Raven: Daughter of the Demon (A DCU One-Shot)

I never asked for any of this. The powers, and the pain it brings. To me, and to everyone else. It takes so much, to make sure I don't ever lose control. I just wanted to have a normal life... Be normal. But ever since I was born, having a 'normal life' was off the table. Especially with who, or rather, what I was. The daughter of the demon.

 

I was born in the year 1987, in the Crescent City itself, New Orleans. At least, that's what I originally thought. That I was born here. I would later learn that wasn't the case.

 

On that night, she was the one to find me. Natalia Nevarro , my foster mother. Wrapped up in a purple blanket, and left on her doorstep in the French Quarter district of the city. Out of the kindness of her heart, she brought me inside. She would be the one to raise me, along with her daughter, Maxine. It didn't take me very long to realize that I was different.

 

It all started with the nightmares I had as a child. It was this one reoccurring nightmare that would play out in my mind over the course of my childhood. The nightmare was of this red monster, with six glowing yellow eyes, chasing after me. It towered over me, as though I was a small ant compared to it. No matter where I ran, it would continue to chase after me.

 

"You cannot hide from me, Raven. I will always find you. Our fates are intertwined. You belong to me." The monster's voice would boom. Every time, that's where the nightmare would end. Being so scared at the time, my powers would activate for the first time. A shadowy bird, emanating from my body, that would end up destroying my room. Hearing the noise, Natalia, and Maxine would come in, to make sure I was okay. The first couple of times, the bird disappeared before they came inside. But I still remember, when I was 8, and the nightmare happened again. This time, I could see a woman, dressed in white robes, off in the distance. Anyways, my family would see the shadowy bird in all its glory for the first time. As much as I didn't want to admit it, I knew exactly what they were feeling, even though they both put on a brave face. They were afraid. Afraid of what I could do, if left unchecked.

 

I could feel the pain once again, with the passing of Natalia's sister, Vivian. It was radiating off both Natalia and Max. At the time, I felt useless. I thought, what could I do for them, to have this just stop. I just wanted them to feel better. As I placed my hands on their shoulders, I felt an excruciating pain, that I hadn't felt until this point. It was as though I was taking their pain away from them, as they would stop crying moments later, each with a look of relief. Like a weight had been lifted off their shoulders. Unfortunately, taking on the pain of others is never easy, and took its toll on me. It was yet another reminder, that I was different.

 

Natalia would search day and night, for any answers as to what was happening to me. Even sending me and Max to see a card reader. Suffice to say, it didn't end well. I scared the reader, Miss Eliza's cat. The reading itself was less than positive. Though, she did mention something about me being an empath? Which as it turns out, was spot on. Not that I believed her at the time.

 

Next thing I'd try was meditation. Azarath Metrion Zinthos was a mantra I'd use, to try and calm myself down, so that I wouldn't hear the thoughts of my classmates or feel their feelings on a daily basis. Almost like a shield protecting me from their thoughts and feelings. Though I have no idea where those words came from. They just sort of came to me..

 

Anyways, I would end up amassing quite the book collection, including several grimoires while I was searching for answers. I didn't think magic was real, just something you'd read in a fantasy novel or something. Like one story, involved these sorcerers from the city of Modora, defending the town against this dragon, Malchior. But what else would explain the strange things I could do? I mean sure, maybe I was one of those metahumans. But it felt, different from that. It wasn't until I was 16, that I would learn the truth about my family.

 

One night, there would be a knock at the door. Of course, mom was out of the house at the time, so it was just me, and Max. Max was on the phone with Eman, one of her friends, and she was clearly happy. I'd get up off the couch, and answer the door, sensing whoever it was, was terrified. In front of me, as I opened the door, was the woman in white, from the nightmare.

 

"Rachel, we have to leave, now. They're coming!" Her voice warned, but I was just confused, more than anything.

 

"How do you kn-"

 

"We don't have time for this! Rachel, I'm your mother, now come with me. Your life is in danger." She interrupts

 

"No, no you're not.. She's out right now, doing errands." I replied, trying to deny it all. But deep within my heart, I knew. That's when it all clicked together. There was this strange sense of familiarity I couldn't shake. The woman took my hand, and we would disappear.

 

I would finally get the answers I had looked for all these years. Even though the truth is worse than I ever could have imagined. I was the daughter of the demon, Trigon, and Angela Roth, a cultist from the Cult of Blood, born in Gotham City. My mother was ready to kill herself the night I was born.. But she was transported to Azarath, a pacifist realm existing between planes of known reality. I'd be born, and Angela Roth would be given the name Arella, her perspective changing in the process. Unfortunately, mother was scared that her former leader, Brother Blood, and his followers in the Cult of Blood, would find me. This led her to bringing me to New Orleans, while also protecting me with magic she would learn in Azarath. Unfortunately the magic wouldn't last, and with that, the Cult would come. They wanted me, as I could bring my father, Trigon, back into the human realm. They would capture me and my mom the moment we came back to New Orleans. And so, their ritual would succeed, bringing my father back to wreak havoc on the world.

 

My mother, in a final act of sacrifice, used all the magic she had, to send me and Trigon to a parallel dimension, at the cost of her own life. I had no time to grieve, as I was in for the fight of a lifetime.

 

I was finally facing the monster that haunted me for all my childhood. I wasn't going to run away this time, no matter what pain it costed me. I was going to make sure that he never terrorized an innocent soul again. It took two very long human years, of fighting. No matter what I had learned, my father consistently had the upper hand. An all-powerful demon. But I wasn't going to let that stop me. After wearing him down, little by little, I would eventually win, trapping him inside the red gem that sits on my forehead. I had finally conquered the demon that terrorized me for so long.

 

I'd be transported back into the human world, and life would go on, as though nothing had happened. But I had lost out on two years, in the fight against my father. I have all this power, and yet my birth mother's gone.. Sacrificed, for me. A girl who is seemingly void of any feelings or emotions. Even though I can feel everything from everyone around me, plus my own feelings. I can't say that I've fully gotten over it, but I'm trying. One day at a time, I'll get there. I'll be known as something other than the daughter of the demon. This may not be the life I want for myself, but it's the one I've been given. So I'm going to make the best of it.

Done