For those of you who are still along for the ride I will clarify something. Yes, I did borrow from Ghost Rider, but can you blame me? And besides, Johnny Blaze wasn't the last Ghost Rider. All chatter aside here is the next chapter: Set the World Afire.
I used my chain to pull my brother in close and made to stab him through the gut, but he anticipated the move, deflecting my thrust with his right forearm and using his momentum to grab my arm and drive his elbow into my left shoulder so that now we were face to face.
"You always protect the weak brother. Even in your youth you always threw your life away for the insects that make this planet a wasteland."
My brother snorted in exasperation. "They do what comes naturally to them brother." Here he turned to the Titans. " But not all of them choose to destroy."
'Big mistake.' I let go of my chain reared my fist back and throttled my brother with a right hook. The resulting sound was what you would hear in a thunder storm, or what you would have heard had you been close enough to hear Beast Boy blow that Game Station in Employee of the Month.
My brother made a ditch sliding on his face dragging my chain along with him. Getting up quickly his eyes blazed with blue flames as he came back at me with his own sword carved from the light of HIS presence.
Our swords crossed with a violent gale being stirred up from the opposing forces of light and darkness, neither of us giving an inch. I opened my mouth and roared into the wind as my brother grit his teeth from the continuing labors of our fight. But even though we were giving it everything we had we were still not gaining any ground.
With a flash we both slid back on our heels to stop and glare at each other. In order to defeat my brother it was clear that I would need to employ more...delightful methods.
"Brother!" He remained in a defensive stance as I continued. "It would seem that you have not neglected your training while I have been abroad." Here I raised my hands over the ground. "So I will enlist the help of some old friends."
"Mortuus legio audite meus placitum." The ground began to rumble and black vapors seeped from slowly forming cracks.
"Ego summisse dico super vos. Commodo mihi vestri vires ut Ego evinco nostrum hostilis quod vindicatum quis nos mereo mereor ex exordium!" The rumbling had now grown so much that the Titans had to crouch just to keep from falling over.
"Ego voco vos Superbia , Abdomen , Invidia , Saevio quod Avaritia.!" Slowly the mists formed into figures that contrasted with each other more than the colors of Robin's costume.
The first was dressed in a deep blue Italian suit complete with a burgundy tie and black wingtips. He would be charming, if it wasn't for the fact that his smile declared in a silent yell that he would kill you with all the compassion one shows an ant before crushing it underfoot.
The second looked like he had eaten twinkies and drunk 7 UP for his entire life and had a dirty white t-shirt with grey sweat pants to finish off the look. He was eyeing Cyborg like he was a snow cone and while he would never admit it out loud Cyborg was unnerved at being eyed like a summer treat.
Next up was a rather plain girl dressed in a grey skirt and sweater, but her eyes smoldered with a green that was not beautiful, but deadly like the eyes of a tiger that had found its prey. And this gaze was on Starfire who found this girl to be more unpleasant than Kitten, which is quite a feat considering the blonde's exploits.
Fourth was a woman who had a thing for the color red and armor that ended in Freddy Kreuger claws on her fingers and toed boots that ended in wicked looking talons. Her focus was on Beast Boy and just how she could carve him into edible portions to feast on later.
Lastly was a man adorned in a royal purple robe with a crown that would put Louise the XIV to shame. And that guy was excessive.1 He wore rings with precious jewels on each finger and had his gaze steady on Raven with eyes that were a grey that comes from being sucked dry of everything that qualifies as human.
"Titans! I want you to meet some friends of mine!" I spread my arms out as if to give the Titans a hug. "Here are for your demise five of the seven deadly sins!"
"Wait a minute! Hold everything!" In the distance you could hear a record scratch. Slowly...ever so slowly, I dragged my hand down my face.
"What...is...your...problem!? You're about to die at the hands of five deadly sins and you have the nerve to say, 'Hold everything!'!
"Well yeah! I mean what happened to the other two?Other people think I'm dumb, but I know there should be seven deadly sins here."
I grumbled the foulest curses known in all creation at having to face this green annoyance. "Okay, just for the sake of getting this out of the way I will answer you. The reason that the other two sins are not here is that Socor is more useful for large scale attacks like a nuclear bomb would be for taking out a city. The second is that Amor would not stop blabbing on and on about the one with 'those sexy pointed ears.'. Does that clear it up for you?"
"Yes! I told you Cyborg! Pay up!" Grumbling Cyborg handed Beast Boy ten dollars while I felt like my head was going to explode from rage. While it did not truly explode it did erupt in flames as I roared to the sky..
"Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrgh! Enough! Sins! Destroy the Titans!"
"Titans Go!" Each Titan leapt into the fray and did battle with their sin, but from the start it was obvious that things were not going well. Superbia dodged each and every blow that Robin threw at him all the while taunting him, "Foolish human, you really think that you can beat me? Me? The greatest of all sins?" This only caused Robin to grow more enraged and more sloppy, but Pride waited and laughed while Robin jabbed and kicked missing all the while.
Cyborg was having just as much success. No matter how many times her fired his sonic cannon Abdomen just walked forward an licked his lips. Finally giving up on blasting his foe through the wall Cyborg opted for punching him in the gut. So he reeled back his fist while running at top speed let his fist fly...and felt his hand sink into the sin's gut with a comical squish. The sin cocked his own fist and throttled him so fast that Cyborg's head went ahead of his body and hit the wall before the rest of his body snapped into place and sent him the rest of the way.
Starfire was having the cat fight to end all cat fights with Invidia. "You think you're so pretty! Well you won't be after I'm done with you!" Following this sentence she lashed out with her fingernails and left bloody scratches running down from Starfire's left eye to her right cheek. Starfire's eyes lit up in response, "You will pay for that Clorbag!" But rather than being able to carry out her threat Invidia's fingernails extended into claws that she used to stab Starfire through the heart and while Starfire stared at the blood slowly seeping from the wound the sin yanked her nails out of Starfire, raised her lef up and drop kicked her into the ground.
Saevio was cutting the air like a Cuisinart set on frappe and it was taking all Beast Boy's effort to keep from resembling a sliced ham. "The dark one spared your life because of her feelings for you, but I lack her weakness, so expect nothing less than your complete annihilation!"
"And I won't let you hurt Raven! Trigon failed and so will you!" This was met with raucous laughter which lasted a full 20 seconds before the sin regained control and with a mirthful gaze full of pity she spoke, "You really think that Trigon is the worst you have ever faced don't you? He was just one of the more powerful demons, not the most powerful demon.
"You see Cruor over there grappling with that fool?" Beast Boy flicked his eyes over to see Cruor and Lucifer once again ramming their swords together like a drummer's sticks on a sugar high. "Yeah? So why do you bring it up?" Saevio grinned wickedly before driving her point home, "Cruor was given his powers by the most powerful of demons in all the universe, Satan himself."
Beast Boy of course was concerned, but he didn't let it show, he had to be strong, for the team and for Raven. If not they and the entire world were doomed. This time to forces far more evil than a brain in a jar, Curious George, gumby girl and wheezy. But his resolve slackened when he noticed the bodies of Cyborg and Starfire lying mostionless on the ground and Raven just barely holding her own against Avaritia.
Taking advantage of this Saevio flipped over Beast Boy and severed his hamstrings with her claws causing the green teenager to cry out in pain. However, before she could finish him there was the shout of two words, "Salus incolumitas!" And in a flash of ligh so blinding that it felt like I was burning again the Titans and my brother were gone.
Saevio roared and punched a small crater into the ground before turning to me and asking as calmly as she could, "What do we do now lord Cruor?" I stood with my eyes gazing into the night before murmuring, "We wait." I lowered my gaze to meet hers and she consented, though not without snorting her disdain for the idea. "The Titans will seek us of their own accord. All we need to do is be ready. And next time..." I picked up a piece of concrete that had been loosed in the fight and crushed it in my hand, "...there will be no survivors."
Whew! Let's hear it for this long chapter people! And special thanks to Quertyman for helping out. Now aside from checking out GothGoddessofDarkness' profile to see my videos you know what to do. Tell me what you think, tell me what you want and most of all tell me something that will help me to improve. Thank you.