Teen Titans Fan Fiction ❯ Coil ❯ Emerald and Jet ( Chapter 11 )

 

“Coil”

Chapter 11: “Emerald and Jet”

Disclaimer: Teen Titans doesn't belong to me and neither does anything else from DC Comics, got me? Good.

Author's note: For those of you who knew who Eclipso was long before his appearance in the last chapter, you're probably wondering where the hell the Spectre is. Don't worry; he'll show up somewhere down along the line . . . and Zauriel's going to pop his angelic head in, too. Also, you'll be seeing a certain pair of twins . . . and maybe a Green Lantern, but not the one most people are familiar with.

Now let's go.

The dragon, Red X, Starfire, and Blackfire followed Slade down a dark corridor.

“This where you live?” Red X asked.

“No, this is where I work,” Slade replied. “Do you think I'd take you to my home for tea and crumpets?”

“Good point,” Red X muttered.

“What is this scrying?” Starfire asked.

“It's something done by witches and warlocks when they want to find someone,” Blackfire explained. “They take a special crystal pendant and spin it over a map. The circle narrows and narrows until the crystal zeroes in on the location of the person the witch wants to find.”

“Very astute,” Slade murmured. “You would have made a fine apprentice, much better than Nightwing or Terra.”

“Huh?” Blackfire uttered. “Nightwing actually worked for you?”

“I had to resort to some . . . extreme measures to persuade him to join me,” Slade answered cryptically.

“You poisoned his friends with nanoscopic probes and threatened to kill them from the inside out if he didn't join you,” the dragon snarled.

“That's sick,” Red X remarked, “and not in the good way.”

“What can I say?” Slade asked. “I've found over the years that it's a lot easier to convince people to do what I want them to do when I have a bargaining chip that's precious to them.”

The dragon let out an inhuman growl.

Starfire shivered in fear upon hearing that growl, as it did not sound like any noise that her erstwhile love would make, even at his angriest. No, this was the sound that would come from a demon's throat.

Blackfire shivered as well but for a different reason.

“Sister?” Starfire asked.

“I don't get what you're so scared of him for,” Blackfire answered. “He sounds more like a gentle lion.”

“Now I know you're not mocking me, Blackfire,” the dragon growled.

Blackfire chuckled. “Your voice isn't that scary; my sister's just a wimp. To me, it sounds . . . very sexy.”

“Oh, really?” the dragon asked with a smirk. “Perhaps I can make other sexy noises for you when we're alone together.”

“Do you two mind?” Red X asked. “I'm suffering a major case of TMI here!”

“For once, I would have to agree with the petty thief,” Slade stated.

“Hey, I'm not a petty thief!” Red X protested. “I've stolen stuff worth millions!”

“Chump change compared to the stakes I play for,” Slade sneered.

“Oh, I forgot; you're Mr. World Domination,” Red X retorted. “All you big-time villains wanna rule the whole frigging world. Any of you ready for the responsibility of holding an entire planet together?”

“Who said I wanted ownership of the world?” Slade asked.

“Then what do you want?” Red X asked. “What's with all the espionage, sabotage, and assassination?”

“Something you couldn't even begin to fathom,” Slade answered, “but we'll get to that once we stop Dark Angel and her Horsemen from destroying the world.” He stopped in front of a brick wall and pushed one of the bricks, causing a portion of wall to slide back and thus reveal a faintly lit room. Slade walked in and the four “heroes” followed.

“Hello, Slade,” a sultry feminine voice greeted.

“Hello, Lust,” Slade greeted back.

The “heroic” foursome gazed at Lust, who was a rather pale young woman in a strapless green-black dress that exposed some cleavage and clung to all of her curves. Her arms were encased in green-black gloves and her legs were covered in matching thigh-high boots. She gazed at the four with glinting purple-silver eyes.

“So you've finally made some friends,” Lust purred.

“We ain't this son of a bitch's friends,” Red X grumbled.

“Of course you aren't,” Lust spoke. “But you've obviously chosen to ally yourself with him.”

“Only because he has resources that we don't,” the dragon growled.

“Ah, you are quite a beautiful dragon, aren't you?” Lust complimented. “And even better that you are attached to such a beautiful man. I wonder . . . what color are your eyes?”

“Don't know,” the dragon replied. “I haven't seen my eyes in years.”

“Then what color are his eyes?” Lust asked.

“That's for Blackfire only to see,” the dragon replied.

Blackfire felt more secure at that moment in Nightwing's and the dragon's feelings for her. The fact that he would only show her his eyes and not even tell another woman what color his eyes were gratified her deeply.

“Must you flirt with him when the world is at stake?” Slade asked.

“Aw, you're no fun, Slade,” Lust pouted.

“I'll make it up to you later,” Slade promised with a purr in his tone.

“TMI, for Christ's sake,” Red X grumbled.

“What is this TMI?” Starfire asked.

“It's an Earth acronym that stands for `too much information,'” Red X replied.

“Oh,” Starfire uttered. “I do not understand why you are so embarrassed by this, Red X. Is sexuality not normal in most species?”

“Uh, yeah, but . . .” Red X uttered.

“And have you not made it clear by the way you look at me and the way you speak to me that you would wish to do a number of sexual activities with me?” Starfire asked.

Blackfire chuckled. “It's about time.”

“It's hard not to wish to do all that stuff with you when I find you so beautiful,” Red X admitted.

“Was that really so hard?” Starfire asked.

“Please don't use that word around me right now,” Red X pleaded.

“Did I say something wrong?” Starfire asked.

“Damn it, what is wrong with you all?” Slade asked in exasperation.

“What do you expect, Slade?” Lust asked. “They're all horny teenagers, and Blackfire's a horny twenty-year-old.”

Slade sighed. “Let's just get this over with.”

Lust walked over to an opaque crystal globe and removed the scrying pendant from around her swanlike neck. She waved the pendant around the globe and soon enough, the pendant began to spin in ever-decreasing circles. After ten or so minutes, it stopped at a certain spot on the globe, a particularly dark spot.

“The Shadowlands,” Lust murmured.

“What the hell are the Shadowlands?” Blackfire asked.

“The realm that is the source of all darkness-based power,” Lust replied. “The realm that is home to countless demons that derive their power from darkness. The realm that was once home to the dragon that was bound to your lover.”

“That's where Dark Angel is?” Red X asked. “The Shadowlands?”

“Yes, and she is using the dark energy from that dimension to strengthen herself,” Lust answered.

“So we know where she is,” Blackfire stated. “Let's go after her.”

“We can't,” Slade replied. “The Shadowlands are very difficult to access because the dimensional portals that lead to that realm are very rare. The only other way we could reach them is through a person whose power enables them to act as a dimensional portal or by cracking open a portal of our own.”

“Dragon-boy, you come from the Shadowlands,” Red X said. “Why don't you crack open a portal to get us there?”

“Because this accursed mortal form that acts as my prison prevents me from accessing the totality of my powers,” the dragon replied curtly. “A safeguard instilled by that bastard Merlin in case I ever awakened inside this boy, no doubt.”

“We know where Dark Angel is now,” Starfire stated. “In the meantime, we must rejoin our friends and help them battle the remaining Horsemen.”

“She has a point,” Nightwing stated, having resumed control of his body. “Let's go.”

Meanwhile, Bumblebee, Speedy, Cyborg, and Omen had just landed near the war between North Kasnia and South Kasnia.

“War's influence, no doubt,” Omen remarked.

“So where is that warmongering bastard?” Bumblebee asked.

“Be careful,” Cyborg advised. “We're dealing with a Horseman of the Apocalypse.”

At that moment, War materialized on his blood-colored horse. He got off the horse and drew his sword.

“Which of you would be foolish enough to battle me first?” he asked.

Bumblebee pulled out her stingers and shot a blast of electrostatic energy at War with them. Unfortunately for him, War used his shield to deflect the blast into Omen, who blocked it with a telekinetic force field. Cyborg shifted both of his arms into cannon mode and fired a dual blast of sonic energy at War, who deflected the blasts with his shield. Speedy nocked three explosive arrows and fired them at War, who simply caught them in his hand and threw them back at the four Titans at the speed of bullets. Omen threw up a telekinetic shield to protect the four from the impact of the arrows.

“Is this all you can do against me?” War asked.

Suddenly, War was blindsided by a punch to his armored face, one that was followed by a kick to his torso.

“Who in the fieriest circles of Hell would dare?” the warmongering Horseman asked angrily.

“Us, jerk,” a teenage male voice answered defiantly.

The Titans looked at the source of the voice and saw a black-haired teenage boy dressed in a blue full-body suit with a golden sash around his waist, gold bracelets on his wrists, gold boots, a thick gold lightning bolt on his chest, and a gold-trimmed red cape on his shoulders. Next to him, they saw a brown-haired teenage girl dressed similarly to him, except with white in place of blue. Her cape was white instead of red and her outfit was a sleeveless dress instead of full-body suit.

“Who are you two?” Cyborg asked.

“Mary Marvel,” the girl replied. She jerked a thumb toward him. “He's Captain Marvel, Jr., but you can call him CM3.”

“The inheritors of the power of Shazam,” War growled. “Where is your red-attired friend?”

“He's busy,” CM3 replied. “I'm afraid you'll have to deal with us for the time being.”

Then in blurs of blue and white, he and Mary Marvel attacked War, punching and kicking him fiercely.

“Whoa, look at them go!” Speedy exclaimed.

“I've never seen power like that before,” Cyborg breathed out.

War roared in fury and lashed out with a wave of blood-red force that threw CM3 and Mary Marvel aside, knocking them to the ground after a few brief tumbles.

“You two all right?” Speedy asked.

“Yeah,” Mary replied.

“We'll live,” CM3 added as he and Mary got back on their feet. He flew at War and put him in a hold, shouting, “Captain Marvel!” Immediately, a bolt of lightning came forth from the sky and struck War, eliciting a roar of pain from the Horseman. The cry of “Captain Marvel!” once more escaped his lips and once more a bolt of lightning came down to strike War.

“The power of Shazam,” Omen breathed out.

The third time CM3 called out “Captain Marvel,” War got wise and pulled himself out of CM3's grip, placing him directly within the path of the mystical lightning. As soon as CM3 was struck, he reverted to a normal teenage boy dressed in a blue long-sleeved shirt and black jeans. War dropped the de-transformed CM3 to the ground.

“Captain Mar -” the boy shouted, attempting to transform back into his super-powered state only to be cut off by a vicious punch from War that knocked him unconscious.

“CM3!” Mary shouted in horror. She looked at her unconscious partner and at War. Without saying anything, she moved so quickly that it almost seemed as though she hadn't moved at all, but War knew she moved because he felt her knee in his armored stomach. War drew his sword and swung at her, aiming to take her head off, but she ducked under his swing and delivered a hard uppercut to his helmeted jaw.

“Impudent harridan,” War snarled as he gathered dark red electrical power in the palm of his hand. He fired the bolt of crimson lightning at Mary, obviously intending to de-power her the same way he'd done to CM3. This time turned out to be rather different, as Omen placed a telekinetic barrier between the two and War ended up being struck by his own lightning bolt. Bumblebee pulled out the Gem of Red War and War was pulled back into it.

Cyborg looked out into the distance. “The Kasnians have stopped fighting,” he stated.

“Yes, without War to enflame their hostilities, they would do that,” Omen remarked.

“I just got word from Captain Marvel that the people in Palestine and Israel have stopped fighting as well,” Mary interjected. She looked at Omen. “Thanks.”

“You're welcome,” Omen responded.

At that moment, CM3 began to stir.

“CM3,” Mary uttered, moving to the boy and cradling his head in her arm. “Are you all right?”

“I am now,” CM3 replied with a slight grin. “So . . . we win?”

“Yeah,” Mary Marvel answered. “We win.”

“Mind helping me stand up?” CM3 asked.

“Sure,” Mary replied and helped CM3 to his feet. However, he was still leaning on her shoulder for support.

“Captain Marvel!” he shouted, transforming into his more powerful blue-and-gold-clad self as soon as the mystical lightning struck him. He stood on his own two feet. “Ah, that's better.”

At that moment, a jet stopped over them.

“Who's in that jet?” CM3 asked.

“If we're lucky, that's some of our friends,” Bumblebee replied.

The jet landed and its doors opened, enabling Nightwing, Starfire, Red X, and Blackfire to step out.

“Good, it is our friends,” Bumblebee uttered in relief.

“Why, Honeybee, I didn't know you thought of me like that,” Blackfire purred.

“It's Bumblebee,” the Titans East leader growled.

“I know,” Blackfire responded airily.

“You must be Mary Marvel and CM3,” Nightwing said. “Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you, too,” Mary answered.

“It's funny that you know about us and we know nothing about you,” CM3 stated slightly warily.

“I'm Nightwing,” the black-and-blue-clad vigilante answered.

At that moment, a woman landed before the teen heroes and anti-heroes. She was quite tall, almost six feet, and dressed in a red bustier with a golden “double-W” designed in such a way as to resemble an eagle taking flight and what looked like a pair of star-spangled blue bikini bottoms. Separating the two pieces of clothing was a golden girdle around her waist. In addition, she wore a pair of silver bracelets, a pair of red boots with a white stripe bisecting the foot, and a golden tiara with a red star. She had long, lustrous black hair, blue eyes that gleamed with confidence and kindness, and achingly beautiful Mediterranean features.

“Wonder Woman,” Nightwing greeted almost calmly. “Hi.”

“Robin,” Wonder Woman greeted courteously. “Or do you prefer Nightwing now?”

“Yeah,” Nightwing replied.

“So . . . was it you that defeated War?” the Amazon princess asked, directing her question to all of the Titans.

“Yes,” Omen replied.

“Good work,” Wonder Woman said. She looked at Mary and CM3. “He's a little worried about you.”

“Cap always worries,” CM3 remarked.

“I'll tell him you said that,” Wonder Woman answered before flying away.

Red X finally regained his voice. “Wonder Woman! We were in the presence of Wonder Woman!”

“Yes, we were,” Nightwing answered with a detached tone.

“You're taking this rather calmly,” Red X remarked.

“It's not my fault this is your first time meeting her,” Nightwing stated.

“You've met her before?” Red X asked.

“Yeah, when the Titans and the League had to work together,” Nightwing replied.

“If someone will get over his shellshock, we have to find the other Titans,” Speedy stated.

“Oh, yeah,” Red X conceded.

“Be grateful for that mask, X,” Cyborg said. “It keeps us from seeing the stupid look on your face.”

Red X muttered something under his breath as he, Starfire, Blackfire, and Nightwing piled into the jet in which they'd arrived. Bumblebee, Cyborg, Speedy, and Omen entered their own jet. Before they took off, Bumblebee turned on the P.A. system in her jet and spoke to the two Marvels. “You mind coming with us?” she asked.

“We'd like that, but my brother's worried about us,” Mary replied. “We'll meet you later, though!”

“Sure!” Bumblebee shouted back before turning off the P.A. system and flying away.

In the third-world nations of Asia, Superman, the Flash, and Kid Flash were delivering food to the people at hypersonic speed.

“Famine keeps eating up all the food here,” the Flash said. “How are we supposed to stop him?”

“We'll find a way,” Superman answered. “In the meantime, we keep these people fed as best as we can.”

“All right,” Kid Flash said.

At that moment, Raven, Beast Boy, and Mas y Menos were busy battling Famine, who was swinging at them with a sickle and chain. He swung the chain at Raven, only for that chain to be blocked by her telekinetic powers. Mas y Menos raced at him and kicked him, only to end up bouncing off him and into a nearby tenement. The twins apologized to the residents in Spanish and raced back into the fight.

Beast Boy had become a pterodactyl and was now attacking Famine with his talons. Unfortunately, Famine grabbed him with his chain and pulled him close so that he could stab him with his sickle.

“No!” Raven shouted and extended her dark power to stop Famine from killing Beast Boy. However, it was a cold shadowy tendril that stopped the Horseman . . . by impaling him through his armor and striking his heart.

“Raven?” Beast Boy asked as he reverted to human form and freed himself from the chain. “Was that you?”

“No,” Raven replied.

Twin blasts of emerald energy struck Famine.

“Are those Green Lanterns?” Beast Boy asked.

“Yes and no,” a dark purr of a voice answered.

A male figure dressed in skintight black and blue with a black-faced blue mask covering his face materialized out of the shadows.

“Who are you?” Mas asked in Spanish.

The black-and-blue-clad figure tilted his head slightly.

“Who are you?” Mas repeated in English.

“Obsidian,” the figure replied.

Famine snarled in rage and swung his sickle and chain at the source of the emerald blasts, only for it to be blocked by a green sickle and chain. The person holding the green sickle and chain caught Famine's sickle and chain and used it to pull him over so that he could be socked by a green-armored fist.

“Show yourself!” the Horseman roared.

Two figures with an emerald aura surrounding them floated out of the shadows. One was a blond male of indeterminate age dressed in a red shirt with the image of a green lantern on his chest and green pants with a purple cape and mask. The other was a petite, green-skinned girl (or young woman) dressed in skintight black with a patch of white on the chest that extended to the sides of the torso and insides of the sleeves. The white patch was adorned with something that resembled a green eight-pointed star or flower. In addition, the green girl wore fingerless black gloves with green studs on the cuffs and low-heeled white boots.

“Uh, would you two be Green Lanterns?” Beast Boy asked.

“Not the Green Lanterns you would know,” the man replied. “Our power comes from a different source than theirs. Call me Sentinel.”

“I'm Jade,” the green girl introduced herself.

“I'm not alone anymore. . . .” Beast Boy uttered dreamily, drool beginning to escape his open mouth as he gazed upon the emerald visage of Jade.

“Stop drooling over my sister,” Obsidian snarled.

The tone of Obsidian's voice snapped Beast Boy out of his reverie.

“You're so overprotective, Obsidian,” Jade said.

“You're all going to die!” Famine screamed. “I will kill you . . . and then your corpses will feed me.”

“Sicko,” Jade said before the emerald glow around her became armor similar to what one would see in the Tekkaman animé. “Let's dance.”

Famine charged at Jade with his sickle and chain and swung it at her, but Jade jumped out of the way and kicked him. After that, she materialized a dual-bladed battle staff and slashed through his armor with it, eliciting a cry of pain from him. Angered by the injury she had dealt him, the Horseman struck her in her armored face, knocking her aside.

Obsidian leaped into the fray, slicing at Famine with blades materialized from shadows. Famine blocked as many of his slices as he could, only for a few to slip past his defenses and injure him even more. Jade got up and she and her brother tag-teamed him, slashing him repeatedly with their blades.

Finally, Raven launched her soul-self into Famine and it consumed every last bit of power he had. With this act completed, he was too weak to resist being drawn into the Gem of White Famine.

“Uh, thanks,” Beast Boy said. “We'd have been wasted without you.”

“You're welcome,” Sentinel answered.

Mas y Menos made “ooh” sounds at Jade's Tekkaman-style armor while Beast Boy just stared in awe. Finally, he gained the courage to speak. “Where'd you get the idea for that armor?”

“My boyfriend's a big mecha animé fan,” Jade replied. “It gives him ideas for his artwork.”

Beast Boy's face fell. She had a boyfriend. Crap.

“Oh, well, she's probably too old and too mature for you, anyway,” Raven remarked.

“We've got more to worry about than our love lives right now,” Sentinel stated as Jade dematerialized her armor.

At that moment, two jets landed near them and Nightwing, Red X, Starfire, and Blackfire stepped out of one jet while Bumblebee, Speedy, Cyborg, and Omen stepped out of the other.

“These your friends?” Sentinel asked.

“For the most part,” Raven replied.

Obsidian gasped when he saw Nightwing.

“What's wrong, Obsidian?” Sentinel asked.

“Him . . . it's him . . .” Obsidian replied cryptically.

“Him?” Jade asked, looking at Nightwing.

“It's not him, it's what's inside him, coiled, entwined with his soul,” Obsidian answered just as cryptically but with a note of franticness. “The coiled thing inside him . . . it comes from the Shadowlands.”

“Ah, very astute,” Nightwing purred darkly. “But what else could I expect from someone who is connected to the realm that gave birth to me?”

“What's with him?” Beast Boy asked, perturbed by his former leader's behavior.

“It's not Nightwing,” Raven replied. “It's the darkness dragon.”

The dragon smirked, baring short fangs. “Brilliant deduction, Miss Holmes.”

“I see the seal that keeps you inside Nightwing has loosened just enough to allow you control over his body,” Raven stated.

“A dragon from the Shadowlands?” Jade asked.

“Yes,” the dragon confirmed with another smirk.

“Do you have a name?” Sentinel asked.

“Not really,” the dragon replied. “The humans were fond of calling me `monster' and `abomination' and `demon,' so any of those will do fine.”

Raven looked at the dragon and Bumblebee. “I presume you were able to defeat Death and War.”

“Yeah,” the dragon replied.

“Uh-huh, but we had some help,” Bumblebee added.

“From whom?” Raven asked.

“Two teenagers with powers like Captain Marvel's,” Speedy replied. “The girl called herself Mary Marvel and the boy was called Captain Marvel, Jr. or CM3.”

“Ok,” the dragon said.

“So now that we've all regrouped, I guess it's time to find Aqualad, Jason, and Wonder Girl,” Beast Boy suggested.

“Yes,” the dragon agreed. “Besides, Red X, Blackfire, Starfire, and I found out some things, but I'd prefer that we all be there when I explain.” He looked at Obsidian, Jade, and Sentinel. “You three wanna come with us? We could use your help.”

“We'll be there,” Sentinel replied. “Just not right now.”

“All right,” the dragon conceded as the three teams of Titans got into their jets and flew away.

End Notes: Some explanations are in order. First, Sentinel is the very first Green Lantern (Alan Scott) under a different name. Unlike the Green Lanterns most comic book readers are familiar with, who are members of the intergalactic peacekeeping force known as the Green Lantern Corps, Alan Scott/Sentinel draws his power from a mystical force called the Starheart. Second, Jade and Obsidian are his twin children by Rose/Thorn, a villainess with good and evil personalities, who gave them up for adoption out of fear of harming them in her villainous persona. Jade has the same powers as Sentinel, while Obsidian possesses shadow-based powers born of the Shadowlands, which is the source of all darkness-based power as explained in the last chapter.

Mary Marvel and CM3: Mary is the twin sister of Billy Batson, a.k.a. Captain Marvel. Unlike Billy, Mary remains her teenaged self when transformed but gains a certain “divine” radiance. CM3 (Captain Marvel, Jr.) didn't derive his powers from the wizard Shazam like Mary and Billy, but from Mary and Billy themselves when they gave him a portion of their powers to save his life. The catch is that when one Marvel is active, s/he is at full strength but will suffer a slight power reduction if either or both of the other two Marvels become active.

The next chapter is when things come to a head. There'll be a big confrontation between the Titans, the magic-based heroes of the DCU, and Dark Angel and her mysterious ally Asmodeus. After that, the seeds of a sequel may or may not be planted. See you then.