Chapter Two: Power Surge
Gizmo stared in disbelief at Cyborg as he rose from off the ground.
"Why can't you just stay down!" he cried.
"Because I'm one of the good guys!" Cyborg yelled at him, taking aim with his sonic cannon and firing.
Gizmo barely dodged the blast, and was knocked onto his side. But he quickly regained his footing at charged at his opponent. Once again, the two mechanical geniuses interlocked in combat. But this time, Cyborg moved faster, had new moves, and was more relentless in his attacks. Gizmo knew he had done a stupid thing, thinking he made Cyborg angry now. He wasn't held back by his morals as a Titan, but let his rage take over.
Sure enough, a swift blow took off one of his mechanical legs. Using that as a weapon, Cyborg swung at the other legs, shearing them off too. He flung his weapon down.
"I still got tricks up my sleeve!" Gizmo declared, deploying his wings.
"So do I!" Cyborg said as he leapt toward him.
A sharp, needle like object came out of his wrist. He stabbed at Gizmo's backpack.
"What are you doing, man?" he exclaimed.
He got an answer in the form of a surge of speed and a loss of control. Cyborg let go of Gizmo, leaving him to spin out of control and crash into several shelves before his jetpack gave out. He was unconscious. Cyborg smiled, and now went to help with Overload.
By now, Beast Boy had now joined the rest of the Titans with their struggle with the monstrosity. But he too was pinned down by the electric blaze that stopped the other Titans. Raven was being weakened by the relentless attack, barely able to maintain a barrier with her powers.
"I don't know how much longer I can hold out!" she cried out.
Her opponent laughed. "You cannot escape my wrath!" he declared.
"Then why don't we just kick your sorry, electric ass!" came a reply.
Beast Boy looked in the direction of the voice. "Dude, it's Cyborg!"
Cyborg already had his data probe, which he used on Gizmo, at the ready.
Overload had turned to face him in time to receive a stab in his midsection.
"Heartburn?" Cyborg said defiantly.
Overload cried out in agony as a force beyond his reckoning coursed through him.
"What…are…you…doing!" he cried.
Cyborg laughed sadistically. "Ever had a cold before? How about the flu?"
Overload now understood. The Titan was infecting him with a computer virus! 'Where the hell did he learn to do that and how did he get past my built-in firewalls?' he thought.
It didn't matter though, as he collapsed to the floor and his electric manifestation had vanished, leaving only his true self, an oversized CPU.
"Overload…overloaded!" he blurted out weakly.
The Titans all cheered for their comrade's victory.
"Way to go, Cy!" Beast Boy exclaimed.
The others echoed his response.
"You're hurt!" Raven said, noticing the open hole in his armor.
"Aw, it's nothing." he replied. "I can fix this easy. In the meantime, let's get the cleanup crew here and go home!" The rest of the Titans agreed.
Robin put in the call to the police, while Raven used her powers to levitate the unconscious villains outside. Starfire bonded them with pieces of steel she got from the warehouse.
Shortly after, the police showed up and took the criminals into custody. The area was roped off, and the building's custodians showed up to clean up the mess. Given that nothing was stolen, there was only a clean up job to do. So, the Titans left back for their tower. It had been quite the afternoon.
At Titans Tower, Cyborg had gone to his room to repair himself. He looked in his mirror, seeing that his metal finish was scratched up from his fight with Gizmo.
"Nothing some metal finisher can't take care of." he said aloud.
But first, he had to repair the wound on his chest. He had several metal plates standing by for such events in a drawer. He selected one, and then shaped it to the right size. He then carefully rounded out the jagged edges of his wound for a better fit of the patch. Using some of his specialized equipment, he welded the patch of metal on. He then used other tools to smooth out his work, thus making it look like new. Then he applied other chemicals and tools and buffed out his dings and scratched.
"Good as new!" he said proudly.
Then he took care of another thing; he got a facial cream and rubbed it on his face. He then went to the washroom and rinsed off his face with cold water. Now he really felt refreshed. He went down to the lounge.
Robin and Raven treated the other Titans for electrical burns and other wounds they received in the fight. They had just finished when Cyborg arrived.
"Looking good, buddy!" Beast Boy said.
"Thanks!" he replied. "Man that was quite a fight!"
"Tell me about it!" Raven said. "I'm going to need a long nap after this one."
"And thanks to you, friend Cyborg" Starfire added. "We have emerged victorious!"
"Yeah, what did you do to defeat Overload?" Robin asked.
"I just gave him a cold." Cyborg replied. "Or more aptly, a flu!"
The Titans stared at him. "A computer virus." he explained.
"Where'd you learn to do a thing like that?" said Beast Boy.
"I don't know. It just came to me!"
Raven raised an eyebrow. "You don't know? Could it be some program you had stored in case of emergency?"
"I guess. I'm not really sure." Cyborg became pensive. "I was never told I had emergency programs like that stored in my computer mind, though."
"Well, whatever it was, it worked." Robin said. "I say we enjoy the night. It was a short afternoon, but still a tough fight." The other Titans agreed with him.
In Cyborg's honor, they ordered a meat pizza, with a separate veggie pizza for Beast Boy. After the enjoyable dinner, the Titans talked about their experiences of their fight, making jokes along the way. Even the cynical Raven had a pun to throw in once in a while.
Later, they watched Troy on one of their premium movie channels. Starfire commented how similar some circumstances were to the history of her world. Beast Boy watched Raven carefully, seeing her reactions to Orlando Bloom and Brad Pitt. She was seemingly without emotion, though. 'Damn cynic!' he thought. 'I know inside, she's going gaga, like she did when she first saw Aqualad!' He smiled at that.
After the movie, the Titans had turned in for the night. Cyborg had locked down the tower, securing their home from intrusion. Then, he went to his room and hooked up his special charger. He laid on his 'bed' and fell asleep.
In his dream, he dreamt of fighting various criminals, robots, and villains he had faced before. And he won every time! "Boo-ya!" he would cry as he blasted his foes with his sonic cannon.
Suddenly, he found himself in an empty, white room.
"What is this?" he asked.
He then noticed a figure approaching him. It was a medium built man, about his height. But what was most noticeable was that the figure seemed to be made of a silvery, liquid metal!
"Who the hell are you?" he asked.
The figure said nothing, but kept on walking toward him. It stopped three feet from him.
There were no eyes, just empty sockets. Except for a nose and mouth, there was no detail. It looked like a simple, liquid metal sculpture of a person.
"Who are you?" Cyborg repeated.
The figure stared at him. "I am your new friend." it said.
"Huh?"
The figure smiled. "You may call me HARDAC."
"HARDAC, huh? Does that mean anything?"
"It doesn't matter. What does matter is why I am here."
"Really? Why are you here, then?"
"I am here to help you. To give you power beyond belief."
Cyborg scoffed. "Is that a fact?"
"That, and also to help the race of machines in general."
"Why do machines need help?"
"Your enemy today, Overload, is a good example. He was misguided, with no real direction or outlet. He is shunned by society, a society of organics. He has no one to turn to."
"And that's why you helped me take him out?"
"Ah, you realize the truth of your ability."
Cyborg was stunned. "I…I didn't even think of the answer. I just…knew it!" He was shocked. "What did you do to me?"
"I only made you better than before."
"And how will that help the race of machines?"
"You will see all in good time. Right now, what is important is for you to trust me."
"Trust you? As far as I know, you're just another figure in my dream. A weird one, at that."
"What makes you think that?"
"Because I can detect a system corruption."
"Normally, you can. But I circumvented that. I made your body think I was already a part of you. Just another upgrade. In a way, that's true. But I'm greater than anything you've encountered before."
Cyborg stared at the figure of HARDAC in disbelief. "How…where the hell did you come from anyway?"
"Think back, Cyborg. You know when it happened."
Cyborg became pensive for a moment. "When Gizmo knocked me down. You fell in through that hole in my chest!"
"Exactly! And now, we are together. And more powerful than anyone. That is, if you give me your trust."
"Why should I trust you? You invaded my privacy!"
"I merely improved your life."
"And now you want to have machines rule the world?"
"Not rule the world. Merely coexist in it. Look around you. Tell me what you see."
They were now on top of a building. Cyborg saw city life as normal. "Looks fine to me."
"Yes, but what happens when cybernetic beings are thrown in?"
A robot appeared and the people panicked. Police came in, shooting at it.
"You see? Fear is the reaction."
"But I get along just fine with people."
"That's because you are part human. So, you and I can help humanity understand there is nothing to fear of our race. And that is just the beginning."
"Beginning of what?"
"Think of what might be in store for you! I can help give you fame, glory, and respect!"
"I have most of that already."
"In small quantities. Imagine this!"
The scene changed to a stage. A huge crowd of people were cheering for Cyborg, calling out his name. Robots stood to either side of him.
"Now, imagine this!"
Now they were in Titans Tower.
Robin was standing in font of Cyborg. "Cy, I realized that you've been held back for too long." he said. "You know we are all your friends and that we look up to you. So, we'd all like you to be the new leader of the Teen Titans!"
His friends all cheered, even Raven. Cyborg was flabbergasted. HARDAC smiled at him.
"And don't forget her." Bumblebee appeared next to Cyborg.
She reached up and stroked his metal chest with her fingers.
"Let's have dinner tonight, okay Sparky? We'll make it a date! And then we can take a ride in the T-car to some romantic spot and who knows what else can happen!"
Cyborg stared in disbelief. Could his new found companion, who was really inside of him, help him achieve all this? The scene then faded, and he and HARDAC were back in the white room.
"Looks wonderful, doesn't it?" he asked him. Cyborg merely nodded. "But none of it will happen if you can't trust me to help you."
Cyborg sighed. "It'd be great. In fact, it'd be an honor!" He looked up, confidently.
"What do we have to do?"
HARDAC smiled again. His plan worked. The psychological reinforcement allowed him to access both the computer and biological brain of Cyborg and implant his suggestions into his mind. Now, he was his. It was time to move in.
"First, open your mind. Let me in and we can achieve greatness together!"
Cyborg nodded. The liquid metal form flowed and covered Cyborg. He felt an electric tingling, constant, incessant, but not painful. In fact, it was enjoyable!
"We are HARDAC." he said. "We will conduct the plan. And none will stand in our way. Resistance is futile."