Chapter 13: Searching and Striking
"Yes,
Australia, the land down unda'. No I don't have the number of the
hotel. The point of a vacation is to get away from responsibilities,
not have some incompetent sycophant calling you up every few minutes.
And our cell phones are gonna be out of range. Well, I'm sorry the
CEO of Powers Tech is there to see my father but we're already on
the plane and they don't just turn around. Oh…the flight
attendant is telling me to get off the phone—"
Alex nudged
Halle's side with his elbow. "Oh, um," she cleared her throat
and said in a stern voice. "Young man, you can't talk use a cell
phone on a plane. Do you want us to crash?"
"See, were gonna crash. Gotta go. Don't call back." Alex snapped his cell phone closed and instantly turned it off. "The Grayson family is now officially gone of an impromptu vacation to Australia. No one will come looking for us or our parents for at least a week or two. Unless the go to the house, but then again they might think that was thieves or vandals, not an attack."
"Alex," said Halle. "That was pretty smart."
"I'm always pretty smart," said Alex, leaning back in his chair, hands behind his head."
"…no comment…and you, stop fidgeting."
Kaden cast Halle a sideways look. "Coach seriously. You're the kids of billionaires and the best you could get is coach?"
"You're just still upset that we don't have a private jet."
"A private jet, at least. You should have, like, a Titan plane or a Batjet or something!"
"Whatever…and anyway, shouldn't we be more concerned with our…plan of action once we land?"
"I've got us hotel reservation," Alex spoke up from Halle's other side. "It's not the Hilton or anything. I figured we needed something a little more low profile. We are supposed to be in Australia. But it's not slummy either. After we check-in, put down our luggage, we can go searching for Cyborg via the signal from his Titans communicator—"
"Which it was my brilliant idea to use," Kaden commented, over Halle head to Alex.
"But I was able to track and hack into."
"Yes, but you wouldn't have been able to track and hack into the system if I hadn't thought of using it."
"Yes, thinking of using it is nice and all, but you wouldn't have been able to find Cyborg if I hadn't been able to track and hack into it."
"But—"
"Oh, shut up, you two."
…
Cyborg had been unable to get his mind off the conversation he had shared with the mystery person last night. The only way he had gotten sleep was because he could literally turn his mind off. He hadn't been able to get his mind off it all day and it is not prudent to be distracted will trying to be a superhero. That leads to nothing good. Thankfully it was a quiet day and he just patrolling.
In that same city in late afternoon, three young teenagers were wandering around, hopelessly lost, trying to follow and little bleeping green dot on Alex's GPS system on his cell phone (AN: this is the future, remember. I think everyone will have GPS systems on their phones, like everyone has cameras on their phones now, except me.)
Alex paused on the sidewalk, looked up from the screen on his phone to the city scene around his, back to his phone, and then back up again. "Where are we?"
"You mean we're lost?" asked Halle.
"No, I just…don't know where we are…or how to get to were we want to be…"
"That's the definition of lost."
"You have a GPS. That's like a map times a bajillion," said Kaden.
"It's a little hard when the map is like, one inch by one inch and I've got to follow two dots that keep moving. Why can't Cyborg stay still!"
"We just need to figure out our bearings," said Halle, looking around. "Now where are we?"
"That was the problem to start with," muttered Kaden, earning him both the twin's sharp glares to silence him. "I was just saying!"
"Wait, wait!" exclaimed Alex. "I think he's coming in our direction. Yes, he's getting closer. He is definitely getting closer!"
"Alex., shut up, everyone is staring," warned Halle, as some curios passersby gave Alex concerned looks.
"Okay," said Alex, his voice now hushed, we just need to back track a few blocks and we'll be on the same road as him…"
"Am I allowed to talk now?" asked Kaden. The twins turned to him to see him having a big paper map unfolded between his hands.
"Where did you get that?" asked Halle.
"Airport. Service desk. Now we're on Crest Avenue. What road is Cy on."
"Um…," said Alex, zooming in on his phone to get better details. "Hudson."
"And is Cyborg going north or south?"
"Uh…up."
"North then. Okay, we would have to walk around a whole load of business buildings. It'd be easier to go through here." Kaden indicated with his hand to a nearby alleyway.
"But…but there could be bums or muggers down there."
Kaden couldn't help but roll his eyes at Halle statements. "We're three superpowered teens. I think we can handle bums or muggers. Plus, you know I won't let anything bad happen to you."
Alex made gagging actions in the background.
"Okay," Halle agreed with a smile. "To the alleyways."
…
Cyborg wore his holo-rings when out patrolling in the public like this, which disguised his appearance of half man-half machine with a simple hologram projection. He wasn't Cyborg all the time now, like he had been with the Titans. A lot of things were different then when he had been with the Titans.
"Hello Victor," yelled an old, grandma-like woman, sweeping the sidewalk in front of her bakery.
"Hey, Mrs. Bea," Cyborg replied with a wave. That bakery was only a few blocks from his backstreet hideaway and he was a frequent visitor and customer. Mrs. Bea, a stooped over, blue-haired lady, had taken an unofficial role of his doting great aunt after several months of his living in the city, apparently without any family.
"Come back later for supper!"
"I'll try."
"Don't try. Do."
He couldn't help but smile at the elderly woman's persistence and spirit even though she didn't live in the greatest part of town.
He turned into the alleyway which lead to his backstreet apartment. He was only a few steps into the alley when he heard voices. He paused, his foot paused in midstep, not willing to make noise and make his presence know yet.
"We're close. We're really close now."
"Well, the dots are practically over lapping."
"Yeah, but where is we if we are close?"
"Are you tracking the signal right?"
"Yes I'm tracking the signal right. Jeez, who do think I am?"
"The guy who got us lost."
"You got to keep bringing that up, don't you?"
"Yeah, well it happened like ten minutes ago."
The voices, they were bickering, like teenagers. Knowing that he wasn't about to be noticed, Cyborg took a few inquisitive steps forward, wanting to know who was slowly approaching around the corner. He soon discovered they were teenagers.
They rounded the corner, two guys and one girl, in arguing huddle. The paused and silenced when they caught sight of him. The taller of the two boys glanced down at the cell phone in his hands and then back at him.
"Found him," he pronounced. The shorter boy, who was dressed in black with a white, high-collared trench coat, and wide sunglasses attempted to fold up a paper map, but gave up after a minor struggle and smashed it unceremoniously into his pocket.
"I thought he was supposed to be half-metal," whispered Halle, although Cyborg caught it. He was still wearing the holo-rings.
"Who are you?" Cyborg finally asked, more curious then concerned they were a threat.
"We the people who contacted you last night, about the Strike," explained the boy wearing sunglasses even though he was standing in the shadows of a dark alley.
"But your just kids."
"Kids!" exclaimed the same boy. "I happen to be fifteen…almost."
"We contacted and tracked you through the signal from your old Titans communicator," added the taller boy.
"My idea."
"My execution."
"Wait, wait, wait," interrupted Cyborg. "You're the one hacked into my systems?"
"It's a talent."
"Okay, but who are?" repeated Cyborg.
This time the girl, who had been hovering in the back of the group stepped forward, into the sunlight so Cyborg now saw that she was a redhead. "My name is Halle and this is Alex, my little brother—"
"By five minutes," the boy named Alex added.
"And our friend Kaden. We need your help."
"I thought you had information on the Strike?" questioned Cyborg, trying to discover were their stories matched up.
"We do," interrupted the boy named Kaden. "Well I do. We need your help concerning them."
"Why do you need my help?"
"Because you're a superhero," said Alex. "That's what you do, you help people. And you were a Teen Titan."
Cyborg's face turned hard. "That was a long time ago."
"But…," said Halle swiftly, noticing the man's change from curious to closed off. "Our parents were Titans too."
That got Cyborg's immediate attention, his eyes snapping to each of them in turn. "I should have known. You look just like Star," he said to Halle. "How old are you?"
"Sixteen."
Cyborg licked his lips as he did a quick calculation in his head. "That makes a lot of sense."
"Huh?"
"Never mind. What are you kids doing? Trying to patch up an old team to fight the Strike or something. Not gonna happen. Go home to your parents." He turned away from the despondent teens, making ready to return to his apartment and leave them behind.
"But we can't!"
Cyborg paused at his door and turned his head of his shoulder to look at Halle.
"What do you mean, you can't."
"Our parents…they're gone," said Halle looking as if she was on the verge of tears.
"Gone?" questioned Cyborg, concern seeping into his voice.
"They were taken," explained Kaden, "Kidnapped by the Strike."
Cyborg turned his face away from the three teenagers, who watched his back unsure. Cyborg closed his eyes and bowed his head. He unlocked and opened the door.
"Come on in."
Halle, Alex, and Kaden followed the older man through the door that closed and locked automatically behind them. It was dark as they carefully descended a short flight of steps, hands clinging to the handrail in support. Cyborg reached the below landing first and turned on overhead lights that revealed a room, plated in metal and technology.
"Wow," Alex mouthed.
Cyborg took a ring off of each hand, and the image of him as a normal human being melted one of half flesh, half machine. Halle barely contained saying that he indeed was half-metal because she thought it would be rude.
Cyborg turned around to face them, a little group huddled at the foot of the stairs.
"Alex, right?" he said, his attention directed to the taller of the two boys. He nodded in agreement. "You look like Robin did, when he was younger. And you must be Raven's and BB's kid, huh?" The shorter of the boys, his sunglasses now perched on his black hair, revealing his purple eyes, gave a small shoulder shrug in concurrence. "Funny, I never saw Rae as the maternal type."
"She's surprisingly motherly and overprotective through the monotone and the whole, y'know, scaring criminals shitless." He had Beast Boy's voice, as well as his unruly hair sticking in every which direction and his pubescent scrawny exterior, but his tone was flat like Raven's and his skin as pale. Cyborg was barely able to contain a grin.
"You don't have to stand at the door. I don't have many comforts here. I don't get many guests…but you can all find a seat somewhere…then, tell me what happened."
Halle got the only computer chair, Alex took a seat on the second step up, and Kaden found comfort leaning against one of the few bare patches of wall. They retold their tale, cutting off and commenting over each other when necessary, but Kaden did a lot of the talking, as he knew the most about the Strike from his parents going after them. Cyborg paced along the opposite side of the room until Kaden pulled out the papers on the mysterious criminal organization, in which Cyborg paused to spread them out over a large table.
"But
what do they want?" asked Cyborg in a half-mutter.
"I don't
know," answered Kaden. "My parents didn't either, as far as I
can tell.
They're was so reason to the attacks, until yesterday. They took our parents. They took the former Titans and now you're the only one left—"
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Cyborg flew over to his monitoring system. A few keys were clicked on the keyboard at record spread and the main screen was filled with the image of a city block immersed in havoc.
"That's the city square. A lot of innocent people there." There was an explosion played out on the screen, screams of the crowd, and when the smoke cleared a symbol stood out upon a cracked building. Two crossed lightening bolts.
"I have to go. Stay here!" With that Cyborg ran through a door that was not the one they came through.
"Where did he—,"started Alex, but was cut off when they heard a car engine rev up and then speed away.
"Stay here," Kaden mocked. "Like hell we will. Where's that map?" Kaden pulled the balled up city map out of his pocket and swiftly smoothed it out on the nearby table. "We're here," he said, pocking his finger at a spot on the map, "And the city square is here," he sad finding another point on the map. "We walked through there a few hours ago. I can do that."
"Do what?" questioned Alex.
Kaden ignored him. "Hold hands. It's not necessary, usually, but the first usually freaks people out."
Halle grabbed Kaden's hand in her right and grabbed her brother's in her left.
"What freaks people out?!" demanded Alex.
Kaden didn't even hear him. His eyes were closed and he was muttering quiet, strange words. Suddenly they were encompassed in a black aura. Halle gasped and clung onto the two boys tighter. The place was empty, without light or sound or smell or even wind. It was hollowness, creepy from the inside out. A moment later, a moment as long as an eternity and as short as a milli-second, the blackness subsided, revealing hectic scenes of disaster, the city square.
"What are we doing here?" asked Halle in a small voice, surprised to have all the senses rushing back to her.
"Helping!" shouted Kaden in return before running off to stop some debris from a broken balcony above from falling on two college students. The twins shared a glance before running off in separate directions, Halle to lift a piece of rubble trapping a businessman's leg to the ground and Alex to rescue a crying child out of the middle of the chaos.
Cyborg was there as well, whether he had arrived before or after them was unknown. No one could tell much of anything in the mess. He was ready to fight but there was no one left to fight against, only scared people to help. Things slowly clamed when people realized there was no new danger threatening them. The ambulances and the police began to arrive.
"I thought I told you to stay," Cyborg said with anger in his tone, as he approached the three teenagers huddled together at the far end of the square.
Before either Halle or Alex could defend themselves as helping, Kaden retorted coldly, "I thought I didn't care."
"You're jut kids, you could have gotten hurt," Cyborg replied, trying to sound like a reasonable adult.
"I'm so tired of people telling me that," Kaden shot back. "'You're just a kid. You're too young. It's too dangerous.' Well, I've got news for you; you were just a kid too."
Cyborg's sternness softened a bit. "Let's get in the car. The authorities can handle it from here."
Once all four were in the older man's car, he spoke again. "If the Strike took down your parents, they are too dangerous. I'm not willing to put a bunch of kids in the line of fire."
"You're not," said Kaden, "We put ourselves there."
"Actually, Kaden put us there," Alex quipped from the backseat.
"Well, I'm experienced," retorted Cyborg, eyes not drifting from the road I front of them.
"So were our parents," said Halle. "It didn't save them."
"All the more reason for you three not to get involved. This is way over your heads."
"They took our parents. We're already involved," Alex spat out.
"Look, I know this is hard for you guys and I want help, but I work alone now. I want to go after the Strike and I will, but not with you."
"You won't last a week," said Kaden darkly from the passenger's seat.
"Excuse me?"
"Is it just a coincidence that the Strike showed up here, half way across the country, in this city?"
"Are you saying they followed us?" asked Alex.
"No, but they came here for the same reason. To find him, the last Titan."
"They've been here before," said Cyborg, "A few months ago."
"So was I," said Kaden. "With my parents. They were tracking the Strike. They wanted you, Cyborg, to follow them too, to Gotham, where they could attack the Titans at once. But you didn't take the bait….now they're back. You're the one who doesn't see how way in over your head you are."
Cyborg gave the small, dark boy a sideways glance. "You're pretty slick for your age."
Kaden crossed his arms over his seatbelt. "Thanks."
"We're gonna go after the Strike with or without you," said Halle from the backseat.
"And we know you want to go after them too," added Alex.
"So we might as well join forces…plus, you'd feel guilty letting three kids go out into the line of fire by themselves, wouldn't you?" quipped Kaden stoically, catching on the twin's game. Straight forward convincing didn't seem to be working, time for a new tactic.
"Plus, we do have all the information on the Strike that might be valuable in such a search," Halle supplied offhandedly. "If you don't want it, we can just use it ourselves."
"And he's a big walking target. They don't want us, they want him. We're better off without him," Kaden said, glancing out of the corner of his eye to see the man's reaction.
"I can understand if he doesn't want to. Not that big a loss," said Alex. "He's old. He's probably slow us down anyway."
"Wait, wait, wait! I am not old…"
"But…" started Alex, "What other reason do you not want to fight with a team of superpowered teens?"
"Obviously you're afraid that you won't be able to keep up with us like you would have been able to in your youth," added Kaden. It would have sounded ridiculous and over the top if he had not been speaking in a serious tone so similar to his mother's.
Hey, you think I can't keep up. I'm still in my prime…Look, I can't let you guys go after an international crime organization all by yourselves. You need some experience on the team. I mean, it's better we work together when we have the same goals. You've convinced me. I'll go with you, but I call the shots in battle a'right?"
"Okay…" said Halle in this bratty, exasperated breath that made it sound like they were in fact doing Cyborg a favor.
Kaden turned in his seat to share a smirk with the twins in the back. There first victory.
"Now what exactly can you three do?"