In the center of the city, Cyborg's arm continued to bleep loudly with a distressing alarm. Even with all the noise from the devastation around them the only thing any of the Titan's could hear was the beeping from Cyborg.
"Cyborg!" Robin shouted as the omnidroids struggled to restrain him.
"Robin!" Starfire yelled fighting against her own slew of monsters holding her down. She sounded as if she was pleading with Robin to stop Cyborg from going through with it.
Cyborg could hear the distress in their voices. He lowered his head as if knowing there was no way to justify what he was doing to them. All he knew was this was the only way to stop these things and save his friends.
"I'm sorry," Cyborg said softly as the numerous creatures grabbed him as well, "take care of BB for me."
"NO!" Robin said as he grit his teeth fighting with all his might to free himself but to no avail.
A thunderous warcry filled the empty air with a massive show of power. Starfire used all the power she had and unleashed a devastating nova of green power. The blast was like a nuclear bomb exploding out from her sending every creature around her flying in all directions.
With her eyes still glowing green she quickly flew in cyborgs direction with tears in her eyes. She stretched her fists out infront of her as if trying to fly faster and her face was rich with a sense of desperation and determination.
The loud beeping from Cyborg grew louder and picked up in speed. Just before Starfire reached him he widened his stance to gain balance and threw his arms to his sides with tightly clenched fists. It was his turn to let out the loudest roar the half human had ever unleashed. A heavily immense sonic wave of blue power explode out from his chest where his glowing blue power cell remained exposed. This display of power dwarfed Starfire's recent show of force and expanded from him in every direction for two miles. Everything electrical in those two miles instantly shut down. Every building that hadnt been burned to the ground went black as the lights went out. The street lights that flashed through their usual red, yellow and green lights fell like dominos joining the growing darkness around them. The lights that kept the streets lit at night went out one after another and some of the bulbs even burst from their sockets.
The wave of blue passed from creature to creature freezing them where they stood. As the wave made contact with each one, the mechanical faces that held horrifying red eyes began to spark with with small bolts of blue electricity. Each body would slowly change back from whatever element it was to its original pale white material. One by one, each pair of red eyes slowly faded to black and the bodies began disintegrating into dust being carried off by the warm breeze of the heated air of the burning city. Each mechanical face would hit the ground with a clash. It almost sounded like a heavy down pour as each one hit the ground after the next.
Starfire was stopped in mid air from the loud roar of her half human friend. She looked around to see the result of his actions and her jaw dropped seeing the this unstopple army wiped out in a matter of seconds.
Cyborg still stood as the creatures fell around him. His mechanical body began to slowly lose its blue glow and he let out a quiet exhale and fell backwards to the ground with a loud thud.
Starfire snapped out of her amazement and flew over to her fallen friend, kneeling next to him. He was still alive. His exposed chest held the dimmest glow of blue electricity but the rest of his body had gone dark.
"Friend, please, how do I assist you?!" Starfire pleaded as her tears began streaming down her face. Robin approached from behind her and knelt down on the other side of Cyborg.
"There's nothing you can do, Star," Cyborg said weakly through half closed eyes.
Robin knelt on the other side of Starfire looking down at one of his closest friends dying right in front of him.
"We can still get you fixed!" Robin said refusing to accept Cyborg's words.
"It's alright y'all. There are worse ways I could have gone out," he said half joking trying to calm his friends down. Robin turned his head away clenching his jaw trying to show no emotion while Starfire continued to cry over Cyborg her tears now falling on his metal shoulder like a gentle rain. Cyborg tried with all his remaining strength to keep his eyes open and speak to his friends but as the seconds passed by it became nearly impossible to do so., "do you think... B-"
Before he could finish a bright white light in the distance lit up the sky. It drew the attention of all three of them. Robin and Starfiire turned their heads towards the glow. It then quickly took the shape of a massive bird like a Raven. It was miles and miles away but even from where they were, they could hear a faint screech from the glowing bird. It sounded like triumphant. Like a bird that had found freedom.
"Well..." Cyborg said with a small grin, "looks like he did it." He seemed to be hinting at something other than Beastboy just saving Raven... and with that Cyborg shut his eye and the red glow from the other faded.
Robin knew there were spare parts at the Tower for emergency situations like this. But they'd never make it in time. Unless...
He pulled his communicator from his belt. Hoping beyond hope that it hadn't been also wiped out in Cyborg's blast. To his surprise when he flipped it open it fired right up and worked completely fine. Thanks to his titanium cape it was shielded from the EMP Cyborg had unleashed. Robin's eyes went wide. Maybe... Just maybe there was still hope.
"BEASTBOY! TELL ME YOU SAVED RAVEN! WE NEED YOU GUYS! CYBORG IS DYING!"
In the barren desert that had recently been torn apart from Raven's sheer power, the dark of the night seemed to grow even darker. The deafening silence around the three Titans didn't help either. They were in shock from what they just heard.
Beastboy's hand was held up in front of him, his communicator loosely grasped in his hand. Beastboy, Raven, and Terra were all staring at it with blank expressions on their faces. Thoughts were racing through their minds but they were unable to fully process them. Surely Robin didn't mean he was actually dying. That was just... a figure of speech... It had to be. Right? But the sound of Robin's voice chilled them to the bone and the imagined the worst.
As if waiting for the punchline of a joke they continued to stare at the communicator in silence until, after what felt like a lifetime, the cold night air was broken by Robins slightly static voice of absolute desperation.
"Do you copy?! We need you guys here NOW! BEASTBOY?!"
In that moment Raven's heart sank in her chest. She couldn't help but feel responsible for this. For all of this. She lowered her head and put her hood up turning away from the others.
"Beast-" Beastboy hesitated, "B-Beastboy to Robin, um..." His mind couldn't seem to focus on anything. The mixture of emotions was overwhelming. Just wrapping his head around the possible death of his best friend was eating him alive.
Terra swiped the communicator from his hand, "where are you Robin?!" Terra shouted, seeing how emotionally distraught Beastboy was. Beastboy seeing the sense of urgency and focus from Terra snapped him out of his daze and zoned in on Terra's lead, ready to go at a moments notice.
"Terra?! Where's- Nevermind. We're in the center of the city!" Robin ignored his confusion over the communicator. He had more important things to worry about.
"Raven!" Terra shout. Raven half turned her head towards Terra hiding under her hood, "can you get us to the city?!"
Raven gave a small nod and turned to face Beastboy and Terra with her head still lowered. She raised her hands and orbs of dark energy swallowed her hands followed by a mass of dark energy that enveloped the three of them. In an instant the blackness vanished leaving the aftermath of destruction in the desert behind them.
In the city the three Titans were waiting with the deepest sense of terror. The only light illuminating the area was from the burning buildings around them. Sirens wailed in the not far off distance telling them fire fighters were still hard at work combating the fires and trying to save any lives that might be trapped within them.
While they wait in anticipation for the others to arrive Robin began searching the very depths of his memory to remember what it was he needed to save Cyborg. For the most part it just looked like Cyborg's power cell had a blown fuse. Which is exactly what happened. The EMP from a blow fuse this size could wpie out anything electrical within a two mile radius. This is a relatively simple fix... for a rocket scientist. However, Robin had been preparing for something like this just in case, but he never imagined he would actually have to do it. He was beginning to beat himself up for not putting more effort into the preperation.
Underneath them, a pitch black darkness appeared indicating Raven was arriving. Starfire picked up Cyborg as if he weighed nothing more than a small child and waited for the others to appear from the darkness.
When they emerged from the black empty space, Beastboy's eyes fixed on Cyborgs lifeless body. The dim blue light at his chest faded to nothing and Beastboy's heart shattered in his chest.
Raven felt the pain radiating off Beastboy and began to feel even worse. She wasted no time, she didn't even let her dark energy fade. She closed her eyes and before Robin could even speak she surrounded the others with her dark energy and they all vanished leaving the street littered with the faces of destroyed omnidroids.
The medical room at the Tower was dead silent and the room was dark. The lights then suddenly flickered on illuminating the room as if someone walked in triggering the motion sensors. Raven's dark energy cast a shadow across the floor and the 6 Titans appeared in the room and Robin sprung into action as Starfire set Cyborg down on a medical bed and taking a step back.
Robin dashed to the cabinets with a label that said Spare Parts - DO NOT TOUCH BB! A message Cyborg had left his best friend who always seemed to dabble into Cyborg's things with a bad habit of breaking them. Robin nearly ripped the cabinet doors off as he began pouring through parts looking for one in particular. Within seconds he found what he was looking for and ran to Cyborgs side examining his friends chest and how to proceed.
Sweat began to bead on his brow as he continued searching his mind for the answers he had once prepared for. As time ticked on the others watched closely with anticipation as Robin was slowly figuring out the correct procedure.
"Y-you can fix him... Right?" Beastboy asked. He sounded like a toddler begging his parents to take care of everything and make everything ok.
Raven saw the small glimmer of hope in his eyes but she could already sense the tragic truth. He was already gone.
As Robin began working on Cyborg's chest installing a new power cell, Raven could sense that Cyborgs essence was no longer coming from his body... yet... it was still nearby. She turned her head to her left where the empty space of the room seemed to have a strange presence around it. Her eyes widened and tears began to fall from her eyes sliding down her cheeks.
"Cyborg?" She whispered to herself.
Beastboy looked at her, "huh?" He asked hoping she had good news.
Raven looked back at him and couldn't bear to tell him. But her face already said it all. Beastboy's eyes went wide and he began to break down as he fell to his knees. Terra could also see the truth in Raven's eyes. She began to tear up and knelt next to Beastboy to comfort him.
Raven watched her love collapsing and couldn't help but cry harder. She was straining to fight back her tears as she looked around the room at her friends. She looked at Robin who still hadn't given up yet. Then she looked at Starfire who also still clung on to hope, then back at Beastboy and Terra, sobbing, who knew just she did... there was none.
Raven looked back at the empty space that still held the presence of someone close to her. She took a deep breath, wiped her eyes and began levitating in her meditation pose.
Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos...
She let her feelings swarm her, and her eyes released a flurry of emotion with no sense of holding back. Her power surged just as before on the roof but instead of creating a whirlwind, she opened her eyes to find she was in a completely different place.
It was a wide open, vast and empty space of bright white light. There were no walls, no floors. Just... birght, white, nothingness. The complete opposite of what she saw when she first entered Terra's mind. As she looked around she found a familiar face standing to her left where she sensed a presence earlier.
Cyborg stood next to her looking back at her with a big smile. She barely recognized him. He was completely human. His body was built like a pro-athlete and he wore nothing but a pair of shorts as if he just went for a run on the beach. His muscles were toned in every place of his body. So much so that Raven could see muscles she didn't even know existed. She was impressed beyond belief.
"C-Cyborg?" She said hesitantly as she removed her hood.
"Hey Raven," he replied as if greeting an old friend he hadn't seen in years, "my real name is Victor," he raised his arms and looked down at his human hands, "suppose Cyborg doesn't really fit now does it?" He chuckled.
Raven began balling as she lunged forward wrapping her arms around his body. He was so massive she could barely get her arms all the way around him, "I'm so sorry!" She sobbed into his chest, "it's all my fault! This whole thing! I'm just... I'm so so sorry!" She said in between sobs.
Victor hugged her back with a warm and inviting smile, "yo... chill, girl. You can't blame yourself for what any of us would have done given the same circumstances."
She looked up at him as the tears continued to pour out of her.
"You know that any of us would have sacrificed ourselves to save you or any one else," Victor continued, "we're heroes. It's what we do." He finished with a loving smile that showed no regret.
This made Raven even sadder. She refused to accept that her life or anyone else's life was more valuable than another's.
"I don't... want you to go," Raven struggled to say over her sobs.
"Not much we can do about that now," Victor replied softly, "but look..." he said gesturing to the empty space.
The vast emptiness had been filled with a ghostly image of the real world. Raven and Victor found themselves looking at the medical room in the Tower. The Titans surrounded Cyborg's body on the medical bed. Robin still working away at the power cell, Starfire watching closely, Beastboy on his knees sobbing and Terra kneeling next to him trying to comfort him.
"I'd do it all over again for you guys. You guys never give up. You never lose hope. And you're willing to go to the ends of the earth for each other," Victor looked back at Raven who's watery eyes were still fixed on his lifeless half-machine body, "I couldn't imagine what the world would be like without y'all in it."
Raven looked back up at Cyborg with a sense of complete dread. She couldn't imagine a world with out them in it either... But what about him? What will the would be like without him in it? She broke down sobbing into his chest once more.
"I'm glad I got to see you one last time," Victor said hugging her tightly. His smile disappeared as he prepared himself to embrace the unknown.
Raven squeezed him tighter. All the memories of the Titans together began flooding her mind. Battling evil, eating pizza, going through heartbreak and struggle together. She wasn't ready to give it up.
"No..." Raven said softly with a stern tone, "I... I won't let you go."
"It'll be ok," Victor said letting go of Raven to look her in the eyes. But she had her head lowered, "tell BB and the others... I'm gonna miss them and I love all of y'all. Even though I never said it... I really do."
Raven clenched her teeth and the tears continued to stream down her cheeks. In that moment... Starfire's voice echoed through her mind...
You must let go. Whatever you are feeling you must let yourself feel it.
"No..." She said under her breath with the same stern tone, "No!" She began raising her voice to a shout, "you're not dying! Tell them yourself!"
Her eyes shot open glowing bright white. Brighter than the emptiness around them. Her power surged and had grown even more powerful than she ever thought possible as she unleashed all her raw emotion.
"AZARATH... METHRION... ZINTHOS!"
Victor's face grew a proud smile. He wasn't the least bit surprised. It was as if he knew she had something big within her, just been waiting to be unleashed.
The glow from her eyes grew steadily brighter and brighter, overpowering everything in the vast emptiness as if dissolving everything around her with the silent explosion of a nuclear bomb.
In the real world Raven's meditiative state was silent and it didn't seem like she was responsive to anything.
Robin was still hard at work putting all his energy into fixing the power cell. With one final click, he pressed the power cell back into place and tossed the one Cyborg sacrificed over his shoulder where it hit the ground with a loud clang.
He held his breath...
Starfire held her breath as well...
The room was silent except for Beastboy's soft sobbing and Terra's soothing voice whispering to him.
But... Nothing happened.
Robin feared he took too long. His fears of losing one of his closest friends was slowly becoming reality. He clenched his teeth and his fists. His whole body soon tensed up as well, putting him into an internal rage. Starfire saw his silent reaction and feared the worst had come to pass.
Just as all hope had vanished from the room, Raven's eyes opened wide from her meditative state illuminating the entire room as she cried out with an insane amount of passion and power.
Beastboy stopped sobbing. He and Terra turned in a panic towards Raven. Robin and Starfire also turned to see her body levitating and emitting such a power none of them had never thought possible from Raven. The four of them shielded their eyes from the blinding light with their arms.
The light from Raven's eyes was so bright it blinded the entire room before she fainted and fell to the floor from where she had just been levitating. She hit the ground with a thud letting out a soft moan as if she had just lifted the world itself off her shoulders.
The four Titans watched her with wide eyes wondering what the heck just happened.
"Don't worry y'all..."
Everyone's gaze darted to where Cyborg lay. Their eyes went even wider and they watched his armor-like body light back up with its usual blue glow and his eye slowly opened as the mechanical one regained its red glow. He sat up with a groan rubbing the back of his head and looked down at Raven where she had fainted. He put his hand down and a small smile came across his face. He let out a soft chuckle as the others stared in amazement...
"There's nothin' our girl can't handle."