The Sixth Titan | Teen Titans

Chapter Eleven - Car Trouble

It's been two or three weeks and we're already almost at the finale — wow. Just published Apprentice, Part One by accident, but don't think anyone saw.

Cyborg stands in his garage and our storage area, a large mysterious item covered by a tarp behind him. "Drum roll, please!" At his request, Beast Boy changes into a lemur and continuously whacks his belly. "Ladies and gentlemen, and whatever Beast Boy is..."

Beast Boy changes back to human form angrily. "Hey, Cyborg. You want a drum roll or not?"

"Sorry. It is my great pleasure to present for the first time anywhere, the thing you've all been waiting for, my coolest, hottest, baddest creation—"

"Just get on with it," Raven says from behind me.

"—I give you the future of Titans transportation, the one, the only... T-Car!" He lifts up the tarp to reveal a car with the same design as Cyborg himself. We all stare in admiration, with the exception of Raven, who stands unfazed by his newest creation.

"Dude!" Beast Boy exclaims.

"Cool!" Robin shouts.

"Wow," I say, my voice soft but sincere.

"Oooooh!" Starfire calls.

Cyborg grins at our reactions and pats the new T-Car. "Yep, she's my baby." I can tell by his expression that he's about to launch into the features of the car, and sure enough he does. "One-hundred-thousand-horsepower plasma-turbine engine... all-terrain hoverjets... antilock air brakes... and an onboard computer that links with my systems, so I can literally feel the road."

"Whoa!" Beast Boy says, and Robin whistles.

"Amazing!" Starfire exclaims.

The windows of the car roll down, giving us a view of what's inside. "And of course, leather seats, power windows, and a booming stereo are all standard," Cyborg explains, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Speakers pop out of the vehicle and blast music. It's so loud that if sends all of us but Cyborg back, and we slowly recover, standing up as we do so.

Beast Boy smiles sheepishly. "Sweet!"

"Nice!" Robin says.

"It sings!" Starfire notes, her hair largely teased.

Raven stands, still unaffected by Cyborg's presentation. "Can we go now?"

Cyborg doesn't take note of her sarcasm and beams in response. "You bet, Raven. I'll take you anyplace you want to go."

We all respond, in the same order as before. "The beach!"

"The movies!"

"The swamp moons of Drenthax IV!" Starfire blushes in embarrassment as the boys fall over at her response. "He said anyplace."

Robin's communicator sounds as he stands up once again. "Trouble!"

"I'll drive!" Cyborg says enthusiastically, already at the wheel. We all join him as the car gets ready to drive.

~~~

"Are we there yet?" Raven asks, and I can hear the sound of Cyborg's anger before he voices it.

"No!"

Starfire rides shotgun, and her hands fly all over the car's dashboard. "So many fascinating buttons! Your baby is most entertaining... Ooooh!"

"Stop!... Don't!... Careful with... Not the ejector seat!... Would you cut it..." Cyborg's efforts are useless, and she stares in awe at the windshields that have started to move on her command.