Chapter 74

Bathing in the river was something I desperately needed. Not only to clean myself, but to just relax. For some reason I had even forgotten to even make mints to take the edge off.

The idea itself was…almost foreign. As if it’s been awhile since I’ve had one. Which was obviously not the case.

At least, I think it wasn’t…

But at the moment I wasn’t sure what to believe. It was becoming steadily evident that there was something wrong with my memories. Things that I had forgotten started to show themselves in my mind rather vividly, only to bring more questions along with them.

Who were these people? What did they mean to me? And what was wrong with my mind?

All questions that I pushed to back of my mind as I savored the taste of a mint in my mouth. For the moment it would be ignored. A few minutes of unburdening myself was exactly what the doctor ordered.

Besides, it wasn’t as if I was suddenly going to come up with an answer in the next few minutes.

Or so I thought, before I noticed a flying Poison Ivy quickly coming towards me from the sky.

The only reason I didn’t react immediately was because the situation had me completely baffled. This wasn’t Gotham, so why would Poison Ivy be here? Furthermore, why the fuck would she be after my head? It wasn’t as if I had suddenly become an oil baron.

And since when could she fly?

“Law! Thank goodness I found you. I’ve rounded up just about everyone else and they’re on the bio-ship.”

And apparently Poison Ivy knows me well enough to call me by a pet name, like Galatea. Not only that, but she apparently also has telepathy. Because she just said that in my mind.

She got progressively closer before wincing and slapping herself in the head. Now that I got a good look at her, she did seem a bit different from Poison Ivy. Less curvy and more immature. But she still had the green skin and red hair.

Did Poison Ivy have a daughter?

And I was apparently familiar with her?

…I felt distinctly proud of myself if that was the case.

“Hello Megan! Your memories would be affected as well! Sorry, I should have known that. It’s just…you know…”

The young Poison Ivy scratched the back of her head awkwardly while flying over me. Which was rather awkward, considering I was still bathing in the river. Naked. With nothing really covering me up.

“It’s what?”

“I’m just used to following your lead.”

Huh?

The confusion on my face must have been pretty evident, because young Poison Ivy decided to explain.

“You’re our leader. The one who usually takes control of the situation. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you and everyone get your memories back once we leave.”

…I was a leader? Well, that didn’t sound like me at all. That sounded like a lot of responsibility. Responsibility that I didn’t much care for.

“A leader of what, exactly?”

“The Titans.”

…as far as names go, that one was pretty badass. She continued to explain.

“It’s a team of superheroes. Like the Justice League.”

Me? A superhero? And a leader of a team of superheroes no less?

That…was a tough pill to swallow. Unless she was actually the daughter of Poison Ivy. Which would imply that maybe this group was some sort of correctional group for criminals with abilities.

In which case, it was still hard to believe. But I couldn’t deny that there was something to it. At the very least it started to make some sense in my head. As well as lining up with some of the strange memories and thoughts that bubbled in my head.

Paying off some sort of debt with the government in order to fight against supervillains. Yeah, I could see it. It helped that the government never really seemed to have an answer to super powered individuals.

“Uh huh. So, who’s on this team?”

I asked, steadily wading out of the river. The dry clothes that I could change into was nearby. Despite being naked through the majority of the conversation, young Poison Ivy’s face seemed to grow several shades redder as I stepped out to change.

“Oh uh, well, for this mission it was just me, you, Beast Boy, Artemis, and Ravager. I’ve already got Artemis and Beast Boy onto the bio-ship. All that’s left is you and Ravager.”

Interesting.

“So, what’s with the memory loss?”

“That’s uh…partly my fault. You wanted to try out linking up our thoughts in order to better stay off the radar for the mission. But then there was this brain guy who was also a telepath and he attempted to scramble my memories. I could defend myself, but I didn’t count on all of you getting hit.”

Okay. Weird. It was a bit awkward to put on clothes without properly drying, but it wasn’t as if I had a choice in the matter. Wait, a mission?

“What’s the mission?”

This time the green girl notably looked away from me.

“We uh…already completed it.”

That sounded pretty suspicious.

“What happened?”

The green girl continued to look away while pressing her index fingers against each other. A rather obvious grimace was written on her face as she attempted to stammer something out.

“What?”

“We uh…we blew it up…”

Huh. Well, that’s definitely one way to solve a problem. I guess. Probably?

I’m not sure why, but I definitely feel a good bit safer with the green girl around. She reminds me of Galatea, in a way. Speaking of…

“Do you know a Galatea?”

The green girl’s eyes lit up as she nodded. She seemed rather surprised of the question.

“Of course! She’s part of the team.”

“I just ran into her a bit ago.”

Her eyes widened even further in surprise.

“Oh wow. She didn’t even come with us…but if she’s here, that means we’re pretty safe!”

She paused for a moment. Pressing her finger against her chin before nodding and looking back at me.

“Oh, and I go by Miss Martian. Not Poison Ivy.”

A martian? Oh right, there’s that one guy on the Justice League, isn’t there. Still, isn’t every day I meet an alien.

Wait. Did that mean Poison Ivy was a martian?

Miss Martian pointed behind her in the direction past the river to the north. The sun bounced off the surface of the water, so it was a bit difficult to focus on.

“Over in that direction is my bio ship. Beast Boy will help guide you in when you get close. I’ve already restored his memory.”

Her expression changed a bit at the mention of ‘Beast Boy’. A look of concern and something else mixed in. Pity maybe?

“And what will you be doing?”

“Ravager is still out there. I have to find her first before we leave.”

Ah, I see. She was loyal to the team. A pretty admirable quality. I could see her getting along quite well with Ethan and the others. It was also obvious that she felt responsible for what happened.

Miss Martian repeated the direction in which I was supposed to go before leaving. Causing me to crack my neck before deciding to follow.

A part of me was suspicious that this was some sort of trap. An elaborate set up to capture me for further testing. But in which case…why? It didn’t need to be so complex. It didn’t need to be so fancy.

Not only that, but I generally felt really relaxed when she was around. Not on my guard waiting for any sudden movements.

Not that I could do much to someone who could fly, but…I could try at least.

Oh right, maybe I should have brought up Rose to Miss Martian. Or perhaps not? She seemed a bit confused but not entirely surprised by her circumstances.

Eh, I’d just mention her to Miss Martian later. Besides, it’s better to keep some cards in reserve.

After about an hour-long walk, I finally came across a road. No ship or water in sight. Which was pretty disheartening.

Unfortunately it would also seem that my luck would be taking a turn for the worse, as I heard the sound of a car before I saw it. Three vehicles were driving quickly down the road towards me. At least about seventy miles per hour from what I could tell.

Which wasn’t a good idea. Considering these roads were fucking dogshit. The likelihood of the occupants eating shit and dying was pretty high.

I’d have run for some sort of cover if it was possible. Unfortunately, there was nothing around except for a cliff off the side. And I quite liked the feeling of being alive.

I did attempt to casually continue strolling off the road, but I knew my luck was up when the cars did much the same in order to catch up with me. Now that the cars were closer, I could tell that their occupants were mostly middle eastern men.

Which seemed to be quite bad for me. Then again, they also haven’t chosen to shoot at me or run me down. Instead, simply approaching with their cars at a slow roll. Eventually the one in the middle came to a complete stop, and on of the passenger’s got out.

Surprisingly enough, a rather hot middle eastern woman stepped out.

Almost immediately I could tell she was different from the rest. Not only because she was pretty much the first middle eastern woman I’ve seen in my entire time here, but because of how looked.

It wasn’t just that she was attractive. Her clothes were regal. More than that, they were expensive. A clear contrast to pretty much everything in the area. There was a golden like crown wrapped around the top of her head. Helping push back her long black locks of hair. Which looked rather well groomed.

Her dark blue eyes seemed to be rather piercing. With an easy going smirk on her face. Her back was straight. Firmly so. And from the way she walked I could tell that she had a lot of confidence in herself.

Which made sense, considering she looked like the middle eastern version of Wonder Woman.

…if you took away her muscles and height, that is. I didn’t even realize the lack of muscles simply due to the sheer presence she was maintaining until now. She simply felt ‘strong’.

Or at least threatening.

“I was wondering who was responsible. Who would’ve guessed it would be the little Justice League…”

She walked rather seductively in my direction. Whether it was intentional or simply an air about her was unknown. But I did know that I wasn’t the only one who noticed. All of the soldiers behind her were following her step.

Every single pair of eyes were actively locked onto her. It was rather…unnerving how in sync they appeared to be.

“Mmm.”

I stated with disinterest. Not even looking in her direction as I shifted my gaze.

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed her expression shift. Only for a second before returning. She doesn’t take getting snuffed well. Good to know.

Even still, she played it off. Flipping her hair with an imperious look. Even from the distance between us I could smell the shampoo and conditioner she used for her hair. It was powerful, but not overly so…

…Mint would have been a much better choice though.

“Unfortunate. If you had been a member of the Justice League I could have gained something from all of this. But the leader of the Titans? That’s practically worthless.”

She searched my eyes for any signs of pain. Attempting to push my buttons. To see what made me tick. Unfortunately for her, I seemed to have lost my memories. A fact that she didn’t seem to be privy to.

Hopefully we’d keep it that way.

“You seem to believe that you’re capable of beating me.”

As I shifted my focus back towards her, the guards immediately became more alert. Aiming their guns in my direction. Which of course made me pay more attention towards them instead of her.

Until she waved her hand. Causing her private army to stand down as one.

…There was something odd about it, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.

“Sorry, but I’m not the type to get violent. Fights are…beneath me.”

I hummed at that.

“Well, that makes two of us. I’m not really a fan of fighting either.”

She chuckled. Pulling her hand to her mouth in a very posh looking fashion.

“What an amusing thing to hear from someone who’s the leader of a ragtag group of superheroes!”

“It’s a position of power, just like any other.”

She stopped smirking at that. Instead giving me a more appraising look as she hummed. A few seconds later she continued to speak.

“…So it is. Very well then. Despite how discourteous of a guest you’ve been, I’m willing to let bygones be bygones. As long as you do one little thing for me.”

Yeah, I didn’t see that happening.

She took a few steps in order to approach before bringing herself to my ear. Whispering seductively as her breath brushed against it.

“After your Queen leaves, jump off that cliff.”

I blinked in surprise as she took a step back and smiled. Before turning around and heading back to her car. All I did was watch as she started to drive away in dumbfounded silence.

She definitely had a set of balls on her to ask something like that with a straight face.

Asking someone to kill themselves…I wonder if that’s ever worked out for her?

Maybe she had some sort of secondary meaning in her words? Like that being a stupid way of just saying she’d never forgive me. Or perhaps there was a reason why she explicitly said jump off the cliff…

Was there something at the bottom, perhaps?

I felt like a complete dumbass when my curiosity got the better of me. Leading me to look over the edge to confirm what I already knew. It was just a steep drop at the bottom. One that most people would be hard pressed to survive.

Yeah, I was going to have to pass on this one.

Just as I was starting to back away from the edge, I froze up in panic as someone immediately grabbed me from behind.

“Stop!”

Oh fuck no. I got this far, I was definitely not going to die here. Using my full strength, my body shook from side to side. Attempting to shake off my attacker.

It was pretty effective, up until the point where they kicked the shit out of the back of my knee. Causing me to stumble down before being wrestled to the ground.

“I…won’t let you!”

Despite having pretty thin arms, the guy was pretty strong. But I was eventually able to break out of his hold and flip my body to face him. This time knocking him to the ground and pinning him there.

…A green boy who seemed to have tears streaming down his cheeks as he fought back with all his strength. Worry and fear seemed etched across his face.

“I…I can’t…”

My arms slackened, leaving him to easily break my hold before pushing himself up. Slamming the front of his body against my own. His arms circling around me. Causing me to blink repeatedly.

“I can’t lose you too…”

I paused as a choked sob ripped out of his throat and his pressed his face against my chest. Attempting to push me back down to the ground. But it didn’t seem like he had the stamina to keep up the level of strength he had been exerting.

My hands gingerly reached across his back and…pulled him into a hug.

“…It’s okay, Beast Boy. I’m not going anywhere.”

I…wasn’t sure why I said that. I only felt that this was something I had to do. My hands were practically tied with this action. It just felt right. Correct.

No, it went even deeper than that. In a way I couldn’t really express.

Instead of having a calming effect, his cries became even louder. No longer even attempting to hold back the volume as he simply let it go. Though I did notice how he stopped attempting to push me to the ground. Instead returning the hug.

My hand rubbed his back in a comforting way. It was something I wasn’t really used to do doing, so it felt rather awkward. But if he noticed he didn’t seem to care.

This was something I had to do. Especially as the leader of the team. I had to protect…something…

I had to be there when I was needed.

I always would be.

…Did he just blow his nose on me!? God I’m starting to hate this new life of mine…