Metal and Magic (Ch. 12)

( Every character in this story is a legal adult over the age of 18 )

Metal and Magic

Chapter 12

At SHIELD headquarters, things were a bit chaotic, and everyone was walking on eggshells any time the Director was anywhere within shouting distance. Apparently, Fury wasn’t in the best mood. None of them knew why, but it wasn’t their job to ask. They just stayed as far away from him as humanly possible. The only one brave enough to speak with Fury was Coulson, and he had no choice.

Coulson knocked on Fury’s door and walked in when he heard, “Enter!” barked from the other side of the door. He closed the door behind him. “What have you got?” Fury immediately asked.

“Based on the analysis of his height when compared to that of Tony Stark, minus the estimated thickness of his armor, of course, and …”

“Just tell me,” Fury groaned and rubbed his temples. The council wasn’t pleased about this new superpowered individual, and they wanted answers. Fury had been intentionally keeping as much information from them as he could, but it was hard to do when it was plastered on every newspaper and television screen in most of the world. There was only so much he could do.

“There’s a ninety-eight point three percent match that the cloaked individual was Harry Potter … based on his height,” Coulson said, adding the last part to cover his ass in case he was wrong.

“So that pretty much confirms it,” Fury said. “It’s not like it could be anyone else. Stark and Potter have become as thick as thieves in a short period of time. We had always wondered why, and now it appears we have our answer.”

“It is good for us, though … Isn’t it?” Coulson asked his boss. “I mean … They’re fighting for good and not out there robbing banks and such.”

“Yes, that is one way to look at it. Another way to look at it is that one of them has access to incredibly powerful equipment that’s beyond military-grade. The other has powers that we can’t possibly understand, and there’s no one to guide them and point them in the right direction. All it would take is one simple mistake for things to turn into a complete shitshow,” Fury explained while standing up from his desk. He locked hands behind his back and slowly paced the length of his office.

“So what do you want to do?” Coulson asked, waiting for his orders. Fury stopped in front of a monitor that was continually replaying footage from the evening news the previous night. He watched Harry Potter jump from Iron Man’s back and free-fall toward the ground.

“I’ll keep the council off our backs. Increase monitoring of Stark’s home and Stark Industries. We’ll see what Agent Hill can find out before we decide what to do next,” Fury told him, and Coulson nodded in understanding. Coulson hoped Hill was successful because he had a feeling that this Harry Potter character was one of the most powerful beings on the planet.

Metal and Magic

Harry furiously grunted. Veins bulged in his temples, and his face began turning red as he strained with the herculean task.

“Having trouble?” Tony’s amused voice met him from behind.

“I think they fused the lid directly onto the glass,” Harry complained while glaring at the stubborn pickle jar. He tried again.

“Let me try,” Tony said and placed his hands into his newly designed gauntlets. Metal pieces slid into place, locking his hands and forearms behind a thick armor plating. Harry handed him the pickle jar. Tony put one hand on the metal lid while gripping the glass jar. Tony grunted as he gave the lid a hard twist. The glass jar immediately shattered, sending glass shards, pickles, and pickle juice all over his nice, clean laboratory. Harry yelped and jumped back as pickle juice rained down on his shoes.

“Nice going,” Harry groaned and wagged his shoe around, flinging off the pickle juice drops clinging to the white leather. “Those pickles cost me three bucks!” he complained.

“You can still eat them,” Tony said as he jerked his gauntlets down toward the floor to get the vinegary juice off. “Five-second rule!”

“They’ve got glass and dirt all over them,” Harry responded, looking longingly at the pickles resting on the floor. He sighed and summoned the Elder Wand. With a simple wave, the glass, pickles, and juice all vanished from the room. The wand then disappeared, and Harry went back to work.

“What are you doing?” Tony asked as a machine removed the armor from his hands.

“Trying to figure out the correct rune size for the two-thousand-gallon mixing tanks I ordered,” Harry told him as he referenced his rune book.

“How many did you order for the factory?” Tony asked as he looked over Harry’s notes.

“Ten,” he responded. “Each tank can produce one hundred and twenty-eight thousand doses every few hours … give or take. The real trouble was figuring out the correct rune size. Using one giant rune to absorb enough ambient magic for that much potion would likely blow it sky high. Instead, I’ll use a chain of a dozen smaller ones that should be safe. I ordered an eleventh tank to test all this on. It should be delivered to the factory in a few days, and I can get to work,” Harry happily told him.

“Sounds like a plan,” Tony said and sat down at his work station. He began fiddling on his holographic emitter.

“What are you working on?” Harry asked in turn.

“I’m designing a new suit,” he simply said, and Harry nodded. Tony was constantly working on new ideas and upgrades for his suit. Harry left him in peace and continued to work out his own problems.

Metal and Magic

Maria Hill pulled into a fully furnished house that SHIELD had rented specifically for her mission. Across the street, a few houses to the left, was another house that was outright owned by the agency. Normally, it was just one of several in LA that were used as safe houses. However, at the moment, a small team of junior agents had set up shop and were to be her eyes and ears during her stay.

Popping the trunk of her car, she got out and grabbed her black duffel bag before shutting the trunk. She reached into the pocket of her tight jeans and pulled out the house key. Upon entering the house, she found it quaint and cozy. She knew it had been specifically decorated by SHIELD to seem like a single woman had been living here. Going straight to her new room, she dropped her bag by the bed, sat down, and took a deep breath. Over the next few minutes, her rapid heartbeat slowed, and she was able to calm herself. It had been a while since she was out in the field, so it shouldn’t be shocking to anyone that she was a little nervous. As the Deputy Director of SHIELD, she was almost always in the office making sure everything ran smoothly. Then, of course, Fury tossed a curveball at her.

“I have a mission for you, Maria,” Fury had told her. “With Romanoff gone, you’re the only one who can handle it.”

Maria instantly knew what he was referring to. Natasha had been placed on Harry Potter, and while intelligence was slow to come in, she had gotten a few juicy nuggets of information. Unfortunately, Natasha had to be recalled for the time being and placed on a potentially much more dangerous case. That left them in a bit of a pickle, as Coulson liked to say.

Maria didn’t even need to ask, “Why me?” She already knew the answer. To put it bluntly, Harry Potter seemingly was one big horn dog. Time and time again, he and Tony Stark were plastered on the front page of the LA Times with slutty women hanging all over them. Potter enjoyed beautiful women. There was no denying it, and while Natasha was the true master of seduction, Maria had a few skills of her own, if she was being honest.

She got up from the bed and went into the bathroom, turned on the light, and looked in the mirror. Her lovely reflection looked back at her. Maria was very glad she had kept up with her beauty routine even though she was no longer an active agent. Besides normal vanity, she felt that she might need it for her job again someday. As it turned out, she was correct on that assumption. Reaching behind her head, she pulled out her hair clip and shook her head. Her dark brown hair fanned out and came to rest on her shoulders. She leaned into the mirror and checked her complexion. There were a few imperfections that could easily be hidden under a layer of foundation, but overall, she was pleased with what she saw. Turning to the side, she examined the shape of her body.

Her tight jeans accentuated her round ass and shapely legs. Her slim, toned belly made her C-cup breasts look even bigger than they actually were. Facing the front again, she ran her hands down her sides and over the swell of her hips. “Not bad,” she spoke to her reflection. She only hoped Potter would find her appealing.

Metal and Magic

“Alright … Now, do it again and keep changing it over and over until I say stop,” Tony said while staring at a computer screen. Harry was in front of some high-tech piece of machinery with a small block of wood sitting on a metal plate. Pointing directly at the block of wood were a dozen or so sensors that were constantly taking readings. Harry pointed his wand at the wood and transfigured it into metal. He then transfigured it into a teacup. Repeatedly, he transfigured it into different objects while Tony analyzed not only the object but the change in energy surrounding it. “I’m getting low doses of radiation, among many other things. It’s going to take a while to wrap my head around this,” Tony told him. “Okay, you can stop now.”

Tony then handed over a box with different types of gloves inside. “Try it again with these on. I want to see if there’s any material that dampens or blocks the transfer of magic through your hand and into the wand. Each is made of a different type of fabric or leather, and some are lined with metals, alloys, or composites.”

Harry did as he was told and tried over thirty different gloves. None of them outright blocked the transfer of magic, but a few did make it harder. “That’s interesting,” Tony stated, rubbing his chin in thought. “The natural fabrics and leathers did nothing to stop the magic, but the synthetic stuff like polyester did dampen it slightly, though probably not enough to make it noticeable to you. The composite-lined gloves were by far the worst. If my readings are accurate, there was a drop between twenty and forty percent … depending on the type of composite material,” Tony explained.

“I could tell,” Harry nodded.

“The metals and metal alloys were just like the natural fabrics. Your magic was able to conduct right through them with little to no resistance. That’s good to know,” Tony nodded, pleased by the results.

They continued for several more hours, testing everything Tony could think of.

Metal and Magic

Harry climbed up the ladder and out of the massive steel tank, coughing his lungs out. “Next time … Bubblehead … “ Harry coughed.

The large mixing tank was just dropped off, and Harry immediately got to work laser engraving the runes on the inside wall. Tony had modified an existing laser engraver to magnetically attach to a curved metal wall and engrave sideways. Unfortunately, Harry was so eager to get started that he completely forgot about any and all safety measures. As such, he breathed in some pretty nasty fumes, which irritated his eyes, throat, and lungs. Moving away from the tank, he decided to let the engraver do its work. With nothing to do for a few hours, Harry washed up and was about to leave when a car pulled up to the factory. He instantly knew it wasn’t Tony. Tony wouldn’t be caught dead in a car that cost less than two hundred grand. The door opened, and out stepped a very pretty woman in her mid to late twenties. She was dressed smartly in a businesswoman’s suit that hugged her form nicely. Seeing him, she smiled prettily and walked over to him. Her black high heels clicked against the smooth concrete, and her shapely hips bounced from side to side. He couldn’t help but be impressed with what he saw. “Harry Potter?” she asked in a pleasant-sounding voice.

“Yes. Can I help you?” he asked, moving his eyes from her body and up to her pretty face.

“Maria Hall,” she introduced herself with a cute smile and held out her hand for him to shake. Harry extended his arm and took her hand. Her skin was very soft. “I’m here about the position of Plant Manager,” she told him. Harry raised an eyebrow.

He had employed a hiring firm to list the available jobs and go through their resumes. They were supposed to select the best candidates and schedule interviews. He certainly didn’t tell them to send anyone directly to the factory.

“Interviews are scheduled for next month, but I wanted to see the factory for myself. I had hoped that more knowledge about the place would give me an advantage over everyone else,” she explained. Harry nodded in understanding. There was one question, though. How did she know his name? When he asked her that question, she smiled and smirked.

“I did my research, Mr. Potter. The sale of a large factory will always be in the public records, and I easily found your name. Since you’re the only person here, I just assumed it was you,” she told him.

Normally, the place would be full of contractors working on various things, but as it was late in the afternoon, they had all gone home for the evening. While her explanation seemed somewhat plausible, Harry was still very suspicious. This government agency, which was watching him and Tony, had obviously planted Natasha in his life, so it wouldn’t be crazy to assume they were doing it again. Harry decided to do the same as last time. He would go along with it for now and investigate. If it turned out he was incorrect about her, then no harm, no foul. If she were working with this SHIELD agency, then he would have fun toying with her, just as he had done with Natasha.

“That’s very devious of you,” Harry stated with a twinkle in his eyes. “A leg up on the competition is always a good thing,” he applauded her.

“What can I say? I’m a go-getter,” she chuckled and stepped closer to him. He quite enjoyed the smell of her perfume, especially after inhaling a lungful of harmful gases.

“So … Tell me, Ms. Hall … What are your qualifications?” Harry asked with a slick smile.

Metal and Magic

After a nice, long conversation with the lovely Maria Hall, Harry followed her car from above, which took an absurdly long time due to the terrible LA traffic. She finally pulled into a small house near the outer edge of the city, and Harry circled above until she went inside. By then, it was already dark outside, so Harry landed a short distance away, transformed back into a human, and made himself invisible. He snuck over to her house and crept along the side. He was just about to use his magic to eavesdrop when the curtain covering a window was pulled aside. Harry stood still as Maria scanned the area with her eyes. How did she know that someone was there, Harry asked himself. He hadn’t made a single sound. The curtain was then pulled shut, and Harry immediately apparated back to his landing spot. He became visible again and transformed back into a raven. Taking to the sky, Harry circled the area and watched as three men quickly exited a house across the street and made their way to Maria’s house. Instead of going in, they quietly crept around the perimeter, looking for someone who was no longer there. Ten minutes later, they returned to their house. They hadn’t even knocked on Maria’s door. This told him everything he needed to know about Ms. Maria Hall.

Harry landed down the street and apparated back to the factory. Harry couldn’t help but smile. Maria was even sneakier than Natasha, and he loved a challenge. He shook his head and went back to work on the mixing tank, hoping to have it running by sunrise.

Metal and Magic

As the sun crept over the horizon, Harry was having a difficult time keeping his eyes open. He yawned loudly as the mixing machine finally finished cooking the first test batch. He gave the runes a few more minutes to cool the massive amount of potion to a suitable level before unlatching the top and scooping some into a large beaker. He capped the top and vanished the rest of the potion. Vanishing it certainly was a waste of a huge amount of ingredients, but luckily, they weren’t that expensive when bought in bulk. He already had very large amounts on order from local importers. He was just about to go home when a familiar car pulled into the long, wide driveway and made its way to him. Harry had to smile when he saw Maria step out of her car, looking much less professional. However, her tight jeans and low-cut V-neck t-shirt made her look sexier, in his opinion. Her shoulder-length hair was pulled back and clipped into a messy bun. “Fancy seeing you here,” Harry joked as she walked up to him, holding a coffee and a small, white bag from a local coffee shop.

“When you told me that you were going to work until sun-up, I didn’t believe you, but I thought I’d check, just in case,” she pleasantly told him as she handed him the coffee cup with an attached lid. “I hope you’re not expecting me to work those kinds of hours.”

“You haven’t been hired,” Harry reminded her with a smile. “And thank you,” he said, taking the cup from her. He drank from it and sighed happily when the hot liquid rushed into his belly.

“I haven’t been hired YET,” she corrected him with a sexy smirk. “I’m certain you will when you realize that you can’t live without me,” she told him, smiling cutely. Harry chuckled at the confident woman.

“Whatever you say, Maria,” he said and turned to go to his car. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I desperately need some rest.”

“Hold on there,” she interrupted him by grabbing his forearm. Harry turned to her. “You look dead on your feet. I’ll drive you home,” she said, leaving little room for arguments. “If you die in a fiery wreck, I’ll be out of a job,” she added, which made him laugh.

“That’s true enough, I suppose,” he answered, shaking his head. “Alright … You win. Let’s go,” he told her and walked to the other side of her car. They got in, and she chatted his ears off all the way to Malibu while munching on the pastry she had brought for him.

Metal and Magic

A few days later, Harry was sitting on Tony’s couch, watching TV, when the front door opened.

“I finished analyzing the sample you brought,” Tony told him as he came home from Stark Industries. His tie was loose, and the knot was hanging low on his chest.

“What’s the verdict?” Harry asked as Tony dropped down next to him on the sofa.

“Identical,” Tony said, putting his feet up on the coffee table. “Now it just needs to be tested,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Are you suggesting we get shit-faced drunk?” Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.

“If you know of a better way to test it, I’m all ears,” he replied.

“I hate to interrupt you, sir, but I’m picking up a distress call from a fishing vessel one hundred and sixty-three nautical miles off the coast. The ship is taking on water,” Jarvis said over the speakers. Harry looked at Tony and raised an eyebrow.

“I brought in some equipment that allows Jarvis to scan radio transmissions. You know … police, coast guard, and so on,” Tony explained. “I figured we would need it if we’re going to be a superhero team,” Tony smirked and stood up.

Harry stood up and stretched. “I’ve been looking forward to surfing on your back again.”

“Nothing doing!” Tony vehemently stated. “You made Iron Man look like a complete dufus last time. C’mon … I’ve got something I want to show you.”

Harry followed him down into the bowels of the house, where he kept his suit. Harry first saw Tony’s new suit, which looked similar to his old one. From what he could tell, the design was just a little bit different. However, what caught his attention was that there was another suit right next to his. It was slimmer and not as bulky, and also painted a glossy black with chrome accents. “Cool suit,” Harry said, appreciating the aesthetic.

“That’s yours,” Tony proudly stated. Harry’s eyebrows raised.

“Mine?” he asked, gobsmacked that Tony made this without his knowledge.

“Yep,” Tony nodded and ran his hand down the arm of it. “It doesn’t have any of the weapon systems, the acuators aren’t as powerful, and the armor plating isn’t as thick, so you’ll want to be careful. It’s mainly for protection and transportation.”

“Awww! I knew you cared!”

“Eww! Get away from me!” Tony jumped away when Harry pretended he was going to hug him. “Iron Man can’t let his sidekick die on a mission. Just imagine how much I would get made fun of,” Tony shuddered, and Harry rolled his eyes.

“How do you use it?” Harry asked, poking at the metal chest.

“Sirs?” Jarvis interrupted them. “The shipping vessel is taking on water fast. I calculate it will be fully submerged in just over fifteen minutes.”

“Right,” Tony nodded and stepped up to his suit. “Just press this button on your rack,” he said, showing Harry what to do. Tony pressed the button, and a bunch of robotic arms began disassembling his suit. Once fully apart, Tony stepped between the waiting arms and turned around, holding his arms out. Harry did the same thing.

Harry had to admit that he was quite nervous as the heavy-duty arms snapped metal plates around his torso, limbs, and head. Harry suddenly saw the room displayed on the screen in front of his face. The HUD displayed all kinds of readings, most of which he knew nothing about. Then, he heard Tony’s voice piped in through the helmet speakers. “Try out your magic,” he told him.

“Okay,” Harry said and held out his hand. He was glad to see the Elder Wand appear in his grasp. He gave it a wave and conjured a group of fluttering butterflies before vanishing them. “Works great!” Harry happily stated.

“Awesome! Let’s go,” Tony said.

“The coordinates are displayed on the screen, Harry,” Jarvis told him through his helmet. “Just follow the green line, and it will lead you straight to it.” A bright green line appeared on his HUD and led off into the distance.

“Handy,” Harry nodded. A roar made him look over at Tony. He was hovering above the ground, and Harry suddenly realized that he didn’t know how to fly this thing. Tony seemed to remember this as well.

“You’ll learn on the fly,” he snickered.

“Terrible joke,” Harry chuckled, shaking his head. “Alright, Jarvis … Fire this thing up,” Harry said, and the bottom of his metal boots roared to life.