40: Magic, Power, and Freedom

Back in the Dead End, Cyborg said it best, "Holy. Fucking. Shit."

Shock and silence reigned. The events they saw unfold before their very eyes, dimensions away in reality, were simply too much. None of the young heroes were used to power of this scale. Nor the violence or the permanent end that Trigon had come to.

The initial sight of a colossal Trigon had been enough to throw their grasp on reality into question. Even with the somewhat ridiculous things they witnessed day to day as heroes, Trigon didn't fit into their worldviews. Not really. He was WAY, way too big. Nothing living should have been able to reach sizes big enough to eat entire planets as if they were candy.

And yet, Trigon was big enough to beggar belief. In the Dead End's TRUTH field, they couldn't deny what they were seeing, even to themselves. Trigon was real. And he was real big to boot. Raven hadn't been exaggerating the danger her father represented at all. Or the evil, it turned out…

Was Trigon's planetary snack inhabited? The Teen Titans didn't know. They might never know. But even just the prospect of an entire world (and possibly all life on it) CONSUMED in an instant was enough to leave them utterly HORRIFIED.

That was only the beginning of the insanity to come. Because after watching helplessly as a giant CONSUMED a whole world, the Titans bore witness to that same giant being laid low by a comparably insignificant speck. With a generous application of violence and magic, Sean utterly outclassed the most powerful being any of them had ever seen.

It wasn't even a fight. As soon as Sean decided to lift his hand and do something, the outcome was already set in stone. Mere 'violence' was perhaps understating the things Sean did. It was a curb stomping. Utter annihilation and obliteration.

The rest of the Titans almost felt sorry for Trigon. Then they remembered who the cosmic conqueror was. What they'd already witnessed him do to an entire world. And what he'd done to their teammate Raven. The thought of an evil father like Trigon looming over their friend's head firmed their conviction back up real quickly.

Still, Sean's magic — the methods to his madness — was almost hard to watch. His 'spells' were gruesome and diverse. He wielded power over reality itself as if it was nothing. He simply spoke and his will was commanded unto the universe. Even for an evil force of the cosmos like Trigon, there was nothing that could fight back against Trigon's magic.

Damian watched, stone-faced and silent as the events on Sean's spelled screen unfolded. Even as his mind struggled to process it all, he was dutifully cataloging Sean's abilities so he could inevitably update Sean's ever-growing Justice League file.

Starfire — Kori — was stuck firmly in awe. Enough to silence even her ever-present energy. Wonder and no small amount of fear. That fear didn't diminish her skyrocketing respect for her new friend Sean Caine. Because someone who went so far for friend Raven couldn't be anything else but a new friend. Not someone to be truly feared. Kori was more than happy to have the Sean of her side~!

Vic and Garfield stared at the screen with mouths falling open in disbelief. They didn't even KNOW magic could do this shit! Forget ignorant, man. They'd been deaf and blind! Only now were their eyes and ears opening to the universe around them. And they were quickly discovering that in the grand scheme of things, their place on the scale of power wasn't nearly as high as they thought.

And Raven… Raven was practically quaking in her boots. And not in the way that was usually associated with that turn of phrase…

For her, Passion put it best, "I am going to ride that man until he can't walk. Until he can't THINK or BREATHE without breathing my scent, without thinking of me!

Despite herself (or maybe BECAUSE of herself), Raven couldn't bring herself to shut down her Passion. It wasn't enough for Sean to simply solve her greatest problem and existential worry, was it? No, he also had to do it SO WELL… to look SO FUCKING GOOD doing it…

All the pain and suffering she wished to repay to her father? Sean was doing it for her and more. Revenge was oh-so-sweet… And Raven was LOVING it.

That wasn't even mentioning the power she felt in the very core of her being, even from where she sat dimensions away from Sean's 'battle'. It was beyond intense. Her ever-hungry magical nature was devouring the mere wisps that leaked through Sean's spelled connection. She couldn't stop TINGLING. She didn't want to either.

Her mind and soul were on fire. It was EXHILARATING. Magic beyond anything she'd ever even imagined. Power enough to make her father look like a mere insect. And exactly the right amount of ruthlessness that she needed to deal with her dead-beat bastard of a father. A heavy hand just firm enough to make Trigon the Terrible (father) CHOKE under it before he died.

"I'm sure we wouldn't mind choking under his hand in a very different way~" Passion purred.

… Quiet. Raven had it bad enough right now. Seriously, she was already using magic to cover up the 'evidence' she was leaving behind. Any more and she'd be sitting in a puddle of her own arousal. She didn't need the extra teasing from herself. Her Passion was only making things (deliciously) worse.

"He made our father a bitch so I think I can safely say this… Choke me, Daddy!"

"Oh, fuck…" Raven squirmed imperceptibly in her seat. "Yes, please…" God, she was so screwed. "Harder, Daddy~…" So fucking screwed.

Just when she thought things couldn't get any worse — or better, depending on her perspective. So, so much better… — Trigon died. Obliterated by FIST, a spell so all-consumingly powerful that it made Raven muffle a moan to herself. And with his death, the universe came calling for Raven.

It was just as Sean had warned. The link between Raven and her father snapped as one end of it simply ceased to be. And Raven experienced the strangest phenomenon as reality itself began to nudge her like some sort of incessant child.

The universe was loathe to let Trigon's role go unfulfilled. He'd become a part of the natural order of things, a font of evils for a decent chunk of the cosmos. There was purpose there, an expectation from the status quo. And as his daughter — his most powerful offspring — Raven had been designated as his heir.

Raven 'stared' in horror as conceptual weight streamed toward her from the opposite end of her now-snapped connection. The collective fear and worship that Trigon had gathered during his existence was naturally attracted to the only place it could reasonably go. Raven herself.

Raven braced herself, cursing her cruel joke of an existence. Of course, nothing could ever go well for her. It was in her loathsome nature. And as much as she wished for the opposite, the collective conceptual weight continued coming as if to overwhelm her completely… Only for generations' and species' worth of powerful emotional backlash to DIE before it could reach her.

Raven's mind stuttered for a moment, unable to process the unexpected change. Didi got her attention in the physical world as DEATH herself gave Raven a heart-warmingly gentle and comforting smile. A reassurance that Raven wasn't alone. That her cruel joke of an existence might not be so cruel or funny after all.

"Now, what do we say to the nice Mommy who helped us in our time of need~?" Passion teased from the depths of Raven's soul.

The teasing was enough to restart Raven's thought processes, pulling her out of her usual (rightful) angst. She snorted internally, shoving Passion even deeper to the aspect's clear amusement. On the outside, Raven blushed as much as she was physically able to. Thankfully, her long-practiced emotional control ensured it didn't get out of control. Just a pleasant and unfortunately noticeable pinkening of her cheeks.

Still, Raven mumbled softly under her breath, confident the 'nice Mommy' would hear her, "… Thank you."

Didi gave a small acknowledging nod, that kind, gentle smile of hers doing things to Raven's stomach that were better left unmentioned. That was a whole other thing. Raven knew she was bisexual. It was hard not to with someone like Kori as a teammate. But the back-to-back 'threats' of Sean and Didi had made it so that aspect of herself had never been more clear.

"God, I want to DIE between her thighs while he POUNDS me from behind!" Passion made her feelings (Raven's as a whole) embarrassingly clear.

It was practically unfair. One of them was quite literally DEATH. Goth Death, at that. And the other was seemingly powerful enough to match. Oh, and he'd solved Raven's 'daddy issues' in the most satisfying way she could hope for. AND he was also goth — the very definition of tall, dark, and gorgeous in Raven's mind.

They… They were dangerous, especially when taken together. Deliciously dangerous. A couple that embodied pure gothic seduction. As if their entire purpose was to tempt Raven to sin. And oh, how she wanted to sin. With her father dead and his influence gone, 'sinning' with Sean and Didi had immediately become the thing Raven wanted most in life.

… Just to thank them for what they've done for her, right? Yeah… Just to thank them. They weren't… She wasn't… She wasn't that thirsty, right? Even if they did perfectly fit her type and MORE than exceeded her standards… It wasn't as if she was so repressed that her Passion had quite literally taken on a life of its own.

… Even Raven could barely keep a straight face at that thought. Yeah, she was screwed. Even without Sean and Didi being hot as sin and helping her more than anyone else in existence, the sheer POWER they both wielded was intensely attractive to Raven. Like, panty-dropping, mouth-watering, Passion-stimulating-ly attractive.

She was weak to power like that. A simp, as Garfield might call her if he knew just how weak she was. To Raven, power represented FREEDOM. And she somehow KNEW in the core of her soul that no one in existence (no one she would meet, at least) could hope to surpass Didi AND Sean in power.

And the less said about Sean's MAGIC beyond magic and how he'd utterly dominated and demolished her evil father, the better. Better for the sake of Raven's embarrassment, at least. She didn't think she'd ever stop leaking after a demonstration of magic and power like that — imagining a similar domination for herself, only with pleasure in place of pain and a metaphorical 'little death' (or a few dozen) instead of Trigon's literal one.

Raven's only consolation in all of this was that she would be turning 18 any moment now. Perfectly legal. And perfectly able to act on her new undying thirst and pursue her powerful savior and his Deathly mate. As if she would have been able to stop herself anyway…

In fact, looking around for a clock, she could see that the night was just about to tick over to midnight. Any second now, she'd be 18. 18 and completely FREE of her father's control. 18 and completely legal. 18 and almost completely repressed, eager to FINALLY act on her emotions without the constant moderation she'd practiced as a necessity.

3… 2… 1… Midnight. And Raven decided to do something special to mark the occasion. She loosened her emotional chains, practically throwing away her usual restraints. Her emotional aspects didn't disappear entirely. But they merged back into her. Mostly. Raven's Passion was ever-present — a sort of spiritual mirror of herself in her soul.

"Happy birthday, Raven," Sean said, having teleported back into the bar while Raven mostly merged with her aspects.

Raven didn't jump at his sudden appearance but she did twitch slightly, "… How?"

Sean shot her a minute mysterious smile, "Just a hunch. How does it feel to be 18? How does it feel to know your father will never bother or threaten you again?"

"… FREEING," Raven answered softly. "I don't think I'll ever be able to thank you enough, Sean. Watching you deal with my father was… satisfying."

Sean chuckled. "Always love a girl with some murderous daddy issues. Viciousness and trauma are sexy."

… Dammit. Why'd he have to go and say things like that? She had a hard time believing that he DIDN'T know what he did to her. That idea didn't mesh with anything she'd seen from his so far. Was he doing this on purpose? Teasing her…?

"He's flirting, you dumbass," Passion grumbled in her soul. "Flirt back or I'll take over and do it for you. And I'm going to jump straight to shoving my tongue down his throat and making sure he can only taste me."

"Lucky me," Raven deadpanned aloud to hide her blush, forcefully pushing Passion down before her mirrored aspect had the chance to embarrass her.

Sean smirked at her, "Lucky you, indeed~…"

Raven Prime felt her stomach stand up and do a flip at that tantalizing quirk of his lips. It was only an entire life of intense emotional control that kept the flustered flutterings from reaching her face. Even Passion in her soul groaned like a desperate woman at Sean's smirk (because that's what they were, Passion would say!).

Thankfully, Kori interjected herself into the conversation before Raven could choke on her own foot (SO not what she wanted to be choking on right now…).

"The celebrations, friend Raven~!" Kori exclaimed, hugging Raven enthusiastically. "It is officially the 18th day-anniversary of your birth-delivery! You have joined me in the adulthood! So much of the celebrations!"

"Yay…" Raven just stood there and took the enthusiastic hug, her practically blank face not betraying her fondness for her alien friend or how thankful she was that Kori had interrupted her quickly spiraling attempt at flirting. Seriously… Just a single smirk from Sean and Raven was as good as lost. God, she was so screwed.

"Happy b-day, Rae!" Garfield joined Kori in celebration, though thankfully without the rib-crushing hug. "And, uh, congrats on your dad's death, I guess? Man, that's so weird to say…"

"But deserved, strangely enough," Vic said. "I'm not one to advocate for killing but it's probably a good thing that the planet-eating conqueror was dealt with a bit more permanently than how we would usually handle things."

"I am one to advocate for killing," Damian stated flatly. "No matter what Father might believe, it is the only solution in some situations. I believe Trigon was one of those situations."

"Thank you…" Raven said, earnestness leaking into her voice.

"Damn, girl, was that emotion I heard in your monotone?" Vic joked.

"With Trigon dead and no longer a threat, I don't have to be so strict with myself," Raven replied.

"Nice," Garfield grinned. "I'm looking forward to getting to know you with emotions, Rae."

"It will take some getting used to," Raven said simply.

"It is good to see you healing already, Raven," Didi gave that gentle smile of hers that did just as much to Raven's insides as Sean's smirk. "As you were before… That is no way to LIVE. Your path shall be long still. But at least now, the cosmic paternal parasite that kept you so bound has been removed."

"Yeah…" Raven muttered. "God, I can barely believe it's really over. I should see about reuniting with my mom at some point. I'll need to tell her that the evil bastard can't haunt us anymore."

Didi nodded, "I'm sure she'll be just as glad to hear the news as you were. As I remember her soul from her birth and later yours, Angela Roth is a kind woman who did not deserve the evil Trigon visited upon her."

Vic shivered in his metal augments, "Man, not gonna lie, that's kinda spooky. Knowing Death — or I guess Didi here — has met all of us at birth."

"There is nothing to be afraid of, Victor," Didi said, innocently tilting her head. "I bring LIFE into this world and I take souls after DEATH. It is simply how things have always been."

"Yeah, Vic," Raven's lips twitched ever-so-slightly. "Scared of a little DEATH? Suck it up, dude."

"Personally, I don't know how anyone can be scared of Didi," Sean added his own opinion. "I think I've experienced enough death to say it's not nearly as bad as everyone seems to expect. And Didi herself is simply lovely. One of the best people you'll ever meet. Having her walk everyone's soul to their eternities is a blessing I wouldn't trade for anything."

"I think Didi is the very essence of niceness!" Kori chimed. "She is the kindness and the gentlety and I am glad she was my first friend in this life, even if I do not do the remembering of her!"

Didi chuckled softly, "Thank you, both, but it's fine. Victor is perfectly entitled to his own feelings about me. I shall be there for him in the END no matter what."

Vic looked away awkwardly, "… Okay, yeah, I might not be hyped about death but I can see why Didi herself is kinda great."

Sean gave a good-natured laugh that sent Raven's tummy into a tumble, "That's the spirit! No one can hate Didi. And if her perfect personality can't win them over, well, I would just have to… have words with them."

Vic and Garfield audibly gulped at that. Didi just rolled her eyes, "Sean, behave. There's no need for you to go threatening people on my behalf. I like to think I can make my own friends without you resorting to that."

"I wouldn't threaten them," Sean denied with a mischievous smirk. "I'd just wanna talk with them. You know, preach and spread the good word of my Didi~? I could go on and on about your good points, darling~ Why, I might never stop~!"

Didi blushed and playfully slapped Sean on the shoulder, "Don't you start, mister! Try and it'll mean war, I mean it!"

"Well, I wouldn't want that, would I~?" Sean teased, the two of them somewhat lost in their own little world for the moment.

"No, you don't! I can play dirty too, dear. Maybe…" Didi paused to think before her eyes landed on Raven and lit up. "Maybe I'll return the favor and gush over you to our newest mutual friend!"

"Please don't drag me into this," Raven deadpanned. Despite what she said, a part of her (Passion!) very much wanted to be dragged between the two of them…

"Heh," Vic chuckled to himself, shaking his head. "Y'all are cute. Scary. But cute."

"Very cute~!" Kori clapped happily, giggling as she enjoyed Sean and Didi's byplay. "I can feel the love of your hearts! I wish to experience much more of it! Please, please, teach me of your love~!"

"I mean…" Garfield hesitantly put forward. "It is getting kinda late."

"The nonsense!" Kori protested. "It is the night of celebrations! We simply must stay and make of the merry!"

Damian nodded in firm agreement, "I'm not leaving until I've had my fill of headpats."

"You're always welcome to stay," Sean offered. "I have a story I want to tell if any of you are interested."

"I'm interested," Raven instantly agreed, surprising even herself with how quick she was.

"I thought you might be," Sean said. "The MAGIC I used when dealing with Trigon brought it to mind."

The mention of Sean's capitalized MAGIC made Raven's eye widen slightly, "I'm VERY interested."

"I as well," Kori declared. "I know very little of the magic. I would like to learn so I may relate to friend Raven more!"

"Well, you'll certainly learn SOMETHING about magic from this story," Sean chuckled. "And the rest of you are more than welcome to stick around. I'm afraid I can't provide any of you with alcohol but the company should more than make up for that."

Sean snapped his fingers twice. Raven felt the magic in the private instance of the Dead End suddenly collapse and dissolve, streaming back into the bar at large. Their transition back into the 'real world' was much less abrupt than their departure. The empty bar sort of flickered and faded as Sean, Didi, and the Teen Titans found themselves right back where they'd 'left' less than 30 minutes ago.

Raven couldn't help but shake her head at that. Before tonight, she would have never thought her 'daddy issues' could be resolved so quickly. It was a surreal feeling. Something inside her was left almost giddy at her newfound FREEDOM.

The scene they returned to was certainly… interesting. Most of the Titans stopped and stared at the mostly full Dead End and the commotion it brought with it. A few new faces had joined the already mind-bogglingly peaceful cast of villains. Namely, Killer Croc and Solomon Grundy.

A table had been cleared and brought before the bar. Croc, Grundy, and Bane all sat at the table, nearly a ton of man and muscle all by themselves. And to the Titans' astonishment, they seemed to be… arm-wrestling? With the rest of the bar crowding around, cheering, jeering, and shaking fistfuls of money at the spectacle…?

Both Bane's arms were occupied with separate 'battles'. Croc and Grundy held out as long as they could but the superhuman strength of Gotham's strongest villain wouldn't be denied. Bane roared and PUSHED with all his might. Two fists slammed down against the wooden table, cracking it upon impact.

"By Mom's name, Bane has done the impossible, folks! Two vs. One and he broke them in half!" Alice called, more reminiscent of a WWE commentator than anything appropriate for 'mere' arm-wrestling.

The money-shaking crowd went wild. Bane stood victorious, raising pumped-up arms as thick as tree trunks as if in defiance of the heavens themselves. Drinks were thrown in celebration, money exchanged hands, and… Didi cleared her throat, cutting through the chaos.

Alice — having been left in charge of the Dead End in her adoptive parents' absence — froze in panic, "M-Mom?! This, uh… This isn't what it looks like…?"

"I'm sure it isn't," Didi shook her head in fond exasperation. "Honestly, this is fine, little one. I expected much worse. At least the bar is still standing and the only damage is the mess."

"Yeah… Yeah!" Alice regained her energy to defend herself. "I was just keeping this rabble occupied so they didn't do something worse!"

"And I'm sure you did a very good job of keeping them distracted," Didi commented with amusement. "But we're back now so the show's over. And you get to clean up the mess you made."

"Aww, Mooooommmmm~…" Alice groaned. "That's not even fair! The bar cleans itself."

"Alice…" Didi shot her child a pointed look.

"Fine," Alice grumbled.

After that, things in the Dead End quickly calmed back down to 'normal'. 'Normal' at the Dead End was still a bit much for the Titans as they found themselves sitting at the bar next to peaceful villains and even the mercenary they'd fought only days before.

"I see you took my advice, Robin," Deathstroke said, raising a casual toast to Damian and the rest of the Titans.

Surprisingly, Damian didn't scowl, "We were fortunate enough to be given a good excuse to visit… And I missed Lady Didi's headpats."

Catwoman sidled up to her son in all but name, "What DID bring you and your team to visit, Dami~?"

"That is not my story to share," Damian shook his head.

"I don't mind," Raven interjected flatly. "We needed Sean's help with killing my father."

Her blunt statement brought a moment of pause to the bar. Catwoman eventually asked, "… Was it deserved."

Raven simply gave a single nod, "Very."

Catwoman nodded as well, "Then, congratulations." And she left it at that.

"So!" Sean said, thankfully pulling the attention off of Raven. "Storytime?"

"What've you got for us tonight?" Penguin asked.

Sean grinned a mischievous, easy-going grin, utterly in his element, "We're going to be revisiting a world I told you all about a little while back. Some of you were here when I spoke about the World of Darkness, yeah?"

"The one where you designed Dracula's castle for him?" Croc clarified, sounding quite different from how Raven imagined him. Much less intimidating and more like just any guy she would have encountered on the street.

Garfield could only blink at that understated insanity, "… Huh?!"

"Like, Dracula Dracula?" Vic asked incredulously.

Sean nodded, "Yeah, we were talking about vampires that night so obviously, I had to tell everyone how I met Dracula."

"Obviously," Vic deadpanned.

"Anyway," Sean continued. "This story is about the rest of my adventures in that World of Darkness. Namely, my adventures there as a Mage searching for Ascension."

Two-Face scoffed dismissively, "Gah, wizards. Shit always turns fucked up when you give nerds ultimate power."

He shook his head and went to take a sip of his drink. Raven's finger twitched. 'Somehow', he ended up missing his mouth and turned his glass entirely upside down to dump the contents on his face. He sputtered in surprise.

"Careful," Raven warned, narrowing her eyes at him slightly. "Some of us might just take offense to that."

Sean chuckled, "He's not completely wrong though. Power of any kind tends to corrupt, especially in realities like that one. And Wizards and Mages are certainly no exception to that rule. In the World of Darkness, the Nine Traditions were bad enough. Don't even get me started on the Technocracy."

"Grundy… would like to… get you started… on the Technocracy," Grundy rumbled slowly. "Am… curious."

"If you insist, big guy," Sean shrugged. "It might be for the best anyway. It'll allow me to give you all a bit of context about the world itself before we get into my adventures. Now, where to start…?"

He thought for a moment before continuing, "The World of Darkness wasn't like this world. There were no heroes or villains on that Earth. Just the vast, vast majority of normal people and the supernatural. The supernatural side of the world was where it got its name. In my mind, at least."

His voice grew ominous and heavy as he spoke, "Creatures lurked in the dark while almost everyone else lived in ignorance. Vampires, Werewolves, Wraiths, Demons, Fae, mundane Hunters of everything that went bump in the night… Mages… It was a dark world where life or even unlife was never guaranteed. But it was also more than a little batshit insane."

"Batshit insane, how…?" Vic asked cautiously, sounding as if he almost didn't want to know.

"'Steampunk explorers fighting Nazis inside the hollow Earth' insane," Sean deadpanned. "'A fast-food chain that secretly served ground Demon cheeseburgers' insane. Honest-to-Didi animated Mummies as a relatively widespread phenomenon that I didn't spend nearly enough time getting into. Yeah, that kind of batshit insane."

Raven only had one thing to say about all of that, "… Cool."

Vic wasn't nearly as convinced, "Ground WHAT burgers?!"

"Huh… do you think those would count as vegetarian?" Garfield asked. "I mean, it's not real meat, right? Maybe even some kind of weird half-spiritual matter thing?"

"It really is always the Nazis," Penguin tutted.

Kori raised her hand, "Question? What is the Mummy?"

"Sacred violations of tradition that are not to be trifled with," Bane answered her, shuddering slightly. It was an amusing sight from someone so massive.

Didi nodded in agreement, "They almost never end well. In our reality, at least."

"They weren't all that blessed in the World of Darkness either," Sean said. "But now we're going to put all of that fun stuff to the side and focus solely on the Mages…"

"Thank God," Vic sighed.

"-And how they all figured out that reality was so bullshit that they could just recreate it however they wanted, whenever they wanted! With little to no real limitations!" Sean finished with a grin.

"Dammit, man…" Vic hung his head in defeat.

"That's not how magic works," Raven deadpanned.

"You're right," Sean nodded. "It's NOT how magic works. HERE, that is…" He smirked, "But it is how magic works."

Raven stared him dead in the eyes, "Bullshit."

"That's what you're calling BS on, Rae?" Garfield laughed.

"Yes," Raven said firmly. "Because it's bullshit. Magic shouldn't be as easy as just believing hard enough that something is or isn't real. There are rules and methods and foci and energy manipulation and actual effort to it that isn't just 'believe really, really hard'. Magic users shouldn't be just rewriting reality however they please."

Sean chuckled, "Okay, I may have been exaggerating there slightly. There were certain limitations and rules Mages had to adhere to in the World of Darkness. But what I was trying to get across was that it was a fundamentally different form of magic than anything you know here."

"Grrr…" Raven's expression barely shifted into a flat scowl. "Fine. Still bullshit. But fine."

"Maybe hearing about the actual limitations Mages operated under will make you feel better," Sean offered. Raven grunted and he continued, "The largest limitation by far for Mages in the World of Darkness was one of Paradox and going against Consensus. Paradox was the real problem but to understand it, we'll first have to touch upon Consensus. Bear with me for a moment here.

"Consensus was… reality. Or at least, how it was perceived by the the majority of people. But as Mages inherently knew due to their nature, reality was bullshit. It was malleable. Open to change however they believed and willed it. So Consensus was how reality 'should' have been — how it was for the mundane masses of the world — but not how it really was. With me so far?"

Raven nodded. She was one of the only ones to do so. Her teammates looked confused, going so far as Garfield looking as if he should have had comical swirls in his eyes. Damian and the villains looked as if they were following along but not truly understanding and internalizing Sean's 'lesson'. Surprisingly, Grundy nodded along just as firmly as Raven had, only much slower.

Sean continued, "If Consensus was the baseline — the status quo, so to speak — then Paradox was the punishment for straying from that baseline. Impossible things like magic that went against Consensus naturally attracted Paradox. If a Mage did enough impossible things or did something particularly grievous, they'd have to answer for their crimes against Consensus."

Penguin laughed, "Heh, so bad reality-warpers got put in reality time-out?"

"Honestly? Yeah, that's not too far off the mark," Sean nodded. "Reality used Paradox to punish going impossibly far outside the norm — Consensus — usually in an ironically fitting way. A Mage who liked fireballs a bit too much might be chased by Fire Imps as their Paradox punishment. That sort of thing."

"There were ways around it but that's what made Mages stick to the World of Darkness instead of openly performing impossible magic everywhere. That's how you got the magical secret society of the Nine Traditions and… the Technocracy…" He shuddered as he said that last word.

"What made the Technocracy so of the bad?" Kori asked.

"You can't tell by the name? That's a villain organization if I've ever heard one!" Garfield joked.

"The Technocracy…" Sean began, dragging it out for dramatic effect. "Enforced Consensus."

"That doesn't sound so bad," Catwoman reasoned. "They were keeping the magic folk from trampling over everyone else, right? I think I'd rather like having an organization dedicated to keeping overpowered reality-benders in check."

"They did some good for the common man, I'll admit," Sean allowed. "When the masses stopped believing so much in folklore and monsters, those enemies of humanity did indeed stop existing. But let me put it this way…

"Consensus WAS reality for the vast majority of people. And the Technocracy made it their duty to enforce a single, unified Consensus. With no exceptions. No care for diversity or the beliefs of different cultures. They were unilaterally pushing THEIR biased and honestly out-of-touch view of reality onto the. Entire. World."

"Ah…" Catwoman trailed off into silence.

"Yeah, that's fucked," Raven finished for her.

"Is very… close-minded. And… likely unproductive," Grundy agreed. "Complex problems… require complex… solutions. Forced oversimplification… is the bane… of reason and compromise."

Sean shrugged, "It's not like the Traditions were indisputably the good guys either. But at least they weren't pushing a carefully manufactured reality onto the whole world. Besides, the Technocracy was also a much more strict organization full of corruption that rewarded incompetency. And hypocrites. They were Awakened just like any other Mage but accurately calling what they did magic was the fastest way to make yourself an enemy there.

"'Cause it obviously wasn't magic, just 'Enlightened Science'! So what if it functioned the exact same way?! Can't you see they're using technology as their Foci?! It's not the same at all, they're not like those dirty Reality Deviant Mages!"

Sean acted out a whole over-exaggerated bit to demonstrate the Technocracy's hypocrisy. It was enough to make most of his audience crack smiles and laugh. Of course, Raven's lips barely twitched and nothing more. She'd firmly deny anything else.

Learning of a whole other reality's worth of magic was fascinating to her. Sure, it flew in the face of everything she knew about the mystical arts and she was still firmly of the opinion that it was unfair bullshit. But also intensely intriguing, allowing Raven a glimpse into the pure POWER Sean had wielded earlier. And spit on her father's damned grave, she loved that POWER…

Even now, Raven wanted nothing more than to kneel before Sean and his POWER. To get on her knees, crawl behind the bar, and make herself 'USEFUL' as he told his interesting little tale of another world. To blissfully submit and grow her own power to ever-greater heights.

Her Passion played innocent as it whispered deliciously distracting, depraved, and debauched fantasies in Raven's mind. And as much as she told Passion — herself — to shut up because she was trying to listen and learn something, not ruin her costume even more than she already HAD! … Well, Raven knew it was futile. 18 long years of repression had shattered completely with her newfound FREEDOM — the healing merger of her emotions, the unchaining of herself.

"Hmn~…!" Raven muffled a moan as a particularly vivid scene of her in a collar and leash, both FREE and BOUND before Sean, flashed before her mind's eye.

Thankfully, no one noticed. No… That wasn't the case. Didi was giving her that heart-fluttering gentle smile of hers. And Raven was sure she saw the barest hint of a knowing smirk on Sean's face. But there was no way he actually KNEW, right…? Something low in Raven's abdomen clenched and throbbed and suddenly she wasn't sure which way she wanted to be true.

"A-Ahem," Raven cleared her throat, trying her very best to act as if nothing was amiss. "So which Mage society were you a part of, Sean?"

… Damn that smirk, "I was more closely associated with the Nine Traditions. But I was more of a Hedge Mage/Contractor than a full-fledged member. My existence in the World of Darkness was somewhat unique and I couldn't spend very much time in Consensus as a result of my powerful Awakening."

"You keep mentioning this 'Awakening'," Bane noted. "What does it mean?"

"It's what makes a Mage, a Mage," Sean explained. "It's the process of realizing a spark of fundamental TRUTH to reality. Namely, that it's shaped by belief and willpower. My Awakening was unique because it happened just as I came into the World of Darkness. I was 'born' and AWAKENED at the same time."

Penguin made a curious little noise, "Huh, I've been meaning to ask. How does your reincarnation stuff work? Isekai rules? Transmigration? Are you reincarnating exactly as you were in the previous life? Or starting over as a baby?"

"Honestly, it's a mixed bag," Sean said, waving his hand so-so. "Sometimes, I'll be reincarnated as a baby, which sucks by the way. Having to grow up all over again usually isn't worth the hassle even if the antics I can get up to as a kid can be fun. But other times, I come into my next world in a sort of 'prime' body. That's kind of how it happened in the World of Darkness. And in this iteration. I met Didi and then appeared in the Dead End and got straight to business."

Most of Sean's audience had the same reaction, "Huh… Neat."

There were many other things to say to a revelation like that. It was an interesting bit of trivia about how their favorite bartender 'worked' but… how were they supposed to relate to it at all or apply it to their own much more limited existences? Raven honestly found it quite amusing and fascinating that Sean could speak about his reincarnating uniqueness so casually. Kind of cute, really…

"Can we back up for a second?" Garfield asked. "You said you spent most of your time outside of Consensus? How does that work? Wasn't Consensus, like, reality…?"

"Close," Sean elaborated. "Consensus is 'perceived reality'. So it was mainly focused on Earth. I spent quite a bit of my time in the World of Darkness in the underworld or in space."

"Space~?!" Kori gasped excitedly. "That's where I was born! Did you meet any of the aliens there as well~?"

Sean nodded, grinning at Kori's infectious enthusiasm, "Aliens, Eldritch/cosmic spirits, Angels, Demons, and more. It was also…" Sean trailed off, suddenly seeming to be seized by memories, "-Where I took part in the Jovian Wars…"

Those memories did not appear to be kind to Sean. A haunted and somewhat traumatized look entered his eyes. A worrying and seemingly impossible concept for someone like Sean. His audience was left waiting and fidgeting awkwardly, already dreading whatever could have traumatized the serial reincarnator.

"Sean?" Didi prodded softly. "What were the Jovian Wars?"

Didi's soothing voice brought most of the life back into Sean's eyes. Still, something about those memories clearly troubled him, "… They were a series of magical conflicts for control of Jupiter and Saturn's moons. War is always Hell… But a Wizard's War? Even 'Hell' fails to describe that special brand of traumatizing insanity."

"Damn," Vic exhaled, full of dread. "Straight-up space wars between Mages… Yeah, uh, yeah that doesn't sound great."

"Whatever you're picturing, it was so much worse," Sean shook his head somberly. "Interplanetary conflicts where every single soldier on the front line was a reality-warper to a significant degree… No one wins a Wizard's War. You just survive."

"Fuck," Raven muttered quietly.

Her expletive was partially because she understood what he was trying to say. Not the war part. She's seen her fair share of conflict in her life but never actual war. But she could imagine how bad a war between wizards — even just the wizards she was used to — would be. With the Mages that Sean described from the World of Darkness? 'Fuck' was understating it…

The other part of her expletive was something she wasn't quite eager to share with anyone else. Sean was really, REALLY attractive right now. Even more than he was before, which was a feat and a half. If Raven had to distill it down to words… Well, trauma was hot. And Sean pulled off the whole 'dark soul tortured by memories' vibe better than anyone else Raven had ever met.

"Care to humor us with a war story or two?" Deathstroke asked Sean.

With a far-off look in his eyes, Sean nodded, "I won't glorify the violence. But I can share a story or two about the men and women I fought beside. Like good ol' Scottie… Scottie."

Sean snorted a laugh and shook his head fondly, "He liked playing the fool. Even when the going got tough, he always had a quip or joke at the ready. He got us through some of the wars' toughest moments."

Sean smiled nostalgically, "There was this one time… Me, Scottie, and a few others were holed up on the ass end of Io. We were the last survivors of a push to rid the moon of its Nephandi presence."

"Who were the Nephandi?" Kori asked curiously.

"Evil bastards," Sean's expression darkened for the briefest of moments. "They were fallen Mages. Monsters in human skin, worshipping dark and twisted spirits of Eldritch power as their gods. The idea of the stereotypical cult of wizards? The Nephandi were that and worse. They were such a threat to reality itself that they managed to convince the Traditions and Technocracy to temporarily align their interests to deal with them."

Sean physically shook off the darkness, "Anyway, Scottie and I were some of the last of the allied Mages on Io at that moment. I don't know if any of you know anything about Io but it isn't a fun place to vacation. It's Hell on a moon. Constant earthquakes, sulfur volcanoes, and no water to speak of. It was the perfect place for the damned Nephandi to call home…

"The demonic cultists were closing in on all sides. Me, Scottie, and what was left of our squad were making our last stand on the top of an active volcano. Reinforcements were out of the question. The higher-ups had already written off the mission as a loss. Our only hope was for our remaining Technocrat — a cyborg named Geneva. Yes, that kind of cyborg — to get her portal magitech working so we could retreat to allied territory on Ganymede or Europa."

Vic was visibly interested at the mention of the cyborg in Sean's story, "Wait, so the Technocracy used, like, actual magic technology?"

"Yeah," Sean confirmed. "Don't get it wrong though. It wasn't real technology. More like magic wearing a technology skin suit. Still functioned off the Mage's belief and willpower and all that. But the Technocrats wouldn't admit anything they did was magic for love nor money."

"That's still pretty dope," Vic nodded, impressed.

Sean chuckled, "Oh, I won't deny that. I had problems with the Technocracy's core philosophy but that didn't extend to their tech… So Geneva was focused on getting the portal up. Scottie and I were at the front of the fight, holding off the Nephandi cultists. And you have to remember something here. We were a good distance outside of Consensus for the entirety of the Jovian Wars. So a Mage's usual limitations? They were practically nonexistent on the Jovian moons."

Dread and anticipation settled over the bar, over Sean's captive audience. A few people leaned forward in their seats. Raven listened with a flat expression on her face but intent attention in her heart.

"Scottie and I stood strong beneath a hail of car-sized fireballs and twisted magitech artillery. The very ground we stood on opened up, snapping at us with vicious teeth and disturbing tongues. Eldritch spirits and monsters from the beyond pounded on our defenses with unholy screeches, bound to the malicious intentions of their summoners. Otherworldly Hell magic tried to corrupt us, to turn us against each other," Sean painted the picture with his words, a certain sober gravitas in his voice.

"And yet, under the light of the giant Jupiter, we held out as reality WARPED around us. The only thing keeping us and our team alive was our undying conviction, the pure strength of our beliefs. And part of what helped us hold strong for so long was Scottie's sense of humor. I can honestly say it was one of the only things that kept me grounded in such a hopeless situation."

Sean's audience listened in enraptured, breathless awe. The picture he painted was clear in Raven's mind and even then, she could barely believe his imagination. A last stand on an alien moon, holding out for dear life against Eldritch cultists with the power of gods at their fingertips. It was simply… brilliant.

"It was touch and go there at the end," Sean said somberly. "I had been hit with a nasty little curse. My spine was literally rotting into dust inside my body."

"Jesus!"

"Fuck, man…"

"I didn't let it stop me from fighting. Best thing about being a Mage? You don't have to be able to move to still slaughter the shit out of some cultist fucks!" Sean laughed.

He didn't seem to notice the reactions that part of his story got from the audience. Horror. Utter shock. Disbelieving admiration. Even Didi stared at him with concern in her eyes. Raven suppressed a thrilled little shudder at the mental picture of Sean — cursed, effectively paralyzed, and STILL utterly destroying evil Mages who would have DEFINITELY worshipped her father if they had the chance.

Passion groaned with desire in Raven's soul, "God, what I wouldn't give to have been the one to ~TEND~ to his wounds after all of that…" Raven couldn't help but completely agree with her other half.

"So Geneva eventually gets the portal up and running. And Scottie gets to dragging me through it. Meanwhile, I'm just acting like magical fire support. Like a bomber's tail gunner or towed artillery or something," Sean chuckled to himself. "I managed to get a fair few more of the Nephandi before Scottie managed to drag me out of there."

"Then when we're all safe back on Europa and the adrenaline is just starting to die down, Scottie turns to me and smirks like, 'When I said break a leg at the start of all the mission, this isn't exactly what I meant'," Sean smiled. "And I just lose it. All the pain and exhaustion caught up to me and then Scottie's stupid joke on top of it, and I just couldn't stop laughing. The Technocrat who put me back together said I threw half my organs out of alignment, that's how hard I was laughing."

"Goddamn…"

"He sounds like a worthy brother-in-arms," Deathstroke nodded and raised a toast. "To those who keep us sane in the worst of times and drive us mad in the best."

Sean chuckled, a strangely simple clay cup appearing in his hand, "I'll sure as Hell drink to that."

"So the real treasure was the friends you made along the way?" Penguin joked.

"Something like that," Sean said goodnaturedly, the corners of his lips twitching upward. "I certainly fought alongside some spectacular Mages. Scottie. Geneva in her own right. More lost souls than I care to count but sure won't forget at the same time. The Wizard's Wars defined a good portion of that life for me. And I never want to experience anything like them ever again."

Raven nodded, "Understandable."

"Yeah, that shit's fucked, even for Gotham," Two-Face grunted.

"It's fucked up even for Bludhaven," Bane corrected.

A brief pause and then a visible shudder ran through the locals as they realized how accurate that was. Raven watched Gotham's mooks and villains curse to themselves at the idea in amusement. They weren't overreacting, she felt. It was just somewhat funny to see something that overwhelmed even Gothamites' infamous sense of reason.

While she normally wasn't so partial to war stories, Sean's was interesting enough. Raven was more interested in the magic and Mages featured there though. But getting to see a glimpse of Sean's darker history was more than worth the conversation being shifted off of the topics she wanted to talk about. Something about Sean's past troubles and trauma spoke to her, making him seem that much more real and even more attractive still.

"Right, I can't take it anymore," Passion declared within Raven's soul. "We're asking him out. Didi too if we have to."

"What?! No~!" Raven hissed to her other half.

"Yes! No more pointless pining or awkward attempts at flirting. We've been more than repressed enough for TWO lifetimes. Now, is the time for action!"

"There are people here~! Witnesses! We'll… We'll do it later. Not! Now!"

"Oh, suck it up, me. Guys like it when a woman goes after what she wants. Right…?"

"I don't know! We're the exact same person with the exact same level of inexperience! I'm not risking it here and now because you couldn't keep it in your spiritual panties!"

"Neither can you, Raven! I can FEEL how horny we are! And that's just from being around him and absorbing a bare HINT of his power! Imagine how good it would feel to do SO MUCH MORE with him~!"

Despite herself, Raven hesitated, almost swayed by her mirrored soul's argument, "… No. We can't. Not yet. We need more… more time to prepare."

"Stuff that!" Passion shot right back. "You just want more time to pine and brood and angst! When what we really need is a true taste of that POWER. I know you want to submit to him just as much as I do! You can't hide from your thirsty true self, Raven!"

"No~!" Raven hissed inside her soul.

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

In the end, the choice was thankfully taken from her. Vic and Garfield had clearly had enough for the night. Something about the business with Trigon and then the insane Wizard's War story afterward hadn't digested well into their worldviews.

"Right!" Vic clapped. "It's getting late. We should probably be going now…"

"Yeah, man," Garfield eagerly nodded his agreement. "I don't think I could handle another of those stories."

Kori pouted slightly but didn't argue, "Oh, pooh~… It is a great shame that we must be leaving so soon. I believe I am growing with the fondness of the Dead End."

Damian made a little noise of acknowledgment, "Hng. Very well. Didi, may I take my headpats to go?"

"Of course, Damian," Didi tittered at his request. "And you're all welcome to come back whenever you feel the desire to. Perhaps when you're more rested and ready to deal with my dear Sean's antics?"

"Oh, thank God," Vic exhaled a sigh of relief.

Didi — SOMEHOW — boxed up the CONCEPT of headpats and gave them to Damian like a take-out bag. That seemed to be the final straw for the boys as Vic and Garfield visibly gave up on trying to figure tonight out. Raven's face twitched slightly as her internal struggles continued up til the very end, made only worse as Sean walked the Teen Titans to the door.

He shot her a knowing, not-quite-cocky smirk as the Titans left through a door that was somehow in multiple places at once, "Until next time, Raven. Be sure to drop by on your own sometime. I'm sure we'll have ~a lot~ to talk about together…"

A wave of tingles ran down Raven's spine at his smirk and words. A promise. A hint of something MINDBLOWING to come… It took great effort for her to school her expression as she nodded farewell. She walked out of the Dead End, outwardly impassive as always. Inside, both halves of her soul were in rare synch.

"Fuck/Fuck," Raven and Passion both thought. "We're so, so, SO, fucking screwed…"