10640/Destroying Tokyo, Titans style!

Destroying Tokyo, Titans style!
Date of Scene:	03 April 2022
Location:	Main Room - Titan's Tower
Synopsis:	The Titans and Maddie play Kings of Tokyo, mainly to distract Irie and Wally from an interminable argument over who's faster.
Cast of Characters:	Rachel Roth, Irie West, Donna Troy, Wally West, Madison Evans

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Rachel Roth has posed:
    A regular day at the tower involves, on average, seven different alarms, somewhere between two and three of which are typically 'drills' run any one of three different people who feel the Titans need more practice at either A: Responding to alarms in a swift and timely manner or B: Determining which alarm has been set off as a joke or the result of an experiment that tripped the tower's systems.

    Today, however, is not a regular day. There have been no alarms. Metropolis is not on fire, and for whatever reason, there have been no calls for groupwide training exercises. The tower is quiet, save for the internal whirrings and workings of the mechanical portions behind every wall and floor that allow it to house, well, the special people that it houses. Tonight, as is the same with every night, Raven comes down the stairs humming to herself, a soft, catchy tune that is not at all the kind of floaty thing that typically lodges itself in the ears, but regardless of this... It's Raven, and she's /humming/ to herself. People have had /nightmares/ about this happening.

    Without delay, she steps her way into the kitchen and pulls out a large, glass apparatus. This, she fills with water, and then ponders it for a moment, as if considering whether she's quite done it right. Then, she fills it some more, before setting it down onto the stove to heat. While that happens, she idly waits, her expression one of expectation: As if for some reason, she is certain that right now, others are soon to arrive in the commons.

Irie West has posed:
    There's something of a red and yellow streak that zooms in from upstairs, and then zooms out. It only pauses long enough for it to materialize into Irie who waves and gives a chipper, "Hi Raven!" before disappearing back upstairs. If one were to check the pantry, one would notice that it is suddenly missing one giant bag of cheesy poofs.

    That lasts for about a minute before she comes zooming back to the kitchen. "Okay!" she announces. "I'm done!" With what? Who knows. It's Irie. It's either homework or something geeky like that. Or trouble. You never know with these speedsters. She peers around Raven to look at the water set to boil. "Whatcha makin? Ramen?"

Donna Troy has posed:
    It's normally Donna who feels that the Titans need more practice at responding to alarms, though she's generally fairly good at not triggering off alarms by accident or experiment. As far as she's concerned, the Titans all need to practice all the time, especially herself. Practice makes perfect, and the Amazon drives for perfection.

    This is a policy which, to be fair, she mostly applies to herself - and a regular day at the tower involves, on average, Donna training for hours. Thus the fact that Donna is arriving in the main room after training is hardly a surprise to anyone. Indeed, while there may be supernatural reasons for Rae's certainty that others are soon to arrive, in the case of Donna's arrival it may simply be that Raven has a pretty good knowledge of Donna's habits.

    "Hey Rae!" Donna sings out as she exits the elevator shaft and makes her way across to the kitchen area to join the investigation of what Rae is up to. "Hey Irie!" she adds. She peers at Rae's glasswork, then shakes her head at Irie. "She's making coffee," Donna explains. "Rae is very particular about her coffee. Don't make noodles in her coffee making equipment." Donna for one is not scared of Raven humming, she rather approves -- but even Donna wouldn't boil noodles in Rae's coffee-making apparatus.

Wally West has posed:
Wally seems to materialize among the group. Well its seems like he did to everyone who can't see at super speed. "hey kids how goes it?" Wally doesnt know whats happing other than a pleasant gathering on a pleasant day.

Rachel Roth has posed:
    Normally, Raven would be somewhat precognitive in the real sense- somewhat intuitively able to tell, at least within the tower, when anyone intended to be in the common room. Sometimes, that meant that she wouldn't make coffee. Sometimes, it meant that she would. In the case of today, she just sort of expects it- having no reason to do so. No outside stimulus at all. Except for one. Raven knows Donna's schedule. One can make any assumptions about that that they want, and frankly, they're correct.

    All of them.

    Several months ago, Raven would have made a snide, perhaps even hurtful comment regarding what she was making, but... These past few months, Raven has been deeply understanding and altogether willing to explain the things she finds obvious. As Donna beats her to the punch, she just nods a couple of times. "She's right, you know." Raven adds, "But I did put enough water on for several cups, if you want one."

    Then, from nowhere/anywhere he wanted to, Wally arrives. "And you too."

    When Donna arrives in Raven's section of the kitchen, there is an inexorable pull, not of any sort of physical thing, but an emotional one, that causes Raven to make her way over and, with a push onto her tiptoes, she gives Troia a good, quick, peck on the cheek before making her way to lean back against the stove, awaiting the water to reach the temperature she wants it to.

Donna Troy has posed:
    Donna breaks into a wide grin at the peck on the cheek, but doesn't interrupt Raven's coffee brewing. Even when Raven's in a good mood, that's something you don't want to do. It is possible the main reason that Raven fights to keep Trigon out of the universe is the fear of what he'll do to the coffee-growing regions of the world.

    "I'd love a cup Rae, thanks," she tells the half-demon. Coffee may not be the best way to rehydrate after exercise, but that's what you keep bottles of water around for.

    She reaches a hand out to give Irie's hair an affectionate scruffing, then after a moment's thought grins wide and does the same to Wally. They do kind of have matching hair, after all. Therefore matching hair scruff. It's perfectly logical. "Hey you two speedsters! You guys been off somewhere breaking land speed records again? "

Madison Evans has posed:
    Madison is still tickled pink by the fact that she has access to the tower, and can seemingly pass security without any trouble as the elevator allows her up into the living areas - and it opens with a quiet 'ding' to announce her presence. "Okay!" she announces brightly. "Which game are we going to- ...play." The volume drops off dramatically as Madison finds herself faced with a few more people than she'd expected. "Oh. Hi. Umm- I brought board games," she announces, hefting the massive IKEA bag in her hand onto the nearest convenient surface. "Umm. Anyone else want to play with Irie and me?"

Wally West has posed:
"sure I'll take a cup" Wally says before smiling and chuckling at Donna's comment.

Wally looks at Madison and Irie "I'd love to play a game with you"

Rachel Roth has posed:
    Raven is dutiful in a way that seems almost... Domestic, a thing that signifies contentment, but also is so incredibly not... Raven, in this intrinsic way, that so far, it's done well to put almost everyone on edge. Frankly, 'almost' means 'Not Donna' in that statement. Regardless, as the others talk amongst themselves, Raven gets to work, turning and preparing the coffee with this long, seemingly complex pour-over process that requires a few pieces of specialed equipment that she seems overwhelmingly fond of. All hail the Chemex.

    She isn't gone from the conversation long before she's prepared a cup for herself, and a cup for Donna, the rest of the coffee up for grabs by any that are brave enough to pour it. She ground the beans fresh, and the coffee is good black- which is how she and apparently Donna both take it. The latter, of course, more at Raven's insistence.

    Despite that snobbery, Raven does not at all seem particularly at odds with anyone putting cream and sugar in their coffee: It's just that she doesn't, and won't. She doesn't even seem to be silently judging anyone anymore. What a time to be alive, and a Titan. Raven is positively /pleasant/ to be around.

    Holding her cup and offering Donna's to her, Raven takes a moment to pass some air over the coffee and let its temperature lower before she takes her first sip, at the same time offering a small shrug. "Sure, a board game sounds good. If we don't get /something/ going, Troia is going to start saying it's a good time for combat drills."

Donna Troy has posed:
    "What are you talking about Rae," Donna says as she takes her cup of coffee. "It's always time for combat drills. When is it not time for combat drills? There's no such thing. You're making it up. Imagining things. 'Not time for combat drills' is a thing that probably only exists in Wonderland. Are you sure those wards you put on the container we have the Crown and Scepter stored in are holding up properly? It seems to me like Wonderland must be leaking out again if you're starting to believe there's such a thing as 'not time for combat drills'. That's like believing in Snarks."

    Donna gives Rae a wink, and Maddie a big wave. "Hey Mads! Yeah we could play a game. So long as it's not Risk. The guys persuaded me to join a game of Risk once. I swore to all the gods I would never play that game again. It's full of stupid and irrational rules that seem designed only to stop innovative tactical thinking. And it takes /far/ too long." She grins wide to show she's not being that serious, but she's totally being serious.

    Donna considers Maddie, then considers the two Wests standing with them, and tilts her head to the side. "Uh. There's pizza in the fridge if you guys are hungry. Want me to heat some up for you?" Speedsters and teenagers. Food is surely required. Irie's cheesy poofs are sure to last about four seconds at most.

Irie West has posed:
    "Ooh! Coffee!" Giving Irie access to strong brewed coffee carte blanche might not have been a smart move. She goes and gets herself a mug and fixes herself a concoction that is too sweet for any living being save for maybe hummingbirds and bees. She takes a sip and grins. "Yeah. That's the stuff."

    Her dad gets a hug when he arrives. "Hey, dad!" She takes a step back and shakes her head at Donna. "Naw. In this point in time I'd be /way/ faster than Dad is." She grins at her father-to-be and nudges him with a shoulder, "I still love you, slowpoke."

    Maddie's appearance gets a squeal and a hug as well. "Which games did you bring? I /just/ got done with homework so we could hang out."

Madison Evans has posed:
    "I believe in Snarks, I believe in Snarks!" Madison declares brightly - beaming around the room, and then showing just a hint of disappointment when Terry doesn't make himself known.
    Aww. No cat.
    "Loads!" Comes the enthusiastic response to Irie's question. Madison turns slowly as she counts the number of players in the room. "Five players. That means we can't play The Hunger. Hrm... What about King of Tokyo?" she suggests. "Dibs on the Kraken!"

Wally West has posed:
Wally hugs is future daughter. and then gives her a bit of a look. Irie's insistance that she is faster raises his competetive hackles. "slowpoke? I'm a slowpoke am I? talk like that will get you grounded and your speed taken away." Wally is still the only speedster to know how to steal speed. "It'll be 30 years before you're faster than me young lady."

Rachel Roth has posed:
    Raven's expression sours- lovingly- as Donna goes on. "Stop- No- Don't- Stop-" she protested, yet Troia in her jest overrode her at every turn. "/You promised you would never mention the Snark incident again./" She finally remarks, taking a sip of her coffee and giving her lover a /look/ over the rim. "You will pay for this transgression." A threat that against anyone else, might just be overwhelmingly terrifying. Made to Donna, it's probably less so, but only those old enough and wise enough to understand their relationship would know why.

    Regardless, she turns away at the wink, and looks at everyone else. "She cut the game board in half." This, perhaps, may elicit protests from Donna regarding its truth. "There was terror far and wide. She wouldn't stop talking about the game for several /weeks./" A short pause, to let Donna continue to object, should she be doing so. "We fought off a paramilitary organization that had assembled a team to counter our powers specifically and Troia spent most of her time talking about how illogical Risk had been."

    Raven knew that giving the speedsters coffee was a bad move, but the trick of it is, they're not her problem. Like a grandparent that loads a small child up with sweets before sending them home, Raven has no problem giving Irie (and Wally, for that matter) heaps of caffeine and then turning them loose on Barry and the others. She also isn't one to shy away from stirring the pot, as while Maddie debates on what game to play- Raven has no input, of course- She manages another comment.

    "Give or take a few decades."

    Sip.

Donna Troy has posed:
Donna's arm lashes out to give Wally a totally fake and really perfectly gentle whap, designed to hit his hair rather than his head and just make it /look/ like she's giving him a whap. "Wally! You behave. If Irie wants to be the fastest speeder around, she can be," Donna annonces fiercely, the fierceness lasting all of 0.4 seconds before she breaks into a laugh.

    "You speedsters. You're /all/ crazy fast. Yet you can't help yourselves arguing about which one of you is fastest. It's not like it matters when the difference is generally down to fractions of a second. Mind you I still haven't forgiven Wally for taking my crown as fastest Titan when he first joined the team. " This time Wally gets a wink instead of a whap.

    Donna sets about clearing some space on the kitchen island for boards to be set up. "King of Tokyo?" she asks. "Never heard of it. But you wouldn't want to be a Kraken, they're smelly. I fought one, once. That thing needed deodorant bad."

    As she works on making space for the board and getting chairs set up, Donna finds a moment to stick her tongue out at Rae. There's no launching into passionate defenses of the /rightness/ of her cause when it comes to Risk, but she does have one comment: "Those guys were dumb. I mean we trained against each other all the time. They were hardly going to be as good at countering ourselves as we were."

Irie West has posed:
    Irie nods solemnly. "I haven't played Risk but I've heard stories. If you got mad at Risk, we're gonna have to keep you away from Monopoly. It's only, like, the worst game ever made. By design, too! I looked it up." She gives a satisfied nod. "I always wondered why Monopoly was such an awful game and it turns out it was originally meant to teach people how landlords are scum, or something. I forget the details. Anyway, it's bad because the point of it is that you're not supposed to be enjoying it."

    She puts her hands on her hips and protests as Wally threatens to take away the speed force, "Hey! You /tried/ that once and it didn't help! I kept.... you know... aging. Fast." Her mood turns momentarily dour before she perks up again, "And it'll be closer to twenty years because I ran so fast I /broke time itself/."

    She brightens up at the prospect of King of Tokyo, though. "Ooh! I get to be MechaGodzilla! Yeah!"

Wally West has posed:
"what? come on Donna, gotta make sure she knows dad is the best. Plus if i don't let her win it will mean more when she does beat me." Then Wally blushes and smiles at the wink and the comment about taking her spot as the fastest. "you know i was always just trying to impress you."

"Wally recognizes the game and quickly calls "I'll be the giga zaur I love me some godzilla!"

"We can always race for it when you think you feel like you can beat dad. but till then I'm still the fastest dad alive. we clear?"

Madison Evans has posed:
    "Well. Monopoly might be pretty awful - but the Doom that Came to Atlantic City is pretty funny," Madison counters. She looks around at the others as she explains, "You pretend to be monsters, destroying the town, and sacrificing cultists are you try to bring about the Apocalypse. It's pretty fun when it's a //game//." You know. As opposed to actual cultists - because apparently that's a thing sometimes.
    She ignores all the talk about speed, and aging (other than shooting her friend a brief glance to make sure she's alright) as she pulls out the game box, and sets up the board on the table. It's a small board, with room for two monster standees. She shuffles some cards, before flipping up three monster super power cards, and sets out a pile of dice. "Everyone has to pick their monster," she explains. "You get points for being in Tokyo and staying there. But you can't heal using dice when you're in Tokyo, so it's risky. You can also get points by rolling three matching numbers on the dice. First one to 20 points, or last man standing, wins the game," Madison explains brightly. "Easy peasy."

Rachel Roth has posed:
    Raven makes this sort of /face/ when Donna starts talking about That Team. Any more than a mere mention of it causes her a mild shudder. "I have never seen a less coordinated bundle of idiots in my life." she remarks, offering a roll of her eyes. "Thank god we only saw them a giant handful of other times, or else we would have been thoroughly sick of them."

    The discussion of speed only merits a few sips from Raven as she watches the back and forth, one brow raised. She cannot comment one way or the other, because truth be told, she can't measure which one is fast- on the best day, she would only have been able to measure which one truly /believed/ they were the fastest. The whole discussion is, indeed, out of her league.

    Instead, she looks to Maddie, and listens for a time to the explanation of the rules. "I will play whatever is left over- but I also do not mind merely observing." A pause. "Donna can get... Rather competitive."

Donna Troy has posed:
    "I'll take this... monkey," Donna says, examining one of the remaining pieces. "So it's basically a Kaiju battles game? We have to stomp all over the board trashing things? Sounds fun"

    She picks up another piece, handing it over to Rae. "No sitting out. You can be this alien guy. Look, you have Rae-gun." It may take people a few moments to get that terrible pun.

    Donna sips her coffee and stares at Raven in challenging fashion for a while. "Monopoly is a foolish game," she agrees with Irie, while still staring that challenging stare at Raven. "The scoring presupposes a particular outcome. There is no reward for allowing those in need the opportunity to settle your spare land, and that is clearly a more noble path than charging them as much money to do so as you can. Nobility should be rewarded in a game..."

    Her eyes flicker momentarily downwards before returning quickly to that challenging stare. "I mean I guess we are playing a game where being a terrible monster is the whole point. Perhaps the same is true of Monopoly."

    Donna relents and lowers her gaze. "Fine Rae. You win. I promise not to cut Maddie's game board in half."

Irie West has posed:
    "No matter how fast I go you'll /always/ be the fastest dad alive," Irie says, in a kind of over the top sappy manner. "Hallmark should make that card." She takes a sip of her coffee and shudders, sparking little jets of speed force. "Yeah, that's the stuff."

    "Any game where you get to pretend to be a giant monster stomping on buildings is pretty fun as long as you don't really think about it," she says. "Actually, /most/ games are pretty fun until you really think about them. Like... if they happened in the real world they'd be terrible." She looks at the board for King of Tokyo and her enthusiasm seems to wane a little bit. "I mean. Think about it. All those lives... all those buildings. Millions of people dead. More displaced. A major city reduced to rubble, and for what? Some sick /game/ that some teenagers have? Have they no sense of /shame?!?/" She suddenly snaps out of it. "It's a cool game though. Like Yatzee but better. Anyway, who wants to roll first?"

    

Madison Evans has posed:
    "...was breaking my board a possibility? I only get so much allowance money, you know! Even with all the science fair scholarships!" Yes. That was very much a topic of 'conversation' with her mother. 'I got $70,000 in scholarships already, the least you can do is up my allowance.' No. It hadn't worked.
    "Well. It's more about the monsters giving each other a smackdown than destroying the town but- that's the general idea."
    She takes a moment to stare Irie as she suddenly feels sympathy for the people in the board-game universe - eventually causing her to give her friend a firm nudge to try to shake her out of it. "It's just pretendy-times. Geeze. No even with amazing graphics. It only has //standees,//" she points out.
    "I'll go first, and then Irie can go, and then you'll all see how to play!" she offers. "You get to re-roll your dice three times until you're happy with what you get. You only need one claw to get into Tokyo right now - but it won't attack anyone yet. THAT'LL COME, though!" Rolling her dice - Madison ends up with two claws, three energy, and a number 2 - and she puts herself in Tokyo, before collecting her energy. "There we go! I get a point for entering Tokyo - and I get 2 more points if I can stay in until my turn! But now you guys get to try to beat me up and take my place. Easy! See?"