DC Universe: Fun and games

(Raven x Male Reader)

There are some beings in this universe capable of destroying it without breaking a sweat, others that would do it if they had a chance. And some others that could, but try their best in handling their inner demons, for everybody's sake

But this brings the question: Who to fear?

Someone who fights for control over their demons

Or someone who embraced them long ago?

Manhattan, Titans Tower. 12:47 PM

It was a normal day for the superhero group known as the Teen Titans, some of them were playing video games, others were training to be better

And then there was Raven, alone in her room, meditating as she usually did, staying away from her teammates while she cleansed her own soul

However, this process was meet with the arrival of something else, something dark

Raven could find herself in the middle of nowhere, everything was completely black

???: Come to us, Raven

She looked back to find the source of this but failing

???: It'll be fun!

Another voice came in, from the other side of that seemingly empty room

Raven: Where are you?

She glared immediately adopting a battle stance.

The ground slowly began to shift into water as she wandered around it

???: Don't you want to have fun?

Shortly after that, bone-like spikes, no, teeth emerged from the ground and started to close distance with her

Raven ran away from that wave of razor sharp teeth only to be meet with another one right at the other side, trapping her

Before Raven could even react, the fangs immediately closed upon her, delivering her into the nothingness yet again

"Don't keep us waiting"

Raven opened her eyes as she breathed heavily and even fell to the ground, as this "nightmare" was

She went to the bathroom she had to wash her face with cold water, helping her regain her senses faster

But as she looked at the mirror, she saw something written all over the room, with crimson red

She immediately looked back with her hands engulfed with her magic, but nothing was there

Raven: What is this?

She looked back at the mirror to find the same thing, a message written all over the room

Raven was fast to come up with a solution and after staring at the mirror at certain angles, she was able to decipher the message:

"SEARCH FOR THE CLUES"

Raven (In mind): That does it, I'm heading out

Then, she proceeded to change into a different outfit, a civilian one

However, once she was done and headed to her door, there was someone green waiting for her, drinking a smoothie

Garfield: Wassup Raven, where to?

At first, she was surprised, but her expression turned dull in no time

Raven: None of your business

She proceeded to walk past him, annoyed by his presence

Garfield: ... Want me to tell on you, huh?

In that moment, Raven stopped in her tracks, looking down in defeat

Raven: *Sigh* I'm going to investigate something in the city

The male gasped and rushed to her, wanting more information

Garfield: What about? -He put a hand on her shoulder

Raven: Demons- She smirked

Garfield: Oooh, spooky! Normally, I would go and aid you as best I, a gentleman would do but I'm afraid that-

Raven: I know you're afraid of them, don't try to justify it

She took his hand off from her as she started to walk again, smiling at this statement knowing that for this occasion, she would finally go on her own

She walked past the main room, where her friends: Starfire, Super Boy, and Kid Flash, were discussing something

By the looks of it, it was about the recent cases of missing children

Perhaps the case Raven was going to investigate could help them one way or the other

However, when she turned around to walk again, she was stopped by none other than her leader: Red Robin himself

Red Robin: Where are you going?

She knew that there was no case in lying to him

Raven: I'm going to investigate in the city

Red Robin: I'll go with you, then

Raven: I don't think so, this isn't your usual mystery to solve

Red Robin: How is it not?

Raven: This one involves Occultism, demons and magic that you're so closed minded to believe in

Red Robin crossed his arms as he smirked, he might not believe in magic, but he does trust his friend

Red Robin: Just tell us if you find anything

She nodded and proceeded to walk away, soon leaving the building and heading towards the city.

She pulled up her hood while she started to levitate. Raven wasn't fond of walking too much, but then again

Who would if you can levitate?

Without further do, she soared through the city's sky, looking for any possible clues, many things clouding her mind

What was going on with those things in her nightmare? Why her?

Who was this person that wrote in her room?

... Were they an ally?

Her thoughts came to an end when she encountered something unusual:

A corpse lying on a lamp post, wrapped with countless wires around it

Without hesitation, Raven quickly descended to investigate it. Oddly enough, people didn't seem to care, mostly because they couldn't see it

She discovered that this figure, was in fact, a demon dressed up as a trapezist.

Needless to say, the girl was shocked by this discovery

Not many people were able to kill a demon, and even less have the courage to humiliate it like that

Among the many wires hanging from it, was a wooden sign, it had something written on it

"Where sadness..."

She looked at the writing on that board, slightly similar to the one in her room. This was the clues the person talked about

After focusing hard enough, Raven was able to see a trail of magic, guiding her towards the next clue

As she left the scene, someone else emerged from the shadows, watching her actions

???: About damn time

Manhattan, 4:23 PM

... So, Rae, have you found anything yet?

Garfield asked her through the communicator

Raven was exhausted, she had reached the end of the trail an hour ago, she didn't feel any progress to be made

Raven: I told you not to call me that, and *Sigh* no, I haven't...

Garfield: Jeez, are you okay?

Raven: What do you mean?

Garfield: You seem... Tired, like, a lot

Raven: There is a great amount of magic all over this place, it's "overwhelming" to say the least...

Garfield: Hmmm... Hey, got an idea!

He received a "hmm" from the girl, she wasn't that fond of conversations, but that much magic in the area sure was too much to handle

Garfield: We're dealing with demons and spooks, right? Have you tried any alleyways? Y'know, dark and empty places

Raven: That sounds like the most stupid thing I've ever-

Suddenly, she was meet with a blackout. Raven saw that everyone near her was suddenly "stopped" as if someone had been tampering with time

Even Garfield

This moment was short-lived since an unusual sound attracted her attention: A music box

She followed the music until she was meet with a dead end, but at the end of that alleyway, was a highlighted figure, a demon dressed as a clown

Oddly enough, her green friend was right

She immediately raised her arms, ready to chant something until she realized

That demon was dead

Raven: What? Again?...

Reluctantly, she approached the scene, then she found the music box beside the dead clown, who was holding balloons in one hand and a sign hanging from his neck

" ...And pain..."

The girl's eyes widened when she came up with an idea comparing that sign with the previous one

Raven: This is a follow up to the other message!

She then turned around to see something burnt in the wall, a sign telling her where to go next

Raven: *Sigh* I'm getting tired of this game

Garfield: What did you say?

She looked down at the device she was holding, it appeared that the time had been restored

Raven:... You're right

Garfield What? Really? Amazing!

He started to get excited and yelled all over the place, like any typical day with Garfield Logan

Manhattan, 8:56 PM

After a couple hours, Raven approached the construction zone of the city.

She would have done it faster, but she had to walk, she had to save her magic just in case she had to use it in combat

Fog appeared at the end of a street, and with it, yet another figure.

This one was dressed as a showman, the sign on this one was nailed to its arms as if it was holding it

"...Don't exist"

This one appeared to be the last one out of them all. However, this had no clue as to where to go now

But before the goth could protest, she started to hear some weird melodies in the distance and even worse, people

She saw a wave of children traveling through the empty street and into the place where the music was leading them

But what got Raven's attention the most was the perfectly straight line of children walking towards said place, which was strange considering how hard it is to even get a child to do that

Garfield: What was that?

Raven: A trap, Garfield a trap for children

Garfield: What? How?

Raven: That's what I'm going to find out

She rushed to try and stop one of them, but she failed, in fact, the kid pushed her away. Those children lacked any control over what they were doing

Garfield:... Did he just-

Raven: They are hypnotized, no doubt in that

Garfield: Say no more, I'm going in

Raven: No, you'd end up hypnotized as well

Garfield: But doesn't that trap only work on children?

Raven: Yes it does, which is why I need you to stay there

Garfield: Hey!

Sighing with annoyance, Raven decided to follow the victims to see where they were heading to.

She hovered over the city, watching closely at the wave of innocent souls until she found a circus tent, with spotlights and all kinds of sounds coming from the inside

The tent was in the middle of a construction zone, so it was the only thing standing in there

She landed close, but not enough so she could see the scene from behind a box until she saw someone come out of the entrance

A clown

Clown: Ah! Children, you're here! It makes me so happy to see Y'all! Please, come in!

He extended the entrance with his hands so the children could get inside with no problem

Garfield: Man, I hate clowns

Raven (whispering): Silence!

After a few minutes of them entering that strange tent, the clown closed it, but not before he stopped to smell something

Raven was quick to hide behind the box again, hoping that the clown hadn't seen her.

Upon looking back to the entrance, she saw that same clown, staring at her for a moment until he tilted his head to the left, showing a wide smile as he kept his eyes glued on her

Then, he went back in, leaving the entrance open for her. They had sensed her somehow

Raven decided to come out of hiding and walked towards the now empty entrance, taking a deep breath before finally stepping in

(Dice with death)

She entered the area but as soon as the piece of cloth that allowed access to it fell back in place, there was nothing but darkness, just like in her vision.

Needless to say, it was way bigger on the inside, music could be heard throughout the tent

Interestingly enough, there were halls inside it, giving it the look of a crimson, velvet maze

Raven couldn't help but wonder if the clowns were the ones leaving the clues or if it was someone else, but if that was the case

Where was this person at?

The girl shook her head trying to get the thoughts out of her mind as she gained the strength to walk into the obvious trap

Raven (In mind): Let's just finish this

She started to walk through the maze, trying to illuminate the place using her magic, but it only lasted a couple seconds before Raven fell to the ground, breathing heavily

This concentration of magic was worse in this place, perhaps it even originated from there

Weakly, Raven stood back up, leaning on a wall to help herself to walk

She felt the air was cold, almost giving it a vibe of abandonment, but as she kept approaching the center, colored lights were illuminating the path

It was easy to forget the macabre nature of this so-called circus with its happy appearance

Or in Raven's case, it only made it worse

Spiders had chosen to make a house out of that place, webs covering metal props could be seen, although the spiders ignored the goth's presence

The music started to play louder as a consequence. A high pitched voice forced her to stop in her tracks as a shadow could be seen not so far away

???: Over here, children! Come have some fun!

This order was followed by a maniacal laughter, one that sent shivers down the spine of anyone that would have the misfortune of hearing such a thing

However, knowing that she was closing the distance with the hypnotized children, motivated the goth to go on despite the unfavorable odds

Raven kept walking down the seemingly endless halls of the circus when she found cages for animals

They were rusty and even had bones inside them. Human Bones

Raven (Whispering): Garfield, are you there?

She looked at the communicator, but she could only see static on the screen. This place somehow managed to block every signal, even the Titans'

Raven felt uneasy about this, but she decided to keep going. The ground was wet, ponds of liquid lied below her, crimson ponds

Raven (In mind): How long has this circus been active!?

She was near the center of the scene as the signs indicated it, but an emerging shadow forced her to hide behind a wall

Raven hated feeling defenseless against this threat, but considering how far had she come just to get where she was, there was no turning back

Suddenly, a thin claw reached out to her from the other side and snatched the device away from her

Raven: Hey!

She tried to take it back, but the claw was too fast for her

Then, as the music stopped and the lights turned on, there was a lone spotlight shining on where the clowns were standing

Ditso: Ladies and gentlemen, it seems we have an uninvited guest!

Growling and grunting could be heard all around the area, as well as white, glowing orbs

Raven looked around to find the children as if they were acting like fierce creatures

She then glared back at them

Raven: What did you do to them!?

One of the clowns just laughed at her question, then took off his hat as he bowed at her

Clown: Oh, Ms. Raven! But we only give the children the happiness they deserve! Isn't that right, boys?

The other two nodded cheerfully at this declaration, much to Raven's anger

Clown: The children love the magic show that only we...

Another clown: Squigley!

Yet another clown: Giggles!

The last one stepped in, finishing his own sentence

Clown: And Ditso, are able to provide!

Squigley: Do you dare take it away from them?

Giggles: Are you going to let that happen, kids?

The children began to growl even louder, getting more violent than before

Ditso: Get 'er!

The clown pointed at Raven and right away, the victims lashed out at her, ready to rip her to pieces

The goth tried to defend herself as best she could, but that would imply hurting them, that she would not allow

One of the children scratched.her leg, making blood come out of it and forcing Raven to fall to her knees

Taking advantage of this, they pinned her to the ground, keeping her from moving by overwhelming force

The clowns began to laugh as they transformed into something else, something worse

One of them approached the desperate girl and let out its teeth, dripping saliva as it did so

Squigley: END OF THE LINE

It moved in to attack and consume Raven, who closed her eyes fearing the worse

... But it didn't happen

Instead, the clown was hit by a violent energy blast, erasing it to the point it disintegrated in just seconds

Everyone stopped moving and just looked at where the blast had come from, only to find one person casually walking in

He was wearing a f/c colored shirt covered by a gray vest and a black tie on top. Dark pants and black dressing shoes

???: Boy, I hate the bloody circus, always got to kill the damn trapezist when he's performing, huh?

Everyone was paralyzed by this display of power, whoever this was, destroyed a demon like if it were nothing

This had to be the one leaving the clues for Raven to follow

???: Sorry for the delay, traffic, you know how that is

After analyzing him, Raven came to the best conclusion she could about his identity

Raven: Are you... John Constantine?

While the demons shivered in fear by that name, that question appeared to have irritated the young man, but he was quick to regain his composure

???: Close call, but no, no thank you

Squigley: Whoever you are, you'll become feast too!

The demon pointed at him, to which the children responded with violence yet again, immediately getting off of Raven and running towards this man

But he didn't even flinch, instead, he grinned

???: Don't think so, little pests

He raised his hands, glowing circles formed around them as he shouted:

???: "Beatitudo deducere tergum"

Right after that, the children all fell to the ground, screaming as black fog came out of them

Raven: What did you do!?

???: Thank me later

Shortly after, the children stood back up, with tired expressions on their faces. No longer possessed by those monstrous predators

The teenager leaned down to a small girl in front of him and put a hand on her shoulder

???: Can I trust you to get everyone out of here?

She nervously nodded as she ordered the rest of the children to follow her, which they did without question

Ditso: No nO NO!! GET BACK HERE!!

The beast launched itself towards the fleeing children, only to be thrown back by a f/c colored bolt of lightning

???: You're not going anywhere, you shite

While still on the ground, Ditso growled at him as it jumped back into the center of the place

Shortly after, Raven was joined by this person, who raised his hand and started to heal her wounds

Energy was coursing through Raven's veins once again

Raven: Who... Who are you?

???: Not now, love

He adopted a battle stance, Raven followed this act by making her hands glow as she prepared a spell

Ditso: Giggles, show 'em what you got!

The clown started to laugh as loud as possible, its voice getting less human by the minute as its mouth then became wider and wider, revealing itself to have more teeth than a shark could only dream of

???: Leave this one to me

Raven nodded and focused on the other enemy

The magician started hovering over the creature and whistled at it to get its attention

???: Hey you, eat this!

He threw a small candy that upon enchanting it, exploded in the monster's mouth, wounding it

Taking advantage of this, the young man covered his hands in what appeared to be fire as he jumped down and started to hit the being again and again until it stopped him by grabbing one of his arms

???: Wrong move, mate

Right after that, Giggle's arm was caught on fire that soon engulfed his whole body, destroying it without any problems

Giggles: I'LL SEE YOU IN HELL!

???: Psh, get in line

The magician turned around to see Raven fighting off Ditso (Who shapeshifted into a giant spider) as best she could, but it was better to help her

The teenager raised his hand and his eyes glowed as another spark of energy surrounded him

Once it was charged enough, he sent it back to Ditso, making it shriek in pain

Raven: Azarath Metrion Zinthos!

She let out a powerful blast that knocked the beast back, where the male was waiting for it

???: Right back at you, girl

He chanted a powerful fireblast that sent the monster back into the center

Wasting no time, Raven started to bombard it with her own magic, much to her "partner"'s surprise

???: Jeez, talk about overkill

He put his hands together and as he separated them, a flaming black sword was materialized, making the male grin

He ran towards the wounded monster and right away, sliced off at least three of its legs

He then looked at the girl and nodded. She took this chance and conjured all of her energy, making it take the form of a black raven

Ditso: W-WAIT!!

The being tried to escape, but the teenager cast a spell that froze the spider in place

Raven: Azarath Metrion Zinthos!

The energy that she sent to the creature was strong enough to scorch it slowly, but efficiently disposing of it as it created a massive cloud of black fog

The fog itself was sucked into a crystal that the male took out just for this moment. Once it was done, he looked at his partner

???: You alright?

She panted and leaned against a wall to regain her breath

Raven: Yes... What about you?

???: Sure, I've been worse. Now let's get out of here

He started to walk away from the scene, expecting Raven to follow him

She did it without a doubt, as soon as she regained her condition, questions also appeared in her mind, but before she knew it, this person had taken them away through a portal and outside the tent

The children were as far as they could from the tent without leaving the area, waiting for Raven and her mysterious companion, who remembered something

???: Wait, there's one last thing to do

He turned around and took out a box of matches, ignited one and threw it at the tent, immediately making it a victim of a vicious fire that didn't stop until it was completely reduced to ashes

???: Burn, you bloody creephouse

Soon enough, sirens could be heard and with them, the police

The officers thanked them for getting the children out safely and they would handle the rest, effectively leaving the two to rest on a crate

Raven: Where you the one leaving clues all over the city?

She looked at this person, whose attention was up at the nocturnal sky

???: Indeed I was, took you long enough

His answer gained some irritation from her

Raven: What was the point? Just to get me here? To handle something you could very well do single-handedly?

He chuckled at her statement, with his eyes still up

???: While I could have incinerated those demonic pedophiles, I wanted to see if I could trust you

She was caught off-guard, not expecting an actual answer to that

Raven: How so?

???: Those demons back there? They're just the beginning of all this mess, I need to know if I can count on you when something like this happens again

Raven: What? But I haven't sensed anything until today

???: That's because you're either too weak, or they're too strong, take your guess

She glared at him, but didn't say anything, after all, this person just saved her life.

Muttering, he chanted something as he extended his hands, making a door appear in front of him

???: Well, it's been good to know you, "Raven"

He made a gesture with his hand before proceeding to walk towards the door only for his arm to be grabbed by the girl, making him turn back

Raven: Wait, before you go, I must know something

???: Shoot

Raven: Who are you?

He put a hand on his forehead in defeat, this girl was really insistent with that.

???: *Sigh* If you must know... The name's Y/N L/N

At first, she didn't react to it properly, since many other questions started to form in her head. The male saw this and decided to help her

Y/N: Before you ask, yes, I am related to Constantine prick, and no, I don't use his last name, thank you very much

Raven: Why?

Y/N: Have you ever met the guy? He's nothing but a selfish piece of garbage!

Raven: Sounds like a charming man- She stated with a sarcastic tone, not amusing for the male

Y/N: Funny

Without further do, he opened the door and stopped one last time to look back at Raven

Y/N: See you around

The door was closed and disappeared shortly after that, leaving no trace of ever being there in the first place

Raven stared in awe at this, Y/N not only resisted the magical drain that the clowns had cast against them, but he was still as full of energy as he was in the beginning

... Raven? Are you there?

She looked down at her communicator to see Victor Stone, also known as Cyborg

Raven: Yes, I'm here

Victor: *Sigh* Thank God, I've been trying to contact you for an hour!

Raven: I'm sorry, I was fighting some demonic entities and I think I solved the missing children case in the process

She stated rather confused, who would have guessed this was the solution to that problem? Not her, that was for sure

Victor: Sounds like you were busy, want me to pick you up?

Raven; I'll head back on my own, thanks, Victor... Although, I need your help

Victor: Hm? What is it?

Raven: I need you to investigate everything you can about someone, but you can't tell the others, okay?

Victor: Secret mission, huh? I like it

Raven: The man I want you to investigate

"Is called Y/N Constantine"

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A/N: This was requested by a Wattpad follower. I took the chance and used this as a Prologue of some sort to a recent story I am writing called the Hellblazer's son, I hope you liked it!