Back inside the Ghost Industries, Arny sat in his chair with an old style guitar across his lap, jamming to some music.

"Pretty Mary Sunlight, she's alright with me."
"Pretty Mary Sunlight, she's Everything I need."
"Pretty Mary Sunlight, turns night to day."
"Pretty Mary Sunlight, don't ever go away."

Coming to an end he soon noticed that the audience had returned. "Oh hey there, it's good to see ya again." He smiled and placed the guitar down under his desk. "Alright, now lets get back to story at hand. Ya might wanna keep the lights on for this... unless your feelin' brave enough... anyhow, here we go!" Arny takes out the TV remote, points it to the TV screen and presses 'Play'.

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THE DISPATCH

Part 2: Perpetrator

(MSP): CO AG - A Gothic Symphony

Walking down a dreary corridor with echoing footsteps, the Boy Wonder lead Starfire and Raven further into the bowels of the complex. They all remained on high alert as Robin was the only armed Titan. Starfire kept herself close to Robin, their joined hands gave her some comfort in the otherwise bleak hall. Raven followed while keeping a watchful eye out for any surprise attacks from behind.

"Aaaaseeeeeooooooraaaaaaseeeeeeth...." A soft whisper made itself known.

"Wait... listen..." Robin halted.

"Yooooodeeeeeeeeaaaaanooooosh...."

"Can you hear that?" He looked around the hall, trying to locate it's source. The two girls stopped to listen, when a small breeze filled the hallway. Raven felt the temperature quickly drop and huddled herself inside her cloak. "R-Robin... i-it's cold..." Starfire stuttered in surprise. "Don't worry Starfire, it's only a draft." He continued to walk as Starfire began to shiver. "N-no friend Robin! ...i-it's cold! ...I-I s-should not be... f-f-feeling the cold!" Her desperate pleads stopped Robin in his tracks, turning to her he wrapped his cape around him and the shivering Tamaranean. "It's okay Starfire, we'll get you to a warmer area." She held herself closer to him, in hopes of regaining some warmth. Robin shared a look of concern with Raven, her reaction to the sudden change in climate made him realize that this was definitely not normal. They continued to venture through the hall with the temperature still decreasing. They were now breathing out steam as they neared the end, where they finally emerged into another room. As soon as they entered the temperature shot back up and the breeze was gone. They all looked around, puzzled by what had just transpired.

"That was no ordinary breeze, something very powerful is here... but what?" Raven muttered.

Robin kept hold of the still quivering redhead as he took in her words. "OK... we better stay close, because for all we know we could be dealing with something that isn't of this world."

"...or universe." Raven hauntingly added.

Robin momentarily paused at the dark girls words. "Right... then we better ready ourselves. As much as I hate to say this, if the worst does come to the worst... we may have to retreat." He received a skeptical look from the empath.

"It wouldn't be the first time Robin."

"...I know." He sighed.

With the small group all in agreement their attention turned to the room they had entered. It was another large room, possibly the biggest one in the whole complex. It was full of old shipping containers that were stacked up to the ceiling in piles of three and positioned in a row of four. At the far end of the first row was a mid-sized gap that Robin assumed were the way out was. "C'mon, let's keep going... and stay close." He advanced forward with Stafire under his arm and Raven trailing behind. They reached the gap and turned into it, only to be met with more containers in the same position. Spotting another gap at the opposite end, they continued at a cautious pace, not knowing just what could be around the next corner. Their slalom-like path continued for another seven rows.

A sound of metal groaning came from behind the next containment row. Immediately the Titans each took a stance (Even in spite of their lack of powers.) and braced for a battle. A second sound of metal groaned, followed by footsteps running off into the distance. Robin's eyes winded. "Titans! Go!" He sprang forward and rounded the container with Starfire and Raven hot on his heels. On the other side they were greeted to a set of double doors that had just been flung open. They ran over to the slightly swaying doors to find they opened to another darkened corridor. Without hesitating Robin sprinted down the hall in pursuit of the perpetrator. The two girls however shared a brief look of uneasiness before running after their leader.

The hall ended at another set of double doors. Robin was about to kick them open when a blinding white light appeared through the doors windows. "Aagh!" He froze, shielding his eyes with his right arm. "Robin!" Starfire gasped as she and Raven caught up. "I'm fine Star, I'm fine... I just... got blinded a little." Drawing back to face the dark hall he blinked several times until his vision returned, seeing the now concerned faces of his two teammates. "Hold on, I got this." Raven stepped in between him and the doors, using her cloak as a shield to the light. She heaved against one of the doors as it slowly opened. The bright light mysteriously dimmed as it spilled into the hallway.

Just what they would encounter beyond these doors... they could never have foreseen the outcome.

(MSP)

With a final heave and a grunt, Raven successfully granted them access to the brightly lit room. Upon entering they discovered the source of the bright light was that of a small electrical lantern, the powerful kind that the military used. It was placed on the floor just off to the right of the room, plugged into a portable generator that was silently running. The brightness of the lantern lit most of the right side of the room up... but just who had turned it on? they cast glances around the room but found no traces of anyone. Robin furrowed his brows and walked further into the room. He neared the center when something on the wall opposite caught his eye, turning to face it he discovered that it wasn't a wall at all... but a door. It was huge, fourteen feet tall at least and half again as wide. The surface was black metal, studded with rivets and bolts, mounted on huge hinges. "Hmm..." Robin went to take a closer look at the strange door.

Another door from within the darkened side of the room slowly opened.

(MSP): Kevin MacLeod - Apprehension

The three Titans jumped, thinking quickly Robin grabbed Stafire's hand and dashed over to a stake of crates and crouched behind them. Raven also searched for a hiding spot before hurling herself behind an unturned table. The door fully opened and was accompanied by quickened footsteps heading in their direction. Robin braced himself for battle, his hand nearing his Bo-staff. Stafire gripped his shoulder in concern, silently wishing her powers would return. Raven was thinking on a similar level, she mentally cursed herself for letting her powers fail once again due to her fear. The footsteps came to a stop, with each Titan holding their breath. The sound of cloths rustling was heard. Robin decide to take a chance and peered from behind a crate.

A ghastly dressed figure was crouched on the floor in the center of the room.

The masked detective stared at the mysterious figure, it was wearing a dark colored cloak that was all torn at the bottom. It draped across it's wearer's body, in a way that reminded him of is former mentor. Accompanying it was large rounded hat the rested atop it's head. A little surprised by it's appearance he ducked back down. "What is it Robin?" Starfire whispered. "I'm not sure, but whoever it is... they definitely shouldn't be here." He whispered back. Seeing his reaction Raven took a chance herself and peered over the table. She was little taken back by the figures grim look. It had now shifted poison and appeared to be kneeling. Two arms then emerged from within the cloak and into existence. She then noticed it was holding a small piece of paper in it's left hand and something she couldn't identify in it's right hand, was it some kind of weapon? she couldn't tell, but she was prepared for what ever would happen, even without her powers she would not let herself go down without a fight. The figure leaned forward so it was near to the ground and outstretched it's right arm, placing the paper on the floor below it's obscured face.

It began to draw something on the floor.

Surprised and confused by it's actions Raven looked towards Robin who in-turn looked back at her with an equally confused expression. They sat in their respective hiding places for a few minutes as the strange figure continued with it's drawing. It would constantly rub the object, roughly against the tiled floor. Whatever it was drawing, it was certainly big, almost as big as the T-Car. Raven noticed that the figure would look back and fourth between the piece of paper and the floor, as if it were copying something on it. Every so often the object it was drawing with would fade itself out like chalk, only for the figure to take out another similar object to continue with it's unknown illustration. This continued for at least another five minutes, with the figure letting out hurried breaths. It never uttered a word but the way it would quickly change direction and frantically replace it's drawing instruments showed sighs of desperation.

Finally, when it arrived back to it's original spot in the center of the room, the figure sat up, discarded it's final drawing piece and let out an audible sigh of relief. It then gathered it's body into the standing position without parting from it's cloak. It stepped off to the side and took one last look at the paper before examining it's work. With a satisfied nod it screwed up the paper and threw it off to the side of the room, landing near Raven's hiding place. She stared at the discarded crumpled form, now curious as to what was on it. She looked back to see the figure was now facing the large metal door, she still couldn't see it's face as it was shielded by it's raised hood, which for some reason, wore a hat on top of it. Seeking a chance while it was distracted she reached out and grasped the scrap paper, tucking it under her cloak. The figure then reached inside it's cloak again and pulled out, of all things... a book, opening it and proceeded to skim through the pages rapidly until it found the page it seeked. Resting the book on it's right arm, it began to whisper a series of words that not even Raven could understand.

"Lussa, Kars, Oliviak, Frenic, Morcanna, Tyma..." As it spoke the book began to glow. Robin tensed at the sight, it was clear that some kind of ritual was taking place. Fearing the possibility of something dangerous being unleashed, he withdrew his Bo-staff and launched himself over the crates. "Freeze!" He shouted. The figure jumped at the interruption and spun round to face the cause of the sudden intrusion. "Don't move! your under arrest!" He announced to the strange figure who took a step back. Starfire and Raven quickly emerged from their hiding places to join their leader. When they reached his side what they saw only made them more confused. Matching it's cloak and hat was a dark colored ascot, covering the lower half of it's owners face, above that was a set of blue tinted goggles warn across it's eyes. The figure's face was practically impossible to identify, even with the light from the lantern which only lit up the Titans side of the room.

(MSP)

"Alright, now are you going to come quietly?" The figure remained silent, clutching the book under it's right arm protectively. "Or do we have take you down the hard way?" Robin stated, holding his bo-staff in defense. With a slight shift from under it's cloak, a small round device fell to the floor and rolled out towards them. They all looked at the circular ball as it neared them, Robin barely got a word out when...

BANG! HISSSSSSSSS!

The Titans were blinded by a smoke bomb! "ROB...IN...!" Starfire coughed and staggered back, accidentally knocking the lantern over. It's plug detached from the generator, plunging the room into complete darkness. Raven held her cloak to her mouth as the smoke spread throughout the room. This gave the figure the chance to escape, Robin held his breath and ran through the smoke just in time to hear a door close at the far side of the room. "TITANS! GO!" He roared, regaining their lungs the two girls quickly followed his voice through the darkness and smoke. Robin wrenched the door open, entering another pitch black hallway. Robin flipped open his communicator as he ran. "Cyborg, Beast Boy, where are you!" To his shock he only received static. "Cyborg! Beast Boy! come in!" still no response, his teammates behind him tried their own devices, but they fared no better. Something had blocked their signals out.

Cyborg and Beast Boy had been searching for the unidentified animal for quite some time. They'd searched various rooms, with each one being more ransacked than the last. This only added more questions than answers, what exactly happened here that caused the base to be locked down? Cyborg pondered on that though as they reached another set of double doors, pulling them open they were both hit buy a thick layer of smoke. "Agh! dude! what is this stuff?!" Beast Boy cried and quickly covered his mouth. "I don't know man, but we gotta go through it!" Cyborg braved his way into the room, using his shoulder-light as guidance, he came to a halt when his metal foot bumped something on the floor. Shinning his light on the object he called out to his friend. "Yo BB, check this out." He knealed down to pick up the small device and discovered it was the source of the smoke, after turning it this way and that he managed to deactivate it. On a closer inspection he noticed something strange. "Hey, this doohickey kinda looks like somethin' outta Robin's utility belt." Beast Boy joined his side as the smoke started to fade.

"Um... Cy? you don't think the others... could have ran into whatever we saw?" He hesitantly mentioned. Cyborg paused, then took out his communicator, flipping it open. "Robin, this is Cyborg. Do ya copy?" He waited for a few moments. "Robin, do ya read me?" He said a little more insistently. "Yo! can anyone read me?!" He got no response, and the smoke had now faded down to a thin layer. "M-maybe they're just outta ranger?" Beast Boy nervously opted. "I doubt it B, I programed these things to go for about fifteen miles. Somethin's seriously screwing with the electrical frequency in this place." He shone his light around the room, lighting up their surroundings. He stopped abruptly when he discovered the large black metal door. "What the..." He whispered, casting his light slowly across it. Beast Boy followed his gaze and was awestruck by the massive door. "Woah..." was all he could muster. They stepped forward to get closer look.

(MSP): CO AG - A Gothic Symphony

Across the face of the door, graved into the metal, were words in some strange looping script that they could not recognize. Every surface was carved with that script, or with strange diagrams made of splayed circle-ended lines. In the center of the door was a large spoked wheel lock, and in the center of the lock was a keyhole. Above the keyhole was a sigil, enclosed in three circles. Gazing up the length of the door Cyborg gasped in shock. Right above the door, written in high capital letters was: 'PROJECT GEMINI'. "Heh... well... looks like we've found out where the secret project is bein' kept." He sheepishly stated. "Dude... just what exactly were they working on to keep it behind a door like that?" Beast Boy was getting a really bad vibe, he looked up at the giant door Cyborg was examining.

Beast Boy felt a shiver go down his spin, as if the room had just gotten colder. "Um... Cyborg, s-shouldn't we start looking for the others." He whispered. Cyborg didn't answer, instead he began typing into his computer arm. The results that came back made him raise an eyebrow. "Mah sensors detect some kinda activity on the other side, but it's too vague to identify." Beast Boy stared at the door, more specifically at the spoked wheel with the keyhole... did the sigil symbol just glitter? he looked closer, but then dismissed it as his imagination.

"I think I'm gonna take some scans on this thing." Cyborg said, the top of his center finger becoming a camera. "We'll go find the others after this." His middle finger became a small laser, casting a blue beam of light onto the door. The diagrams surrounding the door began to glitter, this time Beast Boy knew he wasn't seeing things. "U-uh... C-Cyborg?" He squeaked. "I-I really t-think you shouldn't do that..."

"Relax BB, this won't take a minute." He stepped closer to it, scanning the lock. "I wanna do some research on it later, try and find out more about this place." The diagrams were now glowing, almost as if warning them.

Beast Boy was slowly backing away. "D-dude... y-you seriously shouldn't be doing that."

"Alright, just a few more seconds." He scanned the sigil symbol before retracting his laser. The information now stored on his hard drive. "OK Beast Boy, we can-"

"Raaaaaashaaaaaa...." A whisper came from beyond the door.

Cyborg jumped back in shock while Beast Boy began to tremble. "D-dude... there's something in there! ...something... alive!"

THUD! CRACK! the two boy's watch in horror as the spoked wheel turned by itself! the darkness around them no longer felt empty. In fact, it felt positively crowded, as if they had an audience, watching them. Stepping back further from the door as the wheel continued to turn, counterclockwise. It made another CRACK! and a moment of silence before the door slowly groaned open, swinging to the right on a draft of cool, stinking air. Right before there eyes, a new path was shown to them, or at least that what it seemed to be. It was just as dark as every other non-lit room in the facility, however... there was something extremely off about this path... it didn't seem to end.

"Um... oooh kayyy, this is... strange." Cyborg squinted, his shoulder-light shone brightly into the shadows, but it didn't reflect on any walls, it was like they were... staring into an abyss.

(MSP)

The doors they'd previously entered burst open!

The two boys jumped with Beast Boy letting out a yelp, Cyborg swiftly aimed his light at the doors to see a darkly dressed figure running towards them. Immediately noticing it wasn't a Titan, he quickly deployed his sonic cannon. "Alright! just hold it right there!" The figure stopped dead in it's tracks. "Don't make this any harder for yourself." Cyborg kept his eyes trained on the figure, completely forgetting about the open door behind him. The two hero's stared at the figure, unsure of just who they were dealing with as it's dark colored cloths completely shrouded it in mystery. Beast Boy stared longingly at the gloomy figure, waiting for it to try pull some kind of escape trick. What he didn't expect it to do was to slowly turn it's head towards him, it's blue tinted goggles locking with emerald eyes.

He felt strangely intimidated under it's gaze, pushing it aside he narrowed his eyes at the figure, ready for anything it would throw at him. The figures focus then turned towards the large open door behind them, it let out an audible gasp. Cyborg raised an eyebrow. "Don't try anythin' funny yo." He warned, but he was not prepared for the response he received.

(MSP) Dark Ambient Music - There is nowhere left to hide

"YOU FOOLS!" It yelled at them in a muffled yet husky voice. "You've made a GRAVE MISTAKE!" Momentarily taken back by it's hoarse tone voice, Cyborg quickly went on the defensive. "The only mistake being made is you being here!" Standing his ground Cyborg failed to notice the light breeze entering the room.

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" It was practically growling at them. "That vault you opened contai-"

"Haaaaseeeeoooohraaaaaaseeeeeeeth...." A haunting hiss made itself known, both boys snapped their head in the direction of the offending noise.

"What the heck is-" The sound of running footsteps caused them to look back, catching a glimpse of the figure ducking though the double doors. "Hey! get back here!" The Tin Man yelled and took off after it. He got to the door and glanced back to see his green teammate staring into the opened vault, as if in a trance. "YO! Beast Boy C'mon!" His words shook the shape-shifter back to reality. "Huh?...oh... yeah! I'm comin' Cy!" He ran over to join his teammate and set off in pursuit.

They chased the figure into the containment room, running back and fourth between the large containers. It then lead them down various hallways and corridors, narrowly dodging overturned items. They still couldn't contact Robin or the others, so for now they were on their own. They reached yet another pair of double doors, Cyborg not wanting to be slowed down, shoulder-barged them open. He came to halt inside the room, a green cheetah by his side. Fueled by adrenaline, they glanced around searching for any sighs of the unknown figure. It was then they noticed they were in some kind of garage, it was another fairly large facility, multiple diagonal lines were painted on the floor, symbolizing parking spaces. To the left was a raised loading dock which had a slope leading up to it, to the right at the far end was huge metallic door, most likely where the vehicles entered.

The sound of an engine turning on echoed across the room. Cyborg shone his shoulder-light around the garage, frantically searching for it's source. A single headlight turned on from the other side of the loading dock. "Dude... is that..." Before Beast Boy could finish the engine revved, followed by screeching tires. "YO LOOK OUT!" Cyborg yelled, they both leaped out the way as a vehicle surged towards them, it skidded and did a 180 turn before facing them. Cyborg aimed his cannon at the attacking vehicle, hopping to take out it's engine while Beast Boy transformed into a rhino, ready to charge it head-on. A small red light about the size as a camera lens appeared on it's roof. The two hero's stood their ground, prepared for the worse.

The vehicle made another sound, like something had slid open. This was followed by a activation sound that made Cyborg pause. 'Wait... that sounded like-' A bright blue colored laser beam shot towards them. They dove out of the way as it zoomed over them, striking the metallic door behind them. After a few seconds it ceased firing, with a rev of it's engine it took of at speed towards the door. The two Titans scrambled to their feet, Cyborg's shoulder-light briefly lighting up the vehicle for a second as it sped passed them, that's when they discovered...

It was the same car they'd encountered on the road earlier.

They watched as it drove through a narrow hole in the door, making a scrapping noise as sparks and pieces of burnt metal went flying. Beast Boy changed back to human as Cyborg ran over to the hole, now very much baffled. why had it chose to escape rather than fight? the distant sound of it's engine could be herd, getting fainter... fainter... fainter until non-existent. "Um... so what now dude?" Beast Boy awkwardly broke the silence. Cyborg rubbed his forehead and sighed. "I dunno man, all I know is, Robin ain't gonna like this." Beast Boy groaned at the thought, with one last glance through the hole they set off to locate the rest of their team.

(MSP)

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Hitting 'Pause' on the remote again, Arny faces the viewers. "Well, how 'bout that for an introduction? we've got a mystery person on the lose and a strange vault containing... something. Oo Welp, we'll just have find out what my creators got in store for the next chapter, leave a review if you can and I'll see you in the next one!" He picks up his guitar and starts playing another song.

"Come on baby, let's take my car To the place where dreams come true."
"It's a mile off the interstate, and if you want to dance, well, that's there tooooo..."
"At the happy haunted sunshine house, we can grooooove... Oh yeah."