Detective Alexander Twain sat down on the couch, glancing at the torn half with a raised eyebrow.
"Can I get you anything?" Raven asked, folding her arms under her chest. She didn't trust these men, even though they were from the police force. Detective Twin glanced at her and smiled. "If you have coffee that would be fine. If not, just water."
His eyes lingered over her for a moment to long for her taste, but he turned his attention to Robin. "You're the leader, am I correct?"
Robin gave a small shrug. "I guess."
Detective Ortega raised an eyebrow, glancing briefly at Raven when she handed Twain the glass of water. "You guess?"
"We're a team. No one has higher standers than the other. I was the first one on the team, but that's about it. We decided long ago that no one was categorized as higher or lower than the other."
The men nodded. "It seems as if you have your head on your shoulders, Greyson." Robin's eyes narrowed into slits.
Captain Waylin held up a reassuring hand. "We just wanted to be familiar with your backgrounds, though we found nothing on the two women." Twain threw a speculative glance at both women. "We checked countless records in search of them, but came up empty handed."
"We're not even from the planet, Detective. We were not born here, so, therefore, no records of us can be found." Raven returned the glance Twain gave her and sat down next to Starfire.
"Right." Ortega thumped at a piece of stuffing next to him. " You are all above the ages of 16, correct?"
"I just turned 17 earth years last month."
"I also just turned 17. Beast Boy and Robin are 18 and Cyborg is almost 20."
"All right." Twain took out a little notebook and began t scribble things down. A lock of dark brown hair fell over black eyes as he glanced back up at Robin. "How long had the team been together?"
"I'm sure you can look it up. What is you plan?" Silence settled over the room. Detective Twain stood up, almost an inch shorter than Robin, and walked over to the large window.
"As you know, a pedophile has been walking the streets of Jump City. He targets young women, between the ages of 13 and 18. He kidnaps them, rapes them, and murders them. He usually will keep his victims for a maximum of three weeks. His last victim, who was waiting in the car at a grocery store while her mother ran in to get milk, was taken, and was missing for exactly three weeks. I'm sure you read in the paper that her remains were scattered across the road. But we had to hide things from the people."
Ortega spoke up. "When searching, we found…well…her hand. Nothing was connected to the wrist. But clenched in her fist was a white rose, voided of all blood, even the stem. His other victims held a white rose also. The thing about them though, is that they are but mere buds, no yet bloomed. And, well, the police force calls him The White Rose Murderer. But about the flower, we figure it is—"
"It is like his victims. They are not yet fully bloomed, correct?" All eyes turned to Star and she blushed.
Detective Twain studied her, impressed. "Exactly."
Waylin scratched his blonde head before going on. "We can find not trace of the killer though, not even a shoe print or tire tracks. Whoever is doing this knows exactly what his is doing."
"What does this have to do with us?" Raven asked. Beast Boy sat down at her feet and absentmindedly tugged at the hem of her jeans. She glanced down at him, the focused on the Captain.
He fidgeted at her stare and cleared his throat. "We discussed it, and…well, though I am not in full agreement…because I have a teenage daughter also, and she's just 16, but—"
"What is your big plan, Captain?" The look the teens gave him made him want to spill everything. They had this…look…that scared even the captain of thirty-six.
"We need bait." Twain narrowed his eyes in Star and Raven's direction. "We need girls who are between the ages of 13 and 18 who know how to defend themselves if they were to be taken. We would have used Franklin, a women officer, but she just doesn't have what it takes to be a teenager again. We wouldn't want to endanger other girls, so we decided that, if we were to catch him, that we would need highly trained women to take him down. And you two came to mind. The police force had been highly impressed by the Teen Titans, and has occasionally taped a scene in which you fought. Ortega, Waylin, and I replayed the tapes and figured that, if you two really wanted this guy caught, then you would help. But, if you would like this man to take another 13 years old girl, then we will try our best with just the police force. It is really up to you."
"You're guilt tripping us. If we were to do this, how would you know he would even target us? There are thousands of girls between the ages of 13 and 18 in Jump City. And you think, that two of those thousand, could actually get his attention? And, anyways, everyone knows of us. Don't you think, that if we were to snag his attention, he would steer clear of members of the Teen Titans? I thought the police force would be the ones to think logically." Raven held back a scowl.
Twain grinned. "You're right. Out of thousands of girls, why would he choose two?" Raven glare was deadly, as well as Star's.
"Let me say what I have to say again. He targets young women, virginal women, innocent women. So that knocks those thousand down to about eight hundred. He usually takes girl on the street, so that knocks it down to about three hundred. All his victims had had long hair. Now were down to about a hundred or so. Anyways, I don't think young girls would be stupid enough to run away when a pedophile is on the run. So, we stick you on the street and you're an easy target. You both have long hair, and, anyone can tell you are both virgins, so why would he not take you? We'd have a specialist fix your makeup and do your clothes so you wouldn't look like the women of the teen titans. We flaunt your better side, one dark, the other light, and you'll be a shoe in to get kidnapped. He takes you, you kick his ass, you save the mayor's daughter, and this guy will rot in prison. It's a win-win situation."
Raven seethed with anger. "You think you can just come in here, slap some makeup on us, throw us out on the street, and hope that we catch this guy? What if we don't get taken and this guy strikes someone else? Or what if we do get taken, but aren't able to stop this guy?"
Twain's smile was completely smug. "You obviously don't have much faith in yourself. When you go out and fight against bank robbing villains with guns, or psychotic villains with an army of robots, do you even think that you might not come home again? Do you ever think that you'll just sit back like a coward while the rest of the world is praying for their lives? Well, it is certainly what your doing now."
The rage boiling up inside of Raven burst with his last comment. With a flick of her wrist, she sent Twain crashing into a wall. "How are you come in here, tell us that if we don't follow your plan innocent girls will die, and when we have doubts, call us cowards. We are far from cowards. This town knows that the police force is lacking in duty, and depending on five teenagers to do their dirty work. When was the last time you captured a bank robber? Yes, now you have to do a little work, but you still come running to the tower. You, Detective Alexander Twain, are the coward."
The force pinning him to the wall disappeared and he slid to the ground. Raven sat back down, ignoring the frightened glances the other two men threw at her.
Twain stood up and fixed his stripped tie. "I apologize for offending you. It is just that…we really need your help. This man has been on the run for a while now and with each passing moment, he his probably torturing the mayor's daughter. And—"
Robin spoke up. "I thought that no one knew where she was. How do you know that he has her?"
Ortega crossed his legs at the ankle. "We don't. But we have high suspicions that he has her. She would have been an easy target. She was virginal, long hair, and a runaway."
"But how does he know that they are virgins? These days, it's hard to tell." Beast Boy flinched when Raven glared at him. "I wasn't taking about you…though it does kinda surprise me." She kicked his side hard, and his breath came out in a grunt. He glanced up at her with a genuine grin. "I was just kidding. It doesn't surprise me."
"And why not?"
His smile vanished. "I can't say anything right, can I?" Her eyes flashed, but he knew that it was laughter. Well, at least her eyes laughed at him.
Ortega spoke up. "Are you going to help us? If not, then I guess we need to come up with a new plan."
Raven sighed and stood up. "I guess we have no choice. If we want this man caught, we might actually be the only ones who can help." She held out a hesitant hand. "I'll do it." Twain took it with a grin.
"We can't thank you enough." He glanced down at Starfire. "Will you be helping us out?"
She bit her lip, standing up. Ortega's eyes widened. Jeez, she was taller than his six feet! She was barely shorter than Lex, and taller than Ray. She was like an Amazon women or something. She was defiantly pretty enough.
"I will do what is needed." Lex's grin widened. "Perfect. How about we start first thing in the morning. We'll have to have you fitted and you color matched so we know what makeup you need and—"
"What is this, a beauty pageant? I thought we were just supposed to walk the streets, not look prostitutes begging for attention."
"We want to make sure he doesn't recognize you immediately." Raven glanced down and noticed he had not released her hand. She pulled it back and dropped it at her side. "We can't thank you enough for helping is with this case."
"Talk about irony." Raven muttered, glancing at Robin who nodded in agreement.
Cyborg sauntered in, hands full of bags, whistling. He caught sight of the three men with a raised eyebrow and set the food on the counter. "I missed something really important, didn't I?"
X x X
After the men left, the group explained to Cyborg everything that was taking place while they ate their food. He had shaken his head and mused how ironic everything was, then headed off to bed.
Starfire padded to the bathroom, longing for a hot shower. She turned the water on as hot as she could bear, stripped down, and stepped under the comforting spray.
She stared at the white tiles while the water soaked her long hair and pondered the events that had taken place only hours ago.
Though she was still a little cloudy on earth ways, this seemed completely strange.
Usually, the titans only dealt with bank robbers and Slade, but murderers? It made no sense to her why a detective would need the help of two teenage girls. As Raven had said, there were thousands of women between the ages of 13 and 18. Why would he be drawn to her and Raven? He could attack anywhere and they were just supposed to walk the streets, pretending to be runaway? What if someone else offered them a ride? They knew not whom this man was so how were they supposed to know which car to get in? If they got in the wrong car, they would be losing time. What if he didn't even have a car? What he dragged his victims into buildings? They knew not what kind of car he drove or anything. How could they track a man they knew nothing about?
Starfire groaned and rinsed the shampoo from her hair. No one seemed to be thinking along those lines. After she rinsed the soap from her, she stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel. Maybe she should talk to Robin. What he had said earlier to her floated back to her and her heart clenched. It was no secret that she loved him, had since the moment he had said that no one could replace her when her sister tried to take over her place. It had been hard enough for her to watch him date other girls and bring them home, but even then she had let a little shimmer of hope bloom in her heart that maybe one day he would notice her.
But now…now that flower of hope withered and died, leaving her empty. She could always date other guys, but it wouldn't be the same. She would probably compare that man to Robin, which would be unfair to the person she had dated. At least she could get her mind off him with this adventure her and Raven we about to partake in. And, who knows. Maybe they could find this man and bring him down while saving the poor mayor's daughter.
Slipping on her clothes and brushing out her wet hair, which fell to her hips, Starfire made her way to Robin's room. She knocked lightly and was afraid that it was too late when he didn't answer. She frowned and stepped back, turning to walk to her room. The swish of the door had her turning back around.
Robin stood before, in nothing but lose red pajama bottoms that hugged his lean hips. She blushed and looked down when she found herself staring at his chest. "I…I am terribly sorry if I awoke you. I just had…a few…minor confusions about what is to take place."
He grinned and moved back so she could walk in. Hesitantly, she glanced up at him, then made her way to his room. The door shut, bathing them in darkness, and she jumped when he touched her shoulder. "Give me a minute and I'll find a light bulb. My light just went out on me, which would explain the darkness. Go ahead and find a place to sit…if you can. I'll just be a minute." He walked out, leaving her alone in his room.
It was strangely comforting, the smell of his room. It was completely Robin. With the help of her glowing hand, she sidestepped clothes and old newspaper clippings and sat down at his desk. Her curiosity got the better of her and she picked up an article lying on the metal desk, lifting her hand to read it.
The door opened, bathing the room with a dull light glow and she jumped as if she had been caught doing something she was not supposed to.
Robin chuckled and grabbed a chair to stand on. After he fixed the light and made himself comfortable, she forgot what she came here to say. With him sprawled out on his bed, legs crossed, it was really hard to pay attention to anything other than him. Of course she had seen men with their shirts off, like on television, but had she seen Robin like this. And he looked really, really good without a shirt on.
"Starfire?"
"Hmm?" She blinked once. Twice. Then cleared her throat and looked away.
"You said you had some minor confusions about what's going on."
"Oh, yes, right. I was a bit…"
"Sidetracked?" Robin offered with an amused grin.
"Umm…yes." She toyed with the ends of her hair, biting her lower lip. Finally, she repeated what she had thought in the shower.
Robin sat up to listen, watching the way she played with her hair. She braided it, unbraided it, and then started all over again.
"I would have never thought of that." He leaned against the headboard, folding his hands across his flat stomach. "Jeez, that throws things off a little, doesn't it?"
"Yes. But what are we to do if a man picks us up, but is not the White Rose Murderer? He could be anybody and we are just…supposed to know which one is the true man?"
Robin sighed, biting the inside of his lip while thinking. "Maybe…you could tell whoever tried to pick you up that you can walk on your own. If he tried to force you, then maybe it is him. If he doesn't, then…you wait until the next person tries to pick you up." He thought a moment longer and muttered, "I don't like the fact that they're putting you out on the streets in hope of a rapist picking you up."
Starfire shrugged and stretched out her long legs before folding the under her. "I just hope we can find him and save that poor girl. Who knows what she has been through? I hate the thought of not helping find this man and not putting the girls' murderer to rest."
"It's sick to think that some of these girl have not even hit puberty."
"I just hope Raven and I will not be his next victim."
"He's not going to touch you, believe me. I'll implant a tracking devise on you so we could follow your signal. Except only Cyborg, Beast Boy, and I will be the only ones who know about it. I really don't trust the police. They could manage to screw it up and you and Raven could end up hurt."
Starfire stood up and walked to his bed, sitting on the edge and folding her legs under her. "Why do you not trust them?"
Robin made a space for her so she could lean against the headboard with him. Their shoulders touched and he could have sworn fire shot up and down his arm. "I just…don't. As Raven said, they're depending on five teenagers to do all their dirty work. And now, they're prepared to endanger your lives' because they couldn't manage to do it on their own. The have just become way to reliant on us." Beside him, Star stretched like a cat and yawned.
Leaning her head against the headboard, she studied the collage of Slade on the far wall. It ranged from newspaper clippings, to his mask, to shards of metal, and to his weapons. She slid down lower to get more comfortable and mumbled, "That is quite a assortment you have."
He glanced down and her then followed her eyes to his collection. He gave an unfeeling smile. "Yeah. I just wish I could find him and bring him down once and for all." Surprised, he glanced down to find Star resting her head on his shoulders, already sound asleep. Her hair, still damp, fell over his shoulder and settled against his stomach.
Slowly, so not to wake her, he slid down so his back touched the mattress. She slid down with him and immediately threw her arm across his stomach, her head still against his shoulder. He knew his whole body was probably red, but after the embarrassment fled and comfort settled in, he drifted off to sleep.
X x X
