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Thirteen Hour Horrors
Chapter 7: 6 AM-6 PM
6:05 am
The titans were exhausted. As the sun rose to fill the tower windows, the group had collapsed, laying across furniture, feet propped up and silence.
After the clocks had suddenly stopped the silence penetrated every corner of the tower.
Raven looked around at her team mates. Cyborg had plopped himself into a chair after laying Raven down, he looked half awake, face turned to the incoming light. Raven herself felt light-headed and sore. Now that her mind had started to wake up, her nerves were tingling, stinging from all her cuts.
She probably need to disinfect herself, who knew what germs those things carried? But she couldn't get herself up, the soft couch pressed in around her, so warm…
Robin had sat down at the kitchen table, hunched over, his head in his hands. Eyes closed he tried to rationalize everything to himself and plan a routine from there. It wasn't working, his brain was fuzz that skipped around images and thoughts.
Sighing he sat back in his chair, turning slightly to look across the living room.
Starfire had taken up part of the couch and curled up, from where he was sitting she looked to be sleeping, a small green furry animal had nestled itself into her lap.
Silently he got out of his chair and rounded the couch. He was surprised only a moment to see Raven awake, and her eyes quickly moved to his. She looked so tired, a darkness had smeared under her eyes, her hair was clumped. Robin felt bad.
She mouthed something to him.
Robin looked back questioningly before moving closer and bending over.
"Can you help me get to the bathroom?" She whispered, a bored look on her face.
Robin nodded, confused that she'd actually ask for help. Carefully he took one of her arms and threw it over his shoulder and used his other arm to pull her up, and take much of her weight.
Surprisingly though, the girl almost stood on her own. Raven leaned slightly against him, but could walk.
6:40 am
Raven shook her still wet hair and latched a new cape around herself. Once Robin had gotten her to the bathroom she had shoed him away and proceeded to take a long cold shower (there was no electricity to heat the water) to rinse away all blood and residue.
She could walk for the most part, but still needed something to lean against. Gripping the counter she slid to the bathroom door and wretched it open.
Robin stood, a little worse for wear. Startled, she backed up a few steps, leaning against the bathroom counter.
"I thought you might need this." He held out a bottle of peroxide. "The rest will need some when they wake."
Raven took it carefully. "You need some as well." She noted following the gash along his cheek with her eyes, it ran up to the bottom of his mask, tearing the fabric only slightly.
Robin turned his head to look into the bathroom mirror. "I look like hell."
Raven made no reply, but grabbed a wash cloth and unscrewed the bottle. She poured some of the liquid on it before starting on her wounds, Robin stood beside her looking into the mirror all the while.
By the time she had finished her hair had long dried.
8:50 am
It had taken over an hour or so to rouse the other titans and much more time to get them moving.
But finally they had wandered up to the bathroom and cleaned themselves up and redressed. They still looked worn and tired, but presentable.
The next on the agenda was food, after all the adrenaline had eased out of their systems their stomachs growled loudly from malnourishment.
And so, they were all conjugated around the kitchen table. Though the strange happenings had stopped every hour, the power had not come back on. Most of the food in the refrigerator had spoiled, and the blue fuzz ran wild, to where it was hazardous to even open the refrigerator door.
"I'll tell you now." Cyborg pulled back a chair and seated himself. "I won't eat that tofu."
"You know you want it!" Beast Boy taunted, waving a plate under Cyborg's nose. "Besides, there's nothing left but tofu!"
Raven sighed, irritated already. It was almost like a normal day, had the calendar not been glaring the date at them from across the room. She got up, getting better with her walking, and went to go make herself some tea, at least she still had that.
"May I suggest we venture out to eat?" Starfire piped up, much more cheery now the sun was in full rise. She had actually begun to sing some of her Tameranean folk music, only to be silenced when Robin reminded her she wouldn't have time for all 1,256 verses of it.
"Good idea Star." Robin gave the girl a quick smile before turning to call out to Raven.
There was no need, she stood in the kitchen doorway, a mug in hand. She was quick.
"You coming Raven?" Cyborg asked, pushing the tofu away and standing.
"I'm not staying here alone." She barbed before sipping at her tea.
"What about you Beast Boy?" Cyborg turned to ask the boy. He had two knives in hand, crossing them as if he were sharpening them as he drooled over his tofu.
Cyborg could only grimace and look away.
10:01 am
Robin stretched, feeling the sun beat down on him. He had a full stomach and plenty of hours into which he could figure something out.
The titans, after being stuck inside, had taken to lounging outside.
Starfire, Beast Boy and Cyborg threw around a football, while Raven sat in the shade near by reading.
He sighed. Robin was letting them do whatever until noon, then they would have to buckle down and try to find some way to work with a powerless tower and the terrors that would plague them in the later hours.
12:03 pm
The titans assembled in the living room. Robin paced in front of them, ever so often casting a look out the brightly lit window.
"Is there any chance of getting power back?" Robin paused and turned his head to Cyborg.
Cyborg had been looking down at his arms, folded in his lap. "I dunno, but I'm in need of a recharge."
"How much power do you still have?" Robin turned fully to face this new problem.
"Usually I can run a full 24 hours, but with all this commotion, I've got somewhere between six and eight hours left."
Robin ran a hand through his hair. "We could try and get a generator from the city." He offered.
"And they'd want to know why, are you willing to explain we are under attack by undetermined forces?" Raven pushed back her hood.
Robin sighed, frustrated. "Does anyone else have an idea?"
"Oh!" Beast Boy sat forward suddenly, his eyes alight. "How about-"
"It can't have anything to do with hamster wheel electricity." Cyborg cut in.
Beast Boy's face fell. "Aww!" He whined.
1:35 pm
Raven tucked her hair back behind her ears. They were getting no where and it was dragging.
There were no solutions for the electricity crisis, and no way to get Cyborg recharged. They had looked at it from all sides, nothing.
"Can we not leave the tower?" Starfire proposed.
"And have it taken from whoever is doing this?" Robin added carefully.
"I suppose not." Starfire blushed, ashamed of her idea suddenly.
"It's fine, input is appreciated." He gave her a small smile. "Now, how about supplies, I don't want the team separated this time."
"We'll batteries for one." Cyborg put in.
"Bandages and disinfectant." Raven added.
"Those flashes of light!" Starfire nodded.
Robin looked over to Beast Boy, to find his seat empty.
"Where did-"
There was a crash to their right that killed Robin's words on his tongue. He rushed over to peer into the kitchen.
Beast Boy stood among the remains of what used to be a few of the towers best ceramic plates. "Sorry," He mumbled, looking around at the mess. "I was tryin to get a plate."
He motioned to the high cabinet where they kept their plates stacked. They had been put up there originally to keep them from getting broken.
"Why were you trying to get our good plates?" Robin asked, feeling the presence of the other titans appear behind him.
"The frig fuzz expanded to the cabinet we keep our normal plates and I found more tofu." He grinned.
"I give up!" Robin threw his hands up and turned to stalk away. The other three titans moved to the side to allow him to.
3:47 pm
The closer it got to sunset, the more impatient the titans became.
There was literally no real way to prepare for the night, and it was driving Robin insane.
"If you don't sit I'm going to toss you into another dimension." Raven glared as Robin stalked back and forth in front of the big living room windows.
He stopped mid-step. "I can't stand this."
"Stand what?" Cyborg walked into the living room, three flashlights in hand.
"Just waiting like this! I have no lead on a villain, no way to find them…" He took to pacing angrily again.
Cyborg looked back at his wrist, he was still connected to the city through his computer and nothing had come through reporting an escaped villain. He was about to try and offer this information to Robin when his power gauge caught his eye.
19 percent left.
He sighed at this obvious weakness.
"Hey Rob?" Robin looked over. Cyborg thought only a second about telling him about his failing power, but bit his tongue. "There's been no news of escaped villains."
"Really?"
Cyborg nodded.
"Well that's something good to hear." Robin let a small grin fall into place and he went to go sit down.
4:59 pm
Starfire re-crossed her legs, sitting by the window. The sun was bright orange, dipping lower and lower in the sky. She hated to see it go, the cold darkness it left made her shiver.
Raven floated near by, silently meditating. She had been at it for some hours now, but everyone else was trying to calm their nerves as well and didn't bother her.
Robin had put on headphones and blasted some kind of loud screaming he called 'rock'. Meanwhile Cyborg had taken to fretting, counting down under his breath, she hadn't gotten to ask him what yet. Beast Boy had come and gone, seemingly pacing about the tower as well.
The sky was cloudless, and the moon was said to be new during the night.
There was a light noise of footsteps, and Starfire turned in the direction. Raven had finally finished her meditation, landing gently on the floor.
"Good evening." Starfire greeted.
Raven nodded before looking past her out the window. "The sun will be setting soon."
"I am afraid so." Starfire frowned before turning back to face the window.
5:43 pm
Finally the titans had come away from their recluse, joining the two girls in the living room. Orange silhouettes watched the dying sun.
"Ready?" Robin asked no one in particular, he didn't expect a reply.
An anxious silence fell between them.
The sun melted as the minutes ticked off.
It dipped further into the water.
A half.
Further.
A quarter.
A sliver.
Starfire moved closer to Raven grabbing her arm. Just this once, Raven allowed it. She had a swell of depression. Why did it feel as if this could be their last sun?
Darkness.
There was a stretched silence. Robin opened his mouth to ask the time, but a loud screeching from the tower drowned anything he was going to say.
The towers electricity flashed for a second and died again. The sound faded just in time to hear the beep signaling the hour.
Cyborg looked down at the gauge, the glowing number read 13 percent.
Okay this was sort of the limbo chapter, rest and regroup. Please note, more than one omen in there.
The last omen was…
Clocks: If a clock which has not been working suddenly chimes, there will be a death in the family.
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:Bloody Fae: