Chapter Forty: Looking Forward
January 3rd, 1997 | Marauder Enterprises H.Q, Washington D.C, USA | Earth-1
In another flash of blue light, Harry Potter landed on solid ground. He raised his rifle at once, unsure if the medallion had worked. And if it had worked, Harry was unsure if the headquarters were overrun with Death Eaters. But instead of being met by cloaked Death Eaters or a dozen Voldemorts, Harry and the others were met with...surprising calmness. Though that didn't last long, seeing as those within the room noticed the seven-foot-tall armored soldiers that had just entered the room via a dimensional gateway. They were within the Control Room, where Hermione, Daphne, and the three generals (one of which was actually an admiral) were all standing around the center HoloTank examining something unimportant. Everyone in the room was on alert.
"Who are you and how did you get in his building?" asked Fleet Admiral Graham Hudson. Harry sighed. It worked. The presence of Hermione and Daphne proved it. The timeline had been reset and Voldemort had never invaded. The six-month-long war was over. Or more accurately, it had never happened. Harry reached up to pull off his helmet, removing it to reveal his face to the room. Eleven, Alyssa, Val, and the Knights followed suit, removing their helmets as well. Those within the room all appeared surprised. Hermione spoke first. "Harry? Where have you been? And...I have so many questions,"
"I know. I figured you would," Harry turned to those in MJOLNIR armor. "You're all excused," The Knights nodded immediately, exiting the room without opposition. El, Alyssa, and Val opted to stay with him in the Control Room. Turning back to Hermione, he smiled. "Ask away,"
"Where have you been?"
"Resetting the timeline so that a war caused by Voldemort - which was threatening the loss of Earth itself - wouldn't occur. However, the initial plan wasn't a success, resulting in the group being splintered across the Multiverse. I returned to Raccoon City, Eleven became lost in the future of another universe, and Alyssa became lost in our own future. After a lot of time, we were able to create this -" Harry motioned down to the medallion on his chest. "- and continue the mission. Along the way, we met Valentine Wiggin," He pointed to Val, who smiled and offered a shy wave. "She offered to accompany us on our mission and set off for my home universe. We arrived and conscripted the help of that universe Hermione, Neville Longbottom, and Astoria Greengrass. We all went back to the turning point of that timeline - the night before my parents' death - and stopped the future Voldemort from creating the timeline in which he created the massive armies he would use to invade our universe. Then we went forward in time to stop the present-day Voldemort from continuing his life. I watched myself fall through the Veil, I killed Bellatrix, killed Voldemort, and ensured that the future of my home universe was safe. Then...we came back,"
"You...stopped a war," Daphne spoke.
"A Multiversal war between this universe and my home universe. Voldemort had conquered four hundred universes and was using the combined forces of all of those worlds to attack our own. We were being overrun. We had to evacuate the entire planet save for one billion people. Our last ditch effort was to go back in time and erase his Death Eaters from existence. We succeeded,"
"You succeeded, sir. We just stood and watched," Knight Reyes spoke up.
"Right, but you were there. Emotional support is still important," Harry jokingly said.
"And you have video proof of all of this?" General Rian Shields asked.
"Of course, sir," Reyes pulled a small chip out of his belt, holding it out to Shields. "It's got everything from us leaving to arriving within the Forerunner complex. I'm sure Lord Potter can get you the rest,"
"I'm sending it to the HoloTank," Harry confirmed.
"Video received," said General Emelio O'Quinn.
"Ok. So you've been stopping a war," Hermione spoke. She motioned to Val. "She comes from one of those alternate universes?"
"The future of an alternate universe. The one I was stranded in," El answered. "She was born from an interdimensional realm known as the Outside, where you can create absolutely anything you want. Her...father Andrew, created copies of his young sister and brother. Val is the copy of his sister,"
"That...surprisingly makes sense," commented Daphne, who looked thoughtful. "And what about the suits of armor? And the height?"
Alyssa answered. "When we arrived in the Forerunner Complex in the remnants of a future planet named Harvest, we were met by an Artificial Intelligence named Athena. She was named and programmed to look like the goddess. Athena told us bits and pieces of the past - our future - and offered to help us on our mission to stop the invasion and kill Voldemort. She offered these suits of armor to us, but only those who have had their bodies augmented correctly can wear them. So we underwent the augmentations. We received neural implants to connect us to devices, muscular and skeletal treatments to make our bones unbreakable and our muscles stronger. Our organs were replaced, and we received ocular upgrades,"
Harry cut in. "By the end, we could all lift just under a ton. We can run faster than a cheetah. And we can think faster than any person on the planet. And the suits upgrade our strength. In the suit, I can lift two tons of material. It makes me stronger. Faster. More agile. It gave me the speed and power I needed to save my parents. And the boots are easily washable," He pulled up his foot to reveal the leftover fragments of Voldemort's skull and his blood. When asked to further explain the changes in their bodies by Hermione, Harry continued. "We all grew taller after our bones and muscles were extended. I went from 5' 11" to 6' 9". Eleven and Alyssa were both 5' 3", and they're now 6' 7" outside of the suit. And Val here was 5' 1", but she now stands at 6' 6","
"What's the height difference in and out of the suit?" Daphne questioned.
"The suit adds four inches. I'm 6' 9" out of the suit and 7' 1" inside. El and Alyssa are 6' 7" outside of the suit, and are 6' 11" inside. Valentine is an inch shorter, being 6' 10" in the suit," Harry answered.
Hudson spoke up. "What does the neural interface do, exactly?"
"We can plug compatible devices straight into the base of our skull to communicate with it easier. But the most important thing the neural interface does-" Harry raised the helmet he held in his hand and pulled out the 'UNSC' data chip in the back. Holding it face-up in his hand, Athena appeared over his hand. "- this. Allowing AI's to inhabit our brain directly. They can talk to us through our thoughts, and they help our minds and bodies work efficiently in battle,"
"Hello, everyone," said Athena, her hand raised in a wave.
Hermione stepped forward, examining Athena with interest. "That's...impressive. How old is she?"
"My date of creation is July 29th, 2562. As of right now, I am ninety-three thousand seven hundred and sixty-three years old," Athena replied.
"Ninety-three thousand," Daphne breathed in disbelief. "So you haven't experienced artificial degradation? Harry told us that it was the only thing keeping him from competing and AI model,"
Athena smiled. "I do not show any signs of rampancy. The last Artificial Intelligence to experience rampancy was the AI Cortana. She unknowingly cured it by releasing the Domain across the galaxy,"
General O'Quinn leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. "So what now? Now that you've finished your mission and you're home?"
Harry frowned. He wasn't entirely sure what he wanted to do. He had a few rough plans but besides that nothing was definite. And he loved that. But in the moment he had to think something came to mind. Harry's frown morphed into a smile. "Now that I'm done? Athena here gave me a lot of information about the future that I'm not interested in having repeated. I plan to revolutionize the world. And I plan to do it quickly," Harry explained. "I'm going to be going to the U.N as well as the I.C.W. I'm going to militarize the solar system, and I'm going to push forward in my plans for the technology. If all goes well, nothing like the Hydra Invasions will ever happen again. If so, we'll put a stop to it before it begins,"
Hermione smiled, grabbing Harry's hands in hers. "So...where do we start?"
February 14th, 1997
In the month since the group's return to the universe, he had designated as 'Earth-1', Harry had been doing his best to fix things. He conversed with Athena whenever he could, gaining information and ideas that had been used and implemented in the future. Despite understanding the risk of messing with time, Harry wasn't interested in the future told to him. Human revolutions, terrorism, insurrectionists, the Covenant, the Graves, Forerunners, Flood, Cortana, the Created, the Banished. All pummeling at humanity until there was nothing left. Harry wouldn't tolerate that. He couldn't let trillions of humans die in Cortana and the Banished's reign. And he surely wouldn't let the Graves finished them off.
So Harry delegated both his time and his resources completely. He promoted Dr. Maria Graves, Dr. Talia Holman, Dr. Jason Salgado, Dr. Robert Huber, and engineer Julian Wells to the head of their respective departments. And then he moved them all into his offices so that they were nearby whenever he needed them. Normally he wouldn't need to do this, but for his ideas, Harry needed cooperation. He was ramping up progress on the Dyson Sphere, the human starship fleet, advanced medicines and cures, Marauder Enterprises' new Terraformer, and a number of new weapons designed for the protection of the human race. Harry had begun to construct things through the Outside, knowing now that taking things slowly wasn't an option. Voldemort's sudden invasion was a sign of that.
So he constructed and pulled trillions of Dyson mirrors from the Outside, and placed them in orbit around the Sun. He also constructed the Distributor Array placed in orbit around the sun, as well as the Receiving Station on the surface of Mercury. It had already been tested once, and the energy received was already being used to mass-produce more mirrors and more outposts on Mercury. And with more mirrors came more energy, and with more energy came more production of outposts as well as automated drones. Drones that made it so that humans weren't required on Mercury. Until they could terraform the planet and make it safer for leisurely living, people were being pulled off of the planet with the exception of the special team left behind to observe the drones.
With the human space fleet, Harry had used the plans created and used by himself and Dr. Graves - who he now realized shared a name with the alien species destined to end humanity - to build a massive fleet that he pulled back Inside. He created four massive Carriers, five smaller Carriers, seven Cruisers, twelve Frigates, four Destroyers, and six Corvettes. He pulled them all into the shipyards on Luna, where Dr. Graves would take one of each apart for analysis, and then she would construct more based on those models. The rest would be handed off to the highest-ranking Admirals and Captains of the International Armed Forces so that the solar system could be protected from outside interference.
The new Terraformer had been quite simple to construct. With the help of Athena, Harry was able to construct plans for another planetary ring. Only this ring would circle the planet in two rotations, during which it would terraform the surface, interior, and atmosphere of any planetary body. The Forerunners had used their own terraformer to prepare millions of worlds for population, and so Harry decided to steal their design and put it to use for humanity. He had already created it in the Outside and had pulled it Inside around Venus. It was currently undergoing its first rotation, with each rotation taking six months. In the next three years, they would be able to completely colonize Venus, Mercury, and Mars. And the best part of the terraformer? Through the use of Forerunner technology, the planets would be given a protective layer that shielded them from the heat of the Sun and the freezing temperatures of space. The Goldilocks Zone meant nothing now.
And the new weapons being constructed to protect humanity consisted of hand-held firearms, anti-aircraft weaponry, anti-vessel weaponry, and defensive laser weaponry that would be stationed outside of the Planetary Defense Rings. It would act as the first line of defense for Earth and any other human colonies. Harry was impressed by the speed of Dr. Robert Huber. He had gained a lot of experience in the thirteen years he had been working for Harry, and he was quick as lightning when it came to the construction and distribution of weaponry. As the head of the National Security Division within Marauder Enterprises, Dr. Huber had already ensured that over a million Marines were armed with new hard-light and plasma weaponry, as well as outfitted with the newest model of Marine armor.
But Harry's most prized objective hadn't started yet. His very own ORION project. The Second Knights. This new iteration of the Knights would introduce the new augmentations received by Harry, El, Alyssa, Val, Echo Squad, and Tango Squad. They would all be given their own MJOLNIR armors that could be customized, and they would act as the protectors of humanity. Echo Squad and the surviving three members of Tango Squad would act as instructors to the future recruits, as well as act as living proof for the disbelieving. The project was in its infancy and hadn't been approved by the United Nations or the International Confederation of Wizards, but Harry was confident that it would be approved.
Harry now sat in the center of his lab, working over the Knights-II serum that would be used within the augmentations. He was questioning whether to add augmentations to the process or to leave it as it was. Harry was living proof that augmentations could easily be added and would improve the process, but he wasn't sure if it was necessary. In his tired state, he wasn't aware of the presence of another in his room. Not until a pair of arms wrapped around his shoulders, dropping down lazily. Harry smiled, leaning back only to frown. "El?"
"Hey, Harry," She whispered. El had her now long hair tied back into a simple ponytail, something that made her look quite attractive. Her eyes were shining in the light from his desk, and she was pressed up against his back. "You overwork yourself too much," El pointed out, motioning to the mound of work piled up in the holo-folder nearby. Harry sighed, nodding in agreement. He didn't have anything to say. She was right. He worked too much and too often to get any meaningful rest. Hermione and Daphne were most often forced to drag him from the office back to their penthouse at the top of the tower to bed. But tonight he had chosen not to be dragged. He needed to work on this project. His meeting with the U.N regarding the Knights-II project was in a week. Harry needed to finish his presentation well before then. "Come on,"
"Where?"
"You know where,"
"Nope. I don't,"
"Then let me remind you," Eleven tugged him off of his seat, and despite his better judgment Harry allowed himself to be pulled away into the elevator nearby. Eleven pressed the button leading to her penthouse suite at the top of the tower, and Harry frowned. She was taking him to her room. Before he knew it the doors opened once more and he was being pulled through into El's living room. His eyes widened in shock when he realized what was happening, but he has no time to react. Eleven grabbed hold of him by the cheeks and had pulled him into a very passionate kiss.
His immediate instinct was to pull away. To reject her as he had on the summit of Mt. Everest. But another part of him rejected the idea. He was enjoying the kiss quite a lot, and he couldn't find any reason not to return it. Daphne and Hermione had both expressed - quite often - how they were comfortable letting Eleven and Val into the fold, seeing as the four got along quite well. And he was interested in Eleven. He had been for years. It had been his own conscience and El's relationship with Mike that had stopped him from doing anything. But his conscience seemed uninterested in the subject and Mike was out of the picture. So Harry grabbed El by the waist and pulled her into him, causing a sigh of relief to pass through her lips.
The two continued kissing all the way to El's bed, where they quickly fell onto the covers. Harry reached down to pull off El's shirt but was stopped when he was suddenly grabbed by the jaw. He was turned away from El, where he came face to face with Val. She wasn't wearing anything, her naked flesh out for Harry and El to see. Val pressed her lips against his, pushing her body onto him until she was lying on top of him. He felt El's lips on his neck, and he questioned when his life had become so odd. This had definitely been planned, but he didn't currently mind this situation. He'd been in worse. When the night was over, Harry resided in a bed occupied by himself and four naked women. Hermione, Daphne, El, and Val. Life couldn't be any better.
1 1/2 Years Later | July 25th, 1998
After a year, Harry's life had improved drastically. He had married Eleven and Valentine. And most importantly, Harry had been greeted with the news in April that Daphne was pregnant. Pregnant. With a boy and a girl. Twins. Harry was then later surprised by Hermione in June, who confessed that she too was pregnant. This time with a single girl. Harry was going to be a father of three in less than a year. And yet he wasn't at all scared. Ok, that was a lie. He was slightly terrified. But he knew for certain he could be a good father. And he wouldn't be alone. Hermione, Daphne, El, and Val would be there, as long as all of their friends. His children wouldn't be alone, and they would all be raised right. That was certain.
The Knights-II program had been accepted by the UN and ICW, and already had upwards of five hundred volunteers. They were going to begin augmenting the first hundred within the year, and Harry suspected all five hundred volunteers could be augmented and fully trained by the end of the year. After all, they were all former Knight-I's and thus was fully trained in hand-to-hand combat and weapons handling. All they needed to do was be trained to function in their new bodies as well as how to function in their MJOLNIR armors. Something that Harry knew would be quite difficult.
Echo Squad had become the most popular squad within the Knights program after their role in the Hydra Invasions. The Invasions - despite not having occurred in this timeline - were common knowledge among the International Armed Forces as well as the Knights. The famous squad was being used all of the time for top-secret, highly classified missions organized by the UN as well as the ICW. They had so much black ink over their files that Harry began to question if placing the Knights under joined UN, ICW, and Marauder Enterprises control was a good idea. But he didn't dwell on it. Eventually, the UN and ICW wouldn't exist in their current forms. They would be altered into what Harry and the others made them.
Because Harry and the High Table of Marauder Enterprises - which consisted of Daphne, Hermione, Eleven, Alyssa, Admiral Hudson, General O'Quinn, General Shields, Dr. Graves, Dr. Holman, and Julian Wells - all had plans for the future of Earth. And it didn't consist of being ruled by the world governments. Their plans wouldn't work with the current government in place. They had to make something new. Something better. So while the UN and the ICW continued to give orders and make guidelines, Harry and his people were beginning to find ways to inherit control. They found it would most likely be easy. After all, almost everything on the planet had the name 'Marauder Enterprises' stamped on it, and the company had complete control over the UN's military forces, the energy of the Sun, as well as a new fleet of ships. If the UN and ICW tried to fight the change, then Harry was confident that the current global government could be 'convinced'.
It wasn't what he wanted to do, but Harry was done making minor changes. He needed things to change fast. He needed to make sure humanity was ready for everything that came at it. The Graves, the Covenant, the Flood, the Created, the Banished. Everything. Harry would ensure the survival of the human race.
"You ok, son?" Harry's eyes suddenly went into focus, turning to face Jim Hopper. The two men were seated in one of the newer bars in Hawkins, silently going over drinks. Harry had just told Hopper about Daphne and Hermione expecting, and Harry was surprised to find that the man wasn't surprised. He actually asked how they hadn't become pregnant before. After all, the three had been together for fourteen years. Harry didn't quite know how it hadn't happened yet, but he shook it off and didn't question it. He was merely happy that it was happening now.
"Yeah, I'm fine,"
"You're scared. Aren't you?"
"Yeah...just a bit," Harry replied honestly.
"You'll be a great father," Hopper told him, grabbing Harry by the shoulder.
"I'm not worried about that. I just...I don't know if the world is good enough for them. I don't want to help raise a child in the state we're in now. Everything's changing. Currency, jobs, pay, rate of work, the birth of new industries, the death of old ones. Everything is going by too fast," Harry explained.
"But that's good. It's proof that things are getting better," Hopper told him.
"I know. But I can't help but worry,"
Hopper smiled. "It proves you care,"
"I do care. More than anything and anyone," Harry said. "I care about all of you. You. Eleven. Joyce. Nancy. Will. Johnathan. Dustin. Mike. Everyone. I only regret that I didn't make the most of our time together when it wasn't filled with work and wars,"
"They didn't hate you,"
"I know. But I didn't like them and they didn't like me. I regret not making myself approachable," Harry confessed.
"You were lost. You lost your girlfriend and your new home. You thought you were a plague. Anyone in your situation would be unapproachable," Hopper explained. Harry frowned, nodding. It was what Nancy had told the Party after his trip into Will's body. He wanted to call Nancy. Talk to her. He hadn't heard from anyone in Hawkins in quite a while, what with the Invasions and the work he had been doing since. This bar visit was his visit to Hawkins in almost two years. Harry needed to stop by more. "So...how is Eleven doing? Is she...you know...too?"
"No. El isn't pregnant. We're both not ready for that. Especially after hearing about Hermione and Daphne," Harry replied.
"You know, I still think it's weird. You reject her as a hormonal teenager, but you can't help but be seduced as a twenty-seven-year-old man," Hopper laughed. Harry rolled his eyes, letting out his own soft chuckle as he took a drink. Then he lowered it. He felt...uncomfortable. No. Not that. Harry suddenly felt scared. Terrified. Dropping his drink on the table Harry got off of his stool, trying to process what was happening. It was a connection. He was feeling someone else's emotions, he knew that for certain. But he didn't know whose. "Harry? You ok, kid?" Harry swayed slightly, a tightness in his chest causing him to breathe heavily. Even his augmented lungs didn't seem to help him catch his breath.
"Harry, we have a situation," Athena - who was now his personal AI - spoke. She was within his neural interface, speaking directly into his mind.
"Yes. I'm aware. I can feel it," Harry commented.
"What? No. We have a report coming in from Missouri. It's a Code Black,"
Harry took in a deep breath, the connection calming down. He sighed. "Missouri. Code Black...are you sure?"
"Yes. It's coming from the depths of the Arklay Mountains. Near Raccoon City. Would you like to respond with a Knight Squad?" Harry ignored the question. He suddenly felt numb inside. Raccoon City. Was here. In this universe. In this timeline. Of course, it fucking was. That was Harry's luck after all. Then Harry remembered the date. July 25th, 1998. The day the survivors of S.T.A.R.S escaped Spencer's Mansion. Harry felt ready to panic. It was happening all over again. The bioweapons. The attack on Raccoon City. It was all happening again. Harry turned to Hopper, who was watching him cautiously.
"I'm not ok. I'm far from ok,"
