Tales of the Titans: Godwar, Part 3: The Faith That Would Bring Them Results

Chapter 35: Reflections in Time's Mirror

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I don't own the Teen Titans.

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Chapter 35: Reflections in Time's Mirror

Far, far down in the Earth's mantle, on a subterranean continent floating on the outskirts of the molten core of the planet, the Fallen One looked up. Once again, events on the surface were moving towards an apocalyptic scenario.

He knew full well what Beulah Bleak had summoned, and why. From what he had seen so far, there was an equal chance that the being known as Typhon would intercede and that he would not. There was no real way to predict that.

But unlike Bleak, he was unsure of the survival of his realm and those in it, should what was summoned arrive. Perhaps it was time to secure his fortress and those that belonged to him, and leave this dimension altogether.

Also, there was the small matter of the human called Robin and the one he was married to. The Fallen One could not sense them, either in the realms of the living or the dead, and this boded ill.

The disappearance of the subterranean continent would be likely to cause some seismic effects on the upper world, but there was no helping that.

…

"Raven? You might want take a look at this." Hank tone was more somber than Raven had ever heard.

"What is it?" She looked over the reports he'd had printed out. Raven had trouble using computers, not due to lack of knowledge, but because high-end electronics tended to malfunction around her. So he'd taken to just running off paper copies. It saved on computer repair bills.

As she looked over the reports, her face blanched. Yes, it was all here, just as the girl, Alice (whom Raven still couldn't perceive in any way), had said: Unit 731, World War II. Vivisections. Inhumane experiments carried out on helpless people and animals. And no prosecution? "How did they manage that?" she asked him. "These would have to be considered war crimes."

"The party line is they were pardoned in exchange for their medical knowledge. But that doesn't compute. The Nazis also had 'medical knowledge' acquired in ways that, frankly, I don't like to think about. But for these people to be pardoned….Raven, how long have the governments of the world been aware of Trigon?"

"Eh? Trigon? What do you mean?"

"I mean, we've had the Church of Blood since the Crusades, but it's never been linked, definitely, to demon worship. Could it be possible….just maybe…that these people were pardoned, not for medical knowledge, but for mystical knowledge?"

Raven's eyes widened. "And the whole thing hushed up. Of course…they couldn't very well come out and say they'd come into knowledge of a demon world." Trigon's words still resounded in her ears: {{You yet retain too much mortality to fully comprehend the scope of their actions. But this much I say, that you can comprehend: to you and your friends, I extend the offer of sanctuary, here in my domain.}}

The world, the planet Earth, was becoming a dangerous place to be a Titan. Could it be they'd fare better under her father's protection? They'd be together, a family, in a place unreachable by man….

But no. There was more at stake than mere survival here. And they had allies to consider. She doubted they'd see the attraction of sanctuary in Hell, no matter whose father was in charge.

"Alright. So…we're assuming they got wind of some information of a mystical nature. But, Hank, I don't think it's about my father. The world hasn't known about him all that long….oh, there was the prophecy, but even when it was happening, I was the only one who knew what it truly meant. I'm sure if there'd been any records of Trigon's existence, let alone a way of, of contacting him, that Robin would have turned it up. Besides…." She leaned on her desk and bit a nail. "It's…off, somehow. Trigon wants to rule this dimension, yes, but, to be perfectly fair, he really doesn't get anything out of mortals' pain, on least on this level. He wants the souls of humans, yes, but…this group…it sounds like they were dealing with a being who fed on pain and suffering in the here and now. That's not really Trigon's style." She leaned forward, resting her chin on her crossed arms on her desk. "And, ever since Trigon tried to invade this dimension….it's hard to explain, but…even though he was defeated, and, I thought, destroyed, he still left his, his mark on the place. Something like the way a bear marks his territory, reaching up and scratching claw marks as high as he can go. This warns off lesser bears.

"Trigon sort of imprinted upon this dimension. Other dimension-hopping demons would hesitate to invade." She narrowed her eyes. "Unless….."

"Rae?"

"Unless we're talking about something that's already here."

…

Kitten was sitting in the room she now shared with Omega, staring at the mirror, feeling like she could just kill him.

She knew his programming of the hypercrystal was important, okay, she got that. But their relationship was important, too! And he'd been spending way too much time on that hunk of junk for her liking.

Her gaze must have slipped from the mirror, because the next thing she knew, his arms were going around her from behind. "Kitten?"

"Oh!" She exclaimed. "You mean, you finally managed to tear yourself away from that crystal? To what do I owe the honor of this most glorious visit?"

He winced at her sarcasm. He knew he deserved it; he'd been spending far too much time with the crystal and not nearly enough with her. He knew this, himself, newcomer though he was, to the world of emotional living. "You're absolutely right. I know. I've been…neglectful of you." He released her, and she hmmph'd herself out of his grasp. "Can you forgive me?"

Her eyes followed the line of the wall upwards. "Why ever for? You've only been doing what you need to do, to, like, save the entire universe. I can't possibly get mad at you for something as, as vital as that. Now can I?"

He sighed. Yes, this was a bad one.

…..

"Athena?"

"Yes?"

"Have you given any more thought about those strange packages we've been receiving? You know…the 'secret admirer' thing?" She was referring to the deliveries of golden roses to their room, with no return address, and a cryptic note in each one. The last one had been more troubling than the previous ones: You cannot trust him. She is in danger.

"Quite. However, I am no closer to any conclusion save that which we have both already come to: we must not trust the Entity, not fully, at least, and that 'she'—which we both surmise to be Raven—is in danger. My guess is that she is in danger of making a hasty decision regarding assimilation, but, of course, that may not be it at all. But who and what this 'secret admirer,' this 'Asmodeus,' could be, that I do not know. Any more than I can know the whereabouts of Robin or your sister. It is as though they vanished from the face of existence."

"I know." Blackfire turned over in their bed, resting her head on her lover's shoulder. "That….worries me more than it should. I mean, I know my sister; she's a wonderful and very loving sort of person, but sometimes that love can lead her to make some…unwise decisions, I guess you'd have to say. And she's still eaten up with guilt over…you know.

"And Robin….even though he's forgiven her, and I think he'll make a great dad…is still Robin. He can't help that any more than the sky can help but be blue."

Athena smiled. "Not all planets have blue skies."

Komi sighed, lying back on her back, gazing up at the ceiling. "I know. Some have very dark skies indeed."

…

Omega and Kitten lay on their reinforced bed. It had taken him quite a lot of apologizing, and promising to do better, to get her to finally agree to begin to forgive him. That jealous streak of hers was just one more thing about her that he loved.

"You've come a long way," she said, her head resting on his chest. In spite of the fact that he was invulnerable, it didn't feel like she was resting her head on solid steel or anything. True, he felt….different, in a way hard to describe, but not like metal or steel.

"I have? What do you mean?"

"When you first came here, you didn't know the first thing about being human, being an emotional being. You've learned a lot since then. And I DON'T mean just about the sex part. Though you're pretty darn good there, too."

"I had a good teacher. Have a good teacher."

"You better believe it." She sobered, looking up at him. "Omega? Serious question here. When we….do it…can you, like, feel me? I mean, you are supposed to be invulnerable….can you feel the…sensation of, of touch?"

He held her a little closer, always careful to gauge his movements. Osirans were made of a much denser form of matter than humans, or, indeed, anything in the human universe, so he had to exercise extreme care with her. "Yes. I can. I don't know how it compares to how a human would feel, but to me, it is….wonderful."

She smiled, putting her head back down on his chest, making small sounds of satisfaction. "Good to know. And I know for a fact I can feel you."

"Kitten?"

"Hmmm?"

"Two things."

"Shoot."

"Let's set a date. And soon, too."

Her head popped up, her mouth agape with surprise. "What? You mean…."

"I did ask you to marry me. As I recall, your answer was yes. So. Might we not set a date for the ceremony?"

….

"So. Are you certain?" General Rogers leaned back in his chair, his gaze fixed on the monitor in front of him. "Certain beyond a shadow of a doubt?"

"Yes, sir. There's absolutely no record of where those missiles came from. We've checked every location that's even rumored to've once house such warheads, and there's none missing. It's like these just….came out of nowhere."

"Well, we know they didn't come out of nowhere. So…no 'surplus' ordnance or anything like that? Nothing overlooked from the Cold War?"

"We've checked and rechecked, sir. There's nothing."

The general bit his lip. "Then….that only leaves us with one possibility, doesn't it?"

…

"How's he doing?" Blackfire put her hand on Terra's shoulder. Garfield was still in critical condition, the victim of an unknown sniper's bullet. There was a monitor in the waiting room, showing him floating, suspended within the Orb's ink-black "substance."

"No change." Terra's voice was the voice of one who'd cried all her tears out and had nothing left. "Raven is now leaning towards the 'cursed bullet' theory. Father Alpha couldn't find anything, any scientific reason why it….did the damage it did. And…and, although nobody's said so, I can kinda hear it in everybody's voice: it might be something even the Orb can't fix."

Komi knelt down beside the distraught young wife, putting her arm around her. "Surely not. Isn't the Orb supposed to be a nascent god or something? How could any mere curse be a problem for it?" But Terra just hugged herself and rocked back and forth, silently.

….

"Alright, people." Raven was addressing the entire assembly of Titans and allies from the communication room. Each locus was represented by its own monitor, and the members of that group looked on. Raven still couldn't get over most the H.I.V.E. Five as becoming their allies. There was a time when she would have thought that impossible.

But aside from the other branches of Titans, the Kindred, and the Hunters, overhead, in their starships, one monitor showed Jinx, Kid Flash, Billy Numerous, Control Freak, Johnny Rancid, Kid Wykkyd, Angel, Private H.I.V.E., and Punk Rocket, among others.

Allies.

"Here's our game plan, people."

…

"Sir? You might wanna take a look at this."

General Rogers crossed over to the screen in the ops room. What he saw chilled him to the bone.

The Titans had, rather than hole up in one spot, returned to their respective command centers. Those command centers had been reinforced with Kindred-forged materials of awesome strength. And, each tower sported a force field capable of turning any nuclear assault. This field was broad enough to encompass the entire city wherein they resided. In essence, the Titans had established a beachhead in Jump City, Steel City, London, Moscow, Tokyo, and several others.

The attack on the Titans' Tower had become common knowledge among the human population of those cities, and many civilians were attempting to relocate so as to be within the protective shield those Towers promised. The Titans had secured what amounted to fiefdoms, and spread out so as to no longer be vulnerable to individual attack. "Could…could they hold those, those cities? I mean, goods, supplies…"

"Evidence indicates they've fortified their towers with Kindred technology. Food, water, none of that would be a problem, regardless of how many people get crammed in there. They've basically got themselves some forts. And forts can be used as bases for military attacks, sorties out into enemy territory. This is a bit more of an aggressive stance than before. Plus they've got those quantum gates they can use at a moment's notice to move people back and forth. And remember: the Hunters are on their side, ready to run supplies, materials, whatever you name. And, aside from the League, we can't do zilch about it." The officer looked grim. "Judging from this alone, I'd say there was a possibility—maybe not a strong one, but one nonetheless—that they plan on going on the offensive at some point."

Rogers groaned and held his head. "And the Justice League? What about them?"

"They maintain that if the Titans will only turn over the crystal, they'll back down. But what we're looking at, from the Titans' viewpoint, is that the crystal isn't even important anymore. War's been declared on them. They're preparing for a siege. And we have no idea as to what offensive capabilities they may have."

….

"May 20th," announced Kitten, to the rest. She was quite deliberately showing off the ring on her finger.

Blackfire and Athena both hugged her. "This is great news, Kitten," said Athena. "I had already thought of you two as a couple, but this seals the relationship, does it not? Good."

Raven and Hank stood by, both with odd expressions on their faces. "So, Kitten," began Raven, "What sort of ceremony will it be?"

"What about the Reverend Reed? I confess, Rae, I haven't really thought that far ahead, what with everything going on." The group was assembled around the conference table; Omega sat right by Kitten. Typical man, thought Raven, with a smile. Leave the "details" to others.

"I don't see any reason why not. I'll check with Hank; I'm reasonably sure there won't be a problem." But we must remember we're basically at war, right now. She forbore mentioning that, however; the young couple didn't need to be bothered with that sort of thing at this, what should be one of the happiest moments in their lives together. Raven wished Starfire were here; not only would the Tameranean be ecstatic at the prospect of Kitten's and Omega's wedding, Raven felt she'd be far better at planning this sort of thing than she was.

But, as Hank reminded her, his mother, Martha Jones, was also pretty good in the marriage-planning department. And she'd be delighted to help.

Down in the infirmary, Terra watched the readouts on Garfield shift and change. Every downward turn literally made her sick to her stomach. She knew the Titans were getting ready for war with the Justice League and just about everybody else on Earth, and she knew that Omega and Kitten had set a date for their marriage. She cried bitter tears, not only at her husband's situation, but also her own, that she could do so little, partake so little of the joy the two would soon be sharing.

"Miss Terra?" Angelique had quietly come into the room while Terra had been holding her hands up to her face. "Miss Terra? Are…are you….?" But, although Angelique's intellect had been boosted far beyond any human norm, she still didn't quite know how to say what she wanted to say. "I, I mean, I know you're not alright, it's just….oh, I don't know what I'm asking! But…is there anything I can do?"

Terra hugged the figure in front of her, that looked so much like a nine year old girl. Not long ago, this same being had very nearly killed them all. But all that was yesterday, and now neither one of them could imagine life without the other. "I…I know what you're asking, Maria, and, and, there's really nothing to be done. It just….I just have to wait. Wait and see."

"Then I'll wait with you."

Silently, invisibly, the Entity hovered over the two, even as his senses ranged far, probing into Garfield's shooting, Mirissa's assassination attempt, the Crimson's agenda, Alice's arrival, the political tensions….everything. Nothing was concealed from him. Nothing could be. He even knew of the Orb's own secret fear: that it might not succeed in saving its friend. Changeling's condition was grave indeed.

He knew where Robin and Starfire had gone. That had been a very unwise decision on their part, but he could see how they arrived at that conclusion. And he could see what would happen as a result. And it all could be avoided so easily.

He knew what Beulah Bleak had summoned from the inky depths of space. So typical of humans, whether they called themselves "human" or not: sacrifice everybody else for your own people. Not, he guessed, that he could really argue with that.

If only Raven would simply ask him. That's all it would take. He'd take care of everything. Everything! He'd make everything better. He'd cure Changeling in a heartbeat, defuse the world tensions that were building up to a climax, protect them from the League, the Crimson, everything.

And he knew about the warnings, the special deliveries, the golden roses, to Blackfire and Athena. He knew exactly who they were from, and what they meant.

You cannot trust him.

She is in danger.

You cannot trust him.

She is in danger.

You cannot trust him.

She is in danger.

If only she'd trust him!

To be continued….