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The Demon Lady
Chapter 1
It was a dream that Raven intended to keep within her forever. It happened on the day she had defeated Trigon the Terrible and re-started the world that had come to an end. The Titans had celebrated the whole day and most of the population of Earth resumed their lives unaware of their saviors.
That day, Raven had gone to bed looking forward to a peaceful rest.
She was standing on a rock in the middle of a huge rock chamber. Lava covered the rest of the floor. She gasped in horror as she realized that this was the room she had seen herself in when she had been hiding in the Titans Tower safe room on the fateful day. Before her, there stood her father, Trigon. She attempted to teleport away, but found herself unable to summon her powers.
"There is one unfinished matter we must settle," Trigon boomed. "Be patient, this is the final time we shall ever meet."
Raven fervently hoped that her father was right.
"I am stuck in the Abyss," Trigon continued. "We must discuss your inheritance. The rank of the Demon Lord is hereditary. The father's time is past and now he will be succeeded by his daughter…"
"No! I don't want to be a Demon Lord!" Raven screamed.
"All the powers of the Demon Lord are yours now, my daughter." Trigon raised his hands. Without warning Raven was suddenly enveloped in a burst of red energy. She screamed and writhed in pain; it was far worse than the runes that formerly burned on her skin. She could barely see, out of the corner of her eye, the same fire monsters that had come to take her on the fateful day of the prophecy's fulfillment.
"My powers of fire and magic belong to you; the army of hell will answer to your call. You have fulfilled the prophecy, as was required of you; the rest of your life is your own. You have vast power at your disposal; use it or not as you will. From this time forth, you are the Demon Lady, and I have no more authority over you. Goodbye, my dearest daughter…"
"I am not your daughter, Trigon!" Raven shouted angrily, but the scene around her was already vanishing, disappearing into a white mist.
Raven bolted upright in her bed, drenched in sweat. She looked around; all seemed to be well; she was alone. She could feel a warm glow on her forehead. She touched her forehead, and barely felt the rune carved in it. The rune faded rapidly, but Raven recognized it. It was the sign of Trigon, the same rune that Slade had briefly worn on his mask.
----------------Six months later…-----------------
The Titans were cornered, in broad daylight, in the middle of an intersection. On each side of them, hundreds of Slade-bots hemmed them in. Jinx, Plasmus, Gizmo, Mammoth, Seemore, Cinderblock, Private Hive, and Overload stood around them in a circle. The Titans quickly saw that the situation was hopeless.
"Titans, go!" Robin shouted. It wasn't working; they were too badly outnumbered. Within a few minutes, Robin was forced to shout "Titans, fall back!" and throw his smoke pellets. As they ran or flew back towards the Tower, figures came running out of the smoke after them: Slade, Seemore, Cinderblock, and a gray mass of robots.
"There're too many robots!" Cyborg shouted.
Raven still remembered the dream in perfect detail. She was reluctant to use her new abilities, as she didn't want to have anything to do with the father she had disowned.
A fusillade of red laser shots, explosive disks and S-a-rangs, with a few eye-like projectiles here and there headed straight for the Titans. An eye engulfed Robin, trapping him inside as it rolled over and over before stopping against a parked car. An S-a-rang ripped into Starfire's halter top and she fell, face down, on the asphalt. Cyborg and Beast Boy were both cut down by lasers.
I don't think I have a choice, she thought to herself.
The lasers started aiming for her now; she phased into the ground, diving away from the surface, towards the lava chambers.
Slade looked for a moment at the spot where she had disappeared, then turned away. "Get the Titans restrained and carry them back to headquarters!" Slade ordered. Seemore quickly picked up Robin, while Cinderblock grabbed Cyborg with one hand and both Beast Boy and Starfire with the other. The villains and robots headed back the way they had come.
Suddenly Slade was surprised when a mass of fire monsters—the same ones he had led for Trigon six months ago—rose in front of him, blocking his path. Seemore and Cinderblock stopped short.
Slade realized what had happened when Raven landed in front of him, the Trigon rune burning around her chakra. She pointed forward and the fire monsters charged, knocking Slade, Seemore, and Cinderblock to their feet. Eight of the fire monsters grabbed the Titans and hauled them in the direction of Titans Tower.
The Slade-bots behind Slade raised their arms again and fired volley after volley of red lasers. Each laser cut through a fire monster, disintegrating it. The fire monsters reached the front of the Slade-bots, lashing out with the fire of their bodies to melt and crush the Slade-bots.
Slade grabbed his communicator and called for help. Within moments his HIVE servants had come to his aid. Jinx leaped in, ripping through the fire monsters with waves of pink energy. Gizmo's machine gun swept across the street, rapidly clearing one street of fire monsters. Mammoth ran in swinging his massive fists wildly, shattering one monster after another. Private Hive quickly helped Seemore and Slade up and they joined in. Plasmus and Overload were not even necessary; very soon, the fire monsters had all been reduced to sparks, and they advanced together on Raven.
Raven merely smiled. As Slade raised a disk to throw it, another mass of fire monsters rose out of the ground behind her and charged forward, beginning the battle anew.
The villains fought, becoming gradually frustrated. Police cars were now arriving on the horizon, but staunchly refused to join the fray. Raven decided to test the full extent of her demon powers. She floated up to an even height with Cinderblock and extended her hands, as she had seen Slade do on one of her birthdays. A powerful spout of fire emitted from her hands. Cinderblock roared in pain and stumbled back, scorch marks now showing on his chest. Raven continued, blasting him alternately with black energy and fire, before finally knocking him into a building across the street, from which he fell to the ground, unconscious.
Raven rose to her full height, using the black tentacles under her cloak, thrashing the eight remaining villains at once as fire-monsters held the screaming, helpless villains in their arms. The police duly arrived and arrested the villains as the other four Titans, who were now recovered, rushed to the scene.
"Raven, that was amazing!" Beast Boy said immediately.
"You were using Trigon's monsters…" Robin started.
"I had no choice," Raven responded.
"Why didn't we think of it before?" Robin asked excitedly. "Raven, if you can control all those fire monsters now, our job will be a lot easier! We can use them to help patrol the city!"
That was exactly what they did. For the next few months, Raven's fire demons were frequently seen working side-by-side with police officers. They effectively took care of all the Slade-bots, and the Titans were rarely called upon for assistance.
Then one day, several police cars and motorcycles pulled up to Titans Tower.
"What's going on?" Robin wondered aloud.
The answer came in the form of the Presidential limousine, which also pulled up. The President of the United States, followed by the Vice President and several other men, stepped out of the limousine, surrounded by four armed Secret Servicemen, and walked up to the door, ringing the doorbell.
The Titans rushed downstairs and admitted the President in.
"Nice to meet you, Titans," said the President, shaking each Titan's hand in turn. "I'm George W. Bush. I heard something about these fire demons that you use to control Jump City?"
"We use them to help the police on their patrols," Raven replied evenly.
"Just how many of these fire monsters do you have?" asked the vice president.
"An unlimited number," Raven replied. "Why?"
"We'd like to inquire about the possibility of borrowing them for the military," he said. "We would highly appreciate your contribution to our national security."
"Are you going to send them to Iraq?"
"Perhaps. You have a chance to save many of our fellow countrymen. Are you willing to do this—for America?"
End Chapter