Chapter 25. Problems

the 18th of March, 2008, Location: New York City

After traveling for almost two weeks from Alaska to Niagara Falls, I expected our trip to New York to take about a week or so. As such when we arrived in the city that never sleeps after only two days of non-stop searching for proper rides, I was pleasantly surprised... and tired. Really it took a lot of time and nerves to find a person who traveled in the right direction and could be persuaded to take us with them.

It had to be a lone person. No way I was confounding an entire family or a group of people to let us travel with them... Too much work and I wasn't even sure if I could cast and sustain a confundus on a larger group. It definitely wasn't the right time to test that. Apart from that, I had to catch those people away from the public so I could do my magic. I lost count of how many times a good ride escaped us just because they were always around other people and I had no plans of risking our discovery just because I wanted to rush things.

Using magic in mundane areas was already stretching it even if I didn't have the trace on me any longer. There was a time when I noticed some weirdly dressed people snooping around the area where I previously cast some more powerful magic. They didn't find anything suspicious or spotted me and Laura, but it at least showed that the American Ministry could have some way to sense the magic being used in places where it shouldn't be. That or it was pure coincidence. An option that I didn't count out of the possibility as I never spotted them again after I had to use magic in denser areas during some close calls.

Still, with that one event in mind, I refused to take unnecessary risks. Some magic was required to let us travel to New York, but beyond that, I only saved it for emergencies. Like the one where I had to knock out a small group of idiots who thought that two kids would be an easy score to get some money. At least my combat training paid off, though I still was mad at myself for not learning more utility spells. Those could have been really useful during our stay with Hydra and trip through North America.

Not that it really matters now. I sighed with my eyes glued to the window of the public bus we were currently in. Hundreds of people walked on the sidewalks, rushing towards their destinations like there was no tomorrow. Dozens of cars surrounded the bus from every direction as we all stood in place, all stuck in the midday rush. Manhattan, a truly lovely place, I rolled my eyes. Not that other large cities were any better, but no matter when I visited New York, the traffic here was always the worst.

"Couldn't we just walk? The bus hasn't moved for 5 minutes already. We're wasting time," a quiet grumble sounded just next to my left ear.

Glancing at the small girl resting her head on my shoulder, I smiled. It was a wonder what a few weeks of freedom and care could do to a person. We both recovered as well as we could, now looking like two healthy kids dressed in simple clothing, instead of prison escapists. The mental scars were still there, visible for anyone who cared to search for them, but those would take weeks, months, or even years to heal. I mostly knew how to hide mine, but Laura wasn't so lucky and it was up to me to help her.

And help you, I will, I vowed, placing my arm around her shoulder. "We aren't in a hurry, Laura. Besides don't you think we walked enough for today? Enjoy this break and maybe take a nap. There won't be much time to rest in the coming days."

Laura huffed but didn't move even move an inch. "You still haven't told me why we will be so busy. All I know is that we need to go to some kind of Sanctum where Masters of Mystic Arts live. Whatever the hell that even means..."

Scanning the people on the bus, I sighed. At least no one seemed to mind what we were talking about. Though with all the noise around us I wasn't surprised. Really the honking and thrumming of hundreds of engines hurt my ears more than enough, add to that the dozen or so people on the bus, and there was no way that anyone could catch more than some small snippets of my conversation with Laura.

"I already told you who Masters of Mystic Arts are, not my problem you didn't listen," I snorted. "And we will be busy, my dear Laura, because we have to find the Sanctum. It should be somewhere in Manhattan."

The girl's head moved from my shoulder, her eyebrow raised as she looked me in the eyes. "Should?"

I grinned. "Yep. I might know a lot, but the precise location of their headquarters is beyond me. Be happy that I'm about eighty percent sure that it is somewhere in the area... Well, maybe seventy percent."

"For some reason that doesn't fill me with hope," she muttered, her head taking its previous place. "So how do you plan to find it? Even I know that Manhattan is quite big, they taught us that much in school."

"Two words, Laura. Two beautiful words," I chuckled when she tilted her head a bit so she could look at me, waiting for the answer. "Google Maps. Or rather Street View. A function that I never thought would be so useful to me and yet here we are. We just need to find a place with access to a computer with the Internet and it shouldn't take us longer than a day or two to find it." Seeing the blank look she gave me, I sighed, "You have no clue what I'm talking about right?"

She nodded and no one could blame me for the loud facepalm that earned me some weird looks. "Right," I muttered. "Let's just say that Street View will let us walk through the city without walking and yet still see what is around us. Sounds simple enough?"

Laura shook her head. "Walk without walking?" her eyebrow raised. "And you wonder why I stop listening midway through your explanations. You just don't make any sense. I fear the day when you start teaching me magic."

I snorted, "Brat... I will show you what I mean when we find a computer. Hard to explain properly when you never even used the internet. For now, just think of it as a map with pictures from the real world. A very simple thing once you see it and I really don't want to explain it in detail now."

It really was a simple thing for a man that died ten years in the future and used technology every day. For a girl like Luara, it could be a bit more complicated. According to her, she only ever used television even if her father had a computer that was for his use only. Something that a ten-year-old girl didn't really mind, at least she didn't back then. Now it was a different case entirely when we were surrounded by machines and growing technology from every side. I have a feeling she will enjoy the wizarding world. Well, maybe...

No more words were exchanged as we slowly moved through the city. I thought about getting off and using subways or just walking, but as I told Laura, we weren't in a hurry. Besides we were close to our destination anyway. As such, I just laid my head on top of Laura's and closed my eyes, trying to ignore the noise around me.

A short nap won't hurt anyone...

Hell's Kitchen was probably one of the neighborhoods that I knew the best in New York. Or at least I did in my last life. My boss operated in both the United Kingdom and States, and each time I was sent to New York, Hell's Kitchen held our headquarters. Well, headquarters might be a bit too big of a word, but a small meeting place, or an outpost? Yeah, something like that.

When we arrived in the area and finally left the crowded bus, I decided that searching for the Sanctum could wait until tomorrow. Of course, after weeks of sleeping in semi-comfortable places, we first had to find a nice place to rest, which wasn't that big of a problem. There weren't many of them, but if you searched hard enough, finding an abandoned or empty building was quite easy. And no one even spared us a glance during all this time... Probably one of the only advantages of large cities when you are a runaway.

And so after a few hours of walking around, we sneaked inside of an abandoned terraced house. The inside stunk a bit and most of the windows were broken, but nothing some transfiguration and charms couldn't fix, especially with the still somewhat chilly weather. At least the food wasn't a problem, what with our backpacks being full of all kinds of snacks.

"So where are we going to access the so-called 'Street View'?" Laura asked as she munched on a pack of chips.

I leaned against the cool wall, sending chills down my spine. At least the transfigurated mattress protected us from the cold, wooden floor. "Libraries, internet cafes, either of those places should have a computer with internet, though the latter is a much safer bet as the name implies."

Laura hummed and grabbed another handful of chips. For a girl so small, she certainly had an appetite. "Are you sure this is even gonna work? Finding magical building through the internet, getting help from an order of sorcerers?" she fired off, her posture slumping with every word she said. "You said it yourself that they only might help. What if try to take us just like Hydra did? Maybe we should stay as we are, just the two of us."

A long sigh left my lips. At the beginning of our journey to New York, Laura didn't have any problems with my plan, but the closer we got, the more nervous she became. "I hope it will. Finding the building shouldn't be a problem, I already did it once. As for the Masters... They are good people, well mostly, but they definitely won't torture us as Hydra did. Their leader wouldn't allow it. The worst that can happen is that they will just turn us away, and then it will be just like you said. The two of us against the world," I finished with a grin and ruffled her hair.

Laura growled and swatted my hand. "You better be right."

I chuckled, "I am. Now get some rest, Laura. We have a long day ahead of us." With a wave of my hand, the light floating above us dimmed almost to nothingness. Laura grumbled something under her breath, but still complied and grabbed the thick, transfigurated blanket from the side. "Goodnight, Laura."

"Goodnight, Logan."

the 21st of March, 2008, Location: New York City

"So this is the supposed New York Sanctum? It certainly doesn't look like a building containing an order of sorcerers," Laura muttered, her voice as dry as the desert.

I couldn't really fault her opinion. The only thing that made the simple three-story terraced house different from others, was the glass circular symbol at the top. Though if it wasn't for the symbol, we would have never known that the Sanctum was located on 177A Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village. It took us a few visits to various internet cafes around Manhattan, but within three days Google Maps gave me what I wanted.

Shaking my head, I grinned. "If you think this is underwhelming, wait until you see the entrance to Diagon Alley. This place is nothing compared to Leaky Cauldron."

Laura frowned, her gaze still glued to the Sanctum. "Well, that's disappointing... Can't they like, use magic to make them look a bit more special but still not visible to those that shouldn't see it?"

I nodded. "Of course they can, there is not much that magic can't accomplish. There is just no reason to do that in the wizarding world. As for the Masters? Well, I like the simplicity. A nice old building with infinite secrets hiding inside. Don't you think that's good enough?"

The girl harrumphed and murmured under her breath, "Sorry for expecting something more from an order of magic users..."

Chuckling, I grabbed her hand. "You can complain later. Now come on, we have a meeting to attend." Only the scowl on Laura's face gave away her emotions as I dragged her across the street towards the green doors of the Sanctum. "You ready?" I asked, my hand raised, ready to act.

At her nod, I knocked twice and took a step back. My unique energy boiled within me as it waited for my order in case something went wrong. A simple command was all it needed to teleport us a few streets away. Five seconds passed, then ten before the door groaned, slowly sliding open as a single person appeared in our sight.

It was a middle-aged black-skinned man. Tall and muscular, with a head lacking even a single hair. The typical yellow robe of the Masters of Mystic Arts rested on his shoulders as the man observed us with narrowed eyes. Instinctively I tightened my hold on Laura's hand and the wand in my sleeve. For the love of God, I couldn't remember him from the movies, so he either was someone quite unimportant or the movie just didn't show him.

"How can I help you, young ones?" The man's deep voice washed over us.

Gulping, I gave the man a small bow. "We wish to meet with the Ancient One, sir. She knows who I am and I wouldn't be surprised if she already knew we are here." Blunt and straight to the business. The Master looked like a no-sense man, so jumping around the subject probably wouldn't do any good.

"Truly?" He said more to himself than us. "And what could two children want from the Sorcerer Supreme? Much less, how do you even know about this Sanctum?"

I sighed and gave the man the blankest stare I could muster. "We found it with Street View. As for what is our business with Ancient One? Well, you will need to forgive me if I don't spill our secrets to someone I just met."

The face the Master made was priceless. His eyes grew wide and his mouth opened as he tried to formulate a proper answer, only for nothing to come out. I withheld the snicker that threatened to burst from my throat, but it didn't stop Laura from releasing a few giggles of her own. With a smile on my face, I looked into the man's eyes, "So can we come in?"

As if not really sure what to do, the huge man stepped aside and opened the door wider. "Please sit down for a moment. I will attempt to contact Ancient One. And don't try anything, I will know if you do."

Nodding, I stepped inside with Laura instantly following. The inside was just how I remembered it from Avengers. A huge entrance hall with only one staircase leading deeper inside the Sanctum. Various pieces of old furniture stood near the wall, leaving most of the hall empty. I lead Laura to the few old chairs in one of the corners of the halls and sat down, watching as the Master run upstairs, muttering something about "Street View".

"Well, that went a lot better than I expected," I chuckled, casting my gaze across the hall.

"You could say that," Laura grinned. "He had no clue what to do with us. It is nice not to be on the receiving side of your surprises. For once I mostly know what is going on..."

"You will understand the rest in a few minutes. Hopefully..." I added in a mutter.

Minutes passed as I drummed my fingers on the armrest. I tried to collect my thoughts during this time, sorting through everything that I would probably need to tell Ancient One in order for her to help us. I didn't really fancy revealing too much of what happened in the last few months, but it was necessary. Besides the ancient woman probably already knew about Inhumans and obscurials even if she didn't know about us. Which in itself was a surprise as I pretty much expected her to be waiting for us at the doorstep of the Sanctum.

Either the Eye of Agamotto stopped giving her information about me and Laura, or she didn't try to check on me during all this time, which I very much doubt was the case. The woman loved to know everything that was going on around her. Leaving an unknown like me unchecked was a big no-no.

"Mr. Hunt," the familiar voice stopped my musing, bringing my attention to the bald, Asian woman coming down the stair along with the black-skinned Master. "I will admit that I didn't expect to meet you again so soon, with a guest no less."

I stood up and gave the woman a nod. "Desperate times call for desperate measures."

"Is that so?" she said slowly and I nodded again. "Very well, please follow me. I'm sure you want this conversation to remain private." Turning to her subordinate, she announced, "Master Drumm, thank you for delivering this information to me, and please make sure that no one disturbs us."

So that's his name. Still can't remember him though. I thought as we followed the Ancient One upstairs and then into one of the many rooms along the corridor. A simple study waited inside, with bookshelves hiding almost every wall from sight. Ancient One took a seat behind the desk, while I and Laura flopped down on one of the many chairs on the other side.

"Tea?" she smiled, a familiar pitcher and cups waiting on the desk. She really loved to summon it out of nowhere. Though unlike before, I accepted her offer and took the filled cup, Laura following my actions. "So how can I help you two, Mr. Hunt? Have you changed your answer?"

"Somewhat," I grimaced, glancing at Laura. An action that definitely didn't go unnoticed by Ancient One. "But this is not the reason why we are here. You see in the last few months, the two of us went through some very disturbing experiences. And now the consequences of those events are hanging over our heads. As we are quite far from my homeland, your order is probably the only place that can help us without informing the rest of the wizarding world... Are you familiar with Hydra?"

The ancient woman set down her cup, her smile all but forgotten. "I will need the full story, Mr. Hunt. Only then I will tell you if I can help."

I took a deep breath and looked Ancient One deep in the eyes. I better not regret this. And so I started our story, the kidnappings, our time in Hydra, and the escape along with our transformations. I didn't tell her what my powers were, but I couldn't really withhold the information about Laura's ability. Its connection to Obscurus was the reason why we were here after all.

All this time Ancient One listened with rapt attention, not even once touching her cup. Only when I stopped did she move, her hand coming to rest at her forehead. "That's indeed troubling. Hydra once again shows that they have no idea what they are messing with. There were times in the past when I thought, I would need to intervene, but in the end, the rest of the world always stopped them before a tragedy could happen... We will get back to the subject of Inhumans later as it finally explains some things to me, but for now, I think we got a more important matter at hands," she finished with a look directed at Laura.

We both gave a nod and Ancient One turned to look at me again, her gaze more intense than ever. "There are multiple ways of dealing with Obscurus. Some kill the host and the dark entity, others sometimes heal the infected and turn them back to normal... But here the situation is a little bit more complicated considering the connection between the entity and the inhuman abilities. Of course, there might be a way to separate the two, risking unknown consequences."

"I can hear a 'but' there," I cut in.

"Indeed," she nodded. "Tell me, Mr. Hunt. What do you know about Klyntar?"

End.

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