16884/Hello, Paper

Hello, Paper
Date of Scene:	12 January 2024
Location:	Main Room - Titan's Tower
Synopsis:	Clara meets with three of the OG Titans and gets a warm welcome and cookies. Caitlin, Wally and Donna get a demonstration of papercraft in exchange.
Cast of Characters:	Donna Troy, Clara Jennings, Caitlin Fairchild, Wally West

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Donna Troy has posed:
    There's a file. Of course there's a file, because it's Damian who had recommended to Clara that she might find a place for herself with the Titans, and he's a one for making reports. Most of the Titans are not, which is a difference in style between Titans and Bats that has both pros and cons. This is not to say that the Titans are terrible at record-keeping, but it does tend to take a fair bit of urging and much of it goes on behind the scenes. Thus when Clara finds herself invited to meet with two of the OG Titans, part of the Titans Leadership Committee, there's no sign of files left ominously on desks, though that's not to say that Caitlin and Donna haven't read the file before the meeting.

    On a similar basis, the venue for the meeting is not as someone new to the way the Titans works might expect in one of the meeting rooms, but rather in the comfort of the main room. Nor has there been any indication this is some kind of job interview so much as a get to know you sort of thing. Clara has spent some time at the Tower over the last few weeks already and may have figured out by now that this kind of informality is something of a Titan's trademark. It doesn't take a lot of time at the Tower to observe there's something quite chaotic about the way the Titans operate, though it takes a little longer to start recognizing the patterns of organization that underlie that chaos. A meeting with a couple of the OGs is clearly part of that hidden and still informal organization.

    At the appointed time, Caitlin and Donna are already in the Main Room, and clearly have been there for some time, deep in conversation. There are a couple of tablets close at hand the pair have undoubtedly been referring to at points in that conversation, an indicator of the method by which those rarely visible elements of structure behind the chaos take place. Running a super team of the size of the Titans -- and they have certainly become sizeable over recent years, takes a fair bit of hidden organization, and Caitlin and Donna do a major chunk of that. Someone has to.

Clara Jennings has posed:
    Whenever invited to meet someone, there are matters of etiquette to attend to. Clara is, if nothing else, utterly obsessed with these kind of details. The location is what makes it very difficult, though. Normally, she would arrive fifteen minutes early, and then announce herself with an assistant five minutes before the meeting. That is just being polite. However, this interesting mix of informal and formal, of a main room that has people flowing through it at all hours and a meeting, which has rules, does throw a wrench into it.

    Clara, always one to overthink the heck out of this, went to the danger room to train, so she can come out of the elevator five minutes before the meeting, and then find Donna and Caitlin just shortly before the meeting. It works, but the level of thought and energy used in this was insane. She has a diagram, if anyone wants to see it.

    When she does see them and make her way over, she is doing her best to stay calm. When she is within a polite distance, she stops. Immediately there is fidgeting. Hands. She hates not knowing what to do with them.

    "Hello, I am Clara Jennings." The scripted nature of her is slipping already. She is try, really she is. "Sorry. I am not sure what this is going to be like, so I was not able to prepare. I am very humbled that you both took the time to meet me, though. I appreciate all the help I have already received. I do wonder though, what I can possibly do in return."

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin baked cookies.

Mostly because, it sets people at ease. No one bakes cookies when there's bad news or a firm word to be delivered. That's more of a carrot cake thing. Cookies tend to elicit the happiest of memories, those times when treats were delivered and a kid could just go whole hog on something all to themselves. Even the gruffest of newcomers failed to turn one down after sitting near that tantalizing scent for a few minutes.

The seating has also be arranged to be as friendly as possible. The three chairs sit at slight angles so Clara won't be forced to face the two of them at once. They're canted just a little so no one's facing each other directly, either, and the shape of the chairs makes it difficult to be comfortable leaning forward. They almost force relaxation.

Which is the other side of the soft glove of recruitment. Making it very clear to newcomers that there won't be any strict order or regimentation here. In fact, several Titans walk through the main room in their civilian clothes on their way hither and yon (though they're at least polite enough not to engage too much with the meeting).

When Clara arrives, Caitlin flashes a beaming smile and stands up to beckon Clara over. "Clara! It's so nice to see you again. Please, /relax/," she urges, and laughs encouragingly. For once she's not in scrubs or athleisure clothes, and has donned decently-fitting jeans and a long-sleeved purple shirt with a yoke style collar. "Want a cookie?" she offers, and invites her to sit on one of ...THE COMFY CHAIRS.

Donna Troy has posed:
    Donna hops up from her seat with an impressively wide smile and virtually bounces over to greet Clara. "Cait's right, 'relax' is exactly what you can do in return," Donna says with a little laugh as she offers Clara a handshake. "Hey there! I'm Donna Troy. Or Troia. Either is good. Grab a seat, and don't worry yourself. This is just a little get to know you chat, there's nothing you needed to prepare for. Just be yourself. There won't be a test afterwards."

    Despite the relaxed atmosphere, Donna is not dressed in the most relaxing-appearing manner. Caitlin may be dressed casually, but Donna's in her armor, neck to toe in black and silver. She has what must be her lasso slung from her belt, though perhaps disappointingly it's not currently glowing with that strange magical golden glow that Amazon's lassos always seem to have when someone films them doing superhero things. Donna is an Amazon though, and Amazons apparently consider armor to be a form of casual wear.

    Certainly the casual nature is there on show in her body language. There's a distinct look of mischief on her face as she swipes a cookie from the plate on her way back to her seat, even as Caitlin offers them to the newcomer. "So it's Clara... or Charta, right?" Donna asks. "Do you have a preference for which we use while at the tower? Some people prefer to keep it professional and stick to codenames whenever they're here. Others prefer to use their real names as much as possible. We'll use whichever you prefer, though if you prefer to be known by your secret identity, Cait will probably forget regularly. When she does, just point her towards the secret identities jar. Or demand she bakes some more cookies in compensation. Cait bakes the best cookies."

Clara Jennings has posed:
    The way things are arranged is very welcoming. Caitlin's greeting draws a most calming sigh from the young woman. "Thank you so much. I would love a cookie!"

    She is relieved to take one. At first, she was saying yes automatically, out of politeness and knowing that she will have something to hold. That reduces hand stress by fifty percent! But she catches the scent of the cookie and honestly just wants a cookie. They smell so good. Her mind is working away at it. Is that allspice in the air? Cinnamon? A touch of nutmeg, maybe? It reminds her of home.

    She does come out of that baking trance. Her face turns back to Donna, and she accepts her hand. That reduces hand stress temporarily again. Thank goodness. The damn things drive her crazy.

    "You are both very kind. Oh, and please, just call me Clara. I am a bit embarrassed about the whole Charta incident. I was rather put on the spot and needed something to tell Rook and Oriole. Sorry. It is Robin now, I think. Hmm, but it is tempting to use a secret identity if it means I can get more of these cookies, though."

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
"I've never bothered with one," Caitlin assures Clara with a reassuring shrug. One look at her physique and it's not hard to guess the reason for that decision. The redhead would stand out in public in anything short of a burka. Even dressed down it's hard to overlook how big she is.

"So, you've met Roo-- Robin," Caitlin amends. "And we got to talk to you a bit at the party the other night. We've helped a lot of new heroes get on the ground and get a name for themselves," she says encouragingly. "We all started out as teenagers, too. Cyborg was the oldest and he was an old man of like... nineteen." It's said as a joke. "We've been doing this long time so we've got the welcoming wagon pretty well dialed in."

She glances down at the pad on her thigh, then sits up again and rests her interlaced fingers on her knee. "So tell us, just like.. in your own words. Why do you want to be a hero? Why do you want to be a Titan?"

Donna Troy has posed:
    "Clara it is then," Donna responds with a smile. She gives Caitlin a nudge that looks like it would probably crush a normal person, so actually causes Caitlin to move very slightly in her seat. "Cait!" She says with a laugh, then shakes her head at Clara, grinning. "She's teasing you. We're not here to evaluate you. Robin -- yeah, he's Robin again right now -- has vouched for you. That's good enough for us. Welcome to the Titans! Where it goes from there though? That's up to you."

    "When we first started, there was no precedent for what we were doing. In fact the reason why we started the Titans is because the Justice League thought we were too young to be part of a super team, so we decided to prove them wrong. These days we make sure that there's a support structure in place for younger people trying to set out on the same path we follow. "

    "There's no particular requirements on being part of this, beyond the obvious. We're here to help out people trying to do heroic things, but there's no minimum time or activity requirements for that. If you're spending some of your time in the business, we'll support you. As I'm sure you can imagine we've got a good few members in school who have limits on their time, and just king of help out when they can".

    "It'll be a while before you get your hands on /all/ the goodies of course. Access to the secure areas of the computer system, the evidence lockers, certain labs, the T-Jet and so on. That's down to you, really. We want to see someone's committed and trustworthy first. However we'll put you on a legal footing, make sure you've got insurance, give you help when you need it, training facilities and an opportunity for training if you need it. And a T-Com, if Robin hasn't handed you one yet. "

    It's a bit of a spiel and Donna looks slightly relieved when it's all out there, leaning back in her chair to nibble her cookie. "You can still answer Caitlin's question if you want though. And ask us any questions you have too. After all this is meant to be a get to know you thing, and that goes both ways."

Clara Jennings has posed:
    That question is quite a difficult one, honestly. Why does she want to be a hero? For once, Clara's thinking has nothing to do about social meandering. She uses a well timed mouthful of cookie to buy herself some time. It is important for her to answer this question.

    "Oh wow, this is so good. Is baking a power?" Clara asks. But no, no, she cannot let herself ignore the question a moment longer.

    "I do not see myself as a hero. I never wanted to do anything but my job, which is about protecting important historical objects, usually books. But then New Years happened. That changed things." Other than the security footage, this story is unshared and unknown. "When those men broke into the museum to try yet again to burn it down, this time with a little hostage, I realized that just because I am limited in my rules of engagement does not mean they are. I realized that I had no backup. It was all up to me to go in and make sure she got out alive. She was really a lovely child, too. Her parents must have suffered so much agony. So much worry, and part of that is my fault."

    A breath in, a breath out. More thought. "More recently, though... New York. I need help with that." This is less known, but she is referring to the stack of five slain mafia buglars who set her up. "At first I did not want to be a Titan. Rook told me to come here, after he threatened me with the anger of Batman. It was not clear just how these two things would relate, but I am not worried about that. I am no longer unknown. I have earned my first enemies, and they are willing to hurt others to get me. I cannot let that happen. A child is the most beautiful of all things humans can make. Nothing is worth risking one. They know that I feel this way now."

    It's a lot to say, but it is out there. And it gets her to focus on Donna's words now that it is said. "Wow, you do all of that for people? I would feel very strange to take such charity, though. And you do not have to worry about a.. T-Jet? I do not have the skill to fly." Though it would keep her hands busy.

    "So I do have a question. I... in New York. I have never had that happen, I only learned after the fact that the men died." This topic is not easy. She is holding herself up, but she has to say it, and that is when she will start to break down, "Have you ever... hu.. no. Not hurt. They were not hurt. Their families will never see them again. They were trying to kill me, but I did kill them. I do not know who to talk to about this."

Wally West has posed:
As Donna and Caitlin welcome a new member of the team via a good old fashioned tour and questionaire, there's suddenly a red blur sprinting into the Tower! Course, it triggers sensory alarms as it always does, and instead of taking an elevator, the Speedster just decides to take the stairs.

Faster that way.

Course, Wally's been in a strange place lately. He's been focusing largely on his physical training and martial arts exercise. But his mood has been....weird. Still friendly, as friendly as he can be, but he seems far more serious of recent. Yet, he still certainly /moves/ as though he still bears his happy-go-lucky demeanor, skidding to a stop in the Main Room of the Tower, his hands lifting up to his cowl to lower it, revealing his full freckled face with red hair and green eyes. He seems to be in the kitchen, his hand on a Shake as he pulls it out of the fridge in quick fashion, uncapping it and giving it a good sip.

For a shake, it has lots of good proteins and electrolytes, everything that Wally needs to keep his metabolism happy.

Then he seems to notice the trio of ladies minding their own business and having a conversation. "Oh. Hey Don. Hey Cait." He gives them a warm little wave. He slowly turns his attention towards Clara for a moment.

"Hey. New to the Tower?"

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin slips Donna an arch look when no one's paying attention to her. See? Questions help.

Like the other Titans she's gotten quite used to the strange frisson that precedes the arrival of a Flash, so Wally's appearance doesn't take her by surprise. She looks up at him and flashes a friendly smile, wiggling her fingers at him in greeting. She is about to invite him over to talk when he beats her to it and greets Clara.

Of course, that's right when Clara starts breaking down, which produces a somewhat alarmed response from Caitlin. Her green eyes go wide in concern and she leans forward to give the other woman's fingers a squeeze of reassurance, acting instinctively to soothe her.

"Hey, it's all right," she whispers in a gently soothing voice. "It's OK. A bad thing happened, and you reacted to it as best as you could. There's no shame in that being frightening."

She gives it a beat, glancing at Donna and Wally, then looks back at Clara. She releases her fingers and reaches over for a tissue box and offers it to the girl. "We do have a couple psychiatrists we work with. Heroes get trauma reactions just like everyone else does," she assures her. "Dr. Quinzel is a really good therapist in general, too. If you want, we can put you in touch with her and while you're here, you can focus on training and sort of getting a handle on your abilities while you sort things out?" she offers.

Donna Troy has posed:
    Donna gives a grin to Wally, and gestures him over to join them. "This is Clara," She says. "Clara, Wally. Take cookies now, he's a speedster and speedsters eat everything that's not nailed down."

    Clara showing signs of a break down get a quick glance from Donna in Caitlin's direction. This is a conversation everyone has at some point, but usually not quite so quickly.

    "One of the reasons why we offer this kind of support to young heroes is to make sure they get the training they need, Clara. Perhaps the most important part of that is helping people learn how to fight safely, not just keeping themselves safe, but reducing the chance of accidents. Accidents do happen though."

    "Superheroes don't try to kill people. We try quite hard not to. Sometimes that's not possible though. You do your best, but in the end you have to remember that you are where you are because you are trying to save people, and they are where they are because they chose to be. Someone who decides to attack people , to commit violence... they are choosing to take a risk. Their victims are not."

    "There's a... saying amongst the Amazons. It goes something like this: Do not kill if it is possible to wound. Do not wound if it is possible to restrain. And do not raise your hand to someone in war until you have tried extending it to them in friendship. We do what we can not to hurt people." She gives a small shake of her head though. "Sometimes that's just not possible though. It is the effort that is vital. We should not blame ourselves if we cannot always achieve the ideal outcome."

Clara Jennings has posed:
    Wally's appearance is sudden. But she recognizes him. She thinks. "I saw you when we met Billy," she remembers. She pauses, her mind still struggling with the memory she pulled up. "How does the cowl stay up?" Clara is not sure why she wants to know, but it keeps her mind off the scarier topic.

    But that flight does not make it go away. "I think a therapist might be a good idea. I tried to talk to my governess about it, and she tries to comfort me, but I need more help than she can give. It has made things worse. Um, it's hard to explain. I am always a bit off at first. With new people. This is honestly pretty good for me."

    Caitlin's touch does make a difference. As seems to be more and more the case, Clara's constantly distracted by thoughts of her own hands. Something about being comforted this way visibly calms her down. The tears may fall, but she can breathe. And yes, she will take another cookie. Okay, okay, she took two. She needs them.

    "Thank you." That said gently, for the tissues. And also for the cookies. "Thank you, for everything. For taking the time. I have an odd situation. I have a job that puts me in danger outside of what I would say is heroic. I work for the Conservatory, and my job is to sometimes retrieve, sometimes protect ancient relics. Ideally without conflict, but I have risked my life several times to achieve it. I fear that there might be a conflict on my time, but I mean to do what I can to help. And to learn. To show how grateful I am to have a place to be."

Wally West has posed:
The greeting from Donna is met with a smile. The greeting from Caitlin is met with a hesitant, but no less genuine little wave of his hand to the Amazon. Yet, he greets the guest with a little and friendly smile on his face. "Hey there." He comes over at Donna's invitation, a little gulp given as he's put on the spot. "Nice to meet you, Clara." He looks at the cookies. "There's cookies?" He smiles ever so softly.

In a blur, a good number of them are gone, a cookie in his hand.

"Uhm. Sorry. Was I not supposed to take one?" It's safe to say that those cookies are now resting peacefully in his stomach.

Though he turns to Donna as she speaks about heroes and killing. It's clear though at Wally firmly believes in not killing anybody, even those who can't be saved. He frowns softly when Donna admits that avoiding such a thing isn't possible.

But he keeps his thoughts to himself.

He knows Clara went through a abad thing. So he just offers. "You did what you could." He remarks softly, not speaking with confidence. But instead, trying to just offer some kind of solace. "Can't save everyone, right?" Though he was asked a question. "Oh...uh...when I run? There's like...a cool invisible aura. Keeps my clothes from disintegrating. And uh, friction-resistant material. It's pretty cool." He pulls on his uniform a little, as if to gesture to it.

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin smiles wryly at Clara's mention of 'odd situations'. Once the girl's done crying, she sets the tissues down in easy reach and sits back in her chair again. "The Titans isn't really a full-time job," she promises Clara. "Generally we see it as a priority, but there are reservists who only come in when it's an all-hands-on-deck situation. They have regular lives and jobs and some of them even live in other parts of the country. I'm finishing my medical school residency, for instance," she offers. "So I'm not around the Tower as much as I'd like to be. Things should ease up in a few months."

The cookies are gone in a red-and-yellow blur; Caitlin arches an eyebrow at Wally, then slides the platter a few inches towards him. The little smile at the corner of her mouth makes it a gentle teasing rather than real reprimand.

But she does glance at the SnackyShake in his hand.

"As for being a relic hunter, you'll fit right in here," she promises Clara. "The Titans spend a lot of time exploring old ruins and markers of lost civilizations. Most of them we donate, but we have a few trophies here in the Tower Museum that would make the Met green with envy."

Donna Troy has posed:
    "Yeah we've done a few relics in our time," Donna agrees. "Actually we've got a current mission ongoing we've hit a bit of a wall with to find someone. Who knows, maybe you'll be able to help with that. Relic jobs can be tricky, though. One time we busted an underground auction of magical relics and ended up stuck in Tartarus. Being a Titan can be an interesting time."

    "We all have calls on our time outside being Titans. It's really not a problem," Donna reassures Clara. "I mean Caitlin modestly refers to completing her medical school residency, but she doesn't mention half a dozen other calls on her time..." she glances at Wally, grinning a little. "...Such as being called upon to bake endless quantities of cookies. Caitlin and I both have responsibilities to Themyscira occupying our time too. I spent a fair amount of my time in Manhattan at the Embassy, or at the Atlantic Starport."

    Donna whips her hand out to grab a cookie from the plate before Wally manages to finish them all off. All that practice deflecting bullets with her bracers comes in handy for other things, sometimes.

Clara Jennings has posed:
    Wally's talent for cookie consumption gets another smile from Clara. She is a bit defensive about the two she has, though. Which may explain why she sneaks in bites a bit more often. Also they are very good.

    At the explanation of the aura, she nods, but she is still curious. How does that work? Can it be measured? Could it protect people? She is normally more focused than this!

    "I wish I could have done something different is all. It was like they knew I was coming the whole time. I have never been so hard put to it. They shot me, of course."

    She frowns at that memory. Shot. So demeaning. "Well, not of course. I mean they obviously would try, but I was actually hit. My judgment was poor. I was in such a panic to escape. I was never trained for that situation, and so I failed. But I understand that you are probably right. I did what I could and I need to stop replaying it in my head."

    She looks up at the mention of trophies. "I would like to see that. I am very much interested in history. And literature, since I tend to lecture on it. Oh!" Her mind has to back pedal. "Congratulations on your work in medical school. That is a monumental achievement. You must be very good with your time."

    As she speaks, she takes time to enjoy Caitlin's baking. Until at last, the cookies she has claimed are gone. There is a notable tremor in her hands as she looks down. For a moment, they are tense and her mind is distracted with the same odd thoughts. What does she do with them? And then, after a last jolt of tension, they rest in her lap, at peace.

    "I am glad that it can work out. I still am unsure just what my role might be. I cannot lift large objects, or break the sound barrier, or any of those kind of things. Robin's growling was scary enough to make me come here." She laughs at herself. "I am not terribly brave. But in the end, that does not matter. I want to do the right thing and I need help doing it." A pause and she asks, "Do you do social gatherings often? I need practice. Maybe dancing? It seems like people here really enjoy being together."

Wally West has posed:
"Yeah...some of us are always gone. All the time. It just kinda hits at weird intervals. I wouldn't worry about it." Wally remarks to Clara after Caitlin had finished giving her advice. "Not a fulltime gig. Obviously if it's DEFCON 1, we'll need your help, but we haven't had one of those in a long while." Wally looks towards the plate of cookies as Caitlin slides them his way. He hesitates for a moment, but eventually, his soft smile returns, and he nods at Caitlin as he mouths 'thanks'.

He snags three more.

Though his eyes look at Donna and Cait for a moment. "Heh, relic hunting. Those were always fun. Shame I have no clue what half of them even are." He remarks on the topic of relics. "Yeah..and I have time to committ to Keystone City. Gotta go back home, and admittedly, been spending more time there trying to learn forensics and figure out murders." Could help explain his weird personality lately. "and helping folks using the Starport transportation system. So, self-improvement is always a plus." He winks playfully. He watches as Donna reaches for a cookie. In slow motion. He's tempted as though to slap her hand so he can steal a fourth cookie, but instead, sharing is caring! So he doesn't fuss.

" "Yeah...sometimes the flight or fight response just takes over and it's hard to think clearly." He remarks to her with a softness in his eyes. "Literally outside of your control. You're alright." He laughs a little. "Yeah, Robin does that. Don't worry, you'll see it as much as you see him." He shrugs. "Dunno about dancing, but we try to get together consistently."

Donna Troy has posed:
    "You'll find out what your role is," Donna says with a shrug and a smile. "There's a lot of people on this team. Some of us have been in the business a long time. Some have exceptional powers. It's normal to wonder whether you can make a difference. "

    "The day the Titans really became a thing... that was during the Alien Alliance invasion. There were five of us, though we hadn't all met yet. I was there with Caitlin, looking to do something about the invaders. Nightwing was there with Raven and Cyborg, looking to do something about the invaders. We met up, formed a team. Thing is, the five of us at that time, consisted of two women strong enough to hurl tanks through the air, a half-demon who's one of the most powerful users of magic in the world, a man enhanced by some of the most advanced technology the Earth has ever produced, who could fly through the air, hack computers from range, and fire powerful bolts of sound from his hand. And an acrobat. It's the acrobat who became our leader."

    "Nightwing has no special powers. Robin has no special powers. They're both exceptionally good at what they do. Nobody doubts them, and part of the reason for that is they've trained so hard and so long to be as good as they are. Part of it is because they don't doubt themselves."

    "Being with the Titans is an opportunity to find your feet without being on your own. That's a big thing, Clara. We'll give you training and that's a big thing, but it's also a support network. So social things? Oh yeah, all the time. Sunday lunches are a regular thing, but there's something happening pretty much every day. Quite a lot of us live here, and when there are a few people having their down time at the tower at the same time, there's a pretty high chance many of them will end up having their down time together. We're always having pizza nights, game nights, movie nights, so on. And when you consider how many people there are on the roster these days, we have birthday parties very regularly too."

    Donna leans back in her comfortable chair and gives Wally a bit of a side-eye. "Forensics /and/ extra combat training, Wally? Decided it's time for some self-improvement?"

Clara Jennings has posed:
    Clara has to sit back and think on all that for a while. She has been given much to think about. She has learned a lot, too. She can help. She is welcome. And it is obvious that nobody is expecting her to pull off social graces far beyond her comfort level.

    "Oh, should I show you what I can do? Or maybe that is already known. I worked with Bart for a bit. In the danger room." Which is still a miracle to her. A room that can become so many things is beyond her experience. "But I do not mind demonstrating in other ways. I thought of something new I want to do. For children."

    She ultimately wants to show this off, obviously, and so she does. There is always a briefcase full of paper near her. She opens it and a moment later several sheets of it spring out. It takes her a moment, but soon the paper folds in on itself again and again, until it takes the shape of a flower.

    "I saw someone giving away those long balloons that people twist into animals or swords and I realized I do something more, well, peaceful, too."

    She takes the paper flower-a tulip- and presents it to Donna. "Thank you. For all of this. For not growling, especially. The growling does not work well for me."

Wally West has posed:
"You will. It just takes time." Wally tries to encourage Clara along with Donna, a team effort! Though he looks at Donna. "Hey! I'm an OG member too..." Wally crosses his arms over his chest. "Guess I'm just forgettable." He didn't even make a joke about it! Is Wally okay? Though regardless, he seems to follow along with the conversation. It's true. Nightwing and Robin have no special powers. But they're amazing because of the knowledge and training they commit to every single day.

Show Wally people who do it better. They learned from the best and they never rest.

Though most of the Titans are in a sense, second generation heroes. Wally had Barry and Jay, Donna had Diana, Robin had Batman, Garth had Aquaman and so on and so forth. It's just part of the gig! Though he seems to shake his head when Donna asks him about that self-improvement.

"Yeah. What, want me to only be good at running fast?"

The comment itself is a little forward, but at least there's a /taste/ of genuine humor there. He's protective about it, at least. Though all the same, his attention shifts to Clara. "Hey, sure, wouldn't mind seeing what you can do. If you've worked with Bart, then you already ahve a good idea of the general culture here. You'll do great." He tilts his head. "Something you want to do for children? Gotta love a good party trick." Though he looks at the briefcase she opens and paper starts to fold by her will into a origami flower.

"Huh. Cool."

Donna Troy has posed:
    Donna leans forwards and ruffles Wally's hair. He does it to Irie often enough, he has to accept it coming back to him sometimes! Not that it's the first time it's happened.

    "Oh nobody forgets you're one of the OGs, Wally. Or Gar, or Kori, or Hank, Don or Kole. And you guys all accepted Nightwing as a leader too. But you weren't there for the Alien Alliance invasion, I was only referring to that one day."

    Donna fake-asides to Clara, "Wally joined us in 2013, when he was just fifteen. He was such a brat!" The comment is punctuated with a wink in Wally's direction.

    She takes the paper tulip with a broad smile, and nods her head in acknowledgement of the talent that went into it. "Impressive," she says. "Magical, then? A learned thing, or something inherent? We should spend some time in the danger room together soon to figure out a few clever things you can do with that skill. "

    She tilts her head to the side a little, the faint traces of a grin on her lips. "Honestly I'm surprised nobody persuaded you that your codename should be Origami yet."

Clara Jennings has posed:
    Clara continues to work with her paper, but ultimately, it has to go from the beautiful to the more, well, practical. With the rest of the paper in the briefcase, she first makes a wall, then makes spikes form on that way, and a moment later it expands into a sphere of paper slowly spinning around them. Ultimately, though, she draws it back in to a single shape, leaving only that flower behind.

    The single shape she picks is a mix between a warthog and a wolf. "Not many people have seen me work, honestly. Oh, and this.. this is Dickens." She pats the puppet and smiles.

    "I am amazed, really. You could do this kind of thing when you were 15? I cannot imagine it." She tries to recall herself a few years ago, at that age. It seems like another life. Before missions. "As for the source, I do not know. I was told the Conservatory gave me this power when I was very young. Perhaps four or five? It seems it is not something I need to know. But it works easily enough, and hopefully I can get better at it. My governess keeps me on a firm training regimen to help maintain and expand my talents. Not to mention the academic work, which is, well... I only really feel comfortable in a few situations. Lecturing is one of them. It's fun."

    There is a sound of a vibration then. Which for Clara gets met with a soft, "Drat." She pulls out a pager. Yes, they still exist. She makes no attempt to hide the caller ID, which unhelpfully says 'DIRECTOR' on it. "Double drat. I apologize. I would much rather stay, but, well. No. This is important, too. It just means I am off again. I am so sorry. I will return as often as I can, though!"

    Dickens finds itself swiftly broken up and jammed back into the briefcase. "If there is anything that comes up, I will stay in touch. Everyone has my.." She pauses, then draws out a pair of business cards. "This is my contact information. I am trying to get one for everyone, but it takes time." This includes a cell phone, email, no social media, and even a line that is listed as an unregistered phone. That part is hand written in her elegant hand.