The night of 29 October 1482 was a grim one for Patricia Nichols. It was cold, dark, and raining outside. She sat in a dark room, lit with a single candle, holding her newborn child close to her. She comforted him as best as she could, but he would not stop whimpering. Suddenly, as the lightning flashed, a man appeared beside her. He grabbed her by the throat, catching her by surprise. She struggled to break free, but his grip was too strong. Her child, sensing his mother's pain, began crying loudly.

"Leave us alone, Matthias!" Patricia screamed, desperately trying to pry herself free of her assailant.

"No matter how much you struggle," Matthais said with a smirk, "you cannot defeat me. I am stronger than you!"

"Please!" she cried as she weakened. "I beg of you! Leave us be!"

"You should know better, Patricia," Matthias sneered. "Taking your power will make me unstoppable. The power of copycat is one of the rarest of powers. In my possession, I will become a god!"

"Listen to me, Matthias," Patricia said bravely. "You will not win. Killing me will not make you invincible. It will only bring about your own death quicker."

"You do not scare me," he said, tightening his grip on her throat. "I will become unstoppable once I have added your power to my 'collection.'"

Matthias White was the most powerful warlock of his time. Born the son of a human mother and a warlock father, he had fully embraced his evil side, that side which compelled him to kill good witches and steal their powers. He had killed many witches during his lifetime and acquired many supernatural powers. With the death of Patricia Nichols would come his greatest power, copycat, which gave him the ability to copy any power used against him and, in addition, he would become immune to that power.

As a warlock, Matthias already had the ability to blink, moving from place to place in the blink of an eye, and the power of transmogrification, changing shape from human to animal in a matter of moments. He had inherited those powers from his father. From killing witches, however, he had obtained the powers of telekinesis (moving objects with his mind), self-density reduction (altering the density of his body so that he could pass through objects), and cryokinesis (the ability to freeze people or objects solid).

"Matthias White," Patricia said, "if you kill me now, you will live to regret it, for I have had a vision, a prophecy. Heed these words, Matthias; heed my warning. 'Bloodshed will bring blood together and three will free the world from all evil.' You cannot stop the prophecy."

"I have known you long enough to know that visions are not your power," Matthias said.

"I did not receive the vision," Patricia replied. "Our child did."

Matthias ignored Patricia's words and plunged a sharp dagger into her abdomen. He grinned evilly at the sound of her ear-piercing shriek. The child began crying even harder at the sound of his mother's scream. She struggled to stay alive, but the pain of the dagger was overcoming her will. Matthias held her body close to his and absorbed a white aura that had begun to surround her. He felt a surge of power as her magical energy merged with his own.

Suddenly, though, the white aura that had begun to surround him turned red. His body started shaking uncontrollably as Patricia's aura slowly returned. Still on the verge of death herself, she tried to muster the strength to push Matthias away, but she was too weak. As she willed it, though, a mysterious force cast Matthias, who was still unable to move, into a wall twenty feet away. The dagger that was lodged within her abdomen suddenly freed itself and fell to the ground.

"What is happening to me?" Matthias roared angrily. "Why can I not move?"

"Try as you might," Patricia whispered, holding her child close to her, "you cannot defeat good. To be good is to know love, and love conquers all. You know not love, Matthias. You only know hate. And though only a newborn, our son knows the difference and will protect me from you."

"Then I suppose I have to kill him as well," Matthias sneered.

He gathered all of his strength and freed himself from the child's magical hold. The red glow disappeared and he regained the ability to move. He picked up the dagger and thrust it into Patricia's heart, killing her instantly. The child had begun crying again, but Matthias paid him no mind. The white aura that had returned to Patricia before now faded into nothing as Matthias absorbed her power of copycat.

He turned to the child, his own son, preparing to strike. Before he could make a move, though, the child stopped crying and stared at him innocently. Matthias felt no emotion as he raised the dagger over the child. Suddenly, the red aura surrounded Matthias again and he lost control over his body. Instead of striking the child, Matthias stabbed himself repeatedly in the chest. He yelled intensely as the pain circulated through his body and the life drained out of him.

The aura disappeared and Matthias fell to the floor, dead. There sat the child, between his parents, with his eyes wide open and his mouth closed. He had no idea that he had done what he had. His powers were guided by the love he had with his mother. With her gone, he was alone and helpless...

And now, a word from the good Doctor: "What happened to the child, and what to Patricia and Matthias have to do with anything? That happened over 500 years ago! Trust me, there's a reason; there's a reason for everything!"