It was a beautiful autumn day in Metropolis. Friday approached and everyone looked forward to the end of the work week.
In a hotel room sat Kara Potter, legs crossed as she tapped her foot in tune with the music on the radio. She wore a black short sleeved jacket, a blue buttoned up blouse, and a skirt that stopped a few inches above her knees. Stockings covered her long legs and she wore high heel shoes. Her long blonde hair was tied back in a ponytail. To complete the look, she wore a pair of glasses.
"Are you ready, Harry?" called Kara as she bit on her lip.
"Yes, nearly," said Harry from the other room.
"And here I thought it was the woman who was supposed to take forever," muttered Kara as she awaited her husband.
"I heard that!" called Harry.
A moment later, Harry exited from the Bathroom. Kara just looked at him and shook her head, in amusement.
Harry Potter wore purple sunglasses upon his face. He had on a white fringed jacket, with a tie-dye shirt, and black pants. He wore a pair of furry boots.
The outfit Kara did not mind so much.
"You straightened your hair," said Kara in a horrified tone of voice.
"Well that's the disguise," said Harry as he looked in the mirror. His messy hair had been rendered perfectly straight.
Kara looked at him. She thought anyone who would want Harry to straighten his hair must be pure evil and should be condemned to the Phantom Zone.
"So, just curious," said Kara as she looked at Harry. "Who picked out the disguise?"
"Tonks," said Harry as he looked in the mirror and snickered at the sight of himself. "It really does look absurd when I'm sober."
"No, the outfit's fine, you look cute in it," she commented before she added. "Granted, it'd look better on the floor later, but…"
She looked at him, as she had to slap her hand away. "Your hair is straight."
Kara pulled herself up and Harry sat down next to her.
"So, Lexcorp," said Kara. "Ready to go."
"Well we couldn't keep putting it off," said Harry. "I dug up enough on what Luthor's been up to worry me."
"Well it does help to have access to someone who can dig up anything," said Kara as she reached over to the fruit bowl.
"What I can't find on the public records makes me worried," said Harry in a thoughtful voice. "But that's what we're finding out. Now, I'm Harrison Radcliffe and you're…"
"His personal assistant Linda Lee," said Kara as she started to peel a banana. "Got the story, know the plan."
Kara peeled the banana and began to slowly eat it right in front of Harry. Harry watched her, as she licked the underside the banana. She then put it in her mouth. A small bite swirled around her cheek, as she threw her head back and made a tantalizing little moan.
"So good," said Kara as she teased Harry with the banana as Harry watched her.
"You do realize we have to keep our minds on business today, don't you?" asked Harry before he added. "Unfortunately."
"Yeah, unfortunately," said Kara. "We'll save it for our meeting afterwards. For the wrap up…"
"Don't you mean unwrapping," replied Harry as he grabbed her hands and looked over her, mouth watered at the sight before him. He spoke after a matter of moments. "You look hot in that outfit…then again you look hot in any outfit."
Kara continued to eat her banana before she smiled. "Well, my love, we have so many possibilities to explore. I did a lot of clothes shopping in London. Got some things that certain family members might have a stroke if they saw me in them. And I know they'll drive you wild."
'Yeah like the secretary outfit and the school girl outfit and the cheerleader outfit and the nurse outfit, not to mention all that lingerie I bought,' thought Kara as she tingled in anticipation. 'Plus, I'm a married woman, time to throw out all of the little girl underwear.'
The grin on Kara's face made Harry almost tempted to learn to read minds.
Then again, it would kind of spoil the fun.
They enjoyed a nice breakfast and prepared to head out to Lexcorp for their meeting with the infamous Lex Luthor.
Lois Lane sat behind her desk. She did not blink. She only remembered to breathe because she recalled it was essential for her continued existence.
'Who in the hell are you?' she thought as she looked at the green eyed hero that first popped up in Vegas. 'Another alien, meta-human, some government experiment, you've got to be one of the above."
Lois pondered but she had no time as her phone rang. She took the call when she realized who it was coming from.
"Yes, yes, yes, so Luthor's got something in development," muttered Lois as she jotted down information. "Ninth floor, yeah I got it."
Lois looked at the notes she hastily scrawled, in all of their sloppy grammatical glory.
"Hey Jimmy!" yelled Lois which caused Jimmy Olsen to spin around and nearly trip over his feet.
"What, Miss Lane?" asked Jimmy.
"We're going to take a field trap over to Lexcorp today, Luthor's up to something," said Lois as she jumped off to her chair to her feet. "Finally going to figure out what he's all hush-hush, now grab your camera and meet me outside in five minutes."
Lois knocked into Clark.
"In an awfully big hurry, Lois, aren't we?" asked Clark.
"No time for chit-chat," said Lois. "I was right about Luthor, he's up to something big. My contact came through."
"That's great Lois what…" started Clark.
"Don't know, going to find out, mind my calls while I'm gone," said Lois as she made her way out the doors.
Clark stood at Lois's desk. She had already left when the phone rang. Clark picked the phone up.
"Hello?" asked Clark.
"Is Lois Lane still there?" asked an obviously distorted voice on the other end of the phone.
"No," said Clark. "May I take a message?"
"Well tell her this. I just got another tip about Luthor. An armored van came in from Ryker's Island just this morning. Someone was in the back of it. Purple skin this guy had too. Guy was in restraints."
'The Parasite,' thought Clark. 'Great.'
Rudy Jones had been an ordinary guy at one time. A chemical spill during a heist at S.T.A.R. Labs caused his skin to melt and caused him to mutate into the Parasite. The Parasite had an insatiable hunger for power. At one point, he kept Superman prisoner for some time and called in as Clark Kent using his powers to keep the charade.
Superman encountered Parasite a number of times since then and the battles had been intense. Clark pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Are you still there?"
"Yes, I am," said Clark.
"Good, tell Lane that she might want to be careful if she follows up that lead. The new stockholder is here."
"What, Harrison Radcliffe?" asked Clark. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah, him and his personal assistant, they just pulled up in front of Lexcorp in a limo," said the informant. "Quite the pair of legs on that one and nice short skirt."
Clark gritted his teeth when he realized who this informant was talking about but then he realized the thrashing Harry would give him would be far more violent should he find out.
The fear was that he realized that Harry and Kara would both be inside where the Parasite was and if he found out, it would not end well.
Clark was conflicted. On one hand, they both could handle themselves and they already got in one argument about him swooping in just recently.
On the other hand, it was the Parasite.
Lex Luthor stood in his office and peered out the window into the city he built. Metropolis was his and always would be his. Soon the momentary distraction would be corrected.
Luthor turned and he took a step forward. He found himself visited by another bout of indigestion. He ignored it. He slid the Kryptonite inside a cabinet in his office. He would not want to tempt the visitor with anything rather powerful.
He stepped over into a chamber to the side of his office. Strapped to a stretcher was the Parasite.
"I'm going to let you go," said Luthor. "Do note that if you try anything, I have implemented a failsafe device. The device will serve as a means to keep you in line."
"Yeah, I understand," said Parasite as Luthor unstrapped him. "Why did you bring me out of prison?"
"As insurance," said Luthor. "I can return you back to your normal self easily. I have the capabilities. I just require one more day of your work. Should Superman get involved, you can utilize your powers one more time."
"Do you think he'll come?" asked Parasite who seemed to salivate at the potential for a taste of Kryptonian power once more.
"Oh, he'll come my friend, he'll come," said Luthor with a chuckle as he considered the criminal. "You will feed and get a taste of Superman's powers. But naturally do not assume that you can use them to get the better of me."
Luthor looked over the Parasite who waited.
"If Superman arrives, I will call for you," said Luthor. "Remain in this room. No one should bother you or rather tempt you."
Parasite nodded and Luthor took his leave, when his intercom buzzed to life.
"Mr. Radcliffe is here, Lex," said Mercy.
"Very well, tell him that I'll be down in my ground office for our meeting, make sure security gets him there," said Lex as he hastened his steps.
'Going to see what this guy who bungled his way into majority shares of the company is like'," thought Luthor. 'Likely some vagrant by the looks of him or perhaps a drug addict who managed to get lucky.'
In rare mental lapse, Lex Luthor left the chunk of Kryptonite in his main office cabinet. He only realized it when he was halfway down to the ground floor.
Incognito, Harry and Kara were lead in by a security guard. The name tag "Otis" could be seen on his uniform.
"Mr. Luthor will see you in a few minutes," said the security guard as he walked out. "Ah, there he comes now."
"Otis, you actually managed to steer people in the right direction for once," said Lex as he walked into the conference room to see the two sitting before them.
"Ah, the famous Lex Luthor," said Harry in a false cheerful voice. "My name is Harrison Radcliffe and this is my personal assistant Linda Lee."
Luthor considered them and then nodded. "Well, it's finally a pleasure to meet someone who seems to have stumbled into so much of my company. I must say, the little events in Vegas were surprising along with how binding they turned out to be."
"I'm sure they were a surprise, your employees lost a lot of their paycheck to me, they wanted it back," said Harry without taking a breath as he bounced around to maintain the illusion of a hyperactive goofball. "Double or nothing and here I am, having this conversation."
"Yes, you are," said Luthor. "Well, I'm sure you'll find that I'm running…"
"We've taken a good long look at how you've been running Lexcorp," said Kara as she disguised her voice in an imitation of Harry's native accent. It was not perfect but it fooled Luthor. "Myself and Harrison, that's to say Mr. Radcliffe, have been taking a good long look at some of the directions this company has been going. We're concerned."
Lex looked at them.
"Yes, we have plans for Lexcorp, big plans," said Harry as he looked at Luthor.
"We have been able to draw some interesting conclusions," said Kara. "For one, it seems like your business sense has failed you over the past four years. Most of your projects seem to be sound up until that point. Make good business sense, but then Lexcorp stock slipped a little bit. Quarterly earnings were not what they used to be…"
"I can assure you that was due to an economic downturn that affected all sectors in this city," said Luthor in a diplomatic tone of voice.
"Perhaps, but all of these explorations to hunt down meteor fragments across the globe," said Kara. "What purpose do they serve for the overall business portfolio of Lexcorp?"
Luthor paused to consider them. It seemed obvious that actually explaining himself to a shareholder was a new world for him.
"It was all because of the arrival of Superman a few years back," said Luthor. "You have heard of him, I trust?"
"Yes, a bit here and there," replied Harry.
"Yes, well, I was intrigued by his arrival as we all were," replied Luthor. "No one with that kind of power could be the golden child he claimed to be. So I ensured that in case he ever went rouge, I would have the necessary tools."
Harry and Kara sat and waited for Luthor to speak.
"I was lead to believe by a man named General Hardcastle that Superman was in the league of a threat known as Darkseid," said Luthor with pure conviction. "So I fashioned a weapon that allowed us to deal with Superman and his sidekick Supergirl. I assure you, they would have been kept prisoner safely until they got their due process in front of a jury of their peers, so to speak"
'That lying bastard,' thought Kara as Harry squeezed her hand in warning so she did not blow their cover.
"I feel that Superman may not be the hero of tomorrow as the world thinks him to be," said Luthor. "I adore Metropolis, it has allowed me to become the man I am today. Therefore, I will do anything to protect it. Superman has the potential to be a greater threat. I hoped to work with him, but he was not receptive to my diplomatic advances. He threatened me, Mr. Radcliffe. You can see why I would take the steps I need to take."
Harry looked at Luthor. He would fit in rather well with the Ministry of Magic with the blatant lies he was telling.
Luthor held up a hand and pulled out a cell phone. "Just one second, I need to take this call in the other room."
Lex Luthor left at that moment, to leave Kara and Harry alone.
"Did you want to hit him about as much as I did?" asked Kara.
"Yes, I did," agreed Harry as he looked off into the distance. "He did have some answers for everything and his story was well rehearsed, like he believed it."
"Well that's a secret to a good lie, believe everything you say," said Kara as she waited for Luthor to return. The fact she was near Luthor for so long made her stomach turn in revulsion. "So now what?"
"We dig deeper," said Harry. "I'll keep Luthor distracted, while you snoop around, draw a map of Lexcorp. Check every door and mark any areas that might have Kryptonite."
"Gotcha," said Kara, as she stole a quick kiss from Harry when no one was the wiser.
"Right, I have some more notes, my assistant needs to take care of other matters, I'll meet you in fifteen minutes!" called Harry in a cheerful voice to Luthor all the way down the hallway.
Luthor nodded as Harry turned to Kara, who had a piece of paper out.
'Just one little thing to take care of,' thought Harry as he found the controls to the security system, before he used a little magic to disable the cameras.
"Cameras and alarms are both down," said Harry as he embraced and gave Kara another kiss.
"Ready to go," said Kara after she pulled away, sooner than she would have liked and moved to check the rooms. With rapid fire, she marked several rooms, careful not to let any security see her.
She moved to an elevator and possibilities entered her head. She made a mental note to explore them later and moved to the next floor. It was slower than flying, but she could not do that and risk being found out.
Harry Potter stepped through the door and heard voices. He slipped behind a stack of boxes and stuck towards the shadows just as he'd been taught.
"Security seems lighter around here, Luthor must have made some budget cuts," muttered Lois Lane as she walked inside.
"What are we looking for again?" asked Jimmy.
"With any luck, something that will get big headlines, Jimmy," said Lois as she looked around. "You ever get the feeling that you are being watched."
"Security cameras," said Jimmy as he pointed them out.
Lois stiffened but looked the security cameras. They did not move, there were no signs they even worked. "Well this one's busted at least."
"So is that one," said Jimmy as he pointed out more and more.
"Our luck couldn't be better then," muttered the reporter as she held her notepad. "Be careful for the real guys, now the thing we're looking for is on the ninth floor."
Lois went over to the elevator but she remained frustrated when it was in use.
"Come on Jimmy, we're taking the stairs," said Lois and the photographer looked at her.
"To the ninth floor," said Jimmy, eyes widened.
"The exercise would be good for you, kid," said Lois as she lead the photographer up the stairs. Jimmy followed up nine floors.
Harry waited for them to leave and then got up. He had struck pay dirt with some unintended help.
'Ninth floor, eh,' thought Harry. 'Better for me to get there before them.'
Harry moved up the stairs to the next floor, but stopped.
'Well, I'm going to try this,' thought Harry. 'Don't think Potter, just do.'
With a pop, Harry appeared at the top of the next floor. He stumbled but he was in one piece.
Another pop, and Harry continued to Apparate one floor at a time. He could Apparate to where he could see, but likely long time distances would require more practice.
Once Harry got to a floor, a figure sensed him from the shadows. The Parasite watched this new mysterious source of power he sensed.
'Must have,' thought Parasite in a greedy manner. 'Power, like nothing I've experienced before.'
Parasite ignored his word to Luthor and went to seek out a new feeding source for his lust for power.
Harry reached the ninth floor and as he waited in the shadows. Just as he showed up, Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen walked in. The dark haired reporter stopped in her tracks.
Both stared at each other for a moment.
"You're that Radcliffe guy," muttered Lois.
"Why, yes, yes, I am," said Harry in a nonchalant voice. "And you're a reporter who can't keep out of trouble."
"Hey, give me some credit, I haven't gotten in any trouble in months," said Lois without missing a beat as Jimmy stepped off to see if he could take some photos. "What are you doing here anyway?"
"What are you doing here?" countered Harry.
"I asked you first, pal," argued Lois.
"Well I asked you second and two is a higher number than one," said Harry.
Lois looked flustered at that response but regained her bearings.
"What kind of logic is that?" demanded Lois in a frustrated voice, as she clutched her notepad in her hand. "Are you absolutely..."
"Yes, I am," said Harry in a cheerful voice before he added in a serious voice. "But you are trespassing, Miss Lane. You're snooping around, in things that don't concern you. You could have an accident."
"Hey, are you threatening me?" asked Lois. "You wouldn't be the first person to do that this week you know."
"No, not a threat, merely a warning," said Harry. "I have every right to be here but you on the other hand don't."
Lois held her pen in her hand and scribbled down some notes but Harry pulled it out of her hand.
"Another Luthor stooge?" read Harry before his expression darkened. "Ah, judging me such, I'm hurt, really I am."
"Look, you're covering up something, so what else can you be?" asked Lois.
"Really, that's what you think," said Harry with a chuckle before he added in a mysterious voice. "Just when you have all of the answers Miss Lane, they keep changing the questions."
Lois clutched her pen as Harry allowed her to have her notepad.
"Well I don't have any answers from you," said Lois. "One of my sources here in Lexcorp told me there would be something big, something you're hiding…"
"Oh, really, I'm looking for the something big here too," said Harry. "Luthor didn't mention that during our meeting."
"Well, I don't believe you," said Lois.
"Well, that's not my problem," replied Harry. "And I did warn you that there might be consequences to you snooping around here. If Luthor is up to something dangerous, what makes you think he'd let you leave?"
"Again, are you threatening me?" demanded the reporter as she stepped in, leaned down, and got up in Harry's face.
Harry stepped to the side before he looked at her. His patience wavered at the breaking point. It was an interesting experience to be on the other side of a person who could not stop snooping around.
"You, enjoy it, don't you?" asked Harry. "You get off on throwing yourself in danger so Superman can save you!"
"HEY!" yelled Lois. "I don't…"
"Yes, you do," said Harry.
"Look I don't need to be psychoanalyzed by one of Luthor's flunkies," said Lois.
"LISTEN TO ME YOU DENSE WOMAN, I'M TRYING TO HELP YOU!" snapped Harry.
Lois took a step back and blinked several times. At that point, Jimmy poked his head out of the next room.
"Um, there's something I think you should see," said Jimmy.
"Well you better see it quickly, because security's coming, into the next room," said Harry as he ushered them both inside.
Harry turned to face Otis the security guard.
"I heard voices, Mr. Radcliffe, I hoped no one was disturbing you," said Otis as he looked at the young man before him.
"Well, I've seen disturbing things around here," said Harry. "I saw some dark haired woman and a photographer in here, you wouldn't happen to know them?"
"Lois Lane, she's been snooping around, Mr. Luthor won't like that," said Otis as he shuffled nervously. "Did you see what way they went?"
Harry was visited by a sudden burst of inspiration. He almost felt bad but he quelled those impulses.
He lead Otis off to the side and pulled the door open.
"I think they went through this door," said Harry. "I'm sure, Mr. Luthor will be very happy if you find them."
"Oh, you think so," said the security guard with glee as he rubbed his hands together. "Thanks a lot Mr. Radcliffe, you're such a swell guy."
"I do try," said Harry, as Otis walked through the doorway.
With a swift movement, Harry slammed the door marked "CLOSET" shut and locked it.
'What a maroon,' thought Harry to himself with a chuckle.
With that, Harry heard pounding on the door but he quickened his strides. Lois and Jimmy had been parked in front of the computer.
"What's that?" asked Harry, as he moved them over and began to read the description.
'Smart weapon developed to eliminate the Kryptonian threat in a permanent way,' read Harry who already felt his fists clench. 'Will deploy a probe containing Nano Technology infused with liquefied Kryptonite. Probe will resemble a nondescript mosquito. Kryptonians will be injected with liquefied Kryptonite which will lead to a slow and painful death. Simulations show that causalities in the vicinity due to aliens being driven manic by the pain. Supergirl and Superman will not be able to hide once weapon is deployed. Estimated time of launch: 5 hours and 24 minutes."
Harry understood only parts of what he read. He did understand enough to want to kill Lex Luthor.
Several lights shattered in the hallway outside from where they stood. Harry's clutched his fists as the light fixtures swung back and forth. Windows nearby cracked slightly.
"Um, Mr. Radcliffe," said Jimmy in a tentative voice but he backed down.
Lois Lane stood as she read the same report over and backed away.
"This time Luthor's gone too far, he's planning murder, Jimmy get pictures, we're getting the SCU on the line right away," said Lois without taking a breath.
The footsteps outside indicated the arrival of security. Harry braced himself for a fight, as he pushed Lois and Jimmy directly out the door away.
Then he moved out the door and made quick strides towards Luthor's office.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a purple shape move towards him. Harry prepared to engage it.
"Feed me!" growled the Parasite, as he dove at Harry hands outstretched.
Harry managed to hold onto his wand, but his inability to aim it made the act difficult. He struggled with the Parasite. The fight continued as Harry blasted him twice hard but the creature kept coming for him.
The Parasite could smell the power radiating off of this one. He struggled which made the hunt even better.
"I like it when they fight!" yelled Parasite. "Makes it taste so much better!"
Harry blasted Parasite backwards but this only stalled him for a minute. Parasite grabbed Harry and threw him down, before he proceeded to drain Harry's magic. The Boy-Who-Lived kicked, fought, and scratched, but Parasite just pushed harder.
"YES, YES, YES!" yelled Parasite in sadistic glee as he drank up this new source of power. He felt a great high as he gorged himself.
Harry slumped to the ground and shivered. He felt like he had experienced the worst case of the flu. He still held his wand in his hand.
He flicked it. Nothing came out, not even a spark. He made several more attempts to do so but nothing.
'That's not good,' thought Harry.
He watched as Parasite levitated several boxes into the air and juggled them all without a benefit of a wand.
'And that's even worse,' added Harry mentally.
Parasite moved in, high on magic as Harry pulled himself off of the ground. Sweat rolled down his cheeks, eyes were red, as he shivered once again.
He likely had been in a worse situation before but he was too drained and ill to think.