*A/N* And I'm back. Firing these out like crazy, aren't I? This chapter actually has little to no BBRae in it, sorry, Fluff seekers. But fear not, it's still coming, we just need to break a few eggs before we can make our omelette. Enjoy! *A/N*
"Breaking news, a convicted young man made a seemingly impossible escape through a police car this afternoon, only to leap off of the overpass he escaped onto. 24 year old Anton Scissors, a recently paroled attempted arsonist, was arrested for assault and disturbing the peace at Jump City Rapids with some form of stolen biological weapon. The Teen Titans, who were present, apprehended the young man and placed him under arrest. Amazingly, Scissors escaped the car he was inside, through the bottom. Officer Andrea Moore describes the situation."
"Scissors was handcuffed and seemingly pacified in the back of our vehicle, and all of a sudden, all manner of technical problems began happening. We were unsure of the nature of these issues until Scissors fled through a hole he had created at the bottom of the car. We were under the assumption that these powers given to him by this weapon he had stolen were inert now that it was removed from his possession, but apparently, that is not the case."
"Officer Moore attempted to get Scissors back into the vehicle before he leapt over the edge of the I-74 overpass. As of yet, no body has been found and one officer is in the hospital with a serious concussion. More to come on this story as it develops…"
Allan Braintree turned the radio down as a customer entered his shop. A young man with short blonde hair, clad in red swim trunks and a black shirt that read "One Tequila, Two Tequila, Three Tequila, Floor."
"Afternoon." Braintree said, nodding to the young man. The nod was returned as he approached the counter.
"You sell guns here?"
Braintree smirked. "Among other firearms, yes, we do sell guns. At affordable prices, 360 days a year. What can I do you for?"
The young man glanced around for a moment before scratching the back of his head sheepishly.
"It's a little embarrassing, but my friends want to take me shooting this weekend, and I don't have a gun to speak of. Do you have anything that a newbie like me could handle?"
"Well, it depends on what you're looking for. Are you looking for a handgun, or something more potent like a shotgun or rifle?"
"Something that isn't too heavy and doesn't have a lot of kickback."
Braintree thought for a moment, before snapping his fingers.
"I got just the thing. Give me a second."
Allan ducked beneath the counter and removed a black object.
"That's a gun?" the young man asked, alarmed at the strange shape of the object.
"Yes sir! This is a Kel-Tec Sub 2000 9mm Carbine. It's foldable, only about four pounds, take a look."
Braintree unfolded the rifle, allowing it to take on its effective shape.
"See, what makes this little beauty so easy to use is that it fires the same ammo as your standard 9 mill pistol, but since you've got this nice stock on the end, there's not as much kickback to it and you can fire much faster. The Kel-Tec 2K is a personal favorite of mine, it's the perfect on-the-go rifle."
The young man nodded, pretending to understand everything Allan was saying. "So how much is it?"
"It's usually about 1K, but I'll give you it for eight hundred. Slap an extra fifty on that and you'll get a nice laser sight to boot."
"And the ammo?"
"Twenty each."
"Done. Let me get my wallet." The young man put a hand in his pocket and rifled around
Allan grinned. "Good to see you're so eager. I gotta tell you, there are some people who could look at everything I got in here, ask about all of it, and then say they were 'just browsing.' Now, do you know the basics of gun cleaning? Cause I got some nice-"
The young man moved to take something out of his pocket, but instead nimbly grabbed the gun shop owner's hands, seated atop the counter. Allan barely had time to react before he felt his fingers go entirely numb. Looking down, he saw both of his hands were now frozen solid and trapped in place.
"What in… what the hell did you just DO?!" Braintree exclaimed.
"Sorry man, I'm a bit short on cash right now, think you can put this on my tab?" The customer picked up the carbine and wandered over to the ammo shelves.
Allan struggled to remove his hands from the counter, but they refused to budge, they were attached to the counter as if they were a part of it.
"You little thieving coward! Why don't you just shoot me in the head?"
"I don't need to. Besides, it's a bit more fun to watch you squirm." The stranger scooped up some ammo boxes and stuck them in his pockets.
"Anyway, it was nice doing business with you, Deliverance. I'll see you around." The young man turned to walk away.
"Don't you leave me here! You want to rob from me, you better make damn sure I'm dead, or I'll have your head mounted on my wall by sundown, you crazy punk!"
The young man stopped and laughed shortly under his breath.
"Crazy is so derogatory. Even you rednecks should know that you can't just call the differently abled names. Especially those above you."
The young man exited the shop and flipped the small Open sign on the door to Closed.
"Get back here! Don't you leave me here! I'll have your neck!"
"Don't worry, the ice should melt in a few days if you're lucky. Hope you had lunch before I stuck you there. Adios."
Braintree's bellows continued even after Weatherman shut the door. Walking along with a spring in his step, Anton began snapping his fingers to a tune inside his head.
"85 bottles of beer on the wall, 85 bottles of beer, you take one down, pass it around, you got 84 bottles of beer on the wall…"
Dylan trembled with fear as he watched his babysitter get dragged up the wall. Her attacker, a hideously burnt man with a striped sweater, fedora, and blue overcoat, turned to Dylan. Impossibly standing on the wall upon an X-Ray, he approached the child and brandished his weapon, a fingerless glove with four long, dangerous blades fastened to the fingernails.
"Hey, Dylan. Ever play… Skin the Cat?' He jeered hoarsely, flicking his finger-knives out for emphasis.
Starfire watched the mayhem on screen with equal parts interest and confusion.
"Star, why are you watching New Nightmare?" Cyborg asked, entering the common room and opening the fridge. "Ain't your show on right about now?"
"This seemed to be more interesting. Although, I cannot understand what is happening. There appears to be a man who preys on those who sleep… but how can he stand upon the wall like that?"
"Because he's Freddy Krueger, that's why. You know this is the seventh in the series, don't you?" Cyborg took out the cutlets he had bought for the pool. Hating for them to go to wasted, he decided that they would make a good substitute for supper.
"Oh. There are seven films about this ugly claw-man?" Starfire inquired as Freddy's bloodied victim plummeted onto the ground from the ceiling.
"Nine, if you want to count Freddy vs. Jason and that remake a few years back."
"Who is Jay's son?" she inquired.
"Uhh… you know, that's more of a Raven question, she probably has a better idea than I do."
Starfire frowned and crossed her arms. "I worry for Friends Raven and Beast Boy."
Cyborg took out a few spices and opened up the first tray of cutlets. "Why? You know how much they like to keep to themselves whenever they get personal. They're probably on their way back now."
"I worry less for how they will solve their problem. I worry for how Friend Robin will react."
"Star, Robin isn't going to lose his cool over one little mistake."
On cue, Robin entered the common room, muttering softly to himself.
"Unbelievable. Un-believable."
Cyborg and Starfire exchanged nervous looks before Starfire poked the sleeping bear.
"Robin, are you well?"
"No, I'm not well! Do you know what happened? Weatherman escaped."
Cyborg and Starfire assumed action positions instantly.
"What?"
"How?"
Robin pinched the bridge of his nose. "Apparently, taking away the dial he had implanted in his chest doesn't do anything to his powers. He bored through the bottom of a cop car with his heat."
"Where is he now?" Cyborg asked. "I'd like to meet our friend the thermostat."
"He's missing, Cyborg. After he escaped, he jumped off of the I-74 overpass."
Cyborg blinked. "Oh. So… that means he's probably a smear on the sidewalk by now. I mean, that's a seventy foot drop."
"No, he's still alive, he wouldn't just off himself like that. He warned us that it wasn't over."
"Robin, unless he can flap his arms and fly away, I think he's probably about as healthy as a headless cobra. Not even I could survive a fall like that in one piece."
"Yeah, but he has the ability to create platforms of ice from nothing, he could have just as easily slipped out of view and could be anywhere now. They haven't found a body." Robin looked about the common room and growled.
"Please don't tell me that those two aren't back yet. It's been nearly an hour since they disappeared."
Once again, as if on cue, the elevator light blinked and the doors neatly slid open to reveal Beast Boy and Raven.
"Honey, I'm home!" Beast Boy jested.
Robin marched over to the pair, fuming.
"What did I tell the two of you about disappearing? What would we have done if something came up and we needed your help? And for a whole hour?"
Raven sighed deeply. "Yeah… listen, this whole thing was my fault, Gar- ahem, Beast Boy was just roped into it."
Robin crossed his arms.
"Still, you know how critical team work is for our battle plans. You should have known better than to just disappear. Raven, don't think I don't understand that it's upsetting to lose control of yourself, but if it does happen-" Beast Boy interjected as inoffensively as he could.
"Robin, come on, Rae and I already talked about this. We don't need any more drama."
"Beast Boy, don't interrupt me." Robin snapped. The changeling raised his hands defensively.
"Now listen, I said that you two were free to be together as long as you didn't allow it to interfere with your work. I truly hope that this is just an isolated incident, because if this keeps happening, I may have to do something about it, and I don't want to do that. So please, for God's sake, don't make me have to be the bad guy."
Robin turned away from them and strode towards the center of the room. "But right now, we have other things to worry about. Weatherman has escaped."
"Wait, WHAT?! How? When?" Beast Boy couldn't believe his ears.
Robin filled the duo in on the nature of the situation, underlining the fact that no body was found after his apparent leap to death.
"So now we have a guy who's not only dangerous, but a complete psycho, free to run around the city. Phenomenal." Raven said.
"The first thing we have to do is warn the police that Weatherman is loose somewhere in the city, and then we should split up and comb the streets. Cyborg, I need you to run an analysis on what that device we took from Weatherman does. The rest of you, come with-"
Robin's plan was cut off at the sound of a small electronic tittering noise. The leader sighed and removed a smart phone from his pocket.
"Sorry, this is probably the police telling us that they want us to do exactly what I just told you, hang on a second."
Robin clicked the green 'Answer' button on his phone and placed it against his ear.
"This is Robin."
"Put me on speaker phone."
Robin furrowed his brow. He didn't recognize the voice on the other line.
"Who is this I'm speaking with?"
"We met at the pool today, don't you remember? Put me on speaker phone."
Robin's eyes widened as he realized who was speaking to him.
"You. How did you get this number?"
"Put me on speaker phone and I'll tell you." Weatherman said insistently. Robin did so, and quietly mouthed "It's him." to the other Titans.
"You're on, Scissors."
"Excellent. You really should go on the Internet sometime, Robin. You'd be surprised what your fans know about you. It's pretty creepy that they got your cell, though. Anyway, listen, I just wanted to say that I really had a blast today with you all. Seriously, that's the most fun I've had in years. Talk about a rush. I wanna do it again very soon."
"We're going to meet again very soon. And by the end of our meeting, you'll be in the slammer." Cyborg said.
"Who is that? Is that Cyborg?" Weatherman exclaimed happily. "Cy, nice to know you're back with the Titans. We missed you at the Rapids!"
"Save it, Scissors." Robin said. "What are you calling us for?"
"Oh, nothing much. Just the fact that you kind of stole something that's very important to me."
"If you're talking about that dial, it isn't yours. You stole it from your Uncle."
"Oh, boo hoo. He stole all of my family's money with his stupid research, I think a little poetic justice was overdue. But anyway, just so you know, that dial doesn't produce my powers. It's an inhibitor."
"What are you saying?" Robin demanded.
"I mean, without it, my blood will eventually be nothing but the fluid I use to freeze and burn stuff. In other words, no dial, no live. I want it back."
"If you want your dial back, turn yourself into the police, and we'd be happy to return it to you."
Weatherman sighed on the other line. "Somehow, I knew you'd say that. This would all be so much simpler if you just handed it over. But, fine, since you want to play the hard way, lemme tell you what Daddy bought at the store today."
Robin looked to the other Titans, both out of worry and to make sure they were all paying attention. They were.
"What I've got here is a 9 millimeter Carbine. For those of you who don't speak NRA, it's a gun. And man, does that trigger look pretty. I've been wondering how I should break it in. You think a supermarket would be a good place for target practice? Maybe a hospital would be a better choice…"
The Titans exchanged horrified looks before he continued.
"Now, don't freak out, there is a way to keep my fingers from getting restless. All you have to do is drop off my dial. I want it boxed, unharmed, at the foot of the lighthouse within the hour. If I don't get it, there's going to be some sad, sad news on TV tonight."
Robin shook his head slowly. "You're a monster."
Weatherman laughed uproariously. "No, no. I'm just very persuasive is all. Now do we have a deal?"
*A/N* Weatherman is getting less funny by the minute, isn't he? So, what should the Titans do? Find out in the next Chapter, Cabin Fever. Until next time. *A/N*