Teen Titans Fan Fiction ❯ Coil ❯ Godspeed ( Chapter 9 )

 

“Coil”

Chapter 9: “Godspeed”

Disclaimer: Teen Titans does not belong to me; it belongs to DC Comics and Warner Brothers. The same goes for the Justice League and anyone associated with them.

Author's note: Things just keep getting better and better, don't they? First Wonder Girl, then Omen, and now Zauriel. Who else will appear in this story? I probably won't be able to get all of them and most of the mystical members of the League may not be able to appear, but I'll squeeze in as many as I can.

Now on with the story.

The Titans and their allies gazed at the being before them, almost unable to believe what their eyes saw.

The being was shaped like a man, dressed in golden armor - breastplate, shoulder pieces, gauntlets, knee pieces, greaves, and sollerets - over silver chain mail. A vaguely eagle-like helm covered his head, the “beak” tapering into a point between his reddish-violet eyes. The armor in and of itself wasn't so unusual in light of the many meta-human heroes that littered the nation. Even the grayish white skin of his face wasn't so unusual, given that the color almost matched Raven's skin. What was unusual was the large feathered wings folded at his back.

Beast Boy was the first one to recover his voice. “Dude! He's an angel!”

It was hard to believe, but the aura of pure goodness that radiated from the winged man would leave one hard-pressed to believe otherwise.

“I am Zauriel,” the being stated.

Nightwing introduced himself to Zauriel. “I'm Nightwing.”

“Ah, as in the wings of the night,” Zauriel mused. “A beautiful name.”

“Thanks for the compliment,” Nightwing answered, “but what are you doing here?”

“I am here to lend my assistance,” Zauriel replied. “The Horsemen's continued presence will drive humanity into its grave if they are not stopped. The same goes for Dark Angel.”

“So how are you going to help us?” Wonder Girl asked.

“I will give you a weapon,” Zauriel replied. “A weapon that can slay Dark Angel, the Horsemen, and any creatures she may summon to aid her in her schemes.”

“Who's going to use it?” Raven asked.

Zauriel turned to Nightwing. “The bearer of the darkness dragon.”

“Ok . . .” Nightwing uttered.

“Be careful, Nightwing,” Zauriel advised. “The dragon you carry inside you can be your greatest ally or your most terrible adversary. It all depends on how much influence you allow him to exert on you.”

“Are you saying that the dragon might push me to do something I don't want to do?” Nightwing asked.

“The dragon is you, Nightwing, sans inhibitions,” Zauriel replied. “That is why you have to be careful. He will not push you to do things you do not want to do; he may very well push you to do things that you want to do but are prevented from doing by your morals.”

“What else?” Nightwing asked.

“The years spent inside your mortal frame have restrained the dragon's darker powers and caused some of them to atrophy,” Zauriel replied. “Tapping into that power may enable you to stop the Horsemen and Dark Angel. Unfortunately, such a thing would require complete surrender of your being to the dragon and that could be disastrous.”

“Disastrous how?” Bumblebee asked.

“The dragon is a creature of incarnate darkness,” Zauriel replied. “To completely unleash his power would possibly result in the dragon completely taking over Nightwing's body and personality and he could go on a destructive rampage.”

“So you're saying . . . that if I ever summoned the dragon's full power, I could lose all control of myself and the dragon would use my body to kill people?” Nightwing deduced.

“Among other things,” Zauriel answered. He pulled out a golden-bladed sword with a dragon's-head hand guard and handed it to Nightwing. “This sword will balance the dark power inside you with its own holy power.”

“All right,” Nightwing said. “Thank you.”

“You're welcome,” Zauriel responded with a smile. He unfolded his wings. “I will return to aid you when you battle Dark Angel and the Horsemen.”

The angel flew away.

Wonder Girl let go of the breath she'd been holding in. “That was like seeing one of the gods in person.”

“Yes, he was as radiant as X'Hal,” Starfire agreed.

In the dark dimension, Dark Angel watched Zauriel with a hint of consternation on her pale features.

“He could be a danger to my plans,” she whispered softly. “He will have to be dealt with.”

“Fortunately, I can help you with that,” a darkly masculine voice purred.

“Who are you and what are you doing in my domain?” Dark Angel asked.

“Forgive me for not introducing myself,” the voice answered. “I am Asmodeus.”

Asmodeus stepped out of the shadows, revealing himself as a winged man in black armor over tarnished silver chain mail. A vaguely eagle-like black helmet covered his head with the “beak” tapering to a point just between his crimson eyes.

Dark Angel noticed that Asmodeus's wings were black. “Ah, a fallen angel, I see.”

“Yes,” Asmodeus confirmed with a smirk. “So is Zauriel, but he is saved from damnation by the fact that he is the Presence's agent on Earth.”

“Interesting,” Dark Angel mused. “How do you intend to help me deal with Zauriel?”

“I know him,” Asmodeus answered. “I used to fight alongside him, before I got bored of the Presence's dominion of Heaven. As a fallen angel, he is no longer immortal. He will not age or die of disease, but if he is injured severely enough . . . he will die just like any other mortal.”

“Is the same not true of you?” Dark Angel asked.

Asmodeus simply let out an “hmph.”

“Arrogant fallen one, aren't you?” Dark Angel remarked.

“Not only will I help you with Zauriel; I'll help you get rid of those damned Titans as well,” Asmodeus declared. A smirk came to his face. “I would like to keep one of them as a pet.”

“Which one?” Dark Angel asked. “Either of the Tamaranean sisters? The daughter of Trigon? The little bee?”

“What about the Amazon?” Asmodeus asked. “She has a bottom that I'd like to do things to.”

Dark Angel snarled and charged up a lightning-like ball of dark mystical energy. “You will not touch her! She is mine!”

“Ah, I see it's personal between you two,” Asmodeus deduced.

“You have no idea,” Dark Angel whispered darkly. “No idea at all, Asmodeus.”

Asmodeus simply chuckled. “All right, Dark Angel. I'll help you.”

“Good,” Dark Angel said.

Back at Titans Tower, Nightwing stood on the rooftop gazing at the dragon-headed sword in his hands and reflecting on what Zauriel had told him.

Do you really believe what he told you about me? the dragon asked.

He's an angel, an agent of Heaven, Nightwing replied. I think he'd be an authority on the subject.

Humans in this nation elect presidents every four years, the dragon retorted. Does that mean those presidents are authorities on the subject of running a nation? Besides, he's fallen.

Fallen? Nightwing echoed.

Yes, the dragon confirmed. Departed from Heaven, either of his own volition or by force.

Are you trying to say that he might be lying about you? Nightwing asked.

Don't put words in my mouth, mortal, the dragon snarled. I'm not saying that at all. Angels are notorious for complete honesty, unless they think you shouldn't know something, in which case they'll simply not tell you.

You're not going to make me do something that I'd regret doing, are you? Nightwing asked.

Not if you seriously don't want to do it, the dragon replied. I am not quite the evil demon that Zauriel seems to think I am.

You think this sword he gave us will help us stop Dark Angel and her Horsemen? Nightwing asked.

It should, the dragon replied. All that holy power hurts like a bad sunburn.

Tell me about it, Nightwing agreed, feeling the mark of the darkness dragon concealed under the sleeve of his suit pulse painfully. But it's gonna help us save the world, so we gotta put up with it.

Fine, the dragon grumbled.

“Nightwing,” Blackfire called from behind him.

Nightwing turned to her. “Blackfire. What brings you here?”

“I wanted to see you,” Blackfire replied with a smile as she sauntered to him. “Is it so wrong for me to want to see my boyfriend?”

“No,” Nightwing answered with a smile as he embraced the dark-haired Tamaranean. He inhaled the scent of her hair. “I love your scent.”

“You smell good, too,” Blackfire murmured. She pulled away slightly so she could look at his face. “What made you change your name and costume?”

“I needed . . . to start over,” Nightwing replied. “I took the name Robin to honor my parents; it was their nickname for me, but my recent actions dishonored that name, so I chose to start over with a new name. The costume was based on what Starfire told me about my future self, only I tweaked it a little . . . or a lot.”

“That explains the armor,” Blackfire remarked, “although it kind of reminds me of Slade.”

Nightwing sighed. “Slade must have screwed with me too long. I'm starting to model my costumes after him.”

“Well, I like the armor,” Blackfire stated as she traced the navy bird emblazoned on his chest. She smirked at him. “You worried about something?”

“Just thinking about what Zauriel told me about the darkness dragon,” Nightwing replied.

“What, that he could take over your body and go on a slaughter spree if you let him have too much influence?” Blackfire asked.

“Yeah,” Nightwing confirmed. “Remember when he said that the dragon wouldn't push me to do anything I genuinely didn't want to do but he would influence me to do the things I wanted to do but shouldn't? The dragon was ready to kill Slade back in Sacrilege . . . because I wanted him dead.”

“So?” Blackfire inquired. “Slade's an asshole. He deserves it.”

“True, but if I start killing criminals, where do I stop?” Nightwing asked. “Where do I draw the line if I step over it?”

“You know what your problem is, Nightwing?” Blackfire asked seriously.

“What?” Nightwing asked.

“You think too much,” Blackfire replied with a silky, almost sultry tone. “You need to just relax and do what you want. What do you think of that, Night? What do you want to do?”

Nightwing shuddered in incipient arousal. “I want to kiss you . . . I want to ravage your lips with mine . . . among other things.”

“Then go ahead and do it,” Blackfire whispered, her eyes practically glowing with naked desire.

Nightwing kissed her passionately, his teeth grazing her lips almost viciously. Blackfire kissed him back just as fiercely, her teeth harshly grazing his lips. She licked his lips roughly, silently demanding entrance into his mouth. He parted his lips and her tongue pushed itself between them and into the moist warm of his mouth. Nightwing sucked her tongue like it was another part of her body that he wanted to suck. Blackfire moaned softly into the kiss and ran her fingers through his silky black locks.

Unbeknownst to the couple, a pair of emerald eyes watched them with tears forming.

Raven was meditating in her room when she sensed a great outpouring of emotional distress. She slowly brought herself out of her meditative state, as doing that too quickly would give her the psychic equivalent of the bends. She got off her bed and walked out of her room, following the emotional turmoil she sensed. It didn't escape her notice that the feeling grew stronger as she approached Starfire's room.

“Starfire?” Raven asked. “Is something wrong?”

The only response Raven received was crying. The purple-haired empath opened the door and walked inside Starfire's room, resisting the urge to wretch at all the pink she saw in it.

“Starfire?” Raven repeated as she approached her red-haired friend, who was crying into her pillow.

“Raven!” Starfire exclaimed tearfully as she looked up at the empath. “It was horrible! It was absolutely horrible!”

“What was horrible?” Raven asked.

“Nightwing . . . he was with Blackfire!” Starfire replied. “He was kissing her! And she was kissing him back!”

Raven's eyes widened so slightly that it would have been imperceptible to anyone except Batman or someone trained by him. “What would he be doing with her?” she asked with a calm that she did not genuinely feel.

“He came back from Los Angeles with her!” Starfire exclaimed. “They could have become lovers there!”

“I don't think she's had sex with him yet,” Raven said, trying to project a sense of calm.

“But she will!” Starfire yelled. “Now that Blackfire has seduced Nightwing, she will most certainly take his virginity before I ever have the chance to do so!”

Raven would have asked how Starfire could be so certain that Nightwing was still a virgin, but that would only worsen her emotional state so she relented.

What the hell would Nightwing see in that whore? she wondered, her jealousy moving to the forefront of her mind.

You should kill the slut, the voice of Raven's demon side whispered harshly. Kill her for trying to steal Nightwing from you. Then kill Starfire so she can't have him, either.

No, Raven whispered. I won't kill Starfire; she's my friend.

Friend? Demon Raven echoed silently. Who needs friends? Nightwing is yours. You knew him before that alien twit did and you can understand him better than she ever will. A harsh, rasping chuckle followed. A real demon would kill anyone that tried to come between her and her desired mate. Oh, I forgot; you're just a miserable half-breed.

Shut up, Raven hissed silently.

“Raven?” Starfire asked softly.

“I'm sorry, Star,” Raven replied. “I must have zoned out for a second.”

“Why would Nightwing want to be with Blackfire?” Starfire asked timidly.

“I don't know,” Raven replied. She placed a comforting hand on Starfire's shoulder and gently stroked the lock of red hair that fell past her ear with the back of her fingers. “Get some rest, Star. I'll see you in the morning.”

“All right,” Starfire conceded and fell back on her bed, closing her eyes.

Raven walked out of Starfire's room and stormed up to the rooftop of the Tower, where she found Blackfire by herself.

“Oh, hi, Raven,” Blackfire greeted. “Nice seeing you again.”

“I wish I could say the same,” Raven answered icily. “Now what the hell do you think you're doing with Nightwing?”

“Either you're a better detective than I gave you credit for, or Starfire saw us together and ran to you,” Blackfire answered with a sneer. “It doesn't matter, as Starfire isn't the real reason you're confronting me, is it?”

“I don't know what you're talking about,” Raven snapped.

“Rae, I know a jealous woman when I see one, mainly because I've been the cause of that a lot,” Blackfire stated with a smile. “You want him for yourself, don't you? I can understand. Any woman in her right mind would want a piece of my sexy Nightwing.”

“I have no idea what he sees in you, you miserable whore,” Raven snarled.

That earned her a starbolt-enhanced slap from Blackfire that could have taken her head off if she'd put a little extra force in it.

“Don't ever call me a whore,” the former Tamaranean ruler snarled with glowing purple eyes. “It's not my fault I'm not an ice bitch like you.”

Raven's eyes glowed white and she lunged at Blackfire with a vicious punch that would have busted her jaw if she'd actually had superhuman strength. Blackfire grabbed Raven's wrist and threw her onto the ground, straddling her to keep her there.

“Get off me,” Raven growled, her teeth beginning to elongate into fangs.

“Ooh, are we getting angry?” Blackfire asked. “Frustrated? Should I tell Starfire all about how much you lust after her boy?” She snickered. “I bet you touch yourself at night when you're alone, wishing it was him doing it.”

“Shut up,” Raven snarled, feeling her nails begin to extend and sharpen. “I don't lust after him; I love him. There's a difference between the two.”

It was this scene that Starfire had the luck to stumble upon . . . and hearing Raven's confession transmuted her heartbreak into borderline murderous rage. With a furious scream, she lunged at Blackfire and Raven, knocking them apart and proceeding to savagely beat them both with glowing fists.

“May X'Hal send you both to the fiery pits of Z'Karr!” Starfire screamed. A vicious punch to the jaw for Raven preceded the angry redhead's next words. “Raven. You were my friend, the sister I wished I had. And all along you wanted my Nightwing for yourself!” She turned to look at both Raven and Blackfire. “Both of you, conspiring to take him from me!” She unleashed an optic blast that nearly knocked Raven and Blackfire off the roof of the Tower.

“It's not my fault that you're so damn sweet that it could make teeth rot!” Blackfire yelled. “Maybe if you weren't such a pathetic weakling, Nightwing would have chosen you!” She blasted Starfire with her own optic blast, knocking the redhead down to the ground.

“H'tal bkt'r!” Starfire yelled as she blasted Blackfire with a massive double-fisted starbolt. Blackfire countered with her own double-fisted starbolt and the impact of the two energy bursts shook the island on which East Titans Tower stood.

“What the hell's going on up there?” Beast Boy asked.

“Is it Dark Angel's demon freaks?” Bumblebee asked.

Nightwing's face contorted in a mask of rage. “Not quite.” Without saying anything more to his team, he stormed out of the common room of the Tower.

When he reached the rooftop, he saw Blackfire, Starfire, and Raven in the middle of a three-way fight, Blackfire attacking both Starfire and Raven, Starfire attacking both Blackfire and Raven, and Raven attacking Blackfire while defending herself against Starfire.

“Stop . . . now,” he ordered, his voice preternaturally soft but carrying an intensity that forced them to stop so they could listen to him.

“Nightwing!” Starfire exclaimed. “How could you fall for this . . . what is the word you humans have for people such as her . . . bitch?”

“That's also what I'd like to know,” Raven agreed coldly.

“So that's what this is about?” Nightwing deduced with a cold tone and expression. “You're angry because I chose Blackfire over you two?”

“I love you, Nightwing!” Starfire yelled. “What is wrong with me that you could not love me back?”

Raven said nothing but the anger and heartbreak in her expression conveyed all that she needed to.

Blackfire just had a smug expression on her face.

“Let's get one thing straight first,” Nightwing stated, each word wielded like a sharp dagger. “Nobody . . . and I mean nobody . . . has the power to dictate who I should love.” A cold, ruined version of his usual smile formed on his face. “Now that that's out of the way, I have a few confessions to make.

“Starfire, I care for you deeply. You give me a reason to smile when I don't think I have one and you help me to be freer with my emotions like you are.

“Raven, you are like the wise older sister I never had. You can understand the darker side of my nature in ways that most people can't and you're far more mature than most people your age, even me.

“Blackfire, you are the one I love. As much as I care for Starfire and Raven, it is you that has captured my heart. You are free with your emotions like Starfire and yet you're the most mature woman I've ever met. You understand and accept the darkness within me, for you have it as well. I hate to sound sappy . . . but you complete me.”

Blackfire blushed. “I've never had somebody tell me things like that and mean them before.”

“I do mean them,” Nightwing answered as he reached out to hold her hand. “I love you, Blackfire.”

“I love you, Nightwing,” Blackfire responded as she pulled him into a gentle, loving kiss.

Starfire and Raven watched with dejected expressions, as they realized that both Nightwing and Blackfire were sincere in their love.

“I suppose we'll leave you two be,” Raven said.

Nightwing broke the kiss and gazed at the three young women. “Honestly, I'm a little hurt that you couldn't be mature about this whole thing and had to squabble over me like children.”

“We're . . . sorry,” Raven uttered.

“I suppose I can accept that,” Nightwing remarked. “I just hope no one declares a group hug. I'm not much of a hugging kind of person.”

“Oh, don't worry,” Blackfire purred. “I can show you much more pleasant methods of physical contact.”

“Sister, that is . . . too much information,” Starfire uttered.

“We'd better get back inside,” Nightwing suggested. “The others heard your little catfight and they're probably worried.”

At that moment, they heard a digitized snicker. Turning to the source of that snicker, they saw Red X standing there with his arms crossed over his lean chest.

“Man, Nightwing, how do you do it?” he asked.

“Do what, X?” Nightwing asked.

“Attract women left and right,” Red X replied. “Damn, I have got to learn your secret.”

“I don't actually have a secret,” Nightwing replied. “It's just my natural charm.”

“Sure, be that way,” Red X grumbled good-naturedly. “Pretty much everyone's wigging out about the fight up here, `cept that creepy Omen chick.”

“Heh,” Nightwing remarked as he, Red X, and the girls went back into the Tower.

“Man, what happened up there?” Speedy asked. “It sounded like World War Three.”

“Don't joke like that,” Bumblebee said. “If we don't stop Dark Angel and her Horsemen, there really will be World War Three.”

“You're no fun,” Speedy grumbled.

“Don't worry,” Nightwing replied. “It was nothing serious, just blowing off steam.”

“You sure about that?” Cyborg asked skeptically.

“Yeah, I'm sure, Cyborg,” Nightwing replied.

“If you say so, Nightwing,” Cyborg conceded in a tone that suggested that he didn't actually believe him but wasn't willing to push the issue.

“By the way, I have a confession to make,” Nightwing stated. “Blackfire and I are a couple.”

Everyone gaped at him and Blackfire with astonishment.

“Relax,” Blackfire said. “It's not like he's put a ring on my finger . . . yet.”

“Wingster, I'm seriously torn here,” Speedy remarked. “On the one hand, this means Starfire's available and you're finally going to get some. On the other hand, I have the strong urge to ask you what the hell you've been smoking.”

“I'm completely sober, Speedy,” Nightwing answered.

“I'm with Speedy,” Cyborg replied. “Dating criminals doesn't work out. I should know.”

“Yeah, because of your Romeo & Juliet-style romance with Jinx,” Nightwing grumbled. “It's not like I'm completely oblivious to what my (former) teammates get up to.”

“Aw, damn, don't tell me you've got spy satellites watching us!” Beast Boy exclaimed.

“No, I'm not Batman,” Nightwing denied.

“I don't know you very well, so I can't judge you,” Wonder Girl said.

“Thank you,” Nightwing said before Wonder Girl continued.

“But I think it's a bad idea to date a criminal unless either of you is willing to change your ways.”

“Thanks for the advice,” Nightwing stated.

“I think I speak for everyone here when I say that this relationship is a bad idea,” Bumblebee said. “However, I can't force you to stop dating Blackfire. You're not part of my team or any Titans team for that matter, so you're outside of my jurisdiction as the law enforcement officers would say. `Sides, it's your life and you might as well do with it what you want.”

“I'm glad you all have such faith in my judgment,” Nightwing drawled. “But we have more important things to worry about than my love life. Dark Angel and her Horsemen are still out there and they're causing all kinds of trouble.” He turned to Raven and Omen. “Either of you think you can stop Pestilence?”

“Probably,” Raven replied.

“Good,” Nightwing answered. “We're visiting the local hospital tonight.”

End Notes: I figured I should just end it there. Anyway, people, you finally got the Starfire/Raven/Blackfire confrontation you've been demanding for the last few chapters. Did I handle it well? Is anyone out of character? If you think they are, I'll explain.

Raven called Blackfire a whore. I've known enough women in my lifetime to know that they don't like being called whores and Blackfire has a temper and a lot of pride, so it's foreseeable that she'd smack Raven for that. Starfire was emotionally distraught because she'd seen the man she loved kissing another woman, said other woman being her older sister who did all kinds of nasty things to her. Finding out that her best friend was in love with him as well made her feel betrayed and that's why she lashed out at Raven as well. Raven's demon side was coming out during the fight in case you couldn't tell and that was why she was attacking Blackfire. However, she defended herself from Starfire because she was her friend and she didn't really want to harm her.

Zauriel and Asmodeus are fallen angels in the Justice League comics. However, Zauriel is good, having fallen because of his love for a mortal woman, and Asmodeus is evil, having fallen because of his own power lust.

The reason I have come to love the Robin/Blackfire pairing is that Blackfire has both of the better traits of Starfire and Raven when it comes to a relationship with Robin. She's emotionally free like Starfire, so she can help him express himself better emotionally. She's also mature like Raven and since Robin is very mature for his age due to his experiences in Gotham, she's good for him from that angle. Then there's the fact that Blackfire has that sexy, sensual Catwoman vibe and those of us who've read the comics know how much Robin (Richard Grayson/Nightwing) takes after his father.

That's all out of me. You're free to tell me how much you liked or disliked this chapter.