Chap. 11

End of the Masque

His hands gripped her roughly, all traces of gentleness gone. As their grip tightened, Rorek pulled her down to the floor. Raven struggled to break his grip, but the wizard's hands held with a madding strength. Raven's body twisted and turned, moving in every possible direction to get away from the mad wizard. But no direction or movement could escape the grip of Rorek. Rather, Raven's struggled increased Rorek's hunger, as his eyes almost glowed with it. She struggled to use her powers, but her mind was too frantic, to unfocused. So she tried to kick out at him, her legs being the only weapon she had left. But hungry as Rorek was, it did nothing to halt his mind. He muttered some words under his breath, and then Raven's struggles ceased, though not through her actions. She lay on the floor completely rigid, her body frozen, but her eyes moving frantically. "We could have done this easily." He breathed, as he positioned his body on top of hers. "I really do regret doing it like this." Was what came out of his mouth. But his hands said something different, as they reached across Raven's clothes and began to tear. More and more of her began to be exposed, as Raven felt the air on her stomach, her back, her breasts, and then…. There. "Yes." He hissed, as he began to overshadow her view of the room. Raven could feel him, all of him, press against her. Then she felt something begin to grow under the cloth of his tunic, as his breathing took on a rhythmic pace. Raven tried to close her eyes against what was about to happen, but she couldn't even do that. So she watched with horror as Rorek's face becoming stated, the hunger beginning to disappear, as she began to feel…...

"I still can't believe it." Beast Boy said, as they came to Rorek's room. "Never in a million years." "Neither can I." Bart admitted. "Do you think she will?" he asked Brett. "Not at first," the bat said, as he reached for the door's controls. "But Raven's strong. She'll be able to take it eventually." He said as he commanded it to open. "I'm more worried about what we'll do with him." He said, as the door obeyed. But when it did, when they got a look inside, the answer became obvious. They had expected to find Rorek alone, maybe doing some magic. Instead, they saw him, straddling the almost naked Raven. Her body was still as stone, despite Rorek's obvious involvement. Bart's mouth dropped, his young mind unable to comprehend the heinous act in front of him. Beast Boy felt something ignite inside him, felt the animal that lived within him come to life. He let out a growl, one deep enough that it broke through Rorek's concentration. The wizard turned, his eyes widening as he saw the figures behind him. However, it was one figure in particular that filled him with fear. Beast Boy had felt something ignite within him, but he was not the only one. Brett had felt it as well, but it was a much deeper, older fire for him. And it was one he could not keep contained, not after this atrocity. What Rorek saw before him was a dark monster, with eyes that become pools of shadowfire. But the true fear came when that monster raised it's hand, pointed at the wizard, and said in a voice that could have belonged to Satan himself, "YOU ARE A DEAD MAN!"

Rorek felt himself as all but glued to the floor, as the monster came for him. Its path was clear, as the others had pulled away at the very sound of that voice. They stood pressed against the wall, wanting to act, but too fearful of that demon to do so. But Rorek had made the mistake of focusing on the wrong people. Before he knew what had happened, a huge black hand wrapped around his head and hurled him into the wall. He hit with a thud, the wall behind him cracking under the impact. With a roar, the monster leapt after him, his burning eyes encompassing all. "Noo.." Rorek tried to say, but it was too late. This was a being that no longer gave mercy. The figure grabbed Rorek, pulled him up, and then drew up a fist that ignited with shadowfire. It pulled back, and then Rorek felt the cold flame slam into his face, over and over again. Yet as the cold spread over his face, it did nothing to numb the pain, as crunching noises began to fill the room. The blue-black flame began to appear over a bright red face.

Raven couldn't see what was happening, but she could hear it. She could hear rapid footsteps, as someone ran from the room, probably to get help. But the sound of pain was too deep for her to ignore. The screams grew louder as more and more of Rorek's face broke. She could feel the pain that emanated from that face. It ate away at her, even though she knew who it was coming from. She wanted to get up, to stop this slaughter. She wanted to slay the demon and bring her father back. And perhaps it was this desire, or perhaps the pain of Rorek and how it affected his magic, that caused what happened next. Raven could feel the stiffness that was in her joints began to vanish. Her fingers began to twitch, as if they were receiving blood for the first time. Her tongue, a swollen mass in her mouth, began to feel light again. Slowly, she pulled air into her mouth, and said in a voice barely more then a whisper, "Don't kill him Dad."

He drove his fists in again, feeling the bone crunch under his fingers. One more time, and the damage would send bone fragments into his brain, killing him. Yes, that was the death this being deserved, for his desecration. No one could commit such a crime and live. He drew his fist, now covered in blood, back once again, to finish it. But then the air carried over four words, spoken in the only voice that could cut through the demon now. The words entered him, going straight to his heart, cutting through the barrier around it. Slowly, the demon faded. Brett, speaking in a rusty voice, so unlike his own, asked, "Are you ok?" "Yes." Raven replied, slowly moving her body up into a sitting position. "Please don't do it." "You know I should." The bat replied. "That doesn't make it right." Raven replied. Brett was quiet for a moment, and then looked at the broken, bloodstained face before. He looked into the eyes and said, in a voice barely restrained from pure rage, "You are fortunate that she is peaceful." With that, he opened his hand, and the wizard fell to the ground. "Thank you." Raven said softly. She looked at Rorek, with a mix of hate and pity, unsure of which to allow supremacy. His face was a broken wasteland, but the face of her father was an unknown, as he kept his back to her. For a second, Raven wondered why. Then she remembered. Covering her body as best she could, Raven looked for something better. But before she had found anything, Raven felt something drape over her shoulders. She felt the familiar fabric of her cloak embrace her. Turning her head, she saw Beast Boy standing over her, his eyes firmly shut. "Can I look?" he asked. Raven pulled the cloak tight, then said "Yes." Slowly, the green one opened his eyes. They were filled with pity. "What did he do to you?" he asked, as Raven got to her feet. "I know what he tried to do." Brett answered, as he kept his eyes on the bloody mess at his feet. "And I know why too." He said, as he leaned in closer. Rorek trembled, as the bat came towards him.

"Your days here are over Rorek." The bat said. He would have continued, but then he heard footsteps behind him and a yell of concern. "Oh God, honey…." Sara breathed, as she looked at her daughter. Behind her, Bart and the rest of the group stared into the room with dumbfounded horror. "It was all I could think of." Bart said. "It's ok Bart." Brett responded. "He might've been a problem. "Did he.." the fox asked in a whisper, the words too horrible to say. Raven's only response was a shake of her head. "It doesn't matter." Brett said. Reaching down, he pulled the wizard to his feet. Looking at the boy in the eye, Brett began to chant. He spoke his words in a strange rhythm, blending them together. As he did, Rorek's body began to glow, and as they watched, flecks of energy began to fly away from him. After a minute, Brett stopped, and the glow faded. "Do you know what I just did?" he asked the wizard. The boy tried to move his head, but the pain was too great. "Your magic, your power? It's gone, all of it. All that work you did to get it, out the window. You're going to pay for your crimes Rorek, the ones here, and the ones there." With a violent motion, Brett threw Rorek into Robin's waiting arms. "Fix his wounds, then take him to the police. And tell them not to ever let him out." "Gladly." Robin replied, as he pulled Rorek along.

As the wizard was lead away, the others turned their attention to his victim. "Raven,… I'm… ..I just…." Cyborg began, and then stopped, as the words escaped him. Starfire simply remained silent, not knowing what to say and not wanting to try. Raven began to open her mouth, to tell them she was ok. But instead, she burst into tears. She collapsed to the ground, as her emotions overwhelmed her. "Can you leave us alone?" Sara asked, as she knelt down next to her daughter. Gently the fox wrapped her arms around her daughter, who returned the embrace ten-fold. Then a rougher, darker pair of hands covered them both. The group left the family to pick up the pieces as best they could. As each one left, they took a last look at the three of them. Beast Boy was the last to leave, and the longest to look. His mouth started to move, to say some words of comfort. But he shut it, and left, knowing that there was nothing a person like him could say.