Mutilate

•20•

She sighed deeply as she looked up at the ceiling, trying to choke tears back so she could tell Damian what happened to her. "You ready?" He asked to make sure she was fine with telling him. She nodded and began her explanation.

"My mother was apart of a cult as a young adult. Very foolish and blinded by her selfishness. The cult performed a ritual, which was meant to summon Trigon. No one expected it to work, but it turned out to be real. When my mother first saw Trigon he was disguised as a very attractive man. One that most women would take to bed in an instant. That's exactly what my mom did." Damian stared at her intensely, his hands holding on to hers. "I was young when I summoned my father. Wanting to learn more about him and more heritage...was the worst decision of my life. He destroyed Azarath, the people that inhabited it..my mother..everyone was dead. Everything was destroyed. But I made it out alive..I wish I died there when I had the chance." Damian's eyebrows scrunched together in confusion, "Why baby?" Raven let a single tear escape. "Because immediately after I was taken to hell. The awful things I saw and heard there were enough to give me nightmares. But what happened to me was what really started my depression."

"What happened?" Damian asked cautiously, afraid to provoke her emotions. "I was tormented. Tortured. Abused in every way possible." Raven stopped there. Afraid to say the rest in case Damian would leave her if she did. "Verbally, mentally, physically," She sobbed into her boy's chest while he held her tightly. "I would've never thought that- why would you keep that hidden from me? I could've helped you, I.." He kept his tears in, recalling what Dick said. He needed to be strong, "My god." He breathed out his words. "I was starved, beaten..told to die..he told me I was worthless. My brothers would join in too if they had the chance or when they..weren't busy watching me suffer.." Her fragile body shook from crying.

"Recently I've been called a threat to humanity..." She informed him. "But you aren't baby." Damian said to try to calm her down while he rocked her back and forth like a baby. "I am Damian." "No you aren't-" he tried to prove it. Raven pulled herself away from him. "Yes I am! I'm destined to destroy this world! Because of my father. I need to die so he won't kill your whole planet." Raven stood up from the bed. She desperately searched around for the blade. Once found, the raging, emotional empath cut her skin.

Damian let her do it. He would let her have her moment. Then take over later. But for now, he had to figure out a way to tell his father.