Part 12: Hell Hath No Fury
Writer's Note: Once again a nod to the author Prisionero, who helped me with this. So if you're scratching your head and saying "I've never seen that thing before", it's probably because he or his friend created it.
Freddy chuckled again, as Terra and Gauntlet stepped in front of Raven, Starfire having knelt down to see if she could help the badly injured empathy.
"What is it with you kids these days? What's with the dressup?" He asked.
"Let's just say we're not like your usual victims." Terra said. Now that she had an actual foe, a face to put to her fear, she found she could move past it and fight. In the end, her imagination was far worse then any horror villain could be. It was a lesson horror directors should take more heed to…but anyway…
"What, you think you're superheroes?"
"Actually, yes." Gauntlet said.
"Oh really. Well, fine! Two can play that game!" Freddy said, and suddenly a phone booth sprung up next to him. He opened the door and jumped in, as Terra and Gauntlet looked at the sight, then each other, and then back as the door burst open.
Freddy stepped out…except now he had about a hundred extra pounds of muscle. And a black lightning bolt across his chest. And for some reason, he was now black and white like an old movie, as he put his hands on his hips and thrust out his chest.
"Faster then a bastard maniac! More powerful then a loco-madman! With a HUGE manhood to please all women! It's…SUPER FREDDY!" Freddy crowed. "Dah dah dah dah, DAH DAH DAH!"
And he thrust out his arms and flew at the two like Superman.
The angle was all wrong. There was no way Robin could make an effective block, not with Jason's strength. And if Jason could cut through stone and steel, his bo would be no match for it…
So Robin didn't block the blow.
Instead, he tilted his staff at the exact right time, Jason's machete striking it and the momentum behind the blow getting sheared off to the side, the blade sliding along the bo, sparks shooting from the trip. Robin has to let go with one of his hands to avoid losing all his fingers, even though it cost him one of his already fragile braces and forced the bo down even more as it sliced along it, the blade slipping so close to Robin's face it would have shaved him if he wasn't already clean-faced. As the machete slid off the bo and thunked into the ground, Robin finally lost his balance and sprawled on the ground.
Jason, with a motion that could also seem to be perturbed, yanked his machete from the floor and stalked over to Robin as he tried to get up. The blade slashed out again, horizontally this time, and Robin simultaneously leaned back as he holds out the bo to block.
The machete cleaved right through the weakened weapon, snapping it in two and sending Robin staggering away, bumping into Starfire's bed. With scary speed, Jason walked around the side and cut off Robin's retreat, Robin gaping at the move.
The machete slashed at him. Robin ducked and threw his body backwards, leaping over the bed as Jason turned the decapitation blow into a skull splitter, missing Robin by an inch and slashing right through the mattress and bed frame. Robin landed…and twisted his ankle, falling down with a curse.
This would have been a really good time to throw some Birdarangs at Jason to slow him down enough for Robin to get up…if he HAD any…
And Robin realized he was on the residential floor. His room was only a few short hallways away. If he could make it…
Jason walked around the side of the bed, cutting off Robin's retreat.
If he could get around a nigh-invincible psycho killer…
Jason swung down, and Robin shoved himself back and spread his legs, the machete splitting the ground two inches from his groin. He didn't take the time to do a comedic double take: instead he spun his leg around the blade and got up as Jason yanked it free again. Jason tried once more to remove Robin's head: Robin ducked and darted in close to Jason, holding the two ends of his broken bo, having already mentally switched his fighting style to Escrima fighting sticks. He rained blows on Jason's chest and stomach and then darted around and slammed both sticks across Jason's rotted back.
The swooping roundhouse slash nearly sliced Robin's head in half: Jason clearly wasn't anything more then annoyed from the blows. But Robin didn't take this as a hint and retreat. He was a teen hero, and even he had more guts then brains at times, as he dodged the slash at the last microsecond and zipped in close again, slamming both makeshift sticks across Jason's face. It knocked the monster's head to the side…and that was little consolation as Jason's giant bear paw shot out and grabbed Robin, his fingers seizing hold of the tear Jason had made in his chest armor earlier. Robin yelped as Jason hoisted him up like he weighted nothing and stabbed the machete at his head.
The blade cut open Robin's ear as he jerked his head to the side. The Teen Wonder didn't take the time to ponder his injury, as he swung his body up and rained stomping kicks on Jason's face and chest, both attacking and asserting leverage as his chest armor finally tore off in Jason's hands. Robin hit the ground and rolled back as the machete splintered the floor where he had just been, and as Robin came up he noticed that one of his sticks had the pointed end he'd carved on his bo several short minutes ago. He gave it two seconds of thought, and then as Jason yanked his machete free, he decided, dropping one stick as he reared back his arm and hurled the other.
The pointed end went right through Jason's right eyepiece.
Jason recoiled, black liquid squirting from the injury, clawing at the weapon and yanking it out as more ooze ran down the front of his mask. He looked at Robin, and this time Robin could sense more then just a murderous desire. Now he could sense anger as well.
And he was completely out of weapons. It was down to his hands and feet.
Robin and Jason observed each other.
Then Jason started towards Robin, unhesitating, unwavering, unstoppable.
Terra was ready: she had a battalion of rocks floating off the edge of the Tower, and as Freddy swooped at her and Gauntlet she used them, the boulders and stones flying past them and hammering Freddy…who didn't even flinch. Terra leapt out of his way and shrieked as his claws slashed out and sliced her upper right arm open to the bone, and then Gauntlet's yellow energy slammed into him. It didn't knock him away, but it did stop his charge in front of Gauntlet.
"Take this!" Freddy said, glaring at Gauntlet…and then as Gauntlet goggled at the sight, purple…things appeared in front of Freddy's face and then fell to the ground. Both Gauntlet and Freddy looked down at these objects: to Gauntlet they seemed to be some kind of vegetable.
"DAMN IT! I told those bastards HEAT vision, not BEET vision!" Freddy cursed.
Gauntlet seized this opportunity to form a yellow energy baseball bat and gear up for a home run swing. Freddy looked up just as Gauntlet struck: THIS blow sent him flying, as Freddy crashed back into the phone booth and the door slid closed.
"You all right?" Gauntlet asked Terra.
"Fucker!" Terra spat. Gauntlet took that as an a-ok.
"You bastards! I'm gonna…!" Freddy cursed as he stumbled back out of the phone booth…and looked down to see he was now wearing a suit, glasses, and carrying a note pad. "Ah nuts! Stupid Association of Hero Rules…"
Terra dropped a five-ton boulder on Freddy with a resounding crash.
"Don't think that's it." Gauntlet said.
"Please, even he can't…"
The boulder rolled aside, and Freddy leapt up.
"You fuckers are gonnna-WHOA!" Freddy yelped as a gust of wind suddenly caused him to flutter away to the side, and Gauntlet and Terra realized he was as thin as paper. Freddy managed to grab the edge of the boulder to stop himself, and then, grumbling, he stuck his thumb in his mouth and began blowing. After several seconds of this, and with a loud pop, he was back to three dimensions.
"Ok, now I'm gonna…"
The Gauntlet energy bludgeon and another large boulder smashed into him, sending him crashing backwards into the huge rock as it cracked in half. Terra waved her hand, and the gigantic stone broke apart into a thousand rock daggers, which she fired into the general area where Freddy was.
"You know, he should have his own cartoon show." Terra said, hands still glowing and ready for another round. "He would easily blow Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse away."
Freddy slowly got up and shook his head hard as his pupils swirled around like tennis balls, proving Terra's point.
"Yeah right, see how only little kids find him scary any more." Gauntlet added.
"Oh yeah?!?" growled Freddy. "Well, if you don't like me as an opponent, maybe I should give you someone that would earn more respect from you fucking kids!" He snarled as his clawed started glowing black.
"I'm not gonna like where this is going, am I?" Gauntlet muttered to Terra, who just continued staring at the Nightmare Master.
"Oh no!" Laughed Freddy. "YOU ARE GONNA WET YOUR PANTS!"
And he roared with laughter, as a hole on the sky opened above the group as a slimy black… thing oozed its way to the outside world, and managed to fall/splatter all over the roof.
After a little while, the thing 'stood' up and was revealed to be a black sludge monster.
But not just any black sludge monster.
"Holy camoley!" Rob exclaimed in horrific amazement. "It's Mortimer!"
And true enough, the monster dubbed 'Mortimer' by Gauntlet, who the Titans had fought two times already (or was it three, or maybe four…) was back and already getting right back into the spirit of things, as he was currently throwing his own regrowing arms at the teens.
Shocked, but still alert, they all dodged the oozing substance, though Starfire had to carry Raven. Terra went on the offense and threw gigantic chunks of rocks towards the creature. The rocks just passed through its body.
"I knew that was gonna happen." Terra groaned
"HAHAHAAHAHAA!!!!" Laughed Freddy, who was comfortably sitting on a couch eating popcorn. "How do you like me now, new blood?"
"STARFIRE!" Yelled Gauntlet. "HEAT! NOW!"
The orange alien didn't need to be told twice as her Starbolts crashed against the now charging Mortimer.
Which only managed to slow him down slightly.
"Crap." Gauntlet cursed, forming a shield for himself, preparing to receive the full impact of Mortimer's charge…and probably forgetting that the monster absorbed any solid objects that collided with it.
And so it did, trapping Gauntlet within its body.
"Ooooooooh!!!" Freddy started clapping. "Time for the finale already?"
"NO!" exclaimed the other two girls (Raven was still a tad bit dazed).
"He'll suffocate!" Terra yelled as Starfire flew up and swung down with Starbolts ready to free her friend.
"ROBERT!"
Until she realized Gauntlet was smiling.
"Huh?" Starfire said, stopping dead.
And then Gauntlet actually ATE his way out of Mortimer. He gasped slightly when he finally got out.
"Guys!" He called out. "It's made of Jello!"
The girls goggled at him.
"WHAT?!" yelled Freddy, jumping out of his seat and taking a taste of Mortimer himself. He looked incredibly disappointed with his result. "Crap… Grape Jello."
"Well… that was incredibly pointless." Terra murmured. Starfire couldn't find anything to say. and Gauntlet was too busy licking the Jello off his fingers.
"Oh, shut up, stick girl!" Freddy growled, clicking his fingers. Mortimer disappeared behind a black cloud.
"Please feel free to bring him back, I'm still hungry." Gauntlet grinned.
Freddy's face was going slowly red.
"OH YEAH?! WELL I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY TO EAT THIS!"
Another black hole opened as a figure descended from it slowly.
Both Terra and Starfire glared at their male friend.
"You just HAD to say something, right?" asked Starfire, sounding strangely testy.
"Er… sorry?" Gauntlet replied.
Then Marissa "Eyesore" Mori, landed in front of the Titans. Helmet ready.
Somewhat.
"No, NO! WAIT! WRONG WAY!" Freddy yelled, jumping around and evading the deadly beams coming from Mori's helmet.
Said helmet was backwards, pointing at the Nightmare Apparition instead of his adversaries.
An anime sweatdrop appeared on all the Titan's heads.
"See? Cartoon show, I tell you!" Terra commented.
"I'm beginning to agree." Starfire replied.
"Ok, ENOUGH!" Roared Freddy. Marissa disappear behind a black cloud. "Well… third time's the charm!"
Cue black hole opening.
The Titans went into a defensive position, just in case.
They all gasped when they saw who was coming down this time.
A female version of Nigel was now in front of them. Her short black hair calmly blowing with the wind and her yellow eye (she only had one, the other was an empty socket) focusing on her prey.
Rebecalnatrac Styilnifanalan, Rebecca Styles, the "White Hole", greeted them with a fanged smile.
And a peace sign.
Also, she wasn't wearing her usual armor. Instead she had a shirt with lively colors, jeans, a necklace with a strange symbol in it and a body odor strong enough to kill an elephant.
She was a hippie.
"God, I wish Nigel were here to see this…" Gauntlet said, fairly amused by the sight, while Terra laughed so much, she fell off her rock.
Freddy was perturbed.
"Er… attack?" He asked, hoping.
"No way man!" Answered the White Hole "War is wrong, man. We must be at peace and in freedom."
"FUCKER!" Freddy yelled, banishing her as well "Ok, ok, ok! This time I WILL get it right!"
The Titans just rolled their eyes sarcastically.
"Damn kids." Freddy mumbled as another hole opened.
And the Lord of the Night fell out.
The Titans froze at the cold stare the newcomer was giving them.
And they knew Freddy had got HIM right.
Robin ran up the wall, spun, and slashed out with a roundhouse that slammed across Jason's face. The monster staggered back, and then looked at Robin with a perturbed look, as if asking why the teen was still alive.
"Come on. I'm not afraid of you." Robin said.
Jason came for Robin again, slashing repeatedly. Robin did repeated backflips, bounced up to the wall, and shoved himself off of it, flying out and slamming into Jason with both feet. The creature staggered back again, going out the open door of Starfire's room before he hit the wall…
And then the lights outside in the hallway shut off completely. Jason vanished into the shadows.
Robin recoiled slightly, and then he started looking around the dimly but still lit room that they had been fighting in. He knew the horror movie rules: once a monster has vanished from sight, it can appear anywhere.
Flexing his fingers, Robin stepped in slow circles, trying to look everywhere at once. He sniffed, trying to catch Jason's scent.
Movement from the shadows!
Robin leapt up, slashing out his leg…
And Beast Boy dove to the ground with a yelp. Robin started with recognition and interrupted the move, landing on his feet.
"Gar!"
"Gee! With friends like you, who needs slashers?" Beast Boy complained, looking up, his green hair still stained with his blood.
"Sorry. Are you ok?"
"Well, provided I don't get hit in the head any more. Apparently there are still a few surviving brain cells." Beast Boy said, rubbing his head.
"Where's Scalpel?"
"He's pretty cut up. Didn't want to risk jumping down the elevator shaft. He left to find some stairs. He knows what floor we're on…" Beast Boy said, and then he suddenly turned around.
"What?" Robin said.
"Oh, I just expected an interruption, in the form of a deadly weapon strike. Where's Cy?"
"I don't know. The bad thing is, I don't know where Jason is either."
"D'oh. I guess we have to go find him then." Beast Boy said. "Do me a favor, carry me."
And he turned into a turtle.
"No dice. Turn into something that can move. And has night vision." Robin said. Beast Boy groaned and became a bat. A few sonar shrieks demonstrated that there was no one in the dark hallway, and the two cautiously made their way out into the darkness and headed for the lit patch they could see in the distance.
"So what do we do when we find Jason?" Beast Boy asked.
"I'm out of weapons and hitting him has proven useless. You'll have to handle it."
"How?"
"I don't know, turn into a T-Rex and eat him!"
"Oh please, UECK!"
"Aren't we squeamish, you ate Grave's zombies!"
"I merely chewed in self defense! I never swallowed!"
"Well…"
A noise from in front of them. Beast Boy became a bear and Robin struck a combat pose as their eyes followed the noise…
Coming from Cyborg's room.
"Hey! I think we found Victor!" Beast Boy said, becoming human again.
"No! Cyborg never leaves his door open when he's not around! It could be a trap!"
"Dude, Raven and I were here earlier, remember? It's where the Orb of Archetypal was!"
"Oh. Right. Ok, but let's call him first." Robin said, and drew in some air.
He was cut off by a strange noise, an odd mechanical growling rumble.
"What?"
The noise again. This time, Robin recognized it.
"OH SHIT!"
The noise once more as it swelled into a vicious buzzing roar…and then Jason stepped from Cyborg's room, the large chainsaw he had located from Cyborg's workshop snarling angrily at the two.
"Heh. You know, the funny thing is, despite the whole concept of a chainsaw maniac, Jason never actually used a chainsaw in any of his films." Beast Boy said weakly.
But as Jason stepped forward, the chainsaw screaming, it was very clear that he was willing to finally indulge in the cliché.
"Now!" Freddy said, as he addressed his new creation, grinning wickedly. "Slaughter those miserable kids!"
The Lord smirked and unsheathed his katana
"Come, children. Time to join the night."
A wave of panic went through each of the teens' minds. If Freddy had accurately called a representation of the Lord, they knew they had no chance. The Lord had faced dozens of FRESH superheroes and emerged victorious.
"Because this is the end Titans. No more blocking out the past so you can think you've escaped it so you can get some sleep. No more losing yourself in brief sexual releases or chemical-induced pleasure states. This was always your destiny, and you cannot ever escape it. No one can escape what is meant to be…"
Freddy and the Titans blinked as the Lord spoke.
"They could not escape when the Huns rode roughshod over Europe. They could not escape when Genghis Khan massacred all before him. They could not escape when Hitler emerged and blitzkrieged all his foes into dust. And you had not escaped what I started, you never did, you never will…"
"Yes, that's all very good, but can you…?" Freddy said.
The Lord continued as if he hadn't been interrupted. "There is no escaping destiny, there is no escaping what must be, there is no escaping the night…"
"Dude, can you kill us already?!" Gauntlet asked.
Once again, the Lord ignored him. "There is no escaping the cleaning this planet needs, there is no escaping the need to finally place history's trash in their rightful garbage bins, there is no need to…"
The Titans were falling sleep.
"There is no need for caffeinated water, there is no need for an ice cream flavor named Cherry Garcia, and there is no need to pause the "Homer Badman" episode of the Simpsons and go frame by frame through the list of corrections Rock Bottom made, which, by the way, are "People's Choice Award" is America's greatest honor, Styrofoam is not made from kittens, the UFO was a paper plate, the nerds on the internet are not geeks, the word cheese is not funny in and of itself, the older Flanders boy is Todd, not Rod, Lyndon Johnson did not provide the voice of Yosemite Sam, if you are reading this you have no life. Roy Rogers was not buried inside his horse, the other UFO was an upside down salad spinner, our universities are not hotbeds of anything, Mr. Dershowitz did not literally have four eyes, our viewers are not pathetic, sexless food tubes, Audrey Hepburn never weighed 400 pounds, the "Cheers" gang is not a real gang, salt water does not chase the "thirsties" away, licking an electrical outlet does not turn you into a Mighty Morphin Power Ranger, cats do not eventually turn into dogs, bullets do not bounce off fat guys, recycling does not deplete the ozone, everything is 10 fruit juice, the flesh eating virus does not hide in ice cream, Janet Reno is evil, V8 juice is not 1/8 gasoline, Ted Koppel is a robot, Women aren't from Venus and Men aren't from Mars, Fleiss does floss, Quayle is familiar with common bathroom procedures, Bart is bad to the bone, Godfrey Jone's wife is cheating on him, the Beatles haven't reunited to enter kick boxing competitions, The "Bug" on your TV screen can see into your home, everyone on TV is better then you, and the people who are writing this have no life…"
"SHUT UP!!!!!!" Freddy bellowed as the Lord left in the cloud. "DAMNIT! Ok, THIS time I'll get it right!" He assured the Titans.
Who were sleeping.
"WAKE UP!!!!!" shouted Freddy furiously, as another hole opened…
And a gigantic (almost the size of the entire island) dinosaur-like creature made its way from it.
"Who the hell is that?" Asked Rob in amazement.
"I DON'T KNOW, BUT HE'S GOING BACK! HE'LL WREAK THE PLACE!" exclaimed Freddy, trying to push the creature back to where it came from…and finding he couldn't.
"HAHAHAHAHA!!!!" roared the creature, as he made his way closer to freedom. "YOU CANNOT CONTROL DEMOGORGON! I WILL DESTROY YOU ALL!"
Freddy looked horrified, which only meant one thing: this creature, Demogorgon, was right.
The Titans instantly went into the offensive, shooting their abilities at the creature, who made no notice he actually felt them.
"PREPARE TO HAVE YOUR WORLD DESTROYED!" Roared Demogorgon, bellowing laughter.
"We cannot stop him!" yelled Starfire.
"NO!!!!!!" Terra was hysterical.
And then the creature stopped.
"WAIT." It said. "I'M NOT READY FOR THE ARMAGEDDON YET!"
Suddenly, Demogorgon pushed himself back into the hole. "BE PREPARED, TITANS! I'LL BE BACK WHEN THE GREAT LIZARD COMES!"
And then he was gone, just like that.
"…Great lizard?" Gauntlet said. He was extremely confused.
Freddy was worse.
"What the fuck?" He said, and then he shrugged it off. "ANYWAY! This one WILL work!"
Cue yet again ANOTHER Black Hole.
"DAMNIT! Don't you learn?!" Terra yelled.
The new enemy was a woman again. Roughly 5 feet 7 inches tall, her skin was pure white, her veins showing up as black against the white backdrop. She wore what appeared to be some form of armor that fit almost skin tight over her upper body, with the exception of the joints. Her lower body was covered by a long, flowing skirt. though the same armor seemed to follow down her legs, almost as if the armor has been placed over her clothing.
The all-mighty Sorceress was back once again.
Also, she was sleeping.
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Yelled Freddy. "WAKE UP, YOU MYSTIC BITCH! WAKE UP, WAKE UP, WAKE UP!!!!!!!!"
Freddy transformed himself into a bell, an alarm clock, a bucket filled with water, a rooster, and a full marching band. And he failed miserably.
"Aw, damnit…" He cursed, sending the Sorceress back.
Meanwhile, the Titans were working on a strategy, completely oblivious to the fact that sleeping beauty was gone. In the process, Raven had bit the bullet and allowed Starfire to close up her serious shoulder wound…much in the way Scalpel had closed his injury. Her agonized scream had been lost in Freddy's attempt to wake up his sixth failed summoning in a row.
"DON'T YOU DARE IGNORE ME!!!!" Freddy yelled, getting their attention. "This next one is a real winner! A REAL WINNER, I TELL YOU!" He added as the now familiar black hole opened.
And a small girl fell out
The Titans stare at her confused.
The newcomer was a brunette, with long gold streaks coming from every other place on her hair. Her white skin looked soft and delicate, as her empty dark blue eyes stared around as if she were lost. She wore hiking boots plus tight jean shorts that looked more like underwear than normal clothes, and a tight white tank top to match.
She was quite busty and… 'gifted'.
Also, she had a thick slutty air around her.
But she did not look like a villain.
"Er… who is that?" Terra asked, at the same time she elbowed Rob, who appeared to be in a drooling trance.
"I don't know, but I think our author handed the reigns over to another author for a few paragraphs, and I'm glad of it!" Gauntlet replied. Terra sighed and cast her eyes to the heavens, as if she was asking questions.
"Ok, fine, but WHO IS THAT?" she finally said.
"Beats me." Freddy answered, admiring her from er… behind. "She was in THEIR memories." He added, pointing to Starfire and Raven, who was still resting. "It was something deeply suppressed or some shit… Anyway, hey you! Exodus, right?"
The girl turned to face him, confirming it was her name. Freddy pointed at the Titans.
"Kill them."
Exodus turned to face the Titans for a minute.
And then she suddenly appeared right in Freddy's face, making him jump back in surprise.
"Anything for you, sexy." She murmured with a honeyed voice. This only made her slutty air mentioned earlier more noticeable. "But why don't you play with me first?" She added, fingering the monster's chest.
The Titans stared, not believing their eyes. This girl liked Freddy Kruger. Hideously deformed, horrifically minded, child murder Freddy Krueger.
"Yep, definitely another author." Gauntlet said.
Freddy himself was amazed, but he liked it
"Yes… well… er… First you need to get the kids."
Exodus simply continued smiling. "What's the matter? Don't you wanna fuck me?"
Everyone on the room widened their eyes.
And if THAT wasn't bad enough, suddenly the room filled with sounds of woman moaning in pleasure.
"I'm REALLY horny." She added.
"Ok, that's enough, can OUR author come back now please?" Terra asked.
"Uh…" Freddy was shocked, and suddenly Exodus too disappeared in a black cloud. "I… er…" He muttered, looking at the Titans "I'll save her for later."
The Teens just blinked.
"Alright then!" Freddy exclaimed. "This next one will REALLY gi…"
He was cut off by a giant rock slamming him across the roof.
"I'm not looking to relive something like that again!" grunted Terra, and rained another storm of boulders on Freddy's form. "Hey, I guess our author is back."
"Good, U suppose, but she's letting me down. Or maybe It's Freddy. It's a pity such a great horror villain has been reduced to such a bitch." Gauntlet said.
"A BITCH!?!??!?!?!?"
Freddy leapt out of the smoke, unharmed and ANGRY: His burns had become even more gruesome, his entire head tinted red.
"YOU FUCKING LITTLE PRICK! I WAS DOING THIS WHEN YOUR CREATOR WAS A SPARKLE IN HIS DADDY'S EYE!" Freddy roared, and slashed his glove at the ground. Blades suddenly erupted from the roof and slashed along the surface, seven foot lines of ghastly death, which Gauntlet and Terra barely avoided by leaping to the side.
Freddy was there, slashing at Gauntlet with a snarling bellow. Gauntlet formed the energy into a shield to ward off the slash. Stones smashed into Freddy's body, but he barely noticed as he roared again and turned towards Terra, rearing back and slashing out his arm. It extended like Mr. Fantastic, and Terra shrieked as the clawed hand caught her across the face, laying her cheek open to the bone and sending her flying. Gauntlet had rolled away by then and thrust out his weapon, sending a barrage of hammers and blades at Freddy, but he snarled once more and waved his hand towards the ground, and fire erupted around Gauntlet and enveloped him. Freddy laughed maniacally…and then Gauntlet flew from the flames, being carried by Starfire, who carried Gauntlet up into the air as Gauntlet formed a massive bludgeon and brought it down on Freddy's head, squashing him flat.
Stumbling, her body still aching and burning from her own injuries, her right arm still limp at her side, Raven went over to Terra, who was more preoccupied with keeping her face together then getting up. Instinctively, Raven reached out, and while she couldn't completely heal the wound she at least stopped the bleeding.
Freddy got up, his skin back to "normal", as he brushed himself off and retrieved his hat from the ground. He turned to look at Starfire and Gauntlet, who had retreated to plan another move.
"What's wrong, anyway? I'm not hip to you? Too 80's, you think?" Freddy said. "Hey, I'm timeless! Anything you can do, I can do fine! Here, I'll show you! 'Cause I'm hip! I'm 'happening'!"
A DJ scratch table was suddenly in front of Freddy, who was suddenly wearing bling-bling and a cap as he put on some headphones and reached down onto the record players.
"Oh no please don't…" Gauntlet said.
"Hey! Hey! I'm Freddy Krueger and I'm here to say, I'm here to make you all DOA! I have some big claws, and I have…a lot of fun…" Freddy rapped, clearly having no idea what he was doing.
"Oh god, the HORROR! THE HORROR! THE 'MICHAEL-JACKSON-SEXUALLY-MOLESTING-LITTLE-BOYS' RATED HORROR!!!!!" Gauntlet wailed.
"I'M NOT THAT BAD!" indignantly yelled Freddy as the scratch table made almost ear-tearing noises "Wait wait, I can do this-ACK!" Freddy yelped as his clawed hand got jammed in the record holder, yanking him off his feet and spinning around in a circle. "AH! JUST A SEC! I'M A LITTLE TIED UP HERE!"
"This is NOT happening, this is NOT happening… please just kill me now." Gauntlet said, his face buried in his hands.
Freddy freed himself and tried to DJ again, except this time all he produced was a horrid metallic shrieking.
"Ah shit!" Freddy said, reaching down and pulling a mangled CD from the spinner. "And who decided it would be best to replace records with these things?"
A Starbolt blew a hole in Freddy's chest. He looked down at it and then at Starfire.
"Fine. These may suck dick for music but they have SOME use!" Freddy said, and hurled the CD at Starfire. She dodged aside on principal, but it's a good thing she did as the CD brushed her side…and drew blood. The edges were razor sharp.
"Did I mention I always fall for those Get 12 CD's for a Penny offers?" Freddy laughed, and snapped out his arms as he began firing CD's at the two at high speed. Starfire flew up to avoid them as Gauntlet shielded himself, and then Raven floated down, her one working hand forming temporary shields before she smashed Freddy with a black power bolt, sending him tumbling across the roof again.
"The bitch is back, I see." Freddy said as he got up. "Fine. What do you teenagers like to do these days? Oh, I know! You like all that shit that comes from the Japs! Ok!"
And suddenly Freddy was wearing a red gi.
"Damnit!" Gauntlet cursed. "Another Dragon-Ball Z wannabe! Savior was enough for a lifetime!"
Had Raven been in better condition, she would have smacked him.
And then Freddy bent his knees as he brought his hands together.
"KRA…….KA…….TOA……AH….HAH!!!!!!!!!!!"
And Freddy fired a gigantic blue blast of energy that enveloped the whole roof in front of him, vaporizing everything in his way.
Jason advanced on the two Titans, his chainsaw snarling as wildly as any rabid animal, as Robin struck a combat pose because he had no idea what else to do, and Beast Boy hung back, the noise giving him a headache due to his badly battered skull, as Jason stalked forward…
It's strange that we use the analogy of a rabid animal, because just then, the chainsaw did what rabid animals eventually do.
It died.
Silence.
Jason cocked his head and looked at the chainsaw, clearly surprised. Robin and Beast Boy stared at it themselves.
Jason reached down, grabbed the cord, and tried to start the device up again. It growled a bit and then went quiet. Jason yanked on the cord again. Growl, die.
Slowly, a smile began to spread on Beast Boy's features, as Jason yanked at the cord, again and again. But the chainsaw just wouldn't start.
"Hee hee hee…" He chuckled. He couldn't help himself.
Furious, Jason hurled the chainsaw away, the failed device crashing onto the floor several feet down the hall, as he turned towards the two Titans, who were no longer quite so amused.
"I think we made him mad." Beast Boy said.
Jason reached down and pulled the machete from his leg (what, did he have a sheath on it, or had he just stuck in into the limb until he needed it?). Next to him was one of those fire safety panels buildings had: Jason's other hand smashed out, shattering the glass as he reached into the panel and pulled out the fire ax.
"Yep, we definitely made him mad."
Jason stormed forward, swinging his deadly weapons: Beast Boy became a hawk to avoid the slashes as Robin ducked and dodged, and then hammered several punches into Jason's sternum before flipping away from a double weapon downward chop. Beast Boy flew low to the ground and turned into a komodo dragon, his huge form filling the hallway. Robin played off it by running at Jason, who slashed at him with the machete and then chopped at him with the axe, missing both times as Robin dodged past him, and then Beast Boy stamped forward and sank his teeth into Jason's leg, ripping at the knee and thigh while trying not to vomit at the taste. Jason recoiled, and then swung his axe at Beast Boy's head: it missed, as Beast Boy had become a fly and flown away, and then Robin leapt and slammed his foot into the back of Jason's head. The madman stumbled forward, but he held onto both weapons, and he swung backwards, too fast for Robin to dodge. The only thing that saved him was the fact that the axe was facing the wrong way and Jason couldn't turn it around, but getting slammed in the side of the head with the blunt side of the axe still sent him crashing into the nearby wall, knocked senseless as pretty colors exploded on his vision.
Beast Boy flew back a dozen feet and became a rhinoceros, charging headlong at Jason, his horn piercing into Jason's chest and driving him back. More ooze that may have been blood once leaked from Jason's hockey mask, as he stabbed the machete at Beast Boy's eye: Beast Boy became a mouse this time, and nearly got stepped on by Jason before he ran away. He returned to human form…
And Jason hurled the axe.
Beast Boy did the only thing he could in time: he became an ape and brought his arms in front of him. The axe bit deep into his left forearm, and Beast Boy bellowed, but he was able to grab the axe with his other hand and hurl it back at Jason, the blade chopping right into the middle of Jason's chest. Beast Boy became human again, holding his bleeding arm…as Jason reached down and yanked the axe from his form.
"Oh sugar." Beast Boy said, as Jason stalked towards him.
And behind Jason, an arm reached from the shadows and slowly dragged the chainsaw into them.
Beast Boy darted past Jason as a house cat, nearly losing all his nine lives at once courtesy of Jason's machete, and dashed into Cyborg's room. He ran over to Cyborg's private tools closet, which ironically was right near the workshop where Jason had stolen the chainsaw. Why did Cyborg need a chainsaw anyway? Well, he did do some things with wood sometimes, maybe he needed…
Jason's shadow fell over him. The monster was already in the room…and the closet was locked and protected by a password, which was…
"Please be password, please be password, please be password…" Beast Boy said as he keyed in the code…
The buzz indicated he was wrong. Beast Boy's heart sank. He was stuck between Jason and a tough lock.
"HAH! How do you like THAT, you little fucks?" Freddy yelled, waving his hand at the scorched roof before him.
"Not a half bad execution."
Freddy stopped his hand waving at the voice, and then turned around to see that Titans were now behind him.
"However, you took so long to do it, that we had the time to move behind you." Gauntlet said.
"WHAT?"
"Hey, you expected us to stand still? Wait, don't answer that." Gauntlet said.
Starfire did her talking with her fists, as a barrage of Starbolts assaulted Freddy. He staggered , coughing, out of the smoke, and then Gauntlet and Terra uppercutted him with a combined artifact/rock pillar attack, sending him high into the air.
"Fucking superheroes." Freddy said in mid-air, scratching his chin. "Not like that gun kid. What can I do…"
Black power seized him.
"Ah shit."
Raven slammed Freddy into the Tower roof so hard the whole building shook.
"Will that do it?" She asked.
"No." Gauntlet said. "If this place is such that Freddy can act like he's in a dream, we're in a LOT of trouble: Freddy's GOD-LIKE when in a dream."
Terra looked like she didn't need to hear that.
"However, we can beat him…we just need the right tact…but fortunately Freddy has one major weakness…"
"Ok, THAT'S IT!" Freddy said, as he emerged from the smoke, now in a boxing outfit, blades at the end of his gloves. "No more Mr. Nice Psychopath/Monster/Abomination/Thing!"
Freddy dashed at the Titans, who scattered. Starbolt fired off another barrage of Starbolts, while Terra used more rock daggers: Raven was carrying Gauntlet away with a black tendril and couldn't attack.
"Come down here so I can gut you bitch!" Freddy yelled at Terra. Terra's response was to break off a chunk of her floating boulder and hurl it like a bullet at Freddy's head. Which it appeared to do…until Freddy's head popped back up like a turtle's.
"Fuck." He said. "Ok then. If you can't beat them, join them!"
And Freddy turned into a fat puffball creature who anyone familiar will Nintendo would recognize…if you looked past the fact that it was covered with Freddy's burned skin and had his face. Freddy opened his mouth and began to inhale, and Terra shrieked as she was drawn in.
"TERRA!" Starfire said, flying in to help her friend…only to get grabbed by a Raven energy field.
"Don't! You'll just get sucked in too!"
"But Terra!"
"Too late." Raven said, as Terra disappeared, wailing, into Freddy's mouth.
And strangely reappeared behind him, looking stunned. With a quick flash, Freddy was himself again…except he was now wearing Terra's outfit.
"GAG!" he gasped, yanking at his shirt. "How do you breathe in this?"
Terra's response was to send a horde of rocks flying at Freddy.
Who waved his glove and met her horde with another, a massive explosion of dust pluming between the two.
"Huh. Not bad. And the outfit does make me feel pretty…" Freddy said, looking at his glove. Rocks flew in around him, attaching to his arm, and when Terra emerged from the smoke, Freddy had a brand new arm…twenty feet long and five feet wide.
"Well, I guess that shows I still know how to rock!" Freddy said, and swung the arm at Terra. Terra flew away on a boulder to get away from the massive limb, which had by now sprouted Freddy's trademark claws.
That didn't deter Gauntlet and Starfire, as they moved in to replace their blonde friend. Another barrage of Starbolts slammed into the limb, blowing holes in it, as Gauntlet formed a rough pickaxe and began hacking at the rock limb.
Freddy just laughed and stomped his foot, and a pillar of stone slammed up underneath Gauntlet, sending him flying. As Starfire tried to retreat, he struck again, moving his huge arm far faster then she expected he could, the large clawed fingers grabbing her in mid air and pining her hands to her side. She shrieked as Freddy brought her down to him, face to face.
"Ohhhhh look." He said, licking his lips. "An orange Popsicle."
Starfire's eyes fired green beams that exploded against Freddy's face and sent him flying backwards, his rock arm disintegrating as he bounced along the roof again.
"Why does SHE get the eye beams?" Freddy cursed as he got up again, and then his clawed arm was smashed right off at the shoulder via a carefully fired hunk of stone. He yelled in pain and turned towards Terra, who was swooping in as she fired more rocks at him, ripping holes in his gut and chest as he recoiled from the barrage…
And ducked under the last finishing blow, bringing him right up to Terra as she foolishly flew in too close to do her finish, as Freddy snapped out his one remaining arm and grabbed her by the front.
"ROCK BOTTOM!" he yelled, as he slammed her into the ground as hard as he could, knocking the air right out of Terra. As she convulsed on the ground, Freddy regrew his claw arm and swung it back…
Yellow energy grabbed it. Freddy arched an eyebrow.
"Don't you know wrestling is fake?" Gauntlet asked. Freddy chuckled.
"Pretty good kid. Did I catch your name?"
"It's…"
Gauntlet suddenly yelped as his energy contracted against his will, pulling him towards Freddy.
"IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOUR NAME IS!" Freddy yelled, and as Gauntlet drew in close he lashed out with his boot, kicking Gauntlet in the stomach.
And then he actually gave Gauntlet the finger with both hands.
Many know what's coming next, as he ducked under Gauntlet's leaning form, grabbed his head, and jumped down, slamming Gauntlet's face into his shoulder. Gauntlet flew up like he'd had a crate of TNT explode under him, falling off the edge of the roof and disappearing.
"And that's the bottom line." Freddy said, thoroughly getting into his new parody. He saw Starfire swooping in, her hands glowing. "SPEAR!"
And he charged at Starfire shoulder first, her Starbolts missing him as he closed in…and at the last second Starfire dodged to the side. Freddy continued on his trip for half a second before he felt the alien girl's powerful arm encircle his head.
"Wha?" He said, as Starfire twisted around and reached under Freddy leg, lifting him up, his head and right leg hooked under her arms, as she launched herself into the air and began to rapidly spin. "WHOA-WHOA-WHOA-WHOA-WHOA!!!!!!!!!!!"
Starfire flew up about fifty feet before she flipped and put herself in a steep dive, Freddy head first. The alien girl fell back to the Tower like a shooting star, smashing Freddy down in a giant column of smoke as the impact shook the Tower again. She flew back, away from it, and landed nearby.
"Sorry Freddy. You're not exactly the man, nor do you reek of awesomeness. Though you do just reek." Starfire said. She looked over at Raven, who was nearby. "Are you all right?"
"Just…concentrating…" Raven said.
Freddy appeared from the smoke. He shook his head and stepped forward.
A short musical groan/whine sounded. Freddy looked down at his body and saw his torso was folded up like an accordion. He moved a bit and it wheezed up and down, making annoying noises that some people actually called music.
"Excuse me!" Came a call, and Freddy looked into a Gauntlet bludgeon that sent him flying once again. "I have a package here for a Mr. Has-Been!"
"What…" Freddy growled under his breath, as he flipped and landed. If looks could kill, Gauntlet would have been dead right then and there.
"You know Freddy, you may have been scary once, but your pandering undid you. Your jokes became you. You're too cartoony to take seriously." Gauntlet said as he approached. "I mean, don't you think it's time to trade in the glove for something new?"
"How funny you should ask." Freddy said, and yanked his glove off. Gauntlet got one look at the giant anvil that was at the end of Freddy's hand before Freddy swung it up and slammed it into him, sending the teenager on his own flight.
"You want cartoony? I'll show you cartoony! Roger Rabbit ain't got nothing on me!" Freddy snapped, as he twisted around a bit, and when he returned his arm had transformed into a giant buzzsaw that extended on a handle towards Gauntlet. Gauntlet yelped and threw up his shield, and the saw tore into the yellow energy. Gauntlet grit his teeth under the immense strain.
The blades tore through the energy.
And Gauntlet's body slid back as part of the roof broke under him and slid away from the blade. Freddy's eyes widened at this, and then he turned towards Terra, who had finished moving Gauntlet and was now flying in for another attack.
"Go gain some weight girl." Freddy said, and waved his hand.
A giant…something exploded from the ground beneath Terra, and she stopped in surprise. A poor move, as something fell from the sky right above her. Terra looked up and screamed before the giant lid slammed into her, knocking her off her rock and into the container that had appeared below her. She fell in, and the lid sealed shut on the round cardboard box…a giant tub of ice cream.
Rocky Road, to be precise.
"I scream, you scream, yadda yadda yadda." Freddy said, and turned back to Gauntlet, who has started getting up before Freddy's huge buzzsaw shot at him. Gauntlet rolled away, and then pressed himself flat on the ground as the saw sliced over him.
"Beginning to wish I'd stuck with realism, kid?" Freddy asked.
Gauntlet didn't reply: he was thinking. Like he had mentioned, in a nightmare Freddy had omnipotent-level abilities…but the thing was, since he struck in dreams, the same applied to you. The problem was that Freddy was much more versed in the abilities then you, and even those who managed to tap them often ended up outmatched, outdone, and then dead meat.
And since the Tower was clearly corrupted to the point that it acted like he was in a dream…
Gauntlet held out his hand…and a huge wooden mallet appeared in it. Freddy stopped.
"Oh look, you made a hammer! Too bad I'm all the way over here!"
"Yeah, too bad." Gauntlet said, and pressed a button on the hilt.
The end of the hammer opened up and a boxing glove on a spring shot from the end, slamming into Freddy's face and sending him flying once again.
"You're right, who needs realism?" Gauntlet said, as he got up. He could see Starfire furious tearing open the giant ice cream carton to get Terra out, and then he was aware of Raven next to him. He was about to ask why she wasn't helping, her arm and other cuts aside, until he looked at her and saw the deadly look of seriousness in her eyes. Then he knew why.
"You said he had one main weakness. What was it?" Raven asked.
"What? Oh yeah…fire! Fire ALWAYS works! It caused his original death, and still has great power over him…" Gauntlet trailed off as he looked at where he was.
The roof of the Tower…that had absolutely nothing on it that could start a fire. No fuel, no accelerants, nothing that generated heat, nothing. And he doubted any of the Titans were carrying gasoline or turpentine or something flammable on them. Of course Scalpel wasn't there. Hell, he doubted any of them had a match…
Starfire finally tore through the surprisingly tough wall of the ice cream box. A quick flash of heat melted the ice cream within, as Terra slid out, retching and spitting, completely covered in the cold snack food. It wasn't as nice as it sounds.
"Terra? Are you ok?" Starfire asked. Terra just continued to heave, trying to get air into her lungs while at the same time getting ice cream out of them.
"Starfire!" came a yell, and Starfire looked over to Gauntlet. "Hey! We need you to…"
"ARRGGGHHHH!!!! YOU LITTLE FUCK! I'M THE ONE RIPPING OFF 'WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT?' HERE!!!!" Came a bellow, as the end of the roof exploded in fire. Freddy stalked out, once again in the grip of a furious rage, his skin somehow even more grisly and enflamed then before.
"THAT IS IT! NO MORE FUCKING AROUND! WELCOME TO YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE!" Freddy bellowed, as his form suddenly stretched and then…MELTED, vanishing into the Tower roof.
Terra had staggered over to Gauntlet, who was giving her an improvised version of the Heimlich maneuver, as Starfire flew sideways a dozen feet and landed, Starbolts at the ready.
"Where is he?"
Starfire felt the ground shift underneath her, but she had no way to prepare for what she saw when she looked down.
And screamed. Freddy's face had become the rooftop underneath her, his burned and enraged visage rising right up out of the ground…as his mouth opened beneath her feet.
Starfire tried to fly, but Freddy's tongue slimed out and wrapped around her ankles, and she screamed as she was yanked down. She fired some Starbolts into the maw she was being pulled into, but that didn't seem to do anything, as Freddy's teeth, now razor sharp, started to close on her form, ready to rip her to shreds and swallow the remains.
It was right about then that Beast Boy remembered a crucial detail.
"Wait, what am I doing?" Beast Boy said, and then he became a bear. The last time he'd been faced with a lock, he had no powers. Now he did. C'est Juste.
One swipe of his huge, powerful claws tore the lock right off. Beast Boy returned to normal as Jason stalked up behind him.
Beast Boy turned firing, opening up with the first thing he had grabbed: a nail gun. The six inch fasteners slammed into Jason, three of them piercing into his mask and sending him staggering back. The nail gun jammed then, and Beast Boy tossed it aside as Jason stopped, and then, despite the mask, he managed a look of irritation as he reached up and yanked the nails out of his hockey mask. Apparently, he didn't much like being nailed, you might say.
Beast Boy was already back in the closet, coming up with a hacksaw. He stared at the weapon, and then he tried throwing it at Jason. The tool just bounced off him, and Beast Boy cursed at the uselessness of the weapon as he turned around, grabbed a…something, and hurled it at Jason. It turned out to be a jar of candy, which shattered on Jason's mask and sent him staggering back again.
Finally, Beast Boy found it. It wasn't just tools in the cabinet: there were a few weapons in there too, unfinished ones that were either on the way to being improved, finished, junked, or combined. Cyborg had shown him a few of his ideas once, and he hoped one of them was in the closet, it was why he'd come in here in the first place, because he knew fighting up close against Jason was going to get him killed and damn he was screwed anyway because Jason was almost at his back…
And he found it.
Jason swung up his axe.
And Beast Boy pulled out the prototype sonic cannon, found the trigger, and blasted Jason with it. The impact blew the giant backwards, bits of dead flesh and clothing scattering around him, and Beast Boy fired again: the prototype couldn't manage a constant beam but its firing blasts were just fine. Beast Boy fired again, and this time Jason was actually knocked off his feet. Beast Boy took advantage by dashing past him and out of the room, running a few feet out of the hallway…
And stopping. Robin was gone. Where did he go? Would he abandon a teammate, even if he couldn't harm the enemy? Never. Then why…
Jason was walking out of the door, still armed and dangerous, but now leaving a trail of blood behind him. Beast Boy smirked, as he reached down and turned the cannon up to maximum.
"Say goodnight, Gracie." Beast Boy, and aimed, pulling the trigger.
And the cannon shorted out.
That's what you get for pushing a PROTOTYPE.
"Oh shit…ake mushrooms." Beast Boy said as Jason swung up his machete.
Then stopped as a noise filled the hallway. A familiar noise, one Beast Boy had heard before. Jason stopped, cocked his head, and then turned as the chainsaw roared to life again.
"Hail to the king, baby!" Cyborg snarled as he stomped out of the shadows, wires from his crushed forearm emerging and hooked into the chainsaw he had replaced his hand with, the whirling chain smoking as it turned around its axis.
Jason actually seemed stunned, not knowing what to do, and then he went with what he always did, as he turned, brought his axe up, and slashed it at Cyborg.
The chainsaw caught the wooden handle and sliced right through it, cutting the axe head right off. Jason's neutered blow thudded harmlessly on Cyborg's chest, and Cyborg was actually close enough to see the surprise in his eyes behind his mask before he thrust the chainsaw down.
The blade bit into Jason's chest, the monster staggering as the chain ripped through rotten flesh and bone, horrific GUCK spraying from the wound and onto the walls, floor, and Cyborg. Jason finally staggered away, black blood pouring from his chest and his face, and collapsed.
He did not get up.
"Groovy." Cyborg said.
Staring worriedly at Jason's body, Beast Boy reached out and poked it with his foot. It didn't move. As fast as he could, Beast Boy scurried around the fallen body and to Cyborg's side.
"Nice work Victor." He said.
"Thanks." Cyborg said. "Where are the others?"
"I don't know, I left Scalpel behind and Robin was just…"
Jason reared up, slashing his machete at the two. They yelped and leapt back, as the creature rose again, clutching his machete even as more bits of himself fell to the ground. His chest was so slashed up it was little more then bone covered with black ooze now, rags of flesh hanging from his frame.
"Damn it, don't you EVER die?" Cyborg said, as he brought the chainsaw back up and yanked on its chain.
The blade started, and then came to a stop with a wet gargling sound. Cyborg looked at the blade and saw for the first time all the flesh and general mess coating it. Jason's rotten body may have given beneath the chainsaw, but that very rotted body had clogged up the mechanism and stopped it from working.
"Ah fuck!" Cyborg cursed as Jason stomped towards them. "Whoever thought a chainsaw was an effective weapon must have been on something!"
Jason swung at the two again, as Cyborg tried to jettison the chainsaw. The machete chopped deep into his shoulder, and Cyborg bellowed in pain. Jason yanked the machete out, as Cyborg decided to screw removing the chainsaw and lashed out with it, slamming the heavy weapon across Jason's head.
Bad move, as Jason came right back, not with the machete, but with a punch.
A punch that smashed right through Cyborg's chest.
Cyborg screamed again, his systems going nuts as major power lines were destroyed. His body spasmed, sparks shooting from the wound, even as Jason, almost measuring the blow, brought his machete up to cleave Cyborg's head…
Beast Boy leapt on Jason's back and rammed the axe head straight into the side of his neck. Jason recoiled as ebony fluids fountained from the side of his neck, Beast Boy falling off and dodging around just before Jason would have tripped over him. Cyborg slid off Jason's arm, and Beast Boy slid his arms under Cyborg's armpits and began to drag him away as best he could.
"Beast Boy stop! I'll just slow you down!" Cyborg said, as Jason continued to try and pull the axe head out.
"I'm not leaving you!" Beast Boy said, even though his arms were screaming with pain: he didn't have that much physical strength, and his head was pounding so hard that he couldn't transform.
Jason yanked the axe head out, and even as more black blood spurted from his neck and ran down his arm, he turned back to the two Titans and once again began stalking them.
"Oh sweetness!" Beast Boy said, the sight giving him a burst of adrenaline.
But Jason, despite his grievous wounds, was moving faster then them, as Beast Boy frantically dragged Cyborg to the end of the hall and the elevators that were there. He dropped Cyborg and began pressing the button, even as Jason stomped towards them, machete dripping with his own and other's blood.
"Come on, come on…!"
"Beast Boy, RUN!" Cyborg yelled, and Beast Boy turned to see that Jason was right on top of them, machete raised, and he was screwed. If he ran Jason would chop Cyborg, if he didn't Jason would chop him, it was either his life or…
The glaive burst from Jason's chest, and Jason staggered back once more, as more blood flowed through the mouth holes of his hockey mask.
"You're not the only one who can lurk in the shadows." Scalpel said from the open stairway door, and leapt at Jason. Jason swung at him, but the leap wasn't an attack, and all Jason got was a slice of Scalpel's cloak as Scalpel dove in, grabbed his glaive, and yanked it out through Jason's body. More blood exploded from Jason's torso at this, even as Scalpel slipped up and assumed a Blacktrinian combat pose.
Jason swung at him: Scalpel blocked with one end of the glaive and ripped another massive gash across what was left of the flesh on Jason's chest. Jason staggered a bit, then slashed again: Scalpel, ducked, swung, and slammed his foot into Jason's chest in a roundhouse kick. A disgusting wet cracking noise resulted.
Cyborg's body jerked, startling Beast Boy, and then Cyborg started to move again.
"My power cell's cracked, unreliable. I had to switch to backup power…but I don't think it will last long!" Cyborg said, as he stood up. He reached over and began clawing at the chainsaw, trying to clean the guck out.
Jason swung and missed again, and Scalpel ripped a huge wound across Jason's stomach. No guts emerged, though Jason clearly felt the injury as he staggered back, yet another fountain of blood spewing onto the floor. Beast Boy looked at the battle as Scalpel dashed forward…
And slipped on the blood.
"Oh no!" Beast Boy said, as Scalpel sprawled on the ground. He suddenly wished he'd held onto Cyborg's overloaded prototype: he could have thrown it at Jason or something. But there was nothing he could do, as Jason reared up and slashed down at Scalpel.
Scalpel brought the glaive up to intercept.
The machete sliced through it and gorged into Scalpel's torso. Scalpel bellowed as the machete went all the way through and buried itself in the floor.
"Ah shit!" Cyborg cursed as he continued to claw at the chainsaw.
Jason looked down at his victim, pinned to the floor and not able to go anywhere…
And then Scalpel shoved the thin, pointed end of the glaive up, piercing under Jason's chin and right into his brain. Jason actually shuddered, letting go of the machete as he tried to get the point out, as Scalpel twisted it back and forth, feeling the point rip through whatever was beyond, even as he finally managed to get a foot up and shove Jason away. Grabbing the machete, he yanked it out with a scream, blood flowing out from his mouth as he got up, as Jason swayed and staggered…and then yanked the point out. Blood and worse squirted from the wound, but even that would not deter Jason, as he reached for Scalpel…
And Scalpel screamed, and with a spinning leap he slashed his foot out, slicing it across Jason's face in a twirling roundhouse kick.
Jason's mask snapped off, flying away and hitting the wall, where it shattered.
Scalpel landed awkwardly and stumbled back, as Jason looked back from the recoil.
"Vioxx." Scalpel said, one of the most serious curses on his planet. Roughly translated, it meant "It should not exist", and it was normally used to insult someone by indicating whatever they had done should not have happened.
But in this case, as Scalpel looked upon Jason's face, a face that had long lost any semblance of humanity, a face of black tissue, exposed decaying muscle, and fetid bone, thin strands of hair wisping from the black skull, teeth exposed and protruding, eyes shot through with rot and somehow still seeing, a face not even a mother could love, he meant it. It was not something that should be.
And Jason started for him again. Once more, Scalpel thought his curse. The being before him simply would not die. He kept coming, and coming, and coming, no matter what you did to him, he would simply not be laid to rest…
Scalpel bumped into someone behind him.
He stopped, and then slowly turned.
Robin stood there, a new mask on his face…and a fresh utility belt around his waist. He hadn't fled, he'd taken a long needed side trip to his room.
"Damn, you actually look better WITH the mask." Robin said.
And he snapped out his arms. Birdarangs flew through the air, slicing and dicing through Jason's flesh. As Jason recoiled from the onslaught, Cyborg and Beast Boy took advantage of it by slipping around Jason's assaulted form and running over to Scalpel and Robin's side (and Beast Boy, not taking any chances, continued down the hall to grab the prototype).
Robin finished with the Birdarangs, but he was just getting started, as he spread his fingers, metal disks appearing between them as he fired them off. They crashed and tore through Jason's form, knocking him back more and taking out one of his eyes, even as Robin reached down, pulled out three explosive disks, and hurled them at Jason. The monster was consumed by explosions.
Smoke billowed out, enveloping the group.
"You think that will be enough?" Scalpel asked.
"If he gets up after THAT, he DESERVES to kill us." Robin said.
Jason stalked forward out of the smoke, his flesh hanging off his body, bones poking through his form, his head smoking, but he KEPT coming, even as Robin recoiled in shock.
"Quick Rob, more weapons!" Beast Boy said.
"That was all I had time to grab!" Robin said.
"Oh shit!"
Jason reached down, grabbed his machete, and stalked towards the four.
"Scalpel!" Cyborg said, and the alien looked at the teen machine, as Cyborg raised his still working hand. The blowtorch emerged from the finger. Scalpel looked at it, and then he coughed, more blood spilling from his mouth…and he understood.
Jason kept coming, like the devil himself, as Scalpel shoved Robin and Beast Boy aside with a surprised squawk from both, even as he inhaled, even as Cyborg raised the blowtorch in front of him.
And he sprayed a plume of his own blood out, out into the flame that ignited the fluid and turned it into a destroying flame cloud that enveloped Jason, igniting him. Jason staggered back once more, completely aflame.
"NOW! STAY! DOWN!" Scalpel yelled, as Jason convulsed and lurched in his own personal hell.
Then he stopped.
And he looked at the Titans.
"Oh no." Robin said.
"What do we do now?" Scalpel asked.
"Running would be a good idea." Cyborg said.
And the four turned and ran into the open stairway that Scalpel had emerged from, as Jason pursued them, a personal agent from the devil that was determined to claim the Titans no matter what they did to him, the heat from his flaming body driving the Titans up the stairs as he reached the base and started following them up.
"Keep running! Even HE can't follow us all the way up the stairs while on fire!" Robin yelled, as the four Titans called on their last reserves of strength as they tried to beat the devil.
When they were halfway up, they stopped and looked down.
Flames shot up through the hole in the middle of the stairway.
"DAMMIT! WHY WON'T HE JUST DIE!!!!!!!!" Robin screamed.
"I thought you said…" Cyborg began.
"Never mind what I said, MOVE!" Robin said, and the four resumed their run.
Starfire brought her hands out, the edges of the teeth biting into her palms as she continued to scream, feeling herself getting pulled down.
"STARFIRE!" Terra yelled, as she brought a rain of boulders down on Freddy's head. The roof head cursed, but he continued to swallow, even as Starfire was yanked down even more, now only her head and arms visible as she fired Starbolts at anything she could.
Gauntlet leapt up, his energy forming into one long spike that he brought down on the roof Freddy's eye. Freddy bellowed as blood exploded from the wound, and then his other eye popped out on a stalk and slammed into Gauntlet like a squishy wrecking ball, sending him flying. With a final scream, Starfire disappeared into the mouth.
Roof Freddy licked his lips.
"Tastes like chicken."
The entire head exploded in a gigantic surge of power. From the explosion flew Freddy, who landed and bounced a few times. He got up, muttering to himself and holding his stomach.
"Ugh. Indigestion. Those enchiladas…" Freddy said. He wondered where the girl was after that: probably a few floors down in the building. Maybe she was half or already dead. Well, she wouldn't be bothering him for a bit: he'd get her later, as he turned to deal with the remaining three.
Gauntlet stepped up, looking quite angry. Freddy smirked and raised his glove, taunting, as the weapon expanded and covered his whole arm to mimic Robert Candide's namesake weapon.
"Come on little boy. Freddy wants to play."
Gauntlet fired off a yellow energy battering ram.
And Freddy fired off his own energy protrusion, except his was his own face, a face that opened its mouth and chomped onto the Gauntlet energy, and Gauntlet found himself being yanked to the side and hurled across the roof. He hit the ground, bounced a few times, and sat up only to have Freddy, already there, smash a timekeeper's bell over his head before he knew what was happening.
"Nice toy you have there. Think I'll take it!" Freddy said, as he produced a crowbar and tried to shove it under Gauntlet's shoulder, the teen too dazed to know what was going on.
Good thing for him the Gauntlet couldn't be removed, as Freddy struggled furiously.
"Bah!" Freddy said, throwing the crowbar away and producing a shoe horn, which he tried to worm under the Gauntlet from several angles. Nothing. Freddy tried it again with a butter knife. Nothing.
"Ok fine, good old elbow grease!" Freddy said, as he grabbed his arm and squeezed. Liquid squirted out.
Gauntlet rolled away from it.
"I don't even want to KNOW where that came from!" He yelled as he got up. "Enough! Let's finish this!"
"Ok." Freddy said, and then he disappeared.
Gauntlet didn't even have time to register what had happened, as Freddy reappeared behind him, produced the timekeeper's bell again, and smashed it across the back of his head. His brain already a tad bit scrambled, this impact knocked him clean out.
"I win." Freddy chuckled.
Five daggers of rock impaled themselves through Freddy's chest, and he staggered back as he looked up at Terra, who fired several more that impaled themselves through Freddy's form. Freddy bellowed in rage, and decided he wasn't going for anything special. In his left hand appeared…a bolt of some kind.
"Screw you." Freddy said, as he rolled the bolt over to his thumb and forefinger and flicked it out. It fired through the air…and went straight through Terra's throat.
"Terra!" Raven said, as Terra staggered, stumbling off the rock, holding her throat as blood spilled out. And even though part of her didn't want to, Raven floated over as blood poured between Terra's fingers.
Then her hands suddenly parted, by force, as Raven reached out and pulled the screw out, even as she laid her left hand on Terra's body and did a rush healing job. Terra gasped as the wound disappeared, and fell to his knees, hacking up clotted blood.
Then a boot stomped on her head, smashing her face into the ground. Raven looked up at Freddy.
"And then there was only one... again."
Freddy's clawed hand shot out, grabbing Raven around the throat and lifting her up with no effort, as Freddy laughed merrily.
"Now…my dear…you have teased me long enough." He said, and threw Raven to the ground." "It's time to give it up…"
"Fuck you, you motherlover." Raven snapped.
Freddy's face enflamed with rage again as he snapped out his boot, kicking Raven in the face so hard she slid across the ground several feet before she stopped, her head falling to the ground, blood running from the corner of her mouth. She shouldn't, from a tactical sense, have healed Terra. The rush job had messed up her flow and ruined her concentration, and she doubted she would get a chance to put it back together, as Freddy approached, knelt down, his claws clicking as he smiled down at her, lightly placing the foremost one on her chest.
"Nine, ten." He sang the last verse of his dreadful song calmly "You'll never breathe again. Say goodnight, bitch."
The rooftop door slammed open, and Freddy jerked up as new forms emerged out onto the roof. He growled under his throat: not now! He'd had enough bullshit! He wanted to play with his prize! Well, if there were more super-zeroes showing up, he'd take care of them. He was sick of foreplay, as he raised his hand and the hammer Gauntlet had created flew into it.
"Ok if we have to we throw him off the…WHAT?" Robin said as he ran onto the roof and saw the scattered bodies. He only managed to get a faint look at the figure in the distance before the boxing glove slammed into his face and knocked him silly.
"ROBIN!" Beast Boy yelled as he saw this, and he followed the glove back to its source. "HOLY SHIT IT'S…"
The glove slammed into his face, knocking him a few feet away and down and out with his leader.
Scalpel staggered out, not knowing what was going on…
The glove fired at him.
Scalpel ducked at the last second, and poor Cyborg took the blow to the chest. He staggered backwards, hit the edge of the stairway, tipped over it, and fell, screaming, down the shaft, flying past a flaming Jason, who stopped to look for a second and then went on.
"You! The child killer!" Scalpel hissed. He'd held onto the other end of the glaive, the one with the large bladed end, and he leapt at Freddy, swinging the blade like a makeshift sword.
Freddy dashed under the blow and thrust his claws up, impaling them into Scalpel's chest even as he swooped down and slammed him into the roof.
Cyborg's hand shot out, grabbing a railing. It bent under his weight, but it managed to stop his fall, as Cyborg fully tapped into his power reserves and yanked himself back onto the steps, heading back up them as he clawed at his chainsaw.
Freddy yanked his hand out of Scalpel and turned…
And Jason stepped out onto the roof.
Freddy's eyes widened.
"YOU!"
Jason was barely aware of the yell, and he couldn't see very well through the flames, but he recognized the form before him. The one who had tricked him, the one who had used him, pretended to be his mother, exploited the fears buried so deep in his heart that even Jason wasn't aware of them (why do you think that despite a mortal fear of water, Jason had never had a problem with it before? That was deep deep deep Freudian stuff Jason didn't give a shit about on the surface. Water was good for drowning people, and besides that he took no notice of it). And despite the damage to his form, he knew what he was going to do, as he started towards Freddy, his flaming machete at the bear.
"Come on you stupid mutt! Things will be different this-ARGGHHH!" Freddy yelled as Scalpel's glaive rammed through his chest.
Scalpel regretted the move, as Freddy turned and slashed him across the face, nearly taking out one of his eyes like he had once did so to the White Hole's, as he was knocked down again. Freddy yanked the glaive out of him, tossed it aside, and stabbed the alien a few more times to make him stay down, even as Jason approached him.
"JASONNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!"
The chainsaw roared to life behind Jason, who stopped, and like his many peers and rip-offs before him, turned to face Cyborg, who had finally cleaned out the chainsaw and gotten it revved again, even as his reserve powers flashed in the red, but he didn't care he was going to end this, as Jason turned back and raised his machete towards Cyborg.
The chainsaw slashed down, cutting Jason's arm off at the elbow. His machete clanged to the ground as Jason recoiled, looking at his gushing stump, and then he stopped and walked for Cyborg again, as Cyborg rammed the chainsaw forward, piercing right through Jason's gut. Jason shuddered as the blade tore through his innards, ripping up through his body, even as he clawed at Cyborg's head, even as more and more of his body was torn apart, and finally, his strength started to fade, as his still flaming form was reflected in Cyborg's metal body, as Jason fell to his knees…
And with a war bellow, Cyborg raised the chainsaw and brought the front edge right down on Jason's face, splitting it apart and turning it to hamburger as the chainsaw tore through his skull and sliced out the back, where it finally jammed again and came to a stop. Jason shuddered one last time, his hand feebly scraping at Cyborg…and then it went limp, as Cyborg finally disengaged the wires linking the chainsaw to his body as Jason's form thudded to the ground, the chainsaw still stuck in an upright position.
He was finally dead.
And Cyborg could feel his strength leaving him, as his reserves ran out, as his legs began to buckle, as he stumbled backwards, his vision fading as he hit the wall of the small building the stairs exited out to…and all he was aware of was a terrible, mad, delighted laughter.
"YES!!!!!!!!!" Freddy crowed, dancing in place as he looked at Jason's destroyed form. "YES YES YES YES YES OH HAPPY DAY!"
He pranced over to Jason's form, which lay there, flames still licking at it, but even that wasn't going to keep Freddy away.
"Yes! Who's the big dog now!" Freddy taunted. "You thought you were so bad, but in the end, I am the king! No one tops me in the end you stupid dog! No one!"
And Raven looked up from where she was laying, as she watched Freddy dance around Jason's form, and at her friends scattered around, and the rage awoke in her again, even as the darkness whirled up around her.
"I am the best! I am the best!" Freddy said, kicking Jason's body before yanking his foot back to get away from the flame. "I am the master, I am the best!" Freddy said, and turned and waved his rear at Jason. "Kiss this! HA HA HA HA HA!"
Freddy then noticed that the blonde was moving, trying to get up. And not just the blonde, the kid in the red suit that had been the first one he had bonked with the hammer was moving too. He smirked.
"Look at you! Beaten by some pathetic kids! But not me, you stupid mutt! I'll show you how to REALLY do this! With style, and panache, and everything that makes ME the greatest…"
"FREDDY KRUEGER!"
Freddy stopped and turned at the bellow of his name. Apparently, despite being the best, even HE didn't know.
Raven floated there, her hood up and her body awash with dark power, and Freddy started to smile when he remembered all the things he was going to do…a smile that faded when he saw the several plastic containers that were floating in front of her.
Cleaning chemicals.
"Change of plans. You sing for ME!" Raven yelled, as she ripped open the containers via dark energy.
"Oh no you don't!" Freddy said, as he started for Raven…
And then Jason's hand reared up and seized his ankle.
"AHHHHH! WHAT!" Freddy said, as he turned and looked at the hand, and then Raven was throwing the chemicals at him, everything she had pulled from beneath the sink when she had been gathering enough energy to do a proper teleport, which she had done, as the chemicals splashed over Freddy.
"NOOOOOOO!" he screamed, as the substances soaked him, not because he was afraid of the chemicals, but because more then a few of them were…
Flaming hand holding his ankle…
Combustible.
Freddy Krueger erupted into flame, a mad squeal coming from his mouth as his lone weakness, the one thing that even his powers could not defend against, came back to plague him again, as he danced away from Jason's body, screaming and bellowing, as his hat crumbled into ash and the leather on his claw glove began to break apart.
As Raven floated down before him, and as all the Titans watched, she called upon the rest of the power she had been storing, waiting for a moment like this, when his defenses were down and she could finally, irrevocably, wake up.
"Good night, BITCH." Raven snapped, and slammed out her arm, firing her most potent force/telekinetic blast right into the center of Freddy's being.
Freddy Krueger exploded, blown to tiny bits, his parts spraying across the entire roof and raining down around the edges, like a fireworks show from hell.
His flaming glove bounced a few times and finally came to rest alongside Jason's machete. For a moment, the two flickered in unison.
And then they began to fade, disappearing into nothing, as the end finally came the way it always did in the films: blackness.
"Is everyone all right?" Robin asked from where he was standing.
"Starfire. She got…eaten by Freddy…he became the roof and…" Gauntlet tried to explain.
"She's alive." Raven said from where she was sitting, completely exhausted. "I can…sense her. It's faint, but there. I think she's a few floors down." Raven said, indicating the large hole in the roof. Robin went over and glanced down into it, but all he could see was the floor right below the roof, covered in rubble. Apparently the hole Starfire had made when she'd gone through the second floor had been small enough to be covered by the collapsing roof.
"What about Savior?" Terra asked.
"…..He's alive. I can feel it, even though I can't sense him." Raven said.
"Guys…" Beast Boy said from where he was leaning on the wall. "I think I…"
"UHHHH!" Cyborg yelped as his eye opened, as Robin finally managed to reroute the power source in Cyborg's chest back to the power cell. It may have been cracked, but it was all he had left, unreliable or not. Everyone jumped at the sudden noise.
"Sorry." Cyborg said sheepishly, as he stood and looked at everyone. "So, did we win?"
"For the moment." Scalpel said from where he was leaning on his glaive. Raven had managed to muster enough juice to stop the bleeding, which was enough for him, but when this night was done his whole chest was going to be covered in scars. "Beast Boy was saying something?"
"Maybe that boxing glove jarred something loose, but I finally remember what films were in that pile."
"What? How many?" Robin asked.
"There were six ON the DVD player…and there were three films in the VCR's and DVD players. Nine in all."
"Nine…" Robin said.
"Wait! That means…we won!" Cyborg said.
"What?" Terra asked.
"How did you arrive to that conclusion?" Raven asked.
"Ok…we all fought zombies…well, except Rob…"
"Hey."
"In any case, that was one. Scalpel killed the Fisherman…"
"Yes…" Scalpel said.
"Terra killed Ghostface…"
"Yeah…"
"Starfire killed Jack Frost…"
The lack of an answer weighed on the Titans' hearts, even if Starfire was alive.
"Noel said, before we lost contact, that he managed to kill Chucky." Raven said.
"Ok…Robin, you killed the Leprechaun."
"Wasn't easy…"
"Beast Boy, you got the Candyman…"
"I still can't believe that worked…"
"I took care of Jason…finally, and Raven dealt with Freddy! Zombies, Fisherman, Ghostface, Jack Frost, Chucky, Leprechaun, Candyman, Jason, Freddy. Nine films, nine slashers, and we beat them all. It's over. We won."
"No…" Beast Boy said, and everyone looked at him. "I was right on the films…but Vic…one of them was Freddy VS Jason."
"But what…oh shit." Cyborg said.
"They BOTH came out of that film. There's nine films…but there's ten slashers. We've still got one to go…and it's bad."
"Who is it?" Terra asked. Beast Boy looked pale.
"The originator."
Starfire's eyes fluttered open, and she moaned and got up. The last thing she remembered was detonating a gigantic Starbolt inside the mouth, and the falling…and…
She was back in the lounge. She had landed on the couch where all the Titans had been sitting where this had begun, and the poor piece of furniture had collapsed under her. She slowly got up, checking to see if all her body parts were still there. They were, but she ached like hell, both from her wounds and her efforts throughout this night. She didn't think she could generate another Starbolt if her life depended on it.
"Hello?" she asked the dark lounge. "Is anyone there?"
Silence.
But, as her eyes caught movement, Starfire realized that she was not alone. She gasped.
And faint piano music played somewhere in the background…
As Michael Myers stepped from the shadows and headed for Starfire.