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Harry cultivated a sense of self-preservation the longer that he stayed in this realm. In fact, one could say that he was paranoid beyond all belief. The girl beside him looked at this hooded mystery person with mistrust, a lot of mistrust. In fact one could argue that she looked at this mystery woman with more mistrust than Harry did. Tension continued to escalate.
"So, are you another one of Belasco's puppets, in a different wrapper?" Harry asked her in a calm voice, not once breaking his tone. The two of them stared each other down, neither backing off from the other.
"If I'm a puppet then….."
"You wouldn't tell me anyway, I know this game, and I know how he plays it," Harry told the woman and his companion looked at him. It was obvious that mistrust swam through her eyes as well. He knew also that one wrong move and they would all be in trouble and that was not some place where Harry wants to believe.
"You could be his puppets as well," the hooded woman stated and Harry looked at her, his anger simmering. To her credit, she did not back down from his glare. But perhaps that was just because she was brazen enough not to know the danger. "Perhaps one of you, perhaps both of you….."
"I do tire of playing word games, tell me who you are and why are you here," Harry said to her and the woman blinked.
"An extremely powerful young man such as yourself would understand the value of patience….."
"Oh, I understand the value of it perfectly," Harry commented sharply and he took another step forward, so they were nearly face to face. His companion remained immobile and wide eyed. "But there's this one problem, I find myself in increasingly short supply on it. If you lived the life that I did, you'd understand why."
"Perhaps, I see things clearly now," she agreed, and once again the tension returned in spades. "I am looking for Belasco….."
"Well he's up at his palace, good luck in finding him," Harry said and he took half of a step off to the side. "And you're going to have to go alone."
"You don't think that you'd survive out here on your own," the woman suggested with a smile on her face and Harry was annoyed about this fact for some reason.
"Survival is what I've been doing my entire life, and out there….well trust me, whatever's out there, is far more appealing that what's in there."
"Yes, I can see your point," she agreed and the blonde Russian, finally losing her patience with the word games stepped forward.
"We have to keep moving, his guards will check here soon, and then….if you're not one of his, you'll be captured for aiding and abetting us," she told the woman. "Unless you are one of his…"
"I'm not one of his, I can assure you, but can I say the same thing about you?" the woman asked and the girl stared at her, with simmering hatred. If looks could kill, this woman would be long since dead. "You have his taint all over you, the hooks, he has the ground work. I know what he intends to make you….but he hasn't had the chance to seal the deal."
"I escaped…"
"Or he's allowed you to, because a prey that is hunted is much more appealing than a prey that's captive," she suggested to the young female. "He is using two powerful young magic users as pawns…..in his attempts to gain further control. And eventually Earth will be under his thrall….but I can see them branching out like a web. There are many different incarnations of Earth, like a multi-verse, and we're not all from the same world, are we?"
Harry stood there, he assumed not. All he knew was that he took the portal here and then for the past several years, he experienced torments that were unspeakable. So he chose not to really speak of them.
"He wishes to ascend," the younger female whispered, she got bits and pieces. How he tempted her with powers, and a small part of her felt…..well she felt enamored by that. The innocence of a young female had been tainted into something like this. She was just a girl, playing with her dolls, and worried about her lessons.
Then all of these years later, she was here, and she felt different. What he used on her, well it was magic that should not be spoken of.
"Yes, he does," the hooded woman agreed, but Harry, turning around, found himself at the edge of a gate. The rune stones were set up in a particular pattern.
"There's our way out," Harry commented, grabbing onto the side of the gate and trying to pry it.
"Physical exertion is good, but….." the woman said, trailing off as Harry cracked the gate open.
"Any magical spell would have set off an alarm and would have had his hoards on us," Harry said without preamble. "But I'm certain you might have intended to do that."
"I didn't intend to do it, but those rune stones are intended to make it so no one can physically open the gate without magic," the woman said, and even with her great knowledge, she was completely flummoxed.
"How did you do it?" the younger girl asked.
"Well I….you know we've been with each other for almost an hour….and I don't have your name," Harry said, suddenly realizing something for the first time. He had been distracted momentarily, so he did not realize that he was missing this vital fact.
"You don't….."
"I do," Harry said and the Russian girl felt a burst of power from him. The fire in his eyes was intoxicating and she tried not to look in them too long. She felt the desire to drop to her knees right now. "So, who are you?"
"Illyana Rasputin," she managed, catching her breath and the hooded figure looked like she was impressed as well, but not showing it as outwardly as Illyana was. She had many more years to mask her emotions.
"See, that wasn't too hard, Illyana," Harry said to her and the blonde nodded with a smile. "And Harry Potter…."
"Yes, he speaks of you, you seem to be his crown jewel," Illyana said, she suspected as much but she had to confirm. "And how about you?"
"We need to move quickly."
She was allowed to evade the question for now, but both Harry and Illyana had deep rooted issues of mistrust given how they spent a good half of their childhood or in the case of Harry, pretty much all of his childhood, getting transferred from one hell to the next.
The clattering of hooves signaled the arrival of some demonic looking headless horsemen like figures and the group had made a quick getaway before they reached the gates.
"My name is Clea, I am the currently Sorceress Supreme of Earth, after the previous holder of that moniker left the mortal plane permanently."
Harry read that naturally as it should, that the person holding the moniker died, perhaps at the hands of a very violent enemy. He had heard that the role of Sorcerer Supreme or rather Sorceress Supreme in her case, was a dangerous one. She did not remove her hood yet, so Harry did not get a great look at her features.
"Yes, so if you're the ultimate power, then you would have a way to get us out of this realm," Harry said to her and she appreciated him getting straight to the point.
"In theory yes, but in practice no," she commented to herself. "To return home, I have to pass through barriers….barriers that have been fortified. It appears that I have been lured here to be trapped by an enemy….which I have my suspicions as to who, and if I'm correct, then he is a dangerous man."
"So, if you don't get out of here….."
"The only solitude that I have is that time passes at an accelerated rate in Limbo, as opposed to what it does on Earth, any Earth in fact," Clea said and this was not the first time where she said this completely curious statement. "But the point is moot, if you're dead."
"Yes, that would make difficulties," Harry agreed, as the group walked. Illyana remained mostly silent, almost as if she was contemplating how long to trust them. Harry sensed a battle going on in her mind and it caused his own mind to become rapidly numb. "So…."
"I might not be of Earthly origin, but the higher ups indicated that I was the one most worthy to hold the position," Clea added, taking a few steps forward and she looked at him. "I sense great power coming from you, which tells me why Belasco was interested in you in the first place."
"Yes, he imparted a lot of knowledge on me," Harry confirmed and Clea jumped back in with the obvious addition to that statement.
"And in his arrogance, he imparted a slight bit too much knowledge on you," Clea added and Harry once again smiled.
"Well, that's an interesting way to put things, but yes, I would have to agree," Harry responded to her.
"Your legend….and what you're known of, has been passed through the realms, even those that are not tied to the Earth that you're from, mostly because high level threats have visited that particular Earth," Clea explained. "But that legend….it's just a minor blip in the grand scheme of the universe."
"I wouldn't know," Harry said, he didn't really think about the world he left, ever since leaving it. The echoes in his mind grew even more prominent. He would wash his hands of that world.
"It's irrelevant yes, although I'm sure many will debate upon the means that your mother did to enable your sacrifice," Clea said and the trio walked forward. "Only a little further yet….."
"Would you mind telling us where we're going?" Harry asked, and Clea sighed, she suspected that Harry was not one who was going to blindly trust all that easily.
"I would tell you but I want to be away from prying ears when I do so," Clea said and there was a frown that went over Harry's face. She could tell that he reached the end of his patience right now. "Trust me on this one….."
"I don't trust, you know that as well as anyone else," Harry said and while he was going to hope that she did not lead him all of this way just to spring another trap on them, there was nothing that was for certain. People had done things far more convoluted in the past.
Clea stopped at the edge of a hidden temple. They walked through the mist, which was a double edge sword. On one hand, it gave them cover. On the other hand, it gave anyone attacking cover.
"This is the place," Clea said and Harry frowned at her. His impatience simmered and stewed, once again there were far too few answers for his liking. "Inside, quickly."
Harry stopped for a second and he decided to check out the place. While there was some deception involved, there was not nearly enough to make an alarm bell. Illyana stopped and looked at Harry, as he scanned it to see that their passage would be safe.
"So….."
"Inside," Harry told her, annoyed that he was essentially being lead around. He was going to correct that matter sooner rather than later. "And for the record, I'm only going in on my own accord, and not because you told me. I won't warn you not to command me again."
Clea was silent and she walked inside of the temple. Soon they would know.
Harry felt a brief chill come over him and Illyana entered last. The temple doors sealed themselves inside. There was no turning back now, they would just have to trust things.
Days must have passed on their journey or it seemed like it. Then again, as Clea mentioned, time did in fact pass quite oddly in Limbo.
"Now that we're in here, I can give you some answers," Clea said and while Harry said absolutely nothing, there was a sense of "it's about time" in his gaze towards her. She still was mostly hidden, therefore Harry was not going to give her his full trust. The woman gave him a simmering smile and nodded. "As I've told you, I'm the Sorceress Supreme and I've been here for a long time….."
"How long?"
"I lost count and to try and pin down a time table in Limbo would be madness," she said to them. "I was lead here by one of Belasco's attempts to reach out but there was another who fortified the barriers. Belasco may have made a deal with him, I'm not certain. Or perhaps he just took advantage of this opportunity and hoped that Belasco and I wiped out each other. The politics of demonic entities is such."
"Yes, but what is this place?" Harry asked.
"It's one of my many safe havens," she explained to him. "We should be shielded from his efforts to track you and Miss Rasputin…..at least for a little while."
"And that would be…"
"Not nearly long enough but I do need to run some tests, to detect the level of corruption he's done on both of you," Clea said and Harry looked at Illyana.
"How do we know if these scans are on the level?" Illyana asked her, quietly.
"I'll go first," Harry said, knowing that he would be in a far better state of mind if Clea tried anything.
Illyana wondered if Harry had some kind of plan but never the less, Clea accepted that choice.
"Just sit back and relax," Clea told him in what she hoped would be a soothing voice. Her upbringing had left her rather…..unequipped to deal with what were essentially super powered temperamental children. "Just feel the magical energy flow."
Her mother's raising her had not given her the adequate knowledge as well. She figured that taking after her mother's unique….well unique parenting was not a good idea.
Belasco had not directly influenced Harry as he did with the younger girl but she saw enough traces of magical energy to be concerned. It appeared that he took a more subtle approach to breaking Harry and the black thread in his head told the story.
'Why did he…..he didn't put it there, did he?' she asked suddenly, locking onto the black thread and realizing what it signified. There was also a white thread next to the black thread and the two seemed to be snapping back and forth in a constant battle. If one let up, the other would break but both were stronger than ever.
Clea gave a noise of discontent and Illyana's eyes traveled to meet hers. "Is there a problem?"
"One could say that this is a problem, yes," Clea said and Harry's eyes glowed. She tried to focus on the scan and not the unique magical properties of them for a few seconds. The sorceress never saw such a shade of green in her life.
"What sort of problem?" Harry asked in a calm and crisp voice as he was brought out of the trance that he was put in so she could scan him. He frowned at this.
"For anyone to do such a thing must mean that they fear death beyond all else," Clea said to him. "It has been called many things but the name that I have managed to pull from your memories is a Horcrux. Essentially it is a piece of a soul encased in an object, to prevent a magical user from passing from a mortal plane."
"An object….and those objects….they can include people," Harry said and Clea frowned.
"Not necessarily or at least not ideally, as a living object meant to live and breathe on it's own accord should not house such an item, for it can have some unstable side effects for both the host and the person where the soul originated from," Clea explained to him. "It can lead to corruption on both sides….although you have been….well there is some special circumstances from your end."
"Isn't there always?" Harry asked her.
"Your mother performed a ritual to alter you and he intended to use you to make his final soul container, his final Horcrux," Clea said. "Your death would have been the most powerful death of them all….for you were the subject of a prophecy."
"Really?" Harry asked. "You mean to tell me that the reason why he killed my parents and tried to kill me is because of some baloney fortunetelling."
"Prophecy is a tricky art, I do not even pretend to explain it, as various interpretations from the words of a seer vary from person to person," Clea said and she smiled. "If a tree falls in the woods and no one hears it, does it make noise? And more relevant if a prophecy is spoke and no one hears it, could it ever logically be fulfilled?"
"He did hear it….."
"Or one of his followers," Clea confirmed. The memories were not completely clear as to her, they were just dark echoes of a twisted soul.
"Right, well whoever did it, they believed this prophecy, so they made it true, by their belief," Harry said.
"Most magic is tied into the belief that is real, hence why it is unwise to discourage young magical users at the thought that something is impossible," Clea explained. "Magic is very difficult at times but impossible….that just shows a distinct lack of imagination. Which I suspect the race of magical users that you come from has in spades."
"So what about the object?" Illyana asked.
"Yes, what about it?" Harry agreed and he frowned, staring her down. "Do you think that you could remove it?"
"It's possible, but ill-advised as it could have long term side effects to your mental and physical health, even if it doesn't prove to be fatal," she explained. "You should have been rendered completely non-magical by now. You are far stronger than you logically should be, especially after what you've ben through."
"So it seems," Harry said dryly.
"But there is a way….I must consult the text, but it should work."
"What is it?" Harry demanded and Clea peered at him, her hood not completely down yet.
"A way to gain the knowledge, whilst hopefully removing the corrupting elements from it, strengthening your mother's protection, while weakening his influence," Clea said. "It's like a cold you sweat out, for lack of a better term."
"Do it then."
"Very well, I'll make preparations."
"So you allowed him to get away, didn't you?"
The taunting voice of Riddle could be heard, as he continued to flitter in and out of Limbo. That being said, he was only there for a fleeting moment. So Belasco was more prone to ignore him more now than ever before.
"The girl, she escaped, master," one of the demons said, hunched over with an apologetic look in his eyes and the demon stared down at him.
"It doesn't matter, given how we are intertwined, she will find her way back to us, shortly," Belasco said, in a calm voice, saving some face. If he had let on how outraged he was that two of his prized pawns were, his demons would eat him. "They could not have gotten far without any help, have they?"
"No, master, no, they couldn't have," one of the demons whispered in a raspy voice and Belasco smiled at them, his sickening grin getting even more so. "It may have been the witch…."
"Yes, it was her, I can feel her presence here, but it is not precise where," Belasco agreed, as he looked around.
The Sorceress Supreme had foolishly taken the battle to him in Limbo, in his domain. And now if she took property of his, he would make them suffer.
The problem was, despite the fact that he was connected to Illyana, she had disappeared. Her thirst to hurt him for what he did to her would bring her back here before too long. He did not need to move a finger, all he needed to do was wait.
Harry Potter on the other hand, well he was a completely curious one. Belasco thought that he was only special due to his connection to Riddle but there was something else about him. The strength like that only came along once in a generation, if they were fortunate.
That being said, what was he? There were certain dark energies that swirled around him that he thought pertained to the scar but now he wasn't so certain.
It would be a matter that he would have to contemplate himself as time passed. That being said, he would have to locate his two wayward children before too long. The demon lord did not enjoy his property slipping away from him underneath any circumstances.
"Keep an eye out for her, and make them pay if you run into them," Belasco told them and he could see that all eyes were on him. Critical as always, demons, even devoted minions, or supposed devoted minions, always looked out for fear.
That was why he kidnapped the girl, insurance in case his previous precautious failed and there was no reason to think that there was not a chance.
Another figure had her eyes on the situation and she was rather intrigued with how the situation was unraveling. She never expected him to break free, at least not yet. Perhaps in time, but that did complicate things a lot.
Little did Harry Potter know the role she played in his life over the past number of years but….to be honest, he was too out of it most of the time to really register what was going on. The girl stuck to the shadows.
Belasco didn't acknowledge her existence most of the time to begin with, she didn't really want to give him a reason to. Or let him know who had been leaving library books where Harry Potter could read them to broaden his knowledge.
From what she could find out, Harry managed to find his own way out of his captivity and broaden his knowledge. An escape attempt was nothing new but most of them were performed to Belasco to break the monotony of Limbo.
This was not one of those times at all and the young female was preparing to make her plans to see what happened next. It was possible that Harry could be brought back before the night but she did not have a clue where he might have gone.
'Anything to keep Father busy, all that much the better,' she thought, the smile on her face getting prominent. If she was visible within the shadows, they would have been afraid of what she was thinking.
As for that Russian strumpet, well she could get lost from the elements for all she cared. That brat just complicated matters. And her father thought more of that Rasputin girl than her, after she had devoted her life to following her father's whims. That made her feel a bit jaded and a fair bit more agitated.
'Snotty little bitch, it would be a shame if an accident happened to her.'
She thought that was great sarcasm, but she did wonder how far Harry got.
Her father once again did not acknowledge her and once again, she gave him no reason to. Retreating to her quarters, the young woman wanted to make further plans.
The demon guards passed her stepped back and bowed towards her, looking at her with great reverence, even more than her father had.
If that didn't underline her plight, she doubted that anything would.
"Be at ease," she told them and she was not in the mood for their slobbering. As if they could have a chance with someone like her.
Slipping into her room, she waited for further news. The new energies in the Limbo dimension were not lost on her and she wanted to divine the source of them.
"I'm ready," Harry told Clea and the woman nodded crisply in response.
"I know you're ready, both from a physical and emotional standpoint but things could get ugly when you get deep into this ritual," she warned Harry and Harry's eyes traveled towards her. It was obvious that he understand the risks and was going to dive in head first. "So, you understand?"
"I do."
"Very well then, if you do, then we'll proceed," Clea said, she figured that Harry was in the state of mind where he understood the risks of this. Turning towards their other companion, the Sorceress Supreme added one last command. "I'm afraid that I'm going to ask you to leave, because having too many individuals in the area will compromise the magical ritual. And you might not be able to handle any consequences that happen afterwards."
Illyana did not move right away, and it looked like she was going to challenge that edict from the Sorceress Supreme.
Harry, sensing the danger and not wanting a battle between two powerful female magical uses, turned to Illyana. "Wait outside."
That statement caused Illyana to turn onto her heel and walk off, obediently without any question.
"Interesting," Clea whispered, seeing Illyana's retreating back as she disappeared into the next room. Harry raised his eyebrow, hoping for some clarification of that statement. "Just something that I had for a theory, but it's beginning to be clarified. We can worry about that later….shall we begin?"
"Yes," Harry said and he looked at her, stopping and holding her hands. "But, I want you to do one thing before I consent for you to do a complex magical ritual on me."
"Yes?" Clea asked, wondering what favor he was to ask of her.
"I want to see the face of the person who is doing this to me," Harry told her and that was a point that was not to be negotiated. "Or…."
"Yes, it's time we properly faced each other," Clea agreed, undoing the clasp of her robe and she allowed her hood to fall down.
Clea's platinum blonde hair was the first thing that Harry saw. Her soft face was angelic, and her blazing blue eyes shined out from him. A purple bodysuit wrapped around her tight curves. She was a fairly tall woman, of about five foot eight or so. Harry could not help but take in her womanly figure and marvel at the body that she had. He had caught glimpses of the succubi slaves that were moving around the palace and they were so beautiful they could make a person's heart ache along with their loins but this body was one of exquisite perfection.
"Well….." Harry said with a smile.
"Are you satisfied?" she asked him and Harry smiled.
"Proceed, then," Harry said, preparing himself for the ritual. His eyes locked onto hers and he was ready. Perhaps a little bit too ready come to think about it but he wanted to access his full powers.
The next time Belasco came after him, there would be a few surprises waiting for him. He knew that this was the time where they were at the point of no return and he accepted that. His green eyes burned forward at her face and he smiled, watching to see what she would do. His heart sped up and the golden triangle appeared over his face.
The demented memories of Tom Marvolo Riddle flashed by, Harry couldn't process them all at once, but never the less, they did offer brief moments of insight on how he became the monster that killed so many innocent people. Although there were people in this world who deserved death and far more people who deserved a rather painful and prolonged life filled with agony, there were many more people who didn't deserve any of that.
Harry spasmed as a particularly painful memory hit him. He saw the Horcrux creation process and it was not pleasant. It was obvious why the process destroyed most people because they could not handle the pain.
The fact that Riddle could handle the pain because he numbed himself to all emotions told Harry everything that he needed to know about that man.
"Just relax, we're almost there," Clea whispered to Harry, trying to get him to focus, trying to keep his mind clear.
Harry nodded, beads of sweat rolled down his face, as his nerve endings felt like they were pounded, as more memories flashed down. He realized that he would not survive this, for he did not have the added help. Some of his mother's memories flashed on through as well, nothing tangible that he could grab onto, but something that he could file away in his subconscious for later.
His breathing became more prominent, and it heated up even more. The tension in his body could be cut through the knife. Images of magic that was not known to many flashed through his mind. Some of it useful, some of it just to have the knowledge. Many of the masters had been brutally killed. The methods which Riddle used to extract the magic, border lined on sociopathic.
"Closer, closer yet," Clea said, she could feel Harry's own magic strengthening, the excess energy returning. The Horcrux did have some effects, but it was not prominent as it should.
The dark corruptive influences of Riddle slowly were burned from Harry's body, but just because the active influences was gone, that did not mean that some level of corruption would be left behind. Harry's time in Limbo exposed him to darkness which fueled his inner most twisted desires.
Evil was a subjective term, but some who did not understand the circumstances would call him such. His mind was something that harbored resentment towards people, people who he recalled from his mother's memories, and his own now, even dating back to how he was a year old.
They had better prey that he never finds his way back to their home dimension, because he would make any suffering that Riddle caused them look like a really intense tickle session.
Harry grabbed from the air and he threw his head back, with a loud scream. The ritual was completed and his body was undergoing changes. Fifty years of demented memories did not do well on a person's psyche and his hands twitched.
"And….we're done," Clea said, seeing Harry's eyes burn and there were countless emotions within him. The woman took a long breath out.
"No, we've just begun," Harry said, and emotions ran high after the ritual.
Clea was pulled forcefully up to her feet by Harry and she faced him, there were no words between the two. Harry forcefully grabbed her face and rammed his tongue down her throat. The woman was surprised, but she did not pull away from his actions. His kiss caused her to succumb slowly to his power.
The couch that Harry once sat on was Clea's next destination, as she was pushed back onto. Her clothes shredded from her body thread by thread exposing her flesh, without a blemish on it.
"Harry, perhaps we should….."
"I'm burning, I can't wait a minute longer," Harry growled, and he held onto her hips, before making the plunge.
"It won't fit….."
"Then make it fit."
"Yes…." Clea said as he held her down on the sofa and prepared to impale his manhood into her body to get relief.
Illyana watched the entire show, or at least a good portion of it. Much to her frustration, the barriers that had been put up had made her only an observer and not someone who could join in on the activities.
Now that the barriers were falling, she planned to strike.
To Be Continued on July 16th 2014:
Enhanced version is available in my other profiles. If you want to read it, you can do so. If you don't, well I'm not putting a gun to your head to do so. Would have liked to post the full version here.
Some brief notes on various characters, feel free to further look them on various Wikis that exist for Marvels and Comic Books in General. I have included live action counterparts if you want a more visual representation of them. If you need more information, there's this somewhat obscure invention known as Google, I'm not sure if any of you have heard it though. Or you can go to the cheat sheet located on the Blog, and there's a link attached to the names to their Marvel Wiki entry along with pictures. That works too.
Clea (Played By Emilia Clarke): The heiress of the Dark Dimension, the daughter of Umar, who is the sister of Dormammu, who just happens to be my least favorite super villain name to write, but that's neither here nor there. He is the ruler of the Dark Dimension. Doctor Strange is no longer the Sorcerer Supreme in this universe due to reasons of his heroic death, rather Clea has taken up the role, some might say temporary until a replacement is found. Three guesses who that might be and the first two don't count.
Illyana Rasputin(Played by Aimee Teegarden): Sister of one of the X-Men, Piotr Rasputin, better known as Colossus. She was captured at a young age by Belasco, after he tempted her and prepared to corrupt her into his queen at a tender young age. You know, for kids. There's a lot more to that. She has powers that she hasn't quite mastered here.