Quality Time

CHAPTER 16: A Kick in the Past

It was a bitter morning as heavy footsteps clunked against the floor. Cyborg stretched his arms in a yawn before scratching the back of his head as he trudged further along the tower's hallway. As a full time crime fighter he had been no stranger to long nights. Just not this exhausting. At least battling bad guys never meant excessive maintenance afterwards. He'd spent the better part of what felt like a night and half getting caught up on the all too long list of backlogged repairs around the tower. And that was only after he'd put Raven's room back the way it was the night before. But at long last there was a light at the end of the tunnel. Ninety four percent of the tower's primary systems were now back up and running at normal efficiency. All of the regular security and scanner systems had been inspected and finely tuned. And all but a few minor communication functions were now back online. He'd also made certain to double the insulation of the wires and add a significant number of backup surge protectors to the primary power conduits to insure something like this never happened again. In a nutshell, it had been a very long night. Fighting over zealous megalomaniacs and super villains was a breeze by comparison.

It was amazing just how much work could pile up in just a few short days. But that was due to the fact that the tower wasn't just their home. It was also their staging area, their monitoring station, their training facility, and served every other essential need for a team of heroes keeping vigilant watch over an entire city. What's more, it had never been more apparent that of all the technological superiority the tower had to offer, both for everyday living and for around the clock surveillance of the city, just how much of it fell solely on Cyborg's shoulders. Sure everyone knew how to operate and access most of the basic consoles and equipment, but when something went haywire Cyborg was the only one with the know how to fix it. It was enough to demand a raise, if only he were getting paid.

Of course that could be chalked up to being a technological wonder himself. He wouldn't trust most of the integral systems to most of the others anyway. Raven wasn't exactly techno savvy and BeastBoy wouldn't know a microchip from a potato chip without one being accompanied by dip. And even though Starfire, while knowledgeable from a culture and technology far surpassing Earth's, he just felt a little uneasy having the same girl who could use a bus as a hammer throw tinkering with such delicate electronics.

"One thing's for sure," he mused to himself, checking his power cell, "Gotta' give somebody else a crash course on how to keep this stuff up an runnin'."

As Cyborg rounded the corner into the main corridor BeastBoy and Raven came into view, entering from the adjacent hallway. Almost instantly Cyborg's demeanor changed, sporting a sly grin. Seeing them continue to honor this ongoing wager was more than enough to renew his spirits. He'd honestly didn't think it would last as long as it had. And even though they weren't as uneasy or anxious around each other as from the start, which took away most of the fun, it certainly made things a lot more interesting around the tower.

"Good morning," he greeted with a spring in his step.

Raven shifted her eyes to the side, quickly able to recognize Cyborg fishing for any kind of occurrence between her and BeastBoy to make his day. "Good morning, Cyborg," she returned plainly.

"Hey, Cy," BeastBoy followed, trailing a few steps behind Raven.

Cyborg walked beside Raven who didn't say another word. Which was to be expected. Raven had never been a very talkative person, especially in the early morning. Aside from 'Good morning, no thanks, or shut up, BeastBoy', there wasn't much Raven needed to say or talk about this early.

He looked back at BeastBoy who still lingered behind. "You doin' alright B?"

BeastBoy gave no immediate response, looking as if in a daze. "Huh? Oh, yeah. Good," he gave a nervous nod.