The Return of Terra [Titans/Kon-L]

[Cassandra Sandsmark]

With a satisfying impact, her fist slammed into Raven.

The witch went flying, bones snapping under the force of the blow that she had just been dealt, but perhaps to the surprise of the onlookers, the gasp of pain mixed with shock came from Cassie, who staggered – one hand instinctively clutching at her chest. Her heart had almost stopped beating, in fact only the resilience and healing granted to her by the Armour had allowed her to keep standing at all. But that wasn’t all.

While the physical pain shook the armoured figure, Raven had misjudged her second attack. Even if the instinctive repulsion that seeing the Armour making its deal with the devil overwhelmed Cassie’s conscious mind, even if her knowledge of the Armour’s real history and origins didn’t protect her from such things, even if she already found the Armour disgusting on levels that maybe only Raven herself could have understood, there was a simple reason why the only reaction to that image was a harsh bark of laughter as it straightened again, shaking off the pain that had brought her to a standstill at about the same instant as the demon returned to stand in front of her, spewing its ridiculous nonsense once again.

It would break nothing.

Still, the pain had brought a slight wariness to the Silent Armour and its body for now, and it watched with an almost suspicious glint to its burning eyes as the sorceress summoned another wave of those tendrils. Break her heart…

The first blow to the body’s heart had been an unpleasant shock, but one that she had easily been able to recover from. The Armour provided its host with near-invulnerability to damage but also a healing factor that was measured in the seconds and, for all the shock and pain, Raven’s attack had done relatively little damage. That had been one, however, while now there were dozens of them clawing at her. And the unholy unity of Cassie and the Armour wanted no part of any of them. It sprang away in an instant, letting the tendrils flail through the empty air where she had stood a moment before. A single one caught her ankle and, shuddering with the ghost-agony of a second blow to the heart, her mind summoned up unbidden the image of Red Robin –broken, bloodied and beaten – left at her feet.

Part of her recoiled in disgust but more fed on the anger and the pain and the hate, the darker side growing stronger and stronger, pushing further into control.

"You think I care about him? You think I care about any of you?!”

Snarling, Cassie crossed her forearms in front of her swifter than the human eye could follow, summoning a reddish field of energy that cut through the dark tendrils chasing her as if they weren’t even there. Then, at that same inhuman speed, her hand came grasping for Raven, the taloned fingers eager to pierce the sorceress’ chest – and rip her beating heart from her body. She was eager to see how she regenerated from that.

And if she did, then Cassie would tear her head from her shoulders.

"It’s over.”

TAG: Kid Devil

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[eddie]

Eddie felt his body heating up as the fight ensued he hadn’t had enough time to get Raven before the emotions had hit. They’d stunned him for a moment. His eyes had squeezed shut but for only a moment. Inside his head he could hear laughter, the laughter of Neron. He felt the brush of the power that was his and he was thrown from his emotions, from his mind back into the present fight. His eyes caught sight of what Raven was doing with the dark tendrils and then at Cassie as she was bathed in a golden armor, and her hand was outstretched reaching to go through Raven’s chest. He could taste the malicious intent in the air.

“Move boy, if you plan to truly save them from themselves.”[/i] The voice was heavy in his head, pulling at a side of him; he was only just beginning to truly understand. It was only a small part, but it was enough that it gave him the instinctive reactions he needed to move. He curled his hands into fists, and then let them expand outward to expose his claws. His lips pulled back exposing a rows of sharp teeth, his body shaking slightly with the negative emotions in the air, they called to the darker side of him. His body was suddenly in motion, heading for the two of fighters. A demonic screech came from his parted lips, but there was more of humanities edge to the sound, but it was loud. "She's out for her blood."

He was between them, his golden eyes smoldering, his body white as the fire raged inside his body. His flashed the blonde a devious smirk, as words spilled in a dialect that was old and almost forgotten. <”Courtesy of Neron.”> As his mouth opened wide, white hot fire came from his mouth straight for the blonde. As the blast left his mouth, he turned his body, still glowing, his arms reached for Raven his fingers curling around her shoulders in a bruising grip, that if her regenerative capabilities had been at less a level then they were right now, she’d have more extensive burns then the ones he was undoubtedly giving her. He pushed off with his feet throwing them both back several feet from Wonder Girl.

He could feel it the further away he got from Cassie and the armor that covered her skin, he could feel himself becoming more like himself, the demonic urge starting to come down from its high. He turned towards the others, his teeth set in a snarl as he looked at Karen; he could sense it on her person. “Hurry up with the artifact! I can’t hold her forever!” he said his tail lashing out behind him as he looked back at Raven, his ears perked back to listen to Cassie, to try and hear if she was coming at them again. “Raven, you have to snap out of it, get back control, like I know you can” he said loudly his voice still holding an edge, but it was filled with humanity. He didn’t understand what he’d said to Cassie, but the words had been pressed by Neron, clearly he had a small message to plant, whatever it may be.

[Bumblebee]

[style= text-align: justify; padding: 5px; width: 445px;] Just when she thought that a resolve was well on its path the situation darkened. Quite literally of course, everything in her world was quite literal and right now she wished that this type of opposition was between real enemies not that of friends. Terra was a bit ambiguous at this point, but Karen thought it best to stop dealing with these manners in public and instead return to Titans Island to handle the entire situation. After all, Terra’s betrayal had not been public, for all the people cared the Titans were just being extremely exclusive about their membership. Definitely not the type of impression she wanted the world to have, especially not after everything they had been through.

It came without warning, the sudden grasp of darkness on Terra and soon followed by the malevolent Raven that the team had become so familiar with. Karen’s eyes widened as she watched Terra rotate in the air rather limply and then was thrust back to the ground on all fours her mouth agape and rasping for air and a belligerent look on her eyes. Things were only getting started now and Karen could feel her heart swell as the atmosphere began to change and an enigma overcame her. She looked to Raven whose face was contorted slightly in some sort of internal struggle – then it came.

Raven advanced, not this wasn’t Raven. It was the demon inside her that had crawled out through the tiny crevices of the wall she had built to keep it locked away. It torn out of her insides and overwhelmed the shell of a woman, seeking refuge in the very mind that had trained itself to withstand certain evils. The eerie, rolling, demonic voice trembled throughout the entire atmosphere and for a moment Karen was frozen in place. Every fiber in her body had been severed from her bones and she could do nothing as she watched in horror as Raven grew quite ravenous in size and the malevolent creature took over her, exhuming itself in a violent and fear inspiring form.

Karen opened her mouth, prepared to cry out to Raven to call her name and hope that it would receive some sort of response. Maybe she could catch her before she was completely consumed, maybe the cry of a friend would help Raven find the strength to overcome the evil that existed within. But the cry would go unheard as Cassie flung herself into the line of destruction, armor engulfing her entire body and a menacing aura that overflowed around her almost matching that of Raven’s.

It was a faceoff and as the initial consequence Raven unleashed her wrath. Pain, fury, hate, the strongest of these emotions overwhelmed her and Karen fell to the floor, her stomach retching in pain as she felt her insides turn and threaten to come back up. She gasped and breathed for air, unable to keep her head up to observe the remainder of the aggressive confrontation between the two beings that harnessed otherworldly powers. Her vision was blurry, jumpy and almost faded as the ground beneath her trembled. Even if she could regain her senses Karen would stand no chance between the two, she just wasn’t that super.

Clenching her fists Karen pushed herself off the ground with every ounce of willpower and fight that she had in her. She rose from the ground, her wings beginning to vibrate as her mental state came back to her and aided her in her ascension. The scene came back into view just in time for Karen to see Raven return from the distance and come onto Cassandra like a tsunami onto the shore.

She immediately pushed forward, ready to jump between the two as they collided, tussled and then finally Cassandra got a brilliant hold on Raven that would allow her to tear the young woman apart. No was all she thought as she flew forward, her wings vibrating violently as she willed herself to fly faster, thought to herself to move faster.

Then there was an inferno that she almost found herself caught in. She immediately backpedaled into the air, looking around for its source only to hear Eddie’s voice reverberate back down to her. Reinforcements, always good! She was glad for the help and hoped that this would allow them enough time to tame the two beasts that had allowed them to become consumed.

Eddie in all his bravery took a rigid hold of Cassandra, momentarily separating the two and forcing Cassandra to stand down. Karen nodded to herself, knowing that now was the best time to take hold of the situation and let it die down. The public were already amassing again trying to make sense of what had just happened and based on the distraught looks on their faces they were about ready to severely single out the team.

Karen flew forward, her body slowly minimizing to a near visibly immeasurable size. She pawed at her utility belt, searching for an item that would hopefully turn the tides to this entire scene. Karen recalled when Richard took his leave the single request he had made to Karen. He entrusted her with an artifact, one that Raven had provided for him in the situations where the darkness would take over. Upon his leave he left Karen, the default leader of the team with the Jewel of Azar, an artifact that would be able to subdue the demon that possessed Raven. Karen understood the responsibility and she was beyond prepared to handle the demonic being even if it meant the cost of Raven or her own life.

Buzzing forward, she slipped through the flames and avoided Raven’s nasty tendrils to arrive before the young woman whose contrived expression as so absorbed in the confusion left by Eddie’s flames it did not notice the small object approach her.

Reverting to her normal size, Karen breathed in and out calmly, watching as the six eyes on Raven’s head focused their attention on her and narrowed in contempt. She raised her arm, brandishing her weapon of choice and holding forth the blood red, tear dropped shaped jewel before Raven. The expression molded, turning its concentration on the stranger artifact and when the being realized what it had been forced to face Karen could feel the world tremble as it shrieked terribly and the form of Raven began to violently thrash about.

“RAVEN!” Karen called out over the yells, her body instinctively moving to avoid lashing tendrils and the darkness that threatened to take over her. “RAVEN, FIGHT BACK!” was the last thing she could utter before the darkness enveloped her, Karen breathed, almost choking as it stifled her. But still she held steadfastly onto the precious stone in her hand, determined to rid her friend of such vindictive evils. [/style]

Tag: Koriand’r

[Koriand'r]

There was a rather haughty expression on Koriand’r’s face that also hinted at a certain level of satisfaction in Raven’s final resolve. If the young Tamaranian were able to input her own comments she would emphasize her great disdain at any compromise for Terra. Had she granted the Titans the same remorse in her final moments, did she really regard them without callous or malevolence. Koriand’r did not think it possible for the girl, she was evil incarnate and that was saying something because Raven was one of her best friends.

As the situation seemed to lighten there was a sudden change in the atmosphere and Terra was caught in her own insanity, rolling on the floor and shrieking out in anguish as Raven’s tendrils seemed to reach out to her. Koriand’r turned, observing the change of expression on everyone’s faces and before she could even react it had erupted. Evil had showed its true face and much to her chagrin it wasn’t on Terra. There was a growl and hiss from Raven as he hood covered much of her face. Darkness met with Koriand’r’s gaze and from her experience she was very much aware of where this would be going.

“Raven!”

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Was all she could utter as the demonic princess finally spoke, her voice heavy and raspy. Koriand’r tried to advance forward, but in response to Cassandra’s more swift approach the young Tamaranian was forced to double back as a flurry of emotion consumed her and she held her head in pain. Attempting to control her own transgressions Koriand’r huddled in pain and fear, terrified of what had been unleashed. She was immobilized in her position, only able to watch as Karen cringed on the floor and the two seemingly possessed women fought it out in a ferocious battle that was well beyond the realms of strength and wit. There was something deeper here, something that did not belong.

The battle was reaching its climax now and Koriand’r was able to grab a hold of herself. Rising off the ground, she ran forward, her intentions on Raven and focused purely on placing the girl back into the right sense of mind.

She was however too slow as Eddie leapt between the too, distracting the six eyed demon with a showy display of flames and taking a hold of Cassandra to prevent any further interaction.

“Good work Kid Devil!” [/color]

Koriand’r called out as she pressed forward, firing random bolts of energy at the oncoming tendrils. Suddenly one lashed out at her, and sent her flying backwards. As she looked up she was met with the unpleasant face of Terra whose face was nothing but awestruck and terrified. The rage returned within her as she looked at the girl’s doe eyed expression. She had been the cause of all this, she had stirred all this unnecessary trouble. Rising from the ground, Koriand’r looked to Raven who was shrieking in pain, or rather the demon within her was crying out in shock.

Her concentration returned to Terra who looked at her with an expression that brought Koriand’r to further disdain. Producing a fist full of starbolt energy, Koriand’r held it up in a threatening manner as she held it over her side and looked to Terra with the burning intensity of a thousand suns.

“Does this make you happy?!” [/color]Koriand’r began, her face muscles flexing wildly as the rage inside her took over, “Is this what you have come to accomplish? To destroy us further? To deepen our scars?!” [/color] The Tamarian was shaking now, seething rage exhibited to the increased intensity of the glow about her, “Get out of here Terra or by X’hal I will eliminate you myself once and for all!” That was her final proclamation and the look in her eyes proclaimed that she was without hesitation.
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