Not My Magical World
Chapter 11
Harry sat in a diner, a cup of coffee that was more cream than coffee within arm's reach as he glanced over a folder he had retrieved from Norman Newman's office earlier in the morning.
According to what he was reading, the base of Black Hole was hidden in one of Canada's deep forests, the boreal forest, to be exact, partially phased out of reality to keep the landscape untouched and make it harder to spot.
The hiss of food on the grill and the slight murmur of conversation drained the tension from his shoulders as he picked up his coffee and took a sip, allowing his gaze to pan around the diner.
It was your typical stop, black and white checkered floors, weathered booths, and a bar surrounded by stools with worn leather padding.
'How will I get in the black hole base with it partially phased out of reality? I could try to teleport in, but I would have to alter my teleportation to the right frequency, or I could slip right through the building or appear inside a wall,' he shook his head, 'what a mess.'
The bell above the door rang as it opened, and Harry glanced over his shoulder, a slight smile on his lips as Callisto entered.
Harry raised his hand, and Callisto nodded, stepping up to the bar to place an order before moving to Harry's table.
As she sat down, Harry inclined his head, "How are you?"
"Fine."
Harry looked her over. Her short hair was messy in a stylish way, but her pale blue eyes were sharp. She wore a dark red leather jacket, white T-shirt, tight jeans, and high-heeled boots.
"Are you sure? You just found out a friend wasn't exactly who they said they were, and you seemed upset when we parted ways."
"I just found out someone I was working closely with was the daughter of the woman who experimented on me. How would you take it?"
"Probably far worse than you did."
"I don't believe that. If that were true, you would've killed the woman instead of giving her some of the money you stole."
"I did kill everyone else responsible."
Callisto glanced around, "Should you say that so casually?"
Harry's eyes flashed purple, "The moment you sat down, no one in this place could hear what we were talking about."
"Alright then, speaking of the building, I looked into it. Everyone but the doctor was found, which made me curious why didn't you make the other bodies disappear?"
"One body disappearing is bad enough; three bodies would draw too much suspicion, even if the people lived on the fringes of society. Right now, it looks like the doctor killed his compatriots and fled."
A waitress made her way over with a mug of black coffee, a plate of hash browns, bacon, and eggs over easy. She set them down in front of Callisto, the woman in question opened her mouth to question the food since all she had ordered was coffee but stopped at the slight shake of Harry's head.
Shifting, the woman placed a plate of pancakes, bacon, and scrambled eggs before Harry.
Harry glanced at her with a bright smile, "Thank you, Judy."
Judy smiled, a flirtatious smile, highlighting the wrinkles around her green eyes while snatching a strand of pale blonde hair and curling it around a red-painted nail, "You're welcome, darling."
At her tone, Harry allowed his eyes to trail her body.
She was 5'3" tall with some weight around the middle. Dressed in a pale pink blouse that showed off quite a bit of cleavage and a black skirt covered by a black apron, Harry wondered if the outfit made people tip more.
With a wink, Judy turned and sauntered away, putting extra sway in her hips.
Callisto snorted, trying and failing to smother a grin, "I think she likes you."
"Yeah," Harry replied around a mouthful of pancake.
"So, how did you know what I like for breakfast?"
Harry took a sip of his coffee and allowed his eyes to flash purple.
"You read my mind just to find out what I wanted for breakfast."
"I have been sitting here for a while looking over this," he handed her the folder, "I may have got a bit bored and wanted to cut down on time."
Picking up the butter knife, Callisto sent it dancing across her fingers, "Don't do it again," she said with steel in her eyes.
"Don't find out what you want for breakfast, or don't read your mind?"
"You know what I mean."
"Fine, fine."
Giving Harry a long look, Callisto shifted her eyes to the file. Slowly, she flipped through it, her blue eyes moving back and forth, taking in everything on the page in a moment. When she finished, she closed the file and set it down beside a plate, "Your friend is very well informed."
"We all have our gifts," he gestured to the file, "that is his."
"So, how are we getting in?"
"Are you sure you want in? You're living a normal life using your skills. You're out of the violence," Callisto raised an eyebrow, "well, for the most part?"
Callisto glanced away, "I started this case. I want to see it through."
Harry stared at her for a long moment; he could tell by her body language she wasn't entirely sure of her decision. Even if the Morlocks decided on a leader by combat, they usually performed hit-and-run tactics or thievery to survive.
"Fine, but if we're going to Canada, you'll need warmer clothes."
Her gaze snapped to him, "Just like that?"
"I'm not going to question your decision; you have been out of the game for a while, but your intuitive tactical abilities could prove helpful."
Harry raised his arm, "Check, please."
–XX –
Harry and Callisto appeared in the center of the boreal forest in Canada, the largest forest in the country, covering over 60 percent of the landmass.
Leaves rustled as animals fled from their sudden appearance; Harry's Emerald green eyes tracked a wolf as it ran through the trees, its white fur adding contrasts to the greens and browns of the foliage.
Callisto shivered as the frigid wind bit into her exposed skin. Her teeth chattered as she pulled her white fur coat tighter around her and her hat further down on her brow.
Gesturing with the fingers of his right hand, Harry began moving forward.
"We're about a mile from the black hole base, according to Norman's information."
"You couldn't have gotten us any closer?" Callisto asked, her voice quivering as she shivered.
"I could have, but I was afraid of setting off any security they had around the complex."
"Would they even bother with security with the base phased out of reality?"
"I don't know."
"It would be stupid to put all your eggs in one basket. Especially with what they're working on, what if something went wrong inside the facility."With grace, she moved her booted feet through the brush, checking each step, so she didn't step on branches or anything to advertise her presence. She winced as Harry stepped on a stick, the crack sounding loud through the quiet forest.
"If we're going to try to sneak, watch my footsteps and step where I step."
With a sheepish smile, Harry nodded, "Sorry, sneaking through the forest isn't my forte. I did consider teleporting us directly into the base. However, with it partially phased out of reality, I was worried I wouldn't be able to calibrate my teleportation right, and that would've ended messily."
Callisto grimaced at the mental image.
–XX –
An hour later, Harry and Callisto stopped at the edge of a small clearing.
Callisto took a deep breath, savoring the faint sweet scent of the black spruce. "Are you sure this is the clearing? It doesn't look big enough to hold a secret base?"
Placing a hand on Callisto's shoulder, Harry's eyes flared purple, and Callisto saw that a shimmering effect extended well beyond the clearing before them. "Once the phasing technology worked, they removed the facility from reality and had trees grow to provide more cover."
"So, how do we get in?"
' I will try to open portals around the barrier that keeps the base phased out of reality and drain its energy. Once its energy is gone, it should return to this reality.'
Callisto jerked slightly at the sudden voice in her head. 'I wish you would warn me when you're about to do that.'
'If I did that, it would defeat the purpose, especially if we're being watched right now.'
'If we're being watched now, they already know we're here and have heard us talking, so why switch over now?'
'Just because they have some information doesn't mean they need all of it. Now, while I believe I could change the frequency of my portals to get us inside, we wouldn't know what was waiting for us. It's more work, but I believe it's safer if I try to drain the barrier.'
' Why do you need the portals to drain energy?'
'Because with it phased out of reality, I am incapable of touching it.'
Reaching into her coat, Callisto pulled two curved blades from holsters on her hips. 'Well, get started, and I'll watch your back.'
Taking a deep breath that burned his lungs with frigid air, Harry released slowly, stretching his arms forward, his eyes slowly filled with pale purple power as he spread his senses throughout the forest around them.
He stilled as power pulses rippled out from his body, drawing a fuzzy picture of the world around him.
Pale purple lines formed a three-dimensional wireframe representation of the surrounding forest. Slowly the image was filled in, becoming a perfect replica of the world around them except for the area in front of them made of pale purple energy.
The space in front of them formed a fuzzy dome that wavered within Harry's mind, constantly shifting and blurring the world.
While Harry couldn't sense the building, he could feel the energy produced by the force field shift the facility out of reality.
Harry stretched his mind outward, focusing on the fuzzy space, looking at every inch of the dome before him. Finding nothing, he scanned again and again. On the third pass, he found what he was looking for. While the dome produced energy phasing the complex out of reality, it was not distributed evenly.
Spots on the barrier glowed with more energy than others. Focusing on those places, Harry grimaced as he tried to do two things simultaneously. Sweat ran down his face, and veins bulged out, but slowly pale purple energy wavered around the clearing.
Callisto's eyes instantly locked on to the spots. 'Harry, what's going on?'
'Give me a minute,' Harry grunted within his mind.
Suddenly, the purple shimmering in the air formed oval-shaped portals. Harry's body shook with the strain of keeping the dome in his mind, focusing on the high-energy spots, and opening the portals.
Reaching through the four portals simultaneously, Harry grabbed the high-energy spots and pulled. In his mind, yellow beams of light flowed through the portals.
Callisto stiffened as the air before her rippled, and a reflection of her and Harry appeared in the clearing. 'Harry, what's going on?'
'I'll explain in a minute. Just be ready.'
Harry raised his hand just in time for a portal to open before him and spew a large blast of energy. It slammed into his hand, and Harry slid backward as the beam broke on his palm, sending smaller rays dancing around him.
'Get back!' Harry mentally shouted as blood poured from his nose. His body shook as he fought to keep the portals open and pull on the energy. His teeth creaked as they ground together, and sweat dripped off his body. With a force of will, he grabbed the stray beams just as they sliced through nearby trees.
Treetops hit the ground, and booms echoed through the forest.
Callisto saw wolverines scampering for cover through the smoke rising from newly made stumps. 'Maybe they have the right idea.'
With a sharp inhale, Harry pulled the energy into his body.
His body shone like the sun, and pale smoke rose from where he stood as the ground blackened.
Callisto backed away, her arms raised to shield her eyes from the light. 'Harry, what's going on? Harry, can you hear me?'
–XX –
Within the black hole base, three individuals stared at the holographic screen, watching as Harry drained the energy from the barrier surrounding the facility.
A figure moved into the light of the holographic screen, revealing his narrow face, slick back black hair, and pencil mustache. With a flick of his hand, a filter overlaid the image of the forest outside, showing an x-ray of Harry's body that revealed the muscle, tissue, nerves, blood vessels, and bone.
However, all of this was ignored by the man. His eyes focused on the octagon-shaped points throughout Harry's body. They were spread throughout the body, positioned where nerves and blood vessels intersected. Flowing from these points was a secondary nervous system, but unlike the flesh and blood system, this energy facsimile was broken.
Parts of it glowed as he absorbed the energy from the shield, but other parts remained dim.
"What do you think?"
A feminine silhouette shifted, "I think this world may have just gotten more interesting."
The male silhouette beside her let loose a high-pitched cackle full of insanity, "I think the genetic stock of this world is exciting."
"Do we stand and fight or flee to learn more about this world?"
The silhouette of the woman shook her head, "we may gain greater power under this world sun, but none of us are combatants. I say we gather more information before making our move."
The male silhouette raised his hands, drumming his fingers together as he released another insane giggle, "yes, yes, we wait for now, but then we play."
The black-haired man pressed his lips together, making his already narrow face look even thinner, "fine, but what do we do about the others?"
The woman waved her hand, "Send Jani to kill them. Even if they survive, I doubt they can use the technology, and we can always come back for it later."
–XX –
A pulse shot through the trees as the light flowing into Harry's body dimmed, rustling the leaves and sending detritus swirling through the air.
The space in the clearing rippled.
Harry spun, his eyes wide, "Move!"
In a blur of motion, Harry tackled Callisto shooting into the air with her as the forest behind them exploded. Trees fell, and chunks of wood shot through the air like bullets as a fierce wind buffeted their backs.
Over Harry's shoulder, Callisto watched as a large compound appeared in the forest, pushing the trees around it away to clear space. It was a large square building with a dome in its center, and dust clung to its concrete walls.
Branches and leaves rain down, covering the glass dome.
Her eyes flicked to the side as three blurs shot into the distance.
Harry slowed and turned around, his arm wrapped around Callisto's waist, holding her close to his side as they hovered in the air. "I told you I would get us in."
Callisto rolled her eyes, her gaze flicking between Harry and the building, "I suppose you did, but they definitely know we're here."
Suddenly, a purple blur slammed into them.
As they spun through the air, Harry released Callisto, teleporting her to the ground.
Callisto appeared tumbling through the brush. Going with the role, she sprang to her feet just in time to see Harry impact the forests some distance away.
A dust cloud shot into the air, and birds fled into the distance.
Callisto slowly brushed the leaves and twigs from her clothes, her gaze locked on the woman hovering above Harry's position.
She was 5'4" tall with shoulder-length black hair, pale purple skin, and blue eyes. Her red Gi floated in the breeze, the Golden accents shining in the sunlight.
Callisto stiffened as she turned her head, revealing the curved horn in the center of her forehead. Slowly, her hands drifted to the blade holsters at her waist, only to find them empty.
"Shit."
