Kat let out a groan as her head pounded furiously. Her entire body was sore, and she couldn't even see. The lights she had opened her eyes to were blinding, and they didn't help with the headache that was already engulfing her mind, so she resulted to keeping her eyes shut.
"What do you mean, 'don't sense her powers'?" She ceased all movement as she heard a boy's voice echo through the room. The tone in his voice was upset, maybe even worried as he spoke, but she didn't know why.
"I mean, I can't feel the usual aura that used to be given off by her body, whether she was using her powers or not." Powers? She thought, What are they talking about? "Wait…she's awake." Almost instantly, the voices in the room silenced. How the hell did she know that? She opened her eyes slightly to find a very strange group of people staring at her. Two of the boys were wearing black masks that covered their eyes, there was a girl who was in a purple cloak, another girl was standing next to her and she had wings on her back and very clearly resembled a bee, and the last boy was wearing a blue and black wetsuit and had the most piercing violet eyes in the world. The bed was surrounded in seconds, and her headache only increased when their voices grew louder.
"Kat!" the winged girl exclaimed, "You're awake! We're so glad you're alright!" She blinked up at the girl in confusion. "Wait a minute. Guys look at her eyes…they're…brown and not electric blue." They leaned in closer to look. It was becoming very uncomfortable for her. She carefully put her arms up, so they would move away from her a bit.
"Umm my eyes have always been brown… and who are you?" Kat asked seriously, her gaze wandering from each unknown face to the other, "…do I know you?" Their faces except one went from relieved to scared in a matter of seconds.
"Kat, stop joking around," the redheaded boy in the mask chuckled, "just because you're still mad at us, doesn't mean you have to pretend to not know who we are." She gazed up at him sadly.
"I'm truly sorry…I…I really don't know who you are," she replied before hissing, gripping her head tightly with her hands, "God, my head hurts!" Everyone's head turned to look at the girl in the cloak as they waited for an answer.
"Raven," the spiky haired boy said, "do you think this could just be amnesia?" She shook her head.
"No, the doctor's would have noticed something wrong like that," she explained, "This is has to be much worse. It may be somehow linked with why I can't feel her power anymore."
"Powers?" the girl cut in, "What are you people talking about?"
"Kat…you probably can't remember this, but you are part of a team of superheroes called the Teen Titans," the spiky hair boy explained, "I'm Robin, the leader of all of the Titans, and this is Bumblebee," he pointed to the winged girl, "and she's the leader of the team you're on." Next, he pointed to the violet eyed boy, "That's Aqualad, one of your team members. Next to him is Speedy, and then that's Raven." The other boy in the mask smiled down at her, and the girl in the cloak nodded her head.
She gazed up at them, "No…that's not possible. First of all, I'm just a normal girl who lives in Texas. I go to school, and I have to deal with problems with boys and homework! I am not a superhero! Second of all, they don't exist…you people are insane!"
"Kat," Aqualad said, "It's true. You are a superhero. You fight crime everyday with us, and you're one of the best fighters I've seen. No offense to you Robin." The boy wonder just glared at the violet eyed boy. "We're your friends…would we ever lie to you?"
"You're not my friends!" Kat shouted, "None of you are!"
"Kat-" Speedy reached out his hand for her, but she jumped back on her bed, leaning against the wall behind her. Her eyes widened as she felt something tear. A scream ripped from her lips not only from the wound that reopened on her stomach, but also from her head as her brain beat forcefully against her skull.
"Bumblebee, get a doctor! QUICK!" She ran to the door and started yelling for help while the others laid Kat back down on her back. The girl cried as the pain started to become too overwhelming for her. Gripping her head with her hands, she begged for all the pain to go away. A doctor rushed in with three nurses before ushering the Titans out of the room. Speedy and Aqualad didn't go peacefully though. Kat watched as they argued with the nurses, telling them they had to stay, but the nurses wouldn't allow it.
Speedy paced the floor of the waiting room while they waited. She didn't remember any of them at all…none of them. His friend didn't know who he was. He stopped and looked back at the others who were talking amongst themselves. Walking over, he plopped himself down onto one of the chairs, listening to what they were saying.
"We can't know why she doesn't remember us without knowing what happened to her the night she was rushed in her," Raven said, "I could try using my powers to enter her mind and see if I can find anything, but I don't know if she'll let me."
Bumblebee shook her head, "Most likely not, but what I find interesting is that she remembers everything from before she became a Titan which was…how many years ago?"
"Three…" Aqualad and Speedy said simultaneously. How their leader forgot something as important as that was beyond them.
"And her powers are gone…how did that happen?" the Atlantean questioned, "I mean, someone just doesn't lose their powers."
"Again, I'm going to need to enter her mind to find that out," Raven replied, "but this all has to be linked. Maybe her result of memory loss is due to the fact that she lost her powers. No powers, no way we'd ever found her and made her a Titan." They nodded their heads in agreement.
"That would make sense," Robin said, rubbing his masked eyes with his fingers, "but who would do this?" That's what had everyone stumped. The Brotherhood of Evil was a reasonable choice, but they were all held up in jail and frozen still, as well as most of the villains they had been fighting for years.
"Like I said…there's no way we'll know anything unless I can get into her head," Raven reminded, "and there's not much we can do until then." The doctor who had run into the room to help them finally walked up to the teens in the waiting room.
"Excuse me," he said, gaining their attention, "She's doing better now, but I'd suggest that you don't allow her to move. How she was able to tear the stitches was a surprise to all of us. Now, we're only allowing two at a time…please, don't stress her too much. She's having a hard time as is, understood." The five teens nodded their heads.
"Okay…me and Raven will go in first," Robin stated, getting up from his chair, but Speedy put a hand on the boy's shoulder.
"Listen here, boy wonder," the archer growled, "I have to go in there. She's my best friend, and I know that I can get her to relax while Raven does her mumbo, jumbo magic stuff to get inside her mind. Please…" The boy looked pleadingly into Robin's eyes before the boy wonder sighed.
"Fine…you and Raven can go." Speedy smiled before following Raven to the same room they were in before. Walking in, they saw Kat lying on the bed, still crying her eyes out.
"Kat?" the archer said softly as he sat down on the bed next to the girl, "Are you alright?" She shook her head.
"No…" she sobbed, "I don't know what's happening anymore!" Speedy looked at Kat with hurt eyes. He hated to see her cry, so he took his hand and started combing it through her hair, and she didn't seem to care anymore.
Raven pulled a chair up next to the bed before speaking, "Kat, do you remember anything that happened the night you got that wound?" She gestured toward the stitches on her body, but the girl shook her head and remained silent. "Well, I'm going to find out what happened, okay?" she said kindly.
Kat turned her head to look at the cloaked girl, "How?" She winced as her headache worsened.
"You see, Raven is a kind of psychic, I guess is how you would put it," Speedy explained, still brushing his fingers through the girl's hair, "She's going to read your mind in a way…" Kat looked up at him scared, but his smile reassured her. "Don't worry…everything's going to be okay. I promise." She nodded her head. For some reason, even though she couldn't remember any of them, she felt the urge to trust them. She watched as Raven close her eyes and started muttering something under her breath. A black shadow escaped her body before advancing on her. She almost moved away again, but Speedy gently took her hand and lightly squeezed it.
The dark figure entered her body through her eyes. At first, all she felt was a fire burning through her veins while the darkness filled her head. The grip she had on Speedy's hand tightened, her other hand clinging onto the railing of the bed for dear life. Her wound began to sting, and her headache began to worsen, but she bore through it.
Raven sat in her chair, eyes shut as she played through the memories that Kat couldn't even remember. She could even see the night of the fire. The flames licking at her back as she stood trapped in the building, the dog in her arms. Moving on, she could see the others "talking" to Kat, and the anger rising in the girl as they "talked." It was the night she had left. Next came the vision of a dark building. Watching everything from the point of view of Kat's, she ran through the hallways, but she couldn't see who was chasing her. Raven's heart began to race as she watched. She turned a corner, and that's when the knife flew through the air and hit her. Speedy noticed Raven jump in her seat before she somewhat relaxed again. The memory fast forwarded, and she let out a gasp when she saw his masked face.
"What…are…you…going…to…do?" she heard Kat ask, fear in her voice.
"Nothing big…I'm just going to…" She watched Slade turn around and pull out some device, "take your powers…Don't worry, this is just going to hurt…a lot…" Raven felt a shock rip through her body; the pain agonizing.
"Who…are…you?" Kat's voice was weakening with every second, the pain shooting through her body.
"The name's…Slade." Her eyes shot open before she fell out of the chair she was sitting in, the dark shadow returning to her own body in a flash. She couldn't stand or slow down her breathing as she gasped for air.
"Speedy…you need…to…take…me to…Robin," she panted, "…NOW!" He nodded. He gave Kat's hand one last squeeze and a smile before running over to the girl and helping her to her feet. They walked out of the room to the Titans. When Robin saw Raven, he was on his feet and at her side in no time at all. The archer looked up at his Atlantean friend,
"Aqualad, why don't you go check up on Kat? We can handle everything out here…" He didn't move. "Aqualad please!" He shook his head, "GARTH!" The Atlantean flinched, surprised to hear his friend use his real name. "Kat needs someone right now…but I need to stay out here…will you please go?" Garth sighed before nodding his head, walking towards the room the two Titans had just come out of.
Kat watched as the boy walked into the room, slowly shutting the door behind him, "You're name is…" he turned to look at her, "…Aqualad, right?" He smiled.
"Yeah…" he replied, sitting down on the edge of the bed next to his friend, "…so, how have you been doing?"
"I've been better…my head still hurts, I have a freaking knife wound in my stomach, and I don't know why. I can't remember anything about what you guys are telling me, but for some reason, I believe it all. What happened to me? I mean, how did I end up here in this hospital?" He shrugged.
"We don't know, but that's what Raven was in here for. I think she found out what happened to you, but I'll probably be the last to find out what it is, just like always…"
"Why don't you go back out there then? I mean, it's not like you can have an all out conversation with me because I probably won't know anything you're talking about. I'll be fine here…" she murmured, shutting her eyes to try and make the headache stop. The Atlantean stared at her pained form. Kat kept her eyes shut when she felt the pressure on the bed lessen as Aqualad got up. He was leaving, but it wasn't long before she felt something cold and wet touch her forehead. She slowly opened her eyes to see the boy pressing a wet rag to her head.
"Where did you…What are you-"but he pressed a finger to his lips, shutting her up.
"Just relax…and close your eyes…" he whispered, "…it isn't normal for a headache to be as bad as yours, and I'm not leaving you here to suffer alone. I'm going to try and help…" She nodded her head, closing her eyes once again. The cool water felt good on her skin as Aqualad wiped her face with the rag. He left it lying across her forehead before he started to lightly massage the sides of her head with his hands. A very light purr escaped her throat as her headache lessened slightly. "Feeling better?" he asked. She nodded her head before she grabbed his hands to stop him, and the headache slowly began to worsen. "What's wrong?"
"N-nothing's wrong…I'm just…wondering…" she looked up at him, "…what was life like when I was a Titan? I know, it's kind of random, but still…since I can't remember any of it, I want to know…and Speedy mentioned that I was mad at you guys when I first woke up. What's that all about?" He weakly smiled from the girl's curiosity and the mentioning of what his friend had said before.
"I'll tell you…but let me keep doing what I'm doing; it seems to be helping with your headache." She nodded her head before shutting her eyes again. He continued massaging the girl's head before beginning the story.
"Raven, are you sure you saw Slade?" Robin asked seriously as the four teens stood outside the hospital. The cloaked girl nodded her head.
"I saw him, and he specifically said 'the name's…Slade,'" she quoted, "I'm pretty sure that means it was him. He had some kind of device with him that he shot at Kat, and I'm guessing it was the thing that took her powers. I'm telling you, she was in a lot of pain. I would know; I was her for a few seconds. The wound plus that device were not a good combination. The pain was excruciating…I can still feel it, and it was horrible!"
"But why would Slade-"
"Robin…none of us would know what Slade is up to. We haven't seen or heard of any problems from him for almost two years already," Raven interrupted the boy wonder, "Whatever he's up to, we have to make sure we're ready…" He nodded. Speedy looked back into the building before gazing at the spiky haired boy.
"Robin, what are you going to do about Kat?" he asked, "I mean, she doesn't have her powers anymore. You're not planning on taking her off the team, are you?" The boy remained silent as he gazed down at the ground. Bumblebee glared at the boy.
"You'd better not be thinking about doing anything like that!" she yelled, "She still has her weapons, and we can teach her how to fight again. Please, we can't just kick her to the curb!"
Robin tried to explain, "But guys-"
"No buts boy wonder!" Speedy exclaimed, "You are not pulling her from the team! We'll take care of her, and we'll bring her back up to speed on the whole fighting thing!" Again, the boy wonder remained silent. Speedy let out a growl before pushing past the teens, stopping to whisper something to Bee.
"Don't let him get rid of Kat." She nodded her head, and he walked back into the hospital.
"Wait…so I actually ran back into the building?" Kat asked, staring up at the Atlantean in awe. He nodded his head, smiling as well.
"Yep…and you saved the dog," he explained, "The woman who owned the dog was grateful, but it kind of went downhill after that. Bumblebee and Speedy weren't too happy with you. They were basically telling you that you made a poor choice, and you gave up. You just left us that night."
"I left…for that reason?" she questioned before he nodded, "Wow…I wasn't thinking when I made that choice. I'm sorry I left. I shouldn't have." He brushed a bang out of the way of her eyes before grinning down at her.
"It's okay," he said, "You actually had a good reason, but…we didn't do much to stop you. None of us wanted you to go though…-What?" Kat gazed up at him before carefully sitting up, her back against the wall behind her.
"Come closer…" she whispered. A little hesitant, he complied. "Your eyes…" He blinked. "…are violet?" Aqualad nodded his head. "That's cool, and they're so beautiful…" She brought her hand up to brush her finger against his cheek, but she stopped, pulling away sheepishly. "I-I'm sorry…I just got-"but the Atlantean pressed his hand over her mouth to silence her. Something deep down inside of him was boiling, and he didn't want it to stop.
"It's okay," he replied, taking her hand into his before pressing it against his face, "Go on ahead…" She looked at him tentatively, and he nodded his head in approval. She pressed her fingers to his cheek before lightly caressing it; her thumbs tracing the spot under his beautiful, violet eyes. One hand moved further up, stroking his long, black hair. Their faces inched closer and closer with each touch, both getting caught up in the moment. Aqualad's own hand reached under her chin, lifting her head up, so he could look into her eyes. Lips mere centimeters apart, Kat could feel his warm breath against her face. Their eyes began to drift close, and the space between them finally sealed as their lips touched. Both hands fisted in the boys hair as they kissed while his remained under her chin, the other resting on the soft cushions of the bed next to her body.
Both mouths opened as the kiss deepened. Kat opened her eyes for a second and realized that the whole world seemed to just stop. She closed her eyes again, forgetting about everything that had happened. She forgot about the hospital, her wound, her headache that was depleting faster and faster with each second that their lips were connected, and thought about just the boy who was kissing her back. She had just met him…actually, she's known him, but due to the fact she couldn't remember anything, it might as well been their first encounter…and she was already kissing him, but something about him felt right. She didn't know how or why; it just did.
Neither of the two teens heard the door behind them open as the archer poked his head in, the girl's name about to escape his mouth until he finally saw what was happening. His eyes widened under his mask, a gasp escaping his mouth, but he didn't say anything else. A silent scream played in his head, but that's it. He didn't yell; he didn't scream at his friend for kissing his girl. He just shut the door behind him, resisting the urge to run in and strangle the Atlantean. He walked back down the hall towards the waiting room where he sat down quietly, head in his hands as he tried to think. He didn't want to believe it, but he saw it with his own two eyes.
Minutes went by until Kat and Aqualad finally broke the kiss. A few more minutes passed while they just stared at each other breathless, Kat's hands returning to stroking the Atlantean's hair, and his hands gently brushing across her cheeks.
"So," he started, "How's your headache?" She smiled up at him.
"Gone…thanks to you." He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, then another to her lips.
"You just needed to relax." She smirked,
"Oh, I'm definitely relaxed." The door behind them opened for the second time, and they immediately shot away from each other as the doctor walked in.
"Are you doing better Kat?" he asked, walking to the other side of the bed to look at the girl closer. She nodded her head, a grin spreading across her face. "That's good to know. I'm just going to do a quick check-up, change your bandages, and then you're free to go. You're being discharged this afternoon." Kat muttered a cool , her smile growing in size. He took out his stethoscope pressing it to her back and chest. "Your breathing is fine…fever is down," he said checking the machine near the bed, "…do you feel any soreness, nausea, pain?" She shook her head. "Good! Now, we just change the bandages, and you can get dressed and get out of here!"
He unwrapped her old bandages, careful of the stitches on her abdomen. He pulled a roll of gauze out the drawer before unraveling it around her stomach, recovering the injury. She winced as the fabric wrapped around her; the pressure on her wound growing uncomfortable. She opened her mouth to tell him it was too tight, but he was the doctor, and she didn't want to upset him. However, she mentally thanked the Atlantean as he spoke,
"Um, sir…I don't mean to be a bother you and tell you you're not doing it right, but the wrapping is too tight." The doctor narrowed his eyes at the boy, but he quickly stopped.
"Boy, I've been doing this for years now, and I know how tight to wrap the gauze. It's fine." Kat shook her head, looking the doctor in the eyes.
"Sir, it's too tight…it's really hurting," she claimed. Both teens barely heard a growl escape his throat as he undid the gauze before rewrapping it. Kat gazed up at Aqualad, a grateful look on her face.
"Better?" the doctor asked, a somewhat sour tone in his voice, but she ignored it and nodded her head. "Okay, your clothes are in that bag on the chair, and when you're done, you can leave your robes on the bed. I'll let you have your privacy." He walked out without another word.
"Do you want me to leave?" Aqualad asked, grabbing her clothes off the chair. She shook her head.
"I'll just change in the bathroom." She gestured towards the small room across from them. She threw her legs over the side of the bed before setting her feet on the ground to stand, but her legs gave way from under the weight, and she fell to the floor.
Aqualad rushed to her side, "Kat! Are you alright?" She shook her head; the headache beginning to return as she gripped her head with her two hands. "Is it your head again?" She nodded. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to stop the pain that was beating her head forcefully. Tears pushed past her shut eyelids as her entire body began to ache.
"Make it stop…" she whispered, "…please, make it stop!" The Atlantean pulled her closer to him; her back pressed against his chest as he hugged her from behind. He began massaging her head once again with his hands, hoping it would work once more. It helped but didn't make the headache go away.
"Here, why don't you try and get dressed, and I'll finish this after, okay?"
"Okay…" he helped her to her feet, putting his arm around her waist to help support her. Kat did her best to dress herself, but it was hard when the only thing she could think about was the massive migraine that was consuming her mind. Stepping out of the bathroom, Aqualad helped her back to the bed before sitting her down, taking a seat behind her. Leaning her head against his shoulder, she hummed in delight as he rubbed her forehead gently, kissing the side of her head occasionally.
"Don't stop…" she murmured under her breath; her migraine beginning to smooth out. The door to the room opened once again, but both teens ignored it, thinking it was just the doctor.
"What is going on in here?" Their heads shot up to see the other Titans standing in the doorway, staring at them in shock. Neither could find an answer as they stuttered.
"I was just…helping with her headache!" Aqualad quickly exclaimed, "It helped before, so I'd thought I'd try and do it again. I mean, rub her head. It relaxes her and gets rid of the headache…"
"Ookay…" Robin dragged out the word, "Doctor said you can leave, so we should head out. Have any of you guys seen Speedy?" Aqualad's eyes widened in shock as soon as the archer's name was spoken.
"Holy crap! Speedy!" He pushed off of Kat before he fell over backwards, landing on the floor with a loud thud.
"Aqualad!" The three rushed over to the Atlantean while Kat leaned over the edge of the bed to look down at him. "Are you okay?" the brown headed girl asked. He nodded; his eyes still wide open.
"I'm fine, but Bee I need to talk to you!" he exclaimed, "NOW!" He bolted upright before grabbing the girl's hand, pulling her out of the room and shutting the door behind him. Kat looked up at Robin and Raven who just shrugged their shoulders.
"Aqualad, what the hell's the matter?" Bumblebee asked, placing her hands on her hips, but the Atlantean ignored her as he muttered to himself as he panicked. "Garth!" He jumped; his gaze falling on her form. "What's wrong?"
"I-I-I completely forgot about Speedy!" he said, "Oh, if he ever finds out what I did…Oh! I-I-I'd be dead! Gods, h-how could I forget?" Bee couldn't take it anymore as he continued his insignificant babbling. She grabbed his shoulders and forced his back against the wall.
"Garth, calm down!" she screamed. He muttered an okay before shutting up. "Good, now tell me what's wrong, and please make sense this time…" He nodded his head.
"Okay…you see, when I walked in, Kat was complaining about how her head was really hurting, so I decided that I would help her by massaging her head, like you saw before," he explained quickly, "and well, she asked me what life was like being a Titan, so I told her stories about her time as a Titan. Everything was fine up until the point where we…" He stopped, not knowing if he could say the last word.
"You?…come on Garth. Out with it…"
He gulped, "…kissed…" Bee's hands dropped from his shoulders as she stared at him stunned, blinking many times.
"Y-Y-You what?"
"We…kissed…"
"Oh…that's what I thought you said…" Wow, Aqualad thought, She's taking this well… "ARE YOU SERIOUS?" Spoke to soon… He flinched back as she raised her voice at him.
"Look, Bee, I don't know what happened," he said, "It just felt…so right! I…we…gods! It was amazing! But I forgot all about Speedy, and how he and Kat were together before she left! If he finds out, I'm dead! No…I'm way beyond dead! He'll fucking fry me with one of those arrows of his! He can't find out!"
"Well," Bee said, "He'll find out eventually when Kat starts hanging around you more. He'll know something's up." Aqualad groaned.
"Then…you need to tell me what to do!" he exclaimed, "I mean, what do I choose? Tell Kat I don't like her when I really do and possibly hurt her feelings when I don't want to, or stay with her, and make Speedy even pissier than he already is?" She shrugged.
"This is your choice, Garth…" she said, "…I can't choose for you. Just…do whatever makes you happy." He glared at her.
"Well, that leaves only one choice! What makes me happy is Kat…I've never realized it before, but I really do care for her. I like her a lot…" he replied, "…but Speedy will hate me. I can't have that. We just started to become friends, and I don't want to break his trust…"
"You already did," a voice growled. The two teens turned to see Speedy standing a few feet behind them, a sneer forming on his face.
"Speedy-"but the archer put a hand up to silence the Atlantean.
"Just shut the fuck up…" he snapped, "…I'm heading back to the car." He turned on his heel, not waiting for a response and walked away from them. Aqualad looked back at Bee who just shut her eyes, shaking her head.
"Let's get Kat and head home…" she said.