The names not John anymore, kid," the future John told him, "I go by Delta." John slowly rose to his feet as he eyed Delta. The elderly man let a tear run down his face as he studied his past features. "I was so young," he began, "when it all happened. John gave him a confused look. Delta sighed as he looked at John; "You cannot see Raven today. Trigon is using Raven's weakness as a portal." John walked to the T car and invited Delta in. He sat in the passenger side as John hopped in and sped off to the Tower.
"Maybe we can defeat Trigon!" John told Delta eagerly as they neared the Tower. "No," he sighed in response, "we kill Raven if you try to defeat Trigon." John took a slight moment to look at Delta to catch his left arm. A black hole was in place of his palm as pipes with green liquids shot from a canister on his back to his arm. He caught John's gaze and hung his head. "Raven gives us the power to defeat Trigon, but I abused my power." He sighed.
John then looked forward as he quickly got on a ferry that took them to Titan's Tower. A cloud the size of Gotham City formed over the tower in a spiraling motion. John awed at the cloud as loud yelling bellowed through the center spiral. John watched as red light seemed to blast out of the spiral and cover Titan's Tower. Quickly, John sped off to the garage as he opened the door and ran to the living room. Delta followed quickly behind as they burst into the living room. They were sought out by the Titans as Delta stopped in his tracks. He couldn't take his eyes off of Raven as he approached her.
She looked at John and then back to Delta as he brushed the hair back into place as John did. "You are even more beautiful then I remember." He gasped as she blushed. Suddenly, the Tower began to shake violently as everyone was thrown off their feet. John quickly ran to a window and gazed up to see two large hands peeking through the spiral and pulling it open. John quickly ran to the roof and burst through the door. The hands had pulled a portal entrance open as Trigon slipped his legs through.
John stepped back as he watched Delta run in front of him and began chanting words silently. He then looked at John who watched him curiously. Delta then threw his left arm up and pointed his palm at Trigon, blasting a stream of black magic into his face. A loud groan came from Trigon as the blast continued to push him back. "Quickly! Give John your power, Raven!" Delta screamed over the loud wind and roars. Raven and John shared a glace as she neared him and hugged him tightly. "Be careful." She told him as she chanted silently.
Suddenly, a blue soul exited Raven and entered John. Dropping to his hands and knees, his eyes glowed black as he stood up. A white cloak covered him as he watched Trigon push through the gateway. John aimed his left arm at Trigon and cracked a smile once he caught sight of John. Blasting the black energy, it slammed in Trigon's face loudly as he stood on the tower. John grew to his same height as he grabbed Trigon and grappled him. He was flung off the tower and into the ocean by Trigon who jumped after him. Standing up, the two eyed each other angrily as John swiftly swung his leg out to Trigon; a narrow miss. Trigon threw his fist out which caught John in the face as he fell back.
Holding his breath as Trigon pounced on him and pushed his head underwater, John quickly placed his left hand on Trigon's chest and blasted him several feet into the air. Standing up and breathing, John punched Trigon as he neared the ground. He flew nearly into the city as he landed hard on the beach. He rose slowly as he grinned at John; "A worthy opponent that wants my daughter. You have proven this, but you can never defeat me." He roared loudly as he blasted red energy from his four eyes and hit John. A bright light forced everyone to shield their eyes. After the light cleared, John hovered in his normal size as he held Raven in his arms. She was passed out, her face on his chest. He flew to Titan's Tower and dropped her off.
"What are you doing?" Delta asked John as he turned back to Trigon, "Something you didn't think to do." He then flew back in front of Trigon as he lifted his left arm and aimed it at him. Balling his hand into a fist, he flew at light speed and rammed Trigon in the face as he stopped and turned to eye the fallen demon. "If there is one thing you must know about me," John began, "it's that women come first." He flew over Trigon as he focused his energy from deep within as he used his life to for a giant ball of energy. Holding it over his head, he slammed it onto Trigon who cried in pain as a portal formed from the giant blast of the energy ball, sucking Trigon in and quickly closing without another word.
John sat for a moment, gasping for breath as he lowered to the ground and fell to his knees. Raven slowly woke as she looked out to the dying John as he chocked for air. She quickly pushed past the Titans as they watched her fly to him. Not one of them breathed a word as tears began to fall. Raven hurried to him as he fell on his back. She landed next to him and on her knees held his head up. He smiled at her tearful face as he wiped a tear away. He kissed her with the last bit of life he had. It lasted for a long moment before he pulled away. He slowly closed his eyes as her tears flooded her face. "No, no!"
He slowly lied down on the soft sand as she cried over him. Delta pulled his hood back as he began to vanish with a golden light. Beast Boy turned to the golden glow as his eyes grew wide. He quickly turned into a pterodactyl and flew to Raven. After turning into his normal form, he put a hand on Raven's shoulder. He hung his head lowly as she turned to eye him. She jumped up and hugged Beast Boy, who stepped back in surprise as he slowly loosened his tension and patted her back to comfort her. John began to glow a bright golden color, catching all of their eyes as his lifeless body began to rise.
Slowly, the clouds broke open as a golden spirit floated down and hovered near John's body. It eyed Raven as it slowly floated in front of her and brushed back hair that had fallen in her face. It smiled as it returned to John's body and entered it. Springing to life, John fell onto the ground, holding his left arm in pain. Raven ran to him as she helped him to his feet. "Azar!" he told her, "He gave me a second chance!" Raven's face grew curious, then happy to see him smile at her as she helped the injured hero to Titan's Tower.
Slade watched from a roof top as he watched John and Raven. "Soon," he mumbled to himself, "I will retrieve Raven's Emoticlones and harness their power to defeat the Titans." He quickly jumped into a dark ally and disappeared. His objective was the temple that could take you anywhere and anytime, including Azarath.
John limped past through the living room as he sat on the couch. Raven sat next to him and laid her head on his shoulder. He chuckled as he looked at her. She placed her hand on his cheek and shared a loving glance with him. They slowly kissed as everyone watched them. BB stood without saying anything as he watched the two. The young couple loved each other, and that was all they needed. John was alive, Raven was happy, and Trigon was defeated. A happy ending indeed.
"Dad, you told us the story of how you and mom met like a thousand times." A teen said. John, well into his thirties, sat in the driver's seat as he drove the car to the grocery store. "I know Azarath, but Angle back there likes it." The toddler laughed as she reached for John. Azarath sat in the back seat next to Angle as she laughed. John then pulled up to the side pavement and popped the trunk. A woman placed a bag of food in the back and shut the trunk. She then came to the door and opened it. She slipped in and eyed John.
"Hi, honey." He told Raven as they shared a kiss. "Ewww." Angle laughed as she reached for Raven. "How are my little half demons?" she asked them kindly as she looked back to them. "Fine, just listening to how you two met again." Azarath replied as John and Raven shared glances. "It's a good story," he began, "now; do you want to go see the other Titans?" Raven smiled and nodded as they went to the reunion at Titan's Tower.
As they pulled up, they were greeted by the others. Robin and Starfire held hands as they waved. Cyborg and Beast Boy played the latest addition of Star Commander as they turned to wave. John looked at Raven with compassion in his eyes as he unhooked his seatbelt. They got out of the car and got Angle out. John held Angle as he held Raven's hand, their wedding rings shined as the family walked to the others.
Writer's after notes:
I enjoyed writing this story, as it was my first Teen Titans story. I will say, many things were left unanswered. Like "How did Jacob/Brother Blood survive" and "What are Raven's Emoticlones". I promise you all, these and many other unanswered questions will be answered on a new story I plan to write. Yes, John is still going to be in the Marines, but I don't know if he should be deployed or home. There are many things I have to think through before actually writing the new story.
I will tell you this; Raven's Emoticlones are her different sides/emotions of her personality. They wear the colored cloak that suits them best. For example: Happy is pink, Brave is green, and Anger/Rage is red. I have some great ways of bringing them into the real world, but I want to see your thoughts of what should happen!
I was once told by a close friend that I write good stories. Out of love and affection, I would like to devote this story to her; Morgan.
I thank you all for taking the time to read this story and following it. As I look back over the writing, I can see clearly I have a rather good writing future. I don't mean to brag, I know there are better writers out there, but I think I did really well.
Thank you all again, this is ClasslessToast wrapping up Death of the Brave, I hope you enjoyed!
