Now Betaed.
The events of this chapter start in the closing moments of Smallville Season Six "Phantom", shifting into Smallville Season 7 Episode One, "Bizarro."
Harry's Herald of Death persona voice in my head, well there's a couple voices you can go for. The obvious mainstream one would be Darth Vader. Or Doctor Doom through some of his more serious incarnations would work. Also for a somewhat obscure one, the Mandarin from the recent Iron Man Armored Adventures cartoon.
This chapter contains some backstory that I covered in the timeline which is linked in my profile.
So Harry pops up right on the Season Six/Season Seven cliffhanger, the black butterfly is already flapping its wings to cause changes for later which will take me away from the security blanket of canon(for the most part) as we get further, and well I'll just direct you to your feature presentation.
Chapter Two: Arrival.
Two feet touched down upon the ground. Leaves crackled beneath the feet of the dark haired twenty year old young man who stood to look across the sky. Green eyes stared forward into the distance. The young man was dressed completely in black with only a few hints of white. He wore a black t-shirt and a black jacket with white sleeves over it. His pants were of the same color and he wore black shoes. He no longer had glasses.
Harry allowed himself a moment to look around. He caught sight of his reflection in a side mirror of a truck.
The first thing he noticed he had no lightning bolt scar upon his forehead. He checked his hand and saw no scars from his nightly session with Umbridge during his fifth year. All of his other scars vanished without a trace as well.
Harry remembered the pathetic existence of Dolores Umbridge. Umbridge's attempt to kill Harry towards the end was quite laughable. The duel lasted about ten seconds. Eight of those seconds was the young wizard trying to figure out what spell to squash that horrid women with once and for all.
He allowed the Aurors to stand down, or face his wrath. Wisely, they did as they were told.
Harry recalled some of the more interesting parts of those final months, or rather the final year. The Muggleborn army thought they had the key to a better world. They listened to a young twenty eight year old Muggleborn named Rosalina Sinclair and they followed her lead.
Needless to say, that girl was a few Knuts short of a Sickle.
Harry's thoughts of Rosaline were tinged with bitter amusement. Sinclair claimed that she was the real Chosen One. She vowed she would bring the Muggleborns to their proper place in the world, and squash out half-bloods and purebloods that oppressed them.
In addition to those claims, she babbled about getting her powers from a green meteor rock she found on a trip to America. It amplified her magical abilities several times, allowing her to perform powerful magic without a wand.
One bloody battle later, Harry put the crazed witch down. He used a spell that blocked the blood flow to her heart. Essentially it was dark magic, but Harry found no other options. Her followers vowed to avenge the demise of their "savior".
Given they were going to kill Harry anyway; he figured he would not waste his time being bothered by their rage.
All roads lead to the final Battle at Hogsmeade and the less said about it the better. Astoria and Gabrielle fought bravely until the end. Those two, among the youngest of his rebels, were the last two who fought beside him. They took down several troops to weaken the Muggleborn army, but in the end they paid with their lives.
He cleared the few faded cobwebs. Mere ghosts, Harry figured he could recall them, but the longer the lingered, the more of a risk they could co-opt some living person. Recalling the dead was a rather tricky business in general after all.
He figured Death's little comment about killing children was just merely a means to get under his skin and rile him up to doing something stupid. Harry figured as long as he did not butcher reality too bad, he could likely bend a few rules.
Holding out his hand, Harry cast charms which would tell him where and when he was.
'So I'm in Smallville,' thought Harry as the spells registered with him after mere seconds. "Let's see, that's in Kansas, which is of course in the United States, I'm pretty sure I read something about a Meteor Shower here a long time ago, but I'm drawing a blank right now. And that meddlesome bitch sent me…to the year 2007. I'll figure out why in a little bit, I'm sure. She has her reasons. Just like Dumbledore did."
Harry performed the necessary spells to assess what kind of magical enchantments he could expect.
After about the fourth time he blundered into a trap, in what seemed like another lifetime, he made it his business to figure out what he had to deal with.
No magic, but his spells picked up something alright.
Immediately, he recognized it as levels of radiation. Given his powers, radiation did not have an effect on him. Yet, the fact that there seemed to be an alarming amount of radioactivity around the area gave him cause for alarm.
It also weighed in the back of his mind that he had to find his mother's journal. He suspected it would be like finding a needle in the Forbidden Forest.
But that could wait a while, as he because he still had to deal with the issue at hand.
The radiation levels continued to spike as Harry continued his journey uncovering this mystery. His ears picked up sounds in the distance. Said sounds were the unmistakable sounds of intense combat.
Now invisible, Harry continued to move. He reappeared near a dam. The Herald of Death shifted his eyes as he performed more scanning spells. The radiation was strong right at the Reservoir. In fact, he could feel something rather powerful lingering as well.
Harry jumped in to get a closer look when he realized there was a ship at the bottom of the lake. Another spell revealed that there were life signs within the ship.
Hand held in the air, Harry checked further, as he siphoned away the water and shifted the mysterious green rocks that lay below away from the ship. Whoever was trapped in there was supposed to be alive. A further check indicated whoever it was; said individual had been trapped in stasis for many years
Harry's ears perked up at the loud sounds of crashing and battle.
He could see in the distance two figures fighting for reasons unknown to him. The nearby dam looked to be about ready to give up the ghost and bust.
'Wonderful,' thought Harry to himself as he mentally put together a battle plan. 'I'm not even here for fifteen bloody minutes and already I've been sucked into playing golden boy savior, again. And Death really has been in that realm too long if she thinks I'm going to be a good little boy and sit in a corner, watching."
Harry took a calming breath and closed his eyes. Time around him slowed down to a crawl.
It was a useful spell to learn, mainly used to study a great deal in a small amount of time. Granted, the wider the area was, the bigger the strain was upon the caster.
In an area the size of a small bedroom, one minute could be stretched out to ten.
In an area the size of a small house, one minute could be stretched out to around seven.
In a large mansion house or public building, one minute could be stretched out to five.
In the outdoors, one minute could be stretched out to around two to three minutes.
There were other factors. The time manipulation factor of Harry's powers tended to be rather useless within a fight scenario. Although giving him a bit more preparation time, if he knew something was coming, never did hurt.
Harry looked at the ship and closed his eyes. He transported it and the person inside of it elsewhere, to a safe place until he could deal with this situation involving the dam.
Then he started time once again and took a deep breath to regain his composure.
'And that's the dam breaking,' narrated Harry dully to himself as he heard the noise. "And that's the sound of rushing water. And that's the all too familiar screams of terror. Well, meet the new world, same as the old one.'
Invisible, Harry transported himself off to the side. He arrived just in time to see two figures bust right through the dam with intense fury. The dam was destroyed as Harry remained still and calm. His eyes followed the progress of the battle for a brief instance.
Harry had a pretty good idea that this was likely one of these things he should not interfere with.
Then again, when did Harry Potter ever listen to authority figures?
He assessed the situation, his fast mind processing everything that occurred near him. He watched two very similar looking figures. One looked like a rather normal young man. The first figure had dark hair and looked to be in his early twenties. The second figure looked about the same but his face was cracked, distorted.
Almost like a twisted reflection of the first, in a broken funhouse mirror. Needless to say the second looked quite bizarre.
Harry slid over, quick as a cat. He hovered in the air and he saw the water flood, as the battle continued.
The first thing was to divert it away from civilization, but it was easier said than done with the distraction beside him.
The two figures continued their fight and Harry turned to face them, frowning as they continued to brawl into a wooded area.
He reached behind his back. With a tug, a hood pulled over his head. His clothes shifted into that of a black robe. Every single bit of his features obscured themselves, including his voice.
Without a word or action, Harry shifted right into the shadows as he moved around. The flooding water continued to present a clear danger.
A wave of his hand and Harry stalled the water. He studied the dam and repaired it with a few carefully calculated movements. With a stoic expression on his face, Harry shifted his form straight into invisibility to investigate where the two figures had disappeared too.
The sounds of combat indicated Harry was rather close to where he needed to go.
Clark Kent careened backwards. His head smashed against a large boulder. The boulder shattered from the impact.
He looked up, rather dazed. He returned to face the abomination that he could not put down.
"Hey, Clark," grunted Bizarro. "You ever wonder what would happen to all of these humans if you weren't their savior?"
The question lingered in the air like a bad stench, as the vile reflection taunted Clark.
"I know you do," said Bizarro in a smug tone. "You just never admit it."
"You don't know anything about me," said Clark, as he cracked his knuckles and moved in for the fight.
"No, Clark," said Bizarro. "I know everything about you."
Bizarro stood back as he waited for the precise moment to strike. "I didn't just borrow your DNA. I have all your memories, all your thoughts; every last twisted one of them. When I'm living your life, I won't make those same mistakes."
Clark waited for Bizarro to move upon him, but he heard footsteps.
A loud crack sent Bizarro flying backwards. The creature crashed right into a tree, splintering it.
Clark stopped and stared. In his eyes, he saw this looming figure, dressed in a black robe. He made no sounds, he showed no emotions. The robed figure slowly moved over.
"You're not about to ruin this for me," growled Bizarro as he sent a blast of heat vision at the figure. He dodged the attack. Then the mystery figure disappeared right before the creature's very eyes.
Bizarro turned around, right into an energy blast from the hand of the figure.
Clark looked at his own mirror reflection and then he looked at the newest arrival. "Thanks, um just who are you?"
"Never mind that now," said the figure in a deep and emotionless tone of voice. "Civilians may still be in trouble from you breaking the dam. "
Clark opened his mouth to protest this accusation but the robed figure extended an arm. His index figure flexed and pointed right past the trees.
"Save the people? But you can't…" said Clark but he was waved off dismissively.
Clark did as he was told. He hoped this robed individual wasn't another Phantom. He would have to cross that bridge and get some answers later.
Right now, there were people in danger, so he hastened to help.
Bizarro pulled himself up.
"Just got to take care of you and then stealing farm boy's life won't be a problem," growled Bizarro as he tried to grab a hold of this robed figure but he got smacked back a third time.
"Do not try that again, you're merely embarrassing yourself," said the robed figure dryly.
Bizarro growled and pulled himself up. The creature found himself pushed back down.
The yellow sunlight absorbed into his skin at an accelerated rate. He had to get up, find some of those glowing rocks to replenish his form.
"So, you are not human but merely a wraith looking to commit super powered identity theft," muttered the robed figure as the creature burned. "Not alive and no longer living for much longer."
"You can't do this," rasped Bizarro, but the creature found itself unable to fight as its skin continued to crack. He shifted into stone.
The robed figure waited, as the creature's skin shifted into jagged stone.
"Sending one on through," muttered the Herald of Death. The creature gave a horrific scream as a blue energy scythe appeared.
With one simple slashing motion, the creature overloaded and knew no more.
Still incognito, Harry took a few careful steps. He could hear the signs of distress and a man's heartbeat growing fainter and fainter.
Stealthily, the wizard moved in and peered down into the depths of the water below.
He saw a bald young man, trapped in a sunken police car. It was only somewhat submerged from when the dam broke. His hands were handcuffed and escape seemed rather unlikely without assistance.
Harry held out a hand, calmly and assessed the situation. He surmised that it was likely this young man would likely live, with some kind of intervention.
The intervention came as Harry took pity on him. He had no idea who this man was or how he got here.
The police cruiser door pulled open and the water parted from around it, as Harry carefully levitated the man out of the water. He maintained invisibility as this task was accomplished.
"Not your time yet," muttered Harry but he resisted the temptation to check to be certain.
Indeed, if it was his time, likely a heart attack would follow, or some other tragic demise.
In a haze, Lex Luthor lifted his head half of an inch off of the ground. His eyes opened and shut as he slowly returned to the world of the living. The sunlight shined in his face.
The last thing he knew, he was about to slowly drown.
Yet he was here on dry land. The door from the police cruiser floated on the water, he noticed through his bleary vision.
He could have sworn he heard a voice say "not your time yet."
He saw nothing and no one.
It was almost like the shadow of death approached him to take him beyond and then reconsidered.
Lex Luthor wondered what he should do with this second chance. What happened to Lana still weighed on his mind, along with other things.
Harry stepped slowly around the corner, as he further assessed the damage that came with a consequence of the destruction of the dam.
Given he already punished one party for what happened, he wondered if he could justify going two for two.
Harry paused, as he saw corpses floating face down in the water. He knew they were dead immediately. Underground, the Herald of Death listened carefully for any signs of life. He really hoped that do-gooder actually managed to save someone up above.
A little boy could be seen and Harry closed his eyes. He disapparated to the other side of the wall and remained invisible, but still in his death robes.
Harry spotted two young women. One, a brunette, carried the limp and motionless body of a blonde woman. The blonde woman was unconscious and unresponsive.
"Help me please," muttered a young boy.
Harry shifted himself and whispered in the ear of the brunette woman.
"I'll help him, you take care of her," he said.
This caused the woman to jump with a start, but Harry barely saw her as he safely got the young boy out in the blink of an eye.
Lois Lane shuddered. Not only was she dragging her barely conscious and potentially dying cousin, Chloe Sullivan, through this half collapsed tunnel, but she was pretty sure there was something down here that she could not explain.
"Help!" yelled Lois suddenly. "Can anyone hear us?"
"Yes, right in my ear," muttered a voice humorlessly.
Lois held Chloe and looked around. She saw nothing.
"Who are you?" she demanded.
"Someone who might be your only ticket out of this place," said the voice.
"Look…show yourself okay?" asked Lois in a shaky voice.
"If you insist," said the figure and a black robed figure appeared.
'Oh my God, it's Death," thought Lois, losing her head completely. 'Which means…oh no…no, no, no, no, no!'
"Are you quite done yet?"
"Just…it's not her time, it can't be," said Lois as she looked at this cloaked figure. "Just take me instead, alright, leave Chloe alone!"
"What are you blathering about?" asked the robed figure.
Lois looked at the figure. She could pick out no emotion from his voice. She shivered.
"Chloe, she hasn't really moved and I figured…" started Lois but a hand raised and she was silenced.
The figure bent down. Lois tried to sneak herself a peak underneath his hood. But she saw nothing underneath.
"She's alive," concluded the figure dully.
"How can you tell?" asked Lois.
The figure paused before he gave the brutally honest answer. "Because she's not dead."
Lois had any number of retorts on her tongue at this point. She decided to go for the question one.
"Look, just who are you anyway?" asked Lois.
"Follow me if you wish to live," responded the figure, as if he had not heard the response.
Lois blinked, but the robed figure turned around, with precise and calculated movements. Chloe remained motionless.
The wall from the other side cracked as the mystery man took a step back and the next thing Lois knew, he was gone.
She saw Clark standing on the other side.
"How…" managed Lois.
"Ceiling's unstable," managed Clark as he looked at Lois. "Lucky it caved in."
"Yeah but…" said Lois but the next moment she looked and saw Chloe vanished without a trace.
"What Lois?" asked Clark.
"Chloe, she was right there, and she's gone!" yelled Lois as she turned around to face Clark. "He took her…"
"Who, Lois?" asked Clark, his voice breaking.
"Big guy, in a robe, with a deep voice," managed Lois.
Clark's eyes widened for a brief second, but it was gone mostly unnoticed by Lois.
"It was Death, it has to be!" yelled Lois. "He promised me he wouldn't….he said she was…"
She could not say anything else and she tried to maintain her strong resolve. Said resolve cracked in the face of this scary situation.
Harry Potter wondered why after all this; he still cared for people when they would likely die, eventually.
Perhaps it was his stubborn resolve never to give in. Perhaps it was the fact he was determined to see the best in people, to a reasonable degree.
Or perhaps despite her best efforts, the meddlesome force that sent him here was not the ultimate authority over him after all.
'Not my place to be the hero,' thought Harry. 'Can never reveal myself, but she's going to live regardless. So why not speed up the process a little bit, using the old healing magic? What's the worst that can happen?"
Harry laid this Chloe woman down on the magically softened ground, gently.
He began to scan her to figure out the problem.
'She has healing abilities of her own, apparently and she took the pain from someone else,' summarized Harry mentally. "So, yeah, this isn't going to be that hard. Just got to give her a little jump start and we'll be good to go.'
He pulled back her shirt slightly so he could see what he was doing. His hands raised and touched her gently. He felt his natural magical talents, the healing magic he learned as he fought in the final war.
The portraits in the Headmaster's office taught him much in that three year period. Even Snape, who Harry reckoned was far more pleasant as a portrait than he ever was alive, contributed much to his expanded education.
Harry shifted to invisibility, as he saw life return to her. He would remain here until she was found.
The day started with Clark Kent fighting the Phantom who had copied his likeness and powers, named Bizarro.
Then everything spiraled right into this.
'The same guy who helped me, Lois saw him too, and he's got Chloe, too,' thought Clark. 'I don't know about him being Death, but he's got to be a Phantom. Another one, another one slipped through the cracks.'
Then there was what happened to Lana, the fact he still did not know what happened to Lionel Luthor, and Lex seemed to have disappeared too.
'What happened, when did this start?" asked Clark as he broke the silence.
"Oh, well this might sound insane," said Lois as she regained her composure. "I got an eight inch knife in my gut, there was blood everywhere. I dialed Chloe, then the chills, and I blacked out."
"Stabbed then?" asked Clark in an absent minded voice as he continued to search.
"A guard-right here," said Lois as she pulled up her shirt to show Clark the wound or at least where it was. "But it's gone now and there was this warm light. Then Chloe's out, unconscious, barely breathing."
"Clark, someone help!"
Clark heard the voices and moved over, when he saw Chloe Sullivan sprawled out on the grass having come too as she looked around in the haze.
"Chloe!" yelled Lois and Clark in unison.
"I'd really like to know what happened," said Chloe as she shook her head. "I almost half expected to wake up in a morgue."
"You're alive, that's…that's what really matters now," said Clark.
"So, someone saved me right?" asked Chloe as she looked at them, to prod them for asnwers.
Lois spoke first. "Um, yeah there's this guy, you wouldn't believe me if I told you…but I'm going to tell you anyway. He's dark, he wore robes, and he seemed to be drawn to death or near death."
"I got saved by the Grim Reaper?" asked Chloe in a skeptical voice as she looked at them. "I…there was someone here, I think.
"Do you remember anything?" asked Clark, as he nervously looked around. He expected to see the phantom or whatever he was.
The more answers he thought he had, the more questions he got.
"Well, I…was out of it," said Chloe as she shook her head. "Then I felt something. Someone healed me."
"So it was a miracle then?" prompted Clark.
"No, it seemed like magic," said Chloe in an off handed voice.
There was a rather substantial pause. Chloe just shrugged.
"And you're willing to scoff at my Grim Reaper theory," muttered Lois.
"Look, I think we'd all like it if there's a scientifically plausible explanation for all of this, but what else is there?" asked Chloe. "Could be another meteor freak, but something's telling me it's far more complex than that."
Clark saw the look on his friend's face. He knew she would not let this matter drop.
"Just, it's you're okay, Chloe," said Clark warmly. "Everything's going to be okay…"
"Yeah I'm fine," said Chloe in a somber voice. "Well alive anyway, but Lana wasn't so lucky."
The jubilant mood changed. Clark turned around and pondered the robed man. He had saved him from Bizarro and saved Chloe.
He wondered if his Phantom theory was completely off base.
Yet, he had to know for sure.
A flash appeared in the sky in microscopic writing only he could read.
I have answers. I wish to speak with you. Meet me at the edge of the woods.
"I've got to go check on something, I shouldn't take long," said Clark to Lois and Chloe. "Just stay here, you should be safe."
Clark moved off at those words.
Clark moved to the meeting spot, where he saw the robed figure floating several inches above the ground.
"I've taken steps to ensure we are not disturbed during this meeting," he said and Clark nodded. "I must say, I do not relish having to play babysitter for some do-gooder and his friends. Not to mention, I loathe having to fix messes other people cause."
"The dam, you saw what happened, I couldn't avoid it," protested Clark.
"Perhaps," he stated dully. "First, there is no need for you to worry about the wraith. I have fixed the problem. You're welcome."
"Thanks," said Clark before he realized. "That…"
"The wraith intended to take over your life," said the robed figure. "Identity theft on a grand scale, and he likely would have taken advantage of the trust your friends have in you, Clark."
Clark stood and then he nodded. He wondered how the robed figure knew his name, but he guessed he would not like the answer.
"So that means I don't have to worry about Bizarro," concluded Clark.
"Yes, do not worry about him," said the robed figure in a humorless voice. "This one was free, but if I have to ever do this again…I will be most displeased."
Clark remained silent so he asked another question. "Chloe…"
"Ah yes, your friend," said the robed figure. "I did save her, or merely sped along the process a little bit. Her powers intrigue me."
"Well, I'm sure you might interest her as well," said Clark with a smile hoping to get the mystery robed man to show any kind of emotion. The effort was lost. So he decided to get answers the direct way. "Just who are you anyway?"
"That is a question to which you will not like the answer," he replied coldly before his tone softened ever so slightly. "You did save lives today. Many more were lost, but some were spared."
"You act like this doesn't bother you," said Clark.
"Return to your friends," replied the robed figure, acting as if he was deaf to what Clark said. "Cherish them; appreciate them, for you never know when you may never get another opportunity."
Clark inclined his head. He wished he learned this lesson a long time ago.
"Oh and one more thing," said the robed figure and Clark turned to face him. "Constant Vigilance!"
Clark looked up, mouth opened, but the robed figure was gone. He vanished without any warning.
He shook his head. Clark Kent had so many questions and most of them unanswered.
In a world between worlds, or a nexus, a white building could be seen. It was only slightly larger than a house.
Harry stood as he shook his head, recalling the events of the day. His gifts from merging with the Wand of Eternity allowed him to travel between different realms and dimensions.
Granted, this power would come in handy, but Harry had to exercise caution about nothing hitching a ride on the way back.
Harry reminded himself that there was still much to do. He still had to determine how he had been "figured into" this world and there was the journal. Then, the green rocks made him wonder. Was that nutter, Sinclair, really that insane about her meteor rock story? Or did one of those rocks power her and drove her around the bend at the same time.
Those three things could wait for the time being. Right now Harry had a pressing dilemma. A chair faced the ship he rescued earlier today, as he sat on it. He had discarded the Herald of Death disguise for the time being and was back to his normal attire, face, and voice.
He had a hunch this was the best manner to face whoever was inside when they woke up.
Intently, Harry studied and scanned the ship. He knew from his initial scans that just breaking the thing open would likely get him blown straight to Kingdom Come.
Harry did not relish seeing her face to face for at least another few thousand years, at bare minimum.
He had to disable each individual part one at a time and free whoever was inside. He had to do it gently and delicately.
At least he would not be disturbed, given where he placed the ship.
Harry remained calm and collected. He learned to control his temper over the years, especially when it counted.
"Two down, three to go," whispered Harry as the ship slowly opened. "Okay, three down, two to go now."
The next step would allow him to see exactly who was inside the ship. Harry felt anxious but the matter could not be rushed.
In anticipation, Harry deactivated the fourth of the fifth components.
The ship opened and Harry stared.
He half expected to see one of those creepy and bug eyed grey aliens, straight out of the science fiction movies of the 1950s.
Instead, his eyes focused on a gorgeous blonde girl. She looked rather human but Harry sensed she was something more.
Harry studied the white fabric she wore and then the girl herself. He did know some fairly attractive girls in his day, but they paled in comparison to this vision before him.
Plus all of the "Boy-Who-Lived" baggage tended to be a barrier and his dating life was not that much. He struck out right at second base with his most long term girlfriend, for lack of a better term.
Yet, all of that was irrelevant right now. Harry had someone right in front of him that he could focus on at the moment. All echoes of his doomed past relationships with women drained out of the back of his head.
'She's beautiful," thought Harry to himself in a dazed manner, but then the logical part of his brain slapped the hormonal part of his brain. 'Stay focused Potter; you still have one more component to disable. Stop staring at the sleeping girl like a creeper and finish your job.'
Harry held up a hand. Without another word, the stasis mechanism shut down.
Harry let a breath out. He had succeeded.
The blonde girl stirred inside and her eyes snapped open.
Said eyes were focused directly on Harry Potter.
To Be Continued in Herald of Death Chapter Three, "Anomaly."
Scenario involving Harry finding Kara was loosely based on an alternate idea that I had for the Emerald Flight series where an older version of Harry Potter (with the timeline shifted), was the one to receive the distress signal, instead of Superman. Obviously it has been tweaked slightly to fit what we know in this universe.