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Traveler: Chapter 19
🕑 Added 2024-03-08 16:30:01 +0000 UTCSirens wailed in the distance, acting as a mournful counter to the battle taking place in front of the museum. The monster’s roar echoed around them, and the residue of Harry’s magical signature hung heavy in the air, sending goosebumps rising on her skin. The air shimmered with its cries as Harry’s vicious cutting curses tore it apart, only for its healing abilities to kick in.
“This way, folks!” Natasha yelled, her voice enhanced and carrying all around her as she and Maria helped evacuate the civilians far away from the vicinity. Their eyes were filled with unwavering intensity as they coordinated their efforts, leaving the responsibility of the fight to their lover as they dedicated themselves to saving as many lives and preventing as many injuries as they could. She had already demarcated an evacuation zone while SHIELD coordinated with the local police force to further the process.
They knew it wouldn’t have been as straightforward as they had expected it to be, but she supposed it was still well under control. Harry was easily fighting the transformed creature, having tasked them with evacuation, and they had already taken care of everything important. The guards were safe and they were ensuring the civilians escaped safely as well.
Natasha looked around as she instructed the others. Her eyes fell on Harry and she smirked. He seemed to be toying with his adversary. She knew the creature posed no challenge to her lover. The civilians were cooperating well, and nobody was acting up in the face of danger. She was grateful for the maturity on display.
She turned around and spotted Maria who was squatted down, gazing at a girl who looked to be seven or eight. The girl was clinging to who she assumed to be her mother’s leg, tears streaking down her face. She winced and let out a cry when the monster roared once again. Sighing, she approached them.
“Hey there, little one. You’re going to be okay. Come on. You’ll soon be out of here.”
The girl looked terrified, and understandably so. She was shaking in fear, her eyes wide, and she winced when the monster roared again.
Maria gently patted her head and nodded at the mother who hurriedly rushed behind the crowd filtering away.
“Any update on the situation inside?” She asked just as Maria stood back up, earning a nod from the brunette.
“Most are already out.”
“Good. I’m heading to the vault. Loki’s minion would be knocked out cold if there is one.”
“Be careful,” Maria replied, watching as Natasha rushed to the science building where the Iridium used to be. She whirled around when another powerful roar sounded as Harry kept raining cutting curses down on the monster. It had been going on for a while now, and the creature kept regenerating, no matter how vicious those curses were.
The crowd let out cries in panic, and Maria quickly took charge.
“Everyone, stay calm!” She roared, trying to convey the authority in her voice. “You’ll all be outta here in no time! Follow the trail in front of you!”
She joined the local forces and SHIELD agents in directing the crowd to the evacuation zone.
“Agent Muller.”
A middle-aged man with curly blonde hair and a wiry build turned around and stood straight.
“Agent Hill,” he nodded respectfully.
“Ensure proper verification of every person present here today. It’s non-negotiable.”
“Already on it, ma’am.”
“Good. Make sure every civilian is rescued safely,” she nodded and turned around, rushing toward where Harry was fighting Zabo in the middle of the clearing.
As she arrived, she almost shouted as a powerful golden bolt of energy shot toward Harry from the entrance of the museum. He swerved around it, and she quickly took cover as the bolt collided with a large statue, sending dust and debris flying everywhere.
Slowly, she got out of her cover and gazed at the scene in front of her.
Zabo was restrained by powerful-looking metal chains. The monster was feebly struggling against its bindings, roaring and hissing furiously at it shook its head from side to side, trying and failing to pull its limbs free.
She looked up to where Harry stood, only to find him staring at the figure a few yards away from him. Maria’s eyes zeroed in on the woman and realization dawned on her in an instant. Her eyes narrowed at the sight of the dark-haired woman who had attacked the SHIELD facility in Mojave and almost killed her.
Meanwhile, Harry was staring at the familiar-looking woman with shock and disbelief. She looked different in her expensive ballroom dress and her make-up made her appear much more regal, but there was no mistaking that she was the same woman he had been with a few days ago. His magic was hard at work, deciphering what he hoped was a trick or an illusion, but every check came negative.
Realization dawned on him in an instant and his eyes narrowed, the sting of betrayal making him grit his teeth.
Before anyone could react, Harry vanished from his spot and appeared right in front of the woman. His hand shot forward and wrapped around the woman’s throat, making her gasp.
Sylvia was still reeling with the realization that Harry was here when he tightened his grasp on her neck and pushed her over, slamming her against the ground. Her eyes wide in shock, she stared up at him. He was glaring at her with so much venom and hatred that she had a hard time associating this man with the loving and compassionate Harry who had given her more happiness and pleasure than she’d ever felt in her life.
“You had to make it as personal as you could, huh?” He growled, his maliciously glowing turquoise orbs boring into her shocked emeralds. “You better have a very good answer for what you’ve done.”
Maria’s eyes were wide as she stared at Harry. She had never seen him filled with so much rage and he had never lost his cool like this. The ground had been torn apart where he had slammed her, sending chunks of hard concrete flying about, and she saw him whisper something to the woman who looked as if she’d seen a ghost.
‘Does he know her somehow?’ She could not help but wonder, staring at them.
She could feel it in their bond. A sense of immense rage wafted over their connection and for the first time, Maria felt malice from it.
Her eyes shot open in alarm when Harry suddenly vanished from the spot, taking Loki with him. She forced her legs to move, shooting straight ahead where they had been mere seconds ago as she looked around frantically.
The rattling of chains behind her made her turn around and she pursed her lips at the sight of Zabo who was still transformed and was struggling in those chains.
‘Right. I need to focus here.’
Meanwhile, Natasha was rushing through the science building. She grimaced at the sight of the fallen guards and leaned over, pressing her fingers against a guard's neck to check for any sign of life. She breathed in relief when she felt the pulse.
‘Good thing Harry used his magic around here,’ she thought, feeling the thrum in the air. He had visited this place a few hours ago to both extract the Iridium that was housed in the vault and erect a magical ward in the corridor. From his explanation, she inferred it as some kind of barrier imbued with some particular characteristics.
The ward converted any kinetic energy beyond a certain amount to magical energy—a stunner in this case. As a result, any bullets fired within the ward’s range would be instantly converted into stunning spells and would only knock the people out instead of killing them. There were a couple of drawbacks he had mentioned. It was not a very comfortable or an entirely painless resolution but at least it was much better than taking a bullet. Additionally, its effective range was limited but fortunately, it was perfect for a small enclosed space.
Natasha stepped past the unconscious guards and rushed toward the vault where the Iridium used to be stored when her eyes widened.
Her breath hitched as she felt rage and malicious intent shoot through the bond she shared with Harry.
“Screw this,” she hissed as she whirled around, utilizing the magical boost Harry had granted her to rush back to where he had been fighting that creature.
Something had truly and royally pissed her boyfriend off, and she needed to be there for it.
“The hell is going on!?” She heard Felicia’s frantic voice in her mind and she grimaced. Indeed she would’ve felt his rage through their bond too, even though she was thousands of miles away.
“No idea. I’m on my way back to him. You focus on your mission.”
“Must be something very serious for him to snap like this. Tell him to save some for me.”
Natasha rolled her eyes as she felt the connection vanish.
“What the fuck happened all of a sudden?” She muttered, shooting out of the door and in the open.
She arrived at her destination within seconds and stared at Maria who glanced at her.
“What happened?” She asked quickly. “Where’s Harry?”
Maria frowned and explained everything to Natasha whose eyes narrowed as she listened.
“I’m sure Harry will tell us everything later,” Maria sighed. “Right now, we have this one on our hands.”
“Oh yeah? Guess we’ll have something to do then.”
They turned around in surprise and saw the Quinjet rushing toward them. Tony Stark, in his Iron Man suit, flew alongside the jet as they came to a stop in the middle of the clearing.
“Clint? What are you doing here?”
From his spot in the pilot seat, Barton sighed.
“I’m good enough to be cleared for duty now, Nat,” he replied as he lowered the Quinjet, landing it on the ground. The door to the hangar opened and he walked out with Steve in his Captain America suit beside him. All three men were ready and equipped for combat.
“Well, looks like Potter thinks we’re scrap guys, huh?” Tony remarked. “Leaving us to clean after him. And I thought we’d bonded on that road trip.”
Maria rolled her eyes and watched Steve as he stepped forward.
“Agent Hill, what’s the status?”
“Everything’s under control, Cap,” Maria replied.
“I can see that very clearly,” Tony quipped, staring at a struggling Zabo. “Who’s this guy? One of Loki’s henchmen?”
“Kinda,” Maria replied. “He was affiliated with HYDRA.”
Steve’s eyes widened as he stared at the transformed man.
“Human experimentation?” He asked Maria, earning a nod.
“Any clue how to turn him back? Or is that permanent?” Tony asked. “Jarvis?”
A few seconds of silence followed as Jarvis carried out his analysis and transmitted the findings to Tony who nodded.
“Slick,” he replied and shot forward. He pressed the hidden button on the wristwatch to inject the antidote into the bloodstream of Zabo and they all watched the transformation reverse itself. In mere seconds, a middle-aged man hung limply by the chains wrapped all around him in place of the monster, his face sunken, his eyes bleary, and sweat marring his entire body. “That’s that then. Now, where’s Potter?”
“We’ll tell you soon. Clean up here, will you?” Natasha replied before she nodded at Maria.
The two women vanished right in front of them before anyone could speak, and they all stared at their vacant spots.
“They can teleport too!?” Tony exclaimed. Barton merely sighed.
“Call it, Cap.”
Steve looked around, wondering just what he needed to call here. Everything seemed to be over, after all.
“Let’s take him back and we’ll go from there,” he remarked.
Tony shrugged and fired a laser against the chains to cut them off.
“Hmm?” He furrowed his brows inside his suit when not even a spark emerged from where the laser struck the metal. Groaning, he turned to the others. “Well, Cap. Looks like Potter’s decided to be an even bigger pain in the ass. We’re gonna be here for a little while.”
XXXXX
A loud crack echoed in the otherwise silent forest in the snowy expanse of the Alps. Harry threw Sylvia with a force strong enough to make her go through a thick trunk, forcing a painful grunt out of her. He gave her no respite and shot a bludgeoning curse at her midsection, making her cry out as she felt her stomach almost cave in.
Breathing heavily, the woman heaved on the ground, her eyes wide as searing pain coursed through her abdomen.
She grunted when he kicked her over. Lying on the hard and rocky ground, she stared up at him. The look on his face was so foreign that she had a tough time believing he was the same man she had given herself to.
“H-Harry…” she whispered.
“Why, Sylvia?” He hissed, glaring hatefully, and that look sent a lance of agony through her heart. “Was it all just a plan? A ploy to gain information on your enemies you plan to kill? That’s what you meant when you said you were here scouting?”
Sylvia’s body was hard at work at healing itself. He had dealt so much damage to her in such a short span.
“Speak already!” He cried out, seething. “Or do you want me to take it all out of your mind?”
“W-what are you?” She groaned, slowly trying to push herself in an upright position. Harry gave her a disdainful glance.
“That’s none of your concern,” he replied. “I want answers, Sylvia. Why?”
“I knew there was something different about you,” she replied, slowly getting back to her feet as she gazed at him. “I could feel it deep within me when we were together. You are like me!”
“Not even close,” Harry retorted quickly. “We are not alike, Sylvia. Or should I start calling you Loki now that your true colors are clear to me?”
Sylvia cast a sorrowful gaze at him. A part of her was enraged that he was treating her, the Goddess of Mischief, like this, but try as she might, she could not muster any hatred for him. Even when he had hurt her so much so quickly, she felt no animosity for him. Only desire. A desire to make him understand where she was coming from, why she was like this, and why she needed to do this. A desire to make him accept her for what she was, and for him to agree to be hers.
“I was named Sylvia by the one I considered my mother,” she said, her voice carrying a hint of melancholy to it.
Suddenly, a shower of golden sparks lit up the clearing they found themselves in and both Harry and Sylvia looked over to see Maria and Natasha emerge out of nowhere.
“Harry?” The former asked searchingly, frowning when he raised his hand for her to stop right where she was. Harry kept his gaze on Sylvia who was staring at the scene with visible curiosity.
“I didn’t ask about the origin of your name,” he replied with gritted teeth. “Answer me. Why do this?”
Maria and Natasha exchanged confused looks before they turned back to the other pair.
“Why?” Sylvia let out a mirthless chuckle. “Why shouldn’t I? It’s all I’ve always wanted! It’s who I am!”
Harry stared at her for a few seconds before he surprised everyone by laughing as if he had heard the funniest joke ever.
“Really?” He gasped through his laughter. “So I was right then. It was all a façade, eh? The time we spent together, the moments we shared, the way you gave yourself to me… I was hoping that you would be mine when you returned, but it seems all of it was nothing but you gaining intel on an enemy for this grandiose plan of yours. Is that right?”
Shocked, Maria and Natasha stared at each other.
“You couldn’t be any further from the truth if you even tried, Harry,” Sylvia replied, smiling sadly. Her eyes hardened when he stared at her with a stoic look on his face. “And I think it’s clear that nothing I say will matter to you. You’ve already judged me guilty.”
“Can you really blame me after everything I’ve seen and known now? You attacked the SHIELD facility and stole the Tesseract, almost killing someone I hold very dear. You abused the minds of good people to further your nefarious ends, and you are planning to unleash an army of evil on the innocents, and for what? To gain some sort of power for yourself? To prove how superior you are as an Asgardian? Is that your end goal here? To prove your superiority over a bunch of inferior beings?”
“Don’t you dare make a mockery of my motivations like that!” She hissed and fired a powerful energy blast at Harry.
A blue hue enveloped his arm as Harry spotted the incoming blast of green energy and batted it aside. The blast collided with a rock, exploding it into hundreds of fragments.
Sylvia’s eyes narrowed and she rushed Harry who took his fighting stance. He ducked under a frost-enforced punch and repelled her frost-enforced kick with his glowing arm. She did not let up though as she conjured a dagger out of thin air and made to stab him in the leg. Her eyes widened when the dagger phased through where his leg had been.
“What do you take me for?” Harry growled and delivered a powerful kick to her side, sending her skidding back with a grunt.
“Just what are you, Harry?” She asked again, breathing heavily. “How can you nullify my magic so easily? How is my telepathy, which I’ve been using for this entire fight, not even working?”
“I am a wizard,” Harry responded calmly, staring her down.
“You are not a Seidr,” she observed. “Your abilities far exceed theirs and they feel far too refined and different.”
“I don’t know that a Seidr is, but I can confidently say that there is no one like me, at least to my knowledge,” he replied.
“Believe me, I won’t argue with that,” Sylvia smiled as she willed the daggers to vanish. “We do not need to fight, Harry. We do not have to be enemies. Before I even knew about your powers, I had decided on something. I am going to conquer Midgard, and I am going to rule over this realm as its queen. The only man I could envision sitting beside me is you, Harry. I care not for your powers or your abilities. All that matters is how you made me feel… Never has any other person made me feel so loved… so belonged… I want you to be with me forever, Harry. I want you to be mine, as I would be yours, and together, we will rule over this realm!”
“I’ve had enough of this now!” Natasha cried out, glaring at both Harry and Sylvia when they turned to look at her. “What the actual fuck is going on here!? Harry?”
Harry saw no reason to hide anything from them and he opened the mind link he had with them, letting both Natasha and Maria see everything there was between him and Sylvia. It all happened within seconds, and by the end of it, both Maria and Natasha were reeling. They stared at him in disbelief before the latter shook her head in exasperation and threw her arms up.
“I warned you not to try and sleep with Loki, only to find out you’ve done it already! What the fuck, Harry?”
“You saw what happened, Nat,” Harry replied calmly, glaring at Sylvia. “But I can tell you something. There’s no way I’ll ever be with a power-hungry maniac who takes pleasure in making innocents suffer.”
Sylvia’s eyes hardened at his remark and she gazed at them. It was impossible for her to miss the bond these three shared and a pained expression grew on her face.
“So these are your lovers,” she whispered. “I see…”
“You have a heart cold enough to cause untold pain and suffering, but Harry having lovers is what makes you sad?” Maria interjected, eyeing her keenly. “I feel sorry for you, to be honest.”
“Mind your tongue, human!” Sylvia hissed, shooting a powerful energy blast straight at Maria who stood her ground. With superhuman reflexes honed entirely by the mark Harry had bestowed upon her, she swerved out of the blast’s way and shot toward Sylvia at a breakneck pace. Sylvia’s eyes widened before she teleported out of the way, watching with wide eyes as Maria’s powerful kick shook the tree that had been behind her.
“This human can kick the shit out of you at a moment’s notice, tyrant,” Maria retorted with a glare. “So you mind yourself before we mind you.”
“You think you have any chance of having Harry join you and your nefarious plans?” Natasha asked with a fierce glare. “If you really think Harry will ever agree to this, then you have no fucking clue about him in the first place. Just because you let him put his cock in you doesn’t mean you have any kind of bond with him, bitch.”
A surge of anger erupted inside Sylvia at those words and she clenched her fists to keep herself under control. Her jaw clenched as she took deep breaths, trying to keep her rage in check.
“Listen, and listen well,” Harry said, his voice devoid of any emotion apart from disdain. “Your plan is toast. You have no Iridium, nor will you ever get any. It’s impossible for you to sustain that portal to let any sort of army through. Your silly little plan for world domination is over before it could even begin. As for your fantasy of me joining you on top of that throne forged out of the blood of innocents… I will never join a tyrant.”
Sylvia glared at Harry and the two women he had on either side of him. They watched as a large scepter appeared in her hand out of nowhere.
‘That scepter turned Barton and the others?” He asked Maria who answered affirmatively.
“It has the Mind Stone then.”
Before they could react, Sylvia vanished from their sight, leaving an eerie silence in her wake.
“Where’s she?” Maria whispered before she suddenly whirled around when her powers made her feel a presence behind her.
It was Natasha who gasped as she felt the influence of the Mind Stone warping her psyche. The redhead stood still as Sylvia reappeared in front of her, holding the scepter right over her heart.
All the while, Harry stood impassively as he stared.
“You done?” He asked, unimpressed, and Sylvia’s eyes widened when Natasha grabbed the scepter and delivered a powerful roundhouse kick to the side of her head, sending her topping over against a large rock. Dazed, she gazed up at Harry who gazed back impassively with the scepter in his hand. The two women stood on either side of him.
“You know your mistake, Sylvia?” He whispered. “You underestimate humans. You look down on them. You believe they could never stand up to you. That has caused your downfall.”
“Harry…”
“You thought you could use the Mind Stone on Nat here, hmm? Why not try it on me?”
Sylvia stared up at Harry with pleading eyes, causing him to scoff.
“I see. Quite honorable of you to not try and mind-control me to become yours. But you see… I’m not a normal man who you can influence with an Infinity stone. The same applies to my girlfriends here as well. My magic protects us all.”
Sylvia felt a jolt of shock run through her as she stared at Harry, her mind processing what he had just said. If his magic protected him and those he wanted from the influence of the Infinity stones, then that meant he was easily the most powerful entity in the entire universe.
“Seems I was indeed right about you,” she whispered, staring up at him.
Harry pursed his lips before he glanced at the scepter, holding it in front of himself.
“Let’s see then,” he whispered and reached out, grabbing the crystal that served as the vessel for the Mind Stone.
“What are you doing!?” Sylvia asked in shock as she felt a strain on her mind and she cried out, holding her head in pain. Natasha and Maria looked at her in surprise as Harry paused. Sylvia was holding her head tightly and as Harry pulled his hand off the crystal, they saw a large crack visible on the surface.
“Is she somehow connected to the scepter?” Maria asked with narrowed eyes.
“The Mind Stone allowed her to control other people,” Harry muttered, eyebrows furrowed. “It’s possible that it might be connected to the minds of those under her control and her mind itself.”
“Any strain on the Mind Stone means a strain on their minds as well,” Maria replied. “Harry, I don’t think you should get that stone out of that crystal, at least not until we know what the matter is.”
Harry nodded and vanished the scepter. They turned back to look at Sylvia who was still groaning on the ground, holding her head. Sighing, Harry cast a powerful stunning spell at her.
The crimson bolt of magic collided with her, rendering her unconscious.
“And we’re done,” he muttered. “We should get back now.”
“SHIELD would want her confined,” Maria interjected. “You sure you’ll be fine letting them have her?”
“I don’t care,” he said firmly, stepping away. He stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder and he sighed. “What is it, Nat?”
“We know you very well by now. We can tell when you’re lying, Harry.”
Harry pursed his lips as he gazed straight ahead. Natasha turned to glance at the unconscious form of Loki before she gently turned Harry around.
“You do care about her, even though you’re trying to convince yourself that you don’t,” she whispered. “You wanted to bond with her, didn’t you?”
Harry forced himself not to reply.
“Harry?”
Sighing, he turned to the redhead and nodded, “I did, but how can I do it now? How can I admit how much I care for her after knowing who she truly is and what she was planning to do?”
Natasha and Maria exchanged a look before they smiled.
“It just speaks a lot about you as a person when you can find yourself caring for someone who is so twisted,” the former said consolingly.
“Or it proves that I’m either a maniac or a sex-crazed lunatic,” Harry retorted.
“Really?” Maria drawled, turning him toward her. “So it means we’ll mean nothing to you if we didn’t have sex with you? That’s what you’re saying, hmm?”
Harry sighed.
“You know I didn’t mean it like that,” he replied.
“Really? Cause it sounded like you did,” the brunette retorted. “Look, Harry. Sex and attraction might be a factor, but there is much more to this. We understand what you are feeling right now. But tell me something. How could she know you were connected to SHIELD or any other intelligence organization in any manner when your magic prevents this fact from getting public? Isn’t that what you tell us about that charm you cast on this information?”
Harry pursed his lips and nodded.
“She didn’t know who you truly were, Harry, and I don’t think what you two shared was in any way fake. She seemed truly genuine all the time. As an agent, I can tell, and Nat is even better than me at spotting a fake persona. Tell him, Nat. Did you sense any lies in whatever she told Harry?”
The redhead shook her head and looked away.
“See,” Maria smiled. “Loki might be a maniac but she was not lying to you. And I know deep down, you know that as well. That is why you still care for her.”
“So what are you saying? That we let her be on her way?”
“No,” Maria shook her head. “We can’t let her get away either. We can take her with us instead.”
“Take her with us…” Natasha muttered. “You’ve gone mental. She’ll up and slit our throats in the middle of the night for being who we are.”
“Not with Harry’s powers keeping her confined,” Maria replied quickly. “You can give her the Bruce Banner treatment. Make it impossible for her to damage or leave the room by any means. I’m sure you’ve got something to nullify her magic as well.”
Harry gazed at Maria for a long moment, silently asking if she was truly confident in what she was suggesting. The brunette nodded confidently. Sighing, he turned to Nat who merely shrugged.
“I don’t care either way. Just let me treat her to a kick or two like that one every day and I’ll be happy,” she replied. Maria slapped her on the arm, making her roll her eyes.
“Alright then,” Harry nodded, gazing at Sylvia with a grimace. “Let’s go.”
A minute later, Harry vanished from the clearing with an unconscious Sylvia in his arms and his girlfriends holding onto his arms. They appeared right in the middle of their bedroom and walked out.
“This is becoming a small hotel now,” he muttered as they entered one of the vacant rooms. He dropped Sylvia on the bed and started waving his hands around in intricate motions. Maria and Natasha watched in fascination as he went about his work, enchanting the room as per their requirements.
XXXXX
Across realms, a dark-skinned figure had his eyes closed as he stood in the middle of the room, ignoring the pacing of the demigod around him.
“Your refusal to harness the Bifrost using dark magic would delay your arrival, Odinson.”
“I know,” Thor replied. ”Where is she now?”
“Midgard. She is still on Midgard. But she has vanished from my sight.”
“Vanished on Midgard?” Thor asked in surprise. “There is no place in the universe that is hidden from your sight. How can she vanish beyond?”
“Contrary to popular belief, I cannot see everything,” Heimdall replied. “You will find her on Midgard.”
“And this army you told me about?”
“I caught a glimpse,” Heimdall whispered. “It numbers in millions, but it is not hers. It belongs to someone else… someone my sight cannot reach either.”
Concern grew inside Thor at Heimdall’s words. For his sight to be shrouded by something, it required immense power and concealment magic.
“Is there anything else you could tell me about her whereabouts?”
“The last I caught sight of her was with a man.”
“Sylvia was seen with a man!?” Thor asked in shock. His sister never gave a man any heed. There had been hundreds of suitors over the millennia who had sought her hand, but his sister had rebuffed all of them without consideration.
“Indeed,” Heimdall nodded. “Although I could never see what they got up to. Something always obscured my vision of this man’s activities.”
“Can you tell me anything else about this man, perchance?”
“Indeed,” Heimdall nodded. “This man… he goes by the name of Harry Potter.”
“Harry Potter,” Thor whispered. “It seems I need to pay this man a visit.”
To be continued…
