Chapter One: Out of the Dark
A faint smile came across Cyborg's face as he drove the T-car at high speed through the back roads of Jump City. The Titans had gotten a call not too long ago. Some intruders were sighted breaking into a large storage facility, an important one. The Titans were considered the best to handle such a job and were called into action.
The Titans welcomed the change in atmosphere. Things were just too quiet lately in Jump City. The only had they've had was petty criminals, armed robberies, and prowlers for nearly a week. Now it seemed a real challenge was at hand. Cyborg relished it the most. He was itching for something interesting to happen aside from playing games with Beast Boy and tuning up the T-car with Raven.
He glanced to his left, checking on Robin; he was riding the R-cycle with Starfire. Technically, the young girl didn't need a vehicle, but Cyborg knew that she really wanted to be with Robin. Of course, Robin justified her action in that it wouldn't be wise of her to go ahead of everyone else and take on all the villains, thus outnumbered. She might get badly hurt! Cyborg could only smile. The two of them seemed to hang out even more so than ever. He found it cute.
Raven, on the other hand, seemed depressed. Cyborg cast a quick glance at her. She was like a sister to him. They helped each other whenever possible. Cyborg would keep Beast Boy off her back, while Raven would help Cyborg with his work. They shared jokes about their shape shifting friend when they worked together. It was all good fun!
For a time, Cyborg felt that Raven and Beast Boy might get close, closer than friends. He was wrong, though. They were good friends, but never got any further. He still teased her, told her corny jokes, and tried to get her into playing the Gamestation, more often that not getting on Raven's nerves. Cyborg could only shake his head at such actions.
Beast Boy was a nice kid, and could be a big help in a tough spot, but his sense of humor could stand a great deal of improvement. Cyborg hoped he would shape up a bit as he got older. It was a long shot, but anything was possible. After all, he did find someone to love once. True, she betrayed the Titans, but still it was love. He hoped his friend could find someone else to share that with.
Cyborg was brought out of his train of thought as he saw their destination.
"Alright, time for an ass whooping!" he declared, bringing the T-car to a stop and practically jumping out.
"I'm with you!" Beast Boy added.
Robin and Starfire were waiting outside a double door that had been forced open. He motioned his teammates over.
"I counted four of them in there." he said.
"Who is it?" Raven asked.
"Three of the H.I.V.E members, it seems." he replied. "And someone else. Not sure."
"Well, whoever they are," Cyborg said. "They're going down!"
"Yes!" Starfire said enthusiastically. "I am ready for the kicking of the butt!"
"Might want to work on that phrase, Star." Raven commented.
"Why do you say that?"
"Because it sort of sounds like you want to be on the receiving end of being kicked in the butt."
"Alright, enough!" Robin snapped. "Titans, GO!" They charged into the building.
They searched past long shelves that held various boxes of various sizes. Robin could only guess as to their contents, though most of it was certainly computer hardware. It was an electronics warehouse, after all.
As he rounded a turn, he saw their quarry! He held up his fist, indicating for the Titans to stop. Rummaging through some boxes were Gizmo, Mammoth, and Jinx. And standing behind them was…Overload? 'Since when did Overload work with the H.I.V.E?' Robin wondered.
"What exactly are we looking for?" Gizmo asked.
"I'll know it when I see it!" Overload told him. "Now, stop complaining, and keep searching!"
Mammoth groaned in dismay. "You said we're looking for chips of some kind. We'll, there are thousand of chips here! How will we know it from the rest?"
"Trust me, I will be able to tell." was the terse reply.
Jinx merely glanced at her teammates. She knew it was useless to argue or complain. 'Why I never left these dumb fucks, I'll never know.' she thought to herself. She wanted to be robbing a jewelry store or hold up an armored truck, not go on a shopping spree in some junky warehouse looking for God-knows-what for some overgrown dryer spark.
Her train of thought was interrupted by an explosion that let off a quantity of grayish smoke.
"What the hell!" she exclaimed.
From the smoke, emerged the Titans! "At last!" she said aloud. "Some real fun!"
"Get those punks!" Overload commanded.
The H.I.V.E members didn't need to be told twice. Mammoth charged at full speed while Gizmo deployed his trademark mechanical legs! Jinx was prone, ready for anything.
Beast Boy turning into a rhino and met Mammoth head on with a loud concussion. They both went down, dazed.
Gizmo had a pair of laser pistols ready and fired a barrage at the Titans! Cyborg returned fire with his sonic cannon.
Jinx unleashed a hail of hexes and energy bolts at the Titans, but Raven provided a shield against them. Starfire flew behind the hex girl and flung her starbolts at her.
Surprised, Jinx immediately took cover. Raven followed her, shoving items aside, working Jinx into a corner. 'Damn, she's gotten better!' she thought. 'Might need a new strategy here.' Casting a hex, she made several shelves collapse on to Raven. She barely avoided being crushed by them.
Robin was having a tough time with Overload, who seems to have a different mannerism about him. Last time he fought the cybernetic terror, he was more of a mindless monster. Now, he was sophisticated.
"Been doing some upgrades, haven't we Overload?" he commented while swinging his staff at him.
"How observant of you!" was the reply. "I've grown smarter and more powerful than your pathetic group of heroes can handle! And I just keep getting better!"
He unleashed a barrage of electric bolts at the boy wonder, who barely managed to escape them. He felt a tingling feeling on the back of his leg from the electric charge. He pulled out an explosive disc loaded with insulating carbon dust and flung it at Overload.
The monster backed off, groaning in pain, if that was the proper term for a machine.
"Cute!" he replied, regaining composure. "But it will take more than that to stop me!"
He electrified the overhead and sent more bolts toward Robin. His only action was to cover himself with his cape, in hopes it could insulate him. It did, but he could still feel the heat around him.
"Need a little help here!" he cried.
Beast Boy had regained his footing and faced Mammoth again. The overgrown bully had grabbed a steel girder and swung it at the changeling like a baseball bat. Beast Boy managed to dodge his blows before finally turning into a chimpanzee. In such form, he had seven times the strength of a normal human, and was able to catch the girder in his hand. He wrenched it from Mammoth's grip and then leapt onto his foe, pounding his fists on his head.
"Get off me, you tick infested hairball!" he cried.
Beast Boy then became a python and coiled around Mammoth, constricting his coils.
'Lights out!' he thought as he brought the villain down, who was obviously not getting enough oxygen to his already dim witted brain.
Starfire was still helping Raven take out Jinx when she noticed Robin was in serious trouble.
"Raven, I need to help Robin!" she told her.
"Go ahead!" she replied. "I can handle her!"
The Tamaranaen flew off to her loved one's assistance. Jinx stared Raven down. "You'll handle me? You obviously need a lesson in respect!"
"And just what do you have in mind?" she countered.
Jinx sent a case of fluorescent lights toward her and shattered them. Raven managed to shield herself from the glass shrapnel and charged at Jinx, who then took a can of spray paint she found and sprayed it at Raven. She blocked it with her cloak. Jinx then spayed it on Raven's boots. Looking at them, she saw it was pink.
"Pink! I hate pink!" she said, fire in her eyes.
"I think it makes you look cute!" Jinx replied smugly.
She was startled when Raven's hands went straight for her throat. She hadn't anticipated such an action from her! All she could think of was to smack Raven on her ears. The tactic worked and she was free, while Raven held her ears in pain.
"I'll teach you, bitch!" she hissed. "Azarath, metrion, zinthos!"
A half dozen shelve rose up and all came crashing down on Jinx like a swarm of meteors! The hex girl was buried under cardboard boxes, electronics, and metal. An old computer monitor managed to strike her in the head, knocking her out. Raven stood over her work, smiling.
"Lesson learned!" she said, a tinge of smugness in her voice.
She was distracted by the commotion behind her. Overload now had Robin and Starfire pinned down by his electric bolts. She immediately flew to their aid.
Cyborg and Gizmo fought like a pair of animals, competing for dominance.
Gizmo also had made upgrades to his gear, not to mention learning new fighting skills. But Cyborg was able to counter act his attacks with his own skills and strength. So, for the most part, the fight seemed to be a draw.
Then, Gizmo had picked up two shelves and used them to pin Cyborg's arm, rendering him immobile.
"Bulls eye!" he shouted.
Cyborg used his strength to pull himself free, but not before Gizmo charged at him and leapt in the air with all the pointed ends of his mechanical legs pointed at his chest. The concentrated blow ripped a hole in Cyborg's armor, exposing wires and circuits.
The blow sent him flying back a dozen yards into another shelf.
"Gotcha, loser!" Gizmo cried out triumphantly.
Cyborg looked up. Some of his circuits were damaged from the blow. He could see sparks from the wound in his armor. To add to his disgrace, a box has fallen on him and spilled its contents on him. What he didn't notice was a particularly large computer chip that was next the hole. It picked up some of his energy and took on a faint, yellow glow.
The chip then somehow moved on its own, toward the hole! It managed to fall in without Cyborg noticing it. He was in too much pain to care. What he did notice later was a strange feeling that suddenly came over him. He couldn't think of words to describe it. It was as if a rush of adrenaline has surged in his body. But he was a cyborg, so how could that be? Whatever it was, he liked it, feeling more powerful than before, and leapt up.
"Pay back time!" he cried.