Hey all, this is my first Teen Titans fic I've ever put on here, so any pointers or critiques would be great. R&R please! Thanks!

You would think that nothing wrong was happening because of the silence that had swept over the back streets of the sleeping city. But the silence didn't signify peace; the silence was tense and the air was thick with the fear of death and pain. Fear that several people felt as they hid, waiting for the perfect time to reveal themselves and attack. One of those people was Shane, who was crouching in a dirty alley way between two rundown brick apartments. She knelt behind a trash can, not daring to peek around it to see what was on the other side. She had no idea what she had gotten herself into, and at the moment she didn't care. All she knew was she would die if she didn't get out of there.

A crash and a yell was heard in the distance; someone must have been discovered, because shortly after Shane heard three gun shots. The sound of the shots faded away into an even deeper silence as everyone contemplated who it was that just died, and if they were on their side or the opposing side. She clenched her eyes shut, swallowing hard and gripping the handle of her knife before jumping out and running into the main back alley. Her appearance was met with the cocking of a gun. Her head whipped over to the right. A man a little older then herself was holding his gun at arms length, a black handkerchief covering the majority of his face. Sweat rolled off his forehead and his hand was shaking. He didn't want to be here, and he was scared, just as much as Shane was. But when his eyes darted over her face, he knew she was not on his gang, so he had no choice but to shoot.

She ducked and rolled out of the way before throwing out her knife. It dug itself into his knee with a sickening sound. He crumpled with a yell, unable to stand. She ran up to him and kicked the gun from his hand and grabbed the knife from his leg in one fluid motion. She dove into another alleyway, tears starting to roll down her face. She shouldn't be there. This wasn't her battle. She was just trying to survive.

She was strolling down the street to get home, hand on the hilt of the knife that she always carried in her pocket. You couldn't be too careful where she lived. Suddenly, a scream of pain broke through the air. Shane froze, tentative. It hadn't come from far off. Maybe I should help... The scream lead her towards an abandoned building. Stupid, she knew, but she wanted to see who it was that screamed and if they were okay. She approached the front side of the building and went to a window. She wiped the grime off of the surface with her hand and peered into the window- it was clear that no one had occupied this place for a long time. An old piano stood untouched in the corner, a sofa in the center with tattered cushions, old portraits on the wall, wooden floors laden with inch thick dust. No one was there.

She turned to leave when a bullet richoted off the wall and shattered the window. She jumped, and her instincts took over. Hide. She obeyed them and ran behind the building, shoes crunching the broken glass at her feet. Staying low to the ground, she rounded the corner and nearly screamed. A person lay on the ground in the alleyway, blood pooling at their side. Shane covered her mouth in horror, mind racing. She fell back, sitting on the ground, trembling with fear. Bracing herself, Shane leaned forward to inspect the body. Their right arm bent in an awkward fashion, and a bruise graced their forehead. Their shirt was bloodstained and torn, exposing a knife wound on their stomach. She grimaced, looking away. She directed her vision to their face. It was a teenage boy, not older then sixteen. He had beautiful blue eyes, and she imagined that they would shine with life and excitement whenever he opened them. But now they were cold, distant- dead. This was the boy she heard scream. Tears threatened to overcome her as she stroked the boy's hair.

"Hey, there's another!" Her head shot up as she heard a voice, probably calling to his friends. "Must be one of them!" She blinked, clearing her blurred vision of tears, and saw a figure emerging from the shadows. Shane noticed a gleam of metal at his right hand. She glanced down and saw he was clenching a blood drenched knife. Th-They killed this boy?No...god no...

Shane didn't want to leave the boy laying there, but she had no choice as he drew a gun and walked towards her. She leapt up and ran as fast as she could, the sound of gunfire in her ears. Bullets missed her by barely inches. She ducked around a corner and hoped to god he wouldn't come after her. His angry voice rang out, cursing at her and demanding that she come out and face him. In the middle of his tirade of threats, a gunshot interrupted him. She heard him stagger and watched as he stumbled back, holding onto the wall in an attempt to keep standing, then fell, suddenly motionless. Three more men ran in, shocked and furious when they saw the body of their friend on the ground. They rounded on his killer. Shouts and yells accompanied the sound of gunfire and bodies hitting the cold concrete. Shane couldn't take it. She leaned over and emptied her stomach on the ground next to her. As she wiped her mouth, she realized. She was caught in this, and there was no way out.

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The second she came into the second alleyway she felt the cold press of metal against the back of her head. Fear took over, making her numb. In an attempt to free herself, she jabbed her knife blindly at the attacker, who grabbed her hand and twisted it painfully, causing her to drop the weapon. She turned and lashed out with a fist. They dodged it nimbly and kicked her. She collapsed and felt a searing pain in her side. "Goodbye." She closed her eyes, begging, pleading, willing herself to somehow get out of there, to somehow live. She blacked out, hearing the echoes of the gun fade away in he mind, leaving her to black nothingness.

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The first thing Shane realized as she slowly came back to consciousness was that she felt like she was floating, weightless. The second thing she realized was that she was underwater, hence the reason she couldn't breath. She opened her eyes and looked up, seeing a blue sky shining through the water. She raised her arms to swim up, but felt a sharp slicing pain immediately after doing so. Her arms shot back down to her sides and let out a moan of pain. Knowing that she was losing precious oxygen, she switched to kicking her feet. She slowly ascended and broke the surface, gasping for air. She turned around, looking for where she was. I'm in a pool? After further investigation, she cried aloud,

"I'm on a roof?!" The cement top she was on was roughly twenty yards long and half as wide on either side of her. It was completely clear of any structure save for two poles for a volleyball net and a stair well leading down to whatever building this roof belonged to. All that she could see beyond one side of the roof was a horizon of endless ocean. On the other side was a glimpse of a city. She gazed at the city, trying to remember if any of it looked familiar to her.

A movement in the corner of Shane's eye caught her attention. Her eyes darted over to find that movement came from a girl. A pale girl with big amythist eyes and even darker purple hair. Adorning the middle of her forehead was a red gem. A dark flowing cloak connected by a brooch hid most of her body. But what was most interesting about the girl was her voice, which when she spoke was deadpan.

"Yes, you are. My and my friends roof, to be exact." Her eyes narrowed as she brought both arms out of the cloak and held them in front of her, in what Shane took as a defensive stance. "Why are you here?"

"I-" She paused; A sudden sour and sickly sweet smell filled her nose. She looked down and saw blood seeping slowly out of her side and spreading through the water in a thick red cloud.

"You're bleeding..." The girl said, lowering her guard. Shane gave a small noise, halfway between a laugh and a grunt before the world before her started spinning. She put a hand to her head, trying to steady her gaze but failing. Not again. Blackness once again took her.