If the situation wasn't so dire, Jane would laugh at the way Thor was squeezed inside her car. His head almost touched the ceiling and his long legs bent more sharply than was comfortable.

"Well, what is this dark magic? I remember very distinctly – when we were on the rooftop in Puente Antiguo – that you said magic and science are one and the same."

Jane took her eyes off the road a moment to glance quickly at Thor. She could tell that he wasn't sure if he should inform her. She suspected it had something to do with giving Asgard's advanced technology or knowledge to humans.

"One who uses dark magic is a very powerful individual – but this particular energy is volatile. Difficult to control and ultimately dangerous to all. For this reason, it is forbidden."

"I don't understand. You just described energy in general – anything's dangerous in massive quantities."

"It is not physically accessible from this plane of existence. It - I may have said too much already."

Jane gave him a disappointed look, but she could use what was said already. She had a good guess of what this dark magic could be. Before she could ask more, she felt something hitting her car from the back. She looked in her rear-view mirror – and a pair of narrowed blue eyes stared back.

"Yes, too much was spoken."

Jane slammed on her breaks – her car sliding forward as the wheels locked in place. With a squawk, something in black flew from the back to the front, smacked into the windshield, and plopped almost pitifully into Thor's lap. The car that had been behind her screeched to a halt as well – then angrily honked at her. It swerved around her and a finger was stuck out the window. Jane cursed quietly – she wasn't sure if she wanted it directed towards the driver or her new passenger sitting in the back – both, she decided.

Jane spared one look at the poor raven limply lying in Thor's hands. It didn't look dead, Jane thought with relief. If Muninn didn't dislike her before, the bird probably did now. She turned around in her seat to glare at the figure who was sitting almost leisurely in the backseat.

The passenger was immune to Jane's glare. "I demand the reason for hiding him from me."

"You almost gave me a heart attack!" Jane said through gritted teeth.

It was a stern-looking woman with straight black hair and cold eyes, but then her features started to blur and change right in front of Jane's eyes. Where a slender woman had been, there was now a tall man reclining in the back of her car. His accusing eyes belied his relaxed posture.

"Brother, a warning would have been appreciated," Thor admonished him while trying to poke Muninn awake.

Loki ignored Thor's words. "Another teleporter does not require this much secrecy." He faced Thor before continuing. "Your presence here … you are aware then?"

Thor reluctantly nodded.

Loki had waited for Thor to confirm it before he spat out, "Is it this teleporter? Concealing a dark practitioner, Thor? Such a worthy endeavor by Asgard's future King."

Irritated by Loki's slight, Thor proclaimed, "And as Asgard's future King, I say we show restraint and caution."

"Caution, yes. Restraint? Our actions must be swift –" Loki lost his words as his attention was wrenched in another direction. Jane tried to look out the window where he was facing, but she couldn't see anything strange. It was all grassy plain around them and mountains bordering the Valles Caldera in the distance.

"Found you," Loki whispered.

"No - !" In a desperate attempt to keep his brother there, Thor tried to reach out behind him. Thor's hand passed through empty air as Loki disappeared from the car.

With Muninn still passed out, Thor would have to search for Loki the old fashioned way.


The air whipped around Harry as he fell from the plane. Tony was below him with his arms and legs extended. Harry needed to get to him before the other two. Diving head first, he kept a hand on his glasses and the other arm against his side – trying to keep his arms close so he could fall faster, to reduce the resistance from the air.

Before he reached Tony, something charged from behind Harry – something mechanical in red and gold.

Alarmed, Harry shouted, "Tony!"

"Yeah?!"

Before Harry could say anymore, it swooped behind Tony and started to unfold around his back. Harry didn't know what it was, but it looked like Tony did. When Harry finally reached him, he tried to grab Tony's arm, but his hand was pushed away.

Tony jabbed a finger towards Bruce and Coulson. "Not me! Get them!"

Harry shook his head. "You first!"

"I'll be fine!" Tony yelled as his suit slowly enveloped his body. "I can fly!"

"With that deadweight?!" Harry reached out again, but Tony waved it away.

"You're the one who said flying brooms and now you have doubt on my stuff?! Now get them! Agent can't do anything and Bruce can save himself, but you don't want him to. We'll have a bigger problem if he does!"

Frowning, Harry decided to save his questions for later, but he couldn't help but to remember Bruce's glowing eyes. He glanced one more time at Tony and his mechanical suit, before he focused his full attention to the tail end of the plane that was free-falling below. Harry spread out his limbs a little more to slow down. When he decided that he had matched speeds with Coulson and Bruce, he Apparated down to them. His magic responding quicker because he needed it.

He appeared near the jagged opening of the cabin. He held his arm out to them and shouted, "Hurry!"

Surprised for only a moment, Coulson and Bruce scrambled to remove their seatbelts. Harry angled himself to draw closer to the edge – he could almost touch them as they got out from their seats. Weightless and with the wind pushing all around them, they were practically clinging to their seats. Realizing they couldn't get nearer, Harry closed the distance. He let go of his glasses and stretched out both arms. His vision blurred instantly as his glasses were ripped off his face.

Clasping both of them firmly by their arms, Harry turned his head to peer below. It was useless; everything looked like blobs. He picked a spot somewhere above the ground and with grave determination and a rush of magic, he Disapparated with two others.

He hadn't forgotten about his last free-fall trip. Upon Apparating, all three shot up from the exit point. Trying to calm his thundering heart, Harry breathed out in relief. It had worked! With a wide grin on his face, Harry remembered to summon his glasses. It zipped through the air and into his waiting hands. After placing the glasses back on his face, he took a hold of Coulson and Bruce again.

Their velocity slowed down until they came to a stop in mid-air – providing a grand view of the surrounding forest. Harry quickly looked around again for safe level ground among the rocks and trees below him and then with a final pop, brought them back to the earth.

With a thud, Harry landed on both feet and let go of their arms. He turned to Coulson who nodded and gave him an appreciative smile. Bruce on the other hand, hadn't taken the emergency rescue as well. Stumbling forward onto his hands and knees, he took several shuddering breaths.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked worriedly. He stepped forward to offer a hand up. "I tried to make the Apparition as gentle as possible."

"Just – just give me a minute," Bruce said in between breaths. Harry watched intently – he noticed the beeping alarm on Bruce's wrist and the way the man's eyes still glowed that eerie green.

Harry turned when a violent crash signaled the landing of the second half of the plane. It wasn't close enough to harm them, but it was still a sight when it exploded upon impact and smoked up into the air. Harry looked off into the distance to see a small red speck streak across the sky to intercept the remaining half of the plane and push it towards a slightly different direction. With powerful punches, Tony broke tree trunks that had been set afire by the plane – to prevent the spread of the flames.

So this was what Tony meant when he said he drove more than cars! A mechanical suit capable of flight and incredible strength – painted with Gryffindor colors. Tony had been hiding this ace all along. Harry suspected the move was more for show than anything else; he reasoned Tony wanted to wait until the right moment to show off.

"He doesn't tell me anything either," Coulson said after reading Harry's face. Coulson then cautiously approached Bruce and gently offered, "I have a sedative if you want it."

Bruce's eyes became more haggard. "Is that specifically for me?"

Harry picked up the sharp edge behind Bruce's words immediately.

"No. I keep it on me at all times."

Bruce stared at Coulson for a brief tense moment before shaking his head no. Apparently Coulson said the right thing, because Bruce closed his eyes and waved the offer away. "I think I got a hold of it."

Harry waited for Bruce's breathing to calm down before saying, "You said that you were invulnerable to almost everything." He gestured to Bruce's eyes, which remained green. "Is this part of what you meant? And why did Tony tell me that I wouldn't want you to save yourself?"

"I can't die on purpose. If I see it coming, it'll induce a - " Bruce turned off his alarm. " – a transformation. I can't control myself if I slip into that state unwillingly."

Considering his magic, Coulson's fighting abilty, and Tony's suit, Harry didn't think Bruce was that hard to take down. He was missing something, if even Tony had warned him of Bruce. "Invulnerable while in this state? Is that why you didn't answer for werewolf earlier this morning? You had an answer, but didn't disclose it." Harry didn't blame Bruce if what was being hidden was anything like a werewolf.

"What happens if you transform willingly?"

Bruce shook his head. "Not when I'm falling from the sky. I'd hit the ground harder and I don't know who or what I'll land on." Harry realized that he had mistaken Bruce's fear earlier as one of dying.

Harry was about to ask more about it when in the corner of his eye he saw something spinning towards him. Without a word, a shield formed in front of him and the projectile bounced harmlessly away.

Protruding from the ground was a throwing knife.

Harry immediately looked up to find his enemy - and found himself completely alone among the trees. He could hear the natural sounds of the forest: a little rustling from the wind and a bird's call in the distance - but Bruce and Coulson had vanished.

Another knife was thrown from his left. Harry blocked it. There had been no other sound. The pine trees were apart enough that he would have seen a person.

Was it another clever muggle innovation? Adrenaline still high and temper short from the disaster on the jet, Harry uttered one command, "Finite Incantatem." He didn't know if it would work, but his magic still felt strong – he still needed it, and it answered.

As if he had summoned a squall, the illusion blew away to reveal an approaching figure clad in all black – the sound of leather boots on gravel and pine needles instantly alerting Harry to his location. Harry frowned when the closer the man got, the quieter it became. Tall and threatening, the man now walked silently; his boots making no more noise. He only sneered at Harry's counter and wrapped a hand around the air. Ice grew from the fist, into a spike.

Harry didn't bother asking who this was. While Coulson and Natasha had both tried to restrain him, this man wasn't hiding his intent to kill.

In a low and smooth voice, the man spoke. "So… it was you, trespasser."

Harry was momentarily taken aback. Maybe this was a misunderstanding? "I haven't knowingly trespassed. I can leave these grounds immediately once I have found my companions."

The man answered by flinging the ice at Harry.

Harry's shield easily came forth and the ice shattered across – for a second, obscuring his sight of the man. It was a distraction, Harry thought as the man ran forward and swung around the shield. Harry Apparated back before the man could reach him.

What Harry didn't expect was for the man to disappear and appear right next to him. Was it another illusion? He tried Apparating again followed up by a nonverbal Finite Incantatem. The man didn't disappear but still followed his every move!

"You think you can teleport from me? I am a Master of Magic, dark practitioner!" With a quick hand, the stranger got a hold of Harry's coat flap and yanked.

Before he was pulled any closer, Harry immediately responded by Apparating back again –sans coat. It was a warning to the stranger that he could induce Splinching if he wanted. Harry nervously watched and hoped that the coat would simply be forgotten. It still held his broken wand. The man responded to the warning by destroying Harry's coat. In his hand, it frosted over and then shattered like glass when it was dropped.

His wand was gone…

"What the hell are you talking about?" Anger at being called a dark wizard overpowered the realization that there was another magic user. In danger and fuming from the sudden loss, Harry felt his magic breaking through something, becoming more fluid and malleable. It was stronger, quicker, and warm – as if he had a wand in his hand. Harry could almost whoop in joy.

Harry caught the way the man's face became more furious – as if he could also sense the change.

When the man appeared behind him with a drawn dagger, Harry was ready. His magic teeming at the end of his fingers, he released a jet of red – slamming into his opponent. The dagger was ripped from the man and flew towards Harry. Uncertain if it was a dark artifact or not, Harry let it embed into the trunk of a pine tree – careful to not touch it. Harry was disappointed when the man wasn't pushed very far and only needed to crouch to regain his balance. He Apparated again to get more distance – this time the man didn't follow.

"I do not use dark magic!" Harry seethed as he gathered his magic and called forth a stronger shield to encompass the small clearing. "Protego Totalum!" Taking a chance, he chanted under his breath, "Fianto Duri. Repello Inimicum."

It was like something had splashed over his immediate surroundings. A milky shiny substance started to drip, dribble over a dome-shaped area around Harry. It solidified and provided the crucial barrier for Harry. The shield formed slower than a normal Protego, but it was more durable. The stranger was also watching intently – watching carefully and gauging the nature of the shield.

"Such desperate lies. Darkness permeates around you – swirls around you." Outside the bubble, the man extended a hand to reach for something. The air seemed to ripple before another dagger materialized into his hand. Harry looked at the dagger still stuck in the tree. They were identical.

Catching his breath, Harry looked around and asked, "Where are they? What have you done to them?"

"You should be more concerned for your own life."

Anger ignited inside Harry as he accused, "Was it you? The explosion on the plane?"

Harry, by now, wasn't surprised by the answer he got. The new dagger was thrown at the shield and disintegrated upon contact.

Sharp eyes inspected the shield. "Not dark magic you say?" It was clear that the man didn't believe Harry for a second.

"I know dark magic. I am not using anything dark," Harry declared from behind the shield.

Harry's opponent only scoffed and then crouched down again. With one hand on the ground, the man did what Harry thought was impossible for a wizard.

The air cooled.

Harry could see his breath puffing in front of him. Fog then covered the area, veiling the surroundings and his enemy. How was this man able to directly manipulate temperature like this? It was the third time the man had performed this bit of magic.

"Do not lie."

Harry was about to shout something back when he felt his feet becoming uncomfortably cold. Harry looked down and to his horror his feet were standing in growing ice. Tiny crystals grew quickly over the ground. Harry tugged – but his shoes were trapped. He thought about sacrificing his shoes, but then he remembered a specific spell – a mislabeled one - that could fight against the ice: The Hot-Air Charm.

Hot air started to gather under his palms. He held his hands over the ice to melt it. The ice slowly receded, but it was just enough for him to pull his feet away and step back from the patch of ice. Without the heat to keep it at bay, the ice crept forward again with vigor. He was being pushed out of his shield.

"You claim innocence, while simultaneously drawing dark magic here," the man accused.

"What dark magic, you arsehole?!" Harry shouted – his voice wavered as his teeth chattered. Harry was at the edge of his shield – but still within its protection. He couldn't stay behind the shield if he wanted to fight back. Moving his shaking hand quickly over his clothes, he cast a silent Cushioning Charm and then an Impervius over it. With the next breath, he canceled his shield and commanded his first offensive spell here.

"Incendio!"

A bright flare burst forth from his hand. Harry stood shocked – the conjured blaze much bigger than he had intended. The wild fire spread across the clearing and combated the ice, melting the crystals. The fog dissipated as the air cleared to reveal the man still crouched on the ground, watching Harry critically.

Harry hadn't battled with another wizard in a long time – a wizard who didn't need incantations or more importantly, even a wand. His enemy's direct control of temperature was also troubling. Had Bruce and Tony been lying to him? Tony had even laughed when Harry said the word magic the first time … and yet, here was someone who claimed to be a master of magic.

When all the ice was gone, the fire began to lick and dance around the trees. Harry was quick to cast Finite Incantatem on the area to extinguish the flames. He didn't want to start a forest fire. He closely watched as the man rose up from the ground.

The man walked around Harry, keeping eye contact and presenting a wide smirk. He stopped at a tree, effortlessly pulled out the dagger – Harry tensed at the move - and sheathed it back somewhere underneath his black coat. His aggressive demeanor gone and replaced by a challenging one.

Several seconds passed by before the man asked in amusement, "A dark practitioner who preserves trees?"

Harry forced himself to stay quiet. This could be another trick. The man grinned at Harry's distrust.

"Tell me trespasser, why the realm of Menn?"

The realm of men? Harry briefly questioned before he glared at the stranger. He was more angry at himself for being distracted.

The man grinned. "Oh, this is very entertaining. A lost dark practitioner!"

Harry tried to ignore the way the words were grating on his nerves by focusing on the large boulder behind the man. Judging by how fast the man could move, any spell that left a sparkly trail wouldn't work. Harry needed an indirect approach. When the man tilted his head and narrowed his eyes, Harry instantly knew that the man had realized he was planning something. It was too late – with a surge of magic, Harry exploded the boulder with an invisible Confringo. The man turned around at the disturbance –leaving his back open for Harry to fire a brilliant red Stupefy.

Harry couldn't believe it when the spell hit and the man stumbled and dropped to the ground. Harry's eyes swept around him and then back to the figure lying on the ground. Harry whispered out another wide-area Finite Incantatem.

The body didn't disappear. Was it over?

"You do not understand what you have, do you?" was spoken disturbingly close.

Harry whipped around behind him. It was the stranger! Harry instinctively threw up a shield. He looked back in the other direction – and the man was there too, still lying in the same spot on the ground. There were two of them?

Harry slowly walked backwards to get more distance. The stranger only watched, as if he was trying to figure something out. Harry's mind raced – what had he been fighting all this time? What bothered him the most was how his opponent could seemingly add sounds and sensations into the illusions so seamlessly.

"Curious. Non-lethal," was the only thing said as the stranger's eyes momentarily left Harry to appraise the one lying on the ground. He snapped out his wrist and the other disappeared like a dream.

Uncertain whether Finite was working correctly or not, Harry cast out a silent Homenum Revelio – the widest he could. He didn't detect the one who had disappeared.

In fact, he couldn't detect anyone – despite having someone standing in front of him. The stranger wasn't even human!

Solemnly, the man slowly held out his right palm with the fingers pointed down and waited. Harry felt like he was supposed to respond in some way. Harry knew the hand must mean something, but if the man wasn't even human, it could mean anything!

Still with his guard up, Harry admitted, "I don't know what the hell you're trying to communicate." Harry received a puzzled look.

In the silence of the standstill, Harry heard the rush of what sounded like a jet.

"Why am I not surprised to find the both of you?" someone hollered from above. It was Tony in all his metallic glory. Hovering in the air, Tony flipped open his face cover and gestured with his hand in a vague direction behind him. "Hey Ice Princess, Bruce and Agent aren't happy that you teleported them so far back by the way – " Tony then pointed to Harry. " – and Harry, I thought we were going to pretend that I figured out the teleporting thing."

Stunned, Harry turned back to the stranger who had an annoyed look directed towards Tony. "You're the one I'm supposed to be meeting? You made me believe that you were responsible for the plane! And my … coat," Harry tersely said, looking away. He almost said wand.

When he looked back the next moment, a coat was held out in front of him. "How did – how much of that was illusion? I thought it was broken to pieces."

The stranger gave him a look to indicate that it was Harry's fault for coming to that conclusion. Still doubtful, Harry summoned the coat and discretely checked the pocket for his broken wand. His movements weren't discrete enough as the man smirked at the relief showing on Harry's face.

"Congratulations Dorothy, you've found the Wizard of Oz," Tony declared.

"And I have you as the Tin Woodman?" Harry shot back, still tense, angry, and confused.

"No, it's Iron Man," Tony happily corrected as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Harry thought the name sounded familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

Harry whirled back around to face the one he'd been fighting. "What was that all about? And that bit about dark magic? You tried to kill me because of that? I don't use any!"

"Dark what?" Tony asked.

"Killing you was my initial intention, but no, gauging your skill – only afterwards would I have tried. If you were killed in the initial stage, it would only be a fortuitous consequence to me."

"Are you trying to get into another fight with me?!"

"Would you like another?"

Harry wanted to step up and say yes to the obvious challenge.

"He threw me out of my own tower. It's just his way of saying hello." Tony was not helping the situation.

"Was all of that just to get me angry?" Harry demanded.

"At first no."

"At first no?" Harry recalled the words that were spoken. "It's when you started asking those questions! Why?!"

"To test your control."

"All of this is telling me not to trust you. You still didn't answer my question about dark magic."

An honest reply was given. "You shouldn't, but apparently everyone seems to think you need something from me, dark practitioner."

Harry shook his head and backed away, unsatisfied with the reply. "Tony, I'm sorry, but I'd rather go figure it out on my own."

There was a quiet moment following Harry's declaration.

"Leave us," the stranger softly ordered Tony. "Midgard has no jurisdiction over this matter."

"Does this have to do with that dark thing you were talking about? And you're on earth, buddy," Tony countered. "And technically, he's human, so definitely our jurisdiction more than yours."

"Human?" was the confused reply.

"Yes, human," Harry angrily asserted. "I know you're not."

The man just lightly shrugged in response like it was an obvious conclusion. To Harry's growing frustration, he didn't explain further except to glance at Tony before returning back to Harry. With careful words – a little too careful, Harry thought - the stranger asked, "You? A human who possesses advanced magic?"

There it was again. The word magic. "And what's this about a master of magic? I thought there was no magic here!" Harry's accusation was towards Tony.

"That's a title for him!" Tony turned to the stranger. "You're the one who said magic and science is the same on Asgard! So you explain."

"I stand by my words."

"They're not the same!" Harry yelled out in frustration. "You're telling me none of that was magic?"

The stranger looked disturbed. "What realm do you originate where these two words do not share the same meaning?"

"He's not from this universe, Loki. Were you told nothing?" Tony asked as he slowly descended down to the ground.

"An insufficient amount of detail," Loki admitted before breathing out, "A true Orlendr…"

"Loki?" Harry started piecing together the names he had heard so far. Midgard, Bifrost, Asgard, and the fact that he was supposed to be meeting someone who's supposedly a millennium old. "As in from Norse mythology? Son of Laufey and Farbauti?"

Loki had at first been stunned when Tony had declared Harry a universal alien, but now he was livid – as if Harry had uttered something unforgivable.

"I am Odinson, boy!" Loki hissed – looking positively murderous.


AN: Ah, the first meeting between the antihero from the prequel and the hero of the sequel.
Thank you to Junky for prereading this chapter and the phrase "universal alien."
The physics of the falling plane is more complex than what I had written. I didn't include how objects can tumble in the air. Has anyone played the game Portal? It's easier to imagine this scene if you've played it.
I am under the impression that the Hot-Air Charm isn't really a spell to warm air, but a summons of hot air from … somewhere. Regardless, the magic system in the HP-verse is inconsistent at best.
I've never been to New Mexico. I only have satellite images and contour maps to go on. :/