The warehouse seal had deteriorated faster than anyone expected. By the time Tony arrived with Nico in tow, the entire building vibrated with wrongness, like a guitar string tuned too tight and about to snap.
"Well, shit," Nico whispered, clutching her equipment bag tighter. "That's not good."
Young Justice had established a perimeter around the damaged seal. Robin paced the edge, issuing orders through his communicator. Raven hovered cross-legged above the seal itself, dark energy flowing from her hands in a desperate attempt to contain what was pushing through. Superboy and Impulse maintained position at opposite corners, ready to intercept anything that might emerge.
Tony approached Robin, Nico following close behind. "Situation report, Boy Wonder?"
Robin barely glanced up. "Deteriorating. Fast. Raven's been containing it for six hours, but she's reaching her limit. The energy signature keeps spiking. Batman's pulling in additional League resources, but they're hours out."
"We might not have hours," Tony observed, watching the seal pulse with sickly red light. Cracks spread across its surface like veins, widening with each pulse. "Introduce yourself," he told Nico, moving toward Raven.
The goth teen looked exhausted, dark circles visible beneath her eyes as she maintained her containment spell. Sweat beaded on her pale forehead despite the warehouse's chill.
"How bad?" Tony asked quietly.
"Bad," Raven replied through gritted teeth. "Whatever's trying to come through... it's not like the Herald. It's stronger. More focused."
Tony nodded, unslinging his guitar case and removing Rebellion. "When it breaks through, hit the deck. I'll handle the first wave."
"You can't handle this alone," she warned. "Not what I'm sensing."
"Watch me," Tony replied with a grin that didn't quite reach his eyes. He turned to see Nico conferring with Robin, gesturing toward her equipment.
"Tony!" she called. "I need ten minutes to set up. Think you can buy me that?"
"Ten minutes is practically a vacation," he called back, rolling his shoulders. "Just work fast. Things are about to get ugly."
As if on cue, the seal emitted a high-pitched whine. Raven gasped, her concentration slipping. The containment field flickered, then vanished as she collapsed backward, caught by Superboy's quick reflexes.
"Raven!" Robin shouted, rushing to her side.
"Too late," she murmured, her eyes unfocused. "It's coming through."
The seal shattered with a sound like breaking glass. Shrapnel flew in all directions, forcing everyone to duck for cover. Where the seal had been, a swirling vortex of red energy now pulsed, expanding outward with each heartbeat.
"Everybody back!" Tony ordered, stepping forward as the others retreated with Raven. "Nico, start your prep. You've got nine minutes now."
"Working on it!" she called, already unpacking equipment with practiced efficiency.
The vortex stretched wider, reality bending around its edges. Claws emerged first, followed by misshapen heads, then bodies. Not one demon, but dozens, pouring through the breach like water through a broken dam.
Tony fired Ebony and Ivory into the emerging mass, picking off the first wave with practiced precision. "Come on, ugly! Dinner's served!"
The demons screeched, focusing on the most immediate threat. They surged toward Tony in a writhing mass of claws, teeth, and too many eyes. These weren't like the lesser demons from before. These were Pride demons, stronger, faster, and far more intelligent. Cannon fodder in the demon hierarchy, but deadly to humans.
"What are those things?" Impulse cried, his usual bravado faltering at the sight.
"Prides," Tony answered, switching to Rebellion as the demons closed in. "Mid-tier nastiness. Don't let them grab you. Those claws secrete a neurotoxin."
"Tony, there are too many!" Nico shouted, looking up from her work. "Even for you!"
She was right. Despite his speed and skill, Tony couldn't hold back the tide alone. For every demon he cut down, two more pushed through the breach. Young Justice leapt into the fray, Robin's staff connecting with demonic skulls while Impulse created a whirlwind of confusion among the ranks. Superboy grappled with the largest specimens, his strength making short work of them.
But the breach continued widening. More demons poured through, overwhelming their defenses. A Pride demon slipped past Tony's guard, its claws raking across his back. Another latched onto his leg, teeth sinking into his calf. Pain flared, hot and immediate.
"Eight minutes!" Nico called out, her voice strained as she connected components with frantic energy.
Tony kicked free of the demon on his leg, decapitating another with a wide swing of Rebellion. But they were surrounded now, the perimeter collapsing as demons spread throughout the warehouse.
"Robin, we need a new strategy!" Superboy shouted, his shirt torn from claws that had found even his durable skin.
Robin threw an explosive batarang into a cluster of demons, buying himself a moment to assess. "Fall back to defensive positions! Protect the technician!"
Tony saw the situation deteriorating. Impulse took a hit that sent him flying into a stack of crates. Superboy was being mobbed by six Pride demons at once. Robin fought with exhausted precision, but his movements slowed with each exchange. And somewhere in the chaos, Raven had disappeared.
They weren't going to last eight more minutes. Hell, they might not last two.
Tony made his decision.
"Everyone down!" he roared, his voice carrying supernatural weight. "Nico, shield your eyes!"
Nico's head snapped up. Seeing his expression, she immediately dropped behind her equipment. "Oh shit," she whispered.
"What's happening?" Robin demanded, backing toward her position.
Tony didn't answer. Instead, he planted Rebellion in the concrete floor and stepped away from it. He closed his eyes, reaching deep inside himself to the place where his human and demon halves coexisted. The place he rarely visited, for fear of what might happen if he lingered there too long.
Power surged through him, hot and electric. His skin crawled with it, muscle and bone shifting beneath. He embraced the change, no longer fighting it but guiding it.
"Get clear!" he shouted, his voice already distorting.
His body erupted with red light, so bright it cast black shadows across the warehouse. The demons nearest him shrieked in pain, backing away from the transformation taking place.
Where Tony had stood, something else now took form. His body remained humanoid but covered in chitinous red armor that seemed to grow directly from his skin. His face hardened into a demonic visage, eyes glowing like hot coals. Two curved horns swept back from his forehead, and wings of pure energy unfurled from his back, casting everything in bloody light.
This was Devil Trigger. The manifestation of his demonic heritage, the power of Sparda concentrated into physical form.
The Young Justice members froze in shock. Even the demons hesitated, recognizing a power that eclipsed their own.
Superboy was the first to react. "What the hell is that?"
The transformed Tony, Dante in his truest form, didn't answer. Instead, he moved, faster than human eyes could track. Rebellion flew from the floor to his hand as if it had a will of its own. The sword, resonating with his transformed state, began to glow with the same red energy that surrounded him.
The slaughter that followed could only be described as beautiful in its terrible efficiency. Dante tore through the demon ranks like they were made of paper. Rebellion cleaved through multiple enemies with each swing, the blade leaving trails of light in its wake. Where bullets had merely injured before, now they disintegrated, each shot from his transformed guns carrying a piece of his own power.
"Holy crap," Impulse whispered, watching from behind an overturned forklift. "Is that really Tony?"
Robin said nothing, his hand hovering near his utility belt where Tony knew he kept Kryptonite-based weapons, modified to work against various metahuman threats.
Superboy, however, took a more direct approach. With a roar, he launched himself at Dante's back, perhaps seeing only a demon rather than their ally.
Dante sensed the attack coming. He sidestepped at the last moment, letting Superboy's momentum carry him past. Before the teen could recover, Dante caught him by the throat, lifting him effortlessly off the ground.
"Stand... down," Dante growled, his voice layered with inhuman harmonics. "Still... me."
Superboy struggled against his grip, eyes wide with surprise at finding someone who could match his strength. "Prove it," he choked out.
Dante stared at him for a long moment, red eyes boring into blue. Then, slowly, he set Superboy down and stepped back, deliberately turning his attention to the remaining demons rather than pressing his advantage.
"Six minutes!" Nico called out, breaking the tension. "Whatever you're doing, keep it up!"
With a nod that was more bestial than human, Dante returned to the fray. The remaining demons, seeing their brethren fall so easily, began retreating toward the breach. But Dante was relentless, hunting them down with ruthless precision. He moved like smoke, appearing where they least expected, Rebellion singing through the air.
Robin recovered enough to join the fight again, targeting stragglers with well-placed batarangs. Impulse darted in and out, tripping demons into Dante's path. Even Superboy, after a moment's hesitation, rejoined the battle, though he kept a wary distance from their transformed ally.
"Three minutes!" Nico shouted, connecting the final components of whatever device she'd been assembling. "I need a clear shot at the breach!"
The demons were thinning now, either destroyed or fled back through the portal. Dante stood before the breach itself, wings flared wide as he faced down the last Pride demons attempting to push through.
"Clear a path to the breach," Robin ordered, throwing his last explosive. "Whatever she's built, it needs line of sight!"
The team complied, forcing the remaining demons away from the center of the warehouse. Dante held his position directly before the swirling vortex, sword raised against whatever might come next.
Something was coming. Tony could feel it, even through the haze of Devil Trigger. Something big.
A massive clawed hand thrust through the breach, twice the size of a human body. It gripped the edge of reality itself, tearing the opening wider. A head began to push through, horned and twisted, with seven glowing eyes arranged in an asymmetrical pattern.
"Oh shit," Nico breathed. "Is that..."
"Not quite," Dante growled. "Lieutenant. General's pet."
The creature pulled itself halfway through, its upper body now visible. It resembled a Pride demon in basic structure but vastly larger and more developed, with ornate armor grown directly from its flesh. Intelligence gleamed in those seven eyes as they fixed on Dante.
"Sparda's spawn," it rumbled, its voice like grinding stone. "The master will be pleased."
"Send him my regards," Dante replied, gathering power for a final assault.
"Thirty seconds!" Nico called out.
The demon lieutenant laughed, the sound grating against everyone's nerves. "Your father's sword. Wielded by a half-breed who doesn't understand his own heritage. Pathetic."
"Talk less," Dante suggested, wings flaring brighter. "Die more."
He launched himself at the creature, Rebellion raised for a killing blow. The lieutenant caught the blade between massive palms, stopping it inches from its face. They struggled, locked in a contest of raw strength, neither gaining advantage.
"Tony, move!" Nico screamed.
Recognizing his true name, Dante kicked off from the lieutenant's chest, flipping backward just as Nico activated her device. A beam of blue-white energy shot from the contraption, striking the breach dead center. The vortex contracted violently, energy crackling around its edges.
The lieutenant roared in fury as the breach began closing, pulling it back toward the other side. It made one final lunge toward Dante, claws extended.
"This isn't over, son of Sparda," it snarled. "The doors are already opening. The keys are turning. Your blood will feed his return!"
Then it was gone, sucked back through the collapsing breach along with the remaining demons. The vortex shrank to a pinpoint of light, then winked out entirely, leaving only scorched concrete where the seal had been.
Silence fell across the warehouse, broken only by the heavy breathing of the exhausted heroes and the soft hum of Nico's machine as it powered down.
Dante stood alone in the center of the devastation, wings still spread, body still transformed. Slowly, deliberately, he turned to face the others, red eyes scanning their reactions.
Robin had his staff ready. Impulse vibrated nervously in place. Superboy stood with fists clenched, ready to attack or defend. Nico alone seemed unafraid, her expression one of fascination rather than fear.
"So," she called out conversationally, "does this mean dinner's canceled?"
The absurdity of the question broke the tension. Dante's shoulders relaxed, and gradually, the transformation began to recede. The wings dissipated first, followed by the armored skin. His face softened back to human features, though his eyes remained unnaturally bright for several seconds more.
Finally, Tony stood before them, human again, though his clothing was torn and his body streaked with both his blood and the black ichor of demons.
"That," he said hoarsely, "was Devil Trigger. Family heirloom, you might say."
Superboy stepped forward, still wary. "You were holding back before. When we fought."
"Obviously," Tony replied, sliding Rebellion back into its sheath. "Wouldn't want to hurt the kiddies."
"You're stronger than me," Superboy stated, not a question but a realization.
Tony shrugged. "Different kind of strength. You'd still kick my ass in an arm-wrestling contest...maybe."
Robin approached next, staff lowered but not put away. "That was... impressive. And concerning."
"Yeah, well, desperate times," Tony said, suddenly weary. The Devil Trigger always took a toll, leaving him drained once the adrenaline faded. "Wasn't planning on the big reveal quite yet, but you're welcome for saving your collective asses."
"Is it always that... intense?" Impulse asked, zipping to his side, curiosity overcoming caution.
"Pretty much. Gets easier to control with practice, but it's still like riding a nuclear explosion." Tony rolled his shoulders, feeling the lingering ache of transformation. "Not something I bust out for minor inconveniences."
Robin studied him thoughtfully. "Batman will need to know about this."
"Batman probably already does," Tony countered. "Guy seems to know everything."
Nico joined them, carrying her now-dormant device. "The seal's gone completely," she reported. "Good news is, I've stabilized the breach. Bad news is, we need a permanent solution. That thing was just a bandaid."
"What was that machine?" Robin asked, professional curiosity getting the better of his suspicion.
"Modified Phantom Zone projector," Nico explained. "Recalibrated to seal interdimensional breaches rather than open them. Temporary fix, but it worked."
"Phantom Zone technology is restricted," Robin pointed out.
Nico grinned. "Tell that to S.T.A.R. Labs' archives. Lots of interesting stuff gathering dust down there."
Tony found himself smiling despite his exhaustion. Nico's irreverence was refreshing after the intensity of battle.
"We should secure the site," Robin said, already back to business. "Batman and the League will want to examine everything."
"Be my guest," Tony replied, picking up his guitar case. "I need food, shower, sleep, in that order."
"Wait," Superboy said, stepping into his path. "That demon... it called you 'Son of Sparda.' It knew you. And you knew what it was."
Tony sighed. "Lieutenant class demon. Basically upper management in hell's corporate structure. And yeah, it knew my family. Long story, kid."
"I think we've earned the long version," Robin insisted.
Tony looked around at their faces. They had fought well together. They had seen his true nature and not run screaming. Maybe they deserved some truth.
"Fine," he conceded. "But not here. Somewhere with pizza. Lots of pizza."
"My lab," Nico suggested. "Private, secure, and I can order from the good place on Robinson Avenue."
Robin nodded. "Once we've secured the site."
Tony followed their lead, watching as Young Justice efficiently cordoned off the area where the breach had been. They moved with the coordination of a team that had faced unusual threats before, adapting quickly to new information. Maybe there was hope for them yet.
As for whether they could be trusted with the full truth of his heritage, his past, and what might be coming... that remained to be seen. But for now, they had earned a measure of trust. And in Tony's experience, trust was as rare and valuable a commodity as demon blood.
"Son of Sparda," he whispered to himself, the lieutenant's words echoing in his mind. "If you only knew the half of it."