Nothing better than getting in another chapter eh? The views are from Kid Flash, Levi, and Jinx. Kid Flash worries his head off about Jinx. Jinx worries her head off over doing the right thing. Levi worries about his alcohol. Exciting huh? This one contains more profanity however. A couple chapters ago I gave warning that the story would get darker. It's starting to. So hopefully you like that kind of thing.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans. I only own the plot.

A Haunting Memory Returns

Chapter Ten: Paranoia Strikes in More than One Place

Kid Flash scowled as he walked away from the square. He knew he was supposed to protect those people, but he couldn't help but punch that bastard in the face. Damned old man lying, how could anyone believe someone who wears such a creepy mask?

Kid Flash didn't even run home, this was one of the rare situations where he'd rather be slow. He wanted to get home late, so he could spend the walk thinking.

"I'm gonna wring Dracul's neck if I ever see him again…" he growled.

Most of the walk was spent thinking about him murdering the old man in numerous ways. And he loved it. Hell, he didn't care that he was a hero; he wouldn't mind stoning the guy. It was only when he got to the apartment when he realized that Jinx was nowhere to be found. He walked through the rooms, the more he checked, the more nervous he became. His Jinx was gone…

"Where the hell is she?" Kid Flash asked himself.

Hours passed, or were they minutes. Those were some pretty damn long minutes… He finally gave up on waiting for her to come and ran around town. He franticly searched. He would come across areas, and see Jinx standing there just to die in an unusual manner. He bit his lip as he watched a confused Jinx get picked up by a giant panda.

"Holy shit! Put her down!"

He'd chase around the imaginary panda to learn that he was chasing air. Kid Flash shook his head.

"What am I thinking? Giant panda? Impossible!"

He thought what could have possibly happened to her. And one key suspect kept popping into his mind.

"Dracul…" he murmured.

…

Dracul sat down and sighed as he watched his men clink their mugs of alcohol together. Men were laughing as they gulped down more and more. He shivered at the sound of it. He would have given out a whimper while he was at it, but he needed to look tough in front of his men. But he absolutely despised alcohol. The smell, the effects-everything. This whole event was to keep the mercenaries happy, at his expense.

"This is going to be a hell of a mess…"

What could he say? He hated alcohol, and he had every reason to do so.

…

Levi sat back in his chair, and felt the good life sink in. He and his men got to celebrate their victory with Dracul's speech. The old man let them get all the alcohol they wanted.

"And Joseph wanted to miss 'is, ha!" he giggled.

Other men around him laughed at the statement. Levi watched as another mercenary, Jon was his name, began to vomit everywhere.

"Ahahaha…!"

Another man named Gato stumbled over to their table.

"You suckers think you're tough? Just sittin' down here, actin' like you're mindin' your own damn business."

"'Ell yeah, I'm a bloody mercenary." Levi growled.

"Oh, here's Levi, boasting about how much of a man he is…" giggled one of his higher ranked soldiers.

"I'ma whole lot tougher than you, I'm a freakin' Iowa farmer! And back where I came from, we didn't jack around actin' like we ran the place." Gato smirked.

Everyone at the table continued to giggle, except for Jon, who was still retching.

"Oh yeah…? Prove it." Levi smirked back as he raised his hand over the table.

"Arm wrestle eh? Bring it gramps." Gato taunted.

"You're older than I am dammit." Levi snarled.

Gato's face turned red, much like a ripe tomato.

"You can't prove nothin'."

The mercenaries choked on their alcohol from laughing so hard. One banged his fist on the table. This was the picture definition of a bunch of dumb asses getting in way over their heads. Some hangover they'll have…

…

Jinx looked at her new home, a hollowed out tree with a few scented candles decorating the exterior. Homey…

"What in God's name am I doing?" she asked herself for the umpteenth time.

Well she sure as hell wasn't going to deal with Dracul anymore. That man only wanted to watch the world burn, and she was sick of being a scapegoat. She could hear him saying, "You're the one getting yourself into these messes…"

Of course he would say that. Adults have the tendency to say things along those lines. Why? Because they need to be respected, especially when they're wrong about something. She sat back in her tree and sighed. She'd much rather be at a real house, in a real bed. She felt that she was stupid to run away, but she'd already gone too far. She hoped that some justification would arise to her running away. She even got a radio so she could listen to current events. So far… nothing.

…

Two hours pass, and Levi's still embracing the alcohol by jug full. Who knows, this may be the last time he gets to drink some. Dracul's still sitting down, with that sad sigh of his filling the happy hour air. At this point, a lot of mercenaries were out of it.

"And so I leaned in and said, 'Hey baby, I'm a war criminal wanted in 17 countries.'" Jon said, with a few avid listeners sitting down in front of him like it was preschool story time.

Gato was singing some song about an Iowa woman.

"With golden locks of hair that made you pointlessly stare, the Aphrodite of Iowa!"

Levi turned back to his boss and offered him a glass.

"C'mon Dracul, no one's watchin'. Enjoy life a little."

Dracul sighed and replied with, "That's what she said…"

"Oy! This ain't time for those third grade jokes!"

"It wasn't a joke you imbecile!" Dracul hissed.

Levi was taken aback in his drunken state. What the hell was that supposed to mean? And why so defensive all of a sudden? He decided to wait a few minutes before speaking with Dracul again.

"Pretty impressive speech up there." Levi attempted.

"Rather pathetic to me."

"Nah, it was great. And that God bless you line was a nice touch."

Dracul twitched in his seat. He got up slightly and turned his head around, back and forth, as if he were expecting someone to jump out at him. He kept looking around, and Levi could tell he was starting to panic. The twitching became uncontrollable. He could even hear chattering teeth. Dracul set his hand to his head and moaned as he collapsed back into his chair.

"I had to touch that bloody cross…"

"What's so wrong with that? You some sort of demon?"

Dracul sighed again, and Levi listened as he explained through a pained voice, "There's more than one reason that I hide behind this mask…"

Levi knew that Dracul was one of those horrible men, but he couldn't help but feel sympathetic towards the guy. He wondered how much of that story actually was true. Lyra was fake for sure, but what about the mutilation he was talking about?

"There's more than one reason that I hide behind this mask." the statement echoed in Levi's mind.

It sent chills up his spine. What was hiding behind that mask…?

Levi looked back down at his alcohol, suddenly unappealing.

"I'm goin' to bed. G'night ol' man." Levi said in his mercenary voice.

Dracul didn't answer. He just kept moaning, with his left hand still at the side of his forehead.

…

Kid Flash sat down on the roof of his apartment, wasn't like anyone was going to stop him. After a good day's search he was cranky. He looked down at all the photos that he and Jinx had taken. He insisted that they took pictures so they could remember all the villains they trashed as a team. One of them showed both of them standing over a dazed Control Freak, giving the poor guy bunny ears. Another showed them using permanent marker on the Hive Five's faces while they were asleep. A nasty prank cooked up by the two of them. He looked at himself, wearing a grin going ear to ear, while Jinx kept her hands crossed behind her back, with a small smile. Yet still dazzling. So rare, but so stunning and beautiful when it finally came around. He needed her back. If he hadn't known her then he'd be fine, but he had. They shared a lot, the pictures were proof. He ran his finger down her face. He had to find her, or he might just become a teenage Dracul.

End of Chapter…

Now that's the chapter. Thank you for your continual support. I've made a couple of polls, so be sure to check those out. As always, review if you can, if you can't, not a big deal. Thank you for your time.