Chapter 1: Dates and Numbers...
'Ben Drake, Born April 20th, 1986. Notes: Parents were Lisa and John Drake, married on October 15th. Ben (noted by teacher) was a very smart kid, always top of his class. He never did anything wrong, and always helped others. Sadly only 18 years of age, before... End of Notes Died: January 16th, 2005, Jump City.'
Robin sighed. He had been through a lot with a career as a superhero, but nothing like this had ever slipped under his nose. A death in his own city. He knew that the media were going to start pestering his actions with his team. Why had you not known of this? Why did you not stop it? Hard times were coming soon, Robin was smart enough to know that. Placing Ben's records down, he picked up another one, and looked in surprise.
'Katie Bell, Born April 20th, 1987. Notes: Parents were Davis and Annalee Bell, married on September 15th. Katie (noted by teacher) She was always helpful and kind. Never did anything bad or disgraceful. I don't know why this would happen to her... End of Notes Died: Febuary 16th, 2004, Jump City.'
Gaping at the records, he rushed to find young Mr. Drake's records once more. There was only one similarity, besides dying and being a very helpful student. The birth date. He couldn't grasp what it meant, but he didn't wish to bear this information alone. He thought of his team members. Definitely not Starfire, as she would be heartbroken at the news of a death, not Beast Boy, as he would only goof around like he always does. That left Raven and Cyborg. Cyborg would most likely just say it was just a coincidence that they both had the same birthday. So that left one person. Raven. Robin had no clue what her reaction would be when he told her of the troubles he wrought, but as she was a co-founder of the team, and the most trustworthy, he thought she would be sensible enough. Thrusting his chair backwards and standing up, Robin left his room to see the dark titan.
Robin knew that Raven would either be in the main room or her bedroom at this hour (it was three in the afternoon, a beautiful Sunday) so he went to the main room first. Looking in he only found Cyborg and Beast Boy playing the gamestation, nothing out of the ordinary. He sighed and left. The automatic doors whizzed shut, but the duo was too entranced with the game to notice. Robin walked towards the elevator, and pressed the 6th floor button, where Beast Boy's and Raven's quarters were situated. The elevator ding sounded and the doors opened, to reveal his redheaded friend Starfire. Lately they had gotten a lot closer together than ever before, and Robin was going to ask her out shortly. She giggled in delight and pounced upon the boy wonder, knocking him to the floor.
"Good Afternoon Friend Robin!" Starfire exclaimed, hugging Robin furiously. Robin gasped for air, but Starfire's hair covered up his face, so Starfire didn't hear him. Noticing this, Robin tried desperately to say something.
"Star...Fire...Can't...Breathe..." He managed. Starfire got off of Robin and blushed.
"I am sorry Friend Robin, I could not, as you say, control myself from... jumping on you." She apologized, her eyes full of sorrow. Robin laughed and finally got off the floor.
"It's okay Star, don't worry about it." They both smiled at each other, and then it hit Robin why he was going this way in the first place. Starfire floated beside him, looking at him with questioning eyes at his confusion.
"Friend Robin, do you need, the company?" She asked sweetly. Robin still stared into space, beyond Starfire and at the elevator.
"Sorry Star, but right now I need to talk to Raven." He replied, pressing the 6th floor button once more as the elevator had left a while ago. Starfire looked at the button pressed and surpressed a laugh.
"Friend Raven is on the roof, Friend Robin. She is on the roof everyday at this time of day." Starfire told him. Robin just looked at her. Had he been locked up in his room and alone for so long, that he had forgotten that? Starfire returned the glare.
"Thanks Starfire." Robin said calmly. He gave her a nod of appreciation and stepped into the confined space. He turned to face Starfire as the doors closed. They both gave each other a warm smile before the doors slammed shut. Robin sighed. Starfire looked at the doors for a moment and flew away, tears welling up in her cheeks.
On Top of the Tower...
The soft ding went off again as the elevator finally reached its destination. Robin stepped out cautiously, as the sunlight was blinding his eyes. Finally adjusted to the light, Robin looked about the violet haired maiden. Not seeing her, he sighed and tried to listen for anything. The wind sighed gently, and a soft voice reached his ears.
"Azarath... Metrion... Zinthos... Azarath... Metrion... Zinthos..." It said. Coming from the east, Robin turned and looked at the city once more. She wasn't there, so where was she? He dared to look up at the defying sun's rays to catch a glimpse of a small shape floating right above him. He took his chance and yelled,
"Raven! Can you come down here please? It's really important." Hearing his voice Raven stopped meditating in surprise, and began to fall down towards the earth, plunging at a fast rate. Robin shook his head, breaking her concentration was a bad thing. Only twenty feet away from impact, and still falling. Raven's eyes suddenly turned a blazing white and her dive bomb plunge slowed down. She softly landed on the tough structure of the tower and gave Robin a clear look of disdain, as she didn't like to be disturbed during this time. However, as he was her leader, she beared her instinct away at yelling at him angrily and just gave him a calm look.
"Yes, Robin? This better be important for interrupting my meditation." Raven said monotonously. A great gust of wind billowed from the west, and the dark blue cloak which wrapped around Raven flashed upwards in a dangerous fashion. Her hood slid off to reveal her full face, instead of just the violet eyes. Her chakra glinted in the sunlight.
"It's very important, and I think you of all members will most understand this." Robin stated, and pulled out a few pieces of paper and gave it to her. Raven looked at the records, and gave him a look that Robin thought may look like anxiety, but knowing Raven, it probably wasn't.
"They were all born on the same birthday..." Raven murmured. Robin felt high hopes. He came to the right person.
"April 20th.. Hmm... It must be linked to the same criminal. Coincidences like this just don't happen." Raven announced. Robin shook his head in agreement.
"Should we tell the others?" Robin asked, clearly not knowing what to say or do.
"I say you should. There's a pattern here. People born on the same day, just one year apart. We have to research who has this birthday, and make sure that none of us titans have this birthday." Raven answered. She handed the papers back and gave a deep sigh. "I'll get Starfire, you get the boys off that useless device which rots their brains." And she left him standing there, his cape rising and falling with the breeze.
Later, in the Main Room...
Robin, Cyborg, and Beast Boy waited patiently for the girls arrival. None of them knew that Starfire had gone to 'the mall of shopping' so they could only wondered what took Raven and Starfire so long. A dark vortex appeared on the floor in front of them. It warped upwards in a bird shape, and gave a great caw before settling down and revealing the two female titans. Starfire was blushing and Raven stumbled back slightly. The mall was a great distance away, and both getting there and returning really did a number on Raven. She barely made it to the couch before falling down, landing on the soft cushions hard. The male titans just raised their eyebrows. Raven's eyes turned white and another black shadow appeared. Bags upon bags of shopping appeared in front of Starfire, who squealed in delight. They figured out where Starfire had gone, and gave a small laugh. Raven closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Starfire suddenly became concerned.
"What is wrong, Friend Raven? You have never acted this way when we go and return from the mall of shopping using your powers as transportation." Raven just gave a deep sigh.
"I have things on my mind. Also, you've never had so much bags as heavy as that before." Raven replied. Robin went over and decided to test one of the bags. He couldn't even lift it. His muscles buckled and he fell over. Cyborg and Beast Boy roared with laughter and went to help their leader. Starfire sat down next to Raven and asked the obvious,
"So... What is so.. important that Raven had to take me away from those fuzzy bears?" Robin's face turned from embarrassed to dead serious. Everyone noticed the change, even Raven though she had her eyes closed. The energy patterns in the room had shattered, and reformed in assignment matters which they all knew very well. Robin walked over to the wide windows that overlooked the city and turned to face his team. Cyborg had taken their assigned places, Starfire was looking at him almost fearfully, and Raven still had her eyes closed. She already knew what this meeting was about, so Robin continued without her eyes staring at him with their emotionless glare.
"After looking at records of a few people, Raven and I have come to realize this. First, they had all died in Jump City right under our very noses. Second, all these people were very intelligent and helpful, and young. And lastly, they all had the same birthday." He started off, looking to see his teammates reactions. Cyborg looked interested, Starfire looked confused, and Beast Boy gave a 'so what' expression. He didn't even bother to look at Raven, as it was pointless to do so. She had her hood up and her eyes were closed. He continued.
" Now, Raven has come up with a really good theory which may explain part of this... tragedy. She says that all the deaths are linked, most likely murdered by the same person. A pattern has revealed itself. Their birthdays are the same, just a year apart. Now I want to know, what are your birthdays? I know our society of justice papers tell us not to reveal much about ourselves, but I need to know so I can figure out who's the next victim. I am not the target, as my birthday is July 12th." A long pause followed the speech. Finally, a person spoke up.
"Well Dudes, My birthday is December 12th, so no worries for me." Beast Boy stated proudly.
"My birthday is May 17th, and besides, I'm older than 1989." Cyborg answered. The boys looked at the two girls.
"Friends, I do not fully understand the day of birth, but I am a Virgo of the year... star complex nine." Starfire managed, thinking before fully speaking. The team made out that Starfire was born in September, and as she always seemed to bounce around happily on the 10th, that was her day. Finally all eyes rested upon Raven, who still hadn't moved.
"My birthday," Raven said cautiously, "is the 20th of April."
To Be Continued...
Author's Note: So how is it so far? I hope you liked this chapter, if it was kinda boring I'm sorry, but intro chapters usually blow for me. Well, that's what I think. Please Review!