Chapter 24

Chapter 24: Decryption Part Two.

The robed figures closed in on Harry and Clark. Harry took a deep breath, and engaged them in battle. He tried to pinpoint a weakness within them, but he found none. In fact, there was something rather unique about the magic they were giving off. He had seen weird bits of magical energy in his day, and these particular bits of magical energy were off the charts. He sent a burst of light to try and push back his enemies.

Harry dodged several attacks with expert precision. Another spell barely grazed the side of his face. He saw the dome around them. It would prevent anyone from saving them. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw both Kara and Lana trying to push their way through with all of their might. They could not get through, no matter how hard they tried. Harry could feel Kara's desperation and fury from the other side of the dome.

He had to focus on the attack, and he continued to battle. His face was cut up, blood splattered across the ground.

"Harry, if I didn't know any better, I think these things are multiplying every time we hit them," Clark said, and he emphasized his point by smashing one of the robed figures with all of the strength that he could muster. Said robed figure split in half, and sent two spells out. Harry deflected them back.

Harry gritted his teeth, and tried to push himself forward through the battle. "Yeah, Clark, I really think that might be. So do keep in mind that physical force might not help us. There's only one thing that I need to do now."

Clark paused, and was confused with what Harry said. He looked at Harry, for more confirmation.

"Stand back, Clark!" Harry yelled, and Clark did as he was told. Harry was given the space that he was needed. He closed his eyes, and hoped that this would work. Otherwise he would be back to square one, and that would not be good. A bright light engulfed him, as he called upon the full scope of his Herald of Death powers.

The robed figures were engulfed in a blinding light. Time stood still in the world around them, but not for Harry, Clark, and the robed figures. The robed figures vanished one by one into nothingness. There was one figure left, and Harry went for it, but a flash of light erupted. The backlash of magic struck Harry hard. Harry staggered from the impact. The cuts on his face remained open, and stung severely. The fact that he was injured, and tasted his own blood, was really not something he was too enthralled by. He staggered, and put a hand to his forehead.

"Harry, are they gone?" Clark yelled. "I can't see them, but there's still a weird energy signature."

Harry locked onto the energy signature. He was trying to get a reading for later use, but the strain caused him to take a few steps back. He barely remained upright. At this point, Kara flew forward towards him. He could see a frantic look in Kara's eyes, and she arrived just in time to catch Harry in her arms. Lana arrived a few seconds later, and she looked very much like she was trying to stay calm.

Clark could almost sense that she was trying very hard.

"What just happened?" Lana asked, breaking the silence.

Harry rested in his fiancée's arms. Kara brushed his hair away from his face.

"You're bleeding," Kara said, and this was a cause for concern. Harry's Herald of Death powers indicated that he could only be wounded by extremely powerful magic. He took a deep breath.

"I'm fine," Harry said.

Kara sighed. She had felt Harry's pain, which is what drove her over here. Lana felt bits and pieces of something too, but it had not been as strong and as potent as what Kara felt. The connection was like a radio that was not quite tuned for Lana, going in and out. While with Kara, she could see, smell, hear, and feel everything that Harry did should she choose to focus it in such a way. When he was in real pain, it grabbed her immediately.

"Fine, that doesn't look fine to me," Kara said in an exasperated tone of voice, but she hugged Harry tightly. She sensed Harry about ready to black out from the power he exerted.

"We would have been here sooner, but someone put up a barrier," Lana said. She seemed to be frustrated, and a bit angry that she had failed to get through in time. She turned to Clark, an almost apologetic look on her face. "We couldn't push through it. It was stronger than we were."

"It's alright Lana, you did your best" Clark said. He walked over to her. "They really just didn't want you to get through."

"Yes, they were after me," Harry said, and Kara lead him inside the house, half carrying Harry in her arms. Harry did not put up much of a scene, due to the draining bit of magic he just performed. "I'll be back on my feet after a few seconds. Don't worry; I just didn't expect to get attacked today."

Kara flew over, and grabbed Harry a glass of water. She handed it to Harry, who gulped it gratefully. She sat on the chair on Harry's other side. His wounds still looked fresh. Clark sat down beside Lana. Lana took a sight at Harry's wounds, and grimaced.

"Maybe you should get a doctor to look at that," Lana suggested.

"Yeah, a doctor wouldn't be able to fix these kind of injuries, the wounds would open themselves back up at any treatment," Harry said. Kara looked at him. Concern appeared in her brilliant blue eyes. "I'm fine, just got to rest, and I'll be up and about."

Kara shook her head. She had seen how stubborn Harry was. He refused to admit that he could ever be hurt. Even with his powers, and his durability there was always a chance for injury. And a part of her knew that even though Harry would not admit it out loud, he was concerned about what just happened. If this person could hurt him, then there was not a single person alive who could stop them.

Harry brushed his fingers against the wounds. They slowly began to close up. The wounds still stung, which was an experience that he had not felt in a while. He could feel pain if he was struck hard enough, but the pain was fleeting and with seconds. Wounds healed before they would appear. He saw the reflection of his face. There were still a few minor scratches on his face, but they would heal. The blood he spilled would be replenished.

"After all of these years, I still have the ability to attract murderous psychopaths," Harry said, breaking the silence.

"Who do you think those people were?" Lana asked.

"Not people, person, singular, there was one person who was behind this attack today," Harry added, and both Clark and Lana looked at him in confusion. "The energy signature, it was done from afar."

The question was who was capable of it. Harry knew that there were only seven wand users left in the world, not including him. There were other branches of magic out there that were capable of extremely powerful spells. That type of long distance energy projection was hardly something that he had ever gone up against.

"The figures were there, but they weren't there," Harry added.

"They felt real enough to me," Clark said, and Harry looked at him. Clark was visited with a strange thought. "There is someone who is powerful enough to send mental constructs who can do actual damage. That would explain the broken ribs."

Lana sat up straight. That was the first time she heard about Clark breaking his ribs. She knew magic was a vulnerability of his due to the chaotic and unpredictable nature of the art. Clark gave her a reassuring look, but that did not change the fact that Lana was not too happy about what happened.

"A magical person was behind this attack," Kara said, and she turned towards Harry. "You don't think…"

"That our worst nightmare has come true, and they did succeed with getting it off of the ground before that world crumbled," Harry said, and Lana and Clark both looked confused. Harry acted like they were not in the room for the moment, too distracted by his fears of what might transpire if Project: Genesis had been realized. "Why would they do it? Why now?"

"The project was dropped before, remember?" Kara asked. "And then it was picked up as a way to defeat you if they thought you got out of control."

Harry remembered, it was hard to forget. A lot of it remained a mystery, and they were only trying to fill in the blanks when they could. Clark raised an eyebrow, and turned towards Harry.

"Harry, what exactly are you and Kara talking about?"

Harry was saved from answering that question, at least for the moment, by the timely intervention of Chloe. She walked up to the door, and pushed it open.

"I was halfway up the road when I saw the light show that was going on," Chloe said, walking inside. She saw Kara, Harry, Lana, and Clark in various states of disarrays. "What happened?"

Lana chimed in with the answer. "There was someone that attacked Clark and Harry!"

Alarm flooded Chloe's face at the minute, but she took a deep breath. She tried to remain calm, and keep a cool head in the situation. "Attacked! By who? Who did it?"

"That's what we're trying to find out," Harry said. Kara stood by Harry. Both of them had a shrewd idea what was going on, but neither of them were going to say anything right yet. "The attacker sliced my face, and really did a number on Clark. We're both fine, at least I am. I can't really speak for Clark."

"I'm fine," Clark said. Lana shot him a dubious look. Clark shook his head. "The ribs healed. I know, the fact that they were broken in the first place is something that I should be concerned about. But I'll be fine."

Lana accepted that answer, for now. She was not able to get to Clark in time, and that agitated her more than anything. She realized how Clark must feel every time he was unable to save the day in time. At least Clark was still here, and breathing.

"If you're sure," Chloe said, and she saw Kara and Harry in deep thought. "You two look like you have a good idea about this entire mess."

Harry and Kara made eye contact at this point. Them explaining about the Herald of Death thing was one thing, and something that was hard enough to begin with. They were glad that that particular burden was off of their shoulders. This entire mess with the threat coming in was a particularly different threat to begin with.

"We do have a good idea, yes" Harry said. He took a deep breath. He braced himself for this fun explanation. "Years and years ago, my old world was concerned that normal people would discover magic. Technology was gaining more steam, and there was a small group of people who were concerned about it. Despite the fact that they used memory wipes quite liberally, it would only be a matter of time before the genie was out of the bottle. So the Ministry of Magic, in their infinite wisdom, launched a project that would hopefully keep the regular world from overrunning us."

Harry's expression told Chloe, Lana, and Clark all they needed to know about what Harry thought about his old government, and that particular hidden world. He took another deep breath, and continued to explain.

"When we were researching to see if the Ministry knew anything about Clark's arrival, we stumbled upon the details of what they hoped to be the means to keep their secrecy forever," Harry said to them. "Project: Genesis would ensure the full sale destruction of any non-magical person in the world and eliminate the biggest danger to their secrecy."

Clark looked absolutely flummoxed about that piece of news.

"Surely, they couldn't do that," Clark managed. "Surely that would be…"

"Looks to me they could," Chloe said. There were really no words for something like this.

"How many people would they be wiping out?" Lana asked in disgust.

Kara and Harry had figured out the grim statistics.

"Over eighty percent of the world, at least," Kara said. "And that doesn't count the wand users that would have been caught in the crossfire. The Ministry abandoned the project after the early eighties, according to the report. All initial test subjects were supposed to be destroyed."

"Supposed to, but I suspect they were kept in isolation in the Department of Mysteries and studies continued," Harry said, and he decided to elaborate for the benefit of Lana, Chloe, and Clark. "That's a magical research facility in my old world's main government. There were various studies about of the mysteries of magic being done there. Not all of them were pleasant. Some of them were working on ways to breach the barriers between life and death."

"To become immortal, then?" Chloe asked.

"Immortality comes at a price, but yes that's what they were trying to do," Harry said.

"There are fifteen immortals left in the world, at this current time," Kara chimed in. "The means they have obtained that immortality vary, but regardless of how they did it they are a danger to the world. And they aren't going to be easy to hunt down."

The dirtiest and most thankless job of being a Herald of Death was to hunt down the various immortals that were around the world. It was easier said than done. Immortals tended to be crafty, and kept several steps ahead of everyone. If they wanted to escape death, chances are that they would not go down without a fight. And they would take as many people down with them as they could.

"There have been a lot of strange things happening," Clark said. He then realized how he sounded, and amended quickly. "More so than usual, I mean."

"Tell me about it," Harry said, shaking his head. He was used to a wide variety of strangeness. "Back to Project Genesis, it was dropped in the early eighties. Then it was started back up by my Ministry in 1997. The timing of this shouldn't surprise anyone. It was started back up around the time that Voldemort took over the Ministry."

Riddle took over the Ministry. There were very obvious hints Harry found pointing to the fact that he manipulated Project: Genesis for his own gains from the sidelines. There was something that benefited him, but Harry had no idea what.

"He's gone, dead," Clark said.

"Dead, thankfully," Harry said, and he took a moment to reflect on that. "Of course, powerful men and women, what they do lives on long after their death. Whether they are good or evil. Voldemort is no exception to this rule."

Kara could tell that Voldemort even after all of these years was a tough subject for Harry to talk to. He was one of the architects of Harry's troubled life. She gave Harry an encouraging smile, and Harry pressed on.

"Project: Genesis was started back up, and the cover was it was to create a weapon to take me down, in case I became corrupted by darkness," Harry said. He took a moment to turn around. "More than likely, they wanted a way to control me. Yet, they did not understand the Pandora's Box they were opening when they created something that leads to this much destruction."

Harry was silent, and everyone seemed to be listening to him.

"They are dabbling in some powerful and twisted magic," Harry said. It was hard to even fathom the lengths some people would go for their moment of power. "Someone or something survived the death of the Wizarding World, other than me."

"Last time that happened…well we know how it turned out," Clark said.

"Sinclair," Chloe said darkly, and they all remembered the trouble that woman caused.

"Sinclair was dangerous," Harry admitted. "And she made it personal."

'More so than you could ever imagine,' Harry thought, but he shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"I believe that the beacon that was sent weeks ago was no coincidence," Harry added. "Not all of the Genesis test subjects would have turned out wrong. I believe that the Ministry took in a group of witches and wizards, and subjected them to the experiments. They were released, none the wiser to what happened."

Harry shook his head. He tried to get his mind back to the matter at hand, and not think too much about the theories that he had.

"The pieces of everything are falling together," Harry added, and he was getting closer to piecing together the insanity. "And it makes sense giving what we just intercepted."

"There is a message that we received, intercepted from the same beacon that caused havoc with our powers weeks back," Kara said, picking up from Harry. "It said the arising is coming."

Clark, Chloe, and Lana all had no idea what the arising could mean. They all shrugged.

"It sounds like it might be a problem," Lana said.

"That attack today, it could be the beginning of something else," Clark said.

"Bigger than you could ever imagine," Harry said, and Kara turned to him, checking his wounds. She smiled when she got a better look at his face. "My wounds are completely healed. There is nothing left for me to do, but to find out. It's the same force that knocked the Fortress offline. We're dealing with someone dabbling in something powerful, and worse of all dangerous."

If Project: Genesis's intended purpose had fully been realized, it would mean the end of the world as they knew it.

Harry and Kara had to stop it from happening. Their expressions were set. They had plenty of work to do.

Dixon's eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he pulled back, breathing heavily. Blood splattered down his face from his nose. His skin was chalk- white and his eyes were bloodshot. He was more than a little worse for wear with what just occurred. He took several deep breaths, and tried to shake off what happened.

He had not used these powers to this extent before. He had been kept in this place for years, and years. He had no idea who had held him here, but they were long since gone. He could feel it. He had the traveler within his grasp. The secrets to all knowledge in the universe was just about at his fingertips, but there was another force that pushed him back.

Dixon blinked, and finally found that he was able to move, although not far from the place he was. He remembered this place, and his memories were not all that fond of it. He turned around, and looked in the mirror. His head rang with a headache.

Those three fools thought that they could control him, but he still had power.

He understood the limitations of his powers, and the perils of spreading his consciousness among too many projections. He tried to do too much, too soon. He shook his head. He was unable to take a step out of the designated area.

Dixon took a deep breath, and continued to reflect on where he had gone wrong. He would get a chance to regroup, and refresh before he continued on the attack. A voice echoed through his head reminding him that the arising was at hand, and he had his role to play in the battle.

The blood flow stopped from his nose, and his injuries healed. The pain did not leave, but the actual physical injuries had vanished. Now he was one hundred percent, and ready to go.

Dixon closed his eyes, and they began to glow. He sensed that there was someone tracking him.

He would arrange a suitable reception for them. They could not prevent him from accomplishing the goals of Project: Genesis. He did not care how powerful they were, he would crush each and every one of them.

Harry and Kara returned to the Shining Light Foundation Headquarters. They were in an isolated room. Harry and Kara sat on the floor, eyes closed, legs crossed, and hands held. They went back through what happened with the attack over in their head. They had to find out who was doing it. They took a deep breath, and continued to search for it.

About twenty minutes of intense searching, Harry's eyes popped open, and he gave a small shudder.

"You felt that one too?" Kara asked him.

"Yes, I did," Harry said, and he took a deep breath. "The person behind the attack today, he's on the tapestry of life. He's a red dot, one of the fifteen."

"We should have figured that out to be the case," Kara said, and she looked at Harry. "And what's worse is that he's one of the Project Genesis rejects."

Harry nodded. They were going to have to play this one extremely carefully. The Heralds of Death were powerful, but not invincible. Certain things could hurt them, and one of those things was whatever powerful magic was used to create those solid projection beings. He locked onto the dot that it pointed it to.

"The man we're looking for is called Richard Dixon," Harry said.

"Do you know who he is?" Kara asked.

"The name doesn't ring a bell," Harry said, and he closed his eyes. "Searching for information on Richard Dixon, please tell me you have something tangible."

A moment later, Harry received the information that he needed.

"Richard Dixon was a member of an old magical family. He was an Unspeakable who worked in the Department of Mysteries. Our information indicates that he used himself as a test subject, for Project: Genesis. He was one of the three people behind that project. He has not achieved any signs of life until recently after a powerful burst of magical energy fried his brain. The experimentations have allowed him to survive with no food or water for the past twenty eight years. He is one of the fifteen undesirables that remain on Earth. Recommended course of action is termination."

Harry and Kara disconnected themselves from the Lifeline Reader. The two got up to their feet, and they had set expressions on their faces.

"We know where he is," Harry said. "He's not in the Department of Mysteries, even though he should be. Someone moved him out. He's in a church basement in Little Hangleton."

Harry turned around, and Kara followed him. They moved towards the Shining Light Foundation computers. The tracking of the beacons were up on the view screen. Harry activated it, and Kara peaked over his shoulder. She wrapped her arms around Harry, and Harry continued to shift through the tracking of the beacons.

"So, I think I found one of the other beacons," Harry said. Kara held her hand up, and offered Harry the chance to continue. "Beacon two is around the same church in Little Hangleton where we tracked Dixon. Beacon three…I'm still working on that one."

Kara and Harry knew what they had to do. The two Heralds got up to their feet, and exited down the hallway. They exited down the hallway, where Clark, Lana, and Chloe waited for them. All three of them had questioning looks on their faces.

"The guy we're dealing with is named Dixon," Kara said. "He was experimented on, and he can do energy projections that are solid and can attack."

"He's a regular one man army, then," Chloe said and both Heralds of Death nodded in confirmation.

"Yes, but the strain of spreading your consciousness that many ways isn't healthy," Harry said, and he wiped his hair away from his face. He looked forward. "He's still out there and…"

"Don't worry, we'll help take care of him," Clark said.

"If you need anything, we'll be there," Lana said.

Kara and Harry knew that this was going to be something that was going to be hard to explain to them, but they had to keep them safe. This was too dangerous for them to get involved with, if they got close enough, they would die.

"No," Kara said, and Harry nodded. "I know you're capable with your powers, but the way these powers work, the closer you get to the source, the weaker you'll get. It's not worth it."

Harry cut off the potential protests, with what he thought was a reasonable explanation. "Keep an eye out for any other problems here. If you go with us, Smallville will be left vulnerable. He knows you're here, and even if you leave, he'll destroy everything in the place. So when Dixon sends his welcoming committee, I want you to use this."

Harry handed Clark a silver stone with strange markings on it. Clark looked at it curious, and was about to ask what it was, but Harry told him immediately.

"It should repel any magical attack, once," Harry said. "Use it wisely. It will crumble once it has been used. They're hard to come by. But it should defeat Dixon, and hopefully repel any magical attackers back to the source. In theory, it should defeat them."

Harry and Kara spun around, and exited the main lab area. They left Chloe, Lana, and Clark without another word.

"They're going to try and take on something dangerous, alone," Clark said. "Maybe I should do…"

"You heard what Kara said," Lana said. She shook her head. "I'm not happy about not being able to help, but you saw what those things did. Plus, if they come back, someone has to be here to defend Smallville. Hopefully it will all be over."

Chloe said nothing, but she had a feeling that it was not going to be that easy.

An impressive church stood across from the grave site at Little Hangleton in the United Kingdom. The church had not been used in several years. This entire area was the subject of much gossip in the village. There have been cryptic whispers about what the true nature of this place was. Some whispered that it was haunted by a vengeful spirit. Even the most skeptical of people thought that something was amiss, and did not dare go there.

Two robed figures swooped down. A blonde woman and a dark haired man peered from underneath their hoods, disguised in their Herald of Death attires. Personally, Harry thought that Kara wore the robes much better than he did. They hugged around her frame snugly, emphasizing her curves. That was beside the point, however.

Harry and Kara stood forward at the edge of the gates. There was an eerie winter breeze, and they could see their breath in the air in a fine mist. Both Heralds stood forward, and they could sense a presence from deep inside the graveyard. There was an eerie presence from inside the graveyard.

"Do you feel that?" Kara asked.

"Feel it, it's causing every nerve ending in my body to tingle," Harry said. He stood absolutely focused. He was ready for battle. He took a few calm breaths, and held Kara's hand. Kara and Harry stepped forward towards the church.

Kara recognized the graveyard from Harry's memories. The last time he was there, he was tied to a tombstone. His blood was used to return Voldemort back to a physical body. She could sense some reservations coming from Harry. Kara grabbed Harry's hand, and the two floated forward. They were ready to go to battle, together, and stop this individual from causing any more harm.

Everything rumbled on the ground beneath them. Harry and Kara took a deep breath, and immediately, Kara focused sight. Harry did likewise. Both used their X-Ray vision to try and pinpoint the energy signature.

"Kara," Harry whispered in a low voice. "There's Dixon, and three other bodies here."

"That's impossible isn't it?" Kara asked, but Harry remained focused. "Are they…undesirables?"

Harry checked on that, as did Kara. They were regular mortals; at least they were for the moment. Their dots were grey, and Harry did a double take at what he saw. They were wand users. He had found three of the seven wand users that had survived the demise of the Wizarding World.

Something told him that these people might not be the friendliest sort. He and Kara communicated without words. Both could read each other's body language, and get a sense what the other needed to do. They closed their eyes, and became invisible. They slowly crept around the exterior of the church, and Kara pulled the door open. Harry and Kara stepped inside.

Harry and Kara pushed their way inside. They headed towards a set of stairs that lead down to a church basement. The two Heralds continued to press on, and walked down the steps.

Three robed figures walked around, and muttered in low voices.

"Dixon's role is going on smoothly."

"Yeah the fool seemed so easy to manipulate all of those years ago. Offer him a little bit of power, and he gave us his body like a street walker."

The three figures cackled, but they paused. One of their alarm sensor spells had gone off.

"Someone's upstairs," one of the figures said, and the others nodded. They scrambled up the stairs.

A smile spread across Harry's face. The carefully planned diversion that would draw those three away was going on without a hitch. That allowed Harry and Kara to continue to move forward. There was a large stone wall at the edge of the basement. The two Heralds stepped forward. There was a dead end, or so it seemed. After a moment, they saw a structural weakness within the wall.

The two Heralds pushed on the wall with all of the strength that they could muster. They heard a crack, and the wall crumbled to dust around them. They stood, on their guard, and saw a glass chamber before them. Animal bones covered the floor. There was no one in it.

They wondered if they had been lead here as a diversion, and the real attack was going on elsewhere. That was always possible.

"Sorry, I decided to get out and stretch my legs," a voice said. Harry and Kara slowly spun around, and saw a white haired figure. The man's skin was nearly as pale as his hair. His eyes were bloodshot, and he took a deep breath. "I know you're there. I might not be able to see you, but I can sense your thoughts. I can't make sense of them. They seem almost alien, but I know you're there."

A wave of magic shot from Dixon's hands, and Harry and Kara scattered from the attacks. An energy field appeared around Dixon. Harry and Kara propelled into the field, but ricocheted back.

There had to be a weakness. There was a weakness for any kind of magic; it was just a matter of finding it, and pinpointing it.

Harry and Kara tried to analyze it using what they knew. Another attack was tried, but they found their throats grabbed and they became visible .They struggled against some kind of invisible hand choking them.

"I remember those eyes," Dixon said when he got a good look at Harry. "You're him, aren't you? The last descendent of Lily Potter, the one who did this to me, and you will pay for what you did to me!"

"You shouldn't worry about what I'm going to do to you, but rather what I'm about to do to you," Harry said, and he and Kara broke free. They both super sped at Dixon, but he vanished into a puff of smoke.

'Damn it, he's a hologram!" Harry yelled mentally.

Several more white robed figures appeared immediately, and closed in around Harry and Kara. Kara focused on them intently, and unleashed a burst of heat vision, amplified in intensity by magic, straight at them. It caused them to spontaneously combust from the impact.

The screams of Dixon could be heard, even though they could not see the man himself. It struck Harry suddenly what they needed to do.

"You hurt the dupes, you hurt him," Harry said, and he sent several magically created, white hot knives.

They stabbed Dixon's duplicates in the ribs.

Physical attacks did not work, even at super strength. However, magic worked well. The dupes were just a numbers game. It was a matter of hitting them enough times before Dixon's control was broken.

"I don't think you understand the rules of the game," Dixon yelled. "I'm not your garden variety wizard. I've received real power. And I will not be denied. I don't need a wand to use magic, I can command magic at a deeper level than you could imagine."

Harry caused the heads of two of the duplicates to explode, and thus cause Dixon's head to ring. He then proceeded to comment in a dry manner. "Congratulations, you want a cookie?"

For reasons unknown to Harry, this comment seemed to send Dixon over the edge. He began to try and step up his attacks, making an infinite amount of duplicates to swarm Harry and Kara. The problem with this was twofold. For one, he was unable to keep track of that many doubles. And once Harry and Kara both figured out the vulnerability, that he could be hurt back through his duplicates, it was easy to amplify his own pain.

They smashed through the duplicates using their powers, and they all vanished after an intense effort. The rather dazed and injured form of Dixon dropped to the ground. His eyes bulged out, and blood splashed from his nose. Kara picked up Dixon, and slammed him against the wall hard.

"What were you up to?" Kara demanded, and Dixon twitched. He showed a bit of fear, but remained tight lipped. Kara's anger flared in her eyes. "Answer me!"

"I was trying to make the world a better place, the powerless, those Muggles, they're weak, they're worthless," Dixon said. "The traveler would protect them, so it was written. Therefore if I wiped out the traveler, than there would be nothing left to stand in his way from returning. The traveler must be sacrificed for darkness to reign supreme over the world. That's what the prophecy says. Yet, you just had to be a thorn in the side of our plans. We are not going to die. The real wizards will return, and crush everyone."

Harry stepped back.

"Who is behind this?" Harry asked.

"The arising is coming, and you can't stop it!" Dixon yelled madly. "I know who you are now Harry Potter. For years I was aware of everything, yet unable to move. You are that unremarkable and lucky wretch that meddled in the plans of the Dark Lord, and stopped him from achieving his destiny of wiping out the Muggle filth!"

"I hate to break this to you, sunshine, but Voldemort has been worm food for a good ten years or so," Harry said.

"The Dark Lord is always with us, even if his physical form has been decimated," Dixon said, and he seemed mad and beyond reason. "It is written in the stars, one day he will return and the world will be cleansed. Project Genesis is his vehicle for his grand return! He shall come!"

"Look, I'm sorry that you missed your chance to propose to Voldemort, or whatever, but he's done," Harry said. "And so are you, because you're on our list."

Dixon just offered Harry a crooked smile in response. "If this be my fate, then so be it. There will be others. I am willing to die as a martyr if it means his return will be imminent. And I'm willing to sacrifice myself. The blood will rain upon the world, Chosen One, and there's nothing you can do about it. The traveler will be sacrificed. The arising of the Dark Lord will occur. His ascension will be at hand, and the world will be cleansed!"

Tired of hearing his babbling, Harry conjured an energy scythe, and struck Dixon with it in the chest. His body seized up, and the energy overloaded him. He collapsed to the ground, and his body crumbled into ashes.

Silence was prominent for the next moment, but Kara broke it.

"One down, fourteen to go," Kara offered in an encouraging voice.

Harry nodded in agreement. He wanted to know more about three hooded individuals that they saw. Harry had the strangest feeling that they could be trouble. He knew they were among the wand wavers left in the world, but exactly what their role was, he had a feeling that it was nothing that was good.

Instantly, the three hooded figures before them. Harry and Kara stood next to them, bracing themselves for a fight.

"Well, if this isn't a blast from the past, Potter," a nasty voice from underneath one of the hoods said.

"So, we've met before?" Harry asked.

"You will pay for your meddling!" one of the men stated in a hot tempered voice, but the other two figures held him back from attacking.

Harry paused, and blinked. He proceeded to comment in a dry voice. "That doesn't necessarily narrow it down you know."

"Do not waste time with Potter," another robed figure said. "That will be the Dark Lord's pleasure to squash him like the annoyance he is once the arising has occurred."

Harry shook his head, and clenched his fists in frustration.

"Oh, so you're more of Voldemort's groupies," Kara said in a condescending voice, rolling her eyes at the thought.

"You dare speak of his name, girl!" a third Death Eater stated. It was a woman, and her voice sounded sadistic. She howled like a banshee. "Your foul tongue is not fit to speak the name of the greatest sorcerer who ever lived!"

"The greatest sorcerer that ever lived…that would be Harry," Kara said with a smug smile, proud at her future husband's magical abilities. Harry was touched by this assessment, but this set off the three Death Eaters.

"Just who are you?" Harry demanded, and they did not attack, not now.

"We are the chosen, the few who have been allowed to be spared for the grand arising for our master," one of the Death Eaters stated. "We're the Heralds of Lord Voldemort, hidden away from the world in the Department of Mysteries until we were awakened when the arising was near."

Harry was dumbstruck by this news. The more he dealt with this entire Herald of Death nonsense, the less he understood. He wondered if this was another test, just like the Sinclair thing. The Heralds of Lord Voldemort stared down the Heralds of Death. The odds were three against two, although Harry had fought worse.

The same thought hit Harry and Kara. These three knew about Project: Genesis. And they would have to take them down before they unleashed any other test subjects into the world. Dixon was what one might call a dry run.

Kara and Harry flew forward towards the Heralds of Lord Voldemort, but they stopped short when something strange happened.

They were not there. Nothing, but a blood soaked message was splattered across the wall for them to see. The Two Heralds read the short, but chilling message.

All will perish. The world will be re-written in his image. The Arising will not be stopped. It is written in the stars. Lord Voldemort will live once more!

"He's dead," Kara said quietly, but she almost looked to Harry as if she was scared that this would be verified to be contrary to what they believed.

"He's dead, yes," Harry said. He wondered who he was trying to convince of this. His head shook, and his had snapped up. Voldemort would have had to die, he had to be confident in that. He did not even have to go into the afterlife to verify this. Voldemort perished. He sighed in dismay. "However, there are fanatics out there, among the few that are left. They are willing to bring him back, if it's possible. Some people just don't know…when it's over."

After another search, it was time to return back, to check back with Clark, Lana, and Chloe to see if they were okay, and they had to deal with any problems in their absence.

"There were no problems when you two had to go off," Lana said, and she sighed. "It's really hard to swallow that I kind of got benched from this one. Especially because I just got my powers and this would have been a good test run for them."

Harry and Kara offered smiles as they sat around the kitchen table

"Well if it makes you feel any better, there's going to be plenty more chances for you to get put into life threatening situations," Harry said. A smile appeared on his face. "So you have plenty of chances to use your powers practically. This one was one of those situations that only the Heralds of Death can deal with. The power Dixon gave off was at a dangerous level."

"What was he doing?" Clark asked. "The attack seemed random, there had to be a reason."

"He was obsessed with returning a demon from my past back to life," Harry admitted with a sigh. "Voldemort, he wanted to find a way to bring him back."

"Harry defeated him all of those years ago," Kara said. "And there are a few survivors that just can't let it go."

Harry shook his head. He wondered why every time he ran across a survivor from the magical world, they always had some sort of agenda against him. Then again, when they were around and thriving, they always had it out for him. So this was nothing new. The Ministry of Magic always had their agenda, and it tended to give Harry more than his fair share of headaches. He really hoped that this was the end of his problems, but something told him it was only the beginning.

The Heralds of Voldemort was something else. He did now wonder if Voldemort heard the legend of the Herald of Death, somehow. Even if he did not believe it, Harry found it very easy to believe that Voldemort would enlist his own heralds. He had spent a lot of time cheating death, so the fact that he was able to put himself on the same level was not a surprise.

"This entire Heralds of Voldemort mess is going to be a problem," Harry said. "Even if they couldn't bring him back, that's not the point. The fact is these fanatics are going to try their hardest to resurrect him, no matter how many people get hurt. And I'm not even sure where they are now."

Tracking them down was one of their highest priorities. He had to stop them, no matter what it took. The fate of the world might depend on it, and countless innocent lives could be put in peril. Without any solid leads, that would be easier said than done.

"The terrible trio isn't making this easy on you, either of you," Chloe said. "That Dixon guy…"

"He was bent, but he was just a puppet, a tool used to lure me there," Harry told them all. "His powers gave him some form of immorality, but that was easily taken care of. I'd imagine they had a failsafe with him, and they would wipe him out just as easily if he tried anything against them. All of them talked about the arising."

"It's got to be the same arising message we picked up," Kara said, and she turned to them all. "We're sorry to cut this short, but we got a lot of work to do, and not much time to do it."

"At least you got to Dixon before he could try another attack," Lana said.

"And we didn't even get to use this," Clark said, and he held out the stone that Harry handed him. "Do you…"

"Keep it, you never know when it might come in handy," Harry said seriously. "Kara and I really don't need it with our powers, but maybe you could find some use for it. And be on your guard. Things are going to get more difficult as time goes on."

"Remember to use it wisely, because it can only be used once," Kara said. "So hang onto it, and keep it close."

Clark nodded in agreement. He would be keeping that fact in mind. He had some kind of question.

"I just have one question for you, if you don't mind," Clark said.

Harry nodded his head. "Of course Clark, have at it."

Lana knew what Clark was going to ask, so she decided to be the one to ask it.

"Did you mean to make me slightly more powerful than Clark is?" Lana asked.

Harry pondered that question for a moment. It really was not his intention to make Lana that powerful, but he was just going to roll with it for now. Sure he could correct the mistake in the charm work, and bring Lana back down to a less powerful level, but he felt that this would serve an interesting purpose.

"Well, I didn't do it on purpose, but perhaps these things happen for a reason," Harry said. "Perhaps you have a huge role in Clark's life, leading up to and beyond the moment he taps into his full powers. But, I will give you one word of warning, and a word to the wise."

Lana nodded, and Harry continued to speak to her.

"Your powers can serve you well, and can help Clark, and yourself," Harry said. "But I know better than anything else that powers can be fleeting and sometimes they are matter how powerful you might be, there is always someone out there who is stronger than you are. And thus the most powerful tool that you will have at your disposal then is the mind."

"I figured as much," Lana said. "Kara said that I have more powers, do you know…"

"Ah, Lana, that's up for you to find out," Harry said.

Kara jumped in. "If we told you, that would take away half of the fun. Plus you could try and force the powers if you knew you had the potential. That would be able to hurt yourself, or others. Just let everything flow naturally. Be patient, good things come to those that wait."

Kara offered a knowing smile. She and Harry had some decent ideas, but they would remain silent on them in case that they were wrong. Clark sat up straight in surprise.

"Wait, Lana could have powers that I don't," Clark said, and he added quickly. "I don't have a problem with that but…"

"Clark, you will be capable of great things when the time comes," Harry told him. The truth was, if his guess was right, Clark would be far more powerful than he was already when the time came to embrace his true potential. Exactly how powerful Clark would be, it remained to be seen, but with the Kryptonite vulnerability removed, he was a bit more powerful than he was the previous day, and a week from now he would be even more powerful.

"So people have been telling me," Clark said with a smile.

"People only tell you that, because it's true," Kara said. She looked at her cousin, and turned around to the others. "If that's all, we're going to be going right now."

They all exchanged their goodbyes, and left immediately.

"So do you have any ideas what other powers you might have?" Chloe asked.

"I don't know, maybe the flight, but I would think Clark would be able to do that one day," Lana said.

"Yes, one day," Clark added. "Maybe it had something to do with you being able to lift that train when I couldn't."

Lana looked thoughtful at that point. She would have to test the theory. She did not admit this to Clark, but she struggled to lift the train at first. Then she had what seemed to be a burst of adrenaline, and the train lifted up in the air. Yet she wondered if it was adrenaline or something else entirely.

She would have to test that theory out sometime. There would be plenty more opportunities to test her powers and to see what their capabilities and limits were.

That would be something else for another day.

For the past few hours, Harry and Kara tried to track down the mysterious heralds of Lord Voldemort. They had no idea who was underneath the hoods, but they presented a clear and present danger to all. When they returned to the church to get a closer look, there was no sign that anyone had ever been there this evening. The message of blood had been erased; the pod in the basement was gone. There was nothing, but dust and a few dead rats.

Once again, the more answers Harry thought he had the more questions that were raised. He sank down on the couch. Kara followed him into the room. She sat down next to Harry.

"On the bright side, only fourteen left to go," Kara said. That was one bright spin to put on everything. One of their big missions was one step closer to being completed. "The real question is, what do we do with the Heralds of Voldemort?"

"I don't know, Kara," Harry told her, and he placed his arm around her. "I thought I left this all behind me, but I should have known that there would be survivors and those survivors would not be people who are going to be friendly to me. We're uncovering the secrets of Project: Genesis. These three heralds…they might be the ultimate weapon that was hinted at."

Kara looked at Harry. She had a look of encouragement on her face, and Harry found himself inspired by it.

"We'll defeat them," Kara said, and she rested her head on Harry's shoulder. "And anything else that Project: Genesis created. He's not going to come back, not if we can help it."

"The danger is not of Voldemort coming back," Harry said. He took a deep breath, and continued. He tried to mask the dread he felt, even though Kara could sense it deep within him. "The real danger is those who think that they can bring him back. If we don't stop them…"

Harry's words trailed off. He did not have any idea what would happen, or what they would try to do. That first meeting was merely a warning, a hint of things to come. Harry wrapped his arms around Kara, and whispered in her ear.

"I'm sorry for dragging you into all of this," Harry told her, but Kara shook her head.

"No Harry, don't be sorry, never be sorry," Kara said. "I never thought something like this would be easy. But I'm in this with you, and we're in this together. We'll see this through to the end, and will take down these other heralds. Whatever they do, we'll be there, and we'll finish them off."

"The problem is finding them first," Harry said.

Kara nodded. "That's normally a problem. Even with all of our great powers, we're not perfect. They're hiding behind a charm or an enchantment somewhere."

Harry held his future wife to be close to him. Kara gave him the confidence, and the strength that he needed to go on with this mission. He had a feeling that the insanity was just hitting a fever pitch. He had someone who would be able to stand by him, and fight beside him. Kara was special, and he cherished her.

"They're somewhere, the question is where," Harry told her. He looked in Kara's eyes, with a smile. She was extremely beautiful, and he could not have asked for a better girl to be his. "As long as you're here with me, I know that I can handle anything that is thrown at me. And we'll win"

Harry yawned. Normally he did not get tired enough to yawn, at least since he obtained his powers. Still, it had been a long day, and he used some powerful magic to defeat the dupes.

"And lost in all of this is our wedding," Harry said. Their upcoming wedding got pushed to the backburner for the time. "I want to make it special; it's supposed to be the best day of our lives, and one we'll remember."

Kara's eyes met Harry's. A bright smile crossed her face. "Harry, as long as you and I are together, and we know how much that we mean to each other, that's all that matters to me."

"And you mean more to mean than life itself," Harry told her, and Kara smiled. She leaned over, and kissed Harry on the lips.

"We'll figure everything out in the morning, when our heads are clearer" Kara said. "Good night, Harry."

"Good night, Kara, I love you, always and forever," Harry replied back to her.

"I love you too," Kara said.

The two Heralds of Death crashed after the long day. Their sleep was not without too much trouble. However, their nightmares were something that they could easily work through together. As long as they had each other, then they could defeat any challenge out there. They rested on the couch in each other's arms, content smiles on their face, and secure in the love that they felt for each other.

They rested, and prepared for the next day. They would hunt down the Heralds of Lord Voldemort, and stop them to stop whatever demented plan they have for this arising.

Malfoy Manor had been abandoned years ago. Ever since the last Malfoy had died, the estate had fallen into ruin. The three robed Heralds of Lord Voldemort sat around a table in the formerly handsome dining room. Two men and one woman were the heralds, and they prepared for what would happen.

They had no sense of identity. There was not one memory in their mind from their past, if it existed. Only one thing drove them, and that was a single minded desire to bring back the Dark Lord and fulfill the objective of Project: Genesis. The three heralds sat, arms folded.

"Harry Potter lives," one of the robed figures stated.

"Not for much longer, when the Dark Lord is resurrected," the second robed figure said in monotone.

The third robed figure, the woman, continued in an insane voice. "The Dark Lord will cleanse the world of those who are unworthy. The streets will flow with the blood of those foul Muggles that still exist. Magic shall be might, and reign supreme. Harry Potter, and his companion will not be able to stop the arising."

"Not even the Traveler will be able to stop the arising," one of the male robed figures stated.

"The traveler must be sacrificed for our master to return," the woman stated, her voice sounding determined. She was the most dangerous of the three.

"And anyone who shall shelter him will suffer," one of the men stated.

The three Heralds of Lord Voldemort plotted and planned. All they knew that they would have to achieve the ultimate goal of Project: Genesis. The blood of the unworthy would flood the world, and from the ashes, a new order of magic would arise. An order their master would rule, and thrive in. Those who did not bow to him would be destroyed.

They had located something to the North, and it was great power that they must control, to be handed over to their master.

The bloodshed would begin, and all will suffer.

Winds blew throughout the Artic. Despite how cold the winter was, it was even colder at this particular point. Clark and Lana landed in a drift of snow, with a huge thud. Over the past couple of weeks, Clark had been making trips to the Fortress, to see if Jor-El had been restored from within it .However, he remained mute, and unresponsive to everything.

Lana suggested that she tag along for his latest trip. Given that she was essentially tasked with the job of keeping an eye on Clark, he decided that there would be a trip that they would have to make anyway. There was no time like the present. The pair walked into the Fortress of Solitude. Lana stepped inside, and took a look around. Her mouth remained open. It was a magnificent place.

"Hello?" Clark asked, and once again the Fortress did not come to life. He took a step forward, and saw the crystal array. Everything in the Fortress once again seemed to be intact, but there was no Jor-El at all. "Are you here?"

"Clark, I think he might be gone," Lana said gently, and she put her hand on Clark's. "Maybe he thinks that you're ready, maybe he thinks he doesn't need to help you again."

Lana might have a point, but Clark was not sure. He shifted and stared forward. He used his X-Ray vision to try and figure out of there was anything amiss. He found something, alright. It was a weird golden glow from within the Fortress itself. There was something behind it, that was suppressed, trying to break out, but it had been held back.

"Lana, take a look at this," Clark whispered. "Use your X-Ray vision."

Lana squinted her eyes, and sure enough she noticed what Clark saw.

"Is that Jor-El back there?" Lana asked him, pointing to the light behind the barrier. "Who was powerful enough to do something like this?"

Clark turned around, and tried to get a closer look. He wondered if he could help unblock Jor-El from deep within the fortress.

"We better get out of here, and get Harry," Lana said. "If it's magic, he might be able to find a way to unblock it."

Lana and Clark moved to exit the Fortress, but there was a barrier that blocked them. They tried to push out. A combined attack with their super strength could not even make a dent in the barrier.

"There's someone here," Clark whispered. He turned around, and tried to super speed through the barrier.

A loud crack echoed, and he ricocheted back. He landed on the ground with a thud. Lana stepped over to Clark, and tried to break out.

"Whoever this is, you better let us out!" Lana demanded. "This isn't funny!"

"You better let us out of here, and we might go easy on you," Clark said, and he realized how lame that sounded.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Kal-El," a voice said. It was female, and British. "I'm sorry that you had to discover what I was doing in this place, but this is for your own good. I cannot allow the Arising to occur. If I must, I will sacrifice you and Lana, along with the Fortress, to prevent it. I hope that doesn't come to that. But the ends would justify the means should I have to."

"Just who are you?" Lana asked.

"Well you might have not met me, but I daresay you know my son," the voice said, and the Fortress was engulfed with a wave of magical energy.

Both Clark and Lana were immobilized and paralyzed in a field of magic. A three dimensional image of a woman with dark red hair and green eyes, dressed in black robes stood before them.

"Just consider it, Traveler; if you had embraced your destiny years ago, this would never have happened. I do hope that you're smarter than your father was. He was rude to me when I took control. He's suffering for it now."

Magic proceeded to mask the Fortress from the outside world from any prying eyes, including Heralds of all types. Lana and Clark were trapped inside, alone, and isolated from the rest of the world.

They needed to find a way out, but how could they when they were unable to move?

Her vessel sent the beacon that was able to knock the Fortress off line, for her to take control. The girl thought that she was helping Harry. She was in a roundabout way, but not the way she thought she was.