"You are truly my daughter," Trigon laughed, even when he was on his back, exhausted, and bleeding from every orifice. "You have successfully circumvented the time paradox and traveled back intime as disembodied souls. You have also survived the reintegration of your souls into your respective bodies without killing your present selves or destroying both souls in the process. You have erased a future of the whole universe," he paused, "and it seems you did so simply because you were dissatisfied." Raven frowned as her father laughed like a maniac, he grinned, mouth filled with blood, at his precious daughter. "I've always known that you would be the very best of my children... my heiress."
"Pity you won't be there to see it happening," Raven drawled with a bored tone. "I might not," Trigon cackled "But it will be glorious!"
"Goodbye father," Raven told him softly, raising her pure-darkness spear and stabbing him in right in his heart. A lone tear rolled down her cheek. She wiped it away roughly, before turning around to face her followers. "Let's get moving, we have a kingdom to conquer and stabilize."
"Yes, my Queen!" They all exclaimed, eyes brimming with admiration and fear in equal measures.
Good, she thought as they spread out. Demons, whatever specie they are, are better controlled when fear and respect are combined. Raven sighed, looking up the crimson sky with longing. You better be ok my boys. I will have to stay here for a while.
For her boys... well, Damian had been killed by his grandfather and was in Hell at the moment, while Billy stood before a caged Dream.
"You must be the new Champion of Magic," the Eternal communicated with him, inside his prison.
As Captain Marvel, Billy Batson possesses immense power and abilities granted to him by the wizard Shazam. However, facing Dream of the Endless, a powerful being from the realm of dreams, would be an extraordinary encounter for Billy. Even after almost a century being imprisoned, the ethereal beauty and overwhelming power of Dream would captivate him, especially considering his heightened ability to sense and see the endless magic that Dream possesses.
As Billy stands before Dream, he can feel a profound connection to the vast and mysterious realm of dreams. The swirling currents of magic and the boundless potential contained within them resonate with his own supernatural abilities. He finds himself fascinated by the intricacies of Dream's power, a force that is both ancient and timeless.
The presence of Dream is overwhelming, almost intoxicating, to Billy's senses. The sheer depth of knowledge and experience that Dream embodies is awe-inspiring. It was quite the overwhelmed experience. Not even Trigon or Darkseid had managed to get such a reaction from him before.
"I am," Billy answered in his Captain Marvel form. "I'm here to free you."
"I am grateful for your assistance," Dream answered him warily. Billy then summoned Zeus' lightning and broke the crystal surrounding the Eternal. "Thank you, Champion of Magic."
"You're welcomed," Captain Marvel answered, taking a pouch of sand and a ruby brooch from his dimensional pocket. "I believe these belong to you."
"They do..." Dream's eyes widened as he accepted his symbols, after having summoned clothes on him via magic. "My ruby, it has been modified."
"It was," Captain Marvcl nodded with a grim expression. "The one who stole them, had the ruby stolen by her own son. Ironic I know." Captain Marvel chuckled. "He modified so it could only be used by him and committed atrocious crimes. A symbol of dream, began to take them... driving countless of victims to suicide." Captain Marvel barely stopped himself from flinching at Dream's expression of pure rage. Even after everything he had gone through and seen, Dream still scares him. No wonder he had been feared and respected in equal measures by even the Fates, the other Eternals, and his beloved's great-grandparent. "They are both in a magical prison already, the Eternal Rock's prison... if you still wish to punish them, please tell me beforehand. I do not want my wards giving me a heart attack in the middle of the night because someone else crossed them."
"I will," Dream nodded his head in respect. This might be a young mortal boy, but he's still his savior and the Champion of Magic. "Who fixed it? I feel Trigon's magic in it."
"It was my avatar's betrothed," Captain Marvel answered with a fond smile. "She is Trigon's daughter, by now she must have killed him and taken his throne." Dream raised an eyebrow impressed. "I know, she is that cool! You do not need to worry about her tricking you or corrupting the Ruby, she is good... so good, no matter what blood runs through her veins."
"I understand," Dream nodded. He almost smiled, he could see the avatar's Champion's daydreams about his future wedding, the happy couple joined by another, forming a triad. This one has angel blood... Lucifer's blood. "My mask is with your avatar's other betrothed, is it not."
"I do not know," Captain Marvel shook his head. "I know he is in Hell, but I did not get in contact with him yet. Unlike Trigon's realm, Lucifer keeps a tight control of their regions. Even with our bond it's hard." Captain Marvel gave him a sad smile. "I know that he was planning on getting it back, a Duke of Hell made a deal for the mask with the thief."
"I will go to Hell and see for it myself then," Dream proclaimed. "Once I have all my symbols I'll return to the Dreaming and my people. I will not forget this, if you ever need my help I'll come." Dream promised him, seriously. "Is... is there anything you wish for me to tell your betrothed for you?"
"There's no need, we all know we need to do this part of the journey on our own before returning to each other," Billy smiled, his presence coming through Captain Marvel. "But thank you. Though... if you do not mind." He took a box from his dimensional pocket and handed it to Dream. "Here it contains my memories, only a copy though. Only after you've returned to the Dreaming open it, you'll know in which ways I'll need you to pay the boon then."
"I understand," Dream replied cautiously, accepting the box, and disappearing.
"Ah," Billy sighed, leaving his Captain Marvel form. "I hope this does not bite me in the ass." He chuckled. "Good luck Dami, Raven. We have so much to do!"
"Damn you! And you! Got to Hell! Wait! We are in Hell!" Damian paused mid-swing, the demon he had been fighting also stopped and watched in disbelief- it was not every day that someone stops in the middle of a deadly battle. "Damn it all!" Damian roared, finishing his swing as the demon burst in green flames.
This was not what Damian had planned at all. He has woken up on his ten-year-old-body and gotten right to work. He had contacted Respawn, who was being kept in Ra's private and secret lab. His usual lab could be accessed by Talia. Which was not a good thing when you were keeping a clone of her and Deathstroke in captivity. Yes, Damain's family was even more fucked up than he had known. He had discovered the corpse of his dead half-brother after he had taken control of the League of Assassins, following the first parademon wave and the death of Ra's al Ghul.
This time around, Damian had wanted to save his brother and get to know him. So, he had tasked a pregnant Cheshire to take him and go into hiding, after promising to release her of her vows to the League of Assassins and the safety of her child. She was also supposed to come and get Damian and Mara. However, Ra's had wanted Damian to teach Mara a lesson, the same lesson that would have had Damian taking an eye from her in the future that will never come to be. By refusing, Damian signed himself to be killed by his grandfather and later to be thrown into the Lazarus Pits. Normally, he would have only come back to life, with a more malleable mind for Ra's to manipulate, thanks to the pit's influence. What happened, however, was Damian's Hell Fire reacting to the demonic powers of the pit and transporting him to Hell.
Lucky, Damian.
The poor guy can't catch a break. While back on Earth, Ra's and Talia panicked, on Hell, Damian spent a whole week battling demons that threw themselves at him right and left.
"Not bad child," another demon approached Damian. Not bothering to reply, Damian simply threw a wave of Hell Fire towards the demon. However, the demon easily deflected it, before smirking sadistically at the surprised human. "I am Choronzon, a Duke of Hell. Your pathetic Hell Fire can't harm me!"
"Wow, what have I done to deserve a visit from a Duke of Hell?" Damian replied unbothered, he even sounded bored.
"It is not common to find a living human visiting Hell," Choronzon answered, liking the spunk of the kid- pity he'll have to kill him. "Especially, one of the famed al Ghul bloodline and one who slayed three whole battalions on his own."
"Three? I thought I was on seven by now," Damian commented drily. "And I'll have to tell Constantine how forgettable he has become, if a living human on Hell is such a surprise to you lot."
"It's Constantine, he does not count. By now, Hell has become a vacation spot for him," Choronzon replied with a glare. "How do you even know him?"
"I know a lot of things," Damian answered mysteriously with a smirk, as he raised his sword for an attack.
"Put that thing down," Choronzon demanded. "Don't embarrass yourself, the gift bestowed upon your family by Lazarus is no match to my strength."
"Lucky for me, my powers do not come from Lazarus," Damian smirked viciously, as the flames on his sword turned blue- much to the horror of the Duke. "Good riddance!" Damian exclaimed, as Choronzon was rendered to ashes. "T-T, took you long enough," Damian didn't even need to turn around to know who had appeared- their presence and power were telling. "Greetings, great-grandparent."
"It looks like you ended up receiving my gifts, unlike my son," Lucifer commented, looking over their great-grandson thoughtfully. "Though, the reason why the powers woke up was because of a shard of chaos. How is your human body capable of handling such adversary powers without killing you?"
"A gift from my beloveds, though it does hurt like Hell," Damian chuckled because of his bad pun, it reminded him of his dear eldest brother. "I'm sure you must be wondering why we came back in time, see my memories and you'll know," he did not try to deceive the fallen angel, knowing that they already knew.
After all, they were one of the most powerful beings in the universe.
"You seem quite comfortable with the human-hating devil getting into your head," Lucifer commented suspiciously, making Damian smile.
"You'll see why I am not afraid of you, great-grandparent," Damian's answer should have irked the devil. They are one of the most powerful beings of the universe, only foolish creatures do not fear them. However, it only warmed Lucifer's chest, in a way they had not felt since The Fall. So, that's what Lucifer did.
"What brings Robin, the symbol of Hope, to the land of no hope?" Lucifer asked their great- grandson with a wicked smirk.
"I'm here visiting my great-grandparent," Damian answered with a sneer, which only made Lucifer smirk widen. "T-T, then again, as this is the first time we meet, I would rather say I am here to introduce myself and greet my great-grandparent."
"Trying to get me to save your pathetic specie?" Lucifer decided to cut the chase with a cruel laugh, making Damian flinch. "I always knew your specie will be destroyed, by themselves or by the hands of a much more powerful race. I told father that all of you were weak and unfinished, a mistake. But did anyone listen? No!" Lucifer's beautiful visage got twisted beyond recognition, into a monstrous red skin, blazing, fiery-red eyes, and gold teeth. They became hairless and appears to be burned and scarred, with the shape of the skull being more distinct and many scar-like markings on the forehead. "They casted me out for speaking the truth... you know what. Let's play a game!" Lucifer's face regained their beautiful appearance, as they smirked wickedly at the boy. Damian had to use all of his training's discipline not to take a step back in fear. "If you catch me saying a lie, you win and I'll help you save your pathetic race. But if you fail, you'll have to stay here in Hell for all eternity. Do we have a deal?"
Damian studied his great-grandparent with something akin to pity, which had Lucifer bristling, but at the end he answered: "We do."
"Great!" Lucifer's evil smirk grew, eyes flashing red in power as the deal's magic was struck. "Just to warn you, I loathe lies. I know! The Devil hates lying, what a shock! But you see..."
"That's ok, as you've already lied," Damian's soft answer had Lucifer freezing in shock. Be it by someone daring to interrupt him or by his great-grandson's bold answer. "You see great- grandparent, the thing about liars is that they lie so much that they end up believing their own lies without realizing. My mother was abused since she was a small girl, but she lied to others, afraid of what her father would do to them if they tried to interfere. She kept on saying that it was for the greater good... until she herself started to believe it and began to justify his actions. Until it got to a moment in which she would say that me being with her would protect me from Gotham, that it would make me strong..."
"I'm not here to listen to your pity party!" Lucifer snapped. "I don't care about your story! Your story does not matter! Why are you even telling me this?!" Lucifer raged. "You said I lied! I never lie!"
"But you did, you called this place the land of no hope," Damian replied.
"That's your guess!" Lucifer barked a mocking laugh. "Then you've already lo..."
"I never had anything growing up, nothing that really mattered to stay alive," Damian continued.
ignoring Lucifer's glare. He was no longer afraid of them; he saw what they truly are. "All I had was hope that things would get better, it was never something I learned but just a survival skill I acquired. Hope is a cruel mistress, one that takes and takes but never gives. Because once your hope, your dream is fulfilled, it stopped being hope and became reality."
Damian chuckled humorlessly. Lucifer was enchanted by their great-grandson's words; it was clear that he had inherited their charm.
"You see great-grandparent, when you take everything from humans and you also don't allow them the sweet release of death, all that's left is for them to hope. What else can they do?" Damian spread his arms with a sardonic, self-deprecating smile. "What is Hell but a land where their citizens can only hope? They can't die, they can't leave, they can't reach for Heaven. They. Can. Only. Hope." Lucifer was speechless by Damian's declaration, he had never looked more like Robin, the symbol of Hope, than at that moment.
"When did your lies become so good that even you believed them great-grandparent?" Damian asked them gently, softly, just like he had learned from his brother, his beloved Richard... who had died right before him and turned into a mindless beast by his own hands...
Lucifer, on their part, tried to protest, to open their mouth and say something... but they couldn't utter a single word.
"Great-grandparent who do you think brought hope to humans?" Damian tilted his head like a bird, before giving them an honest smile. "Humans, angels too, could only have or do what God would give them and tell them. But someone was brave and hoped for more, even at the cost of everything. It was cruel and irrational..." Damian locked eyes with Lucifer, who stared at their great-grandson speechless. "This place could be more than just where you torture souls for eternity. It already is, as the realm where hope thrives.
"Hope thrives on Hell?" Lucifer chuckled self-deprecatingly.
"Hope does not belong in a world of rainbow and roses, it has no place there," Damian shook his head with a wry smile. "It has no use in there. But in a world filled with pain and desperation? It thrives there, which makes Hell..."
"The perfect hub for hope," Lucifer chuckled, before giving Damian an honest smile. "Well, if someone would ever win against me, it would be someone with my blood."
Damian returned Lucifer's smile, a glimmer of understanding passing between them.
"Indeed, great-grandparent," Damian said softly. "Hope is a powerful force that can arise even in the darkest of places. It is a beacon that guides people through their suffering and fuels their resilience. And here in Hell, where despair and anguish reign, hope becomes a precious and necessary commodity."
"You possess a wisdom beyond your years, Damian," Lucifer acknowledged, his voice holding a newfound respect. "Your understanding of hope and its resilience is remarkable. You see the truth that eluded even me, the embodiment of darkness." Lucifer's gaze softened as they listened to Damian's words. A flicker of admiration appeared in their eyes, mixed with a hint of curiosity. "You have a way with words, my dear descendant," Lucifer acknowledged, their voice devoid of its usual arrogance. "Your perception of hope is astute. But tell me, what makes you think that hope can prevail in a realm as bleak as this?"
Damian's smile widened, a spark of determination shining in his eyes.
"Great-grandparent, hope is not bound by the limitations of our circumstances," Damian said, his voice steady and earnest. "It is a force that transcends the realms of light and darkness, finding its strength amidst the bleakest of situations. In Hell, where despair reigns supreme, hope becomes a beacon that guides souls towards redemption and renewal." He took a deep breath before continuing. "Hope is not just a passive belief," Damian replied, his voice growing stronger. "It is a catalyst for change. It empowers people to rise above their circumstances and strive for something better. In Hell, where suffering is eternal, the longing for liberation, for redemption, becomes an indomitable force. Hope fuels the souls trapped here, giving them the strength to endure and the courage to defy their torment."
Lucifer pondered Damian's words, their expression thoughtful. It was as if they were seeing the realm of Hell through a different lens, one that revealed hidden potential.
"You have awakened something within me, Damian," Lucifer admitted, their voice tinged with a mix of awe and surprise. "I had grown accustomed to the darkness, to the eternal game of torment and despair. But perhaps, just perhaps, there is room for hope in this realm after all."
Damian's eyes sparkled with a glimmer of excitement. He had succeeded in planting a seed of change in Lucifer's mind, nudging him towards a different perspective.
"Great-grandparent, imagine a Hell where the flames of hope burn brighter than the fires of punishment," Damian proposed, his voice brimming with conviction. "A realm where souls are not only tormented but also offered a chance at redemption, a possibility of finding solace and growth. It may seem like an improbable notion, but isn't that the essence of hope? Believing in the extraordinary despite the odds."
Lucifer's face transformed, a mixture of contemplation and uncertainty replacing their usual haughty demeanor.
"You are a remarkable being, Damian," Lucifer said, their voice carrying a note of genuine respect. "You possess the spirit of Robin, the embodiment of hope, and your presence has stirred something within me. Perhaps it is time for Hell to undergo a transformation, to become a realm where hope is not only an abstract concept but a tangible force."
Damian's heart swelled with a sense of purpose. He had embarked on this conversation with a desire to challenge Lucifer's perception of hope, and now they saw the potential for a profound change that could impact countless souls.
"Great-grandparent, together we can reshape this realm," Damian proposed, his voice filled with determination. "Let us forge a new path for Hell, one where hope reigns supreme and souls can find redemption. By embracing hope, we can bring light to the darkest corners of this realm and grant solace to those who have long been trapped in anguish."
Lucifer's gaze met Damian's, their eyes locked in a shared understanding. The symbol of Hope and the fallen angel now stood united, bound by a common purpose.
"Very well, Damian," Lucifer said, their voice resolute. "I accept your challenge and your proposition. Together, we shall bring about a metamorphosis in Hell, and the world will witness the power of hope, even in the most unlikely of places."
Damian's heart swelled with a mix of relief and excitement. He had managed to reach the depths of Lucifer's being and awaken the potential for change. A sense of purpose washed over him, knowing that their alliance could bring about a profound transformation.
And so, united by their shared purpose, Damian and Lucifer set forth on a journey that would redefine the fate of Hell, infusing it with the power of hope and offering a chance for its denizens to rise from the ashes of despair.
"Greetings, great-grandparent," Damian greeted them again, this time warmly and with familiarity.
"Damian!" Lucifer gasped. "My heir... what a mess you've created. As expected from my great- grandson, a merchant of chaos."
"You have my thanks," Damian laughed at the praise. "We have a lot of work to do." "That we do," Lucifer straightened up, seriously. "Not only here, but in Apokolips as well."
"Great-grandparent?" Damian inquired confused, as Darkseid is something they were planning on leaving for later.
"You need the chaos shard of this timeline to stabilize the powers the previous timeline's shard had awaken," Lucifer explained. "Your partners' blessings are powerful but won't last long. They need to be renewed yearly, and at the moment their powers have not matured to be able to recast it."
That's right. In the previous timeline it took Raven and Billy years and various life-threatening situations to grow into the powerful beings they've become. Even Damian had to die and have his corpse experimented upon Darkseid to awaken his angelic descendance powers. Even after that, it took years for him to access both fire abilities. Yet, here he is now, a 10 years-old-boy with the powers that even at his 20's he could not control without them killing him.
"How did we miss this?!" Damian exclaimed shocked.
"Well, at least, here in Hell, time moves different. It will give your soul time to acclimate to your Hell Fire and Holy Fire. Not to mention, the shard of chaos," Lucifer assured him, before brightening up. "For now, let's have a tea party! We need to plan your crowning banquet!"
A/N: watch?v=l482T0yNkeo
