Paxton Jones walks out the doors of Jump City High as the final bell for rings.
She muses to herself.
It's not like anyone would really care if I didn't show.
In her head she knows that it is only a twenty minute walk to her favorite place in the world: Jump City Public library.
She just wants to go to the library and hide up on the third floor with a good book in her hands.
You're not giving up yet
Paxton says to herself she forces herself to walk up the steps before she really does turn around and walk away.
I can do this.
Paxton groans.
"Okay, okay"
Then she pushes open the doors and walks inside.
XxxxxxxxxxxX
The final bell rings and Paxton is one of the first ones out the door and down the steps of the school building.
And then she heads to the public library.
Once she's there, she walks up the stairs and heads all the way to the third floor. Once she is there, she makes her way to the back, where her favorite spot is.
A comfortable chair, a table, and a glass window that has a view where she can see the water. And the Titan's Tower.
She glances at it as they takes off her book bag and sits down.
I wonder what it would be like to live there
Paxton can't help but think despite herself every time she sees it. The tower is big enough to hold all twelve of the girls in her group home and then some. Maybe if they had that as their house instead of the horrible Manor Apartment Building, they wouldn't all be so mean and territorial to one another.
But Paxton knows the only way to live in The Tower would be to join the Teen Titans.
Well, I don't want to spend my life taking up crime fighting full time any time soon, so I better just make sure I at least pass the ninth grade
She pulls out her history book and places it on the table
We have to read chapter one and answer the questions on page 24
She tries to focus on her work, but her mind still keeps going back to that damn Tower.
Maybe I could be a hero
Paxton rolls her eyes to herself at her ridiculous train of thought.
No, I need to be realistic. Being a hero isn't going to get me out of Jump City. If anything it's only going to require me to continue to stay.
Paxton pulls out her notebook from her bag.
Okay...Chapter 4...
I wonder what it really is like to be a Titan
Paxton continues despite her efforts to keep her mind away from the teenage hero group
They fight crime, they dress in really cool costumes, they kickass, and they don't have to go to school...but they all live together in a Tower...which is kind of like a group home, so I definitely don't want that.
This is the thought she needs in order to focus on her homework.
Yes. I definitely will not be a Titan. Ever. I'm getting out of this City. One way or another.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
It is night time and a black figure moves across the streets. She halts as she sees two people coming out of a house with stolen goods in their hands.
She knows the goods are pilfered, because she'd seen them break in to the house moments before. She'd watched for a few just to make sure she was absolutely right and that the people didn't just forget their keys or something. And just as she thought, when they came out of the house with two TVs in each pair of arms, she knew that they were most definitely thieves.
Not that it was hard to tell the good guys from the bad guys in this city. Because it wasn't. Evil was practically written across the baddies faces.
The black figure moved with the darkness and finally materialized in front of the two looters. They stopped dead in their tracks.
One of the looters was a tall guy about her age and the other was short and stocky. They both had on really obvious baseball hats and dark sun glasses as if that would cover up their identities.
"Nice trick," The tall guy quipped,"You sure know how to make an appearance"
The black figure smiles, not that they can tell from the darkness that hides her entire face, but she tilts her head as if to tip her hat.
"Are you going to let us pass? We did the easy work. There's a bunch of more stuff in there for you to steal. This is ours though. We had to refill our stock. We've got business to handle," The short guy snaps.
"And so do I," The black figure says as she draws up the darkness and uses it to her advantage, binding the two into a tight hold.
"Aargh!" The tall guy cries as the stolen goods release from both his and the short guy's hands.
The black figure manipulates the darkness to catch it like a rug, and she slides it away from both of the boys.
"Now, I'll give you a warning. The next time you scout out a place to supply whatever illegal activities you're up to, don't do it in my side of the city. Got it?" The black figure says.
She releases the two and then uses the darkness to make herself appear bigger, more threatening.
She can see the fear in their eyes as the cower before her.
"Yes! Okay! Okay! We get it!" The two boys yell.
"Then go!" The black figure roars.
She watches as the two boys run as if their very lives depend on it.
Once she is sure that they are gone, the black figure slowly unravels. There is a flash of legs, a school uniform, and finally the face of a black haired girl.
Paxton stands on the house porch and looks at the two almost stolen TVs. She manipulates the darkness around her to open the house door and slide the TVs back inside.
She uses her actual hand to lock the door and close it for the night. And in her head she feels like everything is okay now. Whoever owns the house won't ever have to worry about their things getting stolen again.
But in her heart she knows that this is very unlikely. There is always crime. There is always people there who will try and push the limits.
That's why she doesn't understand why anyone would want to be a hero. It never ends. Just when one bad guy is stopped, there are millions of others out there getting away with a different crime.
And Paxton doesn't even want to think about the crimes that no superpowers or capes and masks can stop. The ones that happen on a day to day basis. In people's own homes. The crimes that can't always be seen. The ones that can't just be stopped with beating up the bad guy and sending him to jail. Because that person might be a father or a brother. A mother or a sister. A aunt or an uncle.
Paxton walks away and debates about whether or not to use the darkness to get back home. Not that she's in a hurry to go. She never is. It's one of the reasons why she stays out so late at night. Anything to not be inside of that house.
She used to spend hours at the library by herself after school. Because the only place she ever felt comfortable was with a good book in her hands and a quiet place to read it at.
Then, when the library would close, she'd find herself just hanging out at the park...reading a book or writing in her journals once again. And when she got tired of that, she'd just sit on the park swing and dream.
The darkness didn't scare her like it did some people who knew what happens at night in Jump City. All the people, the sounds of sirens and bells going off, well, it didn't frighten her.
Night time...darkness and all of its happenings was like a security blanket for her. So much so that some days she wished that she could just wrap it around her and take it with her wherever she went.
And it surprised her one day when it just so happened that she did and could.
She's not sure how the ability to manipulate the darkness came about. Was she born with it? Well, she'd never know the answer to that question because her genetic makeup was a mystery. And not because of some SCI-FI reason, but because she never met her birth parents before. Could she always control the darkness and she just didn't realize it until now? Or was it maybe that she willed herself to have it. Sometimes Paxton likes to think that she gave herself this power. That she is superior to everyone else who don't or can't ever obtain something this cool. That she is special.
But something in the back of her head, the realistic part of her, tells her that it is just unexplainable luck.
A scene straight out of one of her books. It just so happens that Paxton herself is on the receiving end. It has actually happened to her.
And it seems fair. She never had anything going for her anyway. No personality, no physicality, no genius level intellect. She isn't rich and she isn't very pretty. She is just the quiet girl that likes to read books.
And for a long time that's how she saw herself. At school she has nothing and at home she has nothing. That's why she always reads books. Because she wants to feel like she has something. Like she is something. But now...well, she does have something:
The darkness. The night. Shadows.
This is her's. And it feels so great.
Just as Paxton is about to use the darkness to travel back to her group home, her eyes catch a black figure. It is easy to recognize since she's so used to using the night as her shield herself.
And Paxton knows exactly who he is.
The figure walks closer and his features come to light. A distinct red and green suit and white eyes.
"Hey," Paxton says.
The boy, Robin, nods.
They fall into step with one another as if they'd planned to meet and take a stroll this entire time.
A minute of silence goes between them before Paxton says,"I thought about what you said...about joining the team. I don't think I want to be a full time hero"
"And yet you're still fighting crime," Robin responds back.
Paxton gives him a small smile.
"So you were watching me?" She asks.
"No," He says,"I was watching the criminals you stopped tonight. You just happened to stop them before I moved in"
"And you let me handle it by myself this time," Paxton says,"I'm glad"
"I've always known you could do this. It's one of the reasons why I offered you a spot on the team," Robin says as they casually walk side by side.
"I told you, I'm not a full time hero. It's just something I do if I see something happening every now and then. Think of me like a good Samaritan, while you guys are the professionals," Paxton says.
They go back to silence. And Paxton is grateful that Robin isn't calling bullshit on her claims, but it is how she really feels. She doesn't try or even want to be a hero. But with a ability like this, well, it can only be expected that she gets caught walking the line from time to time.
"People already know your name," Robin says,"The guys you stopped tonight and a few nights ago are apart of one of the two rival gangs here in Jump City. It doesn't take long for people to get to talking about you in the streets"
Paxton's eyebrow raises up in shock. And she can't hide the smug look on her face at the thought of the criminals who's butts she's put in place are actually spreading the fear to their cohorts.
"Really?" She asks despite herself.
Robin doesn't miss her thinly hidden excitement.
"They're calling you The Shadow," He says.
Paxton smiles a little.
"They think you're with us," He says.
She frowns.
"Well, I'm not," She says pointedly, hoping to end this conversation.
"But you should be," Robin says and he stops walking as they reach the alley of a brick building,"Our offer still stands"
Paxton turns around to look wearily up at the building that she's tried so hard not to get back to Manor Apartment Building. She can hear the noise. The yelling, curses, and fists being thrown.
"I know it does, but I'm sorry. I don't plan on being a hero. Actually, I'm just trying to make sure I graduate and get out of the City as soon as I can," Paxton says.
But when she turns back around to look back at Robin, he is already gone.