Apologies for the formatting of the last chapter! It wasn't supposed to all be bolded. I think it should be okay now though :) I hope you guys like this chapter!
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The kid passing out was not a part of the plan.
The kid passing out was definitely not a part of the plan.
Tony had planned to interrogate the kid straight away. As soon as he laid his eyes on the scared kid his plans evaporated. The kid had looked petrified. Tony's reputation might suggest otherwise, but he wasn't cruel. The kid hadn't known who Tony was, or who the Avengers were, which suggested the kid wasn't from earth. Almost everyone had heard of him. The kid had seemed weirdly obsessed with the date though. He had looked as though he was about to pass out when Tony had told him the year. That in itself was weird, but Tony didn't have the time to dwell on any of it. The kid had indeed passed out, and Tony had darted across the room to try and catch the kid before he hit the floor, but he hadn't made it there in time and the kid had hit his head on the corner of the bedside table and his head was now bleeding profusely.
"Jarvis!" Tony shouted, "Get Bruce up here, quickly. Tell him to bring the medical kit."
Tony quickly took his shirt off, pulled the kid into his arms and pressed the screwed up shirt into the wound to try and slow the blood flow. Tony didn't have all that much medical knowledge, but he knew enough to know that it was dangerous for the kid to be losing this much blood. He had most probably passed out in the first place due to the blood loss from earlier.
It was a few minutes before Bruce arrived and blood was still flowing from the wound. Bruce soon had the kid stable again.
The wait for the kid to regain consciousness again seemed to take forever. Tony had gotten bored of watching the kid pretty quickly, so he had instructed Jarvis to tell him when the kid was awake again and headed into his lab. He had fixed all the problems that he could find in his current Iron man suit and fully designed a whole new piece of tech that Clint would probably have a blast with. He had even started construction on the thing.
It had been two whole days since the kid had been conscious.
Tony wasn't worried about the kid. Not at all. Why would he be? It's not like he actually knew Loki Jr at all. He had no reason to worry about the kid. The kid who just wasn't waking up. Tony was taking a coffee break when Jarvis finally informed him that the kid was regaining consciousness. Tony dropped the mug, not caring that it smashed onto the floor. He would clean that up later. He raced up the stairs to the room that they had left the kid in. Tony paused before the door, slowed his breathing down so that he didn't appear out of breath, and entered the room.
The kid looked groggy, and it took the boy a moment to realise that someone had entered the room, despite the fact that Tony hadn't entered at all quietly.
"Hey kid." Tony said, and waited to gauge the boy's reaction. He wasn't disappointed. You could almost see the gears turning in his head. It was a whole minute before the kid spoke.
"Hello Mr Stark."
It was with these words that Tony noticed that the kid had a strong British accent. Not like the old Shakespearean English accent that Thor had, but an accent more like Loki's, but not quite as refined. Had Loki had a kid at some point? The resemblance, even when the kid was wrapped up in bandages was uncanny. Asgardians were supposed to have some form of accelerated healing, and this kid had definitely not shown signs of that.
"You got a name kid?" Tony asked. The kid shifted on the bed, opening and shutting his mouth a few times before speaking.
"Harry Potter."
Tony almost laughed at how generic and overwhelmingly normal the kid's name was. He had been half expecting something grand and fancy. Harry kind of suited the kid though. Harry Potter. Tony smiled.
"Well Harry, I have one question for you." Tony said. He wasn't going to let the kid distract him from asking what he wanted to ask this time around. Tony wanted answers. "How the heck did you get here?"
The kid- Harry's eyes widened and the boy let out a long breath in something that wasn't quite a sigh. It was a few minutes before the kid answered, but Tony was prepared to stand there and wait for as long as was needed for him to get answers.
"I'm not exactly sure Mr Stark." Harry said unsurely. Tony mentally winced at being called Mr Stark, but didn't correct the boy. How could he be unsure? Had someone else sent him here? "You see- I- Where I'm from you're not real."
Well that had been put bluntly. Not real? Tony was pretty sure that he was very real. Tony's skepticism must have shown on his face, because the kid started babbling without taking a pause or much of a breath. Tony didn't catch much of the monologue, apart from something about a statute of secrecy and a bugle? Tony was very curious about this supposed secrecy statute. Tony was known for not being able to keep his nose out of secrets, but a statute? A statute implied government involvement. How had he not come across whatever this was about before now? It seemed to be the kind of thing that SHEILD would have a record of, and Tony made a routine effort to poke his nose around the 'secure' files on SHEILD's database. Tony would have remembered seeing something about a Statute of Secrecy.
"Slow it down kid, I didn't catch a word of that." Tony said with a laugh. This kid had babbled on for what had seemed to be five minutes without stopping or pausing. Tony hadn't heard someone talk so much in so short a time since the last time Pepper berated him for his nonchalance towards business meetings. Harry took a deep but shaky breath in and started talking, this time at a much more understandable speed.
"I don't know how I got here and I don't know how to get back. You're not real from where I'm from. You- You're just a comic book character. I don't know how- I don't understand why I'm not dead. I don't know how I got here. I shouldn't be here. I- I think I might be very, very far from home, Mr Stark. I think I might be from a different universe to this one."
Tony blinked. What? Was this kid crazy? Although, Tony had to hand it to him, it wasn't like he had arrived in a normal manner. The energy pattern that had surrounded Harry's arrival had been eerily similar to that of the Tessaract, which according to Thor was capable of far space travel. Scientist had theorised for decades about the existence of alternative universes. Was it so far fetched that Harry could possibly be from an alternate universe in which he was a fictional character instead of a person?
"Where are you from kid?" Tony asked. He had seen so much craziness in the past few years that honestly interuniversal travel didn't even phase him that much. The kid was either a stellar liar, or was telling him the truth. Tony actually trusted that this kid was telling the truth.
"I grew up in Surrey in England, Mr Stark." The kid bit his bottom lip and blurted something out before Tony could comment on the fact that he had guess the kid's accent correctly.
"Do you believe in magic?"
"Magic is just science that we haven't figured out yet." Tony replied slightly coldly, thinking of Loki and the mess he had caused. He had witnessed what the Asgardians had called magic, but Tony was certain that there was science behind it all that just wasn't known yet. The kid looked uncomfortable at the answer Tony had given. An idea hit Tony, an absolutely crazy idea. But the past half an hour had been chock full of crazy ideas, so what was one more in the mess that this was. What if this kid was from a world in which people on earth had 'magic'? What if the kid had 'magic'? It would explain why he looked so uncomfortable at his cold tone. It was a bit of a leap to take from just an observation, but it was reasonably likely given the context that the subject had been brought up under.
"You have 'magic', don't you?" Tony said softly. Harry nervously nodded. The kid seemed afraid of him now that the subject of magic had been brought up. Why was that?
"Can you show me?"
As much as Tony hated the magic that Loki used, this kid seemed to be different. At least, Tony hoped that the kid was different. Harry shook his head.
"I can't, I don't have a wand. I need a wand to be able to use it." Harry explained, "I didn't appear with a stick about this long?"
The kid held his hands up a reasonable distance apart. Tony shook his head. If the kid had arrived with anything then Tony would have analysed the thing to pieces before Harry had even regained consciousness the first time. Tony did breath a mental sigh of relief. It seemed that Harry's magic was a different kind to Loki's if he needed something else to be able to utilize it, a conduit. Harry seemed shaken by his answer. The kid didn't seem evil, or even the type to try and take any power. Something in the kid made Tony trust him.
"Hey kid, Harry- You're stuck here for the moment, right?" Tony said, pausing for a second as Harry nodded, "You should stay here with me! I've got more room in this tower than even I know what to do with. Good? Good. Great!"
Tony clapped his hands together in victory. Sure, he hadn't really given the kid a choice, but he would be able to keep an eye on the kid better this way. The kid did look a little overwhelmed at the offer of a place to stay. Before Tony could elaborate on his offer Jarvis interrupted them.
"Sir Mr Banner is looking for you. Should I send him up?" Jarvis asked. Harry looked utterly spooked at the voice that was coming from nowhere. Tony laughed at the expression on the kid's face.
"Sure Jar, send him up." Tony said and then decided to explain things to the kid. "J.A.R.V.I.S. is my A.I.."
All Tony received was a blank look. Tony sighed. This kid was going to be a like another capsicle, wasn't he?
"How much do you know about technology?"
"Well, not a lot. I wasn't aloud to use any of my cousin's things and the boarding school that I went to didn't have any technology. Technology and magic don't mix that well." Harry replied. "Did I mention that it was only 1995 in the universe that I came from?"
Tony cringed at the thought. Technology had come along in leaps and bounds in the last ten years, let alone the last twenty. Tony didn't know how different the universes could be technology wise, but evidently they were not as advanced as Tony was, because Harry seemed to not have even heard of A.I.. Tony thought for a few moments on how to explain Jarvis in a way that the kid would understand.
"J.A.R.V.I.S. is basically a computer that can think for itself."
Tony felt a moment of relief when a look of awe came across Harry's face. Evidently there were such things as computers in this other universe. Tony was still excited by the fact that other universes were a legitimate thing. Tony was itching to do a DNA test on the kid to see if his genome was any different to the humans in this universe.
"You can do that with computers?" Harry said, disbelief colouring his awed voice. Tony chuckled. He cast his mind back to the slow juggernauts that were the computers of the 90s. It probably was quite unbelievable if that was the only image of a computer one had.
"Indeed Mr Potter." J.A.R.V.I.S. replied, making Harry jump again. "Sir, Mr Banner should be with you momentarily."
Less than five seconds later there was a quiet knock on the door.
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Harry couldn't believe that he'd told Mr Stark about everything. The man seemed to give off an aura of knowledge. If anyone was going to be able to help him get back, it would be Mr Stark. Harry didn't really know how or why. Perhaps it was the blood loss speaking. Harry couldn't believe that technology could be so advanced. Computers could think for themselves! It was an insane idea, but the disembodied voice was it's own evidence. This universe's technology was worlds away from what Harry had experienced.
Harry was a little nervous to meet this Bruce person. What if he didn't believe him like Mr Stark had done? Harry pushed down the rising panic, forcing himself to try and stay calm. The door opened and a man the polar opposite to what Harry had imagined from the name entered. The name Bruce had Harry thinking of a big beefy mountain of a man. This man wasn't exactly small, he was much taller than Harry was, but he just wasn't what Harry had been expecting. Bruce had brown curly hair and deep brown eyes. Something about how the man held himself reminded Harry of Remus Lupin.
"Hi." Harry said quietly.
"Bruce this is Harry Potter, Harry this is Doctor Bruce Banner. The Doc here fixed you up."
"Hello Harry, How are you feeling?" Bruce asked and Harry wanted to laugh. How was he feeling? Harry was feeling so much and nothing at the same time. There was the pain from his injuries, but that was almost nothing to what he'd felt in the past. He was far away from home. A home where they were all dead. Did he really want to go back there? There wasn't anything left for him in that world anymore. Why should he even try to get back? Sirius was dead. Ron was dead. Hermione was dead. Neville was dead. Ginny was dead. Luna was dead. Tonks was dead. Remus was dead. They were all dead. They were dead and it was completely his fault. He should be dead. He should have died and finally be with his parents. But fate had to play puppet with him and send him to some new universe. A universe in which he was still a freak.
Harry let out a choked laugh. How was he feeling?
"I'm fine." Harry said, giving the automatic answer he gave to everyone who asked.
Mr Stark arched an eyebrow and Harry somehow felt chastised despite the fact that the man hadn't said a word. He was fine though. He wasn't dead, even if he should be.
"It's nice to meet you Doctor Banner."
"Please, call me Bruce." The man said with a smile. Harry smiled back at the man and an awkwardness settled in the room. Nobody talked for a good few minutes and the awkwardness seemed to do nothing but grow. Harry was fine sitting there in silence, despite the awkwardness.
"So Harry!" Mr Stark finally said, seemingly having had enough of the awkward silence. "Do you like toast?"
Harry blinked. What kind of a question was that? "Uh, I guess."
"Wonderful!" Mr Stark exclaimed, clapping his hands together. "How toasted do you like your toast?"
Why all the questions about toast? Harry was more than a little confused by it all. It was admittedly an interesting way to get a conversation going, but toast, really? Harry answered and Mr Stark turned to Bruce with a smug smile on his face. Harry was lost, evidently there was some kind of inside joke being referenced to. Judging by the smug look on Mr Stark's face and the eye roll of a response from Bruce, the thing in question was most likely a debate between the two that Harry had just unwittingly backed Mr Stark up on.
Bruce had pity on him and decided to explain what was going on.
What was the point in even having toast if one was just going to destroy the bread? In actually having the situation explained to him, Harry fully agreed with Mr Stark on the subject. There had been far too many days in the Dursley household in which all he had received to eat was a piece of dry, charcoaled toast. Harry didn't think he would ever be able to eat toast like that outside of that house. At the Dursley's he ate what he was given and was grateful to even get fed. Harry's favourite way to have toast was to have it mediumly toasted so that it was crunchy on the outside, and soft on the inside, and swimming with melted butter so that the piece of toast was floppy. Harry had discovered this over the countless breakfasts at Hogwarts. At the beginning of each school year, toast was pretty much the only breakfast food that was light enough on his stomach after a summer at the Dursley's and so Harry had come to appreciate it.
Harry vocalised his opinion on the destruction of perfectly good bread and Mr Stark punched the air in victory.
"I knew I liked you kid."
"I'm not a kid." Harry mumbled. He was only a few months off of being 16, he was definitely not a kid.
"How old are you?" Bruce asked.
"Almost 16." Harry said defiantly. Bruce and Mr Stark shared a concerned look of disbelief. Harry knew that he was short for his age, but he wasn't that short. Harry could feel the pity rolling off of the pair. He didn't need their pity. Harry opened his mouth and was about to demand that they stop pitying him, but before he could speak he was interrupted by the disembodied computer voice.
"Sir, I thought you would like to be made aware that Thor and what appears to be Loki appeared on the roof moments ago."
Mr Stark bristled upon hearing the name Loki. Mr Stark stood up and stormed out of the room, slamming the door as he went. Who was this Thor and Loki, and what had they done to garner such a reaction to their names? Bruce also looked concerned.
"Do you mind if I-" Bruce said and gestured to the door. Harry guessed that Bruce, who seemed to be the kind of person who was in a constant state of calmness, was probably needed to mediate between Mr Stark and the new arrivals. Harry nodded immediately. He was fed up of being the focus of attention and was happy to have some time to explore his immediate surroundings without someone's eyes watching him.
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Tony was livid. How dare Loki show his face at his tower after what he had done? Tony didn't care that he was with Thor, Tony wanted Loki gone. He wanted Loki off of this planet and as far away as possible. Wasn't Loki supposed to be in prison anyway? Had he broken out, or had he been let out by Odin? From what Tony had heard from Thor the latter was very unlikely. Odin didn't seem the type to bargain with people in his prisons. Was Thor being controlled by Loki?
Tony made it into the living room area before he found them.
"You." Tony spat out, glaring at Loki, "Get out. Leave."
"Man of Iron you must listen-" Thor started to say before Tony interrupted him.
"No. I don't care what it is, but I want him," Tony gestured towards Loki, "gone."
Bruce came into the room and took in the situation and Tony saw his eyes flash green at the sight of Loki.
"Midgard is a risk of destruction if we do not accept my brother's help."
World destruction or Loki gone? Tony knew that he would prefer the latter. But he was one of the people who inhabited the planet, so it's destruction would be a rather large hinderance.
"What is it?" Tony snapped. If this wasn't something that actually needed Loki's input, Tony was not going to be happy.
"The Yggdrasil has been damaged. A hole torn in one of it's many branches. Something came through the breech. We know not what yet, but Loki is one of the few with the ability to track down that which came through the breech. It is not known what horrors could have come through the breech. All that is known is that it is here, on Midgard, and that to have jump universes in such a manner successfully it's powerful enough to destroy this world."
Tony shared a look with Bruce. There was no way that Harry's appearance was a coincidence. Harry wasn't a horror though, he was an abused kid. Harry hadn't admitted anything to then, but the fact that he looked not even 12 when he was supposedly 15 combined with his scars spoke volumes about the life that he must have gone through.
"Would it have been anything like the tesseract portal?" Tony asked, "The breech that is."
"The initial appearance would carry similar energy reading, yes." Loki said, speaking for the first time. The trickster had been unusually quiet. But he had confirmed Tony's suspicions, Harry must have been the thing that had come through the breech. J.A.R.V.I.S. had reported reading eerily similar to that of the tesseract when Harry had made his appearance. There were far too many coincidences.
Tony broke out into a grin. If Harry really was what had come through the breech, then Loki didn't need to stay in his tower!
"Reindeer Games, mind doing your hocus pocus to track the thing that came through down? I think I have the solution to all your problems."
Thor looked at him in complete befuddlement. Tony grinned. He loved being the one that had the answers. Loki closed his eyes and started moving his hands about, hands which started glowing a light purple colour. After a few moments Loki opened his eyes, alarm showing on his face for a moment before being hidden behind a mask of aloofness.
"Well?" Bruce asked.
"You have encountered the breech, haven't you?" Loki said softly. Tony mentally punched the air. He had been correct. Harry was their breech.
"Correctamundo Reindeer games. You can toddle off back to Asgard now, we have everything under control here."
Tony didn't think that he was going to be able to be rid of the Asgardians that easily, but hey, it was worth a shot.
"What came through Man of Iron?" Thor boomed, swinging his hammer threateningly.
"It was just a kid." Bruce said quietly. Tony let out an exasperated sigh. He was going to draw it out, add some dramatic flair to the delivery, but Bruce had ruined it for him.
"A kid came through. It was more like he was pulled through without a choice. Whoever caused the tear wasn't this kid." Tony added. Harry seemed genuinely distraught that he hadn't died. Tony made a mental note to ask the kid about what had happened on the other end before his arrival in his tower.
"Canst I see the little one?" Thor asked. Tony gave the 'God' a calculating look. If he let Loki and Thor see Harry then Loki might leave sooner. Tony could read the Asgardians well enough that he could tell that they were going to be as stubborn as he could be.
"I'll just go let Harry know what's going on." Tony said, eager for any excuse to get away from Loki. "Don't you dare touch anything Reindeer Games."
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