• The brutal mess that lay smeared across the pavement smelled of gore and decay. Black asphalt contrasted with the bright red scarlet of blood. Body parts and scraps of skin and bone littered the ground. White sheets lay over what remained of the unfortunate victims of the attack. Police and ambulance workers stood around, heads down, murmuring to each other. Thankfully, a tent was set up around the entirety of the mess to hide it from curious passersby. As extra precaution, cop cars were parked on either end of the street to prevent cars from passing.

    Five citizens, however, were allowed to enter the accident site and go past the barricades to witness the aftermath first hand.

    When Robin first stepped into the tent, his first instinct was to turn back and empty his stomach on the pavement. But, with his four teammates behind him waiting, he knew he had to set an example as a leader and continue on. He surveyed the damage done and could only ask himself, "What on earth would do this?" He heard Starfire's stifled cry as she too entered. He turned to look at her. One hand was cupped over her mouth. Her other arm was wrapped around her middle. She glanced at him, tears in her eyes.

    "X'hal." she whispered tremulously. "What horror is this?" Cyborg followed her. His repulsion was stronger then Robin's. He closed his eyes in grief, calling back to Beastboy who had yet to come in.

    "BB, you might not want to see this. If you want to close your eyes, no one will hold it against you."

    "Is it that bad?" the reply came.

    "Oh yeah. It's- it's massacre."

    "Maybe I'll just morph into a bat. Then I won't have to see anything."

    "Whatever you want B."

    Robin walked further into the mess, towards a small table set up in the corner of the tent. One man in uniform stood hunched over a folder.

    "Captain Hughes." he addressed the police captain. The portly man looked up, a grim expression on his aged face.

    "Robin." He looked past the Titan leader and acknowledged the other four with a nod. "We have a suspect, confirmed by five eye witnesses." Hughes held up a photo. "This was taken by one of the witnesses during the attack." Robin came closer, taking the photo and studying it. It was of a pale, thin man. His eyes were beady, his stare haunting, tortured. His cheekbones were peaked, his cheeks hollow, and his face unshaven. Blood coated his hands and lower jaw. Robin had a chilling feeling that the blood was not his own. "This is the most recent picture of the suspect so far. We don't have a name yet, but we're working on it." Robin nodded, handing the picture back to the captain.

    "Any idea where he went?"

    "None at all. We do know that he's incredibly gifted."

    "Powers?" Robin asked, raising an eyebrow.

    "Well, not exactly. He's one of those prodigies from birth you hear about every so often. He also shows some...vampiric traits." Cyborg snorted.

    "Vampiric. As in Dracula?" He gestured to the mangled bodies behind them. "Last time I watched a sci fi flick, vamps don't tear apart their victims. Just bite their necks." Hughes' frown deepened.

    "He's not an actual vampire. But he has a penchant for blood. He drinks the blood of his victims. Sometimes he even goes as far as to eat their hearts." Starfire shuddered.

    "Yet he is not a vampire? Just a human?"

    "Yes."

    "His motivation?" Robin asked, taking Starfire's hand to comfort her.

    "We don't know."

    "So what, the dude just came in and started killing people?" Beastboy said, morphing back to human form and covering his eyes with a gloved hand. Despite his being a superhero, Beastboy still had a somewhat fragile, innocent mind. He was easily traumatized by things like this. The team knew, and respected, this fact.

    "No big monologue on how he was getting revenge on the world for daddy not caring enough?" Raven added.

    "No. Just waltzed up to the nearest civilian and...went to town on him." Somehow, such a light phrase didn't seem to fit the current situation.

    "So," Robin had to force himself to turn and look at the carnage. "who are our victims? How many?" It was hard to tell how many there were when they were in so many pieces.

    "Three. David Denton, male, 32 years of age. He worked in Jump City Bank as a teller. Selena Goh, female, 51. She retired five years ago and lived in the suburbs of Jump. The last victim is one Ferril Keen, female, 25 years. She- She was eight months pregnant and on maternity leave."

    Starfire didn't bother holding in her tears at that point.

    "And the child?" Raven asked softly, receding further back into her cloak.

    "We weren't able to save the baby..."

    Robin squeezed the bridge of his nose, eyebrows furrowing deeply. "Who is this man?"

    "Not a man. A monster." Cyborg muttered.

    "He seems to have no specific targets. All three victims were completely unrelated and unlinked from one another."

    "Random targeting, brutal tactics, total disregard for human life, no obvious motivation... sounds like we have a very dangerous, very ill psychotic man on our hands."

    "So, we have your cooperation on this investigation then?" Captain Hughes asked. Robin looked back at his team, who all nodded solemnly.

    "Absolutely."

    "Thank you for your assistance. It'll go a long way to catching this freak."

    "You'll alert us with any updates?" Robin asked.

    Hughes nodded, shaking Robin's hand before heading back to his table to study further. Robin signaled his team to follow him out of the tent. When they were far from the haunting site, they gathered to accept their assignments.

    "Starfire, Beastboy, take to the skies and try to find this guy. Cyborg, do anything you can to track this guy's record down. I want his name, where he lives, and his past criminal offenses." Cyborg nodded.

    "Got it."

    "Raven, I want you to question the witnesses. Learn everything they know. As for me, I'm heading for the streets to see if I can stir something up... Titans, move!"