8. Mission from Hell

Toji stands quietly in the corner of the room as Black Canary and Doctor Fate briefs the crew. The man already understands the gist of it. Go to hell. Protect the kids. Kill demons. Get out.

What interests the merc more is what he and Doctor Fate discussed a few nights before. Looking at the people around him now, he truly can sense the hands of fate surrounding each and every one of them. No, not sense. He simply knows. He knows that Nightwing's fate intertwines with Batgirl's. That the one with an 'S' has a fate connected with the green one. And that the fast one's fate is shorter than the rest of the group. What intrigues him the most, though, is how the new girl, Raven, has her fate connected directly to Toji. 

If what the doctor said was true, then Toji's arrival here wasn't an accident. Something out there had brought the merc here and has plans made especially for him. And if the strings of fate is to be believed, it looks like the pale girl is part of his story somehow.

"And what's he doing here?" says the speedster, pointing at Toji. "He's not gonna be baby-sitting us for this mission, is he?" The merc huffs, annoyed by the teens continuous pestering.

"Well, if you must know. Before becoming a mercenary, Toji used to be a demon hunter of sorts", answers Doctor Fate. 

They all look at Toji with various expressions. "Wait, really?"

Toji nods. "I come from a clan of magic users. Our job involved killing curses or demons, as you call them, who prey on normal people".

"So, your family's pretty much your world's version of superheroes. Talk about being the black sheep of the family", replies Wally with a smirk. 

Toji chuckles at that. If only you knew, thinks Toji. 

"Back to the point", says Black Canary to the group. "Toji's skills will be valuable for this mission. The rest of the League's magic users are currently working on setting up magic defenses while the rest of us will be hunting down any demons that manage to sneak past the initial defense. And so, the duty falls to you to get to whoever is opening these portals and stop them. Raven?"

Raven moves in front of the group and says a quick incantation, making a hologram appear in front of everyone. "This is Brother Blood. He's a sorcerer who made a deal with a powerful demon called Trigon. In exchange for his service, Trigon promised to-"

"Yeah, yeah. Power and world domination in exchange for Earth. We get that", cuts Wally, making Artemis elbow his side. 

The group glares at the speedster. "Sorry about him. You were saying?"

Raven simply nods. "I believe he is the key to stopping this invasion. Trigon gave him an artifact that gives him the power to open the portals. If we find him and destroy Trigon's artifact, we should be able to stop the invasion before it could even start". 

Wally cheers. "That should be pretty easy then. Just do your magic and point us to him. We'll give him a good beating, close the portals, and be home before the weekend". 

The adults sigh. "We've already located Brother Blood but I'm afraid it's not that simple. The sorcerer has constructed an unbreakable barrier around his fortress powered by Trigon himself. Whatever magic he uses is disrupting the very flow of Earth's magic", says Doctor Fate. "However, Raven told us of a special portal. One used by Brother Blood as a direct link to Trigon. That will be your path to the sorcerer".

"How the hell are we supposed to do that?" asks Wally, earning a sigh from Artemis. 

"They want us to go to hell and come back using the main portal", says the archer.

Wally's eyes widen. "What? Is that really the only way to do it?"

"We're running out of time", says Doctor Fate. "Trigon's armies are almost ready. If they go through the portals, we may not be able to stop them. However, sending in more powerful members of the League would only alert the demons to our presence. We need you to get to Brother Blood's fortress and take down the barrier. It's the only way to close the portals and stop this invasion". 

The group turns sullen. "So, looks like we'll be on the highway to hell", says Wally with a nervous cheer.

---

Batman replays the video footage showing Toji sneak into the circus and take down the Joker's goons. He then fast forwarded to a scene where golden bright light lit up the nearby theatre and then the merc coming out soon after. 

"This isn't what we agreed on", growls the Batman. 

The man with the golden helmet huffs. "This is exactly what we agreed on. We've agreed to guide Toji into doing the greater good. You even forced me to reign him in, to use my magic to shackle Toji from bringing out his true potential. So far, the man hasn't broken your foolish code. Neither has he done anything against the Justice League and its so called 'heroic ways'. Haven't you also bent your rules in order to save your city? Or do you not remember Superman and his little Phantom Zone".

Batman slams his fist on the metal desk. "It's not the same thing. We only use that for those we can't imprison with normal means. We don't use it on normal people. But what you and Toji did was different. Those criminals are people. They deserve to be tried with human means".

"That's where you're wrong", spits Doctor Fate. 

Batman glares. "What exactly do you want with him? Why is he so important?"

Doctor Fate turns and Batman sees his reflection on the other man's helmet. The doctor speaks. "Because he will help return balance to the scales. The universe is broken and Toji is the key to returning it to its natural order".

Batman glares at that. "Whatever that means, if I ever find the slightest hint of deception, I will stop you".