11314/The Last Titan: A visit from mom.

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The Last Titan: A visit from mom.
Date of Scene: 24 May 2022
Location: Main Room - Titan's Tower
Synopsis: Caitlin and Diana bring Hippolyta to meet Troia, who clearly is not the woman that Donna is. She does however promise to do whatever is in her power to help the three of them, even if she does not believe that getting their version of Troia back is even a thing.
Cast of Characters: Donna Troy, Caitlin Fairchild, Hippolyta, Diana Prince




Donna Troy has posed:
    There might have been better circumstances for Hippolyta's first visit to Titans Tower. She had seen the tower in the distance before, the great tau-shaped construction visible as she had stood on the banks of the Delaware after leading the army of Themyscira through a portal to defeat the Warzoon ground forces. The political situation at the time had meant it was best for her to stay in the Themysciran encampment rather than travelling to see the places her daughters have been living. Things had changed now.

    It had been her second visit to the embassy -- her first being for the celebration in New York of Caitlin's acceptance into the Amazon ranks. This time it was just a brief stopover before the real purpose of her visit, to investigate what has happened to her younger daughter. Perhaps the Embassy and the domains of her older daughter has passed muster and the finger-across-the-mantelpiece test, but now it's time to inspect the place her younger daughter lives when she's in America. If an army of Roombas ensures the tower is relatively dust-free, there's no hiding the fact that Troia seems to have allowed her home to become dimensionally warped. So irresponsible.

    Eye-opening, though. As Caitlin leads Diana and Hippolyta through the tower everything seems fine and normal at first, but the closer they get to the heart of the tower, the weirder it seems. The route Caitlin leads them shouldn't make any sense -- they pass through the same passageway twice, but Caitlin insists this is actually necessary for where they want to go, and on the route they pass an open doorway that seems to lead to the same corridor they are in, so that they can watch themselves passing the door. Another route, thankfully one they don't need to take, seems to lead through a room that's upside-down.

    Yet Caitlin seems to know how to lead them through the labyrinth; whether a result of her careful mapping or that the magic warping this place seems to be less of a barrier if you're actively trying to find Troia. Before long they walk into what /should/ be the main room of Titans tower, but clearly is not. It's far too big to exist within the building they had entered for a start, and the windows look out onto a vista of stars that certainly shouldn't exist in Metropolis.

    Standing at the window, looking out at those stars, is Troia. Or /a/ Troia at least. She certainly looks the same, but for the gown made from a material that seems as filled with stars as the sky beyond, and the similar sprinkling of glowing stars in her hair.

    "Welcome to New Kronos," she says without turning around. "Queen Hippolyta, Diana of Themysicra. Caitlin warned me she was going to bring you here, though I was not entirely certain that would happen considering the mood she was in when we last spoke."

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin's face is set in a faint grimace from the moment they enter the Tower. Earlier it had been relief and hope, particularly upon greeting the Queen once she'd arrived at the Embassy. The ritual welcomes were both politely formal and full of sincere affection for the monarch.

Pleasantries aside, Hippolyta's real motives for the visit are entirely focused on what has happened to her daughter. The closer the group gets to the Tower, the more Caitlin's mood falls. By the time they enter the building and reach Troia's throne, her lips are pressed into a thin line of resignation. Troia's indifferent greeting provokes an exasperated eyeroll at her back, and it translates to a look of mute appeal to Diana and Hippolyta: 'help me'.

Hippolyta has posed:
Under different circumstances, Hippolyta would have derived some amusement and pride from stopping by her daughter's headquarters unannounced. Pride in what her team has achieved and in the extended family she has built for herself, and amusement at the secret knowledge of what indubitably must have gone down in the short notice of her arrival. While she has never had sons, her daughter has told her a lot about how adolescent and early twenty-something men can be. She may have secretly wished, under different circumstances, to open doors at random in apparent innocence, half expecting to see a pile of hastily-hidden items fall out and collapse at her feet. Perhaps, in another universe.

In this one, the Queen does make some complimentary observations about the tower, but her attention is clearly taken up by what they are about to encounter.

By what they eventually encounter.

She stands there, contemplating Troia at the full grasp of her powers and her heritage, and her breath halts, for a second.

And then, regaining her presence, the Queen steps forth. Catching Caitlin's glance, she nods slightly before speaking.

"I thank you for your welcome, Troia of New Kronos. My daughter has told me of your interaction- and I hope you can find it in you to see it with compassion. It can strike one to the very core, to lose kin, as you know, and one is not often at one's most stoic in those situations."

She takes a few steps closer, and then stops. "You must no doubt wonder what I am doing here. As my other daughter says, I am here to talk."

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana is dressed in her armor, though she's wearing a dark blue poncho-style garment over it that drapes down covering her down to her armored boots. Her lasso visibly hangs from her right hip beneath the edge of the fine soft fabric. She regards Troia once they arrive, then looks to Caitlin, and finally over to her mother. She shows a brief grimace before her eyes go back to Troia.

"We have brought the Queen to speak with you, Troia. We are eager to discuss more about... all of this." The Princess says to the fancy dress wearing woman across from them at the starry windows.

Donna Troy has posed:
    Troia turns from the window to regard her visitors, her expression inscrutable for a few moments before falling into a faint frown as her eyes go to Caitlin. She sighs softly and approaches, gesturing with a hand as she does so and summoning into existence four comfortable-looking chairs in a style quite familiar to Themyscirans, a small table, and a bottle of wine with four glasses.

    It's obvious where she intends people to sit -- one of the chairs faces the other three, and this is the chair she sits in herself. It's equally obvious that this arrangement implies a sense that she does not see herself as part of the same grouping. Whether in her mind this means she sees herself as granting them an audience, or they as accusers, or something else -- rather less clear.

    "Before this war truly started, it was agreed your people would not be part of it, Queen Hippolyta," Troia says. "Both sides saw the importance in your people coming out of this unharmed. I do not know the degree to which the Olympians explained this to you, but I will trust that you do not come here will ill-intent. I am not sure how much that applies to your daughter, as she is Athena's Champion as well as an Amazon, but we have already met and I do not believe she means me harm. For my own part, I do not wish harm on you or on those you serve. The war was a tragedy, and I have no intention of allowing it to continue, or seeking revenge. So here we are. To talk."

    She glances briefly in Caitlin's direction again, and turns to pour out glasses of the wine. "I will say this right now, as it may save us all some time and effort. I am not this other Troia. This Donna. I cannot explain what has happened, except that there is a warp in reality. I can make guesses, but I am too inexperienced in these matters to fully understand what I have been able to observe."

    "I attempted to explain to Caitlin that there is a possibility that the version of me you have memories of may never have existed. That this warping of reality may have created false memories in your minds of a potential version of myself. I do not know this to be true, but I know it is a possibility that fits what I have observed. I say this to try to prepare you for something that may be uncomfortable, but raising this possibility brings me no joy. Nevertheless, Caitlin does not forgive me for raising this possibility, and you may not either. So be it."

Hippolyta has posed:
Hippolyta takes her seat, moving with slow, deliberate movements.

"Caitlin is fierce in her devotion to her sister. It is no small virtue, even if at times it can be too intense, it is always something one finds delight in in one's daughters." Glancing at Troia, she offers her a soft smile, "I understand your concern, but you may rest assured, I am certain that there is no falsehood, but that the truth is more complex than one might imagine."

She speaks, after a few seconds of silence, "My daughters did not have an opportunity to tell you of your other self's history with us. Your birth, as you have yourself disclosed to my daughter's friends, carried with it the portent of war and ruin. In your own history, the Titans and Olympians chose a different path- in ours, an accord was made."

"Fair Aphrodite delivered the baby to us with her servants, a plausible deniability should the child ever ask, for she would be raised as my own daughter among the Amazons, that she may see Olympus not as an enemy but an ally-- and The Key Bearer herself was present at the delivery." She watches Troia. "And so was your mother."

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana observes the creation of the chairs, and the summoning of drinks. She moves to tentatively take a seat, before she reaches out for one of the glasses. She listens to Troia, then to her mother, before she offers a glance toward Cait.

Then, with a look between the other two, Diana speaks up, her eyes on Troia.

"You understand that no matter the result of what has happened, the Donna that we know, we ... love... very much. We will stop at nothing to figure out /what/ exactly happened. If it is something we cannot remedy, we will deal with it, even at the cost of our own sorrows."

Diana holds the glass of wine over her palm while she takes a breath, and shakes her head side to side once.

"The hows, the whys, that have lead to this... they have to be answered. Such questions will linger, and only grow in rot, causing far greater wounds in their wakes."

It's then that Diana raises the glass up to inspect it, before she tries a sip of the drink.

Donna Troy has posed:
    Troia gives the faintest of nods to Hippolyta. Her face twitches slightly at the mention of her mother, but she manages to retain a stoicism that Hippolyta might almost be proud of. "I have been told some of this already," she says. "The rest I was able to guess. I am well aware of the portent of which you speak, and the tragedy it has lead to." /Has/ lead to. There's no emphasis in her voice to that, but it's clear that she doesn't give much credence to the idea of an alternative reality where that tragedy did not occur.

    The sip of wine Diana tries is perhaps the best she has ever tasted. Light but complex, dry, and refreshing. More refreshing than any wine has a right to be. Connoisseurs will talk about how good wines have hints of this flavor and that, but this is a wine that has hints of peace and contentment, of glorious night skies with a full moon bathing one in its warm light, of a sense of home and of being loved. It's unquestionably a literally magical vintage. "I understand that all too well," Troia tells Diana. "And you have my sympathies. I will do what is in my power to aid you, even if that is no more than bringing you answers and the cold comfort of resolution."

    She takes her own glass, sitting back and glancing again at Caitlin. "Some of your friends resent me, because I am not this 'Donna' you wish I was. So be it. Nevertheless I will give you what aid I can. At least it gives my existence some purpose. I am the last of the Titans, and perhaps no worthy scion of the line -- I am not even certain if I am truly a Titan or just a demi-Titan. My people have been isolated for a very long time and since before the Age of Bronze we have done little to justify our existence in the universe. What little I can do in the time that remains to me to rectify that, I will do."

    She lowers her eyes, taking a sip of her wine. "The story you tell, Queen Hippolyta -- it is a good one. A better history than my own. But I fear it may be wishful thinking."

Hippolyta has posed:
"Although Troia was not my daughter by birth, I nonetheless consider her as much my daughter as she is of Phoebe's. My daughter has told me of a young woman who travels through multiple universes by..." and at this point, a slight amused expression appears on her face, "punching her way through their borders. In these universes, she finds many that are radically different, but also ones where there are very similar to ours. It is quite possible that at this moment, it is possible that we are not speaking of false memories, but of two different worlds side by side, interacting with each other. Surely that knowledge is open to you- our own philosophers in Themyscira postulated the existence of such things before they were experienced."

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana purses her lips and rubs them together after sampling the wine. A second later and she indulges in another sip while Troia, and Hippolyta speak to one another. With the Queen speaking bluntly about possible reasons for what is happening, Diana casts her eyes around the starry room, before looking to Troia again.

"This room itself, is not how this tower should look. It feels like a tear in reality has place this here, where it does not belong." She levels her gaze at Troia then, while resting the glass of really freaking great wine, on her palm again.

"I hate to make you feel unwanted, Troia, but you are just as incorrectly here as this room itself is. We have dealt with things similar to this before. We very recently, in fact, had all manner of dopplegangers, running amok on our world.. having come here, from a completely different reality. Though, I believe this is not related to that... it is /similar/ if nothing else."

Donna Troy has posed:
    Troia blinks a few times and looks away, her eyes going once more to the view through the window of the stars beyond that she had been staring at when they entered. "There's a lot you all don't understand about the situation," she says with a sigh. "I try to explain, but it is hard... I am not used to talking to people who don't... who aren't my own people. Who cannot see the things I see. I do not blame you for not understanding. There is so much I don't understand myself. But if you wish to understand this situation, it is important that you try to..."

    She sighs again, turning back from the window. "Diana, your words... that is exactly what I mean. I am not incorrectly here. This is New Kronos. This is where I am meant to be, more than anywhere else in the universe. This place is who I am, and I am this place. This is not a room in your tower. Rather there is an infolding of reality that causes an overlap of two distinct physical spaces. The best way I can describe it to you is that a connection has been made between the idea of this place and the idea of your 'Titans Tower.' The name alone... that these people would name themselves after my people, that they would create for themselves a demesne in imitation of the true demesne of the Titans, these kinds of things create a thinning of reality that makes such complications more likely. "

    "So you are right, this is not how your tower should look. It is how /New Kronos/ should look, and that is as it should be. Because right now, you are not at your tower. You are not on your Earth. You sit in a room in a building constructed by the Titans thousands of years ago, on the remains of a moon destroyed in a war fought by two ancient races, orbiting a world that in turn orbits a sun humanity calls Thuban, or Alpha Draconis. It is not I who am in the wrong place. It is you. Yet it is you who comes to my home, not the other way around. You confuse reality as it presents itself to you for reality as it actually is. You do not want this situation, so yes I am unwanted. But I accept that."

    "Nor is this a 'different world,' Queen Hippolyta. I am well aware of such possibilities. I would be able to tell. Each such cosmos differs from the others, and by so differing the substance of that universe... tastes different. You come from the same universe that I do. That much I am certain of."

Diana Prince has posed:
Another sip of wine is taken. Why not indulge while in another place within time and space...

When the glass is lowered again, the Princess sits up a little straighter upon the edge of the chair. Her eyes go to Troia, and she tilts her head ever so slightly.

"Even if we got our Troia back, the way that we know her... you would still be wanted, Troia." She tries to impart upon the young woman. "You, by just being you, means something to us." Diana adds as she looks over to her mother, before sweeping her stare back.

"We know what is within your heart, and we would wish to be here for you... Troia, in whatever form you are in. This..." Diana looks around the 'room' before putting her gaze back.

"This, as impressive as it is, is not where you should dwell. You deserve more than just some chamber in the stars... Perhaps I am naive to some of this. I am not a space traveling person... and my home is relatively small in the grand scheme of things. But I care for those who are close to me, and I still consider you to be that."

Hippolyta has posed:
"We will find what lies at the heart of this matter, Troia. Rest assured, however," the Queen says, "that I am certain that in some way, we both speak the truth, although the manner of it may be shielded to us. Like my own daughter, you have a shard of the truth within you. Surely that will speak to you in my words- even though you may easily believe that it is merely my desire for something to be true. But Olympus has suffered no decimation or war- indeed, Troia went through Tartarus a few months ago and met with Eris and the Key Bearer. There is not a trace of the war in this world. However, if you wish to have more knowledge, I could consult the Oracle. Surely the gods may impart some clarification for you."

She tilts her head, "Of course, there may be other ways to unearth some information," she glances at Caitlin, "But regardless of all of this, Troia..." her voice grows quiet.

"In the nature of things and in the ever-lasting flow of the worlds which wind and unwind, and in the hand of those that make and unmake fate and stories, at one point I was allotted the privilege of being as a mother to a you that is not exactly you." She takes a slow sip from the wine Troia has conjured. "But as you are one of the immesurable many Troias that may be, have been, or may as yet be, know that you are still as a daughter to me. Paltry though such a consolation may be, having lost your own mother."

Donna Troy has posed:
    For the first time since the conversation started, Troia's stoic mask slips for more than just the briefest moment. Diana's words cause her features to fall into a look of misery that it takes her several seconds of struggling to get back under control. There's a little more -- Diana also gets a flash of that occasional empathic sense of her sister's feelings she has been used to sensing since she first met young Troia on Themyscira. Interesting that she gets them with this alternative Troia too. Troia is deeply, deeply lonely.

    "You mean well Diana," Troia says when she gets her emotions back under control. "Thank you. But you're wrong. You don't know me. You feel sympathy towards me because I resemble someone you care about. Again, this is reality as you perceive it rather than reality as it truly is. The truth is that I do not mean anything to you for who I am, only for who I resemble."

    "Nor are you correct that I should dwell anywhere but here. Those you follow cannot harm me here. Where I to go anywhere else, they might try. I do not wish to be forced to fight them. And there is more than that. This is not simply a chamber in the stars. It is the place of my harmony. It will fade, in time. I alone am not sufficient to maintain it. But until it is gone... I am this place, and this place is me. The time of the Titans is over. I am a footnote to that time, and it would be wrong for me to pretend any different. "

    Her sadness does not hold up long in the face of Hippolyta's words though -- soon replaced by a look of confusion. "You are... mistaken," she replies eventually. "You speak the truth as you know it. Perhaps this is some aspect of the disruption of memory, I am not sure. But Olympus has indeed been decimated. Zeus is no more, Athena now is Queen there over a much depleted court. I can sense these things. I can /feel/ Olympus, right now, right here. Can't you? I understood you had the ear of Aphrodite and Athena. Ask them yourself."

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana's eyes rest upon her mohter now as she listens to the Queen talk. She then regards Troia, who gives that sad expression, which has Diana just pursing her lips again. But it's the words that Troia gives back to her that has Diana leaning forward once to rest the glass back on the table from which she first plucked it up.

"Perhaps you are right. Perhaps I am ignorant to all of this..." She says, letting her eyes wander again, before returning them.

"But one thing that I do know for certain... is that our Donna... would never belittle herself so much as to refer to herself as a 'footnote'." Diana says with a lingering steely stare.

"She also would never resign herself to giving up on what she could be, and instead, wallowing in sorrow, and self-loathing pity for what happened to the people that came before her. No. Our Donna is strong, powerful, confident, and beyond capable."

She lingers again for a second or so.

"Clearly you are not that woman."

Hippolyta has posed:
"Questions will be asked, be at ease." The Queen sets her cup down. Her intent is not to speak with the goddesses themselves, but someone much closer to home in Troia's case, as it may be. But that is neither here not there, but a long plane ride back.

One she doesn't quite feel up for. "I will remain here for several days. Mainly to encourage our sisters to finish the construction of the teleporter plate, which will make this endeavor a great deal easier," she glances at Diana- in the absence of Donna, she is being saddled with that administrative duty now. Mother needs a telly-port, dear. "I thank you for your hospitality, Troia, especially in such difficult circumstances. I shall come to visit you a few more times, if you find it agreeable. We needn't speak of this situation until we hear from the Oracle, but perhaps we may simply spend a few evenings in pleasant companionship."

She stands up an smiles slightly, "I do remember there is a Petteia board in my room at the Embassy I shall bring over."

Donna Troy has posed:
    "Caitlin said something very similar," Troia says quietly to Diana. She doesn't seem angered by Diana's words, but she shrinks back into herself, sipping her wine. "Yes, you are right. I am not that woman. I have been trying to tell you all this for some time. Yet, you cannot stop yourselves from being disappointed in me for not being someone I am not. From being angry at me for not being what I have never claimed to be. But if you think I belittle myself, then I suggest you consider this."

    She looks up from her wine, her expression once again impassive, her eyes passing from Caitlin to Hippolyta and finally settling on Diana. "I am the last Titan. What remains of the power of the Titans resides in me, and diminished though it is, it is still very potent. You... all of you... have been coming to /my/ home, blaming me for /your/ problems, being so terribly disappointed in me for not being this... this /ideal/ version of you me you wish I was. You keep challenging me here, in this my place of power. I could end all three of you with a snap of my fingers. Delete you from existence."

    "Yet I do not. I forgive you your insults because I sense the pain in you that provokes it. Instead, I offer you all the help I am capable of giving you, and I ask for nothing in return."

    "Your version of Troia -- perhaps she is indeed a better person than I. I don't question your judgement. Perhaps in this story of yours, a solution to the problem my birth caused was found that proved better for me, as well as for everyone else. Please remind yourself that I did not have the benefit of such a solution. But I am realistic."

    "And despite all that, despite your hostility, I will do what I can to help you. Because it is right."

    She nods her head to Diana, and then again to Hippolyta. "I can spare you that consultation. The Oracle passes through me too, Queen Hippolyta. You wish to know what the Oracle has to say, then these are those words you seek: Oneiros' walls are breached, by long-troubling dream. By crown. By scepter. By a lie told to stop a war. Two truths tangled into one. A tangle that shall remain unpicked until unhappiness is embraced."

    "Now you know. The Crown and Scepter -- they are devices that have power of reality. They are linked to the realm of dreams. This much I understand. My suspicion is that their presence in this realm, a realm they do not belong, has caused a partial manifestation of... " she glances at Diana again. "Of a dream version of myself. One that is... better, happier... more capable, than I." She turns back to Hippolyta. "Perhaps you can divine some meaning that has escaped me. If so, then I will listen to your ideas. I am not going anywhere."

    She sighs and looks away. "I would prefer that be another time though. This tires me. Please... leave me in peace for now."