Julie’s hands were firmly wrapped around her weapon, the short energy rifle that Legacy had lent her. At the moment, she was physically tired but still able to function, though her powers were currently down. The only thing she had to defend herself was this energy rifle, so she wasn’t about to risk losing it.

“The Queen of Ravens,” Julie blurted out. “How the hell are we supposed to take her down?”

She looked around, horribly concerned by the small number of heroes compared to the large number of villains. Of course, she reminded herself that the odds were actually much better now than they’d been for everyone fighting at the base camp, but that didn’t make her feel a lot better. After all, most of their heavy hitters were either injured or still fighting back at the camp.

“We were hoping that more people could come,” Lady Knight admitted from a short distance away. “But we didn’t have the time to wait…”

Lady Knight was currently fighting a raven, using a glowing pink spear so that she could do so while staying out of her opponent’s reach. The pink-haired girl lunged forward, slashed through the raven’s thigh, then pulled back. When he tried coming at her with his sword, she used the spear to impale him and push him back.

Julie took a deep breath then shot Lady Knight’s opponent, just grazing his arm, though the blast of energy was powerful enough to burn most of the arm off. “Yipes,” Julie exclaimed, feeling both excited and afraid at the same time. Usually, the spirits that she channeled did all the fighting, so this was a rare experience for her.

“You have to get their heads,” Lady Knight exclaimed. “It’s the only way to take them down for good…”

Then, as if to emphasize what Lady Knight had just said, the raven’s arm began to grow back, reforming at an unbelievable speed. Julie blinked, and it took her several more seconds before she remembered her weapon. She took aim and fired a second time, burning a hole through the raven’s chest, right before firing again. This time, his head vanished and he collapsed to the ground.

Mystik charged forward, using her staff to smack a raven alongside the head. The raven was knocked to the side, though he immediately snapped around and slammed a massive axe right into Mystik’s side.

“MYSTIK,” Julie cried out in horror.

However, to her shock, Mystik was getting back up and running a hand over where she’d been hit. There was no blood…and no wound.

“No fucking way,” Mystik blurted out, tapping the gold metal skin of her arm with her other finger. “I think Catalyst made me bulletproof…or at least axe proof.”

Then with a broad grin, Mystik charged right back at her opponent, letting him hit her in the shoulder with his axe, just so she could get close enough to punch him. Unfortunately, her punch didn’t seem to be any more powerful than it would have been before, indicating that while her armored skin might offer her new protection, it didn’t seem to make her any stronger.

“Damn, it’s hard to focus with this,” Counterweight grumbled, reaching up to hold her injured shoulder. Then she glanced up at Legacy, who was floating in the air. “But if she can fight with her leg, I can fight with my shoulder…”

“Why don’t you go find a car to drop on someone’s head?” Lady Knight suggested. “That should make you feel better.”

“Good idea,” Counterweight agreed as she floated up into the air.

Julie looked around and saw that Witch Girl, Alleycat, and Poison were all fighting back to back against a group of ravens. At the same time, Glamour Girl and the Face were standing side by side, working together in similar fashion. Then, she glanced to Lady Knight and Mystik, deciding that they should probably continue working together as well.

“Why are we fighting here?” Julie asked as she took another shot with her energy rifle. She missed the raven she was aiming at and took another shot, which barely managed to graze his leg. “My aim sucks… Are we supposed to destroy that arch or something?”

“No,” Lady Knight responded, using her spear to knock the legs out from beneath a raven. “We need to push their queen back through it…”

“That’s the plan?” Julie asked in surprise. “Just push her back through the portal?”

“I didn’t say it was a great plan,” Lady Knight replied with a grin. “But it is the only one we have. Besides, it’s the only way to stop her.”

From above, Legacy announced, “I’ll see what I can do…”

Legacy held out her arm and one of the ravens was picked up by her telekinesis and flung towards the Queen of Ravens. However, just as he was about to hit her, there was a flash of purple and he suddenly bounced back instead.

“Now for her,” Legacy exclaimed with a look of intense concentration. When nothing happened, she shook her head, “I can’t touch her directly. It’s like she’s protected from my power…”

“Some kind of magical barrier,” Lady Knight pointed out, though Julie didn’t know if she was guessing or was using her sixth sense.

“Then if anything can get through it,” Legacy announced, pulling out her unusual looking bow, which appeared to be made of bone. “This can. But I only have it in me for one shot…so I’ll have to make it count.”

“That thing did a number on Loki,” Lady Knight responded with a nod of approval. “Do it.”

Legacy raised her bow to aim, and an arrow made of hellfire formed. The burning arrow shot through the air and hit the Queen of Ravens, who was suddenly engulfed in flame, which flickered in and out of being purple. The Queen of Ravens screamed, but it was a cry of anger, not of pain. In seconds, all of the flames turned purple and then vanished, leaving the Queen of Ravens standing there, apparently unharmed.

“I don’t think that worked,” Julie exclaimed in worry.

“Her barrier is down,” Lady Knight exclaimed.

The Queen of Ravens glared at Legacy with an expression that radiated arrogance and distain. “So, these champions may yet have some teeth…”

A moment later, she held up her hand and a ball of black and purple energy shot out at Legacy. Legacy quickly swung her cloak around herself, and she vanished into the Empty just a split second before the attack would have struck her. The ball of black and purple energy passed through where Legacy had been and continued flying until it smacked into the side of a building.

Suddenly, a wave of black and purple rushed out along the side of the building, which began to crumble and disintegrate. Julie gasped as the wall was completely destroyed, and as the process continued. Mere seconds later, half the building had been reduced to rubble and ruin.

“Fuck,” Mystik exclaimed, staring at the destroyed building with the same look of horror that Julie probably wore. “That was one shot. She did that with one fucking shot…”

“And she’s still weak,” the Face called out, his voice grim with concern. “We have to stop her before she regains her strength, and we don’t have much time…”

“These champions begin to bore me,” the Queen of Ravens commented. “It seems that I shall have to destroy them before I call forth more of my warriors…”

With that, something seemed to change and the Queen of Ravens began to radiate a sense of dark power. Julie gasped as a chill ran through her entire body, and she had to fight the urge to turn and run away as far as she possibly could. Every instinct from the primitive part of her brain screamed for her to get away.

The Face began yelling something…casting a spell in a language that Julie didn’t recognize. However, as his mask glowed, the terror began to fade. Somehow, he was fighting back against the aura of fear, giving Julie a chance to breathe and think again. Of course, she was still afraid, but this time, it was her own natural fear.

The monsters that had been gathered nearby, hiding in the shadows of the surrounding buildings, had been coming out and slowly approaching the fight. However, they all now backed away again, as though they were all terrified of the Queen of Ravens.

Julie looked around and was surprised to see that the raven soldiers were no longer fighting. Instead, they all looked weak and tired. Several had collapsed to their knees.

“She’s withdrawing some of her power from them,” The Face called out with a new urgency. “We don’t have any more time…”

The Queen of Ravens began to grow larger, swelling in size and power. She was ten, then twelve feet tall, and still growing.

“This is like that thing with Loki, all over again,” Lady Knight commented grimly.

Julie had been unconscious during the final fight with Loki, but she nodded in agreement anyway. However, she had absolutely no doubt that the Queen of Ravens was far more powerful than the Loki monster had been.

The Queen of Ravens stood about twenty feet tall and now towered over everyone present. She radiated a sense of arrogance and power, somehow seeming to have become a dark goddess. The very sight of her was enough to make Julie want to cower, even with the Face’s spell.

“This world now belongs to me,” the Queen of Ravens announced in a booming voice that seemed to come from everywhere at once. “It will feed my children for centuries, and none shall change this…”

As soon as she finished speaking, the Queen of Ravens held out her hand and fired another ball of black and purple energy, this time aimed at Glamour Girl. Glamour Girl dropped from the air and slammed into the ground with a loud grunt, while the blast missed her and continued until it hit a building.

“Not again,” Mystik exclaimed, clenching her staff tightly.

Julie stared at the building which began to crumble and disintegrate, just like the previous building had. However, she quickly saw that this time, there was a noticeable different. This time, the entire building crumbled away to ruin, not just half of it.

“If my staff was charged,” Mystik said in obvious frustration.

The Queen of Ravens held out her hand again, this time looking down at all the heroes. Julie gulped, knowing that this wasn’t going to be good. None of them could survive a hit form that kind of power. Even Grendel wouldn’t stand a chance against it.

“IREFAY,” Witch Girl yelled, sending a ball of fire at the giant raven queen, though it seemed to have no effect, other than to signal everyone else to attack.

The Face fired a blast of golden energy at the Queen of Ravens from his mask while Poison and Alleycat rushed forward to attack directly. Julie hesitated only a moment before she took aim and fired her blaster, being careful not to hit any of her allies. Unfortunately, none of their attacks seemed to hurt her.

“My turn,” Glamour Girl stated with a look of fierce determination. “I’m not going to let you hurt my family…or my world.”

Glamour Girl flew straight at the Queen of Ravens and punched her in the face, causing the massive queen to stagger back. However, it wasn’t the punch that had the greatest effect, but the swirling colored light of Glamour Girl’s aura. That actually seemed to burn the queen’s skin.

“Blast her,” Lady Knight yelled. “Hit her with everything you’ve got…”

Glamour Girl didn’t answer, at least not in words. Instead, she screamed out a war cry and blasted the Queen of Ravens with her light energy at point blank range.

The Queen of Ravens screamed in agony and tried to swat at Glamour Girl, forcing the heroine to pull back a little, though she continued her attack. Blasts of light, which looked like swirling rainbows, burned into the queen’s body, tearing away at her dark power.

Even though she didn’t think it would add anything, Julie opened fire with her energy rifle, shooting the Queen of Ravens so that she could at least feel like she was contributing to this fight. And as far as she knew, every little but was helping.

One of the ravens seemed to overcome his weakened state enough to leap high into the air, straight at Glamour Girl. However, a car suddenly fell on him from the sky, smashing him into the ground. Counterweight hovered above, giving a wave of acknowledgement.

Other ravens started to return to the action as well, or at least they tried. Lady Knight sliced at one with a rapier, then used a shield to block the return attack. At the same time, Mystik charged another of the ravens, swinging her staff so it smashed into the side of a raven’s head. Julie turned her attention from the Queen of Ravens, and instead shot at these warriors, who seemed easier to take out.

The Queen of Ravens shrank down under Glamour Girl’s assault, reducing in size until she was merely human sized again. Still, Glamour Girl continued blasting her, or at least she tried to. Glamour Girl was clearing straining, and the light was flickering and sputtering. She was using up all her powers.

“Glamour Girl,” Lady Knight called out in warning, right before the glowing heroine abruptly fell to the ground, having pushed herself too far.

It was with a look of pure hatred that the Queen of Ravens stood up straight and glared down at Glamour Girl. Black feathery wings suddenly burst out of her back, making her resemble some kind of dark and twisted angel.

“It has been centuries since anyone has hurt me so,” the Queen of Raven’s exclaimed with a sneer. She bent down and grabbed the now unconscious Glamour Girl and picked her up by her throat. “You will pay for this with greater suffering than you can imagine…”

“Let her go,” the Face commanded, though the Queen of Ravens ignored him.

The Queen of Ravens just lifted her arm higher, raising Glamour Girl further off the ground. Glamour Girl began flail around helplessly as the queen choked her.

“Get her,” Poison commanded. “Hit her hard…”

Julie aimed the rifle at the Queen of Ravens, but she couldn’t shoot without hitting Glamour Girl. The same was true of all the other heroes, all of whom glared at the Queen of Ravens, hesitating because of the hostage.

Suddenly, the Queen of Ravens’ head exploded in a burst of black droplets. She released Glamour Girl, and before her body could even collapse to the ground, two large holes appeared through her chest.

“Harbinger,” Stealth exclaimed with a smile. “About damn time.”

“Glamour Girl,” Julie gasped, running towards her fallen teammate.

However, before Julie could reach Glamour Girl, Alleycat and Witch Girl were already pulling her back, away from the Queen of Ravens.

“She’s alive,” Witch Girl announced with a grin.

Glamour Girl groaned and grabbed at her throat, muttering something that Julie couldn’t make out. The Face raced to her side to check her out, and his approving nod gave Julie a sense of relief.

“SHE’S NOT DEAD,” Lady Knight yelled, making Julie look back to the Queen of Ravens.

“No,” Julie gasped in horror, seeing that black tendrils were sprouting up from the queen’s neck and that her head was starting to reform.

For a brief moment, Julie just stared at the Queen of Ravens in horror, remembering what Lady Knight said earlier…that the only way to stop her was to get her back through the portal. Julie’s eyes darted to the portal that was such a short distance from the queen…almost right behind her. Then, Julie suddenly knew what she had to do.

Ever since Julie had gained her powers, she’d been using them to call on other people for help…to have spirits of the dead do her fighting for her. This time, it was her turn to fight the villain. This time, it was her turn to actually do something or herself.

Julie dropped the energy rifle and charged straight at the Queen of Ravens, grabbing hold of her and pushing her back to the nearby portal. She thought of all the spirits who’d fought on her behalf and whispered, “Maybe I’ll finally meet you all face to face…”

A moment later, Julie and the Queen of Ravens hit the portal and everything exploded into agony and then darkness.

--------------------

“CHANNEL,” Joselyn cried out in horror as she watched the young heroine disappearing through the portal with the Queen of Ravens.

“No,” Witch Girl exclaimed, staring at the portal for a moment before snapping around to her father. “Bring her back…”

“I…I can’t,” the Face gasped, the pain clear in his voice.

Joselyn winced, already knowing that the Face couldn’t do that. No one could, not after what he’d done to the portal.

“The portal is a one way path back to where they came from,” the Face explained in a grim tone. “Nothing can come back form it now…”

Witch Girl gasped, staring at her dad with a look of shock. “But Channel…”

“She…couldn’t survive the journey,” the Face admitted quietly. “Nothing human could. Its...already too late.”

“No,” Glamour Girl gasped, sitting up and staring at the portal in stunned disbelief, which quickly turned to horror and grief. Tears started to form as she cried out, “Channel…”

The Face put a gentle hand on her shoulder. “She sacrificed herself to defeat the Queen of Ravens. I’m sorry…”

“The queen is gone,” Alleycat snarled. “But what about these guys?”

Joselyn had been staring at the portal, hardly able to believe that they’d just lost channel. However, Alleycat had a good point, making her look at the raven soldiers.

All of the ravens looked weak…exhausted. With their queen gone, she could no longer reinforce them and give them the strength to fight. However, several of them were trying to get back to their feet to continue fighting anyway.

One of the ravens glared at Glamour Girl with an expression of pure hatred. He raised a nasty looking spear with a barbed black metal tip. From his body language, it was clear that he fully intended to use it on Glamour Girl.

“I don’t think so,” Joselyn exclaimed, forming a spear of her own and stepping between them.

For a moment, the raven looked like he was going to try charging her, even though he also looked like he could barely even strand. But then, he suddenly had a look of surprise on his face. A moment later, he was yanked off his feet and went flying through the air, straight into the portal where he vanished.

“What the fuck?” Mystik exclaimed, raising her staff in preparation to fight.

Another soldier leapt into the air and transformed into the form of a raven, but the black bird was suddenly pulled backwards towards the portal. He flapped his wings frantically, but it did no good. He vanished unto the portal, just like the other one had a few seconds earlier.

“It…it works,” Joselyn blurted out in amazement.

All the remaining ravens present were all pulled back towards the portal, though several of them fought it as hard as they could. However, it did little good as each of them was quickly pulled through.

“What the hell is going on?” Alleycat demanded.

“Dad?” Witch Girl asked.

“The Queen of Ravens was magically tied to each of the soldiers she brought with,” the Face explained, staring at the portal as he spoke. “She’s still connected to them…and is unintentionally dragging them all back with her.”

“That was your plan,” Poison said in surprise, giving the Face a thoughtful look.

“Yeah,” Joselyn responded with a forced smile. “We weren’t completely sure it would work.”

The Face nodded faintly. “If the queen withdrew her power from her followers, then she would have been too powerful to push through the portal...and even if we could…her followers would have been left behind.”

Joselyn nodded agreement, remembering her own skepticism when Exile had suggested the plan. However, as it was the best plan they had, there hadn’t been much choice.

“So,” Witch Girl asked, looking to her dad. “Does that mean its over?”

“Almost,” the Face answered grimly. “Thanks to Channel, it should be over soon.”