The 12 Labors of Cyborg

Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans… I don't own Greek Mythology. I also don't own the internet, which explains why I wasn't posting earlier. Really. Honestly.

A/N: Shorter chapter. But at least it's there!

Cerberus

Cyborg stared in shock as an oily black muzzle pushed through the ever widening hole in the concrete. The lips pulled away from yellowed fangs and the nose sniffed at the air, blowing more steam into the rain. A second paw appeared at the hole, and the creature started to pull itself up out of the dirt.

Cyborg didn't waste another moment. He rushed forward- and proceeded to stomp on the nearest paw. "You. Are. Not. Ruining. Another. Day. For. Me!" Cyborg shouted, each word accepted by a stomp.

The creature yelped- thrice. It didn't yelp three times, though, so much as… three times at once. A serpent like thread, lacking any actual eyes, darted at Cyborg, hitting him in the chest. It struck with a lot more strength than Cyborg would have expected- knocking him onto his back. The paws again gained purchase and a gigantic dog head pulled itself from the hole… followed by another… and then another…

Three slavering jaws, six glowing red eyes… three heads on one body, and all of them glaring down at Cyborg as the dog tried to pull itself free from the hole.

A semester of mythology and two viewings of Hercules told him exactly who this was…

…Cerberus…

"Oh… oh boy… nice doggy, nice doggy," Cyborg stammered, and started crawling backwards. The left head lowered towards him, jaws wide- Cyborg lifted his foot, and the blaster on the bottom of his foot fired, hitting the dog in the mouth. It yelped loudly, and both heads swiveled in that direction… and then oriented on Cyborg once again. "Nice doggy?" Cyborg repeated weakly.

He dove to one side as the two remaining heads snapped for him. In a second he was on his feet, and retreating up the street. "Titans! Come in! I really could use some help over here," he spat into his communicator.

Cerberus had pulled itself free from the street, and was slowly stretching. It was about the size of a small bus, and built thicker than a bull dog. It had two dragon-like tails that were now lashing back and forth, and a back full of oily black, eyeless snakes.

Three heads barked viciously- apparently, the one he had shot had already recovered. And then Cerberus was bounding towards Cyborg, jaws wide. Its shoulder hit a car, and sent it flying through the front wall of a nearby building.

Cyborg snarled. "I told ya'll not to mess with me today," he growled. He leveled his sonic cannon. The blast hit the middle head right between the eyes- the dog yelped and stumbled backwards… leaving it vulnerable.

The half-robot rushed in. One arm wrapped around the dog's left head- he half yanked the monster onto its side. Cyborg had almost pulled the creature down when a terrible rattling sound filled his ears and sensors. A dozen hissing snakes coiled around the half-robot, throwing him to the ground.

Rather than rolling out from under its slamming paws, Cyborg tried a trick he had learned earlier- he shoved his sonic cannon into Cerberus's stomach. Cerberus wasn't about to surrender, however… so Cyborg just fired. Cerberus went flying backwards, landing on its stomach.

That had worked fairly well… Cyborg rushed forward once again, plowing into the middle head with one shoulder. The dog went sliding backwards… back down the hole it had come up from. "Boo yah!" Cyborg exclaimed, watching the creature fall into the pit of flames now festering in the middle of main street.

A pair of snakes suddenly rocketed from the hole… and wrapped around Cyborg's waist and shoulders. With a shout of surprise and a bit of panic, Cyborg was pulled in after the dog.

For what seemed like ages, Cyborg and Cerberus plummeted. When they finally hit the ground, the dog broke Cyborg's fall… not that that was exactly a bonus. The mutt was bonier than anything Cyborg had ever felt before… it was like landing on broken metal. He shoved the rubbery snakes off of him, and rolled off Cerberus with a groan, completely winded, his metal chassis dented in more place than one. That had hurt… hurt badly… and he wasn't entirely sure he was going to be able to climb up out of here on his own.

Where was he? Cyborg looked around. Complete darkness- he flipped on his shoulder light. This was some sort of cave… it certainly wasn't the city's sewer system… much too dry. His light illuminated a series of drawings on one of the walls. Curious, Cyborg walked over… the pictures looked oddly familiar.

There was a hydra drawn there… a lion black as night… there was an enormous tree, apples sketched into the branches, there was a boar with red on its tusks, and a series of horses drawing a skeleton in a chariot. Cyborg shuddered… all of the red seemed like it had been drawn with real blood, and drawn recently… wherever he was, it wasn't somewhere nice. Well, obviously, if Cerberus had come from here…

… it was then he saw the last drawing on the wall. It was of Cerberus, but not just of Cerberus… also of himself. At least, it looked like him, and there were few mythological figures with metal body parts. His cave-drawing self was trapped under the paws of the three-headed dog… it was a little creepy.

At least that stupid dog was dead, though…

A familiar rank breath heated the back of his neck. Cyborg spun around, his sonic cannon already charging, but two massive paws slammed down on either of Cyborg's arms, trapping him, and a colossal, slavering pair of jaws was lowered to his face. Cyborg gagged, even through his metal filters… Cerberus's breath stank.

The middle head didn't bite him, even though its teeth were about an inch away, and its drool was dribbling on Cyborg's face. There was a coughing, gagging sound from the middle head… almost like laughter. The stupid dog was laughing at him!

And then, in a voice reminiscent of screeching tires… "Nice hickey."