28. Obligatory Thunderstorm Episode
That next afternoon, during a thunderstorm, the lights in the Tower flickered out.
The first to notice was Starfire. She shot up from the chair in her room with a gasp, completely abandoning her diary. In the pitch blackness, she bit her lip and trembly floated over towards the other side of her room where her Glork plushie was. She hugged the soft replica of her home planet's domesticated pet to her chest and whimpered out into the emptiness:
"Why has all the illumination perished?!"
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
Cyborg was busy in the laboratory, whistling and carrying a box of samples from one half of the room to the other.
Thunder rolled and the lights went out just as he was about to step over a cable.
Naturally…the cable tripped him.
"WAAAAAAH—" KERPLANK!!! "DAAAAH! JEEZ! What gives?!?!"
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
Surfing the Internet in his room, Beast Boy smirked. He typed joyously away at an IM window, talking aloud as he did so:
"Why, of course, baby! I'd love for the two of us to meet! Should I pick you up in my Ferrari? It'll be six o'clock and I'll be coming back from an important business meeting with my agents and—"
Thunder rolled.
The screen blipped off along with the rest of the Tower's electricity.
"….," Beast Boy blinked. "Awwwww dude!" He slammed his fists down onto the darklit keyboard. "Third time this month!"
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
Robin was busy…hitting things in the gym.
He positioned himself between three padded pillars jutting up from the floor. He punched, sideswiped, and kicked the bodies of each in rapid succession, attempting to simulate a cornered situation.
He was about to perform a roundhouse kick when the lights shut down overhead.
"Whoah!!" he slipped, dove forward, and slammed against one pole and then bounced off the other two like a human pinball. He eventually collapsed onto the smooth gym floor, his eyemask squinting in pain.
"Uggggh…guess I failed that test. What the heck??!?!"
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
Raven sat in front of a window, reading a book.
Thunder rolled and the Tower turned black.
She looked up.
She blinked.
She returned to her book.
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
I was sitting in my cellar room, whistling, polishing Myrkblade.
My eyes were shadeless and bare to the flickering lanterns I used to dimly illuminate the place.
It wasn't until after I placed the weapon back on its hilt, smiled at my handiwork, and turned around that I noticed something odd.
The digital alarm clock in the far corner of the room was off.
I scratched my neck.
I walked over and checked it.
It was plugged in.
I walked into the bathroom and tried turning on the fan.
Nothing.
Power's out.
It made sense. I had felt the low rumblings of a storm shake itself down into the very foundation of the Tower. A lightning strike or something must have finally hit its mark.
Which was fine by me. I wasn't in a hurry to…turn on a television or something.
But I thought of the others and realized that something needed to be done. They were probably looking for it on their own…but…
I was bored…and admittedly a bit lonesome.
I extinguished the lantern lights, put on my shades, and casually made my way out and into the body of the cellar.
I walked up a metal set of stairs, into a hallway, and tried the elevator.
It wouldn't respond.
I swear……I stood there for a good minute and a half before hitting myself in the head.
Duh!
I looked around, found the door to the stairwell, and opened it.
I looked up at the grand height above me.
This might take a while……
I began slowly..steadily…walking up the rows of stairs all the way to the top floor where I knew the Main Room was waiting for me.
After a while, the impatience got to me and I thought 'Screw It!'
I blurred my bare feet and hopscotched my way from wall to wall up the stairwell until I reached the approximate 'top'. When I came to a landing stop, I shuddered at the painful throbbing in my toes and told myself to never do that again.
Pressing myself onward, I hobbled in through the door and came out into a hallway. A few steps later, I was at the automatic doors into the Main Room. Naturally, they were stuck closed. Rather than force them open, I reached out a hand, seeped murk through the creases in the frames, and poured my power out into the other side.
SWOOOOSH!!
I teleported over and walked the length of the Main Room over towards the computers. It was a dark, blue-gray world outside…intermittently stabbed by bouts of bright white lightning.
All in all, though, it was comfortably…dark.
I smiled, took off my shades, and felt fine with my black eyes in the gothic atmosphere.
In such a spirit I approached one of the computers and pressed a key.
Nothing happened.
I scratched my chin, thinking.
Not even the reserves are working. This is more than your usual shutdown.
I walked over to a wall panel and opened it. I pulled out a laptop computer from its station. I flipped it open and sat in front of the window. After switching it on, I turned the brightness to its lowest legible frequency and squinted at the boot screen.
Once the system had loaded, I accessed the most recent logs of the main computer. I checked on the power reserves up to the sudden shut down.
After reading the statistics, I exclaimed a silent 'oh'.
That's right……Cyborg was in the laboratory, working on an experiment with the reserves' reliability.
A pause.
Maybe it wasn't the lightning strike at all that caused this.
I flipped the laptop closed and stared out at the windows as rain started to streak down heavily.
Exactly how does someone go about rebooting the reserve power?
There was a squeaking sound.
I looked over at the floor.
A rat sniffed its way in from under the malfunctioning doors. With a strobe of lightning, I noticed green fur.
One of my eyebrows rose.
Beast Boy morphed into elf form. "Sheesh…thought I'd never get up here—" He took one look at me. "YAAAAH!!"
I fell back in my seat and all but dropped the laptop. I hugged it to my chest and glanced at him cockeyed.
"S-Sorry," Beast Boy hiccuped. "After all these weeks…I-I'm still getting used to your eyes."
I rolled them.
"Must be pretty dark in here, then," Beast Boy said. He bumped his knee into a table and winced. "Y-Yup…pretty dark."
I sniffled forth a giggle.
"So…like….what's going on?" Beast Boy asked, looking around at the dark, storm-lit room. "I haven't crammed for the End Times yet."
I gestured towards the laptop and reopened it.
The changeling looked over my shoulder. "So everything's down. But why?"
I shrugged, then gestured inquisitively out at the wet storm.
"Yeah, I thought of that," Beast Boy nodded. "But the reserves?"
I scratched my head.
So did he.
"Guess we'd better find the others, then," Beast Boy remarked. He pulled out his communicator and flipped it open. But there was no Star Trek sound. His eyes bulged. "The heck?!" He shook it, pressed a button, and called into it. "Hello?! Can anyone hear me?!"
I raised an eyebrow. I reached to my side and whipped out my communicator, similarly tapping its buttons and finding it dead.
"Oh….I get it now," Beast Boy rolled his eyes. "The transceiver's down."
I glanced at him wyrd.
"Ya know…the Tranceiver! It runs all throughout the Tower and bounces our communicator's signals back and forth against each other. It's usually always working, except for in the event that both the Tower's power and its reserves are down. And this….er….is that very *first* time. At least on my watch."
I nodded slowly. I stood up and walked over towards the windows. I stared out at the cascading water on the other side of the glass. The dull blue light and its brilliant gasps every now and then stretched before me. Sooner than naught, Beast Boy stood beside me, looking out.
A beat.
"We should….ya know…be looking through the Tower to regroup with the others," Beast Boy said.
I nodded.
A beat.
"Kinda hypnotic….the way it's all raining and stuff outside."
I nodded.
A beat.
The two of us sighed, simultaneously swiveled about, and headed back for the hallway that led to the stairwell.
"Where do you suppose they'd be right now?"
I shrugged and looked at him.
"Don't look at me!" he cackled. "I've been busy the last few hours….er….'socializing'."
I gave him a suspicious glance.
"Seriously!"
I opened the doors to the stairs and was about to head down.
"Uh…aren't we taking the elevator?" Beast Boy asked.
I smirked.
"Oh….duh. God, I'm so modern."
Together, we walked downstairs. I didn't blur this time, though. I didn't want to rush Beast Boy in the descent. Similarly, he didn't morph into a lightweight fowl and cut his time off. It was like we were both in 'casual' mode.
Rainy days will do that……
"So…like…I can almost see how you got stuck for a day in the bottom chambers of this place," Beast Boy mused, his voice echoing. "I never stop to think about how large the Tower truly is, ya know?!"
I smiled as we descended.
"So many rooms and doors and bulkheads and stuff," he continued. "Not to mention dark—WHOAH!"
He tripped forward down the stairs.
I gasped, swiveled around, and caught the brunt of his fall.
Bracing myself with murked feet, I managed to let us slide no further than three bumpy steps down.
I let out a sigh of relief.
"Eheheheheh," Beast Boy sweatdropped. "How about this floor?"
I nodded.
We stood up straight and went through the first door we could find.
"Yeesh," Beast Boy shivered. "I'm suddenly getting déjà vu. Not the déjà vu that I like!"
I glanced at him funny.
"Our first run-in with Control Freak," he simpered. "The night was followed by all sorts of demons and monsters and stuff chasing us in a darkened Tower."
I blinked my black eyes.
"I'm not making it up!"
I held my hands up and showed a legitimate face of concern.
"Oh, we were all right in the end," Beast Boy giggled.
I was curious.
"Turns out it was Raven's subconscious powers or some crap," Beast Boy said, doing a 'loo-loo' symbol with his finger by his head. "None of the chaos stopped until she realized what she was accidentally doing."
I had a look of shock on my face.
"What! Don't tell me you're actually *surprised* at that tale!"
I nodded. He was right.
"Let's keep going. I'm getting the spooks just talking about it all."
We pressed on. Down a dark hallway. Pass doors.
I felt like a newby again. Everything was much more…real to me with the shades off. As dark as it was, the new habitat of mine looked brighter. Healthier. Livelier. I couldn't recognize the doors anymore. I didn't even know if we were getting close to someone's room or not.
"If I'm not mistaken…," Beast Boy thought aloud, "…just a few steps should be—"
"EEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!" an unmistakable, Tamaranian shriek caught our ears.
I winced and gripped my head.
Beast Boy cringed, but managed to gasp: "Star!!"
He ran ahead to the doors—to her room, I suppose—and tried to force them open.
There was a second 'EEEEEE!', and suddenly the doors flew wide and a red-headed alien girl flew out and tackled the green Titan.
"WHOAH!! OOFF!" Beast Boy was squashed beneath her.
"Light! Light! Light! Light! Light! Light!" the girl squeezed him to death, her eyes wide shut. "Need a light!!"
"But…I….thought….you….didn't….smoke…..," Beast Boy turned from green to blue.
"No no no no no!!" Starfire held him up. Her eyes were hollow as she lifted Beast Boy up by the shoulders and stared him down. "Need….light!!"
Beast Boy looked desperately at me.
I pointed at him.
"Oh…um….," he turned into a lantern fish and dangled a glowing tentacle before her. He held his 'breath' and waited for….
Starfire sighed. Her eyes thinned. A drunken smile came to her lips. She cradled the glowing tentacle with one hand. "That's better…"
I walked forward, grabbed her wrist gently, and held it up to her eyes.
"Huh?" She looked at it….then blushed like mad. "Oh….right. I forgot." She charged up half a starbolt, and her hands started glowing…adequately illuminating the hallway dimly.
Beast Boy dropped down into elf form, gasped, and shook his head. "What's with you, Star?! I know it's dark, but—"
"Of course it is dark!!" Starfire exclaimed, holding up to glowing hands and practically cradling them to her cheeks. "It is so very dark! I do not like the dark!"
Beast Boy blinked. "You don't?!"
The girl trembled, hugged a glork plushie that was suddenly there, and pointed into the black hole that was her room.
"All the night lights. Not working. My night lights! Not working! None of them!"
Beast Boy doubled over, laughing. "You! Hahahahaha!! You, Starfire?! At your age?! You need nightlights?! Ah ha ha ha ha!!"
Starfire frowned and said: "Lest you forget that I am the one given the weekly task of doing laundry, and whenever I go through your selection I am constantly aghast at your post-adolescent—"
"Okay, Star—"
"—possesion of—"
"That's enough, I get the picture—"
"—a most worn out blan—MMMMPPPHH!!"
Beast Boy covered her mouth. "I'm sorry, okay?"
I glanced at them both. A curious expression lit my face.
The changeling sweatdropped and simpered at me. "Roommate quarrel. No business of the newby's."
I folded my arms and frowned.
Starfire nibbled on Beast Boy's palm.
"YOWCH!!" he jumped back, shaking his hand.
"Ptooie!!" Starfire exclaimed, regained herself, and said with a pouting face. "It was so dark in there for so long. Where is Ro—er, the others?"
"The others is somewhere we don't know!" Beast Boy said, blowing on his palm. "Noir and I are trying to find them."
Starfire lifted a glowing hand towards me and squinted. "Noir….your shades are off!"
I squinted through her blinding greenness and nodded with a grin.
"Ooops! Most sorry!" she brought the glowing wrist down a bit and simpered, hugging the glork to her chest. "The darkening experience has confused me, I must say. I am still getting accustomed to the unpleasant side effects of your earth storms and—"
Thunder shook throughout the Tower.
"EEEEEE!!" she again pounced, landed on Beast Boy, and forced the two to the floor…along with the plushie.
"OOF!!
"UGH!!"
"….," I stared. Rubbed a temple. And gestured down the hallway.
"Yeah….let's…..see what Raven's up to," Beast Boy said.
The two got up, dusting themselves off.
"Just a few levels down…," Beast said. "Assuming she's in her room too."
"Ummm…," Starfire stammered and blushed.
"What?"
"May we….erm….go together?"
"Of course, Starfire!" Beast Boy exclaimed. "What did you think I was suggesting?!"
"Oh, glorious friends! We shall trek downward together!" Starfire said, spinning around with her plushie and smiling her eyes shut. "Surely then, no storm of any caliber could ever harm—"
Thunder again.
Starfire froze. Her teeth chattered.
Beast Boy cleared his throat and led the way. "At least you didn't pounce that time. Come on, let's go."
I almost wished she had…
The three of us traveled across the hallway and down a flight of stairs and into a corridor that—annoyingly—seemed darker than the previous.
Starfire couldn't help but tremble. In so doing, her dim starbolt light flickered across the walls.
Beast Boy squinted for a steady bearing. "Starfire…stop shaking so much! It's all right, we're with you!"
"I cannot help it. My muscles will not listen to me."
I looked at her.
She looked back.
"I always had a nightlight back on Tamaran," she simpered. "I suppose I got too used to it while growing up. It is like a second type of oxygen, no?"
I smiled.
"We're here," Beast Boy said. He leaned forward to the door on Raven's room and got ready to knock. A pause. He leaned back.
"????" I looked.
"Um….why don't YOU knock?" he asked.
I bit my lip, shrugged, and stepped forward in the green elf's place. I raised my knuckles to the door…paused…and glanced back at them.
They stood back at a safe distance. Waiting…
Okay…
I shook it off and knocked on the door.
…….no response.
"She is…..sleeping?" Starfire inquired.
I turned around and looked curiously at their timid figures.
"Anything to fear worse than a thunderstorm…," Beast Boy said with a scratch of his neck, "…is interrupting Raven on a bad day."
I placed my hands on my hips.
"Believe me," he whimpered. "Believe me whole-heartedly."
Whatever…
I slid the door open and walked in.
The others gasped.
I stepped forward and looked around…and around…and around.
Nothing, save for gothic furnishings and a rain drenched-window.
"Well then…," Beast Boy said, peering in from the hallway. "She isn't here. Our lives are spared for another hour…"
"There is…..some light in there," Starfire mumbled, drifting forward like a moth.
"Oh no you don't!" Beast Boy held her at bay. "Come on, Noir! You had her fun! She's obviously not here. Let's keep on looking."
I nodded, turned around, and started to head back.
A strobe of light gushed into the room from the windows as lightning struck.
"EEEK!!" Starfire pounced…and found me this time.
"!!!!"
We both collapsed on the floor outside Raven's room. Stars circling our heads.
Beast Boy chuckled. "Ya know…looking at it from this perspective, that actually *is* kinda funny!"
I stood up and rubbed my head.
Starfire knelt, huggingher glork plushie. "A thousand apologies, Noir. There seems to be no end to my instantaneous phobia."
There was a rustling sound from down the hallway.
Starfire gasped and stood up tall. "What is that?"
More rustling.
Hair stood on the end of my neck. I craned my head to get a look around the corner. But I had no luck from my position.
"Um….I-I-I'll go first," Beast Boy stammered. He crawled forward, Inspector Clusoe style, and approached the corner.
Starfire and I filed behind him…not necessarily in that order.
Rustling.
Beast Boy peered.
Rustling.
Beast Boy looked around.
Rustling.
"What….wh-what is that noise?"
"I don't know!" Beast Boy shook his head. "It's not coming from over there!"
My head turned around part way.
Starfire's green eyes blinked wide. "Then it is coming from—"
"---BEHIND US!!"
"EEEK!!"
We spun around.
Raven walked to a stand-still with a book in her grasp. "…..what?"
She flipped a page.
Rustling.
"I was in the middle of reading when it got all dark. I sensed Starfire's light and so I came here. Mind if I stand a little closer? I'm just about at the blood-sucking scene."
"B-By all means," Starfire trembled, holding up a glowing wrist.
"Thank you much…," Raven said, reading by the starbolt.
"H-How can you read vampire novels at a time like this?!?!" Beast Boy cackled.
"How can I not?" Raven replied. "Might I add, you all look worse for wear."
I gulped down the last of the willies and breathed normally.
"And just what's up with you?!" Beast Boy exclaimed. "Don't tell me you're not freaked out by this storm and the power and all that jazz!"
"Not at all. I rather like it."
I smiled.
Starfire looked at Beast Boy. "She is Raven, after all."
The changeling growled. "Rrrrrrgh!! Freakin'….dark girl person you!!" He shook a fist. "I swear….I'll never understand you!"
Raven droned without looking: "Rest assured…that's the one reason I have for keeping you alive…"
Beast Boy blinked. "Huh?"
Starfire giggled.
"Oh…go hug your Mork plushie."
"Glork!"
"Whatever."
"I assume you're all wanting to regroup with the rest of the team…," Raven muttered, eyeing her book closely.
"That's the general plan," Beast Boy said. "Noir and I started in the Main Room. We've been working our way down."
"And the reason for the blackout….?"
"Not sure. But the reserves are down too."
"That would explain the communicators."
"Yup. Know that already. Can we go now?"
"Cyborg has a light," Starfire said. "Let us go see Cyborg next. Can we go see Cyborg next?"
"ALL RIGHT!!" Beast Boy motioned and stumbled down the hallway. "Geez…remind me to buy you a million nightlights after this is all said and done…"
Starfire gasped. "Do you really mean it?"
"Sure, why not?"
"Heeeeeeeeee!!!"
I shook my head.
Raven flipped a page.
Rustling.
We meandered our way down another stairwell. Thunder coursed through the building's structure every now and then. Starfire trembled against her stuffed animal. Raven's brow furrowed as she tried to concentrate on her mobile reading.
"Starfire…why must you be so skittish? It is only a thunderstorm."
"Storms on my planet are a very different nature," the Tamaranian replied.
"Do tell…."
"For one, they lack the frightening electrical charges between the ground and the sky."
"Dude! No way!" Beast Boy remarked. "Your planet doesn't go through lightning?"
She shook her head. "No…the organic cyclones are enough as it is."
Beast Boy blinked. "Organic….cyclones?"
"Tamaran's atmosphere is populated by microscopic lifeforms called TropoKelp. TropoKelp are lighter than air and float about in a homogenous mixture with the already-present chemicals in the atmosphere. They are so prevalent on my planet, that many species—including sentient Tamaranian bipeds such as myself—base their metabolism on the microbes they inhale when breathing. Someday I may show you a diagram of Tamaranian anatomy. My stomach is closely linked to my lungs."
"Ewwwww," Beast Boy couldn't help but wince.
Raven glared at him. "Oh, like you're so handsome."
"Only cuz I am!" Beast Boy smirked. He led us down more flights of stairs and spoke to Starfire again: "So how do these organic cyclones begin?"
"Well…it's quite simple, really," Starfire trembled as another rumble went through the structure. "A trough of cold air settles closer to the planet's surface while simultaneously a trough of warm air is pushed upwards to great heights and—"
"Sounds like the makings of a tornado…," Raven interrupted.
Starfire gasped. "You have them too?!?!"
"Yup."
The girl's eyes watered. "This planet is so….hazardous…"
"But what makes yours so organic?" Beast Boy asked.
"Well…when the cyclone starts, the TropoKelp are compacted together within the throes of the winds and….naturally…they explode."
"E-Explode?"
"Very tiny explosions, mind you. But it begins a chain reaction, and sooner than not Tamaranian storms have cyclones of fire caused by billions of microbes combusting at once. Safe to say, many a house burns down during the warm seasons."
The changeling blinked. "Yikes…."
"Cool," Raven said.
I tried not to sniff forth a chuckle.
"It is not cool!" Starfire protested. "It is most harrowing and disastorous! Yet, I might add, nowhere near as harrowing as this planet of yours. Ohhhh…if only I could transport myself home over the night and let this storm pass on by."
"It's just a common thunderstorm," Raven mumbled, flipping a page. "Deal with it."
"'Dealing with it' is the foremost desire of my will this moment…," Starfire said. "As soon as we find Cyborg---and his light---I am certain that things will be well on their way to fruition."
Just then, a huge warble of thunder shook down the tower.
"EEEK!!" Starfire shrieked and---
"Not again," Beast Boy whimpered.
I flinched.
WHUMP!!!
Raven lifted an eyebrow, "Again?"
I gestured for her to not ask.
The two titans disentangled themselves.
"A th-thousand apologies," Starfire blushed.
Beast Boy brushed himself off. "Make that two thousand."
"This is the floor," Raven said, closing her book and stepping up to a door. "I suggest we go in…now."
Beast Boy and I opened the doors, letting the girls walk through. We followed up behind in what had to have been the darkest hallway yet. Even Raven's floor—gothic to the max—had windows in it.
"Why's Cyborg's spot such a……black hole?"
"It wasn't made for crew quarters," Raven said. "It's foremost a place for laboratories and system diagnostics."
"A science wing!"
"Exactly. It's just that…well…Cyborg's Cyborg. Sleeping in a bed isn't his idea of comfort. He needs a computer station to temporarily shut himself down at."
"I don't think he's in his….er….'room' at the moment," Beast Boy said. Noir and I checked the logs. He had to have been in one of the computer rooms, performing a test on the power reserves."
"Why would be engrossed in doing such a thing during a thunderstorm??" Starfire asked.
Beast Boy shrugged. "Beats me. Waiting till the last minute, I guess." He lifted an eyebrow and looked behind him as he realized Starfire was walking less than an inch away. "What're you doing?"
"There's safety in numbers."
"Go crowd out your Fork!"
"Glork!"
"Whatever."
Raven sighed and whipped out her book again in mid-walk.
I walked ahead of the group and to the computer room doors first.
"Impatient, much, Noir?" Beast Boy smirked.
I stuck my tongue out at him and gestured for help with the door.
"Gladly. Star…give us light."
"Allright," the Tamaranian held a hand out, casting a dim green glow on the door.
Beast Boy and I gripped two sides of the automatic panels and struggled with all our might.
"It's…..not….budging….," Beast Boy gritted his teeth.
I sweat, my face straining.
Eventually, the two of us stopped and relaxed to breathe.
"The door is being stubborn?" Starfire inquired.
"It's addicted to electricity and is going through withdrawal, " Beast Boy panted. "I have an idea. Noir, stand back."
I did so.
Beast Boy turned into a velociraptor. Muscles rippling, the green dinosaur stuck his claws in between the panels and struggled—snorting and hissing—to open them.
No luck.
Starfire blinked. "Maybe if you try—"
"GOT IT!" Beast Boy jumped back, turned into a rhino, and charged at full force.
I flinched.
WHAM!!!!
The changeling's horn dented and stars formed in his eyes. He teetered and fell hard to the ground before turning back into an elf in a fetal position.
"Owwwwwwie…."
Starfire knelt by his side. "I was going to suggest a tapeworm to go between the panels."
"Stick to vertebrates," he mumbled.
I walked towards the door and scratched my chin, trying to think up a solution.
"How shall we go about this task, then?" Starfire asked.
Without lifting her nose form her book, Raven extended a hand and turned the door panels into solid black. Under Starfire's light, the two slid open easily.
"…….," I looked at Raven.
Raven spoke: "I am reading. I do not like being interrupted, so do not let it happen again."
I sighed and walked forward.
"Noir! Wait for us!"
"Take as much time as you want…," Beast Boy wheezed.
I sneaked into the room and glanced around. Starfire entered behind me, a glowing hand held up. From her guidance, a halo of dim green danced across the walls just in time for my black eyes to scan.
"He is nowhere to be seen…," Starfire said. The Tower rumbled again and she winced.
I walked forward a bit. My foot bumped into something. I glanced down, and did a double take.
I tapped Starfire's shoulder.
"Huh?"
I pointed downward.
She cast her light to the floor and gasped. "Cyborg!"
The android was stretched out on the floor, in a rigidly frozen position. There was no sense of life emanating from him. I was startled even to see the usual electric blue of his titanium replaced by solid black.
I knelt down and felt for a pulse. Then I thought to myself: 'Does Cyborg even have a pulse?'
"What the heck?" Beast Boy rubbed his head, walking in. "Awwww man!" he exclaimed. "He ran out of power again!"
I gave the other Titans a horrified look.
"Hehehe….first time you ever witness it, Newby?" Beast Boy smirked.
"He is merely unable to function at the moment," Starfire said, kneeling down and knocking a hand against his head. CLANG CLANG. "Ohhh…I most sympathize with you, Cyborg. Even if your heart is pure alkaline."
"I gestured emphatically to the bunch."
"He needs a reboot is all," Beast Boy said. "Sooner than later, of course. But…ya know…" He gestured to the dark interior surrounding us. "Kinda difficult at the moment."
I looked down and thought.
"We need him…," Raven said from out in the hallway with her book. "He was last working on the power reserves, right? Only he knows what happened."
"But what can we do?!" Beast Boy exclaimed. "All the power cells in the place are down thanks to the storm!"
"Or whatever caused it…," Raven added.
"Don't complicate things!!"
"I'm not….now stop yelling."
Starfire stepped in, smiling. "Perhaps if we locate Robin, we can all put together our collective minds and think of something to—"
"Robin's last on the list," Beast Boy interrupted. "We've got to get Cyborg to a power source. And I think I know just the thing."
"Do we just leave him here?" Starfire pouted. "That is most rude!"
I lifted a finger.
Everyone looked at me.
I smiled.
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
"Some….idea…..Noir…!!" Beast Boy grunted.
I similarly struggled and sweat on my end of Cyborg.
Together, the changeling and I hoisted Cyborg's unconscious, stiff body down the steps….one at a time…at a time…at a time…at a time.
Every now and then, our strength would slip and one of Cyborg's feet would fall down hard onto a step. CLANG!!
"Watch it…," Raven said, slowly trailing us and reading her book. "That's fragile cargo you've got."
"I wonder who's more fragile…," Beast Boy wheezed. "His titanium butt or my aching wrists!"
I strained and focused my strength on carefully, steadily carrying my half of him down.
Starfire floated over us, her glowing hands providing light. "Do not fret, my friends!" She smiled. "You have only twelve more flights to go!"
"Ugggggggh," Beast Boy grumbled. "I'm gonna feel THIS in the morning. That's for sure."
"To alleviate the stress of your toil…," Starfire grinned. "I shall sing a traditional Tamaranian labor song. Its cadence is most complementary to such a task at hand as you two are undertaking."
I simpered.
"Thanks, Starfire..," Beast Boy sweatdropped. "But it's quite okay—"
"Gluuuuuuuuuuuraaaaaaaaaaaaaw-ka-jork-aaaaaaaaa!!!"
"Uh….Star?"
"Turu-Turu-sork-jaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!"
"I think we've got it—"
"Aye-sarj-yo-kohhhhhhhhhhhhh!!"
"We've got it—!!!"
"NeeeOOOeeeOOOeeeOO!"
"WE'VE GOT IT!!"
"Lululululululululu!!!"
"WILL YOU PLEASE—" Beast Boy spun around…and suddenly realized he wasn't holding his half of Cyborg anymore. "…..we don't got it!!"
"!!!!!!!!!!!" My body convulsed as an uncontrollable, weighted Cyborg rolled over. I winced from the impact, pressed against the stairs. And then was shocked to feel nothing. The th-thumping and cl-clanking in the distance announced the unimaginable. Cyborg was tumbling like a barrel down the steps!
"Better catch him….," Raven suggested.
"AW CRAP!!!!" Beast Boy jumped over the railing and turned into a diving pterodactyl.
I got to my feet, charged up murk, and blurred down the walls.
Together, the changeling and I outran the fumbling android. Around the third floor platform, we both came to a stop. That is to say, I was first. I planted myself on the ground and stretched out my hands. A shadow in dim green light formed over me. I looked up and let out a silent scream. Jumping out of the way at the last second, I barely avoided Beast Boy in elephant form. He spun around and presented his huge, mammalian butt as a cushion to deflect Cyborg's tumble.
WHAM!!
A trunk-ful of face was sent into me.
WHUMP!!
I tumbled backwards, rolled on the ground, and ended with my back propped up against the wall.
………ow.
Beast Boy dizzily turned back into elf form and looked Cyborg over. "You okay, Cy? Hmm…no cracks. No broken arms. You are truly made out of the main stuff, dude!" He patted the unconscious android's shoulder.
His red eye fell out.
"Er……," Beast Boy looked at me.
I got up.
Beast Boy swiveled around, stuck the red eye back in, and gulped forth a smile and a scratch of the neck. "That…..didn't just happen."
Starfire floated down to a landing. "Friends! Is he okay?"
"A sight for sore eyes," Beast Boy said…..then winced at his own words.
"Poor Cyborg," the Tamaranian cooed. "It must be so uncomfortable to be knocked around so while sleeping." With that said, she gracefully leaned over, grabbed his shoulders, and lifted him effortlessly to his feet. "There! Now you are standing! Hehehe!"
Beast Boy did a double take. "Wait! How did you----?!"
"How did I what?"
I smirked.
"Being Tamaranian, my strength is greatly amplified in comparison towards yours."
"Oh yeah….r-right," Beast Boy simpered, blushing. "But wait!" He pointed. "All this time you could have been 'carrying' Cyborg down!"
"Yes."
"And not losing a sweat!"
"Yes. Yes."
"How come you didn't suggest it?!" Beast Boy exclaimed. "It would have saved us a whole lot of trouble!"
Starfire timidly looked aside. "Well..after Noir suggested taking Cyborg to the garage, I was more than willing to assist. But once I saw you two busily employed in the task of transporting him, I was reminded of you Titan males and your inclination of doing things on your own. I believe it is what earthlings call 'nacho'."
Nacho………
Beast Boy mouthed it. He looked at me.
I shook my head and mouthed it correctly.
"Macho?" Beast Boy read. His eyes widened and his brow furrowed and he glanced at Starfire. "You think we were trying to be macho?!?!"
There was a surprising chuckle from above and behind us.
The three of us turned to see Raven descending, covering her mouth.
"Don't mind me," she said with momentarily warm eyes. "I sure as heck am not minding you."
"You're on Starfire's side for once………," Beast Boy stammered. He jumped, "And I hate it!"
"We're almost at the garage," Raven said. "Why not complete this chapter in the journey?"
"Splendid!" Starfire grinned, hugging her stuffed glork.
Thunder shook the Tower.
Cyborg's red eye fell out again.
Beast Boy gasped and hackey-sacked it back into place before anyone could take notice.
"Going! G-Going now!" Beast Boy stuttered.
"Allow me…," Starfire volunteered.
"By all means," Beast Boy smiled. "Take responsibility."
Starfire had a proud smile on her face as she lifted him and floated his body down the stairwell.
I followed behind…rubbing my aching back.
Raven returned to her mobile book.
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
"Cyborg?"
"Wake up, Cy!"
"It is time for you to awaken! Your powers have been returned to you!"
Cyborg blinked. "Ughhh," he sat up slowly on the garage floor and rubbed his titanium skull. "Am I….dead?"
"Hardly," Starfire smiled as we all huddled above our metal companion. "You are as alive as ever!"
"Then how come it's so dark still?"
"We were hoping you could tell us," Raven said from behind her book.
"Last thing I remember…," Cyborg spoke. "I was moving stuff around in the laboratory. I had some computer chips to replace the system in charge of regulating the power reserves. There was a loud crash throughout the room…..like…..thunder…."
"It could be the storm presently above us!" Starfire remarked. "A storm which is most unpleasant, I might add."
Cyborg glanced at me…Beast Boy…Raven. "Quite a party we've got going here," he said. "What's the occasion?"
"The power's out in the whole Tower," Beast Boy said. His glanced turned suspicious. "And the reserves weren't around to provide backup!"
"Hey, don't look at me!" Cyborg retorted. "I had no idea a lightning strike would happen when it did! Besides, I could easily have prevented it had I not gone under!"
"Cyborg…your power was completely drained," Beast Boy said. "There wasn't much you could do."
"What could have caused it??" Cyborg thought aloud. "I was at full power! It's possible that in the middle of—ah ha!"
"What is it?" Starfire asked.
"Of course!" Cyborg stood up and waved with his hands. "The lightning sent a surge through our system. The console containing the power reserve regulators must have short circuited and sparked outward…and I was probably caught in the cross fire!"
"So….like a seizure or something?" Beast Boy suggested with a scratch of his head.
"I guess you could say that," Cyborg nodded. "My system was confused as to what happened to me, and started leaking juice until I was all dry. Good thing y'all helped."
"It was the least we could do!" Starfire beamed.
"Now exactly how did you guys do it--," Cyborg turned around. His natural eye bulged. "WAAAAH!! My baby!!"
The waking android noticed for the first time that he was wired directly to the battery of the T-Car.
"You sapped the juice out of my baby!!" he cackled. "Why in the world would you do that?!?!"
"Dude!" Beast Boy frowned. "We just risked our overall good health to get you down here and plug you in so that you could mouth off at us!"
"Well I wished you hadn't! I actually have to go to town and BUY those batteries! On my allowance, it ain't cheap!"
"Oh yeah?! Well maybe you should keep some batteries in your lab if you're so gosh darn fragile—"
"I DO!!" Cyborg shrieked. "But naturally you're too lazy and thick headed to look for yourse—"
His red eye fell out.
What was left of Cyborg's optics widened.
Beast Boy sweatdropped, blushed, and chuckled. "Eheheheheheh….ahem. Lemme get that for you." He bent over, picked up the red lens, and popped it back into place.
"……," Cyborg stared. "We'll talk about this….later…"
I smiled tentatively.
"What is our next course of action, Cyborg?" Starfire inquired.
"Why you asking me?"
"A great deal of us want the lights back on…," Raven droned. "Though don't look at me."
"One of us needs to go down into the cellar and reboot the reserves manually. What…have any of you been wasting your time going up to the top floor or something?"
I smacked a hand over my forehead.
Cyborg smirked. "Nuts to you, Noir."
I gave him a sarcastic smile.
"Then what are we waiting for?!" Beast Boy shrugged. "Let's go switch them on—"
"They're in the darkest spot in the Tower," Cyborg said. "None of us has been there in ages. And last time I checked, the spider population was quite high."
Thunder rolled.
Everyone was silent.
Starfire gulped.
"Fascinating…," Raven said, her eyes completely off the pages of her book by now.
"What of Robin?" Starfire stammered, faithfully changing the subject. "We have not heard from him and I am most worried."
There was a sudden, rhythmic, knocking sound. The five of us looked around. The knocking continued. It echoed this time. We all looked towards the garage door.
Cyborg raised a hand and twitched a thumb.
An electronic signal was sent from his metallic insides, signaling the door to open.
Moist, cool air rushed in from the terrific downpour directly outside.
Standing with his back against us—a perfect silhouette against the backdrop of streaking gray and blue rain—was Robin. His arms were folded and his posture was casual. Judging by the drops of rain hanging off a bang or two of his black hair, he must have been out there for a while. He turned slowly, looked at us, and smiled.
"I heard everything," he said. "It's about time you all showed up. I've been standing out here….enjoying the view."
Slowly, the five of us walked over to join him. Starfire too…though she was slightly pensive of approaching the natural storm of her fears.
We stood alongside Robin, facing the curtain of rain that fell a mere few feet in front of us. The Bay stretched out beyond, with the suspension bridge cutting into the fogged skyline of the city amidst the falling moisture.
After a moment of silence, Beast Boy naturally said something unnatural: "It's…..kinda………pretty."
"Mmmmhmmm," Robin nodded with a smile.
"I had no idea…," Starfire said. Thunder rolled, and she didn't move an inch.
"I was gonna rush to meet with the rest of you guys…," Robin said. "But as soon as I exited the gym, I heard the rain…and I couldn't help myself. It's been a while since we had a good storm. Don't you think?"
"I….I-I guess," Starfire replied, hugging her glork doll less depedently.
"Doesn't bother me a bit," Raven said.
Silence.
Interestingly, the Boy Wonder went on. "Some nights in Gotham City were like this."
We all looked at him.
"For once…the ever nightmarish red sky would fade to gray. And then the rain would come down like a stage curtain. It was the intermission of crimefighting; a reminder that—no matter how stressed or pushed to the limit I could be—there was a Nature somewhere more powerful than any evil. And that Nature served as an absolute. A shining light—or a black hole on the horizon. Which ever it was…it made me want to keep on fighting. I owed much of my apprentice days to such breaks in action…"
I marveled. It was a rare thing for Robin ever to talk about his past. Judging from the expressions and looks of those around me, it seemed likely that I wasn't the only one who felt that way.
Robin was such a hardened, task-oriented individual that…sometimes I wondered if he ever truly had a soul. I only had to teach myself that—like everyone—he had many faces. Many masks. Many layers of which to peel and see what lies beneath.
Perhaps we were all seeing the first of this 'peeling'. And though it was only an instant…it was an instant we would all remember. Subconsciously. Like a precedent to grow on…and something to emulate.
Our leader was a rounded leader after all. He could frown all day and yet afford to smile at a thunderstorm.
It was one of those moments in time when time had no moments.
"I guess we should….ya know…..reboot the power and stuff…," Raven said.
"Yeah…..," Beast Boy trailed.
A beat.
"Maybe later…."
And the rain kept pouring.
