3263/Amazon Aftermath

Amazon Aftermath
Date of Scene:	07 September 2020
Location:	Amazon Encampment, Metropolis Outskirts
Synopsis:	Kate brings word of the Titans (and Donna's!) fate to her sisters. Diana suggests teamwork and various resources for a search, Cassie angsts. Also, a fetch quest is born, and the heroes must seek debris from fallen Warzoon ships!
Cast of Characters:	Cassie Sandsmark, Kate Bishop, Diana Prince

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Cassie Sandsmark has posed:
It is a strange sight, surreal in several ways. Days ago, this area outside of Metropolis was home to festival grounds, a state park and recreational area, and a large series of golf courses, all popular desintations for the city's residents, places to get away on the weekend with family, take in an event, game, outdoor concert, or just meet some friends for work for a 'quick 9'.

And then, in the midst of the recent invasion, it became a warzone. The fields have been scorched, gouged, and are still littered with the debris of destroyed alien spacecraft. While there were few large structures, plenty of what infrastructure there was for these areas is likewise destroyed. To many, it is an unimaginable sight, such destruction on American soil.

But that's not where the strangeness ends. Where yesterday it was a blasted battlefield, today the grounds have become home to a strange encampment: rows of square tents, not modern synthetics and aluminum, but of canvas on wood frames, are arranged in orderly fashion. At the perimeter, which includes not just the tents but a large wreckage-strewn area, women with sculpted metal breastplates, war skirts, and crested helmets stand guard, not with rifles but with spears and shields. Nearby, their horses (and at least one oversized kangaroo) are tied by watering troughs.

It's like something out of a movie, like Troy or 300, but there, in the flesh, just outside Metropolis.

There are, of course, men with guns as well, and large armored troop carriers forming their own defensive zones. They are a short ways off from the Amazon camp, with a neutral zone between them. There is tension. Some of it, presently, is being de-escalated by a pair of women who are stuck between these sides:

"Ugh, I don't know the word- mom?" Cassie Sandsmark is standing with her mother, Helena, an annoyed Amazon officer, and a National Guardsman. "Sorry, my ancient Greek still isn't-"

"She's saying that Queen Hippolyta has declared the wreckage... I think the best English equivalent is untouchable or forbidden? Dangerous," Helena explains. "That they are guarding it until her daughter's friends in the Justice League can speak with the relevant authorities and come up with a plan for its safe removal."

Kate Bishop has posed:
Kate would be arriving via the T-Jet but someone (cough.. Nadia.. cough) is tinkering with it to install some sort of crazy engine upgrade which could be important to getting their friends back from whatever Galaxy they are stuck in.

So No T-Jet Today Kate.

So it is the Hawkcycle. Hawkingbike. You know, she has no idea what she should call her very expensive motorcycle. Still the whole outfit, motorcycle, purple helmet, bow in a quickdraw holster on it, pretty much scream Hawkeye and Superhero.

Which is honestly probably how she managed to drive weaving through the various Men With Guns. It isn't like she really stopped to answer any questions either at the checkpoint just ripping through it and heading towards the Amazonian Encampment. Specifically zeroing in on Cassie's T-Comm on the HUD in her helmet's visor.

She is respectful enough to slide the bike kicking up a bit off mud and grass onto no one a ways away as she stops it. Then she slides off it and making sure it doesn't fall over when she plants the kickstand.

The helmet is peeled off and set on the bike's seat and the first thing she says after looking around. "Hey isn't this that snooty country club that doesn't allow women.... Emerald Acres or something..." .. ..

The next thing she says, sunglasses in place as she looks towards Cassie. "Cassie.. I need to talk to you.. is Diana around too!?" she is already walking that direction ignoring the angry National Guard officer. I mean to be fair she is ignoring Helena as well, she has no idea that is Cassie's mom after all.

Diana Prince has posed:
As it so happens, Diana is here, though maybe not directly where Cassie and Kate find themselves.

No, she's emerging from one of the Military tents on the US's side of the camp. Along with two of her sisters and a few of the US Military members, a man and a woman, both dressed in BDUs with their fancy hats and badges all over their uniforms.

They're emerging from a meeting together and offering each other hands to shake and final parting words before Diana, and her two sisters, start to walk back toward their section of the former sporting fields.

Diana has a voluminous black robe on over her gleaming Eagle Armor that peaks out from beneath the fabric of the robe as she walks with her sisters. She can see not just Cassie, but also the arrival of Kate on her motorcycle. Diana separates from her sisters, and sends them back to speak to the Queen as she walks in the direction of Cassie and Kate now, but stops to gather up the reigns of her horse.

Rainstorm, Diana's war horse, is decked head to hooves in regal armor, with sword and shield resting sheathed on the side of his dress saddle. She walks the horse toward the young women and raises a hand to smile at them.

A few US soldiers pass her by and offer greetings to the Princess who smiles back to them and greets them back in return in passing.

Cassie Sandsmark has posed:
Helena indeed looks at Kate a bit disapprovingly, but she shouldn't take it personally: she looks at her -daughter- disapprovingly, most of the time. In fact, her presence here started out that way. Somewhere between terrified and furious at seeing pictures of her daughter at the vanguard of an Amazon battle charge on the 6 o'clock news, she came to the camp to... ground her again, maybe? Yet once she realized the scope of what was going on, saw the destruction first hand, the Amazons staring down the US military... she put off fighting with her daughter to roll up her sleeves and help. And as a non-super person, the main way she can do that is by playing cultural ambassador between the two sides.

Cassie is doing that too, but admittedly, she lacks a certain... gravitas? Most military officers don't tend to like taking orders from teenage girls.

"Oh hey. Mom, relax, this is K- Hawkeye. She's a friend of mine from the Titans," Cassie offers quickly as Kate rolls up on them. "Uh Diana's here somewhere. Maybe the command tent or... oh, no I think she went to meet-" Her eyes scan toward...

And there she is!

"Hey! Di! We've got a visitor. Also I think there's some argument with this nice-"

"Cassandra, I have this in hand. You needn't bother the Princess with every little thing. Go and speak with her. Take your friend." Let the adults talk. The NORMAL people talk.

Cassie rolls her eyes a little but quickly peels off to intercept her mentor, waving Kate along and happily leaving her mom to mom it up if that's what she wants to do so badly! "So what's up? Can you believe all of this? It's totally wild. For the Amazons, too. None of them have ever seen... well, most of what you can see from here." Trucks, modern military equipment, a city's soaring skyline in the distance.

Kate Bishop has posed:
I mean, Kate is really use to disapproving parental looks, her father has some sort of evil PHD in being a disapproving parent and he doesn't even know about the whole Hawkeye thing, yet. Still she has no idea why the non-Amazonian lady by Cassie is giving her that look at first.

Then it becomes clear with the Hey Mom Relax. "Ooh... uh.. hello Ms. Sandsmark" hopefully that is actually Helena's last name. Still she is trying her best here with very little information.

Also she hasn't slept since the fight yesterday, a wee bit jittery from the sheer amount of energy drinks she has been mainlining like the drug they are There has just been way, way too much to do since she got everyone back on the T-Jet.

Well almost everyone.

There is a super eye roll though behind her sunglasses as Cassie's mom tells her to go talk to Diana and let her handle it. I mean full blown Cassandra was broken out there.

"I don't think your mom approves of me... also yeah this .. is wild.. I am pretty sure this was an elite golf course or something..." distracted. She offers a smile to Diana though it is off, there is something wrong besides the lack of sleep really. Very wrong.

"Uh.. hey Diana... " she just sort of stalls out. "Is there somewhere we can all talk not amongst all the army men and all.. private?"

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana offers a smile to Helena as she approaches the three of them. "It is good to see you again, Helena." She states before her stare then goes to Cassie, and to Kate. At Kate's question, Diana motions past them to the Themysciran side of the line. There are soldiers on the line, from both armies, and some of them are actually even mingling. A pair of women in US Military uniforms are standing in front of one of the towering Amazon warriors and asking her questions, they're all smiling and seemingly enjoying the moment.

Diana starts to walk to where, specifically, she had indicated, a small camp with a few tents gathered around it and a place to sit in front of a lit campfire. "Here, should do." She says as they draw closer to it.

"The Titans." Diana says, to them both then. "What is the Status on them?" She asks, having not gotten an update on them yet... and not seeing Donna here, is quite telling...

Cassie Sandsmark has posed:
"My mom approves of very little of anything, and especially not my super hero friends, so don't let it bother you," Cassie reassures Kate, lowering her voice even as they retreat from her mom's earshot distance. "Except that she's pretty into all this Amazon stuff when it's not -me- doing it. Total double standard. I mean, Di and her used to work together so its understandable but... her and Queen Hippolyta? Its weird. The two of them are like, -super- buddy buddy, for being exes of the same dude. I don't trust it at all."

Indeed, it must be a plot.

The teenage gossip and conspiring ceases as Wondie reaches them. Helena does, oddly, seem much friendlier at that point. "Hello Diana, yes, you as well. Your sisters are doing wonderfully, you know. It's quite a testament to the Amazon way - certainly there's tension, but they're committed to de-escalation and I think I'm succeeding in getting that message across."

But beyond a brief greeting (and Helena's sudden shift in demeanor!), they all go off to find the campfire. A campfire! Even that seems to make it all old-timey and cool.

"Oh, yeah, sorry I couldn't tag along with you guys," Cassie immediately offers when the Titans finally come up. "With Diana already off with the League and Avengers, they wanted me with the army until we rejoined her. Official Wonder Girl stuff, I guess. Is everyone OK? You guys must have pulled off your end, right, with that stolen ship?" She was around for that, and probably got called back directly before it launched. But, even light-hearted Cassie isn't so oblivious as to not start to catch on to what should be obvious. Why it's Kate here, and not...

"... wait, where's Donna? Why isn't she here to meet up with us? Is she still busy doing something or?"

Kate Bishop has posed:
"Sounds sketchy." she notes to Cassie about Hippolyta and her mom and all being exes and not trusting it. "Wasn't ... uh their Ex with like.. half of ancient Greece or are the myths wrong about that?" okay exageration but well she is sarcastic when when she is dealing with too much worry.

Kate watches Helena deal with Diana. There are a couple of blinks. Still Kate shoots Diana a grateful smile and nod falling in and easily being led off to the campfire pretty silent on the walk there. There is a soft "Sorry I missed the charge... saw the news footage it was epic Cass."

Then it all sort of comes to a head once they are at the smaller camp and the campfire. The young woman, and really she is what in High School pales further. Damnit she went over this in her head dozens of times on the bike ride over here but it is all ashes on the wind right now as she vaporlocks for a moment before managing to get her shit back together.

"I.. we split up when we got to WarWorld. Donna and Vic took point on the Dreadnaught.. well .. Donna defended the Dreadnought. Caitlyn, Vorpal, and the heavier hitters took out the shield towers like we planned. Raven and a bunch of us got Nadia to the computer system to deploy the virus Vic worked up using the Brainiac viral stuff..." which is the technical Term, Kate's job on this ship isn't science or computers. "All of that worked like planned.. we got their computers well and truly messed up, the team punched a hole in their shield by taking out the towers.... Rae evac'd us to the T-Jet and I flew it to pick up Caitlin's team..." I mean yes she is burying the lead but the girl is struggling and maybe it is almost a confession like is she worried she messed up somehow and laying it all out will show her what she did wrong. Not that she hasn't been over it in her head.

Also could be sleep deprivation.

"Donna had Vorpal take Caitlin over to the dreadnaught to meet up with her and Vic... the ships we sent back loaded with explosives did their thing wrecking havok in the docking bays of WarWorld .but Vic and Donna wanted to ram the Dreadnought into it as one last mega goodbye don't fuck with us...." language. "Something went wrong though. Warworld kicked up it's drives as the Dreadnaught hit it... Kara is pretty sure it was a Wormhole not an explosion but I was too busy dodging debris with the T-Jet.. we have a lot of footage but .. Vorpal never managed to get the four of them back to the T-Jet.... they .. I'm sure they went where ever Warworld went.""

Honestly she doesn't sound sure, not with the part about dodging debris. More like she >has< to believe that is the case. The exhausted young woman closes it out with "I.. I'm sorry." like it is somehow her fault. I mean she was flying right. Raven and Nightwing were there but for some reason they aren't here right now, Kate is.

Diana Prince has posed:
When they reached the small campsite for some of the Amazons, Diana ties her horse's leather reign off on the hitching post that was set into the ground. She motions for Cassie and Kate to walk with her toward the fire, but as they do the story develops, straight from Kate's mouth.

Diana turns to face her, her dark hair waving gently over her covered shoulders in the warm winds. The sky overcast today, with rain expected over night, the clouds are thusly silver grey, backlit by the sun behind them.

When Kate says that she is sorry, is when Diana moves toward her, her hands come up to clutch Kate by her shoulders and she angles her eyes to garner Kate's mutual stare. "You do not have to apologies." Diana tells Kate, a sincere and soft tone accompanying her voice.

"The Titans, all of you, you are aware of the threats that come with this duty that we have all sworn ourselves too. We are protectors of this world, against all threats, the small... and the astronomical. Donna, Caitlin, and the others... they are aware of what they are doing. The threats that they face are no common enemy. We have witnessed that first hand here, as we have before. I am sure that they are... fighting to return to us right now, as I do not believe that they know how to do anything else."

Diana glances then to Cassie, before she looks back to Kate. "We have to unify, discuss options of helping them-- if any such options exist --and then we do our... everything, to enact them. We won this fight though. We pushed them back, and all of the Titans are to thank for that."

Cassie Sandsmark has posed:
"Yeah our dad is like the original manho," Cassie agrees, with an over-exaggerated sigh. There is probably a point where talking about him embarassed her more, but she's sort of settled into it just being A Thing that she acts like it isn't too much of a big deal.

As they settle around the fire, the young Amazon seems oddly well-adapted to this whole situation, strange as it is. Very much the image of a normal girl her age, raised with every modern convenience and comfort, she seems oddly at home in the Amazon war camp. She upnods passing soldiers - imposing-looking women plucked out of time, in their ancient looking arms - and they react to her with familiarity and friendly camaraderie, despite her visible disimilarity from them. A pair come by carrying a large (and presumably very heavy to require two amazons) piece of junk from a ship, and she knows where to direct them. Somewhere along the line, Cassie really has become a part of this army.

And yet for all her reactions and interactions seem to cast her in a more mature, hardened, battle-tested light, Kate's report cuts the legs out from under that. At first, she listens to all the lead-up details with curiousity, although, already suspecting something, there is a kind of mounting dread that accumulates in her expression. And then, the other shoe.

Cassie doesn't react like Diana does, with all the understanding, tempered, ageless wisdom. She reacts like a kid who's just been told she's lost her big sister: "Wait what do you mean wherever it went? Like, they're gone? Gone WHERE?"

It's not anger in her voice, she doesn't even seem to register Kate talking about what she might have done or not, or being sorry, and instead goes straight to panick, her eyes wide. Reflexively, she looks to Diana, as if she would obviously have the solution ready and waiting. Instead, all that talk of 'knowing what they were in for' has her looking more and more horrified by the moment. It's not at all what she wants to hear!

So instead, in mild but blissful denial, she kind of shakes her head, rejecting all of that, and just seizes on the last part. It's what she wants to hear. "Right. They must be fine. We just have to go get them. OK. Right, so what's the plan? I guess maybe there isn't one yet but like, uh, we can make one, right? The Justice League must have some way of... tracking Warworld, right? Figuring out where it went? Like, some Green Lantern nonsense or something?"

Kate Bishop has posed:
Honestly blissful denial is the fuel Kate has been operating on for hours.

Also Energy Drinks.

Definitely not sleep.

Somehow she manages to not burst into tears when Diana takes her firmly by the shoulders, looks her in the eyes, and tells her that she doesn't have to appologize.

The whole speech about knowing what they were risking is unsettling at best but then it does a nice pivot to fighting to get back to us. This has Kate nodding slowly. She looks worried at Cassie "Gone with Warworld..." not wanting to think about the shockwave and debris she had to dodge.

then Diana is continuing and Cassie is agreeing. "I didn't want to just fire out an update to the whole team.. I wanted to tell you all and Kara first but I'll be sending one in a little bit. Gar flew off and has deactivated his social media accounts... Nadia is working on the T-Jet.. putting some space drive on it" which explains why she road her bike out here. "Raven is locked in her room so far... I am hoping.." she just trails off and shakes her head. "I let Robin know, he hasn't got back to me."

She licks her lips wetting them. "But .. you're right Cassie we need a plan. We could also use help on the science front.. like the Lanterns or others besides Kara. She went up to the moon but she has all the T-Jet's logs... but her and Nadia probably need help with the science of that Wormhole. I am hoping Raven can use her magic to confirm things and maybe help.... like we need to work multiple angles. Magic. Science. Whatever it takes to find them and help them get home."

By the end of this agreement with Cassie she sounds more stable, still exhausted but Diana's pep talk and Kate's own mini-pep talk about getting help and doing whatever it takes is good for her. There is a deep breath. "Someone needs to talk to Raven and track down Gar though."

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana's gaze flickers over to Cassie, then back to Kate. She offers a single nod to her before she drops her hands back to her sides, her bracers covered over by the soft sleeves of her outer robe once more. "Give your team mates a little extra time to cope with the news. In the mean time, start sharing all the information you have, with anyone that you feel can work with it. We will get our best people on each potential outlet of finding ways to recover them. Be it the Green Lanterns, Superman, Captain Marvel or otherwise."

She glances over at passing members of the Themysciran army, then looks back. "The Avengers may be of assistance in this as well. The Science part is ... well ... they have a number of very scientifically savvy members." There's a faint smile, but it fades very quickly.

"We will do our best to form a plan quickly. If that ... Wormhole ... can be figured out, perhaps we can use it to return them. So the information you have in your Jet is paramount to the science side of this. Start spreading that information out, as quickly as you can. Once we have a plan, your fellow team mates will come back. They will want to be apart of bringing their loved ones back."

Cassie Sandsmark has posed:
"I'm glad you came to tell us." Much like getting dumped, it's not something you want to hear in a text! So no, she's not angry with Kate, in fact, she definitely seems grateful.

Ugh. I'm no good with any of that stuff." And here, where a moment ago she was blissfully 'things will be fine right??!?!' there is more obvious frustration in Cassie's voice as she complains of this fact. It is true that she is neither a tech wizard or scientist, nor magic-bending occulist. She is, ultimately, more of a blunt instrument. A satsifying role at times, to be sure, as her exhiliration in the midst of the Amazon charge might evidence, but also a limiting one at others.

And so this stated uselessness sets her to pacing around, or rather, stomping around, circling the little camfire, digging further ruts into the scorched, barren earth.

"So what can /I/ do?"

The words are simply, asked plainly, but there is definitely something behind them, a driving need. She looks to Diana here, because Diana... Diana is her freaking idol, a role model in ways that rightfully make her own mother jealous at times. And she's perfection. She's power, wisdom, everything. So Cassie looks at her for answers. Ones she may not have. "What can we do? I mean, the Amazons. She's their teamate but she's our -sister-."

Kate Bishop has posed:
Kate has a lot of empathy for Cassie's frustration. She is neither sciencey or magicky either. She is good with a bow, has excellent situational awareness, and is a pretty okay leader at this point but she can't diretly solve this problem in any form.

Still Diana has good advice. "I'll get you a copy of what we have Diana, if you can direct any lanterns or Avengers our way that would be great.. I could ask Old Man Hawkeye I guess but I figure you are a more direct route right now and it saves me trying to explain it to Clint." she just sighs at the thought now.

She looks over to Cassie. "Mood... I'm not good with any of that stuff either. What I do need to do is keep everyone together and focused on solving this." she nips her lower lip for a moment. "I could use your help.. this is... so .. >Much< and I could really use help." which is pretty brutally honest really. "I'm worried about how much help Robin will be .." or won't be is the unsaid part there. Which is honestly pretty good oracle work, or is it just good awareness.

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana gives a soft nod to Kate's requests for the information to be spread out. "I will try to contact our Green Lantern associates as soon as possible. Though, admittedly, I might reach out to Captain Marvel as she has better connections with them than I do. But, that is of no concern at this moment. We will get the right people, aimed in the right directions."

Her eyes go again to Cassie at her call for what she can do. A glance is paid between the two young women as Kate offers her suggestions on that as well. Diana hesitates before she speaks up. "There are some things I could use your help with." She admits, seemingly reluctantly due to the possible dangers of it. Diana glances back to the tent that she'd stepped out of across the 'neutral zone' and speaks further.

Her eyes drop as she does so. "The Warzon technology did not exclusively land on this battlefield." She states as she looks back up to the two before her. "Look there." She raises her right hand up and points off toward the Metropolis skyline. "The fourth building from the east." There's a scorch mark on the top floor, something collided with it.

"We need efforts put forth to search the city and find out if Warzon went down in any other locations, where looters might find... and attempt to exploit their remains." She seems unsure about this subject all together, likely due to recent conversations with the Military from both sides.

"This might not be anything either of you want to give involved with, but if you do, it could help stop such technologies from falling into the wrong hands."

Cassie Sandsmark has posed:
'Here, go do a fetch quest for some lame alien junk' is probably not exactly what Cassie wants to hear. But anything coming from Diana... she gets some leeway, some benefit of the doubt that Cassie might not extend elsewhere.

So she glances off toward the damaged building in the distant skyline, brow furrowed. "If you think any of their tech will help, sure, I guess we better grab as much of it as possible." That is not /exactly/ what Diana said, but it is how she hears it! Lalala. Her state of blissful denial is some powerful stuff!

"Anyway," she goes on, kind of brushing this all off, "I think I should go back with Kate to the tower, see how people are doing. I'll leave mom with you till you get sick of her!" Like unwanted junk! Though, more charitably: "She's better at talking to the soldiers than I am, anyway. But uh," and here there is a pause, "when I get back, we have to... there's gotta be more we can try. Like maybe, maybe the patrons will help."

Which, at last, reveals what the 'something' they can do that she's been thinking really means. God stuff. Cassie was not a religious person, growing up an archeologist's daughter, but coming face to face with the Olympian pantheon, she's accepted that, while they may not be the 'big G' sort of entities religion made them out as, they are some powerful dudes. Also big horny assholes. But still. They represent a something beyond the realm of simple heroic power.

Having said that, she turns to Kate, and indeed, starts walking past the area of the fire and back toward the bike. "So help with what, exactly? What's this about Robin?" She has many questions as they walk, eager to make sense of what is going on with the rest of her friends.