After the arena cleared and Batman and Robin finished a quick victory lap amongst the heroes in the crowd, the next contestants emerged onto the floor. Raven's heart picked up a pace. Both she and Slade had expressed concerns about the pair currently making their way onto the floor, and Raven knew she needed to identify their patterns if they won.
Felix Faust and the Shadow Thief strode to their assigned side with a confident swagger, as if the outcome of the fight was already determined. Opposite them, Madame Rouge and Monsieur Mallah walked in with equal arrogance. Neither side seemed particularly wary of the other, and Raven had to wonder if all villains possessed the same unearned ego.
"They seem confident," Slade remarked with a sarcastic edge.
"Which one?" Raven snorted.
The two of them watched as the arena shifted. The inside of the arena dropped inward, creating a tiered structure with the two teams staring at each other from across a pit. Shadows were plentiful in the lowered areas with beams and bars stretching across the empty space, perfect for swinging.
Raven could see the grins stretching across the faces of the villains below as they took in their environment, and as the horn blared announcing the start of the match, the pairs leapt into action, no time wasted. Faust summoned a dark cloud that covered himself and his partner, and as it swallowed them up, Raven lost sight of the pair while Mallah and Rouge launched themselves in their direction, swinging on the bars that spanned the drop-off. The cloud swirled before exploding outwards, turning from barely tangible smoke into sharp, glassy shards that flew through the air like daggers, piercing everything in their path.
Mallah roared as one of those shards sliced through his arm, the shield he carried moving too slowly to block the incoming projectiles. Rouge contorted herself around the pieces, her focus never breaking as she continued toward Faust even as Mallah dropped into the pit, landing a few levels below with a loud clang against the metal structure.
Raven's eyes darted back to Faust. He was standing in the same spot, his hand outstretched as the last of the conjured weapons found targets and dissipated. His mouth was already moving for his next spell as Raven realized he was alone. The Shadow Thief was nowhere to be seen. Raven leaned further over the railing, trying to get a better view as she searched for Faust's partner. She squinted, staring into the darkened pit as Mallah got to his feet, shaking off his fall and ripping out the dagger that had embedded itself in his bicep. Above him, Rouge had nearly cleared the pit and was deftly dodging magical attacks sent her way by Faust.
Beside Raven, Slade hummed. "Clever," he said quietly, his eye trained on the fight beneath.
Raven quirked a brow, not sure what it was he saw at first. She focused on every movement, wondering what it was that had impressed Slade. Faust was beginning to step backwards, his hands continuing to throw magic in Rouge's direction. The elastic woman was contorting and flinging herself to avoid them, completely ignoring her partner below. She was gaining a lot of ground on Faust, and for half a second, Raven thought she might have overestimated him.
And then she spotted it.
Mallah was just preparing to ascend back to the top level as Rouge cleared the pit, landing like a predator a few yards from Faust, but as Mallah made the first jump, the shadows around him shifted. The Shadow Thief appeared next to Mallah, striking at him with a blade as dark as the shadows he'd come from. Mallah barely moved out of the way in time as the crowd jeered.
The crowd's jeering caught Rouge's attention, but before she could check on her partner, Faust grinned a wicked smile and clapped his hands together, the sound reverberating over the entire arena. Raven's eyes widened as a wall of magic materialized behind Rouge, trapping her with Faust and blocking her from assisting Mallah.
Clever, indeed.
Rouge frowned but faced Faust, flicking her hair back with a bored expression. The two exchanged words for a brief moment before Rouge struck, her hand extending the distance between them, trying to land a strike to Faust's face.
"He's not a swordsman," Slade commented, gesturing to the Shadow Thief as he disappeared and reappeared around Mallah.
"He doesn't need to be," Raven said simply. "He just needs to find the right shadow at the right time."
Slade nodded his agreement. "What do you think of Faust?"
Raven turned her gaze to the fight now ensuing between Faust and Rouge. Faust moved gracefully around Rouge's strikes, unnaturally so. His feet floated, the wind carrying him as Rouge tried to wear him down.
"He's toying with her," Raven murmured. "She's not a match for him alone."
Slade eyed Raven seriously for a moment. "He's enjoying the game," he stated. "They both are."
Raven felt it, the sheer callous enjoyment emanating from the pair. Faust wasn't threatened; he barely expended any of his energy avoiding Rouge's attempts. Meanwhile, her body was slowing. She didn't retract as quickly or extend as far. The Shadow Thief was gleeful as he bounced around the shadows surrounding Mallah, cutting his opponent each time he emerged from the dark. The gorilla's roars echoed softer with each new cut, his dark fur becoming mottled with thick blood. It should have been over quickly at that point, but it went on.
For ten minutes more, it went on.
Raven's stomach churned as she watched. As Mallah wobbled on his feet, swinging his massive arms in a poor attempt to stop the onslaught, to catch the shadow in the wind. Rouge panted, her hair sticking to her skin as she barely avoided Faust's magic. He had grown bored of their dance, and now, he was firing off various spells, the dark magic sending a chill down Raven's spine as its energy lingered in the air.
A loud crash echoed through the arena, and the eyes of the gathered crowd shifted below where Mallah had stumbled and fallen, his large body lying prone and unmoving, a puddle of blood growing beneath him. Raven closed her eyes, focusing on Mallah's form. Barely, she could sense a faint heartbeat, but it was fading, quickly. The Shadow Thief tilted his head at Mallah, considering him and the black sword in his hand. That moment was an eternity.
Raven distinctly felt the presence of a dead man watching her.
Don't, she wanted to scream. Don't do it.
But The Shadow Thief was deaf to her silent pleas as he brought his sword to Mallah's chest, the tip of it hanging over the heart. With a painstakingly slow movement, the Shadow Thief pressed the blade into Mallah's thick fur. The great gorilla flicked his eyes open as the blade pierced his skin, his large, bloodied hands finding the strength to hold the sides of the sword trying to stop its progress to his heart, but Mallah's hands shook, and his arms trembled with the strain. The Shadow Thief never flinched, only kept his blade steady, keeping the continual pressure, knowing what every else knew, too. Mallah would give out; he could not hold that blade back for long, and he would die in that pit.
Raven looked away, her own hands beginning to tremble. She couldn't watch.
A scream echoed over the arena, a feminine one that dared Raven to peek. Madame Rouge was screaming as ice crawled over her body, freezing her elastic limbs solid. The ice coated her arms and legs and was creeping over her torso when she shouted out, "YIELD!"
The ice shattered, the arena shook, and both Rouge and Mallah, whose hands had dropped, the sword embedded in his skin at least two inches, vanished in a flash of light, leaving the two victors alone in the arena.
"They're going to be a problem," Slade said, his eye watching the two men as the arena reformed into a flat plain.
"That's only if we make it that far," Raven whispered, her eyes on Faust. The dark magic that swirled around him was unlike any sorcerer she'd encountered, and she wondered if she wanted to fight that fight. From the corner of her eye, Scarecrow stood, true to his namesake, silent and still in those shadows.
The horn blared, its sharp tone reverberating around the arena. Below, she could already see Zatanna and Constantine taking up their places on one side of the arena. Slade turned to her, and she felt that grin beneath his mask.
"Our turn," he beamed and launched himself over the railing, his armored form dropping from the sky like a bird of prey descending on its victim.
Raven sighed, rolling her eyes. "Here we go," she said to herself before letting her shadows surround her and following. She summoned her soul self, a massive black raven whose wings consumed the whole of the arena's light, and dropped from the catwalk, shooting downward and sweeping over everything in her path with that darkness. She flew past Slade, creating a great cloud of dust as the sand on the arena floor was thrown upwards in her wake before she landed as that massive shadow bird, the wings extending one final time before furling in with a powerful wind. Where the great bird had been, Raven stood, her body melting out of those enormous wings while her hair and cloak caught in the wind billowing behind her.
Slade landed beside her, swords drawn, the impact shaking the ground thanks to a bit of help from Raven's magic.
The first step, Slade had said that previous night, is making an entrance. They don't expect us to work together, but they'll prepare for it. What they won't expect, is a truly united front. When we step in that ring, we need them to believe that we're not just paired up but partners. Everything we do from the moment that horn blares needs to show it. And if there's one thing the League of Shadows taught me, it's how effective a good entrance can be.
From the corner of her eye, Raven could've sworn she saw the tip of Batman's mouth quirk upwards.
Across from them, Zatanna glared at Raven and Slade with Constantine a step behind her, an expression on his face Raven couldn't quite read. The crowd roared with anticipation as they faced each other, the speakers around the arena coming to life as the Master of Games spoke.
"The Duo of Death returns!" he shouted. "Our deadliest match up back to prove their name! But will the Mighty Magi," Constantine and Zatanna both rolled their eyes at the nickname, "be able to stand in their way?!"
Boos and jeers from the villains in the audience answered the tournament's insane host, and Raven sighed. Of course, the villains were rooting for her now. She chose to believe it was because she and Slade were facing a full hero team and not because of… Raven ground her teeth together, ignoring that figure in the dark.
The Master of Games laughed, an unhinged sound that echoed around the arena, before he said, "Let's find out!"
The arena shuddered and shifted. Pillars of stone shot upwards from the ground, creating a labyrinth of columns that blocked the other team from immediate view. Raven glanced at Slade whose blue eye met with hers. Raven pulled her hood further over her features to hide the slight smirk on her face as she saw the fighting stage laid before them.
The arena itself is as much part of the fight as our opponents, Slade's voice echoed in her memory. Last round, Bane controlled the map. This time, we will.
"Count to thirty," Raven said quietly, her violet eyes staring at the tallest pillar in the center of the arena.
Slade rolled his shoulders, a small chuckle echoing under his mask. "Don't miss."
The horn blared, the crowd shouting as the match began and Slade sprinted forward, disappearing between the walls of the pillars as Raven gathered up her power, her feet leaving the ground as she hovered a few feet above, chanting the words of her spell. Her eyes never left the central pillar as she did so, waiting for the telltale sign of magic.
There, she thought as a slight glimmer in the air appeared at the top of the pillar. A ripple sliced the fabric of space as Zatanna and Constantine appeared. Before they could blink, Raven thrust her hands outwards, and a tsunami of inky darkness exploded from her palms. The shadows rolled over the arena floor, shielding everything from the eyes of their opponents above. Raven was just below the top of the shadows, staring upwards and feeling satisfied as Zatanna took in the new surroundings with a furious expression on her face.
Constantine, on the other hand, appeared to be chuckling, saying something to Zatanna that Raven couldn't hear. Based on the unamused frown on her face, Zatanna didn't share in the joke. With a grand flourish, Zatanna pointed at the spot she had last seen Raven and Slade, her backwards speech loud and clear.
"Meab fo tghil!"
Raven hardened the layer of shadows above her head as a beam of light shot out of Zatanna's fingertips, headed in Raven's direction. The bolt hit the shield Raven had created, its light scattering amongst the darkness.
"Really, Raven?" Zatanna shouted. "Hiding in the dark? Come out and fight!"
Twenty-four.
Raven smirked, letting the shadows around her dissipate enough so only she was visible. Looking up, she let her eyes glow white.
"I've got a better idea," Raven said.
Twenty-eight.
"How about you come down here?" she snarled, her hand pushing forward, finding Slade in the darkness near the base of the center pillar. She gripped him with a hand in the shadows, swallowing him and moving him through the darkness as the bomb he'd set exploded.
The central pillar collapsed, Zatanna and Constantine losing their footing as the ground dropped from under them. Constantine just managed to leap off the falling remnants and grab onto the edge of a lower pillar a few yards away. Zatanna, on the other hand, had been too focused on Raven, and she fell into the ocean of black that Raven controlled.
Slade appeared beside her, stepping out of the dark portal Raven had shifted him through. Raven watched Constantine pull himself up onto the pillar he hung from, and she felt Zatanna shifting in the rubble of the collapsed pillar.
"Keep him busy," Raven said to Slade. "If my shadows drop and he can see me, he's got the power to bind my magic."
"Happy to oblige," Slade drawled. "If you'd be a dear," he said, gesturing to Constantine.
Raven rolled her eyes, stalking forward as she waved a hand over Slade, a surge of shadow consuming him. As Constantine got to his feet above, a dark portal appeared beside him, and Slade came out swinging, his swords slashing through the air. Constantine ducked just in time, weaving out of the way of Slade's attack with an ease Raven didn't expect.
Raven looked away, leaving Slade and Constantine to their fight. She had her own battle to win. Raven stepped through the darkness, transporting herself to the remains of the central pillar where Zatanna was angrily brushing herself off. As Raven emerged, Zatanna's head whipped upwards in her direction, her eyes squinting.
"I know you're there, Raven," Zatanna said, unable to see in the dark but her arms raising in a fighting stance, anyway. "I see you and Slade have fallen into old patterns."
Raven snorted. "Slade and I don't have any patterns. You're just predictable. It was easy to guess exactly what you'd do."
"And I bet you were happy to take that opportunity," Zatanna snapped back, her body positioning in the direction she thought Raven was in.
The temperature of the shadows dropped as Raven stared at Zatanna, Raven's hands balling into fists as cold, steely anger shot through her. She felt her face morph, two new eyes appearing as blood red as the other two had become. Zatanna's own eyes widened as she saw Raven's demonic appearance in the dark, the only thing she could see.
"You were willing to let me die," Raven hissed, one hand striking forward, a fist of black energy lashing out and hitting Zatanna on the side of her chest, a few inches below her heart. Right where Scarecrow's knife had slid into Raven's flesh.
Zatanna grunted, losing her balance as she stumbled from the hit.
"You wanted it," Raven snarled, sending another strike to Zatanna's side. "I felt you. You wanted me gone!"
Zatanna dived forward, just rolling out of the way of another hit, mumbling a spell and standing to glare at Raven, her eyes now gleaming with some form of night vision, a disgusted look on her face.
"You're right," she spat. "You can't be trusted. No matter what you do, you'll always—"
Bang!
The sound of something large and metal slamming onto the ground between Raven and Zatanna echoed around the arena, and Raven flinched back in surprise, seeing Slade on his back, groaning.
"I hate magic," he muttered, his voice straining.
Before Raven could process, she felt a stinging pain jolt her chest, and she cried out as Zatanna's spell hit her. Raven's concentration broke, and the flood of darkness that coated the arena floor dissipated like clouds in the wind.
Raven lashed out, ignoring the lingering static on her skin, and sent a wall of spears for Zatanna. The magician dove away, rolling behind a pillar to avoid the onslaught.
Grinding her teeth, Raven used the moment to lunge for Slade, using all of her strength to help him to his feet. He pushed off the ground, using her for support, and Raven noticed something was missing.
"Where are your swords?" she asked him, keeping one eye on the spot Zatanna had disappeared.
A flare of annoyance emanated from Slade as he flicked one of his thumbs upwards. "He turned them into snakes."
Raven couldn't help the smirk on her face as she chuckled quietly, wondering if they bit him first.
"Shut it," Slade warned, on his feet and glowering at her.
"I knew you were one of them," Zatanna's voice lilted. Her and Constantine rounded one of the pillars, eyes focused on Raven and Slade. Constantine turned his head to stare at Zatanna, a frown on his face as she spoke. "Now everyone else does, too."
"Z," Constantine said, his voice low and warning, "leave it."
Zatanna ignored her partner, her eyes focused solely on Raven. "I told the League, at the beginning when you first showed up, that you couldn't be trusted. That you would be a killer."
Beside Raven, Slade was relaxed, his body hiding the sign of a viper ready to strike. His blue eye was on Zatanna and Constantine as they slowly stepped closer, and Raven let power flow into her palms, readying herself to move.
"Zatanna," Constantine hissed, his eyes shifting from his partner to Raven, a look Raven couldn't identify on his face.
"And now everyone knows that I was right. That you'll end up being just like your father. Like him," Zatanna sneered, her finger pointing at Slade.
Raven's eyes narrowed, and she threw her palms up, creating a shockwave of energy that lifted the sands on the arena floor upward, dousing Constantine and Zatanna and blinding them. Zatanna was already casting a counterspell as Slade and Raven ducked behind the nearest standing pillar, the spell clipping the edge of the stone as they rounded it.
Raven slammed her palm onto the pillar, a wall of black appearing at the touch and bisecting the arena. Keeping her hand steady on the stone, she looked at Slade.
"Stick to the plan," he said. "We keep them separated and take them out."
"In case you haven't noticed," Raven said drily, "you don't have any weapons."
"Oh, Raven," Slade tsked, "surely you know me better than that." His hand reached behind his back, pulling out a short cylindrical object that extended into an edged bo staff at the press of a button. "Maybe I have left you Titans alone for too long."
Raven snorted, ignoring his comment before dropping her hand from the pillar, the solid wall of black shimmering as she lost contact with it. "Let's finish this," she said, hearing the sound of magic cracking against the shield.
Slade's only agreement was to round the pillar as the black wall shattered, and Raven transported herself a few feet behind where she'd last seen Zatanna and Constantine. They were still standing there, and Raven cast a spell, sending a ball of energy right at their backs. Constantine spun, his hands extending in front of him, an object in one palm that scattered Raven's magic before it could hit either of them. Raven fired off another, and then turned on her heel and ran, hearing shouting before footsteps followed in pursuit.
Raven danced around the pillars, feeling the presence of her pursuer with every step. Every few feet, she would send a wave of shadows behind her, slicing into pillars and causing chunks of stone to fly backwards. Raven rounded one more pillar, pushing both her hands into its stone, black energy coating the entirety of it, before she shoved it forward, the stone monument crashing down into the ground before dominoing into the next pillar. Dust and stone floated up as the arena became a cacophony of collapsing stones.
"Fucking hell," a voice coughed through the dust. British. Constantine.
The dust around them swirled and dissipated as Constantine waved a hand, leaving the pair of them in a bubble of clear air. Constantine was dusting himself off, looking thoroughly annoyed as he met Raven's eyes.
"Did you have to make such a mess of this place, love?" he asked her. His voice was smooth and sarcastic, and his eyes were full of wicked mischief.
Raven's power flooded into her body, her eyes burning white as she readied herself, but Constantine didn't move. He only looked at her with his arms crossed, as if waiting. Doubt flickered through her as they stared at each other.
With a gleeful smirk, Constantine shrugged and gave Raven a wink. "Make it look good, Raven. Otherwise, I'll never hear the end of it."
Constantine uncrossed his arms, waggling his finger, and the dust around them settled fully, letting everyone see the pair facing off.
Now, Constantine mouthed, and Raven, unthinking, obliged.
With a shout, she let that magic built up in her outward, focused on Constantine. His eyes widened as he brought his hands up in an X before him, the magic colliding with his body as it flung him backwards, straight into one of the few remaining pillars. His head smashed into the stone, and he fell limply to the ground. Raven sucked in a breath, a cold chill running over her body.
Thump. Thump.
Raven breathed out, her shoulders sagging. Constantine's heart was beating steadily, even as blood gathered in his hair. Further in the arena, she could hear Zatanna shouting spells, but before Raven turned in her direction, she ran to Constantine, putting her palm on the back of his head and closing her eyes. White light radiated from her skin as she healed the wound on his head. He groaned but remained unconscious. Stepping back, she spun in the direction she heard Zatanna, her backwards spelling echoing over the arena.
There was still dust lingering outside of the area Raven and Constantine were at, and Raven exhaled as she brought up her hands, magic flaring around her fingertips before she gracefully lowered them in one controlled motion, the dust between her and the other two on the field swirling and flaring out, creating a clear path for her to follow. Raven pushed off the ground, hovering a few feet before flying through the channel she had created.
Zatanna was casting spells towards Slade who was doing his best to avoid them. Slade rolled and spun, lithe and deadly on his feet as he was slowly closing the distance between him and Zatanna. Zatanna cast a fire spell, a wall of blue fire spreading from her to Slade, unaware of Raven flying behind her. Raven's boot collided with Zatanna's back a second before the fire rushed over Slade, and the break in her concentration shattered the spell, the blue flame evaporating.
Zatanna stumbled forward a step but caught herself and took up a defensive stance between Raven and Slade, keeping both in her eyeline. Raven's feet touched the ground, her fist curled tightly as she glared at Zatanna. Across from her, Slade was stalking forward, a deadly, enraged glint in his eye as he stared at the magician. Scorch marks and battered pieces on his armor told Raven enough of how well their encounter had gone. His hand was clenching the bo staff, and she felt the emotions rolling off him.
"It's over," Raven said to Zatanna, keeping her voice cool, trying to ignore the predator that was approaching the Leaguer. "Yield, Zatanna. You've lost."
Zatanna's eyes flicked to Raven, rage and disgust clearly visible before she snarled, "Never." Then, she pointed a finger at Slade, her mouth moving almost as fast as he did. Slade lunged forward, his staff slicing through the air as Zatanna's spell was leaving her mouth.
Raven reacted.
A band of black energy slammed onto Zatanna's mouth, cutting off her spell prematurely a half-second before Slade's edged staff would've met with her temple. The spell, half-formed, rebounded on its caster, and the force Zatanna was summoning hit her instead, her body curling in on itself as the magic betrayed her. Her body went sailing back with a speed and force so strong that Raven had to cast a second spell to catch Zatanna before she was violently slammed into the stands.
Raven gritted her teeth as she fought the power of the spell still trying to throw Zatanna, but after a moment, the opposing force diminished, and Raven was able to set Zatanna down onto the ground, her body limp.
As the horn blared, ending the match, Raven's eyes were fixated on Zatanna, waiting. Sand crunched beneath Slade's boots as he walked up beside Raven, the words he said lost to her ears.
Come on, she thought, her eyes darkening at the edges, shadows creeping in like a threat and promise.
"Come on," she whispered, her eyes still on Zatanna.
Then, just before she vanished in a flash of light, Raven saw her chest rise.
Raven didn't protest the large, gloved hand on her back as Slade led her out of the arena, nor did she acknowledge the scarecrow standing alone in the shadows of the stands, tilting its head as if wondering when its lonely existence would be remedied by the presence of another.
A/N: A very long one today! Slade and Raven are getting closer and closer to the finals, only one more team stands in their way before the final team match. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Only a few (4, maybe?) more chapters to go!