The Sixth Titan | Teen Titans

Chapter Fifty-Five - Homecoming, Part Two

    Cyborg steps back after hooking up the screen to his system, watching as it flickers alight. From beside Robin, Starfire, and Raven, I look on silently, turning back to the group every now and then. I continuously flip a rock in my hand; the tension is so thick I could cut it with the rock.

    I observe with a raised eyebrow as Mento begins to raise his voice at Cyborg, before turning away from the Titan and towards his own team. "Doom Patrol, listen up!" he barks, glancing between their alert expressions. "Every second we delay gives the Brotherhood of Evil a chance to use their new weapon. It's time to move out!"

    From around the fire, the members of Mento's team stand up quickly and walk towards their leader without hesitation. Beast Boy, now alone on the log he sits on, turns to Elasti-Girl in surprise. "Already?"

    "There's no time to rest, Beast Boy. We'll be fine" Her consoling words have little to no effect on the green teen, who looks up at her blankly. When Elastic-Girl walks past him and towards the rest of her team, Beast Boy mutters something under his breath that I don't catch. The four of us make our way towards the other team, and Cyborg opens his mouth to speak.

    "What about air defences? We fly anywhere near that base and they're gonna start blasting."

    "Which is exactly why we're going on foot," Mento points out, tossing a purple mask between his hands. I find the item strangely familiar, resisting the urge to pull it out of his hands in an attempt to trigger any memory of it. "And when I say 'we', I mean the Doom Patrol. All of us."

    Mento hands the mask to Beast Boy, and the action reminds me of where I've seen it before—after all, it's Beast Boy's. I distinctly remember him wearing it when we first met him, back in Jump City. From memory, it was Cyborg who convinced him to neglect it as part of his uniform.

    As Beast Boy stares down at the mask, Robin says, "If Beast Boy goes, then so do we."

    The mummy—whose name I've since learnt is Negative Man—looks up at us and shakes his head. "I really wouldn't go there. Trust me." It takes me a second to realise that he's the one talking, as his mouth doesn't move when he speaks.

    From beside Negative Man, Robot Man nods. The Doom Patrol have really creative names. "You kids have no idea what we're up against."

    Cyborg narrows his eyes. "Well, from the looks of things, you need all the help you can get."

    Robot Man narrows his eyes as far as his robotic gears allow him to, before leaning into Cyborg. "Listen up, punks!" he barks. "The little runt was in the Doom Patrol—"

    "Excuse me," Cyborg interjects, the heroes talking over each other. "but I don't see a sign saying 'Property of—"

    As they speak, my head aches and I pinch the space in between my two eyes in exasperation. "STOP IT!!" I roar. They both look at me, as well as everyone else who had started yelling, and I catch the reflection of my fiery eyes through Cyborg's polished shoulder. I close my eyes instantly, breathing in and out before opening them back to their normal colours. "Cyborg's right. Beast Boy isn't owned by the Doom Patrol—"

    Cyborg scoffs, before shooting Robot Man a grin and going so far as to laugh in his face. I look up at the sound of his hearty laughter and glance between the pair dubiously. "BUT—" At this, Cyborg's smirk vanishes and he shoots me a slightly annoyed glower. "—we don't own him either. Beast Boy's his own person. Let him make his own choice."

    The group falls silent, pondering this suggestion. A nagging feeling tells me that everyone will erupt into shouts once more but Beast Boy interjects before it can happen. "I'll go."