A camera flashed.

A man snapped several photos of corpse of a dead girl in her late teens. On her back were hooks that kept her suspended. The right half of her face was burned and disfigured.

On the floor; her stomach and other organs.

A man glanced at the corpse and shook his head. He walked behind her while placing rubber gloves on his hands. He bent her head forward and found what he had been looking for.

On the neck was a tattoo, resembling a piece of a jigsaw puzzle.

"It's him again," the man yelled.

"That's obvious," a woman called. "Look at the trap, Chuck."

"Yeah, but there are enough sick bastards out there that like this kinda thing but the tattoo is the only thing we leave out of the papers."

"Whoever did this must be some crazy Saw fan," another man said. "I remember watching Saw IV, fucking paranoid for a week." This statement caused several of the officers in the room to laugh. They were silenced when Chuck glared at them.

Chuck turned back to the girl's corpse and noticed something in her hand. He pulled on the cold fingers, but they were so stiff, he thought he would have to break bones just to pry the object out. Thankfully it didn't come to that. What lay in his hand was a tape recorder.

Out of curiosity, he pressed play.

"Hello Charles Galloway," a modified voice said. "If you've found this, that means this girl is dead. For the past month, you've hunted me down, your obsession growing deeper with each body found. You have called me a 'killer', while others call me a 'savior.' But I am not insulted by your words. And to prove it, I offer you two choices, quit this case and become a free man, no longer bound by your obsession; or continue to chase me down and suffer the consequences. It's your choice, detective."

Charles pocketed the tape recorder.

"Hey! I found the girl's ID," a man yelled. "Nancy Hardy, sixteen. She attends Bayville High."

"A kid?" a woman asked. "He's killing children?"

"Didn't the bodies start turning up when that girl was killed?" another woman asked. "Maybe someone's getting revenge."

Chuck thought it might prove to be a good lead. "Does the school still have the video tapes from that night?" he asked.

"Yeah, they sent it to us the day after the girl was found," a man replied.

"I-I saw that tape," a woman muttered miserably. "What they did to that girl…I'll never get her screams out of my head."

A blonde girl opened her eyes with a groan. She tried to move, but a sharp pain in her back made her scream. Chains rattled with move she made. On her stomach, four sharp blades poked at the pale flesh. Above her head were two containers, each carrying a dark chemical. She looked around the room. It looked like a basement to an old factory. In front of her was an old looking table with a T.V sitting on top.

Without warning, it turned on. A woman's face appeared.

"Hello Nancy," a woman said. "I want to play a game. For years you have taunted, belittled, and tormented everyone you've ever met. You've even drove you own sister to suicide. You are self centered and vain, making fun of anyone who doesn't meet your standards of beauty. Since you pride yourself on how thin you are, I will help make you thinner. The device poised over your stomach will cut into the flesh and spread apart in four directions, leaving your organs to fall to the floor.

"You will notice that in both of your hands, there is a switch. Pressing both will disfigure the face that you've routinely put make-up on, but you will release the locks and be free to go. But you must hurry. You have only sixty seconds to get loose. Live or die, it's your choice. Let the games begin." The image on the screen changed and it showed a timer.

"GET ME OUT OF HERE YOU SICK FUCK!" the girl screamed. She reached behind her, trying to touch the chains. She could feel the hooks digging into her back. She whimpered and cried. "Damn it!" Her eyes moved to her right hand. She swore and jammed her thumb onto the switch.

She felt the right half of her face burn she closed her eyes and screamed.

When she opened her eyes again, she screamed.

She could only see out of one eye.

Oh God! she thought, I-I can't see!

"HELP!" she screamed. "Somebody help me! Please!" She swore and resigned herself to the fact that no one will help her. She looked down at the switch in her hand and tried to force her convulsing thumb over the button. She put pressure over the button but-

RING!

She looked at the screen and saw a large red zero on the screen.

The blades dug deep into her stomach before she could even scream.

She tried to raise her hand to the blades. She forced herself to look at the ceiling.

The blades snapped into four directions and out of her body, leaving a bloody X across her stomach.

The cafeteria was one large mob of voices. Everyone was talking about the death of Nancy Hardy.

"Maybe the guys out to get students?" one student asked.

"Please don't say that!"

"Maybe the killer's a mutant," a girl hissed.

At the word "mutant," several students shot nervous glances to the table in the back. But the group ignored the looks and talked amongst themselves.

"Hey. Jean? You with us," Scott asked. He waved his hand in front of her face, bringing the girl back to the conversation.

"Huh? Sorry, I was just thinking," she said. "Maybe they're right…"

"Who?" the table asked.

"The other students think that the Jigsaw Killer is a mutant."

"Funny how they jump to conclusions," a boy hissed angrily. James Knight was one of the newest members to the X-Men. His only powers are an accelerated healing factor and bone claws that came out of the tips of his fingers and toes. Because he became a mutant after the mutants were forced into the spotlight, he doesn't have the same sympathy that the older X-Men have towards humans.

"Still, we can't rule out the possibility that it could be a mutant," Scott said. He rose to his feet, followed by Jean. "We should ask the professor if there were any mutants that became active recently." He turned to another new member, Felicia, and told her to keep James in line for the day. She was more than enough to handle James. She was a telepath and telekinetic with a healing factor. Even without her powers, Felicia was the only person James would listen to.

During their class, the teachers told all the students that the next day, they would have to attend Nancy Hardy's funeral.

The cemetery was filled with students and parents.

The students looked bored and only a few looked saddened at the girl's death.

But one girl was neither bored nor depressed. Even though she kept her face empty of expression, the corners of her lips kept twitching.

She was fighting a smile.

Later that day, the news said that the police made progress with the Jigsaw case and that police have a warrant for the arrest of Bayville High football player Cody Adams.