Standard Disclaimer: I own nothing in regards to Harry Potter or Marvel. All properties therein are those of their creators. I am only a writer working on my skills with worlds and characters that I love.

Chapter Seven - Getting Stronger

Mephisto glared into the dark abyss of his domain and stewed over the situation that had just come to his attention by way of Dormammu's gloating. That Doom brat had made a deal with a demonic being and it wasn't him! What was worse, the human had actually had something decent to trade. Yes, that cosmic asshole had been lording his soul shard over his head for two weeks now and it was driving the lord of the damned crazy.

Something needed to be done about this, but what…. A slow grin finally returned to his face as an idea hit home. Where there was one shard there were bound to be more. Six if he had to guess based on the size of the one already recovered. And he had something that he knew Victor would want. But how to get the message to him? That damned armor completely hid the bastard from his sight. However, not every mystically sensitive individual armed themselves with such protection. More's the pity for them.

Casting his tendrils out into the void he latched onto a very particular mind and entered into their dreams. He had just enough time to view a vast city of stone and light that made him cringe before he felt steel bars come into existence and bind his current form in place. It would be interesting to try and break free and see if this mortal actually had the cojones to back up such a slight with their power against his own, but that was not the purpose of his visit this night.

So, rotating in place until he could view his momentary attacker, Mephisto commented, "You may relax, little sorcerer. I am not here to quarrel."

Before his gaze the raised fists lowered and with them dispersed the activated and ready attack runes. Once they were gone he could quite clearly see the face of a bald woman with a very stern expression. "Ancient one, I have come to bargain."

The current Sorcerer Supreme scoffed at such a notion. "A lord of the damned 'choosing' to bargain with a human? Try again."

"It is the truth, I swear it thrice." That got the woman's attention. "I have in my possession the soul of an old follower of yours. I am willing to release it into the void so long as you relay a message to a… person of interest for me."

"Shinmael." The Ancient One gasped, memories of her old friend flashing before her eyes. "Very well. What is the message and who am I delivering it to?"

"The 'who' is Doctor Doom in Latveria, and the message is thus: 'You have hurt my feelings by dealing with another, less important, being. Yet I am willing to forgive you and offer something that you dearly desire in return for something simple. The soul you traded Dormammu is only part of a whole. Give me the other six shards of it and I will return to you the soul of your mother. Whole and healed from the damage I have made it endure.' Do you understand the missive?"

The Ancient One was shocked to learn that the new ruler of Latveria was powerful enough to have had dealings with two such mighty beings. One such as that had to be immensely powerful. Admittedly her attention on the regular world had been a bit lacking lately as she'd been dealing with several cosmic threats for so long and by necessity had sequestered herself away to focus primarily on them, but perhaps such a man was worthy of her direct attention. The woman knew she was not getting any younger and soon enough the world would need another Sorcerer Supreme. "I hear you, demon. Now begone from my dreams." The bald woman waved a power coated hand and the interloper was ejected back to its own domain.

Settling back into her easy dreams of times long past, she decided that perhaps things were about to get interesting once again.

Tibetan Monastery

Harry was staring out the window of his room as Illyana lay curled up in his lap when Laura found him. She'd woken alone in her room and decided she'd had enough of that, dragging her sleeping mat into her new master's chamber and plonking down upon it as he continued to brood. She could literally feel his consternation as thoughts churned in his, and thus her own, mind. The bond that had developed between them was both strange and wonderful in ways that she couldn't describe, and though Harry had insisted he was not her 'master' the sheer fact that the bond had been initiated by him and led back to him set his position in regards to her clear in the young girl's mind. She did not mind it though. Compared to the last humans she had served he was heaven incarnate.

That being said, fifteen minutes of sitting in silence was more than she could take. Harry had insisted that she should always give voice to her thoughts and feelings as a way to combat her forced isolation and mandatory silence from the Weapon X program; he wanted her to express herself, and she found that she liked having things to do and places to go. Furthermore, now that she actually had people to talk to she didn't like prolonged silences anymore. "Harry, what are you thinking about?"

"Huh?" He looked at her with startled blue eyes. "Sorry, Laura, I didn't hear you come in. What was that?"

Laura. It was so strange even after these two months of occupying their new home to hear her actual name. She'd been reading her mother's letters and listening to her audio message recordings, and ever so slowly she was starting to come into the real her, not the beast she had been forced to become, but the process was difficult. It made her happy that her master was so patient with her. From the smile that soon graced his own lips she knew he was pleased as well.

"What are you thinking about? You are troubled."

"I'm not trou-"

"I can feel it."

He sighed, "Right. The familiar bond." His fingers ran through his blonde friend's hair and she gave out a pleased murmur as he did. She'd been too scared to room alone since being kidnapped, something that she and Laura seemed to have in common. "What has changed, Laura? In the time that we have been here how have I differed from what I started as? Magic training is going well, we're all learning the martial arts of this clan, and I've even figured out that Illyana is magic now and can suddenly activate portals." And hadn't that been a surprise? It was actually the reason that the blonde was so readily allowed to sleep in Harry's room with him. Their first night in the monastery she'd had a nightmare and portaled herself right into his bed seeking comfort. By then closed doors weren't really a possibility. "But even after all that I'm still…still…"

Laura watched the way her human's free hand clenched and unclenched on the legs of his pajamas and understood easily enough what was going through his mind. "You are still afraid." Her words had the desired effect of making the boy nod his acknowledgment. "You feel small when you wish to be large as a mountain. My sensei…" She trailed off for a moment as memories of the Weapon X program came back to the forefront of her mind. They ceased once Harry's hand landed on her head. Much like Illyana, he was doing his best to soothe her, and it was actually working. "My sensei once told me that often the appearance of strength can be enough to dissuade an opponent. But that is not all. He also said that if one can convince themselves that they are strong, then true power will follow. He showed me this by breaking a mountain of bricks with his bare hands. Once I saw that happen I knew I could eventually do it too."

"I don't understand, Laura."

"You wish to be the apex predator, this I know. Then you should present yourself that way. Why do you think lions roar, wolves howl, or apes smack their chests. It is a sign that they are the most dangerous thing around. Let the first impression others have of you be of strength and power, learn as much magic and combative skill as you can in the meantime, and soon enough you will convince even yourself of your state in the world."

Ruffling the black hair beneath his palm even more, the prince commented, "You're really smart, you know that, Laura?"

"I'm really not." The clone muttered sadly. "I merely have an inherent understanding of animal nature. That and… you. It helps that I can feel you. But there are so many things I still do not know. Illyana keeps trying to 'do my hair' and 'help me play' but she seems to get sad when I do not enjoy it as she does. And the monks, I cannot read their expressions. I don't… I don't understand humans yet. Or myself."

"Give it time, Laura. Soon enough we'll both get there." slowly a grin began to grow on his face as an idea of how to begin building a powerful image came to him. If it was all about attitude and ability then he knew just what to do.

Latveria

Victor jerked up suddenly in his bed, a cold sweat breaking out between his face and the inside of his mask as he did. Beside him his wife slumbered on and he was imminently grateful for that. He didn't want to burden her with the cause of his sudden wakefulness until he knew for sure it could not be avoided. After his son had departed for his temporary new home, the king of Latveria had begun checking on him astrally in his dreams to make sure he was settling in alright. It seemed to be a rocky start but the girls were helping him to adjust. His heir needed people to care for just as he'd anticipated.

Worry for his son was not what was causing the latest of his night time alerts however. No, once he got used to using the sleeping hours to train that aspect of his mental abilities he'd begun sending his astral self into the diverging paths of the future. First in curiosity, then in pure fascination, and finally… in horror. Every night new visions of the future revealed themselves and each was more grizzly and deplorable than the last. In every single case mankind reached its horrible, violent, end. What was the cause? Outside invasion by aliens? Plague? A giant meteor? No, it was humans themselves. Five hundred and sixty-one potential futures so far and each was mind numbingly bad except for one.

Yes, one beacon of light and peace in a sea of malicious self sabotage by a race of sentient beings too selfish and self involved to work for the betterment of all. A world where law and order held sway, one where fear of a master weapon of ultimate destruction kept the corrupt politicians in line while the people joyfully led lives of fulfillment, knowledge, and peace. A world united under one ruler and finally able to stand together against whatever conflicts came their way. The Doomworld.

And considering the many possible conflicts he beheld, the Doctor worried what would happen should he not do as he'd foreseen. He'd always planned to gain ever greater power, but he'd thought his future aspirations would lay with his country, his son, and the greater cosmos beyond their hunk of space rock. Yet it seemed if his species was to survive past the next twenty years that may no longer be the case. That being said, there were many more futures to observe and much time needed to make proper plans. Perhaps another alternative would reveal itself in the meanwhile.

He was broken from his thoughts by a mental ping that announced a visitor at the edge of his wards, and from the repeated attempts he felt to gain entry they seemed surprised that they couldn't get inside. Now that was interesting. Pulling himself slowly out of the bed, and thanking the gods that his armor was charmed to give off no noise, he quickly portaled himself to the border wall of his country. Once there he beheld a bald woman in a set of clearly well made robes tapping her fist against a clear space of air curiously while muttering under her breath.

Clearly she was trying to figure out just what wards had been used to deter her. Ah yes, Victor easily recognized the Ancient One from his visions. What could the current Sorcerer Supreme want with him? Floating down slowly to the earth he ceased all attempts to hide his presence and marched up to within two feet of the powerful sorcerer, letting her see him without crossing the barrier to her side.

"I take it you attempted to portal into my domain." Doom mused as his gaze took in the charred edges of her robe's hems. "Curious that you survived."

The Ancient One grinned easily up at the taller man. The power she could feel bleeding off of his form was indeed impressive. Almost as much as the armor upon his body. What was more, he didn't feel evil. His aura was complete strength, conviction, and faith in his own abilities. Truly he was a king amongst men if she'd ever seen one. "It's more curious that they actually stopped me in the first place. I've developed ways into every dimension in creation yet your ward scheme is inherently unique. Did you devise it yourself?"

Well at least his guest was polite even if she was riddled with dark magical energy. The fact his wards had halted her so violently proved that fact. "Indeed I did. I created the written language from scratch."

"A renaissance man as well as a sorcerer. I'm impressed."

"As you should be. Now what should I call you? Ancient One seems like something that would get annoying after a while." To his surprise, those words actually brought a laugh out of the older woman's lips.

"Indeed, it does get rather old. Honestly all of my followers respect me too much to use my name alone so it is refreshing to think of hearing it once more. That being said, who I was has long since been lost to time. You may call me Yao, after my predecessor."

"Yao, then. Why have you come here?"

"Well, I had come to deliver a message. However, now I am also finding myself interested in you."

"Naturally, but I am already married."

"That is not what I meant." Slowly Yao levitated into the air a foot or so so that she might look him in the eyes. "You have the makings of an excellent sorcerer. So much potential, and self taught as well I would imagine. Tell me, would you like to learn more about the mystic arts?"

Victor scoffed and folded his arms. "You want me to become a student sequestered at that little school of yours for branch magicians around the world? I'll pass. I'm a king, not a pawn."

"That is not what I meant at all." Yao lowered back to the ground having seen all she needed to in that gaze. Victor Von Doom was clearly a man of knowledge, reason, strength, and most importantly honor. He was fully capable of great evil if he wished, but evil with purpose. Too many 'heroes' in the world thought all evil and the capacity for it was anathema to peace and harmony; she was not one of them. No, the Ancient One had lived more than long enough to know that sometimes vast cruelty was necessary for the survival of the human race. Some of the things she'd had to do in her role as Sorcerer Supreme honestly could have put her on trial before a world tribunal for war crimes, but that was what it meant to be the Sorcerer Supreme; being able to use some of the greatest powers in the cosmos to make the hard choices that no one else was strong enough to. Certainly none of her current flock could handle such responsibility.

"I am in the market for an apprentice. Someone to pass on all of my knowledge, ability, and eventually my office. After seeing all of this, and you yourself, I believe you might have what it takes given the proper guidance." Seeing the curious head tilt that she perceived as Doom seriously considering her offer, the woman decided to sweeten the pot. "Tell you what, the message I have been asked to deliver is one that comes with a challenge. I am willing to help you with it provided you agree to my training."

"Even if I did agree I could not leave for long. My country needs me."

Yao waved off his concerns. "There is no need to worry about that. I am without doubt the greatest sorcerer on this planet and as such I am fully capable of completing my duties anywhere be it my home or here. Now here is the message: Mephisto will release to you the soul of your mother if you provide him the other six shards of the soul you gave to Dormammu."

Victor grew very still. "Those were his words? Exactly?"

"Indeed, and he swore 'thrice' to release a friend of mine if I delivered the missive to you. I believe him to be serious about his offer."

Doom began to pace slowly on his side of the ward line as his mind began to move a mile a minute. He should have known that Mephisto would be jealous of his dealing with other beings of power, but he'd not counted on the demon being so frustrated that he'd offer such good terms to regain his attention. There was only one problem, he had no idea how to find the other shards.

His motion ceased and his eyes rose once more to the serenely smiling woman. It was interesting that in the cold of the northern border she didn't shiver at all in those flimsy robes. She'd offered to help him if he accepted her training, and she'd known of the contents of the message ahead of time; logically that meant that she herself knew what he did not. "You know where the other soul shards are?"

"Not exactly. It is more that I know how to find them. So how about it? Do I have a new apprentice?"

In spite of himself, Victor almost laughed. He could respect someone coming to the dealing table with the superior hand. "You do." He couldn't pass up what might be the only chance he had to rescue his mother. It was the greatest overarching mission of his life. Additionally, he could not deny that the prospect of wielding the power of the Sorcerer Supreme for himself was equally appealing.

"Then grant me access to your words and say it thrice."

Victor grunted and waved his hand, mentally adding Yao to the ward scheme. Swearing something thrice was perhaps the closest thing to a magically binding oath magicians and sorcerers had. The first instance was their word of honor, the second was the promise of their magic, and the third was the agreement of their souls. To break such an oath was to surrender your power and damn yourself for all eternity.

"I, Victor Von Doom, king of Latveria, do hereby thrice swear to accept the teachings of Yao, the Sorcerer Supreme, in return for aiding me in freeing my mother's soul from the claws of Mephisto."

For her part, Yao nodded and verbally accepted his oath. Internally she was also approving of his word choice. Most students vowed to submit to the teachings of their instructor, effectively placing themselves in their teacher's control. Not Victor though. No, he'd merely sworn to accept whatever she offered to teach him with no submission implied. No matter what it seemed he wished to maintain control. Additionally, he'd not phrased the quid pro quo as she'd expected. Instead of phrasing her part as needing to help him find the shards, he'd done so in a way that meant if Mephisto reneged on his part of the deal she would be honor bound to help the king of Latveria to retrieve his mother in any way she could. Clever boy.

"Very well, Victor. Let us be off." She opened a portal beside her and nodded, pleased, when the armored man walked through without a second thought. She liked men of action. The universe needed them more than it knew.

Monastery

Lin Toben was working in the alchemical lab, trying to determine the magical properties of a new deposit of uru metal the clan had recently discovered, when the wall across from him exploded outward. He dove down and checked to see if he was being attacked, only to see none other than the son of his people's master floating proudly through the rubble into the lab with his girls jogging in easily behind him. Before the monk's eyes the debris and rubble vibrated in place before rising back into the air and falling back into place behind the trio to repair the damage. In a few seconds it was like nothing had even happened.

Properly cowed by the showing of power, Lin bowed low before genuflecting to his prince. "Master Harry, was there something wrong with the door? I did not think I had locked it."

"No, I have simply decided that it is beneath one with my power and rank to have to deviate my path when not necessary. The wall proved no obstacle to me, so why should I have let it stand in my way?"

"An astute observation, young master. How may this one assist you?"

Harry shared a proud look with Laura. Both were pleased that his idea was so successful. Who needed doors when you were powerful enough to walk through any wall? It was quite the display to create.

Illyana however was hopping around on her hooves ecstatically between the tables, examining every scientific article on display. The Russian girl had fallen in love with magic and wanted to learn just as much as Harry did.

The prince gestured to the wider space around him. "You study alchemy and creation here, yes?"

"We do, my lord."

"Teach me."

"My lord?"

"Teach me everything." His eyes finally locked onto a smug looking Illyana's. "Teach us both."

English Countryside

Victor walked easily beside his new teacher as she followed the direction of an arcane compass in her hand. Upon arrival back in Kamer Taj she'd retrieved a few items, requested that her new student recollect and inform her of the nature of the soul shard's energy composition, and then taken them off in the directions indicated. It seemed that this was their first stop, a rickety old shed that might have once been a very small house a long time ago.

They stopped and Yao examined some of her readings. "The shard appears to be beneath that structure, but it is no doubt full of traps of the darker variety. How would you handle this, apprentice?"

Instead of answering, Doom simply walked forward a few steps and raised his hands toward the structure. He would not be baited into hypothetical lessons and inquiries. He did that already to train his son and he was not a child. Focusing on his desired spell he carved a crater beneath the entire shack and levitated it into the air. A moment later he felt the dark taint of a truly evil being, and smiled. With its protections removed the shard could no longer hide itself and from there it was a short order to find the box in the dirt. Once he had it in his possession he let the shack crash back into the earth where it shattered into pieces, but that was none of his concern. He slid the box into his cloak as he returned to the Ancient One.

"Interesting choice. I approve. Are you not going to open the box?"

"I am not an imbecile, Yao. As dark as those defenses where, the ones on the object itself are logically bound to be infinitely worse. I will wait until we have a controlled environment with the rest of the shards gathered and from there I will safely isolate them until they can be traded."

"A wise plan, apprentice. Let us carry on." Yao opened another portal and again they were off."

Latveria

Queen Valeria sighed with boredom as she sat upon her throne. She'd just finished greeting the masses and hearing of their woes and concerns as was her usual habit and now she had nothing to do. With Harry gone to train and her husband off who knew where she was more than a bit lonely. Honestly she'd thought herself too young to be an empty nester but here she was. The ruler was just considering calling Susan and organizing a girls day when her phone began to ring.

In an instant it was in her hand. "Hello?"

"Mom? Cool, dad was right, there is still good service up here in the multi-viewing room."

"Harry!" Valeria was ecstatic to hear from her son. He called weekly, but she'd already heard from him two days prior and his voice was a balm to the soul. "How are you? Are the girls okay? Are you eating enough? Are things-"

"Mom, mom, relax, we're all fine." Harry laughed easily over the line. "Look, I've been studying some alchemy and it's recently given me some ideas for my armor but I've run into a bit of a snag."

Yes, the armor. Victor had told her about their son's plans to create a suit of his own. She supposed it made sense given his experience, but it still made her a bit worried. "How can I help?"

"I have an abundance of materials, and some other ones I like that I can get soon, but the problem is that a lot of the effects and combinations I want to try aren't physically possible in the base component's current state. I need an expert in alchemy to help me make sense of the equations and ratios needed to chemically bond them."

Valeria nodded her understanding, more out of habit than need since no one else was currently present, "You have someone in mind?"

"Yes. Thanks to dad's multi-viewer I've managed to track down the immortal alchemist, Nicholas Flamel and more importantly his wife."

"Why is that more important?"

"Well… according to the monks here who have been studying their work, Perenelle Flamel is the real brains in their marriage. Nicholas merely published their findings for the both of them since they figured the rather male dominated wizarding society wouldn't readily accept the findings of a woman. If I give you the location is there any chance you could send an envoy to inquire if she would be willing to travel to the monastery and work with me for a while? I think I'm really onto something here and I want to make my dreams a reality." Almost as an afterthought she heard him mutter, "I want to make a suit dad would be proud of."

Making her voice as soothing as possible, the queen offered, "Harry, you know your father would be proud no matter what you made, right? You're the light of his life. And the reports he gets from the monks on your progress make him smile every time he reads them."

A curious note entered her boy's voice as he asked, "How can you tell? He literally always wears his mask."

"I'm his wife, son. Let that be a lesson, you can't hide anything from those who truly love you."