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ʙʀᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ
ʟᴏᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ:
𝔗𝔦𝔱𝔞𝔫𝔰 𝔗𝔬𝔴𝔢𝔯




The snarling cultist pelted the side of Batman's corpse with his foot to roll him over. ❝Such a pity.❞ He remarked with an insufferable smugness. For now, he concentrated on healing his wounded body, as he stood at the base of Trigon. The towering demon had not yet fully manifested, but Blood was still at his most powerful whenever he was close to his master. Radiant spells glimmered and glistened around his body from time to time as he mended himself.

As time passed, Blood had completely healed himself. There was now the question of whether his slaves were succeeding in their mission or not. Blood rolled his eyes back as he entered a state of psuedo-possessing Etrigan. He was far too late, for no sooner had he connected to the Demon's mind, he witnessed the failure before his eyes. ❝Constantine...❞ The cultist murmured to himself, and his connection was broken. It was obvious what they were doing there. Raven. He was taken back, looking displaced and turning his face away from Trigon. How was it that the Lord of the Red had not even sensed those in his domain? That he did not dispatch of them with ease? Was he as so blind in his desire to enter this dimension that he ceased to acknowledge interlopers in his own home? It made little sense to Blood. He wouldn't have been able to get there in time to stop them, especially with his list of allies now wearing thin. It was certainly a moment of disillusioning to Sebastian.

❝I will return soon, my lord.❞ Blood assured as he opened a crimson red portal. Stepping through it, and onto the other side, he was at the Tower of Fate. Appearing behind the group of ragtag heroes, he had managed to hear lastly what the Lantern had said and replied with a bitter and aggressive remark, ❝They would be upon you sooner than you think on such an open road.❞ He raised his arms, as a gesture of surrender and unwillingness to battle. ❝Try not to act too surprised. Once I had seen your friends were on their way to save Raven, it made sense only that the fool would have sent you all here.❞ He kept his distance, holding one hand forward as if he was willing to strike back had anyone made a move to attack him. ❝Whatever he--The Stranger-- has told you, it will not work. I should know, I befouled this tower myself.❞ His cape billowed behind him and he pointed towards the pinnacle of the tower, ❝It was done by Trigon's magic, and only can it be undone by Trigon's magic. You're going to need me.❞ His lip curled up into a grin, as he brought his arm back down to a defensive stance. Blood planned to make his escape before he was pulled down with Trigon.

Where Titans Tower had once stood as a beacon of hope and the promise of a greater future, it was now nothing more than a massive throne for Trigon, who now rested upon the warped building. His arms were splayed out and he appeared to be simply staring off blankly into space. All four of his eyes glowed a dark red and remained unblinking and it was impossible to tell what exactly the demonic lord was thinking. Brother Blood did his best to recover and ponder what it was that his Master was doing. Trigon paid no heed to the cultist, his attentions drawn to other more important task. Blood had thought Trigon either too lazy to stop the heroes that were attempting to foil his plans as it were or simply ignorant of what was going on. Blood was of course a fool. For Trigon was aware of all that occurred within kingdom both old and new. Well nearly all. He still could not detect the location of where the rat known as the Phantom Stranger hid himself, but even that would soon be his. He could however sense the sudden appearances of those heroes that Blood had failed to destroy the moment they had appeared. He already knew of the failure Etrigan and his pitiable attempt to ambush the heroes. A worthless dog indeed.

He did not attempt to stop Brother Blood, knowing in the end that the cultist's inherent self-preservation would lead him to betraying Trigon. Or at least thinking that he was. All was playing to his hand. Even if it did not seem that way. The heroes would never attain their goals, as obvious as those were. Raven and the Tower... he had already laid the foundation of the heroes ruins in preparation for their arrival. All that mattered now was pushing them along the paths that he intended.

,,,,,

The brief defeat of Etrigan and introduction of his better half Jason Blood was all well good for the scant minutes that it had lasted. No sooner had the Rhyming Demon been beaten had the true trap been sprung. The ashen gray skies of Belial's dominion were suddenly alight wight great orbs of blazing amethyst fire that hurled through the air, lighting up the eternal twilight with an infernal glow and shattering the silence with the shrieks of the damned. These great orbs of blazing fire were in fact the tortured souls of the condemned and upon making contact with the ground, exploded violently with the force of dynamite, gouts of hellfire spreading out from each impact. Several shots landed around the gathered heroes position, leaving large craters in their wake. In the wake of the bombardment were the howls of rage and calls for blood as Belial's demonic servants crested the horizon.

There were hundreds of the denizens of hell, all of them similar in appearance. Red skinned with great horns that crested their helms , long tongues that licked at the air or the hellish blades that they held in hand. Some of them rode atop beast made of fused metal that dripped molten bronze, great juggernauts whose feet cracked the ground under their tread. They carried swords and axes and were adorned with totems of bones or beaten bronze. They were utterly savage in their appearance. Accompanying them were several packs of hounds with finned heads whose flesh appeared to be skinned and constantly dripping blood. They snapped at the air , waiting to be released. Behind them were eight great cannons, akin to giant mortars really, whose great barrels glowed with the trapped souls of the those consigned to hell, waiting for some kind of release from their anguish. Another volley was let loose and the demonic horde charged towards the gathered heroes.

..............

As this had gone on, Trigon had simply watched from his throne as the forces of his son, Belial proceeded to engage the intruding heroes. Nothing was truly beyond his watch at this point and there was little left that could stop him. If the heroes of Earth fell that left only one other force in the material realm that could even hope to stop him. The self proclaimed defenders of the universe, The Guardians and their precious Green Lantern Corps. With their rings and the power to manipulate the emotional energy of will itself, each lantern was an army unto itself. This he could not tolerate. With a mere pulse of thought he would summon forth another his servants and their forces to deal with these lanterns. Although it would not be here on Earth. They would appear directly over Oa itself, striking before the Lanterns even had a chance to prepare themselves.

The Demon known as Etrigan appeared before the group and Damian remained calm. He had done his research on him while sifting through Batman's files in the cave. He never wanted to be caught off guard by anything or anyone if he could help it. Superman and Wonder Woman could easily put this freak down if it came to that. But their guide, Constantine, took a simpler approach with the use of a spell. Damian was quiet, but impressed nonetheless, and glared at the man on the other side of the transformation- Jason Blood. For some reason Blood began to recap all that they had gone through causing Robin to frown and fold his arms. "Is there anything else we already know that you'd like to share with us?" Damian questioned coldly.

Superman's ear twitched at the sound of something nearing. He tuned out of the conversation and studied the sky. "We've got bigger problems to deal with." he told the group still looking up. Blasts tore through the sky and crash landed into the ground. Hundreds it would appear rose from the destruction and were prepared to wage war. "I, for one, blame him." Robin said, directing a finger at Blood.

"Not now, Robin. Stay behind me."

-tt- "I don't need protecting, Superman. I'm not Superboy."

"Listen to me son, I have two jobs: to protect Earth and to raise and protect my son. With Batman gone that means you too now. I know you're used to a different dynamic and we can work on that later. But right now, listen to me. I won't lose both you and Batman today."

Damian said nothing in reply.

~*~ ~*~

"Like we're believing a word you say." Aquaman said to Blood. This was indeed the trap he referred to minutes ago. It was too late as far as he was concerned for switching sides. Batman was dead because of this cultist nut-job. Impulse skidded next to Red Arrow suddenly. He looked up at him then forward. Flash shouldn't have been far behind since the both of them were looking into the souls ordeal, they were too quick before to be teleported anywhere, unlike Wally who managed to get himself sent to where ever they went.

Roy was ready to get going per the Lantern's words, but then they came to an abrupt interruption when a familiar voice which caused grief for many years appeared. Sebastian, or as he was more commonly known, Brother Blood came before them with a sneer condescending tone and forgive Roy, but he was tired of the man's blatant bullshit. The arrow had fired as it it was a common reflex to him, moving almost quickly, someone rather fast could catch on if they wanted or naturally, Brother Blood might have a remedy, but it's goal? Given how impromptu it was, he only thing it might hit was the skull of which Sebastian wore.

"I'm not taking a word you say, you third rate intergalactic demon c** guzzling piece of s**t!"

This was quite a rage, even for someone like Roy, to let out. As he threatened to get closer, Kyle kept him at bay just around the time Impulse seemingly arrived. Was Roy going to be a problem, Kyle had to wonder. He kept the hotheaded archer at bay with a construct before turning his attention the powerful screech amid the tower.

"I'll deal with you and this mess later. You have much to answer for in regards to the death of Batman," Phantom Stranger had never told them this, but Kyle on the other hand was shown many disturbing things from the mystical figure that prompted him to leave Oa with haste. One of those things was the death of Batman, naturally. "For now, I turn my attention to the mess you've already caused. Everyone else, fall in line. Phantom placed some merit of trust in you, Zatanna. I suggest you start helping us figure this out immediately lest you prefer the enemy of our enemy being our friend with shady details."

By his Will, his composure was kept. He needed to be level headed and get to the source of this, quickly. As a result, he proceeded, hovering beside Sebastian to approach the impending creature among the tower.

Vic had the right idea keeping his sonic cannon locked in on his right arm at all times as they all trudged on through. His snap fast reflexes almost gave him ample opportunity to blast the ugly son of a b***h that materialized right in front of them, if not for John Constantine who was much faster in dispatching the demon. The sooner he was disposed of, the better is the way Victor saw it. "Can't say we have much time to sit and chat. A friend of our's is trapped down here. Like the creepy dude said, that's the priority. Not to overstep." He wanted to make it known that instead of just standing around, he wanted to keep moving in the most respectful way possible towards Constantine, their guide, and the likes of Superman and Wonder Woman who he respected. A crackling in the sky caused Cyborg to search the sky for the origin of said noise but he would receive his answer soon enough. Balls of hellfire rained down onto the ground around them, erupting the very unstable surface they stood upon. Cyborg was to quick to put up a light blue small honey combed pattern shield that blocked the residual drawback from every impact while their new friend laid the ground work across what would be their battlefield.

When the shield went down, Cyborg reactivated his weapons and the flight system that propelled him into the air. "I'm counting multiple hostiles across the horizon. Actual honest to God demons. I would have settled with Trigon, personally." A vast array of missiles were sent flying towards the creatures as they rose from their craters but he didn't think that would be enough. Not in the slightest.

ʙʀᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ
ʟᴏᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ:
𝔗𝔬𝔴𝔢𝔯 𝔬𝔣 𝔉𝔞𝔱𝔢




The Archer attempted to strike Blood, but the cultist paid no heed to it. He had much more pressing matters, and it wasn't as if he was a threat. Ignoring his attack and brushing his shoulder as the arrow bounced off his helm, he continued up the stairs. ❝I've never been called that before.❞ His laugh came from somewhere deep within, and it seeped out only as a bitter mock - but it did not last long. He watched as the amethyst stone slowly corrupted the tower. It was truly beautiful, and he would have allowed it to continue had it's master not been so foolish. ❝Trigon's legions without a doubt are defending it, but there it is. The focus of the ritual.❞ He pointed, but no sooner had he done that, the voice that echoed throughout the tower had commanded them to sacrifice themselves. Within moments, a black oozing miasma was filling up the tower. Blood tugged back on his cape as he looked down from beyond his nose, watching it consume all in it's path. ❝Lantern, make yourself useful!❞ He commanded, hoping the Lantern would realise that he could help the others ascend quicker. Blood did not wait around to see, however, launching himself through the air at superhuman speeds, stabbing one wall with his dagger to hold himself there, and then leaping to another. ❝This world belongs to Blood and Blood alone.❞ He thought to himself, resentful of his disillusion in Trigon, and what he perceived as the demon's great weakness.

Robin took the long ranged approach with these demons. They could hurt Superman and if he was vulnerable to their magic, Damian didn't want to know what harm they could cause them. He couldn't save his father if he was dead too. He threw batarangs among other weapons in his artillery at the demons that seemed to double in size.

Superman flew at high speeds plowing through demons left and right. In return, the swiped at him with their weapons. He countered by holding out his forearm but unlike usual- it didn't break on impact. He watched as blood gushed from his forearm and he winced in discomfort. He realized then he needed to be careful and not so reckless. This wasn't a group he could just plow through. They had magic on their side; his weakness. He landed back at Robin's side fighting the good fight and also took a long ranged approach. He took in a deep breath and exhaled far and wide to freeze those oncoming. And used his heat vision to destroy them while they were frozen.