Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans or F.E.A.R. The only thing we have to fear…is fear itself.
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
Prologue: Silent
Silence engulfed the tower and flooded its halls. Darkness only added to the quiet.
Raven was thankful for the peace.
She was free to leave her room without worry of falling victim to one of Beastboy's pranks; allowed to freely roam a darkened Titan's Tower in solitude, a silent sentinel against no foe.
She allowed her hood to be let down, revealing short cropped dark hair, her cloak still covering the rest of her form.
The only light in the Titan's Tower came from the city beyond their small island, creating shadows on the floor of only a minor nature of scare.
She enjoyed this time, knowing full well that it would be tainted and lost to the sound effects coming from one of Cyborg and Beastboy's mindless video games or the alarm in the morning.
She gazed out at the city's towers illuminated against the dark as they were gently pelted by tears of rain.
Her eyes fluttered shut as her cheek lay against the window, absorbing the cool emanating from the glass.
Midnight was her time of intimacy and to be left alone.
"My baby…noooo!"
Her eyes snapped open.
She became rigid. Where the hell had that come from?!
Her eyes scanned the dark hallways. Nothing indicated disturbance. The tower's alarms stayed silence.
No intruders tonight.
She thought for a moment. The voice… It was in her mind.
Wait no! Not her mind…
'Robin?'
The girl enveloped herself in her own dark magic, phasing her from the hallway.
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Signature black magic expanded then vanished, in its place standing the sorceress. Raven looked about the room.
Robin's room was signature in itself, looking more like the inside of an NYPD precinct than a bedroom. Numerous news clippings adorned his walls, more than half of them on his constant obsession:
Slade.
The room was dark, but like the hallway, was slightly illuminated from city lights far off spilling through the window.
One ray made its way slinking over a bed, noticeably ruffled by the presence of a body. Raven was close enough to see the features upon the sleeper's face.
His face was contorted with conflict, his form twisting and flipping from one side to another.
Robin was not sleeping in peace.
This was the fifth time for the month. For a month now, Robin's slumber brought nightmares.
She was the only one who knew about this. She never told the other Titans about Robin's nighttime battles. Every night his fear surfaced, she would come to him, doing what she could to soothe his pain.
Time and again, he would murmur things in his sleep. Ghosts of his past would occasionally find vent in his dreams…or nightmares. Battles already fought. Names from long ago…
She watched in sympathy of his pained slumber. Something terrible had scarred him. Something that he had not yet made peace with.
'Robin…what happened to you?'
He had murmured names in his sleep. He had cried for someone more than once…Jin was it?
The young empath brushed an offending hair lock from his mask.
That mask…it held so many secrets. It was the mask that he hid behind from the team, from Starfire…from her.
She had tried to enter his mind at night, seeking the evil that plagued him. Yet she entered his mind only to find silence. Robin had built a resistance of some kind, blocking her from entering his sub-conscious. She could not see his dreams. Only a soundless void would greet her. She had been able to see all his other dreams, but not these. He blocked her somehow…
Raven had thought Robin would trust her of all people, ever since their mind link. She now heard his thoughts, and he hers. Robin knew what a private person she was. He knew that anything he told her she would keep to herself if asked.
Yet still he shut her out. Still he was silent.
'Why Robin?'
He wouldn't hear her thoughts. Not in his sleep.
She was careful in sitting down next to his dormant form, cautious not to wake him. Carefully she petted his hair.
He seemed to calm. He wasn't breathing as hard, but still drenched in sweat.
It ate at her to seem him in such pain and then not seek help. Such was his prideful nature.
She took in his sleeping form. It was hard to remember sometimes he was only a teenager. His attitude was one more mature than most his age.
His features were still young. His well sculpted face held a healthy glow still despite his bad sleep.
She was blushing. Raven's head jerked away, self-conscious of how long she had gazed on him.
Robin's nightmares seemed to have past.
She petted his head for a few moments longer, looking in sympathy.
Was Robin allowed no peace? They had just defeated Trigon. Her father had already caused so much pain. They had barely emerged with victory, and now Robin was tormented by his own mind.
"You awaken from one nightmare…only to find yourself deep in another."
Raven's petting halted. Another blurb from Robin's mind… She had heard that voice before. It was…cold.
Her tension subsided. Only bad memories… Only a ghost…
They had nothing to fear.
Teen Titans: Fear Itself
Chapter 01: Hollow Carcass
The voice was old. "You will be a god among men…"
Robin awoke.
His eyes were greeted good morning by gentle sun rays peaking through the parted blinds of his window. He could see out to blue skies and Jump city sprawling with activity. Already he could hear the sound effects coming from one of Cyborg and Beastboy's video games.
He exhaled. The night was over.
His hand wiped down his face with exhaustion. He didn't need to look in a mirror. He knew what he probably looked like. He hadn't slept well…again.
The nightmares were getting worse. At least they were only nightmares now. Not visions. No more visions.
He shuffled to the closet, looking for his outfit for the day.
'As if there's a real selection,' he snorted.
He shuffled through his monotonous wardrobe of his namesake uniform.
He stopped. One uniform stood out from the rest. He pushed away the others, taking a full gander at its clear scars of service. Numerous bullet holes still bore like rotting wounds around the Kevlar…so did burn marks. What parts weren't covered by experimental armor were clothed by digital desert fabric. The helmet still held its place on the shelf above. The patch of a brown spear point was still distinct above the name tape, signifying his position as point man.
He had never gotten rid of it. He didn't know why. All it did was remind of horrors that would never leave him. Failures he tried to move on from even to this day.
He grabbed one of his regular outfits. He could still feel the glare of those old battle visors.
He dressed quickly.
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"TOFU!"
"NO TOFU YOU LIL' GRASS STAIN! MEAT!"
"TOFU!"
"MEAT!"
The voices echoed strongly throughout the tower's hallways, now lit by the sun spilling through massive window.
It seemed that the epic chronicles of morning video games had ended. And the battle for breakfast had begun. Robin had slept later than he thought. Normally he was up in time to play winner between Beastboy and Cyborg.
The automatic doors gave way to his passing. Sunlight flooded the living room through the massive window panes and giving a beautiful view of the glittering Pacific. Robin had an appreciation for sunlight, especially in the morning.
Sure enough, Cyborg and Beastboy were battling for control of the kitchen, detemining who would be "master chef" of the morning.
Raven was in her usual spot, sitting on their eight-piece sectional reading her book. Robin never knew what it was she was reading. The girl gave him a smile of acknowledgment.
"Come on dude!" Beastboy pleaded. "I've been a pig! How could you want to eat me?!"
"Just once I want some meat! How can you deny a Cyborg his meat?!" Cyborg wailed in protest.
"Please friends! Can there not be two masters of chefing?" Starfire was mediating between the two as usual, urging compromise for the everyday battle of answering "What's for breakfast?"
Robin advanced on the kitchen. "Still pushing for meat; eh Cyborg?" the teen smiled.
The three turned, as if noticing him for the first time. Starfire's eyes instantly lit up.
"Robin!" The young Tameranian girl's power of flight instantly took at seeing her friend up. The girl floated over, crushing him in her happy embrace. Once again, she had forgotten her strength.
Robin remembered her telling him that her power of flight was gauged by her joy. It flattered him knowing that seeing him made her happy.
"Come on y'all!" Cyborg urged. "We gotta have bacon today, we've got training practice. And the great Cyborg needs MUSCLE!" He emphasized by flexing his arms.
"Rob!" the green changeling pleaded to the Titans' leader. "Don't do this to me!"
Robin took a couple of breaths from Starfire overflow of affection. "You know Beastboy, it would be eggs and ham, not green eggs and ham."
Cyborg snickered. Beastboy simply glared.
"Oh please," Raven groaned. She didn't need more lame jokes. One Beastboy was enough.
"Bacon it is!" Cyborg happily declared and set to work cooking. Beastboy morphed into a hound dog, lumbering away with his tail tucked and a slight whimper to be heard.
Robin paid little attention, instead looking forward to the prospect of some breakfast himself.
"Robin…"
The said teen turned around. Raven was no longer sitting at the couch reader her book. She was now standing three feet from him.
Robin jumped back. He hated it when she did that.
Raven didn't seem to take notice of startling him. "We need to talk," she simply stated.
Robin's eyebrow cocked. "We do?"
They never had the chance.
The siren blared, red light flashing in the room. Robin jumped for the computer, silencing the alarm. Cyborg had let his cooking go for the moment. The other Titans crowded around the screen.
"The signal was set off by Port Security," Robin talked as he typed. "It's coming from the docks."
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The T-car cruised along mostly empty roads. The sun still was rising, so many would still slumber for a while.
Cyborg was behind the wheel as usual. Robin always rode shotgun while Raven insisted that she have a buffer zone between her and Beastboy who always liked to stick his head out the window while in the form of a dog. This always landed Starfire in between the two.
"So what exactly is up?" Cyborg asked.
Robin was the one to answer as he fitted a comm link piece in his ear. "The distress signal only gave a location. A little strange since usually the person can also include a short message."
"Why didn't they?"
The docks rose into view.
"We're about to find out."
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The car slowed as it approached the gate. The lock had been blasted and the gated forced open. The T-car cruised though the opening already made.
Headlights cut though the remnants of morning fog. The car slowed and stopped.
Robin stepped out. He was instantly enveloped and washed by a morning chill. The sun was still creeping up from behind the city's sky scrappers. The docks were still twilight and the Pacific's waters here were still dark. The physical sight of his breath further proved the cold.
The other Titans seemed to share his sediments as they followed with a slight shiver. All except for Raven that is. Robin took note of her cloak covering her body.
'Cheater,' he pondered with a smirk.
Robin unhooked his mini mag-light from his belt, cutting though the translucent fog.
"There," he pointed.
His light guided the team forward to a warehouse. Nothing made it stand out from others, but it was otherwise according to the Boy Wonder's GPS.
No gun shots were heard. No screams or crashes. Were they too late? Robin wondered.
The team stopped short of a door. Robin's light illuminated a sign above the doorway mostly faded with age. The name was now illegible.
"This is where the signal's coming from."
Beastboy shivered. "Would you take in the creepiness factor here? This's got Slade written all over it."
His remark was instantly answered with red-eyed glares coming from Raven and Cyborg. He instantly knew why. Cyborg had grilled into the team that Slade was not a topic conversation with or around Robin. Raven had been quick to second. Beastboy had forgotten.
Robin didn't respond, at least not outwardly. He stood silent.
Starfire approached with caution. "Robin?" The others grew fearful. She gently reached for his shoulder.
"…look at the door," the boy answered. All eyes focused on his light as he shined it on the handle. It was blasted off. "I think we can rule out robbery. These guys went on an all out assault."
The boy softly bounded up the few steps, Starfire behind. The three gave a sigh of relief. Robin hadn't heard, or hadn't cared. Either was fine with them. Raven and Cyborg gave Beastboy a scowl of warning before following.
Robin's hand barely grazed the door as he stood ready. The other Titans assembled behind. Cyborg clasped the leader's shoulder, and then gave a confident pat.
Robin kicked the door in. The others were close behind as he charged.
The building was quiet. Dark too.
Starfire raised her arm, a starbolt held in her grasp, lighting the room in a faint green glow.
Rusted shelves, cold equipment, and untouched crates and boxes. Only these served as silent witnesses to anything that transpired that day. No people.
Anything that had happened was finished long before their arrival.
A large hole punctured the side of the concrete wall, grabbing Robin's attention first.
Robin took time in reaching the hole, taking in anything else about the hanger-like room that stood out. Not many signs of struggle made themselves know. A few bullet holes here and there, but no bodies. No one calling for help or shouting battle orders. Where was everyone?
The hole was large. Big enough to fit a truck in.
'That was probably the idea,' he reasoned.
He looked behind him. He wondered what the rest of the team deduced. "Cyborg, you and Starfire see if you can find out what it is they took. The rest of us are going to find who sent that signal."
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Robin's steps were careful, listening for anything. The silence was engulfing, almost intimidating. Tight hallways and darkness did nothing to ease his fears. His eyes could make out various objects and walls about, but the dead center was black.
His team was behind him, he knew that. But still he was tense. He was always on point…
A loud bang shattered the silence. Robin had almost yelled out.
He turned around. The open remnants of a soup can rolled to his heal. He looked back. A guilty look on Beastboy's face had said it all.
The green changeling smiled sheepishly. "He he…my bad." Raven's glare that bore on him was one that would rival the sun's.
Robin exhaled silently as possible. His heart still thundering. 'God damn it Beastboy…'
"Cyborg," Robin asked aloud through his comm link. "you guys find anything yet?"
"Nothing on what they took," the half-robot answered. "From the looks of it, the blast that made the hole was done by a charge though. From the looks of it military grade; possibly C-4."
"Doesn't sound like anyone we know," Robin replied.
Room after room brought no evidence better than the last. No battle, no people…
"What's going on?" Beastboy asked. "I mean there's no sign of a fight or anything. It like everybody's just gone."
Robin eyed his tracker. The signal's origin was not far now.
His flashlight shone on a doorway ahead.
"This is it," he turned back to his teammates. "Security office."
The door swung open. Like the rest of the rooms, dark and abandoned.
A silent control board and unmanned monitors were all that greeted them. The security televisions broadcasted nothing of interest. One showed Cyborg and Starfire investigating in another room. Another showed Robin's group. He turned to the opposite wall. Sure enough, a security camera was recording their every move.
Nothing but silent guards, watching against threat that seemed to not exist.
"Dude," Beastboy was now skeptical. "Are you sure this is the right place?"
Robin's flashlight shone on the control panel ahead. "There's your proof right there."
A button on the panel flashed red, the only sign of any kind of activity at all that night. The Titan's grimaced. It was the distress button to call the tower.
Robin pressed, turning it off. They were too late. "Looks like the parties over…"
Raven stepped up to the control console, sitting down at the chair.
"I might be able to access the camera's recordings. Maybe we can see what happened." She set to work typing a series of keys, seeking to accomplish her said task.
Robin talked into his comm link. "Cyborg, we found the security room. No one's here but we're pulling up the video tapes. You guys find anything?"
"Not yet, but we'll let you know when we do."
Raven frowned. "There's something wrong. The recordings are corrupt. If we want to watch them we're going to have to take them back to the tower to repair them."
Raven rose from the seat, stepping away from the console. "I'll get Cyborg on that…" He stared at the black screens, wondering what they would have shown.
He turned to the Titans behind him. Beastboy face had a look of…disgust?
"Beastboy?"
Raven had already looked. She pointed at the floor. "Look…"
Robin shone his flashlight. Something red coated the floor.
Blood. The boy immediately leaped away.
The blood was spread thin, smeared in the shape of a body. A body that had been dragged. Robin followed the gory trail to a closed door inside the office. A push against the door yielded no results. As could be seen through the glass window, the door was blocked by a desk from the other side. The blood trailed beyond the door.
"Cyborg, we need you up here right now!" Robin ordered.
"On my way."
"Raven," Robin now turned to his friends who were here. "Can you move the desks?" The empath's eyes glowed a dark light. A high pitched screech came from the other side of the door, a result of the desks sliding across the floor from Raven's powers.
Robin pushed the door open, continuing to follow the trail, which led up a set of stairs.
"Wait here from Cyborg," he ordered the girl. "Beastboy, with me."
The green changeling followed his leader up the stairs. A single flight led to a door.
"Ready?" Robin demanded. Beastboy nodded.
"GO!"
Morphed as a tiger, Beastboy burst through the doorway with a Roar, Robin right behind him, bow-staff drawn.
They were on the roof. The cobalt blue sky turning light and fresh air that filled their nostrils was given little attention.
Beastboy shape-shifted back to his original form.
The blood trail ended abruptly. Robin gazed across the rusted steel roof, out to the sea, then turned to the city. No one in sight.
"They had a chopper," the masked leader stated.
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The two returned downstairs to the security room where Raven awaited. Cyborg and Starfire had arrived by now.
"See anything?" Cyborg asked.
"They're long gone," Robin spoke. "You guys got a guess to what they were after?"
Starfire frowned in defeat. "We found nothing of which seemed to be missing or out of place."
"We're too late…" Raven darkly stated. They were too late. The party was over before they had even gotten there.
"What do we do know?" Starfire asked.
Robin looked to the security control console, the blood on the floor. He turned to Cyborg.
"Something did happen here, we know that much. Download the security feed and we'll take it back to the tower to repair it."
"I'm on it." The half-robot set to work.
Robin looked about the room, puffing a sigh. "C-4s and a chopper…definitely no one we know."
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Cyborg had spent the better part of an hour repairing the recording. The team had gathered in the tower's living room to watch.
"Robin,"
Robin turned. Again Raven had popped up behind him unnoticed.
"Yeah?"
"After this we still need to talk."
Raven's eyes shifted their attention to the large television set, waiting patiently for Cyborg to finish. She wasn't going to say anymore. Robin didn't push the matter. Robin had almost forgotten. He still didn't know what she wanted though.
"Dudes!" Beastboy bounded happily from the kitchen to the couch, a large tub of popcorn in his hands. He jumped and plopped onto the couch smack in front of the television. "Let's get this show on the road!"
Robin frowned. "Beastboy, this isn't a movie."
"Indeed," Starfire concurred. "Should the popping corns not be consumed unless we are viewing a…buster of blocks?"
"Come on," Beastboy's hand plunged into the tub. "We can't watch TV without popcorn…NO EXCEPTIONS."
The bucket's contents illuminated a black light, then exploding in Beastboy's face. Starfire giggled. Robin swore he saw a smirk under Raven's hood.
"All right y'all," Cyborg stepped back. "We're set to go."
He took place on the couch next to Beastboy, noting the bits of food covered all over the shell-shocked changeling.
"Hey, popcorn!" the half-robot happily chirped, picking pieces and munching on them. Raven gave a groan, rolling her eyes.
The picture was distorted, stretching and scratched from presentable standards.
"I was only to recover a few seconds of a workable footage," Cyborg apologized. "Be sure to watch closely. I hope it's something good."
The video eventually blinked into a good picture. The shot was the security room they had been in. A body was on the floor. A dead body.
Someone standing, no…kneeling beside it, their back to the camera, obstructing a view of the face. He had a masculine build body, well sculpted shoulders. His head was hunched down though. It was hunched down to the body.
The lifeless corpse made involuntary jerks as the person held it close to his…mouth?
Beastboy's eyes squinted, unbelieving of what it looked like. "What…..what is he doing?"
It looked like the person was……eating?!
Blood squirted from the corpse, splattering onto the wall.
"What the hell is this?!" Cyborg revolted. A look of disgust had appeared on everyone's faces. All but one…
Robin stared, unblinking. His eyes were fixated on the figure before him. That physique, that…behavior.
The figure had stopped moving. He jerked around.
Robin's heart stopped, his blood froze.
'Christ…'
The mouth and chin were messed with blood. He had been eating the corpse. But it was those eyes that Robin focused on. Oh, those horrible eyes…
A cold ice blue, sharp and inhumane. They were hollow; empty. Yet they were also wild. All of it the trademarks of a psychopath.
The other Titan's had been left speechless, each staring with a slacked jaw.
The figure was now looking into the camera, vainly searching for those who had been watching.
Robin felt his stomach twist and lurch. The mere sight of this…thing made him want to vomit.
The eyes darted in his direction, stopping cold of their movement. The figure's head slowly twisted in alignment. He was looking straight at Robin.
Robin's heartbeat slowed to a stop. He stared at the figure on the tape, the figure staring straight back. Straight at him. His mouth had run dry, his throat parched.
The figure's cold blue eyes widened in delight; the blood stained mouth curled into a smile. Red stained lips parted, showcasing a set of teeth, washed in fresh blood.
He was looking straight at him. He was smiling at him…
He could see him! Robin wanted to scream, but his voice was absent.
The figure spoke. "Hello…..brother…."
The vision exploded into a sea of television snow static, a white noise in accompaniment.
No one spoke or reacted. The Titan's had seen it. He was talking to Robin. They slowly turned to him.
Robin's face was a ghostly pale, his breathing hollow. His mask hid any terror that may have insurged into his eyes. His stance was very weak.
"Robin?" Cyborg slowly rose from his position on the couch.
His mouth barely parted, emitting an ever-soft voice.
"Fettel…?"
His knees gave out.
"ROBIN!" Starfire had flown to his side, but Cyborg had caught him first. He had seen the warning signs.
Starfire knelt by his side, taking him from Cyborg's arms in a gentle hold. "Robin! Please, what is wrong! Speak to us!"
Robin had not passed out. His eyes held a clouded look of hypno as he gazed up the ones that surround him. Cyborg was dashing away in the direction of the infirmary. Starfire held him in her arms. Her frantic green eyes desperately searched his face. Beastboy stood up behind her, looking down on Robin, his gloved hands running through his hair, desperate and unsure of what to do.
Where was Raven?
"Robin." The voice was in his mind.
Cool hands clasped each side of his head. His head was tilted back.
He looked up into her face. Raven's face…
Her hood had been let down, revealing her short purple hair. Her eyes were deep and passionate. She was calm. She wasn't frantic. She was…sad?
She was afraid. Afraid for him.
"Robin…" the mind voice was Raven. Their mind link… "Robin…what's wrong? What happened?"
Her eyes stared straight through his mask. Straight into his heart.
"Robin, let me in…" His dreams… She wanted to see his dreams. "Let me help. Please…before it's too late."
Tears dropped onto his face. Raven's tears. "What's hurting you? Who was that? Please Robin…let me in."
He wouldn't let her. He wouldn't let anyone. He would let no else get hurt by this…thing.
His vision began to blur…then darken. Her thoughts began to blan and echo. "Robin….."
He blacked out.
He no longer felt Starfire's warm arms wrapped around him. He no longer could see anything. He could no longer hear Raven.
But his head... His head was still immobile. Raven's hands still held his head.
She had penetrated his mind? She had made it in with him. But how? He had blocker her before…
Wait….
These hands were different. They were freezing. They were smaller….
'Oh God…' He opened his eyes.
Raven's compassionate face was gone. Another replaced.
A younger one.
This face… The skin was a mask, pure white and emotionless. There were no eyes….only holes, dark and void.
This face…it was dead.
"Alma…"
"My baby…"
To be continued…
Yick! I myself squirmed when I wrote this ending.
Okay, so basically this is a cross between Teen Titans and the video game F.E.A.R. Just a strange idea that won't leave me alone.
In order to understand what I am talking about, you really need to have played F.E.AR. The story itself takes place after F.E.A.R. and F.E.A.R. Extraction Point. I hope I get interest.
I always appreciate reviews. It keeps me motivated and shows that people are interested. So please review! Until next time.
- Patriot-of-USA
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September 11th…let's roll!