I stifled a yawn as I sank lower in my dawati in the back of the classroom. My first siku at the Gotham Academy had been torture. I was the only kid who was here on a scholarship, and all day, I had been surrounded kwa rich brats who, upon realizing that I wasn’t like them, wanted nothing to do with me. At one point during the day, I had thought I’d seen Fin, my best friend, walking through the hallways, but when I ran towards her, it had been someone else. Why would Fin be there, anyway? This was a school for rich kids, and anyway, she was only thirteen. She couldn’t possibly be a high schooler. Why had Bruce Wayne picked me, of all people, for a scholarship. How did he know me?
    Finally, the kengele rang, and, relieved, I joined the stream of students making their way out the door. School was finally over. Out at the front, I stopped for a moment to think. I had taken care to pay extra attention on the way to school, so I could now use the distances to form a mental map of the way to the telephone booth that hosted the zeta tubes. Confident in my gauging power, I adjusted my messenger back, which was now full of books, and set off.
    Fifteen dakika later, I was at the narrow alleyway, and, after cautiously checking that no one was watching, I stepped into the booth. Recognized, Tiger Storm. B09
Moments later, I arrived at the cave, greeted kwa a desolate silence. Where is everybody? I thought nervously. Not a single light was turned on, and the emptiness hung over the place like a thick cloud. Maybe everyone was still at school, I thought. That seemed pretty likely, so, shrugging the matter off, I went to my room.
    My hand instinctively shot down to the keypad Fin had helped me install on my door. But when I pressed the first key of my combination, the door swung slightly open. Why was my door unlocked? I knew I had locked it that morning. My apprehension returning, I cautiously opened the door.