1027/Cat On A Hot Tin Roof

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Cat On A Hot Tin Roof
Date of Scene: 07 April 2020
Location: The Rooftops of Metropolis
Synopsis: Gar may not be the girl that chased the rabbit, drank the wine and ate the cake, but he is still in for an encounter with a voice from Wonderland.
Cast of Characters: Gar Logan, Terry O'Neil




Gar Logan has posed:
Somewhere apart from Titans Tower, a few blocks away from Terry's apartment, a green sparrow moves between buildings and over rooftops. Gar needed to think, and for this he actually had to peel himself away from the Tower now that the place wasn't so empty. Things were going on, changes coming, paths leading toward a reformation of the Titans. In his heart he wanted this, needed this, but was he ready for it? Was everyone?

Starfire seemed enthusiastic about it. Raven, so far, did not. Nightwing was doing his own thing, and there were others he wasn't sure of yet. Now, there were new people around. There was Kian, but was he Titans material or just someone in need of a hand, some support? Hawkeye seemed confident in herself, but there were a couple things he wasn't sure of about her so far. But, they'd only just begun to talk. Colette didn't seem like she wanted to be a part of the group aside from helping it get up and running, and Terry?

Now there was an enigma. A fan, who fast became a friend, who just as fast became someone he held certain thoughts toward and vice versa. That was not something he expected or was prepared to be dealing with, but it was a positive kind of thing. A relationship might be good for him, but he would have just assumed it'd be with some woman. Yet, it was pleasant so far, and that was nice, even if they were both awkward about it.

The sparrow touches down atop an AC unit, replaced shortly thereafter by Gar Logan. Rather, Beast Boy, for he's ventured out in costume tonight.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
And across the rooftops, there is another lone figure that has come out here for reasons of his own.

Terry O'Neil was just your average human, capable of many things for certain, but on the whole it was easy to overlook him in a crowd- he was handsome, but not particularly striking, and -let's face it- when gingers are noticed, there is usually a certain predisposition against them. This is something that dates all the way back to the ancient Greeks, believe it or not.

Tonight, though, Terry is not one of the crowd. Slipping into the feline body that is so new to him, he is exploring its new abilities with decided gusto. On the rooftop right across from Gar, the Beast Boy might see the self-same feline who rescued him sprinting across the rooftops, pure poetry in motion as Terry tries out his parkouring with the kind of reflexes that make it far more effortless than it had been before- and more than he ever thought it could be.

By way of outfit, Terry's outfitted himself with compression shorts and top, feet bound in athletic tape the way a martial artist would. The one drawback of this new body seemed to be that shoes were a problem, as his claws tended to tear at the material henever they unsheathed themselves instinctively. But he was certain he'd be able to find a solution for that. For now? It was all about exploration. The way he vaults, rolls and immediately is able to flow into a continued run makes him laugh out loud, a laugh which echoes in the night.
5r

Gar Logan has posed:
Beast Boy draws a foot up against the AC unit, wrapping his arms around that leg while the other one is left to dangle off the side. Is he making the right choice here? Sometimes thoughts confirm he is, but other times he still wonders. They're definitely going to need someone capable of leading, someone who can keep everyone on the same page. Funding is going to be important, but he truly believed in any money coming through honest, legit means. No theft, no shifty stuff, and he was adamant about not having any parts of the Tower essentially sold to the highest bidder to use. It was /their/ place, /their/ home!

Whatever was running through his head at the moment was interrupted moments later by motion caught out of the corner of an eye. He sprang up to stand atop the AC, looking in the direction of that movement. Someone leaping, climbing, hopping around, and doing so rather athletically. He saw...a tail? "Huh.." But who was it, and what was he doing up there?

The laughter sees him pause, head angling in that direction. "Someone sounds happy," he says to himself. Should he follow?

Terry O'Neil has posed:
He had amazing balance. In fact, it seemed almost preternaturally so- out of a lark he decided to run along the parapets, only to discover that his footing was sure, never feeling as if he could tumble down. This opened up a whole new world to him as, placing one foot in front of the other in a narrow line and quick succession, the landscape of the city opened up to him tenfold. His night vision also made sure that there were no surprises waiting for him in the darkness, nothing to lay in wait and-

He stops, and the suddenness of that stop almost sends him flying over the edge. It is lucky for him that his body seems to have certain behaviors consigned to muscle emory, so that he manages to compensate for the alteration of momentum and ends up crouched, peering across the void between his rooftop and the one across.

A red eyebrow raises. Then, the cat stands up to his full height, almost stretching to be seen, most likely catching Gar's eye.

Then, he drops down to a crouch, and apparently disappears behind an AC unit.

Gar Logan has posed:
Beast Boy makes like a meerkat without actually becoming one, rising up to a taller height after he's climbed to a spot that's twice as big as the AC unit. "Who is.." he begins, details a challenge to make out in the dark of night. Very feline, that much he's sure of, whether the person /is/ a humanoid cat or not.

Then, he's lost him. Out of sight, but not out of mind. The Titan decides to follow. He isn't as nimble as the one he spotted, not like this, but he could be with enough of a change. Instead, the green one in the purple and black more carefully crosses the distance to get over toward that rooftop.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
There is neither sight nor sign of the mysterious somnambular funambulist. Or, rather, no immediate sign that reveals itself at first glance. As Gar approaches and crosses onto the other rooftop, he finds it bereft of feline life, uncannily enough.

At least, that is until the air itself seams to /heave/ and a large hole tears itself into reality, out of which springs the sought-after feline with a graceful leap, to land several feet away from Garfield, on a higher level provided by a parapet. He lands gracefully, perfectly balanced in a crouch on the narrow ledge, and then extends himself into standing, legs apart and arms akimbo, confident grin shining in the night.

"Did you lose something?"

Gar Logan has posed:
Beast Boy arrives at the place in question, finding it vacated. Empty. Did the mysterious figure wander off somewhere else, out of sight, by the time he got there?

After turning a full circle, past a particular point, he can /feel/ something behind him. A flinch on instinct as he hops away from the place while turning toward it, dropping into a crouch, then he just..stops.

Stops, and stares. "It's you!" he realizes. "From last week!"

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"How nice," the cat says in his mellifluous, rumbling voice, "You remember!" He crouches again and sits on the edge of the parapet, one leg crossed over a dangling leg. "It's not every day that one gets recognized by a star of the big screen."

He is grinning like the cat who ate the canary. "I couldn't help noticing you seemed to be looking for me."

Gar Logan has posed:
Beast Boy's been in situations that have left him confused, but this is a new one for him. "So you know who I am, but I have no idea who you are," he replies, a faint sniff of some kind exiting his nose. "You ditched the cargo pants." That would immediately confirm the exact encounter in question, at least it should, and he further cements it by saying, "I got zapped bad, but then you showed up and did..stuff." He was already halfway out of it by then, so some of that is hazy.

"And I wasn't looking for you. I saw you, though. Going across the rooftops. Then I didn't see you so I wanted to make sure you didn't..fall or something." A reasonable concern, right?

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Your concern is touching," The cat says, and pushes off from the parapet, landing neatly on his feet, and saunters over to Beast Boy. "Of course I know who you are, Beast Boy, nee Garfield Mark Logan." The feline walks with absolute confidence, as if he owned the rooftop and everything on it. He starts walking circles around Gar, hands behind his back. "I had heard you were back in the game, and I could simply not wait to see you in action. You didn't disappoint." He tilts his head, "Of course, you were taken by surprise- it stands to reason, you were out of the game so long, you'd be bound to be a little rusty- no shame in that. But when I saw what that Raistlin cosplayer was going to do, well."

He stops, looking at Gar with a raised eyebrow and a crooked grin, "To adapt a phrase from a certain favorite movie- there is a shortage of perfect chests in this world. It would be a pity to let a mechanical spider damage yours with its piston legs." He steps over to Gar and stops about three steps away. "Today for you, tomorrow for me. You would've done the same for me if you had found me in danger, after all. That's what you do."

Gar Logan has posed:
Beast Boy's brows scrunch closer together at much of this, leaving him standing more upright again by the time the cat dude is approaching. "Yeah, that's definitely me," he says. "All the way down to the middle name." The way the guy is walking around him leads to a raising of a brow next, and something about it just feels exactly like a cat might handle things. "Oh, did you?" he asks, at a momentary loss for words as talk of the 'game' is shared, then him being rusty and out of practice even though he did rather well. Not good enough, however.

"I was.." he starts out, sounding defensive before he checks himself. "Yeah, that guy got the drop on me. I thought I was done for." His eyes flit toward his footwear, blinking without looking back up yet. "You're..right about one part. I would have."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"You don't need to feel ashamed, Beast Boy." The cat raises his eyebrows, tilting his head. "Only when you left go of who you are, do you become who you may be. Superman did not do everything perfectly and no man is truly an island. You depend on your teamies and they on you."

He resumes walking around Gar, one hand reaching over to trace a finger along his right shoulder, "Isn't it the villains who want to do everything by themselves that usually causes their downfall? They think themselves capable of doing everything. /We/ know we can't, which is why we rely on each other. No?"

Gar Logan has posed:
Beast Boy scuffs a toe against the rooftop, his gaze lifting as Superman is brought up. "You're..not wrong about that." It's a fact he's felt more natural, more himself, when he's part of something bigger. There's socialization, teamwork, all the stuff people need to feel like they can fit in.

He peers toward the left, then switches his focus to the right as the catboy's finger glides past that shoulder. "Well, the ones that put teams together are usually harder to deal with, when they're not fighting with each other for power." Pause. "Also, I didn't get your name."

Something about this guy has him curious. Very curious.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"That's because I didn't hand it out. You know, cat names are a commodity. They're purchased at a high cost."

"Or maybe I am just a new soul and don't have a name yet. What do you think?" The cat goes over to an AC unit, sitting down and putting up a foot onto the unit, one hand wrapping around that leg in an eerie mirror of Gar's inital position. "What name would /you/ give me, if you had to name me?"

He winks playfully and pats the space next to him on the unit. "I am curious. You strike me as someone with a good naming streak."

Gar Logan has posed:
"They are?" Gar finds himself feeling a little dumbfounded right about now. This guy seems to know a lot about him, which isn't that out of the ordinary given his time in the public eye. Another fan, apparently. But, he is a complete mystery to the once, current, and future Titan.

"And I do?" comes another question from Beast Boy, squinting at the feline atop the metal box. The position can't be all that lost on him, but he makes no mention of it. A couple steps closer, at least, and he's scratching at the back of his neck. "All right. How about we name you..Stinky."

He can't be serious.

Remember who he is.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Then again, appearances can be deceiving," the feline deadpans. He tilts his head and narrows his eyes. "In any case, if I told you who I was, you wouldn't believe me. It would probably blow your mind." He leans back on the AC unit, his grin becomes more subdued. "Of the two of us, though, only one of us is a cat. So why are you jumping through the rooftops at night like you were trying to edge in on my turf?"

Gar Logan has posed:
There is a wry grin from Beast Boy. No, he can't have expected the cat to like that name. "It was that or 'Purple Cat Dude,'" he retorts, trying to gain some sort of upper hand in the conversation in his own weird way. "You know I could be a cat if I wanted to, but why do you think I wouldn't believe you? I've never even seen you before and I don't know anything about you or your turf or anything like that."

By this point, he's climbed up onto the AC unit to crouch in place, more side by side than otherwise.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Oh, that's easy to answer. Tell me, Mister Beast Boy- what would you say if I told you that you were sitting right by the side of none other than /the/ Cheshire cat?"

Terry turns his head to look at Gar with half-lidded eyes. "The one and the same. You have heard of me, of course."

Gar Logan has posed:
Beast Boy squints, turning enough so he's mostly facing the kitty, his head tilting, eyes squinting. "Of course I have, but I'd say that's a little hard to believe. That's just a story," he explains. Isn't it?

There /were/ some odd things going on around the time the guy showed up to fight the mechaspider and the dude controlling them, but he was halfway to sleep by the time it really picked up.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry leans closer, until he's close enough to stare at Gar right in the eye. There is a certain intensity to his gaze. "Just a story. Like the Greek gods. Or the norse gods. Right? Just a story, like creatures of darkness that peer out from the shadows, and the glimmers of light that beckon from old forests."

His voice is low, and there is a slight rumble to it. "All the old stories have come true- you would deny me mine?" he asks, and reaches over to touch Gar's chin with a fingertip, claw sheathed.

"Shapeshifters used to be creatures of myth and legend, and yet here you are, magnificent in your uniqueness. We are creatures of story-time, Garfield Logan. More alike than you know."

He trails off, and tilts his head back a little, "Or do you not sense it?"

Gar Logan has posed:
There is growing wonder in the eyes and expression of one Gar Logan, the one called Beast Boy, who can become any creature he can think of. There's a lot he's seen and experienced, even at his relatively youthful age, but this is all new, all different. "I guess when you put it /that/ way..." he murmurs. There's been Superman. There's Wonder Woman. Asgardians roam the same places he does.

He scarcely even notices that touch at his chin, lifting it up slightly. The one he deemed 'Pretty Kitty' at the mechaspider scene, the one he said was 'handsome?' He's blinking at that one here and now. "I..don't really feel magic, unless Raven's, you know.." He clears his throat. "So you're really..?"

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"... more than just a chubby cat perched on a tree pestering a nosy girl?" The cat traces his finger down Gar's jawline, tilting his own head forward just a bit, half of it hidden in shadows. "I am who I am, Garfield Logan. And yet I am also not- and that is the mystery and paradox of myself, for there was one who came before me, and yet he is no more. Now I am him, but I am also myself, and thus the Cheshire cat perpetuates himself."

He smiles, eyes narrowed and nose slightly crinkled, "It sounds rather messy when you say it out loud, doesn't it? But the short answer is that if you ask me if I am the Cheshire cat, then yes. I am really the one."

"And you don't feel magical?" He tsk tsk tsks, and then he quips, "Maybe it's for someone else to feel?"

Gar Logan has posed:
"You have to admit, that was kind of a fat cat," Beast Boy remarks, and his eyes drift lower until settling on the hand, as much of it as he can see, eyes shifting back upward to find the feline's face closer. "But if that's really you, you got in better shape. I'm not gonna pretend I understand half of what you just said, though."

What's going on here? The empathy..he's picking up on something from this one, and it feels, well, good. Why? How? "Maybe I can feel it just a little." An attraction, something tugging at the back of his thoughts, pulling him an inch closer, then another.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
The feline smirks, and his hand goes up to touch Gar's nose, tip pressed against his nose-tip, keeping Gar from closing the distance. "Perhaps so," he says, rolling the 'r' like a purr, "But one thing is certain- magic will not be rushed, and it comes in due time." Suddenly, the cat stands up and walks away from Gar, turning when he's a few feet away, arms crossed over his chest. "Listen well, Garfield Logan: I have a purpose at hand, and that is that before too long I shall be a Titan."

He hadn't really thought of it, but the idea comes to him effortlessly, and it is expressed with the confidence of someone who is merely stating that which they believe is within their reach. "The second time we meet, Beast Boy, I will give you a name by which you can call me. The third time..."

He appears that he is about to say something, and then he stops himself. "But why ruin it by telling?"

Gar Logan has posed:
Beast Boy's progress closer is given a stay for the moment, eyes crossing at the contact with his nose. He still 'gets' magic very little if at all, just knowing it works. There are some out there who can do fascinating things with it. He is not one of them.

Gar almost topples over after the cat steps away, catching himself with both hands. Then he nearly falls a second time. "A Titan?!" he blurts. "But we're not really..I mean, we just started..oh, man." What's he trying to say? Clear the throat, cough into a hand. "I've just been trying to get some people back around and see if there's anything to salvage. You /want/ to be one?" He is, to say the least, very surprised.

He's also hopping back down from the AC unit, standing there in his old costume and looking the picture of confused. "Right, a name. And..hmmm?" His head tilts to the side once again, curious as the cat before him could often be.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"You've been trying to get people back around, and you are surprised someone /wants/ to be a Titan?" Terry sounds amused, and he walks back towards Gar with deliberate slowness. "Some might say you weren't expecting it to take off at all!"

"And yet, you want to be a Titan again. I can smell it. So does that little pale creature who follows you around. You know, the one with the big eyes." The Cheshire smirks, "The question is... why are you surprised? You have the look of someone about to get hopelessly lost in a forest, all doubt and nerves."

Hands behind his broad back, the Cheshire paces a little around Gar. This is the third time he's walked a circle around him. "Oh so silly Garfield Logan. The wolf is the master of the forest," He stops, speaking behind him, over his shoulder, his voice close to a pointed ear, "And you can be a wolf at will. You can have the heart of a lion with a wish." He steps closer, voice growing quieter, "Why, then, do you keep looking outside of you when you have everything you need inside you?"

Gar Logan has posed:
Beast Boy doesn't go as pale as Terry - it'd be pretty tough to - but there is a brief tingle of something that sends a shiver down his spine. What caused it?

"It's just..yeah, I want everyone to be happy again together, and I want that family back even if it's not all the same family as before, and it feels like it's going okay so far. I just don't want the rug to be pulled out from under all of us right when it seems like things are gonna be good again. Starfire came by again, though!"

Holding up his hands as if expecting an interruption, he quickly adds, "And if you want to be a Titan, I think that's great! I just don't really know much about you yet except apparently you're the Cheshire Cat and you're real and..and you know that little pale creature..I mean Terry..follows me around?" Just how much has this kitty been keeping tabs on things, anyway?

He moves to lean back against the AC unit after that cat has finished his circle again, squinting at the wordplay, the things he chooses to say and how. Forest, wolf, lion, be whatever he wants...it only leads to a question. "What do you mean?"

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"I know things about you, of course. The only reason I knew to intervene back there was because I have remained aware of you." Which is true, in its own way. "You will know more about me as time goes on. There is no need to rush- suffice to say that I now make this world my home-" Wonderland. The memories he had received were not complete, some of them were scattered, others incomplete, as if by some trauma. Or maybe the fate of his father had something to do with it? Occasionally he could glimpse hints of his father's fate, but most of it simply wasn't there- he could remember things about Wonderland vividly, and every day he remembered more and more about why he couldn't go back there even if he wanted to.

But, by contrast, what little he had of his father's memories became foggier and foggier every day. What little of them there was. "-and I have chosen who my companions will be. The rest is merely a matter of time."


He halts and scratches an ear. "What do I mean? I guess I mean many things. Shapeshifting can be a blessing, but it can also be problematic. So often can we change our shapes to suit what we need, that we start going into the habit of shifting into what suits what we /want/ instead. And so..." he gestures to the air, "Those who can lead but who fear the consequences of leading might make themselves into someone nobody would choose for a leader at first sight. But they're stilll subconsciously leading... people away from choosing them."

With a leap, the cat sits on the AC unit. "Then again, I have been known to spew nonsense unprovoked."

Gar Logan has posed:
Beast Boy begins to realize something as this conversation goes on: he's no less confused now than he was when it began. "Dude, I kinda get what you're saying on one hand, but on the other..I'm not really following all the way. Sorry, dude. At least I'm starting to believe you're really the Cheshire Cat, because I'm starting to feel kind of like Alice did."

He can be a deeper thinker, but that doesn't mean he is right now. There's a lot going on in that green head of his, a lot of weighty stuff, things that are both new to him and full of responsibilities he's never had to think too hard about before. It can build up. He admits, "My head's starting to hurt a little bit. I just want to be..me. Ever since what happened back then, I've been trying to figure out who that really is."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
And suddenly Terry laughs. He advances some more.

"Who"

"Are"

"You?"

After echoing the Caterpillar, he stops with his face just a few inches from Gar's, and he flashes that magnificent grin. "That's always the question, isn't it? That's the question the little girl had to answer-- and mind you, she was clever. Very, very clever. And quite contrary, which is why I liked her. But that was a question she had to answer several times, over and over. She couldn't grow, you see, until she had answered it."

He looks at Gar, and hmms. "I must admit I find the thought of you growing an interesting one."

Gar Logan has posed:
"If you come up with something for me to eat or drink right now, I'm leaving," Beast Boy warns, and the grinning cat /knows/ how much Gar enjoys a good meal. At least, he thinks, he got /that/ part with the growing reference. "But, dude, I'm just this guy who had something crazy happen to him a long time ago, and I'm trying to do the right thing. I want the Titans to be whole again and for everybody to be happy..as happy as they can be." He knows Raven is a longshot.

It can be a fine line between optimism and realism.

His eyes grow wider with that grin right in his face, and he impulsively puffs out a breath at the feline with no real mind for personal space. "So that's me, the guy who makes people laugh, who wants to be everyone's friend."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
The grin turns into a line with a smirk, and one raised eyebrow. Suddenly, he says something in a sing-song voice:

"But heavy is the crown that's always hidden
Tender is the heart you never see
Hard and fast shines the grin that we flash,
but there's a vulnerable stripe or two on me..."


He turns his back on Gar and starts walking away. When he reaches the edge of the rooftop, he stops and looks over his shoulder.

"I wasn't born yesterday, but more yesterdays ago than you think. In all this time, I know how to tell the difference between a smile and a shield."

Then he turns to face Gar, his heels at the very edge of the rooftop. "The problem with shields is that they are good at pushing things away. Sometimes worthwhile things." He spreads his arms to the side and smiles. "Will Garfield Logan put his shield down next time I see him? Who knows. Maybe he will learn..." his back starts arching back.

"To..." his legs follow through, so that for a second he is suspended over the void.

"Let go." And he vanishes from view, presumably plummeting down several floors onto the pavement below.

Except that, if Gar runs to look over, the street is completely deserted and there is no sign of the Cheshire cat.

Gar Logan has posed:
Somewhere inside, Gar knows this Cat is right. The smile has been a shield, the laughter a way to hide the hurt, to push away the pain. There are good things to focus on right now: people around the Tower, whether old friends returned or new ones to make and get to know. There is the understanding building that things /can/ be all right, that they /can/ move beyond Doomsday. Maybe they can honor Dove, honor Kole, make sure what happened wasn't in vain. There can be a future for the Titans, whatever they wind up as.

There's someone who likes him, who cares about him in a deeper way than others have, and he's felt similar things in return. Now there's this cat from the stories, a cryptic creature, and /he/ seems quite interested in the green teen as well. What is /that/ going to mean?

As all of this filters through his head, the little song is shared, the advice given, and by the time Beast Boy is more fully cognizant of the scene, the Cheshire Cat's head is dipping out of view. Wordlessly, but not without a gasp, he races to the edge of the roof and looks down, fearing the worst. Only, nothing. It's as if he simply vanished.

Which would, of course, completely fit within the range of what that cat would do. A slow shake of the head afterward, and he says to himself, "I must be going mad." He's also going straight back to the Tower to find something to distract himself with. Sharing this little encounter with anyone else? Not yet. No way. No how.