Disclaimer: I own nothing here you recognise (and depending on what fandom drew your interest to this fic, I may not own some things you don't recognise); you know how it goes.
Feedback: Always appreciated
AN: A part of this chapter was inspired by a suggesting made by GrilledMeatSalad in an earlier review; just wanted to give credit where credit was due.
The Guardians of Magic
Faced with the threat of the Imperator, Angel wasn't entirely sure what prompted him to step forward ahead of the other Guardians, beyond some vague idea that he was the best candidate to confirm the level of power this opponent could unleash without it being obvious fatal to him. Billy might be able to take a greater punishment, but if his impulsive plan was going to work Angel had a feeling that whatever was about to happen to him would make the best impact on the rest of the world.
When the Imperator delivered the first blow, Angel resisted the urge to retaliate as he noticed Willow and the other Guardians moving around the room, hopefully following their current tentative plan. The Empirikuul's leader could deliver powerful punches, but from his long experience at combat Angel estimated that the Imperator was stronger than him, but not to the extent of what he'd seen Billy be capable of when he was transformed. This wouldn't be easy, but if Angel was right, he wouldn't have to do this for long…
"Give up," the Imperator said, glaring coldly at Angel as the vampire got back to his feet after the latest punch. "You must suffer for your actions."
"What actions?" Angel asked, pondering the irony that he was the one having to take point and speak in the defence of a world when he'd barely spent any time interacting with the people in his own world before Whistler first introduced him to Buffy. "Defending our world? Protecting the people we care about? Trying to stop invaders-?"
"We seek to remove the corruption of magic-"
"And what gives you the right?" Angel countered, only to be forced to turn his head as another punch headed for his face; he might be planning to take a beating, but he didn't want to have to reset his nose. "You've been attacking worlds for the crime of having magic-"
"We only target those who wield magic-!"
"What proof do you have that you're going after people who actually do any harm?" Angel insisted, even as he was sent staggering back from the latest blow; if he had been human, this man would have ruptured his kidney with that last blow. "Everyone here has only used their power to help people-"
"You dare to lie?" the Imperator cut him off with a contemptuous glare. "When your crimes are known?"
"I'm not going to lie and say I never did anything wrong myself," Angel countered, stepping back to deflect the next blow; he wasn't going to just keep letting this guy hit him, but if he hit back too soon he wouldn't properly make his point. "But the point is that magic gave me a chance to be a better person, just like it gave so many of this team a chance to be better people-"
"To face dangers caused by magic," the Imperator said, now clearly so focused on Angel he wasn't even properly registering what the other Guardians were doing beyond that they weren't coming after the Imperator themselves. "If magic was not a factor, they would live lives of peace-"
"Don't pretend like you're doing this for anyone but yourself," Angel cut the Imperator off. "If this was just about dealing with the threat posed by magic, you could have done so many things to protect people that don't involve going off and killing witches and wizards just because they have a power you don't like."
"Magic corrupts all who wield it-"
"How do you know that?" Angel said, stepping to the side as the Imperator tried to kick at his leg. "Because it was true in your world, it's true everywhere? The magic from your native world was a terrible thing, and all of us agree with that, but if you're going to assume that means all magic is like that then why don't you assume that… you know about Earth history, right?"
"Of course," the Imperator said with a dismissive shrug. "Earth is a cornerstone of the multiverse; I am fully aware of its history."
"Then your attitude towards magic is basically the same as people assuming all Germans were Nazis after the Second World War," Angel retorted, glad to register that his associates had done as they had planned; now all he had to do was make sure the Imperator said what they wanted him to say.
"That is hardly a comparable analogy," the Imperator said dismissively, clearly so focused on Angel that he wasn't aware of anything else (Angel would do the other entity the courtesy of assuming that he'd notice a direct attack at least). "I am fully aware of the dangers of magic; I am not judging a culture for the mistakes of the past, but preventing the threats of the present-"
"You are condemning children because they are born into magical families and choose to follow their parents' examples when they aren't doing anything wrong," Angel said resolutely. "Harry, Ginny and Mildred are innocent children who have done nothing more than learn magic and would never think of using it to hurt other people; you have no right to judge them as monsters-"
"THEY ARE EVIL!" the Imperator yelled, lunging forward and grabbing Angel by the throat with a speed that put Angel in mind of Billy before he found himself pinned to the wall. "ALL MAGIC IS EVIL! PEOPLE HAVE DIED BECAUSE OF MAGIC-!"
"And people have died because of technology, but you don't see us going around telling everyone to smash their machines," Angel retorted, striking the Imperator's elbow with sufficient force that he was forced to release his grip on Angel's throat before the vampire shoved him back. "You need to have faith in people not to do the worst thing-!"
"The world cannot be trusted with such power," the Imperator said resolutely, regaining his self-control as he glared at the vampire. "My parents gave their lives to save me for a reason, and I will ensure that the threat of magic is removed from the multiverse forever."
"And then what?" Angel asked, hoping he wasn't about to make a mistake. "What happens when someone else at least learns about magic? What happens when someone in this new world of yours finds… a book of magic or something like that years after you've ended magic in other worlds?"
"They will know of its dangers-"
"And that means that nobody's going to be at least tempted to find out more about what happened back then?" Angel countered. "You think that you can control what everyone does in the future?"
"I will ensure it," the Imperator said, fists clenched as he glared firmly at Angel. "I will be there to ensure that my people adhere to the rules-"
"Because they can't do a thing without you?" Angel retorted, now desperately hoping that their theories about the Imperator were right. "Because you've gone to all this effort to create a civilisation and you need to be there like some controlling parent for… the rest of eternity?"
"And how would you even do that?" Ginny cut in, stepping forward to glare at the man in the white armour, the other Guardians still moving around behind the Imperator; Angel had been keeping his focus so far, but he appreciated some extra help in keeping the Imperator's focus away from the rest of the team. "Are you such a control freak that you're going to just… not die and make sure everything stays the way you want it to be?"
"You dare to question me?" the Imperator declared.
"Somebody has to," Ginny said with a pointed stare at the man, fighting to hide a tremble as she faced an entity just as evil as the spirit who had so recently used her against her school. "Do you actually care about anybody, or do you just hate magic?"
"Magic destroyed my world-!"
"A specific type of magic destroyed your world," Angel corrected, unsure if he should move to protect Ginny even as he had to privately acknowledge that she was a capable witch who had proven her right to be on this team despite her doubts. "How is it that we're meant to be the 'bad guys' from your perspective but we're the ones willing to talk with you when you're threatening to kill us just because of who we are?"
"You DESERVE to die; you are abominations-!"
"Because you object to what we are?" Angel said resolutely; he was fairly sure the others had set up their part by now, but every little thing they could do right now would only help their case. "You talk as though we're abominations, but even if I started out as a regular vampire, I'm trying to be more than that right now, and most of the team haven't even done anything with their powers but try and help people."
"You will inevitably-"
"Inevitable?" Ginny glared at him. "You think that everyone with magic is going to… what, start worshipping monsters like your world did? My world has had witches and wizards for centuries and we just… we're fine just staying out of sight; we don't want to rule anyone else…"
"And what of your Dark Lords?"
"OK, if you're going to judge people because of what everyone might do than just kill the whole multiverse and stop pretending you care about anybody!" Paige cut in, the older witch stepping forward with her own outraged expression. "Seriously, everyone has potential to do bad things; you can't assume the worst of everyone just because they have magic!"
"ENOUGH!" the Imperator yelled, waving his hands in frustration, only for the action to be accompanied by a burst of energy that sent Angel and his allies flying backwards. Wanda managed to halt the sudden flight back with a wave of her hands before anyone hit something, but the equipment around the room was shattered, leaving the Guardians to stare at the enraged Imperator in shock. "You will NOT-"
"Reveal that you have magic?" Nick cut in, the Grimm already back on his feet as the others assembled behind him.
"What?" the Imperator glared at the detective. "You dare imply-"
"We've all dealt with magic over the years; do you think we can't recognise the difference between magic and… telekinesis or whatever the term is?" Emma said (Angel guessed she was exaggerating since from what he remembered of her background, she hadn't known she was dealing with magic back in her world until recently, but everyone else was agreeing with Emma anyway). "You threw us without touching any of us; you definitely have magic."
"Seriously?" Paige looked at the Imperator with exaggerated incredulity. "What is this? Your whole anti-magic rant is just you wanting to be the only one playing with the fancy toy?"
"It is not-" the Imperator began, actually looking flustered as he looked at the assembled magic-users. "I only possess magic because my people-"
"Let me guess, your world was destroyed and you ended up taking on all the magic from everyone else when your people died and everything fell apart?" Paige asked.
"That can happen?" Mildred looked at Paige in surprise.
"There was a whole thing where Phoebe's ex was absorbing a lot of magic from some demonic afterlife after he was nearly killed; I'm assuming it's a larger-scale version of that," Paige shrugged before she looked at the Imperator. "Am I right?"
"With the fall of my peoples' twisted gods, someone had to take on that power," the Imperator affirmed with a grim resolution in his tone. "I was the most receptive candidate given my peoples' ties to their gods, but my training in science gave me sufficient mental control to avoid being overwhelmed by the power…"
"And you kept that power?" Merlin glared at the man. "Even after everything you've said about how dangerous magic is?"
"Which proves that I am destined to wield this power; only I can control it-!"
"Yeah, try and defend yourself all you like," Emma glared firmly at the Imperator. "From what we're hearing, it all boils down to you deciding that you're the only one who gets to have magic."
"I do this because only I can be trusted with that power-"
"Yeah, like we haven't heard something like that before," Shazam said with a bitter shake of his head. "Seriously, my first enemy was a guy who thought he deserved to be the champion of magic even when he gave in to the Seven Deadly Sins the first time he learned it was all real; at a certain point you just don't deserve to be given the benefit of the doubt."
"And you definitely went too far a long time ago," Dave glared at the man in the white armour. "I mean, I can get freaking out when you lost your parents like that, but-"
"'Freaking out'?" the Imperator repeated with an indignant rage. "My parents barely saved me from the horrors of magic with their last act-!"
"And we're sorry about that, but you can't let that define your existence!" Merlin protested. "Innocent people are suffering back in my world because one man hates what he can't accept; if you want to be a good leader for your people, be better than your hatred!"
"I will be better when I am the last magical being in this multiverse," the Imperator said firmly. "When only I bear the burden of the power that has destroyed so many lives… then there will be true peace."
"Firstly, speaking as the guy who witnessed an alien invasion a few years ago, that's a stupid thing to believe," Shazam said with a pointed shake of his head.
"Huh?" Mildred looked at the man in red in confusion.
"I just mean that an alien invasion on my world proves magic isn't the only big threat out there, and acting like you can stop every kind of threat by eliminating one problem is just stupid."
"That… makes sense," Mildred nodded in understanding.
"And even without that to think about," Wanda put in, raising her hand and pointing a finger with a cool grin, "there's something else you've overlooked."
Following the direction of Wanda's finger, the Imperator's eyes widened in horror behind his mask when he saw the Vision and Kenzi standing in a corner, Kenzi holding a large camera over her shoulder while Vision's fingers penetrated the sides of the device, his eyes and the Mind Stone glowing behind the Goth.
"Smile, asshole," Kenzi grinned. "You're on candid camera."
"To everyone on this planet with access to a screen," Willow said, raising her hand with a tentative smile. "What can I say? We're probably a bit more tech-savvy than you're used to people like us being."