Part 62: Devilish Laughter

Sparks flew into the air as a jagged blade clashed with a key-like sword. Their wielders locked the weapons and eyes each other intensely. Black orbs and green orbs met before with a united cry they pushed off one another and their feet dragged against the dirt surface they were fighting on.

"Nice form," Pasenderos, the Arrancar of Tazuka, said as he gripped Tiburon. "You're really good with that thing," he complimented.

"I had to be when I had to save the Multiverse," Ryuki, the Keyblade's wielder, relied as he went into another stance. "I'll tell you about it sometimes."

"Well, that would be one story I'd like to hear," Pasenderos said as he stretched his arm out at Ryuki, pointing his fist at the Dragon Knight. He said one word, "Bala."

"Kuso!" Ryuki cursed as he leapt to the side and rolled over the ground to avoid the blast of energy from Pasenderos' fist. Weaker than a cero, a bala was definitely just as deadly as it took less time to charge up and several blasts could be fired in succession. Pasenderos continued to rain the bala blasts on Ryuki who had no choice but to run and avoid them, trying to create some distance between himself and his Arrancar sparing partner.

The Titans had all returned to the Tower and Pasenderos had been introduced to the group. To say they were shocked was an understatement since they had learnt about Hollow and Arrancar from Ryan when the Vizard had visited them the last time. Beast Boy had freaked out about his soul probably getting eaten, but Pasenderos gently assured the changeling that he wouldn't be eating anyone's souls. He had evolved beyond the need to feed on souls.

Pasenderos realized that a lot had changed since his death and his descent into a Hollow. Shadow, or Ichijyo, was engaged to an enchanting young woman named Raven whom Pasenderos got to know really well. The most surprising that Pluto, or Takada, had decided to give up chasing skirts and actually settle with one steady girlfriend. It didn't surprise him that Takada had decided to date an alien. He was a sci-fi fanatic and one of his dreams had been to date a real alien and Blackfire fir the bill. Pasenderos had to admit that she was beautiful.

Jinx sat on the sidelines, watching along with Brimstone. She had been watching as Ryuki expertly used the Keyblade to block all of Pasenderos' strikes before countering them. Now she was watching as he tried to escape the bala blasts which were causing the ground to explode whenever they missed their target.

Jinx pet the demon dog who was lying next to her and smiled as she watched her boyfriend train with his long-lost 'brother'. He was genuinely happy now and the pain and guilt that had come with Tazuka's death had all but vanished. She was happy for him…and for herself.

Jinx, with her past, had never imagined that she could find someone who would love her for her. Sure there were guys who found her attractive and exotic but they didn't care for her as a person. Mammoth and Gizmo did but they weren't exactly people she was looking for in a relationship. Now, Ryuki was like a fairy tale prince. He was honorable, chivalrous, kind, generous, understanding…and rich! Jinx shook her head. No, it wasn't about the money. The old Jinx may have cared about the money but not her. Now all she wanted was Ryuki.

When he had 'died', she was heartbroken. She felt her happiness had shattered when he laid in the rubble, unmoving and not breathing. She cried over him. Suddenly, he came back to life…but it wasn't without a cost.

He was an Orphenoch now, which meant he was no longer human. It also meant that his DNA was breaking down and that his lifespan was short. She knew he was afraid to die even if he didn't say it. At least he was smiling more and didn't think of himself as a monster.

Ryuki stopped running and decided to charge straight through fray of bala blasts that were sailing at and past him. He used the Keyblade to smack the blast flying at him as he rushed towards Pasenderos. When he got in range, he thrust his Keyblade out at Pasenderos.

Then…movement stopped as Jinx gasped.

Pasenderos had Tiburon's tip pointed right at Ryuki's jugular. Another inch and it would've gone right through. Ryuki…Ryuki had his Keyblade's tip positioned straight at Pasenderos' chest. Another inch and it would've went through. The two warriors stared at one another before exchanging smiles and withdrawing their weapons. Pasenderos sheathed his Zanpakuto into the scabbard as Ryuki banished the Keyblade.

"You've improved," Pasenderos noticed.

"Arigatou, niisan," Ryuki beamed before Pasenderos ruffled his hair, just like old times. Like an older brother who was proud of his younger brother. They then walked back towards the Tower, Jinx walking beside them with Brimstone.

"I still can't believe you cut your hair," Pasenderos frowned as he looked at Ryuki's new hairstyle, "And that you dyed it."

"I needed a change," Ryuki said defensively. "It looks good, right?"

"It needs getting used to, but it looks good on you, Ryuki-kun."

Meanwhile, in the training room, another trio was in training. Shadowcobra did a back flip to avoid a blast of green energy and ducked under a black energy claw.

"You need to try better than that, girls!" Shadow called as he looked up at Starfire and Raven, who were hovering in the air while he remained grounded.

"Well, if you stopped moving, then maybe we could hit you," Raven complained and then caught the smirk she hated and loved at the same time.

"Now where would be the fun in that?" he grinned.

"You have an obscure view of fun, dear friend," Starfire commented, eyes glowing bright green.

"Well, that's just the way I am," Shadow shrugged. "Now, try to hit me again."

Raven chanted, "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" and sent twin beams of dark energy sailing at Shadow. He erected a shadow barrier to block. Starfire then started blasting him with starbolts. The barrier began to crack so he decided to make his move, He turned intangible just as soon as the barrier began to weaken and break. It shattered and the two girls looked around for him.

"Where has he gone?" Starfire asked and Raven scanned the room. There was a black spot under them and Raven panicked.

"Starfire, he's under us!" Raven shouted and then a black snake made of shadows shot out of the spot and opened its jaws wide. The two girls flew out of reach before they were swallowed. The shadow snake then reformed into the shadow manipulating Vampangel who grinned.

"Now, it's my turn!" Shadow said before he took to the air. He flew at Raven and delivered a kick to her head but she was able to block it with a black energy shield in her hand. Starfire let out a yell and threw her fist into him but he used his Zodiac Power to turn invisible and she ended up hitting air.

"That is not fair!" Starfire yelled out. "Show yourself!"

"Starfire," Raven began, "What do you expect from a slippery snake?" She was trying to lock onto his aura but he had hidden it well. It was like he wasn't in the room. The last time he had done this he had actually left the room and it had taken the girl about 30 minutes to realize that he had been watching TV while they had been searching for him. She knew he wouldn't repeat the same trick, but the Vampangel was bi-polar and unpredictable at times. His angel side was playful and cheerful while his vampire side…well…it was more dark and perverted. Raven's cheeks flushed remembering all the things they would do when alone and in bed. She still couldn't believe she was not only in a romantic and meaningful relationship but that she was engaged. She had never removed the ring since he'd proposed to her on her birthday. She did dread the day when she would have to tell her mother. New Azarath was where she lived and Raven had visited her in the Astral Plane to tell her that Trigon had been defeated. What she failed to mention was that she had a boyfriend and was engaged. That was a conversation she was hoping to put off until she could gather enough courage. Maybe bring a friend or two for support. Even if the mental representation of her mother in her mind accepted their relationship, the real Arella may not be as accepting.

Raven then caught something in the corner of her eye as Shadow became visible again. She fired but then he vanished again, causing her blast to go through him. She felt infuriated with him like he was toying with them; which he was indeed doing.

Starfire was actually enjoying this game of 'hide-and-seek'. The only difference was that he was hiding using his Zodiac Power of Invisibility.

Shadowcobra mulled in his shadow dimension and pulled out his two Pactio cards. This would be a good opportunity for the girls to practice with their added powers from the cards. Their only real battle experience they had was with their battle with Asakura.

"Let's give it a go," Shadowcobra nodded before beginning to invoke the power of the cards.

Meanwhile, the resident mad scientist of the Tower, also known as Pluto, was building another one of his many inventions. Today it was something he had been rebuilding after salvaging them from what used to be the Black Crown Game Shop. The Gamemasters had use these machines to transport their minds into a virtual realm. Pluto was thinking of repairing and modifying them to do much more.

"Oh, this is gonna be so sweet!" Pluto grinned as he rubbed his gloved hands together. "If my calculations are correct, then my newest invention will make humans and computers even closer!" Cyberdog, CD, yipped in agreement at his master. "It needs some more parts, but I can order them from Smart Brain."

It would seem that Pluto still hadn't changed much in terms of his enthusiasm when it came to inventing and science. When Draco had used the ChronoLiner to pick him, Mortuary, Renia and Blackfire, the first thought that came to his mind was to take the ChronoLiner apart and to see how it was able to travel through space and time. Sadly, those were secrets he was not meant to uncover in this century. Time travel was not something you could play around with. Well, that hadn't discouraged him. In fact it had motivated to study on time travel so that he may build his own time machine. Blackfire had been supportive, in her own way. She knew what it was like to be judged by others for being different.

Pluto was just as surprised to see Tazuka again, even if he was an Arrancar. The problem was to get Pluto to believe that Tazuka was now a ghost without him trying to experiment on him. Pluto had always been a skeptic even after he had seen and experienced a lot of impossible things that went beyond and against the understanding and logic of science. He had slowly grown to be more open minded about things but there was still that scientific part of him that would grow skeptical of the unknown. It was in his nature. Fortunately, they were all able to talk about old times.

"Hey, Pluto!" a voice cried through the opening door. The resident mad scientist looked up to see the resident prankster, Beast Boy, walking in.

"What do you need, Beast Boy?" Pluto asked while returning to his work.

"Need some help?" the green boy asked.

"Not really," Pluto shrugged. "Besides, don't you remember the last time you tried to help?"

"Hey, dangerous stuff should be labeled better!" Beast Boy retorted.

"Those vials all said 'biohazard' on them!" Pluto argued. "What do I have to do? Put up a neon sign!?"

"Dude, I would have remembered something like biohazard being on those vials and the label wasn't there," Beast Boy frowned. His eyes trailed over the contents of the lab before he noticed something odd. It was actually another vial with something which Pluto had hanging around his lab. "Hey, what's that?"

"Huh?" Pluto looked up again. His eyes widened in horror. "BEAST BOY!! NOOOOOOO!!"

BOOOM!!

In the main room of the Tower, Blackfire and Cyborg were in the middle of an intense arm-wrestling match. Robin was acting as referee as he kept an eagle eye on the two combatants so that Cyborg couldn't detach his arm and tickle Blackfire into submission. It was also to make sure Blackfire didn't try forcing her energy into her hands to break Cyborg's hand. They had both done those exact means of cheating before Robin had been 'volunteered' for the position.

Suddenly, the entire room shook as a muffled explosion sounded from somewhere in the distance.

"What was that?" asked Robin with some concern.

"Pluto again," Cyborg grunted. "Beast Boy must have wanted to help again."

"Ahh, Pluto's always doing stuff like that," Blackfire giggled. "It just makes it more fun to nurse him back to health."

The explosion was followed by several flashes of light which almost took out the lighting. No doubt it was magical in nature.

"Shadow practicing with those Pactio cards again?" asked Robin.

"Think so," Blackfire shrugged. "Gotta say that my little sister looks pretty good in that outfit. Better stick to her like glue, Robin."

The Boy Wonder stiffened slightly at the words Blackfire used. For a brief second, he entertained thoughts of fanboys trying their best to get a date from Starfire. The thought sent shivers down his spine, but he quickly dropped the thought. Some things he didn't want to think about.

"HAH!" Blackfire suddenly cried as she managed to slam Cyborg's hand down onto the table. Cyborg groaned in defeat while Blackfire began flying around the room in her victory. "Who's the queen? Me, baby!"

Robin sighed before a yawn threatened to escape his mouth. He was still running on Tokyo time a little and was getting sleepy. He checked the time and found that while it was a little early for turn in (meaning it wasn't midnight) but still dark so he decided to do just that. Things were still quiet in Jump City anyway.

Even with all the catching up they needed to do, Pasenderos still had to leave. He needed to create a new life for himself, beyond that of an Arrancar. He would still live in Jump City and decided to open up a new fortune telling business. He had invited all of them to come over and visit.

"It's funny," Shadow commented as the three Knights of the Teen Titans sat on the edge of the roof.

"What is?" Draco asked his friend.

"That the more things change, sometimes they stay the same," Shadow elaborated.

"Like what?" Pluto asked, curiously wanting to know where Shadow was going with this.

"Nearly 4 years ago we were just some teens roped into a War to fight until only one of us remained to win a wish," Shadow said, reminding them all of why they became Knights in the first place. "We originally fought for different goals. I wanted to revive someone I cared for who died."

"I wanted to wake my mother up from her coma," Pluto added, remembering the vow he made with his sister.

"And I wanted to protect people," Draco finished, starting to understand.

"We have been through a lot, made a lot of enemies and yet made a lot of friends and allies too," Shadow said, "And we've lost a few. Our journey has had a lot of ups and downs."

"Like miscast spells," Pluto muttered, earning a glare from Shadow.

"Or experiments and inventions blowing up for no reason," Shadow rebutted and Pluto glared back.

Draco, realizing that this may turn into another fight, interjected, "But there have been a lot of good times too, right?"

"In the early days? Yes, I have to agree. The adventures we had were exciting," Shadow said.

"Hey, the adventures we are having now are just as great!" Pluto spoke up. Shadow and Draco chuckled.

"True," Shadow said. He then said together, "Before I met you I probably would have never thought of allying myself with others."

"Well, we were, and still are, stronger together than divided," Draco reasoned. "A lot of Black Knights wanted us dead."

"The Black Knights," Shadow hissed. He had been a member of that group, under Yoshido, but no longer. "Thank goodness there aren't anymore Black Knights."

"Not true," Pluto corrected. "Copycat," he reminded.

Draco nodded sadly. She still wore the colors of the Black Knights and was still their enemy. However, she was different. At one moment she would help and then next she would stab them in the back. She had her own sense of honor and her own way of doing things that made her someone to be wary of and reluctant to trust. However, under all that, she had a heart. Draco knew that even if she would strongly deny it.

Shadow looked up at the stars. "The number of Knights is becoming less and less and soon…"

"The Finals," Pluto finished. 8 Knights who had survived would fight for that wish in what would be the climax of this War…this Tournament. Only one of them would be victorious while the others would lose their rights to the wish and maybe even…their lives.

At first they had wanted to have their wishes granted, but now…with such a cost…was it still worth it.

They were friends, for now, but in the end…they would face one another…as enemies.

The room was black with the only source of illumination being a single spotlight pointed down on…Robin.

Robin was spread eagle, his wrists and ankles bound by metal cuffs that had him lying on a metal table. He then heard a loud and horrifying cackling.

"Let me go!" Robin shouted out, "Let me go!" He struggled with his bonds but the more he struggled the tighter they became. The cackling grew louder and chilled him to the bone. He shuddered as he felt something on his neck.

"Sit still, little boy," the voice said before laughing. "Or else we can't fit you in your clothes."

"Please…" Robin began to beg, eyes tearing up, "Let me go! Don't hurt me anymore…"

"Aw, don't cry," the voice said, caressing Robin sickly. "It will be over soon." The cackling and laughter started again and it was joined by deranged music. The room suddenly began to light up as Robin shied his eyes away.

"Look into the mirror," the voice said in a menacingly joyful voice. Something forced Robin to turn his head and face the mirror. His masked eyes widened in horror as he saw his own face, chalk white and his lips and teeth contorted into a horrendous grin.

He did nothing but screamed as the voice cackled again. His reflection joined in the cackling too.

"NO!" Robin shouted out as he suddenly sat up, his face covered in cold sweat. His hair was drenched by his sweat and matted his hair. He held his head, panting as he wiped the sweat away.

"Robin…?" he heard someone's soft voice and turned around to see that it was Starfire, sitting up next to her. She looked worried. "Are you alright?"

Robin then remembered where he was. He was in his room, with Starfire. She had finished up her training and decided to go to Robin's room after a shower where they made love before falling asleep next to each other, spent and cuddling. He calmed down and said to her, putting on a smile, "I'm fine, Starfire. Go back to sleep."

"Alright," she said before kissing him and then lying back down. He pulled the covers over her as he got up. He put on his uniform and walked out of the room, leaving Starfire to sleep alone for the rest of the night.

Meanwhile, in an alley, a man could be seen walking out of an alley He began to chuckle before it turned into full blown laughter. A police officer going about his rounds spotted him. He then approached the laughing man, "Hey, mack, you okay?" The laughing man continued to laugh as he pointed to the alley. His laughter was so out of control that he could form a single word much less a sentence. The police thought this man was high or something so he asked, "Can you please hand me your identification please, sir?" The man continued to laugh at the question, causing the officer to slowly loose his patience. "Sir, will you please stop laughing and cooperate?" The laughing man still laughed and pointed at the alley. "That's it," the police officer said. "You're coming with me." He grabbed the man's arm but that single contact caused the man's arm to fall off and then crumble into dust. The officer jumped back in shock. "What the hell!?" Was this some kind of sick joke? He looked up at the laughing man whose skin started to turn an ashen grey right before he crumbled down and disintegrated into a pile of ashes in front of the officer's feet. Now definitely freaked out, the officer radioed for help.

A figure in the alley let out a low cackle before it quickly vanished, the devilish laughter echoing as it left.

Robin made his way to the roof as he tried to calm himself down. He didn't expect to have company as he spied Shadow on the roof too. Since he had moved his roses to the new green house, there was little reason for him to come up unless he wanted to meditate with Raven. At this time of night he was either in his room or in the Smart Brain Special Ops room.

"Can't sleep?" Robin asked, trying to start up a conversation. The Vampangel gave him a short sideway glance.

"Not really," Shadow replied. "I don't really need much sleep, remember?" Robin nodded in understanding. Shadow's nature was that of a creature of the night. He was nocturnal by nature but just chose to sleep when he wanted. Plus, he had a lot of work. Even if he had a clone in his place in Smart Brain Tokyo, he still needed to manage it as he was the CEO. And, added with his responsibilities with handling the Titans Network, it meant that he wouldn't have much time for himself, much less sleep. "What about you? From the looks of it you look like you had a really bad dream."

Robin stared at the Vampangel. Had Shadow read his mind without permission? As if answering his unspoken question, Shadow said, "No, I didn't read your mind judging by that look. It's written all over your face. Plus the cold sweat was a dead giveaway." Then again, Shadow was very observant even if he did tend to keep to himself most of the time. He was still learning to open up and Robin knew the Knights still held a lot of secrets. "So, what was it about?"

"It was nothing," Robin denied but the Snake Knight quirked an eyebrow.

"You sure? Don't want to talk about it?" Shadow asked.

Robin really didn't want anyone butting into his business right now. "Shadow, I'm not in the mood to talk right now. Can we not talk about my nightmare?"

"So it's now a nightmare. I thought it was just a bad dream. Nothing."

Robin grumbled. Shadow had a way of getting answers. It was what made him a good interrogator. Suddenly, their communicators began to beep. They flipped them open and then grew alarmed.

"We need to wake the others up," they said in unison.

The scene was a familiar one to the Titans; a pile of ashes inside a smaller pile of clothes. It was pretty obvious as to what had done this.

"Orphenoch," Draco sighed sadly. "And just after being free of Asakura."

"Well, this one can't be any worse, can he?" asked Beast Boy.

"You'd be surprised," Shadowcobra sighed as he kneeled down and studied the ashen remains. "There are many people out there who are just as bad or worse than Asakura."

The Titans went silent again. Robin heaved his own sigh before speaking up.

"Alright, we have to find some clue as too what kind of Orphenoch did this and who it is," he ordered. "Let's spread out and see if we can find anything."

"I suggest we split into small groups and stay in contact with one another," Shadow said.

"I got my tracker here," Mortuary said as he revealed his Orphenoch tracker. It was already keyed in on Draco, identifying the Dragon Knight as an Orphenoch. "If it's close, we'll find it."

"Just don't become too gung-ho," Robin said. He knew about Mortuary's hatred for Orphenochs and the necroplasmic Knight had a tendency to disobey orders. Then again, Terra had told them that Mortuary used to be leader of their old group. He was more used to giving out the orders than taking them.

"Pluto, Starfire, Blackfire, Raven, Beast Boy and I will search in the air," Shadow said.

"Okay, so that leaves Cyborg, me, Draco, Jinx, Terra, Mortuary and Renia," said Robin.

"Hey," Draco said as he noticed something in the pile of ashes. He kneeled down and picked it up before blowing off the ashes covering it. It was a playing card. "The Joker card, wonder what that means?" Draco asked. Robin stiffened when he heard the word Joker and then walked over to Draco and snatched the card away. He was clutching it tightly, nearly bending it as he stared at the harlequin figure on it. Shadow quirked an eyebrow but then manages to snatch the card out of Robin's hand.

"Robin, this is evidence," Shadow said in a warning tone, "You almost damaged it." He handed the card to the police.

"Robin, are you alright?" Starfire asked.

"Dude, you look pretty freaked out," Beast Boy pointed out.

"It's nothing," Robin bristled, turning away and towards his bike. "Let's just find this Orphenoch before anyone else gets hurt." He put on his helmet and raced away. The other Titans watched before the ones in Robin's group began to follow. Cyborg, Renia and Jinx rode in the T-Car as Terra got on a rock and flew after them. Draco and Mortuary were about to mount their bikes when Shadow's hand clutches Draco's shoulder.

"Shadow?" Draco asked, curiously.

"Watch Robin," Shadow told him. "There's something wrong and I'm worried about him," Draco nodded and put on his helmet before riding off with Mortuary. He was then approached by the officer who had found the victim.

"There's something else you must know," the officer said before he began his explanation.

Robin rode quickly into the night with the T-Car, Mortuary, Terra and Draco following. Something was definitely up with their leader. In the T-Car, Jinx, Renia and Cyborg were having as discussion about Robin's behavior.

"Did Robin seem a little freaked out when he saw that card?" Jinx asked from her place next to Cyborg. "I mean, it was just a card."

"Robin doesn't talk to us much about his past," Cyborg said as he steered the car after Robin. The headlights were on bright. "But from what I know, back in Robin's hometown, Gotham, there was this criminal called the Joker."

Jinx shivered. Back in the HIVE Academy, she had learnt about the Joker. He was one of the most infamous psychopaths known on Earth. He was Gotham's Clown Prince of Crime and would literally kill for a good joke.

"Do you think the Joker is in town?" Renia asked.

"I doubt that," Jinx snorted. "He's dead." There was news that the Joker had died when he tangled with the Batman, Robin's mentor, for the last time. That had been before the time when Robin decided to move to Jump and then met up with what would later become the Teen Titans. "It must be someone trying to copy him. Besides, we all know it's an Orphenoch."

Terra was flying alongside the two Knights behind the T-Car and talking with them too.

"So, how do you think this Orphenoch did it?" Terra asked. "Tentacle? Strike to the heart?"

"With the victim turning into a pile of dust, I don't think we can find out how it was done," Mortuary told her.

"I did smell something weird at the scene, through," Draco said, "but I couldn't make anything of it."

Robin was up ahead. That Joker card had stirred up some bad memories, memories he had hoped to forget about. He had only been a child then when…the communicator on his bike alerted him and he activated it. "Robin here." Shadow's face was on the screen.

"Robin, the police officer who found our victim told us that before he disintegrated…he was laughing," Shadow said. Robin's eyes widened. Laughing? But that was the M.O. of…But he was dead! "Robin!" Robin heard Shadow call again. "Are you alright? You seemed to have blanked out for a second."

"I'm fine!" Robin said tensely. "Have you found anything?"

Shadow was in the air with his group, using his SNK-Phone to scan for any Orphenoch signature. They had picked up on Draco for awhile and no one else. "Nothing, yet," Shadow told him. "Whoever this Orphenoch is, he's a slippery."

"Right, I'll keep searching," said Robin.

"Robin," Shadow said suddenly, "Don't try to fight this Orphenoch alone."

"I know what I'm doing," Robin told him. "Robin out." He signed off. Shadow was growing worried. Something had to be bothering his friend. Starfire flew up next to him.

"Is Robin alright?" Starfire asked worriedly about her boyfriend. Shadow didn't know what to tell her.

"I'm not sure," Shadow said. "Starfire, was he exhibiting any strange behavior before?"

"He was," Starfire nodded. "He woke up screaming from what I believe was a nightmare," Starfire said. "He refused to divulge anymore information."

"He's exhibiting a lot of fear, though," Raven commented. She had a link with Robin and his emotions were not exactly stable right now. Shadow had felt that too. That card had meant something. The Joker…wasn't that an insane criminal in Gotham? Shadow knew Robin had history with the Joker but from what he'd heard the Joker was dead. Now, there was this Orphenoch who seemed to cause its victims to laugh insanely before their untimely demise. There couldn't be a connection, could there? What were the odds?

In this business…anything was possible.

Pluto had taken a sample of the victim's remains and returned to the Tower's lab to analyze it. Maybe they could find a clue in there. Right now, they had a dangerous Orphenoch on the loose.

The girl backed away from the figure in front of her. From the way she was dressed she was a hooker who had been waiting for a customer. When she had been approached and offered to have fun with this guy, she turned to run when she saw his face. He had chased after her and now had her cornered like a cat would corner a mouse.

"Please…let me go…" the girl said as she stepped back but it only led her to a dead end. "Don't hurt me. Leave me alone…"

"But you said we were going to have some fun," the man said, his yellow teeth gleaming as he grinned. His eyes were wide and manic and he stared at her like a piece of meet. Looking over at the wall which was illuminated by a streetlamp, the man's shadow began to change. The girl screamed out before she coughed as a strange gas invaded her lungs. Her screaming soon turned to loud and insane laughter.

Robin was not in the best of moods the next morning. He was shut up in his room brooding again. Starfire wished to help, but he turned her away. He had done it gently, but it still hurt the Tamaranian girl deeply. She so wanted to help the one she loved, but how could she when he would turn her away? The other Titans were trying to figure out what was going on.

"So, obviously this Orphenoch has a thing for the Joker," Shadow spoke as he looked at the card. "Most likely it's someone who either worked for the clown or was a fan. It's trying to copy the Joker by making its victims laugh as it kills them and plus it's an Orphenoch which makes it even more dangerous."

"Just a copycat then," Terra said. It didn't make things better. Copycats could be even more dangerous than the criminals they emulated due to their obsession and fixation in wanting to follow their idol's footsteps.

"What if it's the Joker himself back from the dead to reclaim vengeance?" asked Beast Boy while making zombie movements.

"Impossible," Draco denied. "There were reports of recovering his body and sending it to a morgue. An Orphenoch Gene activates immediately after death. I should know." Mortuary and Jinx nodded since they had witnessed it happening before.

"Yeah, you're right," Beast Boy sighed.

"What about Harley Quinn?" asked Raven. "Reports said she was his right hand girl. No one's heard from her recently."

"It's a lead anyway," Cyborg shrugged.

"But not much since we have no idea where to find her," Jinx said pessimistically. "She could be hiding out or dead."

As they were talking, Starfire walked into the room slowly while looking like she was about to cry. Silkie was at her feet but even the mutant silkworm's attempts at cuddling were ineffective.

"Starfire?" Shadow asked in concern as he noticed his 'sister', looking down. "What's wrong?"

"It is Robin," Starfire sniffed. "He has locked himself in his room again. He will not even talk to me. It is worse than when he obsessed over Slade!"

That was true. By nature, Robin was obsessive about his work. When he focused on his work, nothing else mattered, not even the people closest to him. He had good intentions but was like a cold and hard statue. He was meticulous and single minded. At certain times it was helpful but sometimes it hurt the people around him.

Pluto then came into the room, with a piece of paper in his hand. "I ran a chemical analysis on those ashes. Here's what I got." Cyborg hadn't had time to analyze the remains so Pluto did it for him. Shadow took the paper and read through the results.

"A laughing gas?" Shadow asked.

"Well, that's the main composition. It's supposed to trigger fits of uncontrollable laughter but there something else inside that I recognize as the same chemical Orphenoch secrete when trying to activate dormant Orphenoch Genes," Pluto explained. Draco's Orphenoch abilities had been studied a while back and it would appear that his own claws were coated in the same chemical that would activate an Orphenoch Gene. "The guy that was killed didn't have the gene so…"

"He crumbled to ashes," Draco finished. It was like a lottery. The odds were not always good when trying to create a new Orphenoch and it almost always resulted in death and instant cremation.

"We need to find this Orphenoch," Mortuary said seriously, his eyes glowing green with necroplasm, "And stop it." There were nods of agreement and murmurs.

"I got the paper," Blackfire said as she came in with the morning paper before slapping it onto the coffee table. "Looks what's on page one."

Raven picked it up and read the headline, "It says here that they found another pile of ashes and women's clothes. They also found a lone Joker card at the scene."

Mortuary growled, "That thing did it again."

"And right under our noses too," Renia stated.

"Looks like we need to tell Robin," Shadow said as he got up.

"I shall accompany you," Starfire volunteered.

Robin was in the gym. After leaving his room he decided to do some training to get his mind clear. Right now he was pummeling the sandbag with powerful punches and kicks. He was pounding on the thing hard that he barely noticed that someone had come in.

"Did the sandbag make you angry too?" Shadow said as he leaned against the doorway. Starfire was with him.

"What do you want?" Robin asked as he wiped the sweat off his brow.

"We got another murder," Shadow said. "We need you to help investigate."

"Go without me," Robin said, which surprised Starfire. "I'm too busy working on some leads."

"Are you really?" Shadow said as he approached the Boy Wonder. The two co-leaders stared at each other with cold intensity as Starfire watched on in concern. "When we found those man's remains, you reacted badly when we found the Joker card."

"It's nothing," Robin denied. "Now, can you leave?"

"We cannot," Starfire said, placing a hand on his shoulder. If anyone could get him to open up, it was Starfire. "You are hiding something. When you do you push others away." Robin turned away from her gaze as he shrugged her off.

"I'm not hiding anything," Robin said. "Now, leave me alone."

"We can't do that," Shadow said.

"Why not?" Robin demanded. "I need my space!" he said harshly.

"Because this case is bothering you and we need to know why. Obviously it has something to do with the Joker and we need-" Shadow's sentence was broken when Robin hit the sandbag hard, creating a loud thunderous noise. Starfire jumped in shock.

"Don't say that name," Robin growled. His body was trembling and he was sweating. The Joker…what had he done to Robin?

"He did something to you, didn't he?" Shadow asked. Robin looked away, saying nothing.

"Robin, what has this Joker done to you to make you shy away?" Starfire asked, almost pleadingly. Robin remained quiet.

"Let's go, Starfire," Shadow said, growing fed up. "We have work to do. Let's just leave."

"But…" Starfire began to protest but seeing the intensity in his eyes made her relent. She cast Robin one last look before floating after her friend.

As soon as they left, Robin fell to his knees and wiped the tears away from his masked eyes. He was trembling as he held himself. "No…not again…it can't be…"

"Another Orphenoch," Slade concluded as he read the paper and threw it onto the floor without a care. Copycat was with him. She telekinetically picked up the newspaper and read through it.

"Pile of dust found in clothes. Suspected to be remains of victim. Name Carrie Sutherland, age 20. Occupation…possibly a prostitute," Copycat said as she scanned the page. The picture of Carrie's clothes was in the front and judging by how little clothing Carrie wore before her unfortunate demise, it was clear how people would come to that conclusion. She wore something to attract men for sex and money. Disdainfully, she threw the newspaper aside. "Well, that's what you get when you sell your body and become some whore. You never know if your next client will be your last." She then said, "Another Orphenoch, huh?" They had enough Orphenochs to deal with already. One of them was a member of the Teen Titans. "You think it's one of Occultus'?"

"Maybe," Slade said, "Maybe not."

Copycat quirked an eyebrow, "What do you mean, Slade-sama?"

"Occultus doesn't appear the kind to condone something like this. When he wishes to make a statement using his Orphenochs, he usually does it at a much larger scale," Slade explained. Copycat nodded. Asakura and the Spider Orphenoch had been prime examples of masters of massacre and so were some of the others. "He likes to make it fast, make a statement to show the Orphenoch race's power. Murder like this seems more…mundane."

"Maybe this Orphenoch is working its way up," Copycat suggested as she tilted her head to the side. "Sooner or later we may see a larger body count. Stuff like this, bodies turning into clumps of dust, would definitely scare a lot of people."

"Too bad it isn't me," Slade said, gripping his fist. "Copycat, I want you to track down this Orphenoch, identify it and, if you can, bring it to me."

Copycat bowed, "Consider it done, Slade-sama."

To Be Continued…

So who is this new Orphenoch? Stay tune for more and please give me some good guesses.