New To The Family

Chapter 22: Tower Invasion

Cyborg normally didn't make a habit of using his ability to 'boom' for everyday things. He preferred to only reserve it for Justice League or Teen Titan duties. Doing things as normal as possible made him feel more normal than he actually was, and he liked to feel as normal as possible.

This time was an exception though. The party had been a spontaneous event, and they didn't have time to drive all the way to Jump City. So, after having placed his order, he had 'boomed' to the pizza place to pick up the orders.

Being Victor Stone, the popular football player, had gotten him a lot of attention when he went out. Being Cyborg, member of the Justice League and Teen Titans got him even more, only now he couldn't blend in with the crowd. And his flashy entrance only brought even more attention to him.

It wasn't that Cyborg didn't enjoy the attention of his fans, but it did prove to be a nuisance from time to time. Like now, when he was in a hurry. The crowd of people gathering around, asking for his autograph, taking pictures with him, or even simply shaking his hand, was proving to be a bit of a problem.

"People, please," he said as politely as he could without simply dismissing them, "I'm just here to pick up dinner."

"Do you even need to eat since you're a machine?" someone asked.

He tried not to take offense to that, knowing they were simply ignorant to his situation. "I'm not all machine. Now if you'll excuse me, the thirty minutes or it's free deal doesn't apply to me."

Not all attention was always good. As word quickly spread around the area that Cyborg was here, some rather unwanted attention came from a certain group of individuals. With scowls on their faces, the six of them made their way towards the pizza place that Cyborg had gone into, blending in with the crowd of people gathered around it.

With five pizza boxes in hand, Cyborg exited the restaurant. Flashes from cameras went off all around, reminding him of his football days. It seemed some things would never change. But he didn't have time for this now. The pizzas were getting cold, and he couldn't 'boom' right here with all these people around, he didn't want any civilians ending up in Titan Tower.

"Sorry, people, but I've got to go," he told them. "The team is hungry."

He took to the air, flying away from the crowd, and set down in an ally. With no people around, he activated his Boom Tube, and a portal into the Tower appeared. He was about to walk through when a voice called out to him.

"Hey, Cyborg, you got a second?"

He turned around to find a group of six boys walking towards him. How had they caught up to him so fast? Or had they been there the whole time? That was strange; he hadn't seen them when he came down.

"Sorry, fellows," he said, "but I'm not doing autographs today."

The boy who seemed to be the leader of the group waved this off. "No, no, nothing like that. Just got a question for you. Word on the street says that the Teen Titans have a new member. We were just wondering if this was true."

Cyborg's only real eye narrowed. How had they learned of that? They had been very secretive about Helena, as per Batman's orders. "Where'd you hear that from?"

The leader smirked. "Lets just say we heard it through the grapevine. So, is it true? Is there a new member? A girl?"

So they knew. But how? They had been so careful. Perhaps he could convince them they were wrong. "Sorry, but there's no one new. We're always on the lookout for new recruits though. So if you know anyone, be sure to point them in our direction."

He turned to walk through the portal. A smirk crept up the leader's face. "Oh, we'll be sure to do that."

Something flew through the air, and Cyborg froze. The pizzas fell from his hand and he looked down. Sticking out of his chest was a large metal spike, having entered his back and was now protruding from his front. On the back of the spike, the material blended from steel to clay, the brown tendril having covered several yards.