#landella

“Mr. and Mrs. Daniels, welcome to the Teen Titans West Tow- “

“Where is she?” He growled, ignoring her opened hand. The intensity of his glare made Maria’s figurative tail duck between her legs, but again she fought the urge to react.

“We do not have a location yet on Arella, but I have already assigned – “

He rolled his eyes “Not her! My daughter! Chloe! Where is she?”

Before Maria could answer, Mrs. Daniels came forward, placing a calming hand on her husband’s shoulder and pulling him back slightly. “What Drake means is that we appreciate you contacting us, Maria. Now if you could please escort us to Chloe, we would appreciate that.” Kole Daniels spoke with a steady and gentler voice, but Maria noticed the coloring of her knuckles as she held back her husband by his arm. Somehow, her reasonable request and peaceful presence diminished some of the tension that came off between the two other alphas on the roof. Maria nodded her head, as almost an unspoken thank you to the wiser woman.

“Right this way.” She said as she turned and led them back inside.  

She led them soundlessly further into the tower, as they made their way to the special prison designed to hold even the strongest of metahumans. As they made their trip, Maria’s empathic senses picked up on the burning fury that came off the dragon knight behind her. She could smell the scent of cigar smoke, vinegar, and pepper that made up the distinct smell of anger. She clenched her fists, but kept a steady pace as she led them to their destination.

Once they entered into the small space that came between them and the containment unit, Maria took notice of the temporary prisoner inside. The pink-haired girl sat on the floor with her head against the wall and her eyes to the ceiling as if she were looking at something. Satisfied that her prisoner was being herself, Maria used one hand to pull off her glove and placed her exposed hand on the panel that was placed to the side of the door. The panel scanned her prints, then after a heartbeat, the it blinked green and the door slid open, granting them access.

Before Maria could take two steps in, Kole pushed past her and made a beeline for her daughter with open arms and wrapped them around her daughters neck.  Not at all bothered by the cuffs that dangled around her hands between them.

“Oh honey, I’ve missed you so much! Are you okay? Why is it everytime we come to visit you, it’s because you’ve gotten yourself into some kind of trouble? Oh, it doesn’t matter right now. I’m just glad you’re okay.”  She squeezed her tighter, pressing Chloe’s head into her chest.

“Mom...your boobs are in my face.” Chloe grumbled as she tried to squirm out of her mother’s grasp.

Slightly embarrassed, She let go of her daughter and stood back up to give her some space. “Sorry.”

“Hey what about me?” Kole glanced at Drake who had been stuck in place by solid crystals around his ankles formed by his loving wife.

She glared.  “Are you gonna behave?”

He rolled his eyes and put on his widest, fakest smile.  She scrunched her nose.  It would have to do.  She waved her hand and released him, but his smile quickly vanished with the crystal.  

“Dad, just let me explain.”

“Somebody better.  We get a call saying you’ve been ‘detained’ and Arella has gone missing, but no one is telling us why!”

“Don’t forget she knocked out her leader.” Maria glared.  

Drake waved her off, “Yeah I don’t care about that.”

Chloe stood up beside her mother, but kept a bit of a distance between her and her father. “Okay so about a week ago -”

“Hold on.” Drake interrupted her. It only took him three strides to cross the room. When he reached her, he held out his hand, ready to clutch the chains of her cuffs and melt them on the spot, but Chloe stepped back, out of his reach. Before he could protest, Chloe wiggled her arms, and out popped both her hands, now free of the power-canceling cuffs.

Both Maria and Drake starred at the young girl in amazement. “What the hell?” They said in unisine.

Chloe simply shrugged. “Oh come on, like you didn’t teach us how to escape power-canceling cuffs in the first week of training?” She said as she looked over at Maria who huffed and crossed her arms.

“Anyways, back to what I was saying. About a week ago, Uncle Landon came to me-“

“-oh god!” Both Kole and Drake groaned facepalming.

“ANYways he was asking me for a favor.” Drake and Kole glanced at her in horror causing her to roll her eyes. “Shut up, I kept my soul.  He told me that Arella was about to get blamed for something bad, and when that happens, I should give him a call on this.” Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a classic flip phone about the size of her thumb. She held it out for everyone in the room to see, but Drake quickly snached it from her hand.

“That crazy mother fucker gave you my old phone.” He mumbled under his breath, but it was still loud enough for everyone to here.

“Drake, language.” Kole scolded her husband, before turning back to her daughter. “Go on Chloe.”

The younger knight nodded her head at her mother in gratitude before continuing. “So anyway, I didn’t understand what he was blabbering about at the time, but when I overheard Maria accuse Arella of murder, I just knew that was what he meant. How he knew that was going to happen is beyond me, but I did as he told me. Arella teleported us to some beach around here, and I gave him a call.”

A scary silence settled over the cell.  “M-Murder?” Kole squeaked.

“Arella is a suspect in a series of murders.” Maria spoke. “I have the evidence to back it up.”

The scary silence again this time causing Drake to begin pacing the cell, rubbing his face with his hands.  He stopped at the wall, the overwhelming information buzzing around his head like killer bees.  “So Arella is with Landon then?” Drake questioned.

Chloe answered him with a nod.

“Damnit.” Drake cursed once again, ignoring the scaving look his wife was sending him. “Chloe, what did I tell you about him?”

Chloe wasn’t in the mood for a lecture, or stupid questions, so her response was as snippy as she could get. “Don’t trust him.”

“And what did you do?”

“I trusted him.” She sighed. “But you don’t understand, Dad, Arella had no one else to turn to! If she had stayed here, she would be the one locked up right now, not me and god know what else.  Besides YOU trusted him before!”

“That was different!” He barked.  “We did what we HAD to do!  This is just two teenagers in way over their heads!!”

Chloe narrowed her now slitted eyes, but before anything could escalate further, Kole stood between them, but spoke to Maria.  “Maria, have you contacted your parents yet?”

“No ma’am, not yet. I’ll go ahead and do that now.”

“Good. As both your father and your boss, Gar deserves to know as soon as possible.”

Maria nodded her head in agreement, but before she could excuse herself to make the call, a flash of red showed up in the doorway. Bart Allen caught his breath after coming to a stop by the door.

“Hey boss, we’ve got some more visitors.”

“What? Who?”

Just then, the tower’s security system sounded throughout the tower. “Welcome, Changeling and Raven.”

“Oh crap.” Maria muttered, but begrudgingly stepped out of the room and went to accept her fate.

When she entered the common room, she was met with the backs of her parent’s who were currently conversing with the other members of her team. Her father was the first to hear her enter the room, and his worried gaze fell upon her as she approached them.  Raven followed his line of sight to her daughter, whom was quickly taken into her arms.

“Maria, thank goodness, is everything alright?” Her mother asked her in her signature gravelly voice.  

“How did you know if anything was wrong?” Maria answered with another question.

“Mother’s intuition.” Raven deadpanned.

“Plus your mother just happens to be the greatest empath in the universe, so of course she knows if something fishy is going on between one or more of her kids.” Garfield added as he stepped closer to Maria. The older man may have been as fit as a whistle, but years of battle still made themselves known. His once thick, forest green hair, now shining with grey streaks and thinning over the top. The corners of his mouth now wrinkled from every past smile and frown. His suit mirrored her own, white with purple around the sides and collar. Only his had no emblem over the chest.

His wife and mate beside him nodded her head in agreement. Her own features aging as well. Her once deep violet locks that fell past her shoulders now had grey roots, and her small body had some added weight, compliments of her child-bearing years. She had no wrinkles though, and in fact, her skin looked as flawless as ever, due in large part to her self-healing abilities. Her long, navy blue cloak just barely missed the floor and hung against her wide shoulders. She addressed her daughter with a sense of urgency.

“Now where is Arella?”

For some reason, Maria felt a spike of jealousy rise within her. Even though Arella was the problem at the moment, it still felt wrong for them to immediately worry about her baby sister before her. Would it kill them to think about her for a change? But Maria had to shove those feelings away, for there were more pressing matters to attend to.

“That’s the problem Mom. You see,” She hesitated.  Was she really about to tell her own mother that her sister, their daughter was a killer?  No going back now.  “About a week ago the guy we were after was brutally murdered before we could get to him. Just like twelve others before him. So I went to the crime scene to investigate, to see if this was more than a coincidence.”  

Raven wide eyes urged her to continue. “And?”

Maria gulped.  The eyes of her parents plead for the truth, but, how could she tell them. She inhaled through her nose.  “And while I was there, I picked up . . . Arella’s scent.” Raven let out a gasp in horror, her hands shooting to cover her mouth, while Garfield looked away in distraught, but Maria hadn’t finished. “I also found a security camera that I had Susan salvage for me.”

At this, Raven held up her hand to silence her. “No. I-I don’t want to hear this.” She looked over to her husband who was now pacing the common room floor.

“Sorry Raven, you’ll need to hear this.” The sarcastic voice of Drake Daniels came from behind Maria, forcing the girl to turn her attention to him. Raven regarded the dragon knight with a suspicious gaze. Garfield stop his pacing to do the same.

“Drake.” Garfield scuffed as he stepped in between the other man and his wife and daughter. “What are you doing here?”

“Dealing with my out of control daughter, same as you.” Garfield opened his mouth to retort, but his reply was cut off.  “I’m not here to start a fight with you. It seems that my Kid, helped your kid escape.  With him.”

“Landon.” When Raven said the name, the temperature in the room dropped and her eyes transformed into red burning slits.

Drake shrugged, “And you win the trip to Maui.”

Raven snarled, a more disturbing noise than anything Gar could do. “That bastard has been hovering around Arella ever since that night he killed Carnus.” She said through clenched teeth, the rage in her voice sending a chill down the normally tough as nails demon killer. However, it only took the calming touch of her green husband to return her features back to normal.

“Where are they?” Gar asked.

Drake shrugged again, “I don’t know-“

“-your bffs and you don’t know!?”

“Settle down!” Drake commanded, “A) were not joined at the hip and B) we don’t speak unless he visits Chloe.  But I may have a clue.” He reached into his coat and pulled out the phone he confiscated from Chloe and waved it in the air.

“Seems his royal pain in the ass gave a parting gift to Chloe.”

Gar moved quickly to try and swipe the little device, but Drake (even after all these years) was still quicker.

“Give me the phone, Drake!” Gar growled. During his years as an authoritative figure, Gar had learned how to be more intimidating and direct, but even if his temper could make the young heroes he trained wet their pants, it was useless on the even scarier monster slayer.

“We both know you are the last person Landon will talk to.” Drake reasoned.

“Maybe so, but I know he will talk to me.” Raven spoke up, slightly startling the two grown men who seemingly forgot she in the room. Before Drake could protest, Raven was already halfway to the door. “Come on, we’ll do this in the old study.”

Drake cast a curious gaze over to Gar who looked as if he were pouting like a child. Seeing that he was not going to make a move to stop his wife, Drake figured he shouldn’t either.

“I guess we’ll go see what we can find out from Landon, in the meantime, maybe Maria here can catch you up in what’s been going on here.” Drake offered to Gar as he followed Raven out the door.

Raven’s scowl never left her face for the entirety of the journey to the study, which was the very same one used by Dick Grayson himself all those years ago. Such simpler times they were, when she only had her teammates to worry about. Once they went inside the smaller room, she began pacing, mentally screaming her mantra to calm herself.  

“This all makes sense now,” she mumbled, “he’s watched us for years, waiting and plotting.”

“Don’t give him so much credit.” She wiped her head to Drake’s direction, “he didn’t plan on what Arella would do, he just knew she would snap eventually.” He lowered his tone as he reached for the phone, “just like we all did.”   She fought the urge to rip his head off, but deep down she knew he was right. With the phone dialed he turned to her.  “You ready for this?”

She sighed walking to his side. “Sure.”  He hit the speed dial.

“I was wondering when I would hear from you.” The Englishmen spoke from the other end of the line.

“Where’s my daughter?” Raven snapped, the sound of his arrogant voice making vile rise in her throat.

“Raven? I thought it would be Drake calling me?” He seemed genuinely surprised.

“Don’t worry I’m here too.”

“Aw! There’s my second favorite dragon!”

Raven ignored their banter, “Last time, where is-“

“She’s fine darling, she’s resting.”

“That doesn’t answer my questions-“

“-relax.” He said again more forcefully.  But now it was Drake’s turn.  

“You’ve got a lot of nerve involving my daughter in all this.”

“Yes, yes I’m a horrible person, I will burn in Hell.  Oh wait, I already did that.  Here’s the situation we find ourselves in.  Arella has, by my count, killed at least twelve,  all current guests of my kingdom so no worries there, and before she gets to far gone I’ve taken it upon myself to stop that.  Which you obviously FAILED to do in the last eighteen years.”

“AS IF YOU EVER GOT THE PARENT OF THE YEAR AWARD!”

Raven slammed her hands onto the table, shrieking into the cellphone producing a good three to five minutes of silence from everyone in the room, including Landon.  Drake placed a hand on her shoulder to ease her tension when Landon spoke again.

“Toushay, but you have to agree things are a bit out of hand at this point and ‘hoping’ things will get better isn’t going to cut it.”

The two were quiet for a moment as they let this new information marinate, “I’m going to put you on hold.” He hit the mute button and turned to a confused Raven. “Listen. Rav-“

“No.” She shot. “I’m not considering letting my daughter stay with him.”

“Raven, just hear me out,” his tone was as calm as he could make it. “I love Arella like she was my own.  She has been a sister to Chloe in every way imaginable, and I don’t want her to give in to Trigon’s influence as much as you don’t, but if Landon-“

“NO!” She screamed. “She is my child, and her family will handle this!”

“How? Raven, Arella killed people. I don’t know the circumstances, but it won’t look good to the League, or anyone else and you can’t protect her from that.”

Her eyes were narrow, hateful slits and her tone even and flat.  “Watch me.” She grabbed the phone, unmutting it.  “Give her back to me. NOW!”

Landon let out a growl of frustration from the other line.  “Why can’t you understand?! I. Am. Not. The bad guy!”

Once again, Raven’s tone was flat, even, and threatening, “Your a full blooded demon. You will ALWAYS be the bad guy. Now give her back to me, or you WILL know pain.”

The other end was silent for a few heartbeats.  “Darling. I already know pain. I’m doing this, because I want it to stop.” And the phone went dead.

Raven buried her head in her palms, and her body began to shake as sobs began to escape her lips. Objects around the room were encased in black magic and began floating about. Drake stood there awkwardly, as he stared at the weeping mother. The gears in his mind began to turn as he tried to figure out their next move. For now, however, he realized the best thing to do was to let his old friend mourn the disappearance of her daughter in peace. Oding the only thing he knew how to do, he reached out a tentative hand over Raven, and placed it gently on top of her silky hair. Raven stilled for a moment, as if she was reminded of the other person in the room, but then turned around and wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face into his chest. Drake stood frozen as she continued to cry. Slowly, his arms wrapped around her own body, and he simply stood there while she stained his shirt with her tears.

Unbeknownst to them, across the ocean, sitting back in a chair as the fire of the fireplace crackled in front of him, casting a soft glow upon his body in the dead of night, was the demon king himself. He sat in his chair, staring off into the dancing flames, an old cell phone in one hand and a glass of scotch in the other. Not far from him, a young girl slept peacefully in her room, safe and sound. Just as he had promised. Yet the words of the girl’s mother rang in his ears, just as harsh as the first time they had hit their target.

“As if you ever were the parent of the year!”

His thoughts strayed from the girl sleeping in the room to an even younger girl, curled up in a peaceful slumber. Her skin white as milk and her hair dark as the feathers of a raven. And with these thoughts, a single tear left his eye and slid down his cheek, until it fell onto the phone that still read the caller-ID.

RAVEN   

Author’s Notes: So there is a lot of significance into this ending that will make more sense as we progress. If any of you read BH’s stories, you may already know what I’m referring to, so yay for you! Again, I apologize for the unplanned hiatus. It was entirely on me. I write when I can, and when I feel inspired to do so. Not only do I need time to write, I also (more importantly) need the right mood to write. So for that reason, this story may come and go in spurts, but I promise you all that BH and I will make it worth the ride!

As always, if you read it, please review it! Your support is always appreciated!

Many thanks,

L.B.

It was moments after Arella's birth, that the family knew she was special. Raven could feel her power while she was still in the womb, but nothing compared to the amount of magic that literally glowed around the newborn. Raven feared this would happen. That one of her spawn would inherit the worst part about her, her demon side. Her other children had very minimum connections to that part of her life. A few hard lessons on proper meditation, and they were good to go. Arella was different though. With the powers of a teenager coursing through the body of an infant, Raven had to come up with new ways of helping her precious child. A baby who cannot hold its head up, would certainly be hard to teach how to find it's center in a meditative state.

As difficult as it was to raise such a remarkable child, protecting her was far harder. News of the child's powers spread throughout the dimensions, bringing monsters and demons alike to Earth for a chance to claim their prize. Garfield and Raven had feared that the demon king of Hell would see the child as a threat, just as the rest of his kind did, but he was surprisingly calm about the whole ordeal. He took the news stride, claiming no respectable demon would fear or harm a child, and that if any demon (besides himself, of course) were to touch a hair on her head, they would face a fate worse than Hell.

It was a promise he had upheld. Demon after demon came, each making advances on the child only to be stopped by her group of protectors, her father the hellhound, her mother the half-demon, her uncle the dragon knight, and when necessary her guardian the king of Hell. They had done well to ward off each threat, until Carnus came into the picture. The encompassment of all evil, the most feared demon of all time, was after the only creature that was said to end him.

Which is what brought them here, to Mexico City. They had spent two years being chased down by Carnus and his errand-boys. This time, they had finally got the upper hand. They had a source give them a tip of Carnus being spotted just outside the city, and Garfield had led a team, with Cyborg, Nightwing, and Drake, out to go confirm the source's claim and with any luck, stop Carnus once and for all. So here Raven sat, watching over her daughter while the rest of her family went on perhaps the most dangerous mission of their lives.

The small girl fidgeted on the couch that she laid on with her mother. Raven shook her head clear of her thoughts, and combed her pale fingers through her daughter's long, violet hair in a calming fashion. The child relaxed at her mother's touch and continued to softly snore as she slept. Raven should have known better than to let herself worry around the younger empath; worry was the last thing that the child needed right now.

"Don't worry my little dove, you are safe with me." Raven whispered as she continued her play with the child's silky hair.

As soon as the words left her mouth, the lights of the tower began to flicker uncontrollably and the air turned ice cold. Instinctively, Raven wrapped Arella and herself in a bubble of black magic before a loud crash echoed through the tower and the building shook at the impact. Glass shattered and rained down on the common room as a ball of black mist broke through it. Raven flew behind the kitchen island, a woken Arella in her arms. She kneelt onto the ground and used her body to shield her child on top of the ball of magic that protected them both. Once the final of the glass dust fell to the ground, the dark ball of mist clumped together, and formed the image of a man. He had black receding hair, an aged face and barely stood 6 feet. For any who didn't know better, he would have seemed like your creepy old neighbor that watched the neighborhood children board their school bus from the front window of his house. The wise knew better though. They knew that inside this despicable looking man, was a wicked, soulless monster.

The man cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders, his dark and dead eyes taking in the now torn up room, before landing on the kitchen island. An evil grin spreads across face.

"You should appreciate the effort I have gone through to get into your home, Raven dear. It was a real pain in the ass to wipe the warding off this tower, but I think we can both agree, worth it."

Raven began to center herself, channeling her powers, "Mommy, Mommy what's going on?"

Raven grabbed the sides of her daughter's face, "Arella, teleport to your room, just like mommy showed you, and block the doors and do NOT come out until Mommy comes for you okay?" Arella began whimpering, the warmth of tears beginning to sting her eyes, "Arella, do as I say." She said firmly, and with a shaky nod, teleported to safety.

Raven emerged from her hiding spot, her eyes dropping to the large hunting knife crusted with dried blood dangling at his side. She summoned her dark magic, incasing her fists in its fury, not once did she take her eyes off the demon, and he didn't move an inch, even when the little girl teleported out of the room, he remained motionless. The two dark powerhouses stared each other down for what felt like the millionth time, both of which were weathered and ready for this dance to FINALLY end. "You're NOT leaving this tower alive Carnus."

He snickered, his signature grin spreading sickeningly across his face, "Your cute when you tell me what to do."

Her powers crackled dangerously, "The first thing I'm going to do is blast that stupid grin off your face."

"You mean," he brought his pointer fingers to his cheek, accentuating his false dimples, "this one?"

What he didn't see were pieces of the walls around him break apart and smash in between the demon, extinguishing him into a puff of smoke. She rushed to kitchen cabinet searching for the salt to further protect her child in her room, when someone grabbed her by her long violet hair and smashed her head against the cabinet, then pulled her away, tossing her against the island counter. He advanced, but was met with a refrigerator encased in black ethereal power slamming him into the opposite wall. With blood getting into her eyes from the wound on her forehead, she stumbled to the cabinet again, getting the salt. Once her hand had the container in hand, the large hunting knife Carnus owned went right through her arm.

In agony, she stumbled away from the cabinets, Carnus threw the back of his hand across her face, sending her to the flow where he proceeded to kick her in her abdomen. After a few blows, he took a step back, catching his breath. "All those mongrel children you've spawned has made your magic soft."

Raven removed the blade from her arm, spitting out a wad of blood as she did so. "That . . . may be true," she groaned, "But I haven't lost," her eyes flashed blood red, all four of them, "MY RAGE!" A blast of her power exploded from her body, pushing Carnus away from her. "You have been the scourge of my life for FAR too long," Her voice, a guttural demonic, laced with an unbridled fury, her eyes blazing with so much hellfire it rocked the foundation of the home she had built with her husband. "I will END YOU!" she shrieked.

Carnus got to his hands and knees, the weight of her power beginning to rip into his body. He dug deep into the darkness of his soul, reaching for his own ethereal power, and with eyes a pure milky white, and a savage battle cry, launched his attack at the spawn of Trigon. Their pure black and red power clashed, pushing them away from each other, and colliding against the walls behind them.

Raven crumbled to the ground, hitting her hands and knees hard. She hadn't used this much of her power in years and she could feel it taking a toll on her body. The sweat and blood from her forehead clouding her vision, her body trembling as it searched for air and energy. Thankfully, Carnus was feeling the same way, but the difference was that Carnus didn't give birth to three children. Carnus struggled to his feet when he found his hunting knife laying bloody by the demoness. He staggered to his weapon, using the counters of the kitchen to keep himself upright.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see him coming, probably for the knife just an inch from her fingertips. With an animalistic determination, she crawled for the knife. "You . . . will not . . . take me . . . from my . . . family." She gripped the handle only for the demon to place his boot on top of it and pressed against the top of her hand.

"As much as I would enjoy ending your existence," he bent over prying the knife from her clenched fist, "you are not the one I'm after today."

A confused Raven racked her brain. There wasn't anyone else in their home . . . except . . .

A fist from Carnus was the last thing she saw before blacking out.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Arella stumbled through her make shift portal and began fumbling about her room. She summoned her power to move her bed and dresser against the door, and without thinking she ran for her closet and locked herself in. She huddled in the furthest corner of her closet and pulled her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them and buried her face into her knees.

She could hear the items in her room shaking from her out of control powers, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos, Azarath Metrion Zinthos, Azarath Metrion Zinthos," She repeated the mantra over, and over again, but it wasn't helping to settle her nerves. But she continued reciting the words her mother had drilled into her mind, right now it was the only form of comfort she had at the moment . . . .

. . . . and she was going to need it.

. . . .

She froze.

A chill running up her spine that set her senses of high alert . . .

. . . he was coming.

She felt the air begin to tighten, then slowly release, it was then that she knew . . . .

. . . he was in the room.

"Arella dear," she shivered horribly when he spoke. A voice void of emotion and feeling. Her arms pulled her knees closer to her chest, her mantra being repeated in her mind, but her fear keeping her from summoning her power, "You can come out sweety. I don't really have a whole lot of time, as much as I enjoy the hunt." She heard an odd scrapping sound, that sounded like he was dragging the tip of his knife against the wall. "If it means anything…I don't want to do this. I take no pleasure in harming children. But even you have to understand why I have too."

It got quiet, a chilling silence that was suffocating her. She clapped her hands over her mouth in an attempt to silence her shaky breath, but she knew. She knew he was well aware of her hiding spot, especially when the doors floor off the hinges. She shrieked, more of her power leaking over her bedroom, her terrified eyes watching the dark creature advance on top of her. He was chillingly calm, no emotion being shown in his face, his dark eyes never leaving hers.

She began to cry, which only made it worse for her bedroom. "Wh-why are you doing this?"

Carnus stopped, standing directly over her, his hand fidgeting with the handle of the knife, but had no intention of answering her. With a deep breath, he raised the knife. "I'm sorry."

"VALOGNEUS!"

Carnus closed his eyes, sighing in frustration. He opened them again staring down at the girl. "Hold that thought." Carnus turned around and faced the demon king, a tall pale man with neat black hair, and blood red sport coat with black pants, shirt and a dark blue tie.

"Hello darling." He greeted in a thick English accent, "Miss me?"

Carnus chuckled to himself. "Hello Landon, I should have known you would be swinging to the rescue."

Landon shrugged, "I'm working on getting my own signal in the sky."

Carnus, exhausted from his confrontation with Raven, gave a tired chuckle. "It could be a suit or something." The two demons stared each other down for a moment, "What happened to us Landon. There was a time where you would have agreed with my actions, but now . . . "

Landon gave a small nod, "Believe me, I know. I've gotten soft over the years, I'll admit that."

Carnus straightened himself, his dark eyes reflecting exhaustion, and not just from the previous battle. No, Landon had seen that look a million times before, and will see it a million times more. He, the demon torturer for thousands upon thousands of years, was . . . . tired. "You do know why I'm here don't you?" He asked ominously. Landon was silent, but nodded once, "And you know that for the good of the Earth, and hell, she HAS to die right?" Once again, a single nod, "and yet here you are, willing to risk your neck for this child, why?"

Landon took a single breath and shrugged. "I have my reasons."

Carnus gave a nod, expecting more, but when Landon remained silent he just sighed, "Well, old friend, I guess this is how it ends."

"I suppose so," Landon said quietly, "It's been fun, it's been real, but it hasn't been real fun."

Carnus spun the knife into an underhand grip letting out a small smile. "Well, I'm anxious to see how it ends." Carnus spun around with the knife aimed at Arella, intent on ending her life.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

How could he have been so stupid? It was obviously a false lead, but he was so blinded by the fact Carnus was threatening his family that he had left his wife and youngest daughter at the tower alone. He was done with being two steps behind. Done with demons, monsters, and super villains threatening him and his family. He was done running. Which is why he was so quick to jump on the opportunity to end this once and for all, but as always Carnus had made him the fool. Without a second thought, he tore off from the empty lot and flew as fast as he could his home, all the while reciting the words, "please be okay, please be okay, please be okay."

The tall, glass, t-shaped silhouette of the tower came into view, his sharp eagle eyes already seeing broken glass, dented metal, and shaken rock, all evidence of a battle that had taken place. With a heavy heart full of dread, he flew through the shattered windows and changed back to his normal form. The shattered remains of the glass cracked under the weight of his feet and his sensitive nose picked up the rancid stank of sulfur, a common trait of demonic activity. Then there was the infamous metallic scent of blood, lots of blood.

Pure panic began to set in, with a mixture of rage and worry, but the rage could wait, he needed to find his mate and cub. No sooner had he began his search, his emerald gaze caught sight of violet on the other side of the counter laying on the floor. He sprang towards the unmoving form of his bloody and beaten wife, cradling her head in his arms and giving soft oats in her cheek to wake her.

"Raven," he choked, "come on Mama, wake up." With his calloused fingers, he pressed down on her bloody neck, desperately feeling for a pulse.

...bump... bump... bump

Faint, but it was there.

Slowly the women in his arms began to stir and open her eyes, they had lost some of their vibrant color, but the important thing was that they opened. "Hey you," he gave a small sad smile relieved that she was alive.

"Ar...ella..." She mumbled as she raised a shaky hand and gripped her husband's strong arm, like A sinking ship searching for an anchor.

A sudden gust of wind blew through the living room, kicking up glass and debris, though they quickly learned it wasn't just the wind. Glass pieces flew around, and Garfield used his body to shield the pieces from his wife's body. He clenched his teeth as glass cut past his uniform and through his skin, but he made no sigh of moving. Mighty wings beat against the air lowering two of Garfield's teammates into the destroyed kitchen. Nightwing and Cyborg hurried to the couple's side, the dragon who brought them changing back to his human form.

"Gar, you can't just-"

As if reality had just slapped her, Raven's eyes shot open, "ARELLA! HE'S HERE! HE'S HERE!" they were confused at first, but they had what they needed to hear.

Drake Daniels was the first to react, drawing the blade that would kill Carnus once and for all, and head for the doors, but froze mid step.

There standing in the door way covered in blood, stood the disheveled demon king, and in his arms, a blood soaked deep olive-green cloak.

Time stood still. Hearts stopped beating. Oxygen gone.

The group of heroes starred at the battered king, but specifically, the frail, unmoving bundle in his arms. Garfield stared with a face drained of color, while his wife clung to him, hyperventilating and gasping the word "no" repeatedly. Drake sheathed his weapon and calmly approached his oldest friend.

"Landon . . . " he reached up attempting to put a hand on his shoulder, but when he was an inch away, Landon sprang to life limping down the steps towards the grieving parents.

Landon gently kneeled and placed the child into her whimpering mother's outstretched arms. She continued silently imploring anyone who was listening that this was just a nightmare and her daughter was somehow safe and sound. She accepted the bundle and hurriedly removed the fabric revealing a very pale, terrified, but alive little girl.

"Mommy!" The little girl threw her arms around her neck, Raven sobbing with pure relief and joy. "I was quiet mommy, I didn't make a sound, just like you told me," while she continued blabbing and crying hysterically her father was looking her over. Amazingly, she didn't have a scratch on her, however the same couldn't be said for the demon king that had stood off to the side, watching the family be reunited. The blood that was on Arella's small cloak had come from a deep stab wound in his abdomen that was flowing freely.

Landon pressed his right hand over the wound, hissing at the sharp pain that quickly followed. He looked to the dragon knight that was hovering close by.

"Daniels," Landon called, blood spitting from his lips. "a little help?" He spoke in between shallow breaths. Drake went to the kitchen cabinets searching for a first aid kit. "And a scotch if you wouldn't mind."

Drake scoffed, "How 'bout a cheese sandwich while I'm at it?"

"Well if your making one."

On the other side of the room, a wounded Raven was gently rocking her youngest child in her arms, whispering sweet nothings into the little girl's pointed ears. Garfield held his family in his arms, placing loving kisses on his wife and daughter's heads. The other males in the room gave the family their well-deserved moment, before reality would force them to break apart.

The large, robotic man known as Cyborg leaned beside the family and placed a metal hand on Garfield's shoulder. Garfield looked up to meet the man's sole brown eye.

"Hey man, we need to take them to the med-bay, stat." Cyborg's voice was kind, yet firm. He knew his friends were going through a lot right now, but his adoptive sister was horribly injured and fading fast, and he could not help, but notice his niece was malnourished. Both females needed immediate medical attention, which was the half-robot's specialty.

The changeling nodded his head in understanding, and within seconds his arms turned large and furry. With the strength of a silver-back gorilla, Garfield wrapped one arm around Raven's head and another under her legs, and as gentle as a lioness would lift her cub, he cradled the sorceress in his arms, while she still clung to their cub. The father carried the two across the room and down the hall towards the Titan's make-shift hospital, Cyborg following in his wake.

Back over to everyone's favorite demon, Landon was now sitting at a chair that had somehow avoided the same fate as its companions.

"Daniels, where is my bloody drink!" He snapped after the others left. Drake sauntered over to the Englishman without a first aid kit, but for some reason had a knife.

"Sorry no first aid kit or alcohol." He told him as he sat the knife down on the table that Nightwing had pushed up for them. Said man was currently standing in a far-off corner speaking in a hushed voice to whoever was on the other end of his communicator.

"Bloody hell." Landon cursed. "What kind of home doesn't keep a stash of liquor?"

"A home with kids, believe it or not." Drake placed the knife in his teeth, making sure to super heat it with his powers, then ripped Landon's shirt off. Specifically, the fabric around the knife wound.

Landon chuckled, "Does Kole know you go around ripping men's clothes off." Drake glared at the demon king, snorting smoke to further heat the knife. "What are you doing?" Drake removed the knife and placed it against his open wound, "NO STOP, GAH!" The super-heated metal helped to seal his wound and stop the bleeding.

"Sorry," Drake responded sarcastically, "I thought no meant yes." Drake removed the knife, ignoring the sizzling sound and stench of burning skin. "That should tide you over till you get back to hell."

Landon panted in pain, "Your lucky I don't want to make my niece fatherless." Drake glanced around, making sure they were alone, a seriousness overcoming the two, and a mutual understanding that the rest of their conversation was not to leave the table. "He's dead." Landon began. Drake's eyes widen slightly in surprise, but he stayed silent and waited for Landon to continue. "I won't bore you with the details, so let's just say it takes a great amount of power to kill a fellow demon of Carnus's statue."

Drake nodded his head, putting together the pieces to puzzle in his head. "So, your drained." He deadpanned.

"Well, not completely. It's like losing blood, I'll get back to full health when I get back to hell for a damned soul cocktail."

Drake gave him a pointed look, "You gonna be alright?"

Landon struggled to his feet, "I'll be fine."

"I have to ask. I know you have a soft spot for Raven and their family, but why go through all this trouble?"

Landon's fiery red gaze burned into Drake's mind, "I'll tell you the same thing I told Carnus, I have my reasons." They remained silent with each other until Nightwing's voice brought their attention to the man dressed in a black spandex suit with a blue bird printed on the front.

"Sorry to interrupt, but Landon, I need you to fill me in on what transpired here." Nightwing said in his typical down-to-business attitude.

Landon scuffed at the Titan leader. "All you need to know, darling, is that Carnus will no longer be a problem, forever."

Nightwing narrowed his eyes at the shady demon king. "I'm not in the mood for your games today Landon."

"Then what makes you think I want to play your games." Landon snapped as he glared daggers at the insolent mortal. "I am not one of your little spandex wearing, lemmings, bird-boy. I'm BLOODY LANDON." he limped closer to the man, but if he was still in pain, he did a great job of hiding it. "Which means I do what I want, when. I. Want. I told you what you need to know. Now if you excuse me, I need to return to my kingdom to finish my healing process."

Landon vanished in a puff of black smoke, but Nightwing could almost swear there was a puff of smoke that blew into his face.

"How do you put up with him?" he asked the dragon knight.

Drake held up the knife he used on Landon, "We have our moments."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The tower was dead silent now with everyone fast asleep from the day's events. One particular family opting to spend the night in the medical wing. Raven lay on one of the beds floating in a healing trance, while Arella lay on a separate bed cuddled next to her father. The little girl was fine, she was extremely shaken from the experience, Raven however needed more time to heal both physically and emotionally. But now, here they were, one big happy, drained family.

But they weren't alone.

Landon glanced over the floating form of the young mother, and with a deep breath raised his hand over her forehead. She twitched slightly when an odd light began to shine over her from the palm of his hand, but she reamined in her quiet floating state. Landon looked over the area of her forehead, not finding anything of concern, which was terrifying for him. With a heavy heart, he headed towards her daughter, repeating the same process by shinning an odd light over her face with his power. Like her mother she twitched slightly, but remained asleep.

And there it was.

A blood red sygel in the shape of an S burned into her forehead. The mark of scath. Trigon had found his new portal.

"Bullocks."

Author's Notes: Was this long enough for you greedy kiddies? Lol! This is just the prologue, which is meant to lay out the foundation for the rest of the story. @bearhow2 and I worked very hard on it, and we are both very proud of it. Fair warning, this story will involve a lot of O.C.'s, but rest assure, there will be plenty of BBRae moments sprinkled in. If you haven't already, I recommend you hope on over to @bearhow2's profile and catch up on some of his latest stories. Not only are they absolutely amazing, but they will help you to better understand his O.C.'s that will show up A LOT in this story.

Please Read, Review, and Reblog! Reviews are the most important. Reviews tell the author (or in this case authors) what they are doing right and what they are doing wrong. Reviews also show the author that people are actually reading and enjoying their story. So please, take a minute and leave a review. All will be appreciated! And remember, you can review each chapter! ;)

Thank you, all! I hope you enjoyed the first addition to this story, and I hope you stick with @bearhow2 and I until the end. You will not be disappointed!

Until next time,

L.B.

"Is this about what Landon said to you?" Garfield growled as he thought of the well-dressed demon that had showed up unannounced early that week, the only reason he was allowed to come around was because he had been invited. Raven had told him of the conversation she had with his majesty. Garfield and Landon had always had a bit of a strained relationship. The King of Hell had his own agenda, and Garfield was not a fan of being kept in the dark when it came to the welfare of his family. Sure, he owed the businessman for saving the life of his mate and cub . . . . a couple of times . . . okay a lot, but Landon had been a-wall before that. The Logan's had begged Landon to help them defeat Carnus, but it seemed killing Carnus did not fit well with the demon king's agenda. That was, until something changed that night in Mexico, and what really bothered him was that Landon had left just as he came, quickly and without explanation. Now he shows up again, in typical Landon fashion, and pleads for Garfield's child. Yeah, Landon was not on Garfield's top list of favorite people right now.

Raven closed her eyes, trying and failing to hold back the tears that formed in her amethyst irises. She gave the man before her a weak nod.

"Oh, Raven my love, don't do this to yourself." Garfield begged as he pulled her body closer to his. He had one arm wrapped securely around her thin waist, and the other around her shoulders, his hand gently petting her lilac locks. He could feel a warm wet spot form on his shoulder as her tears soaked his red and white jump suit. He placed a tender kiss on top of her head, and whispered sweet nothings into her silky hair.

"It's not your fault, Rae."

"But what if he's right?" She sobbed. "What if everything I'm teaching her is only pushing her further away into the darkness? What if my mother was right to lock me up and thrown away the key? Maybe Arella should go with Landon. Maybe the real threat to her safety...is me." Raven's outburst caused multiple objects around the house to fly around or combust, as her magic swirled around the small safe-house. Neither paid much mind to the destruction her powers were causing.

"Raven, look at me." The changeling growled as he gently pinched her chin and tilted her head up to face him. Tears ran freely down her pale cheeks, and Garfield had to hold back his own whine at the sight of his upset mate. "After all these years of being with you, I have to come to learn many surprising facts about you. You talk in your sleep. You don't let your food touch. You take really long showers."

"Get to the point, Garfield." The sorceress sniffled.

"Heh, right. My point is, perhaps the worst thing about yourself, is that you can't help, but be your own worst critic. You are always so quick to fall into this spiral of self-doubt, and it pains me every time I must watch you do that to yourself. You aren't perfect Rae, not even close, but to me, you're better than perfect. You are the most beautiful, humble, and caring person I know. It's those things that Arella needs right now, and no one, especially that emotionless shark in a suit, can teach her those things better than you."

A small smile formed on her full lips." That was a wonderful sentiment, Gar," She spoke softly. "But there is one problem. You can't teach beauty."

Garfield chuckled at her. "I meant, beauty on the inside. My girls don't need help in being beautiful on the outside." He winked at her, causing a blush to rise up her tear-stained cheeks.

"Watch it, before you go and ruin this moment." She mumbled as she buried her head in his shoulder once again.

"Hey, I made the moment, I can ruin it." The shapeshifter teased.

"And there it is. Moment ruined."

Garfield laughed once again, and Raven couldn't stop the amused smile that showed up on her face.

"I love you, Raven." He cooed as his laughter died down, and he became serious once more.

"I love you too, Gar." She returned, then moved herself so that she was hugging him from the side and looking back out the window, towards their mediating daughter. Her face resuming its worried gaze. "What happens if we can't be there to protect her?"

Garfield gave her arm a comforting squeeze as he followed her gaze. "Then someone else will."

Present Day

Arella heaved an enormous sigh of relief. "Not right now, Landon, I'm busy." The young women turned her back to the King of Hell as she used her powers to finish burying the body of Mr. Cassidy.

"I can see that," he began walking around her staring down into the hole, "Late night gardening?" She ignored his comment, so he began sauntering around clearing, "So how many victims does this make-"

"He's not a victim!" Arella snapped, "He's a criminal, there's a difference." She grumbled under her breath as she finished with the hole.

"And yet, who here is committing a crime?" Landon laughed devilishly.

She huffed turning away from him and crossed her arms, "I lost my temper, okay."

Suddenly he was in her face, looming over her by at least a full head. Her breath hitched in her throat at his close proximity, his dark eyes staring into her amethyst pools, his voice low and sultry as he spoke to her. "Now, darling, we both know that isn't true. I can see it in your eyes. I've seen that look for centuries. You. Enjoy. It."

It took her a few moments to get her breath back, "Look, this creep has ruined countless lives and has threaten me and my family. I did what ultimately had to be done." She looked away from him, attempting to conceal her blush. Wait, blush? Why was she blushing?

"Oh really? And why not just hand him over to the police, hm? Why kill him instead of sending him to adult daycare, or prison as you mortals call it."

Her eyes glowed a dark green, "Because men like him, don't deserve to live." She stared back at him, meeting his dark gaze. Her voice laced with a demonic presence.

A smirk twitched at the side of his lip, but even he had to acknowledge the shiver that ran down his spine. "I like your answer. Only one teeny, tiny problem with that. You can't just go around killing mortals, simply because you think they deserve it." He said with a tap of her small, pale nose, causing another blush to appear on her cheeks, but a scowl to form from her mouth.

"I don't kill just any mortals. Only the really bad ones."

"I see, then any reason why there aren't any 'super villains' among your collection?"

"Well I can't just go around killing those that the league knows about." Her hand slapped over her mouth as soon as she realized what she just admitted to.

"Is that so?" The king smirked knowingly. "Well if you're doing the right thing then why not let the League know?"

Arella growled, her razor-sharp teeth glistening in the moonlight, and eyes a blood red. "Why are you here?"

There it was again, the shiver. "Right." He said as he straightened his tie. "Well as the king of Hell, it is my job to make sure the balance between good and evil stay, well balanced. And unfortunately, you little birdy, are tipping the scale ever so slightly, which is bad for business. How do you think I found out about you and," he gestured to the make-shift graveyard around him, "this? Your new friends have graced my kingdom with their presence ahead of schedule. A few here and there is fine, but to many and I have to intervene."

Arella settled slightly, but still maintained her hard glare. "And that's my problem, because?"

Landon got closer to her, "Because, I am a business man, and you, my little bird," he pinched her chin and lifted her head slightly, "are becoming a liability. And I don't take kindly to liabilities."

Instead of allowing herself to get flustered, she decided to play along. "And what are you going to do," she said in her best teasing tone, her pale finger tracing the lines of his suit coat, "all powerful king of demons, ruler of all things evil, fancy suit enthusiast? Send me to Hell?"

"Why yes, that's exactly what I'm going to do." Landon deadpanned as he released her chin and took a couple steps back.

Her playful tone vanished. "Wait what?"

"Relax, darling, you aren't going to Hell as a prisoner. You'd go as my honored guest." Her confusion told him to elaborate. "You see, I have job opening that needs filling, and who better to fill it than a lovely lost soul like yourself."

She rose a brow in disbelief, "Isn't that what Drake used to do?"

He shrugged, "Once upon a time, but he's retired now, and made that clear . . . painfully clear. Bottom line is that you'll work for me, and I'll have a new assistant and I'll be able to keep a better eye on my adorable little liability." He winked flirtatiously, once again provoking an involuntary blush from the sorceress. "It's a win, win for me."

The game was back on, "And why should I accept?"

"Well you'll get benefits. Full dental, medical, a 401K, and every Friday is 'wacky tie day'."

"Sounds like a dream job." She muttered, meeting his sarcasm.

"Well you would be able to learn how to properly use that better half of yours." He through in causally.

Now he had her attention. "Are you saying you can help me suppress it?" Just asked hopefully.

He closed his eyes and shook his head in frustration. "Look darling, the whole 'conceal, don't feel thing' trope doesn't agree with me.

She snorted a laugh, "Wow, Landon. Never pegged you for a 'Frozen' fan."

He narrowed his eyes, "You'd be surprised. Anyways, I am saying I can help you control it. Suppression doesn't work, when really you should be learning how to use that power to your advantage. Each time you push your demon away, it comes back twice as hard. You keep this up, and you'll be the next 'Titan's Most Wanted'." He approached again, "Listen, I know this is a big decision for you, so I'll let you sleep on it. But do take my advice, love. Don't deny who you are. You're a demon, and who better to teach how to be one than the king of demons himself?"

With one last wicked smile, Landon snapped his fingers and everything went black.

XXXXXXXX

Beep! Beep! Beep!

A small cloud of black magic consumed the small, old fashion alarm and within seconds the little device combusted into hundreds of tiny pieces. The source of that magic, a petite, pale-grey women, shifted in her queen-sized bed with a loud groan. As the tired women tried to fall back into unconsciousness, a loud knocking could be heard from her bedroom door. The young women let out another groan, and buried her face into her pillow in an attempt to drown out the sound.

"Arella, it's Chloe, time to wake up sleepy head!"

Arella heard the cheery voice of her best friend from the other side of her door. She turned onto her side, lazily mumbling "Five more minutes." Luckily, Cloe's dragon hearing could pick up on her muffled words.

"It's ten in the morning, Ari. The others thought you were dead."

At the sound of the word dead, Arella's eyes snapped open in fear. She quickly sat up and through off her thick covers to reveal her blood-stained clothes, the mask still on her face. Trying to hold back her panic, she jumped out of bed and ran over to her closet.

"Alright, Chlo, just give me a minute!" She called over to the door as she began to strip herself of the soiled garments.

"No way! I know you too well to fall for that one! You're just going to fall back asleep as soon as I leave."

"No, I won't!" Arella denied. "Use your ears, I'm getting dressed as we speak."

There was a short pause as Chloe pressed her ear onto the cold metal door. Knowing she was listening, Arella made sure to be unnecessarily loud while dressing herself.

"Alright, fine, but I'm still waiting here until you finish."

With a huff, Arella wrapped a clean, green cloak over her body and clasped the locket on the front, holding the fabric together. She then floated over to the door, and used her powers to slide it open. The familiar image of the slightly taller, pink-haired girl stood outside waiting for her. Chloe's crystal-blue gaze took her in.

"You look awful." She blurted out.

Arella's face fell at her friend's bluntness. "Gee, thanks."

"Well sorry, but it's true. I mean just look at your hair, it looks like a rat's nest up there." She said as she motioned to Arella's tangled purple locks. "Not to mention you smell like legit death." She said with revulsion as she wrinkled her nose.

Arella tensed, but when she met the dragon knight's gaze, she knew she did not mean anything by her choice of words. Swallowing down her anxiety, Arella decided to play along.

"Yeah, well at least I don't smell like a swamp."

Chloe narrowed her eyes. "It's the lake, a forest, and a roaring flame . . . . my mom would say."

Arella snorted at her. "It's a swamp Chlo."

The two girls continue their conversation as they walk down the hall.

"Hey, just a heads up, everyone is pretty on edge today."

Arella shrugged. "What else is new."

Chloe shook her head, "No, you don't understand. That mystery guy struck again last night. Took down all of Cassidy's men and Cassidy himself is at large. Although, police report says they found a lot of his blood at the scene. I'm convinced he's dead. All the guys Mr. Mystery captured have never been discovered. Logic says it's because they are all dead. Although, Impulse thinks they are…"

Arella stopped listening. Her mind was too busy replaying the events of last night. The sound of their screams, the look of absolute fear in their eyes, the metallic taste of their sweet, hot, sticky blood.

"Arella!"

The sound of her name snapped her out of her thoughts. Arella violently shook her head clear of the memories, and blinked over at Chloe, who was staring at her oddly.

"Sorry, what'd you say?" Arella asked.

"I asked you what you thought, about the mystery guy thing. Did you just ignore everything I told you? And what was up with that smirk?" Chloe questioned accusingly, her hands falling to her hips.

"Kind of." Arella admitted. "Sorry, Chlo, but my head isn't quite ready for social interaction."

Chloe's sharp glare softened into a sympathetic gaze. "Was it another nightmare?" She asked softly.

Arella was surprised for a split second, but then she remembered her go to excuse for her exhausted state. She gave her friend a brief nod. When she asked to talk about it, Arella declined as per usual. Chloe knew her friend would open it up when she was ready, so she quickly changed the subject.

"Anyway, Cass and your sister are pretty pissed because of this guy, so just gird your loins."

Arella gave her friend a grateful nod. "Thanks, Chlo."

With that the two girls entered the common room, where everyone was chowing down on their breakfast. Just as Chloe said, Cass and Maria were seated next to each other, going over the police report concerning the murders at the Cassidy residence. Arella could practically choke on the frustration that rolled off her two leaders. Over at the other end of the table, the boys were sharing different theories as to who the mystery person could be.

"What if it's Slade, back from the dead?" Impulse offered.

"No way, dude! Slade hasn't been in the picture for decades. Besides, attacking sex-traffickers isn't really his style." Reed objected.

"Oh, like you know his style? You said it yourself, the guy's been gone for over twenty years."

"Yeah, but unlike you, I actually spend time in the library."

". . . . We have a library?"

Arella rolled her eyes at the boy's pathetic banter. Chloe left her side, and went to sit back in her spot next to Maria and Reed, an empty chair in between her and freckled boy. Arella continued over to the kitchen counter, where she proceeded to make herself a cup of green tea. The other's seemed to be lost in their own conversations to pay her any mind, which she was quite grateful for. It wasn't until she was taking her seat in between Reed and Chloe, full cup of tea in hand, that someone decided to acknowledge her.

"Oh, hey Ari, who do you think the guy is?" Bart asked from across the table. All eyes turned to her, and she had to fight back the urge to scream. Instead, the sorceress sent the speedster a cold glare.

"Don't call me Ari, and I don't care." She said pointedly, before taking a small sip of her tea.

"Well I'm still convinced it's someone we know." Bart announced proudly, ignoring Arella's attitude.

Reed shook his head, his shaggy auburn hair falling in his face. "I say it's a new guy. Maybe a metahuman we haven't seen before."

"Excuse me!" Chloe interjected. "Who said it had to be a guy?"

Bart rolled his eyes at her. "Don't go turning this into a feminist thing."

"I'm not. I'm just saying, it could be a female." Chloe clarified.

"What do you think, Arella?" Reed's question took the reclusive girl by surprise. She looked up from her tea mug, with a confused expression.

"Huh?" She asked.

"The mystery person. Do you think they are male or female?" Reed asked again.

"Oh, uh…" Arella cast a nervous glance over to Maria, who was now eyeing her and awaiting her answer. She then glanced over to Chloe, who was watching her expectantly.

"Definitely a male. A woman could never overpower that many guys."

Her answer had a mixed reaction. Bart looked smug, while Chloe looked disappointed. Reed just looked at thoughtful, and Maria just continued to eye her younger sibling.

"I agree with Arella." Reed stated out of nowhere.

Everyone rolled their eyes at the foolish boy. "Of course, you do. You agree with everything she says." Bart teased the poor boy. The fire-wielder huffed in annoyance.

"I do not!"

Over on the boy's shoulder, the little fireball flashed brightly. "Even your little fire thingy agrees me." Reed blushed and looked the other way, mumbling something incoherent under his breath.

"I wouldn't be so quick to rule out possibilities, Arella." The teens all looked over to Maria, who was still staring at the young empath. "This person, whoever he or she is, appears to be metahuman, meaning this person could easily be a female."

Arella forced herself to meet her sister's emerald gaze, her fear threatening to bubble over. Arella repeated her mantra in her head, desperately trying to calm her emotions. She watched as her sister's mouth fell slightly, a sign she was scenting the air. Maria's dark green eyes narrowed, and Arella knew she had caught her fear-scent. She prayed to whoever was listening that Maria wouldn't say anything.

The other's around them seemed to be blissfully ignorant to what was happening right in front of them. Arella felt a pounding in her chest and head, and her mouth became dry and sticky. After what felt like a century, an unexpected savior came to Arella's aid.

"Okay Titans, breakfast is over! Everyone meet in the gym in five!" Wonder Girl announced, before flying off toward the elevator. Bart, Reed and Chloe all stood up and began clearing the table. Arella and Maria continued to stare at one another, before Maria finally broke her gaze with a shake of her head. "Go on, Ari, don't want to leave your teammates waiting."

Arella blinked at the older women, but then hesitantly stood up and carried her mug over to the sink, where she poured out the remaining liquid, then followed her friend to the elevator. All while Maria's stern glare never left the back of her head.

Cassidy Cabin

In the form of a pale green chipmunk, Maria scampered into the Cassidy Cabin, shifting back to her normal form as soon as she was inside. She opened a small pocket dimension with her powers and grabbed the police report. How the police could clean up the crime scene, take photos and gather evidence this quickly was a mystery to her, but she wasn't arguing. This person who was killing off these criminals was nothing more than your average, run of the mill serial killer and had to be treated as such.

She prayed she was wrong though.

She opened the file going to a particular photo of the blood bath and something that stuck out to her when she and Wonder Girl were going over the photos earlier. Sometimes demons leave behind a trail of sulfur, why, no one really knew, but Azarathian demons left behind a trail much stronger. A black and blue glittering powder that no one would look twice at, but she would.

Over at the door that led to the kitchen there was still a small pinch of the odd powder against the doorframe that hadn't been clean. With gloves on her hands she rubbed her fingers against the power and took a sniff.

" . . . No . . " it was a familiar scent. It had to be a coincidence. Maybe some of the powder got onto him from the attack earlier, yeah, that's what happened. Before she decided to leave she caught something out of the corner of her eyes. Something underneath the couch that she the police hadn't found. She took it in her hands, a small smashed up, security camera.

Titan Headquarters, Washington D.C., USA

A medium-sized, obsidian portal opened in front of the towering T-Shaped building. Stepping out of the portal, Maria looked around to take in her surroundings. The Titan Headquarters was founded by her mother, father, and several of the original Titans back in 2011 – 31 years ago. The place made you feel like you were Marty McFly stumbling into the future for the first time. The most modern and superior technology was made inside this very tower. As Maria walked up the stairs that led to the entryway of the building, she passed by many familiar faces of her fellow Titans. Being that she had green skin and pointy ears, it was hard for her not to stand out, even in a place full of metahumans. By now though, she was comfortable in her own skin, and was used to lingering eyes. She was, after all, the daughter of two founding Titan's.

As she walked in, she was instantly greeted by five humongous statues. Each a monument to the Titan they replicated. It was strange and intimidated to see her parents amongst the five, staring down at her as if they knew who she was and why she was here. She quickly brushed it off and stomped past the grand decor. She made her way over to the elevators, and thanked God for it being empty. Although, her prayers were too soon, because right as the doors began to close, a speedster swooshed past them and made it in.

"Floor 6 please." Came the peppy voice of the young, pink-haired, female speedster. She glanced over in Maria's direction, but had to do a double take once she noticed who it was she had intruded on. "Oh, my gash! Maria, what are you doing here?" She asked as she zoomed up to the slightly older women and trapped her in a tight embrace.

"Hey, Janet." Maria greeted politely, but was inwardly cringing. This was the very type of encounter she was hoping to avoid. Last thing she wanted was for leadership to know she was here, and by leadership she mainly means Mom and Dad. Janet released her from her hug and began bouncing up and down, rocking the elevator. The animals in Maria's mind did not appreciate this.

"Janet, stop bouncing!" Maria scolded while having her back pressed up against the wall, claws scratching the blue-painted walls.

Janet stopped what she was doing, and instead decided to tap her foot like the rabbit from Bambi. "Sorry, M! Superfast heartrate, remember? Gotta stay moving!" She spoke swiftly and sporadically, which quickly gave Maria a splitting headache.

"So, what brings you to HQ? I thought you were mentoring a group of TT's back at Titans West?"

Before Maria could respond, the spunky pinkette spoke again.

"Oh, are you in trouble?" She taunted with a mischievous smirk. "What did you do this time? Threaten to eat one of the kids again? Get in another fight with your sister?"

Maria's eyes fell to the floor at the mention of her sister.

"Oh, you did! Give me all the dirty deets!" The young women said excitedly.

"I did not get into another fight, Janet, and I'm not in trouble. In fact, I would appreciate it if you not mention I was even here." Maria growled softly.

"Why not?" The speedster/sorceress tilted her head in confusion.

Maria had been around for a good chunk of time now, and she had been in the superhero work all her life, so coming up with lies on the fly was anything, but a hardship for her. "Because I'm just here to visit Susan and I rather the leadership not know I abandoned my post in doing so."

This seemed to please the short gossiper. "I gotcha! Don't worry, M, your secret is safe with me." Her bright pink eyes dropped down for a moment and landed of Maria's purse that hung over her shoulder. "Hey, since when did you carry around a purse?" The cheerful speedster asked as she pointed to the offending object by Maria's side. Maria subconsciously pulled the bag closer to her, a quick comeback playing on her lips, but before she could respond, the elevator dinged and the doors opened on the 6th floor. "Guess this is my stop. Nice seeing ya, M! You'll have to stop by more often!" She said as she sped away out of sight, but as quickly as she left she zoomed back over just outside the elevator and called out, "Oh, and say hi to Marky for me!" With that the doors closed again and as Maria waited to arrive on her floor and for the headache she had acquired to go away, she couldn't keep from wondering why a certain daughter of Jinx and Flash wanted her to say hi to her twin brother – Marky?

The elevator dinged once again, and the doors opened to reveal the open-concept floor of the Titan Research Laboratory. Created by none other than Maria's adoptive uncle, Victor Stone otherwise known as Cyborg. The lab was state of the art and was the birthplace of some of the most advance weaponry in the world. Maria vaguely remembered the controversy that had come up not long after this place was built. Every military in the world wanted a slice of the pie, as it were, and the Titans became deeply divided by the issue. Cyborg thought it was his patriotic duty to hand over weapon designs to the U.S. government. Nightwing wanted to sell the designs in order to help fund Victor's "science experiments" as he often referred to them. Maria's parents, the legendary Changeling and Raven were adamantly opposed to the whole idea, and at one point wanted the whole thing to shut down. Maria was only a toddler during those days, but she remembered not seeing very much of her favorite uncle and cousin that year. It was settled upon that any Titan Technology would remain in the hands of Titans only.

Today, the lab was more focused on enhancing metahuman powers, than building an arsenal. Metahumans from under the globe would come here to learn more about their powers and how to properly wield them. Basically, adding science to the traditional training methods, making them all far more powerful than they could have imagined. It was an ingenious idea, and Maria was proud to say it was all led by her best friend and adoptive cousin, Susan Stone.

Maria had walked through the lab, eyeing all the different kinds of experiments taking place around her. It took her a while before she finally came to a door marked "Susan Stone: Head of Research and Development." Maria smirked at the big shot title and decided to bring back an old joke between them.

The tall, slender frame of a brown-skinned, dark-haired beauty sat behind her wide, metal desk as she typed away on her holographic computer. She was humming to herself, the large white wings on her back twitching the beat. Suddenly, she felt the air pressure drop and saw a familiar black hole form over her door. Stepping through it was a woman wearing a dark violet and lime-green suit, with short green hair and emerald eyes.

"Holly Heisenberg! What the hell, Maria? You know how much I hate it when you do that!" Susan exclaimed as she threw her hand over heart to calm herself down, and starred pointedly at her visitor.

Maria simply grinned and walked up closer to her friend's desk and took a seat in front of it. "Which is exactly why I have to do it." She teased.

"Ha. Ha. Laugh it up. As soon as you leave, I'm requesting a ward for my door!" The woman behind the desk said with a playful smirk.

"Yeah we'll see about that." Maria's grin faded to a frown as she cast her eyes down at the bag in her lap.

"I'm guessing you didn't come all this way just to scare to crap out of me, right?"

Maria nodded her head. "Yes, unfortunately this isn't one of those visits. You know about that human trafficker my team had been tracking, down right?

"Yeah, Marcus Cassidy, right? Have you guys kicked his butt yet?"

Maria's gaze fell once again to the bag. "Well, not exactly."

Susan titled her head in confusion. "What do you mean?"

With a heavy sigh, Maria explained everything that had happened in the past 24 hours. The only detail she was not yet ready to share was the fact that she caught her sister's scent at the crime scene.

"And I found this on the floor nearby." She finished her story and pulled out the mangled remains of what used to be a security camera.

"I know the camera took quite a beating, but I was hoping that if anyone can recover the video, it'd be you."

Maria gently placed to remains onto Susan's desk, while Susan pulled out of her drawer a tiny magnify-glass. The half insect began to inspect the pieces of the destroyed camera like an archaeologist inspecting human remains. Maria waited with baited breath as Susan finished her inspection.

"I'm not gonna lie, this thing is pretty messed up." She said bluntly as she sat the small magnify glass down on the table. "But for you, Mar, I'll give it a looksie. I just can't promise I'll be successful."

Maria gave her friend a sincere smile. "That's alright, Sue. I just ask that you try. And um…there is one other thing." She said as her face grew uncharacteristically serious.

"What is it?" Susan asked curiously.

"If you do recover the video, do not let anyone else see it, okay? It is imperative that this stays between you and I."

The two friends shared a tense look, as Susan tried to study her friend's odd behavior.

"Well sure, Mar, but can I at least ask why all the secrecy?"

Maria set her emerald gaze back on the camera. The memory of all the blood and destruction at the Cassidy Mansion replayed in her mind, and she could not help, but imagine her baby sister being the cause of it all.

"For now, Susan, let's just call it a family matter."

Author’s Notes: So we threw in some bbrae love in this one. Hope y’all enjoyed that!  We also gave you a look into the future of the Teen Titans. Let me know what you think about it! Has always, please reblog and review! Your feedback is always greatly appreciated! 

Disclaimer: Maria Logan, Arella Logan, Janet West, and Susan Stone created by @loubuggins. Landon, Carnus, Cassidy, and Chloe Daniels created by @bearhow2. Reed created by both of us. All other Titans owned by DC Comics.