Chapter Two: Living Nightmare

Garfield stared at his reflection in the mirror. Despite his long life, he hadn't changed in physical appearance one bit. He still had dark brown hair and green eyes and if you didn't know anything about him, you might have thought he was just a normal young man. It must have been because of the Grand Panacea. His body had stopped aging; he would never grow any older and would always be twenty-five years old, since he had been twenty-five when he had drank the elixir of immortality.

He was also immune to disease and he had never suffered the plagues that had ravaged various civilizations. He had seen thousands, if not millions perish before his eyes. War and disease were terrible things.

Despite all of his experiences, he had never truly been happy. There had been several occasions where he had tasted it. The birth of his first child, but it was short-lived, the child had died of the plague and he had tried tirelessly to find the cure.

He had been married and had many children, but when his wives discovered the secret of his body, they would leave and take them away from him. Sometimes, he would find them years later and ask them about their father, they were usually along in their years and they would tell him their father was dead.

It was the cruelest thing, he couldn't possibly reveal his identity to them, and they were under their mother's influences too much to actually believe his outlandish story.

He was a modern day Peter Pan, but he was displaced from Neverland, trapped in the abysmal world of reality where being a kid forever only worked in stories. Being a young man who would never die had actually brought more pain than pleasure.

His last marriage had been in the early 1900s, it had ended right after the start of the Great Depression. He'd lost all his money just like everyone else, right after he'd been badly injured as a fire fighter. It was a horrific job but he'd managed to save people.

After his wife confronted him about his miraculous recovery, he had told her everything. She'd left and he was secretly relieved, they hadn't had any children together. He'd spent the last hundred years just working and traveling the world again.

He hadn't engaged in wild parties or debauchery for a long time, he'd spent the previous century engaging in any number of activities, he had given himself to every whim imaginable, if it was a possibility, he had probably done it, and he'd grown bored. After that he'd sought out companionship and love, only to be met with more heartbreak.

He hadn't wasted his time though. He'd fought in World War I and II. He had even parachuted with the 10st Airborne as a part of the legendary Easy Company in Normandy on D-Day in 1944.

After it was over, Gar had traveled out to California to the place that would become Jump City. He had worked construction on city hall and helped build the renovations of the old library.

He departed from Jump City and hadn't been back for fifty years until he decided that he needed to settle down somewhere.

He'd seen Titans Tower go up rather quickly. Time moved at its own pace and while time flies for others, time was irrelevant, for the most part to Gar. He'd seen heroes come and go, and the Teen Titans were no exception. How long will they last? He was curious, various hero groups tended to be around for awhile, even though they seemed to lose and gain members at intervals.

Gar didn't really pay attention to the Titans too often though. Sure, he could join them; they'd probably accept him there. Immortal heroes were in abundance but there weren't any that were just ordinary humans, at least not that he knew of, they were always connected to a divine source. If there were immortal humans they were usually supervillains. Even if he did join them, he'd eventually watch them grow old and die, and how could he live with that?

No, the life he was living now was the best choice.

Gar straightened his shoulders as he prepared to go to work. It was going to be another monotonous day. Maybe Raven would show up. She said she'd be back in a week. Still, the thought of Malchior's possible return disturbed him, he didn't know any magic, and alchemy had been his expertise in the Middle Ages. He just hoped that Malchior wouldn't find him if he got out.

Raven shook with rage, she'd been deceived! At first, she'd been charmed by the wizard Malchior who was trapped in the book she'd brought home. She'd been fascinated by the intriguing story. A young wizard, in search of immortality and his rival, the evil dragon Rorek, who sought to keep it from him. It was one of the most intriguing stories she'd ever read, and she hadn't put it down until the Titans had to go stop Kardiac.

She had resumed reading only to be interrupted by Robin, Starfire, and Cyborg. She'd ignored them and tried to finish the story, but before she could Malchior had spoken to her, told her that he understood her and was eager to befriend her. She'd grown tired of all the citizens' whispers about how she was "creepy".

He sought her friendship and offered to teach her spells so she could release him from the book. After a week of intense training, she'd used her magic in another fight with Kardiac only to discover it was Dark Magic. She hadn't told the other Titans about him. And she had returned to confront him about it.

"It's dark magic! You've been teaching me dark magic!"

"Is it dark, or is it simply misunderstood…like you?" Malchior asked. Raven didn't answer. "True, the spells I've taught you are very powerful. There are those who fear power, so they call it dark. But for people like us…"

Malchior took her hand and led her toward the book. "…such distinctions do not exist. Without these spells, we can never truly be together. Enchanted pages or no, I'm still trapped within this book—and you're still alone. Is that what you want, Raven? To be alone?"

Raven tried to keep up a brave front, but insecurity and uncertainty overwhelmed her. She couldn't meet his gaze, turned away, and felt the tears leak from her eyes.

"No," she said.

Malchior gently wiped them away. "My sweet Raven, it's time."

Malchior was surrounded by open volume of magical books. He seemed eager to escape the book and Raven was eager to have a friend and companion. There was someone who understood her and cared about her. It was a moment she had waited for.

"The incantation, just as I taught you," he instructed.

"Hezberek Et Morine…Gost Wenthen Verbis Nex… Ind Obrium Bis Pendrule… Paran Sic Cortis Rex!" Raven gestured with her hands as she read over the incitation. Black tendrils of her power shot out and activated the magic circle.

A wall of white energy surrounded Malchior. The pages flew away as he disappeared from view. Raven let out an astonished gasp as she stared at a page of the book and realized that something was wrong. It was clearly Malchior, clutching his head as he hit his knees and transformed into a terrible dragon.

"Malchior!" Raven called.

Energy erupted from the book, knocking her off her feet. She landed with a grunt and looked over at a lose page near her. She gazed at it as suddenly, the names of the characters Rorek and Malchior disappeared from where they had been and reappeared as they should have been. Her eyes were wide with horror.

"You changed it. Malchior wasn't the wizard—he was a…" She leapt toward the book. She had to stop the incantation! She let loose a scream of "No!" as the white energy knocked her off her feet.

She saw Malchior's hideous form rise up behind the wall of energy. His red eyes glowed fiercely as the energy around him began to spin.

Malchior stepped out from behind the swirling energy, he fired a blast at Raven as Cyborg, Robin, and Starfire rushed into her room.

His head appeared and he sent a stream of fire straight at her but she managed to use her powers to surround herself with her powers, shielding herself from the blast.

Robin kicked down the door and shouted, "Raven!"

Her voice was soft, full of hurt and sadness. "He lied to me. He lied. And I gave him what he wanted."

He turned and led the others toward the hole, "Come on!" he shouted.

Malchior smashed through the roof, eager to find his hated rival. He unleashed a mighty roar as Cyborg began shooting him with his Sonic Cannon.

Malchior knocked the robotic Titan aside with a sweep of his tail. Starfire launched Robin at him and Robin combined two Bird-a-Rangs and turned them into a sword, he slashed at Malchior. Robin threw bombs at Malchior but the dragon ignored them and knocked him aside.

Starfire shot off Starbolts at him and as she managed to avoid streams of fire.

Starfire flew through the air, holding Cyborg in her left hand and Robin on her right. She threw Cyborg and he continued firing until Malchior knocked him away.

She rushed at the dragon and tried to get the upper hand by grabbing at its mouth, but he blasted her into the water.

Raven's powers erupted from under the roof and came at Malchior as she rose up from the inside.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" she shouted, focusing on her opponent.

She shot off tendrils of her powers but he brushed them off. He fired off another stream of flames. She avoided them as they ripped up the concrete of the rooftop.

Using her powers again, she ripped up another big chunk of the roof and threw it at him. More flames shot out at her, she blocked them with her powers. She tried to use her powers to restrain him but he shook it off and unleashed a powerful blast that she blocked with her powers but it wasn't enough to stop him and he overpowered her.

She gasped in shock as he grabbed her with his large hands. She struggled to break free.

"Oh, dear," Malchior's mocking voice told her. "You're not going to cry now are you? I know it hurts, but you'll just have to accept the truth. It's over. I got what I wanted, and I don't need you anymore."

He casually tossed her aside on to the Tower; she collided with Cyborg who was getting to his feet. Malchior flew away at an astonishing speed and disappeared from sight. Robin ordered them to search the city. Malchior Was overjoyed to be free. He was going to take his revenge.

Garfield was headed home after work. Perhaps he'd get some pizza and watch some movies on TV.

He headed back to his house in a secluded area and when he arrived he walked into his living room and saw Malchior standing there in human form.

"Malchior," he greeted him coolly. "I've been expecting you." Gar removed a .45 mm handgun from his jeans pocket and started firing. Malchior blocked the bullets and Gar grabbed a sword and attacked him.

Malchior grabbed an axe and they began fighting, up and down through the living room, up stairways and down halls. Malchior sliced Gar open but he just regenerated and continued fighting. The evil wizard blasted him with his energy, ripping Gar's face apart as he continued to fight, his body continually healing.

Malchior cut off Gar's arm and it hit the floor as he stumbled back, with his other hand he grabbed a katana and started slashing even as his arm reattached to his body. He even wounded Malchior a little, but it only enraged him further.

Garfield berated himself; he hadn't fought in so long his body had forgotten how. He was slowing, despite his immortality; he still felt hunger and fatigue.

Gar fought and fought him for hours. His house was full of weapons, from every era of history after the Middle Ages, and despite his immortal body, he was exhausted. His guard dropped and Malchior impaled him through the chest with a sword, blood spurted everywhere and Gar slipped into unconsciousness.

Gar awoke to see Malchior in his human form, blonde hair and dark eyes, glowering at him. He tried to move but discovered that his hands were bound to the wall by chains; he could still move them, but not very much.

"Good, you're awake, it would be no fun torturing you without you conscious, not that you would have been unconscious for long."

Malchior took out a knife and moved toward Gar. Gar looked down and realized in horror that his pants and underwear had been pulled off, he wasn't completely naked but it was humiliating enough.

"What are you going to do to me?" he asked.

"I'm going to castrate you, you'll heal quickly of course, but I want you to regret all the pleasures you've experienced. All the women you've been with. You don't deserve such longevity. Malchior began slowly cutting, blood seeped everywhere as Gar began to scream in agony. His testicles were being ripped open and he could feel the muscles being torn apart. Blood dripped onto the floor. The pain, it was utterly unbearable. How had people survived this? The pain didn't stop and he thought he heard something hit the floor. He didn't want to look down, didn't want to see what happened to him.

He waited as his body began to heal and even as his muscles were reattaching to his body, Malchior began slicing his legs with a knife, filleting him as if he were a fish. Gar kept screaming, the pain was too much, he wanted to die. Oh, how he wanted to die! Death would be relief he knew would never come.

"All this will stop if you tell me how to make the Grand Panacea, then you can leave and live your life," Malchior said.

Gar shook his head; he wouldn't give this monster anything.

"Oh well, I was hoping you'd say no. I'm having too much fun." Malchior went over and grabbed a spear; he thrust it into Gars arm. He screamed. He repeated the process until Gar had spears sticking of all the joins in his body.

Malchior left them in there and brought the knife close to Gar's ear, he began slowly cutting it off as Gar screamed. His ear fell to the floor only to reattach itself a few seconds later. Malchior brought the blade down and slit Gar's throat, blood gurgled onto his shirt and whatever didn't soak in, flew back up into his neck as he healed.

"Your screaming is starting to annoy me," Malchior told him as he forced Gar's mouth open and cut out his tongue, he held it up in front of him. "Your blood on my hands is nice."

He waved the knife near Gar's eyes. He plunged it in as Gar howled in agony and gouged them out, he did the same to the other eye and they both fell on the floor, blood streamed in torrents from his eyes. When his eyes had healed, he saw a fire lit in his cell.

Malchior removed a burning fire poker from its place and burned out Gar's eyes, slowly and painfully. The smell of burning, putrid flesh filled the air and Gar just wanted it to stop, he wanted to die, wanted to faint from exhaustion, but Malchior wouldn't let him.

Malchior removed the spears from Gar's body and smiled maliciously.

"Not so strong now are you, and I can't believe how thrilled I am. It feels so good to see you suffer like this. I feel very aroused by this experience, I'm very close to climax right now*."

"You're sick, you evil—"

Malchior stabbed him with the knife, it was a small hole but it was still painful. Malchior transformed his fist into claws and used them to twist around and open up the hold wider. Garfield screamed although, he wasn't sure how he could still scream.

Malchior finished cutting him open and then he grabbed a whip and began flogging Gar even though he couldn't hit his back, he settled for ripping his face open repeatedly, he could even see Gar's brain, he smirked, he was ecstatic that Gar could feel all this pain and not die.

Malchior took up an axe and repeatedly sliced open Gar's head as blood gushed out onto the floor and all over him. Then he bit off Gar's fingers and watched them hit the floor as blood came out of the stumps. When they were healed, he took his time breaking each and every one of them. Malchior repeatedly strangled him, crushing his windpipe and breaking his neck. How entertaining it was! He couldn't believe how fun this was.

He didn't care how long it took; he would get Garfield to reveal the secrets of the Grand Panacea.

Gar wondered how long this would last, he wanted to get out of here and get away from Malchior. This happened for days and if Malchior let him sleep, he would dream about it, only to wake up and find it happening in reality.

He lost track of time and little did he realize that this went on for five years.

* Research has shown that torturers do feel that way sometimes, it's creepy.