After Blood

Author's Note:

See? Told you I wouldn't leave you guys hangin! What did I say? :D

I graduate from college in few weeks. Freaking finally. It's been 8 years since high school and I'm finally about done. YAY! *bursts into tears and curls under desk* So yeah. My senior film is done, and all I have left is a business class I couldn't care less for, so I've got a bit of time on my hands between applying for jobs and hyperventilating about possible unemployment.

By the way, if any of you are fans of my super rated R slashy slash fic Be Gentle With Me… I've been updating that too. Not a lot of people seemed to have caught the update email on that. So yeah. The more you know. :)

Enjoy!

Chapter 2

"Welcome back to Today's News Now, I'm Sophie Hall.

It's a day of mourning for the people of Jump City. What began as beautiful spring day has instead turned to tragedy as an unidentified gunman opened fire on a downtown street, just blocks from City Hall. Four people were left dead and six more were injured when shots rang out a little after 3pm this afternoon. Unknown is the condition of what appears to have been the primary target of the attack, the Teen Titan known as Robin. Eyewitnesses have said the teenaged boy was shot at least five times while attempting to protect citizens, and was taken away by his team before police and paramedics arrived."

"It was terrifying. Everyone was screaming and the shots kept firing. I couldn't tell where they were coming from."

"This was the general consensus of the eyewitness reports - shots fired, but no gunman sighted. The police, as well as the Teen Titans, are currently investigating the incident. The question we have is - is this the last of the gunman, or should the citizens of Jump City stay indoors?"

"Six bullets, .22 LR. Fired from less than 100 yards."

The screen behind Cyborg lit up with a wire-frame model of Robin. Fluorescent text leapt on screen around him, pixelated lines pointing to various places on the model as it slowly rotated on screen. Scrambling lines and waving bars beside the figure indicated brain waves, pulse, respiration. Cyborg didn't look at the screen as he continued, as though from memory. "We have damaged muscle tissue, a fractured femur, a knee-joint fracture with some severed ligaments, a damaged collarbone and rotator cuff, cracked rib, punctured small intestine, head trauma-"

"Okay, we get it," Beast Boy spoke up, slapping his hands on the table and leaning forward. "He's been completely messed up. But what does it all mean? Will he be okay?"

Cyborg frowned at Beast Boy. The green changeling looked at the others, at their worried faces, and suddenly felt like he was missing out on something. He swallowed hard. "I thought he was going to be okay. I mean, he's not dying right?"

"No. His condition is stable now. But whether or not he'll recover fully? …I don't know."

"The fact that he regained consciousness for a time is a good sign that his head trauma isn't severe," Raven spoke up, her voice its usual monotone rasp. "But that kind of momentum straight to the head means it's not likely to be mild either. And the injuries to his shoulder, back and legs will take a long time to heal, even with my help. He could be out of commission for months."

"Months?" Beast Boy reiterated in astonishment.

"If his injuries don't heal right," muttered Cyborg solemnly, "I'm not sure if he'll ever get back to the same level of skill he's had all these years. Even best case scenario, it'll be a long uphill battle for him to get back to normal."

A silence fell upon them. Beast Boy drew his knees up to his chest, his purple sneakers half-dangling off the edge of the chair. He frowned in thought.

"Well, we know what kind of bullet it is," he spoke up suddenly. "Can't you go all CSI on that? I mean, how many people own that kind of rifle?"

Cyborg stayed quiet, but his hand reached out and hit a button on the computer. A flurry of names took over the screen. "These are all the people who bought either that kind of gun or that kind of ammo in the last year within a hundred miles of here. Some of these are for the boy scout camp and firing ranges. It's an obscenely common ammo type, but not often considered for this kind of attack. The range and destructive power of it just doesn't compare to other ammunition."

"So it's probable that the person shooting Robin had no intention of killing him," Raven murmured quietly.

"Are you kidding me?" Beast Boy flailed. "I think if you're going to turn someone into Swiss cheese, you're trying to kill them."

"No, Raven's right." Cyborg hit another button, and the screen changed again. "The shooter had impeccable aim. They managed to shoot Robin twice in the exact. same. spot, even though Robin was a moving target. The casualties, on the other hand, were perfectly executed head shot wounds. Basically, anyone other than Robin who was shot was killed. Period. Any other injuries sustained at the scene were the result of car crashes and panic." Cyborg looked at them pointedly. "If the shooter had wanted Robin dead, he would be dead."

"So then, why would this killer leave Robin alive, but so terribly injured?" Starfire wondered softly.

"...I don't know. Might just want him out of the picture."

"But who would want such a thing?"

"No clue. They didn't show up in any CCTV cameras in the area, and every witness questioned were unable to give us any descriptions. There wasn't even any bullet cartridges left behind where they were shooting from."

"And this doesn't sound like any of our usual bad guys," Raven mumbled, head bowed in concentration. "Mod Cloth, Dr. Light, Red X… even Slade. None of them have ever used guns against us. Our enemies are too… creative… for that. Could be someone from Gotham with a grudge?"

"I thought of that, but even then, nothing seems to match." Cyborg turned a chair around and straddled it, his large mechanical arms resting on the back. "Deadshot, Two-Face, Penguin? None of them would have wasted their time with this sort of ammo, and I'd bet my Playstation that they would rather have Robin dead or captured."

"...Terra was there."

It became so silent Beast Boy was sure the others heard the record player scratch in his mind as shock rocked him. He gaped at Raven in a dumb stupor. "What?"

"In the memories I saw from Robin when I found him. There was a girl who looked like Terra there. Robin saw her just before he was knocked out."

"Terra? As in… Terra Terra?"

"Yes, Beast Boy."

"As in our Terra. The one that turned to stone, but then randomly showed up going to some preppy high school Terra. That Terra?"

"Yes, Beast Boy. That Terra." Raven's eyes flashed in annoyance.

Cyborg looked just as baffled. "You don't think she's actually part of this?"

"You mean she might have returned to her old self? And to evil?" Starfire asked incredulously.

"Terra throws rocks, not bullets!" Beast Boy shouted, slamming his hands on the table and jumping to his feet. "She would never hurt anyone again, or help anyone hurt anyone again!"

"You don't know that, Beast Boy."

"Yes I do! She's just a kid now. A kid who cares about clothes, and school, and soccer practice. What normal everyday kid gets involved with mass murder? That's just sick!"

"...how do you know she cares about soccer-"

"I don't! I certainly… don't go to her games sometimes…. disguised as a pigeon…" The others gave him long, blank stares, making his face blush so hot that he was sure his green skin had miraculously turned red. "I just wanted to be sure she's really okay, okay?!"

Cyborg turned away, back to the computer. He pulled up some images - security footage from the area. The pictures were pixelated, but sure enough, there she was, standing in front of a nearby building with a few other teens. "Maybe she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time?"

"Robin didn't seem to think so…" Raven pointed out.

"But Robin was badly injured, going into shock. There's always a chance he was jumping to conclusions in blind panic. I mean, from where she's standing, there's no way the shooter could have seen her. That terrace is in the way. That could explain why she wasn't hiding."

"I don't know. There's just something not right about it all."

They kept on talking, but Beast Boy wasn't listening. He growled a little, his fingers curling into fists. He knew it wasn't true. Terra didn't have anything to do with this. Looking up at the photos again, he couldn't even be 100% sure that WAS Terra in the blocky image. How many blonde-hair 16-year-old girls did this town have, anyway? Any of them could easily be mistaken for Terra by someone who was bleeding gallons of blood.

He stood up, his chair scraping the floor. "I'm done with this. It's been a long day. I'm going to bed."

He stormed out of the room, grumbling to himself under his breath. As the doors closed behind him, the other three Titans looked at one another.

"He's going to do something dumb, isn't he," Raven murmured. It wasn't a question, and she didn't have to read his mind to know it as truth.

"Yep," Cyborg and Starfire responded in unison.

He waited a little while before sneaking out. He snuck through his window, climbing down the side of the building as a gecko, before slinking into the water and taking off as a marlin. He didn't want any cameras signalling the others that he'd left. The moon had been up for a while, casting light down into the water as Beast Boy headed to shore.

He was going to Terra's adopted home. He was going to ask her himself, see her side of the story.

There's no way she had any part of this….

He beached himself on land and transformed into a falcon, taking off over the sleeping town. He kept eyes on the city below him, keeping track of streets and landmarks to help him find his way. It took a little longer than he would have liked, but he finally touched down in an alleyway on the outskirts of town. He slowly looked out from between the buildings, up at a towering apartment building with his heart pounding.

He hadn't spoken to Terra - or Tiffany, as she was known now (the name didn't suit her at all) - since he'd left her at the school, her muttering about a test she hadn't studied for. He had kept casual tabs on her every so often - a quick fly-over her school to make sure she wasn't being bullied, watching her big games from a nearby telephone wire - but that was it. He hadn't even followed her home before - he'd had to look up her address in the Titans mainframe. He knew where to draw the line.

But what was he going to even say? He cleared his throat and turned to the alleyway wall, imagining a door opening. "Hey, Mr or Mrs. Foster Parent. I'm just looking for Tiffany. Oh don't worry, she's not in trouble, I just have a few questions to ask her, because I'm a Teen Titan."

He waited a moment for the imagined parent to go get her. She was probably in bed. She'd probably be in her pajamas. He cleared his throat a little harder, trying not to blush at the thought. "Hey, Tiffany! You probably don't remember me - or, well, I guess you do, cuz I'm green, but you know. Anyways, I just wanted to make sure, you're not bad or anything right?"

"Smooth, Beast Boy."

Beast Boy squeaked and leapt about a yard into the air, snapping around and looking up at Cyborg's smug face. "Dude! What the hell?"

"I knew you'd be coming out here."

Beast Boy's face burned even more. "I am just that predictable, huh?"

"Yep."

"Just leave me alone! I'm going to find out once and for all if Terra had anything to do with what happened to Robin."

"Calm down, Beast Boy. I'm not going to stop you."

"You're… you're not?"

"No. It makes perfect sense to question her about all this and find out for sure if she's got anything to do with it. But it's stupid, given what happened to Robin, for any of us to go out by ourselves right now. What if the shooter has friends, and they want to take one of us down next?"

Beast Boy blinked dully. "I… didn't think about all that."

"I know."

Beast Boy growled a little. "Okay, fine. I'm an idiot. But now you're here and you'll help me out, right?"

"Yup, but you'll do all the talking."

"What?! Why me?"

"Because you're clearly nervous and it's hilarious."

"Fuck you too."

Cyborg slapped him hard on the back, pushing him out toward the street. "Let's go, unless you're chicken."

"I am chicken. I'm every animal. What's your point?"

Cyborg snorted, and just kept pushing him on, across the deserted street, and to the front door. There was no buzzer system, so they went on inside, up the stairs, and to Terra's door.

"Okay," Beast Boy said with a sigh. "Let's do this." He lifted a hand and knocked loudly, then waited. After a moment, footsteps vibrated in the floorboards, and the sound of locks scraping made Beast Boy's nerves leap to the hairs on the back of his neck.

What was he going to say again? Why were they there? Shit, he was going to screw all this up.

Cyborg laid a hand on his shoulder. To an onlooker, it would appear to be a reassuring touch. But the fingertips pressing into Beast Boy's collarbone told him it was Cyborg keeping him from running away.

The door finally began to open, and Beast Boy held his breath.

"Woah, Titans? 'Sup?"

A 20-something guy stood there in his boxers, scratching his armpit and looking groggy. Beast Boy gaped at him dumbly. "Uh… uh… is, uh, Tiffany there?"

"Tiffany? Don't know any Tiffanys. Just me here."

Beast Boy peeked past his hair arm, looking into the apartment. It was typical college student decor - musty couch, trash everywhere, IKEA bookshelves full of video games and DVDs. Cyborg let go of Beast Boy and crossed his arms, looking confused. "How long have you been living here?"

"About three months now, I think? I dunno, what month is it? ….yeah, three months."

Beast Boy and Cyborg looked at one another. They glanced at the number on the door. It was definitely right. "Uh, nevermind, man, go back to sleep, sorry to bother you!"

"Cool beans, bro," the guy said with a yawn, closing the door. They listened to the creaks in the floorboards vanish, before looking at each other.

"She moved?"

"I guess so…" Cyborg looked at the computer in his arm, hitting buttons. "We didn't get any notification to change the computer settings…. this is going to take a bit of research to figure out where they went."

Beast Boy frowned, staring at the door numbers. "This doesn't make sense. Where would they have gone?"

"Maybe to a bigger place? There's lots of reasons why people move."

Beast Boy didn't answer, just staying quiet. Yeah, that's it… lots of reasons people move…

There was no way Terra was actually working for the bad guys…

…right?

Authors Note: Uuuuugh I didn't get to do any maiming or bludgeoning in this chapter how BOOORING! ;)

Let me know what you thought! :) Hopefully we'll get back to the maiming and bludgeoning soon! Cuz… it's kind of my thing. That and psychological torment. All good things.