Beastboy paced in his saber-tooth tiger form nervously; for over an hour, he had stood guard in front of a silently meditating Dr. Fate and Raven while the Tower shook with the battle that was going on. Casting a nervous glance back at the two heroes he was guarding, Beastboy couldn't help but silently gulp as another tremor shook the Tower, much closer than the others. Suddenly, a roar of rage and pain echoed beyond the door, and Beastboy lowered himself into a defensive position, even as a tremor of fear raced through him; Beastboy was under no illusions about who would be the winner if it came to a fight between himself and Trigon. Still, even with the odds against him, Beastboy swore silently to himself that he would hold this line and die before he let Trigon hurt his friend. As another tremor shook the Tower, Beastboy couldn't help but gulp and pray that Raven and Dr. Fate woke up soon.
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Batman's whole body screamed in agony as he forced himself to his feet, holding the wall for support; by his reckoning, at least three ribs were broken, and he might have a concussion, considering how hard it was to focus. Raising a shaky hand to his cowl, Batman activated his commlink and called out with a growl,
"Batman to the Watchtower…"
"Hey, Bats, what's up?" Flash's voice cried out happily a moment later,
"I have an omega-level threat," Batman growled, "Ready the Final Flash."
"Whoa," Flash's voice cried in shock, "Bats, are you sure?"
Batman grits his teeth as a fresh wave of pain runs through him; while this is going on, his mind goes over the Justice League's most powerful and devastating weapon, created to be used only as a last resort if there is no other hope for victory. The 'Final Flash' was a cannon that had taken a combined effort from Wayne Enterprises and Star Labs over five years to perfect and complete. Once activated, it released a wave of concentrated plasma three times hotter than the sun that would vaporize everything within a quarter mile, leaving nothing behind but ash; it was due to the unparalleled destructive capacity of this weapon that the League had decided that it was never to be used under any circumstances unless there was an omega-level threat that the League couldn't contain.
"Just do as you're told!" Batman snapped back, his anger seemingly intensified by the pain rushing through his body.
"What's the target?" Flash asked, his voice showing how worried he was that the League's greatest weapon was actually about to be used.
"Titans Tower," Batman growled back, causing silence for a moment before Flash managed to get over his shock and respond,
"Titans Tower? Batman, are you sure you want to do this?"
"No," Batman admitted, "But there's no other choice. This threat cannot be allowed to leave the Tower, or the whole world will burn."
"Wait, you're there?!" Flash's voice screamed out, "Bats, you gotta get out of there! This blast will kill you!"
"I know," Batman said simply, closing his eyes against the pain, "But it will also kill Trigon, and that's all that matters. The mission is all that matters, so do your job and prepare the weapon!"
"I'm not gonna kill you, Bats," Flash's voice said, "I'm not doing this, sorry."
"Fine," Batman growled back as he pulled a small flat-screen tablet from his belt, "I'll do it myself."
After a moment of furious typing, Batman used his remote login to enter the Watchtower and lock Flash out as he began preparing the Final Flash.
"Whoa, Batman, what are you doing?!" Flash's voice cried out in alarm, "I've been locked out!"
"I know," Batman said simply, "I'm sorry, Flash. But, Trigon cannot be allowed to escape Titans Tower with Arcane's body. This is the only way."
As Batman finished activating the weapon, a twenty-minute timer activated and began to count down, making Batman growl with irritation at how long the weapon needed to power up; it was the only drawback to the Final Flash, but it was an incredibly large one that Batman despised with a passion.
"Batman, what have you done!" Flash cried, "I'm locked out! I can't shut it down!"
"It's been an honor, Flash," Batman replied softly before turning his commlink off and slowly sinking to the floor. There was no stopping it now, only Batman could abort the firing, and he had no intention of doing that; as he began to black out, Batman thought he could hear someone screaming his name, but a moment later, he was unconscious and no longer cared.
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Trigon snarled in hatred and rage as he took another swipe at J'onn, only for it to pass harmlessly through the Martian once again,
"Hold still, damn you!" Trigon roared, causing the whole hallway to shake violently,
"That would be detrimental to my mission," J'onn replied with a smirk that further infuriated Trigon, "Especially when my mission is not to defeat you but rather to keep you from interfering with Raven and Dr. Fate's mission of saving Harry from you."
That last comment seemed to be the final straw for Trigon as his rage completely consumed him; he had fought an interminable number of opponents throughout the millennium of his existence, but none had dared to defy him like these pathetic mortals had done, and none had enraged Trigon like this filthy Martian had.
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Trigon screamed in pure hate, causing the hallway to shake once again as he unleashed his power in full and causing J'onn, for the first time, to appear worried as he hovered above the floor.
Snapping his wrists together with his palms facing out toward J'onn, Trigon roared an inhuman cry of challenge before a blast of fire shot out toward J'onn faster than thought. J'onn only had time to open his mouth in alarm before he was engulfed in flame, causing the Martian to scream out in agony as he thrashed about trying to put himself out; too busy in his agony, J'onn couldn't keep his intangibility, and Trigon seized upon it instantly. Delivering three powerful punches to the Martian's head, Trigon finished by grabbing J'onn's harness, spinning him in a circle before slamming his head into the hallway wall and throwing the Martian to the floor.
As Trigon stared down at the unconscious hero in disgust, he considered, for a moment, killing the bastard, but that idea was quickly extinguished as he remembered that he was running on borrowed time; he needed to kill his daughter and her 'helper' before they managed to free the boy from Trigon's control.
Pausing only long enough to spit on J'onn's unconscious body, Trigon cracked his neck and strode toward the door; as he reached it, he smiled in victory before lunging forward and grabbing the door in both hands, ripping it from the hinges and throwing it carelessly behind him before stepping in with a cruel smile.
He had barely taken a step inside when something crashed into him, forcing him to take a step back; looking down in annoyance, Trigon saw that he had been pushed back by a green rhino, which then quickly jumped back and transformed into a giant green grizzly bear as it stood protectively in front of his meditating daughter and another wearing a gold helmet.
"I give you this one chance only, mortal," Trigon smirked as he stepped inside the room and crossed his arms, "Step aside and live or continue to annoy me and die. Decide."
Beastboy said nothing, simply growled in the challenge as he extended his claws and made Trigon smile cruelly.
"Have it your way, then," Trigon smirked before rushing forward as Beastboy did the same thing; the two crashed into one another, and the room shook violently as Beastboy roared out his challenge and prepared to do whatever he could to keep Trigon away from Raven and Dr. Fate.
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Raven cast her gaze around the room as the door closed behind her, the only sound being from Harry, who was sobbing at her to let him go so he could return to their mother; it broke her heart to have to hold him back, but she knew that she had no other choice. The room itself was dark and had the appearance of a stone dungeon; along the wall hung torches that sputtered with flame as they cast a warm light around her.
"Let me go!" Harry sobbed, "I want my mummy! Let me go!"
"That's enough!" Raven snapped, causing Harry to look at her in shock as tears ran down his cheeks. Raven had to shut her eyes as a wave of despair ran through her; she didn't want to yell at Harry, and to be honest, she didn't want to be here either, she would much prefer to be with her mother in the other room, but right now Harry needed her to be strong, or they would both be killed by Trigon and lost in Harry's mind forever.
"Harry," Raven said in a soft voice, "I know that you're scared. I'm scared too. But our friends need us to stop Trigon! If he manages to take control of your body, the whole world will suffer!"
"But I'm just a kid!" Harry cried pathetically, "How can I stop him!?"
"You aren't alone, Harry," Raven replied firmly, "I am here with you."
"How adorable…" A voice drawled sarcastically, causing Raven and Harry to turn quickly in sudden fear; suddenly, all the torches seemed to blaze with light, and the chamber became suddenly brighter, forcing Raven and Harry to shield their eyes for a moment. When Raven lowered her arm, she couldn't help but gasp at what she saw; the chamber was enormous and appeared to be made of grey stone; stone columns rose high into the air before disappearing into the darkness above, and from each column hung a red banner that had Trigon's symbol emblazoned in black. But the thing that drew Raven's gaze was what lay at the far end of the chamber; a long red carpet led from the doorway that Raven and Harry had entered to a great throne of black onyx, upon which sat Trigon, who was lazily resting his head on one fist as he stared at the two of them with an amused smirk.
"Welcome, my daughter and son," Trigon growled, "Have you come to pledge your loyalty to me?"
"No," Raven snapped as Harry hid behind her, "We've come to send you back to hell where you belong!"
Trigon issued an amused chuckle at that before slowly rising to his feet and descending down the stairs of the throne.
"Quite the challenge, daughter. Are you sure you're up for it?"
"I told you once before," Raven growled, "You are NOT my father! James Potter was my father! Harry Potter is my brother! And as long as there is a breath in my body, I will not let you have him!"
At the end of this declaration, Raven shot her right arm forward, and a blast of black energy shot out of her hand, which slammed into Trigon's chest and sent the demon crashing into his throne, which shattered as he crashed into it.
"Only one of us is leaving this place alive, Trigon!" Raven shouted as power began to fill her; her mother had been right, it seemed; Raven's love for her brother and her friends appeared to be giving her back the power that Trigon had taken from her, and as the demon rose angrily from the rubble of what had once been his throne, Raven raise her fists defensively.
"You are right about that, daughter, and for that, you have my apologies," Trigon growled as he shot forward and delivered a brutal punch with every word.
"For it will not!"
Punch.
"Be!"
Punch.
"Me!"
Punch.
At the last word, Trigon sent a powerful punch to the center of Raven's chest, sending her flying into a nearby pillar that cracked under the impact, leaving behind spiderweb-like cracks.
Turning slowly, Trigon sneered down at Harry, who had watched with growing horror as his sister was brutally beaten and was now staring up at Trigon with terror, barely able to keep from shaking.
"Don't be afraid, my son. Your body will soon be mine, and we will do extraordinary things together. This whole universe will bow before us!"
"Trigon!" Raven's voice screamed out, making the demon's smirk drop as he turned back to his daughter, who was leaning against a nearby column as she glared hatefully at him, "Get the hell away from my brother!"
At the last word, Raven grabbed the column that she had been leaning against and ripped it from the ground, making Trigon's eyes widen in shock; before he had a chance to do anything else, however, Raven swung the column at him while screaming,
"Duck, Harry!"
The little boy immediately dropped to the ground as the column slammed into Trigon's stomach, shattering into rubble as it sent Trigon flying into the air, only to crash into the nearby wall and slam into the ground. Taking what was left of the column, Raven aimed it at Trigon's slowly rising body and hurled it like a spear; Trigon had just risen to his feet when the broken column slammed into his head, causing it to drive his head into the wall behind him.
Taking advantage of the small window that her attack had granted her, Raven flew to Harry's side and kneeled down in front of him, grabbing his hands in her own.
"Harry! I need your help!"
"What?" Harry asked in bemusement, "How can I help?"
"This isn't your true form, Harry," Raven said quickly, "You have great power sleeping inside you, and I need that power, or Trigon will win this fight! I need you to wake up and help me destroy Trigon, once and for all!"
Harry stared at her in shock for a moment when Raven was suddenly pulled from his grip; Trigon had finally gotten back to his feet and had slammed into his daughter with all the strength and speed he could bring to bear, driving her into a nearby column as he punched at every part of her body that he could hit.
"He is mine!" Trigon snarled as he delivered a powerful blow to Raven's head, "And I will never let him go!"
"No!" Harry screamed as tears ran down his face, "Stop! Stop it! STOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!"
As Harry screamed out the last word, a blinding white light surrounded him, causing Trigon and Raven to stare at Harry for a moment; the only difference between the two was that Raven now had a smirk on her face as she realized what was coming.
When the light finally died down, Trigon glared hatefully at the spot where once stood a small child; in its place now stood Harry, dressed in his Arcane uniform, with his hood raised so that the only thing that Trigon could see of Harry's face, were his bright green eyes.
Slowly, Harry raised his hand to his hood and lowered it from his head so that Trigon could see the boy's face; Harry glared hatefully at Trigon for a moment before slowly cracking his neck, followed a moment later by his knuckles.
"Let go of my sister," Harry growled, making Trigon smirk at him before he carelessly tossed Raven to the floor.
"And just what do you think you're going to be able to do here?" Trigon asked sarcastically, "I am master of this body now! You're just along for the ride."
Before either combatant could do anything further, the chamber door exploded outward, causing both Harry and Trigon to turn to it in surprise; out of the dust and debris stepped Dr. Fate, looking considerably worse for wear. His costume was torn in places, and his helmet had several dents in it; his cape was ripped to shreds, and as Harry watched, he thought he could see a bit of blood running down from under Dr. Fate's helmet.
"This ends now, demon!" Dr. Fate snarled, his voice showing just how angry he was, "So orders Fate!"
Massaging her jaw, Raven rose to her feet and took a step forward as Trigon looked around with a sarcastic smile; he was surrounded on three sides by Arcane, Raven, and Dr. Fate, and yet he still expected to be the winner when all was said and done.
"Look at the three of you," Trigon smirked, "So sure of your own success. I almost feel sorry for what I'm about to do to the three of you. Almost."
"You talk too much," Harry replied before surging forward to punch Trigon's jaw, Raven and Dr. Fate attacking the exact moment he did.
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Author's Note:
For my fellow nerds that recognized where the weapon got its name, I salute you.