Disclaimer: Nope, don't own Teen Titans.

Notes: I have decided to individually thank all of my reviewers, but that will be at the end of the chapter. This installment will be a little gory and may be a bit faster paced than the others. Also, I apologize for the length between updates. I had fourth teeth pulled and have been unable to do much for the past several days. I hope the wait was worth it... This chapter is dedicated to my friend who acted as my "sounding board" without letting me reveal any of the secrets about the plot. You know who you are!

"Words"

"Thoughts"

Chapter 3 - First Blood

Fortunately for the nearby buildings, it did not take the Titans long to arrive on the scene of the fire. Unfortunately for them, the fire had already managed to spread to another adjacent building. A stray thought did enter some of their minds. Why had they been called on to put out a fire? It was not that they minded doing so, especially since it was endangering the lives of those who lived in the neighborhood. The truth was that they wondered what had happened to the city's fire department. Perhaps it was simply because they were able to get there faster, seeing as the building was located in a community close by the shoreline. That train of thought was gone as quickly as it had come. They had a job to do.

There were two tasks that needed done; put out the fire and see if there were any people trapped in either building. One, of course, was abandoned, but that did not necessarily mean that there was no one inside. It could still have served as a shelter for those on the street, and, therefore, could not be overlooked. They had to stop the fire from spreading, and fast.

Robin did not waste a second upon their arrival. Jumping off his bike, he immediately began giving out orders, "Raven, Beast Boy, take a building and put out the fire! Cyborg, the one on the right is about to collapse, scan it for any people! Starfire, help Cyborg! I'll check the other building!" As soon as their order left his mouth, each Titan raced to follow it. They did not need to hear his patented phrase, as it would only be wasting another moment.

"Azerath, Metrion, Zinthos!" Black energy flowed from Raven's hands and swelled around a nearby fire hydrant, tearing it from its place on the ground. As the water burst forth from the hole, she used more of her power to redirect its flow onto the raging fire of the teetering structure. She tried to get the flames extinguished as fast as she could without having it collapse, in case there were still people alive in there.

The changeling suddenly shifted into a large elephant and used his trunk to knock over another fire hydrant. As quickly as he could, he began to fill the long trunk with water and spray it onto the burning building. He repeated this process many times, trying to hurry while at the same time making sure to be efficient at what he was doing.

Cyborg stood nearby Raven, making sure to stand clear of the water flow as well as the dancing flames. He watched his scanner carefully, glancing back and forth between that and the building in front of him. He did it a second time to double check his findings before shaking his head in Starfire's direction. "There's noone in there! Go help Robin!"

Nodding to her teammate, Starfire flew off toward the other building, pulling her communicator out as she went. Flipping the top open, she waited for a picture of the Boy Wonder to appear. The leader of the Titans came into view a few brief moments later. "Cyborg has no need of my assistance," she said in a rushed tone. "Have you located anyone in need of saving?"

A quick shake of his head informed her of his negative response without voicing it. "Not yet, but there are more floors. Take the top two and I'll get the bottom two!" After the words left his mouth, he closed the communicator, not waiting for her response. Covering his mouth with his cape to decrease the amount of smoke inhalation, he continued with his search.

Shoving her communicator away, she immediately flew into an open window on the top floor. The smoke was heavy and blinding, but the amount of flames was slowly reducing, thanks to Beast Boy. Holding her breath, she wove in and out of the fire, searching for any signs of life. The heat was immense and sweat began to drip from her brow. She ignored it for the time being and went on with what she had to do.

Outside, the other female Titan had increased the intensity with which she was spraying the building. With no one inside, the faster the fire was put out, the less chance there was of it spreading to any other nearby structures.

Moving slightly from where he stood beside Raven, Cyborg began to get a reading on something off to the side of the building, but it was too faint to be much of anything. Nonetheless, he figured it would be a good idea to check it out. "There seems to be something over here, but I can handle it!"

This is what went on for another several minutes, and during that time, the fire department and police arrived. Seeing the nearby hydrants not fit for their use, they resolved to go in and search for any survivors. It was then that Robin burst forth from the smoking doorway. He carried with him two children, all three looking as though they had inhaled a great deal of smoke. Next, Starfire suddenly flew out of a window on the third floor, a dog in one arm and grasping the shirts of two adult females in the other. Both Titans set the survivors down on the ground across the wide street, a safe distance away from the fire.

"I believe there is still someone left inside, Robin," the alien girl spoke hurriedly.

The Boy Wonder simply nodded and watched as the Tamaranian disappeared back into the burning building. He chose to stay by the group they had just rescued and explain to the authorities what was currently underway. Meanwhile, the paramedics who had arrived began attending to those that Robin and Starfire had already rescued. The flames were quickly being put out, although it was taking a decent amount of time.

A loud cracking sound was heard, followed shortly by another. Within the next few moments, the entire rickety structure crumbled to the ground. The pile of rubble still stood about a story high, but it only took Raven a couple more minutes to put out the lingering flames. Since that fire was taken care of, she turned her attention to helping the green elephant extinguish the fire in the other building. Once that was done, the empath summoned a little more of her energy and replaced the hydrants from where they had been thrown, successfully halting the water flow.

The red-headed Titan soon emerged from the uppermost level, carrying a middle-aged male with her. Starfire landed gracefully, setting the man down nearby the paramedics. "He was the last, I believe," she informed her leader. Looking back toward the other side of the street, she noticed that now only a smoking structure stood, blackened by past flames. They had succeeded in stopping the fire from spreading, as well as saving the lives of those who had been trapped. A smile touched her bronzed features as she turned to look at Robin and asked, "We are victorious, yes?"

"It seems that way," he replied, appearing to be a bit distracted. Behind his mask, his eyes were sweeping the scene in front of him.

"Is something the matter, Robin?", Starfire questioned, a hint of concern in her tone.

"Where's Cyborg?", came his reply. As if to answer his inquiry, his communicator suddenly beeped at his side. Whipping it out, he flipped open the top and saw a picture of his aforementioned teammate come into view.

"Robin," the half-robot's voice was filled with urgency, "y'all better come around the side. I found something you'll wanna see." Ending the transmission, Cyborg looked back down at the body that was in front of him. It had taken him a minute to locate it due to all of the trash and smoke that filled the area. This was not something he had expected to see. Murders were not all that common in Jump City due to the presence of the Teen Titans, especially killings of this kind. Most of them were accidental in that it was a robbery gone wrong or a high speed chase ending when a civilian would be in the wrong place at the wrong time. What lay before him was an unusual sight for their city.

The other four members of the Teen Titans arrived within seconds of each other, each coming to an abrupt halt upon seeing why Cyborg had called them over. Starfire covered her mouth with her hand and backed up a few steps. This meant she was partially hiding behind Robin, who stood silently with an almost stunned expression on his face. Beast Boy came around the other side of the masked Titan, eyes widening in irrepressible shock. The last Titan was the only one who made any noise at all. Raven stood beside her green teammate and allowed a sharp gasp to pass over her barely parted lips.

Pale, twisted limbs stuck out at odd angles from pieces of dark clothing. At least, the flesh would have been pale if it were not for the burns that charred the skin of the young female. However, no one even thought to suggest that the fire had been the cause of murder. Sure, it was a plausible suggestion that she had jumped through the window only to have later passed out from smoke inhalation, except for one thing. Actually, except for a number of things. Stab wounds littered her body, enough so that any flesh that had not been burned was instead covered with dried blood. The cut across the throat was the obvious cause of death. Bruises marred her once delicate facial features, which looked as though the victim had been wearing heavy amounts of makeup. All in all, none felt the gruesome sight could be accurately described in words.

Several moments passed before any one of them dared to break the silence. "This was no amateur," the Boy Wonder remarked, his tone serious. "The way the killer slit the throat, exposing a main artery."

"The fire was only to draw attention, otherwise it might have been days before the body was discovered," Cyborg noted, voicing a thought that was on the others' minds.

"But why would someone do something so horrible?", the Tamaranian asked, finally moving her hand away from her mouth.

"I don't know, Starfire," Robin replied, still studying the body, "but it would be best to tell the police and have their forensics experts examine the body." He turned to head back toward the front of the building but then paused. "Cyborg, did you find any identification?"

"No need," the cloaked Titan spoke up for the first time. It took her a moment before she continued, her tone quiet, "I know her. She works... worked at the café I go to."

The leader nodded and once again headed away from where the body lay, several of the Titans following him. However, Beast Boy stayed where he was. He had been the only one to not say a word throughout the past several minutes, and he still found himself unable to speak. It was not as if he had never seen a dead body before... He suddenly shook his head, shaking past images from his mind. The changeling had tried to forget those instances, although they were a part of his past. Nonetheless, this was somehow different for him. Everything right then felt so surreal, like it was all some horribly bad dream.

"Beast Boy!" His ears perked up slightly at the sound of Robin calling to him.

Forcing himself to move, he dashed off to where the others were standing. "What?"

"Another fire. It's at the wharf," the masked Titan replied in a rushed manner, "I need you and Raven to go put it out. You can get there faster than the fire trucks. The rest of us will finish up here. Go!"

With a quick nod, the shape-shifter took to the sky in the form of a falcon and flew in the direction of a growing pillar of smoke, Raven following a mere few feet behind him.

On the far outskirts of Jump City, there stood what looked to be a rundown motel. A group of men sat inside, gathered around an old television set. They were a loud bunch, many of whom were poorly groomed. Empty liquor bottles and cigarette butts littered the floor beneath their feet, but they did not seem to mind in the least. They were too busy focusing on the T.V. and mocking whatever was on the screen to really care about the state of their living quarters.

However, all went disturbingly quiet when the front door creaked open slowly. A man, who looked to be in his middle to late thirties, walked in and took a seat in one of the empty chairs. His dark brown hair was matted against his head by sweat and there was a tired expression in his equally dark brown eyes. One hand was hidden within the folds of his denim jacket, and when he pulled it out, he revealed a bloodied knife with a soiled piece of clothing wrapped around the blade. Shoving it toward the man on his right, he ordered, "Clean it." His command was immediately followed.

The television suddenly caught his attention. It was a news station covering the story of two fires and two murders. A smirk spread across his thin lips, "Those fools. They won't find anything, right?" At the question, he shot a cold and calculating look at the other men in the small room.

"Right, sir," the one sitting directly across from him answered, his voice slightly shaky. "The fires should cover up most of the evidence, and what's left, should leave them guessing."

"-If- they find anything, that is," another quickly added in, feeling uneasy from the sudden fierce expression in the first man's brown eyes.

"Good cover," the brown-haired man replied sarcastically, "but I do agree." Standing somewhat abruptly, he headed slowly over to the crooked stairs that were positioned in the corner of the room. He paused, "Of course, you do realize that this is still just child's play." With that, he continued on his way.

"He's too cocky so early in the game," said the one who had just reentered the room with a clean knife.

"But he did get the job done," answered another, slouching heavily in his chair. "That's what matters at this stage."

The first shrugged as he placed the knife down on an old wooden table, "I suppose..."

By the time Raven and Beast Boy returned to the tower, the other three Titans were already there, gathered in the common room. Robin was flipping through several news stations and failed to look up when the two walked in. The alien female was in the kitchen, slowly stirring her "pudding of sadness" with a downcast expression on her features. Cyborg sat on the couch, several feet away from the masked leader. It was he who looked up when the sliding doors opened.

"We saw the news," he informed them in a tone that let on what he meant. There had been another murder. The difference was that this time the girl had been strangled to death before being left beside a burning store. She was found with stab wounds as well as bruises around her throat. Nonetheless, it was fortunate that no one else had been injured in the second fire.

Raven moved toward the kitchen, simply nodding at her teammate's comment. She needed a cup of herbal tea to calm her nerves, which were quite frayed from the night's events.

"It was too soon after the first to be some type of copycat murder," the Boy Wonder spoke up, eyes still glued to the large screen in front of him. "It appears to be the same person. Both fires were to get attention and both victims had multiple stab wounds ."

"Are you suggesting that we are dealing with a serial killer?", the cloaked female questioned, setting the kettle down on the stove.

"From the looks of it," Robin answered honestly, his voice quiet.

"It still seems so unreal," the changeling murmured to himself, still a bit shaken from all that had happened. Slowly, he chose to take a seat on the opposite end of the couch. Why had it affected him so much? After all, he dealt with evil on an almost daily basis. Why was this so different? A sigh passed over his lips, intent on staying silent for the time being.

Note: I know I already described the state of the first body in the previous chapter, but I restated it to explain how the Titans saw it... in more detail. Oh, and Raven did inform the authorities of the identity of the victim, I was just focusing on Beast Boy at that point in time. So far, just a small bit of information about the killer. There is much more to be learned... Now, on to the reviewers!

TDG3RD - Thank you for your reviews! And, good guess about the emotion ... but it would be just too easy for Raven to accept it just yet... Glad you like the fic!

BolenPUCR - Yeah, I sit in front of the T.V. a lot, too... especially since I've been immobile for the past couple of days because of the surgery... Actually, watching T.V. did help with some of my ideas. Hope you enjoyed the update and thanks for reviewing!

ShelsSMG - Hope the updates aren't taking too long for ya... I really am trying to keep 'em coming. Thanks for reviewing!

chocolate is a vegetable - Thank you, and I'm glad you think so BB/Rae is my favorite pairing, so no need to worry! Thank you for reviewing!

GizmoBunny - Thanks, I was worried at points in time about the flow... Glad to know it came out alright. Thanks for the review!

twistedpaperclip - Glad you think so. I am working hard to try and keep them in character, to the best of my ability... Hope I'm still doing okay. I will probably hold off to the middle chapters as well, but it will end up driving me insane as well... Thanks for the review!

Please R&R!