Of Mind and Magic
Chapter 18
Harry and Laura touchdown in the middle of the forest, leaves crunching underneath their feet. Laura sniffed, her gaze sweeping over American Plum trees, Balsam Firs with red squirrels scuttling up the trunks. The creature's dark eyes locked on Laura, instantly recognizing her as the newest predator in the forest.
Harry moved forward, the crisp Canadian air burning in his chest, "I have to say," he took in the trees around them. They stretched high into the air, blocking out the clear blue sky, "it is beautiful here."
Laura moved on the balls of her feet with a predator's grace. "I don't know for sure if it was caused by Mount Joy, but there's a stench of blood wafting in the air from this direction," she pointed straight ahead.
Harry inclined his head, "Good, that means it worked. I tried to position the portal so all we had to do was walk in a straight line."
They began moving forward, Harry manipulating the air to cover their scents and muffle their approach, "So," Laura began after a few minutes, "tell me more about this new nation you're thinking of creating."
Harry ran a hand through his hair, his eyes lingering on a dark furred Martin slinking through the underbrush, "The more I think about it, the more I think I'm going to need the help of Magneto."
"Why?"
"I'm virtually unknown. The mutant community will not trust me. However, they do know despite all his faults, Magneto will try to do what is best for mutant kind."
His hand curled into a fist anger creeping into his voice, "if that's not enough, the other nations of the world will try to kill me the moment I begin bringing mutants together," he glanced at Laura, "the world may hate us, but mutants are nation's newest weapons."
The duo paused as a rabbit exploded from the underbrush, a Martin hot on its heels. The two watch the rabbit disappear into the underbrush, the Martin moments behind it, "So what is your solution?"
"Magic."
Laura raised an eyebrow.
"In my mother's universe, there was an island of warrior Amazons hidden by the power of the Greek gods," he stared into the distance, "I am no god, but I should have enough juice to hide an island if I make the right preparations."
"So your suggestion is we hide?"
"Only until our nation is strong enough to defend itself, I think it would be best if the inhabitants of the island were self-reliant."
"A lot of people aren't gonna like hiding."
"It's either hide or get destroyed before this safe haven gets off the ground."
The trees began to thin. Within a few more minutes they found themselves standing before the base of the mountain, and arched tunnel carved into it, pale grey smoke in the stench of blood wafting out of the hole.
Metal doors rested on either side of the arch, their forms mangled as if an inward force pulled them from their homes.
Laura's claws emerged from her hands with the sound of metal scraping on bone, "Well, I think we found the AIM base."
Harry glanced at Laura, taking in her leather pants and tank top style leather vest. Luminescent blue energy filled his eyes, "You ready to do this?"
At Laura stiff nod, they moved forward.
–XX –
The two moved down the smooth tunnel. Lights mounted on the wall near the top of the arch flickered, each burst of light highlighting the blood splattered on the gray stone. Abruptly, the tunnel ended, dumping them out into a large cavern.
Bodies dressed in yellow hazmat suits with cylindrical helmets lay strewn on the floor. Some had blood caking massive holes in their chest, while wisps of pale smoke rose from inside the helmets of others, stopped by the glass faceplate.
Laura looked around, her gaze sweeping over desks sitting in neat rows. Papers lay strewn around them, bathed in the pale light of the monitors. "It doesn't look like Mount joy is taking any prisoners, but it doesn't look like he's looking for anything either, so what is he doing here?"
Harry stretched out his senses, finding nothing but the lingering echoes of these poor people's last moments, "He must be looking for whatever orange Hulk stole from Shield. The question is how did he get the information, as far as I know orange Hulk was captured again shortly after his escape. If you can call it an escape since he surrendered to shield in the first place."
They entered another chamber. Tables lined the massive chamber in neat rows each one equally spaced so workers had enough space to work. Technology lay partially disassembled on each table. Piles of ash littered the floor, and scorch marks decorated the wall near the entrance.
Laura knelt next to a pile of ash while Harry wandered over to a table, picking up a green and yellow chest plate with a lantern symbol in its front.
Laura allowed the ash to fall through her fingers; she looked up at Harry as he rotated the chest plate in his hand, "This is human."
"I figured."
"Any idea what caused it?"
"Since there's not a lot of damage to the technology, besides the scorch mark where each pile of ash is. I would say Mount Joy either transmuted them, or ate them."
Laura rose to her feet slapping her hands together. "Neither one sounds pleasant, but why would he eat these people, I doubt all of them had mutant abilities."
"More than likely he was collecting their life energy, or he could have been after the knowledge in their minds."
Turning back to the chest plate, Harry mentally reached out to the technology within. The blue glow in his eyes intensified as new knowledge flowed into his mind.
The chest plate Belong to Harold Stark also known as the iron lantern. Harold stark was a millionaire and founder of stark aircraft. One day while working on a flight simulator, the craft took off with him inside. While in transit he discovered the flight simulator was being drawn to an alien spacecraft. The simulator crashed yards away, injuring Harold. Curious to the end, he entered the spacecraft finding a dying alien.
Before Stark could do anything, the alien died with a serene smile on its face that it didn't have to die alone. Realizing he was dying as well, Harold cannibalized the ships advanced technology to create a suit.
While working, he discovered information about the emotional spectrum which could empower its users with unique abilities depending on the emotion which empowers them. The alien spacecraft was piloted by a disciple of will. This resonated with Starks own determination.
Combining the power of will with the suit, Stark took on the name of iron lantern, set about doing good in the world with his second chance at life.
At the end of the information, a memory recorded by the suit flashed at the forefront of Harry's mind. A dark haired man with a pencil mustache screamed as he was vaporized inside his suit, only the power of will allowing this chest plate to survive the white wave of destruction that wiped him out of existence.
Absently Harry sent the chest plate to the house of secrets with a thought.
"Have anything?"
"I think," he began slowly, "that chest plate came from a universe with characteristics of this one and the one my mother came from. The chest plate with the design of Tony Stark's, but it had abilities similar to people from my mother's universe."
Harry reached out with his mind, grabbing other pieces that resonated with the same frequency as the armor. Copper, iron, steel, silver, and gold android pieces floated through the air each one giving him snippets of information before vanishing.
"What have you found?"
"I don't know, but some kind of catastrophe happened in this amalgam world. Almost all of the inhabitants were wiped out by a wave of light emanating from space itself."
Laura wrapped her arm around his, pulling him forward, "Come on we need to keep moving, we don't know if this place is safe enough for you to space out."
"Right," Harry said absently as Laura pulled him towards another tunnel.
They entered another cavern. Two large scaffolds took up the walls on either side of the cavern. Glowing spheres were connected to the scaffolding each sphere released a beam of energy that seem to either open or hold open a tear in space.
Laura released Harry, staring wide-eyed at the jagged white hole in the world.
Harry straightened letting his senses scanned the room, "I guess we know where they've been getting the amalgam technology from." A presence brushed against Harry's mind, sending him forward without conscious thought.
He stopped before a table, cobbled together technology sat beneath the table, wires spilling out to brush the stone floor. Keyboard sat before monitors with a multitude of constantly moving ones and zeros scrolling across the screens.
On a small circular pedestal before the tables sat a copper rectangle with silver circuitry running through it. The bottom of the rectangle had been removed to show the crystal insides. A glowing gold diamond lay partially exposed.
Wires ran from the open section to the cobbled together technology sitting beneath the tables.
"What is it?" Laura asked stopping beside him.
Harry opened his mouth to answer but was cut off by a feminine voice echoing from the rectangle, "I can answer that."
Both looked down surprise coloring their faces.
"Um," Harry started, "who or what are you?"
"I am a mother box of New Asgard from the Amalgam universe."
"New Asgard," Harry asked just as Laura said, "Amalgam universe."
A light chuckle echoed up from the copper device, "The amalgam universe was created when two universal deities who had forgotten about each other remembered that the other existed. They then pitted the universes they had created against the other. In an effort to bring peace, a being known as access joined the universes together, giving rise to the amalgam universe."
"Everything was well until the multi-verse was destroyed, the wave that wiped out the multi-verse, destroyed most of the inhabitants of the amalgam universe, except for its most powerful protector Doctor Strange Fate."
The jewel in the center of the copper rectangle dimmed, "Wait!" Harry exclaimed, "What can you tell us about Doctor Strange Fate?"
"I can tell you much, but I am running out of time. The scientists of this place have damaged me in an effort to keep this tear open so they could pilfer the technology of my world."
"Is there anything we can do to help?" Harry asked desperate not to lose an insight into their enemy.
"There is one thing you can do, but," whatever was living inside the device seem to hesitate, "I doubt you would be willing."
Harry and Laura shared a look; finally Harry cleared his throat, "What do you need us to do?"
A blue light scanned them both, before the box seemed to focus its attention on Harry, "Your DNA is similar to that of those of the amalgam universe. If you merge with me, you will gain the information I have on Doctor strange fate as well as other things about the amalgam universe, I will become a part of you. Though my consciousness will be lost in the complexity of the human mind a small piece of new Asgard will live."
Harry turned towards Laura, "What do you think?"
Laura looked at him in surprise, "You're asking me?"
"You are my partner on this quest, aren't you?"
Laura's lips twisted into a smile, "Yes."
"So?"
"I don't really like the idea of some unknown computer merging with you."
"That part does make me nervous, but the information on strange fate is almost too good to pass up. That's not counting the information on technology I could get which could help me with my plans to create a mutant country."
"Sounds like you've already made up your mind."
"We need information on Strange Fate, even if it's old information."
Laura nodded, and Harry stretched forth his hand, laying it across the box. Bright light filled the room and Harry felt the box disappear beneath his palm at the same time as needles stabbed into it. For a moment he shuddered, feeling something crawl through his body. When it reached his mind, he froze, his eyes glowing with a gold light.
–XX –
Harry materialized above a familiar mountain landscape. Snow blanketed the Tibetan landscape. Wind crawled through the rocky expanse, creating a fog of swirling snowflakes.
A man phased into view beside Harry, white robes were draped across his stocky frame. A pale staff was clutched in his right hand. Long white hair touched his shoulders and covered a blocky chin. A wrapping of bandages shielded his right eye from view.
"Who are you?"
"I am the Mother Box you are in the process of merging with. I have taken the form of the New Asgardian king High Father Odin, the previous owner of this unit."
Harry turned back to the snow-covered landscape, "Why are we here?"
"We are here," the Mother Box began.
It kind of creeped Harry out that the mother box had a feminine voice when they first met. However, it now had a male voice that resonated power and authority.
"So that I may complete my part of the bargain and tell you about Doctor Strange Fate," the otherworldly computer continued unaware of Harry's thoughts.
It turned towards the mountain.
Following its gaze, Harry watched a bald man in a thick green jacket stumble through the snow. He fell to his knees, his thick pants soaking up water as he sunk into the sea of white. His body finally gave out, curling in on itself to stay warm, even though it was an image, Harry felt the power of a telepathic call reverberate out of his mind in a last-ditch effort to survive.
"This man is Charles Xavier, a Meta Mutant, who will eventually rise to become Doctor Strange Fate."
An arched portal appeared a few feet away from Charles, an aged man in white robes with gold trim emerged from the portal, leisurely walking across the snow untouched by the bitter cold.
With a gesture of his wrinkled tan hand, Xavier's body lifted into the air surrounded by a golden light. He turned back to the portal, his long white beard and pencil thin grey mustache never touched by the winds howling around him.
"That is Nabu the ancient one, Lord of order, the man who will train Charles to become the powerhouse he is today."
Time passed and Harry watched Nabu train Charles. Over time, the bald telepath combined his Psionic abilities in a familiar way. As the images slowed down, he watched Charles don a skintight blue suit.
Over time more equipment was added, a red cape held shut by a gold circular medallion, and finally a familiar golden helm. Time sped forward again, and Harry watched the mutants of this world face the same persecution as the mutants of his world.
Doctor strange fate protected the world from extra dimensional demons, dark new Asgardians in their attempts at invasion, but he was unprepared when on a bright peaceful day, a white wave of destruction shook his universe.
Jagged tears appeared in the sky releasing energy that vaporized citizens. Heroes try to fight only to fade into nothing when they drew close to the tear. Buildings crumbled and before long, only Strange Fate was left standing in the ashes of his world.
With a scream of pain and anger that parted the lingering dust of his world and shook the few remaining buildings left standing, Doctor strange fate began pulling energy into his body.
The scene paused, and High Father Odin began speaking again, "After the death of his world, Doctor strange fate boosted his own power by absorbing every drop of magic left in his universe."
The world beneath Doctor strange fate crumbled to ash, leaving him floating in a void of darkness. "After that was done incensed by his failure to protect his world, he began traveling trying to discover what happened to destroy his universe."
The Mother Box turned its single blue eye on Harry, "Here I don't know what happens, I just know that portals began to open in reality and I was pulled along with other technology from my universe into this one. At a point in time after its destruction but before Doctor strange fate absorbed the magic."
"You're a living computer, can you hazard a guess? I mean you have more information on Doctor Strange Fate than anyone else."
"Doctor strange fate never had kids, avoided romantic entanglement with his apprentice the white which, all to better guard my universe. With his failure, I would suspect he is going to try to re-create it."
"Can he do that?"
"Quite easily if he has a base material to work with, and the multi-verse is full of that."
"So what is he waiting on?"
"I don't know, but I would suspect he has something bigger planned."
The world around Harry began to flicker.
The Mother Box's gaze flicked around, "It appears that my mind is almost fully merged with yours. When that happens you will have all my knowledge, or at least what is left of it"
"Wait you mentioned merging with my body. What kind of effect is that going to have on me?"
High Father Odin smiled, "Live well Hadrian Grey, you now carry the legacy of the new Asgardians within you." High father Odin faded away, and the world turned black.
–XX –
Harry opened his eyes, blinking at the information that was now swimming around his brain.
Laura stepped back, her body tense, "Harry, are you alright?"
Harry shook his head, noticing that without the mother box to power it the tear in space and time that led to the amalgam universe had disappeared, "I think so"
"What happened to you?" Laura asked her body still tense.
"The Mother Box, which used to belong to the new Asgardian king high father Odin, showed me the history of Strange Fate. He was also able to give me some insights into the mind and a possible motive of what Strange Fate is after."
"New Asgardians?"
"A combination of gods from another universe, and our current universe, or at least a previous incarnation," Harry answered without conscious thought. He blinked, surprised at how easy the information came to him. He looked down at himself, finding his veins now had a glow to them.
What had that mother box done to him?
Laura relaxed slightly, "So what happens now?"
"Now we do what we came for," Harry turned towards the only door left in the room, a square of thick metal with iron rods crossing in front of it, "take down Mount Joy, and strip him of what he knows of Strange Fate."
Together, they moved forward. Harry raised his hand, the rods in front of the door slid into recesses on either side of it. Compressed air washed out of the seams as seals were released and the door slowly slid upwards.
Harry stopped at the mouth of the tunnel, one hand outstretched. "There must be something different about the room beyond this tunnel, there are more safety measures in this one, some of them still active," he cocked his head to the side, "which makes me wonder how Mount Joy got through here unmolested."
Laura sniffed the air, "Can you turn them off?"
"Yes, it's just peculiar."
They entered the tunnel. Glass strips lining the tunnel at head height released red beams that scan their bodies.
Laura tensed her instincts instantly preparing her for a fight.
"It's fine, I have added us to the approved list of people allowed in this section."
"What would happen if we weren't on the approved list?"
Harry pointed upward.
Following his finger, Laura saw holes covered by shower head plates mounted into the ceiling.
"The tunnel would seal itself from both ends, and release acid upon anyone inside it."
Laura winced. She would heal from something like that, but it wouldn't be a pleasant experience.
Exiting the tunnel, they found that they were in another large chamber.
A pit set in the center of the floor filled with thick white energy. A cylinder hung above the pit, the grooves cut into its surface filled with the same thick energy as the pit. A computer terminal set against the far wall, cables climbed up the wall slithering across the ceiling to the cylinder.
"What is going on here?"
"According to the systems I've been able to tap into. While dissecting technology from the amalgam universe, they discovered how to liquefy energy from a universe called the beyond."
Harry glanced at the angular silver circuits carved into the floor of the room around the pool in a ring. The circuit ring started small very close to the pit then spread outwards like an opening flower until it reached the edges of the room.
"Why would they want to liquefy energy from the beyond universe?"
"They theorized that if someone was to bathe in the energy it would cause a mutation that would give the bather incredible power. They also thought in its liquid state it may be easier to mold into weapons, armor, or even technology."
"Unfortunately," Harry's gaze locked on the man kneeling over the pool, his red eyes locked on the energy, his caramel colored hair hanging down as he leaned to stare into it, "Mount joy arrived here before they could put any of their theories to the test."
Harry twisted his right hand palm out.
Lightning shot out from his palm dancing through the air towards Mount Joy.
Mount Joy looked up a familiar sphere of translucent green energy closing around him.
The lightning slammed into the sphere, pushing Mount Joy away from the pool.
Ignoring the people in front of him, Mount joy turned to the shadows, "Get the boss his prize!"
A familiar woman in leather emerged from the shadows, her dark hair running down her back, a face mask covering the lower half of her face, her blue eyes locked on Laura. After a moment, she pulled out a golden tear on a chain. The tear flared with yellow power wrapping around her and whisking her away within a moment.
Mount Joy stood within his sphere, he cocked his head to the side, "You're too late to stop what happened here, but," he stared intently at Harry, "I think you are here for another reason."
Harry turned to Laura, "You mind if I take care of this?"
Laura shrugged, stepping back, "If you start losing, I get to put a claw," she raised her hand, her metal claws exposed, "through his skull. I didn't come here just to watch on the sidelines."
"Agreed."
Harry turned back to Mount Joy, "My name is Hadrian Grey, and you killed my father." He sprinted forward, mystical Psionic power flooding his body, turning him into nothing more than a blur.
Mount joy raised a hand from within his barrier. Orbs of fire coalesced in the air like suns orbiting the planet. With a gesture, they shot forward.
Harry weaved around the attack, reaching out with his mind to push a few away. Closing the distance between him and his target he raised his right arm. The appendage shifted, becoming made of translucent blue magical Psionic energy.
He twisted his body as he drew within arm's length of the orb, dodging spikes Mount Joy willed to grow out of it. Grabbing one of the spikes for balance, Harry drove his right arm forward. It sank through the sphere causing it to explode as the energy was pulled into his arm.
Mount joy landed a few feet away with a grunt, sliding across the circuits etched into the floor. He pushed himself to his feet smoothing down the wrinkles in his torn blazer jacket.
Mount Joy thrust his left hand forward, Earth buckled upwards in a wave, breaking the circuits on the floor and causing the energy in the pit to quiver.
Putting his fingers together, Harry thrust his arm out like a spear, splitting the wave in half.
Mount Joy stared at him, a hint of fear in his eyes. The red eyed murderer blurred forward at inhuman speed claws emerging from his hands.
Harry jumped back from a swipe, wincing as a dark nail managed to slice a shallow cut on his wrist. The cut burned, almost instantly becoming inflamed.
Harry lashed out a translucent great sword appearing in his left hand. The blade cleaved through Mount joy is left wrist, sending his hand arcing through the air in a spray of blood.
Mount joy screamed clutching his wrist, even as bloody fingers began to emerge from the stump, but it was what Harry heard from Mount Joy's mind that really caught his interest.
Echoes of everyone Mount joy had absorbed screamed within his mind locked behind the man's own impenetrable will.
A wind tugged at his back. He turned to find the energy from the pit had transformed into a whirlpool, the remaining circuits still trying to exert their will, only to twist the energy in one direction. Despite the circuits the whirlpool was growing larger pulling everything nearby into it.
Items that went inside broke into colorful particles before swirling deeper into the energy like water down a drain.
Knowing he didn't have much time, Harry reached out with his mind. It was almost too easy to release the echoes within and give them just a bit of his power to rejoin the material world one last time.
Hundreds of translucent people appeared in the room, all of them crowding around Mount Joy.
Harry could make out his father standing in the front row of people. He stared down at Mount Joy, anger at the life lost burning in his spectral eyes, "Let's see how you like being the victim."
While the spirits got their vengeance, Harry dived into Mount Joy's mind, digging for any information he could find on Doctor Strange Fate.
Unfortunately, it seemed that Mount Joy never met with strange fate, only a middleman.
Images of Mount joy standing outside a café filled his mind, a man in a dark green raincoat approached, giving Mount joy orders to collect the plans from Orange Hulk.
The scene changed to show Mount Joy hovering in the air beside a falling orange Hulk as he emerged from the shield headquarters.
From within a sphere of air conjured by Mount joy, Orange Hulk handed over the files and schematics shield had on the cosmic cube and the location of a secret base of AIM.
His memories swam again, he stood on a rain slick street; The man in the green raincoat telling him to retrieve the rest of the plans for the cosmic cube from the AIM base, a bolt of lightning flashed overhead, and Harry saw the familiar features of Reed Richards.
He had never met the man personally, but he'd seen the man on the TV a few times while at the Xavier Institute.
Harry withdrew from Mount Joy's mind as the echoes finished up with Mount Joy.
The echoes disappeared one by one, until only John Grey remained.
John Grey approached his son, his hands buried in the pockets of his spectral trench-coat.
"Thank you for giving me in the others a chance at closure."
"If anyone deserved to take down Mount Joy it was his victims."
They stood there in silence for a moment until Harry met his father's gaze, unshed tears glistening in his eyes, "I wish you could stay."
A gentle smile filled with love spread across John's face, "So do I, but my time on this earth is done," he began to fade away, "continue to make me proud, son."
Wiping his eyes, Harry approached Mount Joy, there were no physical wounds on his body besides what he had gotten in their fight, but his red eyes were dim. His mouth hung open limply, a bit of drool running down his chin.
"I don't know if you can hear me, but I hope you have a good time in hell." With a twist of his wrist, Joy's body burst into flames.
Turning away, Harry met Laura as she crossed the room.
"We need to go," Laura said, "that vortex is eating the base."
Harry cocked his head to the side. Explosions began to shake the base back the way they came, causing dust to rain down from the ceiling.
"What did you do?"
"Activated the safety measures designed to bury anything in here in case the experiments got out of hand." With a gesture a portal opened before them, its edge is burning with blue energy.
Laura looked at him, "So where are we heading next?"
"We need to speak with Reed Richards."