Avengers Arena (2013 series) #12

In #10 technopath Apex (Katy Bashir) attacked other kidnapped teen superheroes in Arcade's Murder World while in control of Death Locket (Becca Ryker), Chase Stein as Darkhawk and Juston Seyfert's Sentinel robot. Nico Minoru magically sent the others to safety but then Apex got ChaseHawk to kill her. (Last issue we saw that the safe place was where the others could team up with Hazmat and Reptil.)

Now Katy feels secure with her victory and the mini-army she controls. Her power rating is still 5/6. And she ponders whether she's the villain of this story while (for some reason) setting a forest on fire.

Nico's rating however is definitely 0/6. She's left in the snow with a broken leg and a missing forearm, and with a lot of blood missing too. But at the end of #10 with her dying breath she grasped the broken-off top of her Staff Of One, the source of her magic, and said "Help" (not as a plea but as a spell). Now the Staff is wreathing her body in purple magic. She draws a breath and gasps and her power level rises to 1/6. At 2/6 she's totally enclosed by magic and grunting in pain. And then she emerges rebuilt at 6/6, still dressed in Goth black but now a more mature look, and her missing left forearm seemingly replaced by a gauntlet. And she flies off with her Staff and the glint of anger in her eyes.

Katy decides villainy is irrelevant. Murder World isn't a story it's a game, and she's a winner. But then a purple blast destroys 1 of the Sentinel's arms. Nico has arrived and she says "Blow" (remember that every spell she uses has to be a new word or phrase, even if it's for an effect she's achieved before) and another purple blast hits the giant robot again.

The action is being displayed on a screen in Arcade's lair but he's popped out for a minute and returns as Nico says "Backdraft". He has a small floating bot carrying a bowl of popcorn who tells him what's going on. They see Nico's spell extinguishing the forest fire by sucking all the flames into her Staff. As the villain munches some popcorn the bot comments that Minoru is much more bold and powerful than before. Arcade reminds his minion that she needs a blood sacrifice, usually just a few drops, to activate her Staff. But after all the blood she lost in her last battle some final spell must have rebuilt her better than before. He takes more popcorn and settles back to enjoy the show.

Nico can now aim her spells with the Staff in her right hand or the gauntlet on her left. "Recycle" causes more damage to the Sentinel. Apex tries to send Death Locket against her but "Thunderstruck" hits the young semi-Deathlok with lightning. Katy calls in ChaseHawk whose blast knocks Nico down, dropping her power level to 5/6. Katy comments that she seems to be the only 1 playing the game by Murder World's rules (fight until there's only 1 left alive) so maybe she's the *hero*. She leaves  DL and CH to finish Nico off as she turns away the the still-standing Sentinel. But "Bot-splode" from Nico makes it explode, and then Minoru stands and says "Disassemble" which makes Becca's cyborg arm weapon split into its components. "Gunshot" hits Chasehawk with a blast that sets him back to 3/6 and frees Chase's mind from Katy's control. Apex is also down to 3/6 but she taunts Nico by calling her a coward for not killing her fellow Runaway Chase. Chase tells her that Apex is taking control again. Nico starts a spell "Counterst..." but is blasted to 4/6 and loses her Staff, and more blasts take her down to 3/6 then 2/6 then 1/6. Apex has the Staff and congratulates her on giving her the strongest opposition so far. But Nico sends "Blunt force" with her gauntlet and ChasHawk is reduced to 1/6 as well. The she calls her Staff to her and it leaves Katy's hand. Katy surrenders but Nico says "Dirt Nap" and the earth rises up to swallow Apex and armless Becca.

Chase Stein is no longer in the Darkhawk android body, and Nico Minoru assures him that the new-look her is still *her*, more-or-less. Chase tries to apologise for what Apex made his body do, but Nico suggests they just sit quietly for a while to recover.

Meanwhile Becca wakes in an underground complex with Apex unconscious or dead. She wanders off and peers through a lighted triangular window into a mixture of rooms including what looks like a morgue, a kitchen, and an aquarium. Arcade and his bot wander past with the villain bemoaning the loss of Katy who was 1 of his best bets to be the winner. And in the morgue she sees the bodies of Chris Powell (Darkhawk), Juston Seyfert, Kid Briton and Mettle (and maybe Red Raven's there too).