12326/The Cat's Cradle

The Cat's Cradle
Date of Scene:	06 August 2022
Location:	Main Room - Titan's Tower
Synopsis:	Tea Parties and accidental confessions
Cast of Characters:	Michael Hannigan, Terry O'Neil, Freddy Freeman, Madison Evans, Donna Troy

---

Michael Hannigan has posed:
It's not often that Mike finds himself at the tower. At least, not when things are peaceful. But today is a good exception. It's been a few days since the called together meeting to discuss Wonderland and the surprise brought about by Dream and the odd one that came with. With the aftermath of confusion, it seemed prudent that Mike come back another time.

That time is now. Dressed down in the Goodwill-esque attire he's accustomed to wearing when off the clock. Mike is seated at the sofa. The screen before the seat is flipped on to something, but his attention is elsewhere.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry's powers of illusion have, as of late, gained a mind of their own. It's part and parcel of coming back from Wonderland and being Wonderland. At this particular moment, Terry is surrounded by representations of chessboards and clockwork diagrams. In his mind, he sees the movements of Looking Glass Land, precise and mechanical and organizzed, as the counterpart of the curvy, organic and effervescent movements of Wonderland. The Knight advances on the chessboard, and on a little Wonderland diorama floating across from him, the Hatter pours tea. Every movement is corresponded somewhere, sometimes even tenuously. One would have to look very carefully to see a correspondence.

Terry is sitting at the other end of the couch, staring straight ahead, but not at the screen.

Then, he turns his head, and suddenly seems to be fully aware of Nick for the first time. "Oh... Nick! When did you get in?"

Michael Hannigan has posed:
Indeed. Mike's attention from the TV had been captured by the antics of the Cheshire seated near him. Upper torso twisted, Mike rests an arm upon the back of the seat. The added scenery is noted with a bit of a wry grin and he waits. When the greeting occurs, the musician chuckles. "Not that long ago, Terry." He answers, glancing to the Hatter and then back to the Catter. "How are you feeling today?"

Freddy Freeman has posed:
The elevator chimes that someone has arrived at the floor. The doors part to reveal a scrawny teenager wearing baggy, hand-me-down clothes, and supporting himself with a metal crutch that clasps at his left elbow. His T-shirt depicts Gollum squatting on a small island on an underground lake, clutching a certain ring in his hands.

When he walk, his crutch-supported gait makes a distinctive sound: step-thunk-step-thunk-step-thunk. Despite his somewhat haggard appearance, the kid has an honest-to-goodness happy smile on his face and his eyes glitter with enthusiasm and life. "Hey everyone!" he says happily to nobody in particular. "I was just comin' by to see if anyone wants to race me!" He hobbles slowly into the room.

Madison Evans has posed:
    Madison has been sitting still for too long - which leaves her feeling a strange combination of exhaustion, from the sheer levels of concentration she's been maintaining, and restlessness, from the imposed inaction.
    This has lead to her taking the stairs, bounding up them while simultaneously having a tired expression on her features. A tired expression that melts into an excited smile at the sight of Terry on the couch. She ignores the chess pieces to throw herself towards the Wonderlander, with an enthusiastic hug clearly the first thought on her mind. "Hey Terry! Mike! And, uhh... Crutch dude! Are you okay?" The last is meant for Freddy.
    "I was going to get a soda or something! And like - a sandwich, I think. Anyone want something?"

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"How do I feel today?" the Cheshire blinks, and a few cogs turn around him. He is seriously debating the question. "Why, in the same way that I experienced feelings yesterday: my senses saw something, my brain reacted and triggered my limbic system, which then triggered an associated physical reaction in my body." He glances back at Mike after that moment of introspection. "The question is strange, though- is the way that people experience emotions different depending on what day it is?"

He leans back on the couch and grabs a teacup from the Mad Hatter's party illusion, and glances at the Chessboard. "Uh oh... the Blackburne Shilling Gambit. That's no good." He reaches over with the illusory teacup and places it right in the path of the Red Knight, ruining the gambit, while also causing a minor upheaval in the Tea Party when a tiny rook came out of the tea kettle's spout.

He immediately becomes distracted as more people enter the room. "Freddy, Maddie!" He returns Madison's hug, "Maddie, this is Freddy, he's a new prospective- he's a Shazammer! Come in, Freddy, We were just about to have tea- will you join us?"

He reaches over and grabs some more teacups, but then realizes that they are illusory and, therefore, immaterial and thus can't hold any water. Or tea. "Well this just won't do. I am a very poor sort of host if I can only offer you unreal tea. The Queen would have my head, wouldn't she, Nick?" he glances over at the rock star. "But she can't have my head. It's already spoken for."

Michael Hannigan has posed:
Hearing the chime, the thrift-store clothes wearing rocker turns his head to look over to the second hand clothes wearing teen. Lifting up his right forearm to expose an old scar on the underside of it, he gives the newcomer a wave of greeting. "Hey." Mike greets in turn, "I'd take you up on that challenge but I've already lost one race this week and don't need to make it two."

Dazzler is such a cheaterface.

And then the bubbly tones of an Evans reaches his ears. "Hey Mads. I'm good as far as that stuff's concerned." Mike greets, glancing back to Terry as he speaks. "I mean, are you feeling more rested than you were a few days ago? Feeling more at home? Happy to be back with friends. Those types of feelings. Also the Queen wouldn't have your head because she got replaced by Harley, who then placed another in charge. But the current queen might give you a sternly worded letter."

Mike sits up, observing Terry's expressions, "Would you like drinkable tea? I'm sure we could scrounge some up from the kitchen area."

Freddy Freeman has posed:
Moving with obvious effort into the room, a broader smile blooms over Freddy's face as he points to Madison. "Oh sick, Crutch Dude! I love that. I'm stealin' it to put on a shirt or a hat or somethin'." His eyes glitter warmly. "Hey, Terry! You're looking better. And yeah I'd love some tea."

Taking a bit of a load off his bum leg, Freddy sits down a chair. "Nice t'meet ya, Maddie," he says genuinely. He just has this absolute heart-on-his-sleeve, surface-emotions way of talking to people. He wasn't formally introduced to Michael, but Terry called him Nick, so Freddy says, "Nice t'meet you, Nick. I'm Freddy Freeman, Mary Bromfield's brother." Mary refers to him as her 'little brother' but he leaves that part out.

Madison Evans has posed:
    "Oh, hi Freddy!" Madison answers brightly. "It's Madison - or Maddie, or Mads. I mean, I'm not very particular," she explains with a broad smile. After hugging the stuffing out of the cat, she bounces back to her feet, heading towards the kitchen area. "I'll put on tea!" she agrees easily. "And- ooo! I can make little tea sandwiches! We should have bread, and cucumbers, and cream cheese and- isn't there dill in the little herb garden thing?" she asks - talking about a mile a minute.
    She starts making herself busy - putting water in the kettle, and digging out the tea supplies, and plunking a loaf of bread on the counter. White bread - not the whole wheat multi grain stuff her mom always buys - no. These are //tea// sandwiches.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"I am very happy to be back. I missed everybody a lot. I missed my guys." He peers and looks around, "I seem to have misplaced them, but I'm sure someone will put them back in the lost and found..." he glances over at Madison. "Maddie, I thought I gave you a lightsaber, where did it go? Did you lose it? That's an awful big thing to lose!" some memories are still hazy in this condition, okay?

"Freddy, this is my good friend, Nick Drago. He's a rock star. But sometimes he's also a dragon. And in one point, a rapping raven." Yep, Terry has no filters on right now. The two boards join and there is a disagreement between the chess pieces and the Wonderlanders about proper seating arrangements at the table.

"They all went to Wonderland and did many things. I seem to have trouble recalling just what they did. Maddie, do you remember?"

Michael Hannigan has posed:
The performer gives a chuckle. "Yep. That's me. Living the dreams. Although I suspect Wonderland helped with the dragon one by playing off part of my name." Mike nods to Freddy. "Nice to meet you Freddy. I don't know who Mary is. But if she ever introduces herself to me I'll go 'OH! You must be Freddy's sister."

As Maddie darts over to the kitchen area, the musician opts to get up to help. And possibly freeing up the seat for anyone who might want to sit. Walking behind the sofa, he pauses when he reaches Terry's side. Bending down, he wraps his arms around the Titan's shoulders. "I missed you too."

The hug lingers for a few moments before the performer straightens up, glancing to the others in the room and heading over to the kitchen area. "So...which cabinet contains the mugs?"

Freddy Freeman has posed:
Not gonna lie, there is a very slight deflation of Freddy when Nick announces that he doesn't know how Mary is. It's obvious that family is extremely important to the kid, and he looks up to his older sister vigorously. But Freddy is Freddy, and he immediately beams again. "Tell her you heard she was Freddy's kid sister!" he blurts out happily.

While Maddie and Nick do their thing in the kitchen, Freddy looks over to Terry. "So what's going on with the chessboard and stuff?" he inquires with genuinely, inquisitive curiosity. "Is that magic and stuff?"

Madison Evans has posed:
    "Oh! You did, Terry - and it was great! But it was made of Wonderland stuff so when I came home..." Madison makes a gesture with both hands, gathering her fingers together, and then opening them up as she gestures ourwards with her hands. "Poof. BUT! Vic and Caitlin have been working together! And I'm using the Force to fine tune the crystaline focusing lens - and I should have a real lightsaber soon made of real Earth stuff! That's what I've been working on!"
    She points Mike towards the cupboard with the mugs, before opening the fridge, fishing around for cream cheese and cucumbers. "I do remember all the stuff in Wonderland - if you have any questions, Terry, I can tell you about it. I'm sure you'll remember it all soon, though!"

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Oh--" Terry blinks and looks at the chessboard, apparently noticing for the first time that they shouldn't be there, that it's not normal. "Just... I guess I'm just half way in Wonderland in my mind. It's ok... the episodes... happen less frequently now." He waves a hand and tries to dismiss the images, but they stay there. He tries again, and they remain. He shakes his head and chuckles.

"My mind sort of tries to go back to dreaming up Wonderland, but I am no longer there, and it no longer needs my dreams. But I was at it for... two weeks? A month? Two months? Time's hard. So my mind is just kinda weaning itself of it. Getting it out of my system..."

He glances back at Madison and grins, "I'll definitely ask you if I can't remember. But I think I will, once this episode is over. At least I know I'm in an episode right now, so that's progress..."

Michael Hannigan has posed:
Hearing the request from Freddy, Nick's smile widens, "You got it, Freddy."

Glancing back to Maddie, he looks to the extended finger and then to the direction it points. Stepping over, he opens the door and starts fishing around for four mugs. In a bit of whimsy, he makes sure to pull out mismatching ones.

"A month." Mike supplies as Terry ponders over the time he's been trapped dreaming for Wonderland. A mug sets down on the nearby countertop with a slight thunk. "You were gone for a month." Thunk. Thunk.

Freddy Freeman has posed:
With a small bit of effort, Freddy uses his crutch to rise from his sitting position. He walk-thunk-walk-thunk-walk-thunks slowly into the kitchen, his smile never fading. "Anything I can do t'help, you guys?" he asks with genuine interest and glittering eyes. "For example, I can carry small loads and take forever to ferry stuff back and forth between the kitchen and the living room. Or I can take something much larger and drop it halfway! I have a lot of skills." He blurts out a little chuckle, apparently very adept at making fun of himself. I mean, despite the physical disability he seems like a really happy, fulfilled kid.

Madison Evans has posed:
    "Don't worry, Terry! We got you!" Madison says brightly, as she plucks dill from the little herb garden and starts finely chopping it. Then she starts whisking the cream cheese up with a little hand held mixer - along with a touch of yogurt and milk to loosen it up. She hums cheerfully to herself as she works.
    "Do you want to start laying out the slices of bread?" she asks. "Does everyone like cream cheese with cucumber? I could make four sandwiches or- hrm. I could make two with the cucumber cream cheese, and two with tomato, basil, and mozzarella?" she muses thoughtfully. She really does like cooking - and she does it a lot with her mom.
    "Or- ooo! I saw watermelon radishes! I could make radish herb butter sandwiches!"

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Tea sandwiches are a lost art," Terry comments, a propos of nothing, but it makes sense in the non-sequitur conga that is his mind right now. "There actually was a commission started by the White King once to find out the perfect proportions of the ideal tea sandwich, but they were so contradictory that it all ended in a jam, and then they went into the business of making preserves and the question was never answered."

He blinks, and starts getting up from the couch to head towards the kitchen, "I'd offer to help, but I don't trust myself just yet. It's funny, yesterday I was perfectly functional."

He bumps into a stool, and decides that's where he's going to sit. "Mostly functional. Ask Lois."

Michael Hannigan has posed:
Mike glances over to Freddy, "I think Maddie's got most of the big stuff, "I'm just wrangling empty mugs. But it looks like Terry's got a heck of a game of chess going on. Maybe you can help him with his next move?"

Because EVERYONE loves a side seat gamer.

But then Madison has a suggestion. The last mug is set down. "Or yes. You could do the bread thing." And considering the space in the kitchen area, he steps out for Freddy to take his place. He spins on his feet, back stepping a few paces as he looks to Madison. "I'm partial to the tomato. Maybe one of each?" He suggests, "Cut them into four pieces and people can mix and match?"

He doesn't do tea parties, but Mike's sure the sandwiches involved with them tend to be teeny.

Mike spins back around, adjusting his path to secure one of the stools next to Terry. "Sometimes, things are not straight forward. One day, you take a few steps forward, the next day it's like a step back. Then you're going forward again. You kind of have to look at the overall picture to get an idea of the progress."

Freddy Freeman has posed:
"Okay!" Freddy exclaims with absolute enthusiasm. He gives Nick a playful elbow poke as he shuffles in awkwardly to take his spot. After washing his hands with warm, soapy water and drying them he sets to work. With the tip of his tongue sticking slightly out past his lips, Freddy starts to fuss with the pieces of bread, trying to line them up with perfect precision, like he was some sort of bread engineer.

When he gets the requisite number lined up, he takes whatever the next item is from Maddie and starts to lay those out on the bread.

"Hey, this is an improvement, in my opinion! Yesterday he was pushing himself around on a metal cart with a mop, and couldn't even pick up a glass of water!"

Madison Evans has posed:
    "I already told you, Terry - we've got you. It's alright if it takes you a little while to find your feet - this is what friends are //for,//" the teen points out staunchily. After flashing Terry a broad smile, Madison starts to direct Freddy. "Why don't you spread the cream cheese on two slices?" she suggests. "We'll make two cucumber sandwiches, one tomato sandwich, and a radish sandwich. The radish sandwiches are //way// better than you think - you really should try a piece if you've never had one." After quickly cutting thin slices of cucumbers, the teen starts pulling the other things she needs out of the fridge.
    Thankfully, the tomatoes aren't in the fridge. //Someone// knows better than to put them in there.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Was that yesterday?" Terry asks, a little confused, "I could've sworn that was Monday. Or was Monday yesterday?" He pulls out his phone and looks at it. "Huh. Okay, that's a thing I remember now, the order of the week." He chuckles, blinking a few times. The chessboard begins to vanish, slowly.

"Okay, I'm starting to feel a little bit better. Looks like it's starting to go away. Whew... that one was shorter than yesterday's at least." He exhales and closes his eyes for a moment, letting the sensation wash away from him.

His nose wriggles. "Huh... that smells... good. I'm starting to get a little hungry."

Donna Troy has posed:
    "Has anyone given him coffee?" The voice is Donna's who steps out of the elevator shaft -- the open, empty shaft, not the one which has an actual elevator in that's next to it. "Don't let Terry drink tea when he's like this, it only encourages him.

    Donna has been training. Those who know her better can figure this out by the fact that she's Donna and hasn't been out of the tower on some mission, or embassy work, and therefore has inevitably been training. The rest can figure this out fairly easily by the fact that she has damp hair and a towel around her shoulders, indicating that she's fresh out of the shower -- and she has her sword at her side, which she probably wouldn't do if she had just been randomly getting clean.

    She heads over to the fridge to pull out a bottle of Caitlin's patented Snacky Shake (tm), the Titans' standard post-action calorie boost. Delicious, /and/ almost disgustingly healthy. She unscrews the cap, drinks half of it in a single go, then leans back against the counter to look at the assembled group.

    "Hey Mike," she says, giving him a nod. "Here on business, or just to check up on our erstwhile dreamer?"

    Another nod is given to Freddy. "Hey Freddy. Nice to see you at the Tower. Enjoying your summer break? How long you guys got before classes start up again?" Her eyes flicker over to Maddie, including her in the question. She doesn't seem at all surprised to see Freddy here, so presumably she has heard through the regular channels that Bart had invited Pantheon along. If she's surprised that Pantheon turns out to be the kid she and Diana gave a ride home from school in the invisible jet six months ago, she's not showing that either - presumably she already had her chance to be surprised at that. She does seem to remember him though!

Michael Hannigan has posed:
Mike raises a brow at Freddy's story regarding Terry and looks over to Terry again. Didn't he just say yesterday had been mostly functional? Still- yesterday. Not today. And with the fading of the chessboard it appears Terry's still progressing forward. "Well, it's good you're getting hungry because I believe you're expected to eat something."

Hearing Donna's suggestion about Coffee, Mike glances up, "If it's coffee make sure it's iced. He doesn't drink it warm." He looks over to Donna. "Checking up on Terry." He confirms.

Freddy Freeman has posed:
Freddy is deeply engrossed in helping Maddy make sandwiches. He follows her every instruction to the letter and with perfect precision. Every piece of bread, every topping, everything is lined up in picture-perfect form. He's kind of adorable with the tip of his tongue sticking out in unadulterated concentration.

When Donna appears, he looks up from his task and a broad smile lights up his face like a proverbial beacon. "Hi, Donna!" he says enthusiastically. Ooops, he got distracted by Donna being here and eats the slice of tomato he was about to lay on one of the sandwiches. Boys and their stomachs! "You...you remember me? From Happy Harbor? I'm...um...here. Bart said I could start hanging out at the Tower, maybe to try to join you guys." Then his expression sinks. "Oh! Oh, but I mean I can do stuff. Like, my sister is Mary Bromfield! I'm just like her and the rest of the Shazam family!" And look! He said Shazam without transforming. After thoroughly embarrassing himself a week or so ago at the Tower, he has been practicing at the Rock of Eternity being able to say the word without invoking its magic. Unless Donna heard about that incident, she might not understand why he's beaming right now.

Madison Evans has posed:
    "Donna! Hey! Oh, Terry's doing alright, you don't need to worry about that. I think he manage a cup of tea - unless you'd rather have the coffee, Terry?" But who has //coffee// with //tea// sandwiches? "...we better make another sandwich, though!" While she's talking, she's beating the butter with herbs from the little herb garden. Thankfully, there'd been a stick on the counter - soft and ready for spreading onto bread. Then she sets about slicing the watermelon radishes thinly with an impressive display of knife skills. The radishes are a gorgeous pink inside that just make Madison smile.
    "And... I think we're just about done here! Freddy, did you want to cut up the sandwiches, or should I? I think we should take the crusts off though - for //proper// tea sandwiches. You know?"
    Towards Donna she adds, "School's been delayed until September on account of the whole... Doctor MacIntyre dying and coming back to life, thing. ...you go to Happy Harbor, too?" she adds towards Freddy. "Maybe we'll have classes together this year!"

Donna Troy has posed:
    Donna flashes a bright grin to Freddy. "Of course I remember you. Themysicran gang signs!" Yes, when Freddy had asked for a selfie, Donna had insisted on 'throwing Themysciran gang signs', which had puzzled and amused Diana, and mostly seemed to consist of Donna attempting to give Diana bunny ears in every shot."

    "Mary hasn't been around a whole lot recently, her studies have been keeping her very busy," she says, sending a quick wink in Freddy's direction. "Good to have another member of the family around. I'm sure you'll fit right in. You have any problems or questions, come to me any time, okay?"

    "He drinks hot coffee just fine," she tells Mike. "I've seen him do it loads of times. Yesterday he was having trouble remembering that he wasn't a tree, and a bit of coffee seemed to help."

    She takes another gulp of Snacky Shake and then points a finger at Maddie. "See what you're doing right there, Mads? You're encouraging him. Tea sandwiches. We're not supposed to be doing Wonderland tea parties for him, we're supposed to be reminding him that he is no longer Wonderland."

Michael Hannigan has posed:
Mike tilts his head at the mention of Mary once again with the combination of 'Shazam' in the same sentence. "Hmm...Maybe I have met her before." Mike mentions, correcting his statement from earlier. He pauses, "I might end up running into you over there as well, Freddy. I sometimes end up on campus running over paperwork for one of the work study programs or some of their fieldtrips."

As Donna corrects him, Mike looks over to Donna quietly. "Oh." There's a bit of confusion to his tone as he looks over to the dozy looking Terry. "Maybe it's just a morning thing then."

He pauses. Brows raise and then he ends up covering his mouth.

Freddy Freeman has posed:
Freddy wrinkles his nose 'savagely' as his eyebrows arch up and his smile broadens even more! "Hell yeah! Gang signs!" says the scrawniest, whitest little white boy who ever existed. He puts 'rabbit ears' behind his own head and says, "Look, mom, I'm Themysciran!" Then he absently eats another tomato slice. Maddie might need to put a stop to this before Freddy inadvertently eats all of the fixins.

When Nick says something about Mary, Freddy rotates on his seat to face the rocker. "Yeah, she's a badass. You would remember her. We're all kind of hard to miss. We say Shazam, lightning and thunder rages, we change into someone else, yada yada."

Madison Evans has posed:
    "Terry's fine," Madison counters staunchily. "He's here - with his friends. With his family - and he //is// a Wonderlander," she points out. "He'll adjust - he //is// adjusting." Despite the firmness of her words, there's a hint of uncertainty to her eyes as she slices off the crust, and starts cutting the sandwiches into triangles, arranging them on a plate for everyone to share.
    "Besides. It's just //sandwiches.// And good sandwiches at that. You should try one."

Donna Troy has posed:
    "He's a Wonderlander, yes. That doesn't mean he should be encouraged to think he's Wonderland though Maddie." Donna smirks at her and comes across to investigate the construction of sandwiches. "He has already tried to grow a forest in the medical bay. We almost got overrun by squirrels. They got into a minor war with Vic's roomba army, and if Raven hadn't noticed and banished the squirrels in time, we might have had to close off the entire level of the tower."

    Is she joking? Did it really happen? There's really no way of telling. It's very much the kind of thing that /might/ have happened.

    Mike's slip gets an amused grin from Donna, but there seems to be no immediate signs she's actually going to comment on it Apparently she noticed though.

    Donna snatches one of the slices of tomato and pops it into her mouth, giving Freddy a quick wink.

Michael Hannigan has posed:
That expression. Dammit. Well, at least the younger ones didn't pick up on it at least. Taking advantage of the change of topic, Mike uncovers his mouth. "I think she took out the roof of the Goodwill." Mike muses to Freddy. "It was awhile ago. And a lot of stuff has happened since then which would be why I didn't recall it so quickly."

And yet they go back to the topic of tea parties and why they can't have them. "I agree with Madison. Yes. He is here. He was in Wonderland and he's still coming down from that, But you can't force someone to ignore part of who they are. Or do something cold turkey and expect good results." He gestures to the sandwiches. "Tiny sandwiches and hot drinks when he's hungry is a reasonable compromise."

Freddy Freeman has posed:
When Donna winks at Freddy his entire face lights up. It's pretty clear there is some hero worship going on here. He probably has six or eight Donna Troy actions figures in his utterly enormous collection of geekery! Include a chase rare Troia on horseback figure with alternate color scheme in which Donna's hair is blond!

Buuut at the mention of his sister, Freddy grabs his crutch and hauls himself to a standing position and hobbles over in Nick's direction slowly, with a huge grin on his face. "Oh man, she never told me this story! Took out the roof of a Goodwill! You gotta tell me!" Freddy stops within arm's reach of Nick, staring at him with an utterly hopeful expression on his face. Yep, our boy is starting to get really wound up now.

Madison Evans has posed:
    "Yeah. Could even be a bridge back to reality, you know? Focus on the very real, //physical// sandwiches, and his friends, and all that," Madison suggests, bolstered by Michael's words. She puts one of each sandwich on a napkin in front of her, and nibbles away at them, while mixing cream and sugar into her tea. "Anyways - I haven't made these in aaaages - it was fun!"

Donna Troy has posed:
    You're all forgetting that Terry is Terry," Donna counters, pointing to the zoned-out cat, sitting on a stool. "The first rule of Terry is: Don't encourage him." She gives Terry's hair a ruffle, but he may be too zoned out to notice it.

    "Buuuuut," Donna says with a concessionary sigh that's obviously put on. "If it gives Maddie a chance to explore her culinary arts, I suppose I shouldn't complain." Maddie gets a quick one-armed hug from Donna, who then steals a sandwich.

    "Mary ever tell you about her first mission with the Titans, Freddy? It was a big one, though accidentally. I had her and Supergirl up in space for a training session when the Warzoon fleet turned up. We met them at Jupiter. Mary got to combine forces with Thor to discharge a massive bolt of lightning through Jupiter's atmosphere and disrupt War World's attempt to draw power. It was pretty cool."

Michael Hannigan has posed:
"Besides, it's better he's drinking real tea or coffee instead of imaginary tea or coffee." Mike adds in. He looks over to Freddy, "There's really not much to tell on the hole in the roof. They found it after she had left. Just some lightning damage."

He looks to the sleeping Terry and then over to Donna. "Terry will Terry" He states, matter of factly, "And I'm not going to discourage him from being what makes him him."

Freddy Freeman has posed:
Okay, so Freddy's face takes on a rare look of disappointment as Nick tells his side of the Goodwill Roof Incident. "She prolly wasn't paying attention when she Shazamed." He rolls his eyes in that sigh-big-sisters kind of way. "I've never done that!" You know, except for when he did it twice. In this very room.

But it sounds like Donny has a super exciting story, so Freddy hobbles excitedly over in her direction, a rapid walk-thunk-walk-thunk-walk-thunk. "THAT sounds amazing! I would love to meet Thor. I can go in space, ya know. I don't need to breath." He screws up his face. "Well, *I* need to breath but Pantheon doesn't." He suddenly gets a look of concentration on his face. "That's weird. It just occurred to me that I can suffocate in this form, but not when I'm Pantheon. But yet it's still me in both cases." He shakes his head. "What a weird world."

Madison Evans has posed:
    "I can definitely sufficate, but I decided a long time ago that I'm //not// going to do that," Madison remarks brightly. "And - so far! - it's worked." She grins at Freddy and takes another nibble from one of her sandwiches - before she starts fixing a plate of sandwiches to save for Terry.

Donna Troy has posed:
    "The issue is more about what's making him not him right now Mike," Donna points out. "He's not actually a tea party, or a tree, and he shouldn't have fjords. It's not like I'm suggesting we ensure he avoids glitter for a while, or don't dangle string in front of his face."

    "Catnip though -- probably not a good idea right now."

    "That's a very good reason for you to make sure you're really in control of your transformations then Freddy," Donna says. Yeah, it sounds like she must have heard after all. "Don't want you accidentally turning back while in space. And believe me, if you're going to be a Titan, you'll find yourself out in space from time to time. Space is pretty dangerous, though never boring. There's always some alien fighter ship to lasso, or space pirate ships you need to threaten with a sword, or something."

    The plate of sandwiches Madison is preparing for Terry seems to be magical. It's like stone circles -- when you count, you never get the same answer. The number of sandwiches on the plate just never seems to count up to the number she has made. Clearly someone is stealing the occasional sandwich as she makes them.

    Donna finishes off her snacky shake, then eats the sandwich she has in other other hand with a couple of quick bites, before taking the shake bottle to the sink to wash it out. "Thor's a pretty nice guy," she says. "But he's terrible at housework. Never ask him to clean out your chimney."

Michael Hannigan has posed:
"And attending a tea party, drink tea, or having tiny sandwiches is not the same as BEING a tea party." Mike points out, "That's all I was saying. Baby steps. Not cold turkey. Let the man eat and drink."

Freddy's observation about how his likelihood of dying from suffocation when he's not tapped into his powers gets a nod. "Sounds about right. I can walk through things when I'm Phantasmed but I can't do it when I'm like this. I'd likely die if I tried that right now. But it's mostly me in both cases." The musician gives a shrug, "You could think of it as an energy conservation thing. You don't want to be tapping into powers all the time. Spend too much time trying to be in that form, you might lose the perspective that makes you suitable to use that ability."

Freddy Freeman has posed:
Freddy returns Maddie's grin in kind! "We'll be Team Not Suffocating! We can have shirts made up."

But Nick's comment sort of re-ground the increasingly spastic Freddy. He nods really almost soberly to the man. "Yeah, you have a good point," he says. This is the Paradox of Shazam. When Freddy is Pantheon, he is often spastic and immature despite the fact that he can directly tap into the Wisdom of Solomon, but when he's Freddy he often (and unexpectedly) grows somber and wise. "People who know I'm part of the Shazam tribe often ask me why I don't stay Pantheon." He gestures to his bum leg and crutch for emphasis. "It's because the immortal elders granted us these great powers to use for important things. So I only call upon Pantheon when it's important, and for training, which is also very important. They trust our family with these powers, and there's no way I'm gonna let them down."

He draws in a deep breath and lets it out slowly, suddenly much calmer than he was moments ago. He slowly makes his way to the kitchen to grab something to drink from the fridge.

Walk-thunk-walk-thunk-walk-thunk.

Madison Evans has posed:
    Madison downs another piece of sandwich then remarks brightly, "Welp! I'll leave the fixings here in case people want to make more. But I have to get back to my lightsaber!" She goes to Terry - hugging him again, even if he is very still at the moment, and waves to the others. "See you around later!" And then she dashes off down the stairs.

Donna Troy has posed:
    "I have to admit, things are considerably easier for me," Donna says. "I'm me all the time. No magical girl transformations to worry about or anything like that. Makes life easy when it comes to accidentally finding yourself in space or any similar nonsense."

     She finished washing the snacky shake bottle and leaves it on the sideboard for re-use, then sets about clearing up some of the rest of the mess of food fixings that are left around, though not enough to actually stop people taking Maddie up on her offer. "See you later Mads!" she calls after the young Jedi-alike. "Don't forget you need to put in more training time with a sword, it's not just about the lightsaber itself!"

    That's something Freddy will discover for himself before long -- Donna is ruthless when it comes to arranging training sessions for the team.

    "You have a good attitude though, Freddy. I don't have to transform, but I still consider the powers granted to me to be there for reasons other than my own benefit. That's not to say I don't occasionally fly somewhere just to avoid traffic, but usually I'll hop on a bike instead. It just feels kind of... more honest."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry, for his part, has been in a zonked out zen-like state since the Wonderland memories started to wane, his eyes closed. It's not like being asleep- it was the opposite of being asleep, which isn't being awake. Being awake is merely being conscious, whereas the opposite of being asleep is being completely focused on one point of reality, so much so that you are almost completely overwhelmed by the smallest of details.

It's why he hasn't answered up to this point. As his eyes snap open, though, he seems to have been aware of things as he reaches for one of Maddie's delicious sammiches and takes a bite out of it. And then, he adds:

"Donna Troy, are you casting shade on me? I use my Rabbit Hole to travel around /all/ the time now. I can't believe it, I am being power-shamed. I have been attacked!" he says with a grin, far more focused and /here/ than he was before.

Michael Hannigan has posed:
"Well, if people wonder that to you again, you can tell them that it's because Pantheon can't replace what Freddy does." Mike smiles to the younger man before looking to Madison as she makes her leave. "Have fun Maddie. Good to see you."

He glances over to Donna as she brings up the general usage of powers. "Most of my usage of powers is more practicing them so I'm not wondering how when it's actually time to be using it."

He looks over to Terry, giving a slight smile, "I've sometimes dream traveled when I was running late though." He admits, opting not to list the actual occasions.

Freddy Freeman has posed:
The praise from Donna in the kitchen results in Freddy giving her a friendly shoulder bump and one of his signature, honest-to-goodness, aw-shucks Freddy smiles. "Thanks, Donna!" he says. He blink-blink-blinks rapidly. It's dusty in here. Who is chopping onions??

When he notices that Terry has roused again, he grabs an extra soda from the fridge and walk-thunks the slow journey back to the sitting room. "Hey, you're awake again," he says gently to the seemingly bewildered cat man. "D'you like Mountain Dew?" he asks, holding out one of the two sodas he grabbed.

"You're right," Freddy says to Mike in response to his kindness. And DAMMIT who the HELL is chopping onions in here??? "My parents..." He refers to his foster parents, the Vasquez's, as his parents, he doesn't distinguish any difference. "...would be lost without us, me and my brothers and sisters." He lets out a little tiny subdued laugh. "Oh man they would shi...." He stops himself. "...poop if they knew what we could do."

Donna Troy has posed:
"Totally casting shade on you Terry," Donna agrees with a nod. "You abuse your powers terribly. I've literally seen you open portals and reaching through to grab things from the fridge 'cos you were too lazy to get up and walk. That's how it starts, you know. Super-villainy. Next thing it's 'oh I could just open a portal to the nearest ATM and withdraw some money without actually having to get up. Then you start thinking about cutting out the middle man and opening a portal into a bank vault, and then I have to beat you up."

    "You guys thought about telling them?" Donna asks Freddy. "Not going to suggest that you do, it's an important decision to make and something you'll have to figure out between yourselves. But the time may come when you decide it's better that they know, and have the opportunity to discuss things with you. You should talk that over with Terry some time. He went through that exact process not too long ago. Explaining things was kind of forced upon him, though as it turned out his mom had kind of figured things out for herself."

    Having finished the cleanup, she dries her hands off with a towel, grabs a couple more of Maddie's sandwiches, and resumed counter-leaning to consume them.

Michael Hannigan has posed:
Mike thinks to the list of examples of Terry misusing powers and smiles, "Hey Terry, Donna's list is making me wonder... Where WERE you portaling to the time you accidentally ended up under my bed?"

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Thanks! I do, do like Mountain Dew," the Cheshire takes the soda and begins to sip it, "... I wish Maddie had waited until I was out of my ... episode so I could thank her for these sandwiches. They're delish-" his ear swivels, and he looks at his musician friend. He is tempted to mention the birthday party, but chooses not to. Some things are best left unknown.

He doesn't know that the family in question have plastered the photos of Vorpal covered in cake all over their social media, and that soon it will go viral.

But let us leave him in blissful ignorance for now.

"Yeah, having a mother who is a private detective kind of means you often are keeping secrets that she already knows," the cat rolls his eyes. "It just figures..." he trails off, and stares at Mike.

"The bathroom, Mister Drago. I was going to the bathroom. Because I was still loopy from being treated and I woke up in the middle of the night and didn't want to fall off the bed, so I opened a Rabbit Hole..."

He clears his throat, "And ended up under your bed in my skivvies."

Freddy Freeman has posed:
It's just at the moment that Terry says he ended up under Nick's bed in his skivvies when Freddy was taking a nice, long pull from his can of Mountain Dew. And now said Mountain Dew comes out of Freddy's mouth and nose as he laughs! All over the floor. "You were under his bed in your underwear?" he blurts out. Okay, Wisdom of Solomon Freddy seems to be back in his storage case, and teenager Freddy -- hopped up on sugar and caffeine -- is back. His voice even squeaks when he says 'underwear.' "Please don't teleport under my bed. You'll scare the shi...scare the crap out of me!"

He peers at the mess he made on the floor. Welp, uuuup get stands with the aid of his crutch for the slow trip back to the kitchen to get paper towels. Walk-thunk-walk-thunk-walk-thunk. It wouldn't occur to the kid to ask someone to get it for him, or to complain about having to make the voyage. It's just not in his nature. He's even smiling as he hobbles off to get paper towels.

Donna Troy has posed:
    "/UNDER/ your bed?" Donna asks. "That's not like him." Oh yeah, Donna hasn't finished throwing shade on Terry. After all the universe has not yet managed to come to an end.

    When Freddy arrives at the kitchen area to get paper towels, Donna's there holding the roll out for him. No, she didn't offer to bring them over, and the act of picking up the roll and holding it out for him hardly saves him any significant effort. Why then? It's probably pretty obvious. We're there for you, but also we believe in you. That's a very Titans sort of message to be sending.

    She gives him a wide smile as she hands the roll of paper towels over. "You need to get used to the tendency for humorous and unexpected things while you're around here Freddy," she says a lot. "Or you're gonna waste a lot of Mountain Dew.

Michael Hannigan has posed:
Mike grins as Freddy laughs, "Yes it was a memorable night. Okay. So it was a hotel room. The tour was pretty much marred by this jackass of a ghost so already folks on edge. I'm supposed to be in this room by myself with security in the adjacent one. And as I was coming out of the bathroom this hand just shoots out from under the bed to grab my leg causing me to fall down to the floor. Then he tries to call home but instead the phone starts screaming so security in the adjacent room comes running in swinging a sword. So words are exchanged and Oh God, the amount of time it took for me to convince him to take one of the spare shirts..."

He shakes his head.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Vorpal does his best to look offended. "Pardon /me/, but I would not terrify anyone in my skivvies. I have been told I look rather great in them!" He hmphs, "Besides, that only happened because I was Rabbit Holeing while under the influence of Order magic. That doesn't happen every time."

And a LOOK at Donna. "Yes, Under his bed! Are you implying that I'd jump in bed-"

He pauses, glances at the rock star, remembers something, and says, "My, these sandwiches ARE good, aren't they?"

Roll for diversion, attempted.

Freddy Freeman has posed:
"Thanks," Freddy says with one of those half-amused, half-embarrassed grins on his face as he accepts the paper towels. "And how do I know Terry didn't specifically wait until I was in mid-drink? He might be weaponizing humor over there. I mean, you said he might be on the path to being a supervillain!" The young man's eyes sparkle and his tone is playful. Teasing Terry! Achievement unlocked. +100 points.

After making his way back to the sitting area, he sits down to start cleaning his mess. Freddy's gaze ping-pongs back and forth between Terry and Nick as they banter. He is not 100 percent sure what all of it means, but it doesn't cause his bemused smile or the slight tinge in his cheeks to fade.

Donna Troy has posed:
    "Do I need to imply anything, Terry?" Donna asks, raising an eyebrow and looking distinctly amused. "You seem perfectly capable of implying all kinds of things all on your own. You do it all the time. Willfully, eagerly, and enthusiastically. And when you forget to do it intentionally, you usually somehow manage to find a way to imply something unintentionally. I suspect that's just a part of your Cheshire nature."

    "There's another thing you should know about Vorpal, Freddy. If he says something that seems particularly embarrassing or has some really, really obvious double meaning and it's obvious that he never intended to say it -- well you may be inclined to think that the best thing to do is not to point it out to him to save him the embarrassment. But he totally did it on purpose, and if you don't point at him and laugh like Nelson Munce from The Simpsons, in his heart of hearts he'd be disappointed."

    "It's the jester archetype, you see. Terry can't help himself, he just wants to make people laugh, even at his own expense. And if he gets someone to spill their Mountain Dew, win-win."

    "/Totally/ a super-vill in the making."

Michael Hannigan has posed:
"He's right. It wasn't him that startled me. It was the unexpected hand grabbing my ankle in a drag me to hell fashion that did it." Terry's further comments manage to trigger a widely growing smile that is so remeniscent of another known figure that Donna would likely lecture him about the tea party thing all over again if she saw the expression. So he displays it to Terry instead.

Like that's better.

The glimpse of Freddy's expression in his side vision does make him consider something.

"So Terry...you know that part of the conversation about people already knowing even when you don't think they do? I think that applies here."

Freddy Freeman has posed:
If Freddy were in his Pantheon form, where he has full and unrestricted access to the Wisdom of Solomon rather than just bits and pieces like he has now, he would totally understand what's happening now. But some of the subtleties are escaping him at the moment. "Well, what...what's wrong with wanting to make people laugh?" he asks with full-on Highlands shepherd boy total innocence. "That's a good thing, right?"

His gaze goes from Donna to Nick to Terry to Donna to Nick to Terry. Yeah, Freddy needs an adult.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry looks from Donna, to Michael, to Freddy, and frowns. He grabs another sandwich and munches on it thoughtfully. "Donna is an Amazon, so she is very serious and ponderous, she is like nine thousand years old and has lost the ability for levity," he says, directing the teasing in Donna's direction, deftly trying to duck Mike's quip by trying to go in a different direction.

"Me, I'm just a simple guy. I want people to have a good time and I'll bend over backwards to do it! What's so wrong about that, I ask?"

Donna Troy has posed:
    "Yes and no," Donna responds to Freddy, thankfully leaving the unspoken stuff between Vorpal and Mike alone now. "I mean the Joker famously tries to make people laugh, but the problem with him is that he doesn't try to make /everyone/ laugh. The people who are on the receiving end of his 'jokes' would certainly have a thing or two to say whether it's a good thing."

    "Terry's saving grace is that generally he's the butt of his own jokes. That way other people don't get hurt. And that's why really, Terry is a Super-hero, not a super-villain. And that's why secretly I adore him rather than beating him up, but don't tell him I said so." It's not like Terry isn't standing /right there/ and can hear perfectly well for himself what Donna says, but nonetheless Donna raises a finger to her lips in a shh gesture and winks at Freddy, as if she's letting him in on some great secret.

    "Well, except for the glitter thing. That's definitely super-villain behavior, but we're trying to discourage him. And I'm not nine thousand years old, I'm twenty-seven. I take it back, Terry makes jokes at my expense all the time. He's basically already almost a super-villain."

Michael Hannigan has posed:
"Well if there's one thing that can be said, Terry is pretty flexible. But yeah the glitter gets everywhere. You'll be finding it in the weirdest of places days later."

Before Mike has time to process the things that came out of his mouth, Mike's phone buzzes. Pausing, the musician reaches down and brings up the screen. After reading through the message, the smile falters briefly before it strengthens again. "Speaking of portaling-"

Poor timing Mike.

"-Is there a door you don't mind me coming through on the return trip?"

Freddy Freeman has posed:
Speaking of phones...Freddy's phone starts to chime. He tugs it out of his pocket. "Oh it's my mom." He taps the call and puts the phone to his head. "Hey, mom! What's up? Wait, what, it's WHAT time?" He tugs the phone away from his head and peers at the time. It got LATE without him noticing. "Oh shoot, I'm so sorry! I lost track of the time. I'm over at Evan's, we're playing video games. I'm sorry, I'll get an Uber right now!" By the gods, he hates lying to her. It breaks his heart every time. But he can't exactly say he's hanging out at Titans Tower with his superhero friends.

The young man hauls himself to his feet with his crutch. "I'm sorry, guys, I gotta go. My mom's worried. I didn't realize how late it was. Talkin' to you guys is so relaxing and fun, the time just got away from me."

An insightful observer would see the notes of shame on his face for having to lie to his mother. The strains of maintaining a secret identity are wearing on this young paladin.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry notices. "We're going to have to work on a better cover story so you don't look like you've just stolen the Hope diamond every time, Freddy. But for now... give me your address and I'll drop you off via Rabbit Hole about... a block away? That way you don't have to spend the dosh on the Uber." He glances at Donna and sticks out his tongue. "Now is /that/ the action of a Supervillain? Hmmm?"

Then he points to the pantry door, "If you need to dreamtravel, use that one, but I can also Rabbit Hole you. Since I am /not/a supervillain and I am more than happy to help my dear friends even when they cast shade on me, a poor innocent creature who only wants tea and sammiches."

He grins.

Donna Troy has posed:
    "In fact, no more Ubering in future," Donna says. "We have a contract with a cab firm. If you're here on Titans business, you shouldn't have to pay for your transport costs out of your own pockets. We may not pay people for super-heroing, but I'm not going to see people having to pay to be a member of the team."

    "Talking of which, have you two both been given comms yet? We don't give out a full T-Com until people are established as a full member of the team, and knows fully how to use it. There are security protocols and so on. But we have cut-down T-Coms we give out to allies, that give access to the tower and the non-secure parts of the comms network. If either of you two don't have one yet, I'll fix you up with one before you leave."