Chapter Forty-Nine: Calm Before the Storm.
There was the redefinition of the term calm before the storm as far as Harry was concerned. He made his way to Atlantis and ran into some extremely interesting people on his way there. He had a few words with the Queen and now that he was done with the few things that she wanted to go over, he was back.
He was back to the Amazons. One of Harry's many homes away from home. Nine times out of ten, the island was about ready to be attacked by kind of vengeful sorcerer or angry god or goddesses. The Amazons did make a lot of enemies. Sometimes those enemies were of no fault of their own.
The Amazons did a remarkable job of attracting the wrong kind of people towards the island. It was almost like a curse where the island was under siege every time a person turned around. Harry could see why they wanted to remain in the shadows for all of this time and not step into the main world.
Hippolyta's stance on that had softened. It could have had something to do with her daughters and the friends that they made when they exited on the island. Regardless of that fact, Donna and Diana encouraged their mother to step forward.
Harry had a small part, but he appreciated Diana and Donna for doing the legwork. He got a sense of Hippolyta's bad luck regarding the people in Man's World and there were instances where Harry couldn't really blame her. It was just one of those things that was what it was.
Harry hated that phrase, but at the same time, he couldn't help himself from using it. That was part of a charm, some might argue it was a curse.
The emerald eyed wizard returned to the island and sure enough, he came across Hippolyta when he arrived on the island. The woman turned her attention towards Harry and greeted him with a smile.
"I understand you wanted to discuss with me before we had a chance to be sidetracked," Hippolyta said. There was a small smile tugging against her lips and Harry couldn't deny the fact that it looked infectious.
'Sidetracked is an interesting way to put things,' Mera chimed in playfully through the bond link. Given her last meeting with Harry, she was in a pretty good mood all things considered. There was a smile on her face and that was a good thing, an extremely good thing.
'Sidetracked is the perfect way to describe what you and I were doing earlier, you know,' Harry answered her.
Mera's lips curled into a smile. 'Yes, I'm well aware. It seems that we all have this ability to get sidetracked pretty quickly.'
'With Harry involved, who could blame us?' Karen asked. There was no answer to that question because there wasn't a single person in the world that could blame them. The blonde's lips curled into a smile as if to say "exactly" and she folded her arms.
"So, I understand that you wanted to have a word about what needed to be done regarding Circe," Hippolyta said.
"I'm sure that putting her under your control is fairly demeaning," Harry informed her.
"Yes, but I could not argue that it's demeaning enough give all that she's put us through," Hippolyta said. "If you hadn't been able to shut the gates, Black Manta would have caused havoc all over the island."
"Anyone could have," Harry reminded her.
Hippolyta sighed. That really was the problem. There could have been a lot of people who could have caused all kinds of havoc on the island. She knew that it didn't matter whether or not she was here; there were still people that would attack.
She did come to the conclusion that it was for the best that she was not on the island. If she was off of the island, she might have not been able to help out.
"We keep avoiding a certain topic of conversation," Harry said. He held Hippolyta in close to him.
The Queen of the Amazon's smile when her eyes flashed over Harry's, and yes she hated to admit that she was avoiding that subject, but it was true. "Yes, I know, Circe. You want to know what's being done with her, don't you?"
"It would be useful if I have an idea," Harry informed her.
"Well, I thought about it long and hard," Hippolyta said. She allowed Harry to lead her over. The two of them sat on the bench in a garden that was overlooking an extremely nice waterfall. The look down was something that caused her heart to race. "And I decided that it would be for the best if I allowed Donna and Kara to look over her."
"You thought that was for the best?" Harry asked.
'I'm sensing something bad happening,' Barbara thought. She shook her head. 'But it could be worse, I suppose.'
'Yes, it could be worse, I could have had five minutes alone with Circe,' Diana said.
'Isn't Donna just as vindictive though with being humiliated?' Harry asked the Amazon princess.
Diana shrugged her shoulders in response. 'She could be very vindictive when she wants to be. But….no offense to her, I'm a bit more creative.'
'I don't take any offense, but you have given me the encouragement that I need to step up my game a little bit,' Donna answered. Mirth flashed through her eyes. 'And you know that Kara is here.'
'There's a part of me that really feels sorry for Circe,' Diana thought. Before anyone could question her on this, Diana added something else. 'And there's an even larger part of me who is glad that the bitch got what she had coming.'
'I hate to say it, but ouch,' Kara answered. She smiled and made sure that Circe was strapped into place. 'Don't worry, we're going to have lots of fun and I'm sure that if she's a good little pet, she might get a reward.'
'Well, that goes without saying,' Diana said. She wasn't sure if Circe deserved any kind of reward with what she pulled.
'Make her practically choke for it, my daughter,' Hippolyta suggested. One might assume that there was a vindictive spirit in the eyes of the Queen of the Amazons and they would be right. It was amazing to see how much she was able to encourage her daughter's to do such things.
'Wow, mother, you can be a bit…..'
That statement was trailed off; it was almost like Donna decided that she would choose her words a bit more carefully, at least this time.
Harry had been on the island for a long time. It was amusing how he felt the presence of some goddesses, but they were almost out of reach. It was almost like they were sizing him up.
He thought that he would seek them up in due time. The emerald eyed wizard took his long walk around the island. A morning training session with the Amazons allowed a spring in his step to be added and the day was just going to get that much better.
'Harry, do you think you could join Donna and I?' Kara asked. There was a tone of pleading in her voice.
'Oh, I think that I could oblige you,' Harry said.
'Are we about to find out what those two are up when they had the bond access blocked off?' Karen asked.
Helena jumped into the bond in her usual stoic tone. 'Well, it isn't as if we couldn't guess, given the fact that they've gotten the responsibility of training Circe and making sure she stays in line.'
'Training her, making sure that she stays in line?' Lois asked. 'She sounds like…well it sounds like you're making sure a dog stays in line.'
'Well, now that you mention it…..' Diana thought. She allowed those thoughts to rail off when she walked up beside Harry, preparing to join him.
The two of them came shoulder to shoulder with each other when they started to walk. Harry raised his hand and knocked three times on the door. It was what was agreed to by him, Kara, and Donna.
The two of them waited for someone to go to the door. They could have sworn that they heard the sounds of moaning and a whip cracking against flesh.
Those were the sounds that inspired the imaginations of anyone who had been fortunate enough to hear them. Harry looked interested and Diana looked impatient. She was about ready to raise her hand to knock on the door one more time.
There was no need to do so. Kara opened the door. She dressed in a tight red corset, with matching fingerless gloves, a thong, and stockings. She held a whip in her hand and Donna wore the same thing, only it was black.
"Harry, I know you want to see the progress that we've had training our new pet," Kara said. She grabbed Harry's ass when she pulled him in for a kiss. Her tongue pushed into her mouth.
Diana allowed the two of them to have her moment. She saw Circe swinging from the ceiling in a bit of a compromising position. There were clips on her nipples, pinching them hard. There was cream smeared all over the area of her body. Diana wasn't going to lie, she found it amusing.
"I'm sure that if you know where to dip these, you get a nice, added, taste," Donna said. She licked her lips when she rubbed the strawberries down Circe's body. "Want one?"
"Seems delightful," Diana agreed. She popped one of the strawberries in her mouth and slowly chewed down upon it. Her eyes closed when she nibbled on it. There was an erotic tone to what she was doing.
Harry left Kara breathless from the kiss. He turned around and decided to have his fun with Donna.
Donna accepted a kiss from Harry. The young Amazon practically wrapped her legs around him, until Harry swatted her on the ass in an attempt to get her to behave.
"So, how do you like how our pet has turned out?"
Harry reached over and ran his hand over Circe's body slowly. The woman's body shivered when Harry played with her.
"She struggled at first, but now she craves our touch, and she's submissive to it," Kara said. She smiled at him. "It seems like those who are the most powerful women are the most submissive."
Harry walked towards Kara and slowly closed the gap between her. Kara breathed heavily when Harry was in front of her. The blonde's eyes shifted when Harry was up close to her. His hand rested on her stomach.
"You would know, wouldn't you, Kara?" Harry asked her. Kara's smoldering gaze reached him and she nodded in response. Her heart started to race the more he gazed in her eyes. It was amazing to see what he could inspire deep within her. A fire rose high in her loins and Kara felt herself driven breathless.
"Yes, I would," Kara agreed. She felt Harry's mouth on hers and he slowly nibbled her lips. The blonde relaxed into this delicious kiss, his tongue entering hers.
"I don't think that she needs to see something this good, at least not yet," Donna said, putting on a blindfold on her. She nudged Kara out of the side. "Make her visualize it in her head."
"Sounds like a good idea," Diana said. She sat down upon the bed and slowly pealed the banana that was lying on the bed.
Kara and Donna stripped off Harry's clothing and exposed his toned body. The two girls descended down and made sure that the real fun was about ready to begin for them.
The ritual was completed. While most of Circe's charming personality was intact, she was completely and utterly bound to Harry. Therefore there was no chance that she was going to betray him.
It would be foolish to do away with such a potentially valuable resource.
The latest trip to the island was one that was unplanned and pretty spontaneous, but Harry was pretty glad to get it in, all things considered. It was now time for him to return home and back to the RAO Corporation where there was plenty of business to be done.
Gwen looked to be in pretty good spirits and her amusement knew no end when she looked at Harry. Her laughter was passionate.
"The look on Barbara's face…..it was almost like she was expected to be informed that something like that was going to happen," Gwen said. She held onto a large tray of chemicals, carefully balancing them.
Whitney and Caitlin walked out of the side lab.
"To be fair, it was spontaneous and we needed to make sure that the gate worked on their end," Harry said. "It should have given you a bit of a warning though before they popped through."
"I actually think that we were all too involved in our work for it to make a difference," Whitney commented with a slight little shrug. She lips curled into a nice little grin when she looked at Harry, resting her hands on her hips when she lazily leaned against the wall. "Although you had to admit that the look her face was priceless."
"Which I'm sure it distracted everyone from the look on your face, because you were easily as surprised," Gwen replied.
Whitney gave Gwen a cross look. "I'm just that much faster than thinking on my feet, that wall."
"Quick on your feet, quick with your hands," Gwen said. Whitney nodded in response, before she realized what Gwen was saying. "That will turn out to be useful."
Caitlin caught Harry's eye and grinned. She decided to try and to discuss some things with Harry.
"Do you think that you can come with me for a minute, Harry?" Caitlin asked. "I have a couple of things that I need your opinion on."
"I think that if Gwen and Whitney don't have any need for me, I'll be perfectly happy to speak with you," Harry said. He gave her one of those smiles and Caitlin responded by beaming at him in response.
She clapped her hands together, a nice grin flying over her face. "Great, if it's…."
"It's fine," Gwen responded to her. She looked at Whitney.
"No, I don't think that I need Harry, right now," she said. The hyperactive scientist looked at Harry. "Maybe later we can go over some things, but business first."
The redhead youth gave Harry a wink.
Kara shook her head through the bond. She placed her hands over her face and tilted her head back to sigh. 'She's not as subtle as she likes to think she is, you know.'
Harry doubted that many of the girls were as subtle as they would have liked to think they were, but he allowed that to pass without incident. He took Caitlin firmly by the hand and led her into the next room.
The redhead smiled when she stuck next to Harry. She was really excited about what she had to show to him now. Harry could tell that she was brimming with all kinds of excitement and with a look like that; Harry couldn't help but be excited for her.
"Alex is doing a good job working down here, helping you girls out," Harry said.
"Yes, she's doing pretty well," Caitlin confirmed. She tried not to get too excited. "Excellent for someone of her age, but…"
Harry could see that Caitlin didn't want to get too critical and Harry beat her to the punch.
"She's a bit too young for some of the higher end projects, I know, but she'll get more experience with time," Harry said.
Caitlin was glad that Harry was the one that said it and not her. That made her feel a lot more at ease.
'She seems to be one who is hovering around you,' Dinah added. She was currently out on patrol as Black Canary. She kept to Gotham mostly, because of the increased League presence. She hoped that she might run into her sister.
So far, Dinah hadn't had any luck on that level. Was it starting to frustrate her a little bit that she was running in circles? Even though Harry assured her that Sara was doing fine, Dinah wished to see it with her own eyes.
'I think that a few of your interns are doing a good job in hovering around you,' Barbara added. There was a bit of a smile crossing over her face when she spoke. 'It seems to be like a three way race between Whitney, Gwen, and Caitlin about who is going to pull the trigger first.'
'Well if it's a race, wouldn't Whitney have a bit of an advantage?' Chloe asked her.
'Gwen's the one that I'm pulling for,' Barbara told her.
'Biased much,' Lois teased.
Chloe shook her head in amusement. 'Well, if you think that you're so smart, Lois, which one are you pulling for?'
Lois waved her hand in a dismissive manner. 'You know what, I'm going to have to say that it's a close enough race where I don't have a horse in it. And you know that Harry is going to ride all of the horses.'
Harry pulled himself away from the bond link, chuckling at Lois's analogy. At least mentally he was, in the physical realm, he kept a stoic expression.
"This project is coming along rather nicely, although it's burning out before we have much use for it," Caitlin said. "The high powered rocket fuel could potentially fuel a jet to go to the moon."
"That's a pretty ambitious idea," Harry told her. Caitlin grinned at him, nodding up and down in excitement.
"But, the engine blows out before I have a chance to really use it," Caitlin said. "Maybe if you could take a look at the calculations, I can see what I'm doing wrong."
Caitlin presented a blue print with a load of calculations that would fly over the head of most people, but Harry was not most people. He was able to figure pretty much everything in front of him, bit by bit.
After a couple of thoughts, he had an idea.
"Perhaps you should start with a smaller craft and a less potent quality," Harry said.
"Maybe, I am thinking too big," Caitlin said. She frowned deeply.
There were a couple of things that Harry wanted to deal with, but there was a buzzing sound on the intercom.
"Harry, I hate to bother you," Martha said. She was working the front desk today as part of her job, although she did do other things. It was just that they needed someone to fill in, especially since Lana moved up in the world.
"No, Martha, it sounds important, there's no bother at all," Harry told her with a smile. "What's on your mind?"
"There's someone who is here to see you, it sounds urgent," Martha said. She paused as if she was trying to confirm something. "She says that her name is Talia."
"Tell her that I'll be down in the main conference room on the sub-basement level in five minutes," Harry said.
If Martha had any inquires about that statement, she certainly didn't really say anything.
Talia waited patiently. She had managed to slip away under the pretext of checking out one of the ongoing projects around Metropolis. Her father's empire was something that came close to slipping from his hand.
"Talia, welcome, it's been a long time."
She turned towards him and smiled. "I don't even need to ask how you knew that I was here, do I?"
"I'm pretty sure someone as intelligent as you can figure out that I know," Harry said. Talia gave him a crisp smile and she nodded. "So there's no need for formalities."
"It's a shame that you did leave the League when you did, things were…..things had gotten a bit hostile without you there," Talia answered. "There are some who wished to move against you, but my father put a stop to it."
"I both insulted and impressed Ra's Al Ghul at the same time, which takes talent," Harry said.
"There are very few who survived more than a few moments in a fight with my father and lived to tell the tale, much less defeated him in combat," Talia answered. She stepped towards him, and she wished to ask something of him. "For the longest time, I wondered since you had him dead to rights, why didn't you…"
"It didn't fit into my plans just yet," Harry interrupted her.
Talia was about ready to finish asking what his plans were. She never quite got that question out. Harry cupped her face.
Their lips pressed against each other. Talia closed her eyes, relaxing into this kiss. His tongue overwhelmed her. She sighed when she felt him delve into the depths of her mouth. Amazing didn't adequately describe what he made her feel.
Harry slowly pulled away from her, leaving her to consider the actions for a moment.
"Cheshire was in bed with you for the longest time, and I think that there is more to her betrayal than meets the eye," Talia said. Harry raised his eyebrow at her. "Meaning that her betrayal is non-existent and ruse to rush your plans forward, but I can't figure out how close you are to our operations. How close you are from jumping in and taking control of everything?"
"I'll answer that question, he's about as close as he's ever going to get without pulling the trigger."
Talia's eyes flashed through the shadows with interest. The White Canary made her way out of the shadows.
"Nyssa was concerned that you didn't return to your post and asked me to see if there was any hold up," she reported, not faltering underneath Talia's gaze.
"Which meant, you volunteered and used this as an excuse to see Harry," Talia commented. Her expression was almost teasing, at least it was almost teasing for her.
Still it would just be like her older sister to send her lover to spy on Talia and make sure she was okay.
The White Canary pulled off the bottom of her mask, revealing her soft face, with her blonde hair and blue eyes. She was not the first person that you would expect to be a hardened assassin, which was the idea.
Sara Lance pressed her lips against Harry's. She passionately kissed him, nearly trying to overwhelm him. She thought that she could get the leverage on him, but Harry turned her around and pushed her into the wall extremely hard.
The young man kissed her passionately, but Talia cleared her throat.
"Not that I mind the free show, but we do have business to attend to," Talia remarked. There was something casual and crisp about her tone of voice, it almost sounded all too casual and all too crisp when she spoke.
"Yes," Harry agreed.
'Say what you want about the League, but they most certainly put the ass in assassin,' Chloe offered.
Dinah looked at her with an exasperated look. 'Hey, that's my sister you're talking about there.'
That caused Artemis to laugh in amusement. She barely broke in for bond banter. She was currently interrogating some assassin after putting an arrow in his knee.
'Wait, you're talking about my sister as well, aren't you?' Artemis asked when she realized.
Harry sighed and turned to Sara.
'You might want to communicate with your sister, she's starting to get worried that you're not okay,' Harry said.
'I'm perfectly fine,' Sara said. She inclined her head and shook it in response. 'Laurel, you can be such a fucking worry wart sometimes.'
'Hey, you were the one who died at least three or four times by now,' Dinah fired back through the bond.
'I only technically died once, the other times were that I was presumed dead, there's a big difference,' Sara argued back. 'Although if you want to recreate what happened the night that you found out that I wasn't dead, again, I'm pretty sure that Harry and I will be happy to remind you what happened.'
'Oh, that night was a rough one,' Artemis replied, shaking her head.
'Wasn't it your first night wearing the hood?' Dinah asked.
'Yes, and thank god for Felicity knowing what the hell was going on, because I would have been tripping all over my hood trying to deal with the mess Oliver left behind,' Artemis thought. 'But that's beside the point, I believe the Daughter of the Demon is a bit miffed. And I'm honestly surprised she doesn't have bond access just yet.'
'Harry has slept with her, but she could be fighting the bond for reasons all her own,' Sara thought.
"I take it that you're interested in taking things to the next level," Harry said. "You and Sandra, or is she going by Lady Shiva these days?"
Talia was interested. Her bluff was pretty much called. She frowned when her gaze met Harry's. She inclined her neck forward.
"What do you have in mind?" Talia asked her.
She threw the ball in Harry's court, but Harry bounced it back into hers.
"What do you want out of all of this?" Harry asked. "Is your father's leadership truly what you feel is needed for the world?"
"Honestly, I believe that my father has lost his way towards his obsession in locating an heir," Talia admitted. "I respect his end goal, but his methods to achieve that end leave a lot to be desired."
Talia handed Harry the information. She eyed Sara nervously.
"Nyssa doesn't need to know anything, if Harry doesn't want her to know," Sara replied firmly. Her life debt to Harry outweighed every single other obligation she had.
"This is all the information that I can acquire on my father's plans, his plans regarding Pamela Isley being front and center among them," Talia informed him.
"I'll have people to collaborate that information," Harry told her.
Talia nodded in response. "I'd be disappointed if you didn't."
There was a pause and Harry added something. He nearly forgot about it in the chaos.
"Tell Sandra that I have the most solid lead so far regarding the whereabouts of her daughter," Harry informed her. That was something that Talia didn't expect to hear.
Sara looked rather surprised. Cain was public enemy number one regarding the League, but it appeared that he had influential friends that put him and Cassandra underground.
"Tell me this is done, and I'll pass on the information," Talia said. She frowned and added another statement, almost like an afterthought. "My father may wish to speak to you soon, his time grows short, and he requires an heir."
Harry figured as much. He had people that he could collaborate this information for.
"Return to your posts, and I'll be in touch," Harry said to both women and they nodded.
"My time grows short, I need a worthy heir to my throne in the League," Ra's whispered. His voice was raspy.
He sat in the main temple, pondering what he needed to do next. His oldest daughter, Nyssa, stood across from him. Every single word that he spoke about needing a worthy male heir passed through her ears. She grew more and more despondent as time passed when she heard these crude and coarse words.
Nyssa stepped forward towards her father.
"You should rest, you need your strength," she commented. Ra's turned towards her.
"The time for rest is done," Ra's replied to her. "Your sister should be returning from Metropolis soon. She had some business to deal with there, with our benefactor."
"Lionel Luthor?" Nyssa asked. She spoke in rather calm tone when she addressed her father. She didn't really want to sound too critical, but she really wanted to say something to him. "Do you think that we can trust him?"
"He is a man of likeminded goals, I believe that he could be a temporary partner," Ra's said. He didn't want to answer that he didn't trust the man completely and utterly. "But we'll see what happens. I need to enact my plans for Gotham."
"Miss Isley has arrived and she's waiting for the word to move forward with your plans," Nyssa said. "She might seem like a wildcard."
"Nyssa, if you assume that everyone is capable of betrayal, than you will never have any allies," Ra's replied. He decided to impart this bit of wisdom. "Soon, the League of Assassins will be under new leadership, one way or another. This begins my finest hour."
Ra's thought that his partnership with Lionel Luthor would lead to more Light being brought to the world. His daughter, Talia, was talking to Lionel's daughters and they were doing most of the business transactions. Lionel did have his own plans that he needed to enact, but as long as they didn't interfere with Ra's plans, he didn't really care all that much.
For now, he would have to wait and watch and see what would happen next. He was optimistic that things would work for the best.
"Well, it's interesting that you came here, because something is in fact up now."
Harry was currently walking down the hallways of LuthorCorp. He was partially disguised, because it would cause a bit of a stir with the wrong people that Harry Potter was walking inside the demon's den, that demon being Lionel Luthor. Next to him were Alexandria Luthor and Lutessa Luthor.
"Tell me anything odd you might have noticed, because I was on an island for the past few days, so there might have been some things that escaped my notice," Harry said.
"I'd imagine," Alexa informed him. "Well, I think that what I'm about to tell you most certainly qualifies for the odd category. There have been several high ranking politicians that have disappeared over a few days, and they reappeared. There was no memory of where they had been or what they have done."
"There's a cover up there if there ever was one, wasn't there?" Harry asked.
Alexa nodded feverishly in response. "Yes, I smell a bit of a rat there, I would have to agree."
Harry turned to Tess. "You know about Pamela, don't you?" Before the accident, because you hung around in similar circles, and had similar interests."
"Yes, that's right," Tess said. She frowned. "She was a friend, although I can't say that I've had much of a chance to speak to her after the accident."
Harry figured about that much.
"She might not be the same," Tess continued. Her frown deepened when she thought about it. "No one is after a few sessions with Hugo Strange."
'Well, official news is that things are about ready, and Ra's is about ready to enact his mad plan,' Artemis jumped in suddenly and quite abruptly. 'At least that's about how much I was able to get out of this guy before I offed himself.'
Harry frowned, it was go time now.
'Helena, are you in position?' Harry asked her.
She replied in a calm tone of voice. 'Yes, I am.'
It was time to do this, one way or another.
To Be Continued on February 20th, 2015.
