Capítulo 49: Raven
Mark stood firm, the wind whipping around him as he faced Raven. Her eyes glowed with a demonic intensity, dark energy crackling around her. The air was thick with tension, the forest holding its breath as the two prepared to clash.
"You should have left me alone, Mark," Raven's voice was a distorted growl, barely recognizable.
Mark clenched his fists, feeling the familiar surge of power coursing through him. "I won't let you hurt yourself anymore, Raven."
Raven moved first, a blur of speed and shadow. Mark barely managed to raise his arms in time to block her strike. The impact sent a shockwave through his body, but he stood his ground. He countered with a punch, his fist connecting with her barrier, sending ripples of energy through the air. Raven snarled, her eyes blazing. She launched a bolt of dark energy at him. Mark dodged to the side, feeling the heat of the blast as it scorched the ground where he had stood. He responded with a series of red spheres, hurling them at her. Raven dissolved into a swarm of ravens, the spheres passing harmlessly through the flock before she reformed behind him, her hand crackling with dark energy.
Mark spun, swinging a powerful kick that Raven narrowly avoided. She raised her hands, tearing up the ground beneath him. Chunks of earth and tree roots flew towards him. He leapt into the air, flipping over the debris, and landed a few feet away, his eyes never leaving hers. Raven teleported above him, slamming down with both fists. Mark crossed his arms to block, the ground cracking under the force of her blow. He pushed back, muscles straining, and managed to shove her off. He launched himself at her, fists swinging in a flurry of powerful punches. Each strike carried immense force, but Raven moved with incredible speed, dodging and countering with blows of her own. She landed a solid hit to his ribs, sending him staggering back, gasping for breath.
Raven pressed her advantage, sending blasts of dark energy at him. Mark rolled to his feet, dodging the attacks, and shifted the gravity around her. She stumbled as the ground tilted, giving him an opening. He charged forward, landing a punch that sent her flying into a tree. Raven growled, animating the trees around them. Branches whipped through the air, aiming to entangle Mark. He fought them off, using his strength to break free, and closed the distance between them. He swung another punch, connecting with her side and sending her crashing through several trees.
She staggered to her feet, her eyes glowing brighter and flew up into the air. She raised her hands, the ground beneath Mark exploding upward, sending him into the air. He twisted, orienting himself, and increased the gravity around them to send Raven plummeting downward. She floated to stop her fall, but he altered the gravity again shifting it sideways and sending her further flying through the forest hitting off tree trunks as she did. Raven reached the edge of the altered gravity, real gravity taking hold and slamming her into the ground. Mark landed nearby, his fists crackling with energy. He advanced on her, but Raven recovered quickly, teleporting behind him and delivering a powerful kick that sent him sprawling.
Groaning, Mark pushed himself up, feeling the pain radiate through his body. Blood trickled from a cut on his forehead, but he ignored it. He charged at Raven again, their fists colliding in a flurry of punches and blocks. Each hit echoed through the clearing, the force of their blows shaking the trees. Before Raven released a huge shockwave of power sending him sprawling. Mark dug his fists into the ground stopping himself from moving further, chest heaving as he faced the berserk Raven. Her eyes glowed with an intense purple light, and flames of the same colour danced around her as she summoned them, scorching the ground beneath her feet. She raised her hands, and the flames surged forward. Mark barely had time to react. He threw himself to the side, the flames grazing his arm and searing his skin. He gritted his teeth against the pain, rolling to his feet. Raven's power was growing stronger, her attacks more ferocious. She ripped up the ground with her telekinesis, hurling chunks of earth and stone at him.
Mark ducked and dodged, using his gravity manipulation to deflect some of the debris. He knew he couldn't keep this up forever, so he reached behind him and grabbed his three-section staff from his trousers. He cracked his neck, a fierce resolve in his eyes. "I'll fight you until I pass out."
Raven snarled, her voice echoing with demonic fury. "AAAAAHHHHHH!"
He charged forward, swinging the staff with all his might. The sections extended, amplifying his strength as he brought it down on Raven. She blocked it with a telekinetic shield, but the impact shattered the barrier, sending her skidding back. Mark didn't let up. He twirled the staff, the sections moving fluidly, and launched a series of rapid strikes. Raven countered with blasts of dark energy, but Mark deflected them, the staff redirecting the attacks. He swung again, the staff transforming into nunchucks mid-strike. The fluid motion caught Raven off guard, and he landed a solid hit to her side. She cried out, but quickly recovered, summoning more purple flames.
The heat was intense, but Mark pressed on. He spun the nunchucks, creating gusts of wind that blew the flames back. He launched a red sphere from the tip, the energy crackling as it flew towards Raven. She teleported out of the way, reappearing behind him and sending a wave of telekinetic force at his back. Mark stumbled but managed to stay on his feet. He turned, swinging the nunchucks in a wide arc, and landed a blow to her midsection. The force sent Raven crashing through several trees, but she rose quickly, her eyes blazing with anger. Raven's eyes flared with dark energy, and from her body emerged a gigantic spectral raven, her soul self. The enormous raven screeched, its beak opening wide to snap down on Mark. He raised his three-section staff just in time, bracing it against the powerful jaws. The force of the attack pushed him back, his feet digging into the ground as he struggled to hold the beak open.
Mark grunted, muscles straining. With a burst of strength, he twisted the staff, pushing the beak aside and rolling out from under the raven's massive form. He swung the staff, hitting the soul self's head, but it was relentless. The raven screeched and retaliated with a powerful flap of its wings, creating a gust of wind that knocked Mark off balance.
Raven herself was already on the move, her hands glowing. She sent a barrage of bolts at Mark. He deflected some with his staff, but others hit their mark, burning his skin. He lunged at her, swinging the staff in a wide arc. Raven blocked with a barrier of dark energy, countering with a kick that sent him sprawling.
The soul self took advantage, diving at Mark with its claws extended. He rolled to the side, the claws raking deep furrows in the ground where he had been. Mark swung his staff upward, striking the raven's side, but it continued, retaliating with a swipe of its wings that sent him crashing through a tree. Mark pushed himself up, panting heavily. The soul self lunged again, its beak aiming to impale him. He dodged, but Raven teleported in front of him, landing a solid punch to his stomach. He doubled over, and the soul self's beak came down once more. Mark barely raised his staff in time, the force of the impact sending him skipping across the ground.
Raven didn't let up. She summoned a wave of purple flames, sending them roaring towards Mark. He created a blue sphere to absorb the energy, but the force still knocked him off his feet. The soul self was on him again, its claws digging into his side and lifting him into the air. Mark swung his staff, breaking free and crashing to the ground. He scrambled up, his vision blurring from the pain. Mark swung his staff in a desperate arc, but Raven teleported behind him, her fists glowing with energy. She struck him in the back, sending him forward. The soul self's claws raked across his chest, tearing through flesh and muscle. Mark screamed in agony but forced himself to stand, gripping his staff tightly.
He swung again, catching the soul self in the beak and forcing it back. But Raven summoned another barrage of dark energy bolts. Mark deflected some, but the sheer number overwhelmed him, and he was sent crashing through the forest, each impact leaving him more battered. As he struggled to rise, the soul self swooped down, its beak aiming to snap him in half. Mark raised his staff to block, but the raven's strength was immense. With a backhand of its wing, it knocked the staff from his hands, sending it flying into the distance. Mark was left defenceless as the soul self attacked again, its beak slamming into his chest and sending him flying.
He crashed into the ground, pain wracking his body. Mark focused, feeling the nanites in his bloodstream activating, Mark's body began to transform, muscles bulging and hardening. His skin took on a metallic sheen, and he felt a surge of power coursing through him. Raven growled, her eyes glowing with a dark intensity. "How long do you think you'll last?" she taunted.
"As long as it takes," Mark replied, his voice steady and determined.
Mark charged at Raven, his enhanced strength propelling him forward at incredible speed. He swung a powerful fist at her, and she barely managed to block it with a dark energy shield. The impact shattered the shield and sent her back, but she quickly regained her footing and retaliated with a blast of energy that hit Mark square in the chest. This time, he barely flinched, his hardened body absorbing much of the force. The soul self swooped down, claws extended, but Mark leapt into the air, meeting it head-on. He grabbed the raven by the neck and, with a mighty spin, hurled it back at Raven. The soul self slammed back into her forcefully merging back with her body.
The battle raged on, moving deeper into the forest and up into the mountain ranges. Night turned into day and back into night as they fought, neither willing to back down. Raven summoned torrents of dark energy, each blast creating craters in the mountainside and triggering avalanches. At one point, Raven launched a massive wave of purple flames that engulfed Mark. He emerged from the inferno, his body glowing with the heat, and countered with a flurry of punches and kicks. Each blow sent shockwaves through the air, and the ground beneath them cracked and splintered.
Mark began to experiment with his abilities. He created gravitational fields around his fists, dragging Raven back every time he punched her like a boxing bag. He used bursts of gravity to propel himself through the air, dodging Raven's attacks with increasing ease. He even started manipulating the terrain, using his powers to lift massive boulders and hurl them at her as a way to imitate her telekinesis.
Raven, in turn, unleashed more of her power than ever before. She summoned dark tendrils from the ground to ensnare Mark, but he broke free with sheer strength. She created massive constructs of dark energy, only for Mark to shatter them. She even manipulated the very air around them, creating vortexes of wind that threatened to tear him apart, but he pushed through.
The fight moved higher into the mountains, where the air was thin and the terrain treacherous. They fought on sheer cliffs and in deep valleys, their battle shaking the very foundations of the mountains. Mark who was starting to slow down knew he needed to do something and fast; all of a sudden he got a flash in his mind, it was like a memory had resurfaced.
Mark held both his arms out and summoned a Blue and Red Sphere in both of them, pressing his hands together he merged them, creating a swirling sphere of purple energy. He focused all his strength on it and fired it at Raven. The blast was immense, a concentrated sphere of pure destruction. Raven, sensing the danger, summoned all her energy to counter it. The ground beneath her feet cracked and shattered as she braced herself against the onslaught.
The purple energy clashed with Raven's barrier, creating a blinding explosion of violet. The force of the collision sent shockwaves through the mountains, flattening everything in their path. Raven screamed, pouring every ounce of her power into holding back the attack, but the sheer intensity of the blast pushed her back, inch by inch. Mark roared, pushing harder, determined to end the fight. The purple sphere ate through Raven's defences, driving her back through the mountain. The rock face exploded as she was hurled backwards, creating a massive hole that swallowed her whole. The dust and debris settled, revealing a deep, gaping wound in the mountain.
Mark stood at the edge of the crater, panting heavily. His body ached, every muscle screaming in protest, but he had done it. He stumbled forward, his strength finally giving out, and collapsed beside Raven. She lay on her back, breathing heavily, her eyes closed. The fight had taken everything out of both of them. They lay there in silence, the sound of their laboured breathing the only noise in the otherwise still night.
"Are you still berserk?" Mark groaned out as he lay down.
"I think I am well..." Raven replied her voice barely a whisper. Mark turned his head as he could hear the quiet sniffling of Raven, tears fell from her eyes and it made his heart wrench.
"What's wrong..." Mark said as he tried to move closer but his body hurt too much.
"I... I came here to this place to disappear, to make sure I couldn't hurt anyone anymore."
"I cast a powerful spell from the Book of Shadows... one that would erase me, no one would hear me, see me, smell me, I would not exist."
Mark couldn't help but be surprised at her being so talkative; that she was telling him such personal things.
"That was not enough though... I was still a danger to people... so I sunk my personality into the depths of the void in my mind hidden in my subconscious. On the surface, I was gone just a husk that wandered through the house.
"I did this for years."
Raven then looked over to Mark "But then I saw you, you looked right at me... it made me concerned at first, but then I was curious."
"I've felt alone for so long having you here was nice... I knew it couldn't last forever... that I would have to go back to the void."
"It's why this hurts so much..."
"I've had so much fun with you, Mark," Raven said as tears started streaming down her face again.
"I don't want to go..."
Mark pushed through the pain and exhaustion and moved closer to Raven. "You're not going anywhere I promise," he said.
Raven shook her head. "You don't understand... I lost control again, I could've wiped out the town if you had not been here."
"We will find a way, I won't let you go back to that kind of life," Mark said resolutely.
Raven just continued to shake her head, unbelieving that anything could be done. "I thought things could be different this time, but things never change."
"The last time this happened... I destroyed Titan Tower and I killed one of my closest friends who tried to stop me..."
"I deserve this... I'm being punished for thinking I could move on..."
Mark continued to move closer to her until they were side by side. "You deserve to be happy, and I won't let you punish yourself like this."
Raven continued to weep but this time Mark wrapped his arms around her and let her cry into his shoulder.
...
Mark and Raven lay next to each other looking up at the stars in the sky, they were still too exhausted to move much. Raven had stopped crying and instead, let herself enjoy Mark's presence.
"It feels strange..." Raven suddenly commented.
"What does?" Mark asked.
"I've never felt so good before, letting go like that... no longer having to hold everything back," Raven replied.
"I'm glad I could be of some help," Mark said with a pained chuckle.
"I'm sorry for attacking you... when my power surges I lose control of myself..." she said her voice quietening. In truth this was a new experience for her, she was feeling such strong emotions at the moment and yet her power wasn't surging, it wasn't fighting to be released.
"I think you needed this more than you thought," Mark said as he pushed himself up against a rock.
Raven still lay on the floor her both of their clothing was ripped and torn. Raven was a few strips of cloth away from revealing her breasts and Mark had his whole shirt vaporised. "What do you mean?" Raven asked as her violet eyes gazed at him.
"You have issues controlling your power but it's not hard to see why," Mark commented which made Raven narrow her eyes at him. "You don't let your full strength out willingly, you only ever train a little bit of it, you repress the rest of it, what else would you expect."
"When my strength came in I ripped doorknobs off and broke a few cups, when I trained it I had to grasp my full strength so I could know how to control and limit myself," He explained.
"It's more complicated than that," Raven said with a blank expression.
Mark shrugged "Maybe, but have you ever tried it?" He asked.
Raven looked at him for a moment before shaking her head. "I do not think I want to risk doing something like this again," she said as she sat up. "I would like to say thank you... for staying."
Mark smiled at her. "Couldn't leave my best friend out here by herself."
Raven surprised him by returning his smile. "I am your only friend."
Mark chuckled, but then his face turned serious "Things will be okay Raven, I'll help you get this power under control, I won't let you disappear again."
"Even after knowing what I did..." She asked.
"You shouldn't suffer for this Raven, it was an accident, I know your friends would think so too," Mark replied.
Raven wasn't convinced, the pain and loss she felt still flowed through her. It felt almost unnatural to let her emotions flow out in such a way, but releasing all her power had made controlling it far more easily. Mark then stood up and limped over to Raven "Can you walk?" He asked her.
"I might need help," Raven replied.
"Let's go home," he said as he picked her up and they held onto each other as they walked home.
(AN: Mark and Raven have finally broken the ice fully, I wonder how close they will get now with all the baggage out in the open. Now that this is over with time to accelerate the plot and finally execute order 6– I mean write the completely innocent storyline that will have no deaths or bad things whatsoever. Anyway I hope you enjoyed the chapter.)
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