Hey everyone, here's my newest Teen Titans story. I've been working on this thing for over a year now and it's finally finished! I plan on posting a chapter once a week, usually on a Friday or a Saturday. So no worries about a long hiatus. I hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.

Chapter 1

The house on Sparrow Lane stood empty. It had been for many years and nobody knew why. It was in an ordinary place, found at the bottom of an ordinary hill, in a decent sized neighborhood. There were a few overgrown trees, some with broken branches hanging down haphazardly. The yellow grass was unkempt and underneath the large window, three azalea bushes looked to be in a desperate need for a trim. It was a wild place, with ware and decay hanging over it like a cloud.

It was also the kind of place that had drawn the attention of a young woman, one in a long blue robe. Her face was shielded, except for her violet eyes that shown in the afternoon sunlight. She surveyed the house with a critical eye, listening for sounds that might be considered suspicious.

There was nothing. Crickets chirped and cars passed by on the local freeway but aside from that, there was no sound that was even remotely dangerous. Whatever had been there was long gone.

She was about to turn back when her communicator started going off. It rang insistently for several seconds until the young woman sighed and flipped it open. A man, one whose face was masked, was frowning. "So what's the situation Raven? Did you find any recent break-ins yet?"

"No Robin." The woman sighed impatiently. "I just got here. Beast Boy and Cyborg are standing by. We'll go inside once we have a plan figured out. You mentioned there was a disruption? Well it looks quiet here to me. I hope you are not wasting our time with trivial crime. Noisy teenagers are hardly worth the effort of coming here alone, much less the three of us together."

Robin shook his head adamantly. "No! No, of course not but it is still good to be safe. Things could get bad. There were some shouts heard by neighbors, I think one woman claimed she saw a man display super strength. He seemed paranoid, dangerous even! This could be a big case if it is our division. We are doing a really good thing, perimeter checking to make absolutely sure."

Raven gave her leader a skeptical expression. "So while we're looking through this dilapidated, dump of a house…you are going to do what exactly? It's not like you to be absent from a case."

"Well…I…um…have to do a lot of paperwork." Robin stuttered. "Lots and lots of paperwork! You know, from the damage we did to the city last week? It will take me hours and hours! I-"

He was cut off when a curious red head popped into the camera. "Robin? Who are you talking to? Is that Raven? Why are you telling Raven that you are doing paperwork? I thought you were taking me on a date? I am confused. Is the date over already? Is this how they usually go?"

Raven watched the scene change from Robin, to Starfire and back to Robin. He looked embarrassed and she could clearly hear him frantically whispering in the background. "I will explain that stuff later Star! Just give me a minute, okay?" There were some doors closing and a loud thump before Robin was back in the camera. "Sorry about that. So what were you saying?"

Raven looked at him for a moment. "You know what? Never mind. I will talk to you later."

Scowling angrily, she snapped her communicator shut. She wanted to yell, she wanted to hurt something she was so angry. This was the second time this week it happened! It was another boring investigation, another stupid excuse, all so Robin could have some alone time with Starfire. Rage bit the surface and for a moment, Raven was seeing red but then…she stopped.

Taking deep, calming breaths, Raven temporary pushed down her anger. It would not do to lose her temper over something so trivial. If Robin wanted to play games, fine. She will do the mature thing and do her job. Sighing deeply, she looked around to find her friends. They were not far.

In fact, they were currently daring the other to touch the door frame of the ancient looking house.

Trying to maintain a more nonchalant appearance, Raven walked slowly over to where the boys were messing about. They were both standing on the edge of the doorway but no matter how hard Cyborg pushed Beast Boy forward, the changeling refused to go inside. He had dug his heels into the floor and was pin wheeling his arms back just to keep from falling in. It did not matter if the door was wide open; Beast Boy still looked fearfully into the house's dark interior.

"Stop it Cyborg! I refuse to go in!" He yelped. "This place is bad news! It looks too tomb-y!"

"Tomb-y?" Cyborg questioned, biting back a laugh. "What does that even mean? Look Beast Boy we still have to go inside. Raven expected us to begin this investigation while she chatted with Robin to get an update. Now you don't want her to think you are a big chicken, do you?"

"Of course I am a chicken. I turn into a chicken. That's beside the point." Beast Boy muttered.

"Look!" Cyborg sighed impatiently. "If we don't go in, Raven will get suspicious and angry. Then she will kick both our butts if we don't go in! I can't always be the one who comes up with the excuses and I'm sure the last thing you want her to know is that little secret you told me."

Insulted, Beast Boy momentarily let go of the door frame. He scowled angrily at Cyborg but it did not matter. That was the only thing his friend needed because with an extra push, they both fell into a heap on the floor of the old house.

It was dusty and dirty. Grime covered the floor but Beast Boy did not care about that. He did not care that his much bigger friend was currently squishing his leg. All he cared about was Raven, who was now standing in the doorway silently. Raven's eyes became darker as she studied him, her mouth slowly twisted into a tiny frown. The silence of her disapproval was almost deafening.

Beast Boy froze and when Cyborg eventually saw Raven, he froze too. There was an awkward moment, a pause while Raven surveyed them with disgust and embarrassment. Her fingers twitched at her side, black magic barely glistening at her fingertips. It seemed she was doing all in her power to hold her rage in check. Finally she spoke.

"Are you two really Titans?" She demanded coldly. "Because you are certainly not acting like a pair of superheroes. I mean…really? If you can't handle being unsupervised for five minutes, how I can I expect you to look around an abandoned house? Am I seriously the only one who cares about our crime fighting work for Jump City?!"

The last word came out sharper then she intended, making her friends wince.

Sighing, Raven closed her eyes and took deep calming breaths. Her emotions, particularly rage, battled for dominance but her will over them was stronger. When she opened her eyes again, she saw the two boys watching her nervously. Cyborg elbowed Beast Boy in the ribs, causing him to yelp and glare at his friend. Finally, he turned towards Raven, his pointed ears drooping a little.

"I'm sorry we goofed off." He apologized. "It's just…there's kind of an urban legend about this house. There have been some nasty rumors floating around. Somebody died here, a woman and her ghost still haunts this land. That's why nobody wanted to buy this house from Old Man Thompson. There have been too many weird things going on; some people just disappeared."

Beast Boy gave his saddest smile, while Cyborg rolled his eye. "Yeah but that's just a rumor. Stuff like that has no proof but the Green Bean believes it. That's why he refused to go inside."

Raven's anger turned into disbelief and pity. "A ghost? Really? That's what this is all about?"

Beast Boy nodded solemnly.

"Now listen to me." Raven said patiently, almost too patiently. Her words were practically dripping with contempt. "There's no such thing as ghosts. Demons, auras and maybe the occasional mutant and monster but there's no logical, reasonable proof that ghosts exist. If they did, we would probably have fought one by now. So get it out of your head. Ghosts aren't real."

"And those were her famous last words." Beast Boy muttered to Cyborg under his breath.

Now bored by their conversation, Raven did not even bother giving him a good comeback. Instead, her eyes were sweeping around the house that they now found themselves in. The foyer was small but it had a long hallway leading to the living room. A spiraling stairway led up to the top floor and the ground was littered with bits of broken wood and furniture. Ghost or not, this place had an eerie aura that fascinated her.

She held up a hand glowing with dark magic, but nothing came.

The further she walked inside, the more the wind seemed to echo through the broken windows and make the very walls creak. It seemed safe enough. She glanced back at the guys expectantly, a smirk playing on her lips. "Well? Are you two coming or do you want me to hold your hand?"