1422/Titans: From Old to New

Titans: From Old to New
Date of Scene:	28 April 2020
Location:	Memorial and Meeting Rooms - Titan's Tower
Synopsis:	Caitlin and Donna take Terry aside to see how things stand for him as a new Titan.
Cast of Characters:	Donna Troy, Terry O'Neil, Caitlin Fairchild

---

Donna Troy has posed:
    Donna and Caitlin had spent the previous night at a party at the Themysciran embassy, but neither of them seem the worse from this. In Caitlin's case this was because she hadn't been drinking. In Donna's case it's just honestly slightly annoying, because she'd drunk quite a bit.

    Not as much as her sister though. Diana was DRUNK. It was quite scandalous.

    This is what Donna keeps telling Caitlin anyway, through a broad grin.

    At one point during the evening, Caitlin and Donna had briefly discussed the 'what next' question. There was a lot to figure out with the Titans now. The fact that there was no officially accepted leader of the group, for one. Perhaps more pressingly the fact that there were four new faces at the tower, and they really needed to be inducted into the team more formally, given some understanding of how things work and so on.

    The conversation had continued at rather more depth the next day in the tower's meeting room, and reached the conclusion they should probably talk to each of the newbies in turn, to see where they were at and what they needed

    Concluding that there was no time like the present, Donna checked with Marvin which of the newbies were present, and was informed in Marvin's mildly humorous voice, modelled after a certain cartoon character, announced "The one called Vorpal is currently present, would you like me to connect the intercom to the room he is in?"

    Donna doesn't bother, there's a more immediate way. She flicks open her T-Com and selects Terry's private channel . "Terry? If you've got a few minutes, could you join Caitlin and myself in the meeting room? Floor 5."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
As the Rabbit Hole treats reality unkindly and wraps it, temporarily making Point A and Point Z rather intimately adjacent without going through all of the inconveniences of traversing B through Y, Terry steps through it and into the meeting room. With a slight smirk, he opens his comm and says "Sure!" and flicks it closed again. "Are we having a potluck? I'm only asking because I made tiramisu last night and I can fetch it if I need to. I always hate to show up empty-handed..." the Cheshire cat grins at Donna and Cait. He hasn't gotten much further in his search for a uniform, and thus is still walking around in the grey sweatpants and sweatshirt that are his current placeholders.

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
"That was you?" Caitlin brightens when Terry arrives. She's already claimed one of the seats, putting herself so at the third point of a triangle wherever Terry chooses to sit. In truth she'd sat down immediately next to Donna, but then it occurred to her that such an arrangement might come off as overly intimidating.

The game of musical chairs had required a little deliberation.

She's dressed casually as well; grey and white speckled athletic leggings and a comfortable, well-loved pink hoodied with COLUMBIA in faded white letters on the chest. Low-soled trainers in a pale shade of cyan complete the outfit.

"It was good," she congratulates Terry. "If you ever want to use the kitchen, you know you're welcome to. Just don't make a mess, that's my only rule," she suggests. "Nothing's worse than coming downstairs and finding dirty dishes still in my sink. The sink," she amends hastily.

Cait's a little territorial about the food prep.

Donna Troy has posed:
    "It seems you are favored, Terry. " Donna flashes Caitlin a teasing grin. "She doesn't let just anyone use /her/ kitchen. Come in, have a seat."

    "No potluck. I'm not much of a cook and I wouldn't dare attempt to compete with Cait. Even when it comes to traditional Themysciran cooking, she does it much better than I do. We just thought we should take the time to get to know you new guys a little better, make sure that you're settling in, and figure out what we can do to help out."

    Donna gestures towards Terry from her seat. "For example, you're probably going to want some kind of an outfit for heroing in." Not that she's dressed for it today either, but then wearing metal armor isn't actually the most comfortable thing when you're just planning on sitting around and talking to people.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Well, yeah, I'm working on the design. I've got a friend who has made suggestions, and Wally gave me the name of this person he knows..." He sits down, drumming his fingers on the table briefly while he adds, "And I know exactly how you feel, Cait, I hate a messy kitchen. I'm good picking up after myself, so don't worry. April is the messy one." No she isn't. "In any case... I'm all for getting to know you, getting to know all about you- getting to like you, getting to hope you like me."

Sometimes, he can be evil. "So... should I just vomit my life history, or do you want to ask specifics? I'm good either way- I aready know everything about you guys that is public." Pause, and then winks at Donna. "Well, except... you know, the fact that you were an Amazon, Wonder Woman's sister, Queen Polly's adopted daughter. You know. Minor stuff. That came as a surprise." It should be noticed that Vorpal is smart enough to /not/ call Hippolyta 'Queen Polly' to her face, even if he might never have a chance to actually meet her.

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
"Queen Hippolyta," Caitlin corrects, gently. Her pronunciation carries the strong Greek roots to the ear, same as Diana or Donna. She flashes Terry a smile as if begging an excuse for chastising him.

Caitlin glances at Donna, exchanging a few silent words, and then looks back to Terry. The redhead shifts in her seat and sits on the raised lip, resting her forearms on the table and interlacing her fingers. The table is built around the scale of Victor and Caitlin, so no one feels too dwarfed or crunched up. "We all kind of got... thrown into this together," Caitlin explains. "D-- Nightwing was Robin, back then. It started off as a bunch of the, uh, sidekicks, kind of pushing back to make a space for themselves. They were teens. I was a latecomer, I was nineteen when they approached me a year later," she explains.

"You can tell us whatever you're comfortable telling us. We're not just teammates, we're friends. Most of us are friends. Maybe don't hug Raven," she clarifies, quickly. "But I'd trust her with my life all the same." Caitlin glances at Donna, then back to Terry. "Fooor instance, I knew Donna was an Amazon before anyone else did. She asked me to keep that in confidence. Donna knows some things about me I haven't told the rest of the Titans. We're not prying secrets from you, we just... want to get a better sense of what the Titans can do for you."

Donna Troy has posed:
    A slight frown crosses Donna's face. "Please don't call my mother that Terry, it's disrespectful," she says, echoing Caitlin's sentiments a little more forcefully. It's a more polite admonishment that Hippolyta herself would have given though.

    "Honestly the life story thing can wait, Donna says, a smile returning to her features. As Cait says, friends." She returns Caitlin's glance. "Maybe a little more. The word 'family' often gets used. There will be plenty of time for swapping stories and getting to know each other. Really this is more about finding out if there's anything you want to ask us. Anything you need clarified about what it means to be a Titan."

    "As for the costume thing, we actually have pretty good fabrication facilities right here, and if you didn't know, Caitlin is a very talented engineer. Of course you'll need to think about design, too..." A thoughtful expression crosses her face. "Cait... Hawkeye has a costume but the rest don't. Maybe we should contact... what was her name? The fashion designer, Captain Roger's friend?"

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Gar already hugged Raven. I think he filled everybody's quota." He seems about to say more, a mischievous look flashing across his eyes, but then he decides to save it for later. "Fashion designer? Oh, I know exactly who you're talking about, my boss at the Planet says she basically has a walk-in closet dedicated exclusivey to the stuff she gives her. Janet Van Dyne." He leans back on his seat, "I'm sorry, Donna, I don't mean any disrespect. I'm a lot more..." he waves his hand in the air, "Different when I'm like this. I probably /wouldn't/ faint if I met her like this."

He taps a claw on the table surface and hms, "Well, you both know my secret identity-- and I'm intending to keeping it secret from everybody except you guys." Pause. "Well, and my cousin and Harley Quinn. And one or two friends who were there when I was transforming and freaking out. But as for what it means to be a Titan..." he grows a little quiet, a little less casual, "I used to watch you guys from the outside. Last few months, I've had a better idea through Gar. I can understand the family part, it's the thing that was the most important to him, more than anything else." A slight, somewhat acidic smirk, "Truthfully it's the only thing about him I can say I actually understand."

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
"It's... kind of a common story," Caitlin agrees with Terry. "Family, I mean. I-- my daddy died about ten years ago," she explains. "Nightwing never talks about his parents, so I don't know what his deal is. Anyone who hangs out with Batman, though, probably has some issues." Caitlin shivers and glances over her shoulder, as if worried Batman is going to materialize from the shadows at the mention of his name.

"Kori, too. But I guess Wally, his family's still well," Caitlin says, glancing at Donna. She waves it all off with both hands and shakes her head. "Sorry. Sidetracked. I meant, yeah. We're weird and a little dysfunctional, but we're family," she says, echoing Donna's sentiments. "I learned to cook to feed the crew here. Victor's the reason I started engineering school. We...." She fidgets, looks down at her fingertips as they flicker against each other. "We all kind of lost momentum after D-day," she says, and her eyes turn to the In Memorium niche, visible from the conference room. "But we never stopped being a family."

Donna Troy has posed:
"Ah yes, Janet Van Dyne," Donna agrees with a nod. "It's a shame Captain Rogers didn't bring her along last night, she sounds interesting. Perhaps she can be persuaded to become the official costume designer for our new members."

    "I see how this goes, Terry." Donna gives him a teasing smile as she stands up and walks to stand behind Caitlin. "Whereas if you were being Terry, you would faint. You faint from sheer excitement when you met my sister, you'd faint if you met my mother, but when you meet me I just get sarcastic comments. I see how the land lies." She gives him a wink.

    Donna rests a hand on Caitlin's shoulder as she speaks. With all the talk of families it comes across as quite a sisterly gesture. She's probably barely conscious of the action, but the discomfort her old friend is displaying prompts that instinct to reassure her that Donna is there for her.

    "How much have you explored the tower, Terry?" Donna asks. She gestures with a nod of her head in the direction Caitlin's eyes had gone. "Have you looked at the memorial room? We keep it as a kind of reminder of who we are, and who we were. When you /do/ have a costume, we'd like to get a replica made and put it in there. Give you a place with the rest of us. I think it's important to make sure you new guys all know that you are a part of the team now."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Vorpal's eyebrow shoots up, "Yyyyeah, but you weren't around important historical events, Donna. I mean, I guess you probably remember the Backstreet Boys..." if he needs to duck, he will!

Then he pauses, and thinks about what Donna just said. "I... have been to the memorial room. But..."

The Cheshire cat tilts his head, "No, wait, that would sound disrespectful. I just find it a little... I don't know. I guess it's just that people don't usually think of the departed as still being part of them. But in a way, they are."

And then he sighs, "Actually, in my case, it's a lot more so than for most people. I haven't said much... but the more I am in this form, the more I remember about certain things. About who I was, before I was me." He looks down at himself, and then adds, "or rather of who I was before this part of me was a part of me. Does that make sense?"

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin reaches up and back and squeezes Donna's fingers in reply. The redhead looks back over her shoulder and smiles gratefully up at the raven-haired Amazon for the gentle but sincere affection.

"I'm afraid it doesn't make much sense," Caitlin confesses to Terry. "But then again, things don't make sense for a lot of us. If I ever figure out how Wally does what he does, I'll be a shoe-in for a Nobel prize. I just know he eats like a fire station."

There's a buzzing from Caitlin's wrist; she taps her bracelent and a little screen glows in it. "Oh, crabapples," she mutters. "Sorry, I've got neurogel cooking in the lab at SI," she says, getting hastily to her feet (well, hastily, but checking to ensure she doesn't roll over Donna's toes). "The electrolyte balances are off. I've got to run and take care of it. I'll be back later," she promises. "Sorry, Terry." She looks to Donna, and reaches over to squeeze her hand again and flashes an apologetic smile. "Sorry," she mouths, and hustles out the door towards the main elevator.

Donna Troy has posed:
    "Not a lot of sense to be honest," Donna says with a laugh. "I've always been me. I've never had any doubts who that was." Oh, Donna. You're going to be in for a surprise some day soon. "I think I know what you mean though. I'm sure it must be confusing and a little disconcerting. Still, you are surrounded by people you can talk to about that now, yes?"

    Donna takes a few steps back to let Caitlin get up without any toe-stepping, and flashes her a brilliant smile. "No problem, Cait. We know how it is, Tony Stark will be upset if anything explodes and he's not responsible. Go cook your neurogels and see you soon."

    She watches Cailtin's exit, then takes a few more steps towards the memorial room, standing in the doorway. "I don't know who's ideas the statues were, but it's a nice gesture," she says. She stares at the statues of Don and Kole for a while in silence.

    "Memory is more than about the past, Terry O'Neil. It's important to remember the present, too. To remember who you are. Who /we/ are. I think maybe we forgot. This room isn't just about what happened to us, because what happened to us is about who we are now as well."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Always seems to come back to that point, doesn't it?" Vorpal says, standing up and stepping closer to the memorial room as well. "The curious little girl has to ask herself who she is at every turn. Every time something happens to change her, she has to remind herself, to make sense of things. I have to tell you it's strange, because you know it as a story, but I remember it as fact."

He then looks at her, and then smirks, "Look who I am talking to. You probably went on picnics with Artemis and Athena or whatever."

He glances at the statues and grows silent for a moment. "Every morning as of late I've been waking up and asking myself if I know what I'm doing here."

Donna Troy has posed:
    "That's normal," Donna says, not turning from the doorway. "And I guess that's the point of getting your costume in here with the rest of us," she says.

    Donna steps into the room and walks over to the niche where a replica of her own armor is mounted. It looks a little more polished than her own does, without the small dents and bashes of armor that has seen practical use. "I've been feeling the same sometimes, since I returned. But I come in here and see my armor with the rest of them, and it answers that question for me. I'm here because I am part of the Titans, and they need me to be here. How could I /not/ be here?"

    Donna traces a finger over the lines of the armor, studying it as if it was something new. After a few moments she turns her head to Terry, smiling. "I suspect you understand Gar better than you realize, Terry. Maybe you tell yourself you do not, because part of you fears hearing the answers another part of you hopes to hear."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry walks down the memorial room, stopping each costume. "And what answer is that, Counselor Troy?" he asks with a slight smile, hands behind his back. He stops for a moment in front of Gar's old costume, and then glances towards Wally's. He found it difficult to see himself in something like this- but he wasn't a designer. He was a nosy cub reporter who had bitten off way more than he thought, and found that when you bite on a story, sometimes it bites back and swallows you into it. "I am genuinely curious to hear your perspective on that, since I seem to be losing my own sense of perspective."

Donna Troy has posed:
    "Have you ever been in love before?" Donna asks. "Doubts are part of the package. We know when we love someone that we have given them a power over us, to cause us pain. We naturally shy away from pain, so it's easy to be overly cautious. You worry that you are setting yourself up for a fall."

    She turns her gaze from the replica of her armor, looking at Terry over her shoulder. "I think he likes you quite a lot, but he's as full of doubts as you are. Maybe even more. All of... /this/..." her eyes sweep the room. "It means a lot to him. Perhaps that idea of the Titans as a family was more important to him than anyone else, and he thought he had lost it. I suspect he is half-terrified that this is a false dawn. And that includes you."

    Donna turns her back on the display of her armor to look at Terry properly. It seems almost like a shadow behind her. "So tell me Terry O'Neil, or Vorpal, or both. How do you think we should handle all this? The Titans. The new and the old, I mean. Part of the reason that all this exists is because some of us wished to be more than sidekicks. I feel it would be wrong for you new guys to be treated as if you are our sidekicks."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry shies away from looking at Donna in the eyes, focusing at the replica in front of him instead, arms crossed. "Or maybe some things mean a lot more to him than others. I know he likes me, but does he...?" he shrugs, "Something happened, but you wouldn't know it from his demeanor." He shakes his head, "It doesn't matter. I'm staying, even if it becomes a This One Time At Band Camp story to him. I'm not going to think he's any less loveable just because it's not ..."

He trails off, and then seems to seize the tail of the other topic to change directions, "You all have experience we lack. We're not your sidekicks, but we're certainly not your equals in experience. The bird, the punchy girl and the Cheshire cat may be the new action figures in the line, but we're not exactly seasoned. Hawkeye at least has the benefit of having training and experience from her mentor. I guess it makes sense that the seasoned members teach us kids a few tricks, and how to get off your lawn," faint smile.

Donna Troy has posed:
    "I think it's more important that we help to teach you how to stay on our lawn," Donna says with a grin. "The tricks too, certainly. I hardly have the experience of my sisters either, but my mother's attitude was always that I should train that much harder to catch up. I am here to share what I know with you all. We each of us have our own experience and techniques to teach, but anyone who wants some tutoring in Amazonian fighting techniques..." She gives a self-deprecatory shrug. "I will do my best."

    "Not equals in experience, but that doesn't mean you can't be our equals in your team. It's important to me that you have as loud as voice as the rest of us do." Donna glances back at her armor. "I guess all of us original Titans have things of our own going on too, now. It may be that in the future it will be you four, and those others who may join us soon, who will be the core of the team. Perhaps the next leader should come from the ranks of the newest recruits."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Let's can that bit of speculation right then and there. If you guys start leaving again you'll throw Gar into another depression, and I assure you I could get shippped to Abu Dhabi tomorrow and he'd still be fine if you lot were around, but if you inverted the roles you'd find him miserable and me insufficient."

He turns and walks to the door, then turns around and leans against the doorframe. "I have no specficic requirements as to where a leader should come from, as long as they understand the fmaily part. As far as the Titans are concerned, the more- the merrier."

Donna Troy has posed:
    "I don't think any of us have any intention of /leaving/ again, Terry." Donna shakes her head ruefully. "We learned our lesson. I think we're all quite determined to make this work again. But Caitlin works at Stark Industries, I've got work to do at the Embassy too, Wally has a business to run and so on. Apart from perhaps Gar and Rae, I'm not sure any of us are going to be full-time Titans. So perhaps it is better to think of things as... rather than you being here as the new guys, we are here as the old guys. See what I mean?"

    Donna gives a broad smile and steps away from her armor to stand closer to Terry, a hand resting on his upper arm. "I suspect that Gar would be less than fine if you left. Remember that he is better at hiding his emotions behind jokes than he is at expressing them. Try to listen very carefully to what he tells you, because he won't say things twice when... when barely saying them at all will do."

    Donna heads out of the memorial room. "Give some thought to that costume Terry. Now - you are athletic. Cat-like reactions. I think you of all the newcomers could particularly benefit from some Amazonian training. Do you feel up to it?"

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry hehs, "The trouble with barely saying anything at all is that you are always trapped in the game of guessing how much or how little was actually meant. If you can never elicit more than vagueness, perhaps it's because you're just not enough to be more than that."

The Cheshire cat starts towards the Door to follow Donna, and seems genuinely intrigued at the prospect of Amazonian training, as well as equally daunted.

"I'll jump at the chance, even though I will probably be sore for the foreseeable future... still, it would take a madman to say no to something like that!"

And, as he passes through the doorway, his smile widens a little. "... I get my own tiara, right?"