Agent Phil Coulson walked briskly through the yellowed hallway. He just remembered that he had a date with his cellist girlfriend. He couldn't believe that he had forgotten it and he only hoped that she wouldn't mind his tardiness.

A call interrupted his thoughts. The guitar riff for Johnny River's Secret Agent Man played as his ringtone and echoed through the empty corridor. It ended when he accepted the call.

"Phil, what are you doing?"

Coulson thought her timing was terrible. "Natasha, I'm late for a date. I'm sorry, but can this wait?"

Natasha took a moment to reply. "Did you forget our guest?"

"I'm sorry, but guest?"

"You don't have a date. It was cancelled, remember?"

Coulson looked at the ceiling, trying to remember. "I don't recall this."

"Do you recall Zharennyi Porosenok?"

The mental train that hit Coulson in the head was staggering. He closed his eyes as he focused himself. "Thanks, Natasha."

Natasha sounded relieved over the phone. "Seems like our roast pork has another ability: suggestion. Still want to try to talk to him? I recommend just hitting him hard."

Coulson could imagine Natasha's version of hard and decided to spare their guest the pain. "No, let me try one more time then it's your turn."

He played a tune in his head while he waited for her to agree.

She didn't disappoint. "Fine, I'm watching."

"Of course." With a smile, Coulson clicked off and mentally prepared himself. He pulled out a pen from a pocket from the inside of his jacket and wrote on his hand.

Unlucky passerby

Coulson hoped that if he was distracted again then his handwritten note would jar him back to the mission. He made his way back to the set of double doors. He purposefully made his steps loud just like before; he wanted their guest to know he was approaching.

He knocked on the door and called out, "Mr. Unlucky Passerby? I'm going to open this door and step inside. I'm unarmed. I just want to talk."

Coulson counted to five and when he still didn't hear anything, he slowly pushed the handle down and opened the wooden door. He walked in with both his hands palm out. He carefully stepped around cardboard boxes as his eyes searched through the rows of dusty shelves. There was that annoying buzzing again. His hand reached up to his ear to try to rub the sound away.

"Don't come any nearer."

Coulson stopped immediately. He leaned to the side, tipped his head and peered down an aisle at the end to see their dinner guest – or dinner as Natasha had called him.

Harry celebrated his small victory when the muggle had walked into the repelling charm. That relief had evaporated when he heard a tune being played and the short muffled conversation that brought the man back to the doors. Harry wished he had a pair of those Extendable Ears.

Harry silently retreated further back into the room and wondered if the charm had worn off or if that phone call had reminded the muggle to get something from this room.

"Mr. Unlucky Passerby? I'm going to open this door and step inside."

The charm had somehow been negated and the man had known all along that Harry was in the room. Harry immediately looked around for an exit. He found another set of doors.

"I'm unarmed. I just want to talk."

Harry paused in mid-stride as he considered. He took too long as he heard the door open. Harry stepped back behind a row to hide himself and saw glimpses of the muggle.

When the man reached up to rub his ear, Harry quickly canceled the Muffliato and warned the man before he could get into the range of the muggle repellant. "Don't come any nearer."

The man had his hands out just like Harry had done back in the alley. Harry thought the man looked truly sincere in his offer – it didn't stop Harry from doing silent Accio spells though. When no guns, knives, grenades – any weapon Harry could think of – came forth, he finally allowed himself a small measure of relief.

"Please listen to me before you send me off on another non-existing errand."

Still half hidden, Harry replied, "I'm listening."

"I apologize again for my actions from before, but I needed you to stay. I know you're only here for that broken piece of wood – and I'm sorry for that too – but I'll return it to you, if you hear me out."

"Sounds simple." Almost too simple.

The man paused for a moment when he heard Harry's doubt. "I'm part of an organization responsible for world-wide peacekeeping. Right now you are in one of our old underground record facilities – disused actually."

Harry thought that explained the un-kept way of the place.

"We try to maintain a hands-off attitude when appropriate, but we do actively investigate unusual events and people."

That earlier hope in finding other witches and wizards surfaced in Harry again, but it was tempered by the fact that such a muggle group existed. When Harry spoke again, there was a hint of a challenge in his voice. "You mean like me."

The muggle was expecting such a response and had a ready smile. "I ask that you don't get the wrong idea. We evaluate their personalities and behavior."

Harry thought that answer wasn't comprehensive; something was missing from it. The man saw Harry's frown and continued, "We have many that we employ if they're willing and suitable, but for most, we just leave alone. There are some we simply cannot due to their destructive goals."

"And how do you see me?"

There was that smile again. "You don't seem to have any anger management issues. You're not egotistical and narcissistic. You seem up-to-date on modern culture - so I say you're comparably normal so far."

Harry's eyebrows shot up. Him, normal? "So what do you want from me?"

"We want to be certain that you mean no harm to anyone." The man made a wait a minute gesture with his hand and said, "Don't be alarmed. I'm going to take something out." The man slowly pulled out a small flat object from inside his jacket. "I skipped introductions before - my name's Phil. Here's my card – has my contact information too."

"Wait – " Harry tried to stop him from moving closer to the charm's range, but the man had already moved one step forward to place the card on a shelf. The muggle's demeanor completely changed as he forgot about Harry and quickly turned around. Harry tried to Summon his wand half before the man left in case it was hidden on his person. Nothing came.

"Bollocks," Harry said as he watched the man hurry out the door. Eyeing the card, Harry let the man go. He picked it up and sure enough Phil Coulson was printed neatly on the solid white card. There was even a number at the bottom.

When it didn't sound like Coulson was going to come back, Harry pocketed the card and continued his search for any sign of the black bag or his wand half. He passed by the folder with Stark's name again and decided that it couldn't hurt to look. Harry blew the dust off. He sneezed a couple of times before opening the cover.

Howard Anthony Walter Stark

Family: Maria Collins Stark nee Carbonell (wife), Anthony Edward Stark (son)

There was a picture of Howard Stark, posed for the camera. Harry thought he could see the family resemblance. He found another photo paper-clipped behind the first one. This one was of a woman holding a baby in one arm and a spoonful of baby food in the other. The shot looked candid.

He was about to flip through the other pages when the lights completely went off. That muggle must have switched the lights off when he left. Harry waited for his eyes to adjust, but when he still couldn't see anything, he tried a new spell with the wand handle.

Lumos

Harry didn't think it would work without a complete wand, but when the tip of his index finger started to softly glow, he started to chuckle – he thought it looked funny. He tucked the handle back into his pocket. Not wanting to read under low light, Harry just kept the folder under one arm for future reading. It was stealing, but that Phil guy did say the place was disused.

Harry searched but there was no light switch around. A couple times he thought he heard something, but he rationalized them as the sound of settling paper. He briefly looked through a few other names while he was looking for the lights. He was disappointed when they turned out to be normal muggles. Maybe they kept the names of the more unusual people somewhere else?

Harry wasn't afraid of the dark, but being alone with only shadows to keep him company was starting to unnerve him. He pushed through the double doors and entered the hallway again to search elsewhere. It was just as dark but he steadily made his way through the corridor. He passed by a door on his left and tried to Summon his wand half. If it wasn't held down by something heavy, it should still try to make its way to him. Before moving on, Harry peeked inside. It looked like a computer room but everything inside was covered in plastic.

He attempted a Summons in every room he encountered, but when he went through at least ten offices and a four-way junction, he started to wonder how big the place was. He decided to make a right at the corner. He checked two more rooms on his left before he heard something. It sounded like something smacking into a solid barrier.

His heart sped up in anticipation as he wrenched the door to the room open. He held up his hand high to extend the range of the light. He didn't see the bag or wand, instead he saw cabinets and closets lined against the walls. Several tables were organized at the center with a couple of old monitors on top. Harry ignored these and Summoned again. A closet to the far right in the room shook.

Harry grinned. He walked to the corner of the room, lifted the latch locking the closet, and pulled open the door. At the bottom of the closet was the black bag laid on its side. As Harry crouched down to pick up the bag, he thought he felt something coming from behind him.

He was about to turn around when something clinked at his feet - he looked down at shiny disk. It exploded and a burst of smoke covered his face. He dropped the folder to rub his eyes. Harry coughed once before something swung and wrapped around his neck. He reacted by Apparating to somewhere behind him – and collided with a body.

Harry jumped away and swung his light towards the person. It was a woman holding the broken ends of some kind of wire. And she wasn't walking away from him.

"You're not a muggle!" Harry cried out in surprise.

She didn't answer except to narrow her eyes and charge at him. Harry had never seen anyone move as fast as her - she swept her leg under him. Air rushed out from his lungs when he crashed and knocked his head on the floor. He automatically rolled under a table, away from her pounce. She carelessly tossed the table to the side.

Bloody Hell! She's fast and strong.

Harry's roll had brought him back to the closet with the black bag. His hand whipped out to grab it and with his head still ringing, Harry pictured a destination – in his haste, he just grabbed whatever came to mind first - anywhere else but here.

Natasha frowned in annoyance. Her roast pork had escaped. She turned around when she heard the sound of Coulson's shoes. He brought up a flashlight to find her in the storage room.

"Sorry again, I'm late aren't I?"

"It was a date the last time. What was it this time?"

Coulson actually looked embarrassed. "The Director using my Captain America cards again."

Natasha couldn't help the smile. It faded when she asked a question. "I didn't call you back, so how'd you break out of his suggestion?"

Coulson showed her his hand. "I didn't look at my hand until I was halfway downtown. When I finally did, I sped back. Ran several red lights too." He surveyed the wrecked room. "So he got away from you too?"

Natasha raised an eyebrow. "I wouldn't say that. I placed something in the bag - a surprise."

"That might be unnecessary. I did give him my card and it looked like he took it. So what do you think of him?"

"Good to know he doesn't read minds, otherwise he would have known about me just from talking to you."

Coulson's brow creased. "I still wouldn't underestimate him."

Natasha nodded in agreement. "He was also getting too comfortable in the Archives, so I shut the lights off. Found out he can produce his own light."

Natasha let Coulson interpret that ability however he wanted. It could be nothing more than just benign visible light or something more powerful.

She continued with her assessment. "He's not a fighter. Good reflexes but not trained. Got too close though, he sensed me in here."

Coulson immediately picked up on the inconsistency. "How come he didn't distract you like he did to me?"

Natasha mirrored his expression; she didn't know either. "That was the strange part. From watching you two in the records room, distance seemed important. When I was about to be discovered, I started off with ranged attacks but then he teleported to my location ... so it wasn't because of distance. He said something strange immediately after - said I wasn't a muggle. Have you heard of this word before?" Natasha stared at Coulson, but he just shrugged and shook his head in response.

"Maybe whatever it means is the reason why you weren't affected like I was."

"Maybe." She knew there were many differences between them. Natasha started picking up the scattered paper from the floor.

Coulson followed her lead. His eyes skimmed over the first page in his hand. "From these, he's interested in Stark. The guy is like a magnet for – " Coulson stopped when he remembered something. "Banner was seen taking Stark's private jet. Report said he arrived here yesterday."

"Banner, Stark, and now this new guy all in the same city." Natasha pointed to the papers. "And now this ... Stark knows something. Maybe I didn't need to leave that surprise in your black bag after all."

Bruce coolly sipped his hot cup of tea as he stood behind Tony, who was anxiously watching his screens. Bruce had gone upstairs and dug around in Tony's unused kitchen to heat up some water for his tea about ten minutes ago. He had come back to find Tony instead of sitting down but pacing around.

"Harry's signal is going to come back in about a minute," Bruce assured.

"I know that."

"Then stop pacing around."

"I'm not pacing; I'm stretching."

Bruce looked at his cup and an idea entered his mind. "Tony, when was the last time you had gone to the bathroom?"

"Bruce! Why'd you have to remind me?" Tony shouted out before he ran off.

Bruce lifted his cup to drink again. He smiled as he calmly followed Tony to the other side of the basement. After Tony practically jumped into the bathroom, Bruce quietly inspected the locked door.

"Because I told Harry that I'd keep you off his back," Bruce whispered to himself. He opened the panel on the side of the door and unplugged some of the wiring.

"Bruce what was that?"

"Nothing Tony. Just your egotistical delusions."

The door shook as Tony tried to open it. "Did you know that you can be so immature?"

"Yes, I know that," Bruce parroted what Tony had said earlier. Bruce looked at his watch. "Consider this a small time out… for about ten minutes until Harry's signal's gone again."

Bruce had just sat down on a nearby couch when he heard a shattering of glass. Bruce watched as Tony hit the opaque glass door one more time with a blunt object before stepping out of the gaping hole.

Tony smirked as he dropped the cover for the toilet's water tank on the floor. "Why do you think I installed glass doors and walls? Pepper tried to lock me in before – "

Thud. Thump.

Their heads snapped towards the direction of the sounds: a lump dressed in black cloth and a bag had fallen into Tony's basement. They heard the lump groaning and then rolling off one of Tony's cars before it started to shakily pick itself up from the floor.

"Sir – " JARVIS started.

"JARVIS, you don't have to tell me," Tony interrupted. To Bruce, he said, "Oh look, ET came home … and dented my newly acquired 1967 Cobra."

Bruce winced in response; he couldn't help sympathizing with Tony on this one.

AN: I thank the reviewer whose comment reminded me of the 1966 song from Johnny Rivers. I thought it would be appropriate for Coulson.
I'm sorry if the title is misleading, but there is no connection to the DC-universe.
How to answer some reviewer questions without spoiling things downstream? I think normal humans can pose a threat to Harry. On the top of my head, I can think of a number of ways to off Harry without the use of superpowers. As for Harry vs Thor, yes, I can see my current version of Harry (using only Apparition) capable of killing Thor. Harry will be able to do more later, but he is already powerful now - it all comes down to how you use what you have.