Titans: Elemental

Chapter 105: The Prophecy, Part 2

We see the other Titans on their way down the winding staircase in the measureless underground shaft. A low, distant moaning, as if wind blowing somewhere farther down, brings them up short.

Dick, "sounds like we've got company."

Rose, "very perceptive…."

As they strain to make out any details of what might be causing the disturbance, a tiny blue spot flares up in the gloom and begins to grow, rising rapidly toward them. The group cries out in fear, and all seven set off again, only to stop with a round of surprised gasps as the specters that passed Raven and Jack start to emerge from the steps. They can now be seen in more detail: skeletal, beaked creatures, armed with fearsome bladed weapons, whose bat wings have had their webbing torn away.

The heroes scatter as soon at those keen blades hiss toward them. Dick is first to mount a counter strike, but his fist merely swishes through the ethereal body with no effect.

Dick, "I can't hit them!"

Another one thumps Vic, who nearly goes over the edge and finds himself looking at a horde of these ghastly things.

Vic, "but they can hit us!"

Bryan, "oh come on! That ain't fair!"

A diving tackle sends both cyborgs into the wall; Vic opens fire with his cannon, Bryan with his laser gun, Starfire and Kom' match their effort with starbolts, and Changeling becomes a kangaroo and kicks through a ghost. The momentum carries him into space, so he becomes a falcon and swoops back up, barely staying ahead of a ghost. Now all of them have their hands full, Dick laying about with his fighting staff. He is forced to break off the fight when a knot of spirits begins to chase him up the stairs, but Vic sends a cannon shot down to disperse them. What happens next is a double blindside: Dick gets pinned to the wall by ghosts coming up over the edge, while others float up through the stone stairs and do their best to seize Vic's legs, forcing a terrified scream from him. The empty eye sockets now glow bright red. He yanks himself away and blasts away with a supremely frustrated roar, wiping out a broad section to cut off the way down.

Vic, "oops."

Changeling, "uh-oh."

Rose, "you can say that again…."

Kom', "I will. Uh oh!"

Dick, "follow me!"

He makes tracks for the center of the shaft and hurls himself into empty air, whereupon gravity asserts itself forcefully and he is lost from sight. Changeling, Kom', Rose and Starfire trade very puzzled looks, "has this guy gone out of his gourd?", and follow his lead; the shape-shifter becomes a pterodactyl as he drops. Kom' grabs Rose by the arms. The bionic Titans are left at the precipice, Vic is waving his arms angrily.

Vic, "uh, maybe you didn't get the memo, Nightwing? You, Bryan and I can't fly!"

Bryan, "the one time I left my jetpack at home!"

The spirits certainly can, though, and several of them get in his face to reinforce the point. Within seconds, they have boxed him and Bryan in both upstairs and down, so they take a deep breath, Bryan holds his nose, and they go over the edge after the others. The Titans hurtle into the abyss with a plethora of murderously angry souls hot on their heels and are buffeted this way and that by their close approach.

As Dick tumbles along, he catches sight of the Mark of Skath on a patch of wall and fires a grappling hook, scoring a hit and being yanked back up when the line snaps taut. Here comes Vic and Bryan with no such help readily available; Starfire gasps, steps on it, and catches Vic just short of a spectral brigade. Changeling quickly grabs into Bryan. The Titans race back up the shaft. At the location of the Mark, Dick climbs onto the stairs while Changeling comes in for a landing and resumes human form as he sets Bryan down. Kom' soon does the same with Rose. Dick hauls on the line he came up on, tearing the Mark's stone free of the wall and exposing a second chamber.

Dick, "another passage! This way!"

He dives through, Changeling goes after him, as do Bryan, Rose and Kom', and Starfire tosses Vic in before bringing up the rear, and, right on cue, here come all the ghosts. Now everyone is going flat out down this new passage, but Dick skids to a stop and hurls a disc toward the pursuers. The throw is so low that it scrapes along to the floor; it explodes with terrific force as soon as it stops, and he is off again. As the smoke and glare clear, we see yet another new doorway; he enters and the other Titans look up in total shock.

Changeling, "uh…. Which way is the gem?"

High arched ceilings mark the entrances to several unlit corridors, and we see the keystone of one of them shows the Mark carved into it.

Dick points to the insignia and informs Changeling, "follow the Mark!"

They go in the indicated direction, as do the relentless apparitions; Dick, now in the rear, has to dodge one strike after another or parry with his staff. The others rush ahead down a flight of stairs and stop at another multi-faceted fork in the road.

Changeling, "there's no Mark!"

Dick tumbles down and kicks away an attacker."

Bryan, "now what do we do?"

Rose, "just pick one!"

Dick is immediately waylaid anew as Changeling ponders the dilemma very hard. We see the keystone in one arch, which has an eagle-head carving set in it. On the others are a distorted human face, a wolf, a dragon.

Changeling, "uh…. Eeny…. Meeny…. Miney…."

He points at one of the corridors.

Changeling, "... moe!"

He charges ahead as the spooks mount a fresh assault and the others retaliate. We see just outside the passage he chose; a tiny figure appears with something blue glowing behind it. This is Changeling, chased by a new detachment of souls and ready to wet his pants from sheer panic after choosing the incorrect chamber.

Changeling, "NOT MOE! NOT MOE!"

He dives back into the junction chamber, letting the spirits fly overhead, and straightens up as the others back up toward him. Cannon, laser and starbolts "pulverize" one enemy after another, but Dick takes no part in the melee; instead he looks up at the raven keystone.

Dick, "this way!"

All rush toward it, the Titans making it in with almost no time to spare. We see just inside; the specters give chase, but a large stone slab slides down to cut them off.

….

We see the interior of the tunnel Raven and Jack were flying in. The flaming energy has entirely enveloped them and continues to surge upward at an alarming rate, but Raven's powers slice out through the surface as if it were an orange being sectioned. The whole thing finally disintegrates, leaving only the "soul-self" that resolves into her normal form, and she zooms on ahead, grabbing Jack in the process, to stop at the upper end of the tunnel. Here they find themselves facing a large circular pattern traced in pink light-arcs and triangles at the center, with runes inscribed around the perimeter. Inner and outer portions rotate slowly in opposite directions.

The pair back up a bit as if working up a head of steam, then charge headlong toward this display. When they are nearly close enough to touch it, a flare of light brings them up short and Raven strains as if trying to push through a barrier. The gem on her forehead glows bright red.

Raven, "let me in!"

Jack, "what the heck is going on?!"

A huge flash fills the area….

….

We see Kom', Vic, Bryan and Starfire at the door that slammed shut a moment ago. Vic has his flashlight trained on it, while the sisters inspect the rock mass very closely for a second.

Starfire, "it appears we cannot get out."

Vic turns off the light.

Vic, "yeah, but at least those things didn't follow us in."

Bryan, "always looking on the bright side, eh?"

Changeling, "uh, guys?"

We see him, Rose and Dick down the way a bit, at the mouth of a cavern.

Changeling, "you kinda need to see this."

Rose, "something tells me that this is just the beginning of this craziness."

They are standing on a small ledge overlooking the area, and Bryan, Kom' and Vic join them while Starfire floats out past the drop-off.

We see a large stone pillar, topped by a hand with palm upward and fingers splayed, set in the center of a wide open chamber. A shaft of brilliant light shoots upward from the palm, and large arched structures are arranged around the walls.

Vic, "I'm getting a serious déjà vu vibe here."

Changeling, "not only that, but something about this place seems really familiar."

Rose, "that's what déjà vu means, idiot."

Vic and Changeling are referring to the literal head trip they took into Raven's mind with Jack.

Starfire moves closer to one of the wall structures; now it can be seen as a huge copy of the raised hood of Raven's cloak, with a faceless head set within.

Starfire, "yes. It looks like…. Raven."

Kom', "that doesn't strike me as good…."

Starfire lowers Dick safely to the surface, while Changeling in pterodactyl form brings Vic in and then resumes human form. Bryan and Rose are carried down by Kom'.

Kom', "you two need to lay off the Twinkies!"

Dick, "the gem!"

There is only an empty hole at the base of that pencil of light.

Dick, "it's gone!"

We look up to the fingers of the massive hand. Everyone's favorite masked psychopath is standing casually atop one of the fingers.

Slade, "you must be disappointed."

Rose, "where's the gem, dad?"

Slade, "not here", he jumps down to them, "but…. Much closer to you than you think."

Dick, "who is Skath? Tell me who you're working for!"

Bryan, "you best do what he says before I put a shot right into your one working eye."

Slade, "mmm…. I'd love to introduce you, but unfortunately, you won't be around that long."

He raises both hands to the group and gets them red-hot. The glow blazes up!

….

We see Raven huddled on an expanse of bare rock under a sunny, orange-tinted sky. She looks up after a moment, still half-stunned by the journey she has undertaken. Jack sits next to her with an extremely worried expression. They are in a colossal floating monolith, the approximate size of a respectable asteroid, and a sprawling city dotted with many minaret-like structures covering nearly the entire upper surface. At the center of it, all is an imposing, broad-based tower.

Raven, "Azarath. My last hope."

She gets to her feet, as does Jack.

Jack, "this is where you're from?"

Raven nodded.

Jack, "under better circumstances, I'd be flattered to be here."

Raven can't help but give a small smile. She has arrived at the place she used to call home after crashing the intricately designed gate.

….

We see Slade, doing his human-flamethrower act in the subterranean chamber. As Starfire and Kom' float clear, the others dive over the edge of the huge hand sculpture and land on a small ledge farther down on its supporting pillar. The move gives them only an instant's respite, though; Slade throws himself down that way as well and lands a blow that sends Changeling, Rose and Vic screaming toward the floor. Dick and Bryan end up in a backward skid, Starfire and Kom' pull in next to them, and together they survey the dust clouds and rubble that marked the crash site. Through the haze, Vic emerges with one unconscious green buddy slung over his shoulder, Rose by his side. Vic smiles to himself, but a look to his unoccupied shoulder shows Slade on his way over and wipes that grin off in a hurry.

Slade, "now, Titans, you're just delaying the inevitable."

With an easy swing of his arm, he tosses all three brawlers aside like rag dolls; next, Dick jumps in for a little facetime.

Dick, "we're not leaving without that gem!"

Slade, "you don't understand. You're not leaving at all."

One fed-up Kom' launches herself at his neck, trying for a headlock, but settles for kicking him across the room with enough force to wipe out a decent bit of the stonework. A follow-up eye blast from Starfire hits home on one of the faceless hooded statues, bringing the head down right on top of Slade, and the Titans regroup briefly before Bryan closes in to check the sisters' work. He looks here and there, then upward with a small gasp, and we follow his gaze to show that the seemingly invincible foe has climbed onto the fallen head for another round. A jet of fire from one armored hand drives Bryan to the floor; as he drags herself up with a weary little groan, Slade jumps down and gets ready to sock him one in the back. Before he can make good, a cannon blast drops him where he stands. Vic throws a hard glare at Slade, who again comes up fresh as a daisy and closes in.

The Titans stare in total disbelief for a moment, trying to figure out how on earth one person could survive this much punishment, and Vic unleashes a new salvo. Slade avoids every shot with a series of impossibly quick side steps, then immediately has to dodge Dick's punches. He punches him away and then has to deal with Rose. He ends this bit of the combat by grabbing Rose's hair, slamming her into the fallen rock, and throwing her far across the chamber. Now a tremor shakes the floor; Slade looks off to one side. The source; Changeling, charging as a triceratops. One fireball after another breaks harmlessly against the tough green hide, but the slam of a fist against the floor throws up a fountain of flame that hurls the Titan off his feet. Finding himself squarely in Changeling's graceless flight path, Vic has just enough time for one gasp before the behemoth crashes down on him.

Slade moves toward the impact site, but a starbolt barrage makes him think better of it. The sisters still on their feet let him have both barrels each; he merely stands his ground, catches one shot, and turns it into a fireball to fling right back at them. Its unearthly glare plays over their stunned, slack-jawed faces before they are blasted into the wall and dumped flat. Now Dick struggles to lift his head and seize the wingding that has fallen loose nearby, but Slade's boot slams down to crush the device.

Slade, "you know, I actually like working for someone else. It lets me be a little more hands-on."

On the last word, he extends one palm toward Dick and warms it up, filling the area with its red glare.

….

We once again see Azarath, namely the intersection of two of its streets. Next we see a different patch of road under an overhead walkway. Not a living person has been seen in either of these shots; finally Raven and Jack walk into view.

Raven, "hello?"

Jack, "anyone here?"

They make their way along the thoroughfares, their steps ringing in the silence, and eyes their reflection in a red plate-glass window at ground level. Finally, they stop to think things over.

Jack, "where is everybody?"

Raven, "not like I expected a parade, but…."

A dove flies past just in front of them; letting the sentence drop, they set off after it and quicken their pace. After a few turns through the deserted streets, they stop to see where it might be headed next. We see the base of a tower and look up to follow the dove toward its peak; emblazoned on the front is a huge gold bird with wings spread toward the sky. On a high balcony, the creature lights on the hand of a figure clad in a white cloak whose hood is up. A turn of the head reveals the melancholy face within; a woman's, with hair colored and styled like Raven's and a gem set in the same position on the forehead.

This is Arella, her human mother.

Stroking the dove's feathers gently, Arella moves away without a word; Raven flies up toward the balcony, Jack is close behind using his powers.

When Arella speaks, her tone of voice is a perfect match for her gloom-saturated countenance.

Raven, "Arella!"

The couple gain the peak; Arella is about to go inside.

Raven, "no, wait! I've come back. Mother, please help me."

Arella, "you always had a home here, my child. But help, we could not give."

A flutter of doves flies by.

Raven, "the prophecy…. It's happening", she holds up her book, "you have to tell me how to stop it."

Arella, "nothing could be done. The promise of your birth was absolute."

Raven, "I don't believe you. There has to be a way. I don't want to be this. I don't want to help him."

She turns her face away and drops her eyes.

Raven, "Mother…. I'm…. Afraid."

Jack holds Raven to his chest.

Jack, "please, Miss Roth…. You have to help her…."

Arella, "you forever had the love of your people, Raven, even knowing what you would become, and what that would bring."

By this time, the balcony is covered with doves.

Arella, "it was too late for Earth, just as it was too late for Azarath."

Jack, "... wait, what?"

The flock scatters.

We now see utter devastation, Azarath now lies in smoldering ruins under an awful crimson sky, just as Jump City appeared in Raven's earlier visions of the future. She stares in bug-eyed horror at the citywide catastrophe, unable to tell if this is real or another nightmare.

Jack hugs her close as she whispers, "no."

A stream of lava courses sluggishly down what used to be a street, and Trigon's rumbling laughter reverberates in the air. We look to the base of the aviary tower and look up slowly along its height, or rather what is left of it. The upper half has been ripped away and the golden bird is now only a formless mass of slag. Above the remains of the structure, The same dark voice's four red eyes shine through the haze of smoke and ash.

….

We see Slade.

He has snared the other Titans in burning tendrils that extend from his hand. Changeling is back in human form, and all strain against the bonds to no avail. Dick is lifted higher next to Starfire, then to Slade.

Slade, "struggling only makes it worse, and how I hate to see you suffer. This won't hurt a bit."

He warms up his other hand.

Raven, "wanna bet?!"

The armored walking Zippo lighter is hit broadside with a huge slab of stone under her control and sandwiched between it and the wall before he can blink. His prisoners, now free, start to come around from the pounding they have taken, and Dick looks off across the chamber. At the base of the central pillar, we look up to the hand. Raven and Jack stand in its shaft of light, having returned from their visit to Azarath, the inscriptions have surfaced all over her body. Her face, with its burning white eyes, is twisted into a look of undiluted fury. Jack steps back to let his girlfriend do her thing.

The rock slab she smashed into Slade stands quietly against the wall for a second, then glows brightly around the edges and explodes in a shower of fragments. Up he comes, still very much in one piece and ready to break a few other things if he can get his hands on them. As he steps toward the pillar, Raven descends to face him.

Raven, "I told you to leave them out of this!"

Slade, "how sweet. You've come back to save your friends. But you're only delaying their pain….", he warms up both hands, "... and yours."

Raven, "well, what are you waiting for? Aren't you going to attack? Reduce me to ashes? Or did your master forbid you from hurting me? Did he order you to keep his gem safe?"

Vic, "so Raven has the gem?"

Dick, "no."

Jack, "Raven is the gem…."

Dick and Jack have just figured out what Slade told Raven, that she will become involved in a chain of events intended to bring about the destruction of the world. The infernal errand boy cools down the fireballs he has been holding in check.

Slade drops slowly out of sight, "I'll be sure to give him your regards."

A look to the floor shows that he is sinking through it, with fire licking up around his form. After he has disappeared entirely, Raven speaks up.

Raven, "I'm not finished yet!"

Dropping to her knees, Raven thrusts one black hand through the stone; after a shoulder-wrenching effort, Raven gets to her feet and levitates Slade right back up into the chamber.

Raven, "this time, I have a message for you."

Her eyes blaze and her powers extend themselves over every square inch of the steel-sheathed supervillain. A moment's pause is followed by a series of vicious heaves that sends him crashing into the ceiling, then the floor, then to the far wall in a shower of dust.

Raven floats past the others, all dumbfounded, "you tell him that he'll have to destroy me before I help him!"

Slade, "you can tell him yourself. The hour is near."

His eye widens as he notices a wide shadow falling over him; its source is a huge mass of stone that thunders down on him from the ceiling thanks to Raven. A few deft swings of her arms break him loose and bounce him all over the chamber like a pinball, after which she closes one Mark-emblazoned hand into a fist. This gesture brings up a few tons of fragments and crashes them together on Slade, who has been suspended in midair, and her "soul self" manifests itself right behind her. This makes his eye widen in pure surprise; with a primal yell, she sends the black bird figure straight at him and scores a direct hit. What comes next is an explosion that hides half the chamber in smoke clouds and leaves the other Titans struggling to hold their ground.

When the haze dissipates, Slade stands up from the huge crater blasted into the wall, showing his head to be twisted at an angle usually only seen in a corpse with a snapped neck. If anything, it is even more severe than the result of the beatdown Dick laid on him before, and it takes him perhaps a bit longer to put himself right. The crackling of vertebrae is heard just as clearly now as it was then; when he is back in order, Raven floats closer.

Raven, "I'm not afraid of you anymore!"

Slade, "you might not fear me, but look who's afraid of you."

As she turns to look over her shoulder, he disappears into the smashed wall. Her eyes go wide with shock. We see the others: their own eyes ready to pop from the sockets, making the point clear beyond any doubt.

Changeling, "Raven?"

She has no immediate response and turns away from the group.

….

Raven sits huddled on the couch, Changeling alongside, Jack right next to her, and the others are ranged in front and behind. Her marks have disappeared.

Raven, "the ancient order used the name 'Skath' to protect the true identity of their master. We know him as Trigon."

This is the first time to date that her father's name has been mentioned and the secret of the insignia. Vic recoils in shock upon hearing it.

Vic, "are you serious? That's who we're up against? Oh, man!"

Bryan, "I've heard of this guy when I met up with Constantine at a local bar. He's one of the most dangerous demons known to…. Anyone."

Starfire, "his cruelty is legendary, even on our world."

Kom', "he's basically the boogeyman of all boogeymen."

Changeling, "so, what makes you go all glowy in the dark?"

Raven, "it's a warning. It means Trigon is coming, and the way he gets here is through me. I'm not just a person. I'm a portal."

Dic, "but, Raven, why you?"

Raven, "because…. Trigon…. Is my father."

Everyone's eyes are now ready to jump loose and go into orbit at this bit of news. Changeling is equally flabbergasted, he, Jack and Vic have just realized that they made his acquaintance without even knowing it.

Raven, "bad things are going to happen soon", she crosses to the windows, "really bad things. And it's gonna be my fault. I thought I could handle this alone. I tried…. But…. I was wrong."

Starfire's hand lands on one shoulder and turns her away from the glass.

Starfire, "for confiding in us, we are most humbled."

Kom', Jack, Dick and Vic join the pair.

Vic, "I only have one question. How do we stop him?"

Raven, "we don't."

Changeling approaches, smiling, "but that doesn't mean we still can't try."

Kom', "we'll help in any way we can, Raven."

Jack takes hold of Raven's hands.

Jack, "we'll do anything for you, my love."

Raven tears up and buries her face into Jack's chest for a minute.

All of them gaze out the window at the sun rising over Jump City Bay; daybreak has come.

….

We see a river of lava; flames at the far end of a truly immense underground cavern, and Slade kneels at one bank, facing the flow. Behind him is a monolith bearing Trigon's mark.

Slade, "the prophecy has been revealed. The portal has accepted her fate."

He looks up at four large eyes, floating in the hideous glare of the flames.

"You serve me well, Slade. Continue to please me, and I shall honor our deal. I shall return what you have lost."

Slade says, his forehead Mark flaring, "I am depending on it…."

….

Reviews:

raven 2012: well, I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter so much.

Canadude2029: yeah. This episode gets super intense. I'm glad you're excited for more!

pokemonking0924: yeah. In media, end of the world prophecies can get nuts. Glad you're excited for what'll happen next.

3bodyjaa: thanks.

Bailey Radcliff: glad you enjoyed the movie and this chapter of the story. I'm glad you're excited for more. Hope you'll enjoy the new Transformers film.

Ushindi: thanks! Glad you found the episode with the Newfu so funny. Especially with me keeping the Source alive. And yeah, Val-Yor SUCKS. I wanted to give him a good kick to the cookies for his actions. And yeah, the Trigon arc is gonna get intense.

….

And thus we draw ever closer to the arrival of Trigon….

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