AN: Welcome back everyone! Thanks for your patience as I roll out my other projects!
First off, addressing some reviews:
To warrior of six blades; I'm always pleased to have your very detailed reviews. Yes, Tony made quite the impact in Beast Boy's reconciliation with Starfire. Hopefully, this will give Beast Boy the kick he needs to act more maturely in the future (just slightly :) ).
To Klipper; I honestly didn't consider Tony and Kara-Zor-El as a pairing, though it is a good one. I can just imagine Tony and Kara bonding over playing with alien technology, Tony building armor for Kara to resist kryptonite, the two of them kicking Lex Luthor's ass together as a date, and eventually settling down and having a family with super-genius kids that have incredible Kryptonian powers.
That being said, I already have a plan for Tony's pairing and it wouldn't be most people's first guess.
As for Artoria, I didn't plan on adding the Fate series into the mix. The Akashic Record was just something I found while researching the Astral Dimension. Tony is primarily a man of science, and while he's more accepting of the concept of magic in this reality, he won't be getting himself involved in that world of magic.
However, that was an excellent plot idea from you, Klipper. Perhaps if I or someone else were to do a "What If…?" story…
Anyways, let's continue the Titanic Adventures, this time with Cyborg grappling with the fact that he's a…you know...
Disclaimer: This author does not own the properties of Naruto, Marvel Comics, and DC Comics (unfortunately). This work is made for nonprofit entertainment purposes only.
"Hello there!": Speech.
'What a drag': Thoughts.
[I am Iron Man!]: Mechanical Speech
The Earth is Mine!: Monster/Demon Speech
Let'sgetiton!
Chapter 7
The Sum of His Parts
Location: Dragon's Gate Park, Jump City
It's a bright sunshiny day today, and the citizens of Jump City bask in the wonderful weather here in Dragon's Gate Park, the city's largest and most famous public park. All around, people are flying kites, playing catch, letting their dogs roam, and having picnics. They are especially appreciative of the peaceful atmosphere considering the Brimstone scare several days ago.
Cyborg is one of those appreciative souls as he takes in a deep breath.
"Mm-mm! Would you look at that? A little sunshine. A little breeze. Only one thing can make this day better!" Cyborg proclaims as he opens up a barbecue grill, revealing… "Four and a half pounds of baby back ribs!"
The hero takes the steaming plate of meaty goodness out of the grill and brings it to a picnic table, where a variety of other foods, including burgers and hot dogs, are just waiting to be eaten.
"Man, I love picnic food!" Cyborg declares as he sits down and digs into his plate of ribs with gusto.
Next to him, Robin is vigorously munching on a hot dog, Tony's in his armor enjoying his cheeseburger, and Starfire is happily guzzling a bottle of mustard through a straw.
"Agreed, Cyborg!" says Starfire. "This Spicy Barbecue Mustard is truly delightful!"
Cyborg, Robin, and Tony notice the small pile of empty mustard bottles next to Starfire.
"Uh, Star? You sure you're gonna have room for food after drinking all of those?" Robin asks warily.
"Not to worry, Robin! I have plenty of room in my four stomachs for delicious food!" Starfire proudly declares as she continues gulping down the yellow 'drink', making the three boys cringe slightly.
Robin turns to Tony. "I gotta say, Tony, nice work keeping the paparazzi away while we have our picnic."
"Thanks, Rob. It's amazing how effective the threat of libel lawsuits is against the press," Tony replies cheekily before biting into his burger.
Back at the grill, a green lemur climbing in a tree is seemingly unnoticed as he makes his way towards the grill. He hangs upside down from a tree and reverts back to his human form as he grabs two hot dog buns with some white food product inside them.
"Sweet! My tofu dogs are cooked to perfection!" Beast Boy says happily. He then notices Raven sitting by herself under a nearby tree. "Yo, Raven! Try one! They're loaded with soy beany goodness!"
Raven gives him an impassive look. "I respect that you don't eat meat. Please respect that I don't eat fake meat."
Beast Boy looks disappointed, but quickly gets over it as he wolfs down both tofu dogs in seconds.
Cyborg runs by him and stands in one of the open fields with a football in his hand. "Alright, y'all! Who wants to play some Foo-Ball?!"
Robin, Tony, Starfire, and Beast Boy eagerly join Cyborg on the field. The whole group then turns to Raven, asking her the silent question.
Raven sighs, then gets on her feet. "Just to even the teams out."
Soon, the Titans start the game, with Cyborg, Robin, and Raven on one team, and Beast Boy, Starfire, and a fully suited Iron Man on the other. Cyborg stands ready to snap the ball, with Robin behind him.
"Red 23! Hut Hut! Hike!" Robin calls out.
Cyborg snaps the ball to Robin. Cyborg heads downfield with Starfire chasing behind him. Robin readies for a pass as Raven guards him from Beast Boy and Iron Man.
"One Gotham City…Two Gotham City…," Beast Boy counts down as he and Iron Man prepare for their attack.
Meanwhile, Cyborg keeps running, with Starfire hot on his heels from above.
"You can run, you can fly, but you can't catch Cy!" Cyborg brags, causing Starfire to increase her pace, her eyes glowing green at the challenge.
"Five Gotham City!" Beast Boy yells before rushing forward with Iron Man.
Fortunately for Robin, Raven uses her power to grab Iron Man by his legs and stop him mid-flight. Unfortunately, this leaves Beast Boy free to charge at Robin as a triceratops.
Robin quickly adjusts, however. He surprises the dinosaur by running up the crest and launching himself into the air. Robin uses the height to his advantage, spins around, and throws the ball high in the air, heading straight for Cyborg's position.
Iron Man and Raven watch the Hail Mary fly above them.
[Star! Heads up!] Iron Man calls out.
Hearing this, Starfire hurries to close in on Cyborg, who readies himself to catch the ball.
Nobody, not even Cyborg, notices that his metallic body is losing his blue glow.
"I got it! I got it! I–" Cyborg calls out, before suddenly halting mid-run.
Cyborg stands motionlessly, still as a statue, as the ball goes right for him. Starfire catches the ball, stopping it from hitting his head. Unfortunately, gravity catches up to the metallic Titan, who crashes onto the ground as his glowing red eye shuts down.
"Cyborg? CYBORG?!" Robin cries out as he and the rest of the Titans crowd around Cyborg, their expressions showing shock and concern as they look at their unresponsive friend.
(Insert Theme Song: Teen Titans Theme)
Location: Dragon's Gate Park, Jump City
"Cyborg! Can you here us?"
A light turns on as systems are restored to life.
[Hey, buddy! Snap out of it!]
A notification pops up. [Reserve Battery Activated].
"Is he gonna be okay?"
Another notification. [Power Remaining: 30 minutes].
"What's wrong with him?"
Visuals come back online, showing the other Titans crowding around him.
"Shh. I think he's coming to," Robin says. "Cyborg! Are you alright?"
"Yeah," Cyborg replies as Starfire and Iron Man help him up. "Thanks."
"What happened?" Raven asks.
"Something must have gone wrong with my systems," Cyborg answers. He taps his arm, causing a screen to pop up with a notification saying, [Power Remaining: 29 minutes 45 seconds]. "Aw man! My power cell's dying."
Starfire gasps in shock. "Dying?!"
"It's only a battery. I'm fine," Cyborg reassures his friend. "Happens every couple of years. Just a natural part of being unnatural."
"So, what do we do?" Robin asks, wanting to help in some way.
Cyborg picks up the football and hands it to Robin. "You keep playing. I'll go home and change batteries."
[Aw, don't do that. You can still have fun with us,] Iron Man says as he dispenses some cables from the chest area of his suit and offers them to Cyborg. [Here. I can hook you up with enough power for you to hang out with us for a while longer. You can change batteries after we get home.]
Cyborg looks at the offered cables, then back at Iron Man. "You sure, Tony?"
[Come on, Cy. You really think I'm gonna let my friend miss out on all the fun?] Iron Man replies.
Cyborg looks around at his fellow Titans, who all give him warm smiles showing their agreement with Iron Man. He turns back to Iron Man and grins.
"Well, since you're all insisting," Cyborg says as he plugs the cables into his chest.
After a minute, Cyborg's power levels are back to optimal.
[Better?] Iron Man asks.
"Better," Cyborg replies.
[Good,] Iron Man says as he takes the football from Robin's hand, [because I believe that thanks to Starfire, it's our possession.]
Cyborg smirks. "Not for long!"
With that, the Titans return to their game with gusto, happy that everyone is safe and enjoying the fun again.
Timeskip: One Hour Later
With bellies full and spirits high, the Teen Titans begin to walk back home, with Beast Boy as a yak carrying the picnic supplies.
"Now that was a pretty intense game," a helmetless Tony says.
"You said it, Tony," Robin comments. He turns to Cyborg. "Great job on that last touchdown, Cy."
"It was nothing," Cyborg shrugs off, trying and failing to not bask in the praise.
Starfire addresses her teammates. "My apologies, friends, for not performing the tackle in time."
"Don't worry, Star. There's always next game," Tony assures his friend, with the green yak grunting in agreement.
"I wouldn't count on it. You'll have a tough time beating the V-Train in Foo-Ball!" Cyborg boasts.
Raven gives Cyborg a questioning look. "The V-Train? Where does that come from?"
Cyborg suddenly looks sheepish. "Well, uh, actually–"
"Cyborg!"
All of the Teen Titans turn to see a boy with a baseball glove and cap running towards them with a big smile on his face.
"Woah, Cyborg! It's really you!" the kid cries out in admiration. "You're my favorite, cause look!"
The boy pulls off his glove, revealing his prosthetic arm.
"You're just like me!" the boy happily declares.
All of the other Titans – including the yak – give Cyborg amused sidelong grins.
"Um, yeah. I…I guess I am," Cyborg says awkwardly, feeling both happy and uncomfortable from the kid's praise.
"Sammy! Where are you?! Lunch is ready!" a woman calls out from a distance.
"Coming, mom!" Sammy loudly replies before turning back to his hero. "Great meeting you, Cyborg!"
Not waiting for a response, Sammy runs off to his mother.
"…Yeah. You too, kid," Cyborg mutters, still somewhat surprised at what just happened.
Tony nudges Cyborg. "That, my friend, is what we call 'a fan for life'. Congratulations!"
Cyborg turns to Tony with a smile. "Yeah. I guess so."
Location: Cyborg's Room, Titans Tower
Timeskip: One Hour Later
Cyborg returns to his room, stretching his limbs after a long day of fun at the park.
"Phew! What a day," Cyborg says with a smile on his face.
He taps his arm and brings the notification screen up, his smile dropping as it shows he once again has half an hour of power remaining.
Cyborg sighs as he walks over to the wall holding various machines and attachments. He grabs a small rectangular device with a red blinking light in the middle.
"Is that it?"
Cyborg turns and sees Tony standing in the doorway without his armor.
Cyborg holds up the device. "Yep. My power cell. The one thing keeping me alive for all these years."
Tony walks over and takes a good look at the power cell. "Not bad, though it might be a problem if it ever gets ruptured, especially if we're fighting a bad guy."
"I know. That's why the armor around my torso is stronger than around the rest of the body," Cyborg says.
"You know, I could hook you up with an Arc Reactor, like what I have for Iron Man," Tony offers. "It's much safer, and it lasts a lot longer. You have my Stark guarantee on that."
"I'll consider it," Cyborg replies as he looks at the power cell in his hand, a forlorn expression on his face.
Tony notices the look. "What's the matter?"
"Nothing," Cyborg answers as he sits down on a stool. "Just another reminder that I'm not…you know…human."
"Really? You seem pretty human to me," Tony says.
"You know what I mean. Everything changed since I became Cyborg. I gotta make sure I charge myself up every night, I gotta do systems checks every week, I gotta clean and polish my body to make sure I don't start corroding, hell, I even detach my own limbs when I repair them after every bad guy fight. It's pretty much like doing maintenance on a car, except it's my own body," Cyborg explains in a frustrated tone. He then scoffs. "Forget it. You wouldn't understand."
"Actually, I do," Tony counters. "I mean, I'm a bit of a cyborg myself."
Cyborg gives his friend an annoyed look. "Putting on a robotic suit of armor don't make you a cyborg."
Tony rolls his eyes and starts taking off his shirt.
This startles Cyborg. "Hey, yo! You gotta warn a brother before…you…" Cyborg trails off as Tony finishes taking off his shirt and showing off his bare chest.
Revealing the glowing blue circle sticking out in the center.
Tony shrugs. "Tada."
Cyborg stands up and approaches Tony, his eyes glued to the circular device pulsating with a familiar blue energy.
"What…what is…," Cyborg begins to ask.
"It's the Arc Reactor that powers my Iron Man armor," Tony answers. "Brilliant piece of engineering, it is. I designed it back when I was a kid."
"I know what it is, Tony. What's it doing inside your chest?" Cyborg asks in exasperation.
"Well, apart from powering my armor, it also powers a super-magnet that's currently keeping metal shrapnel from entering my heart and killing me," Tony explains nonchalantly.
"Say what?!" Cyborg cries out in shock.
"Yeah. I got caught in an explosion a couple of years ago, and the good doctor that saved me – God bless his soul – couldn't get all of the pieces out. So, I had to improvise," Tony calmly recalls.
"Wait a minute," Cyborg interrupts. "You're telling me that the one device that's keeping you alive is the same device you use to power the Iron Man armor? The same armor that you've been using to fire repulsor blasts at bad guys left and right for years?! Are you crazy?! Do you know how dangerous that is?! What if you ran out of juice in the middle of a bad guy fight?! You could die out there!"
Tony is unfazed by Cyborg's sudden rant. "You really think I don't know the risk? I keep constant tabs on my power readouts during every fight to make sure I don't go into critical levels. Every time I upgrade the Iron Man armor, I make sure that each model is more energy efficient than the last. Not only that, but every day, I inspect the reactor for damage, I take a fine-tooth brush and clean the device, and I even make sure that water doesn't leak in whenever I swim or take a shower. It's like maintaining a generator, except that instead of powering a building, it's keeping my own heart beating."
As Tony explains his daily routine with his Arc Reactor, Cyborg's eyes widen as he notices some interesting parallels with his own routine.
Cyborg chuckles. "Damn. Maybe you do get it."
Tony smiles at his friend. "Even so, it doesn't make me any less human. It's the same for you, Cy. It doesn't matter if you're 5% mechanical or 85%. I mean, take today, for example. You made amazing barbecue, which you happily pigged out on. You legitimately had fun while we were all playing football. You were even willing to sacrifice your own day of fun so that everyone else could enjoy theirs. If that's not the epitome of humanity, I don't know what is."
Cyborg reflects on his day so far, and he has to admit that Tony has a point. He couldn't exactly call himself a robot after seeing his own actions and behaviors.
Tony finishes by saying, "You're more than the sum of your parts, Cyborg. You shouldn't shrug off the parts of you that are still human. You should embrace them."
Cyborg feels reassured by his friend's words. "Thanks, Tony."
"Anytime," Tony replies as he grabs his shirt and begins putting it back on.
Cyborg then notices the fist-sized veiny scar on Tony's right shoulder. He points at it and asks, "What happened there? You get struck by lightning?"
"Uh, yeah. Something like that," Tony quickly answers as he pulls his shirt on, as if he's trying to shrug off the question, something that confuses Cyborg.
Thankfully for Tony, a sudden beeping stops the conversation short. Tony and Cyborg both see their Titans communicators going off.
Meaning there's trouble in Jump City.
Tony quickly pulls up his communicator and analyzes the information on it.
"Looks like a jewelry store's being robbed by…a magician? This should be good," Tony informs his fellow Titan.
Cyborg pumps his fist. "Alright! Let's go!" he declares as he's about to charge out of the room.
Tony quickly stops him. "Pump the brakes, V-Train. Aren't you forgetting something?"
Cyborg looks back at the new battery in his hand, which he still needs to swap out the old one with, and groans.
"Make sure you're back to optimal levels, and then you can join us in butt-whooping," Tony orders.
Not waiting for a response, Tony rushes out of the room, leaving Cyborg alone with battery in hand.
'I should take care of this right now. I've only got 25 minutes of battery life left as it is,' Cyborg thinks to himself. 'But, if my friends are in danger…'
Cyborg takes a deep breath, puts the new battery down, and runs out the door.
'Tony's probably gonna kill me for this, but I'm sure he'll understand,' Cyborg muses as he heads out of the tower. 'As for my power, I'll think of something on the way over.'
Location: Frankovich's Fine Jewelry
Old Man Frankovich sweats profusely as he dangles upside down from the ceiling, his body wrapped tightly in a straitjacket. He curses under his gag as a villain down below snatches every last one of his hard-earned gems and gold.
This particular villain is dressed as the typical stage-show magician, complete with a top hat, a tuxedo, and a cape. He also has a domino mask over his eyes to conceal his identity, though his turquoise skin and his white hair, mustache, and goatee somewhat defeat the purpose.
After loading the last of the jewelry in his sack, the thief turns to the irate store owner.
"Thank you so much! You've been a wonderful audience!" the magician declares as he bows to the captive audience. "Now watch as the Amazing Mumbo vanishes into thin air!"
Mumbo pulls out a wand, and with a glittery wave and a shout of "Mumbo Jumbo!", he appears to teleport out of the store with a burst of smoke and sparks.
Location: Tito's Junkyard
Mumbo reappears at a nearby junkyard with a flurry of motion from his feet. He stops to admire his loot.
"Not bad for a matinee," he mutters as he inspects a rather large diamond.
"Show's over, Mumbo!"
The shout startles Mumbo, who turns around to find the Teen Titans (minus Cyborg) looking down on him from a nearby hill.
"Now, hand over the jewels before the critics decide to trash your performance!" Robin declares.
[Good one, Rob,] Iron Man praises, giving his friend a thumbs up.
"Now Robin, I'm sure there's a peaceful solution here," Mumbo says with a smirk as a bomb appears in each of his hands, "BUT THIS ISN'T IT!"
Mumbo throws both bombs at the Titans, who move off of the hill to avoid the explosions. Mumbo then laughs as he throws his flower at Robin, who jumps away from the resulting blast and grunts as he lands in a crouch next to a trench.
Suddenly, a white mechanical hand pulls Robin into the trench. The Boy Wonder sees Cyborg giving him a grin.
"Who said you could start the party without me?" Cyborg jokingly asks.
"Cyborg?!" Robin cries out, getting the rest of the Titans' attention.
Unfortunately, they can't do much as they're pinned down behind piles of garbage while Mumbo continues to rain bombs upon them. Starfire and Iron Man respond by firing starbolts and repulsor blasts, while Raven chucks garbage at the magician using her magic. Mumbo laughs as he dodges the blasts, projectiles, and a green velociraptor.
[Cyborg, please tell me you got your power cell swapped out already?] Iron Man pleads, fearing the worst.
Cyborg gives Iron Man a nervous look. "Uh, yeah. About that…"
[Cyborg, go home and get yourself fixed. That's an order. We'll handle this,] Iron Man demands as he continues to blast at Mumbo.
"I won't let you guys fight alone," Cyborg declares.
"And we won't let you put yourself in danger," Robin declares back.
"Don't worry, I got it covered," Cyborg assures his friends as he points to his back, revealing four car batteries tied to his back. "External battery pack."
Iron Man gives Cyborg a questioning look from inside his helmet. [You had time to buy four car batteries, hook them up into your system, and tie them onto your back, but not enough time to swap out a single small power cell?]
"…" Cyborg tries to find an answer but gives up and instead chooses to activate his sonic cannon. "TEEN TITANS! GO!"
Cyborg launches himself out of the trench and fires a sonic blast at Mumbo, who's caught off guard and sent screaming into a pile of garbage.
Mumbo shakes the cobwebs out of his head as an old can falls on his head. He then recovers with a smile and reaches into the sleeve of his tux.
"Nothing up my sleeve, and Presto!" Mumbo cries out as he pulls a tri-colored ribbon out of his sleeve, which wraps around the quickly approaching Cyborg and sends him crashing to the ground.
"HIYAAH!" Robin shouts as he flies at Mumbo with a kick.
"Need a hand?" Mumbo quips as he puts his hand into a nearby pipe. The hand reappears out of another pipe and grabs Robin's cape, holding the Boy Wonder up in the air. Several other hands start jabbing Robin, who tries to shield himself from the barrage.
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Raven cries out as she levitates several appliances and launches them at Mumbo, but the magician effortlessly stops the objects and transforms them into harmless rose petals.
"You think that's impressive? Watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat! Hocus Pocus!" Mumbo shouts as he reaches into his hat and pulls out a swarm of rabbit plushies, which quickly engulfs the sorceress.
Mumbo dusts himself off and sees a green ram charging at him.
"Pick a card! Every card!" Mumbo yells as he pulls out a deck of cards and launches them at Beast Boy. The cards quickly grow in size and drive the ram back.
Mumbo then leaps away to avoid repulsor blasts from above.
[You know, you're really giving magicians a bad name, pal,] Iron Man says as he continues to fire on the thief.
"Oh really? Can other magicians do this? Alakazam!" Mumbo cries out as he throws streamers at Iron Man's face, which explode into blinding sparks of light.
[GAH! Can't see!] Iron Man yells as he tries to clear the bright spots out of his vision.
He then notices everything going dark around him. The hero looks up and sees a piano falling right above him.
[Crap!] Iron Man shouts as the piano crashes into him and sends him down to the ground.
"For my next trick, I'll require a lovely assistant," Mumbo declares as he whips out a cane and snatches Starfire from the sky.
Before Starfire can react, she's quickly enveloped in a wooden box, with only her head and feet sticking out.
Mumbo approaches the boxed girl with a saw in his hand. "It's only fair to warn you; I have no idea what I'm doing."
Luckily for Starfire, Cyborg tackles Mumbo away and knocks the saw out of the villain's hand.
Mumbo seems unconcerned by Cyborg pinning him to the ground. "I hate fighting dirty. Shall we clean you up?"
A torrent of water sprays out of Mumbo's flower lapel and sends Cyborg flying right into a garbage truck.
As Cyborg recovers, he notices two things of concern; his battery pack has left his body, and he only has five seconds left of energy.
The hero barely has time to stand up and attempt a call for help before his faulty power cell drains completely. Once again, his body loses his blue glow and he freezes in place. This leaves him unable to escape as the truck dumps him and the surrounding garbage into a bin with a massive hole in it.
Robin is unaware of this last part as he rushes for the garbage truck. "Cyborg?! CYBORG!"
The Boy Wonder then notices the dump truck starting up and sees Mumbo in the driver's seat.
"Exit: Stage left!" Mumbo yells as he floors it and drives away.
The other Titans regroup with Robin.
"Titans! He's got Cyborg!" Robin quickly informs the other heroes.
The Teen Titans quickly leave the junkyard to stop Mumbo and save Cyborg.
Unaware that their friend hasn't even left.
Location: Unknown
Light shines down from the hole above and illuminates Cyborg, who lies frozen and helpless in the underground.
Until several red lights appear nearby and drag the hero away.
Location: Still Unknown
Two messages appear in Cyborg's mind.
[Online. Charging.]
Cyborg groans as his vision returns. He waves his hand to remove the bright light shining in his face.
"Good. You're awake," says a figure with a smooth voice standing next to Cyborg.
Cyborg looks around and notices that he's lying on an operating table, with several cables going into his body. "Ugh, what's going–"
"Just rest, friend. Your new power cell isn't fully charged," the stranger states as he walks away.
"Who are you?" Cyborg asks as he reaches up and grabs one of the lights shining down on him to look around the dark room
"Call me Mr. Fix," The stranger introduces himself as Cyborg sees a horde of rusted, red-eyed robots standing by the circular walls.
"Woah," Cyborg mutters at the multitude of machines around him as he continues to shine the light across the room.
"You were broken. I brought you here to patch you up," Mr. Fix explains as Cyborg finally shines the light on the stranger.
Mr. Fix appears to resemble a human male, but his skin has a silver sheen, his beard and goatee appears to be made of a dark metal, and his eyes are glowing solid blue. The stranger's body is covered with a long cloak.
After figuring out that mystery, Cyborg asks about another. "Where's here?"
Location: Streets of Jump City
The Titans group around the garbage truck, which appears to have crashed into the side of a building. Mumbo is nowhere to be seen.
Starfire and Iron Man land after flying above the truck.
"Cyborg is not inside," Starfire informs her friends.
[My scanners can't find any trace of him,] Iron Man adds.
"And his locater signal is being jammed," Robin finishes as Beast boy notices something nearby. "This doesn't make sense. Why would Mumbo want to kidnap Cyborg?"
"Guys! Over here! I found something!" Beast Boy calls out as he picks a top hat up off the ground. The hat looks eerily similar to Mumbo's.
Something that Robin notices as he and the others approach Beast Boy. "I wouldn't–"
The warning comes too late as an entire flock of doves flies out of the hat, startling the Titans.
A second later, all of the heroes are comically covered in white feathers.
"…Way to go." Raven simply says.
Location: Mr. Fix's Lab
"Charging complete. Looks like the new power cell's working just fine," Mr. Fix says, which is verified by the [100% Charged] message on Cyborg's arm.
"Yeah. I feel better. Lots better," Cyborg confirms as he stretches his arms.
"Of course, you are. I'm not called 'Mr. Fix' for nothing," Mr. Fix appears to boast as he approaches a large tube with tons of scrap machinery coming out. "That's what I do down here. Things come to me broken. I fix them up."
Mr. Fix grabs several bits of broken machines and makes them levitate around him as he analyzes them.
"Now let's see…yes…yes…hmm…pity…interesting. The damage is too extensive. Perhaps, with another processor…" Mr. Fix mutters as he goes over the machinery.
Meanwhile, Cyborg hops off the table. "Well, thanks for everything!" Cyborg calls out as he starts to leave the room.
Something that catches Mr. Fix's attention, as he and his army of robots turn to Cyborg.
"Where're you going? You can't leave yet," Mr. Fix declares.
Cyborg stops and looks at Mr. Fix in confusion. "I can't?"
"Of course not. You're not repaired yet. Not fully," Mr. Fix states as he approaches Cyborg.
"I'm not?" Cyborg asks, still confused.
"When I examined you, I found a lot of flaws. Serious flaws," Mr. Fix explains.
Cyborg starts to panic. "Serious? How serious?! What's wrong with me?!"
"No need to panic," Mr. Fix assures the teenager with a disarming smile. "We just need to make some more repairs. Important repairs."
"But I feel fine," Cyborg argues as he flexes his arm. "Are you sure I'm…"
"I'm quite sure, my friend," Mr. Fix answers. "Will you stay? It'll be the best thing for you."
"Well, yeah, I-I guess," Cyborg replies before bringing up his arm. "Let me just tell my friends where I am."
Cyborg attempts to bring up his communicator, unaware that Mr. Fix's eyes are now glowing red instead of blue. Cyborg is surprised to see his communication system is malfunctioning.
"Woah! Something really is wrong with me," Cyborg says in shock as Mr. Fix's eyes turn blue again.
"Just take a rest, my friend," Mr. Fix calmly advises as he guides Cyborg back onto the table. "You can call your friends when we're done. I'm sure they're not too concerned."
As Cyborg lays down, he has a worried look on his face. "Maybe they should be."
Location: Streets of Jump City
The rest of the Teen Titans continue following Mumbo's trail, which is easy to follow from the assortment of weirdness occurring, from colorful murals to teleporting buses to mailboxes spitting out rabbits to hula hoops carrying people away.
"I'll say this about Mumbo; he's an easy act to follow," Beast Boy quips as the heroes watch the chaos unfold.
"Oh, I would commit myself to a life of muck shoveling in the mines of Cornex if Cyborg could only be returned safely," Starfire laments.
"Cyborg was malfunctioning. He shouldn't have been helping," Raven points out.
"Tony and I tried to stop him, but…he's Cyborg," Robin states.
[We can read Cyborg the riot act after we rescue him,] Iron Man says to his fellow heroes, [and we will rescue him.]
"MUMBO JUMBO!"
Hearing the cry, the Titans rush over to the corner of a building, where three ATMs are literally spitting out money.
Mumbo laughs in glee at the piles of cash, until he notices the young heroes glaring daggers at him.
"Sorry, folks!" the thief cries out as his hat sucks up all of the money. "No time for autographs!"
With that, Mumbo quickly runs away.
[Titans! After him!] Iron Man yells as he and the other heroes chase after the villain.
Raven is the first to catch up to Mumbo as he runs through an alleyway.
"Open, Says Me!" Mumbo calls out as he approaches a brick wall.
The bricks appear to separate from each other, creating a hole for Mumbo to run through. Raven tries to follow, only for the hole to quickly close in front of her.
Mumbo then screams as a green bull stares him down, but the magician composes himself. As the bull bellows and charges, Mumbo pulls off his red cape and holds it in front of him like a matador. Just as the bull reaches him, Mumbo pulls back the cape, revealing a brick wall.
CRASH!
Which the bull crashes into. As the beast groans in pain, Mumbo admires his handiwork.
"Olé!" Mumbo cries out before continuing his escape.
Starfire and Iron Man are hot on his heels as they try to blast him, to no avail.
Mumbo then pulls out a bouquet. "Flowers for the happy couple!" He tosses up the bouquet, which explodes right in Starfire and Iron Man's faces, stopping their pursuit.
As Mumbo nears the exit, he finds his path blocked by Robin, who pulls out his bo staff to fight the mad magician.
Mumbo simply calls out, "Abracadabra!"
"Woah!" Robin cries out as his staff transforms into a large cobra, which he quickly drops to avoid being bitten.
With all of the Titans incapacitated for the moment, Mumbo laughs as he exits the alleyway.
[I'm really starting to hate this guy,] Iron Man declares as he and the other heroes continue their chase.
Location: Mr. Fix's Lab
"I don't get it. All my sensors say I'm fine," Cyborg says as he continues lying on the metal table, with multiple cords connecting into his body.
"All due respect, my friend, my sensors are much more precise than yours," Mr. Fix states as he approaches his patient.
"Guess I'm just getting kinda nervous," Cyborg says, trying to calm himself. "How long am I gonna be down here, anyway?"
"The repairs could take some time, but I wouldn't worry about that," Mr. Fix answers as two small drones fly over to him. "Besides, why would you want to leave? Look around." Mr. Fix grabs one of the drones as a glowing red cord connects to his forehead. "I think you'd fit in nicely down here."
Cyborg starts getting weirded out. "Uh, I don't think so. I mean, you've got a nice place here, and you've been really cool to me, but I couldn't live down here. I don't know how you can."
Mr. Fix gives his fellow machine a questioning look. "What do you mean? I've got a steady power supply, and I can always find replacement parts. What more can I possibly need?"
"I need more than that! What about sunlight? What about fresh air? What about food?!" Cyborg argues.
Mr. Fix smiles as the red chord leaves his forehead. "Oh, that. I haven't needed any of those in a long, long time," Mr. Fix replies as he gives Cyborg a once-over. "You know, I used to be a lot like you. I used to be…" Mr. Fix appears to be chasing after a memory in his mind. "…Paul. Yes. Paul Norbert Ebersol."
Cyborg's eyes widen at this. It almost sounded like this guy used to be human.
"I spent years of my life using technology to find the secret of true longevity, and after much modification, I succeeded," Mr. Fix explains as he walks away from Cyborg. "Once your repairs are completed, you'll be joining me."
Mr. Fix's ominous words are really giving Cyborg second thoughts.
"You know what? I'm feeling alright now, so thanks anyway, but I'm just gonna go," Cyborg quickly says as he practically leaps off the table and disconnects the cords off of his body before once again heading for the exit.
Mr. Fix quickly turns towards the retreating Cyborg. "Leaving so soon?" he asks as his eyes glow red again.
Cyborg stops as the horde of robots quickly surrounds him, with several robots leaping onto his body.
"Yo! What are you–?!" Cyborg cries out as another robot restrains his arms. "Hey! Let me go!"
As Cyborg struggles to free himself, prods pop out multiple robots, which form one large electrical current that stuns the hero. Mr. Fix watches as Cyborg is quickly restrained and forced back onto the metal operating table.
"You're still in need of repairs," Mr. Fix states as the operating table props itself up, making Cyborg face a large mechanical door. "Your biological components are a weakness and need to be replaced."
The door opens, revealing an assortment of robotic parts that seem custom made for Cyborg, including a metal facemask meant to replace his own fleshy face and eye.
Cyborg gasps at the implications. "No!" That is his last word before he is put under.
After what appears to be hours, a message appears in Cyborg's mind:
[Biological Components: Removed]
[Repairs: Complete]
Cyborg hears Mr. Fix say, "Wake up, my friend. Time to see your new face."
Cyborg's vision comes back, revealing something out of a nightmare.
A mirror in front of him confirms his worst fears; the metal mask has been fully integrated to his body, along with the other parts that have replaced what remained of his human body. Cyborg despairs as he can't feel any part of his face. In fact, he can feel nothing at all.
Nothing but rage.
Cyborg shatters the mirror in anger, which apparently also causes the room to shatter as well. The former teenager screams as he falls into a void of blue light…
…and continues to scream as he awakens on the operating table. To his immense relief, the mask is not on his face, and all of his organic components are still attached.
Though, maybe, not for long.
"Had a nightmare?" asks Mr. Fix, who is standing next to Cyborg. "Don't worry, my friend. Once you're perfected, you won't be bothered by nightmares anymore."
Mr. Fix heads over to the rack of Cyborg's replacement parts, leaving the hero to struggle on the table.
"What if I don't want to be perfected?! What if I like me this way?!" Cyborg challenges.
Mr. Fix shrugs off Cyborg's words. "That's just your imperfect biological components talking," he says as he makes some final adjustments to the parts. "They'll be replaced momentarily."
"Not if I can help it," Cyborg quietly declares.
Location: Rooftops, Jump City
Mumbo appears to effortlessly leap from building to building as he continues to make his escape, not even breaking a sweat. He looks back and sees Iron Man, Starfire, Raven, and Beast Boy as a kangaroo right behind him. He's unconcerned by the heroes as he confidently trusts that his magic will keep him out of their clutches and out of jail.
Perhaps he's too confident, however, as he doesn't notice Robin flanking him from the rooftops nearby.
Eventually, Mumbo stops and points his wand at the Titans behind him.
"Abracadabra! Alakazam! Hocus Pocus!" Mumbo calls out as he fires hex after hex at the heroes, who narrowly dodge the magic blasts. "AHAHAHAHA! YOU'LL NEVER STOP THE AMAZING MUMBO! NEVER! NEV–"
Whoosh!
"Huh!" Mumbo is startled as his wand seems to disappear from his hand. The villain quickly turns and sees Robin holding up his wand.
"Tony!" Robin shouts before quickly tossing the wand high into the air.
Getting the message, Iron Man fires his Uni-Beam right at the wand, the powerful energy attack quickly turning the wand into dust.
"AAAAAAAGH!" Mumbo screams while all of the money and jewelry he's stolen quickly falls out of his pockets. He then cries a river of tears as he appears to transform out of his magician persona and revert into a balding ordinary old man, his skin turning peachy and his costume turning into a plain shirt and pants with suspenders.
The Titans quickly swarm around the now powerless and fearful thief. Robin pulls Mumbo up by his shirt.
"No more tricks! Where. Is. Cyborg?" Robin demands.
"How should I know?!" Mumbo asks, apparently oblivious to Cyborg's disappearance.
Iron Man points his repulsor right at Mumbo's frightened face. [Listen, you pain in the ass, we are not in the mood for any of your games! If you don't tell us where he is, we'll mess you up so badly, no magic on Earth can fix you!]
"You took him from the junkyard!" Raven says loudly.
"What have you done with him?!" Starfire demands.
"Nothing! Honest!" Mumbo answers. "When you destroyed the wand, you broke all my spells. Even if I had done something, it'd be over now. Poof! He'd be standing right here!"
Robin unceremoniously drops Mumbo as the Titans process this information.
"If Cy's not with him," Beast Boy ponders, "then he's still back at…"
"THE JUNKYARD!" The Titans shout in realization.
"So, do I still have to go to jail?" Mumbo asks with a hopeful smile.
Iron Man's helmet peels away, revealing Tony's face with a raised eyebrow. "You're kidding, right?"
Mumbo sweatdrops. "I thought so."
Location: Mr. Fix's Lab
Cyborg continues struggling with his bonds as Mr. Fix finishes the last of the modifications to the new parts.
"There. We're ready to start," Mr. Fix declares.
"Perfect timing," Cyborg says before ripping the restraints off his body. He pulls off the cables in his chest and makes a break for the door.
Mr. Fix has expected this, however, and simply commands the doors to the lab to seal shut.
Cyborg turns around and points his sonic cannon at Mr. Fix. "I didn't wanna have to do this, but – huh?" Cyborg stops as he sees his cannon short out.
"I took the liberty of disabling your weapons for the procedure," Mr. Fix explains. "You'll have them back when we're done."
Cyborg tries to charge at Mr. Fix, who's eyes glow red as he commands several mechanical tendrils to wrap around Cyborg's limbs and halt his attack. Cyborg continues to struggle, however, and he's just able to grab Mr. Fix's cloak and tear it away.
Revealing a grotesque amalgamation of mechanical parts and pulsating sacs with red fluid.
Cyborg gasps as he sees how far Paul Norbert Ebersol has gone to become Mr. Fix.
Mr. Fix is unfazed by Cyborg's shock. "You get used to it. Trust me," the robotic amalgam states. "Your biologic defects are getting worse. We need to start now."
Location: Nearby
Robin drops down into the underground from the hole leading up to the junkyard. He quickly spots something just past the light.
"His battery pack! He must have fallen down here!" Robin calls out to the other Titans, who quickly join him. "Star. Tony. Can you give us some light?"
Starfire's hand glows a bright green, while Iron Man turns on the flashlights on his chest. The Teen Titans carefully navigate through the darkness and call out for their friend.
Location: Mr. Fix's Lab
That friend is back on the operating table being 'upgraded' by Mr. Fix. Cyborg grunts as Mr. Fix uses an electric tool to pick apart the heroes' old armor.
The technopath stops, however, when he notices something on his security systems.
Intruders.
Location: Nearby
The Titans continue calling out for Cyborg as they walk through the underground, when they suddenly find their path blocked. The Titans gasp as they find themselves surrounded by a horde of robots, each one bigger and meaner looking than the other.
Beast Boy chuckles nervously. "Hey, guys! Any of you seen a dude about this tall with one red eye and titanium body armor?"
The robots give no response as they encroach towards the heroes. Apparently, they're not in the talking mood.
Coincidentally, neither is Iron Man.
[Screw it. Titans! Hit the deck!] Iron Man orders as he activates something in his arms.
The other Titans quickly get down, giving Iron Man room to spin and fire red lasers from his gauntlets that slice through all of the robots like hot knifes through butter. After a couple of seconds, the Armored Avenger stops spinning and his lasers power down.
The Titans watch with disbelief as the horde of robots falls apart into itty bitty scraps.
"That could have been very helpful earlier with Mumbo," Raven states with annoyance.
[Yeah, sorry boss. I can only use it once. It's a one-off,] Iron Man replies as the laser cartridges pop out of his gauntlets.
"Whoever sent these robots after us likely has Cyborg," Robin deduces. "We have to hurry!"
[Scanners are picking up major activity in that direction,] Iron Man states as he points down a darkened pathway.
"Then let's go!" Robin yells as he and the other Titans rush down the pathway.
Location: Mr. Fix's Lab
Mr. Fix continues the procedure on Cyborg, his actions hastened by the rapidly approaching intruders. He doesn't want the interlopers to ruin his perfecting of his new friend.
Mr. Fix is somewhat intrigued, however, by the being with the red and gold machinery. Another kindred spirit, perhaps? Maybe, after he's done repairing Cyborg, Mr. Fix can perfect that being as well.
A matter for later.
Mr. Fix finishes his incisions on Cyborg's body and reaches for the mask. He approaches the still struggling Cyborg with the first of the new parts.
"You should really stop resisting. This is for the best," Mr. Fix tells his fellow machine as he places the mask on Cyborg's face.
"No, it isn't!" Cyborg argues through the mask. "If you take out my biological components, you take out the best part of me! The part that makes me who I am!"
"You're speaking of your memories. Your self. You don't have to worry about that," Mr. Fix assures his friend as his eyes glow red. "I'll download them into your new brain."
A mechanical tentacle pops out of Mr. Fix's head and attaches itself to Cyborg's mask-covered forehead.
"No! You can't do this! Please! You don't understand!" Cyborg pleads in vain as Mr. Fix establishes a mental connection between the two.
As this happens, a flood of memories passes through both of their minds.
Happy citizens playing and smiling together in a park.
Cyborg eagerly chowing down on food with his friends.
Cyborg, Robin, and Tony cringing at their friend Starfire's love of mustard.
Cyborg and all of his fellow Titans having fun while playing football.
Cyborg's friends' concern when he seemed to be injured.
Tony sharing his power with Cyborg so everyone can continue to have fun.
Cyborg meeting a young fan with a prosthetic arm.
Tony having a heart-to-heart with Cyborg while revealing the Arc Reactor that's keeping him alive.
Tony's words echo in both Cyborg and Mr. Fix's minds.
'You're more than the sum of your parts, Cyborg. You shouldn't shrug off the parts of you that are still human. You should embrace them.'
All of the emotions that Cyborg has experienced, the good and the bad, is felt by both parties, and while Cyborg, who's still plenty organic, can process these feelings…
"AAGH!" Mr. Fix screams as he quickly disconnects himself from Cyborg and collapses, his mind unable to handle the foreign sensations.
As he does, the remaining robots surrounding the room power down, their connections severed from the source.
The rest of the Titans rush into the lab and see their missing friend climb off the operating table with a groan and tear the metal mask off of his face.
"Cyborg! Are you okay?" Robin asks as he and the others approach Cyborg.
"Yeah, I'm okay," Cyborg answers.
[Good, because you are in so much trouble!] an irate Iron Man declares to a now nervous Cyborg.
Luckily, everyone's attention is turned to Mr. Fix, who's slowly raising himself up with a look of awe on his face.
"So beautiful," Mr. Fix mutters in a sad tone as Cyborg approaches him. "I had forgotten…how beautiful…the world, through your eyes…"
"Through human eyes," Cyborg points out. "The same kind you have."
"Maybe I'm the one who needs repairs," Mr. Fix considers as he clenches his metal hand.
"And maybe I'm the one who can repair you," Cyborg offers as he holds his hand out to the one who helped him in his time of need.
The one who, in their own way, wanted to bring out the best in their new friend.
Mr. Fix smiles as he accepts the offered hand and rises up, eager to learn how to be human once more.
Location: Dragon's Gate Park, Jump City
Timeskip: The Next Day
It's yet another gorgeous day at the park, and the Teen Titans are once again enjoying a picnic to celebrate not only their victory against Mumbo, but also the safety and good health of their comrade, Cyborg.
Said comrade is approaching his friends with football in hand when a shout gets his attention.
"Cyborg! Hey, Cyborg!"
Cyborg turns around and sees Sammy running towards him, this time with a friend in tow.
"See?! It's Cyborg! He's just like me!" Sammy declares happily as he shows off his own arm and his hero to the other kid.
"Woah! Cool!" the other boy marvels.
"I am just like you, but it's not the arm that makes us the same," Cyborg says as he points at Sammy's heart. "It's the stuff connected to it."
Sammy and his friend both smile at the hero's wisdom.
Cyborg holds up the football. "Now, go deep!"
Both kids laugh as they run down the field, while Cyborg happily throws the ball towards them.
Nearby, the other Titans look at the scene as they sit on a picnic blanket.
"What a wonderful sight to behold, my friends!" Starfire says happily.
"You said it, Star," an unarmored Tony replies. "Almost makes me regret giving him kitchen duties for the next two weeks. Almost."
"You planning on giving the kid's arm an upgrade?" Beast Boy asks as he munches on a tofu dog.
"Already made some schematics in my personal workshop. The kid's gonna have one heck of a birthday, I'll tell you what," Tony confirms before taking a bite of his burger.
Robin takes a break from his hotdog and asks, "So, what's the deal with Mr. Fix?"
Tony swallows his food and explains, "Funny thing about that. I did some research, and it turns out that Paul Norbert Ebersol was a former engineer at S.T.A.R. Labs many years ago. He was a pioneer in cybernetic prosthetics at the time, but apparently, he got so involved with his experiments that he slowly started to distance himself from everyone. Then, one day, he just disappeared without a trace. I'm guessing he decided to focus his life on augmenting himself."
"You think he can be human again?" Raven asks as she sips her tea.
"Probably not physically because of all of his augmentations," Tony answers honestly, "but with Cyborg's help, he'll hopefully work his way mentally to become Paul again."
"Well, I for one offer my wellest of wishes to our new friend's recovery!" Starfire declares, holding her bottle of mustard up in a toast.
Tony holds his cheeseburger up as well. "Here, here!"
With that, the Teen Titans return to their meals and continue enjoying the day.
Robin takes a moment, however, to glance at the blue circle glowing from underneath Tony's T-shirt. Cyborg had mentioned yesterday that he and Tony had a heart-to-heart discussion about being human, and that the two of them were more similar than Cyborg believed beforehand, though he didn't say more after that. Robin had once thought it meant their love of making gadgets, but now he believes it's something more.
Maybe whatever device is making that blue glow is actually a part of Tony's body. Maybe Tony Stark is somewhat of a cyborg himself.
The Boy Wonder had deduced something of that nature when he first met Tony out of his armor and saw the blue glow, but Cyborg's mention confirmed his suspicions.
Robin narrows his eyes as he eats his hot dog. One mystery has been solved, yet ten or so others have popped up because of it.
'Who are you?' Robin muses.
[Insert End Theme: Teen Titans End Credits Theme]
AN: And cut! Another classic Titans adventure with a little tweak of Stark!
So, I was going to leave Fixit alone as he was, but then I remembered watching Iron Man: Armored Adventures and seeing a cyborg supervillain named Mr. Fix, who was based on a Marvel comics supervillain called The Fixer. Obviously, I couldn't just let an opportunity like that pass me by, so…yeah. A name change, a design modification, a few personality tweaks, and voila! We have another Marvel villain, who in this universe isn't exactly villainous so much as misguided. He may come back a couple of times as a supporting character, but that's about it.
Next time, Starfire encourages the other Titans to join her in celebrating a Tamaranean festival of friendship, which Tony is very enthusiastic about. Can our heroes enjoy a day of fun and camaraderie, or will a frigid member of Iron Man's Rogues ruin everything?
Find out in the next installment of Iron Man: Titanic Adventures!
Until next time!
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