Disclaimer: Don't own
Chapter Twenty Three
Harry slowly breached the surface of consciousness with a groan. Sitting up on the surprisingly comfortable bed, he stretched his arms above his head, causing his back and shoulders to give very satisfying cracks.
It had been lifetimes since he'd had that level of magical depletion. It was almost comforting to know that he was still able to use up all of his reserves like that.
He noticed there was a weight in his lap, and smiled gently down at a sleeping Fenrir. So if he was here, then...
"You are entirely too reckless to be left on your own." The dry voice said, and Harry sheepishly looked over at Sleipnir, who was standing by the plush bed he was lying in.
"Well, hello to you too. It's not like I could have died." He pointed out, taking in his surroundings while they talked. They were other wise alone in a rather opulent and spacious room. So obviously not the helicarrier, then.
"No, but there are worse things than dying." The horse huffed.
The wizard sighed, and ran his hand down his companion's neck. "Right, I'm sorry. Next time I plan to do something life or limb threatening, I'll warn you."
The large head was tossed, and Sleipnir's voice said imperiously, "That is all I ask."
"Right... so where are we? And how did you get here?"
"You are in a suite in Stark Tower, Mr. Potter. I have already informed the others that you are awake. They are all currently on their way." Jarvis chimed in.
Sleipnir answered the other question. "The man who smells of iron and pain brought a large metal bird to the floating castle. He took my brother and I, and brought us here without so much as a by your leave. You will express my displeasure at the man handling, won't you?"
Harry snorted just as the door was thrown open, and the room was flooded by people. He blinked at the gathering, and raised a hand. "Er... hi?"
Tony, who was at the head of the heard of people, grinned at him. "Ladies and gentlemen," He said grandly, "The savior of Manhattan." He flopped down on edge of the bed. "Welcome back to the land of the living, Harry." Fenrir, who had been jostled by his movement, woke up and blinked around at the crowd in adorable confusion.
"You had us worried there, for a moment. You fell off of your broom, it was lucky that Tony was still hovering nearby and caught you." Bruce told him, coming to stand next to Sleipnir. The man and horse exchanged wary looks, but seemed to simultaneously decide to ignore each other. Harry wondered if there was a story behind their new found tension.
"Sorry 'bout that. I over extended myself a bit." Harry sighed.
Thor crossed his arms (he looked oddly at ease in modern wear) and leaned against the door jam. "Even for an Asgardian, flying into space like you did is a dangerous practice, world-traveler." He pointed out loudly with a frown.
Harry winced at the volume, and sent him a wane smile. "I've lived on planets with worse conditions. I knew my body would adjust with no problem. I just didn't know that it would zap the last of my reserves."
"I'm still rather leery about the whole 'wizard' thing these guys say you are." The man named Barton said. Romanoff elbowed him in the stomach.
Harry wondered if the two were dating, and that's why she'd been so tense while he was under Loki's control.
"I am in fact, a wizard from another planet. You're Barton, right? With all that's been going on, we haven't really had a chance to talk."
The man nodded, but said nothing else.
"So how long have I been out for?" The wizard said when the silence threatened to get awkward.
Tony, who had gone from sitting at the foot of the bed to laying across it, shrugged. "About a day and a half." He answered, yawning. He looked like he hadn't slept a wink in that time.
Harry noted Bruce looked much the same. He glanced from one to the other. "So it's been a day and a half since we all fought off an alien invasion, and you guys are still conscious?"
Cap snorted as he pushed his way past Thor, and tossed Harry a water bottle. "Jarvis said you might want that. Director Fury's been sending messages non stop, but no one here is answering him. But it does tend to keep us up at night. Save for those two." He pointed at Bruce, who seemed to be nodding off on Sleipnir (who looked none too happy) and Tony, who was blinking balefully at the ceiling. "They've been figuring out a way to contain the Cube for transport from here to Asgard."
Harry grabbed Fenrir by the middle as the pup attempted to make a grab for the scientist's hair. The wolf wriggled in his grasp, and his voice grumbled in Harry's head, "Wanna be bigger again." Harry just snorted and settled the pup back on his lap. He then went into full on parent mode, used to dealing with a large group of different personalities with as many times as he had adopted children.
"Alright, so, you two go get some sleep. You won't be able to build a container if you're falling asleep on your work benches." Harry ordered Bruce and Tony, nudging both drowsy scientists, who made to argue but shut up with a forceful green eyed stare was leveled their way, and they both shuffled out. "Thor, think you could find me something to eat, I'm starved." The god smiled brightly, and bounded off, presumably in the direction of the kitchen. That left Cap, the two assassins, and his companions looking at him expectantly. "Right, um... Cap, would you mind taking Sleipnir and Fenrir out to go to the bathroom? I doubt Tony would enjoy them using the facilities in here, and I don't think I'll be able to stand without hitting the floor for a while yet." The blond man nodded earnestly, and Harry conjured a leash and collar to put on Fenrir. The animals were lead out.
That just left the two assassins, who seemed boggled at the swift way he dealt with the multitude of people. "All right, so Barton, are we sure that all of the scepter's influence has been irradiated from your mind?"
The man shrugged, "There's no way we can really check." He pointed out.
"Would you mind if I checked?" Harry asked mildly. "It's not that I don't trust you, but..."
Romanoff cut off whatever Barton was about to say. "We would appreciate that, actually. It wouldn't be good if he was on a mission, and all of a sudden it reared its head again."
Barton looked thoughtful for a moment, before nodding in consent.
Harry motioned him over, and made him sit down on the bed. "This isn't going to hurt a bit, it's just going to feel a bit odd. And I won't be going after any memories, but you'll get flashes of them until I breach the protective curtain of them. Don't panic, and keep your eyes on mine. Alright?"
"So you're going to read my mind?" Barton asked, sounding more interested than scared.
"Not exactly. I'm going to be heading for your memory building, which is where the core of your personality is. From there I'll be looking for pollutants." Harry had moved seamlessly from parent mode to doctor mode (he had been a doctor a few times, actually liked that role a lot more than the times he was what equated to a police officer in whatever culture he was in at the time).
With that, he looked the man in the eyes, and delved in.
He saw a man and a woman vaguely (pain, loss), a bleak house filled with children (desperation, escape), a boy (betrayal), a circus (freedom, sadness), a man with a sword (disbelief, betrayal, loss).
Harry pushed past the tragic childhood that was a shield for the inner workings, and landed on the grass in front of a large circus tent. "Huh, you know, I didn't really peg him as a carny." The wizard remarked, ducking into the tent.
He wondered around the large, mainly empty tent, his eyes sharp for any hint of anything that didn't belong. It didn't take long for him to find the gelatinous blue sludge, like he had seen in Loki's mind. There was no scepter here, though.
The goo was in the center of what would have been the lion tamer's cage, slowly oozing through. With a disgusted sneer, Harry levitated it into an abandoned popcorn bucket, and set the bucket's content's aflame while the receptacle was left unharmed. It was a lot less that what he had found in the god's mind, and he made sure that there was none anywhere else, before exiting the other man's mind.
"Hawkeye, huh? That's an interesting name. Well, that should take care of any residue in you. I got rid of what I could find, and it's doubtful that there was any that could have hidden from me, but if you exhibit any symptoms, call me over the comm immediately. I'll be coming back to Earth for a bit after taking Thor and Loki back to Asgard." Harry turned to Romanoff (the Black Widow... these people certainly did like their secret identities) and tilted his head. "Agent Romanoff, you said that some big scientist was also affected."
She smiled at him for the first time since he'd landed on that planet. "Thank you for helping him. And yes, Doctor Selvig... but he is going through an entirely different regimen than Clint's that should rid him of any lingering effects." Harry sighed gratefully. He didn't like shuffling through people's minds, and he'd already done so twice in the last two days.
At that exact moment, Thor came in with a bowl of steaming soup that he said the wall gave him, (Harry thanked him and Jarvis) Sleipnir and Fenrir dragged a ragged looking Steve back into the room, and Bruce and Tony came back in, the former to complain about the latter.
Harry sipped the soup he was given, and looked around fondly at the boisterous group, who were arguing, bantering, laughing, and cutting up in the room that suddenly seemed a lot smaller than it had been when he woke up.
Fenrir settled in a dip in the blankets, chewing on a pine cone he had found. He looked at Harry, and asked innocently, "We help father now?"
The wizard was about to ask what had happened to the other god, but let it drop for now while the atmosphere was so relaxed. Besides, he could still feel his legs trembling, he wouldn't be able to stand long enough to deal with the god if that's what needed to be done. So he murmured placatingly to the wolf, and settled back, adding his two pence to the conversations, and basking in the warmth of developing friendships.
And that chapter was almost entirely fluff. But I felt like writing fluff. Not to mention the main body of action is already over... Annywho, BIG thanks to Quetzalcoatls for my cover! Isn't it pretty? But anyone who feels like drawing... no author ever turns down fanart for their fic, right? Posting a bit early today, but I'm off to the shooting range for the next four hours to blow holes in a piece of paper that looks like my chauvinist boss. Anger management at its finest, ladies and gents.
Lionna