In the Rough
Chapter One
Standing on a roof, a lone figure stares at the night sky and wonders. Hearing the sound of a door slamming shut, the figure turned around and frowns at the disturbance of the blessed silence. Stepping into one of the many shadows on the rooftop, the figure watches as a group of teenagers walk to the building's edge. Silently, the figure quickly observes the group of three boys and one girl.
The first teen on the roof stood out in more ways than one. And, the figure thought—considering how everyone in the group was unique in some way—that was quite a feat. But this teen stood out because of the simple fact that he was the tallest. The handsome African-American boy stood head and shoulders above the others and looked to be the oldest also. Over half of his body was covered with metal that glowed a vivid blue against the backdrop of indigo sky behind him. He had one robotic red eye while the other human eye was a warm and compassionate brown.
Directly behind him was a shorter teen. A shorter green teen. From his skin to his slightly lighter hair, the boy was green. Even his eyes were green. As the figure watched, the green boy said something to the robotic teen that apparently was funny to no one but himself. The boy's pointed ears drooped and he pouted at the lack of reaction to his joke. The figure noticed a small fang poking out of the elf's lower jaw and into his upper lip. Cute, the figure thought, he's in desperate need of a dentist for that, but it's cute. While the first teen didn't have much by the way of clothing—the figure noted that the metal covering his body doubled as clothing—the green one wore a black unitard with a purple stripe down the center and forming what looked to be shorts before giving way to black tights that fit into cool metal boots.
After the green boy was the only girl in the group. Taller than the green elf by a head, she didn't stand so much as hover in place. Innocent eyes turned to the last teen and the figure noticed that instead of having a colored pupil surrounded by white, the alien had green on green eyes. The figure was slightly surprised to see a Tameranian on Earth, but shrugged it off. Bright orange skin matched with dark red hair that should've clashed horribly but only added to the alien's beauty. Noticing that the Tameranian girl's clothing was that of the warrior class, the figure saw that the arm and neck bands proclaimed her to be part of the royal family.
No bodysuit, the figure thought, she must be a Dove warrior then. Only Hawk Knights of Tameran wear bodysuits under their outfits.
The last teen was shorter than the Tameranian but taller than the green boy. Actually, he was about the figure's height. Black spiky hair and eyemask notwithstanding, he looked the most normal of the group. His clothing was a bright mix of red, green, yellow, and black. A red shirt with green sleeves covered a slightly muscled chest while green pants tucked into black steel toed boots. A short black cape lined with yellow hung from his shoulders and swayed in the breeze. Completing the uniform was a pair of green gloves, a yellow belt, and a black button on his shirt with a big yellow "R" on it. If the figure had doubts that this was the leader of the group of teens, they were dissipated by the Tameranian's next sentence.
"Friend Robin," the girl asked as she floated next to the spiky haired teen. "Why have you gathered us on the top of the roof this evening?"
The masked boy smiled at the girl and answered, "I got a message from Batman, Starfire. The Justice League recently denied membership to a young woman and he wants me to see if she can work with us. She's supposed to be here by 10 o'clock."
The robotic teen looked at a screen on his arm. "Well, it's almost ten. What time did she leave the Watchtower?"
"I don't know, Cyborg," Robin answered. "Batman didn't say. He also didn't say much on what kind of powers this girl has, only that she's 15 years old."
"Dude," the green boy muttered. "Wonder what she did to keep the Justice League from accepting her. Think she made fun of Superman's outfit?"
"Worse," the figure said, stepping out of the shadows. "Hawkgirl's mace."
"Gaaaahhhh!" Cyborg and the green elf screamed. Cyborg's right arm changed into a cannon, while the other boy turned into a green turtle (which promptly hid in its shell). Starfire and Robin also assumed defensive stances.
Recovering quickly, Robin ran a hand through his hair and held out his hand. "I'm Robin," he introduced himself. "These are Starfire, Cyborg, Beast Boy." He pointed to each of the other teens in turn, ending at the turtle. The top left of Robin's mask raised up, making the figure think that he raised an eyebrow at her. "And you are?"
"Raven," she said emotionlessly, ignoring his hand.
Slowly, Robin lowered his hand to his side. "Well, Raven, why don't we go downstairs and we can talk over dinner? Do you like pizza?"
Raven blinked lavender eyes at the teen. "I've never had any," she answered.
"Dude!" Beast Boy said morphing back into human form. "Then you're in for a major treat! There's nothing better than Tofu pizza!"
"Tofu!" Cyborg yelled. "That's no way to introduce someone to pizza. You might as well put cement on the cheese. Try pepperoni and sausage."
"Meat! I told you I don't eat meat! I've been most of those animals, Cy!" Beast Boy complained.
"Friends," Starfire interrupted. "Why do we not go to the food processory and see what we have to consume before we begin the arguing debate of meat or the tofu?"
"I was thinking of ordering from Pizza Pete's," Robin said, rubbing his forehead.
"Shotgun!" Cyborg yelled as he ran to the door to go back inside.
"No way, dude!" Beast Boy yelled as he turned into a cheetah and ran past Cyborg.
"Friends!" Starfire called as she flew after them.
"So that's the team?" Raven asked sarcastically. "They're real gems."
Robin laughed. "An emerald, a topaz, and a sapphire—that's them. We'll talk after dinner then. We should go downstairs before they kill each other." Robin stopped when he felt Raven touch him on the arm and was surprised when she pushed down the hood of her blue cape to reveal short purple hair, lavender eyes, gray skin, and a red chakra jewel on her forehead.
"I can get us there faster," Raven said. "All you have to do is tell me where the kitchen is."
"Down two floors, on the east side of the tower," Robin answered. "Before we go though, Batman left an additional message besides what I told the others."
"Really?" Raven asked deadpanned.
"Why do you need to be part of a superhero team so badly?" he asked. "Why are you so far from your home? What do you need us for?"
Raven's eyes glowed white as black energy enveloped the two. Before the shadows covered them totally, Robin heard Raven's soft voice in his mind. I need sanctuary.
"You have it," Robin whispered as they phased through the roof and reappeared in the kitchen.
Chapter 2