Chapter 35: Violence and Political Jabbering in Equal Measure

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"Scott, Rogue, James, welcome to Camelot," Jean said, holding out a hand to first Scott, then Rogue and James, the other couple and the older Proudstar brother having just popped out of the door to the X-Mansion in the Hall of Doors. That door was one of several that Kitty had created over the past few months. Though this one saw near daily use, given the number of students who lived in Camelot but were preparing to go to school in Bayville or at the local college. They were led by Laynia, who had decided she wanted to become an archaeologist, of all things.

"Good to be here. It's been a while since my last visit," Scott replied, trying and failing miserably at not noticing that Jean was showing her pregnancy at this point.

"How far along are you, Jeanie?" Rogue asked, smiling widely at the redhead while gesturing down to her stomach. Jean wore a tasteful blouse over loose pants, but that only served to bring even more attention to her slightly bulging belly.

"About five months or so, and, despite all the…activity…I've been forced into over that time, Una and the other doctors agree that the twins are coming along nicely," Jean said, a fond smile on her face as one hand rested lightly on her stomach.

With her other hand she gestured for them to follow her out of the Hall of Doors. The runic array set on the door leading out into the rest of the castle flashed green, and the door opened on their approach. Both X-Men noticed that, but didn't comment. It wasn't the first time they'd witnessed it, after all.

"And um, are you… That is, are you and Harry going to have a wedding before the blessed event?" Rogue asked hesitantly. She was from the south, and, while out of wedlock pregnancies weren't unusual, in this case there didn't seem to be a reason to wait.

"Eventually, yes. We've sort of—that is, Emma, Ororo, and I—have decided to remove the planning for said event out of Harry's hands. We will be married before the due date, but everything else is still being organized. There are a lot of exterior and interior circumstances getting in the way," Jean replied, leading the way down the hallway towards the stairs and then down into the dining hall.

Both X-Men looked at their friend quizzically, but Jean didn't elaborate. While the X-Men knew how the three women were involved with Harry, she didn't think they had any idea that Hela might be joining them. And it really wasn't anyone's business but their own. But one thing Emma and Jean had discussed after Emma had reluctantly agreed that Hela was probably going to be joining them were weddings and firsts.

Ororo had been Harry's first lover. Jean would be the first to have children. That left Hela and Emma to claim a first, so to speak, even if Hela had yet to officially and completely join their relationship. Jean was pushing for Emma to be the first to officially tie the knot, but Emma was fighting back on it, saying any such wedding would have to be public. This would mean losing a lot of the advantages Emma and Harry had been manipulating particularly in the business world.

Neither of them had had the chance to talk about it with Ororo, who would have the deciding vote. That was not even mentioning how Hela would feel about it, though, given her reluctance to push forward and join them entirely, talking to her about it was possibly going to be the first thing they spoke about now that Ororo was back on her feet.

The two X-Men asked some questions about the castle as they walked, which Jean fielded until they entered the dining hall. There Piotr, Amara, and Dani were waiting with Hela and Dennis. The spymaster and Hela were talking to Emma and Sage, both of whom were taking part via video conference, something that had been set up between Magical Minds and Camelot weeks ago, though Emma's connection was much more recent.

Emma could possibly have gotten away and come in person, but, given the time difference and the fact that she had a series of meetings of her own to get to later that day, she had decided to opt out for now. The gleeful, almost bouncy air to Emma visible through the pickup told Jean and even Hela just how much she was looking forward to the day's events.

Piotr and the two girls both rose, shaking hands with the X-Men. "The gang's all here, then? Well, besides the big boss and Ororo," Amara quipped. "Good work on the Vault defense. We heard about it on the news last night, and I think everyone can say your team performed magnificently."

All three X-Men smiled at that. Too often, even in their own minds, the X-Men felt like the junior team in comparison to the Custodes, but yesterday they had proven themselves against both a team of villains that made the Sinister Six Emma had tangled with look like Boy Scouts and other high level threats. "Thank you for that," Scott said, shaking Amara's hand firmly. "It was hard as hell, but I think we did about as well as anyone could have asked."

"I'll second that sentiment, though Amara was wrong: Ororo and Harry aren't the only ones we're waiting for. Steve Rogers should be calling in to join the conversation as well," Jean said, her tone shifting to a grim one. "We are, after all, going to be possibly deciding the fate of the Avengers here among everything else we need to talk about."

"Since we have a full day ahead of us, it's best we get started, then," Harry's voice said from one of the other entrances into the dining hall. Turning, the others saw him and Ororo standing there. Harry wore a grin that would possibly need surgery to remove, while Ororo had a faint, smug, but tired smile of her own. Harry's arm was around Ororo's shoulder, one of her arms was around his waist, and both of them were practically glowing.

Jean and Hela broke off from their conversations immediately and moved toward them, while Emma smiled happily, her eyes locked on Ororo. While Jean was exchanging a hug with Harry, Ororo did the same with Hela, coupled with a very chaste kiss. "You have been dearly missed, sister, and not just by Harry," Hela said in a whisper after they broke off. "Pray, do not push yourself to that level again."

"I will try, but needs must when the devil drives," Ororo said, moving away from Harry to link arms with Hela as they led the way back to the table. She then looked up at Emma's screen, smiling at the blonde while manipulating the hard light system of the hall to pull the screen closer. "Emma, how are you doing?"

"Better now that you're up and about, love," Emma replied, holding up a hand to the screen as if to reach through it and touch Ororo's face. "Unfortunately, I have too much to do today along with an overprotective sister and security detail to get away to be there physically. Else I might just drag you back to bed for the rest of the day to show you how much I've missed you."

While nowhere near what anyone could call effusive with her emotions, Emma loved Ororo almost as much as she did Jean and Harry. And, like Harry, she had spent months in the time dilation chamber, so it had been months since she had seen Ororo. Suddenly the reasons for her not being there physically did not seem nearly so insurmountable, and Emma's predatory excitement for her day's work had just waned dramatically.

"Hmm, then perhaps we should plan a weekend getaway?" Ororo asked.

"I'd love that. But, as Shakespeare would put it, only after the hurly-burly is done," Emma replied.

Harry pulled out Jean's chair for her, and Jean smiled, sitting down to one side of him as Ororo took the other. The table was a slightly rectangular one, with the three of them sitting at the front of one of the shorter ends. They were joined by Hela, who smiled, her eyes lighting up with pride at sitting at what was obviously the head of the table. Under Jean's control, Emma's image too joined them, hovering over a spot to her other side from Harry.

The X-Men all sat down along one edge, joined by Sage's image. As they sat down, Scott nodded his head towards Harry. "I'm sorry the professor couldn't join us, but Emma Steed is going to wake up this morning, he says, and he wants to be there, just in case."

Harry nodded. "I'll ask Betsy to head over, then, to back him up. Heck, I might offer the woman a job: having another business person to shove issues off on would be good. And I think having spent months trapped in her own mind is punishment enough for whatever role she had in Selene's mad schemes."

While Emma made a quip about 'Emma B' possibly being useful, Jean telepathically passed that request on to Betsy, who was up in the Custodes tower, having a lie-in along with the rest of the team. Betsy replied in the affirmative, and Jean turned her attention back to the table.

Amara, Piotr, and Dani sat down facing the X-Men, with Dennis joining them on that side. The Fantastic Four had been invited to the meeting, but apparently had decided to have a few days of family time to get over what Reed called, "a diplomatic debacle of the highest order paired with the worst timing ever." Harry was interested in hearing what that was about, but was willing to wait for the story.

This left the side of the short rectangle facing the head of the table empty for a few minutes until Steve would call in at a time he and Jean had worked out early that morning. Harry opened his mouth, then stopped as carafes of drinks and plates of bagels and other breakfast meals appeared on the table. Smiling, he addressed the air, saying, "Thank you," to the house elves obviously in attendance, before turning his attention to the others. "All right, before Steve joins us, let's first go over everything he doesn't have an interest in about yesterday's battles. Emma, your day is the most constrained, so start us off"

Nodding, Emma gave a brief description of yesterday's fight with the Sinister Six. She mentioned the number of workers, scientists, and security men that the group had killed before the Custodes team sent to help her and Sandman had arrived. There she was interrupted by Ororo, who asked, "What about Starfire? Didn't she arrive to help too?"

"No, Cordelia and Starfire and Cordelia's guard had gone on a biking trip and were well away from any way to communicate with them, unfortunately. But it didn't really matter. Once Psylocke was on hand to explain away my assault, that was all she wrote." Emma's smile was so vindictive that more than one individual blanched, but Hela and Harry simply smiled grimly.

She went on from there, explaining what she had found in the attackers' minds and the identity of the Green Goblin, which took them all aback. Emma then explained what actions she would take against Ozcorp after this and how much of Ozcorp she would take over, and that the FBI would be moving against the company as well. This would bring her own businesses under some scrutiny, but she was prepared for that.

Harry listened silently through all of this, while Ororo and Sage asked several questions about the attackers and the business side of things respectively. When he did speak, it was to address Dennis. "Dennis, how long was the Green Goblin active for?"

"Going by the police reports we can access, he first appeared around two months ago," Dennis replied promptly, shaking his head. "Maybe add a month there before the police realized there really was a wanker going around in a Halloween costume on a ruddy hover board. Honestly, what is it about you superpowered types, hmm?"

"Hmm… I'm not happy about the fact no one had made the connection between Osborn and his alter ego. Could someone have covered it up?" Harry asked.

"Doubtful. We've traced back a lot of his activities, which involve numerous clashes with Spider-Man and very little real data besides that," Dennis replied before pausing in thought. "Hmm, far too little, actually. SHIELD, at the very least, should have been called in to investigate him as a super-powered criminal. But they weren't, so there might indeed have been some kind of cover-up, or perhaps negative assumptions…"

Harry nodded, making a note about Spider-Man. The young man hadn't yet reached out to them as Harry had hoped, but they would have to see there. "All right, but let's see if we can roll up even more of Ozcorp than you think, Emma. As the assaulted party who then subsequently found out Osborn's identity, can you officially call in Interpol on this?"

"Yes, though it would ruffle the FBI's feathers big time. Still, given Ozcorp is an international corporation, I could get away with it. Why?" Emma asked intently.

"Because Osborn's not the only business type enemy you've made. Hammer might also be linked to this so-called Sinister Six, and, like Dennis said, someone might also have been trying to keep the heat off Osborn's back. This Tombstone character, you said, is also involved with the Maggia, an international crime syndicate. Let's kill as many birds with one stone as we can, dear," Harry replied. "Remember, enriching yourself and your holdings is one thing, removing as many threats as possible at once is another."

Emma nodded, and Jean once more reached out telepathically, this time to Banshee. He was still working with the team following Mystique and Morph, but willingly gave the two telepaths some names they could contact in Interpol, which were in charge of anything connected to Maggia.

"Good. Now, Dennis, any reports from yesterday or anything else going on?" Harry asked.

"Sage will handle the initial report on the attacks on our personal holdings, but other than those and the attack by AIM, only two other items have made splashes on the world stage which we will need to watch closely, I think," Dennis said, frowning.

"The one that is most disturbing, but, unfortunately, one which we won't be able to do anything about in the short term, is that the Friends of Humanity has split. A splinter group has begun to act in America and Canada. They call themselves the Reclaimers for some reason and call for purging all mutants. They carried out an attack yesterday that saw a young mutant boy and his pregnant girlfriend both burned at the stake near Anchorage Alaska late last night."

There were more than a few blanched faces and growls of anger at that, but Dennis went on calmly despite his own inner fury. "The group is so new none of the government agencies I have access to have anything on them. When we do, we can move against them, not before."

"All right, we can't do anything without a target. Still, we'd best inform Wendy that her team could run into this group while on retrieval missions," Harry said, shaking his head sadly while looking over at Scott, who nodded. The X-Men too would be prepared. "And your second item?"

"First, Dr. Doom has killed the Red Skull," the older man said bluntly, causing a thin smile to appear on Harry's face while the others around the table reacted in various ways, all of which were positive. "The Ukraine has officially surrendered to him, and Doom has agreed to extend his various social services to include them. Russia is protesting but not moving yet. Still, the threat is there. If they wait too long, though, Doom and his troops will be in position to meet them as they cross the border. That would be a bloodbath."

"We will have to watch that and Russia closely given how the bear is flexing its muscles of late," Harry mused. "But we won't get involved unless war really breaks out, and even then only to try to keep the conflict from spilling onto the local civilians. I'm sorry, Piotr, but if your former country is the aggressor I won't lift a hand to help them."

The fact that Russia had mulishly rejected any of MM's demands for social reform yet continually pushed to be allowed access to his goods had something to do with that. The other was the simple fact that Russia looked to be going back to its old expansionist ways, which no one in their right mind wanted to see. Especially given Reed's, Doom's, and my own concerns about that one shape-shifting alien and what her presence might mean, Harry thought grimly. If it's not one thing, it's another.

Piotr nodded glumly. "I am resigned to that, tovarishch, but you might wish to speak to Father Garnoff and Nikolai. They might have stronger reactions." His lips twitched in bleak amusement. "Not Laynia, though. Her feelings on our motherland are dismissive at best, antagonistic at worst."

"I'll do that." Harry looked back at Dennis, who indicated that he was done, and Harry turned his attention to Sage. "Sage, what can you tell us about the attacks launched directly at Magical Minds?"

Before the image of Sage could respond, Hela broke in. "Before you get to that, is there any chance that the attacks on your holdings were part of the larger scale attack on SHIELD? Are we dealing with one mind able to control AIM from behind the scenes while also throwing its own forces into the field?"

"I've run an analysis, and there is only a 22 percent chance of collusion between the force behind the attacks on Magical Minds and the AIM forces which attacked SHIELD. While AIM was ready for the Custodes to get involved, they in turn were not part of the attacks on our other holdings," Sage replied promptly, looking over at Harry. "Further, the attack on Mary Jane and Paris was just what it looked like at first: a local terrorist group which tried to punch well above its weight class. We left Wyatt down there with the ladies just in case, though he has disguised himself as a regular security officer at present, his suit being in one of those magical pouches of yours."

Sage smiled at that, as did Jean, while Harry rolled his eyes, but when she continued Sage had become serious once more. "However, the attack on Magical Minds was targeted. The individual—we are assuming he was a mutant—who tried to come through the computer system and seemed to be made out of data was not there to simply get into our computer network. I have analyzed his behavior, and I believe that his main objective was either kidnapping or changed to kidnapping quickly."

Jean's eyes narrowed at that, while Harry simply frowned, as did the others around the table. "Your reasoning?"

"The individual was able to turn himself into data and move through the network with an ease that is terrifying. Only my own mutant power allowed me to fight him in the network and in the real world. His offensive technique in the real world seemed to rely wholly on grabbing his opponents. That is: touch. I would assume from that his mutant power would allow him to pull the individual he touched back into the network."

Sage licked her lips before continuing hesitantly. This was not going to go over well. "The instant Jean appeared on the scene the man turned his attention to her, despite that giving me time to press my advantage. He continually attempted to reach for her whenever she was close to a computer, ignoring me and my attempts with a single-minded devotion that tells me Jean was, in fact, his goal."

For a moment the hall was silent, then people noticed a sort of whine in the air as the stones of the castle began to vibrate along with the table and everything on it, even the chairs underneath them, as Harry's self-control slipped. "What?" Harry asked calmly.

Far, far too calmly. His eyes were now emerald stones, and his hands were tented in front of his face, giving him an almost fearsome appearance. Hela, Ororo, and Emma were not nearly as controlled in their responses. All of them simply looked utterly furious.

Sage was ever so thankful she had opted to take part in this meeting electronically, which allowed her to avoid the feel of their anger if not their glares. "That datum is solid. Further, my attempt to entrap the entity who attacked failed. Dennis and I have also definitively connected the Mutant Liberation Front with the attack on the Vault. Two of the dead Marauders were Scalphunter and Riptide, who introduced Mystique and Morph to the MLA. From the timing of the two assaults and the fact the individual was a mutant, we can, at least, infer that those two assaults were planned by the same mind."

Nodding slowly, Harry looked around at everyone around the table, regaining control of his magic with difficulty. "This Essex or Sinister—whatever his name is—has now made this personal," he said, his voice still calm, but it was the calm felt right before a supernova. "Dennis, find us a target, any target. Use as much of our resources as you possibly can to hunt him down. Get with Interpol, even contact the Mandarin. We'll find a way to access SHIELD files too; after the attack on the Vault we should be able to do that easily. Find him."

Dennis gulped, but nodded acquiescence. Ororo, Hela, and Emma all made noises of agreement, while Jean looked happy at their responses and worried at the same time.

"So, Sinister was the one who wanted to recruit from among the inmates at the Vault," Scott mused, trying to move the discussion along before Harry's control could really break. "Still, we hurt him badly if so. He lost nearly his entire team and didn't get anything out of it."

"None of the inmates escaped?" Harry asked.

"None, though not for lack of trying," Scott said grimly, as Rogue and James both nodded agreement. "We put down seven of the inmates trying to escape permanently, like Magnum, and knocked out several more. But not before the Marauders had massacred the unpowered prisoners entirely along with most of the Vault's guards and a large number of the inmates in the asylum portion."

Harry looked around at the others, but no one had any more information to give on Sinister's activities just yet. "All right, we will have to leave that for now. Until Dennis can find us a target, anyway. Next, Hela and Jean: What is the public reaction to everything that happened yesterday?"

Hela and Jean exchanged a glance around Harry and Ororo. Jean indicated that Hela should speak up first, which she did with a nod. "I have been watching the public reactions in particular, both in America and worldwide, as well as watching the American government, despite the fact that CSPAN should be considered a tool of torture. The general reaction is simple shock at this point. The examples of wyrm dung calling themselves Friends of Humanity have grasped onto Amara, Jean, and Ororo's actions as proof that mutants are too dangerous to live. However the public seem to have come down on the side of thanking their various deities for the fact that three Omega Level mutants seem to be on the side of the good guys, as many pundits put it."

Everyone smiled at that, and she went on. "The reaction of those in power is much the same in terms of their response to the Custodes. However, there are a lot of questions being asked about the origins of the Hulkbusters army. It seems as if the president is going to take the fall for this." She sneered at the mention of the so-called elected government official, having a certain level of contempt towards that institution. "The American House of Representatives has already begun impeachment procedures, citing this latest debacle as well as others which have occurred under his watch, many of which I understand you all had a hand in solving."

Hela's sneer became more pronounced as she went on, her contempt for the institution changing to a personal one. "The president has stated that he will not fight it. Worse, to my mind, his vice-president has also publicly stated that he has no wish to take his place. He believes himself not up to the job, a self-fulfilling opinion if there ever was one, though it is one the public seems to agree with. Regardless, I've no doubt that by the time we're meeting with the UN they'll both be out of power."

Here Hela looked over at Jean, who supplied the name of the third in line for president, and Hela continued. "We have also received unofficial thanks through our military contacts and, I am pleased to say, some requests for further discussion from the senators which were part of your last meeting. The next president, the House majority leader, may also be involved."

"Good. I'd love to see America join the EDF wholeheartedly after our meeting with the UN. This could be the start of that, though we'll see," Harry mused, then looked over at Jean, who checked the time. After seeing her nod, he turned his attention to the X-Men and the three Custodes. "All right. Steve should be checking in soon, but I'd like your impressions of how your teams worked together yesterday. Scott, I want your impressions in particular: How did your training help? What do you need to improve? Do you need anything more in terms of equipment?"

Scott nodded, and that discussion continued for about forty minutes before Steve called in. Captain America looked weary as he sat back in the chair of an office in the Pentagon on the other end, but still in one piece, at least. And he had been allowed access to the system, which a construction droid Reed had built had set up for him last night at Harry's direction, which was another good sign.

"Steve, glad you could join us. You look like you're in one piece still, which is a good sign. How are you and the rest of the Avengers doing?"

Steve smiled wanly. "We're all right physically, Harry. But the future of the team is very much in doubt as we feared. SHIELD is…is just gone. Utterly gone, shut down entirely, with every surviving individual in custody bar the surviving Avengers. We lost dozens of field agents. Entire teams walked into ambushes led there by their own suborned fellows. Maverick and Revenant are dead, killed by someone who looks like… Well, the footage is pointing to an old Russian super-soldier called Omega Red, but how AIM got control of that bastard, I don't know.

"SHIELD's funding has also officially been cut off," Steve went on, his voice calm despite the litany of disasters he was talking about. "Two of the councilors who held the purse strings for the agency were in on this attack. One of them, who might have been involved against their will, is dead, his brain exploded by whatever device AIM came up with to suborn SHIELD's personnel. The other died during his attempt to escape before he could be taken into custody. AIM might not have walked away, but they certainly won our little private war with this last roll of the dice."

"And the team itself?" Ororo asked.

"Avalanche has been asked to join the FBI already, so he'll land on his feet, at least. Hawkeye might retire entirely; he says he wants to look up an old girlfriend," Steve replied, allowing a real smile to appear on his drawn features before going on more seriously. "Tony and Pym are both facing charges. Tony has owned up to his part entirely, but with E as a positive example of what he was going for, I doubt the charges about developing an AI will stick. His part in the Hulkbusters army, however, will. He might be facing house arrest for a few years, but we'll see how good his lawyers are, I suppose."

"What did Pym do?" Harry asked quizzically. While he had been furious at Tony going along with Nick's paranoia, he hadn't heard that Pym had been involved in the project. He didn't particularly like the guy's general attitude, especially toward women, but he couldn't fault him for this last debacle.

"Pym was working on little mechanical creatures called nanites," Hela supplied, which Harry hadn't heard about before this. "I understand that Richards has developed some?"

Harry nodded, but looked at Steve for further information, who winced. "Actually, Henry isn't facing any issues to do with the attack, not even the nanites. Since E has them fully under control they aren't really an issue, at least not in the public eye. He is actually facing charges of harassment from several female scientists who worked for SHIELD and survived the battle. He wasn't actually, um…" Steve coughed, looking uncomfortable. "He wasn't actually trying to harass them, um, sexually, but he denigrated them and treated them very badly. Now that the secret of what they were working on is out they felt free to press charges. One of them, in particular, is saying he took credit for her work on the programming side of things."

"Yeah, Pym's a misogynist asshole," Jean supplied from her own admittedly limited experience with the man. "I'd have hated to have to work in the same building as him, let alone the same lab."

Rolling his eyes at the idiocy of some people, Harry made a throwing away gesture with one hand, distancing himself from both the man in question and that issue, while the women at the table all made angry noises with one another, and the other men tried to make themselves look small. "Moving on. How're you, Nick, and E getting on?"

"I am fine. I was just following the orders of a friend and already told everyone and their grandmother that I didn't have any idea about the existence of the Hulkbusters. Nick is going to be asked a lot of hard questions, and though he isn't under arrest, he is being kept under watch. I, I honestly have no idea what will happen to him. He screwed up by the numbers here, and, really, it was his own paranoia that caused about half the damage that occurred during his battle. However, he knows where far too many bodies are buried for anyone to want to put him away for good."

Steve sighed. He also wasn't totally certain what he felt about his old friend's recent actions either. Yes, Nick's paranoia had severed them very well a time or two, but his tunnel vision towards Harry as a threat had blinded him to the enemies already within SHIELD, turning a strength into a weakness.

After a second's silence he went on in a happier mood. "As for E, his work on the Search and Rescue team and his openness about his origin and the reasons why he's decided to mold himself after Bull Halsey have won him instant acclaim, if not acceptance."

Dennis snapped his fingers. "By the way, do you think he might be behind a very odd theft that came up on my system last night?" Steve and the others looked at the spymaster, and he chuckled. "The keel of the original Enterprise was stolen, replaced overnight with a massive spire of crystal decorated with the names of the ships that had been sunk in World War II on one side, and on the others the names of sailors who died in the Atlantic before war had officially been declared between Germany and America."

Harry burst out laughing, as did Steve. "Yeah, that's E, all right. He's definitely got a distinct personality already." He sobered some as he looked at Steve. "So, that means you and E, at least, are out of a job?"

"Oh yes. In fact, I've already talked to the President pro-tem. He wants to set up a meeting with you, but has agreed that the two of us can join the Custodes openly. I doubt we'll be 'allowed…'" Steve actually held up fingers to indicate quote marks there. "…to join the Custodes in actions that the American government can't be involved in, but we can at least serve against the Kree in the future. Until then, we're still cleaning up after this latest debacle."

Rubbing the scar on his forehead thoughtfully, Harry nodded. "Okay, let's roll with that, then. Steve, I'll send you a few dates where I'm free to meet with the pro-tem once that whole situation resolves itself. After that, I'd like to bring you in as a trainer for the Custodes, maybe as team lead in any disaster relief or anti-terrorist action that is large enough to grab our attention, as well as in any boarding actions we take against the Kree."

Steve nodded, and Harry continued. "E, however, is a resource I intend to throw at the Kree problem. I'll get him in touch with Carol, Reed, and my various engineering and science teams, see what they come up with. In fact… Pinoptes, you receiving?"

"Yes, sir. I am online," Pinoptes said, his voice coming from a nearby speaker. Since he had stepped up to help on the educational side of things, Pinoptes was routinely connected to Camelot's network even when he didn't need to be.

"Good. Send a message to your younger cousin, would you?" Harry asked. "Then organize the meetings I was just talking about. I'd like to know where E thinks he can be of most use, and I want him vetted by you and Reed, if you please."

"Understood, sir," Pinoptes said. "If I may, I would say that this E is exhibiting some eccentricities already, but nothing that is self-destructive or violent. Further interaction with humans of all types, however, will help him continue to develop his personality in a positive manner. I know that my own stability has been greatly helped by interacting with Melody, Douglas, and the others. In fact, I'd recommend Douglas be involved in the initial meeting between E, Reed, and the others in the first place."

"Do it," Harry ordered. "Steve, like I said, we'll be in touch unless you think there's anything we can do to help you right now?" When Steve shook his head, Harry nodded. "All right, then I'll let you go for now. Expect a shipment of Magical Minds medicines though: a straight donation from Harry Potter in recognition of the recent tragedy. And if any SHIELD agents have lost limbs or have been crippled, get me their contact information, and I'll have Magical Minds reach out to them."

Steve nodded, thanking Harry profusely for that, before signing off. When he was gone Harry ended the meeting, sending off the youngsters, Sage, and Emma, before looking over at Hela. "Have you found out anything more from those statue bits that I brought back yet?"

"The power in them was indeed a Blessing. Your surmise was correct there. Further, I can tell you they come from the Catholic faith," Hela replied, her pretty mouth twisted into an ugly snarl that bared quite a few teeth before she smoothed out her expression. "I know that my long term memories are not things I can truly trust, but I know the touch of that faith's anti-magic. Beyond that, I cannot tell you anything. Even now the pieces of it can cancel out my magics."

"All right. But would you say such things should be rare and prized today?" Harry asked intently, leaning forward towards the goddess.

"Yes!" Hela replied positively, a sharp nod reinforcing her point as she gave an expansive gesture with her right hand. "I would assume that few such objects still exist and would be guarded most zealously by the faithful. I can fault the Catholic faith for quite a lot, but they would not be frivolous with how they care for such gifts of their god."

"Then Dennis, I want you to see if you can find out how AIM got a hold of it. I'll look into how to somehow stop or work around the anti-magic effect tomorrow. My mutant power sure as hell didn't work, so we'll need to figure out something else. For the rest of the day, however, I think we've all earned a day off. Unless Emma calls us in for help with her mercantile assault on Ozcorp, we are done thinking deep thoughts for the day. It is time to play," Harry ordered, standing up before helping Jean to her feet as she and the others laughed.

OOOOOOO

After spending the rest of the morning with the kids, Ororo headed through to Emma's mansion to give her some support. Not in the area of business. However. Emma was well able to handle controlling the hostile takeover of what portions of Ozcorp she wanted to, moving on them while the rest of the company was being investigated.

The FBI would look at her companies, of course, while she was doing so, but actually the government would be happy to see the company under new management so quickly, since this would stop anything from impacting most of its employees, letting them retain their jobs with minimal disturbance. This would both help the employees and their investigation. That her own company's computer techs and cyber specialists would be available to help their investigation also was a point in Emma's favor.

But for all that she could handle that easily enough, Emma did like having someone nearby, a weakness that a year ago would have horrified her. The fact that she hadn't seen Ororo in months was also a salient point.

Jean came with Ororo, and the three of them had lunch together in Emma's mansion. As they sat down, Cordelia walked into the dining room and then immediately turned away, pushing the friend Angelica, in front of her. While she liked Ororo and Jean well enough, Cordelia found the African woman a tad intimidating. And, like her older sister, Cordelia found Jean's pregnancy off-putting for much the same reasons as Emma had originally.

This meant the three of them had the meal to themselves. After a round of kisses, Ororo leaned back, waiting for their food to arrive. "So, Harry has told me some of what's been going on, including the fact he and you spent several months in sped up time. Are you still suffering from headaches?"

"No, but I would not be willing to take part in that kind of thing again," Emma replied, shuddering. "The pain was getting worse the longer we were in there, and I know I wasn't the only one. I suppose you could handle it, but no nonmagical can handle being in that field, or whatever it is."

Nodding thoughtfully, Ororo paused, thinking. She wanted to ask Emma's opinion on what she and Harry had been working on. Some of what she had heard about how Harry was going about constructing his new country she was both interested in and impressed by. The amount of thought that seemed to have gone into a lot of the paperwork and the rights of the individuals she approved of. But there were aspects that she did not like at all and wanted to talk to Harry about.

That could wait until their date tonight, however. With that thought, Ororo turned her attention to something else. "Has Cordelia shown any sign of a mutant power?"

"No, not that I'm aware of. She isn't quite immune to my mental powers, though she has strong natural defenses. She is somewhat intimidated by you, by the way," Emma drawled, amused by her sister having run away a moment ago. "Not physically, of course, but Cordelia has a rather large ego, and she doesn't like how she feels rather plain while you are around."

"A big ego in a Frost; you shock me, truly," Jean drawled. "And I'd bet she has the same issues with being around me like this as you did," she quipped, gesturing down to her stomach. "Though at this point I suppose I can see your point. I haven't really started to have trouble getting around just yet, but I can see it coming all too soon. Ugh, I'm going to look like a blimp."

Chuckling as Emma raised a hand like a fencer signaling a point, Ororo reached over, gently laying her hand on Jean's stomach. She could not truly feel the lives within—neither her magical nor mutant powers could allow that, not without a spell, anyway—but she didn't need to. "You can't fool me, Jean. You're just as happy to be pregnant as I will be eventually."

"Ugh, not you too! Just look at what it does to your figure! And I hear it's painful as hell too, regardless of modern medicine," Emma said, rolling her eyes so hard it almost hurt.

"True, I'm not looking forward to that, I have to admit," Jean replied, laying a hand on top of Ororo's on her stomach. They both smiled at one another before Jean looked back over at Emma. "But there is this sense of having a little life, or, in this case, two little lives, growing within you, right beneath your heart. It's, it's an incredible feeling."

Looking over at Ororo, the redhead grinned. "I can't say your desire to have kids surprises me, Ororo, though I will warn you: If you are hankering for something, having a wizard for a beau can't be beat, but if you're just sending him out for some random food to prove his love for you or to just get him out of your hair, you need to find another way of doing it. Harry will just conjure whatever you're asking for, and it won't even have any calories to make you feel bad about it."

Ororo laughed, replying that she could very well do that herself, but then looked over to Emma. "Are you certain the idea of children doesn't interest you?"

"Very certain, yes. I hate the very idea of being pregnant, having a little parasite like that growing within me. I'm also not the most motherly of people. It's fine for some, and I know they are necessary, but I'm certainly not going to have kids of my own. Not even in vitro like the Kree apparently do when it's available." Emma shuddered, her hair swaying slightly as she shook her head decisively. "No, just no."

Exchanging a glance with Ororo, Jean said hesitantly. "Well then, you should be the first one to marry Harry, at least. They aren't entirely the same thing, of course, but at least that way… Well, we've talked about firsts before."

"And I've said before that marrying openly would force our connection into the open, would rob us of some of our advantages we've used to such good effect," Emma retorted steadily. "No, I'm happy with the idea of marrying him. In fact, I'd be ecstatic about it, but not right now."

Ororo smiled, reaching over to take Emma's hand. "You said openly. What about clandestinely? Myself, Garnoff, or even Hela could officiate a small ceremony. I was thinking about doing that for Jean and Harry too, just to make certain that the twins come into the world to a married couple. Or should that be thruple? What is the proper word for our relationship anyway?"

"Have you asked the doctors about their gender, by the way?" Emma asked in an effort to divert the conversation, her gaze going back to Jean's stomach.

"No. I want to be surprised. It doesn't matter to me either what gender they are so long as they are born healthy," Jean replied as a smile grew on her full lips. "And don't change the subject."

"Fine, but you mentioned Hela. What would her reaction be to me being the first to marry Harry? I would think that that would make her feel even more that she is coming into this relationship on the back foot. Or did we suddenly decide we didn't want her to join us?" Emma asked tartly, her lips creating a look of feminine displeasure, most certainly not a pout. "Which, while I admit to liking the woman, would be just fine by me."

Jean frowned, but Ororo chuckled, dispelling an argument before it could begin. "While I think she would be somewhat irritated, Hela has long known that she would not be the first to wed our man." Emma and Jean grinned at that, wondering if Ororo knew how smugly self-satisfied and possessive Ororo sounded when she said that. If she were a cat she could not have a more 'I just ate the canary' expression.

"She has found her own way forward, to make certain that she is bringing something to their relationship that the rest of us do not. Considering how long Hela is willing to spin out the courtship aspect of their relationship, that should come as no surprise. But on the current topic, I think Hela would be immensely touched if we asked her to officiate the wedding. It's certainly not something Hela has ever been called to do before in her place as the goddess of Niflheim."

"Really?" Emma asked, then fell silent, thinking over her interactions with the Asgardian goddess both in and out of the time chamber. "I… I can see that, at least." She huffed, glaring at her two lovers. "I'm not going to get out of this, am I?"

Jean fell silent, staring at her best friend and lover and feeling a moment of understanding wash over her. "It's not just the fact you'd be coming out into the open, is it? You're worried about the commitment. The fact that marrying Harry will make your relationship permanent, or you think that it will give him some control over you?"

Watching Emma's face close down as it rarely did these days around her lovers, Jean knew she was right. "You know that's not true Em. It's just a way of making certain that everyone around us knows that our relationship is there to stay. Yes, it'll be permanent, but if you fall out of love with Harry or us, do you really think we'd try to force you to stay? The only thing we'd do is try to figure out why and rectify things, not force you to remain with us against your will."

"And as for Harry controlling you, hah!" Ororo joined in, laughing gaily. "Outside the bedroom Harry is always willing to listen to advice and has never tried to control any of us as you seem to fear he would."

"But he isn't married to us now, is he?" Emma replied softly, looking away, hoping the food would arrive soon to give her a break from this overly emotional conversation.

"Do you think he doesn't think of us in that way already?" Jean asked just as softly, reaching over to grasp her friend's hand. "I know why you're worried about this, Emma, but you have to know that that kind of controlling thing, that's just not Harry. You can't let the memory of your parents' relationship, of how your father tried to control your entire family, make you afraid of this. Don't let Winston win this last little battle."

Emma stared at Jean, then over to Ororo who had taken her free hand in both of hers. She breathed in deeply, letting it out in a slow exhalation. "You, you're right. I'll, I'll talk to Hela about setting it up after the meeting with the UN." Sitting up straighter, she deliberately looked at the door, putting this conversation behind them. "But where is our food anyway? I have a full day ahead of me; I need my energy."

OOOOOOO

Floating in the void between dimensions got old rather quickly, Loki reflected, as he, yes, floated in a void of absolute nothingness. He had no way of telling time here, no light to see by, no target to move toward to get out of the void. Loki could control his body, move this way and that, but even his magical powers couldn't help him find a way out. Any magic that he tried simply disappeared, sucked away into the void. His voice, too, could not travel to anyone's ears. He was alone, trapped, and doomed to an eternity in endless nothing.

Loki had initially fallen into a depression, thinking that his current circumstances were what he deserved for his treachery, though he would be hard pressed to say whether he felt that way because of the treachery itself, or because said treachery hadn't worked. After he had gotten over that, Loki had tried everything he could to escape, only to be foiled at every turn. There was no escape from the void, not once you were within its environs.

Since falling into the void from the Bifrost Bridge, Loki had kept his mind sharp with difficulty. He set up a magical alarm in his own head, created his own measures of time based on his heartbeats, and rested and planned in turn. Not planned anything in particular, just planning, from pranks to a triumphant return to Asgard and everything in between.

This eternity ended abruptly when the void tore apart in a coruscation of yellow, green, and orange sparks in the form of an oval. The sudden light intruding into the darkness barely ten feet in front of Loki blinded him painfully, and he howled, reaching up and covering his eyes. By the time his eyes had recovered, a large fist had grabbed Loki by the throat, pulling him through the oval.

When he looked around again, Loki found himself in the hand of a purple-skinned alien creature, taller and broader than any Asgardian, who wore a dark blue body suit with yellow metal over it. What was visible of his body looked burned and gnarled from some old fire, most visible on his face and hands, while one arm was fitted with some kind of exoskeleton. Worse than the wounds, however, was the look in the alien's eyes, for madness sparkled there plain for anyone to see.

Yet for all of that, the being radiated power beyond anything Loki had ever felt, beyond even Odin. When he spoke, the words reverberated with power and hate in equal measure. "I have need of your service, godling."

OOOOOOO

Harry had spent the rest of the morning with Hela and the kids and the afternoon in the time chamber, researching blessings for the equivalent of a full day in two hours' worth of real time while the kids were in class. He didn't reach any conclusions about how to protect himself from further traps, and Hela didn't have any insights either. They had come up with a few ways to enhance the magic of his crysis suit, since the arrays in it seemed able to ignore the anti-magic effect, but that was all for now.

After that Jean and Ororo had both returned, leaving Emma to continue her hostile takeover of Ozcorp. The four of them spent time with the team and the other kids. Of course, Melody, Illyana, and Einzahl received a lot of their attention. Of all the kids, these were the three that seemed to have sort of been adopted, with Melody, of course, being the first and most official one, and Harry and Illyana's relationship growing out of her apprenticeship to him.

After that Ororo and Harry headed out for their date. Harry had booked them a table at a restaurant in Marseilles, France, and from there they would then fly down to Africa. This left Jean and Hela to their own devices, but they too had plans. Jean wanted to introduce Hela to science fiction and was going to take her out to a movie. Emma would join them later for drinks.

When Ororo and Harry walked into the restaurant, there was a brief susurration of noise as people noticed them, not because they were recognized but because of how they looked. Ororo was wearing a black dressing gown with a high neckline and no shoulders which hugged her figure with a long slash cut out of its left side starting from her ankle and moving up to mid-thigh. She wore her panja ring on one hand, as always, matching it now with a necklace of silver, which in turn accentuated the small silver highlights here and there on her dress. Her hair fell loosely down her back, two simple silver earrings catching the light as she turned.

Harry too wore a very good suit, one which Emma had picked out for him at one point. His cravat was red, set off against the black of his suit, and he had bronze cufflinks. But Harry had to admit he'd probably be able to fade into the background if he didn't have Ororo on his arm. "You seem to have stopped the room, Ororo. Not that I can't see it. Heh, you could make runway models run home weeping."

"Not weeping, that would spoil their makeup," Ororo said, squeezing his arm in thanks for his compliment. "And as long as they only look and gossip, I could not care less what people think."

Seconds later they were led to their table, where Harry pulled out Ororo's chair before sitting across from her. Soon they were left to their own devices, and the two made small talk for a time, while Harry threw up a series of subtle spells to keep anyone from understanding what they were talking about.

After the sommelier came around and was sent off, Ororo listened with half an ear as Harry described the latest incident in the low-key prank war between Hela and Illyana. The rest of her attention was going around in circles, trying to think up how to broach the issues she had with some of the things Harry had included, or not included, when beginning the process of creating his country.

Like any good husband-by-any-other-name, Harry spotted this and, after finishing his story, reached over to take Ororo's hand. "What's wrong, Ororo?"

Ororo smiled, shivering, not from the cold but from the tone Harry's voice took as he said her name. It was filled with such love and devotion it would make the sky weep. She had noticed that before when he spoke any of their names. Indeed, it boggled her mind at times that more people didn't realize the multiplicity of their relationship when they were in public just by how Harry said their names when they were all together. It did not occur to Ororo that she and Jean in particular were guilty of the same thing.

Shaking her head to clear it of such thoughts for now, she smiled wanly. "I do have some serious points I'd like to speak to you about, and they mostly revolve around the creation of this new nation. We've talked about the Israeli Initiative before this, and I fully agree that the idea of our own nation, particularly one geared from the get-go to be both open to mutants and humans equally and to stand as a shield against space-borne threats, makes sense."

"But you have some problems with what work we've already done on the project," Harry supplied, nodding before bringing her hand up to kiss. "Ororo, I know there's no way a single nation can make anyone happy. I knew even among my lovers that someone would be unhappy. Emma's irritated that I won't give her or even my own companies greater latitude. Hela was irritated by the idea that I wanted to bring in more companies to do the actual building and construction that had no personal loyalty to me or stake in the country other than their work."

He laughed. "Mind you, Jean didn't care one way or another; government and laws are not areas she's interested in. Still, I can't make everyone happy. I can only do what I think is right. That doesn't mean I'm not willing to change my mind, though as I've proven numerous times before. So have at it, Ororo."

Ororo laughed quietly, raising her hand to cup his face for a moment, before nodding and pulling her hand away. As nice as such touches were, they didn't match the discussion they needed to have. "First, and, in a way, the most easily solved. Why in the world did you put the right to bear arms in the initial bill of rights? I understand you also put in a requirement that every gun owner pass a safety test, but I would have thought that looking at the number of armed crimes that have occurred in America would prove that to be a bad idea."

"While I can see the point about the high number of gun-related crimes in America, I don't think that taking away the right to bear arms would be the way to solve that problem," Harry said mildly.

"Not the point, Harry," Ororo said, smacking his hand lightly for his deliberate obtuseness. "Why?"

"Two points. One, as Hela pointed out, the majority of my advisers are mutants, and powered mutants at that. While I know and you know that none of us are going to go around abusing our powers, that won't always be the case once more and more mutants are allowed into the country. Huh…" Harry paused, thinking. "We seriously need to sit down and come up with a name for it, don't we?"

Shaking his head, Harry went on before Ororo had to smack his hand again. "So the common man will need to at least believe that they have a way to protect themselves. I think that the safety instruction and the need to meet certain criteria for automatic weapons and such like will be enough in the main to keep people from abusing this right. And that is what it is, Ororo: a right, not a privilege. It can be taken away from the individual if they abuse it."

Ororo frowned. "I don't like it. I don't like the idea of owning guns being such a prominent part of the individual's rights in your new country. Still, I can understand your points. I simply want to make certain there are checks and balances on it."

From there she made a few suggestions that hadn't occurred to Harry or the others. The first was, while allowing people to bear arms, they would not allow individuals to bring in their own guns. If they did, they would be bought off the individual and then replaced with Cold Steel designed weapons of similar style. But these would be gene-locked to the individual and able to be tracked. This would keep them from being used in a crime in the future, or make hunting them down afterward easier.

Further, Ororo wanted to expand on the safety class, which Harry agreed to readily. Harry wanted everyone to know that guns could be deadly weapons. As he put it, "I came from a world where everyone was armed, Ororo, but only a very few out of the total population really understood that or knew how to use their wands properly."

"Really? If I were Emma or Hela I would be all over that line, Harry," Ororo replied, rather pleased with how easily this portion of the conversation had gone.

By the time they were finished talking about that the food had arrived, and they fell silent, enjoying their lamb and braised duck. After a few bites, though, Harry looked over at Ororo and sighed. "Okay, and now for the rest."

"You know me too well, my Harry," Ororo replied with a faint smile before becoming serious. "I have a major problem with your stance on there being no Dole, no provision for those who don't work. I understand where Hela's position came from and even Emma's: both of them are looking at it through the lenses of their own interests, in Emma's case, and society, in Hela's. But a good government, one which serves its constituents even if, as in this case, it is not wholly answerable to them, needs to make allowances for those who do not work. Not those who will not but those who cannot. You make allowances for people who are injured in the work place, but not enough for those who have existing issues or dependents beyond the college age."

Taking a bite from her duck, Ororo paused as she chewed, then began to give examples of people who would need government aid: people who were sick or had crippling diabetes or psychological issues, keeping them from the workplace. "Initially, I agree that those issues probably won't crop up save in the families of workers wishing to emigrate. But our magic cannot fix everything, and it is best to have the system in place before you need it."

Here they truly got into an argument. Harry did not like the idea of the government providing for such people. It went against his principle of keeping the government as small as possible. At least initially he would also be the largest employer. That gave him too much power in the day to day lives of his citizens already. He also didn't want to confuse the tax codes more than absolutely necessary. Harry understood that there would be people who needed help in terms of money, medicine, or other things eventually, but he did not want the government to be the one providing it.

Frowning, Ororo leaned back in her chair, looking at Harry closely. "There is more to your refusal than just a wish to keep the government as small as possible, or perhaps there is more to why you want to do so. I know why you left your old world behind, Harry, but what about its government has bothered you so much you don't want to have a welfare section for your own?Surely not how they villainized and lionized you in turn."

Harry finished his current bite for a moment, then held up his fork as if it was a wand, waving it in the air for a second before spearing another bit of lamb. "It sort of goes back to how I said I came from an armed society, but one which didn't actually acknowledge that. Every witch and wizard had a wand. Wvery witch and wizard could have defended themselves. Instead, only a bare handful tried. And it wasn't a lack of knowledge, not totally, but a lack of will."

Taking another bite, he chewed before swallowing and going on, his tone almost whimsical. "Nearly everyone believed the ministry was run badly; people in the pubs or on the streets were always complaining about it. But they never did anything about it, never took matters into their own hands. Here they were, armed with a deadly weapon, yet when trouble came up the first thought was to shout for the Aurors. When Voldemort came back and started his war again, no one believed me because the ministry told them I was wrong.

"The Ministry, as moribund and stupid as it was, dominated their lives so much! Transportation was looked after by the ministry in various ways. Every small skill in magic needed to be registered. Every family had someone working there, more often more than one. It was the largest employer by a monstrous margin, and the taxes were commensurately large. And whenever a new problem came up, it was always, 'regulate this,' 'mandate that,' 'create a new committee,' 'let the ministry handle it, that's what it's there for.' Don't do it yourself; don't look after your own family; let the ministry do it for you. Hell, let it do your thinking for you! Far too many damn people did just that."

Harry broke off before gulping his cup of wine down in a way that would have horrified any wine snob given the age of the wine in question. But Ororo was the only one able to notice thanks to his privacy spells, and she simply looked on compassionately, knowing that this was something Harry had to get off his chest.

"I look back on that, I look at the amount of power I could have over my citizens, and it worries me; it worries me a lot. I do not want to herd sheep. I want to lead men and women who can make their own way and look after their own affairs," Harry finished, his tone weary but determined.

The two of them continued to eat in silence, Ororo letting the silence linger and the emotion to drain out of the atmosphere before she spoke. "I think you are projecting, Harry, taking your concerns about having too much government too far. Is your government ever going to be in a position to control the news everyone sees?"

When Harry shook his head, she went on. "Is it ever going to regulate every problem away? Decide acts which are not actually permitted are wrong and, as your world put it, Dark?"

Again, Harry shook his head. "Are you ever liable to hire or allow any individual who would abuse their power to remain in power in your government?"

Harry's head moved in a negative manner for a third time, and Ororo reached over, taking his hands in hers, her panja ring jingling, catching his attention and bringing a smile to his face to match her own. "Then do not project your fears, your anger at the past onto the future. Do not let people suffer because you see only the problems of the past, rather than the now."

Staring down at their joined hands, Harry remained silent for a few moments before he sighed. "All right. I, I can't say I see the need to talk about a welfare system right now, and I still don't think it needs to be part of the government. But what if we put in place an entirely new company, a non-profit organization that can handle gathering money and sharing it out with those that need it? One that would be utterly separate from the government and my own companies?"

"That will do for now, but we will need to come back to this in the centuries to come," Ororo said, chuckling as she said the words, knowing this to be true. While she might not live as long as Harry, Hela, or Jean would, her own internal magical power would allow her to age very, very slowly. She also knew that this was as far as she was going to get on this issue with Harry right now, and had no wish to ruin their night by pressing matters.

Laughing in turn, Harry changed the subject, asking, "So, did Jean fill you in on what we've been doing out in space?"

After a very pleasant dinner, the two of them exited the restaurant, swiftly heading to where Harry had parked his Huayra. There were five local youths scattered in the shadows around it, victims of the Hauyra's magical defenses, but Ororo and Harry ignored them. They would recover in time.

For about two hours Harry drove them along the highways of France, then into Italy. Soon after that, they pulled off the road, and Harry shrunk his car, pocketing it quickly before looking at Ororo. "After you, milady."

Ororo laughed, then concentrated, waving her hand at her dress and transforming it into a replica of her normal Custodes suit, sans the magical and material defenses. Leaning forward, she captured Harry in searing kiss. Then, before he could deepen it, she leaped into the air, her laughter dopplering behind her.

Chuckling quietly, Harry leaped after her, the runes on his back activating automatically. The two of them zoomed through the air, invisible to all but one another, playing tag as if they were children for a time until they were deep into Africa. There they began to move towards the ruins they had found several months back which had the likenesses of Ororo's ancestors scattered here and there upon them.

What they found was not what they had left behind, however. Where before the city had been barely visible from the air, hidden amongst with the overgrowth and trees, there were now several areas which had been somehow cleared of plant life.

Sharing a glance, Ororo and Harry broke apart, moving above the ancient city, their magical and physical senses extended. Harry's eyes began to glow, both with mage sight and a spell which shifted his eyes into that of an owl, to better look for threats. Yet after a few moments their search came up negative, and Ororo had noticed something.

Gesturing for Harry to join her, she pointed down at one of the areas. "Look. Each of the cleared areas is around one of those small plinths. That looks to be the only connection between them…"

"I noticed another connection, actually. I think I found the center of whatever is going on," Harry replied, leading the way to the center. There they found one of the walls which they had found on their first sojourn here, the one which had a carving that looked like it had been done to venerate one of Ororo's ancestors.

Hovering over it, the two of them once more let their magical senses roam over the area. "There's some kind of slowly fading spell here, powered by a ley line," Ororo murmured. "I can't tell what it is for, however. Harry?"

"Hmmm. I can't find the ley line like you did, love. It must be a very weak one. As for the spell, part of it's a preservation spell, hence why the plants have been removed in some fashion. As for the rest, I think, maybe…some kind of memory spell? It feels almost like a pensieve but not quite."

"It's not harmful or dangerous, whatever it is," Ororo replied definitively. When Harry looked at her, she gestured around. "I've been feeling a sense of welcome since we arrived here. It is faint, but it is there. I think our last visit somehow activated the spell, and it is slowly clearing the city. There are many more of those plinths past the already cleared areas, after all."

"And, once they all reactivate, they'll slowly link up, and the preservation spell will remove the rest of the jungle growth. I can understand that. I'm just wondering, why?" Harry mused.

"There might not have been a goal or reason behind the preservation spell, love. Remember, this city was a capital of a magic-based society led by my ancestors. Surely the idea of the city having a spell to keep itself clean and livable isn't so bizarre?" Ororo asked, before frowning. "As for the pensieve, that is a puzzle."