“Now something evil and awesome awakens and slouches forward to fulfill a terrible destiny....”--Excerpt from
Teen Titans # 34, original series, released in 1971; written by Murray Boltinoff and Bob Haney
“May it preserve thee from sorcery, from thy equals and thy kin! Undying be, immortal, exceedingly vital; thy spirits shall not abandon thy body!” --Atharva Veda
***********
Wickersham Isle, five miles east of Kill Devil Hills, North CarolinaThe isle was not exactly large but not truly small, either. More than three miles long from east to west, and five miles wide from north to south, most modern maps did not include it. Spy satellites saw it, but only as a crag of rock devoid of life.
This was not entirely correct. The isle had several small copses of wood, a handful of hard pressed families....and one rather large house on a hill, situated near the eastern end of the isle.
Darkness pervaded that imposing house.
The lone occupant of the almost-mansion sat quietly in a plush chair. His eyes were closed, and his skin so wrinkled that he looked almost like a mummy. At first it wasn’t even clear if he was breathing.
But then he stirred, and reached for the dark, branchlike staff that leaned against his chair. He rose slowly from the chair, seeming to draw some measure of strength from his dark staff.
Hobbling along with it, he moved to a small room at the back of the house. The door was warded with a mystical sigul, but that was no obstacle to him; he was the one that had inscribed it on the door in the first place. He made passes with his hands and murmured ancient words in a language that was not even distantly related to English. The sigul glowed and then faded. He opened the door and stepped inside.
Inside was a scrying pool; flickering with emerald and violet light. The wizened old man stared down into the fluid, pleased by what he could see. The light did strange things to the old man’s features. There was blood in that pool, none of it his own.
The old man grinned at the visions in the pool that only he could see, showing rotten teeth. “Excellent,” he said. “It has been far too long since I saw such a one as her.”
He began to make passes before the pool, and the viscous fluid began to stir, turning first blood red, then bright orange....
****
Titans Tower, New York CityA costume fitting was taking place.
“Stop squirming,” Wonder Girl murmured. “Nearly finished.”
“It is a good costume,” Starfire said, but she seemed distracted, as though her mind was elsewhere.
Terra muttered, making frustrated noises, but didn’t argue. The Titans had moved her in to a room of her own in the Tower, even helped her shop for new furnishings, since she had taken nothing with her from the Suicide Squad but her old, blood-stained costume that she could no longer use anyway; and the civilian garb she had been wearing under her royal robes at the funeral of her father and eldest half-brother Gregor.
Finally, Wonder Girl stepped back, needle and thread still in hand.
Terra examined herself critically in the mirror. The costume was similar to Geo-Force’s, but patterned in brown and light tan to show her particular powers. She especially liked the golden bracelets and necklace.
They would make more copies of this costume for her, of course; none of them had just one. Too much wear and tear happened out in the field for that.
The mask, however, left her hair exposed. She wasn’t entirely comfortable with that. It showed way too much of her face, too.
The image that stared back at her was that of a cute-girl super heroine, something that she was not. But she had signed up for it, hadn’t she? Because she couldn’t go back to the old days and the old ways any more, like it or not.
Then, of course, there was Beast Boy.
She stuck a tongue out at her reflection. “Yeah, it’ll do, thanks Wondy.”
“You’re welcome. One other thing, however, there is no smoking in the Tower. Not even here in your own room. You want to do that, go outside.”
For a moment, Terra’s eyes flashed....then she subsided. She picked up her pack and crushed it, wincing as she destroyed two perfectly good cigarettes inside. “Yeah....okay....truth be known I’ve been thinking about quitting for a while, anyway.”
“Good. Now, we should have a training sess--” abruptly Wonder Girl stopped talking and put her fingers to her temples.
“Donna?” Starfire was there instantly.
“What’s up, WG? You don’t look so good,” Terra asked.
“I suddenly seem to have a killer migraine....Hera that hurts.” Wonder Girl was nearly bent double. “I think I need to....go lie down...”
****
Two floors down in the Tower, another fitting session was taking place.
Dagon had no problem with sleeping during the night and fighting during the day in terms of being rested up; but the fact of the matter was, the cloaks and hoods they had given him before would only keep him from being burnt to a crisp if he didn’t do much physically, like fight in the battles where they needed his assistance.
There were certainly tactical advantages to having a “night shift” operator, but then Nightwing was accustomed to operating at those hours at need anyway.
Therefore, Raven was using her mystical arts, working on fabric Wonder Girl had previously prepared; an enchanted robe to protect Dagon from the sunlight, and then--with Nightwing and Cyborg’s help--crafted and enchanted a helmet that would protect him from the sun’s rays and yet let him see and act.
“Thank you, Raven,” Dagon said awkwardly. He had always been fascinated by her; but even without the presence of Kid Flash, he knew she would not reciprocate. Nevertheless he felt a sort of bond with her; they each understood darkness, in their own way.
“You are welcome, Dagon,” she said. Her eyes were distant, unfocused. She was seeing things even his vampire senses could not perceive, as was so often the case. He could only see the material world in greater detail; she could see the Astral Plane and other realms. Dagon knew, more than any of the others save perhaps Wonder Girl and Raven herself, just how real those realms were.
“Something....something is wrong,” Raven said, and now her voice was concerned. “Something plagues Donna. She is falling ill due to...outside influence.”
“Wonder Girl?” Dagon stood. “What is it?”
“I’m not certain, exactly.....but it is urgent, whatever it is.” Raven vanished in a puff of teleportation, and Dagon blurred quickly out of the room with his own vampiric speed.
****
Donna hobbled towards her own room, uneasy on her feet. Pulsing pain between her temples from a source she could not identify.
Kory and Tara were at her elbows, murmuring words she could no longer fully hear. She knew they wanted her to go to the med-bay; but she wasn’t sure that would help. She also wasn’t sure she could even get there....
Suddenly, Rachel....Raven was there, her face swimming through the pain, her hands on Donna’s temples. “It is all right Donna,” she said from a great distance. “Sleep now.....let rest take you beyond the reach of the pain.”
Donna wasn’t sure if she could even do that....but then Raven was guiding her, guiding her into deep, peaceful sleep.
And it was true, she found; she was safe from the pain, in a vague, comforting soothing dream of placid skies and cerulean shallow waters.
****
The Titans surrounded Wonder Girl in the medbay.
Raven stood at the head of her bed, hands still on Donna’s temples; Cyborg stood at the foot, monitoring her vital signs.
“Looks stable,” Cyborg mused. “Though even in your trance, Raven, her brainwave patterns are notably off.”
Raven nodded, staring into nothing. “There is an outside influence. I am unsure as to it’s exact intention, though certainly it is malign. I am tracing it, but it clearly has it’s own defenses and misleading threads. It comes from a generally southern direction.”
“It uh...doesn’t exactly have anything to do with your dad, does it?” Beast Boy asked.
Raven gave a sad smile. “No, it feels nothing like him. For which we may be grateful.”
“Her dad?” Terra whispered.
“You don’t wanna know,” Beast Boy answered.
Terra made a face at him, but then saw the look in his eyes. “That bad?”
“Oh yeah.”
“But it is certainly bad enough in its own right, whatever it is,” Raven went on.
“Can you trace it?” Nightwing asked.
“It will take time,” Raven answered. “In the meantime, I recommend shields around her. It will further disrupt the outside influence and ease her pain.”
“You’re the expert,” Nightwing agreed.
“Can you, like, heal the pain away, or something? Like those old school bubble bath commercials?” Beast Boy wondered.
“Reaching a bit on that one, green-cheese,” Terra murmured.
“Not only that, but I don’t think this is the times for jokes,” Cyborg chided his friend.
“But to answer the question,” Raven sighed, “I am trying. The shields will also help with that.”
“Well I get the feeling we should let you get on with that,” Nightwing said. “As soon as you have a location, we’ll get moving. Anyone else come up with anything, let me know.”
The others departed; Kid Flash looked over his shoulder at Raven as he went. Cyborg remained only a moment longer, checking Wonder Girl’s vitals, before nodding to Raven and leaving too.
Raven stood very still, eyes closed. She wanted to say something to Donna, some solemn oath. But first off, she couldn’t think of what exactly to say, and second Donna wouldn’t hear her anyway.
So she sighed, focused her will and determination, and began working on shields around Donna.
****
Dick lay quietly in bed. He felt a little tired, a little out of sorts. But it was too early to sleep, especially for him.
But then, sleeping wasn’t on the agenda.
“I’m worried about Donna,” he said.
“So am I,” Kory answered, snuggled up against him, her green eyes bright in the dark room. “But Raven’s doing all that can be done, right now. She’ll call us when she has something. Now is time for other things.”
“Not that I’m complaining or anything,” he said softly, tracing Kory’s cheek with a finger, “But why now?”
Kory shook her head. “I should have done this long ago.”
Dick privately thought it had something to do with the fact that Kory knew about Batgirl, but wisely didn’t bring that up. “If you’re sure...”
“I’m very sure. On Tamaran, we would’ve--” she stopped and shook her head. “I should have done this long ago,” she repeated.
Dick nodded and for a moment just held her close; talking about her past always made her uncomfortable, he knew that.
“You’re beautiful,” he said softly.
Kory smiled. “You say the sweetest things.”
He took her in his arms.
****
Cyborg eyed Terra unhappily as she flirted with Beast Boy.
“Can’t you leave him alone?” he sighed.
“I would of thought you’d be happy for him, rust bucket,” she taunted.
“I would be, if you weren’t such a tramp.”
“Hey, hey!” Beast Boy stood between them. “Let’s not go there, guys!”
Terra shook her head and grinned. “Its okay, Gar. I’m not ashamed of who I am. Robocop here’s gonna have to do better than that if he wants to piss me off.”
Cyborg understood the unspoken threat there. He let it pass. “We should be more worried about Donna.”
Beast Boy hung his head. “I know, but what can we do?”
“He’s right,” Terra said. “Look, I don’t want nothin’ bad to happen to her, really. But miss spooky is watchin over her now. Soon as we can kick some tail, we will. Right?”
“Yeah, you got that much right,” Cyborg agreed grudgingly. “And I know you’re good in a fight. But Terra, believe me when I say that you’ve got a lousy personality.”
For a moment she seemed actually hurt by that one, her eyes flashed; then she recovered and stuck her tongue out. “I’ve been worse, man. Much worse...”
“Why am I not reassured?”
“Hey, enough of this,” Beast Boy interjected, trying to play peacemaker again. “What is this, some reality show?”
Both Terra and Cyborg groaned at that. “I should hope not!” Terra said.
*****
The old man scowled. It was full dark now, and his efforts were being interfered with. That much he could tell, but it was difficult to work at such long range.
“She has protection, does she?” he sneered. “Perhaps I should not be surprised by that. Very well, let’s move things along then.”
He made more passes with his hands, and scowled angry and almost in pain, as Raven’s counter-measures blocked his advance and tried to attack him. His pool flared violet, then flashed through a whole spectrum of colors, before turning black.
The old man gritted his teeth, then blew out a lungful of air. “Tougher than I thought. Of course she would have powerful friends. But still, I did not expect this kind of defense. No matter; it will just take a little longer, that is all.”
That said, he did leave the ritual room momentarily to get one of his grimiores and several amulets of power.
This would take work, but he was bound and determined to have his prize.
Not only did his survival depend on it; it was a matter of personal pride as well.
****
Kid Flash checked in on Raven and Wonder Girl periodically, but never stayed for more than half a second, so as not to disrupt Raven’s concentration. Wonder Girl clearly needed all the help she could get.
It frustrated him, as he knew it did the others, that there was nothing they could do for Donna, at least not until Raven found something. All his speed could accomplish nothing in this case.
His mind was also skipping over the amazing tale Uncle Barry had recently told, of journeying to another universe, where he, Wally, was the “elder statesman” of the super-speedsters....strange. So many possibilities.
Trouble was, he had a hard enough time dealing with the realities of this universe.
He came speeding back to the tower, to find Dagon brooding outside, staring out into the night, his new helmet held casually in one hand now that it was too dark for him to need it.
He almost didn’t want to know, but he asked anyway; “What are you thinking about?”
The vampire didn’t flinch. “Wondering what the nature of our enemy is.”
“Any thoughts?” Wally had never cultivated the vampire before, and was not particularly eager to do it now. But he was in for the long haul. Probably the new girl, Terra, as well. The old days of the team were gone, like it or not. Wally had mooned over that long enough (privately, to himself); now it was time to get with the program. Donna’s life might depend on it.
“Mystical, obviously,” Dagon shrugged. “Capable of astral attack over a distance. Could be a sorcerer. Could be an elemental parasite. Any number of unpleasant possibilities. Raven could tell you more.....but of course, she’s busy.”
“And you can fight....whatever it is?” Kid Flash asked.
Dagon smiled. It was not a pleasant smile, even discounting the fangs. “There’s no way to know for sure, of course; we are hypothesizing on air. But my claws can affect most things.”
“Well...that’s good.” Wally found himself more unnerved than ever.
Dagon smiled wider, probably divining his thought. “Do not fear me, speedster. Allies are rare enough in the world, and I have no wish to kill anyone.”
“Yeah....that’s good to know. I um....I think I’ll go check on Raven and Donna again.” He disappeared in a burst of speed.
Dagon chuckled and shook his head. Then he sighed; they were the only friends he had in this world, and he didn’t want them to fear him.
****
The old man had returned to the scrying room with a big, sorcerous tome and two amulets of darkness.
He placed the book by the pool and opened it to the relevant page with his trembling, arthritic hands. Just one more reminder of how desperately he needed the power and vitality she would provide him.....
He shook off such thoughts and found the relevant spell on the black vellum pages. His eyes studied the glowing violet letters of a dead language, mouthing the worlds silently, and then he nodded to himself.
He stood as erect as his bent old back would allow him, a talisman in each hand, and began to chant in that long forgotten language.
He called upon the dark powers, Neron not the least of them. As he went on, his cracked old voice got louder and louder, faster and faster....
****
Raven started. The shields she had constructed around Donna were blazing and flashing in her mind’s eye; even in normal view they could be faintly seen.
“No!” she shouted. The outside force had more than redoubled its efforts; it was calling on dark powers that reminder her of her father. Mercifully, it was not Trigon himself, but evil energies of a similar age and vintage. The very notion terrified her.
She twisted her hands and extended her soul-self, trying desperately to stop the attack. Her own power was formidable, and given time she certainly could have fought it off.
But the malevolent force would not give her that time.
Raven screamed in horror and rage as her shields were cast aside in a blast of power, but then an even more frightening thing occurred.
Wonder Girl shimmered, faded....and disappeared.
To Be Continued....[/b]
