32 Productions Presents…
A Teen Titan Fan Fiction The Teen Titans in…"Laugh and the World Laughs with You"
Chapter Two
Titan Tower: Main Room
Shade huffed from the couch. He wasn't happy about bolting from that theater like a coward. Without looking up, he spoke to the one who gave the order.
Shade: You going to tell us why we just ran away like a bunch of gutless sissies?
Robin: We ran away because I wasn't in the mood to die for no reason at all. There was nobody there still alive anyway.
Cyborg: Yeah, but…
Robin: It's FINE. There was nothing we could do.
This wasn't completely true. Robin was planning on going back himself and searching for clues. No reason to get the others killed.
Terra: …Star, what did you guys see? I've never seen you like this…
Starfire's face was unusually pale and she kept biting her lip. There was something in Robin's voice that she had never heard before. Fear. But fear of what? Of who? She had no idea.
Starfire: …smiling corpses. So many smiling corpses. Upon the projection screen was a film so vile I destroyed the projector.
Terra: …"Manos: The Hands of Fate"?
Beast Boy snickered.
Starfire: This is most serious! It contained all sorts of violence, sexual assault and…
Beast Boy continued laughing. Starfire and the others looked annoyed until a realization hit Robin like a bolt of lightning. His belt…Batman had him keep a vial of the stuff at all times. The anti-toxin. He injected Beast Boy in a flash. Rather then stop the laughter, he collapsed, fainted. He giggled now and then, but otherwise he had stopped…but this wasn't supposed to happen. Terra ran to his side.
Terra: Gar! Gar! What happened to him! What did you do!
Robin: That…that should have cured him.
Cyborg: Cured him of what?
Robin: …Joker toxin.
Wide eyes all around.
Terra: G…Gar's been infected with…with his lethal laughing gas?
Raven: Impossible. Cyborg and I would have been infected too if there was gas.
Robin: Then it wasn't gas. The toxin can be delivered in many ways.
Suddenly Raven had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Without her realizing a nervous smile crossed her face.
Raven: Wh…what kind of ways?
Robin: Injection is the second most common. Then you can always put it in food.
Raven: And…skin contact?
Cyborg's eye widened. Skin contact…the "gum"!
Cyborg: Raven…you…
Raven: …I…I don't…
Raven chuckled and covered her mouth. Shade's eyes widened.
Shade: Robin, give her a dose of that stuff!
Robin: …I…I don't have anymore…
Shade grabbed him by the shirt.
Shade: What the hell do you mean you don't have anymore!
Raven: I…I don't…heh…I don't need…any…
Raven floated up and took the meditative position. She snickered and chuckled, trying to choke it back.
Raven: I…I will…force it into…into a dormant state…Azarath…ha ha ha…M…Mentrion Z…Zinthos…
Raven repeated the mantra over and over, her mouth curling up into a smile and laughter cutting through her words now and then. The others held their breath as they watched. Robin kicked himself for not making more. What kind of a fool was he?
Raven: Focus…focus…slow your heart…steady your breathing…easy…
Raven's mind started to…tingle. It was the strangest sensation she had ever felt, but she pushed it aside. She was so close. Finally she managed to suppress toxin…unfortunately, suppressing it isn't the same as curing it. Raven lowered to the ground, smiling broadly.
Raven: Well, that oughta do it.
Everyone stared at Raven with open mouths of surprise. She closed her eyes and rubbed the back of her head.
Raven: What? Is there something on my face?
Starfire: Raven…you are smiling?
Raven: Well of course I am. The damage can't be undone, only halted. Furthermore this giddiness I feel won't go away until we get an antidote…a REAL antidote.
Raven walked over and picked up Beast Boy's limp arm.
Raven: Obviously this isn't it.
Shade: R…Raven, are you sure you're okay?
Raven: Actually no. It's a twisted sensation running through my entire body. I feel like bursting into hysterical fits, telling the dumbest jokes I can think of, and pulling my own fingers off one at a time. I need that antidote soon, or I'll lose my mind.
Raven pecked the stunned boy's cheek.
Raven: But it's sweet of you to ask.
Terra: …what do we do? You know this guy, Robin, what do we do!
Robin: Nobody knows the Joker, Terra. …nobody but Batman. Everyone else is just making guesses.
Terra grabbed him by his arm tightly.
Terra: Then make some god damn guesses! I won't sit by doing nothing while Gar dies! He IS dying isn't he?
She turned back toward the fallen shape shifter. Every now and then he chuckled. Raven bit her lip.
Raven: …I…I'll be right back.
Raven sank into the floor. Terra rolled her eyes. It didn't matter what Raven was going to do.
Terra: It's slowed down, but he's still got the toxin in him!
Robin: …yeah.
Cyborg: Robin…if we're gonna make a real antidote…we need a sample of this new toxin first.
Robin sighed.
Robin: …I know. Alright. Here's what we do. Check every comedy tavern, active or otherwise. Cyborg, scan the records on these places. If they've been bought recently, check the names. You'll know if something's up. Subtly isn't one of Joker's strong points. The rest of you do it on foot. You see ONE suspicious thing. Just ONE and you call the others. By NO means try to take him down yourself. Understand that Shade!
Shade snorted.
Shade: Like I can't handle a stinkin' clo…
Robin grabbed him by his jacket.
Robin: DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT!
Robin threw him over the couch. Shade got up, growling. He stopped when he saw what Raven was now doing.
Shade: Raven! Don't DRAW on him!
Raven snickered and hated herself for it. She couldn't stop herself. The opportunity was too good.
Raven: I thought you called it "sketching".
Terra: Stop it!
Raven flew back as Terra shoved her away. She got up slowly.
Raven: I…I'm sorry, Terra. It's…I can't control it. Thank you…that rush of pain from hitting the wall seems to have cleared my head a bit. I'm ready to go.
Starfire: Robin…where will you be?
Robin: The theater.
Robin headed for the door.
Shade: We were already there.
Robin: I know. That's why I'm going alone.
Robin walked off toward the garage. The Titans stood there.
Raven: …I think he just said we'd get in his way.
Shade: Bastard. How dangerous could a guy who thinks he's a clown BE?
Cyborg: Dangerous enough to kill a Robin.
Raven: I thought it was to kill a mockingbird…
Raven laughed then stuck her hand in her mouth, biting hard. She drew blood and sighed.
Raven: There…pain drives it back. I'm ready to go…again.
Terra: I'm taking Gar to med-lab.
Cyborg: I'll get a list of possible hide outs.
Terra picked Beast Boy up. Raven stared at her bleeding hand, grinning.
Shade: …maybe you should stay home.
Raven: No. That would be worse. If my life is in danger, I'm more likely to be able to focus. Sitting around will only compound matters.
Raven attempted to twist her grin into something more reassuring.
Raven: I'll be fine. My will is strong. I caused this to happen to Beast Boy. It's my fault. I won't let him die because of my stupid mistake.
Starfire: …perhaps Shade is correct. If we sedate you, you would not suffer from the effects of the toxin, yes?
Raven sighed. She hadn't thought of that. It was a reasonable idea…but…
Raven: …there's a chance, albeit a small one, that when combined with the now dormant toxin in my system, it could kill me. Maybe start the process back up again, and in my sedated state, I'll have no way to stop it.
She chuckled softly.
Raven: I never even thought of it before, but the idea of dying with a smile on my face is terrifying me. If…if that happens, I want to be cremated.
Shade: You'll be fine. Just don't lose your focus. I know you can do this.
Raven nodded.
Raven: Your belief in me helps, but it's not a cure, Shade.
Starfire: Could we not take the sample from your veins?
Raven: Both Beast Boy's and mine are tainted one way or another. His with Robin's antidote, mine with my own demonic blood. …there's no other way.
Theater
Robin's flashlight scanned the floor. Joker must have left something behind. He always seemed to. For the sake of his friends, he HAD to find something. The thought of Beast Boy lying in a bed with tubes and stuff going into him and Raven clutching her head with a disturbing grin on her face spurred him on.
Robin: Terra would be devastated if Beast Boy died. Maybe even quit. Shade…well, that wouldn't be pretty by any stretch of the imagination.
Robin had often questioned Shade's stability before he and Raven got together. Since then, Raven seemed to keep him in line. The sudden loss of his source of stability would be VERY bad. He could go insane. The idea wasn't far fetched, that he'd suddenly lose it and attack innocent people. He sighed and kept looking.
Downtown: Outside an Alley
Terra slammed her stone fist into the wall. Nothing. She looked and she looked but the Joker was nowhere to be found. The others arrived. Damn it all she wanted to pound Raven's face in. Somehow that grin was mocking her.
Starfire: I regret to say that I have not found a thing…
Shade: Me neither.
Raven: I even checked the circus.
Terra: Damn! Where could he be!
As if in response, a small wind up doll walked toward them, arms extended. Starfire squealed with glee and flew over to it.
Starfire: Is it not the most adorable thing you have ever laid your eyes upon!
Terra: Starfire, now is NOT the time to play with d…
The doll exploded, releasing a cloud of gas. The Titans coughed before collapsing in a heap. Joker stepped out of the alley. He nudged Starfire with his foot.
Joker: So this is the one Bird Boy's got the hots for. Hooo, have I got plans for you!
Joker threw his head back and laughed. He didn't notice that in her last seconds of consciousness, Terra had pressed the distress button on her communicator.
Theater
Robin crouched over the once gooey substance that contained the toxin. It had hardened…and was now useless. He stood as his communicator started vibrating (come on, you don't think it has a vibration setting?). He opened it up. There was a distress call coming from Terra's communicator. It was designed for situations you couldn't talk in, so calling to ask what was wrong was pointless. He tried one of the others. No response…Shade, Starfire, Raven, no one responded. He hit the floor with his fist. Didn't he warn them!
Robin: No. No use being pissed.
He called Cyborg.
Cyborg: Yo, man, I was just about to call you.
Robin: Nobody's answering.
Cyborg: Whatever happened, their tracking signal's being jammed.
Robin swore. Now they couldn't find them…well, not as easily as Robin would have liked…and a lot can happen in between.
Robin: Give me a fix on their last location then meet me there.
Cyborg agreed and hung up.
City Streets
Robin's heart was filled with dread. It had been hours. Each moment was another second the cackling madman could be torturing his friends. Guilt was riding him hard.
Robin: Should have called Batman. Never should have let them get involved in this one. Slade's got nothing on Joker on the sic-o-meter.
Cyborg: …that's weird…
Robin was shook from his self-badgering by Cyborg's muttering.
Robin: What?
Cyborg: The signals are back.
Robin frowned.
Robin: …it's a trap. It's got to be.
Cyborg: We can't just leave them.
Folding his arms, Robin sighed.
Robin: I know that. …and so does he. Damn it. Let's go.
Abandoned Carnival
Terra was in a bit of a spot right now. Bound in steel cables, stuck in a dunking tank (which was filled with acid, naturally) and the thing rigged to dunk her if she tried to escape…yeah, this was a tight spot. Yet despite this situation, all she could think about was Beast Boy.
Terra: Can't die here. Have to think. Okay, if I try to use my powers, the seismograph will detect it and I'm dunked. Can't move much either.
She knew about the seismograph because her captor had been kind enough to leave a note on the ceiling. She could see it, but nobody who came by would be able to. It also mentioned that there were sensors around the tankthat would dunk her when tripped. In other words, if anyone got to close…SPLASH. HISS. Painful burning death. She was sure it would be. Even if her nerve endings were deeply buried in her stone skin…eventually they'd be reached. Her nose burned from the fumes, which reassured her that falling into the liquid would be bad. She sighed against the metal bit in her mouth. She felt like a horse.
Terra: And to think I wanted a pony when I was a kid.
Her sudden thought was pushed out of her head when she saw Cyborg and Robin running toward her. This was NOT good. She shook her head rapidly.
Terra: (shouting) Don't, don't, don't, DON'T!
Fortunately they seemed to understand that she didn't want them to approach any further. She let out a sigh of relief. Outside the tank, her friends were confused.
Cyborg: What was that all about?
Robin: Not sure. It looks like she doesn't want us getting any closer.
Cyborg: We know it's a trap.
Robin: It may not be us the trap is endangering. That's a dunking booth…and knowing Joker, he's filled it with something more then water.
Cyborg: No problem.
Cyborg pointed his sonic cannon at the tank. Robin stopped him.
Robin: If that thing is strong enough not to break, you'll only knock her into the liquid.
Cyborg: Tsk.
He lowered his arm.
Cyborg: So what SHOULD we do?
Robin: The bottom is made of glass or something…maybe if you change your sonic cannon into something that emits certain sound frequencies, we can shatter it and let the acid out. Then we can get Terra free.
It took a while, but Cyborg managed to alter the cannon and fired. The acid spilled out, hissing and burning the ground. It took a lot of maneuvering, but they managed to get Terra out of the tank without dropping her into the remnants of the acid on the tank floor. Using his blowtorch finger, Cyborg freed her from her bonds. She moved her wrists around, sighing.
Terra: Thanks. I was getting a cramp.
Cyborg: What happened?
Terra: The clown gassed us. We never even saw him. When I woke up, I was in that tank.
Robin: …I don't like this. He could have done better…
Terra: Done better! I was going to melt in a pool of acid!
Robin didn't say anything. It was time to head to the next closest signal.
END PART TWO