Hecate

AN: Man you guys really hate when the heroes lose, but I honestly can't blame you guys since the execution definitely wasn't the best (let's be honest and just call it shitty)

For you guys saying that the JL or Superman constantly beats Dr. Fate and Gods, let me just say that whenever that happens it's because of plot induced stupidity or because of some BS power up.

For those of you that decided to ridicule me because Scathach didn't kill the cat, reread the chapter (spoiler alert: she almost does, but Klarion teleports the cat to him.).

For those who say that I didn't do Scathach justice with how she lost, I accept that criticism and even agree in hindsight

For those who say that Scathach should win because she's a Godslayer, I hate to disappoint but that's not how it works.

Finally for you guys who complain and whine every time the heroes lose saying that I do it for bs reasons like drama, you must be reading a different story then.

Also, shout out to the guys (or gals) who actually had a constructive conversation about the chapter with me. You guys rock and I'm always open to more conversations like that

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Avalon Hill, Bludhaven

New Jersey

May 2006

The first thing Morgan notices when she comes to is the fact that it has not been long since the battle with Klarion. The second thing she notices is the fact that she cannot sense any of the defenses or traps placed inside and around their castle. Alarmed, she quickly gets up and turns to look at the castle, only to see a smoking mound of rubble instead of her majestic castle. As she stares at what once used to be her home, a pit forms in the bottom of her stomach that quickly fills with dread as the fact that her daughter has just been abducted sinks in. However, before the feeling of dread can grow, it is quickly replaced with unbridled rage.

"Calm down." orders Scáthach as she places a hand on Morgan's shoulder. "The locator runes on her still functions properly. We WILL get her back."

"I do believe that this situation calls for extreme measures to be taken." says Azula as she cracks her neck.

"Yes, I do believe that you're right." replies Morgan with a malicious glint in her eyes.

"No." answers Scáthach with a frown. "Do you even know you're suggesting? The situation isn't that dire yet." says Scáthach with a shake of her head.

"It isn't that dire yet?" parrots Morgan with a frown. "My daughter has just been kidnapped by a Lord of Chaos. How much more dire can it get?" she asks.

"We can still slay the cat, there's no need for you to go through the ritual." answers Scáthach.

"No. Klarion will not make the same mistake of parting with the cat after you almost slayed it." replies Morgan with a shake of her head. "He will have most likely changed, or at the very least empowered the enchantments on the cat by now. I have to do this, regardless of the consequences."

"I hate to say it Scátty, although I don't know what ritual she's talking about, I agree with her." chimes in Azula. "There are too many variables to account for when we don't even know if he is working alone. The problem at this point is raw power. If we had the raw power to hold his attention for even half a second longer, then you would have been able to slay the cat. The ritual will give her the raw power to deal with him, even if she cannot kill him herself."

"What of the consequences then?" questions a skeptical Scáthach. "Your mind can be corroded, or you can even die from channeling that much raw magical power, and those are the best case scenarios. What happens if you lose your sense of self, or in a worse case have your will crushed?" says Scáthach as she attempts to dissuade Morgan from her chosen course of action. "If you were to be corrupted by the ritual, then the world will be destroyed by the resulting actions!" says Scáthach as she appeals to Morgan's more heroic nature.

"Then let it burn!" screams Morgan in retaliation. "If this world has to burn for me to save my daughter then so be it." she says with no hesitation, shocking Scáthach.

"Well, you are certainly one dedicated mother." says a feminine voice with a slow clap. "I love it." it says as a woman materialises next to the trio.

"Hecate." hissess Morgan as she floats away from the woman and prepares for a battle.

"You know me?" asks Hecate with faux curiosity. "Of course you do, when it comes to magic you are perhaps the most knowledgeable mortal in existence, perhaps even in history. Although there is one little issue of you lacking raw power to make use of most of that knowledge, even with the little loopholes you seem to find. That particular spell you used against Klarion was a beautiful piece of work" she says nonchalantly and unbothered by the group's caution towards her.

"You were watching?" asks Azula with a raised eyebrow.

"My dear, I have been watching your group ever since your little witch entered the Oblivion Bar for the first time. And I must say, I love your little family." she says, shocking the group with her admission. "What? Can't a cosmic being observe the mortals that intrigue her, especially when they seem to make it a habit of antagonising the very same gods that the cosmic being very much wishes to dispose of?" questions Hecate with a smirk.

"Why would you want to kill the Greek gods when you are part of their pantheon?" asks Scáthach with a frown, causing Hecate to burst into laughter.

"Me? A member of their pantheon? Don't make me laugh dear." she says through her laughter. "No, I am not a member of their pantheon, at least not anymore." says Hecate as she stops laughing. "Why don't you ask your magical expert, she should know."

"Morgan, what is she talking about?" questions Azula as she and Scáthach turn to face a pale Morgan.

���I stumbled upon a legend during my studies that pertained to Hecate. I was curious about the validity of the legend, so I had Ambrosius aid me in investigating. What we found was… distressing for lack of a better term." answers Morgan as she swallows nervously.

"Morgan? Are you ok?" asks Scáthach as she approaches her, she has never seen Morgan this nervous before. It is almost to the point that it borders fear.

"I'm fine." she answers with a smile in an attempt to make Scáthach believe her.

"So what is this legend?" asks Azula interestingly.

"Do you want me to do the honors dear?" asks Hecate.

"No. I will tell them myself." answers Morgan. "At the dawn of time, there was magic. It was promising, pure, and a fundamental element of the multiverse. As long as the multiverse exists, so will magic and as long as magic exists so will the multiverse." says Morgan as she begins to explain. "From that magic, the very first living being formed as a physical manifestation of magic. As long as the multiverse exists so will magic, so long as magic exists so will that lifeform, and that life was Hecate herself." explains Morgan and shocking the group.

"Oh." whispers a bewildered Azula as she looks at Hecate in a new light.

"Yes. Oh, is an appropriate response." says Hecate with amusement. "Due continue dear."

"She was formed in the dimension that is known to us as the Sphere of the Gods and before long busied herself by playing with magic while the multiverse continued to form around her. However, she soon found that she was not alone when she sensed a darker font of magical power similar to hers beneath the Sphere where the Dark Multiverse lay. That dark magical power came from a being simply known as the Upside-Down Man, one of several beings that represent all of the dark and twisted possibilities of Hecate's magic." says Morgan as Hecate scowls at the reminder of those dark beings. "Wary of them, Hecate put forth a barrier between the Multiverse and the Dark Multiverse." explains Morgan.

"I admire your effort for painting me in such a good light, but let's not downplay the fact that it was fear at the time that made me place the barrier." comments Hecate with a genial smile.

"Afterwards, she visited Earth and gifted humankind with magic so that they could make themselves a paradise. They called her Hecate, meaning 'far off', because they believed that she came from the moon."

"Humankind's progress through the years is certainly intriguing. From believing that the moon is such a far off place to traveling there themselves." says Hecate like a proud mother speaking of her children.

"As the gods took notice of Hecate, every pantheon began to earn her favor, but all failed until she decided to join the Greeks." continues Morgan.

"Of all the pantheons, why the Greeks?" asks Scáthach. "Perhaps I am biased by recent events, but I believe that they are the worst pantheon." she says.

"Well, I simply fell in love." answers Hecate with a shrug. "Hades used to be such a charming man at the time and I could not help but fall for him. As such, I joined the Greeks as his bride."

"Wow, that is not what I expected." says Azula as she vocalises the thoughts of her companions.

"Of course things could not remain perfect forever, and I was betrayed." says Hecate bitterly with a frown.

"You had not offended anyone, who would possibly do such a thing?" asks a frowning Scáthach.

"Humanity." answers Morgan. "They saw her power and wanted it for themselves. No one knows how many of them there were, only that countless humans formed an alliance for one purpose, to steal Hecate's power. They took advantage of her kindness and summoned her. Knowing that she would not refuse their summon, they lay a trap and imprisoned her."

"How do you imprison the physical manifestation of magic?" questions Azula.

"You cannot. At least not anymore." answers Morgan. "I have a theory on how they did it, but the materials needed for such a feat no longer exist. They haven't for eons."

"Of course they don't exist." says Hecate with a scoff. "Do you think me such a fool that I would allow the very materials that bound me to continue to exist? Heck, I even destroyed the knowledge of how such a feat was accomplished. The fact that you even have a theory on how to do so is impressive." says Hecate.

"You did not erase records that explained that those materials used to exist and what their properties are." replies Morgan.

"I abhor the destruction of knowledge. Erasing the knowledge of the process and the materials themselves was an exception and served its purpose sufficiently." explains Morgan.

"Those humans? They became the Lords of Order and Chaos didn't they?" asks Scáthach.

"They did." answers Morgan. "They held her for an unknown amount of time while she waited and hoped that the Greeks would come to her rescue. Unfortunately they did not. Hades decided to send her a message that explained that he remarried and from henceforth she is no longer welcomed at the gates of Olympus." explains Morgan.

"In my rage I decided to free myself, but only after granting the human's wishes." says Hecate. "In my fury I let out a scream that shook all of reality, and for the first time in eons I sensed the dark beings from the Dark Multiverse. With my rage I tore a hole through magic allowing their darkness to break through the veil of existence and invade this Multiverse. I took that dark magic and gifted it to those humans. Of course the majority of them did not survive to enjoy their gifts. Most perished from receiving the magic, some fell to the magic's corrupting nature and had to be put down by their brethrens. The survivors had their bodies destroyed due to the power's corrosive effect and could only survive in the mortal plane through an anchor. Klarion's cat and Nabu's helmet being the best examples."

"They are essentially being fueled by the multiverse. However, where does the factors of Chaos and Order come into play?" asks Azula.

"You mean those made up rules that they came up with to control their followers?" scoffs Hecate. "There is no such thing. Magic isn't chaotic or orderly by nature, it just is. The Lords of Order impose these stupid rules and regulations on how magic works and it severely limits their followers while the Lords of Chaos believe anything works as long as you get your results, but most of the time their followers don't survive more than five years of using magic."

"Be honest with me Morgan, does the ritual you wanted to do have any relations to this?" questions Azula.

"It would have temporarily bestowed me with a Lord's power by draining the same source of their power." answers Morgan honestly.

"Those books have clearly corroded your mind." comments Azula with a frown.

"Truthfully, it is a beautiful and masterful piece of magic but also very risky." chimes in Hecate. "And that brings me to my reason for being here. I have come to offer my aid in exchange for a small favor."

"What is the favor, and what kind of help do you offer?" asks Scáthach.

"The favor is simple. Like the Lords of Order and Chaos draw power from the Dark Multiverse, I propose to sponsor in a similar fashion. You will draw your power from the Multiverse allowing you to face Klarion, and in exchange I want you to destroy every single Lord of Order or Chaos." she informs Morgan with a smile. " I am sure that you are wondering why I cannot do this myself. Well the answer is simple, I plan on closing the hole in magic that I created and I must be at my peak to accomplish this. Facing the Lords of Order and Chaos come with the danger of being corrupted myself from their magic with no way of purging myself of the Dark Multiverse's corrupting magic." explains Hecate.

"What will happen to my body?" asks Morgan.

"Well I will most certainly have to make some alteration to it. After all, even if my magic has no corroding effect to destroy the user's body, a mortal cannot channel that much magic safely. Other than that you will remain as you are."

"Well?" questions Morgan as she looks towards Scáthach and Azula for their input.

"It's better than your foolhardy plan." answers Scáthach.

"However, do we trust a cosmic being?" asks Azula as she voices their doubtful thoughts.

"What choice do we have other than trying to defeat Klarion on our own and most likely failing?" asks Morgan.

"I can easily kill the cat." answers Scáthach.

"I do not doubt you. I simply do not want to take the risk of a second failure. After all, what are the chances that he is operating by himself?" replies Morgan.

"Slim to none." says Azula. "I would not be surprised if he is allied with others like Black Adam and Wotan."

"True." agrees Scáthach. "In the two seconds it would take us to dispose of his allies, Klarion could easily teleport himself and Mordred away."

"I miss the days when people died when you killed them. Nowadays you have to kill them, destroy the body and everything they possess, and destroy their souls just for good measure." says Azula despondently, causing the other two to chuckle in agreement.

"I presume that we are in agreement?" asks Morgan as Scáthach and Azula nod. "I accept." says Morgan as she turns to face a smiling Hecate.

"Very well." says Hecate as she spreads her arms and begins to radiate an abundant amount of magical power. "Let us begin."