Justice League: The Heir of Hecate

Flight

Luke sat in thoughtful silence upon finishing the chapter detailing the Heir of Hecate. If even a sentence of what he'd read happened to be true, his life would never be the same. Of course the last several hours of his life had already made sure of that.

The Heir of Hecate appears once every century. There has been one in existence since the dawn of time. Born solely from magic, the Heir has no physical mother or father to speak of. Their function was initially to act as Hecate's avatar, using their vast magical powers to protect the world.

"Well, that's very Buffy the Vampire Slayer," he murmured to himself. "'One girl in all the world'."

He read through the passages, many of which detailed the lives of previous Heirs as well as the assortment of abilities they were known to possess.

"Abjuration...animancy...conjuration...divination...enchantment...nature manipulation...necromancy...transmutation..." he listed off. "What's next? Hogwarts?"

Having reached his maximum capacity for the bizarre, Luke pushed away from the table and stood. Whether what he read was true or not, he couldn't stay in this castle. His entire life may have been shrouded in lies, but there was one very clear truth to him- that the people who currently held him were murderers. His supposed role as the Heir of Hecate involved protecting the world; their actions told a darker story.

"I trust you found the book enlightening," Marakov said when Luke was taken back to his study.

"Honestly? I don't care what that book says," Luke huffed.

Marakov stared at him as if he'd just grown a second head. That, Luke reflected, would have been the least bizarre occurrence of the day. "How can you not care? You're the chosen one, Luke. Chosen by Hecate herself."

"I've spent too much of my life following the plans of other people. But I'm drawing the line here. I watched a woman die. Saw police officers being thrown across the road by whoever it was you sent to get me. How is that related to what the book says I'm supposed to be?"

Marakov smiled briskly. "Sometimes we have to make difficult choices that paint us as villains."

"You killed people to find me. Nearly killed Lydia in the process. I don't want any part of that."

Marakov's expression went dark as he rose up from his chair. "You are forgiven for having such a limited view of the world around you. But your naivete will not thwart our plans."

"And those would be?"

"Despite your youth, I know you have witnessed the brutality and callousness of mankind. You've read about it in history books. Wars that drenched the earth in blood."

Marakov waved his hand and images of ancient warriors battling and killing one another began to appear all around the room.

"Humans have been destroying themselves and the world around them for time immemorial."

Time gradually moved forward as the images shifted from primitive humans fighting with spears and rocks to knights wielding swords and shields.

"Mankind has used religion itself to justify its own sordid need for bloodshed," Marakov spat as battles from the Crusades played out around them, then shifted into a clash of Union and Confederate soldiers. "They'll even kill their own brothers." The civil war faded to figures of boys around Luke's age, choking and falling dead in the trenches of World War I. "Old men take delight in sending their sons to die. Watch them, boy! See the terror in their eyes as they die for the sake of dying!"

Images of the concentration camps came next. Luke couldn't suppress his emotion as he watched the frail and sickly prisoners that occupied the camps. "Humans rejoice in acts of genocide," Marakov said, pointing at the starving and the sick. "And they dare to utter the words never again!