Yeah, we're pretty screwed, now.

Clear.

Trigon 11B

1) Winged Demon charges to A19 to attack Arsenal. Rolls (4, 4) for a hit, kicking Arsenal to the ground at Trigon's feet.

free) Trigon Outwits Cyborg's leap/climb.
2) Trigon will moves the Dopplegangers to surround Cyborg.

The New Titans
1) [2]Nightwing (-2/7) KOed
2) [2]Starfire (-1/7) KOed
3) [2]Cyborg (5/8) A18
w/Nanoarmor
4) [2]Beast Boy (Pterodactyl) KOed
5) [4+2]Raven (0/6) KOed
6) [2]Arsenal (-1/5) KOed


Vs

Trigon the Terrible
1) Trigon (5/10) H19 @
2) Demon Monster (Killer Croc) KOed
3) Winged Demon (Man Bat Assassin) (2/5) C22
4) Winged Demon (Man Bat Assassin) (5/5) A19 @
Dopplegangers) A17, B17, B18

http://www.ianparmenter.com/hcutils2...83&u5=x319y123

12A

1) Cyborg unleashes his white sound blaster for a quake attack. 8 vs 18. Needs a 10, misses with a 7. Dopplegangers deal 1 damage to Vic.

The New Titans
1) [2]Nightwing (-2/7) KOed
2) [2]Starfire (-1/7) KOed
3) [2]Cyborg (4/8) A18@
w/Nanoarmor
4) [2]Beast Boy (Pterodactyl) KOed
5) [4+2]Raven (0/6) KOed
6) [2]Arsenal (-1/5) KOed


Vs

Trigon the Terrible
1) Trigon (5/10) H19 @
2) Demon Monster (Killer Croc) KOed
3) Winged Demon (Man Bat Assassin) (2/5) C22
4) Winged Demon (Man Bat Assassin) (5/5) A19 @
Dopplegangers) A17, B17, B18

http://www.ianparmenter.com/hcutils2...123&u6=x288y65

12B

1) the other demon flies to B19, totally penning Cyborg in.

free) Trigon outwits Leap/Climb
free) Trigon crafts himself a cooler throne from the bones of the damned, putting up barrier tokens for no reason.

The New Titans
1) [2]Nightwing (-2/7) KOed
2) [2]Starfire (-1/7) KOed
3) [2]Cyborg (4/8) A18@
w/Nanoarmor
4) [2]Beast Boy (Pterodactyl) KOed
5) [4+2]Raven (0/6) KOed
6) [2]Arsenal (-1/5) KOed


Vs

Trigon the Terrible
1) Trigon (5/10) H19
2) Demon Monster (Killer Croc) KOed
3) Winged Demon (Man Bat Assassin) (2/5) B19 @
4) Winged Demon (Man Bat Assassin) (5/5) A19
Dopplegangers) A17, B17, B18

http://www.ianparmenter.com/hcutils2...123&u6=x288y65

1) Cyborg goes after the weaker bat, needing a 10 to hit. Gets a 7. 2 to Cyborg.

The New Titans
1) [2]Nightwing (-2/7) KOed
2) [2]Starfire (-1/7) KOed
3) [2]Cyborg (2/8) A18@@
w/Nanoarmor
4) [2]Beast Boy (Pterodactyl) KOed
5) [4+2]Raven (0/6) KOed
6) [2]Arsenal (-1/5) KOed


Vs

Trigon the Terrible
1) Trigon (5/10) H19
2) Demon Monster (Killer Croc) KOed
3) Winged Demon (Man Bat Assassin) (2/5) B19 @
4) Winged Demon (Man Bat Assassin) (5/5) A19
Dopplegangers) A17, B17, B18

13B

free) Trigon outwits Cyborgs defense power

1) Trigon narrows his six eyes at Cyborg and unleashes a beam of infernal crimson energy, rolling (2, 5) for a hit and the KO.

The New Titans
1) [2]Nightwing (-2/7) KOed
2) [2]Starfire (-1/7) KOed
3) [2]Cyborg (-1/8) A18@@
w/Nanoarmor
4) [2]Beast Boy (Pterodactyl) KOed
5) [4+2]Raven (0/6) KOed
6) [2]Arsenal (-1/5) KOed


Vs

Trigon the Terrible
1) Trigon (5/10) H19 @
2) Demon Monster (Killer Croc) KOed
3) Winged Demon (Man Bat Assassin) (2/5) B19
4) Winged Demon (Man Bat Assassin) (5/5) A19
Dopplegangers) A17, B17, B18

KOes
Monster 82
82x.25 = 21 TAP = 5 TXP, 1 TAP
Training 385
385x.25 = 96 TAP = 24 TXP, 0 TAP

Individual and Training
[2][3]Nightwing 1 IXP, 1 IAP
[2][2]Arsenal 1 IXP, 0 IAP
[0][4+2]Troia 1 IXP, 2 IAP
[2][13+4]Starfire 4 IXP, 3 IAP
[2]Cyborg 0 IXP, 2 IAP
[2]Beast Boy 0 IXP, 2 IAP
[4+2][3] Raven 2 IXP, 1 IAP
[0][4+2]Dove 1 IXP, 2 IAP
13 TXP, 1 TAP
Total = 42 TXP, 2 TAP

End of Arc Rolls
Nightwing 1d6 = 4
Arsenal 1d6 = 2
Tempest 2d6 = 7
Troia 1d6 = 1
Starfire 3d6 = 16
Cyborg 1d6 = 4
Beast Boy 1d6 = 1
Raven 1d6 = 5
Terra 1d6 = 3
Hawk 2d6 = 5
Dove 2d6 = 7

Old Team Totals
V Nightwing 79 pts; 11 IXP, 0 IAP (4) (6) (15) (21)
V Arsenal 62 pts; 4 IXP, 3 IAP (10) (11)
R Tempest 40 pts; 19 IXP, 0 IAP (20) (76)
R Troia 60 pts; 12 IXP, 0 IAP (6) (19) (20) (34) (38) (75) (89)
V Starfire 96 pts; 33 IXP, 0 IAP (41)
V Cyborg 65 pts; 16 IXP, 2 IAP (10) (15) (35) (38)
V Beast Boy 60 pts; 15 IXP, 3 IAP (11) (18) (26)
V Raven 73 pts; 4 IXP, 0 IAP (8) (9) (17)
U Terra 60 pts; 11 IXP, 2 IAP
V Hawk 69 pts; 6 IXP, 1 IAP (20) (31)
V Dove 69 pts; 4 IXP, 0 IAP (17) (31)
Team: 121 TXP, 1 TAP
Squad Total: 733
Build Total: 425

Feats: Nightwing - Lunge, Stunning Blow
Troia - Heightened Reflexes
Cyborg - Nanoarmor
Beast Boy - Camouflage
Terra - Not So Special
Hawk - Unstoppable

New Team Totals
Nightwing 79 pts; 13 IXP, 1 IAP (4) (6) (15) (21)
Arsenal 62 pts; 6 IXP, 1 IAP (10) (11)
Tempest 40 pts; 20 IXP, 3 IAP (20) (76)
Troia 60 pts; 13 IXP, 3 IAP (6) (19) (20) (34) (38) (75) (89)
Starfire 96 pts; 41 IXP, 3 IAP (41)
Cyborg 65 pts; 18 IXP, 0 IAP (10) (15) (35) (38)
Beast Boy 60 pts; 16 IXP, 2 IAP (11) (18) (26)
Raven 73 pts; 7 IXP, 2 IAP (8) (9) (17)
Terra 60 pts; 12 IXP, 1 IAP
Hawk 69 pts; 7 IXP, 2 IAP (20) (31)
Dove 69 pts; 7 IXP, 1 IAP (17) (31)
Team: 163 TXP, 3 TAP

I'll use 10 IXP/TXP to upgrade Cyborg to his 75 point Fast Forces dial.
I'll use 4 IXP/TXP to upgrade Nightwing to his 83 point Renegade dial.
I'll use 94 TXP to recruit 47 point rookie Legacy Impulse.

Final Team Totals
Nightwing 83 pts; 9 IXP, 1 IAP (2) (11) (17) (27)
Arsenal 62 pts; 6 IXP, 1 IAP (10) (11) (18) (38)
Tempest 40 pts; 20 IXP, 3 IAP (20) (42) (76)
Troia 60 pts; 13 IXP, 3 IAP (6) (19) (20) (34) (38) (55) (75) (89)
Starfire 96 pts; 41 IXP, 3 IAP (18) (41)
Cyborg 75 pts; 8 IXP, 0 IAP (5) (25) (28) (68)
Beast Boy 60 pts; 16 IXP, 2 IAP (11) (15) (17) (18) (26)
Raven 73 pts; 7 IXP, 2 IAP (8) (9) (17)
Terra 60 pts; 12 IXP, 1 IAP (15) (26)
Hawk 69 pts; 7 IXP, 2 IAP (20) (31)
Dove 69 pts; 7 IXP, 1 IAP (17) (31)
Impulse 47 pts; 0 IXP, 0 TXP (2) (12) (34) (37) (70)
Team: 55 TXP, 3 TAP
Squad Total: 794
Build Total: 450

Feats: Nightwing - Lunge, Stunning Blow
Troia - Heightened Reflexes
Cyborg - Nanoarmor
Beast Boy - Camouflage
Terra - Not So Special
Hawk - Unstoppable

Bane…Colosso calmly walked forward, advancing past the front line but not so far as to allow himself to be flanked. A foot taller than any of his allies on the battlefield, he always attracted attention from opposing forces. He let them come, confident that he could handle anything they could throw at him. He had spent his life in the pursuit of physical and mental perfection. He wouldn’t use the venom on opponents such as these, not unless he had to.

A spear was thrust at him. He caught it in one hand and pulled it close, bringing the demon soldier into reach. With his other hand, he grabbed the demon’s wrist and dislocated it. This gave him time to deliver a full strength blow to the monster’s neck. The spear slipped from his now dead assailant’s hand and Bane snapped it in half before tossing it aside. His next challenger was larger, slightly taller than him, and totally unarmed. The beast roared and charged. Wordlessly, Bane grappled with the demon, pitting his sweat earned strength against the beast’s natural power. A gun shot ended the test before it could be finished. He looked at the soldier responsible and nodded. These pawns did not understand what drove him to battle alongside them and he would not chide them for interfering.

Soon, they reached the portal. As his allies prepared the ritual needed to close it, Bane approached a nearby gallows, crudely erected, with four youths in tattered clothes suspended from it by their hands. Rather than untie them, he snapped the plank they were suspended from and lowered them all to the ground at once. “Medic!” he bellowed, freeing one of the young women and lifting her into his arms.
______________________________________________________________________

Rory Raymond, the Ragman, ducked as Etrigan went flying over his head, crushing the trio of demons he’d been fighting. He looked in the direction Etrigan had come from to see Enchantress hit Blood with a bolt of lightning that seemed to do no damage whatsoever. Blood reached his hand out towards her and she lifted off the ground, clutching her throat. “Enchantress,” she choked out and suddenly, it was June Moone who was being strangled. Ragman used up the last energy from a child abuser’s soul to quickly cover the ground between him and June. Leaping ten feet into the air, he snatched her out of Blood’s invisible grasp as the poor girl fainted.

“Doolb, ezeerf!”

A layer of ice began to cover Blood but a red shadow emerged from his body and engulfed Zatanna. She screamed in pain, falling unceremoniously to the ground as the shadow released her. Blood broke through, sending shards of ice into the air. Rory scrabbled up the side of the building, digging his fingers into the concrete, hoping to get away long enough to hide June. The red shadow was hot on his tail, though. It looked like a gigantic bird of prey as it rapidly closed in on him.

Before he knew what was happening, his suit was absorbing his pursuer. It wasn’t Blood’s shadow. That thing was Blood’s soul! He couldn’t have gotten any luckier. Blood howled with pain or rage, Rory couldn’t tell, as his soul ripped in two, half of it absorbed by the suit and the other half rushing back to its owner.

“Strike Blood high and I’ll attack low.
In his weakened state, we can send him to heck.
My claws will rend and his name will flow
While you pounce on his back and snap his foul neck!”

Rory couldn’t see the flaw in that plan. He put June down on the rooftop and leapt towards Blood. Despite the advanced warning the Demon had given their target, he wasn’t prepared for their joint attack. They knocked him to the ground but before either of them could deal a killing blow, Blood disappeared in a cloud of crimson smoke.

“Lovely,” Rory said to himself as he coughed a few times. “I guess we’ll call that a tie?”
___________________________________________________________________

Trigon flinched as the remaining Titans hit him with everything they had. He was surprised that they were putting up such a fight, actually managing to cause him pain. Despite their efforts, he would not be denied. Hellfire burst from his eyes, destroying a chunk of a nearby building, sending his daughter tumbling to the ground, below. As his soldiers overwhelmed Nightwing, Trigon used his magic to ensnare Cyborg and the archer. The fallen heroes lifted into the air as a glowing red aura surrounded them. Triumphant, Trigon strode through the humans’ city, leaving burning footprints in his wake. His destination was clear. He waded across the bay, nearing his goal, the so called Titans Tower. It wasn’t enough to simply kill his enemies. He’d burn their home, their symbol, to ash.

Before he could reach the tower, a man seemingly made of steel blocked his path. The man unleashed an energy burst, warming Trigon’s skin. He laughed a deep rumbling chuckle. With a swing of his mighty arm, he backhanded the metal man, swatting him so hard he flew through the tower, knocking off a large chunk and turning the T into an upside down L.

It was time. The wind whipped against his skin. The tower shook. The garden around its base crumbled to dust. Windows shattered. Metal screeched and snapped. The base of the tower separated from the ground and the entire mass of the building lifted skyward as Trigon’s power tore it apart. Chunks of debris burst into flames and soon, only a burning, swirling mass remained where the symbol of the Titans’ heroism once stood. He gestured towards the now empty space and his captives, his enemies, crashed into the ground. He released them from their bonds for only a moment, allowing them to look up in terror before he sent what was left of their home crashing down on top of them, crushing the self-proclaimed heroes under several tons of molten steel and ash.

Suddenly, Trigon felt…tired? Was this what tired felt like? It had been so long. Surely he hadn’t expended so much energy in defeating the Titans that he’d feel this way. No matter. He only needed to rest for a moment, he was sure. With a thought, Trigon reformed the rubble into a throne fit for a king of Hell. He’d rest and when he awoke, this whole world would burn.
____________________________________________________________________________
Blake and Lawton had their backs against the wall. Their mission had turned into a suicide run. Ambushed by archers, they weren’t in any shape to hold off the hellhound.

Lawton raised his pistol. He looked down the barrel at two hundred pounds of fur and death. Did he have it in him to put the bullet in between its eyes or had he already lost too much blood? If he missed the shot, did Blake have his back or would he turn tail? The hellhound growled, menacingly. His vision began to blur. Now or never, Floyd.

Something red tackled the beast, putting a building corner between them. As the two wrestled around, Lawton could hear the red one laughing. “Come’ere, puppy, you ugly mutt, you leave those humans alone or I’ll kick your butt!” The hound let out a whine and ran off. Whatever that red thing had been, it didn’t seem to be coming back.

“Bang.”

Floyd lowered the gun to his side and slumped to the ground. He closed his eyes. #### this mission. Let Waller close the damn portal herself.
___________________________________________________________________

Grayson stumbled down the street. The demons had cleared the area of civilians but no one had cleared the area of the demons that had yet to move on. They watched him, warily, unable to tell if he was friend or foe but eventually deciding he wasn’t worth picking a fight with.

“Where do you think you’re going?’ a voice inside his head demanded. “Hawk is that way.”

“We’re not looking for Hawk,” Grayson whispered to himself.

“Why not?”

His talons retracted, forming gloves over his hands. His mask and costume returned to normal. “Because you aren’t in control anymore. I am.”

“For now,” the voice agreed. “But I’ll be waiting for you to slip up. Like it or not, you’ve got a devil on your shoulder.”

No problem. He just wouldn’t listen.

“Whatever you say, tough guy.” Kestrel laughed. “You have no idea what we’re capable of, together.”

Grayson resisted the urge to answer, hoping that was only a bluff.

___________________________________________________________________
Troia flew towards the tower, unable to believe her eyes. The massive T shaped skyscraper, the home away from home where she had spent some of the best times of her life, was gone. In its place was a marble statue of a demon king, sitting on a throne of skulls the size of automobiles.

The metallic form of Captain Atom cut her off. He held his hand up, telling her to stop. “Ma’am, I’m going to have to ask you not to get any closer.”

“What happened here?” she demanded.

The Captain frowned. “I’m under strict orders not to let anyone approach the demon Tri-“

“What. Happened. Here?” she repeated, trying to ward off panic with anger.

“Ten minutes ago, that thing was alive. The other Titans went up against it…. They lost. For you own safety, I need you to-”

“Where are they?” she asked, desperately. Atom shook his head. She felt her stomach drop. Not now. Not when some of them were just starting to come around, when she could see the light at the end of the tunnel. “Were there any survivors?” she managed to choke out, coming dangerously close to losing her composure entirely.

Atom pointed to the edge of the water, below, where four of her friends were waiting. She took off towards them. She found Garth standing waste deep in the water, staring at where the tower should be. Hank clutched Dawn to his chest as he gently stroked her hair. Tara knelt near the water, her hands on her knees. She shook slightly. Her face was red and her tear drops had left dark spots on her shorts.

“Donna!” Tara jumped to her feet and sprinted over to her, giving her a wet hug. “We thought he got you, too.”

“I’m fine,” she assured the younger Titan, a terribly optimistic assessment but Tara looked up to her and the girl needed something to latch onto.

“Were any of the others with you?” Tara asked hopefully. Donna shook her head. “But they could still be okay, right? I mean, we don’t know if…I mean, Captain Atom said he saw all the others but he could have made a mistake, right?” she asked through her tears. “He could have made a mistake…”

Donna held the poor girl. “It’s going to be okay,” she lied. Garth looked over his shoulder at them. His eyes were far from dry but he made no sound, ever the soul of dignity and grace.

“Oh my God,” Dawn said, suddenly. Her words felt like knives in Donna’s heart. “Lian was in there.”

Tara cried harder than ever.

Hank let go of Dawn. “Hawk!” he shouted, causing his costume to appear as he stomped towards the bay.

“What are you doing?” Dawn asked.

“I’m going to get our friends back,” he yelled, as he neared the water. “And then I’m going to break that statue in half!”

“Wait.” Tara pushed off of Donna and ran after Hank. “I’m coming too,” she stammered. Dawn and Donna took flight as Hank leapt onto Terra’s boulder. Garth dove to keep pace.

Atom let them reach the base of what was left of the tower. Hank slashed away at the marble with his claws while Tara did the same with blades of rock. Donna joined them, tearing off chunks of it, hoping to recover the bodies of her teammates.

“You guys are digging too far to the left.” Donna almost did a double take at the tiny green mole sitting in the dirt. Beast Boy turned back into his human form. “The others are over-“ Tara cut him off before he could finish his sentence by putting her mouth over his is a passionate kiss.

“Don’t read too much into that.” She half laughed, half cried. “I thought I was never gonna see you again.”

“I need to almost die more often.” That comment earned him a punch on the shoulder. After a few minutes of digging in earnest, they unearthed the other Titans, injured but alive, hidden behind Cyborg’s force field.

“You guys couldn’t have gotten here any quicker?” Vic smiled weakly. “You know my field drains my batteries like mad and Raven’s dad just smashed my charger.”

There was a brief reunion between the exhausted parties but the celebration didn’t last long. “Lian.” Roy looked around, his expression quickly changing from relief to panic. “Where’s Lian? Has anyone seen Lian?” Donna turned away but looking at Tara instead of Roy wasn’t any better. The poor girl looked ready to burst. Her eyes leaked further as she tried to mouth some sort of apology. Roy walked past both of them, going for the person most likely to give him good news. “Dawn, tell me you saw what happened to Lian. Tell me my daughter’s okay.” Dawn looked back at him, wordlessly, her expression confirming his worst fears. “No…” He took her shoulders in his hands. “Dawn, no. Dawn, she’s just a little kid.”

Dawn put her hands on Roy’s arms.

“Why?” he gasped. Dawn just shook her head. “She didn’t deserve this. She didn’t hurt anybody.”

“I know.”

“I was supposed to protect her.”

“We all were,” she whispered through gritted teeth and tears. Dick put his hand on Roy’s shoulder.

“No.” Roy swatted away his hand, taking a few steps back. “No.” He looked up at Trigon, stone faced and unyielding. “NOOOOO!” he screamed, taking his bow from his back and swinging it with all his might. The bow snapped in half as it collided with Trigon’s ankle. He swung it again, before tossing the splintered wood aside. “AAAAAAHHH!” He struck the giant with his right fist, resulting in a cracking noise as bone gave way against stone. Roy clutched his hand for a half second before raising it again to take another swing.

“Daddy!”

Captain Atom and the Ray, Lian in his arms, floated down from the sky. “Lian!” Roy rushed to them, taking his daughter and holding her tight.

“Sorry I’m late, again,” Ray said with a smile. “When I caught up to you guys and saw big and ugly” he pointed his thumb over his shoulder at Trigon “going for the tower, I noticed this little thing with her nose pressed up against the glass. Thought she could use some saving.”

“Daddy sad?” Lian asked, brushing the tears off of her father’s cheeks.

“No. Daddy is very happy,” Roy smiled, planting a million little kisses on Lian’s cheeks as blood from his hand dirtied the back of her shirt.

“But the red man blued up your house,” she protested, giggling at the kisses.

“Daddy’s just happy you’re safe, Etai Yazi.”
___________________________________________________________________

Dawn woke up to the sound of Hank yelling. She groggily made her way downstairs, finding about half of the Titans and various other heroes gathered in Mal Duncan’s kitchen. Donna and Ragman were restraining Hank while he continued to shout.

“No! This ##### sold our souls to the devil and brought him here to smoke us. How is that okay with you people?”

“Neron and Trigon are two different entities, you idiot!” Raven shot back.

Dawn slipped in next to Kory at the dinner table. “What’s going on?”

Kory frowned. “I do not ‘get’ what is going on.”

“I get it,” Gar added, peaking around from the other side of Kory. “I just don’t believe it.”

“Believe it, man.” Vic got up from the table and headed towards the door. “That woman is as cold as they come.” Raven watched him go but if she felt anything but annoyance, she didn’t show it. Dawn looked over at Gar and widened her eyes.

“So it’s like this. Trigon is mega powerful, right? He kicked Captain Atom’s butt without trying and he turned the tower into a skull chair just by thinking it but get this: when the New Titans first got together, we beat him.”

“How?”

Gar shrugged. “We just hit him. Even yesterday, Cap’s blasts did nothing to Trigon but my claws cut him.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.”

“Sure it does. Magic. We didn’t know it until Raven told us this morning but that Neron guy made it so me, Vic, Kory, Dick and Raven could hurt Trigon. Here’s the part that doesn’t make any sense though. Raven sold our souls to Neron so he’d give us that power.”

“Yes.” Kory agreed. “It does not make sense. You cannot sell a soul. It is a part of you.”

“Maybe demons aren’t as common were you’re from,” Zatanna cut in, taking a seat across from them, “but as crazy as it sounds, Neron does deal in souls. He loves tricking mortals into giving up their souls for things they don’t really want or for things that he would have done anyway. You say you first encountered Trigon in Azarath? Whose idea do you think it was to attack a tiny dimension like that?”

“Neron’s?” Dawn guessed. “But why?”

“Because Azarath is where Raven’s mother lives. Endanger Raven’s mother and Raven will get involved. Many powerful spells require very specific requirements, for instance, a son or daughter battling against a tyrannical parent, the sacrifice of five noble souls, that sort of thing.”

“I’m still fuzzy on the soul selling part.” She shook her head. “How could Raven sell other people’s souls?”

“They’d have to trust her completely. She’d have to be family or considered just as close.”

“That’s us on a good day but we barely even knew her the first time we fought Trigon,” Gar pointed out.

“Soul loans aren’t entirely unheard of,” Jason Blood cut in, choosing not to join them but instead stand apart. “Five heroes inexplicable gain the ability to harm one of the most powerful beings in existence and then three of them and two of their closest friends disappear and are found in hell despite being, as previously mentioned, heroes. The only way a hero goes to hell is if they commit suicide, die immediately after killing an enemy, or sell their soul to a demon.” The red haired mage stared directly at her. “Isn’t that right, Dawn?”

There was a moment of silence (not counting Hank’s continued outbursts on the other side of the room) as Dawn looked into Blood’s piercing eyes. She didn’t appreciate what he was implying. What was his game? “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Dawn said, finally. She didn’t know how she had ended up in Hell to begin with but if Jason Blood thought he did, he was wrong. She wouldn’t do any of those things.

“We must get our souls back,” Kory announced, clearly not understanding what Blood had said. “Will Night Force help us?”

“Your soul is your own, silly girl,” Blood assured her. “You couldn’t have left Hell without it.”

“Which means Neron wanted them to leave.”

“Or he merely wanted to give them the ability to leave so that Trigon would try to stop them, giving the Titans the opportunity to destroy him.”

“So what?” Gar asked. “We think this was a power play? Get us to do the dirty work so some other devil can get a promotion?”

A flash of smoke and light marked Raven’s departure. Hawk, Troia, Ragman, Captain Atom and Nightwing joined the group. As usual, Nightwing took the lead.

“Sorry to interrupt, everyone, but we have a few things we need to work out. We can deal with trust issues, later. First of all, Trigon. What’s his status?”

“He’s in some sort of suspended animation,” Zatanna told them. “He’s alive but we don’t know when or if he’ll wake.”

“He’ll wake,” Jason Blood said.

“If there’s even a chance he’ll come back, we need to do something about him being camped out on the edge of the city. Zee, can you and your people set up some kind of ward or field to keep him where he is, at least long enough for us to evacuate the surrounding area and come up with an attack plan if he does wake up?”

“We’ll come up with something. I may need to bring Dr. Fate in but we should be able to manage spells that can hold him for a time.”

“Next topic, the demons. Where do we stand?”

“The H.D.C. has everything under control,” Atom assured him. “There are no monsters on the streets and our troops are conducting a building by building sweep in case any of them are hiding.”

“We wouldn’t want any escaped hellspawn would we?” Jason commented.

“Alright, that leaves the commanders. Brother Blood, Satanus, Kestrel. Do we have an update on any of them?”

“Satanus went through the portal before we could close it. We shouldn’t have to worry about him,” Atom reported.

“Unless Blood opens another portal,” Zatanna said. “He’s wounded but free, probably not in the city anymore.”

“No one’s seen Kestrel but we know who he’s possessing,” Dawn told the others.

“My doppelganger. But we don’t know who or what it is.”

“He doesn’t just look like you, Di...wing.” She couldn’t remember if Atom and Jason Blood were trusted enough to know Dick’s identity. “He is you, a Nightwing from a mirror universe.”

“What are you talking about?” Hank asked. “That whole place got destroyed as soon as we left.”

“As soon as Barter left,” she corrected. “He could have brought Nightwing/Deathstroke and Mirage with him. I knew both of them were acting strange but I couldn’t place it, not until Arsenal turned into Mirage.”

“The girl is likely correct,” Blood interjected. “You speak of Barter, an…eccentric trader who gives the impression of being more powerful than he looks?” Dawn and Hank both nodded. “Barter is a disguise Neron wears, when he’s looking to make a deal for something other than souls.”

“So we’re looking for an alternate universe me, powered up with Deathstroke formula and further strengthened by Kestrel and working for Neron?”

“Can we call him Nightstroke for short?” Gar asked, laying his head down on the table.

“Or,” Donna suggested, “if you don’t want it to sound like we’re hunting a porn star, we can call him Deathwing.”

“Deathwing it is,” Nightwing decided. “If you find any information leading to him, we’d appreciate it if you’d let the Titans know.” Zatanna nodded in agreement. “Which leaves only one threat unaccounted for,” he told the others. “Neron himself.”
___________________________________________________________________

Neron sat on his throne, his hands clasped together and held in front of his face. Bodies of lesser demons, most missing various limbs or burned to a crisp, littered the floor. His eyes burned with green flame but the fire disappeared when the doors to the throne room opened and Satanus and Blaze entered. He rose from his seat, a sign of respect to his allies.

“My king, the humans have pushed back our forces.”

“And the majority of our followers were spared?”

“We suffered minimal losses,” Satanus confirmed, his teeth gleaming under the shadow of his white helmet.

“And what of Trigon’s forces?”

“The first army is lost, my king,” Blaze said, her smile mirroring her brother’s, “slain or scattered by the combined might of the humans’ military and various superheroes.”

“Small victories,” Neron said, his demeanor far less enthusiastic than that of his allies, “but victories nonetheless. Unfortunately, the Titans didn’t do what we intended. Trigon lives.”

“Impossible!” Satanus spat. “His army was crushed. Your spell should have made him vulnerable!”

“But not impotent.” Neron held out his arm, a green ball of fire the size of a bowling ball appearing in his hand. Inside, the ball, they could see Trigon, encased in marble and sitting on his own massive throne. “When the portal closed, Trigon lost access to several artifacts that added to his powers. It threw his body into shock. The loss of hell’s throne has weakened him further,” Neron closed his hand and the ball vanished with a puff of emerald smoke, “but he will recover.”

“He’ll destroy us all,” Blaze muttered.

“You, perhaps.”

“Lest you forget, Neron,” Satanus snarled, “Trigon defeated the Morningstar when he held Hell’s throne. For all your power, you are no Morningstar.”

“Then go to Lucifer for protection!” Neron yelled. Satanus did not answer. Neron snapped his fingers. A long obsidian table burned into existence in the center of the room. The floor rose to be on the same level as the throne and then shifted, bringing the table, Satanus and Blaze closer. “Trigon will return and the three of us and our combined followers have little chance of defeating him, alone. We need tricks. We need allies.” Neron took his seat as maps of Hell appeared across the table, detailing every landmark, including the homes of every major and minor lord of Hell. “Shall we begin?”