Avengers: Incursion

Light and Dark

The swirling cacophony of darkness and wretched, ravenous beings bore down on Lumen, stifling his breath and reducing his very spirit to ice. He could feel the lifelessness, the rage, and the pain as it encircled and filled him. The effects on his psychic empathy were instantaneous and he went tumbling into the abyss. Screams of agony pierced him like lances. Freezing nails scraped along his soul.

"Stay here forever..."

"With us..."

Lumen's body curled in on itself as he descended deeper an deeper.

Yes, he thought to himself. Stay here.

"Let go..."

"It doesn't hurt..."

"We promise..."

They were right. Nothing could hurt him here if he simply let go. Gradually, he began to let his grip weaken. But then...

Multiple sensations greeted his mind all at once. Images of Thor rallying when all seemed lost on Svartalfheim. Lumen rising up to vanquish Acrimon. Saving the universe. Birthing Modi and Magni.

Renewed by his fleeting memories of humanity, Lumen's body began to resonate with light. At first it was a gradual pulse, but soon it erupted into an overflowing aura of blinding brilliance. Incensed by the light, the wraiths began to shriek and flee from his presence. The darkness rejected him and a hole was torn through reality before he was suddenly returned to earth.

Thor and Hyperion returned to the others as those left standing continued their battle. Hulk and Power Princess were trading deadly blows, with the latter easily dodging Hulk's heavy-handed attacks with a combination of grace and agility. Nighthawk continued to attack Blackagar, who parried each strike as he focused on maintaining composure and control. With a single word, he could end the fight. But the risk of what could happen was too great. It always was.

"Stop this," Strange shouted up at Nightstar as he maintained his hold on Spectrum.

Nightstar ignored the sorcerer, instead focusing on unleashing a host of dark tendrils upon the battlefield. With Whizzer and Spectrum out of play, the Squadron's numbers were a disadvantage against these heroes. But Hyperion would return soon enough, he was certain. His fiancé was the most powerful man in his respective universe. Surely Thor couldn't beat him. He just had to hold off until he returned.

"Taylor," Hyperion shouted from above. "Stop this!"

"What?" Nightstar asked. "Why?"

But then something unexpected happened. In a crackle of energy, Nightstar's head suddenly blossomed with pain. Then, in a flash of brilliant light, the air in front of him shattered and Lumen reappeared. "That's enough!" He shouted in breathless frustration.

Eyes wide, Nightstar redirected his assault, targeting Lumen instead. Lumen glared at him, eyes overflowing with blazing light. He flickered out of view and reappeared directly behind Nightstar, where he briskly dispatched of him with a massive beam of luminosity. The blow struck Nightstar and threw him threw the air and onto the ground.

"Is that the best you can do?" Lumen asked, his body and spirit still somewhat chilled from his brief imprisonment in the Netherworld. "I've seen darkness before. I've been swallowed by oblivion. And each and every time, it's spat me back out."

Hyperion and Thor landed between Nightstar and Lumen in an effort to stop the fighting.

"Taylor, babe," Hyperion pleaded. "Please. No more."

Nightstar floated to his feet as Lumen landed in front of him while the others watched guardedly. Thor approached and laid his hands on Lumen's shoulders. "Hyperion and I have made a truce, Fair One. No more fighting."