LOVE + FEAR | Damirae

FEAR

Flames fanned into pentagrams across Constantine's palms. "What's the plan, love?"

Love tackled Fear, pinning its four wings down. Rips and snarls filled the air.

Damian's fists clenched as the howls rose. He glanced over at Raven's face, passive and smooth. Even in her head, she exercised a perfect facade. How much pain was she in? How many bruises were there —?

"We have to stop them from fighting! Avert their attention, communicate with them!" Diana sheathed her sword. She started towards Love and Fear. In their flurry of movement, the emotions lingered on the edge of the floating rock.

Damian took a step forward and air met his foot.

The ground beneath them slanted. Everyone was facing downwards.

"Nope! Not today, Satan!" Poison Ivy shouted. Emerald snakes slithered from her arms, petals unfurling like forked tongues. Her vines stretched across the cosmos, latching onto the crumbling ground.

Damian stepped off the rock as it crumbled into space dust. Raven's hand was entwined with his.

He gripped a branch so hard veins strained beneath his sleeve. The limb groaned beneath his weight and Raven's. He pulled her up first, his hold on her vice-like.

They wobbled atop the twelve-inch wide branch. Damian ignored the abyss that lurked beneath them. Golden-red leaves bled from the white bark to cover up the nothingness.

Love and Fear were airborne. Love clamped onto Fear's shoulders as it attempted to shake the other emotion off.

Raven winced at the motion. Damian watched as scars and bruises bloomed on Raven's skin. This is what horror feels like.

Wonder Woman landed on their branch with a grunt. "The staircase is still intact."

Damian followed her gaze. The staircase remained untouched by the destruction. It simply hovered there, its spirals like a strip of DNA, stretching towards the opposite ends of eternity.

Raven's face puckered ever so slightly at the staircase. Wonder Woman and Damian shared a brief look. Raven's expression hadn't gone unnoticed.

"In your memories...I saw you speak to Clark about a staircase," Wonder Woman whispered. Her voice didn't seem like her own without the booming confidence it displayed.

Damian stared at the staircase. Everything in the mind was metaphorical: the staircase had a meaning. For some reason, Damian recalled the gap and resisted a cringe at the thought.

"You shouldn't have asked Clark," Wonder Woman said softly. "He's too human to understand. He wasn't raised to think that way."

Raven's expression was blocked by a veil of glossy ebony.

Damian didn't interrupt. He listened to the conversation as he tracked the movements of Love and Fear. They circled the fragile array of roots. Fear smashed into Zatanna's branch, trying to dislodge Love.

Raven suddenly shifted her weight from one leg to another. A subtle movement, but Damian wondered darkly if it was broken.

"Power in large quantities makes you question your humanity...I have...But I always thought if it concerned one enough, it was only proof that they were human." Diana said, nodding to herself. "You stayed with us in Themyscira. You're not alone — there are some powerful women there. And you haven't lost your humanity. If you had, why would we let you leave?"

The revelation was a rush. The staircase metaphor clicked. It was the gap.

The more powerful one was, the higher their place on the staircase. Like enlightenment — like Raven. If one was lower on the staircase, they were more emotional, less accepting of life's troubles. Trivial things influenced their every action...