Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.
Author's Comments: Wow, sorry that this took so long to post. I fried my laptop. Important! Also, please do not flame me for my choices of the Titans ages. This is just how old I think they are.
Chapter 2 – Terminal Titans
For the first time in her life, Raven was grateful for the amount of things that Starfire had made her buy. The Titan opened her closet and began rummaging around. She pulled out a black long-sleeved top, and put it on her bed. She also pulled out a blue hoodie, a pair of black cargo-pants, and some blue and black skateboard shoes. Raven dug around, and pulled out a black one-piece swimsuit, and put that on her bed. Moving aside her many cloaks, Raven revealed a black, caterpillar rouched dress. She gingerly took it off its hook, and placed it on her bed along with a shoebox and a blue satin clutch. She figured that it didn't hurt to be prepared.
Raven also dug out her iPod Touch and put it on her bed next to her clothes. Then Raven exited her room, and made her way to the single bathroom in Titan's tower. She picked up her toothbrush, and brought it back to her room. Picking up her black cloth-bag, Raven realized that her things were not going to fit. The Titan scowled, and went back to her closet. Rummaging around again, she pulled out a black and blue suitcase. Starfire had made Raven purchase this shortly after Terra had been placed in the local mental rehab facility. The alien princess had thought that the Titans needed something to take their minds off of Terra's repeated betrayal.
Raven began to pack her things into the suitcase. She decided to bring her costume as well, just to cover all possibilities. She pulled an extra blue-hooded cloak, black leotard, pair of blue wrist-bands, pair of blue slipper-like shoes, and decorative belt out of the closet, and packed it in with her other clothing. She turned and regarded her undercover clothing. With a sigh, she stripped off her costume, and pulled them on. Then she pulled up the hood of her hoodie, turned and exited her room again.
- Scene Break -
Beast Boy rummaged around in his closet. Currently, the green Titan was clad only in his dark-magenta boxer shorts. His costume lay on the floor beside him. Beast Boy began to toss random things over his shoulders. Comics, a rubber ducky, some old towels, miscellaneous socks, a toy monkey with symbols, a pillow, some unused hangars, deodorant, a half-eaten tofu sandwich, until he finally found what he was looking for. Triumphantly, the Titan pulled out a pair of dark-magenta and black skateboard shoes. He pulled them onto his feet, and continued to root about. He pulled out a dark-magenta long-sleeved shirt, and a pair of black cargo-pants. These he pulled on as well. Continuing to throw things over his shoulder, the green Titan found a pair of dark-magenta swim trunks, and a black tuxedo.
Beast Boy regarded this last item of clothing suspiciously. He couldn't remember ever having a tuxedo in his closet. Shrugging, he dumped it on the pile of clothes beside him. Then he pulled out a black and dark-magenta duffel bag. He opened it, and began to stuff the clothes inside. Beast Boy paused, and decided to pack his costume as well. So into the bag went his grey gloves, black and dark-magenta outfit, grey belt, and dark-magenta shoes. Beast Boy then trotted to the bathroom and grabbed his toothbrush. Entering his room again, the green Titan dumped this into the bag as well as an iPod. Satisfied, Beast Boy dusted off his hands, and zipped up his duffel bag. Then he made his way to the Titan's living room.
Robin was seated at the computer. At first glance, Beast Boy did not recognise the team's leader. His usual costume consisting of a red t-shirt with turquoise sleeves, three yellow bands, and a circle with an 'R' in it, yellow utility belt, turquoise pants, black and yellow cape, turquoise elbow-length gloves, and black shoes, had been replaced with a red t-shirt with a black unbuttoned t-shirt overtop, turquoise cargo-pants, and black skateboard shoes.
"Hey Robin," Beast Boy went over to him. "What are you doing?"
"Booking us a flight to Paris," Robin replied. Beast Boy noticed that sunglasses had replaced Robin's mask.
"Hey B.B." Beast Boy turned as Cyborg entered the room. Following the robotic Titan was Raven. Beast Boy found himself staring at her. Dressed in a hoodie, cargo-pants, and skateboard shoes, Raven looked completely different from the dark Titan that he knew. "I think I've found the solution to your problem." Cyborg boasted. He held up a small bottle filled with white pills. Beast Boy gulped, and sat down. "These should stabilize your DNA enough to change your appearance while still allowing you to morph." Cyborg handed Beast Boy a white pill. "Hypothetically, your animal morphs will also look normal too."
"Hypothetically?" Raven repeated. Cyborg shrugged his massive shoulders. Beast Boy paled slightly. Raven gave him an encouraging smile, and Beast Boy gingerly took the white pill into his hand. He regarded it silently for a moment, and then swallowed it.
"Okay," Cyborg glanced down at his arm, and began typing. "It should be hitting your blood-stream right about…now." Beast Boy's body tensed. His fingers gripped the sofa tightly. His chest began to heave, and his body began to tremble. Raven shot a look at Cyborg who shrugged helplessly. "I didn't know this would happen." The robotic Titan wailed.
"You're stabilizing his DNA," Raven retorted. "Did you think it would be pleasant?" Cyborg shrugged sadly. Beast Boy squeezed his eyes shut, his body trembling violently. A tear escaped from his tightly closed eye and rolled down his cheek. Raven sat down beside him, and gently placed her hand on his trembling shoulder. Beast Boy opened his eyes and regarded her. His deep-green eyes were filled with pain, and Raven could actually feel the pain radiating from her team-mate's body. Beast Boy let out a small whimper of pain.
Raven gently took him into her arms. Beast Boy wrapped his arms around her, and held her tightly, burying his face into her shoulder. She had never been so close to Beast Boy before. Gently, she ran her fingers through his hair, and rubbed his back with her other hand. Beast Boy clutched her tightly, his breathing ragged. Raven continued to hold him. Even after his body stopped trembling quite as badly, and his breathing quieted.
Eventually Beast Boy pulled his face away from Raven's shoulder. Raven's eyes widened. This was not the Beast Boy that she knew. His large ears had diminished down to a normal size, and she could see that his canines had also diminished in size. His usually olive-green skin was now Caucasian. What stood out the most to Raven was that Beast Boy's dark-green hair was now blonde, and his deep-green eyes were a stunning shade of blue.
"Did it work?" the voice reminded her that the young man in front of her was actually Beast Boy.
"Take a look," Raven replied. Beast Boy stared down at his now Caucasian hands.
"Whoa," Cyborg's human eye widened. "So this is what you'd look like if you weren't, you know…?"
"Green?" Beast Boy finished somewhat bitterly. Cyborg nodded. "Yeah."
"Huh," Cyborg crossed his massive arms over his chest. "You should test out my theory." He spoke at length. "About your animal morphs."
"Uh one problem with that Cy," Beast Boy replied. "These clothes don't have unstable molecules. They won't morph with me."
"I've got you covered B.B." Cyborg replied, and produced a spray-bottle. He sprayed Beast Boy's clothing with it. "Now try." He requested, a wide grin on his face. Beast Boy sighed, became an orange cat, and then changed back to himself. "Booyah!" Cyborg pumped his fist. "It worked!"
"Nice choice of morphs," Raven said with a smile. Beast Boy grinned widely.
"Seemed appropriate somehow," he winked at her. He took the bottle of pills from Cyborg, and the spray-bottle.
"Now the thing is B.B." Cyborg cleared his throat nervously. "You're going to have to take one of those every day."
"What?" Raven and Beast Boy asked in unison.
"The medication can only stabilize your genetics for 24 hours," Cyborg replied.
"So let me get this straight," Raven scowled. "He has to go through that every morning?"
"Well it probably won't be as bad since it's already in his system," Cyborg replied. Beast Boy sighed.
"Great," he muttered. Raven reached out, and put her hand on his in a comforting gesture. Beast Boy glanced up at her and his now blue eyes locked with her dark ones. For a while they sat there, staring into each other's eyes. Finally, Cyborg cleared his throat, bringing the Titan's back to reality. They both blushed furiously. The sound of the door opening thankfully brought the attention away from the two blushing Titans.
Starfire and Sarasim came into the room. Sarasim was loaded down with bags, and an overwhelmed expression on her dark face. She was dressed now in a pair of brown corduroy pants, and a tan tank-top. Starfire had changed into a purple jean skirt, knee-high purple boots, and a purple tank-top. Except for Cyborg, the Titans now looked relatively normal.
"Well, now that we're all here," Cyborg booted Robin off of the computer. "We can go about making our passports." The Titans gathered around the computer, and watched as Cyborg began to type. "Okay y'all, first things first I need everyone's names." There was an awkward silence. "Your real names." Cyborg clarified. When no one spoke, Cyborg gave an exasperated sigh. "Well don't everyone start talking at once." Still no one spoke. "Fine, I'll go first. My name's Victor Stone."
"Richard Grayson," Robin spoke at length. Cyborg typed this in.
"Raven Roth," Raven went next. Cyborg hesitated for a moment before typing this in.
"Garfield Mark Logan," Beast Boy stuck his hands in his pockets and stared down at the floor. Cyborg grinned, but said nothing, and typed this in.
"I am most distressed friend," Starfire wailed. "For my name is Starfire."
"What about your Tamaranean name?" Robin asked.
"It is Koriand'r," Starfire replied.
"Well," Cyborg pursed his lips. "How about we split your name into Kori Anders?"
"Glorious," Starfire gushed.
"I have the same problem as Starfire," Sarasim spoke up. "My name is Sarasim."
"Well then we'll split your name up into Sarah Simms," Cyborg suggested.
"Ok," Sarasim agreed.
"Ok, now I need your birth-dates," Cyborg stated. The Titans each gave theirs. Raven had to give Sarasim's since the new Titan was still only familiar with the time-frame of 3 000 BCE.
"Friend Robin," Starfire piped up. "You did not tell us that it was your 19th birthday after we returned from Tokyo."
"I didn't think it was important," the Boy Wonder replied with a shrug. "Besides, you didn't tell us it was your birthday either." Starfire blushed.
"I was unsure if speaking of the anniversary of your birth was normal," she glanced over at Raven as she said this.
"Dude," Beast Boy threw up his hands in exasperation. "What is with you people and not telling us it's your birthday?" This was a rhetorical question, and so no one answered. "I mean come on! Cy, you're 21 and you didn't tell me!" The robotic Titan shifted slightly.
"Well it means we wouldn't have been the 'Teen' Titans since before we went to Tokyo," he replied.
"So?" Beast Boy shrugged. Cyborg didn't have a response to this, and so kept quiet.
"Anyway," he cleared his throat at length. "We all need to have our pictures taken for our passports."
"But Cyborg," Sarasim spoke up. "The rest of us now look normal, but won't you be noticed?"
"Oh, right," Cyborg smacked himself in the head. Then he fished out two rings from one of his cybernetic arms. He slipped these onto his middle-fingers and pressed them together. Immediately, his prosthetics were replaced with normal dark skin. His holographic image also had him in a white muscle-shirt, and blue jeans. He regarded Sarasim sadly. "This is what I used to look like." He murmured. "Before…" Cyborg lowered his eyes. "Before the accident." Sarasim laid her hand gently on his arm.
"We are not so different," she assured him softly. The two dark-skinned Titans gazed at each other for a few moments. Robin cleared his throat.
"Pictures Cyborg?" he asked pointedly. Cyborg grinned sheepishly, and consented. Once this was finished, Cyborg finished things up on the computer, and handed out passports to each of the Titans.
"I've also switched our bank accounts to be under our real names as well," Cyborg explained. "This way Slade will have a harder time following us." Robin looked over at the clock.
"Okay Titans," he piped up. "Our flight leaves tomorrow at 7:00 a.m. This means that we should be up at 5:00 and at the airport by 6:00."
"What?" Beast Boy shrieked. "Get up at 5:00 in the morning?"
"Yes," Robin confirmed. "So we should all get a good night's sleep." Beast Boy groaned loudly.
"Where shall Sarasim sleep?" Starfire inquired.
"There's always Terra's old room," Raven suggested softly. Beast Boy cringed slightly at the blonde's name. Sarasim looked confused.
"I shall explain later," Starfire assured her.
"Night y'all," Cyborg yawned. The Titans all trooped out of the living room, and went their separate ways.
- Scene Break -
Raven awoke promptly at 5:00. For a few minutes, she could not bring herself to get out of bed. Finally, she forced her tired body into a sitting position, and looked groggily around her room. Yawning widely, the telekinetic Titan stumbled out of bed. She grabbed her suitcase, and shuffled sleepily out of her room, down the hallway, and into the Titan's living room. The room was dark, and empty. Raven yawned again, and began to make some tea. She figured that everyone would need the caffeine.
She turned at the sound of the doors opening and closing. To her surprise, it was not Robin who shuffled into the living room, but Beast Boy. His duffel bag was slung over his shoulder, and his bright-blue eyes were fatigued. Seeing him without his usual olive-green skin, deep-green eyes and hair was still strange, and Raven found that she was unable to tear her gaze away from him. Beast Boy looked up at her and smiled sleepily.
"Morning," he murmured. He came over to her, and leaned against one of the counters. "Why did Robin have to get the earliest flight?" He whined. Raven shrugged, and handed Beast Boy a steaming mug of tea. "Thanks." He smiled appreciatively.
"No problem," Raven smiled slightly. Beast Boy began to sip the tea absent-mindedly. Raven abruptly remembered Beast Boy's medication. "Beast Boy did you take your medication?" She asked. The young man groaned.
"I knew I was forgetting to do something," he muttered with a yawn. He knelt down and rummaged through his duffel bag. Finally he pulled out his bottle of pills. Taking one out, he put the bottle back in the bag, zipped it up, popped the pill into his mouth, and swallowed it. After a few moments, he gripped the counter, his slender body trembling slightly. Raven reached over, and put her hand on his. Eventually Beast Boy relaxed. Raven gave his hand a squeeze, and continued to make tea.
Eventually, the rest of the Titans joined them. Raven was secretly satisfied that Starfire didn't look her usual gorgeous self. The alien's green eyes were exhausted, and her movements were slow. Even Robin was not immune to the lack of sleep. The shoulders of the Boy Wonder were slumped, and he yawned continually.
"Remind me again why you had to get the earliest flight?" Cyborg asked irritably.
"We need to be in Paris as soon as possible," Robin replied. Cyborg shrugged, and the Titans trooped into the garage. They reached the airport at 5:30. Robin was on his R-cycle since the T-car only sat five. There had been a heated argument whether or not he was fit to drive being so fatigued, but Robin had pulled himself together and gotten to the airport without a problem. Once inside the terminal, Cyborg called the Titans East to come pick up the T-car and R-cycle.
"Don't know how long we'll be gone," he explained to Beast Boy after he had hung up. "And I don't want my baby to be stolen. Or the R-cycle." The robotic Titan seemed to add this as an after-thought. As the Titans lined up to go through security, Beast Boy had a terrible thought.
"Dude," he hissed to Cyborg. "Won't you set off the metal detectors?"
"Nope," Cyborg grinned. "My prosthetics are a type of metal that these detectors can't register." Sure enough, when the robotic Titan passed through the metal detector, no alarms went off. The Titans all inwardly heaved a sigh of relief. Within a few minutes, the Titans reached their destination. They had about half an hour before the plane would board. Starfire and Robin remained standing. Cyborg and Sarasim sat down and he began to teach her rock-paper-scissors.
Raven sat down, and pulled a book out of her suitcase, and began to read. Beast Boy sat down next to her, and stared out into space, an exhausted expression on his face. Gradually, Raven felt a weight on her shoulder. Glancing over, she noticed that Beast Boy's head was resting on her shoulder, and he was sound asleep. His mouth was open, and he was drooling slightly onto her sleeve. Raven made a face, but couldn't quite bring herself to wake him up.
"Attention, attention," the intercom woke him for her. "Flight 209, Jump City to Paris has been delayed. New departure time 8:00 a.m."
"What?" Beast Boy exclaimed. "You've got to be kidding me! I could've slept in an hour!" Raven rolled her eyes, and went back to her book. She had an odd feeling of foreboding, but shrugged it off.
- Scene Break -
Beast Boy and Raven wandered aimlessly through the terminals. Their flight had been delayed for another hour yet again. The two Titans had been sick of sitting, so they had decided to stretch their legs. Since it was now past noon, the two Titans decided to find some food. They were in no hurry to return to their terminal. Robin had looked on the verge of exploding when the intercom had announced yet another delay.
Beast Boy yawned widely, and quietly followed Raven. She had found somewhere that sold muffins, and they were currently in line. A few times, the sleepy Titan had walked too far forward, and stepped on Raven's heals. She hadn't been too thrilled with this, but hadn't said anything. Beast Boy figured that as soon as they were alone, she'd hurt him. He smiled faintly, and was barely aware of Raven ordering food for herself and the others until she shoved a muffin in his face.
"Here," she shook it in front of him. "Take it." Beast Boy gratefully took the muffin, and took a bite. It was lemon poppy-seed. He smiled at her.
"Thanks," he meant his words. Raven smiled in return, but said nothing.
"Attention, attention," the Titans glanced at each other. "Flight 209, Jump City to Paris has been delayed. New departure time 2:00 p.m." Both Raven and Beast Boy groaned at the news.
"What could be taking this long?" Raven wondered aloud. Beast Boy shrugged.
"Who knows," he replied. After a few moments of silence he added. "Oh well, it's not like they can delay it for much longer right?"
- Scene Break -
At 4:00 the Titans were finally on board the plane. There was no explanation as to why the plane had been delayed for nine hours. The flight-attendants, and the captain, all apologized profusely, and informed everyone that their tickets would be compensated for by the airport. Beast Boy sat between Raven and a blonde teenager. She had been staring at him since he sat down.
Robin was muttering to himself from his seat beside Starfire. Only occasional phrases such as 'delayed for nine hours' could be discerned. Starfire patted his hand in an attempt to calm him down. Sarasim was now an expert in rock-paper-scissors and had successfully beaten Cyborg ten times in a row. He was delighted by how quickly she adapted to everything. He knew that she must be feeling very overwhelmed, but she was handling it beautifully.
Robin was still muttering once the plane was in the air. He had calculated that since the flight was six hours long, the Titans would arrive in Paris at 10:00. This would not give them any time to visit the Louvre. He couldn't believe the inconvenience that this ridiculous delay had caused. Briefly, he wondered if Slade was behind the plane's delay, but he couldn't be certain that Slade even knew that they had been leaving for Paris. However, since no reason was given, the Boy Wonder continued to mutter quietly.
The blonde beside Beast Boy eventually spoke, "So you headed to Paris?" She asked. Beast Boy nodded. "So am I." She batted her brown eyes at him. Beast Boy wondered why she was flirting with him. He considered briefly that it was because he was a Titan. Then he remembered his appearance was different. "Get a load of the girl beside you." The blonde jerked her head in Raven's direction. The telekinetic Titan was watching the film that was showing, a blank expression on her grey face. Her dark eyes stared impassively out from underneath her hood. Beast Boy narrowed his eyes at the blonde.
"Excuse me," he scowled. "But she happens to be my friend." The blonde's brown eyes widened.
"Oh," she laughed nervously. "I didn't think that someone as handsome as you would be seen with a weirdo like her." Beast Boy's blue eyes flashed.
"Appearances can be deceiving," he growled. "Raven is one of the most beautiful people I've ever known." The blonde shrank under his statement, and Beast Boy snorted. He turned, and jumped when he found Raven staring at him. For a while, neither Titan spoke. Then Raven turned back to the film.
- Scene Break -
"Ugh," Cyborg groaned. "I'm so stiff!" He stretched his powerful limbs, and yawned.
"We need to find somewhere to spend the night," Robin stated. "Since our flight was so late."
"There's only one problem dude," Beast Boy piped up. "None of us speak French."
"Perhaps I may be of assistance," Starfire suggested. She glanced around, spotted a young man, strode over, and kissed him. Robin scowled. The alien princes pulled away and spoke to the young man in French. He gestured over his shoulder. She smiled, and the young man gazed at her with a love-struck expression on his face. "He says there is a Youth Hostel in which we may stay." Starfire informed the Titans. "It is this way."
The Titans trooped after the beautiful alien wearily. Robin was still scowling, his knuckles were white from gripping his suitcase so tightly. Soon the Titans were standing outside of a brick building. Upon entering, they were greeted by an elderly woman. Starfire quickly took control, while the Titans glanced around.
"She says that she has a room available," Starfire said at last.
"Great," Robin smiled. The woman said something, and Starfire grimaced.
"She says that there are only two beds in the room," the alien sighed.
"It's better than nothing," Robin replied. "Tell her that we'll take it." Starfire consented, and after paying the woman, the Titans were led into a small room. As the woman had stated, there were only two beds. The woman said something to Starfire.
"She says she will find some sleeping bags, and some extra pillows," the alien translated.
"Tell her 'thank-you,'" Robin said with a smile. Again, the alien princess consented, and the elderly woman set off. The Titans closed the door. They looked at each other, and then at the two beds.
"Al right y'all," Cyborg frowned. "How do we want to do this?"
"Well these beds can probably hold two each," Robin replied. "So that means two of us will have to sleep on the floor."
"Brilliant work Einstein," Raven muttered. "We totally didn't see that for ourselves." Robin glared at her.
"How do we then decide who sleeps on the floor?" Starfire enquired.
"We could draw straws," Beast Boy piped up.
"Garfield," Raven turned to him. "That is…" The Titan flinched, expecting a hurtful, sarcastic remark to escape the telekinetic Titan's grey lips. "Not a bad idea." Raven finished. Beast Boy turned and stared at her, his blue eyes wide with astonishment.
"What?" he asked.
"You heard me," Raven rolled her eyes. "I said that your idea was a good one." Beast Boy's mouth dropped open.
"Sweet!" he pumped his fist into the air. "Go Garfield, you're a genius! Go Garfield."
"Having a good idea hardly makes you a genius," Raven replied dryly. Beast Boy's shoulders slumped. Cyborg went over to the tiny window in the room, and opened it. A tree happened to be beside the window.
"Dude," Beast Boy grinned. "What are the chances?" No one said anything. Cyborg broke off six branches, and made them all the same length. Then he made two of the branches shorter. The cybernetic Titan placed all the branches, so that they looked the same length, in his hand.
"All right y'all," he announced. "Choose your weapon." One-by-one, the Titans chose a branch. Then they all compared the lengths. Beast Boy groaned, and turned to Raven.
"Well, it looks like we've got the floor," he grumbled. Raven nodded. At this moment, there was a knock on the door. Starfire answered it, said something in French to the woman, and closed the door. Turning around, she produced two sleeping bags, and two pillows. Raven and Beast Boy took these, put them on the floor, and crawled in. The four remaining Titans stood embarrassed on the floor for a few minutes. Finally Sarasim broke the silence.
"Victor," she turned to Cyborg, "We can share a bed." Cyborg's cheeks began to burn, and Beast Boy grinned widely. When Robin realized that this meant sharing a bed with Starfire, his face too flushed scarlet. Beast Boy began to laugh.
"Dude," he gasped between laughs. "I so wish that I had a camera!" Abruptly, the lights went out. "Hey!" Beast Boy shrieked into the blackness. "Who did that?"
"Wasn't me," Raven replied from beside him.
"The lights are probably on a timer," Robin explained. "Well, we might as well get some sleep. We have a lot to do tomorrow."
"Yes," Starfire gushed into the darkness. "Pleasant dreams everyone."
"And hope that Raven doesn't accidentally kill us during the night," Beast Boy grinned into the blackness that surrounded him.
"Well if I do, you'll be the first one to know," Raven replied dryly.
"Oh come on Raven," Beast Boy turned towards the sound of her voice. "You know you love me." As an answer, Raven reached over, and gave Beast Boy a gentle smack on the head. "Ow!" He exclaimed.
"Anyway," Cyborg interrupted. "Good night y'all."