Kai POV
I was sitting beside Hermione while she lay unconscious on the bed.
I couldn't help wondering how she was going to react to being in the New World. If she didn't go through all the tragedy waiting for her back in her own world… I was sure curiosity would take over eventually.
Hermione had lost family and friends her entire life. I couldn't even imagine what she'd been through.
But just like Trini…
I would be there for her.
Suddenly, I felt something strange.
Something familiar.
It felt similar to my own power… but different at the same time.
"Can it be?" I muttered to myself.
Before I could investigate the feeling, I heard a groan.
I turned toward Hermione.
She was waking up.
I stood and moved closer just as her eyes slowly opened.
At first, she looked confused, calm even. But the moment her eyes locked onto me, fear filled her expression.
Her eyes widened.
She thrust her hands forward.
A blast of magic exploded from her palms.
The force slammed me against the wall.
The stone cracked behind me.
But I didn't feel any pain.
I wasn't hurt.
I didn't even fall.
Hermione quickly jumped off the bed, keeping both her hands raised and pointed straight at me.
I slowly raised my hands.
"Hermione, relax. I'm not your enemy."
She wasn't listening.
"Who are you?!" she demanded. "Why am I out of Azkaban? Where am I?"
The questions came one after another.
"My name is Kai," I answered calmly. "I broke you out of Azkaban. And right now, you're on another Earth… completely different from your own."
Her confusion only grew.
"What do you mean, another Earth?" she asked sharply. "And why did you bring me here?"
I tilted my head.
"Would you have preferred staying in that hellish place?"
She narrowed her eyes.
"Everyone has a reason for doing something," she said carefully. "So what's yours?"
Smart girl.
"I do have a reason," I said. "I broke you out to make a deal."
"A deal?"
"Yes. It's very simple."
I crossed my arms.
"You become my apprentice and help me with my superhero team… and in return, I teach you powerful magic."
Her eyes sharpened with interest.
"Powerful enough," I continued, "to kill Voldemort and every Death Eater in your world."
Now she looked intrigued.
"And how do I know you're telling the truth?" she asked.
I smiled.
Then I snapped my fingers.
Reality shifted.
In an instant, we were standing inside my personal dimension.
My library.
Rows upon rows of massive bookshelves stretched endlessly in every direction, filled with ancient spellbooks, grimoires, and magical tomes from dozens of worlds.
Hermione slowly turned in place, staring at everything in amazement.
I commanded two books to float off the shelf and drift toward Hermione.
When they reached her, she grabbed them and read the titles.
"Dragon Slayer Magic… God Slayer Magic?" she read aloud.
Then she looked up at me.
"Are these even real? I've never heard of this type of magic before."
I smiled slightly and stepped closer to her.
"The reason you've never heard of them is simple," I said. "They're not from your world."
Her eyes widened slightly.
"I was born with a gift," I continued. "The gift of knowledge. Knowledge of every type of magic across the entire multiverse."
I gestured toward the endless shelves.
"Necromancy. Summoning spells. Soul magic. Curse magic. Holy magic. Demon magic. Chaos magic. Order magic. Shadow magic. Light magic…"
I paused and gave a small grin.
"And many, many more."
Her eyes slowly moved across the library again.
"And I can teach you all of it."
I held up a finger.
"If you become my apprentice."
Hermione looked down at the books in her hands, then back at the endless shelves.
Finally, her gaze returned to me.
"Do you know a type of magic that can destroy a soul?" she asked quietly.
There was desperation in her eyes.
I didn't hesitate.
"Yes."
Her decision was immediate.
"Then I'll become your apprentice," Hermione said firmly. "I'll do anything you ask… as long as you teach me that magic."
Then she bowed.
I blinked in surprise and quickly stepped forward, lifting her up.
"You don't have to bow to me, Hermione," I said.
"Oh, okay," she said, clearly embarrassed.
But I could see past the embarrassment.
What I really saw in her eyes was rage.
Pure rage.
Revenge.
And now she had finally found a path to achieve it.
And I was going to help her walk that path.
I pulled another book from a nearby shelf and showed it to her.
"Hermione, this is actually one of my favorite types of magic."
She looked curious.
"What kind is it?"
"It's a form of necromancy," I explained. "But instead of reanimating bodies… You reanimate their shadows."
Her eyebrows lifted.
"You turn their shadows into soldiers."
I tapped the cover.
"This magic is called the Shadow Monarch."
Hermione looked fascinated.
I was about to open the book when my phone buzzed.
I pulled it out.
A message from Hope.
We need you at the base. You won't believe who's here.
I frowned slightly.
That sounded serious.
"Sorry, Hermione," I said. "Looks like your training will have to wait. My sister needs me."
I slid my phone back into my pocket.
Red lightning suddenly crackled around my body as my armor snapped into place, piece by piece. My hammer appeared at my side.
With a snap of my fingers, the floating books returned to their shelves.
Then the world shifted.
We teleported out of my dimension and appeared back at the base.
The moment we arrived, I froze.
Because what I saw…
Actually surprised me.
Lying unconscious on one of the couches was Lex Luthor, still wearing damaged golden armor.
And sitting nearby was a red-haired woman with glowing yellow eyes, dressed casually.
Image here
But the moment I looked at her…
I could feel it.
The magic she was trying to suppress.
"Okay," I said slowly. "Can someone explain why we have an unconscious Lex Luthor… and a demonic magic user in our base?"
"Demonic magic user?" Jack asked.
"He's talking about the redhead," Malevola said calmly. "She's obviously a user of demonic magic. I can sense it from here."
Prism looked alarmed.
"What the hell? She uses demon magic? You didn't tell us that! What if she's evil or something?"
Malevola rolled her eyes.
"Relax. I didn't sense any bad intentions," she said. "Besides, I use demonic magic all the time, and you guys don't seem to mind."
"I think we're getting off topic," Dove chimed in.
"Right… let's let her explain," Hope said, looking at the redhead.
All of us turned toward her.
She didn't look nervous at all.
"Mary Cain," she introduced herself calmly.
"Just like you, I travel the multiverse. Mostly to do good… and to learn new kinds of magic. When I came across this Lex Luthor, he was fighting an evil organization on his world, but he was losing."
She gestured toward Lex, lying unconscious on the couch.
"So he escaped to this Earth. He was badly injured when he arrived, so I followed him and brought him here. I know you're experienced dealing with this sort of thing."
"Wait…" Dove said, stunned.
"Multiverse theory is real?"
Mary's eyes widened slightly.
"Oh… forgive me. I didn't realize you hadn't told the rest of your teammates."
Fire, Ice, Hawk, and Dove all slowly turned toward me.
"What is she talking about?" Fire asked.
I sighed.
"Well… I knew I couldn't keep this secret forever," I said. "And since you're part of the team, you deserve to know the truth."
Everyone leaned in as I began explaining.
I told them about the multiverse.
About the different Earths.
And about how some of their teammates… weren't originally from this world.
When I finished, Dove suddenly jumped up.
"Oh my gosh! It all makes sense now!"
Everyone looked at him.
"It does?" Hawk asked, confused.
"Of course it does!" Dove said excitedly. "Think about it! Soldier Boy always says he fought in World War II… but there are zero historical records of him anywhere."
He pointed toward me.
"And Kai somehow keeps finding heroes who already have experience being heroes… even though nobody's ever heard of them before they joined the team!"
He crossed his arms triumphantly.
"Now it all makes sense."
The room fell silent for a moment.
Then Hawk slowly nodded.
"…Okay, yeah. That actually explains a lot."
"I hope I can trust all of you to keep that a secret," I said.
"Yes, of course," they all answered.
"Good," I nodded. "Hope, can you contact the rest of the superheroes? I think I know what's going on."
She nodded and headed toward the lab to start hacking into the communication systems.
While everyone else started talking quietly among themselves, I kept my eyes on Mary.
Her magic was… strange.
Very strange.
I had sensed a lot of different kinds of magic across the multiverse, but hers felt different. Ancient. Compressed. Like something powerful hiding just beneath the surface.
Then I felt that strange sensation again.
That familiar but different energy.
I narrowed my eyes slightly.
"Is he testing out his new abilities?" I muttered under my breath.
"What?" Hermione asked beside me.
"Nothing," I said casually. "Just talking to myself."
One hour later
The doors suddenly burst open.
"How in the hell are you still hacking into my systems? I upgraded them!" Mr Terrific shouted as he stormed inside.
Behind him were Green Lantern and Hawkgirl.
They weren't the only ones.
First came Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Green Lantern, and Martian Manhunter.
Then Doctor Fate, Major Force, and Captain Atom.
"Alright, what's going on?" Green Lantern asked. "Why is everyone here? Are we dealing with another invasion?"
"Not exactly," I said.
Then I stepped aside.
Their eyes landed on Lex Luthor.
The room went silent.
"…What the hell?" Green Lantern said. "Shouldn't he be in jail?"
"Language," Superman said.
"Okay, since everyone's here… Lex, can you explain everything again?" Hope asked.
Lex Luthor stepped forward and started explaining.
While he was talking, I started sensing that energy again… but this time there was something darker mixed in with it. I focused on it for a moment, feeling the two energies clashing before the familiar one suddenly disappeared.
"Looks like I'm going to need to interfere soon," I muttered under my breath.
Apparently not quietly enough.
"Mage King, is something wrong?" Superman asked.
I snapped back to reality and realized everyone in the room was staring at me.
"Nothing I can't handle. I'm guessing Lex explained everything?" I asked.
"Yeah, pretty simple," Jack said. "Evil Justice League. He's a good guy. Needs help stopping them."
"This is… simplified, but correct," Lex added.
"Good. Then you guys can decide amongst yourselves who's going to the other Earth to help the good League. I need to stay here; some idiot is working with the Seven Deadly Sins," I said.
"What?!" several of them said at the same time.
"Relax, it's a small matter. I was going to let the new Champion handle it, but it seems like he's having some trouble," I said.
"Seven Deadly Sins? New Champion? What are you talking about?" Flash asked.
"It's really nothing you should worry about," I said. "The Wizard chose a new Champion to protect all magic. Unfortunately, someone released the Seven Deadly Sins and is using them for evil. If that person steals the Champion's power… the world could end."
Everyone in the room looked shocked.
Everyone except Doctor Fate.
"Why do you think there's nothing to worry about?" Guy Gardner asked.
"Well, I meant you guys shouldn't worry," I said. "Because you literally can't do anything in this situation. I can only sense four magic users in this room… not including me."
I glanced around the room.
"If the non-magic users try to interfere, it won't end well for you. Most of you would get ripped apart by the Sins. Especially you, Mr. Terrific."
Mister Terrific blinked. "What? Why?"
"You seem like the type who thinks magic isn't real, even though you're seeing it right in front of you. I feel like that would really piss them off," I said.
I waved a hand dismissively.
"Anyway, I'm going to help the new Champion deal with them. You guys can discuss who's going to the other Earth."
"Wait a minute, I want to come," Hawkgirl said.
"Did you miss the part where I said you'd get ripped apart?" I asked.
"I don't know magic," she replied calmly. "But my mace can interfere with magic. I can help."
I nodded slowly. "Good point. Anybody else?"
Ice raised her hand.
"Sweetie… he was being sarcastic," Hope said.
"Oh."
Ice slowly lowered her hand.
I just rolled my eyes.
I gestured for them to come closer. ice jump in excitement and quickly came by my side. Hawkgirl stepped beside me. Mary joined us as well, which was good. I had a few questions I wanted to ask her.
Hermione quietly moved closer to me, staying near my side.
"Good luck fighting the evil Justice League, warrior," I said to the rest of them. "Try not to kill anyone. The Justice League gets a little squeamish about that."
Then I snapped my fingers.
And we disappeared.