Jinx's apartment: 19:30 PM
Jinx struggled to remain on her knees and hands. Her back was aching and throbbing, and she knew that her skin was bruised. The demon's strength was terrifying! Tremors ran over her body as she shivered.
Jinx tried to recuperate in her current position. Her team shouted at her, yet she couldn't hear one coherent word they were saying. She focused on breathing; eyes remained on the floor where blood droplets coated her floor.
The team took a quick look at the situation before they acted. In a blink of an eye, Gizmo has already short-circuited the lights, the ambient light blasted to shards that showered everyone. When the room was devoid of light, Mammoth and Kyd Wykydd gathered at both sides of the window, ready for action.
Seemore, using his power, scanned the room for all threats, yet his scanner remained blank. Devoid of danger, he crouched and stalked towards their leader quietly. His footsteps remained soft yet contained a brisque pace. Their leader still coughed erratically. He could see with his vision that her face scrunched in pain.
"Jinx!" He whispered harshly, an attempt to capture the sorceress's attention. "Who ambushed you?" It seemed that his words had not reached their leader. Her stare remained unmoving from the floor, eyes glazed and half-lidded. She slumped further and landed solidly against the wood. She was out like a light.
"Her kitchen's blasted, yet the window's in good condition," Seemore said silently. He looked at their leader one more time before he carefully positioned her to her back. Gizmo remained rooted at the door; the luminescent glow of his technology coated his face. The miniature drones departed from his bag and scanned their environment.
Everyone stood still as the drones did their job; it rotated from time to time as it attempted to gather information. They whirred silently in the area as it passed to her room, then to her kitchen, finally back to Gizmo's backpack.
Another member made himself known clad in red.
"There's no trace from the outside, too," Billy reported as he entered; he brushed against the tech-genius on the way in. "I've scanned the alleys, rooftops; no traces."
"Okay. We'll revisit this after she's hooked in the bay." Seemore continued to scan the girl for any further injuries he could see from the front. He glanced at the dent in the wall and at Jinx back to back. This was a cause for concern. The girl may have broken her spine.
After taking one last glance at the view outside the window, Mammoth abandoned his spot. Kyd threw a cloth over the window just to be sure. You have to make sure of everything; being complacent will cost your head.
They gathered at their unconscious leader, her condition gradually worsening. Seemore grunted. He did not like this situation. If Jinx was gone, he was to lead in their stead.
"Kyd. You know what to do." With a knowing nod, Kyd carefully scooped their leader. The rest of the team made sure he did not make any sudden movements as he slowly stood up from his kneeling position.
"We'll catch up with you. Hook her up." Seemore waved him off. They took a step back as his energy gathered before a black vortex opened up behind him. Kyd departed with a quick nod as he stepped back, vanishing into thin air.
"Now," Seemore leaned towards the leading cause of destruction, the kitchen. "We collect evidence." Gizmo's backpack shifted before a flashlight supported by his spider legs lighted their surroundings.
The kitchen was a mess, aluminum pans were blasted away from their situated place. Glass shards littered the tile, and a pot with its content lapped the kitchen floor. The blast seemed to originate from the stove.
Seemore switched between his technology's modes, desperate to see any cause for the blast that he could have missed from before. It looked way too clean to be an explosion. Explosions meant more debris and radius coverage. With how neat the scanners are, he cannot conclude what caused this situation.
"We betta be fast. Those stinkin' Titans for sure heard the blast." He looked over to Gizmo. The pint-sized genius crouched where Jinx laid moments ago.
"Iz a cookbook a clue?" Gizmo waved the book. They approached him and scanned the contents page by page with a speed that belonged to trained eyes. The average cookbook that you can buy at any bookstore looked normal. They turned the book side to side, more confused; it was really just a simple cookbook.
All of them looked at each other quizzically. What would a cookbook do? Indeed, this is among the victims of the blast when it occurred. With a shrug from most of them, Gizmo decided to bring it, safely clasped between his arms.
Seemore's communicator beeped silently in his pockets, and he grabbed to open it. Kyd notified him that Jinx was already on the medbay. A quick summary of her condition was also clipped under the text. The girl broke a few bones.
Seemore glanced again at the wall. It was dented, and small fissures lined the outer coverage. Whoever did this to her was powerful. More potent than their leader in this case. Who did Jinx mess with? And how were they able to leave without a trace?
"We're gonna really need Jinx's report. The Titans should be near. Pack Jinx's most valuable belongings, and we ditch."
"Already ahead of ya, boss!" Billy appeared with his numerous copies, each holding bags that contained their leader's belongings. Mammoth remained quiet, eyes fixed at the door. With a signal, they departed from the window.
They needed some answers.
9th Circle of Hell, Quarters of Her Majesty.
Raven appeared in her quarters. She took a quick inspection of her room when all was untouched; she nodded in satisfaction. Her eyes strayed from her door to her bed. The sudden summoning that occurred a while ago exhausted her power.
She ignored the temptation for now as she paced in her spacious room. Her room was simple, but it boasted treasures from multiple planets. Her bed was situated at the center, satin sheets hugging her feathered bed. Quarters in their domain mainly were built with cobblestone, and hers was no exemption.
In the left area, weapons were lined neatly in their racks. They ranged from bows, spears, swords, and shields. They were her treasured weaponry when she wanted to lean on savagery and brutality amidst their conquest. To hear those skin tear apart and flesh exposed, blood that coated her sharpened tools always made her purr in content whenever she thought of it.
Next to her racks of weapons was her iron-barred door. Plain but heavy, enough to give her the privacy she desires. Her right corner boasted the views of the deepest depth of hell: with brimstone found in every corner, cascading magma that flowed infinitely as it drowned deprived, begging souls in its current.
Trigon was such a grandeur for such trivialities. No wonder several beings always went out describing her home in literature and paintings.
She halted her pace. A frown decorated her face. How was she summoned? It seemed unintentional, too, leaning more on an accidental summoning. The girl named Jinx really did not expect her presence when she privately invaded the girl's mind.
She did catch a glimpse of an old lady that sold the cookbook to the zany girl. She needed to find that old lady, get answers, and kill her. High beings like her were never easy to summon. You required multiple sacrifices before one could even consider the appeal to appear in a summoning ritual.
Those who were able to summon her before performed mass genocide or suicide. They were psychopaths that she liked to meet, their souls always tainted with pure madness that always tasted so ripe and fresh. It was cute for them to wish undefeatable power, hedonistic wishes to fulfill their insatiable desires, and power to rule and chain those lower than them.
However, this pink-haired wannabe summoner managed to tug her presence from her realm to Earth. No warnings, no tugging sense of being contacted and requested. No less from a cookbook, too!
Is it because of her chaotic energy that hummed and vibrated from her soul? What were the chances and probability for the girl to succeed? Although, the girl was neither master nor novice of her magical spectrum from what she felt at the girl's aura.
So, for what reason was the summon successful? This needed investigation soon.
Of course, being the prideful being she is, she decided to settle this independently. If her brothers heard of her botched and unfortunate summoning, she would be a laughing stock. Her summoning was always grand! Enough to please Trigon that she has gained this much power to be summoned.
It may also start a war to fight for her position: their Father's right hand. Her brothers have always envied the grants and privileges she was given due to her reputation, and she will keep it that way. To lose this position is to drop down in their hierarchy.
The only problem would be going back to Earth. The only reason she was able to appear in the girl's attempt was her great power enough to bend the pacifists' spell. After all, Azarath cannot hold them off forever. She and her brothers could always invade, but they only have so little time before the spell overpowers them.
The coordinates were still fresh, the girl's smell contained in her mind. She hoped that the girl would summon her again. However, chances are slim; she scared the girl too much in her opinion to initiate a second summoning.
She recalled how she plucked the girl from her feet to send her soaring to the wall with her powers. After all, who would attempt another one when they were attacked with such strength and thirst for blood?
If not, she may have the ability to force through Azarath's spell with her essence and tempt those who were foolish.
Or she could reappear for a short moment and tempt the girl into making a blood contract with her, but it was risky. Blood contract meant that her bonded would benefit from her, and she disliked the thought of it. Humans do not deserve her power, much less to a witch.
She decided to visit the girl sooner than they both expected. She grinned; tempting the witch into a false contract would be easy. After all, who knew about demon contracts? Earth does not house many demons; they were private creatures that preferred to blend among the society.
The weariness made itself known again, and she finally decided to retire to get a good amount of sleep.
She approached, temptations finally winning over. She collapsed on it, not even bothering to lessen the impact from her descent. Several thoughts ran inside her mind, but she could not comprehend each of them properly with how exhausted she was.
Rest is due.
A knock denied her one.
'So much for wanting a rest.' She thought with a lace of disdain.
Disgruntled, she rose hastily to her feet, hands smoothing down imaginary wrinkles in her loincloth. The rapping beat stopped, and the iron-barred door slid inward silently.
A man about six-feet tall bowed when he entered the door. He was clad with silver armor and battle gloves. A capital letter 'M' is carved in his armor. He stood tall with confidence, eyes never returning the demoness stare.
He stopped after taking one step inside, left arm raised halfway as a sign of respect. He respectfully averted his eyes when she stared at her.
"Milady. The conquest earlier was a success. The planet has been conquered an hour completely before your arrival. Our army continues to grow. The weak were slain; those capable were recruited to our quarters." Malchior reported. His voice was slightly muted due to the mask he wore, yet his strong voice still penetrated through.
The corners of his armor were covered in blood. Raven peered through him and sensed his energy; it was not his. However, he donned cuts in his arms, maybe from the sword he often used during their conquest.
Malchior opened his hand to reveal an item he clutched hidden from her view.
"Milady. Your presence was missed in the conquest earlier. We have decided to craft you a gift." With a quick bow of respect, he handed her a small object hidden and wrapped in a dark, silken cloth.
"My gratitude, dear. Train those newly recruited properly. I will not tolerate any mistake in our army. Go and gather strength for the next conquest." He offered another bow before he dismissed himself. Raven watched with keen eyes as her servant departed with a silent click from her door.
Raven opened the cloth, eager to know the content. She smiled as she toyed with a circular item. The item seemed to be made of a crimson gem, gold-coated the outline, much to her fascination. Inside the lustrous gem, a painting of a raven's silhouette with four eyes was placed on the center.
Setting the present safely in her pocket dimension for storage, Raven decided to finally retire.
