Snowed
Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own the show Teen Titans, nor the various DC comics on which this fanfiction is based.
Raven stares down at the stained carpet, her eyes turning scarlet to match.
"Well, you gotta' give it to Jared, or whoever's on this, they're good," Jinx says with a grimace.
"Very good," Raven reluctantly agrees. "That's the last on my list they've beaten us to."
The man's soulless eyes stare back at her, his mouth open in the slack-jawed horror of his final moments.
The remains of his body lie elsewhere around the room, showing the marks of a grisly end.
"Well, I'm guessin' by the smell this isn't recent, so at least it's not like we've got leaks," Jinx muses.
"A cold comfort."
"Yeah… I know I'm not gonna' like the answer, but can you pick up anything more with this guy than the others?"
Raven's eyes momentarily flash black, only for her to again find no trace aside from the violence of the victim's death lingering in the air.
Seeing her lover's expression, Jinx groans and runs a hand through her hair.
"Fan-tastic… Let's get outta' here."
Nodding, the women are coated in black energy and vanish from the cultist's apartment.
"If I had to guess, I'd say Blood's better than his old man at payin' attention to the masses," Jinx says as soon as they re-materialize.
In a flash, Raven's hand slams to her side and sends a cloud of destroyed brick into the air.
Jinx's brow rises at the surprising anger, her lover's guilt clear.
"They played around with demons, Rae. Frankly, they were living on borrowed time the second they started playing Blood's game."
"They did not get eviscerated because they played his game, or because they toyed with some beast; they died because I capitalized on their fear. It was a calculated risk, setting some informants up within the church, and I knew it might end badly, but they did not deserve that… I was a step behind, and it bit them all," Raven growls through grit teeth.
"Technically clawed, by the look of it," Jinx responds.
The meta doesn't even blink in the face of her lover's glare, nor the dark red bleeding into her eyes.
They'd left the safehouse with high hopes of getting things done quickly, and being on the hunt for her girlfriend's family in a few hours.
While Raven had started out worn down from dealing with two groups that she would've rather not talk to, she'd been sure when they started out that they could end things quickly.
Four hours, and twenty bodies, later, the optimism had long died, and Raven has dwindled almost to Etrigan's charming demeanor.
"Raven, you can't say you caused it. We found twenty that're connected to you, sure, but who knows how many we didn't find that didn't? It's a cult; killing people just because wouldn't be a stretch. Right now, we need a plan. Because the Church is our best bet, and happenstance or not, we just ran out of cooperative assets."
Raven nods in agreement, though the red in her gaze doesn't dim.
"Another cold comfort, but you're right. We can't know if it's connected to us or not… We've run out of the fearful ones, so our next best bet would be the ones who're awed. Honestly, there's a reason I wanted to avoid going to the fanatics, though, and I don't relish the idea."
"Wouldn't them worshipping you be a huge advantage?" Jinx asks with a frown.
"Perhaps, if I weren't going against the risk that my siblings are also playing on their weakness. While they're now the best sources I can hope for, they're also just as likely to bind or kill me on sight."
Jinx's lips curl into a frown at that, her blood turning cold at the thought.
"Would bindings even work on you? I mean, despite everything, Trigon wasn't an actual, y'know, brimstone and hellfire demon, right?"
"I do not know… He was a dimensional spirit, not a Christian demon, but at the same time, the Church summoned him when they were calling for the devil. He may have just capitalized on the invitation, but he may also have actually been called by it. I've never been entirely clear on what the difference between my blood and that of any spawned from Hell is."
"Then how high're the chances they can hurt you? I mean, they did deal with the old man, but on the other hand, you're kinda' a walking tank compared to humans," Jinx muses.
"In general, the chances are not all that high."
"And in specifics?" Jinx demands with a worried frown.
Raven's gaze casts about as though searching for any listeners.
Seeming unsatisfied, she frowns and a bubble of soul-self rises around them, cutting them off from the dimension.
"In the off chance that they don't know, I see no point risking them discovering this. If they've managed to gain any Rings of Azar, my magic will be useless. If the bearer of such a ring is just an average zealot, I could still put them to the ground with my strength, but if they happened to be a magician of any caliber…"
The statement hangs in the air as the demonling grimaces.
"Okay, that'd be bad. But, I mean, Deathstroke's the last one to have one of those, right? They couldn't, like, make new ones, could they?"
"The Church knows much from their dealings with my father. And my brothers and sisters would likely also know about this, so I do not think it is an impossibility."
The idea worries Jinx, but not nearly as much as it does her lover.
"Alright, so it's a possibility. Well, just look at it like this; you've got me, and there's no reason anything to do with those monks would do a thing to me, so even if they do try something that could work, they won't get their hands on ya'."
The red dims from Raven's eyes, and she smiles for the first time in a seeming eternity at her fiancé.
"You've no idea how reassuring that really is," she muses.
Grinning, Jinx wraps an arm around the demonling's waist and pulls her tight to her side as they touch down on solid ground once more.
"Oh, I could probably make a pretty good guess. And really, who wouldn't feel safe with moi at their back?"
Raven relaxes then, her entire body uncoiling with the release of the building stresses the meta's bravado brings.
"Fair enough," Raven responds with a chuckle. "And I think I might have someone in mind that would be likely to answer our questions. Or likely able to, at any rate."
"Yeah? Anyone I know?"
"Possibly… However, while she's a good candidate, she's dangerous, though for a different reason than any mystics in their numbers."
"Way I figure it, if she can't trap you, she's not that big a concern. They're not the most impressive bunch," Jinx responds flippantly.
Raven's expression darkens once more, and she shakes her head in response.
"She has a good network. One of us alone would be running certain risks with confronting her, but with the both of us, she could potentially learn about many things she shouldn't, including information on the D.E.O. While the apocalypse takes precedent, if we stop it and she's learned things, Mr. Bones would have our asses. But she is the highest member of their group who would likely be stupid enough to let slip what we need to know."
"Okay, I'm not a big fan of the radiating my skin off idea. So what're we doing?"
Raven's expression turns thoughtful for a moment before a grimace quickly takes over.
"It would be a poor idea to go to her as myself. She will know what I look like as a human. Which means I'm going to have to play the part of demon. Still, I suppose it will be less distasteful than trying to question corpses."
Jinx frowns at this, a picture forming that is certainly not pleasant.
"Like… what? Offering a favor, or somethin'? I think I'd rather the radiation than you gambling with your soul like that, Rae. And if she knows what you look like as a human, and they're workin' with Jared and them, she could probably piece things together even if you're glaring with all four eyes."
"Very few people have seen me when I'm like that," Raven reasons. "And it's been years since she's dealt with me, so my change in appearance since then will certainly help me. There's also your involvement to consider."
"What about me?" Jinx demands, seeming ready to argue.
"She will likely know who you are. If they are working with my brothers, and manage to subdue us both, it could end poorly."
"That's a huge if, Rae," Jinx retorts with a frown.
Her heart begins beating faster at the phrasing, then, and she forces herself to ask a question she's not entirely sure she wants answered.
"But out of curiosity, what makes up 'poorly,' exactly?"
Raven grimaces in response, further worrying Jinx.
"We'll just leave it at a vague term, as I'd rather not think about it. And you're right, it's unlikely that they could manage all that, so long as all of them are on Jared's level of ability and I know they're coming. Barring that, another concern is that demons, with a few exceptions, do not play nice with humans, meta or otherwise… unless the humans are bound, by magic or familiar contract. While I love your personality, you aren't the kind of person who'd play submissive thrall well."
"That all?" Jinx asks in relief. "Ya' had me worried there. I can act well enough when I want to. Y'know, thief 'n all. And there was that one time, remember? I dunno', I thought I was pretty good at playing that kind of personality out then."
A heady blush immediately blossoms over Raven's face, her fiancé flashing her Cheshire smile.
"Besides," the meta continues while tightening her hold, "much as I'm lookin' down on them, they're a cult centered around playing with demons. They might be stupid, but I'm not lettin' you go in alone. And if this chick's the first person you thought of, there could be a damn trap, too."
The blush dims as Raven nods in agreement, her own embrace pulling the meta even closer.
"I told you I've learned my lesson. No more soloing things. But I don't relish the thought of playing a stereotypical demon, and especially loathe the idea of possibly having to treat you badly. Because I very well might, to sell this if you want to go through with this plan. She's no magician, but she will know if I've put her in an illusion, and her job makes her particularly good at picking up on lies and acting. Glamours may work, but they also likely won't, especially if the Church has learned from past mistakes and taught people how to detect them. And she'll be learned enough to know that demons going around making deals are not the kind that will be loving in their handling of familiars, and even worse with any other humans."
"I'm sure we can come up with somethin'," Jinx remarks flippantly. "If it really comes down to it, we can always go with the other options that I'd rather not think about if there wasn't a damn apocalypse on the line. You can't say much that'd convince me to not go with you."
A slight smirk forms, and she leans in to press her lips almost to the tensed psychic's ear.
"Besides, you're only allowed to go all growly when I'm around. I don't like sharing."
Raven shivers, causing Jinx's expression to take on her Cheshire smile.
"If it'll make you feel better, you can take on some extra chores and services when all this is over so I can just be lazy and supervise anything we have to do to fix that house up."
While still not happy about the possibilities of what they're walking into, Raven's pessimism dims in the face of the meta's almost cheerfulness.
In the span of a few seconds, they're coated in black and once again find themselves on solid ground.
Jinx looks around at their new location, finding themselves away from the Gothic architecture of Gotham and instead on an utterly unremarkable street.
She'd expected Raven to take them to another apartment, which is why finding businesses surrounding them confuses the meta.
With a frown taking hold, she continues looking around for any clue as to where the cultist would be.
Seeing her confusion, Raven nods towards the other end of the street, sending her pink gaze there.
Confused, she finds herself staring at a building with a news station logo adorning the top of their door, a similar sign hanging from the roof higher up.
"WUBC News… okay, gonna' clue me in here, Rae?"
"She works here," Raven responds with a shrug. "Her segment should be ending right about now."
"Well, if she's a reporter, that bit about her network would make sense, especially if she's with them. Don't think I'm going to know 'er, though. Was never a night news person."
"All the same, she'll know you. Although, without the hair as it used to be, she might overlook your eyes and miss it, since your group has been missing Gizmo, Mammoth, and yourself for so long, now that I'm thinking of it," Raven muses while inspecting the meta.
"I bulked up a lot since I was a kid. If you go in and she doesn't know who you are, she'll probably have no idea."
Something about the station catches Raven's attention, and she gives a nod, seemingly to herself.
"She'll be going to her dressing room now. We'll play this by ear, but try to act all… I don't know… out of it, I guess."
Jinx's body instantly relaxes, her posture becoming slouched while her lips curl into a grin.
Her eyes go half-lidded, and she meets the demonling's gaze with a raised brow.
"Like this?"
Nodding, Raven leans forward and kisses the surprised meta, her pale skin flushing red at the unexpected act.
When she pulls away, the demonling gives a smile of her own.
"Now you look about right. This could work. Just, um, try to keep acting out of it, even if she asks you any questions. If something happens, you can drop it, but if I can avoid drawing attention to us, I'd like to."
"Think I can manage that. Let's get going."
The two set off for the station, their bodies becoming wrapped in a thin layer of magic as they pass through the doors.
"Avertere," Raven's voice hisses as they move into the lobby.
As expected, nobody seems to notice their presences as they walk towards the dressing rooms, their attentions moved by the spell to everything else around them.
They finally come to a step in front of a door with the name Bethany Snow on its plaque, Raven resting her hand against the wood.
Red spreads through her quickly, her body turning scarlet in a matter of seconds.
In a cloud of darkness, her white cloak shifts away from her and is replaced by a black dress of living shadows, the soul-self twisting to cover her body.
Finally, her nails grow to black talons, the change one that Jinx had grown used to not seeing.
Taking a deep breath, Raven's four eyes glow black and they phase through the wall, coming to stand behind an oblivious blonde woman.
Raven silently floats towards the reporter, the blonde's attention focused on a PDA she diligently taps away at.
Jinx finds herself unimpressed with Bethany Snow, everything about the blonde seeming overtly fake.
Then, something catches her attention and Bethany's gaze moves up to the large mirror in front of her.
Her eyes widen and she opens her mouth to scream the moment she sees Raven, who is on her in an instant.
A black hand coils around the reporter's throat and lifts her off her chair, her body jerking as she struggles against the soul-self.
"Do not scream, lapdog of Sebastian Blood, or you will greatly regret it," Raven warns, her voice seeming to echo around the dressing room.
While still clutching at the ethereal claw, her body otherwise goes still.
Seeing the acquiescence, Raven lowers her so her feet touch the floor, though the soul-self expands to trap her entire torso as well to keep her in place.
"I am going to ask very simple questions, and it is to your benefit that you answer them. Honestly, if you like your neck in the shape needed to breathe, as I can smell lies and have no patience to play around."
Jinx shivers at the threat, halfway convinced of Raven's seriousness herself despite knowing better.
With a start, Jinx realizes with a better look at the blonde that the woman's pantsuit is the exact shade of red as Raven's skin, a small coat nearby and her shoes also the same color.
The reporter jerks her head up and down in a desperate show of acceptance, her terror pulsing through the air.
Once her eyes land on Jinx, though, something shifts.
As though another person's presence makes a difference, she assumes a facade of calm, meeting two of Raven's eyes.
The demonling smirks at the bravado, feeling Jinx's own amusement add to her own.
"We'll start with the simple questions. Someone is looking to open a portal. Does the Church of Blood seek to revive Trigon the Terrible by helping them?"
"I don't think so. All I know is that I keep my head by not asking questions like th-!"
Her response is interrupted by a flash of black, a resounding smack echoing through the room.
The reporter's head jerks to the side, her eyes widening in shock at the sudden, sharp pain.
Raven finds it worrisome, how appealing the heady spike of fear from the blonde is to her senses.
Wincing, her mental shields clamp down, filtering out much of the emotion emanating through the room.
"I told you not to lie to me, Bethany Snow. If you can't answer such a simple question, you're of no use to me. I'll try again. In what capacity do the children of Trigon seek to use you?"
"The Sons. That's what they call themselves," Bethany corrects with a quivering voice. "Sebastian told me that they only have one sister, and didn't want to be associated with her."
Raven's upper left eye twitches slightly, a reaction that the reporter only barely notices in her haze of panic and awe over the creature before her.
But notice it she does, and it gives her pause as she realizes that somehow, the demoness looks vaguely familiar.
"Why would a demon care, anyway? Wouldn't that be a good thing to you guys?"
Raven feigns irritation, dragging the reporter through the air towards her.
"Do not assume that all of us think the same, human. I live on this side of the divide. If people open those gates, your Justice League and their allies will be actively looking for demons. That would make living in relative comfort here, with the occasional pet," she says with a nod towards the immobile meta at her back, "significantly more trying."
"W-who is she?" the terrified blonde asks, her voice barely audible.
"My familiar. Irrelevant to you. The point is that if your bosses, these Sons of Trigon go through with their scheme, and the mystics such as the Order Lord they employ find me, they could make the great amount of energy I spent escaping my home in the first place wasted. I do not allow for wasted effort. Which is where you lot come in, as a group actively seeking to aid that outcome along."
Bethany frowns in thought, her mind picking up on more of the familiar feeling from both women.
The silent woman's eyes in particular gain her attention, the vision of them nagging at the back of her mind.
Further, her vacant expression strikes the blonde as very odd, her eyes seeming entirely to sharp to match the rest of her expression.
A suspicion forming, she meets the demon's eyes while widening her own not unlike a startled doe's.
"D-do you kidnap people regularly? She looks so… out of it… are you… oh god, are you going to do that to me?"
Raven's teeth are bared in a feral sneer, the soul-self tightening around the woman until she releases a squeak of protest.
"Do not be so arrogant. Only special humans are taken under my influence."
Even aware of the act her lover's putting on, Jinx can't help but blush at the statement, wondering if the statement had been meant just as much for herself.
"Wh-what's special about her?"
Raven twitches her finger in Jinx's direction before gesturing the meta forward.
She forces a stumble into her steps as she makes her way to Raven's side, trying hard to fight the knot of tension in her stomach as she comes to a stop.
Once they stand next to each other, Raven lays her hand on her fiancé's shoulder, her clawed grasp seeming far harsher to the startled reporter than it really is.
Feeling the light pressure, Jinx reacts, her face scrunching up as though her bones are being compressed.
With her other hand, Raven grasps the wrist of the same arm and quickly pulls her hand up, the meta's own movement lost to Bethany.
"A demonstration," Raven muses while meeting the meta's gaze.
A jerk of her eyes downward and a light twitch of her index finger and thumb around Jinx's wrist clues Jinx in, and a pulse of pink sparks lights immediately.
The next second, Bethany's phone cracks and a small puff of smoke rises from the shattered device.
"Wh-Wha-!?"
"She was looking for power, and found me. Clever girl, she found a way to keep me from killing her, and I admit, I was more than a little impressed. So I gave her all the power she could ever want, for a price," Raven responds with a shrug, both women surprised with how quickly she concocts the cover story.
"Wh-what price?" Bethany asks, a strange gleam in her eye.
Her awe over the display is tempered by the pink sparks she'd seen, memories of years gone by occurring to her and collecting in an instant.
"Working in my stead when I have better things to do, among other services," she quips, the suggestive tone applied to the last word causing a shiver to run through both women around Raven, if for very different reasons.
"Most humans would die from even attempting it, and she seems like she's going to be bound to me for a very long time with her record so far. Again, this is irrelevant to you. What matters is what services you provide the Sons of Trigon, and if their goal will inconvenience me."
Raven's senses expand, taking in the strange conflict coming from the reporter.
She briefly notices Jinx's embarrassment, an edge of amusement taking over her lips as she meets the meta's slightly glazed eyes and her blush darkens even further.
Her attention moving on, wariness of her own sets in as she picks up the emotions mixing with Snow's fear.
Unaware of the shift, the blonde continues with her facade.
"Why me? Why not Brother Blood? I can't influence anything."
A grin spreads across Raven's lips, her soul-self sucking the light from the room and creating horrific shadows to accentuate the expression.
"I deplore that filth and his entire line. Stains on your race and mine, for consorting with false demons like Trigon. Oh, you lot refer to him falsely, don't you? Consorting with Skaath, then. I'd rather avoid dirtying myself with his taint, if possible, and you're a very easy person to find. I debated having this discussion during Snow Storm, as it would likely be amusing watching you flounder to explain a demon suddenly appearing asking about a cult, but again, I've no interest in having those heroes knowing of me. If you don't answer my question, though, I can easily move to him next once I've broken you. My patience is spent, and you're answering, now, if you value living."
The threat doesn't bring as much fear as Raven expects, worry beginning to worm its way into her mind as the reporter meets her gaze, if nervously.
"I'm just the PR person. Sebastian mostly keeps me in the loop because I'm good at spinning stories in our favor. Maybe give them warnings if I hear about the Titans or other groups moving. I think they're using us to get a ton of magic artifacts around the world, but I only know in vague terms and only because I've been paying attention, not because I've been told about it. Those six are rich, and they're supposed to grant our wish to bring Lord Skaath back as long as we help them, and that's enough to convince everyone, so I'm not gonna' get myself killed by them. Apparently they went on a spree the other day on everyone who was that stupid, too, so lucky me."
Raven nods in acceptance, nothing indicating the reporter is lying.
The realization that it wasn't her involvement that had the cultists killed also releases some of her guilt, though not all of it.
The amount of information she gains is unexpected, but very pleasant, a sentiment that Jinx's emotions in the air seem to agree with.
"Good human. You've bought your right to retain your head. However, I would advise that, if you don't wish to lose that right, you would cut your ties while you can. Get out from under that priest's grasp, because I will not tolerate the plans of these Sons of Trigon, and will pave my way to them with anyone who would aid them under my feet."
"I can't just leave them like that," Bethany argues, her fear once again in place. "If asking questions can get you killed, I don't want to know what dropping out when you're in the inner circles can do right now."
"You spin stories for a living. And you're among their higher echelons. Instead of pestering foolish, mortal children, you could crumble the the Church of Blood, were you so inclined. I imagine it would do wonders for your career, at that," Raven adds.
Jinx feels the hair on the back of her neck rising as some strange energy moves through the room, Bethany's eyes glazing over somewhat while Raven's own glow slightly darker.
The meta doesn't understand what Raven is doing, but it seems to have an effect on the reporter, her head nodding slightly in agreement.
"I could, couldn't I? That would be the story of the year. I could even win a Pulitzer Prize!"
Raven blinks at the response, surprised by how easily convinced the cultist of such standing in the Church is.
"Indeed," she simply responds, frowning in puzzlement. "Get on that, then. I've business elsewhere this evening."
Bethany doesn't even acknowledge their exit as the women leave the room in a pulse of black light, and soon they once again find themselves on the street outside, though in an alleyway away from eyes.
Raven's skin turns grey as soon as the barrier drops, the confused frown still on her face.
"Well that worked out well," Jinx muses, wrapping an arm around the demonling's waist.
The touch distracts Raven, and she nods while staring at the meta.
"It did. This is far more information than I thought we'd get."
"And we've got solid numbers now. Six is a lot less than I was worried there would be. Not to mention knowing the Church's got their paws all over the items. Why didn't you, y'know, make her not remember we were ever there, outta' curiosity?"
Raven grimaces, the question sounding almost accusatory as she wonders at the ease of her convincing the blonde.
"Faust is one thing. But her mind is warped enough as it is, to be in that cult. She does not need me doing something like that. Besides, if she turns on them, then removing the memory would be unwise."
"Yeah, she definitely didn't seem all there. I mean, did you see how she acted tough when she saw me? I thought she was a second from a heart attack, then she acts like she sees demons every day," Jinx chuckles. "She's definitely got the personality of a reporter."
Raven's lips turn up at that, a nod signaling her agreement.
"It was certainly amusing."
"So, what's the deal, anyway? I'd think someone who's so open about being with them wouldn't be welcomed with open arms by even the scummiest news stations."
"You'd be surprised," Raven quips. "Though she was only open about it because I established that I was aware of it from the start. And the station is the property of the Church, so that certainly works in her favor, as well."
"Why didn't you try to make her one of your assets before? She seemed pretty open to the idea of going behind their backs."
Raven's frown returns, and Jinx realizes with a start that the psychic is as unsure of what she did as the meta.
"When I was a Titan, she would routinely spin stories to make us look like evil monsters picking on poor, saintly Brother Blood. It would not have gone as it did then. And she was harmless enough despite the public opinion she shifted in their favor that I didn't really care all that much. I only realized when researching the Church that she's fairly high up in their members."
"Well, either way, this worked out better than the last twenty. We got the info we needed. What's next?" Jinx asks.
"We need to think on this. If the Church has the artifacts, then that is our next plan, but it's just as possible that they only retrieve them for my brothers."
"Sounds good to me. Oh, and uh, even though I'm a little bummed I'm going to need to help you redecorate now, I'm glad you didn't have to do anything too bad. Y'know, not counting the whole I will behead you bits. A bit over the top, I thought, but it worked."
Snorting, Raven pulls her closer into her embrace.
"Something to be grateful about, indeed. Still, I enjoyed that far too much," Raven sighs…
************
Author's Notes:
Avertere- Latin: "divert"
I'm not sure how well this chapter came out, at least in part to having spent most of the week on an animation project and not having too much time to work on this. Still, it is a scene I felt needed to be in the story, and hope it was fairly enjoyable nonetheless. More action next chapter, I promise. Hope you're all enjoying, and see you all next time!