Warning: Just wrote this tonight, so I'm sure it sucks and is covered in errors lol. However, the next chapter is the big reveal so that'll make up for it!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Titans, any movies mentioned, or any of that stuff.
9. Dawn of the Dead
"If it is Mumbo why hasn't he shown up yet?" Raven asked just hours after Robin had discovered his slaughtered parents. They were sitting in the study of the Roths' freezing, Victorian mini-mansion going over every probable possibility that might explain why they were there. They had already come to the conclusion that it was too real to be a dream. They realized that so far neither the Slade or Mother Mae Eye in this world seemed very threatening. They thought maybe Mumbo might've somehow transported them to another dimension, but where did he come in at? He wasn't at the scene with Red X and Red X always worked alone, so it wasn't like they were partners in crime.
Robin chewed on his lip as he pondered her question, then reluctantly breathed, "It has to be Red X. Nothing else seems logical."
"I wish we would've checked to see if there was a note at Aqualad's crime scene. Maybe that's why Jason was heading back to the natatorium," Raven tried to reason.
Ring, ring, her phone randomly vibrated on top of the oak desk they were sitting at, startling them both. The shook girl quickly composed herself and read the notification. Robin could tell it was bad news by the sudden enlargement of her violet pupils.
"It was Bruce," she mumbled, obviously trying to keep herself together, "apparently they're letting Jason go. His story checked out."
"Well, there goes our lead," Robin sighed and turned back to look at the notes he'd jotted down on an old piece of paper that'd been stuck in their printer from a paper jam. "I'm starting to think he's not our Red X. Sure, Jason might be Red X in our world, but I don't think this is him."
Raven's soft jaw clenched as she tried her best to hold onto the last bit of suspicion she had for Jason. She knew Robin was right, but if Jason wasn't a suspect, then no one was a suspect and that made her feel hopeless. "Then, who else could it be? Even if he isn't our Red X, he's still Red X. He's probably still stone cold."
"Raven, I want to blame him as much as you do. That would make all of this so much easier," Robin started as his foot tapped ferociously on the hardwood floor. "But what's the point of blaming him if he's not the right guy. That's just going to prolong our stay here."
Raven folded her arms in her lap and slouched back in her chair. For a minute, she didn't say anything as she sat there silently thinking. Then, eventually she choked out, "What if the killer catches one of us before we get out?"
Robin eyed her out his peripheral vision in shock. He wasn't exactly sure how to respond to that. His fear matched hers, and he was just as scared of losing. He needed reassurance and confidence himself, so how was he going to help her find hers. "We have to stay positive and aware of our surroundings. Never get too comfortable. Check all areas. Be cautious of any and everyone. Never go anywhere alone. We have to protect each other, Raven."
Raven let out a long, dragging breath, "Okay. That's obvious. But what if none of that works and one of us dies."
Robin let out a frustrated sigh and forced, "Neither of us is going to die. Don't even think like that."
Raven hunched a nonchalant shoulder and deadpanned, "I'm just looking at the possibilities here. We have to be realistic, Robin." Then, she lowered her voice and softened up a bit, knowing that the wounds from his parents' second deaths were still fresh on his heart, "The killer almost got to me before. If something does happen to me, don't give up, Robin. Keep fighting until you get back home. Don't let my death be in vain."
-O-
Meanwhile on the other side of the neighborhood, Kid Flash, Beast Boy, and Starfire were all rebelliously walking to the grocery store a quarter after midnight. It was starting to seem like no one was taking Detective Wayne's nine o'clock curfew seriously as everyone was still hanging around at the parks, going on dates, and casually walking down the street as they were doing.
A few hours before, Starfire had hurried out of the café before Robin could make it back. She hadn't necessarily been sad, just a little disappointed. But mostly in herself. She had a small feeling that Robin liked Raven before they began dating. She just thought that maybe it was a silly crush he'd get over after a period of time. But the crush was starting to seem as if it was growing into something bigger and stronger, so she had to cease their outgoings before they got too serious. She figured if she left the café before he tried to explain himself, it'd save him from looking like an ashamed jerk.
After scurrying outside and down the busy sidewalk of the small metro area, she had run into Beast Boy and Kid Flash who were making their way from the public library. Apparently, they'd been working on a school project together. One that they'd waited to the last minute to do since it was due tomorrow. As they were walking back to the neighborhood they all resided in, Kid Flash had the bright idea of having a small get together at his house the next day for Halloween. So, they decided to stop by the grocery store to pick up snacks and a few decorations in advance.
"Man, I wish I could throw a big party for Halloween," Kid Flash said with a disappointed tone as they made their way through the double doors of the store. "But my neighbors would call the police in a flash."
Starfire wasted no time hopping onto the front ledge of one of the carts and rolling around the lobby. "Come on, friends! It is most fun to play on the carts of shopping! Hehe!"
"Uh, Star," Beast Boy laughed nervously while holding up a parenting finger, "I don't think you're supposed to be doing that. The workers are looking at us funny."
Kid Flash quickly nudged Beast Boy in the gut, causing him to wince in pain. "Lighten up, BB. It's time for you to start having fun again." Then, he paused and whispered in the green-eyed boy's ear. "Besides, she looks so hot when she's excited. Let's just admire it."
"Hi, guys," a familiar voice called in the distance. They all jumped in fright and simultaneously turned to be head-on with a smirking Bumblebee, who was dressed in the black and yellow uniform of the store. "What are you guys doing here?"
Kid Flash relaxed and said happily, "Just picking up a few snacks for my Halloween bash tomorrow. Only my closest friends are invited. You will be there, right?"
Bumblebee heaved a relaxed shoulder and responded rhetorically, "Sure, why not?"
"Great." Kid Flash beamed, then turned to the friends he entered the store with. "Okay, Star, how about you go pick up ingredients to make punch. BB, you go pick up the chips, salsa, and trick or treat candy. And I'll go pick out a movie and a few creepy decorations."
"Dude, why do you get to pick the movie? I'm the horror film fanatic," Beast Boy whined childishly with a puppy dog frown on his face.
"Seriously?" Kid Flash remarked bluntly. "Everyone knows I'm the king of horror. I've been watching scary movies since I was in the womb. You know my mom was an extra in the Blair Witch Project when she was knocked up with me?"
Beast Boy's eyes narrowed suspiciously at his debate opponent. "Dude, I don't remember any pregnant chicks in that movie."
Kid Flash chuckled nervously, "Well, that's because she was way in the corner behind a tree or something like that."
"Hmph," Beast Boy said casually, "well, when I was a little tyke I was runner up for that kid who sees dead people in the Sixth Sense."
"Dude, we weren't even thought of when that movie premiered," Kid Flash laughed wholeheartedly at the boy's ignorance.
Beast Boy's face fell as if he was actually shocked to learn the truth. "Really?" KF could only nod as he was still snickering. "Must of been a dream. But I have seen The Exorcist over sixty times!"
Bumblebee giggled a short chuckle at Kid Flash's amusement and Beast Boy's attempt to redeem himself. "Are you two done? I have to get back to work."
"Yes, shall I go fetch the ingredients for the drink now?" Starfire questioned innocently, finally stepping off the cart and smiling a small smile with her emerald green eyes.
"Of course, Cutie," Kid Flash effortlessly went from a laughing maniac to a flirting fool as he wrapped a flirty arm around Starfire's shoulder, then shot a quick glance at the girl with the nice, thick, curly afro, "and Bumblebee."
Seconds later, they all went their separate ways down their respective aisles. Bumblebee smirked once again at her friends' silliness as she began stocking cans of vegetables on one of the shelves. She was lucky to have such great friends; they kept her mind off the not so great things she'd been suffering through lately. Ever since Cyborg died, she hadn't really felt like her sassy, confident self. She felt as if she was missing the other half of her body and her soul and she wasn't quite sure how to function without the missing pieces. Then, Speedy and Aqualad were killed and she felt even more alone in the world. Those two were always like brothers to her, slightly annoying brothers but she loved them nonetheless. She just didn't understand who was doing this to them and why.
Suddenly, her phone began vibrating in the back pocket of her khaki slacks. She was tempted to take it out and answer the call after such a long, boring day at work, but she wasn't one for breaking the rules. Besides she really needed this job. After her dad had gotten injured in that car accident a few months back, her family's income had been dwindling. Making her own money was the least she could do. And that's what she kept telling herself for the next five minutes as her phone continued to pulsate in her pocket. Customers walking down the aisle were starting to give her funny looks, so she just plastered a fake smile on her face and walked towards the backroom of the store.
She hid behind a few unopened boxes and glanced down at the screen of the device when she was sure she was alone. But it only said 'No Caller ID' which meant someone was playing with her and she wasn't one to play games, especially when it came to something as important as her job.
Ring, ring,it began again, almost sending her into cardiac arrest. "Hello," she answered on an impulse and without even giving the person a chance to reply, screamed, "look whoever you are, you better stop calling me before I find you and stop you myself!"
"Hello, Karen," the voice said with a sinister snicker. "How's the single life going for you?"
Bumblebee's stomach tightened at the rude remark. This person obviously had no filter. "That was cold," she uttered after a minute of trying to maintain her patience. "What do you want from me?"
"I want to stuff your body into one of those brown boxes you're standing next to. Hehe," the person dragged calmly, sounding like he didn't have a care in the world. "Imagine your coworkers' faces when they go to stock the shelves with red wine and cranberry sauce and find your blood and guts instead."
"Screw you," she forced and moved to hang up the phone but was stopped by the person's voice.
"Hang up on me and I'll decapitate you like a Thanksgiving turkey!" the person roared murderously into the receiver.
With shaky hands, Bumblebee slowly moved the phone back up to her ear. Tears were now streaming down her face and mixing with the snot that was slowly dripping from her nose. She had no idea if she should move or stay in place. All she could do was try her best to stay focused and calm.
"Now," the voice dragged slowly, "do as I say and I'll spare your life."
"I'm not scared of you," she finally found the courage to spit into the receiver.
"I said do as I say, bitch!" the killer screamed like a maniac in her ear.
Bumblebee impulsively stepped back in fear, causing all of the boxes behind her to tumble to the ground. All of the loud ruckus only worsened her nerves and heightened her rising blood pressure. She didn't know if she believed the killer when he said he would spare her life, but it was worth a try.
"O-okay," she stuttered, trying her hardest to not show her fear in her voice. She had to stay tough. "What do I have to do?"
The voice simply stated, "Lure your friend Starfire into the girls' bathroom."
Bumblebee sniffed and found it within her to sass, "For what?" The person didn't answer. "What are you going to do her, jerk?"
Then, he breathed softly in a cynical tone, "I only said I would spare your life."
"No!" Bumblebee retorted without hesitation, her voice echoing in the vacant stock room. "No, I won't do it."
The killer laughed an evil yet hearty laugh, "What, Honeybee? It's simple. A life for a life." Then, his attitude took an icy sharp turn for the worse. "You keep your life, she loses hers."
Bumblebee took an anxious, deep breath. She wasn't used to being a hero, only a leader, but she would rather go down in history as a martyr than live the rest of her life guilty because she allowed a murderer to take her friend's life. She was willing to sacrifice her soul to save the innocence that was Starfire's.
Finally, she decided to make her firm decision known to the voice. "Come get me, bitch."
Click, the phone suddenly hung up. Bumblebee looked down at the screen in shock. It read "call ended". She didn't know if that meant she'd won or if it meant the killer was going to pop up on her when she least expected it. But she knew there was no point in standing there waiting for him to show up, so she took off as fast she could around the fallen boxes and dollies lined along the room. Before she knew it, she was back in the public area of the store, surrounded by customers and coworkers and speed-walking down random aisles looking for her friends.
In no time, she reached the silverware aisle where she saw a familiar redhead standing with his back facing her. "Wally!" she shouted to him and jogged to catch up. "Wally, the killer's here! You guys have to—"
"Bee?" Kid Flash jumped and spun around as she crept up on him. However, that wasn't the reason she ceased her speech. The reason she stopped was simple yet shocking. As she made her way toward him, she noticed he was messing around on his phone. At first she didn't think anything of it, but as she got closer to his back she could see him changing settings around. And when she finally reached him, it took him a long minute to actually turn around. It was almost as if he was in some sort of trance and couldn't hear or see anything else around him. Because of this, she clearly saw him switching the "no called ID" option back to "show my caller ID".
Tears welled up in the scared girl's eyes, but her anger taking over her spirit was welling up more. "Wally, did you just—"
"Hey, guys," Beast Boy popped up out of nowhere, making the two of them jump. He was wearing earphones in his ear, apparently bumping music from his phone, and had a handful of snacks. "No wonder it took me so long to find you. Why are you standing by the butcher knives, dudes? After all those murders the Jump City Slasher committed this weekend, those things just creep me out."
"Oh," Kid Flash laughed nonchalantly as he slipped his phone back into his pocket. "I was texting and walking. I wasn't really paying attention."
Beast Boy smiled a goofy smile and looked at Bumblebee for her answer. The girl shivered in her skin and looked away from their gazes. "Uh, I was just about to ask the same thing." Then, she shot a quick glance at Kid Flash who was standing there seemingly happy and carefree. She felt her blood come to a bubbly boil. "I, uh, I'm going to get back to work. Catch you guys later."
"Friends!" Starfire popped up behind the two boys the moment Bumblebee faded from their vision. "I have retrieved all of the needed ingredients for our choice of beverages."
"Um, Starfire?" Beast Boy chuckled nervously as he eyed the items in the buggy. "Why is there a large, family-size bottle of mustard in there?"
"Because it is my beverage of choice," the girl said almost matter-of-factly but still with a toothy grin on her angelic face. "And it will add a great taste to the punch."
Kid Flash laughed with a small smirk on his face. "This is definitely going to be the deadliest Halloween of my life."
-O-
About an hour later, the store was closed to the public for the night. After cleaning up and making sure everything was in order, Bumblebee and her coworkers were preparing to leave. Being that she was one of the managers, she was the one with the keys to lock the door and had to be the last one to leave each night. Needless to say, after that frightening encounter she experienced just minutes ago, she was running to her car after lock up.
"Night, Bee," the last worker said as she sashayed out the back door.
"Night, girl," Bumblebee sighed and raided her purse for the keys as she stepped outside the door into the cold, nighttime air. She could hear the last worker's footsteps fading as more and more seconds passed. After a moment of searching, she still hadn't found the keys. She stuffed her hands in the pockets of her jacket and then her pants, but still no keys.
"Damn it," she cursed, quickly pulling the door open and running back to her locker in the break room. She usually remembered to put the keys in her purse, but the one time she forgot would be the one time she was scared for her life. She quickly put in the combination on her lock and snatched the keys out of the small hole. Then, she pulled her purse strap closer to her chest and practically ran towards the door.
However, this time when she stepped into the dark world outside, she was surrounded by frantic bees. The flying black and gold bugs wasted no time swarming around her and stinging her on every visible part of her skin.
"Ah!" she screamed, swatting as many bees as possible, but the pain was too much for her. "Ah! Help! Help!"
But all she could hear in return was buzzz, buzzz, buzzz. She knew they were her namesake but she wasn't exactly the biggest fan of the tiny and aggressive insects.
Finally, she found herself in clear, breathable air. Her whole face was so swollen with bruises and sting wounds, she literally had to pry her eyes open. And when she did she was face to face with the mask of a silent, ghostly entity.
"Aaaaahhhhhh!" she screamed without thinking and quickly took off running the opposite way, but her eyesight was barely there. As her pace slowed, she felt the killer getting closer to her and tried to encourage herself to speed up. Unfortunately, the flight or fight adrenaline that had coursed through her body as she was attacked by bees was seeming to fade away. Then, just like earlier, she felt a sudden wave of bravery wash over her.
"Come on! Fight like a man!" she turned around, biting her bottom lip with her fists in the air. When she felt the killer's presence come nearer to her, she swung her hand, barely making contact with the person's face. So, she tried again, this time letting go of a right hook. The killer ducked to avoid the punch and caught her arm before she could throw another one.
Before she could escape from the killer's grip, he threw a punch of his own towards her gut. But to her surprise, his punch was aided by a sharp, piercing butcher's knife.
"Argh!" Bumblebee grunted as blood spurted from the painful, fatal wound. She collapsed to the ground in sporadic, crying convulsions as gory, red gunk continued to gush from her abdomen. "Help…"
With no hesitation, the killer aggressively yanked her up by her neck and sliced it with no remorse. Blood ran down her black polo shirt as her limp body fell from the assailant's arms towards the hard concrete. The last thought on the girl's mind was sadly, "How are they going to know I'm a martyr if I'm not here to tell my story?". As one would expect, she no longer felt like a hero, but instead a dying fool.
-O-
A/N: PLEASE READ :) Okay, that was horrible. I literally just typed this chapter up in about an hour and a half…maybe a little over that. So, it's probably filled with proofreading and grammar errors. Sorry for that, but I wanted to get this out before Halloween (even though it's technically already Halloween where I am) because I want the big reveal to come out on Halloween. Don't ask why, because I don't really know why lol. I just thought it'd be fun. With that being said, most of you guys probably won't read this chapter before I upload the next chapter. Either way, no matter when you're reading this, let me know who you think the killer (or killers *wink, wink*) are before reading the next one :) Thanks for reading!
Lilac-Shimmer: Maybe the dash will stop it from deleting your name lol. Yeah, I try not to make Starfire suffer too much. Despite how annoying the RobStar fans are, I actually like her as a character and she's definitely not stupid. That meta stuff came to me out the blue lol I thought it was kind of funny. And I know, I almost felt bad for killing Robin's parents, but then again, I only included them for that reason haha. I feel kind of coldhearted myself now.
Zwaggy: Thought I was the only one who's too lazy to log in sometimes lol. I'm so ecstatic that you loved the chapter. The singing thing was another random thing I decided to include. This universe shouldn't have to be all bad for them. I'm definitely going to listen to that Shawn Mendes song now haha. I'm not sure if I've heard it before. Anyway, you'll definitely be seeing more of Jason in the near future ;) Hopefully, you feel better about the Starfire situation now. Thank you for your detailed reviews…I seriously love them :) And happy Halloween to you as well!
MEEE: I know you reviewed on chapter 1, but I just had to say hey :) Thanks for the review!
