Wow! I'm finally back! What's it been, two months? Three? I thought I'd come back with a whole new breed of story! If you're already in here, you've taken into account that there is one OC (Original Character) in this story. But… I think you'll like him. smile If anyone out there remembers me, sing out… if not, could you please review anyway? Even just a 'loved it' or 'hated it' would be very generous. But… please don't flame me without good reason! I'm sensitive and stuff… -- But, now that I'm back, I hope that you lot enjoy the fruits of my labor. I don't own Teen Titans, but I do own the OC named Shade. So… enjoy my latest creation…

SHADE

Part 1: Where can you find a Siren?

A dark, slender figure worked carefully in the night, hands moving with almost inhuman grace. The dark gave him solace, away from the rest of the world so he would have time to complete his task. A paintbrush in his hand and a buffer in the other… the mask was done. He held it into the small lamp's light, and it glistened with its smooth coat of wax. "Soon." The figure said. "Soon, I'll take you for a test drive. I just need…" He paused and set the paintbrush aside, into a waiting cup of water. "…the right opportunity." His eyes narrowed, portraying amusement and even a hit of malice. "Huuuhm……" He sighed, checking his work over. He looked over to the wall. A newspaper clipping was taped there, the headline reading: TITANS SAVE THE DAY FROM PLASMUS in big bold lettering. They were in the paper every other day, so it wasn't exactly hard to get a picture of his target. A soft, low laugh burbled in his throat. "Raven…" he smiled softly, holding the mask up. It was completely black, with two tiny white slits for eyes. "I'll be there soon…" he murmured a small laugh, and clicked the tiny lamp out.

The T-car squealed around the corner as the Titans raced to the scene. Mumbo Jumbo was robbing a bank in the middle of the night… again. "Dude, what would he do with that money if he got away! Why's he always robbing a bank? Can't he think of anything better to do?" Beast Boy wanted to know, tapping his foot impatiently as they skidded to a halt. He was not happy for being awakened in the middle of the night. Everyone else was in a sour mood as well, especially the dark-cloaked girl.

"Good question." Raven said flatly, opening the door and piling out with the rest of her friends. Running towards the bank in a V-formation, the saw Mumbo kick the door of the bank open and start running down the street. Money was flying after him like a swarm of bees, and he gestured. It all crammed itself endlessly into his hat, which he then placed back on his head.

He came to a skidding halt, seeing the Titans in his way. "Titans! Sorry, no autographs!" He pointed his wand. "Mumbo Jumbo!" The asphalt they were standing on liquefied, and everyone's feet sank in. Then, it all turned hard again! Mumbo ran down the street, laughing.

Beast Boy turned into a hummingbird, instantly out of his bonds. He raced after Mumbo, becoming a large, green dog. They raced around the corner and into the alleyway. His dog nose suddenly smelled something odd… and it wasn't Mumbo. An odd scent was heading their way… coming closer as they raced around the block.

Back with the other Titans, Cyborg gave a hard heave and tore his metal feet from the pavement. Raven was enshrouded in her dark aura, then simply levitated out of her trap. Starfire blasted herself free, and then went to help Robin. Soon, they were all free and following after Beast Boy's signal on the T-communicators. A garbage truck went by, and they lost him. "Robin cursed softly, then pointed each Titan down a separate alleyway. They split up, seeing who would catch the villain first.

Darkness followed Mumbo. It streaked through the night, silent like a ninja. Quick but gentle muscle coordination led him down a fire escape, and he landed right in front of the running Mumbo. "I lost dog boy! Haha ha! You can't sniff out a professional magician! I left a false trail!" he was looking over his shoulder as he spoke, and finally looked ahead. A slender, darkly dressed figure was standing squarely in front of him. "Yah!" He rode his own heels trying to stop, and the wind made his magician's cape flare.

The newcomer was dressed in all black, no skin showing whatsoever. His mask, black with white slits for eyes, glared at him with a constant… well… glare. His skintight suite complimented smaller muscles, but hinted at the reliance on speed. The silver belt around his waist carted a few gadgets, not unlike what Robin usually wore… just not as fancy. A rope, some wires for picking locks, a pocketknife, and… of all things… a rose. Mumbo stared at him for a few seconds before cocking an eyebrow. "I said 'no autographs!'" He pointed his wand and a beam of magic blasted forth!

Raven rounded the corner, having split up to look for Mumbo in the endless alleyways of Jump City. Beast Boy's signal was on top of a building, probably looking for a bird's eye view of Mumbo to alert the others… but Raven was the one to find him. "I found you." Raven said, just in time to see Mumbo aim a blast at the dark figure that was barring his way.

The stranger raised his hand as quick as lightning. A round, silvery object was in his palm. The beam bounced off and blasted Mumbo off his feet. It was a mirror. Raven stared, dumbfounded at what she was seeing. Some stranger, taking out Mumbo without having to even put forth any effort? Blasting him with his own magic… using a mirror of all things. Raven approached slowly, and found the dark figure looking at her through the white slits of his mask. The glare was gone, but he didn't take his eyes off her. "Red X?" she said cautiously, black beginning to outline her hands.

"No." The voice was made odd by some sort of voice distorter, hidden inside the mask. He reached for his belt, pulling out the rose. "The name …is Shade. Flower for the lady?" He said, his eyes narrowing. Raven's guard was up, but she was slightly taken aback. He tossed it high and her eyes followed it. When it landed at her feet she looked… only to find him gone! Raven looked in all directions, even skyward, for the stranger named Shade. Shocked that he'd vanished without a sound, Raven looked back to Mumbo. He was thoroughly knocked out, so she reached for her T-communicator.

"Got him." Raven said, kneeling to pick up the flower. It wasn't from a flower shop, she knew, because it still had thorns on its sides. The rose, the deepest red Raven had ever seen, glistened with fresh dew, as though it had just been picked moments ago. "Shade… huh?" A tiny slip of paper was wrapped around one of the thorns, then pierced to hold it in place. It was no bigger than a fortune cookie's fortune, and she carefully pulled it free. There was a tiny, typed pair of sentences on it.

Where can you find a Siren? Meet me there alone, midnight, in three days.

Raven, the reader of mystery and horror novels, found her interest very suddenly peaked. Who was this 'Shade', and why –? "Raven!" It was Robin's voice, just around the corner. She retreated into her cloak, hiding the rose and the message on it.

"I am glad for your safety, friend Raven!" Starfire chirped, landing from the sky. She smiled when she found her friend victorious, making little jumps to show girlish excitement as she giggled.

Beast Boy came from the other way Robin had, his nose still to the ground. When he saw Mumbo was down, he turned human again. "Aw man! I was the first one out the trap, and I didn't even get to catch him!" He stood erect, grumbling to himself. Cyborg soon appeared as well, stocky and a little slower than the rest due to his metal body. "Cyborg! You'll back me up, right? I so had this guy before Raven did!"

"Quiet, you. What matters is he was caught. Who did it is irrelevant." Raven snapped gothically, back to her sour mood. "Let's just drop him off in jail, and get back to bed." The others agreed, and it was so. On the ride home, Raven could feel the soft petals of the flower pressed against her, but she didn't want to show her friends. Not yet. This Shade character wanted to meet her… wherever this riddle pointed, alone. She leaned against the door of the T-car, looking out across the city as they passed it. Who was this stranger… and why did he want to meet her so much? Why now? Who was he –

"Earth to Raven!" Beast Boy said, clearly annoyed she wasn't listening. They had arrived at home, and Raven saw Cyborg's garage outside her window. "You spending the night in the car?" Raven rose without a word and vanished through the ceiling, on the way to her room. "I hate it when she does that…" Beast Boy grumbled, wandering back to bed as the other Titans did the same.

Starfire smiled as she entered her room, glad to be back to bed and having Silkie to cuddle with. Cyborg lay down on his charge table. Robin rubbed his eyes as he grunted into bed. Beast Boy sighed, pulling a smelly sock off of his pillow before shutting his eyes. Raven… stayed up.

Raven was in the Titan's mainframe room. The giant computer was awaiting orders, and she typed them as she spoke aloud. "Jump City map…" an enormous grid came up, showing the outlines of buildings, alleys, bodies of water and elevations. She looked at it for a moment, sitting in the deep though position she often found Robin in. Stroking her chin and finally pulling her hood back so she would see more, she typed in a specification. "Fire… departments…" she typed the first siren she could think of, which was a fire truck's siren. She waited for the computer to process, gently turning the flower in her hands. It was perhaps the most perfect rose Raven had ever seen, picked it its prime and delivered with all speed. Whoever grew it knew a great deal about growing them… the computer gave a beep that it was done, and Raven frowned.

Jump City had four fire departments. Each was placed at a strategic place in Jump City to help fight fires, but Raven saw no clue that would help her. What other sorts of sirens where there? Raven started typing again. "Police… departments." She spoke again as she typed. She wasn't used to handling a computer, so she was a slow typer. She hit enter and waited. "The police cars have sirens…" she was met with equal disappointment, though. Jump City had more than five police departments. "Well, with all the super villains, who can blame them…" Raven muttered, though she was not pleased. "What other sirens are there, Shade…?" She looked at the tiny slip of paper again, gently rotating the rose. She read and reread the message, over and over. She suddenly realized something. "The word siren is capitalized…" She murmured. She opened another search, muttering the word as she found the keys. "Search… Siren with a capital 'S.'" She made sure it was capitalized, and hit enter. She leaned back in the high-backed chair, watching the computer process its own thoughts. "C'mon……" Raven murmured, eager to solve the mystery. "Huh?" Raven frowned when a whole new window popped up. "Cape Siren, Jump City harbor…?" she typed an inquiry, asking for more information. She received a newspaper clipping and read it aloud. "Jump City is proud to announce the opening of its first lighthouse at the harbor, half a mile beyond the edge of the pier… blah blah blah………" she skimmed onward, glancing at the newspaper's date. It was about a year before the Titans came to Jump City. Raven scrolled down to read more and gasped. "Siren the creature!" Raven stood hard, the chair falling violently on its back. There was a picture in the article. One that gave the answer to Shade's riddle. The gothic Titan knew exactly where to go… and she only had to wait three days to find out more about this mysterious figure. Shade… who was he?

So… uhm… does anyone like this so far? I'm open to imput! Just for reference to those who come to often… I'll try to post a new chapter everyday. There will be precisely eleven parts to this story, this story called Shade. Uhm… embarrassed smile I hope you lot are enjoying it so far. And, although the story is already complete, and will be submitted in parts, I'll try to make no more than two days between each submission. I repeat, the story is ALREADY FINISHED and being submitted bit by bit, so stick around! It's gonna be fun!