Chapter Text
Please work. For the fifteenth time that evening Raven chanted, "Ara Elkem Uza Marr."
Sweat trickled down from her hairline in concentration, willing the spell to work. All she longed for was a glimpse.
"Akara Ara Zu Uzab Marr."
The energy within her stirred. A glimpse of where her odd power came from, a reason she was isolated from her fellow Azarathians.
"Mekah Lohat Nolkha."
The words were ripped from her mouth as dark energy abruptly surrounded her body. It was working, the power surging violently through her being. Amethyst eyes turned black.
"Zib Et MARR!"
For a second, everything was still, as if time had stopped, perhaps wishing to turn back on itself to save the girl from fate's cruel hands.
Then, it was all too quick, the room shook, and the darkness raged and flared uncontrollably, lashing out before surrounding her. In a flash, she was gone, leaving behind a circle of smoke and a carnage room.
When Raven came to, she felt an overwhelming sense of dread. She didn't recognize anything in her surroundings. Instead, her surroundings reminded her of a hellish nightmare. Blood-red skies, ashen ground and deserted lands stretched out beyond her view. She swivelled around as she attempted to spot anything useful or familiar when a black dot in the distance caught her eye. Her eyebrows furrowed as the size of the black dot rapidly increased in size. Her feet shuffled backwards on their own accord. A wild screech assaulted her ears, eyes widening at the sight of the nightmare creature flying toward her. Cursing under her breath, Raven bolted in the opposite direction before quickly switching to flying as fast as she could. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest, her mind racing to figure out a spell to get away. She could feel the creature getting closer. Afraid, she took the chance to glance behind her. A pained grunt escaped her lips as she was tackled out of the air. Her body hit the ground roughly with a thud before rolling to a stop. Barely given time to recover from her rough landing, she feels a harsh tug on her cape's hood that forces her to stand on wobbly feet.
When her eyes meet those of her attacker, her breath is snatched from her lungs. A demon. Its monstrous figure towered over her, flaming red eyes staring into her soul. Black orbs encircled her hands, ready to attack, when it suddenly engulfed her head with its hand. Everything went black.
Raven startles awake, disoriented yet tense. She feels the dark presence before she sees it. To her horror, she finds herself kneeling at the feet of an abominably mountainous, dark figure sitting on a throne of thorns and skulls. She could not avert her amethyst eyes from the four demonic eyes that seemed to assess her. The word mindlessly fell from her tongue, "Trigon."
It took her several minutes to calm her mind enough to listen to what the hulking demon was saying. Trigon spoke in a demon tongue, yet she understood it as if the creature spoke Azarathian. Destroyer of planets, enslaver of worlds, one of the cruellest, most powerful inter-dimensional demons ever existing, and he claimed to be her father.
........................
Time behaves differently in hell. She felt like it had been an eternity since she was kneeling before Trigon when it was probably a day at most. Trigon had granted her permission to roam his empire on the condition she embraced her demonic side. She had refused, denying her origins even though she could feel its presence underneath the surface. All she had to do, was look. Trigon did not care for her identity crisis and summoned her demonic form against her will. Her skin was red, her hair a ghostly white, and her now four eyes matched the monster that cursed her with them. The cloak she loved so much had ripped, thanks to her horns that now protruded from her forehead. As if that was not enough, her short nails were replaced by claws on her hands and feet. If only that were the worst thing about it all. There was this hunger for violence that began eating at her. A desperate need to consume and destroy so strong it made her itch. The compelling want to spill blood made her stomach churn and her palms sweat. It was repulsive. The severe contrast with her pacifist ways made her mind feel like it was being split into two.
Meditating was her only solace. Azar's teachings grounded her and helped fortify her mind from the darkness that sought to break it. Breathe in, breathe out. She had chosen to remain in a deep state of meditation as far away from Trigon as her powers of flight allowed. She desperately needed to return to Azarath and revert to her former self.
"Azarath-"she cut herself off with a gasp as pictures unexpectedly flooded her mind. Azarath is burning. She is overwhelmed by all the fear and panic from the Azarathians. Trigon stands tall in the middle of the chaos, a vicious grin in place. His vile joy nauseates her. She was up on a hill, watching it all unfold, rooted in place by apprehension and guilt. Azar kneels before her, urging her to run. Before Raven can move, the goddess meets the same fate as her people and turns to stone. All too soon, it ends. She only has a second to choke on a sob when she is assaulted with another round of pictures. Earth. She is older now, standing before a temple, but it feels unholy and fills her with unease. In a dark room, her gem glows brightly. The sheer amount of distress and agony poring from the image is staggering. Trigon stands victorious, surrounded by destruction, a world on fire and earthlings turned to stone. Remorse and a heart-wrenching sense of grief gut her. She knows it is her fault. A tear slips from her eye as another image floods her mind. Earth's heroes, defeating all manner of evil. A flash of hope breaks through her flood of depressing emotions, and it all ends.
Raven takes a moment to catch her breath, her four eyes oddly watering, but instead of tears, it's blood. She scrambles to stand upright, suddenly filled with a sense of urgency. She could not risk returning to Azarath. Azarathians would sooner die than raise a hand to defend themselves. The heroes of Earth were strong. Some are even seen as gods. They could help her defeat Trigon.
She determinedly began to fly around, searching for clues that could help her transport to Earth. It took a depressing amount of time to find her solution, the Lazarus pit. She landed beside the mucky green lake. She had read all about it. In exchange for prolonged life, it would drive souls to the brink of madness by overwhelming them with anger and violence. Several worlds had Lazarus pits, including Earth. To her knowledge, Earth had more than one. She could easily use her azarathian magic to teleport herself to Earth through the pit, the only issue was not knowing what to expect on the other side. Due to the nature of the hole, the people she would find on the other side would most likely be hostile. The minute she emerged from the pit, she needed to prepare herself to travel as far as she could from it. From there, she would begin searching for the heroes.
She sat cross-legged before the lake, ready to begin chanting when she suddenly stopped to stare at her hands. Her red hands and sharp claws. She would scare them. The people of Earth were not known for their understanding and accepting nature. She would be deemed a threat if she remained the way she was. It was a gamble, but she reasoned she would return to normal once she was away from Trigon's sphere of influence. No matter what she tried, she could not transform out of her demonic form by her own will alone. She gathered all the courage she could master and began her chant.
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos." A swirl of black began to envelop her.
"Akara Ara Zu Earth." Her soul self, like a raven, engulfed her form and flew into the pit. The harsh conditions in the hole do not bother her as much as she thought it would. Her demonic side embraces it fully, relishing in the chaos of hostile emotions. The sheer intensity of it makes it difficult for her to keep a leash on her magic. Ever so often, a black tendril would slip from the raven's form like a dangerous spark of electricity.
......
Surrounded by green waters, Jason Todd's eyes snapped open. His heart raced as anxiety overtook his mind. Visions of a bloody crowbar and the Joker played in his head. He died. A burning anger flooded his being as he recalled his final moments. The fierce feeling clouded his mind, and a lust for vengeance made him see red. His very soul demanded him to bathe in the Joker's blood. He needed to fight, no, kill something, kill him. The desire for bloodshed was so potent it choked him. As the infuriating thoughts assaulted his consciousness, a shadowy figure invaded his line of sight. His body suddenly felt too heavy to move. His lungs burned with an urgent need for air. Too fast for him to process, a black tendril shot out, latching onto him. His body was abruptly jerked upwards. A cold chill travelled down his spine, his rage dwindling as a nauseating dread crept into his very being. The sudden switch left his mind reeling.
Just as he thought the icy shadows would consume him, he was suddenly on dry ground. For a moment, he wondered if he had imagined it. If temporary insanity had made him experience the short-lived terror. Then he saw her, purple hair and dark purple eyes that stared back at him with what he assumed was confusion.
"Who the hell are you?"
Talia al Ghul's voice made them both snap their heads towards her. Talia directed her attention to the strange girl, sword in hand, ready to attack. Jason's attention was captured by the five League of Assassin members who stood dutifully behind their superior with their weapons drawn. His very being demands he attack them. No, annihilates them. Just as he was preparing to pounce, the girl spoke.
"No one."
Jason watched as her eyes turned black, and an eerie familiar shadow began to form behind her. He felt the unsettling cold chill from moments ago, and his skewed instincts took over. He needed to end that thing before it could consume him. He leapt at her, and it was over before it began. He felt his body slam into hers as they were both rapidly encased in darkness.
Raven let out a squeal as she felt his body hit hers. The shock momentarily breaks her focused hold on her magic as her soul self shoots off. She isn't sure how long they're flying, but the landing is rough. She hits the dirt hard and rolls a few feet, the wind knocked clean out of her when she hits a tree. She doesn't dare move a muscle as pain shoots up her spine. The pain settles in her bones. She forces herself to take calming breaths as her healing energy spreads through her body to reduce the hammering pangs to a dull ache.
It takes a minute, but she finally gathers herself to a sitting position, rolling her neck as she does so. A pained grunt catches her attention, causing her to whip her head to her left to identify its source. Her eyes widen at the sight of the boy from earlier lying face down in the dirt with his leg bent at an odd angle. Raven scrambles to his side, hands hovering above his back as she thinks of her next move. On one hand, he was the one who tackled her, if she helped him, he might hurt her. On the other, she came to Earth to do good, helping him would be a good deed. He could also tell her where she could find the heroes.
Mind made up, Raven carefully turns him over so that he lays on his back, taking extra care of how she moves his injured leg. She cringes at the blood dripping down his forehead. Her healing abilities weren't so advanced. If he was too wounded she'd have to take him somewhere an advanced healer can fix him. She takes a deep breath, feeling the buzz of magic resounding within her and pulls it to her hands. Raven's hands glow a bright blue as she lays them on his leg. Perspiration forms on her brow as she concentrates on straightening the bone. She can't fix that, so she focuses on the torn muscle and speeds up any clotting. She only stops when exhaustion starts to seep in. She shakes her head to clear her mind as she moves over to his head.
A gasp tore from her lips the second she made contact. Instant onslaughter of visions. She's astounded as flashes of the boy's life fill her mind. Bats. A family. A cave. A robin. Green, purple, clown? Crowbar. Blood. Rage. She releases him as the ugly torrent of emotions threatens to overwhelm her. Her eyes snap open, widening when they meet his stark green. Her heartbeat races as she slowly backs away as he simultaneously sits up. They maintain eye contact the entire time, silent as they both consider each other.
"What did you do," Jason bites out. Raven can sense his anger flare, "You were hurt... I was healing you-"
"No." He cuts her off, his blood is boiling, "You were in my head."
Raven frowns, "I didn't do it on purpose. I was healing you because you decided to tackle me! I don't know where we are, and your foot was facing the opposite direction!"
His head slowly turns to his foot. There's a typical discomfort within it he associates with a fracture, but something soothing dulls it as well. It's an alien sensation, but he knows magic is capable of a lot. Jason turns his head back to the girl, there's a good chance she's being honest. However, she invaded his mind, accident or not, and it infuriated him. He bites his tongue to get a hold of himself.
Raven inches away as she watches him tremble from holding in his outrage. The pit has taken hold of pieces of his soul, poured unhinged violence into his being and wrath to overwhelm his emotions.
"The pit causes you to lose control over your emotions. It makes you more irritable, it especially amplifies your aggression. Even bloodlust. If you let me, I can help you just enough to reduce the fog."
Despite his profuse distrust, he felt like his mind wasn't his. He hated the thought of not being in control more than he hated the idea of magic in his head.
"If you do anything outside what you say. I'll kill you."
Raven's gaze narrowed, rather hostile for someone she was trying to help. She sighed before lifting her arm and with a lot of hesitance, laying it on his chest. Jason tensely watched as she closed her eyes. One wrong move, and he promised to end her there and then. He blinked several times as he felt the fog from his mind lift, and his anger simmer down. It felt like he could breathe without choking. As she took away her hand, Jason released a shaky breath as a slight calm washed over him.
He turned his head to the girl and paused. Maybe it was because she was kneeling, but he hadn't realized how small she was. He frowned, was she just a little kid?
"It won't last that long. You'll have to learn how to deal with it." She said bluntly.
He frowned, that was a problem. But first, "Who are you?"
She blinked, half surprised, "Raven," she responded softly, fatigue beginning to kick in.
"Jason Todd. Although, I have a feeling you saw that... "he says the last part distastefully, but she decides to ignore his irritation for now. At least it was his and not of the pit.
"Where are you from? And what the hell were you doing in the pit?" He is rather certain she's about ten years old. Meta or not, children have no business anywhere near the pit- or the league. The latter would send alarm bells ringing in his head.
"I am from Azarath. I used the pit to come to Earth. I need to find Earth's heroes... I need help." Raven says sincerely. She hopes he will offer his assistance and take her to them. She saw the man of the night fighting villains. Surely he can help her.
He bites his inner cheek at the sound of the word hero. He remembers his former persona, Robin and his mentor, Bruce-Batman, whatever. It's enough to induce a headache. Batman...Joker. He shuts his eyes, wanting to keep his cool as the events of his last encounter with them both erupt in his mind. His chest aches. He wants to go home. His eyes open slowly to meet purple. He can't take her to him just like that. The pleading look in her eyes gets to him and he also cannot ignore the fact that she did help him.
He shakes his head, "Why do you need help?"
Raven's eyebrows pinch together, ready to tell him the truth and pray he doesn't turn her away.
'....................
Jason sighed. He had seen odd things in his head while she was in his mind. He thought he was having a nightmare, but it was a reality, Raven's reality. He didn't know much about hell and demons, only what Bruce and Dick mentioned from time to time. From what she's told him, Trigon is a problem. A Justice League-level threat kind of problem. He runs his hand through his hair, "Let's find out where we are. Go from there."
Relief washes over Raven, "Okay. I can fly us up and see if you recognize where we are. I'm pretty drained, but if you know a place close enough, I can teleport us there."
Jason shivers at the thought of going through that again but agrees nonetheless.
She stands first, swaying slightly, and offers a hand out to Jason. He looks at it for a while before he takes it, taking off pressure from his injured leg that he's now wrapped to keep it in place. A black disk forms beneath his feet, and they're airborne. She takes back her hand as they break through the canopy.
There's nothing but trees for miles. "Where the hell did you take us? The amazon?"
She rolls her eyes, "Again, if you hadn't tackled me, we wouldn't be here."
He sighs, "Alright. Can you teleport us? I know where we can go."
There's a chance she doesn't have enough energy. She's tired. But he was probably taking her to his hero, the Batman she saw in his mind. A place where they would be safe and could rest.
Raven takes a deep breath. It was worth the risk, "Yes. Just think of where and have an image of it in your head."
Todd nods and Raven takes it as a sign to go. Her hand touches his shoulder and her eyes burn a dazzling white. They're encased in her raven self and are off in seconds. The raven flies for miles before disappearing into an old apartment building.
Jason grunts as his back hits the ground. Pain shoots up his leg, forcing out a string of curses from him as he stands. His eyes dart around, and he recognizes the run-down apartment instantly.
"Your landing is shit, but at least we got here-" he goes quiet as his eyes land on Raven, who is lying on the floor, far too still for his liking. He drops to his knees, ignoring the shooting pain, "Raven?"