Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Dark Angel

A/N: Just as way of friendly warning, to anyone who has read my other stories, Albus Dumbledore has always been put in a bad light. For a change he will not be an evil, power hungry, stealing wizard bent on world domination in this story.

Summary: AU Crossover w/Dark Angel, Harry Potter as the wizarding world knew him never existed. In his place was X5-701, a soldier of Manticore. After discovering the existence of the Death Eaters and the Breeding Cult, Harry is thrown into a war that will determine the future of both the wizarding and muggle worlds.

Chapter 1: All things have a beginning

July 31st, 1990

Wyoming, USA

James and Lily Potter were nervous. They were about to pick up their child. Both were young, in their early twenties. James stood a little over 6' with messy black hair and brown eyes. He was handsome dressed in black pants and a red button down shirt. Lily had shoulder length dark red hair with deep green eyes. Her skin was pale but she carried herself with confidence.

This was only their second trip to the United States. The first time had been 10 months ago. Both Lily and James wanted children but right now, in the UK there was a war going on the wizarding world. Rather than sit on the sidelines as most of their world was doing, the young couple had chosen to fight and joined the Order of the Phoenix, a resistance group led by Albus Dumbledore. Their foe was a dark wizard named Voldemort and his followers the Death Eaters. Given the danger they were in, James wanted to have a child early so that the Potter name would continue in case something should happen to them. But the fight was too important though, it would be dangerous for Lily to go through her pregnancy during the war and she was needed by the Order.

James had almost given up on the idea until Lily remembered hearing about a new program in the United States. They were looking for donations of genetic material that was being used for ground breaking in vitro fertilization research. Nothing to lose, they had taken a week and gone to the United States.

While there, the couple met with a man named Donald Lydecker, a Colonel with US military. He was in charge of the program. He explained the procedure to them, that surrogate mothers could be used if Lily wasn't in a position to carry the baby. He also stressed the importance that he be made aware of anything that could impact the baby and reluctantly James and Lily told him of the wizarding world, such was their desire to have a child.

His face a mask of indifference, inwardly Lydecker was reeling from the revelations given by James and Lily Potter. Of course he had demanded a demonstration; he couldn't risk Manticore being polluted with weak genes and was astounded at the feats they performed for him. There was no doubt in his mind that he would accept them, adding the genes that allowed a child to perform magic would be an incredible advantage to his soldiers.

The decision was made quickly to allow James and Lily into the program. It was explained to them that they would have custody of the child for the first four years. After that, the child would receive special schooling for ten months of the year, the remainder of which could be spent with them. While they weren't entirely happy with the arrangement, both agreed that it was the best they could hope for since there were no options for them in the wizarding world.

It had taken Lydecker's team close to two months to isolate the genes that were likely responsible for allowing a person to perform magic. It was incorporated, along with cat DNA and other changes into all the future X5 embryos. Based on what he had learned from James and Lily, Manticore would need to acquire the services of a few wizards for training once the X5s were old enough. There was time to work that out later.

Now here they were 11 months later, James and Lily had returned for their child. Normally, Lydecker would not have allowed someone to take one of his X5s like this, but it was worth it. Plus, there was little to be done with them until they were 4 years old anywhere, they simply weren't developed enough, even with the additions to their DNA. The human body just wasn't mature enough prior to that age to begin indoctrination and training.

"James, Lily it's good to see you again." Donald said pleasantly. Reaching out, he shook both their hands. "Are you ready to greet you son?"

James beamed, they had not been told the sex of the child only that it had taken sometime before there was a successful implantation, whatever that meant. "Lord yes, you have no idea what this means to us."

A rather nondescript man walked out carrying a small baby wrapped in a sterile looking white blanket. Only his head was visible, Lily eagerly reached out to hold her new son. She melted when he opened his eyes and she saw bright green eyes just like hers. He even had a little bit of black hair though it was too early to say if it would be perpetually messy the way James' was.

While Lily was falling in love with their son, James and Donald were going over paperwork and provisions for the baby's care. "James, this is a non-disclosure agreement it basically says that if you tell anybody about Manticore and the work we do that we have the legal right to take custody of your son." Donald held up his hand to stop James before even opened his mouth "The technology we used to do this is very advanced and other countries and companies would love to get their hands on it, which is the reason for such a harsh penalty."

James thought about it for a moment and realized it wasn't that big of risk. There was no reason for them to tell any of their friends what they had done. They had already come up with a story to tell their friends so he signed his name to the agreement.

Donald slid the paperwork away and pulled out another batch of paperwork. "Ok, I'm a little surprised your wife hasn't noticed yet but there are a couple of things that I need to explain to you about your son." This was the trickiest part of the setup. Lydecker had come up with a cover for the barcode and tracking device. Hopefully, they would buy his story, since they seemed to have so little knowledge of how things worked outside of the wizarding world they may be naïve enough. "Because this procedure is so new, we are giving you a list of symptoms to be on the lookout for. If any of them appear you must contact us immediately. To help we implanted a small transmitter that will continually monitor your son's health." In reality, it was a hardened transmitter that would allow Manticore to track his location. The technicians were hoping that by using a hardened transmitter designed to work even after an EMP it would function in a magical environment.

Just as Lydecker was about to explain the last bit Lily asked "What's this on the back of his neck?"

James and Lydecker moved over to see what she was pointing at. To James, it looked like a bizarre series of black lines of varying width. Lily recognized it. It was a black bar code that appeared to be tattooed onto him. Lydecker cleared his throat "Yes about that, during the fertilization process it is necessary to keep accurate track of each embryo. The most effective way of doing that was to add that barcode into his gene sequence. It is unique to each embryo and can't be changed since it is part of their genetic structure."

Lily was about to retort but changed her mind. Obviously, there was little she could do about it now even if it did seem a little barbaric. "I guess it doesn't matter. We can always put a charm over it so people can't see it."

There were a few more things that Lydecker explained to them and reiterated their agreement one final time before allowing the couple to leave with X5-3928777694-701 or simply X5-701.

As soon as James and Lily left with X5-701, Donald gave orders to two agents that were part of the Manticore military detail. They were going to be living in the UK for the next few years to ensure that the Potters lived up to their end of the agreement.

And so James and Lily returned to Godric's Hollow excited to present their new son Harry James Potter to the wizarding world.

November 14th, 1991

Little Whining, Surrey, UK

It was just over two weeks since James and Lily Potter had been killed at the hands of Lord Voldemort. In his moment of victory, Voldemort sought to destroy the one prophesized to be his downfall, their son, Harry Potter. That moment of victory turned to ashes as the killing curse rebounded from Harry leaving him with only a scar and destroying Voldemort's body.

With his parents dead and his god father, Sirius Black, responsible for their betrayal; Albus Dumbledore was left with few options for placement of Harry. It was his sincere desire that the child be allowed to grow up without the awe and adulation of the wizarding world dogging his every step. The boy had already done so much for the wizarding world and it was his belief that Harry would be forced to do it again when Voldemort returned. Hopefully Lily's sister would be able to move beyond her problems with Lily and the wizarding world to raise Harry with love.

Thus, Harry was left for the Dursleys to find on their doorstep. Out of duty and nothing more, Petunia reluctantly accepted the boy into her home but she refused to show him the slightest affection. It was shortly after 10am in the morning when someone knocked on the door. Opening the door she saw two men standing there. At first she thought they might be wizards but they appeared entirely normal to her. They were dressed in dark suits and long black trench coats. "Yes, can I help you?"

"Petunia Dursley?" The ash-blond haired man asked.

"Yes, I'm Petunia Dursley, who are you?" She asked again not moving from the door and making no effort to invite them in.

"My name is Donald Lydecker and I've come for your nephew. Perhaps it would better if we talk about this inside."

Petunia's hopes soared; someone wanted to take the boy. She wouldn't have to worry about his freakishness anymore. Wordlessly she opened the door wider and let the two men inside. Once inside, she directed them to the living room. "How do you know about my nephew?"

"Mrs. Dursley, unfortunately I can't explain everything but I was given legal custody of your nephew if something ever happened to your sister and her husband." He opened the briefcase and pulled out a series of documents that he handed over to Petunia.

She took some time going over everything and reading fully. It was true; this man had custody of the boy. There was nothing any of those other freaks could say about it. She was almost tempted to warn him but then he might not want to take the boy and she would be stuck with him. "Everything seems to be in order, let me get him for you."

Lydecker was thrilled at his luck. The prissy woman wasn't even going to put up a fight. "Thank you, we do have a flight to catch." Luckily when James and Lily had missed their monthly check with him, his agents had found the boy in the care of his aunt through the tracking unit that had been implanted. The tracker had worked better than he expected.

Petunia stood and hurried to the other room where she was keeping both the boy and her own son. The boy was held loosely in her arms when she returned to the room and gratefully handed him over to Lydecker. He smiled down at the boy, now 701 would be back where he belonged back at Manticore. The scar bothered him, it would have to be removed it was too recognizable a characteristic. The X5s had been designed to be aesthetically pleasing to the eye but scar would make 701 stand out too much. It would be a simple matter for the surgeons to remove. While he had a moment of sadness for the deaths of James and Lily, it would make things much easier this way.

September 1st, 1999

Manticore Base, WY US

X5-701 was standing at attention, his back ramrod straight, his eyes looking straight ahead never wavering, and his expression flat. Standing next to him was his another member of his unit. He had hazel eyes and short light brown hair. Like X5-701, he was standing at attention waiting for their commander to speak.

Colonel Donald Lydecker was sitting behind his desk observing two of his best 'kids.' Of all the X5s, they were the only two to exhibit signs of magic. In the other X5s the gene appeared to be recessive so it was not expressed. Despite the repeated genetic assays and tests run on the two, his scientists had yet to determine what it was that had made the gene dominant in them. Putting aside the 'magic' element, the two deserved to be in the top unit but because X5-494's twin was in that unit, he had both placed in the second unit. The pair had formed a cohesive group with the rest of their unit but it was evident to all the trainers that when they worked together, they were truly magnificent. They knew the other's patterns, strengths and weaknesses and were virtually perfect complements to each other.

Lydecker already had plans for them. Each unit was designed for different activities. Both 701 & 494 were designed for stealth operations. Together, they were going to make the perfect assassins.

He was pleased to note that after almost five minutes of waiting, neither boy moved, made a sound, or even looked around. "701, 494 do you know why I've called you here today?"

"No sir!" Both boys answered in loud clear voices.

"You both will be receiving special training starting next week. It will be in the evenings once you unit training is complete for the day. Are there any questions so far?"

494 spoke up "Sir, why are just the two us receiving training and not our unit?"

"Because you both have a unique genetic characteristic that has not been expressed in the other X5s. Consequently, you will require special training. The nature of your training is considered classified and therefore is not to be shared with your unit or any of the X units. Do you understand?"

"Sir yes sir!" They responded forcefully.

Lydecker studied them for another moment before nodding and stating "Dismissed."

The pair never relaxed. As one, they turned on their heels and exited his office leaving Lydecker to his plans. It had taken him years to find the right people for this. The wizarding…Lydecker snorted at the idiotic name, the wizarding world was paranoid to the extreme. In the end though, money still talked enough to bring even the most paranoid out into the open.

The first to take the bait was a witch named Elena, it didn't take long to realize that she was on the run from something and desperate. Elena would have been useless as a trainer for his 'kids' but she was still useful before he had her disposed of. While magic would provide a definite edge, Manticore needed a defense should it ever be used against them. Elena had become their first test subject. In the three years she had been held captive, Manticore's scientists had tested numerous chemical compounds to dampen her magical ability. A few compounds had proven promising but they were still under development to refine and strengthen the potency.

The second and third were wizards. Neither had lasted long but one of the men gave Lydecker a method to contact someone he called a hit wizard. By the sounds of it, they were magical bounty hunters. The scientists had developed a more permanent solution. A retrovirus was developed that attacked the gene sequence they suspected was responsible for performing magic. Within a matter of days, both men were dead. However, the retrovirus was incredibly contagious and would spread rapidly, making it virtually impossible to control. The scientists were working on a way to target specific individuals by targeting specific portions of their DNA, thereby making the retrovirus deadly only to the designated targets.

More wizards and witches showed up over the years before Lydecker finally found a hit wizard that would be suitable for training the two boys. Luckily for him, Lydecker needed him or the man would have ended as a test subject like the others. Still, once the boys were trained, the man would be eliminated. Knowledge of Manticore could not be allowed to escape. In the end, he would have silenced James and Lily Potter but someone had taken care of that for him.

July 31st, 2001

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry, UK

An alarm started to ring in the Headmaster's office. It's occupant looked up worriedly from the documents he had been reading detailing lesson plans for the upcoming school year starting in September. Quickly standing and moving over to one of the many shelves lining the walls of his office, he pulled down a strange silver device that appeared to be a replica of a typical muggle suburban home. He stared at the device sitting in his hand for long seconds before he realized the significance of the alarm. The blood wards at Harry Potter's home had fallen.

Without further delay, Albus Dumbledore Headmaster of Hogwarts gathered two of his best professors, Minerva McGonagall and Filius Flitwick to investigate the situation with him. Using a specially made portkey that allowed them to bypass the wards of Hogwarts, the three professors disappeared from the school to reappear at the edge of Privet Drive in Little Whining.

Each had their wands drawn prepared for the worst, but there was no sign of any danger or threats. Albus had been half expecting to see the dark mark floating in the sky above the quiet street but there was nothing. Everything was quiet and peaceful. Confused now, Albus led the other two professors over to #4 and knocked on the door. The time was late but there were still lights on in the house so presumably the Dursleys were not asleep.

A large whale of a man with short brown graying hair and a bristly mustache answered the door. Even before he said anything, a screeching voice called out "Vernon who is it?"

Vernon had turned his head in the direction of the voice and only now turned to look at the visitors. A scowl quickly formed when he took in their clothes and general appearance. "A bunch of freaks like your sister and her husband!" He called out.

Albus frowned but pressed forward "Vernon Dursley, can we come in? I believe there is a situation we need to discuss." Though the words were reasonable, the tone they were delivered with was anything but. Albus may portray a grandfatherly image but when he wanted to, the most powerful wizard of his generation could make a very forceful impression.

Vernon was normally all bluster but there was something about these three that got under his skin. He managed to hold up to Albus' stare for close to 30 seconds before he finally gave in. With a quiet grumble, he swung the door open wider to admit the trio. After closing the door he led them to the living room where Petunia was reading a novel. The walls of the room were adorned with family portraits, many of which featured a rather large blond haired boy that appeared to be roughly the same age as Harry Potter.

Petunia didn't bother to greet any of their guests. She simply placed her book on her lap and glared at the three of them. "Well, what do you want, it is late after all and decent people wouldn't be calling this late?"

Since they were not offered seats, Albus waved his wand and conjured three comfortable chairs for them to sit on. "We have come to check on the health of Harry Potter. The protections I placed over your home to keep both you and Harry safe have fallen."

Petunia almost laughed in the old man's face but thought better of it. For close to ten years now, these people had thought her freak of a nephew was living with them. No wonder her sister and her husband had gotten themselves killed, there was no common sense in that world. "He hasn't lived here since about two weeks after you dumped him on our doorstep."

Minerva lost control and snapped in horror at the woman "You abandoned your own nephew, the savior of our world? Don't you care about your family at all?"

"Of course I love my family, but that freak and his mother were not part of my family. To answer your first question, I did not abandon him, I gave him to his rightful guardians. It's not my fault if they chose not to communicate with you."

Minerva's and Filius' head whipped over to look at Albus who had paled. Harry Potter could very likely have been raised by supporters of Voldemort. All he had wanted for the child was a normal childhood, one away from the pressure and fame sure to follow him in the wizarding world and now he may have doomed him. "What do you mean his rightful guardians? You're his only living family."

Petunia's face turned an ugly shade at being described as family to that freak. "That may be…" she admitted reluctantly "However, that doesn't mean we were the boy's legal guardians. Two men came to our home a couple of weeks after you gave us the boy. They had all the documentation and information signed by both my sister and that husband of hers giving them custody in the event that something should happen to them. It was a dream come true so I made sure to read everything very carefully. I didn't want them bringing him back when they found out about his freakishness."

"Albus do you think it was Death Eaters in disguise?" Minerva asked concerned about the boy's welfare.

Filius answered for the wizened old man. "Minerva how many pure bloods do you know that could successfully impersonate a muggle? Besides, why would they bother, they would simply have killed Harry or if they wanted him alive, taken him by force. There is little reason to suspect that the men were anything but legitimate."

"You may be right Filius, but I never intended for Harry to lose his heritage. What if these men keep him from coming to Hogwarts? We must at least speak with him to make sure he is aware of his options."

"How would you suggest we find him?" Minerva asked acerbically.

"Well that is the easiest thing of all, we use his Hogwarts letter." Albus said before standing and turning once more to Petunia. "We will take our leave of you, but I hope that one day you realize what you have given up by hating your nephew."

There was nothing said by anyone else and so the wizards once more grabbed onto the portkey and disappeared back to Hogwarts. While neither Minerva nor Filius were needed anymore both were too curious about Harry's whereabouts to return to their quarters just yet. Unfortunately, they would end up going to bed disappointed. Harry Potter's letter had never been delivered, the address was unknown. Albus even tried casting a locator spell but he was unable to get any trace of the young boy.

"Albus do you think he's alive?" Minerva asked her face pale once again with fear that Harry Potter may truly be dead.

Albus gave it some thought before shaking his head "If he was dead, I believe the blood wards would have fallen before his 11th birthday. They only fell now because they have never been renewed. No he must not be in the country. We can only hope for the best now."

Alone in his suite of rooms, Albus was left to his thoughts. Voldemort was still out there and now Harry was without the protection left him by his mother's sacrifice. Wherever he was Harry would need training in order to survive because it was unlikely that Voldemort would allow him to live in peace. Sometimes fate could be cruel, it took Harry's parents away and now had forced him to shoulder the responsibility for facing Voldemort. However, if Albus had his way, Harry would not be facing that battle alone.

July 1st, 2006

Manticore Base, WY US

Lydecker was very pleased with the results he had seen so far from 701 and 494. Their training had gone as expected. He had hoped that they would be able to figure out a way to avoid using a wand but as of yet, they had not been successful. However, given the size factor it wasn't an encumbrance but he had concerns about relying on something so fragile for the success of a mission. Unless something could be worked out, magic would always remain the fallback tool.

Both had been on short missions to gather intelligence and eliminate designated threats. They had received glowing field reports, in particular they showed no hesitation when asked to terminate their target. It didn't come as too much of a surprise, both had been put through extensive mental conditioning in psy-ops.

After the breakout in '91, Lydecker had cracked down on the remaining X5s. They had all gone through reconditioning with psy-ops to ensure their loyalty to Manticore. 701 and 494 in particular had spent an extra 6 months in psy-ops given the nature of their talents. Magic afforded them with unique abilities that could be used to escape, so every effort was made to break their wills.

The door to his office opened and his two star soldiers walked into the office. Both were dressed identically in a grey t-shirt and blue camouflage pants with heavy black leather boots. "Reporting as ordered sir!"

Lydecker handed each boy a file folder filled with information on their mission. It was to be their first long term deep cover assignment. "You are being deployed for a long term mission in the UK."

"Sir?" 701 asked surprised. They had never been sent out of the country before.

"Yes 701, the UK. You're handlers will be posing as your guardians."

"What is the nature of our mission?"

"Initially, it is intelligence gathering. We have gotten word of a long term eugenics experiment that has been carried out across the world for generations by a group we have named the Breeding Cult. The enclave in the UK is the first we have found. For now, you will observe their movements and if possible infiltrate their facilities to obtain genetic samples. You're handlers have all the details. While on this mission, 701 you will go by the name Harry James Potter and 494 you will go by Alec McDowell. See your handlers, they will answer any other questions you have and assist with the equipment load out."

"Yes sir!"

It took only a few moments for the pair to find their handlers. They were scheduled to leave in two days. Their destination was Edinburgh where they would be enrolled in a local secondary school so they wouldn't attract attention. More than a hour passed before 701 and 494 were allowed to return to their quarters to get ready.

At first, the two worked together in their unit and that was it. Manticore frowned on any sort of relationships between the soldiers. Later they began to grow closer when they realized they shared something that none of the other X5s did. Wisely, they continued to keep their growing friendship a secret from the trainers and officers of Manticore. But the bond was solidified when they spent a year in psy-ops for something they never even considered doing. During that time, they developed a sort of sign language so they could talk without risking being overheard by any of the guards.

'What do you think?' 701 asked. Even with the sign language they only used their names when outside of Manticore.

'There's something about this cult that they aren't telling us.' 494 replied.

'I agree, why bother with intel, just send in a couple of units and take what they want?'

'We have to be careful with this one. Lydecker may consider us special but that won't stop him from sacrificing us if he has to.'

494 was right, Lydecker might regret it but it wouldn't stop him from sacrificing any of the X5s to achieve some aim. It was also why they had never considered trying to escape, more than any of the other X5s, Lydecker would use every resource to hunt them down.

'Alec…we might have to consider running if things go sideways.'

The use of his name more than anything else told Alec how serious Harry was. He just nodded his head once in agreement. Whatever was coming, he would face it with his brother. Manticore had done one thing for them both, it had made them better, faster, stronger than ordinaries and it taught them to kill.

Both boys vowed to do whatever was necessary to see the other remained alive because they would never be safe.

Two days later, Harry and Alec were in a jet on their way to Scotland, their handlers were already there establishing fake identities and putting everything into place for their arrival.

July 5th, 2006

Washington DC, US

It was early in the morning. Ames White had yet to leave for the office. His wife was sitting at the kitchen table sipping on a cup of coffee and his five year old son was running around underfoot. As always, Ames was dressed in a perfectly pressed black suit with a white shirt and dark blue tie. Physically he wasn't very imposing standing at 5'9 but his attitude made up for it. Ames White exuded a sense of menace that could chill a room.

He had just grabbed his briefcase ready to head out the door when his cell phone rang. After glancing at the caller id, he gave his wife a quick kiss goodbye and stepped outside before answering "Fenest'ol" he greeted formally.

The voice on the other end replied with the same greeting before beginning. "Our enclave in Scotland has been compromised."

"So move the operation." Ames suggested reasonably.

"No, the Conclave has decided that you will go and oversee security for the time being."

"Why would the Conclave send me after the amount of time it took to get into position within the FBI?" Ames knew he was drawing close to the line with his question, one didn't question the decisions of the Conclave if you wanted to live.

"Our spies in Manticore have told us that X5-494 and X5-701 have been sent to assess the situation. This is our opportunity to eliminate the threat they represent to our plans. You will received further orders upon arrival in Scotland. Fenest'ol."

Just hearing the designations was enough to turn Ames' stomach. Mixing animal and human DNA to breed a better soldier was disgusting. All the products of Manticore were freaks, nothing more than filth that needed to be cleansed from the Earth.