Posted on 11/10/2006 (dd/mm/yyyy). I do not on the Teen Titans, but this story is my original work.

Well, let's see how you rate this one.

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Chapter 08

A frosty acknowledgement from Robin greeted Beast boy and Cyborg as they arrived at the briefing, clearly behind schedule.

"So, what's the situation?" Cyborg asked, marching down toward the large screen.

"We have had an emergency call," replied Starfire before turning to Robin to allow him to summarise the situation.

He nodded to her and continued. "It's in the warehouse district. The report said something about an attack. That's it."

"That's it?" Cyborg looked around at the others, wondering if any of them were as baffled as he was.

"Yup," said Raven. No bafflement, no reaction.

"It's unusual," agreed Robin, "but it's still a call for help, and we can't ignore it."

"Okay man," he nodded slowly. Robin was right, of course. There was no question of ignoring it in any of their minds, but a little voice in Cyborg's head was keen to ask questions. Was that all the information they had received? Still, answering the call was the priority, so questions could wait.

"I call shotgun," yelled Beast boy, already making his way to the exit.

"Aw man," Cyborg moaned. Beast boy in the front seat was never a good idea. Slobber, fur, disaster zone.

"Sorry Beast boy, but I'm going in the front on this one," informed Robin.

"Aw man," Beast boy stopped in his tracks, his pointy ears drooping. Normally, he would have argued. After all, the rule of shotgun was one of the many rules that held together the fabric of society, but when Robin was in business mode, arguing with him was both unwise and futile. He was the leader, after all.

"So I guess we're takin' the car," concluded Cyborg.

The Titans started to make their way toward the exit, faces becoming stern as they considered the uncertain mission that confronted them.

"Come on, man," Cyborg said, slapping Beast boy on the back. He had been carrying his feet rather heavily and Cyborg felt he could do with a boost.

"…but I wanted to go in the front," he complained.

"Don't worry about it," reassured Cyborg.

"Yeah well, you don't know what it's like," explained the miffed Beast boy as they left the main room and turned down into the corridor. "You always get to sit in the front."

"Of course I do," he stated with a degree of the obvious, "it's my car."

"Well then, you don't know what it's like to sit in the back with Starfire and Raven. Starfire bounces up and down if she sees pretty much anything, and you can't touch Raven because she'll get mad at you. I mean how am I supposed not to touch her at all if we're sat right next to each other?"

"Couldn't tell ya man. Oh, hey," he prompted Beast boy to hurry as he saw the others waiting in the lift. Their faces clearly showing that, at times like these, patience was far from a virtue.

As the lift descended, there was a clear silence, bar one sigh, Beast boy's all but silent protest against his car positioning.

"So," Cyborg broke the silence, "do we know which warehouse?"

"Looked like it was near K-17," replied Robin, his uncompromising gaze fixed straight ahead.

"Which way do ya wanna take in?"

"Hmm," Robin dropped his eyes to the floor. It would be a key tactical decision undoubtedly, but the sparse information would render any such judgement basically guesswork.

"If we come from the south side, we have the best chance of surprising them," Cyborg proposed.

"If it's K-17, and if there is a 'them'," added Raven.

"Yeah, if," Cyborg cast her a look.

The elevator jerked awkwardly as it came to rest on the ground floor. A few eyebrows were raised in Cyborg's direction, but nothing was said.

"Okay, here's what we're gonna do," Robin stepped out first, leading the way to the garage. "Cyborg,"

"Yo."

"You're going to park about two hundred metres from K-17 on the south side. Make sure we're as hidden as possible."

"Okay."

"Starfire?"

"Yes?"

"When we arrive, you're going to take to the air and do recon. First thing we need to do is find out what's going on."

"Understood," she acknowledged firmly.

"Raven."

"Yeah?"

"You take the ground route. Starting at the warehouse closest to us and moving in the direction of warehouse K-17, go through the walls and explore the inside of each building."

"Okay."

The door to the garage slid silently open and they marched through.

"But," Beast boy spoke up, "what about me?"

"I didn't figure you in the first stage," explained Robin, to Beast boy's dismay. "So you, Cyborg and me will lay low until we hear from Raven or Starfire."

"Okay then," agreed Cyborg, leaning slightly to unlock the car door.

"Right then, so everyone knows what they're doing?"

"Yup."

"Yes."

"Mm hmm."

"I guess…"

"Okay," Robin slipped into the passenger side, turning to Cyborg. "Let's go."

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"So you all know what you're doing?" A silver haired, black clad military officer barked at a seated group of soldiers.

"Yes sir!" They all replied in unison.

"Okay, dismissed," he instructed, turning from them to examine the whiteboard behind him, on which were several detailed diagrams.

He studied it for a moment, letting out a deep breath.

"Hey, Jameson," a lanky, long haired soldier tried to raise his comrade with a little more than a whisper.

"Hey, what's up Ramsey," the broad, grizzled looking man flexed his shoulders as he ended an uncomfortably long period of being sat down. The distinguishing scars on his face and cropped hair cut would have left him unsuited to most other occupations.

"You…" he turned his head to watch one of his fellows as he moved out of earshot. "You okay with this?"

"I guess," he shrugged, lowering his voice in line with Ramsey's. "It's not like we have much of a choice."

"Yeah but… what did those guys do wrong? I only ever heard of them doing good things…"

"Oh come on man," Jameson's voice took a patronising turn, "you don't really think there are any people who are good all the time surely."

"Maybe, but what bad things did they do?" he repeated his question.

"Look, you heard Hamilton, it's national security. It's need to know, and we don't need to know, we just have to do what they tell us."

"So what…" argued Ramsey, "you think the government are right all the time now?"

Jameson shook his head and chuckled. "No, I don't, but I do know that they put food on my table. So I gotta do what they say. Truth is, we'll probably never know why they want us to do what we do. Besides, if we didn't, they'd just get someone else who would."

Ramsey nodded, grudgingly accepting the point. "Alright," he slapped his friend on the back, "I guess I'll have to get myself used to it."

"Don't worry," he cracked a smile, "it gets easier with time. Now let's move out."

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The T-car's engine rumbled like a distant storm as the Titans made their way through the early evening streets of Jump City. The dusk haze settled like large sheet, wrapping the buildings in that low, dying sunlight glow.

Starfire gazed dreamily at the brilliant oranges that reflected from the high rise buildings, mirroring the hidden sunset. "It is a pleasant evening," she said to herself.

"Yup," came Cyborg from the front. "Too bad we're on duty."

"Yeah," agreed a relaxed Beast boy, his arms folded behind his head and eyes half closed. Despite the knowledge of a tense situation ahead, the atmosphere had mellowed somehow. Maybe it was the time of day, or the lazy, warm bliss of the fading sun. Even Raven bore that distant gaze of rapture.

"Don't get too comfortable," Robin said, leaning his head between the two front seats. The three placid figures in the back seat gave vague acknowledgements, but were otherwise unfazed. He turned back to face the front, allowing himself a wry smile. That was his well trained, loyal set of comrades, at whose side he had torn down the darkest forces and battled untold terrors. But he knew they would be ready when the time came.

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The black truck's engine growled like a caged animal as it made its way through the back streets of Jump City.

No light permeated the hull, and artificial light was all that Ramsey had the pleasure of. That and his all but silent unit, which sat in two inward facing lines. The older commander was stood toward the steel mesh that separated the driver from the soldiers, enjoying a thin cigar and running things through in his mind.

"It's a nice evening out there," came the familiar voice of Jameson, who was sat opposite Ramsey.

"Yeah," Ramsey agreed, rolling his helmet in his hands.

"Too bad we can't enjoy it huh?" a weasily looking man to Jameson's left jabbed him with a playful elbow.

"Shut it, cripple," he returned, pushing the smaller man away.

"Hey! That's Cropple," his voice rose. He hated it when people called him that.

"Hey Cropple!" called Hamilton from the front. "Don't start getting too comfortable around Jameson or everyone'll think you're sweethearts."

The unit erupted with a roar of laughter and jeering in their direction. Cropple scowled and sank back into his position, folding his arms. Ramsey and Jameson exchanged a glance of veiled amusement before Jameson proceeded to hit back with various shameful tales of the others.

"Alright, quiet down," ordered Hamilton.

He savoured another lungful of thick smoke and shook his head. This bunch of hyenas was his unit. He wished he had been given more time to prepare them, but then this job was rarely to procedure. Still, that was his job, to make sure that they did their job, and that was what he was good at. Only time would tell now.

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"Okay, anyone?" Beast boy looked around hopefully. "Come on, there's loads. Cyborg begins with a 'c'. So does car, and, look," he pointed toward the front, "cloud."

"I have one," said Raven, the only one who seemed to be dignifying him with a response.

"Yeah, what is it?" he lifted his eyebrows expectantly.

"Clown." She extended her arm and pointed to Beast boy's face.

"Yeah, 'cos clowns are funny," he retorted.

"Not this one."

Cyborg and Robin shared a snigger at Beast boy's expense.

"Psh," he shrugged, turning to Starfire. "You think I'm funny, right?"

"Oh, what?" Starfire looked back from the oddly shaped cloud she had been following.

"You think I'm funny, don't you?"

"Umm…" she raised a finger to her chin and considered his question.

He leaned closer, a hopeful expression pressing for a favourable answer. "I suppose your unorthodox appearance would cause some to take amusement."

"Aw man," he moaned, folding his arms across his chest and sinking back in his seat. "I totally am funny," he mumbled.

"Okay guys, we're almost there," informed Cyborg.

"Okay then guys," Robin said, leaning back to address those in the rear, "you're all clear on what you're doing?"

"Yes," replied Starfire, "I am to fly above and survey the area."

"Raven?" he prompted.

"Check out the buildings between here and warehouse K-17."

"Right. Beast boy, Cyborg?"

"We stay with you at the car until we hear anything."

"Okay then," nodded Robin.

The car came to a stop outside a large grey brick building. It was one of many similar looking warehouses in the immediate area.

The sun was already starting to surrender; the shadows starting to grow. Robin had hoped that they would be able to complete the job before nightfall, but that was starting to look less likely.

"K-17's up there," Cyborg said, pointing between two of the buildings to the left.

"Okay, Starfire, Raven…"

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"…Rothman and Burts, you're also on the east entrance," instructed Hamilton.

"Yes, sir."

"Hawkes and Reese, you join the south team."

"Sir."

"Okay," he nodded, "The rest of you are taking perimeter positions like we discussed in the briefing. Markson!" he yelled at one soldier who seemed to be distracted by other matters.

"Sir!"

"Pray tell me what your role in this operation will be, if you remember."

"Um," his eyes started to shift, "perimeter position two beta?"

"Are you asking me or telling me?" barked Hamilton.

"Telling you sir! Perimeter position two beta, sir!"

"Okay, good. We'll be there shortly so get yourselves ready."

"Hey Jameson," Ramsey called to his comrade over the hubbub.

"Yo, what's up?"

"Where's four delta?"

"Look man," he leaned forward, closing the distance so he could communicate without anyone else being able to hear, "we do not wanna screw this up."

"I know," he acknowledged, his voice starting to betray panic, "but I still don't know where it is."

Jameson sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Alright. Alright. See Preswick?" he turned and pointed out a tall, dark skinned man who appeared to have neglected to shave in some time.

"Yeah."

"Okay, you want to follow him. Your position is in a doorway about ten feet to the right."

"My right or his right?"

"His right."

"Okay," Ramsey gave a sigh of relief and smiled at his colleague. "Thanks."

"Just… remember your training, okay? And try not to get hurt."

"Hey," Cropple leaned in to join the debate, "what are you ladies talking about?"

"Get lost Cropple."

"Okay then," he smirked, "I'll leave you two lovers alone."

"Yeah whatever," dismissed Jameson, "write it in your next letter to your mother."

Ramsey looked at the floor and tried to hide his laughter.

"I don't know what you're laughing at, rookie," jabbed Cropple scornfully, "you just worry about not shooting us in the back when we go in."

"What did you say?" Ramsey locked eyes with Cropple, issuing a clear challenge. Follow up or pipe down.

"You heard me…" he sneered, his cold blue eyes showing no signs of retreat.

"Alright fellas," said Jameson as he positioned himself between the two. "We don't need to start fighting each other."

Cropple looked Jameson up and down for a moment, his derisive visage appearing to consider if he could take him.

"Fine," he waved them away. "Let's save the heroes for the field."

"Don't go getting' yourself into trouble man," cautioned Jameson to Ramsey.

"But that guy…"

"Never mind him, you just worry about what you gotta do."

"Alright men, settle down." Hamilton stepped forward as the truck started to slow, "we all know what we're doing right?"

"Yes sir," replied the squad.

"Okay, now remember, weapons on stun. We're not here to kill anyone. Harris!"

"Sir?"

"Let's go."

"Sir!" Harris cranked the handle down, causing the rear doors to swing open with a metallic whine.

"Okay, move out!"

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The blissfully warm evening air whipped and chopped past Starfire's body, gracefully caressing her sleek form. Dancing through the skies at high speed, the exhilaration surged through her, putting a volcano in her stomach and an arching beam of a smile across her face.

The harsh reflections from the roofs of the buildings forced her to shield her eyes with her hand as she surveyed the area. From the air, it was a matrix of uniform structures, stretching off in all directions. Had she not been concentrating, it would have been easy for Starfire to have lost her bearings.

Observing the area around the target warehouse as best she could, there did not appear to be much activity at all, let alone anything suspicious. There were a few people and vehicles performing routine tasks here and there, but nothing that sounded an alarm.

Reaching into her pocket, she picked out her communicator.

"Robin? Come in please," she attempted to raise her voice to compete with the whistling winds.

"Robin here," came the reply, "anything to report?"

"I have seen nothing to raise my suspicion as yet," she said, trying to keep the wind from throwing her hair over her face.

"Hmm… okay. Keep looking for now. Contact me if anything happens."

"Very well, Starfire out."

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Raven leaned slowly around a corner, investigating some voices she had heard.

"So what are you doing after this?" said one young man.

"You've even thinking about that? We don't get off for another five hours," laughed his older colleague.

"Yeah well, I started clock watching about twenty minutes ago… hey, did you hear something?"

Raven pulled back, trying to smother the sound of her communicator on her stomach.

"I definitely heard something," the second man said, and proceeded towards Raven's location, the loud echoing footsteps like a timer for a speedy departure.

She considered her options. To get out of the building, she would have to go through the wall opposite, and risk detection, or she could go through the wall behind her, even though she did not know where that lead.

"Oh well," she whispered to herself, placing her hand flat on the wall to her rear, "here goes nothing."

Raven came through into a store room and thanked her luck. Then she answered her call.

"Hey Ray, how's it goin'?" asked Cyborg.

"This was supposed to be a stealth mission," she growled in a low voice, half watching the screen and half watching the room's entrance.

"Hm," Cyborg considered her point. "You know there's a vibrate mode on our communicators right?"

Raven raised an eyebrow. Actually, come to think of it, she had been told that. This was embarrassing.

Cyborg smiled and shook his head. "Raven, Raven, Raven, what are we gonna do with you?"

"How about saving the lectures for a more appropriate time?"

"Yeah, right. So how's it goin'?"

"Okay I guess," she whispered, "I completed the first building and moved on to the second, which is where I am now."

"Okay. Anything suspicious?"

"Not yet. Did your scanners pick up anything?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary so far. Alright, keep us posted."

"Fine. Raven out."

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"Well?"

Cyborg flipped down his communicator. "She's got nothing."

"Hmm," Robin leaned back on the car, contemplating the situation.

The night was starting to crawl its way over the city, stretching the sun's shadows until they were just a passing memory. The temperature was starting to dip, rendering each breeze a chill rather than a pleasant refreshment.

"Dude," Beast boy rubbed his hands together, although more as an act of expressing his displeasure with the climate as opposed to the generation of heat since, as all could see, he wore gloves.

"Want to get in the car?" suggested Cyborg.

"Nah, I'm not cold," he declined casually, beating his chest with one fist. In honesty, it was tempting, but he did not want to appear the weak one.

Cyborg paced up and down, inspecting the alleyway they had pulled into to try and conceal themselves. It served their purpose, but it was grotty and dirty, a back alley for waste and rubbish bags. No place for his car to spend any amount of time.

"So…" Beast boy started, leaning on the car next to Robin.

"So…"

"It seems pretty quiet out there."

"Yeah, it does," replied Robin, visually assessing the areas in his line of sight.

"Shouldn't we just… go in?" he shrugged, presenting an honest suggestion.

"We will, just as soon as we're sure of what's going on."

"But… what if someone's in trouble? Or hurt?" Beast boy had learned to trust Robin's judgement in these situations, but often at the time, as now, his decisions could be difficult to fathom.

Robin turned his attention to his concerned friend and colleague. "I have thought of that, but what more information will the three of us get over Starfire and Raven?"

"Well… not much I suppose…"

"Trust me, the minute any of us hear or see anything suspicious, we'll move, but I don't want to start alarming people when I don't need to."

"Okay." Beast boy's mind was set at some ease. One point was still on his mind, however. "But what about the alarm call? Don't you think it was strange?"

"I've been thinking about that too. It is rare for us to get a false alarm, but it's not unheard of. As for the sketchy information, well, that's something we can worry about after we get back."

Beast boy smiled and upped himself from the car, stretching his arms out. "Well, something had better happen soon or my body's gonna fall asleep."

"Better not do," said Cyborg, returning from a turn around the alley.

"Don't worry," Beast boy reassured, patting his friend on the shoulder whilst stifling a yawn, "I'm ready any time."

"Uh huh."

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"Alpha Six, Alpha Six, requesting status update."

"This is Alpha Six, three minutes from position."

"Roger that," crackled the reply in Ramsey's ear. He was in a slightly hunched position, clutching his weapon to his chest, moving as swiftly after Preswick as he could. In reality, three minutes was something of an estimate, but based on his recollection of the briefing it had to be somewhere less than five.

Ramsey stopped dead, mirroring Preswick. He held up one hand open, indicating those behind him not to move. Ramsey held his ground, scanning the area anxiously. Had Preswick seen something out of the ordinary?

"Alpha Fourteen…" Ramsey started, unable to wait any longer.

"Flier," came Preswick's voice over the radio as he swiftly backed against a wall. Ramsey followed suit, looking to the sky.

"Alpha Fourteen, location of flier?"

"About sixty feet north east of the target."

"There," whispered Ramsey to himself as he saw the small, dark silhouette darting around above.

"Are you compromised, Alpha Fourteen?"

"Negative, target has not seen us."

Had Ramsey not been wearing his helmet, he would have wiped sweat from his brow. Even so, he did it anyway, even if just as a psychological action. He was not exactly sure how Preswick knew they had not been seen, but he figured it was the best guess, given how high the target was, the lack of reaction from the flier, and their relative camouflage.

Preswick gave a final check and proceeded back on track, signalling Ramsey to follow. Ramsey gritted his teeth and tightened his grip around his gun, daring not spare a thought for what might happen should they be seen. He picked up his heels to keep up with the soldier in front, both pressed to make up for lost time.

As he moved, Ramsey was becoming acutely aware of how warm it could get in this helmet. For all the money spent on gadgetry and making them light weight, somebody seemed to have skipped a thought when it came to comfort.

Reports filtered in over the radio channel of units arriving in position. Hearing Jameson, or Alpha Seven, was ready, meant the main part of the operation was okay to go. He was joining the more experienced members of the squad, who would be performing the most important role.

Preswick stopped again. Ramsey almost involuntarily looked up. "Alpha Fourteen in position," he signalled, shoring himself against a brick wall.

There was the doorway, Ramsey noticed, as promised. It was a good position, providing a solid defence while allowing good coverage of the target.

"Alpha Six in position," he announced, scurrying into his place. It was a little dark, and not exactly comfortable, but he did not really have much time to spare thoughts on that subject. Of more concern was the possibility of someone coming out of the door and spotting him. Still, he had to keep his eye on the target. He had to focus.

"Okay," Hamilton's voice came over the radio, "we have everyone in position. Is anyone not in position?"

Silence.

"Okay. Everyone knows the drill. Nobody moves until I give the signal."

Ramsey took a deep breath and steadied his aim.

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Raven shielded her nose, scanning a huge room which held blue plastic barrels in stacked rows. As noxious and unpleasant as the substance within undoubtedly was, it was not cause for concern.

"Robin," she flicked open her communicator.

"Robin here."

"This one's all clear."

"Okay."

"K-17 is next. Should I go in?"

"Not yet. Wait in the alley between the buildings. We're going to move in to join you shortly. Tell us the second anything happens."

"Okay, Raven out."

She took one last look around before heading toward the building's outside wall. Thinking about this investigation had kept her mind occupied. What was she going to find? Was she even going to find anything? Every now and then, however, her thoughts did return to the vision she had experienced earlier. Obscure thoughts and even dream like states were not uncommon in a deep meditation, but this… somehow this one was different. So vivid, so real. Could it have meant something? If so, what? It definitely warranted further thought, but that would have to wait until she got back to the tower.

She passed through the wall into the street between the two buildings. Night was really starting to creep up now, but was being held steadily at bay by several artificial lights which provided a dim haze of illumination.

Her head swiftly turned to catch what she thought was a person scurrying round a nearby corner.

Breathing heavily for a moment, she settled herself. "Nevermind," she muttered. That could have been anyone.

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"Okay, we're going in," decided Robin.

"Okay dude," said Beast boy, lifting his weight from the car, "what did Raven say?"

"She's there now. She didn't find anything yet."

"Right, and what did Starfire say?" asked Cyborg, who dusted down the car where Beast boy's behind had been stationed.

"She's meeting up with Raven. They'll wait until we get there, then we're going in together."

Cyborg nodded, while Beast boy looked precariously down the alley. "We're going that way?"

"Yeah," replied Robin. "Why?"

"Oh, no reason," he gulped. It looked dark and rather unforgiving down there, Beast boy thought. One light in particular seemed to have a problem and flashed intermittently, turning static shadows into moving beasts, perhaps zombies.

"Scared of the dark, B?" Cyborg scoffed, nudging his short friend.

"Naw," said Beast boy, shaking the shake from his voice and puffing out his chest. "If anything, the dark's scared of me."

"Whatever, come on little man."

Cyborg slapped his friend on the back and moved ahead to join Robin. Beast boy watched his friends moving down the creepy alley and weighed up his options. Sure, that way was scary, but if he was here alone, whatever was out there would get him for sure. "Hey, wait up guys!" he yelled, giving chase.

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Raven rubbed her hands together vigorously, trying to keep the cold at bay. It may not have been incredibly cold, but being cloakless was making her realise how much of her body was exposed to the elements. "I really should have worn a coat," she said to nobody in particular.

She crept up to the corner and leaned round. She was starting to wonder what was taking the others so long. Then again, she thought, maybe it was her perception of time that was playing tricks on her. After all, they say time passes more quickly when one is enjoying oneself, and she was most certainly not enjoying herself.

She let out a sigh, watching her breath turn into steamy vapour and disappear in the night air. At least it was quiet.

A hand on her shoulder startled her from her musings. She whipped round, ready to turn whatever it was into some kind of sea slug, or perhaps to make a swift departure, when she saw who it was.

"Hello friend," whispered a smiling Starfire.

Raven put her hand on her chest, taking a few deep breaths to calm herself. "Don't startle me like that," she reprimanded. She had considered saying 'don't scare me like that', but, of course, she did not get scared.

"Oh, I apologise…" said Starfire, looking quite unsure of what to do.

"Hm," Raven sighed again, "don't worry about it."

"Okay, I shall not," she smiled once more, shrugging off the tension of the situation easily.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were going to go back with Robin and the others."

"Um, well yes, I was going to do that, but since I was already closer to you, it seemed more sensible to come here."

"Oh right. Well, maybe you should have let me know…?"

"Very well," she nodded in a sober manner, "I shall endeavour to call you next time."

"Next time?"

"Mm hmm," she nodded again.

"Riiight. So, did you see anything?"

"There were many things…"

"Anything suspicious."

"Oh, hmm," she pondered, "well, I saw nothing of the villains we know thus far…"

"No gun toting maniacs?"

"No, I did not see anyone of that description either, although my vision was somewhat obstructed by the sun's reflections on the roofs. Then it got dark and my vision was obstructed by the darkness."

"Yeah, that figures. Okay, well I guess it's safe then."

"Did you also not find any criminals or gun totalling maniacs?"

"No, no totalling maniacs."

"Very well," Starfire looked around, taking a dim stock of their rather grotty location. "So, are we to wait here?"

"Yeah. The others are on their way."

"Oh no," came a familiar voice from around the corner. "The others are here," announced Cyborg, stepping into view. Robin and Beast boy were close behind.

"Glad you could make it," greeted Raven, in her own aloof kind of way.

"So now we are all together again," chirped Starfire, smiling widely.

Robin looked up at the building, then down the alley ways to each side, assessing the situation. The exits were limited and all the doors he could see were closed. In addition, there were no obvious signs of a disturbance.

"Too quiet," whispered Beast boy with the best creepy horror film-esque voice he could muster.

"It was until you got here," replied Raven with a gaze, displaying an almost painful lack of amusement.

"He's right though," cut in Robin, preventing the bickering from escalating. "It is almost too quiet."

Beast boy shot Raven a smug grin, raising his eyebrows with a clear 'I told you so' face. She gave her best effort to ignore his existence.

"No signs of a crime or a getaway," he continued.

"Almost like nothing happened at all," suggested Cyborg.

"Or someone covered their tracks very well," Raven pointed out.

"Well, there's only one way to find out," said Robin, looking in the direction of the front entrance.

"We're not all going in the front are we?" asked Beast boy incredulously. "It's bound to be a trap."

Raven shook her head. It would take a great many minds a long time to figure out Beast boy.

"No. Cyborg, you come with me in the front. Beast boy, you take the back and Starfire, you take the roof entrance, if you can find one."

"And if there is no such entrance?"

"Then you join Beast boy."

"Very well."

"And me?" enquired Raven.

"You can make your own way in."

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"Eagle three has them on their way."

"Positions?"

"Unit C heading to skylight. Units A and D taking the front. Unit E taking the rear."

"What about Unit B?"

"Unit B was with the others, but now cannot be seen."

"Eagle two, do you have Unit B?"

Ramsey firmed his grip on the weapon as the radio chatter crackled in his ear. Doubts continued to run through his mind about the operation. What if someone was seen? What if they decided to put up a fight? It was not a particularly complicated plan, as these plans tended to go, but so much could go wrong. It was best to try not to think about it.

"Hey Ramsey," came a familar voice in his ear.

"Jameson?"

"Don't worry, this is a private communication."

"Oh right. Um… what's up?"

"Just checkin' on how you are."

"Yeah, I'm fine, I guess. What's going on up front? Did you lose Unit B?"

"Nothin' to worry about man. That one can be tricky, you know?"

"Yeah, I guess…"

"So listen, I was talking with some of the guys. If things get bad, go for Unit B first, okay?"

"Unit B…"

"Yeah, the one in the cloak."

"Okay."

"Okay. Good luck."

"Yeah, you too."

Jameson signed off and the line lit up with background chatter once more. Unit B was still nowhere to be found, but the general consensus seemed to be that the warehouse was the probable location.

He exhaled heavily, taking a brief stock of the surroundings. He could barely see anyone from his squad. This was probably because they were so well hidden, he hoped.

As his mind started to wander, he noticed a figure on the warehouse roof. Unit C surely, he thought. A report in his ear soon confirmed this.

Starfire she was called. A mysterious girl from some far off place. Rumour had it she was from another planet, although Ramsey was yet to be convinced. Still, she could fly and she could fire some kind of weird energy bolts, so something was going on.

As he continued to observe her, he could not help but notice how attractive she was. Sure, she was at some distance now, but he had never actually seen her in real life before, only in pictures in briefings, and on TV of course. She had a certain grace to her movements, like some kind of… no, he stopped himself mid track, definitely the wrong time for those kinds of thoughts. She was a target, at least for now. Okay, he was not entirely sure why, nor was he entirely comfortable with it, but his orders were his orders. Those higher up surely had their reasons.

"Okay," came Hamilton's voice over the radio, "they're all in. Move to second positions and await my command."

--------------------

"I'm feelin' more and more like this is just one big waste of time."

"Yeah, I'm starting to feel that myself," agreed Robin.

They made their way through the grey depths of one of the warehouse's many corridors. The rusting metal that comprised the majority of the internal structure told of age and ill keeping. This building had not been made with comfort in mind.

The air was heavy with some pungent odour, probably sulphur, and the dim lights aided their plight very little.

"This place could definitely do with a clean," remarked Cyborg, his heavy frame causing the steel grates beneath the floor the creak uneasily.

"Uh huh," said Robin, his mind fixed on the task at hand.

"Hmm… what's this?" wondered Cyborg out loud as he noticed a door just ahead.

"I wonder…"

As they arrived at the door, it seemed to fit the rest of the place in that it was as dilapidated as everything else. Cyborg was surprised that it even held, given the state of the hinges.

"Storage A," read Robin out loud. The metal sign on the door was somewhat degraded, but still legible.

"Shall we go in?"

Robin took a look further down the corridor before shrugging. "Getting anything on your scanners?"

"Nothing unusual."

Robin turned the handle and pushed open the door. It opened surprisingly easily and with only a little grinding of the hinges.

"Whoa," Cyborg recoiled as the musty odour assaulted his senses. "That's nasty."

"I wonder what they've got stored in here."

Robin reached around with his hand, feeling around before locating the light switch. The lights on the ceiling hummed for a moment before flickering into life.

They took a few steps into the large storage area, assessing anything of interest. Aside a few wooden boxes in a far corner, some hanging wires were all that stood out of place.

"Wonder what's in those boxes," said Cyborg, pointing over to them.

Robin shrugged. "I don't know, but somehow I doubt they're what we're looking for."

"Yeah, I guess," he shrugged. "Let's get out of here."

"Alright," said Robin, taking one last look around, "let's go."

"I think this is where Beast boy's clothes come to die. You think…"

Robin held up a hand to halt Cyborg as he answered his beeping communicator.

"Robin, it's Raven. I think I have something."

"Where are you?"

--------------------

Raven terminated the call and took a deep breath to steady herself. At first, she had not been quite sure what it was that lay ahead of her. As she closed in, however, it became all too clear.

Whoever it was, they were no longer. A deathly silence seemed to descend upon the room as Raven observed the body, which lay curled up and still. A shallow pool of deep crimson had formed nearby, reflecting a dull light.

Seeing a body should be as nothing for someone in her line of work, but this was far from easy for Raven. She who may have seemed darkest of all, sought to distance herself from it. From this she could not distance herself.

"H…hey…" she called weakly, with some meagre hope that whoever this was still had something left.

No response. No movement.

She took slow, uneasy steps toward the body, taking shallow breaths and concentrating on maintaining her composure.

Closing in, the stillness was haunting. One arm was reached out desperately ahead, the moment of death perfectly preserved.

"Oh my god…" came a stunned voice from her left. "Raven, what happened…"

"Beast boy…" she whispered.

"Is he…"

"I think so."

He nodded slowly, taking in the harrowing scene.

A sharp intake of breath from above alerted them to Starfire's presence.

"What has happened here?"

"We don't know," replied Beast boy, looking over to Raven.

"No, we just got here ourselves," she confirmed.

Starfire settled down behind Raven, peering at the corpse from over her shoulder, not quite sure if gawking was the right thing to do. "Perhaps we should inform the authorities," she suggested in a respectful tone.

Their attention was drew to their left as a rusty door clattered open.

"Hey guys," nodded Cyborg. "What's… oh… man…" he stopped in his tracks as he saw the body.

"What the…" Robin looked on, open mouthed for a moment before regaining himself. "Do we know who this is?"

A brief round of shaking heads and a couple of stunned expressions answered his question. As unfitting as it was for such thoughts, knowing how his team would react when faced with this sort of a situation was of tactical importance.

"Beast boy, call an ambulance," he yelled, snapping into action. Now was not the time for a leader to be indecisive. "Raven, make absolutely sure there's nothing you can do for him. Cyborg…"

"Uh dude…" Beast boy timidly raised his hand.

"What is it?"

"I…uh… kinda lost my communicator…"

Robin let out an annoyed breath and gave Beast boy a momentary glance that said 'I am annoyed, but we'll deal with this later'. "Fine. Starfire, you call the ambulance."

Ordinarily, Raven would have thought Beast boy a fool and said something to that effect, but this was neither the time nor the place.

Then something clicked in her head. The position of the body, the communicator, she had seen this before. The vision, it was the vision. But no, it had been… a premonition.

"Wait!" she shouted, raising both hands. "This is… it's…" she struggled to find the right words.

They all stopped and quietened down, turning to listen to her.

"What is it Raven?" asked Robin gently, taking a step toward her.

Before she had a chance to order her thoughts, the sound of guns cocking caught all of their attention.

"Freeze!"

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Well, that's that then. Having just read it through myself, I had mixed thoughts at times. Still, it is currently 0410hrs, so I doubt I'm thinking straight. If you wouldn't mind leaving a review…