-1Me: Titans' DUEL! Has been updated!
Raven: If you write me losing that duel, sleep with both eyes open.
Me: ;/ Maybe I will, maybe I won't. Making you lose the duel would create possibilities for a subplot of winning you back.
Raven: (hands glow black)
Me: /
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Robin leapt forward at Slade, staff in hand. Slade blocked his downward strike, pulled out his own staff, and squared off with the Boy Wonder. "Just like old time, eh?" Slade said with a chuckle. Ducking a concussive disk, he continued to circle his opponent. "Don't tell me you've slacked on your hand-to-hand," He said. Robin snarled and swung his staff, met halfway by Slade's own weapon.
Robin frowned. Something seemed familiar about this… Earlier this morning! Raven and I were like this. And if I recall… Robin slacked his grip on the staff and performed the same leg sweep that he used on Raven. One problem: Where Raven was more comfortable with long-range combat, Slade was an expert at close quarters. As such, he predicted Robin and jumped the maneuver, landing down on his opponent with an axe kick. With a grunt of pain, Robin sprawled to the ground.
Not ten feet away, Beast Boy was in gorilla morph, tearing apart demons left and right. At his back was Sam, a living weapon. Feet lashed out, fists swung in wild patterns that only Sam would only be able to launch effectively. Backflips led into somersaults, which led further into aerial moves, and with an unnatural liquid grace Same tore apart any and all comers.
Cyborg was blasting every enemy in sight, causing mild property damage in the process. Slowly, though, he was being backed into a corner.
But Robin was having the worst time of it. He was continually being kicked, punched, shoved and dropped to the ground by any and all of Slade's moves. He was beginning to look similar to what he did when Slade's hallucinogenic powder had affected him. "This is becoming too easy, Robin. You have obviously slacked off your training. It doesn't help that I have a number of the Seven Gems on my side, but…" Slade trailed off with another kick to Robin's side as he lay on the ground.
"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" A voice yelled suddenly. And with that, a chorus of voices cried out "AZARATH METRION ZINTHOS!" Slade was lifted into the air and slammed viciously into the ground, denting his mask seemingly into the villain's face. Robin looked up weakly to see Raven, Roth, Lily, Rose, Mary, Sophia, Carrie and Angella standing, hand in hand, with black fire surrounding them. Picking himself up, Slade looked wildly between the various Ravens, dressed now in casual clothing of their various colors.
"What?! How the-why-Retreat and regroup!" He ordered. Instantly, the demons vanished, and Slade simply activated the power of his gems and teleported away.
"Robin!" Sam cried, rushing to his side. Behind her, Starfire and Terra emerged from Raven's portal as well. Sam looked up at them. "Starfire, go with Raven. You too, Cyborg. Get Robin on the med room machines and patch him up best you can," She told them. Not even pausing to wonder why San was automatically the one giving orders, they nodded as Starfire gingerly picked Robin up and stepped back through the portal.
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"What purpose could they possibly have to attack us?" Sam muttered to herself as she paced up and down the medical room inside Titan's Tower.
"Sam, you're wearing a rut in the floor. Sit," Sophia told her, slightly annoyed. She, too, wondered as to the meaning of such a sudden assault, but unlike Sam she was silently and calmly contemplating her thoughts.
"Sophie, you can't tell me that you don't want to go out and pound those damned demons into the ground right now too! And we can't do that without knowing what the hell they want!" Sam shot back, punching her fist into her palm.
"Sam, we aren't going to understand Slade's intentions by simply launching a head-on assault. That will only result in, well, this," Lilith said, gesturing to Robin, who was hooked up to various machines on the bed he was lying in.
"Any developments?" Raven asked as she entered the room, Beast Boy in tow. Sophia gave a small laugh.
"None besides Sam's growing urge to go after Slade head-on," She told Raven, rolling her eyes. Raven rubbed her forehead.
"Okay, listen up. Our situation right now is not good. Starfire is practically in tears and Cyborg says that Robin's condition has declined in the past hour.
Terra and Drake are on a warpath, apparently because they don't want to wait for Robin to heal before we go after Slade," Raven summarized.
"Damn," Brave said, expressing her feelings thoroughly. Lilith and Roth closed their eyes. Angella shook with fury. Rose was looking down at the ground. Marylyn was crying. Sophia was trying her best to maintain her composure, but a hint of anger showed despite her efforts. Carrie and Sam simply rubbed their temples, staring off into space.
Unexpectedly, Angella slammed her fist into the wall, leaving a somewhat large hole. Everyone turned to look, startled. Not speaking, she simply stormed out of the room, seething. Everyone looked at each other. Finally, Beast Boy spoke up. "I'll talk to her," He volunteered.
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"Angella!" Beast Boy called after her. She spun, searching for the source. Seeing Beast Boy, she closed her eyes and put a hand to her forehead.
"Angella, Robin will recover. In the meantime, we have to stay calm and focused. I know you're angry at Slade. We all are. And I know that you were R-" Angella silenced him with a look.
"'Was' being the operative word, Garfield. I'm not an emotion anymore. I have my own emotions. Slade betrayed us. Just like Terra. Given, Terra turned out alright in the end, but Slade just potentially killed Robin. If Robin dies… If any one of us dies at the hands of these demons, I swear to God and Azar both that I will personally rip him apart, piece by piece." Angella finished with a snarl.
"I understand. But right now, we have to be strong. For Robin. And for Starfire. She's very distraught right now," Beast Boy said, laying a hand on her shoulder. Angella closed her eyes again, and when she re-opened them, the raged had softened in her eyes.
"I guess… Thanks, Gar," She replied. And with that, the alarm went off.
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"What is it?" Raven asked Cyborg sharply as she skidded into the common room, where the alarm flashed. Cyborg grimaced.
"Plasmus. He's crashing the east quadrant of rural Jump City. I don't want to leave Robin here, but…" Raven nodded.
"Starfire, Marylyn, Sam, stay here with Robin. The rest of us will deal with Plasmus," Raven ordered. Everyone nodded, and the team headed out into the night.
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"Plasmus, you chose the wrong day to fu-o….kay…. Not good," Beast Boy commented. Plasmus hulked over them, roaring as he slopped sludge every which way. He was at least twice the size he usually was when they faced him previously. Suddenly, he noticed the Titan. Turning with another roar, he shot a large pool of sludge at them. Barely dodging the toxic crud, they formed a circle and closed in.
Raven uprooted a tree and used it as a bat, swinging and connecting with Plasmus. Well, she would have, anyway. Would have, had he not been suddenly swarmed by demons. Raven backed off as the demons quickly overtook the sludge monster. Quickly, the Titans regrouped as Slade appeared in front of the now-defeated monster. Quickly, Raven realized her mistake.
"A false alarm. Clever," She sneered. Slade chuckled, infuriating the Titans.
"Yes, it rather was a bit of a pickle. If you hadn't have come, Plasmus would have taken innocent lives. But now, I have other lives to take. Demons, attack!" He ordered. And with that, the Titans were swarmed by demons.
"Let's do this!" Angella roared, unleashing the fury that she had bottled in at the Tower. Demons flew, as did pieces of demons.
The others were doing quite well, and surprisingly quickly the demons were gone. The Titans looked amongst each other, smiling. Slade's amused laughter wiped the confidence from their faces, though. Turning back to face him, they faced a new army, consisting of Blood members. The color drained from the Titans faces, and they were forced to separate as a storm of spells and hexes were sent flying their way.
"Come and get some!" Beast Boy roared, transforming into the Beast. Angella came up to his back, and together they entered the fray.
Roth and Lilith were holding equal, not being able to truly eliminate their foes but not being eliminated either. "Roth, we're going to wear out. We need a new plan!" Lilith told her sister desperately.
"You got any ideas?" Roth responded. As if answering her question, a large slab of stone orbited the two girls, knocking their attackers away.
"A few," Terra said with a smile as she landed. Roth smiled, and together the three girls went airborne by their own powers.
Over time, though, the battle began to turn sour for the Titans. Especially once Slade entered, targeting Raven with every bit of power he could. Raven flew off of a wall, unharmed due to her powers but unceremoniously hitting the ground. Before she could react, she felt a steel boot in her ribs, arching her back upward.
Slade smirked and rose his foot to slam onto Raven's neck, and the empath closed her eyes, waiting for death. A grunt of surprise and pain caused her to open them again, just in time to catch a flash of pink.
"Pretty jewelry. Too bad I know what they're for," She heard a familiar voice say. Another flash of pink, and Slade flew into a tree. Seeing a hand extended to her, Raven took it and pulled herself to her feet.
"You alright?" Jinx asked. Raven gave a short nod, panting. Then she noticed two things. One: Slade was missing all but one gem. Two: Jinx was holding said gems. Eyes widening, Slade used the remaining gem to warp, leaving the army of Blood members behind to be slaughtered.
Wiping blood from her hands, Angella stepped carefully over the dead bodies of those she had annihilated, a smile of satisfaction on her face. The others were favoring various injuries, but were otherwise alright. Except one.
"Rose!" Raven cried, rushing to her side. She had been hit with some kind of piercing spell. Whatever it was, it had created a large hole in her stomach. Raven raised her hands to heal her, but Jinx grabbed her.
"Use these. We'll keep his little crack army off of you," Jinx suggested, holding out the two gems. Raven looked at them warily, remembering what had happened at the hotel. Finally, she took them, setting one into each glove of her uniform. Her hands glowing, he placed them on the injury. Instantly, the wound closed, and Rose woke with a start.
"What…happened?" She asked, sitting up. Raven smiled as she removed the gems.
"The cavalry arrived. You were injured, badly. I healed you. And," She looked over her shoulder to see Jinx and Angella dusting their hands off, "it looks like we're done here," She finished. Rose got to her feet, wobbled for a second, and finally got her bearings.
"You alright? Slade was giving you some serious beat down," Jinx asked Raven. The empath nodded. Beast Boy sidled up, demorphing and cursing himself.
"Sorry…I got tied up by those damn demons. I should've been the- Jinx? And…whoa! Aren't those the gem thingies?" Beast Boy asked, eyes wide. Raven nodded. Then she turned to look at Jinx.
"How do you know what these are? It's an Azarathian legend. How would you know something like that?" She asked, not trying to sound accusing. Jinx laughed.
"I'm a spell caster. I may not be from Azarath, but the Seven Gems are one of the most popular magical myths ever. It originated from Azarath, but it spread like wildfire. If I'm not mistaken, these represent Greed and Hatred. And you already possess… Violence?" Jinx asked after looking at the three enchanted objects studiously.
Raven's mouth hung open. "That text is Azarathian! How…?"
Jinx looked up, surprised.
"Magical connection. Azarathian is definitely an odd language, but as long as I have some sort of link with an Azarathian, I can read it," She explained.
Beast Boy looked at Raven. "How does she know this and you don't?" He asked. Raven looked annoyed.
"Because I didn't exactly spend much time at home. Jinx has probably spent more time studying Azarath and other various magical topics than I've spent telling you to shut up," Raven said, smirking at the last part. Beast Boy frowned, then rolled his eyes.
"We have three of the gems, now. I think the other Titans might like to know that," Jinx suggested. Raven nodded.
"You coming with?" She asked the pink-haired sorceress. She shrugged.
"Why not?" She said
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"So either Slade possesses Narcissism, Begrudging, Selfishness and Murderous, or he has at least one of those and the other three are unaccounted for?" Robin summed up after hearing out Raven's story.
"Right. Even so, these things are extremely powerful on their own. Especially if he happens to have Murderous," She said grimly. Cyborg arched an eyebrow.
"Does it matter which one he has?" He asked. Raven nodded.
"Not all the gems are as strong as the others. Murderous is the most powerful, followed respectfully by Hatred, Greed, Violence, Begrudging, Selfishness and finally Narcissism. But when all seven of them work together…" She trailed off.
"So we have two of the most powerful ones, then?" Beast Boy said, excited.
"Don't get too energetic. We can't use them. I shouldn't have even used them to heal Rose, but that was an emergency. The longer you associate yourself with these literally damned things, the more influence they begin to have on you. If Nevermore still existed, when I used the power of those gems, Anger would have gone nuts." She explained.
"Then we need to destroy them," Robin decided. Raven shook her head.
"The reason those gems existed is to hold in the evil power. For one thing, many who have been foolish enough to turn to them for power have tried and failed to break them. For another, that is Slade's plan. If all seven Gems are together, they will destroy themselves, releasing that evil energy to the one who commands the Gems," Raven told him. He nodded, understanding.
"So we just protect them?" He proposed. She nodded. "And there's no chance of them influencing us simply by being in the Tower?" He asked. She nodded again. "Okay then. Cyborg, I want those gems locked away in as many different ways as is possible inside the Tower," He ordered. Cyborg nodded.
Raven left the room, coming back a moment later with a dark blue chest. Using her powers, she lifted the stones into it, shutting the lid. Handing the box to Cyborg, she turned to the others as he left.
"We have to finish what Garfield started," She told them. Suddenly, Drake shot his hand up. "Yes?" She inquired.
"I have a question. Do you always cause this much trouble?" He asked. She narrowed her eyes at him.
"No, but I can make an exception for you if you'd like," She told him. He laughed.
"Yeesh, fine. It was a joke," He told her. She rolled her eyes, motioned to her boyfriend, and the two of them left the room.
I've got to find out more about these gems… Robin thought as he watched them. He left for his room, deliberating. Finally, he made his decision. Late that night, he left his room and made his way to the security room the Gems had been placed in.
"Identifying…Retina scan: Complete. Genetic comparison: Complete. Welcome, Richard Grayson," The computer said.
