2555/Talking Titans

Talking Titans
Date of Scene:	22 July 2020
Location:	Memorial and Meeting Rooms - Titan's Tower
Synopsis:	Planning to get more involved in the Titans again moving forwards, Dick meets up with Donna to discuss the future and reminisce about the past.
Cast of Characters:	Dick Grayson, Donna Troy

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Dick Grayson has posed:
Dick had been feeling a bit better and taking opportunities to visit Metropolis more ever since the injury. Today was one of those days, but as too many here did not know who he was under the mask, he was in full Nightwing mode.

The eldest Robin had reached out to Donna asking her to meet him here in the Memorial Hall, where he stood, looking at the memorials to the fallen and other memorabilia, his expression pensive as he waits for the time being, having arrived a bit earlier than he anticipated.

Donna Troy has posed:
    Donna has never been all that great at arriving early, so Dick has a bit of time to wait and consider the memorials. Primarily the statues of Don and Kole, the two Titans who fell during Doomsday. It had been a traumatic time for the Titans, and had resulted in the team falling apart, but the last few months had proven that to be a haitus rather than an end. It had all happened rather fast, but the Titans were, very clearly, back now.

    Donna slips into the memorial room quietly, not wishing to interrupt Nightwing's meditations on the fallen. She steps up besides her old friend and rests a comforting hand on his shoulder. "They would be proud to see what's happening now, Dick. All the new members are really stepping up."

Dick Grayson has posed:
Dick Grayson says, "They would," Dick says affirmatively, before turning his head around to see Donna. "In many regards, they would." He gives a brief smile, "Been a while since we last talked. Things..." he sighs, "Have been keeping me busy, but certain changes have been made that will give me the flexibility I need." The OG Robin grins, "No longer at my old day job." A snort, "So unfortunately for you all, you will likely be seeing me a bit more around here.""

Donna Troy has posed:
"Too long since we last talked properly." Donna's smile is less brief, but accompanied by an apologetic shrug. "At least as much my fault as yours. Ever since I got back it just seems to have been all go here. Haven't really had time to stop and smell the coffee. None of this has gone the way I thought it would when I was on my way back to America. Everything has happened so fast."

    Donna walks through the doorway into the meeting room, and sits on the edge of the table facing the door so she can still see into the Memorial Room and to Dick, should he wish to stay with the memorials longer. "I heard there was an effort to get the team back together, but the reports made it sound like it was pretty much just Gar and a few new people he'd found. In my mind I was going to come back and find you guys all doing your own things. I'd go to each of you one at a time. Apologize for not being around when you needed me, for not being here on Doomsday. Explain the whole Themyscira thing to you /properly/, face-to-face rather than just blurting it out to you. It was never fair on the rest of you that I didn't tell you the truth about where I was from before. Particularly you, Dick. I hated not being allowed to explain all that. "

    Donna kicks her legs idly. "But here we are. All of a sudden the whole team is back. Even Garth showed up the other day, can you believe that? He left before the tower was even built, and not exactly in the best circumstances. I never thought we'd see him again, but here he is. And now the team is twice the size it used to be. It's going to take some time to get used to it all."

Dick Grayson has posed:
"Eh, whose fault it is does not matter, the key is going forward that we still work together," Dick says with a nod and follows Donna into the meeting room, leaning his back against the wall, facing her. "Things have definitely been unusual, and I will admit I figured it was done for good instead of a hiatus."

Dick sighs, "You have done nothing wrong. If we were all damned for keeping secrets then we may as well not even bother trying to be good," he shrugs, "We do the best we can with the options we are given." He gives her a warm smile, "I hold no ill will towards you, consider it forgiven."

He listens as Donna continues and then blinks, "Wait, Garth is back? Now /that/ is a name we have not heard for a while." The talk of the team's size does get a pensive moment from Dick, though, "Indeed, growing quickly has its own problems. The key is proper vetting and making sure we can rely on them quickly."

Donna Troy has posed:
    "Most of them have proven themselves already," Donna replies. "Certainly Hawkeye, Vorpal and Kian, when we all ended up inside Raven's head that first day I came back. You were there, you saw how dedicated they were when they barely even knew any of us. Your new brother and his friend Techno... both of them have proven themselves more than capable. The rest of the newcomers are perhaps a bit more wait-and-see, but they did us proud during the Brainiac invasion, Dick. I drove them all pretty hard in training leading up to that, and not a one of them disappointed. Was there anyone in particular that you're concerned about?"

    Donna's expression grows pensive. "It's not so much the individuals that worry me as simply having so many in one go. It has been quite a handful. Having you spend more time with us to help wrangle the newcomers is honestly quite a relief, Dick. I can always rely on Raven's insight, but she's not exactly hands-on. Wally, Cait and Vic just seem happy to be back and happy to have new faces around, but they're kind of easy going. Gar and Kori are barely any older than the newcomers and kind of lacking in experience."

Dick Grayson has posed:
"Techno bothers me, namely his background is enough to give me doubts," Dick notes, "Especially since he is a technopath. Way too many secrets that could be exposed." He sighs, "But it is not my call, though I stand by what I said that first time." He shrugs and gives a nod, "But the others have shown their worth? That is good, though I do believe you hit the nail on the head with the notion of expanding quickly. Time will tell, and over time we will see each of their worth, though I grant it feels a little strange."

"But I could offer some help in training. Though by the way you talk it sounds as if we need me to be the bad cop?" Dick snorts at the joke, he may have left the force, but if the shoe fits. "I should ask how you have been holding up recently? Things have been hairy around here and I was wanting to make sure that you were holding up all right, along with the others we started up this place with." Dick's tone is now a little less serious, with a little bit of concern.

Donna Troy has posed:
    Donna's lips curl up into a dazzling smile. "I'm fine Dick. I always am!" Which probably means overworked. Donna has always driven herself hard. "As for the others... well, Vic seems to be back in his element, like no time had passed. Cait's settling back into den mother mode. Rae's in a good mood, by Raven standards. Nothing ever seems to get Wally down. Gar... I think he's finding things a touch overwhelming, but he's resilient. As for Garth... who knows. He's only just back. He has seemed a lot more relaxed than he used to be. Oh, and apparently he has become a sorcerer since he was last around, believe it or not."

    "As for Techno..." Donna tilts her head thoughtfully to the side. "His background is dubious, sure. On the other hand... well I don't want to pry, but it sounds like the new Robin has had a similarly colorful childhood too. I'm looking forwards to hearing /that/ story fully. We've got to judge them on what they do now, not what they did in the past though. Techno is desperate for a change. The Titans /is/ that change. I'm not saying the road won't be rocky, but he's on the right path."

Dick Grayson has posed:
Dick nods to Donna, "Good! Glad to hear yo are doing well, busy is good, especially if it makes you happy." He nods as the roll is read of how people are doing, "I will admit Garth becoming a sorcerer is something I did not expect, but that is certainly a change."

"Indeed, but I would still advise caution," Dick notes, "Considering how they introduced themselves, especially when one of them /broke into the tower/, which alone caused me a great deal of concern." He frowns, "But we shall see his worth, which I know he has shown to some degree thus far. Techno would be wise to never stray from the path, then. I can take care of Robin, if need be." Dick would have the easier time keeping tabs on Damian than anyone else in the group.

Donna Troy has posed:
    Donna raises an eyebrow at Dick, a playful expression on her face. "And the other one stole your T-Com as part of their nefarious plans. I wondered if you allowed him to do that." She breaks into a grin, then shrugs her shoulders.

    "Techno means well. You know I have a knack for telling when people are lying, Dick. However much you used to insist that I should do proper detective work rather than relying on my instincts, you know those instincts are good. Raven thinks he's on the level too, and you know how good she is at seeing what makes people tick. But I know better than to not take your insights seriously. We'll keep a close eye on him, but I urge you to spend some time with him before you make any judgements."

    "When we went on Brainiac's ship, Techno was half expecting that he'd end up sacrificing his life for the team and the mission. He's got a lot to learn and I'm not convinced he doesn't have a bit of a death wish, but I have yet to see anything to make me doubt his dedication to the Titans."

Dick Grayson has posed:
Dick Grayson says, "I have my reasons, though I respect and heavily weigh your insights," Dick says with a nod and then snorts at the Damian stealing his T-Comm, "Kid is decent enough of a thief. Don't sell him short." He frowns and says, "As I said, if he stays on the path for improvement, all is well. Though that death wish needs to be dealt with sooner rather than later, I pray we need not add another memorial for decades to come." His tone is solemn at that point. "But we will see, and I do hope my suspicions are wrong." He gives a smile back to Donna.

"Are there any other current issues facing the Titans I should be brought back up to speed on? Hopefully you aren't working yourself to the bone over here.""

Donna Troy has posed:
    "Not quite to the bone, but I guess the last few weeks have given me a new appreciation for how much you did for us in the old days, Dick." Donna smiles again, full of fond reminiscence, and shakes her head slightly. "I took him out for ice cream and a talk yesterday. I think it's being dealt with, but it's going to take a little time. Being surrounded by people who care for him is a new experience, but he's adjusting.

    "As for other issues..." Donna's forehead creases a moment in thought, and she hops up from the table to pace a little. "Supergirl's a bit... wild. She's not as disciplined as her cousin. I'm working on that, but Kryptonians are complicated. We have a new prospect. Ant Man's daughter, Nadia Pym. She's been really helpful with working out the equipment we captured from Brainiac's ship to get Mutant Town restored, but she's still very much an unknown quantity. Hawkeye has real leadership potential, but she shies away from it. I think having no powers is something that weighs on her a little, and she could benefit from you taking her under your wing a little. Oh, and the Titans Trust is a little low on funds. I don't think anyone has paid any attention to the investments for a few years and the returns haven't been great. Finance isn't exactly my thing, it would be a relief if you could take a look at that and juggle things around a bit.

    Donna stops her pacing and looks at Dick with a broad grin. "Honestly though? Since we dealt with Brianiac, we're in pretty good shape as far as current issues go. We've always got stuff going on, you know how it is. But nothing major. And I think a big win like that helped everyone."

Dick Grayson has posed:
"I see," Dick notes and listens, "Well that is good news." The mention of Supergirl gets a raised brow as does Nadia Pym, "Definitely unexpected additions, not going to lie, but definitely angles that will be useful to us." The mention of the fund gets a nod, "I start school again this fall, but with my current job, I should be able to possibly help take care of that, ethically."

Dick returns the grin, "That is good, some peace and quiet is certainly welcome. We definitely need to get the old gang back together at some point for dinner sometime, so I can at least hang out with you all without having to be Nightwing."

Donna Troy has posed:
Donna grins and nods her head. "See, that's the advantage of not hiding behind a mask," she teases. "But that does sound like fun. None of the new kids, just the old guard. Make an evening of it. Maybe I could throw us a private party at the embassy some time."

    The embassy. That's something that will take getting used to. No longer just a vistor from some relatively mundane foreign land, it turns out those 'Xena Warrior Princess' jokes the Titans used to make about her back in the day had more than a sliver of truth about them.

    Donna steps close to give Nightwing a quick hug. "I missed this, you know. These talks. Remember how we used to get together to discuss everyone's training progress, and talk tactics? Those were good days." She shakes her head slightly. "When I returned to Themyscira... I missed you guys so much. But by the time... when I heard the news, it just seemed too late to do anything about it. I'm glad we're doing this, bringing the Titans back together. We'd have always had that regret our whole lives if we didn't."

Dick Grayson has posed:
Dick laughs, "If I could get away with it, I would. Dang thing is a pain in the butt some days. Or hell, being able to just hang out in training clothes instead of my full costume." He does nod, "Set it up, I'll go to it!" Dick grins.

Dick responds to the hug with one of his own, "I do miss that, talking shop when things needed to be done. Talking about the future and what great deeds we would do!" He grins, pleased with the nostalgia, "We never really disassembled, we merely took a break. One thing is for certain, we are back."