13235/Halloween After Party... in the gym. Some people are weird.

Halloween After Party... in the gym. Some people are weird.
Date of Scene:	01 November 2022
Location:	Gymnasium - Titan's Tower
Synopsis:	Post Party Workout leads to girltalk heart to heart.
Cast of Characters:	Heather Danielson, Dawn Granger

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Heather Danielson has posed:
    Okay, so Heather was at a Halloween party. She dressed up as a sexy midriff baring Stormtrooper from Star Wars. What? She rocked that costume. I mean sure, the armor was not really protective. But it -was- hot. Anyhow, she returned to the tower afterwards, and despite it being late... she was not the least bit tired. What she was... was hungry. But she also had energy to burn. So after a couple overstuffed burritos, she headed for the gym.

    Her costume lies strewn about in one corner, and she is down to sports bra and yoga pants. At the moment, she is doing her best to increase her bench press max.... twenty two thousand, three hundred and twenty pounds is registered on the machine with built in safeguards so she doesn't really -need- a spotter. But she is struggling with the weight... breathing out in explosive fits as she pushes with all she has. Why is she strength training? Well, when your strength is pretty much all you have to use in a fight offensively, and when your strength is rated the -lowest- of all super strong Titans members... there gets to be a bit of a self-esteem issue.

    Heather deals with that by trying to get stronger.... sure, it hurts, but pain is life for her.

Dawn Granger has posed:
    Dawn and Hank had gone out to a few Halloween parties, but afterwards the energy and the adrenaline of having fun had to go somewhere. While Hank had gone off to do something else, Dawn had headed to the gym. Dressed in the leotard and leggings of a dancer, she'd planned on working on some stretches rather than strength training. Flexibility. She glances over as she notes Heather and the intensity of her weightlifting.

    Dawn heads over in that direction, tilting her head to the side as she offers Heather a small smile. "You doing okay there?"

Heather Danielson has posed:
    Huffing with effort, Heather's blue eyes swivel to spot Dawn's approach. She pauses, holding a breath she'd taken in, and then she nods her head. "Fine." she says as the start of a breath she is exhaling. But this time she literally gives until it hurts. Anyone with X-Ray vision would notice muscles tearing themselves apart as she shoves that weight up one last time... getting to full extension and then racking them on the pin there.

    That done, her arms literally go limp for a moment as she lets out a low groan, "Okay... that hurt." she mutters as she shakes her head. "That must be what they mean when they say... no pain, no gain. And yes, I get the idea that growing stronger is damaging muscles and making them heal stronger. Sadly... my healing factor heals them back to just the way they were beforehand. So getting any stronger is a real... bear."

    But then she sits up and offers a smile. "So, how was the party?" She asks, the pain already forgotten as the healing has finished. This girl doesn't let a little torn muscles stop her. Nope.

Dawn Granger has posed:
    While Dawn's not gifted with X-Ray vision, it doesn't take much to tell that there's quite a bit of pushing going on. There's concern in her eyes as she looks over, but still smiles. "Party was fun. I think there might be one or two more that are going on this week and I'm pretty sure Hank might drag me to them. He loves Halloween."

She nods towards the bench. "I would think that maintaining your strength at where it is isn't a bad thing. Hurting yourself doing this isn't exactly the most healthy. Are you stressed out? That seems like the kind of thing Hank would end up doing if he was stressed."

Heather Danielson has posed:
    Shrugging her shoulders, Heather reaches for her water bottle, "Well, let me see.. I'm doing modeling, charity work, I'm a Titan, and do PR work for the team. I barely have time to sleep, let alone get everything done. And then there is the pressure.."

    She laughs a little bit and shakes her head, "Some people might have powers that make them super in shape.. mine just give me the potential to be strong. I have to keep working out to maintain the strength... I also don't keep abs by lying around. So I spend almost all of my downtime just keeping up with my workouts. You could say I'm under a bit of stress."

    And then she shakes her head, "Sorry. I don't mean to sound like I'm snapping at you. You are asking out of concern. As for hurting myself.. that's kinda my thing. Some people get shot, and the bullets bounce off. I am no tougher than a normal girl. I just.. heal like instantly from most damage. For example, I think my arms and pecs healed as I was sitting up here." She shrugs, "People think pain is to be avoided. For me, pain is pretty much what I do. It lets me know I am still alive, still healing. It's kinda become my most pervasive friend."

Dawn Granger has posed:
    "Reminds me of Hank. He's so much more into strength and dealing with pain than I am. He sort of just takes the blows as they come," Dawn says, glancing at Heather before offering her a small smile. "It sounds like you might need to find a better balance between things you're doing in your life. Sleep's kind of important when it comes to maintaining bodies in general."

    She seems thoughtful. "I can see the idea of knowing you're alive because of the pain. I heal faster, better as Dove though, so I'm used to taking more injuries than someone who might be a touch more normal. But that pain is a good reminder of where we are and what our bodies can handle." Her smile brightens. "Maybe you could find some way to improve your exercise routine so that it's more efficient and you have to spend less time at it. Caitlin might know something, that's the kind of thing she's good at."

Heather Danielson has posed:
    Inclining her head, Heather grins a bit. "Well, sounds like Hank and I might get along well." she muses as she stands up and stretches. "I do love my sleep. But it's weird, if I sleep for eight hours, I wake up feeling like I haven't eaten for a week. My body burns calories so fast these days..." she shrugs, "On a plus note, I don't have acne issues anymore, so there is that." she adds as she tries to put a positive spin to it all.

    She takes another gulp of her water and listens. "Caitlin -might- be just the person for that. I generally do lifting and running as most of it. But I also need to keep up with my martial arts training, so maybe I could combine that all into something like a training montage." she adds with a smirk.

Dawn Granger has posed:
    Dawn grins. "Yeah, I think you and Hank would be friends. I'll nudge him and see if he wants to come workout with you sometime. He probably needs more workout buddies." She rests a hand on her hip as she listens, then she shakes her head. "No, you absolutely need to talk to Caitlin. Her body needs way more calories and she makes these shakes that are very calorie heavy to make up for it. I bet she'd make extra if she knew you needed them too."

    Dawn moves to take a seat on a nearby machine. "Sounds as if you've just got to streamline your routine. Figure out how much sleep you need followed by how many calories, how long you have to work out and how effeciently... martial arts are something I've enjoyed myself. Maybe sometime we can get a bunch of us to practice." She pauses. "I'm going to teach a dance class sometime for some of the Titans. It's mostly for flexibility and fun, but it's also useful for reflexes and dodging."

Heather Danielson has posed:
    Laughing softly, Heather shakes her head, "Dodgin' ain't exactly my thing." her Midwest accent makes itself known more there. But then she shrugs, "But I can see how it might be fun. I did gymnastics and cheerleadin' before all of... well, this." she says, hands spreading out to encompass the tower as a whole.

    "And maybe could spar sometime. One thing I know is that the best way to get better at fightin', is to have somoene better'n you kick your ass a bunch of times."

Dawn Granger has posed:
    "Yeah, you really /do/ sound like Hank," Dawn laughs. "He protests about the dodging because he's used to just taking things to the face. Me, I'm all about the dodging. Ballet and jiujitsu, so I'm better with flexibility and dodges rather than being overall powerful. It's a bit harder for me to train, though, because a lot of my strengths are from being Dove and I'm only her when there's danger."

    She gestures around. "I still do this /and/ the ballet, though. I like having a 'day job'. I like not making the entirety of my identity just... being Dove." She laughs. "Kind of something I struggle with from time to time. I'm sure Hank gets sick of me musing about that."

Heather Danielson has posed:
    "Yeah. I don't have the reflexes to duck and dodge a lot. I don't have any sort of senses to tell me when to. What I do have is a body that heals almost faster than it can be hurt. Makes dodgin' seem a bit less necessary at times. But it also give me a chance to suck up a hit for someone else if I can react quickly enough." offers Heather.

    "As for styles, I've got a real mutt of one. I took some basic self defense in high school cuz Daddy said he wouldn't have me out there on my own going on dates if I didn't know how to kick some overly handsy guy's butt." She smirks and sighs at the memory, "But of late, I've taken on some training from a former Mossad agent. He calls it Krav Maga. Plus a bit of kicking work from Tae Kwon Do. Seems a bit more telegraphed than I'd like, but if I can stun a guy with a punch, a real roundhouse kick can lay'im out for sure."

    And then she smirks at the mention of identity. "Well, I only have the one identity, but I've done a bunch of different things with it. I was modelin' 'fore I got my powers, and keep on doing that. So it's kinda cool to have income that doesn't come from being a costumed badass, yeah."

Dawn Granger has posed:
    There's another laugh from Dawn. "God, I feel like I'm talking to Hank when I hear you say those things about sucking up hits. That's how he does it, and I suppose I respect that way of doing it even if I don't particularly like seeing people in pain. I prefer to go the peaceful route when possible, but that's not always the case."

    She smiles. "It's a good thing to have training from multiple sources. My ballet has helped a lot with martial arts and vice versa, and I'm constantly learning new things to adapt into what I do already. Taking training from someone who knows something you don't is /always/ a good thing. Improving yourself is a great thing in my book."

    Dawn shrugs a shoulder about identity, but ends up with a small smile afterwards. "Maybe having one identity is simpler at times. There's a lot of complications with trying to keep things in costume different from out of costume. For the most part, though, I like just being me. That's why I think having a job with in income in something I like and am good at is so important."

Heather Danielson has posed:
    "Believe you me.. if I had the choice, I'd put on a mask and separate costume from civilian. But... my healin' powers manifested on a photo shoot when some obsessed stalker decided that if he couldn't have me, nobody could." says Heather as she shakes her head, "When two hundred people saw me take three shots to the chest, fall down... and then get back up a few seconds later, that Genie was -firmly- out of the bottle and was never goin' back in."

    "But, if you ever want a hand with something non-Titans related.. or you just want to help with some charity event I'm working on... I'd love to work with you. And maybe, just maybe I'd like to meet Hank. I mean.. never meet your heroes, right?" she asks with a smirk.

    "And does he heal like I do? Or is he just doin' it all on bluster and bravado?"

Dawn Granger has posed:
    Dawn grimaces at the thought, her smile sympathetic. "Sorry to hear that. That's an awful way for anyone to have people find out about what they do. It's an awful thing to have happen in general. Stalkers are kind of traumatic to have in general, much less one that decided to hurt you." That's not something she particularly likes to dwell on, so she skips thinking about it too much and returns to the talk of things she finds more interesting.

    "I mean, Hank's definitely got the bluster and bravado, but he does heal quickly. Hawk and Dove are good with that, but it doesn't mean we're invincible. I try to remind Hank of that often but he's too stubborn at times. Always rushing in. Regardless of the fact I know he can handle himself in a fight just fine, there's always that wory."

Heather Danielson has posed:
    "Of course there is. Nobody likes seeing anyone they care about in potential danger. Trust me, I get to hear it from Mom and Dad all the time. They know that I'm practically immortal now, but do you think they worry one iota less? No-siree."

    She finishes her water and smiles, "One thing is for sure, getting powers do -not- make me stink less after a workout. I need a shower, a snack, and four or five hours of sleep. Can I interest you in a small version of a Dagwood sandwich?"

Dawn Granger has posed:
    "I'll always worry about him, especially because I know he likes to rush into things. I'm better about it when I'm there to watch his back though," Dawn grins. "Immortal or not, when you care about someone you worry. Regardless of if he's fine, pain still hurts even if you're used to it. There's always the want to keep someone from feeling pain. Also emotional hits to the gut are pretty powerful too."

    She seems thoughtful for a moment at the suggestion, then she nods. "Honestly I didn't eat that well between or during parties, so I could use a little something. That sounds nice." She pauses in thought. "I wonder if anyone's got that as some kind of ability. No sweat or stink from working out."

Heather Danielson has posed:
    "I met a guy once." offers Heather as she wraps a towel about her neck and picks up her costume pieces. "Name of Peter. Or the Russian version... Piotr. Turns into metal. I have a feeling steel doesn't sweat. But.. I didn't get the chance to learn from experience." she says over her shoulder as she heads for the elevator.