29. Stone Golem part 1

"Tell us when we're closing in, Cyborg," Raven spoke into a receiver.

On the other end, Cyborg used his own, patented communicator to talk back. He guided us directly through Raven.

"Go a few more meters straight ahead of you," his voice said. "Take a left at a small set of stairs and you'll see a lower platform stretching down through the length of the corridor.""Noir, did you hear that?"

I nodded without looking back at her. I took point through the generator area of the Tower's cellar and scanned the left side of the walkway. After a few seconds, I came upon the stairs. I looked towards Raven's flashlight, squinted my black eyes, and motioned down.

"We're descending," Raven said.

The two of us headed for the lower end of the corridor.

After a rather restful afternoon of rain, the sun went down and the interior of the Tower was bound to become doubly dark. So it became pertinent to reboot the reserves and then the main source of power as soon as possible, or else we would have a couple of restless teens and a bouncingly frightened Tamaranian to deal with.

Cyborg was the first to volunteer for the trip, but his power cells were so low that Robin ordered him to stay put. I and Raven offered to go in his place. Me, because I like pitch black. Raven, because…I suppose she likes spiders.

I jumped down onto the platform, looked both ways, and then squinted back at Raven. I could see quite nicely in spite of all the darkness. It was only for Raven's sake that we had the flashlight. I tried not to look in her way too much. Oh well.

"Do we go straight ahead, Cyborg?"

"What's in front of you?"

"Ummm," Raven squinted.

I looked ahead of us. I faced her again.

She looked at me, helpless.

I motioned for our end of the communicator.

"Cyborg, is Robin with you?"

"Right here…," the Boy Wonder's voice said.

"I'm gonna hand this thing over to Noir."

"Understood."

I got it and immediately started punching in a morse code.

Over time, Robin responded. "Okay….underneath the bulkhead on the left, there should be a door."

"Open it, and inside you should see a small compartment for the reserve switches," Cyborg said.

"Do we need a password?" Raven asked, walking ahead.

I inputted her inquiry.

"I'll supply you with it when you're at the door," Cyborg said. "Take it slow……"

"Believe me, I am," Raven droned. "I rather like it down here.

I smirked. I didn't input that comment.

I walked to Raven's side and motioned to where the bulkhead was. She nodded a 'thank you' and we both walked over to a door with a huge number pad beside it.

"Here we are…," Raven droned.

I handed the communicator back to her.

"Cyborg?"

"Yo.""Ready when you are."

"…………for what?"

"The code, you ignoramus."

"Oh y-yeah…sorry. Beast Boy just turned into an aardvark and was fighting Starfire for her glork plushie."

"……………."

"….and um………….heh….it was pretty funny lookin—"

"Just give us the damn code."

"Ahem. Here goes. You ready?"

"Yesssss."

"Two…Nine…Two…Five…Zero…Zero…"

Raven repeated the numbers out loud and entered them into the pad.

"Then simply press enter."

"Gee…this is complex," she sarcastically muttered before following through.

There was a beeping sound, then a hiss.

The door was heavy and only parted with a tiny gap.

I reached in, gritted my teeth, and opened it.

Raven stepped inside the room with her flashlight. She blinked. "Well, hello there."

"????" I followed in after her and ran nose-first into a dangling spider from the doorframe. Naturally, I jumped back, then breathed easier as the tiny invertebrate ascended out of 'harm's way'. I wasn't the arachnophobic type. But I still didn't appreciate flailing tiny limbs in my face.

"Boy, these are a lot of switches….," Raven mumbled to herself.

I walked over and scanned the area with my nocturnal eyes. Amongst a scattering population of spiders there were eight distinct levels. Each numbered from zero to seven.

"What now, Cyborg?" Raven asked into the communicator.

"There should be a bunch of levers, all numbered."

"Yup."

"Do you also see a button? Large and green?"

"Ummmmm," Raven squinted.

"It should be under the big white letters 'transfer'…as in to 'transfer' the reserve energy to the main core."

I pointed for her.

"We found it," she said.

"Good. Here's what you should do," Cyborg dictated. "Numbers Two and Six are the ones you need to pull. It's best that these levers be pulled down at the same time…and then retracted at the same time. After that, the reserve generators should rev up. A light overhead will go off, so don't get frightened."

"And then what?"

"Press the transfer button. That'll bridge the gap between the reserve and the main power. The system cycles itself automatically, so this place should be up and running again in no time."

"Can we do this now, or must we wait for something?"

"Well, Starfire's considering calling an exterminator for the spider friends you have down there. But I think it's a tad bit too late for that.""Indeed," Raven said. "Noir and I will pull the switches, then."

"Contact me when you're done. Although, I think we'll all know whether or not you were successful before you have to tell me.""Understood. Over and out."

She holstered the communicator and looked at me. "Are you ready, Noir? You pull number Two. I have Six."

I nodded.

We gripped our levers at the same time.

"On the count of three….," she said.

I nodded.

"One….two…..three…."

We both pulled…slightly surprised at how tough the things were to move. It was a bit of a strain, but eventually we pulled the levers down, took a breath, and retracted them at the same time.

CHTUNG!!!

The spiders scurried everywhere as the room shook to life. There was a tiny glow from between the cracks of the levers' holders. A dim light above us flickered into view.

"Well, that was easy," Raven said. "Now for the next part."

She looked at me.

I looked at her.

We both looked at the button.

Perhaps both of us thought the other one wasn't going to hit 'Transfer'. But as fate would have it, we rushed our limbs forward and jammed the button at the same time. The result was the skin of our fingers making contact. We both jolted back, a bit reddened. But then the whole Tower was humming to life. The task was done. The button was pressed.

"Ahem….," Raven returned to the communicator as if nothing happened. "You people noticing anything?"

There was an unmistakable, Tamaranian cheer uttering from Cyborg's end of the communicator.

Then he responded:

"Boo-ya! Back to normal! Well done, ya'll. You can head up now."

"Good," Raven said, collapsing the communicator. "Enough of this nonsense. I….have a book to read."

I smirked and looked at her. The room was still bathed in darkness, save for the dangling light above our heads. My eyes had been peering comfortably through blackness over the last few hours. Everything felt natural and warm and inviting. In such a 'light', I noticed Raven for the first true time that evening. In the darkness, she wasn't so petite anymore. She seemed giant, graceful and…..had a lot more curves than I ever noticed before.

There was a twinkling sound.

I snapped out of it and looked directly upwards.

Beyond the dangling bulb were two fluorescent lamps.

The Tower hummed into well-being.

My heart skipped a beat.

Two fluorescent lamps?!?!

The twinkling stopped and---

I didn't have my shades on!!

---the lamps turned on.

FLASH!!!!!!

I gripped my face and fell back.

CLANG!!!

My back squished a few spiders as I slammed into the wall, had the breath knocked out of me, and collapsed wheezing—and blinded—to the floor.

"Noir?!?!" Raven's voice said above me. After a beat. "Oh yeah, I forgot. Geez…that's gotta suck."

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

I heard the doors to the elevator open.

I leaned on Raven's shoulder as she helped me—hobbling—into the Main Room. My free hand was tightly covering my dizzied eyes.

"Here you go….sit on the couch," she said.

I shuffled over, found a cushion, and sat on it…covering my eyes with both hands.

"You should have been prepared for that," she scolded in a bland voice. "Oh well. I suppose we all forget things every now and then. Wait here. I'll be back with your shades."

I heard her feet softly pad away with a ruffle of a cape.

I sighed into the blackness.

Silence.

"….."

More silence.

"…..?"

Isn't Beast Boy usually in heer---?"HI THERE, NOIR!!!!!"

I almost had a heart attack and fell back into my sofa, wincing.

"Ha ha ha ha!! Couldn't resist, man! You were soooooo asking for it!"

I stood back up and gritted my teeth beneath my hands. Where……is………MYRKBLADE?!

"Ha ha ha ha! I used to be the expert at scaring people! Ha ha! Boogalooga!! Er, I mean….Ooga Booga! Ha ha ha ha!"

I groaned.

"Hey, brighten up, man! Thanks to you and Raven, the power's back on. Just in time for American Idol!"

And then….a phone rang.

"…..aww shucks," Beast Boy's footsteps stomped over towards the other side of the room—far from me. "We barely ever use this thing and just NOW someone calls!"

He griped, picked up the phone, and said in a suddenly pleasant voice: "Saving the City one day at the time! Thanks for calling the Teen Titans' Tower! This is Beast Boy, how can I be of service?"

A pause.

"Mr. Who?"

Another pause.

"Stone?"

Another.

"Sorry, never heard of him."

Another….

"Oh, you mean CYBORG!! Ohhhh….well, yeah. He kinda sorta….lives here."

I faced over in his direction, curious.

"Ah, well, of course! I'll fetch him post-haste!"

I cocked my head to the side.

The doors opened behind me.

At first, I thought 'Raven', but then Beast Boy said:

"Well, speak of the devil! Here he is! HEY CY! Come over here!"

"What is it, BB?"

"Phone."

"…..we have a phone?"

"You have an Uncle?"

"Uncle Simon?! Hang on!!"

There was a scuffling sound…which I interpreted Cyborg fighting the phone out of Beast Boy's grasp.

"Hey there, old man!! Ha HA! Great to be talking to you! What's up??"

….

"Why….kicking butt as I always am! How about you? Still in Metropolis?"

….

"No kidding…?"

….

"Hey, that would be so cool! I've been dying to talk to you in person again!"

….

"Oh, everyone here would love to meet you."

….

"Robin? Pfft….he may be my superior in the battlefield. But he can't say 'no' to a family reunion!"

….

"Excellent! I'll see you---when?"

….

"Tomorrow at noon? Kick ass! I can't wait!"

…

"All right."

…

"Heheheh…you too."

…

"Bye!"

-CLICK-

"Woohoo! Good times!!"

Beast Boy's presence returned: "Someone important?"

"Don't you believe in family relations?"

"Well, I—"

"Hey everybody! My Uncle Simon's coming to visit the Tower tomorrow!"

There was a response from----Starfire? How long had she been in there?

"Glorious! I am most enamored with the prospect of meeting someone with whom you share common blood!"

"The man's so cool!" Cyborg cackled. "He's an expert in cybernetic engineering, just like my dad! He's taught at three universities. And he's an on and off member of STAR Labs in Metropolis! Man oh man, I can't wait to see what gizmos he's been thinking up for the betterment of mankind."

"Sounds like he's your Uncle," Beast Boy's voice said, humored.

There was a Starfire giggle.

"Hey guys, I'm not biased!" Cyborg retorted. "Uncle Simon's one in a million. Just you wait and see. Where's Robin? I'm gonna tell him the good news…"

The sound of the elevator doors reopening lit my ears.

"Good news?" Raven remarked. "This must be something we'll all dread in the long run."

"Aren't you happy, Ray?! My Uncle Simon's coming to visit!"

"Positively jubilant…."

"Rrrrghh….I'll deal with you later. I'm in too good of a mood right now. Woo!"

And his presence left, and Raven's presence came.

"Here you go," she said. Such was soon followed by the gentle placement of my shades over my eyes. I blinked—and hesitantly opened my black peepers. Things were still a little hazy, but I could comfortably see Raven standing before me.

And she was….smirking.

"You should be good as new in no time," she said. "If I'm not mistaken, it's a matter of minutes before your sight 'returns'."

I blinked from under the shades. I pointed at my eyes and nodded.

"……..you mean….you can see me now?"

I nodded again.

And her smirk left.

"Okay…," she said, deadpan. "Glad to hear it," and she walked off in a hurry.

I looked after her, scratched my head, and decided to give up on it.

"Hey, Noir! How's it going, dude!" Beast Boy walked up with a high-five.

I returned the favor, took a good look at him, and did a double-take.

He was wearing a Hawaiian shirt. "What?"

I shrugged and mouthed 'nothing'. Soon I got up and walked over to the windows. Nighttime had fallen outside. The storm was gone, and a calm ensued across the faraway City and wilderness.

"This should be an interesting experience for you, newby," Beast Boy said. "You get to meet someone else in the family!"

"Why do you insist on calling him 'newby' still?" Starfire inquired.

"Cuz, quite literally, he is one!" Beast Boy chuckled. "I mean, HELLO! Only—how long—a month and a half now?"

Starfire's green eyes blinked. "But…I had been with the team that long once and you did not call me newby."

"Well…."

"In fact, I do not recall you ever gracing me with the term newb—"

"You're different, Star!" Beast Boy exclaimed. "You don't ask for it like he does!"

I turned around and glanced at him funny.

"How does he 'deserve it' more than I?"

Beast Boy looked at her. He eventually blurted, "Testosterone."

I smirked and looked back out the windows.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

"So…he's an expert with technology, then…."

"Duh. Robin, he worked with my father. My father helped build the Tower, remember? Having my Uncle here will be a good thing. He can help us fix the bugs in the computer set off by the lightning strike!"

As I heard the voices, I walked to a stop in the hallway just outside one of the laboratories. I listened in.

"That's quite true. I've been looking over the information left in the computer files myself. Whatever the thunderstorm did to the power grid…it really messed it all up bad. I can't make heads or tails out of these databanks."

"Does it look serious?"

"Have a look yourself."

Pause.

"Hmmm….strange…," Cyborg uttered.

"Isn't it? I almost wish Batman was here. He's worked with computers much longer than I have. I tell you what, when you run a Batcave, you have to have good maintenance—"

"I'll see what my Uncle can do," Cyborg said. "Either way, I'll take a look into it myself. But, quite frankly, I'm both happy and tired at the moment. I think I'm gonna go in standby mode."

"Yeah, I think I will too in a few minutes," Robin's voice replied. A beat. "In my bed, that is."

"Heheheh….good night, Robin."

"Cyborg, one more thing."

"Yes?"

"Is everything……..okay, between you and your Uncle Simon?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well…..it has been quite a long time since the two of you last talked and—"

"Look, Robin. I've had my hard luck. We've all had our own share of hard luck. But believe me…Uncle Simon's immune from it all. I've just been too busy kicking criminals' butts with y'all to keep in touch with him like I should! I only have myself to blame!"

"What I'm saying is, don't feel obligated to let him come over, Cyborg," Robin added. "We all know how sensitive you can be whenever issues come up concerning—"

"I've got it under control!" Cyborg retorted, more or less fitting the bill.

Robin replied in a soft voice. "Okay. I trust you, Cyborg. Sleep well."

"Yeah….like a rock."

He stepped out, and all but bumped into me.

I stared at him.

He stared back.

Deadpan.

Did I mention he and I are almost at eye level?

Finally, Cyborg smiled. "Hey, man. How're you doing?"

He patted my shoulder.

I smiled. I gestured something.

"You bet I'm happy!" Cyborg stretched and yawned. "Haven't seen Old Simon in years. I respect him so much. It's a pity we have to wait so long between visits."

Silence.

Then…

"Robin's right," Cyborg sighed and stared at the floor. "I do get sensitive about my family." He glanced up at me. "You were listening in, of course, right?"

I scratched my neck.

"Let's just say….Simon was there for me when my dad…..well….Simon was there for me," Cyborg said, his eyes vacant. "He made sure I was operating at one hundred percent functionality. Looked after my health. My recovery. My post prostheses exercising. Everything."

A pause.

"He's almost becoming….a new 'dad' to me."

I tilted my head to the side, looking at him.

Cyborg glanced at me. He smiled. "I'd love to introduce y'all to each other. He'd get a real kick out of you!" Cyborg 'punched' my shoulder. "Simon's worked with deaf and mute kids during his career. He taught me all I know about sign language. Lucky you."

I sniffed forth a chuckle and signed back: 'Lucky me'.

"Well, I'm off to crash for the night," he smiled, walked off, and waved. "Good night, Noir."

'So long……'

------

The metal door creaked open and sunlight stabbed me through my shades.


I squinted and stepped up onto the rooftop of the Tower. In the sunset, the huge Bay glittered with light and the distant city stretching beyond faded into golden shadows.

The wind was strong up there. It kicked at my long black hair and chilled my exposed limbs.

I stood there for a while with Myrkblade sheathed behind me. When I was satisfied with the whole Picture, I felt comfortable enough to make my exit.

I walked over to the very edge and prepared to blur away.

"There you are," said one of the Titans from behind me.

I turned around. It was the half human/half robot one. The tallest and most mature looking of the group. He stood outside another doorway, his arms by his side.

A slight smile came to his lips. "Leaving so soon?"

I merely nodded.

"Well, naturally you expect me to ask why you're deciding to," the android stated. "All we Titans have done was give you a good place to recover from your injuries, food and water, and the greatest invitation that could possibly be given to a superhero."

'Superhero…………'

I sniffed forth a chuckle.

"Something funny?" he slowly walked towards me. "Up till now, you seemed no more than some dark loner. Why this sudden soft side of yours?"

I gave him a wyrd look and waved a hand at him. I turned to leave again—but froze when I noticed something through the corner of my shades.

He was signing something.

'You know that we can help you.'

I looked at him, my mouth agape.

The android smirked. He gestured again, 'Got your eye now.'

I hesitantly signed back: 'What do you want?'

'I want a safe world. I want happy people.'

'What does that have to do with me?'

'You are like us. Not only can you help people, you want to.'

'I do not know what I want.'

Cyborg spoke aloud, "Then stay here with us. Become a Titan. Let us help you find what you want."

I looked down at the rooftop floor. After a while, I sighed.

"You go back out there into that world…," Cyborg said, '…all you find is an endless chase. You can play the 'lone ranger' bit all you want. Lord knows, it's fun. I tried it myself once, and it kept me going as long as I chose it to. But what you're gonna find out is exactly what I found out. And that is that a person needs 'family', no matter what. Human beings aren't built to be their own flesh and blood alone." He flexed a titanium muscle as he added, "Rather, a human being is a sum of many elements. Many of which is foreign to his own concept of himself. You gotta learn to trust pieces of you in the hearts and hands of others. It's the only way to keep from going crazy…and from chasing your own tail around for eternity. You got that?"

I looked up at him, helpless.

He stepped forward and placed a hand on my shoulder: "Look, I know it feels silly to be asked to join the Titans, man. Like me, you're both older and bigger than most of the kids on this team. But if you're at all like me, you'll learn to love them. And in that way, you'll learn to respect yourself more. And what you do more. Now, just how're you gonna feel as good kicking criminals' butts when you're all alone out there with your angst and aimlessness?"

He was right……damn it……so darn right.

I sighed, and smiled weakly.

"Gonna consider it?" he asked.

I nodded and gestured: 'Already considered'.

Cyborg smirked. "And I'll be here to help guide you." He brought his hand back down, fished around, and produced a communicator. "Welcome aboard, Titan." He handed it to me.

I slowly…honorably…took it from him.

------

Slowly, my black eyes open.

I was lying in the bed in my cellar.

Safe and comfortable.

At home.

I have an extraordinarily accurate biological clock inside my head.

Must be morning. Time for meditation.

I stood up, stretched, and eyed Myrkblade off the mantle. I walked over towards the bathroom to shower….

…..

….and then the alarm clock went off.

I collapsed, startled.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

Outside in the patch of grassy field, I went through my morning routine with my weapon. I practiced sparring moves and charging Destruction and Construction with waves of smoke and murk. The blades of grass shook around me. The Bay stretched off beyond me in its perfect blue glory.

Best morning I could ask for.

On a hill of rock a distance off, Raven sat cross-legged in her own meditation. I could hear her ritual chanting in the distance.

"Azarath…metrion…zinthos…"

When I was done meditating, I sheathed my weapon and looked at her.

Is it just me? Or have we been meditating in the same 'area' a lot lately?

I shrugged it off and headed back for the Tower. Just then, a large rumbling sound caught my ears.

I turned around and nearly did a double-take as a UFO-like object rumbled into view. It was soaring over the Suspension Bridge and heading the Tower's way over the water.

I gasped and was about to dash over and warn Raven when---

"Hey! He's here!" Cyborg shouted from the base of the Tower. He ran over towards a ledge of rock and waved his titanium arms. "Hey! Old Man! This way! Damn it, stop being a show off!! Ha ha!!"

Raven's eyes opened as the hovercraft zoomed loudly over head and made a mess out of her blue hair. "Okay….I hate him already."

I shook my head, smirked, and walked over towards the fresh landing site to observe this deafening reunion.