From Darkness Born

I knew something was wrong the moment I walked into school.

And everything had been going so well, too. We had a house that we moved into quickly (with a little help from our powers). Everyone was happier than I had ever seen them, mostly because we didn't have to worry about villains every day.

But we can't hide from destiny forever.

Multiple things tip me off to the danger. The school is silent, and I can't see anyone. As soon as I walk in the doors, I feel a surge of negative emotion and dark energy.

I walk forward cautiously, my powers ready just in case. A single scream rips through the air, and a door slams shut. I turn into the main hallway and still see nothing. All of the doors are shut and there is no sign of struggle.

I am about to continue on when I hear footsteps behind me.

"Rachel?" A feminine voice asks. I turn in relief. It's Sarah.

"Thank God." I whisper, grabbing her arms. She clutched at mine, too. "Do you have any idea what's going on?"

She shakes her head, and I can see her panic written in her face.

"You should go." I tell her, worried that she might get hurt.

"No." Her hands tighten. If you're staying, then I am too."

I smile, grateful that she is so loyal. "Let's go then."

We sneak over to the first classroom and peer in through the window.

A few teachers and about twenty students stand against a wall, looking towards the other side of the room. They seem scared.

I reach deep within me to find a connection that hasn't been used in months.

"Robin." I think towards him. "I think it's starting."

"What are we going to do?" Sarah whispers to me. I hold up a hand and look in again.

A student's head jerks towards us and sees me. His eyes dart away before he looks back. His eyes are desperate. He jerks his head again. He wants us to leave.

A cold, metallic voice sounds throughout the room. "You were instructed not to move." It says. I hear something roll across the floor, and the monster rolls into view.

It is robot-like in that it speaks, moves, and is made of metallic parts. It almost looks like a salt and pepper shaker, with a wide base and smaller....head? The base is covered in strange half-spheres. Arm-like projections come out of its body in the shape of a plunger and a whisk. It has a single eye stalk that is mounted on its movable head.

"You were warned." It says to the student. Everyone else in the room backs up even more. "You will all be exterminated."

The way that it says 'exterminate' sends chills down my spine.

The whisk seems to power up as it glows with a blue energy. I fling the door open and shove my hands out right before it fires. Multiple people, including Sarah, cry out either at me or their imminent deaths.

The monster stands frozen in time, the energy beam having just barely left its home. I am shocked that my emotions chose this form. The last and only time that I stopped time itself was when Slade almost killed Robin.

The students and faculty look up in shock. When they see the purple aura surrounding the monster and my hands, they don't seem to know how to react.

".....Rachel?" Sarah asks from behind me. "How are you..."

"Give me a second, Sarah." I request through clenched teeth. This is really hard to maintain, I realize quickly. Especially since I haven't used my powers much recently and can now channel them with my emotions.

At my command, a second layer of dark energy forms within the first. It closes in until the monster is a ball of metal the size of a basketball. Then I encase the energy beam in my magic and cool it until it actually freezes before I release the time capsule.

When I am done, I feel sad. The boys and I had just started living a normal life, but now we'll be famous again. It's almost not fair. We got a second chance at a normal life but it happened to also have villains. I guess it shows that the Titans can't stay away from people who need us.

"Rachel....what was that?" Sarah asks. The other people press forward a little but mostly stay away.

I turn to Sarah slowly. "You saw it." I answer her, then look over my shoulder. "You should all leave while you can."

Twenty or so people crowd past us and out the door. A student, the one who told me to leave, stays behind.

"Thank you." He says awkwardly. "And...if you're staying behind, you should know what they are." He says, motioning toward the ball on the ground. "He called them Daleks."

"He?" I ask, already knowing the answer.

"Mr. Johnson." He answers. "But he wants to be called the Master."

"Right." I look at the ground. "Anything else?"

"There's about one Dalek per classroom, from what I know." He continues. "Also a few with the Master in the biology lab. For whatever reason, he's holding Mr. Smith captive."

This isn't good. That means he has access to.....

"Thank you." I smile at him. He leaves, and I turn back to Sarah. Her mouth is wide open.

"You're the actual thing, aren't you? That's why you already had the costumes and...." She looks at the ground. "I think I need a minute." She holds a hand to her face and leans against a wall. I start toward her but stop cold when I hear a voice say,

"Exterminate!!!"