Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans, but damnit have I dropped some money DC comics.
AN: This story begins in the gap between Season 1 and 2, and will jump to the end of Season 4, from then on it will be an AU of Season 5 and beyond.
BACK FOR GOOD FROM A HUGE HIATUS
The Slayer and the Witch
Chapter 1: Dangerous Night
Jump City, 12:56 A.M
...
There was something loose in Jump City.
The thick night air smothered Jump City's nightlife, an unseasonal chill biting at the fingers of any who braved the streets. The moon, the blood red of hunters, was obscured by black clouds, leaving the streetlights alone to fight the unseasonal mist. A great and unnatural dread filled Jump City, driving all but the very foolish indoors. It was a fear as old as the first fires and cave paintings, the fear of the unseen predator in the dark, the fear of the unnatural and of the maleificarum.
All of this was lost upon Allison Drey, art student at Jump City University. She dragged her scrawny terrier by the leash to where the dog normally did his business. Her mix of empty threats and generous promises doing little to bring the dog to heel. "Come on Maxwell, I have other things to do besides walking you," Allison complained. Eventually she sighed with exasperation and picked up Maxwell from the ground. The dog squirmed wildly in her arms but Allison clamped down tightly and managed to carry the dog to his usual streetlight, which was situated near a dark alleyway between an office complex and a warehouse. "There you go, now pee already so we can get back to the apartment," Allison ordered sternly, roughly nudging the quivering dog with her foot.
Instead of being cowed by the kick, Maxwell tried to bolt a direct line away from the streetlight. He managed to get off the curb before Allison yanked hard on the leash and began to drag the yelping terrier back towards her, unaware of the shadows detaching from the narrow alley behind her.
"Goddamnit Maxwell, come here and-"
A harsh clicking sound interrupted her angry tirade. Allison spun around in time to see a vast thing emerging from the alleyway, four bladed limbs uncurled from its insectile body and clacked together with a sound like dry bones. Maxwell fled as the maleificarum loomed over the frozen Allison. Enormous mandibles opened to reveal a circular maw filled with fangs. Allison managed to scream only for a second before the demon lunged forward and ended it with sickening crunch.
There was a brief slobbering sound of the art student being devoured before the night regained its silence.
...
Titans Tower
There was something loose in Jump City.
Titans Tower was as dark as the city it protected, the majority of the Teen Titans had already retired to their respective rooms for well-deserved rest. All except Raven of course. The quiet empath lay curled up on her bed, her mind devouring one of her many books on the occult. She turned another page of Meditations on Other Spheres, by Kyril Sinnderman.
"Of course there are other worlds than this one, universes to be exact, separated by the Source's Faltine. A wall of power to prevent the myriad universes from falling into the hands of Khaoos. It is easy to look, to scry, beyond the Faltine, for it is like a wall of glass." There was a blotchy spot of red-brown on the ancient book's page, nearly obscuring the next sentence. "However, traveling between the universes is difficult. It would require an item of great power to breach the wall: the Hand of Ungura, the Eye of Nihil, or the Idol of Kulkoth." Another splotch on the page. "The traveler must also know exactly where he is traveling to or he can be lost to the Aether and be consumed by wyrrd creatures of nature most foul, the daemons of the-''
Another splotch appeared on the page, the droplet of blood splattering and obscuring the rest of the sentence. She brushed the spot with her hand, unaware of it's origin. "Hngh!" Raven sputtered as her nosebleed suddenly turned torrential, blood gushing from her nose and covering the book and bed sheets. She tried to halt the flow with her hands before giving up and flailing for a tissue box across the room with her powers. The tissue box was halfway to the bed when the full force of Allison's psychic death scream, amplified by the demon that had killed her, struck Raven's mind like a sledgehammer. Raven screamed as the exquisite horror of being eaten alive seared her brain. The mattress rushed up to meet her face as she fell into darkness.
She woke up ten minutes later. Her thrashing limbs had turned the bed into a mess of sheets and drying blood, Kyril Sinnderman's book was nowhere to be seen. Shaking, Raven manage to reach out the intercom access next to her bed. She triggered it on her second try and in a hoarse voice managed to mutter something into it.
Alarms began to wail throughout the tower.
...
The T-Car sped through the deserted city streets. Robin, former sidekick to Batman himself and leader of the Titans, appraised his team's readiness. Cyborg sat in the driver's seat, calm and controlled as he follows Raven's vague instructions. His cybernetic biology meant that the late hour would have little to no effect on his combat prowess. Satisfied, Robin turned his gaze onto the other members of his team. Starfire, the teenaged Tamaranean, sat in the backseat behind Robin. She was tired and drawn, but her pretty face lit up with a smile when she noticed Robin's gaze. Robin managed a half-smile and a nod back to her.
Beast Boy, the green shapeshifter and youngest member of the team was in the middle seat between Starfire and Raven. He had fallen back asleep, his head lolling back and forth according to the turns the T-Car made. Robin rolled his eyes in exasperation, causing Starfire to giggle. Raven looked over at the sudden laughter before returning her focus to whatever was passing by the window at that very moment. The half-demon sorcerer had said next to nothing after explaining the murder she had sensed. Her leotard and face were still smeared with small spots of blood, and her normally pale skin had taken on an unhealthy gray pallor.
"This is the street." Raven announced suddenly, causing Cyborg to brake in surprise. Beast Boy's head lurched forward and banged against Robin's seat comically. "OW! What's wrong, why are we stopping?" Beast Boy asked groggily, rubbing his forehead.
"We're here BB," replied Cyborg, as he and the rest of the team clambered out of the car. The team had finally reached the street Allison had met her demise in.
...
Further along the street, Jon shivered on the second story window ledge he was perched upon. His cloak, a gift from Doctor Fate, and the light shorts and shirt underneath did little to guard against the chill. The cloak's enchantments however were reJonably useful in keeping him hidden from prying eyes and Jon was thankful enough for that. He didn't mind the cold really, it kept his senses sharp. Those senses, both mortal and supernatural, were currently telling Jon that there was a maleficarum, or demon in other words, in the alleyway across the street. He was almost certain it was a Lictor, a predatory demon that fed off its victim's emotions as much as it did on their flesh and blood.
The only problem was that a Lictor was an ambush predator, and being holed up in an alleyway was the perfect place for it to make a stand against someone like Jon. He was a Paladin, one of the few that remained active in the ancient order of demon slayers. As powerful as Jon was, a Lictor who had just eaten, the blood stains near the streetlight a testament to that, would be a difficult fight. Plus, there was much more to be this night. Jon would need his strength.
And so Jon waited, hoping his entire body did not fall asleep before the Lictor finally felt safe enough to come out. Then Jon would spring an ambush of his own. His nemesis blade, Oath, was charged with anticipation...
He jumped at the sound of an approaching car.
...
"What, already? Can't we go home? Why do we even need to be out here? Can't it wait till morning, its spooky out tonight..." Beast Boy whined as he shivered in the cold.
Robin opened his mouth to reprimand Beast Boy but hesitated. The shapeshifter was right, it was spooky out. The street was nearly pitch black, flickering streetlights and the T-Car's headlights the only sources of illumination. The unnatural mist also cut visibility down drastically. Not the ideal weather to hunt a murderer in. "There's a killer out here team and we will bring him to justice.'' Robin declared as the hesitation passed and his training kicked in. "He's still here, right Raven?"
Raven nodded, not bothering to announce that the killer felt less like a he and more like an it. The presence was a constant ache in her head and she had had little trouble tracking leading the team to the street. Now however, she could barely sense it. Like the hermit crabs Starfire always delighted in bringing back to the tower, it was trying to scuttle away and hide its presence from the psychic touch of Raven's mind. It had not left the street, that was certain, but Raven was not able pinpoint its location. And unfortunately, it was a long street...
The teenaged superheroes moved slowly down the street. "Alright I'm really freakin' out here now, I'll go wait in the car..." Beast Boy squeaked, turning back to the car only to be stopped by Robin.
"Pull it together Beast Boy, we need you on this. Try and pick up a scent." Robin said encouragingly. Beast Boy still looked terrified but managed to transform into a green bloodhound. He took the lead, albeit with his tail now literally between his legs.
Robin turned to Raven. "Do you know anything that could be causing..." he gestured vaguely with one hand, "all this?"
Raven took a moment before responding. Despite Robin's vagueness, she knew what he was referring too. The weather, the creeping dreaded that was affecting all of them, including her. The very specific way Allison Drey had been murdered. It all pointed to one thing.
"A demon." Raven realized, worried now more than ever. An encounter with a demon could have many negative repercussions for her. It could reveal her own demonic heritage out of spite or in an attempt to sow discord in the team. Depending on its power, it could even use her own blood to corrupt her...
Robin's eyes widened in fear. "A demon? Are you sure?" He demanded with a hint of fear, no training Batman had ever given him would prepare for the demonic.
Raven pulled back her hood to massage her temples before answering. The pain was intensifying as well as another sensation. She felt like she was approaching too close to a fire. It was a good heat, a welcome heat in a night like this. However, her demon half recoiled in fear from it.
"Raven, are you sure?" Robin asked again.
She nodded gravely. "Positive."
...
Jon stiffened as the Teen Titans came closer to his hiding spot and tried to match their appearances from the information Zatanna had given him. The tall fusion of man and machine obviously had to be Cyborg. While Beast Boy was the one who had transformed into the green dog and Starfire was the pretty alien girl in purple. He knew Robin of course, having worked alongside the boy wonder and Batman the previous year. Jon had actually sent Robin a message the night before, warning the Titans of his arrival and requesting aid in dealing with her.
He wondered suddenly if Robin had actually received the message.
Then he noticed the girl Robin was next too. She was beautiful in dark way, dressed in a dark blue cloak and an even darker leotard. Besides the obvious reasons why a teen like Jon would stare, there was another reason he did. She gave off raw waves of power to his supernatural senses, a mixture of magical and demonic energy that set his teeth on edge.
She was obviously a powerful sorceress, maybe even a half-demon. Jon was suddenly curious to know if Robin really knew what kind of teammates he had...
...
"I am not the one to do the complaining, but I must agree with Beast Boy." Starfire said, floating lazily above the pavement, "can we go home now?"
Robin held up a hand to quiet her, he had found something. He crouched down at the base of a streetlight, his back to the dark alleyway. Ever the detective, he dabbed a gloved finger into a puddle that the mist and light diffusion had rendered black and indistinct. It took him only a second to realize what it was as a coppery smell reached his nose. "It's blood." Robin announced grimly, now realizing that the surrounding sidewalk was covered with it. The mist, hazy lighting and the pervading dread had disguised the fact the Titans were all standing in the lifeblood of Allison Drey.
Starfire squealed in distress and flew higher into the air. Beast Boy, on the other hand, managed only one step backwards before vomiting into the street. Blood and his vegetarian ideals did not get along well. Cyborg recoiled in shock but kept it under control, "oh man..."
Raven didn't say anything, she had known all along what they would find but it didn't help the sick feeling in her stomach. She looked over at Robin, her mouth open to form some sort of apology. She only managed to scream instead when she caught sight of what was behind Robin. The Lictor had been emerging with infinite slowness behind Robin, mandibles open to devour the hero. On instinct Robin leapt forward at the sound of Raven's scream, barely avoiding the lunge of the demon's head. It smashed apart the sidewalk, cheated of its intended target and issued a piercing screech of frustration. The Titans fell back from the abomination as it moved out of the concealing shadows.
The Lictor was at least twelve feet tall and had a segmented body like an insect's that was easily double the size of Cyborg. A small abdomen that hung between four wide-spread, walking limbs; a massive armored thorax supported four walking limbs and four bladed talons; and a wedge-shaped head with a five eyes arranged asymmetrically and a massive set of mandibles.
"Can we go home now?" Beast Boy squealed in fear as he hid behind Cyborg.
"What is that thing?..." Cyborg asked, dumbfounded. The Lictor stalked forward slowly, hissing in rage.
"A demon.''Raven answered, pulling up her hood and readying herself for the coming battle. She was still shocked that there was an actual demon loose in Jump City.
"It doesn't matter what it is." Robin declared, his leadership reasserting itself over the team's fear. "It's killed innocents. Bring it down! Titans, Go!"
The Lictor let out a piercing screech as it charged forward, talons slicing the air. The Titans splintered under the beast's assault, each member fleeing their own way. They still managed to throw a barrage of firepower at the demon. Explosive disks, sonic energy, starbolts and blasts of dark power pelted the Lictor and staggered it. "Keep hitting it!" Robin yelled, throwing his bladed wingdings at the demon. They bounced off ineffectively, leaving only small scratches in its chitinous exoskeleton.
The Lictor screeched again as its mismatched eyes focused on Robin and it scuttled forward rapidly, blade arms swinging for his neck. But before the demon could close the distance, there was a solid WHAM of an impact as Beast Boy, in the form of a triceratops, slammed into the Lictor's side. The demon's blade arms scratched furiously on Beast Boy's horned crest until they hooked behind the shield-head of the triceratops. Pivoting sharply, the Lictor threw the 10-ton dinosaur down the street. Beast Boy managed to revert to his human form before landing hard on the asphalt, dazed and out of the fight.
The Lictor resumed its charge at Robin, but before it reached the hero, the ground beneath Robin turned black and Raven teleported him out of harm's way.
Cyborg and Starfire continued to fire at the demon as Raven released Robin from the cold embrace of her soul-self. "Do you know anything that could stop that thing? A spell or anything?" Robin demanded, turning back to Raven.
"There is one thing..." Raven admitted, thinking back to the vast amounts of occult lore she studied.
"Do it!" Robin ordered before rejoining the fight to support Cyborg and Starfire, who were only succeeding in keeping the demon at bay.
Raven followed after him, desperately racking her brain for the incantation required for the Eighth Rite of Banishment. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" Raven chanted, seizing the entirety of the Lictor with her soul-self. It writhed in the field of dark energy, sending jolts of pain through Raven's mind. Ignoring the discomfort, she forced herself to say the torturous incantation. Each syllable was dragged from her throat like a shard of glass. The pain was extreme but one misstep and the Titans would suffer a fate far worse than any the Lictor could inflict upon them.
As Raven progressed through the incantation, a sphere of pure white energy began to grow between her and the demon. This and the incantation sent the Lictor into further spasms of rage, sending hairline cracks through containing field of darkness.
"Raven, I do not think you can restrain it... Raven!" Starfire screamed, as the rest of the Titans, Beast Boy included ran forward to help. With the sound of shattering glass, the Lictor broke the energy field. The feedback destroyed Raven's concentration and she stumbled on the incantation. Before she could begin again, the glowing white sphere detonated with the force of a bomb. The blast tossed the Lictor and Titans away like rag dolls. Raven was thrown backwards into a parked car and she fell once more into darkness.
...
When Raven woke, there were no sign of the other Titans. Smoke rose from the deep crater that had been blasted into the street. She tried to get to her feet but slumped back down, her concussed skull ringing and her vision spinning crazily. There was a furious screech and Raven twisted to see the Lictor, wounded from the blast, staggering straight at her. She scrabbled backwards, crying out in terror. The Lictor filled her vision as it raised its talons high.
Raven closed her eyes...
There was a sharp clang of talons striking metal.
She opened her eyes.
A shimmering sword had snapped into existence to catch the talons. Its three foot blade, as wide as Cyborg's fist, was silver with artful streaks of cyan and gold running through it. There was a sudden flood of warmth through Raven as the figure wielding the sword appeared, the enchantments hiding him from sight fading. "Mine." The newcomer declared calmly, effortlessly holding the demon's strength at bay. Raven saw the rest of the Titans scrambling out of the mist as they recovered from the blast.
The Lictor lurched back and screeched again, but this time with an edge of fear. Raven scrambled out of the way as the demon attacked the newcomer. Scything talons sought to cut the figure down but the sword blocked every attack. The newcomer and the demon exchanged seemingly a blow a second, their movements almost too fast for Raven to follow. The newcomer gave ground steadily before the Lictor's assault, before suddenly stepping forward to attack. The blade swept up almost lazily, but instead of parrying he aimed for the non-bladed part of the talon that connected to the demon's thorax. The Lictor keened in pain as the blade sliced, all four of its talons flying into the air.
Blind with rage, the Lictor lunged forward with its jaw to devour the newcomer. With a bark of laughter, the newcomer contemptuously backhanded the massive demon across the face with his free hand. The blow cracked chitin and knocked the Lictor sideways. The newcomer leapt onto the demon's back, his sword disappearing in a flash of light.
The Lictor bucked furiously, trying to dislodge its attacker, but the newcomer hammered down onto the demon's back with both fists and sent to crashing to the ground. In response, its neck coiled around, growing with new mass, and it tried to bite again at the cloaked figure, who caught the demon's two mandibles with his bare hands. With a grunt of effort and a spray of demonic ichor, he ripped the hooked mandibles from the Lictor's head. It gave a gurgling cry from its ruin of a mouth before the newcomer plunged the two mandibles into its head, finally silencing it.
...
Raven looked up from her concussed haze to see the newcomer looming over her. It was like standing next to a fire, warm and comforting but filled destructive potential. He said something to her but it was lost to the ringing in her skull. "What?" She yelled. The newcomer held out a hand in response, which she took gratefully. Warmth spread through the slight contact, Her concussion fading away almost instantly as the newcomer's power revitalized Raven.
"I said, 'Either the insane or the extremely brave try to banish a Lictor like that'." The newcomer repeated with a chuckle as he helped Raven to her feet. He was looking at her with an air of surprise, head tilted slightly to the side. Almost as if he had realized something...
She blushed slightly, wrong footed by his presence and grateful for her concealing hood. "Th-thanks, I guess," Raven replied, staring at the newcomer in shock, "That was certainly impressive" She managed to say, staring from the dead Lictor to the newcomer. "And you are?"
The newcomer pulled back his hood to reveal clear green eyes set in an almost aristocratically handsome face topped with short brown hair. He was powerfully muscled, taller and more physically imposing than Robin or Beast Boy but still nowhere near Cyborg's mechanical bulk. "Jon of the Paladins at your service," Jon replied, cracking a nervous grin as he introduced himself to Raven and the rest of the Titans as they gathered about him. Raven's eyes widened at the word 'Paladin' and she slowly drifted away as the rest of the Titans surrounded Jon.
"Whoa dude! That was amazing! The way you just smacked it across the face!"" Beast Boy yelled, as Cyborg nodded on approvingly.
"Yes! Truly you are inspiring the awe!" Starfire exclaimed as she hovered around Jon, nearly wrenching his arm out of his socket with an overly exuberant handshake. "My name is Starfire and I most be be like the George that is curious and ask you: where do you come from, how did you get here, what is your favorite chocolate covered treat, and can we be friends?" She fired off rapidly, causing Jon to take a small step back.
"Err, New York, Zee's teleportation spell, Reese's peanut butter cups, and sure! As long as you take the handshakes down a notch..." Jon answered as he tried to restore feeling to his arm.
"Oh glorious!" Starfire proclaimed as she twirled about in the air joyfully.
"Jon! I didn't realize you were arriving tonight." Robin said, surprised and pleased at the sight of an old friend.
Jon grinned and shook Robin's offered hand. "Oh you did get the message? Good to know you still bother to check the old email account. So this is your team?" Jon asked, indicating the Titans.
"Yessir, the Teen Titans!" Robin replied proudly, he had come a long a way since he had been Batman's sidekick and was eager to show it. "Cyborg, Beast Boy, and I guess you've already met Starfire and Raven." Robin pointed out each of the Titans in turn. Each waved or gave some sort of friendly greeting. All except Raven, who pointedly avoided making eye contact with Jon.
"Impressive, you all will be Justice Leaguers yet." Jon complimented, his easy camaraderie setting the Titans at ease.
"Says the guy who took down... whatever that thing was." Cyborg said.
"A Lictor, it's a kind of demon. Nasty stuff, but it is my job after all. Wish I had gotten here sooner though..." Jon replied regretfully.
"Was it the reason why you came to Jump City? You mentioned a threat." Robin asked.
Jon's face hardened at the question. "Unfortunately no, I'm after someone... something, much worse... Do you guys have a base or a safe place we could go to? These streets aren't safe tonight... I'll explain everything there."
"A base? Please, we've got the biggest, most high-tech hangout on the west coast! Come on, we'll head back to the tower." Cyborg declared.
"Oh yes! You will love the tower new friend! You shall receive the tour that is most grand!" Starfire added on as Cyborg and her began to drag Jon to the T-car.
"About time, tonight is wayyy too creepy. Guys! Wait up!" Beast Boy yelled as he chased after the trio.
Robin made to follow them before he noticed Raven lagging behind. "Is something wrong?"
Raven looked up from the remains of the Lictor, face hidden in the shadows of her cloak. "I... Who is this guy Robin?"
"A friend from before I came to Jump City. He helped Batman and I break up a cult that was preying on teens in Gotham. Tagged along with Zatanna and Dr. Fate since then I think." Robin answered. "Why do you want to know?"
"Its nothing." Raven replied curtly. The last of the lictor dissolved and she felt a sudden pang of sympathy for the fellow demon. A Paladin, a holy warrior specifically empowered to hunt her kind was now being invited into her very home.
Great.
...
Jump City Community Park
Voices filled the night air, blasphemous words weakening the very fabric of reality. Covered in sacrificial blood, twenty depraved cultists were conducting a dark rite, surrounding an arcane pentagram carved into the soft dirt of the park. It pulsated in time with the chanting as the spell neared completion. Sacrifices, the poor dregs of Jump City, were chained at each point of the sigil, blood pumping weakly from opened throats. Their life-force feeding the power of the spell.
Moonlight glinted off the curved blade of the athame as it stabbed downwards into the throat of the last sacrifice, who died gurgling as blood sprayed. The wielder of the dagger and leader of the cultists raised his arms in exultation, letting the flood of blood soak his robes and face. "Tras'kleya'thallgryaa! Iakthe'landra'klaa!" He screamed, the spell culminating in blast of dark power.
The cultist leader stepped away gingerly as the bodies of the six sacrifices were consumed, withered to dust as the last dregs of their souls were sucked into the center of the pentagram. There was a sound like the tearing of wet fabric as a rift in reality formed.
"She comes! She Comes! She Who Thirsts! She comes!" The cultists chanted, kneeling in supplication
Multicolored energies erupted from the portal, a dark silhouette visible in the depths. The energy swirled and mingled, shifting currents smoothing into a patina of dusky skin. The body shifted, taking on beguiling curves and long, black hair. Vestigial horns bulged from her forehead, framing a glowing number '13' as a pointed tail flexed behind her. In seconds the incorporeal shape had formed into a demoness, naked and terrible.
Dark orbs of obsidian regarded the assembled cultists and the demoness's lips curved into a cruel smile. "It is good to know the Church of Blood still holds power in Jump City." The demoness said, the sound of her voice was powerful, vibrant, and utterly wrong, filled with discordant tones like fractured glass.
"We of the true faith live to serve you mistress, all has been prepared in accordance to your wishes." The leader of the cultists responded, raising his head from grass to look upon the demoness with eyes wide with fanatical devotion.
"Yes... I can taste him." The demoness responded, excitement tinting her voice as she gazed at the Jump City skyline. She turned back to the cultists, "are the acolytes ready to serve?"
A chorus of shouted affirmations answered her and she smiled again. "Whatever you need my mistress, my flock is ready!" The cultist leader cried loudest of all.
"Whatever I need..." The demoness repeated, stroking a clawed finger across the leader's cheek. She savored the heady rush of fear and desire he emanated.
"Mistress?" The leader croaked out as she leeched his energy. "What are you doing?..."
"Shhh..." Her hands clawed at his face as she drained his life-force in earnest. Tendrils of darkness flowed from the cultist and into the hand of the demoness. The cultist's body began to shrivel, his muscles softening like wax, and his skin growing ashen. His screams turned to gurgles and his eyes burst . The demoness's back arched in ecstasy as she completely devoured the cultist's soul.
Within moments it was over. The leader's lifeless husk dropped to the ground. The rest of the cultists cowered backwards at the fate of their leader, one of them turned to flee but the demoness gestured imperiously and a swarm of roots grew from the ground to drag the cultist back to the others.
"Have we displeased you somehow mistress?" One of the cultists pleaded as more roots grew to constrict the cultists.
"Oh no, you have been nothing but the perfect servants. I'm just taking 'whatever I need'." The demoness replied cruelly. She spread her arms wide and tendrils of darkness were ripped from the cultists, who screamed and begged for mercy. Soon nineteen more husks surrounded the demoness. The mass of tendrils wove together to clothe the demoness with a shroud of darkness.
"Your deaths served me more than your lives ever could." The demoness said coldly. She turned back towards the still open portal. "I'll need some friends..." She mused before weaving a glowing symbol in the air. "Arise my pets! Your mistress calls!" She cried as the portal vomited forth more energy. A chorus of demonic howls rose from the portal as the damned answered her call.
First came the minotaurs, massive bull-headed beastmen wielding over-sized axes in each hand. Then sorcerers, thin, wretched demons with magical staffs and fetishes. Lastly were the predators, hordes of mutated demons that ran, slithered, or scuttled, each a horrifying and unique fusion of talons and limbs. The night was soon alive with the cries of demons.
The twisted hellspawn that had once been the teen mage Traci Thirteen gazed upon the screeching demons with a twisted maternal affection. "My pets, what sweet music they make. Come, we have work to do..."
...
AN: Feel free to R&R with comments and concerns
This story has been my focus in writing for years now and I've finally started the final edition of it, if I don't finish this one, it's done. No pressure... There is a slight crossover with Warhammer 40k. I picked that universe mostly because it will help me examine superheroes and the lines they try to never cross. If you have no clue what the 40k universe is about, I hope it won't throw you off this story, I promise it won't be very important and easily understood.
I guarantee you it will be long, and it will be epic. It will also be dark, grim dark.
