Rowan wandered for what seemed like hours before she found the McDonalds. Something about seeing those golden arches melted her anxiety away as she ran inside and ordered a large French fry and an Oreo McFlurry. She sat outside and ate her ice cream and watched the children playing on the play ground. A tall blond girl helped her sister up onto the steps. They went down the slide together. A boy about Rowan's age asked her to come play with him, but she said no thank-you. The sisters were holding hands and giggling as they shared an ice cream cone.
Rowan huffed.
"What's the matter young lady? Are you here all by yourself?" A strange man came up behind Rowan. Rowan took a second to take in his appearance. He was tall and older looking with iron gray hair and goatee, and gray eyes plastered with fake sincerity. He looked familiar. But Rowan couldn't place him. "What happened? Did your parents yell at you?"
"I don't have any parents," Rowan said, standing up.
"A fight with a sibling, perhaps?"
"My sister and I had an argument." she said hesitant to confide in a stranger.
"Ah, I see," He said putting a hand on her shoulder. "My name is Rodger Gray. I am a friend of the Titans. I can take you home if you are lost."
"You are!" she said excitedly with a giggle. Then something hit her mind. Something about that sentence didn't sit right with her. She couldn't place a finger but something…
"Come on young lady, my car is over here." she followed him to an expensive looking car in the parking lot. "So which one is your older sister?" Rowan stopped dead.
"What did you say?"
"The Titans, which of them was your sister?" Then it clicked. Rowan had never mentioned she was a Titan to this man. She had also never mentioned she was lost either.
Rodger Gray?
Rodger Gray?
Dr. Gray!
It suddenly dawned on Rowan where she had seen this man before.
-Flashback-
Last night she and the rest of the Titans had been sitting on the couch surfing the cable, when a special report had come on the TV.
"Beast Boy, turn it up!" Robin had said.
"…broke into the chemical factory just this morning. Police are still looking into the identity of this man…" a picture flashed onto the screen. The man had been older looking with an iron gray beard and goatee, "…and ask that if you have any information as to the identity of this man, please notify the police immediately."
"Dr. Gray!" Robin had growled coldly.
"He's escaped," Terra observed causally but with fear in her voice.
"What'd he do?" Rowan asked curiously
"He's basically the 'mad scientist' type" Raven said, her fist clenching on the arm of the chair she was curled up in, "Really mad." Beast Boy nodded in agreement.
"He doesn't look so scary to me."
"He likes to do experiments on…humans." Terra said. "He's been trying to get a hold of one of us to try to find out how to control our powers so we can only use them to help him. He almost succeed." Terra shuddered.
-End Flashback-
Rowan shook the memory out of her mind and stomped down hard on his foot. He said another word Raven would have told her to add to the list of words never to repeat, along with the one Terra had used the other day. Rowan turned and ran straight into a woman who locked her strong arms around Rowan's tiny little body. She attempted to scream, but found a hand over her mouth. She bit down hard and was dropped, landing on the rough concrete pavement.
"Are we grabbing a Titan or a viper?" the woman asked, nursing her bleeding hand. She was tall with fire-red hair that tumbled down her back. Rowan thought it best if she remained on the ground until they were fully distracted.
"Now now, Kestrel my dear, a little spirit is to be expected from a Titan this size." she sniffed and glared at the small child laying crumpled on the pavement.
Wham!
Rowan used her power to crack open the fire hydrant and soak the two criminals. Before she had a chance to run away, Dr. Gray grabbed her up by her shirt. He picked up a heavy stick and cracked Rowan viciously across the head.
Rowan was plunged into darkness
A/N: Don't you love how all of this happenes at a McDonalds in broad daylight and no one notices a thing?