Grimoire panted as she crouched in the dark shadows, her heart pounding. The darkness melded around her like an otherworldly cloak, keeping her hidden from her pursuers. Occultum was a favored spell that had served her well in the past.
She peered at the group of heroes from behind her veil of shadows, keeping a sharp eye on the blue cloaked magic user. Dark magic, one of the beings purred. How very… uncommon. I wonder to whom she has pledged her soul.
No one I care to meet, the thief shot back. God, it didn't even touch me and I still feel cold.
A very powerful sponsor, the voice agreed.
The Titans spread out among the dark warehouse and Robin shouted, "Come out, now!"
Grimoire smirked. Let's play a game, I'm a little early. Her lips parted and she spoke.
Her voice echoed around the room, raspy and thick with the promise of malevolence, from every direction. "How often does that really work?" The heroes jumped. "Be honest, now."
"Where are you?" Robin demanded. "What's the medallion for?!"
"The medallion? The medallion is for cashing in on a couple hundred grand," She chuckled. "And as for where I am, well, where does it sound like I am?"
Robin grit his teeth, "What does Slade want with the medallion?"
Grimoire paused. She hadn't thought of that. "Dunno. Don't really care either."
Raven cast a layer of magic all over the room. Grimoire shuddered. "Where are you?" The sorceress sneered, her voice taken on a rough, angry edge.
Apprehension needled at Grimoire and she shivered both from the cold veil the other spellcaster's magic tossed over her and from the tiniest sense of dread. Still, she was never one to lose her tongue and Occultum was still holding strong. "Aww, come now, princess, are you getting mad? Just 'cause I'm winning our little game of hide and go seek? Don't worry, you wouldn't be the first."
"Where are you?" Raven gritted out again through bared teeth.
"Tut tut, where are your manners? Can I at least get a 'please'?"
Raven snarled, but another voice spoke up: Starfire.
"Please?" The alien asked, tentatively.
Grimoire was thrown off for a moment. She hadn't been expecting anyone to take the taunt so thickly layered in sarcasm seriously, even one of the Elder Things was floored. Her grip on the Echo spell slipped and instead of the intimidating omnipresent voice, her natural confused alto slipped past her lips, "…What?"
Raven immediately turned towards the sound of her voice and Grimoire swore softly in a couple languages, several of them dead, realizing her mistake as soon as she spotted the sorceress's red tinged violet eyes turn in her direction.
An ancient voice like thundering waves washed through Grimoire's mind, as she slowly backed away, Of all the stupid mistakes you could have made, that was the most amusing.
"Pudor tu," she growled back under her breath. "Eat shit, sushi face."
Raven advanced more quickly. And, the Elder Thing laughed. You're still speaking aloud, book.
Shut up, Dagon! She crouched down lower to the ground under the cloak of shadows. You can't see me you can't see me you can't see me… She chanted in her head. Raven's hands began to glow again with dark magic. No no no no no… Dagon this is all your fault.
Dagon chuckled. Your own arrogance led to this. But, there was a gleeful sound and Grimoire could imagine the pause to be for the Outer thing to grin menacingly at her with a needle fang-toothed smile. If you want something to be my fault…
Grimoire felt some of her magic draw away from her and hissed, Don't you even dare…! Occultum shattered under the force of the draining magic and Grimoire might have been concerned about her hiding place being found – she dimly registered all five of the Titans crying out in triumph – but, what her mystic energy was being drawn to was the more concerning issue.
Grimoire, while she was the human incarnation of the Book of the Damned, was still a mortal at her core. She may not age and she could not technically die without first having her soul and the book's being disentangled, she was still bound by the limits of mortal laws of nature. She had never truly seen any of the Elder Gods; not in their true forms. She would not be able to comprehend it. No mortal was meant to. They'd appeared to her as other things, I they decided to appear to her at all. Sometimes as simple things: mice, fish, birds, insects, monstrosities and sometimes even men. She could recognize them despite the shapes they took. Dagon's favorite forms were fish or fishmen or a handsome sailor and when she summoned a piece of him to aid her in any of her machinations, he took the form of a terrifying sea beast.
So, whatever it was the Outer Thing was planning to do, Grimoire knew it likely had something to do with water. She just couldn't tell what. The entity didn't seem to have any inclination to tell her. And, without knowing what the curse was going to do, she couldn't do much about it. She stood to her full height, and faced the Teen Titans, grimacing. I suppose I'll have to deal with that when the time comes….
The five heroes were watching her carefully, Raven in the lead, still looking seething.
"Finally got tired of hiding?" questioned Cyborg. His arm cannon was charging and his mouth was set in a grim line.
Grimoire regarded them warily. Beast Boy had shifted into a green jungle cat, haunches bunched in preparation to spring at her if she moved. Starfire was hovering back overhead, eyes glowing green and starbolts clutched in her fists. Robin was the only one really actively moving and Grimoire glanced at him as he slowly moved to circle behind her.
The corner of her mouth tipped upwards slightly into a half smirk. She tilted her chin up and looked at Cyborg with cocky half lidded eyes. "Nah," she said conversationally. "Something just came up. Not sure what though…" There's no water here. What the hell are you plotting?
Wouldn't you like to know.
She heard creaking and groaning above her and she, along with the Titans, looked up. In the dimness of the warehouse, she could just barely make out the pipes contorting and bulging under the force of the water flowing through them. A single drop of water fell on her face as the metal began to give.
And then, Grimoire realized. "…Oh, you fish lipped mother fucke-!"
The pipes burst with a screech and a clank and the room flooded – with seawater, if the smell was any indication.
Grimoire, fast, sprightly, and scowling, a bit like an alley cat, sprang up and up to the top of some of the larger storage units, just barely managing to get doused instead of thoroughly soaked. She swore, loudly, in English, then French, then Arabic, then Latin, then some odd hissing language that grated against the ear.
She paused, her eyes narrowed, and then she shouted out, "And, where the fuck is that walking masked asshole with my gods damned money!?"
"Temper, temper…" purred a smooth baritone from behind her. Grimoire jumped and whirled around to see Slade standing not ten feet behind her.
Wide startled crimson eyes narrowed into slits, "You. You're late." She held out her right hand to him and drew the amulet from her jacket with her left. "My money?"
"Come now, child. No need to be so rude." He strolled around her casually as if sizing her up. "Quite a mess you've caused."
She bit back an immature reply. It would have been something akin to 'Just like I did to your mother last night.'
Instead, Grimoire just stared and wiggled her fingers insistently. He rolled his single eye and pulled out a small bundle of money. When he placed it in her hand, he reached to grab the amulet. She drew back before he could wrap his fingers around it. She held up one finger and began to count the thousand dollar bills.
Slade looked dumbstruck, if one could tell with just having an eye to work with it. "It's all there…"
"I'll be the judge of that." Still counting.
For a moment, all Slade could do was watch her count. "Er…"
As she got to the end of the stack, she twirled the amulet around one finger and suddenly there was a loud splash. The Teen Titans burst out from beneath the waves. Beast Boy and Starfire deposited Cyborg and Robin on some nearby crates as Raven hovered nearby.
"Stop right there!" Shouted Robin.
"Oh, how very original, Traffic Light," Grimoire drawled, her gaze still drawn down to her money. "Color me thwarted, hero."
Slade chuckled. "I like this one."
"Slade…" Robin growled.
Grimoire glanced up, paused, narrowed her eyes, and pocketed her money. "Yeah, whatever. Here's your amulet thing." She stepped forward to hand over the trinket but immediately hopped back as a statbolt hit the ground where she stood before.
"I will not warn you again, thief." Starfire's eyes glowed dangerously. "Please, desist at once."
Grimoire regarded the Titans carefully. Then, without looking she tossed the amulet to Slade. "Don't tell me what to do." The Titans cried out and attempted to rush forward, but were blocked back by another pipe bursting.
The one eyed villain caught his prize with one hand and Grimoire walked towards the edge of the storage unit. He turned it over in his hands, a maniacal chuckle bubbling up from his throat.
Grimoire leapt down to the next stack of crates offering a two fingered wave, "See ya later, scrubs. My work here is done."
She muttered a spell under her breath,"Exite, et qui ministrant in domo regis mare!"
Soon enough, she spied a Deep One peering up at her beneath the frothing waves. The amphibious fish men were her least favorite summons. They were just so creepy and slimy and their huge dead empty eyes were unsettling. She couldn't stand touching them for too long. But, they had their uses. They were strong, tall, and could swim much faster than she could ever hope to. So, really she had little choice but to call one forth in this situation.
Grimoire rolled her eyes and leapt down. The Deep One leapt up to meet her.
Or, at least he would have, had hell not broken loose at that moment. A bolt of hellfire slammed into the walking fish, causing him to explode into fleshy chunks and Grimoire to slam into the now roiling miniature sea.
As she sunk, she thought, I hate you, Dagon, this is all your fault.
Dagon's hissing laughter echoed.
a/n: cool cool.
fish man.
fighter of the bird man.
champion of the sun.
you're a master of the ocean.
and sushi.
for everyone!