Inside the valley, the team led by Yuri cautiously navigated through winding and twisting caves. The Batplane had landed in a suitable spot not long ago.
As they approached the caves, all the "Please enter" guides had disappeared, indicating that the Church of Blood's headquarters was right here. Simultaneously, the enemy had likely set traps inside, and they might have already walked into one.
They had been advancing for quite some time, yet the end of the cave seemed unreachable. Superboy and Wonder Girl were at the front, followed by Robin and Bart. Raven was in the middle, while Yuri and Beast Boy followed closely. Starfire brought up the rear.
"Yuri, are you really sure this method will work?" Bart couldn't help but ask as they walked.
"It should work, right? After all, we tested it with Raven before," Yuri replied cautiously, not wanting to overcommit but confident in the plan's high probability of success.
"What the!" Suddenly, Beast Boy shouted, then covered his mouth with one hand while holding a smartphone in the other.
"Are you afraid the enemy doesn't know we're here?" Starfire, behind Yuri and Beast Boy, slapped Beast Boy on the head in annoyance.
Yuri felt a sudden sense of fatigue, contemplating whether he should distance himself from Beast Boy.
Tim tilted his head slightly, a strange glint fleeting in his eyes, leaving everyone wondering about his thoughts.
"You guys really should see this news!" Beast Boy rubbed his head and explained why he had suddenly spoken up.
"I have to say, you've got a huge guts, only you can watch the news at a time like this," Yuri quipped. "But how does your phone still have signal inside this cave?"
"No need to say it, my phone is specially made by Cyborg. It can get a signal even at the other end of the solar system."
Every time he talked about this phone, Beast Boy couldn't help but show off.
"Aren't you curious about the news I mentioned? It's about the Justice League."
"What?" Superboy, Wonder Girl, Robin, and Bart exclaimed simultaneously, all turning to look at Beast Boy.
"What happened to the Justice League?"
"Wonder Woman fought Green Lantern and later even Superman joined the battle!"
Beast Boy opened a video, showing a brief 30-second clip. Although it was short, it completely captured the moment when Green Lantern imprisoned Wonder Woman, leading to her angrily attacking Green Lantern, and then Superman intervening.
"Apparently, an hour ago, all national television stations simultaneously broadcasted this video, spreading rapidly across the entire world. Someone hacked into all media networks."
Beast Boy shared the information he knew.
"Then what happened to the Justice League? Where's Batman?" Robin asked anxiously.
"They say Batman appeared at the last moment and somehow took Superman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern away in a way unknown to anyone. After that, there's been no word."
"It seems the enemy didn't just set a trap for us; they set one for the Justice League as well," Robin quickly composed himself.
At this moment, Starfire stepped forward and said, "We don't know the troubles the Justice League is facing, and we can't afford to consider it now. Let's complete our own mission first and deal with other issues later."
Yuri pointed ahead, reminding everyone, "Everyone, if I'm not mistaken, our destination is right ahead."
Looking ahead, they saw the cave entrance shimmering with firelight.
Everyone immediately dismissed their distractions and quickened their pace towards the front.
As they emerged from the cave entrance, a vast temple hidden within the cavern appeared before Yuri's eyes. The temple looked like a naturally carved structure within the mountain, with no traces of artificial materials.
In the center of the temple, hundreds of cultists dressed in blood-red robes knelt devoutly in a common direction.
There was an ancient-looking altar, and on it stood a severely scarred young man.
This young man wore a purple Greek-style outfit with a blood-red cape draped over his back and a helmet made from the skull of an unknown creature on his head.
The cultists were fervently chanting "Praise the Blood Brother." showing fanatic look in their eyes.
"Young Titans."
Blood Brother looked proud, looking down at Yuri and his group from an elevated position.
He didn't seem surprised by the arrival of the Titans; evidently, he had been waiting for them for a long time.
However, he was somewhat surprised by the way they entered.
"I thought you would come knocking directly, but I didn't expect you to be this foolish, actually entering through the cave entrance, wasting the power I spent on the rock wall."
Blood Brother's tone was extremely disdainful, and he started to feel that he had been overly cautious before.
In his eyes, the Teen Titans were just a group of misfits. He couldn't understand how Jericho, who had been granted soul powers by the Trigon, had failed.
Whenever he thought of Jericho, Blood Brother couldn't help but feel jealous deep inside. Even though he was the Blood Bishop, the Trigon's top lackey on Earth, he had not received the blessing of a soul vessel.
Blood Brother couldn't imagine what kind of waste Jericho must have been to still be defeated when he already got blessed by such power.
*Snap!*
Blood Brother snapped his fingers, and the entire temple instantly emitted a sinister blood-red light.
Crimson magical runes appeared on various stone walls, even beneath Yuri and the others' feet, forming magical circles.
Before anyone could react, these magic circles quickly levitated, creating a blood-red cage that imprisoned them all.
Blood Brother, anticipating that the Teen Titans might suddenly invade from various directions, had set up cage magic throughout the entire temple.
Anyone who dared to forcefully enter the temple from the outside would be sealed inside a cage.
Blood Brother descended slowly from the altar, and the hundreds of cultists pushed aside, forming a path leading to the imprisoned Titans.
"Although your foolishness in walking into my trap is quite boring, you have ultimately brought the Trigon's daughter to me, so I must thank you," Blood Brother said, fixing his gaze on Raven inside the cage. A sickly smile appeared on his face.
"Indeed, you are the offspring of the great Trigon, and your beauty is truly breathtaking."
To his surprise, instead of showing signs of panic, Raven calmly responded to Blood Brother, "You didn't expect us to walk into your trap, and I didn't expect you to come here."
Just then, an unfamiliar voice suddenly sounded from behind Blood Brother.
"He should be the leader; quickly, restrain him!"
As the voice spoke, Blood Brother felt someone binding him from behind.
Superboy had somehow circled around behind Blood Brother and was gripping his neck tightly with both hands.
Starfire and Wonder Girl held down Blood Brother's arms.
Robin, Bart, and Beast Boy turned to face the hundreds of cultists, prepared to fend them off if they charged.
As for Yuri, inside the cage...
The reflections of the Teen Titans' figures shattered like a mirror.
Out of the eight figures, only Raven and Yuri remained.
At this moment, although Yuri appeared unchanged, he had already activated his omnitrix, utilizing the DNA he had obtained from the Mirror Master.
Mirror Image!
°°°
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