Wrath of Trigon
When you were a teen, you got used to body odor. Could barely tell it was there. As sweat dripped off of his chin, Red Robin made the nth headcount of the night. Allies were present and accounted for, from the Teen Titans, the reassembled Batclan, the ninjas with their badass leader, and former Commissioner Gordon and whatever cops that hadn't got picked off.
Of course he knew about Gordon's resignation. He kept tabs on the old town and Oracle had blabbed to him nonstop for two weeks about it. Speaking of, Oracle was starting to get a lot more specific when directing them. There were some streets that were filled to the brim with constructs and others that were emptier.
Emptier…now that he noticed, things weren't as hectic as before. Breathers were more frequent, the pressure from the constructs was gradually lessening. Could it be? Could it be that they were making headway?
A glance above, and while several glances were needed to confirm due to needing to focus on the battle on the ground, Red Robin was able to confirm that there were no more constructs raining from the sky. This meant that the long endurance trial this battle had been had an end in sight.
The fact was enough to energize him for another assault on his part, swooping in to slice a construct Wonder Girl was handling, shielding Bluebird long enough for her taser rifle to fire off another charge of electricity, distracting constructs that were trying to flank them by going after the cops, and that distraction allowed the ninja fighters to finish them off.
He found himself landing next to Spoiler, pulling out an explosive birdarang, then pausing. This was his last one. Yeah, the end was in sight, but they had been taking a beating one way or another. To use it now or save it for later? Later, he could still run the electric current through his cape a while longer.
As a hunched over construct with a skull-like face and a way too bulging head attempted an attack, Kid Flash raced around it like a yellow blur, tying its gangly limbs together and literally facing it into the sword blade of the Demon Fang's lady leader. The speedster came to a stop next to the Titans' leader, Spoiler giving a jump first at his sudden appearance then a grimace.
"Those ladies sure are kicking some ass," Kid Flash remarked, quickly adding to Spoiler, "so are you, by the way. Doing great keeping up!" Oh, and there was a thumbs up and a wink added to that.
Red Robin, however, found himself caught on one detail. Ladies? What ladies? There were Spoiler and Bluebird, Wonder Girl of course, and the Demon's Fang leader, the one that the masked pipsqueak over there called "Mother" a while ago, so where were…oh…no way.
Taking a good look at the fighters in bodysuits, now that it had been pointed out to him, he could see how their bodies were curved in such a way that wasn't standard for a male. All of this time, he had thought…well this was embarrassing.
Never mind. Now was definitely not the time for this.
"There aren't any more reinforcements coming," he told Kid Flash, once more looking up to the crow construct above. It was busy—whoa! It had blasted red energy from its eyes! You could hear the thunder in the distance as well as see the splash of water climbing over the rooftops. That…that had been close! If that had hit within the city…
Yeah, no more reinforcements but that didn't mean the ones still here weren't dangerous.
Leaning back and head angled upwards, Kid Flash remarked, "We're gonna have to do something about that one, aren't we?"
Yeah, sure, and right now it looked like it was looking for…something. What exactly? Maybe whatever got it to stop…making more constructs? This was Gotham, if anyone would be responsible for that, it…
Forget if.
"If that one is doing something different, that means something's changed, probably involves Batman," Red Robin said. A few things clicked together in his head, one point of logic leading to another. "Wherever he is, that's where the important stuff is happening, and where that is, Raven would have to be close by." Everything was tracking so far. "Kid Flash, try finding where Batman is. Find him, you're fast enough that you'll be able to—"
"—end this faster. You know it," the speedster confirmed, giving him a cocky smile. "On it."
And then he was gone, barely leaving behind a yellow blur.
"Are you sure about that?" Spoiler asked, firing off an electrical blast from her Bluebird-made taser rifle. "I hate to say this, but don't you think he should have stuck around to help out here?"
"If you want him hitting on you, be my guest, but my bet is that Batman's found the bad guy behind this. Where he or she is, Raven will be with them. Raven can end this in an instant, but only if we can find her first. I'd rather have one of the fastest people on Earth do that."
Not waiting to hear a response or a quip, the masked teen leapt once more into action, hoping he had made the right decision.
As the latest monster began to disintegrate, Damian turned his attention onto the next. Before he could fire another bolt, the flying girl in gold armor caught the beast with a glowing red rope and proceeded to admonish the creature. The boy scowled; that had been his target!
Whatever, there were plenty more—
Damian jerked, aiming the barrel of the taser rifle upwards. Having appeared out of where was his mother, and she had been standing right where he had been planning to aim his next shot. Why was she getting in his way—!
"Listen to me, my son. There may be an opportunity to place yourself in your father's good graces, and now is not the time to hesitate," she told him. "One of my Order has located your father and currently he is vulnerable. He will be observed and action will be taken if there is no other choice, but you need to reach his side now."
With adrenaline running through his body and youthful invincibility empowering him, Damian opened his mouth to say…well, it stopped right there because word that his father was in a vulnerable state, meaning anyone, or in this case anything, could attack. While a part of him rejected that his father could ever be vulnerable, and another part had some distrust towards his mother, the only thing his mother had ever been upfront about was his father.
She was always doing her best to bring the two of them together, and even after all of this time that hadn't changed.
She wasn't wrong about finding opportunities to prove himself to the greatest man he had known, and this opportunity might go a long way to undoing the unjust grounding placed on him. Sure, he had told Spoiler and the frustrating usurper lackey that if his father didn't find out about his involvement in tonight's fighting that he would be safe, but to prove that he was necessary on this field of battle…
"Tell me where he is."
His body was exhausted unlike anything he had ever felt before. Yet Scarecrow still found the energy to glare at the man that had once again ruined everything.
Godhood had been within his grasp! The powers that that girl possessed, that she was squandering with half-baked heroics and teenaged antics were a waste on her. Did she not understand her true might? He did, now anyway.
That kind of power was wasted on the girl, and he had put it to more practical uses. Except then Batman had to interfere once more. When would that bastard ever stop?! When would he get out of his life!
His hands trembled from the rage he felt, and that tremble was what prompted him to place his hands down and—why hello there.
Scarecrow broke off his gaze and looked down to find the scythe that he had manifested remained part of this reality still. Solid, powerful, the last remnant of godhood…
Fingers curled around the long shaft, and then the infuriated man used it to pull himself back onto his feet. How the city lights gleamed on the blade, wickedly curved and sharp…and pointed. From the weapon did his eyes leave only to return to the sight of his nemesis who had remained unmoving.
A step began his journey to bring this rivalry of theirs to an end.
Daughter?
Batman looked between the frightened Raven and the towering monster that stared at her. There wasn't any familial resemblance he could see, but it was quite clear the two knew each other.
He wasn't getting a good feeling about this.
"Your act of defiance is at an end, child," the monster declared, seemingly rising higher than the buildings it towered over. "Return to Trigon and fulfill your destiny."
Raven whimpered and shrunk in on herself, practically a ball hidden within her white cloak. Whatever was going on between the two of them, Batman was certain that this Trigon monster wanted something out of Raven and she wanted not to do as he wished.
"Ace," he called out.
The telepath reacted immediately. Some distance away, a streak of blue light rose out of the ground, rising higher and higher. Then it widened in two directions, creating a wall that separated the three of them from Trigon. As the wall reached its apex, it began to curve over their heads and then come downwards, eventually sealing them within a dome.
Trigon stared at this. Lifting a hand up, it reached out to the domed barrier, placing its massive hand on top of it. "You think this will keep me at bay?" it questioned, unimpressed.
Its fingers tightened onto the shield, and in a matter of seconds, cracks formed on it. Then it abruptly shattered into pieces, the domed shield falling apart and dissipating before their eyes.
"Begone!" Ace screamed as she held both of her hands up, blue light radiating from her hands and arms.
Trigon's arm trembled, but that was the extent of it. The four-eyed monster just stared. Ace's eyes widened as she returned his look. "You have no power over me, girl," it sneered. "Now suffer my wrath!"
Immediately, Batman had a hand shoved into a pouch on his belt. Pulling out a flashbang grenade, Batman then threw it high into the air, followed by a bat-shaped shuriken whirling after it. The moment the two objects collided with each other, the flashbang grenade detonated, a blinding flash covering the area along with a deafening boom!
And Trigon took the entire flash into all four eyes.
An enraged roar rang out from the red beast as it yanked its hands to its face to cover its eyes. "You dare!?' it roared before it whipped its arms back out. The two ruined buildings in front of it were smashed into pieces, knocked over and out of its way. Raising one of its arms high above its head, it then swung it down and then across its body. Had this been a person of normal size, not much would have happened by this action.
Because Trigon was easily sixty feet tall, its arm reached out into the landscape of ruined buildings and began mowing them down, its arm bursting through each and every one. Its giant hand was quickly approaching Batman and Ace.
A small hand grabbed onto the Dark Knight's forearm. In one instant, he saw the rapid approach of the monster's hand; the next moment, he was in an entirely different location, the cracked wall of one of the ruins blocking his vision.
There was a thunderous BOOM! Then, "You cannot escape me, worms!"
Looking around himself, Batman found he was behind another ruin, Ace grabbing his arm along with the corner of Raven's cape. She must have done…something.
"This is bad," Ace immediately said.
"How bad?" the vigilante questioned.
"My powers don't seem to have an effect on him. I tried to drive him out, but he wasn't even phased."
That…was really bad. Ace was one of the most powerful telepaths he knew, being able to go up against J'onn if she wanted. If she couldn't budge this monster…
Then they were in for a very bad time.
"Then how are we going to fight this thing?" he asked, glancing towards the corner of the building. His instincts were demanding he look and see just where this foe was.
"I'm not sure," the little girl admitted. She then turned her head towards Raven. "We're inside of her mind right now, so if there is anyone that could force that monster out, it's her. However…"
The way she trailed off, Batman knew her meaning. Raven was still cowering beneath her cloak, a terrified mess. Scarecrow's fear toxin had done a number on her.
Which meant they were going to have to do things the hard way.
Peering around the corner of the ruin, Batman immediately spotted Trigon. From their cover, he could see the towering giant's profile and it was clearly directing its attention to everything in front of it. It was raging, destroying whatever structures stood before it. "You cannot hide from me!" it bellowed. "I will find you!"
Well, it seemed Ace wasn't completely powerless here. She had managed to teleport them to another location. Unfortunately, there was only so much rampaging Trigon could do before he found them.
What to do?
With Ace not able to protect them, that left him, and he had his doubts about taking on a towering monster like that. He only had so many shurikens and ones that might even do some damage. So far, the flashbang grenade was the only weapon to have some effect.
"Physically, we may have an option," Ace suggested. "Your weapons might be of some use."
"I rather doubt that," Batman retorted.
"You're only thinking of what they are capable of," she pointed out. "We're inside another person's mind."
The dark-clad man raised an eyebrow.
"Normal limits aren't necessarily present," she continued. "In the real world, you are limited with how many things you can hold in your belt, but in the mind, you can have an unlimited amount."
That was an intriguing thought. It reminded him of Riddler's virtual world, where the only limit was his imagination. Vaguely, he wondered if he could do some of the things he had done in the game here.
Ace was clearly reading his mind as she gave him a small smile. "You won't know until you try."
Well, that sealed it. Glancing upward, he stared at the stop of the ruin. "Keep Raven hidden for as long as you can," he said before he lifted up off of the ground. He didn't jump, he just took flight, zooming up until he reached the top of the ruin, and then he kept going. He flew higher and higher until he had a bird's eye view.
Well, he could fly. That was something. From up here, he could see Trigon's warpath, which was thankfully taking it away from where Ace and Raven were. Glancing around, he could see the other floating islands. If he could get Trigon there, that would buy them even more time.
First thing's first, though. He needed to make certain he could actually fight this monster.
Leaning forward, he flew like a missile towards Trigon, descending through the air until he touched down in the wrecked wake of the demon. So far the red-skinned monster hadn't taken notice of him—yet.
Facing it, Batman then willed himself to grow. Almost like he was in Riddler's virtual world, he began to shoot upwards, the world around him shrinking until he stood at the same height as Trigon.
Well, that seemed to work too. Ace was definitely onto something about this mental world.
Now, let's see just how much control he had.
Taking a step towards Trigon's back, he raised a hand up and tapped the monster on its shoulder. Trigon stopped its rampage and turned its head to look over its shoulder.
Just in time to receive a fist right to its four-eyed face.
Trigon's head snapped to one side as it let out a yell. Losing its balance, it went stumbling forward before falling to the ground, landing on its face and stomach.
And that was another answer for him. It seemed he could fight back here.
For a moment, the red-skinned monster laid where it fell, but then it began to shift around, slowly pushing himself up. Twisting its head around, it glared at the Dark Knight. "You will pay for that, mortal," it growled.
Batman shifted his feet, one forward, the other further back. He held a hand up, his fingers flicking back and forth, gesturing for his foe to come at him.
It seemed Trigon knew what that gesture meant as it flung itself up onto its feet and charged towards him. Batman backstepped as Trigon threw the first blow, a fist aimed at his head. Immediately, he raised an arm up and blocked the blow, feeling the force behind it through his arm. Instantly, he was swinging his other hand up, countering with an uppercut.
His fist struck beneath Trigon's chin, causing its head to snap back. Bending his raised arm at the elbow, the vigilante then lunged forward, ramming his elbow against his foe's exposed throat. A gagging sound escaped the demon's mouth as it began stumbling backwards again.
Putting his weight on his back leg, Batman then leaned backwards as raised up his other leg, then kicked it out, landing a front kick to Trigon's torso. The force of the blow sent the monster flying backwards through the air, crossing over quite a bit of distance before it landed in the ruins. Its momentum kept it moving, plowing through the crumbling structures until it finally came to a stop.
Batman leapt into the air then, taking flight. He came to a stop shortly after, once he could view the area well. Pulling out his grapple, he took aim with it and then fired it down towards Trigon. The grapple claw closed in onto its target and struck it, the claw gripping down onto the monster's torso.
Hitting the retraction button, the grapple line began returning back to the barrel of the grapple gun. This also caused Trigon to be pulled along with it, hauled into the air and closing in on the vigilante.
Releasing the retraction button, the dark-clad man began spinning to one side, swinging the grapple line with Trigon through the air. The moment he was fully turned around, Batman hit the button to release the grapple claw, which instantly disengaged. This sent Trigon hurling into the starry void and towards the bottom of one of the floating islands. The monster's momentum wouldn't carry it the entire way, however.
That's where he came in.
Charging, Batman flew after the airborne monster, quickly closing the distance between them. He rammed into Trigon soon enough, forcing the red beast further through the air until they collided with the underside of the rocky island, bursting into it and vanishing from sight.
One foot in front of the other and repeat. Small steps, but each one brought Scarecrow closer and closer to the comatose vigilante. His eyes did not look away from the crouched man, and hatred continue burn behind them.
It had been going on for years, hadn't it? It went as far back as their first encounter at that Phizer plant where he had been appropriating precious components for his toxin. After that, his misfortune compounded, used as a pawn by Strange and tortured with electrocution in a toilet by this…this bastard. What should have been a magnum opus, contaminating the Gotham Reservoir with his toxin, was ruined with a well-placed explosive that cut off the city from its water supply.
Better crippled than poisoned.
The humiliations continued to pile up, from being snubbed by a cabal of Godseekers, having to be subservient to the Joker, denied vengeances and assaulted by a pair of hanger-ons, betrayed time and again by other practitioners of fear, and now that his suffering was at its end with absolute power at his fingertips, he shows up once more.
The butt end of the scythe's shaft dragged against the rooftop as the infuriated Scarecrow continued his approach. This would be the last time, the last time he would ever experience interference from the bastard who protected through fear rather than embrace and spread it.
A charlatan, that's what Batman truly was. A fraud. A pretender.
The true Master of Fear would not stand for it anymore.
The ground shuddered and cracked. An incredible pressure pushed underneath it, causing it to swell upwards before it burst apart. Arms wrapped around his foe, Batman could feel his momentum slowing after plowing through who knows how much rock and earth. In fact, gravity seemed to set in and the two landed roughly on the ground. The vigilante lost his grip on his opponent, bouncing off of him and traveling a short distance away, where he finally came to a stop.
Batman was quick to scramble onto his feet, seeing Trigon doing the same. The demon glared at him with all four eyes, its mouth snarling. It didn't speak, it just lunged forward, throwing a fist towards the dark-clad man's face.
The Dark Knight threw himself forward, raising an arm up to block Trigon's fist. He then countered with his own punch, one that was surprisingly caught by the red-skinned monster, his knuckles slapping against an open palm, fingers curling over the knuckles instantly.
Without waiting a moment, Trigon leaned its head back. Batman immediately knew what was coming and reacted, leaning backwards as well. The moment Trigon threw its head forward, attempting a headbutt, the vigilante had tipped himself backwards, falling to the ground to land on his back. His foe fell over as well, though it didn't land on top of Batman. The dark-clad man had swung his legs up, bending them at the knee so that he could move his feet up and press them into Trigon's stomach.
He immediately kicked off with his legs, pushing the monster up over him. Trigon lost its grip on his fist as it went into a flip, landing hard on its back a short distance away. Rolling to one side, Batman got back onto his feet, though he kept crouched, his cape covering much of his body, one hand hovering by a pouch on his belt.
Trigon just laid on the ground for a moment before it slowly began to climb back onto its feet. "Your resistance is tiresome," it grunted as it stood up, turning to face the vigilante. "There is nothing you can do that will stop me from finding my daughter."
"I seem to be doing a good job so far," Batman quipped back.
"Your efforts only prolong the inevitable." Trigon began to suck in air through its nose.
Then it opened his mouth and a geyser of flames poured out. The fire spread outwards in all directions, but primarily rushed towards the dark-clad man. Grabbing the edges of his cape, Batman flung them around himself, completely wrapping himself within it just as the first flames reached him. He felt incredible heat an instant later, coupled with a strong smell, one that made him instinctively think of brimstone.
Then, much to his alarm. A small flame poked right through his cape. This was followed by a few more puncturing right through at random points. Worse though was that the holes they had made were growing bigger, allowing the small flames to grow larger as well. Trigon's torrent of fire was eating right through his fire-resistant cape!
This left him with two options: one, he could hold out and hope Trigon ended its fire attack. This could very well end with him being charbroiled. Two, he could escape, receive some burns, but still be alive.
He picked option two.
Willing himself upwards, Batman flew up into the air, erupting out of the geyser of fire. He kept climbing, trying to put some distance between him and the flames. There was no telling if Trigon would just tilt its head back and keep up its fiery onslaught, and he wasn't willing to find out.
There was a tearing sound, which caused Batman to glance over his shoulder. From that angle, he could see his cape was in tatters, still burning as small flames licked at the material. In fact, it eventually tore completely off, leaving only a small amount of material that reached to bottom of his shoulder blades, the rest of the cape falling down as it was consumed by embers.
Looking back up, he was just in time to see Trigon suddenly appear in front of him, forcing him to stop his flight. However, it was much bigger than the last time he had seen it. In fact, all he could see was the demon's imposing face, his own body perhaps the size of the monster's nose. Damn it, had it grown larger?!
Trigon then pulled back a fist and then threw it. Batman wasn't able to dodge and took the brunt of the blow. Trigon's fist was easily as big as him, so he felt the blow from his head to his toes. The force he was hit with launched him back towards the island, his momentum increasing with every passing second.
Batman struck the island towards its edge. His back collided with the rocky ground and plowed right through it. For a moment, he was underground before he burst out of the side of the island. As he continued to fall, the vigilante saw the side of the island he had hit was cleaved right off, beginning its own fall as it began to break apart and crumble into smaller pieces.
Yet, he couldn't stop his descent, not until he landed hard on his back on the ruins of Azarath. There was a deafening BOOM! when he crashed down, a large cloud of dirt and dust being thrown up into the air, covering him and hiding much of his body from sight.
Not long after, the rumble from the floating rocky island reached him. All around him, boulders rained down, striking him and the ruins around him. Batman raised his arms up, covering head, preferring his arms taking the brunt of the debris than his skull.
Once the rain of boulders ended and the dust cloud began to settle, the Dark Knight uncrossed his arms so he could see up into the air. The sight that greeted him was Trigon in midair, one leg raised. He must have shrank his size down as it didn't appear any bigger than Batman at that moment. The demon then dropped his foot down, stomping it down right onto the dark-clad man's abdomen.
Air was forced out of his lungs, Batman gagging and gasping as he was left breathless. Trigon dug his foot into his stomach, a cruel look on its face.
And then a building rammed into the side of its head.
A snarl erupted from its lips as Trigon stumbled to one side, which thankfully pulled its foot off of him. Batman immediately sucked in as much air as he could, trying to regain his breath. Trigon then whipped its head to look in the direction of where the building had come from, which caused the vigilante to do the same.
At first he didn't see anything, but when he focused on his eyesight, he began to see further and further until he found Ace perched on top of one of the highest, intact ruins. She was right there, out in the open, looking at the two towering combatants with the same haunted look that seemed to permanently grace her face.
Then she raised both of her arms up, holding them out to either side of herself until they reached shoulder height. All around her, entire portions of the ruined structures ripped up from the ground, floating up into the air until the area around her was swarming with these large chunks of stone and mortar.
Then the telepath thrust her arms in front of her, her hands pointed right towards Trigon. In response, the broken ruins were flung through the air, racing towards the towering demon.
Trigon stared at the approaching storm of masonry before it turned to fully face it. It then calmly raised a hand up, holding it there for only a moment.
Trigon snarled and a large, purple blast of raw power erupted from its palm. It darted up and down, side to side, looking very much like a bolt of lightning; however, the width of this particular lightning was easily thirty feet from end to end. It struck the approaching buildings and blasted right through them, incinerating them in an instant.
It didn't end there either. The blast continued, heading right for Ace. Batman lost sight of the girl then, though whether it was because she had teleported, or she was consumed by the attack, he couldn't tell. He really, really hoped it was the former.
He didn't give himself time to dwell over it though. Quickly, he scrambled onto his feet, beginning to draw Trigon's attention back to him by this. Raising a foot up, the vigilante kicked it forward, his foot striking the back of Trigon's knee, causing it to buckle instantly. Trigon cried out, abruptly ending his attack as he began to pitch backwards.
Reaching a hand out, Batman grabbed onto the underside of Trigon's chin. Twisting his body to one side, he then shoved his arm upward, yelling as he forced the demon up into the air by his head alone. As soon as his arm reached as high as it could go, Batman then forced it down, speeding up the monster's descent as he slammed it down onto the ground. Trigon's arms and legs seemed to hover above its body for a moment before they began to fall down to the ground as well.
Before they did though, the demon's arms suddenly grabbed onto Batman's arm, the one that was pushing Trigon down onto the ground. One hand wrapped around his forearm while the other gripped onto his bicep. With incredible strength, the monster pulled on the arm, forcing Batman to flip across his foe and land on his back.
Suddenly, Trigon was hovering over him. Before Batman could get his bearings, a fist smashed into his face. His head sank into the ground beneath him from the force of the blow. Then another punch came and another. Trigon just pounded on his face, each punch forcing his head deeper and deeper into the ground.
"You will burn—" Trigon grunted, landing another punch, "-in the—" another punch, "-torments of hellfire—" another punch, "-mortal." Another punch. "That is your reward—" another punch, "-for standing against Trigon!"
The barrage of punches stopped, leaving Batman to just lay there dazed, stars flashing before his eyes. He felt like a boxer that had his bell rung and everything seemed to be hazy. He could see Trigon leaning backwards as he hovered above the vigilante, flames beginning to lick at his lips as he prepared to spew more fire and brimstone.
Right until a glowing light formed between the two of them, quickly becoming a large symbol of the ankh.
Trigon unleashed his attack, the fire spilling out of its mouth an instant later. The fire rushed onto the ankh, but stopped right there. Suddenly, the flames were forced back, washing over Trigon, and causing the demon to cry out as it was pushed back.
For a moment, Batman stared at the ankh, which never seemed to vanish. Slowly, he pushed himself up so that he could prop his arms behind him. Turning his head, he eventually stopped at the source of the ankh, none other than Dr. Fate himself. Flanking him on either side were two children, one that was green, and the other was mostly mechanical looking. Those…those were Beast Boy and Cyborg.
"We are just in time," Dr. Fate announced, his voice booming across the ruined city of Azarath, the sorcerer lifting up into the air. His attention seemed to divert itself to the collapsed vigilante. "I will take over this battle from here, Batman."
His shadow fell over the unresponsive Batman, but he didn't care. The only thing that kept Scarecrow going was how much he detested this man. Rage bubbled under the surface, every defeat playing through his mind on repeat, and that allowed him to ignore the exhaustion.
There he was, unmoving, but was he? Batman had always found a way out before, or managed to seize a small victory that would always lead to his enemies' downfall. There was no way he was helpless.
But Scarecrow didn't care anymore. He didn't care if this was a fantasy about to be slipped out from under him. His frustrations, his fury, the very offense he had suffered, it all needed to be addressed. Blood, only this man's blood, would suffice. Would he scream? Take it stoically? Attempt to lash out?
Briefly, the fallen professor considered if there were other ramifications. To be hailed as a hero to those who also fallen to the vigilante? To become a target for those who would try to surpass him, considering it a consultation prize for not being able to do the deed themselves? What of the man whose reputation he had used? He had learned how deep the Joker's obsession with Batman went. Would the clown demand reparation? Vengeance for his fun being ruined? Would the maniac make an example of him?
It didn't matter. Scarecrow was beyond caring about it anymore. Let the Joker destroy him later, or some other tough guy break him in half, none of it would erase the satisfaction that killing Batman would bring him.
As he came to a stop, his shuffling gait ending, he tightened his grip on the scythe's shaft, brought his other hand to aid in the endeavor, then raised the weapon over his head. The curved blade gleamed from the manmade light of Gotham, and still Batman did not move.
Teeth gritted, eyes bulged, and muscle tensed. The world itself began to fade away as the scythe began to move forward.
"Dude, it's Batman!"
"I can see that."
"But, like, he's sixty feet tall! And we're not! How is he that big?"
That…was a pretty good question.
"Do I look like I know?" Cyborg retorted. There they were, he and Beast Boy with the annoyingly cryptic Dr. Fate, standing in some sort of ruined city of some kind, and there were two giants, one of which was Batman, the other being some tall, red-skinned, white-haired monster. The monster was holding its face after having its burning fire breath redirected at it. Cyborg wasn't exactly certain what had caused it, but he was sure it had hurt.
Movement alerted his cybernetic eye, and the cyborg saw Dr. Fate rising higher into the air, leaving the two of them behind. By then, the red monster had stopped its raging and moved one of its hands off of his face. Two red eyes on top of one another glared out in their direction, a snarl twisting its lips.
"Fate!" it roared as it fully removed its hands from its face, revealing some singed marks on its skin—holy crap! That thing had two sets of eyes! Kinda like Raven's constructs! Was this another one? "You dare interfere with me again?!"
"Wherever you direct your twisted mechanizations, I will always stand in your way, Trigon!" Dr. Fate called back. Both of his hands raised up and he began doing something with his fingers. It was like he were making gestures with them, kinda like in Naruto. Was this guy going to do some amazing jitsu?!
As if in answer to that question, small orbs of light began to fill all over the place. They were primarily around Dr. Fate, and subsequently Cyborg and Beast Boy. For a moment, he thought more of those ankh symbols were going to appear, but instead the balls of light began to stretch out, forming long beams of light. The sorcerer moved his arms out to either side of him and then a moment later he thrust them out in front of him.
Immediately, the light beams raced forward, flying right for the Trigon guy. The giant monster had turned to face them, only to take on the charging beams head on. While some missed the monster, passing by harmlessly through the air, several others actually penetrated its red skin. Trigon roared with pain as it stumbled back a step and then another, the beams sticking out of him like arrows all over his body.
Yet, Dr. Fate wasn't done. Keeping his hands out in front of him, they seemed to be swaying back and forth from each other. Between them, bluish-purple orb of light began to appear, small at first, but growing larger until it was the size of a basketball. The moment his hands went still, Dr. Fate then let out a war cry and the orb blasted forward, becoming an even larger energy beam.
A beam that blasted all over Trigon, causing the monster to scream.
The situation was more dire than he had imagined.
Trigon had found Raven. After all of his efforts to sequester the girl since Azarath, the demon had found her regardless of his interference. Perhaps it had always been a delaying tactic, but it was more preferable to Trigon getting his hands on his only daughter and fulfilling the prophecy.
And now, like the many fools before him, Fate would struggle against the fulfillment of destiny.
Ending his magical blast, Fate leaned forward and began flying head first towards where he had last seen the demon. Such an attack would harm him, but it would not defeat him.
A roar echoed throughout the broken lands of Azarath. Then, a powerful blast of magic surged towards the approaching sorcerer. It was absurdly large, one that could blot out the sun should it wish.
Fate came to a stop in his flight and began his counter. Holding his hands up, he extended his second and fifth fingers out, the third and fourth fingers curling inward to press against his thumbs. He tapped into the incredible powers of Nabu, already knowing the spell he needed to weave. Swinging his arms inward, he uncurled his curled fingers so that he could clap his hands together. Separating them, a symbol of the ankh appeared before him, standing as stall as a man.
Moments later, Trigon's blast reached him, striking the ankh. Instantly, the power began to be pulled into the symbol, the ankh sucking in every last shred of magical power. When it finished, the brilliant golden light of the symbol was now purple, coursing with Trigon's demonic power.
Holding his hands up, Fate magically connected himself to it before he began to spin to one side. He pulled the demonically-imbued symbol and swung it around in the air. As he completed his spin, he released his hold on the ankh and sent it back to its source.
Trigon saw this coming and responded in kind. He grew larger, becoming gargantuan. Holding a hand out, he reached for the approaching ankh and caught it against his palm, his fingers clamping down on it an instant later. There was a brief flash of light that radiated out from the cracks between his fingers, but that was all.
"That trick will not work twice, Fate," Trigon growled. He then took a long step towards the sorcerer, and then another. "Please tell me you are more capable than that."
Fate didn't respond. Instead, he began to multiply. From either side of himself, identical copies of himself slide out from behind him, coming to hover next to him. Then another set of copies slid out from behind the two copies. This continued on until a ring of Dr. Fates surrounded Trigon
Trigon did the demonic equivalent of raising an eyebrow at this.
"Now we begin," Fate intoned.
The ring of Dr. Fates broke their formation. In all directions his copies flew around, no uniformity to their movements. However, they all began attacking. Some immediately began firing blasts of magic while others began making gestures with their hands to summon other spells.
And all of these attacks were directed at Trigon.
With a groan, Batman shifted on the ground.
He had long since relinquished his gigantic size and returned to his normal size. With Trigon's attention firmly on Dr. Fate, he felt it was best to get out of the way, especially as there was now a swarm of Fate's flying all around the towering monster, doing anything and everything they could to attack the demon.
Taking cover behind the corner of a building, the dark-clad man couldn't help but wince. He was definitely going to be feeling these aches and pains in the morning. Trigon had damn near pounded his head into paste just now and he could feel the early signs of a concussion.
And then…he wasn't?
"You're welcome," Ace said then, suddenly appearing right next to him. A wave of relief filled the vigilante upon seeing her. So she had escaped Trigon's attack from earlier.
"So, how are we doing?" he couldn't help but ask.
"You know how you feel when a fly is buzzing next to your ear? About like that."
Batman raised an eyebrow at the girl.
"We're the fly in this scenario."
"I gathered."
"And Trigon has anger management issues."
"So we're annoying someone that can explode from the slightest provocations."
"Yes, that is the sum of it."
Batman sighed. Despite feeling like he had the upper hand earlier, he had done very little in fighting this demon. And if Ace was to be believed, Fate wasn't doing much better.
"He is harming him," the girl interjected, as if she had—no, she actually had—read his mind. "But the damage isn't significant enough."
"So then how do we get rid of this thing?"
There was silence.
Then, "An exorcism?"
"This isn't the time for jokes, Ace."
"Who's joking?"
Batman grimaced before peering around the corner of his cover. Trigon was now using his massive arms and hands to swat at the swarm of Dr. Fates. Some were hit by the appendages, their bodies shattering into shards of light in response. Perhaps that fly comparison wasn't too far off point.
He wasn't seeing many other options at the moment. Fighting Trigon with fists hadn't done much. Ace's powers were near useless against it. Fate was their best shot and they were playing his card now. It honestly felt a little helpless.
What they needed to do was hit the demon very, very hard.
Glancing upwards into the starry sky, the vigilante couldn't help but eye the floating islands around them.
"Ace," he called out. "I think I have an idea."
Fire erupted from red skin. Trigon let out a battle cry as he unleashed hellfire all over his body. Nearby copies of Fate were caught up in the flames, being wiped out the moment they came into contact with the fire. Even the raw heat caused other copies to destabilize and shatter.
This dwindled Fate's multi-form spell to five left. They had all removed themselves to keep their distance, waiting for Trigon to release his hellfire. There was very little he could do until that happened.
In fact, the sorcerer was beginning to come to the conclusion the level of power he was using would not suffice. He was holding himself back as the full power of a Lord of Order could warp the mind around him, in this case Raven. Trigon had no such limitations. His demonic powers were at home in his daughter's mind, so there was no risk of distortion there. There was also the matter that even if his power could warp the girl's mind, he would not restrain himself either.
The longer this went however, Fate felt he was perhaps going to have to do such a thing. If Trigon regained ownership over his daughter, it would be the end of them all.
"You disappointment, Fate," Trigon proclaimed then, taking a step forward. "I thought a battle with you would be cataclysmic, but if this is the best you can do, then I should have torn down your tower long ago."
"I have yet to scratch the surface of my powers, Trigon," Fate countered. "You would not like the results of the full unleashing of my power."
"Do not make such bold claims, Puppet of Fate. They do not become you."
Fate held a hand out to the world around them. "This realm was birthed from your flesh, Trigon. It is a world entirely comprised of your demonic presence. How well do you think it would fare were I to unleash the full power of Order upon it?"
That actually gave Trigon pause. He did not need to think for long about those implications. "Then I must rid you from this place."
Fate held up his hands, extending one out in front of him, and holding the other by his head. Symbols of the ankh appeared before his palms, each the size of his hands. "You will fail in that endeavor."
Suddenly, a darkness appeared around them. Well, darkness was perhaps a poor description. It was as if a shadow had fallen upon them. All five Fates tilted their heads back, along with Trigon so that they could look up.
Hovering above them all a rocky island, one that was dropping at a fast rate through the air. Immediately, Fate drew all of his copies away as fast as they could.
"Oh—" Trigon spoke.
The island crashed down on top of the demon. There was a thunderous BOOM! that echoed throughout this ruined land. A powerful wind swept out from all sides, battering all whom were exposed to it.
Somehow, Fate had escaped being crushed, though he couldn't say the same for his copies. The other four had been caught up, destroyed by the impact. It was miraculous that he had avoided such a fate. Glancing at the wall of rock and granite, he then began to float upwards until he hovered above the crashed island.
He could feel someone else's power at work, one that he was familiar with. It must have been her handiwork.
Suddenly, a crack broke through the massive piece of rock and stone. Then another crack appeared and then another. Each one grew bigger as the rock split. Light began to pour through them, a mingling of red, orange, and yellow lights. The very realm seemed to shudder then.
Molten rock spewed forth out of the cracks, forcing them even wider. The lava flew high into the air, as if launched by a geyser. Then, at the center of the island's surface, a fist burst out of it.
Trigon then emerged, climbing out of the ruined island. "I…have had…enough!" he roared, his voice echoing throughout the void.
He then crossed his arms over his body, hellfire erupting all around him. The flames seemed to gather around him, growing wider and wider. Then, the demon threw his arms out to either side of him, unleashing a wave of hellfire that flowed out in all directions.
Eyes widening, Fate held his hands out in front of him, forming a shield. The hellfire struck his shield, but did no more than that.
The same could not be said of the ruins below.
Down the crashed island, the hellfire washed down it and entered the battleground of Azarath's ruins. Through every street, the hellfire poured through them. The stone ruins acted like barriers if only for a moment before the flames spilled over them, covering them in hellfire.
It was tough feeling helpless in such a weird place. Sure, he could change into any kind of animal that he wanted, but he didn't know if he had anything that could handle the Jolly Red Giant over there.
Still, it didn't mean the shapeshifter couldn't enjoy the epic showdown. You had that Fate guy using all sorts of magic powers, Trigon giving back as much as he took, and hell, there was even the back and forth banter, "I haven't shown you how powerful I am boasts" and all. It was amazing!
And to top it off, a giant mountain falls on top of Trigon's head! Lmfao indeed!
Uh…why was the giant mountain cracking? Why was light coming out of those cracks? Why did it feel like it was getting hotter?
Apparently a mountain wasn't enough to take this guy down, the explosion from all of that…that…weird funky mojo going on there was loud, made his ears ring and everything. That was what he would claim was the reason why he didn't hear what Trigon said next, but the unleashing of raw power could not be ignored.
Beast Boy lost track of Cyborg. He lost track of Fate. He lost track of everyone and everything. As everything was being torn up, survival became the name of the game, and so that is what the green shapeshifter tried. From humanoid to bird, he flapped his wings as hard as he could, trying to get as much space between himself and ground zero.
It…didn't work as well as he had hoped. It had been a raptor he had chosen, one of the falcons, but there had to have been some kind of shockwave because his hollowed bone body definitely felt it. Then everything became crazy, the combination of human colored vision and the farsight of a falcon along with not being able to tell which way was up and which was down made for a very confusing twenty seconds of life.
Stable! He had to get stable? How? Where! What—! Wait! Different form! Something that could take an impact! No way to tell where he was or where he was going, but at least he'd be able to take a hit.
A turtle shell could take some damage, right?
When all was said and done, he had been so wrong. Body: sore. Head: throbbing. Alive: somehow.
With a groan, he regained his human form, back on the ground, eyes closed, and knowing he was so going to feel this in the morning. Turtle shells were supposed to be hard, like in the cartoons. Had TV lied to him once more?
Eventually, he managed to bring a hand to his face and rub at his eyes. No particular reason for it, just something to let him know he was still alive. Sure, there was the aching body, the soreness all over, the sniffles, the lack of any real motivation to get up…get…up…
Those weren't his sniffles.
Pulling his hand away enough so that he could crack open his eyes, Beast Boy found a little girl nearby, one in all white and with the biggest dark…blue? That was blue, right? Well, those eyes were a little big, like a little kid's…what was a kid doing here anywhere? Alright, get it together Beast Boy. Show that you weren't regretting your life decisions right now and let the little girl know that she wasn't going to be hurt.
"You okay?" he croaked out, slowly pushing himself up onto an arm. The girl flinched back from him, but remained curled up. "Hey, it's okay. I'm okay…I think. What are you doing here? Where's your mom?"
If anything, that had the little girl in white shrinking in even more and he could barely see her face now. Had…had that been the wrong thing to ask? Surely her mom would be…would be…would…she would have been caught up in that explosion, wouldn't she? Oh, why was he sucking so much right now?
Resisting the urge to slap himself, Beast Boy tried again, "Hey, I'm not going to hurt you. I'm…I'm here to protect you! Yeah! So, we need to get you someplace safe, right? So, um, oh right! My name's Beast Boy! You can call me BB if you want. Um, what's your name?" He tried to give the friendliest smile he could.
At least she was looking at him now, those big eyes that were so watery, but she wasn't saying anything. She was a quiet one, wasn't she? Probably traumatized or something? Well, nothing, for it. Get this kid safe, then see what he could do about—
"YOU WILL ALL DIE BY MY HANDS AND SUFFER IN ETERNAL AGONY! MY WRATH WILL KNOW NO END!"
—about Jolly Red Giant. Oh, and the girl was shrinking again, great. Still, nothing for it. Managing to sit up right, he shuffled himself over and pulled the girl into a one-armed hug. She was trembling a lot, but seemed to freeze up once she was up against him. Wasn't expecting that, was she?
"It's cool, we can stay here until you're ready. Or if we have to make a quick escape. You like animals? I bet you'd like a horse. I can be one, and you can ride me while I get you safe. So, whenever you're ready, uh, what did you say your name was again?"
"This is just too adorable, I can't stand it!"
Beast Boy blinked. That…sounded kinda familiar, but no way. Could have sworn…but there was no way that could be Raven, could it? She never sounded so…happy, or even giddy! As he slowly turned, he found what looked like Raven, except she was all smiles, wearing pink, and grounded practically a foot away. Also, the cape and hood looked really scuffed up and dirty, like she had been in a hard fight recently.
"Uhhh…" Right now, he couldn't quite put into words what he was thinking.
"Control yourself, Happiness. Now is not the time." Okay, that sounded a bit more like Raven, at least when she was lecturing. And…there was another Raven only in yellow, askew glasses, but looking as blank as ever.
Quickly, Beast Boy did a double take, to the Pink Raven, then the Yellow Raven, then the Pink Raven again, then back to the Yellow Raven. "But…you're…there…and there…"
"I think you broke his brain," a Green Raven chirped up, starting to make the shapeshifter think he was in some kind of nightmare right now. This one was smiling—smiling!—widely, and you could see a couple of her teeth were missing, like a hockey player.
"Did he have a brain?" An Orange Raven.
"It's not that much of a loss." This time a lighter Purple Raven who was giving him this…look. Made him a little squeamish but not necessarily in a bad way.
"Unfortunately, we do not have the luxury of time," the Yellow Raven interrupted. By now, Beast Boy was discovering that he was surrounded by a lot of Ravens, including a Brown Raven who was wobbling from side to side, a Gray Raven that was hiding behind the Green Raven and then quickly ducking behind her, and a Red Raven that was glaring down at him with four red eyes. For some reason, that one felt like the most normal one he had seen. They all looked like they had been in a fight though, cloaks torn, dirty, and the Green one had some bruising on the left cheek.
His arm gripped the little girl in white and brought her a little closer. He may not have any idea of what was going on, but she still needed to be safe until he could figure out what in Buddha's glorious gut was going on here.
"Uh, who are you and why do you all look like Raven?" he croaked out.
The answer came in stereo. "Because we're Raven."
Ah, that explained absolutely nothing.
"We don't have time for the moron's stupidity," Orange Raven stated.
"Hey!"
"We could make some time," light Purple Raven suggested.
"For what?"
"First and foremost, we must get our progenitor to safety while Fate attempts to handle—" an explosion made this part hard to hear, "—and try to keep up what precious few defenses there are still left," Yellow Raven told the other colored Ravens.
"Prog-i-what?"
"Release Raven's core avatar now, you nitwit," Red Raven growled.
Wait, he knew that word! Avatar! Like a gaming avatar! And Red Raven was indicating that…that…wait, wait. Hold. Up. Was she saying…? Was this…? Was the girl he was holding to himself…?
At this moment, the little girl looked up to him, not just peering through the white cloth, and while it was such a young-looking face, now with the sight of all the other Ravens fresh in his mind, this girl looked like…a really, really young…Raven. A kid Raven.
His mind was officially blown, thank you.
Quickly shaking his head, "I have so many questions…" Not the time, BB. "...but, shouldn't we be focusing on Jolly Red Giant over there? Can't you do anything about him?"
There was a quick laugh from both Pink and Green Raven. Red Raven was not amused. "What do you think we have been doing?"
Oh. Okay, he got that meaning.
"Raven's mind is in shreds from the torture she has sustained," Yellow Raven lectured him. "She is in no shape to fight off Trigon. We may be the last line of defense—"
"And he already kicked our butts!" Green Raven exclaimed.
"—he did. We need to delay or hope that Fate can come through," Yellow Raven finished. "Every second, Raven's mind becomes more and more unstable. It cannot sustain this for much longer."
Beast Boy tilted his head to a side. "But…isn't this Raven's mind? Can't she just…kick him out?"
"You're still here, what do you think?" Orange Raven retorted.
"You know, you could be a lot more helpful," he spat back at Orange Raven. "If you have time to make snarky remarks at my expense, you have the time to get Raven better so that she can kick that red sucker's ass out of here."
Green Raven smirked. "He's got you there."
"I can't believe you're making me agree with him," Red Raven added, now glaring at Orange Raven.
Okay, okay, okay, okay, while it might be real interesting to see these…Raven clones go at each other, the explosion that was way too close for comfort had a different argument that the shapeshifter could agree with. Since White Raven was the avatar here, then he should speak to her, right?
Fully turning his upper body so that he could fully face the little Raven, needing to tilt his head downward to do it, he said, "I know you and I, we don't get along too well. I know I can be annoying sometimes, and you have no sense of humor, but I—we—the Titans didn't drive all across this country to let some big red demon have its way with your head. Things are bad out there too, those constructs are running amok, hurting people, and I know that's the one thing you don't want.
"I know…I know I don't say this often to you, but you are my friend. A friend who might not get my jokes…a friend that…I wouldn't want anyone else next to me when we're kicking bad guy ass. I know you keep to yourself, and I'm learning why, and I wouldn't mind getting to know you better…" from the corner of his eye, he noted how the Raven in light purple was perking up, "...as a friend! You're crazy strong, you know? And…I remember back when we first met and we had some arguments in Wonder Girl's house. You said some harsh things to me, but those were things I needed to hear then. And then when we saved Jump City from becoming Planet of the Apes? Remember that? You didn't say anything about what I learned about my parents, and you went back with me and the team to show that mummy man whose boss.
"I know we don't get along well, but you've been a…better friend than what I could ask for. The kind of friend that everybody needs to give them that kick in the butt and get their rears into gear because that's what they need then. I can't be that friend, but I can still be the friend you need when you're…scared. I know you don't like to admit it, but…it's okay to be scared when you're feeling scared. But you know the thing about being scared? It's the thing that tells you that whatever's scaring you is what you need to fight. So if scary devil man with the cloven hooves is scaring you…"
Pausing, he glanced at the other Ravens. "That Trigon guy has hooves, right?"
The other Ravens stared, then looked thoughtful, but none answered.
Right, anyway, "So if that Trigon guy is what's scaring you, then he's what you have to fight, right? And this is your mind! You can let whoever you want in there! And you can kick them out whenever you want to too! Like…like that time you caught me sneaking into your room—I swear it was an accident and that I was trying to find Bart's room!—and how you kicked me out then? Well, I know you can do the same here, because like your room, I know you can kick out whoever you want from your mind."
"I don't think that was a good memory to use," Yellow Raven said, frowning. The broken glasses kinda took away some of the sting there.
"You had balls, but that's not enough to keep us from kicking your ass for it," Green Raven agreed.
"I still haven't forgotten about it," Red Raven growled.
"You know I got a point, right?" Beast Boy barked back, preferring to glare at Yellow Raven because it would be easier and he didn't think he stood a chance against the red one.
"He's right."
The different colored Ravens blinked. Then Beast Boy blinked. That…that had been Raven's voice. Her actual voice. Like, the one he knew too well and wasn't as different as all these other Ravens. And it came from the little girl Raven!
Though she still looked young, White Raven was returning his look. "You're right. But…that doesn't mean I am strong enough. My…Trigon is just too powerful. Even with Fate, in my mind…I can't stand up to him. I appreciate the pretty words, Beast Boy, but when it comes down to it, I'm alone and alone I can't beat him."
His green eyes narrowed, but then he gave what he felt like was a friendly smile. "But you aren't alone. You have me, these other Ravens, Cyborg's in here somewhere. I think Batman too. You don't have to do this alone. We can do this, together."
White Raven looked like she was about to say something, but then she stopped, looking down. Looking thoughtful. If anything of what he had said had meant anything to her, then hopefully it was something they could use to beat that Trigon jerk.
"Don't tell anyone this, but for the second time, you're right." Childlike eyes looked to the other colored Ravens. "Together…maybe."
Even though the sky above looked like it was turning red, Beast Boy couldn't help but feel like something awesome was about to happen.
Vengeance and wrath were at hand. The blade of the scythe was slicing forward and down, Scarecrow ignoring any and all reason to not fulfill his desire. Every delicious second, Batman did not move, did not respond, did not act, and with each of those seconds hope that he would lay this tormenter to rest at long last grew.
He wanted this. He needed this. No more a pawn, a cohort, another piece of cannon fodder, this was it. The very moment that would redeem every second of suffering he had ever experienced.
A green bolt of light struck the scythe's blade, the detonation tearing the weapon out of his hands. Scarecrow cried out in rage and fury, eyes moving to the source of this latest obstacle that dared to—
An escrima stick, its end crackling with electricity, flew through the air and ramming right into his forehead. His masked head whipped backwards, his center of gravity was robbed, and backwards did the Master of Fear fall.
The scythe blade landed first, cutting into the rooftop. Beside it, the back of Scarecrow's head bashed into the concrete as the rest of his body joined him. Above, the escrima stick spun in the air, flying away until a gloved hand snatched it out of the air, retrieved by Nightwing..
"What is this, the fifth time I've had to save you," Blüdhaven's protector quipped as he was joined by his Tamaranean ally. Turning to her, "Nice shot."
Starfire gave the young man a smile, then turned to where both Batman and Raven were, both bodies prone. One of her hands began to reach out to her teammate, yearning to at least touch and confirm that this was her dear friend. However, she stopped herself and flinched back.
The stillness of the two heroes had to be addressed first. "Are they…would it be without negative consequence to check on their vitals?"
Nightwing observed, then shook his head. "No idea; we should wait until we know more." Looking back to the comatose Scarecrow, the vigilante grimaced. "And of course the only one to have any idea of what is happening is knocked out cold." Back to Starfire, "Trust me, there has to be a reason for…this. We'll make sure nothing gets in the way."
Before the Tamaranean could agree to the plan, a yellow blur raced onto the scene and exclaimed, "Hey, Star! What's up! Oh, you found them! How'd you beat me? Hey, is that—?"
It was predictable where this speedster was heading next, and Nightwing reached out and snagged the speedy teen, pulling him back before he could start contaminating the scene—ahem, disturb something that shouldn't be touched right now due to their lack of knowledge about it. The day job sometimes slipped through.
"—whoa! What's that for?" the Teen Titan who had to be Kid Flash asked, looking up and back at the vigilante.
"We don't know what exactly is happening, so don't go around touching anything until we figure it out. Look at them." With his other arm, he gestured to Batman and the other Teen Titan. "Neither's moving. There's a reason for that. What, I don't know, and I'm not going to bother anything until I know it's safe."
Kid Flash was starting to nod with each word he said. "Ooooh, that makes sense. So…we're waiting?"
"Yeah," he confirmed, pausing as he looked to his left. Someone else had arrived, looked like a kid who did not match any of the Teen Titans he knew of. Oracle had let him know that there was another addition to the newly formed Batclan, and that's who that must have been. This boy looked frustrated, but he hadn't said anything yet. All he was doing was staring at them, then looked to Batman.
"Father!" the boy called out. Batman did not respond. "Father!"
And now the same explanation was going to be repeated, it seemed. Right, well, fine, just so long as what was really happening ended up in a win, so be it.
His body was trembling, heat seemed to sap all strength from him, large intakes of air panted right back out, and yet Batman refused to stay down. He was in complete tatters at this point, kneeling in what had become a hellscape.
In the center of it all was Trigon. So far, everything that the Dark Knight had thrown at him, in some cases literally, had slowed down but not stopped this unstoppable force of…power. That was the best he could describe it. Even with his combined efforts with Ace, and still…
Dr. Fate was holding his own, but no matter what he cast at the demon, Trigon would power through it, breaking through shields, enduring any and all attacks, and it felt like Fate was holding back. Why? The mystical side of this world that he had come across frustrated him like nothing else at times.
But it wasn't just his efforts, Ace's, or Fate's. There was one more player on this battlefield, and it happened to be Cyborg. The cyborg was giving it his all, whether it be energy beams or blasts that warped everything into an O-shape, and when that was lacking, the Titan had attempted brute force. Trigon took it all and swatted him away. More than once. The tenacity could be admired, but Cyborg was pushing his luck.
Through Ace, he had learned that this wasn't some projection; Cyborg was physically here, brought by none other than Fate. What was that man thinking? And hadn't there been another one? Beast Boy. The shapeshifter was nowhere to be found.
With hands alight with flames, Trigon fired two blasts into Fate's latest shield, the bright ankh weathering the blaze while the space around it shimmered. Around the demon, smaller ankhs grew into existence only to fire smaller beams of their own, beams that struck Trigon but left no observable damage.
Ending his fiery assault, the sixty-foot monster leapt into the air, an arm cocked back, and swung a devastating punch into the shield, cracks forming around the site of impact. Seeing this, and figuring that Fate's defense would not last much longer, Batman struggled to get back onto his feet.
But then what? He himself had already fought this monster and had little to show for it. Ace's fly analogy was increasing in accuracy by the second. Yet, he wasn't going to give up. Not yet. Just…needed to figure out a plan.
His legs buckled, and he nearly collapsed, but it was through the intervention of Ace that he didn't meet face first with the ground. The thin girl was surprisingly holding him up…right, mind over matter. However, the concern she expressed was not easily dismissed.
"You cannot keep doing this," Ace cautioned him. "We can't."
Bringing his head up to glare as Trigon bore a powerful blast from the combined might of Dr. Fate and Cyborg, he growled, "The only thing I can't do is give up."
Ace shook her head. "This isn't Despero. This isn't your mind. We may not have much of a choice, especially if the connection between your mind and Raven's begins to fray."
Fray? He understood the word and imagined how that might play out, and it was all negative. Damn it. He couldn't leave Raven in here to deal with Trigon. It was unacceptable.
Yet Ace had valid points. Everything they had tried had failed and continued to fail. If nothing else, Fate was their best hope, and if only that man would stop holding back. What was he afraid of? And look at this place. This was Raven's mind, was it not? It was being destroyed before his very eyes; what would be left of the girl?
What—
Batman nearly lost his balance when Ace abruptly pulled away from him. Looking to the girl, he noticed how she was facing away from the battle, looking at what appeared to be a growing beam of white light.
The hellish red glow of apocalyptic proportions seemed to be drawn and absorbed into the white beam as it towered over the destroyed landscape, widening and glowing in intensity. It was hard to look at, yet Batman did not look away, unable to think about what he was seeing.
The beam began to unfurl, the edges of a cloak opening while a hooded head rose out of it. Ivory skin reflected light itself and a white leotard clad the lithe body beneath it. From a pair of eyes, light of the whitest hue flared, expressing the displeasure of what Batman was beginning to identify as Raven.
Trigon paused then turned away from his assault on Fate to witness the true master of this psychic realm. The demon took a step forward, facing Raven defiantly.
The empath declared in a thunderous voice, "YOU DO NOT BELONG HERE."
Trigon responded with an enormous blast of hellish flame. Raven shielded herself behind a white barrier, one that seemed to draw in the hellfire and absorb and not simply allow it to flow around her. Then, in response, her white cloak whipped out and the shield propelled itself forth until it slammed into Trigon, stunning him and ending his barraging attack.
Stumbling back, the demon appeared dazed and while he began to recover his mental faculties, Raven's form began to alter itself, resembling the bird that was her namesake, one that glared through avian eyes at her tormentor.
The demon's eyes narrowed, and the teeth gleamed from behind a sneer. "You will not be rid of me so easily."
"And I am not alone," Raven retorted. Massive wings rose, then flapped violently downwards, launching the white raven at the red-skinned monstrosity. The destroyed realm blurred beneath the ivory bird, racing to connect with Trigon who attempted to lash out one last time.
Raven struck first, white power crashing into Trigon who howled in fury. Hands began to fray then tear apart, Raven's power devouring the demon. Arms followed, then legs, the torso falling victim next. Four red eyes widened in rage, but then lips pulled back into a smirk.
"You cannot hide from me anymore," Trigon taunted as what was left of him was finally consumed.
Unable to bear it anymore, Batman raised up an arm to try and shield himself from the white light that only continued to brighten more and more. Then, without warning, Ace tackled him and abruptly everything he could see changed from the annihilated remnants of Raven's mind to the rooftop that he had faced off with Crane, the physical body of the empath in front of him.
The vigilante blinked, still processing the sudden change in reality, then instinct had him throwing himself back. Though Raven's body appeared comatose, from her eyes and opened mouth, the same white light that had consumed her mindscape emitted out from the orifices, and like in that psychic world, its intensity continued to build in strength.
It was a good thing he had backed away when he had. A column of the white energy blasted out of the teenaged girl's body and up into the sky. Higher and higher it climbed until it made contact with the underbelly of the crow construct that lorded over the sky above Gotham. The enormous construct shrieked, flailing its wings wildly. White ate at and contaminated the black, spreading all over and throughout the construct.
Its twisted features began to morph as white consumed more and more black, altering it until it no longer resembled a crow and took on the shape of a raven. Four red eyes were now replaced with two of purest white, a white that gazed down at the besieged city beneath it.
The raven construct stretched out its wings, and an innumerable number of thin, white beams showered into Gotham. The beams pierced into the bodies of the army of constructs, many of the creatures crying out and screaming, their forms being undone and shifting into less corporal bodies of white energy. Those who fought desperately to protect the city slowly lowered their guards, witnessing the sight as one, then twenty, then hundreds of white blobs began to fly up into the sky.
All were absorbed into the raven construct, white eyes watching patiently as if taking a tally of each one that was captured into its form. When the last construct was taken in, the raven construct began to lose its cohesion, flowing downwards first in a trickle and then into a flood, rushing back down into the body of the empathic Teen Titan.
There was a growing roar as more and more of the power returned to its wielder until it came to an abrupt end with a thunderclap and left behind only a starry sky to be slowly polluted by the city lights. Silence then reigned, and Batman watched the prone body of the girl.
The golden light of an ankh parted the quiet air, and from it stepped Fate, while Cyborg and Beast Boy stumbled on their feet, looking disoriented. Yet even that seemed not to shatter the quiet.
Then a moan uttered from Raven's lips, and the sirens of law enforcement began to echo through the city streets below. As the cloak and hood wearing girl began to shift, a Tamaranean rushed by the Dark Knight, surprising him.
Starfire, however, ignored him, seeing only to Raven whom she gathered into her arms, propping the empathic girl's upper body against hers. Slipping the hood off of dark hair, the Tamaranean asked worriedly, "Are you alright my friend? Are you hurt?"
Eyes of darkest blue cracked open, and then shut as a groan escaped her thin body. "I am exhausted beyond all belief…but I will survive."
Beside the Tamaranean, Cyborg knelt down. "That's my girl," he praised, placing a small, pale hand into his larger, titanium hand. "Tougher than steel. We'll get you checked out, don't you worry."
"Don't you mother hen me," Raven quipped back, her eyes closed though if you paid attention, you could see the corner of her lips quirk. Then, as if changing her mind, "Well, maybe a little."
"Then a fowl matriarch you shall receive!" Starfire declared.
At this point, Batman turned away. Raven would be safe with her Titan teammates. There were still other matters that needed his attention, such as Crane, the state of Gotham, and the damages that would need to be addressed.
Those were not the concerns of the Titans. However, he did raise an eyebrow at the presence of Nightwing who stood guard over Crane's unconscious body, arms crossed. If he looked over the younger man's shoulder, then he would spot the motions of…Damian trying to sneak away and out of sight. Figures the boy would ignore his grounding.
But what he knew would hurt Damian, not physically but the boy would wish it so. Some discipline and learning how to obey orders seemed to be the top of the list of lessons that his offspring needed to learn.
"So, what crazy story do you have this time?" Nightwing greeted him.
How about the one that started with why Nightwing was in his city?
Author's Note: And there we have it. This long ordeal has come to an end so naturally we will wrap things up in the next chapter. As is standard, more information about what comes next will be announced, but if you want to get a head start onto what the next story will be, feel free to speculate. In the meantime, I hope this climax met expectations and we'll see you all next time.