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The occult was a topic to be discussed not ignored. Over the centuries it has been associated with many different events both negative and positive. From the simple practice of medicine to defining the myths and folklore that created society. Now the occult had everything to do with the supernatural, mystical and even the magical aspects in the world. One thing that is heavily stigmatized with the occult is cults, they were two different things but so intertwined with each other most people never bother learning the difference.
Liking the occult was a lifestyle that was common even among adults. Having something to believe in was the best part for those who looked for the supernatural but it wasn't the main focus. The occult was a form of knowledge that was generalized and could be a number of different topics all at once. So when a cult gets involved with the occult nothing good is to be expected. The supernatural beings on the other side were dangerous especially if not handled correctly. If they get lucky they have a peaceful spirit but humans aren't known for their natural luck.
No it wasn't an everyday occurrence, cults normally don't like to be publicized so they wouldn't be judged by other people. Unfortunately if they do it right people wouldn't even know they were there. But a lot of the time they don't do it right and people start to take notice. So when the Titans get word of a summoning happening close by from their Tower of course they're going to go investigate that. Even if it was faulty or they were definitely going to feel like most of the time it was best to check to make sure no one was getting hurt.
Raven couldn't count the amount of times that cults would like using sacrifices whether it was a living human or an animal to whatever they were worshipping. Worst of all she understood it better than anyone else on their team, as much as she hated cults she loved the occult. It was essentially her whole life, she was one of them after all, the things of people's interests. A demon even if it was only half, did she like that she was one? Not exactly especially with her father but having people who actually like her and her existence, well that was something nice.
Robin announced that they were going to take on this mission and she wasn't exactly surprised. Her teammates tend to get offended by her when there are people trying to summon demons right in front of her, not that she didn't appreciate the gesture, it was just a bit off. Though it could be worse and it was worse, the problem with this cult is that they weren't exactly public about what they were trying to summon. So they were essentially walking into this blind Hopefully they would get there on time before they were able to bring forth whatever they were trying to summon.
Moments like these were critical so when the titans landed on the roof top adjacent to the old warehouse by the dock Raven could feel something was off. Groups like these shouldn't have any experience with magic or auras yet the magical energy was bending and centering itself with the building. Raven looked over their leader and held on to Robin's arm before they just charged in there.
"We need to proceed with caution. They are somehow using genuine magic." Robin tensed at her suggestion and signaled to the other to follow his lead. The last thing they needed was people getting hurt in the process. Whatever they were summoning couldn't be good.
Deep down she was really hoping this group weren't her father's followers. Getting closer to the building they could see some cloaked figures. Navy blue was definitely an interesting choice for a cult, they normally went for reds or purples but blue was a new one even for Raven. Robin and Cyborg definitely noticed the oddness of the cloaks because they looked at Raven to see if you recognized them but she didn't.
A window on one of the higher levels of the warehouse was open Cyborg checked for anyone before the titans moved into the building. There were about 10 people inside the room standing in a circle around the summoning circle that was unmistakably beautiful in Raven's opinion. It was as if someone took a star map and made it into a complex spell. Now here's hoping the demon attached to it was friendly but knowing them the chances for that were low.
"Come on bro what are we waiting for? Let's get the bad guys!" Beast Boy loudly whispered while throwing air punches.
"We should figure out what they are summoning first. If they found this online somewhere at least we will be aware for the next time someone else tries summoning whatever this is." Robin was so sure about getting the answers first which caused Beast Boy and Cyborg to grumble. Raven kneeled next to Starfire who hadn't said anything but looked at the circle with curiosity.
"Is something wrong, Star?" Starfire squeaked as if she didn't even sense Raven kneeling next to her. She looked a bit nervous even when Robin seemed curious about what she was thinking.
"The stars, the patterns. They look like patterns from my home, as if the sky was placed on the floor and had all the stars connected to each other." The team looked at the floor once more, Raven didn't have constellations committed to memory but some of the more common constellations weren't present at all. That was confirmed properly by Robin despite them always giving him grief about being the only one without power he was really smart.
The stars weren't constellations from their skies and if that was true Earth could possibly be one of the many stars marked on the floor. Raven was going to ask Starfire for more but she went quiet again and pointed at the group of people. The leader had a vial of a green substance that she had never seen before and poured it into a goblet in the center of the summoning. She looked at her leader and Robin wasn't sure what that substance was either.
Once the leader stepped away they turned to walk back into position. They announced to the other members that it was time to summon the ghost king. Raven quickly spelled one of her old books and flipped through it, that title was a rare one and with the amount of magic they were pouring into this ritual the king had to be strong too. When her hand stopped on the page she was looking for, everything in her screamed. She showed Robin the page and that was enough information he needed.
Hell was already enough of a problem for her, the ruler of the afterlife Pariah Dark was not one to mess with. Any magic user worth their salt should know better. There was no negotiating with the tyrant king and even her book warns the reader to never summon him. He doesn't take over worlds like people believe, he erases them from the map. The chanting started and they were running out of time.
The room grew colder and that was pretty much their cue to move in. Just because Robin shouted at them didn't mean they were going to stop, just their luck to run into the type of people that don't flinch in a ceremony. This must not be their first time doing this, Raven never understood people like these. They didn't stop chanting but they were spread out just enough for Raven and her teammates needing to split up to round them up.
Small issue though, even if they knocked them out of the circle line they had formed they kept changing. Robin started knocking them out, leaving the leader and one follower who just smiled. They stopped chanting but the one follower got close to the leader before backing away as Robin charged at the leader. The room temperature didn't drop further but it didn't pick back up either.
This felt too easy.
"Tell me, what were you planning on doing once you summoned him?" Cyborg and Robin had the cult leader while the only conscious follower dropped her hood and sat on her knees next to Starfire and Beast Boy.
The leader just laughed off Robin and Cyborg before landing his eyes on Raven. She normally never felt shivers but the way he smiled at her made her disturbed. Looking away she sees the follower pressing her hands together but she doesn't look up from where she was positioned. The follower just kept staring at the floor, the stone floor that upon closer inspection had the circle carved into it. In-between the cracks should have been dark but as Raven bent down to trace her hands on it she could see a slight dim green light crack through.
The same green glow that was in the weird green substance. But without the followers it shouldn't be working at all. Raven stared at the goblet in the middle, it was a magical artifact. She couldn't move it with her own magic since she wasn't exactly sure of what it does but when she got closer the goblet was empty. There were holes at the bottom, the green substance was gone and it embedded itself within the floor. A cackle from the leader brought Raven's back to reality.
"Daughter of Trigon, are you not curious about your king?" Raven's disgust was back, Beast Boy and Robin both started to berate the man but Raven's focus didn't stay with them. The last follower had her hands up in a prayer position and she was whispering something.
The circle started glowing brighter before Starfire could stop her. Raven flew out of the way as fast as she could; she could feel the circle take a chuck of her magic. The last follower collapsed as the cult leader's laughter started to fill up the warehouse. The tyrant was being summoned and there was nothing they could do to stop it. Starfire helped Raven up as they floated away from the circle while the rest of the team stood in front of them ready to fight.
As if the void had poured into the room the circle carvings went from green to black as a black goo started gushing into the room and covered the room. Starfire hovered while helping Raven while Cyborg assisted Robin off the ground as the goo rushed in. The leader seemed more than content being on the floor, it wasn't melting him but the man did start steaming. Beast Boy rested as an eagle on Cyborg's head. The goo kept expanding until every inch of the warehouse floor was covered, the floor was no longer visible because of it.
Where the circle should start forming a hump. The hump pulsed once sending a wave in the black goo causing colorful dots to appear in the goo. It was like Raven was staring at the night sky, not even. As if she was in space and they were in a ship to see space. The hump grew larger in size and the goo started gathering around it moving as if it was fabric as the hump which was now a creature seemed to be standing. The floor was now visible and the leader scrambled to be by the ghost king's side.
The Ghost King looked like a piece of space had created a pocket of itself and simply allowed itself to be pulled around. It had a small hump over the larger hump which Raven assumed was his head. Two small white holes for eyes and a rift that seemed to be his mouth. It wasn't exactly what she was expecting but this was the ghost king, but for some reason she had a sneaking suspicion he isn't the one the cultists were looking for.
The King went to open his mouth but the sound that came out sounded like screams of the dead. It was short but it affected everyone in the room, the cult leader was shaking while kneeling to the king. A few more minutes but the titans recovered from the scream, the king had not moved and the leader had not spoken yet. So Robin decided he would talk first, much to Raven's dismay. Here was hoping his friend and teammate wouldn't make him upset.
Before Robin could even get a word out the ghost king shifted, his form collapsed in himself causing the whole room to get bright like a dying star before dimming to only one light source. The king was glowing a light green hue but he appeared more humanoid. Long white hair with pale blue skin while wearing black armor fit for a royal. A crown made of ice yet was still on fire floated just above his head and the most shocking feature, the king didn't seem much older than any of them. As in he looked 17.
"What do you want?" The king sounded like an annoyed teen getting called by their parents, he faced the cultist who looked up in shock.
"Your Majesty, Pariah-" The king cut him off.
"Ugh, you are one of those. No I am not Pariah. I am Phantom. PHANTOM. P-H-A-N-T-O-M. Yes I am the ghost king, well technically the crown prince but who cares about specifics. No, I will not take over your world. Do none of you understand what ghosts even mean?! You all will be my subjects when you die! Why would I want you now? You are all so pissy and annoying." King Phantom started poking his index finger into the leader's forehead while inching closer each time he made a point. "Yes Pariah was the ghost king but he isn't anymore. No I'm not his kid, I would rather die again. Now! If you don't have any more questions, color crusaders? What planet is this? There's like one and a half humans among your group." Phantom turned sharply while staring at Robin with ice blue eyes. He looked over to Raven for a second and she wasn't sure what he saw but he wasn't happy.
"You are on Earth, your majesty. Sorry for these nuances we can send you back." No they could not but Robin was negotiating with Phantom, Raven didn't even know the crown was passed down so they had essentially no information on this guy.
"Firstly, just call me Phantom. I didn't want the crown, I just got it for beating the crap out of the other guy." Phantom just admitted to beating Pariah Dark so casually. He snapped and all the cultists were in chains. Ice chains that were clearly his power at work. "Secondly, there's no need. I can make it home on my own. I take it you want to deal with these guys on your own so I am just going to go." With that the king just disappeared, vanished with not even a dramatic exit.
All that build up for the king to not care at all for his summoners. He turned them over and just went on his way to not even bother asking questions. Disappearing into thin air as the temperature rose back up and the glow died completely almost as if he was never there. Phantom left zero trace and he was nothing like his predecessor on top of that. An annoyed teen with zero interest in world domination while also being considered a rare find.
But he did leave the Teen Titans to deal with the leftover cultists. The leader looked absolutely flabbergasted that Phantom had zero interest in him. Robin however looked both a mix of tense and concern at the empty space the king just stood. There was no leftover magic or any traces of him still being in the vicinity, Raven double checked for him but he thought something was off. They didn't stay long, as soon as the cops came the cultists were taken care of.
Starfire, Beast Boy and Cyborg were all excited and wanted to celebrate with pizza. Raven simply hummed while lagging behind as they made their way back to the tower and Robin was behind her. Or he was, as soon as they made their way up to the lounge Robin was in front of all of them and tense. He stopped Beast Boy from opening the door and tried checking the cameras on his communicator.
"There's someone in the tower. They shouldn't be here." Was all he said and it made everyone else tense. Raven wasn't sure what it was but something was leaking out through the doors. Something magical... Wait.
"I know what it is." Raven cut her way through her friends and went to the door. Robin held her shoulder to stop her from opening the door but she felt confident so she shook him off.
Opening the door she was hit with a familiar aura that was in the warehouse. Hovering over their lounge table sitting crisscrossed was the teen king Phantom who looked puzzled. He had his back turned to them but Raven could just tell he knew they were there. Though why he was in the tower made no sense when he said he was going back home. So Raven cleared her throat and Phantom looked over his shoulder to stare down at them.
If her suspension in the warehouse was correct Phantom wasn't much older than them chronologically. Yes he would be older than Cyborg who was 16 but he was still a minor. Phantom bent back in a way that shouldn't be possible even for humans but then again Raven has seen Robin contort his body in ways that should kill him. Robin grumbled behind her but she wasn't going to bother noting the clear jealousy that already developed in their leader.
"Sir Phantom, why are you here?" Phantom frowned while looking at the team.
"It seems that I am not only on the wrong version of earth but I can't get home."
The occult is an interesting topic of discussion, whether most of the subjects are true is up for debate. Though if any of those options contain a way to send an undead king back to his realm. Well that would be one very long and annoying trip to look into. Why? Because Humans like making things up by nature and Danny's summoning circles was accidentally one of those things.