Devil's Advocate
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.
The Watchtower floods with a brief flash of golden light.
Several of the heroes sitting around the large, steel table look up at their latest arrival.
Doctor Fate walks without pause towards the assembly, briefly nodding to several of the other mystics gathered.
"You called?" he asks, sounding vaguely annoyed behind the echo his helmet gives his voice.
As he takes a seat, he lets his mind catalogue the heroes present.
Most are not surprising, given his suspicions on why Superman called the meeting in the first place.
Magicians line the table on both sides, with a few of the League's less magical members interspersed.
Seeing Etrigan leaning against a wall, glowering at the Kryptonian, is surprising, however.
As is seeing Batman in a similar position at the back of the room, the Martian Manhunter and a younger version of Wonder Woman on either side of him.
His assessment finishes in seconds, and only one or two of those present seem to fidget or indicate in any way that they're aware that he's done so.
"That's everyone, then," Superman announces.
The Kryptonian stands up, and casts a gaze around everyone in the room.
"I need a better understanding of what we're looking at here."
"A waste of time ta' soothe yer' bloody ego," Etrigan sneers.
Superman glares at the demon, who simply curls his lip even further in response.
"All of you here know about Raven. Some of you, we consulted with when she first came to us asking for help, others have heard about her either from the reputation she's been earning over the past few months, or even just her actions over the past few days," he starts again.
"What I want to know is if she's right."
Several people seem surprised, including the berate demon.
"I want to stay ahead of this. We've only got a few days, and I need to get opinions and facts about the whole situation. I don't touch magic, and that means I'm not someone that can say he knows everything. She plans to kill her brothers in cold blood to stop them from freeing Hell. Are there other ways to stop them?"
"Not really, nah," a heavy cockney accent muses.
Eyes turn to a blond detective, his feet up on the table and a bored expression on his face.
"It can't be that simple," Zatanna argues from directly across the table of Constantine.
"Doctor Fate, you've worked with them a number of times," Superman interrupts the budding argument. "In fact, I understand she and Jinx have been in refuge in your tower the past two days?"
There's more than a small amount of suspicion in the alien's question.
Fate gives no reaction, though he finds the doubt no less irritating.
"They're nearly recovered. Their bodies are mended by this point, but they remain still unconscious while their souls and minds repair themselves and recuperate within a barrier to increase the speed of their recovery while also keeping them completely safe from any who would seek to harm them," he agrees.
Superman's eyes narrow slightly in response, Fate's own insinuation seeming to hit the mark perfectly.
"What's your assessment? Is Raven just looking to kill them, and using this whole thing as a justification for murder? Are these Sons of Trigon really that dangerous, if she thinks she can take them all out herself?"
The mystic straightens in his chair, feeling all the attention in the room on him.
Zatanna, though, beats him to speaking.
"Or, another way of looking at it, is how dangerous is Raven if she can beat five powerful, psychotic demons that share her heritage, on her own? Hell, she might be as strong as Trigon himself. Not to mention she's dating a Lord of Chaos, which Nabu's people are born to fight," she ends with a mutter.
Fate briefly glances at the irate sorceress, before returning his full attention to Superman.
"Raven has a pathological need to work in the name of Order. Part of it is that she was born in Azarath, a dimension of pacifists who left this realm to escape the evils of humanity. Yet more comes from the fact that she grew up believing she would inevitably become the key for her father's reign, and so she worked to build up a karmic balance in the hopes that it would negate such a fate."
"Which didn't pan out, considering that Trigon got here thanks to her," Zatanna argues.
"A lot thanks ta' you, harpy, so I wouldn't be bringin' that up jus' now," Etrigan berates.
"Hang on a minute. She grew up with pacifists?" Superman asks in surprise.
"That's what I understand of Azarathian society, yes," Fate responds with a nod. "She, herself, is not born from Azarath herself, though, so it is of no real surprise that such a black and white view didn't remain long once she got here."
"You can say that again."
Fate briefly glares at Zatanna, watching her straighten up and a light blush form on her cheeks.
"She nonetheless is not an agent of evil and Chaos. Since I've known her, she's done everything in her power to protect people where she can, and to help her loved ones. That isn't just Jinx, or even the Titans despite her rather unfortunate departure, but humanity in general."
"Damn right," another voice interrupts, nearly drawing an exasperated sigh from the mystic.
Troia's hands move to her hips, glaring openly at Zatanna.
"I'd understood that you only met her once or twice," Superman muses in surprise. "I'd asked you here because you know mythology. Do you have an opinion on Raven?"
"Everyone here's got an opinion on Raven, whether it's good or not. She was draining herself down in Jump, wrapping heroes and villains alike in her freaky magic so her brother didn't cause us to kill each other. You, too, Zatanna," the blonde adds with an even harsher glare. "She could've just let us deal with it and gone for her brother's head the second he showed up. But she didn't."
Zatanna squirms, looking decidedly uncomfortable.
"She… may have, yeah."
Her eyes narrow, then, covering the discomfort easily.
"On the other hand, she practically gave a magical WMD over to an immortal psychopath, if what we've heard about Stonehenge is true. And let's not forget that, if those reports are true, Jinx destroyed Stonehenge, a magic circle that's stood for millennia absorbing magic that's been poured into that land."
"A miscalculation," Fate cuts in, bringing the attention away from their squabbling once again.
He feels the urge to rub at his temples, suddenly, though knows the helmet would hinder such a movement.
"A particularly unfortunate miscalculation, to be certain, but Raven didn't return Excalibur thinking that it would be immediately set upon. And she wasn't corrupted by that sword's power, a feat that I'm sure most in here would be unable to pull off."
"Damned thing's cursed," Etrigan agrees.
"As for your claim that she may be the next Trigon, Zatanna, you ignore things. There are a number of factors keeping that from happening, but chiefly, she is half human, and she thrives on that aspect of herself. Loathes her father and everything he stood for in her mind. Including Chaos."
"You're not seriously saying she's not dangerous!" the sorceress argues, mouth agape.
"She can be," he agrees with a curt nod. "She didn't join your assault on the Church of Blood's library because of that fact. Instead, she was trapped in her own mind, destroying the last remnant of Trigon that remained in this reality, which had been planted in her mind and been festering for quite some time. Had she gone there, he would have likely used the moment of weakness brought on from the Church of Blood's defenses draining her, and then she would have been Trigon."
"Wait… That's why she was unconscious when Jinx picked up?"
Superman looks aghast at the idea, and several others pale slightly at the notion of Trigon being in Raven's mind.
"When she visited the realm of Morpheus, it seems she was made aware of his presence. She'd been drawing from him. Gaining more strength and energy while slowly killing his awareness in the process. These past months are likely the sole reason she isn't ripping the Hellmouth open herself under Trigon's control right now. She assimilated everything that was left of him. As you said, Zatanna, she is powerful. Now, she is almost certainly on an even level with Trigon when he was in his prime. But as many, many heroes throughout the universe have proven, having power does not equate to her being a danger to the world, or universe."
"Which is fine and all. Nobody'd accuse Nabu's power of making the wearer of that helmet evil. But she admitted that she sat down and had a chat with the actual, literal devil," Superman argues. "I picked up enough growing up to know that the guy's pure evil."
A derisive snort sounds, drawing the alien's glare to a clearly amused Constantine.
"Pure evil," he laughs. "Right."
"You think that's really that funny?" Zatanna demands.
The detective's expression hardens, and slowly, he moves to an upright position in his chair.
The movement seems to make him taller, and several people in the room shiver as the air seems to grow just a touch colder with his mirth vanished.
"This world ain't black and white. There's no such damn thing as pure evil, if you're applyin' it to opinions from generational accounts. Get off yer' high horse."
He raises his arm, and an index finger slowly moves across every mystic in the room as he speaks.
"Every single, solitary magic wielder in this room, including Fate, and yes, even you, Zatanna, have done our fair share of deals and truces with devils and monsters of all kinds. You think that because she talked to tha' one, she's somehow less n' any of the resta' us? He's not even technically a demon. Apathetic bastard, ta' be sure, if the rumors I've heard are true, but he doesn't go out actively plotting to be evil like the First of the Fallen."
Zatanna cringes under the harsh glare, but the detective simply returns to his relaxed position, as though his irritation had never existed in the first place.
"'Sides," he sighs, "he was only a steppin' stone, anyway. Sent them on their way to where they actually got the information we're all actin' on. And there's no one in this room, 'cept maybe Nabu, who can say anythin' about the character of the creatures they got their information from. I'd dare anyone stupid enough ta' try to go ahead an' badmouth a species as old as this universe."
The room is deathly quiet, a distinct discomfort floating through the air like a miasma.
Fate clears his throat after a small, torturous eternity, breaking the atmosphere.
"I agree," he states. "The fact that she talked with that man is understandably troubling, but irrelevant in the scheme of things. They received their information, as Constantine says, from beings that are older than even Nabu can fathom and will be the last beings left before the universe is ended. And considering that the Lords of Order and Chaos are considered the first beings that existed in this universe, you can understand why questioning their information isn't wise."
He turns his gaze again to the young sorceress, causing her to stiffen.
"Also, a point of correction. Jinx isn't a Chaos Lord. She's simply a metahuman."
"Oh, come on! She throws around wild Chaos magic just by breathing! The world decays just by being in her presence. Not that I've been around too many Lords of Chaos, but-"
"You're right. You haven't. Attracting chaos, and even wielding chaos magic, is not enough to make someone one of their kin."
"Not ta' take tha' harpy's side, ere, but she ain't no simple human, either," Etrigan cuts in.
Zatanna finds herself debating whether the insult or the agreement with her opinion is more important.
The demon stares at Fate, his expression hard.
"She's an admittedly very powerful metahuman, with an inherently dangerous and chaotic ability to begin with, who adds to it by using magic. By training in advanced magic over the years, it's become even more potent, even as it's gotten more under her control. But, in the end, she's still just a metahuman," the mystic disagrees.
"A metahuman isn't goin' ta' roll through Hellfire an' come out the other side without a mark."
"Are you saying that Jinx did that?" Constantine asks.
While his voice is still utterly bored, his expression perks up in barely hidden interest, the thought a curious one.
Even he wouldn't touch that stuff.
"This would have been when you were with her in Stonehenge," Fate guesses.
"I was burnin' the damned circle so she didn' kill 'erself doin' it 'erself, an' the meta fell right inta' the flames. I was still thinkin' a' ways to keep Raven from tryin' ta' figure out howta' kill an immortal when she started absorbin' it."
Fate feels his brow knitting together, the information news to him, as well.
"Do you mean that the flames died around her, or that they were drawn into her body?" he asks.
"No idea. Le Fey attacked, an' I didn't see everythin'. But afore the harpy got me, her whole damned soul turned black as night, and my Hellfire started dyin' out like it was a doused candle. Hellfire ain't tha' easy ta' put out."
"You're right. That is… abnormal," Fate concedes. "However, a Chaos Lord would not have an ability like that any more than any other creature."
"But if she did something like that, she's definitely not a human, either," Zatanna reasons. "There's nothing that should be able to do that to Hellfire. It's embodied Chaos magic, made from weaponizing cursed souls."
"You throw that around?" Superman asks while turning decidedly pale.
Etrigan shrugs, seeming completely unbothered by the horror showing in the Kryptonian.
"I'm a demon. Whaddya' expect, tha' I unleash black fires that turn the world cold made from puppies an' unicorns?"
"So what the hell can absorb that kind of thing?" Zatanna demands. "Only demons can even really touch the stuff."
"Which Jinx is decidedly not," Fate agrees. "It is a mystery."
The mystic frowns in thought, the expression hidden behind his helmet.
Since they'd met, Jinx has always had an odd aura, as though made from a human but mixed with traces of things decidedly not.
He finds himself wondering if assumptions made since the onset are incorrect.
"For now, let's chalk it up to something to be looked into. She's helping us deal with the immediate problem, and until we don't have Hell trying to break free, it can wait."
The gruff voice sends a wave of surprise through the room, drawing eyes to Batman.
The hero remains stoic as ever, betraying nothing of the thoughts hidden under his mask.
"We don't know what we're dealing with, here," Zatanna argues. "For all we know, she could be something-"
"Whatever the case may be about what Jinx is, who she is is not a matter of question," Fate interrupts. "She is, as Raven is, committed to staying Hell's release. Batman's correct. We must deal with the universal threat, before worrying about matters of intrigue."
"So this isn't just some justification for her?" Superman asks, returning the discussion to its origin.
"There is likely some part of her that is using that way. When it comes to her family, or rather her demonic family, there's likely no one in this reality that loathes everything her heritage and everything associated with it stands for than her. However, she is not bloodthirsty. Not only does fighting her brothers have obvious physical risks, but there are mental dangers as well. Because of what she and they are, killing them means she draws their essence in on their defeat, as it did with Trigon. Defeating one of her brothers caused issues, and while she dealt with them and it was likely the worst she will deal with, five more at once may very well cause her to become comatose, if she lives through the battle at all."
"An' she knows that?" Constantine asks before releasing a sharp whistle. "That's one badass witch."
The others remain quiet, a very different impression of Raven apparently taking form in the majority of heroes present.
Even Zatanna wears an expression suggesting the beginnings of respect.
"Further, she is correct. At the end of this episode, there is Hell ripping the seams of the universe free, or there are five dead half-demons," Fate continues. "If she kills them, they will obviously meet that end. But even were we to intervene and simply keep the ritual from occurring, they will end up being ripped apart by celestial warriors of some variety, and will still, in the end, be met with death. If I'm honest, Raven would be the less cruel of the options."
There's a decidedly green cast to Superman's skin as he imagines it.
"Anyone here think we shouldn't help Raven?" Troia demands with a raised brow.
Nobody voices a disagreement.
"So that's that, then," Superman sighs. "We'll help her. When everything's over, we can deal with all the other things."
The statement seems to set everyone into action, all the people gathered rising from their chairs.
"I've got some ideas on where they might be planning to use," Batman offers. "I'm still looking into it."
"And we'll need to evacuate the city, one way or the other," Superman adds.
"An' who's gonna' be keepin' an eye on the two of 'em in the meantime?" Constantine, the only person still seated, asks.
He snorts at Superman's upraised brow, not buying the Kryptonian's nonchalance for a second.
"Don't give me that. You'll help them, sure. But I ain' buyin' for a second that you aren't plannin' to trap Raven and Jinx the secon' that they've gotten things taken care of."
"If they get this done and don't hurt anyone but the Sons of Trigon, then I'm willing to let it go. Apparently, over the last few months and weeks, they've gotten plenty of people after them, anyway. If they hurt a single civilian, though… I'll take care of it," he swears.
"Feh! Like you'd get close enough ta' throw somethin' at them, considerin' yer'… discomfort," Etrigan laughs.
Superman's eyes narrow dangerously on the demon, which earns another snort from Constantine.
"He ain't wrong, alien. Even if they did go off and start killin' whoever they pleased, you're just about the worst person in the whole League to take care of it."
"Nabu will handle things."
The trio go silent, looking at Doctor Fate in silence.
The mystic stands tall, allowing a small portion of Nabu's aura leak free to give himself more presence.
"I will not make absolute assurances on their strength of character and let things slide on the one in a trillion chance that all my observations thus far are wrong. Raven and Jinx are powerful, and are skilled as a team. Keep in mind that, though they ultimately failed in their fight against Wotan, they managed to hurt him, nonetheless. Even for powerful magicians, it would likely be very fatal to take them lightly. If something happens in those tunnels to change them, then I will use all the power afforded to me as Doctor Fate to protect humanity, and the universe at large."
The mystic briefly wonders if he should mention that no outcome he had seen of the coming battle had ended with him destroying the pair.
The easy way in which all three agree to his statement, however, makes him decide against it just then, lest his growing headache be made even worse with more bickering.
"You'd be the best man for the job to notice anything," Superman agrees.
Zatanna very briefly appears as though she wants to say something.
Just as her mouth opens, however, she gives a minuscule shake of her head and seems to think better of it.
With a nod from the Kryptonian, the mystics filling the room vanish in varying forms of teleportation.
In a matter of a few seconds, only Batman and Doctor Fate remain in the room, the acrid scent of Etrigan's Hellfire hanging in the air as the detective moves towards him.
"You didn't tell Superman everything, Hall," he accuses.
Though his voice is lowered to intimidate, as it always is, Fate feels some amusement mixed in with the tone.
"I told him what is important, Mr. Wayne. The Sons of Trigon must be stopped, and Raven and Jinx are both on the side of Order. These are the facts that are important immediately. They can't afford to attempt to evacuate the city and fight her brothers as well, nor would they have the clout or support to do so."
"And Clark, on the other hand," Batman muses with a nearly imperceptible smirk.
"Gotham has many stubborn people. The civilians will clear out if it comes from him, and other important members of the JLA, that they'll be in immediate danger there."
"And all the thieves that'll use it as an opportunity? The murderers who will use the fallout as a smokescreen?"
"I imagine the fight will be very contained. Out with not a bang, but a whimper, I believe."
He feels the detective's eyes on him from behind the white lenses of his mask, his expression guarded once again.
"Anywhere they fight down in those tunnels, the city above's going to get damaged from it. If they fight in a particularly ugly place, they could topple most of Gotham, and there are a few of those down there."
Fate says nothing in response to the unanswered question in the air, earning a glare from the detective.
"What're you planning, Hall? What's that helmet shown you? Obviously, whatever it was needs for you to be down there, looking after those two, and keeping Superman and the rest of us out."
"It's nothing as scheming as all that," the mystic responds with a shrug. "Six demons and a metahuman who can channel magic like a demon will be fighting several hundred feet below the ground. The less people down there, the better. And I need to be there, as well, to contain the damage if something does happen. Raven stands the best chance, but I have backup plans in place, just in the event that it goes awry. That gate can't open."
"And Jinx?"
"What about Jinx?"
"I know more than the D.M.A. likes to think," Batman states. "I know that girl's history. All of her history. She's definitely a metahuman. But why do I get the feeling that you know what's going on with her? Someone that's not a demon but can take on Hellfire can only be dangerously unstable, from what I understand of magic."
Fate shrugs, meeting his hidden gaze without trouble.
"The news of her taking in Hellfire is honestly news to me. I've always assumed she is what she appears in physical, mental, and mystical forms she walks around in."
"But you know something anyway," Batman challenges.
"I have a theory or two," he agrees. "Until I perform some tests, I won't know anything for certain. And right now, there are more important things to concern ourselves with."
"Unless it turns out that Raven wasn't the only one pulling from Trigon's power."
Fate grimaces behind the helmet, the unpleasant thought one of the more worrying he'd had since Etrigan had mentioned it.
The detective is more astute than even he gives credit for, at times.
"I have theories," he repeats. "I am… reasonably positive that isn't the case. And if it was, I've already taken care of the matter. It was not my intention, but when I assured Raven that Trigon is gone from her mind, Jinx was also present. It would have purged him from her mind, as well. There is no doubt that Trigon is truly dead, now, in as much as any immortal can really die. He won't be able to recuperate and make another attempt on the universe for several more millennia."
"And if he'd corrupted her mind in the meantime?" Batman demands with a frown.
"Time will tell. Again, it's only one theory I have. Another is similar, except instead of Trigon, it's Raven. With how close they are, it would not be impossible that their auras would merge even further at times than what I'd previously observed. They very easily mixed their auras and minds together in Morpheus's realm. A feat that would be made easier if their souls, already baring similar magic and energy, have adapted and melded somewhat over the past year. It would give her a higher capability of resisting demonic magic and influence."
"I don't like how either of those can play out. If Raven really did get warped, maybe influenced by her brothers, and had that much influence over Jinx, do you honestly like your chances of stopping them?"
"Nabu is stronger still than either of them."
"That isn't what I asked."
Fate shrugs once more, refusing to break eye contact first.
Batman's frown deepens, and finally he turns away with a shake of his head.
"Fine. Whatever happens will be on your head if my theory turns out to be right and we end up in an apocalypse because of it. At any rate, whenever they wake up, send them to Wayne Manor. Raven's input could speed up figuring out where her brothers will be."
"Alright. Whenever they wake up, send them to Wayne Manor. Raven's input could speed up figuring out where her brothers will be."
The mystic simply nods before Batman storms off, clearly agitated.
Once again, the Watchtower floods with golden light, and Doctor Fate vanishes, leaving the entire station feeling colder, somehow…
...
Author's Notes:
At first, I was debating using a lot more of the DC mystics, but in the end, I decided that, this late into the story, I should probably stick with the ones I've introduced. And I had a lot of fun writing the bickering. Overall, I enjoyed writing this chapter and making some of the associations the girls have made pay off. I hope you've all enjoyed, as well. Either way, be sure to let me know, and I'll see you all next time!