literature

FFM day 17: Light (TT ft. OC)

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The Teen Titans stole through the streets, silent and wary in the dark.
The sun had set hours ago, plunging Jump City into the shadowy illumination of clouded starlight.
Their foe was a new one; a villain who had sprung out to assault them in the aftermath of a battle with Slade. They hadn't seen his face; only the fox-like mask that hid his features. His movements had been swift, his attacks sharp. Raven's cloak bore two long slashes from his twin daggers, though thankfully Raven herself was unharmed.
The team came to an intersection, the roads deserted. This part of the city was lifeless after night fell, and with good reason. The streetlights had been broken for years. There were no lights in the windows. Wandering these streets at night was a sure way to get yourself mugged.
"We'll split up," Robin decided. "Star, Raven, you take the alley on the left. Beast Boy, Cyborg, we'll take the middle road. Moonbeam, you'll take the right."
The newest Titan felt fear clench tight, clawed fingers around her heart.
"Why do I have to go alone?" she blurted out. She had promised herself she wouldn't question orders; she was still on probation, after all, and she wanted to be a Titan so badly. But her fears were often stronger than her resolve.
"Well, this could be a good chance to prove yourself," Robin pointed out.
"Robin?"
The masked hero turned to Starfire.
"The left alley is a dead end." Starfire pointed with a glowing hand. The green light stretched a little way down the narrow street, revealing a brick wall just a few metres in.
Robin frowned.
"Fine. Go with Moonbeam. Call if you find anything."
When they were a little ways down the right-hand street, out of earshot of the boys, Raven spoke up.
"You were afraid of something." It wasn't a question so much as a statement, but Moonbeam felt the need to at least acknowledge it.
"Yes."
She gripped left her arm with her right hand nervously. There was a ripple of anxious energy in her hands.
"What were you afraid of, friend Moonbeam?" Starfire asked kindly, as she always did.
Moonbeam tipped her head, letting her silver hair hide her eyes so they wouldn't betray her emotion.
"I - I don't like being alone. In the dark."
Just the thought made her heart struggle. She let out a nervous giggle.
"You are afraid of the dark?" Starfire clarified, shining a green light into an abandonned car on the side of the road. It was empty.
Moonbeam laughed again, embarassment and nerves becoming sound. The noise made strange echoes in the quiet street.
"Y-yes," she stammered.
"How can you be afraid of the dark?" Raven asked. "You're practically your own night-light." She made a broad gesture, and Moonbeam knew she was referring to the silvery light that glowed constantly from under her skin.
"Being a light makes me easy to see," Moonbeam said with a chuckle. "They can see me, but I can't see them. They hide in the dark. That's why I'm scared. I'm scared of them."
Starfire frowned. "Who is 'them'?"
Moonbeam chuckled, shoulders shaking. Her grey eyes took on a misty quality, and suddenly her breath seemed shorter and sharper, catching on her laughter.
"They came from the dark. Never see them, no one sees them, only hear them, only feel them..." Her breathy words faded into giggling murmers, incomprehensible.
Raven flashed Starfire a look. This wasn't the first time Moonbeam had fallen into this kind of fit. The giggling, the muttering - sometimes she'd do that, just wandering around Titans tower with that aimless look in her eyes. Usually she'd snap back to reality when spoken to though, so they tried not to think much of it.
"Moonbeam?"
The silvery girl blinked swiftly, eyes focussing again.
"Sorry?"
"You alright?"
She smiled brightly. "Yeah, fine. We found the fox guy yet?"
Silver-white light lit her left hand and she lifted it to inspect a dirty glass shopfront.
Starfire shrugged at Raven, who returned the gesture as if to say 'I don't know, let's just leave it'.
Moonbeam lit her other hand and pressed it to the glass beside her left. The brightness obscured the outline of her fingernails and blurred the edges of her hands, making them seem ghostly.
Her reflection squinted back at her from the crusty glass. The shop beyond was all shadow.
The shadows moved.
The face in the glass morphed, growing ears and a snout and long whiskers. It smiled at her.
Moonbeam screamed as the glass exploded outwards, engulfing her in shards and shadows.
'Light' was today's prompt from :iconfanfiction-friends:
I wanted to do something with Moonbeam, since I haven't explored her character much yet. She's, uh, not totally sane, btw. She has some freaky PTSD and trauma issues (as befits one of my characters. I'm so cruel). In any case, this little story reveals her fear of the dark, which for her, is well founded (but I won't spoil her backstory just yet). And yeah, she glows, so there's the light for you.
Also a  cliffhangar ending, because why not :D

Teen Titans and all characters except Moonbeam and fox-guy(?) belong to DC and Warner Bros.
Moonbeam and fox-guy belong to me
© 2016 - 2024 Clair-Oswin-Oswald
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cytez-kaimee's avatar
Ooooo, yes! Moonbeam's back and I still love the Titans even though I haven't seen the show in year!