Chapter One: Submerging
The three men stood in silence. Two men and a boy more exactly. But in his eyes, both men saw what they saw in the mirror every day since they had lost their best friends. Something that made the boy count as a man, despite not being of age. It was the look of loss, the look of a burden. A look they knew too well, one that drove them to be the men they were today, to prevent that look from being in someone else's eyes as well.
It was this look that mellowed Batman's heart just enough to not distrust the boy immediately. Yet, the detective in him needed information. The reporter in his companion was also curious, but he was too much of a boy scout to ask such things without being provoked.
"What are you doing here?" The raspy voice was softer, but still spoke of a hidden strength, as well as a lot of caution.
Before the young mage could answer, however, a loud explosion drew their attention. It was quite close by, at a nearby bank. In mere moments, the two heroes turned and jumped of the rooftop, in the direction of the blazing fire. Sirens started blaring, as Harry ran to the edge of the roof. The Batman seemed to be floating down, his cape spread like the wings of a bat. Superman however, was levitating straight down, at an incredible speed, faster, yet more controlled than falling.
He was up so high, he quickly lost sight, so he started running down the fire escape, something inside him urging him to join the two oddly clad people. Maybe it was his saving people thing, and he was simply drawn to the explosion. Or it was his Gryffindor courage… more like recklessness.
Superman stopped 'falling', floating about twenty foot above the ground, surveying the situation. He knew Bruce would not appreciate it if he rushed in. And his friend had Kryptonite to back it up. Batman dived down, his cape fluttering, as a swayed, banking and turning, spiralling down, till he landed on the roof of the entranceway to the bank. The explosion had happened just to the left of it, and the fire was growing.
Harry was far behind, but intent on following. He tried to keep his eyes on the scene as well as possible, quite impressed at the skills and powers displayed by the twosome. Then, in a manoeuvre reminiscent of his Quidditch playing, the wizard jumped of the fire escape stairs, and grasped a tall vertical pole. He slid down rapidly, and in seconds, he touched the concrete in the alley. His hands were burning lightly, though, but adrenaline made him ignore it as he now exited the alley, and tried to approach the bank without drawing to much attention to himself. He could have used his Invisibility cloak about now.
***
Sneaking over the roof of the bank, Batman found one of the exhaust vents and crawled in it smoothly. After his rigorous training as a ninja, acrobatics were one of his most important skills, only hindered a bit by his heavy armour. He moved through the ventilation shafts, till he came across a roster that gave him a view of things inside the bank.
He was treated to the most unpleasant sight of Harvey Dent, alias Two-Face, laughing madly, a smoking cigar in one had, an equally smoking gun in the other. His thugs were all around him, dragging bags of cash with them and placing more explosives, while holding the night guards hostage.
The Dark Knight had a full complement of Batarangs and all his other gizmos. Slowly, he crept out of the vent, keeping to the shadows, playing to his strengths. Then, the sirens of the approaching police cars blared through the night, making the thugs twitchy. Their guns were all at the ready, and the more inexperienced ones were aiming at the four hostages.
Then, chaos broke out, as one of the nervous men fired a shot outside, at the approaching police officers. Cursing, Harvey shot the trigger happy thug, while the others all went to full alert and activated the bombs. Clark smashed in through the wall, going immediately for the hostage at top speed. Batman shot his grapple and swung down, three metal bats whirling through the air before his feet touched the ground. Two disarmed some thugs painfully, the other one exploded in thick smoke, giving cover to the superheroes and the hostages.
The Dark Knight engaged the criminals, his fighting style perfect and brutal at the same time. He twirled between the thugs, hitting, kicking, ducking and spinning, as one after the other was disarmed and dropped to the floor. A few opened fire… bullets bounced off or flattened against the blue and red-clad superhero. Smoke from the Batarang mixed with the smoke of the fire.
A deep breath.
A rush of frosty air.
The smoke cleared, revealing a put out fire, and most of the robbers unconscious on the floor. Two-face, however, was running and slipped out through an emergency exit. Both heroes made to follow, but a beep from the bomb drew their attention. The timer was counting down… only ten seconds to go. Too little to disarm it, even for the Man of Steel. Nodding at each other in unspoken agreement, Superman dove for the bomb, grabbing it and flying straight up, through the roof.
He kept ascending till the night's sky was lit in a flash of fire, the bomb, in Clark's hands exploding high above the city's skyline.
Meanwhile, Bruce was pursuing one of his enemies, through the emergency exit. Racing through the long hallway, they ended up in an alley. Harvey was far ahead of his adversary, and had almost reached his getaway car. He was stopped however, as a black-clad figure appeared from the shadow, a wooden stick pointed at the criminal's chest.
***
When Harry reached the bank, he crawled up a dumpster, intending to reach a window. He wanted to get inside the bank as well. But as he reached the window, he could only look on in awe. Not only did they look like the comic book heroes Dudley had been raving about when he was younger , they actually fought like that. Superpowers, special tools and weapons… it was like watching a movie. Not that he had much experience with that.
The fight was over before he could even think on how to get in. But then he saw the ugly looking guy slip away. He jumped off of the dumpster, intent on helping out at least a little. He was in the alley besides the bank, when a door not too far away slammed open, the armed, burned villain rushing out, towards a car that was behind Harry.
When the half-human, half-something criminal approached, Harry positioned himself in front of him, wand out and aimed. He saw the Batman rushing out of the same door, too, so, he knew he had back up at least, should he be in over his head. Yet, he was not afraid to show his abilities, as the two disguised heroes openly showed them as well.
Harvey aimed his gun at the young wizard, but before he could even think of pulling the trigger, Harry spoke the incantation that had saved his life before.
"Expelliarmus"
A red bolt flew from his wand, slamming into his enemy's chest. The gun was torn from his hand, arcing through the hair into the free hand of the teenager. The villain in question was blasted backwards from the force of the spell. He fell to the ground, hard, many feet down the alleyway, close to where Batman had come to a standstill, observing the short battle. To say he was shocked was an understatement.
The bolt of red light was swiftly followed by a similar, yet different looking red spell, accompanied by the incantation, "Stupefy."
To end things nicely, Harry conjured thick ropes with the Incarcerous spell, binding the villain nice and tight. The pursuing and the fight had only taken moments, as just as he lowered his wand, the sky lit up from the explosion. The following silence was only broken by the stumbling sound of approaching police officers.
Batman approached the wizard, gripped him tight, while launching a grapple straight up. The world blurred, stomachs sank in the rush of speed and mere moments later, the two dark clad figures stood upon a rooftop, where they were shortly joined by the Man of Steel.
The question of who he was, was clearly visible on their faces. One of their faces at least. The Batman's mask obscured most of it. But Harry had enough experience reading people. Greasy Potions Masters, strict teachers, ignoring Headmasters, plotting students and Death Eaters… the list went on and on.
It was time for some explanations. So Harry did, something making him trust the two heroes, especially the red and blue-clad Superman. He told the twosome about the highpoints of his life, the difficulties caused by Voldemort, and the people in the void sending him here to prepare for his Destiny.
He had expected the two men to be surprised. It was him who was surprised, though, as they took the story like every day's business. He didn't know that things like this were actually every day business for the two. They recognized a lot of themselves in the young men. Torn away from his family, heavily burdened and already more experience in matters of life and death than they wished on anyone.
They both even knew about Destiny. One urged to follow it by a former mentor, turned enemy, the other by the artificial representation of his biological father. Another glance at each other, they silently agreed again. They would help.
"I think a more covert place would be preferably to discuss all this better and to inform you", Clark told the young wizard. Batman tapped a button on one of the little things on his belt. A whirring sound approached, like a muted motorcycle. They looked over the edge of the roof and Harry noticed a large black car approaching. It looked bigger than any car he had ever seen. Bigger, yet possessing a sleekness that seemed to contradict the bulk of the massive car.
Another tap, and the roof slid open, revealing two seats next to each other. Confused, he looked at Batman, who just showed his lips twitching the faintest bit, before he jumped of the roof. He cape whirled in the wind as he fell, before he landed smoothly in the driver's seat. Harry wasn't too sure about jumping this far down, but Superman grabbed his arms and levitated down as well, placing the wizard on the second seat, before speeding of with a loud whoosh.
The roof of the car closed, and as Harry took in the numerous controls and computer screens, Batman revved the engine, before the car began moving. At a high speed, the Dark Knight deftly manoeuvred the car through the streets of the dark, almost gothic city. Near the edge of the city, he sped up, straight into the forest, rushing over small paths, till he raced straight at a waterfall.
Harry was not the easily scared type, but a curse was on his lips, his hands gripping the armrests as the engine suddenly blasted, sending the car jumping through the falling water. Lurching and slipping to a standstill, the roof slid open, revealing a dark… cave?
***
Despite the distrust Bruce Wayne usually felt for everyone, both heroes trusted the young boy for some reason. Added to that was that they definitely recognized the role Dr. Fate played in this matter. Both men had encountered the mystic several times. And now, he had delivered this boy, no this young man to them, for a reason.
They took seats around the terminal in the Batcave. Facing each other, Superman took the lead and informed Harry about this world and the roles the two heroes played, as well as the generally known facts about them. However, they wouldn't be able to keep their secrets from the young wizard for long, as he was obviously a minor and needed a guardian, a place to live, schooling and so on. Not to mention that they would have to train him.
Bruce, an orphan after his parents were murdered himself, suddenly spoke, when Superman fell silent after explaining about Krypton. The raspy quality in his voice dropped, as he said, "I will take you in and train you. Superman's skills can't be taught, after all, and I have more resources to slip you into this world, so to speak."
Both Harry and Clark looked in surprise at the Dark Knight. For different reasons, though. Clark had not expected his stoic friend to make such an offer, as it obviously meant giving up secrecy, as well as getting close to someone. Harry, on the other hand, was quite unfamiliar with anyone simply offering a home, and training. He was pleased, though, as he definitely saw the benefits of being trained by someone so good at fighting. Voldemort wouldn't know what had hit him!
***
Two weeks later, Harry was doing push ups, as part of his daily exercise regime. Every day, his mentor added five more of each. Crunches, push ups, pull ups and sit ups. Added to that was a daily run of five miles, followed by several sprints. Upon his first tests, the remarks from his mentor had been scathing. He was too skinny, too out of condition and too weak. Granted, his body was built for speed and he had amazing reflexes, but a lack of stamina and strength would be deadly in a fight.
Learning the identities of the two heroes had not been a particular surprise, as he knew neither of them. But to learn his new guardian was a billionaire was cause of some excitement. Harry had always lived from second hand things, clothes and due to the Dursleys, mainly lived in poverty. Now, he had his own, large bedroom in a gigantic mansion. His room was connected to a study, which contained a brand new computer system and lots of other electronic devices that were a 'must' for teenage students. Not that the wizards knew how to use anything besides the most basic ones, like a television.
He got good, filling meals, made by the butler, Alfred, also a Brit. The man had the typical English sense of dry humour. Often, Bruce was heard muttering about teaming up on him when striding away after a successful humorous barb by either of the two Brits. Young Master Harry, as Alfred called him, was restricted to the mansion and the grounds, till his identity was established.
Till that moment, his days existed of eating, exercising and being tutored by Alfred. His non-magical education was poor, as it had stopped after primary school. Whatever he intended to do in this new world, he wouldn't get anywhere without being brought up to speed. Harry hated studying. He hated books even more. He was a typical practical person. He excelled at duelling, exercising, flying and other similar things because it was hands on and he saw the use for it. English literature, and the mathematical principles unfortunately lacked that quality in the wizard's eyes, just like the theory behind any kind of magic did at Hogwarts.
After his exercises, he also practiced his spells. Learning new spells was impossible now, without his books, but his repertoire of combat worthy spells was quite impressive for a wizard his age. In fourth year, Hermione had pumped many hexes, curses, jinxes and charms in his head in preparation for the Third Task. Fifth year had given him a lot of practice, but he also studied more spells for duelling, with the D.A. in mind. Last but not least, while studying for OWLs, his bushy haired friend had not relented till Both him and Ron knew the material till her satisfaction. As a result, his transfiguration and his charms were up to par as well. His magical training now existed in accuracy training mostly. Bruce agreed this was a good practice, for it would be useful for his other training as well.
Over the two weeks since his arrival, there was not much improvement noticeable, but Harry didn't give up. One day, when he came back from his run on the grounds surrounding the mansion, sweaty, his shirt clinging to his body, the billionaire was awaiting him. The stoic, introvert man guided him inside and started talking.
"It is arranged", he announced. "Your identity is finally completely added to all databases and archives. You are Harry James Potter, still, son of the recently deceased James and Lily Potter. I met all of you while travelling the world. Part of it we did together. I befriended you parents. When they died in a car accident in China, it was discovered they had appointed me as a possible guardian for you in their will. You have no other relatives, and your parents elected me because they were too estranged from their other acquaintances. They were well-off and just travelled around the world, with you."
The story was sound, though not all that common. Compared to an heir disappearing, travelling the world, being declared dead and then fighting crime dressed as a bit, it sounded normal enough, Harry supposed. "Thank you, sir."
And that was it, his life had been arranged. As it was still only halfway June, He didn't have to worry too much about school yet, as it would be starting somewhere in September. He needed the time to catch up with his peers. He only hoped his personal training with Bruce would start soon.