Chapter 2: Carnage
Of course they had seen death. Being who they were it was an inevitable experience. But it was never like this. The deaths were always clean and almost peaceful (or at least resolved). Sometimes it wasn't even death, just a cease of existence. There was never too much gore or tragedy. There was never anything like this. This something on a completely different level.
"I warned you." The Chief commented quietly as he approached behind them.
Cyborg cleared his throat before clumsily moving out towards the field with Star and Beastboy. Raven stared for a few seconds before leaving, her face taking back to its usual bored expression though there was a flicker of hidden emotion in her purple eyes.
Robin took a deep breath. "There are two men in here." He noted.
"Yea. The one against the wall was the guy who dragged this dude-" he nodded towards the other body, "in here. He never made it out."
"How could this have happened?" Robin asked. The floor was mixed with blood and dirty water. The man against the wall appeared to be melted away, blood oozing from his body. His head was whipped back sharply, his mouth wide open in a permanent scream with eyes bulging out. The other man was hardly put together; both his arm and leg thrown in different pieces throughout the small bathroom. His body also had a melted away look with blood pooling out. The one arm and limb that still hung on by a few flaps of skin were curled as if they had dried up. Worst was his face which had a wide crazed grin, bearing white gleaming teeth. His bulged out eyes had blood running out of them, making it appear as if he were crying.
"Well we found a vile of some type of chemical. Still working on figuring out exactly what it is but I'll tell you right now it's not something you find in your local store. It's explosive, but only reacts to something in the human body we presume. Judging from the size of the bottle, it only takes a relatively small amount to get the results you see now." The Chief said.
"So he just came in here and poisoned himself and some random guy?"
"Not quite that simple. See his clothing?"
Robin looked at the man with missing limbs and saw that the shreds of cloths appeared to be extremely short basketball shorts and nothing else.
"We have reason to believe he didn't carry it here with him. Seems unlikely that he'd be strolling around with something like that in his hand, you know? The vile must have already been here. Plus he was still in his right mind a few minutes before it happened. Not the type of guy to do this? Just a simple man taking an afternoon jog. He snapped, somehow got this poor sap to take a sip before downing some himself, and boom."
"I think it's connected to the other cases. Whoever's doing this is becoming more sadistic." Robin said leaving the restroom. He didn't feel the need to takes pictures and go through the usual evidence routine. He was sure the scene was saved in perfect detail and embedded in his memory.
"This is a lot to take on. And don't forget you have other responsibilities as well. Are you sure you're still up to this? We could use your help but this is an exceptional case. If you feel it'd be best to keep the Titans out…" the Chief flicked some ashes into the wind and held up the caution tape for Robin.
The rest of the team was spread out and doing odd jobs for the police. Robin felt torn between wanting to get involved and guarding his team. Something in him itched to find out what was going on and bring it to a stop. But he also felt he had an obligation to keep his team safe, shielded. Just like the Chief had said, they were only teens and they already had their own personal demons. He didn't want to add this. After a moment of contemplating he spoke again.
"I'll help, but any information you have I want to receive it first and I'll relay it to the Titans."
The Chief nodded. He knew what Robin was thinking. It was exactly what he had in mind when he had withheld information from the Teen Titans. If he could regulate what was told perhaps he could protect them. It obviously didn't work for him but despite his failed efforts it was different in Robin's case. With nothing else to say he left Robin alone.
Robin stood there for a moment, the image still vivid in his thoughts. After a while he sighed and walked over to his team that had gathered around Cyborg's car. "You guy's okay?" he asked.
"That was intense." said Cyborg.
"I wasn't ready for that dude." Beastboy threw in.
Raven stayed indifferent but glanced at Star who was sniffling.
"We've never had to deal with something like this, but the police have. I think its best that we offer our help but stay on the back burner okay?" Robin looked at his team and gave them a smile that he hoped didn't look forced. "I'll get info from the station and update you. How about you guys go home and rest up a little?"
Raven raised an eyebrow and looked at Robin with an "I know what you're up to" look but didn't say anything. The Titans nodded warily and left to go home.
The room was dark besides a dim table light casting a yellow glow on a mixture of news paper clippings, pictures, and notebooks. Robin sat on his bed, his hand covering his face and tangling in his unspiked hair. He tried to organize the maze of dead end clues and stories but instead his mind gave up and focused on the drumming of the rain.
He was tired, stressed, and had become withdrawn. His team worried but said nothing. He knew they were afraid for him, but oblivious about his involvement with the case they assumed it was a new obsession with Slade. He didn't mind that. The Chief had been right. The Sanity Epidemic, as it was now being called, had only gotten darker and more violent. In the past month and a half the victims doubled and more of them were becoming suicidal and succeeding.
Glancing quickly at the clock he grabbed his shirt, pulled it over his head and went to leave. The other Titans had dispersed and went to the security of their own bedrooms allowing Robin to leave undisturbed and unquestioned.
The rain didn't bother him at all even despite being cold and mingling with the wind rushing by him. It relaxed him slightly and after a while and he didn't feel himself gripping onto the handles as tight though he was still doing well above the speed limit. He came to a stop in front of the Chief's house and knocked on the door. After a few minutes Robin knocked again a little harder than intended. The Chief came to the door yawning and scratching his bare stomach that had grown over the years.
"What the hell are you banging on my door for? Shouldn't you be home kid?" he asked. He stared at Robin for a minute before frowning and sighing. From inside the house a woman's voice was shouting, asking who was at the door at this time of night.
"One sec." The Chief disappeared inside the house shouting something back at his wife before coming out again with a cigarette and robe on. He sat on the patio step keeping clear of the rain. "It's a dreary night. Kind of night that births gouls and ghosts." He lit his cigarette and watched it burn for a moment. Robin sat beside him, his bangs dripping cold water down his cheeks.
"I can't figure it out." Robin said. "There's nothing that makes sense. People are going mad on my streets and dying and there's nothing I can do."
The Chief just stared out at the rain and smoked. It was a couple of minutes before he spoke. "We should visit the patients." He turned to Robin. "We haven't even taken the time to see the victims; that might or might not help."
"I thought you've seen them." Robin answered.
"I've glanced at them, had a few words but nothing was coherent. Left the interviews to my subordinates. Maybe we'd find out something." The Chief blew out smoke that blended into the night.
"So hang out with the people I failed? I don't think—" The Chief cut Robin off.
"Look kid, you're in the case. Cut the self pity. It ain't going to help you sleep at night. The standard police fingerprints and witness approach isn't working worth a damn. We have to try some different angle's; get in deep. Now as a cop I got rules and regulations to follow. I can only do so much without having to fill out tons of paper work and requesting permission from the higher ups. All that would take too long. I need someone to get me the dirty info that's bound to pop up sooner or later. We start by getting to know the victims, before and after." The Chief flicked his stub of a cigarette in the rain.
"You've been thinking about this for a while."
The Chief nodded. "It's a lot to ask, but I'm assuming you're willing to do it for me." He said. "Meet me here tomorrow at ten."
Robin nodded and stood up. The Chief took out another cigarette and lit it.
"One day you're going to realize how bad smoking is. Especially a heavy smoker like you." Robin said dryly.
"You're like my wife." The Chief smiled and inhaled, leaning back relaxed. "Until the day my lungs burst I'll keep on doing it."
Smirking Robin stepped back into the rain and went home.