Chapter Four: On Deck
Terra was certain that she was dead. So, it had come as a surprise to her when she heard Beast Boy's voice.
"Terra, wake up! Wake up girl, come on!"
Her eyes fluttered open. "Beast Boy?" she said. "We're alive?" He nodded.
"Either that, or the afterlife has a very, very strange sense of humor." Raven said, sarcastically.
Terra stood up and looked around. It was night, with a pitch black sky filled with stars. She stood on a wooden deck, and she noticed various white, metal structures across the deck. Four huge yellow and black funnels stood at equal distances from each other. To her right was a group of four, large, white boats, suspended on what appeared to be small cranes. A similar set of boats was to her left, perhaps a hundred feet away or so. Behind her, she noticed a railing that ran the perimeter of the deck. She also heard the sound of moving water. She looked over the side.
"We're not on Titans Tower, I take it." she said.
"No shit." Raven replied, still recovering from the pain of her trip.
"We're at sea, then?" Terra asked.
"That seems to be the case." said Robin. "Best I can figure, we're on a ship of some sort. What kind, I don't know."
Cyborg looked around. "I'm thinking we're on a luxury liner."
"What makes you think that?" Beast Boy asked.
"Look at the design of those windows." he replied, pointing them out. "That's a bit too fancy for any other type of ship. Nope, this had got to be a liner of some kind."
Cyborg looked around, trying to find more clues. He noticed something on one of the boats.
"Hold on a minute." he said, walking to it.
Robin, meanwhile, looked for other details. "First thing we have to do is figure out what ship this is. Then, we have to find out how to get back to the Tower."
His musings were interrupted by Cyborg. "Guys, over here! You've got to see this!" The Titans ran to him.
"What is it?" Starfire asked.
"Look!" he replied, pointing on the boat.
She looked and saw something written on it. She read it aloud; "S.S...T...I...T...A...N...I...C." She thought for a moment. "Titanic?"
It took a moment for the Titans to react. Then, Robin gasped. "The Titanic! We're on the Titanic!" They stood more a moment taking it in, except for Starfire.
"Um, Robin? What is this Titanic? What does it mean?"
He stared at her. "You never heard of it?" he asked. She shook her head.
"You never saw that movie?" Beast Boy asked. Again, Starfire shook her head.
"The Titanic was a ship." said Cyborg. "This ship if what we're seeing is true." "On its first trip to sea, it stuck an iceberg and sank. A lot of people died from this disaster."
Starfire gasped. "That is awful! We must do something!"
"Hold on a moment, Star." Raven said. "First thing we have to do is see if we're really on the Titanic."
Terra glared at her. "And just how do we do that?" she asked.
"First, let's find a spot not so much in the open."
They walked the deck to an area just forward of the superstructure of the fourth funnel.
"Now what?" the geomancer asked.
"Just be patient. I'll be a few minutes." She sat down, crossed her legs and uttered her chant slowly; "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" Her soul self left her body, unseen as it transited the ship.
Uncertain where to start, Raven decided to head down the funnel behind them. She followed it down to a room filled with machinery that hummed and hissed. She went forward past even greater machines that moved two large crankshafts on either side. Further still, she passed a series of large furnaces, were men shoveled coal into the fires. Past that was what appeared to be a cargo area. Several crates were there, as well as an old style car.
At last, she went above, to the forecastle deck. She turned to face toward the stern of the ship and made for the bridge. There, she saw several men gathered there. She decided to enter the mind of one of them, an important looking man dressed rather sharply in his uniform.
She did so, and felt numerous memories, most of them about his life at sea. She then focused on what she had finally sought. Convinced of her success, she left the mind of the man and returned to her body.
Meanwhile, on the bridge, the officer felt uneasy, as if some unknown force was in his mind. It was rather unnerving and for a time, he felt frightened. The sensation passed after a few seconds. Sweating, he walked toward the bridge wing for some air. One of his fellow, junior officers was concerned.
"Are you feeling well, Mr. Lightoller?" he asked.
"Fine, just fine." he replied, regaining his composure. "Just a bit under the weather, that's all. I'll be fine."
He returned to the bridge and didn't bother thinking of the strange event again.
As soon as Raven returned to her body, she stood up. She felt somewhat drained by the experience.
"Well?" Terra asked her.
"Did you find out anything?" Robin asked.
"Yes." Raven said, thickly. "It is about 10:45pm on April 12, 1912, and we are aboard the Royal Mail Ship Titanic." She smiled at Terra. "What do you think of that?" she said, smugly.
"Show off." Terra replied.
"That's pretty detailed stuff." Robin said.
Raven shrugged. "Got it from the guy whose mind I entered."
Terra gasped. "You went in someone's mind?"
"I've done it before."
"So? You just don't go in people's minds uninvited! You might..."
"Quiet, Terra." Robin told her. "It was necessary. What Raven found out can help us get through this event. In the meantime, we have to figure out how to get home."
"Something else we got to do before that." Raven said.
"What?" asked Beast Boy.
"We need to disguise ourselves to fit in with the time period."
"I got that covered." said Cyborg. From a compartment, he pulled out a large watch. He put it on his left wrist and flipped the top open, revealing a small keypad.
"Now, let's see here, early 20th century..." he muttered.
A faint humming was heard. Cyborg was then bathed in a faint, silver glow. When it subsided, he appeared fully human, as he did when he went undercover in the H.I.V.E. He was dressed in black long pants with black shoes. He had a white button down shirt with a black tie and a black jacket over that.
"Spiffy." Raven said. "Got more of those?"
"Nope. Only this one."
Raven sighed. "Well, I can handle everyone else. First, the boys."
He took aside Robin and Beast Boy. She muttered her usual chant, and enveloped the two boys in black energy. When that subsided, they now wore similar clothes to those of Cyborg.
"Wow, you look so handsome Beast Boy!" Terra said.
The changeling smiled at her.
"Now for us." Raven said, taking Terra and Starfire aside.
Again, she cast her spell. The two girls now wore white, long sleeve dresses, looking old fashioned enough for them to fit in the time frame. They also had on white, low heeled shoes.
"Oh yuck!" Terra said. "I hate this thing! It doesn't look good on me!"
Starfire admired herself. "I feel as if I am dressed for a marriage ceremony!" she said, apparently thrilled by Raven's choice of her new outfit.
"Glad I could help." she said in deadpan tone.
"Speak for yourself." Terra said. "Can't you come up with something...less elegant? Something more fashionable? More me?"
Raven sighed. "I don't do fashion. Deal with it."
Terra glared at her. "How do you explain yourself, then?" she said pointing.
Raven's dress was similar to Terra's and Starfire's, but was light blue in color with a black section that ran from her collar to her waist. She still had her cloak, which was a darker shade of blue than the dress itself. Her shoes were black in color, and low heeled.
"Look," Raven said. "I know what it is I like, so sue me, okay? Besides, we have more important things to do here aside from arguing about fashion." Terra scoffed at her.
"Okay, you two knock it off!" said Robin. "Now, we're going to need names to use while we're here. I don't think our usual names will work, especially yours Cyborg."
He nodded. "In that case, call me Victor Stone!" he said, smiling.
"Brilliant!" said Terra. "Our real names! Oh yeah, for me, that would be Tara Markov."
Beast Boy nodded. "Hard to tell the difference, Terra. Oh, um...jeez. Might as well go with Garfield Logan." He groaned in dismay, never having liked his real name.
"I think that's cute!" said Terra. "But if you want, how about Gar or Mr. Logan?"
His expression brightened. "That works! What do you think, Robin?"
"Fine with me." he replied. "In the meantime, get used to calling me Tim Drake, okay?"
Beast Boy nodded. "Least you have a cool name." he muttered.
Starfire stepped foreword. "What about me? I do not think my real name of Korind'r will be acceptable in this time."
Robin nodded. "Agreed. Now, let's see...ah ha!" He held her by the shoulders. "What do you say to Kori Anders?"
"Huh?"
"It's a derivation of your name. You know, Korind'r to Kori Anders? Makes sense?"
Starfire thought for a moment. "I think that is just fine." she said, smiling. "What about you, Raven?" she asked her.
Raven thought for a moment. "I don't know. I think my name is good as is."
"That may be true," Robin began, "But we can't take chances."
Raven sighed, thinking. Then, she snapped her fingers. "Okay, what do you think of this; Rachel Roth?"
The Titans stared at her. "Uh, good as any I'd think of." said Robin. "I say we're set now."
"Not yet." said Raven.
"What is it?" Robin asked her.
"Your mask. It's still on."
"Oh." Robin sighed and removed his mask, putting it in his pocket. "Weird not having it on." he muttered.
"I think you look handsome without it." Starfire said.
"Thanks." he replied. "Now, a few more things. No one uses their powers in view of the passengers. We don't need anyone freaking out, okay?"
They nodded, and then Raven smacked her head.
"I almost forgot something!" she said. "I have to change the appearance of Beast Boy, Starfire and myself!"
They stared at her. "Didn't you do that already?" asked the changeling.
"I changed your clothes. I'm talking about our skin. People will freak out seeing a green skinned shape shifter, an orange skinned alien, and a pale skin half demon walking around."
She took her fellow Titans aside and cast a spell. Beast Boy now had normal colored skin, similar to Robin's complexion. His hair was dark brown, and his ears were no longer pointed. Starfire had reddish brown hair and lightly tanned skin, similar to Terra's. Raven's skin was still light colored, but not the pale, ashen tone it once was. Her hair was black, and her gem was not visible.
"Good enough?" she asked. Her friends nodded. Robin cleared his throat.
"Another thing is to not mention the disaster to anyone." he said. "We don't need to add to panic, okay? And let's not forget what our assumed names to call each other are, okay?" The Titans nodded.
Raven then got their attention. "By the way, I sort of got some memories from that guy. I can guide us through most of the ship, so stick with me, okay?"
Robin patted her on the shoulder. "Lead the way, Raven." he said.
Terra scoffed, not liking this implied shift in authority. Despite Raven's kindness to her, she still felt a tinge of resentment to her. She only hoped that it wouldn't get in the way of whatever their mission would be on the ship.