4494/=The Amazon Conspiracy

=The Amazon Conspiracy
Date of Scene:	26 December 2020
Location:	Basement - Titan's Tower
Synopsis:	No description
Cast of Characters:	Donna Troy, Cassie Sandsmark, Caitlin Fairchild

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Donna Troy has posed:
    When you get a new car - one that's actually pretty cool, certainly in comparison to your old car - driving it around is virtually a celebration, and even basic maintenance such as wiping the windscreens can be a pleasure. Showing it off though, that's the best thing.

    Donna has been encouraging Cassie to show off her new car. Donna has been reveling in it. Donna seems oddly almost as pleased as Cassie that Cassie now has a nice car! The pair have been admiring Cassie's new car down in the underground lot for a little while, and there may have been a few high-speed hand brake turns in the wide spaces there, but if so nobody is admitting to it and if there are tire marks on the ground, honestly anyone could have left those at any time.

    As is inevitable in such a situation, the subject of tuning the car comes up. The Titans have good resources. After all, the T-jet just had a tune-up that turned it from being barely capable of reaching orbit to being possibly the fastest and most space-capable vehicle constructed by human hands recently; what then could be done with a Mazda? Donna suggested consulting Caitlin on the topic, but as soon as the thought had been expressed, her mind seemed to go elsewhere.

    "Actually," she begins slowly. "It's probably time the three of us talked. I mean... there are things I feel like I can talk to you two about, that I'm not even totally comfortable raising with Diana yet, let alone mother." She's already tapping out a message to Caitlin on her T-com, asking her to join them in the basement. "Oh. And I want Caitlin to become an Amazon. I mean officially. We've talked about it in the past, in general terms. I'm going to go home in the next couple of days to talk it over with the queen. Help me persuade Cait, yeah?"

Cassie Sandsmark has posed:
Cassie has definitely been showing off the car! And not only in the Titans garage, of course, but out meeting her friends at school and really just drivin' all around. It may be a little bizarre when she can outfly a jet, but for the young heroine, the scant years of her powered existence are still in many ways overshadowed by her more average upbringing.

And that's an upbringing full of all the car-worshipping teen Americana you can imagine. Heck, in cities like Metropolis and New York you don't even need a car, but that fact hasn't reduced the allure of it, the obsession over a vehicle as a sign of young adult ascendancy.

So she's really enjoying it!

However, showing it off also means the realization of the fact that these cities are full of dastardly people who do dastardly things to cars. Not just steal them, but... bump into them and give them scratches! She was never afraid for the health of her old garbage-mobile, but this new car ownership has put things in perspective. And it makes extended parking in the Titans garage very appealing! The supercharging, though?

"I dunno," Cassie murmurs, currently set leaning against the hood. "My mom might get kinda upset if she found out about something like that. She tolerates the 'super business' but I'm supposed to have some normal time too, and that means, like, obeying the speed limit and all that junk." Boooooring.

So a change of topic is pretty welcomed: "Uncomfortable, really? Like what? I know Di doesn't always 'get' certain things, but like, I don't think she'd ever really get upset over an idea or suggestion. Or rat you out to her mom." Cassie clearly has a certain healthy dread for the tyrany of mothers- wonder where she got that?! "I've been talking about bringing new people to train, so I don't see that it would be a problem, she's been- wait, why do you need to convince Cait?"

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
The elevator door *dings* and whooses open to admit a very sleepy looking Caitlin into the bay. Her hair's fairly sleep-tousled; from look of it she must have only just been roused out of rest by Donna's summons.

"Mkay. I'm here," she announces, and suppresses a yawn behind her hand. Caitlin blinks owlishly at Cassie and Donna in an attempt to parse them out from the other objects in the garage. It looks like she's still in her pajamas, in grey leggings of some thick material and a pink hoodie with 'Columbia' almost completely faded out in white on the front.

She waves at Donna and Cassie with one hand rotating near her waist, while the other remains tucked in the pouches on the front of her hoodie. Caitlin's shuffling path towards the two arcs towards the coffee dispenser and she starts pouring herself a cup. Unlike the premium brews in the kitchen, the coffee in the workbays is meant for longevity and kick, with flavor as a distant profile. Caitlin muddies it up with creamer and sugar and comes around to where the two other women are ogling Cassie's car. "I have decided that I have three months of rest in that terrible ship to make up for, and I am profoundly grateful for a real bed and sleeping in my jammies."

The cup's lifted and Cait guzzles down a few healthy gulps, heedless of temperature. It seems to envivify her a little and she uplifts her chin at Cassie a beat later. "I'm still jealous of your new ride," she says, admiringly. "How's it car running? Getting it broken in OK?"

Donna Troy has posed:
    "Convince her that she's ready," Donna replies to Cassie. "Caitlin suffers from self-doubts. She /is/ ready. Has been for a while. She's spent the time on Themyscira, she's spent the time as a Titan too. But... well you have probably noticed it with the Titans, and with the Outsiders. Some of us who do what we do know we do it because we are capable. We have a faith in ourselves, in our abilities. Others do it because they feel it must be done, even if they do not entirely have faith in themselves that they are capable."

    Donna gives a broad smile. "You know, the first time I met Caitlin, she got shot by someone and then crushed the gun in her bare hands, and when I pointed out to her that meant she had super-powers, she barely believed me. So there is that with her. But also there is more to it. Her faith makes it hard for her to seek the acceptance of the goddesses. I think I have got her past that point, over the years, but it's still something that is a little problematic for her."

Donna ends the conversation hurredly when the elevator pings. "Okay Cass, so nothing too drastic then. You hear that Cait? She doesn't want you to replace the engine with an anti-matter drive. Maybe tuning the handling a bit. A touch more power when she needs it, you know." Donna gives Caitlin a wink. "It's a nice car. Looks the part, given Cassie has been representing Themyscira to the media. Can't have her turning up to interviews in anything less. But there's always room for improvements. Anyway Cait, we were talking about Themyscira..."

    Which is not exactly true. Donna hadn't go on to that part yet, but she's been /thinking/ about it a lot, which comes to the same thing, kind of.

    She leans against one of the Titans bikes, using it as a seat. "So, I visited the Themysciran arts center the other day. It's amazing how much has been achieved while we were away, Cait. It gave me an idea, but I'll get on to that in a minute. When I was talking things over with Diana, we came to the conclusion that when it opens next month, we should use it for something unique. Something to symbolize the coming together of nations, the new opening of Themyscira to the world. And what better than a celebration of an American citizen becoming an Amazon. It's a bit late to do that for you, Cass. So that really leaves only one option. What do you say, Caitlin? Are you ready to undergo the trials?"

Cassie Sandsmark has posed:
Naturally, Cassie zips up real quick when their... target? Erm. Not the best word. Well, when the subject of their conversation appears.

Cait's initially zombie-like appearance in the garage is watched, tracked even, from the car-adjacent position, Cassie grinning in amusement at the whole ritual required to conjure a spark of life in Caitlin. "Catching up on z's is definitely important. I'm putting in some major pillow hours during winter break." She may not have an interdimmensional space-trek to deal with, but she's had finals on top of heroing on top of all the volunteering and civic stuff that goes into working with Diana on top of all the struggles of a teenager's social life. So she understands the value of some sleeeeep!

Funny how the car has breathed some extra energy into her, though. At least, energy for car related activities!

"Oh, its been running great!" Cassie declares, grinning almost as brightly as when she first discovered her new gift. "Yeah, like, I don't mind some basic tuning..." she agrees with Donna. "Obviously, with you or Vic or some of the other expertise we got here, it's kind of silly for me to take it to AutoZone for a tune-up!"

She doesn't actually know where Donna is going with her convincin' speech, so she continues to sprawl against the hood of her own vehicle to listen. Although she does kind of wrinkle her nose when she's immediately discounted from 'counting' for their grandiose celebratory purposes. "I've got some ideas for it, but yeah, it'll definitely help to show that there's more opportunity for exchange between the two, that it's not an 'us' and 'them' or whatever, or such an exclusive thing."

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin walks around the car. Shambles, really, shuffling along in a pair of old sneakers so worn down by being slipped on and off that the mouth is almost collapsed near the heel.

She glances up in surprise at Donna's question, eyes flickering to Cassie. There's an odd tension on Cait's face at the inquiry being proposed so abruptly and she covers her surprise by examining the car. "No jet engines," she agrees. "But new tires, brake calibers, and an engine tune would probably go a long way. Not the worst idea to install some ballistic polycarbon inserts and bulletproof glass, either," she suggests. "Remember what happened to that car Vic was restoring?"

The tire's given a gentle nudge with her toe when she completes the circuit, and looks up at the other two women. "...I guess if you two think it's time, I should do it," Caitlin says with a little reluctance. "I've been putting it off for long enough. How, um..."

She looks down at the coffee dregs in her cup, then back up at Cassie, then Donna. "How soon are we thinking of doing this whole--" she draws a vague circle in the air with a forefinger. "Trials, testing, thing? Springtime? Sooner?"

Donna Troy has posed:
    "You've been putting it off for a while now Cait, why put it off any longer?" Donna asks. "The center will be opening next month. I would like to organize something quite soon after the opening. I intend to go home in the next couple of days to see mother. I will talk to her about it then. She likes you, Cait. She will say that if you believe yourself ready, then you are ready. I do not know if you believe yourself ready, but I believe you are. If you are prepared, then I suggest we do it in the next few weeks."

    Donna sits astride the bike and nods her head towards where Cassie sprawls. "Cassie, you are the first American Amazon. We celebrated your achievement back on Themyscira. It meant a lot to us all, you know. You came to us a stranger, one of very few to have been invited to the island, and you left it as our newest sister. We saw this as you coming to us, adopting our ways. That was an error. I mean it was true, but we should also have acknowledged that you were bringing your ways to us. Diana and I have sought to bring Themyscira into the modern world for years, but when you became an Amazon - that was the true turning point, we just haven't seen it yet."

    "Caitlin, you will be the second American Amazon." She sounds very certain that the goddesses are going to except Caitlin. "I do not think you will be the last. Maybe Kate will be the third. Did you hear that while we were gone, she visited Themyscira?" Donna flashes Cassie a big grin. "Cassie decided to consult the Oracle about us, and took Kate with her. That was a very good choice, Cass."

    "The three of us know how important it is that Themyscira wakes up to the changes that have taken place in the world outside our island. Diana knows this too, but even she lived there eight hundred years before leaving the island. I was only sixteen when I left. I have ideas that I suspect even Diana will think is... moving too fast. She will support those ideas, but it may take a little while. I hope you two will be my allies in this."

Cassie Sandsmark has posed:
Definitely some wheels turning in Cassie's head as Caitlin lists out those various options and improvements. "Hmm." Ballistic polycarbon and bulletproof windows? What's not to like! "Guess it would be hard for my mom to argue -against- those, right?" They'd definitely make the car safer! Nevermind what they imply in terms of the likelihood of such protection being necesarry...

However, beyond these car matters, what really gets her is how quickly Caitlin concedes to something which Cassie was ostensibly brought in to help with extra convincing. She glances at Donna with a kind of helpless look. Was this supposed to be harder? Or maybe it's the schedule that's the sticking point.

"It's still the holidays so like, I figure it's probably better to wait a little longer," she points out, first, tone turning thoughtful. "Americans kind of go into hibernation after all the ongoing stress of Thanksgiving and Christmas in a row. So you gotta give 'em a little before they've got it in them to get excited over anything." But after that suggestion, she looks less certain. "It's kind of up to Hippolyta, right? What you have to do, and what it'll take. Though it's not like there's more trainig to worry about now."

After a moment, she hops up a little to park her but atop the hood. Evidently she has this privilege, even if she might chase off some others who dare risk any harm to her shiny ride. "Yeah, I'm going to start working with Kate, and maybe another friend of mine froom the Outsiders. Diana's met her, already. But its more than that. Like, right after the battle, when you guys disappeared, it wasn't just that the Amazons came to help, but they ended up staying for a bit. Just a camp around the wreckage, but still. It was interaction."

She makes a vague gesture, and then mimics shooting a bow. "So like, yeah, meeting a 'regular' human who can shoot with their best will help earn some respect, but its more than that. More than just the warriors. I've been talking about it with my mom and we wanna work on more cultural exchanges too. Because it's easy for people to see the island as a place full of crazy mythical lady warriors- it's harder for them to grasp that being only a small part of the culture."