Chapter 22
"We are pleased to have Harry Potter, and Norman Osborne with us today." Trish informed her viewers. She was not pleased with today's interview as she hadn't had a chance to speak with Harry in the past two days since the Skrull invasion was stopped and she really didn't want to be in the same room as Osborne.
"First of all congratulations to Mr. Osborne on your new appointment as the Director of SHIELD."
"Actually, Miss Tilby, if I may correct you." Norman interrupted with a friendly smile. "The President has decided that SHIELD is no longer viable and it is being replaced with a new, soon to be named organisation that I will lead."
"Oh… I see. But I assume that this new organisation will carry out the same role as SHIELD."
"Absolutely not." Norman said firmly. "SHIELD was all about defending from attack. My organisation will seek out those threats and eliminate them before our good citizens are aware of them. I believe Mr. Stark has shown just how effective the SHIELD strategy was." He laughed.
Trish wanted a shower… badly. "Harry, what are your thoughts on a new organisation?"
"I think that the President has over-stepped his bounds." Harry frowned. "SHIELD is a UN based organisation. Created on an idea by Nick Fury after World War II and has always been a UN entity. The President of the United States doesn't have the authority to disband SHIELD and he definitely doesn't have the authority to fire Tony Stark and appoint his own man as Director."
"I think considering that the United States led the resistance against the Skrulls that gives us some say." Norman sneered.
"'Led the resistance'? How do you figure that one?" Harry scoffed.
"The Skrull Queen was here on our land and the American people, through me, finished her."
"Yes, that would be because King T'Challa and his people cleared up Africa and the combined forces of Europe successfully ousted their would be oppressors. The only difference between you and them is that they were quicker and more efficient." Harry laughed.
Norman scowled. He did not like this upstart child. "Just where were you when we were fighting? Where was Death when the hero and Avenger Janet Van Dyne was murdered by the Skrulls?" He challenged.
Trish was curious about this too.
Harry leaned forward with a smirk and said conspiratorially: "Do you remember what the Skrulls kept saying? They said it before they died, they would taunt us with it. Three words, do you remember?" He asked.
"'He loves you'." Trish muttered with a shudder.
Harry smiled and leaned back. "Yeah, well… he can't love you anymore 'cause 'e's dead!"
"He is? Who is 'he'?" Trish asked.
"The Skrull gods. Kind of a husband and wife deal. They were empowering their people so Athena of Olympus requested my aid and I, along with a team of gods from various pantheons went into the Dreamtime where the Skrull gods resided and killed them."
"You killed a god?" Trish asked slightly pale.
"I am Death." Harry said pointedly.
Norman snorted loudly. He made his views on Harry's claims to be Death completely clear.
"If you are Death then why don't you bring back Janet Van Dyne?" He challenged.
"Do you really hate her that much?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.
Norman was taken aback by the question.
"Janet has died. She has passed on over to the next life. It would cruel of me to drag her away from whatever she has been gifted with just because you miss her." Harry scolded mildly. "I rarely talk to my family because it is painful for them to be here. I only do it if need to talk to an emissary from the other side."
"So you really can't bring her back?" Trish asked. Janet was always good for an interview and her fashion designs were to die for!
"I could, but where would it end? I would be asked to bring back Goliath, how about all the loved ones everyone else has lost? Do you know why that is a problem?" He asked rhetorically before he answered himself. "There is a balance. For every person that you want back someone has to die in their stead. So, Norman, are you volunteering?" He asked the new Director of a 'soon to be named' organisation.
There wasn't much someone could say to that. He gave it his best shot. "I have a duty to the American people to fulfil my role as Director."
Seeing that whatever Harry was about to say was not likely to be productive she moved on. "I would like to know if you had anything to do with the lack of damage San Francisco received."
"Now why would you think that?" Harry asked with a cheeky grin.
"Because the statue of Cyclops was seen running through the streets smashing Skrulls and witnesses say they saw entire buildings hit by energy weapons but they didn't suffer more than broken windows." She smiled in amusement.
"Yeah, back home all major statues were enchanted to defend the population whether it be from war, fire, floods, anything that threatened human life. I got the idea from Ghostbusters 2."
"A movie?" She asked with a laugh.
"Film writers have some of the best ideas, they just don't have the necessary abilities to make them a reality so they make films instead."
"But what about the building damage?"
"Runes." Harry stated. "My students have been working through San Francisco to apply a standard set of building protection runes to major buildings like shopping centres, churches, schools, anything that can be used as a meeting point or shelter or is a service for emergencies like police stations and fire stations."
"Can anyone apply these runes?" Trish asked.
"No, you need to be magical to do so." Harry conjured a small book. "This is the instruction manual I give all my students. Even Mayor Sinclair has one, she worked with me and her bodyguards to put them on her home and City Hall. I give a copy to every magical we create so they can protect their own homes. Although they don't protect from everything." He frowned slightly as he thought of the damage done to the Mansion whilst he was in the future with Layla.
As interesting as this was, Norman was annoyed that they were practically ignoring him. Unfortunately for Norman, he was not so smart when he was annoyed.
"Why haven't you made the President a magical then? Or other important members of the government who should have the access to this power?" That sneer was still there on his face and his second in command, Victoria Hand would be laying into him about it afterwards.
"Because it is not a 'power'. The people I give it too understand that this gift is something that is to make life easier, give them more time for the important things in life like family. It isn't a tool to keep the masses in line.
"Every magical I create takes a magical oath to never use their powers hurt the innocent or break a specific set of laws."
"A specific set? Not the laws of the country?" Trish asked.
"Those laws are written by humans. Can you imagine if they had to abide by the laws of America in the 50's? Think of the mass persecution of blacks… what about Jews in 40's Europe?
"The set of laws my family created are based on the simplest laws, the Ten Commandments. Granted we dropped a few but the basics are there. No murder, rape, stealing, vandalism, etc. They can still defend themselves but that's it."
"What about magical soldiers?"
"You have to remember that I had a substantial peace in my world. There was no need for soldiers. Magic is best used for defence under those circumstances anyway."
"But surely there were rebellions?"
"Of course, but those that rebelled by causing vandalism or murder where captured by non-lethal means and brought before a court before being sentenced."
"You mean you executed them." Norman rolled his eyes.
"If they were murderers yes. Vandals were assigned hard labour and their magic removed."
"And this is what you plan for the future of this planet?" Trish asked.
"Yes, unfortunately the way the governments are going at the minute I may have to step up my plans."
"Are you threatening the United States of America, Potter?" Norman growled as he leaned forward.
"Warning, Norman. Just warning." Harry smiled patronisingly.
Harry had a lot of things to do. He had stirred a hornet's nest by pointing out that America was trying to run SHIELD but America was trying to pressure the other countries into turning against him. It didn't help that Emma had confided in him that Norman had recruited her for some sort of cabal.
But Harry had something more important to do. There was something he had learned on his journey into the past, he had children. His first trip was to Asgard, to see his son.
"Father, you found the answers you were looking for." The tall and powerful Asgardian stood impassively as he gazed beyond the borders of the floating city of Asgard in Oklahoma.
"It's not the answers I was looking for that bring me here, son. It's the ones that sprung themselves on me whilst I was there." Harry smiled fondly. "You have grown into quite the man. I am most proud of you."
"I have made my… mistakes, father." His son admitted sadly.
"We all make mistakes, but you learnt from them. You are truly wise as a result."
"I remember your lessons on wisdom."
"Yes, and it's a shame young Thor forgot them for a while."
"He is a good man. A good choice for my sister."
"That is the other reason I have come Heimdall. Where is my daughter, Sif?" Harry asked the omniscient Asgardian.
"She has been hidden from my sight." Heimdall admitted remorsefully. "Lord Thor has searched for her but we could not find her."
"Then let us combine our powers, son. You will do the looking and I will show you what to look for."
"What am I to seek?"
"Her soul."
"He is not happy." Donald Blake frowned as both he and Harry stood over the bed of the elderly woman whose body housed the soul of Harry's daughter, Sif.
"He is going to be utterly pissed when I tell him the rest." Harry growled. "I'll be right back."
As Harry vanished, Dr. Jane Foster, Donald's former nurse and lover returned with a nurse.
"She is far too unstable to move, Don."
"It won't matter Jane. Harry will have healed everyone in this hospital by the time he leaves."
There was a loud crack as Harry reappeared with a tall woman in armour and with a weird long horned hat. The sound of the crack shocked Donald as he felt Thor's own consternation that Harry had made a noise.
"This is more of Loki's meddling?" Donald asked with a scowl.
"Oh yes, I can see his magic all over Sif. I'm surprised none of you noticed that he is in Sif's body." Harry said angrily as he threw the currently female Loki to floor of the hospital room.
"Doctor Potter! You cannot treat people like that! Besides you might disturb the other patients!" Jane said angrily.
"Don't worry Doctor. No one can tell what is going on in this room. We are hidden from sight and we are silenced to them." Harry assured her, though his voice was stony and his eyes never left Loki. "If you will excuse me for a moment, I need to discipline my godson."
Donald winced as Harry stalked over to Loki, he grabbed Jane by the hand and teleported them out of there.
"Tell me Loki, did you really think I wouldn't learn of all your deeds?" Harry asked. "I taught you better than this. Your father taught you better than this!"
"You were the one who taught me to be a trickster!" Loki snarled.
"I never taught you to be mean and cruel. I taught you to bring laughter and joy to others."
"Why should I please others? What of my own desires?" He challenged.
"You are an intelligent man Loki. You remember my lessons on morality. Your father-"
"MY FATHER IS DEAD! MURDERED BY ODIN!" Loki roared.
"Now who told you that?" Harry asked as he leaned back slightly with a quizzical look.
Loki faltered as he realised he had said too much.
"That is my daughter lying there, Loki." Harry said warningly as he pointed at the sleeping old woman. "Do not doubt for a minute that I won't use all my powers to get answers."
"I told myself." Loki spat. "I had Hela send me back in time where I met myself… I instructed myself to trick my father into attacking Asgard, he killed Bor, Odin's father and when Odin Borson killed my father I instructed myself on how to behave so that I would reach this point.
"But you were not in my previous incarnations instructions. I couldn't account for you and it is a puzzle that vexes me!"
Harry smiled, but it was hardly nice. "You forgot the important rule of everything. Everything has a beginning, a starting point or in the case of cycles, a first time through. This is the first cycle of this particular timeline."
Loki felt like kicking himself. "Even the Eternals have a beginning."
"As do the Aspects." Harry agreed as he pointed to himself.
"You have a lot to atone for Loki. Everything has a consequence and you need to face yours. Your father, your real father Odin as opposed to the murderous creature that sired you, Odin loves you. You are his son. You are my godson and I love you. So death is not your punishment."
Harry moved back and held out his hands causing them to glow. Before Loki's eyes Sif's body began to grow from nothing. But this wasn't the Sif he had come to know with the black hair forged by the dwarves after he had cut it off in a fit of pique… no, this was Sif with her original golden hair, the hair of a true Asgardian.
When the body was finished Harry left it standing there naked. He moved to the bed and placed a hand on the old woman's chest and pulled out her soul before moving it gently into the new body.
Harry absently conjured some clothes before he infused magic into the body to start it breathing and the heart pumping.
"Thor!" Sif gasped as she stumbled.
"I see you still have your heart set on the eldest Odinson, my daughter." Harry smirked.
Sif spun around to see Harry standing there. "Daddy!" She squealed as she lept into his arms. "You're back! I've missed you so much!" She declared as tears began to stream down her face.
"I was so scared, Daddy. I could feel Thor was near but he couldn't hear me and Jane Foster, she couldn't understand me."
"I know. Your brother and betrothed were both very distraught that they couldn't find you. I was pretty upset myself when I went to the past and discovered I had a daughter and son I had overlooked in the future."
"Daddy! You know I get a headache whenever you start discussing time travel." She sighed in exasperation.
Loki couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of the fierce female warrior reduced to a little girl in the arms of her father.
"Loki! Is this your doing?" Sif demanded as she released Harry.
"I understand he has taken the role of trickster and mischief maker in my absence."
"Bah! He is nothing like you. You brought laughter to the city of Asgard, Loki brings only chaos and destruction, sadness and heartbreak." She said angrily.
"So I hear, it seems he learnt nothing from his childhood. Odin thought of you as a son. Thor thought of you as a brother. You squandered everything you were given and tried to ruin what everyone else had. Well you can have another shot at learning again."
Loki looked worried. Harry Potter was a loving godfather, he would freely admit, but he had a sense of humour when applying punishment.
"You stole my daughters body so you shall remain female. Furthermore, you will live out your childhood again. It seems that Odin, Frigga and I have failed in your upbringing so we will try again. When you have learnt to be a productive and useful member of society then I will allow you to remember what your life was like prior to this point in time… but hopefully you won't want to remember."
Harry raised his hands over Loki, bathing him in a green light. Sif stood back and watched as Loki de-aged to a little girl of only one year old.
"Daddy!" Sif whined. "Now we have to change his nappies! It took him three years to potty train him the first time round."
"That was hardly his fault. His people were literally savages. Loki would have been killed off by his birth father within two years of his father dying if Odin hadn't rescued him."
"She is cute." Sif conceded as she picked the baby girl with jet-black hair up. "Is Loki aware of what is going on?"
"No, she's just a little girl. I will take her to Odin and explain the situation. We will tell her the truth about why I made her a little girl. You can't learn from your mistakes if you don't know what they are."
"Kid, you need to see this." Logan growled angrily as he stomped into the infirmary brandishing a USB drive.
Harry quickly joined him as Logan loaded up a video on a near by computer. They watched angrily as they saw the hero Tigra being mercilessly beaten and her family threatened by a gang of criminals.
"Logan, you know this girl?"
"Tigra, good girl. Part of the Avengers Initiative. Does not deserve this." He grunted.
"Grab her and bring her straight here. Then go and get Scott and get her family and bring them here as well, don't take no for an answer." Harry ordered.
Two seconds later the badly beaten Tigra was lying on Harry's medical bed.
"Where am I?" She demanded as she tried to get up.
"Easy, you are at the X-Men's Greymalkin facility in San Francisco. I'm Doctor Harry Potter, Logan found a video of you being beaten and I ordered him to bring you here, he is currently retrieving your family. Now lie back down so I can fix you up."
"You're the guy from the TV, Death?"
"I am."
"If this is the X-Men facility, where's Hank McCoy?"
"One second." Harry put out a mental call and Hank teleported in.
"Stars and garters! Greer, what happened to you?" Hank demanded as he moved forward and began checking her injuries.
"Where's your baby?" Harry asked suddenly.
Tigra, AKA Greer Grant-Nelson, looked at Harry with an angry expression. "How do you know about that?"
"I can see the evidence on your body that you gave birth recently. Although, you have a mostly feline system. You were changed by magic and science, right?"
"I was."
"Let's get back to the baby!" Hank interrupted. "Is it safe?"
"He's with my mother."
"Don't worry, I sent Logan and Scott to pick her family up."
"Good. Now who the devil did this to you?" Hank demanded as he began healing what he could with Harry taking up the slack.
"Didn't you already see?" She spat hatefully at Harry.
"I saw who did this, but I don't know who they are."
"Bastards called the Hood." Logan announced as he entered the infirmary with Greer's mother and son. "He's attacked our Avengers a few times."
"The Hood? I've heard of him."
"Guy uses some sort of magic but I can't get a handle on him. He can go invisible though."
"HARRY! HELP!"
Everyone turned to see a distraught Ororo holding a badly burned and damaged body of her husband T'Challa.
"Good god what is wrong with the world today?" Harry scowled. He quickly had T'Challa on the bed as one of his female bodyguards arrived.
"Hey, get back in there! I ain't done with you yet." Harry ordered thin air.
"…"
"Nobody is messing with souls other than me. If you don't have my permission to take souls you can deal with me, and you sir, do not have permission to crossover!"
"Husband! Just do as the man says, we need you! I need you!" Ororo pleaded.
"You can see him your majesty?" The bodyguard asked.
"Nah, but she knows who I am talking to." Harry explained as Hank comforted the weather mutant.
Harry moved back to the body and began healing it. "Happens every time. People think they can argue with me, Death, but the second the missus enters the fray they capitulate." He muttered in annoyance.
"Harry, I've got Pepper Potts up here, she says it's urgent." Lorna's sounded in his head.
Harry sighed. "Of course it is."
"Problem Harry?" Hank asked.
"Yeah, you might want to call Josh down to help out. I've got someone else with an emergency upstairs."
"Miss Potts, what trouble has Tony gotten into this time?" Harry asked with a wry smile as he appeared on the roof of the building.
Pepper was standing there in a suit of armour similar to Tony's but clearly designed for a woman.
Pepper returned the smile sadly. "Osborn demanded that Tony hand over the names and identities of the people who signed the registration act. Tony deleted the hard drives but he has one last copy he is trying to destroy."
"Suicide?"
Pepper nodded. "He says he is trying to delete it but he has to do it bit by bit. By the time he is finished he will be a vegetable."
"Uncle Harry! Uncle Harry!"
Uncle Harry wanted to cry as Franklin and Valeria Richards teleported in front of him.
"Franklin, Valeria, problem?"
"This mean man with an icky haircut tried to break into our home!" Valeria scowled cutely.
"We drove him off!" Franklin declared proudly.
"Did Mr. Icky-Haircut have a name?" He asked as Lorna and Pepper giggled at the scene.
"Norman Osborn." Valeria told him. "He said he had a court order."
"And where are Mummy, Daddy and your uncles?"
Both children shared a look before shrugging.
"Ok, you two go with Aunt Lorna. Lorna, grab the girls and spend some time at the Baxter Building. I need to deal with Tony."
"Come on kids, sleep over at your house!" Lorna said happily.
"Yay! Can we stay up late and watch movies."
"Absolutely!"
"I haven't spent much time with the X-Men, but they seem a little more eccentric than I would have thought." Pepper mused.
"That's my fault." Harry admitted. "Several of the girls bonded their souls to me and my craziness leaked over. Dani is practically certifiable." He grinned.
"Tony… why?" Harry asked pleadingly. He couldn't believe the idiot was going to commit suicide like this just to spite Norman Osborn.
"It's the only way to protect the other heroes. Who knows what Osborn would do if he got his hands on the database. Spiderman is his arch-nemesis, Peter would be dead within minutes!" Tony explained as he continued working on an older model of the Iron Man armour.
"I can think of plenty other ways, better ways even." Harry said as he began healing all the damage Tony had done to himself. "By the way, if you can deal with the virus in your tech your Extremis armour should work now."
"Are you nuts? If Norman gets me-"
"Then he will be in violation of various international laws! You are still the Director of SHIELD until the UN says otherwise. In the meantime you can stay at the X-Men compound until this blows over. I will also be putting some protections on the knowledge in your head so you can't go blabbing people's secret identities."
Tony wasn't all that fond of Harry Potter but after nearly two years he had to admit he didn't seem to have any ill intent to the planet or its citizens.
"What about the risk I will be putting the X-Men and their students in?"
"Nobody is going to know you are there. You will be perfectly hidden."
"You should probably know about the mission I sent Maria Hill on then."
Harry just rolled his eyes.
The following day Norman Osborn arrived at the Baxter Building in a van with a squad of HAMMER agents.
"Listen up! I have an order straight from the courts that the Fantastic Four are in violation of the Avengers Initiative. We are here today to shut them down.
"We are expecting resistance.
"Now who's ready to go shoot up some superheroes?"
The agents stormed out of the van smashing through the glass doors of the entranceway sending glass everywhere.
The blonde sitting at the receptionist's desk suddenly found herself with six energy weapons pointed in her face.
"Pull up the floor plan. Now!" The lead agent ordered.
"Do you have an appointment?" She asked calmly.
"Lady, do we look like we have an appointment?"
"Not really, which means I much more inclined to leave you standing out here. I have called the police though as the Baxter Building will be charging you with vandalism. Those doors weren't locked."
"Lady, unless you want to have your cute ass thrown in a deep dark hole I suggest you-"
"Who are you?"
"Wha- We're HAMMER agents!"
"What are HAMMER agents?"
"Don't you watch the news?"
"Agent! What's the hold up?" Norman demanded as he marched through the debris that was once the entranceway.
"This bitch is refusing to cooperate."
"Stand aside men, I'll handle this." Norman ordered. "Young lady, do you know who I am?" He asked with a genial smile.
"Of course. You're Norman Osborn, AKA the Green Goblin. A well known murderer and terrorist and all round super-villain." She stated calmly.
A tinge of green and red hit Norman's cheeks as his anger flared. "I am currently the Director of HAMMER, the governments replacement for SHIELD. We are here to talk with Reed Richards and the Fantastic Four."
"Then why didn't you make an appointment?" She asked with a curious frown.
"I have a court order."
"May I see it?"
Norman handed the papers over which she looked through. "Although these seem to be official, I can see nothing in here that couldn't have been discussed through an appointment. I especially see nothing in here authorising blatant vandalism."
"Young lady, I don't tell you how to do your job, don't tell me how to do mine." Norman sneered. "Now give us directions to the elevator that will take us to the residence of the Fantastic Four!"
"You just told me how to do my job." She smirked. "The Fantastic Four are not currently home, we do not know when they are due back. I suggest you return at a later date."
"You couldn't have just told us that in the first place?" Norman demanded angrily.
"Couldn't you have just made an appointment?" She asked sweetly.
"What's your name?"
"None of your business." She maintained her pleasant demeanour.
"I beg to differ."
"Please… don't beg, it demeans us both." She said pityingly.
"You have made a big mistake girl."
"Not as big as yours."
Norman decided to cut his losses. He couldn't seem to win.
"Move out men, we'll come back later. We'll bring a god damned canon if we have to!" Norman ordered as he began marching back out of the building.
"That does it! Next time I get to play with the bad guy!"
Amara turned in her seat and smiled at her friend. "You'll have to fight for it."
"Bring it on girl!" Dani challenged with a grin. "Trish is going to go ballistic when she sees this!" She said as she removed the disillusionment spell on the camera that had been placed behind Amara at the receptionist's desk.
"Come on, let's get upstairs and see what the others have discovered."
"It seems Reed was doing an experiment and he may have thrown the others into some sort of dimensional rollercoaster." Lorna explained.
"That's not what I said!" Valeria pouted.
"No sweetie, but that's about as good as we dumbies can understand." Dani smiled as she picked the girl up.
"Big baby."
"Franklin." Amara said warningly.
"Alicia Masters just called, she is on her way." Laura announced as she and the Cuckoos entered the living room.
"Well they aren't staying here. Leave a note on Reed's lab door and we will take them all back to the compound." Lorna said decisively.
"I have to go and give this recording to Trish." Dani stated before vanishing.
"I need to meet Jennifer, we need to draft an injunction and charges against Osborn." Amara explained as she vanished to meet up with the She Hulk.
With Jennifer Walters disbarred, there was no one to stand up for the super humans. Following a successful attempt to transfer medical knowledge to Josh from Hank McCoy by the Cuckoos, the same was done for Amara so she could take up the cases. Jennifer acted as her assistant whilst her friend Jazinda, a Skrull she knew from before the invasion, acted as a bodyguard.
They were looking for more volunteers as it seemed that Amara was about to be over worked. The last thing she needed was to be so over worked she wouldn't be able to have fun making the lives of villains hard… like today with Osborn.