Hey everyone! Welcome to the end of the "magic" arc of this fanfic - a relief to some, I'm sure, a sad time for others, as I've been pleasantly surprised by the reception so far. I'll admit, I was a little hesitant about rewriting this particular section, but I think it's turned out quite well! And I'm so very excited for the next (and final) arc in this particular "season" of The Girl Who Could Knock Out the Hulk.
I should warn you, our titular character is barely in this double-the-usual-length chapter, as it largely takes place simultaneously with the previous one. Only at the end do the events really start to intersect. I apologize for that - I know most of you are here to read Kara first and foremost, but I hope having had last chapter exclusively showcase her makes up for it. Promise we'll be back to our regularly scheduled Supergirl focused content starting next chapter! Hope you enjoy!
Nico knows something is wrong the moment they start winning.
It's not usually this easy, is the thing – and sure, he could chalk it up to the Avengers' aid, or the fact that, for once, he's not a kid on a quest that all but requires that he blindly charge forth with only the barest of cryptic hints to guide him and his fellow stressed-out teen demigods, but years of adventuring (read: almost dying every two or three months) have left him with a finely honed sense of encroaching danger.
Still, he doesn't get to mull on it too much, on account of the deadly showdown going on around him. He takes stock of the current situation; Strange continues to charge his spell, glowing scarlet runes forming around his dome like some sort of arcane progress bar, Ellie's split into two copies, one projecting a glass-like rectangular ecto-shield from her palms and attempting to catch any projectiles headed for the Sorcerer Supreme, the other delivering a number of surprise attacks to the magicians by phasing into the cracked marble and upturned soil, coming up from the ground to knock people out, and Thor and the Hulk have forced Hercules on the back foot, defending himself from coordinated attacks where before he could easily take on the Avengers one on one.
As for himself, he's doing his damnedest to maintain concentration, and thus control over his summoned warriors, as he crosses blades with a trio of magicians who must be too exhausted to cast their strange, life force-based magic.
"Die already, you filthy godling!" –the middle one says – a woman, and the most talented sword fighter of the bunch.
"Pretty sure I've heard that one before." –Nico says, flippant. They lock blades for half a second, the Stygian Iron sword sliding uncomfortably off of the crescent shape of her bronze khopesh. Two other blades try to skewer him, but he parries one and has a skeleton block the other, the risen undead unbothered by a stab that gets stuck between its empty ribs. "Not from an Egyptian witch, though."
"I'm a magician, you worthless waste of human genes." –she hisses. "And one of the Faceless at that!"
He blasts chthonic magic at a very eager young man, shouting wildly and charging at him, sending him flying back in a smoking heap. "What, the creepy mask doesn't count?" –he asks. He doesn't actually care to know their history – it's never much of a justification for the actions of people like these, in his experience – but distracting and unbalancing your opponent is always useful.
She thrusts and he barely deflects the blade in time, catching an elbow to the chin for his trouble. Still, he manages to turn on his heel and checks the three cuts she tries to capitalize with, then ducks under a surprise, blindside swing and brings the pommel of his blade down on the back of his ambusher's head, who crumples like a sack of potatoes at his feet. The lead magician cuts through a skeleton's torso, and the magic in the blade turns it to ash in an instant. "Insolence typical of a god-child." –she pants, readjusting the grip on her khopesh. "Our death masks symbolize our departure from the disgraced House of Life! We follow the path of Faceless Akhenaten, struck from the record for being brave enough to reject the fickle whims of the divine!"
Nico rolls his eyes. "Y'know, zealots are usually for the divine." –he drawls, twirling his deadly blade. "I don't pretend to understand what your people's relationship with your gods has been, but trust me, I know all about how fickle immortals can be. It doesn't really make it okay to go and team up with a murderous supervillain, though."
"Spare me your patronizing, demigod." –she spits, like it's a slur. He's almost surprised that she doesn't call him 'half-blood', which sounds even more like an insult. "Victor Von Doom has promised to give us a world without gods. It's as simple as that."
She yells, charging at him, but she doesn't get a chance to cross blades with him again, as Ellie surges out of the ground between them and punches her hard enough in the chin for the mask to shatter. The woman grunts, trying to pick herself up, but falls back down, unconscious.
"Hmm." –Nico tilts his head, somewhat disappointed. His shoulders slump, the tension momentarily gone as he walks up to and nudges the woman's head with his boot to check that she's really out. Her face is scratched up and bleeding lightly from the broken mask, but aside from that, she's merely unconscious. "I don't think these guys have any idea what a world without gods would be like."
Ellie wobbles, her neon green eyes briefly flickering back to her human blue, a sure sign of exhaustion. "Do you?" –she asks, landing on her feet, her hands on her knees as she's forced to recall her clone.
Nico shrugs. "No, not really. But given the fact that the gods personify and balance the forces of nature and even entire human concepts, I somehow doubt that's a world they could even exist in. Or any of us, for that matter."
She waves him off. "Don't get me involved in your weird magic BS, dude. My kind of ghosts are strictly scientific."
"I seem to recall something about human souls getting fused with sentient, neon green goo." –he says, sarcastic. "What exactly would you say is 'scientific' about that, Eleanor?"
Ellie snorts at the off-beat nickname. "You really should've talked to the Fentons, buddy."
Thor sails over them, followed closely by his hammer. If that wasn't enough, an enraged howl draws Nico's attention – Hercules appears to have disengaged his assigned Avengers, and he's making a beeline for him. Nico blasts him with the dark power of the Underworld, but the Roman god barely slows down, crossing his muscular arms in front of him so he can keep charging; Ellie joins him, the glow of her eyes intensifying as she blasts Hercules with the most powerful beam she can muster, but it's still not enough, so Nico has all of his remaining skeleton warriors try and hold him back, stabbing at his impregnable skin with their ancient weapons.
This, at least, annoys Hercules; he stops for a second, turning around even as he holds off the ongoing blasts with his palm to utterly pulverize Nico's undead servants. He then turns, and in an instant, he surges through the beams and backhands Ellie, sending her the hard way through one of the walls of the Labyrinth.
Nico barely has time to react, thrusting his blade into the god's side as he lifts him up by his throat. Hercules groans in pain, yanking the blade out of his torso and tossing it aside. Nico tries to shadow travel away, but Hercules is somehow able to hold the formless shadows that he merges into just as firmly as his flesh; he attempts to pry his fingers off his neck, even coating his hands in chthonic energy, but he might as well be trying to pry the sky off Atlas' back – Hercules' strength is immense, beyond anything he's ever felt before, and likely ever will again.
"You know…" –Hercules grunts, the golden ichor from his wound slowly ceasing to flow as it heals. "I respected your father back in the day, Nico di Angelo. Hades, Pluto…he was the only god who neither tried to help or hinder me in life – he simply saw my task for what it was and gave me the chance to accomplish it on my own merits. It's a shame his child so fails to impress."
He tosses him aside, barely a flicker of his wrist. Spots dance in his blurred vision, but at least he didn't just snap his neck right then and there. "When I was made a god, I found in your father a kindred spirit. The Olympians are a much too complicated family – and rarely is it ever worth the hassle."
"I'm…sure…Lady Hebe…would just…love to hear you say that." –he says, rubbing his neck.
"Perhaps she would; I wouldn't particularly know, child, on account of getting stuck at the gates of the damned Old World for centuries." –he spits out. "I haven't seen my wife in more than five hundred years!"
Nico pants. "So, what, you trusted the guy named Doctor freakin' Doom to get you out of it?"
Hercules sneers. "The thing is, he did get me out of it, princeling. He freed me of the bonds placed on me by Jupiter's careless task with magic beyond my ken." –he says. "But beyond that, this wicked mortal promises to wipe the slate clean – no gods, no Titans, no monsters…and no demigods cursed by their parents' dalliances to a sad, short life full of violence and death. You should be thanking me."
"Yeah, I dunno, Hercules." –Nico says, slowly rising to his feet. "Hades kid and all, I don't particularly want to die."
"Standing up to me in your sorry state, Nico di Angelo…" –he grins, looming before him. "…I rather don't believe you."
Time to pull all the stops, he thinks. "Well, that's what a hero does. I'd have thought you of all people would understand, but it seems we're both getting disappointed today." –he says, his eyes turning purple and black. "Since you're so fond of my father, how about you go to Hades?"
The wrecked floor of the Labyrinth instantly opens under Hercules like a monstrous maw, attempting to swallow him whole – for a second, Nico allows himself to feel some satisfaction, but reality, as usual, spits in his face. Hercules' entire frame glows gold, seemingly hovering in midair as the Underworld tries to consume him; it almost looks like the air beneath him has become plastic wrap, pulling and stretching as it becomes clear that the god simply cannot enter the realm of the dead. Though he looks somewhat pained, Hercules still cackles. "I'm a god, you dullard! You can't kill me, and no Olympian may enter the Underworld without Pluto's invitation!"
He flexes, and everything around him explodes in heat and golden light. Nico rolls into a shaky half kneel, getting lucky and grabbing his sword in the process. The path to the Underworld has already closed and Hercules approaches, his massive club lazily resting on his shoulder. "I take it that's worked for you before, godling – did you think yours was permission enough, to override your Lord Father's will?" –he says. "A brave final effort, but I'm happy to illuminate you otherwise – for as little time as you have left, anyway."
Hercules charges one final time, and Nico prepares to go down swinging, but suddenly, all he can see is dirt – as in, he's inside the ground, going down and then up through the surface again some distance away. He looks down at himself and sees the transparency of Ellie's intangibility fade away.
"That was close." –Ellie says, smiling but clearly shaken.
"Yeah, I'm…pretty sure I was starting to sense my own incoming death." –Nico says. Technically, it's not the first time – he could sense it too, though much more muted, during the death trance he was forced to enter back at the end of the Giant War. "That was…interesting."
Hercules roars, once again grabbing their attention. He points at Ellie. "Ghost child! You've annoyed me for the last time!"
She smirks. "Y'know, Herc, it's not as charming when you call me that. Besides, I've kinda outgrown the 'child' bit. Kind of a young adult right now."
The god spits. "You'll be nothing but splattered ectoplasm when I'm done with you!"
Ellie sneers. "Been there, done that. Hit it, Strange!"
The entire room erupts in scarlet light, as the Sorcerer Supreme appears above Hercules, wreathed in the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak, speaking in a demonic voice that does not belong to Stephen Strange. "HERCULES PANHELLENIOS, GOD OF STRENGTH – THE LORD OF THE CRIMSON COSMOS BECKONS YOU TO STILLNESS!"
The Bands shoot downward faster than the god can react, encircling every inch of his body save for his infuriated eyes in glowing red belts marked with runes invoking the entity's name and power. Hercules struggles – and for a brief, terrifying moment, it seems like he might actually burst free – but the Bands fasten and then detach themselves from Strange, the free ends reaching towards the ground, the ceiling, and whatever nearby leftover columns they can find, like a thousand small anchors.
Strange hovers down and lands shakily, traces of the scarlet magic clinging to his body like a toxic miasma. His eyes are bloodshot, like he's in a rage, his irises are blood-red, and the veins on his neck and forehead look just about ready to pop – leftover effects from channeling such powerful magic, Nico assumes. Thor lands next to him, holding his electrified hammer between them. "Wretched Crimson One! Begone from this mortal's body at once!" –the Thunderer bellows, and the red energy is promptly expelled from his body.
"…thanks." –Strange says, once he recovers. "But I had it."
"Aye. And Banner and I had him." –Thor says, nodding at Hercules, completely immobile save for his twitching eyes. "But I suppose your method was swifter; I am quite surprised that Midgard's sorcerers would willingly consort with Cyttorak and his magicks, however."
"How do you think us puny mortals have survived for so long?" –Strange asks, the question rhetorical. He turns to address the group – minus the Hulk, who's chasing away the last two magicians standing. "The Bands won't hold Hercules forever. We need to find Kara, stop whatever Victor is doing, and get the hell out of here, fast."
"Aren't you forgetting something? –Nico frowns. "What about Hecate?"
"Yes, what about Hecate?" –she says, ethereal. "What will the heroes do about the Goddess of Magic?"
They all look around, trying to pinpoint where the goddess' voice is coming from. It seems to echo from the other side of the ruined temple, from above them, and most disturbingly, from right next to his ear. The Hulk roars in the distance, before suddenly getting cut off; they figure out why instantly, as he's tossed towards them – shrinking, of all things, as he reaches them. Ellie rushes forward and catches him, now two inches tall and utterly harmless. The little guy tries to jump away, but Ellie makes a little cage with her hands that proves impenetrable for Tiny Hulk.
Hecate steps forward, a swirl of Mist and neon green magic surrounding her main, adult form. "So feisty." –the goddess says, seemingly amused. "I've never known a mortal so filled with rage as to be left entirely bereft of thought." –she says. "Though I suppose dear Hercules here came close to such a state once or twice in his sad little mortal life."
Nico's pretty sure Hercules' eyes twitch with rage.
"Lady Hecate." –Strange says, stepping forward. "We have no quarrel with you."
"Oh, you can't afford to, Sorcerer." –Hecate points out. "You may not wield the power of the gods, but in my presence, the arcane defers to me. I could free Hercules with a thought, render your cloak inert, or keep the young princeling from travelling through shadows if I were so inclined."
What about Thor? Nico thinks. He's an alien, after all. "Are we at your mercy, then, Witch Queen?" –Thor asks, seemingly thinking along the same lines.
"Please. If you had joined your fellow heroes earlier, you'd know I'm not the one to fear here today, Northman." –she says. From behind her, her childlike form runs up to the magician Nico defeated last, giggling as she kneels and pokes her face. "My presence here is strictly as a noncombatant. I am merely satisfying my curiosity."
The Hulk roars, but it sounds like a yawning puppy thanks to his small size. "Seems like a little more than curiosity, your grace." –Strange mutters.
She waves one of her torches. "The brute will return to whatever passes for his normal state eventually." –she says, dismissively. "For now, we get to talk without him wrecking this place any further."
"Okay, so spill it: why have you betrayed Olympus? Again?" –Nico asks, thoroughly annoyed.
Hecate hums. "You're assuming I've betrayed them at all. Quite offensive, I think, given I only recently helped your half-sister defeat one of Gaia's Gigantes." –she counters. Her 'crone' form steps out from behind her, slowly walking up to one of Nico's defeated undead warriors. "In truth, Nico di Angelo, this has little to do with Olympus; I came into contact with Victor von Doom simply because the man overflows with magic – much of it, mind you, that he should not be able to wield."
"You kinda left your duties as keeper of the Mist behind for it." –Nico says.
Hecate rolls her eyes. "What duties? Mortalkind regularly sees the impossible these days, thanks to all of you. How much longer do you think the Mist will be able to keep them from seeing centaurs and mermaids, as they did in ancient times, before you mortals decided to destroy the arcane?"
"It would last much longer with your influence, Lady Hecate." –Strange points out.
"A matter of weeks, Sorcerer. No more than a year, at best. The blink of an eye for an immortal, but even for your ephemeral kind, the status quo is not long for this world, regardless of my intervention." –she says. "Zeus knows this. They all do. It's why they sent the little godling to you – to be their poster child after the inevitable reveal."
Nico scowls at this; he already knew, of course, but he's not quite over how unwise he feels it was to choose him of all people as some kind of representative of all demigods. "So that's it, then? You left your post and your family behind just so you could check out some neat mortal?"
"Yes, at first." –she freely admits. "You say it like there's any love lost between me and the Olympians. I'm a chthonic goddess, Nico – you know we're ill-liked on their golden realm, perhaps even less loved than minor gods like poor young Hercules." –she says. "And then I met the man, and I realized just how little even we immortals understand of this plane of existence we inhabit."
Something changes in the air, like a frigid northern wind briefly intruding on a hot summer afternoon. It feels wrong, in an intrinsic way he could never put to words. "You feel it, yes?" –she says, clearly excited. "I made sure you would."
They all look at each other, confused – except for Strange, who pales as his eyes widen. "What the hell have you done?"
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" –she says. "I'll claim no credit for this one, Sorcerer Supreme. I merely wished to observe as Victor von Doom irrevocably changed the universe once again."
Ellie looks to Strange. "Doctor?" –she asks, uncertainly.
"I-I was wrong." –Strange says. He looks like he's seen something he shouldn't have, guilt and fear twisting his usual expression into a pained scowl. "I thought he was merely attempting to fix his own timeline, but…he's shaping this entire dimension, iterating over and over, dozens of times, until he achieves his perfect vision for our universe…"
"Indeed he is. You are all mere characters in his story, rewritten to match his will." –she says, amused. "Isn't it fascinating? That a fragile human could hold such power? Puppeteer everyone alive to dance along to his whims?"
"That includes you, goddess." –Thor points out, clearly disturbed by the revelation. "Why would you let a mere mortal dictate your fate?"
"Oh, Odinson. I was tempted to vaporize him, when I found out." –she admits. "And yet, the glaring truth is that I wouldn't exist as I am today without his intervention. Neither would Nico, Danielle, or Kara – or Hercules and these Faceless Ones, for that matter, just among us present. Would you not agree that this world is better for our inclusion?"
Doctor Strange shakes his head. "We need to stop him. Destroy his machine before he can use it again."
"Hmm, I'd rather you not. The mortal promises a world free of petty conflicts between immortals soon, and I'm rather eager to see if he can deliver."
Hecate snaps her fingers, and suddenly the Faceless Ones that her child form has been flitting around rise again, their life force fully replenished. Nico's undead warriors, too, touched by the crone, reassemble themselves and form up as a protective line between the heroes and the magicians. And of course, because this wasn't already a dire situation, the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak begin to loosen, their connection to the entity that powers them clearly interrupted by Hecate.
Nico holds his hands out, trying to assert control over his summoned skeletons, but they all ignore him. "Ah-ah-ah, I'm the Goddess of Necromancy, little godling!" –she reminds him, mildly amused. "Even your Lord Father would defer to me in this arena!"
Just to prove her point, she waves her torch and the skeletons get pulled toward the middle of their formation, crushed together into a roiling mass of blackened bone shards, then rebuilt into a single, towering undead golem with three giant heads and half a dozen clawed arms, wreathed in emerald flame. It roars with the all too familiar shrill, agonized howl of the damned.
Nico briefly wonders if this is how his enemies feel when they see him toss a bunch of angry skeletons at them.
"Hah! Not the wisest of moves, Witch Queen!" –Thor says, spinning his hammer. "A single foe will fall to Mjolnir even faster than the many spindly ones!"
He tosses the hammer forth, letting himself get pulled by the seemingly indestructible leather strap at its base. It takes him but a blink to reach the undead monster, blasting through its sternum and coming out the other side, bits of dark bone showering everyone…and then immediately pulling themselves back to fill in the gap led by the Thunderer. The golem retaliates, grabbing a nearby marble column and batting Thor up through the already damaged roof of the room. He comes back as quickly as he was thrown, but he hurls lightning bolts at it from a distance instead – it does about as much damage, which is to say none at all, but at least it keeps their foes busy.
She's empowering the big guy, Nico thinks to himself, sensing the flow of chthonic magic from the goddess to the monster. "I think I should stab Hecate." –Nico mutters.
"That's a fair assessment." –Strange says, casting a vertical, semi-circular wall of magic that halts a wave of incoming magical projectiles from the Faceless to give them a chance to strategize. "I'm surprised she'd buy into Victor's promises; I thought she was one of the more caring godly parents, and I think we can safely assume demigods would have a very different existence, if they'd have one at all, if there were no divine conflicts or hostile monsters."
"Maybe she's hoping they'll live longer lives in Doom's new world." –Nico says, bitterly.
"I'm more interested in the fact that Hercules got a different promise altogether." –Ellie points out, wincing as Tiny Hulk punches her palms, glancing at Hercules, who's still bound but starting to shake a bit. "I bet he's pissed about that."
"Good to keep in mind." –Nico agrees. "Can you guys distract everyone else? I wasn't kidding about stabbing Hecate – I think it'll disrupt her connection to the skeleton monster long enough for me to banish it."
Ellie just blinks tiredly at him, but Strange nods. "We'll need the Hulk for this." –he says, holding out his hand for Ellie to hand Tiny Hulk over, which she does. Strange encircles the former giant in a bubble of cherry red light, which briefly makes it look like they're viewing him through a magnifying glass, and suddenly, the Hulk grows back to his regular size, looking understandably confused.
"You undid that spell way too easily." –Nico says, raising an eyebrow.
"I didn't, actually." –Strange says. "I just made Tiny Hulk roughly fifty times larger. Do remind me to remove the spell before he resumes his normal size, or he'll become…I wanna say four-hundred feet tall?"
Hulk grins at this, which is mildly unsettling, to say the least. He roars, pounding his chest, and jumps off towards the enemy, landing on the golem's central skull and beating the crap out of it as the Faceless Ones scramble to try and take the superhero out.
Behind them, snapping sounds draw their attention; the Crimson Bands are starting to snap, dozens at a time. Strange opens a portal to right beside Thor. "Your dance partner's coming back; would you mind keeping him out of the fight?" –the Sorcerer says, and Thor eagerly dives into the portal, headed straight for Hercules; the Roman god bursts out of the magical restraints with a wrathful roar, just in time to receive the mother of all hammer blows to the top of his head, driving him straight into the soil.
Then he does something that Nico didn't expect: he places his mighty hammer on top of Hercules' chest before he can recover, and walks away from the prone god.
Stephen tilts his head. "Clever." –he praises, as Thor approaches, leaving Hercules hurling expletives in Latin, having realized he can't escape this improvised imprisonment. "I suppose we ought to be thankful Lord Hercules isn't worthy of your power."
"Perhaps as the hero he once was, but no longer." –Thor muses sadly. "Hercules has lost his way indeed."
"Maybe another demigod should remind him." –Ellie nods at Nico.
"Yeah, sure." –Nico scowls. "Despite what Olympus seems to think, I'm not exactly the poster child for heroism." –he says, sarcastically. "Tell you what: if my Hecate-stabbing plan fails, I'll think about it."
As one, they get to it; Strange drops the battered barrier, then crosses his arms and projects dozens of images of himself, all of them going on the offensive, Ellie and Thor jumping into the fray not far behind. Nico spares a look for Hercules – who's starting to look more frustrated and fraught than furious – and wills the shadows to swallow him, spitting him out momentarily in cover of a crumbling pillar behind all their enemies. He catches a glimpse of the battle; true to her word, Hecate dodges everything thrown her way and doesn't fire back, but she does seem to be continuously replenishing the Faceless Ones' magical reserves, and even shielding them from particularly deadly blows. Strange has become a force of nature, twisting reality around him and blasting powerful magic that the Faceless Ones barely manage to protect themselves against, while a visibly tired but determined Ellie blasts away at the skeleton monster, protected by Thor and Hulk. Nico notices that her ecto-rays seem to actually do some lasting damage to the undead creature; it isn't much, but the glowing green energy actually chips away at the mass of bone, and the fragments remain inert once blasted away, seemingly unable to fly back into place.
Still, he believes there's a more expeditious solution; he waits for an opening, and when the Hulk forces Hecate to dodge too far back to be surrounded by her allies, he melds with the shadows again and attempts to do on purpose what he did to Hercules before…only to find the tip of his blade buried deep in the chest of a Faceless One.
"Oh gods…" –he mutters, as the man gives one last, strangled gasp and visibly shrivels up beneath his robes. It's a small comfort, that he's wearing a mask – seeing the life and soul get drained from his face would be haunting, even for him – but he's still just killed a man he truly didn't mean to. His corpse crumples to dust at his feet.
"Hmm. Yet another life taken by the son of Hades." –Hecate says, behind him. Nico tries to swing back at her, but the shadows that transported him have turned against him, holding him in place. "The shadows obey me too, Nico; they told me you were coming. It's a shame, really – your plan truly could've worked."
The battle rages on around them, but Hecate seems to have made it so they're ignored by everyone else. "You have to stop this." –Nico urges. "You're betraying everything we've worked to protect!"
Hecate sighs. "I have no love for mortalkind, princeling. They have rebuffed my gifts as the centuries passed, and only a dwindling few remain who honor me as their ancestors did." –she says. "My only loyalties are to myself and to my children, and I've more than made up for my failure to safeguard them in the New Titanomachy by helping your Roman sibling defeat Gaia – helping this mortal will ensure my children suffer no more for the petty conflicts our extended family so loves to mire themselves and our world in."
"That's not what Hercules was promised." –Nico notes.
The goddess sighs. "Frankly, I'm unsure whether or not he realizes that he, too, would cease to exist if he got his wish." –she muses. "Perhaps that is what he truly wants, despite his boisterous claims – it's so very difficult for a god to die. In any case, Hercules and the Faceless Ones' hope for a world without gods and monsters is moot – the mortal much prefers to add on to our universe, not take away from it. He simply told them what they wanted to hear."
"Then you can't possibly trust that he'll honor his word." –Nico points out.
"I don't. I trust his actions, Nico." –she says. "As soon as he revealed his plans to me, I was able to remember every previous cycle I've lived through – just as I simultaneously exist as Hecate and Trivia, so too have I been the same entity through all his modifications, ever since our world of origin was merged with this universe. A benefit to being divine, I suppose." –she explains. "With every cycle, our victories become more decisive and our defeats less costly; Nico, I only lost a handful of my children to the Titan War this time, as opposed to the scores wiped out in the original version of events."
It's a tempting prospect, he can readily admit. There's just one glaring problem he can instantly identify. "But you still joined Kronos and got them killed in this version, Hecate! Can't you see? You're still just following the bastard's script!"
Hecate pauses, narrowing her eyes. Nico can't quite tell if she'd deduced that for herself already or not. "The mortal is powerful indeed, but don't fool yourself – he can't enact this kind of change by himself any more than I can deny the resentment that drove me to join Kronos in the first place. We are all beholden to the whims of greater gods – Victor merely steers their choices towards a better world than they originally intended. I, for one, shall align myself with the outcome that most favors myself and my own, as I always have."
Nico shakes his head. There's no changing Hecate's mind this time. "We'll stop this, goddess. All of us, together…we'll stop Doom from messing with reality any longer."
"By all means, do try and prove me wrong – demigods have always been good at that sort of thing." –Hecate tilts her head, almost fondly. "But know this, son of Hades: the people of this world are fast approaching a crossroads from which there is no turning back…and whatever the path chosen, they'd be best guided through by Victor von Doom."
Hecate flicks him away, and suddenly he's right beside Hercules, still pinned down by Mjolnir. The god reaches for him, but Nico rolls away to a half-kneeling stance. "…no gods, no Titans, no monsters, huh?" –Nico offers a mirthless smirk. "Hate to say it, cousin, but I think you got duped."
Hercules growls. "I should've known the witch would betray me…" –he grinds out. "Every malakas immortal is the thrice-damned same!"
"You're one to talk." –Nico says. "Seems to me like godhood has made you forget about your heroic duty to protect mankind from people like Victor von Doom."
"I forget nothing." –he sneers. "Not the heroism, not the gods-damned labors, and certainly not the cruel life I endured for the simple act of being born of one of Zeus' many indiscretions."
"Hey, news flash, Herc: all demigods live through crap like that." –Nico says. "Maybe we weren't made to kill our spouse and kids, or died covered in Hydra venom, but none of us went through the same kind of pain and sacrifice just so you could decide we're better off not existing. I'd sooner spend a decade in Tartarus than live a life without my half-blood friends and family, and you and I both know they'd reject your stupid plan, too."
"Brainwashed fools, the lot of you." –Hercules spits.
"Maybe. But you'd know about that, wouldn't you? You could've killed me at least two or three times today and you didn't. You could've wrecked the Argo II as the Seven escaped your island, and you didn't. Styx, you're not as limited as the other Olympians; you could've just assumed your divine form and killed all of us in an instant, save for maybe Thor and Hulk, and risked little to nothing in the way of punishment…and you didn't. Maybe you've lost your way, as Thor says, but…I think you're still a hero at heart."
Hercules scoffs, but Nico can see it in his electric blue eyes, so very much like his father's – he's reached something beneath the jaded, resentful mask he's worn for thousands of years. "Just jab that toothpick of yours into my heart, already. I'd sooner lose my physical form for a year or two than be forced to keep listening to your worthless preaching."
Nico shrugs. "Nah, I don't think I will. Consider it my way of thanking you for not snapping my neck like a twig a few minutes ago."
He shadow travels away before Hercules can protest again, standing next to Ellie, who's clearly trying to keep her transformation up, hiding behind some rubble. "So, the Hecate stabbing plan didn't work." –he drawls.
"I saw. We're not doing much better." –Ellie admits. "Most of the Faceless Ones are down, but that golem is still a problem – my powers seem to be the only thing that can actually hurt it, but I'm kinda running on empty, here."
As if to prove her point, her glow momentarily fades, her hair turning black and her eyes blue for just a second before she regains her ghost form. "If only you could get a boost like those magicians got from Hecate…" –Nico muses.
The air in the room changes then; Nico risks a look, and sees that Hecate is projecting some sort of vaguely purple aura across the whole room, erasing all of Strange's copies, which distracts Thor and Hulk, who get thrown towards them by the golem. Something in his core stills, too, as the goddess of magic smirks wickedly. "I hope you had your fun, Sorcerer Supreme." –Hecate says, gesturing around her. Only a couple of her allies remain standing, and Nico can feel their bodies straining to their breaking point to try and continue channeling Hecate's power. Perhaps it's the fact that they're not Greek, or that the human body is not meant to wield so much magic in so little time, but the goddess' aid seems to have been a double-edged sword. "You've taken away almost all of my little troops, so I've leveled the playing field – no hostile magic may be cast in my presence henceforth."
Strange tries anyway, but whatever spell he tries fizzles out in his palms. Nico tries, too, but that stillness in his chest apparently means he can't wield his chthonic abilities. Practically speaking, he's down to his sword and his shadow travel, but he knows the latter is too risky to use against Hecate. "Do you like it?" –she asks. "In trying to slay me, the giant Clytius taught me something new." –she says.
"My magic remains unaffected, Witch Queen!" –Thor says, lightning arcing across his body.
"Ah, but without your mighty hammer, how will you ever reach me, Odinson?" –she smirks. "Or shall you chance releasing Hercules?"
"Don't." –Strange warns Thor, who simply nods, all business. "Hulk, keep the monster busy."
The Jade Giant huffs at being ordered around by Strange, but jumps towards the skeleton golem once more. Strange and Thor join the younger heroes behind cover. "So, here we are again." –Ellie notes, amused.
"Clearly, we need a new plan." –Strange agrees. "I can still cast magic, but only defensive spells, and my Sling Ring still works."
"I've got my sword, but she's obviously onto that plan." –Nico reports.
"I remain as mighty as ever, but without Mjolnir, my mobility and range are much restrained." –Thor admits.
"I'm kinda sounding like your last hope, guys." –Ellie says.
"Maybe not the last, but certainly our best." –Strange says. "Your ectoplasmic abilities appear to affect undead creatures, and without that monster, we should have a much easier time defeating the goddess."
"Makes sense, I guess, but like I told Nico, I'm actively struggling not to transform back." –she says. "Unless you can give me a boost, I won't last long."
"Perhaps I could give you that boost, young Phantom." –Thor muses. "From what I gathered during my brief tussle with Stark before the Chitauri invaded, it's possible for Midgard's inhabitants to make use of my lightning to boost their own abilities."
Ellie snorts. "I mean, sure, but I don't have whatever capacitors or batteries that guy's armor probably has. If you zap me, I'm definitely gonna feel it."
Strange hums. "You have me." –he says. "I can channel Thor's lightning and transmute it to ectoplasmic energy – the spell used is not intended for combat, and so it shouldn't count as offensive magic. I'm not sure how long the goddess will allow it, however."
"I'm willing to try if you are." –Thor says.
Ellie narrows her eyes. "If we're gonna do this, I'm gonna need to go all out. I've done it before, but…I think I died in the process." –she says, turning to Nico. "Just…knock me out if you start seeing green bubbles coming out of me."
Nico nods, fully aware of her alternate timeline self's death – and the consequences of failing his promise to Ellie's friends and family to keep her safe. "Will do."
Ellie turns to Strange. "Do it."
Thor closes his eyes, perhaps meditating for a moment. Nico smells ozone and hears thunder in the distance, as if the sky above wherever they are in the Labyrinth has suddenly turned to a roiling thunderstorm. The Norse god opens his eyes, and they now shine an almost white shade of blue, as lightning completely envelops him, deadly arcs tracing closer and closer towards them. Strange catches them just in time, his pointer and middle finger extended like a lightning rod, taking the energy into himself – a process that clearly pains him, visibly gritting his teeth and clenching his muscles beneath the robes he wear. Using his left palm, he projects a sort of liquid light, neon green like all of Ellie's powers, that envelops her body.
All of a sudden, Ellie stands bolt upright; her fading glow returns, her eyes blaze with emerald light, and her hands become wreathed in green plasma. "Arrrgghh…!" –she grits out, holding her head, her voice taking on a haunting ethereal tone. "Power's…overwhelming…!"
"So let it loose!" –Nico urges.
Ellie waits no longer, floating up. Hulk must sense something amiss, because he jumps out of the way, as the half-ghost heroine screams.
Nico's never heard anything quite like it; even the Pits of Tartarus are quieter, the suffering of its tortured inhabitants less mired in despair. It sounds like the anguished howl of every soul that ever lived, vocalizing their every torment in life, their every lament in death, a billion voices crying out in unison to destroy everything in their path. For a moment, Nico's…afraid of the Phantom – almost like he can picture her eradicating the men who experimented on her even as her mangled body consumed itself, like he can imagine Danny's dark, future self killing everyone who opposed him.
The Ghostly Wail sweeps through what used to be the temple-like structure, razing everything still standing to the ground. Hulk barely avoids the onslaught, waves of sound given emerald form and enough power to disintegrate the skeleton monster on contact. Nico catches the briefest glimpse as Hecate's eyes widen and she conjures shadows to transport the defeated magicians away, then puts up a shield to protect herself, but it instantly shatters, and the ectoplasmic energy engulfs her, too.
For a moment, Nico worries – gods can't truly die except for very specific circumstances, but their physical forms can be destroyed, sometimes to the point that it can take a very long time for them to exist again in the material plane. He can feel as Hecate's form degrades, a form of death unto itself, so he reaches out to maybe stop his friend, but her exhaustion beats him to it; the Wail swiftly dies down, and bright rings of light wash over Ellie's top and lower halves, returning her to a human form. He catches her before she hits the ground – she's out like a light, but thankfully, he spots no glowing green bubbles. She won't melt down into ectoplasm again.
Hecate groans in pain, covered in ash from the golem, her once regal clothing torn and burnt. The heroes approach her, but a massive black hound and a polecat appear from nearby shadows, standing protectively between them, growling and barking as an obvious warning. "It's over, goddess." –Strange says.
"You're the Sorcerer Supreme. You know better than that." –Hecate hisses. "This is merely the beginning."
"Perhaps. But your part to play in it is done." –Strange declares. He closes his eyes, and a golden omega symbol blazes in the middle of his forehead. "In the name of Zeus, King of Olympus, I compel you to return to your duties as Goddess of Magic and Keeper of the Mist!"
A large sigil with the same omega rune at its core appears underneath Hecate's prone form, and she's enveloped in a pillar of blue and golden light, but the banishment is short-lived – interrupted, as the entire floor of the cavern crumbles at once, already weakened by the titanic fight between Hulk, Thor, and Hercules, and seemingly irreparably damaged by the Phantom's Wail. Nico holds on tight to Ellie, still unconscious, waiting for the inevitable crash with the floor below, but the Hulk catches them both and shields them from the debris when they land, maybe thirty feet down.
"Regrettably, the goddess of magic will not be going just yet." –the morbidly familiar voice of Doctor Doom says. "Doom yet requires Hecate's services."
Nico looks around; they're in some sort of wrecked laboratory, grafted onto what used to be a sepulcher of sorts, by the looks of it. A very haggard-looking Kara seems to be protecting an unconscious woman; the Kryptonian's uniform is torn in places, her forehead bleeding, alarmingly enough, and her thigh sporting a nasty magical burn. Victor, too, appears to be protecting an ally of his own, a man in a blue and black jumpsuit with what seems to be stretchy limbs, currently tied in a painful looking knot. The King of Latveria is looking a bit worse for wear as well, his armor and robes sporting fairly deep burn marks that can only have come from Kara's heat vision.
Doctor Doom raises his hand, as blazing scarlet runes light up all around the room. Nico vaguely recognizes them – they, too, seem to invoke the power of Cyttorak, though the setup is different, and so are the effects; they're all enveloped in a scarlet aura, slowed down to a crawl except for the gods, seemingly unaffected by the lesser spell, and Doom himself, along with his defeated partner.
The son of Hades watches as Doom blasts Hecate with a vaguely familiar beam of energy – something he knows he's felt before, deep within the bowels of the Underworld. The goddess trembles briefly, and her body turns a brilliant white before collapsing into a miniature singularity, which floats over to Doom's palm.
Hercules roars, then, exploding from beneath the rubble. "MORTAL!" –he howls. After the fall, his left hand is now trapped beneath Mjolnir – and if Nico's eyes don't deceive him, the divine hammer seems to be budging just a little bit as he tries to rush Doom. "Unhand the goddess, or face the wrath of Hercules!"
Thor must see the turn in the Roman god's attitude too, because he summons Mjolnir to his hand, releasing Hercules, both gods vaulting over to smash Doom to bits. The sorcerer makes a split second decision; he tosses the orb that contains Hecate to his companion, who yelps as he barely catches it, falling into an awaiting Sling Ring portal, which closes just as Hercules and Thor bring down their godly might upon their very much mortal foe.
The runes deactivate pretty much instantly, letting them all move again. When the dust settles, Hercules and Thor rise over their foe's body – or what should've been, as the mangled remains reveal nothing but machinery underneath that imposing suit of armor.
"Well…unless Victor has been a robot all along, the bastard's still out there." –Kara says, bitterly.
"Indeed. And he is now armed with a most valuable hostage." –Strange says pursing his lips.
Kara shakes her head. "Damn it, we're back to square one!" –she says, frustrated.
"Not so, my friend." –Thor counters. "We've destroyed one of his bases, forced him to retreat, and now we know exactly how he operates. We shall rescue the goddess Hecate and stop Doom yet!"
Nico snorts. "Y'know, the man is despicable, but his name does make for some amusing puns."
Kara sighs, sparing a tired smile for the demigod. "At least you guys are okay." –she says, then looks down at Ellie. "…she's okay, right?"
"She'll live." –Nico reassures her. "We really did do some good here today, Supergirl, don't doubt that." –he says. "Bad guys running away for a later, climactic encounter is pretty much par for the course, when it comes to being a hero."
"Aye, and Hercules pulled through in the end!" –Thor says, bumping (read: punching) the Roman god's shoulder. "I knew you still had it in you!"
Hercules crosses his arms. "Don't count me as one of your little triumphs, Odinson. I didn't do it for you. My need for revenge against the Witch Queen and the mortal that betrayed me simply overwhelmed my hatred of heroics for a moment." –he says, turning to Nico. "And…I suppose I also had a kindness to repay."
Nico rolls his eyes. "You keep telling yourself that, Herc." –he drawls.
The god huffs, but he sounds just a little less despective than before. "I will leave you all to your delusions of heroism." –he says, turning to Strange. "Sorcerer, I will visit your Sanctum in one week's time and tell you all that I know of the mortal's plans."
"I don't know that we have that kind of time." –Kara urges, uncertain of Hercules' attitude adjustment but willing to work with it for the moment. "He has Hecate, he could make another change to the universe whenever he wants."
Hercules shakes his head. "He will require some time to make his next move, Kryptonian." –he claims. "Take this time to rest, heal, and prepare – your next clash with Doom may not be so easily overcome."
I feel like some of y'all are gonna kill me for not showcasing Kara's fight with Reed and Victor, but to be honest, this chapter included so much fighting that even if I wanted to include that scene, I was so fed up with writing fight scenes that it would've delayed the chapter at least a couple more weeks. Hopefully her state when we catch up with her is enough of a hint as to what's happened, but to sum it up, it was much more of a dodging game for Kara than her usual fights, as she's keenly aware that she has no special resistance to the arcane arts. The burn on her thigh she got when Doom decided to target the woman instead, which prompted her to shield her with her body - and after which she cut loose with the heat vision.
This chapter was a tough one, partly because there wasn't really a natural stopping point - hence the double length and lengthy wait between updates - partly because of all the fight scenes, and partly because though I had Hecate and Hercules' motivations down (Hecate wants to keep herself and her children safe above all, Hercules wants to stick it to the Olympians but also struggles with self-hatred because of his origins as a demigod and his current state as a cynical asshole), their dialogues weren't as easy to pin down. Hercules is usually boisterous and confident, enjoying the fight, but his issues would render him bitter and short-tempered more and more as the fight went on, while Hecate has been aloof and detached in the past, but I felt like she'd be genuinely curious and enthused by Victor's truly bonkers plan and inhuman mastery over the mystic arts. Your mileage may vary over whether this came across in the text - I think it can feel like some sharp turns were taken, but overall, I'm happy with it.
Some trivia for y'all:
-This is the first time Nico crosses blades with a khopesh wielder, so I wanted to have him go through a brief period of adjustment against the curved section of the blade; it'd only take him a few strikes, as he's immensely talented as a swordfighter, but still.
-The woman Nico mainly duels in the first few paragraphs is meant to be *someone* named. I've yet to nail down their identity but I have a couple of options that could fit - who do you think she might've been? All you get as a hint is that she's a woman, lol.
-The Faceless Ones are, as they say, a sect of former House of Life members who reject the pro-god path that the Kanes took to defeat Apophis and have now established as its new status quo (despite most of the Egyptian gods currently existing only in the Duat). They're kinda hypocritical, if you think about it: Akhenaten was shunned for his disregard of tradition and polytheistic worship, but he still worshipped a god, Aten (OC do not steal circa 1300 BCE), which the Faceless claim to reject. They also worked with Hecate and Hercules, more obviously, but I think they wouldn't count them since they're Greek and Roman, respectively.
-Ironically, Panhellenios as an epithet means "of all the Greeks", which...shouldn't apply to Hercules, as a Roman god, but that's his name in the Marvel universe, which I wanted to allude to! We haven't lost everything about that version of the character, I promise.
-Strange is severely affected by channeling Cyttorak's power because he has no artifact to safely do so - he's using his own body as a conduit, which is of course handy in a pinch, but far riskier than having an object associated with the entity you wish to beseech. If Thor hadn't banished Cyttorak's essence, Strange would've been pretty much taken out of the fight. On that note, Thor used Odin's authority to expel Cyttorak's presence from Strange's body, not his own. He could've done it by himself, but Cyttorak was less likely to acquiesce to his demand than the All-father's.
-Hecate is *very* powerful, which means that the consequences for her directly harming mortals are a lot more severe than Hercules' would be - and of course, as gods, those consequences would mostly pass on to her children, whom she does love. That's why she refuses to spill any mortal blood herself, merely letting her minions do the fighting and then playing support when it becomes clear they're extremely outgunned.
-I probably wouldn't have done the "Mjolnir on the chest" bit for Hercules if not for the comments suggesting it, so kudos for pitching the idea!
-Lest anyone be a little confused, Ellie is still very limited by her stunted abilities; if she tried to perform the Ghostly Wail on her own, she wouldn't even be able to start vocalizing, kinda like if you tried to asphyxiate by holding your breath, her body wouldn't allow it. She only managed it in the alternate timeline by consuming her own body, and now she had Thor to avoid that fate. Don't expect it to happen often.
That's all I have space for! Hope you enjoyed - if you have any comments, leave em here or over on tumblr (darthkvznblogs) until next time!