Sulfur Mines
It stunk.
The Sulfur Mines were less welcoming than the Titans had hoped for. The stench of sulfur reeked in every corner of the mines. The Titans stood in the center of a very large room, surrounded by machinery, and more importantly, nothing else.
The mines went on for acres, but the particular room in which they stood held a good portion of that land. Metal catacombs outlined its rim with stairs, catwalks and chains to host up large boxes. The boxes themselves sat underneath a crane on the south end, containing huge amounts of raw sulfur ore. The metal ground was warm with the sun shining on it through windows and patches in the roof where there simply wasnt a roof. The sun shone down upon the titans. It was high noon.
"It stinks in here, guys!" Beastboy decided to exclaim in the middle of the silence. It was somewhat nerve racking to the rest of the titans, but really it was more annoying and blatantly obvious.
"No CRAP it does, BB!" Jim retorted.
"Where are the thugs that Raven spoke of?" Starfire and Robin were the only ones immediately aware of the situation; the other boys put their nose before their head.
"Probably knew we were comin'. Lets do a quick sweep before we head back." Robin took his place as temporary leader without Raven there. Everyone knew that he enjoyed bossing people around. Jim felt some nostalgia hearing words like that come out of Robin's big masked mouth.
"I'll save you the trouble, Titans."
Jim's heart skipped a beat. There was something about that voice that...
Beastboy was already talking, so he decided to do so again. "And you are?"
"Me? I am Infernus' minion, Pessimus. And you are Beastboy, the one-man zoo. Tell me, when you SHIT as an animal, is it different than if you SHIT as a boy?"
Jim mumbled to his comrades, "Who IS this guy?" He cleared his throat and shouted, "Where are you, scumbag!?"
Pessimus spoke from what appeared to be the opposite corner of the room. "Oh my, aren't we frisky! You're 7 eons too young for you to talk to ME like that."
Another voice manifested, origin unknown to Jim or the others; "Now, now, Pessimus, you're being too spiteful to these children. After all, you were the one who said they were eons too young."
"NOW what?" Terra exclaimed.
"Forgive my rude behavior. I am called Malus."
"A minion of Infernus?" Robin smugly replied.
"You're catching on." Malus enjoyed himself in his speech.
"Reveal yourself, foes, so that i may bring an end to this game." Jim smiled. Starfire was always one to be keen with words.
A flash blinded the Titans momentarily. The sudden loss of sight caused the titans to exclaim their sounds of confusion. No sooner did the light fade did darkness come, all encompassing, all foreboding. Vacuums of air swirled around the titans and brought each other to they're backs, not that it mattered in the darkness. It was silent. The warmth from the sun that came through the windows into the large, barren room dissipated all too quickly, and was missed by the innocent teens. Something told Jim that this was far too big for the Titans.
"Now, then, Favored Ones. Lets see what you're made of!"
No sooner did these words echo in Jim's ears did Starfire's scream of terror. Everyone turned to her and gave attention to the onslaught that Malus claimed to give. Jim quickly grabbed Starefire, and the rest of the Titans jumped into two parallel lines. Malus dashed through and sliced at air with two large scythes, and everyone got a good look at him.
Malus appeared to be a man of about 20 or 25 years old. His build was not particularly grand, nor was it sleek. He wore a long, flowing black cloak. His torso, legs, and most of his arms were hidden in the cloak. His face was twisted. His left eye was lower than his right, and his mouth perked upward on the right side. His nose bent down and in. His face held a terrible truth, a horror so halting that none of the Titans had ever even conceived. This man's pain was greater than all of Jim's grievances, and yet he did not feel pity for him.
Malus dashed along the ground, floating slightly so as not to move his legs, for another second or two. he stopped suddenly, and disappeared again.
"Join us, children!" They simultaneously shouted.
Malus and what could only be assumed as Pessimus appeared behind and in front of Terra, respectively. Pessimus had no distinguishing features besides his crimson red cloak. It spoke of tales of bloodshed and created a yearning for those who see it to touch it. Black shadows covered his face. He was more muscular than Malus it seemed, because his cloak bulged more at the chest than his. Pessimus' cloak seemed to wave in invisible wind at all times. A unique symbol that represented somewhat of a dragon decorated the back of his cloak in a deeper maroon.
Terra stood in fear between the two. The Titan's watched in horror as Malus and Pessimus went to work. Malus twirled both of his scythes, and they soon found home in Terra's back, both lodged directly adjacent to each other underneath a shoulder blade. No sooner did they land did they rip outward. At that exact moment, Malus disappeared and Pessimus raised his left hand. But before he could do anything, Jim found his courage and gave him a heavy right hook in the head. After it made contact, he, too, disappeared, and Jim stumbled forward. Terra lay unconscious in the floor space to the left of Jim.
There was a snarl in the coming calm. Pessimus spoke, "That punch shouldn't of landed! Perhaps we have underestimated how favoured THESE children are?"
"No, brother." Malus replied. "The Reaper must be busy with the Queen."
"Oh, yes, of course. Titans!" Everyone jumped. "We'll fight another day when the face of death stares into only the living. The playing ground is even at the moment, and we can't risk anything, our cause is too great."
"You must understand, failure isn't an option for us. Besides, it will be more fun when the Queen is helping us."
"We bid you farewell." Malus and Pessimus' voices died.
The darkness faded. Bits of light crept back into the mines, but more should have come. The moon's glow shined through the windows. It didn't catch anyone's attention that they had been frozen in time for nearly 8 hours, because it was morning when they arrived, and the fight was so quick. Beast Boy became a dog and stood solemnly beside Terra's unconscious body, and the remaining Titans circled around her. Jim wept.