Holy Shit! We are Superheroes?!

I don't recall seeing Tarassa for the remainder of the academic day. She just seemed to fade in and out of classes. Shortly, it became 1:50 and it was the last 15 minutes of Visual Arts class with. We had done the finishing touches on our paintings and Kori Anders came in her crimson cheer uniform.

Kori, Dick, Garfield, and Victor I remember, were all attending my VA class. And, in my teenage mind, I thought it was even worse than the fact that we were all in the same table.

"Yo, Kori!" Victor shouted from across the room. "Why the hell are you so late?"

"Victor, please, watch your language. I may be lenient but not that lenient," Ms. Lebowitz said. I remember her more vividly than any other teacher; most like due to her fire engine red hair.

"My bad Ms. L."

After Kori gave her explanation on why she was so late, she rushed to her seat.

"So, what did I miss?" she asked.

"Only the entire period," I couldn't control myself from saying.

"Don't mind Raven, she's extra salty about something today," Garfield told her. I resisted the urge to punch him.

Victor snorted."Eh, Raven is always salty."

"You don't have to tell me," Dick grumbled.

"Anyway, guys, there was a new girl, Tarassa. Did you see her?" Kori asked.

"Yeah, I saw her. She's cute," Garfield said dreamily. I snorted. He glared at me. When I was seventeen, I remember I never found anyone attractive. Not boys, girl, animal, no one.

"Hmph. She's just your average blonde haired, blue eyed girl. She isn't unique," Dick said. I disagreed. I wasn't unique either.

"Hey, don't do my girl Terra like that, Dickey," Garfield said, smirking.

Dick seemed to be barely holding himself back choking Garfield, but he didn't.

"Anyway, she joined the cheer team and in tryouts, she did so well that she got to be the one on the top of the pyramid!"

"Why?"

"Because she's lighter than I am."

I didn't mean it when I said this but, " Nobody gives a damn about your shallow cheerleading problems, Kori."

Dick's eyebrows shot up. "Was she talking to you?"

"No, but I'd rather not hear her talk at all than listen to her babbling about things nobody gives a shit about."

"By nobody, you mean you. You just don't like hearing her talk to us because it reminds you that you have no friends."

"Fuck you."

Dick smirked when he realized he won and that I saw beaten.

"Kids, kids, attention." Ms. Lebowitz stood at the front of the class looking rather exhilarated. There were five minutes left.

"As you know we do an art project every year, but this time I'm switching things up. Instead of turning in paintings or drawings for a grade, I want you to do a collage of things or people that made your last year in this school better or worthwhile for you."

Excited gasps and murmurs became the instant reaction.

"You also have to write an essay on how these people changed your life and present it to the class. It will be due March 19."

Soon panic began to develop within me. Ms. Lebowitz knew that I had no friends or people that cared about me in that school. The only person that at least used to care about me was, well, Mama. Mama...

My heart ached at the mere thought of her. The pounding in my head drowned out the almost deafening sound of the bell.

"Raven?" I raised my head at the sound of the concerned tone in Ms. Lebowitz's voice. She did look worried. Tears began to form at the back of my eyes and I blinked to keep them in. Before she could ask anything, I left and didn't look back.


I ran home that day, thick tears were streaming down my cheeks and no matter how much I think about unpleasant memories, I can't stop?

Dammit, I thought I was over Mama's death years ago, but apparently, I wasn't. I arrived at our apartment complex in a relatively short time frame and took the elevator to get our floor, the 20th floor.

After unlocking the door with my house key, I left my shoes at the threshold, being raised like that.

I picked up the photo Daddy took 2005, twelve years ago on my birthday, before Mama's illness. She was smiling brightly and we were sitting on her art stool after she had just painted a portrait of me. She was always such a creative, artistic person. So kind and loving. I only inherited the artistic trait.

Her painter's smock was coated in neon paint that my hands were covered in also too. There was paint on each of my cheeks and my lavender dress, but I didn't care. All I cared about was being in Mama' arms for my birthday.

"What happened to me?" I said aloud to myself that day.

A knock at the door detached me from my thought process. With a swear, I made my way to the door. I looked through the peephole and saw Mr. Wilson through it. He was a Caucasian buff, muscular man with dirty blonde hair that had sprinkles of gray in it. I considered him a second father to me at the time.

"Afternoon, Mr. Wilson. Are you looking for my father?"

He smiled showing his gold teeth. I remember shivering at the sight. "Indeed I am," he said. "Isn't here is he?"

"I am sorry to say no. However, I assume he will return soon. Would you like to come in?"

"Oh no, thank you. I only came by to see your father. Have a good day." And with that, he left.


Unbeknownst to me, however, something was happening that involved my father that I wasn't aware of at the time.

"I've been looking for you," Slade Wilson announced into an office space. Sitting before him was none other than Trigon Roth, a fierce businessman, and father of Raven Roth. Standing erectly behind him were his minions, their faces expressionless masks in the near-darkness.

"Have you now? I presume you have news on Azar's Gem."

"Yes, it is in the biggest jewelry store, Forrester."

"Hopefully we can purloin the stones without much trouble." Trigon stood up abruptly, looking Slade in the eye. "I don't want my daughter finding out about any of this, understand me?"

"Amusing, really. You can call her your daughter after you remembered," Slade taunted.

Trigon slammed his fist on the desk. " Don't you dare bring that up! I've changed; raising her since she was born has changed me!"

Slade smirked. "That doesn't change the past. A reincarnation doesn't change anything."

Trigon's nails dug into his palms, drawing blood. "If you have an issue with how I deal with my child, I can always change you back to what you used to be before." His smile became sinister. "If you held any respect or value for your life, it would be wise for you to hold your tongue in my presence."

Slade Wilson visibly recoiled, which was very unlike him but he had good reason to. He still had...certain things do and goals he wanted to accomplish. Trigon Roth was his ticket to being fully alive and human and if kissing his ass meant that that could happen, he would do it.

"I apologize," Slade said begrudgingly before his expression became a smirk. "After tonight, it will ultimately happen."

Trigon smirked also. "After tonight, there will never be a chance that the Teen Titans will come back."


Daddy came back super-late that day, about 2:00 AM. Yes, I was awake and alert at such a time. After Rose left cryptically, I finished my biology and English homework. After that, I cooked myself Ramen noodles while reading Teen Titans, took a shower, and watched the documentary of Edgar Allen Poe.I attempted to turn in at 1:30 but just as I was about to drift into a dreamless sleep, the sound of Daddy's key unlocking awoke me.

He went straight to bed which meant he had a bad day or he was angry at someone. He used to kiss me goodnight.

I fell asleep relatively quickly after that but after a period of time, I awoke to the feel of cool metal against my skin. I opened my eyes and instantly got puzzled at my surroundings. I was on a table, being strapped down and a bright light shone overhead. The area was engulfed was darkness. But, as time passed by I started to recognize a few things such as decorative necklaces and extravagant rings. I had been there before, I knew it.

Where the hell was I? All these thoughts about rape and kidnapping and human experimentation ran through my mind. Then I looked to my sides and saw them. Garfield, Victor, Kori, Richard, and Tarassa were all on similar tables and strapped down as if they were animals. All were unconscious

Then I began to scream. No physical harm was being inflicted upon me, no sexual harassment or violation, yet I was screaming my lungs out. I sounded like a woman having an orgasm.

Suddenly, a tall figure emerged from the shadows, I couldn't make out the face shapes at the time, but I'll never forget who they were. He or she walked over to the side of the room and sat down with their back faced toward me. He wore such a sinister grin upon their face that it planted the seed of fear inside my belly which grew and coiled around my heart, tightening with each and every breath.

Why? Why was this happening to me? Had I not been punished enough when Mama died?

No...No...No!

No!

"No!"

My scream seemed to pierce the humid, still air with blunt force. The gem levitated somehow from the person's hand, radiating white waves of light. It touched me like a gentle sigh; present but barely. It was intoxicating. So warm.

So gentle.

So warm.

Then the world became enveloped by the light for a fraction of a second. I opened my eyes I didn't even realize were closed.

The six figures were all huddled in a corner, terrified looks upon their faces. What? I looked behind me and saw a massive hole where the wall used to be. I spun around to see if the others were OK. Were they fine...to a degree? What the hell? They were all conscious but something about them was different. They were groggy and confused probably because Tarassa and Kori were looking around and the boys were rubbing their eyes repeatedly.

Dick was dressed like a traffic light.

What the hell?

Kori had orange skin and wore a purple miniskirt.

What the hell?

90% of Victor's body was covered in metal, made him look like the hulk.

What the hell?

Garfield was green! Like an elf! Like a chameleon! Like a freaking green bean!

And the most surprising...

Tarassa had curves. Oh, and a black and yellow outfit.

Actually, that's not that bad.

Wait..

I looked down at my palms. They were ashen grey. I looked down at my feet and I was wearing indigo boots. I reached for my hair and found nothing. No, no way! I reached a little higher and grasped a fistful of hair. I studied at it. It was violet.

"SHIT!"

"Raven? Is that you? " Tarassa asked. " Who are you?"

Everyone else suddenly became aware of my presence and just stared at me. Then they became aware of each other and stared at one another too.

"What the hell?!" the five of them screamed simultaneously.

"Raven is gray!"

"Tarassa you're curvy!"

"Kori you're orange! And the skirt..just don't bend down."

"Vic, you're Robot Man Part 2!"

"SHUT UP!" I yelled at the top of my snapped their heads back toward me, clearly annoyed.

"What are you yelling about?" Garfield yelled. "You look like a freaking fortune teller!"

"Actually," Tarassa said, looking at us all. "we all look like a rag-tag group of freaks. Not just Raven."

I clenched my jaw. "Where did you all come from anyway?"

"The same to you friend Raven," Kori said. "We too do not understand the reason we are in such a peculiar place." She covered her mouth as soon as her bad English left her mouth.

Victor raised a questioning eyebrow, "Kor, why are ya talkin' like that? "

"I am afraid that I do not know the reason either. It is puzzling, to say the least."

Abruptly, a wide beam of crimson energy collided with our bodies. We rocketed backward and through the stone walls, disintegrating them into multiple tiny stone pieces and tumbled onto the concrete. My brain pounded inside my skull and my muscles ached. But despite the pain, my brain was swimming with many questions. How do six human bodies collide with a wall and break it? And a stone wall for that fact?

I glanced around at the others. They were in the same condition; aching muscles, rubbing their temples, and surprised looks. I looked up to see who had shot that beam of energy and no one was there.

Suddenly, a small stone began to glisten crimson. Then it grew twice its length before four limbs sprouted out of the base that was twice the size and width of my father' a head, fingers, and feet. We all backed away in fear at the monstrosity before us after that terrifying metamorphosis. It was a creature that towered above us at about 10 feet made of what appeared to be concrete.

"Dude!"

"Shit!"

"Bruh!"

"AHHHHH!"

"Save me, Jesus!"

"Holy Waffles!"

The creature known as Cinderblock wasted no time and charged right at us. We all shrieked and ran in different directions, away from each other. I dared a glance behind me and saw that Cinderblock was catching up to Victor, who was running quite slowly due to all the metal on his body. It captured him in its fist and Victor's eyes widened in terror. The others stopped running once that realized what was happening.

Then Cinderblock began tightening his grip on Victor, causing his face to turn blue. Suddenly, a flash of green zoomed by my peripheral vision and slammed right into Cinderblock's chest. The creature howled in pain and released Victor, stumbling back in pain. Victor and the blur dropped to the ground. I ran toward them but halted once I saw a ... green Tyrannosaurus Rex standing by him!

"Wha...how...why..." Tarassa murmured, clinging to Kori and Dick wh were too shocked to pull away. Overhead, a few streetlamps shattered, startled me even more, which caused them to melt in place. Those actions caused the others and the T-Rex to jump and soon it began changing...changing...into...Garfield?!

"Umm, how'd I do that?" A perplexed Garfield questioned while our jaws dropped in shock. Suddenly, a deafening roar from Cinderblock reminded us about its presence. I turned around just in time to see Cinderblock charging towards us. It launched itself up into the air and all I saw was a large concrete foot that rapidly descended toward me. I screamed and instinctively covered my head with my arms, bracing for impact, but it never came.

Tentatively, I opened my eyes, removed my arms from my head, and looked around and almost doubled over in shock. The others were equally shocked and stared at Kori in wonder, for she was holding Cinderblock's foot with her bare hands. Her face was red and sweat beaded her forehead and even she seemed as if she was stunned.

"How...why...what. The. Hell!" we all screeched at the same time. Cinderblock roared in frustration; shook the very ground we walked upon. It put more pressure on its foot and attempted to shove Kori down. Her features somehow got even redder but she seemed to be gaining strength, pushing the foot back with as much strength as Cinderblock was pushing it down.

"Go, Kori!" Dick shouted.

"You can do it, Kor!" Garfield cheered.

"I've gotcha girl!"Victor shouted as he started to join Kori and push with as much strength as he could gather. Garfield and Dick shared a glance before they participated in as well. Tarassa tared at me and looked away. "Come one," she gently nudged me as she joined in. I blinked and watched them as they grunted and pushed and struggled against the creature. "Holy waffles," I murmured under my breath before I reluctantly began to push back as well.

At first, nothing happened, but eventually, our force combined began to overpower Cinderblock force. Then with a massive grunt and heave, we finally launched the creation's foot away from us. We panted from muscle ache but Victor seemed so... exhilarated. He punched the air with his fist and soon Garfield joined him.

"I'm only gonna say this once: BOOYAH!"

Kori stared at her hands."I did not know I could do that." Tarassa tackled Kori and latched onto her arm. "It was a good thing you became The Hulk when you did 'cause we would have been pancakes by now. And I don't wanna die lookin' like a freak."

"Well, well. It seems as if you all still retained your original power," a velvety said from behind us. We all froze and slowly turned to see who had uttered those words. The person turned out to be a man that towered over us at about six feet and sported a mask. The mask's left side was orange with a single black outlined eyehole, while the right was black with no eyehole. There were also four parallel holes, two on each side, where I presumed his mouth was.

He wore what seemed to be a black body suit that covered his entire body except for his lower torso and forearms, which were gray. For his arms, he had black gauntlets, gray gloves, and a gray utility belt. He had overlapping armor in certain spots of his body. The first was a gray neck guard that went to his throat and to his chest, a guard on both shoulders, forearms, over his gauntlets, one for each of his thighs, knees, the top and soles of his feet and finally a gray sash wrapped horizontally around his torso. Cinderblock stood behind him, fidgeting and squirming as if he was itching to fight us.

"W-who are you?" Dick had the nerve to say. Who is he, what is he?!

"Oh? You don't recognize your most hated nemesis, Robin? Very disappointing," he reprimanded.

We all sent confused glances at each other before Dick said, "Listen, dude, there's no Robin here unless you're mispronouncing Raven's name." Garfield chuckled and shot a glare in his direction.

"Oh, Raven, how I have missed you. Us quiet ones should stick together." His strange comment made me take a step back.

"Terra, you have returned. I am honestly surprised that the Titans are fine with you being resurrected; Beast Boy especially. Honestly, boy, I am surprised that you still want to be in the vicinity as her after she broke your heart four times over."

"Umm, I think this dude is high on caffeine or crack," Tarassa whispered. We all snickered.

"Laugh while you can Titans, but know this," Suddenly he was nose to nose with me. "You are never safe because I am always watching and I know who you are." A chill went down my spine but I was frozen in place.

Then to Dick. "While you are laughing and smiling with your friends, know that I am plotting and waiting and watching."

Victor. "This resurrection has changed nothing. No one can protect you."

Garfield. "This life will be the same as your first. Fight or die. Plead and beg, but none will help you. Scream and cry but none will hear you."

Kori. "You cannot fight it. Fate cannot be changed. God may have given you a second chance but I will not."

Tarassa. " Fate doesn't care about your plans or heroes or what you want to do with your life. The good die early and the bad die late. There is no happy ending is life; the bitterest tragic element in life is a cruel fate. For man is man and master is fate. When you think to take determination of your fate into your hands, you will be crushed."

He sauntered away from Tarassa and left her in her horrified state. "Oh, and this will hurt." As if on cue a hot searing pain takes over my body and fall into unconsciousness


"Raven! Wake up sleepyhead, or you'll be late!"

I tossed and turned under the covers before I realized it was morning and the sunlight hit my eye. "Ahhh!"

"Daddy, why didn't you wake me up earlier? Now I'm late!" I ripped my clothes off before putting a black sweatshirt on.

"I did but each time you told me to go away!"

I grabbed my bag, not even looking to see if I had all my books and rushed out of the apartment and yelled a 'bye' before I left. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes as I ran to my school.

"Ehh, I had the strangest dream..."

To be continued...