Downtime at the Avengers Tower

[The Vision]

Mr. Jarvis blinked twice. This owl refused to be shooed away. Even for a day in the Omniverse, today was strange - the Vision incorporated a villain into his computer, or however he had described it. Now there was an owl who seemed to, A) be capable of not flying headfirst into glass, B) followed Mr. Jarvis wherever he went, albeit outside the Tower, and C) was flapping in mid-air in pure daylight. The butler attempted repeatedly to shake off the annoying bird, but this seemed impossible.

Finally, the bird flew away. Mr. Jarvis sighed in relief, slightly perturbed by the appearance of the strange bird. But his relief was short-lived; one sharp hoot alerted him to the presence of the owl directly behind him. How the owl bypassed the most advanced door security Mr. Vision knew of and flew down and back up 17 floors eluded the butler completely. What was clear was the reason this bird was going through so much trouble.

The owl perched on a nearby table.

"Shoo."

The owl did not respond.

"I said, SHOO."

The owl did not respond.

"Get out of here!"

The owl did not respond. Instead, it stuck out one claw, one crisp enveloped tightly clenched inside.

"What's this?"

The owl stuck it out again, then tilted its head, as if judging Mr. Jarvis for his stupid question.

"Yes, I know it's a letter," the butler groaned, "But who's it for? Why should I take it?"

The owl screeched in frustration, sticking out his claw one more time. Mr. Jarvis grunted in response. He ceremoniously pulled white gloves from his pocket then reached out to grab the paper. Despite his distaste for the winged vermin planting its filthy claws in his building, clearly it was not leaving before it delivered the message. Loyal winged vermin, at least.

"There," Mr. Jarvis said, waving the paper at the owl, "Now SHOO."

The owl seemed to nod, a gesture that Mr. Jarvis was fairly sure owls could not show. It flapped its wings once, leaving despicable dust and even one blasted feather in the air, and flew off. Mr. Jarvis only thought of the bird flu he would need to wash from his gloves now.

He looked down and saw a wax seal, one snake circling around the letters "TMR". Given the fact that the sender sent a trained, supernaturally fast owl in broad daylight and had a wax seal with a coat of arms, Mr. Jarvis realized the sender was ostensibly of high status in days long past. Perfectly plausible in this world, he supposed.

Mr. Jarvis stepped into his office and drew a letter-opener and sterilizing fluid. He carefully cut the seal, making sure that what wax could not stay intact with the top half was cleanly cut at the bottom. Lifting the envelope with the letter-opener, he gently pulled a piece of parchment from the envelope, skilled hands prevent too much dust from inside the envelope to scatter over his desk. He flipped the folded parchment open, noting the admittedly beautiful penmanship. Mr. Jarvis, a humbly amateur calligrapher himself, noted the steady and standardized structure of the letters, to fortify clarification of the message; yet personalized, thoughtful flourishes at the tips of each letter, particularly on the "f"s, full of zest, energy, and a desire to be recognized. Young, then. But noble, and educated in fine arts.

Feeling pleased with his deductive skills, he took the time to actually read the contents. When he was finished reading the notably brief message, he frowned.

"Oh dear," the butler muttered.

***

The Vision, because he could not read cursive, waited for a recovered Captain Rogers to read the letter out loud. The two Avengers and Mr. Jarvis were standing in the medical wing. Captain Rogers was sitting on a bed, while the butler and the android listened.

"To whom it may concern,

A man named Harry Potter is about to fight a woman named Bellatrix Lestrange. If Mr. Potter were to be defeated by Ms. Lestrange, it would culminate in the unleashing of an unspeakable horror upon the Omniverse, a horror. I thought the Avengers ought to know. The address, if you are interested, is 146 Asimov Avenue, Apartment G, Costa del Sol.

Harry is a dear friend, but he has let his emotions cloud his judgement. Please ensure his safety.

Best regards,
Thomas Riddle"

Vision scanned the database he gathered from his homeworld, then, to his alarm, found several articles from the internet discussing the famous Harry Potter series.

"Harry Potter..." Captain Rogers scratched his chin. "I recognize that name somewhere..."

"Mr. Jarvis," the android began.

The butler interrupted, "Yes, sir, I am well aware of who 'Thomas Riddle' is."

Vision nodded. "Search results show he is the fictional antagonist in the Harry Potter series."

Captain Rogers perked up. "Of course. Those books were on my bucket list."

"An early entry, if I recall," Vision said.

"I've been busy," Captain Rogers shrugged.

"I have yet to finish the series, Mr. Vision," Mr. Jarvis noted, "But this is likely a trap. Lord Voldemort was the main antagonist of those books."

"I've also found several results for 'Bellatrix Lestrange'. Lord Voldemort's closest accomplice and implied lover, it would seem. A curious development."

Captain Rogers frowned. "Why would he give away the location of his gal if this is an ambush?"

"It is unlikely," Mr. Jarvis sighed.

"Regardless of the true intentions of Mr. Riddle, it is illogical for us to engage." The Vision unceremoniously floated into the air, preparing to leave.

Captain Rogers frowned. "What makes you say that?"

"In the books, Harry Potter is supposedly a skilled wizard, capable of holding his ground against the most powerful contemporary opponent. He will likely not require our assistance. We are not equipped to defuse situations with magical hostile entities-"

"What about Frisk's mother? You said she makes a mean fireball."

"Mrs. Dreemurr..." the Vision flinched, "...refuses to speak with me."

"Maybe you can summon Wanda? It would certainly be nice to have-"

"No."

The Vision's response was too sharp, and too quick. His companions glanced at him, uneasy.

"Wanda was dear to all of us," the android announced, "But she is too volatile to be summoned for one mission, a mission that is already too dangerous as it stands."

"Then what, we're going to leave this Harry kid by himself?" Captain Rogers snapped, "Creep or not, Tom asked us for help. He clearly thought Harry was in danger if he asked some strangers for help. I think we have a duty to go."

"I adamantly disagree," the Vision replied, anger flaring his voice, "My reasons have been stated."

Mr. Jarvis glanced at the two Avengers uneasily. This was one of the few times he had seen these two lose their temper, and possibly the first time he'd seen them lose their temper with each other.

"I'll excuse myself, then," the butler muttered, "while you talk."

Mr. Jarvis bowed awkwardly and left the medbay. As the automatic door slid close, Captain Rogers walked towards the robot.

"Listen, Vision," the super-soldier said, quietly and earnestly, "I know you're still rattled from Rando. And don't pretend you aren't. I've known you for... how long?"

"48 years, 6 months, 25 days, 19 hours, 16 minutes-"

"Forty-eight years," Captain Rogers interrupted, "And during that time, if there is one thing I learned about you, it's that you have a heart."

"Affirmative. I am structured to simulate-"

"Not that kind of heart."

The Vision blinked. "Query: What is your point?"

"My point," Captain Rogers said, "is I understand what you're feeling. Dread. You're afraid of what might happen if you listen to your instincts and recklessly charging in again. But that's not what you did that day, and that's not what you're doing here."

Captain Rogers bent down and lifted his heavy shield, fixing it on his forearm.

"Going to Costa del Sol and helping Harry? That's not an option. It's our job. We don't have the luxury of saying no, because that's the kind of people that we are."

"What kind of people?"

"Heroes."

Captain Rogers smiled and patted Vision on the shoulder. "And old friend, I can tell you know I'm right."

The Vision blinked once more. "Query: How?"

"You don't need to blink, pal," Captain Rogers chuckled, "You're a robot."

Vision caught himself smiling. "Very well. I'll have Mr. Jarvis ready the Quinjet-"

The butler spoke over the intercom. "Quinjet primed, sir. Ms. Williams is unavailable to pilot it, but I'm fairly confident in the new autopilot programs."

"Good talk, Vis," Captain Rogers said, his sturdy military voice returning, "Been a while since we had a man-to-man. Let's get going, eh?"

Vision blinked again, then rang his keycard and opened the medbay doors.