The Bird, The Boy, and The Mighty Beast
by Ace234
To this day, Robin had always viewed the coming of the Raging Ragnarok as one of the strangest battles of the Titans' careers in Jump City. His voluminous case files were becoming predictable. Enemies, great and small, had the same motivations: avarice, power-lust, an unquenchable desire to conquer. Sure, the enemies varied in their style. Some were chatty; others were stealthy. Some were as dramatic as the Titans themselves. Some worked in teams, and many were alone.
But Ragnarok was different. His case had always been the red herring in Robin's file cabinet.
One evening in the Titans Tower, Robin was reorganizing his file system when he encountered the file. It was practically empty, a tribute to the mystery of the entire incident. There were a few battle photos that Cyborg had recorded with his implanted eye with digital clarity, save that for some reason, Cyborg's red camera eye always recorded red eyes on everyone.
Ragnarok had come from the sky, according to the satellite photos. One evening, he had appeared in the clouds high above the city. Strangely, nothing could be found about his existence before his approach to Jump City. At 8:35 exactly on a Tuesday evening, he was there above city. There was no information on Ragnarok's existence at 8:34 that evening or 8:27 or 3:20, a much more reasonable time for an epic battle in robin's view.
Ragnarok's entrance into Jump City was also a quandary. He appeared above the city at 8:35 and by 8:37 he had plummeted (odd, since the team had seen him fly afterward) to the ground, destroying the 2-story abandoned warehouse near the dock where he had landed. The thud from his landing was heard miles away, as was his roar after what was assumed to be standing up from his fall. A few sailors in a fishing boat out in the bay also reported seeing a large black object which they only described as a strange looking piece of metal crash into the sea at the same time. However, the Coast Guard after exhaustive surveys following the Ragnarok incident was unable to uncover anything peculiar. It was later assumed by the Titans to be debris from Ragnarok's uninvited collision into the Harbor Street Warehouse District.
Robin noted in his case file had recorded that the Titans had arrived via the T-Car to the crumbling warehouse 5 minutes after the alarm in the Tower had sounded. He leaned back in his chair and recalled the incident:
The dust was still settling from the initial collision. Everything had presented wrong. Cyborg's sensors had detected a large presence, some 6.5 meters tall within the collapsing building. Raven, upon arrival, had seemed particularly on edge.
Robin had been debating whether or not to enter the now structurally unsound building that was currently minus a roof, but Ragnarok saved them the trouble.
"Something's very wrong in there," Raven had yelled over the crashing and loud roaring which reminded Robin of the sound Beast-Boy made when he was a T-Rex.
"That seems pretty obvious," retorted Beast Boy, glad he was finally able to catch Raven in a verbal gaffe.
"No," said Raven, "There's a presence in there, very strong energy; I can sense it. It's very dark, very foreboding. Oddly, it seems somehow familiar…"
"Sounds like you're sensing a mirror," Beast Boy said with a laugh. Raven shot him a look that would have killed most species, had Beast Boy's specie had a fixed reference point.
"This is hardly the time," said Robin, annoyed at how this was going. "Starfire, see if you can fly over and get a……" The Boy Wonder's words were cut short by a large crash, the sound of a warehouse collapsing as Ragnarok charged through one of the weak warehouse walls, destroyed 12 wooden dock crates, and crushing a barrel of oil under his mighty armored foot. He took a stand about 15 meters from the Titans, gave them a passing glance, and looked up towards the sky from which he had fallen and gave a loud roaring cry that woke up every seagull for three miles, "WHERE IS MY ENEMY?"
The Titans' meeting with Ragnarok would be marked by his appearance. He was essentially in the form of an enormous man, if Ragnarok could have been called that. He was dressed in dark purple armor from head to toe, with no gap visible in it anywhere. A small rectangular gap where his eyes should have been reflected only two small dots flame against blackness. His armor was impressive. Despite his fall into the old warehouse, it glistened in moonlight. It was trimmed in crimson around the collar, the boots, the gauntlets, the belt, and the ribs. When he stepped forward, the ground slightly cracked beneath him. His height was impressive enough, but his body was massive. His forearms, hands, shoulders, and legs commanded the same power that his voice did. His spherical armored head was also monstrous, emphasizing the flaming eyes against the blackness—did he even have a body? Was he a phantom in a cage? All this passed in the Titans' minds as he again yelled into the night sky, "WHERE IS MY ENEMY?"
The Titans were momentarily stunned before Cyborg collected himself, "Who are you?"
Ragnarok turned his gaze from the night sky and looked at Cyborg for a moment. Perhaps finding nothing appealing, he looked upwards again and resumed his mantra, "WHERE IS MY ENEMY?"
"What do you want," Robin yelled. "Who are you?"
This time Ragnarok gave the Titans no notice. He yelled his question again then levitated until he was hovering some five meters in the air. He turned his gaze to the harbor and roared. For a brief moment, smoke came from his flaming eyes and a beam of energy emerged from his mighty head which enflamed the nearest (and fortunately unmanned this time at night) commercial freighter. Ragnarok charged through the hull of the freighter without pausing or slowing down, coming out the other side as if he had not even noticed it. He flew back over the warehouse screaming, "WHERE IS MY ENEMY?"
"Dude, at this rate, he'll destroy the whole dock," piped Beast-Boy.
"The yelling creature is most destructive," said Starfire. "We must stop him, yes?"
"Hey!" yelled Robin. "You trying to make an enemy? Stop this or you'll have one!"
This somehow got Ragnarok's attention. Now noticing the Titans for the first time since Cyborg first yelled at him. The mighty beserker charged at Robin, roaring as he zoomed into the Titan's location. He heaved a mighty fist towards Robin in a massive downstrike. Robin, agile, leaped out of the way as Ragnarok's fist hammered a sizable pothole into the street. Again, he charged at Robin with a fierce left jab down towards the Titans leader. Robin leaped to Ragnarok's left and unleashed a bird-a-rang at the massive creature. It bounced harmlessly off Ragnarok's helmet, who did not even seem to notice its existence.
Ragnarok turned around as the beams of Cyborg's sonic cannon attacked his back. The resulting explosions only seemed to anger the beast as he charged at Cyborg. He was tripped up as a green rhinoceros crashed into his legs. Ragnarok toppled into the street leaving a sizable dent as green starbolts, courtesy of Starfire, cascaded his purple shell.
With a roar, Ragnarok leaped to his feet and swung his forearm around heaving the rhino Beast Boy into Cyborg. Robin launched an exploding disk, which Ragnarok seemed to mind even less than the bird-a-rang with similar results. It was just about then that a large door that had just been recently used on an abandoned warehouse crashed on top of Ragnarok covered with dark energy.
Raven was prepared as Ragnarok threw the door off his body. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos," she chanted as the wall that door had been attached to rocketed into Ragnarok. This sent him tumbling into a nearby car. As he stood up again, Starfire charged into him with all her Tamaranean strength, rolling Ragnarok through the wall of another warehouse.
"WHERE IS MY ENEMY?" yelled the creature from within the warehouse. His eyes smoked again and he shot another beam of streaming energy at Starfire, which she barely dodged. "I also know that trick," she yelled returning with eyebeams of her own. These hit Ragnarok, but when the smoke cleared, he was still standing, untouched.
"This guy is tough," said Cyborg, pulling Beast-Boy off of him. "He's taking our best stuff head on."
"Keep attacking him physically," said Raven as she rocketed twelve wooden crates into Ragnarok with her dark energy. "Our energy attacks don't seem to work."
"Who is this guy?" said Beast-Boy. "By the way, avoid his forearms."
Ragnarok strode out of the warehouse through the opening he had created when Starfire knocked him through. He extended his arm to slap a charging Starfire into the warehouse behind him. Robin through a smoke charge, clearing his way to enter the warehouse to help her. "RAGE…RAGE…RAGE."
"What's he saying now?" cried Cyborg. "Who are you?"
"RAGE…RAGE…RAGE" fumed the beast. "I…RAGE…" He shot another flaming beam at Beast-Boy who just missed his own doom by flying over it as a hummingbird. "WHERE IS MY ENEMY?"
"Who is your enemy?" cried Robin as he emerged from the factory with a dazed, but OK, Starfire.
Ragnarok roared. He roared back up at the night sky. "I…RAGE. I…RAGNAROK. I…RAGING RAGNAROK."
"Raging Ragnarok?" said Beast-Boy, "What's that?"
If Ragnarok heard Beast-Boy, he didn't show it. He extended his right hand into the sky. A purple light shone from it as it shaped itself into a long beam, which materialized into a mighty blade. It shone in the moonlight like his armor. The blade was on one of the sword, the other side of the sword had the same purple metal as Ragnarok's armor with the same crimson trim in a narrow line going up the middle. Ragnarok rose the blade above his head a cut a horizontal slice in front of him. From this cut came an energy wave that drove Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Raven backwards and across the street where they crashed into the first warehouse's rubble. Ragnarok roared in victory, but his celebration was cut short by Starfire ramming into his back and driving him into the ground. Robin through a freezing disk, covering him witch ice as the two standing Titans raced to aid their teammates.
"Everybody Ok?" yelled Robin.
"No," said Raven, "Beast Boy is sitting on my face."
"Raven, Raven where are you?" yelled Beast-Boy, oblivious to the muttering blue cape beneath him.
"Get off!" yelled Raven as dark energy rocketed Beast-Boy upwards. "This is going to take a lot of meditation to get over."
"Thanks guys, I'm fine thanks for asking," said Cyborg, removing sheet metal from his legs. "Did we get him?"
Ragnarok answered his question as he exploded out of Robin's ice field and hovered in the night sky. He again held his sword high and swang a mighty vertical stroke. This energy wave cascaded through the rubble where Raven and Beast Boy had been standing moments earlier, cutting a path through a second warehouse behind it. "WHERE IS MY ENEMY?….RAGE…RAGE…"
"Dude, what is with this guy?" shouted Beast Boy. "Are we not good enough for him?"
"He seems most unsatisfied," said Starfire, "Should I hit him again?"
However, all the Titans were hit by Ragnarok's next horizontal cut with his large blade. The energy wave hit all the Titans, and they were rocketed into the rubble. Ragnarok landed in the rubble and strode toward the pile where they lay.
"Ouch!" said Cyborg, "That one will leave a few dents."
"Here he comes again!" yelled Robin. "Anybody got any ideas?"
"Get off of me!" yelled Raven as she treated Beast Boy to a second jolt upward.
"He just keeps coming." said Cyborg.
"It's very strange," said Raven, "I can only feel two things from him…rage and what I think is great sorrow. There is something magical about him but for all his strength I'm not sure there's much inside his inner person."
"Anything we can do with that?" questioned Robin.
Raven thought for a second. "No. He seems beyond reason or unable to be reasoned with."
"What is he doing down here anyway?" said Starfire. "There is nothing important here unless you value very old metal buildings on Earth."
Ragnarok strode toward the Titans. He raised his sword for a massive stroke but stopped. He lowered his sword and yelled into the night, "WHERE IS MY ENEMY?"
"There!" said Raven, "when he talks is when I feel the sorrow the most. He's in inner pain somehow, but I don't feel it when he fights!" She yelled at Ragnarok, "Are you hurt? Why are you sad?"
Ragnarok looked down at Raven. He raised his sword and roared. Raven would not dodge what was coming. He prepared a killing blow. As his sword reached his climax, Raven yelled, "What are you?"
"RAGE…RAGE…RAGING RAGNAROK."
"There's more than rage in you; I can feel it. Why do you do this?"
"I…RAGE."
"Why do you rage?"
"MY ENEMY…WHERE IS MY ENEMY?…RAGNAROK…RAGE…ENEMY?"
"Who is your enemy?"
Ragnarok's sword quivered in his hand. The other Titans were as solid as stone watching this exchange, not wanting to provoke the monster into slamming his sword into the Azarath maiden. "ENEMY…" His question suddenly changed, "WHO ARE YOU?"
The Titans were suddenly stunned. Ragnarok had not deviated from his mantra the whole battle. Suddenly, he had asked Raven a question.
"I am Raven."
"RAVEN?…WHERE IS MY ENEMY?"
"I don't know who your enemy is? Why are you sad; do you need help?"
"HELP?…WHERE IS MY ENEMY, RAVEN?"
"Who is your enemy, Raging Ragnarok?"
"RAGNAROK? RAVEN? WHO ARE YOU?"
"I am Raven. I come from a place called Azarath, another dimension. Where are you from? Do you need help?"
"HELP? AZARATH? RAVEN?….I…RAGE!"
"You also cry inside."
"HELP…RAVEN…RAGNAROK…RAVEN HELP RAGNAROK?"
"If I can."
"AZARATH RAVEN?"
"Yes."
"I RAGE."
"I know."
"HELP…RAVEN…"
"Yes?"
Raganarok's sword staggered in his hand. It vanished in a small flash of light. He stepped back from Raven quickly, shaking the rubble as he moved. His flaming eyes were fixed on the blue maiden. Finally, Ragnarok fell to his knees and his hands clutched his head. He began making sputtering, short noises.
"What is he doing?" said Robin/
"It looks likes he's breaking" said Cyborg.
"No," said Starfire, "I think he's crying…"
"RAVEN…AZARATH RAVEN….HELP…RAGE…HELP…"
"Yes," said Raven, feeling a mix of curiosity and joy that Ragnarok had put away his sword, "what can I do?"
Raganarok soared into the air, still sputtering cries of inward pain. "I RAGE…I RAGE…HELP RAGNAROK, RAVEN! HELP ME! HELP ME!" He soared high into the sky, a crimson light shining around him as he reached the clouds. The Titans' final glimpses of Ragnarok were of him as he sailed into a cloud. He roared, "HELP ME! RAVEN! AZARATH! IT MUST NOT BE LIKE THIS! I MUST LEAVE!"
And with that, thought Robin at his desk, Ragnarok had vanished. Raven had no theories on what she had done. Clearly, though Robin, she had done something that had caused Ragnarok to not kill her. However, she had no special insight into Ragnarok following their encounter. She just reiterated what she had felt…a blending of rage and sorrow. Truly, it was one of their stranger case files. There was no motive, no explanations.
That had been two years ago, thought Robin. There had been no sign of the Raging Ragnarok since. No one had thought about him. Damage had been minimal, a few pre-fab warehouses easily rebuilt. They had been lucky. And with no reappearance by the creature, Ragnarok was far from anyone's mind.
However, what Robin did not know was that this mystery should not have been so easily dismissed or forgotten. The reappearance of Ragnarok would change their lives forever, Raven's in particular. It was a secret so big that no amount of time could hide it.
And it's coming in Chapter 2 (Please R&R) Thanks for reading a long one.
