Chapter Four: Investigation

Tragedy. That's what Gar Logan's life was made up of. Tragedy, from the day he had gotten sick, that was all that occurred in his life. First the illness, then the accident, then the kidnapping, then the neglect and plots to destroy his life by the man who was his guardian!

The investigation into Galtry's death brought it all back to him now. He knew this man hated him. He had defeated him before. Now investigating his death was like having Galtry spit in his face while the Titans watched it all. If only they knew, if only they knew…

He couldn't tell them. Not yet. If they found he had a personal connection to Galtry they might not want him to help. His personal life was all tragedy, like a Shakespearean play or Charles Dickens' books. He hated the past, and the pain that was there. At least, most of his past; when his parents were alive he was happy, and his father was his hero, after all, he saved his life. When he was little he wanted to be just like his father, but after their deaths, his life changed. And they were gone forever.

Cyborg was busy analyzing the needle tip they had found in Nicholas Galtry's office. Robin was pacing up and down, thinking out loud. "So what would this Dr. Death want with Galtry? Why would he kill him? What would motivate him?"

"You tell me Robin," Cyborg replied. "It just doesn't make sense to me."

"Well, Logan Estate has a lot of money behind it. Maybe this doctor killed Galtry to get the money," Robin continued.

"But from what I heard about Logan Estate is that it's mired in red tape. Government's all over it. You can't even touch the money unless you're very well connected."

"If that's true then, Galtry as a victim wouldn't make much sense. Beast Boy said he stole money from Logan Estate. Anyone killing him would waste their time in doing so since he's not connected to any source of financial gain."

"Could it be some kind of personal motivation? To send some kind of message to Logan Estate saying that they mean business?" Cyborg suggested. Robin looked at him. It made sense, but what kind of message would that be?

"You have a point Cyborg, but I'm going to see if I can find this Dr. Death on any criminal databases." Robin went off to the computer and got on the internet, researching the various criminal databases around the country to see if this Dr. Death was on any of the lists of dangerous criminals.

Raven was reading a book and Beast Boy was playing videogames. His activity however, was a front for what he was really trying to do: not involving himself with the investigation into Galtry's death.

Starfire was fixing some Glork when Robin reentered the room. "Guys, I've found some disturbing information." They all looked up, except for Beast Boy, who was trying to ignore him, continued to play his videogame and acted as if he hadn't heard him when he actually had.

"Beast Boy, hey! I found something important!" He grabbed the controller and hit the 'pause' button, causing Beast Boy to look at him. He turned around.

"Hey, what'd you do that for?" he asked. Robin glared at him. What was his problem? Was he purposefully not listening to him?

"I found something about Dr. Death. You need to look at it!" he motioned the others to follow him over to the laptop computer. "Look guys, there has been cases of this mysterious illness all over the U.S., not just here in Jump City." He showed them a map of the country and all the spots where there had been incidents of seemingly random cases of the mystery illness.

"It seems that all the victims are businessmen. Wealthy, successful. All of them at some time or another have worked with Logan Estate."

"That's creepy, man. I don't know who this guy is, but he sure gets around."

"Yeah. Creepy guy with a needle. Obviously not the friendly type." Beast Boy commented.

"I thought Earth physicians are supposed to help people get better, not worse," Starfire said.

"That's true Star. That's true." Robin said. "At least all now we have to do is track him down. Hey Cyborg, do you have the analysis of that needle that Starfire found?"

"Yeah, it's right here! Cyborg waved a sheet of paper in the air. "Apparently, this is a syringe that came form a hospital."

"A Hospital, like the infirmary?" Robin asked.

"So it seems, but I do happen to know where it came from."

"Where?"

"S.T.A.R. Labs."

"S.T.A.R. Labs? Do we know anyone from S.T.A.R. Labs?" Robin asked.

"There's Dr. Finlay," Raven pointed out. "He said he was from S.T.A.R. Labs."

"But if he's Dr. Death, why would he contact us for help?" Cyborg asked. "I mean, wouldn't this Dr. Death want to stay undercover and not want us to find him?"

"That is an excellent observation friend Cyborg," Starfire agreed. "Villainous evildoers usually do not want us to catch them."

"I wonder how he knew we were there," Robin said. "I did ask Dr. Finlay to get me some tweezers. He had plenty of time to place the note out on the T-Car."

"Yeah, but he contacted us in the first place. He doesn't act evil to me," Beast Boy said.

"Tell me, Beast Boy, what does an evil person act like?" Robin asked.

"Well, they're bad and they want to hurt people," Beast Boy replied.

"What if they don't act evil; like Terra, but they really are?"

"How should I know the answer to that?" Beast Boy snapped.

"You're right, Beast Boy, you don't." Robin finished. "I think it's time we go see Dr. Finlay."

"Hello, Titans, did you find anything?" Dr. Finlay asked in a friendly way as they sat in his office. Robin looked at him.

"The needle we found in Nicholas Galtry's office belonged to S.T.A.R. Labs," Robin said tersely. "Do you know anything about this, Dr. Finlay?"

"No. I assure you Robin, Dr. Death is in no way connected with S.T.A.R. Labs," Dr. Finlay protested vehemently. "We would not as much as support this man's brutal tactics or philosophy. We help humanity, not destroy it. Any connection with us is entirely coincidental."

"Thank you for your time, Dr." Robin walked out of the office, followed by the others. Raven looked at Robin.

"So do you believe him?" she asked, unsure of what to think. The entire incident seemed bizarre, nothing made sense and the pieces didn't seem to fit. They were heading to the T-Car, walking out of the entranceway when a man stepped out from the shadows to block their path.

The shadowed figure was clothed from head to toe in black. His clothing looked very similar to a doctor's, but was coal black instead of bright white. His face was cloaked by a hood that was attached to the long overcoat jacket. His hands were at his sides and he seemed to carry no weapons.

"Hello, Titans," the voice said. It wasn't very loud, but it demanded attention. The figure stood, unmoving, waiting for them.

"Dr. Death, I presume," Robin said, unleashing his Bo Staff. Cyborg charged his Sonic Cannon, as Starfire and Raven prepared to attack. Beast Boy could only stare at the dark figure in mute fascination.

"Why have you come here? What do you want with the city?" Robin demanded of the silent figure. He waited for an answer.

"I am not your typical villain, Robin. I did not come to destroy your precious city. I came to destroy those who have thought they could run away from their punishment," Dr. Death replied, his voice low and menacing.

"We punish people here, not you. And if you don't come quietly, we will attack you," Robin warned.

"Boy I have eluded the authorities all over this country, and you expect me to go to the cops with you quietly. Please, spare me your speech boy. You have your weapon," he removed from the folds of his coat a small staff like object. With the push of a button, he unsheathed a long, cruel looking spear-like weapon, "And I have mine."

"Titans, go!" Robin ordered as he charged Dr. Death. Robin could see the man's smirk in the darkness, but that was all he could make of the man's face. Death twirled the spear and met his charge head on. Robin felt the impact collision jolt through his bones. This guy was tough, to say the least.

Death thrust the spear hard and Robin blocked it, delivering a powerful spin kick towards the man's midsection. He accepted Robin's blow and retaliated by punching him hard in the stomach. Robin flipped backwards three times so that he put some distance between himself and Dr. Death.

Raven used her powers to send a powerful blast of dark energy at him. Dr. Death saw this and ducked behind a column for safety as the blast collided with the rock, leaving a nice size hole in the column. "I'm going to have to fix that," a monotone voice said.

"Time for you to answer some of our questions," Beast Boy said as he morphed into a rhino and charged him. Death easily dodged the attack and slashed at him with the spear. A dark shield of energy surrounded him and Beast Boy changed back into his normal form.

"Ah, what's up, Doc?" Beast Boy asked sarcastically. He could hear the man chuckle. The hooded head turned towards him. He caught a glimpse of his eyes. Bright, piercing green eyes, filled with intelligence and a hatred that had its origins that would not be sated by the death of Nicholas Galtry. There was also something else in those eyes. Recognition. This man knew him somehow.

Starfire leapt into the air flinging Starbolts with amazing speed and precision. Dr. Death was hit by one of them and it sent him sprawling backwards as Robin removed a Bird-a-Rang at him. Death shook his head and barely managed to evade the Bird-a-Rang as it whizzed by his head.

Raven sent a surge of power blasting towards Death as he cut down another Bird-a-Rang. As he began to retreat, the Titans pursued him. Beast Boy blocked his path in the form of a lion. "Sorry, my little green friend, I don't have time to stay and chat." He turned around to the rest of the Titans.

"I see that your little investigation is going well," he said, his voice dripped with sarcasm. "I look forward to our next meeting." With that, he removed what looked like a nail gun. "I won't kill you. I'll just leave this with you as a warning." With that, he pulled the trigger. A syringe imbedded itself in their shoulders as Robin tried his best to stay awake.

"Tranquillizers! Titans, fight it!" he ordered. "We can't let him get away!"

"Too late Robin! They're already taking effect! We can't hold out much longer!" Cyborg shouted as one by one they all fell into a drugged sleep.

The mysterious man named Dr. Death made his way down the dark alleyway into the abandoned warehouse. It was the one that Slade had used as his old hideout when he was the Titan's enemy. He shut the door and taking off his cloak he walked into the seemingly empty warehouse.

"Daddy?" a girl's voice asked. "Is that you?"

"Yes it's me, sweetheart," he replied. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," he replied. "Work was murder."

"That hard huh?" the girl asked.

"What are you doing up so late?" he asked. She normally went to bed early. It wasn't normal for her to be awake. "Didn't I tell you to be in bed at nine?"

"I know, Daddy," the girl said. "I couldn't sleep well."

"Don't worry. You'll be fine," he assured her. "Go to sleep, my little Marie. Daddy's got a lot of work to do." The little girl hugged him tightly and ran up to one of the upper levels that had been converted into a bedroom.

"I love you Daddy," she said and walked upstairs.

"I love you too, sweetheart. Now off to bed with you." Marie turned and went upstairs, leaving Dr. Death alone. The man smiled quietly. The Teen Titans were investigating him. It was time he investigate the Titans. He was intent on exacting revenge; and that was the only thing that would make him happy.