Opening my eyes, I felt a sharp pain ride up my thigh. I stifled a moan.
"Brisa?" Beast Boy whispered. "Close your eyes. If they think you're awake, they'll not let you go to sleep again."
I obediently closed my eyes, not caring or having the energy to find out why.
"Beast Boy?" Robin's voice came floating towards me. I breathed deeply and evenly, trying to sell the whole she's-still-sleeping act. "Is she awake?"
"Nah," Beast Boy said. "We'll probably have to wait a while before she's ready to answer the questions."
Starfire's soprano voice huffed impatiently. "I still say that she may stay with us if she wishes," she declared loudly. This was met with groans and shouts of disapproval.
"Do you not remember Terra?" Cyborg's voice growled. "Do we want another person like that?"
"Brisa is an entirely different person than Terra."
"Brisa is also very close to being the same person. We found her battling a monster–"
"That she did not defeat on her own–"
"And she knew who we were and was enthusiastic 'bout it," Cyborg finished. "Man, she ain't staying. We can't take the risk."
"It is not Brisa's fault that Terra betrayed us!" Starfire argued back hotly. "How can we be sure that Brisa would do the same thing? She won't! I know she won't! She is our friend!"
"You said that about Terra too," Raven pointed out. "And in the end, she turned on us."
"In the end," Starfire whispered, "she died saving the city from a volcanic explosion."
Though I couldn't see it, the tension in the air was unmistakable. So, this Terra girl had betrayed them? Hm. Well, if they took me in, they'd have worse trouble than betrayal...
Robin sighed. "Okay, Star, I get your point. And as long as she's just visiting, there's no problem, right?" Though his voice sounded hopeful, that was only the thin outer layer. Lurking beneath those cheerful words were dangerous thoughts and skeptical trust...
"Yay!" Starfire cheered loudly, oblivious to the fact that I was still 'sleeping'.
"Shh, Star, you'll wake her up," Robin said quietly.
"You can wake up now," Beast Boy whispered in my ear. His breath was warm on my neck and sent the hair on the back of it tingling.
I opened my eyes and yawned loudly, ignoring the throbbing in my back as I did so. I looked around me. The walls were an industrial white and the carpet was a school-room gray. All around me were machines that bleeped with my heart, machines that looked like I'd smash them if I touched them, machines that were way too high-tech for me to understand. I was lying on a soft mattress on white bed with rails on the sides. A hospital bed. It was surprisingly comfortable.
About ten feet from me, sitting in chairs around a round table, were Robin, Raven, Starfire and Cyborg. Starfire and Robin, facing away from me, were looking over their shoulders to see if I was awake. Cyborg and Raven saw me; Cyborg looked as though he didn't want to. Right next to me was Beast Boy, sitting in a stiff wooden chair.
"Wha–?" I asked, pretending to be confused.
"Brisa!" Starfire sounded relieved. "Good, you are awake! Let us ask you a few questions."