Chapter 3 : The Order of the Phoenix strikes back
Ned was currently sitting on one of the stone bench in a large amphitheater with an archway in the middle. He gazed at it with curiosity. According to what he remembered from the Harry Potter lore, this veiled archway was considered like a barrier between the land of the living and the land of the dead… Or at least, some kind of manifestation. Furthermore, being in the DC multiverse, he wondered idly if it was an access point to the Sphere of Gods. The Sphere of Gods was another plane of existence where, as its name implied, Gods resided. Indeed, if it led to the land of the dead, it might lead to Death's place, or Hades' underworld, or Hel of the Scandinavian myths…
This led him to further question whether the Sphere of God's places were all linked together in some kind of universe beyond his own, or if like the different universes and Earths, they were kept separate somehow…
« I'd really like to be able to study this thing… » He muttered.
Suddenly, a door opposite Ned flew open and he saw Harry Potter run to the center, next to the archway. Soon, he was joined by another teenager, slightly chubby but taking on muscle. Probably Neville, he thought. Another two persons arrived, this time on opposite side and as he saw them arrive and stood up, he noticed…
« Well, they're dressed like typical villains, aren't they ? »
Wearing almost all black, with gaunt figures and deep eyeshadows, they looked positively unhinged and dangerous. The woman, who he assumed was Bellatrix Lestrange was soon joined by a man with blonde, almost white-colored hair. Although, he was slightly unkept both from the battle and probably the worry of having the Dark Lord squatting at his place, his noble and haughty bearing couldn't be ignored. Malfoy, then… He analyzed inwardly.
Just as Bellatrix was aiming to take Neville hostage by using the Cruciatus curse, Ned collided with the madwoman, sending her flying.
« Hey, you're getting good at that, Mel ! »
She'd just dropped the anti-gravity enchantment the moment before he touched Bellatrix, so the female death eater took the full brunt of his attack. Maybe she was already knocked out… To himself, Ned muttered :
« Did we just save Sirius ? Wow, this is Sirius ! » He paused, and felt the shame of his overused pun growing inside. Thankfully, Mel didn't comment, but he doubted it'd last. So, he decided to act as if he hadn't said anything and directed his gaze at the arriving Death Eaters :
« You should probably surrender. You couldn't restrain a group of teenagers and now, your time has run out… »
As he said those words, the door opposite Voldemort's goons flew open and spells were thrown as a preemptive strike. Harry, Neville and Ned dodged. As he moved away from the line of fire, he decided to add another thing to make sure no one would die… Or at least, not because of the archway !
Striking the ground with his left foot, he spoke to Mel :
« Transfigure the sand around the archway into a wall, please ! »
« Acknowledged ! »
While spellfire flew every which way, magic flowed beneath Ned's armored feet. It was his form of Elemental manipulation when it came to earth. Although he could probably add a spell for rock bullets or something, he didn't really see the point of it, yet. What he could do with earth, he could just as easily do with wind, water or fire. Instead, he enchanted his boots to transfigure the ground under his feet to create physical shields. Obviously, he thought of this mostly to use against the Unforgivable curses ; they might be impossible to shield against using protego or another form of shield spell, however a physical barrier worked. Even probably too well, since they didn't really have an impact on anything beside the human body.
Anyway, once he was finished, he decided to give a helping hand to the aurors and other members of the Order of the Phoenix. Scanning the battleground with his HUD, Ned quickly noticed a certain person dueling like a madman against two opponents. The young Stark didn't know who they were, nor did he care at the moment.
With a burst of wind escaping his hands and boots, he launched himself forward in an impressive jump. He landed with a heavy thump when Mel cut the enchantment's power supply. Using the opportunity, he pointed his gauntlets to the two death eaters… There were now sandwiched between him and Sirius Black.
Before they could react to his arrival, Ned struck ! An explosive burst impacted the one on the left while a powerful jet of water splashed in the other, stunning him and washing him away further into the room.
He quipped after a moment of silence :
« You must Siriusly have a death wish ! »
The man made a face, a mix between annoyance and amusement, and said :
« Thanks… huh. Lad… of silver ? »
« Silver Lad ? » Ned reacted after a second to reformulate his new codename/Superhero persona. « It's not bad, actually. And more accurate than Iron Man or Iron Lad… » Focusing back on the Black family head, he told : « You're welcome, sir ! Anyway… People to blast and people to protect ! See ya ! »
Ned took on a bit of altitude and scanned the room again while moving. He'd rather not be blasted out of the sky because he was immobile, especially considering how spellfires flew all over. Instead, with the help of Mel, he navigated between the shots while he looked for people in trouble. Soon, he noticed the group of teenagers who were regrouping. Most of them weren't in good shape, so he flew over :
« Hi, guys ! » He greeted perkily.
Harry and his friends raised their wands toward him, except for Luna and Ronald who seemed to be wandless or too tired. Joining his pinky with the ring finger and the index with the middle one, Ned gave the standard Vulcan greeting and declared :
« I come in peace ! »
Hermione, understanding the reference, smiled a bit but didn't let her wand down :
« And why should we trust you ? We don't know you. You came out of nowhere and moreover… given your accent, you're American, aren't you ? What the hell is an American doing in the British Ministry of Magic. »
Ned Stark shrugged and decided to be truthful :
« Field testing the armor. I could have as well found a muggle battlefield but I wasn't sure about the legality of it with the Statute and stuff… » A pause, then : « I'll have to work on that. Please make a note, Mel ! »
« Another one ? » The French accented and seductive voice sounded before Ned resumed speaking.
« Anyway, as for the other questions you're probably asking yourself… Mainly how I knew what would happen here. I didn't really… » He lied through his teeth. « I've decided on keeping an eye on your scarred friend over here ever since last year's Wizard's voice special issue. Although the tone was skeptical about the return of the Dark Lord, I figured better be safe than sorry… We don't want another Grindelwald coming out of the woodwork, would we ? » Then, as if an afterthought, he added : « Even though, this Dark Lord isn't as impressive and dangerous as Grindelwald… »
He landed near them, and as Hermione lowered her wand, the others followed her lead, with Harry last. Given the wary glare, the Boy-Who-Lived was directing at him, he still didn't trust the armored figure. Ned decided on easing his worries a bit ; tapping on the left side of his neck, his helmet's face plate uncovered his face.
« You're… a kid ! » Harry exclaimed.
« First, shush ! I don't want too many people to see my face. And second, I'm not that much younger than you guys. In fact, I might be as old as some of you. I'm 15… Just so you know ! Plus, I'm a genius only seen once every thousand years so… A little respect, Scarface. »
Ignoring Potter, Ned asked :
« Would you mind assessing their status, Mel ? »
« Assessing… »
As Mel started making the report of the group's injuries, Hermione interestedly made her way to him, inspecting his armor. She inquired, curiously :
« Who's the voice and where's it coming from ? »
« That's Mel, my tech spirit… Kinda. She's something between an Artificial Intelligence and magically created spirit. She's using the speakers on the armor to communicate. »
The girl nodded and she continued :
« Is that what students at Ilvermony work on ? The armor, the… tech spirit ? »
« What's Ilvermony ? » Harry asked.
Ned was surprised since he half expected someone like Ron Weasley to act like the ignoramus, he is. As for Harry Potter, having lived among muggles his whole life and still being restricted there a part of the year, it was natural there were many things he didn't know. Still, Ned answered, shrugging his shoulders :
« I really wouldn't know. I'm a squib. »
Hermione frowned but it was Ron who reacted this time :
« No way ! We all saw you using magic ! Squibs can't use it ! That's why they're squibs ! »
With a deadpan stare at the lanky boy along with a flat voice, Ned declared :
« For one thing, I'm not really using magic : the armor is. And I decided that I wouldn't accept not being able to use magic just because I was a squib. So… » With a flourish of his arms to show his clunky attire, he added : « … I decided to acquire my own form of magic. By truly understanding what it was. Even though I'm just scratching the surface, well… » Pointing his thumb at the covered archway : « … you can see the results ! »
Neville approached and commented :
« This is pretty awesome. » Then he looked in the direction of Bellatrix' prone form on the ground. « Is she… ? »
« Just unconscious. Though from what I've read in the press, how are the authority going to detain these guys ? With the stuff happening at Azkaban, and all ? »
Luna approached and with her intense and yet strangely soothing stare, she complimented :
« You look like a knight in shining armor ! »
With a smile, Ned made a noisy bow :
« I thank thee, my fair lady ! »
On the side, Neville was clenching his fists, his jaw set : it was obvious how angry he was. Not surprising considering Bellatrix Lestrange, her husband and Croupton Jr. had tortured his parents to insanity. Ned didn't know how he'd feel if that happened to his family… And all of this, they did in the name of a lying, Hitler-like, madman. Garbage people stuck with garbage people and answered to garbage masters, he guessed.
« Your injuries aren't something I can treat… » Ned remarked. « If you can move or help those who can't, I think we shouldn't stay here. »
Just as he said that, a spell impacted not far from their position.
« As you can see, we aren't very safe, here… »
The group headed for the exit, walking for a while until they arrived at the Atrium. Ned's faceplate came down just as Voldemort's presence made itself known.
« Where is it, boy ? Where is the prophecy ? » The man with a snake-like face asked fervently.
« You wanted the Prophecy, Voldemort ? Well, it's gone ! Destroyed during the battle. Nobody heard it ! »
Ned acted immediately, trying to protect the group of teenagers, but Harry whether to distance himself since he was the Dark Lord's target or because he wanted to fight him, ran to the side. As gently as possible, Ned moved the rest of the group behind a pillar, just as Dumbledore joined them all in the Atrium.
Watching the fight unfold was… eye-opening for Ned. Because, even though he'd achieved something extremely impressive with his armor and discoveries, what a natural wizard could accomplish defied his imagination. On one hand, he felt a little despondent that he'd probably never be able to use magic as they were. He'd always need his tech and mana reactors since his body didn't possess enough magic, to put it simply. On the other hand, it renewed his resolve to always improve his technomancy, as well as gave him new ideas. For example, the water prison spell Kisame obviously copied from the old wizard, here… If he could recreate it…
And when Dumbledore brought the statues to life, or when Voldemort transfigured a spell into a snake… It made him think of Tony Stark's armors in the 3rd movie. It also made him remember of Blue Beetle and the Power Ranger's Megazord. Then, there was this Chinese MMO where you were a Mecha pilot… When you reached a certain level, you could took on a beast form or vehicle form…
« A modular armor, huh… And when I'm not using their functions, they could take a form of their own… Let's start with a guard dog ! » He muttered to himself.
He was pretty sure he heard his AI sigh after saying this…