Avengers: Incursion

Let's Go

Nightstar studied the demon- his mother- guardedly as she stood before him in the courtyard just outside of her throne room. In the purple light of the Netherworld she was both regal and frightening. Because he could hardly see her as his mother, the warmth with which she addressed him was jarring.

"I hope you don't think this is going to make up for your years of being absent," he huffed as he took a stance beside her. "You say you can't leave the Netherworld, but you did it once. If I meant that much to you, you'd have found a way to do it again."

Morla smiled sadly. "It would be with my dying breath. Leaving the first and only time stole much of my life force. That was the bargain of the spell."

Nightstar stared at her for a heartbeat, then shoved his burgeoning emotions aside and forced himself into laser focus. "Okay. So what powers do I actually have? I'm guessing it's more than just energy blasts and teleporting to the premier vacation spot on the multiverse."

His quip was lost on Morla, who adopted a more serious expression and proceeded to explain the mysteries of his abilities to him. "You are a demon-human hybrid. Your body itself is human. But your demonic inheritance is your magic. You wield dark magic."

Dark magic, Morla explained, manifested in the form of destruction and fear. The energy force he was able to generate was, indeed, intended to be channeled into devastating blasts that could stun and kill, though it was only one application.

"But the same energy you use to antagonize your enemies can also protect yourself and your allies. That same energy can be channeled into protective barriers that can absorb incoming attacks and negate them."

"How strong are these barriers?" Nightstar asked.

Morla grinned, flashing her teeth. "As strong as you are able to make them. The greater your focus, the sturdier they will be."

Nightstar nodded slowly, taking this detail in as Morla plunged into further educating him.

"The fear you can invoke comes from your connection to the Netherworld. You can draw upon its energies and bring them into your battles. You can destabilize your foes with paralyzing fear, draining them of their willpower."

"It sounds...cruel," Nightstar remarked.

Morla shook her head. "My kind are not inherently evil, son. Like humans of your world, we can be good and bad. These powers you have can be used for both. It is all about your intention."

Nightstar shrugged. "Still sounds like I should have been a super villain instead."

"In addition to these powers, you also can do what the rest of us cannot- you can enter and leave the Netherworld at will. As you learn more about your power and become more familiar with its uses, you'll find that you also can send others here for as long as you wish. Doing so will paralyze them with the same fear your team felt."

Morla observed Nightstar's reaction to her words and smiled eagerly. "Come," she invited. "I will teach you."

Hyperion stood at the edge of the courtyard with the others and watched protectively as Nightstar worked with Morla. As he watched, he felt a mixture of pride and fear. Pride in the sense that his fiancé was further developing his abilities. Fear that the plans they had formed would not be successful. Fear that these moments may be their last.

"What if it was meant to be?" He pondered aloud.

"Meant to be?" Power Princess asked. "What do you mean?"

Hyperion shook his head and forced a smile. "Just wondering if we're fighting against our destiny. What if...what if we were meant to die and were just delaying the inevitable."

Power Princess laid a hand on his arm. "We have defied great odds in the past, Hyperion."

"If we go to another universe and damn them too I don't think I could live with that kind of guilt."

Power Princess was silent for a while and they watched as Nightstar manifested his powers in ways none had ever witnessed before. Finally, she looked back at him. "If there is one thing I've learned in my time, it's that faith is everything. Sometimes we must take leaps of faith. And the path isn't always clear."

Nightstar worked with Morla for hours, his mind blown by what he learned he could do. Airborne and immersed in his aura of shadowy power, he directed a rain of destructive force upon the ground while also forming a force field around himself to deflect attacks Morla volleyed at him. When she was sufficiently satisfied with his ability to use this power with versatility, she instructed him on how he could channel his traversal powers to and from the Netherworld.

"Know that this is a power that must be used responsibly, son," she explained. "Using the Netherworld as your waypoint, you can freely travel across the multiverse. But this is something you must do with caution, lest you permit another incursion."

Nightstar reflected on the plan he and his team had fabricated and a pit formed in his stomach. No, he told himself. You're not giving in to fear. You're going to go to the universe with the reality warper and fix this mess. You have to believe that.

"Traveling the multiverse sounds like it could have been a useful ability for a lot of the missions the Squadron's been on," Whizzer later remarked when everyone regrouped.

Morla shook her head. "It is best that you keep that ability a closely guarded secret, son," she said. Her expression darkened considerably. "There are beings who would hunt you down and stop at nothing to have that power."

The dark promise in Morla's words stirred something with Hyperion that made him want to undo all of Darkstar's recent lessons. He couldn't shake the sense that this experience had opened him up to greater dangers than he'd ever faced before.

Nightstar looked over at Hyperion and took his hand. "Let's go for a little walk?"

Hyperion fell in beside him and the two of them walked some distance away from the others.

"Are you okay?" Nightstar asked.

Looking down into Nightstar's dark eyes, Hyperion pulled a brave face and smiled. "Of course I am."

"You mean...this," he asked as he waved a hand and tendrils of shadowy power blossomed from his finger tips and swirled about. "Isn't freaking you out?"

Hyperions grinned. "It freaks me out. But only because I love you and worry about you."

Nightstar rested his head on Hyperion's chest and sighed. "Don't worry. Once we get out of here and fix things, I'm never coming back to this place."

Hyperion didn't want to voice his fear that this place and the power Nightstar was gaining access to might be corrosive to his spirit. He didn't even have evidence to substantiate so such fears. "Let's get back to the others okay?"

Nightstar nodded his head in agreement. "Then, after we get this taken care of, you and I can start planning our wedding.

If we don't destroy another universe first.

"So," Whizzer said as he rubbed his hands together. "How do we get to the other universe?"

Morla looked over at Nightstar and nodded to him. "Now, for your final lesson, my son."