Thank you very much for your quick responses. Three days and chapter six already sports the most hits out of all the other chapters; I guess I did something right that time.
Thank you for those who chose to review, I really do appreciate it.
I am posting this chapter early for two reasons: 1- it's been finished since sunday and has been begging me to be posted. 2- work is looking a little crazy and I don't know when my next opportunity to post it will be.
Forwarning: I am not a poet, I am a storyteller. Please forgive me my sucktastic attempts at poetry within this chapter. I tried something different, but it just didn't fit the way that I saw the character, so I had to change it. Hopefully I'll be able to come up with something better next time.
I do not own the Titans\end disclaimer.
The five super teens are gathered in the meeting room again, this time their attention is on Raven and a small black box she has procured from her room. She withdraws four silver rings and hands them to each member of the team.
"Wear these, they should help protect you from his magics, at least somewhat. He is a master spellcaster; so do not expect that he will go down easily." The other teens nod, accepting Raven's guidance, as she is the subject matter expert. She turns to Robin with a troubled look. "Are you sure that we can't get any of the other Titans to help? I don't like her much, but Jinx would be of assistance on this." Robin shakes his head.
"No, the others are all responding to natural disasters, and clearing out hostages in the Middle East right now. Besides, we don't know where Malchior is; there's no telling when he will pop up again. We'll just have to take him down by ourselves."
"We've done it before, we can do it again!" Beast Boy exclaims, attempting to raise Raven's spirits.
"That was when he had just been released from his curse and hadn't been able to recuperate yet. We don't know how long he's been out of that book, and he's definitely stronger now. Don't let your guard down, and if you see him, let us know immediately," Raven reminds him as she closes the black steel jewelry box. A wailing siren and flashing red lights throughout the tower accompany the click of the lock.
Cyborg checks his status board and grunts. "Plasmus has broken out again and is en route to the nuclear dump site just outside the city limits." Robin sets his jaw.
"This shouldn't take too long, then. Titans, go!" Raven teleports herself into the sky, finding her bearings while waiting for the rest of the team to exit the tower. Starfire joins her aloft momentarily.
"Friend Raven, why are you having the long face?" She pauses and thinks a moment. "I do not quite understand that phrase, as your face is not at all long, but Beast Boy said…"
"It's nothing Star. I'm just wondering about how Malchior got free, is all," Raven interrupts, unwilling to submit to the alien's naiveté.
"Indeed, I had thought that you had captured the dark dragon in the curse of the book. How could he be the Hunter person?" Starfire asks, hovering close in front of the sorceress. Before Raven could answer the alien princess, Starfire shoots off after the speeding T-car. "Hurry, friend Raven! You will not wish to be left behind!" Raven sighs and follows the flame-haired bombshell.
The team finds it relatively easy to find Plasmus, as the mutated man left behind a literal trail of his mess for the teens to follow. Raven finds the purple mass rolling down a wide street between two housing districts. Her eyes narrow as she sees the families within the buildings retreat from the windows at the appearance of the teen superheroes.
"We need to get him away from those buildings as soon as possible!" Robin states as he runs up next to Raven. The blue-cloaked girl nods.
"I'll handle this," she says as she glares in the direction of the interloper. She takes a cross-legged seat while floating and closes her eyes. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos." A black form of Raven soars out from within her and rockets towards the moving mess. Without warning, Plasmus launches a piece of himself at the sorceress's body. Beast Boy tackles Raven out of the way, breaking her concentration and dispelling her soul form before it reaches the purple mass.
"It looks like he's gotten smarter than the last time we fought him," Cyborg says as he blasts the blob away from a house. "I don't think our normal tactics are going to work this time."
"We can't just let him go!" Beast boy exclaims after setting Raven down. Raven brushes herself off and looks around.
"We can't fight him here. There are too many civilians."
"Raven's right, we'll follow him until he gets to a place we can fight him." Robin states as he watches Plasmus.
The teens trail after the mutant; preventing him from doing any further damage and attempting to corral him in a direction away from the housing districts. The purple mass of goo trudges along, ignoring the team unless Raven attempts to knock him out again. Every time she attempts to launch her soul self at the interloper, he unerringly attacks her, causing her to lose her concentration and dispel her astral avatar.
After following the mutant for close to an hour, the team find themselves in an open intersection. Looking around, they find that the roads have been blocked off and that there is no pedestrian traffic in the area. The teens sense danger in the setup and take a defensive posture. A lilting, musical voice floats to the teens on the air.
"Darkness comes;
Falling thoughts will rise to dreams,
Peace will follow."
A flash of light envelops the clearing, blinding the team momentarily. As the light fades, the team notices that the rings on their hands are glowing slightly blue. Robin looks up and finds that Plasmus is asleep in the center of the clearing, and Hunter is kneeling over him. Hunter stands and brushes off his hands.
"I am intrigued. I did not anticipate that your entire team would be immune to that spell." His eyes widen as he notices the rings on the teen's hands, and he laughs. "I see; you have come prepared. I suppose that you must have anticipated this turn of events somehow." He turns to Raven and bows. "I congratulate you on your precognitive abilities, madam. However, I must request that you and your comrades cooperate with me and submit for a slight duration. I can guarantee you and your friend's safety if you comply." His voice resonates musically, and more than one member of the team finds their eyes getting heavy. Raven claps her hands, and the rings glow brighter.
"Stop your tricks, Malchior! We found you out and you will not get away!" The team shakes their head, the hypnotic effect of the spell caster's voice dispelled by the magic of Raven's rings. Hunter's eyes narrow as the team gets into formation.
"I see. If that is the way that you insist that this issue be concluded, then I have no choice but to comply and accept your challenge," the white-haired sorcerer states. He then lifts his hands and starts chanting in a foreign language.
"Titans, go!" Robin cries as he initiates the attack against the spell caster. The boy wonder launches a trio of his explosive birdarangs at the chanting sorcerer, closely followed by a blast of sonic energy from Cyborg's cannon. Beast boy shifts into a bull and charges into the dust caused by the blast, intent on flattening the team's opponent.
The dust clears to reveal Hunter sporting a long black scarf wrapped around his neck and covering his mouth. The sorcerer is steadfastly holding the struggling Beast Boy by the horns, successfully maintaining his hold on the shape shifter as he changes into an elephant, followed by a triceratops. The sorcerer then bodily lifts the changed teen off the ground and tosses him a few yards to the right, breathing heavily from the effort.
The sorcerer is immediately set upon by both Cyborg and Robin, the two crime fighters flawlessly engaging him in high-level martial arts. Hunter stands his ground, blocking each attack and attempting to counterattack. Every time he gains the upper hand against one opponent, the other comes and forces him onto the defensive once more. Slowly he is forced to retreat, sweat beading his brow and determination evident in his eye.
"Star, come here." Raven calls. Starfire turns her worried eye from the fight before her to observe Raven. The blue-clad sorceress had removed a stone from her belt and held it before her, enveloped in her energy.
"What do you need, friend Raven?" Starfire asks as she lands next to Raven. Raven causes the stone to levitate and holds it up, flat side facing her and Star.
"I want you to fire one of your starbolts through this, at Malchior. Wait until I give the signal, understand?"
"Yes. I will await your word, but will this not also hurt our friends?" Starfire asks, concern evident on her expressive face as she looks towards Robin.
"Don't worry, I've got it covered." Raven concentrates on the stone and imbues it with more of her energy, hoping that it would be enough to finally defeat the dragon. She then sends a pulse of energy down the miniscule connection between her mind and Robin's. She notices Robin turn slightly towards her and shouts at Starfire. "NOW!"
Starfire fires a large bolt of green energy through the stone, where it is captured and amplified. Within the stone, Starfire's amplified energy is joined by Raven's distilled energy and focused into a beam that shoots towards the trio of combatants. Sensing Raven's warning, Robin launches himself towards the ground, grabbing Cyborg and pulling him down with him. The beam soars over the prone teammates and strikes Hunter squarely in the chest with a deafening explosion. More dust is blown about, obscuring the team's view of their opponent once more.
"What in the world was that?" Beast Boy asks as he makes his way towards the two girls.
"That was awesome, Rae. You and Star did great!" Cyborg's praises cause Raven to turn a shade of pink, and she lifts the hood of her cloak to hide her discomfort.
"I am indeed surprised. It has been quite some time since I have been required to release my arsenal to this extent." Hunter's voice cuts through the dust and brings the premature celebration to an abrupt halt. The teens resume their defensive stance as the dust is blown away by a breeze to reveal the dark sorcerer standing defensively, his hands crossed before him.
Hunter's apparel has changed again; he is now sporting a pair of silver gauntlets that reach up his arms to guard his elbows, in addition to the black scarf that seems to have escaped the damage that is evident on the rest of his civilian clothing. "However, I should have expected this much from such a gifted group of individuals. I find that I must apologize for not entering this conflict with my full potential. However, I still do not wish to inflict irreparable harm to any of you, so I must limit myself to this." He pulls a slender wooden stick from within his scarf and holds it between his hands.
"Is that a wand?" Beast boy asks. "I thought that those were fake?" Raven's eyes go wide as she senses the sheer magical power held within the sliver of wood.
"Notath!" At Hunter's command word, the sliver of wood expands into an intricately carved staff that stands at six feet. Several gems of invaluable worth can be seen imbedded into various spell forms carved into the wood, causing the entire staff to sparkle with power. He spins the staff around himself expertly and faces the newly regrouped team. "Are you prepared?" He asks, his gauntleted hand shining with reflected sunlight.
"Titans, go!" Robin cries as the team launches themselves at the newly armed sorcerer, determined to take him down.
The teen's offense is lead by Beast Boy, who charges into the fray in the shape of a silverback gorilla. The green teenager is laid low by a sweeping kick to the ankles, followed by a swift strike to the temple with the staff. He shifts back to his original form, unconscious. Hunter wastes no time in engaging Robin next, wooden staff bouncing off metal in a series of parries and counter attacks. Without warning, Hunter launches himself into the air, using Robin's staff as a counterbalance to his own. He meets Starfire in midair and the two crash to the ground in a heap.
The sound of ringing metal can be heard throughout the clearing as Starfire pours her frustration and anger into the blows that Hunter blocks with his gauntleted arms. He suddenly shifts and, using Starfire's own momentum, tosses the alien princess into Cyborg. He opens his left hand, and the jeweled staff flies into it. He immediately spins the weapon around and blocks the black energy that Raven launched at him from across the clearing. As the black energy dissipates against the defenses of the staff, the gems within start to glow with eldritch energy.
Hunter's blue eyes start to glow white as he concentrates his own energy into the staff. He runs back into the fray, furiously attacking the startled Robin, who is barely able to block with his own staff. With an unintelligible battle cry Hunter shatters Robin's weapon and knocks the teenager flat with a blow to the chest.
"Zettar!" The sorcerer cries as he lands a final blow on the Titan's leader, rendering him unconscious. The staff emits a blue field of energy, blocking the sonic blast from Cyborg's cannon.
"Dammit! Can't we even hit this guy once?" Cyborg cries as he and Starfire attempt to combine their attacks to overcome their opponent. The warrior-mage skillfully deflects each blast with his staff, sending each burst of energy skyward. An inarticulate roar of unbridled rage from behind the sorcerer startles the three combatants. The three look back to find Raven rising off the ground, her eyes glowing red. "Uh oh. I don't think this is good." Cyborg mutters as he edges out of Raven's immediate view.
"How dare you! How dare you hurt my friends?" Raven's rage filled voice reminds both Starfire and Cyborg of the tenor of Trigon's voice. Dark tendrils of energy reach towards the sorcerer, who quickly erects a barrier around himself. The black ropes of energy quickly envelope the barrier, seeking a way to apprehend the target of Raven's rage.
"Quickly, you must retreat! If you do not vacate the area swiftly-" Hunter's warning to Cyborg is drowned out by another explosion of energy as Raven's rage filled magics break through his defenses. The explosion tears away the tendrils of energy, and knocks both Cyborg and Starfire back. They both strike nearby buildings and are rendered unconscious.
Raven's cries of rage are redoubled and Hunter can see two new sets of red eyes opening above her original set. He staggers to his feet and draws his breath, ignoring the growing sea of black tentacles that envelop him. He closes his eyes, and starts to chant, hoping that he was not too late to contain the demonic rage within the girl.
"Softly now, the girl sings
The whispers of an Angel's wings.
Darkness threatens her very soul,
Where Evil wishes to take its toll.
But where she treads, with Goddess Light,
She fights Evil with all her might."
As Hunter chants, his body begins to glow with a soft white light, dispelling the demonic energy around him. The glow intensifies until it comes in contact with Raven's enraged form, where it transfers from the sorcerer to Raven. Hunter falls to a knee, and looks up to see Raven shrinking and her red eyes returning to normal. As Raven reaches the ground, she slumps over and nearly falls, but is caught by the white haired sorcerer.
"I am very pleased that I was able to prevent you from doing something that you would inevitably regret later. I must admit that you gave me quite the scare, however." He smiles softly at Raven's confused expression.
"But you're Malchior…" Raven's voice is weak, her energy having been drained from her enraged outburst. Hunter's eyes harden at the name. "Why?"
"I kindly request that you not call me by that foul lizard's name. He is my sworn enemy, and I would like to have nothing more to do with him." Raven's eyes widen in shock at the sorcerer's words, but the world starts to dim around the edges of her vision, and she knows that her consciousness would not last much longer.
"Who?" she whispers, desperate to find the truth.
"My name is Rorek; Rorek of Nul. I am a hunter; and you, Lady Raven, are my quarry." Raven finds that surprise is beyond her grasp as she falls into the dark embrace of unconsciousness.
Now you know the true identity of the Mystery Spellcaster! Congratulations to those who guessed correctly; I give you a cookie.
Now that Rorek has the Titans, what does he plan to do with them? Why is he hunting Raven?
Find out these things and more in the next exciting episode of... wait, wrong thing.
Keep an eye out for the next chapter, kay?
P.S. Please read and review.