Raven choked for breath as she felt the demonic kryptonian's powerful fingers close around her windpipe. Every attempt to speak only resulted in pained gasps. She frantically tried to call forth her powers, but her desperation combined with her inability to vocalize her mantra made her more or less helpless.
"It would be so simple," hissed Trigon, his grip tightening ever so slightly. "One small twitch."
Raven began to panic. She was certain she was going to die.
"But no," continued Trigon. "You do not deserve such quick release. For you're trechery, I am going to see to it that you know suffering the likes of which the cosmos has never known."
Trigon's eyes lit up as a sinister thought suddenly flashed in his mind. He let out a low throaty laugh.
"In fact," he sneered. "Why don't we start by seeing what in this miserable world matters most to you?"
Raven struggled as Trigon roughly placed a large hand across her forehead. Immediately, an intense red energy began coursing through her body and soon she felt Trigon's unmistakable presence probing the deep recesses of her mind.
Thousands of thoughts and images passed from Raven mind to Trigon's in a matter of seconds. Thousands of thoughts, memories and ideas flashed before Trigon's mind's eye. Some were barely visible, while others carried a brilliant glow. These were what the demon was looking for. In a nanosecond he probed Raven's mind, studying which thoughts triggered the strongest emotional response. When he was done, it was clear to him where his revenge against her would start.
Almost as suddenly as he had entered, Trigon's presence left Raven's mind. The empath felt a deep feeling of dread well up inside her as she looked into the possessed kryptonian's smirking face.
"He will be the first," he said in a menacing whisper.
Raven went numb.
"Beast Boy," she croaked.
"Yes, my dear," he replied smiling. "His suffering will be legendary, and it will be all because of you."
A righteous fury filled Raven's entire being as Beast Boy's innocent face flashed in her mind. So long as there was breath in her body, Trigon would NOT have him.
Summoning all her focus and concentration, she felt her soul self rise up from her body. The demon's eyes widened in shock as the spirit suddenly plunged itself deep into his consciousness.
Trigon yelled in pain as the Raven's etheral form ripped and clawed viciously at his mind, doing everything in its power to tear his presence from his host body.
"No," screamed Trigon. "NOOOOOO!"
Beast Boy paced back and forth in the hall. He hated waiting. He so desperately wanted to be with Raven, but since he knew absolutely nothing about magic, waiting was all he could do. Regardless, with each passing second, he could feel his anxiety growing.
Cyborg, noticing Beast Boy's apprehension, stepped up and placed a comforting hand on his green friend's shoulder.
"Hey, man, you okay?"
"Not by a long shot," chuckled Beast Boy nervously.
Cyborg offered a kind smile.
"Don't worry, B. Raven knows what she's doing."
Before Cyborg could reassure the changeling that everything would be fine, an enormous energy blast rocketed the cell door off its hinges, catching all those in the vicinity by surprise.
Turning to the now wide-open cell, the group spotted the still possessed Superman standing in the doorway his eyes glowing a terrifying red.
"I will not be stopped," he bellowed before flying down the hallway at blinding speed.
Filled with concern for Raven's safety, Beast Boy chose to ignore the demon and instead quickly entered the open cell. His heart sank as he spotted Raven lying still on the floor.
"Raven," he called desperately, rushing to her side. Gently he brought her unconscious form into his arms. "Raven?"
He felt relief wash over him as she gave a gentle moan. She was alive.
"Yo, B, is she okay?" called Cyborg from outside the cell.
"I think so," the changeling replied, looking over his shoulder.
"Alright, stay with her. The rest of the league went after Trigon, we're going to follow them."
"Be careful, Cy," called Beast Boy as he watched Cyborg disappear from sight.
With Cyborg gone, Beast Boy returned his attention to the woman in his arms.
"Raven, can you hear me?"
Raven let out another moan as her eyes slowly fluttered open.
"I saw…" she said groggily.
"Raven?"
"I touched his mind," said the empath, sitting up. "I know his plan."
Trigon sped down the halls of the Watchtower, his mind racing as some of the faster members of the Justice League and Titans (Flash, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Starfire) followed closely behind him. Despite Superman's awesome strength there had been far too many close calls, and Trigon could no longer take any chances. The time for games was over. He already knew where he needed to go to complete his mission, but he needed to ensure that earth's heroes would not follow. In other words he needed a distraction. Fortunately, looking deeply into Superman's mind while he sat in the jail cell had revealed the answer to his problems.
The group watched as the Kryptonian made a sudden sharp turn and drastically increased his speed.
"Where's this guy going?" pondered Flash aloud.
Wonder Woman, taking note of their location, felt panic rise up within her. The creature supposedly knew everything Superman knew, and if her suspicions were right then they would all soon be in grave danger.
Arriving roughly a minute before the others, Trigon had a moment to admire the device in front of him. The room held many interesting pieces of technology, but this was what he wanted. Wonder Woman's commanding voice suddenly broke him away from his thoughts.
"Stop him," she cried.
Not wasting any time, the kryptonian snatched up the device into his hands and made a hasty exit, smashing through one of the Watchtower's massive windows.
"We have to go after him," shouted Wonder Woman as the room began to depressurize.
Without saying a word, Starfire and Green Lantern gave chase. The group watched the duo exit the tower just as the emergency hatch sealed up the busted window behind them.
"This is perfect," grinned Trigon. "The creature trapped within this device will be the herald to my arrival."
With a dastardly grin, Trigon activated the infamous Phantom Zone Projector, took aim at the earth, and fired. He laughed wickedly as a solid white beam rocketed straight towards the planet below him, unleashing the terror within the device.
Movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention, and the demon turned just in time to see Green Lantern and Starfire heading straight for him.
"You're too late," laughed Trigon. "This is the beginning of the end." With ease, the demon crushed the device with his bare hands and soared off into deep space.
"What was that?" asked Starfire.
The expression on Green Lantern's face was grim.
"I think things just got even more complicated," he said solemnly as he gathered up the pieces of the Phantom Zone Projector.
The land just outside Metropolis was a sprawling countryside full of peace and tranquility. Unfortunately, the calm of the day was suddenly shattered as a white beam came from the heavens and smashed into the ground, creating a massive crater in the soil. After the dust settled, up from the ground came the beast. He was a being of unstoppable, uncontrollable power. His only mission was the eradication of life. Once again, the savagery of Doomsday had been unleashed upon the world.