11795/A Conspiracy Of Raven(s)

A Conspiracy Of Raven(s)
Date of Scene:	28 June 2022
Location:	Main Room - Titan's Tower
Synopsis:	Terry has the dumbest idea he has ever had. But it's still a better idea than kissing your Doppelganger- just ask Raven
Cast of Characters:	Terry O'Neil, Rachel Roth

---

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Sunset is coming and amber light spills through the windows of the Main Room. It is one of Terry's favorite moments since entering the tower for the first time, that moment where everything seems to slow down for a moment and glistens with sepia and gold before returning to the normalcy of modern illumination, chrome and glass. If he can help it, he seldom misses the sunset at the Tower.

He's the Cheshire, for the moment, as Gar was getting pretty overloaded in his impulse control. Plus, he said he needed to go somewhere and talk to someone- probably his agent, and he preferred to fly instead of Rabbit Holing. Terry suspect that it was also so he could discharge himself from all of the pent-up chaos and impulsiveness that came with housing the Cheshire Cat.

<<Rae, are you around?>> Came the message that he sent out, <<If you've got a minute to talk, I'm around in the MR>>

He's drinking a golden latte that Caitlin had put away in the fridge for anyone who wanted it, and trying to decide if he likes the mixture of milk, turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, coconut oil and honey, or whether he's trying to convince himself that he does. Jury's still out.

Rachel Roth has posed:
    Raven has been, for the most part, doing some conjuring. It would perhaps be a small surprise for others to find out that her clothing and makeup are all magically created, even though their magic is not dispellable afterwards- because she only uses the magic to conjure mundane things, the effect is over when it's made... But to make something permanent does take longer.

    It is only just by the time that Terry calls in over the communicator that she has finished, and when she arrives- appearing in the room behind Terry without a sound, as if she's some nightmarish serial killer in a horror film- she looks altogether different than she had before. Still clad in the cloak and hood, the cape itself now has some odd texture to it- a feathering of sorts, that will show more when flared out in flight, but right now, sheathing the whole of her person, appears almost akin to a pair of bluish-black wings, enclosing her body. The suit underneath now covers more, and all that dispels the illusion that her cape is in fact a cape is the slight gap at the front, and the red gem that holds it around her neck.

    "You rang?" she greets, in that monotonous voice of hers- perhaps a comforting thing that signifies that she is indeed back to normal. Normal, of course, being creepy and distant, but it's better than happy and unfiltered- and altogether not whole.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Those Cheshire ears can hear a /lot/. It's incredibly hard to sneak up on Terry, but any time that is needed, you can definitely bet your bottom dollar that Raven's going to be the one to do it*. That golden latte was in the middle of being imbibed when Raven speaks, and after a startled 'Urk!' and an /inhalation/, Vorpal coughs. Some of that latte might have come out of his nose- and considering there's turmeric and ginger... there's a chain-sneeze that happens right after. There's reaching for napkins, and then some breathing to get back to normal.

"Hi Rae!" he says, his voice up an octave from two as his vocal cords try to get back to normal after that.

He pauses and looks at the sorceress, and he raises his eyebrows, "Your cloak!" he says, looking at what details he can appreciate. Terry has changed his costume multiple times in his tenure with the Titans. At one point he and Supergirl had a contest going on. She probably won, though.

"I hope I didn't interrupt anything. I was thinking about some things and I wanted to run something by you and ask for your advice."

Rachel Roth has posed:
    Raven has the advantage of magic on her side, and teleportation- at least for her, within the tower- is entirely without noise. She just sort of... Seeps into a room. Like some sort of mold.

    There is no judgmental stare as she spooks the cat, instead she just watches him, unblinking, as he discombobulates from something that at this point, he should be expecting. Raven is that one person in the friend group that you just turn around and they're /there/ occasionally. Never announcing her presence unless asked. Speaking rarely. Sometimes just in your home whether you like it or not.

    That kind of thing.

    "You did not interrupt anything that could not wait. I assume that you are ready to have the wound removed. It is a very important matter, and we should not wait to do what needs to be done."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Yeah, it was about that. I have been thinking about how the Jabberwock found me so quickly down there in Wonderland. And how this flared," the feline traces the black outline of the wound across his bicep, "when I opened a Rabbit Hole. It was almost like it sent out a flare that screamed 'here I am, come and get me!'"

He sets his latte down and pivots on his seat to face Raven. "At the end of this... to really solve it, we're going to have to face the Jabberwock." The cat rests his arms on the back of his chair, looking up at Raven.

Rachel Roth has posed:
    Raven is quiet.

    Like a stone statue, made of marble- only as painted as they were in the days when they were new (Something that few understand.) She stares at Terry for a long, long time after his proposal. Those piercing eyes of hers do not seem to look /through/ him, but in her classic garb- with a few adjustments- as she is, it is hard for Raven not to look as she is intended: Regal. Imposing.

    It is this that bares down upon Terry now, even though Raven does not mean it. It's one of the reasons she wore a much more urban look for so very long.

    "Terry. I understand that you mean well, and that this is a plan that will work." There is of course an impending 'but' that Raven leaves out, though the pause at the end serves the purpose well enough. "This is one of the dumbest ideas I believe you have ever had.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"You know, it probably is," he admits. He adjusts the collar of his suit, it's hard not to feel like you're being graded by the world's most stern teacher from Miskatonic University when Raven wears her full Sorceress Power threads. But, admittedly, it was the first thing Kid Terry found cool about her look.

Trying to justify a risky plan to that imposing look, though, was definitely unnerving. "The question is whether it is just dumb enough that it's an acceptable calculated risk. We might find ourselves with the need to immediately lure Him to us to keep him from doing something terrible to something - or someone. It also wouldn't be the first time one of us has had to play bait for a plan," he adds with a little smile.

Rachel Roth has posed:
    It is easy to mistake Raven's neutral expression for one of stoic consternation. That isn't her intent- but it is what it is. Instead, she as she continues to ponder, to think over this... Idea, as stupid as it may be, she comes to several conclusions.

    "You are right."

    While this statement may, frankly, cause an immediate orgasm or fainting spell of some kind in Terry, Raven doesn't let it linger for very long.

    "We will have to be very, very coordinated. If this is the plan you have, you are the expert on this beast and on Wonderland as a whole, as much as there can /be/ such a thing as an expert about Wonderland."

    Raven's gaze moves to the floor for a moment- a more pensive, deeper set of thoughts occurring.

    "If you Rabbit Hole alone, that is what will draw it. Taking anyone with you will raise alarms. I can make something that will let us find you within Wonderland, and we will arrive simultaneously- so that it is taken by surprise. That is the /only/ way that we can make sure that you are not immediately killed in the attempt."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry nods, "Yes, it has to be very carefully planned. Without the mark," he touches the wound again, reflexivey, "The Jabberwock doesn't seem to find it as easy to predict where a Rabbit Hole is going to lead. That's how Gar was able to get away from him when he stole the Cheshire. So we might be able to lure him in, and then do a back-and-forth switching to keep it off its toes..." or claws, "white the rest of the team wails on it."

He rubs the back of his neck and looks thoughtful, "You know, it's a little freaky? Nobody should be able to copy the Cheshire like Gar did. There's ever only one... with my Doppelganger it was different, because we are the same host. But..." he shakes his head, "I still don't understand how he did it. Or, really, how his powers work." He comes out of his brief derailment to add, "Nor my powers, fully, I guess. But I want you to know that I've taken your advice to heart, I am attending the Justice League Dark's lessons on the basics of magic, and soon they might be able to find a mentor for me that matches my... well." He gestures to himself.

"But back to the main topic... yes. We'll plan carefully. And plan for deviations," Because plans very seldom ever survived intact- the Warzoon invasion showed just how completely off-the-tracks plans could get, so they had to prepare to improvise within established parameters, "but I want this to end. I don't know fully yet what's at the core of the Jabberwock, but Wonderland's been plagued with it for too long. And it's been plaguing /us/ for too long already. And the fact that it's gone this long is my father's fault."

The feline shrugs his broad shoulders and sighs, looking a little exasperated, "And he is not around to fix it, so it falls to me. I have to be better than my father. I need to be. So I want to make sure I help in any way I can to help us win this."

Rachel Roth has posed:
    Raven knows much of magic. If the title were in contention, there may be few candidates more capable for Sorcerer Supreme than she- though, really, that title is an odd thing, and isn't even known to pass to the most capable wielder of magic. In many cases, it seems more ceremonial than anything else.

    "I would wager," Raven begins, "That it is his connection to you. He can become more or less anything he's seen, and that plays a major part, but without the bond between the two of you, I think it would have failed. Your doppleganger was able to do it because he /was/ you. Beast Boy is able to do it because he /loves/ you."

    There is a moment where Raven lets that sit- even if her theory is incorrect, which may be likely or unlikely (considering if she's wrong, any shapeshifter could theoretically steal the Cheshire, she's relatively confident) it is still important to note.

    "You should only switch the host as a last resort. Any, and I mean any, disruption in the bond you share could cause it to fail. If we are all on target, as vigilant as we'll need to be, it should not be necessary."

    She imagines, in that moment, that she'll have to explain something of what she means: "To be clear, when the two of you switch the Cheshire, you're placing the other at risk. This can cause... You'll want to protect one another. It will be more and more difficult the more dangerous the Jabberwock is, and the more desperate it is- and it may not even work. If it comes to understand that there are only two hosts that it has to contend with, it may kill one of you anyways. We are safer with you, with your experience as the host, keeping it unless absolutely, unquestioningly necessary. To that end, I am going to have a... Meeting that will be hopefully fruitful. Perhaps I can secure some very powerful assistance."

    Terry will never know, but that Raven intends to speak to Fate himself is no small matter. Kent is benevolent, and may want to assist- but Nabu and Doctor Fate as a whole, they are servants of Order. To assist in Wonderland is no small ask... And to let Raven live after speaking to them directly?

    Always in question.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
The Cheshire listens in silence, his brow furrowing as he listens to Raven's theories.

Some in the Tower by now may have caught on, by how Gar has been acting while Cheshired, that being the Cheshire is not unlike having one's inhibitions blown open by the psychological equivalent of plastique. It requires a lot of /focus/ not to get distracted, not to want to create illusions, spin around, throw glitter, bask and glory in the brightness of the world like a ferret on cocaine. When Terry first became the Cheshire Cat, he was far more reckless, and his dumb-to-smart choice ratio has definitely shifted over the last two years. But it hasn't been easy- it's like building your body's resistance to a powerful undertow that might sweep you away. Even when your legs become powerful and you can withstand a great deal of it, there is always the danger that you'll get overconfident and you will slip and get swept away again.

Terry's built resistance by now. He can push away most intrusive thoughts and temptations. He's worked hard without really talking to many people about it- those lessons with Leonardo, the Zen meditations, all of that was part of it. But just because he's gotten better, it doesn't mean he's going to get overconfident. So he stares at Raven as she speaks the way a cat stares at a glowing red dot on the ground. Rapt.

Once she is done speaking, he nods slowly and stokes his chin, "... it makes sense. And you are right. I don't want to put him in any more risk than he has to be. I already almost lost him once..." his voice hitches for just a moment, and then he continues, "And I'm not going to put anyone at risk. I am done making the stupid choices and kissing Doppelgangers. As a figurative example."

"Sounds like your meeting might be very fruitful, I hope it is. When this is said and done, we'll need to return the Regalia to the Red King. It really won't be safe anywhere else but in his hands. But he's not safe until the Jabberwock is dealt with."

He exhales, and then, easing up on his concentration he smiles a little. "Thank you for listening to me. And for the advice..." beep. He glances at his comm, and then smiles a little more, "Well, you look at that. Ms. Evans is okay with Madison becoming a Titan. I guess my meeting her while being completely high on Ma'at's magic and giving her a flower of truth didn't completely scare her of..."

Rachel Roth has posed:
    The conversation doesn't quite go as far as Terry thinks it does, but that's just the risk one runs when talking with Batman and Raven. She allows him time to think- to understand what he'll be doing, and what she means. Against this kind of enemy, hesitation is the worst mistake one can make. All it would take is for Terry to linger on the thought of putting Gar in danger- or the opposite- and it's over.

    "I am available whenever you need." she says- and when he looks down to his phone, Raven simply disappears. She's gone for some few seconds before he glances back up to see where she isn't anymore.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
When his remark on Madison is greeted with silence, Terry looks up.

Yep. She's gone. That's what she does. Just like every Bat-person he's ever spoken to that likes to disappear when you're dangling a participle and looking away.

"Well..." he says, "At least she doesn't use those smoke bombs the bats use that stink up the place. Ugh. It's like they fill those bombs with Gotham smog."

He glances at his latte and decides he will drink the rest of it. Maybe. But first, he has to send some texts to greet the newest Titan.