Raven sat in her room, her gaze unfocused as she stared at the dim glow of a floating crystal. Her birthday was approaching, and with it came a deepening anxiety that coiled around her like a tightening vine. What if this is the year? What if this is when he finally comes? Her father's presence—Trigon, the interdimensional demon lord—had always loomed over her life like a shadow that refused to fade.
She pressed her fingers together, silently chanting a mantra of calm, but it barely helped.
She wanted to tell the others. But what could she say?
"Hey guys, my father might show up on my birthday and kill everyone. Oh, and by the way, he can't be stopped because he's literally a god-tier demon."
Her lips curled into a grim, humorless smile. Even if she said it, what could they do? No shield, no sword, no team, not even the Justice League, could stop him. And if he came… she would be the doorway.
With a quiet breath, Raven left her room and floated into the common room.
The mood was a stark contrast to her inner turmoil.
Cyborg and Beast Boy were doubled over with laughter, their cackles bouncing off the walls. Robin, sitting nearby with a hand on his forehead, looked like he was already regretting being part of the conversation.
"It's not that funny," Robin groaned, though the faint flush in his cheeks betrayed his embarrassment.
"Oh, it's hilarious," Cyborg replied between laughs. "This is Batman we're talking about! All serious, all intimidating, taken down in the most ridiculous way. And it's the second time!"
"Yeah!" Beast Boy added with a grin. "And it's the same duo gainm Ashborn and the Joker. You gotta admit, Ashborn's nerve is something else. He, a normal person, faced off against the Joker and Harley Quinn like he was asking for directions to a café. That's wild!"
Robin sighed, but nodded reluctantly. "It was... impressive."
Raven's eyes narrowed slightly, her gaze distant. A normal person?
That darkness she always felt around Ashborn—it was subtle, not like her father's, but present. Like a quiet echo in the back of her mind. She had no proof, no explanation. Just a feeling.
What if he was like her? Half-demon? Or something close? A being torn between worlds, trying to carve out his own place among humans?
The idea stuck with her longer than it should have.
Maybe he'd understand what she was going through… Maybe he could offer advice, or just listen.
Then, as quickly as the thought came, she squashed it. No. No, she couldn't risk it. Trust was dangerous. He was unpredictable, unreadable. Maybe helpful. But he was no friend or trustworthy person.
Starfire, who had been sitting cross-legged near the window, tilted her head toward Robin.
"Friend Robin," she asked softly, "do you know why Ashborn was in Gotham to begin with?"
Robin glanced at her. "He went there to help Mr. Freeze's wife. Apparently, he managed to reverse Mr. Freeze's condition and make him a normal human again."
Cyborg blinked. "Wait, how did he pull that off?"
"According to Supergirl," Robin replied, "he got his hands on some kind of magical potion that can heal illnesses. He used it to cure both Mr. Freeze and his wife. Now Freeze works for him."
Beast Boy scratched his head. "That's... actually pretty sweet. First he helps the Hive group turn their lives around, now this? He's definitely a good guy. Just a little… strange."
Robin folded his arms, unconvinced. "Maybe. But no one really knows what's going on inside that guy's head."
Raven remained silent as she watched the others. Her eyes trailed to the floor, thoughts churning like storm clouds behind her calm façade.
Ashborn… was a mystery. So was her future. And time was running out.
___________
The city lights shimmered dimly beyond the office windows, casting faint reflections on the polished floor. The night was quiet. Ashborn sat at his desk, half reclined in his chair, eyes flicking over lines of code and graphs with disinterest.
His phone buzzed. A message.
Jinx "Will you come tonight? It's been weeks."
Ashborn exhaled, long and quiet. His fingers hovered over the screen for a second before typing: "Busy."
He set the phone face down on the desk. In truth, he wasn't busy at all. He just didn't want to go.
Jinx was… getting attached. Too attached. He had assumed—wrongly—that she would eventually lose interest, like most people did. But she hadn't. And now, there was a conversation waiting to happen
He closed his eyes for a moment, letting silence return—
A pulse of energy crackled in front of his desk, light bending into an oval shape before blooming into a full portal. He opened his eyes as a familiar figure stepped through the veil.
Raven.
Ashborn arched a brow. "You opened a portal to the wrong place."
Raven's violet eyes scanned the room, but then settled on him with clarity. "No. I'm looking for you."
That actually caught him off guard.
"Why?" he asked, genuinely confused. He had no ties to her or her team. No reason for her to come here.
Raven hesitated, then took a breath. "Are you a half-demon, as well?"
Ashborn blinked. Then he chuckled softly. "No, I'm not. What makes you think I am?"
"I can feel it," Raven replied. "There's something different about you. A boundless darkness… like a void. Similar to demons, but... not exactly. It is calmer and much deeper"
His gaze sharpened slightly. The faintest chill slipped into the air, just enough to make Raven stiffen involuntarily. Then it was gone, like a shadow slipping behind the light.
Ashborn's smile returned. "That's interesting. You're the first person to notice. But no, I'm no demon, and I've got no relation to them."
Raven stepped back instinctively, wary now. The feeling just now was not her imagination.
Ashborn stood, leisurely. Her eyes began to glow as she raised her guard.
But Ashborn merely smiled, amused.
With a subtle flick of his fingers, Ruler's Authority flared to life. Raven's body froze, muscles locked, magic halted. Her breath caught in her throat as an invisible force drew her toward him.
"Now," he said, tone casual but sharp, "why are you really here?"
Raven floated helplessly before him. She hated this, being powerless, vulnerable.
"You can't kill me," she said, trying to hold firm.
Ashborn tilted his head. "And why's that?"
"For the same reason I came to you."
He didn't respond, just waited in silence.
Raven swallowed hard and began to speak. She told him everything. Who she was. Who her father was. The hellish destiny that hung over her head. The fear that this birthday, just days away, might be the one. And how powerless she felt in the face of it all.
Ashborn didn't interrupt once. He just listened, arms crossed, expression unreadable.
When she finished, there was a stillness between them.
"I still don't know why you came to me," Ashborn said at last.
Raven lowered her gaze. "I thought… maybe you were like me. Someone half-demon, trying to live peacefully among humans. I thought maybe… you'd understand. Or… have advice."
The hold on her vanished. Raven stumbled a bit, catching her balance. Ashborn turned away from her and walked back to his desk.
"You don't need to worry too much about Trigon," he said over his shoulder. "The world will be safe."
He sat down, gaze fixed on his monitor. "No one hears about me," he added flatly. "If you so much as speak a word, I'll know. And trust me, it won't be a nice day for you."
Raven's eyes drifted downward and she noticed the shadow beneath her feet twist unnaturally, slithering as if alive. She shivered.
"I haven't told anyone," she said quietly. "And I won't. Your secret is safe."
Ashborn gave a small nod, eyes still locked on his screen. Raven didn't wait. She turned, opened a portal of her own, and disappeared.
Silence returned once more.
Ashborn leaned back in his chair, resting his chin in his hand.
Trigon...
He had honestly forgotten about that particular demon. A being of immense power. A destroyer of worlds. And in this world, the plan was to leave that threat in the hands of a teenage girl still struggling with her own emotions?
He sighed.
Depending on luck and hoping to have a winning Raven in this world... now that's just sloppy.
His eyes glowed softly with an eerie, deep purple light.
He had made up his mind.
___________
Raven's breath caught in her throat. One moment, she had been meditating in her room, eyes closed, trying to calm the storm within her. The next, she stood in a world of endless void, no light, no ground, no stars. Just pure, suffocating darkness. The kind that felt alive.
She looked around, disoriented.
Then came a voice. Low, guttural… yet familiar.
"Raven, my daughter."
She turned swiftly, her heart leaping to her throat.
There, before her, knelt a giant—one she knew all too well. Trigon. The demon lord, her father, the being whose presence had haunted her since birth. But this was not the terrifying godlike form she had braced herself to someday face.
This Trigon… was broken.
Black chains wrapped tightly around his enormous limbs, glowing with runes that shimmered with a purple ominous light. Enormous spears thick as the greatest trees and forged of something darker than obsidian, pierced his chest, shoulders, and back. Blood like liquid fire oozed down from his wounds, and yet, he still managed a twisted smile.
"I never thought you'd be so ruthless to your own father," he rasped, voice weak, echoing in the void. "To think you'd ask a monster like that to come after me…"
Raven's mouth opened, but no words came out.
"You are truly… my daughter," Trigon chuckled, a hollow, pained sound. "And I'm proud of you…"
Before she could say anything, before she could even comprehend, the darkness surged.
It swallowed her whole.
Everything collapsed inward like a vacuum of existence, and—
She gasped.
Her eyes flew open.
She was back.
Sitting in her room, cross-legged on the floor, her candles still flickering faintly. Her hands were trembling. Sweat clung to her forehead.
But something inside her… had changed.
The connection to her father was gone.
Not faded. Not weakened.
Severed.
She couldn't feel him anymore, couldn't sense the evil presence always lingering just at the edge of her mind. It was as though Trigon had been erased from her soul. She wasn't bound anymore.
But Raven didn't feel free.
She felt terrified.
She knew who was responsible. Ashborn.
He had gone after Trigon. Not just threatened him, not just fought him.
He had chained him, pierced him, and silenced him in whatever realm the demon lord had been banished to.
Raven slowly looked down. Her room was dim, peaceful.
But beneath her…
Her shadow twisted.
It moved unnaturally, curling inward like smoke pulled by unseen wind. It danced along the ground in a rhythm she didn't recognize.
Her heart pounded.
Ashborn… was scarier than her father.
Not just in power. In intent. In silence.
Raven hugged her arms around herself, trying to breathe. Her world had just changed, not because Trigon was coming. But because now she knew a much greater monster was watching from the dark.