Chapter Three: Download

The next morning, Cyborg had not shown up for breakfast to make his signature waffles, which the Titans had come to appreciate, especially compared to Beast Boy's cooking.

"Usually, friend Cyborg is here in advance to provide to our needs of food." Starfire commented.

"Oh well, more tofu eggs for us then!" Beast Boy remarked.

Raven groaned. "We can only be so lucky." she said sarcastically.

"Come on, I'm starved." said Robin. "I'm sure Cyborg will be along."

The Titans had finished their breakfast with no sign of their friend.

"I think I ought to see what he's up to." Beast Boy said. "I can always tempt him with a game!"

"Just don't piss him off, Beast Boy." Robin told him.

"Yeah, whatever!" the changeling called back.

Beast Boy started off by going to Cyborg's room. Surprisingly, he wasn't there. Scratching his head, he then took the elevator to the garage. There was still no sign of him.

"The security room!" he exclaimed.

Beast Boy knew that sometimes Cyborg would tune up the security measures of the tower or do checks on them. He took the elevator back up to the level of the security room.

Sure enough, Cyborg was there, at the computer. He was busy typing away. Beast Boy looked at the screen, but couldn't make sense of it. It was some kind of programming, being scrolled by rapidly. Shrugging that detail off, he approached his friend.

"Hey Cy, missed you for breakfast! I know you want to try out that new recipe for waffles, man!"

"No." was the terse reply.

Beast Boy was astonished. "Come on, you got to get something inside you, man!"

"Please come back later." he replied, without infliction.

"Well, at least join me for a game! I know how much you love that!"

"Go away."

Beast Boy was now utterly perplexed by this behavior.

"Is something bothering you? Is there something wrong? Please tell me! I'm your friend, you know, you can tell me what's wrong. Please?"

"Fuck you, asshole."

Beast Boy was dumbfounded. Never had Cyborg talked to him like that before! Angry and hurt, he made for the door.

"I see how it is now. You just want to be some big jerk, since you just had your first real victory. You think because you save us, you're better than us, huh? Well, stay there and don't come down than, you rusty bastard!"

"Fuck you." was Cyborg's response.

Beast Boy left the room.

Cyborg returned his full attention to the computer. With HARDAC's help, he was viewing the internet in its raw form, rather than with images and text. HARDAC was learning what had happened since the first plan by his predecessor had failed. He had also learned how fortunate he was to have met Cyborg. It was as if fate was finally conspiring in favor of machine kind. HARDAC was now preparing to unleash his power upon the world. He would start with the Teen Titans, and then make his way outward, bigger and stronger. In time, the plan would succeed, and a new world order would take place. And Cyborg was the center of it all.

Beast Boy stormed into the lounge, startling his teammates.

"What's wrong?" Robin asked him.

"That guy is such a prick!" he replied. "I come in, being nice and all and he just ignores me and practically tells me to fuck off!"

"Whoa, what are you saying?" Robin asked.

Beast Boy related the 'conversation' Cyborg had with him.

"That does not sound like the Cyborg we know!" Starfire exclaimed.

"Right." Robin commented. "I think I should talk to him and see what this is about."

"No," Raven said. "Let me. I know him better than most of you. He knows he can trust me."

Robin nodded.

Raven went to the security room. She saw that Cyborg will still at the computer, looking at programming code of some sort. She wondered why he was doing that.

"Ahem! Cyborg?" she asked.

"Go away." he replied."

"I'd like to talk to you about what's going on."

"Please leave, I'm busy."

Raven noted the monotony of his voice, similar to her own when she would feel moody.

"I can read your emotions simply by how you're talking to me. Please, I know something is wrong. Let us help! We're your friends!"

Cyborg gave no reply.

"Come on, Cy, please?" Raven pleaded.

"What part of 'go away' don't you understand? Now, beat it, bitch."

Raven blinked in surprise at him, and then glared in anger.

"Fine." was all she said.

She turned to leave, but just before she went out the door, she felt something. It wasn't physical contact, but something she felt empathically. She looked back at Cyborg. What was is she felt? His anger? Or something more?

She concentrated her empathy on Cyborg to get a clearer view. What she felt gave her such a shock that she gasped and quickly ran out. Cyborg looked back, pleased to see Raven had left. He thought nothing of her reaction and went back to work.

In the lounge, the other were surprised by the expression on Raven's face.

"What happened?" Robin asked her.

She sat down. "Cyborg is not himself."

Beast Boy scoffed. "Well, no shit. Like I couldn't tell you that."

"Will you shut the fuck up and listen?" Raven exclaimed. "Now, as I left the room, I sensed something weird from Cyborg. I didn't know what it was, so I looked deeper into him. Now, I can't be sure, but it seems Cyborg is possessed!"

The Titans gasped. "He's got a ghost or something in him?" Beast Boy asked.

"Like I said, I don't know. But I know it actually feels similar to when I sense Overload."

Robin stared at her. "You're saying that Overload might have some something to Cyborg?" he asked.

"Again, I'm not sure. But it's too sophisticated a plot for Overload, if you ask me. Even if he has upgrades."

Robin stood up. "Well, there's one way to find out. Raven, you and I will back to the warehouse to check for clues. Star and Beast Boy, you two keep an eye on Cyborg; make sure he doesn't do anything foolish."

Starfire stood up. "Don't you want me to go with you, Robin?" she asked, sweetly.

"Your strength is the only one that can match up against Cyborg in case he does go berserk. So you might do more good here."

She nodded her head in understanding. "Of course. I will ensure our friend is safe!"

"Good," Robin replied. "Okay Raven, let's go!"

The two Titans went to the roof. Once there, Raven enveloped herself and Robin in her manifestation of her soul self, the black form of her namesake, and flew off.

From the security office, Cyborg took no notice. He was busy now preparing his surprise.

At the warehouse, Robin and Raven entered through the same door they did yesterday. Robin turned on the lights inside. There was still damage, but at least the mess was cleaned up.

"Where do we start?" Raven asked him.

"We have to try and see if we can find where Cyborg got hurt by Gizmo. Remember, that's when he started feeling different."

Raven nodded. She looked around the place. Then, she had an inspiration.

"Wait, let me try something!" she told Robin.

In a slow and deliberate tone, she chanted "Azarath…metrion…zinthos!"

Her eyes glowed white; she was now seeing the past.

Moving forward with her right hand on Robin's shoulder, she helped guide him. She concentrated on what she saw of Cyborg's fight. It took a good 5 minutes before she stopped.

"This is it!" she hissed, her eyes now normal.

Robin looked around. The shelves here were dented, but the boxes that were once on it were placed on the floor.

"Check the boxes themselves for what they got. I think something of interest may be here!" he told Raven.

The looked at a dozen of them, without success. Robin didn't even know what to look for.

"Here!" cried Raven. "I think I got something."

Robin joined her. She showed a medium sized box with a strange symbol on it. It looked like the face of some kind of machine.

Robin stared at it. "For some reason, that seems familiar."

"Really?" Raven said. "What do you think it means?"

"I don't know." he sighed. "But I think I know someone who can."

"Who?"

"An old friend." He pulled out his communicator and dialed up the appropriate code. He waited anxiously. 'Please no lectures, please.' he thought to himself.

The image appeared on the screen.

"Batman?" whispered Raven. Robin nodded.

"Batman here, who's calling?"

"It's me, Robin."

"Robin." came the terse reply. "Been a long time. You should write more."

"Yeah, some other time. Listen, I need some help. Can you check something out for me? I'm downloading an image to you."

He flashed a picture of the box and transmitted it.

Batman appeared startled. "Robin, where did you find this?"

"At a warehouse here in Jump City. Why? What's it mean."

"Trouble. Ever hear of HARDAC?"

"Can't say I have. What is it?"

"A computer. Perhaps the most sophisticated supercomputer created. It used protein-silicon chips, called 'wetware'. It was the link to artificial intelligence, before nano-circuitry came along. Even then, wetware still has advantages, as it is much easier to make self sufficient neural networks with them."

"That must have been what Overload was after!" Raven exclaimed.

"Who?" Batman asked.

"Never mind. We took care of that guy. So, what happened with HARDAC? Why is it such bad news?"

"HARDAC had a plan to rule humanity. He was replacing certain key people with machines disguised as humans."

"Let me guess. You took him out, right?"

"Twice. And it was a bitch to do. Almost got killed."

"So if HARDAC is history, what the heck is this thing doing here?"

"Checking on that now." Batman worked his computer for a few minutes. Then, he whistled. "Well, you'll find this interesting. Even I didn't know this!"

"What is it?"

"Turns out just before HARDAC started his plan, the company that made it had duplicate parts. They wanted to make another one, this time over at Jump City."

"You don't say!"

"Yep. And take a look at the location for the site." Batman transmitted the image.

Robin and Raven stared at it. It was a tall building on an island in the middle of the bay. At first he didn't get it. But then it was clear.

"That's Titans Tower!" they both exclaimed.

"Right you are." said Batman. "After the disaster with HARDAC, the building was closed down and the spare CPUs put in storage. And you know what became of the building."

"Yeah, bought by you after you surveyed it, made it into what it is today, and the rest is history." Robin sighed.

"I assume there's a point for you snooping around all this?"

"I think our friend Cyborg might have run into some trouble with HARDAC recently. Raven sensed it."

"Don't take any chances with him, Robin. Be careful! It can't be reasoned with or bargained with! It won't stop until it completes its plan, and it won't care what stands in the way!"

"Don't worry, we'll be ready. Anything else we should know?"

Batman sighed. "You might want to consult Karl Rossum. He created HARDAC. I'm sending his number now."

"Thanks. For everything."

"Your welcome. Oh, and Robin?"

"Yes?"

"Visit some time, alright?"

"I'll manage it. Robin out." He closed his communicator. "That went better than I thought."

"Good to see." said Raven. "You want to call this Rossum guy?"

"Yeah. We need all the info we can get."

He typed in the number. There was no video; just an audio feed. Apparently, Rossum only had a regular phone.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Mr. Rossum? This is Robin of the Teen Titans."

"Hello, Robin. What can I do for you?"

"It's about HARDAC."

Rossum sighed. "I wish I never built that fucking thing."

"I figured that. We think we got trouble with it here."

"How? HARDAC was destroyed, its remains scrapped or put in storage."

"That's just the thing. We had a battle here at a storage facility, and we think our friend got infected or something by HARDAC."

"But you're in Jump City. All the leftovers are over here in Gotham!"

"You never heard of the plans to build HARDAC 2?"

Rossum gasped. "I never thought that got approved!"

"It wasn't, but the parts are here. And now, one of them is in my friend, Cyborg. You know of him?"

"Yes. Most of his technology was developed by my old company. That's about the only thing I don't regret making."

"We're grateful for it, too. Now, do you any ideas on how to stop HARDAC?"

"Aside from blowing him to bits?"

"Definitely! Remember, he's inside our friend!"

"Yes, I heard you! Damn it, I'm not sure. HARDAC can change, evolve. He's meant to be adaptable, to be impervious to cyber attack. I don't know of anything that can help. I'm sorry."

Robin sighed. "Well, thanks for your advice, anyway. I'm sorry to bring up the subject of HARDAC for you again in your life. I know it had to be painful, knowing what you created."

"Believe me, it was. Thanks, and good luck."

"Your welcome. Robin out." He closed his communicator.

"Well, now what?" Raven asked.

"I think we just have to take HARDAC out of Cy and hope he gets better. In the meantime, we got to isolate him."

"Good idea. Who knows what he's been doing!"

Robin flipped his communicator open again. He called up Titans Tower.

"Robin to Beast Boy." he said. There was no answer.

"Robin to Starfire." Again, no answer.

"Let me try mine." Raven said.

She called up both Titans, but got no answer. The two looked at each other, an expression of shock on their faces. "We may be too late already!"