The passengers in the last car of the old, dilapidated train sat in an uncomfortable silence, as they had for the entire ride. They were a trio, a father and his two daughters. One, the eldest, was sitting in the corner nearest the door, her head bowed in silent concentration. The other daughter sat with her nose pressed against the window, watching the changing countryside with nervous anticipation like a small child on their first day of school. This was precisely what was happening, though the sisters were in no way still children.
…Mostly.
"Terra," The older sister growled, "Could you at least try to control yourself? That's the fifth rock that's hit the glass in the past ten minutes. I'm meditating."
"Raven," Terra hissed back, crossing her arms over her chest. "I am in control." As soon as those words left her lips, a few larger rocks hit the sturdy glass on the side of the train.
"Right, of course you are." The older sister, Raven, rolled her eyes. Sarcasm was her greatest gift and she shared as often as she could.
"Shut up," Terra growled, folding her arms moodily over her chest. A sprinkling of gravel hit the window, which now bore a few chips and cracks in the glass.
"Whatever." A thin smirk momentarily played across Raven's thin features. 'Told you so.' the minute expression seemed to say, before Raven's face snapped back into its usual look of bored indifference.
She grabbed her book from the seat beside her and swept out of the compartment, ignoring her sister's protests of: "But Father said not to leave!" It was utterly pointless to listen to her father; it was doubtful anyone would try to hurt her, and she knew how to protect herself, should such a situation arise. Even at seventeen, she had a dark, even evil aura that repelled sane people. It didn't bother her; she liked peace and quiet. Though, if she really thought about it, having friends sounded almost… nice.
Maybe, Raven thought, Maybe at… no, don't think like that. She clenched her hands into fists and closed her eyes tightly, chasing off that particular thought. The only reason she was attending the H.I.V.E was to look after Terra… not for anything else.
Especially not frien—
"Raven!" She heard her father shout. Exhaling in frustration, the teenager glided back to the compartment, slower than a sloth on sleeping pills.
The H.I.V.E! Raven stood on a marble floor inside the ornately and nauseatingly-over-decorated main hall. She clutched a tattered leather suitcase to her chest, amethyst eyes wide with wonder as she glanced around the open, magnificent room. Her father and Terra were having a whispered conversation behind her, and older students and teachers ran around attempting to find some semblance of order while simultaneously making every one of the room's occupants. All the while, the other freshmen gravitated towards another and they all seemed to clump together for protection in the strange, new environment. Actually, Raven stared harder at the group of students, They're all clumped around one... it's so…
Her lips curled into a smirk, as all the students hooted in laughter at something the girl had said.
…Primal.
The girl in question was an energetic, exotically beautiful young woman with pink hair and small, pink eyebrows. She was obviously telling a story; her hands and mouth moved in rapid succession and the clump around her was hanging into her every word.
Though her attention was on the clump and the girl it surrounded, it didn't go unnoticed to Raven that whenever someone—a fellow student, or even worse, a teacher--came close to her, they recoiled as though she had burned them. Finally, Raven had had enough. Though she often did not show them, she did have feelings, after all.
"What? What are you all looking at?" Raven hissed at the group; they had all fallen silent, eyes upon her. "Do I have something in my teeth?" She opened her mouth to bare her teeth at them, her anger rising with each passing second. Realizing that she was keeping her temper out of check, Raven closed her mouth, chanting to herself mentally. It was her first day at school--she couldn't lose her temper, especially not here.
Though she couldn't lose her temper, it didn't mean she couldn't lace her every word with venom and sarcasm.
"Alright, let's get one thing clear: I don't like you any more than you like me. Stay out of my way. But here's my younger sister Terra; as you can see she's a perfectly normal perso—"
"Raven!" Her father chastised, pulling her away from the group. "I told you not to make a spectacle of yourself. Remember, I'm only sending you here for one thing, and that's to--"
"I know, to look after Terra," Raven interrupted, rolling her eyes. Her father smiled an extra tight smile—the type that seemed reserved for her only—before turning towards Terra with a warmer, prideful smile.
"My darling, precious girl," he cooed, taking a box out from behind his back before handing it to his younger daughter with a flourish.
"Oh!" Terra gasped as she opened the box. "It's beautiful!"
It was a hairclip, a light blue one with a flower on it. It was made of some sort of crystal that shimmered and sparkled in the light, its facets bending the lights into a dazzling rainbow display. The girls' father pinned it in Terra's fine blonde tresses, where it shone like a miniature moon.
"Raven," Their father turned towards his oldest daughter, whose face lit up the tiniest bit in anticipation,.
"Take care of your sister."
Raven's face fell.
"And try not to talk so much."
Raven nodded and turned away from him silently, hurt.
With a stiff nod to Raven and a loving, gentle smile at Terra, their father left. Terra watched every step he took until he was out of sight, whereas Raven didn't even bother to turn around, still stinging.
"Oh Raven…" Terra frowned after their father left. "I—"
"What would he have gotten me anyway?" Raven snapped bitterly. "I don't do pretty."
Before Terra had a chance to reply, a large, imposing man marched into the room.
"Welcome, new students!" He boomed, opening his arms as though to give them all large, strangling hugs. "I am Brother Blood, the headmaster here at The H.I.V.E Academy! Whether you are here to study magic, to perfect your powers, or perhaps learn about the arts or sciences, I know that I speak for fellow faculty members when I say that we have the highest hopes for… some of you." He was looking straight at the tall, pink-haired girl that Raven had noticed before. Suddenly, someone caught his eye, and a broad smile stretched across Brother Blood's face.
"And you must be Miss Terra," the headmaster said as he approached the blonde, "Mr. Deathstroke's daughter! Your father wrote to me about you… what a tragically beautiful face you have." Terra blushed, and smiled at the older man.
"And you must be…" He trailed off once he caught sight of Raven, unsure of what to say.
"I'm Raven, his other daughter," Raven glared at him, her voice never going above a monotone. "I'm beautifully tragic."
"Yes," Brother Blood flapped his hand at her dismissively, "I'm sure you're very bright."
With hardly a pause for breath, he continued: "Now, regarding room assignments—"
The pink-haired girl interjected with a raised hand.
"Is this regarding room assignments?" The headmaster's voice was disbelieving as he eyed the girl.
"No, but thanks to you, Sir. I have been assigned a private room already—"Groans of disappointment sprang from the crowd. "But you all may come and visit me any time you wish!" Squeals went up from the crowd, and two students said simultaneously: "You're too good!"
"No, I am not," the girl grinned and waved off the comments with a flapping hand, her cheeks stained pink.
"Yes, you are!"
"No, I am not, really," She flipped her hair, making quite a few crowd members swoon.
"Do you have a question?" Brother Blood interrupted, beginning to look irritated.
"Oh yes!" The girl cried, her attention turning back to the headmaster. "You see, I am Starfire of Tamaran. I applied to your magic seminar; it is the only reason for my attending the H.I.V.E—to learn magic, with you. You remember my entrance essay, yes? 'Magic chants, need they needful?'"
"Oh yes…" Brother Blood sounded like he had tasted something unpleasant. "However, I do not teach my seminar every semester, unless, of course, somebody special showed up." Here, he glared at Starfire. Starfire, oblivious, grinned.
"Exactly my point!"
"Headmaster Blood," Raven interjected. "We need our room assignments." There was no way Raven was going to take another minute of listening to Brother Blood and Starfire speak; their conversation was making her nauseous.
"Ah, yes!" Brother Blood boomed, "Your father told me about Terra's needs, and I decided it would be better if she was placed in a single room with a specially trained attendant, who could help her as needed. As well as that, she would be nearer to my quarters, so if she was to require any special assistance at all I could-"
"Actually sir," Raven cut him off, "My father wanted us to room together—"
"Actually, he never mentioned you." Brother Blood told her; Raven's face fell further. "But no matter! We'll find somewhere to put you—"
"No, Sir," Raven rushed over to speak with him privately. As they began to talk in hushed voices, Starfire looked over at the two of them.
"I do not believe he even read my essay," She said demurely.
"Dude!" A small, green man exclaimed, edging over to stand beside Starfire. "That is so unfair! You should say something!"
"Should I?" Starfire asked her followers, who nodded their heads vigorously. Starfire could have asked them to dance around her wearing nothing but grass skirts and feather hats and they would have agreed—they would do anything she asked for.
"Who will room with this lovely young lady, Miss Raven?" Brother Blood boomed, much to Raven's dismay. He lifted her hand up and she pulled it back sharply, shooting daggers at him with her eyes for even touching her.
"Headmaster Blood," Starfire ran over to him, her arm raised, totally unaware of the headmaster's last words.
"Thank you, dear," Brother Blood's voice dripped with ice.
"Uh?" Starfire's small eyebrows knit together in confusion.
"How very good of you—"
"Uh?"
"Miss Raven," the headmaster continued, "You may room with Miss Starfire."
"Sir, you don't understand," Raven's eyes went wide with fear. "I need… to be with Terra. Either that, or I need to be alone. It wouldn't be safe any other wa--"
"To your rooms!" He bellowed, utterly unaware of Raven or Starfire's vehement protests, "Get ready, quickly now!" He placed his hand on Terra's shoulder and started leading her away.
"Wait!" Raven yelled. Her eyes and hands became clouded by a strange black glow. Terra was also engulfed in the dark magic, and she began to speed back, back towards Raven at an alarming speed. Everyone's – including Brother Blood's--eyes popped open in shock. Once Terra was back beside Raven and the glow had faded, it was silent until Brother Blood spoke.
"How did you do that?" His voice was low and dangerous.
"How did she do that?" Starfire echoed the headmaster, her voice filled with wonder. "That was… was not… that was… 'creepy,' correct?"
"Raven!" Terra cried in embarrassment, "You promised things would be different here!"
"You mean this has happened before?!" The man nearly jumped out of his skin.
"It comes over me sometimes," Raven ducked her head, hiding in her light indigo hair. "It—it—it just kind of… comes out of me—I'll try to control myself—I'm sorry, Terra—"
"What?" Brother Blood barked, eyes wide in shock, "Never apologize for talent. Talent is a gift. And that's my special talent—encouraging talent.
"Tell me, Raven:" He pulled Raven aside, "Have you ever thought of becoming a magician?"
"No." Raven answered flatly.
"Well, I'm going to tutor you privately, and take no other students," Brother Blood boomed.
"What?" Starfire looked like she might cry.
"My dear," Brother Blood rubbed Raven's arm; she pulled away. "It is amazing, your talent. Why, I think our ruler Slade himself could use—I mean, work with you."
"Slade?" Raven gasped. She, of course, had heard of their grand ruler Slade, but had only considered herself working with him in her most hopeful, precious dreams; dreams that were quashed like bugs as soon as she awoke.
"I'm going to write to him," The man explained, excitement evident in his voice, "And tell him of you. With your talent… and if you follow my instructions, there's a real chance you'll work with our Great Ruler someday!"
Raven stood there, still and quiet, her small gray face alit with the tiniest bit of a new emotion—hope.
"Sir!" Starfire tried to talk with Brother Blood. "Sir, still there is—"
"No! No more from you. Away." Brother Blood made a shooing motion with his hands, before taking his leave.
"I… I did not get my way. This is… not… I think I need to go… rest." Starfire shook her head and floated out dejectedly. Her cronies, along with Terra, followed her out. Eager to go and find their new rooms, the rest of the freshmen filed out, until Raven was the only one left.
"Did that really just happen?" Raven sank to her knees, clutching her sides as though to hold her thumping heart in her chest. "Do I really understand? My… my powers—they can be good? I can work with Slade?" Her normally apathetic voice was oddly excited, even hopeful.
"I'll do it! I can do it… once he meets me he'll see what I can do, I'll… I'll prove it… what I can accomplish! He'll have to like me, he won't care what I look like, or what I act like… he'll look beyond that all—he'll see who I truly am, someone he can trust. And that'll just be the start. We'll… we'll cure something, build something; solve something nobody has before us! We'll be a team… he'll… he'll be proud of me." Whether she was talking about her own father or the Grand Ruler wasn't clear, and it did not matter. All that mattered was the fact that Raven knew that one day…
"One day there will be a celebration here that is all to do with me!"
Raven looked up at the sky hopefully, as thought waiting for a sign.
Through the glass roof, Raven saw that it began to rain. Sighing, Raven rose and scuttled towards the direction of the girls' dormitories. Internally, she was shaking her head at her own foolishness—dreams were pointless to have, they wouldn't come true. Nobody would work want to work with her, anyway; she didn't like others, and others didn't like her.
But still, a girl can dream….