Chapter Thirty-Seven: Family Ties.
Valeria sought to determine precisely why these creatures were attacking her. There had to be a reason although she didn't really think of a really good reason right now. The creatures stormed on through, hideous and ready to jump on her.
Wanda summoned the full force of her powers. She knocked them over and to the ground like they were nothing. Then the moment that they knocked to the ground, they duplicated. Where there was one, there was in fact two. There was a hideous amount of laughter that resounded from them. Their glowing eyes, sharp fangs, and dangerous claws looked positively demonic when they stepped forward.
"We can't fight them," Zatanna said. She put up a barrier. The creatures tried to slam their way through the barrier. "Maybe there's something we're missing on how we can defeat them."
"Well we should figure it out pretty quickly," Wanda said. Her voice sounded breathless. The creatures tried to pound their way through the other side of the barrier. "Because, if we keep blasting them, eventually we're going to have an army that….."
She lost her train of thought and her stream of words when the barrier was hammered. An explosive amount of attacks fired through the barrier when they kept slamming into it. Over and over again they attacked.
"We're going to have the numbers overwhelm us," Ananym said. She could feel the sweat and the frustration overwhelm her personally. She saw Illyana muttering underneath her breath. She was speaking any number of recall spells but much to their agitation, absolutely none of them worked. "I hate to say that, but none of it is going to work."
"We will rip you to shreds," one of the demons whispered.
"Oh, that makes our lives easier, actual threats," Zatanna said. Her heart beat steadily across her chest. The creatures slammed their way against the barriers and hard. The dark haired sorceress could feel the frustration swim through her body. "But at least we know they're intelligent."
"Not a good thing, Zee," Wanda added. She wondered if it was her hex magic or all magic that caused them to be duplicated like that.
"We need to send them back," Valeria said. She knocked one of them back and caused it to smash against the wall. "You foul creatures don't belong in my kingdom."
"This world is ours for the taking," the creature whispered. His hunger indicated that he intended to feast on the young, supple flesh around him.
Zatanna waved her hand and several of the creatures were caught in containment units. They already began to break free seconds after they were placed inside. She didn't know what to do. There was an intense amount of frustration already brimming from her mind the more that she worked through this.
"You cannot hope to hold us, you are only to be used as fresh meat for our conquest."
"Sorry to break this to you, but we've been claimed," Valeria said. There was a smug statement to her tone. "And the master will not be pleased with you attempting to infringe on his territory."
One of the creatures responded with a nasty laugh. "This master, what can he do to us? He's nowhere nearly as powerful as any of us. We will crush him underneath our feet."
"He can do all sorts to you," Valeria said. "I believe you have heard of the Incubus King."
It was almost like you can time this to a science. Harry turned up and flashed through the portal. He was determined to destroy everything that got in his way.
The creatures turned towards him. A few of them backed up in fear. One of them was brazen enough to attack Harry and try to assert his domination.
Harry hacked him to pieces in a matter of seconds. The other demons watched in awe as this boogeyman in their community absolutely destroyed their demon brother. There was nothing left of him.
A couple of more who might have been inclined to fight shivered.
"None of you are beautiful women, therefore you're useless to my cause," Harry said. He gave them a smirk. "All of you intended to take what was mine, as yours. That was the most boneheaded and obvious mistake you all could have made."
One of the demons threw his hands into the air. Another one was foolish enough to charge at Harry. The young man dodged the demon's attack.
He sliced a spell through the demon. He caused his blood to boil with fire, his bones to turn to stone, and his organs mold to mush. The creature dropped down to the ground. He was bleeding from his mouth and breathing.
"So, are there any more of you who wish to test their luck against me?" Harry asked.
One of the demon looked like he was about ready to attack. Harry raised his hands and sent a series of metal spikes against their enemy. He was hacked to bits and forced back.
The other demons turned around. Their mouths hung open. They saw the Incubus King and they knew that their chances to defeat them were less. They cut their losses and ran to the portal.
Harry kept his eyes on them. He knew from experience that it would be extremely unwise to ever turn your back on a demon. He knew this because he was in fact one. The young man smiled when he watched them leave.
He sealed the gateway behind them and fortified it. It was one of many that were opening in weird points around the world. Clea was running all over hell in an attempt to put out all of the fires. She could only be in so many places yet. This was the biggest pocket of them that Harry ran into in his time.
"Is it okay to collapse now?"
It took a few moments for the girls to recover from their ordeal. Harry wasn't about to leave just yet.
"I don't understand what happened," Wanda said. She felt as if her failure was obvious. She clenched her fist together and allowed herself to break through with a soft sigh. "I really wish that I understood, but at the same time, I really don't understand, at all."
Wanda could feel like her head was spinning around.
"Your magic always has interesting quirks to it," Harry commented.
Wanda frowned, that was one way of putting it. Another way of putting it was that it was completely insane and utterly unpredictable. That was what she was going with personally. The dark haired magic user breathed in and breathed out extremely easily.
"Dare I even ask?" Zatanna asked. Harry turned towards the dark haired magic user. She grew a bit red around the area of the cheeks, but she remained fairly defiant when she looked Harry in the eyes. The dark haired sorceress crossed her arms together. "I mean, these demons popped through the portal…"
"You're not accusing the master of knowing about this, are you?" Ananym asked. Zatanna shook her head. Ananym's expression relaxed.
"The Red Skull is hidden from most of HYDRA, he's not exactly the most popular individual among them," Harry replied. He smiled. "The problem is that no one is willing to do that much to stop him from taking back control."
Harry smiled and he paused.
"Well, almost no one," Harry said. This little ritual pinpointed the Red Skull's location and he hoped that he would be able to locate him in due time. The girls all smirked at this. "He does have some fanatic loyalists."
"Something tells me they will not be long for this world," Valeria said.
There was a swift smile that crossed Harry's face that pretty much confirmed this fact. This wasn't for the first time nor would it be the last that she was glad to be on the good side of her master.
"I sense that Morgan is near," Harry added. "What HYDRA was doing stirred her out of her hiding?"
'She can't hide forever,' Maddie commented. There was almost a giddiness in her voice. She bounced up and down in excitement. The redhead allowed a nice light breath to escape her body before she explained. 'When I was in the beyond, I marked her for you. I marked her for you and now she's yours forever.'
Maddie grinned with glee and Harry had to admit that he was a huge fan of this plan for obvious reasons.
'So now she has no choice, not that she ever did,' Emma thought. She looked like Christmas came early and more importantly it brought a few other holidays along with the ride. 'She will be drawn to you. The search is over, I think.'
'She is stubborn, so she'll fight it to the end,' Selene commented dryly.
Maddie piped in. Both her succubus side and her former human identity of Lily-Evans Potter brimmed with excitement. 'That is the beauty of it. The more she fights, the more that she'll want it. She's working herself up into a frenzy.'
Harry enjoyed that news, it was good news, the best. He couldn't be focused on Morgan just yet. If she came to him, she would be a useful tool.
"HYDRA always has been interested, some might say obsessed, with the occult," Harry commented. "And now their interest is pointing me towards their most infamous member."
"You will obtain the fruits of your victory, my lord," Illyana said. She leaned on in towards Harry and lightly brushed her lips against his in triumph.
Harry could not help, to keep a smile off of his face. HYDRA was slowly masterminding the downfall of SHIELD and Harry would soon mastermind the downfall of HYDRA. He would obtain some interesting and useful resources.
"Summon me should they dare return," Harry said. The girls all nodded. They knew that they would be foolish to return after the show that Harry gave them. At the same time, one could not be too careful with that fact.
Harry left the girls. He stepped right towards Clea and Umar as well.
"The demons are now fleeing, word of what you've done to their brothers has reached them," Clea said.
"Yes, and I also sense Morgan draws closer, or rather she's drawn closer to you," Umar said. Devious intentions flashed through her eyes. There was a smile on her face and she ran her tongue over her soft lips a couple times.
"She was marked by my mother for me," Harry informed her.
"That's loyalty that should be appreciated," Clea said. She smiled when she wrapped her arms around Harry. Umar set herself on the other side. "Everything is in order."
Harry got a message from Viper. It was all of the indication that he needed to find out that HYDRA was on the move.
Nick Fury was dropped down onto the ground. He tried to lurk around one of the top secret bases. He almost got away with uncovering something big. He got a bit too far in and realized that someone dangerous returned.
He was thought to be dead. They never found the body so Fury was pretty sure that there was a good chance that he wasn't dead. The one and only Red Skull stood over Fury, utter contempt flashing through his eyes.
The contempt was mutual, even if it flashed through only one of Fury's eyes, as opposed to both, for obvious reasons. A pair of beefy bodyguards stood on either side.
"Nick Fury," The Red Skull said roughly. He leaned towards him and pushed him up to his knees. "I remember you being a bit whiter the last time we met."
"Flesh eating virus, body swap, funny story about that, will tell you about it when I blow us both to hell," Fury said.
"I think not, Commander Fury," Red Skull said. He had immense strength and he had been growing stronger. "You see, there is so much about the universe that is awful and yet beautiful. SHIELD wants to hide it, just as much as they want to hide themselves. Now that everything is out in the open. People always thought that we were the villains, but SHIELD have done just as much to oppress the people as HYDRA has."
Fury wasn't going to dignify that with a response.
"That is not a complaint," The Red Skull said. He held a gun at Fury's head. He entertained the thought of shooting him in the head right now. "But, you should be more honest with your intentions. Honesty does set you free."
"What would you know about honesty?" Fury said through gritted teeth. "I didn't even know you still lived until now."
"You didn't know, but you thought that I might," the Red Skull said. He looked extremely excitement. In his mind, Christmas just came early and brought all of the other holidays along for the ride. The Red Skull leaned down and a swift smile spread over his face. "But you kept information from your so called trusted people. Which shows foresight."
Red Skull shot Nick Fury in the side of the neck. Sparks flew from the side of his neck.
"Just as I expected, a Life Model Decoy, which means the real Nick Fury still lives," Red Skull commented. "I know that you can hear this still, for the transmitter has not been broken as of yet. One thing you need to understand is that knowledge is power. I have a grand amount of power over you. More power than you could ever dream in your miserable existence."
The Red Skull's grin grew increasingly wicked when he spoke. It was almost like he had lost all sense of himself.
Harry Potter heard this from his perch point. He knew the Fury that was sent in was an LMD. He knew because he sent it as a diversion to the Red Skull. The real Nick Fury had been indisposed for quite some time now. SHIELD had been getting their orders from an LMD for an extremely long time and it was one that had a master other than Fury.
The Red Skull was about to deliver his grand proclamation to the world. As stirring as Harry was sure that this speech was, he was going to act sooner rather than later. The young man pulled his hood up. It fitted over his face and his face glowed underneath the darkness.
He could see that there were cameras placed everywhere.
"I finally have the entire word in the palm of my hands. Nothing is going to stop me now."
Harry loved when they left openings for him, especially such ironic ones. He dropped down. Before the Red Skull could even blink next, he placed two bolts through the chest of each of his bodyguards. They dropped to the ground.
"What matter of creature are you?" The Red Skull asked. He drew his gun on Harry.
He fired a series of bullets at him. None of them hit the mark when they just bounced off of him.
The Red Skull held up an amulet in his hand. That would protect him from the creatures he summoned.
"I order you to stand down demon, for I hold power over you," The Red Skull said. The Red Skull saw him step forward. "I don't understand….you're not like the others…..well the sheer numbers game shall overwhelm you. These creatures are like HYDRA. Cut one head off and…."
Harry propelled the Red Skull against the wall. He landed onto the ground. Harry prepared to finish him off.
Several portals opened and winged monsters flew out at a rapid speed of light. They skidded to a stop when they realized what they were up against.
"That's right, it's me again," Harry said. His grin was rather prominent underneath his hood. It was almost like he dared these creatures to bring it.
"You know your duty, protect me," the Red Skull said. He didn't know where this demon came from, but he could not be allowed to live.
"Do not worry, master, I'm with you," Viper said. She smiled when she assisted the others in helping the Red Skull out.
It might look like nothing was going according to plan. On the contrary, everything was going according to plan. Harry's powers fried the video camera set up. All of them exploded in a shower of sparks and fire.
The demonic creatures swooped down at him. He placed up the shield. They all hit the shield and vaporized it. It was almost a mark of how lazy Harry could be with his powers, where he only needed to use but a fraction of it to tame these creatures.
'They were sentenced to their tomb by him,' Selene thought. The group through the bond watched in awe.
'It's the Red Skull, of course he wouldn't have any regard for their lives,' Gwen said. She could see the creatures try and attack Harry.
It went without saying their attempts to take them down didn't end so well.
'The good news is you're doing population control on this particular race of demons,' Clea added. There was a breath that escaped her body. She crossed her arms and legs together when she sighed. 'The bad news is that there is an extremely long way to go with them.'
'I enjoy a challenge,' Harry said. Fiery death swirled around his hands and he propelled it forward at the speed of light.
The fire struck the demons. The demons screamed out loud in pure and utter torment. Harry didn't want to say that this was music to his ears because that was harsh.
It would be accurate no matter how harsh it would be.
Viper wondered why her master had given her the order to take the Red Skull out of there when he had a chance to destroy him. The woman held the Red Skull up.
"Walk me a bit further, and leave me here," Red Skull said. His body healed rather quickly but his injuries were more long lasting.
The only solitude was that the demon that inflicted this upon them did not follow them.
"It's nice of you to stick around, Skull."
The voice of Tony Stark could be heard. The Red Skull lifted his head up and saw the Avengers stand before him. His gaze lingered with a special amount of hatred and malice for the one and only Captain America.
"Avengers, how nice of you to join me," The Red Skull said.
"Wish I could say the same thing about you, Skull," Iron Man said. "Why don't you come along quietly?"
"But of course," The Red Skull commented. There was a smile on his face.
"Really, Red Skull come along quietly?" Wasp asked. She locked eyes with Ms. Marvel and both of them had the same uneasy thought.
It was the same uneasy thought that the one and only Captain America decided to voice. "I don't like the looks of this and I don't trust this."
"I have not done anything against you Avengers," the Red Skull replied. "Isn't this America? Isn't this the home of the brave and the land of the free? Isn't it innocent until proven guilty? Aren't the ideals that flag you wear on your body stand for? Or is that just something that you choose to follow for the people that you like and respect."
The Red Skull didn't fight. Neither did HYDRA. The Avengers were ready for a battle.
"Due process, I believe I'm entitled to a fair trial," Red Skull said. "Although, I think there is more of a problem with SHIELD being exposed to the entire world and the United States government being in an uproar about it. And given that you Avengers are sponsored by SHIELD, well that doesn't look too well on your public image rating, now does it?"
Captain America didn't say anything. It was hard to tell if it was possible for a set of eyes to hold more anger and hatred then they did today. One might argue that Captain America could not and should not hate.
"But, then again, you Avengers always were good at adapting," Red Skull said. "And I figure that I should give you a sporting chance. I should give you a battle to fight, a chance for you to look like heroes in the face of the world."
The ground slowly rumbled underneath them. The first indication of what was happening was that Red Skull activated some kind of Earthquake machine. That wasn't beneath his abilities.
"And let's see if you can try this on for size," The Red Skull commented. He looked completely mad.
The ground burst open and several gigantic Red Skull robots came out from underneath the ground. Their eyes glowed with malice when they looked down at the Avengers.
"Sure, all of that power, and what does he go back to?" Wasp asked with a scoff. "Robots, giant robots."
"I guess the rumors were true, he really is compensating for something," Hawkeye said. He stared up at the large robots. They rumbled when they approached them. There was a loud cracking sound when the robot stepped on forward. "You know, I'm going to need a bigger bow."
"You keep saying that, but you never follow up on it," Carol said.
The hooded Incubus King watched the battle from afar. The Avengers took on those monstrous creations and he smiled.
'So you do have the disarming codes, right?' Carol asked. She was trying to make it out like she wasn't having a conversation with Harry over the bond link.
'Yes, why?' Harry asked her.
'Then why aren't you putting in the disarming codes, yesterday,' Carol replied.
'You're pretty much handling yourself just fine without my help,' Harry said. 'SHIELD has been signaled by the way. This should prove to be interesting.'
'What about the real Fury?' Carol asked.
'Trust me, you don't want to know,' Natasha answered. She used an electrical jolt of from her Widow's stings.
'And I want to see if Stark can figure out how to shut these down himself,' Harry said. He was always intrigued at seeing the full capabilities of potential rivals.
'Or you just want to see him squirm,' Emma thought.
'Never has he squirmed so much ever since the last Board of Directors meeting that he was forced to attend,' Pepper thought.
'Thought he was normally cool under pressure,' Harry said.
'Well you can only be so cool under pressure when you know you've messed up big time,' Pepper offered. She crossed her arms over her chest a bit smugly.
Harry would have liked to hear the story of this. However, there was really no time to hear the story. He could see that Stark did manage to get some of the robots to malfunction but others, his efforts fell rather short.
'Shall I take pity on him?' Harry asked. He waited for some feedback on this one. The smile crossed his face and he waited calmly and patiently.
'You might as well,' Carol commented.
'I'd make him squirm just a little bit more, it's good for character,' Emma thought.
'Vindictive, much?' Pepper asked with a smile.
'No, just that I detest someone having such an ego and a high opinion of themselves,' Emma thought.
'Well, mirrors must not exist in your house,' Regan murmured.
'What was that dear?' Emma asked. 'I couldn't hear you over the sounds of the pot calling the kettle black.'
'And that's what we call a burn,' all five Stepford Cuckoos chanted in unison.
Tony Stark didn't know how, he didn't know why. He honestly didn't even care. All he knew was that those robots were shut down. They weren't shut down a moment too soon as far as he was concerned. He could breathe a bit more easily now.
SHIELD was there. There was a simple problem, now that everything was out in the open, they didn't know who to trust.
"Attack them!" Viper yelled.
"I did not authorize this attack!" The Red Skull protested.
He saw Captain America throw his shield at him. He saw that shield flying at him so many times that he grew to hate it. The Skull dodged the attack.
HYDRA's minions and the agents of SHIELD were sent in a free for all with each other. The Avengers were caught in the middle.
'Dare, I ask what you're doing?' Carol asked.
'Both sides are going to rip each other apart, and not understand that the stakes are far higher than this,' Harry said. He continued to hover high above the battle. He made sure to shield any people from both sides that he could use later. There were some extremely attractive females that he would have liked to see in his bed.
There was a loud scream of agony when one of the HYDRA goons got nailed in the back.
"And now we're stuck in an army of red shirts," Hawkeye commented. And he heard the military choppers come in.
Harry frowned. That wasn't necessarily going his way. He was going to have to fix that. The last people he wanted involved was the United States military.
'And I'm sure you just said something that many countries said on both sides,' Natasha commented. She used a pair of energy knuckles to hit people on both sides. Her cover as a spay allowed her to do so and she would allow both sides to make her own assumptions.
'That felt really good to punch some of those people in the face, didn't it?' Pepper asked. Natasha's smile and another gut punch to one of her enemies was the only response she gave.
Harry watched the chaos increase. He was glad that he was the one that inspired all of this. Things would get more intense when time went on.
There was another thing that interested him. He decided to let this battle between SHIELD and HYDRA to pick up to its logical conclusion. The Red Skull and Captain America also battled. That always proved to be entertaining to some people, Harry was sure. He was merely bored by the entire process of it.
The face in the mist was something that caught Harry's attention instantly. He stepped towards it and saw it swirling before him. Harry pressed his hand on the other side of the mist and stirred it up a slight amount.
The face of Morgan Le Fay could be seen. Seconds later, she slid out, and chaos followed her the moment that she fully manifested herself.
To Be Continued On January 20th, 2015.