Damian + Raven

Act 1: Scene 1: In Fair Gotham Where We Lay Our Scene

Pride and Lust of hell, two sons of Trigon, walked in the streets of Gotham City. They looked for a fight with their rivals, the League of Assasins. "Brother, here comes some Assasins!" Said Pride, with disgust obvious in his voice. The Assasins he spoke of were Khisam and Muharib. "Fight them," said Lust. "I'll back you up." "How? By turning your back and running." Asked Pride. "Don't worry about me." Said Lust. "No, indeed, I do worry about you." Said Pride. "Let’s make sure the law is on our side by getting them to start the fight." Said Lust. "I’ll frown at them as I pass by them." Said Pride. "How they respond is up to them." "No, I’ll bite my thumb at them." said Lust. "That’s an insult, and they’ll be disgraced if they don’t react." And as he said so, he walked near them and bit his thumb. Khisam stared at them. "Are you biting your thumb at us, sir?" Asked Khisam, before Lust started laughing. "I am biting my thumb." Replied Lust. "But are you biting your thumb at US, sir?" Asked Khisam again, before Lust whispered to Pride "Will the law be on our side if I say yes?" "No." Replied Pride, causing Lust to giggle. "I’m not biting my thumb at you, sir." said Lust to Khisam. "But I am biting my thumb, sir." Pride giggled, as he got an idea. "Do you want to fight us, sir?" He asked. "Fight, sir? No sir." Replied Khisam. "If you do want to fight, sir, then I’m up for it. My master is as good as yours." Said Lust. "But not better than mine." Asked Khisam. "Yes, my master is better than yours, sir." Replied Lust, with a giggle. "You're a liar." Said Muharib, before they walked away. Pride chuckled evilly, before hitting them both into a wall. "Draw your swords, if you’re men!" Yelled Pride, filled with the uncontrollable urge to fight. Muharib and Khisam unsheathed their swords and launched at them. They did a synchronised down slash at Pride, but Lust grabbed their sword and threw them to a bench. They got back up and ran at them, they were about to slash, and Pride and Lust were about to launch a blast, but Mara Al Ghul, with her two marked blades, jumped down and slashed at their swords and hands. "Break it up, fools!" Yelled Mara. "Enough of this fighting, you don’t know what you’re doing!" But then, there was a red light emitting from a demon walking towards them. His name was Wrath. And he was not happy. "What, have you drawn your sword to fight with servants?" Asked Wrath, before showing his teeth. "Turn around, Mara, and see the man who will kill you." Mara put up her blades. "I’m just trying to keep the peace. Do not use your power, or else use it to help me stop this fighting." Replied Mara, causing Wrath to laugh. "You hold your swords drawn out, and say “peace"?!" He asked in his laughter, but then it came to a halt. "I hate that word, just as I hate hell, all assassins, and you. Now let's fight, you coward!" He began blasting at her, but she kept deflecting the blasts with her blades. Soon enough, more Assasins and Demons joined the brawl. "KILL THE ASSASINS!!! KILL THE DEMONS!!!" Yelled the rioting citizens. Then the leaders came. Ra's Al Ghul with his sword. And Trigon with his power. Before they could fight, Mayor Gordon came between them all. "You rebels and enemies of the peace, who curse your own weapons by turning them on your neighbors. Can they not hear me? Silence! You men, you beasts, who can only put out the fire of your anger by spilling fountains of blood. I will torture you unless you drop your weapons from your bloody hands and listen to me, your enraged Mayor." And with that word of Mayor Gordon, the Assasins put away their weapons, and the Demons deactivated their power. "Because of nothing more than a casual word from you, Trigon and Ra's Al Ghul, three battles have raged in our city’s streets. These battles have forced even Gotham’s elderly citizens to take off their dignified clothes and jewelry and instead pick up old and rusty spears in order to put an end to your fighting. If any of you Demons or Assassins disturb the peace in the future, you will pay for it with your lives. Now everyone go home. Trigon, you come with me in order to hear what else I want from you. Ra's Al Ghul, you come this afternoon to old Free-town, where I deliver my judgments. Everyone else, leave this place right now, or I will have you killed." All the citizens went into their homes, the Demons went with the Mayor, and Al Ghul turned to Mara. "Where is my grandson? Where is Damian?" Asked Ra's. "I saw him earlier in the park, yet, I approached him and he ran." Replied Mara. "Please do find him." He said, as Mara bowed, taking her leave. She eventually found Damian near a lake, throwing stones. "Good morning, cousin." She said, causing Damian to sigh. "Is it still that early?" He asked. "The clock has just barely struck nine." She replied. "Oh, my! Time goes by slowly when you’re sad." He said, as he noticed Ra's walking. "Was that my grandfather who just rushed away?" "It was. What sadness is making Damian's hours so long?" Asked Mara. "Lacking the thing which would make the hours short if I had it." Replied Damian, putting a thought in Mara's head. "Are you in love?" She asked. "Out." He replied "So you’re not in love?" She asked. "I am in love. But the one I love does not love me back." He replied. "Oh, it is sad how love, which in theory seems like such a gentle thing, should in actual experience be so rough!" She said. "How can love, which is supposed to be blind, force you to be able to do what it wants? Where should we eat?" He said, as he noticed the destruction in the streets. "Oh my goodness, what fighting happened here? No, don’t tell me. I already know: it was something that had a lot to do with hate, but even more to do with love. Oh, fighting love! Oh, loving hate! Oh, love that originates from nothing! Oh heavy lightness! Serious frivolity! Beautiful shapes smashed together to create an ugly chaos! Love is like heavy feathers, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health, waking sleep, the opposite of what it is! That’s the love I feel, since no one loves me in return. Are you laughing?" She wiped her tears." No, cousin—I'm crying instead.." She answered. "But why, my good woman?" He asked. "Because of the way love has oppressed your heart." She replied. "That’s how it it goes with love. My own sadness is a heavy weight on my chest, and now you’re going to add your own sadness to mine. The love you are showing me is only increasing my grief. Love is like a smoke made out of the sighs of lovers. When the smoke clears, love is a fire burning in the lovers' eyes. But if that love is thwarted, then it is a sea made out of lovers' tears. What else is love? A wise madness. A sweet candy that makes you choke. Goodbye, my cousin." He said, before attempting to walk away, but Mara put a hand on his shoulder. "Wait! I’ll come with you. If you leave me behind, you’ll be insulting me." She replied, before Damian sighed. "Oh, I’m not acting like myself. It’s as if I’m not even here. This is not Damian, he’s somewhere else." He said. "Tell me, seriously, who is the one you love?" She asked. "What? Should I cry out the name in a groan of sadness?" He asked. "Groan?! Why, of course not. Just tell me who it is." She answered. "You wouldn’t ask a sick man to “seriously” write out his will—it would only make him feel worse. Seriously, cousin, I do love a woman." He answered. "I figured that out when I guessed you were in love." She said. "Then you have good aim! And the woman I love is beautiful." He said. "My dear cousin, a beautiful target is usually the one that is hit fastest." She said. "Well, now you missed the target." He said. "She has already been hit by Cupid's Arrow and has fallen in love with a woman she thinks is the most beautiful." She patted his back. "Listen to me. Stop thinking about her." She said. "Oh, then teach me to forget how to think!" He replied. "By letting your eyes wander. Take a look at other beautiful girls." She answered. "Such comparisons will only make her own beauty more obvious. It will be like the masks that pretty girls wear to hide their faces. When they hide their beauty, they make us think of it more. A blind man can’t forget the precious eyesight he lost. Show me any beautiful girl. What good is her beauty, other than a reminder of a girl who is even more beautiful? Goodbye. You can’t teach me to forget." He said as he started walking, she, instead of stopping him, walked alongside him. "I'll teach you how to forget, or else I'll die owing you the lesson." She replied.