Chapter 21: Goose is Back.
Thanks for all the reviews.
The Mandarin, in this fic, is not the fake from Iron Man 3 or Xu Wenwu, who really never had anything to do with Tony. The Mandarin in this fic, is more of the comic version, who was treated poorly by his aunt, found an alien ship, found the rings, and became the bad guy. Like I said in my former note, he will play such a minor part, that that is all you really need to know about him.
I did watch Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and it was a great film, but they never really interacted with the Avengers, that I can't see bringing them into the fic. That and the dad died.
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"Goose!" Ivy called, hugging the non-cat to her as it came into the dining room from wherever it had been. "Where have you been?" she asked, a sense of relief in her tone and face. "I haven't seen you since Gandr showed up. Were you upset that Loki brought his son home?" she asked, carrying the alien to the table where everyone was eating.
"I transported myself to Britain," Goose said, settling on her lap. It had been a busy couple of weeks for him. Teleporting took a lot out of him at that distance. That and he had to sniff those horcruxes out. They had been scattered all over that damn island.
"Whyever did you do that?" Ivy asked, feeding him some of her turkey sandwich. They were eating lunch and Pepper had ordered from the deli down the street. Sandwiches and crisps, or potato chips as they were called here, with salad and fizzy drinks, or soda pop as Tony called it. "You promised to stick to my side day and night," she reminded him, petting the top of his head.
"I knew you would be protected with Loki's son, so I decided to take care of some more dangerous issues," Goose said, purring under her petting. He looked to Tony and winked one eye at him.
Tony saw the wink and concluded that the non-cat had gotten rid of those soul pieces. He was a teleporting, dimensional-hopping, alien. Who was to say he could or couldn't take himself off to England on a whim. He raised his glass of Coke to the alien in thanks and drank it. It was a great relief off his mind that they were gone. It was one less thing that he had to worry about.
"Well, I am glad you're back. I want you to meet Jormungandr," Ivy said, turning the non-cat to face the human-snake. "Gandr, this is my cat, Goose," she said, not sure if she should tell her friend that Goose could talk to her in her head. The conversation that she just had could be written off as nonsense between a girl and her pet.
Jormungandr, like his father, knew this was no ordinary cat. He nodded his head to the creature and said, "Well met, Goose." He then looked to his father, who nodded that yes this was a thinking being. Gandr thought that it would be interesting to see who could win in a fight between the two of them. Would the dimensional storage he could sense in the creature be big enough to hold the World Snake? Or would his size dominate the fight?
"You had better protect my Ivy," Goose thought into the boy's mind. "Don't reply out loud. Most here don't know I can talk," he added. He then said, "Well met to you, World Eater." He didn't wonder who would win in a fight between them. Hands down Jormungandr would win. Goose knew his limits. He was much older than the snake, who was still a child. Goose would go down fighting though.
Gandr just nodded his head and started eating his meal with good humor. He liked this new member of the family. He would fight by his side and protect Ivy with him.
Lunch went on from there and topics were light and airy. Afterwards Goose, Gandr and Ivy had a great time playing in her room with the many toys that Tony had purchased for her when she first came to him. She still hadn't gone through them all. Goose couldn't operate many, but he did come along for the ride, so to speak.
They 'played' until it was dinnertime and then Goose decided that he had more then made up for disappearing on her and said that he had had enough. He found a spot on the windowsill and napped until he needed to talk to Tony about his adventure, which was after the kids went to bed.
Gandr, on the other hand, loved to play house and other games with Ivy. He was still a kid and acted like one. Ivy was more mature than he was in some ways and far more innocent in others. He loved that about her. She brought out things in him that he never thought to explore before, or never had the opportunity to.
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Later that night, it was just Loki, Tony, and Goose in Tony's office. They had silently decided to meet while the others went about their business, slipping away after settling the children down for bed.
"So, you got rid of those things, like what was on Ivy's back?" Tony asked, dropping down in an easy chair. He had a glass of soda pop on the side table that he was sipping out of. He really was taking the slowing down on drinking seriously.
Loki was also in an easy chair, though he was partaking in alcohol. He did only sip at it and only had a few a night, if he had any at all. The Midgardians had nothing compared to Asgard. So it was like drinking flavored water with a bite.
"Yes," Goose said, jumping up on the desk and batting at a trinket that was there. It was something that was of little interest to anyone, but it moved and caught his eye. Deciding that it was not harmful, he then started hacking up a hairball. He wanted to get the foul things out of his stomach. They were cleanish now, and they tasted bad. He had digested the soul pieces, and only the taint of evil was left. The bad magic was giving him a belly ache. It was worse than the tesseract. Well, maybe not, but it was comparable. He hated magic.
"Hey, don't throw up on my desk," Tony protested, getting up to bodily remove the cat only to be stopped by Loki.
"He's retrieving something from his dimensional storage," the demigod stated, seeing it with his magic. It was not a pretty sight, but he could see five items moving from inside the non-cat's stomach to his throat. It wasn't x-ray vision, per se, more like a overlay.
Tentacles came shooting out of Goose's mouth and with them came a diary, a ring, a diadem, a cup, and a necklace. They were all covered with slime from being in the creature's stomach, or dimensional storage. It was dripping all over Tony's desk and he was making a mental note to get a new desk. He whipped out his phone and made a note on it, and then put the phone away. He didn't want to forget that.
Loki recoiled from the dark aura the items still emitted. "That is some foul magic," he said, poking at the cup. He waved his hand and cleaned them, and the desk, of the slime and picked up the cup. He examined it and noted that it was clear of the magic that had made it foul, but it was still tainted.
"Can you make them stop leaking ickiness?" Tony asked, not having a lick of magic, but even he was still getting the heebie-jeebies from them. He did a full body shudder and didn't go near them like Loki was. He was still replacing that desk, even if the slime was gone.
"Yes, it will be a simple thing," the God of Mischief said, taking them all and setting them in the fireplace. He then threw a cleansing fire at them. He let the fire consume the taint and in a matter of seconds they were all clean of all evil and dark magic. He waved his hand again and cooled them. He then took them out and placed them back on the desk. "I wonder if they are important," he said, looking at the now clean items.
They all sparkled with a new shine. There was magic still emanating off them, but none of it foul. So, they were magical items before that Voldemort person contaminated them. He should be punished for besmirching such fine items. Loki could tell they were once expensive, if not important. Well, not the book, but the rest.
"I don't know," Tony said, picking up the gaudy necklace. "This looks like it might have been the height of fashion a thousand years ago," he said, examining it closely. He had seen pictures of people wearing such things around that time period. "How did you not burn the book?" he asked, tilting his head in curiosity.
"Magic fire only burns magic. That fire only burns bad magic," Loki explained, still looking over the cup in his hands.
"Oh," was all Tony said.
"We should put them in the safe," Loki said, assessing the cup and feeling the healing magic on it. "We can ask Sirius and Remus if they are important, later," he suggested.
Tony went to the wall and exposed the safe and opened it, and he put the necklace in it. He then moved to grab the ring and diadem. They all looked expensive and priceless. Like they belonged to someone important. They might mean something to the magicals. It would be just like a Dark Lord to use priceless treasures to make a bid for immortality.
Loki took the cup and left the diary. There was no magic on it anymore. He wanted to examine it some more, or at least research the name on the front. That might turn out to be important. For all he knew it would give him an insight on who this Dark Lord was.
"Goose, I could kiss you," Tony said in a teasing manner, moving to pick up the non-cat.
"I'll scratch your eye out," Goose threatened, raising his hackles. "Ivy's father or not." His claws were reaching as if to do just that.
"I'm just kidding," the billionaire promised and petted him instead. He had to move fast to not be scratched. "Dammit, Goose, I was just saying thanks," he protested. He snatched his hand to his chest, and looked at it just to make sure that it was intact. It was. He did not want to know what an alien's scratch would do to it. He'd seen Fury's eye.
"I guess he doesn't want thanks," Loki said with a chuckle. He stayed far away from the non-cat. "Did you eat Dumbledore?" he asked the alien. That would solve another problem.
"No," Goose said, sullenly. "I could not find him," he confessed, thinking the man must have been out of the country while he was there. He was right, the headmaster was on an ICW retreat right up until the Wizengamot meeting, which was about the time Goose was making his way home.
"Oh, well, it can't be helped," Loki said with a sigh. It would have been beneficial, but the man really wasn't a threat, just an annoyance.
"I'm going to bed," Goose said, jumping off the desk and sauntering off. It had been a trying trip, what with all the wards and curses that he had to fight. It was a good thing he was immune to most of them, though he did lose a tentacle to that withering curse. That pissed him off. It grew back, but it hurt like a bitch. When he met this Dark Lord, he was going to eat him.
"That is one moody cat," Tony grumbled and went to finish off his drink, wishing it was alcohol.
"He is probably quite old," Loki said, guessing the cat was probably as old, if not older, than Thor. "Old people get cranky," he added, giving a look to Tony that suggested he should know that by association.
"Hey, I am not old," the man protested. "I'm only in my thirties. I'm in my prime," he said, downing the rest of his drink. He went to the safe and made sure it was locked. He covered it back up and moved to leave the room.
"As you say," Loki said, jovialness in his tone.
"Says the millenarian," Stark said, grumbling under his breath.
"You made that word up," the demigod said, laughing out loud now.
"I did not, look it up," Tony said, joining the group of people watching the television. It was time for the news and there was as segment on the Mandarin. He was taking shots at the Russian Government and there were theories as to why he had turned his sights to America's enemies.
"Is everything okay?" Steve asked, looking away from the tv. They had taken a long time putting the kids to bed.
"Yeah, everything is fine. We had some things to talk over," Tony said, watching the devastation going on in Moscow. He was just glad the man was leaving him alone for now, for all that he was sad to see the loss of life elsewhere.
"Ivy and Gandr all tucked in?" Bruce asked, looking up from the book on runes that he was reading. He, more than the rest of the non-magicals, had delved into the theory of magic. He had taken apart many of the potions, and come up with a few that would work for the muggles. Like some burn and scar creams. He had not gotten the cold remedy to work yet, but he was close.
"They are all settled," Loki said as he picked up the book he had put aside. It was on magical theory on wands. He wanted to see if he could make one for Ivy before she turned eleven.
"Good," Bruce said, then went back to his reading.
Clint and Natasha were glued to the report on the Mandarin. They had been assigned to keep an eye on the man. He had been gunning for Tony and then suddenly changed his mind, and Fury wanted to know why. The reports on it were sketchy at best. There was no rhyme or reason for the man to back off the way he had. Fury was a paranoid old bastard.
Pepper and Happy were still at work, Tony was going to have to call them and tell them to knock off. They were working too hard if they were still there during the news. He got out his phone and shot Pepper a text message to see if everything was alright, and got one back saying she was on her way there. That made him feel a bit better, but he knew he needed to take on more responsibility if she was working this hard.
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Meanwhile, at the same time Goose came home, Sirius had bugged the hell out of Grimmuald Place. There were listening devices and cameras in every corner and under every table. Not even Mad-eye Moody would know what they were. He might spot them, but he wouldn't suspect them, because they had no magic. To him they would look like part of the house.
He had already order Kreacher to stay out of sight. He had had a discussion with him that they would talk more later. For now, the elf was to clean the house better and to leave the bugs alone.
He then waited for Dumbledore to come and be let into the house. He was playing with his phone when the old man showed up. He was wearing his wizarding wear in muggle public, like he didn't care that he was violating the Statue of Secrecy. It was gaudy enough that some might think he was just an eccentric old man.
"Sirius, my boy, I was meaning to ask you, what is that muggle toy you are playing with?" the old man inquired as he came up to him in the middle of the street. It was not a busy thoroughfare so there was little chance of them being hit by a car. "I had noted that you were also playing with it during the Wizengamot meeting," he added with a disappointed tone.
"It's my cell phone," Sirius answered honestly. "I use it to keep in touch with my friends," he explained, not seeing any reason to lie about it. He just didn't say what all it could do.
"I see," Albus said in a tone that said he didn't see at all, then waved his hands to the house. "Shall we?" He would get a better explanation later. It couldn't be that important if Sirius had it. The man was never serious about anything, for all that was his name.
"Sure," Sirius said, pocketing his phone and moving to the house. He did the ritual to add Albus to the wards and made sure to add all that were on the Order of the Phoenix as well. Albus had handed him a list of names, which he knew most of them from before. There were one or two he didn't know, but he would vet them later. It was a simple matter to add them all, and it was done in moments. He could undo it just as fast.
"You have free run of the house, but if any of your members get sticky fingers, they will soon learn that taking from the House of Black will be their last mistake," Sirius warned, seeing that Mundungus Fletcher was among the members of the Order.
The wards would curse the man with bad luck for the rest of his natural life. He would never get a good bargain again for any of his ill gotten goods. Especially if they were Black items. He would wind up in the pokey more often than not, and there would be little reprieve. The man might die in Azkaban before the curse took a good hold on him, or he might wind up going there every two months. It was hard to tell with bad luck curses.
"I will endeavor to warn Mr. Fletcher. Though you should trust people more," Albus said, giving Sirius his patented disappointed grandfather look.
"You know as well as I do the man is a thief," Sirius said with no remorse. "The wards stand," he stated. "Oh, and tell Severus that I won't put up with his disparaging remarks either. I will not call him names, but he has to return the favor," he said diplomatically. He knew that Ivy wanted him to not be a bully. She had been appalled when he had shared some of his school days with her. She made him and Remus feel about six inches tall. The look she gave them… He never wanted to see that look on her face again.
"I will pass that along," Albus said gayly, like he had been the one who had made Sirius the better person. "I am so proud of you, my boy."
"Yeah, whatever. Now, if you'll excuse me, Remus is waiting for me," Sirius said, showing the man the door with a clap on the back, discreetly placing a small transmitter on his robes. It would only work for an hour or so, but he might get an impression on what the man was planning.
"Of course," Albus said, letting himself be shown out. He left right away and went to Hogwarts.
"Jarvis, monitor him and find out who he talks to until the bug dies," Sirius said into his phone after the headmaster left.
"Of course, Master Sirius," the AI said, already listening in on the discussion the man was having with his deputy headmistress. There wasn't anything related to Ivy or Sirius, so he was just monitoring it.
Sirius thanked the AI and went to the flat. Remus was there trying his hand at cooking. He wasn't that good at it, for all he had been a bachelor for most of his life, but he could whip up a mean stew.
"How was the Wizengamot meeting?" he asked his friend when Sirius came off the lift.
"Boring, but Albus is reforming the Order and I lent him my house," Sirius said, taking off his traveling robes and throwing them on the couch. The Wizengamot robes were left in his office at the ministry. "I've bugged it to high heaven, as Tony would say." He laughed.
"Really?" Remus said, adding his laughter to the air.
"Yeah, Jarvis is monitoring him now," he said, then he picked up his phone that he had dropped on the table. "Jarvis, let's hear what's going on," he requested.
"Yes, sir," the AI said, and started playing what was happening with Albus and Severus. "He is conferring with one Severus Snape at the moment," he stated before letting them hear what was going on.
"… that is wise?" the potions master was saying.
"It is the best solution," Albus said, and they could just picture him with his hands in front of him like a wise man. The scene was so clear in their minds. The headmaster's colorful office with all it's trinkets and Snape there in his drab clothes.
"I don't think bringing a dunderhead like Black into the mix is a correct action," Snape stated, derision in his tone. "We can find Ivy Potter without his interference," he added, adjusting his legs from the sound of it.
The two listening men looked at one another. It was going to be a long road getting Snape to forgive them. Ivy made it clear that they needed to make it up to the man though, and they would do anything to make Ivy happy.
"He has turned over a new leaf," Dumbledore said, cheer evident in his voice. "He swears that he will not say a disparaging word to you, if you return the favor," he explained.
"I'll believe that when I see it. That man is as black as his name," Snape disagreed. "Have you forgotten that he tried to kill me in this very school," he added, forgetting his own compliance in that caper.
"You'd think he had nothing to do with that night," Sirius said with a great deal of scorn. Leaning forward as if to hear quicker.
"I think someone will need to remind him that I was the only victim that night," Remus said, his tone was thoughtful. In his mind, Snape was out to kill him that night. It was the man's plan to out him and his friends. Snape's entire plan was to get them expelled and him, Remus, put down.
That is what started the whole thing. Snape threatened to find out where Remus was hiding in his werewolf form and Sirius told him where it was. Snape was stupid enough to follow the trail. No one understood why he did that. He knew, or at the very least suspected, that Remus was a werewolf, but he went there anyway. In Remus' eyes the only person who was innocent, besides James, was him. Both Sirius and Snape were out to kill someone else that night.
It had taken months for them to trust Sirius again. They never trusted Snape. They wouldn't trust him at their backs now, no matter that they had to make it up to him for their childish bullying.
They never told Ivy that story, and they hoped she never found out.
Remus wondered what would happen if those two ever met.
"We all know what happened that night," Albus said, in a tone that echoed Remus' thoughts.
"I still don't see what he can bring to the table," Snape said with a pout in his voice. He still felt he was the victim. Then again, he always felt as if Dumbledore brushed off all his complaints on the Marauders. Which, truth be told, he did.
"He is Ivy's godfather. I am sure the man who has her will one day get in contact with him. If he has not already," Dumbledore stated, the sounds of a candy being separated from the rest in a dish were heard. "When he does, or even if he already has, we can persuade Sirius to lead us to her," he added, popping the candy in his mouth.
"What makes you think Black will follow along?" Snape asked, fidgeting with his robe. It sounded like he was fixing some wrinkles that may or not have even been there.
"Sirius has always looked up to me," Albus said with a great deal of hubris. "He will see that it is the right thing to do," he added with confidence.
"So he thinks," Sirius mumbled mulishly. He folded his arms and glared at his phone as if he could melt Albus with just his thoughts.
"Don't worry, we'll protect Ivy from him," Remus said, putting his hand on his friend's arm.
"I know, but still…" Sirius said, not liking that Albus thought he was such a pushover. There had been a time that was true, but years in prison had changed that.
"His brain may be addled from Azkaban," Snape pointed out, glee in his tone.
"He seemed to be in fine form when I met with him earlier. I do not believe we have to worry about that," dismissed the headmaster.
"Too right," grumbled Sirius.
"I have potions to get to," Snape said, the sound of him standing and walking across the room was heard. "Let me know when the meeting is and I will try to refrain from gutting the man," he added, they heard the doorknob turning and then the door closed.
"There are times…" the headmaster said without completing the thought. They could hear the sound of the candy moving around in his mouth.
"That's enough, Jarvis," Remus said to the phone.
"Keep an ear out on him though. If he mentions Ivy, record it so we can go over it later," Sirius ordered, not unkindly.
"Of course, sirs," the AI said, and he stopped playing the feed.
"Do you think most of the other Order members are going to feel the same?" Sirius asked, knowing he had a reputation.
"Most," Remus said honestly as he got up to tend to dinner.
"Bugger," the dogman said with a sigh. That was going to make things easier and harder.