However, things took a bad turn when Zachary's devoted fan, Eddie Bloomberg, got hold of a book of spells with the intent on helping Zachary's show. But instead of helping, Eddie ended up transporting himself, Zachary and Mindwarp to an unknown place!
Rachel Roth was in her secluded hideaway, far from where anyone could find her. This was how she liked it. The former Teen Titan known as Raven just wanted to be left alone, and not cause anyone else any harm. Her current living conditions were simple, dark, and to her, comfortable. Here she could focus and not be bothered.
As she sat in her meditative position, she suddenly felt something was wrong with the balance of good and evil. She was suddenly struck by images of what was to come, and none of it was good. She opened her eyes and gasped, especially when she saw the image of Trigon.
“No!” Rachel shouted as she opened her eyes and realized what was going to happen. “They must not transgress!”
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#9
MAY 14 |
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“Devil's Due” Part Two
Jay Young opened his eyes, staring up into a blood-red void. There was a vast emptiness all around him, beyond some floating asteroids. He sat up and rubbed his head as he saw Zachary and Eddie passed out next to him.
“Guys, wake up!” Jay told them as he stood up and started to shake Zachary. “We're...well, I don't know where we are, but I don't like it.”
Zachary opened his eyes and the first thing he did was punch Eddie.
“What was that for?” Eddie asked as he rubbed his jaw.
“You honestly don't know?” Zachary asked with a raised eyebrow. “You steal my book, screw up my show, and get us trapped in another dimension and you ask what that was for! I oughta turn you into a toad!”
“Dude, chill,” Jay told them. “We can kill him later, for now we need to figure out where we are.”
“Well, let's start by looking at the book,” Zachary said as he looked around. “Eddie, where's the Necromicon?”
“I must have... dropped it?” Eddie asked innocently as Jay had to hold Zachary back before he could strangle the guy.
“Don't you know a spell that can get us back?” asked Jay as he let Zachary go.
“I have to know where we're coming back from,” Zachary told them. “I don't even know how this dimension will affect my magic. Maybe I can test it out by setting Eddie's head on fire.”
“I guess the first thing we need to do is find out where we are,” Jay told them. “There has to be some kind of life here. I'll use my soul form to go searching. You two watch my body, I'll be back.”
Jay focused as his body slumped over, as his soul form rose up out of his body.
“Dude, that is freaky,” Eddie told him as Jay started flying off of the asteroid to begin his search. As he flew off, neither Eddie or Zachary realized that they were being watched.
Back on Earth, Vince and Seren were trying to figure out what had happened to their friends. Seren picked up the 'Necromicon For Dummies' book and looked at Vince.
“The annoying one was reading from this,” Seren told him. “Perhaps it can tell us where they disappeared to.”
“The Necromicon's a dangerous book,” Vince told him as he looked at the book. “It's a book of dark and evil magic. They even made a documentary based on a true story about it starring Bruce Campbell.”
“Then perhaps we need to seek help before going any further,” Seren replied. “We need the other Titans. Perhaps they have returned from their adventure.”
“To Titans Tower!” Vince shouted triumphantly.
“Srewolf!” Zachary shouted as he held out his hand as a bunch of bats flew out of his jacket sleeve. “Bats instead of flowers, snakes instead of rabbits, a nude photo of Louie Anderson instead of a peanut butter & jelly sandwich. This dimension makes everything I try to make into monstrous abominations.”
“So what happens if you try to get us home?” asked Eddie as he sat next to Jay's body.
“Most likely scenario? We end up someplace twenty times worse than where we are right now,” Zachary told him with a sigh.
“The Jersey Shore?”
Zachary just rubbed the bridge of his nose with two gloved fingers. “Unless Jay finds something, we're pretty much screwed.”
Eddie started looking around and saw that a bunch of black crows were gathering around them. “Uh... Zach?”
“I definitely don't like the looks of this,” Zachary said as he got closer to Eddie and Jay. “With my magic unstable, I don't think I can fend off an attack.”
“Maybe these things are friendly,” Eddie said hopefully as the crows started cawing loudly. As each one blinked and re-opened its eyes, the crow's two eyes would become four blood red glowing eyes. “Aw, crap.”
After several hours of searching, Jay's soul headed back toward the asteroid where he'd left his body. As he got closer, he realized something was wrong. He landed and looked around, seeing that Eddie, Zachary, and his body were all gone. All that was left was Zatara's white glove and top hat.
Vince and Seren returned to Titans Tower, running through the door, hoping that the others had returned. Luckily they had just returned home an hour earlier. Superboy and Static were playing video games on the couch as they watched the two run in.
“Where the hell have you guys been?” Superboy asked without looking away from the screen.
“You know, hitting the town, taking in a show...Jay might be dead,” Vince said nervously with a slight laugh.
“Oh, well, Cassie and Rose are in the training room, probably killing each other, but after that we can – wait, WHAT!?” Superboy asked.
Jay was trying to focus on where his body was, hoping to find it before something happened. He couldn't remain out of his body for more than a few days, or else his soul would weaken and...bad things would happen. He just hoped that his body was safe.
He felt that he was getting close as he looked down at a large asteroid, and saw Eddie and Zachary both tied to posts. He flew down and looked up at them, not seeing his body anywhere around.
“What the hell happened?” asked Jay as he started to untie them.
“Crows, lots and lots of evil crows,” Eddie replied. “They tied us up and took your body.”
“Where is my body?” asked Jay as Eddie fell off the post, hitting the ground. Eddie stood up and pointed to a large castle made out of skulls. “Yeah, that looks like a place I want to visit.”
“You're not seriously going in there, are you?” asked Zachary as he released from the pole.
“If I don't get back into my body, I'll die,” Jay replied as he looked toward the castle. “I have to do this. You two don't have to come, but I'm going in.”
Zachary sighed as he looked at Eddie. “Whatever's in there, it might be the key to getting us home. I'm going.”
“Well, then, I'm going, too!” Eddie replied as he ran past them. “Let's go in there and kick some ass!”
“The Necronomicon?” asked Ravager with a laugh as she looked at the book. “If they were dumb enough to read from this book, they deserve what they got.”
“Jay is our friend!” Wonder Girl said as she grabbed the book out of Ravager's hand. “And if there's a way to bring them back, we have to try.”
Static looked at Vince as he thought about it. “Do you remember the spell that they spoke? Maybe you could recognize it if you looked through the book.”
“I could, but what good would that do? It's all in latin,” Vince told him. “We'd have no idea what the spell translates to.”
“Yeah, it's not like there's a magical box we could look with every piece of information in the world at our disposal,” Superboy told him. “Oh, wait, it's called the INTERNET.”
Vince took the book and started flipping through the pages. He finally found the spell that he recognized Eddie speaking earlier. “It's this one.”
“I'll get on the net and translate,” Superboy said as he took the book and flew off to the computer room. “I'll be back in twenty minutes!”
“And no stopping to look at porn!” Wonder Girl shouted after him.
“I'll be back in five minutes!”
As Jay, Eddie and Zachary entered the castle, they realized they were being watched by all the four eyed crows.
“Can't you use your magic to make them go away?” asked Jay as they moved forward.
“If I tried to use a wind spell against them, it'd probably come out as a bad fart or something,” Zachary replied. “My magic is all but useless here.”
“I think my body is up ahead,” Jay told them as the crows started following them. “Anyone else getting creeped out?”
“At least they're not attacking,” Eddie replied as they finally found Jay's body laying on a table, with his arms crossed over his chest.
The room was a large, circular chamber with several pillars standing all around. There were seven large carvings circling the room, etched into each pillar. One was of someone wielding a weapon angrily; the next was of someone overindulging in food and drink; the next showed someone being jealous of the next carving, which was a man with many beautiful women; the next carving showed someone being lazy; the next was someone being overly proud of their possessions; and the final carving was of someone with vast wealth, while the people around him had nothing.
“Look at these carvings,” Jay said as he looked around. “They're the seven deadly sins. Why would anyone have these hanging around?”
“Who cares? Just get in your body so we can find a way home,” Zachary told him as Jay headed toward his body, but was repelled by a force field. Jay's soul flew back and hit the ground. As Jay started to stand up, he heard a satanic laughter coming from all around. “I really don't like the sound of that.”
“Who's there!” Jay shouted as he stood up. “Give me back my body!”
The demonic laughter got louder as the room started shaking. The three teens couldn't keep their balance as they fell over, just as Trigon entered the room, standing twelve feet tall with four yellow eyes, red skin, and long black hair.
“I have been awaiting this day,” Trigon laughed. “The day when I'd be free of this realm, and now that day has arrived.”
“Who is that guy?” Eddie asked, trying his best not to wet himself.
“Trigon,” Zachary told them. “I remember him from my magic studies. He's a real bad guy. The Teen Titans beat him, but I thought he was supposed to be dead!”
Several shadowy black hands raised up from the ground and grabbed Eddie and Zachary as Trigon stepped closer.
“Far from it,” Trigon told them with a smirk as he looked over the two young men. “I've been trapped here for years, awaiting the day when one of my children would return and free me so that I may spread my evil again.”
“Your children? Buddy, you got the wrong guys!” Jay shouted as he rushed forward and tried to punch Trigon, but it was like punching a stone wall. If he hadn't been in his soul form, he might have broken his hand.
Trigon smacked Jay across the room, knocking him against the wall before falling to the ground.
“Oh, I have the right person,” Trigon told him as he walked up to Jay and kneeled down to look at him. “You are my son, and now that I have you here, I will be free!”
Titans Tower
Wonder Girl, Ravager, Static, Aquaboy and Vince Kennedy stood waiting for Superboy to finish translating the spell that would have taken Robin ten seconds if he were there. They were looking for a way to track down Zachary Zattara, Eddie Bloomberg and their own teammate, Jay Young, a.k.a Mindwarp, who had been sucked into another dimension after Eddie had read from the 'Necromicon for Dummies'.
“Well, after five minutes of translating,” Superboy said as he flew back into the room. “And ten minutes of not looking at the Playboy website, I found out what the spell is. It's a teleportation spell to –”
“Trigon's realm,” an echoing voice said as the lights started flickering. When the lights returned, Raven, clad in her purple cloak was standing in the room. Everyone but Ravager jumped back as they realized she was there.
“Nice entrance,” Ravager said as she reached for her sword as Wonder Girl stopped her. “Let's see if you can leave just as quickly.”
“Raven's a friend,” Wonder Girl told her as she looked at Raven. “Are you saying that Jay, Zatara and Eddie are with Trigon?”
“It's worse than that,” Raven told them in a monotone voice. “If we don't retrieve them soon, they will release Trigon back into this world. He must be stopped before it is too late. We must hurry before it is too late.”
“Okay, how do we get there to stop save everyone?” Superboy asked. “Do you have a magical flying car to take us there, like Harry Potter has?”
“I can take you,” Raven replied, not understanding Superboy's question.”Wonder Girl, Superboy, Static, and– “ Raven looked at Vince, not knowing his name, although she kind of figured she knew it. “You, Harry Potter.”
“Wait a minute, I'm not sitting this one out,” Ravager told her, drawing her sword.
“Your anger and emotional state will only feed Trigon's power, I cannot risk that,” Raven replied as she opened her cloak. “Come! We have no time to waste!”
The four Titans came closer as Raven's eyes started glowing.
“AZARATH METRION-”
Ravager rushed toward the group as they started to disappear. She wasn't going to sit this one out, no matter what Raven said.
“-ZINTHOS!”
The group of Titans disappeared, leaving Seren alone in the room. He looked around and sighed. “That's all right, I'll just stay here and...do whatever it is humans do. I wonder what Superboy was referring to when he mentioned pornography?”
In Trigon's realm, Jay stood up in shock as what Trigon had just revealed to him. Jay's human body was laying in the middle of the room, protected by a magic shield. His soul form had just been smacked across the room by Trigon, something he never expected anyone to be able to do.
“I'm not your son!” Jay shouted at him angrily.
“Yeah, I don't see the family resemblance, either,” Eddie said as Zachary smacked him upside the head.
“Oh, but you are,” Trigon smirked as he stepped closer. “You're the fifth in a seven series set.”
“Stay back!” Zachary shouted as Trigon laughed. Zachary held out his hand and shouted. “Kcab!” As he shouted that, a fireball shot out of his hand, headed right for Eddie. He barely managed to avoid it in time as it destroyed part of the wall. “Sorry, Eddie.”
“Bothersome whelp, be gone with you!” Trigon shouted as Eddie and Zachary disappeared, leaving Jay's soul form alone with him.
“Where are they!” Jay shouted.
“I put them someplace where they can't bother us,” Trigon told him as he stood over Jay's human body. “Now, let's talk about our little family reunion.”
It was then that a bright light exploded as the Teen Titans burst into the room, led by Raven. She held out her hand, sending Trigon flying back against the wall.
“Your powers have grown,” Trigon said as he stood up, towering above all of them. “Two of my children are here at once. It is such a glorious day that my children are starting to return home.”
“Children? Plural?” Wonder Girl asked as she looked at Jay. “Is he talking about you?”
Trigon started sniffing the air as he looked at the Titans. “Such...hatred and rage. Yes, I can taste it, so very strong!”
Everyone looked at Ravager, who went running at Trigon with her sword drawn. “Taste this!”
Trigon laughed as he waved his hand as she jumped at him, causing all of the Titans but Ravager, Raven and Jay to disappear from sight. “I like this one, I think I'll keep her.”
Ravager swung at Trigon with her sword, which didn't even make a dent in the demon. He simply flicked her away as he looked at Raven and Mindwarp. “Daddy needs to gather his strength before we return to Earth. Why don't you two go to your rooms until I'm ready to go?”
Before the two could do anything, they disappeared as well, leaving only the unconscious Ravager and Jay's body in the room. Trigon looked at his son's shell and smiled. “Soon, my son.”
As Trigon walked out of the room, he didn't see smoke rising up from the cracks, reforming into Vince's smoky form. He floated toward Ravager, kneeling down to try to wake her up.
“Come on, wake up,” Vince told her as he lightly smacked her face. “We need to save the others!”
“Where are we?” Jay asked as he looked at Raven as the two floated in an empty void.
“The one place that we don't want to be,” Raven replied as he looked at him. ““We're in the void that is Trigon's soul.”
Superboy, Wonder Girl, Static, Eddie and Zachary were floating in a black void where the only light came from Static's powers. As his powers shined a bright light, there was literally nothing around them, not even under their feet.
“How the hell do we get out of here?” Superboy asked as he looked around. “Do we even know where 'here' is?”
“It's some kind of void,” Zachary told them. “I don't believe it's a part of Trigon's realm. He probably just uses it as a holding area for visitors, which means my powers might actually work here.”
“So, you can get us home?” Eddie asked hopefully.
“Possibly,” Zachary replied.
“Wait, we can't leave without Raven and Jay,” Wonder Girl told them. “I'm not leaving them with Trigon!”
“What about Rose?” Static asked her.
“Oh, right,” Wonder Girl replied sarcastically. “We can't forget about her.”
“This is a one way trip, boys and girls,” Zachary told the group. “If I go back to Trigon's realm, my powers are screwed up again. This is our only ticket home, take it or leave it.”
“Then send us back to Trigon's realm,” Superboy ordered. “You can haul ass back to Earth if you want, but I'm not leaving our friends to die.”
“Fine,” Zachary told them. “Eddie, you ready to go home?”
“Actually...I'm going with them,” Eddie told the magician. “I got Jay into this and I can't leave him. I have to help save him.”
Zachary looked at the group and sighed. “It's your lives you’re throwing away, don't say I didn't warn you. SNOGIRT MLAER!”
Everyone but Zachary disappeared from the realm as the young magician closed his eyes, ready to send himself back to his home dimension.
The Titans returned to Trigon's realm, having teleported back to the asteroid that Jay, Eddie and Zachary had arrived on earlier. Superboy took to the air as he looked at the group.
“Who's ready to go kick Trigon's ass?”
Ravager stood up and looked at Vince. “How did you escape?”
“I hid before Trigon took the others away,” Vince told her as he looked at Jay's body. “I don't know where he took them, but we can at least get Jay's body and keep it safe.”
Ravager walked toward the empty shell and was repelled by Trigon's magic. “That doesn't look like an option.”
Vince just floated toward the table with ease and lifted Jay's body. “I've been working with tangible objects. I still have trouble holding on if I lose concentration, but I'm pretty strong when I can hold on.”
“Then we'll get out of here and find a safe place to form an attack plan,” Ravager told him as they headed for the door as Trigon entered. He looked down at the two Titans and got an angered look on his face.
“And where do you think you're going?”
Ravager picked up her sword and looked at Trigon with a smirk on her face. “We're going around you, or we're going through you,” Ravager replied. “Your choice, George Hamilton.”
“Foolish child,” Trigon said as he motioned her forward. “Yes, feed me more of your delicious rage.”
“Rose, no!” Vince said as he held her back. “You're giving this guy even more power! Stand down!”
“That's insane, he'll kill us if I do!” Rose shouted back.
“I'm already dead and Jay's soul isn't at home, I don't think we have to worry about that,” Vince told her. “Stop being so pissed off and feeding the wild animal!”
Ravager looked at Vince, who was still holding Jay's body. She put down her sword as she looked at Trigon. “You'd better be right, ghost boy.”
“Refusing to fight?” Trigon asked with a laugh. “Such cowardice. Something all of you humans share.”
“You know what else we share?” Superboy asked as he tapped Trigon on the shoulder. The demon turned around as Superboy punched him as hard as he could. “The ability to kick someone's ass when they screw with our family!”
Trigon roared as he stood up and prepared to crush Superboy under his fists when Wonder Girl flew in, tossing her lasso around his hands. She sent a powerful electric shock through her lasso, electrocuting him as he screamed in pain, just as Static ran in and started hitting Trigon with his own electric blasts. The villain fell forward, smoking from the electric shocks as Eddie ran up and kicked him.
“Yeah, take that, scum!” Eddie shouted as he raised his arms triumphantly.
“Where are Raven and Jay?” Superboy asked as he floated over Trigon. “Or do you want another beat down?”
“Do you honestly think a few punches and a little electricity can defeat me?” Trigon asked as he stood up and smacked Superboy through the wall. He looked at the Teen Titans and smirked. “Nevertheless, I have already gained what I seek today.”
Trigon waved his hand as Raven and Jay's soul form returned to the room. “Leave my realm, Titans, but know that this battle has only just begun.”
“You're just... letting us go?” Wonder Girl asked in disbelief.
“For now,” Trigon replied as he turned his back to them. “But know that the next time we meet, the Teen Titans will be the first to fall to me when I conquer your world.”
“Let us go,” Raven told the Titans as she lifted her cloak. “Azarath, Metrion, ZINTHOS!”
The Titans disappeared in a cloud of smoke as they left Trigon's realm, just as Trigon started laughing harshly.
“Yes, go. Raven now knows of my children. The fool will no doubt try to seek them out and turn them against me, and when she does she'll find that she's playing right into my hands,” Trigon said after they were gone. He looked at the five remaining images in the room, the symbols for wrath and pride having disappeared when he retrieved Raven and Jay. “Now, my daughter, go and bring me back all of my children so that I might finally be free!”
As the group returned to Titans tower, they found Seren sitting on the couch, watching 'The Little Mermaid'. Seren turned to them and smiled. “I hope you do not mind if I watched some your pornography.”
“Trigon will continue to try to plan to return to our world,” Raven told the Titans, ignoring Seren. “I had no knowledge of him having spawned others until today.”
“As if I didn't feel crappy enough about my life,” Jay told them as he sat on the couch next to Seren. “Now I find out that my father's a demon? How is that even possible?”
“I will find out,” Raven promised him as she looked at the group. “Trigon has five other children out there, who might possibly be uncorrupted. I shall find them and make sure that Trigon cannot use them to fulfill his plans.”
“Why don't you let us help?” Wonder Girl asked.
“No, this is something I must do,” Raven replied as she looked at Jay. “Besides, you must keep Trigon's fifth born child safe from him. I shall return once I have found his other children. Be safe, Teen Titans.”
As Raven disappeared, the attention turned to Eddie. “I guess I should get going, too. Unless, you know, you want me to join the team?”
“I'll drop you off in the city,” Superboy told him as he dragged Eddie to the door.
Eddie walked into the door of the theater where Zachary Zatarra was performing his show, and found the place was empty. All of the stage props were gone, and stage itself looked completely bare. He even found that the dressing room was empty.
“Excuse me,” Eddie said as he stopped a passing by stage hand. “Did Zachary Zatarra say where his next show was going to be?”
“Sorry kid, Mr. Zatarra gave strict orders not to tell anyone where his show was moving to,” the stagehand told him as he walked away. Eddie sat down in one of the seats and started to sulk. After a few moments, he heard a strange laughter echoing around him.
“Who's there?” Eddie asked as he jumped up.
“Someone who can give you everything you've ever wanted,” a demonic voice said.
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To Be Continued
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