Chapter Thirty-Five: Wakey, Wakey, Eggs n' Bakey

I flinched out of my sleep when a harsh glare landed on my face, accompanied by a cheerful laugh.

"Yo, good morning, Sunshine! Would you like some breakfast?"

Who the hell...? I sleepily wondered, tossing my arm over my eyes to block the glare. God... I'm so tired.

"Come on, you know you want it! It's my famous eggs and bacon, piled on top of buttered pancakes! It's really good!"

I rolled over and buried my face in my pillow with a noncommittal moan.

"Sorry, what? I don't speak mumble."

My temper spiked and I finally rolled over, blinking at the light bulb overhead with bleary eyes.

My stark white surroundings were much too bright for my sleepy eyes to take. Cyborg helped matters, however, by standing over me since he was casting a shadow on my face that blocked out most of the harsh light. His bionic, seemingly electrical arms were folded over his chest and his face had split into a cheerful grin.

Too cheerful.

"What time is it?" I mumbled as I sat up, rubbing my eyes.

"It's about six in the morning," Cyborg said, lowering his arms with a friendly stare, "but today, instead of having breakfast in bed, you're gonna be eating with us, Sunshine! Then you get have a fun-filled day hanging out with me!"

I paused mid-yawn when he jerked a thumb at himself.

Even though I was tired and barely able to think, I was still able to notice as clear as day how bizarre that sounded.

"Uh, what?" I deadpanned, scratching my disheveled hair with yet another yawn. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why am I eating with you guys," I tiredly grumbled, then added, "and why am I spending the day with you?"

"Well, Rae already told us you that made it to the kitchen on your own last night," he said, eyeing me. "That means you can walk a little. The plaster cast on your leg was made by me, though, so it's not surprising."

"That doesn't explain why I'm spending the day with you."

"Because it's gonna be busy," Cyborg told me. "You and I are gonna be stuck like glue today."

"Busy?"

"Yup," he said, then said more seriously, "you'll be getting a full physical and health checkup before I evaluate your abilities as a metahuman. Raven's offered to help me with the medical stuff. Don't feel worried about indecency."

I stared at him dumbly, but I was so out of it that I didn't really care so long as he kept his eyes and hands to himself.

"That's pushing it," I mumbled, kicking the covers off; I straightened my rumpled skirt before crab-crawling down towards the edge of the bed, "but, whatever. As long as I get some answers about how my powers work, I'll deal."

"Great! Let's go then!" he chuckled, waiting for me to stand upright; I turned to my bag to grab a fresh change of clothes but froze when I realized that my backpack was open and almost empty.

"Where are my clothes?!" I cried, whipping around in outrage. "They're gone!"

"Oh, that?" Cyborg asked, glancing at my backpack. "Robin's doin' laundry today, so Star came in about half an hour ago to grab your clothes. We'll have 'em returned to you later this evening. Don't worry about changing for now."

I glowered, but instead of bitching, I accepted it silently and ran a hand through my hair.

Only to pause.

My eyes widened.

Whoa, I silently exclaimed, blinking as my hair slid through my fingers like cool liquid and swung down against my body in heavy silken waves. Holy shit! That shampoo and conditioner really works!

My traitorous stomach chose that moment to growl like a starved wildebeest, interrupting my epiphany.

"Sounds like someone's hungry! You ready?" Cyborg asked, planting a hand on his head. "Breakfast will get cold."

"Uh, yeah," I said absently, still touching my hair. "Sure."

"Aww, yeah!" he cheered, waving me on. "Come on. You're gonna need to eat. Most of today is probably going to be pretty boring for you since you'll pretty much just be lying flat for a few hours while some high tech machinery of mine analyzes your genetic makeup. It'll take a while to finish. Might as well have some energy."

"Isn't that backwards?" I asked, straightening my shirt and trying to smooth the wrinkles out of my clothes as I hobbled after him. "If it's gonna be boring, maybe being sleepy would be better. I could nap while it's going on."

"Yeah, but that would be boring for me," he chuckled, casting me a glance over his shoulder; he wiggled a dark eyebrow at me with a grin. "Not much fun sitting there watching someone snooze away, ya know?"

"Not really," I deadpanned. "I don't make a habit of watching people sleep."

My retort got a laugh out of him.

"Yeah, I guess not," he told me, turning the corner. "So, got any nicknames or preferred aliases?"

"Uh, no?" I grumpily mumbled. "Why?"

"Just curious. Most of us don't give out our real names for protection purposes."

The kitchen was about a thirty second walk away through narrow, twisting halls lined with metal, tech, and strange doorways, but just as Cyborg stopped in front of the door leading to the kitchen, he paused and turned to look at me. I stared up at him when he gave me a somewhat critical stare.

"Just givin' you a heads up," he said, "be careful about eating anything BB gives ya. All he eats is tofu product."

I stared at him with sleepy, half-lidded eyes.

"I eat what I want," I grumpily informed him. "Can we just get this over with? Please?"

Cyborg smirked and pressed the button to open the doors.

The kitchen I'd seen the previous night was no different in the daylight.

Despite the surprising technological look of the place and the state of the art appliances, all of the pots and pans hanging from racks on the ceiling looked old and well worn as they glimmered dully in the brilliant sunlight streaming in through the enormous windows overlooking the bay. A battered teakettle whistled on top of a gleaming stove, and four people sat around one of the yellow tables over on the edge of the room.

Starfire, Raven, Beast Boy, and Robin. There were seats at the table that had been set for two more, one of which had a pile of food waiting to be eaten, and the other which held nothing but a place mat. Beast Boy spotted me first, as he and Starfire were the only two people facing the door.

"Ah, good morning!" he said, beaming as three other heads swiveled in our direction. "Did you sleep well?"

I blinked, giving him a blank stare.

"Yeah," I mumbled, rubbing my eyes. "I did."

"Gah, no fair! Even you sleep better than I do?" he groaned, and to my shock, his head fell forward and he face-planted on the table with an audible thump. "Man! I hate mornings."

"Maybe if you stopped playing video games with Cyborg until midnight," Raven droned, whisking over to the kitchen to take the whistling teakettle off the burner, "you'd wake up well-rested."

"But that's just it! I stay up that late because I can't fall asleep!" he complained, pouting at her. "I've tried counting sheep, staring at the ceiling, and drinking your disgusting tea—"

"What was that?"

"—your delicious tea, and I still can't sleep! Guys need their sleep to stay beautiful, too, you know."

I watched as Raven pressed her fingers against her temple, squeezing her eyes shut.

"You can't stay beautiful if you never were in the first place."

Cyborg let out a laugh and even Robin snickered, but I could only stare in bald confusion. Starfire, the only other person who wasn't laughing, looked at me and smiled brightly.

"Good morning, Sally," she said, gesturing toward the empty place mat on her left. "Please, sit down and eat with us! Breakfast is most delightful today!"

"Thank you," I said; Raven sat down near the edge of the table with a mug of steaming liquid in her hand as I settled into the empty spot, and then, Cyborg set a plate piled high with food directly in front of me. I glanced down when he placed a fork and knife right beside it. There were four buttered flapjacks, a ton of eggs, and seven pieces of bacon.

It was a lot of food, but when I looked up, he tipped me a wink.

"Eat up," he said, flopping down in front of his own plate. "Don't be shy."

"Oh! She does not have a beverage!" Starfire exclaimed, seeming surprised. "Would you like me to fetch you one?"

I thought about it, but when I warily nodded, she rose from her seat and flew over to the fridge; I watched how she soared with a strange feeling in my belly, since I still wasn't used to seeing people just take off from the ground like that, but after a few moments temptation took me and I spooned a mountain of food into my mouth.

And I was instantly struck dumb.

Not because it was gross... quite the opposite, it was actually really freaking delicious.

I immediately salivated and kept eating with a bit more gusto, since the bacon was tender and the eggs were perfectly soft and seasoned to perfection. I only paused when Starfire set a can of cola beside me, and it was only so I could raise an eyebrow at her. Soda pop for breakfast seemed weird, but she simply clasped her hands and beamed with eyes that sparkled before floating back down into her seat.

Robin was watching me, though, so I cracked the top of the can and took a swig of it.

Starfire preened.

Robin continued staring, observing me, watching me even while he ate.

I felt a little irritated by his stare, but I ignored it.

Well, tried to.

"You're looking healthier today," he said, and I paused, glancing up at him through my lashes without raising my head. "You're not as pale, and the bags beneath your eyes have faded somewhat. Seems like resting did you good."

I took his words in silently and processed them, flicking my eyes back down to my food.

I couldn't deny that even though my leg was aching and burning and hurting, I did feel better. My headache had vanished, and I felt more awake than I'd been in a while, and far more lucid, too. The shock of everything still hadn't worn off, I was pretty sure, since I still felt oddly numb about the whole thing... but, I did feel better.

"Yeah," I finally said after I'd swallowed. "I feel more awake. My leg hurts, but aside from that, I'm back to normal."

"That is most splendid!" Starfire chirped, smiling brilliantly. "It is glorious to hear that your recovery has been swift!"

I nodded to acknowledge her words and tried not to fidget as I spooned more breakfast into my mouth. My mind wandered as the people around me bantered with each other.

"So," Beast Boy suddenly said, "if you had to pick just one animal to be which would you choose?"

It took me a moment of hearing nothing but silence to look up.

I blinked when I realized he was talking to me.

His smile was big and goofy, completely exposing his pointed incisors.

"An animal?" I asked, frowning as I thought about it. "Dunno. Never thought about it."

"Come on, BB, let the girl eat," Cyborg drawled, smacking him on the back. "You should finish eating, too."

I felt relief coursing through me and turned back to my breakfast, but to be honest, a part of me was curious about his reasons for asking. If what Sarah had told me all those weeks ago was true, he supposedly had the power to become any animal known to man and then some at any given time.

It was an incredible ability.

"Listen," Robin said suddenly, setting down his fork with a clack. "I know we got off on the wrong foot, and after talking about it with my team, I think I may have misjudged you. For that, I apologize... but-"

"Robin," Cyborg said in a quiet voice, a warning lying in his tone. "Don't."

"No, it's fine," I said, raising my eyes and looking at him head on. "Finish what you were about to say. I'm all ears."

He seemed to think carefully.

"I care about what happens to the people of this city," he said slowly. "I want to protect the people who can't protect themselves, the ones who fall victim to crime and theft and assault. I do my best, but in our line of work, hesitating or trying to show mercy to an enemy in the midst of a threatening situation can cost people their lives."

I set my fork down and looked at him.

"Aren't we going around in circles here?" I demanded, keeping my tone level. "Haven't we already talked about this?"

"We have, but my reason for approaching this subject again has nothing to do with trust this time," he said, then let out a sigh through his nose. "Raven told you last night what we've all been discussing, but to be honest and fair, I'm not all that certain having you on our team would be a wise decision."

My face twitched.

I knew it, I silently told myself. Figures.

"Don't get me wrong," Robin instantly said, leaning forward. "It's not that any of us don't think you'd be a powerful ally, or even that we think you'd be incapable of holding your own... what I mean is, the empathy you have for our enemies could be potentially dangerous to yourself and at a stretch, everyone around you. If you become a Titan and we get called to take a dangerous criminal into custody, you can't hesitate, Sally. It could get you hurt, or even worse, killed."

I stared at him with a tight ball of irritation in my stomach.

"My empathy for Mammoth and his friends didn't make me falter enough to join the H.I.V.E.," I informed him, "and I can assure you, it wouldn't have made me falter had I known everything when they'd attacked me at the mall. If someone is dangerous to the point where people can get killed, then yeah, I wouldn't hesitate. I'm not that stupid."

"I never said that you were," he informed me. "Quite the contrary."

"What Rob's trying to say is we all put it to a vote," Beast Boy finally said, "and we've decided to invite you to become a Teen Titan."

"-but we need you to fully understand things," Robin finished, "because being a Titan is dangerouswork."

"Yeah," Cyborg added, drawing my eye, "but before we discuss any of that, first we'll need to evaluate your capabilities as a metahuman. Once we know what you can do to the fullest extent, we'll go from there."

I felt overwhelmed.

It took me a moment to find my voice.

"I'm not hero material," I growled, refusing to meet any of their gazes. "I don't even know if I can do what you guys do."

"You still have plenty of time to consider it," Robin informed me. "You'll need to wait for your leg to completely heal before you can even start your training, and if you're out of shape once it's healed... well, let's just say it'll still be a long while before you'll be ready to get out into the field with us."

"Yes, Robin is right," Starfire sweetly informed me. "There is no need for you to rush. For the time being, you may stay here with us, and see how we do things. It will give you time to think about the future and familiarize yourself with each of us. In truth, I still very much hope that we can become friends."

I nodded and quickly began to shove food into my mouth, wanting to have a reason to stop talking. After I swallowed, however, I remembered something and lifted my eyes, looking at him again.

"And my friends?" I asked, proud that my voice didn't tremble. "What's happening in the world outside?"

Robin finally looked away.

"It's unlikely that anything concerning your situation will change anytime soon," he said in a gentle voice, "but the media and the city are in an uproar over what happened to you. Someone in the court room where your trial was being held took video footage of your sentence, and posted it online. It went viral almost immediately, and there are now people forming protests against the oppression of metahumans. You've created a pretty big storm of political intrigue."

I swallowed hard, closing my eyes to fight back the ache that hit me.

I knew it had been stupid to get my hopes up.

"Your friends have been looking for you, too," Raven suddenly rasped, making me twitch and turn to stare at her; she was reading a book with her hood up and her thin fingers wrapped around her mug. "They're frantic. Both of those girls you went to school with have been looking for you nonstop. They fear for your safety."

"Sarah and Amber have been looking for me?!" I asked, brows shooting up. "Still?"

"Yes," Raven said, and a flicker of her dark energy turned the page with a sizzle. "Before you even start trying to decide what to do, you should reconcile with them and let them know that you're going to be staying with us. That way they won't worry about you as much and they can focus on their studies more."

I digested that, wondering if I could face them.

I'd been cruel... but I didn't want regrets, and if I was going to be honest, I missed them.

I really missed them.

"You're right," I guiltily muttered. "I should at least let them know I'm safe."

"Although, that's another thing that worries me," Robin instantly said. "If you join us, you can't let your friends come before your duties, and-"

"Robin," Cyborg interrupted, rising to his feet and carrying his empty plate over towards the sink, "let the girl have some time to think. She hasn't even joined us yet. The last thing she needs is added pressure."

"We've said enough for now," Raven agreed in her typical deadpan.

Robin sighed through his nose.

"Fair enough."

I finished the last of my breakfast and set my fork down, tilting my head back and looking at the ceiling.

"If it's all right," I muttered, "I'll go apologize to them after this evaluation thing. That way I can fix things."

"Someone from the team should go with you," Robin said, then looked around. "Any volunteers?"

Starfire stole a glance look at me when nobody answered.

"I shall go," she chimed, raising a big hand; she looked at me with a soft smile. "If you wish to reconcile with your friends, perhaps I shall ready the hor'lbagh of reconciliation!"

Everyone's face grew green when she rose and floated off to the kitchen.

I could only stare.

"The... the what, now?" I asked, glancing at the other Titans. "What's she making?"

"Trust me," Beast Boy said, shaking his head. "You don't want to know."

My gaze flitted to Raven, who kept her nose deep in her book, but not her eyes. I tilted my head for a better look, trying to peer into her hood, and noticed that her eyes were... uh...

What the fuck?

I stiffened, feeling a wave of goosebumps rising on my arms.

She was looking right at me.

I immediately glanced away and stared at my plate, not really knowing how to react; Beast Boy had pulled a handheld game out of his pocket and was now lazing on the couch where he'd just been eating, and even while I sat there, Robin himself rose, taking his, Starfire's, and even my empty plate to the sink.

I heard the sound of Starfire humming amidst the clinking of dishes and running water.

Eventually, though Robin walked through the mechanical doors, and Starfire started plopping random ingredients for who-knows-what into a pot. I eventually turned and looked around for Cyborg. I instantly spotted him leaning against the counter, fiddling with something on his left arm. His chocolate brown eye was intensely focused, but he eventually caught my stare.

Just as he opened his mouth to say something, Beast Boy let out a groan and sat up.

"Dude! Aw, man!" he complained. "Cy, how did you manage to get such a high score?"

Cyborg twisted around to look at Beast Boy.

"Whatcha playing?"

"Ninja Dinosaurs Two," he grumbled. "I always get hit by that laser near the end!"

"Well, I guess you gotta get some skills, BB," Cyborg chuckled, and I blinked when the green-skinned boy glared at him petulantly. "Hey, after we evaluate Sunshine over there, wanna play some Super Extreme Racing five? I could use some explosive action, and I know how you love competing against the best."

"Nah, I OD'd on that game after the DLC," Beast Boy sighed. "Wanna play Monkey Warriors instead?"

"Man, I already told you, that game is old school. We beat it so many times it got boring."

"What kind of game system do you guys even have?" I finally asked, twisting in my seat. "Is it a Game Station 4, a Game Station XL, or a Y-Box One?"

Beast Boy and Cyborg instantly glanced at me in surprise.

"You play video games?" Beast Boy asked, eyes shining. "Dude!"

"Uh, no," I deadpanned, shaking my head, "but my friend Amber likes video games... and I admit, I was kind of amazed by how cool some of them looked when I visited the mall with her."

"Well, maybe you could play with us sometime!" Beast Boy excitedly proffered. "Rae doesn't like video games, so it'd be cool to have another girl besides Star who likes to play 'em!"

"Oh, yes!" Starfire called, smiling at him. "I do enjoy the mashing of buttons on game night!"

"Video games are pointless," Raven drawled, catching my attention; a sizzling strand of black energy turned the page of her book even as she used her hands to sip at her mug. "They are meant for nothing more than occupying your brain with nothingness. Which would also explain why you seem to lack one."

"Oh, yeah?" Beast Boy scoffed, frowning at her. "Well, books do the exact same thing! There's no difference!"

"Yes, there is," she deadpanned, not even glancing at him. "With books, you can learn something. Video games do nothing but teach you how to push buttons. And that's not saying much."

"I've heard that video games can stimulate reflexes," I said without thinking; when everyone glanced at me, I tightened my lips, wondering what sort of psychopathic urge had forced that out of me.

"See?" Beast Boy gushed, instantly leaning forward. "That can explain why I can dodge stuff so well!"

Raven's eyes flicked at him, and to my shock, a black pillow came flying from somewhere I missed.

He let out a startled squeak when it smacked him in the face.

"I rest my case," she said flatly, rolling her eyes as she rose to her feet. "I'll be waiting in the infirmary."

"Oh, Raven!" Cyborg called, and I watched as she paused. "Uh, when you get there, I've been needing a smaller set of hands to get underneath the door's hydraulic alternator, and you gotta watch out for the—"

"Snag," she finished, continuing on. "I'll help you fix it after we've gotten this over with."

Without another word, the doors whisked open and she vanished, the folds of her blue cloak quickly rippling out sight. Everyone winced when the doors closed again.

"Geez," Beast Boy grumbled, rubbing his nose. "See what I mean?"

"Raven does not like the mashing of buttons," Starfire said simply. "We cannot force her to enjoy it."

I jumped when a heavy hand landed on my shoulder and turned to see Cyborg looking at me.

"I'm starting up the systems necessary to scan you remotely," he informed me, "it'll take a few minutes before it's ready to go, so we might as well get your physical taken care of now. Raven's patient, but we shouldn't keep her waiting longer than necessary."

"Whatever," I muttered, rising to my feet. "Let's go."

Beast Boy flopped back down and continued playing his game while Starfire cooked up her concoction, but my gaze was on Cyborg's bionic back. I still felt dazed, wondering how this had all happened to me.

"So, when was your last one?"

I started, but he hadn't turned around to face me.

"Huh?" I asked. "My last what?"

"Medical exam."

"Oh... about five years ago."

"I see," Cyborg said, "I suppose we'll have to do all the usual."

"The usual?" I asked, hobbling around a corner; he pressed a palm against a button and the doors whisked open, but I jumped when something came swinging down. He caught it in a single motion, preventing it from hitting him upside the head, and pushed what looked to me like a metal bar back up.

"Yeah, a full physical," he told me, then glanced at Raven, who was standing near a counter in the back of the room; her hood had been taken down. "Raven will take care of most of it, and my scanners will take care of the rest, but for now... I'll leave you two here and wait outside."

I glanced at him when he stepped out and the door whooshed closed.

Raven stared at me impassively from within the confines of her cloak.

"Remove your shirt and nothing else," she stoically ordered. "The faster we get this over with, the better."

I scowled and did as she instructed, unbuttoning my shirt. While I did so, she lifted a black bag from the floor and set it atop the counter. From it she drew shiny medical instruments. Some I recognized—a stethoscope, a doctor's penlight, and a blood pressure cuff—while others bewildered me completely.

And then there were the ones that I didn't recognize but was intimidated by nonetheless. Most in that category were sharp, long, or otherwise more weapon than delicate medical tool. After she set out the tools of a doctor's trade, she turned and watched me; I continued unbuttoning, since my hands had faltered, before shrugging my shirt off and draping it over the back of a nearby chair.

I then sat down on the metal table, shivering as the chilliness of the room assaulted me, exacerbating the ice in an almost agonizing manner. I would never get used to being cold, of feeling like my body was forever trapped in a room that consistently remained five degrees below zero.

Raven stepped forward, and with gentle hands she tilted my head back, feeling gently along my neck and checking my lymph nodes. I jumped when her flesh sparked with black power. Warmth sparked against my skin where she touched, as if repelling the northern cold like the south side of a magnet. Then she pulled back and used some sort of tool to look in my ears, but she didn't say anything.

Just paused to make notes on a clipboard.

"Arm," she said, turning and picking up the blood pressure cuff. "Now."

I held out my arm and let her put it on me, watching as she squeezed the black ball connected to the cuff by a long hose. The cuff inflated, making my arm tingle as blood flow decreased from the constricting pressure. Her fingers on my wrist felt cool as they took my pulse. She made a small noise of assent before stripping the cuff off my arm.

The quiet, however, was beginning to get to me.

"You're not much older than me," I eventually said. "How do you know how to do all this?"

She didn't immediately respond, merely grabbed the penlight and flicked it on.

"I read a lot," she droned, then lifted her hand. "Follow my finger. Don't turn your head and don't blink."

I did as she asked and followed her movements with my eyes, trying to ignore the light she shone into my right pupil. She then did the same tests with my left eye before pulling back.

"So, how much is a lot?" I deadpanned. "Typically, people have to study for years and years and then they have to get themselves an official college degree before they can become a doctor."

"I'm not a doctor," she stoically retorted, putting on the stethoscope, "but I'm the closest thing that you currently have access to. Now, be quiet. I can't hear your heartbeat if you're talking."

I tried not to make any noise when the cold metal disc was pressed against my chest, but it was a near thing.

"Pull your hair aside and take a deep breath."

I did as she instructed and tugged my hair over my right shoulder, inhaling as I did so. The stethoscope was on my back, still just as cold, and I flinched away from it. Raven sighed through her nose, holding on to my shoulder to keep me still as she moved the stethoscope around. Then she just… let go.

Didn't say anything, didn't indicate anything, just let go.

I watched as she picked up a hammer with a rubber head in the shape of a triangle and a steel grip off the table; a reflex hammer, I deduced. I'd been on the receiving end of one before, but with one leg in a cast, I didn't know how this was going to work. Raven hunched over to get a good look at my kneecap.

The taps she pressed to the soft flesh beneath it were rewarded by twitches of my muscles, one of which nearly resulted in a kick to her shin. I watched as she put the hammer away.

"I need to test your flexibility. Stand."

"Sure. Whatever."

We spent a good while on stretching me in different ways.

Raven kneaded my arms and leg and spine with her fingertips, looking for abnormalities in my bone structure and joints, but given that she said nothing other than the occasional "turn around" or "bend" I don't think she found anything amiss.

It was awkward, though.

I mean, really, how could it not be when she had to touch me so much?

It was only when she stepped back that I allowed myself to relax.

"I need to measure your height and weight."

"I can tell you my height," I informed her. "I'm five feet on the dot."

Raven's face was unmoved.

"Step on the scale," she said, indicating a bizarre-looking machine in the corner. "Now."

I scowled for the umpteenth time and did as I was told, but when the machine flashed and nearly blinded me, I almost stumbled backwards. Raven swept over to the side of the bizarre scale thing and looked at a glowing square monitor, eye twitching for a second.

"Your weight is abnormal for someone of your height and age," she said, casting me an unreadable look. "You might need a special nutritional diet or vitamin supplements to stay completely healthy."

"How much do I weigh?" I demanded, rolling my eyes. "Last time I checked, I weighed one hundred and twenty p-"

"You weigh a hundred and seven pounds with that eight pound cast on," Raven flatly interrupted. "You need to start eating regularly and properly."

I twitched, staring at her blankly, then looked down at myself. I blinked, realizing for the first time that I had actually gotten thinner... I could see faintly defined muscles, but beneath those were the unmistakable outline of my ribs. I did a double take, and then a triple take, before I recalled how I'd behaved for so long.

I hadn't eaten very much to begin with, but with the stress from the court summons and everything else going on... had I really not eaten normally? Had it really been that bad? Sure, Sarah and Amber had constantly been urging me to eat stuff, but I'd thought they were just being their typical pushy selves.

"Its been a stressful month," I eventually allowed, "but you're probably right. I wasn't eating properly."

"Put your shirt back on," Raven ordered, already putting the tools back in the bag; I did as she asked and slid it on, buttoning it up with quick fingers as she snapped it closed. I followed her path with my eyes when she made her way over to the door and poked her head outside.

"Cyborg," I heard her say, and I instantly buttoned four times faster. "She's all yours."

"Anything I need to know about?"

"She seems healthy for the most part, but her weight isn't normal," Raven baldly droned. "I'm not entirely sure if it's because of poor eating habits or an unknown medical condition, so to be safe, you'll probably need to run a few medical scans on her and do some blood tests to see if she has any health problems."

"Can do," Cyborg said, and I watched as he came back in; he waggled his eyebrow at me. "So, you ready?"

"For what?" I demanded, shifting uncomfortably.

"For the most boring day of your life," he informed me, holding out his arm. "Let's go, Sunshine!"

I let out a grumble and slid of the table, following him out the door past Raven.

She watched me go with no expression, but I didn't meet her eyes.