Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the conclusion to the Team's first mission.

Now originally, this chapter and the previous one were meant to be one large chapter. However, in the end, I decided against it, feeling that it would be much better to have the chapter be split into two parts so as to not have too much put in.

Besides, I have future chapters to put more stuff into.

Anyway, last time, the Team were shanghaied from Santa Prisca and transported to the island of Zandia. Trapped with no way to call for help or leave, they have no choice but to confront the Church of Blood and find a way out...though before they can move out, they are surrounded by the followers of Brother Blood (along with the man himself).

Before going onward, here's the disclaimer: Neither BioshockerN7 nor I own Young Justice in any way, shape, or form. Young Justice is the property of Brandon Vietti and Greg Weisman, created for Cartoon Network. If I DID own Young Justice, however, Season 3 would be out on Netflix by now! So please support the official release, and get Season 3 out there already!

Now let's get to the action!


Voice Cast (how I envision certain characters being voiced):

MAIN:

Michael Verser = Yuri Lowenthal (A/N: Think the voice of Peter Parker/Spider-Man from the 2018 "Spider-Man" video game.)

Rachel Roth/Raven = Taissa Farmiga

Koriand'r/Starfire = Kari Wahlgren

Victor Stone/Cyborg = Shemar Moore

Kaldur'ahm/Aqualad = Khary Payton

Richard "Dick" Grayson/Robin = Jesse McCartney

Wally West/Kid Flash = Jason Spisaks

Conner Kent/Superboy = Nolan North

M'gann M'orzz/Megan Morse/Miss Martian = Danica McKellar

Donna Troy/Wonder Girl = Emma Stone

RECURRING:

Akima/Lambda = Lindsay Jones (A/N: Think her actual voice)

Masamune = Jennifer Hale

Adam Verser = Christopher Daniel Barnes (A/N: Think the voice of Spider-Man Noir from "Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions")

Architect = D.C. Douglas (A/N: Think the voice of Legion from the "Mass Effect" games)

GUEST:

Sebastian Blood IX/Brother Blood = John Boyega (A/N: Think the voice of Finn from "Star Wars: The Force Awakens")

Trigon = Jon Bernthal (The voice of Trigon from "Justice League vs. Teen Titans")


BGMs:

It's Terror Time Again - Skycycle

Halo 5: Guardians OST - Crossed Paths

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD SONG - ROAD RAGE By Miracle Of Sound

Destiny: The Taken King OST - Regicide

Scanty & Kneesocks Theme - I Want You (With Lyrics)

YES - ROUNDABOUT (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure ED1) || RichaadEB & Caleb Hyles


Mount Justice, July 22, 18:56 EDT


Third Person's POV:


In the confines of her room, Raven floated in a cross-legged position. Barely any light shone in the room, save for a dimmed lamp and the candles that burned around her. Incense smoke wafted through the air, filling the senses with a calm, focused sensation.

She meditated in this manner every morning, and did the same every night. It was a technique the monks of Azarath taught her to help suppress the more...unwanted side of her life. The side that connected her to her father, a being she wanted no part with.

"By the powers of Azarath, I beseech you," she chanted. "Mother spirit of the nether realm, forgive me. I felt it again...his influence. I fear it grows ever stronger. Guide me, and protect my comrades from him. Give me strength to face the foes that would do us harm. Azarath...Metrion...Zin-"

A sharp, cold air blew through the room.

Raven's eyes shot open as the air snuffed out the candles. Standing up, she looked around for the source of the gust of wind. "Who's there?"

...

...

...

"Whoever's there, I must warn you: you're making a grave mistake," she threatened, her powers flaring up a bit. Her breath was visible in the cold temperature of the room.

A chuckle was her reply. "The mistake would be yours."

Her heart clutched in fear, dropping down. "No."

"Oh, but it is," a demonic voice replied from behind. Turning to face the source, slits of red appeared on the shadows of her wall. Four red eyes snapped open, illuminating the area in a red glow. "It has been quite some time, my dear Raven."

Stepping back in fear, Raven did her best to stand up to the presence. To her credit, she held fast. "How? How did-"

"How did I manage to find you?" the demonic voice rumbled. "You should know by now: I will always find you, no matter where you are. It is in our blood, Raven."

"Your blood is tainted," she shot back, gaining courage from his statement, "and I want no part of it, or you!"

"DON'T TALK BACK TO ME LIKE THAT, CHILD!" A deep rumble shook the room, destroying it from the ground up. The entire landscape became a burning inferno, with the burning eyes gazing upon her. "You and I will be reunited, Raven. And you will be a part of this. Whether you want to OR NOT!"


*GASP!*

In a startled breath, Raven's eyes shot wide open. Looking around, she found she was still in her room, though now in a cold sweat. "...Just a dream," she panted. "Just a dream..." Shaken by the experience, Raven left her room as composed as she could present herself. For her sake, she hoped they wouldn't leave anywhere tonight.

She would later silently attempt to curse Duncan to death when proven otherwise.


Chapter 9: Blood Will Be Spilled


Zandia, July 23, 03:13 EET


Third Person's POV:


"So, who's this joker supposed to be?" Wally inquired, everyone set to fight.

"Sebastian Blood IX," Adam responded with venom. "Also known as Brother Blood. He's the leader of the Church of Blood; a cult that worships an inter-dimensional demon named Trigon." Raven visibly flinched at that info, slightly stepping back from the cultists. "He's also wanted in being suspected of numerous disappearances and deaths."

"Guilty as charged," the man in question said with a nod, though his eyes were focused on Raven.

"He's the leader?" Kaldur asked. "But he's so young."

Glaring, he said "Do not mistake my youth for a lack of capability, sea-freak." Both our resident Atlantean and the rest of the Team had to restrain themselves from lashing out at the bastard. "I have more than proven my worth as the leader of Trigon's worshipers."

"Wonderful," Wally sarcastically drawled. "We traded in a cult worshiping a psycho for a cult worshiping a dangerous, crazy demonic bastard."

"KF, I know your stance on the paranormal," Michael began calmly, "but now isn't the time for it. Especially since we're surrounded by these guys, who we have no idea what they're capable of."

"Your disbelief in Lord Trigon does not matter," Blood stated.

That caught them off guard. "It...doesn't?" Megan asked.

"Yes. Because whether you want to believe or not, Lord Trigon will return to this world," the cult leader waved off.

"Oh yeah?" Robin jeered. "And what makes you think we're going to stick around for your brand of crazy?"

"Because there's a barrier around the island preventing you from leaving," Blood deadpanned.

"What barrier?" Wally asked as he looked into the sky. "There's nothing-" A flash of sickly purple rippled across the sky, proving him wrong.

"...KF?"

"Yeah, Atlas?"

"Stop talking right now."

"Either way, you. Us. You gonna fail!" Adam said, getting straight to the point.

Chuckling, Blood said "Indeed. You." He chanted briefly, and a series of red, glowing circles appeared on the ground. The light grew brighter and brighter, nearly blinding the Team, until...

*FLASH*

"Us." What was now in front of them were...demons that looked to be the size of gorillas, only difference was they seemed to be on fire. (A/N: Imagine that they almost look like the Wardens of Saints Row IV.)

"Oh, well that's just wonderful," Conner muttered.

"Horrifying, more like," Kory shuddered.

Looking to his brother and teammates, Michael pulled out Paragon and Renegade. "Shall we?" he asked.

"Why the fuck not?" Adam shrugged, pulling out Wild Card and aiming his Plasma Caster.

"Give the word," Victor said as his arm turned into a cannon.

"DUST THESE BITCHES!"

As a single force, the heroes capable of firing projectiles of some sort (Michael, Adam, Architect, Victor, Kory, Raven, and Robin) unleashed a barrage unto those before them. While the cultists ducked for cover, Blood held his ground as the demons jumped forth, taking every single shot onto themselves.

The barrage continued for half a minute, creating a lot of smoke and dust blocking their view. Everyone waited to see the fruits of their labors. And when the dust finally settled, and the smoke cleared, it revealed...

...That their weapons didn't do a thing to their new enemies.

Not. A. Single. Thing.

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...And that terrified them.

(Play "It's Terror Time Again - Skycycle")

With a cruel smirk, Blood ordered "Kill them. Leave Raven alive."

As the demons stumbled toward the heroes, Adam quickly grabbed Michael and ran, considering their weapons weren't doing a thing to them.

"EVERYONE SPLIT UP AND RUN!"

And split up and run, they did, with Victor and Kory heading one direction, Conner and Megan another, Robin and Wally another, Donna and Kaldur another, and Raven and Architect heading another.


"WHAT THE SHIT WERE THOSE THINGS?!" Adam shouted, he and Michael running side by side away from the demons they tried, and failed to destroy.

"I don't know, why are you asking me?!" Michael replied, trying not to turn around and look behind them, fearing that the demons would be right behind them.

"Because this has got to be karma from you fucking up!"

"ARE YOU SERIOUSLY STILL PISSED AT ME FOR THAT?!"

"YEAH! BECAUSE IT WAS A SIMPLE ASSIGNMENT! AND YOU FUCKED UP!" Adam raged, neither noticing the odd patch of grass they were rapidly approaching.

"WHAT THE HELL WILL IT TAKE FOR YOU TO GET OVER THAAAAAAAAAAAT?!" Michael said as both his and Adam's feet touched the patch, which then collapsed under their weight, sending the two Multiversers falling into darkness and screaming their asses off.


Kory and Victor were running for their lives, still being chased by some of the monsters that had been summoned to attack them. "What do we do?!" Victor asked his Tamaranean teammate, who seemed just as confused as him.

"I do not know! Atlas and Timeshifter's weapons don't appear to harm these creatures, what good would our attacks do?" she asked in return, as they continued to run, hoping they'd lose the seemingly unstoppable monsters this cult had summoned.

"Well, we can't keep running forever!" Victor said, pulling Kory in another direction, which resulted in him falling through the grass, bringing Kori with him.

Their screams slowly faded into the night as they descended into the dark.


"What are those things made of?!" Wally asked in a panicked tone as he and the Boy Wonder ran through the forest, attempting to lose the demons currently hunting them (though being a scientist at heart, Wally didn't believe they were demons...not that these things terrified him any less, though).

"I don't know! You wanna stop and ask them?!" Robin asked, leaping over broken branches while Wally vaulted over some.

"Yeah, I think I'll just get us out of here instead!" the young speedster said, as he slipped his goggles on, picked up Robin, and started to use his powers to speed them away from the demons.

"Whoa KF, slow down! It's too dark! We can't see-"

Suddenly, he heard Wally give a grunt as he saw the ground getting closer, only for the grass to fall with them, showing a dark hole they began to descend into.

"-ANYTHIIIIIIIIIING!" Robin shouted, he and his friend falling into the hole.


"Why are we running? We should stay and fight!" Conner exclaimed, being dragged by Megan, who despite her small frame, was a lot stronger than she looked considering she was actually managing to pull him with her.

"Those things weren't even fazed by Atlas or Timeshifter attacking them! I don't think we'd fare any better!" she shouted, telekinetically ripping down trees to block the path behind them in an attempt to slow their pursuers down.

"Well, we have to do something about them! Otherwise, they're going to just keep attacking us!" he said, trying to slow down his Martian teammate, when suddenly, he felt the ground beneath him become lighter, then saw the view in front of him turn into a rapid descent, the screams of Megan above him telling him she was falling as well. "Hold on!" Conner cried, grabbing the niece of Martian Manhunter and making sure he was on the bottom to take the brunt of the fall.


"What kind of magic are those creatures using in order to shrug off all of those shots?!" Donna asked Kaldur, as the two of them sped through the forest, trying desperately to escape the demons that sought to end them.

"I don't know! But the fact that they shrugged off their attacks shows how formidable they are!" he said, using his Water Bearers to form swords and cut down trees to slow their enemies down.

"But they must have some sort of weakness we can exploit!" she pointed out, which Kaldur nodded his head to show he was paying attention.

"We will worry about that when we regroup with the rest of the team! For now, we must get away from those creatures!" Kaldur said, before suddenly, his feet slipped, and he saw a dark hole getting closer and closer, and then he heard Donna scream as she fell in as well.


"Where are we going?!" Raven asked Architect, who was currently holding one of her arms as he was running at a speed no one had ever seen him run, a speed she had trouble keeping up with.

"/To a location where the enemy will not discover us! Addendum: Anywhere that's not near those things!/" the A.I. replied in what appeared to be a...scared tone?

"Could you at least slow down?! I can't keep up with you running that fast!" she asked, which lead to Architect screeching to a halt. He then turned to her, and picked her up bridal style, and continued running, much to her chagrin.

"/We have no time to slow down! We must escape these relentless creatures! Addendum: Demons and machines do not mix!/" Architect said frantically, still running while occasionally turning his optics around to see that the demons were STILL chasing them with a look of hunger in their eyes.

That of course, had the result of making the A.I. give a comically electronic noise that sounded like a scream as he started to run even faster than before.

"Well, keep an eye ahead, you don't know what we'll run-" Raven didn't get to finish as Architect suddenly fell through the grass, having triggered a booby trap neither noticed, leading to the two descending into the ground.

"-IIIIIIINNNNNNNNTTTTTTTTTOOOOOOOO!" her voice echoed as both the daughter of Trigon and the Multiversal A.I. fell into the darkness.

(End "It's Terror Time Again - Skycycle")

Her screams eventually got less loud as they tumbled deeper into the hole, a small amount of light becoming visible as they got closer to the ground.

*CLANG!*

That was the sound of Architect slamming loudly into the ground first with her on top of him, making sure she didn't get hurt by the impact. She then saw the sole optic of the A.I. look around the room they were in.

"/Running diagnostics check. Optics: Operational. Weapon Systems: Operational. Motion Trackers: Operational. Combat Mode: Ready,/" Architect said, as Raven stood up, offering her hand to help the machine up, whose free hand suddenly glowed orange as a holographic gauntlet of the same color appeared. "/There is minimal light in this area. We will provide light,/" he said, raising his arm, lighting the room around them.

"What's that?" she asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"/This is a multipurpose diagnostic and manufacturing tool. It is better known as an Omni-Tool,/" Architect explained, as the two began walking, Architect in the front and Raven behind him.

There was nothing but dirt and rocks for miles as they kept moving, Raven feeling like they were walking in circles. Suddenly, Architect stopped moving, his head staring at the floor. She followed soon after...and felt a little sick at what she was looking at.

It was a stain of blood. One that looked to be weeks old, if Raven had to guess.

"/Running blood scan,/" Architect announced as he knelt down near the stain, his eye most likely taking in every detail about the blood, his tech allowing to pick up on things a normal human wouldn't notice at first glance. "/Complete. The subject was female, in her teenage years. Blood has been corrupted too much to discern any more information,/" the A.I. said, his eye now looking at the hall in front of them. He then stood up to follow, his Omni-Tool showing a blood trail on the floor as Raven followed close behind.

Eventually, they came to a stop at a door.

"/The trail ends here./" Architect said, drawing a weapon that didn't look like a normal firearm, though considering he was made by Adam, a recently discovered time traveler, it's probably reasonable he'd have access to technology far beyond the current era (A/N: the Particle Rifle from Mass Effect 3).

"Well, we won't know what's behind the door if we don't open it," Raven said, her hand now placed against the door as she stood to the side. Architect then aimed his weapon at the door.

"/We are prepared for breaching,/" Architect said, before his eye seemed to zoom in, as if he was aiming down a scope. "/Targeting systems enhanced./"

At this, Raven then activated her powers, her palm glowing black as a blast of energy of the same color shot the door off it's hinges, leading to the Multiversal A.I. rushing inside.

"What do you see in there?" Raven asked, waiting for the response.

"/...We have found...something...disturbing,/" came the voice of the A.I.

At that, Rachel walked into the room. What she saw...was true to Architect's words. It was VERY disturbing.

It was a room that looked like a...shrine.

There were candles littered around the room, their light showing a board full of pictures with lines connecting them, pointing out things like:

'Not pure.'

'Unclean.'

'Does not survive the process.'

What made it worse were the pictures next to the words.

They were all women. Teenage girls. And there were red x's across their pictures, x's made of blood, if the messy appearance of each one said anything.

"My God..." Raven muttered, unable to contain the horror and disgust in her voice.

"/We recognize these faces. There were missing person reports on all of these women. The police closed investigations on each after being unable to find any signs of where they went. We did our own investigation. We had deduced they were kidnapped by an unknown person of interest. However, we could not discover the culprit, no matter how much we searched. And because of that, they're dead, victims of the Church of Blood's attempts to bring back Trigon,/" Architect said, his flaps moving down, and his optic appearing to have a look of...shame?

Despite his mechanical nature, Raven actually felt emotions coming from the machine in front of her. He felt ashamed that he couldn't have saved these victims. He felt sorrow at what would happen when their families discovered their fate.

But most of all, she felt his rage.

His COLD, IMMENSE RAGE.

And it was all aimed at the Church of Blood.

"/The Church of Blood will pay for this. When this mission is complete, we will locate the remaining followers and we WILL eliminate them,/" Architect said, raising his Omni-Tool at the board, before he suddenly stopped, noticing one picture at the bottom. He then reached his three-fingered hand down, and picked it up. Seeing this, Raven peeked over his shoulder to look at it.

It was a girl standing outside of a book store. She instantly recognized the one in the photo.

It was herself!

Noticing the image Raven was staring at, the synthetic's eye whirred in recognition. "/We remember this day. We were performing maintenance checks when we found you entering the book store. We decided to keep watch over you,/" Architect said, pulling up a hologram of what appeared to be footage in his point of view, from a higher angle, seeing Raven enter the store. "/We were there because Adam had suggested we leave the Cave to- in his own words- 'get a better feel of organic societal norms'./"

Shocked- and highly disturbed- she asked "How...where did...?"

"/It was not us who took this picture, nor did Adam know where you were. We simply found you while we were wandering Happy Harbor,/" he gently explained, or as gently as a machine whose voice almost always sounds like he could give less than two shits about anything could be. "/We do not know who took this picture, but we can assume it was a member of the Church of Blood./"

"Then that means..." her voice trailed off, horror dawning on her. "...They've been looking for me. They're the reason why I..."

"/No,/" Architect suddenly stated, making her look at him with confusion. "/We can see that in your emotional state, you will say these deaths are because of you. You are wrong. Their deaths are because of the Church of Blood's pursuit of bringing your father to this realm,/" he said, making Raven look to him in shock at the last words he said.

"Y-You know about-?!"

"/We've known about your heritage even before we met you. We are a machine, we do not always let emotion distract us from research. The alternative future Adam spoke of...we were there as well,/" he explained, his flaps rising like he was remembering something. "/We remember that day fully. Every explosion, every innocent death, every ally fallen.../" As he trailed off, he turned to look at the stunned Raven. "/We are a creation of science. Our level of sentience causes organics to fear us. You are a creation of magic. Your abilities and heritage would cause organics to fear you. In a sense, we share common ground,/" Architect said. "/Your past does not matter to us. Only what you do in the present and the results it has on the future concerns us./"

Raven stood where she was, silent at the words Architect had spoken.

He knew about her heritage...which likely meant Adam- and possibly Michael- knew as well. But none of them seemed to have a problem with it. If two highly advanced beings with high level technology and knowledge of the supernatural didn't have a problem with her origins, then...maybe the others wouldn't have a problem too.

But they were still on an island filled with a cult dedicated to her father's return.

'What are we going to do?' she thought to herself. And somewhere, to her initial confusion, she then thought '...What would Michael do?'

The answer: something likely stupid, if it meant saving someone.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" The two spun around, fighting stances ready as they saw the head honcho himself, Brother Blood. Behind him were more of his followers. "The daughter of Trigon blesses us with her presence, though she keeps...questionable company," he said with disdain upon looking at Architect.

"/Blood, Sebastian. Male of 14 years of age. Wanted in various states for charges of grievous bodily harm, sexual assault, and murder,/" Architect said, pulling up a hologram of Blood's criminal record as he spoke. "/You question our team member's associates when you yourself are the leader of a cult dedicated to a monstrous entity. Addendum: Have you looked in a mirror lately?/" he asked, sarcasm laced into his words.

Blood's eyes then narrowed. "I will not have me or my brothers and sisters be mocked by a machine! Take them!"

The cultists charged forth, intent on zerg swarming them into submission. The duo managed to shoot them back, putting a bit of distance between the two groups. "Don't think for a minute I'm letting you take me anywhere," Raven said with a glare.

"Do you honestly think you're prepared to fight your way out?" Blood asked sarcastically.

"/We are prepared for anything./" Suddenly, a orange ball of energy shot out of Architect's Omni-Tool, causing an explosion near a wall, staggering some of the cultists, as he turned to Raven. "/We will keep them occupied for now. You must not let them reach you. Addendum: RUN!/"

(Play "Halo 5: Guardians OST - Crossed Paths")

And so, she ran down another open path as Architect followed, crippling any cultist that tried to follow with a blast from his rifle. His auditory sensors picking up another pair of footsteps ahead of him, he took one hand off the rifle, and summoned his right Omni-Tool, firing a Neuroshock at a cultist who tried to catch Raven from behind, the attack immediately knocking said cultist out. He then turned around and proceeded to run after Rachel, tossing down several explosives along the way, blocking their path from the cultists, possibly even injuring a few, but to Architect, they weren't human beings if they were dedicated to a monster like Trigon, so their injuries didn't concern him one bit. Eventually, he managed to catch up with Raven, only to stop as he saw who was waiting for them.

Blood once again stood in front of them, with several cultists around him, smiling at Raven's appearance.

"It is futile to run, Raven. Sooner or later, we will always find you, no matter who or what you hide behind," he said, once again having contempt in his voice upon noticing Architect.

"/You despise us,/" Architect said bluntly.

"I despise anything that isn't human," he clarified, "apart from Lord Trigon, of course. Kryptonians, Atlanteans, Martians, machines...they all sicken me. They're nothing like my brothers and sisters. They do not know the glory of Lord Trigon."

"/The 'glory' you speak of is hell for others. A hell that we will not allow Raven to be subjected to. Addendum: We will not let you take her./"

At those words, Architect threw an uppercut toward Blood's face, connecting the hit before following up with another that connected, then he went for a third, but Blood ducked under the swing. He then caught Architect's returning swing, and pushed him back. He then ducked under Architect's next punch, before hitting him in the chest.

Shaking his hand to numb the pain, Blood threw his right hand forward, but was caught by Architect's left hand. The A.I. then wrenched Blood's arm to the left, before throwing the Church of Blood leader rolling to the ground. Quickly recovering, Blood shot up with a knee to Architect's chest, quickly throwing the same leg with a kick that pushed Architect back a couple steps.

As Architect regained his balance, Blood went in for a right cross, only for Architect to catch the fist, then flip Blood over him onto the ground, before raising a fist to slam into Blood, who rolled out of the way. Blood then kicked Architect in the face, sending the machine staggering. Rolling into a kneeling position, Blood then jumped up with a knee to Architect's chest, followed by the other knee, and a punch that he had thrown a lot of strength into that snapped Architect's head to the side, before swinging his fist back, smacking Architect again, sending the A.I. to one knee.

Blood smiled at this, readying himself to finish off the machine, when Architect slowly stood up, his back to him, before turning around to look at Blood.

His optic now had a crack on the side, and his head flaps were now lowered, as if narrowing his eye.

Slowly, the cult leader reached behind his back, and pressed a button on a device he had on his person, something an...interested party gave him specifically for this machine.

After a few seconds of staring, the two moved.

Architect took a step forward and threw a punch, which Blood caught, followed by the other hand, which Architect then wrenched from the cultist's hands and slammed into his face. The two then threw simultaneous punches at each other, both catching them, as both tried to gain an advantage over the other. After a knee to Blood's side, the two then switched positions, Blood now on Raven's side and Architect on Blood's.

It was now a struggle as the two pushed against each other, trying to win this game of strength.

But then, Blood gave Architect a knee to his metal chest, then stuck something onto him, which then sparked with black electricity. Architect made a noise that sounded like a scream, mixed with circuits being messed around with as he fell to his knees.

(End Halo 5: Guardians OST - Crossed Paths)

"Architect!" Raven cried, rushing to the machine's side, only to have her path blocked by several cultists.

"Why do you allow yourself to befriend this...abomination of man?" Blood asked, his eyes narrowed with contempt at the beaten and restrained form of Architect.

"You don't know him like I do," Rachel retorted.

"Again with 'him.' You do not understand: this is a machine, not a man. It was not born. It was built. Built for only one purpose: to supplant its creator. He is without flesh, without blood, without a conscience, and without a soul. Attempting to treat it like a person is pointless," Blood stated sternly.

At those words, Raven fell silent.

To the normal human mind, Blood's words would ring true about the AI she worked with. But to her, she felt offended at his words. For the machine in front of her was just like her. An outcast from society, despite the technological advancements robotics has made. Though where she seeks to protect the world by isolating herself from it, he seeks to do so by trying to understand them.

She recalled one day before this mission speaking with Architect. She asked him why he wanted to help them, when he didn't have any motive for having to stick around.

His answer was this simple phrase:


"Organics fear us. We wish to understand, not incite. Adam created us with the ability to decide for ourselves. We do not help you because we HAVE to. We help you because we CHOOSE to."


At this thought of the past, Raven knew why Architect continued to interact with organics despite their fears and caution of him.

He wanted to become more human.

Her next words hit all in the room like a bullet. "...His name is Architect. And he has more of a soul than you EVER will," she said with a cold tone, defending her technological companion.

Silence was all that reigned for a moment. Then...

"Blasphemer!" a cultist cried out.

"Traitor!" another yelled.

"Where are my tacos?!" Everyone turned to see a random cultist, who now looked embarrassed. "Oh, were we yelling about the machine? Sorry, thought we were just yelling random things. I mean, liar!" he shouted, leading to numerous other yells before Blood raised his hand, prompting silence.

A disappointed sigh escaped him. "Well, it seems your time away from Lord Trigon's glory has blinded you, Raven. Allow us to once again enlighten you with his greatness. Bring her and the machine to the sacrificial chamber! It's time we bring Lord Trigon to our world," Blood said, as two cultists grabbed her arms, then she suddenly felt something hit the back of her head, now looking toward Architect, who was being pushed forward roughly by the cultists, hatred clear in their movements.

As she slowly went unconscious, she felt one last glimpse of emotion from her A.I. teammate.

Determination. And a mission.

Get her out of the Church of Blood's hands as soon as possible.


Some time later...


"...Ooooooowwwwww," Michael groaned in agony. "My aching...everything..." He tried to cradle his head, but found something holding his arms in place. Specifically, ropes. If it weren't for the fact that his powers were on the fritz, he'd have broken free already. He then found he was laying on a stone floor. Groaning, he said "Anyone here?"

A series of pained, aching voices responded.

Wally: "Yo."

Conner: "I'm good."

Megan: "I'm okay."

Robin: "Ditto."

Kaldur: "I'm here."

Victor: "Ow."

Kory: "I'm alright."

Donna: "Here."

Architect: "/P-P-Present./"

The last response got everyone to look at Architect, and shocked to find him so beaten up. He looked like he was on the receiving end of a beating at the hands of a stampede, with how dented he was. Then, a thought occurred. "Wait...where's Adam?" Megan asked.

"Don't know," Michael said as he sat up. "He and I got separated falling through the tunnels. Hopefully, he's evading the asshats that attacked us."

"Here's hoping," Donna groggily agreed. "However, that brings up another question: where are we?"

"I'll tell you where we aren't," Robin noted with a int of dread, causing everyone to take in their surroundings. "Somewhere safe."

They were in an extremely large chamber, lit by dozens of torches. In the middle of the room was a large pool...a pool filled with bubbling, boiling blood. At the front of the chamber stood an altar, upon which Brother Blood stood reciting chants of some sort. Raven stood next to him, though not by choice. She was held in place by chains, enchanted to keep her from breaking free easily.

What was most noticeable about her, though, was her attire: a completely white version of her usual outfit.

"...Well, this looks great," Wally stated, his voice full of sarcasm, before he focused on Raven. "Hang on, Rae, we'll get you out of there!" He tried to free himself, to no avail. "Somehow."

At that moment, the cult leader seemed to remember that he had others present in the chamber. Chuckling, he turned around to address his captives. "I was beginning to think you'd sleep through the fun," he said with a sickening smiled. "But you've woken up just in time for things to begin."

"For what?" Conner asked, struggling to break free. Bastard must've laced the ropes with kryptonite.

"Why, the beginning of a new era, of course!" Brother Blood answered, the cultists around him cheering.

"Well, this 'new era' seems like a bad date waiting to happen, so I'd rather not experience it!" Robin quipped, trying to see if any of his gadgets could get him out of his restraints.

secs ago"I'm afraid you have no say in the matter, Boy Wonder," Blood retorted, "so please try to look through your emptied belt. As well as all of the other secret gadgets my followers and I took off your person." As he said this, he gestured to a pile of tools and gadgets near the altar. Suffice it to say, it was impressive. "Though to be honest, I'm impressed you had that many on you."

"It pays to be prepared for anything," Robin shot back.

Chuckling, the leader of the cultists said "Indeed."

"You will not get away with what you are trying to achieve, Blood!" Aqualad shouted.

"I already have, evidenced by your restraints preventing you from stopping me," Blood answered. "Though one of your colleagues is missing, my brothers and sisters will find him soon enough," referring to Adam not being among the captured.

"Sir, she's waking up," a cultist said.

Raven began to groan a bit, signaling that she was indeed rejoining the land of the conscious. She tried moving her arms, but found them restrained by the chains. As she fully woke up, her vision adjusted enough to see her surroundings, allowing her eyes to widen in horror.

Grinning, Blood said "And so, the bride to be has joined us. Everything is finally ready."

"Don't try it, you bastard!" Victor cried, attempting to summon his cybernetic weapons.

*ZZZAAAAPPPPP!*

Victor screamed in agony as his cybernetics backfired on him, causing him pain.

"Vic!" Wally shouted in concern before snapping his head at Blood, rage in his eyes. "What did you do to him?!"

"You think we were unprepared for you lot? Each and every one of you are outfitted with a collar that either negates or turns your abilities back on you," he said, pointing out that each of the Team had a collar on them. "The same goes for Raven, except her suppressors come from the chains."

"All except for Timeshifter. You haven't found him, therefore you are still vulnerable," Donna stated smugly.

"Not for long, Amazonian," Blood sneered, walking over to the Team as he spoke. Stopping near them, he continued "Once the ritual is finished, with Raven by my side, Trigon shall be released unto this world. And there's nothing you lot can do about it except accept it."

The Team's eyes narrowed in anger, especially those of the Multiverser present among them. "An interesting speech, to be sure," Michael sarcastically said as he got up. "Allow me to present my thoughts on the matter."

*CRACK!*

With unrelenting force, Michael quickly shot his leg out and buried his foot into Blood's crotch, sending the cult leader stumbling back as he howled and clutched his groin in pain. Several cultists restrained the Multiverser at that point, pushing him down onto his knees as they tightened the ropes.

Huffing in pain, the currently red-faced leader of the cultists snarled through the pain in his lower half. "Son of a- you kicked me in the dick!" he cried out, two cultists helping him up.

"And we're gonna do a whole lot worse as soon as we get out of these ropes!" Wally shot back.

Blood started to reach a level of rage that threatened to boil over. As he reached behind his cloak to grab something...

"NO!" Raven shouted, trying to reach her hands out to stop Blood. Softly, almost in defeat, she said "Don't kill them...I'll...do what you want..."

Breathing heavily, Brother Blood allowed himself to calm down enough to bring his hand out from behind him. He then smirked in smug victory, saying "Well now...it seems she's finally resigned herself to her fate."

"You really think we're just going to let you do this?" Kory asked angrily.

"What you want is of no consequence, alien harlot," he waved off. "The Daughter of Trigon's fate is set in stone. Nothing can change that."

'Tell that to Adam,' everyone on the Team thought to themselves, remembering Adam's words about making sure anything leading to a chaotic future would be stopped by him. However, Blood's words made them notice something...

"Wait...'Daughter of Trigon'?" Donna asked.

Michael and Raven tensed up at that. 'Oh, this isn't gonna end well,' Michael thought nervously.

"Yes," Blood said, a grin forming on his face. "She didn't tell you, did she?"

'/Yep, definitely not ending well,/' Akima added.

"Tell us what?" Kaldur asked, noticing Raven look down at the stone floor.

"Blood, don't you dare say another word!" Michael threatened.

"She didn't. Oh, this is amusing," Blood chuckled to himself, ignoring the threat from the Multiverser before speaking again. "Your 'friend' isn't fully human. She is, in fact, the half-demonic daughter of our Lord Trigon," he continued, taking pleasure in looking at the shocked looks on everyone's (sans Michael and Raven's) faces.

"What?!" Robin asked with wide eyes behind his mask. Conner had an equally shocked expression.

"You're shitting me," Wally said, refusing to believe his teammate was half-demon.

"The hell are you talking about?!" Victor asked.

"You lie!" Mega, Kory and Donna said.

"You have some nerve to call my teammate by such words," Kaldur said with narrowed eyes.

"Really?" Blood asked smugly. "Well, if I do lie...then why is your friend so nervous? Or Raven so ashamed?" At that the others turned about to notice...that Blood was correct in how Michael and Raven were acting.

"/Y-y-yo-you will no-no-not get awa-away with this. Reg-regardless of Raven's origins, w-w-we will stop you,/" Architect said, his flaps narrowing down.

"Lord Trigon's ascension to this world will not be stopped!" the young man snapped. "Not again!"

"Again?" Kaldur asked, to everyone's confusion.

Sighing, Blood said "Indeed. Lord Trigon attempted to enter into this realm years ago, but was prevented by his own daughter." Sneering, he continued "Trapping him in another realm, she kept her own flesh and blood from coming, and fulfilling his destiny. We've been trying for years to find her, but mostly to no avail."

"How's that?" I asked, honestly intrigued by how they took so long to find her.

"An interesting question," he began, "with just as interesting an answer. You see, until very recently, Raven was dead."

...

...

...

...

...Yeah, that REALLY got their attention. And mine. "Wait, what?!" Robin exclaimed.

"Indeed. When she first learned of her destiny, she killed herself in order to prevent Trigon from coming to this realm," Blood explained. "She remained in a Limbo, unable to pass on. But it was only until over two years ago, that we received help in our endeavors. One trained in the mystic arts offered to revive her, and placed her in a properly enough aged body, and we accepted...though I suppose we should've specified where she would be revived," he said with an annoyed frown.

A frown that deepened as he continued "We spent the next two years searching for her. Two fruitless years. Numerous potentials, proven to be worthless." (A/N: Mostly canon. Raven was dead at one point in the comics, until the Church of Blood had revived her in order to try to bring about the end of the world.) "We nearly had her a few weeks ago, but she stumbled into another dimension through someone's intervention. By the time she came back out, she was now of proper age for the ceremony to take place: about sixteen to seventeen years old. And now, finally, after so many failures of candidates, we have the true daughter of Trigon."

"/You killed...countless...innocent women,/" Architect got out, venom dripping from his synthetic voice. "/Ruined families for your goals.../"

"If you wish to aim your ire at anyone, direct it at Raven," the cult leader countered. "If she had simply accepted her fate, then those women would not have suffered as they had. Instead, she acted as a coward. And for her cowardliness, innocents suffered."

His words made Raven visibly flinch. In her mind, he was right. Her actions were meant to protect this world from her father's intentions. To prevent his influence and followers from harming anyone else...but all she did was pave the way for these madmen to cause untold suffering to numerous innocent souls.

'All because I was too weak,' she thought to herself, despair and self-loathing beginning to leak into her soul. 'Too afraid...'

"Bullshit."

Everyone turned to look at Michael, who was attempting to murder Blood through his cold gaze alone.

"Don't you even dare try to pin that on her," he growled. "Everything you did- all the lives you ruined and ended- was because you wanted to end the world. By using someone who wanted no part in that.

"So what if she was scared?! How would you have felt- what would you have done- if you were in her exact position?!" he exclaimed, getting up and walking forward, only for the cultists to hold him back. "You say that she's a coward. To me, she's one of the bravest, most selfless people I know!"

To the slight surprise of others, his eyes glowed golden as his words grew in intensity.

"She's no coward! She's a hero! One that I'll gladly stand by when she needs help!"

And unknown to others, as her eyes were covered by her hood and hair...

"Because that's what a hero- and a friend- does!"

Raven's eyes glowed golden as well, with tears beginning to well a bit. Teary eyes perfectly matched by a small smile.

Silence reigned for a moment. The cultists were surprised by the intensity of his words. The Team, though...they each had a fire in their eyes. One that matched the inferno in Michael's.

It didn't take a genius to know they shared the Multiverser's mindset. Growling in annoyance, Brother Blood asked "And who are you to say otherwise?"

With a smirk, Michael replied "Me? I'm the guy who's going to knock the teeth out of your mouth!" Blood grew even more irritated at that...

Until a light of realization entered his eyes. "You...you're a 'Verser', aren't you?"

"...How...do you know my name?" Michael asked, suddenly off-put by the question.

"Oh, no reason," the cult leader shrugged. Making his way over to the captives, he waved his hand up as he said "Actually, there is a reason. I was told to give something to a 'Verser' if one showed up with Raven."

The Team became unsettle at that. "And that is...?" Michael wearily asked. Two cultists propped Michael up at Blood's command.

"This." In a flash of movement, he cast aside his cape and withdrew something from his side.

*SCHTUK!*

And a flash of pain shot through Michael's chest, jerking him about a bit.

"Michael!" everyone shouted, eyes widened in shock and horror upon seeing what had just happened.

What just happened, you ask?

In the blink of an eye, Brother Blood had drawn a dagger from his back- most likely what he was going for when Michael kicked him in the dick earlier- and buried it straight into the Multiverser's chest.

And to their horror, Blood repeated this action five more times, before pushing Michael back. As he fell, he saw the instrument that harmed him so: a sickly black blade, now dripping with his blood. The wounds stung like hell, as if burning him from the inside.

A sensation Michael was familiar with, due to having encountered it many times in the past.

"I was warned that you would be nothing but an annoyance to our plans, Verser," Blood said viciously, wiping the blood from the blade. "And I will not tolerate annoyances. For that, you, and your brother when I find him, will both die."

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Raven roared in anguish, trying to reach him from where she was bound on the altar. "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

"Your words mean nothing, Raven. Not while you're bound to that altar."

Michael, laying on the floor, began to cough up blood as his wounds became more noticeable. At that, the rest of the Team grew furious. "Well how about our words?" Conner growled. "When we get out of these, we're sending you to meet your 'god' personally!"

Suddenly, a faint coughing noise could be heard, though it was hard to pinpoint. "Already did that!" came the faint voice of a certain time traveler.

Initially confused, Blood growled as he couldn't wait for the other Multiverser to be caught. "Regardless," he got out, "we've come too far to allow you lot to interfere anymore."

"That implies us letting you win, which we won't!" Victor said.

"In case you haven't noticed, you're all bound with your powers nullified," he began to boast. "And even if you weren't, there's nothing you can do anyway. Especially with your ace in the hole taken out of the game," he added, gesturing to a bleeding Michael.

A bloody cough followed. "Ass...hole..." Michael choked out.

"Again, you haven't caught Timeshifter, so he can still beat you," Kaldur pointed out. 'Like he has before,' he added in his head.

"By the time he can do anything, it will be too late. Raven will have brought Lord Trigon into this world, and his power will destroy all non-believers."

"I'd rather die than let that monster destroy this world," Raven spat. That earned quite a few glares from the cultists.

A deep sigh of irritation came from Brother Blood. "I don't understand why you continue to fight your destiny," he said to Raven. "You and I are going to bring the world its salvation."

"Why do I have the sinking feeling that his 'salvation' isn't going to be good?" Michael jeered, grunting through the pain and blood.

"Exactly how they're planning on doing that is what concerns me," Donna muttered, loud enough so her friends could agree with her.

"A thousand years of peace will encompass the world," the cult leader continued on, as if he wasn't interrupted.

Glaring, Raven shot back "A 'peace' that will kill everyone but your followers, you mean."

"Indeed, only the true believers will be spared. Under my leadership, we will endure...at least until the savior is ready."

"I would've thought someone like you would see himself as the savior of this shit show," Victor spoke up.

Chuckling, Blood retorted "Well, you know what they say about assumptions. No, I am but one of the catalysts, as is Raven. We are but instruments of Trigon's will, through which he and the savior will lead this world."

"And who exactly is this 'savior' you keep mentioning?" Wally snarked. "The Anti-Christ?"

"No," he said. Looking at Raven, he stroked her cheek as he said "The child born between myself and Raven."


In another section of the so-called church, Adam was in the middle of investigating, trying to gather as much intel he could on the rest of the Church of Blood and its branches. He had stumbled upon this area by accident, after he got separated from Michael during their descent through the tunnels. While he wanted to get back to the others ASAP, he need to make sure he had everything he could get so as to take out the satanic cult.

More than halfway through, however, his head shot up. At that same moment, he felt a cold fury that he hadn't felt in ages. The kind that demanded blood be spilled.

"...Why do I suddenly have the urge to go in very specific directions that'll lead me to Brother Blood and beat the shit out of him?" he coldly monotoned. "...Again?"

{YEAH, ADAM! Go to the ritual chamber, and DESTROY THAT MOTHERFUCKER! For the plot gods demand it!} cried the enthusiastic voice of one certain, insane merc in his subconsciousness.

With purpose, Adam Verser ran in familiar directions, knowing where they'd lead. As he ran, he was amused as he realized he'd get to end Blood all over again.

And that filled him with sadistic glee.


Meanwhile, the others were filled with initial shock and horror...which gave way to unyielding rage.

"BITCH, YOU TRY IT AND I'LL KILL YOU!" Michael roared in righteous fury, thrashing against his restraints alongside the others. Unfortunately for him, his actions only worsened his condition.

"Let me at him!" Wally cried, feet running at super-speed as he tried to break free. "Let me at that son of a bitch!"

"Do it and you're dead!" Conner yelled, trying to break free of his restraints.

"You monster!" Megan cried, trying desperately to free herself.

"Hera help me, I'm going to break your neck!" Donna shouted.

"I WILL KILL YOU if you even try it, bastard!" Kaldur yelled.

"You lay a finger on her, and I'll shove a Sonic Blast up your ass!" Cyborg yelled.

"Hurt her, and I'll give people a better reason to call you 'Brother Blood'!" Robin shouted.

"You piece of filth!" Kory roared in feminine fury.

"/You intend to forcefully consummate with one of our teammates. This is unacceptable. Addendum: We will destroy more than limbs this time!/" the damaged Architect spat out.

Growling in cold fury, Raven said "Try it and I'll rip your genitals off."

"It matters not what you say or do," he waved off, unconcerned by their threats (though he hid his confusion at Architect's threat). "The ritual will occur. And from our union, Lord Trigon will return, and cleanse the world of all filth and non-believers! Praise Trigon!"

"Praise Trigon! Praise Trigon! Praise Trigon! Praise Tri-!"

"I CALL BULLSHIT!"

All the cultists- plus Brother Blood, the Team, and Raven- all turned to the source of the shout: a group of unconscious cultists surrounded Michael- the ones who were restraining him and the damaged Architect- with Adam standing above them, a wild look in his eyes.

"...Where-"

"I was waiting for a moment to come out," he lied, cutting off Megan, "when this cocksucker," he pointed to Blood, "started saying that shit! There is something else in this world that deserves far more praise than that demon bitch Trigon! Something that has kept humanity safe for years! The FINEST CREATION ANY EMPIRE HAS EVER SEEN!" Adam shouted, pacing back and forth.

"What are you blabbering on about?" an irate Blood asked.

"I'm glad you asked," Adam replied with a smirk. And then, he pointed his left hand at Michael and Architect. "CAN I GET A 'PRAISE THE WALLS'?!" he cried out passionately.

With that said, Michael, Architect and Adam- the former two, realizing with a hint of glee at what was about to happen- threw their fists into the sky, proclaiming "PRAISE THE WALLS!" (A/N: Yeah, I just used that joke. BioshockerN7 and I couldn't help ourselves.)

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

"...WWWWWWWWWWWWWHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTT?!"

That came from EVERYONE in the room, except Michael, Adam, and Architect. If they noticed, their combined shout caused the entire room to shake about, sending rubble to the floor. "What in the actual hell are you two on?!" Wally cried out in exasperation.

"Nothing," the Multiversers responded in sync.

"I DISAGREE!"

"/This unit is incapable of consuming drugs,/" Architect pointed out.

"Still, the fuck is wrong with you guys?!" Victor asked.

Shrugging, Michael painfully said "Just wanted to say that," before coughing on some blood.

"I grow tired of your games!" Blood said, almost on the verge of tearing his hair out (along with many of his followers). "Lord Trigon will be released, one way or another!"

"Over my dead body," Michael shot back.

"Dude, when you say that right now..." Adam said, concerned about luck fucking with them at this point.

At that point, Adam recalled a certain ability that Brother Blood possessed: gaining strength from the blood of others that he consumes, and use their powers for his own. As evidenced by how he lifted Michael with Raven's magic, showing he had consumed some of her blood prior to this moment. "That can be arranged!" he snarled.

"Oh, that's just fucking great!" Adam said sarcastically.

"No shiiiIIIIIIIIITTTT!"

And like that, Blood slammed him into a wall. Then did so again and again, before throwing him over his own head, grinning sadistically at the sight. However, as he was sent flying through the air, Michael Verser non-verbally pointed out a few things to everyone in the room:

1) His ropes were now loose enough to free his arms, showing he had been spending the time talking getting them loose enough.

2) With his arms free, he used his left arm to tear off the collar keeping him in check.

3) His right arm, aimed at the cultists and Brother Blood, split apart. Revealing its prosthetic nature, the arm opened to reveal a metal black tube, with a glow coming from the opening.

"Hit the deck!" Blood shouted in realization.

*PEWPEWPEWPEWPEWPEWPEWPEWPEWPEWPEWPEWPEWPEWPEWPEWPEW!*

A barrage of short burst lasers fired from the arm gun, peppering the ground with blasts of energy. Each shot sent the cultists scrambling out of the way, barely avoiding the beams as they shot past them. Eventually, he stopped firing as he neared ground level, and instead tumbled onto the altar, landing near Raven in a bloody heap.

Carefully, the Church of Blood checked themselves...to find not a single mark on them. With a mocking smirk, Brother Blood jeered "Looks like you missed your chance to take me out."

A weak chuckle was his response. "W-Wasn't aiming at you," Michael said.

*SNAP!*

"I was aiming for them."

At that point, the others realized: the seemingly random shots...were in fact a smoke screen to hide the more precise shots, aimed at the collars on the rest of the Team. This allowed them to more easily break free of the ropes, or rip off what collars had been missed.

"BOOYAH!" Victor cried out, his Sonic Cannon now fully out and blasting cultists.

*BOOM!*

"Okay, people, let's take 'em down!" Adam said, drawing Muramasa.

"I thought your leadership rights were-"

"NO! Shut the fuck up about that right now!" Adam interrupted Wally. "Besides, don't tell me if someone talked shit about your family, you wouldn't want to hurt them! So that doesn't count!"

Deciding not to talk further on the matter, the young speedster instead chose to rush forward, slamming into other cultists as they tried to attack them. The result was sending them flying backwards in various states of consciousness. Meanwhile, Donna and Conner were working together, with Donna holding the clone's hands, allowing her to pick him up, and use his invulnerable body as a weapon, spinning around, knocking approaching cultists to the ground.

Letting him go, Conner then soared over a group of enemies (which Robin and Kaldur were in the middle of), over the pool of blood, and into the hands of Kory as she flew him down to Victor and Adam, before flying off to keep others at bay. As they helped Michael up, Adam- drawing out Wild Card- aimed at Blood and asked "So, what was that about us not being able to do anything?"

An irritated growl left his lips as he stared at the freed heroes. "The lot of you are like rats, coming in droves to eat the proverbial cheese," Blood went on to say. Smirking, he added "However, you'll find that this time, the cheese has been complimented with a brass bar swiftly to the neck," he finished as he snapped his fingers.

"Oh yeah?" Aiming his gun at the cult leader, Adam retorted "Well the only 'cheese' I plan on eating right now is Swiss, after I put enough holes in you to-!"

*Thoom*

"Hey guys," Conner said, suddenly looking a bit surprised.

This lead to Adam spinning to look at him. "Supey, I'm about to unload ray bullets into this sucka, WHAT DO YOU WANT?!" Adam cried, shaking his fist, which was still holding Wild Card.

*Thoom!*

He simply pointed up. "...There's a giant demon coming down."

*THOOM!*

True to his claim, a demon bigger than the ones they encountered before dropped from the ceiling and into the chamber, right in between a smirking Blood and a shocked Team. Standing well above the size of a semi-truck, it had pale, pinkish skin covered by a natural armor over most of its body. Its head had two large horns, four beady eyes, and a large, gaping mouth. Its right arm also possessed a large bone blade, as well as a spiny tail on its back (A/N: Think a Cyberdemon from the 2016 DOOM game, except no cybernetics and a tail added on).

"And now, my rats," Blood began, "let me introduce you...to the brass bar."

"...DAFUQ IS WITH ALL THESE DEMONS?!" Adam exasperatedly asked/shouted.

With an ear-splitting roar, the massive demon brought its fist down, separating the small group onto either side: Adam and Victor on its right, and Conner and Michael on its left. "Do with them as you wish," Blood said as he walked to the side, deciding to see how well his followers would do without him.

Leaving the giant demon to grin at its prey.

"Oh, how could I be so lucky," Adam began sarcastically, "to once again find myself in the company of both Mikey...and a hulking giant?! Will things be the same, or different?"

"Eat this, motherfucker!" Victor screamed, blasting the beast and making it stumble back a bit.

Conner roared as he picked up a huge chunk of stone and threw it, hitting the demon in the back of the head and stunning it, long enough for Michael to bring out his Artificial Sacred Gear. "Die die die die die die die die die die die die die diiiiiiieeeee!" Michael screamed, slashing the monster repeatedly all across the body and face with [Aura Radiance]. Which was doing some damage, but not enough.

"A mix of both, it seems," the Aspect of Time deadpanned.

Irritated, the demon swung its tail across the floor, sweeping three of the four (minus Adam) off their legs and leaving them crashing to the ground. The time travelling Multiverser managed to jump into the air ahead of time, and thus was eye level with the beast, allowing him to shoot it with Wild Card.

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

The demon roared in pain, swatting Adam into the ground as it stumbled back. Pissed off, it tried punching him, only for Adam to stop time quick enough to get out of the way.

"Okay, I've had just about enough of this."

(Play "MAD MAX: FURY ROAD SONG - ROAD RAGE By Miracle Of Sound")

After he said those words, Adam brought up his left arm, which transformed into his Dragon Arm, and he slammed it into the ground. A mass of black energy gathered around him, as what appeared to be a vortex materialized underneath him.

"By the power of the Dragon Bond I share, I say...THUBAN, TO ME!" Adam shouted, as he stood up with his arms spread out, before bending down and jumping up, right as something else came out of the vortex. When it finally came into view, everyone was slack jawed.

Standing around the same size of the demon they were engaging, was a creature that looked like a Tyrannosaurus Rex with wings. With black scales covering its entire body, it stood with red horns on its head. Equally red spikes were on several parts of its body, as it focused red reptilian eyes and let out a roar that seemed to shake the earth.

At that moment, everyone knew what they were staring at.

What they were staring at...was a dragon.

A MOTHERFUCKING DRAGON!

"Punching bag, I'd like you to meet Thuban. And he's hungry," Adam said to the demon with a bloodthirsty grin on his face, before pointing his Dragon Arm at the demon. "SIC HIM, THUBAN!" With that said, Adam's dragon engaged the demon, before literally grabbing it with its MOUTH, and flew up, smashing a hole into the ceiling as the two creatures went for a ride in the sky. At the same time, Adam turned to face several cultists, who now looked hesitant to engage the time traveler. Why?

Mainly because he had just taken off his coat to show his entire body and armor was now covered in black scales, with red bits every now and then. And red eyes stared at them, promising them pain...again.

"What are you waiting for, boys? I'm right here," Adam said as he slowly walked toward them.

As Adam went in for a clawed strike, a cultist tried to sneak up on him, only to be hit by a clothesline from a smirking- yet deadly serious- Wally. "If you hit we're gonna let you psychos do anything to Raven, then you've got another thing coming!" the speedster said in defense of his teammate.

"Agreed. We won't let our friend come to harm from any of you!" Kory said, throwing several Starbolts at some enemies, blasting them into the ground and wall.

"What she said!" Robin agreed, throwing two birdarangs at two cultists, who ended up being blinded by the smoke they released.

Before they could react, they were hit by two blasts from Victor's sonic cannon. "What'd I tell you two? SONIC BOOM, BABY!" came the enthusiastic shout of the Timeshifter,

Still in his Dragon Armor, he choke slammed two cultists while sending five more flying with a coordinated telekinetic strike between him and Megan. "Incoming!" came a shout from Conner, as he had been thrown by Donna into a pile of cultists, sending them all flying like they'd been hit with an earthquake. Seven more tried to attack the Kryptonian clone, only for them all to be hit by a wave of water, shown to be Kaldur with his Water Bearers drawn and active.

Ten cultists had stayed still, watching the chaos around them, before they all silently agreed to leave...

*SNAP!*

...Until they heard that.

Turning around, they recoiled in fear as they saw Architect had gotten free.

And his narrowed broken eye told them one thing.

He was PISSED.

(End "MAD MAX: FURY ROAD SONG - ROAD RAGE By Miracle Of Sound")


Michael's POV:


"AAAAAGGGHH"

"OH GOD, NOT THE FACE- OOF!"

"I SHOULD'VE JOINED THE PEACE CORPS!"

"AAAIIIIIEEEEE!"

Sitting on the sidelines was never very fun. But sitting on the sidelines while watching Architect basically get revenge on the cultists who treated him like shit...that definitely made me chuckle. Unfortunately for me, that only enhanced my pain tenfold.

Goddamn Negatium, I fucking hated it. Every single time it was brought out, it was nothing but pain. My insides felt like they were being grinded across a fiery surface. Like I had been shoved into a glass room and was dumb enough to try and crawl my way out.

Looking at the element, I felt nothing but disdain for the one substance capable of killing me and the other Multiversers.

'Now I know how Adam felt after that fight with Mister Twister,' I thought. 'Only difference between us is that I'm still conscious. That just makes it worse.'

'/Stay with me, Michael!/' Akima cried out, frantically trying to keep my vitals up through med implants. Unfortunately, they weren't designed to go up against Negatium. '/Dammit, how the hell did that bastard even get his hands on the one thing that can kill you?!/'

I didn't know, to be honest. Only three people I know of have access to that shit.

And I was praying that neither of them were involved.

{Fuck!} Weisslogia cursed, which really showed how bad I was doing at the moment. {My light isn't enough to get rid of this filth! What the hell is this made of?!}

To this day, I still wasn't sure. If I knew, I would've had an antidote ready for this.

"Michael!" I heard a familiar voice, making me look to see Raven kneeling beside me, her white hood currently down to show her violet eyes wide with shock.

"Sup, Rae," I said casually, before coughing up blood.

"Stay still, I'll try to stop the bleeding!" she said, her hands glowing with black energy before going near my wound-

NO!

"D-DON'T TOUCH IT!" I cried through the blood, which spurted out at my quick shot of fear. Seeing her flinch back, I said "This shit's poison to anyone and everyone. Y-Y-You could die if you touch it."

She was silent for a minute, before lowering her hands toward my wound, determination in her eyes. "I won't let anyone else die because of me!" Pressing onto the wound, she channeled what energy wasn't be suppressed by the rune-covered chains into the wound. Simultaneously, the Negatium began to burn her palms instantly after contact, trying to reject their very existence.

"Raven, stop!" I shouted, seeing her palms looking like Death itself had come for her.

Ignoring my plead, she kept her hands on my wounds, pouring all the healing energy she could into them. The Negatium continued to eat away at the palms of her hands, causing her immense pain, enough for tears to start welling in her eyes. Yet despite it, she grit her teeth and kept going.

Eventually, I began to feel...invigorated. Like I could take on the whole world myself...and probably get my ass kicked later on because that feeling was disappearing just as quickly as it was there.

Then, it appeared again, and disappeared, and reappeared. The process kept repeating over and over until eventually...it stopped. My wounds still present, but for the moment, I didn't even feel them. It was as if I just took a bunch of painkillers, but wasn't feeling any side effects.

"...Whoa," I breathed. Talk about unique experiences. Brought out of my internal musings, I heard a hiss of pain as Rachel slumped to the ground, gripping her hands. "Raven!" I cried out, reaching down to her. "Come on, Rae, talk to me!"

"I'm fine!" She said, hissing once again to try and suppress her pain. "Just...give me a minute..." A cold pit formed in my gut as I caught sight of the burns on her hands. The Negatium had left its mark on her palms, burning away at the skin.

She hurt herself like this- nearly killed herself- because of my carelessness...

...

...

...

...Someone was gonna pay for the pain she went through.

My eyes then narrowed as they focused on one person. Specifically, the one responsible for our pain:

Brother Blood.

My fists clenched in controlled fury. "...I'll be right back," I growled.

"Wait, Michael, you can't- you're still too-" Getting up against Raven's wishes (while she flinched in pain from the Negatium burns), I started to walk toward the leader, furious intent in my eyes.

To my slightly dark amusement, numerous cultists saw me and charged, intent on ending me (or at least injuring me enough to fall). The urge to laugh was strong as I pushed, punched, kicked and threw every single one out of my way. Nothing was stopping me from heading toward Blood, who was now glaring daggers at me as I made my way to him.

"Nowhere to run, asshole," I growled.

"I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU IMBECILES INTERFERING! THIS ENDS NOW!" Blood shouted, before raising his hands up, and he began to chant.

Or he would have, if I- in all my anger- hadn't all but said 'fuck you' to that. "And I've had enough of YOU!" I cried, running towards him as I threw my fist back, and then unleashed all of my frustrations accumulated tonight into one, concentrated punch.

The blow hit Blood's face like a ton of bricks, knocking out a tooth or two as my right fist fused with his left cheek. The impact sent him sprawling back, colliding with the wall with a painful thud and a pained slide.

"You're too late, Verser!" A barrier formed around him as he spoke. "The Summoning HAS BEGUN!" Blood shouted, his voice sounding demonic as he continued his chant.

"Not as long!" A punch made the barrier ripple. "As I'm!" Another punch, making it crack a bit. "Still breathing!"

(Play "Destiny: The Taken King OST - Regicide")

Suddenly, a large shockwave sent me flying back as the barrier dropped to show a grinning Blood. "It is too late. The Summoning is complete. Lord Trigon is free!" he said as the blood pool began to boil some more.

"What?!" Robin exclaimed, having caught that after knocking a cultist out. "But- doesn't he still need that marriage ceremony?!"

"That brings Lord Trigon fully into this realm, at all his glorious power!" Blood said, the pool of blood starting to rise up a bit, everyone else stopping their fights to watch. "But for now, he is powerful enough to send an echo into this realm, to begin the final preparations!" he raved on, madness in his eyes.

'This is just like goddamn Oryx all over again, Mikey!' Adam said in our link.

Watching the blood continue to rise up, I thought back 'Only this time it's real!'

The mass of blood boiled and poured, rising out of the cistern in a horrid, crimson oval. To the misfortune of many, they were treated to the sight of the bloody mass writhing in midair, stumps bulging out as it shone in crimson light. It twisted and turned, thinning out as the stumps extended outward. A smaller, fifth stump appeared on the top, stretching out until a small hole appeared up top, releasing an eerie groan.

Unable to handle the sight, a cultist tossed their meal from their stomach.

Evil energy surged through the room, as the air began to spin around the form, carrying the energies with it. Raven cried in anguished pain, her own energy resonating with the form. Soon, a crack of lighting sprung forth...

Then, the form stopped.

And there, in all his red skinned, horned, four-eyed glory, was Trigon. Or an echo of him, if what we heard is accurate.

The demonic overlord stretched his head around, working any cricks out of his newly formed neck. Arms and legs stretched out, fingers and toes flexing as he touched down. Smoke went to his head, forming a mane of silver hair. Once it situated, four piercing, yellow eyes opened up.

"Who...summons...me?" came the deep, careless voice of the demonic father of Raven.

"Lord Trigon! I am Sebastian Blood IX, the leader of the Church of Blood!" the cult leader said as he walked forth. "We are your humble servants, my lord!"

"Holy shit," Robin muttered in stunned awe, barely able to compute what he was seeing. "The whackadoo was telling the truth."

"That's...actually terrifying," Megan squeaked in terror.

"Blood?" Trigon rumbled. "Ah, yes...I do recall a group like yours..."

"Okay, I may or may not have mentally shit myself," Wally whimpered, horrified at the defiance of science standing- okay, hovering- in front of him.

Sniffing a bit, Donna added "I think you actually did so as well."

"It's cool if you did, KF," Victor said. "If I could still do it...I'd be shitting myself, too."

"Well, either way, this guy's gonna die," Adam casually said, Muramasa held high.

Looking down at us, Trigon's eyes narrowed in annoyance. "Who are these insects supposed to be, Blood?"

"The motherfuckers who are gonna KICK YOUR ASS!" Adam shouted. 'Again,' he added to himself.

"I wasn't speaking to you," he said, blasting Adam into a wall with a bolt of dark energy. As he collided into the stone wall, I hoped that he had enough energy to at least bounce back from that attack. Turning back to Blood, he said "Now, answer."

"Here's MY RESPONSE, BITCH!" Adam shouted, shooting back with a strike that sent Trigon staggering back a few steps. "Oh yeah! Suck on DEEZ NUTS, MOTHER-!"

*CRACK*

And with a bolt of lighting, Adam was rendered unconscious for the moment as he was knocked into Architect, the two landing near Raven's altar in a heap. The only thing the two had to say was a simple "/We are beginning to despise supernatural entities,/" Architect said, pushing Adam off of him before standing up, hitting his creator with a Neuroshock, speeding up his recovery to consciousness.

However, as he watched the two at work...Trigon's focus went to another next to them:

His daughter.

Grinning, he said "Raven. My child." His words made the young empath shiver in fear.

"We were in the midst of conducting the ritual that would fully bring you to this realm," Blood explained. "These...heroes, however, intend to stop it."

"...Do they now?"

"What are you?!" Kaldur asked, seeking answers to this monster's motives. "Why do you seek the world's destruction?!"

The Atlantean was answered with a sneer. "Insolent whelp. I am Trigon; conqueror of six realms, and thousands of worlds. I have existed long before your father was even an idea conceived in your grandfather's loins. I need not explain myself to mere mortals who cannot comprehend." As he finished, he sent out a blast of energy, knocking myself and the rest of the Team backwards.

"'Oh, I'm a god!' Go fuck yourself, reddy!" Adam said throwing Highlander at Trigon, the shield practically making sound waves after bouncing off Trigon's horns. The result, however, earned a glare at Adam.

"Adam," I croaked out, "for the love of everything, our powers are nullified. PLEASE stop antagonizing the evil jackass that is Raven's dad!"

'So?! I've fought this prick before! I'm not scared!' Adam raged in our link.

Before I could retort, a cultist bashed me over the head, bringing me to my knees. "N-Never start with the head," I groaned. "That just...ugh, leaves the victim feeling fuzzy, so they can't feel-" Another strike, this one to my back. I barely even grunted. "See?"

Chuckling at my pain, Trigon said "So, these are the fools you've associated yourself with, Raven? I must admit, I was expecting...more."

"Ever hear the phrase, 'looks can be deceiving'?" Robin asked.

"The same can apply to your side, young one," he retorted. "Or have you forgotten how my daughter lied to you about her heritage? How she is destined to bring me to your world?" His words made Raven look down and shiver, in both fear and shame.

"The future...isn't set in stone," I growled as I got up. "And in the end, choice beats destiny every time."

Adam chuckled a bit at that, a hint of remembrance in his eyes. 'The same words I told my Raven, Mikey.'

Seriously?!

The four yellow eyes narrowed. "...What is your name, boy?" he glowered.

Oh, it was never a good sign when a big baddie asks for your name. Knowing what was coming, I answered "Michael Verser. The people of this world know me more widely as Atlas. A hero."

"And I'm his badass brother, Adam Verser! The Timeshifter! And I've seen your future! You will FAIL!"

"I've had enough of you for now," he said in annoyance, swatting him into the wall with a wave of energy. Turning his attention back to me, he went on to say "You, on the other hand...I will teach you the fate of those who defy me."

"Really?" I asked sarcastically.

Arcing dark energy formed in his hands. "Really."

"Oh, crap in a hat-"

*BOOM!*

I was then sent flying back from the blast, hitting the ground hard. Just bad luck that everyone else was sent back from the shockwave. I did manage to get a small kick out of Blood tumbling backwards, though. "You insects are a waste of my time." Trigon sneered.

Grunting in pain, I lifted myself back up, glaring as I brought out [Aura Radiance]. "Anyone still able to fight?" I called out.

"Yep!" Adam said, Muramasa in his hands.

"I'm...good," Victor said, fatigue in his voice, but his body held tough confidence.

"Alright," I nodded. "Anyone got a battle plan? 'Cause we could sure use one right now."

"Yeah: we kill him," my brother said, as if this was he usually operated, which given his past experience as a vigilante, might be an accurate thought.

Avoiding another strike from the demon, I asked "Anyone even have a battle plan?"

"Fine, if you're talking battle, then here you go! You take the left! Victor takes the right, and I take the fucking center!" Adam said, sending a horizontal slash at Trigon, staggering the demonic entity.

Quickly getting into said positions, we started attacking him with all we had. Victor laid down suppressing fire with his sonic canon, making the demon grunt in irritation as he was forced back. In retaliation, his eyes fire four beams of energy, forcing the half-machine hero to roll out of the way.

This gave me an opening to attack.

As I jumped into the air, I heard Adam call out "Mikey, catch!" Looking to my left, I saw Muramasa flying toward me, time now seeming to slow down as it got closer and closer. Right in my grasp. Only for beams of energy to hit both me, AND the blade, down the steps. Unceremoniously, I landed with a large THUD and a flat...

"Ow."

"REALLY?!" Adam cried, now holding Highlander in his hand as he blocked a laser blast.

Trigon stomped down on the ground, creating a shockwave that sent Adam into the air along with Victor. The latter used this chance to fire directly into the demon conqueror's face, making him cry out in pain as he stumbled back. "Not so hot when it's done to you, is it?" Victor jeered.

Kind of a mistake on his part. "These wastes of breath you humans call 'puns' make me sick," Trigon said as he swatted Victor to the side, who was then caught by Adam, who quickly dashed off behind Trigon.

'Okay, I got a plan, but it might be risky,' Adam said to both Michael and Victor.

'What the hell could possibly be more risky than this?!' Victor asked, as Adam grinned before telling them the plan.

When he finished, Adam spoke. "Puns make you sick? I got the cure right here!" Adam said, as Trigon went to strike, but then he felt his back get slammed as Victor had thrown a punch with an enhanced gauntlet, sending the demon to his knees. At this, Victor ran to where Adam was, as he began to punch Trigon with his cybernetic fists, followed by Adam slamming Highlander into the demon's face.

When said demon tried to strike back, Adam blocked the hit, allowing Victor to punch the back of Trigon's knee. Adam then spun and threw Highlander into Trigon's face, leading to Victor following with another punch to the face, which Adam then reciprocated. When Trigon looked ready to attack...

'Mikey, now!'

At that, the two dove out of the way. Fun fact: [Aura Radiance], as I mentioned before, contains the White Dragon Weisslogia. A dragon that uses light as a source of his powers. As a result, he's also considered a 'Holy Dragon' by nature, which can be pretty useful.

Blade with holy properties.

Demonic conqueror.

You do the math.

Charging forward as fast as possible, I leaped toward his chest, blade in hand, and buried it in his gut all the way to the hilt. Weisslogia used this opportunity to pour as much light into Trigon as he could, with Masamune-chan aiding him. The result was pretty instantaneous. Trigon began screaming like a newborn baby, holy light making his body crack all over.

"Alright, he's stunned! BLAST HIM WITH EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT!" Adam shouted, drawing Wild Card.

Shocked in realization, I protested "WaitAdamI'mstill-!"

Too late.

(End "Destiny: The Taken King OST - Regicide")

"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMM, BITCH!" Adam shouted as he and Victor fired all of their weaponry at full blast, practically brightening the room. Every shot fired went right at big red himself, creating explosion after explosion. Nothing seemed to be able to stop the barrage.

Until I threw [Aura Radiance], burying it in Adam's right knee.

Adam gave a scream of pain, before I suddenly felt myself get yanked out of the barrage, landing right next to Victor and Adam, both of whom did not stop one bit. Not even while Adam yanked [Aura Radiance] out of his knee...and jammed it into my own. Then, as I howled in pain, he stopped for a second and shot me in the chest with a laser blast before going back to work. "Next time, fucking ask to be taken out of the barrage! Not throw your weapon into my fucking knee!" he shouted, not even looking at me at this point as he and Victor continued to blast the SHIT out of Trigon.

"I fucking tried!" I screamed back, yanking the blade out. "But someone got too TRIGGER HAPPY!"

"Are we REALLY doing this right now?!" Victor shouted back.

"YOU KNOW WHAT?! JUST JOIN IN THE BLASTING, MIKEY!" Adam shouted.

And I would've...if Trigon hadn't decided to go all 'fuck that noise' on us, and unleashed a brutal shockwave.

"SON OF A BITCH!" we shouted at once as the three of us were sent flying back, slamming into the various areas before settling on the ground next to the rest of the team (who had gotten back up midway through the fight, and were fighting the cultists again).

Hovering in place, Trigon showed he was definitely affected by that attack. His crimson skin was crumbling away, revealing a shadowy husk beneath. The use of his power even made his form crumble a bit more, exposing more shadows.

"I..have had...enough of this..." he growled, glaring at his next target as energy formed in his hands.

The intended recipient? Me.

"You go first, boy!" he shouted as he prepared to let loose the blast.

Time slowed down at that point, just as the orb was about to be released. Here I was, sitting in my own blood, with-

Wait. Blood.

'...Holy shit, I can't believe I nearly forgot.' Quickly, I brought out a small vial holding red liquid from my pocket. Said liquid being my own, original blood. "Here goes everything!" I muttered.

Acting fast, I squeezed out a drop of blood from the flask, and smeared it on the black and gold tattoos. I went through a quick series of hand signs, just as Trigon's echo roared "DIE!" as he flung a ball of dark energy. Seconds before it reached me, however, I slammed my right hand onto the ground, crying out:

"KUCHIYOSE NO JUTSU (Translation: Summoning Jutsu)!"


Third Person's POV:


*BOOM!*

Right as he cried out, the ball of energy collided where he stood. Even with all of the smoke, though, many had the feeling Michael survived the blast. How he did so had yet to be answered. Just before someone could act, though...they heard a pair of footsteps in the smoke.

...

...

...

...

...

"...DARLING!"

"BELOVED!"

"OOF!"

*THUMP*

The sounds of two- now identified as female- individuals tackling Michael resounded throughout the chamber. To everyone's shock, confusion...and for certain individuals, jealousy...the sounds of passionate kissing followed suit. For a good minute.

Yes, a few of the Team actually counted.

Seconds later, the kissing was replaced by a slap to the face. "Okay, I deserved that." Another slap followed. "I deserved that one, too." Multiple slaps in succession. "...I might've deserved those."

"YOU INCONCEIVABLE IGNORAMUS!" a passionate voice cried out in feminine fury, the sounds of a body being shook echoing in the chamber. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW LONG IT'S BEEN SINCE YOU SUMMONED US?!"

"LET ALONE THE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT'S PASSED SINCE WE LAST SAW EACH OTHER?!" another voice- somewhat more collected than the previous- screamed as she joined in the shaking. "YOU MADE US THINK YOU'D FORGOTTEN ABOUT US, YOU CALLOUS BASTARD!" Even though they weren't on the end of this current tongue lashing, everyone could feel the barbs hitting them.

And for a good number of people, felt sorry for the poor Multiverser.

"I-I'm sorry!" he cried. "I meant to summon you earlier, I swear! But I had a lot of shit to deal with!" The two voices *Hmph'd* at that. Sighing, Michael said "I swear, I'll make this up to you. Just name your price."

"...The most expensive restaurant you can find," the passionate voice stated.

"Done."

"Candlelit dinner," the more collected voice added.

"Obviously."

"And you're going to be spending that entire day doing whatever we want," the former added. "And Hell help you if you try to decamp from this arrangement!"

"I will, I promise. However, before that can happen, I need your help with something."

"Oh really?" they asked irritably.

"Yeah," he said. "We're currently fighting against a bunch of cultists and their asshole of a deity." Many glares went to the smoke. "Said cult is trying to raise Hell on Earth."

The two unknown females had their interests piqued. "Really?" they asked.

"Yep. And guess how they plan on doing it?" Silence was his answer. "By forcing someone to marry the cult leader, whom he also intends to forcefully consummate said 'marriage' with."

A cold fury spiked from the smoke-filled area, with the smoke quickly beginning to dissipate.

"Basically," he continued, everyone feeling the smirk on his face through the smoke, "he thinks himself above...the rules."

(Play "Scanty & Kneesocks Theme - I Want You (With Lyrics)")

"...Is that so?" they both coldly inquired at once, sending chills down many a spine.

The smoke cleared up more, revealing two standing, feminine figures...with what appeared to be horns on their heads, and glowing yellow eyes. The one on the left had a single horn sticking out of their forehead, while the one on the right had two on either side of her head.

"Well, dear sister, it appears that we have some work to do," the individual on the right, "if these recalcitrant little popinjays think they can get away with this atrocious action."

"Indeed, sister," the individual on the left agreed. "These cultists are in desperate need of a schooling. And sometimes, the most inestimable lessons...are the most laborious."

"True. Shall we, Scanty?"

"Let's, Kneesocks."

With a gust of wind, the smoke cleared, revealing the two women for all to see. Floating before everyone, clear as day, were two female demons. Both with red skin, horns on their heads, prehensile red tails, glowing pink devil wings, and a pair of double-layered irises (yellow and green) for their eyes.

The one on the left, the elder of the two, had long light green hair reaching down to her knees. She wore a black leather miniskirt, black high heel boots, a black bra (which went over her noticeably large breasts), a collar, and several studded belts and wristbands. She also appeared to have small fangs, clearly seen through her smirk.

The one on the left had long light blue hair, tied up in a ponytail, and wore a pair of glasses. Unlike her sister, she had a much smaller bust. Just like her sister, though, she wore a BDSM-like outfit: a black leather miniskirt and strapped bra, black knee socks, black heels, and several black leather belts, collars and wristbands. She, too, had small fangs shown by her smirk.

"Break, O earth."

As they spoke, the elder of the two reached underneath her skirt, slowly sliding two pairs of black thongs down her thighs.

"Dry up, O sea."

The younger then did the same, though she chose to perform this act on her knee socks instead.

"Burn out, O sun."

With those words, the two sisters removed their respective garments completely.

"Grant us power, O earthly leaders and gatekeepers of Hell."

The duo twirled their clothing around, causing them to glow. The elder's thongs then transformed into twin black/golden revolvers. The younger's knee socks, meanwhile, transformed into twin black/golden scythes. The duo wielded both weapons menacingly as they fully brought their attention to the cultists.

"Guide us, makers of the Underworld! We are high-class Demon Commanders!"

"I'm Scanty Daemon!" spoke the green-haired demoness.

"And I'm her darling little sister, Kneesocks Daemon!" continued the blue-haired demoness.

"Huh?!" Victor cried out.

"What the-?!" Donna exclaimed.

Raven, in shock, could only stare at the two demoness sisters.

"Well that's...unexpected," Megan admitted.

"On that we can agree," Kaldur nodded, with Conner doing the same.

"Weird," Robin said, shaking his head.

"He can summon demons?" Kory asked in surprise.

"...Hot," Wally drooled, eyes oggling the two sisters.

"Wally, if you wish to have kids one day, I'd recommend you stop talking," Adam warned, groaning as he picked himself back up.

Face-palming, Architect muttered "/The amount of supernatural elements being summoned tonight is beginning to annoy us./"

"You summon two lower demons to face me?" Trigon chuckled darkly (and in amusement). "You must be truly desperate to stop what's meant to happen."

Glaring at the spectral shade, Scanty inquired "So, am I to assume this uncouth bastard is the one these fools are trying to bring back?"

"Got it in one, Scanty," Michael nodded. "Sorry to ask this of you, but I was wondering if you could teach him respect, while Bassy and I have a little 'chat' about his group's actions," he finished, glaring at Blood himself.

"As if you even need to ask, beloved," Kneesocks responded for herself and her sister. "It would be our pleasure to teach such a prideful upstart a lesson."

"No time like the present, eh sister?" Scanty asked.

"Indeed," the bluenette agreed with her verdette sister. Brandishing their golden weapons, Kneesocks added "I hope you're prepared to learn what happens..."

Readying her guns, Scanty continued "When scum like you..."

The sisters lunged forward, saying as one "BREAK THE RULES!"

And so, Scanty raised her revolvers and began to fire, an endless amount of bullets hitting the demonic father of Raven's skin, some bouncing off, others going right through him. Growling in irritation, he fired back with his beams. The crimson bolts struck the floor before them, shattering it in a controlled explosion.

However, as he was busy attacking Scanty, he failed to notice Kneesocks approaching him from behind, her scythe raised as she brought it down on the back of his left leg. "AAGH!" he cried, falling down onto one leg in pain, before rearing back on her. "Impudent troglodyte! You dare to maim me?!"

"Of course I dare, you unbearable curmudgeon!" Kneesocks said, ripping her scythe out right, right as Scanty fired twelve shots directly through Trigon's face. "You broke the rules, so you must pay, you feeble excuse for a demon!"

Scanty was now on top of Trigon's head, filling it with an endless supply of lead while giving a massive grin. "Exactly! Nobody gets away with crimes like this when we're around!" she exclaimed.

The shots ended, however, when a large red hand grabbed her by the neck.

"Rules?! RULES?!" Slamming her into her sister, he stated "Harlots! The only 'rule' that matters here, IS MY OWN!" An energy blast from his eyes punctuated his statement, intended to vaporize the sisters.

*CRASH!*

*FWOOSH!*

Or it would've, if a fireball didn't suddenly smash through the ceiling and hit the Trigon in the face, which was now starting to look like it was shoved into a barbecue and left to burn for days. The pained screams added on to that description rather well.

Looking toward the hole, Michael, Scanty and Kneesocks- all confused- wondered where that came from. And got their answer as hand came through the hole, pulling through to show the demon from earlier, now looking like it had been beaten to death, trying desperately to escape what was attacking it. But right as it was about to climb through...

*SNAP*

It lurched forward, now looking back as everyone could faintly see a scaled outline of Thuban's mouth chomping the demon's legs, before shooting back into the skies, dragging the demon with it.

(End "Scanty & Kneesocks Theme - I Want You (With Lyrics)")

(Play "YES - ROUNDABOUT (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure ED1) || RichaadEB & Caleb Hyles")

Silence was all that reigned for a while.

Then...

"...Well, I think we ought to go back to dealing with our own vermin problem," Kneesocks said plainly. Scanty nodded, and followed suit to attack the demonic conqueror.

Nodding as well, Michael said "Uh, yeah. You...You do that..."

"Adam?" Wally asked.

"Yeah?" Adam asked back.

"...You have some weird partners," The speedster was now officially wondering just how many things Adam has done with said partners. From what he's seen so far, an artificial intelligence made of his own brain waves, and a dragon...he was left wondering just what kind of shit did Adam get into?

'Questions for later. In the meantime...' In the midst of the chaos, Michael scanned for a single figure to focus his frustration on...and promptly found him. 'Time for Round 2, Bassy...' Michael thought darkly, finally finding the evil cult leader as he regained his footing.

And with determination, he made his way through the crowd to finish the fight.

[=/=/=To Be Continued...]


I know, I know. What kind of person am I to leave things hanging right at this moment? To be fair, I was originally planning to have this chapter and the next as one big chapter. However, it grew to the point where I thought it needed to be split up, otherwise it would leave too much crammed into one chapter. Not ready for that JUST yet.

Those come later. Until then, we hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as we enjoyed writing it.

Indeed, Bio. And man, did this arc get good. With Michael now suffering from Negatium wounds to the chest, the Team having to fight their way out of the clutches of the Church of Blood, and their deity Trigon summoned, things are looking pretty grim for our heroes. However, if you're familiar with Multiversers, you know that they'll find a way to win.

Until then, please leave a review/comment, so I can know what you think. BUT NO FLAMES, as those will be ignored and/or reported!

Well said. Hero of the Multiverse, over and out.