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44 Project PEGASUS
🕑 Added 2024-11-25 18:15:02 +0000 UTCNick Fury sat behind his desk scanning through the latest update on Project Pegasus, lines of data and experimental results flashing across the screen. The dim light of his office barely illuminated the room. Fury liked it that way. As he prepared to dive deeper into the report, the silence was shattered by a deafening CRACK, reverberating through the room. The walls seemed to tremble, as if the very foundation of the SHIELD headquarters had been rattled.
Fury’s eye shot up, hand instinctively reaching toward his sidearm, only to stop when his gaze locked onto the figure standing in front of his desk.
Harry Potter stood there, his green eyes alight with magical power, his usual calm demeanour replaced by something darker. Fury drew his gun and pointed it at Harry. "How can I know that it's you"
Harry waved his hand and replied, "I dare you to shoot me."
Fury, not liking where this was going, took the shot but the bullet hit a golden barrier similar to the one that had stopped the Hammer Droids in the Stark Expo.
"You know anyone else that can do that?" Harry asked plainly.
Fury lowered his gun, "Guess you're back?" Fury asked, leaning back in his chair with that trademark, unreadable expression.
Harry gave a small, tired smile. The weight of Natasha’s song and the unspoken emotions between them still lingered heavily on his mind. Coming here, offered a different kind of distraction, one where things were simpler, more direct, and less tied to his heart. He used all the occlumency that he had learned to bottle away the emotions he was feeling so that he could focus on the task at hand.
He walked over and dropped into the seat opposite Fury. "Yeah, just got back from Asgard. The Diplomatic mission went well. Coulson probably already filled you in, but we’ve secured good relations. If we ever need backup against any cosmic threats, the Asgardians are on standby."
Fury raised an eyebrow, a glint of amusement in his eye. "Good to know. If you’d told me that a year ago, I might’ve gotten the World Security Council off my back. They’ve been breathing down my neck about cosmic threats ever since Thor's little hammer fiasco."
Harry chuckled. "Well, better late than never, right? Besides, you didn’t seem like the type to get rattled by a little bureaucratic pressure."
"Who says I did?" Fury shot back with a smirk. "But I could’ve used the leverage. Those guys make me question my patience more than Stark ever did."
Harry grinned, the tension inside him easing a little. "I'll try to give you more heads-up next time." Harry became more thoughtful, his smile fading just a bit. "What did I miss while I was gone?" he asked, shifting focus.
Fury's smirk dropped as he got back to business, eyeing Harry carefully. "A lot. But let’s start with the Avengers Initiative."
“With you gone, and in light of recent developments, the Avengers Initiative has been officially shut down," Fury began, his tone more businesslike now. "It’s been replaced with something a bit more practical. Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S." He paused for effect, watching Harry’s reaction. "Instead of running a superhero team, we're focusing on harnessing new technology that can provide us with an upper hand against unknown threats. It’s the world’s next line of defense."
Harry raised an eyebrow. “So, no more Avengers?”
Fury shook his head. “Not in the way we originally planned but between you and me, I still believe that the Avengers are a better solution to control these types of threats. Right now, the Council’s more interested in research and weapons development that SHEILD agents can use. Which brings us to you. I’m promoting your security clearance to level 7. Instead of leading the Avengers Initiative, for now you’ll be our primary consultant for magical and extra-terrestrial threats.”
Harry leaned back, taking it in. “So... less ‘team leader’ and more ‘in case of emergency, break glass’?”
“Something like that,” Fury smirked. “You’re too valuable to be sidelined, Potter. We need someone who can deal with the weird stuff that’s beyond our current scope. You’re still going to be in the thick of things.”
After finishing the conversation, Fury made a few quick calls, and before long, they were in a helicopter, soaring towards a SHIELD research facility in the Mojave Desert, Nevada.
During the flight, Harry stared out the window at the vast, barren landscape below, the helicopter blades chopping through the air. He turned to Fury. "So, what’s been going on while I was off-world?"
Fury began "Steve Rogers—Captain America—the world’s first super soldier, has been found too while you were gone. Turns out he’s been frozen alive in the Arctic ever since his last mission during World War II. He somehow survived being entombed in ice for nearly seventy years."
Harry raised an eyebrow and smirked. "You finally found your vintage hero, huh? I was beginning to think your obsession with Cap was just a wild goose chase."
Fury rolled his eye but couldn’t suppress a small grin. "Obsession or not, I was right, wasn’t I? We recovered him. He was in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody at our headquarters in Times Square until he woke up."
"And let me guess, he wasn’t too thrilled to find out it’s the 21st century?" Harry joked, leaning back.
"You could say that." Fury continued, his tone growing more serious. "He escaped into New York when he woke up, completely disoriented. The last thing he remembered was 1945. I had to personally intercept him before he caused any more problems. You can imagine how it’d feel to wake up in a world you don’t recognize."
Harry nodded, his teasing smile fading. "Yeah, that must’ve been rough for him. Seventy years... I can't even begin to imagine."
Fury sighed, his demeanour hardening again. "Rogers is still trying to adjust. We’re keeping him monitored, but he’ll be an asset soon enough.
“So, Howard Stark’s hunch that Steve Rogers was still alive turned out to be true,” Harry commented. “You must be relieved. You trusted Stark Senior’s judgment and got rewarded for it."
Fury allowed a small grin. “I deal in information, Potter. Knowing which piece might or might not be accurate is part of the job. Sometimes it pays off."
Harry chuckled. “You always make it sound so easy. What else have I missed?”
Fury’s expression grew more serious. “After the incidents in New Mexico and Harlem—Thor’s little brawl with the cosmic robot and Hulk’s rampage—the World Security Council decided the Avengers Initiative was too unpredictable. Too big of a wild card for them to stomach. They don’t think S.H.I.E.L.D. can control superhumans."
Harry nodded thoughtfully, understanding the Council's concerns.
"Which is why we’ve restarted Project Pegasus," Fury continued. "It’s a joint research program with NASA, aimed at analyzing—and eventually weaponizing—the Tesseract.”
Harry furrowed his brow. “The Tesseract? What exactly is that?”
Fury sighed, leaning back. “We don’t know the full picture. It’s a cube—used by Hydra during World War II, back when they were the R&D division of the Nazis. They used it to power their weapons. All we know for sure is that it’s an immense source of energy.”
Fury continued, glancing at him. "The Tesseract’s been keeping us busy. We’ve made some progress, but there’s still a lot of unknowns."
Harry frowned slightly. “And I’m guessing that’s where I come in?”
“Yes. Pegasus is all about tapping into the Tesseract’s potential. We need to figure out how to control that kind of power before someone else does. That’s why I’m taking you to see it. I want your professional opinion, Consultant.”
The helicopter touched down on the concrete pad, its blades kicking up dust as it settled. Fury stepped out first, his trench coat billowing dramatically, followed by Harry, who looked far less dramatic.
Waiting for them, with a wide grin and his ever-present calm demeanour, was Phil Coulson. As soon as Coulson laid eyes on Harry, his usual professional restraint broke, and he quickly crossed the distance between them.
Without warning, Coulson enveloped Harry in a tight hug, nearly lifting him off the ground. Harry, startled by the sudden affection, awkwardly patted Coulson’s back.
"Uh... good to see you too, Phil," Harry mumbled, still not sure what to do with this level of enthusiasm.
Coulson stepped back, clapping Harry on the shoulder. "You have no idea how much trouble you caused me, Potter."
Harry raised an eyebrow. "Me? I was stuck in Asgard."
"Exactly," Coulson said, raising a finger for emphasis. "Next time you decide to get stuck in another realm, do me a favour and don’t make me explain it to a room full of killers who care about you, all of whom have creative and painfully detailed ideas on how to murder me.”
Harry chuckled. "What, who all gave you a hard time?"
Coulson laughed but nodded gravely. "Natasha? Oh, she was just the start. I had Clint threatening to put an arrow somewhere uncomfortable, Stark promising to make me disappear and Pepper Potts personally came to my office just to glare at me. Then there were the Richards." He shuddered. "That family made it very clear what would happen if you didn’t come back in one piece."
Harry smirked, crossing his arms. "Well, I’m here now, aren't I?"
"Yeah, well, I’m just warning you," Coulson said, his voice mock-serious, "next time you pull a vanishing act to space or another dimension, don’t do it when I am in charge or else I would have to quit my job and hide for my life."
Harry laughed, finally feeling a little of the tension ease from his shoulders. "You know you’d never quit."
Coulson sighed with exaggerated reluctance. "Unfortunately, you’re right. Just maybe keep your feet on Earth for a little while?"
Harry gave him a playful nudge. "No promises, but I’ll do my best."
They walked through the expansive halls of the research facility as Fury began to explain the various projects that were being studied here. They passed by a series of large glass chambers housing strange and menacing contraptions. Fury gestured to the first chamber, where an old, scarred weapon lay on display.
"These are Hydra weapons from World War II," Fury began. "We’ve been studying them ever since they were recovered. Powered by the Tesseract back then. We’ve learned a lot, but there’s still plenty we don’t understand."
Harry raised an eyebrow as he glanced at the heavy artillery, noting the unmistakable Hydra insignia scratched off the metal. "So... weapons created with magic-adjacent tech and war crimes. Classy."
Fury smirked. "We didn’t exactly sign up to be tasteful, Potter."
Coulson, ever the diplomat, chimed in. "Still, they serve as an important reminder of what happens when too much power ends up in the wrong hands."
Harry’s eyes wandered to the next chamber, where he saw something far more recent and familiar — the destroyed remnants of the Destroyer armour, the same mechanical juggernaut that had wreaked havoc in New Mexico. The once indestructible Asgardian weapon lay in pieces, as scientists worked on analyzing it.
"And here’s the Destroyer," Fury added, casually. "Thought you might be familiar with this one."
Harry snorted, stepping closer to the glass, his fingers lightly brushing it as he observed the wreckage. "Yeah, I remember it. This thing was a nightmare."
Fury nodded approvingly. "We’re still trying to figure out how to reverse-engineer the tech. Whoever built it wasn’t messing around."
Coulson added, “I had a meeting yesterday where I was asked if we could mass-produce something like this. They said no but we are making guns out of the technology.” Harry shook his head.
Moving along, they reached another display — a rusty but recognizable suit of armor. The Mark 1 and 2 Whiplash armor sat behind the glass, its skeletal frame a reminder of the chaos it had caused in Monaco.
"Whiplash," Fury explained, "A very persistent engineer. Too smart for his own good, but we learned a lot from his tech. Crude, but effective."
Coulson chimed in, "Tony Stark actually asked for this one back."
Harry studied the suit, the blue light of its exposed arc reactor dimly glowing. "Tony always has interesting rivals."
The next chamber contained remnants of the Hammer Drones, at least the ones that did not blow up. They were still showing the signs of battle from when they had been torn apart by Iron Man and War Machine. Nearby was the massive Iron Monger suit, standing ominously like a sentinel waiting for orders.
Harry raised an eyebrow. "And these were Hammer’s attempt at keeping up?"
Fury chuckled. "Yeah, turns out mass-producing inferior versions of Stark’s tech wasn’t his brightest idea. But we kept the remains as much as we could recover for, well, study. There's always something to learn from a failure."
Finally, they reached the last section, containing vials of liquid, labeled Super Soldier Serum – Ross Version. Alongside the vials were the preliminary designs for weapons General Ross had hoped to develop, based on the Hulk's power. Harry paused in front of them, a frown forming.
"Ross’s attempt at recreating the Super Soldier Serum?" Harry asked.
"Yep," Fury confirmed. "Ross never did know when to quit. His experiments on Banner didn't exactly go as planned, but we’ve been keeping an eye on his developments. The man’s determined, but he’s playing with fire."
Coulson shrugged. "Banner’s situation has made it pretty clear that this serum isn’t something you just whip up in a lab and hope for the best."
Harry glanced at the vials again, thinking about the consequences of reckless ambition. "You guys sure know how to pick your projects."
Fury gave a short laugh. "This is the world we live in, Potter. We either keep up, or we get left behind."
As they continued walking through the facility, Harry couldn’t help but feel a mixture of amazement and concern at the sheer amount of power S.H.I.E.L.D. had accumulated. He knew better than most what happened when people tried to control things they didn’t fully understand.
The three made their way down to the underground levels where the heart of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s research on the Tesseract was taking place. As they approached the main lab, they were greeted by two familiar figures—Erik Selvig, deep in conversation with some lab technicians, and Clint Barton, who broke into a grin the moment he saw Harry.
“Well, look what the cat dragged back,” Clint teased as he walked up, pulling Harry into a brief but strong hug. “You had everyone worried sick, you know? Thought you’d gone and decided to stay in Asgard permanently.”
Harry chuckled, hugging Clint back. “You know me better than that. No place like Earth,” he replied, though the statement lacked its usual levity after everything he'd been through.
Selvig shook Harry’s hand warmly. “It’s good to see you in one piece, Harry.”
Harry smiled at the older man. “I’m not that easy to get rid of,” he said, trying to inject some humour into his voice.
Clint’s expression softened, though, as he gave Harry a more serious look. “Laura’s been worried sick ever since S.H.I.E.L.D. declared you missing. She’ll kill me if I don’t tell you to stop by and see her soon.”
Harry nodded, grateful. “I will. I’ll drop by as soon as I’m done here. Promise.”
With the reunion out of the way, Fury, Clint, and Selvig led Harry further into the facility, where the Tesseract was being held. As they approached the contraption, the atmosphere seemed to shift, growing heavier with each step. The Tesseract sat, glowing ominously in its containment field, casting an eerie blue light across the room.
“This is where the magic happens,” Selvig said with a nod toward the cube, his tone half-serious, half in awe. “Quite literally, in your case.”
Harry’s eyes narrowed as he studied the Tesseract. It radiated power, a kind he hadn’t felt before, even among the magical artefacts of his own world or in Asgard.
Fury broke the silence. “The Tesseract’s power isn’t exactly new to us. It was first harnessed by Arnim Zola, HYDRA’s chief scientist, back in the 1940s. Zola and his team developed batteries that could contain the Tesseract’s energy, using it to power HYDRA’s advanced weaponry. Deadly stuff.”
He glanced at Harry, making sure he had his full attention. “After HYDRA fell, Howard Stark got his hands on it. He believed the Tesseract could hold the key to clean, limitless energy, and it was Stark’s research that eventually led to the creation of the Arc Reactor. But even then, its true potential remained largely untapped. S.H.I.E.L.D. picked up where Stark left off, conducting tests on the cube in the late ‘80s under the direction of Dr. Wendy Lawson, but nothing concrete ever came from it.”
Fury's tone shifted, the frustration of decades of trial and error clearly coming through. “We’ve been sitting on this thing for decades, Potter. No one’s ever truly figured out what it is or what it’s capable of.”
Selvig stepped in, his expression eager but cautious. “Recently, we've made some advances, thanks to the discovery of a new element by Tony Stark. It’s given us the ability to create stable power surges, something we haven’t been able to do before. We’re now able to stabilize the direct current and maintain safe energy levels for longer periods of time. But...” he paused, glancing at the cube, “we still don’t fully understand how it works, or its limits.”
Fury turned to Harry, his single eye locking onto him. “Alright, Consultant. Your turn. Let’s see what the ‘magic expert’ makes of this cosmic cube.”
Harry stepped closer to the Tesseract, his wand sliding effortlessly into his hand. The cube’s energy pulsed faintly, almost as if it recognized his approach. With a deep breath, Harry focused his magic, casting a series of diagnostic spells that shimmered like ripples in the air, gently enveloping the cube in their arcane embrace.
At first, the magic only brushed the surface, revealing layers of powerful enchantments acting like a protective shell around the cube. But as Harry deepened his concentration, the true nature of the Tesseract began to emerge.
His thoughts were interrupted by Fury’s voice, calm but insistent. “Well, Potter? What’s your read on it?”
“It’s... a casing,” Harry muttered under his breath, brow furrowing. “But not just any casing.”
He could sense something ancient and vast within it—an energy older than anything he had encountered before. His spells probed further, revealing a mysterious force. It wasn’t just power contained within the cube, but an energy that seemed to be drawn from everywhere at once.
“The power…” Harry whispered, more to himself than anyone else. “It’s not coming from inside. It’s being pulled in—from all around it, like space itself is fueling this thing.”
Fury and Selvig exchanged a glance but said nothing, waiting for Harry to continue.
“I can’t tell the full capacity of its power.” Harry stepped back slightly, looking at the cube with a mix of awe and uncertainty. “It’s like trying to measure the depth of an ocean by staring at the surface. But there’s something else. I think… I think it controls space itself.”
Fury raised an eyebrow. “Space? As in… outer space?”
Harry shook his head slowly, confused by what his magic was revealing. “Not just that. I mean space, as in distance, movement, and location. But how could something control the very fabric of space? Even magic has limits, but this...” He trailed off, unable to fully grasp the implications.
The information flowed to him through his magic, but it didn’t make complete sense, as if it was from a framework beyond his understanding. It wasn’t like any magical artefact he had ever encountered before. There was no simple spell, no incantation or ritual to explain it away. It was something more—something beyond magic.
Harry glanced back at Fury, his voice low and unsure. “Whatever this is, Director... it's not just a source of power. It’s something far more dangerous. Something we don’t fully understand.”
Fury let out a heavy sigh as he glanced at the Tesseract. “This is the progress we’re making, Potter,” he said, his voice carrying an undertone of frustration. “But I’m afraid it’s not fast enough. Even with the advancements from Stark’s element and Selvig’s research, we’re still years—maybe even a decade—away from harnessing its full potential. By the time we’re able to weaponize this, train the personnel, and be ready for the scale of threats we’re anticipating, we might already be too late.”
Harry crossed his arms, leaning casually against the wall, though his mind was anything but relaxed. “We’ve got Hulk, Captain America, Iron Man, Thor—and me. That’s already a solid lineup. I’m sure I can whip this team into shape if any extra-terrestrial threat decides to show up before you’re ready,” he said with a grin, trying to lighten the mood.
Fury gave him a look, half-amused, half-serious. “You might have to, Potter. Because right now, we’re not ready. Not yet.”
Harry’s smile faded as he glanced back at the cube, its faint glow casting eerie shadows across the room. They weren’t just racing against time—they were racing against the unknown. And for once, even with all his magic, he wasn’t sure they would be ready in time.
As the tension settled between them, Fury clapped Harry on the shoulder. “But until then, let’s keep pushing. I’ll need you more than ever, consultant.”
Harry nodded. “I’ll be ready.”
