Chapter Forty-Six: Compare Those Notes.
Kara snuggled against the chest of Harry. A smile permanently spread across her face after the night which was. Kara did not think the smile would have left anytime soon. Harry held onto her tight. One hand firmly planted on her lower back. The other pushed against the back of Kara's hair. Kara took in a deep breath and enjoyed the aftermath of their little sexual romp.
She considered getting up. The consideration only faded after a couple of minutes. Kara did not want to get up. No matter what excuse someone gave her she did not want to move from this very comfortable position. Kara wanted this exact moment to last as long as possible. She could not think of anything better to be perfectly honest. She entered a moment of great content.
Harry lightly brushed through her hair. Kara finally shifted after a moment. She could see Harry wake up. Harry smiled at her. Kara returned the smile.
"Morning, beautiful," Harry said.
Kara smiled and turned herself towards Harry. She was not certainly getting up. Kara just wanted to adjust her position. Blue eyes shined as she leaned in.
"Morning," Kara said. "I can't believe we were apart for this long. We're back together. Finally. It just feels right. I don't even know what to say."
"Don't say anything," Harry said. "Just enjoy the moment. Last night was amazing. You shouldn't over think things."
Kara smiled. Words failed to describe what she felt. All of the good things in the world fell flat of the encounter she had with Kara. She had been delirious with enjoyment after last night. She pressed herself against Harry. She turned ever so slightly. Gripping his shoulder, Kara pinned him down onto the bed. Their lips inched very close together.
"I have you where I want you."
"Mmm, maybe," Harry said.
Kara giggled. He seemed pretty confident he could break out of her grip. He very well could have broken free from her grip. Kara wanted to milk every single last moment she had. She leaned closer to Harry and their lips teased going near each other. Kara pulled back.
Until Harry reached up behind the back of her head to gently guide their lips together. Electricity sparked between the two lovers when they kissed each other. The mild distraction on Harry's part resulted in Harry turning her over onto the bed. The Kryptonian underneath Harry shifted herself up.
"Who has who where they want them?"
Harry touched the back of Kara's neck. The two moved closer together. Harry teased Kara with a couple of kisses on the side of her mouth. Kara's body reacted to him. She wanted even more. Harry knew Kara craved even more. He toyed with every emotion like it was his business. Her savior pushed Kara onto the head.
"You're so naughty," Harry said.
Kara snorted. "Yeah, look who's talking?"
"Perversion runs wild in both of us."
The two of them stopped. A figure stepped on the outside of the door. Sara came into the door. She viewed the two of them for a moment. An eyebrow raised when she looked from both Harry to Kara. She noticed the medallion dangling from Kara's neck. It was hard not to see when it glinted in the distance.
"Don't stop on my account," Sara said. "Welcome home, Kara."
Kara pushed her way out from underneath Harry. She moved over to another fellow General. Sara's beauty shined through. It was really good to be home. Home and damn it felt so good.
"I'm glad to be back," Kara said. "I'm glad you made it back. And you're as beautiful as ever."
Harry watched two wives move closer to each other. Sara reached towards Kara and touched the back of her hair. Kara's hair flipped into the grip of Sara. Sara moved a little bit closer. The fact Kara wore not a stitch of clothing on her made this naughty. Sara dressed in a bathrobe.
"Flattery like that is going to get you into trouble," Sara said. "Harry has very good taste. And the women around him have ever better taste."
Kara snorted. The two of them moved even closer together. Their lips lingered close to each other. Kara pulled away from Sara to look outside the window and left her hanging. Sara frowned when looking back at Kara. Kara threw her head down onto the ground and laughed. The laughter ceased when Sara tried to take Kara down with a swift move. At least until Kara turned the tables on her and put her down onto the ground.
"Never try and pull a fast one on a Kryptonian," Kara said.
Harry cleared his throat. "That's enough, ladies."
Both of the women pulled apart from each other. Kara fluttered her eyelashes at Harry and bit down on her lip at an apologetic manner. Sara threw her head back and sighed. She turned and another party stepped through the doorways. Gwen stopped and noticed the looks both Sara and Kara were given each other.
"Dare I ask what's going on here?" Gwen asked.
"Sara's just salty that I'm Har's favorite," Kara said. "Isn't she, Harry?"
"I'm just going to sit back and let this one play out," Harry said.
'A wise and sane man,' Rose said. 'Boy, you are a rarity out there.'
Sara dropped her hands to her hips. "Harry found me first. Therefore, I think I have a fast track to being his favorite."
"Yes, but I was there with Harry through most of the major battles," Kara said. "We bonded together first."
"Only because I was knocked out, and that's a past timeline," Sara said. "I fail to see what's relevant to this one."
Gwen locked eyes with Harry. She almost broke out into a fit of laughter at the two girls staring each other down. It was uncertain whether the two of them were going to fight each other or fuck each other's brains out. Gwen pretty much put even odds on both to be perfectly honest.
"I don't think either of you is going to win this battle," Gwen said. "But, by all means, keep trying to figure out where you stand in the pecking order if it makes you feel better."
"I trust the two of you will be able to hash out your difficulties like mature women," Harry said.
"Of course," Sara said. "I guess we got carried away. Didn't we, Kara."
"Yes," Kara said. "Does it matter who is the favorite? If there is a favorite? As long as we're united under our purpose."
Both bond-mates smiled when they looked back to Harry. Sara decided to guide Kara's attention to her. She really might have jumped to the wrong conclusion. They joined together in a very wet and hungry kiss. Kara demanded entry to Sara's mouth. Sara had been surprised by Kara sweeping her off of her feet.
Gwen and Harry watched when the two moved onto the floor. Kara pinned Sara down and forced her tongue into the mouth of the blonde. Sara grabbed onto Kara's jaw and tried to exert some kind of control over her. The two kissed for several minutes.
"I'm beginning to think I don't understand women," Gwen said.
"Shouldn't you?" Harry asked.
"Because I was born one?" Gwen asked. "Nah. It just conflicts with my mind. Or maybe the medallion is making them rather off. I don't really know. I would like to think magic is still science which there's no sane explanation for."
Harry jumped down that rabbit hole before trying to explain magic in a way which a logically minded person would comprehend. He stepped down that path and had no real desire to go.
"I'm heading off to meet my sisters," Harry said.
"I'll come with," Gwen said.
"We'll stay here," Kara said. "Sara and I have a lot of catching up to do now that we've been both bound with our medallions. And I think our lovely White Canary knows what she still owes me from our past life."
Gwen did not know what the two of them were going on about. Sara shifted herself a half of an inch to the side and placed a hand on the top of Kara's shoulder. Sara brushed a hair off of Kara's bare shoulder and smiled at her. "If you think you can handle me."
"I've done it before," Kara said. "I'll do it again."
Harry moved over to get dressed. No matter how many times Harry wanted to sit around and have sex all day, it was just not possible. He looked to Gwen. Gwen brought out her breath in a sigh when she watched Harry get dressed. She was almost disappointed at the look at her.
"Are you sure about leaving these two alone?" Gwen asked.
"Don't worry," Harry said. "They'll be fine."
Gwen took Harry's word for it. The couple walked to the door to leave Kara and Sara alone to hash out some old business. Two blondes ready to indulge each other being left behind almost made Harry feel disappointment he had to go.
A meeting with his two beautiful twin sisters waited. Business before pleasure proved to be the order of the day. Harry mixed both a bit too much for his own good.
One large Russian gentlemen stepped forward. He smelled of taboo and booze, with a scar down on the side of his neck. The scar made him speak in a raspy voice. His black hair hung down over his forehead. The first few hints of gray popped into the air. He clutched his gloved hand together and breathed. Two more Russians stepped inside. One of them was short, with a crooked nose who looked like he had it broken one too many times. He shaved his hair mostly off except for just a tiny bit.
The second Russian was very tall and lanky looking. He dressed in white with a black goatee and his hair cut in a Mohawk. His face looked beaten from the constant ravishes of aging.
"Where is the Widow?" one of them grunted.
"I don't know," he said. "We better find her soon."
The leader of the Russian gang looked at his two companions. Three more gentlemen lingered in the background. One of them held a gun in his hand. A second favored a knife. The other held a third kind of sharp blade. The leader of the gang viewed his two subordinates.
"You better find her," the leader of the gang whispered. "You better find her, or she will find you. None of you want that to happen, do you?"
"Da," the Russian said in response.
The Russians all looked around very nervous. They heard what happened to Kovar's men after the Black Widow showed up. They heard whispers about another feared individual. The Dragon visited Kovar. No one knew what happened to the man afterward.
"We get this stock and we get it out of here. I don't want any room for error. Do you hear me?"
One of the Russians leaned over and noticed a pretty little butterfly floating in the air. The Russian enjoyed the beauty of the butterfly moving around his line of sight. The butterfly flew high and away from him. The tough thought about capturing the butterfly and adding it to his collection.
The thought left his mind the very second someone smacked him down across the back of the head.
"You better key your eye on the ball," his fellow gang member said in a very raspy voice. "Don't worry about trinket. Worry about business. Understand?"
The man nodded when the specimen disappeared into the distance. It was so beautiful and so fragile much like life itself. The gentlemen made their way into the back of the truck. Everything secured. Everything was ready. They needed to stay one step away from the Black Widow.
Holly and Liv peaked down from over the ledge of the Rooftop. Liv thought she could get the shot. Holly held a hand to stop her.
"We need to see where they're going," Holly said. "They're moving a lot of stock. Kovar's stock. Why?"
Liv did not expect to have an answer to the question. The look on Holly's face pointed out she did not expect an answer to happen. Holly kept her eyes on the butterfly who hovered around the truck. She turned around to Liv.
"Do you think you can tag the van without them seeing you?"
The young archer decided to take the shot. She pulled back the bow and fired an arrow. The arrow connected to the back of the van. The men already stepped into either the car or to the front of the armored van. The arrow vibrated and released its contents into the metal of the van.
"Good shot," Holly said. "We've got it."
Holly did not have to necessarily follow the butterfly to get to the van. They hauled something very big.
Amanda Potter flipped through the papers on her desk. She went through an entire fifty page stack of documents for the third time. Her sister watched it. Emily thought about putting a stop to what Amanda did. That kind of behavior could not be healthy.
The fourth time she flipped through the papers, Emily's annoyance with her sister's behavior hit a fever pitch. She smacked the sheet of papers out of Amanda's hand. The papers spiraled to the floor. The result from the impact caused Amanda to jump up in the air.
"You might be nervous," Emily said. "There's no reason to annoy me because of how nervous you are though."
Amanda flipped her arms underneath her chest and scowled at her sister. "I'm not being nervous. Okay fine, I'm a little bit nervous. You really can't blame me though."
Emily did not blame Amanda for being a little bit anxious. The twins looked at each other. Soon they would meet the alternative dimensional counterpart of the brother they never really got to know. Both twins looked at each other.
"So, he's going to be here soon," Amanda said in an attempt to make light conversation.
She put the pieces of paper back into the folder and drew in a deep breath to sigh. They were still mostly organized at the very least. Amanda knew better than to flip the folder of papers around when Emily sat next to her.
"Yes," Emily agreed. "He should be here pretty soon. Actually, if I had to miss my guest he should be arriving right about now."
The door opened to reveal an attractive brunette who made her way into the room. She surveyed both Potter twins with a sunny smile. The twins returned.
"Ms. Potter, Ms. Potter, he's here."
Amanda bounced up almost knocking over the desk. Emily reigned in the desk before it flipped over to the ground. Amanda moved over almost running over their personal assistant when she made her way out of the door. Said personal assistant had the reflexes and the experiences to jump out of the way.
"Thank you, Lindsey," Emily said. "And we're really sorry about that. You know how Mandy can get when she gets overly excited."
Emily moved to join to her sister. They encountered their brother for the very first time. He stood next to a beautiful blonde woman. Her face shined in the light, with soft features, a cute little nose, and nice moist looking lips. A black headband snapped to the top of her head. She was clad in a white blouse and a pair of tight black pants which fit against her body very nicely.
"It's nice to see you two in the flesh," Harry said.
"It's really nice to see you as well."
Emily moved in closer to Harry. The two of them clasped hands with each other and shook. The two pulled away from each other. Amanda threw her arms around Harry and pulled him into a hug. Harry looked very amused by the actions of his alternate dimension sister.
With the look on Gwen's face, Harry was not amused. Emily looked at Harry with a very light shrug, a look of grimacing on her face. Amanda pulled away from Harry.
"I'm sorry," Amanda said. "I regret nothing. It's just…well, it's just been a very long time. And I don't even know where to begin."
"Do you have somewhere where we can sit?" Harry asked.
Amanda and Emily both nodded. They lead Harry to one of the bigger conference rooms. A large circular table with many chairs came around the table. The walls had various certifications, awards both the twins had gotten personally and as part of their business. A water cooler hovered in the background. The windows overlooked the entire city. The people down on the ground resembled tiny specks of dust just hovering about the ground.
"What happened to me?"
Amanda stood up straight and took a deep breath.
"We never really knew what kind of man you would be," Amanda said. "I would have liked to think you would have been a great man. Just like our father was. He stood up to him and he paid dearly for it."
A cup of coffee appeared in front of Amanda's line of sight. She would have preferred something a little bit stronger all things considered. She downed the coffee with a couple of gulps and took in a deep breath. Her gaze dropped back onto Harry's eyes.
"I'm taking it that the White Bumblebee was the one that killed James Potter," Harry said.
"Not directly," Emily said. "He never kills directly. He has his devoted followers. He's a very brilliant man and a very awful man. He thinks he's doing the world a favor."
Harry clashed with Dumbledore on a couple of things. Everything he learned about the White Bumblebee showed to Harry that this alternate Dumbledore just increased the benevolence of the prime universe Dumbledore. Harry figured, and perhaps he was wrong, that Dumbledore's most questionable action still was far less than the least Questionable Action of the White Bumblebee.
"He killed me."
"It was to serve as an example," Amanda said. "Mum got us out of the country. She had friends, contacts which could save us. Our father thought he could withstand the onslaught. He was wrong."
Amanda sighed. Harry reached across the table.
"I appreciate you talking about it," Harry said. "I know how difficult it is to talk about what happened with me. Well, what happened with him."
"Very difficult," Amanda said. "He targeted you and our father for a reason. We've been reading up on the legends. The legend of the Dragon in particular and fate has an interesting way of correcting its past mistakes."
Both twins locked into the medallion which could have been worn by one man.
"You know, we haven't been introduced," Amanda said.
"Sorry," Gwen said. "I didn't want to be rude and break up this family reunion."
"Quite understandable," Emily said. "But, you know, you're one of our brother's companions. You're practically family in that sense."
"Gwen Stacy," Gwen said. "I'm much like Harry, I'm not around this particular alternate universe. And it's a long story. It's a very long story to how I've gotten here."
Amanda decided to fix them all a cup of coffee. They suspected how Gwen and Harry came to be here, they would be here for a long time. The Potter twins thanked themselves for the foresight of clearing their schedule, especially if they were going to be here for the very long haul.
'Good thing we have plenty of coffee,' Amanda thought.
Two hours of constant explanation later and the twins pretty much had been up to speed. Gwen and Harry filled in the blanks of what they knew and what they suspected. They had a sense Harry sensed something else was going on.
Amanda's mind buzzed with the constant amount of explanation going through her head. She had one very clear question she hoped Harry would answer in due time. Her green eyes fell onto Harry's. The Potter heiress took a deep breath and looked Harry over.
"So, I've got this one question," Amanda said.
Harry laughed at the statement. Amanda just frowned at him.
"Sorry. I'm not laughing at you. I'm just laughing at the fact after all of what I've told you, all you have is one simple question. It's just kind of entertaining when you think about it."
Amanda supposed it would be kind of funny. Both Emily and Gwen thought so if the looks on their face were any indication. Their emotions betrayed then. Amanda mastered the reading of other peoples emotions. That skill came in handy a lot of time.
"Okay, fine," Amanda said. She curled her fists up and released them with a very pressing sigh. "There's more than one question. There's actually a couple of them. Still, I want to know something. You trust us? You trust us with this information? How do you know we're not spies?"
"I can tell you're not," Harry said. "And you must trust me if you will come here. Wouldn't that be the trick that the White Bumblebee would pull? Sending someone here to disguised as an alternate dimension version of your dead brother? Wouldn't you agree that would be a trick straight out of his playbook?"
Amanda drew in her breath and just nodded. She had to believe that would be a trick out of the playbook of The White Bumblebee.
"We would have detected any kind of deception," Emily said. "And even if we couldn't, the White Bumblebee can't duplicate that medallion. There are certain parts of the design which have never been properly replicated on the countless master forgeries."
"Mum taught us how to see it straight out just in case you came," Amanda said.
"You mean your mother expected Harry?" Gwen asked.
Amanda's lips curled up into a frown. Gwen really did back her into a corner. She eased off the frustration and tried to answer the question the best she could.
"Not completely," Amanda said. "It's very complicated, you know. She suspected one day the Dragon would come back. It's what the White Bumblebee has been preparing for a HIVE. The Society is preparing for…"
Emily nudged her sister roughly. Harry zeroed in on Amanda who had the look of someone who had incrimination information slip out.
"So there is a cult of women who are worshipping the Dragon," Harry said. "I knew it."
"It's a bit more complicated than that," Amanda said. "Fine, I guess. It's made of mostly women. Funnily enough, it's hard to get men to join up with a cult which is dedicated to the heterosexual prowess of another man."
"I can see your point," Gwen said.
"We have something to share with you," Amanda said. "You have four of the medallions. There's three more out there. And the rightful holders of those medallions need to be found as well."
"What would you say if we told you we had a lead on them?" Emily asked.
Harry smiled. He would have been very happy to hear the fact they had a lead on the medallions. Amanda made her way in front of the door. The scanner of the door locked onto her retina and flashed in front of her. The sound of loud clicking followed. The door opened up and allowed them inside of a room.
A very impressive looking super computer appeared in front of them. Several lines of data scrolled off of the scream. The walls containing several books circled around them. The material in the books scanned on the computer screen. Amanda reached over and pressed her palm on the keyboard. The computer fired up and revealed a three-dimensional map.
"The city of Atlantis," Gwen said.
"A myth to some, a way of life for others," Amanda said. "And I believe they have an idea where the Merfolk Medallion would be. And someday, their Queen will return. Unfortunately, it's been overrun by this woman."
A woman dressed in a skintight red outfit appeared. She had quite the figure. The warrior's normally attractive face screwed up intensity with those violent eyes shining. She held a sword in one hand and an axe in the other hand. Both of them geared up for some kind of battle. Her purple hair shoved up.
"This woman and her people," Amanda said. "Her name is Siren. She's the sister of the rightful Queen of Atlantis and the most likely holder of the Merfolk Medallion. It's not exactly a very healthy relationship."
"The king fought bravely and he was the first to fall at the hands of the Siren's associate," Emily continued. "He's not been photographed in light. You say the name Black Manta though, and you inspire nothing other dread among the people of Atlantis."
Harry would have had to check up about this Black Manta. He reckoned Black Manta had his own plans.
"Atlantis sealed itself off from the rest of the world five years ago," Amanda said. "Siren would not want Mera to be executed. She has something far more insidious than that in mind. She wishes to leave Mera as a broken woman."
"Where exactly is Atlantis?" Harry asked.
"Could be anywhere," Amanda said. "We don't have the exact coordinates to track it down. Given that oceans cover seventy percent of the world, it would not be something we could find in an afternoon."
"No," Harry said. "If we had our hands on a real Atlantean Artifact, we could track the location, save the Queen, and save Atlantis."
"And how do you suppose we find one?" Amanda asked.
"I've got my ideas."
Harry decided to ask another question. He figured if the twins knew something, then the search for the other medallions would be a little bit easier.
"There are two medallions," Harry said. "Other than the Merfolk Medallion, one of them is the Tengu Medallion and the other is the Phoenix Medallion. Do you have any idea where it was?"
Amanda and Emily looked at each other for a minute. Emily nodded at Amanda and gave her a nudge to start speaking.
"There are all sorts of rumors about the Tengu Medallion where I don't want to even begin thinking about them. The best I can figure is that there's a very powerful crime syndicate who has their hands on the Tengu Medallion. They won't relinquish it easily."
Harry figured about as much. Waller hinted just about as much a couple of months back.
"They're keeping it close to their chest if they have it," Amanda said. "I'm afraid it's not going to be easy. Then again, what about trying to get mysterious magical medallion is particularly easy?"
"What about the Phoenix?" Gwen asked.
Gwen did not need the sixth sense given by the use of her unbound medallion to know the twins grew anxious for a reason.
"You remember the trouble you might have when trying to locate Atlantis?" Amanda asked. Both Gwen and Harry nodded. "Well, there's kind of a problem with the Phoenix medallion."
"What kind of problem?" Harry asked.
"It's up there," Emily said. "In space. At least that's what the most reliable experts said. The followers of the Phoenix bolted from Earth with the medallion before the White Bumblebee could get his hands on it. It's gone. It's long gone by now."
"What about the holder of the medallion?" Gwen asked.
"That's another good question," Amanda said. Her voice faltered slightly before she calmed herself down. "She retreated after your fall during your previous lifetime. She became one of the hottest stars or something. I don't really know."
Amanda read tales of so many legends regarding the Phoenix, almost as many as the Dragon. She did not know where to begin.
"I just wish we can be of more help," Amanda said.
"You've been of plenty help. I want to contract you two out for a little project if you don't mind."
The interest of both twins piqued from Harry's words. Amanda flipped the strand of red hair out of her face. Normally, she allowed Emily to take care of this sort of thing. She would have to be colored very intrigued because of what Harry hinted at.
"I'm going to put you in touch with a friend of mine who has a solid lead on the Merfolk Medallion," Harry said. "Maybe the three of you can get a better lead."
"Yeah, it might be worth a shot," Emily said without really thinking about it. She realized Amanda shifted against her. "That is if my business partner agrees with me."
Amanda waved off Emily's words. "I'm not about to argue with you. You have enough sense for the both of us."
A group of Russian mobsters exited the back of the truck. They moved around to the shipping yard. One of the larger mobsters grunted and looked around.
"Make sure no one interferes."
Two more toughs walked over and looked up into the sky. The two men looked up and noticed something in the shadows.
"Keep your eyes off of the butterfly," one of the toughs said.
"There it is again," the tough said. "I'm going to have to get it."
The roughneck gentleman moved to grab onto the butterfly in his fist. His hand clasped around the edge of the butterfly when it flew out of the grasp. The goon grunted when making another grab at the butterfly. The butterfly moved out of the way almost to taunt him.
An arrow fired into the back of the arm of one of the thugs. The figure in the green hood dropped to the ground and planted another arrow into him. She flipped down into the air and came down on the back of the head of the goon. A series of punches caught him.
Holly dropped down behind the goon. She withdrew a blade and slashed the man's sheath to prevent him from grabbing the gun. The gun dropped to the ground. Holly jumped up and struck her opponent down across the back of the head.
The figure drops down onto the ground. Holly grabbed him by the arm and drilled him face-first into the ground. Two more of the thugs moved around to pull weapons on him.
The butterfly turned into a woman. Two glowing blades slashed down into the chest of the man. The man dropped down to the ground.
The man who chased the butterfly's eyes widened. His arms and legs snapped together in petrification to drop him down to the ground. Nym pulled back and turned around into the leader. An arrow shot through the hand.
"The Black Widow stalks us," the man yelled.
"We've dealt with her already," Nym said.
The man shook his head and suddenly a dart planted into the back of his neck. The poison filled his body and dropped him down to the ground.
The figure moved. She wore a hip hugging black bodysuit and moved like Natasha. The only thing which was different was she had blonde hair and blue eyes.
"There's another Black Widow?"
Liv fired an arrow to try to get to her. The second Black Widow caught it and threw the arrow back towards Liv without any effort. The arrow impacted the concrete with one swift attack.
Chapter 47: Reunions.
Mia took a deep breath as she arrived outside of the Smallville city limits. The sign declaring Smallville to be the meteor capital of the world shined out of the corner of her eye. Given some of the stories she heard during her work at ARGUS, that particular name was well earned. The brunette bookworm stopped at the edge of the village. She really wanted to do this. She really wanted to talk to her sister.
"Are you really ready to do this?"
Rose tagged along for the trip. Mostly, she said, it was to keep Mia out of trouble. She appreciated Rose coming along on the trip no matter what the reason. Mia needed someone to be with her in case she had a breakdown. This was the sister she last saw at the tender age of four. She was now a teenager and lived her entire life. Mia took in a deep breath and let it out.
"I'm as ready as I'm going to be."
"Just calm down," Rose told her.
Mia tried to calm herself down. The skies of Smallville showed her a beautiful autumn morning. This type of morning could turn around in a blink of an eye. The breeze tickled her face and the smell of freshly baked treats filled Mia's nose when she moved. Someone was baking and it smelled really good from where she stood. A deep breath followed by the young girl.
"It's just your sister," Rose said. "You explained what happened. You explained what your grandmother did. What Ivo did."
Mia explained it. Hailey sounded like she understood even though there was still some soreness there. She walked with a purpose, taking better and longer strides. Coming to this place and taking a short walk gave her plenty of time to get together her thoughts. It also built a very frustrating amount of anticipation in Mia's mind. She watched as Rose followed her from behind.
"Hey, slow down a little bit," Rose said.
She almost laughed at Rose who tried in vain to keep up with her. She did not mean to make fun of her companion. It was just that Mia was going so fast.
"Sorry. I walk fast when I'm excited. And I'm seeing my sister for the first time in twelve years."
Rose looked over her shoulder. She had a sense things would change. They were right across the Potter House.
"We just missed Harry," Rose said. "Well, I guess it's time to see that your sister is home."
It was very early on a Saturday morning, so Mia could not see why Hailey would not be home. The brunette adjusted her glasses so they pressed against the bridge of her nose. The two walked down the driveway, up the steps, and to the front door.
"Are you going to knock?" Rose asked. "Or do you really want me to do it?"
Mia raised her hand and knocked on the door. She waited for someone to answer. The door swung open and for the first time, Mia encountered her sister in the flesh.
"Mia!" Hailey yelled just before she threw her arms around Mia and grabbed her into a hug. "I'm glad you can make it."
Mia was glad she could make it too. She returned the hug, a little nervously. Her sister pressed up against Mia before they broken apart from each other.
"I almost won't make it if you crushed my ribs like that again," Mia said. "So, do you think I can come in, or do you want to go for a walk?"
"Hey, come in, settle in at home," Hailey said. She stopped and looked at the woman across from Mia. "I'm sorry, I'm afraid we haven't had the pleasure of being introduced."
"Rose Wilson," she said. "I met your sister during her time away. I helped Harry bring her in to get the help she needed."
Mia picked up right where Rose left off in an attempt to lighten the mood. "And if you saw me, you could see I needed some help. I need a lot of help."
The two girls stepped into the room. Rose already had drinks, some orange juice, poured out, and some sandwiches made. Rose took one of the sandwiches at Hailey's silent encouragement. She took a bite from the sandwich. The taste of ham and glazed honey tempted Rose's taste buds and made her smile.
"You look hungry," Hailey said. "Help yourself."
Mia sat down on the bench and took the sandwich and a drink. Hailey balanced herself on the arm chair next to Mia. She smiled and took one of the poured drinks. She sipped the orange juice and looked thoughtful about what she was going to say.
"Mother is coming home on Monday," Hailey said. "And she wants to meet you."
The older sister's body language shifted. She moved around on the couch. The palms of her hand grew very sweaty when she moved back and forth against the edge of the couch. Hailey noticed the anxiety hitting towards her.
"Our mother understands everything that happened," Hailey said.
"It wasn't completely her fault…you know my grandmother," Mia said. "I made a mistake trying to use that charm. I thought if I used it, I could finally live up their reputations. I could be the best, I could be the smartest. And instead, it ended up twisting me. It was really...I don't know what to say."
Hailey consoled Mia by grabbing the underside of her forearm. The two moved closer to each other. Rose slid back, stepped off of the couch, and moved over against the wall.
"When you did it, you were a teenager," Hailey said. "As I'm one now, I can tell you that we're not the most rational of creatures. You learned your lesson, and I'm sure you had plenty of time to go over during the last twelve years."
Mia shifted. It had been a very long time since she had a true anxiety attack. She had them all of the time when she was a teenager. It was another thing her grandmother told her made her weak. The fact she could not stand up underneath pressure.
"I've done a lot of things that I'm not pleased of."
"I know you aren't pleased with everything you've done," Hailey said. "If you think your latest flaw is your lack of perfection, you are going to live a pretty comfortable life."
Mia supposed just as much. She really wished those errors did not get made. They helped her to grow as a person, but they were kind of embarrassing to be perfectly honest. She bit down on her lip and released it with a very obvious sigh.
"You're home now, and that's all that matters."
Kara decided to pay a visit to the clan which worshipped her. She would not be going alone. Harry joined her and Sara tagged along. The two girls had their fun when Harry went off on his business.
"So, how did your meeting go with your sisters?" Kara asked.
Harry walked to the front gates of the temple. The village had been returned to its past pride. Harry noticed the first refreshing change. The moment Bane had been displaced, the mercenaries returned.
"It went pretty well," Harry said. "I think Amanda and Emily really looked forward to meeting me. And they had some information which could help me, a little bit."
"The medallions?" Sara asked.
Harry confirmed with a smile directed at her. "The medallions. The Merfolk Medallion is going to be the next one we find. Unfortunately, I think there are going to be some problems with getting ahold of it."
Tracking down the actual location of Atlantis was very high on Harry's list of things to do. He hoped that the twins and Shado would be able to find an artifact which could lead him to the lost civilization of Atlantis. If they could find the Merfolk Medallion, their life would be a lot easier.
A fact which had not been lost on either Kara or Sara and Kara especially decided it was the proper time to point it out.
"You could use that medallion to find the holder of it just like you did me," Kara said.
"It's a good idea if you can get close enough," Sara said. "The proximity is important with all magical artifacts and tracing something. At least, that's what I think it is. Harry would know a little bit better than I would."
"You're correct, both of you are," Harry said.
Sara and Kara both smiled. They moved to the edge of the gate where Sara came face to face with someone who put her on edge. Copperhead, who worked for Bane the last time she saw them. Anya, Isabelle, and Vanessa said they would tame Copperhead once again.
"My Queen, it's good to see you return," Copperhead said.
Kara looked at the woman who greeted her and gave her a warm smile. Copperhead dropped to one knee and bowed before her Queen. Kara motioned for her to rise back to her feet.
"Your sisters want to see you as well," Copperhead said. "And your many humble followers would also like a glimpse of their Queen if you don't mind."
Kara tried to keep a level head. She could not help and grin at everything. This entire situation was more than what she was used to. The Girl of Steel walked into the entrance of the temple and turned around the corner. A statue which resembled her held a torch to light the path. Several strange markings flickered around the temple. Most of them represented Kryptonian writing.
"It says she will be your treasure," Kara said.
"So, that's what it means," Sara said.
One of the robed women stepped into the way. She dropped her hood to reveal the face of Vega Lestrange. She gasped in shock when coming face to face with Kara.
"My Queen, it's an honor," Vega said.
The woman stepped back, her heart stammering a couple of beats. Lucretia, Vera, Astoria, and Daphne all moved in. The members of the Faithful Five looked to tremble. They saw the Dragon, the Canary, and their Queen all in the same place.
"Ladies, at ease," Harry said.
"Sorry, great one," Daphne said.
Daphne already met Kara after Harry pulled her out of her containment unit. She wanted to bend down to pay her tribute to the woman in question.
"She's actually here," Astoria said. "She's amazing."
"Thank you, Astoria."
Astoria almost blacked out at being addressed directly by her Queen. Vera shook her head, even though she would have done the same thing. Vega and Lucretia almost broke out into laughter until Daphne glared at both of them.
"Remind me which one of us has lain with the dragon."
Their mouths snapped shut. The Faithful Five moved over and allowed Kara to step inside. She thought it was a long overdue meeting with her two sisters. Kara walked inside.
Anya, the beautiful redhead, smiled at her Queen. Vanessa, the stunning olive-skinned brunette, also smiled at her. Isabelle, the sensual blonde, was the one who moved forward to greet her Queen. She extended down to one knee and looked up at Kara.
"Kara, you've come home," Isabelle said. "And I see much has changed since we have last met."
Her eyes dropped onto the White Canary medallion which hung from Sara's death. The blinding beauty of the other blonde had been on the level of their Queen.
"We still have a long way to go," Sara said. "There are still three medallions in play."
"That could be a problem," Anya said. "I know with our Dragon, he will track them down, and reunite the medallions. Then, he would burn."
No telling what he was. Anya moved over to give Harry a greeting until Isabelle held her by the back of the hair and dragged her back to keep her in line. The redhead girl looked on with a rather prominent pout. Her older sisters shook her head.
"I missed you three," Kara said. "I only remembered you existed a few days ago."
She sighed and moved over to greet her sisters with a very warm hug. Anya wrapped her arms around Kara and hugged her very tightly. Vanessa replaced Anya with a nice warm hug of her own.
Isabelle cleared her throat. The oldest of Kara's three sisters moved in to wrap the hug around their Queen. They had a lot of work to do and a lot of catching up to do. The rest of the tribe would be happy with the news their Queen returned. Isabelle pulled away from Kara and followed the progress to Harry with a very soft smile.
"You don't mind if we head off to make up for lost time?" Isabelle asked.
Harry smiled and grabbed the hand of one of the snake sisters. Their hands intertwined with each other and he released her hand.
"Not at all. I invited Kara here to get caught up with you. So, I'll meet you later."
"Right," Isabelle said. "Thank you, Great Dragon. You are too kind."
Isabelle motioned for the girls to go through the gateway. Anya and Vanessa stepped through the doors away from them. They moved passed the statues and the flames hooked to the wall. Isabelle walked in a couple of steps before she stopped and turned around.
"Daphne has a couple of things she would like to share with you. It's nothing too pressing, just some whispers of where the Tengu medallion might be."
Harry was very interested in hearing about the Tengu Medallion. Daphne moved away from the rest of the girls. She tried not to push their nose in the face she had slept with their god before any of them did. Especially, the Black Sisters, even though they deserved to be humbled in the worst possible way.
"Shall we?"
"Lead the way."
Liv moved in pursuit of her mysterious attacker. They were a very long way from home as well. Liv did not want to abandon the rest of her team in a fight. She moved over and looked down the alleyway. Her bow and arrow pointed towards the edge of the alleyway. She searched for this second Black Widow. There was nothing coming from the end of the alleyway.
Just because Liv did not see the Black Widow, she knew the woman would not have disappeared very easily. She took in a deep breath and groaned when looking over her shoulder. Liv tapped her foot on the ground.
Holly came from around the corner on the other end. She bit down on her teeth hard when facing Liv. Liv had no need to ask whether or not Holly accomplished anything. She did not find the second Black Widow as easily as Liv did. And Nym came around the corner.
"We've failed," Nym said.
"No, we haven't failed," Liv said. "We just haven't found her. She just couldn't have disappeared into mid-air."
Holly snorted in response on how naïve Liv was. She lifted her hand in the air and pointed the weapon she wielded. Every sound, every crunch of a leaf on the bottom of the boot prompted Holly to think the Black Widow as coming her way. The second Black Widow anyway.
"It's nice you believe that."
Holly put herself in front of Nym and Liv. She noticed something moving above and she turned around. A figure dressed completely in black dropped down onto the ground next to them. Holly did not relax her attack. Nym and Liv also did not relax theirs.
"It's me. Waller was concerned you would need back up."
The beautiful redhead form of the first Black Widow stepped out. The attire she wore made Liv become momentarily distracted. The black leather clung to every inch of her very supple frame. Her curves spilled into that outfit in a very nice way.
"We do need back up," Holly said.
Nym turned to Natasha while keeping one eye to the darkened alleyway to the side. She did not like facing all of these blind spots. The wind blowing caused goose bumps to rise on the shoulders of Nym.
"Did you know there was a second Black Widow?" Nym asked. "Because, this one, she caught an arrow from Hoodie Girl over there. Then she tossed the arrow back at and nearly killed us all."
"Stay close," Natasha said.
Nym crinkled her eyebrow. She sensed something happening around them even though it was hard to figure out what was going on. Holly and Liv positioned themselves with their weapons.
A glass bottle hit the ground.
"GET DOWN!"
Natasha grabbed Holly, Nym, and Liv and threw them behind her. The bottle broke open and released a fireball along with a stunning gas. Natasha stepped back from the gas and strained to look through the thick cloud of dust. A figure moved through the shadows and came down onto the back of Natasha's head.
The two Black Widows locked finger to finger with each other. Natasha forced her adversary to her knees. Her adversary kipped back up and flung knives at Natasha with one fluid movement. Natasha deflected the knives and jumped onto a trash can.
Natasha pulled the trash can lid up and flung it at the second Black Widow.
"Who are you?"
Liv fired another arrow at the second Black Widow. The super soldier caught the arrow between her fingers and rushed towards Liv. Nym raised her hand and blocked the attempted impalement with a shield charm. The second Black Widow kept stabbing at the shield.
The original flavored Black Widow grabbed her counterpart around the arm. The two women struggled for position. The second Black Widow flipped the first one down onto the ground. Both women bounced up to their feet and punched each other at the same time. The punches canceled each other Black Widows pulled back and connected with each other. Their punches connected with each other. Natasha moved back and swept the legs of the second Black Widow out from underneath her.
Black Widow pulled a blade out and pointed it at the throat of the other Black Widow. The blonde Widow struggled underneath the grip of the redhead Black Widow. The two fighters moved against each other with the woman kicking her legs out from underneath her.
"We've got trouble."
Holly turned around as Nym pointed down at the alleyway. Several men dressed in military fatigues came in to face them. They fired at Nym and Holly. The two women backed off.
The two Black Widows disappeared into the darkness. Holly wanted to look to see where they disappeared off to. To be honest, Holly had her own problems. One of those big problems was trying to stay alive with these individuals shooting at her.
'Of course.'
Liv unleashed three arrows in rapid fire succession. One of the arrows pierced a man in the shoulder. The other two glanced off of the armor. One of the larger men grabbed Liv around her neck. Liv countered his grip with a shoulder throw. The man's momentum dropped down onto the ground.
She flowed in with a series of rapid fire stomps. Liv turned her attention to one of the men who rushed towards her. She dodged the punch from the man and maneuvered around his large body. Liv rushed up the wall and jumped onto the ledge of the building.
An arrow caught the man on the side of the shoulder. Blood spurted out of the man's shoulder when he fell down to the ground. Liv repelled down to engage them in battle.
"Watch out!"
Holly's warning made Liv very narrowly avoid a rocket launcher blast. Liv loaded her arrow back up and fired. The impact caught the man in the hand and forced him to drop the rocket launcher. Liv charged her adversary and clipped his jaw with a spinning punch to the head. Another goon grabbed her from behind. Liv nailed the HIVE henchmen in the shoulder and then elbowed him in the face.
Liv flowed through with an uppercut punch to drop her adversary down to the ground. Another one of those bottle bombs dropped onto the ground and released the gas into the air.
"Son of a bitch!" Holly groaned.
One of the goons slammed her on the back of the head. The blunt force dropped Holly down to her knees and made her grimace from the attack.
"We have her," the HIVE drone responded.
He lifted Holly up to a standing position and dragged her away. Holly's legs dragged off of the ground underneath her and threw her into the back of the van.
"No!"
Nym tried to reach to her partner. An explosion blocked Nym's progression. Debris and dust choked Nym no matter how much she tried to fight forward. She kept blasting the debris away from her. Nym stepped a couple of feet forward and dropped down to the ground.
"No!" Nym yelled furiously.
She was gone, Holly was gone. HIVE slipped through her fingers. Nym took a deep breath and the windows shattered around her. Liv put an arm around her and pulled Nym to her feet.
"Natasha and the other one are gone," Liv said.
"I don't care," Nym said.
She did care. Now she didn't care, but she did care. Nym took in more breaths and came very close to having a complete panic attack. Her eyes flooded over in never ending frustration when Liv held her up. She was so close to preventing Holly from getting kidnapped.
Harry walked up a short set of steps. The steps were only about four or five in succession. Daphne lead him up past the rooms. Harry walked over red carpets. Two couches sat in the center of the room. The walls lined with shelves with glass vials.
"Different kinds of snake venom," Daphne explained to him. "And the antidotes for them. Venom is on the shelves to the right of the wall. And the antidotes are on the shelf to the wall. There's a lab beneath us which is completely dedicated to building weapons."
Harry raised his eyebrow. A fire lit in the fireplace onto his own accord. A rug laid down by the fireplace. Harry decided to take a seat on the rug in front of the fireplace. Daphne copied his motions when sitting down next to him. Harry put an arm around Daphne to pull him against her.
"Genius," Harry said.
"We thought so," Daphne said. "Bane has been driven out of the area. Our Queen returning will heal a lot of the fractures."
Harry sensed she was pleased by these particular developments. He also sensed Daphne had some qualifiers to the statement. The crackling in the room filled the void the silence left behind. Harry only allowed the silence to linger for a few minutes until coughing and getting Daphne's attention.
"Sorry. I'm just lost in my own thoughts."
A smile crept onto the face of the wizard. "I understand. There are a lot ahead, and we still have so much to go. Three more medallions are in play. We need to find them all."
"Yes," Daphne agreed. "We have to find them all. There's no choice. I mentioned something to you about the Tengu Medallion."
Daphne knew this news was not going to be good no matter how much she sugar coated it. One stolen glance at Harry showed he did not want it good. The smell of the mystical fire made Daphne relaxed oddly enough. She leaned closer to Harry when lowering her head against him.
"Am I boring you that much?"
The field leader of the Faithful Five smiled and she pushed herself against Harry's arm which wrapped even tighter around her. "Hardly, I'm just…well, maybe I'm growing a little bit too comfortable. I suppose I'm going to have to tell you the bad news."
Harry figured by her tone there was going to be some bad news. Good news and bad news often went hand in hand in his life. He waited for Daphne to regain her bearings enough to tell him.
"The Tengu Medallion is currently in the possession of a splinter faction of the Chinese Triad. The Triad has connections to HIVE."
Daphne tried to gauge Harry's reaction. The young man's eyebrows just responded with a slight raise. Daphne could see a couple of emotions on his face. None of the emotions going over his face resulted in any kind of surprise whatsoever.
"And you're not surprised."
Harry sighed and rose to his feet. He paced back and looked out of the window which gave him a nice view of a rainforest just off in the distance. One of the few in the area no one cut down yet and allowed for some kind of majestic beauty to be shown. Harry tried not to get distracted by the beauty for too long as difficult as it might have been.
"Everything comes back around to HIVE," Harry said. "It's time to talk to my woman on the inside."
Ruve did not know everything regarding what happened with HIVE. What she did not know, the woman could find a way to find out from someone. She had connections and a few of the higher ranking leaders in HIVE owed her some favors. Harry appreciated the information she gave. Talia made sure Ruve did not do anything to betray what they were doing back.
"I'm going to have to find the woman behind the Triad," Harry said. "Chien Na Wai, or as she's more commonly referred to, China White."
"You know her?" Daphne asked.
Harry decided to correct Daphne's mistaken, although very understandable, assumption. He stared into a flickering fireplace as if it would hand in some kind of divine inspiration. Harry never really expected it to. He just found his focus was much clearer when holding point on one particular location around the room. The fire served him very nicely.
"I don't know," Harry said. "You remember what I said about my time on Lian Yu."
Daphne confirmed she did with her language.
"Fyers tried to bring a plane down which had that woman on it," Harry said. "Waller was after the medallion. I'm rather curious who has the ability to hold the medallion."
"Do you know of the legend?" Daphne asked. "The one who has the blood of a demon….."
"Can hold onto the mystical medallion of the Tengu," Harry recited almost word for word. "Yes. I remember it from passing."
The fire crackled and almost reduced to embers. Daphne waved her hand and the warm fire shot out of the grate. Daphne put her hand on the wall and sighed. She hoped that the other three medallions can be fine.
'We have leads on the other three medallions,' Harry thought. 'The Merfolk Medallion, my sisters are searching. They're going to need it to find Atlantis. The Tengu Medallion is with the Triad."
Harry's thoughts trailed off at the Phoenix Medallion. Currently in the outer reaches of space, which meant it would be the highest priority for Harry to find. It was said to have been forged in the hottest and whitest star. Harry had no idea what that meant.
"I wish I could give you more help," Daphne said.
"You've given me a lot of help," Harry said. "I now have an idea what to do."
The only person who could tame that medallion had the blood of the demon running through them. Harry wrestled with two theories. One, there was a woman, potentially very powerful, who might be part-demon, who could hold the medallion. Or, the demon just be a metaphor for something. If the demon was a metaphor, Harry narrowed down the potential holders to only two choices.
The doors opened. Astoria made her way in. Daphne turned to Astoria with eyes narrowed and fist clenched.
"You should have knocked," Daphne said. "What if we had been….."
"Having sex?" Astoria asked. "I'm disappointed you weren't."
Daphne looked at her younger sister who just smiled back at her. That little cheeky grin made Daphne sigh.
"The ceremony is going to begin," Astoria said. "It would be our honor if the Dragon were to attend."
Daphne smiled and motioned for Harry to go out the door. Harry walked past the doorway and down the hall following Astoria. The older Greengrass sister followed the younger Greengrass sister to the point where the other members of the Faithful Five waited down the hallway for them.
Tonight was Kara's night, where she returned to preside over the tribe which worshipped her. Harry felt it was his duty as her king to give his support to her.
Holly Granger groaned when she stirred awake. An attempt to move forced her arms to snap back against the walls. Holly realized, perhaps not too soon, that someone secured her in a dungeon. She replayed the moments of the battle in her mind. The second Black Widow, the non-Natasha Black Widow, attacked them. Then HIVE followed, and then Holly, like a rookie field agent, got knocked out.
The lights flickered and the second Black Widow stared at her from the other end of the cell.
"When I get out of this cell I will kick your ass," Holly said. "Do you hear me?"
The blonde swirled her hair around. "I hear you. But, your words are hollow. They won't do you well."
"Aren't you a sight for sore eyes?"
The Black Widow stepped back and allowed a figure to come into the shadows. The hood dropped down to the reveal the very gaunt face of Damien Darhk from underneath it. His face resembled a jigsaw puzzle with a few of the pieces missing.
"What the hell happened to you?"
"Death and the Dragon happened," Darhk said. "The person who brought me from the edge brought me back without holding me together. Can you believe that? Well, actually you can. You can see it."
Holly drew in a deep breath. Darhk survived his encounter with Harry after all of this time. They finally had proof he lived. Or rather he did perish and someone brought him back from the dead through some twisted necromantic ritual which caused him to drive him insane.
"The Bookworm's cousin, isn't it?" Darhk asked. "It's a shame. Really, it is. Dear Hermione would have been a perfect little drone. She just needs the proper authority to mold her mind. Without anyone to pull her strings, she's just lost, I'm afraid."
Darhk smiled when looking at Holly who stared back with thinly veiled contempt.
"I'm close to getting something very precious to the Dragon," Darhk said. "And you're going to help me. You know where she's hiding, where she's hiding my medallion."
"You can go get fucked," Holly said.
"Not these days, I'm afraid," Darhk said. "You see, the smell of rotting flesh is kind of a turn off for most people. And when someone's genitals rot off during the act, it kills the mood."
Holly wondered what Darhk had in store for her. Judging by the man's past, she could take it to the bank that it would not be everything good. He stripped her of her weapons , equipment, and pretty much everything which Holly could use to make a contact to the outside world.
"I need something to be whole again," Darhk said. "Tell me about the Triad and where their leader is hiding my medallion."