The next chapter, and I've thrown another spanner in the works…
Chapter 21
Epsilon didn't come around until the next day. K was dozing in a chair when he felt his son's fingers twitch. He sat bolt upright, and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Epsilon? Son?"
Epsilon shivered, clinging to K's hand. He struggled to open his eyes.
"It's alright, son," said K, stroking his hair. "You're going to be okay."
"He killed them," whimpered Epsilon. "He murdered them on the spot."
"Who did?" asked K gently as Epsilon wrenched his eyes open.
"Voldemort. He killed them. Green light, red hair, a wand on me… I'm dead too…"
"No you're not," said K firmly. "Epsilon, it was just an image the dementors created…"
"No," he insisted, shaking his head. He was more lucid now. "It was a memory. It was the same thing I see in my dreams, in my nightmares. I am dead, at least, in the eyes of the wizarding world I am."
K felt his blood run cold. "What do you mean?"
"My parents," said Epsilon. "Voldemort killed my birth parents. Lily and James. They called me Harry, so I must be Harry Potter."
"You mean… the boy who died defeating Voldemort?"
"That's exactly what I mean. To be honest, I've suspected it sometimes. We're the same age, I look a little like James, and I have Lily's eyes, and I recognised the killing curse… which is another mystery. No-one's supposed to survive the killing curse, it's unblockable."
"Maybe it wasn't cast properly," suggested K. "There was a fair bit of energy when you appeared…"
"I doubt it," said Epsilon. "Voldemort killed hundreds of people. But I suppose for a theory, it's a start."
XXX
A few days later, Epsilon was still grounded.
His father meant well, that he could appreciate, and at least he hadn't insisted he go back to school. But the reality of being confined to base while K battled aliens on his own was unpleasant, to say the least. Of course, the other disadvantage of being a temporary desk-jockey was that you couldn't wriggle out of the paperwork.
He looked up sharply as the alarm sounded, echoing through headquarters. An unauthorised ship was entering the atmosphere, heading straight for MiB.
"Incoming craft," reported N. "But it's locking on, it will land safetly."
"Then let it land," instructed Zed. "There's no point in opening hostilities this early."
"Yes, sir."
The agents gathered round, watching the screen intently. It was a small ship, probably only built for a few people. They breathed a sigh of relief when it touched down safely. N pressed the communications button.
"Hello this is MiB. Welcome to Earth, are you receiving me?"
There was no answer. N tried again, but there was still nothing.
"AA and Omega, go on board, find out who's there," said Zed. "But wear protective clothing. The full suits."
The two agents dressed solemnly, and headed towards the docking area, and out of site.
"Epsilon," said K. "We can't let you out there, but can you hear anything? About the people on the craft?"
"Nothing, sir," said Epsilon. "Nothing at all."
K's face was grave.
"You think they're dead, sir?"
"It's extremely likely," he muttered. Epsilon searched forwards, following the agents unlocking the door to the craft. When they got in, there was a small room. It appeared to be empty, but there was a soft sobbing noise coming from the corner…
"Woah!"
Zed's strong hands caught him as he fell, and put him back on his feet.
"Thanks," muttered Epsilon. "A bit out of range. We'll just have to wait and see what they find."
He closed his mind completely, and sat on a nearby desk, resisting the urge to wring his hands nervously. It was a while before the agents returned.
Both were carrying bodies. AA was holding a humanoid male in a fireman's lift. The man was obviously dead. However, Omega carried a young boy, whose black hair was messy and whose face was tearstained. He looked terrified, and his dark eyes were darting wildly over the room. Dark eyes that were instantly familiar.
"Kevin?" he asked in amazement, and silence fell. They had only seen each other in pictures, but Epsilon saw his nephew's face light up in recognition.
"Uncle Harry!" he cried, wriggling out of Omega's grasp. Epsilon scooped up the young boy, who began sobbing into his shoulder. "They hurt daddy," he gasped in young, but reasonably fluent Zarthan.
"What about your mummy?" asked Epsilon. "Where's she?"
"She's gone, Uncle Harry."
Epsilon felt his stomach sink, and he clutched Kevin tighter. Then a thought occurred to him.
"Did you call me Harry?"
"It's your name, isn't it?"
Epsilon reached out gently to Kevin with his mind. The boy shrunk down into his grip, whimpering.
"Sh, it's alright, I won't hurt you."
Kevin relaxed a little, and Epsilon was able to take a look inside his head. The boy was only three, but he already had some natural shields in place. Beyond those…
"Well," he said, setting Kevin down on a desk. "Aren't you a fascinating little lad?"
XXX
K returned soon afterwards to find Kevin much calmer, eating what appeared to be Epsilon's packed lunch. They studied each other, Kevin seemed a little wary.
"Hi, dad," said Epsilon. "This is Kevin. He doesn't speak much English."
"Hello, Kevin," said K. "Do you recognise me?"
Kevin nodded, and surreptitiously edged closer to Epsilon, who laughed.
"It's alright, Kevin."
The boy nodded at his reassurance, and allowed K to hug him.
"Strange," commented Epsilon. "He practically threw himself at me earlier."
"He was probably highly distressed," said K. "He'll probably just latch on to you now, young boys do that. Be prepared to take care of him, I doubt he'll let you out of his sight for a while."
"Please tell me you're joking."
"You were exactly the same," grinned K. "I'm just on my way to Zed's office, apparently you have some explaining to do…"
"Ah, yes, about that," said Epsilon. "I gave him a very vague outline; I think he was actually quite annoyed at me. I've left all the details for you to fill in."
"Gee, thanks," he groaned. "I'll be back later, Kevin."
"Bye Granddad."
"Huh, Granddad, that's a strange feeling," mused K. He looked at Kevin, and sighed sadly. "God, you look like your mother."
"Actually," whispered Epsilon as K left. "I think you look more like your Granddad. But don't tell him I said that. Right then, let's go and see if dad kept any of my toddler clothes…"
XXX
"He's not quite telepathic," reported Epsilon later on. "But he's more than just psychic."
K nodded and sipped his coffee, indicating for him to continue.
"He has mental shields, and though intuitive, they are fairly effective. He can't read minds, exactly, it's more like he can read a person, read the essence of them, I guess. It's why he calls me Harry rather than Epsilon. That's still rather odd though, because even the wizarding world didn't work out who I really was, and they have various ways of seeing the 'soul' as you call it. I can only guess that Kevin sees further than magic does. It appears to be a latent ability, but he's probably had a bit of training. Not a lot of training, but he is only three."
"Back on Zartha, he's a prince," K reminded him. "Which in itself is another problem."
"How was your 'talk' with Zed?"
"Interesting," said K with no trace of a smile. "The Galactic Alliance has put out a general warning. In the eyes of the rest of the universe, Kevin and his father, Darranli are missing. And they're being hunted. Of course they don't know that Darranli is dead…"
"They think they're criminals?"
"No, they're trying to persuade people to protect them. They know that the Lokeye are the real problem, and now they're stepping in to help defend Zartha…"
"What?" yelped Epsilon. "They're actually helping?"
"The situation is very serious," said K. "Even Zed's concerned. If the Lokeye track Kevin to here… they won't show any mercy. Not to Kevin, or to those who try to protect him."
"So we're effectively hiding a fugitive."
"Exactly. But even if he was a hardened criminal, I wouldn't hand any man over to the Lokeye. They are a particularly brutal race."
"And we've just come into their line of fire," said Epsilon sadly. "And all we can do is hope that they never find us."