Okay, so this is how Jane Lane buys the big one, Jane thought at the street began to rush at her. I wonder if I'll see the light before or after the pain? Just as she was close enough to know which yellow line she was going to meet, her world dissolved into green flame.
Starfire pulled herself from the wall and flew down to land next to the others. There, they faced Trigon in the middle of the street.
"We've got to stop him before he gets any more powerful," Robin told his team.
"I'm open for ideas," Cyborg replied.
"All we can do is -"
"All you can do," Trigon interrupted Robin, "is die!" Four beams of energy shot from his eyes toward the teens. Before they could reach their target, however, they struck a black shield.
"I won't let you hurt my friends!" Raven stated as she rose from the ground between the rest of the Titans and Trigon.
"Raven!" Starfire and Robin exclaimed.
"She's back!" Beast Boy added.
"All right, Raven!" Cyborg chimed in. "Way to make an entrance!"
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" the girl chanted. Black energy shot out, knocking the demon off of his feet.
"Foolish girl," Trigon told her as he held up a hand. A red bubble appeared around him, blocking Raven's blast. "You are no more a danger to me now than your pathetic human friends."
"I beat you before," Raven reminded him.
"I was overconfident," the demon admitted as he stood. "I will not be so foolish this time." When he smiled, fangs were obvious. "And this time, I have full control over the situation," the smile grew vicious, "and you."
"You don't control me," Raven growled.
"Don't I? You destroyed yourself because of me. While you were convinced it was of your own free will, was it really? Let us see. Kneel before me."
"Kneel?" Raven looked insulted.
"Raven," Robin ordered, "don't go near him."
"You will kneel." Trigon motioned with his hand. "Now."
"I won't," Raven said, even as her knees began to bend. "I, I . . ."
"Your free will is only an illusion. Lie down." As Raven complied, Trigon looked around. "I know you are there, girl. Come to me. I, your father, demand it!"
A green firebird appeared. As it faded, Daria and Jane were left standing next to the Titans. With an exhausted sigh, Jane collapsed.
"You summoned me, Father," Daria said in a monotone.
"It is time to complete you destiny. You will show the gem that her fate is to be a sacrifice to my power."
"I don't think so," Robin said as he stepped forward. As a crimson bubble formed around them, the Titans could only look on as Daria neared the prone Raven.
"Don't do it!" Beast Boy said, getting as close as he could to the bubble without touching it.
"Get away from her!" Cyborg called out as he raised his sonic cannon. He fired at the bubble, then had to dive out of the way as the shot deflected back at him. As one sister neared the other, the Titans had to scramble to avoid being hit with Cyborg's errant shot.
Once she was next to Raven, Daria knelt. As she raised her hand, she said, "The sword by pater same is sired." Green fire appeared, then took the shape of a dagger as she continued, "And blindly she will wait. In dreams she'll learn of emerald fire." There was a moment's pause before she plunged the knife into Raven's chest. There was a gasp from the younger girl, then Raven was still. "Then show the gem her fate," Daria concluded.
Starfire met the sonic beam with her optic blasts, dissipating both. As the group turned to see what had happened, they could only stare in shock as they watched Daria pull the blade away from their friend.
"No!" Robin moved toward the barrier, only to be held back by Cyborg.
"Dude, who knows what that thing will do to you," he admonished.
"Good," Trigon said to her. "You have been faithful. Now, as my power returns in force and my true form returns, you will sacrifice yourself to me as well. Then, there will be no power that can prevent my eternal rule over this world."
Facing her father, Daria raised the dagger, then drove it into her own chest. Though her eyes widened, there was no other reaction as she collapsed. The knife dissolved into flame then into vapor.
"He has killed his own children," Starfire noted in shock. Looking at the demon, she clenched her fists and said, "You have destroyed your own family."
There was a chuckle, which grew into laughter. "They were pawns who thought they were kings. Their end was the only one possible. Now, with them sacrificed, my true self will return." Raising his arms, Trigon waited for the moment when his real form would appear.
Nothing.
The steady stream of energy continued at the same rate as before. Confused, Trigon looked at his hands and wiggled his fingers. "What has happened? Why have I not transformed?"
"Because," came Jane's weak voice, "you overlooked something." As if carrying a great weight, she stood and faced the Titans. "Azarath," she began as she raised a hand, "Metrion," her hand was surrounded with black, "Zinthos!" The beam blew open the field imprisoning the teens.
"What? How?" Robin asked.
"Raven is in there?" Cyborg asked as he looked into Jane's eyes. "Hey, your eyes keep changing color."
"But," Beast Boy looked from Jane to Raven's still form, "her powers . . ."
"Faked," Jane said, staggering slightly. Catching herself, she turned to face Trigon. "You seem to like prophecy, Father," she almost spit the word. "So I've got one for you." Moving to stand between the two bodies, Jane raised her hands to her sides. Her left began to glow with green fire as black began to radiate from her right. The two began to swirl from her hands, leaving the three hidden by the maelstrom. As the energies spun, three voices spoke from the midst.
"The sword and gem at last will stand
Against the tainted sire
And use the powers
At their command
To vanquish evil's fire."
The green and black swirls evaporated, leaving a very tired Jane being held up by Raven and Daria.
"Very clever," Trigon said with a nod.
"Maybe you can explain it to me," Beast Boy said as he scratched his head.
"We hid our souls in Jane's body," Raven said as she and Daria gently helped her sit on the road.
"Without the release of our souls," Daria continued as they turned to face their father, "there was no true sacrifice."
"Too bad it will avail you nothing. Now that your souls are again in your bodies, you will still be mine to command. Now," he instructed, "you will sacrifice each other to me."
"No." Raven stepped forward. "We knew you had some kind of hold on us, we just didn't know what it was."
"That's why we let Jane do a little 'tweaking,'" Daria added as she, too, moved toward the demon.
"Just wait until you see Trent again," Jane called out.
Daria turned and scowled at her. "We're having a serious moment here," she reminded her friend.
"Sorry."
Raven looked at her sister and asked, "Is Trent the tall man with the sexy voice?"
"Oops."
"Yes," Daria reported as she put a hand to her forehead, "that's Trent."
Raven glanced over her shoulder toward Jane. "When this is over we're going to talk."
"Enough!" Trigon reached his hands upward and the flow of energy increased. "I will still destroy you both and have my revenge!"
"He's trying to draw all the power in at once," Raven said to the others. Looking at Robin, she added, "You need to distract him while Daria and I get ready."
"You got it," Robin answered with a nod. "Titans, go!"
The explosives, sonic cannon fire and starbolts didn't hurt the demon, but his concentration wavered enough to keep Trigon from being braced when a brontosaurus landed on him from above. The massive shape drove him into the street, leaving a crater. Beast Boy shape shifted into a dog and ran away as Starfire blazed away with starbolts.
Daria and Raven sat across from each other in the street. Holding up their hands, they kept their palms out but not touching. As Trigon blasted Cyborg over their heads, they began to chant so quietly it couldn't be overheard until they began to speak louder.
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos
Verizek Eldorban Minrek
Carizon Sendrian Zinthos
Sendrian Zinthos
Zinthos!"
"No!" Trigon raised his hands to send a stream of fire toward the two, only to be slammed into by a green rhinoceros.
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos
Verizek Eldorban Minrek
Carizon Sendrian Zinthos
Sendrian Zinthos
Zinthos!"
Coming to his feet, Trigon stared at the girls and sent beams of energy from his four eyes at them. Just before the beams arrived, Cyborg stepped in front of them while holding the hood of a car for a shield. The concussion sent him flying over their heads again.
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos
Verizek Eldorban Minrek
Carizon Sendrian Zinthos
Sendrian Zinthos
Zinthos!"
This time, the two turned and pointed their hands toward the demon. The red energy that had been streaming toward him turned away and began to stream into a newly-opening portal. "No, I will not be sent back to that place!"
"It's working!" Robin called out.
"Yeah!" Beast Boy agreed.
The portal widened as Trigon clawed at the ground to resist a pull that only seemed to effect him and the swirling red energy stream. As the group watched, the extra eyes vanished, leaving a normal-looking man struggling to not get pulled through the portal. "Daria, help me!" Came Jake Morgendorffer's voice as he looked at her. "Help out your old man, please!"
Daria watched in horror as the man she had once believed was her father struggled. As he slipped backward, the possessed man grabbed onto a broken piece of the road. He looked at Daria for a long moment, then cried out, "C'mon, it's your old man, here!"
"Old . . ." Daria blinked. Her eyes met his and she nodded. "I understand. I love you, Daddy." Raising her hands, Daria sent twin streams of green fire into the figure, blasting him into the air and through the portal. A few seconds later the last of the energy stream slipped through and the portal closed.
The silence was sudden and deafening. "Is it over?" Beast Boy asked.
"It's over," Raven replied.
"You," Jane stood and moved to face her friend. "You sent your dad with that demon. How could you do that?"
"He wanted me to." Daria looked at Jane and Jane noticed the tears beginning to fall. "That was his message."
"Message?" Cyborg scratched the back of his neck. "I didn't get a message."
"He called himself my 'old man,'" Daria explained. "That was what he called his father. Mad Dog Morgendorffer was an abusive man who scarred Dad in a lot of ways. By calling himself my old man, Dad was telling me not to let up and send Trigon away forever. And him with him."
"Oh, Daria," Jane glanced to where the portal had been, "that must hurt."
"No," Daria corrected. "What hurts is the fact that I, who everyone used to say was so damn smart, couldn't think of a better idea." Stepping back, Daria pulled up the hood of her cloak before becoming a bird of fire and vanishing.
"She is hurting," Starfire observed.
"Yeah," Jane agreed. Then, with a glance around them, she went on, "And so will we if someone tries to pin us with the bill for all this."
"I see you couldn't sleep, either." Looking up, Daria saw her mother coming into the kitchen.
"Yeah," she managed to say. "Um, Mom, I, uh . . ."
Helen poured a cup of coffee for herself, then waited. When Daria just frowned and looked away, she sighed and came over to sit in the place her other daughter had occupied when living there. "What is it, Sweety?"
"I wanted to say I'm sorry I couldn't save Dad."
"You're sorry?" Helen blinked a few times before saying, "Daria, you did the only thing you could do. If anyone should be sorry, it's me. If I hadn't been so worried about your father being more 'manly,'" she made the 'air quotes' gesture, "none of this would have happened."
"Hurm," was the grumbled response.
"Of course," Helen went on, "you might never have been born. And I don't think Jake would have like that." Reaching out, she put a hand over her daughter's long enough to say, "I know I wouldn't."
"I'm a monster, Mom." The pain was evident in Daria's eyes, even if her face looked calm. "There's part of me that's a demon. It's the part that wants to tear the place apart and take it for my own."
"So why don't you?"
"Excuse me?"
"You have the power," Helen pointed out. "So why not take over the world?"
"I just," Daria stopped and tried again, "I mean I don't want." She blinked, closed her mouth and thought for a moment. "You know, I hadn't thought about why I didn't want to until now. I just don't want to rule the world. No one person should." Looking at Helen, she smirked, "Even if they did have two great parents."
"Thank you, dear," Helen told her.
"Mom, I need to know something." Daria toyed with her coffee cup before looking up and asking, "You knew Dad was possessed when I was conceived, right?"
"Um," now Helen looked away, nervous. "Yes," she finally admitted. "I knew something was different. He was more forceful . . . angry." After a shrug, she added, "But I didn't realize he was possessed until we were already, uh . . ."
"That's all I needed to know," Daria cut her off, looking embarrassed. "Did you ever think there was something different about me?"
"Other than how smart you were?" Shaking her head, Helen told her daughter, "No. After a while I even managed to convince myself it was just something Jake took. Like an allergy to a medicine or something. So," Helen said, pausing to take a sip of coffee, "what are you going to do now?"
"Go back to Boston, I guess," Daria answered as she shrugged. "I've kinda made a life for myself there, and I need to find a job."
"Oh, that's right, we missed your commencement." Helen looked sad. "I guess you can tell them that your father's passing was why."
"Yeah. Oh, Raven says that she knows a spell that will give us a body to bury." Daria swallowed. "It would be better than trying to explain why he just up and vanished."
"She told me about that. You think we should make it look like a traffic accident?"
"Something to try to avoid an autopsy," Daria agreed. "A blown tire on the Lexus or something."
"Yeah." Helen sniffed and wiped away a tear. "I told myself I was done with crying."
"I didn't listen when I told myself that, either." Helen looked up to see her daughter smiling through misty eyes of her own.
"You've come a long way, Sweety. I'm proud of you, and I'm sure Jake is, too. Not many people could stand up to a major demon like that, regardless of what kind of power they had." Lifting her cup, she added, "You did what needed to be done. What he told you to do."
"Yeah." The two were silent for a long while. Finally, Daria sighed and set down her cup. "I need to tell Quinn the truth."
"Sweety, are you sure that's a good idea?" Helen looked worried. "You know this is going to be hard for her to believe. I lived it and I'm not sure I believe it."
"I'll just have to prove it to her." Daria held her hand over the cup then watched as green flames licked at the coffee. Seeing her mother looking at her, she explained, "It was getting cold."
"Oh."
"I guess it can wait until after the funeral. She'll have enough on her mind until then." Daria took a long drink of her coffee, then sighed. "Raven said she'll help me learn more about my powers."
"You sure about wanting to do that, dear?"
"I need to be ready in case this kind of thing happens to me again. Besides," she frowned, "if I ever get the chance to free Dad, I want to know everything there is to know about magic." Her brown eyes began to glow green. "What I can do with my powers directly is a start, but I'm going to learn enough to put Trigon down the next time I see him."
"Hopefully that won't be for a long time." The twosome turned to see Raven entering the kitchen.
"Good morning, Raven," Helen said.
"Hey," Daria added.
"Morning. Ah, coffee."
As the girl picked up a cup and began to pour, Helen asked, "Did you sleep well?"
"Yes, thank you." Raven gave the coffee a sniff. "Daria made this, then."
"How could you tell?" Helen asked.
"Actually," Daria explained, "she got use to having to sniff test the coffee in Boston."
"I think Jane's coffee could take the plating off of a battleship," Raven supplied.
"That's pretty strong coffee. Would you like some breakfast?"
"No, thank you." Raven sat to Helen's right. Seeing the look the two were giving her, she asked, "What?"
"Sorry," Daria apologized, "that's just where Dad use to sit."
"Oh, well I'll move." She started to get up until Helen placed a hand on her arm.
"It's okay, dear. Really." She smiled at her. "Besides, I'm glad you're here. I've been wanting to tell you that you're welcome here anytime." Glancing at her daughter, she went on, "You two are sisters. Regardless of why you're sisters, you are. Consider yourself family, Raven."
Raven looked at her for a moment, then said, "Are you sure? I mean, I feel kinda responsible for what happened."
"You did what needed to be done," Helen told her while looking at Daria. When she looked back at Raven, she added, "You both did. And I'm proud of you both. I know your mother is."
"Yeah, she told me."
"I was asking Daria what her plans were. What are you going to do?"
"Uh," Raven's lips twitched toward a smile before settling back into her normal expression of calm, "I'm going to go back to the tower with the Titans."
"Aren't you all a bit young to be living together like that?" Helen asked. "I'm surprised Child Protection Services doesn't drag you all off to foster care."
"Oh, they've tried," Rave answered with a vicious smirk. "But the fact that we save the city from people they can't stop sort of proves who's protecting whom."
"I guess there is that," Helen admitted. "Still, you should consider at least having someone there in name to represent you."
"You have the right to an attorney," Daria muttered.
"Well, Arel, uh, Mom is wanting to come to visit for a while. So I guess we'll have an adult there then." Raven looked over at Daria and told her, "She said she's going to spend a week or so here with your mother."
"Yes," Helen smiled, "she is. I'm looking forward to it I've got the time coming and things are slow. Besides, I need some time to get my head together. Arella and I are going to get to know each other. We have some things in common, and she seems like such a nice person."
"I don't know about you," Daria said to her sister, "but this makes me very nervous."
"Yeah, me too."
As Raven placed the last of her belongings back in their familiar places, she noticed the scroll she had placed on the nightstand. "I remember you," she told it. Curious, she unrolled it and read what was printed. Her eyes widened at first, then her mouth dropped open as she laughed.
"If I had only read this to begin with," she told herself as she again looked over the words.
The gem was born of evil's fire
The gem shall be his portal
He comes to claim
He comes to sire
The end of all things mortal.
The sword by pater same is sired
And blindly she will wait
In dreams she'll learn
Of emerald fire
Then show the gem her fate.
The sword and gem at last will stand
Against the tainted sire
And use the powers
At their command
To vanquish evil's fire.
"I'm telling you, Dude," Beast Boy said in a calm voice, "no one is gonna beat me at Cannibal Frag Fest VII."
"No one except me," Cyborg corrected.
"Oh, yeah?" Holding up the game, still in the shrink wrap, the green teen said, "Name the time and place, Cy, and I'll clean your clock good. Hey, are you turning green?"
"Green?" Cyborg looked around and noticed a green light approaching the windows of the tower. "Either I'm having a flashback or Raven's got a visitor."
A few seconds later a green firebird appeared in the room, then faded to Daria standing in her cloak. Reaching up, she undid the cloak, revealing her outfit of jeans and a gray RAFT UNIVERSITY APATHY DEPARTMENT sweatshirt. "Hey," she said to the two Titans.
"Hey," Beast Boy replied.
"Nice entrance, Daria," Cyborg commented.
"Trying to keep my hand in," she replied. "Raven around?"
"I thought that was you." Raven came into the room from the hall. "I was on my way to the roof when I saw you coming. Welcome back to the tower."
"Try not to wreck it this time," Beast Boy said with a grin.
"Oh be quiet," Cyborg told him. "If you do I might even go easy on you."
"Uh-uh," the smaller boy argued. "I don't need you to take it easy on me." Holding up the game, he said, "I'm going to clean your - hey!" A green talon plucked the game from his hand and carried it over to Daria.
"Hmm, the new one." Smirking, she read the package, then handed it back to Beast Boy. "I hope it's more of a challenge than the last two."
"A challenge?" Cyborg looked at her with his organic eye wide. "Neither of us could get past the next to last level."
"I beat it in three days. Of course," she shrugged, "I was beating Cannibal Frag Fest from the first one."
"I think," Cyborg said, looking at Beast Boy, "we're in the presence of greatness."
"Hey, give me a little time with the little sibling here and I'll be back to turn the two of you into digital zombies," Daria promised. Turning to her 'littlest sibling,' she said, "You were going to the roof?"
To their surprise, Robin was standing on the roof, looking out at the city. Hearing their approach, he said, "Hey, Daria. I saw you come in."
"Yeah," Raven commented, "not the most subtle way to get places."
"Not everyone has a fancy-shmancy T-ship to go everywhere in." She smirked as she added, "Just don't tell Cyborg I said that."
"Your secret's safe," Robin told her as he turned. "Hey, Raven. Missed you at breakfast."
"Up late reading," she explained. "So, what brings you to town?"
"I had an interview yesterday," she explained. "It looks like my journalism degree might get me a job working at the local paper."
"Here?" Raven almost smiled. "You'd be in town."
"Yeah," Daria agreed. "We could get together. Who knows, maybe I'd do a story on the cool Goth member of the Teen Titans."
"Please spare me," Raven commented, the urge to smile gone. Hearing Robin chuckle, she skewered him with a glare.
"Anyway, I thought I'd come by since I was in town. Email just isn't what it's cracked up to be."
"Well, we're glad you came by," Robin told her. "I'd offer you a letter of reference, but I don't think it'd help. We kind of avoid the press."
"I can understand. But, maybe I can bridge the gap a little. After all," she continued, "you know you can trust me."
"Maybe that would work," Robin said, rubbing his chin.
"How's your family?" Raven asked.
"Our family," Daria corrected. "It seems Arella has decided to put off going back to Azarath a few more weeks. She and Mom have bonded, it seems."
"Should we be afraid?"
"Very."
"Uh, did you talk to Quinn?"
"Yeah." Daria took a deep breath and looked out across the bay. "She took the news pretty hard. She blamed me first, then Mom. But she's coming to terms with it. I think me explaining why I did what I did while I had tears in my eyes made her see what it cost me to do it."
"So emotions are good for something after all," Raven commented.
"Every so often."
"Heard from Jane?"
The two looked at Robin as he chuckled. "Something funny, Robin?" Daria asked.
"No." He smiled at them and walked away. Just that I made a phone call back East. Jane is going to have an interesting time.
"Anyway," Daria went on after giving Robin a confused look, "she got a job offer that's going to pay for her to transfer to a different school."
"That's pretty strange."
"Tell me about it. She's going to finish her last semester at the Gotham City Art Institute and working for Wayne Enterprises in their graphic arts department." Daria shook her head. "Seems someone high in the company likes her work."
"Wow," Jane remarked as she stepped into the large room.
"Yeah," the small man agreed. "We like to make sure our artists have enough room to be creative." While the room still held a cubicle farm, each cubicle was a fifteen by ten square. A drafting/drawing table took up one end, with a state of the art computer with several peripherals set on a desk. He led her to the one farthest from the window and right across from ladies rest room. "This is yours, Miss Lane."
"Cool," she sat in the chair and spun. "I'm next to the bathroom."
"Yes." Smirking, he added, "I'm told Mr. Wayne himself wants to see you once you're settled in."
"The big guy?" Jane swallowed. Maybe now I'll find out just why I'm getting such a sweet deal.
"She's a little confused, but it was too good a deal to pass up." Daria looked back at the water for a moment. "I kinda miss having her around. But," she looked at Raven, "I'll get to catch up on busting on my littlest sister."
"Joy for me," Raven commented with a scowl.
A small green bird flew up to the roof then shape shifted into Beast Boy. "Hey, Daria," he asked, "you gonna be much longer? Cyborg and I want to see if you're as good as you say you are. And this game can handle up to four people." He looked over at Raven. "You gonna play?"
After a moment, Raven shrugged. "Why not, maybe being good at this game is genetic."
Much to Jane's surprise, the seat behind Bruce Wayne's desk was empty. They left me alone in the boss' office on my first day? What's wrong with these people? A sudden chill up her spine, however, told Jane that she wasn't really alone.
"Hello, Miss Lane," came a voice from the shadows cast by the sunlight through the window.
"Uh, hi." Looking closely, she made a shape in the dark corner. Just as they spoke, Jane made out the shape of an emblem on their chest.
"I have a proposition for you," said the Batman.