Forged In Darkest Day.

You can't be telling me this arc isn't fire, leave a review, darlings!

The Batcave was engulfed in an intense glow, casting long, flickering shadows onto its ancient walls. The normally cold subterranean chamber now radiated fierce heat, unlike usual, the air shimmering visibly from the magical flames roaring within the large, enchanted forge at the room's center.

Batman stood shirtless, sweat streaming down his hardened physique, his well-sculpted body that looked oiled for a bodybuilding show and glistened in the fire, as he swung the heavy hammer onto his trident repeatedly. Each blow resonated throughout the cavern, sparks cascading like miniature meteor showers around him.

Beside him, equally relentless, was Etrigan, the demon prince, whose own hammer struck powerfully against his glowing sword. Despite the unbearable heat, Etrigan looked remarkably unbothered, his demonic features lit eerily by the green flames.

Behind them, floating serenely a few feet off the ground, Constantine maintained his concentration, even as he perspired. Eyes closed, palms open, he directed a controlled stream of emerald energy into both their weapons, imbuing them with the residual power of the Green Lantern Corps that Batman had managed to store away one time.

Constantine's brow furrowed with curiosity as he manipulated the potent energy. "How did you even store this much Green Lantern energy, mate?" he asked, genuinely puzzled.

"Preparation," Batman replied tersely, bringing down the hammer again with precision. "Stored it from previous encounters—just in case."

"Bloody paranoid bastard," Constantine muttered, but admiration laced his voice as he focused harder, ensuring the flow of magic remained stable.

Minutes stretched into an hour, the rhythmic hammering unbroken. Finally, Constantine released a long, relieved breath. "That's enough," he said, his voice tight with exhaustion. "Any more, and we'll risk the weapons becoming unstable."

Batman and Etrigan halted immediately, letting out breaths they hadn't realized they were holding. They plunged their glowing weapons into durable containers filled with water. The liquid hissed and steamed violently, sending plumes of vapour spiralling toward the cave's lofty ceilings.

"Could've been quicker using that welding torch," Etrigan complained, stretching his powerful limbs, boredom evident in his tone.

"You might be stronger, Etrigan," Constantine snapped dryly, wiping sweat from his forehead, "but magical weapons require magical methods. Mortal technology is useless here." With that, Constantine turned on his heel, escaping quickly into the cooler recesses of the cave.

Batman reached into the steaming water and withdrew his trident, examining it meticulously. He focused silently, envisioning clearly in his mind the weapon transforming into a sword. Instantly, it obeyed, morphing fluidly in his grip. "Magic," he muttered skeptically. "A spit in the face of logic."

"Yet there remains a semblance of science to it, mortal," Etrigan said mockingly, observing Batman's newfound skills. With a thought, his sword slithered fluidly into a deadly whip. He regarded it fondly, nostalgia glittering faintly in his eyes.

"No rhymes this time?" Batman remarked swiftly, glancing sideways with a sly smirk. "Or have you run dry?"

Etrigan narrowed his fiery eyes playfully. "Why don't we test our—"

Before he could finish, Batman cut him off firmly, raising a hand. "As tempting as that is, I have something more important to do now. I need both of you to assist me in crafting a new suit. Despite this power boost, I'm afraid it might not be enough for the battle ahead of us."

With another thought, Batman's magical sword condensed further, seamlessly transforming into an ornate necklace featuring the iconic bat emblem. He slipped it around his neck effortlessly.

Etrigan raised an amused eyebrow. "Quite nifty with that trick already."

Batman ignored the playful jab. His gaze hardened seriously as he addressed them both, "The bulk of our war preparations depends on you two. Currently, we have no other mage capable or reliable enough. We must rely entirely on your expertise."

Constantine and Etrigan exchanged wary glances, acknowledging the gravity of Batman's words. The cavern fell silent momentarily, but the quiet was broken by an unexpected surge in magical energy. All three men froze simultaneously, their heightened sensitivity to magic alerting them to the disturbance.

Thunder rumbled ominously overhead, reverberating through the subterranean chamber.

"Damn it!" Etrigan roared, frustration evident. "Did this place seriously never have a magical barrier or anything?"

The demon immediately realized his mistake, slapping his forehead dramatically. Batman, though skilled, had only just begun wielding magic—he had no reason to install defences against arcane threats.

"Tch! This is my fault for growing complacent," Constantine cursed vehemently. He immediately produced a small glass vial filled with glowing salt, tossing it urgently toward Etrigan and began to move swiftly. "Quickly, take this salt and go reinforce the east entrance! I'll handle the other direction."

Without question, Etrigan caught the vial effortlessly and swiftly disappeared down one of the shadowed corridors. Batman, recognizing the urgency, flew instantly to the corner where his suit was housed, yes, he flew. Marvelling internally at the ease of flight Poseidon's gift had granted him. He had no time for self-congratulations now. Suiting up rapidly, he summoned his trident back into his grip, feeling its comforting weight in his hand.

The cave grew brighter, apart from a storm building up, the magic escalating violently. But the brightness was just a sensory feeling of those sensitive to magic, Alfred and any other without the affinity for the arcane wouldn't notice anything different.

Dark clouds soon covered the Wayne mansion and the surrounding areas. Batman could feel a storm quietly building up as he had a strong connection to them, but something about them obviously felt unnatural. A deafening roar of thunder shook the foundations of the Batcave as a single, explosive word echoed powerfully through the air above:

"SHAZAM!"

Batman tightened his grip, eyes narrowing fiercely beneath his cowl. "Billy…" he muttered darkly, recognizing the unmistakable magical signature of Shazam. "He's been compromised."

Constantine rushed back into the room, eyes wide with dread, sweat streaming freely down his face. "This isn't good, Bats. Whatever Raven did, she's sending in the big guns already!"

'Damn it! I thought I was already moving fast. I had to pretend like I was broken after Raven attacked me here so as to put her off my back, but to think… hahahaha. Of course, if she can copy talents and abilities, she probably already thinks like me. Fuck… me.' Batman had a dark look on his face as a thought came across his mind, but he soon chuckled as if acknowledging Raven's game.

"Already losing it? Who would have thought? That the Batman finally bit the dust." Etrigan mused as he finished up his task before meeting with the group, while Alfred ran further into the cave to get whatever he could to help.

"No. I am only impressed." Batman stated as he hovered a few inches off the ground.

"We don't have time to be impressed, portal us away from here!" Constantine stopped what he was doing after realising the grade of his barrier would only hold whatever was coming upon them for mere seconds, and a better barrier would take more time to fix up, and time wasn't something they had on their hands now.

"No, I say we meet them," Batman replied resolutely, turning toward the source of the magical disturbance. "Head-on."

Etrigan burst back into the chamber, flames flickering wildly around his figure, expression fierce and battle-ready. "Let the little mage bring his lightning and storm. By night's end, he'll wish he was never born!"

Constantine groaned, despite the gravity of the moment. "And here comes the rhymes again..."

Batman's jaw tightened in determination. "Constantine, prepare your strongest barrier. Etrigan, support him. I'll deal with Billy."

Constantine nodded grimly, hands glowing with prepared spells, tension etched clearly across his face. "There's not enough time for that, Batman. We need to get out of here we're royally buggered."

Batman narrowed his eyes as he could feel the lightning crackling violently overhead, illuminating the Batcave starkly, shadows twisting grotesquely against its ancient walls.

"Not without Alfred." Batman said, holding his resolve.

Batman be like, hold my batarang, I'll settle this with my new toy🔱.

By the way, illustrations for the Raven fic, following the first chapter onwards, are available on the patreon. Have a lovely weekend and resume next week with even more power stones and reviews.

Patreon.com/futamommy