Of Mind and Magic
Chapter 12
Harry leaned back into the soft seat of the Kinney family SUV. Keeping his hands clasped in his lap he closed his eyes pushing his mind out intending to watch their surroundings. However, the moment his mind touched the air moving outside the car, a three dimensional picture of the world filled his mind showing him everything that the air touched.
His eyes clenched shut, his mind struggling to cope with the new information flooding his brain. Sucking in through his nose, he smelled the floury scent of Megan Kinney's perfume along with the scent of stale blood that lingered on Laura.
Exhaling, he felt the wind fluctuate with the movement. Repeating the process a few more times, the images finally settled, allowing him to see anything the wind touched within a two mile range.
"Are you alright?"
Harry cracked one eye, finding Laura staring at him, her head cocked to the side.
"I'm fine, just keeping an eye on our surroundings."
Laura nodded, turning her head to stare back out the window.
Harry allowed his eyes to drift closed again, his focus turning back to the wind.
"So, you gave my aunt superpowers?"
This time Harry opened both eyes, finding Megan Kinney staring at him, light from the sun highlighting her blonde hair.
"Accidentally."
"Can you do the same for me?"
Harry glanced up at the ceiling in thought.
"You are not getting superpowers," Deborah said from the front seat, her green eyes locked on her daughter through the rearview mirror.
"Oh, come on mom were being chased by assassins, we need any edge we can get." She looked back at Harry, "Can you do it?"
Slowly, Harry brought his eyes back down to meet Megan's, marveling at how all the Kinney family had such beautiful eyes, "I could probably replicate the process, but there's no guarantee you would get the same powers as your aunt, because of slight genetic differences," he glanced up front, "but you have to get your mother to agree first."
Megan glanced up front, opening her mouth.
"No!"
It was getting dark by the time the SUV approached the Canadian border. Tension built in the family's shoulders, and Deborah nervously smooth down her black blouse.
As Deborah pulled up beside the guard, slowly lowering the window, Harry reached out with his mind.
The man opened his mouth to say something, but his eyes went blank, "Go on through and have a pleasant stay in America," he said in a monotone voice.
The Kinney's just sat there glancing at each other.
Harry leaned forward, his hands on the back of Deborah and Sarah seats, "You heard the man."
Muttering a thank you, Deborah rolled up the windows pushing the gas to drive them forward. Once they pass through the border, Sarah turned to glance at him, "What did you do?"
Harry raised his shoulders, "Just took over his mind for a few minutes, he won't ever remember seeing us, and a subliminal message will cause him to take care of the video during the time we were passing through the border."
Sarah nodded.
Deborah however looked at him with a hint of fear.
Harry offered her a small smile, "Don't worry I don't take control of people often."
An uncomfortable silence settled in the car.
'Maybe I should've kept my mouth shut.'
Eventually, Sarah broke the silence, "I think we need to find a place to stop for the night."
"Wouldn't it be better for us to keep driving?" Deborah asked her hands tightening on the wheel.
"If all of us could stay awake and completely alert the entire way to the Xavier Institute maybe. However, about the time we get tired, we will become vulnerable."
Harry closed his eyes, "I'm using the air to watch the world around us, but it would be better to disappear for a few hours, preferably somewhere with no cameras. That would also give me the chance to change the look of the car."
Deborah nodded, turning off the main road.
–XX –
The sun had set as they drove down a dilapidated Street. Street lamps flickered or were broken, leaving patches of darkness on sidewalks littered with trash. Buildings on the left side of the road were boarded up, graffiti covering their brick or concrete surfaces.
Harry pointed to a two-story white building in the distance, "Pullover there."
"That's not a hotel, and this isn't exactly the safest neighborhood."
"Trust me."
Deborah glanced at her sister, a silent question in her eyes.
Sarah nodded once.
Exhaling, Deborah turned into the parking lot, her grip tightening on the steering wheel. Putting the car in park, she turned to look at Harry, "Now what."
Harry noticed for the first time just how low-cut Deborah's blouse was. He shook his head, "The way I see it we have two options, we can either find a hotel in this part of town, or I can take you all back to my place. We stay there for the night, and reappear here in the morning to continue on our way."
"What about the car?"
"Don't worry I'll take care of that too. Now," he leaned back into the seat, "why don't you talk about it amongst your selves and I'll wait outside." Closing his eyes, he vanished in a flash of golden light appearing at the back of the car.
Deborah looked at her sister, "Can we trust him?"
Sarah released a breath through her nose. "He had more than enough chances to kill Laura and me. He allowed us to stay at his home and brought us directly to you through a magical portal. I don't really understand his motives, but he won't hurt us."
Laura opened her door.
The two women watched as she moved around the car to stand beside Harry.
Sarah's lips curled upwards in a smile, "Well it looks like Laura has made her choice."
Grabbing her bag, Megan opened her door, moving to stand on Harry's other side.
Deborah shook her head, "This makes us even for everything I did as a kid."
Sarah pushed away the images of her father beating her after she went to the police about the abuse her family was suffering. She stared into Deborah's eyes, seeing the little girl she once was huddled in the corner watching it happen.
If that's what it took to keep her sister alive, her only remaining family alive, then so be it, "Fair enough."
Together they got out of the car, standing shoulder to shoulder before the three teens.
Harry stepped forward, "Have you made your decision?"
With one final glance at her sister, Sarah spoke, "We will return with you to your home."
Harry inclined his head, "Good, we'll be safe there for the night." Moving to the car, he stretched out his senses through the air making sure there was no one around them. Placing a hand on the metal he combined transmutation and molecular manipulation to change the vehicle.
First it changed from silver to dark blue. Then it shone with a light blue energy, shrinking down to the size of a matchbox car.
Picking it up off the ground, he stuck it in his pocket. Turning around, he found the women staring at him.
"Cool," Megan breathed.
"You can turn it back right?" Deborah asked.
"Of course, I just thought you wouldn't want to leave it in this neighborhood."
Stepping past the girls, he thrust his hand forward. Reality shattered like glass, leaving behind a smooth circle hanging in midair.
Cautious but curious, Megan and Deborah moved forward peering through the hole. They found themselves staring into the foyer of a Victorian-style home.
While the Kinney's were marveling at his portal, Harry stared at his hand. The transformation with the car was the first time he'd ever used transmutation and molecular manipulation together. Something about it felt right, like coming home to an old friend.
He shook his head, "We need to get moving before we're spotted."
Hands clasped together, Deborah and Megan stepped through the portal stepping out onto hardwood floors covered in a maroon rug that trailed up the staircase before them.
Both turned at a hissing sound behind them, just in time to see Harry emerge through the closing portal, Laura and Sarah in front of him. Information blossomed in their minds, directions that hadn't been there a moment ago.
"You all know the way to your rooms, you also know the way to anything you may need including kitchen and bathroom, don't go exploring. You'll find doors you're not supposed to be in locked. With that I will see you in the morning." Stepping past them, Harry headed up the stairs, ready for his first good night sleep in five days.
–XX –
The next morning, Harry floated crossed legged above his disheveled bed, his hands forming a circle in his lap. A black leather tome floated in front of him, yellowed pages slowly turning, Manipulations of the soul by the Morrigan.
As the last page flipped over, and the information filled his mind, the two covers of the book joined together. Releasing a breath, he waved his hand, sending the tome back to his lab.
Interestingly enough, manipulations of the soul had some connections with manipulations of the elements; it revealed a deeper connection to nature, by revealing the ability to manipulate life force. The applications to healing enhanced his ability to manipulate biological matter.
Shaking his head, he looked around the room a frown creasing his features.
When he went to bed last night, he was sleeping in a four-poster bed with crimson and maroon sheets. This morning when he woke up, he found himself in a more modern king-size bed with white sheets underneath a light blue comforter.
A dresser set against the far wall directly in front of the bed. The Bureau that had been there the night before was gone, replaced by doors to a small closet.
With a curl of his fingers, the drawers of the dresser opened, close floated out of it. With another flick of his hand, sheets pulled taut, any evidence he slept in the bed disappearing.
The clothes, a light blue T-shirt, jeans, socks, a pair of grey tennis shoes, and a black leather jacket neatly folded themselves on the edge of the bed.
He glanced at the bathroom relieved to find its modern amenities hadn't disappeared. Uncrossing his legs, he winced slightly at the stiffness in his knees.
Floating higher in the air, he took a moment to stretch his body. Once he felt limber enough to move without the risk of falling, he lowered himself to the bed swinging his legs over the edge and rising to his feet.
Grabbing the clothes from the edge of the bed, he moved towards the door to the bathroom. He hoped the girls wouldn't be too freaked out when they discovered themselves in a different style room than the one they fell asleep in.
–XX –
Sarah Kinney moved down the hallway towards the stairs leading to the kitchen, her daughter by her side. She glanced around her, expecting the way to have changed from the night before, but the hallway looked the same. She went to bed and a normal queen-size bed and woken up in a queen-size four-poster bed with yellow and pink sheets.
She shuddered, the bed had changed around her and she hadn't even noticed. Her daughter glanced at her, a touch of concern in her blue eyes. "I'm fine darling, just an interesting night."
Laura nodded, shoving her hands into the pockets of her jeans.
Sarah looked her daughter over.
She wore a pair of jeans that stopped in the middle of her calf, a black T-shirt with three silver stylized claw marks on it, and a pair of black flat slip on shoes. Her dark hair was tied back in a bun to keep it out of the way. A smile tugged at her lips at how much the girl look like her with her hair like that.
She looked down at herself, a white blouse, strained against her larger breasts, it was surprising that she no longer needed a bra, but she chocked it up to the magic of her change. Black dress pants showed off a narrow waist, and matching high heels barely made a sound on the carpeted floor.
She reached her hand up, slender fingers brushing the bun at the back of her head, her smile widened; she and Laura probably look like twins right now.
Together they moved down the staircase, Laura slipping her way in front of her mother. Sarah smile dimmed, she guessed it would take time for Laura to relax. Not that relaxing was a good idea right now.
The sound of sizzling reached their ears. Holding up her hand Laura moved forward her claws slowly emerging from her knuckles. Peeking around the door frame of the kitchen, she relaxed gesturing to her mother with her left hand.
Sarah moved forward, still not used to the grace her new body provided her. Letting her hand glide across her daughter's hair, she turned into the kitchen.
Hadrian Grey stood before the stove, plates of bacon, potatoes, toast, and sausage spread out on the table behind him. He grabbed the handle of the cast-iron pan, flipping the eggs in the air, using his powers to cause three other pans to mimic his actions.
He glanced behind him, an icy blue eye locking onto the girls, "Breakfast will be ready shortly. Have a seat. There are drinks in the fridge if you're thirsty."
Laura moved forward, inhaling the scent of the food. After a moment, she nodded.
Sarah moved forward, her hands folded behind her back, she seriously doubted Hadrian would go to all this trouble of helping them just to poison them with food, but given the current situation, they couldn't take any chances, no matter how much she wanted her daughter to have a normal life.
Laura sat down placing sausage, bacon, and potatoes on her plate.
Sarah sat down just as Hadrian moved over with the eggs. The table enlarged itself slightly to hold the new additions. "Does this happen often around here?"
Harry turned from where he was getting condiments and drinks from the fridge, "What?"
"The tables enlarging. Beds changing while you sleep in them."
Harry inclined his head, "So that happen to you too huh. I haven't lived here long, the house bonded to my soul after my mother's death, but for many years I lived in a monastery training in the Marshall and mystic arts."
"Bonded to your soul," Sarah repeated slowly not quite believing the words she had just spoken.
"My mother was a magic user of the highest order. When she arrived here from between universes, she brought the house she bonded to her in her home universe with her." He glanced around them, "I have to say, it's been an invaluable resource. There are things I can get here that I can't get anywhere else."
"Your mother was from a different universe, she was an alien?"
"More like a dimensional traveler."
Sarah looked him over with a scientist eye. She would love to get a DNA sample to see how his genes differed from hers or Laura's.
Harry raised an eyebrow, "If you want some of my blood, all you have to do is ask, but I would expect some type of payment," he wiggled his eyebrows.
He'd already told her so much, but Sarah wanted to see if she could get more while he was feeling open, "You mentioned your mother, but what about your father."
Harry turned back to the fridge, his voice softer than before, "My father was a detective, he was also from another universe, but he died when I was young."
"I'm sorry."
Harry raised his shoulder and silence fell between them.
She would really love to get his DNA now, mutant genes from two different universes coming together, the potential would be limitless, she glanced at him, wondering what the full extent of his powers were.
"Water or soda?"
She snapped out of her thoughts, "What?"
"Water or soda?" Hadrian repeated.
"Water."
Harry nodded moving away from the fridge, water in one hand Coke in the other and another Coke floating in the air beside him. Sitting one Coke down in front of Laura, he sat the other one beside a plate between them before handing Sarah the water.
Sitting down he began dipping food onto his plate, "I understand my genetics are fascinating to you, but I would appreciate it if you would curb your scientific interest until we get you somewhere safe," he glanced at her, "remember those scientific interest are what got you in trouble in the first place."
Sarah opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off as Deborah and Megan entered the room, taking seats between her and Laura.
Harry turned his attention to the newcomers, "Good morning, how did you sleep?"
Megan spoke first, "Fine, but it was a little creepy to have my bed change styles in the middle of the night."
"Sorry about that, magic of the house, I have no idea why it does it."
"Is the magic of the house how you knew our clothing sizes?" Deborah asked.
"Well, to be honest I could've gotten your clothing sizes from your minds, but I didn't. The house must provide everything the occupants may need."
"Must provide? You live here and you don't know how your house works."
Harry returned to eating, once he'd swallowed another bite of egg he answered. "Like I was telling Sarah I inherited this house from my mother, I'm still learning its quirks."
The small group sat in silence eating breakfast after that statement. Once everyone was finished, Harry rose to his feet, banishing the remnants of food and floating the dirty dishes into the dishwasher. "Is everyone ready to go?"
Nodding, the Kinney women rose to their feet.
Thrusting his hand towards the kitchen doorway, reality once again shattered as Harry opened the circular portal to the parking lot they had arrived from. He held up a hand as Laura moved forward, "Hang on just a second."
Closing his eyes, he reached out with his mind, connecting with the air on the other side of the portal. Using his new what he was calling wind sense, he made sure there was no one nearby. "Alright, we're good no one's around, but move fast that could change."
Together, the group hurried through the portal.
–XX –
One hour later, Deborah Kinney pulled off the interstate, still marveling at how well her car operated after being shrunken down to the size of a child's toy.
According to Sarah, they were heading to a secluded plot of land just outside the city.
She glanced out the window, watching the people move by on the sidewalks. She wondered if she and her daughter would ever be able to do that again without having to look over their shoulder in fear of an attack.
She glanced at the rearview mirror, eyeing the man who changed their lives as he sat in between her niece and daughter. Could they really trust him, what were his motives? Why was he doing this for them?
Suddenly his eyes snapped open, glowing a light blue, "Brace yourselves." He slapped his hands together, a sphere of air appeared around the car and each of its occupants felt themselves being yanked upwards.
Moments later, an earthquake shook the city below, they watched from up in the air as buildings collapsed, sending grey clouds of smoke drifting upwards.
Sarah leaned forward, "What happened, a meteor?"
"No," Harry said his eyes once again closed as the wind showed him the world below. The car slowly began drifting downwards, as it touched the broken asphalt. The group got a look at the cause of the destruction.
A massive orange figure ten feet tall and four feet wide stood in the center of the square, ripping the remains of metal restraints off his tree-trunk sized arms.
Megan leaned forward, "There's an Orange Hulk?"
"Apparently."