2528/A Change of Pace

A Change of Pace
Date of Scene:	20 July 2020
Location:	Boardwalk - St Martin's Island
Synopsis:	Donna and Sam take a walk, eat ice cream, and talk about turning points and problems resolved.
Cast of Characters:	Donna Troy, Samuel Morgan

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Donna Troy has posed:
    If there had been any confusion on the matter, Donna's appearance had made it pretty clear that this was not a mission. Whether that would come as a relief or a disappointment to Sam, she wasn't sure. It's rare to see her around the tower in anything other than armor - she seems comfortable enough wearing it to relax in steel plate - but today she's in fully civilian gear. Jeans, a red t-shirt, calf boots.

    She even has a camera with her. She could easily be mistaken for one of the tourists who flock to the St. Martin's boardwalk when the weather's this good, and once the pair have taken the short walk from the tower to the start of the wooden walkway, the reason for civilian gear is obvious. There's quite a crowd of people, and even this close to the tower, where people are accustomed to seeing passing Titans, the attention gathered by anyone looking too obviously superheroic could be annoying.

    As she walks, Donna seems to be continually scanning the scenery around her. She must be very familiar with it - the tower opened up back in 2015 and she's lived there for several years, after all - but the way she looks at the place you could almost imagine she'd never been there before.

    "Did you take the time to explore here yet, Sam?" she asks casually. "It's nice having this on the doorstep. Somewhere to unwind between missions. I've been thinking of dragging the team along to go to the amusement park at the far end."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    For once, Sam himself isn't in training gear or full tactical outfit. His armor, repaired, polished and ready to rumble, was idling away on its recharge stand, his personal weaponry all accounted for and locked away, and the blank door without key or keypad to his personal vault in the lab sealed tight. Neither on duty, on watch, training or researching... a rare state for Techno these days. It might even come as a surprise to people that he owns civilian gear. Sensible trousers, comfortable shoes, a long sleeved white button-up shirt with the top buttons undone... he looks like a well to do teenager out for a stroll, a tourist most likely, but still clearly out just to enjoy the scenery.

    The only crack in that facade is Bear trotting by his side, in his hi-vi jacket, as usually carrying his own leash to thwart local leashing laws.

    "I run past every morning, but there's hardly anyone around at that hour. It's good to see it with some life around."

Donna Troy has posed:
    "It is, isn't it? Kind of a reminder of why we do what we do." Donna turns a brief smile on Sam before resuming scanning the scenery. "It could be easy to forget that, hidden away in that tower. It barely seems like part of the real world, does it? Nightwing used to get that way sometimes, you know. So focused on the fight he sometimes forgot what we were fighting for. "

    She stops walking at the sight of a sea bird investigating an ice cream dropped on the boardwalk, and takes her camera out, studying the scene on the rear screen of the camera as she talks. "So you're probably thinking, 'Oh no, Donna brought me here to give me a speech about remembering to get out and do the human stuff.' Slightly true, but only slightly." She smirks a little at the back of the camera, then raises the viewfinder to her eye.

    "The whole thing with Brainiac was tough on you Sam. Personal. Was it also a release? It's normal to get more relaxed after the job is done, but I have to admit I was wondering if I'd see that with you. I imagine relaxing hasn't been a huge part of your life so far."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "The thought had crossed my mind." And he's not missing that Donna is watching her surroundings like a hawk either, clasping his hands behind his back, strolling along until he comes to a stop next to the edge of the water, watching the three master riding at anchor near the jetty, the people out enjoying the sun, the scenery... life...

    "It was tough. In more ways than one. It wasn't just an existential threat, or the thought of a tough fight. Been there, done that. Wasn't even that I was with a new team, because the team isn't new anymore. I'm..." and here he glances at Donna, then back at the water. "... I'm getting to know you all. Getting comfortable being around you all. The hardest part was the mutant angle."

    A few steps to the water's edge, until his toes are clear over the edge of the boardwalk, and he's just watching the horizon, Bear hovering around uncertainly. "We're alike. I don't think we relax, not really. Me, I pretend to relax. You, you carry a camera to disguise the fact you're scanning your surroundings for threats."

Donna Troy has posed:
    Donna lowers the camera without taking a picture, replacing the lens cap carefully, and gives Sam an amused grin. "I carry a camera because I love to take photographs. There. You know my secret. If I didn't have other things to dedicate my life to, I'd have dedicated my life to photography. As it is, I have sold a few photos and held a couple of small exhibitions."

    She watches the bird a few moments longer as it tastes the ice cream, then continues along the boardwalk. "But you're not entirely wrong. We've both spent our whole lives training for combat, haven't we? When you understand the importance of being aware of what's around you, you can't switch that off. Maybe the interest in photography stems from that. It's all about observation, after all." She glance down at Bear, giving the dog a happy grin, before turning back to Sam. "But I don't think of it as scanning for threats so much as being prepared. I don't expect the world to threaten me. That's not so good for relaxation."

    "But you were a bit more relaxed, weren't you? When everyone got back alive. I think you're slowly beginning to find this all a bit easier. " Her attention is drawn to a cyclist who has stopped to adjust his bike, but this time she doesn't get her camera out. "Are you starting to see why I said this would be different? The Titans. About how different it would be from what you were used to?"

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "It's true enough. But every team has its post-battle ritual." For a moment Sam's eyes go distant, well beyond the horizon, undoubtedly remembering a few of those rituals. Loud music on the ride or flight back, always the same songs, sung in the same off-key. Beers after roll-call. Dunking the commander in the training pool. Wiping the details of the mission off the white-board and replacing it with gibberish and proverbs. "Pizza party ... that's a good one."

    The moment of reflection over, he falls back into step, watching the world with the eyes of a sniper, a hawk among people, a shark walking on land. "It's not that different from a few other teams I've worked with, but without the sudden betrayals and fratricidal tendencies, of course. Closest thing? Prosperity Fields, the training center for ..." Nope. He remembers where he is, who might be listening, and clams up, changing subject rather artlessly.

    "I like this team, Donna. It's... it's home. But if you found me more relaxed the last few days, it's because I got punched by an Ultron drone." The cyclist gets a glance, taking in clothing, shoes, bike furniture, accessories, body language, distinguishing features... "You'd probably barely feel it, but that actually hurt."

Donna Troy has posed:
    "Hmm... no, before that, when we arrived back in the tower. It may have taken a little of Bear's encouragement..." Donna gives the Dog another grin. "But you do seem to be able to find it easier to relax. Maybe that's just the benefit of a post-battle ritual with people you know aren't going to stab you in the back if you lower your guard, hmm?"

    As they walk along the boardwalk, the trio get very little attention. Nobody's trying to kill them, or interview them. Nobody's even asking for help. Just a dog and two humans, out for a walk along with so many others. "I know it was tough on you, the Brainiac thing. Because of the mutant issue. But it was more than that. The fight in DC was tough on you. You, more than any of the other Titans, really understood what we were facing when we took the fight to him. We all went into that knowing that we might not come out alive, but I think that thought was more real to you than it was to the others."

    Donna stops a moment to look directly at Sam. "You, me and Caitlin had the riskiest job. A small group on a direct assault, with no easy retreat path. Nothing you say is going to convince me that didn't prey on you."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "To stand and be still to the Birkenhead drill is a damn tough bullet to chew." Sam intones, smiling, eyes on the horizon, sliding every so often to people, vehicles, stands... where most people see a boardwalk with pleasant shade and fresh air, he's seeing an exposed low-ground position with concealed elevated firing positions and a lack of solid cover. Under the circumstances, hearing him quote Kipling may sound a bit odd.

    Now his hand drops down and Bear obediently places himself under it, deigning to be petted and fussed so his human can remain in the present. "I've done the one-way missions before, Donna. The night before I went to Robin, had a late lunch with him, told him that as a field leader, if it was necessary to send me on a suicide run I was expecting him to give that order. I... hadn't made any plans for the day after."

    Fingers run through thick canine fur, and Sam blinks slowly, looking at Donna. "You know what I was thinking? Better, what I was hoping? I was hoping for everyone to come out alive, because the team wouldn't survive taking casualties in its first big mission since the incident a few years ago. And if someone had to sacrifice themselves to get everyone else clear, I was going to make sure that was me. Robin would understand, I knew you would too. But we all came back. That's why I cut loose a bit when we got back to the tower."

Donna Troy has posed:
    "I've told you before," Donna says in a quiet voice. "We're not soldiers, Sam." Maybe she's familiar with Kipling or maybe it's just context. She doesn't double down on the point for now though.

    "The reason I was so hard on everyone in training the last few weeks is because I wanted to be damn sure that we did all get out, Sam. That nobody underestimated the problem, and was as well equipped to deal with it as possible. You know all about drilling for the mission, I'm sure it was standard operational practice for you many times before. The plan was good, the /team/ was good. I was confident we were all coming out alive." She stops to give him a slightly rueful shrug - she's sure he'll put that down to pep talk. "We would have survived a loss this time around. We've learned a lot since Doomsday. But nobody was going to sacrifice themselves, especially not you. There is no such thing as expendable in the Titans, Sam. If it all went to crap I was going to get you out of there. I did have a back-up plan to evacuate, and we do not /do/ one way missions."

    Donna stops, and nods her head towards a small booth at the side of the boardwalk. "Want an ice cream?" she asks. "It's the weather for it. And want to talk about your SHIELD problem? If you don't feel ready to, I understand. But it's something I think should be addressed."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "You did tell me before." Sam smiles, remembering that discussion all too well. "But Rome wasn't built in a day, we all prepare in our own way." Bear gets another fond pat, and that seems to be in for the deep reflection. There's suddenly more life in his eyes as he seems determined to let the topic go.

    "I can always be tempted with ice cream, thank you. And as far as I'm aware, I don't have a SHIELD problem anymore? Agent Morse found out about me when I went to help Nadia, and she seemed fine with it. Matter closed, far as I'm concerned, unless you've heard something else?"

Donna Troy has posed:
    "As I said, things are different with the Titans. I don't expect you to understand that right away." Donna gives him a broad smile, the kind that says 'this is a happy topic really', but also with a hint of apology in it. "The day you walked into the tower, your life changed. One day you'll understand just exactly how much."

    With a nod, she leads Sam to the ice cream booth, and looks over the selection of flavors. "Lemon for me," she says to the woman behind the counter, "In a waffle cone." She makes her mind up fast.

    "If there's no problem, there's no problem. When Nadia brought it up you seemed pretty wary about it still, but maybe it's been resolved since then. If it does look like it's going to be a problem in future, you come to me, okay? I am quite prepared to make it very clear to them that you are none of their affair any more, and to keep their noses out of Titans' business. Before you give me one of your skeptical looks, ask yourself if you think SHIELD would really be prepared to get on Themyscira's bad side over you."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "Vanilla for me please, in a cone." Yup. Just plain vanilla, none of the odder flavors available, it seems Sam is very conservative when it comes to ice cream. And he's happy to wait patiently to be served. For someone who grew up as he did, he seems remarkably well adjusted sometimes.

    "Bobbi is one of the more sensible agents, and I'm not saying that because she's one of the few to actually ask for my help on a topic within my area of expertise. She's level headed, and I didn't honestly think she'd cause trouble over this. There's two or three other agents who are also very unlikely to mind, but there's a few that will." A wink then. "Not enough to stir up trouble with Themyscira, I don't think. I doubt anyone would."

    And as he's taking his cone, with a polite nod to the vendor, he adds to the conversation as they walk away. "My life changed the day I shot the base commander. It's just that for the first time in over a year, I can stop running."

Donna Troy has posed:
    Donna pays for the ice creams and nibbles her with obvious enjoyment. "We never invented ice cream," she says. "On Themyscira. Oh there are similar things, but not quite the same. I guess it never occurred to anyone to freeze cream. One of the things I missed when I went back."

    "Life is a series of changes, or you're not really living. For me there have been many big changes. Meeting my sister for the first time, when she returned to the island. That changed me. Coming here, to America, at sixteen. An entire new culture. /Big/ change. Meeting Nightwing at the others. Forming the Titans. When we moved into the tower finally - gods, that changed things. Going home agian... all those things, those landmarks in my life, they gave me new perspectives. But I suppose the biggest change is the one that happened shortly after I was born, and I don't know the full story. A combination of incredible bad luck and incredible good luck all rolled into one. Perhaps my parents were vacationing, took a boat out for a little pleasure cruise. Perhaps it was a fishing boat. Who knows. All I know is that I was found washed up on a beach, barely alive and presumably orphaned, though I can't even know that for sure. And after that I was adopted by a queen, and granted power by the gods to be far more than I could ever have hoped to be otherwise.

    "Perhaps for you the day you started running was the biggest change, or perhaps it was the day you stopped running. Only time will tell. You're a Titan now, and you'll grow to understand what that means. You're changing already, Sam. For the better."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "Wow. Now there's a story you don't hear every day." And Sam actually stops for a moment to give Donna an inquiring look, but then shakes his head and sets himself properly to the task of eating his ice cream. It's a tough job, but someone's gotta do it! "Good luck or bad luck, time will tell. But I can tell you this... for a few dozen civilians in DC, and probably all of the planet after that, it was incredibly good luck. I think that sometimes we don't get to decide if something is good or bad for us, that in time it'll be life itself that tells us."

    "I'm sorry to hear about your parents though. Can't have been easy losing them that young, and being raised by strangers, queen or no."

Donna Troy has posed:
    Donna shrugs her shoulders. "I was too young to know anything about it," she says easily. There's no visible pain in the topic. "My mother is queen Hippolyta, even though she didn't give birth to me. I have known no other, and she was never a stranger."

    She rests a hand briefly on Sam's shoulder. "For all that we both spent our whole lives training for war, I had a good childhood and I don't think you could say the same. Whether you deem the end of that the day you started running or the day you stopped, that's over. You have friends now. A family."

    The hand is quickly withdrawn. She's obviously careful to let him have his space. "Next time we go on a mission that is as fraught with peril, I don't want you approaching it the same way. None of this 'no plans for the day after' stuff. You plan for the day after, because that gives you something to look forwards to. Be prepared for the worst outcome, but expect the best. I'm not going to pretend to you that the worst absolutely won't happen, but you have a lot of people beside you who will do everything in their considerable power to make sure it damn well doesn't."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "I suppose there's no harm in it." A few months ago, a hand on Sam's shoulder would have been an invitation to certain violence. Today... today it doesn't seem to signify. Changes indeed. "At least if I make plans for the day after, and turns out I can't keep them because the worst has happened, I don't have to worry about it." It's all said with a smile, and without letting any of his ice cream go to waste.

    "My childhood... wasn't. I don't mean it wasn't good, it just didn't exist. Sounds dramatic, but... it's true. Technically I'm not even a person, no matter what my paperwork says these days. You have to be born to be alive, and I wasn't. But that stopped bothering me years ago." Another smile, and the final bites that make the cone vanish. Fastidiously, he wipes his hands on a napkin and finds a nearby trash can to get rid of it afterwards. "Honestly, I've made peace with who and what I am a long time ago. Just now I've got something to be proud of."

    "I'm a Titan."