Author: Cyclone
Feedback: Please be gentle.
Distribution: Gimme credit and a link.
Rating: Maybe a little harsh language, certainly some violence, but nothing worse than on BtVS.
Spoilers: Up to Chosen for BtVS and Fear Itself for Teen Titans.
Disclaimer: The characters depicted herein belong to other people. I'm just borrowing them for a while.
Summary: Raven doesn't do fear... or so she says. But some fears are easier to face than others.
Author's Note: A lot of people have been waiting for a resolution on the Raven/Nighthawk issue. Well, you'll only have to wait a little longer.
"Please! I-I don't even know what 'Warp Trek' is!"
"And that, my little tribble, is why you must be destroyed."
He pressed a button, and a television came to life and stalked toward the hapless video rental clerk... and was promptly blasted by Cyborg's sonic cannon.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't my old nemesis... -ses... the Teen Titans!"
"Um, yeah!" Beast Boy said. He leaned over to Cyborg, "Who is this guy?"
Cyborg shrugged, and with a flick of the remote, the overweight villain projected himself on all the TV screens
"I am the master of monsters!" he announced. "I am your darkest nightmares come to life! I am... Control Freak!"
"A couch potato with a souped-up remote," Raven deadpanned. "I'm petrified."
"You will be. You will be," Control Freak told her. He looked around, "But wait! Where's Nighthawk? You wouldn't dare face me without all your members. Aha! So that's it! You won't fool me!"
Robin blinked and held up a hand, "Um, actually..."
Xander scowled at the monitor. He did not like sitting out a fight.
Okay, so I've got a few cracked ribs. Doesn't mean I can't fight.
"Cyborg?" Starfire held out a bowl of candy. "You are certain you do not desire unhealthy sugar candies?"
Cyborg recoiled and moaned, "Make it go away..."
Robin vaulted on to the couch, and Beast Boy began his speech.
"Ladies and gentlemen, get ready for the scariest night of your lives. Maybe Control Freak's monsters didn't scare you, but this movie is going to freak you out."
"Whatever," Raven said.
"Can't be any creepier than the documentary on hot dogs Starfire made us watch," Robin commented.
"It was fascinating!" Starfire said. "I had no idea that Earth people ate so many pigs. And insects."
Abbey screwed her face, "Ew!" As Cyborg emptied the contents of his stomach behind the couch, she added, "And I am so not cleaning that up."
"Yeah, yeah, bugs in hot dogs, big deal," Beast Boy said, waving it off. He picked the tape back up. "This movie is supposed to be cursed."
"I've seen curses," Xander said. "You can't distribute a curse over electronic media. We've tried."
Beast Boy twitched, but otherwise ignored him, "When people watch it, strange things happen." He leaned in, "Evil things." Leaning back, he cackled maniacally as lightning crashed outside.
"Just start the movie," Raven told him.
Beast Boy peeked out over the top of the couch, "Is it over?"
"I dare not open my eyes to find out," Starfire replied.
"Now I'm really sick to my stomach," Cyborg added.
"I've fought psychotic villains, robot commandos, and giant oozing monsters," Robin said, "but that is the scariest thing I have ever seen."
After a moment, the Titans -- sans Nighthawk and Raven -- burst out into laughter.
"Did I tell you or did I tell you?" Beast Boy asked.
"Thrilling, Beast Boy!" Starfire complimented. "It was wonderfully horrible!"
"Yeah," Cyborg said, "when she went into the basement..."
"...and it was right behind her, and she turned and..." Robin continued.
"I was freaking out!" Cyborg grinned. "I wanted to turn it off," he admitted.
"Not bad, Furball," Abbey said with a shrug. "Didn't that monster look a bit like that s'krakken demon we killed about a month before coming here, Boss? Boss?"
Beast Boy leaned over to Raven, "So... come on, Raven, admit it. You were totally scared."
"I don't do fear."
Rolling his eyes, Beast Boy turned to the other skeptic, "What about you, Nighthawk? You were scared, weren't you?"
The only answer he got was... a snore?
Beast Boy blinked, "Nighthawk?"
"Xander?" Starfire called anxiously. "Are you well?"
He snorted and coughed and jolted upright, blinking at the others, "Huh? What?"
"Dude!" Beast Boy's jaw dropped. "How could you sleep through that?"
Xander snorted again, "You guys thought that was scary? I've dated worse. Just thinking about Miss French..." He shook his head and shuddered.
Raven raised an eyebrow, "You... dated..."
"Hey!" he held up his hands defensively. "She looked human at the time!"
"What about Ampata and Lissa?" Abbey prodded.
"They looked human too."
"Faith? Cordelia? Anya?"
"Were human when I was with them. And, I might add, I didn't technically date Faith, and she stayed human."
"And this Miss French is...?" Robin asked.
"A giant preying mantis who wanted a virgin to first fertilize, then feed her eggs. Had a cage and everything." He blinked at the stares, "What? I was barely sixteen then! Cut me some slack."
"You're sixteen now," Raven pointed out.
"No," he corrected, "I'm twenty-six. I just look sixteen."
Raven looked around her room.
"Maybe I should consider redecorating."
After another look around, she lay back down and settled back to sleep.
That's when she heard the scream.
"Who screamed?" Raven asked, looking around. Five of the six Titans -- along with their guest who was still looking for a codename -- had gathered in the operations center.
"I don't scream," Abbey said with a snort. "And that scream was way too sissy." A thought struck her, "Beast Boy?"
"Hey!"
"Sounded like something from the movie," Robin said. "Did we leave the TV on?"
"We did not," Starfire said, and picked up the tape. "And the movie is right here."
It was at that point that the lights died.
"Okay," Cyborg said. "That's creepy." A panel on his shoulder popped open, and a small flashlight emerged, and he scanned the ops center.
"The storm," Robin concluded as he stepped into the light. "Probably just tripped a circuit breaker."
A tentacle rested on his shoulder, and Robin raised a knowing eyebrow as Starfire, Cyborg, and Raven cried out.
"Okay, Beast Boy," he said with a smile, "you got us." He pushed the tentacle off, "Good one."
"Uh... dude?" Beast Boy said... from in front of him.
Robin's eyebrows shot up, and he turned, Cyborg's flashlight panning across to the origin of the tentacle.
It was the monster from the movie.
Ripping off the coat to reveal itself in its full gruesome glory, it roared.
After a moment, it tossed the couch aside and attacked. The battle was joined.
"Where's Nighthawk!" Robin called.
"Right here."
BLAM!
Raven spun angrily. "Hey, watch it! You nearly shot me! The monster's..." she trailed off and backed away.
"Right in front of me," Nighthawk finished as he stalked toward her, leveling his Colt. "Isn't that right, demonspawn?"
In the infirmary, Xander yawned, rolled over, and tried to get back to sleep.
Author's Postcript:
Well, isn't that interesting?