"You just said... Heretic?"
Mrs. Sandmark asked with a hint of unease. She could guess what the principal was referring to, but she couldn't believe it.
Principal Griffiths snorted, saying, "She's teaching my students Amazonian rituals, claiming her powers are bestowed by the Greek goddess Athena."
"It's Zeus, not Ath—"
Cassie had been listening for a while, and she couldn't bear the principal's insult to her noble beliefs. How could this foolish woman dare to defile her sacred faith? She couldn't hold back her anger any longer.
"Cassie! Let me handle this."
Mrs. Sandmark immediately interrupted her daughter's outburst.
"Principal Griffiths, please understand, my daughter is different from ordinary teenagers..."
"That's the point!" Principal Griffiths interjected, "Your daughter is not normal!"
"I know I'm not!"
Cassie suddenly exploded, slamming her fist on the principal's desk.
*Boom!*
The desk instantly shattered into pieces as if it had exploded from within. The shockwave sent Principal Griffiths flying backward, causing her to tumble and sprawl on the ground.
"What are you doing, Cassie?"
Mrs. Sandmark asked angrily.
Seeing the scene in front of her, Cassie's impulsive emotions subsided, and she calmed down.
"I... I'm sorry, Mom. I'm really sorry!"
Cassie's eyes showed a mix of emotions, and then she abruptly shouldered her backpack and ran out of the principal's office.
"Wait, Cassie!"
Mrs. Sandmark wanted to call Cassie back, but it was already too late.
"See, Mrs. Sandmark, my point has been proven," Principal Griffiths struggled to get up.
Though she had witnessed Cassie's inhuman strength, the principal's face didn't show much surprise. On the contrary, she seemed quite composed.
Perhaps she wasn't the first one to see it...
"Cassie Sandmark can no longer stay in this school!"
In the school's backyard, Cassie sat by the pond with a despondent expression, silently gazing at the water's surface. Since it was class time, she was alone there.
"Wonder Girl..."
Suddenly, Cassie's gaze hardened as she stared fixedly at the water's surface. A vague figure with an obscured face appeared on the water, wearing a helmet reminiscent of ancient Greek style.
"Wonder Girl!"
Another call came, but this time not from the pond, but from behind Cassie.
The watery figure vanished instantly, as if it had never been there.
As Cassie turned around, she saw four familiar figures standing before her—Starfire, Gar, Bart, and another guy.
"Cassie!"
Before she could react, Bart called her name and ran over to embrace her.
Bart was a good half a head shorter than Cassie, making the embrace look like a younger brother hugging his older sister.
At least that's how it seemed on the surface.
"Impulse, what are you doing here?"
Cassie pushed Bart away, looking uneasy.
"We're here to invite you," Starfire stepped forward and said.
"Starfire?"
Cassie frowned.
"You can also call me Kori," Starfire smiled.
"You just did an impressive display of power. Despite lacking proper guidance, it was indeed impressive," Starfire praised.
At these words, Cassie was taken aback. "You've been watching me? You saw what happened just now?"
"To be frank, I didn't see anything that surprised me," Starfire replied, "I haven't been on Earth for long, but long enough to know that most authoritative figures can't see young superheroes for what they truly are. They only see us as inexperienced and irresponsible potential threats."
"Maybe they're right." Cassie turned her head away.
"I don't agree with them, and I don't think you should either," Starfire said seriously.
"We came to find you because Wonder Woman refused to convey our invitation. She said joining the Teen Titans isn't your concern, and she told me to stay away from you."
"Teen Titans..." Cassie's eyes flickered, every time she heard that name, she couldn't help but think of her heroic idol who had sacrificed so bravely.
"Why don't you listen to her then? Why can't everyone just leave us alone for a while?" Cassie asked.
"Because I believe you can make your own decisions," Starfire replied.
As she spoke, Cassie suddenly raised her head.
"Just like Donna said, 'A warrior's spirit never dies.' I miss her, we all miss her, and we don't want Wonder Girl to be forgotten by people."
Starfire looked into Cassie's eyes and asked, "So now, can you tell me your choice?"
Cassie's eyes began to firm up; she had already made her decision.
"When do we leave?"
Starfire, Beast Boy, and Impulse exchanged glances and smiled together, "Welcome to the Teen Titans."
"Hey, Yuri, you haven't introduced yourself to Wonder Girl yet." Bart suddenly noticed Yuri, who was standing there staring blankly at the pond, and reminded him excitedly.
But Yuri paid no attention to him.
At this moment, Yuri's mind was full of doubts, and he ignored Bart's call because his omnitrix was acting strange.
As Yuri stepped into the vicinity of the pond, the green dial of his omnitrix suddenly changed to purple and began to flicker rapidly. The closer he got to the pond, the faster it flickered.
'Could there be someone in the pond? But the water is so shallow, you can see the bottom at a glance. It's impossible to hide,' Yuri thought. 'Could they be using invisibility? Or hiding beneath the water's surface?'
This couldn't be a normal invisibility power; Bart might be naive, but Starfire and Gar have been superheroes for many years and wouldn't be caught off guard by someone approaching them within this range.
Yuri remained vigilant, considering whether to transform into Ghostfreak to investigate or to become Mirror Master and enter the mirror space on the water's surface.
Just as he pondered his options, a green hand suddenly appeared before him.
"What."
Yuri instinctively looked up, and to his surprise, Gar was standing in front of him, looking concerned.
"Yuri, are you okay? Feeling unwell?"
"It's nothing, I just... think this pond is quite beautiful," Yuri scratched his head and smiled.
At the same time, he glanced at the omnitrix, and without any warning, the previously flickering purple dial had returned to its normal green color as he approached the pond, with no further changes.
'Have they left?' Yuri wondered.
"Hi, I'm Cassandra Sandsmark, but you can call me Cassie," Cassie introduced herself as she walked over to Yuri.
"Yuri, Yuri Sotos," he replied calmly.
"Did you see anything in the pond just now, Yuri?" Cassie asked him directly.
Yuri's mind raced; did she also notice someone in the pond? Her insight and perception were quite remarkable.
Wait a minute. Could it be... the person hiding in the pond was here to find Cassie?
"I didn't see anything. Did you see something strange, Cassie?" Yuri responded honestly since he hadn't seen anything at all.
"I didn't see anything either. There's nothing strange here," Cassie denied after giving Yuri a deep look.
"What kind of riddle are you two playing?" Bart, looking puzzled, asked both Yuri and Cassie.
"Nothing, we were just saying that it's time to go back to the Titans Tower," Yuri shrugged, showing no concern.
°°°
A/N: Give me your stones, so that the updates would never fluctuate ever again.
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