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Coming Home Again

To gain a better understanding of the characters in this story, you should have some prior knowledge of the following groups/people.

Marvel Comics - X-Man (Nate Grey), X-Men, Generation X, Bastion & Operation: Zero Tolerance, Gauntlet

DC Comics -  Starfire (Koriand’r), Darkstar (Donna Troy), Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner)

Top Cow Comics -  Witchblade (Sara Pezzini), Darkness (Jackie Estacado)

Image Comics - Darkchylde (Ariel Chylde), Tusk

Characters in Previous Stories By Me - X-treme (David Grey), Lyte (Rose), Angel, Sabre (Alex Summers)

X-Man/Prince of the Darkness Realm: Nathan Grey, a lone mutant in a world that fears and hates him. He is known to mutants all over the world for his never-say-die, even-if-it-kills-you attitude, as well as his kind heart. His prowess as a telekinetic is only matched by the power of his mind. A skilled fighter, many of his techniques have originated from the mysterious underground fighting tournament known as Overpower. He once reached the status of Grandmaster, the third-highest position in Overpower. At this point, he left the tournament to pursue other ventures. Somewhere around this time, he discovered an old man, dying of a fatal head wound. Nate cared for the elderly man, and to grant his dying wish, returned him to his home. It turned out that the old man was the ruler of the Darkness Realm, and he named Nate the Prince and sole heir to the throne. Nate had no choice but to agree, and soon after became king of the Darkness Realm, though many still referred to him as “Prince Nathan.” Nate turned the Darkness Realm into a mighty empire, strong enough to the point where he could leave his position and pursue other adventures while the empire virtually ruled itself. However, he has established a mental link with his empire, so that he always knows its status. To this day, Nate has not yet named an heir.

Darkness: Jackie Estacado, Captain of the Darkness Realm’s Imperial Guard, is truly a devoted soldier. A former hitman for the New York-based branch of the Mafia, his life changed the day he encountered the force known as the Darkness. Much like the power rings of the famed Green Lantern Corps, Jackie gained the power to create and give life to anything his mind could imagine. He traced this power back to the Darkness Realm, where he pledged his life to its current ruler. Jackie became the king's most trusted advisor. When he became ruler of the Darkness Realm, Nate promoted Jackie to the Imperial Guard. Jackie remains loyal to Nate, and their close friendship continues to grow.

Witchblade: Sara Pezzini, Second in Command of the Imperial Guard, was once one of the NYPD’s best detectives. She was on an undercover operation one night with her partner, Michael Yee, when they stumbled upon a secret contest featuring the gauntlet known as the Witchblade. Unfortunately, they were discovered, and both were brutally shot. In her last moments of life, Sara reached out, and the Witchblade instinctively reached back, healing her, and granting her the power to avenge her partner’s killers. After a vicious battle with Jackie Estacado, Sara retired from the NYPD and tracked Jackie to the Darkness Realm, where she earned a place in the Imperial Guard.

Darkchylde: Ariel Chylde wasn’t like most little girls. For one thing, her abusive father was really a demon, her sister was bent on killing her, and Ariel herself had the power to channel nightmares, and then become anything she saw in them. At the age of 18, Ariel ran away from home with her only real friend, the demon Tusk, who was her sworn protector. Tusk brought Ariel to the Darkness Realm, were she gained a reputation as a powerful warrior. Nate Grey favored her ability, and gave her a high-ranking position in the Imperial Guard. From the moment she laid eyes on his dark form, Ariel fell hopelessly in love with him, and has pursued him ever since. Nate has made it very clear that his heart belongs to another, but Ariel continues her advances, hoping to one day become the love of his life as well as his queen.

Starfire: Originally from the planet Tamaran, Princess Koriand’r is the second of the three children of Tamaran’s ruling family. Her older sister, Komand’r, was born deformed by Tamarean standards, (since she was unable to fly) and the royal line was handed to Koriand’r instead. Years later, the sisters were kidnapped by Psions, a race of alien scientists who conducted endless grueling experiments on them. These experiments gave both sisters the Starbolt force, the ability to absorb solar energy and expel it in destructive blasts. The sisters escaped, and Koriand’r made it to Earth. There she was found by the group of young heroes called the Teen Titans. Koriand’r joined the Titans under the name Starfire, and eventually became a member of the New Titans as well. Starfire’s Tamarean heritage allows her to covert solar energy to the power of flight. Starfire is also incredibly strong and a skilled warrior.

Darkstar: As a veteran member of all three groups of Titans, Donna Troy has been known to her teammates as Wonder Girl, and in an alternate future, the goddess Troia. She is but one of many Darkstars, an intergalactic group that police the universe, much like the Green Lantern Corps. Donna has superhuman strength and the ability to fly.

Green Lantern: Kyle Rayner is supposedly the last official member of the famed Green Lantern Corps. As with all GLs, Kyle can fly and derives his power from a ring that must be charged in a battery every twenty-four hours. The ring can create anything that Kyle can imagine, such as battle armor, vehicles, and even people, though all have the ring’s distinctive green glow. After helping them defeat the psionic terrorist Psimon, Kyle joined the New Titans. Since then, he has become romantically involved with Darkstar.

Psylocke: Elisabeth Braddock, known as Betsy to her friends, is a member of the X-Men. Her mutant ability to generate a psychic knife from either of her hands makes her a worthy opponent, along with her skills as a ninja. She is also a powerful telepath. Betsy has several other abilities as a result of the Crimson Dawn, but she uses these sparingly. She had a major role in training Nate Grey in his mental abilities, and the two remain close friends.

X-treme: David Grey was originally the older brother of young Nate Grey. He was tragically killed before Nate’s very eyes. Though details are still unclear, David’s spirit was somehow resurrected in a more powerful body by the Master of Overpower. The Master was angry with Nate for leaving the tournament, and ordered David to capture him. David refused, and the Master implanted false memories in his mind to make him think that Nate was his sworn enemy. He called David his “weapon of extreme force.” Now X-treme, David was sent to Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. He gradually drove Nate insane, having an unknown “wild card” effect on his powers. With his powers now uncontrollable, Nate fled the school in an attempt to prevent his friends and family from being hurt. X-treme followed, capturing Nate and bringing him back to the Master, who promptly ordered them to face each other in a battle to the death. Greatly weakened by his earlier battle with X-treme, Nate only survived because he was able to purge the memory implants and convince X-treme that they were still brothers. They both escaped with the aid of Lyte, Angel, and Psylocke. Afterwards, the brothers parted, with Nate & Rose going back to Xavier’s School, while X-treme & Angel briefly joined X-Force.

Sabre: Much like the mutants Bishop and Cable, Captain Alexander Xavier Summers is a mutant from the future intent on improving this world so there will be a brighter tomorrow. Though his cause is just, Sabre is considered to be an outlaw in many parts of the world. Like his brother, Havok, Sabre can channel plasma blasts from his hands. Unlike his brother, Sabre can shape this energy into an actual sword, hence his codename. Sabre also has vast teleportation abilities which he has perfected over the years. If Sabre concentrates, he can form two separate swords, one red, for plasma blasts; and one blue, for teleportation. When fired at an enemy simultaneously, these not only cause him great harm, but transport the enemy several feet, or miles away, depending on Sabre’s wishes. He is the uncle of Nate Grey, yet the two have grown quite close, developing a kind of father-son relationship.

Lyte & Angel: Rose & Angel are exact twins except for slight differences in age, height, and attitude. Angel is slightly taller, and Rose is the youngest. Rose is kind and quiet, while Angel is loud and sometimes harsh. Both are trained in hand-to-hand combat, as well as the mystic arts, though Angel rarely ever uses them. Both sisters are mutants; Lyte can increase or decrease the mass of any object, and Angel specializes in teleportation. Rose has been Nate’s girlfriend for several years, though they have often separated themselves from each other.

The Gray Wanderer: Not much is known about this mysterious figure. The little that is known is shrouded in various rumors. His name comes from the gray-colored cloak he always wears over a suit of thick, silver armor. He travels the globe, appearing at random. He carries two pale blue whip-like cords, which he uses to swing from place to place and to disarm opponents. He is a master acrobat, and has often been spotted performing daring feats of heights. Many wonder if he is man or mutant, though many claim he is indeed a mutant, despite lack of proof. Instead of agreeing with or denying these claims, the Wanderer prefers to face them with complete silence. He is almost completely unharmed by mental attacks, either because of his dense armor or his possible mutant ability as a telepath of the highest order.

The Gauntlet: This mutant-hunting task force is dedicated to the task of ridding the Earth of mutants. Though it has not been proven, many believe them to be renegade soldiers of Operation: Zero Tolerance. Some even think Bastion himself leads them in secret. The entire team is enhanced with Sentinel technology, each member having a suit equipped with a myriad of weapons, including lasers, grenades, heat-seeking missiles, and a bio-scanner that instantly allows them to distinguish mutants from humans.