Anielle sat on the bed she slept on every night. She was in a big room filled with many other orphan girls. She was one of them. It was her prison that kept her from the outside world, from feeling the everyday winds, from breathing the different smells of life. It was one of the orphanages she would stay for part of her worthless life.
She didn't remember her parents, barely remembered if she had any. They were just two tall blurred figures that were part of her painful memories. She was told that supposedly they had swerved off a bridge into deep water, their bodies never found. She was five at that time, a smiling happy child, looking forward to a fun filled heavenly life, until the world came crashing down on her. She was an only child, but would have had a brother in two weeks if…if…and they even had a name picked out for him. She had chosen the name…. Billy…Little Billy she would have called him…if only…
The second she had found out the horrible news she had been taken away from her home and had been moved from one orphanage to another. No one seemed to adopt her or even look her in the eye, exactly the way no one cared about why she was there. She was a shadow practically, partially there sitting and listening. She always was there, waiting for something. She grew to hate life, herself, and to never trust anyone. Giving up on any hope of a new home or a new family, she only waited for her life to end. Eleven years of being moved from one prison to another, from one big city to another, from one place to another, from one time to another. They all seemed the same, one big blur.
Anielle sat hunched over on her bed, her long black hair covering her pale white face. Her dark grey eyes staring at her hands that were placed on her bony knees. She was recently moved a week ago to a city where things actually happened. Heroes were in here, fighting to protect people. They were called the Teen Titans, from what she heard. Even this little bit of excitement didn't mean anything to her. Nothing meant anything to her. Anielle looked around at the other orphans, who seemed to be enjoying life and laughing and talking and telling secrets. They would be moving again. They would never see each other again. They would never have the same life they used to again. Why all this happiness?
The main conversation was on the Teen Titans. Even being there one full twenty-four hours she heard everything that needed to be known about them. No matter how hard she tried to ignore their voices, she still heard every single word. Every…last…word. All she did was listen. She was tired of voices, words, laughter, of sitting and listening, joy, smiles, of conversation… of just plain living.
"Oh my god! They beat that Mumbo guy yesterday! Like Robin totally did it all!" "No way! Beastboy was the one!" "Starfire and Raven kicked ass! " "You are all wrong, you know Cyborg did it all." "Hell with you all, they all did it together as one morons." It went on…and on…. and on…. and never stopped. They came from the high voices of the giggly girls. They were all giggly girls. She was surrounded by this…laughter, this fun.
Were the Teen Titans really that great? Are they worth talking about this much? Were they to praise, to love, to adore? Anielle didn't know anything of happiness anymore. It was just like that blur of the ones she used to love most…what was love? What was family? They were just simple words… meaningless words. She felt engulfed in a world of darkness, an iron fist keeping her from what she wanted to be, pushing her farther away from her true self, making her suffer but not yet visit the world of the dead.
She always thought about death. It felt welcoming her to join. Death seemed to be a friend that whispered its secrets to her. Death seemed the only thing she could look forward too…if only it would come sooner.
There was one person whoa actually cared and talk to Anielle, and comforted her. It was the orphanage's secretary. A nice blue eyed lady with short brown hair and chubby cheeks. To Anielle's dismay, she praised the Teen Titans as well.
Anielle didn't realize the sudden silence in the room, since she was lost in her thoughtlessness. She looked around the room slowly. Everyone was frozen in place; some with mouths open in mid sentence.
It was as if time had stopped. The people around her didn't breath or make a sound, and the usual traffic outside didn't seem to be there. Only her soft breathe was all that she heard. Anielle quickly rushed to the window. Nothing. Not a sound. Everything was still. Was this apart of her imagination?
Suddenly, a burst of laughter rang out threw the air. It sounded evil and full of hate. It echoed, seeming louder than it really was supposed to be, seeming never ending. The laughter abruptly stopped, and yet again it was pure silence. Not knowing what to do, she stayed where she was.
Minutes passed…. or did anything pass? Was there really time, if nothing moved? It didn't seem likely. A second later, a high female's voice was talking. Another replied in a more serious way. Two girls came into view from around the corner of the building across from the orphanage. One was a little taller than the other, with red hair, sparkling green eyes, and a purple outfit. The other wore a dark blue cape like thing, a black leotard, and had dark colored eyes. They were searching for something.
"Oh, where could he have gone?" asked the red haired girl. Her features seemed familiar to her, described too many times. Ah yes…it was one of the praised. Starfire.
"Somewhere away from us," replied the other one. Must be Raven. Most of the giggly girls didn't like her. I wonder why, thought Anielle.
"I do not like this, friend Raven," said Starfire.
"Neither do I. The feeling of it…it's just not right. He must have somehow…stopped the rotation of the Earth…and possibly time, judging from the sun that hasn't moved. He might be some kind of …"Raven's voice trailed off as they slowly walked farther away from the orphanage. They hadn't noticed Anielle, who still stood standing wide eyed and confused. No one really noticed her anyways, even when everything was moving.
She had always felt lost and bewildered. Now she felt even more than that.
Anielle walked out into the hallway that separated the girl's room from the boys. She headed for the stairs on the right. The small hallway always made her feel claustrophobic. The stairs led to a big room that had a two clear class doors, opening out into the streets. They were open. Three people stood in the room with Anielle. The secretary, and a smiling couple, both overweight. The secretary, wearing an name tag saying ," HI, my name is Katie Bearing" had her mouth open in laughter. Everything felt…too strange.
Standing there seemed the only thing Anielle could do. She felt like she should actually do something, but her body wouldn't let her. She felt chained down. She wanted to go outside, to go out and explore, and maybe even find those praised heroes. Or to find where that laughter came from. Or maybe just to…. run away or…Time seemed endless to Anielle. It seemed shorter than it really was supposed to be. Or was it longer? Voices were heard again, two male voices. They came from outside, from the way Raven and Starfire had disappeared. Two figures appeared, but it was hard to hear what they were saying since they were talking in a low serious voice.
"No one will," said the one with spiky black hair and a mask over his eyes. "We have got to find this man now. If we don't…" Robin. This was Robin, Anielle knew for sure. He was mentioned the most from the giggly girls. The other must have been Cyborg. He was half robotic and half African American. She found listening helpful just then, but it still didn't mean anything to her.
" We will find him, Robin," Cyborg said seriously. " He can't be far."
"There is no trace of him anywhere," Robin said. " Starfire and Raven t haven't found him either. Beastboy…he's frozen like the rest of them, and your tracer doesn't show any sign of him either."
"We will just have to keep looking," Cyborg said.
Anielle forced herself to walk slowly towards them. She knew they wouldn't notice her if she didn't say anything. She didn't want to be alone in this stillness, and maybe they knew what was going on. Of course they would. They are the praised ones. "…Hello?"
Robin and Cyborg stopped dead in their tracks, and stared in her direction. She saw surprise and confusion in their eyes. Anielle looked down at the ground, and slowly turned towards the stairs. No, she thought. I shouldn't have said anything, should have left them be, should have left them alone, should have done nothing, should have let them go on there way to leave me in peace, should have…
"Who are you?" asked Robin.
Don't say a word. Not a word. Leave. Run. Anielle's thoughts attacked her, making her flinch. These weren't her thoughts, or were they? Were they commands that someone is yelling at her? She knew they were her own thoughts, but something kept nagging at her that she was wrong. She was always wrong. Seconds passed, and she kept still.
"Who are you?" Robin asked again.
"I…" Anielle suddenly found it hard to breathe, every time she inhaled or exhaled, it seemed to take a lot of her strength. She looked away from the two heroes, and quickly ran up the stairs, not looking back to see if they would follow her. Her vision became blurred and dizzy. She sat down on her bed. She had been there only a tiny bit ago…or was it a tiny bit? How long? Anielle thought it was all in her imagination. A nightmare or dream, something her mind came up with maybe just to occupy that one minute of her stupid life.
She had always imagined things ever since she had turned fifteen. People. A boy. A boy who would stand in a dark corner, watching her every movement. She somehow felt that he was there, and when she looked up he would look away and disappear into thin air. He had inky black hair that blended in with the shadows, piercing gray eyes and skin just like hers. His eyes stared through her as if she wasn't there. A feeling of unreality surrounded her when she saw him.
But now, it felt so real. It wasn't a dream. It was no nightmare. It was real. A sudden jolt of pain shot through her, making her fall to her knees. A mixture of numbness and pain consumed her. Loud buzzing sounds and the laughter she heard earlier screamed in her ears, filled her ears sounds that she didn't know the making of, but forced cold tears to form in her eyes, and stream down her cheeks, falling onto the cemented ground. The pain was so intense. She felt helpless, insecure… as if she never existed…nothing….
Anielle wasn't aware that Robin had followed a couple of seconds after her up the stairs and was standing in the room, watching her. He found her kneeling on the ground, fists clenched, and tears falling swiftly out of her eyes.
"Are you alright?" Robin asked, rushing to her to her side.
Anielle barely heard him. The world seemed to shake before her eyes. She didn't feel the light touch of his hand on her shoulder, or the questions he asked her. "I…." She tried to listen, she tried to answer, she tried to answer with all her might, but it was fruitless. Her voice shook, she knew, but she didn't hear it. Her heart beat against her chest, pain behind her eyes screamed. Blackness suddenly flashed before her eyes, and she left consciousness.
Robin caught her before she hit the ground. What was happening? Something strange was going on, he knew. This girl had something to do with it. There were so many questions, but there were no answers.
Earlier that day Robin and the Teen Titans were walking around the city. Beastboy secretly was planning to play a trick on Cyborg. When Cyborg was about to buy something, Beastboy threw a 'tofu' like chicken towards Cyborg, but an old man somehow accidentally got in the way and was hit by it instead. It splattered all over him. He turned around towards the Teen Titans, anger blazing in his eye.
He took the chicken, and threw it on the ground. Beastboy began to laugh hysterically at him, making the man even angrier. The man spread out his arms, hands facing the sky, and chanted some words that were not of any English. Green spoke came out of his hands that protruded out into the sky. Time abruptly stopped. People froze in place, leaving Beastboy in mid laughter. Strangely enough Robin, Starfire, Raven, and Cyborg could still move.
The man put down his hands and stared grimly at the Teen Titans. He began to laugh, a horrible laugh that echoed all throughout the city. The Titans just stared at him, dumbfounded.
"Yes! Now is the time! We shall see the beginning of its rein!" yelled the old man. His laughter stopped and he continued to stare at the Titans with his beady black eyes. " Children…do not play with fire," the man said mysteriously, and suddenly disappeared in a flash.
"That was…strange," Raven said, cocking an eyebrow.
" Indeed this is. This isn't good, dear friends! What shall we do? What about Beastboy?" asked Starfire.
"What we should do is look for the old man," Robin said.
"Well at least we got Beast Boy to shut up for once," Cyborg said, poking BB in the back.
And now this girl…whoever she was, was part of it, whatever it was. They had always known their enemies, everything there was to know about them, or anything there was to know, but not his time. Not this time.