105 Childbirth
A/N: Pat-reon: HelloDarkness07
—
Standing outside my Castle on Sanctuary in the middle of the night, I look up with a smile on my face, staring at the stars. I remember, when I was not me, when I was not Mason, I used to have a dream. I wanted to become an astronaut. I wanted to be someone who flies his own spaceship into Space.
That's why I had gone on to study Physics after High School. Unfortunately, while I was studious at first, my interest for the other subjects within Physics held me back. I loved Astrophysics, but the other branches of Physics were something I could have done without.
Especially Classical Mechanics and Electronics. I hated those two subjects. Quantum Mechanics was my second favourite subject, I remember.
Alas, nothing ever came off of it. I remained a mediocre (and sometimes worse) student, I never even got to hold my Masters Degree in my hand, and I forgot all about it once I became a Wizard.
I still held some fascination towards the stars, however, towards space. Stargazing, people call it now.
And now, I was going to walk amongst the stars. I'll be the first Wizard to go into space.
"The excitement I might have felt for it is being overshadowed by the trials hidden right around the corner." I mumble to myself, sighing and looking back down.
Sanctuary, my home for the last two thousand years. It has been flourishing, even without any input from me. Magically expanded space allowed the animals to keep growing in numbers, and so, my goal has been achieved. A safe place for Magical creatures and animals, a safe place away from humanity, even the magical kind.
A place on a planet that isn't safe for us anymore.
And now, it's up to me to find us a new place, find a new home for the Magical World. I already have a few places shortlisted for that, and this visit will just be to decide which one is most suitable for our needs.
The list was big, at first, but some places were removed from it due to one reason or another.
Mercury got dropped because it's just too close to the Sun for me to be comfortable. Spells might allow me to make the planet habitable, but maintaining those spells will be a full time task.
Mars got dropped because of its proximity to Earth, and also because the gravity is too weak. Although, the second point is non-consequential, since enchantments might allow me to change the gravitational force exerted by it. But yes, the proximity to Earth is a problem, and people might notice what I'll do leading to problems in the future.
Similarly, our moon was also deemed as not an option.
Jupiter and Saturn are gasses, but the moons were considered. Amongst them, Titan, Enceladus, and Europa were at the top of the list thanks to their Water content, and a size just perfect for our needs.
So, my list contains the three named moons, and the planet Venus.
Yes, Venus has.. issues. It's too hot, has a poisonous atmosphere, and a lot of other problems, and that's why I'm going to space. To see if there's a way to change that. And sure, it's also twice as close to Earth as Mars is, but the point is that not many people keep an eye on Venus at this point in time. So it is still a viable option.
Sighing, I close my eyes and manipulate my Kavach to cover my body, this time with a helmet included.
Kavach, my armour Relic that I created using the Magical Gold from the original Prati Kavach, Asgardian Steel that I got from the Berserker Staffs, and Magical silver, with just some parts made out of Vibranium. The chest, back and head had a Vibranium-A coating along with the legs, and my nail claws, whenever they came out, were covered with Vibranium B.
Kavach could defend me from most attacks, both magical and physical, thanks to a combination of energies flowing through it. But that wasn't important.
What is important right now, is the fact that it allowed me to stay intact in the extremely low pressures in space, as well as allow me to breathe without any issues. No matter what atmosphere I go in, I will be breathing in Oxygen, and breathing out Carbon Dioxide.
Magic, baby.
Done reminiscing, I breathe out once, and using Telekinesis, float up into the air. Slowly, I start rising upwards, my Telekinesis increasing the speed as I keep moving up. A Telekinetic barrier allowed me to face little to no air resistance, and within a minute, I find myself floating above Earth, right outside its atmosphere.
"Been here 2000 years, and this is the first time I'm floating in space. Heh, I really should have done this earlier." I whisper, looking at the majesty of our planet.
It is beautiful, and I really regret wanting to take Wizards away from here. But I'm not stupid enough to deny that Earth won't be safe for us anymore. Humanity has proven time and time again that they don't tolerate the existence of people different from them.
Muggles have hunted mutants and mages for as long as they have existed, mutants look down on muggles, mages look down on anyone not them, and they also enslaved Elves. And it's not always discrimination against others. Sometimes, it's discrimination against their own kind.
Mages discriminate against other mages, just because of their parentage. Mutants think themselves above weaker mutants, and muggles have literally enslaved other muggles and even some mages. I've seen that first hand when I was in Alexandria.
Well, what use is worrying over it now? Let's just find a new home and get this over with.
Turning towards the Sun, I smile at the white-yellow ball of fire I could see in the distance, unblinded thankfully, due to spells on my Kavach's helmet, I raise my left hand up and focusing harder than I ever have, start creating a portal in that direction, just a few million kilometers away.
Portals, as long as you can see where you want to go, or you have already been there, or you can clearly visualize it, the distance doesn't really matter. I can go from here to the furthest point in the Universe within seconds, but only if I know exactly where I want to go.
In this case, I had chosen a spot far into the distance, in the vague direction of the Sun.
Flying through the portal I create another one, even more million kilometers away. And another one, and another one.
One by one, each portal takes me millions of kilometers away from the Earth and towards the Sun, until one such exit out of the last portal, I see it.
The planet Venus, with no moon around it. Although it looked just to be a small orb for me, meaning I was still far from close to it.
A few more portals takes me nearer to the planet, until I get close enough to just fly into the atmosphere. Well, time to check the first planet out.
—
Amanda Conners, previously known as Amanda Mueller, was scared. No, not scared. Terrified. For the first time in her life, she didn't have complete confidence in what she was doing.
And the reason for that.. Nathaniel Essex, who was also known as Dr Nathan Milbury.
Until a few months ago, Nathaniel Essex was behaving as normal, being his evil scientist self, and that was normal for Amanda. For decades she had been with him, his partner in mutant experimentation, but then suddenly, he changed.
He destroyed his laboratory and clinic in New Jersey, and disappeared. People believed Nathan Milbury to have died in the experiment, but she knew otherwise. She had seen him just two days later, in the newspaper. A man named Nathan Jacobs had built a new homeless shelter, for people who find themselves without a house.
She had tried to contact him, since she was still pregnant with the child that he had experimented on, but he didn't answer.
For a month, Amanda had seen him in newspaper after newspaper, as he donated his money for.. for good! Millions after millions of dollars, spent in charities, building orphanages and schools around the world, and homeless shelters too.
The only reason he had ever done that before was so he could get prime experiment materials, but even that wasn't so fast and in such large numbers. So she knew something was up.
And then.. a month after his laboratory exploded, she heard the news. Nathan Jacobs was dead. Nathaniel Essex was dead. Only this time, she also knew that he wasn't coming back. Someone had taken over Nathaniel Essex's mind, forced him to give up everything he owns, and then killed him when he had nothing.
When he had lost everything.
And so, Amanda Connors had to disappear. She was six months pregnant when she killed her latest husband, faked her own death, and left on a Ferry to Brazil. And now, three months later, she found herself in her own house in Namibia, tired after just giving birth to her child.
The nurse was standing by the bed, her blood soaked hands held in front of her, while her new child, her son, lay beside her. Amanda was staring at it, not knowing what to do now.
Nathaniel Essex was no more, she couldn't just hand the child off to him anymore. And she didn't want the child, no. She just gave birth to him because.. she didn't know why she gave birth to the child, and why she didn't just kill it while it was inside her.
Well, it's not like this was her first child. She had lost count of how many children she had given birth to and then abandoned in Nathaniel Essex's hands. There was a reason she was called the Black Womb.
Suddenly, there's a thud, as the nurse drops down, either dead or unconscious. The sound of her dropping on the ground makes Amanda turn towards the nurse, and she widens her eyes, recognising the woman in front of her.
"Candra!" She whispers, horrified, everything now making a lot more sense.
The red clad woman, showing a lot more of her legs than what is socially acceptable, steps out of the shadows, another woman by her side. Amanda didn't recognise her, but she could tell that this second woman was far more dangerous than Candra could ever hope to be.
"Hello, Amanda. Did you really think you had managed to escape?" Candra asks, as she steps over the body of the nurse.
The second woman stops near the nurse, and Candra widens her eyes when she sees the nurse get up, and start walking out of the room, her eyes glossed over.
Something forcefully pulls her head back towards Candra, however, and she sees the blonde woman glaring at her. Amanda could feel that her wounds were healing, her strength was returning, but it was happening far too slowly to her liking.
She was immortal, had a better healing speed than most other mutants, and still, she was too weak to make a single move right now.
Too useless to do anything, Amanda watches Candra pick her son up, as she says, "So this is the child Essex had kept as his back-up. Yes, I can feel it, the Psychic imprint of Nathaniel Essex, it would have definitely allowed him to possess this child. If he was still alive that is. Pity, he never even knew what happened to the child before I killed him."
Amanda just stares, not caring for the child one bit, but with a heavy heart she realizes that yes, Nathaniel Essex was actually dead. And it seems Candra and this unknown woman had a hand in it. Essex should have known that enslaving someone like Candra, an External, would not come without consequences. And it seems the consequence was death, for him and for her.
"Is there any way I can ask for some leniency?" Amanda asks, slowly getting up, her body now strong enough for that much.
Candra just chuckles, and says, "You were a willing partner to all of Essex's deeds, Amanda. For almost two centuries you've helped him experiment on your own kind, on other Mutantur. Your punishment is most definitely your death. I would have kept you on as a slave, but you have nothing to offer me."
Amanda chuckles morosely, knowing that it was the truth. She knew her strengths, she knew the kinds of enemies she could fight, and Candra.. was not one of them. Even when Candra was under Essex's thrall Amanda only dared to taunt the External because of the servitude.
"It was a good life, I would-" Amanda begins, only for her words to get cut off mid sentence, when a spell severs her head from her shoulders, thereby killing her in a shower of blood.
The baby still resting against her bosom, Candra drops her extended hand, and turning towards her companion, she says, "Her voice annoyed me."
Her companion just looks at her, and asks, "And what about the baby? What will you do with it?"
Candra hums, staring at the child, and says, "A child born of me, and the man named Tom Riddle. I know that Essex wanted to possess this child, so he could finally have Magic of his own. I don't know yet. I know Gideon wouldn't accept him, so I guess it is better that this one dies now while he's still young."
Her companion steps forward, and says, "Why not let me have him? You couldn't possibly want to kill your first child."
Candra raises an eyebrow, and asks, "You want a child, Selene? I thought you and your lover agreed that until you find a cure for yourself, you weren't going to take a risk with raising a child. Remember Rome?"
The now named Selene sighs, and says, "Not for me. He is a Mage, you said it. And you are many things, but a mother you are not, and you definitely don't have the patience to raise a mage child. I want to give him to a couple of Mage friends of ours to raise. They're good people, and they will most definitely train your child well in using his powers."
Candra hums, thinking it over. She knew Selene was right. She isn't a mother, she never was. Never in her twelve hundred years of life has she given birth to a child, or even adopted one. She just refused it. And now, through the machinations of Nathaniel Essex, she was a mother to the child of Tom Riddle.
Then her mind went to Gideon, whom she dearly loved. Gideon was many things, and he did love her a lot, or as much as one External can love another, but he was not a father, let alone to someone who doesn't share his blood. As soon as he finds out about this little baby, Gideon will no doubt feel betrayed.
Sighing, Candra says, "It seems my relationship with Gideon has come to an end."
Selene blinks, surprised, and asks, "You're raising your child?"
Candra scoffs, and looking at her child with something akin to disgust, says, "This child is the proof of the hold Essex had on me, so no, I would sooner kill this thing than raise it. Although I would hesitate some before making the decision. But I realized that Gideon wouldn't hesitate even a second to kill what he will portray as a betrayal in our relationship. I don't want any man, not even an External, killing someone of my blood."
As Selene watches, Candra hands the baby off to her, and says, "Do with it whatever you want. I don't care much, beyond the fact that it might become an External later in life and join our ranks sooner or later. But no matter what, don't tell me what happened to it, and whom you gave it to."
Selene smiles, realizing that in her own way, Candra cared for the baby, and didn't want someone like herself to raise her. 'At least she knows her limits.' Selene thinks, with some amusement.
Taking the baby in her hands, Selene snaps her fingers, conjuring the Darkforce which destroys Amanda Mueller's body. She then says, "I don't have to remind you not to make that mistake again, now, do I?"
Candra harrumphs, and says, "I was manipulated into it, by our esteemed leader Apocalypse. No doubt he had some plans for my Heart-stone. But no, I will not be doing it again. I may be weak amongst Externals, but I will not be weakening myself furthermore. Maybe it's time for my Thief's guild to start collecting power once again, I did miss it while under his servitude."
Selene smiles, knowing that Candra would be taking this incident to heart. A man enslaved her, and it wasn't even an External. Her pride has been hurt, and now, she will try to restore it, restore her previous strength.
Nodding, Selene says, "Take care, Candra. And don't hesitate to call on us if you need help."
Candra nods, and says, "I will. Give Athreos my thanks for helping me, would you. Whenever he gets back from up there."
Selene nods, and without saying anything, disappears into her shadows, along with the baby.
The baby in question was asleep, tired from all the crying he had done after being born. A small tuft of blonde hair, reminiscent of Candra's hair, was visible on his head, and his red skin was now on its way to lightening up a bit.
As the shadows retreat from over her and her new charge, she appears outside the house of Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel, her appearance causing an elf to appear before her immediately. Looking at the Elf, she says, "Tell Nelly that I am here to have a meeting. I have a favour to ask of them."
Selene smiles when the Elf bows and disappears from the spot, knowing that the Flamels will be expecting her soon.
'Yes, if they accept, they will be the perfect parents for the child. Any child of Tom Riddle's will need a lot of love to grow old and healthy.' Selene thinks, as she starts walking towards the front door, which opens to allow her entrance.
She just hoped that the Flamels accepted the child as their own, and gave him the parenting he deserves.
—
Knocking on the large wooden doors, Selene waits for barely a few seconds before the door opens. The man who opened it nods at her, and says, "The Ancient One is waiting for you."
Thanking him, Selene walks purposefully towards the door to Tilda's office, where the bald lady sat with two cups in front of her. As soon as Selene sits down, Tilda offers her one cup, and says, "Back so soon, Selene?"
Selene takes a sip, and ignoring the small talk, she asks, "So? Did you find anything?"
Tilda sighs, and the sound of the sigh drops Selene's hopes. Tilda says, "I have been connected to the Dark Dimension for barely 600 years, Selene. And none of the methods you asked me to look over worked, in any of the timelines."
Disappointed, Selene muses, "So there's no way for someone like me, who's been connected to the Darkforce her whole life, to be separated from it."
Tilda smiles, and asks, "Separation, no. But I don't want you to lose hope, Selene. You might just learn to not be reliant on the Darkforce for your survival."
"You saw something?" Selene asks, narrowing her eyes.
Shaking her head, Tilda says, "No, as you know, the Time is very.. murky beyond 1973. In some of the timelines, your condition was cured long before 1973, but unfortunately, I couldn't see what caused it to happen. I could not see what the cure actually was."
Selene sighs, and looking up, she says, "I just wanted to do it myself, cure myself by myself."
Snorting, Tilda points out, "The last time you tried that you almost destroyed the entirety of Rome."
Selene waves her hand, and counters, "I was not in my right mind then, the Darkforce had taken over. Besides, Athreos stopped me before I could do anything too damaging."
Rome. It was a dark spot in her past, one that had almost caused her to loose Athreos forever.
She had.. stopped takin in Souls, stopped feeding the Darkforce, and unwittingly volunteered as food for the Darkforce. It consumed her mind then, turning her Berserk. Almost berserk.
A berserk Selene, in a bid to save her soul from the Darkforce reliance, had decided to attain Godhood with the sacrifice of millions of Roman souls. Thankfully, one of her slaves at the time had betrayed her, and Athreos had managed to get there in time to stop her from doing the unthinkable.
She had to absorb a dozen more souls before she got her own sanity back, and she knew that it had hurt Athreos to find those souls for her.
Tilda chuckles, and says, "Speaking of Athreos, he's been busy, hasn't he? Travelling the space. I have to say, even with the Time Stone in my possession, I did not see it coming."
Selene raises an eyebrow, and asks, "You didn't see the Wizarding World getting separated from the mundane one?"
Tilda shakes her head, and says, "Oh that, I knew, would happen. It was always inevitable. But I couldn't see how it went on. I couldn't see where, or how your husband would do it all."
Selene hums. Getting a thought, she asks, "Is there any timeline out there in which it won't happen? That Wizards and muggles stay living in one world, but it doesn't lead to war or genocide?"
Tilda just gives her a look, and asks, "What do you think?" Shaking her head, she adds, "There are some Timelines, in which Humanity has united as one, but the events that lead to it happening haven't happened in this one. Some events could happen, but it would be a travesty just allowing it to happen. So, no."
Selene sighs, "Pity."
The next few minutes, Selene and Tilda talk over inconsequential things, catching up, and before long, Selene departs for her home.
—
27th March, 1960:
The shouts of a woman could be heard all over St Mungos, as a Miracle baby was being born. A baby born to a couple in their 60s, it was not something common even within the Wizarding World.
Outside the room where the birthing was taking place, stood four women, one of whom was pacing around, while another held a baby of her own in her arms.
The one with the baby smiles at the pacing woman, and says, "Calm down, Selene. Aunt Mia will be okay, she is a strong woman, you know."
Selene glances at her for barely a second, and says, "I can't help but be nervous, Ana. I was this nervous even when you were giving birth to your little Luca. Mason loves Mia just as much as he does you three. And if anything happens to them.. I don't know what he will do."
Ana, Darla, and Dorea exchange a look, all of them amused at Selene's words. They knew that Mason was just an excuse, that Selene herself had come to see Aunt Mia as a close friend, that she cared for Mia too.
But one question went through all of their minds. "Where the hell was Mason?"
The door to the waiting room suddenly opens and the man in question rushes in, out of breath and looking tired. After giving a kiss to his wife, he smiles at the girls and asks, "Sorry for being late. How long ago did it start?"
"Three hours, she's been in labour for three hours. The screaming began just a few minutes ago." Darla answers, walking towards him.
Mason nods in thanks after hugging her, and sits down beside Ana. Ana mutely hands her two month old daughter, Luca Greengrass, to him, and says, "I really hope you're ready to tell us what you're working on soon, Mason. You can't keep being late to everything without even giving explanations."
Mason smiles, and says, "I'm sorry, Ana. You will know it soon, don't worry."
"At least he didn't miss the birth entirely this time." Darla says, as she comes to sit beside her wife, Ana. looking at little Luca smile widely at her Uncle Mason, Darla can't help but smile, as she hugs Ana sideways.
Dorea sighs, and asks, "So, when are you two planning on being parents?"
Mason looks up, startled, and sharing a glance with Selene, he opens his mouth to answer. Suddenly, however, the cries of a baby joins the cries of the woman, Euphemia Potter, and a moment later, the cries of the baby are all that's heard.
All five of the people waiting outside stare at the door to the OR, nervousness oozing from all of them. Even the baby Luca joins in, when she sees all the adults staring at the door.
And then, the door opens, letting out a doctor who smiles widely at them all. That one smile is all they need to be relieved, knowing that nothing untowards happened to both Mia, and the child.
Moving towards Mason who stands up, baby still in hand, the doctor says, "Mr Aves. No need to worry, both the mother and the child survived. Mrs Potter is currently resting, sleeping from the ordeal she just went through, and the baby is being cleaned and washed. They will be ready for visits in a few minutes."
Ana plucks her baby out of Mason's hands, allowing him to hug his wife tightly, tears leaking out of his eyes. Ana had tears of her own in her eyes, as a single thought went through all of their minds at once.
'Monty should have been here with her.'
—
A/N: The loose end that was Amanda Mueller is dead, but her baby survived. The baby was basically another try at creating a body for himself, this time the natural way. He used Amanda as a surrogate, and during the checkups, added the Psychic imprint into the baby.
It wasn't mentioned before, because he didn't think this would work, that the psychic imprint would have allowed him to possess the body and the magic within it. But only for this particular baby because of the experiments it went through during its gestation.
The baby is the child of Tom Riddle, and Candra, as you know. So, surprise! He won't be a dark lord or anything close to it. He probably won't even enter the story, but it was a way for me to kill off Amanda without basically having Selene kill a baby..
So, yeah. Another useless plot introduction and termination from me!
James Potter was born just now on 29th March 1960 and Darla and Ana became parents two months ago. Let's say, 26th January 1960. As for Tom Riddle JrJr(Not a fixed name lol), he was born on 3rd November 1959.
Mason's adventures in space will be explained in the next chapter. Just a few chapters, max 5 are remaining before the MCU arc begins. I probably won't take even 3 chapters for that, but I said 5 just to be safe.
Thank you for your patience, and your support! Tata!!
