We Have the Power!
Copyright© 2026 by Carlos Santiago
Chapter 6: A Start
“We’ve all done horrible, terrible, horrific things. But now, we, you ... have a chance to do them for a good reason.”
— He Who Remains (as portrayed by Jonathan Majors), in Loki, Season 1, Episode 6, “For All Time. Always.” Originally released on Disney+ on July 14, 2021. Directed by Kate Herron. Written by Eric Martin and Michael Waldron. Created by Michael Waldron, based on the Marvel Comics character created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby. Produced by Marvel Studios. Distributed by Disney+. Copyright © 2021 Marvel Studios, LLC. All rights reserved.
The volcanic winds carried the scent of sulfur across the broken ridges west of Snake Mountain.
He-Man lay prone behind a jagged outcropping of black stone while Battle Cat crouched beside him. For them, this was both a game and entirely serious. After all, Mekaneck was the surveying Defender of Eternia. Adam was a prince, and as He-Man, he was a burgeoning weapon, so all of this was a new experience for him.
From their vantage point, they could see the bursts of steam coming from the ground. Likely this reaction was from magma meeting water underground.
Evil-Lyn was several paces behind the two. She had not, in the short time she had been with them, struck at He-Man or Battle Cat, which was good because Adam suspected that he could take her in a fight. As he looked back at her, Adam could see she was completely unconcerned with the rough stone staining the hem of her black gown. She was not resting upon one knee nor crouching. Instead, she was standing up, better than the volcanic dust that found its way to rest on the butt of her staff.
“There,” she said quietly, pointing in the distance.
At first, with the eyes of He-Man, Adam could see nothing, so he leaned closer for a better look, and lo and behold, he saw someone.
“Trap Jaw?”
She nodded.
“He favors this route whenever Skeletor sends him to barter for machinery or salvage from the border settlements.”
“Barters?”
Evil-Lyn stared at him as though he were the stupidest man that had ever walked Eternia’s lands.
“Of course?” she said by way of a question. “Not everything can be given or taken by threatening someone. There are entire ecosystems on the Dark Hemisphere that you on your perfect side of Eternia would never want to address.”
“What we were taught was that most of those on the Dark Hemisphere were evil.”
“All the wars in your history were won by the good guys?” Evil-Lyn asked skeptically. “How convenient.”
“But Keldor wanted power?”
“Keldor is the shining, perfect example your people in Eternos point to. Before him, there was Hordak. And I am not saying that those men weren’t selfish or even evil. But the circumstances by which any of us are made is not in a vacuum, He-Man.”
Evil-Lyn shook her head.
“Parts of your kingdom effected parts over here. Clawful and Trap Jaw are examples of the augmentations people on this side of the world had to embrace just to survive while those on your side have had such ease for centuries. You would think your Council of Elders with their nigh infinite magic might have made a more equitable world, but somehow, all of the spoils went to their palace and made their lives easier, and should a person decide to live farther away? What would they get? Would the Council offer them help? Would they send King Randor or his Defenders or would they be most comfortable helping only their city?”
“That’s not fair,” He-Man said. “You can’t expect the Council or even King Randor to send out the Defenders everywhere. If they did, everyone would be a colony of Eternos. Being free to rule your own dominion means being able to defend yourself.”
“Awfully convenient, then,” Evil-Lyn said. “The crown and those that have power have to do less and less for those they believe are beneath them.”
Adam bristled at that comment.
“So you want Eternos to barge into other people’s lands and solve their problems?”
“Why not?” Lyn asked. “That’s what you’re doing.”
Adam had no answer to that. She motioned back to Trap Jaw.
“He believes no one is foolish enough to linger this close to Snake Mountain because Skeletor should protect him, and this route is wholly his own.”
“And today...” He-Man asked. “he is carrying supplies back.”
Adam studied the trail.
“I don’t see anyone.”
“You aren’t supposed to,” Lyn said, perfectly calm. “He is cautious enough to travel beneath the cliffs until the road widens but mostly out of sight.”
Almost as if summoned by her words, the heavy sound of grinding gears echoed between the rocks. He-Man, Battle Cat, and Evil-Lyn jumped to another cliff.
A moment later, they were almost directly above where Trap Jaw emerged from. There was a stone arch above him, and they could see him perfectly from their vantage point.
His mechanical arm supported a crate nearly as large as himself while his iron jaw clacked rhythmically with every step.
“I still don’t understand,” He-Man whispered.
Evil-Lyn arched an eyebrow as she watched Trap Jaw.
“What?”
“Why help me?”
For perhaps the first time since meeting her, she did not answer immediately.
Instead she watched Trap Jaw approach.
“Because,” she finally replied, “I have spent years attached to Skeletor. I was loyal because he gave me reasons to be loyal, but he takes that allegiance, which I freely gave him, for granted. A leader should earn their followers and be deserving of them, not be handed threats constantly.”
Her expression hardened before she shook her head.
“I’ve grown tired of correcting his mistakes.”
Before Adam could respond, she lifted one finger.
“Now.”
Trap Jaw rounded the bend.
Battle Cat burst from cover with a thunderous roar.
The cyborg warrior barely had time to look up before the enormous tiger collided with him. The crate exploded apart, gears and machine parts scattering across the volcanic stone.
“What?!”
Trap Jaw rolled backward, bringing up the cannon mounted upon his mechanical arm.
He-Man dropped from the ridge. Within a fraction of an instant, the Sword of Power flashed. A bolt of energy erupted from Trap Jaw’s cannon only to glance harmlessly aside as the enchanted blade intercepted the projectile.
The impact showered sparks across the battlefield.
Trap Jaw snarled.
“So the muscle found me! No big deal! Skeletor will make you into mush!”
He swung the heavy mechanical arm like a hammer. All too quickly, He-Man ducked beneath it, making the steel fist shatter the boulder behind him instead.
Adam remembered Duncan’s lessons. As Adam, he could not meet strength with strength. As He-Man, he could, but if what worked as Adam would work even better as He-Man, so he redirected the force.
As the mechanical arm completed its swing, He-Man stepped inside Trap Jaw’s reach and seized the cyborg’s wrist.
Momentum did not like to rest, so the work was done for him.
With a sharp twist of his hips, He-Man sent the larger warrior crashing onto his back hard enough to crack the volcanic stone beneath him.
Before Trap Jaw could recover, Battle Cat planted one massive paw squarely upon the mechanical arm, pinning it against the ground.
The servomotors whined helplessly against the powers granted by Grayskull to a simple cat.
Trap Jaw struggled.
He looked from the tiger ... to He-Man ... then finally toward the approaching figure of Evil-Lyn.
“Lyn?” he asked.
She had not lifted her staff.
She merely watched before lifting her magical artifact an inch before slamming it down.
A pair of enchanted restraint cuffs formed around the wrists of Trap Jaw before a metallic gag formed around his mouth.
Though he could struggle for a moment, Trap Jaw surrendered to what occurred.
“I did tell you that I can earn trust far faster than I can ask for it.”
“Until I give you a reason to betray me,” He-Man said, mildly distant.
As He-Man threw Trap Jaw on the back of Battle Cat, the group made their way to Eternos.
“I suspect a do-gooder like you will not give me a reason to do so,” Evil-Lyn countered.
“What is your endgame, Lyn?” He-Man asked. “Do you want to replace Skeletor and be some kind of Mistress of Evil?”
“I want to be left alone to study the mysteries of magic. I will not bother Eternos, but in return, Eternos will not bother me.”
“Can you promise not to harm anyone?” He-Man asked.
Evil-Lyn let out a laugh.
“How wonderfully naïve of you,” she said. “Ask your Man-at-Arms if progress if made without someone getting hurt.”
He-Man stood over her, menace in his gaze.
“I give you my word to not harm anyone who is a citizen of Eternos, maybe even of the Light Hemisphere. Will that do, He-Man?”
While Adam did not like the reply, he knew it was the most honest he was likely going to get, and as she pointed out, his father (as well as the Council of Elders before him) did not bother themselves with the the lands outside their purview, so He-Man had no right to interfere.
Letting out a sigh, he nodded.
“I am asking you to compromise. I suppose I can afford to do the same,” He-Man said. “If you help me secure Skeletor and if you leave the Light Hemisphere alone, we will not harm you, Lyn.”
“Lyn? Are we on such close terms already, He-Man?” Evil-Lyn said with a taunting laugh.
Adam shook his head as they continued their journey back to the palace.
Back at the palace training pavilion, there was the familiar rhythm of wood striking wood.
Teela spun her practice staff through a final sequence before lowering it across her shoulders. Sweat glistened upon her brow; though, there was no satisfaction in the exercise on this particular day.
She glanced toward the empty weapon rack where Adam usually kept his training sword.
“You know? It feels strange,” she admitted.
Duncan continued adjusting the leather bindings on a practice dummy. While others might have believed him to be distracted, Teela knew her father well enough to know he could multitask.
“What does?”
“Adam being gone.”
Her voice carried less certainty than she intended.
“I keep expecting him to wander in late and complain about another lesson.”
A faint smile tugged at Duncan’s beard.
“So do I,” he confessed.
Silence settled between them for several moments.
Finally Teela sighed.
“I didn’t think he’d actually stay at Castle Grayskull this long.”
While Teela did not know why, she could see him bristling at the statement. he did that whenever she insulted Adam or came anywhere near that possibility.
“He volunteered for this mission.”
“I know,” she said with an exasperated sigh. She rested the end of her staff upon the stone floor before she continued. “I still think he made the right decision.”
Duncan looked toward her.
“Oh?”
“He-Man can do things Adam never could,” she answered honestly.
There was no malice in her words. Only certainty coated whatever she said.
“Let’s face it; He-Man belongs out there; Adam ... not so much.”
The old soldier slowly folded his arms. He stood at his full height and gave Teela a look that made her feel like a small child.
“I’ve been meaning to speak with you about that.”
Teela frowned, knowing she was in for a lecture. What she could not understand was why. She had not said anything that was not truthful. If Adam was in front of her, he might have agreed.
“What did I do?”
“The things you said during training and after the last mission with He-Man.”
She blinked.
“I was joking, and Adam didn’t even hear me on the mission.”
“I know, but saying such things is unbecoming of you,” he said sternly, and more than that, jokes often reveal what we truly think.”
She looked away.
“I didn’t mean to hurt Adam’s feelings.”
“I believe you,” Duncan said, stepping towards her. “But intention does not always lessen consequence. This is not as small as Adam’s feelings. We are all part of a team that keeps Eternos standing. We each need to trust in one another and believe the best in each other. If you can’t do that, everything falls apart.”
Teela remained quiet. She was starting to feel like she was being chastised. So what if she said He-Man was better than Adam? It was true. More than that, He-Man was useful on the battlefield; Adam was not. The battlefield was where all of this would be won or lost. Why did her dad care so much about whether or not Adam had hurt pride? He was the prince, sure, but didn’t pragmatism matter much more than someone getting upset? Or did she need to cater to Adam because he was important.
“You kept comparing Adam to He-Man.”
She shrugged lightly.
“Well, yeah. They’re nothing alike.”
“All of us are more alike than you think,” Duncan said back. “Are the two so dissimilar to you?”
She laughed.
“No offense, Father, but one is the strongest man in Eternia.”
“And the other?”
“ ... is ... Adam,” she said flatly.
Duncan studied her for a long moment.
“Would it be fair if I compared you to the Sorceress?”
Her expression tightened.
“What?”
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