Date Gone Awry
Anxiety was eating away at the edges of Harry’s mind as he sat alone at the table, idly stirring his spoon through the cereal as it became soggier. He honestly didn’t understand his nerves at all. Facing down large snakes, hordes of Dementors, and out flying an actual dragon. All things he did without an ounce of nerves bogging him down. Going on a simple date, however, had him sweating and his stomach in knots.
The date had been a total accident, though fatherly meddling would probably be the best word to describe it. Tony had insisted on having Peter come over for the weekend, saying that Harry didn’t ‘need to spend so much time around a bunch of old guys’ or living in the lab. Of course, he failed to realize that Peter was equally as interested in being in the lab and the pair of them had spent almost the entire weekend editing on projects, talking about projects, or planning future projects while trying to work on current projects. It was around the time when Tony found both boys working on Peter’s Spider-Drones at 3 in the morning, that he had insisted that the pair go out together instead. As well as instituted a ban on both boys from being in the lab after 8 Pm.
“Ya know, most kids would be happy to have a dad who gave them a credit card and told them to go wild with the boy they like,” Tony chortled as he entered the kitchen to see his son.
Emerald eyes looked up at Tony with what could be best described as an incredulous glare, though it didn’t have any heat or ferocity. If anything, it was riddled with nerves and unsaid words and worries,
“I don’t like Peter like that Tony,” Harry was quick to defend, even if the blush on his face said otherwise, “And I’m sure most parents would be happy to have a child who prefers to stay up late doing science stuff,”
“Lucky for both of us that we aren’t most parents and children. Besides, you and Peter both need to spend time outside, don’t want you getting too pale on us,”
“Peter literally swings around the city all day,” Harry argued, getting up to dump the less than palatable cereal in the sink, “And my skin isn’t that pale,”
“Just because your father is an Ice Giant, doesn’t mean I want a White Walker for a son. That, and I’m sure there is more bothering you than just not being able to tinker in the lab,”
Harry slumped over the sink for a moment, trying to sort the myriad of thoughts that were running around his mind,
“Look,” he began with a huff, turning to face Tony, “I’m not saying I like Peter in that way, but even if I did I’ve never gone on a date before. Well, not counting the Yule Ball but that was...well a total disaster,”
“Is a ‘Yule Ball’ wizard slang for a rager or something,” came a sardonic reply from Tony
“No, it was not a 'rager', whatever that is. It was some fancy dance that the school had to celebrate that tournament that almost killed me,” Harry winced slightly as the image of Cedric ghosted across his vision, “I had taken someone out and it was horrible. I think I stepped on her feet too many times,”
“Hmm, well for starters, pretty sure girls just aren’t your speed,”
“I figured that out already, still doesn’t change the fact that the first date I ever had was a total wash,” Harry huffed, sending a few of his bangs fluttering upwards. It was probably time for a trim
“I think it does,” Tony grabbed a chair and pulled it to the table, “Kid, take it from someone who spent every waking moment from their 16th birthday until well past their 30’s in a haze of strange tail of all kinds,”
“Ew, too much information Tony,” Harry gagged
“Strangest of them all is your other dad so you should probably thank my tail chasing ways for your existence,” the smirk on Tony’s face was wide as he watched Harry try to stifle a chuckle, “Point is, by the time I fell for Loki I couldn’t even remember my first date. It didn’t matter. Now I’m not saying don’t put your best foot forward and impress your wall-climbing nerd, but don’t stress about this. It is just a date, not the end of the world or anything,”
There was truth to that, Harry thought. Not that it wasn’t the end of the world, with his luck it could very well be. However, the fact that this was his first date and that he had who knew how many ahead of him in his future. Hell, around this time last year Harry was convinced he was cursed to spend his summers slaving away for the Dursley’s. Now he was living in America with two of his living parents. Focusing in on his first date to the point of feeling ill was not going to do him any good.
“Oh wow, it is almost like I had already informed you of this concept when you awoke this morning and began to fret about your room like a Kneazle,” the voice of James broke through Harry’s thoughts and the young man quickly buried the urge to reply aloud.
He was not ready to have a talk about the voice in his head with anyone, let alone one of his parents.
“Sounds like something a friend of mine would have said,” Harry said out loud
“I’m guessing the smart one with all the hair. Anyway, I’m sure you’ve got at least an hour of brooding before Pete arrives. Take that time to probably put some actual food in your stomach. Oh, and I know you still have a number of clothes you haven’t even looked at. If you need help putting something together, FRIDAY is really good at that sort of thing,”
“Both myself and FRIDAY have already compiled one hundred and seventeen unique outfits from what you have available. Would you like us to send the options Peter would find the most pleasing to your phone,” the voice of PRONGS came from one of the many hidden speakers around the mansion
Before Harry could even answer, his phone vibrated, no doubt the list of clothing options that had been prepared for him by both his and his dad’s A.I. It was weird, feeling this cared for on so many different fronts. Sure, he did have Sirius before, but there was only so much his Godfather was able to do for him. Now, being doted on by not just his parents, but a few of the Avengers, well it was an odd feeling for Harry. He even had an Aunt and Uncle who actually cared for him, even if Hela and her sword training was perhaps a bit more intense than he would have preferred.
“Fine, fine,” Harry groused, though the smile on his face betrayed his true feelings, “I’ll go look over what you all picked out. I swear, you better not have me in anything that makes me look like a prat,”
“You have been cursed with my good looks kid,” Tony looked over at Harry, “There is no way you’ll look like a prat of any kind with my genes. Loki’s though, that may push you into prat territory,”
With a roll of his eyes Harry stalked over to the cabinet to grab a protein bar and made for his room. Once he was safe behind the walls of his room, Harry pulled out his phone and began to go through the rather densely curated list of clothing that had been compiled by the A.I.’s. He was shocked that a number of the options included wizarding robes, his closet having been buffed out in that area thanks to Sirius and his wanting to lavish Harry with gifts. If Harry was being honest, he was sure when he told Sirius about the new clothes that Tony had got him the man’s pride wouldn’t allow him to be outdone
“Their continued competition shall serve us well going forward. Perhaps we should foster this rivalry,” James shamelessly suggested, which earned him a scoff from Harry
“We are not putting my Father and Godfather against each other so you can indulge in your love of finery and fancy clothing,” admonished Harry as he quickly vetoed any options that involved him wearing shorts of any kind.
“Wanting to rise above the dregs we were both dressed in is not an indulgence, Harry. Merely correcting the failings of our upbringing,”
Harry wanted to retort, but the thought of Dudley’s oversized and often tattered cast-offs entered his mind and a shudder passed through him,
“Perhaps we should ask Loki about what Asgardian royalty wears as well. I would not say no to robes made of the fabrics of the Gods,”
“Yeah, how about we just put that thought out of mind for now and let me focus on figuring out what sort of outfit would impress Peter,” Harry absently muttered
“And here I thought you didn’t like the spider child in that way. Also, anything green will work, as well as other colors that compliment your eyes. Darker shades of red or even silver-,”
“I’m not dressing like a Slytherin on my first date, Marvolo. Besides, we are just going to a theme park. Peter said he had won some tickets or something,” Harry grumbled, even though he had to agree as he looked at the digital representation of him wearing a green button-up shirt and dark blue jeans,
“Damn…that does kind of work on me,” Harry reluctantly muttered, pointedly ignoring the pleased feelings that were emanating from James within his head.
The pair of them had worked out a comfortable dynamic since their shared dream a week ago. While Harry more often than not ran the show as it were, he did listen to James’ input and advice. Not only that, he had even gone so far as to let the shade of Tom Riddle take an active role with how they spent their time. While he wasn’t surprised in James constant quest for knowledge, the fact that he was eager to watch movies had been a true shock,
“Alright, guess I’ll go with this. Besides, it will be a bit easier to keep my wand holster hidden in the sleeves. Should we bring Locket along with us,”
Harry turned towards the dresser where said locket, no longer looking as tarnished but well-polished and taken care of, was hanging from a small hook next to the mirror. It didn’t take much for Harry to figure out the locket was another part of Tom’s soul, though it was still not as fully formed as James had been. He figured it had something to do with it being abandoned for so long, but that was only speculation.
“I don’t see why not. Besides, I need someone to idly chatter with while you make a fool of yourself,”
“I am not going to make a fool out of myself,” Harry shot back, heading to the closest to search out the clothes that had been picked for him,
“Oh, I am more than certain you shall. And when you do, I will delight in telling you I told you so,”
The theme park had been utterly empty when they had arrived, barely a soul in sight outside of bored looking ride operators, not that Peter or Harry actually noticed. They had been too wrapped up in their own conversations. At least until Peter dragged Harry over to the first ride in the park, a towering flat ride that spun happy park-goers around in a circle. Harry had his own misgivings about it, but reasoned it couldn’t be any worse than getting chased by a dragon.
“I think I’m going to be sick,” Harry muttered as he all but stumbled over to a nearby bench, the world still spinning around him. Just behind him the sounds of raucous laughter echoed as the swing ride started up again with a new batch of riders
“I am so sorry Harry, I thought you would have been fine after you told me about the whole broom racing thing,” Peter sheepishly apologized, rubbing the back of his head as he tried to console the sickly wizard
“Not just in a circle over and over again,” Harry retorted as he took in a steadying breath to keep his lunch down, “I’ll be fine. I just…I just need a moment,”
Harry did his best to ignore the chuckles of James and the hissing laughter of the Locket in the back of his mind as he fought to maintain his equilibrium. He had genuinely been excited when Peter recommended the swings as their first ride at the park. Harry had recalled Dudley talking about how much fun they were when he was younger and his cousin had made it sound incredibly fun. Clearly, his cousin had a warped idea of what was fun,
“How are you not even dizzy,” Harry incredulously questioned Peter as he took the seat beside him
“Freaky spider powers, remember,” came the answer, one filled with mirth, “At least that’s my best bet. My sense of equilibrium doesn’t change whenever I’m swinging around the city and considering the forces I pull sometimes, I’m so very glad for it,”
“You wanna trade? You get the freaky magic powers and I get to swing around in spandex all day,”
“And have to go to a school with creepy snakes living in the dungeons? I think that is all you Harry,” Peter gave Harry a playful shove, only to have it returned as Harry seemed to finally regain his composure, “So, I’m going to say we avoid the roller coaster for a while. You about to just walk around until we see something interesting,”
Harry nodded enthusiastically, getting up to walk in tandem with Peter down the shockingly uncrowded theme park. As the pair began to chat, as always defaulting to their love of advanced sciences, Harry found himself at ease in the moment. There was something calming about Peter he really couldn’t put into words, but it was there. The way his voice, warm and honied, seemed to wash over him as he took in the excited teen’s words.
That was another thing Harry enjoyed, just Peter’s enthusiasm. It was infectious and he could see why both Loki and Tony compared him to a puppy. It was just so easy to get lost watching those sparkling brown eyes practically bubble over when he got started talking about something he enjoyed. It was hopelessly cute in Harry’s mind.
“You should kiss the spider child,”
The hissing of the Locket came in fast and made Harry sputtered out loud, blush starting to heavily color his face,
“I’m not doing that,” he swiftly shot back before realizing he hadn’t responded within the confines of his mind
“Well played Harry, very smooth,” James added
“Well if you don’t like cotton candy we could get something else,” Peter supplied, though in his flustered state Harry had forgotten just what their topic of conversation had been
“What are we doing with fairy floss again, I kind of got…distracted,”
“Just wondering if you wanted some. There is a stand coming up and I thought you might like something to take your mind off of the ride, seems like it’s still bothering you,”
“Oh, something is bothering me, but nothing I won’t deal with in due time,” Harry did his best to let his ire reach the Locket and James, but if their continued snickering was anything to go by, it was ineffectual, “Though I won’t say no to some fairy floss, never had it before,”
Peter looked ready to say something back, but anything he was about to say was stymied as he looked further down the road,
“Ned,”
“Peter,”
Harry raised an eyebrow as Peter rushed over to greet a boy dressed in a hoodie and some shorts. Even if he hadn’t overheard the name, Harry would have assumed this was Peter’s best friend that he had mentioned a number of times during their late lab nights. The two friends exchanged a bizarre looking handshake before hugging, making Harry wonder if he and Ron should have something similar.
“Uh, not just him. I’m here too dork,” the voice came from a young woman with a very intense stare, one that seemed to zero in on Harry almost instantly, “And clearly you aren’t here alone. Is this the guy you’ve left us for Peter,”
“MJ I swear it’s not like that, Harry-,”
“He even has a name and you haven’t even told us. I think Peter is trying to push us out of the club, Ned. Maybe we should form our own,” the girl, MJ, pressed, her eyes still not leaving Harry
“MJ, I know how this looks and I wanted to tell you but I really couldn’t. It’s complicated,”
Seeing Peter sweating bullets and stammering over his words Harry decided to pull him out of the fire, and to hopefully get the girl from staring at him too strongly, it was just a touch unnerving.
“It’s not Peter’s fault. My dad is kinda…secretive about me and didn’t want to have too many people know I was here. I’m Harry, Harry Potter,”
Both Ned and MJ gave Harry a once over, and while it was far more comfortable than when he would tell wixen his name, it still left him on edge. MJ was the first to give in, a bright smile coming across her face before extending his hand for Harry to shake,
“I’m MJ, I’m sure Peter has mentioned me. So, are you here to kidnap our friend or are you a somewhat normal stranger with a British accent,” she turned back to Peter, “This isn’t like Bobby is it, because I hated Bobby and I don’t want to have to dig up dirt on another possible boyfriend,”
Harry found himself at a loss for words as he lowly shook MJ’s hand, feeling like he was signing a compact with some demon from the intensity that the young woman displayed,
“No, Harry isn’t like Bobby. And Bobby wasn’t that bad,” Peter tried to defend, only for Ned to give him a pat on the shoulder
“Pete, even I didn’t think Bobby was that cool, and he is literally Iceman. I’m Ned by the way, best friend and guy in the chair, so I know everything that goes on with Peter,” the portly young man smiled brightly
“What he means,” MJ cut in, “Is that if you even try to hurt Peter we will both know about it and there isn’t a thing that you could do to stop us,”
Harry quirked an eyebrow and looked over at Peter who looked like he was torn between running away in embarrassment and suppressing a scream,
“I know Harry from when I went to London. For the thing with Mr. Stark. Harry is his so-,” Peter paled as he quickly cut himself off, but it was far too late to put the cat back in the bag.
“I’m Tony Stark’s son, that’s why Peter couldn’t tell you. No one is supposed to know, at least not until my citizenship stuff is squared away,” Harry finally admitted, wanting to save Peter from either a bad lie or more judgment from his friends, though their protectiveness did remind him a bit of his own.
“Hmm. A likely story. Well, Harry Potter, possibly Stark, what are your intentions with our Peter? He is just so young and innocent that we can’t let you have him without knowing for sure,”
MJ held that same serious look on her face as she waited for Harry to respond, only to eventually drop it as she started laughing,
“Oh my god, your face was perfect. You can relax Harry, just being silly and giving Pete hell,”
Harry felt his shoulders sag as he felt his body let go of tension he hadn’t even been aware he was holding. Looking over at Peter, the teen was still red n the face, but there was still a smile across his face
“What are you two doing here anyway? Please don’t tell me May sent you to make sure I wasn’t doing anything sketchy,”
“Not this time. MJ got two tickets in an email and they were only good for today so we came down. I got the same ones. I was going to call you to see if you wanted to go, but I figured you were still doing your Spider stuff. You sure Mr. Stark didn’t plan this out,” Ned asked quietly, looking around warily at the still empty park
“As much as I would like to believe he would, Tony would have just sent Happy along instead of two teenagers. No offense,” Harry chimed, trying his best to ignore the feeling creeping along his spine. The same one he often got before something went decidedly not his way.
“So, we all got tickets to the same theme park in an email for the same day. We all know each other, well we all know Peter,” MJ had a look of concern flash across her face, “Is this screaming trap to anyone else, or is that just me,”
“I agree with her, Harry. Something about this does not feel right. We haven’t seen more than a few people and from what little I know of theme parks such as this one, they would be full during the summer,”
At those words, Harry shared a glance with Peter before going for his phone. If there was even a hint of trouble, he knew Tony would want him to call right away. Sure, he didn’t want to bother the man if it turned out to just be nothing at all, but he did promise that he would call if anything went wrong at all.
Unfortunately for him, his phone seemed to have no signal in the park. A look over at Peter confirmed that he was having the same issues. There was very clearly something going on and whatever it was, it wasn’t good.
“Guys, stick close, something is very much wrong here,” Peter hissed, his voice on edge as he moved both MJ and Ned directly behind him.
Harry took another look around the park, finding it far more unsettling now that he was keenly aware at just how alone they all were. As they carefully began to edge their way forward, Harry let his magic sight slip over his vision. There was nothing that looked like magic in the area, none of the tell-tell glow he knew was associated with ambient magic. Yet, all the same, he couldn’t help but feel that there was something or someone watching them that was unseen.
“Wait, Pete, didn’t we just come this way,”
The voice of Ned broke Harry out of his gaze as he turned towards the group, all them once again standing at the foot of the swing ride, with the candy floss stand not too far away from them. A creeping sense of vertigo crawled along Harry’s spine.
“N-no. This doesn’t make any sense,” Peter muttered, looking up at the tower in disbelief, “We just walked away from here,”
Frantically, the group ran down the path, taking a turn under a small bridge just past the cart with the cotton candy. The moment they did, all four of them were once again right where they started.
The vertigo became an intense chill for Harry.
“Harry, is this-,” Peter asked, leaving the question hanging
“No, nothing from my lot. I’m not seeing any magic in the area,” Harry responded, letting his wand slide out of his holster and warm in his hand, “All the same, it doesn’t make any sense,”
“Magic? What about magic? Are you magic,” Ned as rapidly, only for MJ to slap him on the shoulder
“Ned, we can ask 20 questions when we get out of here. Tell me one of you has a plan,” her voice was filled with nerves and trepidation
“I can get a message to Tony and Loki, but I don’t know about get-guys,” Harry’s words trailed off as the world began to shift before him.
Bright green smoke curled about him, obscuring Peter and his friends from view. Even their shouts were lost to him as every inch of his vision was clouded. Waving his hand in front of him, he tried to clear his way back to the group,
“Peter! Ned! MJ!,” he shouted hopefully into the dense smoke, smoke that oddly wasn’t leaving him in a coughing fit. Just as he raised his wand to try and banish the smoke from his sight, did it fade away on its own, leaving him once again standing in the empty park. This time, all alone.
“Okay Harry, we’ve dealt with weirder,” he muttered under his breath, clutching his wand even tighter, “There has got to be an explanation for what is going on,”
Taking a look around, Harry began running towards the entrance, or at least where he thought the entrance was. Every time he would round a corner or take a turn, he would somehow end up right back where he started. Desperately he started checking the map that was bolted to the side of a wall, only to find dozens of arrows pointing all over the place and all the words were nothing but gibberish that he couldn't hope to understand,
"Pete! If you can hear me say something," he shouted into the air, hearing his own voice reflecting right back at him, unnerving Harry in a way he couldn't fully put into words, "The bloody hell is going on,"
“I could explain it to you, but it would probably go over your head,”
The voice seemed to echo from all around Harry, the young wizard spinning in a circle to try and locate the taunting voice. Eventually he had the foresight to look up and there, standing atop the swing ride, was a figure clad in some sort of golden armor, a cape and a very large glass dome where their head should have been,
“So, Tony Stark had a kid. While you were certainly not on my to-do list, I think I can make room for you. An extra way to bring about some pain for Stark,”
The caped man seemed to streak down from the swing, landing in a dramatic explosion of green smoke that sent Harry flying backwards from the impact he left on the ground. Dust and debris pelted Harry as he hacked up what felt like a lung
“And who are you supposed to be,” Harry ground out, getting to his feet, wand at the ready, “The Marvelous Mister Fishbowl,” he was itching to start slinging curses, but James was urging patience in order to know just who this man was
“Gather what information we can. Any knowledge will make the difference between life or death,”
Harry didn’t respond, and kept his wand level, ready to cast a shield charm the moment he felt he had to.
“You sure you’re Stark's son? Figured he’d give you more than some stick to protect yourself. Then again, Tony was never one to care about anything other than himself. He’ll hoard all his wealth and weapons for himself. Even when you give him something cutting edge, all you’ll get is a boot from his ivory tower,”
“Sounds like you have some of your own issues to work out with him, so maybe go do that and not target his son and his friends like some coward. Maybe that can be your name; The Caped Coward,”
Was goading the guy the right thing to do, probably not, but Harry was never one to think ahead in most of his confrontations. Besides, the guy seemed to have a fragile ego, which might throw him off if Harry bruised it enough.
“Or make him more dangerous,” James admonished from the back of his mind.
Both of them got their answer when what looked to be swirling smoke within the domed helmet began to swirl and writhe angrily, turning green.
“The name is Mysterio, and I’ll be sure to leave it carved on your body for your dad to find,” The green smoke seemed to coalesce into the arms of the newly dubbed Mysterio and was quickly unleashed from his palms.
Harry barely had time to form the thought of the shield spell in his mind, before he found himself flung into the air by the concussive impact of the smoke. It wasn’t unlike getting hit by a bludger that one time in practice, when Oliver Wood was insistent that Harry ‘knew what it felt like to take a hit’. Just like then, all the air seemed to rush out of his lungs as pain radiated from his chest. He rolled across the ground, coming to a halt after a moment. He barely had time to look up before another plume of smoke was coming towards him. This time, however, his spell was faster, a hastily erected Protego materializing over him and taking the brunt of the attack. The moment the smoke cleared, he fired a Bombarda right for the chest of Mysterio, only to be dumbstruck when the spell passed through him like nothing.
“Hmm, guess Daddy Stark has been making some new toys. No matter, I’ll pull it a part when I’m done with you,” Harry scrambled to his feet as Mysterio loomed over him, another column of smoke missing him by inches, as it tore into the concrete he had been laying on,
“I just wanted Peter, but I’m willing to bet Stark will pay double to get you back as well,”
“If kidnapping me is your plan, then why do you seem to be dead set on trying to kill me,” panic laced Harry’s voice as he blocked yet another blast with a shield charm
“You’re just as valuable broken as you would be whole. Of course, if you just gave up your little stick and surrendered this would be a lot less painful for you,”
Harry couldn’t keep the faint smile off of his lips at those words. While this Mysterio may have been using some type of magic he had never seen before, he didn’t have any clue that Harry was wielding his own magic, let alone what his wand was capable of.
“Perhaps we should him what we can do, Harry,” James urged, the grin evident in his voice
“Destroy the horribly dressed crystal ball” the locket chimed in
All three of them were in agreement and Harry was more than happy to follow through.
“You know, surrender isn’t the style of either one of my dad’s. And while I am just as capable as Tony, let me show you what I got from my other father,”
Harry felt the excited thrum of his magic straining against the bindings that attempted to hold it. Could feel the blinding light leaks from the cracks and gaps in the chains, eager to be used. The icy chill of his Joutun heritage from Loki was singing in his veins alongside his normal magic. The combination was still new to him, but the few lessons he had with Loki had taught him how to channel it better. He was far away from mastering his magic, but he had a better grasp on it.
With his wand, Harry let the icy magic spiral down his arm and out the tip of his wand, creating an icy mist that covered the area, obscuring him from view. With his free hand, he summoned forth Eikthyrnir, the spectral stag of Valhalla galloping forth from a blinding burst of light. It stood before Harry, ready to do as ordered.
“Go to Loki and Tony and bring them here, it’s urgent,” Harry asked of the stag. With merely a bow of its head, the stag rushed skyward and out of view.
Just as the stag left, a large gout of flame erupted, burning away the mist and forcing Harry to hastily retreat, quickly erecting another shield to protect himself from the burst of flames. Harry quickly countered with an overpowered Aguamenti, a surge of water firing from his wand tip and combating the stream of flames that seemed to be pouring from a smoky green triangle.
“Either Stark has been holding out on us, or you are more than you appear,” Mysterio growled, clenching his fist and banishing the flames.
Outstretching his arms, Mysterio made the ground under Harry’s feet buckle and crack. The teen jumped out of the way as the earth beneath his feet came to life, chunks of dirt and concrete coming together to form two rather large hands, both rushing at Harry. While he was able to dodge one of them, the other managed to clip Harry in the side, bruising his ribs from the impact. Another snapped up from behind and caught him in the back before another formed in front of him and sent him flying with a single strike right into the fairy floss cart.
Pain and the smell of burnt sugar became Harry’s world as he stumbled out of the cart, covered in cuts, burns and stray bits of cotton candy. He was sure something had to be broken, or at least bleeding inside of him. There was no way he should have taken hits like that without any consequences. All the same, he struggled to his feet, ready to keep the fight going for as long as he could.
“I’ve fought actual dragons and monsters, your petty sorcery pales in comparison,” the words felt like something Loki would have said, and it filled Harry with a sense of pride.
“Petty sorcery? You are so very interesting Harry, I am going to have so much fun with you,” Mysterio hovered closer to Harry, the smoke-filled orb looking down on him, “However, our time together has been cut short. Trust me though when I say I’ll be keeping a close eye on you. You are just far too interesting to ignore now,”
Harry was ready with a retort, but found himself getting flung backwards by another concussive plume of smoke, this one sending him and the cart through a line of trees and tumbling down a small hill. The world became a dizzying kaleidoscope of colors as he rolled head over heels. His fall only stopped when he heard a very distinctive thwip in the air, and his body landed on what felt like a really large net. He had just enough awareness to see the cart about to land atop him, when it was suddenly yanked away by a thick strand of webbing, Peter landing beside Harry.
“Harry, are you okay,” he asked breathlessly, the sandy-haired teen sporting a number of bruises, burns and gashes over his body, his clothing in tatters
“I’m fine, what about Ned and MJ,” Harry took the offered hand and weakly stood before collapsing back to the ground as a wave of pain crested over him
“They’re fine. That Mysterio guy was more focused on me than them. What happened to you, one second you were there and then the next you vanished in green smoke,”
“I could ask you the same thing, as that’s what it looked like to me. I’ve never seen anything like that before, I don’t even know if it was some kind of magic. You ever fought something like that before,”
Peter shook his head, collapsing to the ground just as Ned and MJ came running out of a small utility building, MJ holding a broken handle in her hand,
“Is the fishbowl guy gone for good,” Ned questioned, looking up warily to the sky
“For now,” Peter answered but there was bitterness and worry in his voice, “He knew. He knew I was Spider-Man. He said he was going to go after May. Said he was going to-,”
Fear and anger was all Harry heard in Peter’s voice. The urge to reach out and comfort the boy was strong, and he almost acted on it, only to be stopped by the sound of jets in the air. Looking skyward, he watched as his father, clad in the red and gold armor of Iron Man, came crashing to the ground. He wasted no time, letting the armor peel off of him and stand guard as he came rushing over to the group.
“Harry, Peter! What happened? Are you both okay,” Tony didn’t wait for an answer, doing a quick once over and seeing the multitude of injuries covering both of the boys, “FRIDAY, I need a Quinjet to my location now and prep the medbay for all possible injuries,”
“Mr. Stark, we’re fine but-,” Peter rushed out, his hands shaking as he tried to contain his emotions
“No buts young man, I’ll be making the determination on who and who’s not okay,” Tony pressed
“You don't understand Mr. Stark. The guys said he knew who I was. He knows I'm Spider-Man. And he said he was going to come after-,”
“May,” Tony finished, “FRIDAY, where is May Parker right this moment,”
“May Parker is currently with Happy on a lunch date. Shall I inform Happy of the situation,” FRIDAY’s voice came from the Iron Man suit for them all to hear
“Yes. Tell Happy that we are on Bugs Life Protocol and to take May right to the compound. Don’t even stop for red lights,”
“Right away boss,” FRIDAY confirmed
“Bugs Life Protocol,” Harry repeated, quirking up an eyebrow at his father as the man examined his arm gently, “Also Loki didn’t come with you,” came the disappointed sounding question
“Hey, don’t make fun of your old man's naming conventions. Not my fault things are a lot easier to remember when they have some goofy name. As for Dad number two, he was off-world with Thor. Something is happening on Asgard that required both of them and your Aunt to go back there,”
Harry wanted to question just what would have dragged his Aunt, Uncle and Father back to Asgard, but was cut off when he attempted to take a breath and was met with searing pain in his sides,
“Yeah, you are going right to the Med Bay Mister. No if, ands or buts,” Tony smiled but Harry could still see the worry in his eyes as the man lifted his shirt to take a look at the dark bruises that had formed during the fight.
“I’ll be fine. Give me an hour and I’ll heal up just fine. I’m more worried about Peter,” Harry looked over at the other teen who had seemed to withdraw into himself, knees hiked under his chin as Ned and MJ sat on either side of him. Those soft brown eyes were staring out into the distance, filled with anger
"If he touches her," Peter looked over to Tony and Harry, "I...I won't let him get away alive,"