Chapter 2: The Escape
'Cedric! Run! Getaway!' Harry watched helplessly as his classmate (friend, confidant, role model) was struck by a flash of green light, the life fading from his blue eyes. The older teen fell to the graveyard floor, dead. 'No!'
Voldemort laughed cruelly somewhere in the distance.
"It's your fault, Potter. He died because he was unlucky enough to come here with you." Laughed the cruel, high-pitched voice, its words cutting deeply into Harry's heart.
"009?"
'No! I-it's not!' Harry cried, voice trembling.
"Don't lie to yourself, Potter. If you hadn't insisted on both of you taking the cup, he'd have never come. He'd have never died."
"009! Wake up!"
'No, it's not my fault! I-I didn't know this would happen!'
'IT'S NOT MY FAULT!'
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Harry jolted awake with a gasp, his head hitting something hard as he fell on his side. He heard an unfamiliar language above him. He wasn't sure what was being said, but it sounded like someone cursing. He blinked dazedly up at them.
Where was he? What happened?
Oh, right. The cyborgs, Black Ghost, his messed-up eyesight, his lack of a wand. Now he remembered. He'd slipped away not long after their initial escape to get some shut-eye and to let his magical core recover from the recent strain. (He had no idea how much power he'd used, but it was better to be on the safe side). He'd picked the cargo hold as a good place to nap in private but still be found if he was needed. A hand rested on his shoulder, bringing Harry's eyes to the colorful blur kneeling over him.
Pulse.
The features belonging to 004 came into focus, his worried expression all too clear.
"Damn, 009, are you alright?" he asked. Harry rubbed at his eyes, knowing there had to be tears coming from them.
"I- Yeah, I'm fine. It was- It was just a bad dream. That's all." He said, the words having a hollow ring to them. He'd said that too many times, to too many people. He just couldn't find the energy to do more than that. 004's grip on his arm tightened.
"That sure as heck didn't seem like a bad dream to me." He said sharply. Harry waved him off, slowly sitting up.
"I'm fine! Really. I have dreams like that way too often for it to bother me anymore." Another pulse showed the disbelieving expression on the older man's face.
"That's normal for you?" The teen decided to change the topic.
"Why did you come looking for me? Am I needed for something?" He was sure the silver-haired man was frowning at him but decided to let him go.
"Sort of, we're all gathering in the cockpit since we're getting close to our destination." Harry nodded and stood.
"Alright, best not keep everyone waiting." Though he didn't react to it, he could feel the assessing gaze burning against his back. He didn't want to explain. Not yet. Though they may be working together, he still wasn't sure he could trust the other cyborgs with the existence of magic, and all the goods and evils that were part of it.
Using a mix of his limited sight and magical pulses, he could pretend he could see just fine and entered the cockpit without any trouble. 004 followed close behind, but Harry was sure the man thought something was up. Even if he had no idea what.
The two walked in to see 007 giving a mini-performance of the "abducted" scientist, humorously stating that he would have never made it on London's West End. Sadly, though he knew where that was, Harry had no idea if 007 was right or not. The Dursleys had never been fans of the theater.
The Doctor (who'd introduced himself as Dr. Isaac Gilmore to Harry earlier) removed his glasses and gave the group a sheepish smile.
"I thought my acting was quite memorable." Harry chuckled.
"For an amateur? Yeah, you were pretty good. But a professional? Not a chance." He stated, smiling. He was far too used to hiding the days he had nightmares. Not even Hermione could tell unless he'd told her otherwise.
Oddly enough, the Weasley twins were never fooled and often went out of their way to make him laugh on those days. Dr. Gilmore smiled, probably thinking Harry was complimenting him.
"Though I can think of a few mates from school who still coulda' done better than you." Like the Weasley twins for example.
Amused snorts and snickers echoed around him, and the doctor seemed to deflate before joining the laughter. He knew he was being a tad silly, but without the Weasley twins nearby, he'd have to find his own way of making himself feel better.
Harry looked up, the hair on his neck standing up. He could feel his instincts warning him of coming danger. A few seconds later, an alarm went off. 004 tsked.
"There's no possibility they'd just let us leave, right?" He said. The doctor nodded.
"Right. There should be small fighters in the cargo hold, you and 009 should have the knowledge needed to use them." 004 nodded.
"Got it. C'mon 009." He said, snagging the young teen's arm and dragging him to the door. Harry only just realized what was happening.
"Wait, we're doing what now?!"
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~~MAGICA~CYBORG~009~~
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A few minutes (and a decent amount of nervous jittering) later, Harry found himself inside a small plane. It was only just big enough for one person, and the only way to pilot it was to lay down in it. Harry knew he'd have to hold his magic pulse to use it (Something he hadn't tried yet), as his farsightedness prevented him from seeing the numerous buttons, switches, and levers he somehow knew he needed.
He felt as nervous as when he was first learning how to fly, but without the adult there to catch him and with a lot more danger. He swallowed nervously.
Pulse and hold.
The control panels appeared before him and he quietly started counting until his capsule-like plane was dropped from the carrier. He felt the plane shudder as it was removed from its docking space and released into the open air. He counted back from ten, knowing that by the time he reached one, he'd be far enough away to safely open the wings of the craft.
"009, you're diving!" Came 004's slightly anxious voice over the inner radio. Harry closed his eyes for a moment, then yanked back the control handle, performing a stunt eerily similar to a Worski feint.
He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding
"I'm okay, sorry for the scare." He murmured. He knew 004 had been worried, so it was only right to apologize. Like when he woke his dorm mates at Hogwarts. He tilted the controls back until he was level with the older cyborg. Harry looked out at the swarm of enemies in front of them.
What did people tend to call this sort of thing? A Zurg Rush?
"*Your pursuers are Black Ace attack craft on autopilot,*" the doctor said over the main radio.
"You hear that 009? Let's take them out." 004 said calmly.
Instead of answering, Harry started firing. His overly keen eyes, even with their restricted state, allowed him to easily take down drone after drone. Surprisingly, his skills at flying on a broom seemed to translate to a plane fairly well, as he was easily outmaneuvering the drones. He heard 004 let out an impressed whistle.
"Not bad 009, you're pretty good at flying it seems. Wonder if Black Ghost programmed that into you, or if you're just a natural."
"Dunno." I've always been a natural at flying, but I can't tell you that. "While we're on the topic, just what is Black Ghost anyways?"
"Wow, I'm surprised you're cool enough to talk right now." Harry chuckled.
"Naw, I'm just a dog after a bone when it comes to stuff I don't know. And Black Ghost is something I don't know." 004 hummed.
"I don't know much, except that they're a large-scale death merchant."
"A death merchant?!"
"Yeah, they sell weapons and arms to plant the seeds of war."
"Oh, fantastic," Harry said, his tone heavy with sarcasm. And now, because of me, they may have an idea of the existence of magic.
Fragments of the nightmare from earlier pushed at the edge of his mind, but he quickly shoved them back. He did not need to be distracted right now.
Harry watched 004 suddenly bank left out of the corner of his eye.
"And where are you going?" he asked.
"I've run out of bullets. I'm off to the ammo store." Was the completely serious answer he received.
"Wait, what?!" Harry spluttered in disbelief.
"Just kidding." Said 004, and he promptly used the wing of his plane to slice through one of the drones. Harry made a surprised sound. "This whole airship was designed to be a weapon, just like me."
"Oh, I see." Harry shifted his controls and started cutting through the drones as well as shooting them. He knew it wasn't something to brag about, but it seemed that he was pretty good at this. "That's why they made us cyborgs, isn't it? To use us as weapons."
"Dah, that's right. Like it or not, that's what we are now." Harry fell silent, and couldn't help wondering if Black Ghost was the first to see him as nothing more than a weapon.
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~~MAGICA~CYBORG~009~~
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After returning to the carrier, Harry retreated to a window seat away from the rest of the group. He knew they'd heard the conversation between 004 and himself, and would probably shrug off the distance as him trying to sort out the information he'd been given. They'd be close, but not correct.
He'd always felt something had been off about his years at Hogwarts. The way he always seemed to find the answer to whatever mystery appeared each year, the way only he could stop it, how it always seemed like Dumbledore would happen to be at just the right (or wrong) place at the right time.
Because of the night at the Graveyard, and the resulting smear campaign the ministry had launched against him, he'd taken a real, hard look at his years in the wizarding world and had realized something had been very wrong. But he hadn't known what. (Well, other than the minister's (and most of their society's) incompetence, of course.) Yet it wasn't until Black Ghost had abducted him, and he'd finally met people who were even a little bit like him, that he finally had the final pieces to the puzzle.
It made him feel sick at how easily the magical world had played him.
Before attending Hogwarts, he'd prided himself at being able to see through the deception. It was how he'd survived at the Dursleys for so long. By all rights, he should have died at their hands long ago, but he had been cunning enough to figure out how to survive. But the thoughts of magic, and of meeting people like him had blinded his usually perceptive mind.
And it stung.
Dumbledore, who he'd admired, had been trying to preen him into a weapon. (Maybe on purpose, maybe unintentionally, it didn't really matter at this point.) One that would charge into battle without a single thought for his safety, for the sake of the old headmaster's "Greater Good". The same old headmaster who'd gone to absurd lengths to ensure he went to Hogwarts and tried to appear as a grandfather figure to Harry.
A light tap on his shoulder brought Harry out of his depressing musings. A small pulse revealed the person as 003. Now that he had an idea of what she looked like, he had to admit she was pretty.
"The doctor said that we should be arriving at our destination soon." Harry nodded, standing in a fluid motion. A few pulses and he had reached the chair 008 was sitting in with relative ease.
"There it is, Island X." The doctor said, pointing out an island that was shaped like an X. Harry didn't even know islands could form into a shape like that.
"What do we do, Doctor? At this height, we'll fly low enough to avoid the radar, but we'll crash into the cliffs." 008 said.
"Don't panic," the doctor said calmly. "Stay at this altitude and circle the island." Harry kept his eyes trained on the cliff as 008 followed the old scientist's instructions. He was the first to spot the opening in the cliff. "Go through there and land in that inner cove."
"The Doc wants us to do an acrobatic maneuver," 002 said with a snort.
"Then let's do it!" said 008. Harry felt the plane tilting, quickly adjusting his weight to keep his footing behind 008, his eyes remaining on the opening.
He could tell that they could make it through, whether or not the plane would be in one piece, however, was up for debate. Green eyes remained focused as the plane flew at a 90-degree angle through the opening, ignoring the yelps from their companions as they lost their footing and fell about the airship as it was jostled by the top and bottom of the plane scraping against the cliff walls.
We're coming out too soon! Harry thought frantically as the plane began trying to return to its original position, and one of the wings was ripped off by the cliff. The airship slammed into the water, smashing rocks as it moved far too quickly through the small cove.
"Head for the cave!" Dr. Gilmore shouted, pointing forwards. 008 veered sharply to the right, sending more members of the group to the floor in ungraceful heaps. The cave ended up taking the other wing off, before the airship slammed into the end of the hidden cove, bringing the group to an abrupt halt.
"Everyone alright?" 002 called behind him.
"Define 'Alright'." Said 005, who was holding up 003 (who was holding 001), and Dr. Gilmore, while sitting on top of 007 (the unlucky sod). Harry had ended up sprawled on top of 004, as the man had been standing behind him when the teen had finally lost his footing. Both were dazed by the rough landing, but unharmed.
"Well, that was harrowing. Let's not do it again any time soon, shall we?" Harry commented. 004 made a noise of agreement. Harry was first to get to his feet and offered a hand to help 004 up. After all, Harry was the one who'd knocked him down. 004 accepted the hand and allowed Harry to pull him up.
"Thanks." Harry smiled.
"No problem."
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~~MAGICA~CYBORG~009~~
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006 had decided that after as long a day as they'd had, it was time for the group to sit down and eat. Harry had no idea the man could cook, or what it was he was making. He was just glad that someone other than him knew how. The green-eyed boy listened to the surrounding conversations but didn't pay attention to them. His gloomy thoughts were trying to come back, but he kept pushing them away. The amount of unfocused magic he'd used throughout the day was finally catching up to him.
Maybe a nap after he ate would be a good idea? Assuming he didn't have any more nightmares, of course.
Harry ate quietly, impressed by how good the slapped-together meal was. He didn't know what he was eating. And he was pretty sure he didn't want to know. But it was good and that was all that mattered to him.
"Seconds anyone?" Harry glanced back at 006. He had plenty for himself (because of the Dursleys he ate much less than most people) so he didn't think he needed any more food. 006 looked over at Harry with a curious hum.
"Why, 009! You're eating so little!" The man said, his tone disapproving. "Here, have some more! Don't be shy, there's plenty where that came from."
Harry took one look at the man's jovial expression with his pulse and instantly caved in to the almost-command.
"Th-thanks, 006."
"This is really good." Said 003. Harry could hear the smile in her tone. "What kind of meat is it?"
Harry felt his heart sink. The one thing he was sure he didn't want to know.
"The stew's topnotch!" 007 said cheerfully. Harry made another pulse, catching the way 006 puffed up in pride.
"I did a Cambodian dish with Chinese barbecue sauce. I used a whole lot of them." The green-eyed boy cursed his curiosity as he found himself looking up as well, and spotted the bats covering the ceiling. He swallowed the bite he'd taken, wishing he hadn't looked. "You'll never guess what I used for your stew, 007."
007 hunched in on himself, looking a little green.
"It's okay, you don't need to tell me."
"It's actually a traditional Cantonese dish. Snake meat." 006 continued speaking and Harry could swear there was a hint of mischief to his voice.
"And that, 007, 003, is why you never ask what a chef used to make your food when you're not in a proper kitchen or familiar with the dish. Not only will you chance learning something you didn't want to know, but you'll also risk killing the appetite of everyone eating with you." Harry said with a sigh, taking another bite of his food.
Even if he wasn't really hungry anymore, it wasn't polite to turn away good food (that was why he always tried to finish his plate at the Weasleys. Though he felt bad when his stomach couldn't handle all the good food he was given). Besides, he'd eaten haggis before, barbecue bat and snake stew weren't that bad by comparison.
He looked back to where the rest of the cyborgs were quietly talking with Dr. Gilmore. (Anything to get his attention away from 006 explaining what he used for their meal.)
"What about the other scientists? How do we know we can trust them?" asked 008, his voice quiet and distrustful.
"They told me of the existence of this cave." Dr. Gilmore said. "They all feel the same way I do. We finally realized we'd been deceived by Black Ghost right from the start."
"So their plan is for us to infiltrate back in, destroy the lab, and escape?" 004 clarified.
Harry frowned as the doctor nodded. Perhaps his years at Hogwarts had made him paranoid because such a vague plan was setting off more warning bells than he could count.
"Why do we have to use a ship to escape? If we need to leave fast, that's not a smart way to go." 008 pointed out, still unsure about parts of their plan.
"Not usually, but I think you'll find out this particular vessel is no ordinary ship. Just wait until you see it."
An odd noise caught Harry's attention, making him turn back to see 007 trying to feed 001. He raised an eyebrow at how rough his fellow Brit was being with the baby cyborg. He shook his head, standing up.
Smoothly, he scooped 001 out of 007's arms, giving the man a deadpan expression.
"I take it you've never handled a baby before, 007?" he asked blandly. The man's head changed color. He was blushing in embarrassment if Harry had to guess.
"Well, no. Not really." He admitted, scratching at the back of his head. Harry sighed.
"Then I'll do it," Harry said, neatly taking the bottle from 007's hand and sitting down with the small cyborg in his arms.
Harry, surprising though it was, did know how to handle a baby as small as 001. A young mother at the Quidditch World Cup had found the Boy-Who-Lived's fascination with small children to be adorable and taught him how to hold and feed a baby. A few, slightly more rapid pulses allowed Harry to clearly "see" 001 and get the bottle in his mouth.
Unlike with 007, 001 was much more complacent with Harry feeding him. The baby probably still remembered Harry's spanking threat.
"Hmm, you're pretty good at that 009. You wouldn't happen to have any little brothers or sisters, would you?" asked 006. Harry glanced at him.
"Nope. Only child. But I do have a cousin, but he's about the same age as me. We've never really gotten along…" Harry casually stated. The lack of a relationship with his relatives didn't bother him anymore. He didn't think of them as his family, to be honest, not anymore at least. "I've helped out neighbors with small children though."
A half-truth, there were a few people in Little Whinging who'd realized that Harry wasn't as bad as his relatives made him out to be, and let him help every occasionally.
He listened to 007 and 006 exchange banter in the background. He frowned slightly, looking around.
"Something wrong 009?" asked 003.
"I just noticed, we don't have a burp cloth." Her blur shifted as she, too, looked around.
"Oh dear, you're right. Here, I'll take 001 while you see if there's something we can use as a substitute on the ship." Harry nodded, carefully handing off the small cyborg.
"I'll be right…" Harry was cut off by 003's startled gasp and her rushing to her feet.
"Above us! There are bombers coming!" Harry sucked in a sharp breath, swearing in his head. They all felt the explosions as they shook the cave and dislodged bits from the ceiling. The teen could feel his stomach churning from the tremors that made them stagger.
"We need to head for the tunnels! There's no way the cave will survive that kind of barrage!" Harry shouted over the racket, waving to the deeper parts of the cavern. A powerful explosion shook the cave and part of the ceiling gave way over their heads.
Harry swore loudly and activated his acceleration mode and scooped 003 and 001 into his arms and dashed to a safe place away from the falling rocks. If it weren't for his acceleration timing out, he would have gone back for the others as well.
"009," 003 whispered. "You saved both of us. Thank you so much."
"009!" Harry looked up at 002, who had Dr. Gilmore in his arms and was quickly approaching them. "Are you okay?"
"We're fine. But what about the others?" He asked, looking back at the rubble that had fallen on the rest of their team.
"They'll be alright. You'll see." Dr. Gilmore assured him, and the doctor was quickly proven right if the shaking stones were any indication.
005 burst through the rock, his formidable strength making it easy for him to unearth the rest of the group. Harry watched the show of skill and strength, as well as the durability of his fellow cyborgs, as they all rose from the rubble, dazed but unharmed (except 007, but that was more his bad luck of being over 006 than due to the rocks).
"I'm glad everyone's alright." Dr. Gilmore said, smiling slightly at them all.
"Now what should we do?" 003 asked the doctor. "The exit's been cut off."
"Don't worry, we'll find another way out of this cave." Beeping sounded through the cave startling the group. Harry's magic reacted by seeking out the source.
Pulse.
The doctor was twisting where he stood, his attention on his pocket. Making full use of his pulses, Harry watched the doctor pull a cellphone from his pocket and flipped it open. A relieved smile appeared on his face.
"It's them. My fellow scientists are calling." The group followed the instructions given to them by the people on the other end of Dr. Gilmore's phone.
Well, it seemed they'd be starting their plan early. He hoped that the scientists had managed to smuggle the cyborg's pilfered belongings onto the ship. He really wanted his wand back.
They split into two groups. One infiltration, the other distraction.
The infiltration team was made up of Harry, Dr. Gilmore, 006, 003, and 001. They didn't need to be powerful, they just needed to be able to get in easily with as few obstacles as possible.
The distraction team was made up of 002, 004, 005, 007, and 008 who were all heavy combat focused. (That, and just good at drawing attention.)
Harry and the doctor peered around the corner at the guards.
"Pretty tight security. I wonder why my colleagues didn't tell me about this." Dr. Gilmore muttered. Harry's eyes narrowed. This didn't feel right.
"It's a good thing we split up into two units." 006 commented.
"If the plan goes well," 003 whispered, "They'll be drawing the enemy's attention about now."
The ground shook under their feet and Harry could see a cloud of smoke rising in the distance while alarms blared to life.
"*Attention, all personnel! Emergency at the #3 armory! Mobilize immediately!*" Harry smirked.
"That's our cue." He whispered and he shot forward, tearing through the handful of remaining robots. He couldn't help noticing that with each fight he got involved in, it kept getting easier to fight. And the feeling of wrongness with his body that he'd had since he first awoke in the labs faded as he continued to use his new abilities and his magic together. He couldn't help wondering why.
Was his magic somehow adapting to his now part-machine body? Or was it the other way around? A small part of him wished Hermione was there. She'd probably be able to figure it out, no problem.
No, Harry, now is not the time to get distracted. Just focus on what you're doing now. Harry thought to himself, lightly shaking his head.
"Hurry up!" 003 called from the elevator, where she and the rest of the group stood waiting for him to finish. He smashed a final robot then jogged inside just before the door closed.
Harry led the small group, furthering his skills with his magic-based pulses as he went. He rather liked this new trick. He'd have to keep practicing even after he got new glasses. They carefully slipped down the halls and finally found the launch bay that held the ship they were going to steal. Harry couldn't hold in the awed, "wow" that escaped him when he finally caught sight of the ship.
"Is this the ship?" asked 006. "It looks more like a plane."
"It's a prototype and if all goes well, it will be named the Black Phantom." The doctor stated. "The Black Ghost planned to use it to dominate everything: The land, the sky, and the sea."
The clink of an opening door sounded behind them. Harry seized his weapon and whirled around to face the possible threat, but froze at what he saw. A brown-haired man in a lab coat was leaning heavily against the door, red stains seeping across his clothing. The wizard could smell the faint tint of copper in the air. The same copper he had smelled many times before.
Blood.
Watching the Doctor rush forward, Harry's grim logic spoke up. Telling him that if he could smell the blood from this distance, then it was too late for that man. The man (Dr. Ryan, per Dr. Gilmore's shout) spoke in a hoarse whisper.
"G-Gilmore… E-everyone's been killed." The man slumped weakly, before collapsing. Harry couldn't see him breathing. Spotlights were thrown on, blinding the group. Harry cursed. It was a trap; they were surrounded by robots, all of which looked much stronger than the ones they'd seen previously. Hard, jade green eyes searched for an escape route. Laughter echoed through the room.
On the platform above, a man in a commander-like uniform stood over them, a cruel smile on his lips. In all honesty, the man had the classic "evil villain" look with his slicked-back hair, crisp-cut mustache, and angular facial structure.
"Doctor Gilmore, you conspired with the Devil, so to speak, and a truly great invention was born." The man said, his mightier-than-thou tone grating on Harry's nerves. "Knowing that, why did you act so foolishly and betray us? Could it be that you lost your nerve?"
"When we realized what you were up to, we knew we'd been deceived and wanted nothing more to do with you!" The Doctor shouted.
"Don't be ridiculous. You pretended to be deceived for the sake of your research. That way you could live with a clear conscience."
"Not true!" He breathed, taking a half step back. Harry's eyes narrowed, anger was coiling in his gut. The man above grinned cruelly.
"I'm sending you and your associates to another world!" He threw his arm forward. "Now wipe them out!"
Harry hit the switch in his teeth, and the world slowed. He couldn't take his time with these robots. He needed to either destroy or disable them as quickly and efficiently as possible.
"009!"
Harry jolted, turning back to the others. Green eyes widened. The rest of the group was being attacked. Harry surged towards them, quickly smashing the robots towering over 003 and 001, and destroying the one holding 006 up by his foot. He was about to pick the doctor up and get him out of harm's way when 001 shouted at him.
"Don't do it!" Harry quickly cut his speed but was still moving fast enough to scoop the elderly man into his grasp and escape the attack. "Put him down. He's an ordinary human, he can't handle your accelerated speed."
"Oh, I see," Harry murmured. The heavy, metal thud of an approaching robot had the teen quickly pulling out his weapon and firing at its head. As the battle continued, the wizard grew more and more frustrated. These robots were starting to remind him of the hydra myths. With every robot they destroyed, it seemed like nine more took their place.
"We're not getting anywhere here! Please tell me someone has an idea!" He shouted.
"006, melt the door. Open a hole!"
"A hole?! But the water!" The Chinese man shouted. "We could drown!"
"Don't worry, you won't. 009!" The youngest cyborg didn't need to finish. Harry grabbed the portly man and, using his speed, set him directly in front of the bay doors.
"We're counting on you!" Harry said quickly, before throwing himself back into the fray. It was time for some experimenting.
At its core, magic was just controlling one's inner energy with their force of will. If you had a weak Will, you didn't have much control and couldn't use a lot of magic, no matter how big or small your magical core was.
A strong Will had much better control and could use much more advanced magic and complicated spells. Incantations and wand movements just made it easier for people to use and had very little effect on the core. Accidental magic was an uncontrolled version of early magic as it was fueled by the Will during times of stress, but the person never really knew how to use it. Wands acted as a medium for learning and focusing a person's magic and could be substituted for anything, so long as the person could channel their magic through it. They made it easier for people to use the full extent of their power without losing any extra energy.
Right now, Harry didn't have a medium to focus his power with but had plenty of will to control the raw magic. Not to mention that Black Ghost was providing plenty of stress to motivate him.
He couldn't think of any spells to cause as much damage as he wanted, so he'd just have to improvise.
Harry focused on his magic. On the way it surged and swirled under his skin. He pictured a whirling ball of energy forming over his hand, small enough to not be cumbersome but strong enough to destroy one of the robots.
The ball formed as a small, dangerously-sparking sphere roughly the size of a baseball, and Harry hurled it into the mass of enemies before him.
His spell worked as, upon making contact, it obliterated the robot, sending pieces of it into the air. Many of which collided with other robots and made them explode. Harry smiled slightly and continued making up new spells on the spot, using them one after another on the robots. He had a feeling the doctor was watching him closely, trying to figure out just what Harry was doing, and how he was doing it.
Not that the man would be having a lot of success. But that would have to wait until later.
He heard 006 yelp, and the sound of rushing water filled the room.
A sudden tidal wave of water surged from the opening 006 had made, knocking Harry and the few remaining Robots off their feet. He was knocked through the door to the inner base, which shut in an attempt to keep it from flooding. He wrenched himself to his feet and strained to open the door without much success. He kicked it in frustration.
"Damn! I'll have to find another way back to the launch bay." He said, glaring at the offending door. "I'll just have to find the route that guy from earlier used."
He turned on his acceleration mode again, hoping to save time in his hunt.
This was quickly proved to be a very good idea, as the building seemed to be designed like a maze. Though it was nowhere near as bad as the Hogwarts grounds, he was sure he's gone in a complete loop more than once. Though he didn't find the route he was after, he did find the man in question. He was kneeling before a strange person wearing a cape and a skull mask.
In terms of scariness and intimidation, the man didn't hold a candle to Voldemort but his stance (and the fact that he was sitting on an honest to Merlin throne) said that he was probably someone important.
"Shoot, am I interrupting something? Oh well." Harry asked his tone harsh and sarcastic. He pulled out his pistol, aiming at the masked man. "I take it you're the man in charge?"
The base shook, startling the teen, but he kept his weapon trained on the masked man. Mustache spoke.
"Sorry, you're too late. I'm blowing this base to pieces and you and your associates are going with it."
"Good, Commander Scarl. You've set the self-destruct phase. Your final job is complete." The man, Scarl, seemed nervous. Instincts shouting, Harry leaped back, only just avoiding the electrical charge that went off under Scarl's feet. He watched with wide eyes as the charred body fell to the ground. "Well, now, cyborg 009, I've been admiring your accomplishments and your abilities. Truly, your natural powers are a sight to behold. You've become quite the destructive little weapon."
The anger that had been pooling in his gut changed from a small fire to a phoenix's inferno. Harry's magic was now visibly swirling around him from his barely restrained anger. An intimidating sight for most, though the masked man seemed unaffected.
"You disgusting piece of trash, do you have so little respect for life that you feel no remorse for taking another's life?" he snarled. Magic was a force of nature. A force of life! He'd learned to love that about it. Regardless of how wizards had forgotten the fact that their powers were a gift of nature, he had come to treasure it. "Are you truly fool enough to believe that this is a disposable world?!"
The man chuckled.
"Isn't it? People have always taken what they needed and thrown away what was useless to them. But it doesn't matter. Our time is up, 009, farewell." Harry's magic exploded from his body, demolishing the room and surging out to attack the masked man. But the strike merely went through him.
An image, like an illusion, which vanished after he attacked. The bastard wasn't actually there! The wizard's legs nearly gave out under him, as the impact of his magic usage finally took hold.
"T-too much magic." He said, his voice shaky and out of breath sounding. "I-I need to get back to the others. Before the base explodes."
He forced his exhausted body into motion, racing shakily back to the launch bay.
By some miracle, Harry found his way back and managed to destroy the final robot enemy attacking his team and their new ship.
"Hey, sorry I'm late. This place is a ruddy maze if you don't know your way." He said tiredly, doing his best to hide how shaky and weak he felt. "We need to go. Like, now. I ran into the guy from earlier. He said he'd started the self-destruct sequence for the base."
He heard the gasps and curses from the others.
"Hurry up then! We won't have much time!" said Dr. Gilmore, his tone frantic. 004 seemed to notice that something was wrong with Harry and started leading him in. He paused long enough to glance back at 002.
"Looks like 009 showed you up." He commented and pulled the small teen inside. The teen leaned heavily on the older cyborg, fighting to stay awake. Harry was quickly plopped into a seat in the back, with the German man standing beside him.
"Prepare for takeoff!" 008 said. 004 draped an arm over Harry's shoulders holding him in place. The ship started moving, busting its way through the partially melted doors and racing down the underwater tunnels.
"Almost out!" 006 cheered only to be cut short by part of the tunnel ahead collapsing. Though still exhausted, Harry grasped 004's other arm as it came over his chest, trying to steady him in case of impact.
"Launch the torpedoes now!" 007 shouted frantically. 008 did so, hurriedly clearing the debris from their path. The ship only just managed to escape and rose to the surface. Finally seeing that they were safe for the time being, Harry let himself relax.
And passed out so suddenly that he sent everyone into a panic.
AN: WOOT! Chapter 2 is complete!
I'm sure there's someone who's wondering what the wand, force of will, and Harry passing out stuff are about. The answer, I'm trying to explain why Harry can use magic without his wand, why he can do it so well, and what side effects there are to it.
Early magic users didn't have wands when they were first discovering their magic. They just had their hands, and their ability to use it. The recommended use of wands and staves (or other magical items) didn't come until later (ever hear of Bardic {music} magic? Sword {weapon} magic? Guess what? They were used before wand magic). Harry's just tapping into his roots so to speak. Plus, with how long he kept having bursts of accidental magic, I'd say he has a LOT more power than the average wizard (he's the equal to someone over fifty years his senior, he'd HAVE to be insanely powerful).
The reason he's so good at the moment? Technically, he's always known how to use wandless magic. He just never had a real need for it. Also, I'd imagine that, while trying to find everything he needed to last through the tri-wizard tournament, he and Hermione HAD to've stumbled across references to wandless magic and how it was originally done. If I had been in Harry's place, I'd have dug deeper in order to have every possible tool at my disposal to stay alive!
Lastly, why Harry passed out. While my Harry has studied the use of wandless magic extensively, this does not mean he has the experience for it. Remember how I referred to the magical tools (like a wand) as a "Focus"? That's because I'd wager the wizarding world doesn't actually know their limits. They just throw around their power all willy-nilly. My best comparison would be to black powder. The powder is magic, and the bullet is what you want to be done. If you set a bullet on black powder and light it, yeah, you get a loud bang and some smoke, but the bullet won't move very far. Put the powder and bullet into a gun that focuses that bang into a directional blast. And, hey presto, the bullet takes off!
Without his wand, Harry doesn't know how to focus his magic. As such he's throwing out a lot of power that, unfortunately, isn't being used for what he wants. More power than his body is used to letting out all at once. Which, of course, leads to Harry exhausting himself really fast.
And what's the best way of recovering lost energy? Why, eating and sleeping of course! Neither of which he's really had the chance to get a good amount of. Yes, 006/Chang fed everyone, but Harry's relatives have done a decent amount of damage to his body, leaving him with a too-small appetite and a weakened body. And if he did try to eat more, or if he ate food that was too rich for him, he'd end up barfing it up! Simply put, while he did eat, he didn't/couldn't eat enough.
As for sleeping, Harry has a damaged mind thanks to the lack of mental support growing up and after various events in the wizarding world (by all rights he's killed two people {Quirrel and Voldemort's memory self} and seen one of his classmates die {you remember Cedric right?}, and nobody's taken him to a mind healer or tried to help him cope with it! And let's not forget what happens to him around Dementors), so he has nightmares every time he tries to sleep from his mental torment and guilt! Recovery sleep is a no-go on that front. So, in a desperate bid to heal, Harry's body has pretty much gone into a shutdown to force him to recover.
Which means he passed out because it was the only option left for him. Don't worry, he'll be fine once he wakes up.
That's all for now! Please RR!
P.S. For those who are wondering where the idea of the magical pulses came from, it was inspired by a Detective Conan and Magic Kaito crossover fiction titled "Shades of Grey". It centers around a blind Suguru Hakuba who refers to his psychic/supernatural ability to create energy pulses as an "Edge". It's a good read, so I'd recommend looking it up.
2021 Edit: Alright, the revised/tweaked version of chapter 2 is here. Like I said in the previous note; in terms of my actual writing, not much is changing, but the story is being improved in small, subtle ways.
