Congratulations go to Chaos Elemental, who correctly picked the next Mox's location (though only because he read the fic before.) Still, great job! Now then, just one more thing to do before the fun begins. Pentagram?

"Ahem. DISCLAIMER: Overactive Mind does not own Teen Titans, Magic: the Gathering, or any copyrighted materials related to the two. He does own me, because I'm one of his beloved, bizarre brainchildren."

Quite true. Now, on with the story!

SUMMERISENDINGANDIAMSADSUMMERISENDINGANDIAMSADSUMMERISENDINGANDIAMSAD

Raven pulled out the Mox Pearl, opened the scroll, and placed the jewel on its illustration within the manuscript. The gem flashed a brilliant white as the Azarathi script faded to a stark ivory tone. After the Pearl stopped shining, new writing began to appear to the left of the original piece. Unlike the graceful, flowing language of Azarath, this was nothing more than a seemingly random sequence of zeroes and ones that shone in a luminous sky blue, alongside the image of a pentagonal, faceted gemstone. Raven stared at the new writing in total incomprehension. "I can't read this!"

Cyborg leaned over her shoulder. "I can. This is standard ASCII binary. My system can easily translate it. Hang on." After a few seconds of whirring and clicking, the mechanoman smiled. "Got it. It says:

"The place where you'll find

The blue Mox Sapphire

Is where many of the

Best minds have been hired.

You won't leave the planet

But you're headed for stars.

The gem is in space

But you can there by car."

"So...what now?" Beast Boy asked.

"Yes, I too am most confused by this newest message." agreed Starfire. "Friend Raven, do you understand it?"

"I think so," the half-demon said hesitantly, "but I'm not certain."

"I am." The others turned to Cyborg. He'd been silent until now while the others were discussing the poem. "The Mox is going to be at S.T.A.R. Labs. The aerospace division."

"I am confused." Starfire interjected, "I do not know of these 'labs.' Why do you all insist they are mine?"

Cy appeared prepared for this question. "It's actually an acronym, Starfire. Ess, tee, ay, arr."

"Dude, what does S.T.A.R. stand for, anyway?" inquired Beast Boy.

After an long, awkward silence, Raven piped up. "You're sure it's there?"

"Positive. 'The best minds,' 'headed for stars,' 'the gem's in space,' all the clues indicate S.T.A.R. Labs."

Beast Boy rose in his bed. "Then let's go!"

Raven gentily pushed him back in bed. "We have to wait until you finish recuperating. Otherwise, you might get even worse injuries."

"Actually," Cyborg interjected, "all the med sensors say BB's in peak condition."

"Oh..." Raven put up her hood to hide the blush creeping across her face. "Never mind then."

"Oh, but friends, what shall we do with Robin?" Starfire held their confused leader, who was currently trying to eat her hair. "He still thinks he is Silky, and my bumgorf believes he is Robin!"

"S.T.A.R. Labs has a top-notch psychology center, Star." Cyborg clapped his hand on her shoulder. "We'll get Robin back in crimefighting shape in no time."

"Besides," commented Beast Boy, "Silkie's kicking bad guy butt so good, we can leave without worrying about the city."

"Oh, thank you friends!" exclaimed the ebullient Tamaranean, who returned Cyborg's shoulder slap and consequentially dented his armor.

ONTHEROADONTHEROADONTHEROADONTHEROADONTHEROADONTHEROADONTHEROADONTHEROAD

And so, the Titans all climbed into the T-Car ("It says 'you can get there by car,' " Cyborg had rationalized, "I'm drivin'!") , though Robin had to be carried in a teenager-sized version of a pet carrier. Starfire insisted on staying by his size and making sure he didn't eat anything humans couldn't digest. Beast Boy was charged with supervising Starfire, since her opinion of the human digestive system was infamously inaccurate. That meant Raven sat in the passenger seat, where Cyborg could easily check on her relationship with the resident shapeshifter.

"So..." he began.

"What?"

"What'd I miss back at the Watchtower?"

"What are you talking about?" she asked, feigning innocence.

"Don't give me that, girl. You and BB were alone for, like, an hour in there. You can't tell me nothing happened."

Raven was getting annoyed. "First of all, we weren't alone. We had legions of crystalline warriors all trying to kill or capture us, and a giant angel that nearly did both. Secondly, we rescued you and Starfire as soon as I came too. Thirdly, and I can't emphasize this enough: I. Don't. Like. Beast Boy. Like. That." Her eyes glinted red. "Understand?"

For some foolhardy reason, Cyborg insisted on pressing on. "C'mon, Raven. You can't spend a two-day vigil by someone's bedside and say you don't like them." He waggled his remaining eyebrow. "Besides, did you see your face when Starfire compared you two to a soap opera? You made her hair look gray."

Raven's eyebrows suddenly opened to reveal her second set of eyes. All four were glowing crimson, and in a voice that would make her father proud, she growled, "I helped you build this car. I know exactly how to take it apart. I will unless you shut. UP. NOW." A black aura began to spread across the dashboard, underscoring her threat.

Sweatdropping, Cyborg finally got the message. "Oooookay then, subject dropped." The aura dissipated. Breathing a sigh of relief, Cy turned to the backseat and asked, "Hey, you two, how's our fearless leader doin'?"

Starfire fumed, "Oh, friend Cyborg, you must assist me! Friend Beast Boy refuses to allow me to give Robin any of my fried qlurz'gruks!"

Beast Boy retorted, "Dude, have you seen that stuff? There's no way it can be good for Robin!" Cyborg could see the changeling's point. The spoon Starfire was desperately trying to slip through the bars of Robin's cage was slowly corroding as whatever Tamaranean delicacy was perched atop it ate through the metal. Beast Boy was doing all he could to prevent this from happening, at least until the alleged "food" could finish melting the spoon.

"Starfire," Cyborg threatened, "get any of that on my baby's upholstery and there's gonna be trouble."

"I assure you, friend Cyborg, qlurz'gruks do not make 'the stain.' "

"Yeah," retorted Beast Boy, who was now performing a passable five-sevenths nelson on the alien princess, "it melts everything before it can leave a mark!"

"Starfire," Raven tactfully said, "maybe you could feed Robin after we get to S.T.A.R. Labs."

"Oh," sighed the orange girl, "very well." She slipped the nearly compromised utensil into her own mouth, and showed every sign of pleasure despite the smoke oozing from her nostrils.

Cyborg smiled. "Don't worry Star. We'll be there in just a few minutes."

"Lamp post." Raven called.

"Huh?"

"LAMP POST!"

"AAAAAHHH!" The cybernetic chauffeur girly screamed as he narrowly avoided hitting a light post he hadn't noticed while his attention was on the backseat.

ATTHELABATTHELABATTHELABATTHELABATTHELABATTHELABATTHELABATTHELABATTHELABATTHELAB

After a relatively uneventful remainder of driving, the Titans arrived at S.T.A.R. Labs. After Cyborg told Starfire where to drag Robin for his psychological treatment, the remaining three Titans walked to the aerospace division. Somehow, Cyborg was able to bypass every level of security simply by showing up. Eventually, the trio was lead to a large bunker containing a great deal of scrap metal. It looked as though much of the detritus was once lethal in nature. A number of rusting tank turrets, decrepit jet engines, and other moldering mechanisms littered the area.

"Dude, how'd you get us this far?" Beast Boy finally asked.

Cyborg looked down. "I really don't like to talk about it. Let's just say I know people."

In the center of the bunker there was a device that gleamed with newness. It appeared to be a muscular torso made of silver, with dull blue lines rising over the shoulders, under the armpits, and down the center of the belly, all originating from a central point. (A/N: Basically, a five-pointed asterisk design.) Atop the torso was something resembling a giant soup can with a column of slits in the front.

"What is this thing?" asked Beast Boy, awed by the technological wonder before him.

"That is the future." replied an unseen voice. Its owner stepped out of the shadows. It was a tall, well-built man with glasses and a lab coat. "Hello. My name is Dr. Stone, and I designed this. It-" He paused suddenly, noticing Cyborg as if for the first time. "Hello, son."

The teen nodded. "Hi, Dad."

ENDCHAPTEREIGHTENDCHAPTEREIGHTENDCHAPTEREIGHTENDCHAPTEREIGHTENDCHAPTEREIGHT

Bum bum bum! Yeah, Cyborg's dad probably isn't alive, but I wanted to put him in. So there. The only way I can find out if this chapter was as bad as part of me thinks is if you press the button. Flames are always welcome, because they're pretty. Pretty fire…