Hi again! And welcome back to my latest work known simply as 'Connected'. I hope that the first two chapters have been real eye-poppers. It's taken just about all my creative concentration to keep working on this and others so I hope I'm still dishing out my best of the best. Then again, who am I to judge? Why? Well, just keep reading and find out. In the meantime, I'll take the time to do the necessary proceedings. I don't own 'Young Avengers' in any shape or form. But I've finally gotten my hands on one of the books, which makes me really, really happy….. On the inside. Yeah. Anywho…. Enjoy!!

"Iii" = speech

Iii = thought

Chapter 3: Death Over Dinner

Driving back to the precinct seemed to take forever. And not just because traffic was a little on the slow side. Mostly because Teddy's mind was trying to produce means of explaining away almost six hours of absence when he should've been doing his job. For the first two and a half, he had been. Until he got hit over the head with a crowbar, ending up being asleep for almost all of the remaining four hours he'd been there. Now he had to somehow get to work, get a copy of the case file, go home, get cleaned up and be back and Billy and Tommy's in time to make them dinner. All in an hour's time no less. Just the thought of somehow pulling it off was starting to make him nervous. It was making him regret not leaving his cell phone number behind in case one of the twins called, or getting their number in case he needed to be the one dialing them up. Mentally kicking himself for forgetting something so basic, Teddy knew it was a little late to go back now. He was already more than halfway to his precinct where he was likely going to meet Greg, and he was sure the man wasn't very happy.

Quickly finding a place to park and grabbing his jacket from the passenger seat, Teddy reluctantly exited his car. He instantly shivered against the shocking chill of the early autumn air against his face, hands and wrists. Even though he was wearing a long sleeve t-shirt, he was once again scolding himself for keeping them rolled up at mid-forearm. Fixing his sleeves and putting on his jacket, he pocketed his keys as he nodded at fellow cops and people passing by as he headed for the doors. Upon entering, Teddy was relieved to find his partner and his boss nowhere in sight. Not daring press his luck, the blonde did his best to head casually for his desk, quickly finding the file in question still on top of just about everything else. Collecting all its contents and clasping it closed with a clip, Teddy was sure he could find a good friend who could give him a reprint of it all. Now I just need to get out of here--.

"Ted! There you are!" a familiar voice shouted, nearly making everyone in the room jump in surprise.

--unnoticed. Shit. He mentally cursed his luck for turning on him, but managed to pull a cool face to show Greg as he approached. As he'd predicted the brunette looked just as angry as he usually got when someone spited him over something. And that happened way too often. Teddy quickly put a calm smirk in place, hoping it would be enough to dissuade his partner from killing him.

Straining the smirk as best he could, Teddy kept his tone even as he spoke coolly to his fellow officer of the law. "Hey Greg. What have you been up to?"

"Barely anything since you've been out and about doing god knows what! Now where the hell have you been all this time?!?" Greg demanded through gritted teeth, his face twisted in barely contained rage, red coloring his usually pink skin.

Without missing a beat, Teddy simply continued his calm charade. "Me? Getting some fresh eyes for our case."

"What?" Greg snapped, his storm grey eyes narrowing suspiciously at the blonde's words, crossing his arms as he spoke. "What're you up to?"

"Nothing! Just trying to see if I can't work on this from a different angle, that's all." He said innocently, allowing his face to show real concern. "How's our suspect?"

Greg continued to scowl angrily at the blonde but did nothing. "Not talking and we're running out of time. If we don't find something on him fast we'll be forced to let him go. Just who exactly are you getting to help us with this?"

Teddy let his calm demeanor deflate a little. But only a little. The last thing he wanted was for Greg to find out how tired he was. "All I can say is that they want to anonymous for now. Just trust me on this. Please?"

The brunette shifted under Teddy's pleading gaze, clearly weighing his options about what to say. Finally he gave in. "Fine. I'll play along. For now. But you'd better fill me in on what the hell it is that you're planning or your ass is gonna end up in a sling."

Without waiting for a response, Greg turned on his heel and stomped away, clearly in a huff at their conversation. Honestly surprised at his surviving the encounter unscathed, Teddy quickly snapped back to reality, knowing he was on the clock. Taking one last look at this desk for anything he might've forgotten, he headed deeper into the building in search for a reliable coworker and a scanner.

--An Hour Later—

Bearing a fresh copy of the case file and a refreshed demeanor, Teddy parked in front of the apartment building he'd first arrived at only a few hours before. Only now he was back on more friendly terms. Armed with some fresh produce of his own and the case file in hand, Teddy shut and locked his car before once again heading up the steps into the building. Within minutes he was back on the fourth floor, standing before the very door he'd entered and gotten himself knocked out by a crowbar. Knowing that it was unlikely to be unlocked, Teddy calmly knocked with a free hand, waiting patiently to be let in. seconds later, footsteps came thumping forward, the door quickly coming open to reveal it was Tommy on the other side.

Almost immediately the white blonde was grinning like he'd just won a bet. "See? That wasn't so hard now was it?"

Teddy couldn't help but smirk, chuckling at the man's nerve. "Just don't hit me and we'll call it lesson learned. Now gimme a hand with this."

Shrugging off the comment, Tommy did as he was told, grabbing one of the bags as he stepped aside to let the blonde cop inside. Gazing into the paper bag, his expression clouded like he was looking at something foreign. "What is it?"

"Just some extra stuff I'm sure you two couldn't get at a corner store. Where's Billy?" he asked, eying the empty living room as he passed through to the kitchen and set the rest of his items down on the table.

Not far behind, Tommy set the bag down on his side of the table, slightly confused by the contests as he spoke. "In the back, getting some sleep. Healing you took a bit out of him."

"And can we safely assume that it's all your fault?" Teddy inquired, earning yet another sour glare from the white blonde.

"Don't even try to pull that shit with me. I've dealt with a lot of cops before. It's only a matter of time before they get sour."

Teddy just let out another amused chuckle at his words. "They as in me huh? Well I don't know who you've met but I can honestly say that tricking you is the last thing on my mind right now. I really do need help and if you two are able to get things rolling…"

He stopped once he saw the look Tommy was giving him. The man looked like he'd eaten something unbelievably disgusting. "Of all the people."

Confused and a little concerned, Teddy's brows furrowed. "What?"

Like a stick of dynamite, Tommy practically exploded with frustration, his voice on edge of yelling him hoarse. "You're a fuckin' boy scout! Of all the people they've got on the force, we gotta deal with a fuckin' boy scout."

"Hey! Keep that up and I might really go out of my way to arrest you." Teddy warned, his voice showing he was only half serious as he started to unpack the bag in front of him.

Tommy rolled his eyes, mirroring Teddy's actions. "Bastard. You gonna cook or what?"

"Since Billy's asleep, you're gonna help."

His reaction was immediate, negative and indignant. "Say what?"

Teddy looked him right in the eyes. "Do you want to eat or not?"

"If I burn something I'll just blame you." Tommy growled while the blonde cop just laughed it off.

"Uh huh. Right. That sounds sooo believable."

Glaring viciously, the speedster was done playing games. "Just tell what to do you prick."

"Fine, fine. Here's what we're goin' to do…."

Nearly an hour and several mistakes, close calls and arguments later, the meal was made just in time for Billy to come wandering in dressed simply in a t-shirt and jeans. Clearly half alive due to sleep, his hair looking like it'd been hit by a fan, the dark haired man had to blink a few times at the oddly neat spread covering the kitchen table. Needless to say that seeing something so organized was unusual to him. Wordlessly accepting what he was seeing as reality, Billy didn't hesitate to take a seat at the table as he tried to wipe the sleep from his eyes.

Once again putting on a kind smile, Teddy decided to greet him as he put a plate in front of the man. "Mornin' sleepy head. Did we wake you?"

"Kinda. Mostly loud, angry shouting. And the smell… along with shouting." Billy grumbled as he slid his fingers through hair Teddy now realized was more black than brown.

"Don't even try to pin anything on me." Tommy growled in warning, placing serving bowls full of food onto the table before taking a seat as well.

"Just give the man some food before he falls asleep again. Carrots?" Teddy inquired, holding one of the bowls before the dark haired man, the cooked veggies still steaming. Letting a thankful smile come onto his face, Billy accepted the bowl from him.

"Please. I see you've yet to be assaulted. There a reason for that?" he inquired, glancing from one man to the other.

As predicted, Tommy rolled his eyes glaring at his brother with exasperated eyes. "He walked in like he owned the place! What was I supposed to do? 'Hey mister! I'm going to bash your brains in because I have no fuckin' idea why you're in my home. Bomb's away'! Am I that predictable?"

"Just a little." Billy said chuckling, earning him an indignant noise from his pale haired double. Taking his serving of the carrots and passing them back to Teddy, a question suddenly came to mind. "Did you see your partner yet?"

Teddy grimaced, but managed to keep a piece of the smile in place. "Unfortunately yes. And he wasn't very happy about my being gone all day. He's pretty anxious to get things rolling and so am I."

"That's understandable. He's a dick."

"Tommy!" Billy snapped, glaring at his brother. Tommy was quick to defend himself against the scolding.

"What!? It's true. The guy was a real jerk."

"Do I have to put you two in time out?" Teddy asked, glancing between them with a rather serious look on his face.

Tommy's jaw dropped while Billy simply blinked. Both men were staring at him as if he'd suddenly grown two more heads. After a few seconds of stunned silence, Tommy was once again quick to respond. "You're joking right? Is he joking?"

"No, I'm not. Keep this up and I'll toss you out the window." The blonde growled, locking his gaze on the white haired man, hoping his stare would be enough.

"What? You wouldn't--." The look on Teddy's face was enough to make him stop and shy away, ducking his head as he poked his food with his utensils. "Right."

An awkward silence fell over them, all three men chewing their food into the quiet of the room. Once a few minutes went by, Billy finally noticed the police folder sitting on the counter behind Teddy. Nodding in its direction, he finally spoke. "So you brought the file for us?"

Following Billy's gaze, Teddy turned back with a nod. "Yeah, a copy at least. We can look at it when you're done eating. Can't have you getting sick from it while you're eating."

"You think we can't take a few pictures? C'mon man!" Tommy snarled with obvious indignation, the glare once again burning through Teddy's face.

His expression quickly turning sour, Teddy's sky blue eyes took on a serious edge as he met the man's burning gaze. "Hey! I look at the bodies of the dead every day and even then I'm still getting hit in the gut by it. What makes you think you can take it?"

Tommy didn't seem intent on backing down. "You think I can't?"

"I didn't say that but if you can--."

"Bring it copper!" the man suddenly snarled. Billy watched on nervously as Teddy eyed the man across the table from him with a thoughtful stare. After a moment, he finally spoke.

"Alright." Turning and easily grabbing the folder on the counter without even leaving his chair, Teddy swiftly opened it, sifted through the contents until he found what he was looking for before putting the folder off to the side. All the while careful Billy didn't see anything the folder or the picture contained. Cupping the picture with a finger, Teddy made sure the white underside was visible as he passed it over to Tommy. "Try this one on for size."

Angrily snatching it from the blonde's grasp, Tommy quickly turned the picture over, only for his face to tell them how he regretted it. His skin going from pink to pale, Tommy quickly tossed the picture aside as he swiftly ran from the room. One second he was there, the next a door on the other side of the apartment slammed shut. The picture fluttered to the floor, but never touched it as Teddy's stretched arm gave him enough reach to grab it and return it to the folder before Billy could so much as get a glimpse of it.

Eyeing the folder with curiosity, Billy simply shook his head at the blonde cop's actions against his sibling. "Did you have to do that?"

"Got him to shut up didn't it?" when Billy simply scowled at him, Teddy tried keep from laughing as he went back to his plate. "What? It did! At least now we can eat in peace and quiet."

"And to think you thought we needed to be put in time out." The man muttered with a light chuckle, letting another silence hang over them before turning his attention to the folder again. "What is that anyway?"

Teddy's serious expression was back. He didn't want to deal with two sick men at once, even if it was on purpose. "I'm not showing this to you! At least not right now anyway. For all I know you could go running off like he did. You fixed my head so the least you can do is hold down some food."

This time it was Billy's turn to look deadly serious, dropping his fork on his plate so he could fold his arms stubbornly. "Do I really seem that fragile?"

"Uh…." Teddy knew he was cornered now. Hell, he was fighting hard not to blush like he'd seen something he wasn't supposed to. "Honestly?"

"Uh yeah." Billy demanded, waiting almost impatiently for a response. After a few seconds of watching the blonde, something about his expression made some of the indignation dissipate. "What?"

Just as Teddy opened his mouth to speak, Tommy was suddenly back in the room, and he didn't look happy. "Damn you. DAMN YOU AND YOUR PICTURES!"

"I told you but did you listen? Nooooo." Teddy said triumphantly, letting a grin spread across his face, ignoring Billy's puzzled stare. "Mr. I'm-So-Tough thought he could handle one measly picture."

"Shut up. And don't show him that! He's got a weaker stomach than me." Tommy snarled viciously as he retook his seat in the hopes of finishing his meal.

Billy quickly turned on him, his brown eyes flashing a dangerous blue shade. "And you know this because…."

The evil grin that came on Tommy's face seemed to take both men by surprise. "The last time you upchucked, you let out both lunch and dinner. Or what was left of it."

"I did not!" he quickly retorted, his hands slamming on the table. Teddy watched on, not missing the red blush of embarrassment slathering itself onto Billy's cheeks.

Only Tommy wasn't done just yet. "You so did! The bathroom smelled like vomit for almost two days!"

"That's because you decided to try and feed me your 'cooking'!"

Before Tommy could even retort, Teddy finally let his own voice loose, making sure that it was loud enough for both to pay attention to. "ALRIGHT! Alright… that's quite enough. Both of you sit down and eat. And when we're done, we'll look at the file together. You got me?"

The two men blinked at him, taken aback by his words. Almost instantly Billy nodded, his voice nothing more than a whisper. "Yeah."

Teddy turned his gaze to Tommy, who immediately nodded in turn. "Fine."

Eyeing both men cautiously, Teddy found their responses satisfactory. "Good."

It was a full hour later, when the meal was finished and everything cleaned and put away that the blonde cop finally decided to let the two see the folder. Even seeing it after just a few hours the pictures and the report still stirred Teddy's stomach. He knew the victim's daughter, and knew from the calls that she kept making to his phone that she was in shambles. Despite what the two men sitting at the table with him told him, he felt oddly uncomfortable showing them the brutal pictures and heartless words that he and his colleagues had written. But that didn't matter right now. Teddy knew that if he didn't get things going soon, the killer was likely to strike again. And the last thing the city needed was a serial killer wandering around taking down one victim after another. Glancing at the twins seated with him, he could tell that they weren't used to seeing such horrifying images. Billy looked like he wanted to run and throw up while Tommy just growled and muttered a curse under his breath.

Keeping a tough exterior was proving difficult for Teddy, but he managed to steel himself against the folder's contents. "As I said, I wanted to wait until you two got some real food in you but that might've been a mistake. Either way, I need both of your help with this. As you can plainly see, Dr. Scott Lang has had a rough day."

Billy nodded, taking a breath or two to calm his nerves. "We know. And we know him."

Taken aback by this news, Teddy's serious expression shattered so that his shock and confusion could bleed through. "What?? How is that possible!?"

"We met his daughter in college. It's been a few years since we've seen her. We've been trying to find her since we heard about this. So far, nothing." Tommy muttered in annoyance, picking up one of the pictures only to grimace at it.

"I guess that explains why we haven't met before now." Teddy said, rubbing his chin in thought.

Instantly perking up, both men stared at the blonde, Billy the first to utter the question on both their minds. "What do you mean?"

Teddy just shrugged, keeping his eyes on the papers in front of him. "I met Cassie in high school but she moved away to go to a different college than me. We lost touch for a while but she'd sometimes pop in for some reason or other. When I showed up at her place to give her the news…"

Both men stared at him, clearly stunned. Tommy spoke first, his voice soft and hesitant as the words passed through his lips. "How is she? Is she okay?"

"She's staying at her boyfriend's place until we're sure that she's not the next target, if there is one to speak of. Other than that, she's really broken up about this."

"Can we talk to her?" Billy asked, Tommy nodding in agreement. The blonde cop eyed them, smiling understandingly.

"Maybe later. We need to go through this first. I want to show up with some more clues rather than questions."

Tommy instantly clammed up, Billy staring at the pictures with a saddened look on his face. Just seeing it was making Teddy kick himself for involving them in police business. "Right. So what do you know?"

Snapped out of his thoughts, Teddy found himself searching the paperwork for the information he needed, skimming past whatever could be looked at later. "Uh… single gunshot wound to the head, nearly took off the top of his skull from the sheer force of it so we're thinkin' high caliber gun. We couldn't find any bullet casings so either it was a really powerful revolver or the killer took the time to pick it up on his way out."

"I don't recognize this room. Where is this?" Billy asked, scowling as he pointed at the background of one of the pictures. The room itself was clean and professional, composed of books and various knick knacks on cherry colored furniture. Sadly the only disturbance to this air of professionalism was brought on by the corpse of the occupant.

"His home office. He lived alone since his wife divorced him and took Cassie with her. According to her she used to visit daily when her job didn't keep her from showing up. She really did love her father." The blonde said sadly, as the memory of seeing the poor blonde woman breaking down into tears started to replay in his head.

Tommy was being oddly silent in comparison to Billy, who was now doing all the talking. "Can you take us to the scene? I might be able to find something you didn't."

One of Teddy's eyebrows lifted in question, making both twins wince. "Is that why you were at our suspect's home last night?"

Finally Tommy chose then to say something. "We figured you were after someone important. Why else would we follow cops around?"

"Tommy. You're not helping."

In seconds the white blonde was back to his old irritated self again scowling at his sibling as he spoke in his own defense. "What? It's true. And it's all because you didn't want to just walk up and say 'hey guys! We'd like to help you on this murder investigation. You don't mind do you?'"

"He does have a point." Teddy muttered, nodding in agreement to the thought.

"Whose side are you on!??" Billy snapped, nearly rising from his chair clearly indignant.

Teddy waved him back into his seat, a serious looking coming back onto his face. "I'm on the side of whoever helps me get a killer off the streets. And right now, that side just so happens to be yours. Now can you help me out or not?"

"I can, but this could take time. We need--."

Billy wasn't able to say more as Teddy cut him off, his voice making it clear that he was tired of going in circles. "We're almost out of time! Our suspect, the one who I chased, hasn't said a damn thing and the twenty-four hour deadline's coming fast. He could skip town for all we know."

An evil grin came onto Tommy's face, the look in his eyes making the two other men want to shiver just from the sight of it. "Not while I'm around. I could find him easy."

Teddy let out a hollow chuckle. All this excitement was making him tired all over again. "Thanks but that's not the point. Something was stolen from Mr. Lang's office, something the investigation team missed."

Tommy was quick to give the blonde a questioning look. "And you know this how?"

Sky blue eyes looked away sheepishly, the blonde cop not helping but squirm under their scrutiny. "I can see stuff okay?"

"Oookay. Anyway, I'll need to get back into that guy's apartment as well as Mr. Lang's office. Maybe I can pick up just what it was that was taken." Billy stated calmly, eying the crime scene pictures with a thoughtful expression.

It was Teddy's turn to quirk an eyebrow. "You can do that?"

The raven haired man just chuckled. "Half the reason why we were in that guy's place to begin with. Just don't chase me out a window okay?"

Teddy snickered, raising his hands in surrender. "Deal. Just as long as he doesn't decide to try and punt me in the nuts like he did my partner. Which, mind you, he's probably still fuming about."

Both Billy and Teddy turned to look at Tommy, who hadn't moved at all. After a few seconds, the white blonde sighed in defeat. "I won't even try to take a swing. No matter how tempting it is right now."

"Very funny. Shall we go?" Teddy deadpanned, gathering up some of the scattered papers as he got to his feet.

However, Billy didn't move, staring intently at some of the pictures now firmly in his grip. His brown eyes seemed to burn with intense concentration. "In a bit. Are you sure that this is all that you have on the case?"

"Yeah. Why? Is something wrong?" Teddy asked, leaning over the spread of papers and pictures, his blue eyes scanning for anything he'd missed. So far, there didn't seem to be anything that wasn't already part of his memory.

"I'm not sure." Billy muttered, shaking his head as he too got to his feet, helping the blonde recollect all the papers before the man put them into the folder. "But I guess I won't know until I see it for myself."

Teddy nodded, tucking the folder under his arm. "Right. Let's go."

Both men were already headed for the door, Tommy not far behind with an unnoticed look of concern on his face.

--Ten Minutes Later—

Once again at the wheel, Billy in the passenger's seat while Tommy lounged in the back, Teddy calmly weaved his way through late afternoon traffic. The rush had come and gone, so getting to Scott Lang's apartment took merely a half hour or so to reach. And thankfully, Tommy didn't complain or say anything sarcastic for once. Instead he simply lay calmly on his back, staring coolly at the ceiling as they drove along in complete silence. Absent mindedly handling the car with ease, Teddy was dreading having to go into that respected man's apartment again. It was bad enough that Cassie had been crying herself to bits the first time he'd come to see her after giving her the news. Just seeing her that way tore at him, like a slow moving disease, that was slowly tearing him apart. So much as thinking about it was making him kick himself for not doing more, working harder, or even taking the time to even consider that something about the murder was on the fishy side.

He must've been making a face because a familiar voice from his right brought him out of his thoughts. Luckily they were at a red light so it was safe for him to look in time to remember that he wasn't alone anymore. Billy's brown eyes, hazel colored in the light and filled with a kind air, stared at Teddy with a look of concern. A little confused by this, Teddy felt like an idiot for so much as uttering the word he said next.

"What?"

The dark haired man was obviously trying hard not to smile. "I said are you okay? You look like you're thinkin' about something."

"He's not gonna drive us off the bridge is he?" Tommy grumbled from the backseat, sitting up as he eyed the back of Teddy's head.

"Tommy! You're--!"

Teddy cut Billy off, fighting down a saddened smirk of amusement. "No it's… it's okay. Really. I just…. I'm tired as hell, this case has been going on for almost three weeks and I don't want to face Cassie with more questions and no answers. She's… she's suffering as much as it is. And if I was gonna go off the bridge, I'd make sure I didn't have passengers first."

"Don't say something like that! It's like you said! You need our help and you've got it. All we need to do now is find any missing pieces and put the puzzle together. So no suicide attempts." Billy warned, backing his words with a glare from glowing blue eyes. "Not even a single thought you hear me?"

"As if I could do something like that! My mother would be on my heels crying her eyes out asking me why. It's bad enough that she lost my dad so early on." Teddy muttered, vaguely seeing the road through the sad look in his eyes and on his face.

Both twins perked up, curious about this odd statement. "Your dad?"

Teddy chuckled, casually shrugging the question off his shoulders. "Behold, the single child of a star-crossed relationship, a quick marriage followed by a swift and bitter end." Even if he wasn't looking at them, both men could tell he was trying hard to hide the sadness that was coming over him. "My dad was a cop too. He died in a shooting over a major gun smuggling ring hoping to bring a little something more than guns into the country."

"How old were you?" Billy asked suddenly, snapping Teddy back to reality.

"Only a few months old. My mom likes to joke about how they kept on trying to put large number bills into my little hands for my college funds." He said coolly, letting out another chuckle at the thought.

Billy looked away, Tommy wisely keeping his mouth shut. "Sorry."

The blonde cop simply shrugged it off too. "It's okay. I'm used to it by now. We're almost there."

"When was the last time you saw your mother anyway?"

Confused by this sudden question, Teddy didn't look away from the road as he answered. "Two months ago, for her birthday. Why?"

"Maybe you should go see her soon. It might do you some good to see her."

Right then and there Teddy almost stepped on the brakes, turning to look at Billy with a shocked look on his face. "I'm in the middle of a case! I'm not about to--!"

"Will you just listen?" Billy demanded, effectively making Teddy immediately clamp his mouth shut as he eyed the man from the corner of his vision. "Just go see her when you've got the time. We can even cover for you if that's what it takes. Okay?"

After a moment of silent thought, Teddy finally let out an amused chuckle. "I'll think about it. Right now I want to get a better lead on why someone would kill Dr. Lang. No matter how I look at it, nothing about this whole thing makes sense."

Billy nodded in agreement, watching Teddy out of the corner of his eye. "Okay… what do you know?"

"Well… he was an accomplished scientist and teacher. Everybody at his work loved him to bits and he had no obvious enemies. Divorced, lived alone, had tenure at the university. Hell he doesn't even have a parking ticket! Why someone would kill him like that is… it just doesn't add up." Teddy growled, shaking his head as he kept his eyes on the road. Just thinking about how such a nice man could be blown away so easily was making it hard for him to focus on driving them to the scene.

"Any eyewitness reports? Did he leave the house that day? Did someone come to see him? Anything at all?" Billy almost demanded, Tommy glancing between them from where he sat up in the backseat.

Teddy just shook his head, his expression twisted in confusion. "I'm just as surprised as you are on this. His neighbors said he never went anywhere unless it was a special occasion or work. And his only real visitor was Cassie. Beyond that, it was like he was in his own little world. On top of that, a neighbor was able to confirm that the suspect we have back at the precinct was seen leaving his apartment the day of the murder."

"So you think he did it?" Tommy finally asked lazily. The fact he was even trying to include himself in the conversation was a little hard to believe.

Again the blonde cop simply shook his head, turning the wheel as he calmly switched lanes as soon as he saw a gap. "Not really, but I think he might have some kind of connection to it. For all we know he could be just a hired hand in all this. I'm not sure why but I think he's the one who was shifting through the good doctor's files."

"As I said, I might be able to help you figure that out." Billy said matter-of-factly from beside him, making the blonde remember a long lost question from the back of his mind.

"And how are you going to do that exactly?"

"Trust me man, last night's performance and today's theatrics are just parlor tricks compared to some of the other stuff he can do." Tommy muttered from the back, a sly smirk coming onto his face as he spoke.

Blushing a little at his words, Billy quickly turned to face his sibling. "Tommy! Now's not the time for that!"

"What? I'm just tellin' the truth. No need to get defensive." He snarled, annoyance once again rising to the surface.

"Says the guy who can blow things up with his bare hands!" Billy quickly retorted.

Teddy turned nearly fully around, eyes wide in shock as he couldn't help but express his horror at the thought. "What?!?"

"Well not my bare hands but--!" Tommy's attempt was met with confusion, causing the white blonde to glare at his sibling. "Dammit Billy!"

Billy just smiled deviously, apparently pleased with his triumph. "Serves you right."

Teddy was grateful that they were at a red light, glancing anxiously from one brother to the other. "Should I be worried?"

"I'm not going to suddenly implode if that's what you mean. And I'm not going to blow anything up either." Tommy snarled in his annoyance, laying back down on the backseat, his hands behind his head.

"I'm serious. Should I be concerned right now?" Teddy asked, his blue eyes pleading for an honest answer. The fact he had a walking time bomb in his car wasn't one of the best things to inform him of at this point.

His smile now a grin of amusement, Billy just shook his head. "Not really."

Tommy scoffed from the back. "That's not very reassuring you know."

"Just shut up Tommy. We're almost there right?"

Teddy nodded, a little more at ease now that the moment had passed. "Another block at least. I'm just glad that the traffic's so light right now."

"Is anyone at the apartment right now?"

"Not really, just a cruiser that stops by to make sure that no one breaks in again. But don't worry about them. I'll get you in no problem."

"That's good to know." Tommy muttered again from the backseat.

"Shut up Tommy." Teddy and Billy said in unison before they realized they had. Billy blinked in surprise while Teddy just avoided eye contact.

Turning out of the way of other cars, Teddy was able to quickly find a suitable parking space not too far from Dr. Lang's apartment. Shutting the car down and getting out, the twins followed him up the steps and through the doors. The blonde cop waved at a police cruiser sitting across the street, leading the twins into the building as one of the cops waved back. Once through the doors, their eyes met a well-kept front hallway, a small table seated to the side with a small vase housing a small bouquet of lilies. Not too far off were the doorways leading into the living room on the left while the right branched off to what was likely the study. A few feet away from them was a staircase leading up and beyond into the apartment. Looking around, Tommy let out a small whistle.

"Nice digs. I always knew that old man had good taste but damn!"

"Shut up Tommy. I need to concentrate." Billy snapped, easily maneuvering past both of them as he stood in the middle of the hall, apparently letting his mind wander into a different world than theirs.

Teddy couldn't help but lean over and whisper near Tommy's ear, eying the man's dark haired twin in confusion. "What's he doing?"

Annoyed light blue eyes glared at him, but he kept his voice oddly calm. "What you and your partner interrupted last night. Just watch and learn okay?"

Teddy quickly clamped his mouth shut, watching with curiosity as Billy slowly stepped forward, his hands outstretched in front of him. As if on cue, both his hands and eyes began to glow bright neon blue, the light seeming to fan over everything in his path, revealing things invisible to the naked eye. Like they'd been turned on somehow, footprints were suddenly plain to see on the floor. The sight of them made Teddy's eyebrows rise in surprise, even though Tommy didn't do or say anything in response. Instead the white blonde simply watched on in complete silence, staying in place as his sibling slowly moved down the hall and into the study, and where Dr. Lang had been murdered.

"Over here?" Billy inquired, turning his glowing eyes on Teddy as both he and Tommy followed him into the room.

A little unnerved by the sight but quickly overcoming it, Teddy nodded, keeping his face set and devoid of the growing curiosity in his gut. "Yeah, that cabinet and the desk too. All of them covered in unknown prints."

Nodding, Billy turned away as he moved towards the desk first. "On it."

The desk was done in minutes, the glow of Billy's hands and eyes fading as he stared down at the large piece of furniture in confusion. Before Teddy could stop himself, the question on his tongue came out. "Anything?"

Billy nodded absently, moving away from the desk as his eyes continued to wander the room. "Plenty. The guy from the apartment was in here, but he wasn't alone."

Teddy felt his serious mask fall to bewilderment. The fact he was learning of this now was mind-blowing. "What? There was another guy in here? That's impossible. I would've smelled him, or at least found some trace of him. For that to even happen he'd have to be--."

Brown eyes met blue, silencing Teddy with a mere glance, the man's voice somehow gaining a powerful edge. "Different? Or at least extremely careful from what I've been able to see. Whoever he is, he must know a lot about forensic science to erase himself, or at least enough to never leave a trace to begin with. And you said that no one knows about what you can do?"

"No one. You guys would be the first. I haven't even told Greg! For him to know would be impossible." Teddy couldn't honestly believe that Billy would ask such a question since he'd long since stated this information already. Was it possible someone had found out about him somehow? Already his mind was bringing back all the memories, all the steps, how cautious he'd been ever since day one.

Billy's voice was thankfully strong enough to break this stream of thought. "Either someone knows about you, or was careful enough to avoid meeting up with someone like you."

"How is that possible? Are there… are there really more out there like me?" he had to ask, the thought of having more to go on somehow seeming more promising than he'd ever thought it would be.

The raven haired man just shook his head, rubbing his chin in thought. "I'm not sure but if there are, they're working pretty hard to keep themselves out of sight. But that doesn't matter right now. What matters is that someone knew that you, or someone like you, was on the police force and knew you could trace him. Finding him is now the key to solving this case."

Teddy forced his mind to clear, his expression turning grim again. "Can you sense him anywhere? Even someone like him can't erase everything."

"That's true and you're right. I'm picking up something but I'm not sure if it's enough to say for sure that we'll find him." He said, looking truly apologetic.

But Teddy was shaking his head. "I'll take whatever you can give me. Search the whole house if you have to. We need to know who else was in this house."

"This won't be easy but I can try. This guy was smart enough to leave nothing physical behind. It's possible he wasn't as careful when it came to the metaphysical."

Tommy finally asked, having watched the entire exchange with unnatural patience on his part. "Any chance you could give me somethin' to work with?"

"Be patient Tommy. There might be less here than you think. Hell we might not even get a name, or even a face to go with it."

The white blonde just rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed but somehow knew better than to say anything to taunting. "Fine, fine. Let's just get this over with."

Wordlessly Billy continued to search the room, prints coming to life on just about everything around where his hands set their glow. Teddy couldn't help but watch the man move slowly through the room, absolutely fascinated by this intriguing process being performed right before his eyes. Tommy, however, looked bored out of his mind and simply wandered back into the hallway, somehow careful to be quiet as he went. After several minutes of silence and Billy's searching the room for anything useful, the dark haired man finally dropped his hands to his sides, the blue glow that once surrounded them disappearing. He turned to the blonde, his expression clouded, avoiding the cop's gaze as he bit his lip. Almost as if he was anxious about something.

"What's wrong?" Teddy asked almost immediately. Now wasn't a good time to leave him in the dark.

Billy eyed the corner where the cabinet stood, almost unsure of what to say. "I might've found a profile, but I'm not sure if it's enough to help identify them."

"You did your best. I get that, so don't go beating yourself up over this." Billy nodded, barely managing a thankful smile before the blonde continued. "Is there enough in here that can help you at least sense the guy? Or even a scent I could use?"

The raven haired man's face twisted in thought, looking fairly doubtful. "Maybe. But it's barely here! It's so spread out and thin that I'm surprised I even sensed it at all!"

"Just a little bit is enough. Any clue to who shot Dr. Lang might bring us one step closer to helping Cassie feel better. And I want to catch this guy before he strikes again."

Billy nodded, his face softening at the mention of Cassie. He could only imagine the kind of pain she was going through. Turning to stare back at a corner of the room, he pointed out the metal filing cabinet. "There. Other than Dr. Lang's prints, I'm sure there's another set that doesn't belong there. One's I'm sure you said that your guys didn't find the first time around."

The blonde cop nodded in his understanding. "Right. Got take five okay?"

"Sure."

Teddy eyed the dark haired man as he left. A pang of guilt hit him dead center at how tired he looked, but he knew it was likely a price he was paying for using his powers so soon after only resting for about an hour. He'd order them to go home and get some real rest before it got too dark outside. But first things first. Expertly pulling out a pair of elastic gloves from one of his pockets, Teddy quickly put them on as he approached the filing cabinet. He couldn't help but eye it in suspicion. The killer might have left a little 'gift' in one of the drawers for all he knew. Thankfully his new partners were in the hallway, and far away enough to avoid anything that might otherwise harm them. The last thing he wanted was the deaths of two innocent civilians on his mind. Switching his vision, the glow of the prints came into view once again, allowing him to zone in on what his main focus should be. He'd been right. The prints on the handle to the top drawer didn't match Dr. Lang or Cassie. The killer, or possibly the accomplice, had been a little to specific in his search.

Careful not to smudge the prints already present, with thoughts to order whoever worked the scene to be evaluated, Teddy got the drawer open with ease. So far, so good. His ears barely registered the twins striking up a soft conversation back in the main hallway. But what they were talking about didn't matter to him right now. What mattered was right in front of him. Blue eyes staring down at the many files, all placed in order in a fashion that just screamed 'obsessive compulsive, Teddy scanned the tabs for what may or may not still be there. After just a few seconds of swift skimming, it was apparent that a rather large section of the files were missing, their lost presence creating a rather obvious gap. Furrowing his brow at this newfound oddity, the blonde cop carefully used a finger to look down into the darkness of the gap in case something was left behind. So far, nothing had been forgotten by the intruder. Muttering a curse under his breath, Teddy resolved himself to shutting the drawer before heading back into the hall.

He found both men lounging on the stairs, Tommy lying back while Billy just sat anxiously working his hands. Seeing the blonde appear from the next room, he was immediately on his feet, watching the man expectantly. "Anything?"

Teddy nodded, stripping his hands of their plastic protection as he spoke. "Yeah. I may have to ask Cassie about what might've been taken. Someone wanted those files enough to kill an innocent man over them. Whatever those files are, they're probably pretty damn important."

"What else was in there?" Tommy muttered, his voice showing his slight interest in the conversation at hand.

"Not much. They looked like student files to me but I could be wrong. Those names could be some clients he had for all I know." The blonde cop growled, stuffing the spent gloves into one of his jacket pockets. It would've been irresponsible to contaminate a scene by tossing them in the closest garbage bin.

Billy moved off the steps, biting his bottom a little as he pondered his next question. "Did you recognize any of the names or words? You might've come across something I didn't."

The blonde just shook his head, trying to rack his brain for any possible answers about the files still in the cabinet. "We already checked the university. None of those names looked like they belonged to students. I could be wrong though."

"So what now?" Tommy growled. It was obvious now he was tired of waiting around. He needed some action and soon.

"You guys see if you can't track that profile while I ask around about what could be in that drawer. Cassie or some of his coworkers might know something about those names." Teddy suddenly stopped, turning his head like a dog's, turning his gaze up the stairs. This sparked concern into the twins as they moved to be in front of him again, eyeing the landing above.

"What is it?" Billy asked, careful to whisper in case the person above was eavesdropping.

Teddy didn't take his eyes off the top of the stairs, listening hard with both ears. "I thought I heard something."

"Any chance he owned a cat?" Tommy inquired, his impatience still present in his voice.

He only shook his head, blue eyes watching the shadows carefully. "No way. There'd be signs and I'd have smelled it by now. And Cassie said he was never much for pets anyway."

This immediately put Billy on edge, his voice quick and quiet. "What do we do?"

"You two go back out to the car. I'm gonna check this out." Teddy said, already moving to step up onto the staircase.

Only Billy grabbed his arm, effectively stopping him and making him turn around to face the two. "What? No way! You--!"

"I'm the one with the badge and gun. You two are civilians." Teddy said quickly, glancing back upstairs again. Their exchange could be giving the intruder more time to get away or mess with something. That was something he just couldn't let happen.

Tommy was rolling his eyes, sending his annoyed glare into the side of the blonde's head. "With powers in case you forgot. We can help."

"We don't know who that is! If we just burst in, powers or not, that's gonna cause problems. Do you really want to others to know what you can do?" Teddy asked, his face set in a grim and authoritative expression.

"No but--!"

Teddy cut Billy off with a wave of his hand, his blue eyes staring them both down in a fashion he'd hoped not to use. "Then either wait here, or go back out to the car. I'll be damned if you two get hurt because I was careless."

"I'm not going anywhere." Tommy said, strengthening his glare to make his point.

Billy didn't hesitate to nod his own agreement to this course of action. "Fine by me. I just don't want to get shot at."

After a moment, Teddy finally let out a sigh. Just having this conversation had made him tired all over again. "Stay here then. I won't be long."

Billy nodded, his face grim and his jaw set. For once, Tommy looked a little worried but said nothing as they watched Teddy ease his way up the stairs. Despite his size, the blonde cop knew how to be quiet on wooden stairs. Coming onto the landing above, Teddy paused, letting his senses tell him what he needed. From what he could tell, the person didn't smell all that familiar, which meant the person was likely to be an intruder. They were light-footed so either this person was very light in weight, or just happened to be a woman. And he had a thing about pulling a weapon on women. Only unless they had a weapon of their own and was likely to endanger themselves or others, he'd easily point his own gun at them. Otherwise, politeness came first. Looking around, all the doors on the floor were closed. All except one, which was open only by a crack, given away by the thin column of light streaking across the floor. Sounds of movement confirmed this hint as his ears picked up the intruder moving about in the room beyond. Mentally prepared for the worst, Teddy pulled his gun out of the holster, and slowly approached the door.

Man that took forever. But the much awaited installment to 'Connected' is finally done and ready for all to see. Thanks again guys. Your attention to this fic means a lot to me. And try to actually review this time around? It's seriously not that hard. Anyhow, best to move on to more important business. Here's what's to come:

Next chapter:

Chapter 4: Calling Card

Another clue has been discovered concerning Dr. Lang's murder, and now someone's snooping where they should be. Just who is it and what are they looking for? Are they friend or foe? To top it all, Teddy has some issues to sort out with Greg. But what is Greg doing? Can he really be trusted with all this? Find out when 'Connected' returns with an all new chapter and an all new thrill with:

Chapter 4: Calling Card!!