Not My Magical World

Chapter 18

Bolivar Trask stood in the center of a dark room, a single light above him creating a circle on the tile floor and making him visible to the shadowed holographic figures before him. "Thank you for seeing me today, ladies and gentlemen," he cleared his throat, smoothing down his pale pink shirt.

A large shadow leaned forward, their rounded features becoming clearer. "Let's cut the chitchat, Trask, you were supposed to have the sentinels done a year and a half ago, but you told us you need to rework the design. Now your times up, and you better show us some results," the knuckles of the man's large hand crack, "or there will be consequences."

Trask pale blue eyes flashed, and his teeth ground together as he flicked his hand to the right.

Another light clicked on, revealing a gray-skinned man with red eyes, black hair, and bulging muscles.

The previous design was a giant robot that could detect anomalies in DNA and fire large blasts from its hands. While it would've gotten the job done, it was crude. Trask began walking around the 6'9 figure, "this design is an exoskeleton with the same sensor technology underneath mutant tissue. It can integrate into mutant society until the proper time to strike."

Whispering began between the shadowed individuals, and Trask waited. Finally, the large shadow spoke, "What mutant DNA did you use to overlay the exoskeleton, and how does its power compare to the original design?"

"We managed to get DNA from the vigilante known as Joe Fix It. It might be slightly weaker than the original design, but we felt that covert operations would be better. After all, giant robots cause damage for which we could be blamed, but a fight between mutants would push our agenda."

Trask lips formed a thin smile as he saw most of the shadows nod.

A feminine shadow leaned forward, making her shoulder-length hair and the outline of her feminine frame visible. "What if the new design is destroyed? Can it be reverse-engineered?"

Trask folded his arms behind his back, "The moment the cyborg senses defeat. It will send a pulse through the system, destroying the electrical components. The organics will then rapidly degrade, leaving behind an unusable exoskeleton. Within minutes of hitting the air, the exoskeleton will evaporate."

A thin male figure leaned forward in the shadows, "What happens if the electronics are exposed to the air during a fight?"

"As long as power runs through the skeleton, it will not be damaged, and the tissue should protect it from electromagnetic pulses."

The large male shadow that began the meeting slammed his hand on the table, the sound reverberating through the hologram, "It seems you thought of everything; let's hope it works."

Another shadowed figure spoke up, but Trask could not make this individual out because of how the others were sitting, "when can we expect a demonstration."

"I already have one in position."

The large shadow leaned back in his chair, causing it to creak, "Let's see what it can do then."

One by one, the shadows winked out of existence. As the last shadow disappeared, lights clicked on, revealing a large circular concrete room with black tile floors.

Small smooth metal pyramids were mounted close to the ceiling, encircling the room, their points angled towards its center.

Bolivar Trask exhaled, his features shifting as he ran his hand through his hair. Within moments, Bolivar Trask was replaced by Kru El, the gray suit he wore now hanging loose on his frame. "These animals are trying my patients. How dare they question someone from a world centuries ahead of theirs?"

"We may be light years above them, but they don't know that yet, and it's not time to reveal it."

Kru El turned to see Lesla-Lar stride into the room, her tiny baby bump on display.

While they did not start in a romantic relationship, being the only sane Kryptonians on the planet drew them together.

Kru El moved forward, stripping out of his suit and revealing the black bodysuit with silver lines hidden beneath. With a gentleness that would surprise anyone who knew him on Krypton, he laid his hand across her stomach, his thin fingers spreading out as the child kicked, "How are you feeling?"

"Unwieldy," she said with a pout, her slender tan hands cradling her stomach. She looked at him, her blonde hair pulled back into a bun, highlighting her pretty features, "This child is our chance, krypton will be reborn, and this time it will be molded in our image."

Kru El cupped her cheek, running a thumb over her smooth tanned skin, "Yes, and under this world's yellow sun, we will rise to rule." They leaned forward, their lips parting to kiss. Just before they touched, an insane cackle made them draw apart.

Lesla shot an annoyed glance at the door, "We need to do something about him."

Kru El wrapped an arm around her, gently guiding her from the room, "Not yet; we still need him to discover the secrets of mutant DNA and transform those worthy into Kryptonians. After all, no matter how many children we have, we can't create an entire race alone."

XX –

Harry sat in his office, leaning back in his chair as he waited on Andromeda, his hands folded across his chest.

Light footsteps caused him to sit up, and he watched Andromeda enter the room, casting a long shadow on the wood-paneled walls.

Rising to his feet, Harry offered her a smile inclining his head, "Andromeda, how are you?"

It'd only been two days since Andromeda had been allowed out of bed, and since then, she'd spent the time in the Lazarus facility.

Andromeda stopped before the desk, her hands slipping into her white lab coat. The movements caused the coat to part slightly, revealing the maroon blouse and jeans beneath.

"I am fine."

"Sure, you are," Harry replied, his voice full of skepticism as he noted the dark circles beneath her eyes. Gesturing for her to take a seat, Harry waited until she sat before returning to his seat.

Leaning forward, he rested his arms on his desk, "Since you have obviously been working hard, why don't you tell me the latest developments."

"We have begun dismantling the octahedral. We placed those crystals containing DNA in the Lazarus tanks and began their resurrection. However, we have run into a small issue."

Harry raised his hand, "Before you continue, how many people are being resurrected?"

Andromeda glanced up in thought, her gray eyes going distant, "All 4500 tanks are full, and we have another 245,500 waiting."

"If all of them are resurrected, that's 250,000 people," Harry ran a hand through his hair, "do we have enough infrastructure to support that, and has Jani finished her device so we can start educating them on what they've missed?"

"Once they are resurrected, they will be moved to pods connected to the plane of knowledge. Before they awaken, they will be inundated with what they need to know."

Harry inclined his head, "That's good, but we need to have some kind of psychiatrist to help them deal with the transition."

"I'll have Norman Newman look into it."

Andromeda moved a strand of hair that had fallen out of her bun back into place, "Now, as I was saying," she shot Harry an annoyed look, "we have over 75,000 people that can be resurrected using their own DNA, but some of the DNA within the crystals has degraded so much that it can't be repaired."

"At this point, we are unsure what to do."

Harry snorted, "I think I can help with that, but ultimately the choice is up to you."

Andromeda shot Harry a curious look as he opened his bottom desk drawer and removed the head of Arcturus Black and the box the old man had given him.

Andromeda jumped as Harry set the head and the box on his desk.

After a moment, Andromeda settled and stared at the head.

Harry had carved an intricate rune on the man's forehead to preserve the flesh. It glowed with a dim red like that was reflected in Andromeda's gray eyes.

"You did it," she whispered, raising her hand to touch the head before hesitating and dropping it back into her lap.

"Honestly, I didn't do much," Harry shook his head, "the old man knew I was coming and resigned himself to his fate because of what your father did. Apparently, Cygnus was the one to order the hit."

Andromeda's brow furrowed, "That doesn't make any sense. My grandfather's not the type to give up."

"Your grandfather said something about the shadows telling him secrets. He knew about our resurrection process."

Andromeda stiffened.

"Plus, I got the impression he was tired, and he did ask me for a favor."

Andromeda's eyes narrowed, and caution filled her voice, "What kind of favor?"

Harry tapped the wooden box, "this box contains vials of blood; I'm assuming they belong to the black family." Harry rubbed his head to alleviate the building tension, "Your grandfather told me to tell you to rebuild the Black family into a family that wouldn't eat itself."

He locked eyes with Andromeda, "I think your grandfather knew this would happen."

Andromeda's lips pressed together, "It wouldn't surprise me, but that could help us solve our third issue."

"Third issue?"

"We found pure life energy in some of the crystals."

"Pure life energy?"

"The energy souls are made from. The energy that is free of memories."

Harry scratched his head, "it sounds like you're telling me we have babies in some of the crystals?"

"That is what I'm telling you."

Harry's hand dropped from his head, and he looked at Andromeda wide-eyed, "I knew your family was dark, but I didn't realize they were that dark."

Andromeda shook her head, "From what Amelia tells me, these souls came into existence one of two ways."

"Number one, two souls join their energy together to create new life, or number two, a soul gets so old they forget their previous life."

Harry rubbed his chin, his eyes distant, "The easiest thing to do is to talk to the people that join together to create this new soul and have their DNA sequence combine to create a new vessel."

"That could work, but for those that don't have DNA, I don't want to create a genetic dead end by using the blood from my family."

Harry's brow furrowed, "From what I can see, there are a hundred vials in that box, 50 male and 50 female. That's quite a few combinations if you mix and match."

"True," Andromeda laced her fingers, "but I will be very selective on which souls join my family. I don't want history to repeat itself, and Amelia says there are some dark souls in the crystals."

"I'll talk to Amelia about that. While at the black estate, she thought about letting her daughter absorb the darker souls so she could always be protected."

"Do you always read people's minds?" Andromeda asked a hint of accusation in her tone.

"I occasionally do, but this time wasn't intentional. I had to protect her from Jani's broadcast. We also had a psychic link set up for communication, and the knowledge slipped through."

Andromeda stared at him for a long moment before blinking and looking away.

Harry clapped his hands together, drawing her attention, "All right, so if you don't want to use different combinations of black blood to create bodies for some of the souls," Harry raised a hand as she opened her mouth to speak, "don't worry, I completely understand. Familiar connections are important, especially when they contain power."

"There is another option, but we will need Amelia," Harry's eyes flashed a pale purple, "she said she could be here in half an hour, so while we wait, have you resurrected Ted? If so, how is he, and have you told Nymphadora yet."

The abrupt change in the tone of the conversation threw Andromeda, and it took her a moment to recover. Clearing her throat, she straightened, "Ted was one of the first to be resurrected since his DNA was one of the least degraded. Right now, he is going through Jani's knowledge download."

Despite Andromeda being a strong woman usually closed off around others, her shoulder slumped, and her voice softened, "I wanted to make sure everything went well before I told Nymphadora. We've already lost her father once. I didn't want her to lose him again if," the words caught in her throat.

"Completely understandable," Harry nodded, "but," his tone softened, "I don't think there will be an issue. After all, as far as I'm aware, we haven't had a resurrection fail yet."

Andromeda raised her head, "Intellectually, I know that, but fear is not based on intellect."

Harry inclined his head, "True."

Silence settled in the room, and Harry glanced around, looking for a topic of conversation. He opened his mouth to say anything to break the silence, but Andromeda cut him off.

"Thank you."

Harry cocked his head to the side, "For what?"

Andromeda took a deep breath, and Harry made sure to look at her face as her chest swelled.

"When we first met, I was in a bad place. Despite that, you didn't kill me like you did the others and gave me money when you didn't have to." She looked around her, "Later, when you were able, you offered me a job, completed my revenge," her eyes shone with unshed tears, "and brought my husband back to me."

"I felt that you had a genuine grievance; while your compatriots were doing what they were doing for money, you had an end goal that I could understand. As for giving you money, you lived at that place when I dismantled it, and I didn't feel right about throwing you on the street."

"As for offering you a job that wasn't purely altruistic, you had skills that I needed. If you remember correctly, my getting your revenge was a condition of you working for me, and I always try to complete my bargains to the best of my ability."

Harry looked away, "As for resurrecting Ted, that was a team effort."

"Made by a team that you brought together," Andromeda countered, "so regardless of how you feel, thank you."

"You're welcome," Harry returned, still not meeting her eyes.

Both of them straightened, their gazes snapping to the door as it opened, and Amelia Bones strode into the room, her bones staff thumping on the floor with each step.

She stopped beside Andromeda's chair, her gray eyes, a shade paler than Andromeda's, stared into Harry from beneath the hood of her dark robes, "What do you need, I am training the Valkyries, and it is," she paused, "difficult."

"We need more genetic diversity on the island. Do the spirits you can contact know about any mutant graveyards? I want to consult the owner of the remains to create vessels for those whose DNA is too damaged for them to be resurrected in their bodies. Hopefully, I can combine the DNA of two deceased individuals to create a unique vessel."

He looked between the two women, "Interesting question, how would the soul affect the body?"

Both women shared a look before Amelia turned back to Harry.

"I'll ask," she shook her head, strands of red hair flying out from beneath her hood, "but for that to work, you must use something of the original DNA for the soul to take hold. The only other way for that to work is to change the soul's spiritual attunement, and I'm not sure what the side effects of that would be."

Harry wanted to ask about attunement, but he had been given so much information this morning that he decided to ask when he wasn't so mentally bogged down, "We'll worry about that when we get the DNA. After you train the Valkyries, please talk to the spirits and collect what we need."

Amelia nodded, glancing at Andromeda as she turned to leave the room. 'A part of her wondered if it would be possible to summon her husband's soul back from the afterlife,' her hand tightened around her staff, history told her there would be a price for that, but it was something to consider.

As the door clicked shut, Harry looked at Andromeda, "So, with that settled. We will have 250,000 people resurrected eventually."

Andromeda nodded, and Harry threw himself back in his chair, groaning, "We need so much help."