In the common room of the Teen Titans Tower, the atmosphere was thick with tension. Jinx stomped into the living room, visibly frustrated. She threw herself onto the couch and crossed her arms.
"I spoke with Gizmo," she announced. "He and the others... they knew. They knew Ashborn had powers."
The others turned toward her, surprised.
Jinx continued, voice sharp, "Apparently, when the whole world turned into apes a while back, everyone was affected, except for Ashborn."
She shook her head in disbelief. "He told them back then that he was the strongest being on Earth. But those idiots laughed it off, thought he was joking."
Beast Boy raised his hands defensively. "Do you blame them?" he said. "Who could've thought he was such a monster the whole time?"
Nightwing exhaled heavily, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
"Everything makes sense now," he said grimly. "Why he was always so relaxed. Why he never seemed afraid of anything. Why years ago, the Puppet King's magic didn't work on him."
He looked directly at Jinx, eyes narrowing slightly.
"That day... when you five tried to kidnap him? We didn't save him from you." His voice dropped "We saved you from him."
Jinx's eyes widened in shock. She remembered that day clearly, the mockery, the strange way Ashborn had reacted to their attempt and threats.
She swallowed hard. They had been far too close to death without even realizing it.
Across the room, Starfire remained silent, her gaze drifting repeatedly to Raven, who sat quietly in the corner, arms wrapped around herself.
Finally, Starfire spoke, voice soft but firm "Raven. You knew about Ashborn, didn't you?"
The entire room shifted its focus to Raven.
Raven froze, her expression carefully blank. "I didn't," she said slowly. "What makes you think that?"
Starfire's eyes were piercing. "You are always silent when it comes to Ashborn. And twice, I saw you uncomfortable, worried."
She held up two fingers.
"The first, when we met Ashborn and we were kidnapped by the Preserver. The second, yesterday. It was not that you felt unwell, Raven. You were scared of him."
Raven stared at her, stunned. She had never realized Starfire had been paying such close attention to her.
Nightwing leaned forward, frowning.
"Raven," he said, "do you know anything about him?"
Raven glanced at each of their faces, Nightwing, Beast Boy, Starfire, Jinx. all waiting, all suspicious. Silence stretched, heavy and accusing.
Nightwing pressed again, more certain this time "What do you know?"
Raven closed her eyes, breathing in slowly. When she opened them, she made her decision, what she should say and what to keep to herself.
"Before I tell you about Ashborn," she said quietly, "I need to tell you about my father."
And so, she began.
She explained Trigon, the demon lord who could destroy entire worlds effortlessly. A being of such immense power that Earth had no chance against him if he ever fully manifested.
Then, Raven shifted to her experience with Ashborn "I felt his strength," she said. "And I thought... I thought he might be like me. A half-demon." Her voice grew hollow. "But he wasn't. And he didn't like me sensing it. He was going to kill me... until he realized who my father was."
She looked down at her hands.
"Ashborn let me go that day. But he threatened me. He said if I spoke about anything, he would come after me."
The room was utterly silent. Raven's shoulders slumped as she continued "I considered telling you. I almost did. But that same night... My connection to my father was severed."
Her voice cracked.
"My father talked to me right before that. The last thing my father ever told me…" She swallowed. "He was proud of me. For sending a monster after him."
She lifted her head, eyes filled with a deep, helpless fear.
"If my father, a being who destroyed countless worlds, was crushed so quickly by Ashborn... If Earth had no hope against Trigon... Then what of Ashborn? How do you fight that?"
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"I didn't dare to do anything that might make him angry. He told me he would know if I spoke about him. I didn't dare to test his patience."
She looked up at the others, guilt and terror plain on her face. "Yesterday... I prayed the League would just let him go. Because if they didn't... they were going to die, we were going to die. I knew the moment he stopped playing as a normal human, there will be no resisting him. Only death awaited us."
The Titans were frozen, absorbing the devastating truth.
Nightwing clenched his jaw. Starfire hugged herself tightly. Beast Boy stared at the floor, face pale.
Even Jinx, especially Jinx, sat there, stunned into silence.
She struggled to comprehend it. She had been with Ashborn. Intimately. Casually.
The realization hit her like a train.
She had literally been held and fucked by the strongest being on Earth.
And she never even knew.
___________
The streets of Gotham were as grim and foul as ever, the cold air carrying the distant sounds of sirens and chaos. Ashborn strolled casually with his strange little family and Rex at his side.
Rex, however, looked anything but relaxed. He glanced nervously at every shadow and every alleyway, the city's oppressive atmosphere making him visibly uncomfortable. Meanwhile, Ashborn, Ace, Amazo, and Tea moved through the filth of Gotham as if they were on a Sunday walk through a park.
After a while, the group stopped in front of an old, rundown hotel. Without hesitation, they stepped inside.
Waiting for them was Harley Quinn, dressed in a bright, chaotic outfit and waving enthusiastically "Glad to see ya, Ashy!" she called out, her grin wide and genuine.
Ashborn chuckled deeply. "And miss Pam's birthday? Never."
Harley laughed, skipping over to them "Come on, come on, let me introduce ya to the crew!"
She eagerly led them to the lounge area where other figures awaited: Clayface, King Shark, Frank the Plant sitting animatedly in a pot, and Sy Borgman with his mechanical enhancements creaking as he waved.
Ashborn greeted them all casually, shaking hands, or in King Shark's case, a hefty fin and to everyone's surprise, the two groups hit it off effortlessly.
Clayface and Ace immediately started talking about acting, both passionate about the topic. King Shark discussed cybernetic systems with Amazo, finding a strange intellectual kinship. Tea found Frank adorable, laughing at the snarky comments the plant made. Meanwhile, Rex sat down next to Sy Borgman, listening intently to his endless war stories with clear interest.
Harley watched them with a wide grin. Seeing her chaotic friends getting along so well with Ashborn's group was more than she expected.
The gathering grew as more villains arrived, all invited by Harley for Pamela's big day. Though some villains gave Ashborn's group suspicious glances, wondering why they were here, none dared to say anything aloud.
Ace and Amazo's reputations were more than enough to keep anyone's mouth shut.
When Pamela finally arrived, the birthday party truly kicked off. Ashborn's group presented her with a gift, seeds of plants and flowers that didn't even exist in this universe.
Pamela's reaction was priceless.
She shrieked in joy, hugging the strange seeds to her chest, practically floating in happiness. For once, the gloomy walls of Gotham saw genuine, unfiltered bliss.
But the peace was not meant to last.
The entrance doors slammed open, and in strode none other than Batman, Batgirl, and the new Robin, Jason Todd.
The room froze.
The trio scanned the room, stunned to see so many villains gathered in one place. They braced themselves, ready for a brutal confrontation.
But before anything could happen, Ashborn clapped his hands loudly, drawing every eye to him.
"This is a birthday party," Ashborn said smoothly, his voice cutting through the tension.
"Please, no violence. That includes you three heroes."
The villains stared, shocked.
Batman paused, studied Ashborn, and then slowly gave a single nod. Batgirl and Robin exchanged glances, their faces paling slightly. They hadn't expected this. The last person they wanted to meet has to be here enjoying a birthday party with Gotham's lunatics. The only thing the two could think of was 'just why?'
"Splendid," Ashborn said with a broad smile. He turned back to the crowd "Gentlemen and ladies, the heroes have agreed not to cause any trouble. We can't let them say heroes are more civilized than us villains, can we? It would sully our good name. Let's all enjoy the party."
The villains murmured among themselves, baffled. Since when did villains have good names? And since when was this guy a villain?
Still, none dared question it as they looked at Amazo and Ace standing near Ashborn. There was a silent agreement between villains, staying silent is better than being dead.
Ashborn gave Harley a wink; Harley burst into laughter, loving every second of the bizarre absurdity.
Ashborn then turned back to the bat trio. "Since you're here," he said warmly, "please, enjoy some cake with us."
Batgirl and Robin blinked, thoroughly thrown off by being invited to a villain's birthday party.
Batman, however, wasn't interested in cake. His eyes were locked on Ashborn. He walked forward, the cape swishing behind him with every determined step.
"A word" Batman said to Ashborn.
Ashborn raised an eyebrow at the intense look but gestured for Batman to lead the way.
Batgirl and Robin quickly followed, tense and ready for anything.
They moved to a shadowed corner of the room, away from the chatter and laughter.
Batman wasted no time.
"What did you mean by 'my son'?" he asked, voice low and sharp.
"Why do you think I will answer you now?" Ashborn asked with an amused tone.
"We are the Watchdogs to you, aren't we? Instead of me putting time and effort in finding what you meant, you can tell me so I can get back to my work" Batman replied with a serious tone.
Ashborn laughed hearing that and said "I had never thought I would see the great Batman act like this, it is way out of your character, but I guess that's the closest we get to the butterfly effect after everything I did"
Batman didn't react to Ashborn's words, he just kept staring at him.
Ashborn's eyes glittered mischievously as he continued "So... you trully didn't know you have a son?" He gave a mocking laugh. "You really should have used protection."
Batman's jaw clenched.
"I can't have a son, I would have known of the possibility at least" he said coldly.
Ashborn was silent for a long moment then laughed even harder "The great Batman," he said between laughs, "was drugged and raped." He slapped his thigh in sheer amusement "That's even better!"
Batman's fists trembled, his fury barely contained.
"What are you talking about?" he ground out again.
Ashborn's face turned serious for a moment. "Talia," he said. "Daughter of Ra's al Ghul. She has a son from you. His name is Damian Wayne."
Ashborn tilted his head. "Last I checked, he's being trained to become the next head of the League of Assassins on some island."
Batman clenched his fists so hard his knuckles cracked audibly.
Without giving him more time to process, Ashborn turned and walked away, leaving him to stew in the truth.
Batgirl and Robin rushed to Batman's side, both visibly shaken.
"He might be lying," Robin said, hoping for reassurance.
But Batman shook his head grimly. "He has no reason to lie, and from his words and actions in the past, I suspect his magic allows him to gather information in a way we yet to understand. In addition, once you factor in his deducing ability and how good he is at reading people, it makes his words more believable"
He closed his eyes briefly and paused for sometime before continuing. "Moreover, there was a time... I slept close to Talia. I didn't know... anything happened while I was asleep. I suspected something was wrong back then but I couldn't find any issue"
Batgirl and Robin stared at him, their faces full of shock and disbelief.