settled and there is the possibility that my presence could interrupt the process, considering most of this island runs on my magic one way or the other." There was a palpable sadness in Harry's voice and Logan realised he was still dealing with what had happened earlier, so he nodded in understanding and closed the connection, determined to watch what was going on.
He heard movement and looked around to see the Nymphs of New Atlantis come to join them on the ground to watch what was happening. None said anything, but many of the Nymphs were crying and most had eyes brimming with tears. Logan resolved to find out why, later.
As the light coming from the Stag approached the stone face, it too started to glow, but it was not beating, it was a solid light that simply shimmered even as it was still. The aura reached the rock and the two lights made contact. The moment the Stag's energy pulsed, the pulse went into the rock and it pulsed too, once, before stilling again. The next pulse seemed to take a bit better and the stone face pulsed twice before stilling again.
"The spirit it trying to make itself one with the island. The island is not alive, but it has a lot of magic and life and a certain awareness. It is trying to maintain its current state, while the spirit is trying to teach it something." Sif explained, her connection to the earth giving her an insight even Harry would not have had. "Like learning to breathe for the first time. It is capable, but doesn't know how yet."
Fawkes' song rose in pitch again, as the Stag took a step towards the rock face, stepping into the water as it did so. The creatures around the clearing started making noise. To Logan it sounded like encouragement. The rock face beat to the same beat again as the Stag's presence pressed itself into the rock. The water started to glow and the pulse flowed through it and under the ground for a moment, before it stilled again.
Suddenly Fawkes was looking at Logan. Logan realised the phoenix was waiting for something, "What do you need?" he asked aloud to the bird.
"You haven't given your permission." Sif said. "The island is waiting for its caretaker to agree." she said with a smile as she pointed to Logan's knees, where a tendril of energy, still as the rock wall reached out to touch him.
"What do I do?" Logan asked as he reached out to the tendril. He felt a question at its touch and a sense of connection, of common purpose, of recognition. The island was aware of him and what he had been doing. It trusted him and needed him to help decide. Logan understood now. He looked at the Stag and realised its glowing eyes were on him as well. Logan nodded and said, "Yes."
Instantly there was another pulse of magic from the Stag, but this time the rock started beating to the same rhythm. Suddenly the aura from the Stag started being pulled into the rock as it started walking toward the now beating heart of New Atlantis. The Stag started to sink beneath the water as its energy, consciousness, purpose and intent was absorbed by the island itself.
The creatures around the clearing started making noises that Logan recognized as excitement. When the Stag turned around and looked at Logan one last time, he could have sworn he heard a voice saying, "Thank you." Then it disappeared beneath the water, but Logan could tell it was not interrupting the water at this point. It must not have been corporeal anymore as its energy was absorbed.
The Nymphs were all openly weeping now as they lay on the ground and looked like they were connecting to it in a whole new way. Now he knew why they were crying. Their island was alive before, but now it was Alive and they were all connected to it. When he looked back at the location where the Stag had disappeared, he saw no clearing, no waterfall. "What the hell?" he asked in confusion.
"Did you think the island would leave its heart exposed to the world forever?" Sif asked as she got up.
Logan suddenly realised why he had not seen the waterfall and clearing before. It must have been a representation or something. Something that he could understand. "Did it show itself that way just so I would understand?"
Sif smiled but shook her head, "It showed itself that way so that all those living here could understand. They were all here to give their permission, after all."
"Why the water then?" Logan asked.
"That would be this island's pool of eternity." Sif said.
"What?" Logan asked.
"Fountain of everlasting life?" Sif tried.
"Fountain of youth?!" Logan asked in mild shock.
"Something like that." Sif agreed. "There have been many different legends of such places over the nine realms. It is said that if one drinks from such a pool, they connect their lives to that of the land, as it is a source of life."
"Is that why nobody can ever find one? Because they hide themselves?" Logan asked as he and Sif started making their way past the Nymphs who had apparently decided to stay there for a while.
"It would hardly be a legend if just anyone can find it." Sif scoffed. "The legends do come with two warnings, though. Once you are joined to such a thing, you could not die even if you wanted to. You would not age or become sick, but you'd also never really be able to leave the land for any extended period of time, as you'd feel drawn back. In many ways it's considered to be a curse. You gain everlasting life, only to not be allowed to live any meaningful life away from it."
Logan had wanted to joke about it being like marriage, but skipped it, as he knew Sif and Bruce were walking down that path currently, especially considering the ring on her finger. "What if the land gets destroyed?" he asked instead.
Sif shuddered, "It is the stuff of horror. The waters become stagnant and so does the drinker, but they still cannot die. Merely exist in a place where there is no life."
Logan grimaced, "It seems we don't have the whole story. People have been looking for the fountain of youth for generations. Nobody ever said anything about the downsides."
"People don't want to think about the negatives, so they stop mentioning them. Asgard relies a great deal on oral traditions, where a story is told to teach a lesson." Sif explained.
Logan smiled, "I think I'll tell that story around a bit, myself. Maybe the next person to get the opportunity will think twice before doing something stupid."
"That is wise." Sif agreed.
"That's one mystery solved." Logan said with a smirk. "You don't by any chance know where the Holy Grail is, do you?"
Sif smirked back and started walking faster. Logan never did get an answer from her on that one.
--- Fast Forward - Harry POV ---
Harry and Natasha had spent that night quietly. Frigga had heard about Harry's situation from Odin and had waited for Sif to give her report about the Nobles from Vanaheim so that things could be set in motion. Bruce had been more than happy to supply Veritaserum for the Asgardian throne and none of the nobles in question walked away unscathed. Some of them never walked again.
Frigga had spent the night in New Atlantis, in Harry's spare bedroom, which was comfortably set up for guests. With the guesthouse on the island, Harry hadn't had the opportunity to host someone in his house yet, but that wasn't the point. She was there, just in case he had a relapse of that one night he had had a nightmare and almost ripped his chambers apart in Asgard.
He had come through it alright and spent the day in quiet contemplation after he had Natasha show him her memory of the event so that he could see for himself. What he had seen had scared even him. The look in his eyes was way too familiar, so he resolved to never lose control again, or at least allow some of the anger out, so that it didn't build up till he exploded like he had. Next time, the noble houses in question would be blown to smithereens, as soon as the occupants were safely outside to see it happen.
Not that it mattered, since Harry's family had decided that they would not allow him to do this kind of thing again. Strict new laws came out to ensure the safety of the people. Slave ownership and cruelty to servants had already been against the law, but was now punishable by much harsher consequences, in all the realms that bent a knee to Asgard. There was some resistance, but Odin simply had those who objected investigated and soon there were no objections as secret slaves and indentured servants were taken from those people who had objected.
The elves and Nymphs who had been rescued, had decided to join Harry on his island, when Frigga sang his praises. The elves could have gone to Alfheim, but their homes had been destroyed and some of them had made friends among the Nymphs.
Alfheim had once been a fairy-tale land with wonders that could ensnare the mortal mind, but the lands had been all but destroyed by the dark elves millennia ago. The land still housed some magical creatures, as Harry knew, but it was not what it had once been. The harmony had been destroyed and creatures had gone mad and started acting like wild animals.
That is why, when Harry agreed and offered them a place in New Atlantis, they had cautiously accepted, until they stepped foot on the island and broke out in massive smiles when they felt the life, power and magic in the air. It was like they had come home after generations of not knowing where they should go.
Harry had set up a small village for them a couple minutes' walk from the resort and they had settled in quickly. They had started exploring the island and Harry was happy to find that they got along well with the other creatures. They even had some knowledge that he didn't about how to treat certain maladies and prevent others.
A certain plant mixed into the dragon's diet, for example, removed the need to groom so often. They also pointed out that the water in the hot-spring was way too hot for her, so Harry had ended up making her own hot-spring for her, nearby so that she could still join them. Apparently she liked the company, which was why she showed up so often. When Logan was off working or not feeling sociable, she had come to listen to the people talk. It made her feel welcome and accepted. Who knew?
After that the Elves slowly started taking over the roles performed by the constructs, except for cooking. Elves were still vegetarian, and a couple of Harry's friends liked to try to devour their body-weight in meat, figuratively speaking. Except for Drax. He literally wanted to be able to do that.
Harry had put his foot down at the bar, though. Sure he'd allow someone else back there when he's entertaining guests or off working on something, but he refused to have them back there when he could be back there experimenting with cocktails and being in charge of the music. Well, when Peter Quill wasn't around. He couldn't take that from him.
He did end up allowing one 'young' gentlemen to learn the craft for when he wasn't around. He was young for an elf at sixty-two years old. Apparently he had been kept around for one lord's lady to play with. There were very few male elves on the island and, fortunately, only two of them preferred the company of other men, even though, unfortunately, they couldn't stand each other. Harry very much did not want all those females becoming hangers' on, like the Nymphs had, but little did he know that the idea had already been percolating in Frigga's mind.
--- Fast Forward and Flashback End ---
The new Nymphs had settled into life reasonably quickly, though their control over their allure was not yet perfected, so Harry had to remind them to keep strict control. Greeting them as they arrived would become old quickly, as there were more than a hundred and twenty of them now, including the ones on duty at the Nymph House, protecting the Golden Apple Tree sprout. It was growing quickly with their influence if Idunn was to be believed, and who wouldn't? The apples were literally named after her.
Once Harry had greeted everyone, he went back to the bar. He looked at Loki who had started reaching for the syrup to start making the world's largest batch of syrupy cocktails. "No." he said emphatically.
"But-" Loki started, looking at the Nymphs.
"I said no." Harry said dangerously, while pointing behind the counter. "Unless you want to sleep there tonight, you'll not do what you're planning."
Loki glared at him and pouted, "You can't let me have even a little bit of fun can you?"
Harry smirked at him, "You want to have fun?" he asked dangerously.
Loki's eyes widened and he looked like he wanted to bolt only to remember he was trapped behind the bar. "Be gentle?" he asked weakly.
"Relax, Loki. You're going to make our guests think I'm a monster." Harry laughed and waved his hand. "Okay fine, you can leave the bar. Just behave yourself okay? Our guests here probably think I'm crazy for hanging out with you."
Wanda had been watching the byplay and she felt the magic as it happened, but she could not tell how exactly it was being done. She was used to one of two things happening, she could enter and manipulate the mind, like telepathy, or she could have a physical effect on the world around her, like telekinesis.
What Harry and Loki had been doing, going invisible and creating barriers, while manipulating multiple effects at once, was far above whet she could do. "I don't think my power is like yours." she told them. "I can do maybe two things, but you do many things. You open portals and fly and create barriers that you don't even need to concentrate on. I don't think I can do that."
Harry decided to take a page out of Odin's book and test her. He created a rose and had it appear on the table. He used intent to make it seem like it was there all along, but besides that it was a normal conjuration. "Tell me what you think of that rose?" he asked pointing at it.
Wanda looked at it unimpressed. "It is a flower." she said. She reached out to pick it up. The moment her hand touched it, she let go immediately. "What is that?!" she asked in shock. "How can a flower think?"
"You tell me." Harry said. Loki was also looking at the flower, when he smiled as he understood the test, nodding at Harry.
Wanda touched the flower again tentatively. She closed her eyes after a moment. "It is strange. It is like it is there and also not there. It's somehow…" She opened her eyes and looked at Harry, "This was not here a minute ago was it?" she asked.
"Of course it was." Pietro said. "It was there when we sat down. I remember."
Wanda looked between the flower, Harry and Pietro. "So the flower is somehow affecting our minds?"
"In a manner." Harry said elusively.
Wanda thought about it again before trying to explain to her brother. "I don't know how else to explain it. The flower is thinking something at us. It wants us to believe it was there, but I can tell it was not."
Harry nodded, waving a hand and vanishing the flower, "Very good." he congratulated her. "You have at least some talent. The flower was a construct I made."
"He used some specialized magic to have you think it was there before." Loki said proudly. "Even if you learn everything else, there will be some things you cannot do or won't be able to learn, because it's secret."
"Conjuration is a bit advanced, but I suspect for application and testing purposes a stinging hex would work just fine." Harry said.
"Oh! I can do that one now!" Loki said happily. "Your books explain things much better than you do."
"I never said I'm a teacher. I was never any good at theory. I'm the kind of person that learns by doing. A lot of my spells were learned by their feel." Harry said. "For example, I was never taught a specific spell to turn a person's hair pink," he wiggled his fingers and Pietro's hair turned neon pink, "but I can imagine it and apply the correct amount and type of magic and that happens."
"Hey! I paid for that colour!" Pietro objected.
"Really, do you like that colour?" Harry asked as he waved his hand and turned it back, "Because I can make it permanent if you want?"
"And you can just make these things happen?" Wanda asked, "Just by thinking and adding power?"
"It's not quite as simple as that." Harry said.
"There are different kinds of magic in the world. They follow laws and principles." Jarvis spoke up. "I myself am currently residing in a machine, powered and functioning through the power of rune-magic. While I started as a simple AI, the moment I started working with runes and their magic, I started becoming something more. As Harry explains it magic and life go hand in hand."
"And so, Jarvis is now a real boy." Harry said with a smile.
"Please don't do that?" Jarvis begged.
"What? He's got all the parts of a boy and everything." Harry smiled, "You never did tell me if all your parts worked like they should. How about it, do you want to tell me-" he started.
"I'm completely functional." Jarvis interrupted with an actual blush, "Even the involuntary responses you had me program in." Jarvis looked sour for a minute, "I still don't know why I need such indicators of emotional responses."
"Because they make you human." Harry said. "Does it embarrass you to talk about your body parts in front of a pretty girl?" he teased.
Jarvis did not respond, but his blush deepened. Wanda thought it was cute, and patted him on his shoulder, "Don't let him tease you. I like it. You're honest."
They were all enjoying the drinks, discussing the actual weather and how Harry literally controlled it on the island, when he had an idea, "Oh, that would be a nice test!" he said as he jumped up and ran to the house.
"Where is he going?" Wanda asked.
"Not much gets him so excited that he forgets he can summon or make a portal." Natasha said as she looked at Jarvis. He nodded and they both said, "Broom cupboard," together.