1465/Titans: Mary and Kara have joined the party!

Titans: Mary and Kara have joined the party!
Date of Scene:	01 May 2020
Location:	Main Room - Titan's Tower
Synopsis:	Kara and Mary Bromfield get a tour of the Titans Tower, and get to meet Victor as well.
Cast of Characters:	Caitlin Fairchild, Kara Danvers, Victor Stone, Mary Bromfield

---

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
"We've only got one stop left on the tour." Caitlin grins at Kara and Mary. Titan's Tower is her pride and joy, and it's rare she gets a chance to show it off to people. The redhead certainly isn't dressed like a superheroine; calf-cuffed jeans and a well-loved pink hoodie that says 'COLUMBIA' across the front, matched with casual slippers.

The elevator doors part to reveal the 'Main Room', as it appears on the blueprints. Late afternoon sun slants through the windows. For the Titans, the Main Room is what they're often thinking of when they talk about 'home'.

Caitlin steps out of the elevator box and gestures grandly for the two other women to walk out and explore. "Our rooms are down these halls," she gestures. "We generally sort into boys and girls dorm's, but people can room wherever they're comfortable," Caitlin explains to them, and starts walking. "Let's see if anyone's in the gaming room or the kitchen. This is where we all hang out during our down time," she explains.

Kara Danvers has posed:
Kara didn't have too much choice as to what she showed up for the tour in. Supergirl had a fairly particular uniform and everything else she owned was part of her secret identity. So she'd opted for the red skirt, blue tunic, and red cape that is quintessentially Supergirl. Her blonde hair hangs free, and wide blue eyes blink curiously around at the Titans headquarters as they're shown through it.

She has, for the most part, behaved. She's kept pace with the tour group, done minimal flying, and even asked polite questions here and there. It's almost like she's been practicing being a good tourist.

"Ooh, a kitchen," she says excitedly, as though it weren't a common thing in every home, "What do you cook?"

Victor Stone has posed:
Victor Stone has been up to his mismatched eyeballs in the Tower's tech for the past week, getting everything geared up to host a fully active team. Communications, security, vehicle maintenance, defense, and of course, entertainment. That last item on the list has been his task today, running up and down the dorms getting everybody's preferred gaming rigs running, secure and anonymized, so that they can stave off the boredom between missions without posing a security risk. Cyborg rounds the corner into the main room with a pair of Switches and a Playstation, still in their boxes, tucked under one arm. (The man has big arms, OK?)

He stops short as he sees two new faces and heaves a tired sigh. "More newbies? Okay, hit me. Do you take sides in the console wars? Mac, PC, or Linux? Some kind of deep-seated psychological need for a high-ticket VR setup? I can probably fit in another half dozen installs before I collapse from exhaustion." He breaks into a smile that belies the brusque interrogation that preceded it, then extends his free hand. "Victor Stone, or just Vic. Or Cyborg if you want, but I don't exactly have the option of a secret identity."

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Mary, conversely, showed up as Thunderbolt for the tour, since that's how the Titans know her, anyway. Mild mannered baristas don't tend to be invited on these things, even if quite a few Titans have met her that way already.

Aside from flying in to get to the headquarters proper, she's kept her power use to just about nil, though she has passed a curious glance over towards Supergirl now and again. She has asked a few relevant questions, though when dorms are mentioned, she does ask, "So, well, do all the Titans actually live here?" Because, well, she's a little curious about that.

Then she glances over at Victor, and gives him a smile, "Not really, as long as I can do my RPGs I'm pretty console neutral. Though I think PCs have the best assortment of games, really." She takes the offered hand, offering up her ID, "Thunderbolt. I'm... still getting a bit used to the identity thing." A bit of a wry look crosses her face at that.

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin hisses at Victor when he walks past. "PC life," she declares, ominously. "If I can't raid Stormwind, I don't want anything to do with it," she adds.

Cue dramatic eyepoint at Victor, and she keeps walking a few more paces. "Victor and I are pretty much useless for secret identities. A hat and sunglasses doesn't cut it."

Mary's given an encouraging gesture to talk gaming with Victor, and Caitlin looks at Kara and smiles approvingly. "I cook almost everything," she tells the Kryptonian. "Between me, Gar, and Wally, there's never enough food in the 'fridge. I kinda learned to cook so we weren't all just subsiding on packaged meals," she explains with a diffident shrug. "You can only eat so much bulk-buy Ramen, y'know?"

Kara Danvers has posed:
Supergirl's eyes fix upon the boxes that Vic carries, and Kryptonian physiology peels away the cardboard layer to allow her a peek within. Her head cants vaguely to one side, hands planted on her hips thoughtfully, and then she raises a hand to point to the Nintendo Switch in its box.

"I like this colorful one," she announces with that strange Kryptonian accent of hers, "So I am on the colorful one's side"

The talk about secret identities elicits a bashful look from Supergirl, and she folds her hands in front of her to wring them together thoughtfully. She opens her mouth to say something more profound, but thinking better of it just kind of lamely blurts out: "I am Supergirl"

Then, with a blur of red and blue, she is in the kitchen and staring at the closed refrigerator door as though it were one of the most fascinating things she'd ever seen.

"Ooo. Chunky Monkey"

Victor Stone has posed:
Vic shakes Mary's hand with an amiable one-shoulder shrug and turns his head to address both newcomers. "Hey, no pressure. We get the identity thing. In a way, I'm kind of lucky the choice was made for me. I'll call you whatever you're cool with being called." Releasing Mary's hand, he taps one finger against his opposite wrist. "Voice memo. One PC for Thunderbolt, one Switch for Supergirl."

Turning to Caitlin, he tilts his head and gives her a knowing smile. "C'mon! you know I've got you," he says. "Should already be up and running. Just let me know if you have trouble getting it to play nice with any of your specialized hardware.

After Supergirl zips away and starts reading the refrigerator's mind, he gives her an amused look. "You can help yourself. It's communal unless it's got a name other than Ben or Jerry written on it." Turning in an aside to the others, he asks in an undertone: "Does she think we don't recognize the..." He trails off and traces a big letter S over his own glowing red chestplate.

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Thunderbolt chuckles, and relaxes, "Thanks Vic, I appreciate that. I do have a pretty decent rig at home, but it's a bit hard to do that on a ba... er, college student's payroll." Which is a bit odd, as she doesn't look like she's that young, really.

Then she grins at Victor, "So, you do FPSes, or other games? I've fallen so far behind in my online games I think my guilds gave me the boot a while ago. Though I do still play RPGs to unwind." The travails of being a superhero, no time for MMOs, as she looks perfectly happy to talk about computer games, but she gives Supergirl a bit of a conspiratorial look.

"Hey, do they have any Phish Food in there?"

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
"We've got that raid later," Caitlin reminds Victor, pointing at him as she walks towards the kitchen. "Don't let the Guild down," she advises him. "But, uh, Thunderbolt-- if you need some gaming gear, let me or Vic know," she offers. "We have a pretty good subprogram running distributed mainframe access. WoW is nothing."

Caitlin reaches past Kara and pulls out a few different kinds of ice cream. Several of them look homemade; Caitlin's neat handwriting labels their white lids. "Do you like ice cream, Supergirl?" Cait inquires, politely. "We keep a lot of that on hand. Everyone likes a nice sweet snack for after dinner. You're welcome to help yourself," she offers, and uncaps some exotic flavours; bourbon and bacon for one, and a chocolate and marshmallow for the other.

Kara Danvers has posed:
"Oh, they do!" Supergirl answers Mary excitedly, reaching out to the fridge only for her hand to butt up against the solid door. She mutters something that sounds like 'zha' under her breath and shakes her head a little, reaching down to open the fridge door itself and sheepishly retrieving a small carton of Phish Food just for Thunderbolt.

She passes it off to her fellow superheroine before turning to Caitlin.

"I do!" she answers, despite having taken none for herself, "You have so many different kinds of it."

Victor Stone has posed:
Vic shifts his armful of consoles and says, "Happy to help! We like to take care of each other, and getting you set up with your favorite tech toys is just part of that. God knows you'll have a chance to return the favor when the baddies show up." When Thunderbolt asks him about his own gaming habits, he looks as shifty as a glowing, four-hundred-pound robot man well over six feet tall can look. "You might hate me for this, but I play a lot of Madden." He holds up one hand like a shield. "IN MY DEFENSE, it's completely unfair for me to physically play football anymore."

"Other than that, I mostly join in on whatever multiplayer stuff the rest of the group are into," he finishes with a shrug. And speaking of which, he adds for Cait's benefit, "No problem. Got a notification pending already."

But then the shield-hand is up again, turned on Caitlin. "Back, temptress! I've got to get back in fighting shape and here you are, tempting me with your devil ice cream." He turns to Kara and offers conspiratorially, "Nothing as delicious as bourbon and bacon ice cream can possibly not be evil. It's meal-prepped lean proteins for me, at least for a while now."

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Thunderbolt flashes a grin at Supergirl, "Thanks for that. Normally my little brothers are too good at snatching this at home before I can get to it, so I figured out more inventive ways of hiding it from them." Which was a lot easier before they all got superpowers, but that's neither here nor there.

She laughs a bit at Victor's confession, "Well, not my thing, but two of my little brothers love Madden. I know far more about football through osmosis than I ever thought possible, to be honest." She glances over at Victor, and gives him a bit of a wry expression. "Hey, um, how shielded is this place from electrical surges? Like, say, if a bolt of lightning struck the tower or something. Hypothetically."

Yeah, just purely hypothetically. Honest.

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
"Pretty well shielded," Caitlin calls over from the kitchen. "We had, um, an issue with a guy calling himself 'Overload'," she explains. "So the interior is pretty well shielded in a Faraday cage."

Almost automatically she's opening up ice cream cartons and using a melon baller to make an ice cream sampler platter for Kara. Then by extension, for Mary. The tray is handed to the blonde, and then Caitlin walks the other over to Mary with a spoon in hand.

"Vic, you hungry? I've got some of that banana-strawberry mix for the Snacky Shakes," she offers. Her motions are an automated efficiency; her hip swings and knocks the drawer shut. "I stocked up on that protein slurry base."

Kara Danvers has posed:
"I will play football with you, Victor," Supergirl pipes up, eyebrows raising, "You will have to tell me the rules. I do not think it will be so unfair, then. Most of the games I used to play are about solving Lagrangian equations before your opponent did. Stimulating, but not as ball games!"

"Thunderbolt," she adds, turning to Mary, "If you already know the rules, you can join in, too." Then another flash of inspiration and she points at Caitlin, "As can Doctor Fairchild! Wonderful! A football squadron!"

The talk about lightning striking the tower raises her eyebrow, and she slooooowly turns to look at her curiously. There's a mild narrowing of her eyes, but it's more interest than anything else. Then she clears her throat.

"Victor and Doctor Fairchild," turning to the two Titans, "Are we to be Titans also? I have a house, but it is not far from here and it would not take long to travel."

She's already gravitated over towards the ice cream samplings, staring at them with wide eyes and an 'o' shaped mouth.

Victor Stone has posed:
"Oh, don't worry, we've got lightning rods," Vic reassures Thunderbolt. That's just good architecture! "If we're talking like a superpowered electrical attack, well, Caitlin covered it. That said, grid power is grid power, so it might flicker or surge, but we've got our own backup in case of brownouts or sabotage."

Turning to Caitlin, he continues dryly, "Oh man, seriously? That's my favorite slurry! You do like to spoil me, Doc." But, after a second, he appends: "I mean, I won't say no."

Supergirl's suggestion of a football ... squadron ... more immediately piques his interest. "You know, that's not a bad idea. I could teach some of our powerhouses, if they're interested. The rules of football are only a little bit more complicated than differential calculus, so those Lagrange equations will be a good start. And tackle skills -- giving and receiving -- come up more than you'd think in this line of work."

As for her question, Vic looks a little bit uncertain. "I don't think you're required to live here, but the dorm atmosphere is pretty cool. Even if you do live offsite, you might consider staying here part of the time just for fun."

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Thunderbolt smiles, "Well, I wouldn't mind having a place without a horde of siblings running around, at least part time. Though, well..." She pauses, and looks at the others, "The name isn't just for show, I mean, when I transform, it conjures a bolt of lightning. I don't /always/ look like this."

She grins a bit, taking the offered spoon as she looks at Supergirl when she asks the question, and nods in agreement, looking at Caitlin, "I mean, I definitely would like to join... I have to admit, I'm pretty powerful, but I'm still getting a feel for the whole... well, superhero thing. Having some teammates would be really good for me, I think."

Then at the mention of football, Mary chuckles, "I'd be game to give it a try, sure." Not that Mary could have the coordination for it, but Thunderbolt can probably handle a little super-power football. "Plus, I know someone who'd make an excellent wide receiver. Not sure if you know Kid Flash?" Her lips quirk a bit at that.

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin lifts her hands up at both Kara and Mary. "Let's... slow down," Caitlin advises the two newcomers. Her hands drop down and rest on her hips. Remembering suddenly that Victor accepted the offer of food, Caitlin snaps her fingers and turns around to start prepping one of the protein shakes for Victor. The ingredients are added to a blender and she locks the cover down around it so conversations aren't interrupted.

"Vic and I are only two votes," she tells Mary and Kara. "There are others in the crew who deserve a say in recruitment. Supergirl's got Diana's vote--" she nods at Supergirl. "And Thunderbolt stepped up in a big way to help with that prisoner outbreak. Those are both big points in your favor," she says, reassuringly. "But we're a team. Family," she amends. "It's not up to any one person who joins."

The blender turns off and she pours a tall mugful for Victor, and walks it over to him. "But you two definitely have the potential."

Kara Danvers has posed:
Supergirl seems to be weighing something up in her head, gaze drifting away from the ice cream scoops as she stares at the ceiling thoughtfully. When Caitlin begins to speak, however, she turns her attention upon the redhead fully and listens intently.

"I would like to join, yes," she begins, nodding her head quickly, "But I will not feel bad if I am not voted for. It was just nice to see your big T building and eat your ice cream." A beat. "And meet you, of course." Ah, good save, Kara.

"I hope that even if I am not selected, that you will still invite me to play football. If the rules are as complex as you say I will have to begin studying them at once! May I please have one of your Maddens?"

Victor Stone has posed:
Vic blinks at Thunderbolt, surprised but not skeptical. "Oh, like, from the sky?" he asks, just to be sure that's what she means. "Well, the roof should be fine for that. Maybe a balcony? I wouldn't necessarily try it inside the building." Then he breaks back into a smile. "Speaking just for myself, I can't recommend teammates enough. Becoming Cyborg... wasn't... great," he says hesitantly -- although it's not as though he's divulging some great secret that nobody would ever guess. "It's the people I met in this building that made that experience livable."

He shoots a glance, equal parts nostalgia and gratitude, at Caitlin. "She makes a good point. I'm happy to see new faces, and you both seem like you'd fit in great, so I'm a yes on both counts," he declares as he accepts the shake and takes a sip. "As far as the football is concerned, that much I can do on my own say-so, so you're in if you'd like to be." He laughs at Supergirl's final suggestion and adds, "Madden may not be the best way to pick up the rules... maybe just watch a few games to get started." Given the way she's been zipping around above floor level, he feels fairly confident in suggesting: "Stadiums shouldn't be too hard to miss from the air."

Mary Bromfield has posed:
Thunderbolt nods, "Well, sure, I'm honored that you guys would even consider me." She grins at Supergirl, "Wait... you know Diana? Wow, that is like... so /cool/." She coughs, blushing a bit. "Sorry, been a fan of hers for a while."

She ahems, continuing, "But yes, whatever you all decide is what you decide. I will say though... I like who I've seen so far, you all seem very nice." Of course, she hasn't met /all/ the Titans yet, but she does radiate her own sunny optimism about things.

She gives Victor a sympathetic look when he talks about teammates, and nods, "Yeah, in a way I was pretty lucky... I mean, my whole family got the Lightning, well, my brothers and sister and I, so we had a team from the start of things." She smiles warmly at him, "And well, yes, I summon the Lightning to change back and forth, when I say the Magic Word." She pauses a bit, then makes a bit of a face, "Gosh, it sounds really corny when I say it like that, doesn't it?"

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
"It all sounds kind of goofy when you say it out loud," Caitlin assures Mary. She passes Victor his drink and smiles. "I don't think anyone here really fits in with the 'white picket fence' demographic. The ones who might, keep their personal identities secret," she explains. "Those who can, anyway. But we've all got our reasons for being here."

Caitlin digs around in her hoodie pocket, and comes up with two small T-communicators. They're half-scaled versions of the regular ones. One is offered to each woman. "These are your probationry comms," she explains. "You can use them to access the gym, the common rooms, and the dorms. You're locked out of the high-security areas until we can vote on you. But you're welcome to come and go as you like and make friends."