Adonis walked along, fuming. No matter how he tried, he could never beat the Titans.
"I'm supposed to be the strongest there is! But every time, they kick my ass! What have they got that I don't?" Angrily, he kicked a can, and it went flying through the air.
A hand reached out and plucked it through the air. "They have friends, young man, and that makes them strong." An old man stepped out, half his face concealed by a wide-brimmed hat and his long white hair. The visible eye was a piercing brown.
"What do you know, old man?" Adonis sneered at him. "Even without my suit I could kick your ass." TO prove this, Adonis took a swing at the old man.
THe man easily parried the strike and rapidly had Adonis on his back. "Like I told you, friends are power. You have no friends, but I do. And...they are willing to help you." THe man grinned at him. "If you ask nicely."
Adonis spit. "I don't have time for this." He wouldn't let on how tempting the offer was. But as he turned, the old man was in front of him.
"DOn't you disrespect me little man."
Music had sprung up out of nowhere, and the feeling of power around the old man became opressive.
"Don't you derogate or deride!
You're in my world now Not your world And I got friends on the other side!"
As he led Adonis into a shop, voices echoed.
"He's got Friends on the other side."
"What was that?"
"Pay it no mind, dear boy. Just a small touch of power, but you want so much more, don't you?"
He gestured to a table.
"Sit down at my table Put your mind at ease If you relax it will enable me to do anything I please"
Adonis sat down, intruiged.
"I can read your future I can change it 'round some, too"
Magic gathered around him, and shadows danced as he sat down.
"I'll look deep into your heart and soul (You do have one don't you, Adonis?)"
Adonis bridled at his question, and his proximity.
"Make your wildest dreams come true!"
Magic danced around the man, as power flowed. He threw out spell books, cards, and other magic devices.
"I got voodoo I got hoodoo I got things I ain't even tried!
And I got friends on the other side."
Several torches flared, each one showing a flaming, twisted "S". Voices echoed from the flames.
"He's got friends on the other side!"
The man started shuffling the cards.
"The cards, the cards, the cards will tell The past, the present, and the future as well The cards, the cards, let us see Take a little trip into the future with me!"
He dealt out the cards, six landed on the table.
"Hmm...it seems six foes stand against you..."
"Six? THe Titans only number 5!"
"Wait and see, wait and see." He flipped over two cards that landed side by side. "Ah, the withc and the golem." The cards showed images of Jinx and Cyborg. "Drawn together by fate, seperated by distrust, now drawn again by what is thought impossible. Time is not on your side."
He flipped over the next two, which had landed one on top of the other. "Ah. The princess and her knight." Images of Robin and Starfire. "They know their bond, but one will not press, and the other fears causing harm. Their division weakens them. You must strike soon."
The last two cards landed on opposite sides of the table from each other. "AH, Beauty and the Beast, of course." It was Beast Boy and Raven. "Should what they have come to pass, it could sunder the heavens and shake the world to its core. But he fears to make the first move, and she cannot." Pulling a card out of his sleeve, he held up two halves of 'The Lovers'. "Each of them divided against the other, the bonds are weak. Strike now and you can take them all, with a little help." He put the two halves together. "But wait too long and they will be invincible." He smiled at Adonis. "So, what do you say?" He extended his hand.
"Shake my hand.
Come on boy.
Won't you shake a poor sinner's hand?"
Eagerly, Adonis seized the offered hand.
"Yes."
Magic flared to life all around, as flame creatures seized hold of Adonis, holding him down.
"Are you ready?" the old man asked.
"Are you ready?" the creatures echoed.
"Transformation central," the old man proclaimed, seizing a device out of the air.
"Transformation central."
"Reformation central!" the old man proclaimed, as he ripped off his hat, hair, and face...revealing a grinning skull.
"Reformation central!" the creatures echoed as Adonis began to struggle.
"Transmogrification central!" the skull faced man proclaimed, as he pricked Adonis' finger on the device, and magic erupter.
"Can you feel it?
You're changin'
You're changin'
You're changin alright!"
Adonis slowly turned into his Beast form...and it got bigger...and bigger...as less and less humanity showed.
"I hope you're satisfied But if you ain't Don't blame me You can blame my friends on the other side!"
The flame creatures surrounded Adonis, driving him out.
"YOu got what you wanted!
But you lost what you had!"
As Adonis leapt into the night towards Titan Tower, the man put his familiar mask back on.
"Hush..." Slade said, and the demons fell silent.
