URL Badman

Chapter 2

"I'll be fine, Robin," Raven assured him."I'm just going to get some tea and a book, then I'll be back."

"Don't make any unneeded stops, and if anyone gives you trouble just leave," Robin instructed. It hadn't been easy for the past month, ever since that mall incident. Whenever they went out, the group faced ridicule and cruel behavior. Even so, the team stood strong. For the most part. Starfire cried, Beastboy's voice cracked before he turned into a bird and flew to the tower, and Cyborg had to be held back at one point when a grown man had gotten incredibly rude about his robotic parts. Robin himself had to use all the restraint he had to avoid lashing out. Nobody wanted to even think of how Raven might react, so they took every chance possible to keep her from leaving. Now, with nobody having bought her the right thing she wanted when they went out, she insisted on going herself.

"I know, Robin, it'll be fine," Raven said, starting to sound a tad impatient.

"Okay," her companion sighed. "I'll see you later then."

Nodding in response, Raven left the confinement of the tower.

 "Are you SURE you can't sell it for eighty?" Ava pressed, staring at the cashier.

"I'm sure," He said, clearly getting annoyed. "The cosplay is $150, no more, no less. I'm just here to sell it, I don't decide the price."

Ava stared longingly at the Meirin cosplay before nodding slowly and trudging out of the store. Her mood almost instantly brightened when she saw the book store across the street. Surely she could afford something there. She skipped through the crosswalk into the store, smiling a bit. The place had a nice atmosphere, and all books were half price that day.

She darted almost immediately to the fantasy section, grabbing up "Ms. Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children". Upon finding that, she headed off to see if they had "Death Note: Another Note". Passing a shelf of books, she felt herself compelled to step back and peek into it, despite her mind screaming at her she was just seeing things. Sure enough, her peripheral vision was correct.

There was Raven, quite possibly the most powerful hero on the team, calmly sifting through books, carrying a basket to put them in on her arm. Her hood was yanked up to completely cover her face, but the overall appearance was unmistakable. She looked surprisingly...average as she carefully read the back covers of books before either returning them to exactly where she found them, or putting them in her basket.

"What makes you think you deserve to come out here and act like you didn't do anything, huh?" one of the college students following her asked. Trailing her full attention from Raven, Ava noticed three people had crowded around the hero.

"As a person who has currency accepted here, I have the right to buy my books. As a hero who's defended this city, I have the right to buy my books in peace." Raven replied, quietly but firmly not even looking up from her books.

"A hero?" A girl laughed. "Is that what you call yourself? You've demolished homes, injured multiple civilians, and completely leveled a children's hospital at full capacity!"

Raising an eyebrow, Raven turned around,"Would you rather we let the entire city be destroyed, would you prefer we sit back and watch you all die, or does the entire city being saved at the price of a few injuries sound better? And on that note, what proof do you have that I or my teammates leveled a children's hospital?"

"Well...Um..." The girl stuttered.

"Enough!" The other boy in the group shouted, stepping up to Raven. "Since it seems you want excuses to attack innocent people, let's see what you can do."

"I'm not going to fight you." Raven said bluntly, turning back around, only to be pulled back to face the boy.

"Fine, as long as I can get a good punch in-" He said with a smirk, pulling his fist back.

Oh great, Ava thought. This idiot's gonna get his stupid ass killed, or worse, and if Raven doesn't fight back, she's going to get her stupid ass beat up.

Thinking quickly, Ava stepped out from around the shelf,"June, I've been looking for you!"

"Eh?" Everyone, including Raven asked.

"What the hell are you doing?" Ava asked the boy in shock. "You got something against cosplayers?!"

"C-Cosplayers...?" The boy muttered, tilting his head.

Ava started to laugh,"Oh jeez, don't tell me, you thought this was the real Raven? That's the third time today. I can't wait until I get my Starfire costume, then maybe people'll realize you're not the real deal."

"I-I...sorry." The boy said, quickly dropping Raven.

"C'mon, let's go pay for your books." Ava said, leading Raven up to the front before she could protest.

"...thanks." Raven said as Ava put both their books on the desk.

"It was nothing," Ava muttered, confused with herself about why she even did that. "If I pay for the books, can you pay for lunch? That'd be about fair, yeah?"

Raven nodded in response, figuring it was the least she could do. Anyway, Ava had already put her own money on the counter.

Ava requested that their books go in separate bags, and looked up at Raven as she held the door open,"Where do you want to eat?"

"Cafe three shops down from here, to the left." Raven replied, leading the way, trying to get there quickly. It was all too difficult to ignore the sporadic glares directed her way.

"It's gotten bad out here for you guys, huh?" Ava mumbled, almost guiltily. Despite her bitterness towards the titans, she never intended for them to be treated badly.

"As long as there's people left who still support us, this city is worth protecting." Raven said simply, looking straight ahead at her destination.

As the two stood in line to order, Raven studied her short companion. It looked like she'd obviously left the house in a hurry, and hadn't been out in a while at that. Her sneakers were covered in doodles, her jeans wrinkled, and her grey hoodie not only contained cat hair, but a stain that looked like...mustard, maybe? The girl's brown hair was obviously in need of brushing, and her bangs needed to be cut or pinned back. Her glasses were filthy, it was surprising she could even see, and the framed had left indentions on her upturned nose. Dark circles sat underneath her large green eyes, and she reached up to rub them. At least she didn't have bad breath, or really smell bad in general.

"Why are you staring?" Ava asked, immediately worrying about her appearance.

"Nothing, nothing," Raven muttered. The two stepped up to the counter, and while Ava eyed the frosted cookies and frozen lemonade, she decided on a grilled chicken sandwich with green tea. Raven ordered the same tea with a cheese and tomato sandwich, paying for both. As the two found a table and sat down, the awkwardness built. Raven sat quietly with her back against the chair, while Ava did her best to do the same.

"So...What's your name?" Raven asked.

"Ava...How old are you?"

"Sixteen since earlier this year, you?"

"Fifteen since yesterday."

"Happy birthday."

"It wasn't really."

"Why not?"

"The only one who came was my cousin, and he thought it'd be funny to slam my face into the cake."

"I know someone like that."

"Oh really?"

"Beastboy's a good friend, just too silly and loud."

"Ah."

 As the two talked on, they took a while to even notice their food had arrived.  Somehow, against their own intentions, the two had become acquainted.