Chapter 68

Rage grinned as she continued to torment the man. Every attack he managed to send her way only served to amuse her as she either blocked or deflected them. She moaned happily, feeding on the man's fear and pain. Why didn't Raven enjoy feeding on emotions? This was ecstacy.

Mumbo's breathing was ragged and he felt his heart pounding loudly in his ears when the demon stopped her barrage. His eyes widened when he felt a rapidly approaching object and he swiftly turned, making a hasty barrier in time for a crumpled car to crash into him at bullet speed. The force destroyed his shield and sent him flying into the fire he'd created himself. He screamed in pain, trying to extinguish the flames.

Rage laughed at the sight. "Oh, Azar! You bitch! You actually got burnt by your own flames. Is your control that weak even with the mark? Slade could stand in the middle of a bonfire as though it were a pool of water."

Mumbo grit his teeth, finally managing to extinguish the fire before it could burn through his skin. He glared at the demon and drew more power from the mark, sending another ball of fire at her. He felt like screaming when she batted it away casually. Not even bothering to humor him with a defensive spell.

'When they said she'd be difficult to face, I thought she'd just be more difficult to put down!' He thought bitterly, feeling his wounds sting. 'Not that I'd be facing a crazy demon unaffected by the mark! Did Slade really beat her like this?'

"Slade faced a scared girl, idiot." Rage responded, surprising the man. "And even then, he still used caution. Unlike you. Dumbass."

'This isn't worth it,' Mumbo thought, slowly panicking when he saw the fire he'd made slowly being eaten by the shadows extending from the demon's cloak. 'I have to leave.'

"Going somewhere, Mumbo?" Rage asked, seeing the man planning to flee. "And here I thought we were enjoying ourselves."

A tendril quickly shot out of her cloak,

wrapping around Mumbo's knee and squeezed until a crunching sound was heard,followed by his scream.

"Stay, let's chat a bit more about why you think my dad should come back." Rage grinned, feeding on the man's agony. "I'm not satisfied with your answer."

Another tendril wrapped around the man's body, raising him to her level and piercing his hand, going through where the mark was. Another scream rang out, this time attracting everyone's attention. Cinderblock had fallen unconscious after Mumbo's hand had been pierced.

"You see, Raven doesn't support your notion that dear dad should come over. And neither do I." Rage said, snaking the tendril around the man's neck. "I like not being used as a portal to welcome a dimension conquering demon."

"So when I see someone like you, bitter, sad, mediocre, choose to follow a path of villainy rather than simply giving up and ending his own existence, acting against what I believe in, it makes me angry."

The sharp tip of the tendril came to rest on the terrified man's neck. Rage licked her lips, her smooth thighs rubbing together in delight at the man's terror.

"You seem to be too cowardly to grant yourself death, seeing as how you probably know you'll be dying if the church succeeds in their goal."The tip slid across his neck, drawing a little blood. "Don't worry, I'll help you out."

She chuckled at the man's whimper. "Oh, but that's the thing. You don't want to die. None of you do."

"You're all so afraid of death but you go around doing the most foolish things. Robbing banks, vandalizing our tower, even trying to kill us. "

"You do it because you feel that no matter how far you push us, we'll never return the favor."

"And you know what that is?" The point came back to press against the man's neck, drawing another whimper.

Rage smiled. "Normal. And normal means average. Average means mediocre. All of you choose to follow the same path, refusing to consider all the consequences. That makes it normal. Mediocre."

"Mediocrity is a sign of apathy. And apathy is death."

The tip drew back, poised to pierce into the man's neck in a motion. "And as such, you've set yourself to die, Mumbo. Don't worry, it won't hurt...for long."

"Raven, stop!"

Rage turned to give Robin a venomous glare. "Stay out of this, Robin!"

Robin flinched, realising who was in control of the body. He quickly gathered his nerves and continued. "If you do this, you become no better than the same people we fight against. You're better than that. Better than them."

Rage raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed with his words.

"What he means to say, Friend Raven is that while there are benefits to killing this man, there are consequences as well" Starfire spoke in her native tongue, having taught it to none other than Raven.