The Warning:

(Earth #8193, Ravollo’s-Playhouse, Lower-East Wharf, New-Alexandria, 1995 A.D.)

 

The glaring silver light of the full moon shines down upon the derelict attractions and leering shadows that litter the abandoned Lower-East Wharf. To some, a place of long-faded pleasant memories and to others, a Sodom by the sea of long-passed decadence and debauchery. Surrendering itself to the slow rot of time and the governance of rats. A ghostly memorial to the city's younger days. 

Ravollo’s Playhouse rises out from the decayed and grim epicenter.  A place whose sins brought the searing wrath of God to Earth that fateful night. The wicked heart of darkness around which the rest of the Lower-East Fun-Land once revolved. A ruined palace of avarice and carnality whose cleansing death by fire sealed the fate of the Lower-East Wharf in blood and tragedy. The harbinger of pain and despair that would soon come to dominate life for the citizens of New-Alexandria over the following years. Perched atop the Ravollo-Playhouse lurks two figures peering down through the skylight at the scene unfolding inside. 

“Knight-Raven, come in… Knight-Raven. Do you copy?”

“I’m here commissioner; Me and Dues-Excess have eyes on the Woodsman,” replies Knight-Raven through her suit’s Sat-Comm System whilst using the suit’s Scanning-Systems to check the skylight for any traps or alarms.

“And my son?” Presses Commissioner Liza Eldrin trying to maintain her composure. 

“Dax is here and according to my suit’s med-scans, he is unharmed. Any luck disarming the bombs?” interjects Dues-Excess as Knight-Raven takes a moment to ready herself for the battle about to take place.

“Bomb-Squads have already located 6 of the 7 bombs but we can’t find the last one and there are only 10 minutes left till the deadline. We need the location of the last bomb,” explains Commissioner Liza. 

“No worries, Dues-Excess will free Dax while I go ask the Woodsman where he hid the last bomb,” responds Knight-Raven supportively. 

“Save my boy and get the location of the last bomb STAT. The clock is ticking.” presses Commissioner Liza Eldrin before closing the call. 

“You ready?” Knight-Raven inquires as she places her hand on Dues-Excess shoulder for a moment before turning her focus to stealthy opening of the skylight of the playhouse. 

“Always. I got the boy. You just keep the Woodsman busy.” responds Dues-Excess as Knight-Raven nods. The two slip into the building, swift and silent before parting ways to carry out their plan. 

“About time. I was expecting you much sooner. Oh, and there really is no need to ‘distract me’. Your friend is welcome to free the boy and get him out of here. After all, this moment is what really matters. I have been dying to meet you.” Proclaims the Woodsman as Knight-Raven comes to a graceful landing within the dark shadows behind him. 

“What makes me so lucky?” asks Knight-Raven, stepping from the shadows and entering a fighting stance. 

“Oh, the secrets of the hows and whys belong to my master. I, on the other hand, am merely an instrument of her will. A weapon to be wielded at her discretion against whom she wills and in this moment, at this juncture of eternity that means you.” responds the Woodsman turning to face his opponent as he offers a slight but respectful bow. 

“I’m honored.” muses Knight-Raven sarcastically as she utilizes her suit’s Med-Scanners to analyze the Woodsman for any potential weaknesses.

“You should be, The Witch-Queen of Hearts chooses my targets with great care. You must be truly special indeed.” Responds the Woodsman readying his fearsome battle axe. 

“I’ve freed Dax. I’m rushing him to the NAPD MCU Station. Then I’ll hurry back to help.” chimes in Dues-Excess through the Sat-Comm Link between his suit and the Knight-Raven’s.

“Copy that. Make it fast,” responds Knight-Raven. 

“Well, shall we begin?” responds the Woodsman with an excited grin.

Knight-Raven moves first, leaping backward to increase the distance between her and her foe as she unleashes a powerful high-speed volley of razor-sharp Raven-Blades. The smart-blades speed towards their target only to be deflected and disabled by several blocking slashes from the Woodsman's axe. He’s fast, I’ll need to handle him more carefully than I thought. 

The Woodsman counters, evaporating into a churning plume of shimmering purple mist and streaking at Knight-Raven. She tries to dodge to the side but the mist closes in on her as the Woodsman resolidifies with a bone-shattering upper-cut into her ribs. Waves of pain wash over her from the point of impact. Growling with pain, Knight-Raven lets loose a potent Paralyzation-Gas Grenade from her right gauntlet. The grenade spews its contents directly into the Woodsman’s face with only his mask between him and the gas. The Woodsman throws Knight-Raven several feet, putting some distance between them. He snarls, trying to shake the effects of the gas from his brain. How is he still moving at all… no… no time to worry about that now. 

The Woodsman writhes flails trying the resist the muscle deadening numbness flooding his system as Knight-Raven unleashes a devastating Impact-Blast Square in the chest. The blast knocks the Woodsman back several feet and sends his axe flying out of his reach as Knight-Raven rushes in to take advantage of his lowered defenses. She unleashes two bone-cracking uppercuts into the Woodsman’s ribs before. Eager to the finish quickly she follows up with a devastating right hook to the Woodsman’s face only to have him catch her fist at the last moment.

“This has been fun but it seems our time is up… Until next time Knight-Raven.” muses the Woodsman cooly as a great thundering boom erupts from beneath their feet turning the world to darkness.

 

*****Three--Days--Later*****

(The Lothrin Estate, the Palisades, New-Alexandria, 1995 A.D.)

 

“Ugh…shit. My head… What the fuck happened? I feel like I got skull-fucked by a Terra-Smasher” Moans Knight-Raven weakly as her mind slowly returns to the world of the living.

“Yeah, a 2000lb C4 explosion right below your feet will do that. Worse actually, if not for your suits excellent defenses and my quick and decisive action you, my dearest Anya, would be dead…. Whiskey?” muses Dues-Excess as he strides over to her, pouring some whiskey into a glass and handing it to her. 

“Uh fuck fuck fuck… That hurts” snarlsAnya through gritted teeth as her damaged body painfully punishes her for trying to sit up more in the bed. She takes the glass from Dues-Excess’s hand and downs it in one swig. He takes the now empty glass from her and places it on the nearby bedside table before gently forcing her to lay back down.

“Now… Just lay back and rest. You sustained four cracked ribs, multiple fractures in your left arm and right leg, an acute concussion, and a cracked collarbone. So needless to say you are not going anywhere anytime soon” Anya nods too weak to argue. 

“Emma is already preparing your supper and she has been instructed to make sure you stay put in this nice cozy bed so that your body can heal. Consider yourself on vacation. I have already reached out to our friend Anko and she has agreed to pick some of your patrols while I cover the rest of your nightly crime-fighting duties for a while.” 

“Thank you, Oskar. Where would I be without you?”

“Six feet under I suspect.” chuckles Oskar as he briefly strokes Anya’s cheek. Before standing up and making his way over to the door. 

“Now if you need anything… Anything at all. You or Emma can just give me a call. Day or night, I’ll be there.” Explains Oskar as Anya nods sleepily. Oskar leaves the room with one last warm smile at Anya. Anya relaxes back into the gentle embrace of her heavenly bed, allowing sleep to take her once more. 

 

*********************FOUR--MONTHS--LATER*********************** 

(The Lothrin Estate, the Palisades, New-Alexandria, 1995 A.D.)

 

The heavenly flaxen shroud of glistening stars encases the world in a great cosmic firmament. The phantom glow of the moon descends, illuminating the splendid grounds of the Lothrin Estate. The sullen form of a woman in a long black coat and mournful eyes looms before the graves of her parents. Kneeling, the woman places a single rose upon each of the ornate headstones. An annual ritual of remembrance that never gets easier.  

“I’ve thought about you both a lot lately. You both were such powerful examples of what was truly good and just… this city looked up to you. Your lives helped and inspired so many. You taught me so much and yet I have no idea what I’m supposed to do. This wound never heals, this pain never stops hurting. As the Knight-Raven, I know my path as I know myself but as Anya, I feel like I'm still that scared little girl in so many ways.” Anya closes her eyes letting the grief and pain of the past year seep out into the consecrated soil of her parents' final rest. She stands once more as the sacred silence of the moment is shattered by the sound of approaching footsteps. Anya turns as her gaze locks with a pair of eyes she thought she’d never see again, eyes of a love long past.

“Hello Anya, I’m sorry to drop in uninvited but I could sense your pain from a mile away.” the woman smiles meekly, sensing the palpable storming of emotions saturating the moment.

“Monica…” mutters Anya in disbelief.

“Yeah, it’s me. I’m alive... Surprise.” responds Monica, her tone of nervous mock-amusement treading delicately on the uneasy surface of the situation.

“Three years. You let me believe you were dead for three years” replies Anya, her voice a choking, toxic mixture of new found relief combined with the gestating pain of loss that has consumed her for the past three years.

“I know that I hurt you. That night at Scott’s penthouse you tried to save me. I saw that look in your eyes and in them I saw a future. A future I wanted so bad with you but I wasn’t… I wasn’t ready yet" explains Monica as she stares momentarily at her feet. She wipes a tear from her eyes before looking back at Anya.

"I know it may seem selfish to you but when Scott killed me..." Monica walks slowly towards Anya "it was magic that saved me. It was magic that brought me back and after getting revenge on that bastard I found it gave me no answers; no peace. I needed time to go out into the world. I needed time to understand the magic that resurrected me and what this new life means. 

“Why’d you come back?” asks Anya firmly.

“The truth, Anya? I came back for you.” continues Monica, smiling slightly. The dagger of her sincerity pierces into the monolith of Anya’s resolve.

“What if I said that ‘I’ve moved on’?” presses Anya coldly.

“No… I don’t think you have. That door you opened to us that night is still open. I can still see its light shining through in your eyes. It’s dimmer but it’s there.” Monica moves forward, sliding past Anya's defenses before wrapping her arms lovingly around the taller girl's neck, resting her head tenderly against Anya's warm chest. Her scent washes over Anya, melting her icy facade as her arms close around the smaller woman. She inhales deeply, embracing the woman in her arms the way she so desperately wanted to back then, but never dared to.

“Out of all the people who have hurt me no one has ever left a scar quite like you,” Anya mutters as Monica places a kiss on her cheek where she had scratched Anya that night three years ago. Monica shivers against the cold night air as Anya trembles from the touch of Monica’s warm breath against her neck.

“Come on, let’s head back up to the house” whispers Anya as she pulls away gesturing for her prodigal lover to follow her. Monica smiles and takes Anya’s hand as they both turn and begin making their way back up to the Manor when suddenly the world goes deathly silent as if nothing else exists. 

Then comes a sound like steadily growing static accompanied by an unearthly sucking wind pulling the world towards some point behind them. The crackling sound grows until it is almost overwhelming as the two of them turn and look back at the graves of Anya’s parents. The air churns and splits with a loud crack as a sparking reddish rift forms between the two grave markers. The sucking void grows stronger pulling the roses from their graves.

“ANYA!!! ANYA!!!” screams a voice from inside the swirling searing rift. Anya steps slowly forward gesturing for Monica to stay behind her as the voice continues to call out to her.

“Be careful Anya” warns Monica nervously as Anya keeps walking closer to the rift. The cold cosmic sucking abyss tugs at Anya’s mind. Red sparking lightning vortexes around the rim of the crevice.

“ANYA!!!” shouts the voice once more as she slowly reaches out to touch the rift’s churning surface as a bleeding trembling hand burst through the portal. The hand reaches out and grabs Anya as the savagely battered body of a masked girl erupts halfway out of the portal, clinging desperately to her. Anya steps backward pulling the unknown girl from the portal, allowing it to close behind her restoring motion to the world. 

Anya looks upon the brutalized youngster, unsure what to make of her. She is garbed in a black and violet battle-scarred combat suit. The girl seems shell-shocked as she pulls Anya in closer, shoving a mysterious crystalline silver device into her hand.

“It’s coming. It’s coming. They’re gone… They’re all gone.” whispers the girl weakly before fainting into Anya’s arms. Monica rushes up to her lover’s side to get a closer look at the girl.

“Hurry let’s get her inside” orders Monica as she and Anya carry the girl up to the manor.