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Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to the Teen Titans so don't even try suing me for the minuscule property I have.

Ch 32: Falling Into Darkness

Robin stared at the computer screen as he rubbed his temples. He had been at it for 10 hours straight and was nearly positive his eyes were going to melt. Sickness had finally returned to Jump City and Robin once again would stop it. It had taken longer than even he had expected but finally a terrifying criminal that reminded him of the maniacal villains of Gotham had raised his ugly head.

Only two weeks ago the Tower was so full of happiness and now it seemed as if a dark cloud was slowly forming above. The true sickness of the crimes committed had put everyone on edge and they all did their best to help Starfire deal with it all. They were crimes that she could never imagine nor should she ever have too. Four women dead, tortured, raped, then killed. The first one had hit the calm city like a bolt of lightning as it had been so long since any crimes had truly been committed. The second one brought anger. The third one brought fear. The fourth one brought absolute terror.

The Titans along with Blackfire and SoulBurn had done there best to try and find the culprit, patrolling the city every night, trying to find a pattern to the crimes. That was the biggest problem of it all. There was no pattern to the crimes. With Slade there had always been clues and hints within his taunting but this killer left no clues, had no motive. Every women had nothing in common in any way. The crimes seemed to be random acts though it could be seen that it was a calculated mind performing the horrible deeds. The bodies were found with a paralyzing agent in their system that prevented movement but not feel. He would commit his terrible deeds and the victims would be unable to move though completely aware, would feel the pain afflicted on their prone bodies. Robin gritted his teeth and clenched his fists in frustration. Two small hands suddenly were on his shoulders and he felt himself instantly relax at the touch.

"You need to relax Richard. Becoming all obsessive and angry is not going to help catch this monster." Robin turned slightly to stare at the beautiful face of his lover.

"I know Raven. Its just I don't want anyone else to be hurt by this guy. He's truly sick and no one deserves to suffer what he will do to them." Raven looked at Robin with quiet understanding.

"And most of all, I'm afraid the next victim will be one of you girls and I can't let that happen. I won't let my family down again." Raven winced as she felt the strong self doubt from Robin. She pushed back with her own feelings of trust and love and Robin smiled at the action.

"You should go get some sleep Richard. Its late." As if on cue, Robin yawned.

"I'll go to sleep when Blackfire, Cyborg, and Beast Boy get back from patrol. I want everyone back before I rest." Raven only nodded slightly. "There is one more thing Raven. Have you noticed anything strange about SoulBurn lately? We were playing a game of chess and I beat him and he went completely ballistic ranting about how he never loses. Put a three foot hole in solid steel with a punch. It was the strangest thing coming from a guy who's usually pretty unemotional and has never shown signs of an ego."

"I have noticed some strange spikes in his aura lately but I just attributed that to being around Blackfire. Her and him have become very close lately and the strong emotions I've been feeling from him lately when she's around would easily explain the spikes. Flipping out at the game sounds like something Blackfire would do so maybe she's just rubbing off on him." Robin thought about it.

"Yeah that does sound about right. You should see them sometimes Rae. She clings to him like Starfire used to do to me. I even saw them embracing tonight before she went out on patrol. He doesn't show it but I can tell he's a worried mess when she's out there and that worries me slightly." Raven raised an eyebrow.

"Why would that worry you so much?"

"I still remember how angry he got when Slade was hurting Starfire then night we stopped the prophecy. I remember feeling the power he emitted and it didn't feel good. If he and Blackfire are truly as close as we think they are, I don't even want to think what will happen if something happens to her." Once again Raven nodded in quiet understanding then smiled slightly.

"Probably no less than what I would do if someone hurt you. I would so go demonic on whoever was responsible." Robin smiled and stood up.

"You are my sexy little demoness aren't you?"

"And don't you ever forget it." Raven reached up and kissed Robin deliberately slow on his lips before catching his bottom lip in her teeth. Robin's eyes widened as he stared into Raven's eyes which were radiating sexuality. But as quick as it started she went back to normal and stared walking away.

"Once everyone gets back and you finally decide to go to sleep, I'll be in my room." Robin only stood there, eyes still wide open feeling a lack of blood in his brain.

"God I love you so much." Little did Robin know, something terrible beyond comprehension would prevent him from that little rendezvous.

On the streets of Jump City, three superheroes quietly patrolled the night. They had reluctantly split up as Blackfire had convinced them it would speed up the patrol faster so they all could get home. She had made a rather convincing argument laced with a few threats. The streets were empty as most people were too afraid to leave their houses and it was unusually dark as the moon and stars were blocked out by dark clouds. It gave the entire city an eerie atmosphere though it bothered Blackfire little. She had been in far scarier situations before. She had been in far worse situations before. She confidently flew down the streets when she was stopped by what she thought was a low scream from a nearby alley. Reacting on instinct rather than calling the other titans on patrol she flew into the alley. She was about 15 feet in when she felt a small prick on her neck. She reached up and pulled out a steel-tipped dart.

"What the f…" She was cut off as she felt her body grow heavy and she fell to the street. She tried to get up, tried to scream for help, tried to do anything but found she couldn't move. She suddenly heard a small chuckle somewhere around her.

"Ah yes. Another one to play with and this one is very special. It shall be my greatest accomplishment."

Blackfire felt a foot nudge her in the side to turn her over to her back. When she was turned over she could clearly a man standing above her. Though she had only been a resident of Earth for a short time, she understood that the man would be described as completely average looking. There was nothing that stood out about him. Even his clothes were completely common looking. The only thing about him that stood out were his eyes. There was madness within them and it clearly made itself known. The man's voice was quiet and calm and deeplyt disturbed and frightened Blackfire in its tone. She tried in vain to summon her powers, at least move a foot but to no avail. The man pulled out a large knife that was clearly very sharp.

"Yes you are a beautiful one." A malicious smile crossed his face. "I shall make you prettier."

About a block away, Cyborg and Beast Boy met in the spot they had designated to go to when patrol was over. They waited a few seconds but Blackfire still did not arrive. Cyborg used his communicator on his arm.

"Come in Blackfire. Its time to head home. I know you need to be done patrolling by now. You're the fastest of all us." There was no response. "Come on girl. Stop playing around. I want to get home." Again no response. Both of the young men were getting worried. Suddenly, Cyborg watched as a signal on his communicator went out, showing that Blackfire's communicator had been destroyed.

"Oh no. BB! Start searching everwhere you can." Beast Boy immediately morphed into a dog trying to pick up a scent. Cyborg contacted Robin as he ran down the street.

"Robin! We got an emergency! Blackfire is missing. I think something happened to her. Get everyone do to my location right now! Hurry!" Robin could hear the fear in Cyborg's voice and instantly hit the alarm.

While all this was going on, Blackfire was slowly being tortured. She wanted to scream, cry out in pain, but even that was denied to her. Cuts now covered her entire body, her clothes methodically removed. She could feel the blood leaving her body and the cold air nipping at her skin but could do nothing. The man had almost no expression except for a look of intent concentration as if he was painting a masterpiece. Eventually he pulled away and stood up as if admiring his work.

"Almost perfect. Just a few more touches." Blackfire watched in horror as the man started unzipping his pants. Her mind screamed in terror. Screamed for someone to help her. She was crying inside her mind and a few tears managed to make it out of her eyes. 'Please SoulBurn. Please save me.'

Meanwhile at the tower, everyone was gathering in the main room. SoulBurn and Raven were the first two to arrive thanks to their teleporting ability. Both had worried looks on their face when they saw the frantic state Robin was in. SoulBurn suddenly grabbed his head in pain as he felt terrible agony and fear. His eyes widened in terror and he muttered one word.

"Blackfire," and with that he was gone in a flash of energy.

In the alley, the man hovered over Blackfire, only now beginning his terrible act. Suddenly the alley lit up with blue light and the man felt himself being slammed into the wall by the throat. He could feel himself dent into the wall and was sure a few bones had broken due to the force. He only smiled at the pain. It was so wonderful. He looked down at the person holding him and met two glowing blue eyes and one very angry looking face. SoulBurn slowly looked over at Blackfire's bleeding and naked form and a twisted growl escaped from him. The man could feel the grip on his throat tighten.

"You monster. What did you do to her?" The man only smiled.

"I made her beautiful. Don't you agree?" Again the man found himself being slammed into the wall and again the man only smiled.

"You are a true monster." The man giggled like a little kid.

"I beg to differ. I am humanity at its finest. I have embraced every aspect of what we are and have found perfection." Again the man could feel the grip on his face tighten. Hatred, rage, disgust and anger. All these emotions continued to build up within SoulBurn. The man looked on in confusion as blue energy began outlining SoulBurn's form. The energy slowly changed to black then red then back to blue. The man could see that SoulBurn was obviously fighting some internal struggle.

"I would like to say though, I truly did enjoy her. I feel flattered that I got the chance to take her innocence." That was the last straw. True, unadulterated hatred spiked within SoulBurn and in a single moment, the barrier that separated the chaos of his mind shattered.. However, it was not Azrael that took control but a far darker being. The man in front of SoulBurn watched in confusion as four burning red eyes formed on SoulBurn's face. A dark chuckle erupted from him that even caused fear in this twisted excuse for a human being. The voice that spoke was chilling yet horrifying at exactly the same time.

"You are not perfection foolish mortal. I am perfection. You are nothing to me." Again the dark laughter filled the air. "But I should thank you. You have helped free me into the mortal realm, returned my heavenly powers to me after eons beyond remembrance and to show my gratitude, I shall allow you to be the first mortal to truly die at the hands of Lucifer, Lord of all existence."

The man watched as a twisted smirk formed on the being in front of him as the hand squeezed around his throat. The sounds of bones beginning to snap echoed the night and eventually everything gave way to the crushing grip. The fact that the man's head even stayed attached to his body due to the force was incredible. Lucifer, now in control of SoulBurn, tossed the dead body out into the street, the sound of it sickening slam into the pavement echoed through out the night. Lucifer's burning gaze turned toward the form of Blackfire whose eyes were open wide in fear and confusion.

"You truly are a beautiful creature. You could have served me well but you decided to have hope and tried to regain your soul. Foolish mortal." Lucifer slowly approached the still form. "You will die now soulless one and with your death on Azrael's hands, he will only embrace the darkness more and will forever be lost. He really does love you." Lucifer spit as if just saying the word disgusted him.

"What a pathetic emotion. In the end all it did was allow me freedom." A blade of blue energy extended down Lucifer's arm. There was a slight red outline to it. "Good bye Blackfire. Have fun in Hell. Everyone else in the universe will be joining you soon." Blackfire stared on as the blade approached her heart but watched as it stopped. She watched as the four burning eyes flashed to two blue ones for just a second but then returned back to reddish-orange. Lucifer pulled back and stood up.

"Actually I'll let you live for now. You might enjoy watching me destroy your new little family, oh yes, and Starfire...she will be most especially fun for me." And with that the dark being walked out of the alleyway. Tears were no flowing freely from Blackfire's eyes as she slowly regained the ability to move. In her mind, there was one phrase.

'X'Hal help us all.'