I don't own Teen Titans, but I really wish I did.
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Chapter 7 – A Place to Call Home
Madison gritted her teeth as she tried to break the black straps that held her down, her heart pounding like a jackhammer inside her chest. Her breathing was hard and shaky as her nerves began to get the better of her.
She had been captured by the Titans. What were they going to do to her? Better yet, what was Slade going to do to her when she got back to base? Now that was a question that she would rather leave unanswered…
"I gotta get outta here…" Madison grunted.
The door hissed open and Madison looked up to see the Boy Wonder and the other Titans behind him, all of which walked inside and surrounded her bed, Robin at the foot of it.
"You're not going anywhere, Madison." Robin informed. "What you will do is give us answers."
"Why should I?"
"Because you're the one tied down…?" Raven retorted flatly.
Madison growled at the pale cloaked girl and looked back at Robin who started talking. "Why are you working for Slade, Madison?" He interrogated, spitting out her master's name as if it were poison.
Madison didn't give an answer, instead she stared the Titan leader down. Robin sighed and shook his head in frustration. "If you don't tell us we can't help you, Madison."
"Who says I need help?"
Robin's eyes looked at his teammates who stared back at him, waiting for him to say something back to the girl. He looked her over and noticed a large bruise that marred her skin. It took up a large portion of it on her stomach that was revealed through her outfit.
"How'd you get that bruise?" He question. "Did Slade hurt you?"
She let out a chuckle and shook her head. "I'm more like a punching bag for his hissy fits than anything else."
The green Titan let out a laugh and shook his head, his eyes watering up from laughing so hard. "Slade has hissy fits…!"
Robin held back a smile and gritted his teeth instead. "Why?"
"Because I saved you from falling off the building… You should've seen how livid he was. You would've soiled yourself."
So it's my fault that you're hurt… He concluded.
"As to why I'm working for him… I owe him."
"How? Why?" Robin looked at her questionably.
"He saved me. He told me that I had been in a car accident — a hit and run. I have amnesia and I can't remember anything."
"Madison—"
"Hold up, I've been meaning to ask, but how do you know my name?"
"I know you… and that story Slade told you is a complete lie. Your full name is Madison Jay Croft, and you weren't in a car accident, you were killed. Somehow or another… you're alive."
"That… that's insane… that's insane, bird boy! No one can just come back to life!"
"it's the truth. I can prove it." He replied, walking out of the room, the other Titans following him.
"How are you going to prove it, man?" Cyborg asked.
Robin looked at the half-mechanical man, the gears in his head turning. "Get her into the T-Car, we're going to the cemetery." With that, Robin turned and walked away. "I'll meet you there."
The team looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders, heading back into the room that held the girl captive. Raven used her magic to create cuffs around the girl's hands and she was led down the hallways by Cyborg, his hand residing on her shoulder to make sure she wouldn't run. As they entered the garage, they took notice that Robin's R-Cycle was already gone before loading everyone into Cyborg's so-called "baby".
Madison sat between Starfire and Raven, BB sitting shotgun and Cyborg driving. Raven's energy was still binding Madison's movements and it was beginning to become uncomfortable.
"Can you let go of me with your magic or at least loosen it up? It's getting kind of vexatious." Madison asked of Raven. "Besides, I'm in a car that's going around forty miles an hour, I'm not dumb enough to go trying to jump out of it."
Raven gave Madison an emotionless stare and then she felt her arms become loose and moveable. She looked and noticed that the black rings that once constricted her movement were now gone.
"Don't try anything." Raven threatened.
Madison relaxed in her seat and looked around. Everyone was rather serious and it made the air thick with tension. It was almost suffocating… almost.
"Um, would it be alright if we turned on the radio…?" Madison inquired.
Cyborg glanced over at the girl through the mirror and looked down at the radio. His free hand switched on the knob and music began to blare from the surrounding speakers.
"Cool, tunes!" Beast Boy yelled energetically, beginning to fiddle with the knobs and multiple buttons.
"Hey, yo! Don't touch my sound system, BB!" Cyborg yelled, swatting away the changeling's hands as if they were flies. As Beast Boy retracted his hands, Cyborg groaned. "Aw man…! Look what ya did! Now it's on some random station!"
A familiar tune came out from the speakers and as Cyborg went to change the station, Madison stopped him. "Wait…" Everyone's eyes landed upon the girl with curiosity. "This sounds like a familiar song, would it be okay if we could listen to it before you change stations?"
"Uh, sure…" Cyborg answered slowly. "So you like The Beatles?"
Madison shrugged her shoulders. "I guess so…"
"I do not understand why one would like such creatures. They are interesting, but they—how do you say?—make my skin crawl?" Starfire commented.
Cyborg laughed heartily. "The Beatles are a band from England and they became really popular here in America in the early sixties, Star."
Madison slumped further into the seat and felt somewhat at ease. The slow and haunting song calmed her nerves and took her under. Why does it sound so familiar…? She questioned herself. She was pretty sure that she hadn't heard it before.
As the song was ending, the T-Car was pulling into the cemetery. Cyborg used the tracking device in Robin's communicator to track him down and was soon pulling up to the curb behind his R-Cycle.
Everyone disembarked the vehicle and Raven didn't find it necessary to constrict Madison with her magic like last time, which Madison was extremely thankful for. They could all see a figure in the distance that was surrounded by a few trees and they knew it was Robin instantly when they saw the cape swaying in the distance with the soft breeze.
The communicator came to life, Robin's voice coming over it. "Send Madison over here, I'd like to talk to her alone. You guys can go back to the Tower and rest; it's going to be morning soon."
Before they could even do anything, Madison was already walking away towards the Titans' leader. They watched her movements carefully, making sure she wouldn't pull anything, and left when they saw that she was by Robin's side.
Madison looked down at the ground where Robin was looking and saw the tombstone with her name on it. She read the few lines and looked at the Boy Wonder who was now staring right back at her.
"Why does it say 'loving friend and caring heroine'?"
"I wanted to put that on your tombstone because that's what you were." He answered bluntly.
"Who was I a loving friend to? I was a heroine—like I saved the city and stuff?"
"You were homeless and I gave you a place to stay. As far as I knew, I was your only friend, and not exactly, but you did something heroic that saved a man's life, though… it cost you yours."
Robin pulled out a newspaper article and handed it to her. It had aged a bit and was turning a light yellow tint. Madison scanned it over and was at a loss for words. What could she possibly say to something like this…?
"I don't know what to say…" she whispered.
"This isn't jogging any memories?" He questioned.
"Not really… but on the way here I heard a song that sounded familiar. Cyborg said something about The Beatles?" Madison looked back down at the grave and took notice of something. "Those words, 'soon will be the break of day sitting here in blue jay way' were a part of the song. Why are they there? Are they related?"
"Yeah, the song is called Blue Jay Way. It was your favorite. You'd always hum and sing it to yourself."
"I still can't remember anything, though… not really."
"Here," Robin pulled out a picture and handed it to her. She saw herself and him laughing together, a piece of her blue hair wrapped around her index finger, while her other hand snapped the photo. "This was taken a few days before you died."
Madison stared at it intently, trying to dig through her mind for anything. "I'm sorry…" She sighed. "I just… can't remember anything."
Robin frowned as he was handed back the article and photograph. "It's fine, I can't say that I expected everything to come back to you, though." He said, soon beginning to walk towards his bike. "C'mon, let's go back to the Tower."
"What about Slade…?"
Robin came to a halt and spun around, his mouth a firm line and his mask glaring. "What about him? You don't actually want to go back to him, do you?" Robin interrogated harshly.
"Why would I want to go back to someone who abused me?" Madison retorted, causing Robin's hateful expression to vanish almost instantly. "I just want to know what you think he'll do. Do you think he's going to try and get me back…?"
Robin extended his hand out for her to take and she stared at it in confusion before looking up at the masked boy. "We'll worry about it later. Let's just go home for now, Jay."
Madison couldn't help, but let a small smile shine through as she took his hand, the two old friends walking to the bike and getting on, driving to someplace Madison would be able to call home and actually mean it.