AJ considered himself good at reading people and places. He'd spent quite a lot of time in New York before moving to Townsville, and if you were going to keep your shoes on your feet and your wallet in your pocket, you had to learn how to spot certain things. How to know if the place you were walking into was seedy or legit, and how to know if someone you were dealing with was on the up and up.

So he knew what he was talking about when he said Mariposa Diaz was a badass.

Nevermind the fact that they found her cage fighting in one of the seediest looking places he had ever seen in his life, but the way she carried herself just screamed that she knew she could kick your ass. It was the same kind of vibe he would get from his dad or his uncle Ralph.

When Margo said he needed a free style brawler to help him, he thought she meant a pro fighter or something. He sure as hell wasn't expecting her baby sister. He knew that Margo was from Earth, so her side of the family wasn't actually royalty, but… well, he guessed he just hadn't expected it. She was so motherly and Queenly. He thought anyone related to her would be at least sort of the same.

But Mariposa…

"Crap!"

AJ groaned as he hit the ground with a thud for what had to be the hundredth time today. Mariposa smirked down at him, dusting her hands off. "Not bad kid. This time it took me five whole minutes to knock you down," she teased.

The boy frowned as he sat up and rubbed his shoulder. "You're having way too much knocking me on my ass…" he said before getting up to his feet.

"Sure am," she said, patting him on the head. "But it's for your own good too. You wanna be able to protect your little girlfriend, don't you?"

"She's not my girlfriend!" AJ said turning red.

Mariposa smirked. "You sure? My sis says you made this big old fuss about being her little white knight," she said deviously as she poked his cheek.

He brushed her hand away. "Ah, knock it off!" he said, crossing his arms. "What are we wasting time here anyway? We could be saving a whole bunch of time by going back to the Neverzone, right?" His first trip there had been more than a little shocking. And when he found out how time worked there… it was nuts.

"Because I don't want to blow all the time you have left in the Neverzone too quickly. A month or two at a time is all you need right now," she said bluntly. Her sister rarely ever went back anymore since she spent so much time there already. "By the way, you told your parents about this, right?"

AJ flinched. "Uh… yeah?"

"Liar," she said, poking his forehead. "You don't have to tell them everything, but at least mention it. I want to have at least a little bit of an excuse in case you get eaten there."

"I ain't gonna get eaten! That thing just snuck up on me. Quite bringing it up," he said before taking a step back. "C'mon let's go again. I'm ready."

She shook her head. "Nope, we're done for today. Time for you to rest up kid," she said as she walked over and grabbed a bottle of water. She tossed it to him, and he just barely caught it. "You really have been getting better though. Ever think about a career in street fighting?"

He took a drink of water and then caught his breath. "Nah. My mom would have a fit if I ever got into anything like that. She only let me practice with my uncles so I could defend myself and all that junk." Not that it helped. He really didn't have the patience for learning ninja techniques. Good old fist to cuffs was more his thing.

"Well, probably for the best. Your family is like stupid rich right? Shouldn't you be paying me for these lessons?" she asked, holding her hand out.

"Give me a break. It's not like my folks just handed me a black card and led me go nuts," he said scowling. Unlike the other rich kids in this city, his parents weren't willing to give him any extra cash without working for it. Although he did get a raise in his allowance once they saw how much Nia ate.

"Tell me about it. My sister is a queen and she won't doll me out any extra money when I ask. I mean I make enough fighting, but it's not like she can't afford it, right?" she said as he began unwrapping the bandages from her fist. "So, you really plan on taking on some God or whatever huh?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. Her brother is like uber strong, and it sounds like she's gonna get even stronger. They might not even need me," he said. "But I just don't wanna be useless. Sitting there while everyone else does stuff just freaking sucks. No way am I just gonna get sidelined again."

She smiled at him. "That's the right attitude to have kid. Besides, if you're gonna go down swinging, might as well be against the biggest badass around right?"

"Glad you think so." He kind of hoped it didn't come to that. All he wanted to do was help Nia out as much as he could. If that meant taking on a god or whatever well then that was just… he didn't want to call it a bonus, because it totally wasn't.

But he would do it anyway, because it was for Nia.

And speaking of the girl, he wondered how she was going right now. With him training with Mariposa, and her training with her father and Alexander, it seemed like they barely saw each other. He hoped she was okay.

Nia yelled as she knocked away another blast from Alexander. She raised her hands and then sent another blast right back at him, and the older man smirked. "Well done Nia, but remember…" He raised both hands and stepped to the side, redirecting her blast while adding some of his own magic to it, and sending it right back. "Don't waste magic that can still be used. Even if it's the enemies."

The princess held her hands out to try and stop the blast, and was pushed back. She spread her wings out and managed to stop herself, and then yelled. The blast split into four, and Nia flung her hands forward sending them right back. "Fast learner," Alexander complimented as he got ready to counter them.

The blast however began moving around and circling him, then split into even smaller ones. They shined brightly, and a look of surprise spread across Alexander's face before they suddenly blew up. Nia smiled as she waited for the dust to clear, but then suddenly turned around and jumped back right as Alexander appeared behind her.

"Very clever little cousin," he said before rushing towards her.

He swung at her, and Nia blocked, dodged, and swung right back. In her mewberty form she felt like her senses were heightened. At least when it came to magic. She could almost see everything Alexander was going to throw at her. Feel the slight shifts in magic in the air when he attacked or teleported.

Her brother once told her being in his monster form was like being on a power high, and she was starting to think she knew what he felt like.

"She's improved tremendously. It's almost frightening," Uran said as he watched his daughter fly up and throw a ball of light down at his nephew. When it came to how quickly she was able to pick things up, it was clear she took after Star. Which in this case was a godsend.

Astro looked on, his eyes darting around to follow Nia and Alexander. Uran couldn't help but noticed that he was tapping his finger rather quickly. And though he seemed calm, he had a certain look in his eye that he'd seen before from the warriors and gods of Avalon. He wanted to jump in. He wanted to fight.

"She's so strong now…" Astro muttered.

Nia yelled once again and made a large barrier above Alexander. He stopped it with his hands, but Nia narrowed her eyes and focused. He grit his teeth as he pushed back against it, but eventually he was forced down to one knee. Alexander growled before moving his hands, dispelling the barrier, only to find Nia already right on him.

He jumped back just before she punched down on the ground, and then quickly fired a blast of wind at him. He knocked the blast upwards into the air, and then quickly held his other hand up. "TIme out!" he called shaking his hand.

Nia stopped, looking confused. "Are you okay?"

He nodded. "Yes, just… a bit out of breath. It's been a while since I've had to push myself like this." They had been going at it for almost twenty minutes, and he was running on fumes at this point. The girl seemed to have boundless energy. And what she lacked in technique she more than made up for in raw power.

Given time and the proper guidance… well, it made sense why Oberon had such an interest in her.

Nia flew down and landed in front of him before going back to her normal form. "We can take a break if you need. You want me to go grab you some water?" she asked.

Alexander chuckled. "Well, don't I feel old. I assure you my girl, all I need is a minute to collect myself, and we can get back to it," he said.

Uran decided to cut in. "Actually, I think it might be good for us all to take a little break. You've been at this for a while now. We should grab a bite to eat."

At the mention of food, Nia smiled. "Oh! We should order cheesesteaks! You haven't tried those yet, have you?" she asked. Most of her bonding time with her father had been spent trying out different foods in the city. Nia would eagerly listen as he told stories about himself and Star.

Her mother never talked much about her father. Knowing what she did now, she understood why. But now that he was here she wanted to know everything. "I don't see why not." Nia cheered and grabbed his arm, pulling him along towards the inside of the base.

Astro turned towards Alexander who finally seemed to gather himself. "Are you holding back on her?" Astro asked. "I sincerely hope not. Oberon won't be, and she needs to be prepared for everything he's going to bring at her."

Alexander smirked. "Right now I really wish I could say yes. But sad to say I really am struggling to keep up with her. It seems that without Titania's getting in the way my little cousin is advancing as an almost frightening rate."

"Is it fast enough to be able to take on Oberon though?" Astro asked, crossing his arms.

He hummed. "I'm afraid not. The fact of the matter is that Nia is making up for her lack of experience with the sheer amount of magic she holds. That won't hold against him however. He had just as much magic, if nore more so. And he has the technique to properly apply it. She's learning quickly, but I just don't think Oberon will give us enough time for her to make up the difference."

Astro cursed under his breath. He figured as much. "What about with all of us? If we all worked together could we tipped the scales in our favor?"

"Against Oberon alone, perhaps. It'd still be an uphill battle. But I have to assume based on what I've seen so far that the rest of the family won't be just sitting idle. In the worst case scenario he'll call the rest of the Pantheons to do his dirty work. But that's unlikely. He tends to see to matters like this himself."

That was a relief. The last thing Astro wanted to for them to end up having to take on every god in this dimension. "Right, final question… are you actually going to help us?"

A look of mock offense spread over Alexander's face. "Why Astro, here I am out of breath and ran ragged from helping out your dead sister, and you still don't trust me? I'm genuinely hurt by your words."

Asto rolled his eyes. "Don't patronize me. I know about your family's history, and I've met plenty of people like you. You're helping us because out of your own interest. Whether it's some grudge against Oberon, or just wanting to see how far Nia can go, I'm still not sure yet. But you didn't come here out of the goodness of your heart."

He shrugged. "I admit, I do have my own motives in this little skirmish. My branch of the family has never been fond of my grandfather. A bit of a messy situation happened when I was still just a child. So I don't have any real love for him," he said. "I also am just generally curious to see if Nia will live up to his expectations."

"And?" Astro asked, waiting for him to continue.

He smiled. "And if she does, then it won't hurt to be on her good side. Whether Oberon gets the heir he wants, or Nia manages to best him, I think it'd work in my best interest to be thought of fondly in her eyes. Investing in the future and all that."

"So what if by chance this whole thing doesn't work out in your favor?"

"I don't leave anything to chance my young friend. That's why things always work out in my favor."

Astro narrowed his eyes. He really didn't like this guy. But whatever his motives, as long as the goal was to bring down Oberon he would tolerate him. For now anyway.

Back inside, Nia looked up at her father wide eyed as she wiped a piece of steak from her cheek. "So wait, mom really did that? A whole battalion just like that?" she asked.

Uran odded. "Oh yes. Your mother is quite the force to be reckoned with. Woe to anyone who stood in that woman's way. She was amazing," he said laughing. "But I'm sure you already know that. You must have seen her in action before."

Nia shook her head. "Nope. Mom's really busy with everything going on. She usually never gets involved in any battles or anything. She leaves it up to Astro and the rest of the guard." She had heard plenty of stories about her mom in the past, but she'd never got to see her in action.

"Well, I guess between looking after your and your brother, and all her royal responsibilities, she had to trust the fighting to someone else," Uran reasoned. "But maybe when everything slows down a bit she'd be willing to show you."

"Maybe you two could spar!" Nia said excitedly.

Uran held his hands up. "N-now hold on. I think we have a lot of other things to work out before we get to anything like that. I'm probably going to have to do a lot of groveling to get back in her good graces after being away for so long."

Nia tilted her head. "Hmm? But why? Mom doesn't seem mad at you or anything. I think she'd just be happy to see you," she reasoned.

He rubbed the back of his head. "I hope so… I still can't believe she hasn't moved on after all this time. I told her that…" They weren't likely to ever see each other again. When she smiled and said she'd still wait, he had been happy, but some part of him always thought she'd move on someday. Had she really waited just for him? Or maybe she was just too busy to think about any other suitors.

"I can't wait for all three of us to get back together again," Nia said. "Maybe after we beat Oberon, we could call mom here so we can spend the day together. I'm sure there's a bunch of new stuff since she's last been to Earth."

Uran looked down at her surprised. "Huh… you're pretty confident we can beat your grandfather, aren't you?" he asked.

She laughed. "Of course I am! Me and Astro can beat anybody!" she said, pumping her fist. "I'm getting the hang of my powers, and Astro is Astro. We're like the ultimate brother-sister combo. No matter how tough it is, we'll find a way to beat him."

The ultimate brother-sister combo… that must have been nice. His sister was… well, she wasn't terrible. But they were hardly close. He could tell she looked up to and relied on Astro quite a bit. And he was glad for it. The more people she had watching over her, the better in his opinion.

"Speaking of your brother I… I…"

Nia hummed and looked back up towards him confused. Her father had a strange distant look on his face. She was about to ask what was wrong, but then felt something.

Actually, saying something would be a massive understatement. It was… she didn't know what to call it, but it was massive. "What is that…?" she asked.

Uran bawled his fist up. "He's here…" he muttered.

"Oberon's here..."

A bright light went off in the middle of Townsville, and three figures were left as it vanished. Cars skidded to a stop, and everyone nearby stopped and gawked at the strangers who'd just arrived.

"So, this is the mortal colony which our dear granddaughter has chosen to grace her presence with?" Oberon asked, an unamused look on his face.

Umbriel stood beside his grandfather and nodded. "It is," he said smiling.

"Why is it that all places mortals choose to dwell in are so terribly cluttered? They are not unlike parasites in how they ravage the land, only to replace them with such unsightly structures," Oberon complained.

Umbriel raised his hand. "Would you prefer I flatten it grandfather? I can do so without killing any mortals. I'm sure they'd go right back to rebuilding it, but it would give them something to do with their fleeting little lives."

Oberon shook his head. "Refrain yourself my child. We have come for a single purpose, and I would not have us be delayed. Now, where is the child?"

The woman beside him then stepped forward. "My love. Perhaps we should attend to the onlookers first? We seemed to have attracted quite a bit of attention with our arrival," she said, looking towards the people around them. "We would have as little of those inferring as possible, would we not?"

Oberon nodded. "Tis is you say my Queen. Let us begin." He raised his hands and then snapped his fingers, then a wave of energy shot out from around him...

A/N: Oberon finally arrives! With his wife Titania and grandson Umbriel in tow! Nia has been getting the hang of her powers, but is she ready to tangle with them?! How are the Vanguard gonna handle going up against the God of Gods?!

Things are gonna start picking up from here on!

Tried to get down how Oberon and Titania talk in the show Gargoyles, so if their dialogue sounds strange to you that's why.