Teen Titans – New Divides - Universal War; Finale – Chapter Three: The Archivist and the Sharp - Shooter

/

Raku stared; absent-minded at the mat below his feet, he'd had his shoes off to meditate and had even listened to Ignito when it came to his traditional costume of a mystic sage. What then, was his real power like?

Was he not as the spirit elite had said? Was he, actually stronger than or better than the gods?

A creator and destroyer. That was also what Azag had once been too. So, why did this feel so different…

Raku took in a deep breath and tried to concentrate on a focal point. That being the shoes of one; John Constantine. His teacher, temporarily in the forbidden arts.

"You have to tap into that energy. Feel your destiny, don't just seek it out. A small part of yourself knows what you are capable of doing if you set your mind to the pages of YOUR story. Not Lil's. Not Roku's. Not anyone else's.

Aiden tried to stay quiet, but he wanted desperately to ask so many questions about what he had just witnessed. Raku, was different. He had two faces, ten even. He didn't know it but a manifestation relic had powers that were mysterious and ever – lasting as time. Azag had been the fated, the eclipse and the sayer of woes and light. Raku, still wanted to find out if he wasn't born to the same fate as the stories had told him long ago.

Aiden, against his nature, used the mind – spoken word of the spirit world to speak to John. He had to. For Raku's sake, he was still in charge of his charge, and little brother.

~ You might mess with our concentration, lad. ~ John answered as Aiden forced with all of his being to direct his message to the sorcerer in his long trench coat.

~I'm trying to help, but you won't talk, and Raku is as confused as I am –

~No, you are personifying things, Aiden. Your father told me that your lives were linked because of the half – jinn's magic. And he had a crush on you that…barely lasted a week. ~

~It was after Ami went sort of steady with her best friend. You know that probably too, because dad can't quit butting in… ~ Aiden gritted his fists and snorted, but was not done speaking.

~Raku is my family, and I want to be clear that if you hurt him, I won't hold back…~ Aiden stared up at John who only raised a curt, blonde brow.

~ Have it your way, but this isn't about you or me, bloke. It's about the boy in front of us finding his niche. His magical calling that was buried deep long ago, by anyone who knew his true name and took it on for themselves. ~ John was talking in riddles, but a true name? He had another??

~ Raku was his given name at birth, but not the one that allows him to access his records and the magic that his father endowed to him. Raku is a seal, a way to keep him from losing control. His mantra, if you will. Azag was not the one who did it, but it was due to the fact that he was from a later time period than Raku's mother. Talia was her name, and she was forced to carry a burden over his birth. She'd conceived a child with a time – traveling deity. Do you think Raku wouldn't be able to transcend time and space? Lilu didn't wait and stole that name away from those closest to the boy's father. If you knew of daemons and their legacies, you'd be backin' off to let the kid find himself under my wing. I know the story, but your bloody emotions control him, contradicting logic. You need to be a teacher, not a baby sitter. And frankly, you can't grow up right yourself without an extra push. ~

/

Aiden didn't try again; he didn't…and he REALLY didn't like John Constantine. He was a bit ego – centric in the papers, and yet had that bad boy attitude when he was a downright –

"Aiden?"

Aiden blinked away the fog clouding his judgement to see Raku's amber and brown eyes staring back at him, hands on his knees, slightly bent. Head cocked to the side with a few strands of dark hair spilling over his "human" ears, the teen made Aiden upset…Not because he wanted to reclaim a power that he had little knowledge of, but because he wasn't sticking up for himself enough against this magus – fraud…

No better than the ones who had hurt Raku as a child in the spirit – past. Abi and Lilu…Even Astarte who was now going against them to help a war goddess from ancient Greek myth!

"Hey, are you, ok?" The dark-haired boy blinked back and frowned with a pouting face at the blonde, now nineteen-year-old. "He still didn't feel his age, and Raku looked fifteen, not seventeen.

"I, just need to step out for a second."

"Be our guest." Shrugged John, earing a half – hearted glare from his pupil. "Aiden, I'll be fine. I won't let anything harm us –

"That's fine for you, but what…about things staying as they are?" Aiden turned from that innocent face and walk off, as he opened up the library door, letting a dim day light filter in to fill this void less chamber of books and so much time to be had.

"Have fun." The blonde huffed over his shoulder, coldly avoiding his brother's dim eyes as this, might have been for the better.

With that, Aiden had never seen Raku's eyes and probably never should. He was left out in the cold. Forgotten by a friend as Aiden skulked off to find an exit, thinking…

~ He doesn't need me anymore…~

Or so he believed –

Something snapped, and the djinn inside Raku believed that Ignito needed a chance to stretch its legs as the spooky alter self of an adult, blocked the blonde's path.

~ Going far away, little Chosen soul? ~ He frowned.

"Raku has a –

~ Will you walk away; you are vulnerable to corruption, and my self is the only protection you carry. As are you, to he. ~

/

Hsari snarled at the gone deity; what Agni had been, was all but ancient history to this time line.

~ I respected you, lord of fire. You've dashed my hopes of finding an everlasting peace between the factions of spirit and God alike. ~ The cat twitched its dark whiskers as Shanti, though blind, knew how to summon her cobra grandmother to aid her allies in this resistance.

~ You will set free the Princess and her teacher. If you do not comply to our demands, we will be forced to act swiftly! ~

Her eyes turned to an orange glow as Shanti chanted a mantra while moving her hands in time with the spectral, large cobra's dance. In her world, living things had a purpose. Bao Shi was stability. Tsani would be Hope…

But, war?

There was little to debate on when it came to a god – tyrant's whims.

/

Raven scanned through her books; something, Isa was trusting her to find it…

Ah, and just in time to be annoyed by her, assistant…

"Knock, knock?" Malchior came to her door, a bit of his hair still pulled back in a messy tie. She cleared her throat and opened the door, before closing it back up quickly. One visit per person.

"By that look on your face, Raven, I imagine you've located the spell –

" Shh!" She threw a finger to her lips, knowing if word got out via any telekinetic presence, she wasn't sticking around to be teased by a fantasy warlock with a searing crush on –

"I won't disclose much, but I think it…isn't here anymore."

He looked at her with a hand to the wall, a furrowed brow and, darker. Serious, compared to their little fun time with Lilu or Eris.

"Where is it, then? "Was all he had to ask her.

/

Wiz scrambled to find a place to store his relics; gold, silver, bronze, platinum even!

Lady Aluehainyu was on the unholy path to damnation by her ceasing of the capital. School was le out early for the prefect Piper Pipette and her errand boy, Skylar Thompson. The shape shifting teen worked towards helping out, but Greg knew Min's old body was now divided from Autur's. She could be...

~ Found you…~

A purr in his ears made Arteus fling back his clock to reveal a catch; he was well armed.

~ Cat of the unknown! Tell your underworld gods to disperse! We won't be fabled as mere criminals by –

She reverted to her large phantom lynx's form, eyes wide and claws aching to act.

~ Drop that toy. I'm not an enemy to ye, and you too know this. Come…the guilty, fast approach. ~ She came and nipped at his hood with teeth so sharp, but not to bleed, but to carry the kitten sized ally to her secret rooms below the keep of the underworld rulers.

/

"The book."

Zee shook her head. "Was it important?"

"Yes, bloody, yes it was vital to contacting anyone who can ease the tens –

"We can't keep quiet anymore." Raven glared at Mal, who rolled his eyes to the side.

"And, now Greg… Our, Ardius?"

M'Gann understood as she levitated over to see if interdimensional calls were a possibility. The red crystal -

(A new beginning; Roku's crystal had a dual aspect. The light crystal was the catalyst of light, and the red was of the dragon's influence. The crystal shards were what the Titans used on the C.O.M.M units to open rifts or to connect to the spirit world without using too much power thanks to Greg and Vee's quick thinking at the time. I thought it was cool, like JL Dark Apocalypse war with techno magic. It's a thing, just as Techna from the Winx club. Haa…)

"We can't get more shards like then, can we?" Cy wasn't here to play the big bro, so the new team had to use old data with Raven while he was back in San Diego; and she'd only been back to look through her belongings that were in storage for a while.

"What if I contact the spirit world allies with my –

"No. No, Megan. Rethink the plan." Superboy came over and put a burly set of fingers onto her cloaked shoulder. "We can't risk anything new with a war going on, and you could end up like I was in the phantom zone….un… if we aren't aware of the situation enough."

"We could also try to find the answer instead of standing by." She rebuked; arms crossed. "Conner…When did you become so overprotective? We're adults, we helped the teams this far –

"And we still aren't Superman or Bruce Wayne, or Lex." The half alien stopped her. "We risk it, they pay for our reckless behavior."

Megan knew about the war in the Eternal and Celestial realms, and the barricading of Ava and Hecate's gates so that they were made prisoner to the ideals of the war goddess Athena.

"You know that, I do…but it's not fair to any of those poor beings…" Megan hugged her arms to her chest and let her eyes look away to the floor. "If Ava and our friends, we can't just do absolutely nothing and say we're a part of this! Otherwise, I'm in for fighting and losing, even wit that big a risk."

"So, you're going telepathically then." Mal shook his head. "I should know, but the wilderness of my world is a treacherous plane to trek. Best bring your ammunition and a few charms to keep the wild things wary."

/

Slade's first words that morning on her unit had been ~Get dressed, get ready. ~

Anna had done it; she'd defied her teacher, and it was that feeling of guilt that drove her to pluck a camo top and a few parts to her uniform from her suitcase. With a good number of connections, Slade had dragged Anna to Dubai in a hurry. Seemed to have been a few dealings he didn't like, and Astarte was in the middle of it.

Athena had to be close. Astarte had sworn herself in at the same year as Robin's fall and rise from the dragon's clutches. No surprise, Anna wasn't fully aware of how much he and her father –

"Headed to your rendezvous, where are you?" She picked up the unit to her ear and adjusted a mini mic by it to go cordless.

~ You'll see my calling card by the port. Head east and don't stop. We have her cornered and you need just as many as answers as I'm going to demand from that witch… ~

"Whatever. The sooner we have the data files for her "weapon," we can kick in the resort like adults."

~ Aren't you confident, for a minor –

"I'm still old enough to drive a tank through the desert, DS. Don't BS my good mood."

Slade rolled his eyes, turning to spy a few nameless faces where a cargo was being unveiled.

"Get over here, and no griping. We have a job to do, fire – bird."

He clicked her off and slowly went to get a closer look at the pretty weapon at the port side.

/

Slade pissed her off, but he was what she needed to do a job that Shoji believed would benefit the whole world and his ass's reputation, right now.

They were going to warp space time in a way, decimating the connection and God knows what else. In that cargo hold, was a weapon that had Takahara's name written all over it.

/

Anna started to chant under her breath. It was a mantra she'd learned to keep her magic from going off, and for the port to not turn to ashes by her flames. Ever since Astarte's betrayal, Nina had a plan B, even though "It" meant sending her young cadets to do her dirty work. Slade volunteered, as he believed his presence could "stabilize" Anna's fire – bird magic in close combat. He'd even convinced the rest of the red – head's squad that he could, so they'd taken all the help they could get to shut down Athena's plans from within the most secret of mortal secret societies. This sect's decision from space and time, turned out to be why Catherina Daia was unable to act outside of her post. And why Hecate's or Isa's presence had been gone since Raven had noticed back in the tower.

Anna mumbled her regret quietly, keeping flat against the wall as she turned a sharp corner before sighing.

"You can hide, but can you out – run my whips?"

She snapped her fingers; time to uncap that spark.

"Call me, a fire – starter!!" Anna let her fire harpoon from her palm as her magic caught the spy, cloaked and with a gun to her head. "You heard? I'm not so easy to put a bullet through." She looked at the enemy with a tilt of her head. " Fire, bury the body."

/

Anna walked on, leaving the charred remains and not caring if she'd put the man's suit through hell more than the fighter inside of it.

Slade would scold her for using too much force, but he was a man who spilled blood to make a point, well…Not all the time.

/

Seeing Anna in their combat session was a treat. She was no Terra, not exactly his old Robin, but she was lethal enough to eventually swap sides. That's how it sometimes was, when a soldier questioned just how much good they were doing in their position. He could help her, keep her tame. It'd be a waste to lose such a powerful meta- even when her bolts from Kori's line were what fired up those fire – bird abilities in the first place.

She didn't forget anything, and yet she'd been kept a secret by Astarte's bosses here on earth. While this was a charity to train the enemy of Deathstroke's child, he had to admit…

~ She's not cut out to play the hero. Not at all. ~

The ones clinging to the parcel spoke in Arabic and Slade knew only a smidge of the language to say that it was so far, hush hush.

"Where will you be sending the…."

And a;

"How long, will the –

Guessing Anna had gotten the message to hurry it, he did not see her pass overhead to drop a few gifts off onto the lugs faces.

With a few sparks as her calling card, Slade turned his head and scowled.

"What?" He hissed at the half – Tameranean ninteen - year – old and covert - ops specialist.

"We can't wait to get our hands on them, so hurry and get that device!"

She was flying, making them look like idiots.

Bad plan. Slade seethed and tried to send a shot to put the one he'd heard just now, out.

Boy, would her parents have a field day with this report. After all, his word was to himself and the man who had hired the merc to watch over his precious ball of sunshine.

~ That I intend to, Grayson. ~ Slade smirked below his cloth mask, the metal in storage for this mission.

~ She'll be a show off no matter who comes our way, just like you. Boy wonder. ~