Starfire's eyes opened and she sat up, startling the two boys. Robin was the first to respond as he rushed to her side at a rate that would make the Flash proud.
"Star! Are you okay?"
"Yes boyfriend Robin, although the man who scares crows sent me into a terrible nightmare," Starfire said groggily, "Has the villain been apprehended yet?"
Cyborg shook his head, "Not that we know of. You didn't see any signs of him on the way in right?"
Robin replied, "No I didn't. We need to start looking for him though, he could set off his bombs any minute now. You are up to full power, right Cyborg?"
The metal hero checked the screen on his arm. "Yep."
"Good." Robin paused and looked at his girlfriend for a moment, "Starfire, I know you are still dealing with the effects of the toxin and your previous injuries, but do you think you can stand?"
"I can still fly and fire star bolts," the Tamaranian hovered above the bed. She winced and dropped down a little, "However, I will not be able to help in the battle for very long."
"No problem Star." Robin turned to Cyborg and asked, "Do you think you could cover me if we go searching for Dr. Crane?"
"Yeah, but I still don't think we will last very long. He gassed me without even showing himself. If we are going to catch this guy, we need a plan."
Robin rubbed his chin, trying to take everything into account. On the one hand, they had very little time to make their move. But on the other hand, Cyborg was right about fighting someone like Scarecrow. Rushing in was what got them in this position in the first place.
Before further thought could be put into making a decision, Cyborg's communicator went off.
"BB? Man have ever been glad to see you!" Cyborg said to the green hero on the other end of the line.
"Good to see you too Chrome Dome. Are Robin and Starfire awake yet?"
"Yeah, they're behind me. Starfire is still a little groggy, but other than that we are fine. Hold on, I'm going to see if Raven is up."
"Don't worry, I'm here." The nearly-monotone voice of the empath said.
Robin enter the conversation, "I guess you guys got hit by Scarecrow's gas as well?"
"Yep," Beast Boy answered, "We both woke up a little bit ago and are currently breaking one of the fear gas doohickeys."
A loud POP! was heard followed by Raven's voice, "Two down."
"Good work. Call Cyborg's communicator when you finish off the other devices. If no one answers, teleport back to the Tower."
Beast Boy nodded his head in understanding, "Alright, BB and Rae out."
After the call was canceled, Robin turned to the two other Titans that were with him, "Alright, they are going to need a little more time, and I have a plan to give them it."
AAA
Scarecrow checked the time on his watch. Well, I've held up long enough. He walked back down the stairs and exited into the hallway of the main floor. He passed by the infirmary, noting that the door was open. A gut feeling told him that something wasn't right, so he opened it up to see what was going on.
He looked inside to see that the lights were off and no one was around. Shaking his head and passing it off as paranoia, the villain continued to the living room. He opened the door and entered with the intent of sending a final message to Jump City. However, his plans stopped and then changed when he noticed that two things were missing. Specifically, two people.
So the two young heroes are free… Scarecrow thought to himself, they are stronger than I had suspected.
He heard it before he saw it, a nearly silent swish, which would be easily missed by the untrained ear. Dr. Crane ducked just in time as a small bird-a-rang sailed through the air, just over his head.
"Nice try little birdy, but I've dogged enough bat-a-rangs to know one when I hear it," Scarecrow subtly grabbed one of his fear-grenades on his belt and faced the darkness where the projectile came from, "I must applauded your willpower. Maybe you aren't such a failure after all. But you must realize that going up against a real enemy without Daddy-Bats watching over you will not end well."
He then threw the fear canister into the darkness, watching as smoke emitted from it. It reached the arch of the throw when a green blast struck it, causing to sail to the other side of the room.
"I see you have brought reinforcements," Scarecrow growled, "No matter, I have dealt with greater forces." The villain leapt towards the darkness where he knew Robin was.His injectors protruded from his fingers, ready to bring fear to whoever was unfortunate enough to get within his reach.
His attack was stopped short when Starfire grabbed the gantlet and used the villain's momentum to sling him around and into the kitchen. Scarecrow slammed into the counter and then fell onto his back. He got up quickly to see that the alien was nowhere to be seen.
"Sending your injured teammate to attack me?" Scarecrow sneered, "Not a wise decision."
"Oh, she wasn't the main attack. Just a distraction," A voice answered from behind him.
He turned around just in time to see Cyborg's metal fist smash into his face and knock him across the floor. Growling In frustration, the villain unleashed a canister of his fear gas, watching as the smoke wafted toward Cyborg.
The half-metal hero anticipated the attack and cleared the area before he inhaled the toxin. Eventually, the smoke cleared, allowing Cyborg to attack. He fired his sonic canon twice. The first shot was dodged by the villain, but the second hit him square in the chest.
Before he even got up, Robin jumped from the darkness and threw a bird-a-rang that connected with Scarecrow's gauntlet. It started beeping and then sent a jolt of electricity that fried the mechanics of the injectors. The villain hissed in pain and quickly ripped off the sizzling gauntlet.
Dr. Crane reached for another fear canister, only to find that he had used all of them. Muttering an obscenity, the scientist watched as Starfire landed behind him. Now, he was surrounded by his enemies with no weapon. He looked past the leader at the table below the monitor that he had used. Two extra canisters of fear toxin rested there. Scarecrow briefly weighed his options before deciding that making a break for it would only lead to his defeat.
Realizing that he couldn't do anything yet, the villain stalled, "I am impressed. You made it farther than I expected, but do you really think it's over?"
Robin smirked, "You've used all of your fear gas, your injectors are broken, and there is three of us and only one of you. You're done Crane."
Scarecrow replied, "You are forgetting something. I have this." He held up the trigger that would set off the fear devices. He then pressed the red button on the top.
Robin tensed up, thinking that the fear toxin had been released. However, the villain was standing still, not running like Robin had expected him to.
"This, Little Bird, is called a dead-man switch. If my finger comes off the trigger… well you know what happens."
Now they were at a stalemate. The Titans could attack, but if Beast Boy and Raven were not done yet, then Scarecrow could set off one or both of the devices.
AAA
Beast Boy watched as Raven dismantled the last of the fear devices.
"Alright, call Robin," Raven said as she prepared to teleport Beast Boy and herself back to the Tower.
The green teen nodded and called his leader's communicator. It only vibrated, showing that the call was going through, but no one answered.
AAA
Cyborg felt the vibration of the communicator, but gave no sign of it so as not to alert Scarecrow. He did look down briefly to see who was calling and was rewarded with a single word: Beast Boy. He smirked inwardly, knowing that all of the devices had now been shut down.
"So, what will it be?" Scarecrow asked, "Release me and get the trigger, or attack and risk the sanity of your fair citizens."
Cyborgs thoughts returned to watching the negotiation between Robin and the self-proclaimed master of fear.
Robin subtly glanced at Cyborg, hoping that he had got the call. Cyborg nodded to him and then nodded at Starfire.
Smirking at the news, Robin replied to the proposition from his enemy, "Sorry, Scarecrow but you're not leaving here unless it's in handcuffs."
The villain was taken back from the boy's proclamation.
"What?" Dr. Crane sneered, "Do you think I am bluffing?"
"Oh no. I believe you, but pressing that button isn't going to set anything off."
"And why is that?"
"Because you underestimated our determination and ability. You underestimated all five of us."
Scarecrow mentally cursed himself. Of course! How could he be so stupid? This was all just a distraction while the other Teen Titans- Beast Boy and Raven- dismantled his fear emitters. Realizing that he was on the road to defeat, Scarecrow let out a savage cry.
"I will not be stopped by children!" he yelled as he lunged towards Robin. He never made it to his target however, as a black portal opened right in front of him.
A violent haired girl and a green boy stepped out, both caught off guard at seeing the enemy. The shock wore off quickly for Raven however and she growled. Her eyes glowed red and split into four. Black fog seemed to steam from the bottom of her cloak.
Knowing what was coming, the Boy Wonder tried to calm her down, "Raven don't. He isn't worth the trouble."
His warning was left unheard however and the girl started grow in power. She addressed Scarecrow in a voice that sounded like death itself, "You want to know what fear really is?! I'll show you!"
The villain, who had begun to back away, was stopped in his tracks when a black tendril shot out and wrapped around his body. At the tip of the tendril a hand took shape and latched onto the back of his head. Suddenly, he felt the dark energy invade his mind, filling it with images and sounds that were too terrifying to speak of.
The dark girl smiled sinisterly as Scarecrow's body started to shake from the amount of mental strain being put on it. Black lightning shot out from both her body and his as the energy kept building up. Everything electrical turned on to full power. Kitchen utensils, chairs and other objects started to swirl in the air forming a giant cyclone around her. Cracks spread throughout the floors and walls. Still, Raven continued, blinded by her rage.
He deserved this. He made her go through it again! The world seemed to slow down in her eyes. The sound of Robin telling her to stop drowned out. The sound of all of the light bulbs bursting little more than a whisper. Even while focusing on the villain, Raven looked past him, hoping to see the approval of her friends.
She was met by a very different sight however. Cyborg had Starfire pushed behind him and was backing away, as if afraid of something. She turned her head to see Robin yelling in silence with the mixed look of fear and disappointment. Finally she tuned to Beast Boy. His expression was the most heart wrenching. He looked neither scared nor disappointed. Instead his face had a look of… sadness.
A voice popped into her mind, the same voice that tried to get her to give in to the power. The same voice that she had fought while in the dream state. The same voice that represented everything evil inside.
"I told you," It said in a mocking sing-song manner, "Now they know what you really want, and they will never trust you again!"
Suddenly, a gloved hand reached out and grabbed her shoulder. She turned to look into the emerald eyes of Beast Boy. He shook his head and, even though Raven wasn't hearing any of the words from Robin or the light bulbs exploding, she heard his words crystal clear.
"Raven, this isn't you. I know isn't. Remember what I said, no matter what you think, I will always be your friend. But you need to stop, torturing him doesn't make you any better."
Her eyes stopped glowing red and returned to their usual number. All of the items stopped flying through the air and the electrical bolts ceased. The black tendril unraveled from around Scarecrow and receded back into her cape.
The masked villain dropped to the ground, unconscious. Raven too, was about to fall but Beast Boy caught her and laid her down gently. The last thing she remembered before blacking out was hearing his voice yet again.
"I knew you could do it Rae."
AAA
The five Titans watched as the police loaded the broken apart fear pumps into the back of a semi-truck. Robin's attention turned towards Detective Lawrence, who was coming over to them, followed by another man- one who Robin knew quite well.
"Titans, this is-"
"Commissioner Gordon." Robin finished for the detective and stuck his hand out.
The famous commissioner grasped the gloved hand firmly, "Robin it's been a while. What? Five years?"
"Six." Robin corrected, "What are you doing with Scarecrow?"
Gordon smiled, "Just like your predecessor, strait to the point. Anyways, we are going to take him back to the Asylum."
Cyborg piped in, "Umm, no offense but, Scarecrow broke out of there before, what makes you think he won't do it again?"
Gordon replied, "Well, considering whatever you did to him, I'd be surprised if he will be able to walk within the next year."
The sound of a truck interrupted the conversation as it pulled to a stop behind them. Four men exited, all armed. Another man, who was wheeling a gurney with several straps on it, met them. Two of the armed men slung their guns over their shoulders and opened the back of the truck. They spent a few unseen moments inside before emerging. They placed a tall, rather skinny man on the gurney before strapping him down. Even without the costume there was no doubt as to who this was.
They then began to push it over to another truck that had just pulled up. This one had the large Arkham Asylum symbol on it. As the immobilized villain was pushed past the team his attention immediately focused on Raven.
He croaked out the word stop.
The gurney pusher did so.
"Thank you." He spoke, barely audible to Raven, "You showed me what true fear is. I will come back for it. Do you hear me?"-His voice started to rise- "I will come back! I WILL COME BACK!" He then started laughing- which sounded like a disturbed hyena- and began to convulse.
"Get him outta here!" Gordon commanded.
The officers quickly nodded and pushed the gurney a little more rapidly. Finally, they loaded the babbling villain into the truck and closed the back doors.
"Creepy," Beast Boy muttered as the van pulled out and began its long trip back to Gotham.
"We thank you for your help in apprehending the criminal." Lawrence said as he turned back towards the young adults, "Thanks to you all, our citizens will be able to sleep soundly again."
"I hope so," Robin muttered, "I hope so."
AAA
A/N- Sorry for being slow about this but I wanted to take my time on the final fight. It was hard having them face Scarecrow directly because he had always been the type to hide in the shadows. This led to me writing and rewriting this chapter several times before I got it to a point where I thought it was acceptable. Just one more chapter- an epilogue- and my first story is over! I want to thank you all for your reviews now. Stay tuned for more stories!
P.S. Just wondering, has anyone else seen the new trailers for Gotham and the Flash series that are coming out? Those look amazing!