Part 3: Slippage
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"AHHHH!"
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The following scream went female in fear, male in surprised shock, female in additional fear/surprise, abrupt male surprise, and once again female fear when the lights flashed back on, revealing Cyborg sitting his rear on the stairs and aiming his fist at Starfire, having forgotten his sonic cannon wasn't working, while the female alien had paused in the middle of yanking Robin's arm up, perhaps for a throw or something more brutal.
"STARFIRE! IT'S ME!" Robin yelled.
"ROBIN! Someone…oh." Starfire said.
"What's going on?" Cyborg snapped, his lone organic eye still diluted with sudden panic at the yelling and screaming.
"When the lights went out, someone grabbed me…and I became very scared." Starfire said.
"It was ME, Star. I was grabbing you to make sure you didn't try to keep going down the stairs and fall in the dark. Without your alien abilities, you could break your neck." Robin said.
"And that was what I feared was YOUR intention." Starfire replied.
"What? Starfire, we're the only ones here. Who ELSE could have grabbed you?"
"I do not know…but this situation is much like one of our films…"
"Star, those are MOVIES. This is REAL LIFE." Robin stated.
"Yes…but there are monsters in real life Robin. We have fought many. Surely you do not think the boundaries between our world and their false one is thick. Especially on a night like this."
"Star, relax. I know this is a very bad situation. Losing our powers doesn't smack of an accident. But we can't go and start panicking about monsters in the shadows! It won't do us any good!"
"But Tim…this is not natural. I fear something terrible is about to happen. I'm scared." Starfire said, and her big green eyes conveyed that fear better then any scream ever could. Robin sighed.
"Ok, here, hold my hand." Robin said. It was a good thing Starfire's alien strength had been blocked: otherwise she may have reduced Robin's bones to powder. Robin snapped out his battle staff and started down the stairs again.
"Hey, what about ME?" Cyborg complained.
"Cy, you're mostly made of metal. Anyone tries to stab or bite you, all they'll get is broken."
"Oh, I'm so comforted." Cyborg said, continuing his slow trek after the couple.
The lights flashed back on.
Savior knelt, his arm up as his eyes darted back and forth. He could have SWORN he heard someone behind him, breathing softly but heavily. But no sooner had he panicked and whirled around, ready to block and hoping it was something he COULD block when the lights had turned back on…and revealed he was alone.
That didn't stop his eyes from flickering back and forth some more.
"Hello?" he asked the empty hallways. "Anyone there?"
If there was, they didn't feel like answering. Savior exhaled and stood up, looking around.
He was still alone.
"……….Dammit Collins, get a grip. You're supposed to be the logical one." Savior muttered to himself as he turned around.
Then he whirled, thrusting out his fist.
He hit nothing but air, and the abrupt movement caused him to lose his balance. He staggered forward and nearly pulled a repeat of Starfire's faceplant before he caught himself.
"Argh! Stupid horror movies with their stupid plots and stupid acting and stupid characters who meet such stupid fates when all you have to do is go out the front door stupid…" Savior said, turning back and pressing the keys.
And then he turned around again abruptly, once more.
And once again, he was alone.
"Geez. You'd think I WANTED someone to be there." Savior said and finally got back to work.
He tried to ignore that the hairs on the back of his neck hadn't settled down yet.
"I do not think that will be very effective as a weapon." Scalpel said from his position on the couch.
"Hey, no one likes to get hit on the head. So if anyone or anything comes, they will have to take the risk of suffering such a cranial injury, or else…stay away!" Beast Boy babbled, holding onto the chair leg he had wrested off one of the kitchen chairs. At least the lights in the main lounge and kitchen were fairly bright…Beast Boy couldn't say the same thing about the doors leading to other parts of the Tower: the lights there had konked out completely.
"I suppose you could be behaving worse." Scalpel said.
"Why?"
"Well…this whole situation…and what brought it about…it does seem like we have stepped into one of these so called scary movies, doesn't it?" Scalpel replied.
"What? You mean like a Mad Mod thing?"
"Maybe…but he's an old man. He'd probably have Bela Lugosi or Christopher Lee chasing after us, and these weren't the atmospheres those actors hunted in. This is more…modern."
"Yeah…but for all his annoyances, Mad Mod's a smart coot. He could very well have adapted the modern horror film for us…geez, what if that's happened?" Beast Boy said, looking around wildly as he clutched his club in both hands.
"BB, if that's what happened, I think Mad Mod would let us know it was him. He has an ego the size of a small moon."
"Right…so what is this?"
"Maybe we HAVE entered the realm of horror films."
"Oh great. So what do we do?"
"Well, as the Scream series says, what are the rules of horror films?"
"Uh, well the main one is that those who supposedly sin in any way die. Such sins include sex, drug use, drinking, smoking, being a jerk…" Beast Boy said, ticking them off on his fingers. "The problem is with these rules is that Scream popularized them so much that horror films will sooner BREAK them just to surprise people. Remember how one of the rules used to be the black guy always died first?"
"Right. Cyborg better watch his back." Scalpel joked. "But what else?"
"Well, there's more then a few. Locations, weapons, all that. I know that if you run away, expect to trip and fall down at least twice."
"More if you are female." Scalpel deadpanned. Beast Boy grinned.
"Oh right, if you let the monster out of your sight, he or she will gain the power to appear ANYWHERE!"
"And doors will never open."
"And if you must run in a way that is faster then you, always take the bus."
"The bus?" Scalpel said, arching an eyebrow.
"Yes, the bus. If you take a car, the monster will be in it. Cabbies are always demonically possessed. The monster will destroy any boat or plane you attempt to use. And you have to go through dark, underground tunnels to get to a subway."
"All good points. Also, you must never try to kill the monster the same way it was done before."
"Why not?"
"I don't know, but it must cause something REALLY REALLY bad to happen because NO ONE ever tries it." Scalpel deadpanned again, and the two laughed.
"Yeah, horror films sure are strange things. Anyway, you thirsty? I am." Beast Boy said, standing up.
"I'm fine."
"All right, see you in a minute." Beast Boy said, as he walked over to the fridge…and saw a trace of movement coming from one of the hallways. "AH!"
"What? What?" Scalpel said, straining to see.
"Don't know…" Beast Boy said, creeping forward while brandishing his chair leg. "Could have sworn I saw something…"
Beast Boy kept taking slow steps, his chair leg held out, ready to take a home run swing at anything that emerged.
Nothing did, as Beast Boy crept to the edge of the hallway and peered into the darkness.
Nothing but a hallway that curved off in the distance.
"Hello? Anyone there?" Beast Boy called.
"Oh REAL original Gar." Scalpel said from the couch.
"Come to think of it, yeah." Beast Boy said, lowering the leg. He waved it back and forth in the shadows in the hallway and felt nothing.
"Man, what's wrong with me…" Beast Boy said, turning around. "This is a bad situation but there isn't…"
The hook swung down and buried itself in Beast Boy's right shoulder. It was so sudden that Beast Boy was aware of the liquid sensation of his own blood spilling before the pain kicked in, a giant jolt that fired all the way through his torso and emerged from his mouth in a scream.
"BEAST BOY!" Scalpel yelled, and tried to struggle up, his position on the couch not letting him see the dark figure that had stepped up behind Beast Boy and struck until it was too late.
But despite the pain, Beast Boy's training instinctively kicked in as he reached up and grabbed at the hook, a long shiny one the size of the average fist, even as blood began to pour down his shoulder, grabbing at the slick metal (slick with his BLOOD) and yanking, sending a new wave of pain as the hook began to pull him back as he shoved it out, ripping at the flesh even as he turned and walked into a fist that sent him sprawling backwards, dropping his chair leg.
"Well now, isn't this strange." Said a voice behind him, as he tried to get up and turn around, even as more pain roiled through his body. Beast Boy had been hurt before, but it was almost always as animals. Being harmed as a human was a rare experience, and not one he appreciated…but despite this, something awoke in his mind.
The voice sounded…vaguely…familiar…
And the hook…
"Can't be…" Beast Boy said, as he turned around.
The man standing before him was covered totally in a water-soaked black rain slicker, the hat on his head shadowing his unpleasant, cruel face. His right hand was not a hand: instead it was straight from Peter Pan: a rounded metal end on which was attached a blood-dripping hook.
And Beast Boy knew, and even as part of his brain screamed at the impossibility of it all, he spoke.
"Ben Willis?"
Ben Willis twisted his face in some confusion but mostly anger, perhaps perturbed that this strange green teenager knew his name.
"Well…I guess I'm better known then I thought…though I'd still like to know where the hell am I…" Willis said.
"You can't be here. You're a movie character. What are you doing here? This isn't I Know What You Did Last Summer!" Beast Boy said, finally getting up, his hand clutching at his wound.
"What? What do you know of that? What the hell is wrong with your skin?" Willis growled. "Fucking teenagers. You think you own the world. Throwing me away like trash! But things have changed now…" Willis said, and slashed the hook out. Beast Boy barely dodged away from the deadly weapon.
Scalpel had finally pulled himself up to see, and his mind was as boggled at Beast Boy's.
They had been joking about horror films, and then one of the men from said films had just stepped into their life: Benjamin Willis, aka the Fisherman, the killer from both Last Summer movies. And he apparently hadn't lost his touch…
Thrown by the loss of his powers and his injury, Beast Boy resorted to backing up to the nearby kitchen table and throwing a few bowls of chips and popcorn at Willis. The Fisherman only seemed to be annoyed by the projectiles as he stalked forward, bringing the hook up and down. Beast Boy dodged aside at the last second and the deadly instrument was buried in the wood of the table. Beast Boy staggered away, as he fumbled for his communicator.
"Titans! We have trouble! Titans!" Beast Boy yelled, fumbling for the com link…
And receiving static for the answer. Beast Boy stared dumbly at the communicator, willing someone to respond.
The only one who did was Willis, as he yanked his hook out with a roar and staggered around the table. Beast Boy tried to get away and found himself, like many others, getting tangled in his own feet as he fell. He, unlike others, rolled away, trying to get up…
The hook slashed out, catching Beast Boy just above his left nipple and cutting deep into his chest as Willis gouged a long diagonal wound. Beast Boy recoiled back, the hook popping out near the bottom of the right side of his rib cage. Blood flowed from the wound, soaking his front instantly, and Beast Boy staggered back, trying to get away, trying to block out the pain.
"Stop fussin. Just come here and I'll give you your peace." The Fisherman said as he stalked the wounded teen, looking for a chance to bury the hook into his gut or his head.
"No…never…" Beast Boy whispered, barely hearing Scalpel yelling at him, barely seeing the chair he tripped over as he staggered and then fell, falling over the couch and over Scalpel, who stared in horror.
"Nigel…run…tell them…" Beast Boy babbled, apparently forgetting in his injuries that Scalpel was weighed down and couldn't move.
That didn't stop him from trying, as he leaned down, and lacking anything better to do, shoved Beast Boy under the couch, aware of the dark figure stepping over him, as he turned his head and glared.
To say Ben Willis was surprised was an understatement.
"Good god! What is this, a chamber of freaks?" The Fisherman snapped.
"We have done NOTHING to you. Why do you try and murder us? We are innocent!" Scalpel snapped, for no reason that he had no other idea what to do.
"Innocence? That don't mean nothing, whatever you are. I was innocent. It didn't stop them from tossing me into the sea. You're all no good, deep down, and since she seems to be beyond my grasp for now…I'll settle for sharpening my hook on you." The Fisherman said, as he brought his arm up. "Goodbye, monster."
The hook slashed down.
And Scalpel summoned a superhuman/alien effort to snap his left arm up and intersect the hook between his two clawed fingers. The Fisherman's eyes went wide.
"WHAT?"
"Be carefully when hunting for monsters Fisherman." Scalpel said.
And then he yanked Ben Willis down as he brought his other arm up and jammed his other two claws deep into the side of his neck. Blood exploded from the wound, and the Fisherman reeled back with a gurgling gasp as blood rained down. He staggered back as blood continued to pour down his rain slicker, and then tried to push himself back up and get to Scalpel…and then he gurgled once more and collapsed, smashing through the table in front of Scalpel that was covered in snack foods, breaking it and smashing into the floor, where he shuddered and then lay still.
"They might have sharper claws then you." Scalpel said.
Groans under his couch reminded Scalpel of his other problem, and with a great effort he rolled off the couch and began to try to pull Beast Boy back out.
Which allowed him to witness Ben Willis, aka the Fisherman, as he suddenly began to disappear, as he faded out like a bad picture, distorting and then disappearing, leaving nothing behind, not even bloodstains.
"What the hell is going on…" Scalpel said to himself as he pulled Beast Boy back out. The green teen groaned again.
"Relax." Scalpel said, as he began to look over his comrade. Though it looked bad, the chest wound was most superficial: the rib cage had protected Beast Boy's heart and lungs. The kid was lucky: a lower slice would have gutted him (like a fish, Scalpel thought crazily, and furiously resisted the urge to giggle). But the shoulder wound was deep, and the chest wound, though not dangerous by itself, was still bleeding at a good clip. Make that a BAD clip: if Beast Boy didn't get help, he could very well bleed to death.
"Guys, are you there? Guys? GUYS!" Scalpel said as he pulled out his own communicator. "Attention Titans! We have a bad situation here! Robin! Cyborg! Savior! Anyone, come in!"
All he got was static.
"Won't work…" Beast Boy babbled. "Can't…"
"Don't talk." Scalpel said, and yelled into the communicator for another twenty seconds before giving up.
"Fripotry!" Scalpel cursed.
"Scalpel…"
"I said don't talk. Ok…I'm going to take you to the medical lab."
"Wh…a? How? You ca-an bare…ly…move…"
"I haven't TRIED yet." Scalpel said, as he slipped his arms under Beast Boy, thinking of all the times he had taken his alien strength for granted. Well, he didn't have it here, but he didn't care. Beast Boy would NOT be dying on his watch.
Under a strain that would have reduced most athletes to tears, Scalpel somehow got to his feet.
"Ok Gar, hang on. I'll get you to the infirmary…" Scalpel said, and took a step that felt like a ten-mile journey. But Scalpel ignored the pain, willed himself to not feel it, as he started to walk, heading for the medical room, grateful it was DOWN one flight and not up…
"Nigel…" Beast Boy said.
"Don't talk. Save your strength."
"That was…"
"The Fisherman. From those horror films. I know."
"Nigel…that was…one of the films in…the pile…"
"What are you…" Scalpel said, and then he remembered.
The red energy zapping out of the TV's, flowing through the VCR's and then through all of them…in the process destroying the films Beast Boy had stacked on the VCR…
"Something…life…somehow…here…in the Tower…"
A chill ran down Scalpel's spine. Could it be possible?
Beast Boy had said that boogeymen were out this night.
Could something have…made it so?
"Others…tell them…"
"You need help first Gar."
"No…have to…don't know…what's out there…Willis…small fry…much worse…"
"Oh I know." Scalpel said, as he struggled mightily out of the lounge, thinking of all the films the group had rented, what or WHO could have been in that pile…what was lurking in the Tower? How many? How powerful?
And with something sealing their powers…
How could any of them survive?
"God…help them…" Beast Boy whispered.
Somehow, though, Scalpel thought, he doubted God would be involved in any way.