Of Mind and Magic
Chapter 8
Laura launched herself forward. Blood splattered the metal walls as her claws cut bloody smiles across the soldier's necks. Automatic gunfire rang out, reverberating off the walls making it impossible to hear anything else.
The coppery smell of blood and gunpowder filled the confined space.
Laura jumped around, ricocheting off the walls, easily dodging the bullets. She hacked and slashed, more and more bodies falling to the floor. She desperately wanted to turn to check on her mother, but her training overrode that desire.
Finally the last enemy fell.
Panting she turned, smearing the blood that pooled on the linoleum floor.
Her mother stood where she left her, the bodies of the soldiers laid out before her like a sea of the dead. Bullets floated in the air, surrounded by a blue aura.
Hadrian stood behind her mother, his hand raised, his soldiers frozen, tendrils of blue aura snaking out from his free hand to connect to each soldiers forehead.
Fragmented knowledge flowed into Harry's mind through the connection a jumble of images and distorted voices along with faint echoes of training.
A frown slipped onto his face, there was no emotion in the soldiers. Whatever Ethan McClellan had given these people had turned them into mindless beast that only cared for blood, battle, and death.
With a gesture, dark blue light exploded from the soldier's eyes. They drop to the floor, their eye sockets nothing more than smoking craters.
Turning his attention to the bullets floating in midair they began to spin combining together to form a thin copper circle about the size of a softball. A small circle of lead about the size of a golf ball sat in the center of the copper disc.
The edge of the copper circle glowed as runes were formed into it.
Sarah's eyes widened as the blood covering the floor like a small lake began to flow into the runes turning them a dark red. She glanced at Hadrian, an aura of blue power dancing around him like fire.
'What in the world have I got myself and my daughter involved in,' she shook her head, 'that's not a fair thought. Your daughter was born to be an assassin.'
Within moments, the floor was spotless. The copper disc floated over to Sarah its runes now red. Red runic lines spread out from the edges of the disc, converging in the center of the lead circle.
With his work done, Hadrian allowed his shoulders to relax. Wiping the sweat from his brow he smiled at Sarah gesturing to the copper plate, "Take it."
Hesitantly Sarah reached out a hand, "what is it?"
"Since you're the most vulnerable of the three of us, this medallion will create a barrier around you. It will grow stronger with each person Laura kills, but you will need to move through the facility fast, it's not made of the best material, so it will burn up quickly."
A copper chain grew out of the medallion, causing it to shrink slightly. Now the size of a baseball, Sarah slipped the chain over her head, tucking the medallion into her blood splattered blouse, "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Harry said absently, his eyes distant as his mind scanned the facility for other threats. He was just about to withdraw his power back into himself when he picked up a psychic cry of pain that nearly drove him to his knees, his eyes screwed shut as he felt fire consuming his body.
"What's wrong?" Sarah asked seeing the grimace on his face.
Harry opened his eyes, the blue glow within them dimming slightly, "there's someone else here. They're in a lot of pain."
Sarah's brow furrowed in thought, "There was whispers of another subject, but they kept us separated in case one of us was captured we couldn't give away all the facility secrets."
Harry inclined his head, "I'm going to find them."
Sarah wanted to protest, to tell him that they needed to get out of here as soon as possible, but she couldn't he may have come here for other reasons, but he was helping her save her daughter. How could she begrudge him for wanting to save another?
"Fine, we'll continue this way," she pointed down the left hallway. "When you get done with what you're doing, meet us in the parking lot."
Nodding, Harry spun on his heel, following the psychic cry of pain.
–XX –
Harry blurred down the hallway, leaving echoing footsteps in his wake. His mind buzzed with what he'd seen while manipulating the bullets into protection for Sarah.
The book on rituals of creation as well as Arataz book of alchemy he had found in the house of secrets gave him a large amount of information on Transfiguration as well as runes, but like with any subject there was always more to learn. However while he was manipulating the bullets into something that could protect Sarah he saw a glimpse of something, somehow magic and psionics were connected.
He didn't know how, but he felt in his bones once he figured out the mystery, it would change the way he used and viewed his powers forever.
A clunk drew him out of his thoughts, looking down, his eyes widened at the sight of a grenade just barely a foot from him. Spinning on his heel, he pushed his Psionic magic forward, solidifying it into a barrier just as the grenade exploded.
–XX –
Laura ran down the hallway, her leathers covered in blood. Sweat sticking her hair to her face, her breath came out in gasps. She may have had a healing factor, but this was the most she'd done at one time.
Over a hundred soldiers had fallen to her claws along with many more scientists under her mother's direction. According to her mother, they had to take out the scientists to make sure the project ended here.
She glanced back at her mother. A blood red field clung to her like a second skin, stopping bullets and blows that would've caved in her skull.
Sarah locked eyes with her daughter, a gentle smile coming onto her face. Hopefully, this would be the last time her daughter had to do something like this. A black blur caught her attention, her eyes widened, "Laura look out!"
Laura spun on her heel, bringing around the claws on her left arm, the two metal prongs sliced through Kevlar and flesh like they were butter. The soldier didn't seem to notice, she thrust her fist forward.
Laura crossed her arms, the bones of her forearm breaking under the impact as she was sent flying backwards.
Back flipping in midair, she landed on her feet in a crouch, her forearms already knitting themselves back together.
She cocked her head to the side; this was the first opponent she had that actually seemed to fight with some semblance of control, her eyes flicked to the wound on the soldier stomach, watching it slowly pull itself back together.
A smile split her face, showing short but pronounced canines, this could be fun.
–XX –
Harry looked through his hastily created barrier, pale smoke drifted on the air. Black marks covered the floor in front of him from where the force of the blast had pushed him backwards.
The metal walls on the other side of his shield were dented, bits of shrapnel embedded in them. The casing of the florescent light hung down in the middle of the hallway, the florescent tube inside flickering.
Reaching out with his mind, Harry wrapped his power around the wire still feeding electricity to the bulb. Shadows moved in his periphery, causing him to add more power to his shield. It solidified, becoming a solid wall of energy that cut the hallway in half.
The bracket holding the florescent light fell to the floor, the tube shaped bulb within shattering on impact.
Holding the wire with his power, Harry began peeling back the covering, revealing the individual strands. Electricity arced between the wires, bright and blue in the semidarkness left by the missing light.
Something impacted the barrier at high speed, causing him to look up. Bullets were frozen in the barrier like a bug trapped in amber.
He shook his head, "A grenade didn't work. Did they really think bullets would?"
Focusing his will on the bullets, Harry removed the casing from around the lead projectile, pulling them through the barrier. Once on the other side of the barrier, they merged together, thinning and elongating until they became three thin wires of brass.
Slowly, he moved his bronze wires towards the power cable. Blue bolts arced between the metal as he used his powers to merge the two together. Almost instantly, the bronze wire began to glow with heat.
Knowing he had to hurry, Harry focused outside the barrier. Two shadows moved beyond the glowing wall of blue energy.
With the force of will, the cable shot forward, the brass ends stabbing into the soldiers Kevlar vest. His body locked up, shaking under the force of the electricity passing through him.
Lights down the length of the hallway began to flicker.
The second shadow moved forward, either ignoring or totally oblivious to his partner's distress.
With a flick of his hand, Harry sent the lead still trapped in his shield flying outward,
The first piece of lead cracked the faceplate of the helmet, the other three blasted through the material, turning the man's face into a bloody mess, but stopping at the back of the helmet, creating dents in the material.
Releasing a breath, Harry allowed the shield to fall. He looked at the two men before him, did they know what they were getting into when they join this facility? Was it worth their lives? He shook his head, in the end it didn't matter. If they were here, they were complicit in Laura's abuse.
He grimaced at the smell of cooked meat that wafted off the man he electrocuted. It may have been a little messier than bullets to the head, but elemental magic was something he was definitely going to look into for its offensive and defensive purposes.
He glanced at the man who was now leaking blood all over the floor from his head. Shaking his head, he took in both, "May you both find redemption in whatever comes next."
Stepping over the bodies, Harry continued on his way, quickening his pace once he sensed the presence in pain weakening.
–XX –
Laura blocked a backhand with her claws slicing off the woman's hand at her forearm. Blood spurted from the stump, coating Laura. Ignoring it, Laura brought her foot up, slamming her knee into the woman's stomach.
The woman staggered backwards.
Capitalizing on her being off balance, Laura drove her right arm forward, her two claws punching into the woman's eye sockets and directly into her brain.
She twitched for a minute then Laura retracted her claws, unintentionally pulling the woman's eyes with them.
The woman fell to the floor with a resounding thump.
Laura moved forward, only to pause at the sound of hurried footsteps.
Zander Rice rounded the corner, his chest heaving, sweat glistening on his skin, his brown eyes moving from side to side in a panic.
Zander's eyes locked onto her. With shaky hands, he pulled out a blocky pistol, aiming it at Laura, "Stay back you freak."
Ignoring him Laura continued to move forward, her claws slowly emerging from her knuckles. With a yell like an enraged animal, she leapt into the air. A shot went off as she landed, her clause stabbing into Zander's chest.
The bullet missed her and she continued stabbing into Zander's body, fresh blood covering her from head to toe.
After what seemed like an eternity, Laura stopped stabbing him. She stared down at the mutilated face of her tormentor, a familiar scent wafting into her nose. Her eyes widened as her vision began to bleed red.
Slowly she turned around, her gaze locking onto her mother, more specifically the green stain sizzling on her barrier. With a growl, she stalked forward, the sane part of her mind pulling against her inner beast that was now free.
In a last act of malice, Zander Rice had released the trigger scent, releasing the monster within. A monster that would kill anything covered in that scent.
–XX –
Stopping before a large metal door that took up the entire width of the hallway, Harry cocked his head to the side. "Well, they certainly don't want anyone getting in here."
He glanced down at the keypad. Mounted into the wall next to the door, "I definitely need to look in to manipulating the elements. Lightning could short-circuit the keypad. Fire if hot enough might be able to burn through the door," he shook his head, "either way none of that could help me right now."
With a flick of his hand, the facing of the keypad flew off, revealing the nest of wires hidden beneath. He eyed the colorful strands, curling amidst each other like vines in a forest.
Having absolutely no idea what to do now, he grabbed a fistful of the wires and pulled. Sparks shot from the hole as wire snapped. He tensed. In his mind there was one of two things that would happen now, number one the door would open, or number two a failsafe would activate wiping the evidence from the room.
He released a breath, tension draining from his shoulders as the door slowly began to open.
Recessed lights in the ceiling clicked on, showing him the large room beyond.
White egg shaped tanks with glass fronts line the walls, Laura at different ages floated within.
Numbly he walked into the room. What in the world was he supposed to do now, he couldn't save all of them, but he couldn't leave them here to be tortured like their big sister. He shook his head, he needed time, he would think on that after he found the one crying out in pain.
Moving through the rows of tanks, he came to a cleared away space that formed a circle. A single tank sat in the middle of the circle.
The thing with in didn't look human. Blackened skin clung to its skeletal frame. Bubbles floated around it from whatever liquid was inside the tank.
Another mental cry pulsed out from the figure. This close, it almost drove Harry to his knees.
"She's not even conscious," he murmured, "but she's still calling out to me." Part of him wondered how he knew the thing within was female, but on some level he could tell the thought patterns were different than his own, similar to Sarah's or even Laura's.
Walking forward, Harry laid his hand on the red quartz glass, wondering why this tank had different glass than the others. Stopping before the tank, he stared at the twisted form within. "I guess I'm adding healing magic to the things I need to learn."
Reaching out with his mind, he connected to the person inside, instantly finding himself somewhere else, never noticing the pale red eyes snap open from within the tank.
–XX –
He found himself standing in a large courtyard. A brick manor set in the center, sunlight reflecting off the windows lining its three stories. He slowly turned in a circle, cool air filled his lungs. It felt different than what he was used to, cleaner, each breath filling him with strength.
Catching something out of the corner of his eye, he turned his eyes widened at the sight before him. The coast stretched out in front of him, large 18th-century ships glided across the crystal clear water, their white sails stretched taut in the wind.
The sound of engines drew his gaze upwards.
World War II style planes flew through the air, their propellers nothing more than a blur.
"Sailing ships and planes that are almost a hundred years old, just where the heck am I?"
"Do you think we're ready John?" A female voice asked bringing Harry out of his reverie.
A teenage girl with auburn hair walks beside a boy that looks almost exactly like Harry. A red visor covering her eyes, a yellow and black leather jumpsuit clung to her body, accentuating her developing curves.
Harry's eyes stayed locked on the boy. "Dad," he whispered.
John Grey ran a hand through his red hair, his emerald eyes staring off into the distance but not seeing anything, "I don't know, Summer. With the sanctions Atlantis put on the world, it's really anyone's game."
Information flowed into Harry's mind, the woman before him was Summer Scott. She was part of her world's X-Men. Right now they were in the middle of a war with the French.
America had never been formed. Instead where America sat was a new colony for Britain. The British government hoped that the mutant's born in their new colony would be the deciding factor of this war.
Atlantis this world's strongest power placed sanctions on the surface world. It was illegal to develop any ship past the point of wood and sales. In exchange for following this rule, Atlantis would provide power for the surface world. Failure to do so would result in anyone breaking their mandates losing power.
Shaking his head, Harry focused back on the woman.
He could feel Summer's nerves. He could also understand them, training was one thing, but actually putting that training to use in battle was another. Anything could happen in battle, things moved so fast, you could only rely on your training, hoping it was enough to keep you alive.
Summer glanced at John, a yellow gloved hands sliding into his, "Whatever happens we'll be together right? We'll watch each other's backs?"
A smile curled John's lips, he squeezed her hand, "Of course, we're X-Men that's what we do."
Suddenly, John's smile vanished, his head snapped around, staring directly at Harry, "Summer get ready, something's coming!"
Harry spun around just as a violet tear formed in the air.
Wind blew out of it and pink electricity crackled around its edges. A Golden helm floated in its center, white eyes staring at the two teens.
"This is not my world," said a double layered voice, "but you two could prove useful in accomplishing my goals."
Golden tendrils of power snaked out of the tear flying towards the teens.
Blue energy flared around them, solidifying into a sphere.
A touch from the tendril shattered the barrier. Before either of the teens could move, a tendril snaked around them, yanking them towards the tear.
John lashed out with a telekinetic blast, his eyes glowing like to emerald suns.
The blast exploded on the helm, pushing it back slightly, but still the tendrils held tight, pulling them closer towards the portal. The white eyes focused on John, "It appears you're going to be a handful, but you're too powerful to discard."
A white aura blossomed around John, and he seemed to grow younger, "Maybe being a bit younger will make you more malleable."
"John," Summer called out, a red beam of energy flying from her visor, severing the tendril, causing John to fall into the sea of purple energy.
The void shook white tears appearing in it. John fell into a tear, while a rainbow of energy blasted from another, bathing Summer.
Summer screamed as her hair was burned away, and her skin began to blacken.
The golden helm turned towards the white tears, "It appears we no longer have to float in this void," he glanced at Summer, "It's a shame we lost your friend, but even in your condition you may prove useful."
The world began to fade, darkness closing in around her.
Staring at the mutilated form of Summer Scott, Harry released his hold on the memory.
–XX –
Harry opened his eyes, staring at the woman in the tank, "You knew my father," he whispered.
The woman within smiled, her lips cracking open, sending fresh blood running down her chin. She didn't seem to notice, "John lived that's good to know."
Shaking his head, Harry used his powers to suppress her pain, "I so badly want to ask you about my father, but first I need to know, who was the man who took you from your world?"
The woman released a sigh, "Thank you," she shook her head, "I don't know much, but I can tell you he called himself Strange Fate, Doctor Strange Fate."
"Now tell me…" a shot rang out a bullet piercing the crystal of the tank, Summer's body slumped forward, a hole visible in her forehead.
"No," Harry screamed, wisps of blue energy rising around him.
He spun
Kimura lowered her gun, the barrel still smoking, a mocking smile spread across her face, "Oh, I'm sorry did I interrupt something important."
Harry lifted into the air, the wisps of energy solidifying into a solid aura. This woman had taken away one of the few links he had to his father, someone who could tell him things about his father not even his aunt Jean would know.
"Kimura," he roared thrusting his hands outwards. An invisible force rippled out from his palms, causing everything within a hundred feet to buckle or explode.