The next morning, Raven and the other Titans were enjoying a homemade breakfast, courtesy of Andromeda Tonks; said chef was wearing a light green dress and currently enjoying small talk with her niece, Raven, while her daughter, Dora, was happily munching on her eggs as she sat next to a smiling Beastboy, who was sipping a steaming cup of coffee. Dora was dressed in a pink pair of pajama bottoms and a white t-shirt, while Beastboy was wearing his traditional purple and black uniform. Not long after the incident with Trigon, when Andromeda learned that her daughter and the green shapeshifter were dating, she had taken Beastboy by the ear and had a long private discussion with the boy; no one knew what Andromeda and Beastboy had talked about, but whatever it was appeared to ease Andromeda's anxiety as she seemed to warm to her daughter's choice in relationship quickly.
The only missing Titans were Robin, who now went by the moniker 'Nightwing,' and Harry; Raven's brother had woken at near dawn and been too excited about Hermione and the Weasleys arriving later in the day to calm down since. It had been Nightwing's idea for him and Harry to spar together, not only to keep the boy busy until their guests arrived, but also to see how much stronger Harry's abilities had become since his possession at Trigon's hands. Harry had even been given permission to use his shapeshifting abilities, and that alone had made Harry almost drag Nightwing to the training room, affectionately called 'the Danger Room' by the Titans.
Cyborg had run himself ragged designing and creating the Danger Room when the Titans first formed, and the final result showed just how much work he had put into it; when completed, the Danger Room's holographic capabilities were almost amazing beyond words, capable of transforming itself into a myriad of different scenarios designed to challenge the Titans in an interminable number of different situations. So great a technological achievement was the Titan's Danger Room that the Justice League had asked Cyborg to make one for them as well, aboard the Watchtower, which was what his current project was. Though it was originally created as a means of training, Cyborg had realized too late what else the room could be used for, and had on more than occasion caught Beastboy or Harry using it to play realistic Guitar Hero.
Raven had just finished washing her plate, when the air in the center of the living room seemed to distort itself; a moment later four red-heads and one bushy haired girl were deposited onto the floor in a mass pile. The only one who managed to stay on their feet seemed to be the Weasley Matriarch, though even she seemed woozy from the international portkey.
As Molly Weasley tightened her grip on her bag and managed to right herself, her gaze turned toward the Titans who were silently staring at her and her travel companions who were currently trying to extricate themselves from the pile they found themselves in.
Molly had already been told by Hermione and her children that the Titans were what the Muggles call 'superheroes,' and that their appearance might surprise Molly, but she still wasn't prepared for the reality.
One of the Titans, in particular, made Molly's mouth drop open in shock, for he appeared to be an amalgamation of cool blue metal and dark brown skin. Seeing her staring at him, Cyborg smiled and offered a wink, causing Molly to blink and look away in shame for staring. The other Titans were equally as shocking to Molly, and she soon found herself staring against her will at them. Each was just as outlandish as the last, with the only one who looked at least halfway normal being Raven Potter, though even she pushed the boundaries of normality. Despite being close friends with the Potters in the past, the war had prevented Molly from meeting Raven as a child, and so while Molly was glad to meet the girl finally, she couldn't help but be a tad alarmed at the girl's appearance.
The eldest Potter child was barefoot and dressed quite casually, wearing a simple black pair of pajama bottoms and a matching sleeveless top; the thing that caught Molly's attention, however, it was how pale the girl was, to the point where her skin was almost gray.
"Molly!" Andromeda said warmly as she came out from the kitchen, drying her hands on a towel, "Good morning. I'm afraid we've just finished breakfast, but if you or your children are hungry, I'm sure I could whip something up."
Good morning, Andromeda," Molly replied with a smile, "I had no idea you would be joining us for the summer and thank you for the kind offer, but we ate before we left England."
"You're quite welcome," Andromeda replied, "And I was invited to stay here for the summer by my niece, and seeing as how my daughter has chosen one of her cousin's friends as her boyfriend and was already planning to stay with him for the summer before she starts her Auror training. Well, I would be remiss if I just let my daughter come here alone, without adult supervision. I'm sure you understand."
"Completely," Molly said at once with a nod; in the background, Dora groaned and rolled her eyes as Beastboy smirked from behind his coffee cup.
"So, how is Arthur doing?" Andromeda asked as she guided Molly to the table,
"Doing well," Molly replied with a smile as she took a seat and laid her bag on the floor next to her, "Unfortunately, his job wouldn't allow him to take any time off, least of all the whole summer, so he's staying with my son, Percy."
"He didn't want to come?" Beastboy asked,
"Unfortunately not," Molly responded, "He insisted that he had too much studying to do, considering next year is his O.W.L. year."
"Oh, I completely understand," Andromeda replied, "I wish Nymphadora had taken her studies as seriously during her O.W.L. year."
"I told you, DON'T call me that!" Dora complained at once, "And, if you remember, I managed to get seven owls during my exams!"
"But you could have done so much better," Andromeda said soothingly, "And as I've told YOU before, Nymphadora is a wonderful name,"
"Not bloody likely…" Dora muttered.
"And how is Ted doing?" Molly asked, trying to change the conversation, "Is he still practicing law?"
"Oh yes," Andromeda replied with a smile, "Raven made him the premier lawyer for House Potter right after making me its proxy."
"That's wonderful!" Molly replied happily,
"Indeed," Andromeda agreed at once, "Unfortunately, House Potter's last proxy was woefully incompetent, and poor Ted has been inundated with paperwork trying to repair the last few years' worth of damage, as well as see where all of House Potter's money has been going."
"Is it really that bad?" Molly asked in shock, which only grew with Andromeda's sad nod,
"Unfortunately. It's the reason he was unable to join us for the summer, the amount of work simply wouldn't allow him to get away."
As the children finally managed to untangle themselves and began to rise unsteadily to their feet, they slowly took in their surroundings and couldn't help but be impressed by what they were seeing.
"This is where you guys live?" Fred said in shock as he looked out the nearby window, taking in the beautiful ocean and beach that lay before the tower,
"Blimey…" George breathed, following his twin's gaze, "Talk about ideal real estate!"
"So you're the legendary Weasley twins, are you?" Jinx asked with a raised brow. As she approached, the twins both looked at each other nervously before turning their attention back to Jinx, a slow blush spreading up both of their necks.
The pink-haired witch was, like Raven, barefoot and still dressed in her pajamas, which consisted of a pair of checkered black and purple sleeping pants and a sleeveless purple top; finally stopping a few feet from the twins, Jinx crossed her arms over her chest and looked the pair up and down, making them both visibly gulp as her eyes narrowed.
"Harry says you two are creatures of pure chaos," Jinx said finally, "That true?"
"I wouldn't say PURE chaos…" Fred smirked,
"Aye," George added, "More like eighty percent,"
"That sounds a bit low to me, brother of mine," Fred countered.
"You may be right," George said thoughtfully, turning to face his twin, "Perhaps ninety percent sounds better?"
"Much," Fred replied with a nod before the two turned back to Jinx; the pink-haired witch looked at the two for a moment before a smile began to spread across her face as her pink cat-slit eyes twinkled mischievously.
"I think I'm gonna like the two of you," Jinx said with a wink, making the twins blush instantly as the watching Titans laughed at the twin's discomfort.
"Jinx quit teasing them," Cyborg laughed, "Besides, they're both underage!"
"Oh phooey," Jinx mock-pouted before turning on her heel and striding back to the table and sitting back down; the twins, at this point, were both blushing furiously and attempting to come up with something witty to say, only to stutter incoherently, which made the watchers chuckle more.
"Very smooth, you two…" Ginny quipped with a grin as she rose to her feet and dusted herself off, "Real lady killers, you two…"
"Shut it!" Both twins cried in unison, eliciting further laughter from the watchers as Ron continued to gaze in awe at his surroundings; finally, his gaze fell on Cyborg, and Ron's eyebrows shot to his forehead.
"Wicked…" Ron breathed, causing Cyborg to grin before he raised his coffee cup in a toast at Ron, who smiled back shyly; before he could say anything more, however, Hermione had jumped to her feet and practically shoved Ron out of the way as she made a beeline straight for Cyborg.
"You're Cyborg!" Hermione cried excitedly,
"Indeed I am, kid," Cyborg said with a smile, "And you must be Hermione Granger. Harry's told us a lot about you in his letters."
Fighting back the blush that was growing across her cheeks, Hermione quickly steeled her nerves and asked the single question that had been plaguing her since meeting Harry Potter,
"How did you do it?"
"Do it?" Cyborg asked in confusion, "You're going to have to be a bit more specific, Ms. Granger,"
"How did you manage to make magic and electricity interact around each other?" Hermione replied at once, "Everything I've read says that it shouldn't be possible, yet I've had to watch time and again as Harry continuously defies logic and convention! How?!"
As Cyborg looked down at the girl, he had to stifle back a laugh; Hermione was practically bouncing with the need to understand the unknown.
"Oh, that!" Cyborg laughed, "Actually, that was mostly Jinx. I just supplied the materials."
Jinx raised her coffee cup at Cyborg, while Hermione cast a nervous at the so-called 'Queen of Misfortune.'
"She's the one who figured out how to make magic and electricity interact around each other without canceling each other out," Cyborg continued, bringing Hermione's attention back to him.
"But HOW?!" Hermione practically growled and making Cyborg and Jinx grin mischievously; motioning for Jinx to take over, Cyborg walked into the kitchen and poured himself another cup of coffee.
"I simply put conversion runes on a few crystals so that the magic would be converted into electricity. Then I used a bit of charms mixed with a bit of transfiguration to combine the crystal with whatever it's supposed to be powering, thereby not only allowing technology and magic to interact around one another, but also creating limitless energy to power it." Jinx said with a wink,
Hermione gaped, "Of course! It's so simple! How has no one thought of it before?!"
"Because none of them are me," Jinx said with a sneer, "And also, because most of the Magic World is stupid…"
"Jinx…" Raven said with a raised brow, as she saw Molly glaring at the pink-haired witch, "Play nice…"
Rather than reply, Jinx chose instead to stick her tongue out at Raven, who shook her head with a small smirk as Hermione continued to ask Jinx questions,
"But this is a major technological achievement! Why haven't you released your results to the Magical World? This could change the way that wizards and witches interact with muggles!"
"Yes it could," Jinx nodded before a hard look came across her face, "But why would I ever help the people who ruined my life? I'd rather let them stew in their own ignorant problems."
Seeing that Jinx's words were about to cause a massive argument with the Weasley Matriarch, Raven quickly stepped in and redirected the conversation.
"If you'll all follow me, I'll show you where you'll be staying while with us at Titans Tower," Raven said in a polite voice, "And after you're settled, me and my friends will give everyone a tour."
"Where's Harry?" Ron asked as he and the others picked up their bags and followed Raven into the hallway, leaving the remaining Titans to finish breakfast with Andromeda and Dora.
"He's currently training with Nightwing, but shouldn't be too much longer," Raven replied to the confusion of the group.
"Who?" Ron asked at once,
"My apologies," Raven replied, "Robin has decided to change his name and has chosen the new moniker of Nightwing as his replacement."
"But why?" Hermione asked in surprise; she knew that there were three other 'Robin's,' (well, two now since Joker had killed the last one several years ago), and while she could admit that it probably got confusing at times, she still couldn't understand why the Robin she knew would want to throw away his name.
"That's his story to tell," Raven replied, "Not mine."
"Can we watch Harry train?" Ron asked excitedly; he knew that Harry was a superhero, but aside from showing off his tentacles and flying a few times, his friend had never really told Ron or Hermione what he could do, and Ron desperately wanted to find out.
After a few moments of silent thought, Raven finally nodded her head and beckoned the group to follow her as she took a different hallway than the one they had been going down,
"I don't see why not," Raven replied with a smirk, "Follow me."
A wave of excitement seemed to pass through the group at Raven's words, and they eagerly followed behind the girl; Molly followed as well, though with a confused expression on her face as she wondered what type of training young Harry could be doing during the summer and what kind it could be that could make her kids so excited to see it.
XXXX
Harry smirked as one of his tentacles wrapped around Harley Quinn's neck before throwing her into the charging form of the Joker; as the two collided and crashed to the ground, they both seemed to shatter into a million pieces of light before disappearing a second later. Not far away, Nightwing was watching with crossed arms, and Harry had to admit that his new uniform looked pretty cool; the blue and black seemed to go together really well, though Harry would never admit it. Out of all the Titans that had participated in 'helping' Harry, it was Nightwing that Harry had been quickest to forgive, if only for the fact that the hero had done what Harry had desperately wanted to do, which was slug Batman for causing Harry pain in the first place.
"That makes it 10-0 in my favor. I guess your baddies ain't as difficult to beat as you think. What else you got?" Harry asked with a smirk as he lazily dusted off the shoulders of his uniform, and making Nightwing raise an eyebrow,
"Oh, you wanna play?" Nightwing asked as a smirk of his own appeared, "Ok then, let's play."
Before Harry could ask what Nightwing meant, the hero suddenly called out,
"Begin training scenario codenamed: Clausewitz."
"Clausewitz?" Harry said in confusion; he had never heard of this training program before, which was strange because he thought he knew them all, "Like the general?"
Before Nightwing could answer, the room began to change and shift around Harry, momentarily causing the boy to stumble as he tried to regain his footing; when the room finally resettled, Harry found himself standing in what appeared to be a destroyed city. As he looked back to where Nightwing had been standing, Harry saw, to his annoyance, that the hero had disappeared, leaving Harry quite alone. Spinning around to make sure that he was indeed alone, Harry couldn't help but notice how quiet it was around him, eerily so, in fact.
"You would figure with destruction on this scale, there would be some kind of noise," Harry thought as he looked at the devastation before him; as far as he could see, it was nothing but destruction, with a few of the buildings still on fire, causing smoke to billow toward the sky like waves from the ocean.
Before he could think on the silence any longer, Harry was suddenly launched forward as something hit him hard in the back and sent him crashing to the ground. Quickly jumping to his feet, Harry felt the blood run from his face (though no one could see it, thanks to his hood) as he saw who had attacked him.
"Never lower your defenses whilst in enemy territory," Slade said simply as he crossed his arms over his chest, "First lesson of combat."
"Oh crap…" Harry replied, unable to stop himself as he looked at the Titan's greatest adversary; the real Slade had decided that the Titans were no longer worthy of his time, it seemed, as he hadn't been seen in Jump City in some time, but Harry knew that Nightwing truly meant to test him if Slade was to be his opponent.
"Ready for your next lesson, Arcane?" Slade asked before charging forward. Knowing that his only chance of winning was to end the fight quickly, Harry immediately wrapped his tentacles around him and transformed into the first thing that popped into his head, that being the Incredible Hulk. Unfortunately, while Harry may have looked like the green monster, he lacked the Hulk's strength, and as Harry raised his fists into the air and slammed them into the ground, hoping to squash his charging opponent, Slade easily jumped aside before delivering a powerful uppercut to Harry's chin which knocked the boy onto his back, and ended the transformation.
"Second rule," Slade drawled, "Bigger doesn't always mean better."
As Harry quickly rose to his feet, he suddenly received a solid punch to the jaw from his left, sending him slamming back to the ground and sliding several feet away as Slade spoke again,
"Third rule, and perhaps most important, never assume that your opponent is alone."
Shaking his head to end the dizziness that assaulted him, Harry rose to his feet and quickly took a look around to see who had attacked him, only for his eyes to widen in alarm at what he was seeing.
Slade was standing on the opposite side of Harry, staring at the boy with his arms crossed over his chest; that wasn't what made Harry suddenly nervous about his chances of winning this fight. No, what made Harry nervous was the fact that standing behind Slade were three other villains, each wearing a smile of anticipation at the coming battle; as Harry gazed at the faces of Copperhead, Solomon Grundy, and Giganta, he knew that he was in a lot of trouble and wished he had kept his mouth shut instead of taunting Nightwing.
As Slade pulled a sword from the sheath on his back, Harry couldn't help but gulp nervously,
"Ready for your last lesson, Arcane?" Slade drawled as the villains behind him readied themselves to attack.
"Bring it, you one-eyed prick," Harry spat back as his tentacles emerged from his back and began transforming themselves into different weapons.
Narrowing his eye in anger, Slade issued a roar of challenge before charging toward Harry; behind Slade, the other villains followed suit, each determined to kill Arcane first.
XXXX
As the group approached a pair of doors, Raven directed them to follow her through the ones on the left,
"This door leads to the Danger Room," Raven said, indicating the door on the right, "It's a holographic room where the Titans do most of our training, though it can be used for far more than that."
"Like what?" Hermione asked excitedly,
"Pretty much any scenario or interaction you can think of," Raven replied, "Within reason, of course. Cyborg had to add some security protocols after we caught Jinx using it for…. dates."
Not many seemed to understand what Raven was implying, but Hermione seemed to as she blushed scarlet while Raven shuddered at the memory of walking in on Jinx and Jason Momoa making out.
"Anyway, the other room leads to the observation room, where we'll be able to watch Harry finish up his training," Raven said as the door slid open and she stepped inside; the interior was dark and cool, with a few chairs being the only furniture in it. Along the far wall, a huge window stretched from one end of the room to the other, beyond which the group could see a city on fire.
"Blimey…" Ron breathed in horror as he looked at the city, "What did that?"
Before Raven could answer, an explosion echoed from the other side of the glass, making the group (minus Raven) jump.
"You need have no fear," Raven said at once, lifting her hands in a placating manner, "The glass is made of the strongest substance on earth. Nothing can break it, so you're all safe in here."
That seemed to alleviate the fears of most, though Molly still seemed wary; Hermione was the first to approach the glass after Raven's announcement and her eyes widened at what she was seeing. As the rest of the group followed Hermione's example, they each gained the same expression, and Ron's jaw actually dropped.
A figure dressed in dark blue robes was currently fighting off four opponents simultaneously and seemed to be barely managing to win; as a man dressed like a snake lunged from a pile of rubble, aiming to land on the figure's unprotected back, the group watched in shock as a black tentacle shot out of the figure's shoulder blade and transformed into a boxing glove before delivering a devastating punch to the snake-man's face which sent the man crashing back into the rubble. A moment later, the snake-man seemed to shatter into pieces, which instantly turned into light and disappeared.
"That's Arcane!" Hermione cried excitedly, and making the other's turn to her,
"Arcane?" Ron replied, "Isn't that what you called Harry the first time you met him?"
Suddenly, Ron's eyes seemed to light up in understanding as he turned back to watch the fight that was going on,
"Wait! You mean THAT'S Harry?!"
Smiling too widely to answer, Hermione simply nodded her head so fast that it looked like her head might fly off as the Weasleys watched the battle with greater reverence.
"Blimey…" Ron whispered as he watched his best friend deliver a quick three-punch combo to the face of what looked terrifyingly like a zombie, only for the zombie to growl angrily and backhand Harry away.
"THAT'S Harry Potter?" Molly cried in shock and horror; turning to Raven, Molly asked in a horrified voice, "How can you let him fight those monsters alone?! He's just a boy!"
"Incorrect, ma'am," Raven replied, "Harry is a hero, and this is the job."
"But he could be killed!" Molly retorted
"Unlikely," Raven shrugged, "The Danger Room has several security protocols in place to minimize physical damage and prevent loss of life. The most that Harry will get is a little beaten up, but the infirmary will have him up again in a matter of hours, depending on the injury."
"Beaten up?" Molly breathed in horror, "And you're okay with this? With watching your brother get 'beaten up' as you put it?!"
"As I said, this is the job," Raven replied, "And it is why we use the Danger Room to train. We fight in there and learn how to be better heroes so that when it comes time to fight in actual combat, we have learned from the mistakes made in training and don't repeat them."
"But how can you be okay with him in combat at all!" Molly cried, unable to understand how Raven could possibly be okay with this, "Children have no place on a battlefield."
For several moments, Raven didn't answer, simply stared at the fight going occurring on the other side of the glass; Harry was currently engaged in combat with Cheetah, and as he delivered a bicycle kick to the villains chest, Raven finally sighed and turned to look at Molly.
"I can assure you, Mrs. Weasley, if I had my way, Harry would never get hurt. I would give up my life and everything I own just to make him smile, that's how much my brother means to me. But from the moment he returned to my life, all he wanted to do was be a hero like me. I could no more stop him from doing this than I could stop him from breathing. Being a hero isn't just a job to Harry. It's who he is."
Before anything else could be said, the group was distracted by the sight of Harry being grabbed by a giant woman that made everyone's (once again, minus Raven) eyes widen in alarm; as the group watched, the woman closed her fist around Harry's body as he struggled to free himself, and brought her other fist back as though to punch the boy clutched in her grasp.
"Whoa, that's one BIG woman!" Fred said in shock,
"You can say that again!" George added.
"That's Giganta," Hermione said at once, "She's a super-villain with the ability to alter her size at will,"
"Wicked…" Ginny breathed; Molly, on the other hand, looked like she was about to have a heart-attack. Were there really muggles with powers such as these in the world? If so, the Magical World was doomed should it ever be discovered.
Before Giganta would deliver the punch that would undoubtedly send Harry into the infirmary, a black tentacle shot out of the top of the boy's head, transformed into a spear, and imbedded itself directly into Giganta's hand.
"Ouch!" Giganta cried before opening her hand and allowing Harry to escape; not wasting a second, Harry flew straight at Giganta's head and put as much strength as he could into his attack as he delivered a brutal uppercut to the woman's jaw and rocking her head back.
As the villain began to fall, her body seemed to crack, and as she hit the ground, she shattered just like the snake-man had a moment ago. Turning toward Raven, Hermione couldn't help but ask,
"The holograms feel pain?"
"Not really," Raven shrugged, "When Cyborg created the Danger Room, he uploaded the files of every villain that the Justice Leage, and the Titans have ever faced so he could begin creating the training scenarios. Those files contained a LOT of information on the villains, and Cyborg's system just made realistic versions based on the files."
"That's incredible!" Hermione, "So they think, act, and even fight like their real counterparts?"
"Exactly," Raven nodded before turning back to the fight.
XXXX
As Harry watched Giganta disappear, he made a silent promise never to antagonize Nightwing ever again; Harry was beginning to understand why the training program was named after the general who came up with the idea, 'Total War.'
No matter how many supervillains Harry defeated, another seemed to take their place almost immediately, and loathe though he was to admit it, Harry was beginning to feel his reserves growing empty. He'd already defeated Copperhead, Giganta, Grodd, Toyman, Two-Face, Solomon Grundy, and Black Spider, but no matter how many villains he put down, another seemed to take it's place almost instantly.
"What's the matter, Arcane?" Slade drawled as he stepped out of the shadow of a nearby overturned bus, "You're not as fast as you were a moment ago…."
"Poor little nino," Bane added as he suddenly appeared in a flash of light, cracking his knuckles in anticipation of the upcoming fight."
As Harry glared hatefully at Slade, he saw three other bright lights flash next to Bane; a moment later, Harry felt himself groan as he saw Poison Ivy, KGBeast, and Mad Mod appear, each leering at Harry like he was a piece of meat.
XXXX
As she watched her little brother defeat Giganta, Raven felt a swell of pride; that pride was soon replaced with worry when she saw Slade step out of the shadows.
"T-that's Slade!" Hermione said in a nervous voice, "Can Harry handle him all alone?"
"Who's Slade?" Ron asked, noticing the way Hermione and Raven were nervously glancing at one another, "And why are you two so worried? Harry's amazing!"
"Slade is the Titan's greatest enemy," Raven said softly as she watched Harry wrap one of his tentacles around Mad Mod's leg and lift the villain into the air before slamming him to the ground and causing him to explode in a shower of light.
"He's more than that," Hermione added in a nervous voice, "Slade is one of the most dangerous men on earth. He's been personally responsible for more atrocities than one can count, and his body count is rumored to be in the triple digits."
The Weasleys all seemed to pale as one, Molly worst of all; Ron looked as though he wanted to charge into the room and defend his friend and was only stopped when Raven spoke again.
"Don't worry, Harry will be fine…" Raven said in a soft voice, though whether she was trying to convince the Weasleys or herself was anyone's guess, "It's not really Slade; it's just a copy. And even if Harry does get into trouble, the safety protocols will engage."
"I hope you're right," Hermione mumbled as the group turned their attention back to the fight.
XXXX
Harry growled with annoyance as he ducked under KGBeast's haymaker, leaving himself open for a counter-attack; not wasting a moment, Harry jumped into the air and delivered a devastating knee to the villain's chin, sending him onto his back. An instant later, KGBeast gasped in pain as Harry landed on top of him, driving his foot deep into the villain's stomach and making him shatter and disappear. Before he could enjoy his latest victory, however, Harry heard a shout of anger and turned on his heel to see Bane barreling toward him.
"Get over here!" Harry snarled, sending one of his tentacles shooting out of his open palm and toward Bane; as it neared the villain, the tentacle transformed into a barbed spear and embedded itself in Bane's left shoulder and exiting out the back, causing Bane to cry out in pain as the tentacle snapped taut like a rope.
Growling in pain, Bane grabbed the tentacle with his right hand and tried to pull the spear out of him, only for Harry to pull his arm back while shouting,
"Come here!"
Against his will, Bane found himself being dragged toward Harry and only had time to open his eyes in alarm before the boy delivered a powerful punch to the villain's face; unfortunately, Harry was so focused on Bane that he failed to realize Poison Ivy had snuck up behind him with a steel pipe. As the plant-themed villainess swung the pipe at Harry's head, she smiled in satisfaction, only for her expression to morph into one of shock when a second tentacle emerged from Harry's back and took on the shape of a shield and effectively blocked the attack.
"What the…" Was all Poison Ivy had time to say before Harry's head whipped around, and he took notice of her; an instant later, Ivy was being sent sailing in the opposite direction as the tentacle changed from a shield into a giant hand and bitch slapped the woman away.
As both Bane and Poison Ivy shattered and faded away, Harry saw to his relief that no other supervillains were appearing; all that remained was Slade, and if Harry beat him, the simulation would end. Just one more to go, and Harry would win.
Turning to face his final opponent, Harry tried not to show how utterly exhausted he was; he could feel his legs shaking, and Harry had to shake his head as his vision blurred for a moment.
Raising his fists defensively, Harry stared at Slade nervously; the man was leaning against the far wall of what looked like a destroyed drug store with his arms crossed over his chest. When the battle had first begun, Harry had tried to take out Slade first, knowing that he would be the toughest opponent; to Harry's frustration, it seemed that Slade had known exactly what Harry was trying to do and had disappeared soon after appearing only occasionally to taunt Harry or offer advice on how Harry could better defeat his current opponent.
"Ready to finish this?" Harry growled, making Slade tilt his head curiously,
"You can't honestly believe that you'll win," Slade mocked, "You can barely stand, boy."
"Don't call me that!" Harry snarled as memories of his life before Raven momentarily came back to him; abandoning all reason and just wanting the fight to end already, Harry charged forward, willing his tentacles to transform into blades.
XXXX
"Don't call me that!" Harry snarled before charging forward, his tentacles transforming into six sharp swords,
"He's trying to make you angry, Harry," Raven whispered as she watched Slade draw his own sword and charge at Harry, "Don't fall for it…"
"Blimey," Ginny said in awe as she and the rest of the group watched Harry and Slade's duel, "He's amazing!"
And it was true, Harry was doing far better than Raven had anticipated, and for a moment, she dared believe that her little brother might actually stand a chance, as impossible as that seemed to her.
It was almost as though the group was watching a dance, albeit a very dangerous dance; Harry and Slade mixed martial arts with swordplay, and more than once Raven thought Harry had won, only to groan as Slade batted away Harry's blade, or blocked a chop or kick.
"Come on, Harry," Raven said softly, "Find his weakness,"
"Harry will do it; I know it!" Ron cried excitedly, "He doesn't know how to fail."
XXXX
"I am SO going to die!" Harry thought morbidly as he ducked under a slash that would have undoubtedly decapitated the boy, only to receive a solid kick to the chest a moment later, sending him rolling backward across the ground, end-over-end.
Rising to his knees, Harry gasped for air as Slade lazily approached him,
"I must say, I'm disappointed, Arcane," Slade sneered, "I expected so much more from one raised by the Titans. Perhaps I shouldn't have…"
Glaring with all the hatred he could muster, Harry tried to rise to his feet, only to collapse to his knees in exhaustion; he simply had nothing left, and that fact alone made Harry seethe with anger.
"Go to hell," Harry replied in one last act of defiance, making Slade chuckle slightly as he rested his sword on Harry's shoulder, the blade less than an inch from the boy's neck.
"You first," Slade sneered as he pulled the blade back and prepared to swing it at the defenseless boy.
Before he could, however, Slade suddenly froze in place with his sword in mid-arch, making Harry look at the villain with confusion,
"What the heck?"
A moment later, Slade shattered into a million pieces and Harry felt the familiar sensation of the Danger Room shifting as the simulation ended; when the shifting finally ended, Harry was left on his knees as Nightwing suddenly approached, clapping his hands.
"Congratulations, Harry, you're dead," Nightwing mocked,
"I really hate you sometimes," Harry growled as he unsuccessfully tried once again to rise to his feet.
"No, you don't," Nightwing smirked before bending down and helping Harry to his feet. Throwing one of the boy's arms around his shoulder, Nightwing smiled at the exhausted boy as the two walked toward the exit.
"Seriously though, well done, Harry," Nightwing said with pride, "Defeating that many super-villains one after another and STILL being able to challenge Slade afterward is no small feat."
Even annoyed as he was at having been beaten, Harry couldn't help but feel warm at Nightwing's words and was grateful that his face was hidden inside his hood,
"Thanks, Dick," Harry whispered.
A moment later, Harry was suddenly pulled from Nightwing's arms by someone who delivered a bone-crushing hug and making Harry gasp with pain.
"You bloody idiot!" Hermione cried, "What were you thinking challenging Slade in your weakened state!"
"Good to see you too, Hermione," Harry laughed as he pulled away from his friend and turned to face the rest of the Weasleys, "Guess you all saw my fight, huh?"
"Harry, that was amazing!" Ron said in awe, "I can't believe what I just saw!"
"Bloody brilliant, that was!" Fred said, George nodding quickly in agreement.
"I don't think it would be wise for me to watch any more of your so-called training," Molly said in a weak voice, "I don't know if my poor heart can stand it."
Molly's words made the others chuckle as Harry turned his attention to his elder sister, who was watching with an unreadable expression,
"You did well," Raven said simply, and making Harry smile under his hood,
"Thank you," Harry replied softly as he dipped his head.
"While Nightwing takes Harry to the infirmary, why don't I show you to your rooms so you can unpack and get settled," Raven said softly, "Later, I'll give everyone a tour of the Tower."
"Sounds good," Molly replied at once, "I think I need a bit of a lay down after that."
As Raven led the group away, Nightwing began carrying Harry in the opposite direction, towards the infirmary,
"You know your Aunt Andromeda is gonna kill you when she sees how battered you are, right?" Nightwing mocked,
"And who's fault is that?" Harry replied sarcastically, "Face it, dude. We're both dead men when Aunt Andromeda gets a hold of us…"
Unable to deny Harry's words, Nightwing swallowed nervously as they approached the infirmary door,
"Let's get this over with, then."
XXXX
Far away on an island that seemed to sit in the middle of a hurricane perpetually, Severus Snape was sitting in his cell in Azkaban Prison; gone were his sleek black robes that seemed to give him an air of intimidation and authority. Now, the former potions professor was dressed in a dirty set of prison robes and was desperately hugging a ratty blanket around himself as he tried to get warm.
His trial (if one could even call it that) had lasted no more than an hour, and with the insurmountable amount of evidence that had been brought against him, Snape's conviction was an all-but-forgone conclusion. To Snape's horror, Dumbledore had recused himself from the trial, citing that he could not possibly remain impartial, and it was then that Snape realized just how screwed he was.
Almost unanimously, Snape had been sentenced to life in Azkaban with no possibility for parole by the Wizengamot, and Snape felt himself burn with humiliation and rage at having been brought so low by the spawn of James Potter.
"Well, at least it can't get any worse…" Snape thought with a sneer; as though the gods themselves had heard Snape's thought and wished to show him how wrong he was, a voice suddenly sang out from the cell across from Snape's,
"Ooooooh Snivellus…"
"No…" Snape whispered in horror as his head shot up and his eyes bulged, "Not him…"
"What's the matter, Snivellus?" The voice called out happily, "Don't you want to reminisce with an old friend?"
"NOOOOOO!" Snape screamed in rage, his voice being cut off a moment later by insane laughter from the cell across from his.
XXXX
Author's Note:
Okay, so we have some things to review in this chapter, so let's get to it!
1.) Q: It seems like you're making Harry OP, and that's kinda putting me off the story
A: You're right, I am! I plan on making Harry the most powerful THING in the entire universe by the time this story is over, BUT, I believe that strength and power should be earned, not just given on a silver platter, so I plan to make Harry work for that title.
2.) Q: There are too many scenes with song lyrics in them, and I don't like it.
A: The way I've written Harry, music is a big part of who he is; he was abused nearly his whole life, and even though he's spent the last four years with Raven, trauma like that doesn't just go away; it needs an outlet. Raven saw this almost immediately, and it's why she tried to help him through music. There are going to be more lyrics in the coming chapters, so if that puts you off, I'm sorry, but it is what it is.
3.) Q: Will the Young Justice team be making an appearance or not? I'm tired of your teasing!
A: I haven't been teasing you. I have stated on multiple occasions that if the readers want them to, then I'll try and figure out a way, but I originally wrote this as a Teen Titans story, not a Young Justice story.
4.) Q: Are Harry's tentacles sentient?
A: To a degree. I had originally planned for the tentacles to actually be the physical manifestation of a demon separate from Trigon that had attached itself to Harry when he was younger, but that idea didn't pan out the way I wanted. So, think of Harry's tentacles like guard dogs; yes, they have sentience, but only to keep him safe. They can't make their own decisions.
I want to give a personal shout-out to AAAirsoft Media, who has been reviewing my story on his YouTube page; if you haven't had a chance to check them out, I highly recommend doing so, as they are hilarious! I love the dude's energy! Bear in mind, however, that his second review of the story was made before I changed the ending of one of the chapters, so it might get a bit confusing when he talks about Harry's tentacles being a demon.
Until next time, I hope you enjoy this chapter and as always, review so I know what to change and what to keep!