16213/For Gaia's Sake

For Gaia's Sake
Date of Scene:	30 October 2023
Location:	Palace - Themyscira City
Synopsis:	Jinx and Donna arrive mysteriously in Themyscira, where they're are greeted by Diana and told by Menalippe that they're going to have to go straight back into the Enchanted Forest.
Cast of Characters:	Donna Troy, Diana Prince, Jinx

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Donna Troy has posed:
    The magical isolation of Themyscira means that people randomly appearing unannounced on the island is a rare situation. Were two strangers to come wandering out of the Enchanted Forest it would be a cause of alarm and concern. That one of the two who had been found wandering through the forest by the rangers was Troia made things a whole lot smoother, but there's still a lot of surprise and confusion about the whole thing. Troia's initial explanations to the rangers hadn't exactly cleared matters up, rumors had flown that something strange even by the standards of the Enchanted Forest had occurred.

    Word had been sent back to the palace ahead of the arrival of the pair, though the queen is currently on the other side of the island, inspecting developments Io and Pallas have been working on at the Temple of Wisdom. By the time Troia and Jinx had arrived at the city, she was still hours away. Diana was closer, and word had been sent to her that something had happened and she should make her way to the palace. The messenger who had found her had also informed her that Donna had asked for Menalippe, the high priestess of Themyscira, to be called for as well. Something definitely is up.

    Word had reached Diana that Troia and her friend were both injured, though both walking. Troia returning from somewhere covered in blood is not the most unusual thing in the world. By the time Diana reaches the palace, Troia's wounds have been washed and dressed. Jinx is still in the care of the healers, though word is she too will be fine.

Diana Prince has posed:
For Diana to even be on the island when something this weird (is it really that weird for Donna?) to happen, itself is a blessing. She would want to know what was happening afterall, especially with blood covered people involved.

Diana had been out on the central plains, riding her horse with a few other members of the Amazonian horse rider trainers. The group was preparing for a riding tournament coming up soon, and Diana always took a chance to ride with them even if she may or may not be considered 'the best' at that skillset too!

All the same, the city got a glimpse of the Princess riding back at full speed, her horse galloping through the streets at high speeds, with Diana mounted atop it looking quite serious. It might raise some alarms throughout the city, but she wanted to get home quickly, and thus her horse ended up in the hands of palace aids just inside the grand foyer.

Now, dressed in flowing white clothing, Diana rushes in to where Donna is, finally pausing to look at her sister, and then around the room itself.

"What... has happened?" The Princess asks, not breathlessly, but still with a clear level of adrenaline having her keyed-up from her ride back to the palace grounds.

Donna Troy has posed:
    Donna has obviously been involved in something dangerous as well as weird, which is normal for Donna, though perhaps more dangerous than usual judging by the condition her armor is in. It has been about a year since she got her fancy new armor, so it's not technically really new any more. Currently it barely counts as armor any more either, because it's got a good few rips and holes in it. Judging by the dried blood on the edges of those holes and the visible marks of stitching on her face and arms, Donna probably had a good few rips and holes in her too, though she seems cheerful enough about it now and greets her sister with the accustomed happy smile, though the hug might be a little tighter than usual.

    "I... wish I knew," Donna says to Diana with a sheepish shrug.

    The throne room is empty but for the usual pair of guards on the door, and the two sisters. Donna has been resting in a chair close by the short flight of stairs leading up to the throne, and she gestures to Diana to join her on another chair. There's a table beside her with wine on it, and Donna has been refreshing herself with that too.

    "Sorry to arrive unannounced," Donna says to Diana with a grin. "It wasn't exactly planned. To be honest I'm still not clear how we got here. We were... we were in a different woods. In England. But it wasn't entirely in England. Mystical forests seem to be linked, and I think we took that link to get here." She shifts a little in her chair, getting herself comfortable, and pours some wine into another glass for Diana. "We... had help. I mean, it wasn't the plan to end up here. We were guided. I..."

    Donna's slightly confused explanation is interrupted as one of the healers pushes the door around and looks in. She gives Diana a smile and a nod, "Princess Diana," she says in greeting. "Princess Troia. Your companion's wounds are treated. She will be fine. She should rest, but Epione sent me to ask if she should come to speak to you first." The healer's looking towards Diana for an answer, but Donna answers first. "Yes please Khora. Bring her straight in. We'll make sure she doesn't exert herself too much, I promise."

Jinx has posed:
Jinx is rarely speechless. 'Fuck me' doesn't seem entirely appropriate given the company but that's what's been on her mind as they wandered from lush forest to cobbled pathways and to a large Grecian like city with a palace. The visage is utterly stunning and her head was on a swivel as they made their way in.

"So this is how the 1% live," Jinx joked as they walked in through the city gates. All the women wearing such nice white gowns and skirts and bits of armor. It's a very different vibe to where she grew up - London. Let alone where she lives - Metropolis.

And hey, her little bisexual heart is not at all hating having the healers rubbing ointments in to her skin. The treatments unfortunately do come to an end and she is ushered through to another part of the palace.

She hadn't really noticed it before now as she looks back and forth between Troia and Diana. "Are you lot twins or some'en?"

Jinx -cannot get enough- of their accents in this place. Themyscira is like something out of a childhood fever dream. "Wait. Are there really no men here? I thought that was just a myth." But now that she thinks about it she hasn't seen a single one since they came out of the forest.

Her clothes are very cut up and still soaked with blood. It's not the best look. Even as a Supervillain she never got this bloodied up in a fight. The whole 'princesses' thing has eluded her at the moment as she looks around the nicely appointed chambers. Not that she doesn't get royalty. She's British after all. But working with Troia hasn't exactly put her in the bucket of 'Princess' in her mind.

Diana Prince has posed:
Naturally the hug was returnd to Donna, with a appraising once-over being given to her young sister. Arguably her most reckless sister, at that! But she seems okay. She seems perfectly fine, in fact. That does make Diana relax a bit. She does sit in the second chair opposite of Troia's own, and does glance at the wine glass when it's poured for her, but she doesn't reach for it, instead her hands remain resting upon her lap.

She flickers her eyelids a little at the explanation of how this happened, or what happened, and even tilts her head to the side ever so slightly in a curious nature as she processes it. "That is an event that will concern the security minded members of the island. We will need to explore the possibilities of how such a thing could have happened..." She starts to say a moment before Jinx is brought in.

Seated on the edge of the high-backed chair, Diana's posture is straight and perfect. Her eyes look toward Jinx, and then back toward Troia. She lofts one eyebrow toward her sister before she returns her stare toward Jinx.

"There are two male scholars from New York who are currently in the palace library. They came with me to the island for this visit, to study and research first-hand, at the Queen's permission. But yes.. otherwise, normally, this is a island of exclusively women."

Diana stands up, her white skirt gently swaying around her otherwise bare thighs as she stands at her full height now. "Welcome to Themyscira." She tells the visitor from England.

Donna Troy has posed:
    Donna knows Jinx's attitudes towards rich capitalists and the privileged well enough that her comments at the gates had hardly been unexpected, though the tired Amazon hadn't the energy for more than a brief reply. "More like how the 100% live when it's Themyscira. Just... don't judge until you understand, Jinx," had been her only reply. As Jinx takes in her surroundings in this latest room, she might start thinking again. There are statues and artworks, the shine of gold everywhere, and very obviously an actual /throne/ going on here. That's got to be signs of extreme privilege, right? If the whole princess thing has never really impinged on Jinx's consciousness before, it's probably going to start.

    "Her nose is bigger than mine!" Donna says, grinning wide at her sister as she answers Jinx. "And she's taller, and has different colored eyes. I'm adopted so we're not actually sisters, but we are cousins."

    Diana's explanation about the scarcity of men gets a nod. "There were no men on Themysicra between approximately a hundred BC and two years ago. Things have changed recently and now a very limited number of men have been allowed to visit. None live here though."

    Donna pours out another glass of wine, for Jinx, and gestures to another chair, urging her to sit. The healers will scold Donna later if she doesn't encourage Jinx to rest.

    "I don't think there's an issue of security to worry about Diana," Donna says. "How we got here... I don't entirely understand. But I believe we were brought here by... well, the magic that protects the island was not truly breached, I think. I believe we were guided here by the very source of that magic. No -- I am sure of it. It is by the hand of Gaia herself that we came here. Perhaps Jinx can explain because I..." she gives a shake of her head. "There were things that I sense, things that I /felt/ were happening. But it concerns Jinx more directly than it concerns me. "

Jinx has posed:
This is the kind of place Jinx wishes she lived in. In her various safe houses she hung up bits of art that she stole. But this place is filled with the stuff and you don't have to hide it away. None of it is likely stolen either for that matter.

She raises an eyebrow at the throne like chair and the rather intimidating stare she gets from Diana. "Thanks?" It's a welcome of sorts. She lifts up her hands, "It's fine. I can read the room. Intense stares from one, happy smiles from the other. You don't know me and I don't know you. I mean.. you probably _do_ know of me. I'm sure all the Justice Leaguers get updates on villains."

"But I don't do that shit any more." She thumbs to Donna, "I work with her now. And the Titans. I'm trying to go legit." A small shrug of her shoulders. Though then the question of how they got here comes up.

"Oh is that.. right. That's a bit of a long story. But if what Kel told me is true and I'm pretty sure it is I'm apparently some Champion of Gaia. The magical kind. I guess I didn't really know where my magic came from before now. It's kind of weird knowing it. Like, a sponsorship of sorts."

"So we were in Surrey. The world was falling apart because another alternate reality was crashing in to our reality. Multiversal stuff. Nadia can explain it better. But we got stuck there and this guardian of the place. This sort of murder deer that had been keeping people away from the place my whole life left us a trail out of there. It lead us here."

"Funny that it hadn't really occurred to me that Gaia probably didn't want the world to end because of my shitty parents doing dark magic rituals with baby sacrifices."

She accepts the wine and takes the offered seat. She does look a little tired considering everything they went through. The unexpected hike especially. "Beyond that I have no freakin' clue what a champion of Gaia is meant to be or do or what have you. Just a vague letter from Kel who used to be the champion before me."

Diana Prince has posed:
When Jinx is within arm's reach, Diana steps toward her and offers her a hand prior to the woman taking that seat. "I do not require any explanations. If Donna believes in you, then I believe in you." She says in her smooth voice, accented heavily in that Themysciran flavor common to the island's inhabitants. She will return to her own seat then, and lower once more on to its edge, her hands once more going to rest atop her lap, a smirk sent to Donna at the comment about her nose, which she ignores as-ever!

"I only bring up the security element due to the nature of it, and that others will soon be questioning you both on it as well. Unannounced arrivals tend to cause waves of unease throughout the contingent of our people who are not so open to the outside world being given any measure of access to our shores. But... again, if you both believe in this reasoning for it, then it will likely be enough to quiet what noise comes of it."

A second is taken for Diana to take a breath and reach a hand up to stroke it across her brow, no tiara currently worn. "I am glad that you are both safe. The message I had gotten had been... concerning. But it seems, as ever, Troia has found a way to avoid the danger she rushes headlong in to." She states with a small smirk cast to her sister aside her.

Donna Troy has posed:
    "As far as I understand it," Donna says after a sip of wine, "There was a sorceress in England who was blessed by Gaia. Jinx's parents acquired some ancient magical daggers created long ago in Corinth which could, via a blood sacrifice, transfer magical power from one person to another. They attempted to steal this sorceress' power, sacrificing Jinx to do so. The ritual went wrong, and the her power went to Jinx instead. For a long time she has been misusing it, and perhaps because of that she has spent her life subject to a curse."

    "Some weeks ago, Jinx returned to her home with Harley to figure out what had happened. While there... something strange occurred. Jinx lost her power for a while. Whatever she and Harley did seems to have caused a divergent timeline, where the sorceress retained her powers and became a champion of Gaia. However the two timelines did not diverge cleanly, and this new timeline was falling apart, and perhaps endangering our own. We sought to repair it, and in the process the version of this sorceress sacrificed herself, returning her powers to Jinx because she understood that was necessary to save her world and potentially ours. We were able to finish the job and repair the damage. However... something happened."

    It's Donna's turn to stare a little at Jinx, though it's more curious than wary or intimidating. "I think... I think Gaia may have decided that Jinx was worthy of the gift that had never been meant for her, after all."

    Donna breaks away to smile at Diana. "If I am good at avoiding the dangers I rush headlong into, it is because I surround myself with those who help me out of them, sister."

    "And yet I am not the least surprised to find you involved in this, little princess." The voice, rich and resonant, comes from a newcomer standing in the doorway. Menalippe, the high priestess of Themyscira, dressed in a long gown of deep crimson, with a wreath of olive leaves wound in her hair. She greets Diana with a cross-bracered salute, then repeats the gesture to Donna and finally to Jinx.

    "The auguries have been giving strange signs. The priestesses of the oracle have reported unlooked-for portents. We sensed an intercession such as we feel perhaps only once a decade." The woman's dark, piercing eyes fall on Jinx. "If Troia is correct, you will have an interesting future," she says before joining the trio at the table.

Jinx has posed:
Don't be weird about the handshake is what she's telling herself. There's really no coming back from hangin' with a Justice Leaguer. No villain would ever believe she's just playing the longcon when everyone would assume the lasso of truth would be used on her. It hasn't, but then again Jinx isn't entirely sure Troia's lasso wasn't a truthy one any way.

Jinx takes heed of Donna's armor. She winces a little at the look of it and says, "First the sword and now the armor. My bad luck is rubbing off on you Troia." Though everything she thought she knew about her magic is now up in the air. Kel never had bad luck. Instead she was the greatest boon to the Eurotrash heroes in that alternate reality. That stirring in the pit of her stomach reminds her that she has huge shoes to fill that she is pretty sure she can never fill.

"Hey.. so.. we're not stuck here then right? we can go home and let Nadia know we're not trapped in forever amber. I'm sure she'll still want to figure out how to fix it but at least she's not going to be shitting herself." ... Jinx ...caring about how Nadia feels ...did someone replace their Jinx with a better version when no one was looking. Of all the people in the Titans Jinx has found Nadia to be one of the most relatable considering both their upbringings.

Then Donna begins her recollection of the adventure so far. It's pretty on the money and Jinx just sort of shrugs and nods her head. "Yeah I don't know about all that worthiness stuff." Kel told her she believed in her. That stung a bit.

She looks over to the high priestess and gives her a small wave in return to the salute. But she did indeed catch that 'little princess'. Something in the back of her mind ticks. Some documentary about Wonder Woman. Isn't she a Princess. And therefore Troia is a princess? WELL. 1% indeed.

As the priestess gives her a very intense look she holds up her hands again, "Whoa. Let's not get all crazy. I just do magic. I'm better at it now that's all. No importents or whatever. Telling people they're going to have an interesting future is a pretty gnarly curse."

Diana Prince has posed:
The explanation of Jinx's backstory garners a pair of soft nods from Diana who looks away from Troia, and back on to that of their guest. "You have been through a lot then," she says in a soft tone, "I am glad that you are finding ways to solve the after-effects of all of this. It sounds quite complicated though. But if you have the help of the Titans, then I believe... well, I hope for the best with it. As ever, as well, I am here to help how I can. If needed."

Diana stands when Menalippe enters, and she returns the gesture lightly before she steps over toward her. She stands on Mena's right side, and motions toward Jinx. "I think it would be a wise idea for the three of you to talk about all of this. As for Nadia... you can use the Invisible Jet's communications array to contact her wherever she is, it is parked on the eastern landing platform."

Finally, Diana looks toward Donna again, and smirks very softly. "You need to go get changed, sister. You do not need to be taking Jinx on a tour of the city dressed like that..."

Donna Troy has posed:
    "I need to go and get my armor repaired," Donna answers Diana with a matching smirk. "Pallas will be furious with me for dragging her away from her current pet project. Again." The smirk settles into a gentle smile to the sister she adores, and she gives Diana a slight nod.

    "Gaia does not make mistakes nor do anything by accident," Menalippe tells Jinx, a little sternly. "If your power was stolen from her back, you should ask yourself why she did not take it back. Make no mistake, she could have at any time. She /chose/ not to. And if you feel that you are better at it suddenly, now, then you should also ask yourself why that would be. Why the great goddess would have chosen to allow you more than you were allowed before."

    Donna gives Jinx's arm a quick squeeze. "I've already sent a message to Nadia," she reassures the pink-haired sorceress before giving grateful smile to Diana for the offer of the Invisible Jet's wifi. "And don't worry about the sword and armor. It is not bad luck that they got damaged, that is just a sign that they are being used for what they are intended. My sword was damaged breaking a demon-possessed sword, and my armor was damaged keeping me alive. Those are both things to be thankful of."

    She tilts her head towards the priestess. "Menalippe... I had hoped you could explain to Jinx what has happened to her. I could... I /felt/ Gaia's direct hand in this. If this is no accident, then it is important that Jinx understands it."

    "That is something she must find out for herself, Troia," Menalippe answers. "Take her to the temple. If Gaia has indeed chosen to act through this one, she will be allowed to see it."

    "You mean...?"

    "Yes. The Naos Pantheion. The oldest temple."

Jinx has posed:
Jinx pauses at the certainty with which the high priestess speaks. If she hadn't felt it herself she'd dismiss it all as mere religious rherotic. But there's more going on here than she can explain. Things greater than the magic she learnt as a teenager from a reluctant witch working for H.I.V.E.

A nod is given as Donna takes the pressure off the conversation by letting her know Nadia knows. "...Naos Pantheion? Look I hate to break it to you all. But I didn't exactly get an Ivy League education growing up. I don't actually know that much about Greek gods and stuff. Honestly, the most I know about Gaia is from watching reruns of Captain Planet."

It's sad that nothing she just said was a lie. An inditement of the British public school system for disadvantaged youths. They didn't much care that orphans weren't learning properly so long as they spent the requisite number of hours in school. That's how the grants system worked.

That a special temple exists here on Themyscira and likely no where else on the world does suggest to her that the deer brought them here for exactly that. Divine intervention makes her stomach uneasy. But it's got to be better than having bad luck follow her around. May be they can help with that. "Sooo.. another hike?"

Diana Prince has posed:
From Mena to Donna and Jinx, Diana sweeps her gaze. She then studies Donna's reaction to what the Priestess says, followed by Jinx's own. A small smile graces her visage then as she places her hands together in front of her lap. "I am sure we can introduce you to a Kanga, or a even tempered Horse. There is no reasy to make you hike after all you have already been through.." The slight grin touching the corner of Diana's mouth may indicate a playful undertone to her words.

She puts a hand on the back of Menalippe's arm then before she speaks once more. "Once they are in better condition, it seems like this would be the best route to go from here. I believe it sounds as though it would provide quite a lot of potential answers to questions you may not even realize you have." She states then directly to Jinx.

Toward Donna then, Diana nods once. "Tend to your armor and weapon first, though, as I get a level of discomfort knowing you are 'up to things' without them." She light-heartedly quips at her sister before she strides over to that table where Donna had poured that glass of wine.

Diana gathers it up finally, and raises it up to do a solo toasting gesture. "To Troia somehow falling through time and space, back to Themyscira, and on to new wild endeavors."

And she takes a sip, a nice big sip. It might even be a full blown drink!

Donna Troy has posed:
    Donna rolls her eyes at Diana the bursts out laughing and leans over to give her sister another quick hug. "Diana, I promise that we will rest a little before we go anywhere, I shall wear some fresh armor and take a fresh sword, and yes we'll take horses as far as we can. Though for the last part of the journey in the deeper woods, the horses cannot go."

    "Yes Jinx, another hike. Back to the woods. But if I am to accompany you, it will not be so hard. I have been there twice before. The first time was very hard, but there was a reason for that. Caitlin made the same journey once as well. It was... for us both, a test. Such journeys are necessarily hard. For you it will be about being there, not about the journey. Your journey I think you already took, back there in Surrey, when you turned around and returned to me. The last time I went there, it was not necessary for me to repeat the trial I had already undertaken, so the journey was an uneventful one. We will rest a day or two first, and it'll be fine."

    All this talk of journeys and trials is sufficiently mythic enough that Jinx will get some hint that there's something serious about this particular temple; she may not know a whole lot about Greek legends specifically, but she's well enough informed about magic to recognize the concept of a ritual journey.

    Donna raises her glass to follow Diana's toast. "To Menalippe, who never seems troubled by the strangest revelations. To the best sister anyone could ask for, for her care and wisdom. And to Jinx, for turning back when the old Jinx never would have."

Jinx has posed:
Troia's observation about her behaviour has her wondering. What old Jinx have just left Troia to perhaps be trapped in amber for most of eternity? Unless Nadia could figure it out. Quite probably have taken that as a 'win' against the Titans. Not that she really cared that much about the Titans. That was all Dr. Light's weird fixation.

Well, she cares about them now though. The first time she truly understood the concept of 'friends' let alone 'family'. It's been a hard road already even recognising how fucked up she was from HIVEs mindfuckery.

She has no toast to add so she raises her glass and takes a big gulp of the wine. The warmth of it goes nicely with the temperature of the island. It also takes her mind off the many ouchies she has everywhere.

Still her mind is roiling with all these revelations. For the briefest moment she thinks of that alternate reality Jinx. The one who was an accountant. Did she have a quiet happy life? was that enough? ... until they came crashing in to her reality at least - or did she long for adventure and magic. The grass is always greener. It's moments of uncertainly like this just how obvious it is that Jinx trash talks to hide her fear. But she has no words right now. A testament to how safe she feels around Troia.

"... to Troia for being way more fun than I ever thought a Titan could be." Jinx still has that far off look even as she raises her glass. A heart felt toast though. "... and to Wonder Woman for inspiring young girls everywhere to stand up for themselves." A rare admission from Jinx that she admires the hero. Something she was never really allowed to admit to herself as a ward of HIVE.