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For a moment Jean could only stare at the nurse, her eyes wide and shocked, even losing control of her telekinesis, lifting up several small objects from around the infirmary. Her emotions were cascading all over the place, from shock to anger to surprise to fear to, somewhat surprisingly when she realized it, joy and a sort of wonder. Though anger was beginning to become more prominent than the other emotions as she began to understand precisely what she had just been told. She must've mumbled something to Una's congratulations, but for the life of her Jean could never remember what afterward.
Susan noticed her astonishment, and frowned internally while smiling politely at Una as she took Jean's hand. After a few more moments she made some polite excuses and guided the still shocked Jean out into the corridor, where Susan turned to stare at Jean. "I take it this wasn't planned? Given your age I wouldn't have thought you would have planned something like this, but I also thought that you and Harry would at least be careful about pregnancy anyway."
Jean shook her head, her eyes still wide from the shock of the news. "W, we do, Harry has these spells he casts on himself and on me and Ororo, they are supposed to keep anything from happening! I can't think of a single time where he forgot them! He'd even taken the time between rounds to cast them."
"Little too much information there." Susan said shaking her head. "Maybe his spell went wrong somehow?"
"Oh it definitely went wrong, and I think I know the reason." Jean shook her head with a scowl now once again back in control of all her faculties. "If you'll excuse me Susan, I'm going back to my room. There's a certain immortal entity I need to have a talk with."
Susan's eyebrows rose. She and Reed had been told an abbreviated tale of what the Phoenix was and what it meant to Jean and her abilities but hadn't really made any kind of opinion on it. "You think the Phoenix could have interfered somehow?"
"Yes," Jean growled. "Yes I believe it did." Without another word she stalked off.
A crackling aura of telekinetic fire appearing around her for a moment causing Susan to shake her head. That is going to be an interesting discussion, glad I'm not a part of it. With that she smiled and turned away, heading towards the stateroom she shared with her husband.
Moments later Jean reached her room, stalking inside and slamming the automatic door behind her with a telekinetic pull that nearly ripped the door out of the wall rather than along its smooth rails. A part of her made a mental note to try and fix that, but the rest of her was just too angry to care at the moment.
With a growl she sat on the floor, crossing her legs under her in her normal meditative pose, closing her eyes not noticing that they were glimmering with red green fire as she did so. Instead of sending her thoughts out as she would if she was trying to connect telepathically with someone, Jean sent them inwards, finding and using the odd connection between her and the Phoenix. It wasn't supposed to let actual communication like this through, but Jean was too angry right now to care. "Phoenix! What the hell did you do!?"
A second later Jean, or rather her astral projection, stood in a plane of fire. This wasn't like any kind of normal fire, nor was it like that of a sun. This fire was all the colors of a rainbow, everywhere at once, carrying within each color images. Images of death and rebirth, new growth spring up from old, wars, what looked like parades, children at play, several alien couples (including a few races who Jean refused to look at closely lest she lose her lunch) making love, and thousands of other images covering the whole gamut of human or alien life, from beginning to end.
Out of that fire appeared the Phoenix, huge and majestic. It was so big that the word enormous didn't do it justice, a metaphor and reality all rolled into one somehow. Its wings were as wide as a planet, yet seemed also to span galaxies, its eyes were the size of islands, yet held within them the fire of thousands of suns.
"Were you any other mortal calling upon me in such a tone, I would have seared your soul and body to naught but ash." The Phoenix said though there was a smile on its' beak as it did so, leaning over Jean, who realized she probably looked almost miniscule in comparison. "But since it is you, dear Jean, I will allow your disrespect. What exactly are you accusing me of?"
Jean stared up at the massive Phoenix, the very power of life and rebirth, one of the eternal forces, and was unafraid. Here she could not call upon the powers the Phoenix gave her, it was all her, her telekinetic and telepathic abilities fueled only by her will, but even so, she stood her ground. "You know damn well what you did! You sabotaged Harry's spellwork so I'd become pregnant!"
The Phoenix seems to sigh, the breath of thousands of solar winds all rolled into one, before it started to shrink. A moment later a woman stood there, still taller than Jean and much broader, but generally speaking at least a humanoid figure. "And is that such a bad thing?" she asked, her voice no longer the booming thunder of planets crashing together, but still powerful.
"It takes away my choice so yes it's a bad thing! I'm a god-damn field agent! I have things to do I can't be out in the field if I'm pregnant, and I'm only 19!" She paused a moment and shrugged her shoulders. "Okay, going on 20 soon admittedly, but still I'm too damn young to be a mother. I won't deny I would have wanted children eventually, but this is too damn soon!"
The Phoenix cocked her head to one side then shook it slowly and when it replied, its mental tone was dry and sardonic. "You attribute to me a conscious act where there was none. I am the force of life and rebirth, from the seeds of the present are the future grown, from the ashes of the past new life springs up. That is what I am, who I am and what I will ever be."
"You are my avatar, and as such you not only partake in my power, but some of my essence. It was not a conscious act on my part that cancelled your mate's spellwork. When you lost control of my powers for a moment at the moment of climax, that outpouring of my energy did that on its own with no input from me."
She laughed, appealing sound of thunder. "I had thought you would've noticed it or realized this long since. But every time since then you called upon the abilities my power has given you, I realized you hadn't, and it amused me anew each time."
"I'm so glad I amuse you." Jean scowled, realizing in hindsight that it really should've been obvious. Then her eyes widened in sudden realization. "Are you saying that every time…I, I orgasm, I'll wipe out Harry's spellwork on my body and on his?"
"Not every time no, your normal control is good enough to keep such from happening for the most part, but that first time you could not have prevented it."
Jean continued to scowl, staring off into the distance of this odd plain her anger dribbling away slowly since it did not have a true target to waste itself on. She knew somehow that the Phoenix was not lying, it would serve no purpose. "I'm too young," She reiterated. "I'm too important as a team member! This isn't the right time for this kind of thing."
"Life flourishes where it can, not just where or when you want it to," The Phoenix said shrugging her shoulders philosophically. She was watching Jean intently however, and Jean turned from staring off into the distance to glare up at her. The two stared at one another, and the Phoenix frowned faintly, a bare outline in the eternal fire that made up her form. "I can read your thoughts; you are wondering if you should… the human term is abort the baby?"
Looking away from that knowing gaze, Jean remained silent for a moment before nodding sharply. Jean had been raised as a Christian, and abortion had been a very hot topic for many years, one which most Catholics believed was simply murder. Yet Jean had never really been that interested in all of the religious claptrap, and all of her previous arguments were still valid.
The Phoenix cocked its head thoughtfully staring down at the little human that had become it avatar, which had held a portion of the Phoenix's essence locked away under her own power for so long and whose life had become so precious to it. It wasn't supposed to have favorites of course a being such as it should never become emotionally tied to anything or anyone. But it had become so with Jean.
It could read Jean thoughts as easily as a book whatever Jean's mental defense to anyone else. Yes the reasons that Jean had stated were valid and part of what was driving her mental confusion. But the rest was simple fear. 'Will I be a good enough mother', 'I'm too young for this', 'how will the others react', 'am I strong enough to defend my child from the threats that are out there?' Having a baby like this would make Jean vulnerable and the baby in turn.
To the Phoenix's mind those last two thoughts were nonsense: it had a good enough read on her avatar's mate to understand his response to this event. That Jean did not was simply due to her emotional turmoil at the moment, which Jean would get over once she stopped and thought clearly about her pregnancy. And of course Jean had none of the other problems that many young mothers faced. She could easily look after the child, and Camelot was the safest place on the Earth, and the most hidden.
There was no material reason why Jean could not have this baby, and even the reasons about her team and responsibilities were specious ones in the Phoenix's opinion. But right now Jean was afraid, and people who are scared could commit acts that later they would be horrified by.
"Let me show you something." the Phoenix said, holding up its hand to gently touch Jean's stomach.
Suddenly in the air in front of Jean was a tiny flame, only about as big as her thumb. But just like the plain around her, this was no ordinary flame. It burned with all the kaleidoscope colors of the rainbow, of every rainbow ever conceived and billions of other colors that humanity had no words for.
Jean stared at it, her hands slowly moving up to cup it gently with her hands, her eyes wide as she realized what this was. "What… you can't be… this, this can't be…"
"Every life begins with endless possibilities." the Phoenix said. "It is up to the individual, its family, its fuel if you will, and its environment to impact what it becomes, if it becomes anything. Your life is your own but surely, this life deserves a chance?"
Jean wanted to glare at the Phoenix, wanted to shout and rant that she wasn't ready for this, but that would have simply been reiterating her previous argument, that she had duties and responsibilities. She could have said that it was impossible for a baby to already have a soul, for a baby to already be formed enough to have a soul a bare three weeks into the pregnancy.
But she couldn't. Not because this was the Phoenix, and therefore if anyone or anything knew when souls came into being it would be this entity. No, she couldn't say those things because she couldn't look away, dazzled by the small flame flickering in her hands. The tiny flame that she and Harry had brought into the world.
Staring at Jean's face for a moment the Phoenix smiled, reverting back to its bird form before dissolving gently into the ether of the dimension around them.
How long Jean stayed there staring into the small flame she didn't now, but Jean was roused from her meditation quite suddenly, a loud screeching sound pulling her senses back to her body. She looked up sharply to see Paige in her metal form pulling the warped doorway into her room aside, pushing it back into the wall. "Geez, what did you do to this thing?"
"I hadn't actually noticed," Jean said, shaking her head lightly as she came back to the here and now. "Was there something you two wanted?"
Behind Paige Danielle stood, looking a little diffident, but smiling all the same. Paige replied, "The nurse said you and Mrs. Richards were both pregnant! We came down to congratulate you, we should have a party!"
Jean winced, something that only Danielle saw as Paige was still wrestling with the door. The Cheyenne woman cocked an eyebrow at her teacher, and Jean waved her hand lightly in the air from side to side, indicating that she'd talk to her later. "That's nice I suppose, but right now I think I'd just like to sleep." Jean said aloud, looking at Paige. Paige had been raised as a staunch Catholic, and saw no problems with someone as young as Jean having a baby, though she would have a major problem with Jean if she brought up the idea of aborting it.
Kicking at the bottom of the door Paige finally forced the last portion of it into the slide before looking closely at Jean. Then she nodded her head slowly. "I guess it came as a shock to you, sorry I didn't think about that. Just promise me when we do through you a baby shower, Ah'm in charge of it!" Paige grinned, giving Jean a thumbs up. "And don't worry, when we order booze, I'll drink your portion for ya."
"Away, away with you." Jean laughed waving her hands at both of them. "Thank you for fixing my door Paige, but seriously not right now."
"I gotcha, and sorry." Paige shrugged, turning to leave, eager to get back to her room where she could change back to her skin and bones body in private. She'd got enough weird looks from the Kree among the crew, along with Douglas and Nikolai, as it was.
Dani however stayed behind, entering Jean's room and turning to watch as the door tried to close behind her. "You know, I think she just made it worse."
With a languid hand Jean sent a telekinetic burst of energy at the door, closing it with a thump. "I suppose you could call it an extra layer of security I guess."
Danielle laughed then looked at Jean coming over to stand in front of her. "This really was a surprise to you wasn't it? And not a happy one?"
"A surprise yes, as for the other…" Jean frowned, her eyes far away as she tried to balance what had happened in the Phoenix's realm with all her mortal concerns and worries. "That one's still up in the air."
"Want to talk about it?" Danielle asked. "I have a worry of my own. I was hoping to wait until we get back to Earth to talk to Harry, but I wondered if you had any advice about it to give right now."
Jean cocked her head thoughtfully as she looked to be younger girl. She nodded, then moved over to the bed, propping herself against the wall behind the bed as Danielle moved to use the footrest in the same manner. "Why don't you start? Your worry sounds a little more serious than mine, at least in a way."
Danielle nodded then relayed the dream she had after they left Earth, the one where she had apparently spirit walked into her own blood only to find Sigyn, an Asgardian and the wife of Loki Foolsbane hidden there.
While the Cheyenne girl spoke Jean remained silent, simply staring at her thoughtfully, gratefully putting aside her own worries for a moment.
What was interesting to Jean at first was that Dani's dream had occurred as they were exiting the solar system, but she had not had any similar dreams since. Surely Sigyn had more information to impart than could be done in that one dream. It was a leap of logic, but Jean felt that this probably meant that the Asgardians couldn't use many of their powers any real distance away from Earth. That was interesting, and might be important down the line.
After Dani finished she remained that way for a moment before shrugging her shoulders. "Harry's been worried about there being something going on with the Asgardians for a while now, so this doesn't exactly come as a great shock. There are some really odd undercurrents there from what you're saying. Did Sigyn ever ask you to start looking for her body for some reason?"
"No, and that was the other odd thing, she tried to hint at it, but it wasn't an implicit request for aid."
"Interesting." Jean frowned. Reverse psychology possibly
"I don't think so. I think she was telling me as much as she could."
"It sounds like some kind of geas." Jean said pulling the phrase from a few fantasy novels she'd read. She was more of a sci-fi fan than fantasy, but she'd learned enough about magic to understand it was possible to keep someone from talking about to something like that.
"I can only hope that Harry and Ororo and began to look into the Asgardians." she said aloud, shrugging her shoulders. "You gave me a lot of information to work from just now, and certainly information from the horse's own mouth will carry a lot more weight than any kind of record. The hint about Loki being Odin's brother for one is a major clue. And there is Harry's dealing with Hela, another way we could get more information. I'm just wondering how proactive we should be on this."
She cocked an eyebrow at Danielle, who took her cue but did not reply immediately. "I think…" she said slowly "I think that above and beyond being the right thing to do it might be the smart thing to do as well. I'm not an expert on mythology, but if enough of the mythology that survived from back then is real, well we might want to get the Asgardians more on our side after all. And possibly getting Loki Foolsbane into our debt would be a major advantage down the line."
"Allies are where you find them, though Loki, to say that the mythology send mixed singles about him is an understatement." Jean said with a nod. "Balder impressed Harry, and from what I remember from the news Thor's also impressed people. If those two are normal, the Asgardians could be a major ally." Jean smiled, reaching forward to grab Danielle's hand. "And," she said, smiling at the younger girl. "You're right about it being the right thing to do. Such a woman as you described Sigyn to be deserves better than to be locked in a cage, regardless of how gilded."
Danielle smiled back gripping the other woman's hands thankfully. Then she smirked, pulling one hand away to point a finger at Jean. "Now onto your issue."
Jean sighed having forgotten her pregnancy and the concerns there for a few moments. But she obediently conveyed her fears and concerns to the younger girl, who just as Jean did didn't speak up until Jean finished, then shook her head. "I understand where you're going about the age thing, and it is a concern, but are you really concerned about how Harry will react? You've seen the way he treats Melody and even the other kids."
The redhead shook her head slowly. "No, I'm not really worried about Harry's reaction, it's just… wouldn't this kind of sort of put pressure on him?"
"I think I understand what you're saying, but it's also ridiculous." Danielle said shaking her head. "You two are together, you might not be married in the eyes of law or religion, but that doesn't change what is. Given that and his love of the kids, this won't be a pressure to him, it will be a joy."
"As for your arguments about being a field agent and the team, I think those aren't important." She held up a hand as Jean made to object. "I'm not saying you're not a major help, I'm not saying you have skills and talents that could be easily replaced, that's all true, just look at this mission alone! But even so, the team can get by without your powers."
She smirked suddenly. "And while the Custodes might be one of your duties, it certainly isn't the only one you have. And all your other duties, chief Engineer for Magical Minds, head of the team's armory, part-time teacher, 24-7 sounding board for Harry, those you can all do even while pregnant. I think it comes down to whether or not this is something you want."
Jean frowned, staring down at her stomach thoughtfully. It would be weeks or possibly months yet before she began to show but that didn't matter considering the Phoenix's little display. "I think, I think while the final decision is mine, I need to talk to Harry about this before I say anything else."
Danielle rolled her eyes, knowing point blank what Harry's response would be and Jean did too if she was being honest with herself. But motherhood was such a daunting concept, especially to someone Jean's age and background, Dani knew her own parents had not exactly been the best at it, that Dani understood the underlying fear driving her indecisiveness.
With a sigh she stood up, patting Jean on the leg for a moment. "In the end, you're right when you say the final decision is yours." She leaned forward, exchanging a hug with the older redhead before pulling away slightly and nodding at her. "Sleep on it Jean, and then certainly, talk to Harry." She suddenly grinned. "Just make sure that I'm there when you do, I want to see his face!"
Jean rolled her eyes, and with a gesture of one hand summoned up a telekinetic wave throwing Danielle out of the room to land gently in the corridor, where she laughed.
OOOOOOO
Back on Earth Harry suddenly sneezed, holding up a handkerchief to his nose quickly. "I do apologize." He said staring over the table at his dining companion. "You were saying something?"
Sebastian merely nodded. "I was saying that it was interesting how Senator Kelly's rhetoric has not changed overmuch since that debacle up in Canada. People who cannot change how they think worry me. The Middle East is a prime example of what happens when lots of people are unwilling to change how they think or live their lives despite the world moving on around them. They tend to lash out and become irrational."
"I haven't been following American politics as much as I have Europe." Harry replied, "But I understand your point well enough. Am I correct when I say that he is going to be announcing his run for presidency at this upcoming rally of his? He does not seem the type of person anyone with enough of the… right kind of forethought... would want in the Oval Office."
The two Hellfire Club kings were actually not at the Hellfire Club at the moment, they were dining in a small restaurant in New York that Sebastian owned through one of his intermediaries. Every person who worked there was one of his people, and the place was regularly swept for bugs every half-hour. It had also been swept right before they began to sit down to eat, so was the safest environment they could contrive. But even so, and despite this being the tenth time they had met up like this, they remained on guard against a stray word.
"True enough and I am a little concerned about some of the people funding his campaign." Sebastian mused. "Among them there are several who might resort to extralegal means to make their point."
"Interesting." Harry said thoughtfully then he smiled grimly. "It makes me very happy to be a British citizen rather than an American one, that such a man has a chance of winning the most powerful position in the country. However," he went on. "Such could be opposed by others who are willing to work outside of the law to steer the future in the proper direction."
"And would you be one of those?" Sebastian asked.
"It depends on who is asking, and what they themselves can bring to the table." Harry replied, staring at Sebastian hard.
Sebastian raised a nap into his mouth to hide a smile, and nodded slightly. "I believe that on this issue we are of like mind then."
"On this issue yes." Harry replied with a nod. "But I have heard whispers that our fellow King does not stand with us, that he is in fact diametrically opposed?"
"That is fact, and I will submit some proofs to you about that now, indeed, that and more." Sebastian replied with a nod, gesturing to one of the guards nearby to hand over a portfolio to Harry containing what information Emma had passed on to him and what his own sources had found out about the Sentinel Program.
Harry took it, not looking through it at the moment, simply setting it aside. "I will look over this and get back to you."
Sebastian nodded, understanding that the meal was over. He stood up, reached across the table and shook the younger man's hand then both of them left, after paying the bill outside Sebastian commented complemented Harry on his car making small talk for a moment, then moved off to his limo smiling faintly.
OOOOOOO
Later that day Emma and Harry met in Camelot, Emma having gotten away from her mansion for a few hours. Emma frowned thoughtfully, looking over the information Sebastian had passed on. "So he doesn't know about what the sentinels can do or their numbers, though I didn't get much of this." Emma frowned gesturing at some of the figures that Sebastian had procured, which were a list of electronic parts, a list of industrial equipment and metals along with some other industrial supplies. "I'm afraid his information network is a little better than my own outside of the realm of cyber warfare."
"What interests me is that Robert Kelly is definitely in on this. Your opinion of him?"
Emma smiled, squeezing Harry's hand at the absolute trust his voice. When planning an operation like this most people would have wanted to make their own opinion of their opponents. But Harry trusted her opinion enough to not need to make his own, and had even agreed with most of the plan she had thought up to deal with the Sentinels, Buckman, and Shaw. That was a compliment of the highest order.
"I think he's being used." she replied bluntly. "While he believes fervently that mutants are a threat to humanity and is able to rouse a crowd, he's not the sort of person anyone would trust with anything important. However if he becomes president, he'll have to be seen as an important player in the central project if it's supposed to become mainstream. I think that they will aim indeed for a showing at his campaign rally for several reasons. This will give us a shot if we're lucky."
The two of them looked at one another, mentally going over the plan that Emma had proposed a few weeks ago before Harry nodded. "I definitely need to talk to Charles then."
Before going over to the X-mansion Harry stopped in the hydroponics section of High Note. He talked to the head elf of High Note, Gordon, who informed him that the next crop of potion ingredients would be ready for harvest soon in the first farms he'd created. The crops in the more recently created areas were about two weeks behind. Once he had a full harvest, Harry would be able to almost meet the needs of Europe and Canada at the very least. And he would have enough to do a bit of a PR blitz. Half-price off for any veteran injured in the line of duty is going to be one hell of a carrot.
A moment later however Harry was in the mansion. He nodded to Scott who nodded back cordially, heading out the doorway with Rogue on what looked like a date. "Any of the other kids at home?" he asked as the two of them walked past him.
Scott paused for a moment as Rogue when ahead of him, taking a brief moment to glance down at her rear when she put a deliberate swing in her step before looking up at Harry's amused expression. He shrugged, and answered. "No, Evan's out with a few of his skater buddies enjoying the last of the summer, and Kitty's over at her parents for the day. Kurt's also out, helping our new live-in maid Moira McTaggart shopping for some furniture for her room and food. The second batch of students arrives next week, so we're stocking up."
Harry nodded, though he actually hadn't met the new live-in maid that Charles had brought in. Of course she wouldn't be an actual maid; Clare would be much put out by the very idea. But a female language teacher and den mother was a bit of a mouthful. "Is Charles upstairs?"
Turning from the doorway Rogue shook her head. "He's in the hospital area Mistah Potter, along with Xian, that girl that Kurt saved. They're trying to help that woman that Missus Braddock and Ororo brought in."
Having completely forgotten about Ms. Steed Harry simply nodded. Ororo had transported her to the mansion as a favor to Betsy, who thought that maybe another more powerful and experienced telepath could bring Steed out of whatever was afflicting her.
The couple left after that and Harry made his way into the infirmary, nodding at the Vietnamese girl who nodded back but kept her distance. She was still spooked around most men, with the sole exception of Charles.
Charles himself was by one of the medical tables, holding one hand on Emma Steed's forehead as his other held her wrist. Harry shrugged his shoulders, reached forward and took the man's cold coffee mug, before leaving for the kitchen and coming back with a warm one. He set it in front of Charles' face, letting the smell waft up under his nose then watched as Charles came out of his telepathic meditation. "Any progress?"
Charles looked up at him smiling faintly. "You're making a habit of bringing me coffee when I need it most Mr. Potter. As for progress, some. I have to deal with each nightmare defense as they come, using Ms. Steed's own memories to point out they are not real, and thus forcing them to dissipate. I'm hoping that if I can reach a tipping point in those they'll be able to share the information that her tormentor is gone, hopefully it'll get through and convince the small kernel of Ms. Steed's mind she somehow hid from this Selene woman to come back to the land of the living."
He shook his head slightly. "I hope it works, the very idea of being able to hide a portion of your psyche like that shows incredible intelligence and skill. Or perhaps just desperation, it would be interesting to see which frankly." After taking a sip from his cup, Charles went on staring up at Harry. "But you're not here to ask you about Ms. Steed and my progress or lack thereof. What can I do for you Harry?"
"I know that Ororo passed on some of our worries about what Emma found but did she mention the Sentinel project?" Charles nodded, and Harry went on to describe what Sandman had passed on to Emma.
"We're running out of time, but we come up with a scheme that might be able to get us the location of their base. The problem is, it's something we need your help with Charles, not the X-men, you. Because you're the one that has been invited down to that rally that Senator Kelly's organized at the end of the month."
"Oh, that." Charles grimaced a little. "I actually hadn't intended to go, there's only so much you can do with a crowd that will be as hostile as that one will no doubt be. But then rumors began to circulate that Kelly would have it both broadcasted live on the news, and that he would announce his upcoming race for presidency at it." He smiled thinly. "I believe his chances of taking the presidency would greatly diminish if those watching from home at least could be convinced he lost that debate."
Harry laughed. "An evil thought, and here's another one." From there Harry went on to describe their plan as such as it was. It wasn't in any way detailed considering how many times it would be possible for to go wrong. But Charles' part in it at least was certain.
Charles agreed to do his part. "I also have my own agent watching Sebastian Shaw. I have had her in place for years, watching Shaw while I waited until I thought the X-men were up to the task of stopping him." Harry's eyebrows rose at that, but it made sense considering how much resources Shaw could call upon. "Her name is Sage. I'll contact her in the usual manner and give her your telephone number if that's all right?"
"That's fine by me." Harry nodded. "Have her call the phone number on my cell phone, the one Reed built for me. Just in case."
"Agreed. I'll also make certain the X-men are ready to assist. Extra firepower is something you always should have on hand just in case. And since you will be fighting the Hellions as well as these Sentinels, I doubt I could keep Scott away." To say that Scott had been displeased to learn Alex had been somehow coerced to work with a mutant supremacist was to say the ocean was wet.
Harry nodded at that, clapping the other older man on the shoulder. "There is no such thing as overkill, there is just dead and not dead enough." With that he shook Charles his hand, exchanging nods once again with Xian before exiting.
OOOOOOO
That was just the first of several meetings Harry had today. Later that day Harry met with his think tanks one after another. First was the group that he had put together to look into what Harry had dubbed the 'Asgardian mystery'.
Doctor Vorlus was a somewhat short rotund man, who despite looking like a bowling ball had arms that were about three times the size of Harry's. He looked exactly like an old weightlifter gone badly to seed, but he spoke with the most erudite tone that Harry had ever heard, including Dr. Lefton, the sociologist that Reed had brought in to speak to the Kree prisoners.
He was also a follower of Odin, though at first Harry didn't realize the significance of this. "There are several points of interest to talk about already sir, though it will take us weeks to compile all of our evidence as well as information. But I understand that this is a preliminary meeting."
Harry nodded, sitting down across from the man in the small but very well furnished office that he and the rest of this think tank met in, which was set into a corner of Magical Mind's public headquarters. "I'm sorry to say that yes, I don't have time today for a long-term briefing, just tell me the highlights about the Asgardians, then tell me if you can sift fact from fiction."
"Very well," the older man said with a nod. "First I will cover facts, then we will cover supposition, which is in this area, ideas and wild guesses which we believe might be the case but have yet to find any evidence to support such. Then I will explain the means we use to tell fact from fiction in this instance."
Harry stared blankly at the man every inch of his being telling him to get on with it, and the former Doctor of Norwegian History chuckled dryly. "First of all, you have to understand..." From there the man went on to give Harry a decent enough overview of the two branches of Asgardians gods, as well as the Jotnar, who consistently married goddesses and gods, as well as those that were their enemies, giving a few important names of those and the tales that went with them.
"You could say that individual giants could be respected or even respectable. Tyr is the prime example of this. He was a mountain giant, yet he came to be among the most powerful and honored of the Aesir. He ruled over law, justice, honor and tradition. He became even more respected when he sacrificed his hand to Fenris, the beast who according to the Prose and Poetic Edda, is fated to eat Odin whole at Ragnarok."
At the name Fenris, Harry's eyes narrowed. Fenris was the name of the giant wolf that Dani ran into in her dream-walk, but to eat a god? he also didn't seem that antagonistic, or that powerful, when Dani described him. So is this Ragnarok event far in the future, or is something going to change soon to force him into such a mindset?
As a group though, the Jotnar were most certainly the enemy, either through their actions or their very nature. I am sure you have heard the old tale of the scorpion in the old tale about a scorpion and a fox crossing the river? Such examples of giants giving in to their base natures in many tales, and paying for it." Vorlus concluded.
"Now we get on to specific gods. The most famous are six, or possibly eight if you want to be pedantic about it, gods and goddesses that appear in more old tales than any of the other Aesir, or who have the most impact on their worshipers." He smiled faintly, then went on to describe Odin, Loki, Freya, Thor, Balder and the Norns.
While Harry had researched Odin and the others, he had not looked into the Norns. It was interesting to note however that they had apparently begun as simply observers of life, watchers whose pool sat at the roots of Yggdrasil. It was only alter when they were 'awarded' the power of being actual weavers of fate for mortals and gods alike. This was one of many differences that occurred over time.
"Yet while there is no single demarcation for when such changes began, some differences in how the gods were portrayed were easy to hunt down and prove false. Thor for instance is supposed to be red-haired. The blonde version came about during World War II from the Nazis. This is fact not conjecture. Hitler was very deeply involved in quasi-religious mystical claptrap at the time, including creating an entire division devoted to magic if you can believe it." The man smirked condescendingly, while Harry kept his own expression neutral.
"Of particular interest to the Nazi's was the Asgardian pantheon, and of course Thor in particular. Thor was the friend of the common man in the pantheon, defender, friend and leader, most physically powerful of the gods thanks to his gauntlets and belt, which allowed him to wield Mjöllnir."
"Do we have any images of the hammer you would trust? The belt and the gauntlets, I don't think Thor's been seen with, at least not from the news about him." Harry frowned, thinking back to what he had seen of Thor. Nothing I saw on him looked magical, not even his hammer.
"It is the hammer that but brings me to believe that the Thor in America is not the real one from Asgardians myth." Vorlus replied, sighing sadly. "Hair could be a thing of seeming. But Mjöllnir was supposed to be stone not steel, and it was supposed to be so heavy that no God or even teams of gods could lift it without the Gauntlets of Power. Gauntlets that this…imposter does not seem to have."
Harry watched in amusement as the man across from him actually cracked his knuckles in anger. Knuckles that, Harry noticed, looked scarred and gnarled, like that of an old boxer.
"That, and, well this is more supposition, but we have some evidence that Thor was married, and had children with Sif. Yet rumor states this blonde Thor has taken up with a human female. While other gods were known to stray occasionally, Thor was certainly not!"
But his hair did change to red, and got a massive power boost because of it… Harry thought internally. So, we have Thor who either doesn't have a family or willingly left them and who's missing all the tools he was supposed to have to make him so deadly. We have all of the other little indications that something happened to drive the Asgardians out of them Earth, and the fact they seem to be stuck into some kind of cycle. Joy.
"Leaving aside Thor for a moment, what can you tell me about Odin? He is the leader of the pantheon, that isn't hyperbole?"
"Not the leader of the pantheon, the King of the Asgardians." Vorlus replied firmly. "I already said that if Thor was physically stronger than any of the other gods, so unlike in the Greek pantheon pure power did not make you the chief. In fact, that is one of his titles, God of Kings. What does that tell you?"
The professor raised an eyebrow and Harry rolled his eyes again but answered readily. "He's not always going to be nice. He's not going to be straightforward. He will be devious at times and intelligent…" Harry said each word coming out slower as the implications of them sank in. "Someone who is as equally dangerous on the field of battle commanding men or at the negotiating table."
Maybe I didn't get as good a deal as I thought. Or maybe… maybe he had some other reason to open up a dialogue other than the obvious. Aloud he asked, "But how do you equate that to someone who would trick that giant who made the wall for his city?"
"Well there you have to look at whether the giant in question was honorable about making the deal in the first place, and what the actual wording of their agreement was. You see…"
That explanation went on for some time, but in the end Harry was satisfied. A king would always need to put the honor and needs of his people over his personal honor, so would indeed need to take actions that an individual might find beyond the pale. In this case, he used his foe's words and resources against him to protect one of his own. Can't say I would have done the same, but I can't say it was entirely dishonorable either.
Still, a definite cautonary tale to any agreement I make with the Asgardians. Best to assume Odin will get more out of any agreement we make in writing, and make certain that what they gain is something I can afford to lose.
He also understood where a lot of Tolkien's inspiration for Gandalf came from. An old man wandering around, yeah I'm definitely going to take any gifts I get from such. And do my damndest not to take on Odin if I don't have to. I might have greater magical strength, but in magic, knowledge counts for a hell of a lot more than pure power. And frankly Odin sounds a hell of a lot trickier than I am.
"In short." the man concluded hours later despite Harry wanting this meeting to be short, "there are many hundred discrepancies of what little remnants remain of actual religious text, and then the later mythology built up around it. The key I believe is Loki and of course Ragnarok. Something is wrong with the entire tale. For one thing, it is in the telling of Ragnarok that Loki who is brother to Odin suddenly becomes brother to Thor, and where he is suddenly cast out by the Aesir for breaking the rights of the guest in Odin's Hall."
"And being drunk and disorderly and saying such things as that would be well beyond the pale, something Loki, for all his silver tongue would know." Harry said nodding his head, referring to some of the things the professor had said mythology laid at Loki's feet during that fiasco. "And Ragnarok?"
"You are a former soldier are you not, Mr. Potter? Would you ever, in a thousand years, pin the result of a war entirely on a single over done battle?" Vorlus asked drolly. "That is what the Ragnarok is supposed to, all of the sources agree on it! A single battle to stop the fire giants in their attempt to destroy the world. Someone like Odin is supposed to have been would never allow such a thing, never allow himself to be backed into a corner where a single battle would mean life or death for his people."
He smiled thinly. "I am a follower of Odin, a Odinssman if you will. I like to think of myself as devious, meticulous, forward thinking, willing and able to make sacrifices. And I would never be backed into a corner like that."
Harry nodded, frowning thoughtfully. "All right, we'll go with your hunch then concentrate on the Ragnarok, then Odin, Loki, Freya and Thor in that order, but first I'd like a timeline if you can make me one, as well as descriptions of any of their magical items or powers. Ignore the Norns for now, and any of the other gods. Anything you can tell me will be helpful down the line."
OOOOOOO
Harry's next meeting was with Carol and her group, and it was more entertaining than his previous meeting from the get go. When he walked into the meeting room Carol stood up, sporting what looked at first like some kind of very futuristic diving suit, or perhaps the uniform of a robot driver from one of the anime shows Armor liked to watch. On the table in front of her and the rest of her team was a helmet, which looked like a normal astronaut's helmet, only smaller. And there was also what looked like a targeting reticule moving around on the interior of the helmet's glass/plastic following the directions from a joystick one of the men was using.
"It's our prototype spacesuit." Carol said gesturing at her body and the helmet. "We took the Kree suits and modified them with some of our own ideas, one of your little helpers, and Kitty. It's got an emergency portkey to the nearest asteroid, keyed to a safe word we can teach all of the future astronauts, right now this one's keyed to the word 'crabapple' for some reason."
Harry smiled widely, shaking his head in amusement. With the rest of their work slowing down now thanks to Jean not being here to trade ideas with and with no more arrays needed right now on the business side, Kitty had found herself with free time despite her desire to skip a grade this coming year. According to what Ororo had told him a few nights back that had turned out to be a lot easier than she thought, and Kitten was already slated to come in as a senior at Bayville in September.
"I've taken it out for a spin." Carol went on, gesturing Harry to sit at the front of the table as she sat to one side next to the man playing with his joystick. "It works very well. The range of movement in the suit is incredible, especially in comparison to the bulky shit NASA was still using! We've even begun to incorporate armor segments into some of our blueprints. I figured those would do for space-based combat."
A man further down the table spoke up, a short wiry man who exuded the sort of frenetic energy normally seen in ferrets, gesturing and shifting in his seat as if he didn't like sitting still. "Yet despite the 'magic' we've put into these we'll run into a lot of casualties if we just toss people out into the wide beyond. Space will kill you if you're stupid for even a second, which is why we've written up an instructional manual. It's almost done." He said holding up a very thick book made out of loose bits of paper.
His name was George Paire, and he, like many of the others, had been brought in by Carol to work with her on this think tank, and he led a team of others. He was a former NASA man too, and had taken to the work, and the secrecy, like a duck to water. Magic however still bothered him at times, despite the patently obvious fact of its existence. Of the hundred and seventy men and women Harry and Carol had brought in on this initially, about half remained, the others not having passed Harry's trust-check array, or simply unable to deal with magic being real.
"Try to keep the wording simple, and cut down on that size." Harry said pointing at the book. "That thing's a little intimidating as it is. Maybe we should bring in a noncom as part of this group, get his or her opinion on what should be set down in law and what should be passed on by word of mouth in order to get across better."
"Not a bad idea." Carol said, while the others around the table looked a little confused or dismissive at the idea of bringing in a noncom. "A Master Chief or Gunny would also help me go through scenarios, which would enlarge the lesson plan for the class in space maneuvers and safety."
"How soon do you think you'll be able to take in students?" Harry asked.
"We'd like to do it in stages, get the students used to working underwater first, that'll teach them the importance of suit pressure and air. Then we'd take them up into space to teach them how to move in Zero-G in one of the asteroids before letting them loose in actual space. We can start the first portion the moment we have students, it wouldn't even be hard to keep things on the down low considering. The lessons for the rest are almost done too."
Harry nodded. "Alright, I'll start to put together a hiring department then. Hmm… might even start up another company entirely. On the surface it would be supposed to look into, oh, underwater industry or something. Then later after the students pass the first segment, bring them into the big secret."
"We also have solved some of the issues you're running into in making the asteroid bases. For that, I'll turn over this meeting to Jerry, Dorothy and Agda, whose work with their teams has been amazing." Carol went on, gesturing to the other side of the table to two Swedish ship designers who had been brought in by Harry at Carol's behest and a former submarine designer who had worked on the Seawolf submarine design for General Dynamics Electric Boat, the prime design company for American submarines.
Harry nodded agreeably, and the two of them pulled out several dozen large blueprints all of which were based on the asteroid bases, the Ravenspires, that Harry had begun to hollow out. Dorothy dealt with the living quarters, refectory and accompanying food distribution and storage, the small hydroponics section, and the heating and air distribution/renewal system. She described the problems they had dealt with, such as heating the interior of the asteroid while dissipating exterior heat, making each asteroid able to survive cut off from Earth for a few weeks minimum, and other issues.
In contrast the plans Jerry came up with were much less complete, and of a 'fill in the blanks' variety. The weapons the Ravenspire would itself carry were still being discussed, and would continue to be until Reed and Jean came back, so there was little on that front he could do. He had come up with several designs, one based off a carrier concept, one based off the Ravenspires holding weapons based off gauss technology, another based off energy weapons.
Each system of course would have different problems. Energy weapons would require heat distribution systems. This was something Dorothy approved of since they could then internalize some of that heat for the living quarters, and gauss technology would require a reload system. His designs showed ways to solve those issues, and incorporated a Shielding design which would be included regardless.
Hours later Harry came away from the meeting impressed both by the amount of work Carol and the other team leaders had produced and by the enthusiasm for the projects everyone seemed to have. Humanity was going to go into space in a big way of any of them had a say in it.
That was the last meeting he had that day thankfully, and Harry went home to Camelot looking forward to spending some time with the kids. As he walked down the stairs from the headmaster's office however, having stopped by to get out of his suit -Emma had bought it for him, and would not have been pleased to hear he had transfigured an Armani suit to his regular jeans and shirt -, Harry felt his cell phone vibrate in his pocket.
Growling irritably Harry pulled it out but seeing the caller calmed him down and when he spoke his tone was formal without being cold or demanding. "Dr. Doom? To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"I have been looking into your interesting problem about not being able to predict where a ship would exit hyperspace," Doom began without preamble. "And I may have found a solution."
Harry's eyebrows rose and he halted his progress down the corridor, moving over to a wall, leaning against it. "Already, that's excellent, tell me more."
"As you no doubt know, there are places, areas of space which have been too warped by local gravity to allow hyperspace jumps in or out. Planets have very small gravitic shadows, suns far larger, black holes of course distort gravity so much it effects everything else around them. What I essentially propose is to build a device that will be able to create artificial gravity, the gravity of the sun for example and project it into hyperspace. Any ship that hit this gravity bubble would be forced to drop out or explode due to catastrophic engine failure. They would then drop out where we wish them to appear."
Harry scratched his chin thoughtfully. "That sounds exactly what we need, so what's the catch?"
"It is not the kind of defense we would be able to run all the time. From the work I've done so far, I can tell you it takes far too much energy to power up, and even more to keep it on for an extended length of time. Worse, even if we are only projecting the gravity well into hyperspace, over time it will start to impact the normal universe. I trust I don't have to paint a picture of what the effect will be of dropping the equivalent of another sun's gravity well into our own solar system?"
"I can paint that picture myself, thank you." Harry replied dryly. "So not a perfect solution, but it could allow us ambush anything we know is coming? Perhaps use it in conjunction with some way of monitoring hyperspace on the outer edge of the solar system?"
"A good idea, but such sensors would be next to impossible to create with our current industrial capacity. Space around the solar system is vast Harry Potter, far larger than most people are able to visualize."
"So don't try to cover the entire system, however how about the inner planets, would that be workable?"
"Again not with our industrial capacity and we are still talking about a monstrous amount of space Potter. No, unless we find the Kree or some other race has designed a sensor system that can let you see information in real time over lightyears we cannot see an attack coming like that. Though, I predict that they simply use groups of patrol ships on the outer edge of systems as an early warning system."
Harry frowned, but after a moment nodded. "If technology cannot serve magic might. I'll think about it, possibly some kind of intent based spell, though even magic would have trouble covering the sheer amount of space we're talking about, and the power to start up such a spell, unless there are space-based leylines... hmm… Anyway, for the artificial gravity well, how power consumptive are we talking about?"
"So much so that you have to devote at least two of your arc reactors to it, possibly four if you want the gravitic bubble to come online faster. I will be able to produce a prototype of the device in question in a few months time, would you be willing to create the arc reactors for it by that point?"
"And not incidentally let you take a look at the technology and magic behind them?" Harry asked dryly to which Doom simply chuckled, an odd sound coming both through his mask and the phone. "Yes that's doable I think. Maybe by then I'll have come up with a magic-based solution that could let us see them coming from further out. Stranger things have happened, haven't they?"
"Practically every day Potter." Doom said drolly. "Practically every day. And with that I will leave you, I have other demands on my time as you well know." Harry nodded, and Doom hung up.
Harry chuckled, shaking his head as he thought about the semi-clandestine war being waged in the former Soviet Union countries as well as in Germany now if he remembered the news correctly. The Red Skull was losing base after base, but it was costing doom troops on the ground as well time and some amount of international goodwill. Each time his men were seen in a country that didn't share a border with Latveria another cry went up in the UN decrying his actions, only for that cry to stop abruptly when it was revealed he had hit a HYDRA or allied terrorist base. Overmatched though he was the Red Skull wasn't willing to go down without a fight, though why he was fighting at all rather than simply letting HYDRA take the fall for him and disappearing was something Harry wondered about as he continued his walk through the hallways of Camelot.
"Not my problem" Harry said to himself, shaking his head. "Let Doom handle him, so long as it's in a permanent fashion I'm not going to complain and it's not as if Doom's the only one breaking international laws in order to hammer a terrorist group."
Harry didn't know how, but SHIELD had somehow been able to find and attack every AIM base, training center, or research lab in the Americas and Canada over the past week. Several joint exercises has been launched after them making the news, though those newsreels were remarkably lacking in actual details such as losses, who was doing the actual fighting, and more importantly in Harry's mind the weapons used by both sides. He didn't like the little that he'd heard from Sir Dennis about AIM, the kind of weapons thousands of mad scientists could come up with were a little horrifying to think about. But SHIELD seemed to have them well in hand, and with both Hydra and AIM taking such massive losses what Harry thought of as the super-terrorist groups were now obviously in decline.
Shaking his head to clear it of such thoughts, Harry continued his walk, heading outside where all the kids, even several of the teens, were involved in a very muddy game of soccer. He idly noticed that Ororo wasn't there, though all the teachers were, but since Ororo had her own meetings today didn't think much of it, simply moving forward to take part in the game.
As the sun went down Harry led the kids back inside, taking Melody and the other kids up to the family bathhouse, where he handed them over to a few house-elves for cleaning. After speaking to the teachers for a bit, he made his way down to the dining hall, only to stop outside its doors, watching as they opened to reveal Ororo, Betsy, Piotr and Amara. All of them were in their uniforms and looked and smelled as if they had just gone 10 rounds with the Mud Monster and its cousin the Stink Bomb. He wafted one hand in front of his nose before, pinching it quickly. "What have you lot been up to?"
"Don't ask." They all said in a chorus, looking at one another and shaking their heads.
Harry watched in amusement as dozens of house elves suddenly appeared all around the quartet, declaiming angrily about the amount of mess they had left behind in their steps through the castle, and the smell. Swiftly the house elves went to work, popping away the grime and mud before popping all of them off to get cleaned up.
"There's a story behind this." he mused to himself, looking up the staircase towards the headmaster's office where he assumed Ororo would have been popped to. "And I think it's going to be a good one." He chuckled, nodding at a few of the elves who had remained behind to try and fumigate the area before heading after her.