Chapter 5: At the End of the Battle

"Suddenly, the assassin Cyborg 0010 appeared on a ridge, preparing to attack his helpless adversaries below." A soft click was heard as the typewriter was reset. "They were beaten and had to hope…"

The typing stopped with a sigh. Albert looked up as 007 growled, seized his manuscript sheets, and ripped them apart, venting his frustration in a small act of destruction.

"I don't like the way this ends!" He shouted in frustration. "It's driving me crazy! I've got to get out of here."

Watching the Englishman prep, he snagged an umbrella and casually leaned against the door.

"I'm going down to the store to get some milk. If I'm not back in three days, have a nice life". He brandished it at 007 when he was about to pass him. The man blinked at it, following the visual line back to Albert's face. "What do I need that for?"

"No proper English gentleman would be caught dead without one." He said, a dry smile in place to help cover the grimness of the comment. "It's part of the costume. Besides, it's pouring out there."

"Well, in that case, thanks." 007 said, taking the umbrella from him and turning to the door. His hand had just graced the handle when the German spoke again.

"You can run all you want. He'll keep hunting till he finds you." Albert said, his voice low. "And when he does, you'll have to fight him alone. One on one."

He saw 007 falter in his step.

"Not if I run fast enough."

"You know you can't." 007 looked out at the falling rain.

"If I lived in a rainforest he'd be afraid to come after me. The only problem is, I can't stand places with high humidity." It was a sad attempt at a joke, in light of what had happened earlier that night. Morning? He was certain it was closing in on sunset by now.

"The more rain, the better. Right now, it's the only thing keeping us safe." Said 005, his voice low as he watched the rain streak down the window. It was the first time the Native American had spoken since their return from fighting 0010.

003 had rushed to help Dr. Gilmore get 009 out of serious condition, but that had been hours ago. Albert didn't know where 006 had gone. Probably to the kitchen.

"There must be some way to use that to our advantage." Muttered 008 from his seat on the couch. He was holding his chin in thought, an elbow propped up on one knee. "It seems to be his only weakness. Think. He can't use his electrical power in conditions where he might short-circuit."

"We can't make it rain on cue, so we've got to find some other way to neutralize him," Albert muttered, grumpily. As far as he knew none of them had the power to command water at will, and that seemed to be the only way to beat 010. Albert looked at the owl perched on the fireplace mantle.

It hadn't been until 002 mentioned it earlier that he'd realized she'd hitched a ride to Kozumi's on his shoulder. He had been so focused on 009's condition that he hadn't noticed she was there. But she had been well behaved, simply finding a place to settle down and just watching everyone who walked by her with quiet dignity. This just confirmed that she was a tamed owl to him. She stared silently back at him.

If only you could tell us how 009's powers worked. They could be the edge we need against 0010 if we could work out a plan with them.

"What are you so afraid of?" asked 002, "Last time we didn't know what he was capable of. Now at least we know what to expect."

"Yeah, we know he's got incredible powers," Albert said in a clipped tone, his stress getting the better of him. He was starting to understand why it 009 had been losing his temper with 002. "And whatever we throw at him, he comes back with something stronger. And only one of us was able to even hold a candle to him in combat."

"He's got to have some weakness! We just have to find it." Was the brash, yet determined response.

"I'm sure it's not his powers of acceleration." Said 008, looking up at the American. "You can't even keep up with him. And how do you propose we turn off his electrical current?"

002 flinched, his bangs covering his eyes.

"There's gotta be a way." The teen muttered.

"What about 009? Is he able to help us?" asked 007, a tint of nervousness in his tone. He knew everyone's attention had zeroed in on him. All of them were worried about 009's condition, and it had been unofficially decided that he would be the one to check in on the green-eyed cyborg. Albert shook his head.

"We haven't been able to wake him yet. The professor and 003 are trying to bring him around." The room was quiet. The she-owl let out a forlorn hoot.

"Damn, I wish there was something we could do." Muttered 002, pointedly ignoring the owl (she'd bitten him earlier. Though, as far as Albert could tell, he'd deserved it for provoking her). "He pushed his powers to the limit to protect us."

"Yeah, he really-!"

"As promised, lunch is now served!" 006 cheered, throwing the door open, unwittingly slamming 007 against the wall and cutting him off mid-sentence. "I've prepared a few simple dishes I thought you all might find interesting. Please, don't be shy. Go ahead!"

004 couldn't help blinking in surprise at the spread of food 006 laid out on the coffee table between the couches. If that was the man's idea of simple, he wanted to find out what a complicated dish would look like.

"Really, 006, at a time like this, you prepared a meal?" asked 007, rubbing his bruised nose while peeling himself off the wall. "I can't believe you could be so thoughtless!"

"Of course I made something! You can't fight at less than full strength." 006 huffed at them. "An army moves on its stomach, and with this food, you're being chauffeured to the battle in a limousine."

"Well, it does smell pretty good. It'd be a shame to waste it." Said 008, a smile appearing on his face. "I guess it's my duty to eat."

"Save some for me," Albert said, straightening up. Silly though it seemed, 006 did have a point. They need to eat to regain the energy they lost fighting 0010. 007 sniffed the air, a blissful smile appearing on his face.

"My nose seems to work. I'd better see if I can swallow." 006 smiled brightly.

"002, 005, you'd better hurry or it'll be all gone. I even have a little plate of cooked fish for our lovely lady friend!" he said, picking up a small plate and placing it by the snowy owl. She gave an appreciative hoot and started eating. "We'll show that Black Ghost. Eating well is the best revenge."

006 nodded happily as everyone dug in. Before adding, in a softer tone, "I just wish we were all here, especially 009."

Once everyone had eaten (Fraulien owl included), and the dishes had been cleaned and put away, another attempt at deciphering a method to defeat 0010 was launched. They had to find some way to beat him. If not for their own lives, then for 009's.

"I'll say this for 0010: He knows how to press his advantage in a fight." Said 008.

"His laser beam becomes a path for his electricity." He muttered. "That's what gives him such accuracy when he fires. It's devastating."

How on earth could they get past that? The room was filled with a thoughtful silence, none of them knowing what to suggest. The door opened with a creak and Dr. Gilmore walked into the room, his face set in a contemplative frown.

"How's 009?" asked 002. The Doctor sighed.

"He hasn't woken up, but he's no longer in serious condition. His power seems to be speeding up his healing process, but he'll still be out for a while longer."

"We could really use his help." Murmured 008. Albert could almost hear 002 gritting his teeth.

"So that's one fighter down." The red-head grumbled.

"And 001 is still sleeping." He said, looking at the peacefully dosing infant. "Do the rest of us have enough strength to beat this assassin?"

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~~MAGICA~CYBORG~009~~

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Harry's head throbbed dully as his mind slowly crawled back to consciousness.

This was the second time since becoming a cyborg that he'd woken to the lights of their ships' med-bay, and the soft steady beeping of a heart monitor near him. He was starting to think he was going to spend more time there than he had in the Hogwarts Hospital wing.

Maybe Hecate was hinting that he ought to take up medicine as a profession instead of being an Auror. Maybe a combat medic? Did wizards even have classes like that? He'd have to find out at some point.

Now that he thought about it, did he even really qualify as human in the eyes of the ministry any more? Maybe he should keep that to himself the next time he went to England, the last thing he needed was the bigots in charge to be taking potshots at him for being part-human.

Slowly, he blinked open his eyes, reflexively wincing as the light caused a short spark of pain in his head.

"Ah, 009!" A blur of blonde and tan entered his line of sight. It was 003, he'd seen her often enough to recognize her features, even if her image was blurry because he wasn't wearing his glasses. "I'm glad you're awake."

"003, is everyone alright?" he asked, sounding tired. Which he was, almost dying because of an assassin tended to do that to you.

"It's alright, 009. Everyone's fine, thanks to you. They're safe and sound." He gave a sleepy smile.

"Thank goodness." He murmured, relaxing. And he was, he'd wanted to protect them. "Have you been here the whole time I was out?"

"I want to apologize. I'm sorry, 009," she whispered, looking guiltily at her lap. Based on her tone, she sounded like she was about to burst into tears at any moment. "I acted stupidly. If I hadn't been trying to reach 0010-."

Oh, of course, she would blame herself for him being hurt, that seemed to be in her nature.

"Don't say that, 003. You were trying to help him, to save him from himself, and he pushed you away. It's not your fault, and it never will be. That's just how some people are." She gave him a watery smile.

"Thank you for saying that. That was very brave of you, to keep fighting even when you were so badly hurt." He blinked at her, then smiled kindly.

"No, I just wasn't going to give up. I'm stubborn like that. My parents were too, from what little I've been told about them."

"You were very lucky, 009, I had lost sight of you when you started fighting 0010. The only reason we found you was because of this strange owl." A hopeful flicker appeared in Harry's chest. Could the owl 003 mentioned be-?

"An owl?"

"Yes, a beautiful snowy owl with a red and gold collar." A smile split Harry's face, the hopeful flicker turning into a pleasing warmth.

"Hedwig." He murmured fondly. Stars, he should have known she would be able to find him. She could find Sirius under a fake name while he was on the run, how could she not find him? He loved that owl.

"Hedwig? You mean, you know that owl 009?" asked 003.

"Yes, I do know her. She's mine, and I've had her for years. She was given to me when I was eleven," he said, smiling fondly as he remembered the day Hagrid had given her to him. "It's amazing how she always manages to find me."

The door opened with a soft whoosh, drawing the attention of both people present. In walked Dr. Gilmore, his expression tired, but that quickly changed when he saw that Harry was awake.

Perched on his shoulder, watching the room and looking like the queen she was, was Hedwig. Harry was sure his eyes had lit up upon spotting his beloved owl, feeling like a part of him that had been missing had finally come back.

He really loved that owl.

Hedwig fluffed herself up, swooping over to him and landing on the tech-heavy headboard, letting out a displeased bark at him. Slowly he reached up and stroked her feathers, letting her take a moment to bite his fingers, though it didn't really hurt.

"Sorry for making you worry, Hedwig," he murmured, gently scratching the side of her head. The expressive owl gave him a Look (Her patented, "You've done something dangerous AND stupid. Now don't do it again." Look) which earned a smile from the exhausted teen.

"It seems you're recovering much faster than I expected, 009." Dr. Gilmore commented, examining the computer near Harry's head. "I wish you'd let me investigate your powers, to find out what they could do. I only want to help, you know that."

Harry looked away, not daring to make eye contact with the Doctor. Never mind that he couldn't actually see the man. He couldn't break the Statute of Secrecy, even if he wanted to. The Doctor took his silence as yet another denial to reveal his secrets and, with a sigh, turned back to the screen.

"At this rate, you'll be back to normal in another six or seven hours. Go back to sleep, 009. Save your energy for healing."

Harry nodded, already able to feel his eyes drooping closed. He was so tired; just how badly had he been hurt to be this drowsy afterward? He shut them, letting his body slip back into sleep without a fight.

Maybe… He thought, drowsily, I should look for a loophole in the Statute. So I won't have to keep secrets from my friends anymore…

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~~MAGICA~CYBORG~009~~

.

"You men are individually equipped with different skills and abilities. If you coordinate and combine your strengths, you can attack 0010 and win." Said Dr. Gilmore, placing down a shogi piece with a click. "Collaboration between each of you is the key. It's that simple. You should all work together as comrades, as friends."

"As friends? Comrades?" 002 asked, his tone incredulous and slightly angry sounding. As if he couldn't believe the doctor would even suggest such a thing. "We refer to each other by numbers! We don't even know each other's names or backgrounds, and we know at least one of us is keeping secrets. How can you expect us to operate as a unit?"

"If you can't find a way, you'll be destroyed." Dr. Gilmore said grimly. 002 looked away.

"I've lived my life not trusting anyone." He growled, punching the window to punctuate his sentence. "I don't even believe in God! The lesson I've learned is that the only person I can rely on is myself!"

"Then maybe it's time for you to learn a new lesson." Came 003's surprisingly firm voice. Albert watched as she approached 002, her expression set and unwavering as she glared at 002. "009 injured himself, and he did it to protect all of us."

"Is he doing any better?" Albert asked her, carefully keeping the worry from his tone. He had a feeling that he didn't succeed at that. She smiled slightly at him.

"Yes. He woke up a little while ago, but he'd gone back to sleep before I left."

"I'm glad." He murmured. He meant it too. The kid had saved their skins at the cost of his own health. 003 fixed her eyes on 002 once more.

"You know that human beings can't survive by themselves. That's why they gather, for protection. To work together. Even you can understand that, if you can get past your selfishness."

"Not every group can work efficiently together," Albert said, his voice low as he stared at the floor. He raised his eyes. Knowing the grimness of his words. "There are dynamics and personalities that don't mesh. Sometimes it's a lack of leadership for the group. It's not pleasant to hear, but it's the truth."

003 turned to the side.

"We should at least try." The room fell silent. Albert looked to the window as a sudden beam of light fell on the carpet. The storm was clearing, finally allowing the light of the late afternoon sun to illuminate the building.

005 looked up from his thoughtful stance.

"He's coming."

Never before had the light of the sun made him so anxious.

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~~MAGICA~CYBORG~009~~

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Albert hunkered down in his hiding place, waiting for 0010 to appear in his sights. The Guerilla plan 008 had thrown together looked alright in theory, but he hoped it would work as well in practice.

Objectively speaking, it was a simple but effective plan.

002, who had already proven his will to fight, would act as a primary decoy, luring 0010 through the forest via acceleration mode. He would be so focused on chasing 002, he wouldn't notice the others closing in on their positions.

Once at the correct point, 006 would join him in fighting, and with 003's directions, the two would herd the assassin cyborg toward the cliffs. Where he would be brought into an open position by 002 and Albert would shoot him with a rocket to knock him into the ocean.

Then he would be ganged up on by 007, 008, and 005 who were all capable of underwater combat, while he was at a disadvantage. Especially against 008 who was designed specifically for fighting in water.

If their theory was correct, (and they were all certain it was) then 0010 would lose most of his electrical charge thanks to the salty ocean water, as he would probably have a built-in defense against short-circuiting. Finally weakening him enough for them to beat him.

And their hasty battle plan had worked. To a point.

Albert's eyes widened in confused disbelief when he saw the three underwater fighters get blown out of the sea from a mysterious water explosion. He quickly stood and raced to them, along with the rest of the team, to where they lay on the rocky ground beneath the cliffs.

"Are you alright?" He shouted. Pain exploded across his back, ripping a pain-filled scream from his throat. He heard 003 and 002 shout his number as he hit the ground, a weak groan pulling from him as he rolled himself onto his back.

"Very smart, getting me underwater to neutralize my electrical current." Commented 0010. "But you forgot about polarity."

"That's right," came a second voice. One that sounded remarkably like 0010's. "Every source of electrical power has two components to it. That's where you made a small, but fatal error."

Albert forced his eyes open, looking to the bluffs above them, where a cyborg that was nearly identical to 0010 stood. The only difference he could see between them was that the look-alike wore red accents on his uniform instead of blue ones.

"I can't be…" Breathed 008.

"There's more to me than you realized." The red doppelgänger stated. "I'm only half the equation. In fact, to be absolutely accurate you'd have to refer to me as 0010 Plus."

"There's another cyborg like you?" Asked 002, taking a step forward and looking slightly nervous. 0010 Plus chuckled.

"Yes, the other half of the polarity." Said the more familiar voice of the 0010 they had originally met. "We're twin brothers. My name is 0010 Minus!"

With that, the twin cyborgs burst into a run. Albert slowly pulled himself to his feet, 003 helping him by offering her shoulder for support, warily watching the two run circles around their group. He could feel the electricity in the air rising with each circuit they ran; it was starting to make his hair stand on end.

"Plus!" Shouted the red twin.

"Minus!" And the lightning struck, ripping through their half metal bodies. Albert could barely hear the shouts of the others over his own agonized scream. The electrical charge created by the twins erupted into a tremendous explosion, leaving the seven prototype cyborgs charred and prone in the crater left in the ground. With the pain he was in, Albert was amazed that he was still alive.

"You're lucky I'm not at full strength, or you'd be burned to a crisp by now." Commented 0010 Minus, a cruel smirk curling over his lips. "But with my brother's help, I think we can make things real toasty for you. Have you ever experienced a microwave from inside the oven?"

Everyone drew their blasters, watching tensely as 0010 Minus and Plus slowly approached.

"GET AWAY FROM THEM!" Bellowed a furious voice.

Albert's head shot up, his pale-blue eyes locking on the red and gold-clad figure illuminated by the rising moon.

"009…" He murmured. What is he doing?! He can't have healed that quickly!

A faint chill ran down his spine at the hard, jade eyes that stared down at the twin cyborgs from above, and the vicious fury that radiated from them.

"You two want a fight? Then come get it." The teen all but snarled at the two, the intensity of his gaze sharpening.

"009, you're still alive, are you?" commented 0010 Minus, a frown curling his lips. He sounded like he'd expected it, though there was a faint trace of surprise to his tone. 0010 Plus spoke up.

"I think we can remedy that situation. You won't survive this time, 009." Green eyes narrowed, and all three vanished from sight.

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~~MAGICA~CYBORG~009~~

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Harry knew chasing after the others in his current state was a bad idea. Magic may be a limitless power, but his body could only take so much abuse.

But something was very wrong right now. He could feel it in his bones. He had to get up and find the others, make sure they were okay. Weakly, he forced his faintly shaking body up from the bed, carefully pulling out the wires that connected him to the ship's computers as he rose.

He ignored the faint headache they left as they were removed improperly, he couldn't wait for the doctor to come and disconnect him. He released a pulse to find where his glasses lay.

They were on a small table by his head, he quickly picked them up and put them on, bringing the world around him into focus.

A displeased, bark-like hoot caught his attention

"Hedwig, please, I have to get to the others. Something's not right, I can feel it." He said, looking over to his owl, his dearest familiar. Amber eyes glared at him from the end of the bed. "At least bring me my wand, I can cast a few of the healing spells Madam Pomfrey taught me before I leave. Please?"

There was a long stretch of silence as the two stared each other down. Finally, Hedwig let out a consenting hoot and bobbed her head towards a small table at the other side of the room. Harry gave her a tender smile.

"Thank you, Hedwig." He ignored the way his legs wobbled slightly as he crossed the room. He really shouldn't try to go after his team. He paused, holding his wand in a loose grip.

His team… It was the first time he'd thought of them like that. As being his, and not as "the other cyborgs" or "the group he was with".

Harry didn't have many things he'd thought of as his while growing up. The Dursleys had made it a point to tell him that anything they gave him out of the "goodness-of-their-hearts", they would take back in a moment's notice. That they were only giving it to him because they didn't want it right then, and if they changed their minds they would take it back. His food, his clothes, even his toys (the few he'd ever been given).

And that hadn't changed even in the Wizarding World.

He doubted they'd realized that, they too, had an undertone of "not really yours". His father's cloak, his parent's money, the photo album filled with pictures from his parent's friends, it just went on and on. Ron had lost his place as one of Harry's when he'd abandoned him during the Tri-Wizard tournament.

He was supposed to know him, the real him, yet the red-head had abandoned him in his moment of need. And then just turned around and expected Harry to forget about how much he'd hurt him. Back then, Harry hadn't cared about what the public thought of him, only about what the people who were supposed to know him thought. He'd let Ron come back, but the redhead never realized that he hadn't been given Harry's trust again.

He still hadn't earned it back either; he wasn't one of his anymore.

Even Hermione's place as one of his was rather shaky. Mostly due to her willingness to go over Harry's head when he would do something that she disagreed with.

At first, it had been more about him outshining her, during their early friendship. But he had been used to living with the Dursleys, where he could never be better than Dudley, and had always just mimicked Ron to appease them both. Even when he knew he could do better, be better.

Now that she was more sure of herself, she wasn't offended by him starting to come out of his old habits. But she was still rigid in her beliefs, the whole Firebolt Incident had proven to him that she was more than ready to look to someone else if she didn't like what he was doing. Even if he had a reason for believing what he did.

(Why would Sirius Black, an escaped criminal, risk exposing himself by sending Harry such an extravagant gift? Did she think the goblins would allow a convicted criminal to withdraw money from their vaults and not do anything? That he would steal it just to set a trap for him? Wizards didn't seem great at security, but they certainly weren't stupid.)

Hermione had seemed to grow out of the worst of it though after she found out what it was like to be hated for something that wasn't the least bit true, thanks to that horrid wench Rita Skeeter.

To be honest, the only things he really, truly thought of as his were his wand and his beautiful familiar, Hedwig.

But now… Now he thought of their little, ragtag team of rebel cyborgs as his.

They were the first people Harry had ever met who didn't have some blown-up expectation of him. Who would look at him and see another person like them, someone who was running blind and just trying to stay alive.

People who would encourage him to eat "just a little more", but wouldn't try to force it on him. Who'd take a moment to ask him if he was feeling alright or if he'd slept well or if he wanted to join them on the couch while they read a book.

Harry's insides burned with a surge of protectiveness, of mineminemustprotectwhat'smine!

His grip on his wand tightened. He would protect them, all of them, because they were his and he wouldn't let anyone (not Black Ghost, not the Ministry, not even Voldemort) take them from him. A small part of him couldn't help wondering how he'd grown so attached to them so quickly.

"Episkey." He murmured, pointing his wand at himself.

It was a very basic healing charm, meant to heal minor injuries like cuts and bruises of various kinds. It was the first one Madam Pomfrey had taught him, back in his second year when he'd caught his first-ever case of dragon pox and was stuck in the Hospital Wing with nothing to do. (It had been a weekend during winter, one that he'd managed to finish his homework beforehand for, as no one had wanted to spend time with him because of the whole "Heir of Slytherin" thing.)

But he was still very worn out, he'd have to work his way up to stronger spells. It was quickly followed by two more spells, one for strained muscles and one for physical exhaustion. He would have kept going, if not for the startled gasp that came from behind him. His entire body stilled.

"009…" Harry winced, slowly turning to look over his shoulder. There, standing in the doorway, was Dr. Gilmore. The man's eyes flickered between Harry, his wand, and back to Harry.

"You… Your power… You can use it to heal yourself?" He asked, his tone cautious.

"I-I- Well…" Harry hesitated, worrying his lower lip. Should he answer the man? Should he continue to remain silent? What should he do?

Except Dr. Gilmore was one of his too. Maybe… Maybe he could give the man hints? So long as he didn't outright tell them about magic, he wouldn't be breaking the Statute of Secrecy. Right?

"Only little things," he said slowly, carefully picking his words. "I-I'm not trained for, well, for healing."

"Trained? So then… There are other people with powers like yours!" The Doctor breathed, an excited glint appearing in his eyes. "What else can you do 009? How many others are- ah."

Harry hurriedly shook his head.

"I can't! I can't tell… It's not allowed! They'll force-!" Harry abruptly cut himself off. Damn his inability to lie, he almost told the Doctor too much.

He didn't want to leave them.

He didn't want the Ministry to make them forget him and force him to leave. But the doctor was a smart man, if he gave him little tidbits of information, he would figure it out on his own. He glanced at the aging man out of the corner of his eyes. The man was watching him with a look of deep contemplation on his face. Harry could practically hear the gears turning in the man's head.

"009, why are you up?" He finally asked. Harry knew the elder still had more questions, but he was glad the man was saving them for later. For now, what little Harry had given him would be enough.

"Something's wrong," he said bluntly. "I don't know what or why or how, but something isn't right. I can feel it. I have to go find the others."

The Doctor looked at him sharply.

"Don't be absurd, boy! You're in no condition to go anywhere except back to bed!" He said firmly, stepping closer to Harry. "009, even if you can heal yourself, you were still badly injured by 0010. You need to rest."

Harry gritted his teeth, emerald eyes hardening.

"No." Dr. Gilmore huffed in agitation.

"009-," Dr. Gilmore started, his frustration showing in his tone. But Harry cut him off.

"No Doctor. I am not going back to bed. I know my instincts, intuition whatever you want to call it. When it tells me something is wrong, then something is wrong." He glared down at the doctor, his hands clenched at his sides as he loomed (slightly, there was still a good couple feet between where the two were standing) over the older man, his gaze unwavering.

"I am going after them. With or without your permission." No matter how bad of an idea it may be.

"Let him go, Doctor." Both of them jolted in surprise at the unexpected mental voice.

"001? When did you wake up?" The wizard asked.

"Only a little while ago. I've been thinking ever since Professor Kozumi told me what happened. 009, what did 003 say when she first sensed 0010?" the psychic child asked. Harry paused his face in a thoughtful frown.

"At first? She said she could sense two people approaching, then she corrected herself and said there was only one person." He said carefully, thinking back to the start of the previous evening. "Why do you ask?"

"Doctor, 009, are either of you familiar with electrical polarities?" Harry blinked in confusion.

"Not me, electronics of any sort have never been a strong point for me. Is it bad?" A startled gasp escaped the scientist, drawing his attention.

"001, you can't mean that- there might be two 0010s?!" Harry looked surprised. Twins-? Oh, now he was starting to understand what they meant.

In magic, electrical-element-based magic had two forms, usually referred to as "Thunder", the aftershocks of power, and "Lightning", the burning and destructive power. Hermione had lectured him about it during their research in Fourth year, before the First Task.

"Thunder" magic focused on electrical shockwaves that were accompanied by ground shaking sound waves. They were best for fighting in large, open areas.

"Lightning" magic, however, was a very narrow and dangerous magic. Even with it being so bright, because of how focused it was, it was incredibly deadly.

People who used any kind of elemental magic were incredibly rare, and most of the time were only good at using it for fighting. It took an incredible amount of self-discipline to call on such magic if you weren't born with the talent for it. Mostly because not only were the casters pulling magic from their cores for it, they were also calling on Wild Magic to use it. And if something went wrong, it went really wrong. And usually ended with the person trying to use it getting badly hurt, or worse.

It would make sense that Black Ghost would make two electrical cyborgs. If there were two 0010s, then they may have also made use of twin magic even if they didn't know about it. It was a common staple in superstition, of thunder and lightning being two beings instead of one.

Not only that, but twins tended to unconsciously boost each other's power when they were near each other, especially if they were close enough to touch.

The Hogwarts founders put in a special rule allowing twins that had been sorted into separate houses to visit and stay in each other's dorms whenever they liked. After all, in that era, the survival of a magical family depended on the strength of its heirs. But, for reasons Harry still didn't understand, everyone seemed to either ignore or forget about that rule.

The doctor turned to Harry.

"Under most circumstances, 009, no. Both positive and negative electrical polarities are needed for any electronic to work properly. But with what little we know about 0010, it could be a very bad thing," Dr. Gilmore said, looking very pale. Harry felt himself bristling at the prospect.

"Doctor, the radio, the one in my head, can you use it to talk to me with the ship's radio?" The man shook his head, spurring a small curse from the wizard. "Hedwig, stay with Dr. Gilmore. 0010 uses lightning and I don't want you getting hurt."

Hedwig hooted at him and gracefully swooped over to the doctor, landing delicately on his shoulder. The teen quickly grabbed his belt and holstered his ray gun, all but flying around the room and out the door.

"001! Can you guide me to the others?"

"Yes, but you'll have to hurry. According to the plan 008 came up with before they left, they'll have engaged the enemy by now. They're about 4.02 kilometers [an: that's 2.5 miles] southeast from your current location." Harry nodded, even though 001 couldn't see it, and hit the acceleration switch in his teeth. It was the only way he could cross that distance and make it in time to help them. The wizard surged through the halls of the ship and out into the darkness of the early evening. "Follow the cliff-side on your right, 009. 008's plan was to force 0010 over the cliff and into the ocean water to neutralize his electrical powers, then defeat him while he was at a disadvantage."

He bounded up the cliff, leaping over rocks and dodging around trees. He was pumping the full brunt of his speed into his sprint across the ground.

"Turn left, 009, you'll be right over the others."

"Right," Harry grunted, valiantly ignoring the worst-case scenarios playing through the back of his mind. He stopped right at the edge of the cliff and felt a surge of protective rage rush through his body.

His team was cornered. Injured and huddled together, trapped between two 0010s, who were slowly stalking towards them like lazy predators. His lips curled into a furious snarl as he looked down at the scene.

"GET AWAY FROM THEM!" He bellowed, his rage boiling over. Filling his senses and sharpening his mind to a lethal point. He glared down at the twin cyborgs, both staring at him with strangely blank expressions. "You two want a fight? Then come get it."

"009, you're still alive, are you?" commented the more familiar twin dressed in blue, his lips curling into a frown. The other twin spoke up.

"I think we can remedy that situation. You won't survive this time, 009." Green eyes narrowed, and Harry bit down on his acceleration switch. As if on a silent cue, all three took off.

While searching for the others, Harry had cooked up a short, and not to mention risky, plan to beat 0010. It had been inspired by what little he knew of electronics, and the only time Vernon had tried to repair one of Dudley's toys back when he was a child. Harry tore off down an electrical line, intending on following it to the power plant it undoubtedly led to.

It was an incredibly dangerous plan, but those tended to be his best ones.

"What's the rush, boy?" asked the red twin. He sounded curious, in addition to sounding condescending. And here he'd thought only Slytherins could pull that off. "I thought you wanted to fight us?"

He gave him a cold smirk.

"Of course, flipendo!" Harry's spell was rewarded with a startled grunt as the red twin was knocked off his feet and away from Harry. The blue twin growled, lunging at him, forcing the teen to dodge to the side.

He could feel his hair standing on end as a bolt of electricity shot by him. Harry's eyes flicked to the tower ahead of him, widening in surprise. The red twin was in front of him, smirking.

"Game over, 009." Harry 'tsked' angrily, and launched himself to the side. It wouldn't be as direct as following the power lines, but he could still lead them to the plant. Harry wrenched back with a surprised curse when the blue twin appeared in his path.

"Going somewhere?" He glanced back, the red twin was behind him.

"Watch this! When we put our skills together-"

"We get maximum effect. Let us demonstrate." Harry whipped around in place, trying to keep them in his line of sight as they started circling him.

"Right now, my brother and I-"

"Control the balance of power." Harry struggled to push back the memories of Fred and George's "twin speak" flitting through the back of his mind. These two weren't his almost-brothers, they were there to kill him! He didn't notice his breathing start to pick up.

"Plus!" shouted the red twin.

"Minus!" shouted the blue, and Harry howled in agony. He could feel the electricity ripping through him as, yet again, his world went dark. But this time, he felt a strange pulling pressure envelop him just before he blacked out.

.

~~MAGICA~CYBORG~009~~

.

"009. 009!" Harry slowly blinked his eyes open. Listening as 001 continued to prod him mentally. He was laying on his side, in the shadow of a concrete building. Or was it a wall? "Are you able to get up, 009?"

"Yes, I can." He murmured, a slight slur to his speech. He glanced around slowly pushing himself up. "Where…?"

"I brought you to the Electrical plant. That's where you were heading, correct?" Leaning against the wall, Harry licked his dry lips and swallowed to wet down his sore throat.

"Yeah, h-how…?"

"I transferred you."

"Transferred?" He repeated in confusion.

"It's sort of like telekinesis or even teleporting. It's one of my abilities." Harry had no idea what telekinesis was, but what 001 was talking about sounded a lot like apparating. A similar concept, maybe? "I can move things from one place to another using my mind. However, I can only move unconscious things or objects. When you blacked out from 0010's attack, I transferred you to the power plant. It only took a split second, which kept the attack from killing you."

Harry smiled slightly.

"Thank you, 001. I owe you for that."

"Be careful. 0010 is close by. I can sense it."

The soil to his left crunched, and Harry's head snapped to the side. One of the twins gave a dark chuckle and Harry's eyes narrowed in determination. This had to work. His plan had to work. His options had run out.

"009, remember, there are two forces at work here, positive and negative! One brother is plus while the other brother is minus. Not only is that their strength, but it's also their weakness."

"I know 001, I know." He murmured, glaring down at the twins. He lunged into the maze of electrical lines, towers, and generators. He vaguely noted the evacuation alarms sounding from the main building.

Good, he wouldn't have to worry about bystanders being caught in the crossfire then.

He flicked his gaze over his shoulder. The blue twin, Minus, was currently following close behind him. He whipped out his wand and fired a spell over his shoulder.

"Defodio!" The spell gouged out a deep groove in the earth, but it had just missed Minus. He wasn't surprised by that.

He sidestepped an attack from Plus, leaping up onto the support beam and racing off in a different direction from earlier. He kept dodging bolts of electricity, he needed the twins to stay separated from each other for just a little bit longer.

He heard Minus shout something at his back, a witty comment if he had to guess, but he ignored it. Along with whatever his brother said after him.

Almost there… Harry thought, darting out of the path of another attack. Plus appeared in front of him, and he gave an almighty leap over them. The brothers narrowly avoided crashing into each other, but he could hear the electricity sparking between them. Blast it! So close…

"What's the matter, 009?" asked Minus, "Scared of a little lightning?"

Harry couldn't stop the snort that escaped him at that.

Please, do you honestly think I'm dumb enough to just stand still and let you kill me? He darted around a sharp corner, then another.

He risked letting out a pulse to find where the brothers were. Only one twin was behind him, the other must have been too far away for him to sense. He gritted his teeth, he would just have to hope he could get them to the right place.

Glancing up, Harry saw Minus launch himself from one of the towers at the teen.

And he hit his acceleration switch one last time.

He didn't need to look behind him to know when the two cyborgs collided with each other. The screams and overwhelming surge of power from behind him told him more than enough. He could feel his eyes starting to water, but they didn't form tears.

"When positive and negative polarities make contact, it causes a short in the system, and everything along the circuit is destroyed." Said 001, his mental voice soft and saddened. It seemed, even with everything the toddler had been through, he still held respect for the dead.

"Twin brothers who could never come close enough to touch or else they'd both die," he whispered. "What a terrible fate." Fred and George would rather die than live like that.

"009!" Harry looked behind him to see his team, bruised and beaten but alive, silently watching him. The light from the fire illuminated their faces and revealed their various expressions of worry.

"The power's off. We're safe for now."

.

~~MAGICA~CYBORG~009~~

.

Albert was worried about 009. While he was very mature for his age, the green-eyed cyborg was still a teenager.

And tonight, he'd been forced to kill someone.

Two people now that he thought about. 009 hadn't been put through the same trials they had suffered through, so taking someone's life was probably weighing heavily on the kid's mind. He carefully crept through the darkened hallways, trying to mimic 009's feather-light footsteps. (Not an easy task when you weigh double the average of an adult male.)

He wasn't going to try and figure out what Dr. Gilmore had finally coaxed out of 009. About some of the things 009 could do. About there being more people with powers like his.

No, that deserved more of his focus at another time, when he wasn't worried about the teenager's mental state.

It was still pretty late in the night, after being checked over by Dr. Gilmore most of the team had collapsed into bed and slipped into sleep. But he just couldn't sleep, and he doubted 009 could either.

He saw light filtering out from behind the partially open kitchen door, and subconsciously held his breath. Carefully, he widened the opening in the door and peered through. And confirmed that the person he was looking for was inside.

Sitting at the island counter, slowly petting his owl (and wasn't that an odd combination?) was 009. His gaze was distant as he sipped from a steaming mug. Albert lightly knocked on the door frame, drawing 009's attention to him. The kid jolted slightly, before spotting him and giving a weak smile. The owl hooted at him.

"Hey." God, the kid sounded so subdued. 009 was just a teenager, he shouldn't have to sound like that.

"Hey, are you feeling alright?" He asked, his voice soft. Green-eyes blinked at him, and the teen shrugged. Albert let some of his concern show. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"What's there to talk about?" 009 asked, his voice oddly quiet. Albert slipped into the room, snagging a wooden stool and sitting down next to the teen.

"You had to do something pretty hard tonight, something even soldiers would have a hard time doing. I just wanted to make sure you were okay." 009 glanced at him, a flicker of surprise on his face.

Why was he surprised? They were a team now, helping each other out is what they were supposed to do. (After all, there wasn't anyone else to help them.)

"I- I'll be okay. Once I wrap my mind around things, I'll be fine." Ah, he must still be in shock, just a little bit. He gave the teen his best, soothing smile.

"Okay then, ze-" Albert shook his head. He wasn't an expert, but when it came to emotional things, it was better to let yourself be personal with the person you were talking to. Not official or distant. "Harry, anytime you want to talk about it, or anything really, just let me know."

0-no, Harry's head snapped to him, emerald-colored eyes wide with surprise. He smiled at the teen and patted his shoulder. He stood up, heading for the door.

He wouldn't try to force Harry to talk to him. From what he'd seen of the teen, he was more likely to clam up if confronted than confess his problems. It would be best if Albert let the teen come to him instead.

"Ah, um…" came a small, hesitant call. He glanced back, his calming smile still in place. The teen fidgeted in his seat, blushing slightly, then abruptly blurted. "Uh, Wh-what's your name? Your real one?"

Albert blinked in surprise, then chuckled.

"Albert Heinrich, nice to meet you." He said. He hadn't expected the question, but it would be rude to not answer. "Good night, Harry."

A small, shy smile crept onto the younger male's face. And Albert could swear Harry's eyes shined a little brighter.

"G-good night."


AN: Okay guys, the fifth chapter is here! Sorry for taking so long. This story is a self-challenge. As much as I love how much you all enjoy this story, I don't write this for favorites or reviews. I write to improve my skills as a writer./

Next, the version of Cyborg 009 I'm working from is the 2001 anime. The timeline and events will follow that (until magic is introduced), but they will be moved forward a few years. Harry's fifth year is in 1995, so we can take about 6-7 years off the ages of 005 to 008 to get how old they would be in this story.

And… That's it really. I don't really have much to say this time.

EDIT 9/9/2016: Okay guys, I've done some grammatical editing and re-uploaded the chapter. Nothing major.

2021 Edit: Number 5 completed. Also, the Author's note Chapter that comes after this one? I'm getting rid of that. I'll give I quick sum of the points I made in the sixth chapter, but the note itself basically unneeded and I don't like having it in there so... Yeah.