35. Stone Golem part 7 Final

I finally wrenched Myrkblade out from the computer console and slumped forward. Wincing, I got to my knees and then stood with the weapon, facing 'Triad' across the way.

"Heheheheheh!!" the behemoth chuckled.

I panted, staring at it in horror.

"Cyborg?? Our friend??" Starfire whimpered. "Are you there?"

"Cyborg is mine forever! Simon is mine forever! And you!!" he pointed a titanium finger at me, then flexed his hulking wrist at the wall behind me.

A beeping sound.

I glanced over my shoulder.

Reload and Slug were pumped with revitalizing serum. They came to life, gasping for breath.

"You have no choice but to surrender to me!!"

The cybernetic halves of the two thugs came to life, and their panic-stricken faces morphed into the drunken grins of their evil personas. They easily snapped out of their harnesses and surrounded me alongside Triad. Slug slipped two magnums out from their holsters and aimed at me. Reload blew a kiss and created a shotgun out of midair.

"This game ends now…," Triad boomed. "You have no choice. No alternative. But to give yourself up."

I held myrkblade at ready, staring at the three threats around me.

"Don't! They're too much for you, Noir!" Robin said.

"Your move, muchacho," Reload smirked, aiming the shotgun.

Slug chuckled and pointed his revolver at my skull. His arm glowed blue.

Surrounded by three robots…

I slowly reached behind me.

All three took a step close.

I secretly whipped out the Destabilizer.

Triad glared. "What are you waiting for?"

I looked up at him.

I smirked.

Triad's metal brow furrowed.

I charged smoke into my legs and blurred up into the air with a huge spin.

Reload fired her shotgun.

BLAM!!

Slug fired two hyperbullets.

BANG!! BANG!!

My spinning blade created a smoking wall of force that deflected the shots everywhere.

One of Slug's bullets sailed past Starfire's head and sailed through the wall.

CRASH!!

"EEK!"

Reload's shot sprayed off into Triad, who easily deflected them with a wrist.

The second of Slug's bullets deflected into the ground beneath me, forming a crater.

I reached the ceiling, grabbed ahold of a light fixture, and flip-blurred behind Slug.

In mid air, I pressed the switch to the Destabilizer. Sparks danced a trail beside me as I landed behind the bald thug, jumped up, and shoved the taser deep into his backbone.

ZAAAAAAAP!!!!!!

Slug let out a loud cry as the device found his EMP signature in a heartbeat and overloaded it. His cybernetic half plummeted, and his fleshy half drooled, fell asleep, and slumped his body to the ground.

Reload gasped. She aimed at me and fired another shotgun round.

BLAM!!

I blurred, slid beneath her shot, slid beneath her legs, came up the other side, and shoved the device into her leg.

ZAAAAAAAAAP!!!!!!

In likewise, quick fashion, Reload fell to the ground cold. Defeated.

I spun and faced Triad…a smoking Myrkblade in one grasp…a sparking taser in the other.

Robin gasped. "The Destabilizer! Cyborg showed it to you!"

"The whatsit?!" Beast Boy exclaimed.

I frowned. I took a step towards Triad.

"Stop!"

I did so.

"You take me out with that….you take out Cyborg and Simon too!"

I raised an eyebrow and smirk.

"Don't be so haughty. Cyborg is not the same old Titan. He is now the core of a whole new matrix! Who's to know that short circuiting me won't end his life and Simon's too?!"

I glared at him. I held the sparking taser at ready.

"Ready to give me a hardware test, Titan??" Triad asked. "I think you're not one to gamble…"

I stared.

The Titans watched.

"…………," I bit my lip. I shut off the Destabilizer.

Raven closed her eyes.

Triad smiled.

I pocketed the device, spun Myrkblade, and posed into a fighting stance.

Triad smirked. "Toast." He pointed his hand at me. In true, Cyborg fashion, it turned into a laser rifle. But not any ordinary rifle. This thing had….um….'needles' on it that sparked and vibrated, creating a mysterious black aura that seemed to suck all light from the luminescent corners of the laboratory.

I gulped.

BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!!!

I flew back with a leap, twirled in slow motion, and barely avoided a string of obsidian energy that flew beneath me and ate through a couple of bulkheads like a hot knife to butter.

I landed with a gasp, winced, and got to my feet.

Before Triad could fire a second time, I was gone up a flight of stairs. He growled and charged after me madly.

"Noir!!" Robin called out.

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

I gasped and jumped my up the stairs and onto the main deck of Anderson's private yacht. Before me stretched the sun-glittered Lake Cook north of Westhaven. I had found the craft out on the waters about a mile south of an abandoned marina. Ms. Cartwright had been essential in her assistance.

But I had greater things to worry about.

I spun around and inhaled deeply as a blast of obsidian came my way.

BZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!!

I ducked, rolled, and ran down the deck.

"RAAAAUGH!!!"

SMASH!!!

Triad punched his way out of the cabin and looked my way. "Ahoy there!! Ah ha ha ha ha!!" He jumped onto the deck, smashing the wooden floorboards, and stomped his way after me.

I blurred to the bow, came to a stop, and blurred to face him.

He picked up an anchor and effortlessly flew it at me.

SWOOSH!!!

I backflipped just in time---

SMASH!!!

--and perched on the railing along the ship's side.

I blurred my feet and launched myself at him.

In mid air, I stretched out my weapon. It grated against the Simon-surface of Triad's body, but only produced a shower of sparks without doing damage.

I skidded to a stop on the other side of him.

Without wasting time, Triad spun around with a huge fist. "RAUGH!!"

I sidestepped, ducking.

SMASH!!!

A hole was formed in the hull of the ship.

Triad lunged at me and grabbed me by the leg.

I struggled to wrench myself free.

He brought a palm down to squash my head.

I concentrated, shot forth smoke, and teleported behind him a fresh kick to the back of his head.

CLANG!!

Before landing on the ground, I spun a three-sixty and batted his skull like a home run king.

SWOOOSH-SMASH!!

The blow actually sent him toppling over, smashing the deck to splinters.

I landed, jumped up, flipped, and sailed down at him—Myrkblade stabbing downward.

Triad swiftly rolled over, and in doing so, he swung a massive leg out that struck me hard in the side.

I grunted, flew towards the side of the ship, and grabbed the railing at the last second. I dangled over the lake's waters by one hand. The other hand helplessly held onto Myrkblade.

Soon, Triad stomped to his feet and leered down at me from atop the deck.

"Heheheheh…what's the matter?! Afraid to get your feet wet?!"

I gave him a sarcastic smirk. I flung Myrkblade straight up at his skull.

Naturally, he lifted his head and dodged the throw. The wooden blade sailed straight up like a rocket.

I let go of the railing….and dropped down to the water.

Myrkblade slowly fell straight back down.

Triad arrogantly stretched out a hand to catch it.

My feet made contact with the water, blurred, and balanced my entire body in a concrete of liquid. A second later, I shot myself up like a comet.

I flew up past Triad's arm.

I grabbed Myrkblade on its descent.

I landed on the automaton's hand, gritted my teeth, and swung the blade with all my might into his face.

WHAM!!!!

The force sent him flying back and into the hull.

His hand retracted out from under me.

I grabbed ahold of the railing, planted my feet against the ship, blurred off, flipped, and landed on the splintered deck. I charged Triad's prone form against the wall, let out a silent scream, and kicked my smoking powers into gear. I teleported to directly where I stood over and over again, each time in a different pose with a different strike of my weapon against his titanium skin. By doing so, I was able to pull off ten times as many attacks than when I'm giving my normal crime-fighting effort.

SL-SL-SL-SL-SL-SL-SL-SL-SLASH!!!!!

Try as he could, Triad's wrist just couldn't block quickly enough. My strikes burned at his metallic exoskeleton and showered spikes upwards like a geyser.

SL-SL-SL-SL-SL-SL-SL-SL-SLASH!!!!!

The rapid use of my powers was an energy-consuming one. I started to tire…twice as much so when I realized that my attacks were having no apparent effect on the behemoth.

Triad noticed this too. He let out a loud growl, burst a shoulder through my attack, and slammed deep into my chest. I fell back with a gasp just seconds before he grabbed me by the front scruff of my jumpsuit. He slammed me into the hull…into the deck…and into the hull again before tossing me down the side and towards the stern. I plowed through a set of sticks and a shuffleboard court before tumbling to a stop. I was bleeding in a dozen places and bruised in a dozen more. My shades were smashed so that my left black eye peaked out at the blazingly bright world. My left shoulder was killing me, and I desperately clutched it and panted as the metal monstrosity stomped towards me and glared.

"Friendship….it is a pathetic thing. Almost worst than family. It binds people into helplessness. You could have finished me in the cabin's laboratory. But you decided to try and take me on like a brave little hero…as if that could somehow salvage a comrade who is long gone. You are not invincible, Titan. You are an organism of impurity. Something I can and will crush in an instant. Already you can feel it…the impulses of pain running up and down your central nervous system. Your body is telling you in a string of data that the fight is useless. Facts and absolutes are dealing you the only truth you can face. Ones and zeroes govern the universe. True and false equations are the only reality. Not emotion. Not flesh. Not love. Cyborg and Simon believed in impurities…and the cold hand of reality consumed them and their entire family. And it shall consume his new companions in just the same vein."

I stood up, wincing…bleeding, and faced Triad with Myrkblade by my side.

"Why do you persist? To amuse me? I am amazed that there is still a subroutine within me to appreciate the bitter nature of irony."

I gritted my teeth. I reached behind, whipped out the Destabilizer, and held it out.

"You do not truly expect to use that now, do you?"

I took a deep breath. I flicked my wrist, and tossed the Destabilizer out.

It slid to a stop on the deck between the two of us and stopped.

"Giving up??" Triad chuckled.

I spun Myrkblade, sheathed the weapon, and sighed. Wincing from the pain, I raised my hands and gestured with sign language:

'Control it, Cyborg'

Triad's head cocked to the side. "What are you doing??"

I took a breath, winced, and repeated the gesture.

'Control it……Cyborg.'

Triad could not read sign language. But there was one person who could. There were two people…

"Enough with this nonsense!"

Triad too a step to safely retrieve the Destabilizer. But he froze in mid step. His voice choaked.

"Wh-What?!"

'Control it……'

"What's going on?!?!"

'Control it…'

"No…..NO!!"

Triad cringed.

His glowing eyes fluctuated.

His cranium twitched.

"Nooooo!! Must…..control….c-control!!"

I whipped off my shades.

I glared into the blinding world.

I gestured.

'Control it…Cyborg…Simon…'

Inside Triad's twitching body…underneath his skull like face…beneath the glowing eyes…a battle was taking place…

******

"Can't control it!! What's happening?!"

"Never meant it…never meant it at all. Couldn't control it. The algorithms on strings……on strings…"

"I can almost seek the darkness again. Is this death? Or have I always been dead?"

"That stupid Titan…that dumb freak!!!"

"Everything is gone. Everything is falling apart."

"My friends are half as dead as I am. My body is buried but standing up. This is so screwed up."

"Damn it. DAMN IT!!"

"The zeroes and the ones……the sea……it looks like Vic's."

"Wait, I'm still here. I'm still in one piece. Surrounded by chaos and black destruction…but one piece."

"Stay together. Control it!!"

"We can……control it."

"I can control it……"

Victor Stone's eyes opened. He was floating through a sea of black. He stretched out his hands and a laboratory soared down at him. Robin, Starfire, Beast Boy, Raven…they were shackled to the walls. Noir was falling into oblivion in corner. Reload and Slug danced into static.

"No. STAY OUT!!!"

Anderson grabbed Victor and tossed him into the orchestra pit. Gypsies and Spanish knights danced behind him. The curtains spouted lightning. The audience was full of skeletons.

"You're mine now. This all mine now!"

"Leave. My. Nephew. Alone."

Anderson spun around and met Simon's face.

Simon grabbed the man and shoved him against the computer monitor inside the Main Room of the Tower. "You've spent the last ten years controlling me. That was a task in and of itself, you piece of crud! You can take one Stone down. But not two! Not in a million years, dammit!"

Anderson struggled against the railing of the yacht. "You can't harm me! You can't! This is my domain!'

"You forget that I'm the SHELL!" Simon shouted and tossed Anderson overboard.

The old villain fell screaming into a blue sea. A blue sea of zeros and ones. They burned his skin. They laughed down his throat.

"What are you doing here?" Victor asked.

Anderson gasped. The ones and zeros parted and the beach beneath the Tower appeared with crashing waves and waving sawgrass. "You have no order. Must I train you before I own you?!"

"Say what?!" Victor frowned. "You own no one, you old bag. You have no one. You spent your life trying to preserve your worthless little self while forsaking everything and everyone else! You think there's room for you as a ghost to control anymore?!"

"A ghost?!" Anderson gasped.

"Ghost in a shell," Simon smirked, leaning against his hovercraft. "Without an anchor to warm him."

Anderson jumped up in the laboratory and shouted, "Stop it!! Stop it!! Both of you!! You are mine! You are my shell and core!! You are a stone golem!! A puppet!! A plaything! I give you the voice…I give you the command…you obey THE VOICE!!"

"Control It, Cyborg."

Echoes.

Earthquake.

Anderson's teeth chattered.

Reload and Slug dangled overhead. Glaring. Hollow eyes.

"You want to control me?" Cyborg walked down the street in front of the smashed T-Car. "You want to have me?"

Anderson panted. Eyes wide. Sweating.

A ten year old Victor shook his fists and squealed: "Have it!! HAVE IT AND LOVE IT LIKE YOUR LAST LIMB, BASTARD!!"

Victor's mouth exploded into a portal through which a monster emerged, roaring.

Anderson fell back, gasping.

"Victor!! Run!!"

The world spun.

Anderson was lying on the floor of STAR Labs. Bleeding all over. Half of his body meat.

Mrs. Stone lay across from him. Her lips cut into a grin. Her eyes gone red forever.

"AAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!" Anderson screamed. He tried to close his eyes but his lids had been ripped off.

******

"Get out!! GET OUT!!!" Triad shook and clutched his metal skull. "GET OUT OF MY EYES!!! GET OUT OF MY EYYYYYEEESSSS!!!! AAAAAAAAAAUGHHH!!!!"

The Destabilizer on the floor sparked once…twice….and shot out bolts magically.

I shaded my naked eyes and winced.

Bolts ran into Triad's body and slipped under the crevices of the Simon skin. The automaton's body shook, convulsed, and screamed.

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

Down under in the cabin's laboratory, Anderson's body shook and jerked about in the crevice. His limbs twitched a few last times and he grew limp. Liquid poured out of his mouth and nostrils.

Starfire made a face.

Beast Boy turned greener.

Raven glared.

Robin….

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

Triad's body froze…fell apart into two dozen clanging-metal pieces…and Cyborg stood in the center. He fell to his knees with a sigh and shook his head.

I stopped shading my eyes and looked at him.

A few sparks came out of the Destabilizer…then all was silent and still.

The wind picked up, kicking at my hair and stinging into my wounds. I slowly limped over, clutching my shoulder, and stood a fair distance behind my android, Titan comrade.

He was cradling the robotic 'head' of Simon, which had shrunk back to normal and was blinking with faint life.

Simon's robotic eyes slowly opened and looked up into his nephew. "We….W-We're free, Victor…"

Cyborg's face was deadpan. "Yeah….you old fool. You're one lucky fellow…."

The mechanical lips stretched into a weak grin. "Funny….your head….it's a warm place."

"So's yours, old man," Cyborg said. "Though…somewhat darker."

"I…..wish….I had the blue, Victor," Simon spoke slower and slower. The power fading. "I…..w-wish……..things could have…s-stayed normal."

"I know, Simon…..I know."

"….wish……..the family……………stayed……………………….a…..a-alive……"

And the lights in Simon's cranium faded.

Cyborg exhaled. He brought a titanium hand over the head's face…and Simon's eyes were closed. He leaned his metal forehead to his Uncle's and spoke:

"I have a new family now…."

I took a deep breath and looked away.

And the sun began to set on the lake.

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

Hours later, under the night's sky, a squad of boats with bright lights had escorted the yacht to the local boatyard. Authorities examined the ship all over. Many hitherto undiscovered files of Anderson's treacherous history were found and used for evidence.

The Titans—recovering from the serum—assisted in the removal of Anderson's frail body from the laboratory. He still had life signs…but was in a seemingly irreversible coma. And at his age…that was not a good sign. He was carted off in a silent ambulance.

Robin and Raven were present when paramedics carried Rachel Mendez and Jean-Luc Blair off on stretchers. The two were awake….fleshly awake.

"How're you feeling?" Robin asked.

Jean-Luc managed a faint smile. "Like a free bird, child. I think….I-I think this is the beginning of the beginning…f-for us…"

"STAR Labs has heard of what happened to you two," Robin said. "They've offered to assist you two into full recovery after what Simon Stone was programmed to do."

"If it's allright, senor," Rachel spoke, "…we're putting forth a request to go to Gotham Labs instead."

"I….don't blame you," Raven uttered.

"Wish you luck," Robin nodded.

"Same to your friend," Jean-Luc said solemnly.

And they were carried off.

Robin looked off towards the dark waters and sighed.

Silence.

"It would be folly to call what we go through….'adventures'," Raven said to him. "From the beginning…when you and I set up the Titans…I knew that thee would be pain ahead. I prepared for it the best I could. And I still do. Every morning. While meditating."

"I prepare for it too, Raven," Robin said. "Or at least I think so. By being with all of my friends. By assuring them my trust for times like these. When everything hits the fan…I want to be here for them. I trust for them to be here for me too."

"Getting close is a threat to one's self and one's sense of stability," Raven spoke. "Already, I can see the Titans aren't fully prepared to deal with the tragedy of today." She gestured towards Cyborg and I to the right…and Starfire and Beast Boy to the left. Everyone was separated. "We part ways….instead of coming together. I've chosen to accept that…for now."

Robin looked over at Starfire and Beast Boy. The green elf looked at the ground. His shoulders shook once or twice. The Tamaranian girl hugged him from behind.

"Beast Boy's taking this hard…," Robin said. "I'd better go talk to him."

"He must learn to deal with it on his own," Raven said. "It's the only way he can become strong."

Robin glared at her. "Not everyone is mature as you, ya know, Raven."

She glanced back at him. "……..ain't that the truth." And she shuffled off.

Robin shrugged, sighed, and walked over to Beast Boy and Starfire.

In the meantime, I sat on a couple of stones looking over the waters.

Cyborg was hunched down beside me. His human and red eye equally glazed. Nothing more.

"You know….," he mumbled. "He isn't technically dead. Nobody who's a case of electrosurgery is ever dead by our standards. STAR Labs…they…th-they can reboot him. They can bring him back…..they……"

His voice lingered.

He looked down.

He sighed.

"I never got close to him like I could have…," he said. "I treated myself and I treated life in turn like I was the last and only Stone in the world." He grabbed a stone and tossed it out on the water. It skipped a few times and plunged in. "I danced along the tides of time and didn't fear sinking. And then Simon had to come into my life…wake me up…and screw everything I felt secure about." He tossed a rock roughly out. It splashed violently without a skip. "And I realized…for once in a long time…how alone I am. How I am truly the last of the Stones. How my mother is dead and my father twice as dead to me and some of it has been my fault all along." He sighed and stared down at his feet. "And now that I've had that wake up call, I have nothing to wake up to."

I limped, walked over, and stood in front of him.

He looked up. He took a breath. "But what I told Simon….it was the truth. I do have a new family. I do."

I smiled my cut lip ever so slightly.

Cyborg stood up. He glared at the yacht…then shivered. "Dammit….let's go home."

And he walked off.

I stared back out at the waters…then at my open palm, where I held the Destabilizer. Swiftly, I blurred my arm and tossed the black taser out and onto the Lake.

It skipped a few times, flew, and plunged in.

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

The next morning, freshly bandaged for my wounds, I sat at the laptop in the Main Room of the Tower. I scrolled through past e-mails…and came upon the one suspicious document.

Signed…-The Messenger.

I leaned my chin on my hand and scratched my chin.

Thinking.

The doors behind me swung open.

I jerked and quickly deleted the e-mail. I spun around to see Robin and Beast Boy walk in.

"So…what now?" Beast Boy asked.

"Remember the robbers we faced with the laser rifles?" Robin asked. "Back when Noir was missing?"

"Yeah. What about them?"

Robin glanced at a document in his hand. "Among the evidence gathered from Anderson's yacht last night was this piece of information. Apparently on the night of the Il Trovatore showing at the Westhaven Opera House, Anderson had sent an Internet message to his accomplices in Intergang."

"Of Metropolis?"

"Yes. Turns out an arsenal of weapons that Simon Stone and Lexcorp prepared for him over the past ten years were sold to every bidder in the criminal underworld. It was an attempt to secure funds for Anderson in case his Westhaven stunt failed. Well, turns out it did. But Anderson is now subdued…and there's no telling where either his assets or his sold weaponry is."

"Except, in the hands of baddies," Beast Boy nodded. "Like the guys we faced that one time with the lasers."

"I have no doubt that there's been a massive proliferation of highly advanced guns throughout the criminal underworld," Robin said to both Beast Boy and myself. "We have a huge project on our hands now. And that is a mission to uncover this conspiracy and find the weapons before they can be used to terrible use."

"Wonderful," Beast Boy shrugged. "Now we actually have a direction in which to fight crime."

"More or less. It'll take research," Robin stepped up to the main computer. "Lots and lots of research." He typed away…waited…and made a face. "Why's this computer burned out?"

I simpered, sweatdropping.

"Didn't Noir and Cyborg tell you?"

"About what?" Robin asked.

"Ya know….the self destruct sequence being stopped and all…"

"…..," Robin stared. "Correction," he sighed and looked over the computer. "It'll take repairs….lots and lots of repairs."

The elevator doors opened again and Starfire stepped in with a Tamaranian fruitcake gift thingy. "Where is Cyborg? I wished to present him with the traditional Edible Gift of Sympathy."

"It's best to leave him alone, Star…," Robin said. "Cyborg…needs time to recuperate."

"But…is it not our responsibility to—"

"It's our responsibility to adhere to his wishes," Robin said. He took a deep breath. "Less confrontation that way."

"Yes," Raven said from behind her book. "A lot safer." She had been sitting there the whole time.

I looked at everyone, sighed, and stood up.

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

"Baby…what in the world happened to you?!" Cyborg exclaimed.

The T-Car…what was left of it…rested butchered and beaten in the corner of the garage.

Cyborg sighed, shuffled over, and knelt down by the vehicle's side. He began the long process of repairing, repiecing, and repolishing the T-Car back to its goodness.

"You're still a piece of me, right Baby?" he managed a tiny smile. "And I can always refit you…" A pause. "God, I hate that word now."

A few minutes later, he stumbled at one piece of repair. "Where's that one cutter…," he mumbled.

Suddenly, a hand reached down and held it for him.

He looked up.

I smiled down at him through my shades.

"Uh….th-thanks," Cyborg said. He took it from me and went to work, mumbling: "But I really wanted to be alone, man."

I said nothing.

A few minutes later, Cyborg struggled again.

"Dammit…where're those screws…."

I handed another handful of tools for him.

He looked up. He sighed. "Okay….maybe I do need some help after all."

I smirked and knelt down with him to help in the car.

A few minutes later, a shrill whistle flew into the garage.

Cyborg turned around.

"Man….that's a lot of Sunday Driving," Beast Boy leaned against a door frame and shook his head. "I suggest not washing your car with hydrochloric acid from now on."

"Har har….really funny," Cyborg frowned. He looked at me.

I shrugged.

He looked back at the elf. "Whaddya want, BB?"

"Thought you could use a hand," Beast Boy walked over and smiled. "Or a couple of hands and a tail…or even someone who can fit into tight spaces of your Baby." A pause. "Okay, that sounded bad."

"Thanks but…I really wanted to do this alone….er," Cyborg motioned at me. "He was just being helpful with a few tools and—"

"Gotta replace the tires soon?" Beast Boy asked.

"…well…eventually," Cyborg nodded.

"Sounds like a three man team, considering how much that thing is wrecked!"

"Fine, fine," Cyborg rolled his human eye and smirked. "Come on over here. Less squawking and more helping."

"Dude…that's what I want to hear," Beast Boy knelt beside us and assisted.

A few more minutes later.

"Man….this work is making me thirsty," Beast Boy wiped his brow.

"You're not alone…," Cyborg sweated.

I nodded.

A voice from the far side: "Friends! If refreshments are what you need…"

Cyborg looked over.

Starfire smiled with a tray of lemonade, "…then refreshments are what you will need no longer!!"

"Star?! What are you doing down here?!" Cyborg grimaced.

"Were you not thirsty just seven and a half seconds ago?"

"Uhh…"

"Let me be of assistance!"

"I said…I wanted to be alone!" Cyborg frowned. "Can't you at least grant me that after all I've gone th---say, is that lemonade?"

"Yes," Starfire nodded vehemently. "Trademark, the Kool hyphen of the Aid!"

"Hmmmm….that sounds delicious," Cyborg said. He looked at Beast Boy and I.

We smirked.

"Get some for my friends here…"

"Gladly!" she went to work.

"Now let's get this car up on the rack," Cyborg said, pulling out a tire.

"Need help with the hydraulic controls?" said Robin's voice from the edge of the garage.

Cyborg sighed and looked over at the doorframe. "You too?"

"Me four," Robin smirked. "You need someone to operate the controls of the rack."

"And to hand you tools!" Beast Boy smiled and raised four tentacles.

"And to serve you Aid that's Kool!" Starfire beamed.

I smiled and pointed to the tire.

"While you show us just how you want your Baby….shoed," Robin smirked.

Cyborg stared at him. He slowly smiled. "Thanks, Robin. That would help."

The four boys went into work while Starfire refreshed them all. They lifted the car with the rack and worked on setting the tire. The rack started rocking and Cyborg frowned.

"Damn…this thing's so old. It's unsteady."

"Kind of dangerous, isn't it?" Beast Boy said.

"It'll be fine for now as long as we—"

A field of black energy formed and surrounded the metal structure of the rack…stabilizing it. The Titans looked over—Cyborg most curiously of them all.

Raven stood off to the side with an outstretched hand. She calmly lowered her hand and her eyes glowed back to normal.

Cyborg blinked.

Eventually, Raven smiled. "What the heck….we're all immature, right?"

Cyborg smiled. His cheeks were warm. "Sure…we all can be."

She walked over. "So…how's the Baby…..fairing?"

"I'll show you," he said to the Titans and motioned to the various pieces of the elevated T-Car that needed repair. "As you see here…she needs a lot of work. But it ain't impossible. If we work together, there's nothing to worry about. Now look here…the wheel well is slightly bent…if we were to adjust it correctly…"

I smiled as he went on. We all worked on the T-Car through the day, past lunch, into the evening, and stopped at night when we all went out to pizza. At some point before the day was over…we all managed a laugh or two.

Even Victor Stone.