Chapter 7
Music floated idly around in the darkness. Thinking was very hard so he just enjoyed the warmth and weightlessness. Something was out of place, his body felt still. He was sure that he was supposed to have a faint vibration running through every cell in his body; the demon side had a natural resonance. He could usually feel its faint tingle constantly, from having a permanent illusion, but I wasn't there. There was something else wrong, flashes in the darkness and faint voices. They came and went, one shouting at him to wake up, the other saying his uniqueness had great potential. Music couldn't seem to connect the voices with names. He couldn't even remember why he was floating in an abyss. More faint lights appeared.
'It appears the head trauma I gave you is beginning to heal.'
What head trauma? He could feel his head and it was the same bland warmth as the rest of his body.
'But you've lost the conflict that made you powerful, the fire in you sleeps.'
Slade. The name suddenly attached itself to the voice. Music began to understand small details. He was Cambion and a Titan. He had no idea what the words meant but he understood the implications of them. Time passed. Another name, Beastboy. It summoned images of the colour green, and various foods for unknown reasons.
Warmth began to build up in the pit of his stomach. At first it was barely a flicker, but soon it expanded. It was foreign, completely alien, yet had an intense familiarly to it and an almost practiced comfort. He wanted it to stop annoying him, and yet seemed to want it to consume him. His mind seemed to be completely split, and soon memories began returning in full from the conflict. Demon and human, the duality of being cambion. He was a living example of the imperfect marriage of human and demon species. His fractured mind state presented a single question. Which would he rather be, a soul stealing incubus or a frail mortal teenager? He didn't have to answer. The darkness around him faded, and another darkness replaced it.
"About time Music." Robin's voice echoed from somewhere ahead of him. Music tried to take a step forward. He fell over himself, realising his wrists and ankles had been bound to wall mounted chains. Music scowled, and moved around in the dark until his thumb was level with his mouth. His bit down, and yelped spitting out the blood. Pain shot up his arm, and the blood flowed freely without any sign of its usual instant healing.
"That's not supposed to happen." Music's voice came out with a hint of hysteria. "It's not supposed to hurt." His throat suddenly ached, as did his wrist and head.
"Slade gave you a suppressant to keep you from nearly transforming again." Music gave Robin a quizzical look, just managing to see his outline against the inky lightless cell walls.
"Transform?" Music looked down, seeing white gauze bandages on his wrist. Which had definitely not healed.
"He explained quite a lot to me. You over did your magic, nearly killing yourself in the process. The demon part took the opportunity to take over while you were weakened. If Slade hadn't stopped it you would have died from the violent power shift." Music scowled. Realisation hit him quickly. His body was fully human. He couldn't feel the brush of his hair around his meagre horns, or the tingle of barely controlled demon power.
"So how are we escaping?" Music's voice came out cracked and weak. His throat had healed most of the way from where it was cut, but it was still in bad condition.
"Slade took everything, my weapons, your magic, everything." Robin sounded uncharacteristically devoid of optimism.
"I can still do blood magic, but its far more dangerous now. I have to spill at least twice as much blood as I did."
"That won't be necessary." Music froze and Robin made a futile dash forward. Slade had suddenly appeared, standing with his face inches away from Music's. Something stabbed Music in the arm, and a hard burning raced through his veins.
"Soon you will be my new apprentice, along with Robin of course." It was whispered directly into Music's ear. Music grinned stupidly. He'd just discovered something that even his captor didn't know, or was made not to know. The burning in his blood increased, and his vision faded back into nothingness.
Music opened his eyes, determined not to fall under the poisons effect. Medical equipment on tables showed him that he had obviously failed.
"Good to see you're awake." Slade was standing next to the table Music was strapped to. Bright light above him prevented him from seeing very far. "The substance in your blood prevents you from moving." Music was about to start squirming when he heard the words.
"What are you planning?" Music was trying to draw blood from his lip. If he got a suitably large amount he could use a spell. He failed to realise he would need a full pint at least to perform any magic without his Cambion potency.
"You and Robin are to be my new apprentices; I thought I made myself clear." Slade strapped a metal band to Music's wrist. It tingled and what little human magical potential died instantly.
"I meant with me being here, in a lab."
"I am going to revive your demon half and let it take over, it should be more malleable and much simpler to influence." A large device descended from the ceiling. It was cylindrical in shape, with a large curved lens facing towards Music. The lens was filled with black liquid, pure demon blood. Music realised the table he was strapped to had a coating of silver and tin to reflect the energy from the device back into him. Slade retrieved four orange crystals from a table, placing them in four slots around the lens. He smiled under his mask, picking up a palmtop computer and tapping the screen. A light deep in the machine came to life. The orange crystals glowed faintly, and the blood turned purple under the intense light. Slade tapped the palmtop again.
"Recognise it? I built it exactly as your father did." The device was the same design as the one Ehl-Sek had used to alter Music as a child. It focused light so the illumination picked up the essence of whatever it was passing through, depositing it in whatever it touched. Passing through demon blood would cause Music to change rapidly.
Music jolted painfully as ethereal grey light covered his body. He growled and shouted, thrashing against the fire and pain tearing his body and mind to pieces. It came in waves, bombarding him with its intensity. Blood flowed through his hair from two holes where his horns used to be, and his eyes felt like pins were being pushed through them. His fingertips ached and itched as bones pushed through the tips into spiked claws. He let all the air out of his lungs in a violent cry, making a feral bark like noise whilst trying to tear at Slade with what little freedom of movement he had.
The palmtop device beeped, and Slade began pressing buttons with vigour. The light stopped and Music slumped. He closed his eyes exhausted, feeling his demon side retreating deeper and deeper into his body. Slade rushed over.
"You were supposed to change, why are you becoming even more human!" Frustration wracked his usually impassive tone. Music was too unconscious to have heard the sudden crack in Slade's icy front. Through the unconscious haze Music could feel the sensation of falling, and something warm brushing past him heading to the surface of his mind. He ignored it.
Robin looked up hearing the click of boots as Slade returned, chaining Music back up to his position on the wall. He could hear the annoyance from the way he walked and the tension across his shoulders showed clearly. Music looked to be unconscious. Slade turned and left, closing the door and blocking the only source of light. Robin's eyes adjusted to the darkness quickly.
"Is he gone?" Music still appeared to be unconscious and was hanging limply from his chains. His voice had made a strange echo, like several Music's had said it at roughly the same time, but not perfectly.
"Yeah." Robin smiled, Music was alive. He was half expecting him not to return, and the thought of loosing his friend and frequent sparing partner made his stomach knot.
His smile faded when Music tilted his head up. He was smiling lopsidedly, but his teeth were all black and pointed. Opening his eyes they first appeared normal, if glowing slightly. They flickered a few times, changing between normal and something else. They stopped, dulling in colour to a decayed orange. His pupils spiked into four pointed stars, and the blackness from them leaked out consuming the white. A thick cloying odour filled the air, it was heady and potent, and most of all very relaxing. Robin tried to ignore it, not knowing it was an incubus way of ensnaring prey. His two horns reappeared, but were now several inches tall with bands of striations across them. He arched his body. Several pronounced cracks and crunches filled the room. Music twisted as his whole body elongated. He gained in height quite a few inches, and his fingers extended longer than they needed. He looked very thin and lanky. Finally his fingers extended into their usual points.
Robin watched in a state of morbid curiosity, he was both horrified and intensely curious as to what was happening. Music rose from his limp position, tearing the chains from the walls with ease. He crushed the wrist bindings like frail glass, and did the same to his leg bindings.
Music looked at Robin, eyes empty and missing even the slightest hint of the old Music.
"Music?" The demon wearing Music's skin snorted at Robin.
"Muh-Sek, Music was weak and pathetic." The way it talked showed it had a minimal grasp on language, it seemed to struggle forming its words.
It wandered over to Robin, who desperately wanted to not be tied up with a feral monster walking towards him. Muh-Sek sniffed at Robin, picking up his scent.
"Mine." Robin looked at Music in shock. Muh-Sek licked its lips and leaned forward, pressing himself against Robin in a very suggestive manner. It growled and nipped lightly at Robin's neck, leaving a trail of red marks across his skin.
Robin's eyes widened, and any attempt at speaking failed before he could begin. Muh-Sek's eyes held a dark energy swirling behind them, like a powerful lust amplified many times.
The demon made a low mewling, nuzzling Robin's neck almost affectionately. A sudden flash of pain shot up Robin's body. Teeth dug deep, but not enough to draw blood. Robin's mind was fast enough to explain what was happening. His team-mate was marking him as property. Which meant Muh-Sek wanted him, and probably so did the old Music. His head was pulled back violently by a pointed hand, and suddenly his lips were flush against the demons.
Heat. Robin could feel an intense heat rolling off Music. His skin felt like it had fire beneath it. Muh-Sek was purring and roving around with his tongue in sharp motions.
Robin's eyes snapped shut. It took a few moments for him to think straight. He scolded himself mentally; he was not supposed to be enjoying this, even if he thought Music was slightly cute. The demon seemed to know what he was thinking, smiling to itself. It pulled back, biting at Robin's lip slightly. A faint click echoed through the cell.
Music's hands gripped at Robin's hips, pulling him close. Muh-Sek made a contented laugh, but it was cold and held no real emotion. Muh-Sek stood up at his full height, breathing in the scent of Robin's hair. His hands began exploring, trying to memorise the dark haired Titans body to the detail.
The cell door opened and Slade stepped in. Robin saw the gleam of passionate bloodlust run through dark orange eyes, and the feral reasoning governing his thoughts. The demon vanished in a blur.
Slade was pinned against the cell wall. He looked down, seeing Music smiling at him in a strange infantile way. Slade broke his hand free from the grip and punched at Muh-Sek. His punch was caught without flinching, and crushed in a sickening noise. Muh-Sek drew himself up to Slade's eye level, and rammed his left hand through the elder villain's chest to where his heart would have been, if it was the real Slade. No blood leaked out, just ocean blue coolant liquid used in robotic systems to prevent overheating. Music had known that the Slade was a fake from the moment it had covertly said he wanted them to be his future apprentices.
The demon Muh-Sek had inherited this knowledge in the shards of Music's recent thoughts.
Muh-Sek pulled back, pulling out a sphere covered in blinking lights and wires. It was the central core that held the facsimile of Slade's mind. He growled and crushed it. The Slade replica slumped.
"Impostor." Muh-Sek smiled.
Robin looked on, not knowing what to say.
"That wasn't Slade?" Robin was sure that was the real Slade when it had defeated them.
"Broken toy that believes itself to be a person." Muh-Sek turned back to Robin, intent on finishing what he had begun. He leaned against Robin, moving to kiss him. Green light filled the room and a deep impacting noise echoed. Muh-Sek roared and spun around. Realising he was outnumbered his instincts demanded he flee. He cut into his wrist quickly. Blood flowed up his arm, forming a band around his neck. He growled slightly, and then was gone.
"Robin." Starfire flew forward, breaking the bindings. "Are you injured?"
"I'm fine." Robin retorted, pressing his hand against the bites that still tingled with demon warmth. Robin actually felt drowsy; he had gone three days without food and only minimal water.
"What was that thing?" Beastboy looked at the broken chains, and the crushed Slade robot.
"Music." Robin spoke in a cold tone, heading to the light of the open corridor.
"Music-boy is capable of this?" Speedy pointed to the ruined robot that had effectively taken down the Titans. Robin noticed the large bruise on his forehead from where he was hit with a metal chain during the fight.
"That thing is no longer Music, it's a demon running on instinct and need that has to be terminated before it starts feeding." Raven held no remorse announcing the death sentence for her team-mate.
"We have to kill our friend?" Starfire's eyes dulled as she said it.
"No, he died the moment it took over; we're just stopping his killer." Raven adjusted her hood and floated away. Silence suffocated the team.
"We had a deal."
"I'm not exactly an honest person."
"You'll get us killed."
"You should have more faith in my power, our power."
"We have yet to break the life binding, we are still not truly immortal. They can kill us with enough effort. We may have a lack of death but it can still be given to us."
"Relax, I won't make the same mistake you did, I won't let myself bleed to death."
"I'm the one who has to explain all of this when you can no longer keep in control."
"Until then I think I'll have some fun with the green one, you seem to be too attached to him."
"Hello. Anybody here?" Andrea walked around the tower, shouting loudly.
"Clearly not." She glared at the white porcelain mask Mark had donned. A brief yellow flicker appeared behind the miniscule eye holes. Mark adjusted the long sleeved cloak, found under the bed in Music's old bedroom.
Hadrian found the room with a red music note painted on it and pried it open.
"Let's go through Music's stuff." Andrea was first in, followed by a disapproving Terra and then Luke.
"We shouldn't be nosing around; he has a habit of leaving explosives around, like…" Terra was interrupted.
"A space/time concussive detonator augmented with a magic fusion chamber and enough explosive abadon crystals to cause a thermo-nuclear reaction in the xenothium core, wiping the western hemisphere off the planet." Hadrian was crouching next to the bed.
"Yeah, like that." She looked over Hadrian's shoulder and gulped loudly. "I hear Russia is very far east this time of year." Terra joked nervously. Hadrian shot her a cold look, examining the device he'd found under Music's bed. Luke picked up the journal that was resting in the box with the bomb. He flicked through it.
"We really need to teach Music the meaning of overkill." Luke laughed, pointing out a line in the journal to the others. They read it and couldn't help but laugh. It was his plans for the explosive.
"This is excessive even for him, a whole doomsday device for something so simple." Andrea laughed picking up the journal and flicking through. She stopped finding a short paragraph detailing his plans, with small crosses to show how far along in his scheming he was.
"He's in way over his head." Andrea sounded serious for once. She handed the book to Terra.
"That would explain his odd behaviour." Terra gave the book to Luke. "
"He's been working on this since before he was a hunter if I'm reading this right." Luke put the book back in with the bomb and slid it under the bed again.
"Let's go watch TV." Andrea suddenly perked up and wandered off.
"What have you gotten yourself into this time?" Slade walked amongst the scattered pieces of his replica. He had been looking for it since it malfunctioned, but with no success. He accessed a computer terminal, finding that his pass code was the same as the replicas. Reading the entries he growled, smashing his fist into the computer. He had been studying Music's progress with the Titans from afar for some time, he was generally unimpressed. Music needed reminding that he was weak, he needed to be tested and pushed to fulfil his potential.
Andrea lounged on the Sofa, flicking through channels while waiting for Music to return. Terra had lowered her mask and hood, but was twitching and reaching to move them into place at every slight noise.
"…to properly cook the…"
Andrea changed channel.
"Hey kids, know what time it is, it time for major music…"
Andrea flinched then changed the channel. She hated children's TV.
"…in love with the devil, and she's in love with me!"
Andrea recognised the song from Music's precious c.d. She hated Music's music so changed channels again.
"…police and military forces have yet to subdue the force that's been tearing up downtown Jump city. The creature has yet to be identified and the Titans are nowhere to be found…" A loud growling roar cut off the newswoman who ran as fire and explosions rained down. The whole team spoke in unity upon hearing the roar, a demon hunter habit trained into them.
"Incubus genus, Sek sub family, yet to reach maturity."
They all looked at each other.
"You don't think…" Terra started.
"Look's like we have to go save Music." Andrea sighed. "I told him this would happen, but did he listen, no, he ignored my warnings."
The hunters left, trying to ignore Andrea's rant.
Damius: I'm so sneaky, more hidden hints as to what Music is planning in secret. If you want a few hints:
1) What could Music possibly know that would distinguish a fake from the real Slade relating to Slade wanting them as apprentices?
2) Why would Music need to build such a potent magical weapon, and why would what he is planning for it be considered overkill?
3) What could be written in his journal that he'd been planning for quite a few years?
Music: For the first one maybe Slade already has an apprentice, me, and the real Slade would know I was working undercover. Evil me basically.
Damius: Sorry to say this Music but when you regain control of your body you stay as a good guy, you don't turn to the dark side again.
Music: Dammit!
Damius: I know, you make a good villain, but I have plans for you.
Slade: As do I
Music: Why's he here?
Damius: I invited him; we're having tea and scones later while discussing world domination strategies.
Music: during the last scene there are two references Damius slipped in. The first, the kids channel is from Ravenscliff/ Sorcerers of the Nightwing books. Major Music is the villain Jackson Muir, who steals souls through an evil TV show. The music channel is a fragment of the lyrics for one of Damius' favourite songs: 'And I Go' by 16 volt.
Damius: I've always imagined Music listening to my music.
Music: Reviews welcome, I need something to read while those two are scheming. And thank you 'poxmaker' for your review. There will be another fight against Slade later, the real Slade not an inferior machine. The original is always better. And I get some cuteness next chapter involving Beastboy, inhuman amounts of chocolate consumption, and the hidden stash of adult movies in my hunter communicator. Don't ask, Damius has a twisted creative mind.
Damius: On a final note my updates will become a bit more stable in timing soon, I think, as will the plot which I think needs to be solidified more. And I think this is the longest authors note ever.
