Titans X Chapter Eleven: Death Sheloth Strikes

Death Sheloth looked, lazily, over towards Danny. "You ruined my fun…" she said. Then she was in front of him. "But I forgive you. You didn't even lose a limb to my blades…that's impressive, love…" she continued, leaning down towards Danny.

"HEY! GET AWAY FROM HIM YOU FREAK!" June yelled out, activating the rune she had on her, and kicking Sheloth in the face, knocking the ghost away.

Death Sheloth's eyes flashed white, before June was mercifully swung out of the way of an oncoming, invisible, blade strike by Peter.

"Huh?"

"My Spider Sense kicked in…" he muttered, dropping her and rushing towards Sheloth…and going right through her. "Oh. Right. Damnit…" Then he leapt out of the way, as the wall was sliced in half.

Before Kim could react to any that was going on, as she was standing by Danny, Danny rushed forward unleashing a powerful energy blast, knocking Death Sheloth out of the building. Danny glared, green blood running down the side of his face, as he took to the air.

"You guys stay back. I'm going to find her and take her down." He ordered as he flew out the wall in pursuit.

"Danny…" Kim's voice came out in a whisper reaching out towards where he had been. Then her eyes set into determination. "Gather everyone together Pete. June! Try and see if you can use that non-intangibility thing on us as well, got that?"

"Yes ma'am!" they both yelled out as one, heading out.

Danny looked around, franticly, flying through the city. But his ghost sense never went off. In fact…it should have went off when he first saw Peter…but it didn't…what was going on? She was a ghost…Danny knew that. But she didn't set off his Ghost Sense. He knew only one place to go to for answers. Danny disappeared beneath the ground, heading to wards the door that led to the Ghost Zone. It was well hidden, beneath the lake, and could only be opened by a ghost. (Or a Human/ghost…)

Meanwhile…

Her name was Marisa Cortese Alono. She was a mother of three, the eldest being no older then 9, and the youngest being twins of the age of 2, a regular churchgoer, and the woman everyone could depend on. She wasn't much in the way of looks or shape, but she had a kind heart, and a loving husband.

However, everyone can be corrupted…sometimes, however, it takes more the another. And, as the dark shape over took her, she said a small prayer for she knew it to be the end.

And in many ways…it was.

"OK, I think I've got a spell that can help us out…" June said, entering the room. Danny was still missing, and there had been no news of anything going on. They couldn't even get Danny on the communicator.

Kim had been arming herself with every single type of offensive weaponry they had, Jake and Ben nervously sitting around, and Peter…

Peter had started punching the wall and wouldn't stop. "I KNEW what she was doing…what she was planning…but I couldn't do anything…I…ARG!" the last punch actually cracked the wall.

A hand dropped onto his shoulder. "It's ok…we know you couldn't help it. Possession is a very deadly thing." Kim started.

"IT WASN'T POSSESSION!" Peter yelled. "It…it was more like corruption." he continued, quieting down. "I could see everything, hear everything. I knew what she was doing…and I couldn't stop her. It wasn't like Danny's possession…she almost seemed to enjoy the fact that I couldn't do anything…"

"It's OK." Kim said, this time a bit more forcefully. Peter looked at her and nodded.

"Now then, June did you find a way?"

"Yeah Kim, I got a spell. Won't let your weapons touch her, but you yourself can…also have one that will allow us to not be possessed. It'll take a few minutes to prepare, so everyone just wait a bit…"

Danny burst into Walker's office, his eyes glowing green. "Alright Walker! Who is she?"

Walker didn't even bother to look surprised. In fact, he asked a question that surprised Danny! "First answer me something, who are you?"

"W-what?"

Walker stood up, clasping his hands behind his back, looking down at Danny, the brim of his hat almost over his eyes, as he continued the question, "I asked who are you. Fairly simple. You see, the punk, the REAL punk, was just spotted in his home town fighting an anti-ghost organization. You couldn't possibly be him, and yet you look the same. So I ask you, who are you?"

"I'm…another Danny. From a different dimension," Danny said, reluctantly.

"Hmm…that would explain your new friends, AND your new location," Walker drawled, looking away.

"Now you tell me, what, or who, IS this Death Sheloth?" Danny asked urgently.

Walker set his gaze upon Danny, and it seemed almost…apologetic. "She is an alien ghost, a being who should not exist and yet does. Something older then the age of ghosts and humans as we know them. Something that died in such a way…that she wouldn't allow it. She clawed her way out of the deepest pits of Hell, Demon energies fusing inside of her, her mortal soul shattered, and was resurrected here. By the Ghost King no less," at this, Walker's eyes darken. "At that time, as the legend goes, the Ghost King was a benevolent ruler, and his seven council men helped him in his rule, whom we would later know as the Ancients that would lock him away. King Pariah resurrected her by mistake, and she, at that time, had no form. She was merely…black energy. Her energy tried to take over the Ghost King, but his soul was too strong, and he cast her out…but not without paying the penalty. He had been twisted, and transformed into the evil King we all know of.

"During the resulting battle, he lost his eye, and cast the Soulless one away. But she would not die. Not even the grips of Oblivion could hold her. She escaped, and this time she manifested a form that, I assume, resembled her living body. But with her, you could never know… By the time she was reborn, the Ancients had already defeated Pariah, and were greatly weakened. It took their last strengths to seal her away…but not before she could ensure their demise. That's when I found her. When I was looking for a place to build my prison, I happened upon her tomb…and unleashed her. Back then, I had an army with Bullet and his brother Blade by my side. In the resulting battle, she took Bullet's eye…and Blade's life."

"…but, how?" Danny asked, his eyes widened. How could a ghost die…

"Easy. She is unlike any ghost, as we ghosts have a soul that keeps us together. She however…all she has is her rage, her demonic powers, her undying WILL…and that was enough to bring her from the Oblivion. As she has no soul, she can FUSE her life energy with another's soul to make her attacks stronger, and to make HER more deadly. However, if the soul is strong enough, it can cast her out. That's where she made her fatal flaw with me. She tried to take me over…but my will was greater, and she was almost destroyed because of it. So was I, actually," Walker stopped, almost amused. "Anyways, punk, after that we created the cell to hold her in. She had been in there, quiet, up until you showed up. Now she's your problem, and I hope you know how to deal with her. You can't play nice, you can't play be the rules…you have to hit her, and you have to hit her hard."

Danny looked down at his feet, before meeting Walker's gaze.

"Can you do that?"

Danny held true and steady. "Yes. I can, and I will."

An alarm sounded, as Kim rushed to the computer. The screen came up, and horror flashed in her eyes. There was a woman in the middle of the street…floating. Black things were traveling from her back to her arms, to her head and to her legs and her eyes glowed blue. Black energy ran off of her fingers as blades appeared everywhere. They were faint…but visible. The air shimmered around her, as the ground cracked open and an oncoming surge of black energy erupted, consuming her form…then shooting outwards, in all directions in a shockwave of power, buildings shattering…

"Titans!" Kim yelled, heading for the window. "Jake, fly us to the area, NOW!"

"R-right!" Jake stuttered, morphing into a dragon, and allowing June and Peter to grab a hold to him. He grasped Kim by the shoulders and looked back towards Ben, who was fumbling with the Omnitrix. "Yo! Dude! Hurry up!"

"Coming!" Ben yelled, as he pressed down on the device, and the light consumed him.

The blade came up, slicing through the building with little trouble, as another three blades entered the road, carving deep grooves into it, and slicing through any and all that got in its path. The three blades rose up, suddenly, and sliced outwards before slicing back into themselves.

Then a blur flew through the blades, and straight to the master, as XLR8 unleashed a flurry of blows into Death Sheloth's body. Sheloth's head snapped back from a well placed kick…then snapped forward again, this time from no blow, but of unnatural forces. The air shimmered in front of her, as the blows upon her hosts body were brought down, and then the air struck out striking XLR8 in the chest and stomach, sending the boy flying hundreds of feet backwards, the air driven from his lungs, as what little damage he had wrought upon Death Sheloth's host was fixed by black energy.

XLR8's journey through the sky was abruptly halted by a previously undamaged building, as he crashed to the ground. The blades rose up around him, preparing to strike, as fire balls tore them apart. Jake flew in, grabbing up XLR8 after Kim leapt from his arms, whilst Peter and June leaped off of his back, and turned upwards, avoiding the slashing blades.

Kim rushed towards Sheloth, keeping the blades away by using explosive discs, and jumped upwards, somersaulting through the slicing blades that were coming to her front, actually springing off of one, using it as leverage, and aimed a powerful kick to the back of Sheloth's skull.

A kick that was halted by what seemed to be an impenetrable wall of dark energy…and the blow released upon the wall was returned to Kim ten times, sending her screaming in pain, back to the ground.

Peter sent out twin weblines, trying to tie up Sheloth, who had not even acknowledged their presence. They too were stopped…and dark energy coursed through them, and into Peter, shocking him with their power, as he was brought to the ground, withering in pain.

June leapt in, severing the weblines, and aimed a powerful blow to the wall, leaping out of the way of the backlash that followed, and slammed a kick into it again, following her pattern, not noticing the air around her shimmering.

She was struck from all sides, and dropped to the ground barely awake. Then Sheloth looked down at her…and smiled.

Then the fire blasts rained down upon her, each blast meeting a blade that arched upwards to intercept and protect their mistress. Then Sheloth was gone.

And behind Jake.

"W-what?!" he cried out, as she brought down a cruel lash of dark power, slamming in-between his wings, and knocking him out of the air.

Where she awaited once again, this time bringing out another lash, thrashing him and forcing him sideways as he finally began to regain control…

And the air above him crashed down. The result was catastrophic to Jake, who was forced to detransform laying in the crater his body had made. Death Sheloth peered down into the crater, the blades around her rising…

As her body was thrown backwards by a powerful blast of green energy. "SHELOTH!" Danny roared, his eyes pure green, his fists glowing with the power of ghosts.

Death Sheloth rose from her hunched over position…slowly. Again what little damage had been wrought to her host was being quickly fixed. "I was getting bored." She answered his bellow, her head cocked to one side, eyes showing something resembling interest. Then the blades came down around Danny.

All of which were stopped by his own ghost shield. Which he sent outwards in all direction, destroying the blades. Danny's glare deepened. In many ways, Vlad himself would have been frightened of the boy's expression. Death Sheloth, however…

Danny flew at her, as more blades came at him, on coming. His right hand glowing, he blocked the first few blades with a powerful energy strike, and parried the others with a ectoplasmic shield which he converted into an energy blasts, obliterating the blades. He then slammed his fist into the wall that surrounded, and unleshed an energy ball, blasting through the wall and straight into Death Sheloth.

His punches actually reached her, slamming into her face and body, driving her back, until a blade slashed down into his back, forcing him to the ground, screaming. Then the blade was knocked away, as Spider Man broke it in half. Danny got up, painfully, and nodded towards Peter as he blasted powerful beams towards the demonic ghost.

However, before the blasts could reach her, black energy rose up and consumed them. Spidey yelled out as he swung towards her, but his leg was caught in the dark energy, as he was slammed into a building then slung away. June however, was already up and moving, as she fought Death Sheloth, activating another device on her body, matching the dark energy with her own white light.

The white light consumed her hands, as she parried the blows of the black energy, then brought both of her hands together and formed an energy shield around herself, the blades slicing downwards being destroyed by the light. Then June brought her hands to her side, the shield retreating into her hands, as she thrust both hand outwards, the light rushing forth, striking Death Sheloth.

Sheloth screeched in an inhuman sound, as pain, true pain, washed over her being. Then she brought a black whip up from behind June, and lashed downwards, striking the back of June's head, knocking the poor girl out.

Peter grabbed her up before any more harm could come to her though, avoiding the blades that slashed out towards him, as he got her out of the immediate area.

Death Sheloth watched them leave, and brought up her left hand, it cackling in energy…then was tossed backwards by Danny, slamming into her shoulder first. Death Sheloth glared at him, then brought down the air strikes, the first two slamming into his legs, making him fall forward…the next slamming into his head forcing him back, the final one, slamming into his back, making him flip before finally hitting the ground.

Danny brought his arm up, tearing through the road, as a powerful beam ripped from his hand…and was deflected by Death Sheloth's own black power.

Kim swung in this time, actually landing a blow upon Death Sheloth…before being tossed away. The blades rose up around Kim as Death Sheloth looked down upon her.

Time seemed to stand still for Danny. He had two choices: kill an innocent woman who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time…or allow his friend to be slaughtered.

This was the moment of heroes.

Would he choose life over death…or death over life?

In the end, as Danny's left hand rose, there was no choice.

Only action.

The only way.

The Hero's path.

The end.