The wind tumultuously blustered against Murakami High's outer fence. A young adult sat in her ninth grade math class, scrawling her pen against her notebook. A lamenting sigh fell from the girls lips. Her mind reached back to the events of that morning.
'Did that really happen?' Her brain pulsed in pain. Trying to affirm her thoughts, she finally wrote a word with purpose, no longer scribbling, but writing with intention.
WHY DID SHE DO THAT?_
"Everyone come urgently!" An ear boiling scream came from the Meeting room of the Titans tower.
Raven was the first to arrive at the scene; she appeared up through the floor and floated into an aggressive stance at the entrance of the room. Her eyes narrowed in discontent to the light when she realized Starfire was standing in front of the un-curtained, mammoth glass windows. "Starfire, what is that behind you?" Raven asked, realizing in an instant that there was no threat.
Robin, Beast Boy, and Cyborg busted into the room. Cyborg's Sonic Cannon was at the ready, Beast Boy was in the form of a wolf, and Robin's metal rod cut the air in front of him.
"Hey! What gives?" Beast Boy whined as he morphed into his human form. Starfire smiled with an apologetic twinkle in her eye. The three teens groaned as the understanding that this was nothing serious settled in the room.
"Star, what is this about?" Robin asked, masking his aggravation.
"Truthfully friends I was not sure I could get you all here at the same time. But this is so vitally important to our daily lives, I believed I must create a reason for you all to come…" Starfire seemed genuinely apologetic.
"Star if it was that important we would've come down." Cyborg interjected seriously, the four teens surrounding all nodding in agreement.
Starfire's forest eyes were set aflame by his words and her lips curved into a genial smile. "Thank you my friends," she beamed. She then stepped to the side of where she was standing to reveal a minute table.
"This is what I wanted to show you so desperately!" She announced gesturally. In front of the Titans appeared five different plants; the pots holding them were each labeled with a name.
"I'm going to go back to my room now." Raven muttered in monotone.
"Raven you mustn't!" Starfire begged, capturing Raven's arm. Raven sighed.
"On my planet, there is something called 'caring for your friend's needs.'" Starfire continued, letting go of Raven's arms. This sentence instilled the Titan's interest in the conversation, beckoning her to continue. "This is described not as a day of celebration or a festival, but a way of life. It is also a continual ritual that symbolizes our love for one another." Starfire glanced at the team to be sure she still held their attention. Robin and Raven were listening intently, while Beast Boy and Cyborg made absurd faces at each other after the word 'love.'
"Each plant has a name on it, to symbolize the person and their unique qualities." She called attention to the first plant. "Cyborg, you are symbolized by these daisies because though you are seemingly strong, and yet you are also incredibly soft hearted."
"Uh- thanks?" Cyborg inquired, scratching the back of his head.
"Raven you are the purple crocus. You are a bit closed, but not too much. And you will open up with time and close up again- and there is nothing negative about it. It is who you are."
Raven was surprise to be summed up so effortlessly by her alien friend, but thankful nonetheless.
"Beast boy you are the peppers, because you have an exciting quality to you."
"And I'm hot." Beast Boy shimmied his eyebrows in Raven's direction. Without a second thought she surrounded a pillow from the couch in black energy, and chucked it into the flank of his head.
"I have planted roses for myself because of their color and sweet quality, and for you Robin, I have planted black Dahlia's because of the serious and precise tone in which you lead."
"That's- actually really nice Star." A smile swept over Robin's face and Starfire clasped her hands in joy.
"So we just take care of our plants?" Beast Boy yawned, ready to resume his mid-morning power nap.
"Oh no! We must take care of each other's plants. Friendship is about the effort, kindness, and forgiveness we pour into each other's lives. It is not about focusing on ourselves, but putting each other first. Each of us will randomly pick a plant to take care of for each other. And in doing so, we prove the amount of time and effort we put aside for each other. It is symbolism, but everyone will also be able to see how well their plant in being taken care of!" Starfire surmised.
"So what? Do we pull names out of a hat to see whose plant we get to take care of?" Cyborg chuckled at the idea of Star gathering a hat out of thin air with names in it.
"You are correct!" Starfire's mouth pulled into a tight smile while she plucked a top hat from behind the plants and requested that everyone pick a name at random.
"I got Cyborg!" Starfire flew with glee.
"I got Robin." Cyborg said matter of fact.
"I got Raven!" Beast Boy grinned, then looked over to Raven.
"I got Beast Boy." She said straight faced.
Beast Boy try to ignore it, but he was bothered that she wasn't a little more excited to be taking care of his plant. 'But sometimes you can't really tell with her.' Beast Boy consoled himself with this thought. He also promptly morphed into a golden retriever puppy with wide eyes to look at Raven until she realized how she had hurt him. Raven rolled her eyes at him.
"I have Star." Robin stated.
"Then we are all in agreement!" Starfire concluded the groups 'meeting.'
CRACK.
"What was that?!" Beast Boy returned to his normal state without a moment's notice and yelled, covering his hypersensitive ears.
Robin hastily made his way to the window, making notes as he spectated the sky and surrounding area. "It sounded like-" Raven started.
"Thunder." Beast Boy grimaced.
"No way, not on a clear day, nu –uh. I'll check my sensors, it had to be an earthquake or a bomb or-" Cyborg was cut off by a flawless scan of the city. No earthquakes. No Storms. No bombs.
"My sensors must be off. I don't understand…" Cyborg muttered under his breath, continuing to fiddle with his cyber arm.
"Raven, Star, and Beast Boy- you guys search the city. Cyborg and I will stay here and try to pick something up in the system. Titan's go!" Robin ordered.
While Robin and Cyborg remained in the tower, the three titans dispersed. Practically in a flash Starfire was on the other side of town. Beast Boy stopped Raven at the front door of the tower, just before she began flying towards the inner city.
"Raven!" Beast Boy caught her arm as she tried to ignore him.
'I'm just trying to do my job. Can I get a break from him for a few minutes?' She thought in her mind as she struggled to keep her annoyance from flaring up.
"What?" She asked, ready to take flight. Her face was the same as usual, but Beast Boy could hear the tone of agitation in her voice.
"I heard where it came from! I was a dog when I heard the blast." Beast Boy explained nervously. Raven lifted an eyebrow in response, but Beast Boy put a hand on his hip. "Dog's have good hearing, remember?" Beast Boy gestured to his ear.
"Whatever." Raven shrugged and followed him as he turned into a falcon, with her following as a raven. After some time, the pair arrived at Murakami High School.
"This is where you heard the sound from?" Raven puzzled.
"Yeah. Right above the building, I think. Or maybe it came from inside?" Beast Boy debated aloud.
Raven let loose her powers to explore the rooms in the school. A drastically immense aura of power…
Beast Boy stared at Raven eyes turning black before she gasped.
"Whoa! Rae! What's wrong?" The changeling hurried to her side and grabbed her waist to keep her from falling.
Regaining her speech, Raven breathed shakily. "Whatever it is- it's in there." She cast a directing hand to the school before achieving her balance. Beast Boy simply nodded, letting go of her waist a little prematurely. But he did so for the sake of him not being murdered by his half demoness friend.
They trekked into the school. Raven turned unnoticeably and skimmed over Beast Boys visage. His hands were tightened into fists, his legs shaking a bit.
"Is this where that girl that looked like Terra-?"
"Yeah."
Raven nodded in understanding. She didn't want to get into a discussion about Terra. But it was good to know.
"Let's talk to the principle first and find out if they have seen anything suspicious." Raven stated.
"Yeah- okay." Beast Boy agreed, staring straight ahead.
The paraffin walls of the school were laden with posters and "Vote Vicki!" sticky notes over several lockers. The Titans walked side by side through the mostly empty halls. Every few several seconds some kid with a hall pass would gape at the two superheroes, but for the most part the walk to the front office was undisturbed.
"Hello." Raven said in her most boring tone to the receptionist of the school.
"Hi! How can I help you?" Ms. King, as her desk plate said, smiled. Her disposition was almost too bright and Raven knew she would have issues speaking to this woman. Thankfully, Beast Boy took the hint of silence.
"We'd like to see to the principle," Beast Boy charmed, "and uh, we're the Teen Titans." He added, rubbing the backside of his head in awkwardness.
"Oh my! Well, not a problem! One moment." Ms. King reached for her phone, her lipstick stains smeared over the bottom of it. "Hello, Mrs. Finn? Yes, the Teen Titans are here to see you." She suddenly smiled and waved to a door behind her, gesturing that it was okay for them to enter.
"That's how it's done Rae." Beast Boy bragged.
"You didn't do any-"
"Hi ma'am." Beast Boy radiated at the principle. She was a stalwart woman, a classic dress shirt and dress pants enshrouding her, all the way down to her pointy shoes. Beast Boy's hand reached out and she obliged and motioned for the pair to take a seat in her office.
"The Teen Titans. It is an honor to be meeting you. Is there anything I can help you with?" she interrogated.
"We are looking for information on the huge noise heard across the city. Have you noticed anything strange happening within the school recently? Any strange people or even actions? Anything?" Raven asked in monotone. The room was silent for longer than expected.
"…No. I haven't." Ms. Finn sighed. "However if you would like to inspect the school, I have no problem with you doing so. In fact, if you feel the need to come here consecutively over a few days I would not mind that either… I am concerned for my student's safety. "
"Very well. We will do what we see fit." Raven got up, Beast Boy following close behind.
"Thank you for your time." Beast Boy grinned before Raven's hand was pulling him out of the doorway by the arm. "Ow Rae! That hurts!" He cried as she let go of his bicep half way down the hall.
"She knows something. And the aura that was so strong before has faded into pretty much nothing." Raven muttered, focusing her energy on the faint traces of power throughout the halls and classrooms.
"Soooo- what do we do?" Beast Boy asked, eyebrow raised.
Raven grimaced.
"We go to school."
SHE MUST'VE BEEN HUNGRY! _
A barrage of thunder shook the school, several students covered their heads as the cloudless and brilliant day showed through the windows. She kept herself from drawing a sharp breath and admired in angst the word she had written on her journal.
Thunder.
Authors note
Hi! Please tell me how you like the story!
The bold writing gives you a hint to the next chapter, it is what kids are saying in the halls of the school. :) Things will get absolutely crazy, and well, Terra is going to have an entire different meaning after this story! :) Keep reading to find out! Love you all, hope you're all having a good day! :) 3