Chapter 27

Chapter 27: Keys Part Two.

Harry and Kara appeared in a flash of light outside of an imposing building. Immediately, they felt the taint of residual magical energy in the air. It was the type of magic that seemed to be dormant most of the time. Yet it was only triggered under the biggest circumstances. Both Harry and Kara stood, arms crossed, and focused expressions on their faces.

Getting the keys would be the easy part. They understood that. Patricia Swann was put into hiding, at least until the heat died down. Harry and Kara arranged to leave a false trail that would have Lex running around in circles.

Now they could focus on getting their hands on the information that the Veritas Society died for the most part over. The keys would only be a part of what they needed. Given that there were magical members of the society, Harry speculated that they would know better than anyone else about the means where locks and doors could be circumstances.

The two studied what was in front of them.

They had to get this done quickly, and hopefully out of the way. They were a month away from a rare astrological event. This event would cause their Herald of Death powers to be only at ten percent of their capacity, and it would take longer to recharge themselves. The event only happened every ten thousand years, thankfully.

They could worry about that later. Right now, they had a job to do.

Harry was the first to speak. "We better be careful. If there were magical members of the Veritas Society, it stands to reason that someone would have put up some magical defenses. We can't just dart in, stun any guards, and dart out with the box like we hoped we could."

He stood back, and began scanning the area. There was a tense moment before they truly knew. It seemed like any active magic would trigger the defenses in the area. Harry shook his head, and took a step forward.

"We might as well trigger what is here, and deal with it," Kara said, and Harry gave her a questioning expression. The blonde Kryptonian shrugged. "The longer we stand here and wait, the more of a chance some could figure out we're gone. And they could get here, and we'd be back to square one. We should get that safe deposit box out of here."

"And the fastest way to do is to trigger any defenses from around this area," Harry said, and Kara nodded. The two Heralds of Death stood, and were ready. They took a step forward, knowing that if they went any further, it would be triggered.

Going in at super speed would just bounce them back. Apparating in just sent them slightly outside the barrier. Just walking in, and trying to move their worth seemed to be the most logical idea. And that's what Harry and Kara did. They took a few more steps, and a calm expression crossed their faces.

Time stood still as the Heralds of Death held their collective breath.

The ground began to rumble beneath them. Harry wondered what they had to deal with. The Lovegoods might not have put any nasty surprises there for them to deal with. The Greengrasses on the other hand, they had been notorious for fighting rather dirty when the circumstances dictated it. The ground continued to rock, and shift, and rumble before it crumbled, and several hands shot from the ground.

"What are those things?" Kara asked with a frown.

Harry studied them, before her gave them his answer.

"Guardian trolls," Harry told her, and he paused. "With a few upgrades as it turns out, both in power and intelligence."

They were against several large creatures that stood before them. The creatures stalked the Heralds of Death. They gave a mighty growl.

"The secrets of the traveler must be preserved," one of the guardians said in a low voice.

A troll's skin was rather thick, but heat vision seemed to cause it a great deal of agony. The troll yelled in pain, and Harry blasted the trolls with everything he had. They seemed to have some kind of healing factor, which Kara picked up on straight away.

"We're going to have to fight smart in this one," Kara whispered, and she dodged again. She tried to get the guardian trolls to chase her one way. Harry tried to divert them the other way.

Getting them away from this area seemed to be the key to this battle. The problem was the way the charm work was done; Harry was going to have to find a way to break their conditioning. They always seemed to not stray too far from the doors, and had blocked them with their massive girth. Kara slammed hard into one of the trolls, knocking him out with a kick. The creature did a kip up, and was back on his feet.

The charms they put up hopefully would keep anyone from seeing what was going on. Still, Kara and Harry intended to dispense with their foes quickly not to give them a chance.

The creatures continued to surround Harry and Kara. The two Heralds of Death proceeded to fight them, hammering their enemies with everything they had. The skin of the trolls was thick, and hard to penetrate. Yet they managed to get in a few good licks in on the creatures. With a deep breath, Harry analyzed the situation.

"Kara, lure him over this way!" Harry called.

Kara did as she was told. The troll lumbered over towards her. It blasted an energy attack from its hand. That was a skill that was not typical to these lumbering, and often stupid creatures. However, Harry lured it into a trap. Thick ropes wrapped around his massive ankles and arms, and immediately he fell down to the ground. Kara blasted an intense burst of heat vision to further injure them, and the guardian was buried down to the ground.

The two Heralds of Death exchanged a look that only meant one thing. One down, a couple dozen or more so were left to go. Harry and Kara joined hands, and closed their eyes. They blasted at two of the trolls at supersonic speed. A loud concussive blast had knocked the troll back. He flew hard and Harry opened a rift in time and space, to deposit the troll elsewhere.

A troll tried to lift up a huge rock, and rush Harry and Kara to smash it. Kara elbowed the troll, and flung him into one of his brothers. Or maybe it was a sister; it was hard to tell with trolls. The two let a tandem blast of heat vision that incinerated one of the nastier creatures. The other trolls felt the pain, and Harry and Kara both realized that they could exploit this little flaw to their advantage.

"Let's keep it up," Harry told her, and Kara nodded. Their teamwork was able to defeat the guardians of this place one by one.

Harry had no idea why they would use trolls. Then again, perhaps it was just a distraction for another defense later on. He did wonder if there would be different defenses activated if he was a Muggle trying to breach the defenses of the temple.

That was food for thought, and something he would have to ponder once they dealt with this situation.

'The only thing they really have against us is the numbers game,' Harry thought. 'Which, that's a pretty good thing to have on your side. If only we had that third herald, wherever she is, whoever she is, we'd be able to handle this battle a lot better."

There was no time to worry about that right now. They had to make do with the resources they had. Kara and Harry both blasted through the trolls. Harry privately thought that Clark should be thanking him for all that he was doing. It was taxing to keep the secrets that could destroy him out of the hands of people that would in fact destroy him.

The battle raged on, and Harry and Kara cut the numbers at least in half. Of course, that meant that they were only halfway to go.

Lionel tapped his pen over and over again sitting behind his desk. The conversation with Harry Potter had given him much to think about. Before he could plan what he was going to do next, he could hear footsteps from outside of his office. The office door swung open, and Lex entered the office. He walked forward with a purpose, and Lionel remained calm and collected.

"Lex, what do I owe this pleasure?" Lionel asked in a collected tone of voice.

Lex spoke without any preamble. "I don't know how you do it. Keep secrets for yourself, when the information could mean life or death for the human race."

Lionel stared down his son, not even blinking.

"I'm afraid you're going to have to be more specific of what you're accusing me of," Lionel said in a crisp voice. He folded his hands, and looked up at his son. One could cut the tension with a knife. "Well, I'm waiting."

"Veritas, the Traveler, a society where every single member has died with the exception of you," Lex said calmly. "Everything is clearer to me now than ever before. What game did you think that you were playing?"

"Lex, you're confused, and you obviously have no idea the depths of what you're trying to unearth," Lionel said. He remained calm and unapologetic. "Don't concern yourself with the traveler; it's not something you must worry about. I wanted to keep you from this as much as I can, but you keep trying to force the issue."

"I force the issue because you're putting humanity in danger because of your games," Lex replied. His voice rose, and he stared at his father with a challenging expression. "Who is to save this traveler is not someone who is dangerous, and could conquer us all?"

"I can assure you that he has no aspirations to that extent," Lionel said.

There was a long moment of silence. Everything slowly clicked one little bit at a time. Lex's head turned towards Lionel. An accusation danced in his eyes, and it was on the tip of his tongue. He remained rather cool and collected in the face of this, but he could not resist opening his mouth.

The accusation lingered on his tongue for only a moment before he spit it out.

"You know who it is. You know the identity of the traveler."

Lionel remained silent. His body language offered no movement, and there was no hint to what he was truly thinking. He reached over, and shuffled through papers.

He continued this motion. Making his son wait, and stew was something that he gained a slight measure of pleasure of.

"Knowledge is power," Lionel offered Lex. His next statement contained a warning. "But a little bit of knowledge can be a dangerous thing. And knowing too much can kill you."

Lex tapped on the side of the desk, and stared down his father. Years and years of tension between father and son boiled over to this very moment.

"Tell me," Lex said to him in his most dangerous voice, and Lionel got up to his feet. His stare was in Lex's eyes. He had a feeling that his son was a desperate man, about to do something extremely desperate and potentially stupid.

A smile shifted across Lionel's face. "You don't even know what has been underneath your nose this entire time. When you have been checkmated, and when someone has outmaneuvered you. Even if I did tell you about the Traveler, you've already lost. Just concede defeat, you might live longer."

"What are you talking about?" Lex demanded.

Lionel had the air of someone who was holding onto the secrets of the universe. It was beginning to agitate Lex. Lex fingered the inside of his jacket.

"If you haven't figured it out, then I'm not going to help you," Lionel said. And his gaze focused on Lex. It was unblinking, and fearless. He saw Lex reach towards the inner pocket on his jacket. "Are you going to kill me Lex? You don't even know who is more dangerous. Someone who is willing to kill to unearth the secrets of the universe, or a person who is willing to die to protect said secrets."

A humorless expression spread across Lex's face.

"Let's find out," Lex said darkly.

Before Lex could make his move, the windows behind Lionel shattered in an explosion of bullets. Glass was sent in every single direction, and a bullet was put in the back of Lionel's head. Lionel dropped to the ground, blood oozing from the back of his head. Another bullet just narrowly missed Lex, and he threw himself on the ground. He crawled around, and reached for the intercom to call security.

"Help, my father's been shot, and someone just tried to stop me," Lex said. He closed his eyes, and poked his head up. He chanced a look outside of the window.

He saw a man in a trench coat run across the street. Security stepped in and helped Lex to his feet. Half of them held Lex up, and the couple other security guards checked on Lionel. Blood flowed freely on the floor.

"Your father isn't breathing, sir."

"Never mind him, I have to find out who did this, before it's too late," Lex said.

Someone wanted to kill both Luthors. Given the number of rivals they had made on a business level and personal level, narrowing down a list was not going to be easy. Lex was covered by his bodyguards, and raced downstairs. He was pushed forward by adrenaline and determination. He pushed open the doors, and faced his father's attacker. The man in a trench coat stood across the street, and the gun was in his hand.

"Who are you?' Lex demanded. "Why did you do this?"

"The traveler is not yours, Lex Luthor," the man said. Something rather peculiar had struck Lex when he said this. The man had spoken in a female's voice, with a British accent. The bodyguards moved in, and shot the man out of self-defense when he took a step towards Lex Luthor.

Lex found himself at a loss to figure out what happened. He shook his head, and the man dropped to the ground. Lex placed his hand on the fallen man, and he felt a warmth course through his hand. He thought nothing of it; his subconscious told him that it was just a figment of his imagination.

He could have sworn that his eyes were green a moment ago, but now that they were brown. Blood currently oozed out of the mouth of the man on the ground.

His phone rang. For a lack of anything else better to do, Lex answered it immediately.

"Hello," Lex said, adopting a business like tone. The police were down the street. "Yes, yes, you found something. Get my jet ready, and get me over there immediately. I'll meet you in twenty minutes."

The police and the EMTs arrived. Lex could feel that it was much too late for anything to help his father. The sniper was also something that Lex was confused by. There were just too many questions, and not enough answers for his liking.

He inclined his head for a moment, and remained silent. It was unfortunate what happened, but not unexpected. The most bittersweet thing was that this happened to his father before Lex could get answers.

And a part of him was let down by the fact that he had not had the pleasure of killing his father himself.

Lana sat her legs crossed, with a feather in front of her. She realized how stupid this might look, but the moment she could consciously move this object with her mind, she could move larger objects with her mind. It stood to reason that if she should do it through a burst of adrenaline, or emotion, she would be able to do it on purpose.

"So, any progress?"

Lana turned around, and saw Clark waiting for her with a smile. She realized that the time had passed by them.

"I could have sworn I got it to move an inch, but before I could get a closer look, it dropped down," Lana said.

"Well Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither is mastering powers," Clark said in an encouraging voice. "You know your powers are like a switch. It's just finding the right way to turn it on. You pretty much got the other powers. There were some snags, but you got it."

Lana nodded. She squinted her eyes. All she accomplished was memorizing the feather. There had to be something else to this. Some minor, yet crucial, detail she was missing. Something that she was missing .She racked her brain trying to figure out what she was doing wrong.

Then it struck her immediately. She was trying too hard. It was something that both Harry and Kara told her. She had to let it flow naturally. The real key to mastering her powers was just letting them come naturally, and not trying to force the issue. The flight came natural, the X-Ray vision, the heat vision, the super speed, the super breath, and every single one of the other powers.

So she tried to relax a little bit. She took a deep breath.

"Lana, I think it moved," Clark said, and sure enough the feather hovered a couple of inches off of the table. Lana trained her gaze on the feather, and it hovered higher and higher into the air. She let out the breath she held, and it dropped onto the table. "You did…"

"I was trying to guide it so it landed where it started, but my aim was off," Lana said. She tried once again, and focused completely on the feather. A number of seconds passed, and Lana took a couple of deep breaths.

The feather rotated in mid-air. Lana guided it down properly. Then she tried for another object, a pillow. Sure enough, she managed to get this one a little quicker. This was a lot easier. She tried not to strain herself, but now she was at the races. All she had to do was focus on the task at hand, and do it. A book seemed to the next logical step on the list.

She did this as well. The book dropped down, a bit crooked. She tried again, and this time it was a perfect landing.

Lana thought that a table would be the next logical step. Before she could move on, a knock on the door had broken her concentration. Thankfully, she did not have to move from her space, where Clark rushed over to the door immediately. He opened it, and saw Chloe on the other side. She looked uncharacteristically serious.

"What is it Chloe?" Clark asked, and Lana scrambled up to her feet as well, equally curious.

"Clark, did you hear about what happened? Lionel Luthor has been shot."

Lana's concentration was completely on what Chloe right now, and Clark's mouth was wide open. He looked positively dumbstruck.

"The news reports are saying that he's dead," Chloe added.

"What…how…how did that happen?" Lana asked. She was not shedding tears for Lionel Luthor. At the same time, the fact that he was shot was something that she wanted to find out the details. Killing someone like Lionel would mean that they were able to get past security.

Chloe was prompt to answer.

"There was a sniper that shot him. They also took a shot at Lex, but Lex's security apparently gunned him down. Lex is remaining tight lipped about the entire subject."

"Or he's the one who did it," Lana said.

Clark was not one hundred percent convinced. Yet, he would not be surprised. A part of him always wondered if the Luthors would end up killing each other. His expression remained neutral and focused. He was not convinced.

"It's too easy, and not Lex's style," Clark said.

"What better of a way to get yourself an alibi then to get shot at yourself," Chloe offered, and Clark and Lana just looked at her. "Yeah, they tried for a two for one deal with both Luthors."

"That would be something that Lex would try and pull," Lana replied in a calm and crisp voice. "And if it isn't Lex, then who else would try and kill Lionel Luthor."

A morbid smile crossed across Chloe's face. "If we started making a list, we'd be here all day. Lionel's made about as many enemies as the Luthor family has dollars to his name. Remember what happened with the Winston Smith situation. He was a nobody who went postal, and then waited years before he tried to unleash his holy revenge."

Clark had to agree. There was a moment where he tried to figure out where he stood with this. His relationship with Lionel had been one of complication. There was always a sense that even when Lionel was helping him, he was getting some benefit out of it. He would have to find out more, but immediately another party had turned up.

"I doubt that Lionel Luthor's death was merely a motive of revenge."

Chloe, Clark, and Lana all spun around. They were face to face with the one and only Batman.

"Well, the Dark Knight returns," Chloe said. She tried to smile to lighten the somber mood.

Batman was utterly humorless in his expression. Chloe wondered if he thought the universe would crack if he showed the slightest bit of facial expressions.

"I take it this isn't a social call," Clark said.

"Nice to see you've been exercising your mind along with your powers," Batman said in a calm and crisp voice.

Lana shook her head, and looked at him.

"He knows your secrets, and your powers," Lana said. She frowned immediately, and stepped in front of Batman. "Yet, you don't know who he is."

Lana tried to use her X-Ray vision to see past Batman's cowl. She strained and focused her vision. However, it did not work.

"Lead lined cowl, I wouldn't bother," Batman told her in a crisp voice.

"I should have known," Lana said, shaking her head.

"Lana, we can worry about him later," Clark said. He faced the cowled crime fighter. "Why are you here?"

"I'll cut to the chase, Lionel Luthor's death was far from an accident," Batman said. "Someone wanted to silence him and Lex before they spilled the secrets regarding the Traveler. I've been having both of the Luthors under surveillance for months, along with certain other important parties with this game."

Immediately, Chloe, Lana, and Clark exchanged looks of dismay, and did not doubt for a one minute that Batman was watching.

'I should have figured with a guy like that, he sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you're awake,' Chloe thought, in almost amusement. Her mind was trying to piece together the man behind the mask. Some of those gadgets looked really expensive, and had been nothing like she had ever seen before.

Who was he really?

"I have been able to uncover information that there is an important secret regarding the nature of Veritas in a bank in Zunich," Batman said.

Clark was about ready to ask how he knew something like this. The question lingered on the tip of his tongue. Then he stopped himself. Given what he found out about Batman, he would not be surprised if the Dark Knight kept detailed notes about everything Clark had for breakfast over the past month.

"Where exactly?" Clark asked.

Batman considered his options. He was interested in getting his hands on the safe deposit box. The clue inside would be a valuable contingency if the traveler had gone rogue.

He considered everything, and removed a portable drive.

"Here is all of the information that I've uncovered," Batman said. "You should get the device before Luthor does."

Clark and Lana both nodded, their resolve was strong.

Of course both wondered what Batman's true stake in this game was.

Kara and Harry stood back to back. They fought furiously against their powerful opponents. The battle continued to rage on. They actually had everything under control, for the most part. The last two guardians that were left were among the toughest, and most dangerous. Harry could have sworn that they were not there at first. He had a feeling the secondary defenses were triggered when they defeated the initial life of defenses.

Harry was pretty much trying to think on his feet. He had the sense when to dodge the attacks. Kara was fine as well. The only thing that was amiss with her was that her face was smudged with dirt, and her jacket was ripped. She continued to press on, with determination. They stood back to back, their arms locked with each other. The pair of them circled around, and decided that they had a plan.

"Follow my lead," Harry told Kara in a lowered voice.

"Right," Kara said, getting a sense where Harry was going with this one.

Their arms remained locked, and Kara and Harry gained flight velocity, their arms still locked. The guardians rumbled on the ground beneath them. They shifted around, and Kara and Harry locked hands with each other. They spun around and around, and created a vortex of magical energy that blasted their enemies about. One of the guardians were knocked down from the impact. He crumbled into dust from the impact, and disappeared back into the Earth like he had never existed.

They were only able to breath for a second. Then they were back onto the attack.

One down, one to go, and Harry and Kara saw the last one. The final one was always the biggest, and nastier of them of them. Kara and Harry tried to attack him, but he teleported out of the way. He swung a large clubbing fist. Kara dodged the attack. Harry took his legs out, while Kara slammed into his chest with both of her fists.

The guardian stood forward, and gave a mighty growl. Suddenly, he turned around, and sensed something else. He could smell the blood of something nearby. The guardian stood, and saw Clark and Lana standing before him. Lana's eyes widened, and had been taken momentarily off guard. Both Lana and Clark braced themselves for a fight.

However, all they served to be was a timely distraction. Harry and Kara summoned the full scope of their powers to blast the final guardian. While they were doing this, they shielded both Clark and Lana from the blast. Clark and Lana stood before them. Baffled did not even begin to cover how they were feeling by what they had just seen.

"What are you two doing here?" Clark asked.

Kara immediately jumped to the defense. Her cousin and his protector were not part of what they intended to do. "Clark, I could ask you two the same question."

"There's something here, something of value that I might be interested in," Clark offered.

Harry and Kara remained calm and collected. They had a feeling the truth was going to come out sooner, or later.

"And who told you this?" Harry asked.

There was a long moment of silence between the group. Clark and Lana were unsure about whether to tell them for the moment.

"We've got it taken care of, don't worry about it," Kara said firmly. She looked at Clark immediately, but Clark was not about to let the matter drop.

"How did you find out about all of this?"

"Clark, did you not think we would do our homework on this?" Harry asked. "This is being done for your own protection."

Clark remained silent.

"Just like locking me in my Fortress was done for my protection," Clark said.

Harry sighed, and found himself quiet agitated at seeing his words turned around.

"That's not how I meant it, and you know it," Harry said. "We have no idea whether or not whatever is in that box has a defense that will cripple the traveler on sight. That's all we meant."

Clark accepted this, a bit more. Still he was miffed about being kept out of the loop.

"What is this all about?" Lana asked.

It was Kara who responded. "We're still on the same side, but this is just something that we had to do alone, and get here before Lex could. Or even his father."

"Lionel Luthor is dead," Clark said, deciding to break the news to them.

"Really?" Harry asked a bit interested. "His time was coming, but I didn't know it would be that soon."

Clark and Lana were unsurprised that they knew. That was one of the drawbacks of being a Herald of Death, knowing when a death was going to come.

"What happened?" Kara asked them.

It was Lana who answered. The two couples stood on either side, still looking at each other. "Lionel was shot from behind. Apparently whoever did it also took a shot at Lex. Lex is mostly fine, but Lionel…well you know what happened."

"You didn't have anything to do with this, did you?" Clark asked.

Immediately, Clark was met by a look of agitation at this perceived distrust. Harry took a calming breath, and tried not to lose it. Clark seemed to know that he had crossed a line.

"If I had anything to do this, there are a million ways where I could kill Lex or Lionel, and make it look like natural causes," Harry said in a cold voice. Clark sized up, and tried to convey his apologies. "Don't worry I would have suspected me as well. Although I hope for your sake that you have an alibi of some sort that is airtight, and can hold up if they suspect you of this murder."

Clark and Lana did not consider that, but it stand to risen given that their history with the Luthors was well documented. Harry looked over his shoulder, and took a step forward towards the bank. He had the strangest feeling that he was being watched. Kara followed him forward. Clark and Lana were stopped immediately by an invisible barrier.

Both Clark and Lana were on the outside looking in.

"Did they do that?" Lana asked. She tried to push through, but found her strength repelled back.

"Together, maybe," Clark said after Lana caught her bearings.

Clark and Lana ran into the barrier. They hit it once again, and Harry and Kara peaked at the other end, looking at them.

"The exterior defenses that were put up there must have kicked back on!" Kara yelled from inside.

Clark and Lana both nodded. At least both Harry and Kara slipped through.

Harry and Kara stepped forward.

"You understand what we're doing what we're doing," Harry whispered to Kara in an undertone, using a charm to mask his voice so not even Clark and Lana could hear it with their enhanced hearing.

"I understand, even if I don't like it," Kara said, and Harry just wrapped his arms around his fiancée, and gave her a series of kisses on the back of her neck, to reassure her that everything was going to be fine.

Harry remained rather calm, almost too calm. He stepped forward, and spotted the Safe Deposit Box.

"If my mother can control the Fortress, it stands to reason that she can find a way to control Clark," Harry said. Kara nodded, and her resolve remained strong. "We need a failsafe if worse comes to worse, to override her will."

Harry peaked in to see the contents were still there. He opened the box, and transported the contents to a safe area in the Shining Light Foundation. The box remained shut, and Harry and Kara turned around, to face Clark and Lana.

"I can't get them open without two keys, and they have been charmed against most major spells," Harry said.

"Are you sure there isn't a way?" Lana asked.

"We could destroy the box," Kara suggested. "But that would be destroying the contents on the inside. As long as Lex or anyone else doesn't get ahold of the keys, everything will be perfectly safe."

"I don't know if he'd even be able to get through with these defenses," Clark said to them. Kara and Harry exchanged a knowing smile.

"Never count out anyone, especially someone as devious as Lex Luthor. Powers or not, he is still someone who always should be a concern."

Clark and Lana had to agree. They knew what Lex was potentially capable of better than anyone. Harry made sure that no one was watching them. He had a feeling that he had a bat sighting a while back, but anyone who was watching was gone now. Once he was sure the coast was clear, he motioned for Clark and Lana to leave.

Had Lex arrived at that moment, and not five minutes later, he would have finally caught sight of evidence that he had been searching for. However, all he was greeted by was the bank before him. A frown appeared on his face. He thought that this location would be compromised, and he had picked up some strange activity from here.

Lex Luthor had many questions, and not enough answers. He resolved to find out those answers before it was too late.

Little did he know that the truth was dancing underneath his nose, and was closer than he could have realized.

Harry sat quietly, and pondered everything that had happened. The actions he had to take to make sure the balance was maintained was not going to be easy. The entire Fortress mess had made him wonder what his mother's complete end game was. Lily may have left the Fortress, but she was still out there and still fighting. And there was always a chance that she would be back, and until her influence was completely purged without any doubt, Clark was in danger.

The Heralds of Lord Voldemort seemed to be a lifetime ago. Although there was a nagging thought in the back of Harry's mind that everything about that situation just seemed to be too simple. Perhaps he was being paranoid, due to the fact that he had to fight much harder for his victories.

Kara entered Harry's study, and floated towards him. Harry barely noticed her arrival, and pondered how they were playing with some dangerous fire.

"You're thinking about how much this could backfire too, aren't you?" Kara asked.

Harry had to admit that she had an uncanny way of guessing what he was thinking at any given time. Kara sat herself down on Harry's lap. The two reclined on the chair, relaxing, until it was time for the next challenge. Patricia Swann was safely in hiding, with Harry and Kara having done everything that they could to ensure that no one dangerous could find her.

Harry was visited by a theory, and he almost bet Kara had the same theory as well.

"You and I both know who really killed Lionel Luthor," Harry said.

Kara nodded immediately. "Yeah, but I doubt the spirit of your dead mother possessing a sniper to kill someone is going to be something that are going to give people a rousing opinion of your sanity."

Harry wrapped his arms around her. The couple cuddled in the chair for a few moments, just enjoying each other's company, and a rare moment of downtime. She rested her head back onto his chest. He brushed her hair out of her face, and slowly stroked the skin on her face. Kara was his one anchor that he had out there. She snuggled against him, and Kara smiled.

"In the end, Clark will understand what we're trying to do," Kara said. "It sounds bad, if you look at it from a certain angle."

Part of saving people was not making the most popular decisions. It was making the decision that was right. Harry understood that there would be times where he was going to have to bend the rules a bit. The problem was that once the Fortress was compromised once, it could be compromised again. He had a feeling Clark realized that, and was approaching the situation rather cautiously.

His mother's motivations were an exercise of frustration to try and completely guess .There were some times where it was almost like she was helping him and Kara. And there were times where she had did something that made him wonder what she could be thinking Trapping two people inside a Fortress against their will seemed to be something that crossed the line of what Harry thought was necessary.

Although a part of Harry understood why she did what she did. And that's what scared him. In an indirect way, it had kept the Fortress from being placed into the hands of the Heralds of Voldemort. The mysteries of Project: Genesis had been something that had been mostly determined, although Harry had the strangest feeling that the ramifications might be something that was yet to be felt.

Then that what happened to Hermione, or rather her double. Despite everything, she did take a nasty spell for him. And Harry would be lying if he did not mourn her death deep down. He tried to block it out of his mind. He had business to focus on, and the past was the past.

"Claire's at a friend's house, working on a project for school," Kara whispered, mischief dancing in her eyes. She floated off the chair, and slowly stroked her fingers across Harry's face. "She's staying for dinner that gives us time to be all alone."

Harry could not think of anything better then he wanted to do right now. Kara placed her hands firmly on Harry's wrists, and pinned him down, straddling his legs. She leaned forward, and gave Harry a deep kiss. Her moist lips pressed against his. Harry wrapped his arm around her waist, and returned it with great fever. Kara responded to his actions, sucking on Harry's tongue, and lips, while grinding her clothed center up and down Harry.

Kara dropped back, and Harry made a move, but Kara shook her head.

"Just sit back, and enjoy this," Kara said to him, whispering in his ear. He could feel her hot breath in his ear. "No need to rush, love, we have plenty of time."

Kara stepped back from Harry. She began to sway her hips slowly from side to side. Harry watched her movements. The blonde Kryptonian grabbed her jacket, and slowly slid it down her shoulders. It dropped to the floor. She took a step forward once again, and Harry saw her white blouse, buttoned up. It was tight around her bosom. Kara teased Harry, tracing the outline of her breasts, and slowly one by one she unbuttoned her blouse. She showed more and more skin with each passing movement, slowly and surely teasing Harry.

The girl sat, and slipped her article of clothing down to her feet. Harry found himself immobilized in place. When he was distracted by her little routine, Kara used a spell of some sort to keep him in place. The truth was Harry could have broken it if he wanted to. He was distracted currently by the lack of blood flowing to his brain.

He looked up at Kara. He watched her stand there, running her hands across her beautiful body. She was dressed in nothing, but a lacy white bra from the waist up. The bra just contained her bust, and he could see Kara run her hands over her breasts and her toned stomach. The amount of skin that was revealed increased. Kara unbuttoned her jeans, and slowly slid them down her lovely, shapely legs.

Harry's mouth watered with desire. She was standing there in nothing, but a lacy white bra and a matching white pair of panties. She turned around, so Harry could see all of her. Kara was bent over, so Harry could see her luscious rear snug in the fabric. She swayed her hips teasingly, bent over, and then stepped back. She sat on the table across from Harry. The blonde bombshell was teasingly out of his reach.

He saw all of her. Her legs were crossed, and he could see every inch of her deliciously beautiful stems. From her luscious mouthwatering thighs, all the way down to her gorgeous feet with mouth-watering arches and perfect toes that she wiggled teasingly. He traveled up to her covered center, seeing the wet spot that stained her panties.

Her toned stomach, and belly button was put in the line of sight next. He saw her bend over, to tease him with her cleavage. Her nipples faintly poked out of her bra. He traveled up to her face. Her beautiful blue eyes were the most prominent feature of her face. Her high cheek bones and luscious lips were necked. Said lips were puckered, and she arched her neck back, an expression of desire dancing in her eyes. Her long blonde hair framed her face with the right combination of sexiness and innocence.

She looked at him with a teasing grin. Slowly she trailed her tongue across her lips, licking them and moistening them.

"C'mon Harry, can't you break one immobilization spell?" Kara teased him. She reached forward, and picked up a book. She suggestively traced her fingers down the spine of the book. She flipped through the pages, and set it down. "Maybe you need the proper motivation."

Reaching around, Kara reached into her bag, and pulled out a lollipop. She made sure Harry's eyes stayed on her at all times. Slowly, she slid the wrapper off of it. She gave the lollipop a slow lick, and swirled her tongue around it slowly. Harry watched her, as she continued to eat and suck on the lollipop. Her lips and mouth worked it over immediately, and Harry watched her. Her long, wet, tongue slid up and down the lollipop.

He could barely stand the teasing. Immediately through a sheer force of adrenaline, he pushed herself out of the bindings. He flew off of the table, grabbed Kara around the waist, and slammed him against the wall hard. He attacked her mouth with a searing kiss, sucking on her lips, and forcing his tongue deep into her mouth. Kara returned the favor. Their passionate activities continued.

Kara knocked the books off of the shelf form the impact, but she did not care. She loved to be dominated like this. Harry's mouth worked on her, slowly kissing her face, lips, neck, shoulders, and stomach. She felt electricity go through her body and Harry continued to pleasure her.

Kara staggered back, and she rested back on the table. She felt cold air between her legs, and then Harry's talented tongue began to do its magic. She could hardly keep focused, and he could really make her feel pleasures that she hardly dreamed about. Her hips twitched, but Harry was not done teasing her.

He stepped back, and Kara looked up at him. Mischief danced in her eyes.

"You're a bit over dressed, aren't you?" Kara asked Harry, and she playfully tackled Harry to the floor. Like she was in heat, Kara tore the clothes off of Harry. The two lovers embraced and made out on the bed, teasing each other. They were trying to one-up the other, in an attempt to make the other crack.

Kara lost herself to the pleasure. Harry's hands and mouth made her lose control of her thoughts and nearly lose control of her powers. Her legs locked around his waist, carefully pinning him in place. There were only three words that she could say to her future husband.

"Fuck me, now."

Harry thought that those three words were never sounded more eloquent, and sexy when coming from her beautiful mouth. He proceeded to oblige her, and Kara's screams could be heard all the way to Gotham City.

They indulged themselves in each other for hours on end, until they fell asleep in each other's arms.

The BrainInteractive Construct continued the systematic method in trying to hack into the main computers at the Shining Light Foundation. He had bounced off of wall against wall. Any technology on Earth could be breached by his superior programs.

There was only one conclusion he had come to. Whatever the computers were at the Shining Light Foundation, they were not technology, but something else.

This conclusion was illogical, yet the only one that could lead Brainiac to a logical explanation. He terminated that line of inquiry before it could cause an infinite loop that would cause his systems to crash. A pulse of energy knocked him back, and he could not get back into the system for the time being. The Shining Light Foundation was off of the grid of the city's network. The only backdoor was its piggybacking off of the Luthorcorp system. Every single bit of information that passed through the Luthorcorp databases was being fed back to the Shining Light Foundation.

Hacking into the Luthorcorp computers was an exercise of futility in itself. Yet, it was actually something that can be done. The messenger had changed much through his arrival. It made his mission less assured. His plans would need to be reassessed. This information would be vital in his hands, and would need to be collected much like all of his other information.

Brainiac examined the logic flaws that were the system of the Shining Light Foundation. He continued to try and hack into the system. There were many attempts to get in, but he was pushed back. There also seemed to be another force inside the machine. This force compromised his objectives.

The final children of Krypton might prove to be a problem. Death's Messenger proved to be a dangerous force that could compromise his well-planned objective.

He came to only one conclusion.

All parties must be dealt with and terminated at all costs.

Brainiac was superior to any organic mind. He was able to process a plan faster than many men and women could blink. He analyzed every single angle, and knew what he had to do.

He would destroy them all, first mentally, and then physically.

In a month he would strike. It was the type of opportunity that only came along once every ten thousand years.