When Robin joins them, they aren't gathered with worry clouding their eyes like he expected. Cyborg's mulling around her, an IV connected to her wrist, with Beastboy on her other side, a videogame clutched preciously between his fingers. Raven hovers at the end of the bed, the only one that looks visibly disturbed by the sight of the girl huddled beneath blankets.
Cyborg launches into an analytic description before Robin can speak. "She isn't malnourished or sick or any of the sort, she's just suffering from a portion of major shock and trauma. She has a case of Complex Trauma, most likely taken from her time as...an experiment, it's when someone has been neglected massively or put through serious abuse," his throat is clogged as he forces the words out, "she'll be fine, we just need to monitor her for signs of it delving further."
The leader nods gently as he stands beside Beastboy, his gaze flickering down to the unconscious brunette passively. Her bottom lip has bled after being chewed into, with a dried cut. Her brows are scrunched together, as if she's concentrating hard on something in her mind, as well as her fingers clenched into the sheets.
Sighing, Robin crosses his arms and dips his chin into his chest momentarily before he comes to a conclusion. He lifts it once more, the visage of a pillar in a room of tired heroes. "I regret to inform you about this, but as soon as she's well, she has to leave."
Stunned gazes turn towards the masked hero, and Beastboy pauses his game to stare at the elder. Starfire jumps from her perch on the window sill, moving to stand beside Robin, brows furrowed as she tries to decode her boyfriend's words.
Cyborg bursts with a furrowed gaze. "What, why!?"
"That-That boy – Illusion – he said 'tell my sister I said hi.' There's only one person in this room that he could've been referring too, and she's connected to an IV right now," he answers, his words seeming to pierce the air like a knife, "he was working for Slade, for all we know, she could be a spy. We can't have that." He forces himself to bite back on the word again as he looks to Beastboy.
"But Robin," starts Starfire, her soft voice eerily low, as low as a whisper as he gaze is sent towards the girl, "we do not know for sure whether she is in legion with our enemies. She is still a person in need of medical comfort."
Weariness takes hold of him as he stands at the end of the bed, clutching the rounded bedposts as if they were a lifeline. He noticed how Raven stayed silent against the doorway, understanding in all endeavours. "Yes, and as soon as she's better, she needs to leave."
Beastboy, now stood, stands back against the wall, eyes narrowed dangerously. In the time he's spent getting to know Esper, he's become severely protective of her. "Yet, what happens if she isn't with Slade? You'll be sending someone out into the cold that needs our help!"
Before Robin can snap back with an annoyed gaze, Raven is stood at his side, her voice devoid of all emotion, just like always. "But what if she is? We'll be housing a spy that could ultimately lead to something serious. We don't know her, Beastboy."
He bites back the 'I do' in return for shouting. The group turns into a screaming cage match, with Cyborg angrily standing over the girl like a fierce protector, Beastboy yelling at Robin to think back over his actions. Raven Stands at the side, as passive as ever with Starfire pleading for the peaceful approach between her friends. Robin stands tall and proud, unwavering in their decision.
A whimper breaks through the crescendo and eyes turn to the girl on the bed. Dilated brown hues are scrunched closed as her fingers curl over the IV cord. Blood beads to the top of the wound but she only blinks at the pain. Cyborg is quick to dig for bandages and press one to the inside of her wrist.
Beastboy sighs in relief and lowers himself next to her. "How come you always wake up when we're fighting, Esp?"
She smiles unsteadily at the changeling and shrugs, but her gaze is swept elsewhere when Robin clears his voice. He straightens himself at the end of the bed, and before he can speak, her soft voice shatters the silence. "I-I heard...you want to know, don't you?"
It's the longest sentence they've heard her say in the short time she's been thrust into their lives, and it's silent as Robin walks towards her, steady, as if she'll attack him for doubting her loyalty to her friends. But she's soft and tired in the bed – worn out from the paralysation of the memory. Behind his black and white gaze, the boy stares at her, awaiting her tale.
She gathers the air greedily into her lungs, as if filling her body with as much oxygen as it needs so she can breathe it out in one long sigh. But she releases the air and slumps forwards, as if the weight off her shoulders has disappeared. "When I was young, I had a family. I don't remember what they looked like or...what they sounded like, if I have my mother's eyes or my father's nose," she mutters, and her knees scrunch up beneath her, so close to her chest she can rest her chin on them. She folds in on herself, and only continues on when she feels a hand on her knee, and she finds Beastboy smiling at her, encouraging her to continue.
She breathes. She exhales. She continues. "I remember...so many things, but I mostly remember hallways. I remember a doctor that was kind to me until they took me out of the room and I didn't get to leave with my family. The last time I saw them was in that room and when they called me in, they forcefully put me under gas." Her eyes turn glassy and an arm curls around her shoulders, trying desperately to hold the pieces of her together. "I woke up, and my name was Experiment 622017. I became a plaything, an...experiment. They never told me their objective, but as the days went by, more children were brought in. We...changed."
They lean in as the words shatter on her tongue, wake as the girl tries to hold herself together. They can't blame her though, even with their traumatic pasts, they can't help the violent flinches or the clenching of their fingers. Robin stays solid; Raven lets Starfire clutch her arm as she inputs small gasps. Cyborg sits slumped in a chair, mouth covered by his large fists whilst Beastboy winds his arms around her tightly.
The masked leader lowers himself tenderly to her side, and gently touches her fingers that clutch at her legs. Brown eyes turn upwards, startled as if she'd never been in reality. "That boy, who called himself Illusion. Why did you call him brother?"
When her fingers start to shake, he lets her hold his hand. "To survive these changes, we...made a family, in those cells. It didn't make it easier, it was just familiar. It's a lie when they say you can't choose your family," her tone lifts slightly, into something they've never heard in her words before. Determination floods her, seeps into her body and words. "We chose our family there, and that boy, Illusion, was my brother, Tamkeen."
Nothing akin to shock holds them at the confession, but sympathy and understanding are the only feelings they convey, other than anger. Starfire's hand lands on her other hand that in clenched into the sheets and squeezes, green eyes alight with her familiar kindness. It causes a smile to curl onto her freckled cheeks.
Despite his better judgement, Robin presses for desperate answers. "Esper, I know this is hard, but I need to ask – do you know of a man called Slade?"
The downtrodden look transforms slightly and the girl raises an eyebrow with a shake of her head, silently questioning the raven-haired boy. He sighs and pats her hand before straightening. That's probably the most he'd get out of her, as her mouth slid closed and her time whilst speaking was over. She shrunk into the pillows, and Beastboy retracted his arm around her, reluctantly as Starfire pushed through to talk to the girl excitedly, already organizing a shopping trip to get her mind off of the gruesome subject once she was well.
The leader waved goodbye and, tossing a hopeful get well to her, left the room. Cyborg and Raven were already outside waiting for him.
"So?" questioned the metal man, as he crossed his powerful arms expectantly. His brow rose in anticipation, awaiting his leader's analysis on the girl. "Still think she's a spy."
"I have no doubt her story was real, but she could very well be lying about Slade," he huffed, his gaze levelling to the six foot giant in metal and flesh. Raven stood back, seemingly bored with the conversation at hand. "How else did she just land in our laps like that, and how did Illusion get into contact with Slade? I want answers, and she's not giving them too me."
His red eye narrows. "She gave you the best she could Robin, but whatever, I've got a patient to take care of."
He shoulders past the shorter, and slides into the other room. Following his departure, Robin groans and slaps a hand to his forehead, proceeding to rake it down his face in frustration. "He's angry with me for calling her a spy, isn't he?"
Raven shrugs. "Hey, you can't please everyone."