Slender Man, Slender Man,
All the children try to run.
Slender Man, Slender Man,
To him it's part of the fun.
The first time Robin saw something out of place was just after a battle with Cinderblock. They were waiting for a few of the reporters to finish up and for the police to help tie up some of the lose ends.
He had been hanging around the T-Car with Raven and while everyone else on the team was beyond tired. It had been a long week full of late night calls and annoying villains and burglars and he chalked it up to a trick of the eye.
He was just standing there under the street light. He was pretty tall, dressed in a full suit. That was odd enough. It was late July, the weather was warm, and it seemed that all the Jump City business men were changing all the suits to dress pants, short-sleeve dress shirts and ties. But that wasn't the thing that set warning bells in his head.
The whole body structure was off. Long, lanky arms hung down at his sides, and he was held up by long legs. He had to be seven feet tall, at least. He rubbed his eyes, and when he opened them, the man was gone.
He didn't have time to dwell on it anymore, for seconds later the other titans came scuffling in, all complaining about idiot villains (Cyborg and Beast Boy's words) and the nice, soft beds that awaited them at their home sweet home (Starfire's words).
It was enough to push the incident out of his head.
Slender Man, Slender Man.
Dressed in darkest suit and tie.
Slender Man, Slender Man,
You most certainly will die.
The next weird incident happened when he and Beast Boy were scouting.
They were a few days into August and already the others were feeling the last of the heat waves rolling in. Thankfully the city had cooled down enough by late evening so it was bearable by the time they left.
They were recently securing the area after three thieves's escaped. Nothing was looking out of the ordinary, until Robin turned his head.
He was standing a hundred feet away. Robin felt the red flags in his head going off. He glanced at Beast Boy out of the corner of his eye. The younger boy seemed fine. The others could usually tell when something was wrong, just by looking at the changeling. Ears perked and twitching to every sound was an automatic flag to the others. But now, there was nothing.
And that whole thing was a warning. The man was still there, just looking at him, and slowly he started reaching his arm out.
"Beast Boy we're going."
"Huh? Robin, we've only been here for, like, ten minutes. You said-"
"Yes I know what I said. Disregard it, we're leaving this area and heading back to the tower now."
He didn't know why Beast Boy was giving him an odd look. Couldn't he see the man? But without making another comment, he simply nodded slowly and both of them left.
He still felt the eyes of the strange man on him even after they had gotten to the tower and went to sleep.
Slender Man, Slender Man,
His branching arms are for collecting.
Slender Man, Slender Man,
His face is empty of expressing.
He always had nightmares. The hours of whatever he could get of sleep were filled with images of scorching fires, screams of people he could never help or get to in time, Slade, and other things he didn't know what to make of. Te last thing he expected was to see him in his dreams.
He was on a street. It didn't look like one from the city, only since it was much darker and much colder. There was no wind, yet he couldn't seem to shake off the feeling of his body going numb. The street light was there.
The man stood there just like he did the first day. Long arms, long legs, and the odd suit. Then he caught the sight he hadn't the last two times. There was no face. It was blank of anything and everything.
He tried to wake up, tried to fight, to run…but he couldn't move. The man drifted forward. Robin was begging to slightly panic now. He was less than a foot away. No words were said, nothing. He didn't see his life flash before his eyes, didn't get to utter any last words.
He was just as silent and still as the man who was now wrapping his fingers around his throat.
That night, his screams woke up the tower. He couldn't tell them. He wished he could find the words to, but once again he insisted on that old line I'm fine. He was as silent as he was in the nightmares.
Slender Man, Slender Man,
He won't let you say goodbye.
Slender Man, Slender Man,
You most certainly will die.
He waited till all the others were out of the tower before turning on his laptop. He didn't dare use the computer in the Main Room, and felt much safer using his own where he could just wipe the history of what he had done in a few seconds.
He stared at the search engine for a long time, trying and contemplating his words. Then he slowly typed in the words Slender Man into the search engine.
He got a lot of hits. He started with the first few, the top picks and choices. They were stories, accounts, and sightings of the man dubbed 'Slender Man'. He wasn't too worried until he saw the pictures.
The man was there, in perfect form. Every detail, every shape, everything that Robin had been seeing in the last few weeks was there. The long, lanky arms. The suit attire. The long legs that held him up, making and succeeding in making him appear huge. The face so void of expression, it rivaled Raven.
He slammed his laptop shut. He pushed it in a drawer in his desk, and walked out into the brightly lit Main Room. When the others came back and asked him what he had done today, he lied.
"Oh, the usual, just some training and files and stuff. By the way, I devised a new way to increase all of our speed by…"
He was met with a chorus of groans and inwardly he smiled. Only one person could try and peg him for lying, and by the look she was sending Beast Boy, he was sure Raven had missed it.
A small voice in the back of his head, and coupled with a feeling in his gut, told him he wished she had noticed it.
Slender Man, Slender Man,
Sometimes hums a lowly drone.
Slender Man, Slender Man,
He will wander 'round your home.
This was by far the most terrifying encounter with him. All the others couldn't compare with this one.
They were all hanging around the Main Room. Cyborg was banging hard on the video game control while Raven was immersed in her latest novel. Beast Boy had been appointed, abet reluctantly, to help Starfire in the kitchen and the two were now pleasantly chatting.
He was sitting by himself at the side table in the corner of the room. The thing…the Slender Man…he was in the tower. No alarms had gone off. No warning. There had been no indication that he was in the tower or even how he had gotten in. The voice in the back of his head that had been getting louder with every passing day said that he was already here.
And not only was he in the tower but he was steadily drifting towards the kitchen. Where his teammates were. Were Starfire, a person he cared about was. Where Beast Boy, who had been with him when he had first seen the man, and a close friend, was. It couldn't be allowed.
The Slender Man began to raise his arms. Robin reacted with pure instinct.
He sprinted towards the two, pushed Starfire out of the way, and tackled Beast Boy and half dragged him out of the area of the kitchen, since the arms were the closest to him.
The next few moments were pandemonium.
Cyborg was on his feet on an instant. Starfire rushed forward for him, but he slinked back, still holding tightly to his companion's arm. She stopped, but this did nothing to stop Raven from grabbing a completely confused and alarmed Beast Boy by the wrist and didn't let go until he was either a good enough distance away from Robin or planted firmly between herself and Cyborg.
His heart was racing. Why couldn't they see him? They all wore faces of concern, shock, apprehension, and above all, confusion.
"What the hell do you think you're doing man?" Cyborg yelled. He didn't answer. He was still standing there. His arms were once again reaching out towards Beast Boy and he sprang forward again.
Beast Boy didn't move but Cyborg put his arm in front of him and pushed him so he was half hidden by his bulky frame.
"Give him to me!" Robin cried out in frustration. Why couldn't they see him! Didn't they see him, the arms slinking towards their youngest? There was something horribly wrong with this.
"What is you're problem?"
"Robin calm down."
"Please, Robin, talk to us."
He ignored them. Only one person mattered at the moment, and he was the one he didn't have access to.
"Don't you see him?"
They glanced at him, turned and then faced him again.
"See who, Rob? We're the only ones in the room."
"He's there! Right behind you!"
They turned again and he took his shot. He sprang forward ran around Cyborg and grabbed Beast Boy again. He yanked it out of his grip.
The once bright green eyes were now narrowed in suspicion and fear. He wasn't sure how he looked right now.
Mad? Delirious? He could name a billion other things, and any one of them would buy him is own ticket to the crazy house. No, he didn't need it, he was already there.
"Please trust me."
It was dumbest thing he could have said. Why on earth would he trust him? He was the reason he had been strapped to a chair once, shunned by the team that was supposed to trust him, and he was asking him to forget all of that and trust him?
The eyes flickered back and forth. He noted the silence in the room and out of the corner of his eye he saw the others watching him and Beast Boy. Cyborg was glaring at him, Raven looked like she was seconds away from dragging him away, back to the safety of the others, and Starfire had her hands clasped under her chin, her eyes pleading and he couldn't ignore the moisture forming in her eyes.
"Ok." That one word shattered the silence. It started uproar. Any arguments that would have been made were cut out by the next words.
"Look, if he wants me to trust him, then fine. Let me go. It isn't like I wouldn't be able to fight him off in things get crazy, you can track us both in the tower and from the state of things, Raven could find us in an instant, because, let's face it, both me and him and emotional beacons right now." Beast Boy said.
The others faced each other. They didn't speak; they more had an entire conversation by their eyes, and then turned back to them.
"Fine."
He didn't wait for any other words. He grabbed the arm again, abet more gentle then last time, and led him away from the room. He threw a glance over his shoulder. The Slender Man was gone. That didn't mean the fear was.
They didn't stop moving till they were already in the basement. Taking out two sleeping bags, Beast Boy handed him one. They didn't speak or ask questions at first. Once again, Beast Boy was the one to break the silence.
"You want to tell me what the hell just happened upstairs?"
He could tell him right now. Get it over with. If this was as crazy as it sounded to him, there was a strong chance Beast Boy would believe him. He always believed in things like this.
But if he didn't, and told the others, he was back to square one. Earning the teams trust again. He remembered when he started having images of Slade cloud his mind, how he had hurt Starfire, was strapped down to a table for safe keeping, only to escape and almost kill himself. It was too much…but the pressure to finally tell someone, get the weight off his chest…
"No."
They were both silent the rest night, and no one slept.
Slender Man, Slender Man,
Blends in well within the trees.
Slender Man, Slender Man,
In the fog he's hard to see.
The incident in the kitchen was still looming over all of their heads a week after it happened. Both Raven and Cyborg were throwing looks he didn't understand all the time now, Starfire was worried but didn't approach him, either because she was truly afraid of him this time or the other two had told her to stay away. Beast Boy alone was the only one handling this calmly.
If Robin wanted him in his sight at all times, which was often the case, he stayed there. They had now been camping down in the basement for a few nights since that was the only room Robin didn't feel watched from.
Most days, however, he just sort of followed Beast Boy. Trailing him in the hallways, always making sure he was in his sight during training sessions, and pairing him up with himself when they went scouting. It wasn't until their fifth straight night down in the basement that Robin asked a question.
"I am suffocating you?"
Beast Boy only glanced up at him for a second then turned his focus to the wall and a leaning tower of old cardboard boxes.
"No, you aren't."
"I…just feel like I am sometimes. I just want to make sure he doesn't g-" He stopped himself in time. But he wasn't quick enough apparently, since Beast Boy tore his gaze away form the wall and boxes and focused entirely on him.
"Who won't get me?"
"No one."
"Robin, there is something going on, and as much as everyone else here would like to know, I think I should be the first one to find out. So tell me, who apparently is out to get me?"
The voice wasn't demanding like Raven, or booming like Cyborg's, and it certainly wasn't laced with pity like Starfire's. He was just asking, and clearly just wanted an answer.
"I…you'll think I'm crazy."
"No I won't."
"Yes, you will."
"Robin, I've been called that term more times I can count. It came from almost everyone on this team, minus Star, at one time. I got called it a lot when I was with the Doom Patrol. Sometime I swore I was actually going crazy, like what happened with the whole Beast thing. So don't try to use that excuse here."
He didn't expect that. Not the mention of the Beast incident which he was known for, or the mention of his former team. Beast Boy never mention the Doom Patrol unless it held some sort of meaning in the conversation. Clearly, it was needed here.
"Slender Man."
"What?"
"The Slender Man is after you and me."
Silence. It descended down upon them like lightening. Beast Boy tore his gaze away from Robin and stared at the boxes again. Robin counted the seconds.
One minute and twenty-three seconds later he speaks back up. Keeping his eyes trained on the wall and boxes, Beast Boy's voice cuts through the silence like a knife.
"You…you think that the Slender Man is after us?"
"It sounds crazy, I know, but just…just let me explain."
There isn't anything for a few seconds, then Beast Boy turns to fully face him.
"Okay."
"I…I've been seeing things for awhile now. I started back when we were fighting Cinderblock-"
"You could have hit you head-"
"Let me finish."
He stops and only pulls his knees up to his chest. Resting his chin on his knees, the indication to go on is the still questioning look in his eyes. He prays the others are asleep, not watching this, but since he had pretty much confined one of his own teammates to the basement and is getting ready to suck him into his own personal hell, he assumes they are. They haven't exactly been all warm and happy…or normal around him like Beast Boy was.
"I saw under a street light. I thought it was just because I was tired, it had been a long week, and I rubbed my eyes and he was gone. I saw him in the woods where we were scouting. I saw him in my nightmares, for Christ's sake! Then…then things got worse."
He pauses. He has to word this right, try not to scare away the only person, who right now, is the only one willing to listen to his obscure story.
"I saw him here. In the tower. He was standing a few feet from the kitchen, just looking at you and Starfire. I…I panicked. I only wanted to get you out of there. He wasn't reaching for Star, just you. That's-"
"That's why you grabbed my arm. And kept trying to keep me near you. And why you went crazy when Cy wouldn't let you get to me."
Beast Boy's voice is quiet. It doesn't sound accusing, like he's heard so many times, but calculating, as if he's already trying to figure out the puzzle along with him.
"Ya. I just wanted to keep you near me. I…don't know why you guys can't see him…but he's there…always there…"
His sentences are breaking apart. He's repeating parts of it and is now really starting to sound like a raving lunatic. But Beast Boy doesn't say anything. Not for a few minutes.
"In the woods, when we went scouting, you pulled me out of there. You made a big deal out of it in the briefing, and it was really odd of you to do that…but even then I guess you still wanted me away from him."
"He was reaching out. I'm not sure which one of us he was trying to get…but it was enough to make me get you out of there."
Beast Boy nods. He stares at Robin for a second, the flops back onto his sleeping bag. They both fall back onto the silence that has plagued the whole tower for days.
"You're sure that this is real? That you aren't just imaging this?"
"No, I'm sure."
He means it. He has proof, the flood of information from the sights on the laptop that he still hasn't gotten out yet, come forth and so do the picture which show him that he couldn't be imaging something he has never seen.
"Ok."
"Ok?"
"Ya, ok. I mean…it does sound weird…but…it fits somehow."
"Tell me."
"Huh?"
"Tell me how it fits."
A pause. Beast Boy bites his lip for a second then starts talking.
"You wouldn't have been so quick to get me out of the woods if you didn't think something was wrong or suspicious. You never scream after a nightmare and that one night you did and wouldn't let me out of your sight then. And then the incident in the kitchen…it seems weird and odd…but it does fit, Rob."
"You…don't think I'm crazy?"
"No, I don't."
He doesn't say anything in response. There were no accusations, no interrogation, and no harsh words telling he was wrong or crazy.
"Why'd you bring up the Doom Patrol?"
The question shots out of his mouth before he can even think the question through. And it catches Beast Boy completely off guard.
"What?"
"Forget it. I didn't mean to ask-"
"No. It's ok. I just wanted to make sure I heard right."
"You don't have to explain."
Of all the others, he understands the pain of talking about another team. The longing feelings of whatever you left behind don't go away instantly and even after years, he sometimes catches himself missing it. To leave a group of people, though, just like that, must have been hard to do.
"No, I do. You…explained a lot tonight. I just want to make sure you're not the only one."
"Ok…I guess."
He isn't the only one explaining things tonight. He should have been the only one. This whole conversation was long overdue. Beast Boy owes him nothing.
"St-Mento, I mean, he can read minds. Kinda like what Rae can do, only a lot quicker and stronger. Sometimes, he would get all quiet. Then he would just start yelling. Roboman usually calmed him down enough with all kinds of drugs in the Med Bay."
Beast Boy takes a breath to pause. Robin pretends not to notice how his hands have begun to shake.
"One time, we were in the base alone. I came back to my room to find an envelope taped to my door. He wrote…he wrote that he couldn't deal with it anymore. He wouldn't keep listening to the voices in his head anymore."
This time his hands are really shaking and Robin knows that this story at least doesn't have a happy ending.
"He told me he was proud of what I was doing…and how he loved me. Then he told me he was going to kill himself. I…I found his helmet bashed to bits outside his door. When I ran inside…I found him trying to hang himself."
The words hit home for him. Now he knows why Beast Boy mentioned the Doom Patrol. Not because of the crazy insult, but to let Robin know he would rather be told this then find out about it in a suicide letter.
"I…I cut the rope. Then he really did start yelling. The rest of the team came back. I pressed some button on my old communicator that sent out a distress signal or something. He spent three months in a psyche ward."
"Is…is he still there?"
My voice sounds weak even to me. Beast Boy doesn't comment, or maybe he doesn't notice, or even if he does, he doesn't say anything.
"No. There was a major flaw with his helmet. Chief and some other scientists and doctors help design and build a new one."
"So, he's better now?"
Beast Boy nods. "Ya, he's doing better now."
"…do you still have the letter?"
There is a long pause of silence now. Beast Boy doesn't answer for a few moments and Robin is just beginning to think he won't answer at all when he speaks up. When he does, his voice is just above a whisper.
"Yes."
They don't say anything else for the rest of the night. When they slip into their sleeping bags finally, Beast Boy breaks the veil of silence.
"I still believe you Robin. I'm not going anywhere."
"I know. I just need to tell myself that."
"Could you promise me something?"
His voice is back to that above a whisper pitch again.
"Ya."
"If you have to do it…don't make the final goodbye and explanation in a letter. Tell it to my face ok?"
He doesn't answer right away. He throat is suddenly much tighter than normal and he has to fight to keep his voice from wavering when he answers.
"I promise, Beast Boy."
That night, he doesn't have a single nightmare and keeps his hand wrapped around Beast Boy's for the entire night.
Slender Man, Slender Man,
Dressed in darkest suit and tie.
Slender man, Slender Man,
You most certainly will die.
Nothing odd happens for the next few weeks. Him and Beast Boy now talk on a regular basis, and even though they are still sleeping in the basement, the others and much less hostile then they were a few weeks ago.
Starfire begins talking to him again. He and Cyborg argue over who lost the remote last. He and Raven don't say much, but she clearly is coming around to the idea that he isn't mentally unhitched and is really doing no harm to Beast Boy.
He doesn't know if they saw the video footage of them in the basement, and prays that they didn't. His confession was between him and Beast Boy, and is pretty sure that what Beast Boy said to him was extremely private, but he can't help but be slightly honored that he was the one that Beast Boy told.
They go on scouting trips. They play video games with Cyborg. He starts going on scouting trips with other members of the team, but always keeps his communicator close by.
After awhile, he forgets about it. He stops having nightmares of tall, lanky men is suits with faceless faces. He and Beast Boy move out of the basement. Life goes on.
Until it shatters into a billion pieces.
They were just walking. It was a normal scouting trip. He, Beast Boy, and Cyborg were clearing an area while the girls were halfway across town. It was then he spotted him.
He was standing between two trees. Just watching them. He instantly grabbed Beast Boy close to him. One glance at him told him everything he needed to know.
"Where?"
"Up ahead. Between the two large oaks."
Beast Boy looked. Robin knew he was trying. The way his ears where trying to catch a sound. The way his eyes were slightly squinting, trying to see something that he knew wasn't there.
He looked to Cyborg, but he was gone. The heavy footprints that had been left in the mud were gone.
Beast Boy yanked hard on his arm. He expected him to tell him he saw him, but what he got was Beast Boy staring on a patch of mud off of the trees. His face was beyond pale.
There was a set of footprints that were being made in the mud. He saw the Slender Man…it was him…he was coming towards him….and towards Beast Boy…
He knew he saw the Slender Man. Beast Boy didn't see the man himself, but he saw the footprints. That only would have freaked him out.
Then a strange humming filled the air. A soft song filled the air around them.
"Slender Man. Slender Man,
All the children try to run.
Slender Man, Slender Man,
To him it's part of the fun."
"Slender Man, Slender Man,
Dressed in darkest suit and tie.
Slender Man, Slender Man,
You most certainly will die."
"Slender Man, Slender Man,
His branching arms are for collecting.
Slender Man, Slender Man,
His face is empty of expressing."
"Slender Man, Slender Man,
He won't let you say goodbye.
Slender Man, Slender Man,
You most certainly will die."
"Slender Man, Slender Man,
Sometimes hums a lowly tune.
Slender Man, Slender Man,
He will wander 'round your home."
"Slender Man, Slender Man,
Blends in well with the trees.
Slender Man, Slender Man,
In the fog he's hard to see."
"Slender Man, Slender Man,
Dressed in darkest suit and tie.
Slender Man, Slender Man,
You most certainly will die."
The song ended. I gripped Beast Boy tighter. Tell him to run, I screamed at myself. I was the leader of the team. I was his leader. I was some much more to him now then I ever was in these past few weeks.
I held led him to his death. The one thing I swore never to do. I failed him. I failed myself. And worse…he won.
I couldn't move. Like in my nightmare months ago, I couldn't talk, couldn't scream, couldn't move or run. Beast Boy completely still against me. I gripped his hand tightly in mine.
Slender Man's arms flowed forward. Wrapped around my legs. Up around Beast Boy's middle. Wrapping around my neck. Then I only saw darkness.
X
"Robin!" Starfire's voice cut through my mind. I shot up. I was in the med bay. Beast Boy was no where to be found.
"Where's Beast Boy?"
"He's right here Robin." Ravens voice was calm and collected like always. Beast Boy stood a little ways behind her. He gave me a small, tentative smile. I shot up like a rocket. Grabbing as much of him in arms as I could. I didn't care that I was collecting stares from everyone else.
"Did he hurt you?" I asked franticly. There was no bandages on his torso. He seemed fine.
"Did who hurt me?"
I stopped. "You don't remember?"
Beast Boy is frowning now and behind me, someone coughs. Cyborg is standing there with a clipboard. I'm assaulted with memories and I pull Beast Boy closer to me.
"Rob…you got real sick. You're fever was 105 degrees at one point. I've never been at a lose for words, but I am now. What happened? It wasn't a dream…not a hallucination…it seemed real.
Raven picks up on this. "It wasn't real, Robin. You…weren't yourself."
"Let them talk." Starfire's voice surprises me.
Cyborg, Raven, and Starfire all leave the room, but say something to me before leaving. Cyborg pats me on the shoulder, Raven a look I can't understand, and Starfire and smile and a very happy congratulations on getting well.
Beast Boy drags me back to my bed and I sit down, suddenly realizing how weak I'm feeling right now.
"It wasn't real?"
"No…whatever happened it wasn't real."
"What happened?"
Beast Boy is quiet, which is a rare thing, then starts talking. "You got sick. Cyborg said something about a really bad flu bug and extreme exhaustion. You had a really high fever, until this morning when it broke."
"Did…did I say anything?"
Most people that hallucinate say things…and I can't even imagine what I had said.
"I got woken up at two the first day by Star saying that you were screaming for me. You were mumbling a lot of things. I got a lot of my name…something about a Slender Man and being crazy…and you mentioned the Doom Patrol and the rest of the team being hostile towards you."
I break. I tell him everything from the first encounter to the very end, when I thought very well that we were both dead. I'm tired. Beast Boy picks up on this.
"Lay down."
"I'm not tired."
"Robin don't try to deny it. just lay down and sleep."
"But, what I told you-"
"We'll deal with it when you're a bit better."
"I-"
"Robin, I'm not telling you I won't hear you out. I'm just saying, get some rest and when you wake up we'll talk about it a bit more. 'kay?"
I mull it over. I nod numbly. Before I close my eyes I grab his wrist. It seems like a habit I can't break myself out of.
"Stay." My words are slurred.
"I'm not going anywhere."
"Promise me?"
"I promise."
He goes to sleep. He doesn't dream of tall, long slender men. He doesn't dream of fire or screaming people or Slade. He just sleeps. Beast Boy ends up staying the rest of the day with him.
I never let go of his wrist. When I wake up for the next time. The shades are closed. A single lamp is turned on and sits on the corner table.
I glance at my hand and his wrist.
"I still believe you Robin. I'm not going anywhere."
"I know. I just need to tell myself that."
"Can you promise me something?"
"Ya."
"If you have to do it…don't make the final goodbye and explanation in a letter. Tell it to my face ok?"
"I promise."
My hand is still holding onto his wrist. His other hand is supporting his head and his eyes are closed. Without thinking it, I know he's asleep. Then I see his hand again.
His is locked in a death grip on my wrist. I know that the bond is stronger than just the looks. My throat clenches tightly again and I whisper out those last words.
"I promise. I promise you Beast Boy. I'm not going anywhere."
I lay back down. Close my eyes. I'm almost back asleep when I mutter it again.
"I promise."
Neither of our grips waver.
Ok…so I have no idea really where this came from. I was at a party a few days ago and a few friends started telling stories about Slender Man. This idea was rolling around in my head after that whole thing. So I hope you enjoyed it. Reviews are welcome