Two Executions
Seth groaned in pain, something he did not regularly do. He tried to remember what happened, where he was, and what he was doing there. After moments of pressing, it all came back to him in a rush: he was just running away from Natas. Apparently, Natas didn't like being ignored, which he made painfully clear. It was a logical choice; Seth had gathered enough information on the creature, plus he knew that he would surely die if he fought Natas now. Odds were he'd probably die later tonight anyway, but he kept that to himself. He kept running, the thoughts still burning in his mind. During his act of futility, it fell apart – the apartment complex, empty and barren, had collapsed beneath him.
Mortared bricks came crashing down onto Seth's torso, then another hit him on the head with enough force that he blacked out. So, that answered one of the questions… now, where was he? Seth opened his eyes and bright, titanium light came exploding into his vision. He pushed the pain of both the wounds and the excruciating light from his senses, slowly sitting up. A sheet that covered his bare, pale chest fell to the ground.
He was in the Titan Tower's infirmary. Seth tore away the rest of the blankets and looked down at his chest, most of it wrapped in blood soaked bandages. The fluid had turned a dead, brown color, his body in the process of quickly healing his injuries. He peeled one of the bandages and saw what he expected to see: nearly perfectly unblemished skin. Seth glanced across the room, a figure hunched over a nearby desk. It was Raven, passed out on the flat surface, her cloak covering her. Seth swung his feet over the side of the examination table, standing up. They had only taken off his trench coat and shirt, nothing else. He wondered what condition the battered old coat was in; it had been his favorite for a long, long time.
It lay folded carefully on the counter next to the examination table, along with his shirt. Both items had been repaired, for whatever reason, and now held a sort of newness to them. Seth was just pulling on the trench coat when Raven awoke.
"I took the liberty of cleaning and repairing it myself."
"Thanks," Seth replied quietly, "have you found anything? What are the others doing right now?" he asked, indicating the notebooks and ancient papers after a bit of silence had passed.
"They ran, too. Your test proved useful. And yes, I believe that I have a plan to get rid of Natas Black once and for all," Raven said. She began to look over the papers again.
"Explain?"
"It's pretty simple. I've found an old spell that can capture him, send him back to wherever the hell he came from for a very, very long time. The only problem is, it takes about ten minutes to conjure up. So… we'll need to hold his attention for ten minutes while I chant up the spell," Raven explained.
"Something tells me that won't be very hard," Seth brushed his fingers over the new scars on his torso.
She nodded. "Yeah."
"I've found a way to at least stun Natas for a time. Plasma; it's a completely new form of weaponry that he has not encountered before. It takes him about several battles to get used to a new weapon, from what I've seen. There's only been one battle, so if me and Cyborg can construct a few more compact plasma cannons, we'll be in some business. I'll have to arm myself with a few, so will Robin. That little stick of his ain't worth shit against him," Seth explained.
"Understood. Let's go," Raven gathered up her things and then they both left the infirmary and headed down the hallway.
"How long was I out?" Seth asked.
"About ten hours. Starfire has been resting, Robin has been trying to go out and do battle but Starfire won't let him. Cyborg has been fighting the battle out there when he can, but we're all worn out. I even pitched in when I wasn't busy searching for a solution," Raven replied.
"Everyone will need to be in top shape for this," Seth said.
Raven nodded as they entered the rec room. Starfire was lounging in one of the chairs, Robin sitting upright in another one, very tense. Cyborg looked like he had just come back himself, bruised and bloodied. Raven made her way into the center of the room and explained her plan to rid Jump City of Natas. Robin liked it a lot, happy to finally be doing some real work.
Robin turned to face everyone. "Titans, this is going to be our hardest battle yet."
"Not of all us may make it back," Seth said, "maybe all of us."
"Until the end, right?" Cyborg gave a thumbs up.
Starfire nodded. "Let's put this Natas Black back to where he crawled from."
Starfire, for the most part, had recovered from any injuries she had and was ready to go back into action.
For the next two hours or so Seth and the team collected components, ammo, extra parts, tools and schematics for Cyborg's plasma cannon, constructed improved hand held plasma cannons and a few grenades. He made six plasma cannons total—three for him and three for Robin since Cyborg already had one. Raven was not going to fight, instead working on her incantation and Starfire had her powers which were close enough to plasma anyway. He divided up the eight plasma grenades, two for each of them excluding Raven once again. Finally, after hours time of preparation, everyone was ready.
The five flew over what once was their city. Jump City was a writhing mass of chaos, torture and crime. A lot more of it was on fire now, most left to rubble and ash. Those who had some sense in them were fleeing the city any way possible, by air or sea or land. Once again, the group set down in some abandoned parking lot in the slums, the smoke putrid in the air with the stench of decaying flesh.
"Do we look for him?" Robin asked.
Seth shook his head. "He'll come to us. To me."
"Sync watches," Cyborg said.
Within a few minutes, Natas showed up, arrogantly addressing Seth. Raven had already slipped into the shadows, ready to begin her chanting once the battle had begun.
"Good to see you once again, friend," Natas said with a large smile on his face.
"You bastard, how can you call my your friend?" Seth replied.
And for the first time ever, the look on Natas's face changed to that of confusion.
"Can you say that you honestly do not remember me?" Natas asked.
"Yeah, I remember you, back in Grant City. Where I blew up the power plant to kill you, but still you lived," Seth replied.
"So, you do not remember," Natas concluded, "has your genetic tampering really repressed your memories that much?"
Everyone turned to look at Seth, confused as much as Natas was. "What are you talking about?" Seth asked.
"Come on dear boy, we share a lot in common," Natas's nails grew long, dripping with venom and fog.
"You're bullshitting," Seth primed a plasma grenade.
Natas laughed. "Oh Obsidian, how could you forget?"
"I'm getting rid of you tonight, amnesia or not," Seth's plasma grenade whirred, ready to be used.
"Oh," Natas seemed somewhat heart broken, "you really want me to go?"
"You're not coming back," Seth growled.
"Fine. Enough talk, let us get this measly battle over with so I can get back to destroying your precious city, and then the next one, and the next one," Natas said, the smile returning to his face.
He opened his mouth impossibly wide, something like a howl exiting from his inhuman lips. It reverberated across the slums, shaking dust from fixtures and doors. He began to change – twist and transform into something much more powerful than the sum of its parts. He was twice his size in height. Seth looked back at Raven, who nodded and began her chanting. It was quiet, but just loud enough to conjure up the spell. As long as you don't notice, you demon scum.
"Light him up!" Robin commanded.
Then the battle began; everyone opened up with whatever form of powers they had, hoping to keep him at bay. Starfire rose up above Natas and rained down powerful alien energy, furious with each of her projectiles. Seth, Cyborg and Robin all fired upon various parts of Natas's massive form, doing lots of damage and blowing holes through his body. Seth's grenade landed next to him, igniting in a flash of neon heat. He cried out angrily and lashed out, Starfire dodging his attacks the best she could as the others battered Natas with the plasma.
Natas nearly lost his composure and balance, slowing. He stopped, taking a breath, picking up the remains of the plasma grenade. A smug grin pierced his perfect face. "A toy?"
"Out of breath?" Seth taunted him, shooting another round of plasma into his gut.
Natas retaliated, bringing his hand down on the Titans. They scattered, but not nearly quick enough. The ground shook violently and cracked, Robin knocked off his feet and Cyborg thrown violently into a brick wall that crumbled under the impact. He slowly got back to his feet, throwing the bricks off of himself. Robin recouped himself, then primed another one of the plasma grenades. He tossed it as hard as he could, the thing attaching itself to Natas's chest with an adhesive agent that Seth had applied around the outer perimeter of the grenade. Natas cried out angrily and tried to get the grenade off, but still it remained in place, then exploded. He was thrown off balance for another second, a jagged hole quickly healing in his chest.
Seth could already see the healing process accelerate through some dark magic, growing exponentially. Seth checked his watch, which he had appropriated and started a ten minute countdown.
Shit.
If anything, Natas was adapting faster. Nearly five minutes remained.
"How much time?" Robin shouted over the headset.
"Five minutes, maybe six, tops!"
Cyborg scoffed. "May as well be eternity!"
Seth cursed angrily and fired until the power reserves of his first plasma cannon ran dry, holding back his panic. He discarded the empty gun and pulled out another one, then began firing again. Seth married the blasts of plasma fire with a grenade, throwing it at Natas. It attached to his leg and exploded. He howled loudly in pain, his reconstitution growing ever faster. Seth and the other continued their attack. Natas swatted sideways with his massive hand. Robin was in the middle of throwing his second grenade; he had just gotten it into the air when the swipe hit him.
It sent him flying. He nailed the nearby concrete wall, falling to the ground. The impact had either killed him or knocked him unconscious. Starfire was up above, skirting beneath cloud, always just out of reach of Natas's deadly attacks. She saw Robin's still form and for just a second was distracted. This was all the demon needed. He swatted her out of the sky like a fly, annoyed by her buzzing. She cried out and was sent diving towards the ground below. She landed in a dumpster, in the same plot of slums as Robin.
"Just you and me," Cyborg said.
Seth nodded. They both continued their attacks, bombarding Natas with a multitude of plasma bolts.
"Two minutes!" Seth shouted, diving behind a slew of fixtures and walls.
Not much left to go, but they had to keep Natas distracted for a just a little while longer. The battle continued onward, not ceasing for a moment. Seth could almost hear Raven chanting now. I hope that means you're close.
Seth depleted his second plasma cannon, threw it to the ground and extracted the very last weapon. He didn't know how long it'd last, but hopefully it would be long enough. Cyborg was pushing himself to the limits too, low on energy. He was dodging attacks and putting real, brute force behind the plasma assaults. Seth threw his last plasma grenade; it stuck itself to Natas's face and exploded. He cried like some horrible beast in pain, caught in metal teeth. Obsidian checked his ammo. It was about half way depleted, possibly less. Seth began to walk backwards, firing as fast as he could to keep Natas occupied.
He quickly reached Robin, knelt down and snatched up the gun. He held it in the other hand and fired them both. Quickly he checked his watch. 48 seconds.
Seth watched as Cyborg threw one last plasma grenade, this time not seeming to do much damage Natas. Seth's primary gun ran out of energy and refused to fire anymore. In the background, Raven was chanting louder still, almost ready to use the archaic spell. It seemed that Natas heard her too, shouting in madness and rage.
"I've had enough of your toys and nursery rhymes!" he frantically began to look for her as slowly, darkness began to form.
30 seconds.
Raven could be heard throughout the parking lot, nearing completion. Natas screamed again and began to tear the place down around him, as the counter broke twenty seconds Raven made herself visible. She was all but screaming the chant now, the air behind Natas slowly began to swirl, growing inhumanly dark and inviting. Streetlights all around them exploded and died, sending showers of sparks over the landscape. The entire area began to rumble. The portal to hell, or some place like it, was opening, demanding a passenger to come through. The screams of the damned and the flames of Oblivion shot out of the doorway. Starfire was safely hidden in the dumpster and Robin was anchored underneath a ton of rubble, his breath shallow… but alive.
Cyborg ran to one of the nearby buildings, trying to make his way to Robin and Starfire. He shielded them as the tear between worlds widened.
"Shit!" Seth's last weapon ran out of energy and became useless, Obsidian throwing it to the ground.
The portal was fully open now, things rolling into its cyclone of space. Raven threw herself behind an outcrop of the building's exterior, bracing herself as the portal's vacuum became overwhelming.
"NO! I WILL NOT GO BACK!" Natas bellowed.
"Send a postcard, fucker," Seth muttered, fighting the suction of the portal.
"OBSIDIAN!" Natas lashed out, inhumanly fast and caught Seth in the torso.
The blades of his fingers pierced Seth in the stomach and upper chest, effectively disemboweling him. Before Natas could deliver a final blow, the many hands and tongues of the damned restrained him. Natas howled with rage, rocking the entirety of the area. Buildings crumbled and cars exploded, bits of the debris following the demon into hell. Natas's face melted, his horrific form doing much the same and flowing into the gateway. His bones crushed, flesh tore and then, suddenly, it was over. Natas was pulled relentlessly into the portal and it snapped shut, almost like a light being turned off. Starfire came up out of the dumpster and Robin regained consciousness, followed by Raven and Cyborg.
As they regrouped, there was a cry of pain from Seth, the young adult laying on the ground in a pool of his own flesh and blood. This time, his wounds were not healing. The Titans ran to him, hovering over his body. Raven was there first, kneeling down over him with wide eyes. He hacked and coughed violently, blood seeping out of the massive wounds left by Natas Black. More and more blood came out. Raven held Seth carefully in her arms, holding back her emotions.
"Come on, let's get him to the infirmary," Robin said, barely able to look at Seth.
"N-No, I'm… not going to make it," Seth replied weakly, the color draining from his face.
"Come on, Seth," Raven said, "we can get you to the tower, we can fix you up. It's… not that bad," she looked away momentarily as Seth wretched up more gore.
"No, Raven… it's done, now," Seth said shakily.
"What do you mean?" she sniffled, Starfire hiding her face in Robin's arms.
"I wanted… Natas, and I, I got him… I can't heal anymore, anyway. I can't… take… damage from something immortal and live to tell about it," Seth explained.
Seth groaned one last time, closing his eyes, his body limp. Cyborg, Robin and Starfire turned away as it began to rain. Raven cried, the sheer magnitude of her emotion finishing the destructive job of the buildings Natas had begun. The calamity eventually settled to calm, Raven's outburst over. She stood, holding Seth's body, and lead the way back to the Tower. A funeral was to be held and a burial to be planned. When they got home, they agreed to lay Seth to rest the next morning. After showering and preserving his body for the night, the Titans slept.
Outside, something settled. The night continued on, wounded, but alive. A dark cloud had lifted off of the city. The smell of decay ceased, the explosions and gunfire had vanished and finally, Jump City stopped screaming.