Chapter Thirteen: The Maze
Raven took the lead in her group, taking the group aft and below. She realized her knowledge of the Titanic's layout was diminishing rapidly. The influence she had felt was now all but gone. She was able to find the way down to Scotland Road, a long corridor on 'E' deck. But once there, she was uncertain where to go and paused in her walk (it was nearly impossible to run, as the ship was already angled downward to the bow, and posed a trip hazard to the Titans). She stared down the corridor.
"Raven, what's wrong?" Robin asked her.
"I...I'm not sure where to go." she said.
Terra scoffed. "Great! We're lost!"
Raven glared at her. "Shut up! I can find a way."
Robin glared at the two girls, hoping they weren't about to fight.
"What can you do?" he asked.
Raven hovered and crossed her legs.
"I'll scout ahead. All I have to do is...Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!"
Her soul-self left her body in search of a path. She searched past dozens of doors before coming upon what seemed the right one. From there, she continued to see if it was the right direction. To her relief, it was! She quickly returned to her body.
"Okay, I think I found a quick way to the passengers!" she said.
"Then let's go, we haven't got much time!" Robin said.
They walked briskly down (or rather, up the corridor) to the proper door. Raven led them through, rehearsing in her mind how to convince the passengers to follow her.
Meanwhile, Cyborg, Beast Boy and Starfire were already well into their task of removing the doors. For Cyborg and Starfire, it was easy as they were naturally endowed with strength. But Beast Boy had to take some form of animal; he decided on a gorilla. He felt somewhat liberated now, having not used his animal powers in days. Plus, it relived some stress.
"Okay, next deck!" Cyborg said when they finished their task. He didn't bother to check the time. He led his team through the corridor, making for the staircase. Just before exiting, Beast Boy stopped.
"Wait a minute! Star, do you remember any wooden doors being in the ladies room?" he asked.
Starfire thought for a moment. "I believe there is. Why?"
The changeling was about to enter, but Cyborg stopped him. "I don't think so, you pervert! Star, check it out."
She did so, while Beast Boy muttered insults under his breath. Moments later, Starfire emerged with a number of doors under each arm. She dropped them on the deck.
"Should I do the same for the male restroom?" she asked.
"Now who's being a pervert?" Beast Boy asked Cyborg.
"No time, Star." he said, ignoring Beast Boy. "Let's go!"
They went to the staircase and descended to 'D' deck, and immediately began attacking the doors.
"This is going to be smooth sailing!" Cyborg commented when nearly half of the doors were removed.
He was about to rip another off when he spotted two figures approached.
"Hey there, what do you think you're doing?" one of them said.
Cyborg certainly wasn't in the mood for confrontation.
"Cheese it, it's the heat!" he yelled. It was a phrase he picked up from some old detective movies which he sometimes watched with Robin.
They ran across to the other side where they had already ripped off the doors. To Cyborg's relief, Beast Boy had already resumed human form. Looking back, he saw the two crewman giving chase.
"The staircase, get to the staircase!" he yelled.
They crashed through the door leading to it. "Down, go down!" he said.
They bolted down the stairs, turned left and made for the bow. At the end of the corridor, they could see no obvious exit.
"Now what?" Beast Boy asked.
"Stand aside!" Starfire said. She charged a starbolt and flung it at the wall.
She went to the hole and widened it, allowing her friend's passage.
"How was that?" she asked, proudly.
"Don't do that again." Cyborg said. "We don't need to mess this ship up more than it will be."
Starfire sighed in dismay.
"Um, Cy?" said Beast Boy. "Where are we?"
The half-robot looked around. "I'm sure there's a way out over here somewhere. Come on."
They began searching for any type of exit, but to no avail.
"Shit!" yelled Cyborg, who in frustration tore a hole in a bulkhead. To his surprise, there was a spiral staircase on the other side!
"This way!" he said, going down.
"Cyborg, I thought we did not wish to damage the ship more than it would be." said Starfire.
"I know." he replied. "We all make mistakes. I'll control my temper better."
They looked around, but saw no exits, so they continued further down the stairs, Beast Boy leading the way. He had gone down three or four steps when he froze in terror.
"Not this way!" he yelled.
From his vantage point, he saw water, rapidly rising!
"Oh shit!" Cyborg said. "Star, I have to break my promise again!"
He tore into the bulkhead behind them. The three Titans dashed through the hole as the water now crept up through the staircase. Another bulkhead was in the way, which Starfire dispatched immediately with several starbolts.
"Damn it!" Cyborg said. "We're going to end up causing more damage than the damn iceberg did!"
With the Tamaranean in the lead, the Titans fled from the rising water, unaware that it was already making its way in the deck above them.
Meanwhile, further aft, Raven continued their struggle through the ship, which now seemed more like a giant maze.
"Where in the hell are you taking us?" Terra asked.
They were heading up a flight of stairs, which confused the geomancer. 'First we go down, now we go up!' she thought.
"Don't worry Terra," Raven said. "I'm taking us in the right direction."
They eventually arrived in the Third Class General Room; essentially a big lounge for the poorer people of the Titanic's passengers. The room was considerable crowded, passengers occasionally bumping against one another.
"Well guys," Raven said. "Here we go."
The three Titans made their way through the crowded room to a table, which Raven stood on.
"Ahem!" she said, loudly. "May I have everyone's attention?"
At first, only a few people had noticed her, perplexed as to why a first class girl was in the room. Robin joined her.
"Everyone, please! May we have your attention?" His voice was commanding, and in a few seconds, everyone stared at them.
"Thank you!" he said. "Now, as some of you may know, the ship is in danger."
A murmur of discourse crept through the crowd.
"Quiet please!" Robin snapped. "My friend and I here are here to help you! We will lead you through the ship to a quick path to the lifeboats!"
The crowd stirred again. "Why are you willing to help us?" one man asked.
"And what will you do that the crew won't?" said another.
"The crew is under orders to keep you locked in!" Raven said. "But we're going to help you out! Our intentions are honest! We only want to help!"
The passengers discussed it. "Are you certain you can help us?" a woman asked.
"Yes!" Robin said. "All you have to do is trust us and follow! We will lead you to the boats!"
Terra joined them. "It's like this folks," she said. "If you want to live, then follow us! If you stay here, you will die!"
The discourse in the crowd grew louder. "Nice tact, Terra." Raven said. The geomancer shrugged.
"All right, we'll follow!" someone said.
Raven smiled. "Very good! Follow us!"
She made way for the staircase they had come to and began leading the passengers out. But when she came to the landing on 'D' deck, the gates were locked shut! A pair of crewman stood guard.
"What the hell is this?" Raven yelled.
"You'll all be told when to go up!" one of the crewman said.
"This is bullshit!" Terra yelled, and began banging on the gates.
"Get back! Get back you fools!" the crewman yelled.
"Push against the gate!" Raven yelled.
The crowd helped. Discreetly using her powers, Raven dislodged the gate from its hinges. The crewmen were now terrified and ran for their lives. Raven led the crowd of passengers down the stairs.
"Robin, Terra, make sure we don't have stragglers!" she said to them, taking the lead.
Nodding, the two Titans stood aside, guiding the passengers down the stairs. Over a hundred passengers had gone down the stairs before the two Titans followed.
"Looks like it's smooth sailing from here!" Terra said.
They went down the stairs to 'E' deck and made their way forward, eventually coming to another flight of stairs, which they took up to 'C' Deck. Then, they went forward again.
"What a maze!" Terra commented.
"Stop there!" said a voice as the two Titans were about to go through a door.
They turned to face no less than five crewmen!
"We heard of a group of escaped steerage passengers!" another had said. "If you don't mind, we'll put them back were they belong!"
The two Titans stood their ground. "You'll have to get through us!" Robin said.
The crewman laughed. "Sorry kiddies, but we have a job to do! We've no time for games!" They approached them.
"Go!" Robin yelled, charging at their assailants.
Surprised, the crewmen attacked ferociously. Terra managed to dodge their blows and landed a few of her own. One, however, tackled her from behind!
"I got you, dearie!" he hissed.
She hit him with the back of her head, causing him to let go. She then backhanded him in the groin, causing him to fall on the floor. She viscously attacked at the other crewmen, using flying kicks and well placed punches. Robin used similar styles, but with more finesse.
After a minute or so, the crewmen were incapacitated, moaning in pain. They simply limped away as fast as they could. The two Titans stood for a moment, catching their breath.
"How was I?" Terra asked.
"Nice." Robin replied. "But don't you think you fought a little dirty, hitting that guy in his area?"
She snickered, grinning at him. "I didn't really have a choice. Think you can help me perfect that move?"
Robin blushed. "Um, I don't think Starfire would like that. You can use Beast Boy all you want for practice, though."
Now she blushed and laughed. They proceeded through the door.
"Um, where's our group?" Terra asked.
"I have no idea." Robin replied. "They can't be far."
They continued to the bow, walking past the staircase Raven had taken earlier. As they walked, Robin noticed how much more the ship was down to the bow. It felt as if he was walking down a ramp. A chill went up his spine, as he began to wonder if they were running out of time.