The dark chamber shook violently from the impact of the battle that was going on within it; broken columns lay in rubble, and deep craters scattered the floor, showing how brutal the battle had become.
"Why won't you die?!" Trigon roared as he grabbed Dr. Fate's leg from where he lay and hurled him into the nearby wall, where the hero lay in a crumpled heap for a moment before rising shakily back to his feet.
"Because I am not simply a man who can be killed," Fate replied angrily, "I am a lord of order, and order shall prevail!"
"Yeah, what he said!" Harry joked as he flew at Trigon, using both feet to deliver a kick to the demon's head, which caused him to stumble forward, right into Raven's fist, which struck Trigon hard in the jaw and sent him spinning and stumbling back, right into Harry's uppercut, which rocked the demon back again. Seizing the moment, Raven grabbed Trigon from behind, wrapping her arms around the demon before falling backward and slamming Trigon's head into the ground behind them. Roaring in hatred, Trigon slammed his elbow into his daughter's stomach, making her gasp in pain and release her hold on him; jumping to his feet, Trigon grabbed Raven's hair and pulled her to her feet. As he pulled back his fist to pulverize her face, Harry appeared out of nowhere and grabbed Trigon's arm before shooting into the air, spinning in a 360-degree circle to build up momentum, and releasing Trigon so that he shot to the ground like a falling star, leaving a sizeable crater in the stone floor. Before Trigon could do anything other than groan from his impact, Harry dropped himself right onto Trigon's head, driving his feet right into the demon's face and increasing the size of the crater.
Before Harry could do anything else, Trigon's hand shot out and grabbed Harry's leg, pulling him from his feet; as fast as thought, Trigon jumped to his feet and spun Harry in a circle twice before releasing the boy and sending him crashing into Dr. Fate who had been charging forward.
"This dude is really starting to piss me off…" Harry grumbled as he attempted to extricate himself from Dr. Fate.
"Agreed," Fate spat back, "We need to end this battle before our allies outside can no longer hold back your body."
As the two heroes rose to their feet, Harry cracked his neck before leveling a glare worthy of Batman on Trigon,
"You cannot beat me, brat," Trigon spat as he wiped blood from his nose, "Join me, and together we will rule this world! And every world in the universe!"
For a moment, silence reigned in the chamber as Harry and Trigon faced one another before Harry suddenly began to laugh uncontrollably, making Trigon frown at him in confusion.
"Couple of things," Harry said when he finally stopped laughing, wiping the tears from his eyes, "First, my name ain't Anakin Skywalker, so your 'join the dark side' speech ain't gonna work on me. Secondly, why in the hell would I ever want to join forces with a pedophile?"
For the first time in her life, Raven watched as her father looked shocked and confused, which nearly caused Raven to burst into laughter.
"Pedophile?" Trigon asked in surprise,
"Yeah," Harry smirked, "What else do you call it when a grown man is after a kid's body?"
Raven couldn't help herself at Harry's words; she snorted in amusement before descending into a fit of giggles, which made Trigon's shock turn into rage at being laughed at.
"How DARE YOU!" Trigon roared, making the entire chamber shake as he unleashed his power in full and charged at Harry, fully intent on killing the brat for so daring to insult him so.
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"Diana! Can you hear me! Diana?!"
Wonder Woman slowly opened her eyes as Flash's voice rang out in her ear; slamming her sword into the floor, she used it as a cane to slowly level herself to her feet, using the wall beside her to support herself as she raised a shaky hand to her ear.
"I'm here, Flash."
"Oh, thank god!" Flash's voice replied instantly, "Listen, you got to get out of there! Titans Tower is gonna be gone in ten minutes!"
"What are you talking about?" Wonder Woman demanded, ripping her sword out of the floor before limping down the hallway.
"Batman's activated the Final Flash," Flash replied, making Wonder Woman's eyes widen in shock, "He's locked me out of the system. I can't stop it!"
"Hera, no…" Wonder Woman said in horror, "Is there any way to shut it down?"
"Only Batman can do that!" Flash replied, "So you'll have to find him and get him to punch in the deactivation code!"
"How long do I have?"
"Less than ten minutes!"
"Understood!" Wonder Woman shouted back before flying off down the hallway as fast as she could; she had to find Batman before the entire Tower was reduced to ash and fire.
XXXX
Trigon had lost his patience; these pathetic 'heroes' were nothing but bugs beneath his boot; at least that should have been the case, and yet he had been beaten back repeatedly by them. Now, even after beating nearly all of them, he still had one more to defeat before killing his daughter and finally claiming complete ownership over Harry's body.
"You cannot win!" Trigon snarled, "Surrender, and I will make your death quick and merciful!"
"Eat a dick!" Beastboy spat back, wiping the blood from his nose before transforming into a Triceratops and charging at Trigon again; Trigon snarled at the challenge and planted his feet, attempting to stop the green dinosaur's charge, only to groan in surprise as a fresh wave of pain ran through him which gave Beastboy the distraction he needed to push Trigon through the wall of the room and back into the hallway. Before he could push him any further, Trigon regained his composure and grabbed the dinosaur's horns, stopping the attack and creating a standoff where neither combatant could press their attack.
Trigon internally groaned as another wave of pain rushed through him; he was being forced to split his attention between two fronts, and it was why he was having such a hard time finishing off the green bug that he should have squashed long ago. Because of the battle inside Harry's body, Trigon was forced to split his power in half to account for the two battles he was fighting simultaneously. It was the reason why this fight with Beastboy was actually proving a challenge when by all accounts, it should have been over the moment that Trigon first struck the little green bastard.
Beastboy's eyes suddenly shifted to something behind Trigon, but before the demon could turn to see what it was, the green dinosaur transformed into a kangaroo and swiftly delivered a solid kick to Trigon's stomach that lifted him into the air, right into the path of Superman, who wrapped his arms around the snarling demon and shot upwards into the ceiling, carrying Trigon with him, and leaving only a gasping Beastboy lying on his back and staring at the hole in the roof with a happy expression on his face.
"Oh, thank god…" Beastboy gasped as he struggled to get back to his feet; truth be told, the battle was the most intense of his life, and he had begun to worry how much longer he would be able to hold Trigon back.
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"Die! Die! Die!" Trigon roared as he slammed Raven into the ground repeatedly; he was holding her by her legs and was swinging her over his head before slamming her into the ground; Dr. Fate was trying to wiggle himself out from under a nearby column, while Harry was received an uppercut of such magnitude that it had sent him sailing up into the darkness above.
Raven was sure by this point that she was going to die as she had nothing left to fight with; her powers were spent, her strength depleted, and even though she knew that this wasn't her real body and that all the pain she was feeling wasn't real, she still felt like every movement was an ocean of agony.
"Trigon!" Harry screamed as he came racing out from the darkness above; the demon only had a second to look up before Harry's fist smashed into Trigon's face and sent him flying away from Raven, who fell to the ground in a heap. Not wasting a minute, Harry followed after his target, pushing himself to go faster than he had ever gone before; easily surpassing Trigon, Harry stopped once he had and delivered a powerful punch, sending the demon rocketing in the other direction, only to once again have Harry pass him by and send another devastating punch, an uppercut, which send Trigon spiraling into the air, where Harry was once again waiting for him with his clasped fists raised over his head.
"Take this, fucker!" Harry roared as he brought his hands down and sent Trigon shooting straight to the ground at the speed of a fallen star; as Trigon hit, the entire chamber shook, and dust and debris filled the air, creating a suffocating blanket of dust that made vision impossible.
Rising to her feet, Raven coughed violently as the combination of dust and injuries made it difficult to do so; from some distance away, she could see Harry helping Dr. Fate move off a column that had been lying on him.
"Please tell me that asshole is finally dead," Harry groaned as Fate rose to stand beside him,
"I doubt it will be that easy," Dr. Fate replied, though even he sounded like he was growing tired,
"Also, watch your language," Raven said, trying to sound stern,
"We could possibly die in here, and you're worried about my language?" Harry asked in mock seriousness,
"Possible death is no excuse to forget one's manners," Dr. Fate replied, making Raven grin and Harry shake his head.
"Enough!" A voice roared, causing the three heroes to wince at the noise before turning to see a badly battered and bleeding Trigon rising from a very deep crater in the floor, "I have had enough of you pathetic little bugs! Begone from my sight!"
At the last word, white light surrounded Dr. Fate and Raven for a moment before they disappeared.
"What did you do to them?!" Harry roared,
"I sent them back to their bodies, where they belong," Trigon smirked, "It's just you and me in here now."
Cracking his knuckles, Trigon took a menacing step forward as he glared down at Harry,
"Now, let's see how strong you are without their help."
XXXX
Raven's eyes shot open, and for a moment, she didn't know where she was; when the moment finally passed, Raven was horrified when she realized she was back in her body,
"What happened?" Raven asked out loud as she tried to rise to her feet,
"Trigon has banished us from Harry's mind," Dr. Fate replied as he, too, rose to his feet,
"Well, we must go back in!" Raven replied quickly, "Harry needs our help!"
"It is impossible," Dr. Fate said sadly, "Your father is actively keeping us out, and I no longer have the power to get us back in."
"So, what does that mean!" Raven demanded,
"It means that your brother is, unfortunately, on his own."
"He's not strong enough!" Raven cried out, "My father will tear him apart!"
"We must have faith that your brother will find a way," Dr. Fate replied at once, "In the meantime, we must help Harry where we can."
"You mean in the physical world?" Raven asked, gaining a nod from Dr. Fate,
"Indeed. If we keep Trigon's attention on us out here in the physical world, it might give your brother an advantage in the mental world."
As Raven opened her head to respond, Beastboy's voice cut her off,
"Rae? What are you doing here? Did you guys beat Trigon?"
Turning to her teammate, Raven couldn't help but wince in sympathy; his uniform was torn in places, and his left eye was swollen shut while blood ran freely from his nose. He was leaning heavily against what used to be the door frame but was now a gaping hole, and Raven quickly rushed to his side and helped him gently to the floor.
"Did you beat him?" Beastboy wheezed,
"No," Raven admitted sadly, "Trigon forced us out before we could finish him off,"
"That sucks…" Beastboy wheezed one final time before he passed out; as gently as she could, Raven placed Beastboy against the nearby wall before rising to her feet.
"Leave him be," Dr. Fate said softly, "He can fight no more and would only be a hindrance."
"Glad to see how much respect you have for your allies," Raven sneered as she turned to face the sorcerer,
"You misunderstand my words for insouciance," Fate replied testily, "I care a great deal for the welfare of my allies, but Trigon must not be allowed to escape this Tower with your brother's body under his control. The consequences could prove disastrous to not just this world but all worlds."
A sudden tremor in the Tower seemed to convey the seriousness of Fate's words and caused both heroes to look out into the hallway just in time to see Trigon come crashing out of the ceiling, followed quickly by Superman, who delivered such a powerful punch that it sent Trigon into the floor, Superman once again following behind.
"Let's end this," Raven said as she raised her hood over her head, "Once and for all,"
"I couldn't agree more," Fate replied as he rose into the air and created a giant golden ankh, which enveloped both Raven and Fate, causing them to disappear.
XXXX
Diana grew desperate as she tried to awaken Batman; he was the only one who could stop the 'Final Flash,' yet she couldn't seem to rouse her teammate no matter what she tried.
"Wake up!" Wonder Woman cried in frustration as she slapped Batman again, "Wake up, damn you!"
As she pulled back her arm to deliver another slap, Batman groaned and slowly opened his eyes, making Wonder Woman gasp with relief and lower her arm,
"Oh, thank the gods."
"Why are you slapping me?" Batman asked in annoyance as Wonder Woman helped him to his feet.
"Because, you insufferable male," Wonder Woman retorted, "You've activated the Final Flash without the rest of the League's approval and may kill us all!"
"I had no choice, Diana," Batman growled back, "Trigon cannot be allowed to leave the Tower with Arcane's body under his control."
"So, you just decided to give up!" Wonder Woman demanded, grabbing the front of Batman's uniform and pinning him to the wall, "That is not the way of heroes! Our way is to fight! That is how we live, and that is how we die."
"We're being beaten," Batman growled, "Badly. And if this is how powerful Trigon is with a twelve-year-old's body, imagine how powerful he'll become when Arcane's all grown up! The whole damn universe would be at risk! So, I took action to ensure that wouldn't happen."
"That was not your call to make!" Wonder Woman shouted in Batman's face, "Deactivate the weapon! Now!"
"I can't do that, Diana. I'm sorry, but Trigon cannot be allowed to escape."
"Bruce, have you no faith in your friends?" Wonder Woman asked desperately, "We have not yet lost this fight. Please, shut down the Final Flash! Have faith in us!"
For a moment, the two heroes simply stared at each other in silence before Batman finally issued a growl of annoyance and nodded, causing Wonder Woman to smile happily and wrap her arms around his neck, making Batman hiss in pain.
When the heroin finally released him, Batman pulled the small tablet from his belt and punched in the deactivation code, the screen showing Final Flash shutting down a second later.
"Thank you, my friend!" Wonder Woman said happily,
"They better win," Batman growled back in annoyance.
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Author's Note:
Due to how long it's been since I last posted, I figured you guys deserved two chapters at once. The next chapter is the final battle between Trigon and the Team; who will win? Tune in next week to find out!