8 – Demons

He stared out the window into the depths of the woods surrounding the cabin. The dying light of the afternoon sun caught the ancient trees, spreading foreboding shadows across the yard, like skeletal fingers clawing out to seize the log cabin. Enraged, he tossed the glass of schnapps in his hand across the room, letting out a scream as he slammed his fist against the hardwood desk behind him. He swore as he ran a hand along his head and beat the desk twice more, smiling grimly as the wood cracked under his fists. Ever since his father's death, he'd been stuck in this hell hole. He had lost everything.

It wasn't as though he could leave, either. Shield and the FBI were still asking questions. He had once had it all. Success. Money. Resources. Any luxuries he could ever ask for. Now it was all gone. No, he thought coolly, staring into the fire as the flames licked away at the burning kindle. Fascinated, he watched as the flames died down into embers. Like so much money. It isn't gone, he thought bitterly. It was stolen.

Soft footsteps sounded from behind him. He glanced up, "not now Sasha," he called, "could you keep it down?" There was no reply. With a frown, he shrugged, still watching the fire. The door slowly creaked open.

"Sasha's not here," came a soft, mechanical voice from behind him, "she was – called away. You can deal with me". He spun around, seizing a log from the fire as he did so. Across the room stood a figure in black and white leather wearing a peculiar mask. He frowned, tilting his head back as he stepped back, trembling as he did so. Heedless of his fear, the voice continued.

"You aren't going to get justice hiding out here feeling sorry for yourself," the woman stated simply. She stepped further into the room, closing the door behind her as she went. He gulped, charging at her with the log raised over his head. Silently, she removed a pistol from somewhere on her person, firing at his makeshift club. It shattered into a thousand pieces, and he came to a screeching halt as she levelled the gun between his eyes.

-HPIM-

Edwin's dulcet tones greeted him as he stepped off of the elevator and into the lab. "so," the old man stated bluntly as he worked at the computer, facing away from him. "not only were you almost murdered as a birthday gift, you let her steal the car too." Harry snorted as he joined the old man at the computer, standing next to him.

"In my defence, I didn't get that much warning. Personally, I thought I did rather well, all things considered." Edwin nodded.

"From what I understand, you performed admirably sir. Quick thinking, by the way, destroying the gun." Harry nodded. "Now," the older man continued, tilting the chair to look in his direction, you said you think both you and Mr. Longbottom know the young lady in question?" Harry nodded, glancing at a CCTV image of his assailant on the monitor. He leaned back against one of the work benches.

"Yeah, it's weird too, because neither of us can place where we've seen her before." Edwin nodded thoughtfully as he poured them both a cup of tea, before handing one to Harry, who nodded his thanks as Edwin sat back down.

"Hogwarts?" Harry shook his head.

"Nah, otherwise she wouldn't have bothered with a gun. A witch would have probably just settled for a killing curse. She had to have been a muggle we met over here." The old man nodded silently, sipping his own cup of tea and stirring in a second lump of sugar. Harry ran a hand through his hair.

"Anyway, what have we got on her so far?"

Edwin nodded, placing his cup down. "Jarvis, please bring up the files on the holo-display". Several images, video files, and news articles appeared floating above the work bench he had been leaning on. Grabbing a nearby chair, he deftly flicked it over to sit beside his friend in front of the projections.

"Meet Madame Masque, criminal extraordinaire. She works almost exclusively in Europe, mostly France, Italy, Spain, and Russia." Harry nodded.

"Explains how she's managed to stay under Iron Man's radar until now."

"Yes, sir. She's mostly an assassin for hire and jewel thief. It's possible the reason she tried to kill you is one of your enemies – either a business rival or someone who has taken issue with Iron Man's exploits – has hired her to remove you from the equation. We can only hope this is the case, and that after failing, they will not try again." Harry snorted despite himself.

"I find that unlikely".

"As do I, sir".

"Do we have any idea how she could appear in more than one place at once?" he asked the older man. Edwin shook his head.

"Jarvis and I have been working on that since you first contacted us when you were still in Germany sir. Miss Granger is also working on finding magical explanations. So far, nothing has turned up that could explain it." Harry frowned, running a hand through his hair.

"So, in other words, this woman tried to kill me, we don't know why, we don't know who she is, or if she's working alone, and we don't know how she can do half the stuff she's shown us she's capable of? Fantastic".

Edwin placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "We'll work it out sir. In the meantime, Dr. Lovegood rang the manor requesting you come see her for a check-up, at you earliest convenience." With a sigh, Harry nodded.

"I'm exhausted for now, Ed. Could you call Luna and tell her I'll come see her tomorrow morning, first thing? I'm going to go crash." The old butler nodded, shutting down the computer and projectors.

"Of course, sir," he promised, as Harry walked out. "Sir?" he called after him, "Are you quite alright?" Harry nodded, waving off his friend's concerns.

"Fine. Just tired".

-HPIM-

"You're fine physically," Luna stated, slipping her wand back into her robes. "Now, I'm just worried about the other symptoms you mentioned. Go over them again one more time for me?" With a sigh, he nodded, running a hand through his hair.

"Migraines, dizzy spells, seeing double, and a lack of sleep". Luna nodded, listening intently.

"And they started after the attack, yes?" Harry nodded, leaning back in the chair. Luna smiled, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I'll take some blood works and do some follow up tests, but I have to tell you this as your friend, Harry; I think it's just stress. You're under a lot lately". He frowned, glaring harshly at her.

"Don't bother asking me to give up my work as Iron Man. I'm not going to; there are too many people who need a hero to help them stand when they can't." she shrugged, frowning back at him.

"I could have you admitted to get some rest, but I won't. Instead, I'll just tell you this; if you won't give up on Iron Man, you have to find some other way to limit your work load. The stress will end up killing you otherwise". Harry nodded, standing up and shaking her hand.

"Am I right to go then?" she nodded.

"I'll see you at home later. Hermione and I need to get supplies together for the party for you and Nev on the weekend. We decided to give Edwin a break. You work him far too hard, Harry". He chuckled.

"Only because he'd go stir crazy without it". She shook her head, pushing him out of the examination room.

-HPIM-

He stepped through the front door, tossing his keys on the bench. Hermione glanced up with a tender smile as he closed the door behind him and collapsed onto the couch. From her cushion at the other end, Natasha glanced at him with a raised eyebrow from over her magazine.

"Alright there, Stark?" Harry nodded, yawning as he stretched his legs out half way across the couch. She sighed, tossing her magazine on the coffee table as she stood up. "Have the couch if you want to sleep. I might head down to the range, get in a bit of practice". He watched silently as she left, waving to Hermione in the kitchen as she went. With an audible click, the door shut behind her. Running a hand through his hair, Harry let loose a sigh. Hermione glanced up, smiling sweetly at him.

"You ok over there?" she called, turning her attention back to whatever she was making. He frowned as the unfamiliar scent assailed his nostrils.

"What's on the menu?" he called, rubbing his eyes.

"Tiramisu," she replied, sounding nostalgic, "it's an Italian dessert. One my mother used to make". He could hear the amusement in her voice as she continued, "don't think I didn't notice you changing the topic". Harry groaned. Ever since his meeting with Luna, he'd been thinking about it. It had obsessed him on the drive home.

"Mione," he called, sitting up on the couch, "could you come over here please?" she hesitated for just a moment. She frowned, even as he patted the lounge next to him. With a sigh, she put down the spoon she'd been using to stir, and walked around the room towards him.

"You sound pretty serious," she stated simply. He nodded. She plopped down onto the couch next to him, watching him intently.

"Well," she began, wasting no time, "what do you need?"

"I want you to step up around the company. Become my COO. Officially, you'll still report to me as owner and CEO, but you'll basically be making all the real decisions". She stared at him, gobsmacked. Her mouth hung open. He reached over, gently closing it with a small smirk.

"Wa-wait, what?" Harry shrugged.

"I came here to help. Help find the mole and save Howard Stark's company. I did that. Now, the best way for me to help people is as Iron Man". She sighed, shaking her head.

"Why do you need to help people so badly anyway?", Harry shrugged, glancing out the window as he searched for an answer, she chuckled. "Never mind," she added, smiling sadly, "it's your saving people thing". Harry threw back his head, laughing like he hadn't in months.

"If that's what you want to call it, yeah" she smiled, chuckling slightly as well. Hermione rolled her eyes, before turning once more suddenly serious.

"I know you better than anyone alive, Harry. I've known you for years. You're my best friend. If you really think I can't tell when you're lying, your dumb as Malfoy."

Harry laughed, shaking his head.

"It was worth a shot" he told her simply.

"Now what's really going on? Why are you doing this all of a sudden?" Harry glanced at her for several moments, trying to decide how much to tell her. He hesitated for several moments, staring down at his hands. He closed his eyes, wincing softly. Beside him, Hermione gasped, breath hitching in her throat.

"Oh, Merlin's beard," she whispered, slapping her hands against her face as she spoke, "it finally happened, didn't it?" he glanced at her, eye brow raised, as she quietly hyperventilated beside him. "You contracted an STI from one of those women, didn't you?" she gaped at him. Harry flew his head back, laughing out loud at the look on her face.

"No," he assured, swinging an arm around her shoulders, "I don't have an STI. It's probably nothing at all to worry about to be honest. Luna's says its most likely stress. I've just felt terrible ever since Germany. Nothing too bad. Just lethargic".

Hermione nodded, already running through solutions and alternatives in her head. "Stress makes sense," she replied, "and if it is that, a bit of rest and relaxation will do you some good for sure. I'll handle the board meetings for you for a while". Harry beamed at her.

"Thank you," he told her with a grin. She smiled, kissing his forehead as she gently pushed him back into a sleeping position.

"Now get some sleep," she told him, with a faint glare. Harry nodded, smiling at her in gratitude.

-HPIM-

He stared into the cold eyes gazing back from within the mask, shaking slightly as he reached for the gun under the desk. "who the devil are you?" he snapped at the stranger. The shape of the mask did not change, but he felt distinctly sure the woman was smirking at him as she slowly lowered her gun from between his eyes and stepped towards him.

"Who the devil? Very eloquently put. Who the devil?" she pushed past him, stepping towards the fire. "I'm just like you; I am someone who seeks recompense for crimes committed against me and mine." He watched, waiting patiently as she stared into the dying embers of the fire. "and," she continued, and he could practically taste the amusement in her tone now, "if you really think we're going to get it by throwing a temper tantrum and tossing our drink glasses against the floor, then be my guest I suppose. In that case, I'll show myself out." He glared at her back. Heedless of his anger, she continued, "but, if we work together, I can think of a much better way to gain our vengeance".

"What did you have in mind then stranger?"

"Well, it's rather simple really; we kill Tony Stark, Ezekiel Stane".