Temptation
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.
Jinx grins, laying her head on Raven's shoulder.
"Don't let it get to you. I sure as hell found that entertaining. Kinda' hard to feel bad for most people that're fully aware of the shit Blood's got them into and keep on, y'know?" she adds with a shrug.
Raven's retort is interrupted by a sudden throbbing in her forehead, her eyes going wide at the sensation.
Seeing the dull red mark on her lover's forehead, Jinx tenses at her side, casting her eyes around for the cause.
Shaking her head, Raven wraps her arm around the meta's waist and her eyes turn obsidian.
"Too cramped here, people could get killed," she offers in an almost-growl.
It's all the warning Jinx gets before the world loses all color around them, the Mark of Skaath following suit.
They plant their feet on the ground for a moment before flying upward into another portal.
Jinx's equilibrium, one of her most finely honed characteristics, leaves her after Raven's fifth chain-teleportation, her knees jerking and wobbling when they come to a stop.
With a wince, she brushes snow from her shoulder and fights the nausea coursing through her stomach.
Raven's strategizing in the time she was moving is not as helpful as she'd hoped it would be, her brother's presence forming only seconds after they land.
"How long… will that get u-"
Clapping sounds at their backs, echoing through the air and sending a violent shiver through the meta.
"Never mind," she groans.
Taking a deep breath, she regains her balance and turns with Raven to face her brother, Jared seeming greatly amused despite the murderous glow in his eyes.
"You can't run like that, sis," he laughs. "You find those fools by the stink they permeate the air with, but while more tasteful, you're no better. You might as well leave a neon sign telling me where you're going. Jumping dimensions, maybe, but I imagine that wouldn't agree with the human."
Raven's eyes narrow, the indigo immediately shifting to red, though her skin remains grey for the moment.
"Oh, don't be so proud," he mocks, the empath's wince worrying Jinx for a moment. "It's the same for all of us. Y'know, if I'd known you'd go running to that airhead, you could've just asked. The vampire would've gladly given her over if it got you into the family business. Wouldn't have needed to waste all that energy, and I'd imagine you should keep that in mind for the near future."
Despite his lack of pupils, Jinx feels his gaze shift to her, and pink sparks pop and sizzle in the air around her in response.
"Though I suppose someone that feisty would be far more entertaining than Miss Snow. I think Lust is going to have a field-day when he gets his hands on you."
The insinuation brings Raven's second set of eyes free, a growl vibrating in the back of her voice.
"It wouldn't do him much good when I separated it from his arm the second that happened," she snarls as her voice gains a deeper tone.
Before her brother can retort, a cough signals another presence to all of them, the three turning their attention to the newcomer.
A man seems to materialize from the shadows, all the light seeming to drain into him save for the lit cigarette hanging from his lips.
The wind picks up around them at his appearance, the shadows rippling around him in a way suggestive of it really being nothing more than a dark trench coat.
He stares at the three while taking a long drag from his cigarette, making Raven almost wonder if he's just an unfortunate human that stumbled upon them.
The sharpness to his gaze and the snort that sounds when he focuses on Jared tells her otherwise, however.
"Damned waves. Do it every time," he mutters in a heavy, gruff cockney dialect.
"What foolish human dares to interrupt us?" Jared snarls.
The man's brow rises momentarily at the statement before grinning and raising his right hand.
For a moment, Raven believes he's making a rude, and incredibly stupid given the situation, gesture at her brother.
Then, his thumb joins and a snap sounds, reverberating unnaturally around them.
Nothing happens for the span of several seconds.
And then the ground trembles at his side before rising in a massive column.
The concrete grinds obnoxiously together, cracking and fusing at seemingly random.
Soon, though, the column takes on a humanoid form, a single hole suggesting an eye in the center of its rotund head.
His hand still raised, the man whistles and points at Jared.
In an instant, the creature, a golem were Raven to guess, coils in on itself before leaving the ground.
Jared curses and dives backwards, the ground where he'd stood turning to a crater when it lands.
The creature doesn't give him a reprieve, no joints or muscles existing to fracture from the impact.
A sound almost like a roar leaves it as it lunges after the retreating demi-demon.
Suddenly the man is next to Raven, standing on the side opposite the increasingly tense Jinx.
"You must be Raven," he muses in greeting.
She nods in agreement as he pulls a long draw on his cigarette, watching the golem chase her brother in both amusement and awe.
"I am."
"Fate told me some bad shit was goin' down. Said you were lookin' for me. I told 'im to piss off, I'm workin' somethin' right now that's more long-term than your bullshit. Apparently, the waves didn't agree," he grunts, tossing the spent stub to land under his heel.
Something explodes nearby, rocks and other debris raining down to bounce harmlessly off the soul-self that snaps into existence around them.
"So, what the hell d'ya' want?"
"I'd heard about your disposition, but the stories didn't really cover everything, it seems, Constantine."
Jinx's focus snaps away from the fight, taking in the man's appearance and trying to connect the man to the stories she'd heard.
"Yeah? Just cause the waves want me to help doesn't mean I like it. So, what do you want, so I can piss off?" he demands.
The empath's answer is again cut off by another explosion, this time the golem turning to dust under the blast of red energy Jared throws at it.
"If you thought a golem was enough to kill me, you're not as smart as the others think," Jared laughs. "I'm gonna' enjoy killing you, slowly."
Raising a brow, Raven gestures at Constantine.
"I did not summon the golem. At any rate, you don't have an advantage this time. I must admit, you recovered from that faster than I'd thought you would, but we're not on even footing now. No imbalance of a mental assault throwing me off at the moment, and I'm not draining myself keeping people from killing each other, a significant difference from yesterday. Another is that she is likewise unoccupied," she says with a nod at the meta. "Jinx, a hand, if you would?"
Jinx cracks her knuckles in response, pink light sparking from her hands as she does.
"Gladly."
She brings her hands together in a ringing clap, a torrent of emerald flames launching forth.
As the column reaches her brother, Raven sinks into the ground and rises at his side.
The wall of red he quickly erects shimmers under the force of Jinx's magic, the cement steaming as the fire parts.
A feral grin on her face, Raven points at Jared's side and for a brief moment, the Mark of Skaath shines brightly on her forehead.
She snarls while thrusting her hands out, her magic rippling through the air between them.
Waves of pure obsidian leave her fingertips when the spell is uttered, and Raven feels a rush of adrenaline when the flames mix.
A curse sounds from Jared as he swings his arms in an arc, the shield expanding into a cone that covers him from the rising vortex of sickly green and black flames.
Jinx's eyes widen as the fires mix, a strange tugging sensation forming in her mind.
Ice seems to slip through her blood, drawing a shiver from her.
Just as she notices the strange phenomenon and it almost becomes comfortable, it vanishes and her fire brightens, more power pouring into the flames without any thought on her part.
Raven sends a worried glance at her fiancé, a small cloud of rosy smoke rising from Jinx's hands.
A grunting sound brings her attention back to her brother, who is slowly being pushed along the road, his soul-self shimmering around him.
"You won't get to me this easily, sis," he mocks in a noticeably strained voice.
Her retort is interrupted as he sinks into the ground, the fire crushing in on the now-empty air and detonating in a corona of black.
Both women cut the flames off, a distinctive hum filling the air in the ensuing silence.
Raven's senses expand, every ounce of her awareness searching for Jared.
When she finds him, her heart skips a beat and she leaps through a portal that forms the next second.
A shadow with no source appears behind Jinx, pure instinct sending the meta into a roll forward.
Just as Jared comes up to swing a massive fist at where her head had been, Raven materializes mid-motion through her own portal.
The man hisses in pain when she collides, her fist releasing a pulse of obsidian as it connects with his throat.
His body leaves the ground from the impact, several light posts snapping in the path of his flight.
Jinx comes up from her roll balanced on the balls of her feet, her eyes glowing pure pink along with her thrusting hand.
When the arm jerks to a stop, a triangle of light continues on, slamming into the falling demi-demon's chest and sending him tumbling end-over-end along the cement.
When Jared finally comes to a stop, his torso covered in blood and jagged chunks of road, Raven materializes overtop of him.
His eyes widen when he finds her own to be slits of pure darkness, her teeth bared in a very animal display.
Before he can rise or teleport away, her hand slams down into his shoulder, releasing a sickening crunch.
White-hot agony ripples through his large body, a pained hiss escaping him.
Pain blinding his vision for a moment, he doesn't notice the soul-self mummifying his entire body until it's completed forming, cinching his entire body tightly together.
"No chances this time," Raven intones, her eyes returning to a much less frightening red.
"Ugh… I'm stronger than you! I can break free," he snarls, his body jerking around as he tries to snap the coating.
Raven says nothing in response, a smirk tugging at her lips as he flounders around in her hold.
By the time Jinx and Constantine both make their way down the road to them, Jared gives a roar and gives up.
"Why can't I break free? I almost killed you yesterday!"
As soon as he asks the question, he notices the Mark on her forehead, glowing brightly enough to cast sinister shadows on her face.
"Ohh. Is big sis fighting dirty?" he sneers.
Raven shakes her head in response, the symbol vanishing while her eyes dim somewhat.
"Hellfire doesn't agree with my humane side, it seems."
"I'd keep that in check, were I you," Constantine muses around a wet cough. "Bad habit to get into."
Raven raises a brow at the mystic, the expression odd with four eyes.
"It's not usually my first response."
Her gaze shifts to her brother, becoming much narrower.
"Now, are you going to tell me if you're planning to bring father back easily, or do I have to snap parts of varying importance first?"
Despite the obvious pain on his expression, Jared grins up at her.
"You have a bit of a fixation, sis. It's kinda' creepy. Not everything's about Trigon," he mocks with a laugh. "Even if he did need a resurrection, our goal's a bit… lower on the food chain."
A sudden feeling of dread flashes through Raven, Jinx watching as her entire body tightens like a coiled spring.
"How much lower?" she demands.
Clearly enjoying her growing anger, Jared's grin grows ear-to-ear and another laugh sounds, this one rocking his entire body.
"What's that stupid game humans play? How low can you go? Just use your imagination, Raven."
Jinx jumps when a crack explodes through the otherwise silent air.
Flicking her eyes in the direction of the sound, she finds a spiderweb of cracks through the ground nearby.
Noticing it, Jared snickers, his amusement grating against Raven's mind.
"I think you had an accident, sis."
"It was the road or your skull, and you're more useful at the moment," Raven states around an animalistic growl. "Don't make me change my mind, Wrath."
"When the First sets foot here, the barriers are going to come crashing down so fast. I mean, sure dad might get out as a side-bonus, and boy would he be looking forward to seeing you again, but he ain't our goal."
"The First what?" Jinx demands, not understanding the sudden, incredibly creepy stillness of her fiancé's body.
"Oh, you'll find out in time. If I were you, I'd jump ship quick, 'cause being her pet isn't going to get you any fav- ugh!"
Raven's foot lashes into the side of his face, sending his head snapping violently to the side and into the road.
"I warned you once. She is not my pet, and you won't disrespect her again," Raven snarls.
The display of anger is surprising, both to Jinx and to Raven.
"You're actually serious about that? An' here I thought it was just part of that stupid human game you play. What's the appeal you an' Lust have with these things? I don't get it!"
"You're not also half-human?" Raven asks, desperate to distract her mind away from the anger coursing through her.
"I'm a demon and proud of it," he snarls. "You are, too, whether you'd say so out loud or not. You of all people shouldn't give a damn, as long as we don't help the old man come back."
Something occurs to Jared then, a strange light forming in his gaze as it slides over to Jinx.
From the shift in his smile, the meta gets the distinct impression she's about to be very unhappy, a sentiment that gets stronger when his gaze returns to Raven.
"Y'know, I'm a blunt force kinda' guy. Much more direct and personal. But even though we don't get along too well, I have picked up on some of the stuff Greed's always going on about. Negotiations're simpler and waste less energy than fighting, or some shit. How about a, whaddya' call it…? Quid pro quo?"
Raven's eyes narrow on her brother, cursing her curiosity.
"I have you held down and useless, and you've got nothing that I want any part of. Negotiations are best done when you're in a position to give the other party something they want," Raven quips.
"You're not immortal anymore than the rest of us," he sneers. "You can only hold me for so long, and when you cave, I'll be ready to crush you while you're weak."
"I could just crush your sternum, piercing your lungs and heart, right now, if you'd prefer. I understand it's a horrible death," Raven offers, the brutality startling Jinx.
"Do it. You'll be taking us down by a single person. Not that big a deal, in the long run."
"Five of you, two of us. It may be difficult, granted, but not impossibly stacked odds. Add in the mystics of the Justice League, the Titans, and the unaffiliated who have vested interest in keeping Hell and Earth separate, and suddenly your odds are much more dismal."
Raven's hope that the display of information would wipe the smug expression from her brother's face is quickly destroyed when, instead, his only reaction is a slight waning to his smirk.
"How many of you would it take to slaughter them all? If you weren't playing that fake human bullshit to keep them off your back and got serious, I mean."
"The lot of you aren't an equivalent to Trigon when I defeated him. I'm stronger than I was then. It's simple math," Raven argues, choosing to ignore the cold sweat breaking out.
"Six of us, two of you, and you'd have no way of knowing who we'd attack, where, and when. How far behind us were you with those rats you'd scared? And that wasn't even us trying to piss you off!"
The cracks in the road expand, returning his smirk to its former smugness.
"Face it. Much as you hate the old man, the only way you'd be able to take all of us is if you were him. So about that deal. Easy exchange. We stay out of your life, don't mess with any of your friends anymore, and in exchange, you stay out of our way. After that ambitious asshole and you, I'm the oldest, an' I can get them to get in line when I have to. You're much harder to hunt and kill than to just keep a truce with, or so my spine's tellin' me."
The retort Jinx expects doesn't come, setting warning bells off in the meta's head.
When she looks to her side, she finds Raven's gaze clouded, her struggle obvious on her usually stoic face.
Raven stares at her brother, the offer one that could potentially save a lot of lives.
Jinx's face flashes to her mind, right along with the faces of her children, sending a pulse of adrenaline through her.
The hesitation lasts for the barest of moments, though, the rest of the offer catching up to her mind in the timespan it takes for Jinx's worry to permeate the air.
Just as she opens her mouth to respond, Constantine steps forward, face contorted in a harsh glare that moves between the demonlings.
"There's no chance I'm lettin' anyone try that. Me an' that geezer go back a long way, and I ain't lettin' him come up here to play around more than he already does. If that means I need to take you both down, I can live with that."
Irritation snaps through Raven, her eyes narrowing on the man.
"This is not the matter that I asked your advice on, Constantine. I can tell my brother to piss off perfectly well without your input."
Jinx releases a relieved sigh in the midst of her laugh, Constantine's expression switching almost instantly with Jared's.
"I think I might like you, after all," he chuckles before pulling another cigarette free.
"Think on this, Raven. You don't know what you're bringing on yourself!"
Raven's eyes flash obsidian as she kneels down beside his head, a cruel smirk on her lips.
"I'd be inclined to agree to your deal if you weren't attempting to raise Hell, in a literal sense. But I'm afraid I'll be declining, Wrath. I won't need the charity of you staying away from my friends, when I can so easily make it a fatal mistake for all who attempt to harm them, instead."
Jared laughs despite the palpable fear emanating from him, red lenses meeting black.
"You can't be with all of them, all the time. You can't even be with the meta 24/7. You could at least save them pain until after the demons arrive," he snarls.
Raven's grin turns feral, suddenly sharp teeth revealing themselves.
Her dress billows around her feet, growing and turning to black smoke on the ground around them.
The smoke takes on a vaguely tentacle-like form, splitting to become a slithering wave that inches its way towards the helpless demonling.
His eyes widen as the smoke collects around his neck, the form billowing and shifting in front of his eyes.
And then it condenses, and he grunts as his body is lifted from the ground, his entire weight resting on his gripped throat…
********************
Author's Notes:
"The waves" is referring to synchronicity waves. John Constantine travels on said waves which, putting into layman's terms, means he tends to make his own good luck as well as be led instinctively to the right places at the right times. Such as meeting the perfect person for stopping an apocalypse when it's happening.
While he's a bit OP, I've always enjoyed the character of John Constantine. That I planned to involve the First of the Fallen in the story eventually gave me a perfect excuse to use him.
I'm greatly enjoying writing Raven's more demonic personality traits. It makes for an entertaining contrast, both for myself, and hopefully all of you, as well. As always, feel free to tell me what you all think, be they positive or negative thoughts. See you all next time!