Disclaimer: I own nothing in regards to Harry Potter or the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I am just a writer working on my skills with characters and worlds that I love.

Note: I originally began a piece about the multiverse and wrote about a Harry Potter that began world hopping. I fully intend to keep up with that one, cause it serves as a way for me to dip my toes into my favorite new worlds. However, I still want to see more of how Harry would have turned out growing up in the MCU. As a result, I am writing this piece as well. The difference is that in this one Harry and his family do not travel through the portal. A separate event happens instead.

Note: Just a warning, this first chapter is the same as Earth 21904. I need its setup to continue into the new timeline. But don't worry, I'm posting the second chapter at the same time, so people that have already read the previous work can jump straight to part two for the diverting ending.

Note: Again, the number of stories on my page are not pulling me away from my other chapters. I write new stuff to keep from getting bored, and I use fanfiction to give voice to the crazy ideas bouncing around in my head. I update my stories as the ideas hit me, and when I have time.

Earth 21904

Preface:

The multiverse theory: for every action or choice, a new universe is created where the other option was enacted.

This theory implies millions of different worlds could exist. Each similar and yet incredibly different to our own. Our story takes place on one such world. One where Steve Rogers was not the one to be injected with the super soldier serum, and where the Boy Who Lived is about to be given a fresh chance at life. Welcome, to Earth 21904.

Part One - A Soldier Comes Home

3.7 kilometers below the earth's surface seismic readings were going haywire. Far away from the public eye, a private detachment of Shield agents and scientists were rushing in panicked circles, trying to understand what these readings and reports could possibly mean; as the source of their worry, the tesseract, sat on its raised platform and pulsed with unearthly blue light.

Into this mess of uncontrolled chaos walked a trio of two men and one woman. At the head of the new group was a tall, black man with a stern face and an eyepatch over his left eye. Directly behind him were a man with a bow slung on his back, and a women that held twin tasers on her arms.

They were greeted upon their entrance to the chamber by a nervous Professor Selvig. "Director Fury, thank god you're here."

Not slowing his pace, the now named director said, "What's the situation Professor?" He came to a stop ten feet away from the alien artifact.

"We have no idea." Selvig gasped for breath. He'd been running around in the cavern for two hours already. "The artifact just activated, with no outside stimulus. We still have no idea what it's doing."

"Hm." Fury stared at the light, it was pulsing even faster than when he'd arrived. "If it detonates, will the blast be contained down here?"

"I couldn't say with certainty, but perhaps. It's an alien artifact, sir, and we have yet to understand its full capabilities."

"Understood. I want you and all your staff to evacuate to the surface-" He was cut off, as the tesseract suddenly released a screech into the air and exploded in azure light. For several seconds nothing could be seen in the dank and dark chamber through the blaze… then it stopped, and the room was plunged once more into the ambiance of artificial lighting.

Immediately the director of Shield was giving orders and organizing his people. He wanted everyone present to go through decontamination procedures in case of foreign pathogens, and he wanted information from the nearest analysts. "What readings did we get from this event? Did anything come through?"

At his questions, the analysts started entering commands into their computers, growing progressively more concerned as they saw whatever information was appearing on their screens.

"Sir," the head analyst stood at attention to give his report, "Our high resolution scanners show that something did come through, but it isn't here anymore."

Fury's single eyebrow twitched at that piece of information. "Then where is it? And did we get an image?"

"Our scanners show an energy signature identical to that of the Tesseract appearing in Surrey, England, at the same time as this event. As for an image…" He turned his screen to face his superior, "You're not going to believe this sir."

Surrey, England:

"For. The. Millionth. Time. Boy!" Vernon Dursley punctuated each of his words with a swing from his belt, "I. Will. Not. Allow. Your. Freakishness. In. This. House!"

"I-I'm sorry, Uncle Vernon." a small boy of six cried from his sprawled position on the floor. The flesh of his chest and back was utterly covered in scars, welts, and cuts from his repeated beatings. "I won't do it again, I swear!"

A sick glint appeared in the walrus sized man's eyes at those words. "Indeed you won't, boy. Because I'm going to finally beat that nonsense out of you once and for all!" He raised his belt high to deliver another blow when suddenly the living room of his house was bathed in brilliant light. When it cleared, the two occupants were met with the image of a tall, muscular woman, with brown hair and eyes, in a bright blue and red outfit. Even more eye catching was the sword and shield held in her arms.

Her eyes darted about wildly in the strange room. "Who are you? Where am I? Where's Steve Rogers?"

Vernon glared at the intruder. This was just more of the boy's freakishness. It had to be. Normal people didn't arrive out of nowhere, or carry sharp weapons into respectable people's homes. "Now see here, miss. I don't know who you are or what you want, but-"

As the large man was beginning his self righteous monologue, the woman in question was finally noticing the boy on the floor. The cowering, crying, aggressively wounded, boy on the floor. She also noticed the man speaking to her was standing over him, with a blood covered belt in his hand.

No matter how confused or disoriented she was, Peggy Carter could never let abuse like this stand. With a roar she charged the man and slammed her shield into his chest, sending his body slamming through the nearest wall. Disregarding his groans of pain, the woman knelt down and scooped the child into her arms. On closer inspection she could see his shirtless form. He was tiny, clearly underfed, and had enough scars and welts to tear her heart in two.

She shooshed him gently as her arms encircled his body in a protective cocoon. "Shoosh, child. It's alright. You're safe now. That man can't hurt you anymore."

The boy sniffled against her chest, "No I'm not. I've tried to run before, to tell an adult what he does to me. But they keep bringing me back." He was bawling now. Clearly the mixture of emotional and physical pain was taking its toll on him.

Peggy frowned at those words, remembering another man that had told her something similar. Bucky Barnes had had a terrible childhood. She'd managed to squeeze out of him, over a few glasses of whiskey, how bad it had truly been. And no matter how hard he'd tried, no one had ever helped him, except for Steve. Well she wasn't going to let history repeat itself with this innocent in her arms. She may not know where she was, but she could at least safe the life before her.

First things first, the boy needed a hospital. She slung her shield into its holster on her back, and then wrapped her now freed arm around the abused youth. "Brace yourself. We're going to be running very fast."

Once he had nodded that he was ready, Peggy took off running out of the living room, through the small hallway, and out the door. A sharp slam from her shoulder knocked the cheap wood completely off its hinges. She continued down the street, never stopping, and constantly keeping her head on a swivel until she saw it, a directional sign for Surrey General Hospital.

In spite of her current circumstances, the woman smiled, and took off in the direction indicated. Surrey, so she was in England. That made things a little simpler. At least she'd know her way around. She'd spent time in the town over leave after all.

With the combination of her past knowledge, and the current signage, she made it to the emergency room in record time. The orderlies on duty were shocked to say the least to be confronted with a massive woman carrying a medieval sword, and a bleeding child. But they were professionals, and this was clearly an emergency situation. They quickly rushed the boy into the ER, and they were all honestly too scared of the hard eyed woman that had brought him to stop her from following them in.

Three hours later, the now named Harry Potter was enjoying a medically induced slumber, and Carter was holding her shield and sword at the ready, facing the door. She'd barricaded it shut shortly after Harry's surgery and stitching was done. In addition to the injuries he'd just received, fresh X-rays showed several broken and incorrectly healed bones. He'd clearly been abused for years.

Once the boy was stable and medicated, a social services worker had arrived, and stated quite clearly that he was to be returned to his relatives home immediately. When Peggy had argued that he'd clearly been abused and needed further medical care, the man stated that the Dursleys were a perfectly upstanding family and any accusations otherwise simply had to be fabrications. He'd then taken a long look at her and stated that someone as outlandish as her was much more likely to have hurt the young Potter, and promptly called security. She'd been holding the door closed ever since. She'd made a promise to protect the child, and that meant she could not, under any circumstances, allow him to be returned to his relatives.

Luckily, police in England didn't carry firearms, and they were quite hesitant to use blasting charges in an occupied hospital. That meant they were relying on blunt force and battering rams to break in. She'd gotten a few hours out of her tactic, but now it was coming to a head. The wood frame of the door was splintering, and with a final crash of force, it swung open. Revealing ten policemen decked out in riot gear and armor.

The men readied themselves to charge, and Carter banged her sword against her shield, relishing in the way the sound caused her opponents to flinch. "Come on then!" she screamed in challenge.

That morning she'd come through a dimensional gap after spending days on end fighting a mother fucking giant squid god. She was hungry, tired, and from what she could tell, this world was different from the one she'd left, but this… combat… this was something she understood. So she braced her feet, readied her sword arm, and was about to weather the charge, when a fresh male voice screeched out, "Stop!"

All eyes turned to face a thin, suited, man with a receding hairline as he ran up to the soon to be massacre. He quickly got his breath back and flashed a badge to the policemen present. "Agent Phil Coulson, SHIELD. This woman is under the jurisdiction of my agency, and as such all actions she undertakes are ours to deal with. You can go."

"You can't expect us to just let her go." The clear leader of the group scoffed, "She's already assaulted one man, and she has an injured kid locked in that room!"

"All of these things will be addressed, but I have to insist that you leave the premesis. If you have a problem with following my orders, then talk to your superiors. Though I'd expect a demotion in your future if you do."

The men grumbled about how this wasn't procedure, but nevertheless filed out; leaving Peggy alone in the room with Harry, and her sword pointed now at her newest intruder.

"Who the bloody hell are you?" She growled, not lowering her stance for an instant.

The polite looking man raised his hands to show he was unarmed, took two steps into the room, and closed the door before answering. "As I mentioned before, I work for SHIELD. It stands for strategic homeland intervention enforcement and logistics division."

"Wow, someone really wanted your initials to spell Shield didn't they?"

Phil chuckled at those words. "Perhaps. The point is, our organization works with the world security council to help investigate and deal with issues that others would deem… odd. Mutants, aliens, mystical artifacts, and inter dimensional travelers. All of these things fall under our jurisdiction, Captain Carter."

The tall woman blinked at those words. "You know my name?"

"Almost everyone does. You're a hero."

Carter's eyes were getting wider at this point, her hand shaking slightly before she squashed it further into the grip of her blade. Through Harry's medical chart she'd gotten the year, 2011. So she knew she'd traveled through time, but she didn't know anything of what she'd missed. Dimly, she knew that this fact was going to lead to a major freakout later, but right now she was focused on protecting an innocent. She could afford her little episode later.

"You say I'm a hero? Why? What happened? Where's Steve?"

The agent sobered up at those words. "The war ended almost seventy years ago. The allies won, and Hitler was defeated. The day you disappeared, you brought Hydra to its knees as well, thus depriving the nazis of their devastating weaponry. That, along with your career of honorable service, is why you are remembered as a hero. As for Steve Rogers… With the use of his Hydra Stomper armor, he went on to become one of the most decorated soldiers of his time. After the war ended, he became one of the founding members of Shield, and finally settled down to raise a family. He died five years ago… cancer." As he met her eyes, sympathy more than anything else showed through. "He made it clear that if you ever returned, we were to tell you that he saved that dance for you until the end. He only married after you had been declared dead for ten years."

Peggy sighed and finally lowered her sword, though she kept it at the ready. "When I saw the date… I figured he must have moved on. I'd have wanted him to." A tear fell from her eye but she refused to start bawling at all that she'd lost.

"What about Bucky Barnes? And the rest of my unit?"

"Most of them separated from the military after the war, and I think a few of them are still alive. Bucky however… was lost in an undercover op in Siberia. We never found his body."

At that revelation Carter needed more than a moment to get herself under control, but finally she said, "At least we won. What happens now?"

"Now you come with me and we get you settled. Shield has arranged for all the proper paperwork and a residence in the states. You sacrificed your life for the people of this world, Captain. We are ready to do what we can to repay that debt."

Peggy thought those words over for several seconds before nodding and saying, "Fine, but the child comes with me."

Phil looked decidedly nonplussed at that. "Captain Carter, be reasonable. We can't just abduct a kid."

"He's being terribly abused, Agent Coulson. I saw the act being perpetrated with my own eyes, and a social services agent said that he was just going to be sent back to his abusers. You say I sacrificed my life for the world, and you're right. I sacrificed it for people like him. People that couldn't fight for themselves. He comes with me, or I do not leave."

The agent considered that for a moment before raising a finger and pulling some kind of small object out of his pocket, "Would you give me a moment, ma'am?"

She waved her sword lazily, but still allowed it cut a small divot in the floor. "Take your time."

Several minutes went by, during which the Captain had gone to check on Harry, and brushed the hair softly from his brow, before returning to her post. Finally, Agent Coulson returned, placing that same strange object back into his pocket.

He said, "I ran a search for Harry Potter through our records, as well as the social services representative that came here."

"And what did you find?"

The formerly pleasant agent had a dangerous look in his eyes as he answered, "We found twenty-five different reports and phone calls to the police about the suspected abuse of Harry. None of them were followed up on."

Carter blinked, "How is that possible?"

"I don't know. It shouldn't be. Additionally, that representative is actually Vernon Dursley's cousin. So it stands to reason that if any of those reports had been followed up on, then he'd have squashed any investigations. Funnily enough, he wasn't requested by the hospital. With all the excitement you brought, they didn't have time to request a representative. A quick check on his phone records show Vernon calling him shortly after you left his home. Most likely he wanted to stop you from implicating him."

"Harry isn't safe here."

Phil sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "You might just be right, and I've been given permission to bring him with us."

"I want custody of him." Carter stated, staring the smaller man down.

"Really?" Coulson blinked.

"Really. My old life is gone, and Harry 'cannot' go back to his. We'll each need to rebuild, and I think I'll be able to help him." Her stare turned into a smirk, "Besides, I should have almost seventy years of back pay coming my way. I imagine I'll be able to raise a child quite comfortably with that."

Two Years Later

Bertie's gym in New York was an unusual place. For one thing, it wasn't updated to match the times of mechanical equipment. The gym sported a boxing ring, heavy and light bags, and a few racks of dumbbells. For another, it wasn't open to the public. SHIELD had purchased it two years prior as a training area for Captain Carter. They figured the more antiquated equipment and familiar background would help to ease her into the current times. What they hadn't anticipated was exactly how much she would enjoy the place, or how happy it would make her son.

As Peggy kept beating on the two hundred pound heavy bag in front of her, Harry ran up with his hands covered in ridiculously big gloves and a giant smile covering his face. "Mom, I did it! I did it! I beat Lila!" Peggy stopped and looked behind her boy. Lila Barton was indeed sitting on the ground, rubbing her head-gear covered head while chatting animatedly to her father, Clint Barton.

Peggy smiled at her son with warmth and pride as she knelt beside him and gave him a hug. She loved the way he embraced her back. For the longest time after they moved, he would flinch at the slightest form of human contact. And since his eye surgery had gone through, his green iris's were free to show how true his excitement was about his current victory. "Harry Steven Carter, I am so proud of you." She'd changed his name upon taking custody of, and adopting, him. "You've come a long way in just a couple years."

When she'd started raising her boy, the former English woman had considered how best to help him come to terms with what happened to him at the Dursleys. To that end, her recollections of her conversations with Bucky had proven invaluable. He'd called boxing the best thing that ever happened to him, as it gave him a way to get stronger, and learn to beat back anyone else that would try to hurt him like his family had. Harry had taken to the idea the moment she suggested it to him. She suspected that movie he loved, Rocky, had something to do with his rapid answer.

When she asked Clint to teach her boy a bit of hand to hand fighting he'd been skeptical, but since he'd already been teaching his kids, he didn't have a leg to stand on, and since he was assigned to be her chaperone he was going to be around the two of them anyway, and he had a soft spot in his heart for children. He'd caved easily enough.

She was brought out of her musings, and the enjoyment of her hug, when Harry asked, "It's okay that I won right? I mean… Mrs. Rosa at school says boys shouldn't ever hit girls."

Peggy sighed and leaned back to look her son in the eyes. "Harry, it's alright for two reasons. One, you were training and you had her consent. Two, she was trying to hit you, and you have the right to defend yourself. Do I want you to go out looking for girls to hit, of course not. But if you are in a fight then girls are just as capable of hurting you as you are of hurting them. Look at me, when I fought in the war do you think any of the men I battled against cared that I was a woman?"

"No." the boy's bright eyes were shining as he gave her his answer.

The way he looked at her, as if she could never do or say anything wrong in his eyes, honestly scared the woman sometimes. Her own mother had told her she wouldn't understand how terrifying it was to be a parent until she was one, and damned if she hadn't been right. The pressure to be a good role model was always present.

Peggy laughed lightly to diffuse the seriousness of her words and gently pushed her son toward a much lighter bag that Lila was starting to practice on. "Why don't you go join Lila while I talk to Mr. Clint for a bit."

"Okay." The boy chirped as he sped off, laughing all the way.

The sight almost broke her heart again when she remembered how she found him.

"Hey, cut that out." Clint said as he walked up to her. Years of parenting and marriage experience meant he knew what a mother reliving bad memories looked like. "He's not that hurt little boy anymore. You saved him."

Carter sighed lightly and nodded. "I know. But he still has nightmares sometimes."

"They'll get less frequent as he grows older. You're doing a great job, so stop stressing." He paused to reach into the bag hanging on his shoulder and retrieved a set of folders. "Fury said to pass these off to you. He wants to get your input."

After seeing the label attached to the first folder on the pile, Peggy scoffed. "The Avengers initiative? I thought Nick was kidding about that."

"Apparently not. He's had me and several other agents keeping tabs on these guys for a while in case they're needed. But like I said, he wants your estimation of them before he proceeds. Take the papers home, look them over, and let me know what you think tomorrow so I can pass the info on."

"Sure thing." She checked the time on a nearby wall mounted clock, and cursed. "Sorry, Clint, but if I don't take off now Harry is going to be late for his Piano lesson."

The super spy and former assassin nodded in understanding. "You got Professor Max teaching him right? The guy's a stickler for punctuality. Better run."

After divesting her son of his gloves she did just that.

Later That Night

"What are you doing mom?" Harry asked as he joined her at their dinner table. Their apartment was located on the tenth floor of their building and he'd been reading on the balcony, having been given an elementary-grade book on old mythology by Mr. Coulson, when he'd looked inside and seen the frown marring his mother's normally pleasant face.

"Oh nothing, honey. I'm just going over some files for Mr. Fury, and he wants to get my opinion."

"About what?" Harry rounded the table and was promptly picked up and sat on the woman's lap.

Carter thought for a moment before deciding to tell him. She needed to talk out her thoughts, and Harry knew how to keep a secret. Plus, and this might just be the proud mother inside her, she could swear her boy picked up on things others, including herself, missed. Sadly that was something he got from his early years.

"Alright, but this is one of those things we don't talk about with anyone else. Okay?" When Harry nodded, she opened the files once more so her boy could see the photos gathered. "Mr. Fury wants me to look at these people and decide if they're capable of working with me in a team."

"So what's the problem?"

"I don't know what to think about them." She smiled and said, "You want to take a look?"

"Sure." Harry chirped before leaning forward and moving the pictures around. Finally he settled on one displaying a dark haired man with a goatee, wearing what looked like a red metal suit. "Who is this?"

Peggy glanced at the picture and said, "Anthony (Tony) Stark. He's a billionaire weapons manufacturer. A few months ago he was rescued from some bad men that kidnapped him, and since then he's been fighting crime in his metal suit. His file says he's a lot like his father. Brash, arrogant, potentially an alcoholic, and a womanizer."

"Hm.." Her boy leaned further over the table, almost comically so as he smushed his face closer to the picture. "He looks sad."

"What?" Peggy hadn't expected to hear that.

"Look at his face. His lips are smiling, but his eyes hurt. I-I used to look like that."

Peggy unconsciously tightened her arms around her son, but let him continue to speak uninterrupted.

"I think some bad things happened to him, and acting out is the only way he can handle it. Maybe… helping you could let him deal with it?"

"Perhaps." By god she was proud of her boy. The former captain pointed at the next picture, "This is a former scientist named Bruce Banner. Several years ago an accident in his lab caused him to be exposed to something called Gamma Radiation. It altered his DNA, and now when he gets angry he transforms into a giant monster. In that state he is capable of destroying entire cities."

Instead of giving his opinion right away, the boy took a moment to read some of the material displayed before him and nodded. Then he said, "I think he's probably really scared."

"How so?"

"It says here after his accident, some guy named General Ross tried to have him arrested and experimented on. Then he spent the next several years being hunted from country to country. At each one there is evidence that he was medically helping the people he met. He seems like someone that wants to do the right thing but isn't being given the chance. If Mr. Fury tells him he'll be able to live safe and free, then I think he'll agree to join your team."

The older woman kissed her boy's head and said, "Sometimes I can't believe you're really just eight years old." She brushed his hair lightly, loving the way it fell down to his neck, "What's going through that big head of yours all the time?"

Harry was silent for several moments, just enjoying the feeling of those fingers moving through his hair. "I mainly just think of how happy I am here. How happy I am to 'be' here. And I think Mr. Banner will think the same way." Before Carter could get a word in for that, he pointed to the next image, "Who's this guy? And what are those strange circles around his hands?"

"He's doctor Stephen Strange. SHIELD actually doesn't know that much about him. Only that he's a former surgeon," seeing his confused face, she said, "that's a specialized doctor. Anyway, after his injury he somehow developed magical powers, and has worked to protect the world from inter-dimensional evils."

"M-Magical powers?" Harry squeaked, going still in her arms.

"Yes." Peggy raised an eyebrow. Her boy hadn't acted like this in quite a while. "What's wrong with that?"

"N-Nothing."

"Harry…" Carter used her 'mom' voice and her child caved like a rockslide.

"It's just…. When I was smaller, I remember hearing a disney movie Dudley was watching through my cupboard door. There were dwarves, witches, queens, and magic involved. When Dudley came to mock me for being unable to watch with him, I said that I wished I had magic too, like that witch, so I could make myself disappear. Aunt Petunia heard me though, and told Uncle Vernon what I'd said. The beating I got that day… I'm pretty sure it's why my leg was as bad as it was."

Only through sheer force of chemically enhanced will did Peggy keep herself from growling at that remembrance. Harry's leg had been one of the bones that had been broken and healed at a wrong angle. It had taken the doctors at SHIELD HQ three separate surgeries, four rebreaks, and two months of physical therapy before he could walk right, and to this day if he became too fatigued he sometimes needed a cane to keep him stable. He kept a retractable walking stick in his schoolbag just in case.

After several minutes of wrestling with her emotions, Peggy finally managed to say, "That's over now, Harry. Those monsters are in prison, and they can never hurt you again. You can watch whatever movies you want, and talk about magic anytime. I won't let anyone touch you."

Her boy snuggled into her chest at those words and said, "Thanks, mom."

"Anytime, honey." The two just sat there for a while, holding each other close, before Harry once more looked at the man in the picture. "He seems like a good man. Like, he found something that made him whole. I think if you offer him a chance to save people, he'll take it."

"How could you possibly know that?"

"I don't know for sure. I just… feel it." He shrugged.

Peggy chuckled at that. Her boy's 'feelings' tended to work out well for him. Just ask all the little girls in his class that insisted on holding his hand at recess. "I'm not sure if that'll be enough for Mr. Fury, but it sure is for me." She set him down and gestured back to their balcony, "Why don't you go back to reading, and I'll write all that up."

"Okay." Her boy gave her a smart salute and rushed off, eager to return to the story. When he'd last left off, Loki and Thor were masquerading as women to try and retrieve Thor's hammer at a wedding. It was so cool!

Once more Peggy chuckled at her boy's antics. Thanking herself for the hundredth time that Coulson hadn't gotten her an apartment with a TV. She'd seen what it did to the youth of this 'modern' era, and she didn't want that for her son. No sir. She'd much rather see him curled up with a good book, and luckily he'd fallen in love with the written word. much as she had in her youth. Perhaps once her report was done, she'd join him. She'd just started a wonderful series called the Wheel of Time, and her reading chair was delightfully soft.

A Month Later

It had finally happened. Fury had activated the Avengers Initiative Protocols. Clearly something earth shattering must be going down. Frustratingly enough though, this event seemed to be happening during flu season. Harry's school was practically shut down, and all of Peggy's usual babysitter's were out for the count. That meant she had to bring him with her.

That frustration quickly turned into delight as she got to see his eyes light up for the first time in the quinjet. He'd been unconscious when they'd first crossed the atlantic, so he'd yet to experience flight, and it seemed he enjoyed it even more than she did.

As he was ooing and aweing at the view, she was receiving her briefing, learning all about the tesseract, Loki, and his abduction of Clint and doctor Selvig. It was pretty scary stuff. The idea of gods walking amongst men, and some with ill intentions was enough to create more than a few nightmares.

Soon enough they were landing on the carrier, and Harry was latched onto her side. He tended to get nervous around crowds and new people. Then the ramp was lowering and they were walking onto the deck. Finally she was free of Phil's constant attempts to get her to sign his vintage trading cards. She'd already signed his posters, original film reels, and commemorative pocket watches. She put up with a lot of his eccentricities because they were friends and her son liked him, but trading cards was taking things a little bit far.

Along the way they met up with a mousy looking man that Peggy quickly identified as the hulking scientist Bruce Banner. Pulling the long sleeve of her bomber jacket up, the woman reached out to shake the scientist's hand. "Doctor Banner, it's good to finally meet you. I hear you're going to help us locate the tesseract."

"I guess that's the plan." the other man said, before releasing her hand and tensely asking, "Is that the only thing you've heard?"

"It's the only thing I care about, sir." Remembering the words her son had spoken that night at their table she continued, "I can understand how nervous being on a government ship must be for you, Doctor. Just know that I have your back. You were promised freedom for helping here, and if they try to renege on that, they'll have to deal with me."

Bruce gave her an appreciative nod before his eyes traveled down to the small head of black hair hiding behind her legs. "And who is this?"

"Oh this is my son, Harry." She gently pulled him from his hiding place and held him before her. "Say hello, honey."

Harry shyly looked up and held out his hand to shake. "Hello, Doctor Banner. I'm Harry Carter."

Bruce shook the much smaller hand and said, "It's nice to meet you, Harry. You know, I could use some help in the lab while your mom is running around. Think you could give me hand later?"

In spite of his shyness, Harry smiled at the kind faced man. He was usually very good at reading people, and this man positively radiated kind intentions. "That sounds great sir. Hey, have you read any good books lately? I just finished a really cool one about mythology."

Peggy gave Bruce a kind hearted roll of her eyes, and the other man just waved her off and answered the boy as Natasha Romanov came to secure them for takeoff, "As a matter of fact I have. Last week I started a really cool book by Brandon Sanderson called Mistborn. It's about this girl in an apocalyptic world that-"

Twenty minutes Later

"What the hell is this?" Nick fury demanded as the mismatched trio entered the bridge of the helicarrier. His single eye was locked onto a very nervous Harry, who promptly dove back to hide behind his mother.

"I couldn't get a sitter." Peggy stated calmly, staring the older man down. She wouldn't tolerate anyone scaring her kid. Luckily he got the message pretty quick and turned away.

He provided the appropriate pleasantries, assured Banner that he would be allowed to leave once the tesseract was found, and gave them all a brief overview of what the current situation looked like.

Peggy found herself greatly disenfranchised at the prospect of fighting yet another narcissist with delusions of grandeur and world domination, but it was the job she'd signed up for.

Harry, meanwhile, had been staring at Nick's eye the whole time, and finally Carter whispered, "It's rude to stare, honey."

"But what happened do you think?"

"I met a really angry kitten." Neither of them had seen Fury squat down next to them, but there he was. "She clawed my eye right out. Let that be a lesson, Harry, beware stray animals."

The boy blushed at being found out, but nevertheless he nodded his acknowledgment. While his mother took his hand and turned toward the nearest door. "Dr. Banner volunteered to look after him while I work. Let me drop him off in the lab, and then I can get suited up. Something tells me I won't want to be wasting time getting dressed when we find Loki."

"Good idea." the director of SHIELD regained his feet and said, "Dr. Strange is finishing up a project of his, but should be arriving soon. I'll send him your way when he arrives."

"Much appreciated sir."

They were interrupted by a female technician running up to Fury. "Director, Sir, facial recognition got a match on Loki."

"Where is he?" Nick asked.

"Stuttgart, Germany, Sir. He's… Not really hiding."

"Based on what we know of the man that makes sense." Fury turned to Banner and Carter, "Dr. Banner would you take Harry with you? And Captain, go grab your shield."

Two, "Yes sir's" were his reply.

Germany

A god clad in green robes, with an aura of command, and a scepter in his hand stood before a crowd of kneeling supplicants. "Is this not your natural state." He intoned. "Don't you see, you were made to be ruled."

Slowly, a lone man stood from the rest, determination dominating his face. "Not by a man like you."

Loki smirked at the old man before him, "There has never been a man like me."

The man stared stoically ahead and squared his shoulders, "There vill alvays be men like you."

The god of mischief acknowledged the man's bravery as he raised his scepter to attack, "Look to your elder people, and observe."

Azure power started to gather in the crystal head of the relic, and as it reached its zenith it fired at the old man. Only for it to suddenly come into contact with a circular shield, and be reflected back at its caster. With a cry of surprise Loki found himself shot back sever feet through the air to land on his face. He growled, reclaimed his footing, and saw, to his surprise, a tall, muscular, woman in an outfit of red, white, and blue. If his lessons from Barton were correct her chest held an image of this world's British Flag. A large shield was strapped to her left arm, and her right hand held a broadsword that was leveled at his godly form.

"You know," The woman mused as she began to advance on him, "the last time I was in Germany, and saw a man standing over everyone else, we ended up disagreeing. Vehemently. Of course he ended up getting crushed by a giant squid monster, but I think your end will be a bit different."

Loki snarled. "The soldier, lost out of time. Barton had a lot to say about you. Oh yes, the woman that gave her all for an ungrateful society that looked down on her for her gender. That fought, killed, and bled, for no respect. All of that, just to come back and find the one you loved dead. How does it feel to have received nothing for your sacrifice?"

Contrary to his expected reaction, the woman just smirked. "It seems like Clint gave you outdated information. That means your control isn't as all encompassing as you think." With that she charged the deity, knowing that Natasha was ready with the quinjet to offer backup if she needed it.

The two met in the middle of the square. Each was growling snarling, trading punches, slashes, grapples, and stabs. It was enough to show Carter quite clearly that the 'god of mischief' was in no way a slacker in regards to the physical arts as well. He was quick, nimble, and hit like a god damned speeding train. If it wasn't for the serum running through her veins she imagined one hit would have laid her out. As it was, she was just glad her sword hadn't broken after the first time it glanced off her opponent's helmet. It was almost like the steel on his body reflected energy back at its attacker, kind of like her shield. Luckily her blade had been reforged with the same vibranium metal, so she was able to hold her own, and even get a few nicks on the madman's arms and legs.

This carried on for a few minutes, neither gaining a real advantage, until Carter finally overextended herself. She lunged for an opening under his arm, but it had been a trap. He slammed his greaves over her blade, ripped it from her hands, and kicked her in the face hard enough to send her skidding across the ground. When she looked up he was standing over her, his scepter poised above her head.

"Kneel." He rasped.

Peggy glared at the man above her, "I'll never kneel to a tyrant."

"Then you'll fall." His scepter began to glow once more, but before he could fire, the rocking sound of AC/DC lit the air.

The two combatants looked up and saw a suit of red armor barreling through the sky toward them. Its sonic thrusters screamed in the night and suddenly twin blasts of energy slammed into Loki's chest, the impact sending the weapon in one direction and his body flying back into the cracking concrete.

The now revealed form of Iron Man raised his arms and his entire arsenal glowed with arc reactor powered readiness. "Make a move reindeer games!" His speakers bit out.

In response, the Asgardian raised his arms in surrender and his armor seemed to bleed from his frame until he was left in his normal leather outfit. "I surrender."

Somehow Carter thought this entire situation was resolving a little too easily.

SHIELD Helicarrier

Peggy was rather tired. What should have been a simple transport run to bring Loki in for his imprisonment had somehow turned into a full on brawl between her, Tony Stark, and the fucking god of thunder. They'd eventually managed to wind each other down enough to have a conversation and he ended up joining them on the quinjet to meet with Fury. He wanted to assure the man that Asgard was not supporting his brother's actions.

Finally the ramp lowered, and as Thor pushed his bound sibling forward, Peggy took immediate notice of her son, hobbling toward her with his walking stick extended and supporting his bad leg. Banner was rushing to catch up to him.

"Harry," The captain scolded as she scooped her boy up into her arms, "I thought you were helping Dr. Banner in the lab? How is your leg hurting already?"

Banner answered for him, "He was helping me, and quite well I might add, but then he heard through the comms that you were in a fight and he started pacing along the deck. Poor kid tired himself out."

Harry's cheeks burned at that summation of his activities, but he nevertheless nodded that it was what had happened. "I was worried about you."

Peggy chuckled at that and gave her boy another hug before setting him down again. "As you can see, I'm alright. It'd take more than a trickster to beat down your old mother. Now, Loki is going to holding, and Thor is heading up to the bridge, so how about it? Is your leg well enough to go meet the god of thunder?"

Harry's eyes grew huge at that bit of information, and he visibly started shaking with anticipation. He gripped his stick tightly in his little fist and took off hobbling down the deck, "Come on, mom!"

Carter openly laughed this time and looked over her shoulder at Natasha. She wasn't as close to the redhead as she was with Clint, they'd had the benefit of being able to talk about parenting after all, but they were still on pretty good terms. The former Russian super spy tended to spoil Harry rotten whenever it was her turn to look after the family of two. "Are you as curious as I am to see how Thor handles being interrogated by an eight year old boy?"

The other woman's eyes gleamed and she ran past her in an instant, "Hell yes I am!"

The two women arrived on the bridge just in time to hear the tail end of Harry's rapid questioning. He was leaning on his walking stick before the massive man and chattering away as he rapidly searched the room for aid that no one was willing to provide.

"How tall are you? Are the other Aesir real? I've been reading about you, you know, and there's so much cool stuff! Is your hammer real? Can I hold it? What's Odin like? Is Valhalla real?-"

"Harry," Peggy was almost crying as she tried to keep from laughing in the blond man's face, "take a breath, and let the man answer."

Thor gave her a smile of gratitude and squatted down to look the boy in the eye. "In earth measure, I am six feet six inches. Yea, the Aesir art real. They rule over their own domains and pay rightful homage to my father." He reached then to his belt and set his hammer on the floor before the wide eyed youth, "Mjolnir is also real, and you can try to lift it if you desire."

As he continued to speak, obliviously believing that no one could truly wield his mighty weapon other than himself, Harry reached forward and gripped the handle. Something just felt right at the movement for him, and slowly, the weapon began to move.

"My father, Odin… is a challenging man. Verily he is noble, full of honor and wisdom, but warmth to those around him does he lack. As for Valhalla, well, I'm not quite sure, but…" He trailed off as he finally realized what the child before him was doing. He had the hammer raised before his face, and his eyes were tracing the runic inscriptions along the head of the weapon.

"Whosoever holds this hammer, if they be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor." He read aloud. Then his jaw dropped and he stared up at his equally shocked mother, "Does that mean I have the power of a god now?"

No one else seemed to know how to react, so Thor quickly retrieved his weapon from the child and tried to move past the moment by saying, "Ah, let us not discover if you do on such a flimsy vessel. I'm surprised you were able to hold Mjolnir, Harry son of Peggy. You must have great honor."

"No, I just have a great mom. She taught me right and wrong."

The blonde deity threw his head back and roared out a great laugh, "Verily that is true. Though I am even more surprised you could read that phrase off the hammer's head."

"Why?" Harry asked, "can't everybody? It's in english after all."

The Asgardian was all set to point out that his father's spell was written in the runic alphabet of his people, when Tony Stark strutted in and Peggy gently told her son to get back to the lab as the adults needed to talk about adult things. Harry nodded happily enough and took off down the hall, his leg already feeling better after his time spent immobile. When he'd left before, Dr. Banner had had a bunch of cool rocks for him to measure and name. Hopefully they were still there now.

They were indeed there, and the process kept him busy while Bruce, and then eventually Tony, worked on looking for the tesseract. He tried to listen to them for a while, but they kept talking about boring things like physics, quantum whatsits, and tower energy. Eventually he just tuned them out.

Until he heard a loud zap, and spun around to see Tony holding a handheld electric rod near Bruce's side. The boy was shocked. From what his mom had said, any surprising stimuli could cause the well mannered man to go off the rails. Except he didn't. Banner looked mildly annoyed, but otherwise seemed content to just return to his work.

That was when his mom showed up, and the three heroes quickly started arguing, gesturing wildly, and raising their voices. Against his will, memories started surfacing. A fat face holding him down while it screamed in his ear. His aunt hitting him with a frying pan and screaming about how he'd ruined their breakfast. Aunt Marge yelling at him to come down from the tree so that her pitbull Ripper could get a proper workout chasing him.

Everything started clouding over, the world grew small, and Harry slid down to the floor where he started to inch along the wall, looking for a way, any way at all, out of this room with the loud noises and the arguing. His fingers found the edge of a grate in the wall, and suddenly he was inside it, staring at the long tube of metal carrying on into the distance. The boy didn't stop to wonder how he'd made it inside, nor did he pause to think about where this would take him. He just 'needed' to get away, so away he went.

Meanwhile:

"Seriously, Cap, are you telling me you don't see anything strange here?" Bruce asked the taller woman reasonably. "They want us to find the tesseract, but they won't give us any information about it, or tell us what they were using it for. There are a lot of questions here."

Peggy finally nodded her head stiffly in agreement. As a former intelligence agent she understood the compartmentalization of information, but even she was getting strange vibes from the particular bits of information being withheld. As the literal pair of boots on the ground, she at least should have been given a full briefing. The fact that she hadn't been was rather suspect.

"I can acknowledge that, so fine, do what you will." She turned to say goodbye to Harry, but found his seat empty, rocks untouched, and his backpack still on the table. As she thought about where he could have gone, her eyes grew wide in horror. She'd been raising him for two years, had taken him to therapy and seen him on the playground. How could she have been so stupid! She knew his triggers and still she had marched in to this room and started yelling!

She ran over to the nearest comm station and hailed the bridge, "Fury! Harry is gone. Can you see him on any of the shipwide cameras?"

The comm hissed for a moment of empty static before the one eyed man responded, "That's a negative, Captain. I've alerted the security teams and they will be doing a sweep of the vessel. They'll find him eventually."

At those words Carter started shaking her head negatively, even though she knew he couldn't see it. "That's not good enough sir. I'm heading out to search too, so tell your men to stay out of my way." With that she switched off the comm and started stalking toward the door.

"Wait, wait, wait," Tony rushed to catch up with her, "I commend you for wanting to find your kid, but don't you think you're overreacting a bit? Fury just said he was gonna send people to find him."

With a startled squawk, Tony found himself slammed against the nearest wall, Peggy's cold eyes glaring into the depths of his soul. "Harry. Was. Abused, Stark! He still has panic attacks when he's triggered. He could be lost, scared, alone, and hyperventilating. He needs me!"

Tony slowly reached up, and pushed her hands off of him. "I'm sorry, Cap. I didn't know that. Now come on, I'll help you look."

"I'll come too." Bruce tried to follow, but Peggy raised her hand to stop him.

"No, Bruce. You stay here and keep looking for the tesseract in case Harry comes back. If he calms down this might be the first place he comes back to."

Bruce nodded and sat back before his monitors. The readings were getting clearer, but he was still nowhere near a final location.

Elsewhere:

Harry finally came back to himself in front of a loose grate. He didn't really know how he arrived at this current location, but he vaguely remembered loud noises and having trouble breathing. His shoulders slumped as he finally figured it out. He'd had another panic attack. He'd thought he was past those.

With a grumble of shame he pushed his way through the grate and found himself in a wide circular room. He wasn't alone.

"You there! Human child." An arrogant voice called from a circular glass cage in the center of the room. "You look familiar. Have I threatened you before?"

Harry slowly walked forward until he was just a few inches from the glass. He'd seen the pictures in his mom's briefing so he knew this was Loki. He also knew that Mr. Fury wouldn't put him in something that couldn't contain him.

After a moment of brief deliberation he decided that talking with the deity couldn't really hurt anything. Who knew? Maybe he could answer some more of his questions about Asgard. "I don't think so Mr. Loki. My name is Harry." He sat crossed legged on the ground before the powerful being.

For his part, Loki had an amused look on his face before copying the pose, sitting before the much smaller creature. "You are not afraid to be in my presence?"

Harry shrugged, "Why should I be? You're in there and I'm out here. My mom is on the ship, and she's like super strong, so she can defend me. Also, I'm a big fan of your stories. The Loki I read about didn't need to resort to violence and hurting people. He outthought, planned, and maneuvered around them until he got what he wanted. So I don't think you'll just attack me without a good reason."

"Hm…" Loki eyed the strange boy before him. Why did he seem so damned familiar? "Perhaps. I saw you hugging the good Captain earlier when I was brought inside. She is your mother?"

"Yup." Harry chirped happily.

"I wasn't aware she had children. Barton didn't tell me that."

"Oh, well, I'm adopted."

Loki was silent for several moments before he said, "So am I. But your situation seems to be better."

The boy quirked his head in confusion. "Why do you say that Mr. Loki? What happened?"

The dark haired god leaned back on his hands and chuckled. He really didn't have anything else to do until his men stormed the ship, and the child was amusing. Why not humor him.

"My adopted parents lied to me about my birth from the moment they took me in. What's worse, is that they let me think I could claim the throne of Asgard if I could prove myself a better option than Thor. Oh yes, Odin was fond of reminding us that only one between us could sit the throne. All the while he knew that as a frost giant I would never have a legal right to it."

Harry frowned at that. "That doesn't sound very nice. I mean, I read a bit about adoption, so I know that parents don't always tell their kids, but letting you think you could rule just seams mean."

"It was." Loki nodded seriously. "I strove to excel. While Thor drank himself into a stupor and went warmongering, I studied law and magic. I trained in diplomacy and learned to use my head. For the life of me I could never tell why he was always chosen over me. Why he received laurels and praise, while I was scolded. Then I found out the truth and it all made sense. In the end, no matter how much my parents claimed to love me, they could never let me rule, or have anything of my own. Not truly. Asgard was Thor's world, and I was only to be 'allowed' to live in it."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that, Mr. Loki. That sounds really sad."

"At the time it was, but I've grown above it. Now, I'm stuck in here so what would you like to talk about?"

"Hm." Harry racked his brain to decide which of his many questions to ask first, and immediately had a light bulb moment. "I read a story where you and Thor had to dress up as women to retrieve his hammer from a giant's wedding. Did that really happen?"

Loki let out a guffaw and smirked at the tiny human. "Indeed, little human. And I made that dress look good. Thor… not so much. You see what happened was that he got drunk one night and lost Mjolnir in a game of dice. Then he-"

The Bridge

Thor was mortified as he watched his brother reveal one of his most shameful moments to not only the boy that had somehow lifted his hammer, but also the entire bridge of the air craft. They'd seen him enter the room of course, via the cameras, but instead of hailing the Captain as Thor had wanted, Fury instead chose to let the situation play out. His argument was that Loki seemed fine talking to him, and he might inadvertently give something important away with his dialogue. The god of thunder hadn't liked it, but he wasn't in command of the vessel or its personnel, so he couldn't truly argue. Though he did vow to punch his way through the very hull if the boy seemed to be in any form of danger.

Back In The Cell

"So Thor is still legally married to a giant to this day." Loki was in a full blown cackle at the end, and Harry was in about the same state. Now that the story was done however, there was a bigger question the god was trying to figure out. The more he spoke to the boy, the more he seemed like someone he'd known. It was beginning to really claw at his mind.

His eyes! something about his eyes was causing it. Where had he seen eyes like those before… He jolted from his position, shooting forward and practically pushing his face into the glass to get a closer look at them. To his credit, the child didn't even flinch.

The closer he looked, the more likely it seemed. Could it be? The boy was the right age. But it had only happened once. He needed to be sure.

"What was your birth mother's name?" Loki rasped.

Harry was a bit put off by this new intensity, but he still answered. "Her name was Lily Potter. She's… gone now."

Loki sucked in a sharp breath, staring down at him with a newer, softer look in his eyes. "I… knew your mother. Long ago." He placed a hand on the glass and a quick gesture with his other hand made it clear what he wanted from Harry. So he quickly matched his palm to the same position. He felt a slight shiver run up his spine, and then the god of mischief started freaking out!

He gripped his head in his hands, screamed, and started smashing his skull into the glass, all the while yelling, "Thor! Geass! Compulsion! Men coming by Air!" Then his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he fell over, foam starting to froth out of his mouth.

Before Harry could even begin having his own freakout at the strange turn of events, alarms started blaring and a ripping sound was heard from the wall as Thor himself burst through it. He looked at Harry for a moment, his eyes wide with shock before turning away and flying to the door controls. He quickly unlocked them, entered the cage, and punched his brother, hard, in the face, causing his spasms to cease.

The blond man threw his brother over his shoulder and approached the scared little boy. "Come, son of Peggy. We'll be needed on the bridge, and your mother will want to see you." Before leaving the room he pulled Harry over to the shiny surface of the door control and shut it down, leaving only a reflective surface. "Look close, I do not want you to wonder why people stare."

Not really understanding the instruction, Harry did so, and his world stopped.

The Bridge

Peggy stomped into the bridge with fire in her eyes. She'd been in the hold when Fury had commed to tell her he'd found Harry, and what she'd found there was the direct cause of her mood. She dropped the case with the tesseract inspired weaponry at the bald man's feet and lifted him by his coat lapels into the air. "Two questions. One, where is my boy? Two, what the hell are you doing with weaponry like this?"

All around the room weapons were cocked and leveled at her head, but Fury quickly waved them down. "Can you put me down so I can speak more easily?"

The woman complied, and as she did, Tony and Banner walked through the door, while Thor returned through a conspicuous hole in the ground, his evil brother unconscious and thrown over his shoulder.

When Fury told Carter to check the opening, she stomped over to the blond man but he held out a hand to stop her. "Noble warrior, please listen. Harry is still in the hole, but he looks a little different now. I believe I know why and I will explain, but please, don't act shocked around him. The boy is in a delicate place, the same one that drove my brother to madness. Be his supportive mother, and everything will be well."

Though she was deeply confused by these words, the captain nodded and rushed past the man to jump down into the hole he'd vacated. Harry was there, sat on the floor with his arms wrapped around his legs and his head bowed. Something was off. She couldn't see his face but his hair, usually curly and unruly, was straight, slicked back, and had a shiny sheen. She knelt down and brushed her hand through it lightly.

"Harry, honey, please look at me." She crooned.

He sniffled slightly, "I don't know what happened, mom. I was just talking to Mr. Loki, and then…." He looked up and only Thor's words in the bridge kept her from gasping. Her son's skin was a light blue, with raised lines stretching under the skin of his chin, forehead, and cheeks like tattoos. His eyes, once a darling shade of green, were now blood red and nearly glowing.

"What am I?" He whispered.

Peggy smiled and kept running her fingers through his hair, "You're my son, and that's all that matters."

Her son leaned forward for a hug and she embraced him happily, only just managing to avoid shivering at the slightly colder temperature of his skin. They stayed there for a few minutes until she was sure he was alright, and then helped him out of the hole the thunder god had ripped in the ship. He stayed behind her, and she glared the promise of horrible death into anyone that stared his way too long. When they reached Fury, Tony, and Bruce, each gave a quick glance at Harry and then moved on. She was sure they'd have questions later, but for now they had more pressing issues.

"What did I miss?" She asked.

"Oh, only us asking dear old Saint Nick here why SHIELD is manufacturing weapons of mass destruction." For emphasis, Tony kicked the weapon she'd dropped earlier. "Jarvis found those plans as well as similar ones for missiles, rockets, and spaceborn lasers."

Fury stood resilient before their eyes for several moments before pointing at Thor, standing silently at the side of the room, "Because of Him. A handful of demigod aliens came to a small town and leveled it in a matter of days; not only showing us that we aren't alone in the cosmos, but that we are hopelessly outgunned."

Thor tried to cut in, "Asgard would never harm the citizens of earth-"

"But Asgard isn't the only race out there is it?" Fury shot back. "Aliens can and have come here, and each time they bring destruction that we are unable to handle. And it's not just them. Super-powered individuals are becoming as common as new flavors of bread, and we need to be able to deal with them when they go bad."

"So you build a nuclear deterrent? Tell me how well that's gone in the past." Banner cut in.

Fury made to give a comeback but was interrupted by a circle of light appearing in the air and a tall man with a goatee and a cape walking through it. He saw Harry first and said, "Huh, didn't expect to see a frost giant here." Then he turned to Fury. "Loki's words proved correct. There were several transports hovering near the ship, just out of scanner range. I dealt with them, and Clint and his compatriots are now in the brig."

At his words Natasha took off out the door. No one was stupid enough to try and stop her.

The new man reached Carter and extended his hand. "Doctor Stephen Strange, Sorcerer Supreme, at your service."

Peggy shook the limb and said, "Captain Carter. Did you call my son a frost giant?"

"Your son?" Stephen raised an eyebrow.

"I'm adopted." Harry squeaked, causing a small smile to cross the man's features.

"I did indeed call him that. He has all the typical features."

"Indeed!" Thor boomed as he approached the group. The reason he'd brought Loki with him was explained as he dropped the unconscious man at Stephen's feet. "Loki too is a frost giant, though he hides his features with glamours. If my guess be correct, he is the boy's birth father."

"What!" Harry exclaimed, "B-But My dad's name was James."

Thor looked uncomfortable as he answered, "My brother liked to come to Midgard over the years for an occasional dalliance now and then. His mischief didn't tend to make him popular with the women of Asgard. Based on what happened with you in his cell, I'm certain one such was with your birth mother."

"What does that mean?" Harry asked innocently, wide eyes staring at the big man while Peggy just smirked with humor. She hadn't given Harry the Talk yet, and she was endlessly glad to have a couple years left before it was a major issue.

"Ugh…" taking the conversation in a different direction he said, "well, In the cell, Loki used something that is called familial magic. It is why your skin changed as it did. His power searched you to see if there was any connection. It found his DNA inside you and activated the dormant cells. Had you not been of his line, nothing would have happened. It is my thinking that Loki was brainwashed and being presented with the proof of his child was enough to temporarily shock his mind out of its controlled state. Just by being in that room you might have saved millions of lives."

"So my dad is a god?"

"Yes." Thor mused before turning back to Stephen. "Sorcerer Supreme? My brother claimed he was under a geass. Is there any way for you to identify and remove it?"

The magic wielder cringed at the term. "Of course. One should never have to suffer such an abomination's effects."

As he leaned over the comatose mischief maker, eldritch light coating his hands, Fury got the attention of Thor and the other Avengers.

"I'm sorry, but could someone please tell me what the fuck a geass is?" He spat.

Carter quickly covered her son's ears, but he said he was sorry and she released them.

"A geass," The doctor explained, "is an unholy union between magic and science. It is a seal, that once applied allows a user to completely control another person's actions, mind, and will." His hands blazed with fresh light, "And I've just found one. He was telling the truth, and by the gods it's a bad one." Several more flashes of light and twitches of his fingers later, and he dropped his hands. "I'm not strong enough to remove this on my own. I'd need a deity to aid me, and none of the ones I know currently owe me any favors."

"Hm, my mother could probably do it." Thor mused before looking down at Harry. "How about it son of Peggy? Would you like to meet your grandmother?"

Harry nodded shyly and the big man leaned back while cupping his hands around his mouth. "Heimdall! Send down my mother!" A moment later a bright burst of light seared a hole in the ceiling and suddenly a six foot tall woman, resplendent in a dress of gold and purple, stood before them.

Without a word she dropped to the floor and began fussing with her unconscious son, and Strange worked some magic or other that fixed the roof.

A moment or two later the woman stood and her outline was coated in golden light. She raised her hands to the sky and otherworldly chanting filled the air, deafening all present. On the floor, Loki started writhing and twisting in contortions that shouldn't have ben possible until a dark, viscous, liquid started pouring out of his mouth onto the floor. Searing through the metal like acid.

Finally the chanting stopped, the dark haired god fell limp, and silence reigned. Broken an instant later by a small voice asking, "Is he alright?"

The new deity turned to regard a small blue child with red eyes. This caused her own to widen as she looked to Thor for confirmation.

He nodded. "Verily it be true, mother. He is of Loki's blood."

The strange woman moved to approach the boy, only for another woman to stand before her with a shield raised between them.

The deity recognized that posture easily enough. She kept herself standing in as nonthreatening a manner as possible and said, "As one mother to another, I mean the little one no harm. Might I speak with him?"

The other woman thought about it for a second before nodding and taking a step to the side. Her hand however moved to the grip of her sheathed sword, clearly showing the implication of violence should she try anything. The goddess respected that.

"Hello, little one." The woman spoke softly as she kneeled before the child. "My name is Frigga, but you may call me grandmother should you like."

"O-Okay, grandmother." the boy stuttered a little, he was slightly overwhelmed by all the new information he was receiving, and all the new faces he was seeing. "I'm Harry Carter." He raised his hand, "It's nice to meet you. I always wanted a big family."

The now named Frigga smiled widely and instead of taking the hand, scooped the boy into her arms, paying no heed to the sound a blade being partially drawn. She knew the other woman would see she meant no harm. "So did I, Harry." She stood, and with Peggy following, swept out of the room for privacy. All the while asking, "So tell me about yourself. What are your hobbies? Have you learned to fight yet? Do you have many friends?-"

While all that was happening, Fury was just left standing at the head of the bridge, wondering how his vessel had been invaded yet again by a norse deity.

Four Hours Later

The 'Avengers' were seated in a small conference room on the helicarrier, with Harry sitting on Frigga's lap in the corner. Fury was going over their current circumstances.

"The combatant known as Loki has been neutralized, and is cooperating with our agents quite handily." He mused. "Apparently someone forcing him to do things he didn't want to do was enough to awaken his vindictive side. As such, Agent Barton and his associates have been retrieved, as has the tesseract and doctor Selvig. Loki confirmed that the plan was to use the artifact to bring an army of creatures called Chitauri into our world for conquest. For now, at least, that crisis has been averted."

"But not removed." Doctor Strange said from his seat. "Whoever sent Loki through the dimensional gap is aware of Earth, and clearly wants something here. They could very well return. What then?"

It was Peggy that answered him, "Then we fight. Each of us has skills that can help turn the tide of battle. If the conflict returns to our world then it is our duty to defend it."

Strange nodded his ascent, "I agree. It's kind of my job as the Sorcerer Supreme after all."

Banner hesitantly did the same. "I don't think letting the Hulk out would be a good way to avoid destruction, but if my mind can help create defenses or plan for their best use, then I'll be there."

"I built my suit to save lives, so of course I'll help." Tony gave a winning smile.

Natasha was also in. "Clint is going to need a lot of therapy, but once he's well, we'll both be answering the call should it come."

Fury handed each of them a small communicator watch and said, "These are all tied to the SHIELD communication network. As such they will be able to reach us or each other any place in the world. If there is an emergency, you'll know."

The Avengers nodded, and took the communicators, as Frigga spoke up.

"Sir Fury, what is to be done with my son? I would prefer he be returned to Asgard."

The man nodded at her words. "I hear you, my lady. To be honest, that saves me quite the headache. None of my superiors could agree on what to do with him, and I honestly don't think we have a prison on this world that could hold him for long."

"Prison!" Harry exclaimed from his seat on Frigga's lap, "But he was being controlled, so what he did wasn't his fault."

Fury hated being the one to crush a little boy's idealized view of adults. "Kid, sometimes not being at fault doesn't matter. When enough people are hurt then people just want someone to blame. At least if he goes to Asgard he'll be able to avoid that issue entirely."

Harry looked up at his grandmother, "Will he be alright there? Mr. Loki said he wasn't on good terms with his dad."

Frigga shushed him lightly, "Oh don't worry, he'll be fine. He basically committed the same crime Thor attempted, and he was only exiled for about a week. So he shouldn't have much to worry about. As for this, I already told Odin about the geass, so no blame will befall him."

"Okay."

Seeing that the matter was now closed, Thor left to return Loki to his home.

The meeting carried on like that for another hour or so before the members started to disperse. Each heading back to their own lives and quiet corners of the world.

Before the trio of Harry, Peggy, and Frigga could leave however, Phil Coulson came up to them. "Captain Carter, I was wondering if you had a plan for how to handle Harry's education now that he's, you know, blue?"

Peggy frowned, "I hadn't really had a chance to think about that yet."

"Well, There's a school in New York, an institute actually, that specializes in teaching children with advanced abilities. I think he'd fit in well there."

Carter was intrigued. "What's the name of this institution?"

"It's called Xavier's School For Gifted Youngsters. The man who runs it is a mutant, and he set up the place as a haven for powered individuals to live in peace, and learn to control their abilities. He called me up a few weeks ago and asked If I'd look for a potential hand-to-hand combat instructor for the kids. The position comes with housing on the grounds, and Harry would be enrolled with no questions asked."

"I have been wanting to start a new job." Peggy mused. "Sure, Phil, call him up and schedule an interview. If I like what I see, I'll take the post."

"Excellent. Just give me a moment and I'll-"

"Excuse me, son of Coul," Frigga interrupted, "Would you also inquire if he is in need of a history, magic, or advanced combat tactics instructor? I wish to be close to my grandson for a time."

"Might I ask why?" Phil asked, his phone still held in hand with the speed dial ready to enter.

"You may. First, I've missed eight years of his life, and I'd like to be part of what comes next. Second, there is great magical potential inside of him and I'd like to help him realize it. Third… When I examined him I found some, issues."

"Issues?" Peggy growled.

"Yes." Frigga gave the woman a nod that said she felt the same way she did about it. "There was an intentionally placed block on his magic. Whoever placed it there wanted to limit his potential growth, but I have removed it. Additionally there were a multitude of monitoring and tracking charms that I have since dispelled. Finally, there was a 'shade' of a soul living in his scar." Seeing the look of horror on Carter's face she said, "When I cured Loki I used a wide area cleansing incantation. The soul was destroyed in the same instance. What I noticed was its shadow. All of this together leads me to believe that some sort of magical threat exists for my grandson, and until I know what it is, I want to be here to protect him. Odin is more than capable of ruling without me for a while."

Frigga was definitely not expecting the composed soldier to embrace her with great strength, but that is exactly what Peggy did. "Thank you." She whispered, "I had no idea he was facing those problems."

"It's alright dear. You've done a great job so far. Now let's go take a look at this school. Verily it must be top tier if it hopes to instruct a prince of Asgard."