The Other Kryptonian
Chapter 6
Zar landed in an alley across from the Leaky Cauldron, the smell of garbage and diesel exhaust from a bright red bus filled his nose, the rumbling of the buses engine pounding in his ears, making him grimace.
He'd forgotten how loud cities were. He placed his hand on the hotel wall that made up the left side of the alley, the spray paint on the bricks smooth beneath his fingers. Breathing into his mouth to block out the scents, he grimaced tasting week old Chinese on his tongue.
He stared at the building across the street. Its first floor was made of brick. Its three upper floors were made of dark overlapping wood. Pale curtains stopped him from seeing in most of the upper windows, but every once in a while he caught a flash of movement in the gaps of the curtains.
Faded red shingles covered the roof as well as the porch jutting out from the bricks. Water rolled off them as the first drops of rain began to fall.
Hunching his shoulders against the water now matting his dark hair to his head, Zar started across the street. Wind gathered up the edges of his blazer and tugged it out behind him like a small cape.
He climbed the steps the graying aged wood creaking under his weight. He paused at the top of the step, his eyes flicking to a metal pole with an iron cut out of a cauldron dangling on it. It slowly swung back and forth, creaking each time it swung forward.
He shook his head, "I would've gone for a sign above the porch."
Stepping under the porches roof, he reached into the pocket of his blazer, pulling out a folded piece of parchment. He flicked it open.
Dear Mr. Wor-Ul
I have something I need your help with. Please meet me in room two at the leaky cauldron no later than 1 PM. Please come to me Mr. Wor-Ul, something dark is happening in the wizarding world and I don't know how to stop it.
Sincerely, Saul Croaker, head unspeakable and apprentice to Perenelle Flamel.
Blowing air through his nose, Zar folded the parchment gently tucking it back into his blazer pocket.
Whoever this guy was, he better not be playing a joke on him.
Stepping towards the door, he raised his hand to knock, pausing just before his knuckles hit the wood.
Could this be a trap, could someone know he came from another universe? His eyes flicked to either side of the porch, their emerald color becoming a shade lighter.
The three barrels stacked in a pyramid shape at the far end of the porch faded away, showing the Amber liquid within.
Tension slowly drained from his shoulders as his gaze flicked to the other end, finding nothing there but a row of shabby rocking chairs, their gray weathered wood split in certain places.
Once he was sure both sides of him was clear, he stared straight ahead, the color fading from his eyes. Only to wince and close his eyes as the magic around the leaky cauldron blurred everything within until it was a mass of colors. Blinking hard, he rubbed his eyes until the world came back into focus.
Well, it was obvious that if there was someone in there waiting for him. He wasn't going to spot them with x-ray vision. He supposed he could try to listen for them. He shook his head, no in a crowded city like this, it would be almost impossible to pick out an enemy from sound, especially since he didn't know what he was looking for.
So, that left him with only one option, walk straight into the lion's den.
Grabbing the iron handle he twisted it and stepped inside.
–XX –
Warmth washed over Zar from the stone fireplace behind the bar off to his left. The scent of coffee, bacon, and potatoes filled his nose, causing his eyes to flick to a room just off the bar.
"Can I help you sir?" A hunched man asked with a slight lisp, fire light reflecting off his bald head as he polished the pinewood bar in front of him with a pristine white rag.
"No thank you Mr.…"
"Tom, Sir," the barman said dipping his head.
"No thank you Tom, I'm just here to meet someone." Zar said letting his eyes wander around the room.
Roundtables took up the majority of the room to his right. With a section in the far back cut off for large parties. A narrow staircase leading to the upper floors set packed in one corner.
People in cloaks sat spread out around the tables, hunched over their food, or chatting amiably to a companion.
Zar weaved through the tables. Iron candlelit chandeliers dangling from the ceiling cast his elongated shadow on the weathered wooden floor.
Reaching the staircase, Zar climbed them at a leisurely pace, letting his hands trail along the twisted wood that made up the railing.
Reaching the top of the landing, he found himself in a hallway.
Candle lamps were mounted to the walls between each door lining the hallway. A single window at the far end of the hall cast its rectangular shadow onto the crimson rug covering the floor.
"I really need to advertise my magical conversion rune." Shoving one hand into his blazer pocket, he strode down the hallway, eyeing the brass numbers in the center of each dark polished mahogany door.
The numbers started at twelve, so he didn't find number two until he reached the very end of the hallway.
Stopping one door away from the window, he felt wards wash over him. Tensing, he raised his hand to knock on the door, only for it to swing open.
The figure before him was dressed in a long gray cloak. Shadows obscured the features hidden beneath the hood, but Zar could tell from the large hands poking out from the ends of the robes, that the figure before him was a male. His nose also picked up the man's sent, a fragrance of potion ingredients and parchment with a distinct lack of perfume, adding more credence that this figure was male.
Slowly, Zar lowered his hand, "Saul Croaker?"
"Don't say my name," a nervous voice hissed from beneath the hood, glancing from side to side.
Zar raised an eyebrow, but inclined his head, "My apologies."
Saul waved his hand moving away from the door, "Forget it and come inside."
Zar stepped forward, immediately feeling more powerful wards press on his senses. Ignoring them for the moment, he let his eyes scan the room.
The pale yellow curtains of the large four poster bed in the center of the room had been drawn, the fabric shining a little in the days light.
A table had been set up before the bed, the cauldron in its center spewing out wafts of pale smoke.
Zar moved over to it, letting his fingers trail along the vials positioned around the cauldron.
"Powdered Dragon scale, petrified unicorn horn, Acromantula eyes, and moon blossoms," he turned to face croaker, his hands folded behind his back, "It looks to me like you're trying to reverse something, but why do it here?"
Saul moved over to lean against the dresser, ignoring the mirror sitting atop it as it commented on his cloak, "the ministry charged the Unspeakables to find out what happened to wizards that have disappeared. I found them, but my colleagues at the ministry don't like the implications that go along with their recovery."
His eyes flicked to the bed, "They didn't like it when I told them that whatever transformed this man couldn't have been done by any magic I've ever seen," he shook his head, "not on purpose anyway, and after what I found on the creature's neck I knew I was going to need some help," he moved towards the bed gesturing for Zar to follow him.
Grabbing the edges of the beds curtains, Saul continued, "So I contacted retired unspeakable Tom."
Zar raised an eyebrow.
"And he set me up with the room here," Saul glanced over his shoulder, "I then contacted you. Now brace yourself."
With a jerk, Saul pulled back the curtains. The bronze rings clinked together as they slid on the iron railing attached to the top of the bed frame.
Zar moved forward, his eyes wide.
Lying atop the beds violet comforter was a humanoid shape covered in black scales. Tiny ridges poked up from its forehead, and its nose was a squashed slotted thing.
Gingerly, Zar picked up its arm. By the thickness of the appendage, he could tell it would have been incredibly strong. Using his free hand, he splayed out its fingers eyeing the inch long claws tipping each one.
Gently laying down its arm, he moved to its feet.
They were a good three inches wider than a human's, and it had no pinky toe. Each of its four toes ended in a thick triangular-shaped claw.
Rising to his feet, Zar moved to the creatures head, twisting it from side to side, finding small holes where the ears were supposed to be.
Moving back beside Saul, he folded his arms behind his back, "It looks like we're dealing with a human Dragon hybrid. By the completeness of the transformation, I would say it's a new species. I'm assuming it would be very fast, considering it doesn't have wings."
Saul inclined his head, "That's what I originally thought to, and it does have wings." Moving forward, the unspeakable rolled the creature over with a grunt, showing Zar the slits on its shoulder blades. "I think they extend from here, but I have no way to look inside."
Zar focused on the slits, the color fading from his emerald eyes. The creature's skin faded away, showing him the tissue beneath. Folded inside the creature's body were large membranous wings, but that wasn't what caught Zar's attention.
He moved forward, running his fingers along the back of the creature's neck.
"Ah, I see you found it during the autopsy of the creature, I found a strange device attached to its brainstem, but before I could get a better look my incision grew shut."
"The device has run out of power, it won't be able to heal its host again. By the looks of it, when it's deactivated it will be a smooth metallic starfish."
Zar rose to his feet, "I can see why you thought this creature was man-made, that is definitely advanced technology," he shook his head, "too advanced for the wizarding world."
Saul nodded, his eyes flicking to the body, "I figured you would be able to tell me more than I could figure out at the Department of Mysteries, that's one of the reasons I called you."
Zar cocked his head to one side, "And the other?"
Saul kept his eyes locked on the body, "You were apprenticed to some of the best Unspeakables the Department of Mysteries ever had," he bowed his head, "the department is still feeling the loss of the Flamel's and Potters."
Zar locked eyes with Saul, a frown sliding onto his face, "That still doesn't explain why you contacted me Mr. Croaker."
Saul looked into his face, and Zar caught the hint of pleading gray eyes hidden beneath the shadows of the hood, "Someone is attacking wizards with advanced mundane technology, Mr. Potter."
His hands shook, "The ministry does not want to believe that the mundane people have technology to rival magic," he gestured at the body, "but this is proof. More people have disappeared, this is just the first one we found," he turned to stare at Zar and this time Zar was sure of the gray eyes hidden beneath the hood.
Saul placed both hands on Zar shoulders, "I know you come from another world Mr. Wor-Ul, I know you want to keep your secrets hidden and help the world from the shadows, but I'm begging you help me find out what's happening to our people. Make our world safe again, please!"
Zar took a step back, his eyes hard, "How do you know I come from another world?"
Saul let his arms drop to his sides, "I was apprentice to Perenelle Flamel, I had just started the day you arrived," he shook his head, "Lucky for me, I had the flu the day Grindelwald attacked. I am the last unspeakable that knows your secret."
For a brief moment, Zar contemplated killing the man. If he did, his secret would be safe, but he quickly dismissed it. This man could help him push the wizarding world into the future. Besides, both Lily and his mother wanted him to do something meaningful with his life, maybe this was the first step down that path.
His eyes flicked to the body and the scales faded away, revealing the organs beneath. All of them had a thin layer of scales covering them, and the heart was protected by a layer of bone.
Shutting down his x-ray vision, Zar turn to Saul, "You said there have been more missing?"
Saul shoulders slumped and Zar's enhanced hearing caught an exhalation. "Vincent Crab, Gregory Goyal, and Mundungus Fletcher, those are just the ones we know about, there could be more."
Zar gestured at the body, "Do you have any idea who this is?"
"That is Mundungus Fletcher, according to Saint Mungo's half of his DNA now matches that of a Hungarian horned tail."
Moving towards the body, Zar slung Mundungus over his shoulder. "I'll look into it, but you should probably prepare yourself for the others to be dead."
"I already have," Saul said inclining his head, "even with magic such a drastic transformation would kill the person transformed. I assume Mundungus was the only one to survive."
Zar moved towards the window. Pushing it open, he glanced over his shoulder, "More than likely he was just the only one to find his way back to the wizarding world." His body began to shimmer, his disembodied voice sounded by the window, "I'll look into it. Have a good day, Mr. Croaker."
In a burst of air Zar was gone.
Slowly, Saul made his way over to the window grabbing the small handles, he pulled it closed, "Good luck kid, I don't know what's going on in our world, but I think you're going to need it."
–XX –
Zar blurred into his fortress of solitude. Silver sand swirled into the air, forming into his father. "How did it go?" His white eyes flicked to the body over Zar shoulder. "What the heck is that?"
Striding towards the center tunnel leading to his lab, Zar called over his shoulder, "Wizard transformed into a dragon human hybrid."
"Really," Arzaz asked moving up behind his son to lift up the creature's eyes as they moved towards the lab. "Fascinating," he said as he found a yellow eye with a black slit staring back at him.
They both stopped at the arch leading to the lab. "Lab configuration medical autopsy," Zar ordered.
The healing matrix containing his mother zoomed to the far corner of the room. Zar's eyes flicked to the tank, her arms were almost healed, with only the hands to go.
The contents of the four tables in the center of the room vanish back to storage as they became a mass of liquid crystal that merged together forming a large table with a beveled edge.
A long paper covered tray connected to a thin three-legged stand rose out of the floor with scalpels, hooks, clamps, and a variety of other medical equipment scattered across it.
Zar moved forward as the square repositioned itself to be accessible to his left hand.
Laying the body down on the crystal bed provided, Zar shrugged off his blazer. He tossed it absentmindedly through the air for it to be caught by a rising coat rack.
Rolling up his sleeves, he snapped on a pair of rubber gloves, the one on his right hand bunching slightly against the Shifter on his wrist.
Picking up the scalpel, his eyes flicked to the orb hovering to his right, "Give me a full body scan."
The orb floated above the body. Blue beams shot out of it to form a triangle over it before breaking into smaller needlelike beams to scan each part of the body.
"Scan complete," the fortresses female mechanized voice said.
"Cross-reference DNA and facial features against fortress database."
The first week after waking up from his training, Zar had Twinkles and Tipsy move all of his equipment, as well as the books, alchemical ingredients, and anything else related to magical study from the Potter and Flamel Holmes to the fortress.
It'd taken the fortress less than an hour to download, all the books, old newspapers, scrolls, and tomes collected by the two families over their long lives into its database.
"Sixty percent match found," the fortress intoned after a moment.
"Name please?"
"The subject bares a sixty percent match to Mundungus Fletcher, if he would add the required body mass to his frame. Closer comparisons could not be reached because of subject's mutation."
"Run blood analysis please," Zar commanded putting the edge of his scalpel against the base of Mundungus's neck and slicing it open
Blood flowed from the cut as the pink muscle hidden beneath the scaly dragon hide became exposed to the world.
Tubes emerged from the sides of the bed like table Mundungus was lying on, stabbing into his arms, legs, and stomach.
Zar winced as small straw tubes emerged from their larger brothers, spreading through Mundungus's body to drain all of his body fluids.
Pulling back the final layer of muscle guarding Mundungus's spine, Zar frowned at the starfish like contraption wrapped around Mundungus's spine where it met his skull. The color faded from his eyes as his x-ray vision showed him a tube-like device emerging from the center of the device, plugging directly into Mundungus's brain.
"Blood analysis complete, fifty percent human DNA detected."
"What's the other fifty percent?"
"Hungarian horned tail."
Zar inclined his head, absentmindedly tapping his chin with a finger, smearing Mundungus's blood on his skin? "What else have you found?"
"Mundungus Fletcher has Nanites in his blood, and no food in his stomach. Cause of death is a combination of starvation and rapid mutation of the cells."
Zar inclined his head, "I figured as much. Can you trace the signal of the Nanites?"
"The nanites are controlled by the device plugged into Mundungus's brain. The device is preprogrammed with a closed network."
Laying down the scalpel, Zar shook his head, so far all I've been able to do is confirm Saul's hypothesis.
Reaching into Mundungus's neck, Zar wrapped his hands around the starfish. Gently he tried to pry the starfish free of Mundungus's spine, wincing as the neck broke.
"Sorry buddy," he mumbled raising the still closed starfish out of Mundungus's body.
"Teleport Mr. Fletcher's body into cold storage please," Zar commanded laying the starfish on the table.
Mundungus's body disappeared in a blue light as the color faded from Zar's eyes.
"Found anything useful?" Arzaz asked moving beside him.
"Maybe," Zar murmured gently prying the starfish open.
Lining each of the four appendages of the starfish were copper needles that gleamed in the bright lights of the fortress. Around metal tube poked up from the center, a small needle hidden in its depths.
Arzaz ran his fingers along the needle lining the starfish's limbs, "Well this certainly doesn't look healthy."
"Since it attaches to the subject's brain, and mutates by flooding their body with Nanites, I would say not." Zar replied running his fingers around the edges of the starfish.
Finding a small recess, Zar pressed it.
The starfish jumped as the back of it split open. Turning it over, Zar eyed the cushy purple membrane lining the inside. Small copper wires ran across the purple membrane from a recess in the center.
A hiss drew his attention, a small tube filled with what look like black sand rose out of the recess. Followed by a thin slide of what look like blood from a slot just above it.
Without taking his eyes off the starfish, Zar removed the vial and slide. "Have the computer run a diagnostic on this please." He said handing them to his father with his left hand.
"Did you find something?" Arzaz asked placing both the slide and the vial into a crystal sphere that floated forward.
"Maybe," thin beams of heat vision shot from Zar's eyes cutting through the membrane and metal beneath, causing sparks to fly and pale white smoke to waft around his face.
"According to the computer the slide contains Dragon blood, Hungarian horned tail to be specific."
"Let me guess," Zar began peeling back the metal and membrane to reveal the computer chip hidden beneath. "The black sand is nanites."
"You're right, according to the computer, there barely out of development from Wayne enterprises, only supposed to be used in the medical field in volunteer patients."
"How did you know?" Arzaz asked turning away from the holographic screen shining out of the orb.
Zar straightened up, putting both hands on his lower back and leaning on them. "I had a hunch, since the rest of the starfish is created from technology developed by Luther Corp."
Arzaz moved over to stare at the starfish, its innards on display, proudly showing off the Lex Corp. logo on a number of its circuits. "Do you think the mundane world could be attacking the wizarding world?"
Zar shook his head, "No, I don't see a way for them to find the hidden dragon enclaves to get the blood. I think it's more likely, someone wants to make it seem that way, or there stealing technology for their own reasons."
Zar began pacing back and forth. "So, we have a mysterious person using mundane technology to transform wizards into a new type of hybrid." He paused. "Computer, bring up Mundungus's blood please."
Blue beams shot out from the wall, forming a large holographic screen with details of Mundungus's blood on half, the other half showing button size blood cells.
"Magnify," the image zoomed in, showing Mundungus's blood cells, "again" the picture got larger showing the cells as if they were the size of a human hand.
Tapping the center of a blood cell, the pictures zoomed down on the spot Zar touched, revealing a tick shaped nanite in the center of the cell.
"Computer, are the Nanites radiating any type of energy, or just rewriting Mundungus's DNA to match that of a Hungarian horned tail's?"
"The nanites are radiating a type of nuclear energy, and then guiding the subject to the desired result."
Zar began pacing again, "Alright, so whoever is building the starfish are using them to create their own type of hybrids, but if they're using radiation to start the mutation, why isn't Mundungus's body radioactive?"
"The nanites are program to use even residual radiation to maintain the mutation process." The female mechanized voice of the fortress answered
"Well that's what we know so far," Arzaz said from a spot leaning against the table like bed. "Now what are you going to do about it."
Zar scooped the starfish up off the table. "That's easy, I'm going to find their next target and tried to stop them."
"Try," Arzaz asked as Zar strode around the table like bed they used for Mundungus's autopsy.
"I have no idea what I'm up against, so tries the best I can do for now. Computer, return lab to base configuration."
The autopsy table split into two long crystal tables as the small block of crystal with the surgical tools on it sunk into the floor.
A round metal cylinder about the size of a coffee can rose out of one of the crystal tables, its glass front showing off the silver sand inside.
"What is that?" Arzaz asked moving forward to peer through the glass.
"That's my nanites builder. It takes too long to build the nanites by hand, so I built a device to do it for me. All they need now is programming to tell them what to do."
He moved forward, spinning it around to show his father a rectangular hole in the back. "There are alchemical runes in its base that transform any metal put into this slot into more Nanites, it also works with air, but since the cylinder is airtight. It's made as many as it can without being opened again."
Arzaz shook his head, "You really need to start sleeping."
"Why? Sunlight gives me all the energy I need," Zar replied watching what look like a three fingered claw rise out of the table.
"That may be," Arzaz countered as a centrifuge, a tankful of the silver searcher beetles, and a circular case of those black eggs took up the remaining spots on the right table. Cauldrons, along with the variety of vials containing a multitude of ingredients immediately shimmered in to existence on the left, "but your mind still needs a chance to rest."
Grabbing the three fingered claw from the table, Zar pushed a button at its rounded base. The base bent down, and the clause spread out.
"What is that?" Arzaz asked as they moved over to the far end of the room.
Zar flipped over the claw, showing his father the raised golden circular runes etched into the clause three fingers. "This is a neural restorer mark two. It's similar to what I put on mother's temples before she entered the tank, but this one not only removes temporal and dimensional energy from a person's brain. It can also record their memories, and returned their mind to a previous state by using CT scan data."
Placing the neural restorer on his head, he shivered as the clause spread out to hug his head, and winced as a needle in its circular base plugged into the back of his neck.
"Wait! What are you doing?"
Sitting down cross-legged on the floor, Zar held the starfish in his cupped hands. "I'm going to perform the kryptonian gazing technique, and the neural restorer is going to record what I see. We will then use that to find our enemy."
Arzaz shook his head ringing his hands, "The kryptonian gazing technique is divination. You know how spotty that magical art can be."
Zar closed his eyes, "Normally you would be right, but the wizards of Juru developed the kryptonian gazing technique, by merging themselves with the magical energy of the planet. It will show me important events, just like it showed the wizards of Juru the destruction of krypton. It just may not be the events I want to see."
One of the crystal orbs floating at the end of the two tables moved behind Zar, releasing a stiff clear tube that plugged into the back of the neural restorer.
Zar jumped at the connection, feeling a jolt of electricity go through his head from the runes now pressing into his scalp.
If this worked, he would need to cover up the runes so it would be more comfortable on a patient's head, and disguise that it is magic being used, but by design it should be able to bring people in comatose or catatonic states back to consciousness.
Bringing his thumbs down to touch the starfish, Zar breathed in and out letting his magic flow through and out of his body. Slowly his body relaxed and he felt himself drift away.
His consciousness floated down into the earth, merging with a sphere of white energy, multicolored tendrils of energy stretching off it in a spider-web pattern.
–XX–
Opening his eyes, Zar found himself in a sea of blackness. Multiple streamers of magic in every color imaginable glowed dimly in the distance. Slowly, he stretched forth his hand. His heart pounded in his chest as he waited for whatever the ritual thought significant to come to him.
The muscles in his arms tensed and his breath hitched as a peppermint green tendril flowed out of the darkness and brushed against his hand like a cat against its master.
–XX –
Suddenly he was in a cave.
Stale salty air filled his nose and the sound of waves crashing against the shore tickled his ears.
Electrical cables lined the light brown walls snaking down them like vines into large computer terminals. Tanks line the walls to his left and plastic crates filled every available space. A metal table sat before him, six half completed starfish scattered across it.
Luminescent crystals in the ceiling bathed everything in a whitish green glow, revealing the vertical tables at the far end of the cave.
Modems with monitors setting atop them sat around the vertical tables, wires flowing from them like a multicolored ocean to plug into the tables.
The rhythmic jumping lines of brain scans and heart monitors filled the four wide screens
Zar weaved around the table, his eyes locked onto the Minotaur strapped to one of the tables, horns curling out of the sides of its head.
Muscles hidden beneath its giant furry black hide rose and fell with each breath. Air exploded out of its snout and one dark eyelid fluttered, revealing a crimson eye.
Stopping beside it, his eyes trailed down its tree-trunk sized arms that ended in a large three fingered hands. Saucer sized cloven feet completed its transformation, its black hooves reflecting the whitish green light.
He leaned forward, just barely able to make out the starfish with a cable running from it being enclosed by growing Minotaur hide, "So," he began drawing back, "which one are you Crab, or Goyal?"
Its dark floppy ears twitched, causing a smile to tug at Zar's lips.
Shaking his head, he spun on his heel, causing the dirt to shift beneath his feet.
Dark Brown for covered the next creature. It had a wide head with pointed ears about the size of his hand protruding out the side of its head. It's top and bottom canines poked out of his thin dark lips, they rippled slightly as it breathed.
The creature's broad chest rose and fell, its ribs protruding from the thinner skin around its ribs.
Its arms were thinner and some type of membrane stretched from its wrist to its ribs. The same membrane stretched between the fingers of its wide hand. Each finger ended in appointed claw.
Dropping to his knees, he eyed its feet. They were narrowed towards the heal, but grew wider towards the toes. Its four toes seem to have a second joint allowing it to grip better.
He stretched forth his hand to run his fingers across the pointed toes capping the feet, wondering if its pinky toe had merged with its brothers to provide more mass, only for his hand to pass right through it.
"Right," he mumbled rising to his feet, "divination." Leaning around, he could just make out the same starfish on the back of this creature's neck. It too was being overgrown by its new flesh.
Suddenly, a feminine scream echoed through the cave. He tensed, spinning around, his arms raised in preparation to defend himself. A tendril of energy like liquid fire slammed into his chest.
He cried out as images filled his mind. The world spun, images of red hair, rainy streets, the Minotaur, and the bat creature flashed through his mind at rapid speed.
When it stopped, he was in an alleyway, the scent of fresh rain filling his nose. He turned at the sound of hurried footsteps.
A young redhead ran through the streets, her blue eyes wide with terror, long red hair flying out behind her, her chest heaving, and her long robes dragging through puddles of water.
Sweat glistened on her pale face as she dived towards a weathered red phone booth.
She reached the doors just as a screech filled the air. Her head snapped upwards, the color draining from her face as she saw the bat like creature silhouetted in the quarter moon.
Tucking its wings into its body, the creature dived.
Zar instinctively moved in front of the girl, but already the vision was beginning to fade, the last thing he heard before the vision cut out was, "Welcome to the ministry. Please state your purpose here today?"
–XX –
Zar snapped out of his meditative state, ripping the neural restorer off his head. "Computer, isolate the redhead and run her through fortress files. Also, tell me when the next quarter moon is."
Arzaz moved over to him, "What did you see?"
Wiping the sweat from his brow, Zar moved over to one of the tables, sitting the neural restorer on it. "Good news is Vincent crab and Gregory Goyal aren't dead. Bad news is, they've been turned into a bat creature and Minotaur respectively", he shook his head. "I'm not sure who is what."
"The redhead is fourteen-year-old Susan Bones, niece of Minister of magic Amelia bones, and the quarter moon is in three days."
Arzaz leaned against a table drumming his fingers on its surface, "well, at least you know who is going to attack and when."
Zar leaned against the table, his head pounding, "I also know where," he said rubbing his temples, "before the vision cut out I heard in automated voice ask her what her purpose was at the ministry of magic. Now all I have to do is…"
Arzaz cut him off, "Get some rest."
Zar opened his mouth to argue, but Arzaz held up his hand, "You've pushed your mind to its limit, get some rest, when you wake up you can set up an appointment with Amelia Bones."
Zar shook his head, "There's too much to do I have to start work on the battle suit for the American magical law enforcement office, and since the healing matrix seems to be working on mother I need to put it in production, so I can have something to show Bruce Wayne in our meeting next month."
Arzaz placed his hands on his son's shoulders, "Son, you're going into battle against unknown creatures in three days. You need your rest."
Staring into his father's eyes for a moment, Zar nodded his shoulders sagging, "You're right, the neural restorer had the unexpected side effect of giving me a killer migraine. Maybe some sleep would do me good."
Arzaz patted his son on the shoulder, a small smile stretching across his face, "That's my boy."
Slowly, Zar walked from the lab, his feet feeling like lead balloons growing heavier with each step. Maybe it would be a good idea to schedule some time to sleep from now on.
After watching his son disappear, Arzaz turned to the canister of nanites. With a gesture, the lid popped open. A wave of silver sand exploded from the container breaking into three piles that grew into six foot tall humanoids.
Their smooth silver bodies reflected the light as each of them turned their featureless face his two Arzaz.
Arzaz folded his arms behind his back, "You three will immediately begin work on manufacturing the healing matrix."
As one, the metal golems disappeared in a swirl of silver sand.
"It just goes to show how tired Zar is that he didn't think of this before." Running a hand across his smooth scalp, Arzaz glanced at Karsta, her long crimson hair floated around her like a lion's mane, "Wake up soon my dear, our son needs more than just a memory of a parent to guide him."