This is madness...SEVENTY THO???? Shit...thanks you lot, I honestly had no idea how long this story would be but DAMN! I haven't even gotten out half of the ideas I have for this story!
-Now on to the real work!
***
"What the-!", Jon shouted, barely sliding out of the way of a beam of electric yellow. It grazed his arm, not penetrating his half-kryptonian flesh, but settling is abuzz with static tingles. The boy held his hand over the electrically humming patch on his arm, withdrawing it instantly as the tingles jumped to his palm with a snap. "Uh...D...Raven... What's goin' on?"
Ducking in to the gap between two buildings (not caring to avoid the splashes of damp by the walls) Damian beckoned the other two with a shout, breathing only when the three of them were together, panting behind the wall. There was little time to loose, they had but a few stressed moments before the Councilmen would be on them.
"Who-wha...I don't- are you gonna tell me what in the hay is goin' on?!"
Damian chided Jon, "Tt. Don't drop your 'g's Jonathan you don't live in Smallville."
Raven pinned him with a furiously calm stare, emphasising, "They're Councilmen and they're after us. They will kill you without blinking and will not be reasoned with- they would caution us if they were sent to do anything other than kill." She hadn't hesitated to flash in to her cloak and suit, glaring purple only seconds before. Raven looked to Damian, "They know who you are but the public don't-"
"I've mastered this, lend me a minute.", Damian nodded, slipping in to the dark recesses of the building-gap (dank and dim in spite of the teasing winter sun).
Understanding what Damian had left to do, Jonathan tore at his uniform, tugging open the shirt to reveal that hopeful signature symbol of the Supers. Adrenaline battled with fear in the boy's mind as he conceded that there was a huge threat searching for them. No doubt someone would be over soon- maybe Batman or one of the JLA members- they always landed on time when the action called, but still, a whole squad of powerful magicians out to kill them (at least, trying to kill Damian and Raven and Jon by association, he couldn't think of why).
Soaring out from behind the wall, Superboy and Raven became instant targets for the cloaked magicians, dodging beams of all manner of energy. Red consuming his eyes with a deadly glow, Jonathan pinpointed a hooded man and let loose, slamming lasers in to the man and sending him thudding in to a glass window. The cries of fleeing civilians filling his ears and locating another target occupying his mind, Superboy missed Raven's warning, only saved from being charred by a purple barrier rising I front of him. The semi-sphere of magic lingered for a moment before fizzling away and Jonathan shouted his thanks to Raven, taking a shuddering breath.
There was no time to loose as an invisible force crushed the lamppost where Jon had just flown past, the electrics feebly sparking. Putting on a burst of speed, Superboy narrowed his sight on a 'councilman' busy firing blasts of blinding white light at Raven from their raised palms. Back turned, the cloaked man didn't see the half-Kryptonian coming, and his speed was far too fast for the man to register. Jonathan landed a resonating punch on the man, ending up with him landing through a car window and not standing again.
Instantly, the of the cloaked people delivered magical blows, all of which Jon missed by the skin of his teeth, bar one which sent him crashing on to the unforgiving concrete below, upending chunks of the road. Scrambling in to the air, Jonathan prepared himself to jump out of the way of magical assaults, halting with a frown as no attack came.
Three of the Council members had fallen around the demoness, through a window, under a car and lying on the concrete...respectively. Another was soon to fall as a Councilwoman attempted to use a broken telephone box as a weapon, gathering the shattered glass and projecting them towards the demoness like a hundred glinting wasps. Before she had the chance to strike, the woman fell with a gasp , having sustained a heavy blow to the back of her head.
Behind the fallen Councilwoman stood the proud figure of one Damian Wayne, his Robin uniform a welcome sight to Jon. Katana bared, Robin launched in to the action, allowing Raven and Superboy to distract the Council members with their powers as he slid through the streets like a panther ready to pounce. Seven Councilmen remained. One down. Two. A third.
Then a flash of green.
"Figured you kids 'd need a hand.", Hal grinned, willing a wall to block his side as a stream of crackling electricity was aimed at him.
Raven bit back a groan at the spoiled fun, satisfying herself with sniffing out a Councilman that had gotten distracted. Clearly an amateur, unlike the other three remaining. The Green Lantern materialised a dome (like a jade igloo) using it to cover the three leftover like a spider under a cup.
Nodding soundly, Hal said, "All done! Now, what have you lot gotten yourself in to?"
The trapped Council members were evidently experienced fighters, capable of breaking through such a simple construction with ease. That was apparent when, as a crash sounded, the three broke free, the roof of the dome cracking in half and falling apart. Having amassed such power and spent it in so short a time, one of the cloaked people staggered, only able to create a weak ripple through the air going nought but causing Hal to fall a little lower. On the other hand, the four heroes had their agility put to the rest as a flurry of blasts issued from the enraged pair of Council members.
Ducking behind the barrier Hal summoned up (after he beckoned the younger three over), Raven closed her eyes, focusing on the ground beneath her feet. Extending deeper, the demoness sought out the flaming underside of the Earth, connecting with the heat the raged within the Earth and within her soul. Pouring strength into her from its infinite source, the Earth responded and Raven withheld the urge to smile a wicked smile.
"Uh, you okay there?", Hal frowned, not accustomed to fighting with the Titan and unsure if this was a weird magical thing or what.
Eyes flicking open, a scorching red, Raven nodded, looking to Damian for a moment and translating a warning with a single widening of her eyes, "Leave this to me."
She jumped over the barrier with a gazelle's grace, hovering above the torn concrete with her arms splayed. Head throwing backwards, Raven allowed the darkness to encompass her vision, spreading to shroud her image in a demonic shadow that hung over her like a raven of death. Magic seeped in to the air, radiation off of every inch of the demoness, barely a fraction of the pool of energy at the core of her soul.
The two pure Light creatures in front of her, a mere Mage and Light Fey, assembled blockades of magic, whispering incantations in the language of ancients. To no avail. Raw, feral, and immense. That was the demoness' magic. Channelling all the amassed power, the demoness' head jerked forwards as her hands slammed together and an untameable river of shadows -cousin to the Styx- burst forwards, washing over their poor Light souls. The darkness suffocating their bright centres, the hooded figures crumbled, falling to the floor like rag dolls.
Pride hadn't finished.
She had managed to shift the balance of her conscience, letting that unnamed something slip to the surface of the ocean of her mind, trickling out of its prison. Pride was feeling a little peckish, after all, 'with great power comes great hunger' (there, now the phrase was truly perfect). She sniffed the air, considering the Mage and young Fey.
Too Light. Wholly unappetising.
She turned her head.
That scent on the other hand...oh she liked it. She loved it, as a matter of fact. A legacy of bloodshed bested only by the bloodshed on his soul. What fun! She couldn't feel much of his emotions though- oddly strong mental barriers, far too strong as a matter of fact. Should she dissect his brain to figure it out? No no- the conscience is not visible- she should carve his heart out an inspect his soul -no no, the soul isn't seen through the heart!- by her name as Pride, she had been too long out of the game.
She'd inspect the other one later- the mysterious aura holder. Had Pride cared to, she would have searched through her memories and remembered the boy, but she had far too strong an appetite for that. No no, the green glowing one would have to do. Tall with enough meat on his bones, fresh blood enough. Pride licked her lips and set her feet on the ground, stalking a few steps forward.
Then immense pain.
From her side it grew, stabbing, twisting, relentless pain. Pride cried out with the voice of thousands, clutching her stomach with purple swirling about her fingers, attempting to send the smoky magic in to the wound. It didn't respond. How? How could that have been? No mortal blade could prohibit her-
Pride's eyes were chunks of coal as she lifted her head to her assailant, his evil green eyes burrowing in to hers and a grimly satisfied smile touching his lips. The blade he stabbed her with remained wedged in the side of her abdomen as Pride faintly registered two other voices speaking- no, shouting. The green glowing man and the little blue-red dressed alien. And the crowd of people creeping back on to the street around them, not daring to come to close. They were so quiet yet unbearably loud and Pride's ears ached. Oh if she could just tear them out with her claws and stop hearing that horrible racket- but she'd heard worse before, the worse sound in all the realms.
Pride looked at the small blade sticking out of her.
An immortal blade.
The green eyed one spoke to her in a deadly quiet tone, "Resign control. There is no threat here. Don't even consider that I won't send this straight through your heart."
Pride struggled with the wound. It would not relent or submit to her will. But Raven was about the send her back in to that little cage where she kept the worst parts of Pride and Raven was what the boy wanted. He would help Raven and Pride was nothing without her dear, dear Raven.
Black receded, giving way to a mist of amethyst in Raven's eyes.
"Welcome back.", Damian said.
***
There they found themselves once more, the three Titans, this time accompanied by Hal Jordan of all people, stared down by Batman and Superman with a handful of other Leaguers observing.
"We saw what happened. Now explain.", Batman all but growled, having rushed to the Hall of Justice as soon as he'd heard that Damian and the other two hadn't gone home on the helicopter. The attack had come up on the TV with his son (Robin uniform donned) fighting people garbed in white cloaks with magic.
Batman's formidable state bore in to Jonathan's eyes, making the boy shrink under its sternness. Too many times they'd found themselves displayed in front of the Leaguers, asked to explain themselves. Only this time, the scene was punctuated by bloody smears and grimmer expressions.
"Well- see now-there was these guys with hoods and-", Superboy began, blue eyes bordering the puppy-look.
Raven stopped his charade before it truly began, "The Council sent a squad to kill us. We dealt with them."
Alarms blared in Batman's mind: once more someone was trying to kill his son, rather, some group. This 'Light Council' had appeared more in recent times than he'd cared for and the imminent threat they posed was one that needed to be tackled immediately. The League could take care of magical threats, they'd done so in the past. The JLA had also destroyed organisations in the past. What more was a magical organisation?
"Wait, I'm a little late, remind me why they're trying to kill you?", Barry said, speaking over Cyborg's shoulder.
Damian frowned, battling the urge to say 'DUH', "First of all, they're Light beings. Second, we've just captured one of their best double agents. Associates of ours have also damaged a few of their outlets. We have a squad leader of theirs captured and did I mention they're LIGHT preternaturals?".
Message received loud and clear.
Superman asked, "But what's Jonathan got to do with this?"
Damian shrugged, "Death by association."
That put a grim taste in Clark's mouth.
The Justice League was formed to protect those in need of protection (like Jason) and support those in need of support; this Council was a threat that needed to be extinguished, the only thing to do was figure out how.
"We must deal with this Council you have told us of.", Diana fixed her hands on her hips, the other present Leaguers stretching a little taller where they stood knowing what was being contemplated. "We must meat these Councilmen in battle, no matter how high their number!"
A proud Amazon through and through, one any warrior could be proud of following in to war. The gods might have shone down upon Wonderwoman in her glory, delivering such a command. Alas, her powerful moment was defeated by the reality of the situation.
The demoness who'd opted to remain quiet broke the solemnity with an unexpectedly icy voice, "That's too hasty and there are thousands of members in the Council. Besides, the Council itself isn't the issue, it's the Council leaders- known as the Ringbearers."
Diana's shoulder's deflated at the down heartening news (she'd so looked forward to combat against beings of magical power) and she sighed, "You have a plan concocted?"
Robin took the liberty of answering in Raven's place, looking to his father as he said it, each word building up to the revelation of a destructive secret, "The plan has been in development and in action for a few weeks now. A source on the inside feeding information and ripening the Council for failure."
Damian waited for his father to ask that terrible, fated question.
"Who?"
His dry throat hardly allowed the words to pass through.
"Jason Todd."
Before the shouts of betrayal of trust and the storms or rage and broken thin bonds of trust that could never build that same way again and how ashamed he was...there was a cheerful voice of youth disguised in the enchantments of the gods.
"Hey everyone, what'd I miss?", Shazam obliviously sauntered through the door.
A.N:
Hello their my darlings (no nonce here I promise 😂)!
Well, that was a pretty action-y chapter wasn't it, and some major plots should be tying up soon! But now Bruce knows about Jason- what'll happen to Damian and his father's fragile bond? What is going on with Donna? And what's going to happen with Shazam?
Sorry, but you'll have to wait and see!
-Bats :3