The afternoon sun cast long shadows across Jump City High's front gates as Hikaru adjusted his backpack, waiting for Raven by the entrance. Students streamed past in clusters, their conversations blending into white noise. He'd been thinking about Terra and his conversaton with Raven—weighing what he knew against what might change, wondering if giving someone a chance meant ignoring red flags or creating space for something different.
Raven emerged from the building, her dark purple hair catching the light as she descended the steps. She wore her typical dark jeans and hoodie despite the warm weather, her expression suggesting she'd rather be anywhere else.
"Ready?" Hikaru asked.
"Obviously." She fell into step beside him, her messenger bag bouncing against her hip. "You've been distracted all day."
"Terra stuff."
"I noticed." Raven's tone remained neutral, but he caught the slight edge beneath it. "Still convinced she's worth the risk?"
"Everyone deserves a chance to choose differently." Hikaru smiled. "Even people with complicated pasts."
Raven's violet eyes flickered toward him, something unreadable passing through them. "Your such a sap."
"I prefer optimistic," Hikaru said.
They turned down a quieter street, taking the scenic route toward the waterfront where they could portal back to the Tower without witnesses. The neighborhood here was older—converted warehouses and art studios, fewer pedestrians.
That's when Hikaru felt it. The subtle shift in the air, the sensation of being watched that his enhanced senses picked up like static electricity.
Raven stiffened simultaneously. "We're being followed."
"Yeah." Hikaru's body tensed slightly, to be ready for anything. "How many?"
"Six. No—eight." Her eyes flickered white for just a moment. "Their emotions are... strange. Fervent. Obsessive."
The street ahead suddenly filled with people emerging from doorways and alleys—men and women dressed in ordinary clothes, but all wearing identical red pendants shaped like droplets of blood. Their eyes held the glazed intensity of religious fanatics or cultists.
"Rachel Roth." The speaker was a middle-aged woman with graying hair, her voice carrying the practiced cadence of rehearsed scripture. "Daughter of Trigon. The Church of Blood extends its invitation."
Raven's entire body went rigid. Hikaru shifted, positioning himself between her and the cultists.
"Not interested," Hikaru said evenly. "Whatever you're selling."
"We do not address you." The woman's eyes never left Raven. "We speak to she who carries the demon's essence. She who will open the gateway for our Lord's return."
More cultists appeared behind them, closing the circle. Hikaru counted twelve now, possibly more in the buildings. Several had pulled weapons—guns, mostly, held with the casual confidence of people expecting compliance.
"Roth," Hikaru murmured. "Portal?"
"Too many civilians watching." Her voice was tight, controlled. "If I use my powers here—"
"The daughter of Trigon will come willingly," the woman continued, stepping forward. "Or we will take her. Brother Blood requires her presence for the ceremony."
"Yeah, that's not happening." Hikaru's tone shifted, losing its casual warmth. "Last chance. Walk away."
A man to their left raised his gun, the barrel aimed squarely at Hikaru's chest. "Stand aside, boy. This is divine work."
The gunshot cracked through the air before Hikaru could respond.
He moved on instinct, grabbing Raven and twisting to shield her with his body. The bullet struck his shoulder blade, the impact feeling like a slight punch against his enhanced durability. The round flattened against his skin and fell harmlessly to the pavement.
For a moment, the cultists stared in confusion.
Then everything erupted into chaos.
"Open fire!" The woman's voice sharpened. "Incapacitate them both!"
Hikaru kept Raven behind him as bullets pinged off his body, each impact bruising but not penetrating. His half-angel physiology could withstand bullets, but that didn't make getting shot pleasant. He counted rounds, tracked shooters, calculated the fastest path through them.
"Stay behind me," he said to Raven. "I'll handle this."
"Hikaru—"
"Trust me."
He moved.
No powers, no flashy techniques—just speed and precision. Hikaru closed the distance to the nearest gunman in two strides, disarming him with a textbook wrist lock before using the man's momentum to throw him into two others. They went down in a tangle of limbs.
Another cultist swung a crowbar at his head. Hikaru ducked under it, swept the man's legs, and relieved him of the weapon in one smooth motion.
"Raven, left!" He hurled the crowbar, knocking a gun from another cultist's hand before it could fire.
She moved with him, her combat training evident despite avoiding her powers. When a woman lunged at her with a knife, Raven sidestepped and delivered a precise palm strike to the solar plexus, dropping her attacker.
Hikaru caught a punch aimed at his face, twisted, and used the cultist's own force to send him stumbling into his companions. "You really should've just walked away!"
"The daughter of Trigon belongs to the Church of Blood!" The leader's voice had taken on a desperate edge. "The Brother Blood will—"
Hikaru's fist caught her in the jaw, cutting off her words. She crumpled, unconscious before she hit the ground.
The remaining cultists hesitated, their religious fervor wavering against the reality of two teenagers systematically dismantling their group without breaking a sweat. Without powers.
"Anyone else?" Hikaru asked, unbothered by the bullet impacts across his torso. "Or are we done here?"
The cultists exchanged glances, their formation breaking. Within seconds, they were retreating—dragging their unconscious members with them, disappearing into the same doorways and alleys they'd emerged from.
Hikaru watched them go, counting to make sure they'd all left.
"You alright?" He turned to Raven.
She was staring at him, her expression somewhere between concerned and impressed. "You got shot. Multiple times."
"Eh, I'll be fine. Comes with the angel package." Hikaru rolled his shoulder to show he was fine. "You?"
"Unharmed." But her hands were trembling slightly, betraying the adrenaline she was suppressing. "They knew my name. My father's name."
"The Church of Blood." Hikaru's mind was already racing, connecting pieces. "That's what she said—Brother Blood requires you for a ceremony."
Raven's face had gone pale, her normal composed mask cracking. "If they're trying to summon my father—if they know what I am—"
"Hey." Hikaru caught her shoulder gently. "We're not letting that happen. But we need to get back to the Tower, tell the others."
She nodded, her breathing carefully controlled. "Can you walk?"
"Raven, I just fought off a dozen crazed cultists. Of course I can walk." But he appreciated the concern. "Let's go before they come back with reinforcements."
They moved through the side streets, Raven leading them to a more secluded location where she could open a portal without witnesses. The dark energy swirled into existence, and they stepped through into the familiar surroundings of Titans Tower.