4630/The Longest Morning

The Longest Morning
Date of Scene:	06 January 2021
Location:	Main Room - Titan's Tower
Synopsis:	The morning after the encounter of the docks. Wally, Kori, Harley and Siobhan stop by. Then Damian and Terry get into a fight and Colette drinks.
Cast of Characters:	Terry O'Neil, Koriand'r, Harley Quinn, Wally West, Siobhan Smythe, Colette O'Connail, Damian Wayne

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Terry O'Neil has posed:
It's too early in the morning for it to be early in the morning. Terry has never been a morning person... but today iis a special exception, becuse he barely slept at all last night. Grief burns fast and furious, but it also tends to exhaust the consumed. Terry is still surrouned by the ashes of yesterday, his skin paler than usual (if that's possible), eyes red and hair still in disarray.

The teen is in his human shape, huddled up by the fireplace under an old and worn red sweater, a cup of coffee gone cold several hours ago, still untouched, in his hands. Green eyes stare out towards the bay and he remains very, very still. Grief and exhaustion make him seem much older than he really is.

Koriand'r has posed:
Mornings, like life, is a matter of perspective. In Kori's opinion it is not early enough! She is already awake, has been for a while, and does not seem at all ill for it. Currently coming into the livingroom wearing clothes suitable to take on the day with a hearty stack of pancakes piled headhigh on a plate balanced in her upturned right palm.

There is also a giant smile on her face as she sucks syrup from her pinky, thumb, and index finger.

Because it's syrup.

And syrup is delicious.

"Hello fluffy kitty. You look like you could use a pancake." Kori says jovially, taking one off the top to frizbie at Vorpal! "Catch!"

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry's reflexes aren't exactly sharp this morning, especially in his human shape. Nevertheless after being startled, he does manage to snatch the pancake before it hits the furniture, the floor, or himself. Not having a plate with him, he quickly resorts to the mother of invention and somehat folds it into a little roll like a crepe of sorts, and sticks the end into his coffee cup like the world's floppies pirouette stick. The syrup mixing with it will taste good, in any case.

"Kori... morning." It's the way that he speaks that shows something is truly wrong. There isn't a smile, but there is a slight creasing under his eyes that shows an effort was made.

It was obvious the message hadn't reached Koriand'r yet. This left Terry with the unpleasant thought that he was going to have to thoroughly ruin her breakfast.

I'll let her finish her food, he thinks to himself. It was a good thing that he was so emotionally exausted from almost a complete full night of crying to cry right now, or to feel anything except the most basic things through the fog. Nobody wanted someone crying over your pancakes.

Pancake, right. He grabs the rolled-up pancake and nibbles on the coffee-soaked, quickly disintegratingg end, and finds the taste actually agrees with him. "This is unexpectedly good," he says of the combination, sounding more like Wednesday Addams than the Cheshire cat.

Koriand'r has posed:
Koriand'r was unaware!

At least about anything that happened in the last few hours or days. She's been out doing Kori things, probably fighting someone while still managing to smile and offer them a hug, or in Europe doing model stuff for Janet. Either way, she's here now, and munching happily upon her pancakes with not but a care in the world for that syrupy delightful deliciousness.

That Vorpal seems so out of sorts might not even pierce the fog.

Jade green eyes peeking up at him from where she's dropped into a seat to balance plate on knees for maximum devouring. "You have been spending too much time with Rachel, Terry." Said between bites with a short glance up at the rooms above where Rachel might even now be gothing.

"OH! Well thank you. It is a special remedy with secret ingrediants that you do not wish to know about prior to eating them because you would disagree with their addition to breakfast foods."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Mustard. Worcestershire sauce. Sriracha. Fabric Softener.

That's a mere sample of possible things that run through Terry's head. Koriand'r's cooking was sort of a Russian Roulette type of endeavor, because no matter how much she managed to make something taste good when it shouldn't, finding out the ingredients means you always lost in the end. But he's enough of a veteran at this to just acknowledge and eat, and let the consequences sort themselves out after digestion.

He glances at her and shakes his head a little, "Rae isn't really it.... Kori, did you... go through the comm messages last night?" he asks carefully. If she decides to check them NOW because of that, he'll quickly try to stop her. "Because something happened. But I don't know how ready you might be..."

Koriand'r has posed:
There really was no telling where it pretains to Kori, this much is true. She eats her pancakes happily on the couch, smiling despite what could potentially be deadly ingrediants in unpredictable proportions. Like the weight of the world rests on her shoulders more like a feather than a mountain.

Weathering the storms of life with a cheeky wink.

"Yes, I read through them." She assures Terry with a nod and no loss to her smile to hint at even a minute amount of sadness in her core. Some heathen ready to face the day! Morning people are the true evil.

"I just chose not to believe anything until I have seen hard truth. I held out that you four were not dead even when all signs pointed to the contrary. Lost in space or killed by an evil doppleganger, ultimately I find it is a lot easier to just assume the best until there is no way to do that anymore." A huge fork full of pancakes disappears into the void of her mouth.

"Then I remember the good times." She adds after swallowing, mostly whole, food.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
The eternal sunshine of a Kori mind. Terry should have guessed it- he didn't know if this unflappability in the face of things was part of the Tamaranean general characteristics, or a Kori characteristic. "It's... different, Kori. We left nothing behind. I saw-"

And here his voice /catches/, and there's the threat of actual tears coming up, which is annoying because he thought he was free from those at least until his energies returned and some numbness had given him respite. But you can't trust emotions now, can you?

Breath. Sip of coffee to wash it down, wait until lump in throat gets smaller. "I saw him getting torn apart. I wish I hadn't. I wish I could forget but I can't. It was..." he closes his eyes and clenches his jaw, fighting down the emotions. He stays like that for several more breaths before relaxing a little more. "The Lasso of Truth confirmed it... you know that nobody can lie under its influence."

Koriand'r has posed:
"Mm." Kori sits up straighter, the better to consider Terry, and sets her plate aside now that it's bare of pancakes after the attack on pancake mountain is complete. "The Lasso of truth does not, that I know of, make a person tell a truth out of a lie someone thinks is true... It forces someone not to deceive, but if a person genuinely believes something false is true, it does not suddenly educate them to what is and is not false. That would make the entire world too easy!"

Eternal optomism requires a willful desire.

"The alternative is that one of my best friends has died. Torn apart as you say by some dark duplicate that I must now beat to death until nothing remains, but cracked pavement, blood, and a deep regret from which I will never recover." She's not smiling, but neither does she look sad. It's an odd distance from what could be where she's holding onto some hint of what she believes.

"I think you need a hug." Said as she stands, arms opening for Terry.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry's face almost crumbles. Almost. But he manages a brave effort not to, and instead he moves in for the hug, taking slow breaths so as not to completely fucking lose it.

"I almost did it, Kori. I almost killed him. Lat night I almost turned into..."

Breathe, O'Neil. Don't lose it, "Wonder Woman had to fucking /punch/ me to snap me out of it... and it's the stupidest thing. I close my eyes and I'm... I don't know how I feel. How can you be sorry you almost killed the guy who said he killed your..."

His voice trails off and he closes his eyes again. "I don't know what to do. But I'm scared about what happened to me. And I'm ashamed..."

Koriand'r has posed:
Koriand'r gives good hugs.

It's an unlisted super power she pocesses.

Rubbing Terry's back warmly, strong enough that the caccoon embrace is comforting without breaking itty bitty kitty bones. It's a mom hug from a woman who isn't old enough to be anyone's mom!

"Emotions are a difficult thing to control in the heat of a moment, Terry. That is why human teenagers are so very impulsive because their emotions are ruled by raging hormones. It is a lot of sciency words that I do not believe have much weight in the current climate of this conversation."

She slowly releases him, extending her arms to rest a palm on each one of his shoulders with her head bowed forward to look him in the eyes because she's so very tall and awesomely awesome. "But if Wonder Woman thought you were a threat to the world because of your actions, she would have arrested you. If your momentary submission to emotions had compromised you completely in the face of such unimaginable loss, then you would not feel regret as you do now." Her smile, it's so untouched by sadness or fears, she still doesn't think Gar is dead, clearly. "But only you can forgive yourself."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry sniffs and looks down. "Forgiveness..." he says, sounding as if the word were an alien concept. "I don't know if I can forgive anything right now... much less myself. That Gar is out there right now..."

He glances at the window, "Though it might be a few days before he tries anything again. I... was pretty brutal."

And he destroyed a section of the docks. The Titans were going to be hit with that bill soon. He expected Nightwing would have words with him.

"Thank you, Kori. I really wish I could... have your optimism." Throughout the hug, he managed to keep his coffee-and-pancake from spilling, because it's just uncouth to spill coffee on your hugger. He takes another bite of the coffecake. "I... admire that faith you have. I seem to have misplaced mine..."

Koriand'r has posed:
"You will be surprised what you can forgive yourself for." Kori assures Terry with a knowing smile and a jade green wink. When she steps back now it is to grab her plate and start towards the exit back into the kitchen with it. A spring again in her step as she walks, possibly to a song beat stuck in her head!

Pausing in her departure when he mentions misplacing his optimism. She turns to face him, smile on her's and head cocked to the side, "Oh, silly kitten, did you not know? We are a team.. if you have lost your optimism, you need only borrow mine." Another wink and she turns to remove herself from the living area.

Koriand'r has posed:
Koriand'r pirouets out of the room like a boss.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
As Koriand'r leaves the room, Terry is left to stare after her. He didn't quite understand where that power and that energy came from. Then again, he doesn't know the full extent of her losses and her suffering. There is something to be said about resilience being built over hardship- and Terry has never really lost anyone close to him before, save for his aunt and uncle, April's parents... and because of family friction, he was never as close to them as he was to April.

He brushes at his eyes, and then remembers that there is something very important he needs to do. Imperative, even. He reaches into his pocket and brings out a phone- Gar's phone, recovered from the docks on their way back.

All it had taken was a use of his Chaos Wave to unlock it, and then he changed the thumbprint to his own- he needed the access to what he was going to do.

Logging into Gar's social media accounts, he records a very brief video, and uploads it everywhere Gar had an outlet.

And then he leans back against the couch and closes his eyes.

Harley Quinn has posed:
In a moment of weakness.., or perhaps heart .., by good ol' Shorty aka Damian Wayne she had been giving clearance to be around the tower from time to time, to give some support to the other Titans while Terry and the others were lost in interdimensional adventures. Of course that they now were back, but the clearance had never been revoked so here she was again! Using and abusing it. But with a friend in trouble she was sure to get here fast. Real fast because let me tell you, the car she had got to get here really could go high on those triple digits.

But now she is making way through the lobby, glancing about, then up the stairs..

A voice is heard, calling out. Familiar to some, maybe not others. "HEY, TERRY! WHEAH YOU AT?!"

Steps heard approaching the main common room.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry's eyes snap open when he hears that voice. At first, he thinks he is dreaming... and then he asks himself just how long was he out? Did he sleep? He does notice that the position of the sun was different, though not by much. Maybe thirty minutes? An hour? Hard to tell.

Brushing Gar's phone off his lap and onto the couch, he slowly gets up and heads over to the source of the voice, calling back hoarsely:

"Haley? Is that you?"

And then he freezes.

Was it actually Harley? Or her doppelganger?

He shakes his head. He was muddled from sleep. Harley Quinn in that other world wouldn't know him under the same circumstances, if at all. Would she know they were friends? Well... she was a doctor. An academic, underneath all the insanity. She knew how to do her research.

Inwardly he curses at the paranoia. There was only one way he could know if it was her, and he would try it in a second. But for now...

He walks over to the stairs, to meet her when she arrives, "Is everything okay? Did something happen to April?" - yeah, his mind is in that place. His voice sounds like he has been screaming for some hours. Or crying.

Wally West has posed:
Wally just finished a long day. Sometimes politically important people behave like school kids -- Passive aggressively passing notes back and forth a third the way round the world. Thankfully no wars were declared /this/ time. He remembers the one time he passed what was essentially a 'Do you like me? (Y/n)' note between to world leaders. This time he went to the tower for a drink and catch up with some friends.

He zips all the way to his ro-- Tire peels

"Harley? What are you doing here? Is everything alright?" He looks over to Terry. Things look like they haven't been alright for a while. He lets out a sigh and picks up a small pitcher of water and slugs it down.

He feels like he should say something. He heard about the doppelganger thing. He starts a reassurance that he isn't sure he feels and then trails off. He settles for just sitting down.

Harley Quinn has posed:
Yes, it may be cold as hell due to it being winter, doesn't mean Harley won't be dressed to kill even so, a tight white-top, jean shorts, FISHNETS and boots. Of course that atop it all is one huge-ass overcoat, all fur on the inside. And yes, square sunglasses that are now just being lifted from her eyes while she peeks about the tower.

Pfff, as if a doppelganger could look this FABULOUS.

The clownette spots Terry, shaking her head, "Apes? Nah, she is with Bud and Lou! Aftah she got 'em these cute lil shirts foh the cold foh christmas it's like they like her moouh than they do me!" which probably means April is pretty safe with two bad-ass hyenas with her for now. But her attention focuses on Terry and she notes the tension on the young man's face, hopping a few steps up fast to bring her arms up and around the 'cat'.

"Things awhe gonna be okay. Tell me what happened." her voice not as loud as her usual, more Harleen Quinnzel than Harley Quinn.

But Harley is Harley and she can get distracted easily, "Ya got the Flash heah?!" she asks. "I will let ya know I have put in my CV ta the J-League. Waitin' a response soooon." Harley in the Justice League? HaHaaHAaAAHhha

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry is a hugger, but everybody has their off days. Or, in today's case, extremely off days. Even then, you don't say no to a hug from Kori, or from Harley.

"Harl," Terry says quietly as he gives the clownette one, "You must've seen..." the social media post. Of course. She had been interacting with Gar there all that week.

When Wally makes his appearance, Terry gives him an anemic wave. Tell me what happened, says Harl, and the redhead complies, albeit reluctantly at having to relive the moment.

"Gar... was replaced by his double. Wonder Woman and I cornered him yesterday and," he takes a breath, fighting back tears. "He admitted to killing Gar. There was blood on the beach where they fought and... there was... footage."

His voice is incredibly tight now. He then waves in the vague direction of the front door, below, through which Harley must have passed and noticed the noticeable Lack Of A Front Door and instead a very decorative Enormous Hole Where It Used To Be. "... and we need to repair the door..." because when you grieve, you focus on weird details.

"And I think there's barbeque sauce on the carpet."

Harley Quinn has posed:
"Suwah, I saw all that's been goin' on." Harley admits, frowning a bit. "And let me tell ya, knowin' I was talkin' ta that guy gives me the creepies. But ... and then she scrunges her face up in annoyance. "So a bad guy tells ya he killed someone and yoh believe him? Specially doppelgangahs, who want ta take oouh place heah." she shakes her head, as if in refusal, "Gar is a tough-ass cookie, he wouldn't be dyin' that easily!"

"I sweah, you awhe just like Gar, gettin' all mopey without gettin' out theah and givin' Gar a chance ta get through this!" But her mind is already working on how to do things. "Ya said beach, I got my bikini in the car. We can go scour the beach fronts. Oh even get some scuba divin' gear..." she murmurs. A pause, her eyes lighting up.

"Ya know, that bum Aquaman still owes me one, we could go to 'im!" Harley seems to have contacts everywhere! (At least its not criminal contacts this time!)

Wally West has posed:
He honestly hadn't expected such an upbeat response from harley.

"Well Mrs. Quinn, that was very kind of you. I will remember that when I evaluate your application to join the league." Being a juniorish member was nice like that, you never had to actually be responsible for decisions about who got into the league.

"She is right though. We should look for a second source or a body. We shouldn't just assume he is actually dead. The door will be fine." He then thinks ahead a bit. A touch of panic hits his face.

"Do we know which other doppelgangers we might be dealing with? Are we dealing with a rogue superman here?" Another evil time traveler doesn't even bear thinking about. "We will get the doppeljerk, don't worry about it."

Siobhan Smythe has posed:
"No, da Superman of dat world died many years ago fightin' da ting responsible for all of dis." Siobhan isn't here. No, the Silver Banshee has arrived and is looking... mournful? Angry? It is unclear. Emotions, none of them happy, are somehow painted on her skeletal face and she approaches Terry with a frown and a dark look.

"Terry, I need to know exactly where it happened. Where he died." Siobhan nods her head and looks carefully at Harley before then looking to Wally. She seems to examine them, almost a scanning look before she returns to Terry.

"I need to search for t'ings and... begin listening for da heart rate of da damned."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
    Trust Harley Quinn to say something so outlandish that even grief has to pause for a second in awe of it. "Aquaman... owes you a favor? Harley, what did you /do/?"

Brief images of Harley riding astride two dolphins while surfing down a flooded Gotham come to mind. He doesn't know if it happened, he just knows that it /could have/, and that's the fascinating and terrifying thing about being a friend of Harley Quinn's.

"Harl, you are not going to go diving in your bikini in the middle of winter as if hypotermia were a thing that only happens to other peop..." he glances down at what she is wearing. Was Harley secretly a meta with immunity to cold? "How about you talk to Aquaman first? He talks to fish, right? I don't want you to catch pneumonia..."

"I know, Wally. I just.... can't picture him living after /that/ attack. His double turned into a tiger and ... ate part of..." he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. Then, he produces something. A thumb drive. "This is the footage. Diana sent it to me... take a look at it and if you think he could have survived that... we can coordinate something between the Titans. It's been /days/ though... even if he was alive then..."

He trails off, and the expression on his face says it all. If he had only figured it out sooner. If he had confronted him sooner. Maybe Gar would be alive.

The Silver Banshee's entrance focuses his attention on something immediate, not nebulous thoughts. He frowns at her request, trying to understand, "I... can take you where it happened... but why ... why do you neeed to listen to ... to that?"

Harley Quinn has posed:
"He was bein' a bum and I offered him one o' my burgahs.. Didn't even know who he was at the time!" Sure, not as outlandish as dolphin-riding! But a girl's gotta do with what she gets. But then she just stops. STOPS! Blue eyes fix on Wally. "It's Miss. MISS!" she shaking her head, "Or Doctah, but no need foh that shit. Just nevah Mrs." because that means being old in Harley-talk.

"We can just stea- I mean get some scuba geah and go! And theah's people who go all naked divin' in the first day of the yeah so what's the problem?" Is she saying she went and did so?

But fine, Aquaman. She might as well try that one. "I will go look foh the bum.." Another look to Wally at the mention of Superman.. She just frowns a bit and goes to say something just before Siobhan comes in. "Hey, Sisi." Sisi, best name for a banshee. "Ya lookin' a bit different from last time we met.."

"Gar is a survivor, Terry. Heck, you both awhe. Ya weah out theah in space foh months. Just give him a chance to come back out." she reaching to place one hand on her friend's shoulder. "Yoh story ain't supposed ta be endin' just yet."

Wally West has posed:
"You can hear the heartbeats of the dead? Did I hear that right?" damned was not a word he liked hearing. You couldn't really science damnation and that spooked him a little bit. That said, if everyone could stay busy, no one would do anything stupid.

"I don't want to count the dead without conclusive proof, Terry. If it were me I'd want us to be sure before we stopped looking for me."

"It maybe a little bit before we can get to searching, all things considered though I would like to get a plan as soon as possible. I understand that we are all feeling testy at the moment, but I find the best way to handle that is to get busy doing something that could help. Some of us need to pursue the DoppleGar and we have two good leads on our pal. Lets get to it!"

"... I am talking like I am in charge again aren't I? Well take it as a suggestion at any rate. I got here not too long ago, and I am already feeling restless."

Siobhan Smythe has posed:
A look over at Harley and the Silver Banshee nods her head, "It's what I look like when I'm angry." She states simply enough and then looks over at Terry. "And I need to listen for what might have happened." She states, "Who might be alive and...where dis green dead man is." She states simply enough, "Da animals dere might have also 'eard somet'in' and so...I must go dere." She finally turns her attention to Wally and looks at him carefully.

"I hear lots of tings people miss." She states simply enough, "Sound is my area of expertise."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry nods slowly to Siobhan, "I'll take you there this afternoon. Before that I need to stop by the Embassy and..." he trails off, looking down at the floor, "I need to apologize to Wonder Woman. I turned into a monster... literally. I almost /killed/ him ," he says with a vehemence that surprises him, "And I would have, too, if she hadn't punched me."

He rubs his jaw. Of course, she punched the /other/ body, so this one doesn't hurt. But still. How horrible of a person did you have to be for /Wonder Woman/ to punch you? Guilty green eyes look up at Siobhan and his expression speaks volumes.

Look, it says, now I know what it's like...


Harley bringing up naked diving at the start of the year raises so many questions, but fortunately he's too emotionally drained to ask them. He does try to offer Harley a smile and a hug, though, "Thank you... yeah, Gar... a survivor. I hope you are all right and that he pulled through. I just don't dare to hope at this point." Harley's talk of stories hits a bitter-sweet chord with him, since he knows that some stories are about loss and carrying on.

"But you and Wally are right... habeas corpus and all that. We'll plan the search, get Aquaman talking to his sea friends... and Wally."

The ginger walks over to the speedster and puts a hand on his shoulder, "Don't be afraid to take initiative when you've got an idea. We might not be able to do a wide search underwater until we have Aquaman, but you certainly can do a perimeter for Gar's doppelganger. There's also Nadia's doppelganger that we must watch out for-" he looks at the team, "her name is Hope, and she shrunk me the other day. However, she is no match for our scarlet speedster if he gets a drop on her. She's nowhere near that fast."

He leans in to give Wally a hug, if he'll accept it. "Thank you. I'm falling apart and you guys are helping to keep me together." And then he turns to Siobhan and hesitates. "...do Banshees accept hugs, or do I have to rain check?" he offers a brittle smile. He obviously still feels blasted inside, but the presence and the concern of his friends is making things a little easier to bear.

Wally West has posed:
"Sound specialist. Got it." Somehow sound specialist doesn't seem to cover hearing fish and the heartbeats of the dead.

"Hey, Terry. That is what friends are for. Go ahead and fall apart if you need to. We will be here to pick up the pieces." Wally gives Terry a big big hug and holds him for a little bit. "We will fix this. Don't worry." He steps back. "Don't take it too hard that Wonderwoman had to punch you. Thats what we count on her for."

"So we know the plan, lets get to it. Don't be afraid to call for help if you need it."

Wally gets to zipping around.

Siobhan Smythe has posed:
"Ya can try to hug me, but I don't know dat I'll feel it...or care right now." Siobhan states simply as she stares at him and then watches Wally leave. She glances in his direction before looking over to Harley a moment and then shakes her head, "I really don't know exactly what it is dat is happening but right now, I feel more comfortable bein' dis dan I do anytin' else..."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Far be it from me to make you be anything other than comfortable, Sio," Terry says quietly, watching as everybody departs for this way and that, and grows a little quieter.

"Now I know how he must have felt," he says, "While were were lost somewhere and he thought we were dead. How did he get through it?" he shakes his head and walks to the kitchen to get himself a glass of water. "And the worst part? I almost killed his impostor... and I'm..." he shakes his head, "I'm remorseful about it. That makes me... what, just what level of stupid hell does that put me in?"

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    Anyone paying attention to their T-Coms will spot another guest pass being used - Harley isn't the only one visiting the tower today, apparently. A minute or so later the elevator pings to indicate it's on its way, and shortly thereafter the doors to the elevator open and Colette steps out. Her dark eyes flicker across the room, taking in Siobhan, a Titan she hasn't met yet, and crossing to Terry to study his body language for a few moments before drifting back to Siobhan. She halts for a few moments at the door of the elevator, which may just seem like a rather normal reaction to the sight of the Silver Banshee.

    "Hey Terry," she calls out before stepping into the room. "I saw your post. On Gar's feed." She gives Siobhan a nod of the head by way of greeting, and walks over to Terry, resting a hand on his shoulder and giving it a squeeze. "You seem to need a new front door," she says. "I uh... have contacts in the construction industry, want me to get the wheels moving?"

Siobhan Smythe has posed:
A look at Terry and she tilts her head, "I suppose dat makes ya human." She states simply enough, "So, here. Dis is your hell. Me, I got a whole ot'er issue." She states simply enough, "Ya didn't go through wit' it, Terry. I didn't stop..." She shakes her head, "Trust me, stoppin' is better." She then blinks as she hears something in the elevator and turns her gaze in the direction of that. When it opens, Siobhan is looking at Colette as she walks in, looking her over as much as Colette is watching her. Silver Banshee is something to behold, that's for sure. Now that Colette is here, she's certainly not altering back to Siobhan.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry frowns at Siobhan, and shakes his head, "I didn't stop, Sio. Wonder Woman stopped me, with a punch to the kisser-"

And that's when he notices Colette at the entrance. Yes, he just relayed that Diana had to punch his ass for something. No doubt, Colette approves of it, whatever it was.

"Hey... Lette..." he says quietly by way of greeting, and sighs. "He was the doppelganger. Wonder Woman lassoed him with the Lasso of truth and he admitted... to killing Gar." It doesn't get any easier every time he says it, blinking back tears. "Then she punched me and we got the footage of the assault n Gar." There are things missing from that timeline, but by now he is so emotionally worn that he is reduced to a Highlight Reel. "You've met Silver Banshee, right?" he asks, pouring himself a glass of water, and then bringing out two more just in case the others want some.

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    "Yeah. I picked that up from the message you sent out," Colette replies gently. "Send me a copy of the footage, okay Terry? I'd like to take a look at it." Her voice is calm and measured, and the lack of swearing and sarcasm alone should be ringing warning bells in Terry's mind, but he may well be too emotionally distracted to notice the hint of steely determination in her demeanor.

    "No, we haven't met," Colette responds, her eyes going back to Siobhan. "Silver Banshee, huh? Another member of the team, I take it. I'm Colette. I'm the reason you have an Akiar living in the tower. Saved the bird's life when he first arrived on Earth, and arranged for him to live here through Terry and Gar. I'm also his English teacher."

    It's not exactly the full story, but Colette has never been one to tell the full story, and it's enough to explain why it is she has a guest pass to wander into the tower, at least. "I guess you're into screaming at people?" she asks wryly.

Siobhan Smythe has posed:
A hmm and then Banshee shakes her head, "I wouldn't worry about it. He sounds like a monster." She looks a little more gentle, which is...probably terrifying in its own way. She then looks over at Colette and nods, "Yes, dat is me." She states out of her lipless mouth. She then explains and she hmms.

"So, dat's why we have a Kian, huh?" She nods her head, "Interesting."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Not just Kian. Colette is in many ways responsible for encouraging the gang getting back together. At least by encouragement..." he smiles a little, "Gar was so happy that things were finally getting together-"

He stops for a second and he rubs furiously at his eyes for a second. "'msorry... anyways... you want the footage. Right." He takes out his phone out and taps a few things, and then forwards Diana's email to Colette, not really thinking about what he's doing, because he doesn't know if Diana would want her email address.... oops.

"It's... very graphic. He tears my Gar apart..." breath. Breath. He chugs his water. If you're drinking nobody can see you're crying, right? Right? "Everybody's sure he's survived... somehow."

He walks over to one of the stools and perches himself on it, nursing his glass of water.

Damian Wayne has posed:
     Robin had jumped from the higher levels, landing when his cape billows out to temper the fall.

  Damian was pissed. the. fuck. off.

  Immediately stomping up to Terry, before looking up at the elder teen. "Where is he?" He asks, his tone was serious, gravely serious. He even did not pay any mind to Colette not but a scant steps away from him, nor did he pay mind to Siobhan, he was singularly focused on getting this answer.

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    Colette has no desire to expand on Terry's explanation - she doesn't want yet more people accusing her of being 'the Great Meddler'. It is, in her opinion, a very unfair label. She has gone to great lengths to keep her meddling to what she considers an acceptable level - nudging people in certain directions, yes, but to be fair to her she has tried to keep her direct influence on things to a minimum. Arguably that too is a form of meddling given her reasoning, but that's another story.

    "I was on a beach," she explains to Siobhan, "When Kian somehow managed to teleport himself across the galaxy and fall into the sea. I dragged him out, and we became friends. Getting him to the tower seemed to be the best way to get him out of SHIELD's clutches. He's a lot happier when he can fly free rather than being cooped up in a high security facility."

    Her phone pings with the incoming message from Terry, and Colette's studying the footage very closely when Robin arrives. She looks up from her phone to briefly give him a nod, say "Robin," and take a couple of steps back to make a little more space between them before returning to studying the footage.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
When Damian lands, Terry looks up and tenses visibly, expecting an ambush. But no, it is the other kind of ambush. It's Robin making an entrance.

Terry looks down at Robin- not for any reason of disdain, but because it is a physical necessity, and frowns. He looks draw out, and his eyes are red and puffy, the telltale sign of long periods of crying. "If you're asking me where the double is..." Terry says quietly, "He escaped. I almost killed him but... Wonder Woman stopped me."

He looks away. "He will be gone for some time. I injured him very seriously before..."

He looks at Robin. "That is who you meant. The double. Correct?"

Damian Wayne has posed:
     Damian's face contorted into an even more angry frown when Terry delivered the bad news.

  He balled up his fist, and took a swing, not for Terry, but at the breakfast bar. Breaking through the wooden bits, scratching but not damaging his glove.

  "Where were you when he fled? Was it swept forensically? Did he bleed?" The string of questions to determine exactly what, if anything can be found that he could track.

  Robin turned his head just a little, before he just responds in a hushed voice. "Meddler."

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    "So he was at the tower for a while," Colette says. "The double. He'll be on the security cameras here, too. Terry, can you get a bit of that footage for me? I want to see him move. He moves differently than our Gar. More predatory. But there's not enough here."

    Colette raises her hand in a 'stop' gesture as soon as Robin starts punching the furniture, and when he turns to look at her he'll see her hand still there, though her attention seems to be mostly on her phone. It's a familiar gesture - she did the same thing months ago when he was considering going for the knife in his shoe, back in the library at Happy Harbor.

    "His blood will presumably be the same as our Gar's," She says. "He'll lay low to recover. Probably wilderness, somewhere away from people. He's animalistic, he'll go to earth. Maybe the state park north of the city. Then he'll come looking for revenge. Hawk, bear, tiger, gorilla. The same animals he was talking about on social media. He's cocky and he thinks he's smarter than everyone here. But he'll try a stealthier approach the second time around, he'll know that there's too much he doesn't know about our world."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry jumps a little at Damian's furious punching of the breakfast bar. "Easy on that, Robin, Cait will have a fit..." at least, the /real/ Cait would. The jury was still out on whether they still had the real one.

Patiently, Terry lays out what happened, "Wonder Woman and I ambushed him in the lobby. He changed into a rhino and charged through the doors, hence the giant hole. Then he turned into a cheetah and Wonder Woman chased him to the docks. I intercepted him. She lassoed him and that's when he confessed in full detail..." he exhales and closes his eyes, hanging his head.

"I went berzerk. I changed into... something else. Nearly killed him. He bled all over the place, but his blood is the - what Colette said. He flew away. Colette has the video of... what he did to.. my Gar."

He looks up at Colette.

"He'll be coming back. And I'll be the bait. I'll sleep in Gar's room until he comes back."

Damian Wayne has posed:
     "Yes, laying low. But I am not going to allow him to make another attack on his house. He may have a bear, gorilla, tiger, or whatever. But I have a Bat-Dragon. And I can track him down with his blood, and I will -put- him down."

  Damian was trying as hard as he could to gather his emotions, hurt, pain, anger, rage. "-Our- Gar. He was..." His voice breaks, holding back the smallest of sobs. "my friend."

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    Colette arches an eyebrow at Robin's emotional reaction, but doesn't comment on it. "/Robin/ is right," she says to Terry. There's a hint of an emphasis on the name, which is a message to Damian that probably won't mean anything to Terry. "It would be a mistake to attempt to bait him in that way, and it would be better to find him before he's fully recovered. There's a high chance he won't try to go for you first, Terry. You're the one he'll want revenge on, but he's cruel. He'll want you to suffer more. My bet is he'll try to go for Kian first."

    Her attention shifts back to Robin. "What's a bat-dragon?" She asks. "If it's good at tracking, that sounds like a smart idea. State park would be a good place to try, as would the tops of the taller buildings around the city. I suggest you don't go alone though, Robin. This Gar acts more quickly than our Gar. Best approach would be not to give him any chance at all. A quick death might not feel as satisfying, but it would be a lot safer if he's dead before he even knows he has been found."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry looks at Robin with surprise. Probably the same type of surprise that someone who has been talking to plants for years has when he hears them actually /talking back/. He nods slowly at Robin's show of emotion and places a hand on the batling's shoulder, "... our Gar."

And then he frowns and leans back again, looking at Colette and Damian as they exchange plans on how to kill your changeling.

"There is something I must say," he says. And pauses.

"And you both are doing to disagree with me."

Damian Wayne has posed:
     Damian rubs his fist in his hand, before he controls his breath. "Beast Boy..." He takes a moment to reflect before he continues. "Was an extremely capable combatant. And without scruples, he is as deadly as...me." Theres no boasting in that, just a stated fact. "We have to strike while he is injured."

  Then Colette interjected, Robin looked at her, waiting for what she was going to say.

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    Colette sighs softly. "You're going to say that Gar would not want us to kill him," She says to Terry, not making eye contact as she puts her phone away. "And you're right. He wouldn't. But that doesn't mean that he's right. Morals like his are... idealistic. There is a time and a place for that, but this isn't it. This other Gar is...." She stops as Damian makes his own comment, and nods her head. "He's deadly. And he wants revenge. Attempting to take the moral high ground increases the chance significantly that someone else will end up dead. Probably Kian or you, Terry."

    There's no follow-up from her on what she was hinting to Robin - now isn't the time or place to discuss identities and who knows what, particularly as she has no idea how much Terry actually knows about Robin. "It's not just the lack of scruples. It's also what the years of living without scruples have made him into. Look at the footage of him, Robin. This Gar is a killer." Irony, there, given Damian and Colette's early interactions. "He's more alert. Faster. More capable."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"And Kian is in an island in the Caribbean that Gar has no idea of. This Gar has no idea I can even /do/ that. He knows nothing about me." Terry speaks quietly, but firmly. "Wherever he goes, I go. He is not going to come after Kian... bereft of the person he sees as the most vulnerable, he will come for me. He will /not/ come for the Amazon, he will not come from the practically-Amazon redhead, or the starbolt-firing alien princess, and he will /certainly/ not come for the two people who shared the mantle of Robin at one point."

"He's going to come for the guy who humilliated him. Because he thinks he knows all of my tricks now." He narrows his eyes, "But what you don't realize is that when Kian mind-melded us, he gave me a roadmap of how to fuck with Gar's mind if I ever cared to become /that/ kind of a twisted bastard."

Terry crosses his arms. "I tried something. I tried replicating a scene of the past. A scene... that Gar has not told anyone about, so I can't tell you what it was, but I saw it. I recreated it with my powers of illusion before him and he froze, that's how Wonder Woman was able to put her lasso on him."

He leans back and crosses his arms over his chest after briefly disengaging them to drink a glass of water. "And there's the point. Years of living without scruples. What caused that? ZZGU. Gar never had a choice. All choice was stripped away from him."

And his cheeks begin to flush red, "I have been thinking about this all day. I've been thinking long and hard why I was so bothered that I almost killed him, but for a well-placed bracelet. And then it dawned on me." He points at Colette's phone, eyes glistening.

"That Garfield is as much of a victim as /our/ Garfield. They took his life and filled it with insanity and hatred. But that... that murderer is also our Garfield. On top of all the malice and the hatred there's insecurity and fear and terror at being left without rudder..."

He stands up from his stool and walks to the kitchen, grabbing some paper towels. "We're not going to kill him. We are going too apprehend him, incapacitate him, and then... we're going to turn him over to SHIELD to take him back to his world, where that cure Kara Zor-El spoke about can be given to him." He clenches his fists, "I failed him. I should have known, I should have acted sooner and because of me, because of /my/ hesitation, Gar is dead. The Titans are not murderers, we are supposed to be heroes. We are going to /save/ that Garfield and maybe he will atone in his own world when the madness is lifted from him."

And then it's too much, tears start streaming down his face, "... and maybe someday I'll forgive myself for not being by Gar's side when it all happened."

Damian Wayne has posed:
     "So, he's more capable." Damian obviously not giving a damn about it. He is focused on this, and only this. "And if I have to put this..." He grabs at the R-badge on his uniform. "Aside, then so be it. I could count the friends I have on one hand. And he took one. This person deserves not mercy."

  He clanks down his badge on the bar, the metal clunking with the weight of it. "I'll do it without it then. This is not a murder, murder implies this is a human. This is an alien, in the purest term, not human, all safeties are off. Even Batman would agree with that."

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    "He had Gar's phone, Terry," Colette says sympathetically. "I doubt Gar is good at deleting messages, so he probably knows a fair bit about you. And if you've already used a trick on him, he knows that too. And yeah, you're probably his main target now, but killing your friends is a going to be a good way for him to get revenge for you humiliating him. And I mean... what the hell was he thinking he was doing by trying to take Gar's place anyway? It's a fair bet he had every intention of killing all the Titans one by one anyway."

    "As for curing him..." Colette folds her arms and gives a slight shake of the head. "What is there to cure, Terry? He was living in that world his entire life. He's /not/ our Gar. All his experience, all his influences -- they're different. All he has ever known was insanity and hatred. Take the insanity away, and you're just left with a /sane/ killer."

    "Look, if it was possible to redeem him, sure. Everyone deserves the chance at redemption. But everyone is a victim of the circumstances they find themselves in, and you can't save everyone. This guy isn't just a threat to you, Terry. He's distincitive, and he's wanted. Anyone who sees him before he's found is likely to be killed. How many lives is it worth to attempt to redeem Gar's murderer?"

    She steps up beside Terry and gives his shoulder another squeeze. "And it's not your fault. You're not omniscient, you had no way of knowing that it would happen. If you hadn't made it back from that fucking black hole, would you have wanted Gar to spend the rest of his days blaming himself that he let you fall into it?"

    She stands there, and turns her gaze to Robin, thoughtfully. "It's murder to kill an alien too, you know. But it's not murder to kill someone who attacks you first, and this sure counts as that in my book. If it's important to keep the Titan's hands clean, I'll do it."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"So is it fine to murder aliens, then?" Terry starts turning as red as his hair, green eyes narrowing, "Shall we tell Kori? Kara Zor-El? /Kian/? I am sure your team-mates will love the idea that if they ever make a mistake, you can just kill them because 'they're not human.'"

Anger is good. Anger is distracting. It means the pain goes away for the moment. Anger protects.

"Kara Zor-El got her double to repent. It proves it can be done. You are telling me that the heir apparent of the Bat won't even consider redeeming an insecure boy whose mind has been taken from him? Just like that, we kill him because it's convenient?" if he were in feline form, his tail would be swatting. He steps away from Colette and Damian, grabbing the pitcher of water Wally left out of the refrigerator, now empty. He starts filling it up, working himself up into a lather.

"Yes, I am sure that using your Bat-approved methods works. Your mentor beats up criminally insane people and then throws them into that gothic nightmare of a 'hospital' and /out/ they go, loonier and more murdering than ever." He sets the pitcher down hard, causing a crack in the glass. He looks down at it and grows angry, obviously glass should be more durable than that, my god.

Then he looks up, and the only reason he doesn't snarl is because he has the wrong face shape for it, "You granted Harley access to the public areas of the tower. Why did you do that?" he asks. "Do you even know what Wonder Woman did with her?"

And then he glances at Colette, equally furious, "You do /not/ get to ask me what I would have wanted for Gar if I hadn't come back, implying that is a wish I should honor... and then ignore what /Gar/ would have wanted /all/ of us to do in this case!"

Oops. Anger was fading. Here comes the rain again.

Damian Wayne has posed:
     "I let her in because when you were off in space, she came genuinely asking about -YOU- and my friend Garfield found succor in her words. So don't fucking lecture me about compassion or killing is bad! She PROVED herself."

  Robin stomped up to the broken bar, and the sink. His green gloves hands balled into fists. "Insecure? Insecure? He knew EXACTLY what he was doing when he mauled Beast Boy." Damian steps toward Terry once. "How about when he tore off Garfield's arm? Was he just a scared boy then?" One more step, his face was not just serious, it was very real, visceral. "How about when he dropped his body into the ocean, and PRETENDED TO BE OUR GARFIELD!? Subterfuge and taking the life of our teammate, these are not the actions of a victim. These are the actions of a cold, calculating, and remorseless predator."

  The words about Batman's methods push Robin over the edge, and Damian quickly grabs the pitcher and chucks it across the room, not at anyone in particular. "Without catty, bitchy, fucking SHITTY rhetoric. I don't agree with Batman. Some people will not repent. If it was me, Joker would be six feet under after he killed Robin. Some times the ends justify the means, and from where I stand, the means are justified. So fuck you, Vorpal. I will be going to do our world a favor. WITHOUT your help."

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    "That's different," Colette says calmly to Terry. "I'm not ignoring what Gar would have wanted, I'm saying it's likely to be impractical. What Gar would want you to do - not blaming yourself - is not impractical. Besides, you're a better person than I am. Though I did try to honor your last wishes when I thought you were dead."

    She gingerly tests the breakfast bar for stability before deciding it's probably not a good idea to attempt sitting on it until it's had a bit of repair work done, and pulls herself one of the stools to sit on either. She tilts her head to the side thoughtfully. "Kara Zor-El? A Kryptonian... Supergirl? Was /her/ double raised on this deranged other-Earth too? Or did she have some prior Kryptonian upbringing to give her some basis for repentance?"

    Colette watches the pitcher go flying and the mutual shouting, and gives a sigh. "I agree with Robin. About the Joker too. Kill the fucker, makes sense, "she says. "However... I am not a Titan, and though he was my friend I will not act against whatever you guys decide, even if I think you are making a mistake. I am giving my advice, and in general listening to my advice is the smart thing to do. If you had consulted me before going to Wonder Woman and confronting him, I would have recommended tagging him with a tracer first, and this situation would be easier to handle. Now he's out there somewhere licking his wounds and liable to kill. This is not information I intend to act on if you guys don't wish me to. However..."

    She turns her eyes to Robin, gazing at him intently. "Robin, you remember when we first met? My assessment of you? You have been proving that assessment wrong ever since. If it does come down to that... let me be the gun, so you don't have to be."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Fresh tears come to Terry's eyes, and he almost hisses, "You don't need to tell me what he did. I saw it too."

"If you pretend to do the world a favor, /Robin/," Terry shoots back with a voice as thin as a blade, "then ask yourself why is it that you apparently /cared/ about Garfield, but you don't care to practice what it was about him that made you care about him." He frowns.

"Yes, Harl proved herself. And you know what? Wonder Woman did something neither you nor Batman would have done for her- given her that chance." His hand points to the mess of broken glass that is the pitcher, "You would have only seen a broken glass- and who the /fuck/ has the /time and effort/ to fix it? Better to smash it. Destroy it. Or throw it in the crazy box. Like me, right? Since the day you walked through that door I have been nothing to you but an object of disdain and mockery. So who the fuck cares what the /crazy cat/ has to say?" His chest heaves, his voice breaking.

Damian Wayne has posed:
     Robin was breathing through his nose with gusto, each breath hard and sharp. "He took one of the two things I held dear on this team. Two, now one. And I will not allow it farther."

  Damian looked to Colette, and hung his head low. "A gun kills indiscriminately. This is definitely with discretion. You asked me why I killed that man, the first time we met. I had no reason then. But now, this time, I have one."

  He started to storm off, before something Terry said made him stop. "I cannot practice it. Because he was a better person than me. Because he cared, he fucked up, then, after we had a fight, he talked to me."

  Robin kept his fist clenched, but he turned around, to look at the other two. Once more, he reached into his tunic, and took out the whistle, calling Goliath to the outside of the Tower. "The disdain went both ways. Even after I made recompense." His tone was lower, no longer shouting, hushed tones. "So why should I keep trying? If I am just going to be the sociopath to you, why not at least avenge my friend." If only Terry understood how much Damian had put his heart out each time he called Gar his friend. And now, that was taken from him, by someone who'd forever remind him of what he lost. Even under his green mask, and under the eye lenses that hid his pupils, tears started to run down. Goliath landed outside, sniffing around the edge of the rhino-sized hole. "Get the scent, Goliath. We need to follow it." He said, sniffling sharply as he turned around, and climbed atop the red beast. As Goliath took the scent in, leather wings extended out, as he took flight.

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    Colette gives Robin a calculating narrowing of her eyes when he makes his pitch for discrimination, but after a moment she nods her had. "Fair," she concedes. "But so is my point that he's dangerous and you shouldn't take him on alone. And..." she glances back at Terry. "So is Terry's point that Gar's wishes should be considered... /IF/ it is possible to do so safely. If you find him - call for backup before acting."

    When Robin leaves, she puffs her cheeks out and picks up her backpack, left on the floor by the counter. A brief rummage inside produces a bottle of Maker's Mark, which she cracks open and takes a swig from before offering it to Terry. "I care what the crazy cat has to say, Terry," she says quietly. "Enough that I didn't go on a rampage after I got your message. Enough that I tracked down Gar and attempted to be a light in the darkness for him, even knowing that was a stupid idea and I was totally the wrong person to do it. And I'm guessing that Robin cares at least a bit about what the crazy cat has to say, because otherwise he wouldn't be so easily upset by it."

    "One other thing. And I don't want to raise your hopes or anything, but the video... doesn't actually show Gar dying. He would have lived a short while before either drowning or bleeding out. Unless... unless he had enough strength left at the last moment to change into something that could survive the loss of a limb. That's something that could be acted on, and should be acted on promptly. Just saying."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry watches Robin leave, and then he turns to Colette.

"... you are getting my hopes up," he says, with a pained voice. "Harley is calling Aquaman to search the area, or speak with the sea creatures there. Apparently he owes Harley a favor." Because of course he does. "If... if he's out there, we'll find him."

He closes his eyes and leans on the table, a hand up to his eyes to catch the tears that are coming out, accompanied by sobs. "F-fuck I can't be doing this right now. I have to get to the Embassy. I need to apo-apologize to Diana... I need to stop Robin- I..."

He leans over the counter. " G-godamnit ...Gar..."

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    Colette shrugs slightly and takes another swig of bourbon. "That's what I said when I got your final message. Godamnit, Terry. Very unfair for people you care about to go around dying like that." She stands up and starts fishing through cupboards for glasses, and when she finally finds some she pours some bourbon out for Terry and slides the glass across the counter to him, figuring he might find it less threatening if there isn't a whole bottle of it.

    "You can't stop Robin, but you could talk to him. Give him a call and talk him down. But if you want to do that, if you want him to listen, you'll have to apologize to him too. The little guy is hurting you know. He doesn't exactly make friends easy. If he liked Gar, if he /respected/ Gar... that's a big step for him. Because Gar would be harder for him to respect than, for example, that psycho Sam. Believe it or not, that was a big step forwards for the little creep. This is bigger. And I know you're hurting and lashing out and all that, but I think you just lashed out at the wrong guy. You both just lost someone you cared about, you should be consoling each other, not arguing."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry reaches for the bourbon this time, and takes a swig, blinking at the sensation. "Fine. Fine... I'll give him a call. But I'm not going letting Gar die again, Colette-" he stops himself, "It's not my Gar. But there's something in there... and I won't contemplate anything else until he proves completely unreachable."

He looks up, brushing tears away from his face with now a very damp sleeve. "Over at the Embassy they tell you that the Amazons have a saying. Don't kill if you can wound.Don't wound if you can subdue. Don't subdue if you can pacify. Don't raise your hand at all until you've first extended it." He serves himself another glass.

"Last night I almost killed a man. And Wonder Woman saved me. It was the right decision."

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    Colette pours out a glass for herself and sits next to Terry. "That's a lot of ifs. And I've seen the footage of an army of Amazons killing a whole bunch of Warzoon, so whatever they might say they're aware that sometimes the ifs don't work out."

    She puffs her cheeks out again, takes a swig from her glass and rests a companionable arm across Terry's shoulders. This is probably about as close as she ever gets to a hug. "Okay, Terry. Do it your way, just promise me you won't get yourself killed doing it. Or anyone else, ideally. I promise I'm not going to go hunting him or anything."

    The arm is removed again, and Colette swigs down the rest of her glass. "You're still an idiot though. Even if I do listen to the crazy cat, you're an idiot. It's probably part of what Gar sees in you."