“Arrghh… My head.” Raven murmured due to the pulsating headache she woke up to as she tried crawling down the alter. Noticing she had regained consciousness, Ra’s gave an instructive nod to the assassin by his side, signaling for him to pump her full of some more sedatives.

“She needs to be weak and unconscious during the extraction of the gem or else she would fight back and make the process a more difficult one.” Raven was injected with some more sedative and placed upon the alter, laid in the middle of a pentagram drawn with her very own blood.

“Let us begin.” Ra’s commanded, proceeding with the ritual before Tom could get in his way.

….

*BOOM… BOOM… BOOM*

The sounds of destruction reverberated through the structure of the building, all the way down to the caves as Tom lashed out upon anyone who dared to stand in his way, leaving a gruesome trail of bodies at his wake.

A sudden cloud of smoke screen engulfed the air as Tom was making his way down the path which led to the cave.

The sound of arrows piecing through the air came from behind, they hit him and bounced right back in the direction they came.

He heard a grunt from the dark and smoky hallway as the arrow seamed to graze it’s shooter. As the cautious assassin made his way towards Tom in the midst of the smoke, Tom appeared behind him, broke his right hand before realizing it was actually Damian as the sword fell to the ground.

*Arrghhhh*

“Shut it you little prick.” Tom instructed, kicking him to the ground. “You and I are going to take a little walk to your grandpa, and your betraying bitch of a mum.”

“I would rather die than lead you to him, peasant.” Damian replied through the pain, taking a step back as he picked up his sword and took a battle stance.

“Enough already, it’s no longer entertaining to watch you get back up just to get kicked in the dirt like am some kind of bully.” Tom exasperated as he watched Damian get a grip on himself and charged forward.

Tom caught Damian’s sword in the pam of his hand, shattering the blade as he grabbed him by his clothing. “Like for real kid, can’t you see you are of no match for me?” Tom said, raising him high into the air. “The only reason you’re still alive is because your humor entertains me and someday… Just maybe, you might be of use to me.” Tom added getting boxed up by reinforcements who blocked the hallway from both directions, trying their best not to shake in their boots as they knew the possibility of the kind of end Tom could deliver to each and everyone of them.

“Young Master!” One yelled out as they released smoke bombs from each side to disorient Tom.

“Unhand me you scoundrel.” Damian said as he struggled against Tom, kicking and punching but none of his strikes made Tom budge even an inch.

“I don’t have time for this, down we go.” Tom said to Damian as he jumped off the floor and reached his hand to the ground while they descended.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

The instant his hand touched the ground it made way as he drilled his way down the ground and through different layers, only coming to a stop when they dropped into an open underground space, crashing on one of the cloaked personnel present at the scene of the ritual.

“You sick maniac, are you out of your mind?” Damian yelled at Tom as he braced himself from the shock of what just happened. As he turned to stare daggers at him, when he noticed Tom staring at Ra’s in a distance and with fury in his eyes.

Another cloaked figure took a spot in the empty point of the pentagram as they continued chanting the incantations for the ritual.

“Stop this Ra’s, or I will put an end to this madness myself. You wouldn’t live to see day break if I do so.” Tom warned, standing his ground even though he knew he was susceptible to magic at the moment.

Tom’s path was immediately blocked by an army of masked assassins, with Talia right behind them as the incantations continued while Ra’s paid Tom no mind but focused more on the proceeding ritual.

Being that his powers were still weak at the moment, charging head on wasn’t a smart idea for him because he couldn’t use multiple aspects of his powers at the same time, so he needed to use an ability he could manifest and utilize with such a low percentage of control.

He focused more on condensing the air around his hand so thin, almost as solid as his reflective field, and so sharp that it cut the first person ahead of him in half.

The assassins charged forward as Tom leaped into the air, morphing and extending the condensed air into the shape of a whip as he easily dismembered the crowd but avoided Talia, as if leaving her for last.

As he closed in on Talia the incantations suddenly changed and was instantaneously recited with a faster and more intensed rhythm.

“It’s time you pay the price for crossing me, you fucking bitch!” Tom said as he stepped forward while he made his way to Talia, in an attempt of claiming Talia head with his bare hand when he ossified in place.

In the midst of the arcane ceremony, Tom found himself frozen, his hand poised to strike Talia. “I’m sorry.” She stood unflinchingly, whispering a haunting apology before turning away. The mystical chant shifted, and Raven, bound on an altar, contorted in agony, seemingly trapped in an internal struggle.

“Raven!” Tom’s voice echoed, desperation evident. “What did you do to me?” Struggling to breath, he confronted Ra’s al Ghul, questioning the strange paralysis rendering him immobile.

“You’ve been ensnared in a paralytic spell which would shut down your heart for five minutes, a prelude to the soul ritual,” Ra’s explained, revealing the ominous intent. He divested his cloak, passing his sword to a subordinate.

The chanting reversed back to the earlier one and Raven began to groan, struggle and moved her body like she was in serious pain internally but she wasn’t conscious.

“Killing me will only win you the mantle you reject. I have legions who live only to see my will done, they would continue with the soul ritual and make your body my new vessel.” Standing near Raven, he warned Tom.

Ignoring Ra’s words, Tom’s focus was pulled to Raven’s torment. As Tom watched her writhe and screamed, he felt the creeping slow-down of his heartbeat, each breath a laborious endeavor. Blurred vision enveloped him, leaving only the rhythmic thud of his heart.

Amidst the darkness, Raven’s scream pierced the air, drawing Tom’s attention to the radiant glow of the gem on her forehead and saw as her eyes opened but were completely black, looking like the depths of an abyss. “Finally, the power of Trigon is mine, the demon shall heed to my will.” Ra’s al Ghul, reveling in impending power, declared the imminent subjugation of Trigon.

“Goodbye, Tom,” Ra’s sneered, relishing the impending victory. “Trust that I would put your vessel to appreciate use.”

“Put him in the soul tomb.” As Talia ordered Tom’s placement in one of the coffins, his weakened mutterings revealed a desperate determination to thwart Ra’s master plan.

“No, Rachel… I can’t possibly lose now,” Tom whispered as consciousness waned.

Attempting to lift Tom, Ra’s henchmen barely caught his words. “It can’t end like this… I can’t let it end this way for neither of us.”

An unsettling screech emanated from Tom, accompanied by a gust of wind swirling around him, repelling anyone attempting to approach.

A black vortex materialize on both sides of his scapula’s, forming what appeared to be a spiraling dark energy. “What is he doing?” Ra’s, perplexed, queried Talia about the phenomenon as she made an immediate retreat to her father’s side.

“I don’t know, but they look like some sought of wings without a definite form but spiraling dark energy,” Talia responded as Tom rose from the ground, his eyes ablaze with rage and a newfound power from the depths if his desperation to save Raven and bring Ra’s al Ghul to his knees as he does so.

“Arrghhh!” Tom bellowed, launching into a frenzied assault, disrupting the ritual as he randomly slammed adversaries, bashing some against the pillars and walls of the cave. Instead of his heart stopping, Tom used his powers to kick start his heart and keep it beating.

He smashed a few of them against the top ceiling of the cave, disrupting the ritual as most of them were participants of the ritual.

The grounds of the cave rumbled as the vortex like wings collided against the walls and pillars.

“His heart should have stopped beating by now, how is he still conscious?” Talia asked as they started to repeat the spell that almost had him in a dead like state.

“That is the will of a man so desperate that that he refuses to let things end just like that, he doesn’t care if he had to tap into unholy powers just to see my plans fall into ruins.” Ra’s commented.

Due to the disruption of the ritual, the gem on Raven’s head lost its glow and her pitch black eyes became shut.

“Grab the girl and let’s go, at this rate he would bring this place down.” while both him and Talia made a run for the surface as debris began to fall from the top of the crumbling cave, crushing a few unfortunate souls.