Raven walked into the small coffee shop, looking down at her watch. Ahead of schedule, perfect. She smiled to herself. The cafe was quaint and it looked popular enough for her to accept this as her one stop before her big audition. She counted the customers ahead of her and the ones still waiting for their drinks, too many for her liking while she had somewhere to be but she needed a chai latte to steel her nerves. The three baristas should tackle this wait in no time, she hoped.

Today was the big audition for an upcoming blockbuster movie. Her agent, Roy Harper, from Queen Entertainment Management, got her this lucky shot. Roy also managed Kori Anders, a beautiful super model, but more importantly for her purposes, Richard Grayson's fiance.

Richard Grayson was a romcom actor turned director, and the very director for the movie she was about to audition for. Though she hadn't seen many of the movies Richard had directed she had seen almost the entire catalog of his romcoms. There was something so cheesy but endearing in his films that made her lonely heart on a weekend evening content. As it turns out, according to critics and movie goers alike, he made a better director than actor. This untitled movie was already the talk of the town and anyone would kill for a shot to be in it, much less the leading lady. Which is exactly why Raven was so stressed.

Raven Roth had done her due diligence, went to some of the best acting schools, got her degrees, starred in horrible student film after horrible student film while also waiting tables and attending acting seminars. She managed to land some simple commercials or gigs as an extra in big shot movies, but her true claim to any inkling of fame was her starring role on the hit TV drama Skulls. She played the head of the forensic team that was over analytic and unemotional. People loved her unique features and always complemented how authentic her acting was for a CSI type TV show. The backhand compliment she could live without but nonetheless people took a liking to her and as time went on she found herself with a renowned agent and a few more higher billed credits.

As she went over her lines for the nth time today, she pulled her focus back into the real world and realized she was next in line. Another glance down at her watch though had her begin to sweat. She hadn't realized where the time had gone, she was still guaranteed to be early but any more setbacks and that could change in an instant. She noticed the elderly woman in front of her was paying in change and was dropping coins left and right, making her lose count and have to start over again just for the same thing to happen. The cashier didn't seem to care and simply used the time to restock some things behind the counter.

Raven exhaled in semi annoyance, it wasn't the lady's fault but no one was willing to lend a hand? That was unacceptable to her. "Here let me pick those up for you." She said while bending over.

"Oh! How very kind of you miss! Thank you." The woman smiled warmly at her, holding her hands out to take the coins back.

"May I help? I can hold these while you count what you have, it's a lot of change to be juggling, so I totally get it."

"That would be very helpful, miss!" As the older woman began counting her pile, Raven quickly counted her ready to add the remaining coins total in her head and end the transaction. To her dismay another coin rolled out of the woman's hand and onto the floor rolling toward her just behind her left leg. She spun around to fetch it but instead rammed right into someone else. A very tall and solid someone else. All the coins had bounced out of her hands and scattered everywhere. When Raven regained her senses the man that was far too close barely flinched from the accident but made no attempt to help pick anything up. Instead the man pivoted around her at the edge of the counter.

Clearing his throat he said. "I'll take a medium americano." He pulled out his phone with one hand and began to type something on it while the cashier stood stunned and unsure of what to do. He looked back up and added, "Pronto?"

Raven stood there dumbfounded as the cashier actually began to ring up his order. The poor older woman got down and started to pick up the fallen change and nobody else said anything. She was just going to have to change that.

"Excuse me but you can't possibly think that what you just did is okay?" When he didn't turn to her she moved around him, stopping by the elder woman and helping her back up purposely leaving the coins on the ground. "Hey, I'm talking to you asshole!" The cashier gasped and the man stilled.

He put his phone back in his pocket and turned to meet her eyes. "Now why would you be doing that?" He smirked. Oh he was gonna fucking get it.

"Who the hell do you think you are to come into here, bypass the line that isn't really that bad, stand way too close to a stranger to where they run into you by turning around and not do anything to help pick up the coins you caused to fall and continue to order like a big fucking oaf. You've got some nerve asshole." Her hands were on her hips and she was glaring daggers, the entire cafe stopped what they were doing and were witnessing the scene unfold in front of them.

The man had the audacity to chuckle, "So you clearly don't know who I am. Cute. But I don't have time to waste like some people. I need to be on my way or I'll be late so I took advantage of two women taking far too long ordering coffee. Sue me, or get over it." He turned back to the cashier and pulled out his wallet.

To say Raven was appalled would be an understatement. So she did the only thing she could think of. She reached across him and snatched his wallet and threw it on the ground behind him.

"What the hell-" as he took a step back to track the wallet, it left an opening for Raven to slip in front of him.

"Hi, I find it incredibly unacceptable for this man to be served before me, this woman, and the patient customers in line behind me. Nobody should walk in here and expect to be treated in such a way by another plain guest and be pushed back in line to accommodate the aggressor. Am I right? Would you want someone to treat your mother like this?" She gestured to the elderly woman behind her. The cashier shook her head.

"Just get the hell out of my way, and let me get my coffee then it will be all yours." The man stood up straight, fire behind his eyes.

"Like hell I will." She barely glanced at him before refocusing on the cashier. "All I want is to get my drink and pay for this kind woman since that will seem to speed up the process."

"Uhh..okay."

"And to make it easier, I happen to like Americanos so I'll take the one he ordered since it's probably already in the works, add hers to my tab too." The cashier nodded and began to re-ring in the woman's order.

"Fine whatever, are you happy now? Now just get out of my way."

"Oh, cute. You think I'm done." She stayed in place but twisted behind her looking at the next man in line. "Hi sir, I'm feeling so generous today, what are you ordering?"

"Uhh, a large iced cold brew." He shrugged.

"Great one of those, please." She said turning back to the cashier who was starting to smirk, seeing the plan already. "And behind him?"

"You can't be serious?" The rude man sputtered.

"Dead serious, everyone in line currently, your drink is on me! Besides this asshole, come up and place your order with the kind girl in front and step off to the side to wait for it. Thank you." She made the announcement without breaking her stare at the taller man. Sure enough, everyone in line ran up, placed their order quickly, muttered a thank you and moved away.

"You really are going to spend all that money to prove a point? It would have been faster to just let me go."

"Where would be the lesson for you in that? Now you get to wait for your fair turn, these people leave happy with their free coffee and you still look like an asshole. I can always make more

money, but you can never get wasted time back." She smirked smugly.

"Uhh, miss your total is $75.86, cash or card?" The cashier awkwardly interjected.

Raven didn't mean to but the total was higher than she had anticipated and she involuntarily flinched, causing a grin to break onto the man's face. "Still worth it?"

"Every penny." She handed her worn credit card over and completed the transaction. She was handed her receipt and the Americano which she gladly took and strutted out of the cafe. She didn't care to see the last look on the man's face. That whole debacle cut into her time cushion and now she would be running late herself. Just fucking perfect. She prayed to whatever deity that she would never run into that man again.

She practically jogged in her black heels to the building around the block, dodging people the best she could. When she made it to the front doors of the Wayne Production Company she paused and took her first sip of the drink. She never ordered one before and she was glad she didn't because it was utterly revolting. She almost gagged but swallowed the too bitter liquid before locating the nearest trash can and throwing the whole thing away, a waste? Sure, but it was still worth it.

Once inside, she smoothed her hair back and walked confidently to the receptionist. "Hi, I'm Raven Roth here for an 11:00 audition."

"Okay, one moment Miss Roth." The woman began typing into her computer.

Raven took a deep breath and glanced around the lobby, it was lavish but well decorated, not unwelcoming. There were people moving around her coming in and out of elevators, carrying briefcases, boxes and supplies, fabrics, and blueprints. This was their corporate office, not their studios, she didn't expect to see so many people running around with materials.

"You must have really enjoyed my coffee, it seems to be all gone." That voice…oh shit, she turned to see the jerk from the cafe, but instead of the branded cup, he was holding one from the lobby's free coffee bar.

"Relegated to the free coffee? What a shame." She dared not back down now.

"It isn't my first choice but when an incredibly insufferable person ruins a perfectly good morning, it'll have to do."

"I wouldn't have needed to do that if you had a tiny fraction of decency." She almost whispered, trying to keep the receptionist from hearing. Raven felt her anger rising again, she couldn't let that come out and cause another scene, especially at the place she needed to make the best impression at.

The receptionist cleared her throat politely, "Miss Roth?" Raven turned back to the red haired woman. "They're waiting in conference room 47, on the 5th floor turn left and it will be the 3rd room on the left." The man behind her snorted.

"Thank you very much!" She spun, giving the man an annoyed glare as she walked past him.

"Hey," she shouldn't have stopped but he approached her within a few steps., "I hope your acting is better than your attitude." He leaned in and spoke the next words lowly in her ear, "Break a leg." He pulled back with a smirk.

She was stunned in place, not by his words but by the room temperature coffee that was dripping down the front of her new white blouse. She looked down at herself and felt heat rise to her cheeks, but before she could say anything, the man pointed at his watch and shook his head. She located the nearest clock on the wall to discover that it was already eleven and she was officially late for her audition. She bolted toward the elevator and desperately tried to regain her composure.

How could he do that to her? He knew she was auditioning, so maybe he was there for the audition too and wanted to sabotage her. It was going to work perfectly in his favor because she was a mess, she was angry, she was wet, her top had a massive brown stain, and she was late. She did the only thing she could think of, taking some deep breaths as she stepped out of the elevator, she spoke the meditation mantra her favorite acting coach, Azar, gave her, "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos." Raven immediately felt some of the stress release. Now she had to put some of the other teachings to use.

First, take the emotions and use them to fuel the words and actions, it will give something new to a piece that is memorized to every syllable. Second, make an impression, she was certain being late was already doing that, but combine it with the third advice, make bold choices, she was either going to blow it or nail it. She had no other choice.

The movie was a high budget superhero action movie, an installment of an already beloved franchise called The Batman. This was about a team of teen superheroes and sidekicks that have grown up and now are called The Titans. Young adults trying to live up to their mentor's standard and make a name for themselves in the world while trying to save it from major threats. Landing this role would almost ensure job security for at least three films. In the movie making market today, superhero films always crushed it, and with Grayson's name being on the film it was practically a guaranteed success. Who else would be better to direct this new and original team than the adopted son of the actor that played the Dark Knight himself, Bruce Wayne.

This was it, her only shot. She took one last breath and entered the room in a rush.

"This better be good, you interrupted my meditation." She huffed. Raven looked around the large room, the wall across from her lined with objectively handsome men sitting at a long table.

Their faces shocked, some frozen in place, a coffee cup held at their lips. "Well? Garret? What's the emergency that you had to set the alarm off spilling my tea?" She picked one of the random men to be her scene partner, since she had no time to slate and meet them, she had to purely improvise.

"Uh…Miss Roth?" The man in the center began. She now recognized him as Richard Grayson. Her mind started to short circuit. She had no idea the director would be sitting in on the first audition, but she was already in too deep.

Raven decided to keep going, praying to just get through this. She looked off to the side at a fake screen she imagined. If they weren't going to give her the lines, she'd simply take them. "Deathstroke?" Her prior deadpanned tone dropped. Full seriousness overcoming her emotions. "When did we get this?" She looked back to the man she dubbed 'Garret. "

That man kept looking down at the obvious stain on her shift. Raven made the choice to add that into the scene. Pulling the shirt over her head, leaving her in a lace adorned bra, she marched behind the table and pulled a random jacket from the back of an empty chair. Tossing her stained blouse on the table in front of Garret, she continued, "Is that better?" She slid the apparently leather jacket over her shoulders and spun one of the secretaries' laptops around to face her. She made a point to hit the lock key so she wouldn't see anything she wasn't supposed to.

As she fake typed some actions on the computer she looked back up at her fake screen, while muttering. "They want you to be normal but make a big deal when you accidentally spill something." Blowing some loose hair from her face she marched back to the middle of the room.

"He was seen thirteen hours ago at a dock on the east bay." She feigned surprise. "Why are we just hearing about this now?" She begged all the gods to have someone answer. Richard leaned forward, his eyes not leaving her, throwing an arm out to the man unintentionally added to the scene and motioning him to proceed. The few people around him fumbled around to hand him the script and point out where they were.

"Robin got the alert first, I'm assuming he delayed the alarm - " The man read.

"To give himself a head start. Damn it Drake! Where is he now?" A fierceness rising in her voice.

"We don't know, he might be in his room going through files." It was clear to her that this guy was at least not her potential scene partner, at least not for this role.

"Since when did Robin ever wait when it came to Deathstroke. How is it possible, we got rid…he was gone. How did he manage to come back?" She began pacing.

"Robin had his theories but I don't think he ever expected him to actually be back."

"We have to find Robin before he does something stupid."

"His tracker and communicator are offline."

"Then we'll have to find him the hard way." She sat on the floor in a lotus position, arms slightly to her side, middle finger and thumb touching. "Azarath, Metrion, ZINTHOS!"

She wasn't sure why she chose to use her own mantra, much less one at all, and the pose was the very one from her own practices. There was no actual blocking on the script, but it felt in character and came obviously very natural to her.

"Cut!" Richard yelled. Raven opened her eyes and was met with his smiling face. He hurried around the table and offered his hand out to help her up. She graciously accepted it and stood in front of the man that held her fate.

"I..uh..I'm Raven Roth." She nervously stuck her hand out for a handshake.

"Why yes you are!" He enthusiastically took it. "That was phenomenal! I probably shouldn't be telling you this but wow!"

"Oh, thank you Mr. Grayson." She chucked shyly. Everyone in the room began subtle whispers and she could tell they were all about her. "I want to apologize for being late and the uncouth start to my audition but - "

"It's quite alright! It fueled you! That's what I love to see in new actors! This is why I didn't want the biggest names, there's nothing fresh in that! But that bit with the shirt..was that planned?"

"No, some guy spilled his coffee on me in the lobby."

"Sorry to hear that, but oh man she can improv too! It was great seeing you today. Roy was right about you! Well, we have to break for lunch, but we'll be in touch! Just don't be late next time." He winked and chuckled to himself as he grabbed his notepad from the table and made his way out of the room along with the other employees.

Most had left the room, leaving her with a few stragglers. She went to collect her things but realized that she was still wearing someone else's jacket. She looked to the nearest worker, "Excuse me, I'm so sorry but I still have this person's jacket, would you mind giving it back to them for me!" She began to shrug it off her shoulders but a pair of hands stopped the fabric from falling down.

"It's fine, from what I saw today I'm sure you'll be back and you can give it back to me then." The smooth voice came from behind her. The other person she had directed her comment towards simply nodded to her and stepped out of the room. The voice sounded familiar but she couldn't place it. "Besides, I think it looks better on you."

Raven turned around and did everything in her power to not gasp in shock. The man behind her was Jason Todd. Jason fucking Todd. He was the hottest action star in the world, both literally and figuratively. He was for sure a lead role in this production, it just wasn't confirmed which one. And here she was, shirtless, wearing his -probably- expensive leather jacket. "I'm…uh…wow, I'm sorry I just took it without asking." She stumbled out her response. She wished she could kick herself for how stupid she sounded in front of her celebrity crush.

"It's fine. As much as most of the men in the room would have loved for you to continue without the jacket, someone needed to get them back to reality. I'm Jason by the way." He held out his hand and offered a devilishly handsome smile.

"Todd, oh I know…I mean…" She felt the blush creep up her neck and rest like flames on her cheeks. "Hi, Raven." She took his hand and shook it a bit too enthusiastically.

"Oh, we have ourselves a fan huh?" Jason smirked.

"I don't intend to come across as a crazy fan. I just meant that I know who you are, anyone who's anyone knows you, but I'm sure you get that enough as is, you don't need me to do it too." Raven rubbed her arm nervously.

"Yeah, but I'm kind of diggin' you doing it."

Her mouth opened slightly, was he hitting on her? "Well, I should let you get to lunch."

"I look forward to seeing you again…Raven." His voice dropped low on her name and had she not already been mortified by her behavior she swore she would have swooned, and she never swoons.

"Likewise, Jason." Speaking his name made her feel fuzzy inside somewhere, but she pushed that down and moved around him, snatching her blouse off the table. She pretended to fold it and take care to place it in her bag while Jason finally left.

Raven placed both hands on the table and released a deep breath. Her whole body tingled with nerves. She just gave the best improvised audition in her life, while facing unplanned emotions and events right before. She was proud of herself, and if what Richard Grayson and Jason Todd said held any truth, she was practically guaranteed a callback!