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[b]Portland, Maine[/b]

He felt out the source of the power he sensed earlier, tracking it with his mind. It wasn’t particularly easy considering its vast distance – he only had a vague idea of where it was, and even that was difficult to concentrate on. Like an out of focus image that just wouldn’t get back no matter how hard one tried. And just as jarring if not more so. Power bloomed around him as his clothes shifted from ordinary street clothes, to a black and gold suit and a caped hood that covered his face. 

Damian took a step back and began casting again, power once more filling the space of the small shop when he felt a hand on his wrist. He looked down. His wife, Jessica had a look on her face. A look he knew well. Damian stopped his incantation and lifted the hood, the shadowy magic concealing his face disappearing. 

“Woah, you can’t just try and leave like that, Damian,” she said, “what happened. What’s going on? Where are you going?”

He nodded and took a deep breath, then nodded to the book in her hand. [color=silver]“I’m Sorry. It’s just... I saw a vision in one of the pages,”[/color] he said, [color=silver]“I don’t know what it was that I saw, whether it was the past or the future… or some potential. But that scythe in there is powerful. Dangerous. And I can feel that power like a knot in my gut. Someone or something’s going to use it and I don’t think it’s for good reasons.”[/color]

She nodded and he could see her trying to understand as worry slowly replaced the frown. “And this scythe, where is it? Here?”

[color=silver]“Lightyears away. I can’t say exactly but it’s far.”[/color] He knew this must’ve been hard for her, he tried to understand where she stood in all of this as she was no doubt doing the same for hiim. Her husband, now some sort of super hero, going off and saying he was going to be lightyears away. He could understand why she’d worry. Frankly he’d be surprised, and maybe even a little hurt if she wasn’t. A part of him wanted to bring her along, to experience this part of his life with him and be a part of his adventures; it could even draw them closer together. But he knew how foolish that thought was. The risks were too great. 

And it hurt that he couldn’t do anything about it. He enjoyed her wit and he knew more than a few moments where he could’ve used her comedic timing to ease his tensions. But it was what it was.

“And this is a credible threat? Not just some potential future?”

[color=silver]“Enough of a threat that it’s making me a little sick, yeah. I’m sorry for this. This day off was meant to be with you.”[/color]

“Don’t be,” Jessica said. “Go. I kind of needed you out of town anyway.”

He blinked and raised an eyebrow. [color=silver]“Oh?”[/color]

“Yeah. You don’t need to worry yourself over the details. You just go have fun doing your magic-stuff.”

He gave her a sidelong glance, trying to read into the playful smirk she was giving him before he bent down and kissed. [color=silver]“I’ll be back soon.”[/color]

“You better.”

He placed the hood back over his head, and once more sorcery bloomed around him. Moments later A massive, dark hole that seemed to suck the air out of the room appeared behind him. The room growing darker around it. The shelves trembling and books tumbling out and onto the floor. He heard the shopkeeper fumble and scream somewhere near front in startlement as he levitated himself off the ground and disappeared into the hole.

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[b]Unknown planet[/b]

A massive dark hole appeared over a desolate, ruined road, wide and filled with detritus, paper, cinderblocks and strange abandoned vehicles. And out of the hole, Hood levitated out, his feet several inches from the ground as he examined his surroundings. Tall buildings to either side, as tall as skyscrapers back home with the distinctive appearance of apartments. Tall, rectangular shaped with a strange layered design that now looked marred with dirt and signs of ruin. One of the buildings just ahead and to his left was caved in, parts of it across the road.

And above him the sky was a bright red. The world’s sun small with a blue-red haze to it. No warmth came from it that he could feel. Cold, and barely bright enough to consider it as day. 

Hood looked around. Ruined vehicles everywhere. Abandoned. Not like the cars on Earth but similar enough. Landing, he stretched out his senses to try and feel for life. He felt nothing until he got a blip directly ahead of him beyond the rubble of the ruined building. Lifting himself up, he levitated again and flew forward until he saw it. A lone figure, standing in the middle of the road some hundred yards from him, its back towards him. Standing there and doing nothing. 

He couldn’t help but wonder if the figure was the one he was looking for. If that man or woman was the cause of all this. Perhaps not. Even so, he approached and began putting up layers of defensive spells around himself.

Then, the figure turned. Old white hair on top of a blue face written with sorrow.