A/N: Time to add some superheroes.

Chapter 7

When Harry and his two allies arrived, nothing seemed untoward. They appeared in a lush green field, among a small herd of black and white cows. Already terrified, the sudden arrival of Harry, Susan and Quigley did not help. Their alarmed mooing filled the air, as they lumbered away from the newly arrived wizards. Not far away, just at the edge of the field, a main-road was still mostly quiet thanks to the early hour.

If not for the spinning black cloud that hung over the nearby stone circle, it could even have been called idyllic.

As Harry looked towards the stone circle, that ominous cloud casting a dark shadow over it, he felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise.

It was Quigley, surprisingly, who was first to speak. "What the hell is that?"

Ordinarily the circle wouldn't be considered particularly impressive. The stones were relatively small, and compared to something like Stonehenge it all looked a bit haphazard. They were big rocks to be sure, but they weren't huge. They weren't shaped in any recognisable fashion, and there was even a gap where one of the twelve stones that had originally made up the circle had been filched by enterprising locals, and was probably being used in the foundations of a nearby building.

In that gap there was a familiar figure, honey-blonde hair whipping around her as if she was standing in the middle of a ferocious gale. "What the hell does she think she's doing?" Harry asked no-one in particular.

"Who's that in the middle of the circle?" said Susan as she pointed to another figure, partially distorted behind a shimmering barrier that extended a few feet beyond the ring of stones.

He was tall and muscular, and wearing a long red cape over a blue bodysuit. His eyes glowed red.

"Shit. That's Superman," said Harry, barely able to believe what he was seeing. Suddenly, the cold hand of worry clutched at him. He wasted no time in pulling out his communication mirror and speaking Padma's name.

"Harry?" she said the moment she appeared. She was a bit breathless, and behind her Harry could see Ministry staff running to-and-fro while memos zipped overhead. "What is it?"

"Superman's here." Harry's eyes traced back to the two figures in the stone circle. Fortunately, it seemed that neither had noticed them yet. "Daphne too. You need to get in contact with Zatanna as soon as possible, find out what's going on with the Justice League."

"I don't understand," said Padma, sounding confused and worried in equal measure. "You think they're up to something?"

Harry shook his head. "I think they're caught up in something. I need to go, we have to stop whatever this is right now."

"We'll be there in—"

Without waiting for her to finish, Harry stuffed the mirror away again. "Okay. Quigley, you stay with Bones. Take Daphne down. Superman doesn't have any magic, if we can get to her, whatever they're doing should collapse."

"Sir, Superman is—"

"Mine," said Harry. He knew what Quigley's objection was going to be. Superman might be every bit as vulnerable to magic as any other muggle, but he had the speed to circle the world in the blink of an eye, and the strength to juggle mountains. There was no way Harry was going to let either of his companions go up against something like that.

Quigley dropped silent, but Susan was not so easily cowed. "But, the barrier? As soon as it drops he'll have to know you're there."

"Just make sure you stop that spell," said Harry, before he disapparated with a loud crack.

In the blink of an eye he reappeared just feet from the shimmering barrier. Now that he was closer, he could see much more of what was happening.

Daphne looked terrified, but was reciting words from a piece of paper in a loud if shaky voice that carried even over the howling winds that formed part of the barrier. Harry couldn't recognise any of the words, but the power of the spell was clear to see.

Between Harry and Daphne was Superman. The moment Harry arrived, the man's head turned to seek him out. The movement was so fast that it was like he had not moved at all. It was as if the world had simply stuttered, like a muggle movie missing some frames. His eyes glowed with a fierce red light, so bright that it left white spots in Harry's vision. When he realised that Harry had arrived outside the defensive spells, a cruel smile washed over his features.

Clearly satisfied that Harry was no threat to him, he turned back to Daphne, who'd faltered in her reading. He waved a hand at her, and the light from his eyes grew even brighter. Impossibly bright. Daphne's desperate gaze lingered on Harry for a moment before it returned to the paper. She continued reciting whatever spell it was that was written there.

Harry had never seen the barrier spell before, but whatever it was it was strong. The power that had gone into it washed over him in waves, but he knew he had to try and get through it. If he could even distract Superman for long enough that his two companions had a chance to reach Daphne, they might just make it out.

"Confractio!" he shouted, as he thrust his wand at the shield. A beam of pale blue light cut through the air, and through the shadows cast by the dark cloud overhead.

It struck the shield, and to his surprise, sliced through it like it was nothing more than tissue-paper. The entire dome of wind and magic collapsed in an instant, and Superman whirled around once again, a look of shock upon his face.

There was a strange moment of silence, then. Daphne's words faltered, forgotten in the face of the unexpected. At the same time, Harry and Superman met each-other's gaze, sharing the same surprise that Harry's spell had actually worked.

It was Harry that recovered first. Whatever the spell was, the way stone circles worked meant that Superman was confined to the centre. The focal loci of stone circles were highly specific, unless he was willing to allow the spell to completely collapse he had to stay within that small area. That was an incredible stroke of luck and meant that his most dangerous offensive ability, his ability to punch mountains into gravel, was nullified as long as Harry remained beyond his grasp. Harry had read Superman's file, though, and he was far from helpless.

"Protego Ardus!" Harry cried, already guessing Superman's next move.

The shield appeared not a moment too soon. Searing red beams issued from Superman's eyes and stabbed across the space between them less than a heart-beat later. They splashed uselessly against Harry's shield, unable to penetrate the protective magics.

From behind the safety of his shield charm, Harry sent a stunner back, but in a blur of motion, Superman side-stepped it with ease. Despite the movement, the red beams did not so much as falter. If anything, they grew even brighter.

If he wanted to hit Superman with anything, he'd need the element of surprise. Suddenly, an idea occurred to him. He silently cast a flame-freezing charm upon the continuous beams, then, after a quick prayer to whatever beings might be listening, he silenced himself, and dropped his shield.

It hurt, a lot, but Harry had experienced pain before. Heat, he'd expected, and the flame freezing charms reduced it to something closer to the heat of scalding water rather than something that could cut right through him and cauterize the wound instantly. What he hadn't expected was the physical force behind the beams, which threw him back a few feet, and he landed painfully on the hard ground. He slid a short distance until one of the stones of the circle stopped him. Thanks to the silencing spell, he didn't make a sound.

Painful though it was, his gambit had the desired effect. Superman turned back towards Daphne, seemingly confident that Harry had been dealt with. Daphne screamed, and called out his name, but there was nothing else she could do. She continued reciting the spell, and Harry could feel the magical power reaching a crescendo.

From his position prone on the ground, Harry took advantage of Superman's lack of attention. He silently cast a binding spell, as he touched the tip of one finger against the stone of the circle.

Just as the stones focused Daphne's spell, so too did they direct Harry's magic. He felt the stones empower the fairly ordinary conjuration, and then release it all into the centre of the circle. Right at Superman.

Huge iridescent beams of pure light rushed from the ground at his feet, and enveloped each of his limbs in bindings unbreakable by any muggle. Superman gave a wordless shout, and pulled at them, but he was fighting magic itself. No amount of raw strength could break the bonds. Instead, his feet sunk deep into the ground, as he pulled at the bindings with every ounce of his impossible strength.

As he fought, Susan and Quigley appeared on the other side of the circle, wands levelled at Daphne. Superman reacted too quickly, though, and breathed a cloud of freezing fog over them, forcing them back behind conjured shields.

Then Harry felt something change in the magic that filled the air, like it had finally reached complete saturation. It sparked across the ground, and little bolts of lightning descended from the cloud overhead to hit each of the remaining stones. The stones drank in the collected power, and lightning continued to dance between them and the cloud above.

Worse than that, though, was the feeling of his binding spell being drained by the stones too. He rose quickly to his feet and cast a silent full-body bind curse upon the still-bound man before they could unravel completely.

Superman was fast, beyond anything any witch or wizard could hope to match. With that speed he could avoid almost any spell, and even curses without a visible manifestation, like the full-body bind, could be avoided if he knew they were coming. The caster's wand still needed to point at the intended target, and it was assumed that Superman would have very little reason to stay wherever the wizard was pointing if he was in a fight.

Fortunately, this time Superman had little option. He could not move far from his position near the centre of the circle but even then, if unrestrained, he could surely have avoided any conventional curse. The magical bindings Harry had conjured left him nowhere to go, and, once they had him in their grasp, he was helpless in the face of more normal charms and curses.

Or he should have been. Harry felt rather than saw the spell fizzle out, the power sucked from it even as it tried to gain purchase upon its target. Superman no doubt felt the spell try and fail to lock him in place. Perhaps he felt a shiver of numbness, but it was not enough. His head turned again, and he locked eyes with Harry once more.

This time there was no time to shield, and no time to try and jump out of the way. He barely even had time to comprehend the danger, when the blinding light of Superman's eye-beams surged towards him, filling his world. In that long moment, Harry saw Bones and Quigley emerge unscathed from behind their shield and stun Daphne in an instant. All they needed to do was escape, and perhaps this would all be worthwhile. He wondered what it felt like to have his brain boil behind his eyes. What did that kind of heat feel like?

He never found out. There was a blur of movement in front of him. Before Harry was even aware of it, a figure appeared between him and his certain doom. Their arms were held up high, and crossed before them as if to try and block the beams. Harry's first thought was that it was some auror, who'd apparated into the fight in a vain attempt to save his life, and whose death he would have to watch in the moments before his own.

But they did not die. There was a metallic sound, half-way between a clash and a scream, and the beams were deflected into the sky, where they cut a hole straight through the dark cloud overhead. Harry blinked as he recognised his rescuer.

She was tall, with long dark hair. Red and gold armour protected much of her torso, but left her shoulders bare. On her legs she wore red and gold boots that reached nearly to her knees. She was unmistakable.

It was Wonder Woman.

She didn't even look back to check that Harry was okay. Instead she ran straight at Superman with a speed Harry could barely follow. The ground shook at the booming collision as her fist, which must have been moving faster than the newest Nimbus, was caught by Superman's immovable hands. The last vestiges of Harry's binding spell had wilted away completely.

Superman's face twisted in anger. "Amazōn."

It was unmistakably Superman's voice, but it didn't take a genius to work out that something was very wrong with it. Harry had never met him in person, but everything he knew of him said that Superman was not a cruel man.

Harry could not see Wonder Woman's face, but her body language communicated her surprise well enough on its own. Before she could respond the cloud that had been swirling overhead dropped over them, and the world was plunged into absolute darkness. Almost instinctively, he raised a hasty shield, but before it was able to fully manifest a boom echoed in the darkness. A moment later a figure, feminine and clad in armour, hit him bodily. Though she had no doubt been slowed by the incomplete shield, she still crushed him against the stone. Pain bloomed across his back, but at least it didn't feel like he'd broken anything.

Adrenaline dulled whatever injury he'd received, and he pushed the groaning body of Wonder Woman off him then rose to his feet, wand held at the ready. He swung it in a broad circle, and in a moment the dark cloud was burned off, allowing the sun to stream down once more.

Susan and Quigley were both down, but Harry could see they were stirring weakly. Daphne had been thrown to the ground too, but she soon stood up on shaky legs. Superman was the only one still standing and he looked around, confusion written across his face. Had the spell failed?

His eyes, fading slowly from red back to blue landed on Wonder Woman lying upon the ground next to Harry and concern flashed across his face. He started walking towards her when Daphne raised an empty hand, palm open. He stopped instantly, swaying like a tree in a gale.

"Oh, that is so much better," said Daphne and just like Superman before her, she did not sound at all like herself. Unlike Superman, it was her voice, but it did not sound like her using it. The undercurrent of bravado that Daphne often had was completely gone. She clearly had no more use for that kind of pretense. "This is much easier now."

She stalked forward, casually stepping over the prone bodies of Harry's companions before stopping beside Superman. She whispered something in his ear, and he turned back towards Harry.

"Petrificus Totalus!" said Harry before Superman's eyes could once more begin to glow, a sight that Harry had no plan to see again so soon.

Daphne waved a hand and the spell was dissipated even before it could take effect. She laughed, and rather than the carefully crafted, refined sound Harry had heard from her before, it was high and cruel.

"You, at least, are interesting," she said as she looked him up and down. "Perhaps I shall keep you alive. Once I have retrieved the treasure of Gyfnewid, then we shall see if you remain a foe worthy of me."

There was no way he was going to let them get away. He turned his wand towards the ground, but before it could so much as move an inch, Superman was upon him in a blur of impossible speed.

His hands closed around Harry's neck with a strength that could move continents. Harry felt his airways begin to constrict as steel fists slowly closed about his neck. Dark spots erupted across his vision as he was lifted into the air. He clawed at the hands. He may as well have tried to break diamond with a flobberworm.

Only, flobberworms could not cast spells. A silent banishing charm sent Superman flying away from him across the circle, cutting a deep furrow in the earth when he landed. Harry landed upon the grass, gasping for breath, but he knew he didn't have time to waste on trivialities like breathing.

Without so much as looking up, he cast a shield charm, which sprung into being just in time. Superman recovered from being thrown across the circle in less time than it had taken Harry to take a second breath, but he found his fist meeting an immovable magical barrier. Even behind his shield he felt the sheer power of it, the unstoppable force meeting the immovable object. Harry felt the vibrations of it through his feet.

Superman drew in a breath, and ice crystals started twinkling in the air about his mouth and nose. A torrent of cold washed over Harry's shield, encasing it, and him, in thick ice, but the shield did not fail. Harry could feel the cold clawing at him as his own laboured breaths sent clouds of condensation into the frigid air.

With a gesture, he shattered his shield outwards, blowing Superman back once more. That was followed immediately by another full-body bind, which caught him before he could gather his wits, and he collided with one of the stones of the circle with enough force to crack it in two.

There was no time to celebrate, as Daphne opted to step in then, apparently realising that Superman was not going to be able to take Harry down with as much ease as she'd expected.

Hissing rose up from the ground all around Harry's feet. Dozens of snakes moved through the long grass. Before they could lunge at him, Harry cast an imperturbable charm upon his trousers. They bit and snapped, but the trousers turned them all aside. Even that short moment had given Daphne enough time to free Superman from his petrification, and Harry looked up to see him standing slowly, as if he'd just suffered little more than a minor trip. He rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck.

Harry tried to raise his wand once more, but knew it would be too slow. The nigh-invisible flash of red and blue surged forward, but before it could reach him, another blur of movement intercepted it with an ear-splitting burst of sound. Wonder Woman was back on her feet. Her eye was rapidly swelling, and Harry was sure she'd have a shiner for the history books once the day was done, but her expression was implacable.

"Stop this, Kal!" she said as she held his fist back with both hands.

Superman did not react visibly, but slowly, inexorably, he was able to push her back. Suddenly, Wonder Woman pulled one of her hands away, and Superman's fist hit her hard enough over the cheek to shatter any normal person's skull to sand. She barely flinched.

She brought her free hand up and around, delivering a fierce blow to Superman's own head, before she spun up and over, still gripping his arm until she had it pulled up tight against his own back. "This is not you, Kal. Fight it!"

"Foolish girl," said Daphne. A spell Harry could not recognise left her outstretched hand, sickly yellow and stinking of decay. It flew towards Wonder Woman, but was deflected by Harry's hasty defence.

Then the sound that Harry had been waiting for met his ears. The staccato pop of multiple apparations.

"Aurors. Stop!" came the cry from many different throats.

Daphne froze. She looked around the assembled witches and wizards. Padma had been able to scrounge together a handful of aurors and hit-wizards, backed up by a few others who Harry recognised as members of the Law Enforcement Patrol. Daphne raised her hands slowly, palms open.

They shouldn't have relaxed, but they did. Wonder Woman saw Daphne surrendering, and her grip on Superman slackened, just ever so slightly.

A blinding flash issued from Daphne's open hands. A moment later, as everyone tried to look away, there was a crack and a grunt, followed at last by a distant boom. When the afterglow faded Superman and Daphne were both gone. Wonder Woman had been thrown into the same stone that Superman had cracked, reducing it to rubble.

Williamson, one of the newly arrived aurors was the first to speak: "How'd they apparate out?" He was one of the few that remained of the 'old guard' that had managed to survive the war with Voldemort either through cowardice, or a complete lack of morals. Harry's been itching for an excuse to get rid of the man for years, but he was just well enough connected that it had proven difficult in the extreme. "We got the charms up!"

"Did you get hit by a Slugear Jinx, Williamson?" said Padma, and Harry was grateful that she chose to save him the effort of bringing the man to task. There was a reason Williamson was usually assigned to the Hogsmeade patrol. "Or did you just ignore me when I told you we were dealing with Superman?"

Williamson scoffed, and Harry knew he'd have to have another of those conversations with the man once the night was through. "Just a muggle in a stupid costume," he said.

With the pain in his back returning with some vengeance, Harry decided to leave them to it. He left Padma to update Williamson on the exact kind of danger Superman posed to witches and wizards, and walked over to where Wonder Woman was pushing herself shakily upright. She was covered in scrapes and bruises, but looked remarkably non-dead for someone who'd taken multiple punches from Superman.

"You okay there?" he asked, extending a hand to assist her which she brushed aside.

"Who are you, really?" she asked without any kind of preamble. Her blue eyes, almost shockingly bright in the early-morning sun, flicked across the scene taking in everything, and everyone, in an instant.

"I'm Harry Potter, and I'm a member of the Department for Magical Law Enforcement of Britain." He decided to try again, and extended his hand a second time for her to shake. "Thanks for the assist there, I'm sure I would have ended up a smear on that hill over there if not for you."

Still, she didn't shake his hand. Instead, a card appeared from some unseen pouch, and she held it out for him to see. "Do you know Batman?"

The card glowed a moment, and Harry experienced a very strange kind of out-of-body experience where he was looking at himself from atop Wonder Woman's head. As his vision returned to normal, he blinked his eyes back into focus. "Uh, yeah. That's me. He helped me with something in Gotham a while back."

"Then perhaps you will have some idea of what has happened here?" she asked, finally taking his hand and shaking it. Her grip was as he remembered, extremely firm.

"Right now? Not really," Harry admitted. As he spoke he prodded at his bruised back experimentally. He was definitely going to need a salve. "That might change after we've gone over what Daphne was doing with a fine-tooth comb. For example, I assume you guessed there was something wrong with Superman?"

Wonder Woman sighed, and sat down heavily on the remains of the broken stone. "It didn't require much guesswork," she admitted sadly. "Not after he managed to freeze nearly the entire Justice League in some kind of spell."

That wasn't what he'd thought he was going to hear. Without the Justice League, trying to take down Superman, whatever it was that had happened to him to cause him to go crazy, would be very difficult. Especially if he had some plan of his own which certainly seemed likely given what he'd seen that morning.

"Zatanna too?" he asked immediately.

Wonder Woman looked up at him, and he could see his concern mirrored in her eyes. "Including Zatanna."

"Tell me what happened."

A/N: So, feedback on later parts of this story has prompted me to consider a bit of a re-write of the back half or so of the story. The good news is that the posting schedule here shouldn't be impacted. Hopefully I'll have plenty of time to make the necessary alterations, and no-one will be any the wiser.