Chapter 7: Secrets Uncovered/ Tears Discovered/ Anger Unrestrained

Military Facility

"What do you mean that the control system is offline?" The Colonel is clearly agitated, red faced and all. "I thought you said that it had a seventy-eight percent success rate!" His hand descends on the table, making a dent in the steel.

The scientists around the man cower from his temper. The chief slowly gets closer to the irate Colonel. "Sir, we did say that if they had a prior emotional attachment, there could be numerous complications. Really, I'm just glad that she did not exhibit signs of madness."

"Madness would have at least given the Titans an excuse to be on our side. Now, she's just in limbo, going to whoever she connected with first." He turns toward his squad. "Did you have eyes on her? Where did she go?"

The squad leader steps up. "Our sightings ended very close to the Tower, sir. She went into the bay, and we lost her after that."

Johnson scowls. "Then, she's gone to the Titans. There's no way to salvage this subject. Proceed to Phase 2. I want twenty of our most rigid, unattached men to be put into isolation. They will undergo testing and be deemed worthy of the serum. Hopefully, the majority will survive this and be under our control. We can catch the girl after they have assimilated into their new powers. Operation Dark Forest has been scratched. Operation Meta is a go."

The squad members salute and stalk out of the room, set to do the task ahead of them. The doctor turns to the Colonel. "Does this mean that you need a more tapered formula to go along with this new operation?"

A sick smile comes onto Johnson's face. "Indeed, Doctor. It's like you read my mind." With his hands clasped behind his back, Colonel Johnson wonders out of the room, many sick and twisted outcomes running through his mind, and one of the foremost includes the girl back in the lab, her chest cavity open and dead eyes peeking up at him.


Adriana

I come awake from the most sensational experience I've ever had to whispering. I can feel my ears twitch to catch the sounds. "Do you think she's still alive?" Beast Boy?

Robin's voice comes after, and I crack my eyes open. "Why did you even let her go find Raven in the first place? You know how she can get!" The harsh whisper brings a slight smile to my lips. This is actually pretty funny. They expected me to be murdered.

I get up quietly, noticing that Raven is just coming out of her meditation, too. She looks so peaceful, so beautiful in the candle light. Before I can really admire her anymore, a light shuffle sounded outside the door. A more devious smile crept onto my face. Oh, I'm definitely going to have some fun. Behind the door, I hear one last thing. "Dude, can you hear anything? I can't hear anything."

I open the door, letting every single one of them fall into the room. It was hilarious, watching them fumble over each other, trying to get out of the room. They look so scared that I actually feel a little bit sorry for them. "What's this about how Raven gets?"

Robin and Beast Boy's eyes are comically wide at my appearance. "Dude! How'd you survive in there?"

I raise my eyebrow. Okay, so they aren't the brightest bulbs on the tree. I can live with that, I guess. "I came in and asked to join? There's not much that can do anything to me in here, ya know."

I can feel Raven come up behind me, making me turn and smile at her. "Unlike you guys, she can appreciate the tranquility of silence."

My hand goes to rub the back of my neck. "Right, silence." I was definitely not there for silence.

I laugh nervously, drawing the attention of Robin. His eyes narrow considerably. "There are a lot of questions I have for you, and the foremost important one is how you got into the Tower to begin with."

My eyebrow quirks at his forceful attitude. Moments of dominance dance in my mind, where I take no orders, answer no questions, if I don't deem the pitiful creatures in front of me worthy of my time. I believe that the only one here that has any right to ask questions would be Raven, and she already knows most of it. The answering snarl makes him scowl, but I blink before I do anything. Raven is there. She told me to explain. Okay. I take a deep breath and let it out slowly, focusing on Raven's heartbeat, her movements, everything to distract me from this unbidden, seething hatred I have of the males standing in front of me. "Raven let me in."

Raven steps in front of me and proceeds to the elevator. "I think we should continue this in a more comfortable setting."

Robin doesn't take his eyes off of me, and it's a tad disconcerting. It's like he expects me to take their heads off or something. I think training with The Bat really messed up his paranoia radar. I've heard and read that he's a closet conspiracy theorist or something. It would explain the whole 'at night' thing really well. Nobody can be that conscious of themselves and their surroundings in the pitch of night without that kind of deep seated paranoia and alertness. "Yes. Let's." I definitely would have been impressed by the amount of gruff in his voice not too long ago, but now, it's just stupid, like he's putting on an act. Wow, this guy needs to loosen up.

As soon as we got to the living room, I plop down onto the couch. It's nice and comfy, as well as spacious. I notice something, though. Raven is the only one that will sit next to me. The half circle couch only has one other occupant besides myself and Raven. Starfire is at the opposite end from me, near Robin, who opted to stand, apparently. Oh, tough guy. A small smile starts to penetrate the fierce scowl that I've had since leaving Raven's room. Well, then, tough guy. I think I can play along with your little game.

"You said Raven let you in? How did she even know you were here?" Robin's frown just won't go away, will it?

Raven scoffs. "How did you not know? I mean, she was banging on the fucking door pretty hard last night. I couldn't sleep for a headache from the force."

I look at her apologetically, which she returns with the quickest smile I've ever seen. It was there for but a millisecond before it morphed back into her usual, neutral expression. I can safely take that as forgiveness, I think. "I came running here in the middle of the night cause I didn't know where else to go. I was drawn here, ya know?" I wrap my arms around myself and look out the windows at the bay and then back at the others. "I woke up in pain, and when it stopped, I had these ears and shit, and this was the first place I really considered going. No one else would have really cared."

Robin's face finally eases a bit, like he sympathizes with me or something. "Why here, though?"

I shrug. "Raven's here."

This answer, the most obvious answer to me, makes him narrow his eyes at me. "How do you even know Raven?"

I look over at Raven and shrug. "I met her yesterday for the first time."

"Met is really a strong word for you literally falling to your knees in front of me." Raven cracks a smirk, looking at me with a raised eyebrow.

I snort in amusement, bordering on full blown laughter if she keeps it up. "I tripped and you know it. It's not like I literally worship the ground you walk on, just, maybe figuratively." I shrug and look into her eyes as the words sink in. I'm very sure that they surprised her, and I enjoy every bit of the realization that sparks in her beautiful eyes.

The others can't help but look at us, dumbfounded. Robin clears his throat, bring my attention back to him. "What is this?" He gestures between us slowly.

My brow furrows excessively. "What do you mean?"

He pinches the bridge of his nose. "You guys act like you've known each other for years, and yet you only met yesterday? How can you be so comfortable with each other so easily?" He sighs heavily. "And for that matter, how in the hell can you joke about something like this?"

"Joke?" I blink a few times, trying to get what the hell he was trying to say. "Who's joking?"

He points at us again. "This whatever it is you two have going on right now is eerie and unnatural. I've never, and I mean never, seen Raven so at ease with someone. There has to be something behind this."

Starfire speaks up first before I can vent any of the anger that started storing up after his comments about Raven. "Maybe they are in the love, yes? That is something that could be plausible, right?" That simple question stops everyone in their tracks, enough to have everybody but me go wide eyed.

Beast Boy is the one that starts laughing. It's a sound that grates on my nerves, pulling every fiber of my being into a void of anger. I lash out before thinking. Every action is somehow too fast for me to even see. I feel my arm raising, but it's detached from all thought. Suddenly, there's a gasping Beast Boy, held aloft by his throat by my own hand. I pull him in close, growling low the entire time. "What's so funny?"

I'm not exactly squeezing his neck, but it's enough that he panics quite a bit. He flounders overmuch, flailing his arms and then gripping my hand. A voice penetrates through the fog rather quickly, though. It's snaps me out of the narrow vision of the world that I had, making me realize that weapons of all kinds were pointed directly at me. "Put him down, Adriana. I don't want to see you hurt because of his stupidity." Raven is so very close to me, and it makes me think. She calms me. My hand releases him of its own volition and returns to my side.

Only Cyborg and Starfire lower their arms. Robin still has his staff out and a very offensive stance angled toward me. "Sit down, or I'll be forced to restrain you." Gah! That voice is so grating! Does he actually think that I fear him?

I remain standing. "I'm not particularly fond of having my friends made fun of. The insinuation that Raven could not love or be loved was a detrimental mistake that he made. Any consequences should have been his, and his alone, to bear." Fuck, I'm reverting back to my practiced vocabulary. Fuck high society, fucking horrible way to talk.

"This is my team and my home. I don't think you have any right to demand retribution for anything one friend says or implies about another." How gallant. The boy wants to take up for one friend and leave the other in the dust.

I scoff. I've been doing that a lot, haven't I? "Retribution should be Raven's, but I know, and you know, that she would never lift a finger to truly harm any of you." I clench my fists at my side and grit my teeth. "If she weren't here, and I knew that she wouldn't care, because despite what you seem to think, she does, he would be nothing but a pile of green dust in the wind."

A hand is laid on my shoulder, and I know it's Raven. "Calm down. We will discuss all of this like civilized beings. Understood? There is no reason for any retribution. I've gotten used to Beast Boy's insidious laughter and asinine jibes long ago." I feel my entire being calm before I can blink. What is this? Why must I do everything she says? It's aggravating, but oddly natural, and it scares me a little.

Starfire takes a seat on the couch again. "I am for the peace, friends. I do not wish to extend harm to this new person for protecting someone she holds dear. I will listen to what you have to say." A bright smile warms her face, and I can tell that Starfire will probably be my best ally in the tower, besides Raven.

I return her smile and sit down, too. "Thanks, but that's all I know."

Robin scoffs. "Who are you, exactly?"

"No one, really. At least, it's none of your concern who I am. It's more what I am that's the real mystery." I rub across my eyes with my forefinger and thumb. Everything is just so wrong. The mood swings, the unnatural obedience, the fucking ears! It's all so overwhelming. I sink into the couch and close my eyes against the tears that threaten to spill over. "Who I am should be entirely irrelevant."

"Who you are can be a key clue to finding out what happened." Robin's voice sinks into my very soul, shattering all pretense at needing to keep the secret.

My breath hitches. "We all have secrets that should be kept under lock and key. Don't you think that you shouldn't be pushing me, or are you going to reveal your secret identity to me, Robin?"

"This isn't about me."

"Oh, I know. It's about me, and I'm entirely unwilling to divulge any of my past."

I hear a slight shuffling as I get my breathing under control. "Then, I guess we can't help you."

"What if I join your team?" The idea had crossed my mind so suddenly, it was like lightning. I open my eyes to see that Robin had moved to his computer, and there, on the screen, is a picture of myself. Shit. "I said I didn't want you to know!"

"I don't give a fuck. This is something that could help our investigation." He types away at the keyboard, clicking through file after file that I never knew existed.

"I tried to bury my past for a reason. There's nothing there that could help you!" I try to jump at him, but I'm held back by someone strong. I thrash in Cyborg's grip, trying to get a hold of his arm to pry it off. My nails start to sink into the metal and components that make up his arm. There's a light screech, like nails on a chalkboard, or in this case, nails on steel, or is that titanium? "I just want to forget!"

"Gah! Girl, stop with the scratching. God dang, you're strong!" Cyborg holds me that much tighter, trying to get me to stop my escape attempt.

I hear an "Oh." and stop. My complete attention goes to Robin, who is staring at the computer with a horrified look on his face. Tears start to flow down my cheeks, prompted by that stupid look of pity. It disgusts me, and it reminds me of the past at the same time. All those looks, all those people showing up for the case and trial. The pity, the absolute horror in all of their eyes. I couldn't actually prove anything, but they let me file for emancipation. My father let me file. He'd rather have an untarnished record than a child, anyway.

I growl. "Don't give me that look. I told you I didn't want to have to deal with you opening my past. Just shut down the computer. I'll answer a few of your fucking questions." I slump in Cyborg's grip, making him drop me. I fall to my knees, anger and resignation at the forefront of my mind. He wanted to know so badly, didn't he?

"Are any of the accusations you made true?" He makes me feel like I'm back in the courtroom.

I grit my teeth. "Every single one of them."

"I can't believe it." The whisper echoes through the room, stilling everyone.

I look up at Robin. "What's not to believe?"

"You expect me to believe that Dorian Sylvia, the man who regularly funds charities, and sometimes even gives to hero organizations, abused his only child?" Robin looks at me incredulously.

I breathe in deeply and let it go forcefully. "Nobody believed me, and you don't have to. You're not the one that has to live with it, so what do I care?" I stand up slowly. "Whatever. I don't have to deal with this inquisition, really." Steadily, I walk toward the elevator. At least I can leave with what little bit of dignity I have left. I just wanted help, to feel safe again, to have friends. I dry my eyes, having cried more in one day than I have in a long while, and enter as the metal door recedes into the wall. With one last, desperate look toward the Titans, the doors close, blocking them from view.


A/N: Long chapter, lotsa emotions. I hope you got a little bit more information from this. I was able to pack a lot of stuff into it before I thought it was complete.

Huricane Hermione was a bitch, right? I was put on lock down in the dorms and they woke us up at 5 in the morning to tell us the power was out. I'm safe and all, but it was over cautious to the max.

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