"Quid pro que, Sam." Raven says, with a flushed face from all the alcohol she has been consuming. After several embarrassing revelations on her part, Sam had agreed to swap information like this. "What was my father like back in the day?"
"Oh a bloody warmonger, that's what he was." Sam says having unbuttoned his shirt as well. "Had a great bunch of arguments, head butting and border skirmishes to settle with him. You know, I didn't even bother inviting him for the tactical meeting I had arranged with the other Hell Lords when we found out about the Spectre?"
"No?" Raven replies while leaning on the table with one hand.
"Well for one thing, he wasn't bothered by the idea, I knew. And it would suit me just fine if he got his head stomped into the ground if he set foot on Earth in a weakened state. Ah, but that was a good meeting, I got the other six to try and take down the Spectre by themselves, kept them busy for a few thousand years, leaving me to enjoy the show." He says while leaning back with his hands behind his head, before quirking an eyebrow at something. "Hmm, about time he got going. Well, as amusing as this has been, I have decided."
"You want to have some more to drink?" Raven asks, her own train of thoughts had derailed about half way into her second glass. She wasn't sure, but she was almost certain that she had seen a black snake crawl down his shirt at some point during the evening.
"No...Well that too, but I was referring to the reason you're here."
"Oh right." Raven replies blinking a few times, over the course of the rounds of story swapping, she was deep into the 5th glass of brandy that seemed to be getting deeper by the glass.
"Now, if you really want one of my feathers, you will have to do one of these tasks." He says while three of his glass' are transformed into three paper cards that hover in the air before him, with their backs facing Raven. "And just so you can't blame me for trickery." He snaps his fingers, and Raven's alcohol induced befuddlement instantly vanishes and she sits up properly. "Option number one; my supply of Valhalla Mead is running low, so I would task you to go fetch me a barrel by any means necessary; storm Asgard, make a deal with someone or fuck them for it, I don't care as long as there is a barrel here at the end of it." He says as the left card turns around, displaying a wooden barrel and a lead cup topped with foam. "Option two, I hire you as an exotic dancer for two weeks with nightly performances." He says while the right card turns, revealing the silhouette of a woman humping a pole. "And the final option; you reveal your capacity for singing, five songs, right here and now, where I choose four and you choose one as a closer." He says as the central card turns revealing the drawing of a microphone. As he leans back to enjoy the growing anger on her face, the card's drift down to lay before her.
Raven stares at him first, before turning her attention to the cards. It hadn't gone her by that each card was representing a deadly sin, wrath, lust and pride. With the others still being kept quiet, she knows she has to make up her own mind, looking at the options, she can imagine them happening; one where she, a lone figure, storms towards an army for a barrel of beer. Another where she is swirling around a pole, wearing almost nothing with a group of drooling drunks staring at her. And the last where she is laughed off stage for getting a song wrong or tripping over something.
"I have a sword containing one who tried to storm a pantheon once, and now he is stuck in there. Number two will make me abandon all dignity I have, and lastly I can't sing." She says while pushing the microphone card towards him. "But you didn't say it had a standard." She says patting the card indicating her choice; he just grows a boarder smile before laughing slightly.
"You think you can outwit me?" He asks while trying to hide his amusement.
"No." Raven replies flatly. "But you did say your word was your bond." She continues, he laughs again in response.
"Ahh, that it is. Your choice is made." He says when he gets a hold of himself. "And this is what you have to sing." He says before forming a pistol with his right thumb and index finger, aiming for a second at her head before a tiny yellow flare passes between his finger tip and the stone on her forehead, Raven blinks a few times at the choices implanted in her head.
"You certainly didn't choose them because of my gender." She notes dryly,.
"Nope, but you are free to add one to the mix if you feel like it. You will need a change of clothes and there's some behind the scene." He says while pointing at the alcove behind the piano. "I'll get the band ready and see you on stage in 10minutes."
"Right." Raven says as they get up. "10 minutes to, work myself into hysteria and pass out."
"Raven? Thank the gods! What happened?" Raven is taken aback by the sudden sound of Diana's voice in her head.
"Sam decided to shut you out." Raven replies as she passes the piano.
"And?" John asks.
"I have to sing to get the feather." Raven says as she turns on the light, grumbling at the sight of a single chair with a pair of black leather pants, a tight, equally black short sleeved T-shirt. Picking the items up, she finds a studded leather belt lying under them and a pair of shin high combat boots standing on the ground.
"I take it is not Celine Dion." Wally says.
"It's not for kids or the feint hearted." Raven says before sighing, shutting off their visibility before removing her sandals and the dress before jumping into the clothes, finding a pair of socks stuffed into the toes of both boots. "I'm sure they were stuffed in there just to annoy me." Raven grumbles as she lets the others see again after jamming her right foot into the boot.
"Well you look the part." Clarksays as Raven looks at herself in the mirror of the dresser next to her.
"Warm up your voice." J'onn says, Raven nods and begins to hum in different tones for a while before trying to pitch her voice in the right setting. "Why the change?"
"I have to mimic styles that women aren't well known for performing. Please, I need to get this right." He replies and continues, uncaring of the rising noise from the bar outside.
Outside New Orleans:
"I'll give you this Bruce, but you sure know how to build them." Richard says as he picks out the motorcycle hidden in a compartment in the bottom of the plane now standing in a small clearing of a forest outside New Orleans. Having flown over 1500km in less than half an hour was no small feat.
Putting the unassuming black motorcycle on the ground, he pushes one of the buttons on his key ring, enabling the armored plates to cover all exists and vents on the plane. Putting on the helmet, he jumps on the bike and races off towards the French Quarter of New Orleans, continuously breaking the speed limit and ignoring the night air freezing his bare arms, since he is only wearing his training pants and a white T-shirt.
Dis, Bourbon Street:
"Well I hope you are ready." Sam says as he walks into the back area with a smirk. "Because the audience is." He says while thumbing at the exit behind him. It's at this point, Raven first notices the racket coming from the outside and hurries over to peek outside. In her mind she can imagine a certain green cloaked emotion disappear over the distant hills with a trail of dust after her, leaving a small gray cloaked one behind; the bar is now packed to capacity with exactly the kind of people Raven knows listens to this kind of music. "Your audience awaits."
"You are a bastard." Raven sighs, she had hoped that it would just have been the twelve customers she's had to embarrass herself in front of. "What about the duet?" She asks while wondering if Lucifer had conjured them up.
"The very first, and it's covered, you just do the grunting." He says from behind her. "Now, off you go." He says before landing a slap on her rump, making her jump forwards in surprise, turning around shortly to glare fiercely at him while the crowd roars at her appearance.
Inside the Council Chamber of Raven's mind, the League members notice something. The normally quiet, almost motionless, council members whisper amongst each other and some seem to shrink while others, mainly green cloaked ones, seem to grow in size. "Cover your ears if you don't like it." Raven says from above.
Marching briskly to the center of the stage, she takes a short peek at the band, a four man assembly, a drummer, two guitarists and a bassist. Their faces are mostly hidden, the two blond guitarists by their long hair, the brown headed drummer by the medium length curly hair. Only the bassist really stands out as he is wearing large reflecting sunglasses and is staring into the ceiling over the crowd. He is wearing an old confederate soldier's jacket and cavalry hat with regular blue canvas pants, Raven can't help but wonder where she has seen his face before, the sideburn-mustache combination, facial mole and the fact he looks much older than the other three put together should have been able to place him, but she pushes the thought aside as she grabs the microphone from its holder.
"Good evening Dis!" She roars into the microphone, getting a roar from the crows as a reply. "Are you ready?!" It's a trivial question.
"What order?" Someone asks behind her.
"Death in Fire, Insomnia, Painkiller, Stride the Corridors of One's Mind, we finish with Motörheads Overkill. You guys know those I hope?" She asks, without turning completely.
"Of course." Someone with a gravelly voice reply.
"One, two and one two three four." Raven counts quietly to the beat of the drumsticks striking each other, on four, those of her back begin playing with a blast of the guitars and the pounding of the drums, leaving Raven to time her part after about 40 seconds of leading in. Roaring the vocals at the top of her lungs in a deep guttural voice belonging to a large man:
"The wait is soon at end
Always charge, never bend
Morning is here, make your stand
Live for honor, glory, Death in Fire!"
Richard arrives, panting and sweating, halfway through the first track. Almost colliding with the headbangers in the back before he fights down the urge to cover his ears from the sheer volume the solo is being played at.
"Damn it, Raven has got be stuck in a corner or a cage somewhere, this must be hell for her." He thinks right before a hand grabs his shoulder, Richard almost throws the owner over his shoulder by pure reflex.
"No it's not Richard Grayson, stand on the table." The man says, as Richard turns to face him, recognizing him from the small photo he had seen in the cave.
"Lucifer." Richard growls and backs away, ready for a fight, the man just smirks without making a move. "What have you done with her?"
"Get on the table and see." The blond replies still smirking, padding the piece of furniture. "She is quite safe."
Richard stares at him for a few seconds before relenting and jumps onto the table, and faces the stage in time for the last verse and his jaw drops as Raven roars it out.
"To-tal war is here, face it without fear
Age of sword, age of spear
Fight for honor, glory, Death in Fire!
Storm of lethal flames.
Only death remains- Ragnarok is our fate
Die for honor, glory
DIIIEEE, Death in Fire!"
As abruptly as the song ends with Raven's last words and the screech of the guitars, the crowd roars on in approval, many throwing the devil horns into the air at the stage.
As much as the hair and skin tone tells him so. "That can't be her." He says to no one.
"Trigon's only daughter, of course it is, and don't bother trying with the bond you two have, I am shutting it off as long as she is up there." Sam says from the ground while clapping his hands. "Besides, she is just upholding our bargain."
"What bargain?" Richard asks, unpleasantly reminded of the man.
"She gets a feather for a few gigs, so just relax, have a drink; it's on the house, since it's you." Sam says still smirking.
"No, thank you." Richard grumbles.
"Your loss." Sam shrugs in amusement. "But she's got four more to go." He continues as one guitar begins playing quietly for a few seconds before the bass begins playing another rhythm at a louder and slower pace, they both gradually get louder as the crowd quiets down to hear better.
Which leaves them completely open to the throaty drawn out scream from Raven that lasts over 10 seconds, its beginning sets off the others at a breakneck pace, now that Richard can see it the two guitarists are wind-milling their long hair while playing. Again the crowd explodes in cheers.
"I drown...
For too long I felt the winter's breath
The rain keeps falling down into my soul
Thorns cover my grave... they hurt within me."
Again Richard is dumbstruck at the voice she employs, while it is not hers, it is not the same as the one she used before. Where the other was loud, deep and booming as if coming from someone larger than human, one suited to work people into a frenzy. This one almost sounds tortured, and Raven works with this as she hits her chest with her left fist, clarifying she is hurting within. If Richard wasn't so used to picking up words in a racket, he wouldn't have understood the lyrics.
Dumbfounded he jumps down from the table and pushes through the crowd to the bar, where Mekela slides him a cola without him asking. He returns to the table in time for the last part, where an old fashioned string bass is playing for a few seconds. Before Raven finishes off the song with the chorus. Getting another wave of cheers.
"Thank you!" She yells. "Are you having fun yet?!" She continues, while pointing the microphone at the crowd that cheers in acknowledgement. "Ok, this is an older song. You'd like that?" She asks, getting a new round of cheers. "Ok, but just so you all know, nobody messes with the Painkiller!" She gets a short round of cheers as the drummer kicks in with a lengthy solo before the guitars are added. Richard is surprised he knows this song, even more surprised that Raven does.
"Faster than a bullet
Terrifying scream
Enraged and full of anger
He's half man and half machine
Rides a metal monster
Breathing smoke and fire
Closing in with vengeance soaring high!"
Richard is worried that Raven may be overdoing it, as she mimics the original vocals almost perfectly, maybe screeching a little more in the falsetto, the crowd doesn't care. Richard can't help bobbing his head and sings along, neither can most of the crowd when she enters the almost chanting parts of the chorus. Ending the song in a long scream.
"Thank you!" Raven says as the crowd cheers. There is a short interlude where Raven gets passed a bottle of water while one guitarist walks off stage to reappear later in the bar, trading places with Mekela who carries out a keyboard and a seat for herself and settles down next to the drummer on the stage. "Ok, this is a bit of a special song." Raven says while getting control of her breath. "But I will tell you, that there are parts of the mind that are best left undisturbed, this song is called; Stride the Corridors of One's Mind. Hit it!"
The guitar starts slowly, before the rest of the band brings it up to speed, making the positively most eerie combination Richard has ever heard. The lyrics Raven is singing is lost to him, in the screech of the tone it is presented in. Everyone seems surprised when Sam walks onto the stage and adds his clear almost operatic voice to the mix, trading the text between himself and Raven and both joining in at the same time at one point.
Raven:
A story about a story told before...
Questions to answer and no answers to a question asked before
Sam:
What advantage does a man have as he labors all his life under the sun?
Raven:
As the wind lashes and time evades
Forth comes the wind circles and goes forth back again...
To nurse or plant an orchid only to remain with seeds again to built, and harvest thin air...
Sam:
Carried away by spirits, carried away...
Both:
Perennial pain, night tears, rain and the sun in her place again
Places unknown to man, and man who don't know their place
Sam:
Carried away by the spirits, carried away... Carried away by the spirits, carried away...
Raven:
The dead, son of the dead!
Nothing remains!
Sam:
No memories of the first and the last leaves no memory
The wise is buried aside the fool
A generation comes and withers away and the land forever standing
Raven:
The end is set, and so is the beginning
The end is set, and so is the end!
Rather die as a lion, then live as a dog
Rather go with a blast, and then fade to the fog
To dream all night long, and awake at a bog
Evil feeds on good, who breeds evil again
Sam:
Saw the dance insane
Saw slaves on horses (and lords on foot)
Riches turn to hay
Minds and bone decay
I saw flesh burning!
The mortal coil-rendered into ash
Oh all statues stoic, but hide a brutal demise
Raven:
Stride the corridors of ones mind!
Stride the corridors of ones mind!
The days of long since past... and old I have become
All that was promised has turned to dust
Hymns and prayers have come to pass
Subdued and addicted, so perplexed, alas!
And man within the mind's corridors-lost
Both:
Saw the sounds and heard the sights
I've seen the sounds, and I've heard the sights
Nothing matters but myriad moments of grace...
Again the crowd showers the stage in praise, continuing long after Sam and Mekela walk off stage and the bassist retrieves a microphone rack for himself, bringing it back out he sets it up so that the microphone is forcing him to look up into the ceiling, Richard can see him exchange a few words with Raven who nods at something he says before turning to the crowd.
"Thank you, you have been an awesome crowd tonight!" She says. "But this is the last song now." She gets a few disappointed calls for this. "But you should always leave the best for last, so perhaps you know this one? I bet you do." She says while pointing at someone near the stage. The bassist counts to three at the others and the drummer sets off before the guitar and the bass kicks in at a fast tempo and Raven and the bassist begin singing.
"Only way to feel the nose is when it's good and loud
So good you can't believe it screaming with the crowd,
Don't sweat it; get it back to you, Overkill.
On your feet you feel the beat it goes straight to your spine,
Shake your head you must be dead if it don't make you fly,
Don't sweat it, get it back to you, Overkill.
Know your body's made to move, feel it in your guts
Rock 'n' roll ain't worth the name if it don't make you fuck!
Don't sweat it; get it back to you, Overkill!"
Richard is again surprised, Raven is actually singing with her own voice for the first time and it doesn't sound bad when backed up by the gravelly voice of the bassist. The band keeps playing for almost twice the length of the lyrics, with the guitarist soloing most of that time. And Raven is alternating between the three, drawing the crowd's attention to the others. As they stop playing, they promptly walk off the stage to the cheering of the crowd.
Richard sees his chance and disappears out the back while the bartender is distracted. Passing through several dark rooms, he pushes a door slightly open, enough to peek into the room on the other side. Spotting the bassists sitting in a chair with a cigarette between his fingers, idly watching the exchange between Sam and Raven who are standing in the middle of the room.
"Well, a pity I can't convince you to come here more often." Sam says. "But at least you've made this a night to remember."
"I did what I had to." Raven shrugs. "So, payment time."
"As was our agreement." Sam says as two almost golden feathered wings merge into existence on his back, he extends the left one and plucks a single feather from it before handing it to Raven who grips it lightly. "And so our deal is concluded."
"That it is." Raven agrees. "I supposed you know where my clothes went?"
"Back in the manor, made the ones you're wearing out of the floorboards." Sam says with a smile. "Oh and before I forget, Mekela?" He says and Richard is caught red handed as the door he is hiding in is pulled the other way, revealing the masked woman on the other side, Sam and the bassist are the only ones who seem unbothered by him.
"Richard?" Raven asks in surprise.
"Entered Louisiana airspace when you decided what to do, leave him be Mekela, he is leaving a few moments anyway." Sam shrugs as Richard moves aside to let the woman pass, she soon returns with a clear glass cookie jar, containing a single object. "Yes, Green Lantern that pesky little thing is your ring, showed up here a few days ago like a fly, kept up annoying me till I stuck it into that jar. Why me do you ask? Beats me, guess inspiring Jehovah to introduce free will takes some of your own?" He replies to a question Richard can't hear.
"Well, seems I have a ride back." Raven sighs.
"Good thing too, all that brandy you drank will make itself felt when you leave." Sam says with a smile. "Anyways, I'd say good luck with that ritual of yours, but that would imply I cared." Raven stifles a laugh at this.
"Well, I could say something along the same lines, but I know you will enjoy the rest of your evening, farewell." Raven says a she turns to take the jar from Mekela and heads towards Richard.
"Hey Raven." The bassist has her turn around to face him. "Thanks for saving our butts back in Jump." He says giving her a wave.
"No problem." Raven replies before turning again. "Let's go." She says before leading Richard out of the building, stopping at the front door. "Why did you come?" She asks flatly.
"I thought you were going to do something stupid, like selling your soul?" Richard admits.
"Would have been worth it." Raven sighs.
"Not to me." He says, getting a quizzing glare from her for a minute before she sighs and turns away. "What?"
"Nothing." Raven says, before unscrewing the jar and puts the feather into it along with the ring. "I need you to carry this." She says, handing him the jar. "Not sure I can."
"The brandy he mentioned?" He asks while studying the jar's contents.
"Yeah, had five glasses and the water tasted funny as well." She admits.
"So he wasn't lying?"
"He never does, according to himself." Raven admits. "Time to see if he was right." She continues as steps out into the streets, instantly beginning to sway with a deep huff.
"Hold onto me." Richard says as he walks out, getting her to throw her arm over his shoulders as he uses his left hand to hold onto her. Together they walk into the night.
An hour and a half later, Richard is finishing the final part of the journey as he gently put her into her bed in Wayne Manor, before putting the dress and shoes away that was lying there. She had been slipping between mumbling and sleeping most of the trip home, and had not stirred as he brought her from the cave to her room. Without a word he begins to untie the shoe laces to get her boots off.
"Taking advantage of the situation?" Raven asks in a slurred voice.
"I wouldn't do that." Richard says as he pulls one boot off.
"Damn." Raven sighs and drifts off to sleep again as the second boot comes off, Richard thinks for a moment about removing her socks but discards the notion, instead he tugs her in with one of the thin blankets.
"Goodnight Rae." He whispers before kissing her temple getting a satisfied purr, or a snore out of her as she turns in her sleep.
Next chapter; Raven has her very first hangover.