Disclaimer: Don't own.

Chapter Fifteen

Harry lifted an eyebrow when a new person stepped into the room, talking rather forcefully to the agent that had first accosted he and Thor when they landed in New York.

Colbert? Coven? Coul... Coulson! That was it.

"It means the portal won't collapse on itself like it did at SHIELD. Also means the portal can open as wide and stay open as long as Loki wants."

The man looked at the table where he, Cap (who was scowling for some reason), Bruce, and the woman were sitting. His eyes skimmed over Harry, and a dark eyebrow was raised.

"All right, does no one else see the horse?" He asked, and Harry hid a snort in Fenrir's fur. "Oh, and a wolf cub."

The wizard had honestly thought that it would be Fury who would first make a fuss. He handed Fenrir to Bruce and stood up, moving forward with his hand outstretched. "I'm Harry Potter, and the animals are mine. You look strangely familiar. Have we met before?"

The man drew himself up proudly, and began, while Harry thought, 'Oh, he's that kind of person...' "You might recognize me if you've seen the news at in in the last several years."

'Well, this may put a small puncture in that ego of his, but I doubt he'll let much air escape.' "I'm sorry, no. I'm not from... around here."

The man looked incredulous, and Cap took that moment to chime in. "Harry, this is Anthony Stark, the Iron Man."

Harry grinned. "So that's why you look so familiar!" He said, and ignoring the confused man, moved around him, calling over his shoulder at Bruce,"Can you keep the pup entertained for a bit?! I need to find where they hide the men's!"

He vaguely heard Stark say, "What just happened?"

It didn't take long to find the bathroom at all. He had been there before, of course. No, the whole point of this trip was to get to the single room on the whole ship that did not have a camera, don the Cloak, and quietly Apparate out so that the afore mentioned cameras did not see the door open and close but for no one to be there.

From the bathroom, the real search began.

"Point me; stairs." He whispered, the Wand flat in his hand. The tip swung, pointing off to the side. "Well, alright then."

The room that Loki was being held in had a hole that could open to the outside, which meant it stood to reason that it was in the lowest point of the Helicarrier. He had to figure out a way to get around walls when the Wand pointed him there, but after several flights, he finally had enough. "Fine, fine! Point me; Loki!" Like he had before, he followed the Wand's directions until he figured he was standing several floors directly above the god's cell.

Then he Apparated down. Cautiously, of course, because if he over shot it, he would end up out in the air, probably to be sucked up into one of the engines of the ship.

Finally, after several Apparation points, he landed inside the cell, right behind the captured god.

Loki didn't even jump, just turned casually to study the empty air. "I expected you here sooner, stranger."

Harry shrugged, well aware the other man couldn't see him. "Would have been here sooner if this damn place wasn't like a maze. So you're Loki, then?"

Loki nodded imperiously, and obviously did not expect the hay maker that hit his chin. He staggered back, rubbing the afflicted area with an incredulous look on his face. "You?! How dare you? Who are you?!"

The wizard shook out his stinging hand, his smile distinctly satisfied when he saw the other man's chin was already starting to turn blue. "My name is Harry Potter, but your people call me the World-jumper. I'm just here to make sure you make it home safely, of course."

The god charged, but Harry was no longer there. Instead he had popped to the outside of the cell. "I figured that we needed to have a nice long chat on child care."

"So you are the one who brought Fenrir and Sleipnir here?" Loki hissed.

"Yep." Harry confirmed cheerfully. "Couldn't leave them behind on Asgard. I got your father and brother to really think about them, and maybe those guys who call themselves the 'Warriors Three', but other than that, people aren't too receptive of 'em."

Loki came to stand in front of the area he heard the warlock's voice from, careful not to touch the glass of the cage. "Do you think that I would fold so easily, world-jumper?" The title fell like poison from the enraged god's lips. Harry just smirked. "The presence of my deformed off spring only make this easier!" He gasped when a firm hand cuffed him upside the head, and swung for the area the body should be, but there was no one there. "WHERE ARE YOU?!" He roared, and a distinctly amused voice answered from the other side of the cage.

"Do you know how much like a petulant child you look right now?"

Loki charged again, and they played a game of 'Find the invisible tormentor' until the dark haired god sat on the ground, panting. Harry, fresh as a spring daisy just shook his head.

"Now that I've got your attention, let's have that talk, shall we?"

His only response was a groan. "You are powerful, warlock, but you will die. I will make sure of it. You will die by my hand alone!"

Settling on the other side of the glass again, Harry frowned. He was expecting something a little bit different with the tales he had heard of Loki from his family and Heimdall. He had expected someone more... cunning. Like the Weasley twins sorted into Slytherin. Not this man, with the light of insanity in his blue eyes... wait a second...

Didn't Thor once tell him that his brother's eyes were green?

"You know, on second thought, I think we'll have that talk later. I have to go ask some important people some important questions." Harry said. "Ta!"

He was gone in a blink of the eye.

He appeared in the control room, throwing off the Cloak unthinkingly. He then held up his hands when guns were instantly pointed at his head. "Woah! Hello again, all."

Fenrir grinned wolfishly, and trotted over to him to tug on his pants leg. He casually scooped up the pup, ignoring the weapons that had yet to be lowered.

"Mr. Potter, it seems that you have some secrets of your own. Care to fill us in?" That was Fury. "I take it that you're the cause of Loki's strange behavior?"

Harry shrugged and the weapons were finally holstered. "Only in the last half hour or so. I am innocent of causing any strange behavior before that."

Fury did not look amused, nor did Romanoff. Stark was looking at him like a new toy. Both Cap and Bruce seemed to have adopted the same philosophy on him, if their matching expressions of amused exasperation were to be considered.

"So you can turn yourself invisible? How? Nano technology is barely close enough for stationary concealment!" Stark moved forward. "Is that some sort of nano cloth?"

Harry grinned. "Actually, Mr. Stark, it's magic."

Once again a dark eyebrow was raised. "I stopped believing in magic when I was three, Potter."

"Well, then, why doesn't everyone sit down, relax," He withdrew a plate from his sack, the preservation charms keeping the items that he placed on the table fresh a if he had just baked them, "Have a cookie. I think it's story time."

Thor had no qualms of sitting down and snagging one. The others watched warily as he bit into it and chewed appreciatively.

"How about I tell you exactly what 'jumping' is, and where I come from, huh?"

For three hours Harry was peppered with questions, most he could answer honestly (no Statue of Secrecy here) but some he had to deflect (like why exactly he 'jumped'. He had no idea what Fury could do with the information on the 'Master of Death', and had no desire to find out). Somewhere along the way, Fury had gained an extremely smug expression on his face, even while most of the others looked torn between disbelief and amazement. It wasn't until he had turned the chair Stark was sitting on into a cow and back that the wiped the doubt off of his face.

"I knew there was something more to you than you were letting on, Mr. Potter." Fury said after the severely abridged tale was winding down.

Harry shrugged. "And like I said, my jumping is all that mattered... originally. But I think I may be able to help, and there's no way I would choose keeping my secret over however many lives Loki could take in this state."

"So you'll join the Avengers?"

"Nope."

Harry wished he had a camera to record the expression on Fury's face. He's have to settle for the pensieve in his bag later. "I'm not gonna join your frankly mismatched band of heroes, Director. But I will help them as best that I can."

I know, I know, I'm behind by a bit. Real Life decided to bite me in the round region recently. Between my darling nephew yesterday, and impromptu driving lessons for most of today, I'm wiped out. I hope you like it, I finished it... ten minutes ago ^^U. See you Wednesday... I hope...

Lionna