Billy Batson was fortunate to attend the Raven Corporation's Gala. He was one of the few from the Raven Foundation's scholarship program that was selected in a lottery for the gala. He felt honored to attend such an event. He also felt more than confused as to why he was suddenly saddled with a five year old kid in search of his nanny.
"A woman with purple hair huh," Billy muttered to himself while he carried the five year old boy.
He still wondered how he ended up in such a situation. Perhaps he could blame it at the little boy's insistence and his adorable face. Now, Billy was tasked to find the boy's nanny amongst the large crowd of people.
At twenty years old, Billy had an imposing height, which would be easy for him to catch sight of a woman with purple hair over the heads of other people.
If only the said woman wasn't dastardly short.
He was just maneuvering himself around a crowd when the boy he was holding suddenly exclaimed.
"I see her! I see her! I see Rachel over there!" The boy said.
Billy turned his head around and sure enough he saw a woman with purple hair. However, he could only see the back of her head.
He tried looking closer, but couldn't make out what she looked like.
The boy in his arms tugged on his sleeve and pointed.
"That's her!" His voice sounded excited about finding his lost nanny.
Without much prompting, he headed towards the woman with the boy still within his hold. From this distance, he noted that the woman was petite. She wore a black shimmery and thin dress like they were woven from stars. It hugged her figure in a flattering way that drew attention to her generous curves.
Billy was almost near her when the boy suddenly called out to her.
"Rachel!"
The woman turned in their direction. The moment she did, his breath caught in his throat and he could only stare at her in wonder. He came to a sudden stop as he beheld the beautiful woman a distance away.
"Jonathan!" The woman said. She looked relieved to see the little boy.
After standing there for a moment or two, Billy snapped out of it and started making his way through the guests again.
Billy's mind seemed to empty as he drew near her. Whoever this woman was, she simply took his breath away with her captivating eyes and beautiful face.
"We've been looking all over for you Jonathan. Where are Laura and Max?" The woman asked as Billy came to a halt in front of her.
"I don't know Rachel. They must be somewhere around here," the little boy, Jonathan, replied. "Anyway this is Mr. Batson, Rachel. He helped me find you."
"I can see that," the woman said, smiling at Billy. "It's nice to meet you Mr. Batson."
For a terrible moment, he thought that he was going to say something stupid in front of her, but he managed to nod his head and say, "Just Billy...and It's nice to meet you too err…."
"My name is Rachel," the woman introduced.
"It's nice to - to amm...meet you too Rachel," Billy stuttered.
"Thank you for finding Jonathan here," She told him as she reached out for the boy.
Billy handed the little boy to her. Their arms brushed against each other and he could feel his arm tingling where they touched.
"I hope he didn't cause you any trouble," She said to him as she finally held the boy in her arms.
"None at all," was his swift response.
"That's good," She remarked.
Billy was left tongue-tied and unable to find a topic of interest now that he had returned the boy to his nanny.
For a long moment, they stood facing each other and there were no words spoken, just two pairs of eyes staring at one another. The world seemed to dissolve all around them as if everything else around them was moving on without them.
Billy couldn't help but notice how dark her eyes were in contrast to her pale skin, so much darker than his own, almost like amethyst, like the color of dusk while the interest in her gaze made his heart rate spike.
Finally, they broke eye contact and he took a step back to break whatever trance they seemed stuck under together.
"So are you still looking for the other children?" Billy asked almost hesitantly.
"Other people are helping me look for them. Hopefully they find them soon," the violet-eyed beauty responded.
"Do you want me to look for the other children?" He offered.
"No, no, it's fine," the woman shook her head. "I will make do with the others who offered their help and I am sure you have something better to do than look for my charges."
"I have plenty of time right now and I don't mind helping you find them," Billy insisted, smiling.
"Are you sure?" She searched his eyes and Billy held her enthralling gaze.
"Yes, I am sure."
"Oh, alright," came the woman's reluctant answer.
"Where do you think they have gone off to?" He asked the woman.
"The children are not shy so I suspect they are here somewhere and talking to other people. Hopefully they won't cause anyone too much trouble," She said with a note of exasperation in her voice.
Billy could only feel empathy for her. He was about to reply when a voice suddenly called out.
"Rachel, over here!"
Billy turned around and saw a man in a trench coat holding a purple-haired girl.
"Rachel!" The little girl exclaimed and then proceeded to launch herself at the woman.
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John watched as the little girl hugged the woman's legs and he found himself lost for words when he beheld her.
He watched in almost slow motion when the woman moved. She looked ravishing in her sheer black dress and she had a pair of exquisite violet eyes that she turned on him when she was done speaking to the little girl.
"That's Mr. Constantine. He helped me find you, Rachel." the little girl, Laura, pointed at him.
"Thank you Mr. Constantine for your help," the woman said as she lowered down the boy in her arms to face him.
He nodded his head. Too afraid to speak. He didn't want to make a fool out of himself.
There was something about her that was achingly familiar. Something niggled at the back of his head as if trying to remind him about something.
"My name is Rachel. I'm Laura's nanny." She introduced herself while she extended her hand towards him.
John reached out to shake her hand and felt how soft and warm her hand was inside his.
"It's nice to meet you Rachel," He said, smiling roguishly at her.
He watched as she flushed prettily and John found himself staring at her again. It took sometime before he shook himself out of his daze and he suddenly felt a bit guilty for being attracted to her. He already had Zatana as his girlfriend but it looked like he still couldn't help but appreciate another beautiful woman just right in front of him.
"It's nice to meet you too, Mr. Constantine." The woman smiled at him in such a way that emptied the breath out of his lungs.
She was simply breathtaking.
"Call me John. Calling me Mr. Constantine makes me feel old," John stated, his grin widening.
"And you can call me Billy as well. Mr. Batson seems so formal," interrupted the other man - Billy Batson or Shazam - who had been eyeing the exchange between John and the woman.
"Of course," the woman, Rachel, responded with yet another entrancing smile.
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"That's your nanny?" Dick Grayson stared at the said woman who was currently speaking to two men.
"Yes," The boy named Max said. "Now, come on! I want to introduce you to Rachel."
Dick's only response was to glance at the boy and back at the nanny. He allowed himself to be dragged by the boy towards the purple-haired woman.
As he walked towards her, he watched in surprise as other men, and it appeared to be their dates, converged on the nanny and the children from every direction. He noted that Arthur Curry and Oliver Queen were carrying children in their arms as well.
He saw Bruce with one child and he couldn't help but frown at him.
"It looks like all the children are here,"
Dick heard Bruce say after the man saw him draw closed with the little boy.
"Thank you so much for bringing the children back to me," the purple-haired woman said in obvious gratitude.
Dick stared at the woman appreciatively. She looked stunning in her black dress. There was also something familiar about her.
Meanwhile, the men and some of their dates responded to the woman's words.
"We are glad to be of help," the man with the glasses - Clark Kent - who was carrying a little girl, said.
"No problem," said Oliver Queen at the same time Arthur Curry remarked, "It seemed someone else found them first before we did. So we really didn't do anything."
"We are happy to see them reunited with you," said Hal Jordan while the man wearing a trench coat - John Constantine - commented in an accented voice, "Your kid found me first though, but I didn't mind seeing her back to you." while most of them say, "You're welcome."
Thereafter, they watched as the woman smiled at all of them while she fidgeted on the spot. She looked nervous at the sight of them gathered around her. Dick noted in shock that most members of the Justice League seemed to be gathered there. That didn't look to be coincidence.
Why are they all here? Who is this woman? Dick silently wondered.
There was a short pause where everyone regarded the others within the group.
"We haven't been properly introduced. My name is Hal Jordan," the brown-haired man said suddenly while he extended a hand towards the woman.
"Rachel Roth," the purple-haired beauty reached out for the man's hand and shook it.
Thereafter, Dick watched as Hal introduced the tall, dark-haired woman who stood beside him.
"And this is my date Carol Ferris,"
"It's nice to meet you, Ms. Ferris." Rachel said.
"It's nice to meet you too," responded the brunette.
And that seemed to prompt the others to start introducing themselves to the purple-haired woman.
"The name is Bruce Wayne," Bruce said as he used one hand to shake the woman's hand while the other arm still carried the little dark-haired boy against him.
"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Wayne," Rachel smiled while she shook his hand.
"Clark Kent, and this is Lois Lane. We're both from the Daily Planet," said Clark next.
Dick observed as Rachel turned towards Clark and the woman next to him.
"It's nice to meet you both, Mr. Kent, Ms. Lane,"
"Likewise," "It's nice to meet you too," they said in unison.
After them, Dick saw when Rachel faced the pair from the Kingdom of Atlantis.
"The name is Arthur and this is my fiancé, Mera,"
The purple haired young woman was so formal that she seemed to call most of them with a proper title attached to their names.
The introduction proceeded the same way as the others.
"Hello, my name is Iris West," introduced an african-american woman with a brilliant smile.
"And I'm Barry Allen," said speedster as he grinned almost shyly at Rachel.
"It's nice to meet you,"
Finally, it was his turn to introduce himself and he was the last one to do so.
"Dick Grayson," he said as he reached for the woman's hand.
He met her violet eyes and felt himself enraptured by the sight of them, but mostly her. He could stare at her all night and never grow tired of it. That was how breathtakingly beautiful she was.
"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Grayson,"
The moment their hands touched, he could feel a shock go through him while he was bombarded by images of her and the children while in a park.
He soon realized that the images were forgotten memories and he instantly frowned in confusion when he figured out the truth.
Someone tampered with his mind and he began to suspect that the purple-haired woman had got something to do with it.
It troubled him and he was determined to find the truth from the woman before the night was over.
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