The Sixth Titan | Teen Titans

Chapter Sixty - Final Stand, Part One

    This chapter is different. Since there are a lot of episodes that focus on one Titan or none at all, I'm writing this to fill in the gaps so you guys don't get, like, four episodes this season. It focuses on Ember, so that's an added bonus.

    I heave a loud sigh, watching the syringe spin slowly on my desk. I remember finding it on my father with Raven, and can't help but wonder if he's realise it's missing yet. Unless he's changed drastically, he's noticed, all right. I just wonder if he knows it was me or simply thinks it was one of his posse.

    Pushing the question away, I pull the syringe into my hand and open the door, holding it like a dagger. Old habits die hard. Somehow, even in my own home, I can't feel entirely safe. Not when we've been invaded multiple times previously, not when there are so many criminals with a vendetta against us, and certainly not with my father still out there.

    I unconsciously make all the right turns, quickly appearing in the laboratory. Cyborg's already there, having expected me since I contacted him around ten minutes ago. He puts down whatever he was toying with and looks at me expectantly, eyes landing on the syringe.

    "You needed my help?" he asks, before lowering is voice as his gaze fully focuses on the needle. "And why do you have a syringe?"

    "That's what I need your help for, Cy." I walk over towards the robotic teen and place it on the table in front of him. "I need you to identify it for me."

    "... Right. That's all, huh?" Cyborg takes the needle from the table and walks over to a beaker. He presses down on the syringe and empties its contents into the beaker, setting it into a machine. "Anything else? 'Cause I'm guessing you're not gonna tell me why you need this."

    "I don't mind. I'll tell you why—on one condition."

    Cyborg chuckles quietly. "Okay. Lay it on me."

    "You can't tell Robin."

    The Titan in front of me is shocked. His jaw drops, almost unhinged from the rest of his skull, and his human eye bulges out of its socket, threatening to pop out entirely. "What?" he asks. "Why not? You and him are closer than any of us. If nothing was stopping you, you'd be with him all the time."

    I put my hands up and sigh. "I-I just can't get him involved in this, okay? It's too—too dangerous. You guys all have your powers, or abilities, and even then I'm not the biggest fan of involving you. But at the end of the day, he's only human. I can't ask him to do that for me."

    "He'd want to," Cyborg says, "but if you really don't want him to know, fine. I don't wanna get involved in your relationship issues."

    The machine gives a soft beep! and the mechanic teen pulls the beaker out of the machine. Steam pours from it, but not hot steam—almost like dried ice. I stare at it curiously as his hand turns into a grabber to touch it. Once he's set it aside, he turns to me and the screen boots up.

    "Rob knows you better than anyone. He'll notice something's up, and he'll find out. And if he finds out in a way that isn't you telling him, I can't say he'll be too impressed."

    I shake my head. "I can't tell him, Cy. I have to keep him safe."

    "Man, if there's one thing I know about Robin, it's that he doesn't care about that." The screen dings and I walk over to it, Cyborg behind me. As I lift the beaker into the air, examining it, the Titan types something on the computer. "Damn. Never seen anything like this."

    "What is it?"

    "It's a unique chemical compound. The signature—I can't pull it apart, for some reason."