CLIII
Darkseid vs. The Justice League
Part Ten: Three Wishes
As much as she absolutely hated to leave Bruce right now, this had to be done immediately and alone.
From the first moment when she had inherited this unbelievable amount of power from her recently deceased father, Raven had understood the inherent risks that the Source carried with it. It was the very energy of Fate, the bright sun above Yggdrasil that drew the fibrous threads of every living thing to be pulled through the Great Tree, crafting all of reality.
She knew that there was a madness to this level of power… a madness that had taken her father and turned him into Trigon. She had been explicitly honest when she had explained to Bruce that the Source was beyond a singular will… because it was the culmination of all will. From a single grass seed struggling to push upwards towards the sun to the grand design of the expanding Universe, all was the will of the Source.
But she had been dishonest with him about one thing…
She had the power the disrupt the Prophecy of Stone.
This fantastic power of creation that now burned within her needed only to be combined with one single, magic word and Raven could become something that could recreate destiny itself. As the Champion of six Gods with the power of the Source itself, she could bend Fate to her very will.
And that thought frightened her…
She could unravel the Prophecy of Stone… But then what? To unravel Darkseid's mad divination would save them… but how would Verdandi reweave those threads? Would the Goddess just pick them up and begin to recreate Darkseid's fatal pattern once more?
Sadly… Raven knew the answer.
Ananke translated as necessity.
Even if delayed, the pattern would only repeat.
To stop Darkseid, Raven understood that she would have to adapt Suli's tact… allowing the dreaded Prophecy of Stone to transpire, but altering it enough so that it would not mean the end of time. Allowing Darkseid's fatal vision to be fulfilled, but with an unseen alteration, so that it would not become the last moment of the entire Universe.
And she would do it without the Source.
Somehow.
As Raven appeared before far-reaching Yggdrasil, she was once again left breathless by its overwhelming dimensions. The tree was the width of a galaxy, stretching among the stars themselves! Closer to her were the wet shores of the Dark Sea. As she breathed the dampened air, Raven once again felt the stories of tales it held - and heard the whispers in her ears of the faded souls carried upon the waves as they fell upon the nearby shore…
This was the very water carried by the Norns to the roots of almighty Yggdrasil to be reborn into the branches of Fate. A constant cycle of all that had been, nourishing that which was, drawn by the light of that which would be. This was the lifecycle of the Sea of Oblivion which nourished the Great Tree Yggdrasil which was powered by the sum of all possibility, the blessed Source.
In a testament to the tragic scope of her father's cruel legacy, she felt the nearest branches of the Great Tree actually bend towards her… Towards the immense power that Raven now held within her. To witness such an astounding event only confirmed her worst fears… She spoke aloud to assure herself that this most benevolent of decisions was the correct thing to do… even as the very Universe was facing its most deadly of threats.
"It's the right thing to do, Raven… So just do it."
Raven was shocked when someone actually answered her…
"…You are welcome here, Champion."
Raven glanced beside her to see a matronly woman floating in the air only ten feet away to her left. Dressed in flowing white robes draped across massive white wings – she looked like an angel. To be precise, an astrological angel, with miniature stars of a thousand colours slowly spinning around her in perfect concentric circles - like the precise gears of a celestial clock.
And yet, there was something familiar about her.
"…Ananke?"
"Yes, dear child… I have returned my threads to the Great Tree… and now reclaim my true appearance. Have you also come here to return something perhaps?"
"…I have."
"But you have doubts."
Raven drew a deep breath, steeling her resolve to do what must be done. The Wizard Adam had warned her that the path of a Champion would be a difficult one, but also that it must be the path of the righteous… even if the Universe itself was in jeopardy.
"I have come to return the Source that my father stole, mother Ananke. Too many tears have been shed before its blinding light and it must be restored. The uncertainty that you sense within me is not doubt regarding this just decision… but rather if I will be able to defeat tyrannical Darkseid without its power. However, as your Champion, I must do what is right before Fate and the Wizard Adam."
"Well spoken, Raven… And as my Champion, you shall earn my divine favour."
Raven smiled up at the tall Goddess and bowed.
"Thank you for your blessing. I'm ready, Ananke…"
Focusing on the burning light within her, Raven spread her arms and her consciousness, and then proceeded to light the sky like a newborn star. Radiance poured from every atom of her skin, like the phoenix of sunrise across the Realm of Fate, each new ray bending towards its ultimate destination… completing a pilgrimage that had been delayed far too long back to the Source.
As it hovered above spectacular Yggdrasil, the eternal Source burned ever brighter and brighter. A trillion photons shot from Raven's body while no darkness was permitted to exist in that one brief, shining moment. Every star across the Universe burned a little brighter in that one perfect instant…
Finally complete, a smouldering Raven collapsed to her knees. The Source that she had absorbed from Trigon had been returned, and the ill-gotten gains from her father's evil legacy had finally been put to rest. The emotional outpouring had totally drained her, but a trillion lost souls had now been returned to the cycle of Fate.
Ananke's shining light lit the ground below her and she heard Fate's first Goddess speak.
"… My daughters have expressed their desire to repay your devotion, Champion. You have honoured us well, Raven Wayne…"
Somehow… a spent Raven found the energy to raise her weary head, surprised to see the beaming teary eyes of Verdandi gazing back into her own astonished, violet eyes mere inches away. As the kneeling Goddess of the Present gently took Raven's hand from the dirt – the Champion felt potent emotions of gratitude and wonder course through her at the Goddess's soft touch. With her other hand, Verdandi swept Raven's dark hair from her eyes.
"I have never allowed myself to feel Hope… until now, Raven. You have returned our Mother to us when all was lost. You have given us light as night crept along our sacred shores."
Raven was once again surprised when Urd and Skuld also appeared before her. The Goddess of the Past and of the Future each helped her rise to her feet, supporting her weary body. Without the Source to support her, the toll of her efforts on Maltus hit her once again like a leaden sack. She was tired.
Raven now felt the same emotions - with different temperaments - course through her at the touch of the two deities. The Goddess of the Past felt subdued and reverent while the Goddess of the Future seemed closer to her own spirit, the unbridled joy of Hope. Urd was of the dark Sea while Skuld was of the bright Source above. Which meant that Verdandi was the weaver of the great Tree. Each represented one aspect of the eternal cycle.
Past, Present and Future… Ocean, Tree and Sun.
Each had raised the spirit of Hope from the ground so that Raven now stood before these three Norns. Raven Wayne; both a woman and a Goddess, a Champion of Righteousness who had been born of a Prophecy of Destruction. Child of hate redeemed by love. She watched in amazement as all three Norns lowered themselves before her, kneeling upon the very dirt that they just raised her from while she stood shocked and unsteady.
They bowed before her!
Urd spoke first.
"For the return of our mother and the light, each of us shall grant you one wish, Mistress. Ask of me anything you wish to have changed in the past and I will make it so. This I will do for you… but be clever - so as not to disrupt the threads of my sister Verdandi."
Verdandi spoke next.
"Ask of me any wish, Mistress. Ask the impossible and it shall appear within my weave. I can not change the future things of my younger sister's domain, but I shall entwine whatever miracles are in my power to grant you."
Skuld then spoke.
"I already know your wish! I see it clearly within your heart. But the Prophecy of Stone can not be destroyed. So I shall appear and grant your final wish to Darkseid when you face him..."
"To Darkseid?!... Skuld, hold on… Why Darkseid?!"
Like the mischievous girl she was, Skuld gave a clever wink to the bewildered Raven and replied with a wide and all-too-innocent grin.
"Trust me."
Raven still wasn't convinced by her confidence.
"… Skuld, you have more to lose than anyone if Darkseid's Prophecy succeeds. He wants to stop Fate itself… Are you certain that granting my wish to him will actually save you?!"
"Yep."
"… Alright, I trust you Skuld. But I think I'll use Verdandi's wish to give us the flexibility to alter Darkseid's Prophecy of Stone."
Verdandi rose to her feet and immediately grasped both of Raven's hands, a wide and anxious smile spreading across her beautiful face.
"Have you decided your wish, Mistress?"
"Yes Verdandi, I have… And I pray it's possible that you can grant it... I wish for Freedom to be returned to us. That your precious weave should once again be blessed with Freedom when necessity arises. That the Black Ocean only washed away the Anti-Life Equation and nothing more... I wish for Scott Free to live again!"
Verdandi suddenly embraced Raven, the Goddess of the Present holding the slender woman very close. As they separated, another tear of joy fell from Verdandi's eye as a perfect smile spread across her gracious lips.
"He shall be returned, Mistress. You have blessed me with Freedom and Hope!"
Verdandi and Raven exchanged happy grins while clasping hands, the heartfelt emotions of excited sisters exchanged between them.
"Then I have blessed us all, Verdandi."
Raven now turned to Urd, who rose to meet her cautious gaze.
"Urd, this one may be a little tricky. The timing will have to be exact... But I believe Izaya will be happy enough to grant me a favour after that last wish."
Leaning into the Goddess of the Past, Raven whispered her last wish into Urd's ear while the white-haired Goddess began to slowly smile. A red thread was spliced together using the dark thread of iron.
"It is done, Mistress... He awaits your return."
Raven suddenly seized Urd's cheeks and kissed her fully on the lips, while long-held tears poured down from her young, violet eyes. As she embraced the Goddess of the Past and openly wept, Verdandi and Skuld also joined in their embrace as well. Finally, Raven found the strength to continue.
"I have to go… My friends still battle Darkseid on Earth. Thank you..."
With a newfound hope and love filling her heart, Raven left the Realm of Fate to battle the one who sought to destroy all they held dear…
Darkseid.
Epilogue:
On barren Maltus, the lonely spirit of Drax appeared over the cold corpse of Trigon. The former Prince of Apokolips looked down at the crimson God he had been. The planet was deserted now, the other Gods had been freed and had departed. Death, who awaited his return to the Source, called from above.
"Hurry up, you two. Show's over, there's nothing to see here anymore…"
Two?! Drax cast his eyes suspiciously to the crevices around him, searching, then finally spotting the near-transparent light of the Goddess he sought in the shadows…
Suli!
"Come to see me off, witch? Or was it to gloat?"
"I have come to join you, Drax. You were all that held me here."
"Not going to wait for your true love, then? I have a feeling Darkseid will be along any moment. He was your husband after all."
As they floated upwards towards Death and the emerald sky, Suli continued…
"He was never my true love, Drax. Uxas was only the tool of my spiteful revenge upon your selfish mother. But like a pathetic fool, I found out far too late that love is not a game to be wagered upon. My gamble failed on many fronts. It was I who became the tool when Uxas transformed into manipulative Darkseid…"
"We were all fooled by Darkseid, Suli."
"But none so much as I. Let us hope that Fate shines upon your daughters."
"…It was Raven who freed the Gods here?"
"It was."
Drax smiled.
For all of the evil he had done as Trigon, he had done one good thing, however unintentional it had been. His own mortal daughter had kept his promise and freed his immortal daughter. The spirit of Drax didn't know why he should care (he was dead after all)… but it still mattered to him. He couldn't bear the thought of going to the Source while Abraxas was still a captive of Maltus.
But thanks to Raven she was free. And so was her sister Zareah. The Gods did not to answer for their sins. They simply played their role, bound more tightly to the web of Fate than even mortals would know. Yet the fact that his daughter was no longer hung on the fifth crucifix below made him feel redeemed.
Suli clasped his spiritual hand in hers as they drifted above the skies of Maltus.
"I am glad as well, Drax."
"What happened here was a sin against the Gods. Suli… On Apokolips, did you ever love me?"
"… No. I was a callous witch who desperately sought to rectify the mistakes I had made with your brother. You were a convenient means to that end. But I have learned that Fate has a strange way of balancing hearts like ours."
"How so?"
"Through our children. Kalibak adores his father more than I ever could. Your Raven is a flawless soul of love. And our own daughter is the sum of all emotion while we played at the impassionate game of revenge."
"…Did you ever love him, Suli?"
"I loved his promises and his ambition, Drax. That is all."
"Yet you journey to the Source with me… Why won't you wait for him?"
"There is nothing to wait for."
"You mean… The Prophecy of Stone will stop Fate?"
"Whether it does or does not will not matter. Darkseid will never journey to the Source."
"Suli… He's a God. When he dies, he will be reborn of the Source."
"No Drax… He will not. You know that there is always a price to pay for my art."
"Aye, a deal with the witches of Fate is costly beyond measure. My brother could not have paid you with a throne - you were murdered before he came into his full glory. If not power, then what was the cost of your mighty Prophecy of Stone, witch?"
"His immortality."
"But… Darkseid must be immortal. He has lived for eons since the time of your deal… Or is it that you mean that he will not be reborn into the Source… That the God of Tyranny shall not be re-cast?"
"I mean that he is not immortal… Since the time of the Infinity Pit, Darkseid lives only through the auspices of the Omega Effect. If the Omega Effect were to cease, Darkseid simply perishes forever… there would be no reincarnation or rebirth."
"Truly? My brother lives solely through the power of his will and the power of the Omega Effect?!"
"It is so."
"…That explains his madness."
"Aye… And my desperation to undo the wrong I have brought upon my Patrons."
"…A Goddess of Fate must still answer to the Fates?"
"Aye Drax… It is so… Pray continue to hold the hand of one who must answer for her sins… Fore she has much to answer for…"
"What answers can be given now but the deeds of our children, Suli?"
"Those deeds are their answers… not mine... That this tale of woe has an ending and another tale begun soon afterwards is enough. That my foolish mistake does not end the eternal weave of that beautiful Goddess is enough. That I shall be allowed to suffer and that all suffering should never cease throughout the expanse of time is enough. That Darkseid should die… that is enough."
"That Darkseid should die... Let that be your only answer."
Author's Notes:
It's impossible for me not to envision the Norns as Belldandy, Urd and Skuld from "Oh! My Goddess". Seeing them in my mind with Raven is really fun. They have a similar fashion sense and Raven seems to fit in quite well with the happy trio. Just wait until she goes all "Half-Demon Magical Girl" in a little while!
So what do you think Raven's whispered wish with Urd was for?... Hmmm?...