Chapter Sixty-Seven: Tracking Down.
The term "slipped out of his fingers" described what Harry thought right now. They had been inches away from grabbing the last stone. The last stone had been snatched out from underneath their hands. Lex swooped in, under the direction of the malicious force of the Deacon and grabbed onto the stone.
Isobel's hands clutched together. She only wanted the stones to serve her master. The fact it had been so close and yet so far made her even angrier. She looked around and the frustration started to bubble over.
'You just had to get your revenge,' A harsh voice reminded her. 'If you didn't have to get your revenge, this would not have happened. You just had to be arrogant enough to think that it was all about you. You had to deny your master. And now it cost us all. It cost us all big time.'
The witch hung her head. The White Canary and the Dragon did not speak to her after they returned from Shanghai empty handed. Isobel gave the long stare at the barn wall. She got the woman who had burned her so long ago. And yet, despite having gotten that particular woman, Isobel found herself visiting by an empty feeling. She refused to squash it down inside of her.
"You wanted it bad."
Isobel could not even turn around to face the owner of the warm hand upon her shoulder. The Dragon stood a few inches behind Isobel. His face reflected across an old tin on the side of the wall. Isobel hung her head down on the floor.
"Obsession really gets us all at the worst time," Harry said. "Don't think I haven't been down that road where I've been blinded from everything that goes on around me."
"Yes," Isobel said. "Even one crystal being in the hand of someone that dangerous though….I don't even want to know what…."
"It could mean a disaster."
Claire stepped into the barn having been about as blunt with her words as one would have expected in a situation like this. She stepped inside of the barn and sat down on the hay that always was a makeshift bench. One could see the shimmering levels of frustration grow within Claire as her shoulders rolled up and down with the poor girl getting more progressively jumpy as time ticked on.
"Has he talked to you yet?"
"No," Claire said. "He's not one for conversation either unless he summons me. I just got to get by and do what I have to do."
The mantra Harry unfortunately knew a lot about. Get by life and only do what you can do. Harry understood where Claire was coming from perfectly.
"I can't believe Lex just stole it," Claire said. "I should have been there. Maybe I could have stopped him."
Harry sensed a person who was already starting to blame themselves. He cleared his throat which made Claire turn around.
"For the record, I don't really blame you," she said. "There's just something more I could have done to be there and to get the stone. I don't know….I've not taken it seriously, and now…."
"We all have our share of blame to hold," Isobel said. "You might have been used against us as a distraction. Remember your flaw, you're as weak to magic as any no-mage."
Claire hated to be reminded of this, but she still had a problem with magic. It was not as frustrating as the other problem visiting her. They had to, no question about it, they had to get their hands on the final stone. They had two stones, but the crystal which would hold the knowledge of the universe would be useless without the two of them.
'Every time a stone falls into the hands of one which is not worthy, bad things happen,' the voice of Jor-El echoed through Claire's head.
She could not tell whether or not it had been a flicker of the past or a fresh message. Many times, Claire could not honestly tell. Jor-El often prattled on about her destiny and what was to come. It was beginning to turn into an extremely frustrating ordeal for her.
"I hate to say that I told you so about Lex. But I did warn you."
Olivia Queen stepped into the room. Claire sighed. She was not sure to count Lex as betraying just yet.
"To be fair to him, it wasn't all Lex's fault," Harry said. "Blackfire enhanced on his greed and lust for power. And also his desire to get one over on his father."
Liv would have to concede to this particular point being true. Lex's obsession got the better of him numerous times and this time was pretty much no exception. She hoped that some people did not get hurt because of it, because unfortunately that was what it was looking like.
"I'm here if you need my help," Liv told Claire.
Claire responded with a grateful smile and nodded. They would need all the help they can get at this point.
Talia and Nyssa stepped back into Nanda Parbat and wondered why they had been summoned back so soon. They had been put on their guard just in case something had gone down. If it had been the death of their father, who had not been looking too good the last time they met, then the two would have to plan accordingly.
'Do you think he's going finally?' Sara asked.
'He's pretty much mentioned the fact the Lazarus Pit has not sustained him as much as the past as it had before,' Nyssa thought. 'I really don't have any clue if he finally bought it.'
The usual trip up of the mountains and all the way to Nanda Partbat lead them up to Ubu. His tribe had served the cause of the Demon for years. The latest Ubu stood in front of them with his arms folded together.
'I take it there's some contempt there,' Gwen thought.
'Yeah, pretty much,' Talia thought. 'He's our father's lap dog. Loyal to a fault, and would throw himself in front of any threat to our father's life. And there are more where he came from.'
'Clones?' Gwen asked, shuddering at the very thought of it.
'No,' Talia confirmed barely holding back her smile. 'He comes from a big family.'
With that statement out of the way, the two daughters of Ra's al Ghul waited for permission they did not need. Ubu just nodded and motioned for them to go through. No one was saying anything. Several elite soldiers in the League of Assassins lined the hallway. Talia and Nyssa looked up to see their father sit upon the throne of the League. He looked a little bit better than last time.
The medallion flickered a brief second and then stopped. Nyssa frowned.
'Something is not right.'
She had this feeling from the minute she stepped into the temple to right about now that something was completely off about her father, more so than normally. Nyssa could not tell what it was, it was just something was off about this entire situation. And she took a couple of steps to look at him.
"My daughters, come forward and join us. I have news to share with the entire League."
Nyssa stepped forward to lead the example. She was very anxious after walking forward after the flicker in the temple. Talia joined next to her. Both daughters of Ra's al Ghul stood side by side to wait to see what would happen next in this conversation.
Ubu stepped into the room and moved past all of the others. He moved to receive his own gratification from the leader of the League of Assassins. Ra's just cast a very crisp smile towards Ubu and motioned for him to step back a couple of feet to join the rest of them.
'I begin to see where the dog comparisons are coming in,' Sara thought. 'What do you think you're there fore.'
'I wish I knew,' Nyssa thought. 'I don't like it.'
A loud drum beat echoed from elsewhere in the temple. Nyssa and Talia both remained sharp as they stood back a couple of feet. They viewed their father standing up straight from the pedestal and peering down at them. Something about him was different today. Nyssa kept a hand firmly to withdraw the blade hooked to her elbow just in case.
'You can never be too careful,' Nyssa thought. 'Especially with my father.'
"All stand and face front!" the high priestess of the temple declared. "The great Ra's al Ghul wishes to bestow news which will hold the future of the League going forward."
'Oh, this sounds bad,' Gwen thought. 'Sorry, but it's just a feeling that I have where….never mind.'
Nyssa hated to admit it, but Gwen was not alone with her bad feeling. Ra's al Ghul stepped closer to the edge of the temple and looked upon them with one of those smiles on his face. The smile brought even further uneasy feelings to Nyssa. The members of the League, Ubu in particular, focused on Ra's.
"The death of Damien Darhk ended a war which the League had been fighting for some time," Ra's said. "Darhk's ashes sink at the bottom of a volcano. His legacy, his demented and twisted legacy, continues on to this day. And we have decided to have a truce with the organization which Mr. Darhk has run."
"A truce with HIVE?" Nyssa asked.
Immediately, Nyssa felt something was on. The knots in her stomach only grew. Her father's full attention turned towards her. Ra's descended down the steps and towards Talia and Nyssa. The other members of the League anxiously waited for the Demon's head to cross the room.
Nyssa stood firm and tall when looking across the room at her father. Many would wilt underneath the expression of Ra's at this point. Nyssa refused to back down from him, not even for one possible second. She drew in a deep breath and waited for him to cross the room to face off with her.
"My daughter," Ra's remarked in a casual voice.
"Father," Nyssa repeated in a tone which was equally as casual. She looked him dead on in the eye.
"Yes, to answer your question, I've decided to form a truce with HIVE," Ra's said. "We've had our differences in the past. And our differences have caused both of our organizations to fall short in our goals."
'Would it help to say that I really didn't like this?' Sara asked.
She was in some pretty good company about not liking what was going on right about now. Something else was in her father's eyes. And the people in the bond, Nyssa included, did not like it at all.
'Keep a close eye on him,' Harry thought. 'Ruve just found out about the truce and she also found out about something else.'
'Hmm, that's interesting,' Talia thought. 'Hopefully she didn't keep it from me.'
One could see what Talia intended to do to those who betrayed her. Nyssa found herself very pleased that she was on the side of her sister. Had it been anything different, well, there would have been trouble. The League all turned around. Ra's walked, with all of the power of a younger man.
A younger man, who Nyssa unfortunately decided, made a deal he would end up regretting at the very end. Despite his claims he was ready to move on, Ra's still clung onto life and refused to relinquish that security. Nyssa hated to admit it.
'Something has to be done.'
Harry stepped on, with Isobel walking up to his side. It was best given her current state to keep her close at hand. Sara joined them as some added insurance. Liv also walked next to them. Claire and Kara moved behind them. Claire slumped down a little bit. Kara noticed her cousin's body language and put a hand on her shoulder.
"It's not your fault the stone of power has been lost," Kara said. "We'll get it back. We'll get it back."
"No, it's not your fault, it's mine," Isobel said.
"It's no one's fault," Harry said. "Other than the man who stole it and….."
Sara stepped into the edge of the gateway. This particular HIVE facility made Sara tense up like nothing else before. She had a sinking suspicion something was about to go down although she could really not guess what. Sara spent the next couple of minutes thinking over what she needed to do.
"We better meet her," Liv said.
Liv thought she should be tracking Lex down, but was able to reign herself in. It was an obsession which allowed Lex to grab onto the stone in the first place. It was an obsession which put them in this predicament as frustrating as it would be.
Harry made his way inside. Ruve stood waiting for him. She had several folders in her hand and also a couple of handwritten reports. More notes laid forgotten off to the side, crumpled up on the floor. Harry suspected it was because she discounted pretty much any theory within those notes.
"HIVE has made contact with the League, and the leaders agreed to a truce," Ruve said. "And most surprisingly, Ra's agreed."
"I'll say what I said earlier," Sara said. "I don't like this."
Ruve responded with a very calm nod. She escorted them all inside to a conference room. A message appeared on the laptop.
"There's something off about Ra's," Ruve said. "My contact within the League informed me that he went to Scotland, with every intention of finishing off the White Bumblebee once and for all."
That little fact seemed very interesting to Harry to be perfectly honest. He rolled his shoulders back and offered a brief smile.
"I have my own contacts, in case Talia and Nyssa miss something," Ruve said. "They are well informed, but I was still well connected. HIVE had to be if they wanted to stay one step ahead. My husband made the mistake of going one step too far."
He was dead and a small part of Ruve was relieved. HIVE could be a valuable resource to use once most of the problem areas had been purged from it.
"I've tracked the final component of the crystal to Scotland," Ruve said.
Harry took his hand and lifted it up to his forehead. He had a pretty good idea where the crystal was now and he had a very good idea none of them were going to like what they had to do to get their hands on the crystal.
"Lex brought it and presented it to the White Bumblebee," Harry said.
Ruve grimly nodded. The obvious might have been stated, but she appreciated all of the cards coming out on the table where they could see.
"We need to move then," Kara said. "Do we have any idea what we're dealing with?"
Joseph Blackfire swept over the area with a few calm steps. He understood much of what had to be done in the not so distant future. The White Bumblebee was an asset which he needed to move with to free his master. Blackfire stepped into the room where the White Bumblebee had been extracted and laid out on the table.
"Brother, you have fallen a great amount from your heights. You have hunted the Dragon and in one instance, you defeated him. You have suffered great losses. One who you called your protégé, and your friend, he betrayed you. Tom Marvolo Riddle, the deceitful man he is, left you in this state during your final confrontation. Only the Phoenix tears in your veins, will have kept you alive for as long as you have been."
Blackfire steps over him and puts a hand on the chest of the White Bumblebee.
"I feel it, my brother! I feel your heart struggling to get out another beat. It hammers and struggles to draw further blood through you. Your blood, it yearns to flow freely again. It yearns to make a comeback. You yearn to strike once again. You yearn to have power once again!"
Deacon Blackfire held up his hands in the crucifix motion. His greasy black hair snapped back with a wicked grin upon his face.
"Soon, we will free you again from the prison of your body!" Blackfire yelled. "Even after Riddle has long since departed from this Earth, you lay weak. I must exorcise the demons from your body, so I can bring the White Bumblebee back to his great prominence. Albus Dumbledore, you will awaken."
Blackfire clasped his hands on Dumbledore's stomach and the White Bumblebee started to twitch. Blackfire dropped to his knees with hands clasped. The demonic minister spoke in tongues. A lot of what he said made very little sense to anyone other than him.
"Rise!" he yelled. "RISE!"
A loud bang resounded through the church around them. Blackfire's head twisted to the side. A crooked grin came over his face. The nasty smile, the feeling of never ending power rose through his body.
"RISE FOR THE REVOLUTION!" Blackfire yelled. "RISE FOR ME DUMBLEDORE!"
Albus Dumbledore sat up barely risen from the grave. Blackfire's head whipped back and his body did a spastic thrust.
"Praise the good lord!" Blackfire bellowed. "We have a mirror. All be praised!"
Dumbledore hacked to the point where it appeared he was almost about ready to cough up a lung. His body kept thrusting and moving. Dumbledore coughed and his eyes burst open. Blood shot terror spread through Dumbledore's eyes. He kept shaking in a mad way.
"What…what happened?"
Blackfire looked at a confused old man. He was not the pillar of strength many feared before. The battle with his former protégé left him battered and broken. Blackfire placed a hand on his cheek and forced the White Bumblebee to look at him.
"Face front to your savior," Blackfire said. "I am here to be your salvation, Albus Dumbledore! I am here to bring you back to your prime, Bumblebee."
Blackfire reached into the pocket of his robe and produced a vial. The liquid in the vial glowed orange and almost sang. Blackfire brushed a finger off against the vial and smiled.
"Open your mouth and drink this. Down to the last drop."
Dumbledore obeyed the words of his savior. The feeling of life returned to the man. His memories came back. Dumbledore's eyes shifted back and forth. The cold dead gaze turned into one which showed a very obvious lust for power. His grey hair held more life into than ever before.
"You've returned," Blackfire said. "But, so has he. And we don't have much time. They are going to be after the crystal of power. And with it, the final medallion."
"The last one?" Dumbledore choked out.
Blackfire slapped his palm across the table. The alertness of Dumbledore returned a matter of moments later. His neck rolled back with an evident smile coming over his face.
"If they get their hands on the Phoenix Medallion, it's over. Do you understand? The Dragon will return to his full power. You got the drop on him last time. I'm afraid it won't happen again."
"No," Dumbledore said.
"Fortunately, I have the perfect means to lure the Dragon into a trap," Blackfire said slipping a stone out of his sleeve. "He won't be able to go forward without this."
Dumbledore broke out into a smile. He felt younger already by looking at the stone of power. It had been a slight interest of his. It held many secrets of the universe, especially when combined. And once he got his hand on the stone, he was invincible.
The White Bumblebee stood up and looked out of the window onto the ground. Several of his guards moved around.
"Still loyal to me after all of these years," Dumbledore said. "They will not be forgotten."
"Many died for their loyalty," Blackfire said in a solemn voice. "Molly Weasley and Severus Snape among others were slain by Ra's al Ghul."
"My old mentor in this lifetime," Dumbledore said with a sad smile. "They will be honored for their years of distinguished service."
Dumbledore held in his hands power beyond all imagining. He recognized what could happen if this item remained in his hands. Dumbledore had the perfect weapon.
'Soon, Dragon, we will meet one more time. For the last time.'
Lily Evans stepped out of the shadows dressed in a skin tight black bodysuit. Months, Charlotte and Mia researched, and they pinned down the one weak spot in the White Bumblee's defenses. Lily needed to go in and strike while the iron was hot.
All rumors indicated that Dumbledore laid in stasis guarded by his elite guard. He suffered a loss to Riddle. The wounds of the battle also damaged Riddle from what Lily heard.
'The fight's legend grows more by each passing year,' Lily thought. 'Okay, Evans, you have to stay focused. Just keep calm…strike while the iron is hot.'
Lily slipped past the gate. The figures dressed in red patrolling the ground did not notice her. Lily hoped it would be kept like this. She saw it as a straight up shot up the side of the castle through the window at the North Tower. And then it would be smooth sailing for her now.
'Most reckless thing you've ever done,' Lily thought. 'But let's build a world where no one has to live in fear from the likes of him.'
The White Bumblebee laid somewhere to the East of here, providing he had not been moved. Would have been risky, Lily thought.
Lily stepped into position. She shattered the legs of one of the goons with a well-placed bond breaking spell to knock him down to the ground.
'So far, so good,' Lily thought. 'Got to keep it up. Don't stop.'
Lily stepped over and noticed the wall leading up to the North Tower Entrance. It had been guarded by two men. One of them short and broad shouldered. The other was tall and lanky. Lily mentally made a list of what needed to be done to get in past the wall and past these goons. She drew in a very deep breath and then shot the legs of one of the enemy's out from underneath him.
"Come out and fight!" the broad shouldered enemy yelled at the top of his lungs.
Lily disappeared and reappeared behind the man. She found a hole to allow herself to teleport through. Despite Mia swore up and down until she was blue in the face how impossible it was. Lily swooped in and took her enemy out with a violent attack dropping him down onto the ground.
Several more figures came in across from Lily. They all dressed in red robes with the familiar black phoenix symbol on it. They were all followers of the White Bumblebee.
Lily could either cut her losses or stand and fight them all.
'I came this far.'
The ground ruptured from underneath two of the goons. Vines tore through them. The thorns poked them in the side and dragged them back off to the side.
A silver dagger came close to Lily's ear. Lily stepped back and whipped her wand. Strands of fire fired out of the wand and rocked them back off to the ground. Lily took a couple of steps back and watched as more of the figures moved in to engage her.
"The White Bumblebee would want us to destroy this traitor!"
Lily shook her head. She never supported the White Bumblebee. Her late husband did, and then tried to spy on him for the other side at a great cost to his life. Regardless, Lily came on the business end of about six wands at once.
One of them dropped down to the ground. An arrow stuck in his back. Lily caught a glimpse of a green hooded figure off to the side.
'My back up has arrived,' Lily thought.
There had to be more coming. Did Mia tell Harry of the plan or was Harry and his friends here for another reason? Lily did not know. She was just glad to have the help.
Chapter Sixty-Eight: Power Struggle.
The feared White Bumblebee rose from the depths. Many true believers claimed Albus Dumbledore would return. Others foolishly thought he would perish when clinging onto to life by the skin of his fingers. Every single one of them wondered what would happen. What would happen to his legacy if he perished? While others wondered, very anxiously, what would happen should Dumbledore return from the depths.
The time for people wondering finally ended. Dumbledore swept into the room to survey his legions of followers. They all stood nervously and wondered what wisdom their great leader would impose on them. Dumbledore turned his head back to them. They all bowed down to the ground before the White Bumblebee.
"You may all rise."
All of the followers rose before the White Bumblebee. Dumbledore smiled at them. He regained a much lighter step of a much younger man and also regained his bearings. It was important to show his power in the face of much adversity.
"It's good to see you back, master," one of the followers said.
"I'm glad to see you're pleased," Dumbledore said. "And I'm sure many of you are scared. The uncertainty is scary. The traitor, Tom Riddle…."
Every single person in the room let off an angry hiss at Riddle's name. Dumbledore smiled at the type of reaction Tom's name still gave them. It really did sadden Dumbledore about Riddle how after everything Dumbledore did for him, he flew completely off of the rails. That particularly mad dog was put down.
"He has not found a way back has he?" Dumbledore asked.
"No, great one," one of the followers spoke up. "When you…were impaired, Riddle perished. We took his body and burned it. The ashes are in your throne room just as you would have wanted."
Dumbledore swept his eyes over the man who had spoken. His lips curled into a warn smile. He was glad to have such devoted followers who would put their lives on the line.
"I thank you for your help."
The White Bumblebee meant each word he said from the bottom of his heart. The moment the elixir touched his lips, brand new life came from him. He had been recharged most of all by the thought of such devoted followers being there to wait for him. They all made this life more worth living.
"I'm glad you're back, Master," one of them murmured in a very low voice.
"And I'm glad all of my followers have returned," Dumbledore said. "Well, all who are able to stand. There are many among your numbers who will not be joining us tonight. And I'm sorry to have seen them go. They will all be remembered. Their sacrifices will not be in vein."
All bowed before the thought of those followers. Dumbledore stood off in the background to smile. The door opened and one of the aides ran on in. He stopped short of seeing the White Bumblebee.
"Curtis, what is it?" Dumbledore asked with a grandfatherly smile.
"The Dragon has risen."
Every single person standing behind Dumbledore all stood up very rigid. All of them feared the Dragon's return. Their most terrified fears were finally coming to pass and they were coming to pass, pretty fast. Each and every one of them turned to Dumbledore who just smiled.
"Don't you see?" Blackfire asked. "He's come back. He's come back to finish the job that Riddle started."
Dumbledore answered with a nod. He came to the conclusion that he was pretty much the only person who could see Blackfire at this current point in time. Dumbledore extended one gnarled finger out to the followers. All of them looked at him.
"I know you fear him. You've heard the stories of what he does to wand wavers."
All of the members in the room gathered around and showed what amounted to never ending fear. The Dragon terrified each and every one of them as they stood on the ground. Dumbledore stepped into a hidden room off of the side. He pressed the knot on the wall. The door sprung open.
"It comes the time for you to be the hero you are meant to be," Blackfire said. "It comes time for you to ready yourself to slay the beast that you've slayed once before."
Dumbledore pulled a large wooden staff out of the room. His followers stored it as intended and did not touch it. The red crystals on the staff fingered very nicely. They showed the potential power Dumbledore could wield and all of his followers looked on with astonishment at the size of the staff he wielded.
"My followers, do not worry," Dumbledore said. "We are so close to achieving what we wanted all this time. He will fall and the power he held will be used for a greater purpose in our world and in our lives. I will bring about peace to this world. There will be no more wars, all will be united and live in harmony."
All bought what Dumbledore said. Meanwhile, Deacon Joseph Blackfire could not be more excited. He had riled them up and there would be much bloodshed which would serve his plans. It would be one step closer to his end game.
'The Dragon approaches,' Blackfire thought in growing excitement.
Liv passed around the corner. Several of the thugs dropped to the ground. There would be many more to come. Harry walked over to the corner to join them. Claire, Kara, and Sara all followed in the distance. They watched Lily bend down to check on one of them.
"His squib guard," Lily said.
"Non-magical folks born from magical people, right?" Harry asked.
Lily answered with a nod. Some terms really did carry the entire universe over. Liv covered Lily to make sure no one attacked her from behind. Lily pulled the stone out from around the neck of the goon in question. She twisted it around her finger and looked on with a rather obvious groan.
"The stone is active," Lily said. "And that means the White Bumblebee is on the move."
Isobel stepped into the picture and noticed the magic around the castle shifted. She had grown nervous the second she felt it. A brief flicker in her mind at being burned on the orders of Deacon Blackfire blasted through Isobel's mind. She shook off the thought.
"There's not a problem, is there?" Harry asked.
"There are many problems," Lily responded. "One of the biggest problems is the fact their stones are active. Which means the White Bumblebee has been woken up."
"Today of all days?" Sara asked.
Lily answered with a grim nod. Today of all days, and she figure it would be just right to have run into the castle at this particular moment to fight a full White Bumblebee and his forcers. Lily's hopes for an easy kill had been completely dashed in a blink of an eye.
"We should stay focused," Harry said. "Isobel, I noticed you flinch. Is there something wrong?"
Isobel dragged herself out of the unfortunate trip down memory lane. The energies of this castle shifted and they had been corrupted like anything else that demonic preacher touched.
"It's Blackfire," Isobel said in a harsh whisper. "He's here. He's here, and he's the one who woke up the White Bumblebee."
Questions came, but they would have to wait. The pitter patter of more goon feet came down the hallway. Sara and Kara moved from either side. Kara used a gust of super breath while Sara let out with a huge canary cry. They created a huge sonic wind when combined which knocked the HIVE goons back.
One of the HIVE goons pushed back up through the ground. Kara came from behind him at the speed of light and rocked him with a huge super powered punch. The punch dropped him to the ground. Kara pulled back from the attack and nailed him down across the back of the head with another punch.
Liv shot three arrows into the air. The arrows stopped in a field of energy. The HIVE operative blocked them with a magical attack and set them on fire before firing them back at Liv. Claire only just dragged her out of the way to avoid being skewed by her own flaming arrows.
"Did I mention that I really hate magic?" Liv groaned. "Because I really…"
A whip of fire almost knocked her across the ground. Liv rolled over to avoid the attack. She viewed Sara coming in and taking the attacker down. Liv finally had enough time ot breath and catch her bearings.
"I really…really hate magic," Liv said.
"I don't think it's too fond of you either," Claire said. "Although, I have to agree."
The siren song of the crystal entered Claire's mind once again. No matter how many times she tried to shake it off, it kept entering her mind and digging its way into the back of her head. Claire spent the next couple of minutes trying to make that one mental adjustment.
"It's a trap," Isobel said. "You know it's a trap."
Claire knew it was a trap, unfortunately. Her heart sped up another beat as one of the figures from the tower hovered something. Claire had to take the chance to grab the crystal.
A flash of light engulfed both Claire and Isobel and took them back off of the castle grounds. They were teleported inside of the castle. The castle with its maze of tunnels and doors, and Claire tried to force her way through one with force. Unfortunately, the castle did not budge.
"This castle was charmed to withstand heavy fire," Isobel said. "The charms have been updated to withstand a nuclear blast. There's no way you're getting through there. I don't care how hard you push."
Her words might as well have gone upon deaf ears. Claire pushed her way against the castle as hard and firmly as possible. Isobel followed the progress of Claire as she pounded and slammed against the castle walls as hard as possible. It was an unfortunate waste of energy.
"You're right," Claire said in a solemn tone.
"I know," Isobel said. "We're going to have to work together to get through this. If we hope to survive another day."
Claire felt some degree of nervousness having to work together with someone who resembled her best friend. Well, technically they were related to each other by many generations. Still felt strange no matter how many ways you sliced in.
Several HIVE agents stood around the corridors. They had been brought here on the order of the White Bumblebee. It would not be the first time someone made that claim.
"Do you think he's legit?" one of them asked.
"I don't know," the other one said. "The commander is going to talk to him. I figure we're going to know soon one way or another what the White Bumblebee's story is."
The commander stepped back into the picture to face the HIVE goons. The look on his face resembled someone who had been caught mostly by surprised by a couple of things.
"So, is it him?" one of the HIVE leaders asked. "Someone better not be pulling our legs again."
The commander's haunted expression showed the wars he had been through. The wars he died through as well. The Commander had been brought back forn an inch to death and become one of the loyal servants of HIVE. This particular operative knew all about what he had to do. Time ticked by, second by second, one minute after another.
"It's him," the commander said. "It's mostly him."
"What do you mean it's mostly him?"
The Commander should have known this statement would not go on without any questions. A steely eyed gaze came towards the men off to the back who did not flinch. They just stared back at the commander with everything going through their minds.
"It's mostly him," the Commander repeated calmly. "And he thanks you for your service."
The HIVE operatives did not really know what to say. Several felt a cold twinge through the air. They did not quite understand what was happening until it happened. They barely understood what they were feeling until it was much too late.
The White Bumblebee came from behind them and absorbed the essence of a dozen HIVE soldiers at once. The life energy strengthened his power and kept him young and vibrant. The Commander clasped his hand to his heart and watched as Dumbledore turned his attention to the Commander.
"You were accurate in your assessment," Dumbledore said. "These gentlemen were the strongest of HIVE."
"I told you, great one," the Commander said. "Anything to serve such a great leader."
Dumbledore saw through the lies and deceptions. He was not loyal like the followers out the castle. Oh no, he was the opposite of loyal. He served the White Bumblebee out of fear of what he could do to him if the proper motivation could be presented.
Fear was good though. Fear made the world go completely around. It made Darhk into one of his agents before his untimely demise. And Darhk gave Dumbledore a lot of information. His life had been owed by Dumbledore after he allowed Darhk to escape certain doom again and again.
'The past is useless,' Dumbledore thought. 'We must move forward into the present.'
'He draws ever so closer," one of his aides said.
Dumbledore tightened the grip around the staff. The drums of war beat in the back of Dumbledore's head. The thrill of the hunt and the lust for blood spun into one tightly wound tapestry. It defined everything Dumbledore had to do and everything he intended to do in the future.
"I see him approach," Dumbledore said. "I'm ready to slay him."
Dumbledore closed his eyes. A map of the castle filled his mind and he noticed two dots. The shine of the mystical medallions of the Separent Queen and the White Canary beckoned Dumbledore forward. Dumbledore tightened his staff and teleported.
Sara swooped down onto the ground and took one of the larger goons down. He was really a piece of cake. Sara stepped back from him and looked to Kara.
"So, heading on up?" Sara asked.
"We have to," Kara said. "The White Bumblebee is up there. We can end this right now."
"Actually the White Bumblebee is right here."
A force of bright light cut through the air. Kara and Sara dodged the attack which blew the entire wall behind them to dust. The White Bumblebee appeared in the distance. He was not the withered old man they expected. Stronger, more durable, and more dangerous than ever before.
"Only two of the queens saw fit to show up," Dumbledore said. "But, it matters not. I will hunt you all down and make you suffer for what you've done."
"Oh, you're the one who kills people," Sara said.
"I merely do what is necessary for a better world," Dumbledore said. "And now, you're going to kneel before him."
The ground ruptured underneath them. Kara grabbed Sara's hand and pulled them up into the air. She had to work harder from the pull of magic. The sizzling energy through the air almost blasted them down. Kara used her heat vision at Dumbledore to try and rock him. Dumbledore stepped back with a very wicked grin spreading over his face.
"I can see everything clearly," Dumbledore said. "He's below, isn't he? He's buried you before and now he's going to have to bury you again."
Dumbledore's grandfatherly tone turned very harsh almost like an entirely different person took over his mind. Two flaming bolts of energy zipped from his hand. Kara zipped right and Sara zipped left. Sara came behind the White Bumblebee and dropped down with a vicious attack down onto him.
'He's here,' Kara thought.
'I'm coming,' Harry thought.
The door opened on its own accord. Claire stopped a few seconds later and looked on. She was capable of believing a lot of things. She could not believe a door would open willingly and there not being some kind of catch to it.
"The stone's on the other side," Claire said. "But, I don't know what else is on the other side."
"Good girl," Isobel said with a pat on the shoulder. "You're learning."
Claire ignored this gesture and listened around. She could hear a constant flicker which grew a little bit more high pitched. Claire's eyes shifted back a little bit. She remembered hearing this sound in the presence of the other two stones.
The final stone, the one she needed to assemble the Fortress of Knowledge, laid on the other side of the door. Claire stepped in. She looked left and looked right. There were no guards around. Claire's entire body tensed up as she watched the stone.
"Move to the side," Isobel said. "You're not touching that stone."
"You can't stop me," Claire said.
Isobel shook her head and used a spell to immobilize Claire in her tracks. Claire grimaced when she tried to move her hands and legs. She ran nowhere. Isobel trapped her and knew it. Claire felt agitated and quite betrayed.
"You are a child," Isobel said. "You don't touch a magically powerful object which has been handled by a madman without checking for any triggers first."
Claire hung around with Isobel working her way around the edge of the stone. There had been nothing done with it. The power just swam from the stone. No weird charms came from the stone, but that did not necessarily mean anything.
"Can you let me go, please?" Claire asked.
Isobel reached behind her and caused Claire to whip back. She could most certainly let Claire loose with a less brutal tactic. What would the fun in that be? Claire gave her the side long look. Isobel just ignored Claire's discomfort. The stone lifted off of the platform and slipped into Isobel's hand. She closed for the eyes and waited for the other shoe to drop. Seconds ticked by on the clock.
"You have stepped in my trap just like I thought you would."
Isobel withdrew a knife and stabbed the figure in the chest. Deacon Blackfire gave a surprised jump at being stabbed in the ribs. He pulled the knife out of his ribs.
"Child, you can't murder what is already decayed."
Then, without any preamble, Blackfire stabbed Isobel in the chest to double over. He stabbed her in the stomach and then in the stomach again. The knife repeatedly dug into and ripped at her flesh. The crazed preacher's eyes widened as he made further stabbing motions.
"The blood of you burns the ground witch….."
Heat vision nailed Blackfire as hard as possible to get her off of Isobel. The stone skidded out of the grasp of Isobel. Blackfire's body turned completely towards her.
"You can't burn what is…..
Claire fired a heat vision blast to him cutting him off at mid-monologue. Blackfire dropped to his knees in the crucifix pose and waited for the heat vision to pass over him. The horrific smell of burning, rotting flesh filled the castle as Claire lost all sense of herself and just roasted this sick bastard alive.
Isobel squirmed on the ground having received a good half of a dozen stab wounds. She tried to heal herself, but a drop of her blood spilled against the stone. The stone hissed and started to burn on the ground. The loud shrill siren knocked Claire back.
Blackfire's looked up with a wide grin. His inflamed body could barely be held together. The end was coming and Blackfire looked up at the heavens while clasping his hands.
"Oh praise the good lord!" Blackfire bellowed at the top of his lungs. "Praise the good lord…because judgment day is here. And the green fire shall once again rain from the skies and make more disciples."
Claire thought somehow the shrill siren coming from the crystal was a far bit less annoying than Blackfire's preaching. He vanished into a puff of fire and smoke. It left Claire along with the crystal and also with a badly bleeding Isobel on the floor.
"You have to unite them," Isobel said. "Right now!"
Claire fell over onto the round. Something weakened her severely. Her entire body shook madly. Claire dug her nails into the ground and pulled up. Her legs buckled and sent Claire crashing to the ground. Two more attempts to crash down onto the ground broke her.
X-X-X
Albus Dumbledore performed a feat of acrobatics which would put many men half of his age to shame. Dumbledore stuck the landing and dodged the dagger from the White Canary. He snapped her arms and legs together and caused her to drop to the ground. Dumbledore lifted a glowing spike conjured out of mid-air. He drove it down towards the White Canary.
The Queen jumped in and attacked Dumbledore. He hated her most of all. Snakes, the most vile creatures on the planet, deserved to be hunted down and exterminated. Dumbledore saw them as little more than vermin. And this woman respresented a tribe of strong snake women.
"He will come to deceased lovers," Dumbledore said. "It could have been different. He could have ruled by my side if he had chosen a different path."
Kara zipped out of the way and Sara had been freed from her predicament. Both girls received a hard going over. Both stood as strong as possible to go up against Dumbledore. The rage dancing in the eyes of the sadistic man could not be stopped by any means.
Dumbledore sent another spike at them. A golden dome appeared around them to stop the spike. The spike came back and ripped through Dumbledore's hand. The blood splashed from his hand. Dumbledore pulled the spike out with great pain.
"Impossible," Dumbledore said twirling the staff in his hand.
"Albus Dumbledore."
The tone of the Dragon could be heard. He appeared. Dumbledore saw the medallion he had buried in Purgatory. Someone, another vessel found it and was strong enough to take the spirit of the Dragon. He noticed the green eyes and somehow he knew.
"Harry Potter," Dumbledore said. "All grown up. And to think, you were sacrifice for…."
Harry nailed Dumbledore full on with an attack which snapped his neck back. He could not even stand the words "The Greater Good" being uttered, especially by Dumbledore. Native universe Dumbledore never said it although one could argue some of his supporters and biggest fans argued that he did things for the greater good.
"That can't be it," Sara said.
Dumbledore rose up to his feet after a moment of pain. The elixir healed the snapped neck instantly. Dumbledore just smiled and claimed his powerful staff. A jolt of energy came from him as Lily came up the steps.
"Miss Evans," Dumbledore said. "You get to see your son die all over again."
"Not today, Dumbledore," Lily said. "Not ever again."
This twisted representation of Harry's old mentor walked closer to them. Harry withdrew the sword he stole from Damien Darhk. Dumbledore and Harry stood off. Neither backed down and more importantly neither blinked. He who blinked had already lost the battle. And they did not intend to lose this battle today.
"You are only at sixth sevenths of your true power," Dumbledore said.
"More than enough to beat you," Harry said.
"Very well, then," Dumbledore said. "Let's match the true master of HIVE, the White Bumblebee, against the powers of the Dreaded Dragon."
Harry almost could have laughed at the odd sense of Deja-vu he received. Dumbledore stood across at him at him with the staff. Harry held the sword and the two circled each other. Something would have to give as the two of them are going to fight. Harry held the sword in his hand and the two of them rushed each other.
Chapter Sixty-Nine: Sudden Impact.
Caitlin Snow leaned back in a chair and just waited to be needed at Star Labs. They were working through a particularly rough part of the Particle Accelerator Project. It was something they all needed to be on call for. Caitlin casually played with an eraser which really showed how bored she was if anything else. The seconds just ticked by on the clock. One of the scientists at the side of the desk had his head droop down in a very bored manner and responded with a very obvious sigh.
The phone ringing off to the side perked Caitlin up ever so slightly. She jumped off of the chair to answer it.
"Hello?" Caitlin asked.
"Caitlin," Tess said. "There's some strange activity coming on. I was wondering if you could do a check to see if I'm right."
The lights in Star Labs started to flicker and Caitlin wondered what kind of activity would cause such a thing to occur. She stepped around the corner and walked down the hallway. Her heart skipped a couple of beats as a couple of scientists moved forward. Caitlin made sure to hold the phone close to her ear.
"What kind of impacts are we talking about?"
Concern dripped from Caitlin's face. The power swimming through the lab happened to be something which put Caitlin at wit's end. Her heart stammered a couple more beats when moving deeper into the lab. She placed a hand on the wall and noticed the doors opening. The one and only Harrison Wells stepped out and frowned.
"We do have a problem," Wells said. "There is meteor activity going above Earth that most certainly was not there about an hour ago."
"How could meteors get there so fast without being detected, sir?" one of the scientists asked.
Wells pulled up the image of the Star Labs satellite. He shared them with the Metropolis facility, but they had been a godsend in sharing information and causing it to flow from one end of the operation to the other. Wells looked up and figured out what is going to happen.
Several impacts were most certainly on their way to Earth and about ready to crash down at a moment's notice. Wells could not even begin to figure out where they came from.
"It was almost like a worm hole opened up somewhere," one of the scientists said.
"Or they have been there the entire time?" the scientist asked. "It looks like half of a planet is about ready to dump down on Earth?"
The power flickered one more time. Wells thought about it. He looked to the map where the definite zone of impact was and he could not have been more surprised. This was the year of the second meteor shower which hit Kansas and caused a whole lot of problems. Time had changed.
He was certain there could be a lot of changes due to events which had been beyond the control of even Harrison Wells. He frowned when looking over the view screen.
"We should keep monitoring the situation," Wells said. "The Meteor Shower is above Scotland."
"Scotland?" one of them asked. "Don't these things normally happen in Kansas?"
Wells did not say anything. He just merely frowned and looked at the edge of the meteor ring above the Earth. They were breaking apart and Wells pushed another button to get a closer look.
"There's something inside of the rings," Wells said. "There's some kind of vessel inside of the rings…it was trapped when….it has been trapped in the meteor shower."
"Wait, are you telling us there are aliens?" one of the scientists asked.
Wells pinched the bridge of his nose. "An entire universe out there, and you're saying that there's no way there can be other intelligent life out there."
Humans could be very arrogant people sometimes. And that did not change the further they got into history. Wells left to return to his office. He had to consider a couple of things.
"There is something there, isn't there?" one of them asked. "I can't believe it, little green men coming to Earth."
"Well, to be fair if they really wanted to blend in they would look just like us," another one of the scientists said. She nervously looked around as if trying to verify whether or not there had been aliens among us. "Those little green men…or little grey men, don't blend easily."
The scientists all grouped around each other and nodded. Caitlin slipped away from the rest of the group and continued her call with Tess.
"There's a meteor shower coming and it's directed to Scotland," Caitlin said. "And you wouldn't happen to know why there's a meteor shower which is about ready to slam into Scotland would you?"
Tess responded with a sigh and answered the question. "Harry's over there, and….he said that things might be messy so keep an eye out for the fallout."
A huge part of Caitlin would have liked to say she was not surprised. The more she knew Harry Potter, the more she knew he was in the center of everything. She also needed to tell Tess one little thing.
"There's a ship in the meteor shower," Caitlin said. "I don't know what, but…"
"Well, the Traveler is not the only one to have hitched a ride," Tess said. "We're going to have to keep an eye on this ship to see what it's made of."
Everyone in Star Labs cast a very nervous eye towards the meteor showers. Despite it hitting Scotland, on the other end of the room, it was still very nerve racking. There would be consequences they were sure.
The loud ringing echoed through Claire's ear. It became a constant fight for her to stand up straight and do something. She had to get up. Claire had to fight. There were HIVE drones who were making their way into the room.
A bloodied and battered Isobel held herself together and held the doors closed for as long as possible. Blackfire stabbing her had been mostly healed. The wounds did not close as much as she would like. Isobel powered on through and breathed rather heavily.
"You need to do something because the exertion is getting to me," Isobel managed with a steely breath. "I don't care what's happening. You need to snap out of it and you need to fight. There's more at stake than I think you realize."
"Need to snap out of it," Claire murmured. "And I'm going to need to fight."
The door blasted open and one of the larger HIVE drones rushed in. One of them swung a huge club at Claire. The club shattered over her body. Claire blocked the attack with the club and then hoisted the HIVE drone over her head. The ringing did not cease. Claire just got used to it.
One large operative flew down the steps into several other operatives. They all folded up down the stairs the second Claire pulled them in. One of them fired at her. The attacks caused no effect. Claire used her heat vision to create a circle of fire around about six of them to prevent them from moving forward.
'It was just as I told you.'
The taunting voice of Jor-El popped into the back of Claire's mind. She did not really want to hear about this. Claire's eyes shifted back a little bit and she rubbed the side of her ear.
'I warned you what would happen if the stones had been tainted with the blood of another. Now it's coming, and you need to be out of the blast zone when it does. Or you will perish.'
"What do you mean?" Claire asked.
A blast of white fire came inches away from her face. Isobel returned fire with a blast of her own knocking the adversary down the steps. Claire's hair stuck to the side of her face and she drew in a couple more deep breaths when fighting off against the HIVE goon. Two huge punches came very close to clipping Claire across the jaw. Claire dodged the attack and fired back with two more of her own. She used a very swift takedown to bring the man down.
The follow up elbow strike to the back of the head brought the enemy down with a severe force. Claire took a couple of seconds to breath in and breath out to adjust.
'The stones have signaled a beacon to the rest of Krypton,' Jor-El explained to his daughter. 'The meteor shower is coming and the meteors will destroy everything in its path. You need to get the stones to the cave right about now.'
"Finding that pretty difficult right now," Claire said through gritted teeth.
Claire swept the leg out of her attackers out from underneath him. The two of them wrestled down onto the ground with each other. The attacker put his forearm up underneath Claire's chin and started to crank on her neck. Claire drew in a very frustrated breath while fighting her attacker hard all of the way.
'Damn it,' Claire thought.
Claire broke free from the attack and whipped him back into the wall. More HIVE goons climbed in through the window. One of them received an arrow to the side of the neck which dropped him down to the ground. Another arrow planted into the back of the leg of the enemy.
The Green Arrow came in and fired at the enemies dropping them down to the ground. Isobel reached up and grabbed the hand of one of them. She drained the remaining life energy from him to heal the wounds. Isobel took a couple of deep breaths.
"Do you think you can hold them off?" Isobel asked. "While I get them Claire and the stone out through the gates."
Olivia fired an arrow and stuck it into the wall. A blinding whirl of energy came on through. Kara popped on through the other end and used her super breath to knock both varieties of soldiers down to the ground.
"Go!" both Kara and Olivia yelled in unison.
Isobel grabbed Claire's hand. Kara looked over her shoulder and closed her eyes. She ensured Claire had been out of there safely. The two women passed the gate which left Kara in perfect position to help Harry deal with the White Bumblebee.
Kara hoped he had been dealt with once and for all.
Harry lost track of his enemy which was not a good thing. Dumbledore moved into the castle. He overestimated that his knowledge was as strong as Harry's. Harry noticed very few changes in what was Hogwarts in his world. All Harry had to do was wait out Dumbledore.
"So, you've found me."
Dumbledore sent a jet of black light through the air. Harry reached up and put up a golden shield to block the attack. Both pushed back and forth against each other. The beams of light connected in the air until Harry found a way to break Dumbledore's concentration.
Harry zipped behind the evil double of his former Headmaster. Dumbledore spun around with a malicious glint in his eyes, far from the twinkle Harry had been used to. A beam of purple and then of light blue energy fired. Dumbledore rose up and golden fire surrounded his body. Two golden spikes flew through the air.
A dome blocked the spikes from impaling deep into Harry's chest. Harry pushed back against Dumbledore and then flipped him down onto the ground.
"You're impressive," Dumbledore said. "If I didn't think it would be a waste of time, I would invite you to join me. Together we could accomplish so much."
A moment passed as Dumbledore faded into the shadows. Black and yellow flames surrounded his body.
"It's a pity it would be a waste of my time."
Harry blasted three spikes from connecting to him out of mid-air. Harry's expression never once break from the calmness. He blasted the ground underneath Dumbledore. Huge plant vines ruptured through the ground and wrapped around him. Dumbledore vanished into the distance.
'Do you need our help?' Sara asked.
'Not yet,' Harry thought. 'I'll let you know.'
Harry slammed his hand into the shadows. Dumbledore flickered into visibility for long enough for Harry to draw the sword back and aim it towards Dumbledore. Dumbledore conjured a blade of his own made of pure magic.
"Let's see how strong that sword is truly," Dumbledore said. "No doubt one of Damien's foolish schemes to undermine me…a sword forged from the bloodshed of a hundred goblins."
No wonder the goblins had been angry about the Sword of Gryffindor in his world. Given that kind of sacrifice, Harry could only imagine how pissed it would make them. He viewed Dumbledore out of the corner of his eye. He played a very dangerous game.
A large stone lion stampeded from around the corner from Harry. Harry did to flinch at the sudden attack and decapitated the lion. The stone creature dropped to the ground from Harry's attack. He pulled back from it and took in a deep breath.
The curtains came to life in an attempt to strangle him. Harry whipped around and ripped the curtains to pieces. Harry figured Dumbledore would employ some pretty shifty tactics in an attempt to bring him down.
"It's a shame you can't face me properly," Harry said. "But, I guess you're a coward."
Dumbledore appeared out of the light and a lightning bolt shot from the staff. Harry flew through the glass window down to the grounds below. Dumbledore blasted back down from the windows surrounded by a sickening black fire. He reared back and blasted at Harry constantly when flying towards him.
"This ends tonight!" Dumbledore yelled.
"I couldn't agree more," Harry said.
Both almost hit the ground hard. They came only inches away from striking. Harry pulled himself back up. They were out of the castle and now on the grounds. They were in a wide open space where Dumbledore could not hide in the shadows anymore.
"Come out and play," Harry said.
Dumbledore flung more knives at Harry and the attack had been avoided. Harry noticed they were close to both the Forest and the lake.
'What if he leaves?' Kara asked.
'He's not leaving,' Harry thought.
Blasts of fire erupted from the ground. Dumbledore stared down at the Dragon. The man lifted his hands and applaued him.
"You really are foolish enough to think you have the upper hand here," Dumbledore said. "There has been much potential wasted on a very evil person. I need to stop you. I'm the only one who has the ability to stop you."
'Yes,' a voice in the back of Dumbledore's head thought. 'Slay the Dragon.'
The best thing about this was there was no need for any voice to tell Dumbledore anything. He had been preparing for this fight.
Claire really wished the loud siren would have stopped. It would give her more time and more room to think. She passed the gates barely and there had been no HIVE Agents. Isobel stepped out from the gates and then staggered.
"Are you okay?" Claire asked.
Isobel walked around in a dazed way and tried not to collapse down onto the ground. It was very hard not to feel flushed with the amount of power used to just heal the wounds. Isobel reached against the edge of the rocks leaving up to the cave and took in another deep breath. It felt like she had been walking in the middle of a chaotic tunnel unable to break free.
"Isobel?" Claire asked. "Are you okay?"
"Don't…don't worry about me," Isobel said. "You don't have much time."
Lightning flashed as the skies around Smallville darkened. Isobel knew the meteor shower could not strike here. It would be drawn to wherever the beacon had been sent off. She tried to find a way to misdirect it. Her feet slipped against the rocks while drawing in a deep breath.
"I've got you," Claire said. "Just hang on, we're almost there."
Isobel would have called Claire a fool to bring her about to the cave instead of just letting her perish. A couple of paranoid thoughts entered Isobel's mind. Wondering what would happen to her the moment the stones were linked bag together?
'You must hurry,' Jor-El thought. 'You're almost there…..'
The sounds of lightning echoed in the background. Claire tried to ignore the sounds of lightning around them. Isobel and Claire stepped into the cave.
"This is about as far as you go."
Claire turned around and noticed Lex standing in the cave. His arms had been folded together. One look in Lex's eyes showed that he was not exactly with it. In fact, Blackfire still held his old on Lex's mind.
"Give me the stones," Lex said. "Now."
Isobel groaned, did they really have time for this? If Lex was going to force the issue, she blasted the edge of the wall. The rocks of the wall ruptured outward and one of them knocked Lex Luthor in the back of the head rendering him completely unconscious.
"I had it under control," Claire protested.
"Did you?" Isobel asked. "It didn't look that way from where I was standing."
Claire took the third stone and the bag containing the other two. The stones glinted in the light the closer she edged to the platform. The cave paintings on the wall reacted and flickered to light. It was almost like they knew the stones were there and they knew what to do going forward.
"Hurry!" Jor-El called for her. "You need to do it now."
Claire dropped the stones on the platform. One by one, the stones disappeared into the platform. She could feel something build up inside of the cave. She could not really tell what it was or what was going to happen. Isobel rose up and banished Lex's body from the cave.
"Don't worry, he'll wake up with a headache in Luthor Manor," Isobel said.
Claire would have to take Isobel's word for it. Presently, she watched as the stones did something on that pedestal. The ringing ceased a little bit or maybe Claire just got used to it. Regardless of the case, everything shifted together.
"It's happening," Isobel said. "It's finally happening. After all of these years!"
Isobel's excitement grew and Claire wondered if she would get any straight answers. For a moment, the women, looking so fatigued, looked very excited. She grabbed Claire by the hand and motioned to the stones. The stones fused together in the light and all became one large crystal shaped object. Claire's heart beat a little bit steadier when viewing the crystal come to life.
The crystal rose up from the cave. Claire watched the crystal become fully formed and move over.
'It's time, Clara,' Jor-El thought. 'It's time for you to reach out and grab it. Go ahead and grab it'
The crystal shined against her face. Claire reached up and grabbed the crystal. The crystal formed a tight seal in her hand and made all of the figures vanish out of the cave in a blink of an eye.
Harry sought out the enemy he had been here for. One way or another, this ended tonight. One way or another, Harry would walk away from here, ready to go.
A loud bomb echoed from across the way. Harry could see something zipping over the skies of Scotland. The flash of energy almost caused his concentration on Dumbledore to be broken. Harry whipped around to only partially block the attack. His ribs shattered underneath Dumbledore's attack.
"Do you see my power?"
Harry could see a couple of other things regarding Dumbledore. He could see how he was a matter of minutes from getting beaten. Harry whipped his hand back and nailed Dumbledore as hard as possible to send him flying against the castle water.
'You need to leave now. The rapture is coming. The rocks are falling.'
Dumbledore blocked out the voice. He was not leaving, not until he was this close to slaying the Dragon. Dumbledore realized he lost his staff.
"Looking for this?"
Lily stood off to the side and held Dumbledore's prized staff grabbed tightly.
"Hand it over now," Dumbledore said. "You can't fathom the power you're holding."
"Maybe," Lily thought. "No matter what, you're not getting your hands any thing. Not after what you've done. I've wanted to rip you apart for quite some time."
Three more of Dumbledore's devoted followers dropped down to the ground. The archer came on in and fired at Dumbledore. Dumbledore turned around and blocked the arrow with a raised hand. He lifted the arrow up to the ground until Harry came on in and sliced his leg off with the sword.
Pain beyond everything Albus Dumbledore ever felt in his life ruptured through his body. He fell back onto the ground, blood oozing from his sliced leg. He tried to reach for something, anything. Lily held the staff into his face and made sure that he knew he was defeated.
"You can't win," Dumbledore managed. "I have lived for a long time. And I'm not going to…."
The maggots crawling on the ground made Dumbledore's leg be reattached to his body. Harry closed his eyes and could sense something coming from Earth.
"Meteors!" Harry yelled. "Get everyone out of here now!"
Dumbledore rose up on his raw-red leg. It dragged against the ground. The thunderous crash from above came as Harry ripped the barriers around the castle. Dumbledore's eyes flashed open in thinly suppressed rage.
"You foolish child!" Dumbledore yelled. "You've just doomed us all."
"No, I just doomed you," Harry said. "You're barely held together much like Darhk is. All I have to do is destroy your body and you're not coming back."
Dumbledore charged Harry with black fireballs blasting from his fingers. Each blast of fire came against an ice cold barrier.
Liv fired a couple of arrows at the HIVE operative who was coming close to hitting Harry. Harry looked over his shoulder and she gave him a knowing smile. Dumbledore propelled himself into the air and blasted at Harry. Harry blocked the attack just seconds before it attacked him. A battle of wills took place with Harry pushing and pushing towards Dumbledore. Dumbledore pushed back with neither of them giving up their ground just yet.
"I haven't doomed us," Harry said. "I've doomed you."
"We better get out of here," Harry whispered in Liv's ear.
Liv turned around and looked back and forth to the Harry fighting Dumbledore and the Harry standing behind her. She just threw her hands up.
One of the HIVE goons caught her with a bone-shattering blast to the side of the arm. Liv dropped down to the ground. Harry bounced up and shattered all of the bones in the arm of the HIVE agent. Without another word, Harry reached down, grabbed Liv's arm, teleported her out of there, and sealed the enchantments behind him.
Dumbledore's rage peaked as he realized he had been fighting a duplicate when the real Dragon disappeared and left him trapped on the grounds of his beloved castle. There was no way Dumbledore could reach the gate with his damaged leg.
The skies opened up and started to rain meteor showers. Dumbledore held his hands up to block the meteor showers. The first few concussive radioactive blasts bounced off of the shield. The more coming down meant Dumbledore struggled against them. Something had to give the harder the concussive blasts hit him.
Hogwarts crumbled when several huge chunks of meteor rock slammed into the castle. Dumbledore howled and looked up just in time to see the same figure who had given him life.
"Help!" Dumbledore yelled.
"Brought to your own end by hubris," Deacon Blackfire said. "May God have mercy on your soul!"
Dumbledore screamed as the barriers burned and then his body did from the bombardment of meteor rocks. He was buried just as much as his followers had been.
He pushed the rocks away and staggered. Dumbledore almost made it to the gate when suddenly a large black object dropped from the sky. Dumbledore could not block it even if he had the ability. The black ship amongst the meteors crushed Albus Dumbledore underneath its immense weight.
The storm finally settled as magical energy and meteor rocks settled next to each other.