AN: The episode continues. Can the Titans vanquish this dark specter of fear?

Outta This World: Observer's Cut

Arc Three: Teen Tyrants

Chapter Twenty-one: Boogeyman (Part II)

Titans' Tower. The Teen Titans

"Look out! Big scary monkey!" Cyborg cracked as the Titans exited Beast Boy's room, having found an old toy monkey that was still very active.

"Yeah Raven, you should have seen the look on your face." Said changeling chuckled out.

"You mean this look!?" She growled out, looming over him as her face flushed red with rage—or perhaps, embarrassment—as her eyes flashed slightly.

Beast Boy held up in hands in a placating manner in response. "No, that's more angry than scared."

"I told you…" Raven said. "I don't do fear."

Moments later, they passed by Blitzkrieg's own room. The electro-kinetic stepped forward, slightly ahead of the rest of the group, and began to head into his living quarters.

"Blitz?" Robin asked.

"Just gonna get some stuff." The black-wearing Titan explained as he stepped into the dark.

Silence reigned in Titans' Tower as the teenagers waited for their teammate to return. A few seconds later he did, armed with a plethora of shock cards and a few extra quarterstaffs.

"Okay, now I'm ready to hunt down a movie monster." Blitzkrieg said, turning towards Cyborg.

"Speaking of which, where is it?"

Cyborg activated his arm panel again, his eyes widening as a bead of sweat crawled down his forehead. "The heartbeat just went from being in the basement to floor ten."

"…but that's our floor." Terra whispered, cold terror in her voice.

The Titans leapt into action almost immediately, forming a circle and standing back-to-back with each other, readying their own abilities and weapons.

Blitzkrieg. Titans' Tower.

"Does anyone see anything?" Raven hissed out, and from what I could tell, her eyes were darting towards every shadow that she could see.

"Clearly scared…" Light mused as I also began to check everywhere I could see.

"Nothing here." Robin whispered.

'Have you figured something out?' I asked her.

"Not quite sure yet." The mental personality…supernatural construct…artificial intelligence…whatever Light is supposed to be replied.

'…You'll tell me when you find out, right?'

"Yep."

A few more tense seconds of staring into the darkness passed, and then Cyborg relaxed. "Heartbeat's not showing up on this floor. Must've gone."

And then I heard it. A sort of rattling noise, kind of like someone hitting a lead pipe against several other metal bars.

"Sean!"

I felt something bite into the back of my right shoulder, causing me to scream as the pain flared across my body. Then whatever it was began to pull me towards one of the darkened hallways. I saw my team try to reach out and stop whatever it was from pulling me into the dark…

But they were too late.

In the dark. The Nightmare.

It had taken 'father', and it would deal with him soon enough. Right now, the rest of mother's false family took precedence.

The green one and the blonde were first. Both taken into the shadows with little resistance, thanks to its element of surprise. The young detective was next, for he had discovered its true weakness. The other green child put up a better fight than the others, but he too, fell to the might of the shadows it controlled.

Then there was the one that was like itself. He fell to the rats that it had created, leaving the last two alone in the dark.

It didn't matter if the daughter of Tamaran's own powers could harm it. The shadows were everywhere, even inside of her own mind. It would take her, and then its purpose would be complete.

And there would be nothing left to fea—!

"Let go, damnit!"

…what is this?

"I said let go!"

A ninth voice. One that it hadn't heard before. Female. Coming from…

"I said…"

"fAthEr?"

"LET! GO!"

There was a flash of white flames…and the shadows receded.

Titans' Tower. Blitzkrieg.

"Ugh…" I groaned out as consciousness returned to me. "Light…where…"

"Still here, Sean." Light responded. "And I think we might be back in the common room."

I slowly began to stand up as my vision stopped blurring. As Light had said, we were back in the common room, still drowned in the seemingly supernatural darkness that had enveloped the Tower. No sign of Wicked Scary…or of my teammates.

'What the hell happened?' I questioned Light, who was quick to reply.

"No idea. Wherever that thing took us, it did not exist on the physical plane. It was more like a plane of darkness. Of…"

"…Nightmares." I finished aloud.

A rattling noise echoed throughout the room, coming from the shadows…every single one.

I reached for my quarterstaff…only to find that nothing was there. My shock cards were gone as well.

I let out a breath and managed a slightly nervous smile. "At least I can still generate electricity."

I snapped my fingers for emphasis, and while my usual, blue-colored lightning did manifest…so too did a small, white flame.

My nervous smile faded as I frowned in newfound confusion. 'Light…'

"…I can explain?"

'You're keeping secrets again.' I didn't bother to hide my disappointment, or my suspicion.

"Like I said, I can explain. Just not right now."

"…Alright." I muttered aloud, walking towards the door that led to the rarely used Operations Center.

The room itself was cramped, with far too many monitors to be practical, which is why Cyborg usually handled security from a room adjacent to his dormitory. I personally had no idea how any member of the Justice League could handle so many screens at once. Or how anyone could, for that matter.

Once my eyes had stopped screaming at me, I began to look through the several camera images in order to find my teammates.

"Come on…" I muttered, flipping through the various security cameras in my somewhat desperate search.

Hallway outside of Robin's dorm. Empty.

Basement. Creepier than usual, but empty.

Hallway outside of MY dorm. Also, empty.

No sign of anyone throughout the entire Tower. Not even a glimpse of the creature.

I sighed out loud. 'I should consider asking Cyborg for some kind of scanner. Would come in handy in case something like this happens again.'

And then the elevator door that leads to the common room opens, spilling out a wave of some kind of black, inky liquid…and the limp form of Raven.

I quickly abandon the Ops Center, the hallways and common room becoming a mere blur as I race towards the hallway that she's in…and my heart stops, because I notice that she's not breathing.

"No, no, no, no…" I whisper as my breath begins to quicken, coming out in rapid paced pants as I began to feel for a pulse.

I find one, faint but there. I have time. Placing both of my hands above her heart, I begin doing rapid compressions in the hopes of getting the air back into her lungs.

'I'm not losing anyone tonight. Least of all HER!'

"Sean…" I hear Fear speak as I continue with the compressions. My eye twitches in slight frustration…and anxiety.

'Not now!'

I pressed down one more time, and Raven's eyes opened as she began to cough up the black fluid.

And then she kicked me in the gut. Hard.

I let out a gasp as the wind was knocked out of me and I fell back on the floor, letting out a few coughs of my own as air slowly coursed through me once again. And then I felt arms wrap around my shoulders.

"Oh my god, I am so sorry!" Raven whispered out—the lack of powers probably allowing her to express emotions without disastrous consequences.

"It's okay. M'fine." I breath out, feeling a bit of heat on my cheeks as Raven strengthens her grip a bit.

And then she slips away, and I can't help but feel a little disappointed.

"What about you? Are you okay?" I ask as we both begin to stand up.

"I'm…I'm alright." She replied. "Just glad that there is someone else left."

"Someone else?" I question, my eyes going wide. "What do you mean someone else? Where's the rest of the Team?"

"Gone." Raven said, her gaze landing on the floor. "Taken by the creature."

I winced. This…this was worse than I thought. "Right…We should call Batman…or Jason Blood, someone with magical powers or someone who can get into contact with a person who can use magic."

"GoIng foR heLp?"

We stood and turned at the voice that both sounded and felt like nails on chalkboard. Standing in front of the elevator doors was some…being wearing a brown duster coat with a hood drawn over the head. Extending from its back were four rusty, metallic tendrils that slithered through the air, and under the hood there were four glowing orange eyes.

Raven let out a gasp as I pushed her behind me. "Who the hell are you and why are you doing this?!"

"whO am I?" The creature asked, letting out a small titter that echoed throughout the room. "I tHougHT thE Two oF yoU wouLd be aBle to reCogniSe me…MoTher. FathER."

I felt my blood go cold as I came to a realization. 'Fear. Raven created this thing through her powers…but how do I factor into this?"

"Perhaps it is because she does not trust us." Logic theorized.

"Mother?" Raven whispered. "I…what? How?"

"The OnlY wAY a NIGHTMARE likE Me Could hAVe BeEn born." It spoke, a grisly smile appearing on its face as the tendrils lashed, out, striking us both and launching us into the common room. My vision blurred as my back struck the ground, knocking the air out of me. Raven also let out a gasp of air from somewhere out of my line of sight.

The creature—Nightmare, as it referred to itself—quickly followed us, its spurs clacking even against the carpeted floor. I stood, my vision clearing as a pit began to form in my stomach. In front of me were a swarm of rat creatures, which Nightmare was standing in the center of. Electricity and the strange white flames crackled at my fingertips as I sent twin blasts at the Nightmare…only for them to be batted aside by a gloved hand.

"ThAt won'T wORK THIs tIME." It growled as the dog-sized shadow-rats began to advance.

With Raven.

Raven gasped as the horde swarmed over the electro-kinetic, biting and gnawing at his arms and torso. To his credit, the teenaged hero did not scream. He simply turned towards Raven and spoke.

"Fear! That's the key! I BELIEVE—!"

Blitzkrieg didn't finish his sentence. The swarm had swallowed him whole, and now their sights were set on—!

Raven let out a terrified gasp as the rats turned on her. "Stay back!"

The rats, like their master, did not listen. They surged forward—as if they were a single entity—backing her up against the window facing towards the eastern horizon. Her back hit the solid glass, and she sunk to her knees and squeezed her eyes shut.

"I'm not afraid…" She began to mutter, a lie that she repeated to herself in the vain hopes that it would come true. "I'm not afraid…I'm not afraid…"

"YoU aRE aFrAID." Nightmare interrupted. "AnD THeRE iS NoTHiNG yoU cAN dO aBOUT ThAT. It IS TiME to aCCept THIs FACt. IT IS TIME TO ACCEPT ME!"

'Fear. Fear is the key.'

Raven's eyes snapped open as Blitzkrieg's voice echoed in her head. '

'I believe in you.'

'I caused this.' The mage realized as she began to stand up. 'And I can un-do it. Only me. Because only I know the truth.'

"I am afraid." She spoke. "But that doesn't mean that I can't fight back!"

And as Raven's eyes began to glow, the sun began to rise…

Titans' Tower. After the vanquishing of the Nightmare.

"…So, that was all just some freaky illusion?" Mikumo asked as he stared at Robin with a questioning gaze, his right hand scratching the back of his head.

"Oh no, the entity that attacked us was very much real." Robin answered. "Raven—or rather, Raven's own powers—created it when she tried to bottle up her fear. To divorce herself from it. Because of that, her powers created a sort of…outlet."

"The Nightmare." Starfire spoke, eyes lighting up with the realization.

"But it's gone now, right?" Terra asked, her left hand nervously clutching her right arm.

"It should be." Cyborg replied. "Raven accepted the fact that she was afraid. That allowed her to regain control of her freaky 'son'. Unless we make her watch Wicked Scary again, I don't think Nightmare will be making a comeback."

"And what about our two teammates?" Beast Boy questioned, turning to the couch, which now held two slumbering figures—Blitzkrieg, and Raven.

Robin turned to the exit to the common room. "I think we should follow their example. We've had a long night, after all."

As the remaining Titans left for their own rooms, none of them noticed a shadow slithering under the couch…and into places unknown…

AN: The Nightmare will return.

Next Time: A Dance with Destiny!