17297/After the Demons

After the Demons
Date of Scene:	28 February 2024
Location:	Donna's Office - Themysciran Embassy
Synopsis:	After fighting demons at the Themysciran embassy, Misfit recovers consciousness in Donna Troy's office, and scores some Themysciran swag.
Cast of Characters:	Donna Troy, Charlotte Gage-Radcliffe

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Donna Troy has posed:
    If you're going to get knocked out by a demon exploding, there are worse places to do it than the Themysciran embassy. Charlie had been promptly removed from the battle and taken to safety, and once the demons had finally been defeated she had received medical attention of the Amazon kind.

    When Charlie awakes, it's to the sound of hammering, and as the tendrils of sleep drift away, it becomes obvious the hammering is coming from several different places. There appears to be some construction work going on.

    Some of that construction work seems to have taken place in the room she finds herself in. It's not a room she has been in before, but the roughly circular patch of fresh, unpainted plasterwork in the middle of one wall gives the game away.

    The room she's in appears to be an office, and a rather nicely appointed one at that. The decorations look expensive, and have a distinctly ancient Greek theme to them.

    Ah yes, the Themysciran Embassy.

    There's not much pain, but there is an odd smell and a strange numb feeling across Charlie's face. An ointment of some sort, applied to the burns. More herbal than flowery, the smell is rather pleasant, though more like the smell of a pleasant stew rather than a pleasant perfume.

    Charlie wakes to find herself not in a bed but resting on a rather comfortable leather sofa. There's nobody in the room, but there is a Wonder Woman hoodie resting on the back of the sofa that's clearly not Charlie's. It looks too new, and given the events of the previous... whenever, entirely too un-burned.

Charlotte Gage-Radcliffe has posed:
    Thankfully, the young chaos muppet bounced during the epic climatic explosion of doom <tm>, and therefore wasn't lethally wounded. That said she was knocked out, from the sheer amount it took to keep herself together and the inkjury that lingered after just one bounce.

    "Jusss... five more.. minutes...mom...." she slurs out sleepily with all the banging of fresh construction. After some additional banging of construction not abating she complains "uggn..." and shifts nad opens her eyes. Blinking. She stares up at the ceiling for several long moments and then slowly pans around the room. Office. Confusion.

    Oh right. Embassy. Demons. Nice. She did get to punch a lot of demons.

    She slowly levers herself up with a hissssss of pain and reaches for the hoodie. "This isn't mine..." she mutters then looks down at herself and touches some of the ointment on heer exposed skin and sniffs a couple of times. "... gosh I hope no one is going to eat me..."

Donna Troy has posed:
    The door opens very soon after Charlie's first few slurred words. Amazons have sharp hearing and someone just outside heard the sounds of Charlie stirring even over the sound of hammers and alerted the office's owner. If Charlie's still a little too out of it to have noticed the door opening, the sudden increase in the volume of building noises makes it obvious enough as Donna steps into the room and closes the door behind her.

    Although she's looking less obviously martial than she had been the last time Charlie had seen her due to the fact that she's not actually fighting demons right now, she's nevertheless armed and armored and looking like she's ready for battle to start again at any moment. This impression is somewhat undermined by the bright smile she flashes in Charlie's direction, and the relaxed body language she expresses as she steps into the room.

    "Ah, you're awake, I see. How are you feeling? You're probably dehydrated, would you like something to drink? I've got water, coffee, wine or Mexican cola. If you want anything else that'll take a little longer, but I can send to the kitchen for it."

Charlotte Gage-Radcliffe has posed:
    Charlie carefully touches her cheek and winces then looks at her somewhat sticky fingers as the door opens and Donna comes inside to her office.

    Amazons. Nice. Squint. Oh Troia of the Titans no less.

    The young woman's eyes widen a touch. "Oh wow." then she blinks. Play it cool Charlie, adopting a more serious expression. Though her glee is in her eyes. Armor. So cool.

    "Definitely thirsty." she admits "And uh... probably water would be best... I don't do a lot of caffeine." because Barbara rations it out to her at home. Like. Who would stock caffiene around Charlie. "Maybe water and a mexican cola..." she adds.

    A glance around. "I take it we won and kicked the demons all over in their smug explody faces?"

    There is a tension and thne a pop of chaos magic in the office as she she bounces, about a foot further down the couch, leaving a slight trail of purple smoke. It's sharp as heck to those with attuned senses.

    Her... lingering burns are mostly if not totally gone. She is sticky though.

Donna Troy has posed:
    "We won," Donna confirms. "Though not without costs. You're not the only one injured, though everyone will recover." She walks over to a mini-fridge beneath the large desk and takes a bottle of water and another of Mexican Cola from it, and pops the cap of the cola with her thumb before putting both bottles down on the side table next to the sofa.

    Donna tilts her head curiously at Charlie. "What was that about?" she asks. "The whole... purple thing?" She comes close and inspects the side of Charlie's face, where burning demon-stuff had splashed her, and gives a small nod, apparently satisfied with what she sees.

    "Misfit, right?" Donna says, crouching on her heels in front of the sofa. "I remember you from a few years ago. Toy man, that dome in Metropolis. You put yourself in harm's way to help us, and those were some really rather nasty demons. You have my thanks."

    She gestures towards the hoodie. "Also you have a new hoodie. The one you came in with got pretty burned up. If you want a few more, you're welcome to them." She gives a surprisingly wide grin. "My sister can spare a few."

Charlotte Gage-Radcliffe has posed:
    "I am glad everyone will recover. I saw demons and I had to help." she really did too. The girl has a special interest in punching demons. Well beyond a hobby. Neurodivergence for the win.

5t"Oh.. the purple. I call it bouncing. It is part of my magic, but when I do it I heal a good chunk each time. I was still a little crispy so I thought I should maybe do it... though now I am ridic hungry and thirsty...." she makes grabby hands at the offered soda snatching it up and ... yeah... she chugs the coke first. Ah glorious calories. Even sugary ones.

    "Misfit right. Oh wow I haven't thought of the toyman stuff in .. like forever but yeah. Totes me. Also who wouldn't help out during a demon fight. Those jerks are in serious need a banishment whenever they show up right." her eyes go wide at the reference to the hoodie glancing at it.

    "Oh.. wow thank you! I can't believe I get to be in here without an appointment really... I was at the cultural center and it is so frickin cool but you all were closed when I got done there.... also not sure you do tours here...." she glances around.

    "I'm always happy to help punch evil, especially magical evil, I'm a member of the Justice League... well the dark one... I'm not cool enough yet to be like.. the Justice League <tm>"

    One can almost hear the TM int he way she intones that.

Donna Troy has posed:
    Donna's grin spreads wider. "Justice League Dark, huh? Always thought that was a bad choice of names, but it's good to have a group of the more mystically inclined following the lead of the Justice League. I was there at the inaugural meeting. Just doing the Titans represent thing, really. It was quite an experience, though mostly that was the fault of Vorpal. For reasons known only to himself he decided to attend the inaugural meeting dressed in an outfit of condiments and sausages, and pursued by a pack of hounds. "

    Having decided that Charlie seems to be in reasonable health, Donna stands up and walks to the chair at right angles to the couch Charlie is on, and takes a seat. "The cultural center is for the public, this is a working embassy. While we do occasionally see people who walk up without an appointment if it's urgent, generally appointments are required. Generally the embassy is not being invaded by demons at the time though, and that does change things. We don't ask people to take a number if they're coming to help fight an invasion of demons."

    "We don't normally do tours, but I think you earned one if you'd like one. Maybe not right away though, we've got a certain amount of demon-related damage to repair first. I can do something about food if you're hungry, though. Also you've been asleep for the last twelve hours. Is there someone who should be told you're safe?"

Charlotte Gage-Radcliffe has posed:
    "Sausages... that does seem like Vorpal...." she has either met him, or she follows the antics on Capewatch.com. Honestly probably both. "Was it a pack of big or smol hounds.... dang now I am sad I missed the inagural meeting. I thought I was practically ground floor too shesh... I mean all the faerie stuff.. angel stuff... dimension stuff... geeze."

    Oh right Donna was still talking. She reaches for the water to listen further.

    "The cultural center was totally cool!" she notes enthused. Okay the young woman is an Amazon fan. The hoodie was incredibly well loved before it was burned to a crisp with demon ichor. Also not her first in her line of work. The bat armor under it ...well that faired way better. Though it will also need some repairs.

    "Gosh I would love a tour.. whenever you think it makes sense.. do you do tourist visas.. the people next door kept looking pained when I asked and told me to make an appointment... I think they were getting rid of me to be honest...."

    Does she breath. She must.

    The bit about twelve hours. "Crackers!" she reaches up and taps her ear. "Misfit checking in. I'm not dead. I mean I know you know I'm not dead. Biomonitor. Yeha. I'm at the Themyscira Embassy.. I fought demons.. .and no no.. I'm good... it was soooo coool.... uh.. yeah I did miss classes. I'll need a note like doctors or something real looking I guess... but it was sooo coool.... but.. oh right. I'm talking to Troia. I should probably call back. Don't worry home soon."

    That all for the world sounded like the weirdest parent kid convo. She looks like she is likely college aged though.

Donna Troy has posed:
    Donna settles back in her chair to let Charlie get on with her call home, smirking only the smallest amount at the nature of the conversation. People calling in sick to school because they've been fighting demons isn't exactly new to the Titan. She'd done it herself more than once back in the day.

    "No tourist visa," she says when Charlie's finished phoning home. "Visiting the island is strictly regulated. Only a couple of dozen people a year get to visit the island. Mostly scholars." She tilts her head to the side. "Sometimes superheroic friends of myself or Diana who we feel could really benefit from a visit. Even that is a very new thing, though it's starting to get easier to arrange just lately. We've even had a few..." Donna leans forwards and looks to both sides as if checking no passers-by happen to be wandering through her office, then drops into a mock conspiratorial whisper. ".../men/ visiting lately." She leans back, raises a finger to her lips as if she had just revealed some great secret, and breaks into a grin.

    "A tour of the embassy can certainly be arrange for you once we've had time to clean up, though honestly you'll find it a little boring compared to the cultural center. It's mostly offices, honestly. Though we do have a training room, and the kitchen is worth visiting, if only because that means you get to meet our chef, Ferdinand. You might think he's a Minotaur, but that's not strictly true. He's from the island of Kythos, not Minos. So he's a Kythotaur. "

Charlotte Gage-Radcliffe has posed:
    "Okay. That seems completely against everything I would have believed...." she looks shocked, shocked I say. At the whispered admittance that some men migth have visited Thymescira. She may even be able to keep it a secret what with the finger to the lips. Still shocked pikachu face for a moment.

    "I would very much like to see the training room and the kitche nwit hthe Kythotaur." she blinks "I had no idea they were named from the islands they come from... that makes so much sense but also is really cool... uh... do they have a peoples name though... ar they the same or just from different islands.. or actually different species.. people.. what is the proper reference...."

    Boggled.

    Then she ohs "And yeah I just figured I should ask nicely instead of bouncing to see it like I usually do when I want to see a place.. I don't want to be rude or piss off any friends..."

Donna Troy has posed:
    Minotaurs aren't actually a species per se," Donna explains "Mostly they're ensorcelled in some way. 'Minotaur' means 'the Bull of Minos', but that's actually referring to a guy called Asterius, who was the son of King Minos. Minos annoyed the got Poseidon, who made his son half-bull as a punishment. The gods can be kind of dickish like that sometimes."

    "Asterius wasn't the first, but he was the most famous. So they all generally get called Minotaurs now. Ferdinand is a bit of a scholar so he objected to this and insists we call him a Kythotaur instead, but it's not standard practice to title them after the location they come from. He's far too good a cook to argue about it, really. He's also pretty good in a fight, though you were already out by the time he joined in."

    Donna gives a nod. "It's definitely not wise to teleport into the embassy. You wouldn't want to be mistaken for invading demons by the guards. Though you do seem to be less prone to exploding than those demons, and have fewer eyeballs, so they might figure it out before skewering you with a spear."

Charlotte Gage-Radcliffe has posed:
    "Oh I mean Themyscira. That would be rude though and I am really trying to work on my impulsiveness and not do things like that. Dont worry."

    She waves it off with one hand then empties the water fully.

    "Was Ferdinand also cursed by the gods then... .and yeah in my experience deities are kinda jerky faces a lot of the time. Also faeries. Angels. Demons for sure. They are very full of themselves usually and not at all good at collaboration or sharing."

    "Gosh I can't wait to meet Ferdinand though."

Donna Troy has posed:
    Donna gives a musical laugh. "Oh you wouldn't be the first person to try to teleport to Themyscira, and I'm sure more people will try. It's not exactly easy though. Probably the best reason not to try it is that you never know where you'll end up."

    "Ever looked at Themyscira on a map? You'll usually see they print something like 'exact location uncertain' next to it. The only reason they even know the approximate shape is because we've told them. It is protected by extremely strong magic. It's not even visible from space if you're looking right at it. I know, I've looked."

    Donna looks aside and gives a shrug. "I'm not sure how he came to be the way he is," she says before looking back. "I feel like if he wants to share that story he will, and if he doesn't want to share that story I shouldn't ask him. He appears happy enough with his life, so perhaps he was born that way. "

    "As for demons, faeries, gods... they're people. Sometimes very strange people. Some of them nice people, some of them not nice people. They're people though, with all that entails. Never assume you know what you're getting, any more than you would meeting a human for the first time."

    "Angels though... they're different. Weird. Most of them don't really think, they're more like magical creations intended to perform a particular set of tasks. I always thought they were more like insects than anything else. The more high up ones though, they're different. They're /like/ people. But I think they don't truly have free will, the way that gods, fae, and many demons do."

    "I had a long conversation with the archangel Michael when all that was going down. Trying to get through to him. Trying to get him to see more clearly. You know what he told me? He told me he thought I was right, but he couldn't really act on that because I wasn't an archangel. How weird is that?"

Charlotte Gage-Radcliffe has posed:
    "Hmm. That is fair. I mean it is rude tho, even if I always end up where I am wanting to be, more or less, but yeah." she nods agreeably. She is trying to explain she won't just teleport there. Quit making it sound enticing Donna.

    The challenge.

    Thing is. She may just be able to, though probably pass out in the effort. Hard to say. Cause she is saying she wont.

    "Well a happy bull cook is a good bull cook?"

    "I... am not entirely sure they are actually people. Demons. I've punched a loto f them. They tend to be pretty.. not people in my experince. I do agree though on angels being very... very strange. I didn't talk to many though. They weren't feeling very talkative. I did hear he was difficult though, so good on you for managing a long talk with him."

Donna Troy has posed:
    An odd, unreadable expression crosses Donna's face, but it passes quickly. "Demons are complicated. Humans are humans, Kryptonians are Kryptonians, Fae are Fae. Demons aren't the same. They aren't a species so much as a type. It's about the source of their animating power more than anything else."

    "Some of them are very simple creatures. The ones we fought, for example, I believe were created specifically to attack /us/ at that moment, and had no purpose in their existence other than to do so. There are other beings who you'd call demons who started out as something else, or became something else. There are a few beings who are demonic in nature, but who have done great good. Don't judge someone too hastily because of where they come from."

    "As for Michael..." Donna sighs a little. "I think people misunderstood him. Easy to do when someone shows up and says they're going to end reality. That kind of puts them automatically into bad guy territory. Those people who told you he was difficult, he may have done cruel things to them, or those they cared about. The truth is though, I felt sorry for him."

    "You and I, we're people first and foremost. Even if we have powers most people could only dream of, we're still people. We make decisions based on the people we have grown to be. Michael made decisions based on the being he was created to be billions of years ago, before the universe was created. We can change our minds, he couldn't. He didn't have that freedom. And he is, I believe, extremely lonely."

Charlotte Gage-Radcliffe has posed:
    "Well. You are a lot older than me if I know anything about Amazons from the cultural center. So I'll take your word for it."

    And like that. Charlie has accepted that Donna is old. Wise. Maybe demons can do good even.

    "Also that is sad, you're right. Not being able to have any freedom or make any choices is ... well honestly that sounds pretty hellish. Also too many rules. I think I would probably go nuts."

Donna Troy has posed:
    Donna breaks into a wide smile again. It's something she does quite a bit, it seems. "I'm not as old as you might think," she says. "It's true that most Amazons are well over three and a half thousand years old, but not all of us. Amazons were mostly brought back to life by the goddesses who are our patrons. The first time was in about 1650 BC, and almost half the Amazons alive today were in that first group. They lived their whole lives and died before then, of course. The oldest... hard to be sure, some of them originally lived amongst people we'd never heard of, so there's no way of knowing just how long ago they lived. There are a few who lived their lives when much of the world was covered in ice though."

    "There are those who've been brought back to life since then though. Some even just in the last year. And there are a few Amazons who came by a different route. Children of original Amazons, or in a few cases just those who proved themselves worthy. My sister only turned nine hundred years old a few years back."

    Donna gives another laugh. "And I'm even younger. I'll be thirty this year. Basically a baby as far as the other Amazons are concerned."

    Donna gets up and sets the coffee machine going. Perhaps for herself, she may have figured out that caffeine isn't the best thing to give to a Misfit. "Fae and demons are the ones who seem to have the most rules. For some reason both of them tend to put a lot of value into contracts. I've wondered whether some demons are corrupted Fae. Or possibly the other way around. Both of them can be very tricky creatures."

Charlotte Gage-Radcliffe has posed:
    "That would be pretty interesting if the demons and the faeries were somehow related... they do like contracts and rules like you are saying.. and tricking mortals often...." she considers it.

    "Also.. mind totally blown..I figured you were ancient not just old." says the what twentyish year old maybe. Yes she just called Donna old again without meaning to. But hey not ancient right.

    "Very cool... I am glad I could help you all though and that no one died. I should probably get moving home... uh... how will I know when it is a good time to do the tour?"

Donna Troy has posed:
    Donna laughs again, clearly more amused than offended by being called on her age. "I recently met my future self," she tells Misfit. "I'm twenty-nine, she was a thousand and twenty-nine. Now /that's/ old. "

    "Leave a number," she tells Charlie, "We'll contact you when the place is ready for giving tours. And let us know if that hoodie is the right size, the label on your old one was a bit burned and we weren't a hundred percent sure. I'm going to make sure you get a whole box of gear. If there's anything you want from the Arts Center gift shop, just let me know."

    Donna stands up and gives Misfit the classic bracer-clashing Amazon salute, then offers her a handshake. "Thank you so much for helping out with those demons, Misfit. I really do appreciate it. Now, do you want to be driven somewhere, or are you planning to bounce home?"

Charlotte Gage-Radcliffe has posed:
    Charlie moves to stand, not nearly as injured as when she got knocked out burned up. That bounce trick is fab.

    She scoops the hoodie up and examines it. "Looks right." she shifts and wiggles into it checking it out. "Thank you for replacing it... andthat sounds often... I will totally make a list and drop it off."

    She will to. Sure she has Bat money by proxy but swag from the Themysciras. So cool.

    She shakes the hand grinning a bit goofy after the salute."I was just going to bounce home. I think I'm rested enough it shouldn't be too bad. I may stop for a pizza first though."