From Darkness Born

"Do you have everything?" Beast Boy asks me.

"Pencils? Notebooks?" Cyborg lists.

"Calculator? Lunch?" BB continues.

"Socks? Shoes?" Cy asks.

"Underwear? Bra?" BB receives a kick to the face.

"Rae." Cyborg says softly as BB nurses his wound. "Be safe. If someone bullies you, remember: no powers. Punch 'em in the face instead!"

I smile at their antics.

"Guys, it's just the first day of school. I'll be fine."

"Yeah." Robin adds. "Plus she'll be making a big entrance." He grins.

"Come on, Boy Wonder." I admonish, slinging my bag over my shoulder.

I'm wearing dark blue jeans, and white shirt, and a purple coat. Generic, and no logos. Not too gothic, not too cool. I'm hoping to blend in. I actually tried with my hair. Instead of being parted down the middle, I let more of it hang on the right and cut the front shorter than the back to create bangs.

Robin smiles and opens the door for me, always the gentleman. As we wait for the elevator, I glance over at him. His outfit has changed, too. He replaced his mask with a pair of sunglasses, his green tights with black jeans, and his tight red shirt for a short-sleeved dark blue one.

I like the color blue.

While we were getting these outfits a few days ago, we passed by a shiny black motorcycle. Robin was instantly reminded of his R Cycle back home, and he bought it.

It's a miracle that he still has money left. Freaking sons of Batman and their deep pockets.

So basically my ride to school is an attractive guy riding on a motorcycle. No wonder Robin called it a 'big entrance'.

When we get to the black bike, Robin hands me my purple helmet while he puts on his own red one. With a cocky grin, he gets on and waits for me to get on behind him. When I frown playfully for a moment too long, he turns to look at me. I immediately blush and get behind him so as to hide my red face. I hear him laugh, and then we're off. My hands soon grasp his waist as we zoom through the streets.

Robin manages to maintain the cool biker and daredevil attitudes while still being a really safe driver. I don't feel endangered at all. It helps that if we were to get in an actual accident, I could easily float both of us to safety, but it's nice to be able to trust Robin fully.

Very quickly, I find myself in front of the school. Robin sets one foot on the ground, letting the motorcycle tilt slightly. I get off slowly, remembering Robin's advise from earlier. "Take your time. If you rush off, then people won't be impressed. Act like you know me well."

Yeah. I know Robin enough to know that he LOVES posturing. Which is what I am doing right now, of course.

I take the helmet off of my head and shake my hair before handing it to Robin. He smiles at me, a gentle reminder to do the same. My face breaks into a large grin, somewhat forced, as I shake my hair to let it fix itself.

"Good luck today." Robin says, his voice sincere.

"Thanks." I say, noticing people staring as they walk by. "Don't forget to pick me up at three."

"Are you sure it's three?" He teases. "I thought it was ten."

"You're a jerk." I say teasingly, turning away.

"I'll see you at three then!" Robin laughs, speeding off.

I'm alone. Taking a deep breath, I follow the crowd of students inside. I ask a girl for directions to the office, surprising even myself. With a wink and a smile, she points me in the right direction, and I soon find myself looking down at my schedule. I walk the hall I'm on first to get a feel for the way that the class numbers work, then I go down the flight of stairs to my own class. By this point, lessons have begun, so I am entering late. My classmates and the teacher look up when I enter.

"You must be the new student." The teacher says. "Rachael Roth, was it?"

I nod, my mouth dry.

"Welcome to World History. My name is Mr. Johnson."

There is no doubt. This is the man from my visions on Azarath. The Timelord. The man who is currently seeking to destroy Earth.