Author's Notes: Sorry for the terrible lateness of this. Hopefully the next one will be up quicker, but...well, no promises.
Clash of the Titans by CidGregor
Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans.
Chapter 4
An abandoned warehouse…for the love of Azar, it's always a bloody abandoned warehouse…
Raven stood at the front doors of a dilapidated old factory; its windows broken, its walls covered with graffiti, and its doors hanging off the hinges. All of it just screamed the stereotype of 'abandoned warehouse.' Logically, Raven supposed, there was no better place than this sort of junk heap on the outskirts of town for a criminal to hide and be safe from prying eyes, but she still found herself half-wishing that Malchior had been a little more original. Then she remembered exactly what she was doing here at all, and suddenly the matter of the warehouse no longer seemed important.
She walked through the open doors and glanced around. The sun was setting, casting light of many different colors across the interior. On the surface it somehow gave the place a warm feel, those brilliant colors; but underneath, it was cold and haunting. Raven shivered; she wanted to find Malchior and be done with him as soon as possible; this place was giving her the creeps, and that was saying something.
Most of the warehouse was taken up by one huge, high-ceiling room, and the place had clearly been abandoned for a long, long time. Age-old machinery was covered with a thick layer of rust, and atop that a layer of dust as well. The dust, in fact, lined every inch of the place. Scattered scraps of paper that lay on the floor were almost impossible to see, the dust was so thick. Spider-webs filled the corners and the dark spots, some as big as Raven's head. Every light fixture that she could see was broken. The only sounds were that of her own footsteps and her slow, rhythmic breathing.
At least, they had been the only sounds a moment ago…
Hello, Raven.
Raven flinched. Her eyes darted around the massive floor, trying to find the source of the voice, but it sounded as though it had come from nowhere and yet everywhere at once. It had sounded…disembodied…ghostly…familiar…
Malchior…
Very good, Raven, the voice boomed…in her head, Raven realized. You've found me. But what next? Are you going to shut me back in a prison that can no longer contain my power? Or are you actually going to summon up the guts to simply kill me?
"How did you get this power? How did you break back out of the book?" Raven demanded aloud.
Through you, of course, sweet Raven.
"Don't call me that!" Raven snapped. "I fell for your game once, Malchior, but I know what you really are, now. You're a liar and a deceiver."
Indeed I am. And yet, you were so desperate for companionship, for someone that could 'understand you,' that you failed to see it, even when it was staring you right in the face. Ha-ha-ha-ha…and you call yourself an empath…
"Stop it!" Raven shouted. "Show yourself, you pile of scrap paper!"
If you insist.
There was a flash of purple light from directly above Raven. She looked up, and saw its source shining from the rafters. Raven lifted off from the ground and flew toward it with frightening speed, but as soon as she got close, there was another pulse of light.
"AUGH!" Raven cried out as the light slammed into her like a solid wall. It knocked her clear out of the air and she slammed roughly back to the filthy ground, stirring up a huge cloud of dust. She slowly dragged herself to her feet, the dust infesting her sinuses and drawing from her a coughing fit. All the while she could hear Malchior's mocking laughter filling her head, serving only to anger her more. She waved her hands to blow the dust away, but did so more vigorously than she intended, and ended up blasting apart a few desks in the process. The anger was getting to her.
Control it, Raven, the dark girl told herself. You're stronger than this. Don't let the anger take hold. You know where that road will lead.
Raven closed her eyes, took a deep breath and let it out slowly, and when she opened her eyes again the anger had diminished. She looked back to the rafters, but Malchior's book was no longer there. Her eyes darted to the floor, and found the book hovering at eye level twenty feet away from her.
"What did you mean when you said you got all this extra power from me?" she demanded.
You thought that with the amount of my knowledge and power I was granting to you, I did not receive some of yours in return? Whether you intended it or not, sweet Raven, I have gained power from you…as well as knowledge…yes…the knowledge of that demonic strength that lives deep within you…
"How did you…?" Raven started, eyes flaring, but cut herself off and took another calming breath. "If you mean you want that power for yourself, you're wasting your time," she bit out. "Not even I can control that demon if it gets loose. Certainly a second-rate magician like you would have no hope of controlling it."
Not on my own, no…but with your abilities to aid me, I will harness that power within you…
"And what makes you think I'd ever help you again?"
Oh, I don't think you will have a choice in the matter. Your power will be mine…and I will use it to rid this world of you and those worthless mortals that dare call themselves 'Titans.'
"What's that supposed to mean?"
You and your team bring shame to the name 'Titan.' The true Titans…the Titans of old…they were glorious beings…even the Gods themselves, ruling over Mount Olympus, feared the power of the mighty Titans. But you…you and your friends who dare to take their name are mere shadows of those great beings.
"Those 'Titans' are ancient mythology. Fiction."
So too was I believed to be…and yet here I am before you.
"Enough!" Raven snapped. She brought up her hands, which were now glowing with her dark energy. "If you want my power, you aren't getting it without a fight!"
Wonderful. I was hoping you'd say that.
Malchior's book sprung open; its pages flipped by in a blur, halting on a page that had been ripped in half, so that the only thing visible were a pair of haunting, dark eyes.
NECRONOM, HEZBEREK, MORTIX!
A storm of purple light exploded from the book, stirring up a massive wind; though Raven managed to keep her footing, everything that wasn't bolted to the ground went flying; scraps of paper, chairs and desks, shards of glass…
Glass shards!
Raven threw up a shield of black energy just before a mass of the objects in question could skewer her alive. The shield blocked the glass, and the worst of the wind, but the desks and other larger items that were being blown about constantly slammed against her bubble with hurricane force, making it difficult for her to maintain the shield.
Just as suddenly as the wind had begun, however, it faded away. Raven looked out from her shield toward Malchior's book, and a gasp of shock tumbled from her mouth; the book was no longer hovering in mid-air, but lying lifelessly on the ground…and standing over it was a tall, skeletally thin figure wrapped like a mummy in the pages of the prison book…all except the eyes. The same eyes that had been looking out at her from the book moments ago. The same eyes that had once captivated Raven's heart. Malchior's eyes.
"Now, Raven," he uttered in a harsh whisper, "the real game begins."
The shock was wiped from Raven's face and replaced with a look of cold steel. "Then let's play. Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!"
The nearest desk suddenly turned black and heaved itself off the ground in Malchior's direction. The villain nimbly leapt aside, but not before snatching his former prison from the ground at his feet. Holding it snugly under one arm, Malchior dodged again and again as every large object in the room hurled itself at him under the influence of Raven's powers.
"Tell me, Raven…why do you face me all alone?" Malchior said as he dodged. "It was rather unwise of you to leave your friends behind where they can't help you."
"I'm not putting my friends in danger for the likes of you!" Raven snarled back. "This is between you and me!"
Raven's telekinesis found a heap of broken glass and launched the deadly shards at the villain, but Malchior dodged them just as easily; not even a single shard scratched his paper-wrapped body. He bounced around like an acrobat, avoiding the glass projectiles while bounding quickly in Raven's direction and plowing into her with a bandaged foot before she could muster a defense. Her concentration broken, the glass shards fell to the ground, lifeless, and Raven was thrown hard against a hunk of machinery. She climbed to her feet again, glaring daggers at Malchior, who merely laughed again.
"Come, Raven, surely you can do better than that. Here…I'll even give you a free shot," he added, standing perfectly still with his arms spread wide. "Do your worst."
Raven sneered. Her powers grabbed hold of the glass shards again and fired them like bullets straight at Malchior. Oddly true to his word, the villain stood there, waiting patiently for the blow to fall…and though Raven did not halt her attack, she suddenly knew that it wasn't going to work.
And she was right.
The glass shredded through Malchior's ancient body, tearing off scraps of paper as they went; some didn't do much more than scrape him, others plowed through him in spots that, had he been a normal being, would have been fatal ten times over. But Malchior was entirely unaffected. He barely even flinched while the glass tore into him. The shredded parts of hid body fell away, but more of the prison book's seemingly infinite pages rose out of the binding and wrapped themselves around the villain in place of the shredded ones.
"Come, now, Raven…try harder, I beg of you. This is starting to bore me."
Raven eyed the prison book. It's regenerating him… she thought. Instead of containing him now, he's manipulated the book into feeding his power. If that's gone, he'll be vulnerable again. Raven looked at Malchior again, who was watching her with harsh, mocking eyes.
I can see the conclusion forming in your mind, sweet Raven, Malchior thought. Make your move…and seal your fate!
Raven's powers encased Malchior's old prison book. The villain made an attempt to snatch it out of the air, but it rocketed out of his reach and toward Raven. It halted in front of her, and her concentration increased; the book began to shudder, and cracks started to form in its spine.
"You don't want to do that, Raven!" Malchior said.
"Why? So I can listen to your sweet-talking some more? Forget it, Malchior. You're finished! Azarath, Metrion, ZINTHOS!"
The book gave one final lurch, the cracks glowing, and then it shattered into countless pieces, shredded pages exploding in every direction. Raven smirked at Malchior, expecting to see a look of fear upon the villain's face, or at least see his arrogant stare wiped away…and was therefore surprised to see his expression was nothing of the sort. His cocky glare remained, even as his paper body began to slowly unravel and fall to the floor.
"Thank you, Raven. That was all I needed," he said. He raised one unraveling hand, giving Raven a good look, and she let out a horrified gasp.
The paper had fallen away…but beneath it was a shimmering purple ghost of a hand…transparent, yet solid…clearly defined and yet blurred. As the rest of the paper fell away, Raven saw that his entire body was like that, giving the room an eerie purple glow as he hovered a few inches off the ground in front of the dark girl.
Raven fired a pile of obsidian-encased furniture at the apparition, but they merely passed right through him as though he wasn't even there. It wasn't possible…was it?
You have freed me, Raven, Malchior answered her unspoken question, reverting to telepathic speech. Even if only in spirit. My body has gone along with the book…but no matter…I think I have a suitable replacement in mind…
And before she even had a chance to be surprised, the villain struck.
Beast Boy scanned the streets of the city from high above with the acute vision of a bird of prey; a golden eagle, to be precise…well, a green eagle, at least.
He felt a little guilty, truth be told, for he wasn't searching as carefully as he should have been; but his head and his heart were just not in the game at the moment. Both were still lingering on Terra. He couldn't help it; every time someone mentioned her name, or he passed close by where her statue stood, it was hours before he could get his mind off his first love and back where it belonged. Most people would probably have given up and moved on after their love had been gone for six months…but for one thing, Beast Boy wasn't 'most people,' and for another, Terra wasn't 'gone.' He knew exactly where she was, he knew she was still alive on some level. No, what truly ate at him was exactly what he had told Starfire: after all this time, he and the Titans still hadn't free her. After more then six months, she was still a stone statue in a cave. And what had he done to help free her? Not a thing. Cyborg and Raven were doing all the work and research.
I'm so freaking worthless, the changeling berated himself. I wasn't able to save you back then, and I can't do anything to help you now…Terra…how could you ever feel anything for a failure like me…?
"AHHHHHH!"
Beast Boy's eagle head snapped around, the haze of Terra-related thoughts gone instantly. Raven!
The scream had come from directly below him, inside a dilapidated old factory. Beast Boy dove, folding his wings back for added speed. He blew through a broken window, flared his wings to come to a halt near the ground, and resumed his elf form.
"Raven? Is that you?" he called out to the darkness. In response, a purplish glow shone from nearby. The changeling approached the source, which seemed to be hidden on the other side of a huge, overturned desk. Wary of what he would find, he shrunk down and became a mouse, creeping around a corner of the desk for a peek.
Upon seeing it, he uttered a loud squeak, and quickly returned to elf form. He hunched over Raven's shaking figure, gaping at the strange light aura about her. Her head was down, so that her hood and her hair shielded her face.
"Rae? You all right? Umm….why are you all…glowy?"
Raven's head abruptly snapped upward; blazing purple eyes bored into Beast Boy's tiny black ones, and before he had a chance to utter a sound he was hurled backward into the wall by a pulse of the same purple light.
"Unnnhhh…ow…" he moaned, dragging himself to his feet. "Dude, Raven, what gives? I'm your…friend…hoo boy…"
Beast Boy trailed off as 'Raven' loomed over him, her eyes blazing purple and her face contorted into a sick smile.
"There is no 'Raven' here, changeling…not anymore," a voice that was entirely not Raven's spoke through her mouth, snarling with every word. "Now…now, Malchior is in control."
Beast Boy paled. "Oh, crap…"