Stars Align

by OverAnalyzers

Summary:

Ever since waking up as a fae, the simplest part of Helen's life was choosing to use it to become a hero a help people. But when she runs into a meta with glowing runes for eyes on a quest for revenge, Helen finds herself sucked into a fight far above her ability to handle. Its gonna take all her skill and luck to make sure she doesn't get crushed in the ensuing slaughter.

Chapter 1

Patrolling was always a toss up in terms of excitement. Sometimes you spent hours walking around and never saw a peep, other times you got into costume and walked right into a bank robbery.

Today, Helen Calestis walked into a nest of rats. Technically, she wasn't Helen. Technically, she was a cape. She just had yet to find a cover name that felt right. Fortunately, it wasn't like her opponents generally asked for a name.

They mostly tried to kill her. So far, they hadn't succeeded, and, so far, she had managed not to kill anyone either. She considered it a win. Helen had grown up in a world still getting back on its feet after Professor Quantum broke their universe and introduced meta elements and meta-humans into the world.

It wasn't until that camping trip gone wrong that she learned she was meant to be part of that world as well.

Helen still had trouble accepting she had powers, but accepting that she had the strength to help out others was easy. Even if, in this case, it was a pack of rats.

One of the first things Helen had realized she could do, outside of enhanced speed and strength, was communicate with animals. It wasn't as exciting as she had hoped. Normally they didn't have much to say, at least not much of interest, but today they seemed to have sought her out.

Animals don't generally speak in words, more a sense of instincts, associations, and images. This time Helen got the sense that they were worried about something, no, someone.

Understanding animals wasn't an exact art and, to be honest, she hadn't exactly found the time to really practice. Not when she was grappling with sensory overload from her heightened senses and trying hard to not break her utensils. It had nearly been a year, but she was still struggling to adapt to her powers.

Fortunately, she was decent enough that she managed to learn that some of their pack had gone missing and get a guide to the area they had last been seen. Seeing as how it had been a fairly boring patrol so far, she agreed and headed out to the given location.

Her first glance didn't reveal any clear cause.

Then, a closer look revealed it was too clean. It smelled almost sterile. As if someone had intentionally cleaned the area up after themselves. Well, that meant this was something more than some rats getting lost or eaten before they got home. Helen was honor bound to at least try to figure out the source and legality of it.

Helen closed her eyes. This sometimes worked. She focused on the rats and their desire to find their pack members.

At first, nothing happened. Every other time she had done this successfully, she had had something to connect her to her target. She expressed this to the rats who sniffed around looking for scraps or their missing friends. A few blinked and Helen was hit with the sense of a very familiar scent. She focused her search on the scent.

Just as she was about to give up, her mind splintered on her. She could sense the rats’ confusion and fear for their missing family while a sense of where to go blossomed in her mind.

Helen followed it as best as she could. After a period of trial and error, she finally made her way to a small discrete building surrounded by a bunch of other small discrete buildings.

Next step was trying to figure out how to break in. Helen had never broken into a building before and wasn't quite sure what a good first step would be. Perhaps she could try to look through the windows and take in what she could.

Fortunately, after a little bit of exploration, it seemed someone had already gotten there first. They, on the other hand, seemed to have adopted the strategy of "just smash through the wall". Helen wasn't sure if it was their way in or out, but she wasn't going to say no to a free entrance.

Inside, the first thing Helen noticed was the smell. The entire building reaked of blood. The second thing she noticed was that her instincts were telling her to run.

She swallowed. She had to at least try and find the rats and learn more about what this place was. Besides, if she wanted to be a hero, it meant she wouldn't have the luxury of running from threats that scared the daylights out of her. Not if it meant more lives could be saved.

She would just have to be careful. Since her target was extraction, perhaps she would be able to avoid whatever threat her instincts were warning her to flee from.

Still, she took out her shield and spear just in case. They had appeared on her back when she first woke up after the transformation in full armor and a form that was too fast, too strong, and too sensitive. While she'd been able to change outfits, the shield and spear never seemed to stray too far from her. She didn't generally use them, seeing as she was now stronger and faster than most opponents, but something told her that she was safer with them out than stored.

Breathing through her mouth, Helen focused on her targeted scent again and went off. It led her through rows of shelves holding boxes and to a dead end.

Or what remained of a dead end before someone punched the wall in, revealing a secret passage. The sense of dread started getting stronger. The scent of blood also got stronger. Whoever was breaking these walls was almost definitely down there.

The vibes changed from mundane warehouse to secret lair. Arcane sigils glowed weakly in the hallway. Helen got the sense it was for protection and shadowing. They felt far too weak to do much of that.

She continued down the halls. Her search led her to the right, which fortunately felt slightly less threatening. It turned out that whatever sort of monster was here had already gone through this room.

Helen tried not to gag as she tried to not look at the corpses - no - dead bodies. It felt important to remember they had been people. If she had time, she would try to return and give them some sort of funeral.

Fortunately, the hallway wasn't that long and she found the room where the rats were being held. Her eyes quickly caught sight of them. They were in a small dog crate on a shelf covered in more cages. Some animals there looked normal, while others had a strange sickly red glow that sent shivers down Helen's spine.

The door into the room was locked, but, considering all the destruction, Helen figured no one would mind if she cut the door off the wall. She didn’t exactly know how to pick locks and if the movies were anything to go on, this would be the fastest way. If someone did mind then maybe she could apologize … or something.

Her spear cut effortlessly broke through the hinges holding it up and it collapsed inward with a bang that made her jump. Helen entered and instantly was hit by the stench of a ton of animals kept in too-small cages, unhygienic cages. She wrinkled her nose.

"That's it. I'm getting you all out of here."

No animal deserved to live like this. Based on the quantity, their best chance was for Helen to release them from their cages with instructions on getting out. The positive part of understanding animals was animals could more easily understand her too.

Once she got both enough comprehension from all the animals in cages, and agreement from the carnivores to not hunt their fellow escapees, she reached towards the cages.

For some reason, they were all cowering. Helen felt a cold prickle behind her. A cold certainty hit: She was dead; The animals behind her were dead.

That did it for her.

Instincts she didn't know she had took over. Helen leapt on a shelf and flipped over, pulling her shield out. She might die, but she sure as hell wasn't letting whatever monster was going to kill her harm the animals behind her.

She landed just as something massive slammed hard into her shield. She! Would! Not! Yield!

After what felt like an eternity, Helen blinked and realized she was still alive. Her shield unharmed.

She looked up at her attacker. They were looking at her in shock. She stared back. The blood covering their hands and face made it clear they had been causing all the death and destruction around her.

Beyond that, they wore a plain jacket and jeans — all dark attire, except for the mask on their face. A mask the color red. Red like blood. Blood they were soaked in.

The only other visible thing was their eyes. Where there eyes should be was a void with blood red runes shining from them. Helen didn't understand what the runes meant, but she could sense hunger, bloodthirst, and a thirst for destruction from them.

Helen knew she was outclassed. Though mostly healed, her arms still hurt from the initial impact. And now she had to fight again.

Fortunately, it looked like she had recovered faster than this monster. Helen charged forward with her spear determined to end him. To protect the animals behind her, and the world from a creature like this.

She pushed as fast as she could, time feeling like it was slowing around her. But the monster seemed to spot her and moved in tandem with her, twisting and leaning back so that, instead of hitting him in the chest, it just grazed his cheek. His maked face contorted into what appeared to be a wild smile as he did so.

Helen was screwed.

"You can fight, little star," the horror spoke. His voice was cold and sent shivers down her spine. "For that you get my respect and my name. I am called Ivan."

Manners took over.

"Nice to meet you Ivan," Helen stated. "I'm Helen."

Oops.

Ivan raised an eyebrow. That's what she got for not having a codename picked out.

"I mean I'm…" Helen struggled to pick up a name. None of them felt right. "I'm still figuring out a codename."

"You are a cape then?" Ivan asked.

"I am trying to be one," Helen confessed. Anything that kept him from attacking.

"Then let me offer a warning, little star," Ivan told her. "Stay out of my way. I have business with the ones who hired you to guard them. I can assure you they have committed horrendous crimes that I intend to make them pay for. Otherwise, I will have no choice but to crush you with them."

"I'm not here for them. I came to free the animals they took."

Ivan stared at her a bit, taking her in.

"Excellent," Ivan smiled coldly. "Well, then you won't mind me taking care of-"

He paused and the next instant Helen felt the world around her blur. She felt sick. In the distance she noted the crack of a gun.

Her brain took a few seconds to process what happened.

Someone had just tried to shoot them. It wasn't the first time that had happened, but it was the first time an opponent had grabbed her by the collar to move her fast enough to get out of the way.

"Can you put me down? I'm bulletproof." she told him. "Well, my armor is."

Her first time getting in a shoot out had left little to wonder about. She had been lucky the bullet had only scraped her cheek.

"Oh good, then I won't have to waste time protecting you from bullets next time. Now, pardon me, I have some business with the gunsman. In the meantime, busy yourself … freeing those animals why don't you?"

In a blur, he was gone. With his disappearance came the rise of screams. Helen took a deep breathe and gave herself three seconds to steady herself.

She had been very lucky. Somehow the monster had chosen not just to spare her but also to save her life.

Helen moved to free the animals. They still listened to her instructions, but for some reason clung close to her. All but the ones with the strange red glow were able to move themselves. Fortunately, there weren't too many of those and it was fairly easy to help carry them out.

When she brought them outside the mobile animals seemed to bow, thanking her, and then they ran off.

Helen brought the ones with the strange glows to a nearby meta-specialized emergency veterinary practice.

The promised to do their best for them. Helen requested they look into what was done to the animals. Whatever they went through was clearly intentional, and, if anyone had an issue with it, she was more than willing to remind them that when mad scientists worked twisted magical experiements on animals, they generally enjoyed experimenting on humans too.

Helen took a deep breathe and then headed back to her apartment to get some sleep.

---

Ivan tossed his dirty clothes into a hamper reveling in the fact he had more clothes to change into.

Almost a full year free of the cult that raised him, the novelty of not having to fight for a new shirt still felt surreal.

For now, it was time to see if the doodad he "borrowed" from his strange new roommate was going to help him at all. The Order of the Final Dawn was going to regret ever conceiving of the plan that had ended in his creation.

 

Notes:

Hi! Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoy the adventure!!! Please feel free to leave comments with thoughts. I am a comment gremlin. I eat them up like Nexus eats up a Lodestar and Fornax fight to the death.

Chapter 2

Summary:

Helen would dearly love to put the meta named Ivan behind her. Unfortunately, when another animal requests for her help finding a missing friend, it appears that's one wish she won't be getting.

 

The next weeks went by fairly normally. Her internship for a newspaper company in the afternoon. Night courses in the evening. Some time spent studying/doing homework. Then, a few hours of napping before early morning patrol. She loved being about as the sun slowly lit up the sky. Then, either more schoolwork or, if she was lucky, another nap. Helen wasn't sure why, but her new powers allowed her to function well on less sleep.

It nearly made up for the downsides, like those closest to her struggling to recognize her. Her friends had literally attacked her when she had finally found her way back to their camp and accused her of stealing herself.

It had taken weeks for her family to stop accusing her of being a changeling and, even now, they were uncomfortable around her.

To be fair, some days Helen could barely recognize herself in her new fae form. Still, some transitions were worse than others, and she thanked her lucky stars that she could mostly camouflage the changes using a bulky headband to hide her pointed ears and dorky glasses to obscure her face. It even helped somewhat with the dissonance her family experienced around her.

So far, no one at her college had called her a changeling.

She considered it a victory.

Helen had nearly forgot about her run-in with the meta who called himself Ivan, at least as much as one could while constantly searching the shadows for him to pop out and finish her off. She was in the middle of training when a reminder of their adventure returned to ask for help.

One of the stray dogs she'd freed approached her. She stopped and reached into her bag for some dog food. It was an expense, but Helen tried to have stashes of food for various animals hidden around where she normally walked ever since she had begun to understand them. They might not be as sentient as humans but they were certainly people too.

The dog finished the bowl of kibble she'd set out and started whining. It turned out one of his pack was still missing but he had finally found her scent.

Helen followed him through the winding streets and found herself in front of an apartment building.

"You sure she is in here?"

The dog woofed his assurance and sent his partners scent her way.

Helen focused on the scent. Her consciousness split into two parallel parts: Her physical body, and the location she was being drawn to.

It was indeed the apartment building … but it felt like it was lower down.

Helen pondered how to get into the building, but a quick scope revealed someone had decided to prop open the door.

Helen crept inside and removed the brick holding the door open. No reason to let ne'er-do-wells gain easy access to the building.

This time, everything was quiet and the palpable sense of doom from last time was missing. This time, Helen had also brought a disposable camera and a recorder. It couldn't hurt to get some real evidence to review later. Also, might as well see if she could get any material for her final project — some cult kidnapping animals would probably work enough for a B.

Helen followed her hunting senses to what appeared to be a janitor closet. She reached to open the door when instincts warned her someone was coming.

She flattened herself against the wall and prayed her armor wouldn't give her away.

Somehow it worked. The hooded figure walked toward the entrance without checking once.

Helen grabbed the door carelessly tossed open and snuck in silently.

In the distance, she heard them muttering about "who forgot to put the stone in the doorway."

She vanished through the door into what appeared to be a dark, long hall glowing with runes.

If she hadn't suspected it already, this was proof that this was the same people as the last place she had rescued a dozen rats, three dogs, a handful of cats, and an owl.

The runes on the walls matched the ones in her memories, but this time they glowed steadily. Helen wasn't sure how they hadn't managed to hide this place from her, but she couldn't complain. Magic worked oddly and had so many exceptions. Maybe it couldn't stop her because she wasn't searching for the location itself, but rather the dog. Or maybe it had to do with the animals being the one to give her the connection.

Helen wasn't sure what the rules were. It wasn't like anyone taught magic at school, and she certainly hadn't had anyone to teach her how it worked either.

Competent magic users were off doing more important things than training a new Cape the basics. She'd figure out the basics soon enough, hopefully.

Helen made it partially down the hallway before she met her first adversary: a hooded figure hiding in an alcove. They gave a shout and leapt at her.

Helen spun to the side and stuck out a leg. They tumbled over.

She quickly zip-tied their hands together. Once, she got the evidence she was going to borrow one of residents’ phones and call in the police to clear them out.

This wasn't the first time she had helped clear out a hideout, but this was the first time she would be doing it by herself.

Unfortunately, she had been too slow and the alarm had already gone out.

A group of three cultists approached her. One of them was chanting something.

Helen charged at them. One muttered something, and suddenly the world slowed around Helen. Or, more specifically, she slowed down — one of them was a caster.

Helen hadn't appreciated how much she relied on her enchanced speed before. For the first time, she felt as slow as before her transformation. She wondered if she was also physically weaker.

Well, this was probably going to be good experience and a decent marker for how good her basic skills were. That was, assuming she managed to not die in the first place.

As Helen closed in on her next opponent, everything went stifflingly dark. She froze. If she couldn't see her opponents, then not getting hurt was going to get a lot harder.

If sight was out, she still had the rest of her senses. Her first instincts were hearing and touch, but it was her sense of smell that warned her of an approaching opponent.

She ducked, but not before a slash of shadow cut her left arm. She yelped and dodged out of the way of another gust of misplaced air.

Hoping she wasn't wrong, Helen grabbed the arm and judo-flipped her opponent. They went down and took their wave of darkness with them.

She didnt have time to focus on her injury before the third cultist reached her.

Helen barely managed to pull out her shield before the fist crashed into it.

The blow hit and Helen stumbled backwards. This opponent clearly had enhanced strength. He may even be stronger than her. Another first.

She pretended to charge at the bruiser and dove to the side on the last minute nearing the mage, who seemed to be powering up another spell.

He looked up at her, startled, but seemed more scared of something behind her. He chanted his spell faster and faster.

Helen decided not to let him finish and whacked him with her shield. He went flying back. Whatever spell he started broke apart. He seemed stunned and out for the count, at least briefly.

Helen turned back to deal with the bruiser only to find he wasn't there. In the three seconds while Helen was turned around he appeared to have spontaneously combusted. All over the walls. In his place was Ivan.

"Hello again, Helen," he smiled.

"Hi Ivan! Funny running into you again. Are you planning on killing me this time?"

Seeing as he was dripping in blood, Helen figured this was a reasonable enough question to ask.

"Considering the delightful performance you just put on, I daresay I have no reason to."

That dealt with for the moment, Helen turned back to the mage.

"Destroyer, why do you deny your destiny?" The mage had already gotten back to their feet.

"You may be my creator," Ivan started. "But I am your master. I will destroy you all and pay back every ounce of pain you made me and my comrades feel. I will bring the final dawn upon you and all that you worship. That is my promise."

Maybe Helen should focus on Ivan's speech and what it told her about him and the cult, but there was something familiar about that turn of phrase he used at the start. It was the sort of phrase that Helen was going to kick herself for not recognizing right away. It sounded like the sort of thing, she should know. Like in one of the books she read or the movies she watched.

Ivan leapt, teleporting a few feet closer to the mage. The mage just nodded with respect, and vanished before Ivan could grab him.

"Tarnation," Ivan swore. Anger rolling off him.

Unfortunately, that was right when it finally hit Helen what he had referenced.

"Frankenstein!" She yelped. "You read Frankenstein?"

Ivan turned to her. He looked furious. Then he blinked, and the runes in his eyes started to fade. Normal brown eyes stared back at her.

"My roommate insisted I read it. He insisted it was a 'classic' and it come in handy."

Right, even villains needed things as mundane as a place to live and roommates to help make the rent. It was easy to forget that under the terrifying veneer, villains were human beings too with lives outside of killing people and causing unrest.

"Did you enjoy it?"

Ivan shrugged. "It was … confusing. Should we go find whatever animals you were after this time? Unless you were lying about that."

Helen breathed in and nodded. They headed to the end of the hall till they reached two doors leading in two different directions.

"Which way, North Star?" Ivan asked with a smirk.

"North Star?"

"That is the star sailors use to find their way, is it not?"

Helen ignored his new nickname for her, for now. Instead, she focused on the instinct leading her to her target.

"Why not this one?" Helen gestured to the door on the right. "Seems as good a guess as any."

"I was hoping for a more confident answer," Ivan told her. "Oh well, time to see how successful it is."

The door turned out to be locked. He yanked the door off the wall and tossed it aside. "As my roommate insists, ladies first."

Helen smiled and entered the hall. Like the rest of the halls, it was lit by flickering torches. There weren't many rooms, a cafetaria, empty kennels, weird empty spaces.

Ivan swore. "They must have cleared out with the magician. This will make my quest harder."

"Quest? You mean to destroy them? Is there not any other option? I can't say I know what your beef is, but I am a cape. If they have truly broken the law, I can arrest them and have them brought to justice."

Helen didn't mean to sound so judgemental. She knew other people had different comfort levels. Just the thought of killing anyone … she couldn't imagine anyone being willing to jump to it as a first solution.

"If you think I am harsh, just know everything I am is because it's what they forged me to be. I am a monster because they never let me be anything else," Ivan growled.

"You can always chose to grow past them. Everyone deserves the chance to be the person they want to be."

He started walking ahead of her. "You imply I want to change."

Helen remained silent.

Ivan glanced back at her, and then paused and raised a hand. "There is something there."

Helen nodded. "I can sense it too. The dog I was sent to find is here."

Ivan paused, as if pondering what to say. "Do be aware that, even if you do find it, it may not be … recognizable. I do not know what the Order of the Final Dawn is doing with those stolen animals, but I can assure you it is not pleasant."

At the end of the hall was a kennel. Unlike the rest of them, this one was not emptied.

"If you need any proof, perhaps this will show some of their inhumanity."

A quick glance explained why it wasn't empty and what Ivan meant. What looked vaguely like human remains lay torn apart on the ground. Behind it, audibly growling, was a dog with dark fur and eyes that glowed like Ivan's. Behind the dog, were a few more sickly-looking animals cowering in the corner watching the newcomers. None of the others had glowing eyes like the dog.

Helen swallowed. "May I ask a favor?"

Ivan blinked. "You can ask. I can't promise I will say yes."

"Do you think you can handle that dog?"

Ivan blinked again.

"I've never fought a dog before."

"I will try to talk to her first, but if she isn't open to it … I want to be able to save the rest of them."

"How do you know that dog is a she?"

Helen sighed. "Because that is the dog I came to save."

"Should be fun enough." Ivan rolled his shoulders.

"Do you need to?" Helen gestured to his eyes.

"Nah, you sure you want to try communicating first?"

Helen nodded. "I don't want to go back without saying I tried."

Helen tried the knob. It was unlocked and the door swung inwards.

"Hello there -" Helen started.

She was interrupted by a warning growl.

"We don't mean any harm," she promised.

The dog charged.

Helen dodged, but the hound still managed to pivot fast enough to land her jaws on Helen's arm. Helen managed to yank her arm out though it had already broken skin.

Fortunately, the cuts closed up rapidly.

The dog growled and reared to charge again before freezing.

Helen reached towards her, but Ivan got there first. He grab the dog by the neck, leaving her dangling.

The dog began wiggling violently.

"Now, now, the nice lady was trying to save you and your buddies until you attacked her."

The dog began to whine.

Helen blinked. "She doesn't want to fight us anymore."

"What gave you that notion?"

"I can understand animals, and they can mostly understand me, too."

The dog barked.

"Then, what did she just say?"

"She said she can understand you just fine. She thought we were with the …" Helen wasn't sure how to translate that because it had a lot of slurs for humanity. "The bad people. But once her mind cleared enough, she sensed the power you share. She wants to help you … in your goal."

To be more accurate, it felt more like "destruction" than goal, but, for the moment, that was a problem for another day.

"I got that sense, too. You can work with me so long as you are able to follow orders."

The dog barked her assent, and Ivan dropped her.

She wandered in a circle before licking Ivan happily. Then, she wandered over to the cages and called to the creatures curled up in there.

"While you figure out transportation for the rest of the creatures, the two of us are gonna see if any unfortunate fools didn't get the memo to flee."

Helen nodded and Ivan was off. Unlike the first place, none of the creatures remaining seemed like they could walk or fly themselves out. Helen took photos of them. Fortunately, after opening a few drawers and finding the closet, Helen spotted a dolly and some rope that had clearly been used as leashes. It wasn't the best, but it would serve their needs well enough.

By the time Helen had finished loading it up, Ivan and his new dog showed back up. They seemed to have had some success, the scent of blood was far fresher than it should have been.

"Outpost cleared," Ivan told her proudly.

Despite the destruction that must have entailed, Helen smiled. "Now it's time to take our spoils out, and we can call it a victory."

---

Once on the streets, it was short order to head to the nearest emergency vet. Helen knew a few of the staff members by name from previous trips and they were happy to take the animals in from their Animal Girl provided she help out with a few difficult clients.

Helen left with a leash and a crate. To her surprise, Ivan was nowhere to be found. The only person on the street was a man with dark hair, and an unleashed dog at his feet.

He smiled when he saw her, "They took them all in?"

Recognition finally bloomed, "Ivan?!"

He smiled, "We figured it was probably best if we didn't cause a commotion when the next patrol passed by, so we changed."

"I uhhhh … got you a leash. Have you picked out a name for her?"

"Well, I was thinking Destroyer Beast, but Wendy here didn't seem to like it."

"She’s right, what kind of name is Destroyer Beast? Oh wait … Wendy? Like Peter Pan?"

"The one and the same," Ivan smile turned wolfish. "Now, if you dont have anything else, the two of us could dearly use a bath."

Helen had so many questions: Who was he really? What did it mean that he was a destroyer? What was his history with the Order of the Final Dawn. Who his roommate was. But all those questions were the sort that felt wrong to ask without him bringing it up first.

As if he felt her thoughts, Ivan slowed and turned.

"Why did you choose to be a Cape?"

Helen tilted her head. "If I have the power to make the world a better place, why shouldn't I?"

Ivan looked at her. She looked back. They stared at each other from across the way.

"I will keep an eye out for stolen animals and any other stolen beings for you. I'll do my best to make sure they are safe."

"Thank you?" Helen tried to keep her confusion from her face.

"In return, please try to avoid the Order of the Final Dawn. You are a decent fighter, but still a novice. Given more experience, you would likely be able to hold your own. But so far you have been lucky with them. We have not faced the worst of them — I would not like you to experience their genuine ire, should you continue to face them."

"And yourself?"

Ivan's smile turned predatory. "They crossed me. They aren't going to live to survive mine. I would rather you not be added to their list of victims before I have the chance to wipe them from this world."

"Why do I matter? Why me?" Helen asked.

Ivan shrugged as he turned away rapidly. Helen had touched a sensitive topic.

"You don't. But if you need some excuse, just assume that you remind me of someone I wasn't strong enough to save."

That was stated offhandedly, as if made up, but Helen had the sense there was more truth to it than Ivan wanted to let on.

Ivan turned the corner and Helen let him go.

Her report wasn't going to write itself.

Notes:

Hi! Thanks for dropping by.

Theories, thoughts, screams of wrath (not that I think chapter warrants any unless you're like a Order of the Final Dawn Flunky and then I got questions on your sanity and remaining lifespan) are all welcome! I absolutely eat comments up. Just like Ivan causes destruction wherever he goes. Its just my nature.

Chapter 3

Summary:

Things are finally going well for Helen, it would be a shame if Ivan... happened.

Life returned to a normal grind over the next few months. Helen followed Ivan's advice and tried to avoid the Order of the Final Dawn. It was easier said than done. Fortunately, every time time she neared them, Ivan always appeared shortly afterwards to take care of them.

Helen joked that he was following her.

"I did call you my North Star for a reason," Ivan stated.

He didn't bring up their conversation again. Helen didn’t either.

Helen focused on her schoolwork and internship as her semester neared to a close. The higher-ups were fascinated by her photos of the animals.

When asked how she got them, Helen told them honestly that it had mostly been luck, and being at the right place at the right time.

It was a common enough excuse.

"Which Cape then was it?"

"The North Star," Helen blurted out before she could think of another name. She wasn't sure when she had adopted Ivan's nickname for herself. It just felt right in a way no other name had.

"New Capes every day, huh," Professor Willinger mused, and let it go.

All in all, things were finally going well for Helen.

Cape life as North Star was also going excellently, too.

She bungled an attempted burglary. Helped a group of capes resolve a shoot out. Her cape friends, Zippers and Farsight, congratulated her on finding her cape name.

Afterwards, they snuck her into the upper levels of League of Metas headquarters for more experienced members. North Star had considered joining as more than just a part-time trainee. Official customized training had been appealing, but they demanded being on call at all hours which North Star wasn't ready to commit to. Not while she still had some chance of a normal life.

Fortunately, there was a pre-established support policy for volunteers who wanted to help, but weren’t ready to fully commit. Sure, they didn't have the fancy tech or cards to pay for expenses, but they still got to be a cape while sharing patrols with more experienced members and hear gossip that wasn't allowed to leak to the public yet.

"You weren't by Fifth and Main on your patrols last week, by any chance?" Farsight asked.

"Did something happen there?" North Star asked.

She had located another Order of the Final Dawn outpost there — nearly the last of them, according to Ivan.

Ivan hadn't found any surviving animals there.

Zipper looked around, surreptitiously. "A new meta was spotted in that area, and is considered highly dangerous. They took out a whole team. All we know is that they were wearing a red mask and black clothes. We are still waiting for more information whenever The Admiral wakes up."

"Is the rest of the team alright?" Helen asked. She had run into Canonball and Fodder Fuel and, while they were distant, they were long time members of the League of Metas.

"Not doing too great," Farsight stated. "I saw their injuries and it was pretty brutal. Bodies broken. Its been days and they still look beat up. They are refusing to talk until they know their entire team will make it."

"We are supposed to keep it mum," Zipper urged. "At least until we know more and can come up with a plan. But considering you tend to be where he generally shows up, we wanted to let you know: don't engage."

Helen paled. Ivan had done what?!?!

"Thanks for letting me know."

She did her best to keep her discomfort from her voice. She apparently didn't manage to keep it all out.

"Oh no, she got scared," Farsight stated. "I knew we shouldn't have mentioned anything. It’ll be fine, you likely won't run into him. If you want, we can make sure you don't have to patrol alone until he has been taken down."

"I-"

I am fine was a lie. I'm not worried was also not quite accurate. Oh, we met, and he seemed honorable enough, there must be more to the story sounded ripe for disaster and questions North Star didn't want to answer.

After an embarrassing long time pondering it, North Star finally figured out words.

"I'll keep my eyes open. If he looks like he's causing trouble, I'll try to find someone in the League to call for help."

"Good girl," Farsight smiled.

Helen used that as an excuse to run out.

So, Ivan was a criminal. That shouldn't surprise her. She'd seen him fight, the way he destroyed his enemies, his smile as he destroyed his opponents. The way he fought like he was born breathing it and lived for it.

He was dangerous. She had just let herself forget because he hadn't aimed it at her. Because he helped her save the animals. Because he had a dog who loved him. Because he hadn't tried to kill her.

Helen sighed as her armor dissipated. She appreciated that she could summon or disband it at will. She yanked her backpack from where she left it. All the more reason to leave the whole Order of the Final Dawn stuff behind. Sure, Ivan's slaughter of them was brutal, but, from the little Helen had seen, she was reasonably sure they weren't exactly good guys themselves. In an ideal world, she would be able to arrest them, instead of the slaughter Ivan had unleashed. Still, it kinda felt like them facing the consequences of their actions. At least that was how she had rationalized it.

She headed off towards her apartment, mind restless with thoughts of Ivan. She let her legs carry her on the familiar route, losing track of her surroundings.

Before she knew it, Helen was standing in front of an unfamiliar building. She blinked it in. Then, before she could stop herself, she stepped in as a resident stepped out. Why shouldn't she give Ivan a piece of her mind?

She let her feet carry up the stairs. Trusting her instincts to pull her to the correct door.

She reached apartment 603 and pulled on the knocker.

In the background, she could hear barking.

To her surprise, a man with light golden brown hair opened the door. He wore glasses.

Helen forced a polite smile onto her face.

"Hello, is Ivan around by any chance?"

"Depends who's asking," the man replied. "I’m Wade."

"Helen. So, is he around?"

"And how did you find our secret lair?" Wade raised an eyebrow.

"Ivan," Helen answered bluntly.

Wade's eyes lit up. "I knew it. Ivan!!!! Your guest is here!!!"

He turned back to Helen. "You have no idea how happy this makes me. I have been trying to pressure that prude to loosen up and actually get to enjoy the world a bit. Why don’t you come in and get comfortable while I get that lunk out of his stupid head."

Wade led Helen down the hall and into a room that could only be described kindly as a pigsty. Oh sure, there technically was a couch and table, though they seemed unusable due to the wires, batteries, and random other tools covering them. Even the ceiling was covered, glittering in some weird light display.

The only part of the room not covered in the mess was the walls, adorned with gorgeous artwork instead.

Wade looked around awkwardly. "Oh my bad, I didn't know we were expecting anyone, so I kinda didn't clean up. Here, have a chair in the kitchen."

"Is it an issue if I step on the wires?" Helen asked.

"No, the stuff on the floor is scrap waiting to be recycled anyway."

The kitchen was less of a mess, but still covered in half-eaten leftovers. Helen did her best to breathe through her mouth, as Wade scurried around trying to slightly tidy things up.

"By any chance, was that a Botticelli I spotted in the living room?" Helen asked.

Wade beamed at her. "Yup, you have a good eye. There is also a Monpressor, too. I consider myself very fortunate to have my hands on it."

Helen took out a notebook to take notes, but Wade didn't seem to notice.

"That's quite impressive, considering it was stolen from the Carmikle Art Museum about a year ago. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

Wade paused. "Hey wait a second, you’re the cape Ivan kept going on about, aren’t you?"

Helen paused. "I-"

Fortunately, whatever she was going to say got interrupted by her target barging in.

"Wade, how many times have I told you to clean up your …" Ivan paused and then started to smile. "Helen!"

Helen's anger surged and her common sense went out the window.

"How dare you! What were you thinking?!"

"Come to hunt me down at last, North Star?" He taunted.

Helen tossed him against the wall, Ivan's eyes were bright and crazed, as if he found her threats amusing.

"May I ask what exactly made you decide to finally give me a fight?"

"Perhaps the names Canonball and Fodder Fuel might ring a bell?" Helen growled as she threw a punch. Just as it was about to land, a rune-filled shield appeared in front of her hand. She hit it and pain exploded. Helen shook her hand out and watched distantly as her fingers quickly fixed themselves.

"Not what I thought this was about. Should I know those names?" Ivan’s smirk was unbearable.

Helen tried punching his gut, determined to hit it this time. This time when the rune appeared, she tried grabbing it. It seemed to slip out of her reach, though now that she was braced for it, it hurt less.

She wanted to try again and again, until the runes tore her apart and she tasted blood.

"Oh I don't know. Maybe the names of the capes you attacked?"

She clawed at him again and again with no more success than before.

"Oh … I may vaguely recall something like that. They tried to attack me. I defended myself. Its not my fault they couldn't handle a single punch."

As much as she wanted to punch him until he doubled over, Helen swallowed her anger. She was a cape. She had DUTIES.

"Ivan, you are under arrest for attacking two capes in the line of duty."

So, what if he was stronger? So what if he was more powerful? Helen needed to do something!

"Am I? And how are you going to manage that?"

He was smiling widely, now. His eyes still a runeless dark brown. He wasn't even taking her seriously.

To be fair, she hadn't even hurt him.

"If you two are going to fight, I'm gonna have to ask you to leave. Rule three, all meta fights are to be kept outside the apartment."

Helen let go. Whatever ridiculous notion had compelled her to attack Ivan, it was starting to pass.

She turned to find Wade pointing some sort of gun-shaped object at her. Reality hit her that she had just invaded the lair of at least one highly dangerous meta.

"That wasn't even a real fight. She didn't even scratch me. It shouldn't count."

Ivan wasn't wrong. Now that she was thinking clearly, it hit her just how foolish it had been and how lucky she had been until now.

She had seen him fight. If he had really wanted to, she would be dead. He had instead just let her … Helen blushed.

For someone who had crushed capes because they challenged him… it sure felt like she kept getting off easy with him. He hadn't even tried to fight back.

Another question occurred to Helen.

"Wait, you said that wasn't what you were expecting. What did you think I was angry about?"

"Oh, you know, putting a tracker on you and following you when you were on patrol. How did you think I was finding those bases? It took me MONTHS to find the first one."

"YOU WHAT?!"

"To be fair, it paid off for both of us. I got my revenge. You got to save the day."

He had the nerve to look embarrassed by it.

Helen stared at him incredulously.

Wade just nodded as if a puzzle had been solved.

"Oh, so you're the one who borrowed it from me. I thought for sure I'd accidentally taken it apart while working on a short distance teleporter."

"Short distance …" Helen blinked

"Since you made it, can you remove it then?" Helen asked. Seeing as how she hadn't noticed it, she didn't expect to have any luck doing that herself.

"Gladly, but that does bring us to the next point of contention, dealing with your body."

Time slowed down as Helen summoned her armor and shield. The bolt bounced off harmlessly.

Wade glanced at his laser gun. "Huh, that should have melted through solid steel. I’ll have to figure out what went wrong."

"Odd are it's not your gun that's the issue, but her shield. It managed to block one of my blows, unlike the tin can you call armor."

"I thought we agreed no insulting my meta-suits."

"You're the one who broke the rules first."

"What rules? We agreed to work together to ensure the security of our base, and letting an off-duty cape walk away alive with our names and address is just asking to be arrested."

"Rule 5, no killing allies."

"First of all, that's rule 16, 5 is about the chore wheel. Second of all, you can't trust capes. Their entire goal in life is to be boring and get in the way."

"Our goal is to protect the world and keep people safe."

"Same difference. What's your deal with this one, anyway? Is she your emotional support cape or what?"

"She's my ally, and I don't take kindly to people trying to kill them."

"If it matters, I don't have your address. My powers tell me how to get to what I'm searching for, not the exact location."

"So, that's how you've had success finding the Order. They enchanted themselves to be hidden from anyone searching for their location. I can tell when you near their location because the tracker starts glitching."

Wade seemed to find that fascinating.

"You've never had any other issues with the location tracker? Have you ever tried somewhere remote or underground since you ran into Ivan?"

They'd met over a month ago at this point. Helen tried to think …

"Considering you just attacked her, I don't think you deserve that information."

"Please!!! It will take me ages to get test data this useful."

"That sounds like a you problem. It's time for Wendy's walk, and I can take care of the guest while we go. You can get working on cleaning up the living room like you promised. A month ago."

"I told you, I was going to get to that."

Helen found herself smiling. Despite wanting to kill her, he seemed likable. It didn't hurt that he hadn't even left a scratch on her. Maybe that was why Ivan hadn't killed her. She was non-threatening.

Ivan ignored him and wandered to the back, where Helen heard a door open and sound of a dog eagerly bounding out of the room they were confined in.

“Easy, Wendy,” Ivan called. Helen followed, and found him bowled over by Wendy. She barked a happy greeting to Helen and decided to cover her with kisses as well. Ivan used the distraction to attach her leash.

"Heading out?" he smiled at Helen.

"Roommate not going to shoot me when I turn my back?"

Wade let out a grunt.

"No, the roommate trusts Ivan when he promised to deal with you. Despite how someone never bothered to let roommate know that he stole his inventions but won't even let him access the data."

Helen shook her head, and grabbed her bag as they left.

They walked in silence for a few blocks. Ivan pulled out a slim metal device and pressed a few buttons.

"What is that?"

"It deactivates the trackers I put on you. They should work their way out of your system soon enough."

"You're not going to fight me about it? Or convince me to keep it for your revenge?"

"I know what its like to be chained. I would have asked, but I did think you were lying about not being a member of the Order at first. I figured I would put a tracker on you and then just follow you to whatever base you crawled into. By the time I realized I was wrong, I wasn't sure how to bring it up so I just hinted around it."

Ivan didn't seem to be lying. She had been wondering why he had chosen North Star specifically. Other than the star on her armor and shield.

"So when I stormed in, you thought it was about that?"

"It's what I would have done. I do not take kindly to feeling chained."

"At this point, I just appreciate you being willing to turn it off. But does that mean you know who I am?"

Ivan nodded.

"It wasn't exactly that hard. You literally told me your name on our first meeting."

Helen winced as they turned the corner. She hadn't forgotten about that.

"Are you going to blackmail me with it?"

"Why would I do that?" Ivan seemed taken aback.

"That’s what most criminals do with the identities of capes. That, or kidnap their family and kill the cape in their sleep."

Ivan stopped. They were only a few blocks from her campus housing.

"Well, you’re the one I want. I have no interest in your family. As for killing you in your sleep, I'd want our fight to be fair. Attacking when you’re exposed would defeat the purpose."

"You want to fight me?"

"After I finish my revenge and you have more experience with your weapons. What did you assume I wanted from you?"

Helen blushed. "At first, I assumed it had to do with me being not all that threatening, then, after finding out about the tracker, I kinda assumed it was a mixture of that and my luck with finding the outposts."

Ivan stared at her. "You do realize that you're the first person who managed to block one of my blows? Of course I want to fight you. I would hate to lose decent opponents because I destroyed them too early."

"Who says I’m interested in fighting you?"

They were in what theater would call kiss-or-kill distance of each other. Ivan smiled gently at her.

"Well, seeing as you've made it abundantly clear you don't want me fighting capes, I won't go out of my way to fight them if you agree. I’m sure I can find some decent non-cape metas to test myself on for a while. And if you put in a decent showing, I may even considering turning myself in."

"You will stop going after capes?"

"I won't fight them unless they go after me first. I don’t intend to avoid them completely."

It wasn’t perfect. It wasn't even Helen’s best idea. But it was better than she had hoped. She would have time to improve and become a target to reach.

"I’ll think about it."

It wasn't a yes, but it wasn't a no. She had time to figure out how to take advantage of the deal later.

Ivan smiled. "You know how to find me. But do make sure you are ready for the fight. When the time comes, I won’t be holding back."

Helen nodded. Now that things seemed to be calming down, the urge to go home, pull her blanket over her head, and scream for a few minutes was getting very tempting.

"I guess I should be going then."

She took a step back.

"One last thing," Ivan interrupted her. "I do need to check. Are you planning on turning in my roommate and I?"

"I should," Helen told him honestly. "But to be honest, I am a little too tired this evening. I won’t share your address or names, but, do be warned, if you do something that convinces me the world is better with either of you behind bars, I will not hesitate track either of you down to bring you to justice."

"I wouldn’t ask for less. I’ll let my roommate know that you and your loved ones are off-limits to him."

"You're just gonna take my word for it?"

"You strike me as the honest sort. I’ll take the chance."

Helen smiled. "I guess I will see you around."

Wendy barked.

"You too, Wendy."

Helen gave her a few solid pets before waving one last farewell to Ivan and heading to her apartment for some well needed shut eye.

Notes:

Enter evil genius stage left.

 

Wade: wait stage left? Where's the stage? Why didn't anyone warn me I was gonna get screen time??? I would have dressed up for the occasion.

 

Ivan: I thought we agreed we weren't going to theaters ever again. After what I did to the confessions stand.

 

Wade: Concessions

 

Ivan: Bless you?!?!

Chapter 4

Summary:

Late night walks, Lectures, Lore and more. Helen is in trouble!!!

Notes:

Hi! This chapter was one of the more challenging ones to write. Well this and the next chapter which I wrote from scratch multiple times.
At least the staging was mostly followed this chapter. Some of the characters did NOT want to follow the script and reacted to me forcing them to by sounding like very blatant robots. Anyway multiple union meetings with the blorbos later, we finally came to an agreement.

Helen found herself humming on her way back to her place. Before she reached it, she ran into an older man standing awkwardly by a blue light.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

He clung awkwardly to his grocery bag. "I'm so sorry, young lady. Do you know where Wilber Street is? I went out to pick up some toilet paper, and the next thing I knew I was all turned around."

"Oh, you're right by it," Helen smiled. "I was going to head in for the evening, but I can show you the way."

The street he lived on wasn't too far off campus and Helen knew the area fairly well. It was well within her usual patrolling grounds. Her nap could wait an hour.

"Thank you so much, dear. Margaret and I recently moved into the area after our last apartment was ruined by a cape fight. We figured a place with a bunch of youngsters who could help out would be a good place to settle down in. But, as you can see, my old brain still has difficulty with directions."

"Things are also different in the dark."

"You got that right. My wife told me to wait for morning, but I said there was no reason to live without toilet paper. When I finally get back, Margaret is going to give me an earful, but she can't be too mad at me when she sees I got her favorite chocolate bar. Just a tip, young lady, find a person who gets excited to do the small things for you, even on the worst days. You want a person who will be there for the mundane times, not just the dramatic gestures. Those are the ones who will do anything to keep you safe."

Helen nodded. She had dated a few times during high school, but between her powers, her internship, and college, it had kind of taken the backseat.

"I still remember the day I first met my Margaret. We were huddling under the same bridge while the Gregosaur was rampaging. The Science Sentries arrived, and we walked back together. Turns out we worked in the same area. We ran into each other a few times after that."

He smiled softly. "Turns out she fell for me first, but I remember asking her for our first date. I have never regretted marrying her a day in my life. Seeing her smile, its worth all the aches and pains. She doesn't believe it. But, look at my manners, here you are helping me out, and I'm rambling without even introducing myself. My name is Hector."

"I'm Helen. So, how long have you been in Ridge city?"

"Oh, this is our 15th anniversary here. We moved here before it became the booming city it is today. Imagine our surprise waking up one morning and finding a rushing river a short walk from our house."

Helen's tired smile slowly turned real as she learned more about his life. This was her favorite part of being a cape, getting to learn about her neighbors.

That said, as they got closer, Helen got more on edge. Hector seemed more nervous, constantly looking around for something.

"Is everything okay?"

"Just nervous about my wife. She must be so worried about me."

"Well, you should be home soon. Do you need me to watch you get into your apartment?"

"Oh, I should be fine. We're nearly there anyway, now where did I leave my keys?”

Helen didn't have time to answer as they reached his apartment.

Helen glanced around nervously. Were the shadows normally so dark? Or was it because she was tired and achy? Even if her back had stopped aching a bit ago.

Eventually, Hector found the key to the front door.

"Are you all set at this point?" Helen asked.

Hector nodded nervously.

Helen smiled, took a step back, and promptly crashed into something that hadn’t been there a moment before.

Before she could so much as yelp, something wrapped around her, pinning her arms to her sides, and a hand closed over the front of her mouth. No amount of wiggling gave Helen breathing room.

"I did my job, can I go home now?" the man squeaked.

The shadows lifted. Cloaked figures appeared throughout the street. This was bad. This was very bad.

"Of course, but we haven't discussed payment yet."

Helen froze as she recognized that voice. It was the mage who had escaped from the second outpost.

"I- I don't need payment. I just want to be reunited with my wife."

"And reunited you shall be," the mage's voice was cold.

"Blade Wraith, if you would do the honors."

Helen froze. One moment the old man was standing, then there was a shadowy blur and Hector toppled to the ground. Head following shortly after.

Helen twitched and renewed her efforts to try and break free of whatever was holding her. She needed to transform. If only to have a weapon. Assuming she could even reach it. But where the ability to summon her armor and weapons was supposed to be just felt like a hollow ache.

"We did warn him we didn't want any witnesses, didn't we?" the mage laughed. "We did keep our promise to him. He is reunited with his wife after all."

He then turned to Helen. "As for you, don't worry too much. We just want to use to you draw out a cape. She tends to patrol around here around this time. If you’re lucky, she may even save you."

He took a moment to let that sink in.

"Do you by any chance know a cape by the name of North Star?"

Helen froze. This was a nightmare more accomplished capes feared: being overpowered by a group of villains looking specifically for you.

Protocol stated you find the nearest telephone booth and call for support. Helen had a feeling they weren’t going to let her do that, no matter how nicely she asked.

"Iron Man, please let our captive talk."

Helen took in a gulp of air.

"What do you say?"

Helen steeled her nerves. "Let me go. The League of Metas will stop you."

The mage just laughed. "If those fools wanted to stop us, they should have stopped us years ago before we finally perfected the vessel for our master. He has already started his crusade against those fools. They've already fallen and soon more will fall, as they fail to stop their inevitable end."

"You think Ivan will go for that?"

"Who said anything about an Ivan?" The mage tilted his head. "You shouldn't know that name … unless you crossed paths with the Great Devourer."

Helen felt her stomach drop. There went plan "play dumb and try to get released".

He looked at her appraisingly. "I thought your voice sounded almost familiar. Iron Man, please remove that garish headband."

"Yes, Magister."

Helen resumed her wriggling, but the metal-covered man barely seemed to notice as he plucked the headband off.

Her pointed ears immediately perked up.

The Magister let out a cold laugh. "Perhaps we shouldn't have been so eager to off that old man, seeing as he brought us the exact person we were hunting for. How typical of you foolish capes running off to help people when it would be better off leaving well alone."

"His name was Hector." Helen glared at the Magister.

"The name of a noble warrior who fell only to the grand conqueror Achilles. A weak fool who broke and died so easily is not worthy of such a name. Names like that must be earned. Perhaps you should ask your Ivan how he earned his name when you next see him. What is your real name, North Star?"

Helen kept her mouth shut.

"We will get it out of you eventually. Your backpack will be most helpful. You're a student at the nearby university, aren't you? It shouldn't be too hard to find some form of identification."

"Let me go! Ivan will destroy you!"

"Yes, he has threatened. It matters not. It was always a cost we were always willing to accept. It is enough to see the Destroyer returned to the flesh. In the meantime, it is time to go to a less exposed area ."

He began chanting and runes began to glow from the ground. Then the ground fell underneath them, replaced with a void that Helen could swear felt hungry.

For a moment, they just hung there and then everything went dark.

---

Helen woke up. The first thing she noticed was she was still alive.

The next thing she noticed was that her hands were chained behind her back.

The third thing she noticed was that the part of her that she used to summon her armor and weapons felt empty, or, more accurately, unavailable.

Memory hit her.

Helen bit her lip. She was trapped in a dark metal room about the size of her bedroom. The single solitary light bulb let her see she was lying on a cold metal shelf. There was also faint pale line of something between her and the door.

Based on the stories she’d look into post transformation, salt and iron were the classic mythological deterrents to the Fae. Iron wasn't common enough for Helen to have tested it, and she cooked with salt often enough that she hoped it wouldn't be an issue.

Turns out a few more experiments might have been useful. Although Helen wasn't sure how the knowledge would have helped get her out of this situation, she knew they did not want her to get out.

An irrational part of her brain was honored that they found her to be such a danger. The rational part of her felt straight-up terrified. The logical part did its best to calm her by reminding her that she would already be dead if they had wanted to kill her, so they must want something from her.

She just needed to figure out what it was so she could see if there was a way to escape, or at least survive until rescue. She was supposed to go on patrol the next evening and, when she didn’t show up, it was protocol to send someone to check on the missing cape in case of … something like this.

The first step was to see about mobility. She made it about halfway before her chains stopped her. Still, this close, she was able to make more sense of the pile between her and the door. It really did look like salt. The only way to be more certain would have been if she was able to taste it. Unfortunately, it was still out of reach.

For now, she returned to the metal shelf she suspected was meant to be her bed. It couldn’t hurt to rest. It should at the very least pass the time.

Her eyes closed, and she tried to focus on her breathing.

Instead, she found herself pondering her kidnapping.

From the time the meta had grabbed her, she had been helpless. One one hand, the ability to weaken other metas' powers wasn’t unheard of. On the other hand, that wasn’t what his name had implied.

The person who had held her, he’d been made of, or covered in, a metal, hadn’t he?

She breathed in, trying to focus.

The name returned to her. He had been called Iron Man.

She could have laughed. Of course it was. The one metal that fae were known to being weak to, and the one metal she had yet to stumble across.

That would also explain what material her bed and bindings were made of. Iron.

Touching it weakened her and left her helpless as far as she could tell. In a less enclosed environment, she might have been able to test it out. For now though, all she could do was wait.

This time, when she tried to focus on her breathing, her mind finally released its grip and time slowly slipped away.

After some time, she sensed the approaching footsteps. Helen gathered herself as much as she could.

The Magister and Iron Man entered. Helen finally had the chance to see the face of the man who had captured her. There wasn't much to see. He nearly blended into the background. Helen's best guess was that some experiment had turned his entire body into malleable iron.

"So, the frustrating fae caught at last."

Helen kept her face as blank as she could manage it.

"Perhaps, before the end, you can clarify a few things for us, Helen Calestis."

Helen jolted. "Where did you get that name?"

"Do you think we are so foolish that we can't recognize a student badge when we spot it?"

"What do you want from me?"

"Oh Helen, you act as if we wish to harm you. As the one who has caught the attention of our god, surely you must have realized we would like to speak to you before the end.

"We do not know what the Great Destroyer has told you about us, but, rest assured, everything we have done is for the greater world good."

Helen glared at the man.

"You murdered a man who was never a threat because you didn't want witnesses!"

The Magister tisked. "You act as if the man was innocent. A man who was more than willing to lead an innocent young college student to their ruin; A person kind enough to offer to help him out despite the hour, to their presumable death."

"You're crazy."

The Magister sighed as if Helen were a misbehaving child throwing a tantrum he had heard a hundred times before. "No, we are not crazy. We are the only sane ones in this cruel broken world. Think of how many crimes are committed in a day. How, for every one of your capes, there are another ten villains. For every bus you save, another will always need stopping. This world is broken, Helen. Its been broken long before Professor Quantum broke it further beyond repair.

"We are trapped in a world where the strong rule the weak. Where selfishness is inevitable. In a world where one can only look out for themselves. The time where man was able to unite and overthrow those who oppressed them is over. We live in a world where we must rely on those with power, and you know how power corrupts. No, this world is rotten to the core and the only thing one can do in that situation is burn it down and rebuild it better from the ashes."

"There are capes who still fight for good. Just because there are bad people with destructive abilities doesn't mean that there is nothing in the world worth saving, not to mention caring about."

Professor Quantum, Coarth, Ricky Rocket, The Admiral. These names flashed through her mind of champions who had stood up to make things right.

"How … young of you. Age teaches the foolishness of such logic. Anyone will kill another if given the proper motivation. Anyone can become the monster you capes claim to fight. If not directly, then indirectly. Do you think Professor Quantum's hands are as clean as he pretends? The man who turned our world into the unsalvagable mess we live in now?"

"At least he tries. He fights to protect the world. He works on inventions to make life better and he gives tools to support the people who fight with him."

"And for what? You do know how this city went from a village to a metropolis? Ten years ago, he failed to stop a meta from creating a river right through the middle of a continent. He invents things, but hoards most of the technology for himself and his precious capes. As for his 'fighting', how much crime has he stopped in his secret lair?"

"At least he did something, instead of waving his hands and claiming that all hope is lost and the destruction of a world is better than the energy it would take to save it."

"You're more stubborn than most, I will grant you that. But perhaps a more grounded example might help you understand. What do the most powerful of powers have in common? Destruction. Name a powerful meta."

Helen gave the Magister a look. What he was trying to do was far, far too obvious.

"Professor Quantum," she replied.

"A man whose powers were born of the breaking of the world. Though, there are those who are much stronger. The Darkflame, ShadowBeast, Crimson. Do you know why that is?"

"Because it's easier to destroy than it is to maintain or rebuild."

"Almost correct." the Magister tutted. "Because destruction calls to power. The more destructive one is, the more suited they are to surviving the transfer of power. There is a reason most power acquisitions are … unpleasant."

Helen’s mind flashed to the evening that her body transformed on her.

"It seems like yours were no different. Most fitting for one such as yourself. Let’s visit that day, shall we?"

The world fell away from Helen. She was laughing with her friends as they packed up.

She kissed her boyfriend goodbye. She tried to linger longer on the memory, but the scene shifted and he was pushing her away like she was a total stranger.

She tried pleading, but her voice wouldn’t work. Nothing worked against that expression. At least cold indifference would have been kinder than the horror and discomfort in his eyes.

He shifted to her parents. To the campsite she had found easily with eyes that saw too well. The screams and the scent of their fear.

Helen hadn’t figured it out then.

She still didn’t fully understand it. All she knew, in exchange for becoming fae, she had lost those she loved being able to see her as their own.

Her chest ached.

“Power comes, my dear, with a cost. The greater the cost, the greater the power.”

“Stop it!” She growled. “Get out of my head.”

She didn't want to be here. Didn't want to be stuck watching her friends flee from her again.

She certainly didn't want them to see it. So, she went sideways and wound up in the only path that led out of the woods.

Last time, it had been a dance floor. This time, they were in a place so familiar that she felt for sure she should know what it was.

“You're back,” the figure smiled. “I wasn't expecting it to take this long and you brought … a guest?”

“Where have you brought me?” The Magister demanded.

“What a demanding one. Ahh, I should have guessed. He is the reason you finally chose to seek to return. Might I know the name of such an instigator?”

She didn’t like the Magister, but no one deserved to lose their identity like that unwittingly.

Her heart leapt. “Don't! If you tell them your name, those who know you by it won’t be able to recognize you.”

It had taken her too long to understand that. She had been confused because she could still introduce herself by that name. But the name she used didn’t have the same meaning as before. It was connected to who she was now, not who she had been before. There was no place for her there now.

The Being tsked. “My creation, do not give away such favors for free so lightly. While your blessing can manifest physically like those crutches you favor, our kinds' greatest power is through the deals we make. Watch and see.”

“A fae,” The Magister breathed. “A Deal Bringer. If I offer my name, will you grant me answers to the questions I seek?”

“Depends on the questions and the quality of a name. I give less for names that I find stale than I do for the ones that bring a quality I lack.”

“I need only three questions.”

“Very well,” the Being moved from her. “There are few names worth less than three questions. Speak. What is your names and your queries?”

“My name is P̷͓͕̞͊͂h̶̜̙̱̍i̷̲͐ľ̸̖̗̫ ̸̪̼̓̒͝F̷̫̓͘o̷̢̍ͅr̶̤͎̿̂s̶͈͎͠y̸͓̖̻͝ņ̷̞̥̆͛͝t̴̙́̓͊h̸͔̅ḭ̸̰̕a̶̠͊” By the end of his comment, the Being was smiling widely and She couldn’t remember the name at all.

“A name like that, are you sure you don’t wish to keep it?”

“I left that part of my life behind long ago for the greater good. Is it truly gone?”

“To all but those with true sight and the will to see through you to it, yes.”

For some reason, her thoughts went to a face and eyes that matched her own. That saw her for who she was. A warmth filling her.

She banished the thought. Some things were best not to be thought of here for the sake of others. Instead, She focused on the exchange occurring.

The name given wasn’t the Magister. She knew that. She could still see him and connect him to that name.

“My first question, why did the ritual fail?”

“Your ritual did not fail. It succeeded. You brought your god over. As for it not being the result you wanted, well… that is another question.”

“Why did I not gain the influence I should have? After all I gave towards the ritual, why was the magical debt in my favor? What did I do wrong?”

“Did you not think about it? When you sharpen a blade to do nothing but kill, did you not expect it to gain the willpower to challenge even your god in a realm of minds? The reason you lack control is because the debt exists between you and your god. Your vessel has no such magical debt. It is as you suspected, you must break him the usual way for you to have any crumb of the influence you so desire.”

The Magister’s eyes sparkled. “So you know of my plan to remedy that. For my final question, should I have to worry about retaliation should I go through with my current plan to influence the Vessel’s mind.”

“What a quaint question,” the Being laughed. “My creations are not my children and, while I do hold a fascination in the tales they weave before returning to the fold, their fates are their own. I will be watching to see how it goes, but you need not fear my open interference. As for now, it appears your three questions are up. I will return you. My creation may follow shortly, should she chose to go.”

In an instance, the Magister was gone.

“Care to rejoin me, my little star? It is far gentler a fate than the one planned for you. You should know, he plans to sacrifice you to trap and break the will of his creation. You can stay here and let your former realm burn without you.”

She shuddered. “How so?”

“I daresay, it is far more interesting as a surprise for you both. It is not often one thinks to trap an elephant with a piece of rope.”

“How do we stop it?”

The Being laughed. “You needn’t worry too much about that. It's very rarely that his plan actually works the way he wants. Let this be a lesson in the power of wording. If he asked more carefully, he might have known the futility in his current plan.”

“So, they won't kill me?”

“There is always a chance. It depends on you, and fate’s design.”

She made her choice. She didn’t need to tell the Being. They already knew.

“It seems you are resolved to see this through, the more interesting choice by far. Very well, I shall send you back. You may be killed, but I look forward to seeing if you find a deal to survive that. It would be a shame to lose you before you even scratched the surface of your new potential.”

Everything started to fade.

“How would a deal help?” She asked desperately

“My dear, you should already know with the right deal, our kind can find the way to survive anything.”

The house faded away leaving Her on the cold iron bench again.

---

There were words around her. People talking. Humans. She wasn’t sure why the distinction felt true any more than she understood why it felt important.

“We have this well in hand. Thank you again for the update.”

Just like last time she found her way out of there, her sense of self felt … off. It was hard to remember her name. Who she was. Outside the need to make something … exchanges?

This wasn’t the first time this had happened, she knew.

Last time, it was the sight of the stars that brought her back. She could remember that, though not fully who those faces with her were.

This time, it was the cold bite of iron and memories of a man with dark hair and eyes watching her. There was something about him. There was a trap. The Magister had mentioned that.

Ivan was in danger. She needed to warn him. The thought of Ivan brought her identity back in a rush.

He flicked her forehead. “Our little guest will not be causing issues moving forward. Bring her to the altar. We must ensure our sacrifice is properly placed.”

Helen tried resisting and dodging, but there was only so much she could do when Iron Man grabbed the chain and pulled her after him.

It seemed things were going forward much faster than she had hoped. She did her best to slow them down by purposely stumbling and slowing her already slowed-down pace.

It wasn't long before she was tossed carelessly over his shoulders.

Iron Man carried her through shifting halls until they reached a massive circular room with towering walls that reminded her of being at the bottom of a pit.

In there, a few figures in robes greeted them.

“The Sacrifice should be placed and bound here.”

Helen couldn't tell where it was until she was roughly tossed to the floor and chained to an iron rung. She got a brief glimpse of glowing runes before something wrapped around her eyes.

“You will behave, won't you?” The Magister’s voice whispered softly behind her ear. “This is for the greater good. With the destruction of this broken world, a new and better one will rise. And your participation will be key.”

Then his presence was gone. Instead was a familiar sense of danger and the sound of destruction. Helen almost let herself smile. Ivan had arrived.

In an instant, she could hear him shuffling next to her.

“You need to get out here,” she warned him. “It's a trap.”

“I am far too strong for them to trap, now,” Ivan retorted, pulling off the blindfold. “I am happy to break their hubris.”

His eyes were glowing with the blood red runes.

“Be careful,” she urged him. Still, he had come to rescue. “Thank you.”

“They do not get to take another thing from me. Can you walk?”

Helen nodded. “I am mostly unharmed-” just embarrassed at getting caught.

“Brace yourself, I am going to pull your chains out.”

Helen nodded.

He pulled, and the metal split apart with a loud crack. Helen was still weakened by the iron, but she could move. She scrambled to her feet again.

“Shall we go?” Ivan asked. “I have unfinished business with some of the others here but-”

They turned as runes flared and their shared world burst into flame.

The trap had sprung.

Notes:

You are nearly there. At your target. You raise your pitchforks and torches ready to barge in as soon as I open the door.

You knock... Silence answers you.

You try looking around the back. You find a hole in the wall. Someone got here first. Your heart starts pumping rapidly. What kind of person can knock a hole in the wall.

You peek in. Everything becomes clear. The walls are covered in blood. You were too late for your revenge. I've been Fornaxed.

Perhaps comments may revive me enough to get your chance at revenge

Chapter 5

Summary:

Its time for Ivan to finish bringing about the Final Dawn to its Order. Let's hope nothing goes wrong.

Notes:

I blink awake very confused at what's going on.

"Hey, you. You’re finally awake," Nexus tells me. "I was wondering when you were going to get around finishing this story."

"Uhh what?"

"You are going to finish it aren't you? If not I can toss you back to Fornax to deal with. He won't notice a little more blood."

"Where did the blood come from?"

Nexus frowns. "I'm sure you will find out if you don't continue. Now where's the next chapter before I get bored"

A/N: the lack of no major character deaths is accurate. ALSO IVAN POV!!!

5 Hours Earlier

Ivan looked at the note in his hands. The blood covering him — belonging to the foolish person who had died to deliver it — didn’t make it easier to read.

He knew he was a slow reader. He still had to sound out each word for unfamiliar texts. The only reason he even bothered reading all the books his roommate recommended was because he had given him a strange device called an audio book that read it to him. Frankenstein was the book that made him understand why Wade got angry when he called them a bunch of stuffy old papers with ink blots on them.

It was cruel irony that the first person who also seemed to love the book just as much, was currently relying on his ability to read the words written in the same script as the holy scrolls he had grown up being forced to pray with.

In the end, he returned home and asked his roommate for help.

Wade was on his personal computation machine or whatever.

“Ivan, I just had the most delightful discovery.”

“Read!”

He shoved the letter in Wade’s face.

Wade stared at it for a moment. “Well, there is good news and bad news.”

“Read it out loud.” Ivan’s tone left it clear there was no room for argument.

Wade pulled the letter and began to read.

Oh Mighty Destroyer,

Your loyal followers salute your grand return. We thank you, oh Great Destroyer, for your purge of the unworthy.

We wish to discuss your future and offer guidance in completing your destiny. As a sign of our good favor, we have caught the troublesome Fae who has been distracting you. She will await your judgment in the place of your forging.

The Heralds of the Final Dawn.

Wade finished and folded the letter, sticking it into the envelope with Ivan’s name on it. “Hey, there is something else in here.”

He pulled it out and slowly pushed it back in.

“I don’t think you need to see that.”

Ivan snatched the envelope from him.

Inside was a small slip of paper he had missed. He pulled it out. It was what Wade referred to as a Polaroid. He flipped it and his heart fell. It was an image of Helen collapsed over the shoulder of one of the Blessed Acolytes. Those with powers. This one was able to transform and manipulate the metal of his form, assigned to break up fights that neared deadly among the potential vessels. He had never been gentle about doing it.

Anger filled him along with images of the cape. The determination in her eyes when they first met and she refused to bow to one of his blows or the obvious fear his presence had given her. A determination that convinced him to use her instead of kill her.

The spark in her eyes as she got between robbers and their intended victim. The way she eagerly climbed a tree to help get a cat down. The way she refused to back down from a fight, but, somehow, also, her willingness to search for a peaceful solution.

He wasn’t sure at what point he realized she wasn’t related to the Order whatsoever and it was just misfortune to keep running into them … and him. Probably at the same point she started smiling when she recognized him instead of fighting her fear. It was stupid, but it made him want to not disappoint her too much.

Ivan couldn’t help being reminded of his nameless friend, though he didn’t realize it until he’d said it out loud to Helen. He had gotten into so much trouble, getting into fights far above him if he thought the other person was being unfair. When they were little, while Ivan and Vlad were busy planning their next fights, he wondered why the world needed to be destroyed. Whether there were ways to make it better. He’d even talked them into trying to set up a system that didn’t involve fighting to make sure everyone got enough.

It didn’t last long enough. Neither had he. Odds were, neither would his friendship with Helen. Wade had made that clear. She was a hero and he … he was going to figure it out once he completed his revenge, but he looked forward to finding more enjoyable targets to fight. In his experience, those sorts of things didn’t go over too well with capes, and so far, outside of Helen, none of them really survived his retaliation.

He was looking forward to their fight, even if he expected it wouldn’t be for a while. He didn’t want to fight Helen until she could actually hold her own for more than a few blows.

The image of her clutched in the hands of the monsters who raised him burnt to dust as his powers surged with his emotions.

“I told you I didn’t think seeing that would be helpful. However, before you destroy the rest of our apartment, I do have some good news.”

Ivan turned towards his roommate.

“I know you said to stay out of your way regarding the crazy cult that raised you. However, I was absolutely fascinated by that data you sent me and I now have a wonderful discovery to share.”

“What data?”

“Oh, you know, your cape’s data. I set it up to send the results to my PCGD automatically when the tracker was shut off. Anyway, amongst other things, I was able to find a pattern in their locations.”

Ivan had made the mistake of asking what a PCGD was. Its full name was just Personal Computational Geo-locational Device, but he’d fallen asleep before Wade had managed to explain more than that.

“The device glitches in the tunnels,” Ivan told him. “I don’t have location data.”

“That’s exactly it, I traced every location where the signal was weakened or fully cut out. I knocked out the obvious ones like the League of Meta headquarters.”

“Get to your point.”

“I found the locations of last few bases for you. That said, since I did the hard work this time, I think I deserve to participate. I have a few devices and a suit I want to test out on moving targets.”

“You have ten minutes.”

“I only need five.”

It took him seven. Because he insisted on making some sort of power drink before revealing his map. Ivan used that time to explain everything to Wendy who demanded to help too.

The shape of the locations formed the rune Ivan was very familiar with. It was a rune for Great Destroyer.

He hissed at the sigil of the being resting in his soul.

“You really were raised by a cult, weren’t you?”

Ivan glared at him.

Wade snapped his fingers and suddenly the majority of the black dots turned red.

“See, you did a good job wiping the most of them out. I also tracked the areas surrounding them. Seems like most bases were emptied or mostly empty. My expectation is you’ll find her, here.”

He pointed to a central base. “I figure it will be best if you head over there and clear it out, while I can deal with any stragglers and then find you. I daresay you will surprise them by showing up early.”

“Why do you say that?” Ivan demanded.

“I forgot to mention, on the back of the note, they mention they will be sending a location tomorrow.”

---

Ivan was grateful for Wade’s guidance. He had even put together a device that guided him where to go. He only really used it when he got lost.

It was also shockingly sturdy, which was a nice surprise because he was in no state to not accidentally destroy everything around him.

He already felt the power within him surging, trying to destroy everything. It was very useful most of the time, but right now it was very inconvenient. He was going to have to figure out a way to gain better control.

In the end, he found his way back. Back to the field where he had crawled up covered in blood and overflowing with power to behold the sun for the first time.

He walked to the spot he had breathed fresh air for the first time. He took a deep breathe. Then, he kicked the ground and let the darkness swallow him again. He prayed (not sure to what) that this would be his last time being here.

He was loathe to return here, but he was even more loathe to let one of the few people he liked aboveground be abandoned to that fate.

Besides, he was always going to have to come here to finish his promise. It was just sooner than he had planned on it.

The magic sigils guarding the place pulsed against him, but Ivan walked through them like air. They flared once before burning out though not before starting a ringing down at the bottom of the ramps.

Good.

He tossed the device Wade had made on the floor behind him.

“That should stop escapees,” Ivan grinned.

Now was time for his favorite part. Wrecking complete and utter destruction.

He ran into his first order member at the end of the hall. They didn’t survive long enough to do anything but widen their eyes at his approach. He crushed their skull with a simple gesture.

The next five, he punched into the wall. One mage tried to slow him down, but his magic bounced off helplessly.

“Why are you so horrified?” he asked “I am the destroyer you wanted to create after all.”

For beings he had feared all his life, they were weak. They were so easy to crush. The burning destruction under his skin felt almost more angry about that. The least they could do if they riled him up this much was give him enough suitable targets towards which to vent his frustration. Instead all they were … was fodder. Boring, easily crushed fodder.

None of them even survived one blow. How disappointing. He wondered how they had even managed to capture Helen. Not when she was strong enough to withstand him.

He found himself laughing anyway as he crushed them, broke their bones, decorated the walls with their inner workings.

He wasn’t sure how long he spent massacring. Eventually, as it always ended up, he found himself in the center. Back in the pit where he had spent his youth.

His first glance showed nothing. Then he noticed the figure attempting not to shiver chained in the center of the room.

His mind flashed to a much smaller figure huddling in the center. It was the punishment for those who “stepped out of line,” though they never punished the ones who got too violent. Just the ones who didn’t fight the way their “guardians” wanted.

Some of Ivan’s earliest memories were of protecting his friend while he was trapped alongside the one who would be called Vlad. Their unnamed friend had not yet learned to hide his questions about the outside world or the nature of the hellhole they were raised in. The Order of the Final Dawn did not take questioning the doctrine fondly.

This time it wasn’t his first friend. It was his newest one. He recognized the curly brown hair. The pointed tips of her ears peeking over the cloth binding them. The way she turned towards him as she noticed his presence even as her eyes were blindfolded. A smile seemed to flicker across her lips before vanishing.

He teleported the remaining distance away without a second thought.

Helen leaned slightly into him.

“You need to get out here,” she warned him. “It's a trap.”

Of course she would say that. Just like his friend. Always worrying about him more than themselves. So what if they were trapped and helpless? They were more focused on whether their friends were okay. That friend. Ivan felt the familiar ache. He had been far too good to spend his too short life down here. Helen was too good to be trapped here, too.

He gently removed her blindfold. “I am far too strong for them to trap, now,” he promised her. “I am happy to break their hubris.”

Her eyes met his. No fear.

“Be careful,” she requested. “Thank you!”

She seemed surprised, though pleased, he had come to her.

“They do not get to take another thing from me,” Ivan explained. “Can you walk?”

Helen nodded. “I am mostly unharmed-”

Ivan looked at her restraints. It seemed simple iron. He wasn’t sure why she hadn’t managed to free herself.

“Brace yourself, I am going to pull your chains out.”

Helen nodded.

He pulled and the metal split apart with a loud crack. Helen shakily pushed herself to her feet. She seemed almost slower than he was used to. As if the metal on her body was weakening her.

“Shall we go?” Ivan asked. “I have unfinished business with some of the others here but-”

He felt the magic flare before he felt the horrifyingly familiar flames swallow them both.

No no no no!

It was supposed to be different. He was supposed to be done.

But that didn’t stop the burning. That didn’t stop the pain. That didn’t stop the cage from closing over him again.

After everything, they wanted him to kill his friend again. The voice in the back of his mind, the one that appeared when he killed the god who was supposed to destroy him, promised freedom if he just surrendered. It promised it could destroy this cage. Destroy his pain. Destroy the Order. Destroy the world.

Ivan shut it down. He would do, and had done, hellish things for his freedom. He wouldn’t give it up his control. Not when he had finally tasted true freedom.

“It hurts,” Helen yelped.

He didn’t want to.

“Ivan, are you alright?”

She didn’t understand not yet.

Ivan couldn’t kill her. Not unless she had a fair chance. Not again.

“The metal, it's weakening you?” he asked.

Helen nodded.

“If you will allow, I will try to remove your chains.”

She nodded. “Will that help us get out here?”

“In a way,” Ivan wasn’t ready to tell her. Not until she could fight.

She offered her wrists like they weren’t going to have to fight to the death in a few short moments. He prayed after a few punches she would realize what was going on and give him a real fight.

He pulled the chains apart from each other and pulled her left hand forward until he was touching the metal band binding it. He wished he had more control over his powers. He would have to hope for the best. He tried drawing forward just a sliver. It was still too much. The band broke, but so did Helen’s wrist and left hand in the ensuing explosion.

She screamed. She stared at the mangled limb and, blinking through the pain, tore a piece of cloth from her shirt. Somehow, she managed to tie the band around her upper arm. It was that resilience through the pain that let Ivan know, if she had been had given the chance, she would have been a fearsome warrior.

“Maybe, we can leave the other hand to experts with specialized tools, once we get out.” she struggled to smile at him. “We just need to find a way out of these flames. At least they aren’t actually burning us.”

Ivan felt the last of his hope die. They were making him go through it again, weren’t they. He hated them. He wanted them gone. He wanted everything about this stupid world gone. He had not fought and killed over and over and over just to still be too weak to not have to kill yet another person he loved.

He stared at her face. Took in her eyes, her determination.

“Ivan, do you know how to get out of the flames?”

There was a moment where he pondered not telling her. Letting her die with hope. But that… if he couldn’t give her a fair chance, he couldn’t let her die lying to her. At least she could understand and hate him as he deserved as he drained the life from her.

“I do. I was made to do this every year. Two of us were forced inside and-”

“And only one can exit.” Why was she looking at him with sorrow? Why did she look guilty? “I understand.”

She reached toward him. He flinched. “I can’t beat you. Not yet. I knew this was coming. Just promise me-”

She leaned in and whispered her dying wish. Ivan didn’t know how he was going to manage it but he gave his word to try.

“That’s all I ask.”

She smiled painfully at him. “Try to make it quick please.”

Then Ivan was back to being 10. He was holding his friend’s throat, praying, begging, pleading with any being out there to lower the flames before his friend died.

No god had answered him them. With the blood on his hands, the only god that would answer him now was the one already haunting his soul, burning his skin, and thirsting for his body.

---

The instant the flames went up, Helen knew she was dead. There was no way around it.

She knew it even if her mind denied it.

She felt it in Ivan's desperation as he tried to free her from the metal bindings. She knew it despite the way her fingers instinctively remembered the first aid she had learned despite the pain of the fire and broken bones and tendons. She didn’t want to die.

She finally accepted it when she asked begging for another option.

“Ivan, do you know how to get out of the flames?”

Maybe they could break free. Maybe there was another way. A secret path. She knew there wasn’t as soon as he started answering.

“I do. I was made to do this every year. Two of us were forced inside and-”

“And only one can exit.”

Everything fell into place now. The Order's plan. The Being's warnings and words.

“I understand.”

She was never meant to survive this. They had stolen her as a “sacrifice” for their god to destroy. To use to break the boy who smiled as he walked his dog. Who got flustered when apologizing. Who had rushed here for her and looked like his world was ending because he had harmed her by accident.

Sure, she could try to run away to the realm where music leapt and the dance never ended. But she didn’t want to give up. Not on this world. Not on him.

The Being had implied her kind’s greatest power was in the art of the deal. Something that oddly kept ringing in her chest.

She knew the deal she was going to make. A deal that should allow her to survive in some way. After all, for her kind, even death was supposed to be survivable with the right deal. And if not, it wasn’t like she had any other option.

“Just promise me,” she told him leaning in. “If I let you kill me, you will try to make sure this never happens again.”

Helen meant bad guys harming innocents. Friends pitted against friends. The threat of him losing control. She would offer every ounce of her determination to do good if it meant he could get that chance to be a good person.

“I… I will try.”

Helen felt the jolt through her as the deal snapped into place. She somehow knew it was going to hold past her last breathe.

“That’s all I can ask.”

He looked so broken. She wished she could tell him it was going to be alright. That would have been a lie, so instead she looked at her death and smiled at him.

“Try to make it quick, please.”

He nodded and his hands were around her throat.

Helen felt herself split. Almost like when she was tracking something. One part of her was aware of the crushing force on her neck. The other on the world surrounding them. For the first time, Helen finally truly saw magic.

Instead of flames surrounding them, she saw the gaping maw of a black hole that hungered for destruction of everything she knew and loved. It would keep them there as long as the connection was sustained. She could see it, dancing around Ivan’s soul, waiting for his iron will to bend enough for it to tear the rest of him apart.

It glanced towards her and Helen instinctively flared in defiance. So what if her lungs were starting to hurt, begging for air. If it wanted to take Ivan, destroy her world, it would have to go through her.

It seemed to flash her a predatory smile as if to warn her how much it was going to enjoy devouring Her.

Then the spell flickered. Helen and the ravenous Destroyer glanced towards the cause. As her body went limp, she began to smile.

---

Ivan felt his fingers loosen the instance as the fire gave out.

He felt numb.

Just like the last time there was clapping. For the worthy. Ivan hated them. Hated how they worked. For their worship of the being that hungered for his soul even now. Hated how despite being so weak and crushable, they still seemed to get into his mind. Still managed to trap him. Still took another friend from him just for the hope of breaking him.

He wasn’t going to break. He wouldn’t let himself. He had promised Helen he wouldn’t let them or others like them win. It might destroy him, but it was a small price to pray.

At least that was the plan, and then the One Who Saw Truth, or The Magister, stepped forward. Ivan hadn’t recognized him the first time out of his ceremonial robes. He liked watching the “offerings” during their Trial of the Worthy.

“Did you think yourself some great conquerer?” He asked. “Just because you were named for one and have your hands soaked in blood like one. Oh, Ivan, you were never meant for something as mundane as friendship with weaklings who can't even give you a proper fight for their life.”

Ivan wanted to rage. He wanted to charge, but his body felt unsettled, scared. He was back in the cage after all. The thoughts that shouldn’t sound like him, but did, moved through him. Wouldn’t it be easier to just give up control and stop fearing … anything? Just give up and let the demon take over the destruction of the world.

A part of him knew it was coming from the Magister just like it had all those years ago during the first and every other slaughter. That part of him felt quieter and quieter under the onslaught.

He was weakening.

---

Helen wasn’t strong enough. She could feel herself being dragged away. After everything, Ivan was going to lose control and they and the world would fall.

“Fae,” the monster within Ivan called to her mind. “I might have a deal to compel you.”

She could always say no. She chose to listen. They had nothing else left to lose after all.

All she had left was desperately hoping the right deal could get them out again.

---

Then, suddenly, the grip on his mind lightened. Instead, it was terror in the Magister’s eyes.

Ivan glanced back and saw the most gorgeous sight in his life. Helen, covered in blood, pushing herself up from the floor. There was something almost off about her, but Ivan put it down to the blood. The figure who had come from the back to drag her body off was nowhere to be seen.

Ivan had to know. “How did you survive? The flames only go out-” when they had swallowed a soul.

“That would be my fault,” a robotic yet familiar voice stated. “I’m not an expert in magic, but I figured a spell like that needed a constant energy source. Kill the batteries, or, in this case, the mages and the spell went down early. That said, I still thought Wendy and I were too late.”

A proud woof appeared as Wendy leapt down to Ivan. The hopelessness and helplessness he’d been feeling vanished.

“Wade, you have no idea how happy I am to see you.”

"Never heard of that charming and handsome guy. The name’s Doctor Mechaniacal."

Ivan rolled his eyes. Everyone else was going to be dead here in a short order, but nooo, his roommate still had to insist on feeding sense of drama.

The Magister seemed to have recovered already.

“It doesn’t matter. Even if I failed to make you kill her, I can still have her dead and make you watch.”

He snapped and hidden doors opened. “You should thank us for destroying your girlfriend. We found an interesting stabilizing power within her blood and, well, we certainly aren’t going to be the only ones with an interest in it. Powerful enough to succeed in our experiments for the World-Razer’s Beasts. Regular animals imbued with the power of our God. Previously, they all wound up dying from exposure to his power.”

Wendy began to growl. Shadowy beasts began to growl back.

Ivan remembered the sickly animals. Before Helen, he had just tried taking them out of their misery. He knew most hadn’t survived the experiments, even with the veterinary intervention. Most that survived were weakened. Other than Wendy who had bitten Helen their first meeting.

“Have fun, Ender of Worlds, watching your loved ones be torn apart,” The Magister laughed. “I would be more concerned about yourself, personally. They hold the same power that runs within you, without that stubborn insubordinate streak you hold. It matters not if they manage to destroy you. We can always start again but this time accounting for... your defects.”

Wade shot a bolt at a beast. One fell, but another just split apart.

Ivan yelled at Wendy to guard Helen. He wasn’t going to lose her. Not again.

He charged towards the Magister, determined to make it before he teleported away.

Something else got there first.

One instant, there was a glow appearing where the Magister stood. The next, the glow was still there, but the Magister was crashing into a wall. He coughed up blood. His arm was broken.

His eyes looked up at the figure that had appeared and tossed him.

“Master!” he coughed “I command you to stand down. We had a deal.”

“Oh foolish fly, your deal was only for the vessel you prepared for me. In this form, well let’s just say I have another far more freeing deal. I owe you nothing in this form. I am looking forward to breaking you and devouring the world you offered me.”

Ivan knew that voice. It was the voice that rang in his mind urging him towards destruction, to fights. Even worse, he knew that form. The broken left wrist gave it away.

“But she shouldn’t… she wasn’t actually!”

“You think her blood is able to help worthless creatures hold a sliver of my power, and yet the body itself can’t hold me for just long enough to end you? I am going to enjoy breaking yweour hubris.”

A leg was smashed.

The Magister screamed.

“Ivan, please,” he begged.

“Ivan won’t help you now.”

“My creatures.”

“Oh right, the abominations,” the Destroyer of Worlds growled. It snapped and the sound of splatter and screaming spread across the pit. Only a bit more blood being spilled on a ground soaked in it.

The monster had grabbed the Magister by the neck. He begged and pleaded while turning purple. Ivan looked at him coldly. For a figure who had haunted Ivan all his life, he seemed rather small and weak.

Ivan met his eyes. “Stop.”

The monster controlling Helen paused as if he knew what Ivan planned.

The Magister suddenly looked hopeful again. “I will be good.” He gasped. “I will serve you faithfully.”

“Is that so? Well, its unfortunate, I have no need of lessers.”

The Magister looked horrified.

Ivan swung.

There was a crack and the body fell uselessly to the ground.

“That was for Vlad,” he told him. “And Gustav, and my first friend you never bothered to name. For every one of us you killed.”

It felt satisfying.

Then Ivan turned toward the monster in his head wearing his friends body like it had wanted to wear his.

“Give her back,” he demanded.

Her hair had turned jet black. Her fingers transformed into claws. Her eyes a pulsing red. The same as the runes in his eyes.

“Oh Ivan,” the monster sighed. “Will you give me your soul for her form?”

Ivan glared at it. “No, but I will fight you for hers.”

The monster smiled coldly. “I would love to take you up on that offer. But unfortunately, that wasn’t part of her deal. I was only allowed to lend her my powers and influence in exchange for assisting you in ending the one who would have sought to control me once you gave in. Have fun with your freedom. You will surrender to me eventually after all. Consider this an act of, what I believe you mortals call, good faith.”

The demon had grabbed Ivan by the collar and lifted him effortlessly. For a small frame she packed a lot of strength even with one hand. Her left was still dangling. For a moment, Ivan wondered if it was planning on choking him. Instead it smiled and vanished.

Besides, I could do better than a broken vessel after all. It seemed almost amused.

Helen gasped and collapsed into his arms. Hair turning from black to its normal brown. Nails shrinking to a normal size. Eyes shifting back to hazel. She was hacking and at first Ivan thought she couldn’t breathe was asphyxiating, but a quick hurl later made it clear it was just nausea.

Ivan patted her on the back.

“Its okay,” he promised her. He didn’t know what to say. “He was dead already. Everyone was dead already. They were never going to survive the day.”

The first death was always the hardest.

She shook and cried in his arms.

---

The rest of the “rescue” went smoothly. Ivan and Doctor Mechaniacal, at least Helen believed that was what he was calling himself, easily cleared out or, well, killed the rest of the Order.

Helen spent most of it lying next to Wendy, who somehow had refused to be blown up by the demon Helen had let in for Ivan.

The more she thought about it, the more she felt wretched. She knew she was supposed to have died. The sign she was alive… it was clearly luck that Wade, no Doctor Mechaniacal, had shown up when he did. She would have to find a way to repay him that didn’t involve selling over her fellow capes or letting him cause wanton destruction.

Helen couldn’t help but think about the blood on her hands. The person who grabbed what they thought was her corpse just as the World-Razer or whatever had entered her leading to an explosion of power that tore him apart.

But even more so, her mind went to the Magister. She had been scared of him and with that power… she had torn him apart so easily. The way she had played with him. Oh sure, technically it was whatever being she had let take over, but that didn’t make it less her responsibility. She just…

Maybe it was the wrong takeaway, but Helen wanted to be stronger. Wanted to be so strong no one could kidnap her like that again. She wanted to be stronger that she never again had to make a deal like that.

Strong enough that she would never have to kill again, or rely on a being that thrived on destruction like that again.

She drifted off, only waking up to Doctor Mechaniacal picking her up.

Notes:

Thoughts? Emotions? Comments? Please let me know if you enjoyed below. Epilogue coming along shortly (because I have no self control. How do people keep regular schedules with fics? This was so hard and it was like maybe 3 days)

Also like, don't tell Fornax I'm still here. I like... don't want him to know I survived. (See details in start of chapter for more info)

Chapter 6: Epilogue

Summary:

The Order of the Final Dawn has fallen. Now its time for the ramifications to fall into place.

Notes:

Hope you enjoy!

Ivan stared out at the rising sun. He breathed in the fresh air.

“You doing alright?” Wade asked.

If his stupid roommate wanted him to call him by a stupid codename, he was going to have to learn to take out the trash.

Ivan nodded. “Just remembering my first time seeing this view.”

The sun cresting the sky for the first time in his life. The light. The warmth. Such softness after a life of dark stone and pain. Ivan was finally fully free.

Wade was silent for a bit.

"So, do you not want to blow it to hell?"

"Oh, we are so blowing it up."

He glanced towards Helen. He could still see the bruise on her neck where his fingers had grabbed it. She had drifted off while he and Wade had killed off the stragglers. It was slowly starting to heal. Unlike her injured wrist, which seemed to be healing at whatever normal mortal speed was. Wade had managed a few first aid tricks that bandaged it more properly and stopped the bleeding before they headed out.

“Maybe we should head out of the blast zone first.”

He didn’t want to risk injuring Helen more. Not after everything she had gone through because of him.

“Spoilsport,” Wade snorted.

They moved a bit further.

“I can promise you it’ll be safe here.”

Wade was bad at a lot of simple things. He was not bad at figuring out where to be safe from explosions.

Ivan pressed the trigger.

The world exploded in a blast.

Ivan found himself laughing.

When the light cleared, he took in the sight of his childhood cage completely caved in and gone. If any stragglers had been left, they weren’t around anymore.

Once the rumbling ended, Ivan realized there was a horrifying wheezing. He raced over to Helen who was shaking in Wade’s arms.

It took them both a moment to realize she was laughing. Her still healing vocal cords made it sound like agony. The reckless use of them under the control of Ivan’s demon had made it worse.

"Watch it, we'll make a villain of your emotional support cape yet,” Wade joked.

Helen startled.

"Watch it, you may find yourself protecting the peace instead,” Ivan grinned back.

"Doubtful, being a villain is far more fun. Capes are for cleaning up messes. Speaking of which, do you see any convenient capes to drop this one on? Unless you’re open to my plan of kidnapping her."

Wade had mentioned it, and Ivan had informed his idiot of a roommate that letting her sleep in her own bed was the least he owed her for not dying.

Wade made a confusing sound that sounded something like simp, which Ivan wasn’t sure was a word.

Fortunately, they didn’t have to travel for too long. Wendy led them through the field and towards town.

It didn’t take them long to run into a patrol of Capes. It seemed after his tussle with a few, they were upping patrols.

You beat up a cape, or three, and they overreact.

Helen started to look nervously at them and incoming capes. Ivan hadn’t bothered trying to learn who was who other than Helen.

“Here’s the deal,” Wade told her. “You don’t tell anyone our secret identities and about our civilian identities, and in exchange we hand you over to the capes for them to deal with you and your injuries.”

Helen nodded. "I won’t. I owe you that much. That won't stop me from tracking you if duty calls."

Her voice still sounded awful.

"Consider us warned," Ivan nodded. "Lets hope duty doesn’t call you to face us for a while."

Once they neared, Ivan realized one was vaguely familiar.

“Didn’t I fight you once?” he asked. She had fled when he’d smashed her teammates.

“You fought The Admiral?” Wade whispered.

The Admiral looked at Ivan, then her face paled. An inhuman screech emanated from her and she bolted down the street.

Oops.

“Let me do the talking next time,” Wade grumbled.

Fortunately there was another cape who was less intelligent.

"Halt, villains," the other cape yelped. "Otherwise you will have to face me, Laser Faire."

Ivan took them in. They didn’t seem to have the best reflexes and their stance was abysmal. Still they were a cape.

"Here, I thought capes liked when people returned things that didn't belong to them."

"Uh, what?"

"We'd like to return one of your capes. She accidentally got caught up in our business, but, seeing as it's concluded, we would like to hand her back."

It took some maneuvering, but the cape decided to call for back up. While the backup arrived, Ivan gently lifted Helen and left her against a building. She gave a weak smile, and he and Wade ran off before the Cape realized her job involved actually arresting them, and not only threatening to.

He just had to hope Helen would be alright.

---

Professor Quantum walked steadily towards the medical wing of the League of Metas. Normally, he wouldn’t bother with an injured meta. Particularly a part-time volunteer at that. However, this one had run into the new meta Professor Quantum was tracking, and he was going to need all the information he could to plan how to stop this one before too much destruction was caused.

The young meta was sitting in her bed, talking with one of his full-time Capes. He believed this one’s name was Farsight.

He took in the injured meta; She had pointed ears, an almost inhumane face, and her files spoke of enhanced speed, strength, and durability. Despite remarkable natural recovery abilities, he could spot a scar on the back of her left hand. An injury they had oddly needed to perform surgery on to ensure it healed properly.

Farsight and Zipper had taken this trainee under their wings. Which explained why the pair had taken turns visiting her when off duty.

He dismissed Farsight with platitudes about visiting their colleague.

“North Star,” Professor Quantum greeted her. “I know you are recovering. I have a few questions about the meta you ran across.”

Her eyes hardened and she looked at him with determination.

It was a shame that she wasn’t a full time member of his League already. While he didn’t fully understand magic types, it was clear she had a lot of potential if properly honed.

If this went well, he planned to offer her a promotion.

For now, he wanted to get answers.

---

Helen returned to her apartment to find a mysterious folder on her bed. Opening it revealed a note written in cut-outs from newspapers.

To Ivan's Emotional Support Cape,

Thanks for not ratting us out despite that being the objectively smart choice. In exchange, have some convenient photos for that internship article. Also, I finished your essay for that class for you. You're welcome.

Best,

Wade

P.S. I found a movie you may like. If you're able to hunt us down for Friday night at 7, you can join. I haven't told Ivan yet. He's been sulking about not having any more goals in his life.

P.P.S. Don't tell Ivan before. I know who you are. I know where you live. I may not be allowed to kill you, but, if need be, I will ruin your course selection for next semester.

Helen smiled and folded it up.

It burnt up in her hand. She blinked.

Maybe she shouldn’t go now that she was officially an auxiliary member of League of Metas, but something in her resisted. She was technically off-duty for the next few weeks, until the doctors were certain she was fully recovered from her ordeal.

After everything, it would be nice to have something to look forward to. Besides, she owed Ivan and Wade for saving her life. It was the least she could do to check in on them one last time. It was definitely that, and not the fact that she wasn’t quite yet ready to go back to a life without running into Ivan that finalized her decision.

In the meantime, she had a finished essay to write. She had no interest in stealing another person's work.

She pulled out her copy of Moby-Dick feeling like it had been an eternity since she last touched it. Time to hit the library.

---

Nexus loved finding new Universes. Most of the time they were boring and dull. But the times that they surprised him, those were always worth it. It was part of the joy.

A quick glance revealed nothing immediately special about this world. Despite slightly stronger protections than usual, it didn't appear to have a Lodestar. This Professor Quantum wasn't particularly spectacular. No easily spottable singulars. And no early version of him.

Still there were a few more stops to check.

The first revealed a barren and broken field, the results of an explosion. So, Fornax had already destroyed the Order. That simplified matters a bit.

Nexus reappeared in a corner of a shabby, surprisingly well-lit warehouse.

It seemed this iteration was an Ivan. Which meant that this universe's Deal-bringer had the willpower to survive the transition and chose to be a Cape. Deal-bringers were interesting: Powers manifesting based on the host's perception of themselves. Most became villains. Odds were, they were dead now. So few of the cape versions survived their first meeting with Fornax, or, if so, that final confrontation with the Order of the Final Dawn. Nexus had a fascination with any that survived beyond it.

They weren't as rare as a singulars, but Nexus classified them as anomalies. Most of the versions he had seen existed in response to a singular, a himself, or a Lodestar. He could count on his hands the times they existed without either factor.

It seemed this world's Deal-bringer had existed and gone by the name North Star, though her description matched closer to the ones Nexus deemed Artemis or The Huntress. Those were always interesting versions. Not for their potential, their survival rate tended to be low like the rest of the cape versions, but for the effect they had on their Fornax in the short time they met.

The worlds where Fornax killed the Artemis were fascinating. For those were the few worlds where Fornax had the potential to be a cape.

If this was one of those worlds, Nexus might-

A sudden knock and barking startled him out of his revelry.

So, this one had survived. This world was looking even more interesting than Nexus anticipated.

---

Helen wasn’t sure what she was expecting when she found her way to Wade and Ivan’s base, but an abandoned warehouse was not it.

“What happened to your old place?” she asked Wade once Wendy stopped licking her enough to breathe. “Why are you in a warehouse?”

"Couldn't be too careful about you ratting us out to the capes … Also, the landlord may have realized that, contrary to what the system said, we technically weren't paying leasers and we had to leave before he started asking awkward questions."

“You weren’t?”

“I hacked their system and added myself as a tenant. Not my fault their security sucked. It's a good life lesson and we left that place way better than we got it.”

Helen decided it was a good time to change the subject, before they admitted to any more illegal activities. She was off the clock, but that didn’t mean she was off duty.

“Anyway, thank you trusting me and inviting me for a movie night. It literally got me through writing my essay.”

“What about the essay I spent a whole hour writing for you?”

“I didn’t use it because it would be cheating.”

“You capes and your morals.”

Helen opted to ignore him.

“Also, thank you for the photos of the hideout. Thanks to you, my internship liked my research and they let me publish the piece on you guys. I wanted to share a copy with you both."

She shuffled through her new backpack. The League of Metas had opted to help her pay for replacements and explain her disappearance and wounds.

She hadn’t realized how many resources they offered.

She wondered why it wasn’t better known in the Cape world if it was allegedly as standard as Professor Quantum made it sound.

She proudly handed the article with her name as the writer.

"The Rise of Fornax?" Wade asked

"That's the name the media gave Ivan. Between the descriptions of him and the photos you provided, they wanted to name him after a black hole. This was the only one we found in the encyclopedias with a real name."

"Isn't Fornax a constellation?"

"Don't you dare tell the press that."

"Fornax?" Ivan mused. "I suppose it'll work. Let me see that paper."

He snatched it from Wade and started to read it.

"Wait, you can read? What about all the times you asked me for help?"

"It was faster that way."

"So you ACTUALLY read the awful books I told you were classics."

"Excuse you, Frankenstein is a classic! And I used audiobooks."

"You liked Frankenstein?!?!"

"It's good," Ivan shrugged, then he noticed something. "You took yourself out."

"Professor Quantum told me to and informed me he would make sure any of my own participation was erased. Otherwise, was it a good job?"

"Good job? I'm going to get this framed." Ivan was smiling widely.

Helen smiled in return.

"So, what is this about this movie?"

"Well, first of all, its all thanks to my brilliance. I may have gotten proof of another universe. I was just trying to find a way to break in Professor Quantum's personal lab notes, but instead intercepted a data transfer from something called The Multerion Collection. The movie is called Star Wars, A New Hope."

“Is it any good or is it like that stupid TV show you insist on watching all the time?”

“How dare you insult ‘The Quantumpocalypse’!”

“You like ‘The Quantumpocalypse’?” Helen asked. “Everyone knows its just Professor Quantum going on about himself.”

“Isn’t Professor Quantum all of you Capes' personal hero?”

“We can admire him and what he does for his society while also thinking his personal TV series is… dull.”

“I just watch it to figure out what ideas I need to rip off of him,” Wade pouted. “It's a good source of inspiration.”

“Anyway, we going to watch the movie before it gets too late?”

“Soon,” Wade stated. “I first want to figure out the bug in my security system. Its claiming someone showed up out of nowhere, but their signature doesn’t make sense.”

“What does that mean?”

---

So, Wade had already learned about the multiverse. Nexus looked forward to seeing what he got up to. He should have guessed, it took a special Doctor Mechanical to arrive in time to prevent Ivan from going through with killing his cape.

He readied to vanish and return when things took a more interesting turn.

Wade raised a hand. "There's someone here."

Seeing as how he was going to reveal himself at some point anyway, Nexus stepped forward.

"Hello, metas. You don't know me, but I know all of you. You can call me Nexus. I look forward to watching you over the coming years. Your stories are always so fascinating.”

He turned towards this world’s Fornax.

“You are normally looking to gain more control at this point. There is a place designed between realms where metas can gain great strength or at least control of their abilities. If both of you were to go together, well, I would be fascinated as to how things turn out.”

He stepped into a portal before any of their projectiles and punches could land. Not that it would have mattered. He whistled as he wandered off to what might become one of his favorite worlds, home to a fascinating new singular going by the name of Quorem. It seems his entertainment was not about to run out. Good, he hated being bored.

Notes:

Thank you so much for joining in on this ride! I have so much more for this verse planned but its gonna be taking its sweet time because I've discovered the joys of pre-writing. Please let me know thoughts on the world building. The powers. And the dynamics! (also, yes Nexus, the cameos)

I adore these characters so much! Thank you again for dropping by and giving this universe a chance!

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 1 of When You Wish Upon a Star