Three
Dealings with Devils
Raven knelt in the darkness of Titan Tower. It was just as she had left it a few hours ago, but no longer did it hold the welcoming of home, now all it held was the foreboding of doom. Raven closed her eyes, and felt a tingle run through her spine. When she opened them, she saw all the different parts of her around her: Happy, Sad, Angry, Funny, Smart, Shy… all of them sitting around her, watching her.
"Oh, I don't know what to do," Raven moaned.
"Aww, come on Raven. Turn that frown upside down!" Happy smiled.
"Oh how can you smile when everything's going wrong and everyone's dying and—" Sad was cut off.
"Put a can in it, no one wants to hear what you say," Angry growled.
"Well at least everyone's acting normally," Funny tried to laugh.
"Please stop it…" Shy whispered.
"What can I do to get my friends back?" Raven asked. "Shadow has them all and he intends to destroy the world."
"Sometimes," Smart began and sighed. "Sometimes we find our best friends in our worst enemies."
"Make sense woman," Angry growled.
"Let her talk," Raven snapped.
"Not that it'll make a difference… we're all doomed…" Sad groaned.
"Oh don't talk like that!" Happy smiled.
"Yeah!" Funny grinned. "Don't be too happy, Sad, or you might make Angry angry!"
"Please let Smart talk…" Shy said nervously.
"Please, everyone, just SHUT UP!" Raven erupted. At this everyone was silent. "Please, she has a plan and I want to hear it."
"Well, all the
heroes are gone, but all the villains aren't," Smart said.
"So
you're saying…? But why would they want to help the Titans?
Wouldn't they join Shadow?" Raven asked.
"Not necessarily. They have uses for this world beyond the sheer power Shadow offers. And Shadow won't take them; he'll trick them and then take their power, too. At any rate, it's the only thing I can think of," Smart finished.
"It's my only hope, thanks guys," Raven sighed in relief, and her parts were assimilated back into her. She stood up, her confidence renewed. "Computer, locating the following: Brother Blood, Slade, Control Freak, Gizmo and Blackfire! Dear God what am I doing?" she put her head in her hand as soon as she had given the computer the order.
"Locations found," the computer bleeped and Raven looked up.
"Gizmo's the closest, well let's give this shot, whatever the hell I'm supposed to do," Raven sighed.
Gizmo was fiddling with something in some small apartment when Raven found him. She appeared behind him in silence and said, "Gizmo, I have a proposition for you."
"God, woman, didn't any ever teach you to knock?" Gizmo whirled around. "Oooh where's your team?" he taunted.
"Shut up Gizmo," Raven snapped angrily.
"Geesh, OK what do you want? And don't try any spelly stuff or I'll blast you to pieces," Gizmo pointed a little contraption at Raven.
"OK…" Raven explained everything, and was relieved that throughout the story Gizmo lowered his machine.
"And what do you want me to do about your problem?" Gizmo asked.
"I… I need your help…"
"Oh ho! So the poor little girl is all alone now and now she needs my help?" Gizmo laughed. "Well what's in it for me? Why shouldn't I just join your brother… seems like he's got the edge."
"Shadow doesn't want accomplices, Gizmo. If you go to make an 'alliance' with him he'll either enslave or kill you," Raven explained, irritated.
"Ooh, so why do I have to do anything?" Gizmo inquired.
Raven smirked; it was time to play her trump card. "Azerathians have no need for technology. If he wins, he'll destroy the world and all the technology in it."
Gizmo dropped his contraption and his jaw. "This guy's going down."
"I knew you would see it my way, now hold on tight," Raven said. "We have a few more stops." As soon as Gizmo was holding onto her, her black raven enveloped them… and they found themselves in a large room with huge couches and big TVs and racks upon racks of comics, video games and sci-fi movies.
"Hello my pretty," said a rather plump Control Freak, sitting on an exceptionally comfortable looking couch.
"Please, don't call me that," Raven sighed.
"Oh, I won't have to, cause I'm going to kill you now!" Control Freak laughed.
"No, you're not, because if you do then you're going to die pretty soon too," Raven explained once again. "This is going to get old after awhile," she thought to herself.
"Oh I see, so with all the heroes gone, you're turning to us, the villains?" Control Freak stroked his remote control like a cat. "OK, so why do you need me?"
"Because the more the better and you have certain… talents, if you can call pressing buttons that," Raven answered. "So are you in?"
"Hmm… I don't know…"
"If Shadow takes over, say goodbye to sci-fi movies and comics," Raven replied.
Control Freak jumped up. "I shall unleash a legion of CSI battledroids upon him!" he roared.
"Right… you do that," Raven rolled her eyes and teleported them, to a more challenging person.
Blackfire sat on that desolate rock like she had everyday since Starfire had banished her. She heard footsteps behind her and turned her head. It was that Raven girl her sister hung out with.
"What do you want?" Blackfire spat.
"Your help…" Raven once more explained the situation.
"I don't care about earth, now get out before I lose my temper," Blackfire hissed. "I'm glad it's going to be destroyed, along with my little sister."
"Please Blackfire, we need you," Raven begged.
"I don't see any reason for me to do so," Blackfire answered firmly.
"What makes you think Shadow will stop at Earth? He's going to keep moving through the galaxy until every species is either enslaved or destroyed him," the Titan answered; she was losing her temper.
"Hmm, by the sounds of this Shadow guy he seems just my type," Blackfire replied shortly.
Raven sighed. "Shadow doesn't want a queen or whatever you're thinking of. He only wants power and if he finds you he'll take yours and kill you."
"Better dead than keep on living on this rock, and anyway even if I wanted to help you I couldn't get off this rock, there's a field that stops me from flying," Blackfire said.
"I don't need to fly," Raven responded. "I can teleport. If you help us, you'll be able to leave this rock and live where you want."
"And what's stopping me from just flying off as soon as you teleport me to earth?" Blackfire laughed.
"You'll suffocate from the darkness in the air that Shadow created if you try to fly away. Our rocket barely made it, so you won't," Raven was getting really tired of Blackfire now.
"OK, but I can fly through the rest of the world."
"And Shadow will find you, hunt you, take your stupid powers and kill you!" Raven exploded. "What the hell is so hard to understand?"
"Oh my, you have quite a temper, don't you? OK, it's obvious you're not going to leave until I tell you yes, so I'll tell you what. I'll help you save your earth, I swear on oath as a princess I will, and then you get Starfire to pardon my crimes and we're all happy, OK?" Blackfire got up.
"Finally," Raven muttered under her breath. "We've got a deal," she answered louder, and they shook on it and Raven took them to a person who might be even more difficult to sway.
Brother Blood was in his study in his hideout writing when Raven, Blackfire, Gizmo and Control Freak appeared. He looked up. "I was wondering when I would get a visit from you, Raven," he said. "Yes, you see I've been watching what's been happening. I know all about your brother, and I had a feeling that you'd turn to us 'villains' for help. But tell me, what's stopping me from killing you right now?"
"Because I'm the only one who can defeat Shadow, but I need help," Raven explained. "And Shadow won't take you as a second in command or anything, he'll make you a slave and you'll work for him or become a minion to do lower work."
"Well, I don't really fancy being enslaved, but I don't really fancy working with my enemies either, so you see I'm torn," Blood replied.
Raven hadn't even thought she would get this far, and she didn't know Blood enough to know what would make him tweak. "Look, I'm willing to make a bargain with you, what do you want?" she asked, exasperated and exhausted from the long distance teleportation she had been doing.
"Hmm, what about if I help you, I get Cyborg's head for my study ornament?" Blood asked.
"I said I would bargain, I didn't say I would let you kill my friend," Raven snarled.
"Oh fine. How about you give me a book of Azerathian spells and we'll call it even?" Blood offered.
"Reasonable," Raven replied, smiling in her head. Brother Blood would never be able to use the spells of her land; he would probably destroy himself trying to.
"Well we have a deal, then," Brother Blood got up and walked over to the unlikely group.
Raven closed her eyes, and when she opened them she was in a place where she hoped she would never have to go again: Slade's lair.
Slade walked forward. "Hello Raven."
"Hello Slade," Raven answered shortly.
"It's been awhile," the villain said softly.
"Eternity would have been too short to be here again," Raven snarled. The Azerathian swore that a look of humor crossed over Slade's eyes, but in an instant they were back to their normal cold, malicious state.
"Such a shame what is happening to your world," Slade said absentmindedly. "Such a shame Trigon couldn't have been as strong as Shadow, eh?"
"Not a shame at all," Raven replied. "Look, I didn't come here to make pleasantries, I came to—to… to ask for your help," she finally spat out.
Slade laughed. "My help? And why on earth would I help you, Raven?"
"You know what's happening Slade, I'm not going to waste time explaining to you. You know Shadow's strength and you know that he won't accept partners or accomplices. He'll just kill you," Raven replied.
"As blunt as ever, Raven," Slade said.
"Will you help or not?" the Titan demanded.
Slade sighed, and walked closer towards them. In an instant he had jumped into a kick. The others backed away but Raven held. Slade recoiled his kick and landed right in front of Raven. "Smart girl, Raven, smart girl."
"I didn't come here to fight either, and you wouldn't hurt me, you know that you can't win without me," the hero answered.
"And what makes you think I want to fight some invincible son of Trigon?" Slade queried softly.
"Don't try and be stupid, Slade, you're not good at it. You know Shadow has to be stopped," the Azerathian spat. She was truly losing her patience, and with annoyance she again noted the flit of humor.
"OK Raven, there's no fooling you, you're quite the intelligent girl. Yes, I know that Shadow has to be stopped, and I am willing to join your strike force without any return," Slade said. "Now take us back to your tower and we can talk strategy."
"I'm not an idiot, if we go to the tower you're all going to try and find out how to get in. No. We can stay right here and plan, Slade. Right here." Raven sat down, and the others did, too. She was very relieved and nervous at the same time. What if they all decided to gang up on her, she would never be able to win, and then Earth would have no hope. She dearly hoped that she had convinced them all enough to be at a truce with her for the time being.
Shadow quite liked the abandoned castle he had made his lair, and he sat in his throne room, behind which was the room where the heroes were being kept.
"I'm waiting for you, sister. I've been waiting for a long, long time."
