Hi all! I'm excited to see where this story is going to take me. Don't be afraid to let me know what you think, or maybe even make some suggestions!

Just a reminder that this is an AU, and it will be rated M. There will be more darker themes for the team than their usual encounters.

Disclaimer: I do not, and never will, own the Teen Titans.

And the next thing Rachel knew, she was flying over Jump City. "Faster, faster", she thought. Adrenaline coursed through her body. Mustering all the strength she had, she chased after a man hidden in the shadows. Clad in all metal, he turned around ominously, making eye contact with her, as he conjured fire from his hands and shot it at someone behind her, who screamed in pain. The man's armor glinted in the sun as he looked at Rachel again, causing her to shudder in fear, and mouthed, "You're next."

Rachel Raven Roth considered herself a the typical college student. She studied a sufficient amount of material, slept an insufficient amount of time, and ate an even less insufficient amount of healthy food. She used her studying as an excuse for not being extremely social, and, as a result of that, got relatively decent grades and had relatively few friends. She practically lived in the library—and if she didn't have her nose stuck in a textbook, she was probably reading some other book, simply because she wanted to. She honestly couldn't remember the last time she had done anything remotely exciting. So, when her alarm clock roared to life on that Thursday morning, she wasn't the least bit surprised that the most thrilling thing to happen to her that month was merely a dream.

She sighed as she sat up, hair disheveled and eyes dazed. Stretching her arms upward, she yawned as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Slightly disoriented, she kicked back her sheets, covering the piles of notes, textbooks, and flashcards that were scattered around her bed from studying the night before. She turned off her blaring alarm as she stood up. Looking at the time, she cursed to herself as she noticed she was running late. After throwing on some clean clothes and smoothing down her hair, she grabbed her backpack and ran out of her apartment.

It had been test after test this week in University, and Rachel didn't think she had ever been so stressed. She had been studying absolutely nonstop for exams—the only breaks she really ever gave herself, besides sleep, was the time she took walking back and forth from classes, the library, and her apartment. Sighing as she walked into a dead-silent classroom filled with students doing last minute preparations for the last test they were all about to take for this quarter, she slumped down into the nearest seat and pulled out her notes.

The next three hours went as it usually did for collegiate students; furious writing and sighs of exasperation included.

And then, almost as quickly it had began, the test was over. All of the weight of weeks of stress was instantaneously lifted off of Rachel's shoulders as she handed her exam to her professor, mouthing a silent 'thank you' as she turned around and hoped—not in a bad way—that she would never have to see that professor again.

Stepping outside, she felt rays of sunshine dance across her pale skin, and instinctively, she pulled the hood of her sweatshirt over her eyes. She heard many students around her talking about their plans for spring break as she was walking back to her apartment, and reality finally sunk in—she was officially on spring break. No classes to worry about, no due dates or deadlines looming over her shoulder, nothing. She grinned to herself in relief. She was finally going to be able to breathe normally.

Or so she thought, anyways.

After the long walk back to her apartment, the first thing she heard when entering was the incessant arguing of her neighbors and the not-so-subtle squeaking of bedsprings that appeared to be coming from her housemate's room. Flushing red, she ran out the front door, slamming it closed as she escaped from her awkward intrusion. After gathering a hint of composure, Rachel sighed, for she was really hoping for some peace and quiet—or maybe just a little bit of a heads up about her housemate's activities.

Quickly realizing that it was near impossible to relax with all the noise, she decided to try and persuade the former of the two noise disturbances—to put it lightly—into shutting the hell up. She knocked on her neighbors' door as loudly as she could, hoping that she would be heard over their racket of a debate.

Her knocking went unheard, and she closed her eyes in defeat. As she slumped down against the railing that kept her from falling off the third floor of the outdoor complex, she wished there was something to do to until she could hole up in her room and relax in silence. The corners of her mouth turned downwards into a frown as she remembered that she had a book in her backpack that she had just picked up from the used bookstore in downtown Jump City, and, unfortunately, she had left that on the floor of her apartment when she ran out. And that was territory she definitely wouldn't dare to enter until she knew for a fact that she wouldn't be hearing or seeing anything she didn't want to.

Fortunately, she was quickly rescued from her short-lived boredom with a tap on the shoulder and a, "Hey, Rachel." She looked over her shoulder, half-smiling, as she recognized her savior.

"Hey, Richard."

Richard Grayson: the perfect depiction of the phrase 'tall, dark, and handsome'. With his hair that was always styled to precision and his brooding aura, girls, all unsuccessful, mind you, would practically throw themselves at his feet. But of course, Rachel didn't think of him in that way. Yes, she would say that he was easy on the eyes, but he was her first friend in University, and after getting to know each other over the span of over two years, she claimed to know far too much about the man to consider him anything more than a brother. However, they had been out of contact recently; and Rachel was too proud to admit it, but she missed his presence.

She stood up and stepped away from the railing to move to closer to him. "How've you been?"

"Been busy, as usual. You?" he asked, taking off his sunglasses so he could make better eye contact with his friend.

Rachel raised an eyebrow. "Busy? Isn't the quarter over?" She rolled her eyes jokingly. "I've been okay. I'd invite you in, but there seems to be some interesting business in there that I do not want to get in the middle of." She motioned towards her door with her thumb.

"Busine—Oh," he realized. He shook his hands as if to say no. "I don't think I'll be going in then."

"That's probably a smart decision. What brings you around?" Rachel asked.

"I'm checking out places for over the summer," he replied simply. "I'm staying for an internship."

Rachel nodded in response. "What's it for?"

Richard's eyes lit up, and Rachel listened intently as he told her about his internship, how he was going to be interning at a prominent law firm in Jump City over the summer.

"So, enough about me, though," he said, finishing up his story. "Do you have any plans for the summer?"

She didn't, not yet, anyway. She forgot how sometimes Richard's ambition made her feel like she didn't work hard enough.

Before she could answer his question, however, they heard the almost silent click of a door closing. Rachel whipped her head around, curious to see who her roommate's newest conquest was, and when she figured out who he was, she nearly died of laughter instead.

"Roy Harper?"

Rachel bit down on her lip to stop herself from snickering. Roy was a notorious womanizer and a member of some fraternity that no one gave the time of day.

The man looked sheepish as he turned around. "Rachel Roth. Nice to see you anywhere else other than the library." He nodded towards Richard, not saying hi, but at least acknowledging his presence.

Rachel noticed that Richard had grown eerily quiet, tense even. Her eyes flickered to his hand, which had been clenched into a fist.

"Well, this is where I live," she pointed out, attempting to ease the tension of the run-in.

"Right," Roy replied. He coughed awkwardly, leaning up against the door.

Rachel groaned mentally as she and Richard exchanged looks. Obviously Roy couldn't tell when he wasn't wanted, and by the looks of it, he wasn't going to be heading out until he got a conversation out of the two of them.

"You got any plans for the break, Roy?" Richard asked through gritted teeth.

"The ol' Speedster is heading to Mexico," he replied shortly, not elaborating, nor asking what anyone else was doing over break. His attention turned to Rachel. "You're welcome to join me if you want, beautiful."

Rachel gagged.

Ignoring his invitation, she smiled at him sarcastically before saying, "Speedster? That's what all the girls call you, right? Why?"

Richard smirked and unclenched his fists.

Roy's cheeks reddened slightly at Rachel's reply, but he recovered and shrugged, retorting back, "Because I get them screaming my name so quick." Rachel could practically see the gears turning in his head as stopped talking to think of a response. "And what is Miss Anti-Organized-Everything doing listening to sorority gossip?"

Rolling her eyes, Rachel almost chuckled at the banter. She replied dryly, "With those girls, rumors spread like wildfire. I would be more worried about your reputation than how I acquired my information, if I were you."

The red-headed boy nodded. "Thanks for your concern, little lady." He flashed a quick smile towards her and grunted towards Richard, uttering, "See you around," before disappearing down the stairs and out of the building.

The remaining two looked at each other, speechless, before Richard's nose crinkled in disgust. Seeing his response to Roy caused something to click in her mind, and their lack of contact prior to this run-in and awkward conversation suddenly made sense to her. Rachel offered him a smile, out of pity. Trying to lift the mood, she murmured, "Why anyone would want to sleep with him is beyond my knowledge."

He grinned for a second, but his smile fell almost as quickly as it had formed, disappointment returning to his face. Through clenched teeth, he muttered, "Not like she's any of my business, anyway." He stopped talking abruptly, almost as if he had just realized he said that out loud, and began walking towards the stairs to leave. "Hey, Rachel, let's get coffee sometime? So we can catch up and whatnot?" With almost anyone else, she would have known it was an empty invitation, but she knew he was sincere.

Rachel nodded slowly in response. "Hey, Richard." He stopped walking and turned back around to her. "She'll come around, you know. Kori," she said softly. Richard shook his head, and Rachel swore she could see sadness glinting in his eyes.

He sighed, drawing out a long breath. "I'll be fine. Don't worry about me." He waved goodbye to her, running his fingers through his spiked hair. "Oh!" He smirked deviously. "I forgot! Tell those dunder-headed neighbors of yours I need my history reader back. Trying to receive my degree." And with that, he walked down the stairs, leaving Rachel alone with her thoughts once again.