"You must be Lana."
Lana was currently taking inventory behind the counter of the Talon as the other workers served the customers. She was surprised to hear a refined English voice address her with such familiarity that was female.
"Can I help you?" She asked as she kept her face passive.
"Genevieve Teague, Jason's mother." She said with a regal nod. "I had heard that my son had found himself a young girl and a decent job. Not what his father and I wanted for him of course but at least its something."
Lana had the distinct feeling that she was being insulted.
"Sorry Miss, we aren't looking to change our suppliers."
Lana had to quickly suppress her laughter at the overly common accent Scott had used, especially considering the look of outrage on Mrs. Teague's face.
"I am not a sales person." She said with slight twitch.
"Oh, sorry. You're just a bit more dolled up than our regular clientele." He said the last word with a horribly affected posh accent. "Be a love and take a seat though, we need this area for serving the customers."
"I was just discussing some personal matters with Miss Lang." She said as she attempted to maintain her calm.
"Girls working at the moment. She gets off at eight though. You can try calling at the Potter Castle if you want to talk to her then." Scott shrugged. "Hop to it luv." Scott grinned as he swatted Lana's backside with the towel he was carrying.
Luna just laughed and headed back to the office, leaving Scott to have his fun. She made a quick mental call to Jean to see if she and Scott would be willing to patch her into his mind so she could watch the rest of his conversation with Genevieve Teague.
"It seems you are quite familiar with the young lady, Mr…?"
"Summers. Scott Summers." He answered as he held out his hand with big grin.
She looked at it as though he were holding a dead rat.
Scott just shrugged and started to wipe down the glass covers on the counter. "Lana's like family. Me and the missus took custody of her a year or so back. Her aunt was leaving town and she didn't want to leave her school and friends."
"Quite." She sighed in irritation. "Wait… you said the girl lived at Potter Castle, you can't honestly expect me to believe you live there too?"
Scott dropped the lowly bartender mannerisms and just looked at Genevieve with a small smile that didn't reach his eyes. "I don't expect you to believe anything, Mrs. Teague. I do expect you to be a bit more respectful when dealing with my friends and family though. Lana is more than intelligent enough to pick up on your attitude and insults. If all you are here to do is insult my adopted daughter then you can think again and stay away from her."
"I don't take orders from anybody Mr. Summers." She had been a little shocked when the more refined character suddenly took form in front of her, but she was much more comfortable duelling with words with an armed opponent.
"The Sheriff might disagree with you on that one. Not to mention the State Department. Lana is considered part of Harry Potter's family and has diplomatic credentials… you might want to reconsider your intentions towards the girl with an untouchable family… the Sheriff hates it when she has to… clean up after us." He said with a sinister smile.
"Diplomatic credentials can be revoked, Mr. Summers." She countered.
"I think you're forgetting who's running the country." Scott laughed.
"For now Mr. Summers, for now." She said as she turned on her heal and stalked off.
"Mrs. Teague?" Scott called out. She stopped and turned, fixing him with an icy glare; very aware that she was now the centre of attention of the evening crowd currently packed into the coffee shop. "Didn't you want to order a drink?"
"I wouldn't order from here if it was the last place on Earth, Mr. Summers." She sneered.
"I think I can help you keep that promise." Scott nodded. "We're invoking our right to refuse service to you. Please leave and don't return or I'll have to call the Sheriff."
Genevieve looked like she had swallowed something… that she really shouldn't have. She turned and stormed out.
As soon as the door closed a cheer erupted from the patrons as they clapped. Scott gave a small bow and a smile before heading back to the office to check on Lana.
"That. Was. Amazing." Lana stated emphatically.
"I know we teach you not to banter with the enemy but there are exceptions." Scott said as he took a seat behind the desk. "When dealing with politicians and the rich it is better not to let them have the verbal edge. Always put them on the defensive, avoid answering their questions by turning the question back to them."
"And never let them storm out with the last word?"
"Depends on the word, but I think you've got the idea." Scott agreed. "If they leave angrily swearing death and destruction then let them leave and smile as they do, happy that you angered them.
"If they make calm and measured threats then yes, get the last word in. Harry's favourite is asking them not to do it on a random day like, two weeks from Saturday. It usually throws them off."
"Does Clark know about these… 'techniques'?" She asked.
"Yes… but Clark never uses them because he's too damned nice!"
"Let's see, assault, attempted murder, conspiracy to commit fraud, conspiracy… well… the list just keeps going on, doesn't it?" Captain Sawyer said with a raised eyebrow as she addressed the beautiful young woman known as Shannon Bell.
Lex had been approached by beautiful brunette at the charity fundraiser. He had made polite small talk but had missed the part where he had been drugged. Fortunately Tess was watching as his bodyguard from a distance and managed to save the young woman when her partner, Shannon, tried to change the plan and murder her.
They were apparently a couple of ex-one-night-stands from the clone. They were looking for revenge for being ignored. Shannon plans seemed to go a fair bit further than Eve's, the young woman.
"Its his word against mine." Shannon said smugly. "By the time I'm finished his name will be mud."
"It was your word against his, now it is your word against your partner's." Sawyer countered with a smirk of her own. "One of the pitfalls of trying to murder your partner I guess. I'll leave you to decide if you want to fight this or do the smart thing and confess."
The Captain exited the interrogation room and headed to her office where Lex Luthor was waiting with his bodyguard, Mercy Graves. Mercy was an unusual puzzle; she had literally appeared out of nowhere and was now seen as a permanent fixture wherever Lex went.
"Mr. Luthor. I'm sure you will be pleased to know that Eve Andrews has rolled on her partner. We are just giving her a chance to ponder her options." Maggie Sawyer stated as she took her seat.
Lex could see that Captain Sawyer was not happy at having to deal with him. It was definitely part of the problem his clone had caused. All those bridges and friendly relationships he had built and cultivated had been ripped to nothing by his evil clone.
Lex never thought his life would become the plotline for a sci-fi thriller.
"What are your opinions on the young women, Captain? Can they be rehabilitated?" Lex asked calmly.
"Rehabilitated? I'm sorry, I was under the impression you only cared about crushing your enemies."
"Depends on the enemy." Lex countered quickly. "That said I feel responsible for part of this mess. I just don't know how responsible to feel." He said uncomfortably. "I did engage in relations with the women for one night only, but they were both consenting adults. I am not fond of the thought that I may have spurned them unnecessarily."
"You've never struck me as they type to care about other's feelings."
Lex could see he wasn't going to get anywhere with Sawyer like this. "Captain, I will be heading back to my apartment for now. Could you meet me there tomorrow?" He asked as he stood up and buttoned his suit jacket.
"For what reason, Mr. Luthor?" She asked suspiciously.
"I would love to be able to tell you right now why but I prefer to exercise the utmost caution and I fear bugs and eavesdropping." Lex explained. "I promise that I will answer all your questions if you can make it."
"And if I can't?"
"Then you should know that you are working with only half the facts. You will still be able to do your job but… things will make more sense if you listen to what I have to say."
"What time?"
"Whenever you are available. I will be at home all day."
"We'll see Mr. Luthor. But no promises."
Lex graced her with a small but appreciative smile. "That is all I ask."
"You're really going to tell her about… everything?" Tess asked as she sat in the limo with Lex.
"She deserves to know and she could be a good ally. She already has a previous connection with Harry and Clark."
"Have any of the natives of our universe ever revealed the secrets on their own?"
"Not that I know of. Clark might have come the closest when Harry encouraged Clark to reveal his secret to me." Lex chuckled in fond remembrance. "He was so scared I was going to have him strapped down to a lab table."
"He can't have been that bad." Tess argued.
"Ask Chloe about some of his previous excuses for covering up his powers. Better yet, ask them about the events surrounding and including how he revealed his abilities to Chloe and Lana." Lex smiled.
"Maybe we'll have a home movie night." Tess mused. "Earl has been experimenting with memory projections. Xander says Harry developed them when he was fifteen. I can't believe he was dealing with this sort of thing back then."
"He wasn't."
The siblings jumped as the privacy screen separating them from the driver lowered.
"He only had to deal with a single corrupt government and a dark lord who wanted him dead because of a prophecy."
"Logan, what are you doing here?" Tess demanded.
"Sweetheart, you may be an Amazon, but you have a long way to go before your god, goddess and queen will let you go off on solo missions. I'm your backup, Amara asked me to do this, I suppose it's a little thing really but I hate these damned suits." The short mutant grumbled as he pulled at his shirt collar.
"Won't people recognise you as- they put a charm on your identity, like they did me, didn't they?" Tess said in realisation.
"Your driver today is one James Howlett." Logan snorted.
"How did they come up with that one? My first name is a play on my last but the rest is the equivalent of my superhero name."
"It's my real name." Logan explained. "Back in the day before Harry turned up, I had full blown amnesia. I had no idea who I was, just flashes of a lot of bad days. I went by Logan back then. Eventually I discovered my name was James Howlett, most embarrassing day of my life." He muttered.
"James is fine name." Lex frowned.
"It's a damned posh name!" Logan argued. "I had spent all those years after losing my memory cultivating a hard earned rep as the biggest baddest bastard around. I was the best at what I did and what I did… weren't for people named 'James'." He spat the name in disgust.
"I think its perfect." Tess giggled. "Now then," She said primly. "Home James, and don't spare the horses."
"God damned kids." He muttered. He swore Xander had cheated when they had gambled to see who would get this job.
Clark was happily sitting in his office at MBI and going over the latest reports sent up from Takami regarding the companies innovations when he felt a strange compulsion and pull to head to Themiscyra. He didn't know what it was that was causing it but he headed over and opened the door to the Disciplinary Squad lounge.
Unfortunately only Mutsu was present.
"Are you ok Uncle?" Mutsu asked carefully. "You seem… off somehow."
"I have unnatural desire to head to Themiscyra, Mutsu. I was hoping to take some backup but I don't think the Amazons will take kindly to me bringing a man."
"It will not be a problem, Uncle." Mutsu waved a dismissive hand as he grabbed his sword and stood. "As long as I am there as yours to command they will accept me in my present role."
"How can you be so sure?" Clark asked.
Mutsu just smiled slyly. "It is how we Sekirei would respond to Amazons accompanying you or Miya."
"Fine, come and stand by me. We will be silent and invisible to check for threats."
"Understood Uncle."
Clark placed a hand on Mutsu's shoulder but then paused and looked at his adopted nephew suspiciously. "You wouldn't just be trying to con your way onto an island full of unattached and beautiful women would you?"
"You wound me Uncle!"
"No, Mutsu, I'm not the one who will be doing the wounding." Clark smirked.
Clark teleported himself and Mutsu to the source of the mysterious pull. He was surprised to see every Amazon in the temple and, from what he could see, stretching outside, kneeling on the floor with their heads bowed.
At the altar was the high priestess who was praying over an assortment of what looked like hair that he felt a strange pull to. He was certain it belonged to Kyla.
"Check the perimeter for intruders, if you find a male you don't recognise, remove their head and call me." Clark instructed under the silencing charm.
Mutsu silently nodded and moved off.
"Clark? Are you here?"
Clark turned to where Kyla, who was in the first row of Amazons, had sat up on her haunches and was looking around curiously before she zoned in on him.
"I'm here Kyla." He sent through the magical telepathy. "What's going on? I felt a pull to come here. Is there trouble?"
Kyla rolled her eyes. "No you moron, we were making a sacrifice to you and requesting your presence. Hurry up and appear so the girls don't think you are shunning them."
Clark dropped his invisibility and stealth spells revealing himself to the Amazons.
"All hail Kal-El." The High Priestess said loudly but reverently.
"ALL HAIL KAL-EL." The response was just as reverent but when it came from several hundred women… it was substantially louder.
"Greetings Amazons. I apologise for my lateness but this is the first time I have been called on in such a manner. Please rise." Clark said respectfully, he waited for the Amazons to stand before turning to the High Priestess. "Penelope, how may I aid you?"
"My Lord Kal-El, recent information has come to the attention of the Amazon nation. Is it true that you can hear the voices of all the innocent in the world who call out in pain or for help?"
Clark looked down at the front row where Kyla and the Smallville Amazons where standing with their heads bowed. Even Jodie, the latest sister was present. At the forefront was Amara, dressed in a regal flowing white toga with the crown upon her head and Diana at her side.
"It is true, I have learnt to… ignore much of the noise but even now I can hear them and the anguish they feel."
"This is unacceptable for us as you are one of our gods." Penelope said firmly. "We beg that you would allow us to enter the world of man to help those who need us and to relieve some of the burden from you." She finished by kneeling before the young god.
Clark frowned. "Daughters of Aphrodite, you honour me with your words, actions and desires. But this is not something I can decide on my own. I would be blessed to have you in the world aiding myself and those who need us, but this would bring the Amazon Nation further into the world. We must plan carefully and discuss our next step. Most importantly, Aphrodite must give her blessing.
"Let us not forget that we would be fools to not call upon the wisdom of Athena."
"Lord Kal-El, we have procured a list of countries willing to allow the Amazon nation to assist you." Amara said as she stepped forward and handed him a sheet of paper that simply held a list of countries.
Clark smiled as he saw the list. Most of the countries were third world countries. He wouldn't let the Amazons near a few of them for fear they would be horrified by what they found and go on a rampage.
He did that enough himself with Harry.
"This will be a much larger leap into the wider world." Clark addressed the Amazons. "As I said, I cannot simply give you permission without consulting the others, but I will fight for your right to do so and you will go with my blessing."
A cheer went up from the Amazons and Clark couldn't help but smile at the women who wanted to do all they could to help.
Clark had grown up having to handle weekly catastrophes, emergencies and disaster.
And that was just when he was living in Smallville.
Then he met Harry and he learnt how to think ahead and to prepare contingencies, counter-actions and responses.
As soon as the Amazons had presented him with their request to help him protect the innocent of the world, his mind had gone straight to one of his stored plans at MBI.
MBI didn't just have the Sekirei; they also had a complete military outfit of several thousand men and women as well as a variety of land, air and sea vehicles. At the moment these assets, both human and otherwise, were assigned as reserve troops for the Japanese military. They still worked for MBI but they were there to handle any overflow the Japanese military couldn't. Especially with a substantial percentage of the Japanese military in America until the new government took power.
The members of the Disciplinary Squads each had nominal command over one squad of men along with necessary vehicles and supplies.
It had taken a lot of training over the past two years by Miya and Logan to get the Sekirei ready to command.
This gave Clark what he needed as he had a force of nearly all female commanders that he could assign Amazon warriors to. This way the Sekirei in charge would act as a liaison and mentor for the normally isolated women.
If every Sekirei took four Amazons and taught them about 'Man's World' then those four Amazons could take on another four Amazons and pass on their knowledge, the pattern would continue as needed.
Of course each group would learn about a different culture, as the Japanese culture was far different than the Australian culture or African cultures.
Clark suspected that Harry would become far busier as the number of evil humans rounded up for him to destroy would sky rocket.
That was something else the Amazons and Sekirei needed to remember: Don't kill the bad guys.
Or so he thought…
"You don't need to look so broody when you think. Daddy called it 'pulling an Angel'."
Clark looked up in surprise from his desk to see the soul of Luna Lovegood sitting in the chair opposite.
"Luna? Did I call you here?" Clark asked curiously.
Luna just giggled. "No, I'm unique as I can travel to visit when I want."
"Is that part of you being Harry's first soul mate?"
"I suppose it is." Luna mused. "I've never really thought about it. I've only ever appeared to Harry before, I never managed to appear elsewhere. I've tried, but you are the first person other than Harry I have travelled to."
"I suppose it makes sense though; given the strong connections between Harry and myself." Clark pointed out. "So did you just come to chat?" He asked with a smile.
"No, but I will do one day." She returned the smile. "I came because like your lovely Amazons and Sekirei, the souls of the afterlife have a similar offer for you."
Clark frowned curiously but said nothing.
"The dead are not permitted to cross the veil from the afterlife with out the permission of Lord Death… or yourself as his Right Hand.
"But we can control and enforce the borders of the afterlife with yours and Harry's permission.
"When your Amazons and Sekirei have defeated and killed an enemy in battle or execution, the souls of the other side will join together and deny their entry… we will force them to become ghosts."
"Ghosts? Won't that make them hard to find for us?" Clark asked as he leaned forward.
"Not for magicals like yourself and the Amazons. Or anyone that Harry makes a magical. But it will save you from having to hold onto your prisoners instead of executing the worst ones."
"I haven't heard much about ghosts from Harry." Clark said thoughtfully.
"In the worlds where Harry rules, ghosts do not exist, Harry helps them move on. But go to places like Chernobyl and Hiroshima and you will see the millions of ghosts that are still suffering."
"Suffering?"
"Being a ghost is not supposed to be a pleasant experience." Luna said seriously. "All your senses are dulled, emotions are hard to feel… it is why existing ghosts will jump at the chance to pass on."
"Is that what you are experiencing now?"
"No." She smiled at his concern. "I am a soul, visiting with permission. A ghost is trapped, like an illegal immigrant…able to see the world they now live in but not permitted to partake and interact. I am more of a tourist."
"But I can tell you are in pain." Clark said as he stood and walked round the table.
"Yes, I have already spent too long here."
"Then go, we can talk more another time." Clark promised.
"Call me when you get to the places I mentioned, I will help the souls cross over."
Tess was having a really bad day.
First of all she and Lex had to take a tour of the LuthorCorp facility that had been set up under everyone's noses in Smallville. That was a major annoyance as they couldn't just shut it down at the drop of a hat due to military funding. They had been taking the elevator down to the underground facility when there had been a power cut.
That was when the day had gone to pot.
The brakes had failed and the cable snapped as they plummeted to the bottom of the shaft.
She had tried to grab Lex and teleport out only to not be able to find him. So she teleported herself out to the castle to get Jean, Clark or Harry.
The castle was not where she wound up.
She found herself in the city of Themiscyra, alone.
Where there should have been hundreds of women guarding the walls, running the stalls or just running errands… there was just herself.
She began calling out the names of her sisters.
"PENELOPE!
"HELEN!
"DESDEMONA!
"RHEIA!"
The only response was her own voice echoing back at her.
"Tess! Run!"
Tess didn't recognise the hoarse, panicky voice approaching down the street. The person was running as fast as they could towards her with a dark tall figure striding calmly behind.
"Run!"
Tess made to move to a defensive stance but faltered as she finally recognised the figure running towards her.
Never had she even dreaded seeing her Queen in such a state.
Her clothing was ripped, her face was badly beaten, a bleeding wound on her abdomen… Amara Aquila should never be in such a way.
She was too strong…
Not in magic, muscle or intelligence…
But in her family…
Her allies…
Her very spirit.
"Ah, my dear wayward daughter."
Tess' blood ran cold as the striding dark figure revealed itself as Lionel Luthor… with a gun.
"You're not real. Harry imprisoned you in that cage." Tess said shakily as she grabbed her Queen and pushed her behind her.
"You simple people." Lionel laughed mockingly. "You truly put all your faith in someone claiming to be Death when you already know he can be trapped and contained so easily!"
"You are not here." Tess said more firmly.
"Everybody lies, my dear. Does it really surprise you that you've fallen for the biggest lie of all? That someone calling themselves 'Death' could trap me?"
"Everybody lies. No one can defeat me. Tremble at my presence. Yada yada yada." Came a strong female voice with a Boston accent.
Tess half turned only to find Amara had been replaced by a curvy brunette wearing tight black pants, a tight white t-shirt and a leather jacket. She had one hand on her cocked hip and snarky look on her beautiful face.
"This is why Boy-Toy never let the bad guys rant." She said as she stepped between Lionel and Tess. She didn't even spare Lionel a glance as she faced Tess. "You really gonna stand there and listen to him? I know Xand has been teaching about dealing with the Big Bads." She shot a look of mild disgust over her shoulder. "Not that he counts as one."
"Is this one of your little 'sisters'?" Lionel asked condescendingly. "Someone else for me to practice on before we get down to business ourselves, right, Lutessa?" He said as he expertly checked the chamber on the gun.
"You do realise this is all in your head, right?" The brunette asked.
"Where is my Queen?" Tess demanded cautiously, never taking her eyes off Lionel.
"My guess is she is probably standing over your body with your god and goddess… and can I just say… your god… humina humina humina!" She winked salaciously. "What was the last thing you remember before you came here?"
"Lex and I were visiting a LuthorCorp site in Smallville."
"So nice of you to keep the name." Lionel smirked as he took aim at the woman.
"Ignore him." She instructed. "Do you know what they were working on at the lab? Here's a hint: It came from Gotham."
Tess frowned; she was still fighting her fear of Lionel. She hated the thought that he might return and take away everything she loved… like her brother and her Amazon family.
Fear!
"The Scarecrow's fear toxin!" She gasped.
The brunette nodded approvingly. "A highly concentrated dose. You got caught in a leak and now you have to deal with this piece of shit." She sneered at Lionel.
*BANG*
"That's enough-" Lionel paused in shock as he noticed the brunette still standing there, not a scratch on her.
"This is all in your mind, girl." She told Tess, completely ignoring Lionel. "But whilst you are here… its always good to face your fear… and give it a kick in the happy sacks. Have fun!" She grinned.
"Who are you?" Tess asked. She didn't seem like one of the gods and she definitely wasn't an Amazon.
"Just tell Boy Toy me and the nymph are looking forward to him coming back." She winked. "Remember, you gotta have faith!"
And with that she vanished.
Leaving her standing alone with Lionel Luthor.
Tess spared a quick glance at her surroundings. Then she focused on Lionel.
She knew Lionel was dead. She had been there when Harry and Clark had sent him to eternal torture.
This was all in her head.
Fear has no power over someone who knows it is all fake.
Everything vanished.
Tess was now floating in a void of white; she closed her eyes and revelled in the peace and calm until she was awakened.
Lex woke up groggily and to the feeling of someone smacking his cheeks.
"Harry, if you don't cut it out I swear to God I will have Chloe or Clark zap you." He said without opening his eyes.
"Hey!"
Harry's voice sounded a little too far away.
Lex's eyes snapped open to see the grinning face of Dani staring down at him. Still slapping him.
"Dani? Cut it out!" He grumbled as he slapped her hands away.
"I told him I could get him to blame yo- ow!" She grabbed her butt where Lex had sent a stinging hex at her.
"Nothing compared to what I was going to have done to Harry." Lex scowled. "What happened?" He asked Harry.
"Dani wanted to wake-"
"Not that and you know it. Why am I here at the Castle Infirmary?" He rolled his eyes at Harry's antics.
"The facility you were visiting today? It was working on weaponising the Scarecrow's fear toxin. They did a pretty good job."
"Yes… I remember now." He nodded in thought.
"Urgh… feisty short brunette?"
Lex looked over to see Tess sitting up and rubbing her temple.
"You aren't short or brunette." Lex frowned.
"No, in my… nightmare… I had a feisty short brunette come and help me. She didn't seem like one of the gods though."
"Oh… well my mother came to me." Lex admitted. "You probably met a soul from the other side."
"It wasn't anyone I recognise. Do we know someone named Boy Toy?" She asked.
Neville who was nearby and working on their patient records snorted a laugh. "Xander; go give your message to Xander." He explained.
Tess looked to Harry for more of an explanation.
"I am not getting involved in my dad's love life."
"The woman was his lover?"
"Did I just not say I wasn't getting involved?" Harry demanded petulantly.
"You all got off easy." Came a new voice.
Lex and Tess turned to see General Sam Lane ease himself off his bed. "I got visited by my late wife. My very pissed off late wife." He grimaced. "If you will excuse me, I need to make some phone calls."
They watched the one armed General walk unsteadily out of the hospital wing. Neville put his clipboard down and followed.
"What about the scientists and personnel at the facility, what happened to them?" Lex asked as he turned back to Harry.
"Dead. They were exposed to the toxin for too long and their hearts gave out. You two only survived because Tess' ingrained Amazon Training had her teleport straight to the castle. Neville was on duty and sent me in to find you."
"See? And you were complaining about having a full time bodyguard." Tess said smugly.
"You had a sister Harry, was she always like this?" Lex asked.
"Well… I suppose… but she was also a seer and too damn cute to argue with." Harry admitted.
"I agree." Clark said as he walked in through the far doors. "On all counts."
"You're not going to get all smug about this too are you?" Lex groaned as he flopped back on the bed.
"Me? No." Clark grinned. "But you should know that the Amazons have just put in an additional requisition to at least double your bodyguard detail."
"Oh god."
"The Sekirei have made a similar request."
"What? Why would they do that?"
"Because you are the brother of their god." Miya stated as she walked in. "Not to mention the brother of the man who saved them from Minaka."
"Welcome to my world Lex." Clark was now the smug one.
"Is everything ok, General?" Neville asked the seemingly older man… he was a mere infant compared to Neville.
It was only the acknowledgement of this fact that stopped the General from snapping at the man for even asking.
"Yes and no." He admitted. "There is nothing wrong that any of you need to deal with… just some issues my wife demanded I take care of… which I now realise I shouldn't have let happen." He sighed.
"If you need help than feel free to ask." Neville insisted. "If there is one thing we have always insisted on, even when we were kids, its that we should never have to do things alone. No matter the issue."
"I wouldn't think you would need anyone." The General commented with a raised eyebrow.
Neville just smiled. "Its not really about an individual being able to handle situations, its about how our loved ones react.
"When we were just young fifteen year olds, Harry had to finish off a Dark Lord that had been hunting him down and trying to kill him since, literally, before he was born. He had a plan, he had an army- a multi-national army backing him and I was by his side.
"He did the whole thing in secret, just an elite team filled with need to know personnel.
"When the news broke the following day his girlfriend and family laid into him. Not because he did it without them but because he didn't warn them. They had to learn from the TV that Harry had been a hair's breadth from leaving them."
"But they weren't part of the 'need to know' group." The General pointed out.
"These were all people who would have died before giving up a secret and would have accepted being sequestered for the duration of the operation.
"The point is, they needed to know, they had a right as family. They didn't need specifics, they just needed to know that there was a chance he wouldn't come back or that he would come back hurt."
"I can see your point, but I don't see how it will apply to my current problems."
"Then here is another bit of information. For over fifteen million years, Harry was stuck on Earth after all life, animal and vegetable had died out. I was the only one who could visit him. Now he has a large family that will be with him forever, but he still needs to see his sister, his father and his other girlfriends and wives and children.
"The most powerful being in existence needs his loved ones. A mere mortal trying to do what he can't… what he shouldn't, is one of the dumbest things possible." Neville finished with a small smile before he teleported away without giving the General a chance to respond.
A/N: Back To Sunnydale?
Ok, so I am putting this here because people keep mentioning it and... some people have threatened to start begging.
I intended to write a trip to Sunnydale 'verse since I started writing this particular instalment. I haven't written a single word but I have the title and a good deal of what will happen stored in my noggin'... so just hope I don't trip and fall... which is a good possibility as I walk with a stick.
I may start writing it before I finish this stor- ah what the hell, I'll start now. I usually have several stories going at once, I might as well make this one of them.
I don't know where I will end Death's Little Brother... I'm thinking about somewhere around the Thanagarian invasion. But I like to leave things open so that I can go back and add a sequel. I am hoping to continue M-Day at some point... not to mention The Champion.
Anyway, I am about to open a new word file and start writing some chaos... more a chaos.
