Beating Around The Bush (Teen Titans Robin X Reader)

Chapter 16

"Can you show me what we do to things that are bad?" The man asked holding up the stack of everything they referred to as bad. The girl stared at him as he placed the stack carefully down on the edge of the patch of sprouts. Once he moved his hand away the sprouts quickly became shark thorns and vines as they torn the pieces of paper to shreds. Just as fast as they'd appeared, the vines and thorns turned back into small sprouts.

The day had droned on for the girl and it was time for her to rest. The room was dark except for the one small light they always kept on for the girl. She was sound asleep when the sprinklers above her came on. Thorns and vines covered the entirety of her body once she felt the water dripping from the ceiling.

'They use too much.' 'She's grow ill if they keep going.' 'Do you think she's awake?' She heard...something. It wasn't how the scientists talked to her. It was different...but she understood more than when the scientists talked to her.

The vines around her slowly started to break away. The leaves growing from the stems turning yellow. The small white rose blooms drooping down and the petals dying around the edges. The girl felt like she was slowly drowning from the amount of water, but she didn't know the feeling was bad.

'I can sense her.' 'She's awake.' 'Her roots will start to rot.' 'There's too much.' 'She's not safe here.' 'We're not safe here.' 'They're hurting her.' The voice continued and she covered her ears trying to block them out.

'They can't water her every night.' 'It's too cold.' 'There's too much water.' 'They're making her weak.' 'Maybe that's what they want.' 'What?' 'What?' 'Why?' 'Shh...they're coming.' The voices stopped. (Y/n) uncovered her ears as she looked around the room. Thorns had pried out from her skin as she looked for the source of the voices.

The next night was the same story. However, the sprinklers stayed on much longer than they normally did. 'They're going to kill her.' 'Her roots are going to rot more than ever.' 'You said they might be making her weak on purpose?' That question caught the girl's attention. The scientists told her she was strong and she needed to stay strong. So why would they make her weaker?

'They've been watering her more.' 'They're doing this on purpose?' 'Maybe.' 'But why?' 'Why?' 'Yes, why?' 'To control her.' 'More than they already do?' (Y/n) listened to the conversation as she stared down at the water that had filled the room up to her ankles. Her head was pounding, but she wanted to learn more.

'Shall I check on her?' 'Yes.' 'No.' 'Yes.' 'You'll get caught.' 'By who?' 'Them.' 'No...by her.' 'She's awake.' 'She has been.' 'How long?' 'Since they started watering her.' 'I'll check on her.' 'Yes.' 'No.' 'Don't leave.' The girl continued to stare at the slowly rising water when she heard something coming closer to her. She looked up to see a small plant poking out of an air vent from the ceiling. The girl squinted her eyes at the plant trying to avoid water from going into her eyes.

'Do you see her?' 'She's here.' (Y/n) noticed that the second voice was closer than the others had been. 'What is she doing?' 'Staring.' 'At?' 'Me.' 'You?' 'Yes.' 'Do you think she hears us?' 'Not sure. She needs to escape from here.' The voice seemed like it was coming from the plant poking from the vent.

'What?' 'Why?' 'What's wrong?' 'No drainage.' 'What?' 'Why?' 'To keep her weak.' 'She's growing stronger.' 'They don't like it.' 'Something is different.' 'How?' 'It's supposed to drain. Why is it not?' The girl stared up at the plant for a moment before looking down at the floor.

In the center of the room was a grate over the drain. Nothing had changed physically on the surface, but (Y/n) noticed the plant was right. It wasn't draining like it normally did. 'Her leaves...they're starting to rot.' 'She needs to leave.' (Y/n) carefully moved towards the center of the room. The water sloshing around as she moved. 'What is she doing?' The girl stared down at the drain before prodding at the grate with her fingers.