Rachel gasped at the Titan before her. His green eyes bore into hers, mirroring her shock expression.
Rachel shifted uncomfortably as the seconds turned into minutes. She cleared her throat and smiled.
"Hello…" She waved awkwardly.
"Um...I believe you said your name was Joseph...Correct?"
Jericho hesitated before nodding his head with a smile. He raised an eyebrow and swept his eyes over her whole form. Rachel looked down at herself and was surprised to see that her blood soaked clothes was replaced with a hospital gown...When the heck did that happen?
"Hey don't look at me like that. I'm just as confused as you are. I don't even remember how I got here." She looked around the room once more before walking closer to Jericho.
"Joseph…" She began as she approached him. "I know this is probably a really stupid question, but do you know why I was brought here?" The realization of where she actually was hit her a few moments ago. She knew it wasn't a coincidence that the leader of the Titans of all people "stumbled" upon her in an alleyway. She wasn't that stupid. Not to mention the fact that he brought her to the tower. Why didn't he take her to the hospital? No... she knew why. The Titans needed her for something, and she was determined to find out what they wanted. She looked down at Jericho, narrowing her eyes at his hesitation. She noticed the slight trembling of his bottom lip before he bit it in restraint. His eyes lowered to the floor as his mind came up with something to say.
He knew.
He knew why she was here. She wouldn't let him lie to her. Before Rachel could speak a crushing blow sent her off her feet and onto the couch. She sunk into the soft cushions as the weight continued to press upon her. She was sure she was going to die. She grabbed at the weight, ready to fight for her life, when the weight spoke.
"Friend!" Starfire squealed into her neck before moving back and observing her. "I'm sooo relieved to see you are unharmed! I was ready to shove my lower limb into Changeling's backside if you woke up with injuries." Rachel rolled her eyes as Starfire stroke her face, checking for any injuries.
"I'm fine Starfire," She slapped her hand away. " Just super confuse."
"HEY!" Wonder Girl raced into the common room like an angry bull. "What's with all the commotion!? I'm trying to sleep here!"
Starfire gasped and covered her mouth in shock. " I apologize friend. I didn't mean to wake you from your slumber. My excitement got the best of me!"
Wonder Girl sighed. "It's okay Star, but what got you so riled up this morning?" Wonder Girl looked past Starfire and locked eyes with Rachel's.
"YOU!" She exclaimed with wide eyes and a pointed finger causing Rachel to step back.
"Me what!? What I do?" Rachel raised her arms in defense.
"You're the girl we're supposed to capture! Don't even think about running away!" Wonder Girl threatened, readying her lasso.
"Starfire! Jericho! Block the doors! We can't let her escape!"
"That won't be necessary Wonder Girl." Nightwing appeared behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "She's not going anywhere. I can assure you."
"Wait, what? Nightwing?" Wonder Girl blinked in confusion. "What's going on here?"
Nightwing ignored Wonder Girl and smiled gently at Rachel. "I'm relieved to see you up and moving. It means your wounds wasn't fatal."
"Yeah, well you would have known that sooner if Changeling wasn't so vague about the whole thing. " Cyborg said walking into the common room.
"Wait a freaking minute!" Wonder Girl screamed. "Can somebody please tell me what's going on!?"
"We captured our princess." Everybody turned to see Changeling with Oracle right next to him. "The one who's leading this dark army. Is that enough of an explanation for you Wonder Girl?"
Wonder Girl grumbled to herself and pouted.
"No... it's not." She spat out.
Rachel stared at the Titans' leader as waves of emotions flooded over her. Wait a minute, what did he just say…
"Um...Excuse me!" Rachel raised her hand like she was in class. "I am no princess and I certainly don't have an army. So if this is what this is all about, I will like to leave now."
Changeling snorted. "Don't think you can walk out on us so easily. We have proof that you have a connection to the shadows."
"What shadows!? What on earth are you talking about!"
"Shut up! I'm getting sick of your little act. You-"
"Wait, Changeling." Oracle raised up her hand. "There's an easy way to tell if she is lying or not."
Changeling glanced at Wonder Girl who groaned. "Fineeeee, I guess I can help-"
"That won't be necessary, Wonder Girl"
"But-""
"I can handle this myself." Oracle wheeled her way to Rachel and stopped in front of her. "Give me your hand." She commanded. Rachel swallowed hard. She had no idea what this woman was going to do, but if it would prove her innocent...She placed her hand into Oracle's open palm. Oracle traced her hand before resting her fingers onto her pulse. "Now say it again. Tell the truth."
"I…" Rachel took a deep breath to calm her nerves. "I don't know anything about the shadows."
"You are not leading them?"
"No."
"You did not create them?"
"No."
"Are you unaware of their presence...even now?"
Even now...what did that mean?
"Y-Yes."
Oracle stared into her eyes coldly before dropping her hands and turning away. "She's telling the truth."
"What? How can you tell that just by staring into her eyes and holding her hands?" Wonder Girl yelled.
"The human heart responds dramatically depending on situations. I can feel her pulse. It would have changed the moment she told a lie."
"You mean…"
"No, this doesn't change anything." Changeling interrupted. "If she is not leading them, it only leaves one other conclusion."
Oracle nodded her head. "They are after her."
The sound of glass shattering filled Rachel's ears before she screamed in panic. A giant black hand gripped her from behind and flung her out of the common room. The sight of blue sky consumed her vision and she hit the ground with a thud. She looked up at the tower she was just in to see the titans peering down at her. She screamed for help as she was dragged closer to the sea edge.
"Friend!" Starfire flew out the window, her hands ready for battle.
"Starfire, Wait!" Changeling's strong voice stopped her in her tracks.
"But, Changeling-"
"Just wait a minute."
"Changeling," Oracle said calmly. "I'm sure you were more than aware of the unwanted guest on our front lawn. It's better to take care of them now, don't you think? After all, we can't allow them to capture our princess."
"Even so, I would've like to see where they were taking her."
"That's going to have to wait till another time" Nightwing readied his staff. "Because it looks like they're dragging her to a watery death. " Nightwing pointed out.
"I suppose you are right." Changeling sucked his teeth at the missed opportunity before smirking. "Fine than, Titans GO!"
Everybody leaped into action. Well, it's more like they leaped out the window. With the combined effort of the Titans, the battle was over in mere minutes. Rachel gasped as she tried to calm her pounding heart. She ignored the people towering over her, watching her ordeal.
"I know this may be a lot for you to take in, but the truth must be revealed." Oracle started, placing a hand on Rachel's shoulder. "You are what those things desire. What they want from you specifically, I do not know. However, I do know that letting them have you means doom for us all. So I came up with this little scenario in my head. Actually, it was a dream of some sorts. It was your stereotypical fairytale dream. A princess stuck in a tower. Demon warriors and knights of darkness would try with all their might to capture her, however, they would never succeed. She would be protected by the guardians of the tower."
"Let me guess" Rachel snorted. "That stereotypical helpless damsel in distress was me?"
"Yes and no. You was the princess in my dream, but you was certainly not helpless. You was our ally. The light in the darkness guiding us into a battle with our most powerful foe. The one who is making these creatures. The one who sending these dark creatures to find you. In other words,"
"I'm bait." Rachel licked her lips and chuckled dryly.
"Not for long. We plan on hand delivering you personally and defeating the root of these shadows once and for all."
"And who is this mysterious person? The one causing all of this?"
"I-I do not know. I died before I could see...her face."
"It's a woman?"
"Yes...From the silhouette I could see the frame of a woman and wings of darkness. Those wings wiped us all out, leaving only you bathing in white light to defeat her."
"This has to be some kind of mistake. I'm no hero. I'm just a girl! A regular teenage girl! I'm not supposed to go through any of this! The only problems I'm supposed to face is pimples and getting a date for the prom! How do you expect me to defeat some dark creature!?"
"Don't worry," Nightwing said with a smile. "We will train you and protect you until you are ready."
"Wait a minute!" Wonder Girl stomped her foot and shrieked. "When was this discussed! Why am I the last to know everything!?"
"It happened last night…"
"More like early morning. " Cyborg mumbled under his breath.
"Either way, you were asleep."
"You could have woken me up!"
"We tried friend!" Starfire interrupted. "But, not even my mighty shaking could wake you up. You were dead to the world, as Cyborg would say."
"Tch. That training did take a lot out of me…"
"It took a lot out of everybody" Nightwing said sarcastically while Changeling rolled his eyes. "but when Oracle told us her dream, it woke us up immediately."
"So what are you saying? That this girl…"
"Yes…" Changeling finally spoke up. "Rachel Roth, you are the newest member of the Teen Titans." Changeling bent down and offered Rachel his hand. "Welcome to the team."
Okay this hiatus was completely unplanned. A lot of drama has been happening for the past few months. When the drama finally ended (Sorta), I had writers block. I still have it, but I decided to post chapters anyway in hopes I'll get over it soon. I don't know when I will put up the next chapter. I still have to edit, and since it's been months since I touched this fanfic, I've forgotten some things. I'll get to it though. I'm really sorry for keeping you guys waiting, and I hope you will continue to read. Thank you!