4805/This is the Way

This is the Way
Date of Scene:	20 January 2021
Location:	The Danger Room - Titan's Tower
Synopsis:	Combat training time for Kara at the Tower as Troia teaches her more of the Way of the Amazon, and invites her to think about where it might lead.
Cast of Characters:	Donna Troy, Kara Danvers

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Donna Troy has posed:
    Since Supergirl had joined the Titans, one constant - apart from that odd three months where Troia had been lost in space - has been a series of new training routines the Amazon had developed for the Kryptonian. She tries to help any Titan who wants it help with their training, but training for a Kryptonian is somewhat different than training for most people.

    On the whole, the training programs that Troia has developed have been remarkably abstract - aimed at helping Kara work on controlling the strength and precision of her movement, both in attack and defense. Challenges that require Kara to use precise amounts of force, or to move in precise ways. They have almost all been less obviously combat-oriented than the training routines she uses for others on the team when she's putting them through their paces, but then most of them need to learn how to hit harder, not less hard.

    The message Troia had sent to Kara had indicated that there was a new routine for her to practice with, and it was going to be something a little different. There was also the promise of a gift.

    Troia had been locked away in the danger room for an hour before the appointed time, working on the fine tuning. It was based on a routine she'd had Nightwing make for herself back when the danger room had first been installed, but it has needed a few updates, and a little tuning. When Kara arrives, she finds Troia sitting at the console with her feet up on it, sipping from a bottle of water, and looking rather satisfied. Obviously she's pleased with the tweaks. "Hey Kara!" she calls out in greeting. "I think you're going to like this one."

Kara Danvers has posed:
    Supergirl floats through the door and places booted feet on to the ground. Red boots. Smooth legs, a short blue mini skirt with dark blue shorts underneath, a midrift exposed, and a tight fitted crop top in blue, with her house crest on the left of her chest. A long red cape still completes her look, as well as her long blonde hair and smiling face.

    She dumps a duffle bag down in the corner of the room and says, "Oh really, /ta/" Curiosity is plain to see. She starts doing stretches. She's not sure she needs to do stretches, but it's definitely a thing humans do and it's helped her blend in a bit better.

    This is not an outfit for winter, nor is it an outfit she's ever worn around the Titans before. In fact, this might be the first time she's ever worn it out.

Donna Troy has posed:
    "New look!" Troia declares with a grin. "Striking, I like it. I need one of those. A new look, I mean. My armor didn't survive the Warzoon invasion. I suppose I could get a new set made in the same style, but it feels like... I don't know. Time for a change, I guess." Her grin grows a little wider. "It will probably be a little more martial than yours, but..."

    She slips her feet off the console and reaches down under it to fetch something she has stashed there. "Before you get too ready for the training, I brought you something from home. It's a gift, but it's also an explanation." The item she pulls out is a shallow, dish-shaped ceramic object with a pair of small handles and a short stem.

    "It's called a kylix," Troia explains, stepping down from the raised platform to bring it to Kara in the arena area. "It's a wine glass, really. Only not a glass. You may have seen similar things in museums, though outside of Themyscira the design fell out of favor a long time ago. Roman era. This one is a bit later than that... only about twelve to fourteen centuries old." And only an Amazon would use the word 'only' in that context.

    Troia holds the kylix out to Kara with a smile. It's glazed in gold on a black base, and the flat interior surface is decorated with figures picked out in negative of Amazons training for combat. The cup rim is inscriped inside and out with a line of greek letters spelling out some message.

    "When we talked before, about the possibility of doppelganger of Raven... well I was back home a couple of days ago getting a few things sorted out and I wanted to pick something up for you with this. It's a saying we Amazons hold close to our hearts. I mentioned it to you then, but I wanted you to have something more permanent, to understand me better. So here it is. The words translate as 'Do not kill if it is possible to wound; do not wound if it possible to subdue. Do not subdue if it is possible to persuade. And do not raise your hand in war before extending it in peace.' That's... that's about what it means. Anyway, here. For you." She holds the cup towards Kara with a smile.

Kara Danvers has posed:
    Kara stands up and does a turn so Troia can get a good look at her rather summery outfit. New wardrobe New Kara. That's how the Earth saying goes right? "Oh. That'll be exciting. I can't wait to see what you choose to wear," she smiles genuinely. It hasn't dawned on most yet that all these outfits she makes herself. They didn't all come with her in her pod from Krypton.

    There's a look of surprise and then one of 'I don't need any gifts'.. but then the curiosity settles in again and she steps up closer to take a look at the object. She takes it in her hands and holds it up, looking at it from various angles and looks across the lettering written on it.

    "Min skotóneis an boreís na pligóseis, min pligóseis an boreís na ypotáxeis, min ypotáxeis an boreís na iremíseis kai min sikóneis kathólou to chéri méchri na to epekteíneis," she says rather awkwardly and then looks back to Troia and gives her a tight hug.

    "Thank you Troia. It's a wonderful gift. I've never had a cup so shallow before. It'll be interesting to drink from it," she stares at it for a moment, her eyes doing a weird little jiggle as she zooms in to its deeper details and hints of construction. Everything from Earth fascinates her - modern and ancient.

Donna Troy has posed:
    Troia smiles at the reading, and smiles wider at the hug. "Not bad," she says. "But Themysciran is not quite the same as modern Greek. Your pronounciation needs some work." She steps back from the hug laughing softly. "It's not so bad with a ritual inscription like this, but it can be very confusing to people who have studied modern Greek. Or Attic, for that matter."

    She tilts her head curiously, watching Kara as Kara inspects the structure of the cup, which has oddities of composition, and most curiously a series of linear discontinuities as if the cup had at some point been broken and mended - though there is no variation of the thickness nor signs of damage to the glaze at those points, which is curious. "If you were interested, I could teach you. When you go to Themyscira... /my/ Themyscira next time I hope, you'll find many Amazons now speak English. We pick up languages very quickly and it has become a trend in recent months. However it is always nice to speak to people in their own language, isn't it? Perhaps you can teach me Kryptonian in exchange."

    Troia heads back to the edge of the arena, and sits herself down on the raised walkway, watching Kara with the kylix, taking obvious pleasure at Kara's pleasure in the item. "There are two gods of war in the Olympian pantheon, Kara. Ares and Athena. Although it might sound unnecessary for two gods to have the same dominion, in truth they are very much opposites. Ares is the god of brutal violence, and this is the form in which wars are usually fought. Athena is a goddess of wisdom, and in her wisdom she saw that in a world where wars are fought, it is wisdom to seek a way to fight those wars with brain rather than brawn, with compassion rather than cruelty. When the Amazons were created, Ares was ascendant in the world. Athena wished for us to be a force that could fight smart, that would oppose brutality. That would go to war to end wars. You and your cousin believe that it is wrong to kill - so do we. If there is a difference it is that we believe sometimes it is the lesser wrong."

    "When I talked of killing a doppelganger of Raven, it was because I feared the danger might be so great it would be a necessity. Raven is a truly good and compassionate woman, far more so than she likes people to realize. This is fortunate, because she is powerful. You know this. What you perhaps do not know is that her power alone is just a small fraction of what the world would have to face were she evil. An evil Raven would be a much greater threat to life by far than ZZGU, Brainiac and Mongol combined, because an evil Raven would open the way to her father. To kill one would be to save trillions, and to take the risk of not killing her would be to risk the lives of trillions. In a case like that... the unthinkable must be thought."

    Speech made, Troia lowers her head, and gives a long sigh. She looks up a few moments later, smiling again. "Luckily for all of us, that's not something that has to be considered. There is almost certainly no other Raven in any other reality. But enough. When you are ready, please put the cup down and place your arms out wide and I'll show you the new program."

Kara Danvers has posed:
    Kara smiles and with enthusiasm nods her head, "I thought perhaps the language would have drifted from Themyscira. But the only way for me to learn how to pronounce things properly would be to learn it from you or Diana." She dips her head, "I'd appreciate that greatly. I'd be very happy to teach you kryptonian. /:gaolom rrip w kryptahniuo vot raozhium kahrah-zor-ehl/." In the not too distant future she hopes Troia will understand that sentence.

    "I've heard of Ares and Athena, mostly from what you've told me. A little from Diana. It's better to fight with your brain than without it. On Krypton there is a saying - to fight without thought is to fight yourself. The warrior guild were filled with lawyers and philosopher warriors," she says having considered joining them at one stage in her life.

    "But there is still, always, another way than to kill. Always," she insists with a smile. A point of discussion that may go on for years and years. As soon as you draw the line, now others know when you will cross it," she says. There is a nod, "Yes, very lucky for us."

    She considers a moment, "Kryptonian is a language steeped in culture and history, all of which is alien to this world." She sets the kylix down on top of the dufflebag so she can take it home later. "For instance, /Ehl/ is a family name from the earliest days of our society. Back then it meant Light. Now the word for light is /:divi/ and our family name literally means star," she explains. "We begin each sentence with a statement of what we are doing. A verb. If applicable. So the word order in English is very jumbled to me -- still." She enters the open space and holds her arms out wide, then says, "I'm ready, let's give it a go."

Donna Troy has posed:
    "There is always another way than to kill, I agree," Troia says with a short nod. "But sometimes it is irresponsible to take it. Remember that there may be more than one life in the balance. If there is just a one percent chance of being able to spare your opponent you should strive to take that chance. But suppose the delay of that striving creates a one percent chance that a thousand will die?"

    Her eyes drop to the ground again. It's clear this isn't a comfortable topic for Troia, and the reason why is instantly apparent. "Raven has made it very clear to me that she expects me to kill her as quickly as possible, if she ever succumbs to evil. No -- it's more than that. She /trusts/ me to. I know in my heart that I would seek every possible avenue to find an alternative. My greatest fear is that one day it will happen and I will listen to my heart rather than her words, and the universe will pay a terrible price because it is hard to put your compassion for a multitude you do not know above your compassion for a single person you love. Such thought are... are too abstract."

    Troia takes a deep breath, and looks up with a smile again. "I look forwards to our mutual language lessons then Kara. But for now... initiate program T.S.G seventeen."

    As soon as the words are out of her mouth, a faint blue light bathes Kara, a grid of lines crossing her body and then fading out from her legs upwards, until the lines appear only on her forarms. When the motion of lines has stopped, they glow again and resolve into a pair of glowing blue holographic bracers.

    "I know you're bullet proof Kara," Troia says with a grin. "But this is a technique that will teach you a lot, and that has uses considerably beyond defending yourself, as you will discover as the lessons progress. There are few in the world outside of Themyscira with the speed of movement to be able to perform this trick at all, but be warned you will soon discover that speed is far from all that is needed. The speed at which you make decisions is far more of a challenge than the speed at which you move. You'll have a lot of training ahead of you before you'll find this a reliable technique, but it will make you a better warrior in every way."

Kara Danvers has posed:
    To say Kara is surprised is an understatement. She opens her mouth to point out that yes, indeed, she is quite bullet proof. But instead she asks, "/tavoiehd/" as she looks over the blue bracers. She taps them together to see if they make any kind of interesting sound.

    "I'm sorry Raven has burdened you with that request...," she says with sorrow in her eyes and then looks at the bracers once more. "So you're going to make me think hm?," she raises an eyebrow and grins. "Thinking in motion is quite a challenge. The faster I go the harder it is I find to stay ahead with my thoughts. Traveling faster than light? ... is something I wish to practice more. But it's so taxing and dangerous."

    She takes a Kryptonian martial arts pose, which looks a touch Chinese from an Earth perspective, then another, which looks a touch Japanese. Then she takes an Amazonian posture and grins back to Troia, "Like this?" because it seems she is to learn how to fight like an Amazon -- and that, that just sounds like fun to her ears.

Donna Troy has posed:
    Troia grins at the stance and hops down into the arena to stand next to Kara, her own arms at the ready, the metal of her real bracers glinting in the bluish light from Kara's holographic ones - which do make a quite nice ringing sound when clashed together. There's a reason for that, which is apparent when Troia faces Kara and crosses her arms together over her chest, with the same ringing clash. An Amazonian salute.

    "The art is not about reaching the bullets as much as it is about being aware of the bullets in time so that you know to reach them," Troia says. "The speed of motion is a necessity before someone can even try to learn this, but the speed of thought is everything. You must keep in mind exactly where every bullet is in the air so that you can meet them with your wrists in the correct sequence. You must plan your movements several steps ahead, and you must anticipate the path of each bullet before it is even fired."

    She moves around to stand beside Kara and calls out "Two opponents!". A pair of figures appear holding handguns, but at the moment they are frozen. "Simulating this is limited. This program uses video footage because you must pay attention to small muscle movements, and simulating that is simply too complicated. This is a start, but after a while you will see the patterns repeating and begin to react to what you already know rather than the actual motions. That's why I never used this program much. In your case, before that happens I will move you on to the real thing, but this will help you get started. Now watch."

    Troia steps in front of the two figures and calls out "Begin!" and they instantly start shooting. Her arms move rapidly, but it's easy enough for Kara to keep track of the motions. Now that she has said it, it's noticeable to Kara that several times she's moving to intercept a bullet a fraction of a second before the trigger is pulled. After half a dozen holographic shots deflected from her bracelets she makes a sudden motion that's more energetic than the previous ones had been, deflecting one a touch later than she might and then deflecting another with a lunge. The reason why becomes quickly apparent when the two bullets are deflected so that they hit the shooters, one in an arm and one in a leg, causing both to freeze. She had been waiting for a moment when there were two bullets in the air at the same time so they could both be deflected.

    Troia takes a step back, grinning. "That's a pretty advanced trick, but we'll get you to that point eventually. For now I'd like you to start off with a single shooter and just get used to the movements. Because of your speed you won't find this too hard, but the real excerise is watching the muscles of the hands and forearm, and looking for patterns of timing and of posture that indicate when the shooter is about to fire. With automatic weapons you also learn the timing between shots, and of course that's a part of the calculation. Want to give it a try?"

Kara Danvers has posed:
    Kara returns the Amazonian salute and then grins. This is going to be fun. She watches with interest though because it dawns on her, especially when watching Troia do it, that even though she is much faster than Troia, Troia is several steps ahead just by changing what she's focused on.

    Kara's head is tilted by the time the demonstration is over and she looks a little wide eyed as if by revelation. "Alright, but, this does require a certain level of knowledge about human motivations and thinking that I currently do not possess. I will, though, work on it," she admits and nods her head, "Beginning with physiological tells is an excellent idea."

    To the world, Supergirl is this flying hero who swoops in to save the day. Anyone who actually gets to know her realises pretty quick just what a nerd she is. Unashamedly so too. She approaches the models and looks them over. "Pressure from the pistol trigger requires some level of coordination at the core, or thoroughly over emphasised fore arms," she ponders and then walks back around to the front. "Begin!," she says with confidence. The simulation starts and the gun is fired. She is very very busy watching the way the arm muscles move and the slight tense in the stomach and even the flex in the feet as this particular recreation almost tries to throw the bullet as he's firing the gun. The bullet bounces off her harmlessly.

    "Huh. That was interesting. Really interesting," she says and approaches the danger room model again and pokes at the recreated human. "Do you think this guy qualifies for 'working out' status? He seems on edge, not zen enough for someone who enjoys weights or jogging."

    She returns back in front of the simulation and says, "Again!" It's true that she is paying great heed to the lesson being taught here. She could snap that bullet out of the air with ease at any moment. Instead, she is watching the way the body moves in slow motion and - honing a new interpretation of her senses; letting the moment fill her up. The bullet hits her chest again and bounces harmlessly to the floor.

    "This.. number seventeen? I like this one. I like it a lot," says the girl of steel. When she first got here she would have been supremely afraid of being shot not having known that she wouldn't be harmed by it. Now look at her. No fear at all, all study.

Donna Troy has posed:
    "There are a number of different 'characters' in the system you'll try out against," Troia says with a laugh. "Some of them are more zen than this one. Oddly you'll learn that the better shooters are easier to deal with. This guy is a street punk, and there's more variability in timing of his shots. The more skilled ones, you can count off the time between rounds being fired most of the time."

    Troia watches Kara's attempts with an intensity barely any less than that with which Kara had earlier studied the kylix, and when the first bout of deflecting is done, her eyes are shining with pleasure and she applauds.

    "An excellent first attempt," she says past a big smile. "I can see that Kryptonian speed is going to be a big help, and you're thinking right already. Look at the back of the hand, there is a twitch of muscle when the trigger is being pulled that's the biggest tell. Watch the barrel of the gun and see how it moves with the recoil, and how it settles back into position. There's always a little over-correction, and when the over-correction settles, that's when they're ready to fire. Recoilless weapons are much tougher, but when you're ready for that you'll start seeing the psychology of when someone's ready to fire the second shot too."

    Troia walks behind Kara during the second bout, circling her to watch the action from every angle. "Velocity doesn't change a great deal between shots. Get a sense of the path of the bullets, and then start predicting it. Try to imagine the path of each bullet as a line through space that appears the moment it is fired, and anticipate the position of the bullet along that line from a sense of where it /should/ be. That gets fun with multiple shooters and automatic fire."

    She finishes circling, taking a seat on the raised walkway to continue watching, but less intently now. There's only so much lecturing you can give in one session if you hope for it to stick. She continues more conversationally. "The queen has agreed for a couple more Amazons to settle at the embassy. When the Themysciran arts center opens in a few weeks, they will start offering lessons in self defense to the public. They will make time for you to help you study these techniques, if you would wish to train with them when I am not available. I think they will enjoy teaching the methods to you. It's not something many can learn, after all. Cailtin has been visiting Themyscira for the last few years, training with us. She isn't really fast enough to truly master this though."

    Troia lapses into silence for a while to watch Kara's attempts, then speaks up again a little more softly. "Cait has learned a lot on Themyscira. Become a much better fighter, but also learned a lot of our ways. I spoke to my mother a few weeks ago, and she agreed that Caitlin is ready. She will take the tests to prove herself, and she will seek approval of the goddesses to become one of us. To become an Amazon. The first who comes from outside. Even Cassie was born into it, and I was adopted into it as a baby. That path will be open to others, Kara. I want to train you in the techniques I have learned because you are my friend. But if you want to take that further, the option will be open to you."

Kara Danvers has posed:
    Kara squints her eyes a touch and says, "So I must learn human physiology as well as the various variants of guns. Hm. This is going to be a lot of homework." Superman grew up here, it's all normal to him. A weapon that uses a chemical reaction to accelerate a piece of metal at faster than the speed of sound is.. very different to the way things were done on Krypton.

    "My speed might be a problem. I am trying very hard to do this the way you describe instead of letting my habits get in the way.. for instance," she says and when it begins she is a blur and opens her hand holding the bullets. "That was without any finesse or forethought, just reaction. I like what you're teaching me much better."

    Quietly she says to herself, "I bet I could deflect a bullet back in to the barrel.. no.. then it might explode and hurt the shooter." She twists her lips a touch and smiles as she begins again, focusing in on the various twitches of muscles, letting different parts of her vision - those parts trained for movement - take the lead so it becomes more instinctual.

    "Is your Queen like the one I met? or different in ways?," she asks up to Troia and then she stops and the bullets fly by her, "Caitlin is going to become an Amazon?" There's a look of awe and wonder on her face. "That's amazing. I suppose it's a secret and I cannot congratulate her yet?" She looks slightly puzzled, "Me? an Amazon? But I'm not even from this planet. Surely your gods would reject me on that basis alone."

Donna Troy has posed:
    "You close your hands around a bullet, then your hand is closed for the next. You slow yourself down that way, and miss the fifth or sixth bullet, and someone is hit." Troia gives a quick laugh. "It's a good trick though. I'm not entirely bullet proof, and so I tend to avoid trying to catch them unless I really want to show off. Get it slighty wrong and it hurts. Yes, for a small number of bullets, if your hand can take it, that's the better technique because you don't have to have your hand in the correct place at the correct time, you just need it to be in the right place before the right time and wait. This is more efficient when you perfect it though, and if you are trying to stop bullets from hitting other people, you don't want to let a single one through."

    "Another thing is the braclets are curved, and once you get the hang of it you can redirect the shot without it losing much power. People find it rather disheartening to find their own bullets coming back at them. They become more reluctant to fire."

    She looks down at her own bracers, tracing a finger lightly along the outline of stars embossed into them. "But you have it right there. Learning the physiology of your opponent. That is the part that will be most valuable for you in particular with learning this trick, and why I thought it would be good for a bullet-proof Kryptonian to learn it. Understanding the biomechanics of motion is the highest art of combat. When you do that, every motion of your body can bring you advantage, and every motion of your opponents can be used against them. It is not a small factor, it is a multiplier. A truly skilled fighter will defeat multiple opponents as easily as one just as fast and strong but without the training might defeat a single opponent. And perhaps most importantly of all, the more in control of the fight you are, the more opportnity you have to defeat them without causing them serious injury."

    When asked about the queen, she hops to her feet and paces a little. "The one you met - we weren't there long. I would say she was very similar to my mother. She looked.... older. It feels strange to say, but I guess that was the stress of what had happened. But she spoke the same, looked the same. I had to keep reminding myself she was not my mother. That was..."

    Troia looks up and suddenly laughs as she notices holographic bullets bouncing off Kara, ignored. These ones aren't set up to be felt even by non-Kryptonians, and the absurdity of the sight brings her out of a tension that hadn't really been apparent until it was gone. "Program pause," she calls out.

    "There is a ritual that must be performed before Caitlin can be congratulated," Troia says with a smile. "But I am certain it is a formality. She must be accepted by our patrons. Nobody doubts that she will be, though. You should come with us to Themyscira when she does it, then you can congratulate her with us when she receives the bracelets."

    "As for you being from another planet -- I don't see why that would make any difference. Kara, what makes an Amazon is... being an Amazon. Caitlin /is/ an Amazon, and that's why I know she will be accepted. The Amazons were created by the patrons for a purpose, and Caitlin embodies that purpose. She has the strength to help the week, and the determination to use her strength in that cause. She is a great warrior, but one who fights out of love, and never fails to act with compassion. She has learned our ways and our laws, and she accepts and believes in those ways. She does not worship our gods, but that's not what makes us Amazons. She will serve our gods, because the service they call for is what she already wholeheartedly believes in."

Donna Troy has posed:
    Troia stops her pacing and looks fondly at Kara, her smile softening. "You have a great heart, Kara. You love. You are filled with compassion, and you are a great warrior. I believe in you. I truly believe that if it was the path you chose to go down, you could in time be accepted by the patrons and become one of the sisterhood. Because you already have the heart of an Amazon, and that's what really counts."

Kara Danvers has posed:
    Kara grins as Troia imparts more wisdom about not closing her hand. She nods her head and then looks at the bracers. "I think I'll practice deflecting them in to the ground, rather than returning fire," she remarks. She nods to Troia and says, "I understand. Even I can't be everywhere at once, so I need to be efficient - if I'm to save everyone. Sometimes I'm caught up in things though. Like when I had to catch the London Eye. There was simply no way for me to engage the giant space dragon and save the people on the Eye. Thankfully.. I have wonderful allies."

    "She was certainly not your mother. A mother knows her children," she says with the authority of someone who learnt that as part of her culture back home. She peers in confusion as Troia starts to laugh at her. She turns and sees all the bullets that were bouncing off of her and folds her arms. "Very funny," she says and then grins too. "Regular Thursday in some parts of the world for me. It's like the bad guys just have to find out for themselves if it's true or not."

    She nods her head, "Yes I'd really like to go - especially for that. To be there to support my friend as she takes this big step. It gives the trip meaning, purpose.. rather than simply amusing my own personal whims." She does that a lot - putting the whole world ahead of herself. The discussion about gods makes Kara twist her lips just a touch and says, "Did you know I am religious Troia? ...I may be the last person in the whole universe who believes in my gods." It's clear as day on her face that this worries her far more than she'd like it to.

    She lifts a hand up in to the air and flies up to the platform with Troia and smiles. "You are kind and a true friend Troia. I'm honoured to be able to say that, to know you. People like you do not exist on Krypton." And if she had lived her life there she never would have come to Earth.

Donna Troy has posed:
    "Some people just have to try for themselves, I think," Troia says with a laugh. "I get it too. Someone empties a clip at me, nine times out of ten they end up being lassoed when they reload. Honestly it's a blessing so few of the people we fight against are very smart."

    She winces slightly and raises a hand, palm open, then slowly shuts it again. "That's what bothers me about these doppelgangers. Some of them may actually be smart. I do wish Terry had not managed to somehow share his powers with his own doppelganger, that makes things more complicated. Terry is a creative thinker. I just hope the influence of ZZGU means his doppelganger lived a life that lead to less imagination. I do hope that tracking technology comes on line soon."

    She shrugs away that concern, her attention back on Kara's words. "Rhao. I've heard the name spoken, but that's all I know of your religion. I would be interested to hear more. Caitlin is religious too, though she is far from alone in her faith. I have been to church with her a few times and never got zapped by her God for being a pagan and a heretic, so I suspect you'll be fine on Themyscira. Even if Zeus does like his lightning bolts."

    There's an addendum, spoken through a smirk, which would be inaudible to most, but is clear enough for Kara: "Almost as much as he likes swans."

    When Kara joins her on the platform, Troia rests a hand on her friend's arm. "Kara, I am honored to be able to say that I know you too, and even more honored that you call me a friend. Cait will be honored too, if you join us on Themyscira for the ceremony. But that's not the only reason I'd like you to come. Kara, it's my home and it's beautiful in so many ways I could not even begin to count them. All the years I was here in America before I couldn't even tell people it existed. Believe me, the idea of showing it off to me friends... I will show you things you've never seen. Stunning landscapes, beautiful artworks, wonderful food, and music and people. And wonders that exist nowhere else on Earth."

    Troia grins wide. "It's gonna be so much fun!"

Kara Danvers has posed:
    Kara smiles a touch more and nods her head, "/rao/, Our sun. And you know what the S on my clothes means now." She taptaps the left of her chest where the crest is. "I'd be happy to tell you all about them, and nightwing, and firebird.. ahh. It's going to be fun translating these thoughts in to English.. Or perhaps Greek."

    She nods her head, "These doppelgangers. They saw a way to come to our world and they took it, fled from the ruins of their own land. They're desperate.. but there's something more - the damage ZZGU did to them. I'm not sure they will ever find happiness. In our world or theirs."

    "Swans?," she says with a raised eyebrow and her hands find their way to her hips. The thought does cross her mind. She's been hit with lightning a few times already.. would a godly smiting feel much different? what if Thor did it to her. Thooor.. she blinks and her eyes focus back on Troia. "It will. It's going to be so much fun."