Week Sixteen chapter of the week poll is up at the blog.
Chapter Five: Connection.
If anything at all amused and annoyed Harry Potter in equal spades, the unknown and mysteries resided in a permanent spot at the top of the list. Harry found uncovering the mysteries of life to be a challenge, even when he had been back home. This starfish had not been like anything he had ever seen before in his life.
"So, it's like nothing you've seen before?" Alex asked. Harry responded with a shake of his head. "Nothing at all."
Harry smiled, and gave her one of those looks. Alex shrugged her shoulders with a smile and Harry waited for the other shoe to drop.
"I think we've established this is like nothing we've ever ran into before back home," Harry said. "Granted, I'm not a magical creature expert, but I'm pretty sure nothing like that followed me through. When I sealed the portal, I made a brief scan of the surrounding area. There was nothing."
Alex stepped back, the look on Harry's face looked so strong, he would be among one of the universe's best(or maybe worst depending on your perspective) liars to pull something off. Harry leaned in and smiled at her.
"Could I have made a miscalculation when searching?" Harry asked. "It's very possible, I've been known to make mistakes. No one is perfect, and I don't claim to be."
"You don't think you made a mistake, have you?" Alex asked before she could help herself.
"Don't assume anything," Harry said. "I assumed me defeating one of the most dangerous dark lords might get me a little bit of leeway but….it didn't end well."
Alex wondered if Harry let a few bits and pieces of his past slip out. The little she managed to get from him regarding his former world made Alex glad for his sake there was no way possible for him to send back.
"There are some really good people there, and it makes it even more infuriating to see most of them have their hands tied," Harry said. "It's really frustrating, but what are you going to do about it."
Harry took a moment to look at the readings off of the Starfish. The DEO had not been able to separate the Starfish parasite from the man. Whatever it was doing to this particular man, it had to be have done so for a reason, even if Harry could not figure out the reason off of the top of his hiead.
"I have a theory," Harry said.
"Believe me, I'm all ears," Alex said.
"It's a parasite which latches onto something….and by the looks of things, I'm not sure the man he was latched to was completely in the driver's seat," Harry said. He paused and waited for Alex to nod to see if she followed what he said. "Therefore, the man might not be injured, it might be the starfish who suffered the injury."
"So, you think he's latched onto the man in an attempt to….I don't know….try and save himself," Alex said.
"Well, if parasites work the same way they do back in my world, they need energy to feed off of," Harry said. "Their nature is they suck of whatever they need. And I've run into some pretty nasty parasites, and no, I'm not referring to the ones who ran for public office."
This statement received a bit of a smile from Alex, and Harry had her into the palm of his hand.
"This Starfish parasite has to be have been drawn here for some reason," Harry said. "We don't know how many more are here."
"Can't you create a tracking beacon or something with your magic?" Alex asked. Harry responded with one of the longest looks of irritation Alex ever encountered in her life. "Why do I feel I gravely offended you somehow?"
"No, you didn't gravely offend me," Harry said. "It's actually not a bad idea….but learning the bio-metrics of a new creature and applying with it magic….can be…"
Harry struggled to find the right word. Alex moved over to pluck the words out of his mouth.
"It can be a bit of a crapshoot," Alex said.
"You're good in putting the right words into my mouth," Harry said. "And another things into my mouth."
Alex remembered the kiss from earlier and the fact they had some unfinished business. Business which unfortunately would have to wait until later. The doors swung open and the Director of the DEO stepped inside.
"We've done a sweep of the general area," Henshaw said. "We haven't found anything….no eggs, no nests, not even a pod."
"We're missing something," Harry said. "Is our latest guest safe?"
"You're certain you can't break the parasite away from him?" Henshaw asked.
"I'm running off of limited information," Harry said. "If I could run into one of these things out in the wild and raw before they attached themselves to someone, I might be able to find a way to break them away from our guest in question. As of right now, no, we're pretty much stuck."
Henshaw's face curled into a stoic look and he responded with a nod.
"I'm going to warn you right now, and….it's better you learn this now, and not when we're stuck in the middle of something even nastier," Harry said. Henshaw looked towards him. "Magic can do a lot of good things. It can do a lot of amazing things….and can make people's lives a lot easier."
Harry made sure both of them heard what he was going to say. Having plenty of time to think resulted in Harry coming to some interesting revelations."
"It can be good at pulling your ass out of the fire when it's really needed," Harry said. "And it can also cause more problems than necessary, make the fire your ass is in even greater. The point is, it can't solve all of the world's problems."
"Of course, and I'm sorry if I implied it did," Hank said.
Powers could never solve every single problem.
"It's all up here in the end," Harry said. "And….I wasn't accusing you of not knowing what magic could do. I just wanted to make sure we were all on the same page here….I'm sure you want to find a way to extract that guy from the parasite just as much as we do."
"The DEO will put their entire resources behind it," Hank said. "Right now, without knowing where he's been or….anything along those lines, we could be running around in circles."
Harry remembered the problems with running around in circles.
"So, do we have any leads we can check out?"
"Actually, I have an idea," Alex said.
"Well, if you have an idea, then the two of you can check it out," Hank said. "Call for backup if you see even one starfish."
The DEO director thought it was something he should remember. This particular breed of starfish sounded familiar, as if like a legend he had read back before he took on the bask. The Martian within could not determine what it was.
Harry and Alex made their way to the transport and headed off onto their next mission.
"So, do you think he has an idea what it is?" Harry asked.
"He has ideas," Alex said, shrugging in response. "I'm not certain how good they are."
Harry figured as much. Less than concrete ideas really did anyone any good.
The docks had been where this man had been picked up. Harry returned to the scene of the crime and stepped forward. He inhaled the air around.
"I'm not sure if you're going to smell anything other than dead fish," Alex said. She caught a whiff in the air and turned around. "Lots and lots of dead fish."
Harry stepped forward and walked onto the docks. No eggs, no pods, nothing, but Harry was not convinced there was no evidence. He looked towards the edge of the dock and noticed a hole.
"The DEO already skimmed this one but…whoa!"
Alex had been caught off guard when Harry waved his hand and several splashes of a purple liquid rose from the water. It had a different glow to it.
"How did you….actually I know how you did it," Alex said, stopping when she knew the answer she was going to get. "So, this is…"
"The scan of this fluid is similar to the starfish creature we have back at the DEO," Harry said. "I wouldn't touch it, Alex."
Alex withdrew her hand and Harry examined the purple fluid closely. The fluids bubbled when Harry took a moment to look them over. The frown grew even more prominent over his face when Harry observed what it did.
"Not anything of this Earth," Harry said. "It's giving off a low level energy….and it was feeding off of the small micro-orgamnisms in the water…..and it's transmitting…"
"Wait, what?" Alex asked.
Harry took Alex completely off guard. The sorcerer turned around and locked onto her eyes.
"There's more of these things," Harry said. "This one has been separated, and if I had to hazard a guess, it was trying to send a signal to the mother organism, only it isn't being picked up."
"More of them are on Earth, or is this the only one?" Alex asked.
Alex experienced a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. Harry took some of the fluids into a vial. The vial started to melt, until Harry reinforced it with magic.
"We'll find out when we take a look at it," Harry said.
Harry considered a couple of possibilities with what he might find out. It was obviously something not of this Earth or maybe even any Earth he ever encountered.
He gripped Alex by the arm, making sure to balance the sample in his hand. The two of them flashed away and landed in the midst of the DEO headquarters which caused some of the people there to jump up.
"Still not used to that," one of them muttered.
Harry smiled, taking his sudden teleportation, and the chaos it caused in stride. He held out a vial.
"I found something, a sample….some weird purple ooze for lack of a better term," Harry said. "It might be from the creature, or it might be from something else entirely…..I need to set it somewhere where a scan can be ran."
"Oh, there's…a lab which you can use."
Harry smiled and had been pointed in the right direction towards his lab. The vial slipped from his hands when sitting it down upon the table. He double checked to ensure the glass remained reinforce.
'If this escapes into the wild, not sure what would happen,' Harry thought. 'I'm going to make a guess though it won't be good.'
Harry walked in and set up a miniature station. He waved his hands and drew several rune stones, essentially creating the magical version of a state of the art lab.
"How long?" Alex asked. Harry raised his eyebrow at her. "How long until we know?"
Harry tapped a finger underneath his chin and thought hard.
"I'd say it's going to be about ten hours, give or take," Harry said. "No one touch it….but if it starts to act up for any reason, contact me at once."
The DEO scientists all nodded and wondered what they were dealing with. Harry and Alex stepped back and returned.
"So, ten hours?" Alex asked. She checked her watch. "Until something else comes on….all we have to do is wait….."
It was getting rather late, or early for her. Her shift technically was over about an hour ago, even though she was on call for an emergencies.
"I guess if we're not needed here, we better go back to my place," Alex said. Harry raised an eyebrow. "It would be a nice change of scenery, and you can't look me in the eye and say sticking around the office is healthy."
"You have a point," Harry said with a chuckle. "Just grab my hand and….."
Alex already fastened around Harry's hand and the two of them teleported away.
There was a tingling feeling in Alex's body every time they teleported somewhere. She could not explain it, but something about the entire process excited her in ways which were pretty difficult to explain and sort of difficult to understand, at least in the back of her mind.
'This is amazing,' Alex said with a bright smile over her face the moment they returned home, well her home, and her sister's, but it could be Harry's too if he really, really wanted it to.
Harry did not have the heart to tell Alex he picked up on pretty much all of her thoughts. Not on purpose, not with any malicious intents, but his kind really could pick up on the thoughts of women when they were excited and emotional. It helped in certain degrees, degrees which Harry had unfortunately not have had a chance to test out to be honest.
'Soon enough, if she's inviting me home,' Harry thought. 'She must want to finish what she started earlier.'
And considering they had about ten hours to kill, give or take, Harry was not really opposed to this particular action. A smile popped up over his face when the two of them arrived back.
Alex had been surprised when Harry dropped them outside of her apartment and not directly inside.
"It's really rude to enter someone's home without announcing yourself," Harry said. "Even if it was invited…..you're not the only one who lives here, are you?"
"Well, there is my sister," Alex admitted. "But she's normally at the office around this…."
Alex's words had been cut off by some frantic shuffling around inside. She didn't need super hearing to hear the screams of anguish coming from inside.
"I'm late, I'm late….how can I be late….the alarm clock, I swear, it never works half of the time when you really want it to work….."
The door popped open, and the person in question almost tripped when falling out of the door. She would have stopped herself from hitting the ground on her own, only there was no need for her to do so. A pair of strong hands shot up, caught her, and propped her up.
"Wow, you must be late if you're not watching where you're going," Alex said. "What happened?"
"The alarm clock happened….." she said, realizing who caught her.
For the second time, Kara ran afoul of this particularly enchanting set of green eyes. They dazzled her in the worst way possible and caused a breath to escape her body. Only one word passed through Kara's lips and through her mind when looking at him.
'Whoa,' Kara thought to herself, before shaking her head in an attempt to calm herself down. 'Okay, stay calm and…'
"You must be, Kara," Harry said.
"Right, I'm….yeah I am, and I'm….who are you?" Kara asked.
He knew Supergirl, but he didn't know Kara, at least not yet. And she really wanted to know him, a deep biological impulse threatened to rise up and take control of her.
"I'm Harry, I'm a co-worker of Alex's….we're actually coming here to work on something," Harry said.
Kara blinked and her mind went into a very insane place.
"Well, I'll let you….I really need to be going," Kara said. "It was nice meeting you…..Harry…but I need to be going…"
Kara checked her watch and realized she really needed to be doing. She realized Harry still had his arms holding her up.
"Sure you can stand?" Harry asked.
"I'm fine, I'm good, I'm really, really, good," Kara said, taking a deep breath and letting it all out. "I'll just get out of your way…"
Kara slipped away from Harry and could feel a cold shiver going down her spine when detaching from him. She chalked it up to what Cat was going to say if she was late, on this morning, of all mornings.
'It's a really good thing no one else can put up with her for long,' a naughty little voice thought in the back of Kara's head.
Harry responded with a chuckle and turned towards Alex.
"She has it a lot better together when she's Supergirl, doesn't she?" Harry asked.
Alex was glad she wasn't drinking something, because if she had been, she would have spit it out all over the wall.
"Yes, I know," Harry said. "I'm sure anyone can piece it together and I have a pretty keen eye for detail. There's a fair amount about her body language which is similar as both Kara and Supergirl, and to be fair, she's made some big changes as well."
"Right," Alex said. "So you figured it out….you figured out…"
"Yeah, I'm not going to yell from the top of skyscrapers Kara Danvers is Supergirl," Harry said with a smile. "Although, you do realize she's about as interested in me as you are, if more so."
Alex smiled when turning around. Blessed with keen observation skills, Alex figured out her sister's interest in the handsome Mr. Potter rather quickly. She slipped the key into the lock and twisted it, turning it around.
"Well, she is very interested in you, it seems," Alex said.
"Well, how do you feel about this?" Harry asked. "How do you feel about her?"
"Well, she's Kara, she's my sister….what are you trying to imply anyway?" Alex asked.
"Oh, nothing," Harry said.
Alex frowned, hands on her hips when the door opened. Harry was not fazed by her glare, which actually made her look soften and smile. A man who do not back down despite the threat of a female excited her on some level deep down, and what excited her more was he was the type of man who would take charge when it counted the most.
'It would be really amazing,' Alex thought to herself, a bright smile crossing over her face, heart beating a little bit faster when she considered what could happen next.
"Are you sure it's nothing?" Alex asked. She leaned closer towards Harry with a smile on her face.
"I'll let you come to the conclusion yourself," Harry said. "As for your sister though….."
"Under normal circumstances, I would have been appalled with the prospect of sharing a man with another woman, or….potentially women," Alex said. "But….there's also an….appeal to it."
Alex struggled to find the right words. She made a decision of what to do. Time to stake her claim first, before anyone else did. Given the fact Kara hovered around Harry's orbit, it would not be wise for Alex's chance to slip away.
'She who hesitates loses,' Alex thought.
"Why don't you relax and make yourself at home?" Alex asked. "Actually, it's been a long day….my bedroom is right around the corner, why don't you lie down, and make yourself comfortable."
Harry smiled at her not so subtle attempt to get him into bed. Given the fact this would result in something.
Alex could not believe she used a cheap tactic men used on her to get her inside their beds. It really worked.
"Just get nice and comfy," Alex said. "And I'll slip out of my work clothes and be with you in a minute."
She reached over and scooped something out of the dresser, making her way into the next room.
Harry reclined on the bed and trued to Alex's promise, it was pretty soft. He had been a bit miffed their actions had been broken up. This time, Harry hoped there would be no interference.
'Knowing my luck.'
Harry smiled when moments later, Alex made her way out of the bathroom wearing a silky black robe. The robe hung open a little bit to reveal a sheer black top which showed how excited the DEO agent became for this. Her toned stomach made Harry's eyes draw straight to her navel and move down to her legs where she wore a lacy pair of black panties. Harry drew his eyes over her legs, which had been covered in stockings and they looked amazing.
"Comfortable?" Alex asked, throwing herself down onto Harry's lap.
The allure he gave off erased all of her inhibitions. Nothing she wouldn't want to do, although she would not dare do it. Alex smirked at Harry, hands running down his chest and working over the buttons of his shirt.
"I think I can find a way to relax you even more," Alex said, popping her lips. "What do you say lover….."
Harry wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled Alex into a sensual kiss. The gorgeous brunette's tongue found its way into Harry's mouth. She grabbed Harry's neck and kissed the side of his mouth, before marking up his neck.
Alex made quick work of Harry's shirt and enjoyed feeling of the sculpture of his abs. Her hands worked down his body and the two of them continued to make out.
The hot and moist lips pushed over Harry's mouth, and her tongue started to delve even further into his mouth.
"Mmm, Alex," Harry said, the moment her mouth removed from his.
Alex worshipped the body of her god with a series of kisses. She continued her tour down his body and smiled.
"I think you're not as comfortable as you could be," Alex said, giving Harry's trouser bulge a small squeeze. "Why don't we let him out to play?"
"I'm sure you'd love to play with it," Harry said.
Alex unbuckled Harry's pants and pulled them down beneath his ankles. She grabbed the fabric revealing his throbbing hard cock. Alex's drool almost hit it.
'This is going to be fun.'
Kara Danvers sat across town, mouth wide open, along with her ears. She slipped her glasses down, after having looked across town. She wiped the drool off of her chin and managed to pull herself away from herself long enough to return to work.
To Be Continued.