Chapter 17

Still in her white costume designed by Father Thomas, Raven soared through the air, against the wind. A dark and dismal feeling was within her. The feeling that this was all a nightmare, and she wanted to wake up. Her greatest fears were being realized.

Constantine had turned evil.

But the motherly part of her thought this impossible. Constantine couldn't be the antichrist, could he? Though she was levitating at a reasonable rate, Raven still found herself short of breath. Her breath escaped her because of a single truth that lingered in her mind: she had given birth to the antichrist.

This meant that Constantine would single-handedly usher in a new age of darkness, one ruled by Satan. It could not be true. Oz had to be wrong. Jeff knew he was going to have a son, but did he know it would be the antichrist? Jeff would not have gone through with such a plan if his offspring were meant for evil.

Jeff knew what his son was meant for, didn't he?

Raven wondered why her husband would go along with a plan envisaged by his mother, an angel, if it were to lead to an unholy end. Angels were holy beings, Raven knew that much. Raven did not doubt her husband, but would she doubt her son?

Memories flushed through her mind.

---


-Begin Flashback-

"Constantine," Raven said to her eleven-year-old son, "It's time."

"For what, Mom?"

"For you to continue in your father's work."

"But," Constantine protested, "I don't even know my father."

Father Thomas approached the two of them, still blind as ever.

"Is the young one ready?"

"No he is not," Constantine answered stubbornly.

"Just a moment, Father Thomas."

Then Raven took her son aside. She was not angry with him, but concerned in a loving manner.

"Constantine, this is very important."

"Can't somebody else do it?"

"There is no one else. Your father was the last."

"Then maybe," Constantine suggested, "It should end with him."

"Constantine."

Father Thomas intervened, "Young man, your father was one of the bravest souls I have ever met. Despite his mortality, he fought on – for the simple reason of vanquishing evil. I will always remember him."

"Well, I want to be remembered too!"

Raven steadied Constantine, "What my slightly arrogant son is trying to say is: He'd love to become a Knight. Right, Constantine?"

"Well, sure! If I get to be the best."

"You won't have any competition," Father Thomas assured him.

"Well, that's not any fun."

Raven squatted down to Constantine's level. Her hands were on his shoulders. She looked at his eyes. She saw Jeff in him.

"Constantine, the training will be tough, and what may seem like a punishment is really the steps in your father's legacy. You will experience many hardships in this 'business,' but like your father, I believe that you will do well."

"Don't worry, Mom. I can control my powers, so this will be a piece of cake."

"Always remember, my son," Raven pulled him in close to her face, "Never let loose the darkness inside you. I had the same powers when I was your age. And the more you experience, the more you want to unleash them. When you reach my age, you won't have to. Never lose control, Constantine.

"And remember that I love you… always."

Constantine nodded.

"Now run and play, little one," said Father Thomas kindly, "I'll call you in a few minutes. But first I must speak with your mother."

Constantine ran off a few paces, musing himself with the baptismal font in The Chapel. Raven sighed as she watched him. Her little boy was growing up. Father Thomas was at her side.

"It's strange, Father Thomas. When I was a child, I had to force myself to meditate. It was the only way to control my powers, and keep them from controlling me. But my son… is so different. He rarely meditates.

"It's like his powers come naturally."

"Sort of like when you were with Jeff?"

Raven blushed, "Yes. With him I felt an emotion that my body did not react to negatively. I was able to express myself. Before him, I could never get close to anyone. I thought I was destined to be alone. What was it, Father Thomas? When I was with him, everything seemed easier. Has he past on the same leisure to my son?"

"I think because Jeff is your husband, when you met him, everything clicked. It all made sense. Destiny was unfolding. Why your son exhibits these traits on his own is still unknown to me, but I think… he is the combination of you two. He is the unity. He is the feeling you had, the feeling that you didn't need to meditate. The feeling that you could love."

"Yes, but that was for another. With Constantine, this feeling might only come for himself. I sense much arrogance and pride within him. I only pray that it will not consume him. Father Thomas, have I been a good mother?"

Father Thomas smiled.

"I mean," Raven continued, "Have I raised him right? I did all I could. But with Jeff not here, it was difficult. I tried to raise him in the faith. I tried to…"

Father Thomas knew what she was thinking, "Constantine is meant for something entirely different from Jeff. When the time comes, he will fulfill his destiny, just as Jeff did.

"I believe you did exactly what you were supposed to do, Raven – be his mother."

Raven hadn't felt warm in a long time, but now she did. If only Jeff was here with her, to witness their son becoming a Knight of the Kingdom of God. Jeff would be proud. Raven was happy and sad at the same time. A small fear lingered in the back of her mind – was Constantine another Jeff… or another Raven?

"Constantine," Father Thomas called, "I have something to show you!"

The young boy ran over eagerly. Father Thomas knelt down to a chest that had been closed for many years. Though Raven had assumed the profession temporarily, there was a period of 'peace' from monsters. Father Thomas opened the chest.

Constantine watched in amazement as Father Thomas slowly lifted Jeff's mask.

-End Flashback-

---

That was a long time ago, and Raven's mind returned to the present. She was flying over New York City. It was destroyed. Fires emitted from all over, covering the land. The Statue of Liberty was ruined. Buildings were demolished.

Smoke puffed up from the ground. The horrible days of Dracula shown darkly in Raven's eyes. Was this the end of the world? The city lay empty. No people were around. Police cars were flipped over. The area was quiet. Raven smelled the foul odor of decay.

A city was destroyed, but a world was in danger.

Trigon's will was done. If this was Constantine's doing, Trigon had succeeded. Raven loved her son, but what if he really was the antichrist, the devourer of worlds? Would she sacrifice the Earth because of a promise to Jeff and the love for her offspring?

No birds in the sky.

No sun to shine.

Only ash to burn.

Raven's eyes watered as she muttered the words "Azarath Metrion Zinthos" increasing her powers of levitation to make her go faster. She still had faith.

Faith.

That was the one element that Jeff always reinforced. Faith in God, faith in ourselves, faith in one another. Raven was believing. She had faith in Constantine. He was still her son, and she was still his mother. She would not let him down.

The two hair threads were blowing in the wind from Raven's speed. She was close to the ground. The dust was jumping up as soon as she past by. Raven promised herself that the world would not end today.

Today.

This was the same day that Constantine was conceived. Raven remembered. Was this destiny? To happen on such an eventful day? The day before her husband died. The day before she realized she was pregnant. Constantine's existence began on this day, it would surely not end on it too.

Tears streamed down Raven's face as she pressed on, focusing on the place where negative energy was spouting. The place where the fate of the world would be decided.

---

Beast Boy was on his knees, exhausted from witnessing Constantine reach such a power level. His eyes stared blankly at the ground. He had put up a valiant effort, but Constantine was right – it was not enough.

Constantine's sword was firmly in his hand. The edge of the blade slowly made it's way to Beast Boy's neck. Then Constantine drew back the sword, preparing to strike.

Raven arrived on the scene just then. She telekinetically sent a piece of building at Constantine, in an attempt to stop him. The attack did knock him back a few paces, but did not stop him. Constantine punched the piece of debris off of him, which sent it flying a few hundred yards.

Raven ran up to her son and grabbed him by the neck. She lifted him off the ground.

"Constantine!" Raven cried out, "What are you doing?!"

"Only what I am meant to," Constantine gagged.

"You're not meant to do this!"

"Mother, the entire world wants me dead. It's time they learned their place."

"The entire world doesn't even know who you are, Son! There are billions of lives that you are about to destroy, and over half of them haven't even heard your name. Think about what you're doing. Only a few want you destroyed, not all.

"I still love you."

Constantine removed his mask. The face of Jeff looked at Raven. He saw the tears in her eyes. Raven was distressed. She saw the demonic eyes on his forehead. While the mask was on, the eyes were glowing bright red.

"Constantine, I have heard terrible things about you. Please, tell me they are not true. Tell me you are not meant to destroy the world. Tell me this is all just a misunderstanding."

"That is all you will ever be – my mother. I appreciate your concern, but it is fruitless. I've broken every commandment."

"So you sell your soul? To what end? For what reason?"

"There is no hope for me, Mother."

"There is always hope, my son. Even in the darkest of times. I still have faith in you."

Constantine saw that Raven was implying something more than just the literal meaning.

"Mom, what are you getting at?"

"Why must you be the antichrist?"

Constantine's eyes widened. Something inside of him was defying all control. All manipulation was suddenly ceased for one moment. Or did it? With one simple sentence Constantine was defying everything that made the moments before possible, and a single moment of affection escaped his lips. A conscious yet unconscious Constantine spoke.

"Mom, I'm not the antichrist."

Raven let him go, and he touched the ground again. Such affection could not be manipulation, could it? That had to be the real Constantine in there, right?

After that, the world began to function again as the way it was. Raven knew that something was different, deep down. Something was being altered. It was not just the world, it was…

Beast Boy was breathing deeply, watching the whole thing. He slowly rose to his feet, expecting an attack from Constantine. When he was sure that Constantine would not attack, he did what he learned – if your opponent won't attack, you attack them before they get another chance. It was the only way to survive.

Beast Boy made a slight charge at Constantine. He was impeded by Raven.

"Out of the way!" Beast Boy demanded, "I must kill him!"

"No," Raven said softly, "You will not."

Beast Boy stood back, "You betray me? You betray the world?"

"While there are many who have betrayed my son, I will not. I believe him. Even if he's the antichrist, I won't be disloyal to him. I made a promise, and I intend to keep it.

"I stand by my son... no matter what he is."

"Compassion is a mistake, Raven," Beast Boy warned, "He'll hurt you for this. He'll hurt us all."

"Then maybe it's time we start looking at ourselves, and see who we've hurt," Raven said, "Maybe it's time we start protecting and trusting my son. He is not evil. I have faith in him. If this really is the end of the world, there's no one else I'd rather stand by."

"Faith will get you killed," Cyborg said as he slowly approached, his northern hemisphere now connected to his southern, "it got Jeff killed."

"Faith also kept me alive," Raven argued kindly.

"Raven is right," Starfire flew in, "we must not betray Constantine."

Cyborg agreed. This was not a moment to be thinking of oneself, Raven needed her friends now... and even if Constantine was or was not the antichrist, he was determined to stand by Raven.

Beast Boy protested, "After all he's done to us?! He's killed innocent people! He nearly killed us too! And he would have done so without a second thought!"

"Beast Boy," said Raven, "You don't know Constantine."

"And maybe that's the one edge I have," he rebuked, "because I was never there to become attached to Jeff and little Constantine, I am the only one not being manipulated by his treachery!"

"Perhaps you are right," Starfire said, "But I trust in Raven's judgement."

Cyborg joined her side. Constantine, Raven, Starfire, and Cyborg were all looking at a reluctant Beast Boy. He said nothing.

Suddenly, the earth began to quake. It was happening the same way as before, when Dracula arrived. The ground shook and cracked. Not too far away from the Titans a gaping hole opened, and a red figure came out. On the left side of his waist hang a whip of yellow light, holstered with a red handle.

Raven gasped, "Oh no."

The giant demon known as Trigon stepped out of the ground, free from his realm. If Azarath could not be destroyed, Earth would be. This was one last effort to make Raven join him, and if not Raven, someone of her bloodline.

"Is that…?" Beast Boy asked.

"Trigon, my father."

"How did he escape?"

He was truly a towering figure. But then something happened. He shrunk down to the size of Cyborg. He was no longer a giant.

"Raven, what is happening?" Starfire inquired fearfully.

"He has sensed Constantine's power, and he wants to match it. So, he's sacrificing everything for raw power and brute strength. Everything. Size, speed, intelligence…"

"Intelligence?"

Then Trigon cried out, "Me want Earth! This mine!"

"Intelligence," Raven confirmed, "Every second he spends in here he becomes even more savage and vicious than ever before. Eventually he'll gain so much power that he'll be like a raging lunatic… and no one will be able to stop him."

"I can."

It was Constantine. Raven was shocked to hear him say that.

"No!" She objected, "You least of all! You are my son! I will not lose you!"

"You won't, Mom. I can take this guy."

"No you can't!"

"Is he worse than Dracula?"

Raven hesitated.

Constantine smirked as he put on his mask, "It doesn't matter. My father's killer is not this monster. He will not hurt anyone, Mom."

"Constantine… No…"

"It's time I put my skills to the test, Mom. He is going down."

"Please…"

"I'm only at fifty percent. If I go seventy-five, he won't stand a chance."

"Who fight me?!" Trigon roared.

Raven stood in front of Constantine. Then Trigon's eye beam knocked her away, and unconscious… for the moment.

"Hey!" Constantine shouted, "You've dealt with her enough! It's time you deal with me!"

Then he turned to the Teen Titans, "Please leave now."

"What?!" Cyborg and Beast Boy objected loudly.

"Do it! Now!" Constantine commanded.

Cyborg picked Raven up. He, Beast Boy, and Starfire all moved relatively far away. Cyborg looked at Beast Boy.

"Now are you happy that's not your kid?"

"Hmph. If he can do what I think he can do… then I'm proud… of Jeff."

"It takes a lot to say that, man."

"I know."

Raven came to. She groaned. When she opened her eyes, there was a blur for a moment. Then she saw the other Titans standing over her, but she noticed that Constantine was not with them. She gasped.

"Where is my son?!"

"Easy," Cyborg comforted her.

Then she looked up and saw Trigon and her son.

"My father is too strong," she whimpered, "and I don't want to see my son get hurt!"

"Now now, I would not count Constantine out yet," Starfire stated.

"Huh?" Raven hoped.

"You can still see fire in his face… Look!" Starfire pointed to Jeff's son, "That is not the look of a desparate man, that is the face of a true champion."

Constantine's eyes narrowed. Here we go. Seventy five percent. Then Constantine noticed something that utterly ticked him off – Trigon was asleep standing up! How dare he?! That bum!

"You wanna see the real me?" Constantine asked the snoring Trigon, "Well here it comes!"

Constantine separated his hands, they were lowered to his waist. Constantine took a deep breath. Everything depended on him. His mom was watching. She told him to never unleash the true power – it would lead to his destruction. But Constantine's pride was too great.

Constantine gritted his teeth as he summoned every Jeff and Raven cell in his body to give him more energy. Jeff's determination and Raven's powers made Constantine. He was a superhero, and he was ready to show it. No more holding back. This was it.

The negative energy circled him. Trigon was still asleep. Constantine focused hard. His body shook like before. It was harder to contain himself this time. The desire to unleash all of it was overwhelming. But Constantine's pride told him that his opponent was not ready for his true and ultimate power – and would never be. Constantine knew that Trigon would be blown away by a power so great he would not believe it came from his daughter.

"You should have never sired Raven!" He shouted, "Because now it will come back to haunt you!"

The sparkling negative was picking up little bits of rock and pebbles. They were circling Constantine. Then Constantine could not hold in the inner screams. He let loose loud shouts never heard before. The Teen Titans were amazed to watch such power develop. Constantine continued to shout.

"Azarath! Metrion! ZINTHOS!"

It took much power to keep his clothes on. It seemed like they desperately wanted to leave his body. The negative energy was flowing in and out of him. A rare white flame emitted from his body, followed by the familiar black flame, then the white flame again.

Then Constantine generated a tornado, and he was at the heart of it. The power twisted around his hovering body. The rocks and pieces of earth had to obey their master. Constantine's power was controlling each and every little thing around him.

Years ago, Raven eyes emanated a white smoke – it was the power of Constantine that helped her avenge Jeff and fight Dracula. That same smoke was being released by Constantine's eyes. His ultimate power was near. Dark and light shadows crawled around him as he gained more and more strength. The clouds left the sky and joined Constantine, they became part of the tornado.

Pebbles were flung in to the air. They were pushed away and drawn to Constantine. Little stones beat upon the sleeping face of Trigon. His eyes slowly opened, he was roused. But Trigon wasn't the only one. Constantine shouts became shrieks as felt the joy and satisfaction of reaching such a power level. He knew that he was surpassing all the others.

His torn trench coat whipped in the wake of Constantine's wind. It looked like a frightened animal trying to escape Constantine's demonic grip over it. Constantine was indeed releasing his inner demons. Fear, hate, anger. They were all flowing through him. The surge was being felt by all.

"Wow," Cyborg said as he tried to hold himself from falling apart, "Constantine's power is off the charts!"

"And Trigon's?"

"His doesn't even read."

"What does that mean?"

"How the heck would I know? It's just my eye."

Raven cried out in desperation, "No! Constantine! That's too much! Don't go that far!"

But Constantine wasn't listening. He was too busy pushing the envelope. Trigon felt this too. The ground beneath his feet became slightly liquid as his feet slowly sunk into it. Trigon felt compelled to watch this boy push himself even further.

Constantine was doing it. Seventy five percent was not too far away. Even citizens far away felt his power too. Constantine may not be the antichrist, but sure was powerful like it. Constantine's fingers felt like they had to extend, wanting to release more power. Constantine didn't want to release it, he wanted to summon it. He formed his pulsing hands back into fists. They struggled to remain that way. Sweat ran down his forehead, then was blown off.

Constantine's face began to vibrate. His mind was unstable. That's the way anything is when it reaches such a high power – unstable. Constantine was definitely unstable, and he loved it.

The power was close. His arms were still bent and lowered at his waist. Tiny black flames burned all over his body. From his knees, elbows, shoulders, abdomen, feet, neck, all the way to his beating eyes. Then the black flame turned to red. He was so close. Everyone felt it. Trigon had a "This is gonna be good" look on his face. He was right. Constantine's power was near it's destination.

"Haaaaaaaaaah!"

Scratch that. It had reached it's destination. Constantine's bent arms outstretched all the way. His body looked like an 'X' with arms and legs completely far apart. He looked like he would burst. It had been quite a long time since he had reached this level. The last time was against Dracula.

The tornado around his body moved faster and faster. The red flame consumed him. His whole body became the red flame. Then the white flame overwrote the red, starting at the feet and slowly ascending to his scalp. Constantine's veins were throbbing with raw power. The veins thumped all over from neck, to biceps, to legs.

Then Constantine's shriek silenced completely. The white and red flame returned to black. The floating pebbles fell to the ground. Constantine's eyes closed, then reopened.

He exhaled.

His coat stopped moving, and returned to its place.

"Sorry that took so long," said Constantine, "but it's been a while since I went this far."

Cyborg's jaw dropped.

"Now," Constantine continued, "Where were we? Oh yes, your destruction."

Trigon grinned.

Constantine dashed forward, approaching his enemy at a very rapid rate…

As Trigon's terror upon Earth has only just begun, the Titans watch in awe as the Son of Raven speeds toward either Earth's salvation or certain doom.

Constantine is the only one left who can stop this evil.