Part 8: Seven Year's Bad Luck
"You're sure he's dead?" Cyborg asked.
"As sure as I can be when it comes to killing badly designed snowman monsters from terrible horror films." Starfire replied, as Robin finished bandaging up her forearms. Now that the curse on the Titans had been broken, she was feeling the injury a lot less then she would have a few minutes ago (after all, it was a heat injury, and as Starfire had just recently demonstrated, she could generate a IMMENSE amount of heat if she wanted. Not only had Jack Frost's snowman body been vaporized, she had reduced his twigs, coal, carrot, and scarf to dead ash as well), but it was still highly uncomfortable, and Robin was playing dutiful boyfriend as he bandaged her up.
"It would make some sense, if we can wrap our heads around the weirdo ways horror movies break the laws of physics. As snow, Jack could reform himself, and even melted he could regather and refreeze his body. But the key part of being solid and liquid is that in that state matter tends to stay roughly in the same place, so if there was a malicious sentience commanding it to gather back together, it could be done. But vapor isn't like that. It tends to dissipate very quickly…enough so that when Starfire blew her heat blast, it fell apart enough so that Jack couldn't bring himself back together."
"Until the next sequel." Gauntlet commented, as he finished examining his neck to make sure it wasn't going to suddenly sprout an unpluggable hole.
"Right, so let's make sure the grosses are nonexistent, if you catch my drift." Robin said, standing up.
"How are you Robin?" Cyborg asked, looking at their battered leader, his outfit torn up and crusted with blood.
"Flesh wounds mostly. I'll live. How about you? Raven seems to have broken the spell."
"That's right. BABY!" Gauntlet yelled as his ring flowed out into the trademark artifact shape. He began kissing it. "Never go away again! Never ever…hey!"
"What?" Robin said, turning towards the teen.
"What gives?" Gauntlet said. Robin had to look for a few seconds in order to see what had bothered the Titan: the Gauntlet, when it normally extended into "battle mode", covered Rob's entire arm. But this time, the Gauntlet only went about halfway up his forearm. "Hey, you already had a coffee break! You need to finish the job! My name isn't Glove!"
"It's not your artifact Gauntlet, it's us." Cyborg said as he looked at a screen that had popped open on his arm, his gadgets functioning again. "My power readings are only at a third of their normal level. I think that while the spell was broken, it wasn't fully broken."
"WHAT? No way! I AM GAUNTLET! NOT GLOVE!"
"Be CALM Friend Rob, and be grateful that we now have some powers instead of no powers at all. I doubt our evening is finished yet." Starfire said, as she flexed her fingers. The burned skin ached slightly, but she could handle it.
"Some good news. My power cells may only be at a third, but they're slowly going up. Looks like if we can tough it out, our powers will be fully restored. Look Rob, I think your gauntlet moved up another inch."
"It did?" Gauntlet said, examining his magical weapon. He focused, and the yellow energy that the weapon generated emerged, flowing out. Gauntlet began forming it into random shapes to see how it was, while Robin once again tried the communicator. And once again, they got static.
"What do we do now Fearless?" Cyborg asked Robin.
"We must find our friends. And hope that none of them were…" Starfire said, her eyes become afraid again as she pondered the possible fates of the five missing Titans.
"Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater Kory. They're tough, and just as quick on their feet as we are. We've survived this long for a reason." Robin said, as he put away his communicator and checked the weapon stores in his utility belt. He was almost completely out, and he didn't much cotton to heading down to his room to replace what he had lost.
"Victor's right. My weapon isn't functioning at optimum strength or resilience…but it's better then nothing." Gauntlet said. "Well, on the bright side, at least we have a brief break. Nice work on Jack Starfire. You iced that guy!"
"Yes I did!" Starfire giggled.
"Really creamed him!"
"Rob…" Robin warned.
"To "cone" a phrase."
The three Titans glared at Gauntlet.
"Right, stopping now."
"That would be a good idea Mr. Powers." Robin commented. "Ok, we have to find the others, but we are NOT splitting up."
"Hell no." Cyborg said, as his arm reformed into his sonic cannon. "So where do we go first?"
"I don't know." Robin said, stroking his chin. "I guess a floor by floor sweep would be best. Hopefully we'll run into the others…" Or god forbid, what's left of them.
"How do we go about that?"
"Gauntlet, with your shield back, you and Victor are the most resilient. You take the lead. Starfire and I will bring up the rear."
"Got it." Gauntlet said, as he flexed his armored fist and the yellow energy flowed out into a blobby shaped orb. Assumingly, Gauntlet would hit whatever came after him with it.
"Ok…" Robin said. "Let's not falter here. Best to put this thing to bed."
"All right." Gauntlet said.
"We'll do that." Cyborg added.
And the two began moving away from Robin, who had knelt and was examining something, Starfire watching him, as the two others headed for the hallway.
A pity for the Titans: there was more going on here then even THEY knew. Horror films had a bastion of clichés and foolishness that always seemed to be followed, no matter the situation. And one of those was that despite the benefit of numbers, people ALWAYS went off alone or in pairs.
In the act that had triggered this scenario, the Titans had been thrust into a world where these rules, much like gravity, HAD to be obeyed. It had been demonstrated before, when Robin had suggested the original splitting up, when in a normal situation he would have not ordered that. But at the time, he thought it was a good idea…because that's the way things happened.
And whatever malignant force lurking in the shadows of these films was going to make sure it did.
For you see, Gauntlet and Cyborg had not heard Robin say "Let's not falter here. Best to put this thing to bed."
They had heard. "I need some water here. Best for you guys to go ahead."
And despite Robin's previous warning about splitting up, they had agreed, without considering that it might be a bad idea in the slightest. Because that was the way things were done.
Even so, maybe Robin might have noticed the subtle amount of brainwashing going on by Cyborg and Gauntlet's reply. But he didn't. And not because he had suddenly developed a fascination with a speck of blood on the ground, with a vague fading idea it could help them find their friends.
Actually…not just because of that.
It was because that despite his ears working fine, and Cyborg and Gauntlet speaking aloud…he hadn't heard them at all.
Neither had Starfire.
Even with superpowers and combat training and the oh so lacking virtue of common sense…things just had to go certain ways.
Which is why when Robin got up and turned around, he was shocked that Cyborg and Gauntlet were gone.
"I don't feel so good." Beast Boy said from where he was sitting on Cyborg's "bed."
"What do you mean?" Terra asked, as she watched the remains of the zombies fade away into nothingness. Though she didn't realize it, she felt it too: a slight exhaustion that should not have been present.
"I couldn't undo the spell fully." Raven said, as she finished healing Beast Boy, gritting her teeth for a bit as his pain entered her body. But she had been doing this a long time, and she quickly shoved the pain down, sealed it in a box, and threw away the key. She'd deal with it later. "The last time, after we beat Mumbo, I was using my powers to aid the undoing. I didn't have my powers this time, so the undoing was…incomplete."
"That would explain why I feel tired. This is how I felt when I was first testing out my powers and wasn't used to the feelings of instant molecular reconfiguration." Beast Boy said. The two women looked at him. "I do know some big words you know!"
"Come to think of it, I don't exactly feel in tip top shape, but I thought it was due to my injuries…" Terra said.
"Speaking of which, Terra, come over here so I can heal you before you come down the adrenaline rush and start FEELING those wounds." Raven said. Terra listened, and twenty seconds later she was joining Beast Boy in peeling off her bandages while Raven rested on Cyborg's bed/recharger/something or other.
"So…is this permanent?" Terra asked.
"Shouldn't be. I couldn't bring our powers back full bore, but I'm good at spells. What time is it?"
"Uh…10:37." Beast Boy said, checking Cyborg's clock.
"We should be back at full power at midnight, at the latest. So it might be best if we avoid confrontation if we can. Trying to utilize our powers at full capacity in these states could be worse then actually not having powers."
"I don't see how that's possible." Beast Boy said, as he rotated his freshly fixed shoulder, glad to have both his arms working again.
"Man, I was worried I'd have permanent…"
A loud roar suddenly rang through the room, and Beast Boy and Raven jumped, and then were at the ready as a tiger and with black power glowing respectively.
"Which one was that?" Raven asked her green companion.
"None of them. That was Nigel. It appears he's feeling more chipper and rather proud of something. Let's hope that something was the maiming of another slasher. One less for us to deal with. Which reminds me Gar: just how many movies were in that pile?"
"What? Oh…I don't know…but I'll try to remember…" Beast Boy said, as he returned to human. Raven floated back down to the "bed", annoyed at how the little act of preparing for combat had made her feel like she had just run a mile.
"How hard can it be to remember how many horror films you put on the VCR?" Raven asked, a bit terser then she intended.
"Excuse me Rae, but it's not like we go around documenting every minute of our lives. I mean, what time did you go to bed last night? What was the last page of the book you just read? What was the last spice you tried? Unlike Cyborg, we can't document our every occurrence. We were having all that silly fighting! People were taking the movies out of my hands, putting new ones in, switching…besides one or two, I can't be sure what was in the pile…"
"Hello? Anyone there?"
The voice startled the Titans, before they realized it was coming from Raven. And it was familiar.
"Noel!" Raven said, snatching up her communicator. "Are you ok?"
"Depends on your definition of ok." Came the reply.
"No…Savior, there's, uh…"
"Horror movies come to life?"
"Yes! You found out?"
"The hard way. I had a run in with the star of the film you and I should have been eating popcorn to: Chucky. Tough little bastard."
"Are you badly hurt?"
"I'm hurting, but I'll live. I'm better then Chucky anyway: we won't have to be worrying about him any time soon. Or ever."
"Hold it!" Beast Boy said as he snatched the communicator. "Savior, I've seen those films too! Chucky can take over people's bodies! Prove you're not Chucky in Savior's body."
"One night you got drunk and crawled into my bed. I never told anyone the things you said in your sleep."
Beast Boy blushed furiously as Terra and Raven gave him the looks of people who just found out embarrassing secrets about their friends. Raven grabbed the communicator back.
"Pray tell, why did you stick around to hear what he said?"
"Because he had turned into a komodo dragon in his sleep, and Beast Boy sleeps like the dead, so I couldn't wake him up, and I damn well wasn't going to leave him alone in my room. He sheds you know."
"HEY!"
"IT'S ME. I say we have to worry more about the others. In fact, I'm amazed that our communication hasn't been broken off yet. So quickly, what do we do?"
"We need to meet up, as soon as possible." Raven replied.
"I know. Where?"
"I'll…"
And then, suddenly, the picture cut out. There was no warning static this time: it just broke off completely.
"Oh no!" Raven said, as she, hoping against hope, fiddled with the communicator. But she could not resume the communiqué with her long time lover, and eventually she had to put it away.
"We need to regroup. Fast. Come on guys." Raven said, as she got off the bed.
"Can you teleport?" Beast Boy asked. Raven closed her eyes as she did an inner reflection.
"I don't think so. Not for at least twenty minutes. It's hard to do you know."
"All right, we'll find them the old fashioned way." Beast Boy said. "What about the Orb of Archetypal?"
Raven walked over to the fallen orb, picked it up, and then threw it back down, smashing it into pieces.
"That's what." Raven said, nodding with satisfaction.
And so the three of them left the room, Raven and Beast Boy in the front, Terra trailing behind them slightly, her zombie killer rocks tied in a bag at her side. With her lessened powers, she didn't want to waste time summoning more ammo. At least she was healed…
And then she realized.
"Guys! Scalpel!" she said. Raven and Beast Boy stopped, turning their heads towards Terra. "Should we go get him?"
"I don't know…" Raven said, as she turned her head back the way it had been facing before, Beast Boy following the movement. "We need to move quickly, and I doubt Scalpel will just stay in one place…and going out of our way might just cause us to walk into the trap of another slasher…"
"AHHH!" Beast Boy suddenly shrieked, and Raven whirled. She quickly saw why he had made that sound: she was looking at the same thing that caused him to make it.
Terra was gone.
"Where did she…" Raven began, and then her eyes flicked down the hallway. Much like the hallway outside the evidence room, where Raven and Beast Boy were currently standing was at the nexus of a T-shaped junction.
And at the end of that T, she could see Terra disappearing around the corner.
"TERRA! WAIT!" Beast Boy yelled, running after the blonde.
"What the hell is that damn fool doing?" Raven cursed as she followed, saving her energy by running instead of flying.
It wouldn't have done her any good anyway, for when the two turned the corner, Terra wasn't there. She had vanished into thin air.
"Where did she go? Where did she go?" Beast Boy asked, his hands and feet moving frantically.
"And WHY did she go off like that?" Raven asked.
The two Titans didn't know, but we do, dear readers.
For you see, it had happened again. Terra hadn't heard what Raven had really said. She had heard something different.
Specifically, "We should go, and it should be quickly…"
So Terra had taken the initiative and dashed off in the direction that she knew would take them to the infirmary, tossing a call over her shoulder to follow.
Which the other two hadn't heard.
And by the time Terra realized her friends weren't behind her, she had left them a fair distance away.
She was alone again.
Scalpel lowered his head, having given vent to his Blacktrinian instincts: after he had returned all the zombies to the realm of the dead he had thrown back his head and roared. And pretty damn loud: the whole tower had probably heard him.
"Ahhhhh…" Scalpel said, as he lowered the glaive and looked at the twitching mess that covered the infirmary, which had been a few moments ago an army from hell intent on devouring him and was now nothing more then scattered tissue. "What is that Earth phrase? Oh yes…DO NOT, FUCK, WITH ME."
Scalpel rolled his neck back and forth, making loud cracking noises that would have disturbed the other Titans if they had been present. He rolled his shoulders and did a few quick knee bends as well as he assessed himself. His Blacktrinianness seemed to have reasserted itself: he could move freely again and his Blacktrinian body was again dealing with his fatal-as-a-human chest wound. And he could wield his glaive again.
That wasn't good enough though. Because god knew where the other Titans were, or what else was in the tower. And with communications not working at all (well, sporadically, but Scalpel hadn't been around for any of that), he'd have to go hunting for them.
And he could run into something else during the course of that hunt. And he wanted to be ready: he didn't quite feel at 100. Destroying those zombies should not have taxed him. Maybe when he had first arrived on earth, but not now. There was probably something up, but he could live with that…if he was provided with ample compensation. Fortunately, such compensation was right next door.
So Scalpel headed out of the infirmary, not even noticing as the zombie mess faded away and disappeared, as he headed into his room to arm himself for war.
While he did so, he thought of Sophie, his human lover. She was supposed to be part of this movie night as well, but at the last second she had had to work the night shift, and since lots of people had covered for her in the past, she felt she really didn't have a right to refuse. Scalpel had been upset, but now he was glad: she was safe from this insanity. Had she been here, she would have been very vulnerable, even more so then the depowered Titans, because unlike them she didn't have years of combat training and experience to fall back on if they did lose their abilities. So, for the moment, she was safe.
Now Scalpel just had to make sure that he followed suit. And his friends and teammates. And failing that…any monster from the world of fiction would know for a fact that his wrath was something even THEY did not want to trifle with.
As he stood up, loaded to the brim with Blacktrinian weaponry, took a step…and fell flat on his face.
"Qurtes." He muttered. He had forgotten that while mobile and combat ready, he wasn't at his full strength yet, and hence he couldn't carry so much gear. He dropped what he could, got up, and began removing what he couldn't carry. Which was a lot more then he liked. In the end he had to settle for swapping out his usual glaive with another one, which was bladed on both ends instead of just the one (even though the additional blade was just a thin round javelin-esque skewer, but hey, you never know when you might need a thin, round javelin-esque skewer). To that he added the Blacktrinian equivalent of a sword and a few knives.
And if those didn't work, he made sure that he made use of his Ylental, a special blade attached to a base that let him sharpen his claws. And Scalpel did so to a fine point: surgical lasers couldn't have done a better job.
Even if he was disarmed, anything that came after him was going to find out the hard way that he wasn't UNARMED.
"Goddammit, not again." Savior cursed as he put his communicator away. He was beginning to suspect that something was playing with him and his fellows, allowing these scattered communications instead of no communications at all as some kind of joke. Savior wasn't much amused though.
"Great. All right then…" Savior said, as he started walking again: he had used a small part of the Shimmer to form an elaborate brace so he could walk normally on his wounded ankle. The rest of his injuries weren't much of a problem: Savior had been a Titan for several years and had learned his talent inside and out. It regenerated nerve tissue, so he didn't have to worry about that, and it provided a handy material for stitches or splints if he needed them. All the same, he'd feel better when he found Raven and she could fix him up. He wanted to be at full capacity for whatever he ran into next.
And that was what he was pondering now. Now that he had accepted that something had brought horror films to life, Savior moved on to the problem of WHICH films. And without knowing the exact details, Savior had been pondering strategies for EVERY horror villain he knew. And due to a good memory and more then a few bouts with insomnia, Savior knew quite a bit.
But, as he carefully stepped into the room he was entering, looking for any possible threat, he was about to find out he didn't know enough.
The T-Tower had been converted from Cyborg's late father's laboratories, and the design hadn't changed much when it had been rebuilt after the Lord razed it. As a laboratory, every room had some use, but for superheroes, that wasn't the case, and there tended to be more then a few rooms that had some furniture in it but really served no purpose at all, or were hardly used. This was one of those rooms: it was at the edge of the Tower, so Savior could see out into the night (the storm seemed to have moved on), a dusty couch, a cabinet, a small kitchenette, a few tables and chairs…and a pot of what looked like gold coins sitting on one of the tables.
Savior blinked.
The pot was still there.
Savior swept the room. It appeared to be empty. Slowly, he stepped up to the pot, waiting, waiting…and nothing came.
So Savior looked at the pot. It was a classic black iron one, small sized but just like the ones used for witch's stereotypes…and it appeared to be filled with gold coins. It wasn't just gold coins: there appeared to be some other jewelries and such mixed in, but mostly it was gold coins.
"Ok…." Savior said. He used the Shimmer to poke the pot to see if it was bobby trapped. Nothing happened, so Savior reached out and picked up one of the coins. He bit it to make one last check, and then pulled it away, cocking his head as he looked at it.
"What the hell is this?"
"MINE!"
And the club slammed onto his right foot.
"OW!!!!!!!!!!!!" Savior yelled, caught totally off guard despite his best intentions, as he reared back and actually started to lift up his foot, as if to grab it and hop up and down like people did in movies and cartoons. Whether he would have or not was lost to time though, as whatever had smashed him on his foot followed it by hitting him behind his left knee, causing to him fall down, crashing into the side of the counter.
"It's not wise to touch me gold, young one!" said the creature that had knocked Savior down, and for the second time, he couldn't believe his eyes.
This time he was looking at a dwarfish creature dressed from head to foot in dark green: hat, vest, jacket, and pants, with green and white socks and black shoes with gold buckles. If the creature's big mouth and evil looking eyes didn't give you the proper idea of what kind of person he was, the face would: it was horrifically gnarled, ancient, as knotted and twisted as a centuries old tree. He could use a facelift and a haircut. The voice that came from the creature as it chastised Savior, waving a small wooden stick/club that Savior had assumed was the whacking/tripping tool, was a thick Irish brogue.
"What the devil are YOU?"
"Why, I'm a leprechaun! And you're a dirty thief!" The Leprechaun said. "You tried to steal me gold, so now I'm giving you some grief!"
"I didn't…oh." Savior said, as he noted that despite his pain, he hadn't dropped the gold coin he had been examining. Inwardly, he rolled his eyes: what was going on? He had expected someone truly dangerous, like Pinhead or the Tall Man. And instead he got…an evil leprechaun? Savior didn't know what kind of films had been brought to life, but apparently whoever had arranged that weirdness had a sick sense of humor.
"I don't suppose you'd believe I was just examining the coin and had no intention of taking it." Savior said, ready to move, counter, fight back, or whatever was necessary.
"You think I'll believe that? You thieves are all bad liars! You dared to touch me gold! Now you will perish from my ire!" The Leprechaun snapped, and charged at Savior, swinging up his cane.
A Shimmer line snapped out, catching the Leprechaun on his feet and sending him falling forward. Savior grabbed him by the front of his jacket.
"Now we're even." Savior snapped, and punched the Leprechaun in the face. He yelled and staggered back, as Savior rolled away and flipped to his feet…and hissed as the Shimmer didn't properly compensate for the impact of the flip and a huge bolt of pain shot up his leg, the limb buckling and only the Shimmer keeping Savior from falling down.
"Fuck." Savior cursed, as he tried to keep his vision clear for the Leprechaun, who was getting up while swearing in some ancient language. "I wish my ankle wasn't injured."
And then Savior felt a strange tingling, and then much to his surprise, the pain in his ankle vanished entirely. He blinked, and then looked down in surprise.
His ankle was fine, perfectly healed.
"What now?"
"NO!" The Leprechaun suddenly yelled, and Savior looked at the angry goblin. "ME GOLD! YOU TAINTED ME GOLD!"
"I what now?" Savior said, and realized that he was STILL holding the coin. He looked at it and found that its shine seemed to have dulled, the special glow it possessed gone.
And then he remembered (and thank Beast Boy for that), that if you took a coin from the Leprechaun's gold, you would be granted one wish per coin. But the Leprechaun wouldn't let you live it down…
"Um…sorry?" Savior asked.
"You lie and steal and cause me great pain! But I'll have the last laugh and paint the wall with your brains!" The Leprechaun yelled, and then suddenly the nearby chair floated up and flew at Savior's head.
The Shimmer tore it to pieces before it struck. The Leprechaun looked surprised.
"Wait, that's not supposed to happen!"
"You'd be surprised." Savior said, as he turned the gold coin over in his hand. "Here."
Savior flipped the Leprechaun the coin.
The demonic elf scrambled forward to catch it.
And the Shimmer lashed out, grabbing the Leprechaun by the neck as he reached up to grab his coin.
"What? Bloody trai…!"
The sound of the Leprechaun's neck breaking as Savior twisted his head 180 degrees was louder then Noel expected. Savior let go as the body fell to the ground.
"Despite what Gordon Gecko may say, greed is not good." Savior said. He walked over to the table, picked up the pot of gold, and placed it next to the Leprechaun's prone body.
"There. Now what good does it do you?"
"Noel!"
Savior lifted his head at the voice. Raven was standing at the door, and she looked very glad to see him.
"Oh Noel! Thank god you're alive!" Raven said, as she raised her arms and ran for her love. Savior gave himself a small personal smile and got up to meet his love, though he didn't run.
The two headed for each other.
And it suddenly occurred to Savior: Raven, even in crisis, wasn't really for big shows of affection like this one. So why was she running…and why was she referring to him via his real name after so many years of training to only use codenames in the field…
Raven's form rippled, and Savior dove to the side in the nick of time before the spray of knives cut him to pieces, the deadly weapons flying past him. Savior rolled back up, feeling a chill go through his form as he heard the laughter, and he turned as the Leprechaun stood up, his graspy hands, ending in long, grown out, sharp fingernails, grabbing his backwards head and snapping it back into place.
"Ohhhh. Got the crick that's been bothering me since 1789 out, me lad." The Leprechaun said. "Not bad. Few have seen through my illusions, but don't think that's earned you respite. You have stolen a leprechaun's gold, and for that you die tonight!"
"Why do the small ones have to be so stubborn and irritating?" Savior asked.
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SMALL?" The Leprechaun yelled, and inside the kitchenette the gas burners suddenly turned on…and then the kitchenette exploded, throwing Savior to the side. He tumbled a few times, then came to a rest, then yelped and ducked out of the way as the Leprechaun ran up and swung his cane down. Savior saved himself a braining by snapping his head away and then spinning up, his foot slamming out and kicking the Leprechaun in the side of the head. The elf cursed at him, and then his cane suddenly extended and grew sharp, aiming for Savior's face. Savior dodged that, but the Leprechaun didn't dodge his counter, as the Shimmer fired back, twin lines piercing through the Leprechaun's chest and exploding out his back in a mist of fine blood. Savior held on and threw the Leprechaun into the still flaming kitchenette with a furious yell, and then further screams as another explosion shook the area.
Savior snorted as the fire systems finally turned on, sprinklers dousing the flames and leaving nothing but smoke within fifteen seconds. Wiping chemicals from his wet hair, Savior headed over to the kitchenette, Shimmer at the ready if the Leprechaun still had any life left in him.
But there was nothing in the kitchenette but scorched kitchen stuff.
"……Ok. See you on the cereal box, shorty." Savior commented, and turned to leave.
And the Leprechaun reappeared from his cloak of invisibility and leapt over the counter and onto Savior's back.
"YOU SHALL REGRET CALLING ME SHORT!" The Leprechaun snarled as he sank his teeth into Savior's shoulder. Savior yelled in surprise and pain and stumbled around as the Leprechaun bit and clawed at his shoulder and face.
"You should learn it's not the size that matters, but how you use it!" The Leprechaun snapped as the two continued to dance around the room, the Leprechaun clinging tenaciously to Savior's back. With shaking not working, Savior switched directions.
"Hey, what you doing you stupid lad…!" The Leprechaun's question was cut off as Savior rammed his back into the wall, squashing the Leprechaun between himself and said wall with a muffled complaint.
"In my day people knew how to treat their elders!" The Leprechaun said as Savior staggered forward, the satanic elf still clinging to Savior's back.
So Savior rammed himself into the wall even harder.
"You will learn respect!" The Leprechaun yelled as his filthy, sharp fingernails dug into Savior's ear. Savior finally gave up on banging and just thrust his body down, the Leprechaun falling over his head, as Savior reached up his arms, grabbing whatever he could, and throwing the Leprechaun off his back and onto the floor with a loud thud.
Gasping for air, Savior staggered back, as the Leprechaun looked up, a wicked gleam in his eye.
And a chair suddenly slid across the floor so it was right behind Savior.
Savior tripped over the sudden obstacle and completely lost his balance, the Shimmer flailing around as Savior stumbled mightily towards the window, unable to regain his equilibrium…
"Eh, may as well be certain." The Leprechaun said, and waved his hand. A shockwave of force slammed into Savior, giving him one final and very potent push…
That sent him smashing right out the window.
For a moment he hung there, among the shards of glass, and then as he started falling his instincts kicked it and the Shimmer lashed out, grabbing a hold as Savior swung himself inward, getting away from the deadly rain of glass before it cut him to pieces, even as he nearly crashed through the window on the lower floor.
It probably would have been better if he had though, for the Shimmer hadn't been able to grab a firm handhold. In fact, it had barely grabbed a handhold at all, and Savior's severe swinging angle was all it took for the footing to break.
Savior found himself in freefall again, and the Shimmer instinctively reached out to seize another grip.
It did.
At the wrong angle.
Which caused Savior to suddenly flip upside down, and before he could correct himself he had swung into the Tower again, the back of his head slamming into the wall and knocking him clean out.
Deprived of its orders-giving host, the Shimmer attempted two more grabs on its own, but it didn't have the wherewithal to do it properly, and it didn't bleed off enough speed before Savior slammed into the bushes around the Tower's base.
He did not come out.
His wounds already healing up, the Leprechaun walked to the broken window and peered down on the human wreckage. He chuckled.
"Next time lad, I suggest you take the elevator."
"Something is wrong here Robin." Starfire said, once again stroking her upper arms with her hands as if she was trying to ward off a chill.
"I gathered. What were those morons thinking running off when I SAID not to…"
"I do not think they disobeyed your orders Robin. I just think…they had no choice…" Starfire said.
Robin turned and looked at Starfire, about to say something, and then stopping as he thought it over. He remembered how he had give the original order to split up and then realized later that really wasn't the best thing to do. Considering all they had seen, it was clear it wasn't just the horror villains that had come to life. Their atmosphere, as noted by the flickering lights, was here as well. Did that mean…
"We must hurry Robin. We must find our friends, even if that means we leave Cyborg and Gauntlet behind. Chasing them might be what it wants to happen, so that…"
The sound of footsteps.
Starfire's hands were alight and Robin had a Birdarang armed by the time they turned to face the noise.
"AHHHHHH!" Terra yelled, waving her hands.
"Terra!" Robin said, putting away the weapon. "You're all right!"
"Oh thank god I found you guys, I didn't want to be alone…" Terra said, rushing forward. Robin was greatly surprised when she threw herself at him for a hug. Starfire just looked irritated.
"Terra…what happened to you?" the alien asked tersely.
"Well…I assume you know what's happening." Terra said.
"Yeah."
"I was with Raven and Beast Boy, but they said to do something and I ran off, expecting them to be behind me…"
"Except they weren't." Robin finished. "We just lost Cyborg and Gauntlet to that. SOMETHING appears to want to keep us apart."
"Well I'm not leaving anyone again! You don't know what it's like to walk through this damn Tower, not knowing what's coming, powers or no…"
"Terra, stop babbling. We have to move, find the others, we can't stand here gibbering and jumping at every small noise…"
"Ahem."
The three Titans nearly destroyed the speaker before realizing who it was.
"Slow learners I see." Scalpel said, leaning against the wall. He glanced behind him as the Titans sighed in relief, just checking to make sure that nothing decided to sneak up on them again.
"Nigel! You're ok!" Terra said.
"Thanks to you. Where's Raven and…"
"She lost them. We did too. And I think you two finding us is all the luck we're going to get." Robin said, as he brushed past Scalpel. "Everyone, follow me! We need to find the others."
To give Robin credit, he stopped three steps after that and waited until everyone was in his sight and nearby before he continued.
"Is anyone there? Anyone?" Beast Boy said into the now much loathed and reviled communicator.
"Forget it Beast Boy. It's not working, and you might tip off someone or someTHING that we're coming." Raven replied as she walked forward, trying to see if she could sense evil or something similar.
"All right…I'll be quiet…quiet as a mouse…" Beast Boy said, and then actually turned into one. The two continued to tread carefully through hallways.
Beast Boy heard it first.
"Wait…you hear that?" he said quietly. He turned into a rabbit as Raven stopped and looked at him.
"What is it?" she whispered.
"I don't know…" Beast Boy said, his cute little green nose twitching. "Some kind of tinkling noise…like metal…or…coins…"
"Hello? Anyone here?" Robin said as the group walked into the large room, which appeared to be a backup lounge. The room was, as usual, dimly lit. "You heard anything Scalpel?"
"No…nothing…think we're clear…" Scalpel said, though the tight grip on his glaive indicated he didn't exactly have the courage of his convictions.
"Starfire, get rid of the shadows."
"On it." Starfire replied as she raised a glowing green hand. The illumination revealed more empty room…
Except for the large pot of gold coins sitting on the table.
"Wha…look!" Terra said, as she ran over. "Treasure!"
"What?" Scalpel said, as he was looking at something else.
"There's treasure here! Gold!" Terra said, as she reached out a hand, as Robin, who had been checking out something else, finally realized that Terra had noticed something and turned to look at her.
And it.
As memories from two years ago came rushing back.
"TERRA NO GET AWAY!"
The club slammed into the back of Terra's head, the Leprechaun appearing from nowhere to attack the girl and slam his weapon into the back of her skull, a sickening crunch coming from the blow. Terra crumbled immediately, as limp as a rag doll.
"TERRA!" Scalpel yelled.
"More thieves! Freakish monsters sent to steal me gold! But you have made a mistake tonight creatures! No one steals me gold, not even you monsters, and LIVES!" The Leprechaun said, and aimed his club at Starfire.
A second later, fire spewed from his cane, aiming right for the alien girl.
"Gauntlet, STOP FLIPPING THE COIN AND LET IT FALL!" Cyborg yelled. The two had not realized they were alone until they were far away from Robin and Starfire, much like Terra. Eventually, they had ended up in what Cyborg called "The fancy room", which was basically a large dining room that was used whenever the Titans had important guests (a rare occurrence, but it happened). Not knowing what else to do, Cyborg had suggested they flip a coin. And Gauntlet was flipping one, a quarter, all right. Problem was, he kept flipping it, to, as he said, "make absolutely sure that neither side disputes the result". This was supposedly to avoid problems, but Cyborg's high level of stress had turned it into a problem.
"All right…did you want tails again?"
"How about heads I win, tails you lose?"
"Cy, despite what Savior may say, I am not an idiot."
"D'oh!"
"I don't see why we're doing this anyway. Even if we go back, they won't be there. Or worse, we'll open a door and one of their bodies will fall out. It seems a lot of serial killers like to artfully arrange their victims so their final choice of prey will be terrified out of their mind when the killer goes chasing after them, and if we go forward we may just find the same. Heck, maybe we should just stand still and see what comes to us…"
"Hello." Raven said.
"AH!" Gauntlet yelled, dropping the coin. Cyborg's pallor had turned as gray as his metal parts at the surprise of Raven stepping out of the hallway next to Gauntlet.
"Raven!"
"Cy!" Beast Boy said, as he flew in as a bat and poofed back to human next to his friend. "You've survived!"
"So far." Raven commented, and the two pairs quickly exchanged information.
"Great, at this rate we'll keep splitting up and forming new groups until we find that one of us is odd man out, and then another…and another…" Raven commented.
"Yeah, I mean, I told you guys we should have hired Unpopular Man and the Living Slut at our last membership drive!" Gauntlet said.
Raven gave him one of her looks.
"Actually, those WERE actual superheroes. I checked." Beast Boy said.
"…………Great. Well, considering we don't have any fodder, I suggest we just try and break the rules and all stay alive. So what should we do, stay here and wait for the others and go look for…"
"OW!" Beast Boy yelled, and everyone jumped and prepared to attack. But Beast Boy was just rubbing his forearm.
"What?" Raven said.
"Something bit me!"
"Something bit you?" Raven said, walking forward.
"Don't know…ouch…I got it though…" Beast Boy said as he pulled away his hand. Within the crackled palm was the crushed form of…an insect.
"A bee stung me." Beast Boy said.
"A bee?" Cyborg said. "How did a bee get in here? We have…"
"OH SHIT!" Gauntlet yelled as he suddenly came to the realization. "GUYS WE…"
No one saw it coming, but they sure heard it.
A wet, pulling sound, like someone yanking a strip of meat off a hanging carcass, except ten times louder, and Gauntlet's yell cut off abruptly in a whimper as blood suddenly bloomed on the lower part of his T-Shirt.
And then the three remaining Titans screamed as the hook burst out; even as Gauntlet was lifted into the air, blood starting to flow heavily from his mouth. He'd never seen it coming, never had time for the Gauntlet to shield him from the hook that protruded from his stomach.
Beast Boy stared at the weapon. This was not like the Fisherman's hook, which was basically an extra large industrial model of the type used to catch the aquatic animals. This was larger, pitch black, and unlike the smooth curve of the Fisherman this hook was rougher, more primeval, like a length of metal that had been hammered into a rough hook shape, sharp shards of metal poking from its fire-scorched base, even as its wielder lifted a helpless and agonizing Gauntlet into the air, even as it spoke.
"Ah…so young…almost tragic…if not for the sad inevitabilities of it all…"
And the hook snapped aside, Gauntlet's body sliding off of it with a sick ripping noise and falling at the feet of the being that had appeared right behind him, right THROUGH him, as the Titans stared in horror at it.
At him.
The man, if you could call him a man, was tall, very tall, seemingly towering over even Cyborg, though there probably wasn't much more then three or four inches between their actual heights. He was a black man, with short hair and a clean shaven face with a gothic manner about it, wearing a dark fur trench coat, his large arms emerging from its sleeve, one ending in a huge hand and another in the demonic hook, the hook he raised slightly as he regarded the Titans.
"Children. So sweet. Sweets for the sweet." He said.
In the background, Beast Boy could make out two faint noises. The louder and it was still very quiet) noise was of bees buzzing, and right under that, so faint even Scalpel would barely be aware it was there, was…music…choir music.
"Do you know who I am?" he asked the three.
And Raven, having read the story from which this monster had sprang from, from page to silver screen to this nightmarish reality, answered most appropriately.
"You are rumour." She replied.
Cyborg, however, answered best, as he named the monster before him.
"Candyman."