Outside Titan's Tower, a single man stood before a small group of wicked warriors. He wasn't a young man, he seemed perhaps into his middle years, with grayish hair swept back into two points not unlike a devil's horns, and sunken eyes, though lined with few wrinkles. He wore the trappings of a white-robed priest, though the symbol on his chest was no cross, but a demonic skull.
His name was Brother Blood.
The gathering of HIVE soldiers behind him he'd brought along to witness his glorious victory against the Titans, one of his most promising teams. Six of his yellow-armored soldiers, armed with the latest and most deadly of weapons. Apart from the original HIVE trio, Stone and Bumblebee, his most promising of minions. Stone of course having been officially expelled. Bumblebee was busy working on another of Blood's projects, along with some of his other students. And his trio were still in detention over their last failure.
Still, if he was successful here, he might not need bother with any other personal projects.
Brother Blood cast an idle glance at his soldiers, who seemed to be bickering over a stupid card game. Imbeciles, he thought to himself. This was the end of the Teen Titans and they were playing POKER?!?!?!
Brother Blood growled darkly, but refrained from making a comment. Nothing could ruin this moment for him.
"You seem to be enjoying yourself servant," hissed a voice near his ear. Powerful though it was, none of the other HIVE kids could hear it, only Brother Blood. Nor did it have a visible source. Unsurprising, considering it didn't have a physical form.
Yet.
"All is progressing as we had hoped, Master," he replied graciously, speaking to unseen air. His soldiers paid him no heed. Idly Brother Blood shifted the tome held under his arm, bringing it up so he could admire it in the moonlight. It was a black book, crafted of an alien metal designed to last throughout the centuries, unlike paper pages and leather bindings of regular books. Ancient sigils and runes had been painstakingly crafted into the black metal book, then illuminated with red crushed gemstones. It was as powerful as it was darkly beautiful, and malevolent as it was powerful.
"The spell you guided me too has proven most useful. Now they will not live to see the dawn's light."
"Do not underestimate them, 'Brother' Blood," hissed the voice darkly in Brother Blood's ear, making him wince involuntarily. "Especially not my daughter. Recall if you are capable that I do not want her to be slain."
"Of course not, of course not," placated Brother Blood. "Raven won't be killed, you know that. But the spell will make it so she's properly broken and more easily controlled. She'll be easier to use then."
"Excellent. You have no further difficulties?"
"Thanks to the spell none. Ironic, actually, considering how it easy it was to turn one of their friends against the others. I really must thank you personally... once you're out of course," he added as an after-thought.
"A reminder I do not appreciate, Blood," hissed the voice again. A wave of pain accompanied it, forcing Brother Blood to clutch his head in agony. Foolish, he thought to himself. Do not push him. He could obliterate you with less effort than it takes to bat an eye.
"My apologies... Master," he said.
"Good."
And then it was gone, leaving only Brother Blood and his three witless lackeys behind. Brother Blood shifted the tome again, sliding it under his arm. The spell was indeed powerful, but he had his doubts. He took care never to announce them in front of his master, such a sign of weakness, of hesitation, could've easily meant his end. It had certainly meant the end of the last man who'd called himself Brother Blood. His father, no less. He'd enjoyed ending the fool's life in his moment of weakness, taking the role for himself.
The Titans would be crushed. They could not do battle against that which they feared most.
Idly, Brother Blood made a gesture and chanted an incantation, calling on his sorcery. Though he was a naturally gifted telepath, the majority of his power came from outside sources. Sorcery and science. Both of them were very useful to him, both of them were used to further his ends. Much like the criminal Slade, though he had foolishly worked alone, not seeking and even denying aid from any outside source other than his chosen apprentices. It was no surprised he'd been crushed so easily by the rock-tumbler.
The HIVE, on the other hand, took every possible advantage they could grab, every possible angle they could exploit, and despite Brother Blood's recent move to take control of the organization (removing their previous Headmistress with little difficulty) he was a firm follower of their philosophy.
After all, it was getting the job done, wasn't it?
Six rectangular images formed around Brother Blood, forming a hexagon to surround him so that whichever way he turned he saw a Titan's individual suffering, getting a glimpse into their worst of nightmares. In some, he was simply tempted to laugh. They feared these? Things that normal men craved, like power and destruction? Or simple things like being alone? Foolish creatures, all of them.
"Who can fathom how the heroes mind work?" he asked aloud to himself, giving a dark chuckle.
Well, no matter, he thought. They'd be dead by dawn. All of them save Raven... even Cyborg. His resistance to Brother Blood's hypnotism didn't make him immune to all such manner of mind-control methods. Especially when it came from such a powerful source as his Master's daughter. His spell had allowed Anger to free herself from deep inside of Raven. And through Anger, the other Titans were being attacked by Raven's own telepathy. Even if her own nightmare didn't destroy her, she'd been destroyed just as readily by the knowledge of killing her best friends.
Only one thing truly bothered Brother Blood now, and he turned in a half-circle, facing the image that had previously been to his back. That of the earth-shaker, Terra, as she lived out her own nightmare of destruction and dead friends and enemies alike.
Terra was supposed to be dead. The Titans hadn't announced details of their battle to the world, but the HIVE had made an effort to keep a watch on both them and Slade ever since their first encounter ages ago. They'd seen what had become of Terra. She'd been turned into a completely stone statue. Had that been a ruse of some manner?
Brother Blood frowned darkly, watching the image before him.
Because of the spell used, Anger had instinctively attached onto anyone Raven considered a friend, thus limiting her reach from going after anyone the HIVE might actually have a use for. And as another possible benefit, eliminating other heroes who'd been in contact with Raven, though as of yet the HIVE hadn't seen any progress in that direction. Raven seemed to keep her friends in a rather close-knit circle. Yet Anger had also struck out after Terra, who was supposedly dead.
Perhaps...
"... she isn't dead?" he asked aloud.
A number of possibilities presented themselves. Brother Blood had both lived and been a costumed super-villain for many years, he knew of the possibilities of existence surrounding those and his ilk. Two seemed the most prevalent. One, that Terra was indeed alive, that the statue deep beneath Jump City was simply a ruse to allow her to continue on her way untroubled by anyone. If so, it was a good ruse, and it had even fooled the Titans and the HIVE. Two, that she was still alive but her body was frozen in stone, and only her mind had survived.
The second seemed more likely, but Brother Blood could take no chances. Not against the Titans. Not with his Master watching.
With a wave of his hand he dispelled the images, letting them vanish. Then he turned his attention to his HIVE underlings. "You three! Go and patrol the island immediately. Stay within visual range of one another and keep an eye out for Ter... for... for the authorities," he said, deciding not to voice his suspicions aloud.
"Oh come on, who bothers to check out this dumb island anymore?" asked one of them from behind his helmet, annoyed because he'd been winning their little poker game... mostly due to his cheating, of course. He had at least half a dozen aces hidden up his sleeve.
"You will DO AS I ORDERED," said Brother Blood, his eyes giving off their characteristic red glow as he activated his hypnotic power, forcing his will upon these stupid soldiers. In an instant they'd snapped to their feet and were doing his bidding.
"Better," he spat out as they worked quickly to appease him. Then he turned back to the dark Titan's Tower, waiting. In time, they'd fall, and he would be victorious. But for now he had to wait. Besides, the longer they took to fall, the more terrible their suffering. And after all they'd done to thwart Brother Blood's plans, they deserved to suffer greatly indeed.
Raven's powers were greatly weakened by her struggle with Anger, which was indeed the source of the majority of her power. The emotion was mainly her father's, after all, and it was his demonic blood that fueled her magic, as much as she wished it was not. Thus, with anger freed from her control her powers were limited. And because of the nature of Brother Blood's spell, she couldn't join her other emotions to recapture Anger. They were as helpless as she was.
All but one of them.
None of the others new about this emotion. Raven had carefully kept her knowledge secret from the others, especially Anger. Not even Happy knew about this particular emotion, Raven kept her hidden in the very back of her mind, careful to nurture her and protect her, ready her for the day she might be able to come out and be expressed. As it was, she had little choice now. This emotional manifestation was the only hope she and the other Titans had left. If she didn't succeed, they were all doomed.
And after them, the world... no... the universe... was doomed.
Raven released Hope, and the white-cloaked little manifestation awoke in Raven's mind.
Author's Notes:
Much shorter than most of the other chapters I know, but this is primarily explanatory, I'll get back to the Titan's individual torments shortly. Plus I'm trying to get the chapters out so that the final one is Halloween Night, of course. Oh yes, and of course the unmasking of the villain. Or should I say villains. As with 'Secret Origins,' I make no mention of Trigon's true name because the Titan's obviously don't know who he is. Like in 'Nevermore,' where Raven refers to him only as her father. The connection between Trigon and Brother Blood is comic inspired, there's been no evidence of it in the animated series (yet). In the comics Brother Blood's cult was founded on worship of Trigon, and he conspired to take Raven as his bride and bring about the end of the world. Oh, and also comic-related is the slaying of the father to become the new Brother Blood. The current one in the comics was the eighth, I think. Got kinda confusing in the more recent history. Next chapter: Terra, Cyborg, Beastboy. Can Raven's little helper save them? Or have they lost hope, doomed only to know despair?
ViciousAssassin: I only hope I'm write about Beastboy's fears, he's one of the hardest Titans to properly understand. And yeah most people have forgotten about the season one episodes, I make it a point to remind the fans of events from throughout the series. All good stuff. Wise idea not to change your guess, as you can no doubt see.
Katergator: Up my sleeve? Nono, under my cape! Muwahaha. I'm glad you're enjoying the story, hope you enjoy the explanations for all that has come to pass.
Taiba: Wow, I'd love to really, but my heart belongs only to Supergirl. No fluff here, no sirree. Maybe a few tender moments towards the end but that's a long way's off.
Todd fan: Thanks for the review, as usual.
Crystal Renee: Herbivore. Plant-eating animals are herbivores. And actually (I've been mistaken about this too, believe me) Beastboy is a vegan, not a vegetarian. Glad you think his nightmare makes sense, I was worried most about his.
Spazzfire: Sounds good to me. And I agree, BB's past is rather interesting, like most of the Titans. It's a pity they don't get to show much of it in the episodes.
Yomiori-wolfdemon: Well glad to welcome you into the fold as a frequent (and I mean frequent) reviewer! I dunno about Almighty Greatness. But meh, whatever works. I just have ideas in my head and I write 'em. I'm glad people appreciate 'em as much as I do, however.
Tigress419: Woohoo! Good plot good! Yay! And I know exactly what you mean about Beastboy, he's got to be affected worst by this, whereas the badass members of the Titans are likely going to shrug it off with no difficulty.
Ray1: I'd prefer to wait until the series is over (though of course I paradoxically also hope the series never ends) before I write more stories like I did with Evo. Same with Justice League. But glad to hear you have confidence in my abilities.
ShadowSage2: He was sorta helpless to stop himself from becoming Slade, wasn't he? No but I get your drift, I just thought of that mask and the idea popped in my head. Plus it coincides with the nightmare we saw at the beginning of 'Apprentice part 1.'