The Other Kryptonian
Chapter 7
Zar stood in the fortress antechamber, his left hand raised in front of him, his right tucked against his ribs. A three foot tall ninja blurred into existence before him, its arm outstretched in a punch.
Knocking the incoming fist away with his left hand, he twisted his body bringing his leg around in a kick that sent the small figure flying into the curved wall of the fortress.
His ears twitched and he leapt back just in time to avoid his father dropping from above him, his fist driving deep into the crystal floor.
Large cracks emerged from the impact point, and great crystal chunks jutted up from the floor.
Red beams flew from Zar's eyes.
Arzaz rolled, grabbing a chunk of the crystal floor and throwing it in the way of the beams. The beams hit the crystal, reflecting off it to bounce off the curved crystal walls.
Zar raised his hand, a translucent triangle shimmering into existence before him. The beams slammed into the barrier, sending Zar skidding along the floor, his bare feet providing little traction.
Movement caught his eye. He cartwheeled as his father closed the distance between them throwing a punch.
The golden fist whooshed through the space he had been.
Righting himself at an angle from his father, he stretched forth his hand magic sizzled on the air around his father as a translucent blue mist. Keeping the image of what he wanted to happen firmly in his mind, the mist flowed around Arzaz's wrist and ankles, becoming translucent chains before snapping into reality.
Arzaz tugged at the chains, the silver metal snapping taught like a rope under his strength.
Zar's white eyes lingered on the middle link of the chain. He could see it beginning to buckle under his father strength. Raising his hands, his white eyes flared with power as electricity danced around his fingers. Flicking them outward, the whitish blue bolts covered the distance in a blink.
Arzaz spun the heels of his golden armor skating along the floor.
As the lightning sizzled past him, he brought the chain down on his raised knee snapping it in half, causing it to disperse into blue mist.
The three foot figure appeared again, sliding in behind Zar in an attempt to take out his feet.
Flipping over the incoming body, Zar gently kicked the black clad figure sending it rolling across the floor.
A whooshing sound caught Zar's attention. He winced as the tip of a solid gold spear grazed his cheek before stabbing into the wall behind him, causing jagged cracks to appear along the crystal surface.
Curling the golden metal fingers of his overlapping armor, Arzaz called the spear back to his hand.
It jerked free of the wall, sending bits of crystal raining to the floor. It shot shaft first towards Arzaz outstretched hand, sliding smoothly into his grasp.
Twirling it around his body, he slammed its butt into the floor, his gaze swept over his son, the gash on his cheek fading away before his eyes. His chest rose and fell slightly, but there was only a light sheen of sweat on his skin, causing only a few of his red hairs to stick to his forehead.
"You did well today son, but you lost focus the last time you kicked Twinkles. You can't afford to do that in battle, you must always be focused."
Zar moved towards the little elf, a light ache in his biceps, "You are right of course, but in my defense, I was worried about Twinkles. He is wearing untested magical armor."
"I wouldn't really call that armor. It's more of a strength suit."
Zar snorted, "You're just proving my point." He knelt beside the elf, shaking its bony shoulder, "Twinkles, are you alright?"
Large black eyes fluttered open shining in the gap of the hood covering the elves face. Long fingers covered in the same skintight black material gripped the edge of the hood, pulling it off. Large ears flapped free, slapping the elves faded leather colored cheeks. "I am fine, Master Harry, but I would prefer not to test any more of your inventions for you." He gently rose to his feet, "while your suit gives me strength. My kind are not meant to fight by physical means."
Placing a hand on Twinkle's head green energy washed over his body.
Twinkles relaxed under the warmth of his master's power, the aches and pains of his battle fading away. His eyelids fluttered heavily for a moment when his master removed his hand from his head.
Zar smiled down at him, his perfect teeth flashing in the luminescent light provided by the fortresses crystal walls, "There all fixed up. I won't ask you to test any more combat related items, but I do appreciate your help."
Twinkles bowed low, "Of course sir, do you need anything else?"
Zar raised a thin crimson eyebrow, "I don't suppose I could talk you into taking the rest of the day off. I mean you did say elves weren't one for physical combat."
"Just because elves aren't one for physical combat doesn't mean I can't do my job," Twinkles corrected in a firm tone, determination shining in his black eyes.
Zar raised a hand in surrender, "I meant no offense. I just thought you might be tired." He let his arms drop to his side, his fingertips brushing against his jeans, "but if you're feeling up to it you can send the ninja suits to the American magical law enforcement office. You're welcome to keep the one you're wearing, since it strength will probably help you with your work. Please remind them that there are fifty in the crate and each one cost a thousand galleons a piece."
Bending at the waste, twinkles disappeared with a crack.
"Sometimes I wonder which one of you is the master," Arzaz said moving over to his son. Laying a hand on his son's shoulder, the fabric of his dark T-shirt wrinkling under his hand, he voiced one of his main concerns ever since he saw the ninja suits. "Are you sure it was a good idea to develop those ninja suits? That's a lot of strength to put in a mortal's hands."
Zar moved towards his lab, the damage from there battle smoothing out of the floor and walls as he walked. "Unlike in European culture, the American magical community uses technology in conjunction with their magic, so they would've got the strength one way or another, I just gave them something that was undetectable by technological means, and made a profit while doing it."
A pale white eye locked with another, "Besides your forgetting that I used giant blood to imbue strength into the suit, and giants are also mortal."
Arzaz ran a hand over his bald scalp. "All right I'll give you that one, but the suit you're making for the ministry is even worse."
Zar glanced around him. He had once again changed the lab to work on his latest project.
It was still the same large circle with the curved crystal walls of the dome. The walls shone with the same luminescent light, but a large glass cylinder set in the center of the room, the nozzles spaced equally along its curved glass walls pointing at a medieval suit of armor. Black fabric poke through the copper tubes filling in the armor joins.
Crystal tables formed a half circle around the cylinder. Iron cauldrons set on either side of the circle, pale steam rising above there curled edges.
Zar strode forward, passing a rectangular forge ten feet away from the tank. His left arm brushed against a bin full of copper chips as he passed the forge, his right becoming bathed in extreme heat that felt like a warm sun to his advanced physiology.
Stepping inside the half circle, his eyes flicked to the bed at the far end of the room. His mother lay sleeping, her body fully restored, her crimson hair fanning out on her pillow, her chest slowly rising and falling beneath the pale sheets covering her body.
"Computer, how are my mother's vital signs?"
The orb at the mouth of the half-moon circle flashed, "Karsta Wor-Ul is in perfect health, thanks to your healing matrix. However, it will take time for her synapses to return to their normal rhythm now that the dimensional energy has been removed. It is estimated she will sleep for the next twenty-four hours," the fortresses female voice said without inflection.
Taking a pinch of powder from one of the small clay bowls beside the cauldron to his right, Harry added the white granules to the potion. The liquid bubbled, shifting smoothly into a dark gray color. "Let me know the moment she awakens."
Arzaz moved up beside his son, his eyes locked onto the armor in the cylinder. "Are you sure it's a good idea to give the British magical's a more powerful version of the ninja suit?"
The ninja suits were created by a reprogrammed Weaver. They were woven into their one-size-fits-all skintight configuration by the long spider legs of the machine.
Letting his eyes move over the armors curved chest plate, Zar raised his hand. A ninja suit appeared in his grasp, hanging there like the molted skin of an animal. "Unlike the British magical's, the American wizards have developed a runic array that allows them to use technology by powering it with their magic," he shook his head, "it's actually a pretty good design, but I'm still disappointed I couldn't sell them mine."
He folded the arm of the fabric inside out, revealing a circular pattern of minuscule rectangular runes. "I'm just evening the playing field. These runes will absorb the user's magic to power the runes the moment they come in contact with the skin."
He gestured at the armor, "I have attached a copper exoskeleton to the outside of the ninja suit hidden inside the armor to give them reinforcement as they use the ninja suit strength. The exoskeleton is charmed to be unbreakable, which will give them some protection. Added to the outer armor, they should be pretty safe inside."
Arzaz eyed the rectangular helmet with its back like ears protruding from the edges of the circular top. "It looks like it would still be heavy, and hinder speed even with the ninja suit strength."
"That's where this comes in," Zar gestured at the cauldron on his left, "With a lot of help from grandpa Flamel's research, I've been able to devise a potion that will grant them a unicorn's speed. The exoskeleton that reinforces the suit has small hollows inside it that contains the potion. There are runes on the back that will draw the potions magic into their bodies the same way the ninja suit draws on their ambient magic to give them a giant's strength."
He nodded at the helmet, "Thanks to a charm from grandma Flamel, the helmet will give them the site of an owl."
Arzaz inclined his head at the left cauldron. "If that is the speed solution," he nodded to the cauldron to the left of the cylinder, "What is this," he gestured at the cauldron full of bubbling dark gray almost black liquid on his right.
A smile split Zar's face, "Just watch. Computer, begin coating."
A hiss echoed out from the cylinder as dark gray liquid launched out of the nozzles surrounding the armor. The moment the liquid touched the shining silver metal, it shimmered becoming covered in dark gray scales.
"Is that what I think it is?" Arzaz asked stepping closer to the tank.
Zar inclined his head, "In a way. Using the fortress technology, I studied a Ukrainian iron belly's DNA, discovering what gave it its hard scales and resistance to magic. I then made a synthetic compound. The compound will spray on like latex rubber, once baked it will be as hard as a diamond and extremely resistant to magic. I call it Diamond Hide."
"Are you sure you want to give a wizard that much power?"
"I just make the product. It's the buyer's responsibility to use it responsibly. Besides, it's only going to be available for the magical law enforcement officers, and then only for a few. It will be the head of the department's responsibility to choose the right person to wield the armor."
Zar looked at the egg shaped healing matrix sitting on a flat round base in the corner of the room. "Between the healing matrix and the armor, I should at least get their attention."
Arzaz snorted, a slow smirk crossing his face, "The healing matrix alone could have gotten their attention. You want to impress them."
He looked at him sideways, "If I didn't know any better I would say there's a girl involved."
Zar flushed a light pink and slowly shook his head. "No girl involved. I just want to do my two families proud."
Glancing at the tank, he nodded seeing the armor completely coated in gray scales, "Begin baking process."
Red light filled the cylinder hiding the armor from view.
Arzaz flicked his hand. The healing matrix floated in the air, revolved once and shrank to six inches tall. Striding over, he placed it in a foam case provided by a pedestal to his right. Latching it, he turned to his son. "You better go get ready, your meeting with the minister and her cronies is in an hour and you don't want to be late."
Zar glanced at the tank, "Once the armor has a chance to cool, can you put it in a case for me?"
"Of course, now get a move on."
As Zar strode from the room, a thought struck Arzaz, "Computer, approximately how long would it take to restore a human in the healing matrix."
"Approximately fifteen to thirty minutes depending on the damage."
Arzaz raised an eyebrow, "If that's the case then why did it take so long on Karsta?" He hesitated slightly at the name, wanting to say my wife, but she wasn't his wife, he had to remember that. His hands clenched into fists trembling slightly.
"The dimensional energy that caused Karsta's injuries along with her denser tissue required a longer healing time."
Arzaz nodded moving over to the tank, a cube rose out of the floor a large black case on it. With a hiss the glass cylinder split down the middle, folding backwards into a small crystal pole.
Gingerly, he slipped a gauntlet onto his hand, it shrank fitting around his hand like a second skin. He flexed his fingers the grayscale like material moving as though it was his own flesh. "You certainly do good work, my son." With a shake of his head, he slipped it off his hand, placing the glove inside its designated foam cut out.
Unconsciously his eyes drifted over to Karsta, what would she think when she woke up? Would she want to continue where they left off, or would he just be a reminder of what she lost? He shook his head. He couldn't think like that, there was no future for him and Karsta. He was just the memory of a dead man.
Robotically, he finished putting the armor in its padded case, ignoring the lone tear that slid down his cheek.
–XX –
Ten minutes later, Zar stood in the fortresses antechamber, the green glow of his shifter fading as he transformed into Harry Potter. His dark suit shifted as he took a step forward, his white dress shirt peeking through the gap in his blazer.
The two large black cases holding his latest inventions sat on either side of him.
"I wish you could come with me," Zar's gaze flicked around the room taking in the three tunnels built into the curve of the dome, "this is no life for you to live."
Arzaz reached forward, "You have to remember I'm not alive son," he buttoned the bottom buttons of his son's blazer so that the top buttons formed a V that showed off his white dress shirt, he inclined his head, "there that looks better," he winked, "for whatever girl you're trying to impress."
"Dad! I'm telling you there is no girl."
"A boy then?"
Zar took a step back an incredulous look on his face, "Definitely not," he sputtered.
Arzaz slowly shook his head, "This would go a lot easier if you would just tell me who you're crushing on."
"Dad I've spent the majority of my life in hiding, or training here. Now I'm investigating a string of mutations. With all that going on, how in the world could I have found a woman?"
"That's no way for a young man to live his life."
"Neither is you trapped here, or mom in a coma."
"Your mother will awaken tomorrow, and you have to remember that I am just a memory."
Zar glanced at the wristband that made up the shifter mark two, eyeing the clock in its center. "I may have a way to fix that, but I'll have to tell you about it when I return."
In a black blur, he was gone.
Arzaz stared at the spot his son had just disappeared from with a dazed expression on his face. Was it really possible that his son had a way to return him to flesh? If he did, did a memory have the right to take the place of the original, and what would be the cost?
