Raven sat Indian style on a bench in Jump City Park, slowly turning the pages of her hardcover book. With so many distractions in the Tower, namely Beast Boy and now Robin's obsessive behavior, she found it easier to get some peace and quiet in the park. That is, when she wasn't bombarded by the press, paparazzi, and other random fans. In order to avoid all disturbances, Raven found it necessary to change her appearance slightly. She would put on a pair of jeans, a black turtleneck or t-shirt (depending on the season), and sunglasses. To complete the new look she would sometimes pull her short, violet hair into a ponytail or toss a baseball cap on her head. True, it wasn't her favorite choice of headwear, but it did the job just fine.
Feeling completely content under the warm summer sun with the book in her hands, Raven almost smiled to herself. She read, silently mouthing the words, and soon became completely lost within the pages.
"Her footsteps echoed in the dark, musty corridor as she ran towards the screams. Rosalie's grip on her bow tightened, and she reached for an arrow from her quiver. I hope I am not too late, she thought to herself as she rounded the final corner and strung an arrow in her bow. Rosalie aimed, ready to loose the arrow any second, when she faltered suddenly realizing the source of the screams.
"No," the archer shook her head in disbelief; her dark curls bouncing, "those were my brother's screams, and you are---"
A dark shadow fell across the pages, bringing her back to reality, and making her extremely annoyed. Raven looked up, her eyes meeting the forest green eyes of her perpetrator.
"I apologize for interrupting your reading," the girl gestured toward the book.
Raven slid her sunglasses down her nose and looked out over them in order to size her up. She was a few years younger than herself, maybe 14 or so, and her eyes were filled with the same overenthusiastic sparkle as Beast Boy's, though her face and posture seemed reserved and almost solemn. Two braids of thick brown hair fell down her back, and she wore leather boots, jeans splattered with paint, and an emerald green blouse with the sleeves rolled up. Raven simply pushed her sunglasses back up and lifted her eyebrow at the girl, as if to say, Continue I won't kill you…yet.
"I was wondering if you were saving that seat for anyone or if I could sit there," she smiled.
"It's a free country," Raven answered, not believing she was interrupted for a matter as trivial as this.
The girl happily sat down, chirping, "Thanks." After, a few minutes she added, looking at Raven out of the corner of her eye, "You're Raven from the Teen Titans, aren't you?"
Oh man, here we go again, the Titan thought, bracing herself for the attack she was about to receive when she sighed and said, "Yes.""Cool," The brunette smiled and said casually, "I've always wanted to meet the Titans."
Raven was halfway through her chant to levitate when the girl's words clicked with her, "What?"
"I've always wanted to meet you guys," She repeated, slower this time.
"That's it?" Raven said in her monotone voice, though she was feeling bewildered.
The girl laughed, "What did you think, I'd start a huge mob scene? Nah, I just wanted to meet you. Oh, by the way, I'm Molly." She eagerly held out her hand. Raven was still a bit suspicious, but she shook the outstretched hand nevertheless.
Flashes filled Raven's vision, Men and women, familiar and unfamiliar, and many others all flooded her mind. Everything was a blur, and she could only make sense of a few fleeting images, though she didn't understand their significance. Voices, talking and yelling and sometimes laughing, accompanied the images. The pictures blurred into one, as if someone had hit fast-forward ten times and only one frame out of one hundred was shown. Suddenly, everything was silent, and darkness filled her vision. Raven figured the vision was over, and her eyes were only shut, but just as she was about to open then a scream rang in her ears; her own scream.
Raven lurched forward, sweat dripping off her brow. Her sunglasses had fallen from her face, smashing on the concrete sidewalk, revealing her amethyst eyes filled with fear. The girl sitting across the bench from her wore a look of extreme worry. "R-Raven?" She asked tentatively, shaking slightly from fear. "Oh God, what did I do?"
Raven wiped her forehead, her eyes never moving from the girl's face. "I'm fine," She said carefully, narrowing her eyes and looking over Molly a second time. "I just had a premonition. Its nothing to worry about." What was so special about this girl? She only had these visions when she touched a person who would have a great impact in her life. As far as she could tell, this was the most ordinary-looking girl she had ever seen.
"Oh," Molly said, slightly relieved she didn't kill the girl, "What was it about?"
The empath shook her head, "I can't really tell. I'm sure it was nothing." Though that was far from the truth.
Molly bit her lip debating whether or not to ask the question forming on her tongue.
Raven, being the empathic girl that she was, sensed this new reaction. She rolled her eyes and said exasperated, "What?"
The girl fidgeted in her seat, unsure whether this was an appropriate time for her question. "Spit it out," the superhero said angrily, anxious for the moment when she could get away from this girl and meditate on the whole affair.
Molly nervously rubbed the back of her head and muttered something incoherently. Raven narrowed her eyes, a vein in her head pulsing with anger, but she was able to control her emotions. "Would you please repeat that?" She asked slowly, each word dripping with controlled anger.
Eyes filled with fear and regret, Molly smiled apprehensively and obliged, "I said…do you think I'd be able to meet the other titans?"
Raven groaned to herself. 'Great, just what I need,' She thought, 'Robin's on edge, Beast Boy, to make up for his overly sulky mood, is at his most annoying, Starfire is worried for Robin, and Cyborg…' The hero could have smiled, 'Maybe Molly can meet him.' A small hand flashed in front of Raven's eyes, bringing her out of her thoughts.
"Earth to Raven," Molly grinned anxiously, "Did you have another vision? 'Cause I totally didn't touch you that time."
Raven shot her a particularly nasty grin. "No," She growled, "I did not have another vision."
Sighing in relief, Molly wiped an arm across her forehead. She straitened on the bench as a thought crossed her quick mind, "So…Can I meet them?" The girl was leaning forward so her nose was nearly touching Raven's. That grin, it reminded her so much of Beast Boy, and their close proximity didn't much help matters.
'It couldn't hurt,' a voice said in Raven's head, 'She seems harmless, and a visitor might lighten the team's spirits.'
'Or,' another voice answered, 'She might just double Beast Boy's annoying attitude.'
'Or,' Yet another different voice said, this time dripping with maliciousness, 'She might be a spy. Remember T--"
"Alright!" Raven yelled to silence the emotions in her head. The girl squealed delightedly, and, with a shock of horror, the hero realized she had thought she was answering her question.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you," Molly chirped happily. And Raven could only stare in horror as she bounced around in pure ecstasy.
"But…" the empath could only gape at the disaster she had wrought. And, as heartless as she may seem, Raven couldn't just crush the girl's spirits. She sighed in defeat, "Ready to leave?"
Molly nodded eagerly, but when Raven's hand landed on her shoulder her whole body tensed. "Uh…" Her smile faltered slightly.
She raised a slim eyebrow, a grin threatening to curl her lips, "Something wrong?" When Molly shook her head, her braids flying side to side, Raven added, "I'm going to teleport us. It's going to be cold."
As Raven's dark aura began to engulf their feet she thought to herself, 'It might be good to keep an eye on her. Besides…Beast Boy might like to meet his twin.' The smile on her face from her own joke was hidden as they were both engulfed completely in Raven's dark powers.
A/N: Soooo? Here you meet Raven's new friend. Do you like her? Please R&R!
Preview: Next chapter will be Molly and the Titans meeting. Sounds like fun, no?