4887/Terry and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Terry and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
Date of Scene:	26 January 2021
Location:	Main Room - Titan's Tower
Synopsis:	TFW you feel you have your tail between your legs, but no longer have a tail? That's Terry as Donna and Wally are caught up on what exactly happened in his most recent encounter with his Doppelganger.
Cast of Characters:	Terry O'Neil, Donna Troy, Wally West

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Terry O'Neil has posed:
Misery INC, that's Terry O'Neil, alright. The redhead is draped over one of the couches, sipping a soda with a melancholic, lethargic affectation. He hasn't returned to the Embassy, where Gar is hiding, just yet. His impression of Gar's rebuke after the botched battle clearly has him out in the dumps. He's not looking at the windows, he's not looking at anything in particular. In between sips he keeps his arm over his eyes, feeling down enough to sleep, but not tired enough to do so yet.

Donna Troy has posed:
    The door to the women's dorm corridor opens and Donna descends the staircase into the main room without a word. She walks over to the fridge and opens it, poking around inside before finally deciding on one of Cait's patent Snacky Shakes. The contents of the fridge rattle slightly as she closes the fridge door with a little more force than is entirely necessary.

    Donna walks over to the couch, carefully placing her shake down before taking off her leather jacket and slinging it over the back of the seat. She picks up her shake again and stares at Terry for a few moments, her expression revealing nothing, then sits down and opens the bottle to take a long swig.

    "So," she says finally. "What happened?"

Wally West has posed:
Wally arrives in a blur of red -- despite wearing a green polo and jeans when he stops moving. Perhaps the color of the blur is chosen before hand and requires paperwork to change. He is currently not rushing after food. A depowered meta is a big deal, and he is quite focused on the task at hand.

He offers a brief but polite greeting . "Hey Donna and Terry." He sets himself up on one of the kitchen stools, and looks at Terry expectantly. He is not going to bury Terry in questions right away.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry groans softly, not taking the arm off his eyes when Donna speaks. "I fucked up. Hard."

The arm moves away, to glance at his two friends. If he had a tail, it would be between his legs. "My mom got kidnapped. Gar and I woke up at the Embassy and the phone was ringing... it was /him/. My double. He captured my mom and told me I had an hour to go to a location clear across town."

He exhales, "We didn't have time, but to get dressed and we drove there as fast as we could... And I thought... I thought I knew how to get my powers back, so I told Gar to get my mom out while I fought myself..."

He laughs, all of a sudden. "And I was right! Problem is... my doppelganger knew how to do it, too."

Donna Troy has posed:
    She may be in an unusually undemonstrative mood today, but nevertheless Donna greets her old friend with a bright smile to accompany the simple "Hey Wally." It takes a lot to stop Donna from smiling for long.

    The smile fades as she turns back to Terry to listen to his rundown of the events thatt had lead him to this current state of powerless sadcattery. Her eyes narrow a little at the mention thatt Terry's mother had been kidnapped, but she waits for him to finish before saying "I assume by the fact you're sitting here moping that Gar got your mother out of there."

     She leans back with a sigh and takes another gulp of Snacky Shake. "So, your plan to get your powers back from him was what exactly?"

Wally West has posed:
"Does this mean that your powers are gone for good, or that he is holding your powers hostage? " His emphasis makes it clear that he is aware that there are other possiblities, but these are the main two that he is concerned with.

He hunches over slightly and steeples his fingers in concern. This situation is getting worse by the second and his night is about to get real complicated very quickly. A rogue teleporter will do that.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
The redhead sighs softly and sits up some more, setting the can down on the floor. "Yeah... mom is in a hotel where we celebrated my sixteenth birthday, so /he/ won't be able to find her. And Gar's hiding in the Embassy so his doppel doesn't know he's alive... for the element of surprise." And then his face falls. "... he just... kind of. Flew away. He must be /pissed/ at me to have left like that."

Rubbing his forehead, he looks up at Wally. "Yeah... my double has my powers. There can only be one Cheshire cat. One cheshire soul. But there's two of me. So... cosmic loophole. Wonderful, eh?"

He glances at Donna. "I split the soul accidentally by saying the words while looking into his eyes. I thought- hey, he's like a mirror. I couldn't use my mirror because he was holding me at gunpoint after we had made out and never mind you didn't hear that okay?" He clears his throat, "So I figured... saying the words while looking into /his/ eyes again would do it. I let him get close to me in the fight. I got him by the wrists. I started saying the words and... and..."

He spreads his hands, "I lost my footing. His hand slipped out, covered /my/ mouth and then /he/ said the words!"

And then he collapses back onto the couch, eyes closed.

"I am the greatest fuck-up this team has ever seen."

Donna Troy has posed:
    Donna glances sideways at Wally. In all the years he has known her, she has generally been pretty easy to read. She's not one to often mask her emotions - usually quite the opposite. She's expressive. Open. Forthright. Today, not so much.

    Her eyes go back to Terry. "Clarify a few things for me please, Terry. Your logic is that he is a mirror of you, so looking into his eyes and saying the words is sufficient to trigger a transformation, right? And that transformation involves the spirit of the Cheshire Cat infusing your body. However since you effectively share a body, the spirit kind of doesn't know where to go?"

    Donna pinches the bridge of her nose. "And the /last/ time you did this, you lost half your powers to him. So you thought that logically speaking if you did the exact same thing again, you'd get them back, is that right?"

    She sighs and leans back staring up at the ceiling. "I mean it strikes me that your doppelganger isn't exactly the sharpest tool in the... however that expression goes again. Because by saying the words himself, he was doing what you did when you gave him half your powers, and could as easily have ended up giving you back his powers. But then he's not the one who was trying to do the same thing that had disastrous consequences last time, and hoping the results would be better this time around, was he?"

    Donna raises her hand to forestall an answer. "No, let's concentrate on something else. Do you remember the conversation we had in the lab a few days ago? Where I reminded you that the big difference between them and us is that we are a team and they are not? And how the worst possible thing we could do was to face our own doppelgangers alone, because that is handing over all the advantages we have by being a team? How the very first thing we should do if we have to face our doppelgangers is to call for backup from the rest of the team? No... no. There's no need for me to ask that, because obviously you didn't remember."

    "Oh but of course you did take Gar with you as your back up. Despite the fact that we were supposed to be keeping Gar in reserve as they don't know he's still alive. And can I ask what steps you took to ensure that Gar's doppelganger wasn't a part of this obvious trap that was set up for you to walk into? Because if he had been there, then what?"

    She doesn't seem to be rushing to dispute Terry's self-assessment just yet.

Wally West has posed:
A small shiver travels down his spine. Every time he is reminded that sometimes bizarre things happen for strange reasons (AKA magic not behaving like fancy meta or mutant powers) he gets that reaction. It is interrupted by a look of confusion at hearing 'Made out'. These kind of stories don't typically go /there/. Things have gotten far enough away into the realm of spooky-mystic stuff that he is a tad lost, so a bit of foolishness that he understands.

Donna's explaination makes things vastly clearer. Doing the same thing that had bad results the first time again is something he also can picture. "They seem to know a fair bit about us because their circumstances were similar once. Maybe we can do the same. Do we know if DoppelTerry and DoppelGar work together. Do we know where Doppel terry might go to hold up? If we have a rogue teleporter on our hands things could get much worse very quickly." Focusing on the future was what Wally had to offer in this situation. Doing so often made tough situations seem more managable, but not in this case.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry exhales. "I told Gar he was not to be seen. I would go inside, and he'd be outside and look into the windows while being very small, to see if he could see my mother. And any trace of his doppelganger. Turns out my Doppelganger was acting on his own, trying to prove to /his/ Garfield that he could take me out. When Gar figured that out, he went in and got my mom while I lured my double to the yard to fight."

He glances at Donna. "We were in New York. We didn't have /time/... I couldn't know if we could reach Wally. Or Impulse. And I'm the only teleporter... and I can't teleport. We had to act as fast as we could- I panicked." He takes a deep breath. "It was my mom, Donna..."

"We've... really no idea, Wally. Our world isn't like theirs. My double lured me to an abandoned house in a run-down neighborhood, and there are /millions/ of those between here and Gotham. With his ability to Rabbit Hole... they could be anywhere. Except."

He pauses, and sits up. "EXCEPT NADIA CAN FIND OUT! Any time /he/ Rabbit Holes, Nadia's device, and SHIELD's, will pick him up!"

Donna Troy has posed:
    "You're not the only teleporter, Terry. There are two others on the team." Donna swigs down the rest of the Snacky Shake, and takes the bottle over to the sink to rinse it out. "You could have /tried/ to reach Wally. Or Impulse. Or Kara or myself for that matter, who may not be speedsters but are capable of getting places /really fast/ if we need to. You could have at least sent out a message on the T-Com telling the rest of the team where you were going in case someone could get there in time. Or at least give you some sensible advice."

    She turns away from the sink to stare at Terry for a few moments. "You could have at least /tried/ to remember that the Titans is supposed to be a team. It's 'Titans Together', Terry. Not 'Titans walk into obvious traps unprepared without even mentioning it to your team mates'."

    Donna takes a seat on one of the kitchen stools, next to Wally. She's obviously tense, and there's an edge to her voice that suggests she's trying hard not to shout, and perhaps she just needs the comforting proximity of an old friend right now. "You were in New York. At the embassy then? Did you check that Diana wasn't available? Or consider asking Adrastea or Galatea to accompany you? No... no, of course you didn't."

    Donna stares down at her hands, fingers flexing and unflexing in your lap. "If he teleports, he can be tracked. It's unlikely he'll get a handle on the illusion-making powers, because it took you several months to figure it out and you had some guidance he won't have had. Terry, I'd like you to try saying your transformation words every hour or so until this is sorted out, because there's a chance that if you try to transform while he's asleep, the Cheshire will jump back to you. However it may be necessary to get him to say the words, and fortunately I know a way to do that. We'll need to know what to do to stop him opening an a Rabbit Hole though. What do you normally need to do to open one, Terry?"

Wally West has posed:
Many aspects of this situation confuse Wally- The magic, how Terry managed to make out with someone he was trying to take out and they got the drop on him. He instead focuses on the things he understands.

He understands being in a hurry, but there is a nagging question in the back of his head. "You were going somewhere without enhanced mobility and you didn't have time to call? How short was this journey? Did he actually tell you not to bring anyone?" Okay, not just one question.

He understands the worry. It seems as if one by one the Titans are getting Targeted and picked off /again/. He gently squeezes Donna's shoulder. Perhaps to ease her tension. Perhaps just to be a reassuring presence. There is very little that can stand up to the whole team -- if they can just get the whole team together. "At least we can figure out where one of these jerks is."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry suddenly springs up, looking flushed. The mass of red hair adds to his rubicund appearance, and the sudden anger that appears on his face is a drastic change from his usual demeanor.

"Alright! Alright! I /get/ it! I fucked up, okay? I've been aware of it since that goddamned underwater trip!" He moves. "I know what a joke I am. And I'm going to do the team a favor."

He reaches over and grabs for his jacket, hastily putting it on.

Inside out. But he hasn't noticed that yet. He turns to make a beeline for the stairs in an angry stride.

Unfortunately the can was on the ground, and stepping on it means he trips, falling forward.

"Fu-"

Donna Troy has posed:
    Little known fact: Donna can beat Wally in a race.

    That is to say that Donna has crazily fast reactions, and if she goes first it can take Wally several feet to catch her up, so if the race is a short enough distance and Donna notices it's on before Wally does, /then/ she can beat him in a race. Apart from those rare circumstances, Wally wins easily every time. This however is one of those rare circumstances.

    One moment Donna has her hand on top of Wally's on her shoulder, giving a grateful squeeze for his support, the next her kitchen stool is falling, and she's catching Terry before he manages to break his head open on the floor. She hauls him upright and then pushes him backwards, a little roughly, to sit on the sofa again.

    "I have lost count of the number of times I've told you that you're not a joke, Terry. Are you TRYING to prove me wrong? If you want to do the team a favor, try acting like the team ACTUALLY EXISTS!" Yes, Donna is raising her voice. This is not normal.

    Donna jabs a finger forwards, waving it in Terry's face. "We can fix this problem. WE. Not you, we. Because we are SUPPOSED to be a team, that's how we do this. We will find him because we can track your portals. We catch him and stop him escaping. Maybe that means keeping him unconscious until we've figured out how to get the Cheshire out of him, but if you will stop feeling sorry for yourself and try to make up for your mistakes instead, maybe you can tell us a better way to do it. Because the obvious way to get your powers back involves him being awake and bound in Diana's lasso, so we can ask him what the words he says to transform are. And then, when he's said them BECAUSE HE HAS TO and has transformed back into his human self, you say the words in a different room, without looking at him, so the Cheshire jumps back to you. And then we send him back where he came from. Is that clear?"

    Donna glowers down at him a few moments, then turns away. More quietly, she says "It's up to you, Terry. Either you just go on feeling sorry for yourself and telling yourself how useless you are, or you learn from your mistakes and move on. I've tried to offer this team some leadership because I thought that's what was needed right now, but if you guys have no interest in listening to me, there's really not much point in that, is there? You're supposed to be one of the smart ones. Someone who can think outside the box and bring a different perspective to the team. That's not much good if you are going to insist on not thinking /at all/, is it? Or if you just ignore the fact that we are supposed to be a team, and keep trying to do everything on your own?"

    She walks over to where she'd been sitting on the sofa, picks up her own jacket, and steps away again, without tripping over any cans. She's not storming out, which helps, but she is striding purposefully towards the elevators. "Do some thinking Terry, and make up your mind whether you think it's 'Titans Together' or not. If you - and Gar, and Robin - decide this /team/ is worth something after all, maybe you can let me know. I'll be at the embassy."

    She hammers the elevator call button and turns to Wally, an apologetic smile on her face. "Seeya soon Wally," she tells him. "Cait left a batch of Snacky Shakes in the fridge if you're hungry."

Wally West has posed:
Wally was not expecting to need to run at that moment. He did feel Donna start to move, and he swears that he /could/ have caught up to her ... he just didn't want to upstage her when she clearly had everything under control. Thats it. Nobody can actually beat him in a race. especially not someone without the speedforce. That would be kind of embarassing. His remaining seated was absolutely a conscious choice. Definately.

"Well it is getting to that time isn't it?" He slugs down a large shake before most would even know he had moved, much less opened the fridge. He has a good little jaunt home to kansas to look forward to. "I hope to hear from you, Donna. I also want to hear from you, Terry. Try me next time. You never know your luck." He winks. He downs another shake and now he is in his costume. He offers everybody a hug and gets ready to leave.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Donna explodes, and Wally says goodnight. Terry slowly gets back up on his feet, as if a four hundred pound weight were weighing him down. He seems to struggle to find the right words, andhe doesn't seem to until the elevator doors open.

"I didn't... I didn't mean for this to happen. I freaked out. I was afraid... 'cause he got my mother. And Gar is pissed at me and left me there..."

He trails off. Now that it has dissipated, it's apparent that the anger was covering for embarrassment. He stays silent for a second, and then says very quietly, "I guess I should go to the Planet," he mutters, "Turn my stuff in." The twenty or so days worth of material he had worked on while inside Nadia's lab. Lois would be waiting for it. Even at this point in the evening.

And he'll probably crash in the break lounge- too embarrassed to face Gar or come back here, and his mother's place being compromised.

It wasn't as if he himself hadn't found Lois asleep there a few times already. It'd fit in, with the Planet's fauna. After all, he was back to just being Terry O'Neil, cub reporter.

Donna Troy has posed:
    Donna would swear that to the contrary she /could/ beat Wally in a race of up to four feet in length, so long as Wally didn't cheat by vibrating his molecules up to speed before the race started, but she wouldn't swear it out loud. Partially because she wouldn't want to hurt his feelings, and partially because it's a fairly lame claim when you think about it.

    On the other hand, Wally could probably win the three foot race by distracting her with the offer of a hug just as the starter's gun went off, because Donna's not one to refuse a hug. She returns the gesture with a warm smile, then turns her eyes on the defeated-looking form of Terry, who would be slinking away with his tail between his legs, if only he hadn't given his tail away to his doppelganger.

    Donna sighs softly and shakes her head. "Come on Terry, I'll give you a ride to the planet. It's a bit of a walk for someone who doesn't have rabbit holes." She may be annoyed at him, but she /is/ Donna, and it's an obvious peace offering.