If you want to help me financially, you can do it on
https://ko-fi.com/neverluckysmile
The clanging was soon followed by several dozen more in quick succession, so fast Lorna couldn't tell what was going on anymore. She felt sick, her world was spinning, and she could only stumble weakly against Harry, as he murmured, "We might want to look into removing the air bubble from around the forge in the future, given how badly the sound travels."
"What?! I can't hear you!" Odin shouted in return, his beard twitching in amusement. He knew that speaking was useless now, all voices drowned out by the sound of the crucible's interior hammers working away, each made of diamond from head to shaft. Only the dvergar could communicate during a forging, and that was only due to their telepathic connection.
Eventually, the mind-numbing noise ceased, and Harry shifted Lorna down into a sitting position on the floor, checked her one last time, then flew to the back of the crucible just as the internal workings moved the finished ingot of metal out of forge proper. That bar of metal, by the way, ended up being twelve by twelve feet by eight inches thick and extruded so slowly it gleamed with enough heat that it almost seemed to be challenging the Sun's radiance.
Smirking at the sight, Harry gently cooled the newly created metal using his magic, creating a bubble around it as he had around the forge itself and vanishing the air inside the interior space of the magical sphere. The construct grew noticeably chill until the glow signifying hot metal disappeared. What was left was a metal that appeared almost, but not quite, gray brown in color. It was a very odd color for a metal to be admittedly, but Harry was no expert despite his own experimentations with Orichalcum so he hoped that meant a success.
"Now we get it back and test it," he said, his voice carrying through the com-link back to the crucible itself.
"Worried you have not gotten your money's worth Lord Potter?" Odin guffawed, showing no real issue with Harry's desire to test the new metal. As he spoke, the Sky Father turned the Star Forge up and back away from the sun, eagerly looking forward to what was next. It turned out he'd had every right to be amused given the tests the metal would survive not an hour later.
OOOOOOO
Jean stared at the ingot of unnamed metal across from her, amazed. It only now looked as if it were melting at all, and she'd had to resort to searing it under Phoenix Fire for even that. Cutting off her attack, she looked around at the various other weapons that had been used on Harry's latest impossible feat. The weapons that Reed Richards had designed for the Ravens hovered off to the side, a range of contemporary munitions were haphazardly strewn about, and in the distance, several of the former Kree ships waited in space, including the current flagship of the Earth Defense Force, the Warspite, and the Kree Doom Bringer.
"Harry—er… Lord Potter? Exactly… um, exactly how quickly did you say you could cover my ship with that kind of armor?" Admiral Whitaker asked, his near hysterical voice coming through her com-link sounding somewhat strained. He gave a mad giggle before clearing his throat to continue. "That new metal of yours just shrugged off a sustained blast from my ship's primary weapon systems and barely looked singed."
"It stood up to me for a few seconds there too," Jean added, shaking her head. That kind of firepower, quite literally, had wiped out entire Kree fleets before, the ships reduced to floating char in moments, and yet this ingot had survived. Melted around the edges, maybe, but it had survived all the same.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves folks. There are a few other tests we need put it through. Þór, ladies first," Harry announced, a grin clear to be heard over the com-link network.
The redheaded God of Thunder bellowed in fury. "Who told you that tale?!" he roared, moving forward. Lightening crackled, thunder rumbled, and the metal went through another round of proving.
Continued trials aimed at destroying the new metal proved that it was still susceptible to some forces. Jean, Harry, Þór's hammer, Odin's spear; if the source of attack was purely magical in nature the metal would in fact break down, slowly but surely. In contrast, anything of mundane origin would most likely be unable to penetrate it without a significant amount of punishment first.
Later that night, having bid Odin farewell with several wines from around the world, Harry raised a glass of his own in a toast. "Gentlemen," he said, his audience of Reed Richards, Forge, Admiral Whitaker, Tony Stark, E, and General Murphy all looking back at him. They nodding their heads firmly in a show of attention as he continued, "I do believe we are in business."
"Excellent. In which case, I think that E's super carrier concept is the best to go with going forward," Tony began, and Harry leaned back, watching the eggheads and the military men speak, smiling at how far they had come.
OOOOOOO
In a way, the calm after the Shadow War was an almost idyllic time, and several months passed in such a manner. Projects were pushed forward, people were trained, deals were made, and… Children were born. First came the newest member of the Richards family, a seemingly perfect and normal baby girl born to Susan Richards without much fuss. The Richards named the girl Susanna.
Not a few weeks later, Jean gave birth to twins. Of course, this being Harry and his family, the births couldn't have occurred in any way near the normal fashion.
After Jean's contractions had started, they'd stayed in the headmaster's chambers, where the necessary staff quickly convened. With Jean magically asleep on a their bed, specially transfigured for the occasion, Amelia Voght stepped forward. She laid a hand gently on her stomach, glancing towards the unfamiliar doctor Harry brought in especially to handle the birthing process since it was something neither she nor Una had ever done before. The man nodded, looking up from where he had been situated between Jean's legs. He was clearly worried, yet also intrigued, by the fascinating alteration to the normal procedure Amelia had proposed. "They're ready now! Whatever you're going to do, I suggest you do it, or these two are going to be born the old-fashioned—"
Before he could even finished, the man's eyes widened as Jean's body became incorporeal under Amelia's touch. With little opportunity to use it publically, many had forgotten that her mutant power allowed her to transubstantiate solid matter into vapor. Anything she touched she could turn into a gas, including herself, so long as it was within her line of sight.
In this case, that meant Jean's body turned into gas, but her two unborn babies did not. This also meant that they could partially be seen through the insubstantial fog of Jean's vaporous body. Seeing the babies, two female house-elves, known for their incredible love of and care for babies and children, stepped forward. Together, they used their magic to gently pull the two babies out of Mist-Jean as she hovered on her bed while Harry and Ororo and Hela watched on the sidelines. Harry and Ororo would have volunteered for this role, but there were Laws about using magic on newborns, and it would've been a bad very idea to even attempt to do so there in Camelot. Only house-elf magic, so singular and unique, not to mention firmly Good, was not in danger of harming the baby in any way.
Emma also stood nearby, although she was the only woman present who wasn't at all interested in the process currently unfolding In the room. In fact, she'd even turned away to hide a yawn. It was nearly four in the morning her time, and she'd been asleep when the labor pains had rocked through the psychic connection Jean kept open between them all.
Moments later, the two babies were successfully pulled out from within Jean's body, their umbilical cords the only things keeping them attached to their mother. After a quick second to stare at his firstborns, Harry reached into Mist-Jean and used a pair of scissors to cut the half fog-like, half solid umbilical cords. Neither the babies nor Jean felt any of that, although both newborns had already set to wailing mightily anyway, neither seeming to be too happy they'd been removed from the warmth and safety that had been their home for so long.
As the doctor watched gapemouthed, the two matronly house elves wrapped the babies in towels, wiped them off, and then set them down to either side of Jean, who was awoken with a quick wave of Harry's hand. Smiling fit to burst, she gathered her twins into her arms, staring down at them in absolute wonder of which only about half was actually from seeing the two lives that she and Harry had created between them in front of her. "That was… I shouldn't call it anti-climactic, but it certainly feels like I should? For all my screaming earlier and the pains of the last few months and the trouble of dealing with getting around at all… that was… easy, I guess? I'd say the only issue I'm dealing with now is that I feel terribly empty. Weird."
"Madam, if this technique of yours ever becomes known in the wider world, you will literally have a war on your hands for it. Women the world over would cheerfully murder to be able to give birth so easily," the doctor said while chuckling, shaking his head with a little smile as he moved forward to examine the babies along with Amelia and Una.
"There's only one of me doctor, and I most certainly am not going to spend my every waking moment helping women have babies for the rest of my life. It's an amazing moment, but it isn't my calling," Amelia answered wryly. "On that note, these two darlings at least appear to be particularly healthy."
Fifteen minutes later, the doctor agreed and announced the same, although Harry wondered if half of that time hadn't been spent by the doctor trying to convince Amelia to go into public practice. Eventually, the man was gently ushered out the door, along with Amelia and Una, both of whom gave the family their well wishes as they left. Barely seconds after getting the room to themselves, Ororo was nestled into Jean's left side as Harry did the same at her right, Hela and Emma moving to sit on the bed peering over their shoulders at the two bundles of joy in Jean's arms.
The new mother handed one baby over to Harry, watching lovingly as he cradled her, almost automatically understanding how he had to hold the little girl as if by instinct. Ororo, lost in her own head, was fascinated by the little boy that Jean had kept hold of, her eyes locked on his cherubic face. Unlike his sister, who'd somehow managed to fall asleep shortly after the first round of examinations, the boy was awake, staring around at the new world with interest. When Ororo held out one of her fingers in front of his eyes, his gaze locked onto it as she gently booped his nose. He babbled with glee as she rubbed a tender finger down his cheek. "They're so soft and precious."
Harry hummed in agreement, leaning over to give Jean a tender kiss on the cheek. Straightening, he made sure to continue rocking his newborn daughter in his arms, unwilling to wake her precious sleep. At the sight of such paternal love, Ororo finalized a decision that she had been thinking over for a long time. Hela, meanwhile, looked at the scene with longing, a maternal part of her awakening within her that she hadn't even known she'd had the capacity for.
Emma, always the exception, felt no such pull towards motherhood, although she did have to admit to feeling a strange warmth of care towards the two babes, which deepened as she locked eyes with the still inquisitive boy, whose gaze was filled by emerald eyes a shade between Harry and Jean's own. She was about to say something when several knocks banged from the door to the headmaster's quarters. Snorting, she changed what she was going to say, instead asking, "How much do you want to bet that's the children?"
"No bet," everyone on the bed said as one, laughing. Emma laughed too, even as she hopped to her feet and headed towards the door, which banged again. Just this once, she knew she would have to put up with kids invading their space. And for once, she couldn't even work up her normal annoyance at the thought.
Opening the door a crack, Emma peered out, seeing Melody, Illyana, and several other boys and girls whose names she'd never bothered to learn. Most of them were well known to Harry and her other lovers though, she knew. She pushed her hand through the crack, waving it with admonishment. "There isn't nearly enough space in here for all of you little gremlins. Most of you are going to have to wait to see the babies until tomorrow."
There were groans of disappointment, but thankfully, most of the kids had been there more for curiosity's sake than anything, interested in just seeing a baby but with no real plans to stay. Some had even seen babies before. However, the fact that these babies were from a wizard and a mutant made them so much more interesting.
"Are they floating?"
"Is lightning coming from their eyes?"
"Is fire!?"
"Do they have elf ears? I have a bet with my big brother on whether or not they'll have any obvious signs about them," one young wag opined.
"Only Melody and Illyana may enter. Again, the rest of you are going to have to wait till tomorrow to see the babies and have your curiosities fed," Emma repeated, making shooing motions even as she opened the door. She held it open with a hand and let the two girls sneak under her arm before closing it to a sea of disappointed faces.
Melody and Illyana fast walked into the room at speed, crawling onto the bed and curling up with the rest of the people on the bed, which had grown magically to accommodate them all. Melody laid her head against Ororo's stomach, staring up at the baby boy that she soon found herself holding. Bright eyes met bright eyes, and a happy little gurgle coming from the babe's mouth as he waved his little hands at her.
Meanwhile, Illyana was feeling rather irritated that the baby she was staring up at was asleep. "What are their names?"
Harry and Jean exchanged a laugh, shaking their heads. "We've actually talked about that for a while, and we decided that I'd get to name the boy, and Jean demanded to name the girl. That little man there is Sirius Potter-Grey everyone."
"And this is Rachel Potter-Grey," Jean said, reaching out her hands towards Harry, who very reluctantly handed Rachel back over.
"Hello Rachel and Sirius," Ororo whispered reverently, silently asking Melody to hand Sirius over, which she did. With him in her arms, she leaned down and kissed him on the cheek, at which point he nuzzled into her neck. She raised him up slightly, and his body hung limply against hers like a cat's, though his eyes stared at her hair in complete fascination. "Welcome to the family."
Time marched on, especially during peace, and the next most important thing that happened to Harry after the birth of his and Jean's children ended up being his wedding to Ororo.
The girls, with Harry's acquiescence, had months ago decided that this was the one wedding that was going to be both a personal union and a political and social event. This was predominantly because Ororo had been by Harry's side from nearly the very beginning, particularly from the moment he had appeared on the international stage.
It also couldn't be denied that Harry and Ororo had been the start of their little polycule. Even now, their personal relationship was the one the others all orbited around. Indeed, when invitations to the wedding had first been sent out, the various responses they'd received from world leaders they'd been working with for any length of time had been various degrees of, "Wait, you're not married already?" in various tones of incredulity or shock. Still, all those invitations, except the one to their Chinese contact, were accepted.
The wedding was held in the ancient African city Harry and Ororo had discovered months ago. The magic embedded in the stone pillars they had discovered months ago had begun to clear the city of overgrowth and had basically completed their purpose by that point. As the guests arrived through the various temporary runic doorways that had been set up, they had all, every one, stopped and stared in awe.
The African Defense Organization leadership had been told in advance that the wedding would happen in Africa. Every one of them—bar the Egyptian representative—had imagined that it would be held in Cairo or Alexandria as it was well known that Ororo had lived in Egypt as a young child.
These… sprawling ancient ruins that looked better preserved than Pompeii was not what they had expected. Architecture made of stone in a strange Carthaginian and Egyptian mix spread out in every direction from where they had arrived in a wide thoroughfare. A waterway of crystal-clear water wound its way sinuously through the area, lined with the remains of small gardens. Fish swam in the canal's waters, and large trees sprouted here and there between the pillars, their canopies wide and arching.
To Harry's consternation, one of those awed guests was in fact T'challa. As one of the leaders of the African Defense Organization, they hadn't been able to exclude him from an event happening within Africa. But at least now, Harry was able to have a private chuckle when he and the other ADO leaders nearly stumbled into one another as they stared around like star struck children. Even better, the young king also arrived with his girlfriend, one of his nation's diplomats. So there was at least the possibility that he'd finally gotten over the last of his jealousy towards Harry.
As they were led down the path to the place where the ceremony would be held, many of the guests noticed that the buildings were not uniform but showed a multitude of carvings upon their walls that were both ancient and well-preserved. Some depicted daily life of the people who'd once lived in the city. Others, which interested T'challa far more, showed a map of Africa, with the location of this city marked with a star. Numerous roads radiated out from the star like sunbeams. "It would seem as if our ancestors created the idea of all roads leading to Rome before the Romans did. Alas, I suppose it is too late to ask for royalties for the use of that phrase."
His attempt at a joke won polite chuckles from his fellow Africans, men from all over the continent, all united here under the auspices of ADO, and now in the awe they felt of what they were seeing here. As native Africans, they'd grown used to the natural beauty of Africa, the trees, the plains, the deserts, the birds, and animals. Nature had been right outside their door their entire lives. But something like this? A history unknown to all of them and hidden away in the depths of their undeveloped continent? That was something else entirely, and more than a few didn't quite know how to take the discovery.
They weren't the only ones in awe, and Piotr and the other minders would have a time of it keeping the adult guests, let alone the children of Camelot, from exploring farther. Adventure time, the kids were told, would come after the ceremony. But despite that, the kids could hardly bear to ignore the allure of the unknown that called to them.
Thankfully, of the children of Camelot, who were all in attendance at Ororo's insistence, only Melody, Illyana, Christopher and Jesse—the two brothers Ororo had first saved in Sudan long ago—had roles to play. Melody, as it should have been guessed, was the child who had no interest at all in anything but the wedding. The duet she saw between Ororo and Harry visibly growing louder to her senses despite the fact they had separated before the wedding proper.
"You have about forty minutes before the wedding is supposed to start, Sirs," Stinger, or rather Wendy at that moment, said with a grin as she and Morph greeted the still wandering members of ADO , handing out nametags and gesturing to the other side of the waterway, where a similar runic doorway was letting in delegates from the rest of the world. "If you want to explore a bit, no one will stop you. But please be in your seats ten minutes before we begin."
"Where exactly are we?" Asked the South African representative, his English having an accent that Wendy couldn't quite place Evidently, he hadn't noticed the large carved maps along the walls marking the stone around them.
"Uncharted territory, Sirs," Wendy answered with an airy wave toward the nearest such map. "After the wedding, this entire site will be turned over to you all, to be used as the headquarters for the African Defense Organization if you so wish. Harry—that is, Lord Potter, will be footing the bill to bring in everything necessary for contemporary living while retaining the original architecture. I think he said something about it being a wedding present to Ororo's original people."
While Ororo had not traveled across the African continent in her youth, nor when she'd temporarily focused on rescuing nascent mutant children, most Africans who knew about her—and weren't bigots—considered Ororo Munroe one of their own. These representatives were no different. They all smiled proudly at the announcement, even T'challa, although he looked a little wistful for a moment.
The expression quickly passed, and Wendy continued to lead them forward while Morph stayed behind to assist any other over-awed guests. Wendy took her charges across the thoroughfare, gesturing to where the wedding would be taking place. This was in front of a large building that must've been the equivalent of the palace at one point, with a set of stairs leading up the ziggurat-like building. Tables and chairs had been out there.
Once that was done, and Wendy was certain that they all had a way to tell the time, they were allowed to go off on their own. Wendy cheerfully ignored the shouts from the nearby children, who were decidedly not allowed to go off and explore alone. Nor were the Africans, truth be told. Indeed, many a gray-haired elderly statesman could be found looking around in awe at the place, filled with an urge to explore. Even by complete happenstance, there was always someone else present wherever someone thought to investigate.
All too soon for many, the delegates were all called back to the square in front of the palace. There, various Custodes Mundi members acted as ushers, guiding them to their seats. The children of Camelot had been assigned to the front row, along with Kitty, her parents, Jean, and Emma. The next row of seats had been reserved for friends and members of the X-Men and Custodes Mundi, which was much the same thing, really. The ADO members discovered that they'd been interspersed with the rest of the guests, all other representatives and diplomats. Since there was so much space, there was no issue with crowding despite the several hundred people present.
"I wonder whose customs they're going to choose to follow? The setup looks somewhat Christian to me," murmured one of the delegates as he was ushered into a seat. "If you ignore our surroundings, that is."
"Actually, according to what Ororo told us, they've basically picked and chose different aspects of wedding ceremonies and sort of muddled them all together," Paige announced, causing the older African gentleman to look at her in question, and the Southern brawler shrugged. "Well, neither Harry nor Ororo have extended families, unless you count the Camelot kids, and most of the wedding ceremonies they looked into were more about two family groups coming together rather than the individuals. and those that aren't about that, are about making certain that they can provide for the next generation. Which… is kind of obvious so… yeah." The Guthrie girl shrugged again, helped the older man into his seat, and then moved on quickly, embarrassed at realizing she'd spoken out of turn.
Regardless, her words were passed along, and when the wedding ceremony finally began, everyone knew it wouldn't match anything they had expected. Even so, they truly didn't realize how much that would be the case…
Hela stood on the stairs leading into the palace behind, wearing a long white dress covering her from neck ankle and a matching white half-mask, the white just a shade lighter than Hela's skin tone. The only color on Hela beyond white was her hair, which was its normal lustrous black and on her lips. These, Hela had painted a light violet for the occasion which appeared to pop against her pale skin.
Harry stood in his tuxedo a step below and to the side of her, the same one that he'd worn for his wedding with Jean, although the undershirt was a different color. This time he'd been given a pale blue to wear by his ladies. The clip on his neck was also slightly larger, a pearl matching that of Ororo's eyes when she used her mutant power.
He smiled down at the kids, getting wide grins in return before nodding at Ben Grimm, Reed and Susan Richards, young Susanna in her mother's arms. Then he traded looks of respect with Doctor Doom and his newly crowned fiancé, Paris Lourdes, the power couple sitting in the row directly behind the Custodes Mundi. He'd spent most of that morning talking with the not-so-good Doctor; finalizing certain plans, ironing out more trade agreements, generally making certain that Doom understood that the upcoming terraforming projects focused on the various moons of Jupiter would not expand beyond that body or interfere in Doom's own plans around Venus.
His thoughts about politics and plots ceased as drums began to play from out of sight. A low, deep throbbing beat quickly segued into a quick staccato rhythm as all the guests turned to take in the sight of Ororo striding into view down the thoroughfare and into the square. Ahead of her, Melody and Illyana walked in step, tossing out flowers of various types and colors. Directly to either side of Ororo Christopher and Jesse kept pace.
Christopher had chosen to wear the traditional garb of a Nubian warrior, spear and all. Some might've thought he looked childish, if not for the fact that his spear's edge gleamed in the daylight, sharp and deadly. While the rest of his garb might have been a mere costume, the weapon was not, and more than one ADO member recognized this. Jesse, likewise, had chosen the gear of an ancient Egyptian charioteer, and wore a bow on his back with a khopesh in his hand. Looking at the two, it was clear that they were acting as Ororo's "guards," the brothers ready to fight off anyone who would attack the coming bride. Yet as anachronistic and seemingly out of place—yet somehow one hundred percent accurate—as the boys' uniforms were, none of the guests looked at the two youngsters for very long, enchanted by Ororo.
She was every inch a Queen, and stepped forward with confidence as the two flower girls hurried ahead of her, wearing a gold and black dress of somewhat Moroccan design. From her knees up to her neck, the black cloth was shiny, reflecting the light in odd patterns as she moved. Golden embroidery accented the strips of black fabric, edging around it, down the center of her chest between her breasts, covering her upper arms with whorls in images of vines and leaves. Where the ethereal dress ended, its gold seemed to continue right out onto her skin. Henna markings had been somehow made to gleam with gold instead of the slightly darker color they normally would be, swirling down her arm and merging with her Panja ring. It was as if the ring that Harry had created had become part of the rest of her outfit, even though that outfit had none of Harry's craft in it, instead having been made by Ororo herself.
Below Ororo's knees, the black of the dress shifted until it was nearly transparent, but not quite, and more could be seen there; the gold embroidery there shifting and writhing with her strides. Her long silver hair was done up in a bun and, for now, tight to her head, allowing all to see the circlet of gold she wore upon her head, the same crown she had worn when meeting Odin and Freya in the halls of Valhalla. And unlike some traditional weddings of African cultures, particularly Islamic ones, her face remained uncovered and glorious as she stepped forward.
As Ororo moved down the aisle, she looked neither left nor right. Her gaze, her entire focus, was locked on Harry. Her lips, dusted gold, formed a warm smile, which matched Harry's own loving grin. Only able to catch Harry's side of things since she was in front of Ororo, Melody, who had been half out of it even by her pre-Harry standards since she had arrived here, began to hum to the wedding march. Her head bobbed from side to side as she moved along beside Illyana, her mind adrift in the orchestra her mutant powers allowed her to experience. Still, even preoccupied, she continued to throw out flowers, so that was a good thing.
Soon the four children split off, leaving Ororo to walk the last few steps up the stairs to the palace by her own until she stood beside Harry, the two in front of Hela. The pair tore their eyes from one another with effort and looked to their Asgardian goddess. Hela smiled at her lovers with an indulgent grim before raising her hands to begin the service.
She never spoke, however, because suddenly, a light touch on her shoulder caused her to freeze as a collective gasp of shock rippled through the crowd. "Would you mind if I cut in, dear?"
Turning, Hela smiled slightly at the sight of Gaia standing there behind her, gaze kind and joyful. Once more, The Earth Mother wore her guise of the Matron, appearing as a middle-aged woman with weathered and tanned skin whose dark brown hair flowed down to below her rear in a series of intricate knots. She wore a dress made of interwoven, and still living, vines and flowers, covered her from neck to ankle, the flowers slowly blooming and closing as the onlookers watched. Upon her head was a crown of leaves, no one leaf like any other, representing the whole gamut of the world's trees, and around her, birds flew for a moment before settling down on nearby rooftops.
Most of the Custodes Mundi didn't react overmuch to her presence. Some had met Gaia before, if briefly, while others had simply become used to people, beings, and entities besides popping in and out of their lives since moving to Camelot. But for the rest of the audience, barring the Fantastic Four and Doctor Doom, the feeling of divinity struck like a mace, causing eyes to widen and knees to buckle as if their owners felt the urge to kneel before this woman even as they sat there. No one could look at this woman and not understand on some fundamental level that she was divine in some fashion. Many, the Christians, Jews, and Muslims among them, immediately felt their minds grind to a stuttering stop, having trouble mentally fitting that truth into their worldviews.
For those who knew about them, the Asgardians were easy in comparison. None who had met any of those who had come to Earth could deny the Asgardians were powerful, but none who had come to Earth created this impact in those they met, save to the Asatru their followers. For those who didn't believe, they were simply an alien race who had in the distant past come to earth and been taken as gods, simple. Easy to understand, if not accept. But Gaia's aura couldn't be denied, not by any human born of her soil, and it filled the majority of the audience with equal measures of awe and fear.
"As you wish, Great Mother," Hela replied, bowing her head with respect to the ancient goddess of Earth. Straightening, she stepped around the bride and groom and headed for the front row. Picking up Melody from her seat, she sat down and set the child on her lap The young mutant was still almost entirely unresponsive, having long since lost herself to the powerful duet of Harry and Ororo's individual songs merging together into one.
Alone now on the steps above the couple, Gaia stared out over the heads of her Chosen and the Life Guardian. Looking out into the crowd, where her gaze rested, men and women bowed their heads in respect, fear, awe, and more. The only ones not doing so being Emma, Hela, Jean, and Doctor Doom. Of those four, the Doctor simply stared back at the Goddess of the Earth, before slightly nodding his head once as if in acknowledgement of her power, if nothing else, before looking on in interest as she began to speak.
"Love. Love is like a garden. You reap what you sow, what you work for. Before you stand a man and woman who, despite all the other demands on their time, have made together the most beautiful garden they possibly could. Who, in millions of iterations, billions of timelines, trillions of possibilities, should never have been able to meet, let alone come together as they have done so here. And it is together that they have forged a future together. This was not Fate. Simple chance and luck brought them into contact with one another. And everything since that first meeting has been of their own doing, their, their own love for one another and for the world at large."
Gaia smiled then shook her head. "Normally, there would be several speeches at this point in the ceremony where both your families and yourselves would declare to one another. Declare how much you mean to one another, how you had come to love one another. But through the trials of life you have been left bereft, alone, and there is no blood here to speak for you. Instead, you made that family for yourselves, and there need be no parents to give either of you away, one to the other. And as for speeches of devotion? Such things would be superfluous, don't you think? Your garden speaks for itself, your love clear and pure. Thus, there is only one question that remains to be asked which now must be answered. Do you, Harry James Potter, Wizard of another world, and do you, Ororo Munroe, Beloved Chosen of Gaia, wish to bind yourselves together for now and all of time?"
While anyone could have made that same speech, somehow Gaia's words felt as though they had a weight to them, a reality transcending the physical world around the prospective bride and groom that built with each word until a weight hung in the air, a promise bearing down on the two lover. Yet, for all the pressure behind that question neither hesitated even a fraction of a second. Harry and Ororo simply looked at one another and, as one, declared, "Yes."
"Then hold out your hands towards me."
Harry and Ororo did so, their palms facing downwards. From the stone of the platform, a short plinth of earth rose in front of them. At the top of the flowing stone, a chalice appeared. As it settled into place, Gaia took a moment to nod to Illyana. Harry's young apprentice rushed forward, her small basket heavier in her arms, the flowers there joined by other things. She held it underneath the hands of her teacher/parental figure and the woman who'd become such a big part of his life, and both reached in and grabbed a nut a piece. At the goddess's direction, they snapped the nut between them, and then turning to one another, fed the bits to each other.
"Kula nuts, so that your marriage will be bountiful," Gaia ordained, before gesturing with one hand that the bride and groom reach into Illyana's basket once more.
There, the two found their hands plunging into living flowers, coming out holding vines of white flowers that grew up their arms for a moment. Those vines wounds around a giggling Illyana before spreading out along the ground to cover the steps leading up to the palace and the grounds, stopping just shy of the feet of those in the front row behind the quartet on the steps, and all but the strongest-willed among those who watched felt a surge of joy and delight wash over them as if emanating from the flowers. As Harry and Ororo pulled back their arms, the vines around Illyana faded, and at an unspoken signal she rushed back to her seat by her brother and Amara.
"And white lilies in abundance, so that your marriage will forever be wreathed in happiness," Gaia said, wondering why Harry appeared thunderstruck at her words rather than the subtlety of the life magic she had just used.
Gaia had never been told much of Harry's past, though she knew he was Fate Marked and came from another dimension. Harry had never spoken of his parents in front of her, never even mentioned his mother's name in her presence. But to Harry, her somehow randomly choosing white lilies indicated something far more profound than her words.
"Lastly, a sacrifice of blood, so that you may never forget that your lives are as one now and forever." Gaia announced, setting that mystery to one side. At her nod his way, Christopher stepped forward, placing a tiny platinum dagger in Harry's hand. Not even pausing for a moment, Harry held the dagger firmly to slice his palm, then Ororo's. The two of them then pressed their palms together, the cuts bleeding together. A few droplets dripped out from the joined hands and down into the chalice in front of them. When the blood hit the stone, it disappeared, a band of magic bursting to life in its steed. Flowing into twin streams of light, the magic wrapped around Harry and Ororo's wrists, binding their hands together. Gaia placed her own hands upon the union, adding her own magic to the mix.
"Thus, I pronounce you man and wife, Harry and Ororo Potter!" Gaia declared, each word again thrumming with power as the two created between them a magical bond. It wasn't like the soul bonds that had featured so prominently in the Wizarding World's romance novels. They wouldn't be able to share thoughts or feelings without Emma or Jean being involved. But their magic had been joined together, giving Ororo access to Harry's reserves and vice versa. Later, they would discover that it had also given them a sense of one another, if not emotions or thoughts, simply directional awareness. They would always know where the other was at any given time, near or far.
That was for later though. Right then, Gaia lifted her hands from where she had been holding Ororo and Harry's, where they had clasped together. Then, smiling mischievously, she winked at Harry. "You may now kiss the bride."
With their hands still fast together, Harry pulled Ororo slightly across towards them, leaning in and kissing her deeply. For a moment that was an eternity, the rest of the world simply stopped existing. It was just the two of them, kissing, expressing their love for one another.
Eventually, the cheering and whooping of the crowd and Gaia's gleeful, almost dirty laughter broke through eventually and interrupted them. Ororo was slightly embarrassed but still turned to face the crowd, waving one hand to them with all the gaiety of a truly happily married woman. Harry did the same, and their free arms wrapped around one another as the Custodes, the X-Men, the children, the delegates, and everyone else cheered.
Of course, this being a public ceremony, there were many well-wishes to take from guests and small discussions that had to be held. Harry and Ororo stayed center stage for all of it, shaking hands and making nice with everyone there, although both very much preferred Jean and Emma's heartfelt hugs and Hela's snarky well wishes to the well-meaning, but somewhat pat and remote, handshaking they had to do with the various delegates, representatives, and diplomats.
Indeed, Harry spent whatever part of his thoughts weren't on Ororo during this time wishing he was a kid again, exploring the ruins with Christopher, Jesse, Anechka, Illyana, Melody, and the other children.
That somewhat tedious aspect of the wedding continued well into the evening and after Harry felt like he'd shaken every hand present, the reception had kicked off. Food that had been prepared was eaten, music played, dances done, and Jean and Scott had even prepared speeches about how Harry and Ororo's courtship had first started, which had drawn laughter from many in the crowd.
But eventually, the fireworks were over, and the guests were sent on their way. The children had long since been sent back to Camelot, with most of the Custodes Mundi and X-Men having gone with them. Once the last diplomat had been seen off through their runic doorway Emma, Jean, and Hela sought the two newlyweds out. The trio left lingering kisses on Harry and Ororo's lips, then left in a whirl of cheerful laughter so the two could enter the palace alone.
It had been decided that the two of them would have to first night as a married couple there in the ancient city rather than back at Camelot, as had been the case with Emma and Jean. Somehow, especially with Sirius and Rachel having come along, it just didn't seem right to return to the castle for a 'them-only' night, even if they did so in a different room. It was probably irrational, but neither of them cared overly much and Emma and Jean had both agreed.
Alone at last, Harry and Ororo wound their way through the ancient palace, nuzzling, kissing, and feeling one another up, almost acting like horny teenagers. But the self-control that they'd developed over their long romance allowed them to resist completely giving in to their urges too soon. That being said, pieces of clothing did still start to come off in the hallways, trailing behind them as they moved until finally, they found themselves in a grand bedroom.
Whether it had been the ruler's bedroom or someone else's didn't much matter. The bed, which had been made up of feather stuffings and silks and would've been entirely out of place to find in the ruins of an ancient city, had clearly been prepared for them by some of the house elves. Thankfully, that meant it was more than large enough for the two of them, and that was enough for tonight.
Soon, Harry found himself hovering over Ororo, sucking and licking at the milk-chocolate colored skin at her throat as his hands began to play with her perfect breasts, bare once more to his loving caress. The Panja ring that Ororo never took off, and the golden henna worked into her skin gleamed still on her lower legs and forearms in light of the moon from a large window, but Harry was far too interested in the texture of her dark chocolate nipples, the feel of them already hard under his fingers, the taste of them as he dragged his tongue over them to take notice. He wasn't too focused to miss the wet and throbbing heat that was grinding against his barely clothed crotch though, and nuzzled lovingly into her shoulder before moving further downward.
Feeling herself heat up under her husband's ministrations, Ororo wound her fingers through his hair, pulling his head up from where he'd been devouring her breasts into a searing kiss. Their tongues began a duel instantly, one that was furious, and passionate, during which Ororo shifted them around so that she was on top. And as Ororo and Harry broke off their tongue duel in order to breath and Harry instantly began to work on her neck, moving downward once more to devour her right nipple. In response, She ground her panties against his iron-hard length, the thin barriers of their sodden undergarments just barely keeping them from becoming one.
The enticing action caused Harry to nearly buck her off his waist, so wound up was he from all the teasing and flirting, and he growled, sending pulses of pleasure through Ororo's nipple.
Ororo felt a shiver jolt down her spine at the sound, as she always did whenever she was able to rouse it from her lover, but there was something else on her mind than the pure passion and the joy of finally being man and wife. She pulled back upwards into a brief kiss, breaking it off just as his tongue started to enter her mouth, instead pressing her forehead to Harry's, locking eyes with him.
They paused there for a moment, taking each other in. Then Ororo leaned in, kissing him ever so gently, before saying softly, throatily. "No spells tonight, Harry."
Harry blinked, before his eyes widened. He understood what his wife was saying: no contraceptives. "Do you think it's time? Are you sure?"
"Yes!" Ororo answered immediately, voice growing huskier with every word. "This way, our eldest children will grow up with Sirius and Rachel almost the same age. I think that would be magnificent, don't you?"
Harry gave a chuff, his heart feeling like it was fit to burst again. How did he deserve this woman? Or any of them? "I think having kids with you would be magnificent, my love. And I think that you'll be a magnificent mother too. Of course, I think you're magnificent, period," he quipped, leaning in for another kiss. "And if that is what my lovely and magnificent wife had decided, then I cheerfully agree."
Ororo laughed, then gasped as Harry used both of his hands to rip her poor undergarments off, not having noticed that as she had been speaking a uncontrolled burst of magic from her had similarly divested Harry of his boxers. Before she could fully process that nothing now lay between her wet flower and his shaft, Harry moved again. The feeling of him sliding inside her caused Ororo to moan, mirroring her husband's groan, and from there the night continued on, passion and love overflowing.
OOOOOOO
Thanos stood aboard the bridge of his commandeered Skrull fleet flagship watching an animal the size of a small planetoid being bombarded from long-range. Nearby, two actual planets, which had been terraformed through some unknown means to support life when they should not have burned from one end to the other.
Taking it all in, Thanos could only smile, breathing in deeply, ecstatically, his eyes alight with mad fervor. He knew in his heart that his Lady will have felt it, this gift of his. That being said, I know she does not approve of such grandiose, dull offerings. And I will admit this display lacks my normal artistry. It has been too… too painless, too clinical. But for a segue to what I plan to do to Earth, and the Avatar of the Phoenix Force, this should at least grab her attention and make certain my Lady's eyes are on me going forward.
It had taken some time, far too much time, to trace the Brood back to its true point of origin, but eventually they had done it. Thanos was pleased his daughters had accomplished their mission so quickly . Now though, Gamora and Nebula stood before him, their faces lit with pride at completing what had been the toughest part of their father's latest campaign. "Well done the two of you. Not only did you succeed in the initial assignment to send me a live Brood along with an infected Skrull, but when it became clear to you how widespread the corruption had truly become, you were willing to set aside your pride and competitiveness and work together with Loki to root out its source."
"I could wish that we had been able to reform or surgically strike against the Infected, father," Gamora said with a sigh, "But the deaths of those innocents were necessary to save the greater whole."
Indeed, the Brood had invaded the Skrull in a most insidious manner, spreading their transformative genetics through various populations throughout the Empire so far before they had begun to attack openly it had astonished even Thanos. Not once had any of the Infected ever caused trouble enough to be discovered, until they had at least half the local population of whatever planet they were invading suborned. But Thanos had been able to devise a genetic scanner, one that allowed its wielder to see who had become infected and who hadn't. With the scanner spreading throughout the Skrull Empire, they had been able to identify and quarantine the segments of the population that had been infected, stopping all traffic from those planets to as yet-untouched worlds and visa-versa.
Then, Loki and his daughters had gone down to each planet in those sectors and, either working with the local authorities or against them, ousted the infected. This had, of course, resulted in several minor insurrections across the Skrull Empire as the infected fought tooth and nail against the exterminations. At the same time, the true Brood had invaded from beyond, their turned soldiers having taken command of even more Skrull ships, as had previously occurred against Fleet Overlord Len'Dok's command.
Several planets had been lost before Nebula and Gamora, or Thanos' other agents could arrive, of course. They had been scoured from orbit until all life signs had been extinguished. It was only in such a manner that the Empire could be kept clean and free of future threats, and thus useful to Thanos now and into the future.
"Sire, the Fleet Overlord is here," Maw announced, going to one knee in front of his lord. Thanos turned, nodding to the psionically powerful alien that had served him longer than most others. With a gesture, Maw turned and opened the doors to the bridge with a bare nod.
Fleet Overlord Len'Dok strode in, his bearing erect, his posture sure, appearing unaffected despite Black Dwarf's presence behind him, double-bladed battle axe in hand. That was quite courageous, although the middle-aged Skrull male's eyes did remain locked on Thanos, showing a hint of fear. But even then, only a hint. Good. He knows I am stronger than he, and he acknowledges that I command him. Yet he also understands that he did his job as well as could be expected and is stout enough not to be reduced to a blubbering mess. Excellent material.
Unaware of how much Thanos had read into him just by watching him walk onto the bridge, the Fleet Overlord continued to stride forward until he stopped an appropriate distance away. He saluted in a crisp, practiced motion. "Your Imperial Majesty."
"Your Imperial Majesty? Really? Given the groveling of the other fleet officers, who clearly understood the new disposition of power within the Empire, I had expected more from the only man to avoid answering his new lord and master's summons," Loki drawled, his tone sardonic as he moved from where he too had been watching the bombardment of the massive Brood vessel.
As Thanos himself had been doing, Loki had ignored the debris around the flagship, both organic and not, as it passed by the viewing window, even when some of it was quite close. The fighting had long since moved from the outer edge of the star system to deeper inward, and now the flagship hovered in space where the interstellar battle had begun. The detritus this far in had originally been so thick they'd actually had to incinerate some of it so that Thanos could watch still yet distant last stages of the campaign.
Loki had noticed something. Both of Thanos' daughters had trouble looking away from the death and destruction around them. One looked upon the results of the campaign with an almost reverent fervor. In contrast, the other was careful to conceal her disdain and sadness. Well, well, well, it would appear as if the robotic one is just as bloodthirsty as her father. But the other one… hmm, Gamora might just have a soul somewhere under all that conditioning. How delightfully interesting.
"I explained my absence from that meeting in the letter I sent in my stead... Stranger," Fleet Overlord Len'Dok intoned with dull politeness, despite answering instantly. "And judging by the fact that Lord Thanos did not take away my command the instant he arrived in the Meridian system, I can only imagine he understands even if you cannot." Meridian had been the only anchorage remaining to his Grand Fleet once the Brood and their infected had begun to reveal themselves.
"I understand it well enough, and no one is saying you didn't do your job, but I am merely wondering where your loyalty lies. Self-interest and self-effacement can come in many forms after all," Loki drawled. "While you continue plotting against your lords."
Thanos, hitherto silent, wasn't about to let that pass. "You would know Loki, would you not?"
The Trickster simply laughed in response. It was true, after all, but both he and Thanos knew who held the whip in their agreement, for there was no carrot or stick. The Asgardian stepped closer to the Fleet Overlord, his eyes boring into the Skrull as he continued his mild interrogation while Thanos allowed it. Loki had a way of ferreting out secrets and lies that even Thanos had found useful, if not respectable. "I would indeed, hence why I am so questioning. I question this upright, militaristic Fleet Overlord's willingness to simply go along with our usurpation of his people's sovereignty. Especially with the public following he has garnered as a result of this crisis."
"I am a soldier. Nothing more," Fleet Overlord Len'Dok bit out sharply. "It is not my place to make policy, nor is it my place to lead my people. I obey orders from on high and defend them. If the potentates have bowed to Lord Thanos, then I, a soldier will do the same."
There was a slight, barely there wavering to the Skrull's words, but nothing in his body language or eyes suggested anything beyond what he said. He was afraid, as all lesser beings should be in his presence, Thanos knew. But he stood to his duty with actual courage. Nor was there any self-effacing aggrandizement to him. That was already far better than the more obvious obsequiousness that Thanos had dealt with when he'd brought the other Skrull flag officers to heel.
"Excellent. You will serve me well, Len'Dok. And in so doing, you will serve in the betterment of your people. Once my own objectives have been met, you and yours will be raised to new heights atop the corpses of your enemies."
The Fleet Overlord cocked his head to one side at this, and Thanos went on. "For now, you will command a war fleet of mine, a Grand Fleet in Skrull terms. You will be coming with my allies and myself to a certain star system, and there… there you will aid me in wiping out all life within."
While Thanos had been busy dealing with the Brood, he had not been idle when it came to Earth. He had learned through the intelligence network of his Black Order that Potter had built up a kind of slap and dash military by stealing it, quite literally, from bits stolen from the Kree. He'd then beaten off an incursion of Badoon with it.
From that alone, if he hadn't already had prior experience, Thanos would've been able to see that humans were very warlike. While lacking in advanced weaponry, their militaries made up for it through sheer numbers… relative to their population size of course. And that didn't even take into account those humans with powers beyond the norm. His own followers would have had issues conquering the planet alone given the sheer number of super-powered individuals Earth seemed to boast, especially if they had a proper space-faring fleet to back them. In the end he'd decided it would've taken more time and effort and resources than he'd been willing to waste. Death would surely look unkindly upon him if he'd struggled against such a primitive species.
But with the Skrull in hand to function as the bulk of his forces, Thanos knew he would be able to wipe out all life on Earth with ease. Only then would he be able to do it slowly, savoring the killing, making the whole act a show for his Lady. Oh no. There would be no quick, nearly painless death of an orbital bombardment for Potter and his ilk.
"Of course your Majesty. I would ask only two questions. One, what is the target? Two, what is to stop the Brood from returning after we have left? We were only able to follow them this far, and no farther, due to the density of Nebula 426 interfering with our tracking technology. There could be more of them out there within the nebula, or beyond, and we would not be prepared for their counterattack."
"We have time before the true assault against the Brood Fleet Overlord. But, I will leave behind plans for a series of scanners and weaponry that will be able to target living ships as the Brood use," Thanos answered, smiling wickedly at the male Skrull sense of duty and bravery. "It will be up to your civilian sectors to build such things. As for our target? Our target is the homeworld of the Fantastic Four, which I know your people have dealt with before. The target, Fleet Overlord, is Earth."
Alas, for the ever watching Loki, he silently bemoaned the fact that he wouldn't be allowed the time to follow up on to the curious discovery that one of Thanos' duaghters might actually have a soul. Such an intriguing find might've perhaps given Loki a wedge to bring against Thanos in the future when the two inevitably clashed. Instead, as Corvus and Maw took the Fleet Overlord aside for further discussion, Loki found himself being escorted by Black Dwarf to his specialized cloaking ships with orders to leave immediately.
Such ships were highly expensive, even for the Skrull, costing them about as much as four of the their equivalent to a Kree Planet Crusher or Doom Bringer. But in return each was completely invisible coming in and out of hyperspace as well as when traveling in real space. They were slow in real space, but that didn't matter to Loki overmuch. Nor did the fact that they weren't equipped with any artillery or weapons systems seeing as Skull military technology was too energy intensive when in use to be hidden even under the cloaking technology.
Sitting in the command chair, Loki memorized the controls of the ship he'd been assigned as he had done previously, marveling anew at how far the sentient species beyond Asgard had come. Truly, ships like these are amazing to behold. Now if I can only get to Earth unseen, then I will be in a very good position to follow my role in this scheme.
Moments later Loki's ship exited the dock of Sanctuary II and jettisoned out into space, where it was almost instantly hailed. Opening the communications channel, which was only usable when he wasn't actively using the cloaking device, the Trickster smiled thinly at the Thanos in the ship's screen. "And now here I go, your good little scout, out into the dark, to pave the way for your mighty army. What final words of wisdom do you have to share with me, my Lord?"
"No wisdom for you Loki, for well do I know you would look at such askance," Thanos answered coldly, all traces of his earlier humor utterly gone. "No. Instead, I will remind you of the oath you swore when I saved you from the void."
Loki's whimsical air disappeared, and he raised a single brow as he stared through the screen at Thanos. "I need no reminder my Lord."
"Even so. You will serve me, Loki, and in return, you will ascend to the throne of Asgard. However, if you prove yourself an oathbreaker, then you will die. Remember that," Thanos intoned, ignoring Loki's words. "You swore on your very life, and I know that means something to you godling. You have magically bound yourself to me on pain of being returned to the endless void. I hold your life in my hand until we claim victory on Earth."
"Of that there can be no doubt my Lord," Loki answered, bowing his head. "You have my life, and my loyalty." I will be loyal to you as my oath demands, for as long as you have a chance at victory Thanos, as my oath demands. But once a single victory is yours, who's to know how long you will be able to stand victorious?
With that, Thanos cut the connection, and Loki turned his ship towards the outer edge of the system and his eventual destination, the planet Earth far beyond.