Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

They’d only just landed on the helicarrier when Fury tried to exert his first small measure of control in the form of a team made up exclusively of Shield personnel waiting to escort the prisoner. Of course Harriet had no intention of allowing Fury even this. She dismissed his team, making it clear that her people and only her people would be having anything to do with Loki.

“There’s no need for this,” the leader said with an easy smile tainted by the emotions radiating off of him. “We all want the same thing here.”

Harriet merely stared on at him waiting for he and his team to move off as instructed.

“You’ll need us to show you to where we will be holding him,” he tried.

“We don’t need an escort,” Harriet assured.

With a glint in his eye Voldemort tacked on, “We already know the way.”

Once Shield had gotten out of the way Voldemort’s team worked on unloading the General in his cage while the rest of Buckler’s quinjets came in to land around them. As Harriet had sent orders out through the comms during the flight their people disembarked knowing where they belonged and what they were to do. The bulk would be staying with their transport or at least presenting the illusion they were. Shield would see them milling about and checking over their crafts while in truth many would be hidden from sight to keeping guard and traveling the helicarrier engaging in a bit of espionage. Other than Voldemort’s team there were only three exceptions.
Hermione had been with the scepter leading the study on it before they landed. Thanks to magic she didn’t need to be with them for the flight. At the last moment she used a portkey to take move from their facility to the quinjet. Along with her had come Ginny. As part of flushing out their training new recruits were assigned to tail more senior members. For her first day on the roster Ginny had been assigned to Hermione.

Harriet could have made a change. She could have placed a more experienced wand hand in Ginny’s place. Ron certainly would have preferred it but despite his objections regarding Ginny she was competent if a bit insolent and over confident. Despite her faults Harriet trusted Ginny to understand the gravity of the situation and fall in line. Hearing that the General was mind raping people went a long way towards that. It had been a long time since Ginny was a naive first year who put too much faith in a journal. She’d managed to heal from the trauma well, but the grudge she had against magics which violated a person’s mind or will had never and would never fade.

While Harriet and Voldemort went with the General’s escort to his cell, Ginny remained with Hermione who was to work with Banner and Stark on finding the Tesseract. Ron meanwhile would be keeping an eye on Thor. The Asgardian Prince may have been willing to forfeit his weapon but that didn’t mean he couldn’t still be a threat. Harriet didn’t want them to appear overtly hostile with him but she did want to keep a close eye. With herself and Voldemort occupied Ron was Harriet’s most trusted soldier so the duty fell to him.

The helicarrier’s detention sector was empty until they arrived at the room which contained the cell the World Security Council had sent them for. Having been built for the Hulk it was being loaned out for the General as it was believed to be the most secure in the world. A ridiculous idea as the cell was made to contain an entirely different kind of entity to that of Loki but Fury was good at getting his way. He convinced the council that the cell which just happened to be in his domain was their best bet.

“Director Smith,” he greeted as Harriet led the march inside.

“Director Fury,” she returned.

His eyes sliding past her Fury took in their prisoner. He tried not to give anything away with his body language but Harriet didn’t need expression to get a read on him. Satisfied though he was to see Loki chained and he wasn’t happy with how it had come about.

“Fury,” Harriet said calling his attention back. She tilted her head towards the cell. “If you could get the door for us?”

Up on the bridge the Avengers were watching through the surveillance feed. Watching with them were Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. Since getting recruited Ginny had been exposed to all kinds of muggle spaces and tec but the helicarrier was still far outside her experience. In design it wasn’t so foreign but the idea that it was traveling through the sky on nothing but machinery with no magical support or failsafes was boggling to her.

From where she stood at rest by Hermione’s side Ginny took in the room with interest. Thanks to her goggles there was much more she could see then with her naked eye. The lenses came from old Unspeakable research that they’d selfishly kept for themselves until Harriet pried it out of their hands. The glass was designed to allow those not naturally gifted enough to open their inner eye to see the world as though they could. It was limited. Compared to someone like Harriet and other Seers they were only slightly better than blind but it gave them a taste. They made auras plain to view and most illusions could be spotted even if Ginny could only see a hint of the truth the illusion was hiding.

Personally, after growing up friends with Luna and Harriet, Ginny loved getting to see some of what they’d always been describing. Once she got the hang of it she found herself wanting to wear them all the time. Sadly they were only for when she was on duty for the ICW. In her free time and when she was working for Harriet’s company as basic security she had to rely on her own eyes alone.

The only illusions Ginny was spotting on the bridge were coming from expected sources. Namely herself, Ron, Hermione and three of the spies the ICW had within Shield. There were two more on board that Ginny knew of and dozens through out the organization. Most had been planted there by Peggy Carter during her time as Director. Those she’s brought in were almost exclusively squibs and low level magicals like herself. Since taking over at the ICW Harriet had been working on getting some people in with greater magical ability but it was hard going. One didn’t exactly apply to Shield. They went looking for those they wanted to recruit. That didn’t used to be a problem but after Carter lost what control she had left most of the people they’d had with high authority in Shield had been removed along with her or demoted. They had no one left in a position to go recruiting more magicals into Shield.

Outside of their people Thor was the only other magical on board but for all that he was proclaimed the God of Thunder the only interesting thing about his aura was the occasional likeness of lightning branching out at the edges. The only real surprise in the room was Banner. His aura was something different. The closest thing Ginny had to compare it to was a werewolf the day of a full moon.

Ginny was hoping that at some point she’d get a peek at this General to see his aura for herself. Word was that along with the magics which hid his identity there was something in place to obscure the truth of his aura as well. Or that’s what they were assuming was causing the abnormalities that were reported. It was yet another mystery to frustrate and intrigue Hermione. Unfortunately aura couldn’t be captured by a camera. Colin was working with twins to figure out how it could be done but they’d yet to have any success.

With care John’s team was checking over the cell Shield was providing for the General’s stay while he stayed by the cage and Harriet waited next to Fury.

“The report said he turned himself over,” Fury said, speaking to his fellow Director.

“It's not like he walked into a station to turn himself in,” John said inserting himself.

A look from Harriet made him hold his tongue from carrying on. Ginny couldn’t help wondering if the moment was organic or an act the pair had planed. She used to think the twins were as close as anyone could get but Harriet and John were just as bad only in a different way. The twins were two of the same while the Potters were yin and yang. The twins were mirror images going through life in perfect symmetry. Harriet and John were dance partners moving in sync. From the outside it was impossible to tell who was leading. It was the same whether they were being themselves or Madam Smith and her loyal second Cal.

Ginny tried not to be jealous but she was. It wasn’t that she wanted Harriet or even John. She’d gotten over those bouts of infatuation years back. She just wanted someone she could mesh with as well as those to fit together.

With Fury forced Harriet to deal with his attempts at manipulation and posturing Ginny listened with half an ear while she looked over the Avengers imaging how well she might ‘mesh’ with each of them. After all, where else was she going to meet anyone but work when it took up most of her life?

***

“It won’t be happening,” Harriet said, a hint of her temper leaking out to be seen.

When Fury raised an eyebrow at her show of emotion she had to fight off a glare.

“We are dealing with a man who is reportedly known across the universe as a cunning trickster, God of Lies, and we know he’s a magic user with possible capabilities to tamper with the mind.”

“His weapon,” Fury started to say.

Voldemort snorted the way Harriet wished she could allow herself before returning snidely, “You’ve already tried that card Director. You may be convinced that the staff is connected to the Tesseract and is what’s allowed Loki to abscond with Barton and the rest but we’re not.”

“Yes, Cal, thank you,” Harriet cut back in giving him a look for show before turning back to Fury. “The prisoner is to remain chained and muzzled. We will not risk otherwise.”

Fury wasn’t pleased and he was not a man to accept things he wasn’t happy with.

Wanting to be done with this Harriet reached up to her ear under the pretense of it being necessary to engage her comms. “Lance.”

With the audio streaming through the bridge all heard her just fine and so to the one she’s called to.

Reaching up to his ear the same as Harriet to perpetuate the ruse, Ron responded, “Yes ma’am.”

“Have you begun you're questioning yet?”

“No ma’am,” Ron answered turning to look at Thor who was watching him the same the rest of the Avengers. “Not yet.”

“If you could start now by asking Thor what his brother is and isn’t capable of.”

Ron gave Thor a vaguely imploring look.

The muscle bound god did not hesitate to share what he knew. with some shame he admitted, “She is right to be concerned. Loki has mastered all manor of sorcery and tricks. He has earned his reputation for manipulation.”

“So probably best we keep him as is?”

Solemnly Thor nodded in agreement.

Harriet didn’t bother to relay what had been said to Fury. She was sure he had someone whispering in his ear and even if he didn’t he should know what the answer would be. With half an ear she listened as Ron continued to interview Thor with the occasion voice of one of the Avengers or Hill cutting in as they pleased. Thankfully Harriet was used to dividing her attention as Fury wasn’t ready to stand down just yet.

“We need answers,” her fellow director said with some of his own anger and frustration shining through.

“And we are working on getting them,” Harriet said reasonably. “We are currently interviewing the only person on this planet with personal experience of the prisoner. Our people have been examining the weapon he brought with him to Earth since we acquired it and contrary to the theory you and your people have been working on we have confirmed it is not connected to the Tesseract.” Though disturbingly they did give off similar readings.

From within the cell Harriet could see the General’s expression shifting in surprise at that revelation and she realized that thanks to dealing with Fury’s stubbornness she’d possibly given something away with no idea if it was important or not, in their favor or the making of their ruin.

With greater frustration coming out in her tone she continued.

“Then we have your experts on board using Shield’s extensive resources to find the Tesseract. While there are these other methods available to us we will not take the risk of removing that muzzle just so you can do what is comfortable to you as a spy; engaging in interrogation and trying to ply pressure on a person from another planet we have no true frame of reference to properly understand!”

Harriet could feel her people looking at her. She knew if he was at liberty to Voldemort would be placing a hand on her shoulder to offer support and comfort. Men like Fury were exactly the kind she hated. Thinking himself self aware but blind to the worse of his flaws. Always thinking he knew best and reaching beyond the authority afforded to him by his position. Taking liberties to meddle in others lives not for their good but his goals. Driven by his arrogance and paranoia he dispensed information sparingly while hoarding his wealth of knowledge to the detriment of all.

The man had more secrets than even Harriet and Voldemort who appeared to live a double life but in actuality were hiding far more. The layers of identity they had protecting their truths was like Russian nesting dolls. One inside another, inside another, over, and over, and yet Fury still out did them!

She’d known all along what kind of man Fury was but standing there facing him made it so much worse. For while Fury kept one eye hidden Harriet only needed to be able to make contact with one to passively enter his mind. Had she been digging around for information even a muggle like Fury might have felt that something wasn’t right but by letting his thoughts flow naturally he knew nothing of it. His surface thoughts were her’s to read and what she saw infuriated her more than most things managed these days.

There are so much she wanted to say to Fury. There was an epic telling off in her that just wanted letting out. She wanted to throw in his face that for all he and his preached of peace they fell back on violence and compromise again and again. She wanted to tell him about all the problems Shield claimed to be working to fix that her people had found to have originated from their earlier efforts to fix a different problem. And the lies. So many unnecessary lies and harmful manipulations. So much that Fury viewed was justified never doubting that perhaps he was seeing it thing wrong, limited as he was to one good eye.

Harriet’s own perspective was aided by her Sight and that of hundreds of others Seers. She could see all the ripples in the pond that Fury made but wasn’t aware of. She could see how many better ways there were for him to do things. But that wasn’t the worse of it.

The worst part about it all was that Harriet could see that like Dumbledore, Fury truly had the best of intentions. At his core he cared for and was scared for his people, their planet, and all of humanity. He was a good man. A good man who was scared and jaded, who wanted things to be ‘right’ so badly that he set his gaze off to the final destination, cutting a straight line for it leaving him blinded by his refusal to look down and see all the problems with the path he had set himself on.

It was so much like Dumbledore. Dumbledore who for the greater good had allowed an innocent child to be left to grow up where he knew she would not be cared for properly. Dumbledore who felt certain she was a hocrux but rather than telling her so Harriet might find another way told Snape so he might lead her to making the ultimate sacrifice when the time came. Dumbledore who left a monster with a blood quill loose on his students because he prioritized the troubles beyond those halls. Dumbledore who sent children off to face horrors in the name of making them into heroes. Dumbledore who was memorialized as the Leader of the Light and good.

There was so much she wanted to say to Fury but just as she had with Dumbledore, Harriet held her tongue. Of course it would be satisfying to give him a telling off, to try to hurl insights and truths at him in the hope that something would make an impact but would it be productive? She didn’t need to look into the future to know it would not. So, with well exercised restraint she reigned herself in, but only just. She allowed herself to say what needed to be said and nothing more.

“This is not your call Fury. I will be handling the princes as I see fit. Whether you like it or not doesn’t matter. They are both not of this world and there for firmly in our jurisdiction. Not yours. So if you would, kindly go see to your duties and leave me to mine.”

Entering the bridge with Coulson at his side Stark whistled.

“Is that Fury being told off? Seems I missed something worth seeing.”

Ginny smirked. “I’m sure we could get you a recording if you’d like.”

She could feel Ron holding back from giving her a look for that. He had advised her to mold her alter to be quiet and unobtrusive but Ginny didn’t much care for that. She thought to take a page out of John’s alter. It certainly seemed more fun to have a chance to be snarky and say what she wanted to say, drawing attention to herself and in doing so pulling it away from others.

“The point is to be different from how you normally are,” had been Ron’s reply to that.

Stark smiled at her. His eyes only quickly scanned her over but not in the blatantly appraising way he might have done before his former secretary became his monogamous girlfriend which was a bit of a shame in Ginny’s opinion. Capable, brave, handsome, and rich was a formula for prime boyfriend material. And, if he was with a witch Stark wasn’t likely to stand against them should secrecy ever fail.

“And what put America's top spy at odds with Director of the Man in Black,” Tony asked.

“Men in black,” Thor asked confused.

His question was ignored though it seems Rogers would have liked for it to be answered.

“It has been decided that Loki will not be interrogated,” Ron explained.

“I guess it will be up to the two of us to find the Tesseract then,” Tony accepted easily as he headed around the table, heading for his fellow muggle genius. “Its good to meet you Doctor Banner. Your work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled. And I’m a huge fan of the way you loose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster.”

Ginny’s esteem for Stark dropped instantly. She looked at him disbelieving of what had just come out of his mouth. Turning to Ron she found him hanging his head in amused exasperation while beyond him Hermione more reasonably glared openly at the billionaire’s callousness.

“Thanks,” Banner managed to force out.

Rogers, considerate soul he was and rightly not interested in riling the beast in the Doctor tried changing the subject away from the threat Banner posed. “The iridium they stole. Is there anyway we can use that to find the cube?”

“We believe they took it to use as stabilizing agent,” Hermione explained to Rogers, drawing a few surprised looks from around the room.

Appearing speculative Stark gave her a looking over. Banner was more subtle in his interest.

“Stabilizing agent,” Steve asked understanding the words but not how they applied in this context.

“It means,” Stark said. “That the portal won’t collapse on itself like it did at Shield. It also means the portal can open as wide and stay open as long as Loki wants. The rest of the raw materials Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily. Then all they’ll need is a power source of high energy density. Something to kick start the cube.”

“Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?”

Banner who was fidgeting as he thought answered. “He’d have to heat the cube to a hundred and twenty-million Kelvin just to break through Coulomb barrier.”

“Unfortunately that may not be the case if they know how to stabilize the quantum tunneling effect,” Hermione revealed.

The looks her way this time was one of surprised pleasure.

“Well, if Selvig could do that, he could achieve heavy ion fusion at any reactor on the planet,” Banner said with concern.

“Finally, people who speak English,” Stark proclaimed practically beaming. He squeezed Banner on the shoulder before moving around the table making for Hermione.

“Is that what just happened,” Steve asked.

“That’s actually something we could use a hand with,” Ron said looking over at Maria Hill, Fury’s second in command. From the gossip Ginny had heard Hill had not been the director’s choice but the council’s appointment. “You’ve got more man power and eyes in more places than we do. With so many locations to check and secure we’d appreciate a hand.”

Hill was looking like she would give her agreement but before she could Fury arrived on the bridge with John trailing half a step behind him. Once those two arrived it made things rather more complicated then yes or no with a slew of questions being asked. Taking a break from it John turned to Ron. “Aren’t you meant to be interviewing Prince Thor?”

“Yes Sir,” Ron nodded. Moving towards the table he gestured for Thor to join him. Moving stiffly the God of Thunder took a seat. Sitting forward in his own seat the Captain prepared to take an active part in the conversation while the famous Black Widow quietly remained where she was to observe.

John turned to Hermione.

Beating him to it she said, “And I should be getting Doctor Banner back to his work then catching him and Stark up on what we know.”

“And you are,” Stark asked giving Hermione a slower look from head to toe than he’d given Ginny. There wasn’t much to see. Hermione wasn’t dressed to impress in any way, wearing a white button down tucked into her pants which were tucked into her combat boots and a simple jacket over that. Unlike the rest of them she was choosing to present herself as unarmed.

“Head of Buckler’s analysts,” was her polite but lukewarm response to Stark’s inquiry was. Looking away from him to Banner Hermione asked, “If you’d be willing to lead the way Doctor.”

“Of course,” Banner said making a gesture for one of the halls leading off of the bridge.

As Hermione strode off towards him, Stark lingered nosing around at the screens in Fury’s little control hub.

“Stark,” Hermione called back to him when it was obvious he wasn’t following.

Giving her a smile he made to push off from where he was leaning but not before his hand slipped underneath placing something there. Ginny pretended not to notice while she collected Hermione’s cases from the floor.

“Are you a researcher too,” Stark asked as she fell into step with him.

“Nope. Metis is the brains. I’m just a lowly grunt,” Ginny admitted with mock sorrow.

Stark smiled at her but his attention quickly slid away landing on the conversation happening ahead of them as Hermione filled Banner in on what Buckler knew so far about Loki’s scepter. It didn’t take long for Stark to insert himself.

In the small window of privacy Ginny had she threw up a spell to hold back the sound of her voice and then an illusion so none of the cameras could see she was talking. Over the comms she sent out word about what Stark had done. One of the Agents ghosting about the bridge reported that he’d look into it.

Once they were in the lab the three geniuses might as well have been speaking Gobbledygook for all the sense it made to Ginny but as she didn’t need to understand so she didn’t bother slowing them up by asking questions. Instead took her station guarding the door and became a part of the scenery, blending into the background while the brainiacs did their thing. Ginny had always known Hermione was smart but it wasn’t until seeing then, that she really got just how smart her friend was. It only took seeing Hermione effortlessly slot in with Tony Stark and Bruce, Banner, two men whom Ginny heard referred to as geniuses about as often as she heard their names,.

Once the other business was out of the way Hermione brought up what Stark had done on the bridge.

“What,” Banner asked, looking between the pair while Hermione and Tony eyed one another.

“Stark connected his interface to Shield’s systems. You have to know its a given it's only a matter of time before they realize what you are up to. So is it safe to assume you started running a decryption program right off?”

Looking a bit smug Stark had no shame in owning up to his efforts in espionage. He brought up a display of the progress he’d made so far before turning the screen around for them all to see. “In a few hours, I’ll know every dirty secret Shield has every tried to hide.”

Ginny was impressed.

Hermione was not.

“Don’t exaggerate,” she told him distractedly as she walked over to look over the data.

Banner hesitated a moment before joining her. When Hermione gave no reaction to his entering her space the good doctor’s nerves settled allowing him to focus entirely on the display. Personally Ginny was happy having some distance between herself and the man who made werewolves seem harmless in comparison. She didn’t understand how Hermione could take having him standing next to her so calmly and it wasn’t even an act! Her aura showed no sign of distress. Awareness? Yes. She knew Banner was next to her but she didn’t seem any more affected by it than she would anyone else.

“They’ve got plenty more secrets you won’t be able to get at,” Hermione promised Stark, “and as much as you might want to look down on them they do have some of the best minds in the world looking to protect those secrets.”

Tony frowned at her. “Not good enough to keep me out.”

Ginny rolled her eyes. Now that they were talking about things she actually knew something about she was done being one with the scenery. “Yep. Congrats. You failed the test.”

With his smugness falling into a frown, Tony turned on her. “Test?”

“It takes level five clearance to be allowed on this helicarrier,” Hermione explained plainly. Most of her attention was still on going over what Stark had managed to get so far. “Most Shield agents believe six is as high as you can go. They don’t expect people who they trust enough to let on board to pull stunts like this. Given everything that originally got you denied for the Avengers Initiative this was your chance to prove to the naysayers that you could be trusted behave.”

“…And I failed the test,” Tony said.

“Yep,” Ginny confirmed. Coming up she pat his hand consolingly. “Don’t feel too bad about it though. Life’s easier with Shield approving of you but it's not so bad being on the outside.”

Tony raised an eyebrow at her. “Speaking from experience?”

“Yeah. Sadly -or rather not- once we left the house the Dads cut us off. Buckler doesn’t get any info or support from Shield these days.”

“Dads,” Tony asked. “As in plural.”

A plummeting sensation hit Ginny’s stomach as she realized she’d said something she shouldn’t. She looked to Hermione and saw she was being leveled with an extremely displeased look. Ginny imagined were Hermione not currently in uniform her hair would be fluffed up and frizzed to the nines.

Both Stark and Banner looked between them.

“Fury, and…,” Banner asked.

Still giving Ginny an unhappy look Hermione apologized, “Unfortunately that’s not something we can share with you.”

“And what can you share,” Stark prompted.

Rather than shutting him down Hermione asked, “What were you hoping to find?”

All three of them were surprised. Ginny looked at Hermione wondering what she was up to.

Then the voice of ‘Smith’ spoke in Ginny’s ear. “Careful you two. Fury and Romanoff are watching. Get Stark and Banner in the know but don’t give too much away,” Harriet advised.

Stark declared, “I want to know why Fury’s only calling us in now. The homework I got was very careful to outline Shield’s desire to use the Tesseract as a sustainable energy source. I’m kind of the only name in clean energy right now. I do consulting work for them. Why not pull me in for this?”

Banner was playing with his glasses. His gaze miles away as he thought.

“It’s bothering you too,” Tony said, challenging him to disagree.

Tapping his fingers on his frames Banner revealed, “When they brought me in Natasha claimed Shield’s known where I was all this time. If they think its worth the risk working with me now…” He tilt his hand, leaving them to follow the thought to its logical conclusion.

“Whatever the reason Fury’s brought you in now, I can tell you The Hulk has been listed as a potential Avenger for longer than the Iron Man,” Hermione told him.

“An Avenger,” Banner said testing the label. The guy was looking tense and agitated and his being tense and agitated made Ginny match him. She looked to Hermione but she still didn’t seem effected and neither did Stark.

Uneasily Ginny took a step back. while Stark explained, “Yeah. A boy band Fury was putting together.”

“The Avengers Initiative has been Fury’s pet project for decades now,” Hermione cut in to give Banner a less colorful description than what Tony had planned.

As she presented information new to Stark shutting his mouth to listen.

“The names on the list have been edited a dozen times over but he’s never been given permission to go ahead with it. He’s using this situation and the emergency powers it offers him to get you a trial run as it were. To prove it could work as he’s been claiming and get official clearance to move ahead. And in case that wasn’t enough he sent Captain Rogers off to Germany in uniform in the hopes that if the Avengers are known and a comfort to the public his superiors won’t be able to shut the project down. If they still want to when this is done.”

“But why us,” Banner asked gesturing between himself and Stark. “Fury has an entire organization of spies and soldiers. Why does he need ‘Avengers.’”

“He says its to deal with problems that are beyond what the ordinary spy or soldier is trained to handle.”

“He says,” Stark pushed.

Looking away from the display to meet Stark’s eye, Hermione repeated, “He says.”

Through Ginny’s earpiece Smith’s voice came again. “Lance is on the way for the scanners Metis. You should have less then two minutes before he arrives.” She wasn’t happy about not being able to give them a more concrete timeline.

Abandoning Stark’s investigative efforts Hermione returned to the area of the lab she had claimed for her own little work station, having already set up the equipment and devices she’d brought with her. Among them was a laptop and a few ICW exclusive tablets. The likes of Stark and Shield and other outsiders would never be able to hack as their computing devices as the operating systems were designed by magicals and the hardware protected by magic. Ginny was told it had been a bugger to figure out but beyond being able to use the things she had very little understanding of the intricacies that made them work.

Following Hermione, Stark asked, “Any more of Fury’s secrets you’d be willing to share with the class.”

Banner followed a few steps behind them.

Hermione’s eyes flicked up before focusing back to the work at hand. Namely checking over the scanners to make sure everything was in order. “I may not work for Shield but I do work for a secret organization. Out of respect we aren’t meant to go blabbing what other agencies have deemed classified information.”

“So what was that over there then?”

“That was me, answering your questions as I have been ordered to do,” Hermione explained. Looking up she held Stark’s gaze. “I have been ordered to share any and all intel I have that may aid you in finding the Tesseract as well as answering your questions.”

By her tone and her expression you would think it was really that simple for Hermione but thanks to her goggles Ginny could see the vindictive streak present in her aura. Much like Harriet -and honestly every one else Ginny had met since being brought in to work for the ICW- Hermione did not care for Shield, Fury, and how they chose to go about their work.

Stark was notoriously trouble and it seemed to Ginny that Hermione had orders to point that trouble in Fury’s direction.

A light went off in Stark’s eyes and his aura gave a little flare to match as he picked up on the message Hermione was trying pass. “The Tesseract then. What’s its deal? Why didn’t Fury bring us in on it?”

Hermione went back to her work treating what she was about to say as if it this wasn’t information Shield would have probably been willing to kill to protect. “Fury didn’t lie. They were looking to use the Tesseract for sustainable energy. What they left out of the debriefing packets was their intention to weaponized their unlimited energy source by replicating the work Hydra did and expanding on it. The files you’ll be looking for talk about it as Phase 2. A rather innocuous name. I suppose whoever chose it may have been taking inspiration from the Manhattan Project.”

Stark leaned back while Banner moved forward.

“They want to make a bomb using the Tesseract,” he asked.

Having finished with the scanners and put them in their case Hermione braced herself as she looked up. “Bombs. Plural I’m afraid. And other weapons to add to their arsenal besides.”

After a beat Stark began to pace about the lab.

Hermione’s eyes tracked him as he went, but Ginny’s attention was on Banner. She did not like the way he was breathing. How worked up he was by the news. Her hand slipped to her wand but it wasn’t the comfort it usually was when trapped in a room on a flying metal box with a man who as Stark put it had a way of turning into an enormous green rage monster. She’s seen the footage and memories of what the Hulk could do. She had no interest in witnessing it first hand.

“Breath,” Smith’s voice said calmingly in her ear.

On command Ginny took a deep breath and only as she did did she realize her fear had paralyzed her into holding it in.

“You're triggering the Hulk more than Hermione’s news. See that shifting in his aura? The hulk’s consciousness trying to push Banner aside?” Ginny could see it. “It's only getting worse the longer your hand is on your wand. Banner is seeing who fingering a gun and that’s making the Hulk see you as a threat. Now, take your hand off your wand.”

Before following orders Ginny used the contact with her wand to cast a spell to contain her voice and an illusion to hide the sight of her responding as she had in the hall on the way to the lab. Then, stiffly she pulled her hand away and watched as Banner took a few deep breaths of his own, loosened his stance, and turned his back on her to focus on the conversation going on between Hermione and Stark.

Ginny crossed her arms to avoid reflexively reaching for her wand again.

“Can you See if Banner’s control will slip,” she asked seeking the comfort of knowing everything would be fine because Harriet Saw it would be so.

“The protections on the prisoner extend much farther than his person. They are obscuring most of the ship’s future. Just keeping track of everyone in the moment is proving difficult.”

taking in the news Ginny swallowed. “So we don’t know what’s coming.”

“…No, we don’t,” Harriet said in a measured tone. “Which is what good training, preparation, and team work is for. Hermione knows how to handle the Hulk if he shows up. Stay at her back, follow her orders, and everything will be fine.”

Knowing Harriet couldn’t see it was so the comfort she offered was hollow to Ginny.

While Ginny had been distracted the conversation had stayed focused on the Tesseract.

Hermione was explaining, “When your father first recovered the Tesseract there were those than that wanted him to figure out how to use it for similar purposes, but he refused. Having helped create the first nuclear bomb he reportedly wasn’t interest in making something more destructive that could have even worse unforeseen repercussions then the last. He genuinely pursued the goal Fury is using as a cover. He wanted to use the Tesseract for the betterment of mankind. Not the betterment of our killing capabilities. For a long time there was little progress until a Doctor Wendy Lawson joined Pegasus to study the Tesseract. She had a break through and was working on figuring out how to harness the energy to create a light speed engine.”

“Light speed,” Stark asked intrigued. “That wasn’t in the notes.”

“It wouldn’t be,” Hermione reported. “And it won’t be in the files you're accessing either. They aren’t in the systems to be found. Most of the information about Pegasus and Shield’s other truly important files are hidden behind level seven clearance.”

“So…,” Banner’s shook his head minutely as he tried to process this. “Are you saying Shield had access to light speed technology and weapons hidden away at the Pegasus facility.”

Hermione frowned. Her genuine grief contorting her expression and aura. “Sadly no. The Doctor was on the right path but before she could see it through she was killed. Most all of her breakthroughs were lost with her.”

“Killed? Killed by who?”

“A soldier from an alien race,” Hermione started to explain but was interrupted by Stark.

“Wait. What? The files said Thor and New Mexico were our first contact.”

“Like I’ve stressed several times now, most of the important information is hidden behind hire levels of clearance.” Hermione waves her hand. “Or there is never any trail left as to what really happened. Not even Fury’s in on all of Shield’s secrets.”

While that hung in the air the doors opened allowing Ron in his Lance alter to enter. He was flanked by the Super Soldier and the God.

As he made his way over to Hermione, Ron took in the room with a frown.

“This it,” he asked gesturing to the case.

“Yes,” Hermione confirmed.

“And what is this,” Stark butt in, earning displeased pursed lips from Hermione as she closed the case and handed it off to Ron.

“Scanners which will hopefully give us some further insight into the prisoner,” Hermione answered. “Now recalibrated after the initial readings that were done when he was captured.”

Taking the case from Hermione Ron was very happy to leave her to Stark’s questions as he beat a hasty escape from the room. Thor followed him as he’d been asked to keep close by Ron and Steve moved along with them as he’d chosen to add himself to the guard. Ron supposed he felt the need to keep an eye on Thor personally since as far as he knew he was the only one around who might be able to match him without a suit of armor.

Even though the two men could probably kill him with the strength they had in a single pinky Ron found himself at ease, getting along well with the pair. He’d expected to like Steve. He knew the man’s story. He had been there when Councilwoman Carter was told of his recovery and that he was still alive. He heard her tell Harriet about the man behind the legacy. Everything he’d learned about Steve made him seem like the kind of man Ron would want to buy a drink. Thor was a different story.

Ron hadn’t expected to like Asgard’s prized Prince. Everything he’d heard previously about the God of Thunder made Ron think Thor would be the kind of man he would punch in the face after a few drinks. He’d pictured someone unthinking of others, only focused on their own pleasures and glory, but Thor seemed genuinely upset when hearing of the lives Loki ended and Selvig’s being taken by his brother. And while he had gotten hammer happy when he first showed up Thor hadn’t shown any signs of aggression since, he was cooperating fully with them, and it had been Stark to land the first blow. Despite what Ron expected and despite not wanting to like the man, he was being won over by Thor. When everything was over he didn’t think he would mind offering to buy him a drink along with Steve.

“What will these scanners be looking for,” Steve asked, thankfully only interested in a general idea and not all the science and details like Stark.

“That’s Metis’ department. Not mine,” Ron explained. The truth was he didn’t fully understand it and what he did he couldn’t tell Steve about.

“Than why does she not bring them. Is she not a warrior as well,” Thor questioned.

“She’s a warrior,” Ron felt the need to defend. “She has the training and the heart but her job is to stick with Banner and Stark. As they are needed in the lab, that’s where she’ll stay.”

Along with finding the Tesseract it was Hermione’s job to keep an eye on Banner in case there was a Code Green. Just the same as it was Ron’s job to keep an eye on Thor in case he caused trouble and John was tailing Fury in case he failed to accept Harriet’s authority.

Up ahead the path to the Detention Sector was being blocked by three of Ron’s people who were being watched by two Shield agents who thought they were being inconspicuous. Standing around in the hall presenting themselves as being in deep conversation as they were and fiddling with their papers. The Shield agents clocked Thor, Steve, and Ron as they passed giving them polite smiles. They even managed to present the right look in their eyes, but their auras told a different story. A story Ron very much didn’t like the looks of.

Having been ordered to do so by Harriet the guards moved aside allowing Ron’s trio to pass before moving back into position.

The rest of the guards past that point were hidden from sight. Most observing from mirror dimension. He was surprised that Steve seemed to sense the eyes on him while Thor continued on seemingly oblivious. Ron expected better from a warrior trained in a magically aware society, with an illusion gifted brother, who’d managed to survive over a thousand years of legendary adventures.

Inside the room which held the Hulk’s cell which was currently holding their prisoner, the General there were illusions around to give the appearance of a guard presence but Harriet was the only one still really there. Ron didn’t like it but she wasn’t willing to risk anyone else being so close to the threat because if Loki was able to get out of those restraints he truly was a threat no human could handle. Not even a magical one. But it was Harriet’s belief that she would have the best chance of any of them as a witch with the Sight and Frost Giant blood in her veins who was currently in possession of Thor’s hammer.

While the hammer was a comfort, Ron felt the least she could have done was to keep a few guards close at hand in the mirror dimension. However when he as her Head of Security advised this she overruled him.

“Ma’am,” he greeted.

“Lance,” she returned bowing her head fractionally. “Captain Rogers. Prince Thor.”

“Ma’am,” Steve returned with quick respect while Thor said nothing. His attention was captured by the first good look he’d gotten of his brother bound and held in a cage.

“Do we need to get Fury to open the cell,” Ron asked despite knowing the answer.

Harriet was watching Thor as she moved towards the control panel. “No. Despite the effort put into designing the cell to keep what’s inside from breaking out, it laughably easy to open the way if you’re on the outside.”

“Overly confident,” Ron said with a shake of his head. At Steve’s questioning expression he explained. “The cell was designed for the Hulk. Not a detainee you expect to have allies willing to get near enough to help him escape. But, there are those that would risk it to get their hands on him. Considering that, Shield should have made it as hard to break in as out but they figured no one would ever get past them to get close enough to be a concern.”

“No outsider has managed to break onto one of their helicarrier before. Let alone Fury’s flagship,” Harriet pointed out. As always making a point to be understanding of the other side.

“There’s a first time for everything,” Steve said studying the room and cell with a new eye, earning him an approving look from Ron and Harriet both.

“If you could please move back from the cell,” Harriet requested of Thor.

Begrudgingly he complied falling back to stand at Steve’s side while Ron moved over to Harriet.

In a show of ability that was almost unheard of she wove an illusion over the pair of them as he walked. Naturally creating a cover that allowed her to take the case and the form of Lance from Ron while setting him to replace her as Smith so she might enter the cell while leaving everyone not in the know to think Ron was the one doing it.

“Be careful,” Ron imparted.

***

“Yes Director,” Harriet returned bowing her head to Ron.

As she made for the cells Captain Rogers asked, “Need a hand?”

“I’ve got it,” she promised him with a reassuring smile.

As she entered the cell where the General’s cage was held Ron sealed the way behind her.

Setting the case she carried down on the bench Shield’s engineers had built into the cell. She retrieved the equipment that was inside before one at a time bringing them over to attach to the cage. Once connected she got them started on taking readings of the General. The first scan they attempted at the museum gave them nothing as the protections he had in place interfered with the results. Combining Hermione, Voldemort, and Harriet’s insights they had adjusted the scanners to hopefully receive better results in understanding the protections and booby traps their prisoner might be sporting so they might begin unravelling them.

Once everything was set into place there was nothing to do but sit back and wait. Ron was under orders not to open the cell until things were finished. He tried to argue that Harriet should not wait inside with the General but Harriet felt that they increased the risk of something going wrong the more they introduced moving parts and opportunity. Besides, if something went wrong the glass would do little to stop Harriet from escaping. And besides, she had Mjolnir singing in her hand as an ally at her side which according to Thor Loki could not wield. If things went wrong she might be able to trap him in place by dropping Mjolnir on his chest as Thor had done before.

“This will take some time. If you like take a seat, or find a place to lean,” Ron offered to the other two without doing such a thing himself.

The two looked at each other before settling in to stand. In the cell Harriet rolled her eyes at the pride and posturing. Needing to prove they didn’t need to rest if another was going to stand. That they were warrior enough to stand at attention. Thor spent most of the waiting time looking near or at the prisoner. The General had already proven that having his physical sight blocked didn’t stop him Seeing. He likely knew his brother was there and looking at him but he gave no sign of it, choosing to ignore Thor instead.

They all waited, without making conversation until the devices had concluded their work. Having to force herself not to race over Harriet moved to collect them and check the results. With her back to the outsiders she allowed a smile to spread across her face as she packed the equipment away.

As she headed for the door Harriet met Ron’s eye. They couldn’t do their normal checks in front of the muggles so instead she opened her thoughts to him allowing him look inside her mind just enough to check she was herself and of sound mind. Once he was satisfied he opened the way for Harriet to slip through before the door could fully open. Fast on the draw Ron closed the cell back up as soon as she was clear.

With hard won ease from years of diligent practice Harriet extended the illusion as she walked to Ron’s side to allow them to hand off the case and switch identities back again with movements Steve, Thor, and those supervising the camera fees would picked up as looking natural.

“All done ma’am,” Harriet said in Lance’s voice as the transition happened before using Smith’s to continue. “Thank you Lance. Once you’ve seen those back to Metis do the rounds. Check everything is in order.”

“Yes ma’am,” Ron replied with a bow of his head.

“Come on boys,” he instructed Thor and Steve as he left.

Steve lingered watching Thor who was giving one last long look at his brother before turning to follow Ron. With Thor moving Steve gave his own last look at Loki as well, then a “Director” in farewell to Harriet before leaving.

Harriet waited until the guards informed her they were out of the restricted zone before sending out an order to those who were moving about the aircraft unseen. “I want the room. Take over the feeds.”

As confirmations came in Harriet waited for the work to be done as the cameras and surveillance equipment that was obvious and those which weren’t were overridden to show and tell exactly what they wanted it too. As far as Shield would be able to tell Director Smith was standing guard along side her people. All keeping a silent vigil. In the mean time, Harriet newly armed with the answers she needed would be getting to work unraveling the protections over the General.

Working through the cell wall would made it harder but with the cage and restraints answering to her authority the task was feasible. Rather than unraveling from the edge she slipped through vulnerabilities in the array to attack them at their core where the connection and overlap was surprisingly at its weakest.

Harriet was loath to make assumptions but more and more it looked as though the General was indeed Loki of Asgard as he claimed to be. The scans had provided even greater evidence. They couldn’t tell Harriet much about the man beneath the protections, but the magics in use were telling.

While Asgard toted themselves as a race of warriors, magic was in everything they did in the same way as vibranium was woven through Wakanda’s culture. Asgard was unique in this sense and it provided them great protection. Their weapons were laced with magic and wielded with might. Might which came from good genes, the magic that ran through every Asgardian, and advancements they had made over the years. Their technological advancements were as supported by magic as their weaponry leaving it out of reach for replicating and reverse engineering by those outsiders who only understood the science or the enchantments but not both. And all of this Asgard managed by ensuring that every last person who called themselves Asgardian had access to magic.

In the days before Odin this goal was aimed for through breeding. Asgard encouraged its citizens who could not find a magical mate within their own race to explore the nine realms looking for those of magical baring they could reproduce with in the hope of siring children that were of magic with Asgardian dominate inheritance. Those children who did take after their Asgardian parents were brought back to the realm eternal. Those who were not were most often left in the realms of their other parent.

This practice was successful. Asgardian stood a mighty race with only a small percentage of their number muggle or squib. In return their genes were cast out to races of the other realms lending them benefits as well. But it was not enough for Odin. Odin wished for Asgard's might to be supreme. He wanted to ensure that every Asgardian had access to magic without having to share their physical blessings with the other races. In time he found a way to achieve this and that way was The Binding. Every Asgardian was bound to Odin and his line, and through this they were connected to each other. For those who were born without magic this gave them access to it as the magic of their entire race was able to be redistributed equally to all. But that, was far from all it did.

While The Binding made the Asgardian race stronger as a whole it meant there were none of extraordinary might outside of the royal blood. By enacting the binding Odin assured that none of his people would have the might to match him or his children for they were the anchor of the spell and as the anchors did not contribute their own magic with their peoples for a part in the equal share. As they could not be matched, they could not be opposed or overthrown by any of their own who might try to enact a coup or revolution. And should outsiders try Odin and his would have the power of their people to draw from to bolster their own individual might.

The man in the cage, the prisoner, the General was such an anchor. His magic was his own but the might of Asgard was tied to him. It was a far lesser tie than Thor’s but a tie nonetheless. To protect against interfering with the binding and one of Odin’s heirs a base of protections was put in place around it. As the years past all additional protections were built on that strong foundation. This should have made it impossible for even the likes of Voldemort in his prime with all the magics he knew and sacrifices he’d be willing to make to lay the man vulnerable but fortunately for Harriet this foundation once strong now lay damaged and fragile.

Someone had been working to remove strategic protection from this foundation. From the holes left behind Harriet believed that the General had been stripped of several means of tracking and protections for his mind. The first Harriet could understand him possibly doing himself, but the second she could not and given the presence of the scepter she felt there was reason to suspect this had been done outside of the Generals informed consent. For the moment Harriet’s focus was on the fact that since these protections were removed the General’s magic had begun attacking the others, weakening them. She felt this was unconsciously motivated. The man no longer wished to identify as an Asgardian and acting on that his magic was working on ridding him of the magics which marked him as one and Harriet? She was happy help.

Behind his mask the General’s eyes went wide as he felt what was happening. He responded to the attack on his defenses. He tried to stop it but his restraints kept his magic from responding as he liked. With his own magic hamstrung he tried calling on the magic of Asgard but the binding was too damaged and the first point of Harriet’s attack. Once it fell the others cascaded down after it. Centuries of work falling away in minutes to leave the man vulnerable.

Harriet allowed herself a smile as for the first time she could See the General clearly.

“Hello Loki,” she said, her heart singing at having this made right, at being able to know rather than assume or guess. “I think you and I should have a talk.”

By Harriet’s will the bars of Loki’s cage moved with the fluid grace. Unfolding and flattening they lay themselves out across the floor, moving out of the way while still there in a trap that was ready to be sprung if he misbehaved. Likewise the restraints over his person gave up their rigidity. They stayed around his body, embracing him, ready to lock him into position if need be, but for the time being they were flexible, allowing him to move. This included the band which had been holding his jaw shut which loosened freeing him to speak as the faceplate pulled back.

The first thing he did with his new freedom was to glare at Harriet. Though she hardly cared. His expression mattered little to her now that she could see his aura which was always much more telling. He was trying to contain himself, trying to control what she could see now that magic was no longer doing it for him, but some things couldn’t be well hidden by will alone.

Sneer still in place the General rose from the floor with almost as much grace as the bars had sunk down to it. He worked to thoroughly dust off and adjust his clothing before standing tall. “And I thought you said I was not to be interrogated. Is that not what you told Fury? Or was that a lie.”

A voice made small by Harriet’s locking such thoughts away whispered, “These are the first words your father says to you.”

She saw the Loki’s eyes tighten as he took in the fluctuation to her aura. According to reports the man was not a Seer but he had proven that did not stop him from Seeing and as such Harriet could not afford to indulge feelings like this. Utilizing her Occlumency skills she worked to better shut them away.

James Potter was her father. His first words to her were, “Hello little girl.” She had seen Sirius’ memory of it. She had watched as the longer he held her in his arms the deeper in love with her as his daughter he fell. Whatever Loki may be, Prince of Asgard, progenitor of her existence, it didn’t change that. James Potter was her father. The man before her was the General who would lead an army against her planet.

Using these truths and her vision of the war monument she sealed any feelings and distracts she might have about what this man might be away.

“Not a lie,” Harriet said neutrally. “I told him that his people would not be interrogating you.”

“No,” Loki countered with a cruel smirk, “I believe what you said was that I was to remain muzzled.”

Harriet nodded, “As we could not understand you well enough to know the kind of threat you posed. Now that your protections have been removed, our ignorance and with it the risk has been lesson.”

Loki eyed her skeptically as he stalked closer to where she stood at the door of his cell. Each step was perfectly placed to avoid where the bars of his cage were laid out on the floor. Like Harriet he did not need to look at his feet to see them.

“Yes, it seems you witches and wizards of Midgard have come far,” Loki mused. “Much farther than I was prepared for. You have my compliments. Not only did you manage to capture me but you removed magics placed by the All Father himself. Something that even I thought impossible.”

Harriet’s ego wasn’t stroked by this. Dismissively she replied, “You submitted yourself to detainment. As such it will never be known if we could have captured you or not. As for the protections, the work was already started for me. I merely took advantage of the damage already done.”

Loki’s head turned to the side while his eyes stayed on her. “What do you mean?”

“You didn’t know,” Harriet said taking in the edge of his aura where the more mercurial emotions showed themselves in thin boarders and flashes of change. She could see his control failing to stop the surprise, suspicion, displeasure, and a dozen other emotions flickering into existence only to be squashed down. Flooded out they disappeared beneath a tide of anger and rage. Suppressing more telling emotions in this way was a basic but effective Occlumency technique. However it was one most masters didn’t rely on as it made for poor emotional control and affected ones ability to think objectively.

From all she knew about Loki he was meant to be a master of the mind arts. However it seemed something was affecting his ability or perhaps affecting his desire to use it. Harriet itched to understand why. She could almost feel it. A phantom sensation pulled from the memories of her puberty when the smallest thing set her off in the worst of ways. Cursing her skin to prickle. Consuming her with the need to scratch.

It seemed not only Loki’s control was being affected. Harriet usually did a better job of containing herself. Something wasn’t right and needing to understand she divided her attention between unraveling Loki and exploring herself.

“What is it you think I don’t know,” Loki asked condescendingly, but his aura was still all anger and rage with the occasional flashing of suspicion and denial.

“Protections which appear to have been with you most all your life were removed some time within the last year, though it does not appear to have been done too recently. When they were removed nothing was done to replace them or compensate for their loss. This weakened your other defenses. While neither the scans nor I can pinpoint exactly when it happened, judging by what should have been there it seems the measures which would allow Odin to find even you in even the most hidden of places were removed as well as all the spells, hexes, and curses which were put in place as the first line of defense for your mind.”

Giving the matter no time for consideration Loki spit out, “You lie.”

Calm in the face of what she knew to be an unfounded accusation, Harriet asked, “Why do you assume so? Is it because you are certain such a thing would be impossible or is it something else?”

As he fell into introspection Loki turned away from her Harriet was pleased to see it. If his mind was tempered with seeing the work undone would be easiest if Loki was aware and wanted rid of it.

By the time Harriet realized something was wrong outside the bubble of their room it was too late to change it. With Loki’s protections having been interfering with her ability to look into the future of the ship and those on it she had stopped wasting her energies trying to look. Once his protections were removed her attention had been so focused on Loki and herself in this room all alone with his past and the answers it held beckoning to her. She had little awareness to spare for the rest of the helicarrier and what the future held for it. This had been a mistake.

It was only because it was so ingrained in her to look after the safety of her friends and her people that she got any warning at all.

Instinct flared and Harriet turned her Sight ahead.

“Explosion imminent. We are to be boarded,” Harriet shouted out over the comms.

There was a second for her people to process the news before Agent Barton was hitting the trigger to set off his explosives.