Valentine went through approximately three walls before she managed to slow into only "Deep Crater" speed, leaving her embedded into the fourth wall with as much wincing in pain.
"Man… if that won't leave something fractured, I don't know what will…" The girl muttered as she slid off the indentation and rubbed her back.
Slade's armored body was upon her in an instant. Yelping, Valentine instinctively found a long pump-action Remington sliding out of the right sleeve of her Full Metal Jacket and into her hand. Even before she managed to swing the magically lightweight shotgun upward to aim, Slade was in her face, grabbing her implement with one flaming hand and melting it in a single deft squeeze. Snorting, Valentine continued to pull back on the trigger, ruined machinery causing the buckshot inside to misfire and cause the remainder of the shotgun to explode dramatically, scattering shrapnel everywhere, though the sacrifice spell on the gun prevented that sort of damage to its master, only another shattering of a wall and sending Valentine right through.
"Come now, you must be joking if you actually think you can beat me. You may have your fancy toys, but I have pure power." Slade noted through a scornfully narrowing single eye, one hand brushing off soot that was supposed to be the broken gun parts that exploded in his face.
Valentine brought herself up to her feet and tried to nonchalantly dust off her coat, though the action was still painful enough, "Like I'm going to lose to some old fogy ready to drop into his grave… oh wait, you already did!"
If there was ever a time when a single eye could look ready to kill a man, Slade did so.
Valentine grinned expectantly at the approaching rush of flames, while she pulled out a Steyr AUG and fired away.
Rae-Rae-chan… I really hope you go usurp your old man sometime soon, because I'm seriously running out of guns.
And the battle raged on, a trail of shattered metal tracing a path of destruction.
-
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V For Vendetta: Acte 3
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Amidst the sweltering heat, Raven looked on defiantly at the immense beast that sat upon a natural formed throne from where she hovered. Even in the ill lit environs, light provided only from the brightness of molten rock, she could make out the figures of a white-silver mane of stringy hair, heavy horns sprouting from the side of the reclining beast's head, and four burning red eyes that bored down on her.
"WHY ARE YOU HERE, SPAWN? YOUR PLACE IS IN THE REALM OF LIGHT, HERALDING MY RETURN." It, in the distance grumbled, reverberating menacingly across the walls of the chamber.
"I don't care what you want from me." Raven snorted back, instincts she never knew she had filling her with words, arm stretching out of the cape to point at the demon in the distance with her gun, "Trigon, ninth high prince of the Underworld, I challenge you to the right of your throne. Fight me and be destroyed, or leave and live the rest of your days in disgrace."
The returning chortles from the beast on the throne echoed for a nigh-eternity, until it cut short.
"THIS IS THE REASON OF YOUR RETURN? FOR SOME NOTION THAT YOU CAN CHALLENGE ME? YOUR CREATOR? YOUR FATHER? YOUR MASTER?"
"It's not a notion, Trigon. It's about to become the truth. I will take that throne."
Ash and pebbles trickled from above as the room shook with its lord's rising. Raven swallowed silently as she watched her skyscraper of a father step into the molten pool about him, wading through the liquid stone that only reached to his knees like it was some kiddy pool. Soon enough, Trigon's massive silhouette towered endlessly above her daughter, his shadow completely burying Raven's form.
Four red eyes glared down onto her.
"RETURN TO THE REALM OF LIGHT. NOW."
Two eyes narrowed back up.
"No."
"PITIFUL SPAWN. I NEVER THOUGHT THERE WOULD BE A DAY I WOULD HAVE TO DISCIPLINE YOU!"
The great demon's fanged maws stretched, revealing a cavern of pure red down onto his child. In moments, Raven was gliding away from the massive beam that erupted from Trigon's mouth, which smashed into the lava below. In response, Raven pointed her sole firearm and blasted away, while a burning black fist, along with red hot burning eyes and body inscriptions, summoned massive dark chunks of stone from the walls around her. Even with boulders the size of Trigon's own chest smashing into him, the hulking red body shrugged it off.
"IMPUDENCE, CHILD! YOU REALLY THINK A HUMAN WEAPON AND YOUR POWERS WILL TOPPLE ME? WHATEVER FOOL WHISPERED SUCH IDIOTIC NOTIONS TO YOU WILL DIE A HUNDRED TIMES!"
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Slade's fist was not quite at home in Valentine's face, which is why it decided to send the girl drilling through the air, gasping, choking, and sending bits of spittle behind her. As the younger of the servants rolled to a halt, she coughed and quickly reached into her full metal jacket, producing and priming yet another of her explosive gold orbs after she pulled the cross-shaped pin from the main body. Hurling it like a hissing and smoking baseball, the magic bomb went off with a resounding fireworks display on Slade's chest, covering him with smoke.
"Please tell me that at least worked…" Valentine whined.
A voice from the debris coldly spoke back, "It didn't."
Valentine felt the wind knocked out of her as a tongue of flame ripped into her chest, sending her back into a wall. As she slid down with the other broken fragments of stone, Valentine frowned at Slade's emergent form.
"Really now, I didn't think a weapon like that actually exist… a literal holy hand grenade."
"Shows you… how little… you know…" Valentine coughed as she stood up again, brushing the dust of her knees and flipping her hair back arrogantly, "You can only get them direct from Antioch, and here you are, acting like the evil minion of Trigon when you don't know squat about magic."
"Hmph, even now you still talk smart. Do you actually think Raven will win?"
"Why not? She's stronger, faster, and cuter than her Daddy. What about you? What makes you want Daddy to win? The fact he's got a contract over your flesh and blood? Don't tell me you actually believe him. He'll just keep dangling that treat above your head 'til eternity! Sit Slade! Fetch Slade! Get the newspaper-"
Valentine jumped away just in time to dodge a flaming fist that smashed into the tunnel floor with enough force to collapse the entire passage, sending them both falling through the air into the half liquidated chamber below.
"Oh, ho, ho! Did I touch a soft spot, old man?" The witch laughed, as she pried free a Thompson machine gun.
"I don't know how you learned that, brat, but I've had quite enough of your noise-making."
"Then what are you going to do about it, queen?" Valentine sneered back.
Slade blurred forward in a comet of flame.
Valentine unleashed hellfire.
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Raven dodged out of the way of Trigon's fist, which would have been large enough to completely sandwich the small girl between it and the stonewall. As the red, meaty knuckles burrowed themselves in cracked granite, Raven threw back one hand and unleashed a torrent of Soul Self from her fist. The resultant blast that smoked off Trigon's shoulder was quickly shrugged off while his four blazing eyes seared into Raven.
"WHAT WAS THAT? DO YOU THINK YOU CAN CHALLENGE ME WITH THIS? WHO DO YOU THINK GAVE YOU YOUR POWERS?"
At that, Trigon's buried fist ripped out of buried position sideways, sending sizable chunks of stone toward his daughter. That was no problem, though; as Raven's solid body quickly fell apart into an ethereal black bird, sliding through any stone in her path easily.
Then the back of Trigon's hand sent the bird into a wall. Raven groaned as she coalesced into pale flesh once more, and glared at the demon that waded toward her.
"DO YOU UNDERSTAND NOW, SPAWN? YOU OWE EVERYTHING TO ME. YOUR POWERS, YOUR EXISTENCE. I CAN TAKE EACH AND EVERY ONE AWAY FROM YOU AS I WISH!"
Raven responded in kind by raging out, eyes flashing red like her heritage, while bother her palms fired a thick stream of dark energy into Trigon's chest. All it did was make him stumble backwards somewhat. Rearing back, Trigon craned out his horned head roaring, his four eyes unleashing four red beams that combined into a powerful blast that was quickly met by Raven's own. As the two powers battled each other, Raven could hear her father over the rushing noise.
"NOW LEARN HOW PATHETIC YOU ARE WITHOUT ME."
Suddenly the markings appeared all over the Queen's body without her demanding it.
And it burned. Raven arched her spine back and choked back her desire to scream in pain as the red signs burned into her skin. Next thing she knew, the magic suddenly left her hands. A gasp was all she could manage before Trigon's eyes tucked her even deeper in the crumbled rocks she was entrenched in. Smoke poured from the hole as Trigon looked on.
"YOUR MAGIC BELONGS TO ME. YOUR POWERS BELONG TO ME. YOU CANNOT USURP THE SOURCE OF YOUR EXISTENCE. NOW WHAT WILL YOU DO?"
A blessed bullet sparked off his brow, causing his eyes to narrow. Raven stood up, tattered but still very much alive, and pointing her Colt Government.
"I can still fly, and I have a gun. That's enough."
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"Nine-millimeter? You seem to be running out of guns, child." Slade haughtily noted as his super heated palm sliced through a Beretta 92 that was held by Valentine. In a flurry that followed, the witch quickly discarded her previous weapon to pull out another firearm that lasted only one bullet before being cut apart, and so on, until an incredible lightshow followed, Valentine continuously firing and abandoning ruined guns that Slade powered on through and lashed out with his slashing hands.
It was when Valentine found that she was holding a Single Action Army she realized how screwed she was. A flaming fist in her stomach literally folded her in two over the limb, widening eyes and flying dribble as Valentine hoarsely coughed atop her blunt impalement.
"Out of guns, out of options, and out of time. What's there left for you to accomplish, witch?" Slade pondered to his adversary, as he brought his other hand to grab Valentine by the face and shove her off his fist. The girl tumbled across the ground, folded over her stomach and spluttering a few times, bangs smeared like shadows across her face. With a exhaustive groan, Valentine pushed herself into a seated position, leaned back against surviving stalagmite in the shattered chamber they were in, legs splayed out in front of her, face still sneering.
"Wow, old man… you're really anxious for me to take you out, huh?"
Valentine only managed to roll out of the way of a foot that smashed the stone where her head had just been, Slade's eye glaring, "I suppose it was too much of me to ask even for you to know your place."
The Foundation witch chuckled as she helped herself onto one knee, "I already know mine, but you've gotta learn yours. Guess who's going to give you an intro?"
"If it's you… you're example leaves much to be desired."
"Don't sweat it, old man. I've just had my anime second wind, where I definitely will never lose to a guy like you. Besides, did you know…"
Valentine grabbed the collar of her full metal jacket and pried the entire article off her body in a deft movement, before grabbing the black cloth by the sleeves.
"…That this jacket's reversible?"
Slade's eye widened at the implication, and rushed forward, but too late, Valentine had swung her reversed coat about her body, the written words previously hidden inside now showing bloody red and exposed:
-First Confirmed Kill-
Blessed thunder roared.
A rifle round slammed into Slade's body and sent rolling head over heels until he came to a sliding stop. Trigon's servant looked to see Valentine's unleashed monstrosity.
A massive metal cross slammed onto the ground, the device easily as tall as Valentine herself and also scarred all over with magic runes. In the intersection of the crossing bars was an inlaid and elaborate trigger mechanism designed in an imitation of a skull. The bottom slab of the cross, which was dug into the ground, was also split in half, length wise to reveal a hulking barrel that was concealed inside.
"It took me a while to figure out the mechanics to building a weapon like this, but I got it in the end. Careful, gramps, these Punishers are loaded with GOSPELs, and they probably can punch through even your pyromania."
Valentine reached into her inverted coat with her other arm and pulled free another Punisher, and pointed both hulking war engines at the un-amused Slade, "So old man, wanna try guessing how many of these I got stored in my jacket?"
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Raven caught her father's eyebeams full on, and was sent barreling into the giant pillar that served chiefly as Trigon's throne. The half-devil slammed heavily on her stomach on a flat slate of rock, clothes scorched, cape tattered. Alongside her was a molten piece of metal that was supposed to be Valentine's Colt Government.
Trigon's massive shadow waded over her.
"PATHETIC. YOU HAVE NOTHING NOW. SUBMIT YOURSELF TO ME AND RETURN TO THE REALM OF LIGHT, SPAWN."
"Never… Never! I'm never doing anything for you ever again! You're not my father! You have no hold over me any more!"
"…I GROW TIRED OF THIS. IT APPEARS YOUR TIME IN THAT MORTAL REALM HAS CONTAMINATED YOUR USEFULNESS. I SHALL HAVE TO JUST START OVER AGAIN."
"What did you say?" Raven glared, growl rising up in her chest.
"I SHALL JUST HAVE TO FIND SOME NEW WEAK-HEARTED MORTAL FEMALE… START ALL OVER AGAIN. I SHALL HAVE TO MAKE SURE THE NEXT SPAWN IS RAISED PROPERLY SO IT KNOWS ITS PLACE."
Raven was on her feet, screaming her lungs out at the creature that rose up above her, "Don't you dare! You do this to another person and-"
"WHAT CAN YOU DO, PATHETIC, POWERLESS, USELESS, CONTAMINATED DAUGHTER? BUT PERHAPS YOU ARE RIGHT. ARELLA DID SIRE POWERFUL SPAWN…"
Putrid fangs gleamed with guile.
"…PERHAPS I SHOULD VISIT HER AGAIN?"
Raven snapped.
Powered with only her flight and her inherited rage, the queen seared through the air toward Trigon, hands clawed and teeth bared. She may have had no magic, no gun, no allies, but Raven would be damned if she didn't scratch her father's eyes out for even thinking of-
"I HAVE NO USE FOR YOU ANYMORE. BE BUT ASH AND DUST."
Halfway into the air toward her father, Raven realized she was at the beck and call of gravity again. Her face contorted into shock before her cape slapped into her face, and she was suddenly flailing downward, limbs kicking and screaming. As the magma down below approached, Raven realized this was it for her.
I failed you all…
Trigon decided to take the time to laugh at his former daughter's despair and destruction.
He was promptly interrupted by a mixture of sonic blasts, starbolts, and freezing birdarangs.
As for Raven, she found herself suddenly caught up by another bird, swinging through the air by a grappling line. As the two tumbled to a halt back onto Trigon's formed mountain of a throne, the demon of the pair screamed.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!? Why did you follow me! ANSWER! NOW!"
"We came because you were in trouble, Raven! How could you run off by yourself like that!?" Robin retorted with just as much frustration.
"Trouble? This is my problem, Robin! I'll handle it! How – how did you even manage to get all the way here!?"
Behind them, Trigon roared in surprise as Starfire broke something akin to a Mig Firefox's Mach 6 while on a warpath into the arch demon's knee pit. The blow even by the proportionally diminutive alien was enough to send Trigon backward into the magma pool, burying him under heated stone. With the lull, the remaining titans gathered about their missing member.
"It took us a while, but we found that portal in the library." Cyborg explained.
Raven's eyes widened, "And you just… followed me? How could you even get here, any normal human would have…"
"You forget, friend, that we are not exactly just 'normal'." Starfire ruefully noted from beside.
"Yeah! I mean, come on, Raven! We're all the Teen Titans, right? Don't you trust us?" Beast Boy also argued.
"I… I didn't want to get any of you involved in this…"
Cyborg snorted, "Involved? Raven, we're your friends! I don't know about you, but I'm not going to let one of my friends run off into a million-to-one odds by herself just because she decided by herself her buddies weren't up to it!"
"But it's true! Do any of you realize how powerful Trigon is-"
"Raven."
The queen pulled her cape closer to herself and lowered her head at Robin's single word, "I know."
"We've always stood beside each other, no matter how difficult it seemed. Why should this time be any different?"
"I just can't have you getting in danger over me. I'm the portal; it's my entire fault. I have to solve it."
"Yeah, well it's not like it's the first time I decided not to listen to you." Beast Boy smirked.
"Yeah, a problem with one of us is a problem with all of us, and we'll take it out with a grand-slam booyah." Cyborg grinned.
"Yes, we would never leave you just because of the danger." Starfire added.
Robin held out his hand, "So, want to do this as a team?"
The magma behind them exploded, a red-hot demon roaring in hatred.
"PATHETIC, PITIFUL, MORTAL WHELPS! YOU DARE CHALLENGE ME? MORE WEAK ALLIES FOR MY USELESS SPAWN? I SHALL DESTROY YOU!"
"Normally, I'd love to help, but he's kind of sealed my power at the moment." Raven deadpanned
"Then we'll just take it from here." Robin put it simply.
A birdarang snapped to ready.
"Titans, GO!"
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Valentine let herself fall through the vertical shaft, her Punishers spraying blessed rounds upward after the pursuing Slade, who managed to nimbly swing around every salvo that was directed after him. Before she knew it, the younger of the servants slammed her back onto a wooden surface, sending splinters-
Wait a second.
Wood? Valentine frowned as she threw herself onto her knees. She had since completely left the shaft the battle had been taking place in, and fallen into a quick flowing and enclosed river of molten rock. Rather than simply just being burned away in an instant, Valentine found that she had crashed onto some hefty wood barge, blackened and rotted by heat, age, and disrepair. Obviously some magic or enchantment made sure the ship wasn't following its natural course of logic to be cooked away into nothing, and because of it, the weary ship sailed down the heated river.
"What's a ship doing here?" Valentine muttered. She had landed on the elevated aft of the unmanned barge, narrowly missing that hot dive she was supposed to have had. Turning to look forward, she found the entirety of the shallow deck supporting several cages of various sizes, stacked atop each other, bars clattering, poor souls inside screaming for freedom.
"Cages? No… contracts." Valentine grinned to herself.
She was on a ship that was ferrying contracts, meaning this was going…
A plan formed in her head. If she did this correctly-
The wood behind her exploded with cursed flame. Valentine swirled around to find Slade fast approaching through the air, body alight.
"Take THIS!" Valentine sneered; swinging her cross-shaped guns upward so that they rested on her shoulder, the long machine gun arms snapping shut, while the top arms split open, revealing red warheads…
Two rockets pulled away from Valentine's position in tandem, flinging smoke onto her as they spiraled through the air toward Slade. Fists ablaze, the deader of the two servants righted himself for a second to smash a palm into one missile, exploding it harmlessly, as well as the next. With pieces of steel and spent explosive falling about him, Slade blurred forward before Valentine could reload, catching the girl and most of the aft deck with a human cannonball, scattering shattered planks and a witch through the air, though the girl found herself uncomfortably slamming into one of the piles of cages, spilling the cubic prisons everywhere.
Kicking and shoving a cage away that was digging into her side, Valentine rose, her Punishers as machine guns once more as streams of tracers chased Slade, even as he slipped away behind the hull as cover, rifle rounds ripped through the ship, while flaming gouts and punches tore back as much in return.
The ship quickly crumbled, leaving little when it finally hit the shore. Even that exploded, Valentine shrieking and rolling across the ashen ground, while Slade descended.
"You're persistence is admirable, if futile." Slade hummed with faint disinterest.
"You keep saying that! Stop it! It's annoying! I mean, yeah, I know I'm not exactly a kung-fu genius or whatever, but that's because of only one thing." Valentine retorted, guns rising to draw a bead on her opponent.
"Which is?"
"I am always a businesswoman first." Valentine accentuated with a slight jerk of her head to the side.
Slade scoffed at the idea, but decided to look out of the corner of his eye at what the witch wanted him to look at.
The pair stood beside a pair of massive steel double doors engraved with the Mark of Scath. Two bulky gray-skinned guards with barrel-like helmets and axes with blades on both ends directed invisible looks at them disapprovingly.
Slade's eye widened in realization, "This is…"
"Trigon's contract room. I'm sure we can work out some deal, neh, Slade?"
"I already have a deal."
"With enough strings attached to make your own puppet-show? I didn't think of you for the type to take orders. Come on admit it, the only reason why you're working for Daddy is because he's got your life, right? We're both parties with something to gain from Trigon. Why can't we help each other, hmmm?"
"And what do you suggest?"
"I help you break the contract, and you get back whatever Trigon's dangling above your head. When you do, you have no reason to follow him; hence you leave me and Queen alone, and go your jolly way. What say you, Mr. Slade?"
"…A very interesting proposition, and much more sensible than my master's, Ms. Valentine." Slade's eye seemed to gleam with amusement.
The two gray guards stomped forward with protest, "You dare not betray your master, or we shall see to your destruction. Honor the contract, mortal."
A flaming fist and a Punisher swung around to aim at the demons.
"You get me back my contract, and I'll be out of here, Ms. Valentine." Slade promptly restated.
"I like men who speak direct! Very well, Mr. Slade. It's a deal." Valentine grinned.
The two demons lifted their axes and charged the duo.
Fire. Thunder.
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Raven watched, fingertips digging into her palms in fear while Robin darted about on Trigon's body, sabotaging whatever he could. Starfire flew above, dancing around furious swings and eye beams to return starbolts. Flying in high wide circles was Beast Boy as a pterosaur once more, while Cyborg rode on, tracing Trigon's body with continuous streams of sonic blasts.
Come on, please! I know you can do this!
Starfire was first. Flying about a swinging limb left her right in front of Trigon's gaze. It carried her all the way to the 'throne' on a river of red with enough force to send large stones crashing about Raven, who looked up to see only the legs of her friend awkwardly sticking out of a smoking hole above her.
"No…"
Cyborg and Beast Boy didn't last much longer. With Starfire no longer able to distract the great demon, they were found easy targets for a massive multi-ton fist that contacted them at several miles per hour. They came crashing by Raven next.
"No!"
Robin continued to do his best, even though all four eyes of Trigon were now solely dedicated to catching the annoying little creature that was dancing around on his body. As the Titan tried to leap away to safety, Robin's body was quickly enveloped by Trigon's grip.
"WRETCHED, INSIGNIFCANT MORTAL. I HAVE TOLERATED YOUR EXISTENCE LONG ENOUGH."
Trigon squeezed.
The scream of pain could be heard all the way to the rocky 'throne' where Raven watched helplessly. Eyes shut in anguish as she shouted out.
"NO!"
LET HIM GO!
Robin disappeared. Both demons present visibly jerked in shock as to what happened, before Raven heard the unceremonious noise of a body dropping to the ground behind her. Twisting around to see her leader for a moment, Raven turned her confused eyes down to her hands.
How did I…?
Trigon's eyes narrowed for a second while he opened his fist. Turning to the party collapsed across his royal seat, the demon murmured.
"INTERESTING. IT APPEARS SOME FRAGMENT OR IMITATION OF MY POWER HAS BEEN TAKEN AS YOURS. BUT NO MATTER, I AM YOUR CREATOR; IN THE END I AM YOUR ALL, SPAWN. NOW, IT IS TIME TO DISAPPEAR FOR GOOD."
Eyes blazed in unison, and Trigon roared as he unleashed the full strength of his eye beams, set on completely demolishing his seat and everything on it.
Raven looked head on into to oncoming blaze, one single thought ringing true above all previous of revenge, or usurption, or of freedom-
No more.
The beam broke apart in front the throne, a massive white shield of Soul Self defending it. Trigon raged, but no matter how much more strength he put into his attack, the defense held up until the demon exhausted himself.
The shield fell, leaving Raven behind, serene and sure, torn cape and everything else turned bleach white.
"PITIFUL SPAWN-"
Bleached magic smashed into Trigon's stomach, forcing him back.
"No more. I tire of your constant tyranny over my life, and I tire your endangering what is precious to me. My life, my friends, my family."
"DO NOT-"
Trigon took the next blow to the face, knocking him back into the molten sea. Raven took to the air slowly, surely.
"I am no longer submit to you, Trigon the Terrible. I am Raven the Titan, and I usurp your position and authority as the Ninth Prince of the Underworld. Azarath. Metrion-"
Trigon shot forward, fist outstretched, "I SHALL NOT LOSE TO YOU!"
Raven just gave a cool look that spoke volumes of emotion in simple two words.
I win.
"Zinthos."
The throne room was enveloped in Soul Self bleached clean of the controlling taint, forces ravaging the massive red demon into a silhouette amongst the bright lights, until he was but a shadow that broke up under the glare.
And the room was empty and silence, save for the low rumble of molten stone.
And the cheering Raven was met with as she floated back onto the massive stone seat, where her familyawaited.
"Booyah! You did it!"
"You totally kicked his butt, Raven!"
"We are victorious once more, dear friend!"
"Looks like you made it."
Raven smirked and refused to duck her head. Embarrassment wasn't her thing, "It was thanks to all of you."
The wall at the end of the throne room behind them exploded at a particular section.
"Queen! I'm here to save your cute self!" Valentine cheered through the smoke as she stood in the opening, a strapped Punisher hanging from over her shoulder with one hand.
The Titans gathered around confusedly, but not less ready for one more fight.
"Valentine." Robin growled, ready to throw out a 'Titans, go'.
Raven's hand waved him off, "It's alright. She's my servant."
Beast Boy wasn't sure what face to make at that revelation, "WHAT?! She actually listens to YOU!?"
Raven sighed, "Yes. She does. At the moment, anyways."
In the distance, Valentine made a pout of discontent, "I missed all the fun already? Mak-taku…" Reaching into her coat, she threw out her thick grimoire, setting it into to air for the witch to transport herself toward her Queen. Still, Valentine made sure to float out of arm's reach of the other Titans, at the very least.
"Queen! You did it! You're the Queen! I'm so proud of you! You feel any different?"
"…Better."
"Sou ka? Well, I suppose you can't put everything into words."
"I suppose. What happened to Slade?"
Valentine ignored the various utterances of the dread man as she thought hard to herself, especially those from Robin, "Hmmm… I took care of him, but we haven't seen the last of him either, though."
"Really."
"Really! So Queen, what's your next move as one of the newest high rollers of the Underworld?"
"I'm going back home."
"Eh? Aren't you already home?"
"No. This place is the last place I'll call home. Trigon is finished, the Prophecy won't continue. That's all that matters."
Valentine whined, "What? What happened to all that before about usurping Daddy and doing everything only for yourself? That's where a demon's strength comes from…"
"You're right. That's where a demon's power comes from. That's where Trigon's power comes from. However…"
Raven threw out a minute display of power, obviously dazzling Valentine, given her stupefied look.
"…my power comes from protecting my friends."
"Really… protecting your friends…"
Valentine grabbed an armful of Raven's white cape, and proceeded to squeal and cuddle it, "Raven! You're such a mahou shojou! You're so totally kawaiiiii-"
"Stop it."
"Yes'm, Highness."
"I'm returning to the Realm of Light. Is there any way out from here? Or do we have to go back to the library?"
"Actually, there's a portal room at the top of this anthill. You can probably return to Jump City from there."
"Fine. Coming?"
"Actually… no. I have to do some cleaning up here, Queen. Besides, the moment I'd get back topside, you guys probably would arrest me!"
"Since you're my servant, technically I could order you to do that, right?"
"True but like you, I'd defy all orders if it means protecting what's precious to me. Right?"
Raven smiled for a second, before quashing it with a serious look, "I'll get you for sure the next time I see you."
"Sure you will. You're the Queen."
With that, Raven enveloped all the Titans within a white Soul Self, bringing the entire spectral bird shape upward and out of sight.
Valentine looked upward, "Well then, that's that."
"Trigon is dead?"
The witch turned about to see a swarm of burning demons pouring into the throne room. She smirked.
"Yep, the King's dead."
"Long live the King. Who is the new Prince?"
"Raven the Titan, formerly the Spawn and Portal of Trigon the Terrible."
"Raven the Titan is our new lord. Raven inherits control of the Prophecy. What say Raven?"
"Well, you don't exactly want to activate the Prophecy when the portal IS the new ruler, right?"
"Truth is spoken. The Prophecy shall not be fulfilled. But you are a human. Where is Raven, our new lord?"
"The Queen's gone up into the Realm of Light to handle the affairs up there. I am Valentine, her trusted lieutenant and servant…"
Valentine's grin only got wider.
"…And she entrusted me to be her acting Regent until further notice."
"We felt your presence as you fought alongside our new lord in this castle. Truth is spoken."
Valentine stepped lightly onto the massive empty throne and sat down on the edge, legs dangling.
"So then, bow."
All the fiery forms lowered their heads in front of a grinning Valentine.
"Truth is spoken. Valentine, the trusted servant, is to be acting Regent for Raven the Titan."
"It's good to be the Queen."
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The elevator doors opened up into the observatory room in Olympus Height, letting in Valentine and her million-dollar smile.
"Minna-san! Tadaima!" Valentine cackled happily as she stepped back into her old haunts.
Devil Hand and Terra poked their heads over the couch and their heated game of Day of Sagittarius.
"Val'! You're back!"
"Valentine!"
"D'! Achey-Breaky! Did I come back in two weeks like I promised?"
Devil Hand shrugged and adjusted his sunglasses, "I dunno. Lost count."
"Figures. I got souvenirs, though!"
Terra jumped to her female comrade at that, "Really! What?"
Valentine reached behind her, "Check it out… DEMONIC PUMICE ROCK!"
Terra raised an eyebrow at the porous stone, "It looks the same…"
"Believe me! I picked that up in the fires of hell itself! Oh, I also got something for Freezie!"
Valentine pranced back toward the elevator, serenading 'Freezie' until Devil Hand stopped her.
"Boss ain't here."
"Nani? Why's he not here? He usually doesn't go out."
Devil Hand remained indifferent as he fired away at enemy spaceships, "Dunno. But he's been going out a lot these nights now."
Terra hummed to that mystery, "He did start going out a lot while you were gone, Valentine… maybe it's because of that girl Freeze met-"
Valentine snarked.
"WHAAAT!?"
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Red hair shifted, "You came. And you brought flowers!"
Blue eyes remained in different, "Only because you demanded them. What are they for?"
"No reason really."
"How pointless."
"You've been coming for something pointless so many times, already. How's a bunch of flowers going to make a difference?"
"Hmph."
"Still, I'm happy you came to see me. Can we go, Freeze?"
"Very well, Nora."
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Chapter 14: "No30746047607)&)&)YOIHDBBLNBEJ934H)(&(#EBSGSLHGERIO)(&#HG3OTN4EBGIB)#G0GHE
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Person With Many Aliases is stupid. I mean, I am stupid. Because I am Person With Many Aliases, and not Control Freak. Because Control Freak is not stupid. He's really Awesome. Like, AWESOME. Anyways, because I am so stupid and I write such stupid stories, I'm giving this story over to Control Freak, because he is really so Awesome, and he's going to make this story so really cool. So next chapter, prepare for
"A MUCH BETTER STORY" by SUPER AWESOME CONTROL FREAK BECAUSE HE IS AWESOME.