We both looked at each other and instantly knew what to do. There was no time to hesitate. At such a moment, telepathy was a useful tool, as I could immediately reach the members of the Titans from our position and tell them what was happening.
"Trigon made a move on Superman. Gather at the edge of the forest in the north." I told them before Raven and I jumped out of our cart. There were some shocked shouts coming from below, but their shouts quickly turned into exclamations of surprise when we flew away instead of falling to our deaths, as one would usually expect to happen.
After flying out of the carnival, we swiftly landed at the edge of the forest. There were no people coming this way, despite the commotion we created. It seemed like the populace of this city knew not to chase after super-powered beings. We stood there waiting for the Titans to arrive, though we didn't have to wait for long until the Titans assembled.
"Don't resist," I said to them before I stretched out my hand with my palm facing up as I created several ki spheres that were more akin to sparks than spheres. They were all tailored for each individual, so they differed in brightness and size. It was the limit each of them could take, as any more than this would probably kill them. I willed the ki sparks to approach the Titans and enter their chest. Their eyes widened as they felt the energy being injected into their being.
Usually, I would need to touch them to heal a wound, but I only wanted to cure them of their muscle fatigue. It wasn't anything serious that would take me a lot of effort besides the intent to energize them for the upcoming battle. This level of energy sharing was actually pretty easy to use as the ki factor was me relishing my energy to them.
Without my ki resisting it, they could absorb it just fine. At least, in theory, I hadn't tested it on anyone besides Kara and Raven, and I had trained them to handle it to some degree. Just as I theorized, their slightly exhausted body propped up and their eyes were practically shining with a thirst for action.
Though Starfire's eyes did actually dimly glow green as it seemed like she was almost overflowing with energy. Any more would probably have resulted in her needing to vent by sending several blasts.
"You ready?" I asked the Titans, but more specifically Raven-2. They nodded and I could practically see the fire in Raven-2's eyes burn. It had only taken Raven one day to talk with Raven-2 and convince to be ready for this, though I wasn't sure if she had already decided to end Trigon permanently.
Both Ravens knew Trigon wasn't capable of love or affection. Perhaps only in a twisted way, but that wasn't something neither Raven could allow. She hoped her father could change, but there was only one thing Trigon sought and that was destruction. With Raven retelling her experience and her decision to end him in his realm, Raven-2 seemed to have made up her mind. Though whether she pulled through, if the situation called for, had yet to be seen.
After their determination grew, we were enveloped by Raven's portal and appeared in the middle east. We stood on a platform that Raven created and looked down at the rather giant mystical shrine that seemed to have been unearthed by Superman.
Though at this point I was rather confused about what Trigon was planning as there was no way for him to enter the universe without Raven's power helping her. Certainly, he didn't think we would aid him, right? Was he relying on just Superman to threaten us?
I looked at the giant platform with a staircase leading to the middle of the circular frame of some green metal that was as tall as a small mountain. The runes that were inscribed into the metal and how the frame was erected made it look like a giant portal.
There was another circular frame with a diameter of maybe 4 meters at the end of the staircase. This frame wasn't entirely closed and had an opening at the top. From what I remembered, the two framed acted as a conduit for Raven's power to summon Trigon into this world.
We landed at the bottom of the stairs before a possessed Superman appeared hovering above us. He floated towards us until he arrived in front of us. "Your father will be released or this world will be destroyed." The demon spoke as he eyes us after speaking out the not-so-subtle threat. To be honest, I was getting slightly bored. Was a possessed Superman supposed to be threatening?
Though I thought this way and from the looks of it, the line of thinking was shared by my Raven. The same couldn't be said about the Titans of this world, though. They looked tense and battle ready as they eyed the possessed man of steel with wariness. To be fair, I would probably also be intimidated if the height of power was threatening to unalive me. However, since he wasn't the height of power, it just seemed ridiculous to me. Like a dog barking at a tree.
"Leave this planet and leave its people alone. This won't end well for you Trigon." Raven-2 ignored the demon, much to its displeasure, and spoke to Trigon himself, who could apparently manifest itself into this world as a shade or something similar as his eyes appeared glowering at us from the sky.
"We are meant to be. You can't forfeit destiny!" He shouted before a sudden attraction took hold of Raven-2, pulling her to the portal unwillingly, though I easily stopped her ascent by grabbing her by the wrist.
Possessed Superman didn't seem to like my interference and was about to sock me when a black-purple spear extended out of Raven's hand that was enveloped by her claw. The magical spear stabbed into Superman's abdomen. The possession was visibly extracted from Superman's body entering the spear as it absorbed the demon's power, leaving a groaning Superman on the floor.
I hadn't bothered with Superman as I knew Raven would have my back and instead just pointed my hand at the giant frame of the possible portal before firing several ki blasts at it. Upon impact, the metal frame shattered into a thousand pieces, causing the entire structure to collapse into itself, as the broken magic inside couldn't hold its impossible frame any longer.
I watched the portal crumble and the pull on Raven-2 cease, while Trigon growled. "You insolent mortal." I ignored him and paid attention to 'my' team. With a look at the Titans, who were partially possessed by the remaining 'hidden' demons Trigon had placed on earth, I noticed Raven was already absorbing their essence, eradicating them completely and repurposing their essence through her claw.
They slummed to the ground before I walked to each of them and healed them of their mild injuries. Raven had been careful when she had impaled them, but it was better to have them at full strength. Superman was a bit disorientated when I healed him, but I quickly filled him in.
"So, what now?" Beast Boy asked as he rubbed his chest, where he was impaled just a moment ago. He did give my Raven an indignant look for stabbing him, but she saved him by doing so. He couldn't really complain.
"I thought we had more time, but if he was already able to possess Superman, it won't take long until he can possess more and more. It will be increasingly difficult to hold him back then." Raven pondered, and I concurred. It would be troublesome to deal with each minion all over the entire planet, only to prevent his return.
Raven-2 nodded at her words. "Indeed, it seems like he can only manifest himself as a spirit for now and aid demons to come here. If I had the crystal, I will be able to imprison him easily once more." She mused and the plan would probably work, especially with our help, but there was just one problem.
"This will only delay his arrival. We might have to end him." I said, which caused Raven-2's attention to snap to me. "I know, you must have your apprehension, but it is best to be clear of the outcome if we confront and try to imprison him now. Not to mention... he had escaped once, he can do it again." My words made her frown, but there was no way around it.
"I understand. When the time comes... I will need your help." Raven-2 agreed before looking at Raven. They stared at each other as if they were conversing telepathically. I knew they didn't, and they still seemed to have come to a conclusion.
"Alright, we will need to enter Hell," Raven-2 said before looking at us and then at the Titans, who were visibly nervous at her words, but didn't back down from the upcoming entrance into another realm. They solemnly nodded as they hyped themselves up.
"Let's kick some demonic butt!" "Hell, yeah... sorry. Had to say it." The two boys of the group exclaimed.
"I will come with you." Superman, after having listened in on the exchange. I shrugged, and the Titans seemed to be relieved to have someone like Superman come with us. He could have called upon the Justice League, but time was of the essence since we didn't know how much influence Trigon had already gained.
Besides, it was best to have earth's mightiest defenders actually defend earth in case of a demonic invasion. After everyone understood the severity, Raven-2 created a portal into Hell. Even Raven couldn't do this as she wouldn't be able to find the correct realm and position in it and even though they said it was Hell, I was pretty sure it was just another realm of Trigon.
I couldn't imagine that Raven-2 had previously trapped Trigon safely in Hell, the domain of Lucifer and the other demon lords that must roam the realm. Either way, I was sure it wouldn't be idyllic.
When we entered a smoldering wasteland out of hell stone and flesh, I couldn't help but roll my eyes at the cliche surroundings. I felt similar to what I had experienced recently. I guessed that this was just another realm of Trigon. I ignored the little quips the Titans exchanged to ease the mood.
"What do you think?" I asked Raven as we followed the path of flesh and stone.
"Feels like Trigon's realm, though obviously different." She turned towards Raven-2. "You mentioned to me you had imprisoned him here. Did you take over this realm as well?" Raven asked, which caused Raven-2 to give her a weird look.
"What do you mean? Take over Hell or just the portion that Trigon had carved out of it? This realm is too large, incredibly so, and I don't have the knowledge to take over any realm. Even if I did, there are a lot of demon lords that would pay attention to something like that." Huh. Were we in actual Hell? She had answered with a frown before returning her attention to a giant construct in the far distance. It seemed to be made of a similar material that the portal was made of.
I looked at Raven, who only shrugged. "Either way, it is best to become the owner of this realm. If Trigon used the energy this realm produced to escape again, I am going to be livid. As long as he is still conscious, he would still be a threat. I will take care of any other demon trying to mess with us." I told Raven telepathically as I glanced into the distance and quickly noticed something.
"Enemy inbound," I warned the others as an army of flying demon creatures appeared. As soon as the demons were close enough, the Titans and Superman engaged them. Although it had been a short period with me training the Titans, it seemed to be enough to not be overwhelmed by the number of demons that could blot out the sun if a sun existed in this realm. Of course, Superman was a significant support, especially if he came in clutch with his heat vision.
I was slapping any demon that dared to approach me into a bloody paste on the ground while continuing my stroll through the realm. Raven absorbed the killed demons, whose energy would have returned to the realm.
"You want to take over this realm?" I asked as I looked at the sky, still full of demons before I picked up some hell stones telekinetically and shot them with supreme accuracy, killing them instantly with a headshot, only to have them absorbed by Raven in the next second.
"Better than letting Trigon have it," Raven answered easily before I could see her dark power seep into the ground, turning it dark with a tinge of purple and red. The Titans were startled, and Superman frowned slightly before looking at us. Though they quickly continued to battle as the demons wouldn't rest even if they were slaughtered in mass.
I eased their pressure a bit when I fired some ki blast that completely obliterated a bunch of them in one fell swoop. After getting my support, their resistance grew tremendously, and they were able to eliminate more and more demons as the numbers dwindled.
Raven was diligent in absorbing the demon's power and the realm's energy. "What are you doing?" Beast Boy managed to say during his kills with finally enough time to spare.
"Making sure that Trigon won't have a way out. I am stealing his realm." Raven answered before continuing to absorb the remains of fallen demons. Raven-2 only glanced at her, surprised, but continued to focus on killing her way toward the place where she had placed Trigon's crystal.
After deciding I had enough of the light warm-up, I stretched out my hand and fired ki blast into the air like a Gatling gun before every blast headed for a demon cluster. Each blast exploded into a fiery, deadly ball of flame and obliterated each group it landed in. They were turning the dense net of demons into a few individual demons that escaped the range of explosions.
Needless to say, I crushed the remaining demons into a paste with my telekinesis. There was just no way these weak demons could even remotely resist my current might, and with each demon, I realized that the inhabitants of this universe were truly weak. After a moment we arrived in front of the green metal construct that was holding Trigon imprisoned while also preventing anything from getting inside.
I wasn't sure how Raven-2 found such an enormous construct, but it was indeed an impressive sight... Or did she create it herself? That would be even more impressive, but I guessed if she could build something like this, she wouldn't have such a problem dealing with Trigon.
Raven-2 released her magic and injected it into the construct. Several black lines with a purple outline slowly seeped into the construct and drew lines across the entire surface of the green metal. The lines caused by Raven-2's power formed a neat pattern across the surface before the top of the construct was separated into several pieces.
It looked like it was a three-dimensional puzzle that was being separated and now floated into the air around the thing it was holding inside. Though it revealed a strange organism out of flesh with several long spikes coming out of the top that was now wriggling slightly out of the construct like it was finally being freed after having been confined in the small space for years. In the middle of the organism was a dome out of what looked like bone teeth.
I flew into the air with Raven, Raven-2, the rest of the Titans, and Superman while the weird organism opened its mouth-like contraption, revealing a floating platform smoldering above chaotically dancing fire. In the middle of the platform was a gem.
A meter-sized gem not unlike the chakra crystal that used to be on the forehead of my Raven. After she had made up with her demon side, she hadn't any use of it, though she had kept it like some sort of accessory. Of course, I knew she wore it more for sentimental purposes and as a trump card, but I found it funny that she would keep it as a fashion choice.
I also knew that she didn't keep it to trap her demon side again, as it would only be detrimental to her. A resentment stemming from misunderstanding could be resolved, but betrayal? That shit ran deep, even if she betrayed herself. A glance at her made me realize that her red skin had gained a bit of its red vibrance again, though it was hardly comparable to when she had taken over our Trigon's realm.
My attention was back on the floating crystal as we landed on the rim of this demonic, mouth-like skyscraper-sized fleshlight. Raven-2 took several steps toward the crystal before a pathway of flesh was created, connecting the rim to the floating platform holding the crystal. The Titans were looking around vigilantly as Raven-2 stepped toward the crystal.
She was about to touch it when I heard something whooshing through the air, a sword or an axe from the sound of it. The Titans were a step too late. Only Superman had appeared before it just when it was about to destroy the crystal which was used to hold Trigon. Of course, even though Superman was prepared, I had already stopped it. The sword was suspended in the air with my telekinesis before I lowered it slowly.
The man in the shadows I had sensed finally revealed himself. An old man with red eyes. Honestly, I did not know who he was, but it seemed like he was used by Trigon to come and destroy the crystal. Couldn't Trigon destroy the crystal on his own or was that some magical bullshit of constriction?
After I raised my hand and burned a hole into the man's head, Raven came in and absorbed the demonic energy before the man could even say anything. I couldn't care about what he had to say, either. I turned my head to the shocked Superman as he looked at the spot where the man had faded with a complicated expression on his face. Did he know him?
I turned to the surprised Raven-2 and made a gesture towards the crystal, saying go ahead before turning to the others.
"Secure the vicinity and make sure no accidents happen now." They didn't hesitate for a moment and directly spread out around the rim of this mouth, the Titans securing three out of four cardinal directions, while Superman floated towards the last direction someone could come from.
I was floating right behind the two Ravens with my senses already spread out, so I wasn't expecting any surprises, but it was best to position myself that would allow me to react to an ambush out of every direction in the shortest time. I could feel that there were still some demonic creatures left in this realm, but they wouldn't even pose a threat to the Titans.
Raven-2 held the crystal with both her hands before releasing it again, letting it hover in front of her face as she started chanting something I couldn't understand.
The crystal was enveloped with her black-purple energy as she finished her chant. "Grant me the strength of mighty Azarath to contain the demon Trigon within this sacred crystal, now and forever." A mighty magical beam enveloped us before shooting into the sky of this Hell. It penetrated the dark red stormy clouds in the sky.
It didn't even take a second before something was pulled out of the sky and towards the giant crystal, sucking in what looked like the remnant of Trigon that had escaped this prison. The little conscious manifestation/spirit that was able to escape his prison and use his meager power to release some of his minions to do his bidding was now back inside his prison. He screamed as he was sucked back inside the crystal again.
It must be frustrating for Trigon to be back in there. I told the others to stay away for now as Raven approached Raven-2 and said something through telepathy. Perhaps the others weren't able to hear her, but that was something that didn't apply to me.
"You can't leave him here again. He will escape again. At least, not with all his powers." Raven raised her concern and I could see how Raven-2 nodded with a determined look.
"That is why I will stay here in hell and watch over him." Raven shook her head at her sacrificial words.
"This won't do. Not to mention that your friends won't allow it, but even with you watching over it. This wouldn't be a permanent solution. Once you die or another demon attacks you and steals the crystal, you would be screwed. Not to mention..." Raven pointed at the crystal that contained a swirling darkness with two pairs of red, glowing eyes.
Even though I was confident in my psychic abilities, I could barely sense weak telepathic energy coming off the crystal. It was so weak and unnoticeable that I really had to strain myself to barely register that Trigon was probably trying to communicate. Perhaps it was just because he wasn't trying to communicate with me. No doubt, Trigon was throwing out obscenities at Raven-2...
Raven-2 frowned at her rebuttal, but she couldn't really deny her words. "What do you suggest?"
"I can siphon away his power and give it to you. We are mostly the same, so I am sure you will just grow more powerful with his energy as I have. It will help you combat future threats on earth." Raven reasoned, and I could see that Raven-2 was tempted before she shook her head.
"I told you, I never wanted this. I don't want his powers. I don't want to have anything to do with Trigon." She telepathically conveyed, making Raven nod in acknowledgment.
"Alright, but you know it's not wise to leave him here or take him back with his entire power inside that crystal, right? You remember how I told you about what I did to my father and how he escaped?" Raven-2 nodded slowly. Raven raised her hand and tapped the crystal with her finger. "How about you give it to me, then? I could use him to find my version of Trigon."
Raven-2 hesitated before she locked eyes with Raven. She nodded. "Do whatever you want to him, but make sure he never returns."
That brought a smile to Raven's face. "Oh, don't worry. I will." After saying that, her fingertips and in extension her entire hand were enveloped by her black raven's claw before glowing with her signature black-purple magic as they pierced into the crystal. Fiery red energy flowed out of the crystal into her claw.
She was siphoning this Trigon's power into her claw. Oh, I already knew that this would extend the time she needed to return to her human side, but I also knew that it meant for her to grow even stronger. She hadn't even finished absorbing all of our Trigon's power from her dimension-turned-raven's claw, but now she was adding more to it.
Once she had finished digesting all that, she would be a force to be reckoned with. Not to mention me as a Super Saiyan, I would probably have a hard time contending against her as an Ascended Super Saiyan (SSJ 2), but that was for the future. Until she absorbed it all, who knew how strong I would become?
To be honest, I wasn't sure why Raven-2 had trusted her other self this easily with essentially the only way to contain her father in case he escaped or even the safekeeping of Trigon in general, especially since they had only known each other for 2 days, but perhaps it had something to do with how they had trained.
Meditating together in their mind space made it easy to reveal some things to one's partner. Considering that they were essentially the same person with different experiences, there weren't many barriers they wouldn't cross. Or perhaps Raven-2 just wanted it out of her sight and used the first opportunity she could get. After all, she had left Trigon inside Hell with no supervision...
While Trigon's power was siphoned away, the crystal that contained him was shrinking at an observable pace. The previously completely black claw enveloping her hand seemed to glow, even though it wasn't reflecting any light or even shine in the conventional meaning. It continued until the crystal was the same size as her chakra gem before making it vanish out of thin air.
It wasn't until then that I waved at the others, indicating we were done. "Sooo, we good? No demon butt we have to kick?" Beast Boy asked as he turned back into his human form after having hovered around as a bird.
Raven-2 nodded at his question. "Yes, Trigon is gone..." She then turned to Raven before grasping her hand in her own. "Thank you. You too." She turned to me and Superman before she looked at the Titans, "Thank you, I couldn't have done it without you guys." She said the last sentence as she looked at the other Titans, who were smiling happily.
"Um, I don't wanna be that guy, but could we leave? This place is giving me the shivers." Blue Beetle said as he glanced around us as if he waited for another demon to appear. There were only a handful of demons in the entire realm left and without Trigon's guidance, they were practically cowering in some corner, though even that wouldn't keep them alive for long.
"I still have to take over this realm. You can already leave. We will come back when I am done." Raven responded, and the slightly elevated position this construct had given us allowed us to see the darkness that was devouring this realm in the distance.
"Alright, you do you, but I want to leave." Blue Beetle said before Raven-2 stepped forward and created a portal for them to get out of Hell before saying her goodbye to us. They all stepped into the portal with Superman being the last to exit. He glanced at us and seemed to be hesitating before nodding and then leaving us alone in this place.