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Jean looked up from her work in her lab, finishing a revised plan for the power component of the plasma based sniper rifle they had 'liberated' from Russia, smiling as she saw one of the house elves show in Emma. "Hey Em, welcome to the castle. Sorry I wasn't there to greet you when you came through but you and Harry didn't set up a specific time you would be coming in today. Still, the runic doorway worked?"
The blonde moved forward, leaning over to hug Jean, smiling faintly as she leaned her head against the side of the redheads. "Good to see you in the flesh too, my friend, love the grungy mechanic look. You really make it work for you. Yes, the doorway seemed to work, for now anyway. Harry said last night we need to wait at least two weeks to see if it will work without the power he left in the runes when he carved them powering it. We'll see, I suppose, though I am certainly hopeful. Being a simple walk away from you and Harry will be extremely nice. I'm beginning to like my little sister but she certainly isn't a friend. Not quite someone I can let my hair down around, not yet, if I ever can. Family is… a touchy subject to me… and to Cordelia."
"I can understand that, given your personal history. Just don't be afraid to reach out to her. You've done a lot already from what you've said. I think that eventually you and Cordelia will be able to become a real family. Oh, and my sense of fashion, again, is none of your concern, Emma." So saying, Jean gently pushed Emma away and stood up, stretching and smiling in pleasure at a damn good day's work.
It had taken some time but she had finally been able to maximize the potential of the power unit in the sniper rifle, making it much more efficient or 'tighter', which was the way she had described this part of the project to Harry. She had also minimized it and added a way to toggle the power sent through the rifle. It could now be set to fire the normal sniper shot; several smaller, less powerful regular rounds that could come out faster; and a third setting that could allow the rifle's rounds to have penetrating power. That would take a lot of the unit's power but since the 'clip', the energy battery, could also be traded out much easier, she felt very satisfied with her day's work. Now all I need to do is figure out the multiple heat issues, dissipation, retention, and infrared. The miniaturization aspect I'm not going to touch, not with this plasma system, too much effort, too little return. Weight however, that I can do something with.
Jean put that thought to the side to look at her friend with one eyebrow raised. "I notice you didn't mention Ororo when you mentioned it would be nice to be so close by."
"No, I didn't mention her, did I? It's not as if she and I are that close Jean." Emma shrugged. "I respect her as an individual and her position but I do think I love Harry and I want to be with him. I want to push it. I have forborne to do so thus far but my patience has limits."
"I don't want to take sides Emma but I think waiting is the best thing to do." Jean began to walk Emma out of her lab, looking at her friend out of the corner of her eye. "Ororo is only looking out for Harry and herself. If she sees that you truly love Harry, then all that remains is for you and her to take the time to get to know one another. This isn't a harem, we're all equals and care for one another almost equally. I love Harry and Ororo both. If you want to join us, you'll have to love all three of us as well."
She shrugged. "I know Ororo respects you but she needs to get to know you better. For the next two days, though, we won't have time to do that. After that, we'll all sit down and talk about this, okay?"
Emma frowned. While she was certain in her own mind that she had come to love Harry, she wasn't really certain if she could do the same with Ororo. There was none of the almost instant attraction and friendship that had sprung up between her and Jean. Respect, as she said, but not love. That would take time to build and it hadn't happened yet. "No promises but I'll try not to push things too much."
Jean smiled, winding one arm with her friends as they moved down the corridor, their talk turning to other matters. "Good, now come on. I want to show you the new things we've done here since you last visited. After that, you are invited to have dinner with us up in the headmaster's suite. Trust me, the view is incredible! Harry did this thing to the stones that make them transparent, they even let in the breeze if you want it, and…"
OOOOOOO
True to his word, Harry and Piotr talked after breakfast, about right and wrong, about killing and the morality of doing so in the defense of others. Harry didn't have all the answers but the talk made Piotr feel better. After that, while Kitty began work on the lie detecting array and the others went about their own business, Harry disappeared into the library with the books he had borrowed from the Sorcerer Supreme.
Dr. Strange and his predecessors had gathered a lot of information on demon lords such as Mephisto, none of which was good. Oh, Harry had a few spells from his home dimension and a few that he had made up they could probably surprise Mephisto with but Mephisto's own powers of magic were supposed to be insanely powerful according to the recorded battles against him on Earth, let alone in his own dimension.
Illusions that can confuse even sorcerers of the level of a Sorcerer Supreme, the ability to use mind control, at least I might be good there, all sorts of magical attacks much like any normal sorcerer could and an insane level of natural magical defense, regeneration on the level beyond anything I've ever seen, teleportation, time manipulation? This guy is at least on the level of a celestial! I was able to surprise and overcome him for a moment by using a BI spell but, since they effect the environment, I doubt I could use then in Mephisto's realm, not before overcoming his mental control of it.
I could use my mutant power on the dimension itself, maybe. After all, Mephisto's dimension isn't a natural environment, it's a magical construction but that idea worries me. When I take in the magic from a person or an object, it infects me with its flavor for time. Those bloody horcrux felt foul and they were only human. Selene's power felt almost diseased so what would a demon lord's power feel like? No, I can't rely on that. And it isn't safe to assume because I'm one of the most powerful human magic users around that I can fight a demon Lord on his own ground on an even footing.
Harry knew that he was powerful, far more powerful than nearly any sorcerer, warlock, or whatever you wish to call a magic user in this reality save for Dr. Strange. Mephisto wasn't human; he was so far beyond what most humans could even conceive of that he was deeply concerned.
I never thought I say this but I think I need to seriously consider draining that jewel that Jean found for the power it could give me. It radiates a good deal more power than those gems of Cyttorak's, so I've been leery of draining it, especially since I haven't exactly needed more power lately. I wanted to save it until I really needed it. That time's come sooner than I had hoped, but, if I want to take on Mephisto on his own ground, that is the sort of power I need.
With that determination, Harry broached the subject with his lovers and Emma, who Jean had invited to try out the runic doorway tonight to join them for an early dinner. The door worked for Emma but it remained to be seen if it took power from it's paired fellow just yet.
Unlike the other two, Emma didn't really understand much about the magical aspects, though she understood corruption well enough and was deeply concerned about what draining a demon's powers could do to Harry, if it was even possible in the first place since he hadn't actually tried to drain a demon before. So she was all for it.
Ororo and Jean, on the other hand, were much more ambivalent about it. Jean spoke first. "Face it Harry, you got lucky the first time when you drained Cyttorak. He's a brute force animal. But if these gems are color-coded somehow, it might mean this one doesn't connect to him but to someone else. Someone who might be able to fight you on a more level playing field."
She was correct in this. While an inherently a magical being, Cyttorak wasn't actually all that good at using magic. He specialized in magic of the body, enhancing physical strength, endurance, bestowing shields, and armor. Moreover, it was almost a certainty this gem belonged to someone else, but Dr. Strange hadn't been much help in figuring out what a different colored gem could mean, since there was no written record of Cyttorak belonging to a pantheon. "What if this God on the other side of the jewel is able to fight you somehow when you try to drain him? Can you win that kind the fight?"
"I think I'm going to have to." Harry replied. "Fighting a Demon Lord on his own ground is, there's no other word for it, insanity. Going from what Dr. Doom told me, torturing Doom's mother is one of the hell lords's favorite pastimes, even in comparison to torturing other souls. That's not good and means we will have to fight him. In his own dimension, trying to trick or use illusions against him probably won't work, which means it will have to be a brute force approach. That's a fight, I'm afraid that as I am, we won't be able to fight him anywhere near an even footing."
Harry wished that he could talk his two ladies out of accompanying him and Doom because he was almost certain that trying to protect them was going to be one hell of a tough time. But Harry knew better than to even try that. Still, he wasn't going to go to bed this evening regardless of the outcome of this conversation as he was going to be putting together as many defenses as he possibly could for the two of them, magically speaking.
Ororo sighed, not happy at all about this but seeing the necessity. "We will be with you when you try this. I can tell that you are going to do this whatever we say. I can see the worry in your eyes. If the battle occurs on the mental plane, Jean and Emma can aid you. If the battle occurs on the physical plane, then Jean and I can aid you. If you just need an anchor to this world, as Jean did when trying to control the Phoenix aspect within her, you will have us three there."
Emma started, then looked at Ororo with sudden hope, wondering if that meant that Ororo was coming closer to allowing Emma to join their relationship. For now she kept her thoughts on the current conversation however, turning to look at Harry.
"I was actually hoping you'd volunteer for that." Harry smiled gently, taking one of Ororo's hands in his and kissing the tips of each finger in turn causing her to breathe a little deeper but she still stared at him seriously. "I think I should do this now. That way I'll have time to recover all day tomorrow before meeting Dr. Doom. After all, I don't think I'll need my powers while meeting with the King."
Ororo sighed but nodded agreement and the conversation turned to other things while they ate. After the food was cleared away, the girls followed Harry down to the Room of Requirement, where Harry changed it to the configuration where he had hidden the gem as well as the other items Jean had taken from Selene's caches. Many of the carved gemstones and jewels, for instance, had magic on them that Harry wanted to look at before draining. The room therefore was a shaped like a cross between a jeweler's display area and a high security vault.
Emma knew nothing of the danger however, merely looking around in wonder at the paintings here, as well as the eggs, the statues, and jewels. "You now, if Russia starts making waves against you politically, without outright saying what they're trying to accuse you of, you could offer to return those eggs. It would earn you a lot of goodwill since they're part of Russia's National Heritage. If they still try to make trouble for you after that, well, it would look very odd indeed. And as for the pictures, the art community would probably fall down and worship you as a deity if you sell those."
"I'm not into deification. I would think this whole venture and my unhappiness with gods trying to interfere in this world would prove that." Harry replied blandly, looking straight ahead to where the gem lay in pride of place hovering over a small plinth, surrounded by a special defense that the castle apparently had come up with it on its own via the RoR. Harry determined to study it at a later date because he was certain that a few of those runes he could see on the plinth should not really exist or, at least, not work in that configuration. Whatever it was seemed to have suspended the gem in a small globe of antigravity, visible like a ball made of some almost see-through liquid.
"Step back for a moment." Harry ordered, then reached forward into the sphere. It felt like water, yet Harry could tell that it was something else. He didn't really know what but he was able to pull out the gem and look at it thoughtfully already feeling his power starting to create that connection between himself and the object that he would use to drain it. "Wish me luck…"
OOOOOOO
Almost as soon as he concentrated on his mutant power, Harry felt himself elsewhere. He looked around, frowning, not seeing anything for a moment, but as he stood there, surrounding by gray nothingness, a strange small fog bank suddenly appeared. Several seconds passed as it got denser, several different veins of color shooting through the fog, until it coalesced into what looked like a pillar of energy with purple, white, and black motes of energy all mixed together.
"Interesting." a voice intoned, coming from everywhere around, its tone almost mechanical, yet not quite, more like incredibly disconnected, unemotional, colorless, and coldly scornful. "So Cyttorak was telling the truth. There is a being that is so arrogant as to attempt to drain our essence. Unfortunately, for you human, I am not like that musclebound buffoon. I, Balthakk, am more than capable of fighting you like this."
Almost immediately, Harry felt the power that had been slowly seeping into him from his physical connection to the gem begin to fade and almost to reverse. Harry quickly threw his will into the connection, stopping the flow of magic for a time then slowly reversing it. Yet that was only the first aspect of this battle, the next was purely mental and Harry found his mental defense unable to stop the god's words as they flowed through their mystical connection.
"Why do you fight?" the voice whispered, coming from all around Harry as well reverberating in his head. "Magic was made to conquer. Magic was made to change the world for the better, is that not what you want? To use your powers to make the world a better place? We could do great things together, you and I."
Harry grunted, fighting against the wave of mental power, which ignored his mental defenses with ease, a startling thought, yet not really surprising he would later think, since the fight had somehow transported his mental personality to Balthakk's plane. He groaned under the onslaught but did not give in.
"Why fight it? With my power, you could control the world. Control it for the better! Everyone would be happy, no one would die, the world would be as you will it! Think of the fantastic and marvelous things you could do, with my power added to yours with you as my avatar. Compared to all that, what is the price of worshiping me, Balthakk?"
The thoughts were supposed to sap Harry's will and with Balthakk's power behind them, the words began to seep into every corner of Harry's brain, slowly grinding his will under. Balthakk's ability to control the magical energies of the connection was greater than Harry's and, as an elder god, his will was inhuman. Harry soon found 'himself' (in reality his mental avatar) on his knees, groaning in pain.
Yet, even as he did so he fought back, grabbing as much of Balthakk's power as he could, funneling it into himself, using it to fight back creating a loop between them, the fight for the moment even.
OOOOOOO
Outside, there hadn't been any change at first, except for sweat appearing on Harry's brow but as the seconds passed a feeling of pressure, not gravity but something similar, slowly developed around him. Suddenly, the gem glowed yellow and purple, so bright you could see Harry's bones outlined in the hand that held it. With that light, the pressure increased tenfold, pressing down on the three girls. Emma slumped against Jean who held her up, conjuring up a telekinetic shield to batter away whatever was pressing in on them.
It seemed to work for now but the two younger girls stared over at Ororo who was simply standing there her irises slowly going from the light blue they normally were to pure white as she called forth her power. Neither could tell what she was doing but Ororo was seemingly able to push the pressure back somehow.
Suddenly, around Harry there began to form a suit of yellow armor, much less bulky than Juggernaut's, far more formfitting, as if it was made for speed rather than stopping power. It began at his feet then began to move up his body.
"Why do I think that if that fully forms, it's a bad thing?" Emma quipped, trying to hide her nervousness as she sent out a telepathic probe towards Harry, hoping to find some sign of whatever was going on. Yet, when she did so, she couldn't find anything. She knew there was something there, some kind of power looping through Harry and the gem in his hand, but she couldn't interact with it., which made her even more nervous. "I can't get to him." she muttered to Jean. "Can you?"
Jean's eyes flared with Phoenix light as she raised a hand to point to Harry for a moment, her power visible in the air as it shot forward to encompass him. Yet, even as it did so, her probe was battered aside by the pressure that was flowing from Harry's physical form and she gritted her teeth. "I can't get through." she said, canceling her attack. "I could probably break his death grip on the gem but my telepathy can't get through to whatever is going on." Normally, I'd be able to at least feel the small connection that Harry opened up between our minds, she thought, but it's like it's not there at all. "I think… I think this is some kind of magical or 'godly' version of mental projection. His mind isn't at home anymore."
"Regardless, he now needs us to be his anchors." Ororo said briskly, her power flowing around her in some way that the two younger girls couldn't define. In actuality, she had summoned up a small pressure field or her own that distorted the space around her. Later, Ororo would be unable to explain precisely how this had aided her in pushing off the presence pressing at them, but at present it didn't matter. She strode forward, grasping Harry's arm near the shoulder, squeezing hard. "We are here for you Harry, remember that."
OOOOOOO
Harry heard Ororo, somehow, and he gritted his teeth, pushing back against Balthakk's influence as hard as he could. Yet, this was Balthakk's kind of flight, mental and physical energy manipulation was his specialty. Of all the deities involved in the bet to see who could conquer/control the most of humanity, he was the one best suited to combat Harry's assault.
Harry's will was also being severely tested by the whispers in his head, which had somehow latched onto his memories and were using them against him now. "If you had more power, your friends would not have died against those demons. The demons would've fled in fear from you as they should have! Those children in Russia, do you think that saving them makes any real difference? How many children, both mutant and not, are in worse situations the world over? The first time that Book of Students you made has a name that goes from red to black and then blank, what will you do? You need more power; you need the power to control everything, to change human nature! If you had that power, perhaps Hermione would still be alive!"
Harry roared in mental agony, his hands moving to his head, as the voice began to break him slowly down, forcing him back. Hermione's death was the wound that had never healed, something he hadn't been able to move past. She hadn't died in battle or after Voldemort started his campaign. Hermione had died because she was Harry's friend and Voldemort wanted to send Harry a message. She was left helpless because Dumbledore hoped that without her, Harry would come to him for aid, because she was Harry's friend. No matter what anyone said, the guilt of that was a deep, jagged wound in his soul.
Balthakk didn't believe in physical forms, seeing them as beneath a god like himself. Yet right now, if he had a physical form, he would be smiling. A Wizard as an avatar was something that none of the others would ever be able to match and with his power backing Harry, his avatar would win the world for him.
OOOOOOO
Jean and Emma had come forward to grasp onto Harry as well but all three of the ladies were now on feeling the pressure, Ororo especially. Her own pressure field was slowly giving way, as were her knees. Jean was pushing back as hard as she could but even she was sweating now. Emma, pressed hard to Jean's side and protected by the redhead's power, was close to breaking and running.
The blonde's eyes were wide with fear, her blond hair planted against her head with sweat, unable to fight back, unable to truly grasp the powers pressing all around her, yet she was still there by Harry's side. It was the fact she felt helpless more than anything else that had Emma in such a state. Power, like money and fiscal intelligence, were turn-ons for Emma, but this was something else, the pressure wasn't coming from Harry, it was coming from something she couldn't understand, couldn't come to grips with. But it certainly could affect her.
Ororo still had strength enough to reach forward and gently turn Harry's head towards her. "Harry, come back to me, come back to us. We love you Harry, we need you here, not an avatar, just Harry." She leaned forward and kissed him on the lips, pulling back slowly.
Jean leaned forward in turn, kissing Harry's lips, murmuring. "You were my anchor when I needed it, now I'm yours when you need it! You're stronger than this, you're stronger than any damned ancient god! Hold it together, Harry, and come back to us!" Emma tried to reach up to do the same but could only manage to lean up for a moment, kissing Harry on the cheek before she collapsed, overcome by the force all around them despite Jean's protection.
Harry's body was almost entirely encased in the yellow armor, which much like Juggernauts armor, didn't actually cover his entire body, being more a set of bracers, boots, leggings, and a yellow formfitting breastplate. That breastplate was now fully formed and the process was creating some kind of metal faceplate as the ladies kissed him. But that progress halted and began to reverse slowly as they watched. "That's it, Harry," Jean exclaimed, grinning now, her entire being writhed in Phoenix fire as she leaned into his chest. "Fight it off! You're your own damn person, Harry Potter! I didn't fall in love with you just to lose you!"
OOOOOOO
Harry heard his lover's words and smiled faintly, shaking his head as Balthakk said, "What need have humans for free will when all they do is abuse it? Join me, become my voice among humanity."
"But only by being free can we truly be human!" Harry shouted, pushing back against the god's words and influence, stronger now, a sudden shove that pushed the god's attack, off balance, to use a physical metaphor.
"Every choice we make, every step we take, we create the path we stride, no one controls us, no one has the right to take our ability to think, to feel to be human away from us, no matter the reasons!" He thrust himself back to his feet; his eyes beginning to shine with power again, as his will slowly forced Balthakk's back through the loop that they had created between them.
"I've never wanted to change people like that! I've never wanted to rule, to dominate! I want to lead, not demand or control. I want people to stand beside me of their own free will because it is only then when they will put forth all of their effort! I'm no god nor would I ever want to serve one. Humanity doesn't need things like you, who want to control us, who demand we subvert our will to yours! We can create those on our own, thank you so very much."
He smiled as he said it but his will was like diamond now and Balthakk couldn't find a purchase to get in any longer. Harry slowly but surely began to apply pressure on the god's own control of his magical powers, slowly regaining control of the loop.
"So all your friends died in vain?" Balthakk tried. "What would they say if they knew you gave up the power that could've saved them, that could save other people?"
"My friends would have understood." Harry replied calmly, most of his attention now on the mental struggle going on rather than the voice still trying to get into his head. "They fought because they believed in our cause. They believed in fighting for their friends, their family with their own hands rather than letting someone else do it for them. They followed me because they trusted me, not because I was the most powerful, not because I commanded them to! Yes, I want to change the world but not as its ruler. I will be its defender, its guardian at the gates against creatures like you and anything else! I can't change human nature but I can provide an example of what humans can truly be!"
His eyes were now lit with fervor and magical power. With a mental wrench Harry regained control of the loop with that snap that was almost audible, and Balthakk groaned in agony, flinching away.
Unlike Cyttorak, Balthakk had invested more of himself in a single gem, only creating a single true connection. Balthakk had hoped this would allow him to more closely control his avatar, which would give him an advantage over his fellows. Yet, it had truly backfired. First because Selene had found his true gem and hidden it, not even trying to figure out what it was, and now with Harry. The other gems Balthakk had sequestered on this world were fakes, duplicates to throw off his fellows from what he had done. Now Balthakk grunted in agony as his powers were slowly stripped away from him.
Harry felt his body almost vibrating with the power he was taking in. Abruptly he was connected once more to his own physical body, yet that connection was tenuous at best because that physical form was somehow becoming less solid. The more magic Harry took in, the less he was able to actually connect to a physical form.
Have to throw some of this power somewhere, he thought wildly. He went down to his knees, ignoring the ladies around him for a moment as he funneled the power he was stealing from Balthakk into the ley lines. Around the world, wizards raised their heads as they felt a vast super saturation of magical potential go through the Earth itself, the ley lines trembling slightly as the power was added to its own.
Nor was that reverberation only felt on the physical plane. Many deities felt it, wondered, and worried as Balthakk screamed. He wrenched at the connection reaching through his own connection to the jewel and shattering the gem, releasing Harry from their conflict and retreating back to his own realm, greatly reduced.
Once Harry felt his body begin to stabilize, his magical core once more under control, he stopped, pulling away from the Earth and the connection forged with the ley lines under Hogwarts. Harry's body was still throbbing, like there was something tingling just under the surface, and, even without casting a spell, Harry knew he had at the least tripled his magical strength from before this battle, though he could feel other changes begin in his body, his magic going further than it ever had before to change him
Instead, his attention was taken by the more visible proof that he had won the battle. He looked down at the armor he was wearing, gently flicking it with fingertip causing a slight 'tink' sound. "Huh?" he said thoughtfully. "Well, isn't that a thing." He looked up at the trio of women who had, rather literally saved his soul. "Thank you, sincerely. If you weren't here…"
"I said we were your anchor, my Harry." Ororo said putting her hand over his mouth. "That is what partners do." He nodded faintly then woozily got to his feet, pulling Jean into a wordless hug. The two clung to one another for a moment then Ororo supported Harry as he moved towards the doorway.
Jean pulled Emma to her feet and began to follow them, the two younger women leaning on one another. The blond had been the most effected of the trio, having only woken up from her swoon as Harry finished stabilizing his core. Emma was no longer white in the face but her eyes a little wild, a mix of still present fear and growing desire thanks to the knowledge that Harry had just beaten a FUCKING GOD! She stared from Jean to Harry and Ororo. "I-is this the kind of crap you three do every day?"
"No," Jean answered faintly, most of her attention on trying to keep the two of them on their feet. "This was a little more difficult than most of the crap we run into."
"Oh. Good." Emma said weakly, her eyes now tracking, but her voice still quavering as she glanced between the three lovers.
OOOOOOO
Many beings, both in the universe/reality humanity called home and without, had felt the reverberations of Harry's battle against Balthakk. Gods and goddesses had felt that reverberation, although only the most learned, such as the sky-fathers, earth-mothers, and certain others could understand what the first meant, the massive transfer of power that signaled the death of a god and the birth of another. Yet, the second surge took many of these by surprise. After all, it was very rare for someone to deny himself godhood after he had seized the power to become such but most forgot it swiftly, feeling the Elder god still there, simply assuming that an upstart had been beaten down at great cost.
Odin looked up in shock in his personal quarters, his one remaining eye widening. His wife, Frigga, noticed this, looking at her husband. "What do you see that has shocked you so, husband?"
"Not so much see as feel, wife. I will return, I need to speak to Heimdall the all-seeing." With that, he left at a brisk walk, moving toward the Rainbow Bridge and its guardian.
Of course, Heimdall had seen him coming, though what he said was troubling. "I know why you have come lord, but I cannot tell you much of the disturbance. It has something to do with an Elder God, one of the Octoessence has lost a large portion of his power, but how I cannot say. It happened somewhere on Midgard but my sight is blocked from seeing precisely where. The wards of wherever occurred bars my eyes."
Odin frowned heavily; it would seem his own abilities as Sky-father, lord of his pantheon, were able to tell him more than Heimdall. That had the feel of the insufferable Balthakk, the one who was so disdainful of all things mortal that he didn't even bother having a corporeal form. He is so badly weakened I imagine his fellows have already moved against him, though he might still live, I know nor care not. What does matter, is how he lost so much power and if they are a threat to me and mine. Midgard is gathering too many eyes of late, too many powers whose interest they are not ready to meet. "What can you tell me about these wards that block your sight?"
That conversation told Odin some more about this new power in Midgard, but not a lot, not enough to know its position in terms of Asgard, at least. He decided that he might have to send a scout down to see what this new power was. Nor was Odin the only one who was wondering what was going on…
OOOOOOO
Steven gasped and then gasped again, going to his knees. Clea, too gasped and looked around in shock, her eyes widening in wonder and a bit of joy. Wanda clutched her head, staring at them both in confusion as she felt something she didn't have enough knowledge to understand. Then a wild thrumming filled the air as the wards, linked to the large ley line that wound its way underneath Strange's home, were almost overpowered. If not for their sheer number, they might well have been overwhelmed but, as it was, they simply soaked up the added power. "Master Clea, what, what is going on?"
Almost as soon as it began, it ended. Strange shook his head, smiling a little woozily. "In answer to your question, young Wanda, the first thing I felt was the dramatic weakening of an Elder God, one who I sometimes call for a few of my offensive spells. Then we felt someone funneling magical energy into the ley lines. Possibly, the very energy Balthakk lost or, at least, some of it. Somehow, I just know Mr. Potter is behind this. I am now looking forward to seeing him this Saturday. Hearing him explain what just happened will be most enlightening."
OOOOOOO
Hela was not a Sky-father or even an Earth-mother but the gorgeous Asgardian personification of death was also watching Harry, as she had been whenever she didn't have duties to perform. Her own scrying spells were based around her position as Asgardian goddess of Death, which allowed her to somewhat circumvent the wards that kept out Heimdall's sight. Thus, she saw everything.
Hela saw the gem and the fact it anchored a connection to an Elder God. She could even figure out who thanks to the color of the armor along with the odd purple, at least to her sight, energies playing around the gem and Harry. She watched the physical manifestation of the fight between Harry and Balthakk with great interest. Hela could not hear what the God was saying to Harry nor could she hear what the humans were saying. Her scrying spells did not come with audio, especially not going through the massively powerful and complicated wards that protected Hogwarts and then into the bizarre and even better defended RoR.
Yet even so, Hela could see the moment Harry won, when the gem crumbled as Balthakk retreated from the mortal plane greatly reduced, possibly enough so as to be a target for the others of his pantheon. She saw when Harry's body began to deteriorate from the magical energy residing within. She could almost see the seed of a new God appearing in him. Then it was gone, as Harry poured his new power into the ley lines.
She had made looking into Harry Potter a sort of personal project of hers and had been astonished, astounded, and captivated in turn. His personal history in his past dimension, which she could only view with difficulty, was not a pleasant one. Still, it told her enough of the man behind the power, and her attraction to him skyrocketed when she had felt the surge she had dared hope that Harry would transcend and would become worthy of her affections. She wanted to see if Harry was as magnificent as he seemed but she wasn't about to spend time slumming with a human like Thor so desperately wanted to do, at least according to rumor. She was a goddess; no mortal man would ever be able to satisfy her
Yet at the last moment, Harry had thrown away just enough of the power to keep himself from becoming a god, from losing his flesh and blood human form entirely. Yet at the same time, she could feel that he had changed. He wasn't an Asgardian but he was no longer merely human either. He had thrown off enough power to not become a god, to be certain, but he was now far more powerful than even the Sorcerer Supreme. It would not surprise Hela at all if it had even changed his physical form.
There was a certain hierarchy to godhood, much like demon-hood. Normal Asgardians and Grecians were the bottom rung. They were much more physically powerful than most mortals and they were essentially immune to disease. In the case of the Grecians, they could be killed in battle but were otherwise immortal. The Asgardians were merely incredibly long lived. Next were those who were the center of religions, the Sky-fathers and Earth Mothers, such as Odin and Gaia, who could take some power from their worshippers and more from those below them in the pantheon. They could also, some of them at least, exist on more than a single plane of existence. They had a physical form but that was not the sum of their being.
Next were the Elder Gods and the rather standoffish god of the Torah/Bible. They existed more as beings of pure energy than anything else, although some still had physical forms, which they retained in pocket dimensions they themselves had mostly created. Not all had, of course, but most. What really set them apart was they existed both there, as well as anywhere else they wished, without any set limit to the number of planes they could be interacting with at any given time. Of course, the amount they could concentrate on was actually limited by each individual god's ability to pay attention to multiple things at once, which varied wildly.
Thanks to being a wizard and his unique spells that could alter his body's physical ability, Harry now had more than enough magical power to be the equal of an upper rung Asgardian, like Hela herself or Thor. Yet, he was also still mortal, still flawed for some reason. At first, she couldn't understand why he hadn't taken that final step but looking down at them in her bowls image of the RoR (and wasn't that room an amazing example of Álfurinn style magic) she could see the reason.
Hela studied the trio of women with Harry, most especially the two most powerful. The connection they formed is what kept him from transcending. The avatar of the Phoenix and that chosen of Gaia... Perhaps, perhaps I need to consider if I am willing to become part of the whole rather than his sole desire. Certainly, despite not being gods, they are close enough and I have, at times, wondered what it would be like to be with a woman. That Grecian slut Aphrodite seems to like both sides of the distaff well enough. Still, let me put that thought aside for now. I may yet be able to win his affections away from them, although any overt move against them must be planned out well in advance, so as to have no connection to me. Now, how to gain an introduction…
OOOOOOO
The next day, Jean and Ororo woke up and were pleased to find Harry still in bed with them, albeit sitting up and staring at his reflection in a small mirror but that was still somewhat a relief. Harry however was pleased by the fact there was no visible change to his body from the ordeal. His muscles might be denser and he felt somewhat like he had his Magia Erebea on at a very low level but, other than that, his physical body hadn't really changed.
Neither lady was pleased by his recitation of the clash between him and Balthakk, though they were very pleased indeed to know that Balthakk had been so badly reduced. He reiterated the fact that it had been the two of them as well as Emma who had kept him going when the thing began its mental assault.
It was one thing to fight against your own demons. It was quite another to have those demons given power by an elder god and sent to traipse through your mind. Whether or not Harry would have folded and become the god's avatar was still debatable but his sanity would have surely been destroyed if the battle had continued. Still, because of the three women anchoring him, Harry had been able to win through, gaining the power he was unfortunately certain he was going to need when they quite literally invaded hell.
"Still, I am happy to report that the fight with Balthakk finally gave my naming sense enough of a kick in the ass for me to come up with another codename for myself."
Ororo smirked, running her hands over his side, marveling a little at the fact he had first fought off a god and then abandoned godhood to be with her, Jean, and Emma. She was determined to make her approval of that choice plain as soon as she could, though today and tomorrow, alas, would not let them enough time to really do that justice. "Oh, and what is your new name, my wizard?"
"I'm going to call myself Guardian from now on. It's simple, but it encompasses what I am. I guard, I protect those who cannot protect themselves, I lead others to defend themselves, and I teach so that people may be better prepared to guard one another. At the heart, that is what I am."
Ororo and Jean exchanged a glance over Harry's chest. Both of them had the thought that Harry was still selling himself short. He was much more of a leader and visionary than he gave himself credit for. Despite this, they could see the name did indeed call to a large part of Harry's personality, so they both nodded. Jean spoke for them both. "That seems a much more fitting name than Mr. Wizard, Harry. Guardian it is."
Harry grinned, which did not go away as his two ladies tried to kiss him senseless for the next half hour, before the trio reluctantly got up to join the others for breakfast. Harry was even happier to report at lunch that the power he had siphoned off had a specific taste to it which added to his repertoire. Balthakk was connected to the sorcerous equivalent of manipulating pure magic without the aid of any spoken or thought spell; rather the imagination and will of the person using the spell controlled the effect of it. After absorbing Balthakk's powers, Harry could manipulate pure magic much more easily than before, without even the aid of mentally crafting the spell he desired. In fact, Harry was so pleased he hoped this flavor remained added to his magical core, much like that of the strength enhancement he had gotten for his Magia Erebea spell from Cyttorak.
The trio got up and spent the morning with Melody and the other children as well as checking in on Dennis. Melody seemed to realize something had changed in her father but either didn't care to explain what or couldn't explain it. She merely clung to his side much more than usual, something Harry wasn't about to complain about. No one else, save Dr. Druid who knew what occurred, seemed to notice anything different.
The kids were happy to spend the day outside, and Harry, Jean, Ororo, Illyana, Piotr, and Melody played against Nikolai, his sister, and the other youngsters in a football game in the field the house elves had created over the past few days. Harry had a moment of nostalgia realizing that it was in the same place in relation to the castle as the quidditch pitch had been in his old dimension, but got over it quickly.
Dennis was still working on going through the data the computers they had scavenged from the base in Russia and had already found a few gems he wanted to share with Harry. Jean, however, had warned him to wait on that, since at the moment they had two large fishes to fry before they could turn their attention to anything else.
He also had found a lot of medical information he felt he wasn't really qualified to analyze, both about the mutant gene, and about something Doctor Phobos, who Dennis had discovered was working more for himself than the state he supposedly served, called 'Project Dvoynik'. Father Garnoff thought it might have something to do with the man's desire to siphon off mutant powers for himself but Dennis didn't know enough just yet to prove that assumption.
"On top of that, I've finally gotten some responses from my attempts to open up dialogue with old friends and associates who might be willing to pass on information." the elderly man said. He was waving one hand, which contained a fork, with such enthusiasm that he caused Illyich to duck away, scowling at him from where he sat on the ground next to him.
All the castle denizens were sitting outside today, taking advantage of the good weather while they could and the old man was holding court on one large picnic blanket while several more were spread out haphazardly around them. However, despite the nice semi-fall weather, Illyich looked dyspeptic. His team had lost the football game badly.
It turned out that Harry's skill as a seeker and hand eye coordination made him damn hard to take the ball from and Melody, who was now laying down with her head on one of Harry's thighs, was a deadly goalie, once the game was explained to her, at least. The only reason they had stayed in the game for so long was IIlyich's reflexes and speed, coupled with the extremely good goalie play of Sergei. His mutant power of sonar had made him able to read where the ball was going to go by the motion of his opponent's foot, allowing him to move in that direction even before the player's foot hit the ball.
Dennis cared nothing of that and ignored the teenager, going on excitedly. "I have tentative offers to pass on information from friends in America, FBI specifically, MI5 right here in the UK, and several others spread out in businesses the world over. My Japanese contact is still not willing to make a decision but that is more a cultural thing than anything else. I offended him greatly by going directly to him rather than to his subordinate but I didn't realize at the time he had gained a high enough position to care about such things. Still, he will be a major aid, once we prove to be someone his emperor will want to treat with."
"Why the emperor?" Emma asked quizzically. The two of them had got on splendidly once introduced and the older man was over the moon about the possibility of getting access to Frost Corp's electrical intelligence apparatus. Emma, in turn, was amazed at the man's credentials and more than a little pleased that Harry had the good sense to employ a spymaster already. "Isn't the emperor merely a figurehead?"
"Don't believe it." Dennis shook his head. "Asia is my specific area of expertise and let me tell you, the Japanese emperor has more influence behind the scenes than any Occidental is going to notice or believe. He is still revered by many, and those social duties of his, based around his being the highest authority in the Shinto religion are avenues where he can guide public opinion. While it is in no way universal, there is a lot of reverence towards the emperor from certain circles. Old time samurai families who long for the days of past glories, many of the more religious Shinto groups, and a few ex-noble families still look to the Chrysanthemum Throne. They might not do so for leadership in anything serious, but in social matters, such as the mutant issue, the royal family can make a big difference. My contact is part of the samurai caste, and he longs for the old days more than most, though I would say if he hadn't been a chosen companion of the current emperor while young, he might be the sort to want to set himself up as shogun."
"That is interesting but I trust you have been careful to not allow your contacts to know anything about who you work for?" Harry interjected, getting the conversation back to the original topic. For the most part, he was willing to let the two talk, since it was very enlightening to see the synergy of corporate espionage and international, but that was one point he wanted to be clear on.
"I haven't told anyone who I work for, though I think my Japanese contact, at least, has an idea. He's certainly on my list of those that got back to me. I haven't approached any of the men or women I would like to have work directly for us. I understood your instructions there but I would urge you to start letting me vet people as soon as possible. I'm getting rumblings of anti-mutant activities in Greece, Italy, and Egypt that are just a little too organized for my liking and another group in Asia, although that one might just be a criminal group enlisting mutants to its ranks. Still, something to watch out for, as are several other little indicators that Iron Man rip offs are spreading."