4782/Another You: The Mirror Has Two Faces

Another You: The Mirror Has Two Faces
Date of Scene:	18 January 2021
Location:	A laboratory at the Titans'/An abandoned building
Synopsis:	The more some things change, the more others stay the same.
Cast of Characters:	Terry O'Neil, Gar Logan

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Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry O'Neil walks into the lab, feeling perhaps a little more relieved after last night's conversation, but not less concerned. Two backpacks are deposited on the floor of the lab, packed with sundry items that will be needed during their long/short time away. Kian, owning very little in this world, could easily get his things packed in with Terry's, whose worldly possessions were still, on the whole, in a storage locker.

"You awake, Gar?" he calls out softly.

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Terry O'Neil walks into the abandoned building, bruised and sore after suffering a humilliating--- well, let's not talk about that. It has been many days since he has been human, and that is mostly because he is pretty sure that that crazy clown did actually poison his chocolate. He wasn't going to risk turning back to see if it was true or not. At least, not until he had the antidote. But before he could face her, he needed to get better at using these strange powers his counterpart had unwittinly gifted him with.

"Hey, you there?" he calls out loudly, his voice echoing through the abandoned building they had set up as an impromptu hideaway.

Gar Logan has posed:
Gar Logan was taking a nap, resting as his usual self on the bed in the lab. He'd spent some time in the tank earlier, another round of exercises done in silence, done alone, and he needed some of that time to himself to think about the conversation last night and the way it was going compared to where it ended up. Maybe Donna showed up at the right time. Maybe Donna helped prevent the talk from ending up in a place that wouldn't be good for anybody.

"Yeah," he says, turning over with a yawn and stretch. "What's up?"

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Gar Logan was taking a nap, resting as his usual self on the shabby bed in a corner of the abandoned building. It was a small warehouse, with areas sectioned off that had been converted into bedrooms by whoever occupied the place before. They were long gone by the time leather jacket wearing Terry found it and dumped Gar off. By the time he came to, he went about bolstering his little piece of the building up further, almost making it into a den or nest of some sort.

Initially, when he hears /that/ voice, he says nothing. Maybe the guy will go away if he thinks Gar's not there. He doesn't want to see him, doesn't want to talk to him. Maybe he'll just have to scare him off. Maybe he'll just have to eat him. "What do you want?" he finally asks, his voice a bit muffled from whatever he's done to block off his area.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry walks over and sits himself down on the bed, reaching over to stroke Gar's shoulder. "Hey..." he says, "I got things packed. Clothing shifts, that sort of thing. I wanted to talk about... last night. I have some apologizing to do."

After an emotional discussion and food afterwards, they had both been too tired to stay awake much longer. Terry, now an early riser by force of the Planet, woke up at the crack of dawn and took his laptop to the kitchen to prepare his content for the Planet, so that Gar wouldn't be woken up by the merciless hammering of the keyboard that passed for typing in the O'Neil household. "I'm looking back at some of the things I've said and..."


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"We gotta talk!" comes the voice, a little rougher than Terry usually sounds. The cheshire starts making his way around the building, trying to locate the origin of Gar's voice. "We both got the same problem, and I think I know how to take care of it."

Knuckles rap on one of the sectioned areas, where he thinks he heard Gar's voice, "You gonna let me in, big bad wolf?"

Gar Logan has posed:
Gar Logan props himself up on an elbow, rubbing his eyes with both..no, with one hand. "I'm never gonna get used to this," he says. "It felt like my hand was itching last night and I had to rub /this/ one just to get the one I /don't/ have to stop feeling like it was there, and that doesn't make any sense." He's been learning all about Phantom Limb Syndrome. "And sometimes it just /hurts/ a lot, too. I know I'm lucky, because this should work to make everything fine again, but..yeah."

He shuts up after Terry brings up the need to apologize. No, scratch that. He says, "You don't need to apologize for anything. You were right. That..that wasn't me. That was someone else. That was the other me, and I can't be like him."

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"There's nothing to talk about. I don't want to see you, I don't want to talk to you, and I just want you to go away," comes Gar's voice, full of annoyance and anger. "Our selves from this world know each other and I'm not letting that happen with us. I'll deal with the problem myself."

But this Terry is persistent. He isn't just leaving, and he's finding the spot without too much trouble.

Maybe it was the hastily-written 'STAY THE FUCK OUT OR I'LL EAT YOU' sign on the wall.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"That may be. But the way I spoke wasn't the way I would've wanted you to see me. I certainly didn't express myself well. Gar... I know that you have... a fear of people leaving. Or losing them. Thining about how I said what I said... it could have been seen as an attempt to manipulate you into coming around to my point of view." He grows qhiet and reaches over to ru his fingers through Gar's hair.

"That... wasn't what I was trying to do. I didn't know how to say it. I'm not the kind that just ups and abandons someone. And I think I've made it pretty clear that I am /never/ leaving. But... I just couldn't bear the thought of you becoming..."

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"Yada yada yada, don't be such an idiot. Do you think I'm even remotely interested in you? Pfff." The cat crosses his arms and leans on the wall. "Get real. Your rep, though, is impressive. And we've had our asses handed to each other by my little double, so what makes you think we can take him alone?"

"Except I know something you don't about him. And I got something you don't." He says, teasing with a mocking tone, "And a partnership would be very advantageous right about now."

Gar Logan has posed:
There's a period of silence from Gar when Terry mentions the fear of others leaving, or being lost. Beneath the surface, once Gar's desire for ultimate revenge was pushed back down...sure, that thought probably crossed his mind. He also did a fine job of blaming himself for certain things not being different in life, when any reasonable person knows that you couldn't possibly expect a small child, just in the early stages of understanding more about what he could do, to be capable of thinking fast enough in a life and death situation. His father even had to tell him what to change into, just to fly to safety.

"I know," is all he says at the moment, his head angling toward the contact. Those words cover a few different things Terry is touching on, too. Up to him to figure that out or not.

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"You really don't listen, do you?" Gar answers, and it sounds like there's a growl attached to it. But if there's no interest, that's a good thing. Because there's definitely none from him! Silence follows, which could be interpreted as the talk of them failing being weighed by the one who's holed up, but in actuality Gar becomes something small enough to poke his head out from a little opening in the wall.

A moment later, the sound of part of that wall breaking follows, as a large gorilla's fist punches through the wood and drywall, opening to close around the throat of the feline, intent to squeeze the breath and the very life out of him. "YOU!" he roars. "COMING HERE WAS YOUR LAST MISTAKE!"

He thinks the Cheshire Cat he's just seen is this world's version, the same one who thrashed him with those portals.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry hoists himself fully onto the bed this time, kicking his shoes off and scooting close to Garfield. "We're going to do this. We're going to get you recovered, and then we'll face this menace. Together." One of his hands reaches over and caresses Gar's shoulder, slowly tracing down the arm, his hand enveloping the stump where the rest of the forearm is missing.

"I want you to know... that even if this doesn't work, nothing changes. I'm with you until the end, no matter what. Just... don't be afraid to talk to me about what's going on with you. That's what I'm here for, right?"

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The Cheshire cat is taken by surprise, and Garilla's hand closes around his throat, making him yelp.

"Whagght the fu... wrong with you?" he manages to choke out. His arm draws back and chaos magic gathers into a fine, pointed shape. He doesn't have the focus to summon the vorpal sword, but a chaos shiv is enough to do the job. He tries to plunge the sharp, chaotic weapon into the gorilla's arm, a little bit above the elbow, in an attempt to get him to let go!

Gar Logan has posed:
Gar Logan shifts nearer as well, happy to do so. "One way or another..yeah. Together. And with the rest of the Titans," he agrees. His forehead rests against a shoulder, though he's felt to tense when Terry freely touches the stump of an arm without shying away from it. "We'll have to fight ourselves, but we don't have to fight only ourselves. I'm gonna show mine I'm the better one, though."

He nods slowly, and it's clear all of this is still heavy on his mind and in his thoughts. "I think it'll work. I /hope/ it works. But I don't want to lose you if I can't be..you know, what you're used to me being. I still need time to deal with all of this."

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"What's wrong with /YOU?/" comes the angered response from the obviously larger and stronger green gorilla, the fingers trying to dig into the side of Vorpal's neck. "Did you come here to die? Because I'll--"

Roar. That's what he does. He roars, and his grip lets up as there's a clatter on the other side of the wall. It wasn't a direct hit, more of a surface wound through tough skin, but it was enough.

Two seconds later, the wall crumbles as he plows through it - eat your heart out, Kool-Aid Man - and brings his arms up, fists clenched, ready to slam them down, staring with burning hatred at the one who wounded him so badly out at the docks. "Any last words? Say them! /Now!/"

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"The only thing I can't stand you not being ... is yourself. We're going in with the intention not to kill. If, despite all our efforts, there's no other way, then whatever happens must happen. But not going in with that intent right off the bat is what makes you you, Garfield Logan." His hand is still touching the stump, giving Gar's skin a gentle caress with his fingers. "As for the rest? You're always going to be beautiful to me. And if you happen to be missing a hand... I can be your hand when you need it. Just like you are so many things when I need them. Like common sense." He smiles and kisses the top of Gar's head.

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One thing the Cheshire has learned, it's that the Rabbit Hole can't cut through living beings. This is a handy thing to know, because when the ground opens up under Garilla and seemingly swallows him, only to close tightly around his chest to immobilize him, it's at least reassuring to know that the Rabbit Hole can't cut him.

Garilla's lower body, flailing, can be seen hanging in mid-air, from the other side of the Rabbit Hole.

"I'm the wrong cat, you stupid ape!" the Cheshire says, rubbing his throat and coughing. "... I stole his powers!"

Gar Logan has posed:
"Sometimes I don't think I deserve you," Gar speaks quietly after Terry reaffirms his faith and trust in Gar to be himself, to do the right thing, promising to be there through thick and thin. "You just accept me, like, mostly without question, as if I can't fail you or let you down." Even after the heated nature of last night's discussion, Terry realized at some point that it was the circumstances affecting Gar, causing him to want to lash out.

Still, he draws what's left of that arm a little closer to himself. He may not be comfortable with it being touched like that. "We all know how much common sense you need sometimes," he remarks, a sniff of mild amusement coming with it and the kiss atop the head. Then, he exhales as if in a sigh. "I wonder what our..worse halves are doing right now. Probably having some big fight, because they don't know anything else."

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Oh, it's a fight, or it would be if there was more of an opportunity to continue it. However, the one Gar /thinks/ is Vorpal capitalizes on the opening given, that rabbit hole opening up to suck him down partially into it. Wherever the other half of the portal is within the building, the gorilla can see it and that is a very confusing thing!

"You think that can stop me?" he growls, as he simply shrinks into the shape of a hawk, another of the four forms he used to decimate his weaker half when he arrived and found him. What /does/ is the claim that he's got the wrong feline. Wings beat to keep him in place, the sharp talons primed for an attack that is delayed. "What do you mean /you/ stole /his/ powers? Talk fast. I'm hungry, and I'm impatient."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Oh yeah, like I'm the only one with faith around here?" Terry says, moving his hand up to rest on Gar's shoulder. "And you'll make mistakes, get up and go again, because that's what you do. And I'll make mistakes, and you'll be there for me just as much. It's not like I haven't already caused you grief. And yet you somehow haven't thrown me out the window yet." He chuckles and lowers himself so he can snuggle up to Gar and be face to face.

"Of course I accept you. You think I fell in love with you because I secretly have always dreamed of owning a menagerie or something?" he chuckles, "You're a good man and your heart is in the right place. So what if sometimes you forget that? We all need people to remind us who we are, sometimes. I know I do."

Then he drapes an arm over Gar's side and raises an eyebrow with a smirk, "Try to be more positive. Maybe they're having sex," he says, obviously joking.

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Touching his neck still, the Cheshire cat snarls, "I can see who the brains in /that/ operation has to be... have you forgotten who my double is? He tried to transform in front of me and I somehow ended up with some of his powers. Look!" he turns to show one shoulder, then the next, "No fucking bullet wound. We've got some of his powers..." he points at Gar, "And I have an idea of how we can kill him for good!"

Gar Logan has posed:
Gar Logan mmms, in thought. "People say that's what makes us human, but there's more to it than that for people like us. We have to set the right example for others and..yeah, you know..hold some stuff back unless it's a last resort. But it's harder when the other side just wants to kill you straight up." It's a core difference between a hero and a villain, in most cases.

"And here I thought you liked the circus, or the zoo," he adds quietly. "Even if I did throw you out the window, cats land on their feet." He does, however, squint at the last part Terry says. "Somehow I can't see that happening."

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Meanwhile, back at the Hall of Justice...

*Cue scratch of the record player needle across vinyl*

Meanwhile, back at the abandoned 'safehouse' the two visitors from another reality have found themselves in, the green hawk goes wolf. No, Big Bad Wolf, as in the form of a werewolf of lore, towering over the feline. Since that's what this guy seemed to want, might as well give it to him. "That's the first and only time you get away with insulting my intelligence. I never met you before this. How am I supposed to know how the powers work? That's the only reason you..he, whatever..got the better of me, and that isn't gonna happen again."

Jaws snap, claws flex, and he kicks at a bit of damaged drywall, tail in motion with the momentum. "Keep talking. And what are you calling yourself, then? Vorpal? Stupid name." Still impatient.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Well... I am rather partial to your type of circus," Terry quips, "I'll always be Beast Boy's number one fan."

Patting Gar's side, he adds, "I know we have a lot of days to talk about how we're going to tackle this... but I thought of something. We've got one thing they don't... the element of surprise. They don't know you're alive..." he looks into Gar's eyes.

"So what I'm thinking is... we set up a trap. And you hide in my clothes, like a little mouse or whatever. When your doppelganger appears... /surprise!/" he grins, "And then not only does he have to deal with the team, but /you/ are also there. That should definitely throw them off!"

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"God no. That's an idiot name... I'm.... Manxsome." He grins, looking rather satisfied with himself.

"Well, you killed that little twerp of your double, so he's all alone. But he'll try to set the trap like he did last time. Only this time... we've got the element of surprise."

He gestures and opens a Rabbit Hole, showing another abandoned location.

It is a long room. It's in better repair than this building, obviously. But what's most important is the red-headed woman sitting on a chair, tied up and gagged. Agatha O'Neil, unconscious but alive.

"What I'm figuring is... we force him to come to /us/ instead. And you'll be lying in wait, tiny and hidden somewhere. And when he comes to the rescue and starts fighting /me/... you appear behind him and... *chomp*..." he grins at the wolf. "What big teeth you have, grandma."

Gar Logan has posed:
"Surprises are good. He surprised me. That's not happening again," Gar says with a slight nod, content to remain in place, resting, close. "I hope we can stream some shows in there and stuff, because it's gonna get boring fast without some things to do."

The idea of a mouse is filed away. Lots of things are possible when the size is small. "I could also be head lice, and make some new friends with whatever you've got up there while I wait," he suggests, messing with both Terry and his hair, as a hand darts to it.

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The Big Bad Gar openly laughs. "Manxsome? And I thought Vorpal sounded dumb but somehow you managed to top it!" This supposed alliance is not off to a very clean start, is it?

Regaining control of himself, the wolf shrinks back down to normal as he returns to his usual self, still with a wilder, more feral way about him compared to this world's version, the one 'Manxsome' just reminds him he did away with for good. As he's shown the room with the woman in it, he asks, "Who is that, and why should I care?"

He waves it off, then comes over to inspect Manxsome's hair, invading personal space in the process. "Or I stay a bit closer. A mouse or something. I could also be head lice, and make some new friends with whatever you've got up there while I wait," he suggests.

And reality twitched, if only for a fraction of a fraction of a second.