Chapter 9: Meet Thor and Loki
Thanks for all the reviews. You might recognize some ideas from them inside.
A shortish chapter.
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A week went by, and Tony got a call from Ragnuk. It seemed the bank was now connected to the outside world. They had an inner phone service with their own operators, and one outbound phone connection, which was in Ragnuk's office, but decided that the Statute was to be maintained. They were introduced to cell phones, but that was an option that they needed to explore more.
Computers were at every desk and teller's station. They were run via an intranet and could connect to the internet. Well, the managers could, the tellers were in bank only. Their satellite was up and running and if everything went well at Britain's Gringotts, the other branches would soon be brought into the 21st century.
"What can I do for you?" Tony asked the goblin when this had all been explained to him. He was glad they had done this. Not only did it make him money, but it was so much easier than sending things with owls. That and now he could check on things in magical England.
"Mr. Waters wants to know if you need anything from him now," Ragnuk asked, giving him the message, the lawyer had asked him to pass on. Not that he liked being a messenger boy, but if it brought more money in…
"I need to know what I can tell people. What the rules are. I have Sirius Black and Remus Lupin here, but they are unsure as to what restrictions there are. They have never had to tell anyone about the magic world before," Tony explained, picking up a tablet and getting ready to take notes. He knew that those rules couldn't be posted on the internet. No matter how good your security, someone somewhere would hack you. He was sure this had been explained to Ragnuk.
"I can give you that information," the goblin said, shuffling papers on his desk. There was some clicking and cussing as the goblin was trying to get used to looking things up on his computer. "We downloaded all the rules and regulations on the computer, and I can fax you them."
"Oh, you got fax machines too?" was the inquiry.
"Yes, we have no need for copiers and only some use for the printers, because magic is better at that. However, the faxing is something magic cannot do," Ragnuk said, seeing the file on his computer and printing it. In this case, printing was easier than going through the filing cabinet. He pulled the parchments out and set them in the fax machine. "I need your fax number," he said, leaning closer to the machine as if looking at it close up would make it make more sense. It didn't.
Tony rattled off the number and then laughed as he walked the goblin through the process of faxing something long distance. He only had paper in his machine, but it was legal paper, so it was the same length as the parchment. Barely.
"Do you know of any magical areas in the New York area?" Tony asked the goblin as the faxing was going through.
"We have a bank there, if you remember. Go there and ask for Tarnak. He will assist you as I have. Remember to take your key. You might want to take Ivy with you as well," Ragnuk said, finishing the faxing.
Tony watched the last document come through. "Okay, we'll go next week sometime. It's dinner time here, I'm sure they are closed." He wanted to wait until Thor was back so that the whole team would be here. Not that he needed them all to be there, but it was just a feeling.
"Gringotts is never closed," Ragnuk said, then hung up.
"Going to have to teach him phone etiquette," the other man grumbled as he put his smartphone down. He took the Statute rules out and looked them over. He was in a shady area. The people living with him were not family, per se, however they would see magic happening around Ivy. He couldn't tell them anything until such time as they did see it. He wasn't happy about that, but it was the only way to protect their minds.
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"I have something that will help with Ivy," Sirius said to Tony when they were alone. It had been a day since the phone call. The others were all out on business or playing hide and seek with Ivy. Tony and Sirius were in Tony's office. He and Sirius had been going over the Statute. They were finished now.
"Oh, why didn't you bring it up sooner?" Tony asked, looking at the man quizzically. If the man knew how to help his daughter, then he should have spoken sooner.
"It's kind of borderline dark," Sirius said, rubbing the back of his head. It was something his family did to their kids.
"I see, so in a dark grey area. Okay, tell me," the billionaire said, leaning back in his chair. He wasn't above using something shady to help his little girl.
"It's called the Wit Sharp Potion. The reason it's on the darker side, is because of her age. Her brain is still developing, and if she takes it now, she'll get a really good memory. That means she'll pick things up easier, making learning a breeze. However, there is a chance that she will develop a quirk," Sirius said, tapping his hand on his trouser leg.
"What kind of quirk?" Tony asked, not sure he liked that side effect.
"That's the problem, and why it fell out of use, there's no telling what kind," the dogman said with a shrug. "Some feel that it's worth the price, others not so much," he finished.
"Did you take it?" Tony wanted to know.
"Yes," was the reply.
"And your quirk?"
"I have a habit of telling bad jokes," Sirius said as if that was a confession.
"You mean that is a compulsion and not just bad taste?" the other man asked, having tired of Sirius' jokes really quick.
"Yup. I can't control it," he said, nodding all the while. "I'm Sirius about that," he quipped.
Tony groaned, thinking that he was going to have to listen to those bad puns forever. Then he started thinking about the Wit Sharp Potion. Could he do that to his little girl? "What is the worst quirk you've heard of?" he asked, if it was just something silly like bad jokes, then it might be worth it.
"Well, there was this one kid that ate dirt," Sirius said thinking hard on all the ones he had heard.
"All kids do that," Tony waved that away.
"Not at every meal," Sirius said with a grimace.
"That would be pushing it," the other man agreed. Still…
"There was one bloke that stuck his tongue out all the time," Sirius said remembering Barty Crouch Jr.
"Let me talk it over with the others," Tony offered, thinking that was a bit much. He was pondering on those repercussions. He stood and put a few things away and got up to go see his little bug. They could shelve this for now.
"Yeah, that might be best," Sirius said, hoping the man called it something else besides potions. They had just finished discussing the Statute so he probably would.
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"I found you, Mr. Tony," Ivy said as she slammed into his legs. They had been playing hide and seek again, the following day. It seemed all the adults wanted her to be able to hide really well, or get away from bad men if she couldn't hide right away. She was getting really good at hiding.
"Yes, you did, little bug," Tony said, reaching down and swinging her around a bit. He had just stepped out of his office, where he had been hiding. He was going to find a different area to hide in when she spotted him.
"Wheee," she squealed. She loved it when anyone did that, it was like flying. She wasn't allowed to fly much. Only when the other Avengers were at work and since not all of them worked, it was hard to find time to let her cut loose. "Can I fly now?" she asked, knowing that they were the only ones in the flat.
"Yes, but only in the bedroom areas, okay?" Tony said, putting her down and going with her to get her broom. It was in one of her walk-in closets in the back. She was restricted to her training broom in the house. That way less damage would happen if she lost control.
"I will," Ivy said, smiling that chubby cheek smile at him. He just loved those chubby cheeks. He knew they would go away as she grew, but for now, he just wanted to pinch them. He refrained.
Tony watched her take off and zoom around her room and down the hall. He chuckled and went back to his office. Goose and Jarvis were watching her, and they would protect her if anything happened. He trusted her to stay where he designated.
He had been working for around fifteen minutes when he heard the crash. He leapt to his feet and ran from the room. Ivy was in the living room surrounded by a broken vase. "Ivy!" he called, rushing over, and checking to make sure that she wasn't hurt. There were large shards of glass on the floor, and he didn't want her to cut herself. There were tiny cuts on her cheeks and forehead, but other than that, she was fine.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Tony," Ivy said, crying big fat tears down her cheeks. "I didn't mean to," she said, bending over as if to pick up the glass.
Tony stopped her and picked her up. "I know you didn't, little bug, but don't touch the glass. It'll cut you," he said, picking his way out of the mess. He put her on the couch and went to get the broom. "Jarvis, want to tell me what happened?" he asked his AI.
"The little miss simple went too fast for me to warn her about the vase," Jarvis said. "I was about to warn you that she was out of bounds when the accident happened," he added, showing the replay in holographic image.
Tony watched it as he cleaned the mess and saw that she was going quite fast, but he could see that she just didn't turn quickly enough. He was going to have to stress that she needed to stay in the bedroom areas, where there were no decorations to break.
Ivy was watching him with tearful eyes. Goose was at her side. "Why are you still crying?" the non-cat asked as he too watched Tony clean up the vase.
"Mr. Tony is going to send me back to Aunt Petunia," Ivy said, her tears coming faster. She didn't mean to go into the living room, she was just having so much fun that she forgot.
"No, he won't," Goose said in a knowing tone. "Kids mess up all the time. They don't get sent away for it," he added, butting his head on her arm. He hated to see her cry. If Tony thought of sending her back, he'd eat him and take her somewhere safe.
"But he told me to stay in the bedroom area," Ivy said as if that explained everything.
"Oh, honey," Tony said, gathering her up on his lap. "I will never get rid of you." He put her head on his shoulder and rested his hand on her head.
"Never ever?" she asked, wonder in her wide green eyes.
"Never ever," he promised.
She squealed and hugged him.
"However, you are grounded from your broom for a week," he said, patting her back and rocking her a bit.
"What does grounded mean?" she asked, leaning back, and looking at Mr. Tony's face. She hoped it didn't mean locked in a cupboard. She hated the dark. She didn't think Mr. Tony was that mean though.
"No flying until one week from right now is up," he explained. "You did something wrong, now you have to be punished. Your punishment is no brooms for a week," he said, touching her nose, making her eyes cross.
"Yes, Mr. Tony," she said, her tone sad. Then she perked up and ran to her room. "I can still read, right?" she asked, coming back into the living room and holding her new favorite book.
"Yes," he said, standing and picking up the training broom, checking it over to make sure it wasn't cracked or anything and handing it to Ivy. "Go put that in your room and come back here and I'll read to you," he said.
"Yes, Mr. Tony," she said, putting the book on the couch and running her broom back to its place.
"She's a good kid," Tony told Goose.
"Of course she is," the non-cat replied, licking his paws. "I would have never chosen her otherwise." He was just glad that everything worked out and Ivy was happy again.
And with that Ivy came back into the room and they settled for an afternoon of reading. She knew that Mr. Tony wasn't going to send her away, but she didn't like that she couldn't fly. So, she was going to listen to what he told her from now on.
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Tony gathered the other Avengers, Pepper, Happy, Sirius and Remus. They were all settled down after putting Ivy to bed. "I called you here to go over some things," the billionaire started, only to be interrupted by a crack of thunder. He was going to go over what they were going to teach Ivy and what kind of schooling she was going to have. That and he was going to ask their opinion on the Wit Sharp Potion. He'd pose it as an experiment of his.
"That was close," Sirius said, ducking his head like it would miss him if he did.
"Thor," many of the Avengers said, getting up and heading to the roof. Sirius and Remus followed. Pepper and Happy stayed behind with Bruce. They didn't feel the need to go and greet the man. They could say their hellos when he entered the house.
The rest were on the roof as the storm continued. It got louder and closer, making the two magicals duck and look for shelter, even though there was no rain. A flash of light came down from the sky, like a rainbow touching down. And suddenly there were two men standing there. The light receded back into the heavens.
"Point Break," Tony said, and then glared at Loki. "Reindeer Games. What is he doing here?" he asked his friend.
"The Allfather has decreed that my brother must pay his due here on Midgard," Thor said in his booming voice. It was loud enough to wake the dead, or at least a small child.
"Shh, Ivy is sleeping," Tony said, making 'keep it down' motions with his hands. They had only just got the child asleep after all.
"Who is this Ivy you speak of?" Thor said, though he did lower his voice.
"My new daughter," the billionaire said, smugly.
"You impregnated the Lady Pepper?" the thunder god asked, his tone going louder again.
"Adopted," Tony sighed. Sometimes dealing with Thor was a chore. Didn't the man remember them talking about her before he left for Asgard?
"Can we take this inside?" Natasha asked, nodding to Thor, and glaring at Loki. She had her hand on Clint's arm. Her friend was one inch from attacking the godling.
Clint was glaring at both men. He still was upset over his mind being taken over, and now Thor brought his attacker to the house he was living in. He was sure that he wasn't supposed to just accept that. It was unnerving to think that that man was here now.
"Yes, let us go indoors and partake in some beverages," Thor said, taking his brother's arm and dragging him inside. Everyone followed along.
"Mr. Tony," came a voice from behind the mighty Thor right before he entered the living room. "Mr. Tony, a loud voice woke me up," the tiny girl said, her tone was sweet, and she wandered over to the man she trusted the most.
The rest of the group stopped and looked at the adorable little girl who was wiping the sleep from her large green eyes. She was blinking at the bright lights and looking cute in her footsie pajamas. Her curls were all over the place and she was holding her arms up to be held by Tony.
Tony picked her up and took her to where Thor was standing, though he made sure to stay out of arm's reach of Loki. "Ivy this is Thor and his brother Loki. Loki is a bad man, so you be careful around him. Point Break and Reindeer Games, this is my adopted daughter Ivy Harriet Potter," he said, letting her wave at the two men.
"Well met, young Ivy," Thor's voice boomed around the house.
"So loud," Ivy said, covering her ears.
"Sorry, child," the thunder god said, lowering his tone again and looking sheepish.
"I have never seen such a cute child," Loki said, completely mesmerized. Her aura shined at him like a beacon. "Had I known such a magical child lived on this planet I would have never tried to destroy it," he said, drawn to her golden aura. "She's going to be someone to reckon with when she is older," he said, reaching out to touch that aura.
"Hey, hey, no touching," Clint said, moving to get between Ivy and Loki. There was no way he was going to let him mind-whammy her.
"Don't be foolish, mortal. I do not intend to harm the child," Loki stated, sneering at Clint like he was a bug. He had no use for the mortals of this world, but the magicals, like the three here, he could deal with. Perhaps there are more. This child was one of wonder, though. The two men were nothing compared to her.
"Don't test me, godling," Clint said, getting in Loki's face. He would love to put the smackdown on him.
"Come," Thor said, pushing the two apart. "We have much to discuss." He knew there was going to be some tension, but his father's word was law in his eyes. They would have to find a way to work together.
"Mr. Tony, is Mr. Clint going to fight Mr. Loki?" Ivy asked, there was trepidation in her voice, making both men realize what they had almost done in front of the child.
"I have a feeling they might have to duke it out sooner or later, but don't worry they won't do it in front of you," Tony said, being as honest as he could. He hated to do it but shielding her would only make it worse later.
"You shouldn't fight," she scolded both men, waving her finger at them. "That doesn't fix anything," she stated as fact.
"Sometimes grown ups fight," Clint said, talking to her as he would one of his own children. "Mr. Loki hurt me something bad a while back. I am very mad at him. unless we fight, I will stay mad at him," he tried to explain. "Then I might do something really bad," he added, hoping that was enough of an explanation.
"What if Mr. Loki apologizes?" she asked, looking at Loki with wide and pleading eyes. She knew saying sorry helped. It worked when she said sorry to Mr. Tony. Though it never worked with Aunt Petunia. Maybe Mr. Clint was angry like her aunt.
"That might not work," the god of lies said sincerely. "What I did to… him was truly a bad thing." He had the good grace to grimace at what he had done.
"Why did you do such a thing, Mr. Loki?" Ivy asked with the innocence of a child. Her eyes would make the worst man in the world melt.
"I was not in control of myself," Loki said, looking at Clint when he said it. "A stronger person was in control of me," he added, still staring at the archer. "I didn't mean anything I did that day," he finished. Then he looked at Ivy and smiled.
"Well, shit," Clint said, his shoulders slumping. He couldn't put all the blame on a man who was not in complete control of himself. However, how did they know the man was telling the truth? He was the god of lies, along with many other titles.
"Oh, you said a bad word." Ivy said, covering her mouth.