Avengers No Road Home #10

'You want to see my creation? Come this way please – and I will show you everything!' a voice announces as patterns take shape, and in a seeming nothingness, the android Avenger takes form. His binary-code thoughts are replaced by words, as he announces that he is the Vision, that he is whole, his core degeneration has halted, and all cognitive and physical functions have been restored. But he isn't sure how. He remembers hearing a voice, and the house. 'The house' a voice calls out. 'Eh?' the Vision utters, turning, he sees Nyx, Goddess of the Night standing over him, ascended now to her full power as a primal aspect. 'And I am only myself...' the Vision tells himself, while Nyx declares that the house is the dwelling space of the fundamental creative force of this reality, the one above all others. 'The ultimate force of creation lives on Long Island?' the Vision asks. Nyx explains that the house has many doors and that humanity has always been essential to the work, before asking him what he, as an android, would know of such things.

'I heard a voice. An old voice...' the Vision responds as the landscape around him changes, darkness overcomes it, and the Vision finds himself standing in a field. Nyx tells the Vision that this is an echo from a time long past, but there is a new world coming – a new creation – her creation – reality remade in her image. 'A cosmos of eternal night – as it should always have been. Beautiful and silent...but for the chirp of the crickets...and soft breezes under the moon' Nyx adds. The Vision asks her if she would overwrite creation in creation's own house – and points out that some would call that hubris. 'Am I not playing out the role that was written? Will creation deny what it set in motion?' Nyx asks, adding that there have been many endings, and this will be another. 'Your world of heroes isn't special' she tells the Vision, who smiles as he tells Nyx that he disagrees, and remarks that he thinks his role here is to save it.

'You?' Nyx asks, surprised. 'How can you stop me? How can you do anything but watch?' Nyx enquires, boasting that she is mankind's first darkness, that she is midnight and moonrise, she is a  primal being, greater than gods. 'What are you?' she asks the Vision, who looks up at Nyx as her form increases in size, and tells her that he is a synthetic man and nothing more, adding that he has heard stories – and been a part of them. The Vision informs Nyx that his database contains the Avengers files – a history of ever hero, every marvel who ever fought against darkness – and here, in this house of ideas, he finds himself wondering – how would they stop her? The Vision admits that at first he thought it odd, a house with no windows, but that isn't accurate, as stories are windows, and here, where all stories are born, they are infinite in number. The Vision raises a finger, and “draws” in the nothingness, and tells Nyx that all one need do to make them appear, is imagine them.

Four heroes appear – Wiccan, Kamala Khan, the Winder Soldier and Ironheart, they race towards Nyx, who smiles, 'Trickery' she utters as she lets darkness rise up around them. The Vision tells Nyx that this  is power, and possibility, as he brings forth more heroes – Captain Marvel, Miles Morales, Arsenic and Old Lace, Chase Stein, Karolina Dean and Nico Minoru. The Vision looks over to a blank space, and asks Nyx what fills this space – she doesn't know, for she is only capable of imagining only one thing – a Multiverse built around herself. 'The ultimate creation' she boasts while fending off the hero constructs that challenge her. 'Hardly' the Vision replies as he creates several more heroes – Cable, Deadpool, Bishop and Gambit, who race into the battle. 'Creation comes from light, not darkness' the Vision states. He adds that darkness is an ending – it is the shuttering of ideas. More heroes appear, Cloak, Dagger, Cannonball and Elektra, as the Vision boasts that light is the beginning. Another group of heroes emerges. Shadowcat and Lockheed, She-Hulk and the original Spider-Woman.

The Vision states the light is an inspiration, and that there is light within the human spirit. 'Forever mightier than your narcissism, your cynicism' the Vision explains as several more heroes – Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Nova and Moon Knight – arrive, joining the others as they fight hard against Nyx, who appears to struggle to keep them at bay. 'Never' Nyx cries out, defiantly. 'Always' the Vision responds, as fire begins to glow around him. More heroes still appear – Man-Thing, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Adam Warlock and Ghost Rider. 'You planned to impose your own rules upon our reality. But that plan had a fundamental flaw. This reality isn’t about rules. It's about flying!' the Vision exclaims, as Silver Surfer, the Black Panther, Falcon, Daredevil and the Black Widow drop down from above. More flames begin to engulf the Vision, as the original X-Man – Jean Grey, Iceman, Angel, Cyclops and Beast appear, and the Vision tells Nyx that it is about finding and fanning the spark of courage in the darkest of nights.

As the constructs of the original X-Men rise up against the frustrated Nyx, they are joined by Iron Man and Dr Strange, and the Vision tells the Goddess of Night, that they cannot win here, that she is playing against the House. 'THE HOUSE OF IDEAS!' the Vision shous as several more heroes arrive – Spider-Man, Thor, Ant-Man, the Sub-Mariner, the Wasp, Thing, Invisible Woman, the Human Torch and Mr Fantastic. The heroes force Nyx down, she shrinks, and again when an optic blast strikes her, smaller again as She-Hulk punches her in her stomach. 'The Fantastic. The Astonishing. The Amazing!' the Vision calls out. 'Marvels' the vision states as Captain America slams his fist into Nyx's face. 'I was so close – so close' Nyx utters, looking over to see that the Vision now resembles the android Human Torch. 'Their fire, their light, is that of unfettered imagination – and there is no darkness – not from the dawn of time to its entropic end – that can withstand its glory!' the Vision exclaims as he hovers over Nyx, who reaches out to touch the Vision, but when he connects with her, she begins to burn.

The flames wash over Nyx as she tells the Vision that he thinks he has won, that his fire can burn her away forever and calls him a fool, for she is the other side of his bright story. Her bones begin to break, as Nyx is reduced to ash, 'And I. Always. Will b-' Nyx utters, before she is gone. 'Then I can only pity you' the Vision remarks, smiling, he hopes that someday Nyx will know the resplendence of the light that binds all life will, that it will not be extinguished. 'And neither will I. Not today' the Vision decides.

Reality beckons once more, and the Vision emerges from the House of Ideas to find Hercules, Wanda Maximoff the Scarlet Witch, Monica Rambeau a.k.a. Spectrum and Clint Barton a.k.a. Hawkeye waiting for him. 'Vision, you're...you're alive!' Wanda utters, walking over to the Vision. Voyager joins them as they gather around the Vision, as Hercules asks him what happened beyond that door of powers, and where Nyx is. 'Her darkness was rejected by the light within' Vision explains. 'Hold on, are you saying that an evil god was defeated by a house?' Hawkeye asks. 'Not “a” house, Clint. “The” House' the Vision smiles. A street light glows above the heroes, as Voyager points out that night has its place in proper balance set against the light. The Vision motions to he light above them and agrees with Voyager, remarking that the Dark Queen may return, but not at this juncture. Wanda tells the Vision that in all her years, she has never felt such power, and asks him what he saw in there. 'It was, forgive the term, quite a vision' the Vision smiles, putting a hand on Wanda. They then hug, as the Vision adds that he saw the light of pure possibility – the glorious illumination they call “hope”. Voyager, Hawkeye, Wanda, the Vision, Spectrum and Hercules all look towards the rising sun.

News reports begin coming in: 'We're back with breaking news –' '- power restored all over the world -', '- getting reports of sunrise on the East Coast – as well as full daylight in South America, Africa, Europe – and everywhere else it should be'. The news reporter personally thanks whichever heroes helped get the day back, and indeed, around the world and throughout the universe, the light has returned.

At Avengers Mansion, the Black Panther is communicating with the Blue Marvel, 'No, Dr Brashear – not my team either. But I suspect we'll find the Avengers played some hand in it' he remarks, before asking him ow things are at his end. In Germany, the Blue Marvel fights alongside America Chavez, Dr Toni Ho and Hulkling as he tells the Black Panther that the Neohedron and the Technocracy have teamed up to end humanity again – nothing they can't handle. Neohedron moves towards the heroes, holding a large weapon, he tells the Blue Marvel that they are bold words, and boasts that his crystal mind foresees every move his team can make – when suddenly, someone calls out 'Oh, shut up' and a powerful surge of energy strikes him down.

The energy takes shape, as the Blue Marvel and America Chavez look up to see Spectrum standing nearby. 'Monica?' the Blue Marvel calls out. 'In the flesh. Literally' Monica replies as she reverts to her human form. Monica reveals that she burned out most of her power keeping the Vision alive and helping him reach...somewhere. Monica announces that she is not some immortal light being anymore, that she is human again, flesh and blood and she has limits. Monica tells Adam that she wants to stay this way, if she can. That she wants to be human, have human things – like a family. 'Even if...even if that means you and me, we're not compatible or...' her voice trails off as Adam puts his face against hers and tells her that he loves her, and is not going to stop loving her whatever happens – that they will work it out. '... Yeah' Monica smiles. 'We'll work it out'.

In Michigan, the sun hovers high in the sky as Bruce Banner trudges down a long, empty street. He pauses and looks up at the sun, frowning, he utters 'Have you ever suffered?' before he carries on down the street.

The Ricochet, an intergalactic dive bar in continuous orbit around Voort-3, Rocket Raccoon enters, and heads straight towards a seat at the bar, where a Shi'ar sits several seats down from him. 'Where'd you come from?' a green-skinned alien behind the bar asks. 'Originally, or just now?' Rocket responds. 'Y'know what? It don't even matter' the bartender replies. 'That's right. It don't' Rocket  replies, before sighing and asking the bartender if they ever get the feeling no one is going to appreciate you no matter what you do. 'Constantly. It sucks' the bartender replies while drying a glass. Rocket exclaims that this whole thing started because they assumed he was a thief. 'Were you?' the bartender asks. 'Not this time!' Rocket replies. He looks at his reflection in a glass and explains that he was on Earth just returning stuff, putting it all back where it belonged – that was the plan, to settle his debts and get things back to zero. 'Make things right before...' his voice trails off as he holds his glass up to make a toast, 'Aw, what the hell! Here's to being an Avenger...guess I can cross that one offa my bucket list!' he smirks.

In Los Angeles, California, the Vision and Hawkeye sit opposite Wanda and her partner, Doctor Voodoo, in a diner, as Doctor Voodoo remarks that it is unfortunate Voyager was unable to stay, as it would have been nice to see her again. The Vision explains that Voyager was needed elsewhere, but indicated that she would try to visit them under less dire circumstances in the future. 'That's the problem with teleporters and magic types – you never know when they're pop up and tell you everything is crumbling... again' Hawkeye declares. 'So you'd rather not be warned about cataclysmic evil?' Wanda smiles at her friend, who tells her that it is fine, but he wants to finish his coffee before they fight for the universe. Doctor Voodoo turns to Wanda and asks her how Hercules is faring after these traumatic events. Wanda tells him that she understands Hercules returned to Olympus to bury the dead and gather some mementos. 'If they are indeed dead...' the Vision remarks. 'You saw Olympus, Vizh. It was a slaughterhouse' Hawkeye reminds the Vision, who points out that the Gods of Olympus are more than just physical bodies, that they are potent myths woven into their collective reality – and he doesn't believe this universe is ready to let them go yet!

And, in a space beyond space, energy crackles through a large sphere – and a sprawling, floating city materializes with a mighty KRA-KOOOMM. '... the wheel... has turned. Zeus and his people are born again. Born anew. And let the stars tremble!' the mighty Zeus declares, as he stands in the floating city, energy crackling around his now blue skin.

Doctor Voodoo notes the way the Vision is speaking about reincarnation and gods and tells him that if he didn't know any better, he would almost think he had found a bit of faith. The Vision isn't sure that “faith” is the right word, and explains that he was prepared to die to find his humanity, and instead it was found through a need  for life. The Vision looks out the diner window and tells the others that he is not “human” per se, but he now knows that he is the creation of a creator, and that the end of his story has yet to be told – and that it something worth believing in. Wanda announces that Rocket and the Hulk disappeared, as did the man called “Conan”. Doctor Voodoo turns to Wanda and reminds her that she said he saved her life. 'Yes...' Wanda replies, her hat obscuring her eyes, Wanda brings her drink to her mouth and smiles as she states that Conan was a murderer and a vagabond, but that he followed a code of honor – and even still, wherever he is now, she certainly wouldn't want to get in his way.

Elsewhere, Conan groans as he shoves a makeshift spear into the eye of a very large crocodile, blood splattering everywhere. 'You thought yourself worthy of my flesh, long-jaw. But my bite was deeper' Conan utters, as he collapses next to the slain beast. The muscular warriors gets to his feet and remarks that the beast's mear will sustain him. 'Ponder that  while you cook on my spit and sit in my stomach' Conan utters. He looks at the dense jungle that surrounds him and decides that it feels good to drive a stake into something and see it die as it should. He adds that he has had enough of cursed witches, crazed golems and dark gods for a lifetime. 'I have simple needs. Give me something sharp and a foe  to find it, and then -' Conan begins, when a loud rumbling gets his attention. He looks over to a clearing and sees a mighty tyranosaurus rex looming above him. Conan grins, 'That will do' he utters deep within the Savage Land.

In space, specifically, the Far Shore, Voyager grins as she steps through a portal, 'Uncle, I have returned!' she calls out, asking her uncle if he was watching her. She boasts that she was a real Avenger this time, and together, they saved the universe. 'It was exhausting and glorious and -' Voyager begins, her smile suddenly to a look of concern, as she finds the shackles that kept the Challenger imprisoned have been broken – and he is nowhere in sight. 'Challenger... where have you gone?' Voyager gasps.

One Year from now:

A glittering space station floats in darkness. '...I was a dead man until you and your people showed up. Seriously' a voice calls out. In one part of the space station, numerous aliens lay defeated and confused. I mean, this rock's got to be the hideout for every bandit in seven systems. And I'm here on my own? Talk about being a long way from home, am I right?' a young, blue-skinned Nova Corps officer remarks, clutching the bandages around his chest and stomach. 'I wouldn't know. Everywhere's my home' the new arrival to the space station replies. 'Yeah? So, uh...not that I'm complaining after you saved my life...but what were you doing all the way out here? What's your story, big man?' the Nova Corps officer asks. 'It isn't important. We all have stories...and Hercules would rather hear yours!' responds the mighty Hercules, who is wearing a new blue and gold costume, and has gray streaks through his hair and beard, as he reaches out and shakes the Nova Corps member's hand, smiling.