Hello dear readers, Foamy has returned! This chapter is quite a dozy, mostly because we have a guest character visiting! Who, you may ask? Well, an OC created by my good buddy Bearhow! I needed someone to introduce a new subplot to the story and he graciously loaned me his OC! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, mostly because I got to let loose with my real imagination for once.
Now, I will go ahead and warn you, this chapter is pretty much rated M. It's a test chapter for that rating. I'm hoping you lot actually read my authors intro and don't just blunder into the choas that's about to follow lol.
Now, I'd do reviews but this thing is already 8k long or so and everything gets wonky around this size, so I'll have to postpone responding again. I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Read and review please! I REALLY wanna know if you like this!
Five days have passed since Raven's 'cat-astrophe' and things had pretty much returned to normal. Fighting crime, taking care of the kids, yelling at Beast Boy for giving Emelia ice cream for breakfast, fighting more crime, going to the park, etc etc. Just the normal things the team usually did, which was perfectly fine by them. They'd had enough weirdness in one day to last a year.
Raven had more or less returned to normal, though she was now subject to the occasional cat joke (courtesy Jinx and Garfield, the only ones who could get away with it). So far she had heard enough to make her sick, but she put up with it. She did deserve it, just a little bit, for causing it in the first place.
Of course, that day did bring about one good thing.
Cuddles.
Yes, you read correctly.
Raven, sorceress supreme, daughter of Scath aka Trigon the Terrible, the ice queen of darkness, miss monotone, the iron will of the Teen Titans, wearer of blue and only blue, the girl who would not laugh, was in fact a major cuddler.
Were you to step into the Tower you would presently find said empath on the couch, leaning into her love's embrace. His left arm was around her shoulders and her head was laying on his shoulder as she read a book. On a plate on the coffee table before them was a bar of dark chocolate with several pieces broken off, having been consumed by the violet haired girl. Garfield, a happy grin on his face, had the television remote in his free hand, though it hadn't been used in some time. There was a Super Robot Monkey Team Hyper Force Go marathon on and he was thoroughly enjoying it. He had the volume down to a reasonable level as to not disturb the girl in his arms. If asked, Raven would have admitted that this made her happy; if she had known years ago that getting him to turn the television down was this easy, she might have started cuddling him way sooner. This made them both laugh because they knew it wouldn't have happened.
A piece of chocolate broke from the bar and floated up to the waiting empath.
Garfield chuckled at her laziness. She could say that it was exercising her control all she wants, but it was pure laziness at its finest. It didn't bother the changeling though, she deserved to be lazy for a while.
This, of course, was because it was that time for her.
Of course, the boy knew nothing about that sort of thing. He had actually sat in his room and contemplated what he should do concerning this situation. It wasn't something he was used to, for Rose always stayed at home and did nothing when it was her time. She had mention something about cramps once, but he didn't ask what was cramping. He never knew what Raven did over the years, she always disappeared during these times. He had decided a long time ago that it was better to keep his head down and his mouth shut about it. But since things were a little different with Raven now, Garfield had done the smart thing and outright asked her what he could do to make her feel better. He figured it was smarter than trying to figure it out and messing up.
He was right too.
Although she was embarrassed, Raven had answered him honestly. Normally she just holed up in her room with books and chocolate. The *ahem* finer details she didn't go into, but that was fine. All Garfield wanted to know was how he could help.
Cue cuddles and chocolate.
(Although Raven had to cast a spell that removed her scent, thus eliminating the only problem with cuddling. Better safe than sorry, after all.)
A sound to the right caught Garfield's attention. Turning his head, he found Emelia walking up. She looked a little bored as she clambered up the couch and sat next to her father.
"Daddy?" She said after a few minutes of watching cartoons.
"Hm?"
"I'm bored."
Garfield chuckled. He had been right. "Tired of coloring and reading?"
"Yeah."
"Sleepy?"
"Nah."
"Hungry?"
"A little, but I have a sammich in the fridge."
"Sandwich." Raven interjected in a murmur, too absorbed in the adventures of Drizzt Do'Urden (for the second time) to properly scold her daughter for using slang. Garfield rolled his eyes.
"Sammich." He said emphatically, drawing a snort from the elder girl. He grinned cheekily at her before looking back at his daughter. "Why don't you play with Mr. Spooky?"
Emmy shrugged. "I would, but he's not here right now."
Garfield stared at his daughter and even Raven looked up from her book, eyebrow raised.
"He's not here?" They asked.
The little girl nodded. "Yeah, he said he had to go hunting or something."
Raven and Garfield exchanged glances before the elder empath spoke her mantra and sent her soul self out. Within minutes it returned.
"It's in your room." Raven said as she reasserted herself in her body.
Garfield sighed in relief. The last thing they needed was a possessed doll running around again. A little girls imagination was much easier to deal with.
Still sitting next to her father, Emelia rolled her eyes.
Raven resumed her snuggling (tucked under his arm was quickly becoming her favorite place to be) as Garfield turned back to the TV and chuckled at his daughter. "Why not play with Martin?"
"He's with Uncle Rob making calls to people I didn't recognize."
Garfield glanced at Emelia with a raised eyebrow. "Did he call a green girl?"
"Uh…" Emmy's face scrunched up in thought.. "Yes? Is she related to you, daddy?"
The changeling shook his head. "Nope, but she has a power like mine."
Raven glanced up from her book again. "You must be talking about Miss Martian. Sounds like Robin is finally getting that other team together."
Garfield nodded. "Yeah. If I remember right, Dakota City had a big rise in crime a while back and the local guys, Static and Gear, can't handle it all. So Rob's reaching out through the Justice League for some loner junior hero's to make a team for the city. He hadn't mentioned it in a while, I thought it might have blown over or he forgot. Guess I was wrong."
"So, what, Static, Gear, Miss Martian and who else? Three man teams are only so effective."
Garfield carefully shrugged, making sure he didn't disrupt Raven's head. "Dunno. Guess we'll find out though."
It was almost as if the boy wonder knew they were talking about him, because he walked through the common room door moments later.
"Speak of the devil." Garfield muttered under his breath. Raven snorted in amusement and dug her elbow into his side.
"Raven, Beast Boy!" Robin called out. "I'm glad you're here. We have guests coming in a bit."
"Let me guess. The new team?" Raven replied.
Robin hesitated. "How'd you know that?"
"A little birdie told us." Garfield replied with a snicker. Robin frowned, not sure if he was referring to the boy wonder himself or someone else. After a moment of contemplation, he shrugged.
"Well, yes, the new team. The Justice League will be teleporting them here shortly. I've already notified Starfire and Cyborg. I need you two to be dressed and ready to meet them."
Raven, dressed in flannel pajama bottoms and a white tank top, frowned. She was quite comfortable where she was and didn't see the need to put her uniform on for people she might meet once or twice more in her life.
Garfield sighed but tossed the remote off to the side. He already knew he needed to dress, he had just been putting it off for as long as possible. He was quite comfortable where he was with Raven on the couch.
And it most certainly did not have anything to do with Raven's semi-exposed cleavage being easily peeked at.
Nope. Not at all.
"Come on, Rae. Might as well get it done and over with." He said remorsefully. He had really enjoyed his morning up until then.
"Fine, whatever." The empath snapped, standing up. Garfield's arms slid off her as she stood, his hand brushing her bottom. Her head instantly snapped to him, a deathly glare in her eyes.
Garfield held his hands up and spoke honestly. "It wasn't on purpose, Rae."
Raven glared at him for a moment longer before she closed her eyes and took a deep, calming breath. She knew he wasn't at fault, it was her hormones making her easily irritable. She briefly pondered if normal girls retained such emotional control while in this state. She'd have to ask Jinx the next time she came around to pester them.
Garfield and Robin watched her, both ready to run like hell if her eyes were red when she opened them. Neither boy had ever interacted with her during this time before, so they didn't know what to expect.
When her eyes opened, they were softer and still quite violet. Both boys sighed in relief and she raised an eyebrow.
"You don't have to tiptoe around me." She huffed a moment later.
"Better safe than sorry, Rae." The changeling chuckled weakly. Raven rolled her eyes.
"Like that's stopped you before."
"Fair enough."
Thirty minutes later the team was assembled in the common room. Emelia and Martin were sitting in Raven's lap as she read them a Bearenstein Bear book (she had to wonder just exactly when Garfield found time to sneak new kids books into her room and how he did it without her noticing), Starfire was in the kitchen tidying up a bit (she couldn't decide if she liked the toaster of breads next to the wave of micros or if she liked it next to the stove so she kept moving it back and forth, much to Robin's annoyance), Cyborg was typing away on the main computer (last minute updates to the communicators), Robin was pacing (big surprise there), and Beast Boy was making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
The main computer beeped. Incoming transmission.
Cyborg, not entirely surprised, hit the open transmission button and Batman's face appeared onscreen.
"Batman to Titan Tower Zero One. Are you ready?" The Dark Knight said monotonously.
"Yes, we're ready to meet them." Robin nodded.
Beast Boy jumped forward, sandwich in hand. "Beam me up, Batty!"
Everyone stared at him for a moment before there was a beeping noise and Beast Boy disappeared in a flash of light. His sandwich dropped to the floor with a plop. Everyone's heads whipped to the computer.
"Woah, dude, I totally didn't think you'd do it!" Beast Boy said from somewhere off screen. "Check it out Rae, I totally went to space! Wait, why isn't anything floating? I wanna float around!"
Raven brought one hand up to rub her brow, silently scolding herself for falling for a dummy like him.
"Don't touch anything and you can stay for a few minu-I just said DON'T TOUCH ANY-" They heard Batman shout something before the sound of an alarm started going off on the other side of the screen
LOCKDOWN SEQUENCE INITIATED
"BEAST BOY! WHAT DID YOU PRESS?!"
"NOTHING! I SWEAR!"
"DON'T LIE TO ME!"
"OKAY OKAY, IT WAS THE POPTART LOOKING THINGY!"
The sound of the alarm suddenly stopped and seconds later there was another flash of light in the room. Beast Boy unceremoniously dropped onto the floor with an oomph.
Raven and Robin immediately glared at him. "Did you have fun?"
The changeling chuckled sheepishly and darted off to clean up his sandwich. The rest of the team turned back to the screen to find an annoyed Batman waiting.
"That won't be happening again." He said firmly.
Robin nodded. "Understood. Are the others ready?"
"Yes. Teleporting…now." Four flashes of light filled the room, immediately drawing attention for the four figures that had just entered technologically. The children scampered out of Raven's lap so she could stand and dashed to the couch, hiding behind it.
The first, and most easily recognizable, was a tall, heavily built Caucasian boy wearing a tight black t shirt with a giant red S on it, blue jeans, and black combat boots. His hair was black and his eyes were an impossibly dark blue. The only way to describe the expression on his face was resigned boredom, although Raven instantly noted that his emotional aura was sullen. For what reason, she knew not.
Standing next to him was a green skinned girl with shoulder length brunette hair, freckles, and big red lips. She wore a knee length blue cape with a yellow clasp, a white t shirt with a large red X on it that stretched from top to bottom of said shirt, a matching red belt with a yellow buckle, blue gloves, a blue short skirt, and the strangest boots/heels that Raven had ever seen. Her aura was cheery yet wary.
Third in line was a blond haired Caucasian boy wearing a green and dark blue suit of odd design. It had a helmet with a light green glass faceplate, no sleeves (but gloves and elbow pads) on his shirt, matching pants, and what appeared to be rocket boots. Let's not forget the strange metal backpack he wore too. To Raven, he looked like a nerd trying to be a punk-skater.
Trying being the key word.
Last, but certainly not least, was an African American boy of medium build, decked out in a black and blue trench coat with a yellow inner liner, a matching sleeveless vest with a big yellow lightning bolt on it, matching pants (with yellow patches on the legs), black boots, fingerless gloves, a white mask, and blue sunglasses of a design Raven had never seen. His aura was cool and calm, but tinged with excitement.
Robin strode forward, his hand extended. "Superboy, Miss Martian, Gear, Static. Welcome to the Teen Titans."
The four newcomers shook his hand in greeting, then each of the others as well.
"Dude, I'm totally psyked!" Gear said excitedly. "I get to be a Teen Titan! You guys are up there with the Justice League!"
Beast Boy chuckled. "Not quite dude, but we've done some hardcore stuff before."
"Ohmygosh I finally get to meet you Miss Raven!" Miss Martin said, practically flitting about with joy. "And Beast Boy too! This is so awesome! I'm a huuuuge fan of Rita Farr! To meet her son is a dream come true!"
"Please, just call me Raven." The empathic girl said carefully. Fangirls were people she was never too comfortable being around. They tended to be flighty and emotional in aggravating ways. Kind of like how Garfield used to be.
"I finally get to meet Cyborg!" Static said, fist bumping the older Titan. "I read your thesis on electromagnetism last year, the one you wrote to back up that pitch for prototype generators? You had some stuff in there that even I didn't know about electromagnetism and they're my thing! I got a boost from reading that man. I'm seriously thankful."
Cyborg, prideful as ever, grinned. "No problem at all man. I'm top of the line tech, I gotta keep up with that stuff and push it when I can!"
"Please, new friend Superboy, are you not excited to be amongst new friends?" Starfire asked the tall boy.
"Thrilled." He deadpanned, drawing a curious look from the other Titans. Miss Martian put a hand on his arm and looked up at him.
"Come on Conner, give them a chance." She said kindly.
Superboy looked at her for a moment before sighing and looking away. "Yeah, okay."
Starfire exchanged glances with Raven. Clearly the boy was troubled by something.
"Hello. My name is Conner Kent and I am…related…to Superman." The boy grumbled halfheartedly to Starfire.
"My name is Koriand'r, of the planet Tamaran. You may call me Starfire, it is the Earthly translation of my name." Star said cheerfully. "It is a most joyous occasion to be making new friends!"
"Virgil Hawkins." Static said.
"Richie Foley!" Gear chimed in, shaking Beast Boy's hand again.
"M'gann M'orzz, or Megan Morse. Either works!" Miss Martin grinned.
"Victor Stone." Cyborg said.
"Richard Grayson." Robin nodded to the newcomers.
"Raven." Raven said, drawing odd looks from the others. She shrugged. "That is literally my name. The whole thing."
Chuckling, Beast Boy put his arm around Raven's shoulders and looked at the others. "You guys can call her Raven but I call her mama."
In the silence that followed the changeling's statement, not only did Raven turn bright red, but the four newcomers stared at them with such shock that it was obvious what they were thinking. The empath turned and glared at her love.
"Garfield. Mark. Logan." She hissed. "Don't call me that in front of people that don't know about Emelia!"
Garfield chuckled nervously and backed away from her. "Sorry! I just, ya know…uh…"
"Just. What?" Raven growled.
Garfield gulped, suddenly finding the idea of subtly telling the new guys that she was his was a baaaad idea. Raven took a step towards him, her eyes just beginning to glow red.
"Ah, like father like daughter, I see."
Raven stopped, her eyes going wide at the sound of the heavily accented but unmistakably demonic voice that just spoke. She, along with everyone else, turned to find the strangest man any of them had ever seen leaning against that kitchen counter, coffee mug in hand.
The first thing Robin noticed was the deep red suit the man was wearing. Being the adopted son of billionaire Bruce Wayne, Richard Grayson knew a thing or two about expensive clothing. The man was wearing what was unmistakably an R. Jewlers Diamond Edition suit, which fetched a price tag of nine hundred thousand dollars apiece. Robin also knew that there were only three of the suits in the world, which meant that either this man was wearing a fake or he had coerced someone into making it. It was a deep, blood red with two trailing lines of black gems (four hundred and eighty total) that seemed to draw in the light surrounding him. His dress shirt, tucked neatly into his onyx colored belt, was as black as it could get. His hair and shoes were the same pitch black as well. He was quite well dressed, for a demon.
Raven immediately noticed his overwhelming demonic aura and the way shadows seemed to waft off of him like steam did after a hot shower. He smiled, showing her impeccably white and straight teeth, but it didn't reach his eyes. His eyes, which were glittering ruby red orbs with tiny yellow irises. His skin was pale, but not like hers. He simply looked like he didn't get enough sun. Raven knew this was a demon of immeasurable power, possibly even stronger than her father. If that was the case, they were all in grave danger.
Beast Boy thought the guy looked remarkably like Tom Ellis from the Fox channels show Lucifer, but a bit younger, less wrinkles, and without that irritatingly constant five o'clock shadow. He also possessed no scent whatsoever and had appeared without anyone noticing. His inner animals were in a panic, rightfully so. The primal side of him, the Beast, wanted to attack and hold this frightening creature at bay so that his mate and cub could flee. Garfield almost listened to it.
Cyborg noticed that the guy was using his coffee mug. Not cool. Oh, and that he also got past all of his security systems without batting an eyelash. Not good.
Starfire didn't think, she bolted and placed herself between the intruder and the children. The newcomers too got into battle stances.
"Now now, my darlings, do calm down." The demon chuckled, his heavy British accent making even Mad Mod's sound superficial. "I'm not here for a fight. I'm here for a favor."
"And just why would we do a favor for a demon?" Raven said coldly, moving in front of Starfire. If things went downhill fast, she'd teleport her friend and the children as far away as she could. Garfield popped up in front of her, his skin rippling and sprouting fur as a deep growl rumbled out of him. Cyborg's cannons revved up, rockets popping out of his shoulders. Robin slammed two birdarangs together, their parts clicking and shifting into a longsword. Superboy cracked his knuckles and flexed his shoulders, Miss Martian floated up behind him, Gear rocketed into the air, and Static strode forward, his body crackling with electricity, and stood next to Robin.
The demon smiled darkly. "I do believe I told all of you to calm down."
Without warning the lights blinked and everyone found themselves standing in different places, completely bewildered as to how it happened. Raven's hope crumbled as she realized just who was now standing before, cheeky grin on his face as he sipped from the coffee cup.
"You're him, aren't you?" She whispered in fear.
The demon bowed, his glittering ruby eyes showing his amusement. "That I am, young missy. Landon, King of Hell, at your service."
There was a long moment of silence in which everyone forgot how to breath. This was bad.
Landon snickered. "Don't everybody jump up at once to shake my hand."
"Uh, sorry, Mister King of Hell, sir, but, uh, just what do you want with us?" Beast Boy said nervously. He was really afraid now and couldn't hide it. King of hell? They were so screwed.
The demon raised an eyebrow. "Did that giant stalk of celery just speak?"
"C-celery?" The changeling frowned. He didn't even like celery.
"I jest, boy. Before I answer your question, salad boy, I have one of my own." Landon replied, drawing his gaze back to Raven, who shivered. "Would you happen to be Raven?"
Raven was slow to reply. "My name is Raven, yes. I am the daughter of Trigon the Terrible."
"THIS is Trigons gem?" He grinned as his eyes swept her figure...a few times. "I apologize but I didn't expect ANYTHING from his loins to be so, pardon my being blunt, scrumptious."
Raven recoiled, reflexively pulling her cloak tighter to hide herself from his lecherous eyes. Garfield instant sprang in front of her, facing the demon king, and snarled. Landon frowned.
"Again with broccoli head? What are you so mad about, boy?"
"Don't talk about my- about Raven like that." Garfield snarled, managing to correct himself mid sentence before he let anything slip. Behind him, Raven blushed a bit. She knew he was going to say something along the lines of 'my girl' or 'my mate' and it sent a pleasurable shiver down her spine.
Landon stared at Beast Boy for a moment before eyeballing Raven. She met his stare all the way up until he grinned.
"Aahhh, so that's how it is, eh?" He chuckled. "Well you could do worse, darling. At least you're not shagging that DREADFULLY dull boy-not really sure why he's called it-wonder. That would be terrible."
Raven, Beast Boy, and Robin all bristled at this comment, but Landon ignored two of them and focused on the green one in front of him.
"By the way, I heard some mortal kid turned into a dragon the other day. Must have been you, shape shifting and all. Adorable to think that you thought you could be one. Want to meet a real dragon, kid?" Landon sneered on amusement.
"I already met a dragon!" Beast Boy spat, his fangs bared. "Wasn't impressed."
Landon shook his head. "I said a real dragon. That Malchior fellow is a runt and a whiney little bitch at that."
The original Titans all stared at him in shock, but none more so than Raven. He knew Malchior? This is getting worse by the minute!
"Ohhh, he said a bad word!"
Raven and Beast Boy's eyes widened in horror at the sound of Emelia's voice, neither having had noticed the little girl standing just behind Raven, clutching her mother's cloak as she peeked at the demon before them.
"Mommy, he said a bad word! Are you gonna yell at him like you did Uncle Cy?" Emelia asked, looking up at her mother. Her parents exchanged worried glances before looking back at the demon king, who was staring at their daughter.
"What…is that?" He asked slowly. Raven and Beast Boy moved into front of Emelia protectively.
"Daddy!" Emmy called out. "Why doesn't that man have a scent? And why is he talking funny?"
Landon's eyes got wide and his jaw dropped as realization struck him like a thunderbolt. "Good God, you two already reproduced?!"
"It's not like that!" Beast Boy protested, but Landon started laughing.
"No wonder Trigon was always so pissy his last few years! First his portal gets taken to some weird religious world, then it runs away, then it starts having sex with a five foot tall asparagus and has kid!" The demon king roared with laughter. "I think I'd be pissed too if I had a daughter that got knocked up so young!"
Both Raven and Beast Boy were sputtering out words randomly, trying to tell him that they didn't have sex and have a child, that they had just gotten together recently, and that the girl was a special case.
They were interrupted by the worst question a child could ask.
"What's sex?"
Neither teen could answer that question (let alone look at the other), so Emmy poked her head between her parents and repeated her question to the man in red. "What's sex?"
Without warning the laughing stopped, the lights blinked, and everyone was rearranged once more. Now Landon was sitting on the counter, Emelia in his lap, with a serious look on his face.
"Sex, little one, is something mummies and daddies do when they're together." He said. "There's a lot of kissing and hugging and touching in places they wouldn't touch while other people were around and cuddling too."
Raven, finally overcoming her horror, sprang forward and snatched Emelia up. She didn't hesitate to dart backwards and behind Garfield, who moved when she did.
Emelia, however, was unperturbed. "So…mommy and daddy were having sex the other morning when mommy was rubbing herself all over daddy?"
Raven could hear a few snorts and some smothered laughter behind her as she and Garfield paled to unimaginably light colors. Her friends knew the new couple had done no such thing, but that didn't make Emelia's question any less embarrassing. If she didn't find her voice soon (DAMNIT TIMID) she'd never be able to leave her room again.
"No, Emmy, we weren't, now stop asking question about stuff this guy is talking about!" Beast Boy snapped, growing steadily more angry with each thing the demon king said.
Landon snorted. "My dear boy, there is nothing to be ashamed about. Just look at her!"
The lights flickered once more and everyone was rearranged again (Gear was stuffed into a cabinet this time, much to his surprise). Landon stood before Raven now, her cloak in his hands from where he had unclasped it and removed it from her without her knowledge. Emelia was sitting on the kitchen counter now and Garfield was sitting in Raven's chair. Startled, he jumped up and ran over to the pair, dodging around his randomly placed (and extremely confused) friends.
When he reached the empath and demon king, Landon turned to him with a grin and gestured to the (in)appropriate places as he spoke.
"I mean really, just look at her! A large ample bosom, perfect for feeding children or yourself and I'm willing to bet being squeezed between them is a delightful experience. She's got meat on her bones, which is good. Nobody likes twiggy girls that snap quicker than my headboard on a Friday night. She's got nice and semi wide child bearing hips, which means she'll give you a few more kids but stay nice and tight for long time. Oh, would you look at that! She's got a…what's the American term…bubble butt? Yes, a bubble butt, not that you could tell that beneath this ghastly cloak. If I remember correctly about how that happens, I'd say that someone's given her rumpy a little pumpy on a regular basis. Good on you, young man! She's a scrumptious little thing, if I do say so myself." He paused, sniffing the air. "You're in luck, she's ovulating! You could get another kid out of her right now, lettuce leaf, two if you're really lucky! Demonkin are particularly fertile at this point, more so than humans."
Nobody could be certain of Raven's face was red from embarrassment or rage, but the murder shining in her four eyes was a dead giveaway of how she felt.
"ENOUGH OF THIS!" She roared, shadows billowing from her form as she rose up into the air, quadruplingin size in accordance to her fury. Tendrils of darkness wrapped around the demon king and lifted him into the air as she shook him. "KING OF DEMONS OR NOT, YOU WILL NOT COME INTO MY HOME SPEAKING OF THINGS YOU KNOW NOTHING OF! YOU WILL NOT DEGRADE ME AS IF I AM A SEX OBJECT! YOU WILL NOT USE SUCH COARSE AND CRUDE LANGUAGE AROUND MY DAUGHTER! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!"
"My dear Raven, those were compliments! Do settle down." Landon laughed, completely unphased by his predicament. When all Raven replied with was a snarl and a shake, his eyes shone with his own power. "How about you let me go before I get angry?"
"How about I pop your head like a grape instead?"
Landon now glared at the girl. "Is that your final answer?"
Raven sneered and began to squeeze him with the dark tendrils, not that the man even acknowledged the action. Instead, his glare softened and he smiled.
"You know, my dear Raven, the thing about being the king of all demons is that anything you can do…" He said quietly before the lights turned off again. Only this time, they didn't turn back on. In fact, all the light in the room disappeared, even the light coming from the windows. Everything was pitch black except the Titans themselves, as if the were in an empty void.
And then a pair of monumentally colossal eyes opened beneath their very feet.
Landon's eyes.
"I can do better." His voice rumbled from nowhere and everywhere all at once, shaking them down to the very core of their existence. "Don't you understand, child? I AM Hell. You have no power here as long as I am present. You are merely a speck in the wind. Now…kneel before me."
Every Titan present, Raven included, was driven to their knees instantly. They had no control over their bodies as they dropped to their hands next and bowed their heads. Landon's dark laughter shook the very air.
"Wonderful. Now-" The demon king trailed off, his attention refocusing on something else. Raven forced her head up to find his eyes locked on Emelia, whose own four demonic eyes were staring back at him. She could feel the horror of her friends as they too looked up.
"Emmy!" Garfield gasped.
"Are you trying to subvert my will with your own?!" Landon asked the child incredulously.
"Stop being mean to mommy and daddy and Uncle Rob and Uncle Cy and Auntie Star!" Emmy shouted at him.
"Gee kid, thanks for mentioning us." Superboy grumbled under his breath.
Landon stared at the child for a moment before the darkness began to recede. Landon's will released them and both Raven and Beast Boy struggled to their feet and surged towards their daughter.
Only to see Landon pick her up and hold her.
"You're quite the curious child." He said, gazing into Emelia's demonic eyes. "I only came for a business proposal, but I found something much more interesting."
Raven had absolutely no idea what was going on anymore. Judging from Garfield's expression, he had even less of an idea of what was going on.
They were presently sitting on the couch, along with the other Titans and Martin, staring at the absurd scene before them.
Emelia was sitting in Landon's lap, the demon king looking absolutely delighted with how things were going.
"Honestly, she's an adorable child." Landon grinned. "She thought she could stop me! I know millennia old demons that don't try that!"
"Mister Landon, sir, are you really a demon?" Emelia asked sweetly, to which his grin widened.
"Why yes I am. The king of demons, actually."
She tilted her head in curiosity. "Then why are you here? Shouldn't you be doing king stuff?"
"Well, that's a mildly complicated answer." Landon replied, warming up. "You see, as the king of demons, and thus Hell, I have a lot of responsibilities. Most of it involves delegating the distribution of sin across reality and maintaining the balance of good and evil by controlling the influx of souls coming and going from Hell, but a decent bit of it also pertains to keeping the demon race in line. Demons, by nature, are quite the violent race, loving warfare, destruction, and controlling anything can get their hands on. Generally speaking, demons often go to war with one another because they can't get out of Hell, which is due to each King of Hell being the focal point of maintaining the previously mentioned balance. Now, as the ruler of the demon kind, I am required to keep them in line, which is a lot harder than it sounds because most of them are stupid, though I have a healthy set of employees that help in that regard. A young fellow that can change into a dragon, for example. The problem lays with the smart ones because they like to cause trouble. Your grandfather, Trigon, was one such demon. He was cunning, powerful, and ancient. He was many millennia older than I when I ascended the throne and was, in fact, one of the two demons I competed with for the throne. After I had taken the throne, however, I knew that both he and the other demon would try to take it from me. So I took steps to wreck their plans."
"What did you do Mister Landon?" Emelia asked, completely enraptured by his story.
"Well, for your grandfather, I might have hidden something important of his." The demon king smiled evilly.
Emmy gasped. "You did?! What was it?"
Landon's gaze slowly drifted up until his eyes met Raven's, his smile still very much present.
"A woman by the name of Angela Roth."
Raven felt her heart freeze in her chest. She knew that name. It was her mother's name!
Emelia tilted her head in curiosity once more. "You hid someone from him? Why?"
"Because this woman would give birth to a child that would allow Trigon to escape Hell and come to Earth, where his very presence would decimate everything alive and he would reign supreme. If allowed to remain on Earth for long enough, he would have had enough time to harvest the souls of the billions of people living here and challenge me for the throne to Hell." Landon's smile turned smug. "So I pushed Angela Roth into a portal to another dimension, one by the name of…Azarath."
Raven felt the eyes of her friends focus on her, but she couldn't stop from staring at the man before her. Once, a long time ago, she had heard her mother say that she didn't remember how she came to Azarath. She had been on the brink of suicide when she had just appeared in the peaceful world.
Raven owed her life to the king of demons.
Son of a bit-
"Since we all know how that turned out, I'll tell you why I'm here now." Landon's tone turned businesslike all of a sudden, letting them know that he was finally going to tell them why he was there. He paused only to pet Emelia on the head, which pleased the child to no end. "You see, the other demon I competed with has become quite the nuisance lately. He's quite aggravating, damned wanker. I can't very well make him sod off on my own, that's just going to open my back up to be stabbed. So…I decided to take him apart from the bottom up, starting by taking one of his favorite toys and giving it to you "
"You're giving me a toy?!" Emelia said excitedly.
Landon shook his head. "I'm afraid not, young missy. I'm here to give your parents something to watch over. Someone, actually."
Emmy's head tilted. "A person? Who?"
"A young man that the demon lord tricked into selling his soul for superpowers, although the boy had no idea that the powers Neron, the demon lord, gave him were already a part of him."
"Who the heck sells their soul for superpowers?" Superboy grumbled.
Landon glanced up at him. "You'd be AMAZED at what people would sell their soul for, lad. One kid wanted a Klondike bar. That was it! Ice cream! Daffy bastard. Terrible thing to trade your soul for. There's only one thing worth that."
"What is it then, Mister Landon?" Emelia asked sweetly.
Landon looked back her with a little smile. "Ask your parents when you're older, they'll be able to explain."
"Okaaaaaay!"
"So let me get this straight." Robin said suddenly. "You came to Earth to give us someone to look after? Just to anger Neron?"
Landon nodded. "Quite right, young man. You don't have to worry about Neron, he'll be too busy dealing with me to come after the boy."
"Why should we do this for you, man?" Cyborg asked, raising an eyebrow and crossing his arms.
"Because then the King of Hell owes each of you a favor."
There was silence for a moment before Beast Boy spoke slowly. "Dude…that's crazy."
The demon king shook his head. "Not really. It's good business sense to make an investment such as this. The boy himself will owe me a favor for this and I'll cash it in one day, just as each of you will cash in yours one day. I have no qualms with owing you a favor, it will gain your trust."
"Business sense?" Robin raised an eyebrow. "You're a businessman?"
"Quite so, young chap." Landon's eyes glittered with maliciousness. "Hell doesn't run itself, you know. The most precious thing one can offer isn't money, or a soul, it's friends, and having them on Earth is always a plus."
"So why us?" Static asked.
"When he died, he was eighteen and a superhero. That was two years ago, so I'll be resurrecting him at his proper age with his powers intact."
"He was a superhero?" Several surprised voices asked. Landon nodded.
"Is he nice?" Emmy asked, feeling that she had been forgotten.
"Quite so. He's very polite and a bit goofy, always smiling. It quite weird to see in Hell, truthfully." Landon trailed off for a moment. "But his real smile only comes out when he talks about the girl he left behind."
"We accept your offer, Lord Landon."
"Dear God don't EVER call me that again, but you call me whatever else you want." He winked, but his humor was lost upon them. Everyone else looked at Raven, shocked that she would say such a thing. She didn't pay the slightest bit of attention to them.
"We do?" Beast Boy asked.
"Yes." Raven nodded. "We do."
"Just like that?" Landon said, just as surprised as the rest of them.
"Just like that."
"Why?"
"Because I want to cash my favor in right now."
Landon, as well as everyone else, stared at her slack jawed. The empath stared back at the demon king, unwavering.
"And…just what do you want?" Landon said slowly.
"To know if my mother is in Heaven or Hell."
Landon's brow furrowed for a moment, his eyes glowing unnaturally. The glow faded and he shook his head. "She's not in Hell, but she's not in Heaven either."
"She's in Limbo? Why?" Raven asked, perturbed.
The demon king shook his head. "No, I checked there too. She's already been reincarnated."
"Reincarnation?" She asked, surprised. "It's real?"
"Of course it is. Do you have any idea how many souls would exist if every one were different?" Landon snorted. "God itself wouldn't be able to keep track of them all."
"Wait, God is real?!" Beast Boy exclaimed.
Landon glared at him. "Your girlfriend is half demon, your kid is a quarter demon, and the king of demons is sitting in front of you. If we exist, so does God, you ninny."
"Oh, and God is perfectly okay with us making a deal with Satan? Pft. Yeah right." The changeling snorted.
"You do realize that I'm giving you back not only an innocent soul, but one that will fight on the side of order, right?"
That killed the argument instantly.
Landon looked at Raven. "Well, at least he has his looks, right?"
"Do I get a favor too Mister Landon?" Emmy asked sweetly once more, still feeling like she was being ignored and cutting her mother off before the empath could snap at the elder demon.
He looked down at her thoughtfully. "Hmm…sure, why not? What would you like?"
Emelia gestured for his ear and he leaned down to listen to her whisper. For some reason, Garfield couldn't hear what she was saying (he figured Landon had something to do with that), but he did note that the demon king almost looked like some kind of maniacal Santa Claus with a child in his lap.
Landon leaned back, looking at the girl as if she had sprouted another head. "Have you gone daft? Are you trying to get me killed by your mother?"
"No?" Emmy said in confusion. "Why?"
"Because that's something for mummies and daddies to decide, not me." Landon shook his head. "I'm afraid, poppet, that you'll have to ask for something else."
Emelia immediately pouted. "Fiiiine. Make mommy and daddy kiss!"
There was a shocked silence for a moment before choked laughs filled the air. Raven and Beast Boy were both blushing at Emmy's demand.
"Oh, you don't need me to make them do that, dearie. They'll be kissing more often than that before too long." Landon snickered before returning his attention to the girl. "Why would you ask for that?"
"Because mommy and daddy get reeeaaalllyyy happy when they kiss each other." Emmy said with a giggle. More laughter was heard, mostly because the innocent statement could be interpreted another way.
Blushes darkened.
"Oh really? Are you sure it isn't because of the power you're always using?" Landon said with a sly smile.
The laughter immediately died as everyone stared at the little girl. Emmy smiled innocently up at him.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Mister Landon."
"You have a very curious set of abilities, little missy. It's almost as if you were designed that way." The demon king said suspiciously.
"That's not far from the truth." Raven interrupted. Landon looked up at her curiously. "I didn't give birth to her."
Landon's eyebrow rose. "Well if she wasn't BORN then how did she get here?"
Beast Boy answered him. "Its complicated."
"No lad, shower sex is complicated. There's only one way a child can be born."
"Emelia is a clone of us, made without our consent." Raven interrupted, trying to steer the conversation away from obscene things. She didn't notice Superboy stiffen.
"Well that's no fun, you missed the best part lad." Landon said to Beast Boy as his eyes swept Raven's body once more. "I mean, clearly she has all the right ...magnificent equipment."
Raven pulled her cloak tighter shut, trying to hide her body from his lecherous eyes. Garfield started growling again, much to Landon's amusement.
"Settle down, boy." The demon snickered. "You'll need your energy to keep her satisfied when you start rolling in the hay."
Emelia interjected again. "Rolling in the hay?"
Landon, ignoring the teens deathly glares, looked back at the girl. "It's a euphemism, darling. You see, demons, specifically female ones, can be quite insatiable when it comes to se-"
"Will you stop talking about that?!" Raven spat, her eyes glowing once more.
"Ask me nicely and I'll think about it." Landon chuckled.
"I beseech you, Landon, King of Hell, Lord of all Demons and Devils, the Ultimate Sin, Matriarch of Maliciousness, to please refrain from speaking of such things in front of my child!"Raven pleaded, putting aside her pride. Truth be told, it was just as much for her sake as it was Emelia's.
Landon was quite for a long moment before a grin sprouted on his face. "The Ultimate Sin? Matriarch of Maliciousness? Goodness, Raven, you'll spoil me rotten if you keep sweet talking me like that."
Raven refrained from answering, instead waiting silently.
"Oh, all right." He chuckled. "I shall not bring up the subject of fornication again."
"Thank you." Raven replied, returning to normal.
Landon stared at her, lost in thought, for a few minutes before he chuckled quietly to himself. "Right, now as for the boy-"
"Does that make you my grandpa?"
Landon, as well as everyone else, looked at Emelia, who was looking up at the demon king excitedly.
"Am I wot now?" The confused man said.
"You thought that mommy looks like-"
"What?!" Landon exclaimed. "You read my mind?!"
Emmy tilted her head. "Yes?"
"How in God's name did you do that?!"
Emmy shrugged. "I don't know. I just did it."
Landon stared at her. "Right…that's not creepy at all. Anyways, no, I'm not your grandpa."
"Mister Landon, sir, I know what I want my favor to be." The little girl said sweetly with a big toothy smile. Landon thought she looked like a piranha but kept his mouth shut least she bit him.
"And just what would that be?" He said slowly.
"You can be my grandpa and mommy's daddy!"
"You want me to wot?!" The demon exclaimed.
"Emelia!" Raven sputtered. "Why would you ask such a thing?!"
"Yeah, you have a Nana and PawPaw!" Garfield practically shouted.
"Because you don't have a mommy or daddy anymore." Emmy said simply, her head tilted. "I'm happy having a mommy and daddy and so is Martin. Mister Landon is like you and me, so he's gotta know lots of stuffs! He can help with my powers when I get older, can't he?"
Raven eyed the demon king dubiously and the rest of the Titans did too. Landon stuck his tongue out.
"Would you rather I resurrect your actual father?" He darkly joked.
"NO!" The five origin Titans shouted, jumping up.
"Keep your knickers on, it was a joke." Landon chuckled to himself. He was having too much fun. But, judging from the tickling sensation on the back of his head, he had been there too long already. He drew his attention back to Emelia. "Do you really want that?"
"Yup!" Emmy said cheerfully.
"You're adorable. All right, I accept!"
"What?! No!" Raven shouted.
"Too late, she's mine now!" Landon stuck his tongue out again.
"There's no way that I'll-" Raven started to say, but was interrupted by Garfield's hand on her arm. She looked at him and he shook his head.
"Rae, I don't think you'll win this one." He said carefully. Raven glared at him, then at Landon (who was grinning smugly), then glared at him again for a moment before she sit down and put her face in her hands and sighed.
"Good!" Landon said cheerfully. "Now that that's out of the way, time for the main course!"
The demon king snapped his fingers and a fiery portal spawned in the middle of the floor. A colossal wave of heat poured out just before a red clawed hand shot out and grasped the edge of the portal. Moments later the rest of the body followed, revealing a red skinned young man with small devil horns, a barbed tail, black leather pants, clawed feet, and yellow iris-less eyes.
He stood there quietly for a moment before speaking shyly.
"H-hi! My name's Kid Devil! But you can call me Eddie!"
