Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Marvel comics, Iron Man, or The Avengers.

Armoured Skill

Chapter I

Prologue

Beginning Skill

"So, he's still not even tried to blag his way out?" asked Len, one of the leading investigators with the London Police. "Hmm, the way his uncle was talking about him, you would think he's nothing but a lying piece of crap with... well, with nothing better to do than lie or cause trouble."

"Yeah, I noticed, it just seems... well, something isn't right with this," agreed his partner Kevin. "The kids file is clean to near nonexistent. It's like this kid just appeared out of nowhere, and looking over records this Lily Evans; his mother just doesn't exist. Then, that's not mentioning how much contempt Petunia Dursley seems to have for her."

"Not even a death record for her or her husband. In fact, Lily's husband seems to not even have a birth record," he agreed frowning in thought as he sighed tapping his fingers against the table they sat at in their office, (a habit he has when deep in thought). "Lily Evans, or Lily Potter, or whatever just seems to have disappeared sometime after her eleventh birthday, yet nobody reported her missing, which I find strange.

"Then there's this whole freak business," he continued, annoyed. "I mean, seriously. The Dursley parents must be mentally unbalanced, believing the boy has magical powers."

His partner Kevin, laughed, rolling his eyes. "Honestly, me, I wouldn't care even if he did have magical powers; he's just a kid and needs protecting. Plus, he seems pretty oblivious to anything magical to me. If he had magic, wouldn't it defend him?"

Len laughed, rolling his blue eyes. "I know, and you know, if he did, why the hate; it could come back to turn you into a frog in the future if you're not careful!"

Kevin nodded, thinking. "Though, the Dursley parents are so adamant that they've only treated him right since his parents supposed dead, and that he's just spit in their faces! Though, it's odd how his school says he's a genius of a student but every class he shares with Dudley Dursley seems to make him stupid!"

"Not to mention the teacher who supposedly called social services," Len agreed, frowning. "The paper and computer records are fine, but the investigators didn't do much but visit the Dursley's, and then, though the paper trail says that the Dursley's are unfit guardians, or parents, they just stopped."

"Maybe it is magic," Kevin said nervously. "Though, wouldn't that leave some evil tormenting the boy?!"

Len shrugged trying not to think about it. "Well for whatever reason, mate, we have to look out for the boy. He's not even thirteen yet, and already in trouble, but looking... he was certainly escaping in my opinion. We'll have to listen to his side of events. Let's just hope we can actually do something for him if he is just trying to run from them."

"Sirs!" interrupted a young man as he knocked on their office door and entered with some paper files in his hands.

"Martin?" Len asked, surprised by the interruption.

He nodded with a show of respect. "The doctor has finished examining Mr. Harry Potter, and isn't pleased. I was there, and he had burns, cuts, bruises, and healed lacerations, and is highly underfed and suffering malnutrition. You should have seen him eat. It was like a wild animal who barely got to feed or something."

Both Kevin and Len were wide eyed with horror as they were given the reports. "So, is he fit for interview?!" Kevin asked after a moment's thought.

Martin nodded his head. "Mentally, yes," he agreed. "Though, the doctor had said that we should get Harry to hospital soon after for X-rays and tests. His appropriate adult has already arrived since those... Dursley's didn't want anything more to do with him, not that his solicitor would let them near him."

Len quivered as he responded with a nod. "Good, that fat bloke gave me bad vibes, I'm glad they're not here. It could put the kid off telling the truth."

"Harry doesn't seem like a bad kid to me," Martin said as he stepped out of the small office, holding the door. "For what he seems to have been through, seems pretty good. I just hope this gets sorted in his favour or he could go down a bad path!" he finished before leaving the office, closing the door behind him.

"I'll have to agree with that," Len said to Kevin looking over the medical report. "We saw his supposed room. It didn't look like it was used for anything but broken toys and games. They said he broke it all, but that fat kid of theirs. He broke that transformer toy he was playing with while there and didn't act as if that were knew."

Kevin laughed bitterly. "It's looking more and more like a huge case of neglect and abuse to me. And I can tell you I would hate having them as members of my family. The more I hear and think the more, augh! Well, listening to their neighbours they barely see Harry even during holidays from school!"

"Yeah, I noticed that too," Len agreed thoughtfully. "Apparently Harry is to blame for everything that goes wrong around the neighbourhood, even though nobody sees him doing it. Then asking a few of those kids from the neighbourhood..."

"They blame Dudley Dursley," Kevin interrupted, coldly. "Which means that the parents are too stupid to listen to their kids; if they had listened Harry might have been set free before now...!" he said but paused as another knock on the door interrupted before Martin barged back in.

"We've just came up with some success," he said, entering, looking like he ran back. "The team just found a Mrs Evans, Lily Evans's mother," he said, shocking the other two. "Her husband had died a few years ago of heart dieses she now lives in a small cottage in Cornwall," he said looking over the paperwork he's holding.

"They've already contacted her," he continued, excited. "She thought Harry was dead, and she's on her way to come and pick him up when he's well enough to leave of course, given that it looks like he's the real victim here."

Len sighed in relief. "Did she mention anything about this magic rubbish?" he asked, curious.

Martin nodded his head. "Yeah, let's see," he said shuffling his papers. "The officers sent to the cottage mentioned the weird claims to her, and though shocked she quickly debunked it as her daughter, Petunia being a religious nut or something like that, and Lily having been involved with some Wicca religious stuff when she was younger. She was shocked to hear Harry is alive, and wants to take custody of him."

Kevin nodded respectfully. "Yes, the way the Dursley's ranted and raved about this secret, 'Magical World', I don't blame Mrs. Evans for turning her back on her eldest daughter. Though, why Harry wasn't sent to his grandparents, and some of these oddities, well, let's hope we get it sorted out as soon as we can."

"Well, thank you," Len said as he took the new papers and added them to their pile. "I hope we can sort this soon and hopefully, help Harry get on a good track with his grandmother!"

Martin nodded with a grin. "No problem guys, it feels good to be helpful, that's for sure," he said as he left again, closing the door behind him.

"It would be more helpful if he waited to get an invite rather than just barging in like that," Kevin commented, slightly amused. "This leaves us with more evidence against the Dursley's. It seems they've been treating Harry badly because Petunia Dursley's sister Lily Evans used to be a part of the Wiccan faith, or maybe still was when she died."

"Religious hate crimes, always terrible," Len agreed sighing. "Though, that still doesn't explain where Lily Evans disappeared too when she should have been heading to senior school."

Kevin nodded in agreement. "I see what you're seeing here, but thinking, really, it's likely that Lily was sent to private school for gifted children. I've heard of other kids seeming to disappear only to reappear, their records badly kept by the schools, but at least exam results will be somewhere if we look hard enough."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," he agreed, nodding. "So, shall we get this over with; speak with the boy since he has an adult present; his solicitor has been here for a while talking with him so he should know his rights enough by now, and the guy with him is no slouch! Having crashed the car he had stolen into Mr. Murdock's taxi, and him being in town."

"Then offering to take Harry's defence," Kevin agreed, looking as confused as he sounded. "For a blind guy he seems to see more than most, I swear. He seemed to realise that this was more than meets the eyes, quite literally, and even we've heard of Mr. Murdock's cases over in the states with that... well crime syndicate thing, but taking on a kid, free of charge."

Len chuckled as he stood up. "Maybe the universe was giving the kid a break."

"I try not to believe in fate," Kevin said, smirking as he stood, stretching some kinks out of his body. "But I suppose that was a fluke and a half, and then maybe some more. If there is Lady Luck, Harry has just been favoured."

"Hey, he had to get something from her eventually," his partner replied as he gathered up all of their papers and led his partner out of the office door and down the corridor. "I mean, from the gathering evidence, let's just hope really hard that everything works out for the kid."

"Well let's hope we can give him some much needed improvements," he agreed trying not to show his annoyance as he looked at the file picture he had managed to get of Vernon Dursley.

While they were heading down from the offices to the cells to see, Harry Potter; Harry himself was sitting on a hard bed 'mattress', which consisted of just a thin blue foam thing on solid concrete. It was hard and uncomfortable.

He sat hugging his knees, his twelve and three quarter year old emerald green eyes just staring off into space, not really looking at anything. He's wearing a baggy blue track suit, which needed extra string to hold it up since it was his elephant cousins before his.

Mr. Murdock sat next to him in the cold cell, the steel toilet out in the open left uncared for wouldn't be a place Harry would want to go to the loo.

The brown haired solicitor or lawyer, or whatever was wearing a black suit with white shirt and black tie and shoes. He was also wearing dark glasses over his eyes and holding a white stick because he's blind. Harry felt bad about that, but he had serious problems too.

Though, looking to the cell door, it was nice that it was left open. He wasn't keen on any kind of confinement. It made him feel sick and trapped, and like he couldn't draw in any real breath. He ran his fingers through his mess of black hair, half worried, half curious.

His mind was abuzz of possibility, wonder, and even an emotion he had long since had squished: hope. He had always wished to feel hope, to feel freedom; to be able to feel the wind through his hair without that chill of fear in the background.

He had watched his horrid uncle driving before, quite a few times so knew from observation that it wasn't hard; well to him at least. However, some idiot who should have his licence taken pulled out in front of him.

It turned out he crashed into a taxi, and a blind man had saved him as the car had flipped and set on fire, it was lucky he wasn't hurt. Then the blind man; a lawyer, wants to represent him, for free.

Harry had found it awkward talking to a stranger about the Dursley's, and though he sensed some well hidden anger, it wasn't aimed at him. Mr. Murdock listened, asking questions when needed and encouraged him to tell the truth.

So, Mr. Murdock wants him to tell the police everything so justice can be brought upon the Dursley's and that they won't get away with the wrongs they have done. Harry had always known somewhere that the Dursley's were wrong, but years of mistreatment made him wonder.

Though, this time, the Dursley's, they weren't suddenly getting away with their lies. Harry had done something huge enough to finally get noticed. It felt quite exhilarating to know that for once, people are listening and really helping; they're not running away, calling him a liar.

Harry had watched many times; the Dursley's would blame him for doing things that his cousin Dudley had done; bad things. However, though the parents, without proof would take the Dursley's side. He saw, from the shadows that the other kids tried at first to set the record straight, but parents being parents never gave a dam about what their children think over adults.

He had even been fed here, at the police station, though the food taste like crap he ate everything, and then some more. He hadn't eaten so well in years, or ever thinking about it. He would rather stay in the police station than ever go back to those Dursley's.

It was with a quiver that Harry remembered the scarce suppers and nothing while at school. The teachers either didn't know or care, but what got to Harry most is HE cooked up everything and got near squat but grief from the Dursley's. They called him a lazy good for nothing when he did EVERYTHING.

He did the cooking, the laundry, tidying the house, the gardening, and even washing the car. He's grown tired enough that dark circles have formed around his eyes and he wonders whether the lack of sleep is making him crazy enough that he stole his uncles car and five grand cash he knew from his chores that Vernon stashed in his bottom draw.

Though, he supposes he's gotten pretty good at cooking; though they complain they eat it all greedily. He would just like to taste what he's cooked himself one day, rather than meagre scraps of nothing.

Wondering whether they called in the Dursley's yet just depressed him; but Mr. Murdock had said that he'll keep them away from him, and use the law to its fullest. He hopes he can get some... hope, and then maybe, someday he can become someone important, someone powerful.

He seemed to go into some kind of automated mode as the police arrived and introduced his appropriate adult; a nice young woman who held his hand all the way to and through the questioning. He didn't much pay attention, but under his solicitors prompting he told them everything he knows, everything.

It was embarrassing the amount of pity aimed at him before he was released and sent onto the hospital where he would be put on medications, and a few bones re-broke and set correctly after the X-rays, but he was OK with that if it would help him.

Harry was surprised after he had just gotten settled in the hospital to find out he had a grandma. She's old with greying red hair, but with bright green eyes. He felt smothered as she visited every day, apologising for never knowing about him. He didn't mind; it was new, unusual, nice, and quite comforting, and she brought him nice and tasty treats.

He didn't understand how someone so kind could have such a child like Petunia. Though, he didn't ask her as she already looked so shameful thinking about her eldest daughter.

The police had raided the Dursley's house and arrested them, finding the cupboard under the stairs, and more evidence of the Dursley's abuse, even a letter from some old guy called Dumbledore, which angered his grandmother, but only he seemed to notice. It pretty much asked them to hurt him, to end him, and that he would become a danger to 'them', whoever that means.

However, it was later that year when Harry was well on his way to mending, and had been accepted into a school for gifted children; he had not long turned thirteen. He heard his mother had too when she was eleven, but she wanted to go someplace else, and he was curious.

"Oh, Harry," she said with a sigh as she sat at her favourite chair in the lounge and he sat near on the three seat sofa. "I guess it's time I tell you about magic, and the magical world," she had said shocking him. "Yes," she said smiling. "It really does exist, and your mother was a witch, but that doesn't mean she was bad or anything, never, your mother was the kindest soul around."

"Then why would she leave me with... them?" he asked, worried. "I mean, you were here, and Grandpa before he..." he trailed off as she looked sad, and he felt bad for never knowing his grandpa.

"It's an old magician called Albus Dumbledore," she said, honestly. "Even when she was young she didn't trust him. She said he tries to control everything, and doesn't care about the consequences of being wrong. To him, if he's wrong it doesn't matter; if he's right he lets the world know, but the in-between being right and wrong is what's worrying.

"He has so much control over the people," she carried on. "He's the Headmaster of a prestige school of magic, so he grooms the children into worshiping his belief's, and those who don't he'll call neutral if they step aside, and dark if they fight him, even if they're good people, he and his followers don't care.

"It was awhile before your birth that I realised something went wrong, well, your grandpa and me," she said. "Lily had been acting oddly, and then out of nowhere was marrying James Potter. Now, we had met James before, and he was a good boy but even he didn't seem to understand why.

"James had liked your mother at school," she said chuckling at the memory. "But they had just become friends. Though, of course we were happy they had finally gotten together they started getting distant. I had only been told that she had a son, but... something sounded off in the letter that I don't understand.

"However, it's Dumbledore," she said growling, angry. "If he did this to you he's obviously afraid that you could dethrone him, too chicken to do the job himself. Often, these pretend heroes are complete cowards, not like your grandfather, who fought in the war you know," she said not elaborating in which war.

"S-so... I have magic?" he asked in awe, feeling terrible that not only having his parents taken, but grandparents and magic too, just because some old guy felt threatened.

She nodded her head readily. "From what I heard of the mental ravings of Petunia at court, yes Harry, but I'm sorry I wouldn't know how to teach you how to use your magic!" sounding odd about that, almost amused, and not quite truthful, and he's heard half-lies and non-truths enough, but he didn't bring it up as he's grateful to have her.

"That's OK, Grandma," he replied with a rare grin, lightening her mood. "I'm going to be an awesome scientist one day, and then, then I'm, I'm going to find them, and make Dumbledore regret ever kidnapping me!"

She smiled; at peace with his sentiment, but there is that part of her that doesn't doubt a word he says. "Of course you will Harry... I can see great things coming from you, but don't spend too much time on revenge. You're one of the imaginative one's, with the smarts to match. There are so many people whose lives you can change for the better."

Harry grinned at his grandma, giggling. "I think... I think I want to change who I am... my name, so they won't realise who I am until it's too late, but it will be slow, simple, too simple for them to have a clue if they ever would. This way, they can't stop me, and maybe I can research magic too if I have it and stuff right?!" he said actually having some faith for once, but only faith in his grandma and her faith in him.

"Yes, I think that would be a great idea, if that's what you want?" she replied, humouring her grandson, not realising he is one hundred percent into this idea. "Well, do you have a name you have in mind?" she asked, smiling, not realising he had given changing his name quite some thought before now, to spread his wings and be renewed, ironically like a phoenix.

He nodded, grinning as he startled her. "Yes, as a matter of fact grandma, I have," he said, excited to discuss this with her so she nodded for him to continue. "Harry Evans," he said smiling. "Its so simple that they won't give it a seconds thought. But I want to be like Prometheus from Greek Mythology. He gave the humans fire, but unlike him; I'll be stronger than the gods, and bring them too their knees."

He smiled as she stroked his cheek, proud of his thought. "Then Evans is simple as its your name, and people can be so ignorant that they won't realise. So I can be like you and mean something new," he said while she nodded, smiling. "I just want to hope, you know grandma, hope I can be something special!" he smiled at her sadly. "I want to prove something, something to myself and others! To bring new flames to the world!"

His grandma just gave him a look of pride as she pulled him caringly into her arms, hugging his as tightly as she dare. "You are going to be something special, Harry, something so much better than a pretend hero who would hurt innocent children to protect his fakary."

He grinned, embarrassed as he squeezed out of her hug while she smiled, pleased her plans for saving him are going so much better than she had hoped. "Thanks Grandma. I just want to do something, and if I get to meet this Dumbledore, I'll get him back, and teach him right from wrong! You helped save me, but why... why did Dumbledore have too..."

"I really don't know, I wish I did," she answered, smiling softy, and this time perfectly truthful. "I just know that I'll tell you everything you want too, or need to know about these people, and maybe you can figure something out. From your test results I don't and won't ever doubt you'll do something spectacular.

"I know how to find the magical world Harry, and I'll tell you everything I can," she continued, patting his hands while he looked to her hopeful. "But you must promise me, promise that you won't go there until you're strong enough to go there and protect yourself from their powers. We'll get you some lessons in self defence and I'm sure, if you work your way high enough-."

"I'll make technology that can help me too," he interrupted excitedly. "And maybe, maybe I can figure out some magic too, and be... umm... awesome."

"But from my knowledge they need a wand, except for when it's an accident," she answered slowly and thoughtfully, just nudging at his intrigue enough. "I heard the woman who came to speak with us and your mother, before her first year, Professor McGonagall say that accidental magic is caused by great emotions, mainly fear or anger, but I suppose other emotions might do stuff too, if they're great enough."

"Then, if I have to Grandma, I'll learn to control my emotions enough to be able to do something cool to help protect myself," he replied grinning at the thought of all of the experiments he can do to find out everything he can about magic and how it works, even before walking into the magical world to seek any kind of payback on this old man, Dumbledore.

"Seeing the way your mind works, sweetie, I won't ever doubt you can," she answered laughing before she stood from her chair smiling at her grandson, so full of hope. "So... Harry Evans, what do you want for a celebration supper before you head off to school for your first day come, two weeks Monday?" she said as they only have two weeks once Monday arrives until the summer holiday ends

He grinned at her and started blabbering about all kinds of things he might like to have and try, neither realising that with this, everything, and anything, the world had just changed drastically as he tells her about all the different foods he might like to try for the first time; his curiosity spiked.

It would be over the remaining holidays that Mrs. Evans would change Harry Potter's name from Harry Potter to Harry Evans as if Harry Potter never existed, and made sure that his new school registered him anew under this fresh start where he would someday soon remodel the world, and make great, impossible things!

To Be Continued...

Authors Note: This is an overhaul, and rewrite of my CyberTech series, CyberTech: War of the Worlds and CyberTech: Open Worlds, and though similar when it comes to concept and plot it will be vastly different too. Armoured Skill is both the new and old as I have had some people comment on the need for a rewrite of the first, War of the Worlds especially, and I agree. I was NOT happy with it. I just hope loyal CyberTech fans love this new version just as much, thank you, opinions very welcome, thank you. Its going to be much improved. I hope you enjoy it!