Chapter 40
"You're needed in the meeting room. It's urgent. We—"
"Alright." Harry interrupted, cutting off Coulson's voice through the earpiece. "I'll be there in a sec." Harry clicked the earpiece off and turned back to the scientist. "So, can I have some of it then?"
The man spluttered. "I just told you that it's—"
"Yeah, yeah, I heard—it's ten times more powerful than octanitrocubane, and is able to be detonated underwater or in space, because it defies the laws of physics, which it can do because we work for a shady superhero organisation." He picked up the vial. "Now, I'll be taking this—I'll test it for you. I may've never attended a chemistry class, but I am rather knowledgeable when it comes to explosives."
'Is this really necessary? You know, with the massive amount of explosive spells you know?'
'Yes. Explosives are cool, and I can reverse-engineer them to make even more explosive spells.'
Harry wandered through the corridors of the base until he made his way back into the meeting room, threw the door open and stepped inside. "Hello, guys. You said it was urgent?"
Only Coulson was there, and a black guy with an eyepatch and a leather trench coat. "You're late," Coulson said.
"I can see that." Harry eyed the other man. "I see that the guy weirder than me has already broken into the base and taken you hostage."
"This is Director Fury."
Harry paused. "Are you sure?"
"I am Director Fury," said Director Fury.
"You're wearing an eyepatch and a trench coat, pretending that your name is Fury…and you're leading a secret government agency?"
Director Fury glared at him.
Harry laughed. "I mean, I try not to judge on looks—that's actually a lie—but what the hell? This is like something out of a comic book." He turned to Coulson. "Are you sure that he wasn't hired because of a diversity quota? I mean, he ticks four boxes: black, disabled, dresses like Neo and is a bloody pirate."
Before Fury could angrily interject, Coulson said, "As I was going to say before you turned your earpiece off, our facial recognition detected the threat; he's in Germany. The rest of the team is heading to the Quinjet already; if you move fast enough you might catch them before it leaves."
"Where's it parked?"
"The hangar where you arrived."
Harry nodded. "Okay." He turned around and took off at a sprint, Loki directing him on his route through the winding corridors.
He made it to the hangar as fast as he could without damaging any walls. Luckily, the Quinjet—or at least what he assumed was the Quinjet—was yet to leave, and Harry ran up the landing ramp.
"Hello, guys." Only Captain America, a dozen or so SHIELD agents, and the redhead he'd learnt was actually called Natasha were in the jet. "Where's Hulk and Iron Man?"
Natasha glanced at him as the jet began to rise. "Stark doesn't exactly need a jet, and Banner isn't here for a combat role."
Harry frowned. "Then why is he here?"
Natasha matched his frowned. "Weren't you briefed?"
"No, I went to look at all the cool science stuff because Coulson implied I was acting childishly, and a child obviously wouldn't understand cool science stuff."
"What?" Natasha shook her head. "Forget it. Anyway, Banner is tracking down the radioactive signature of the object that Loki stole."
"He stole something?"
"How did you manage to miss the entire briefing? He used his sceptre, which can control people, to steal the Tesseract, a powerful alien energy source."
"Why did the humans have an alien energy source?"
"Hydra was trying to use it in the second world war."
"Well, it can't be that powerful, seeing as they didn't win."
Natasha snorted. "You can thank Captain America for that."
Harry looked at Captain America. "Thanks, Captain America."
Harry moved over to a seat and sat, glancing out the window at the clouds rushing by and the ground far below. With how fast the aircraft was moving—well over a mile a second—it wouldn't be long until they reached their destination. He set about planning what to do.
The time flew by, and it was not long before people were standing from their seat, ensuring that their parachutes were secured. Harry didn't pay any attention to them.
Captain America moved over to him and offered him a parachute.
"No thanks, Cap."
He raised an eyebrow. "What, you can fly or something?"
Harry frowned. "It's more like gliding. I tend to depend more on the fact that my terminal velocity is nowhere near fast enough to injure me."
"If you say so."
Harry nodded. "I do." He smiled. "I just did what I dreamed of doing since I was a child."
"What?"
"I said, 'I do,' to Captain America."
"Uh…"
"I'm just kidding, Cap. I had no idea who you were when I was a child and the only man I'm sexually attracted to is myself. You're far too blond for me." Harry caught sight of his reflection in a window and abruptly remembered he currently had blond hair. "Ah… You see, I'm not usually blond. I can just shapeshift because I'm a demigod with a god complex and a god with a god complex in my head." He paused. "Magic helps."
'I don't think it's a god complex if you're a god.'
Harry frowned. 'Well, I have a god complex, so everything I say is right; gods can, thusly, have god complexes.'
The Quinjet had begun to slow several minutes ago. Now, an agent wearing a parachute pressed the button next to the door, opening it and allowing a cold gust of wind to whip inside.
Harry breathed in a breath of freezing air and smiled.
"Our ETA to the DZ is—" a man began. Harry charged past him and threw himself out of the plane, chasing the source of magic he could already feel. Some of it was Asgardian, and some of it was completely alien to him, which was very alien, seeing as Harry was basically an alien.
Flicking his wand, he brought a gust of wind up behind him and flew forwards, falling towards the lights of the city below.
A minute later, and he was still falling, with less than five hundred metres left before he hit the ground. On the ground, where he sensed the magic, he saw a man wearing gold and green—no, five men—wearing gold and green standing over a kneeling crowd. He couldn't make out any facial features from such a distance, but it was safe to say that it was Loki and a few illusions of Loki.
Harry adjusted his course accordingly, hoping to land on top of a building. He slightly misjudged his course and instead hit the edge of the wall, smashing through concrete until he hit a steel bar, bent it completely out of the shape and was sent tumbling towards the pavement a few stories below.
He impacted the concrete with a groan and climbed to his feet, rolling his head on his shoulders. His entrance seemed to have gained the attention of Loki-Two, who stared at him.
Without much of a pause, Harry moved towards him, who he immediately noticed was the real one, only partially due to the massive sceptre he was holding and partially because Loki was erasing his ability to fall for Loki-Two's illusions.
Loki-Two smiled. "Have you come to stop me, mortal?"
Harry glanced over the crowd and saw that none of them were hurt. "Well, as far as I can see, you haven't done anything illegal, so no."
"Nothing illegal? I killed a man a few minutes ago—I've killed dozens over the past few days."
"Well, I can't see that far, can I?" Harry shook his head. "Honestly, you're more of an idiot when you're physical. And, anyway, as an American law enforcement agent, I have no clearance to operate on German soil."
Loki-Two seemed to not have anything to say.
"I also don't really know the German laws anyway, except the age of consent and those concerning the trafficking of cocaine, fairy dust, and prostitutes. I can't be sure if murdering people is illegal."
"Of course. What reason would there to be to outlaw murder?"
Harry's eyes lit up. "That's what I've always said! Dude, we're pretty similar." He glanced at Loki's clothes and his own. "We even have the same fashion sense. Capes are pretty awesome, huh? Here, want to try on my crown?" Harry took the crown from his head and tossed it at Loki, who reflexively snapped out a hand to catch it.
He probably hadn't thought the guy wearing a cape and crown was much of a threat. That was why he was caught completely unaware when the liquid explosive Harry had borrowed earlier and put on the crown a few moments prior detonated against his hand.
Harry surged forward, wand snapping out and firing a barrage of spells even as Loki-Two arced through the air. All four stunning spells connected, and Loki-Two bounced off the pavement before rolling to a stop, his sceptre a few feet away from him.
"Well," Harry said, "that was anti-climactic."
He glanced around to make sure that it wasn't an illusion. When he turned back around, he saw that it was not, seeing as the supposedly stunned Loki-Two was back on his feet, holding the sceptre.
Harry sighed and whipped his wand through the air, sending a second barrage of stunning spells. Loki spun his sceptre, blocking two and dodging the rest as he rushed forward.
Having readied himself for close combat, Harry was not prepared when a beam of energy ripped from the top of Loki-Two's staff and caught him in the stomach, sending him flipping backwards, head over heels. He impacted the ground and rolled, back to his feet.
'Well, I've never done that before,' Loki said. 'Looks like I've got some new toys.'
Confusion was written across Loki-Two's face. For a moment, Harry thought he was shocked at his survival of the blast.
'Your illusions have failed.'
Well, that explained Loki-Two's surprise.
"Yes," Harry said. "Before you ask, I am you from the future, and I have come back to warn you not to kill me or be moody at Christmas, otherwise, there'll be a paradox."
Not giving Loki any time to process what he had just said, Harry charged forward, firing a wall of force that Loki was unable to disperse in time; it slammed into him like a truck and flung him against a building. Still, his grip on his sceptre remained tight.
Harry surged forward, firing another wave of force. This time, Loki slipped straight through it without it affecting him, dashing to meet Harry. With a flex of his mind, Harry turned his wand to a spear.
Loki apparently wasn't expecting that—or for the spear to be carved with Asgardian symbols. The spear met his sceptre with a clang. Using his longer weapon's greater reach, Harry twisted his weapon downwards, bringing it slashing across Loki's shoulder.
Before it could damage him too deeply, Loki stepped sideways, immediately lashing out with his sceptre, catching Harry's spear between the two blades out the end and attempting to twist it from his grip.
When the spear became a wand once again, Loki stumbled forward, allowing Harry to slip inside his guard and stab his wand into his gut. Without his Asgardian skin to block the next round of stunning spells, Loki collapsed limply to the ground, his sceptre falling alongside him.
'I told you that I could kick your arse.'
'It's not fair,' Loki grumbled. 'You surprised me about a dozen times, and had me helping you to render my most useful magic obsolete.'
'That's your fault. You shouldn't have helped me, then.'
'What, and let you, and me by proxy, die?'
'Is a cause really worth fighting for if you're not willing to die for it?'
"Loki!" a voice said through a megaphone. "Surrender!"
Harry turned around and saw that the SHIELD agents and Captain America had finally arrived, and that they were talking to him. He looked quite different after all, what with his illusion gone, cape laying on the floor a few metres away and his crown nowhere to be seen.
He sighed and decided he couldn't be bothered to explain this to anyone. He bent over, lifted Loki and the sceptre, and activated a Portkey.
A/N: Yeah, my exams went okay. I only fell asleep during one of them, and probably didn't fail too many of them.
