Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to the Teen Titans or any characters in the DC Universe.
OK folks, this is it, the second to last chapter in this convoluted saga. Thanks for hanging in there with me. And don't forget to read 'Ganguro' when we publish it later in May. We're going to publish it under a different pen name: 'Zorkaberry Pie' !
Now onto the story!
Beast Boy handed Michael's sword back to Raven, who slipped it back into its sheath. The green hero placed a hand on his mate's shoulder as the rest of the Titans and Justice Leaguers gathered around them. To everyone's surprise Slade was still with them.
"I see you haven't ditched us Deathstroke." Kal-El addressed the one eyed criminal mastermind. "Why is that?"
Slade chuckled. "My reasons are my own, but it should be self evident to all of you that I would not fare well if Trigon is victorious."
"Your selflessness is touching Slade." Raven chided him.
"Spare me your guilt trips Raven. I will do what I must. No more, no less."
"Then you will share with us what you have hidden." Raven replied.
"I see there is no fooling you Raven. You are quite right; I am not entering this fight empty handed. But I will not tell you what my ace in the hole is, at least not yet."
"Why not Slade?" Batman asked. "Why keep it a secret from us?"
"I have my reasons Bats. I am the odd man out in this group of the virtuous. I need to hedge my bets."
"You mean like double crossing us to Trigon?" Cyborg accused him.
"Alas, there is no going back into Trigon's service, and even if it was possible I have learned that he does not keep his bargains, as Raven once warned me a long time ago."
He turned to and addressed the crowd.
"I won't sugarcoat this. We are enemies and always will be enemies. But like last time we face a common enemy, an enemy I know better than most of you do. Trigon has sent his offspring to do his dirty work because he was too weak to face us. We should take advantage of this opportunity to finish him off once and for all."
"So what do you suggest Slade?" Nightwing asked with a hint of skepticism in his voice.
"Raven is his greatest threat, so we should expect him to attack her weak spot." He replied.
"What do you mean by 'weak spot'?"
"Why Beast Boy of course. If he can capture or control the changeling then Raven will have to do whatever Trigon says."
Raven frowned before replying.
"Slade's right. Gar, you need to leave."
The changeling gave his wife an angry and incredulous look.
"If you think I'm leaving you here to fight Trigon without me …"
"Raven is right Beast Boy; you should back off from this fight." Batman admonished him.
"I'm not leaving! Rae and I are a team!"
Nightwing stepped forward.
"Beast Boy stays." He ordered. "The team wouldn't be complete without him."
Raven glared at Richard but backed off. Deep inside she knew that she would rather face Trigon with Beast Boy at her side; nevertheless she was worried about what Trigon might be planning.
She then looked deep into Gar's eyes and opened their telepathic link.
You know Slade's right. Trigon is going to try to use you as a weapon against me.
Well, then you're just gonna have to use me as a weapon against him.
Don't get cocky Gar. You know what we're up against.
Of course I do. But I'm not abandoning you to face him without me. It ain't gonna happen.
You've always been stubborn.
Would you expect me to be any other way?
I guess not.
Raven turned back to her teammates.
"Ok, Gar can come." She announced with a hint of resignation in her voice. Slade shook his head in disapproval, as did Batman.
"So which way do we go now?" Terra asked.
"We follow the smell of sulfur Terra." Raven replied as she noticed the distressed look on the Geomancer's face. She approached her and placed her hand on Terra's midsection.
"Are you feeling OK Terra? The Beast hit you pretty hard." Raven asked as Beast Boy suddenly looked worried and contrite. He had been fully aware when the Beast had slapped Terra aside, and was beginning to worry that he might have harmed Terra's unborn child. Cyborg also approached and popped a scanner out of his metallic forearm, which he waved over the blonde's midsection. He frowned as he studied the panel on his arm.
"You're in no shape to continue fighting Terra. If anyone should go back to the house, it's you. Any more distress and you could lose your baby."
He then scanned Aqualad.
"He's also in bad shape. You both need to leave."
Nightwing nodded. "Garth and Terra, you will both return to the house."
"But …"
"No buts and you'll take Mary with you."
Starfire nodded reluctantly as she removed Mary from her carrier pouch and handed her to Terra.
"Please keep her safe my friend."
Terra nodded sadly as she cradled young Mary in her arms.
"We will."
Aqualad took his fiancées hand.
"Good luck." He wished the Titans somberly. "See you back at the house."
Garth then led Terra out of the underground lair.
Trigon paced nervously through his throne room, regretting his decision to come out into the open. He had not grown an inch since Lamia was destroyed. If anything, he felt even weaker. As he walked around the circular shaped cavern he slammed his fist into the wall and small bits of stone and sand fell from the ceiling landing on the floor. A large fire, clearly supernatural in its origin, burned in a deep amber glow, emanating a searing heat that did not burn. Jacob, his last remaining offspring that was not in hell, knelt quietly on one knee.
"How could you have failed?! There were three of you!" Trigon finally broke the silence with a deafening roar.
Without looking up Jacob replied.
"Raven has become very powerful. And she has Michael's sword Father."
"But there were three of you! You should have been able to easily defeat her! Explain yourself!"
"Slade was there …"
At the sound of the traitor's name Trigon spun around.
"What did you say?"
"Slade, he had a dagger made of some kind of ivory. The geomancer stabbed Jesse with it and he died instantly."
Trigon closed his four eyes and frowned.
"So that's what he did with my horns. We are in grave danger my son."
Jacob rose to his feet.
"What will we do Father? No one will help us, not as long as Raven has Michael's sword. No other demons will join us in fighting her."
Jacob's eyes betrayed the fear he was feeling.
"I don't want to be destroyed Father. What will we do?"
Trigon grunted at his son.
"The first thing you will do is stop being afraid. Raven has not won yet."
With great effort Jacob regained his composure.
"Forgive me Father."
"Do not ask me for forgiveness Jacob. If you wish to grovel, then surrender to Raven! You are a demon, act like one!"
"Yes Father. We will make them pay for what they have done to us."
Trigon crossed his arms and smiled.
"We will make her mate our ally."
"How will we do that Father? Not only is she very protective of him, he too has become more powerful. He was able to resist our powers. Only Jesse was able to affect him, and that was only because he and the Atlantean share feelings for the geomancer."
"The changeling has benefitted from his bond with Raven and has absorbed some of her powers. But it matters not. He has a weakness, which is unknown to everyone, even his mate. I will exploit that weakness Jacob."
The younger demon grinned.
"And we will capture him Father!"
"Capture?" Trigon replied with a grin of his own. "Who said anything about capturing him?"
"I do not understand Father."
Trigon was now chuckling.
"He will join us of his own free will. He will forsake his friends. He will forsake the world he has to protect, but best of all he will betray and forsake Raven."
"But how father?"
"You will see my son, you will see." Trigon said as he approached the magical fire. "Do not impede their arrival, but if you can, slow them down. I need time to … prepare."
Jacob nodded followed by a smile.
"I will delay them Father."
The band of heroes, now minus Terra and Aqualad, continued their descent into the very bowels of the Earth. Soon the heat began to fell oppressive, yet they continued undeterred. The rocks around them had changed from a lighter to a darker color. As they continued their descent Batman pulled a small gadget out of his utility belt and read its display.
"We're 5000 ft below sea level." He announced. That explained the overwhelming heat and pressure. The cavern passages were becoming wider, which did not go unnoticed. After another 30 minutes the passage emptied into a huge underground vault which was easily the size of several large stadiums. It was illuminated by a mysterious source of light which they could not locate. Even stranger was that the entire bottom of the vault was covered in water. There would be no hiking across this space. The combined team stopped to assess the situation.
"I'll go check out the lake." Beast Boy said as waded into the water. Before he could morph he felt Raven's warm white energy envelope him and pull him out of the water. She said nothing, but gave him a glare he wouldn't forget anytime soon.
"How are we going to know if there's anything in there?" The changeling protested.
Kara and Kal-El stepped forward. They were still wearing their lead lined suits and looked uncomfortable in them.
"Kara and I will scan the lake for any danger. It's likely that there is something in there, so be ready."
The two Kryptonians took flight over the underground lake, flying midway between the lake's surface and the top of the vault's dome. The waters were dark and murky and they had to slowly scan the depths of the lake with their x-ray vision. They methodically checked out the mysterious lake while the Titans and other Justice Leaguers waited patiently. Slade however, seemed restless as he paced along the water's edge.
"Anything we should know about Slade?" Nightwing asked him with a tense voice.
"There's a monster in there. Of that I have no doubt." DeathStroke replied. "But it will be difficult to find, even for Superman."
After 20 minutes the Kryptonians completed their scan. Kara flew back to the shore, just a few feet above the water's surface. As she approached the heroes she shouted her report.
"We couldn't find anything in the …"
Kara's announcement was cut short by a burst on the lake's surface, no more than 20 feet from the shore. A huge serpent like creature had shot out, breaking the water's mirror smooth surface and caught the young woman in its huge jaws. The creature has black scales and its body was at least 10 feet in diameter. It had two pairs of glowing red eyes and Kara was struggling to free herself from the razor sharp teeth in its jaws which had already shred her lead lined suit to ribbons. The monster quickly swam back out to the middle of the underground lake, putting distance between itself and the rest of the heroes.
"It's a basilisk!" Raven shouted. "Watch the teeth, they're poisonous!" She shouted as she raised her sword and took flight, heading straight towards Kara. Starfire was already airborne and was firing a barrage of star bolts at the legendary monster, which merely bounced off it sturdy scales.
Kal-El zoomed in to assist his niece but was stopped by a second basilisk that also burst from the murky depths of the lake, with which he began to struggle. Beast Boy jumped into the water and morphed into a pliosaur and joined in the attack against the first basilisk and was quickly followed by the other flying heroes as well as Mas Y Menos who ran along the water's surface, attempting to distract the monsters.
As Raven flew over the water a third basilisk emerged from the dark water and attacked her. She raised her shield just in time to save herself from the deadly creature's poisonous bite, but found herself trapped in its deadly maw. The pressure generated by the creatures jaw was overwhelming and the half angel would not be able to hold her shields forever.
Raven's plight had not gone unnoticed and she saw a green pliosaur leap out of the water and bite the basilisk on its neck. Beast Boy did not release the monster from his bite, know that as long as he didn't let go that it would not be able to return the favor, and he knew that a basilisk's bite was poisonous and deadly. The wound he gave the monster was minor, but it was the distraction Raven needed to escape from its jaws. As she pulled away she dropped her shield and doubled back, flying over the serpent's head where she landed. She thrust the angelic sword into the creature's head; its supernatural blade cut through the basilisk's thick skull like it a hot knife through butter. The creature gave out a quick death wail and collapsed. Beast Boy morphed into a hummingbird and joined his wife, perching on her shoulder as she continued her original flight to assist Kara.
The Green Lantern had already freed Kara from the first basilisk's jaws, and she had fortunately suffered no injuries as the creature's fangs had been unable to break her skin. She, along with Starfire and Bumblebee had joined in the attack, while Speedy and Diana shot arrows at the monster. Cyborg was firing both of his sonic canons at the creature that Kal-El continued to struggle with. The four Bat Clan members had used their grappling hooks to join the fight, using everything in their bat arsenal to help Kal-El in his struggle.
As the Logans approached the first monster Beast Boy once again morphed into a pliosaur and fell on the creature, immobilizing it once again with a bite on its neck while Raven dispatched it with her sword. The remaining serpent, seemingly aware of the fate suffered by its peers discontinued its fight with Kal-El and fled to safety. It submerged itself into the deep water, conceding defeat.
The group of heroes then cautiously crossed the lake, the non flying heroes carried by those capable of flight. They regrouped on the opposite shore. Cyborg was the last to arrive, as Bumblebee had carried him over the lake with great effort.
"Gee Sparky, could you be any heavier?" She panted as she set him down.
Cyborg ignored the friendly jab from Karen.
"So what else does big, red and ugly have in store for us?" He asked Raven.
"I don't know. When it comes to Trigon it's prudent to expect the unexpected. But we're getting close, I can sense his presence."
There were three tunnels leading out of the vault. None of them had any markings or any physical features to make one stand out over the other. The heroes gathered in front of the three passages, pondering what to do.
"Any suggestions Raven?" Nightwing asked.
She shook her head, clearly troubled by the choices laid before them. She turned to her husband and he nodded back just as he turned into a bloodhound. The green dog sniffed around the entrances to the 3 tunnels. He also went deep into each one as he explored them with his sensitive nose. It was going to be a challenge even for him as the air was already permeated with the smell of sulfur.
He emerged from the first passage and entered the second one, slowly sniffing the ground as he went in. He continued tracking until he was no longer visible from the entrance. After what felt like an eternity Raven heard his voice echo in the tunnel.
"It's this way guys!" His voice echoed faintly.
The rest of the group ran into the dark tunnel, with Cyborg at the front, lighting up the way. They soon caught up with Beast Boy.
"Are you sure grass stain?" He shouted out.
"I'd recognize Trigon's stench anywhere." The changeling replied as he led the team deeper into the sinister dark tunnel.
Trigon stood in front of the amber flames and raised his arms. With his four eyes closed he recited a strange guttural incantation which made the entire cavern shake. The throne room was the size of a small warehouse and full of stalagmites and stalactites, which reverberated with the room and some of the smaller ones broke and fell to the ground.
The flames began to change colors, from amber to blue, then to orange followed by violet, cycling through the all the colors of spectrum, faster and faster until the flames where white. The fire itself moaned in an otherworldly way until it actually spoke.
"What is your bidding, my master?" It asked with a thin, faint ghostlike voice as tendrils of smoke formed limbs that reached out to the red demon.
Jacob entered the room, keeping his distance in deference from his father.
"It's done; I've released the basilisks on them."
"Good, that will delay them. And if we are lucky a few Titans will die before they get past the serpents." The red demon replied to his son. "Do you have the relics with you?"
"I do father. They were difficult to locate but I found them." He said as he approached Trigon.
"Give them to me. I am ready for them."
Jacob reached into a bag his was carrying and produced two bones; both were rib bones, human rib bones. Trigon took them from him and examined them carefully, after which he smiled.
"Well done Jacob, these are the bones I wanted." He then turned and addressed the white flames that still danced in the room's central fire pit.
"I need these two, restore their flesh!"
"I obey my master." The flames replied in unison, their voices mixing and harmonizing into one ghostlike voice.
Trigon tossed the two bones into the fire, which flared up and once again began to cycle through the colors of the rainbow. The flames flared high, licking the high ceiling of the throne room with their multicolored tongues. Jacob was now standing next to his demonic father and watched the two bones in the fire, squinting his 4 glowing eyes as the flames became brighter and brighter.
As he watched he saw the 2 ribs become 4, then 8 and continued to multiply until two complete rib cages were formed. As he continued to observe he saw two spines slowly form as well as the bone structures for the arms and legs. Finally the skulls began to grow back and when that was done the two now complete skeletons stood up. Once was taller than the other, though neither one was what one could describe as tall.
As the two skeletons continued to stand in the flames Jacob saw the first traces of flesh begin to form on the two bony figures which began to glow bright enough to require him to avert his gaze. Soon the brilliance subsided and Jacob saw a man and a woman still standing amid the flames, which burned bright enough that he could not see their faces.
"Step forward, mortals!" Trigon commanded them.
Once they stepped out Jacob saw their faces and smiled; now knowing that he had indeed retrieved the relics his father had sent him to find.
"I can't wait to see the green idiot's face Father. You are absolutely right, he will surrender to us. Of that there is no doubt."
"Do not underestimate Raven's influence on him Jacob. For some strange reason he loves her."
"I won't Father, but do not worry, he will join us if it's the last thing I do."
Trigon growled at his only remaining son.
"If we fail, it may very well be the last thing we do."
The Titans and their companions continued their trek down the long dark passageway. It continued its steep descent into the Earth's crust. Batman periodically informed them of how deep they were and they were now 3 miles below sea level. The temperature was becoming unbearable as they continued their long march. After what felt like over half an hour there was a glow at the end of tunnel and the heroes felt themselves tense up as they stopped near the end of the passageway.
"He's in there." Raven whispered. "I can feel his presence."
Beast Boy scrunched his nose.
"I can smell him." He said with a grimace.
Nightwing gestured with his arm as he charged out of the tunnel into the large room, followed by the others. The first thing the noticed was the was walls shimmered as they were full of exposed, raw precious stones that reflected the light from a large white fire that burned in a pit in the middle of the room, which was also full of stalagmites and stalactites which also shimmered. The room was large, at least 100 meters long and about 50 meters wide and the uneven ceiling varied from 20 to 30 meters in height. At the far end of the room Trigon sat on a jewel encrusted throne that was carved from solid granite, his eyes closed and his head leaning forward as if he were asleep, which was exactly the way he was when the Titans first saw him years ago, except that he was using their tower as a throne at the time. He was about 10 feet tall this time.
"Welcome to my realm Titans."
Raven stepped forward, clutching her sword menacingly.
"Surrender Trigon! You can't win!"
The red demon opened his eyes and stared at the gray half angel.
"Is that anyway to greet your father Raven?" He taunted her.
"I already told you this once before, and I'll tell you again. You might have created me, but you're not my father!"
Trigon chuckled, and then turned his gaze to Beast Boy.
"I have something to show you changeling, something you will be … very interested in."
Trigon gestured and Jacob appeared from behind a large rock formation that was next to the throne. He was sporting a malevolent grin and appeared to be dragging a man and a woman with him, who were making a vain attempt to resist him. As he emerged from the shadows the couple was now discernable from the Beast Boy's vantage point.
Raven felt a wave of shock and surprise emanate from her beloved which was followed by unmitigated fear. She turned to look at him and saw tears dripping down his face.
"No, it can't be it's impossible. They're dead …"
Raven gripped his hand tightly as Jacob released the couple.
"Gar, who are these people?" She asked as she noticed that they were now staring at the two of them, but especially at Beast Boy. As she studied their faces she noticed that while she had never seen them before that there was something familiar about them. As she studied the man's face it dawned on her just who they were.
"Mom? Dad?" The changeling asked in a fearful voice. "Is it really you?"
Raven's eyes opened wide in astonishment. Of course, how had she missed it? The man looked too much like Gar for it to be a coincidence. What had Trigon done?
"Garfield!" The woman's voice trembled. "My baby! Look at you; you're a grown man now! How long has it been?"
Marie Logan then focused her gaze on Raven, who was still clutching his hand.
"And who are you?" She asked the mysterious gray girl. Without hesitating Raven answered in her signature deadpan.
"I'm Raven Logan. I'm your daughter-in-law."
Mark Logan took his wife's hand and together they approached the changeling and the angel.
"You're married Garfield? How long have we been gone?"
"Mom, Dad, you haven't changed. You're just the way I remember you."
Marie released her husband's hand and ran towards her son, wrapping her arms around him. Raven probed with her empathic abilities and sensed no deception. If the pair where imposters, they didn't know it. As Marie continued to hug and kiss her son, who was now blubbering Mark Logan approached Raven.
"Who exactly are you, Raven?" He asked.
Trigon responded for her. "Raven is my daughter, Mark Logan."
Beast Boy's father recoiled in horror from the gray girl in front of him.
"Garfield, you mean to tell us that you're married to a demon?"
Beast Boy released his mother from his embrace and ran to his father, wrapping his arms around him.
"No Dad, Raven's an angel, not a demon!"
"My daughter was a demoness when you married her changeling." Trigon taunted him.
"She's not your daughter anymore Trigon! So shut up!"
Trigon chuckled again. "What's the matter, Beast Boy, are you ashamed of your wife. Afraid that your parents do not approve of your choice?"
Marie stepped in.
"If my Garfield chose this girl to be his wife then I have no objection to her." She said as she wrapped her arms around Raven and kissed her. Raven returned the hug.
"Thank you Mrs. Logan."
"Just call me Marie; after all Raven, you're Mrs. Logan too."
Raven then turned to red demon.
"What's the meaning of this Trigon? Why did you bring them back?" She asked as the rest of the team had finally understood what was happening.
"Insurance dear daughter. I failed to hedge my bets last time. This time, I prepared for all eventualities."
Beast Boy wrapped his muscular arms around his parents.
"Mom, Dad, don't worry. I'll save you this time!" He promised as tears dripped down his face.
As if on cue Trigon's booming laughter echoed throughout the room.
"Did you think I was unprepared changeling? Know this; if I am destroyed your parents will also die, as their life force is intertwined with mine! The only way you can save your parents changeling is by allowing me to escape."
The green boy stared in disbelief, feeling icy fingers grip his spine.
"No." He whimpered.
No mail bag today.