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The Demon Lady
Chapter 2
"Fine, I'll do it," Raven said.
"Thank you. Get ready to leave, we'll give you fifteen minutes to pack. Take only what you need for the next few months," the vice president said.
"Fifteen minutes?" Robin shouted, "Isn't that a bit short to decide what you need?"
"You'll be back in a few months," the vice president said. "You shouldn't have to take that much. We'll provide the food and shelter over there."
The Titans rushed upstairs to pack and were back within fourteen minutes with a two suitcases, two backpacks, and a small wood trunk. The Secret Service offered to help lug the suitcases into the waiting limousine, but they weren't needed.
The limousine took them to the airport where a large jetliner marked "AIR FORCE ONE" was waiting on the tarmac. The Titans were taken inside along with their belongings.
About twelve hours later the plane landed. The sleeping Titans were quickly awoken and ordered off the plane. When they stepped off, several Humvees and trucks were waiting.
"Welcome to Iraq," a soldier said sarcastically, ushering them into one of the Humvees. The inside of the airport, the tarmac and the buildings, looked worn but undamaged. However, as they drove away from the airport, they could see several damaged structures and a long, pockmarked road in front of them.
"That's Baghdad International Airport," the soldier explained, as he drove the Titans down the road, in the center of the convoy. "We're going to Baghdad now. This road we're on has been dangerous since we came here."
An explosion suddenly sounded from the front. The two Humvees in front of the Titans shattered in a bright orange explosion, throwing shards of steel and glass in all directions. Raven hurriedly raised a black sheet before them, blocking the shrapnel headed towards them. The Titans' Humvee screeched to a halt, barely evading a collision with the wreckage of the first two Humvees.
"Improvised explosive devices," the driver explained, "Very common on this stretch of the road. You'll get used to them."
Two soldiers with large backpacks rushed out of the back door of a Bradley Fighting Vehicle behind them and ran up to the wrecked Humvees, pulling out the bloody bodies of the people who had been inside.
"Medics," the driver explained.
"I can help, I have healing powers," Raven said, quickly jumping from the Humvee to help the two medics with the wounded people. The medics were just pulling a second body from the debris. Raven extended a hand and the twisted metal pieces glowed black, lifting off to allow the medics easier access.
They made it to Baghdad without further incident. Inside, the city was battered, with craters and scorch marks in the roads and bullet holes in random places on the pavement and on walls. The Titans were taken to a hotel inside the Green Zone.
"You'll be staying here for the duration of the mission," the soldier said. "The accommodations are fine—we've made sure of that. Just don't be surprised if the building gets shelled."
The Titans slept uneasily that night, but fortunately no mortar shells struck their hotel.
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The next day, with a few Iraqi officials and American troops looking on, Raven conjured up the army of fire monsters, much to the amazement of the Iraqis. At a wave of Raven's hand the fire beings spread out and took up positions on all street corners.
Suddenly there was the sharp staccato of gunfire heard nearby. The Iraqi officials scrambled for the safety of the nearby building while the Americans found cover. The building, unfortunately, was a police station—not the safest place to be at that moment. A masked man fired at the lobby of the police station, but a fire monster popped up before him at the exact moment, dissipating upon the impact of the bullet. Another monster rushed in behind him and grabbed him in its orange flame arms. The man fired wildly, and the monster dissipated; but more continually charged at him. One monster gently plucked the rifle from his hand as several others restrained him.
The soldiers in the building cautiously emerged into the open, still alert for any threats. Several other masked gunmen were getting the same treatment—fire monsters snatched the weapons out of their hands. As they were all securely restrained in flames, the Americans looked on, deeply impressed.
The fire monsters engulfed the confiscated weapons, melting them. Then, to the surprise of everyone, the other fire monsters released the captured gunmen. The gunmen, deprived of their weapons, looked around them, not knowing what to do.
Everyone, including the gunmen (who were still helpless with the armed American soldiers nearby), were shocked when Raven said in a clear voice, "You're free to go."
The gunless gunmen hesitated. "What?" shouted a surprised American soldier.
"I'll say it again," Raven addressed the gunmen, "You're free to go. Stop fighting and go home."
"You mean…" one of the men stuttered in broken English, "you mean…you are not going…to kill us?"
"No, I won't."
"But we have to," another man said, "or the other jihadis will…"
"I'll protect you," Raven said, "Don't worry."
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Word spread quickly of the fire creatures that had joined the American occupation forces. Some insurgents correctly guessed that the new occupiers were an army from hell. The images of the fire monsters patrolling streets and guarding government offices in Iraq drew anger from Christians and Muslims alike, but the controversy gradually diminished as it became clear that the fire monsters were not killing anyone.
For three months, the fire monsters disarmed suicide bombers and gunmen, only to release the terrorists unharmed back to the streets; many of the same terrorists attacked again, were foiled again, but never seriously hurt in any way. A few suicide bombers succeeded in detonating, but the fire monsters always threw themselves around the suicide bombers to absorb the blast, so that no civilians or American soldiers died. Gradually, Iraqis grew to appreciate the fire monsters which physically protected them from the attacks. And many of the angry but bored terrorist agents gave up, receiving neither the gratification of killing their enemies nor the martyrdom of being killed.
Three months later, American soldiers and Marines were leaving Iraq. The fire monsters persisted, although the attacks were largely stopped. The Titans' mailbox was overflowing with letters of gratitude from military families by the time they returned.
"What now?" Raven wondered aloud.
"Raven, you don't have to stop with one country…" Robin began excitedly.
"With that much power, you could stop every war on the planet!" Cyborg finished.
"World peace!"
"Why didn't we think of it earlier!"
Raven smiled brightly. "Sure. Why not?"