Chapter 24:

Delphinium hung up her phone. She gazed at the name of the recipient. Sinking into her chair, she sighed. Tiara and Mana had been keeping her company at the office that day.

"How is she, Miss?" Mana asked.

"She has a rival to win Damian's heart now," Delphinium laughed.

Tiara chuckled. "Oh, my! That is something," she remarked.

The sixteen-year-old nodded. "It'll be good to keep her busy."

"He's coming again today. He never gives up," Mana reported.

Delphinium sighed, scheming through the contact list in her phone. Tiara and Mana glanced up at each other.

"I know," the girl started, sighing again, "I need you two to go see someone for me. I don't want that man to know about the two of you as well."

"But, Miss…he could do anything to you," Tiara reminded.

"Don't worry. I have Arnold by my side whenever I meet him, so I'm fine," Delphinium replied, taking out a binder from her drawer.

She handed it to her maids. She wrote an address on a piece of paper and handed it to them as well. She explained what they had to do. The maids widened their eyes in disbelief at her request.

"I feel like…my time has come," she muttered.

Tiara and Mana turned to look at each other. They nodded to Delphinium and went on their way. Tiara drove the car as Mana started to scheme through the binder.

"I can't believe she's doing this," she sighed.

"It's best for Miss Daphne this way," Tiara remarked.

Mana sighed and replied, "Yes, but Miss Delphinium never thinks about her own needs. All she ever thinks about is Miss Daphne."

"We've been with them since they were babies. You know why she's doing this," her partner reminded her.

She looked out through the window. "I guess so. I hope Miss Daphne will be okay with this."

They soon arrived at the written address. As they got off the car, they noticed a young man getting off his motorbike. It was Dick Grayson, the person they were told to meet.

"Grayson!" Tiara called.

Dick looked around in surprise. He saw the two approaching him.

"Please, we're about the same age. Call me, Dick," he said, chuckling.

"Okay…" Tiara muttered, turning to look at Mana.

"We have something to discuss with you," Mana started.

Dick looked at the two maids simultaneously. Mana bit her lower lip as she handed the binder to him. He took it. After reading some of the papers, he widened his eyes in disbelief.

A knock on the door was heard. Daphne was busy giving her weapon a maintenance at the time. She jumped off her bed and rushed to greet her guest. She was surprised to see Garfield at her door.

"Hey, wanna hang?" he asked, giving her a cool look.

"Uhhh…why?" she asked, grinning nervously.

"There's a carnival nearby. I thought we could go there and you know, get to know each other better," he explained, winking.

Daphne bit her lips, thinking of what to reply. Damian came by and she was relieved.

"Kori wanted us to meet her in the garage where her car is. She said it's important for everyone to be there," he said, shooting a glare to Garfield.

"Oh…okay," Daphne said.

Raising a brow, Damian continued, "But first, change into a more appropriate attire. Why did you even bring a nightdress?"

"It's easier to wear this to sleep," Daphne puffed her cheeks angrily.

Damian shook his head. He took his leave. Garfield flashed a smile to Daphne before following the boy. Daphne shut her door and went to her closet. She put on her tights and a dress over it. She picked up her Phoenix boots and grabbed her denim jacket. After that, she went to the garage.

"We're going out," was all Starfire said.

She urged everyone to get in the car. Raven and Daphne squeezed together in the front passenger seat. The orange haired was glad that she is somewhat small for her age. They arrived at the carnival Garfield mentioned earlier. Damian was told to leave his sword in the car.

"Tonight, we are to enjoy some mandatory fun," Starfire explained.

She waited for them outside the car. Daphne sadly looked at the ground. Raven noticed her change of mood. All of them followed Starfire to the entrance. Daphne gave out a long stare at the happy people enjoying themselves at the carnival. She shook her head rapidly and followed the others. As one by one of them entered the area, Starfire explained why they were here.

"This is an opportunity for us to become more familiar with each other," she said.

"How much more familiar can we get? We already saw Garfield licked himself," Jaime muttered.

"As a dog?" Damian asked.

"I wish," Raven replied.

Daphne was last to walk in. She didn't really mind that they paid no attention to her, but coming to a carnival? She sighed to herself. Starfire walked up to her.

"Is something wrong?" she asked with concerns.

"I…honestly don't really like carnivals. They remind me a lot of my parents," she explained.

Starfire was shocked. "I'm so sorry…" she said, holding the girl's shoulder.

Daphne smiled. "It's okay. It's a great idea. Master Damian doesn't have a childhood so this is good. He can understand what having fun is," she replied.

Starfire smiled and nodded. They went to where the others were standing to wait for them.

"You're gonna love it here. Maybe I'll win something for you," Garfield whispered to Daphne.

"Thanks, but I don't think it's worth your time," Daphne faked a smile.

They started off with the Ferris wheel which Daphne didn't want to ride. The other four of them did. The said girl stood with Starfire to wait for them.

"Are you sure you're okay? I can send you back to the tower if you want," she said to the girl.

"It's okay. I'll stick around," Daphne insisted.

They went to another stand after that. Garfield and Jaime competed to see who could earn more tickets. Damian stood watch with Raven. Of course, Daphne was watching him like she would always do. Seeing him trying to enjoy himself made her feel happy. Starfire patted her should once in a while to make sure she was okay. She would always give out a smile whenever the team leader did that. After a while, Damian decided to have a drink. He told Daphne to come with her. Raven tagged along.

"What's with you?" Damian suddenly asked Daphne.

"I have a lot on my mind. That's all," she lied.

"You're my servant. I know when you're lying," he suddenly said.

Daphne was a bit surprised at his words. Raven interrupted them. She told Damian to have a taste of the cotton candy she had bought.

"That tastes like pure sugar," he exclaimed.

"Boy were you up in those mountains a long time," Raven joked.

Damian looked away. Daphne excused herself to go buy some snack. As she walked away from the two, she turned back to look at them. Her master was progressing well in accepting company. After buying some sushi, she saw Starfire, standing to watch Garfield and Jaime having a dance off.

"Hmmm, Garfield's pretty good," she remarked.

Raven and Damian stood beside her. She handed them a sushi which Raven declined and Damian took a bite. He spat it out after that. Daphne giggled at his reaction. Jaime came, defeated.

"Free popcorn to anyone who could slay the beast," he said.

"I can do it," Damian suddenly said.

All eyes were on him.

"I've never seen you dance before," Daphne muttered.

"You know how to dance?" Raven asked him.

"I'm a quick study," Damian replied, walking up to the stage.

The four of them went closer to the stage to get a better view. Daphne was amazed at how quick Damian got the hang of the game. She started jumping and clapping her hands.

"You sure are excited," Jaime remarked.

"It's not every day you see him like that," she replied, smiling.

Once the game ended, Damian casually walked down the stage to where they were watching. Garfield came after.

"Awesome, dude," Jaime said to Damian.

"Yes, quite impressive," Starfire was next.

"You were great!" Daphne exclaimed.

"You were very good too, Garfield," Starfire said to him.

"Yeah," he said, catching his breath, "Whatever."

Suddenly, screams were heard. Daphne noticed the red electric flashing about. It was the same as the one with the incident involving Wizard. Raven was thrown onto the grown. Three demons surrounded them. People started to scatter away.

"Raven!" Starfire shouted. "Titans, go!"

Daphne watched as each of them transform. Damian took her hand and rushed to the car to get his sword.

"Did you bring your weapon?" he asked.

"No…it was under maintenance, but I did bring something else," she replied. "Don't worry about me. Go help them."

Damian nodded. After retrieving his sword and changing into his uniform, he ran back in to help the others. Daphne sighed. She took off her denim jacket and dress. She slipped in her uniform and buckled her utility belt. Then, she ran back in. She looked around to see who she could help.

"Raven! Starfire!" she called out when she saw them fallen.

She rushed in and threw a bomb towards the demon attacking the two. Its head exploded. She knelt down in front of Raven, checking her wounds.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Ugh…look out!" Raven shouted, creating a force field to protect them.

The demon shot red light beams out of its two pairs of eyes. Daphne took out another bomb and her stun gun. She kicked the demon and threw the stun gun. The demon roared and she threw the bomb next. Then, she took out a grenade but before she could throw it the demon punched her.

"Damn!" she cringed.

"Get back," Raven said to her.

Seeing that the others were about down with the other two demons, she used her power to defeat the last one. Her dark energy turned into a bird, exterminating the last one. Daphne was the only one who saw her demon face at the time – red skin and four fiery red eyes. She shook her head, running towards Starfire who was still on the ground.

"Are you okay?" she asked, checking her body.

Starfire nodded to her. Damian, Jaime, and Garfield came up to them. Daphne and Starfire stood up.

"You're bleeding," Robin pointed to her jaw.

"Yeah, it got me good," she replied, wiping away the dried blood.

All of them turned to Raven after that. She glanced up at Daphne who bit her lower lip at her. Starfire paced up to the girl who was floating back onto the ground. She looked away from her comrades.

"Robin said I didn't know enough about you. I think he was right," she said. "You told me you didn't have a father."

"What I said is that he's gone," Raven replied coldly.

"That's not the same as dead," Damian said.

"He's dead to me!" she shouted, turning her back to them.

Garfield crossed his arms and raised a brow. "So…why's he trying to kill you?"

"He's not trying to kill me. It's much worse," she muttered, extending her hand forward.

The whole team was engulfed in darkness and was teleported somewhere else. Daphne unconsciously held Damian's arm, surprised by the sudden change in the area. They were in a ruined world. Buildings were torn down and broken. Stillness filled the air.

"Safe to say we're not in Kansas anymore," Garfield remarked.

"It's no star field I recognized," Starfire spoke, looking around.

"Mind letting my arm go?" Damian whispered to Daphne.

Daphne released her hold on his arm. She looked down, blushing. It was a fair reaction since she wasn't aware that she was holding onto it, after all.

"Where are we?" Starfire asked Raven.

"Somewhere my father can't see us," Raven started.

"All right, let's hear it," Damian demanded.

She turned to look at them. "There's so much," she muttered. "I guess it starts with my mom. She was young, rebellious and gullible. Of course, she wound up in a cult. Anyway, they decided to do the classic bride of Satan rite…and guess who got to be the lucky bride? I doubt anyone would expect it to work but the ancient ceremony turned out to be the real thing. So, Mom, with her great powers and judgment, didn't hesitate to hook up with the guy who emerged from the smoke."

Garfield interrupted. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait. So, your mom did it with Satan?"

Raven turned to him and replied, "His name is Trigon, but basically, yes."

"But they totally did it," Garfield muttered in surprise.

"Garfield, that was inappropriate," Starfire sternly said to the boy and turned back to Raven. "Go on."

"It gets weirder…" she continued, looking down on the ground. "Mom fled the cult and was on the run with nowhere to go when she was saved by these people from another dimension. The people of Azarath, a realm with beauty, peace and tranquility…where, needless to say, I did not fit in and I must've inherited my mom's terrible judgment because I thought that if I found out more about the monster who made me, I'd be able to make sense of myself."

Daphne, guessing what would happen next, went to hug Raven as she continued.

"Poor mother, poor Azarath. I became its Trojan horse," she muttered, holding the girl in her arm and continuing, "He took me to his hellish universe. I could hardly bear the horrors I saw there."

Daphne pushed away. "Why'd he want you?" she asked.

"My thoughts exactly. Why?" Starfire asked.

"He wanted Earth. He's the conqueror of the worlds, but he needs a powerful conduit to open Earth to his control," she explained.

"And you're half human. His way in," Damian remarked.

Raven continued, "But my magic was stronger than he realized. Before he could use me, I was able to trap him inside a crystal. It should have held him. Perhaps if I had stayed there, it would have, but I wanted a home."

"Why didn't you go back to Azarath?" Jaime asked.

"This is Azarath," Raven said.

"Oh, Raven!" Daphne sighed, hugging her again.

She teleported them back but told them that she wasn't going to stay. She explained that she had put a protective spell on each of them, in case Trigon tried to harm them. When she was about to leave, Damian stopped her.

"Leave now and you'll always be running," he said.

"You've never met a monster like Trigon, Damian," Raven said.

"You beat him once," Jaime said.

"I was lucky," Raven replied.

"Now you'll be five times as lucky. If we can't save one of our own, who can we save?" he muttered.

"I thought you hated us," Blue Beetle said.

"I'm not wishing you dead anymore," he gave out a smug smile.

"Robin's right. We are your best hope," Starfire said.

"It'll be best if you stay with us anyway…" Daphne mumbled.

A loud blast was heard and a portal tore open in front of them. It was the Justice League, without Superman.

"We heard about the attack. Were she at the center?" Bruce asked.

"Her father is an inter-dimensional demon. He was after her," Starfire explained.

"She's coming with us," Bruce stepped up.

Damian stepped forward in disagreement. "No, we can handle this."

"If she's part of this, we need to know," Bruce replied sternly.

"So much like him…" Daphne mumbled to herself again, mentally groaning.

"We can protect her," Damian insisted.

Wonder Woman stepped in. "I'm sorry, Raven. We've had two magic attacks and Superman is still missing," she explained.

Raven gasped. "No!"

"What's the matter?" Starfire asked the girl.

"He knows they're here. He wants them here," the girl burst.

"Who?" Bruce asked.

"If they stay, everything will be lost," Raven blurted in panic.

"This is our job, father. You have to leave," Damian said.

Jaime and Garfield were surprised. "Father?!"

"She's coming with us," Bruce said.

"She has to stay here!" Daphne spoke up, rushing to Damian's side.

Jaime and Garfield did the same. They were all in their battle stance.

"Maybe we should all take a breath," Starfire suggested.

"Too late, they're here," Raven muttered.

Daphne saw the shadows creeping up to the Justice League members. She widened her eyes as they started to possess them. She glanced up at Damian before proceeding to cover for Bruce. She pushed him away with all her strength before the shadow could engulf him.

"Daphne!" Bruce shouted.

"I messed up again," she gave out a sheepish smile.

Wonder Woman, Cyborg, and Flash started to bear demonic features. Daphne was still trying hard to fight it off but failed.

"The Kryptonian has unearthed the infernal shrine, Raven," Wonder Woman muttered.

"The who did the what?" Jaime blurted in confusion.

"An ancient shrine built by Satanists. It has magical properties," Raven explained.

Flash was next to say something. "You are the shrine's final piece."

Damian stressed out, "She stays here."

Wonder Woman took her sword. "You dare challenge us?"

Flash rushed in and they started to fight. Daphne raised her right hand. One of the glass windows from the tower shattered. She raised her other hand. Both of her kukris fell into it. She smirked and rushed in to attack them as well.

"Daphne…" Damian muttered under his breath.

"Time to behave, Damian," she snickered, charging at him.

He gripped his sword tighter, reading her every move like he would always do. She rushed in with her weapon.

"I'll get you back to your senses…" he sighed.