3034/A New Dove Dawns

A New Dove Dawns
Date of Scene:	22 August 2020
Location:	Main Room - Titan's Tower
Synopsis:	Dawn Granger makes her first visit to the Titan's Tower. She confronts a destiny; the Titans confront a memory.
Cast of Characters:	Heather Danielson, Dawn Granger, Kian, Garth, Siobhan Smythe, Donna Troy, Kara Danvers, Nadia Pym-van Dyne, Dick Grayson, Rachel Roth, Caitlin Fairchild

---

Heather Danielson has posed:
    After dealing with a street gang's joy-ride car-stealing spree. Yes, some of these young criminals seem to be desperate to emulate Grand Theft Auto from time to time. After playing walking-roadblock, Heather managed to cave in the engine block of a stolen Pontiac. I mean sure, it broke both of her wrists and shattered her fists. But that healed in seconds. Look, it's what she does. But she met Dove out there, with the other woman doing something similar with a second stolen car.
    But Heather is gregarious and friendly, so invited Dove back to the Titans Tower for food and a meet 'n greet. Food? Yeah. She stopped on the way back to the Tower and bought like three -bags- of Tex-Mex, burritos, tacos... a variety of things. But she steps off of the elevator, turning to walk backwards while carrying large bags in both hands, "Welcome to the tower." she says to Dove with a bright and cheery smile on her youthful face. Then she elbows the intercom and says, "Tex Mex! Come and get it!" through the tower as a whole.
    Then she turns and sets the bags on a nearby table.

Dawn Granger has posed:
Walking the weird is what Dawn calls it. Relatively new to it, she's still accustoming herself to the change that sweeps through her when her sense of danger flares. They both had left the scene leaving the mob up to the police.

Back in civvie clothing, Dawn doesn't have another term for it; she accompanies Heather for Tex-Mex with a sense of euphoria, glancing at her from time to time with a mixture of admiration and burning inquisitiveness.

Not since the terrorist attack has she been around other people with superpowers. It reminds her of the first day at a new school.

The tower is impressive, and Heather's nonchalance with the wealth and power it manifests underlines that first day at school feeling. Without asking, she unpacks the bags, lying out salsa, chips, and a variety of tacos.

"Are there a lot of you?"

Kian has posed:
    Kían flits out of the ground level-to-roof open shaft.  He has never taken the elevator, and given a preference, he never will.  Rooms were never meant to be that small, even if they are useful for moving from level to level.  Poor Earthers.  The right way to move from floor to floor is to fly there, of course.
    In any case, the birdman flits out of the open shaft with an indifferent flick of a wing, stays dangerously close to the ceiling, and then executes a perfect but really unnecessary forward roll before landing delicately in front of the refrigerator.
    Purple Kool-Ade is quickly extracted, and poured over ice.
    Only then does he seem to register that he's not alone. "Oh!  /Kié/!" he says by way of greeting, and bows slightly, spreading his wings as he does so.  No alarms are going off, so whoever's here is supposed to be here.  That's reasonable, isn't it?

Garth has posed:
Garth wears a white A-line tank with an image of a surfer silhouetted against an ocean sunset in vivid rainbow colors. He wears a pair of shorts and seems to be comfortable barefoot, flying down from the tower to land lightly near the food, the magic at his fingertips fading. His dark hair is shaved at the sides but with a bit of length, dark locks curling across his forehead above his striking purple eyes.

"Yes and no. There are many on the team, but we're all fairly unique individuals. An assembly of unicorns, so to speak," he says. "I'm Garth. Tempest. Nice to meet you," he says, offering his hand to Dawn.

Siobhan Smythe has posed:
For Siobhan, things in the tower have not yet been boring. That part is certain. She hasn't really had a chance to talk to anyone about the strange scream in the night. She knows what it was. She at least thinks she does. So, when she comes to the main room of the tower, having avoided people for the past couple of days, she is worried about having to give an explanation. Well, she was, until she saw what was going on. Someone new was here. A reprieve!

"Oh, new people." She states with her typical Irish Brogue, "Hey." She states and then smiles to Garth before looking to Dawn, "I'm Siobhan." She states simply enough. Pronounced Shuh-Vahn. She nods her head, "And I suppose the guy I haven't met yet seems to have a proper point about tings." She nods and offeres her hand out.

Heather Danielson has posed:
    "I assume you're not here for the Tex Mex I just announced then." says Heather towards Kian. "Kee, this is Dawn. Dawn helped me with some idiots with too much horsepower under their hoods tonight." she remarks as she steps over and connects her phone's bluetooth to the room speakers. She scrolls through her Pandora and nods to herself when she selects a music randomized playlist before turning and glancing towards Garth. She doesn't think she's -met- him yet. I mean.. she's still kinda new to the team. But hey, more new folks. She bobs her head to Garth and lifts a hand, "Hey. I'm Heather." She says. Likely unnecessarily for -most- folks. She has a minor celebrity status these days, along with being a public ID and public member of the Titans.
    But then Styx comes on the speakers... the opening riffs of Too Much Time on my Hands. And her hips begin moving to the tunes. She loves this song.. and can't help dancing a bit. She's not a fantastic dancer, but she enjoys it. So there's that. Right?
    "So yeah. Welcome to the Tower." she says towards Dawn.

Donna Troy has posed:
    Bringing a guest to the tower seems quite simple on the outside, but there's more that goes on behind the scenes. On entering the elevators, the presence of a second person with Heather would have been recognized, and Heather's T-Com pinged with a code to acknowledge the plus-one. From the perspective of the visitors, that would be it - apart from a somewhat slow journey up to the main common room, to give the Titans currently in the tower time to react.

    Each of those Titans would recieve a 'masks on' notification, a code that indicated there was someone in the tower they might not want seeing them in civilian guise, if they have a secret identity to preserve. The tower's computer systems would do a facial analysis of that plus-one, and additional security flags might be raised according to that analysis. In the case of Dawn, those flags come up negative - she's not on the Titan's files.

    Troia - or Donna Troy - does not have a secret identity, nor yet a mask. However she is in full costume, in her case a suit of Amazon armor, black with silver stars. As she enters the main common room - flying up from the empty elevator shaft next to the one Heather and Dawn had used - she has a sword in her hand too. This might seem momentarily concerning, but once her feet touch the ground she sheathes it and beams a wide smile.

    "Tex-Mex?" Donna asks brightly. "Sounds good. Training always makes me hungry. Who's our guest for today, Heather?"

    Her smile turns on Dawn, and with a nod of her head she says "I'm Troia. Welcome to Titans Tower."

Dawn Granger has posed:
Dove is the little white bird among such colorful plumage. She looks no more magic or endowed with superpowers than your average Columbia University undergrad with silver-white hair and a glow of youth. She is athletic and slim, wearing ripped at the knee jeans and form-fitting tank top under a bright blue suit jacket, sleeves pushed back to reveal wrists that look much too slender to have stopped a car in tandem with Heather.

"Hi, I'm Dawn," she greets the Bird Man with a gesture to the food she is still laying out. Polite and a bit wide-eyed still at his fluttering landing. More and more people come into the hall, the feeling of imminent danger building in her for no apparent reason. She does not want to transform, not now, though everyone arriving seem to be in full superhero regalia.

Repeating her greeting with a quiet duck of her head to the surfer guy, "Hi! Nice to meet you," she continues busying herself with tacos till the room becomes unaccountably cold when an Irish woman joins them. That sense of needing to become Dove waxes stronger.

Turning to greet the woman with an undeniable aura of leadership, "Hello. I'm Dawn Granger. Heather and I...met at a robbery of sorts. She thought I should come back to meet you. So, did I, for that matter."

Kara Danvers has posed:
Kara has never turned up to the tower as anyone but Supergirl. It'd be so inconvenient for her to explain that one, unless perhaps she got invited here to do interviews. That would be very surreal and weird and would feel like lying. She'd probably have to come out to everyone at that point.

The girl of steel comes in via the roof and the empty elevator shaft to a room full of people she wasn't quite expecting. Her mind was elsewhere. A Kryptonian crystal in one hand and the thoughts of Kon-El in the other. Her eyes light up though as she sees people and she places her feet on the floor.

"Hello, there seems to always be a reason to celebrate in the tower." She smiles to Garth, always happy when he visits, but then her eyes rest on Heather and Dawn. "Welcome to the Titans Tower, I am Supergirl."

Garth has posed:
Garth gets a drink for himself, introducing himself to Siobhan as well. "I guess I haven't introduced myself around much," he says. "I still spend most of my time in the ocean, so I'm not around the tower as much as some. I don't have any official responsibilities in Atlantis anymore, but I can't help but keep a hand in a little bit. But I'm glad to be among my friends again - and get the chance to make new ones," he adds.

He raises a hand in greeting to Supergirl as he takes a sip and smiles to Kian, "Hello, friend. How goes the language barrier?"

Heather Danielson has posed:
    Stepping over to the table, Heather grabs a tortilla and begins trying to test the tensile strength of it by overloading it with meat and cheese and more meat, and then some more cheese. Maybe some peppers and such. But she manages to roll it up and she has her cheeks filled like a chipmunk when Donna and Supergirl enter.
    She almost tries to speak with her mouth super full, but then lifts a hand and points an index finger upwards as if indicating she needs a minute.
    Seeing Siobhan, she shakes her head with an odd grin. Odd due to the massive bite she just took. But she chews determinedly and swallows a large portion of her bite. And then the rest a couple seconds later.
    "Hey Troia." she says before Supergirl gets her attention, and she gestures to the spread of Tex-Mex as she says, "Any chance I can interest Supergirl in a Super-Burrito?" she asks with a bit of a blush rising on her face, "Oh, and hi. For those of you I haven't met officially yet, I'm Heather." (Yep, the one in Sports Illustrated and such). "Unfortunately, the press labelled me with the moniker Knockout... so I'm stuck with that now." She adds with a shrug. "I thought she should come back here with me, yeah. Call it professional courtesy. Plus... she's pretty badass." She adds.

Kian has posed:
    "Tek's-mek's?" Kían asks mildly, clearly without any recognition.
    Then he bows again to the new person, Dawn.  "/Kié/," he repeats, "/Kían takh/... nnh.  Sor-ry.  I am Kían.  Are you a new team-mate?  There are so many now, I can not remem-ber them all...."
    Garth, as it turns out, gets an even deeper bow of greeting.  "/Kié/, Gar't /tavár'h/.  I haf been able to keep much more Eng-lis since your gif' of the lan-gauge.  It iss not per-fec', but it iss much bet-ter now.  I can not than' hyu enough for the help.  It has made a great dif-rence."

Kara Danvers has posed:
Kara places her crystal down on a free table top, on the pointy end. It stands up right against all gravity odds. She approaches the tex-mex and smiles, "Thank you Heather. I appreciate it. This is my first Super-Burrito." She assembles the delectable and then looks back to Dawn. "A badass. We like them here." Quickly, she eats the burrito, though doesn't make a mess doing so.

"That tastes interesting. It reminds me of a south city dish, /gynotshahkh/, it translates strangely here. Unselfish Stone? very nice though. Similar spices. No it is not a rock, we do not eat rocks." She licks her finger tips and then offers her hand to Dawn, "Thank you for helping stop crime and spread hope." In the hand shake, she doesn't grip. She has learnt the hard way not to do the gripping. Instead, she lets others do the gripping to avoid unnecessary and unintentional pain.

Donna Troy has posed:
    "We have a pool, Garth. On the roof." Donna grins in Garth's direction. "Maybe we could fill it with seawater so you feel more at home when we do our next rooftop party? Don't want you stuck out there in the ocean /all/ the time."

    She moves over to the table to help herself to tacos, quietly pointing out the presence of mammalian rather than avian meat to Kian. He often needs reassurances on these things. "Hi SG," she says in greeting when Supergirl arrives. She nods her head towards the Kryptonian carrying a Kryptonian crystal, and asks "Whatcha got there? Is it some kind of table ornament, or is that balancing thing just a side-effect?".

    With taco in hand, she turns back to Dawn. "A badass, hmm Dawn? Robbery? Wanna tell us about it?"

Siobhan Smythe has posed:
Smiling upon seeing Kara, she nods to her, "Kara!" She then follows that up with a traditional greeting from Krypton, her words likely strange to everyone except Kara. She then turns to look at Kian with a grin, "Kian, how are you today?" She asks and then states, "And it's Tex-Mex." She nods, "A spicy type of food."

She turns then to look to Donna in greeting, offering her a wave and then she steps closer to Donna, "I got the alert but...I really don't tink I should, uh mask up." She gestures to the guest communicator she was given and then looks back to Dawn and then smiles at Donna, "Speakin' of which, when are we gonna get a chance to do more practice or somet'in'? I haven't had much opportunity to work wit' ya."

Nadia Pym-van Dyne has posed:
The elevator opens and in flies Nadia, using her bio-synthetic wings to hover just above the ground instead of walking. It's a sure sign she's been in the lab forgetting things like eating and sleeping /again/. Aside from the wings she's dressed not too unusually for a teenager in a red and pink bomber jacket, a V-neck black T-shirt with a sparking Tesla Coil beneath it, red and black plaid skirt falling just above her knees, and a pair of stompy boots.

"Oh hey everyone, did I miss a notice about a party?" She asks buzzing into the main room of the tower, "Is there any coffee made?" Caitlin's meticulously neat kitchen is eyed.

Dawn Granger has posed:
A grin is sent Heather's way, an anchor amid all the power and strangeness. She corrects herself; there is a feeling of underlying rightness to the gathering, too. The greetings pile up, almost overwhelming in their intensity. Dawn extends her hand unsuspectingly for a warm, firm handshake with the caped woman. Super Girl. Head to one side in thought, until it occurs to her just who this woman is, her mouth drops open. She looks at the others coming to the table with renewed awe, wondering does she belong here.
Troia's question lands in mid-bite of a salsa laden chip that plops unceremoniously to the table. Grabbing napkins, she throws a glance at Heather, and begins to mop it up.

"Where to begin? It's taken me some time to figure it out." She gestures to herself, meaning, figuring out who she is. "We could hear the bank alarms and then the shots. Heather darts out of nowhere and just stands in front of one of the two cars leaving the scene. I said the word that changes me when I know there is danger and stopped one of the cars with her." After taking a deep breath, she adds, "Ahhh, that's it. Pretty much."

Kara Danvers has posed:
Kara smiles and gives Donna a tiny little hipbump. Well, she thinks it's tiny. Those adjustments are an ongoing process of training. Either way she knows it's safe to do so with Donna. "This," she motions to the impossibly balanced crystal, "is a self replicating crystal simulator, so that I can ... design, habitats.. for you know who," she says suddenly very aware of the company they're keeping.

But that turns to wonder as she listens to Dawn's story and that the pair of them stopped cars. "You have a word that changes you? How do you change when you say it?" Kara is constantly surprised by this world and the people in it. Her hands go to her hips and she smiles with delight, "That sounds fantastic. Do you have a superhero name or are you just Dawn?"

Garth has posed:
Garth smiles to Kian, "I'm glad I could be of help. It sounds as if you've made amazing progress! I remember learning English, it's quite different from Atlantean. More glottal sounds, less gurgling," he says.

"A pool is not even nearly the same thing, as well you know, Donna. Are there fish in the pool? No. Crabs, algae, a thousand other creatures that you can't even perceive because you don't have my preternatural sense of the sea? No. Just a pool float in the shape of a horse. A horse, Donna. That's not even a sea creature."

Heather Danielson has posed:
    "I think you left out your -awesome- entrance... coming down on top of their car and blowing -all- of their windows out and making the driver panic until he stopped. Didn't even need to hurt any of the guys in the car. Me? I think the driver of the one I punched knocked himself out. I hope the kid's okay." offers Heather in response to Dove's description of things. "Don't let her make herself sound less impressive than she is. It was crazy cool."
    That said, Heather takes another large bite which shuts her up. For now at least.

Kara Danvers has posed:
Kara smiles with more delight to Siobhan. Having someone not Kryptonian who speaks her language is such a treasure. "/ehrosh bem Siobhan zw/," Supergirl says to her. Even though it sounds alien it most closely resembles.. Swedish? in timbre and texture. But, quite obviously not from this Earth. "/nahnesta rrip w voizhehiod/," she asks Siobhan and a slightly raised eyebrow.

Nadia Pym-van Dyne has posed:
Nadia buzzes over towards the Tex Mex for some nachos, before peering at Dawn, gears beginning to turn in her brain that she has not in fact seen this person before or Heather for that matter. She tilts her head to the side watching them curiously as she listens to Dawns story.

Donna Troy has posed:
    "'Masks up' doesn't have to be taken too literally," Donna tells Siobhan with a grin. "It's kind of an old phrase. Named for the benefit of those who keep a secret identity which they have revealed to other Titans but don't want more generally known. For the rest of us it's just a way to let us know there's someone off the list visiting.

    She rests a friendly hand on Siobhan's arm and gestures towards the guest T-Com. "You can access location logs for the public rooms on that. I generally don't have my position signal off, so you'll be able to see if I'm in the gym or the Danger Room, which I am a lot. Any time I am, ping my com and I'll buzz you down for a bit of training, okay?"

    Kara's hip-bump is a lot stronger than Kara planned, but the Kryptonian is learning. Donna only has to take a half-step to correct her position. It's probably fortunate that Kara's target wasn't someone without super-strength though, or they might have ended landing on the table and covered in guacamole. As she recovers from the hip-bump she gives Garth a wink and says "Tell you what, I'll see if we can find an inflatable /hippokampos/, how about that?"

    She does mean a seahorse, right? Maybe not - this is an Amazon talking to an Atlantean, after all.

    Donna sticks her tongue out at Kara playfully, and examines the crystal. "I see... so something like a brick that grows other bricks according to a pre-determined algorithm that generates structural components? Fascinating."

    This coincides nicely with Nadia's arrival, and Donna gives Nadia a grin and a wave, suspecting that the smoll scientist is about to geek out majorly over Kara's treasure. "Nothing fresh, Nadia. I suggest you put on a fresh pot."

    It's always a chaos of conversations at these Titanic get-togethers, but the newcomer's story does eventually drag Donna's attention back to Dawn. "You say a word to transform? Ah. So you have magic based powers." She smiles and nods her head. The concept doesn't seem too unfamiliar to her. "We've had a few such in the team before. So you are in the superhero business too? Have you been doing it long?"

Kian has posed:
    Not having received confirmation that "tek's-mek's" is bird-product free, Kían settles on nothing more than his purple Kool-Ade.
    Instead, he watches Nadia with her her sort-of wings.  That's... nearly normal.  Not quite, but nearly.
    And then he shakes his head clear, and nods at Garth.  "An' very dif-fren' from /Akiár'shak/," he says in agreement.  "The soun's are almos' right, but not.  Not com-pletely.  But I am closer now than I was before, yis?"

Dawn Granger has posed:
Knockout to the rescue. Dawn wings her a wide-eyed look, not sure if it should be thanks, before answering Supergirl's question, with a dip of her head. "Yes. Dove. Then everything changes."

Conversation swirls around them. Her blue eyes fly to Garth ribbing Troia about the pool, the barest smile softening her rapt attention on Troia unsure of what the tension she feels is about.

Frowning thoughtfully, "Let me see nearly three years ago. I was sixteen and totally out of it. My mother and a group of diplomats were caught in a terrorist attack in London. I thought I had died or was dreaming. I had to say the word, 'Dove'. Like I had no choice. And, then I rushed people out of the room." She gestures helplessly, "It...yes, magic. Now, I know but I didn't then. The Lord of Order decided that he would give me powers. Without asking. So, I don't know about being in the business. But I think, I should be. Yeah."

Garth has posed:
Garth perks up at the mention of magic, but doesn't intrude. The team doesn't have a lot of practitioners of the mystic arts, outside of himself and Raven. And Garth hadn't actually met Raven yet, just heard about her, like a shadow haunting the Tower. Appopriate for a raven.

"Magical trigger words can be very powerful things, invoking something greater than themselves. My knowledge of Order and Chaos is tertiary, but if you are an avatar of such a Power, Dawn, you have a great potential within you indeed," he says. "Also, is anybody going to spike the punch? Because we're not all TEEN Titans anymore, y'know."

Heather Danielson has posed:
    Laughing, Heather swallows her most recent bite of her food. "Hey. Beats my origin story." she offers. She shakes her head and steps closer to Dawn. "I mean come on. I got stuck with some needles, and no idea what was -in- them. Someone told me that there were like seventeen different Hydra originated attempts at making a Super Soldier Serum.... not sure how many of them got into my system, and in what ratio. But... now I heal faster than I Can be hurt. I'm not harder to hurt. Just.. heal fast. Sucky part is that it still hurts just as much as it would for anyone else. Oh, and I have about the lowest level of superstrength there is. Something like eight to ten tons."

Nadia Pym-van Dyne has posed:
Nadia buzzes into the kitchen. There is some mild hesitation at first of trespassing into Caitlin's sacred domain, but even if she gets yeeted off the roof she can still fly. Eventually she manages to locate some coffee and starts a fresh pot brewing.

Something in the back of her mind, slowly processing through her tired brain, finally makes it into the realm of active thought and she looks in Kara's direction while swallowing a mouthful of nachos, "Wait self-replicating crystal what?" True to Donna's prediction, she peers towards the device with as much energy as she can muster pre-coffee, never having seen it's like before. The rest of the room momentarily forgotten in her limited bandwidth state.

Donna Troy has posed:
    As Dawn expands on her story, the expression on Donna's face barely moves, but there's something about the way that her smile becomes so fixed that changes the feel of it altogether. "Dove," Donna repeats flatly.

    It wouldn't be true to say that Donna's demeanor had become hostile, but her normally friendly disposition fades to a distinct coldness as Dawn speaks. She pulls out her T-com, taps a few buttons and glances down at the screen, checking to see who else is in the Tower. Once she's identified a particular name, she taps on it and raises the T-Com to her mouth.

    "Nightwing?" she says. "We have a visitor in the main room I /really/ think you should meet." The T-com is put away, forestalling any questions Nightwing might ask her in response - she wants him to hear this from the source.

    "So Dawn. About three years ago, you said. Can you be any more specific than that?"

Kara Danvers has posed:
Kara shakes her head and declares fondly, "You are all amazing, there is no 'just' about any body here." There is a nod to Troia, "Yes Troia, that is almost exactly right. But it can be very dangerous. This one is inert, I would not want a sudden explosion of crystal construction in Metropolis. No body would appreciate that."

Her eyes are inevitably turned to Nadia's interest in the crystal and she chuckles with joy at her energy. The Kryptonian crystal is standing tip end impossibly on the kitchen counter top. "It is safe to touch, Waspette. As I said to Troia, it is inert."

"Dove, that is a lovely name. It sounds like the Kryptonian word /dovrrosh/ which means darkness." She lifts up her T-com to do a search on 'dove' and founds the fluffy white bird and then twists her lips to the side a touch, woopsie.

Siobhan Smythe has posed:
Replying to Kara, she smiles and replies in Kryptonian, <<I'm good, Kara.>> Strangely, her accent is still there. She then looks to Donna and nods, "Cool, sounds good." She nods her head.

Dick Grayson has posed:
Nightwing had been on monitor duty during his stay in Metropolis. As usual, in his full mask and costume, the eldest Robin alumnus had been fortunately bored during his shift when his T-comm brought the message to him. He raises a brow and says into it, "So help me if it's the pizza guy and no one had cash for a tip." He rises from his seat and makes his way to the elevator and descends to the main floor.

Once he exits the elevator, Nightwing walks over and says, before noticing anyone new, "I hope everything is all right?" His tone earlier had been more of a joke than anything, the latter bore a minor amount of concern.

Kian has posed:
    "Dofe?" Kían repeats in his imperfect English.  "Iss another bird.  An' like Robin and Nightwin' and all the others, hyu no haf wing," he says, peering close at Dawn.
    Then he shakes his head, and chuckles softly.  "This planet iss weir'd."
    Well, probably everyone on the team has heard him say *that* before.

Dawn Granger has posed:
There it is, whatever /it/ is, the big something that she had been feeling since her arrival, lands. Dawn imagines she sees cold vapor steaming from Troia's frozen smile. She still doesn't understand why, but her wariness grows enough to feel the urge to say 'Dove'.

Resisting the urge, she acknowledges Super Girl's warmth with a long side glance and a furtive smile. When the masked man who she recognizes from the media arrives, it cranks up a notch. Eyes on Troia, she waits, not answering his question. She's the outsider here. Little does Kian know, but he has yet another bird to deal with and likely disapprove.

Heather Danielson has posed:
    Having zero idea about anything else involving Dove, Heather is still enthusiastic and steps over to the white-haired woman to give her a bit of a shoulder-bump. "Anyway, she's cool and strong. Let me tell you. She's stronger than I am for sure." she says.
    Then the... atmosphere metaphorically cools, and she looks around towards the others, "What? Did I say something wrong?" she asks.

Nadia Pym-van Dyne has posed:
Nadia drifts over to the impossibly balanced crystal studying it from this angle and that, seemingly oblivious to the building tension in the room, "Is this Kryptonian technology?" she asks Supergirl curiously, "I've never seen anything like it before, and I've seen a lot of crazy tech!" Even without the coffee, the existence of fascinating new technology seems to recharge her at least a little.

Once the coffee is made Nadia pours herself an oversized mug of it. "Coffee is ready." She announces for anyone else who might want some.

Kara Danvers has posed:
Kara nods to Siobhan, "/jivehd/" Her smile persists even though she can feel the shift in heart beats in the room. She raises an eyebrow and replies to Nadia, "Oh yes, it is. An update on very old colonisation technology designed by Superman's father." She turns to survey the room, watching Troia and giving Nightwing a small wave. Whatever could be the problem?

Donna Troy has posed:
    Donna nods her head to Nightwing, a slow and cautious nod. "Everything is all right," she tells him, but that slow nod and her general demeanor makes it clear to Dick that it is not. She gestures him over towards Dawn. "This is Dawn. Heather ran into her during a robbery. She's a superhero, and she has a very... interesting story about that."

    "Dawn?" she says. "Would you remind repeating that story for Nightwing?" She's not exactly being hostile. Dawn's senses aren't picking up any hint of a /threat/ from her, but the attitude really couldn't be called friendly - more like someone who is trying very hard to be polite under trying circumstances.

Dick Grayson has posed:
Dick waves to the others again, noting Donna's expression and tone, but is able to hold back any reaction, but he does look to Dawn and give a quick nod, "Dawn? Pleased to meet you. I am Nightwing." He is uncertain if she knew, and it would be polite anyway. "Oh? Always down for an interesting story, and I am curious, now." He cracks a smile, "But what is your story?"

Garth has posed:
Garth notes Donna and Dick's attitude, perking up a bit and watching more closely. His jollity is set aside and he puts his drink down, crossing his arms and just listening. He hasn't even gotten to properly greet his old friend Nightwing, yet, after his years away, but he knows Donna well enough, even allowing for that absence, that he can tell something's up. He just has no idea what.

Nadia Pym-van Dyne has posed:
Nadia's eyes light up both from the coffee she is drinking and what Supergirl tells her, "That is so cool! Can I study it.." she is suddenly cut off from a beeping coming from her wrist. She stares at the small computer stapped to it that looks kind of like an Apple Watch. "..later! Study it later! Oh that's not good, that reaction should NOT be cascading! I need to go to the lab! I'll be back! I promise we are not all about to explode!" And with that she zips into the elevator.

Kian has posed:
    Whatever's going on with Donna regarding Dawn goes straight over Kían's head -- and no, that was not an opening for a joke about his height.  Maybe if the birdman had spent more time in the memorial off the main conference room, he might have an inkling, but he finds memorials creepy.  Properly, the deceased's friends and family say their goodbyes... and then get on with their lives, slightly diminished by the loss, optimistic for the gains of future friends and family.
    Well, that's easy for Kían to be philosophical about, having never lost a close relative or friend.  But philosophy and reality are under no obligation to coincide.
    Instead, he just watched Donna curiously, uncertain what's going on.
    Sip of Kool-Ade.

Dawn Granger has posed:
After taking a carefully measured breath, Dawn nods to Troia's request, now on high alert, still without knowing why. A diplomat's daughter, she's learned to smile and nod to foreign dignitaries since a child still maintaining a sense of self. That aplomb returns. She feels Heather hovering at her side.

"Hi, nice to meet you. I'm well, I'm Dawn Granger and when there is an emergency or danger, I become Dove. It's taken a while to understand, I've only met the Lord of Order once so..." Her eyes waver between the two and she changes tack. "Three years ago, my mother and I were in London and there was a terrorist attack on the Greek Embassy where we were attending a reception. I...I thought I had died or was dreaming because I was impelled to say the word Dove. Everything changed. I grew wings, I got powerful. I wanted to find the people who were going to kill us and convince them to not do it but it was too late. I flew at everyone trying to get them out of the blast radius then everything blew."

Kian has posed:
    Kían snaps to something approaching attention and stares at Dawn.  "Grew *win's*?" he asks sharply -- not unfriendly, just sharply -- his own ruddy hawk's wings spreading slightly.
    She has the little birdman's undivided attention.

Donna Troy has posed:
    Donna has her eyes firmly on Dick as Dawn repeats her story, studying his features for any tells. He's not someone who gives away tells easily, but this might just be a story that gets under his mask. "She's telling the truth," Donna tells Dick quietly.

    There have been plenty of occasions in their past as Titans together that Donna has said things like this - stating as fact whether someone is telling the truth or not. She doesn't tend to offer the evidence that would satisfy a detective like Dick, but he knows she's uncannily accurate when she makes these calls.

    "Wendy?" Donna calls out. "Date of terrorist attack on the Greek Embassy in London in 2017. Date of Doomsday. Do they match?

    There's a moment's silence, and a female voice comes out over the room's PA. <<Yes, Troia. I can confirm that those two incidents occurred on the same day.>>

    Donna puffs out her cheeks and shakes her head slightly. "Dawn. I'm sorry, this isn't your..." She pauses, her fingers tensing, and she takes deep breath. "Do you know much about the history of the Titans?" she asks. "In the days before the team split up?"

Dick Grayson has posed:
Dick listens patiently, though once Dawn says the Lord of Order and that she was called "Dove," his cheerful demeanor shifts to concern, and he blinks. "Wait what," he asks and as Dick turns to Donna to ask, she answers the question before he can say it, "I see. Then I guess it is so," which is further confirmed by Wendy's comment.

Nightwing shakes his head, and takes a breath, and mutters quietly for a second before looking back at Dawn, "I understand, then. Though I would like to know what you know before I explain further."

Dawn Granger has posed:
Tall and slender, there is pride in the uplift of Dawn's chin and an air of innocence in her wide blue eyes. The concern that both of them show still bewilders her. Her hands spread palm up, she gestures her lack of knowledge.

"I think the Lord of Order is putting his house in order." Wiser words than she knows. "I don't know about your history. How could I?"

Rachel Roth has posed:
    The confrontation- near enough literal as it may be- takes place below her in as much as Raven is only in her room as it begins. It is shortly after emotions begin to boil, some beneath the surface, that Raven does much of anything. Idly, from an angle that doesn't bear much direct relation to the stairwell, comes a wandering goth.

    Her attention doesn't seem to be on the group. Instead, she makes her way into the kitchen without a word. There is little conjuring done here- as Raven prepares a cup of coffee that, seemingly, she had begun some time ago, pouring boiling water over grounds that come from a spice grinder that has her name written on it via an archaic label maker.

    For some, this might be a moment of hitched breaths and quiet terror- and yet, Raven has yet to say, or do, anything about the conversation going on... Let alone its topic.

Donna Troy has posed:
    Donna's calm exterior slips, and her lips twitch from half-formed expression to half-formed expression. She starts to speak and stops before any words leave her mouth, and looks suddenly away to the window. It's obvious she's struggling with some strong emotion.

    When she gets her reactions under control somewhat, Donna replies "It's public record," she tells Dawn. "It was in all the newspapers. If you... if you..." She winces slightly, and shakes her head. "I don't know... maybe it wasn't well reported in England. You... the death of Superman pretty much got all the headlines. He wasn't the only one who died that day, and unlike him, some others haven't come..." She stops herself with a sharp intake of breath.

    Her eyes go to Raven as the Wandering Goth makes her spooky appearance. Filling Raven in to what's happening seems like a superfluous excercise. Dawn's nature is, ultimately, magical. That's something Raven knows better than just about anyone, and the particular magic of Dawn's nature is one that Raven knows particularly well. For a moment, Donna struggles with an urge to rush to Raven's side, to be there for her if she needs that - and possibly to forestall too strong a reaction from the sorceress. Donna can't help a moment's guitly notion that her motivations for that urge may not be wholly selfless, and that her subconscious may be looking for a way out of this conversation.

    Donna turns back to Dawn, her eyes glistening wetly. "Dove... The first Dove was our friend. Doomsday killed him. It's not... it isn't your fault."

Kara Danvers has posed:
Kara maintains her warm smile to Dawn even as a small hop takes her aloft, floating awaaaay from the kitchen. Not at all because Raven is scary. She rests her boots on the ground and places a hand upon Troia's shoulder, and a hand on Nightwing's shoulder. She takes in a deep breath and lets it out slowly. "You represent the rebirth of a powerful symbol for the Titans. Though I never knew Dove before, it seems poignant that that legacy has somehow found its way back to the tower."

A small nod is given to Dove, "In fact, some what improbable and impossible, but that seems to be what some of us do every other week." The touch is a gentle, comforting touch on the shoulders, not meant to restrain at all, certainly she was very careful not to slap it on or push.

Siobhan Smythe has posed:
Having sat off to the side for this, Siobhan was not involved. Not really. Hell, she wasn't even a Titan yet. She was just some girl staying in the guest room. She was watching this all unfold however and then states simply, "I'm not really one to get involved in family or personal business. Universe knows I have a rather messed up family and history. I know hurt when I see it and I somehow doubt dis girl has anyting to do wit' dat hurt." She shakes her head, "I know a ting or two about gettin' sometin' wit'out your permission."

Dick Grayson has posed:
Dick nods to Raven as she arrives, and he lets Donna explain. Before he can say anything he feels the hand on his shoulder and looks back to see Kara and then gives a brief smile of thanks before turning back to Dawn.

"It is wound that still hurts, but I understand it is a mantle that you have been given and one that I respect," Nightwing says calmly, though he cannot tell them of Jason's mantle passing, it is at least not entirely new to him, "But if the Lord of Order chose you, I will respect it." His tone is not so hard as it had been, and Dick even gives a kind smile, "As Supergirl said, it is a new chance. A new friend in an old mantle." He extends a hand, "It may take a moment, but in time you will carve out your own niche. It may be akin to the previous Dove's, but you will be your own, and tell your own story, live your own life. Be your own hero. Trust me on that."

Dawn Granger has posed:
A voice clamors inside Dawn, wanting to apologize to these people, especially Troia, who looks stricken and leave. Just when she thought she might have found people that understood her - the loss of what might have been hitting hard. Eyes closed, head bowed in thought, she nods. It makes sense. Now, she understands more about what the Lord of Order had said.

A dark shadow crosses the room, a magnet sapping her attention from Nightwing and Troia. The magic in her rises to the point she will have to say her other name.

Finding her voice, "I am so sorry. I think I know how inadequate the words are, but I am sorry for your loss. I really didn't know. The newspapers in London were all about their losses, and yes, well, Superman." She takes a step back, "I can leave." Lips pressed together in an attempt at self-control, she nods gravely to each of them. "I didn't ask for this. It's been..." Jerky gestures try to frame the difficulty of learning magical superpowers alone.

Dick Grayson's words slow her retreat, he says the words she longs to hear but would never ask. Blue eyes move from person to person in an attempt to confirm the dawning hope. Quietly, she speaks from the heart, "I would like to learn what to do."

Rachel Roth has posed:
    Idly, Raven pours one cup of coffee, and then another. Her back is to the crowd. Her presence akin to a different genre. Like a tiny bit of horror movie in this drama.

    It is when the tension reaches its peak, when Donna's conflicting inner turmoil reaches a maelstrom that stops her from making a decision in the moment, that Raven speaks.

    "What's in a name?" she responds, plucking up both cups of coffee in delicate fingers and making her way over to Donna. Calm. Serene. Lacking seemingly any emotion, Raven seems to be taking this rather well- at least better than some may have thought her capable of. "Our friend was called Dove, but that is not all of what he was. Mantles pass. The man is gone. We mourned for him. Some of us still do. Your presence won't change that. It shouldn't change that." she offers one mug over to Donna.

    "Nor should that change anything about you. We have known two people with the same name before. Some of us three or four." her attention shifts to Nightwing for a moment, before looking back to Dawn. "I didn't mourn Dove. Nobody should have. I hope we all can come to understand that, if we don't now."

Donna Troy has posed:
    Donna rests her hand on Kara's for a moment and gives it a gentle squeeze, grateful for the gesture of sympathy and solidarity from the Kryptonian. Her eyes still on Dawn, she answers Siobhan's contribution. "You're right, Sio. It's not her fault. She didn't do anything wrong. It's just... " she drifts to a halt and breathes out heavily. "We /are/ a family, Sio. You'll see that if you stay with us. This is... hard."

    Her eyes drop down and she takes the coffee from Raven with a momentary smile before her lips crease back into a frown, giving Raven's hand a brief squeeze in the process of taking the mug. "Dove... the old Dove... was our friend. Part of our family. It... it hurts. But that's not your fault, Dawn. Nobody blames you. It's just... it's a shock Dawn. But it's not your fault, you don't have to go."

    She looks up again, steadying herself, and finds Dawn's eyes. "It isn't easy. Having... this... things you didn't ask for. As Sio said. None of us exactly asked for what... for who we are. Part of the reason we are here is to help each other come to terms with /who/ we are. If the..." she glances briefly at Raven and Dick. "I can't speak for the Titans. But the mantle of Dove has passed on to you. That's a big responsibility. And... gods... I don't know what Hawk is going to say when he finds out. I feel like... I feel like we owe you our support, to help you come to terms with this. To learn what to do."

Kara Danvers has posed:
Kara clicks her tongue in a manner accustomed to the way she speaks when talking Kryptonese. She nods to Siobhan, "/zhi/" She's certainly made up her mind. It seems important to her, especially given Troia's words about dealing with who they have become.

"What to do, what to do." She has a playful but mournful smile on her face. She knows loss like few others do, but she must push on. Her cousin taught her that. She steps from between Nightwing and Troia and wraps her arms about Dawn, though she doesn't squeeze - that rarely turns out well. "What to do is to have a hug."

"Troia is very right. Who we are is why we are here. A year and a half ago I was studying for my final exams. I was a top grade science student with a bright future ahead of me. Then the world ended, quite literally and I was sent off to a distant world where people speak strange languages and do strange things."

She thumbs at the people around her teasingly, "And weirdest thing of all, on this world I had powers beyond measure and comprehension. People measure themselves against me, ..a science geek; villains test themselves against me. I did not ask for this and I have made many mistakes already, ...and without friends," she turns slowly around the room, "I would still be lost." Kara never believed she had any gift for speeches, not the way that Kal does, but may be some of that has been rubbing off on her.

Dick Grayson has posed:
"You have done nothing wrong, you have no need to apologize," Nightwing says, shaking his head, "If you want my advice on what to do next? Stay here and learn from us. It's rough out there and you may as well learn the ropes from those of us who have been there before, sometimes failing, but better to learn from our mistakes," Dick snorts. "Of anyone, besides Hawk himself, we probably know the most about what could be possible for you, assuming your abilities are similar to your predecessor's." Dick relaxes his posture a little, rubbing his chin.

"You were chosen for a reason, and we certainly are in no place to challenge that. I do agree that you ought to feel welcome here," Nightwing notes, even giving a smile, "There may be speedbumps, but that just means we are all adjusting. We can teach what we can, and we certainly wish to learn from you. You might be new to this, but you'd be surprised at what you can bring to the group."

Dick chuckles at Kara's remarks, "I mean, at the very least you are more powerful than I am, then again /most/ people are." He grins, "But we've all been lost at some point, trying to find our place. We can help you find yours, and we would be honored to help with it."

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin is not one for snooping, but... well, monitor duty is boring. And despite her shyness and introversion Caitlin really does crave the simple social contact of the small (and slightly dysfunctional) family that is the Titans.

So while the others were confronted with the return of the mantle of Dove, Caitlin was tuned in from the security room. And the privacy it allowed made a few tears possible, ones she would not have wanted to shed in front of a newcomer.

When she's relieved from her duty shift, Caitlin takes a few minutes in the bathroom to splash some water on her face. Once she's got herself under control, she takes the elevator down to the main room where the others are gathered. The doors *ding* open and Caitlin emerges with a hesitant step very slightly camoflagued with friendly nonchalance, hands in her hoody pockets. "Uh... hey," she greets everyone. "I smell Mexican. Are we getting a bonus Taco Tuesday?" She's gone for the athleisure look; blue leggings with grey highlights and her well-loved hoodie in pink with 'Columbia' in faded white print. No jewelry to speak of, or makeup beyond a bit of mascara, and it looks like she ran out of hairbands and borrowed a thick rubber band to try and tame the frizzy red hair framing her face into a ponytail.

Dawn Granger has posed:
Troia speaks to her from her most profound grief. Though Dawn didn't take Don's life, a tear slips her control at what all of them lost. The dark woman who brings Troia coffee mysteriously seems to focus the feelings. Here is a conundrum that her magic calls out to solve.

When Super Girl puts her arms around her, she cracks (Super Girl doesn't squeeze that hard), and Dawn's shoulders tremble a moment, returning the hug. She steps out of her embrace, biting her bottom lip, unable to speak. Dick Grayson's chuckle and welcome cap it for her, and she smiles tremulously at his joke with Kara.

A long shuddered breath shakes the young woman. Dove. She feels the mantle settle on her shoulders, the wings she's been afraid to assume, and couldn't grow to carry. Here, with these people, she can. "Thank you. Thank you. I'm glad I only rented a place month to month," she smiles in wonder at these people marching with their grief into a future with her.

When the elevator door opens, she looks up in surprise at Caitlin, "Ah. I come with tacos. One of my powers."

Siobhan Smythe has posed:
A look over at Kara with a smile, she turns her eyes to Donna and then sucks in a breathe, "Donna. My whole family is dead." She states simply and then tilts her head, "My mother died when I was young. She became sometin' else. She became...sometin' worse. My brother, sacraficed himself in an attempt to save me from dis. He was literaly eaten by my mother. Taken into her very being. Later, me father died of cancer." She smiles a little with a melancholy happiness that only an Irish Wake can bring.

"I know loss, Donna. I hope one day to see ye as my new family. It sounds good and right, but just cause ya hurt at your loss, doesn't mean I don't know what it feels like. It's different for me in a way. My family always saw death differently but yeah. I know what you're goin' tru." She nods her head, "You aren't alone." She then looks to Dawn and smiles at her, "And you seem fine in my book but den I don't have a dog in da fight." She shrugs, "I hope ya can find a measure of happiness here like I'm startin' to tink I might." She then walks over and takes a taco and nods to her before looking to Caitlin, "Oh, and hi, Caitlin."

Rachel Roth has posed:
    The squeeze of her hand causes Raven's attention to shift upwards to Donna's face. Her expression doesn't shift, but her presence is altogether comforting, though the reason why isn't exactly something one can determine. She then turns her attention back to Dawn and Nightwing, and for a moment or two, she simply nods along.

    "Right now, they just need time. Not space. You not being present will not make things better. You should stay. The Tower has a place for the one chosen to be Dove." A pause, then, and without missing much of a beat, she responds. "Hawk is going to shit himself."

    It's... Very likely that Raven does not hold a high opinion of the man's ability to accept something like this. To Caitlin, she offers a shrug. "When isn't there a deluge of unhealthy grease wrapped in some form or another of what could approximate to bread?"

Kara Danvers has posed:
Kara walks over to her crystal and gives it a small spin. It keeps spinning and may just keep on spinning like that forever. She pauses and holds up a finger, "Hush a moment please my friends." She tilts her head, "Oh no. I must go, there is a dam failure in Minsk!"

In a flash, Supergirl is gone, leaving behind the traces of red and blue in her wake up the elevator and out of the roof, off to the other side of the planet.

Donna Troy has posed:
    Donna knows Caitlin a little too well to be entirely fooled by the nonchalant display. She can't be sure Caitlin has been listening in, but her old friend's hesistancy. "Tex-Mex," she calls out. "Heather brought it. And a guest." She clears her throat. "Uh. Caitlin, this is Dawn. Dawn, this is Caitlin. Caitlin, Dawn is... Dawn... Dawn is the new... The- the Lords of Order passed on Dove's mantle. Dawn is the new... holder of the title."

    She can't quite bring herself to say the words 'Dawn is the new Dove', even though the words she's saying mean the same thing. She will soon, but not quite yet. Maybe there's some part of her that wishes she could believe that Dawn was lying; that she could get angry about it - but she can't. It's not Dawn's fault, and Dawn needs them.

    That's surely the best way to honor Don's memory, isn't it?

    "D... the old Dove was a good man, Dawn. He always... somehow he always knew the right things to say. If the Lords of Order saw the same things in you that they saw in him, then we would be fools to turn you away. And..." her eyes glance across to Raven. "Yes. Maybe you don't know this, yet. You have an opposite number. There is a Hawk as well as a Dove. They... they balanced each other, though Hawk was the one who struggled most for balance. When he finds out... I don't know. As Raven says, I don't expect him to be happy. It would be best if you are with us when that happens."

    She bites her lip, meeting Kara's announcement with a nod and a quickly whispered "Take care, Supergirl," and takes that moment to help gather herself.

    "Sio," Donna says quietly. "You have a 'dog in this fight' as long as you are in this tower. You, Dawn, everyone who is here does. Titans tower should be a beacon of hope, for those who are within it as well as those who see it from the outside."

Dawn Granger has posed:
Dawn sighs softly to herself. The best way, she thinks, will be to let them sit with the idea. What is she saying? She still needs to sit with it. As soon as that thought rises, she grabs a taco chip to crunch and shakes her head.

"No," she mutters, "I need to start moving and not hiding away any longer."

Bemused, she makes a burrito up. She's hungry and wrung out and has a lot to think about and a lot of new people to get to know.

-CRUNCH-