XI

Encounter

It was the deafening boom from behind that gave Robin his cue, and the instant he landed in an extreme crouch his cape draped across him. The blast-wave passed over, and bits of debris pelted harmlessly off the thin but durable material protecting him. Of course, in this instance the cape sufficed as proper cover as the target had been decimated to paper-thin fragments. When the wind died down, Robin dropped the corners of his cape and stood up, letting the tiny particles slide harmlessly off the black material. He looked up to Cyborg and Beast Boy near the control station.

"Much faster," Cyborg announced from the training simulation computer. "It helped you clobbered three targets at once with a single grappling shot. Improved your time by twelve seconds."

"Sweet!" Beast Boy cheered, throwing his arms into the air. "This extra training is paying off! I can't imagine being any sharper than we are now!"

"We have to keep training. If this Trigon Raven and Zerrich are talking about is as bad as he sounds, we'll be fighting a battle well beyond anything we've ever fought. We have to get better."

Without flinching Beast Boy relaxed his posture to a full slump. "Auuuuuugh! Can't I at least take a breather for a couple of hours? My whole everything hurts!"

Robin knew the team was pushing harder than they ever had. It had barely been two weeks since Raven had told the Titans about her father. It surprised everyone—though on most levels, it made a lot of sense—to find out Raven was half-demon. Robin, though, felt more in the dark than his team. Starfire had heard of Trigon through legend, and both Cyborg and Beastboy seemed to have an idea of what Raven was talking about. And, of course, it was the entire reason behind Zerrich's arrival, as well as saving Azarath. At least, according to him. It was a small matter. The focus, of course, turned to the fact that Trigon was going to destroy everything they all knew if they couldn't stop him.

"Robin's right, man," Cyborg corroborated. "Even Starfire warned about this dude. He's gotta be pretty nasty if two totally different worlds are antsy about 'im."

"Speaking of Starfire," Robin straightened out a bit and turned his head, "give her the signal to begin. She's already in position."

"You got it," Cyborg answered, pressing the large green button on the console in front of him. It was a moment later that the timer went off, and Starfire started her training run. She was off her feet in a heartbeat, speeding towards the first obstacle and surrounding targets at a determined pace.

"Twenty bucks says Star beats out Rob's new record," Cyborg muttered to Beast Boy.

"Yer on," Beast Boy grinned.

Robin didn't mind the competition in the least, even against him. Anything that could motivate the team to increase their overall ability was a plus. Robin watched as Starfire continued through the course almost flawlessly, flying between stunner turrets, blasting targets, maneuvering with fascinating finesse and executing precision strikes with ease. It was an elegant but lethal dance through the air Robin never got tired of watching. Starfire hit her last targets and settled down in front of Robin with a bright smile on her face. It was that same friendly smile she had first given after repelling the Gordanian attack on the city a few years back, and it always warmed him inside to see it. Not that he ever let on to anyone—as far as he knew.

"Have I done well?" She asked.

It took a moment for Robin to snap back to reality and check the timer board behind him. Starfire had come in two seconds under Robin's new time. Behind the console, a grumpy Beast Boy slapped a twenty-dollar bill into an ear-to-ear-grinning Cyborg's hand.

"Uh," Robin finally managed, scratching the back of his head. "You did fine, Star. In fact, that's the biggest improvement yet. We've all improved big-time these past couple of weeks."

Starfire gave a squee and an even brighter smile at her accomplishment, but also for the team's. "Agreed. We have all come a long way in such a short time."

"Sooo," Beast Boy interrupted, "who's up next?"

Robin turned back to the console. "You are."

"Ugh! Didn't I just go…what, four turns ago?"

"Uuuuh," Cyborg said, "that'd be about right."

"You know, speaking of that," Beast Boy said, "what the hell is Raven up to? Her and Zerrich seem to be getting off pretty easy. All they get to do is study. I wanna study too!" It was a moment later Beast Boy clutched at his forehead. "I can't believe I just went and said that…"

Robin looked up to the Tower. "I'll take care of Zerrich. He needs learn how to fight hand-to-hand. Right now, though, he and Raven need to study up on everything they can find on Trigon and a way to stop him."

Robin looked back out towards the bay. The Titans had followed what leads had come up in the past two weeks, but in regards to who in the city was tied into Trigon or the flame demons there was nothing. It was an unsettling idea in Robin's mind that whoever was responsible was still out there somewhere, and that there was still the possibility that individual was Slade. For the moment, Robin was putting his concentration into upping the ante on his team's abilities. In the short run, it seemed to be paying off.

"Do you really think the five of us and our new friend can make that kinda difference?" Cyborg queried.

"I don't know. I just know we can't sit around and wait. That's why I need you to call me in a favor."

"Oh, really?" Cyborg raised his brow. "This who I think it is? What, you don't think they'd listen to you?"

"They would," Robin grinned, "but they seem to like you more."

Cyborg simply smiled. "Aw, I feel so loved all of a sudden. Ain't it great?" Cyborg enjoyed his moment for a bit longer before jabbing Beast Boy in the shoulder. "Now, get yo' butt to the start line and beat Star's time!"

"Ow!" Beast Boy complained. "I'm going, jeez!"

Robin looked back to the Tower towards the wing that held Raven's room. Inside, he knew that their success was probably sitting directly on Raven's shoulders. No one could possibly be more aware of that than Raven, herself.

-

-

"I haven't tried a spell like this one, before," Raven muttered, sprinkling a final ingredient into the plate in front of her. Just on the other side of the plate was Zerrich, sitting between two flames. Raven also had candles on either side, all a part of the mystery ritual.

"I learned it recently," Zerrich answered as he traced the stick in his hand through the pile, creating a strange symbol. "I was hoping to make it useful if it turned out we could be allies."

"You're sure it'll work like it's supposed to?" Raven queried. Zerrich had explained the use of the spell to her. The incantation, according to him, would allow a clear connection between their abilities and enhance their coordination when using magic together. Anything that could help harmonize their efforts in the coming battle would be quite useful.

"I memorized the way the spell was to be performed. Just say the incantation as I do." Zerrich finished with the symbol in the mixed pile of sand and other dusts on the plate. He then reached to his side and took a good pinch of some kind of powder between his fingers. Raven watched as he sprinkled it precisely within the traced lines of symbol within the pile. He then reached for the same stick as before, held it over the flame to his left and then touched it to the plate of ingredients. The symbol flared to life, glowing in between the two mages.

"We're ready. Give me both your hands."

Raven nodded, knowing her part was coming up. "If I turn into some fluffy rabbit instead, I'm going to kill you."

"Try not to distract me," Zerrich said, fighting off a smirk. "I'm not as good at emotional control as you."

"Sorry," Raven recovered. She reached out with both arms on either side of the plate in front of her. Zerrich took her hands as she closed her eyes. He started the verse once through, and on the second chant, Raven joined in. After a few chants in, she felt oddly cold at her sides. Had the candles next to her gone out? Even with her lids shut, she could sense a bright light in front of her penetrating the protective skin over her eyes. She concentrated on the spell, rhythmically chanting the words in unison with Zerrich.

At some point into the spell, she could feel a strange sense in her mind. It was almost a tingling sensation. However, it didn't last long. It took a moment for her to realize it, but the tingling started traveling down her neck and to her chest, then to the pit of her stomach. She grew slightly startled as she felt the demon inside of her surface a moment. She realized the tingling had come back up to her shoulders, and it began to branch down her arms. Her chanting grew louder.

The tingling sensation grew stronger. Raven's arms felt almost like they were burning, but there was no pain. The sensation was flowing through her arms, feeling as if it was disappearing through her fingertips. The demon inside suddenly began to shrink. No…not shrink. The blackness of her father's side was still there, but its influence, its power, was fading away and becoming distant. The energy flowing through her arms seemed to come directly from the pit of her stomach. Directly from her soul.

Raven's powers…

"Stop!" she shouted, pulling away from Zerrich. She opened her eyes to a blinding yellow light, which dissolved as soon as she had let go of Zerrich's hands. The symbol in the pile of ingredients ceased glowing, though all four candles were still lit. Raven looked up at Zerrich, ready to question him about what he was trying to do, but his expression stopped her. He was looking at his open hands in confusion. He flexed them slightly then looked up at Raven.

"This isn't right," he whispered between the two of them.

"What just happened?" she asked, sternly.

Zerrich shook his head, still confused. "I don't…I'm not entirely sure." He put his hands down, standing up slowly.

Raven grew wary of the situation. That was when she noticed something. Her instinct started suppressing her emotions, but the weight of power that usually fought back wasn't there. At least, it wasn't there at full strength. She thought back to the power flowing from her limbs, and her mind concentrated on the blackness within her that now felt very distant…

…Oh no!

Raven got up quickly. "Zerrich, it is important that you keep control of your emotions."

Zerrich looked back to Raven, cocking his head sideways. "I'm not sure I…"

"You have some of my power," she warned. "I think some of my soul-self transferred into you during the spell."

Comprehension spread across Zerrich's face, and he looked to his arms. "That's what that was. Something seemed to course through my arms, directly into me. I thought it was part of the ritual."

"I don't think so," Raven shook her head. "I don't know what spell you memorized, but I doubt this was meant to happen. Right now, you need to stay focused."

Zerrich looked around, almost as if he were attempting to look within himself. "No. No, this was definitely not supposed to happen."

"Zerrich," Raven said, firmly. "Please concentrate. I don't think I need to explain why."

Zerrich put his arms down, but he still looked as if he were contemplating the situation. Raven didn't blame him. Then, Zerrich looked over at her. "Shouldn't I be feeling something? Some dark evil…thing from deep within pushing to take over?"

It was then that Raven reached out with her mind, searching for the darkness of her soul within Zerrich. She couldn't sense anything.

Raven looked back to him. "Zerrich, you do something that blocks my telepathic ability. I need you to stop so I can…I need to get a better idea of what has happened."

Zerrich's brow rose slightly. "Oh, that. It's a ward. I'll have to soften it a moment. The spell doesn't take well to being removed prematurely."

Raven shook her head. "I'll ask you about that later. How long does it…"

Raven stopped her question, as Zerrich had already closed his eyes and was muttering something quietly. Raven increased her senses and concentrated on Zerrich's presence. She felt her own familiar power stirring within him, but she was surprised when she discovered the darkness that usually accompanied it was not there. She searched for a few moments longer before relaxing her mind.

"I don't understand," she said at last. "My power is fueled by my father's side. It's inherently evil."

Zerrich cocked his head. "Maybe there's still a separation."

"How could there be?"

"Think about it for a moment. The thing your power comes from is evil. The power itself, however, is simple energy. If the spell inadvertently siphoned the energy alone…"

"It would leave the dark influence behind," Raven finished. "Right."

Zerrich relaxed a bit then brought his hand up to shoulder level. He balled up his fist slowly, as if he were feeling something in his grasp. "If I delve deep enough, I can sense it. There's more power there."

"My power," Raven retorted. She looked to the floor a moment as she contemplated. The demon inside was quieter, muffled. The power it wielded was suddenly not as accessible as before.

"A spell to help balance our power," Raven scoffed. "By evening both our levels out."

Zerrich shook his head. "The spell was supposed to make us more in tune with each other's abilities. I don't think it meant sharing energy this literally…"

That was the moment the room turned red, and the warning klaxon blared to life along with it.

"You probably read the instructions wrong," Raven shot over her shoulder as she practically flew past Zerrich and out her front door. She didn't wait for his response as she made her way to the garage.

-

-

A stray speck of gravel plinked against the closed visor of Robin's helmet as he drove along side the T-car on his custom motorcycle. Both vehicles sped down the street as quickly as they could to their target destination. Starfire flew just behind the group, keeping up with ease. Cyborg was in his favorite place at the wheel with Beast Boy riding shotgun, and Raven and Zerrich in the backseats. Robin couldn't help but take a quick glimpse to his right at Zerrich. He had come along with the team to a few of the recent missions. It was Robin's decision, ultimately. If Zerrich were going to be at the tower, he would have to earn his keep somehow. That, and it made it easier for Robin to keep an eye on him.

It wasn't that Zerrich hadn't earned any respect from the Titan leader, though the trust factor hadn't been entirely resolved. Robin could name a few reasons why he wasn't letting go, a big one being Zerrich not coming forward about his true intentions to begin with. The other big one that bothered Robin was the fact that Zerrich had been willing to come to blows with Raven early on. Though, Robin had to be fair. Raven admitted to being the one that initiated each attack they'd had. Still, he could somewhat understand her reaction given the mystery about Zerrich. Maybe it was simply Robin being overprotective about his teammates.

The T-car veered right on a cross street, and Robin lurched the R-cycle over to keep with the team. It was that moment that the thick black smoke that could be seen from the Tower had come back into view. Only now, they could see the fire peeking up above the blocks of buildings still between it and the Titans. No cameras or information on the situation had come through except one thing. Something was on a rampage.

"All right, Cyborg," Robin spoke into his comm. "Let's double-time it. Step on the gas!" At the same time, Robin put up two closed fingers and double-pointed ahead of him. He knew Starfire had gotten his signal, and he gunned the engine for all it was worth. The fire itself was getting larger in front of them. It was partly because they were getting closer, but also because the rampage was extending.

"Let's find out who this creep is," Robin said to the team, "and take him down!" Robin brought two fingers skyward, pointing up twice for Starfire to climb higher into the air for a better vantage point. The team followed the street path ahead of them, turning at certain blocks to gain access to shortcuts.

"I cannot see any culprit to this crime," Starfire's voice burst through the comm. link in Robin's helmet. "I can only see the many burning buildings. The fire is spreading fast!"

"We're almost there!" Robin yelled into his helmet. "See if you can scout ahead, but don't get into any skirmishes until we can arrive." A moment later, Starfire flew ahead of the team; pocketing the small comm. device she had just finished using. The smoke ahead of the two vehicles started to get thick, and Robin switched on his helmet's heat vision to pierce through it. Brilliant white plumes were visible on the grayscale image of the block ahead of them. They were everywhere; coming out of windows, from husks of cars parked on the curbs or right in the middle of the road, from burning trees or anything else that could have been flammable. Luckily, the populace had mostly fled at this point, so the entire area was theirs. Still, there was no sign of any villain anywhere. Were they too late?

The smoke cleared as the Titans hit the center of the blaze, and everyone stopped where they were. Robin yanked off his helmet as he jumped from his bike, joining the team near the T-car. Starfire came from the sky, landing behind the group. It wasn't a moment later that a large fireball flew across the street in front of the Titans. Before it could hit the buildings on the other side, however, it streaked straight up.

"Okay, then," Cyborg began, "I'm thinkin' that wasn't some stray blast."

Sure enough, the ball of fire curved back around and headed for the ground. It slammed hard into the street, sending fire and debris in all directions. When the smoke and fire cleared, all the Titans could see was a blue flesh-looking envelopment sitting in the center of the new crater, small touches of fire slowly snuffing themselves out. It took a moment for the team to realize what they were looking at.

Wings. A pair of them, enveloping whatever manner of creature dwelled within. The blue wings slowly unwrapped themselves from their tight coil, the spindly skeleton within the elastic flesh relaxing and retracting away. The creature suddenly stood up, towering a good ten feet tall. The creature stretched its wings out to its sides before curling them up behind his shoulders. His powerful arms came out slightly extended from his body, the flesh-pink of his jagged claws flaring out from his extended fingertips. His head came up from its lowered position, and where there should have been eyes, red flames flared brightly from his eye sockets. Just above the lights of his eyes, a single horn grew from his forehead, the deep blue morphing into the blood red color of its tip. The long, thin mustache and forked goatee framed his dagger-like teeth as he bared them.

"Please, don't tell me," Beast Boy said from Robin's side, trying to hide his worry.

"Firnusium," Zerrich growled.

"Dude!" Beast Boy complained. "What did I just say!"

"In this form?" Raven questioned shaking her head, "I've never heard of one…"

"Fire is their main form," Zerrich said. "Not their only."

The creature took a step onto its elongated heel, letting its claws dig into the broken concrete as it started to walk. It growled a sound like molten lava threatening to explode into the sky. Robin crouched, grabbing for the explosive discs attached to his belt.

"Titans, G-"

Robin got no chance to finish as a ball of fire blasted from the flesh-colored claws of the demon's right hand. The team scattered as the blast of fire slammed into Robin's R-cycle. The vehicle didn't explode, but the bike itself was sent flying backwards to skid to a halt some twenty feet away. Robin had instinctively jumped to his left, rolling into a crouch and quickly looking for his team. . Raven and Starfire had already taken to the sky, Cyborg had leapt clear over the T-car and Beast Boy had simply disappeared. Before Robin could fear the worst, a green T-Rex took form seemingly from nowhere.

Figuring Beast Boy had morphed into something tiny enough during the initial attack, Robin went back for the discs at his belt and threw them forward. The blue creature swatted the explosions away, then charged for the green dinosaur in front of him. Beast Boy lowered his head to ram into the demon, but the opponent latched onto the top of Beast Boy's head as the Titan followed through. The T-Rex's head snapped up, but the demon would not be flung loose. No one dared fire at the demon as it clung to Beast Boy, snarling and thrashing his head back and forth to no avail. Robin tried to take advantage of the situation, climbing up Beast Boy's back and towards the enemy with his bo-staff extended. He took a flying leap towards the creature, but it let go with one arm and caught Robin's staff in mid swing. Flicking its wrist, the staff and Robin were tossed over the side of the green dinosaur and out of the way.

Robin tuck-rolled and landed as best he could, looking back in time to see a bright explosion of fire envelope the head of the dinosaur. When the flash died away, the humanoid form of Beast Boy slumped forward unconscious. The blue demon landed on its feet from falling higher up, its wings billowed out menacingly.

"I don't know who you think you are," Robin said, menacingly, "but we're sending you right back where you came from."

The creature stopped a moment, turning its head to Robin. The next moment, a mixture of green starbolts and blue sonic energy slammed into the demon's front and back, followed by a large car from above. The car caused the creature to drop to one knee. Starfire flew by, and Raven and Zerrich hovered from just above the action. Cyborg fired his sonic cannon again at the creature, causing it to stagger only slightly. Extending its lighter blue wings, the flame demon bucked the vehicle off its back and stood up. It sent a fireball at Zerrich, then turned its fiery gaze onto Raven. A blue field of energy encased Zerrich as the fire blasted harmlessly around him, but Raven stayed where she was.

The demon turned its head back to Robin, baring his teeth. "I am called," the molten voice began to speak, "Scourge. And I have found that which I have been sent for." It turned back to Raven, extending its claws for the girl in the air. A blast of fire shot from Scourge's hand, and Raven was forced to put up her defenses. The blast of fire forked into five individual streams of flame, arching around the protected Raven and wrapping back around until she was surrounded in a large net of flame. Robin grabbed a new set of discs from his belt, tossing three at the demon ahead of him. The devices exploded on contact, causing the air around the creature to drop in temperature rapidly. Columns of block ice formed around the monster, keeping it contained.

The deep blue demon under the ice began to glow until a body of flame danced about within the icy tomb. The frozen columns had no chance, shattering from the intensity of the flames and evaporating before they could touch ground. The body of flame extended fiery wings, and the entire ball of fire sped towards Robin. He was quick to dive out of the way, using a fourth freeze disc to create a temporary wall behind him. The ice again shattered when the creature's left wing sliced through it, but it served enough purpose to keep Robin from getting roasted. Sonic blue energy and green starbolts strafed at the fire creature, sinking into the flames of its body and doing absolutely nothing.

Robin looked back to Raven, still fighting to break the fire trap around her. Zerrich took a moment to harness his energy before blasting at one side of the net. It surprised Robin when the line of flames shattered like a solid object, snuffing out as the particles fell. The entire trap flared apart and disappeared, and both mages reentered the fight. Robin turned back to the fire creature, throwing another freeze disc into the center of the moving flames. It exploded, but it only succeeded in spraying a fine mist of evaporating water, never getting the chance to form into its ice block.

Stop, damn it. You know this isn't working!

The Titans reorganized and began their team tactics. Starfire quickly flew above Robin and scooped him up out of the way of a large fireball, Zerrich and Raven criss-crossed in the air as they maintained constant streams and pulse blasts of energy and Cyborg maintained strafing fire along the ground as he got to the fallen Beast Boy and hauled the green Titan over his shoulder. The fire demon crashed through a building window, sending fire everywhere. An explosion happened two levels up, and the same ball of fire raced through another window back out into the open. The flames fell away from Scourge as he flew towards Raven again, both of them stories above the streets. This time, his fists were surrounded in balls of fire, and Scourge blasted them ahead of Raven's flight path. She spun and corkscrewed in the air, returning fire with volleys of black magic. The beast took a few hits before he began swatting them away with his huge claws. Scourge continued his attacks.

Starfire maneuvered Robin in behind the demon, trying her best to keep up. The creature was simply too fast, and with the volley of fire keeping Raven from flying a straight path, it was gaining ground on her. Robin reached for his grappling hook, hoping to latch onto the monster's feet and keep with him. Before he could bring it out, a heavy stream of blue energy from above sliced across the air from one block to another. It made contact with Scourge's back, causing him to falter ever so slightly. Starfire and Robin gained on him a little. Another stream of blue energy attacked the demon from above. This time the entire blast stayed on him, and the Firnusium dipped a few stories down. Robin had his grappling hook out, and Starfire dove after the demon, gaining on the creature as it recovered. Robin found his shot and fired.

The grappling hook shot forward, wrapping around Scourge's left ankle. The demon's wings expanded out as he pulled for the sky. Starfire couldn't compensate in time, and the grappling line went taut. Starfire let Robin go, allowing him to keep with the target. The Boy Wonder's thumb clicked the side button, winding the line back in and getting him closer to the winged creature ahead of him. After dodging another of Zerrich's shots, Scourge reached back for his ankle. His claws curled around the cable attached to his leg, and with very little effort he severed the line.

Immediately, Robin started to descend. With his line broken, there was no way to grapple anything and swing to safety. His worry lasted all of a moment, though, as Starfire was close by to lend him a hand before he could become a mess on the street below. Both settled to the ground gently then looked up. Raven had come back around and was trying to keep ahead of the fire demon. Scourge, however, was too busy in an aerial skirmish with Zerrich. Brilliant flares of fire and streams of blue energy blasted across the sky as the two combatants dueled. A ball of flame exploded around a solid blue barrier as Zerrich defended himself. The counterattack was another dead-on blue stream of powerful energy, knocking Scourge back.

Robin suddenly realized something. Zerrich had never used streams of energy like that before. His attacks always came in pulses; balls of energy launched from his hands. The only time his energy appeared solid was when he formed his defenses, but there was never any blast power involved. Had he been holding back until now? Robin turned to see Cyborg and a much-better Beast Boy running up the way. Looking further up, Robin spotted Raven hovering in the air.

Why isn't she attacking? What's she thinking?

"Starfire, Beast Boy, Cyborg," Robin ordered, "get up there and help Zerrich beat that thing down."

The team reacted instantly, with Starfire flying straight for the battle and Beast Boy turning into a pterodactyl to carry Cyborg into the fray. Robin stayed below and simply watched the duel continue before the rest of the Titans could get back into it. He watched the power behind Zerrich's strikes, watched as the creature gave up maneuvering and opted to take on his fiery form. Was it really going to be this easy to defeat one of these fire demons after all?