4913/Bullish on Crime Fighting

Bullish on Crime Fighting
Date of Scene:	28 January 2021
Location:	Main Room - Titan's Tower
Synopsis:	Mary and Kate return to the tower to discuss bull-fighting. Wally, Donna, Terry and Kian show up, and drama ensues. Especially right at the end.
Cast of Characters:	Mary Bromfield, Kate Bishop, Wally West, Donna Troy, Terry O'Neil, Kian

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Mary Bromfield has posed:
    Up the elevator shaft comes Mary, now clad in the distinctive white uniform rather than the more traditional red one, going at a modest pace due to the presence of her passenger.  She touches down just inside the room and sets Kate down without fuss, still grinning a little.  "They really are coming up with the worst gimmicks these days," she opines, with a shake of her head.  "I thought the calendar guy was pretty bad, but 'The Matador'?  What was he thinking?  I mean, at least if had a talking bull sidekick, that would be something, but…."  A rueful smile, and she admits: "I guess I shouldn't complain.  Better a guy in a dorky costume trying to hold up a party supply store than someone really trying to hurt people."

Kate Bishop has posed:
    Kate laughs and shakes off a little, checking to make sure her quiver is still full of arrows and nothing has been shed in the flight back from Metropolis to Titan's tower.  She isn't naturally a flier, and even though she has drilled a lot for being a passenger in the danger room and in the field, she still worries about losing gear since her costume isn't perfect for flying.
    Gear check done she looks up and grins.  "Calendar Man is bad, I mean like phenomally bad as a name.  The actual villain though is one of those Gotham sociopaths and I wouldn't trust him not to go on a murder spree.  At least this Matador guy seemed to have…"  She clears her throat.  "The Strength of a Bull!"  mimicking the dude's accent.  "He was also pretty okay with a sword… I mean not good enough but you know not bad."
    Ducking into the kitchen area "Want anything to drink?"  Pause.  "I bet Matador could team up with Man-Bull."  Yup, real villain.  'Nuff said.

Mary Bromfield has posed:
    Unless it's a dire emergency, Mary usually makes an effort to go at a tolerably low speed—but things do sometimes go missing, so it's probably better safe than sorry.  "Well," she has to concede, "you have a point about the Gotham guys, I guess.  If you didn't know anything else about someone calling himself 'The Joker' you probably wouldn't think he was too much to worry about, either, instead of…."  And she mimes a dramatic shiver that's probably only partly feigned.
    "The cape was pretty stylish, too," she says, looking out the south wall over the bay, "although I admit I'm a little bit biased toward capes, so my judgment might not be the best."  She and Kate have just come in, presumably fresh from some not particularly strenuous crime-fighting, and Mary requests: "Just a glass of orange juice would be great?  If it's no trouble.  Oh, I'd like to see that team-up.  Or the other guy, the one with the bull head helmet, what was his name?"

Kate Bishop has posed:
    "Exactly…."  she trails off shaking her head.  "I happily leave the Gotham villains in Gotham and to the Bat clan.  They seem crazy extra AF enough to deal with that madness so… well they are totally welcome to it.  Joker is their problem.
    She roots around in the fridge and gets an energy drink out and laughs.  "Capes have always struck me as a really bad idea."  she sets her drink down and gets a glass of OJ poured out for Mary next.  "I mean unless you are like… you… Supergirl… Superman with the whole invulnerability thing.  Capes seem like an easy way for the rest of us to be snagged and then thrown into a wall or choked out."
    She thinks about it.  "Bull helmet… gods which one is that.  Definitely not the minotaur I know though, he is an amazing chef…."

Mary Bromfield has posed:
    "Thanks!" Mary says, with a bright smile, when she gets her (sigh) orange juice.  Well, at least it's as bright and sunny as her disposition, or… something like that.  "I think maybe it sort of depends on why you have it.  Capes, I mean.  Like, if it's just decorative then maybe that's not such a great idea unless you're awfully tough.  But maybe if you're like trained to use it as a distraction or to confuse the bad guys… Batman has one, so there must be a good reason for it."
    "I forget his name.  Had an all red outfit, bull horn helmet, it was some super obvious no-brainer name like 'Taurus' or 'El Toro' or something.  Actually El Toro and The Matador would be a natural team, right?"  She then admits, "Also, my cape snaps off pretty easy if someone tries to swing me around by it.  So not usually too hazardous."

Wally West has posed:
    Wally arrives just in time to hear the last round of comments.  He is still in his speedster costume, and he is completely down for capeless costume apreciation.
    "Yeah, who needs a cape?"  He pops down with a bowl of chips that appears in his hands as a cupboard door shuts behind him.  "I think they look kind of silly on most people anyway.  The sleek look is waaay better."  That said he isn't thaaat much of a hater "Not trying to cast shade on anyone's style.  You look fine Mary."
    The comments on the bull theme have him on a different track.  "Are bulls the in thing now?  Maybe I should swich back to the yellow threads, or maybe I should keep the red so they focus on me?  What do yall think?"  A little bit of kansas comes out now.
    He remembers that there was something about a fight earlier as well.  "So I heard somebody got in a fight earlier.  Nobody looks injured, so I wanna hear all the details."

Donna Troy has posed:
    "Not one of the gods—that was Idomeneus of Crete with the bull helmet."  Trust Donna to misinterpret Kate's words in that way, though to be fair she can't have heard that much of the conversation as she flew up the empty elevator shaft.
    She walks over to the sofa and drops into it with an "Oof," stretching her neck from side to side.  "Hey you three.  Anything exciting going on?" she asks, turning to regard the pair of young Titans.  "Who got in a fight?  I mean apart from all of us, all the time, because that's what we do.  Rae and I were dealing with demons in Gotham last night.  That was a fun time.  There was an asteroid, too."
    Donna folds her arms behind her head and leans back.  "I liked the yellow, Wally.  But the red suits you too.  Speedsters definitely shouldn't wear capes though, it would look silly."

Kate Bishop has posed:
    "We fought an idiot named…" she clears her throat.  "The Matador, with the Strength!  OF a Bull!"  which is done in her best Spanaird style accent.  "It was hilarious.  Mostly we were trying to remember what sort of Bull Themed side kicks he could hook up with… Though I still don't know why he was robbing a party supply depot…."
    She glances at Donna "Honestly I am not sure I wold call it a fight.  I mean…" she gestures at Mary with amusement.  "It was kind of one sided… though I did get to sword fight him a bit.  He was… eh okay."  A shrug.
    The top of her energy drink is popped and she sips it now.
    "So Troia what is your opinion on capes.  I think they are dangerous to wear."  A glance at Mary.  "Even if they breakaway… which Robin's totally does… could still be used to tangle you up or a weapon against you.  Though yeah I know they weaponize it and use it for misdirection… aaaall the time."
    There is a pause "The cape on a speedster would make this tbtbttbtttt high speed noise I imagine… like zzZzzz.  As for Demons in Gotham… I refer back to what I told MM here.  Leave Gotham to the Bats."

Mary Bromfield has posed:
    "None taken," Mary assures Wally with a smile.  "You're not wrong!  I'd just rather not look too sleek.  I know it works for lots of people, it's just, I'd feel a little uncomfortable."  She's blushing slightly, but she's quick to add: "And you should definitely stay red, I think.  It makes you go faster, right?"  A wink.
    "This guy was definitely not on the level of demons in Gotham," she agrees.  "He was about one notch above an ordinary guy in a funny outfit.  But the outfit was pretty well done, I'll give him that.  He even had the little… sideways hat thing, whatever they call that."

Wally West has posed:
    Wally turns to Donna.  "Yeah, capes are supposed to be hanging down most of the time, not permanently jutting out horizontally."  He turns back "I once ran with a table cloth.  It mostly couldn't be heard over the wind noise anyway.  That said, It would be hilarious if I was running around with a cape that was making lout flapping noises the whole time."
    "Demons?  In gotham?  That must have been interesting."  He goes back for a drink and returns in more casual clothes—Jeans and a Titans (tm) branded t-shirt.  "Maybe if a bull themed villain is trying to team up, they should team up with a horse themed villain and some other barnyard animal themed reprobate.  That way they actually add to the theme.  Think about it—The Barnyard Banditos!  Think of the merchandising.  Maybe they egg the mayors mansion or assassinate someone by dropping 20 tons of milk on them."

Donna Troy has posed:
    "Oh yeah, you definitely leave Gotham to the Bats," Donna agrees, yawning slightly.  "They get upset when people with powers start interfering, and believe me, Batman has a powerful glare.  This was kind of a special occasion though, he actually called for help due to the whole magic summonings and hordes of demons thing.  When he invites you in, it's okay.  You don't get the glare.  He actually said 'thank you', which might have been scarier than the demons."
    Donna turns to Kate with a smile.  "Capes—well if you're stronger than the cape, it's not really an issue, is it?  Thunderbolt here wears a nice short cape that's not really going to get in the way.  Personally I wouldn't want to fight in a bat-cape, but it's part of the theater and that's important if you do things his way.  A long cloak can be a useful travel accessory, but really the sensible people drop theirs before going into battle.
    "Did I ever show you guys the cloak I got when we were trapped in space?  My armor took quite a beating and I had to give up on it, but I got given a cloak that used to belong to a space pirate.  It's really weird.  When we were inside the singularity it was completely black, pretty much the blackest fabric you ever saw.  I was thinking Batman would probably love it.  But when we returned to normal space, it lit up with a spray of faintly luminous stars.  Terry thinks it's a star map.  I'm pretty sure it's magical."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
    And look at what the cat dragged in.  The elevator open and Terry walks out, carrying a duffel bag slung over his shoulder.  It takes him a second or two to notice there are actually people in the common room because he's looking down as he walks, two earbuds plugged into his ears and playing some music.  The phone to which those earbuds are attached is tucked in his jean pockets, and he's clad in a roller neck sweater in a tone of russet that is inadvisable, as it makes him look like a walking flame due to his hair and complexion.
    He stops dead in his tracks when he notices there's people, and he gives the cord a quick, hard tug, causing the earbuds to pop up.  Terry winces.  His ear canals were just small enough to be 'too small' for earbuds to fit comfortably, and so it was always somewhat painful when he had to pull something out too quickly out of an all-to-small aperture.  He'd purchased special earbuds that supposedly took care of this hassle.  They lied.
    "Oh.  Hey.  Don't mind me," he says in a very quiet and subdued tone, one hand rubbing his ear while the other fishes for his phone to stop the music, the very faint sound of Thomas Tallis coming out of the earbuds.  "Just came to grab some stuff."  He gives a wave and circumnavigates towards the kitchen area, setting the duffel bag on the counter and opening the refrigerator.

Kate Bishop has posed:
    "For some reason I have a hard time picturing Batman thanking someone…" she considers.  "Well at least he is polite I guess.  Never met him truth be told."
    "Also no Troia… I have not seen your magick space pirate cloak…" she grins "Did anyone else come back with loot?"  She auses a beat.  "I know Terry didn't come back with common sense…" teasing.  She has to.  For christ sakes Terry.
    She is watching him a wee bit concerned, it didn't stop her teasing though.

Mary Bromfield has posed:
    "I'm pretty sure there was a whole animal-themed villain gang a while back.  Just can't remember the details," Mary says, although fortunately she doesn't sound too disappointed that she can't.  "And while I've never been glared at by Batman yet, I don't need the Wisdom of Solomon to know I want to keep it that way.  I don't think you need the wisdom of anybody… well, anybody who has more wisdom than the average Gotham villain, anyway."
    Sipping orange juice, she listens to Donna and Kate discuss capes, telling the former: "I don't think I've seen it, either—I'm sure I'd remember something like that."  A moment later she hops up to sit on the counter by Terry's duffel, telling its owner: "Hi, you!  Doing okay?  I mean, all things considered?"  She's still cheerful (she's not dead, after all), but there's an undertone of concern in there all the same.

Wally West has posed:
    "He said thank you?  Yeesh.  Are we sure he isn't a doppel?"
    "What it isn't pitch black?  Oh wow that is just too bad.  You were going to give it to batman, but unfourtunately it is far too fabulous for him.  I suppose you have no choice but to keep it for yourself."  Beat.  "Also capes can be cozy.  Its basically a blanket on your shoulders."
    "Nah, I went to space once and the best I could do was an Apokolips snowglobe."
    He turns to Terry.  "Are you sure you wanna move out fully?  Are your powers actually gone forever?  Otherwise, it seems silly to take everything outta here when we still might be able to get you back together in the nearish future."  Hopefully optimism is what the doctor ordered.

Donna Troy has posed:
    "Terry got a flashlight that shows things the way they aren't, which is exactly as odd as you would think," Donna says, smirking in Terry's direction.  "Seeing as he is Terry.  Vic brought back a few items of alien technology, which of course he immediately integrated into his chassis, because that's what Vic does.  Cait got something along those lines too, but she didn't try to ins… she uh… I don't know what she's done with it.  It's a reality compass, which generally speaking points away from Terry.  I got a nice warm cloak.  I'll show it to you guys, it's pretty cool."
    Donna vaults over the back of the sofa and makes her way to the stairs up to the women's dorm corridor.  "Hey Terry.  Get your articles filed with Lois?" she asks conversationally as she goes.  "She must have been impressed at how much you got done, can't be too many interns who can put in a month's worth of writing overnight."  It's probably a more conversational tone than Terry was expecting.
    Donna is gone only a few seconds before she's back and descending the stairs again, a bolt of material slung over one arm that's deep black and covered in countless dots of light.  In the bright lighting of the tower's common room, the stars don't really seem to glow, but the pattern is certainly reminiscent of those deep sky photographs from Hubble that show the sky filled with stars in a way you never really see from Earth, and only sometimes see when you're in space when there's nothing else bright in your field of view.
    "There," she says, spreading it out over the back of the sofa for people to see.  "And yeah, blanket over your shoulders is about right.  Which is why they make great travel accessories, but poor combat accessories.  I've slept under a cloak a few times."
    Donna tilts her head to stare a moment at Wally and then at Terry.  "Oh… no, Terry's powers haven't gone forever, they're just being a bit disloyal.  We just need to evict the Cheshire Cat from his doppelganger's body and then Terry should be able to reclaim them.  It's an inconvenience, but we'll get it sorted out."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
    "I gave the flashlight to Harley," Terry says, in that semi-monotone, "She used it to confuse some smugglers."
    Glancing over at Mary, he nods slowly as he looks back at the refrigerator, "I'm peachy," he says, pulling out a jar of peach nectar juice and serves himself a glass of the nectar, "Couldn't be better," Terry says, with uncharacteristic parsimony, his eyes looking around the room.  "Can't say what Lois thinks, she said she'd look it over the weekend and let me know what I screwed up."
    Draining the first glass, he serves himself another, "Figured I'm not much use around here, so I'm going on stakeout.  Might as well do the only job I can do before I lose that one too."
    He moves over to the sink to rinse the glass.  Nobody likes sticky sugary glasses.

Kate Bishop has posed:
    "DoppleBatman is nightmare fuel…."
    "Well… I suppose the chaos clown and the chaos flashlight makes sense.  I still don't see what people see in Harley… no matter what Diana has said."  she really has a thing there, her first meeting with Harley left a deep impression on the archer from her fledgling crime fighting early days.
    She watches Terry truck around though very thoughtful.  "Hm.  I think the Cat was always part of you Terry… you just didn't know it."  she sips her energy drink.  "It is like you kissed a boy with Mono… or have had all the color drained out of you now."
    She looks to Donna "Okay we need to fix this, it isn't funny…."

Mary Bromfield has posed:
    "Oh, that is neat," Mary says, when Donna returns with the cool starry… er, cloak.  "Space is apparently way more full of neat things than I thought it would be.  I'm totally going the next chance I get."
    But… the wonder kind of leaves her expression when she sees how hard the situation seems to be hitting Terry, smile melting away into a small frown.  "She's right," is the first thing out of her mouth after Kate speaks up; she's nodding agreement with the archer, her jaw set in that there-is-an-injustice-that-must-be-fixed sort of way.  "I… wish I had the foggiest idea how to, but there's got to be some way to put things right."  This is apparently a source of some embarrassment to her, given the discomfort in her expression.

Wally West has posed:
    Wally sighs.  This again.  "Look.  Terry.  I get thet things suck right now, but we have a plan, remember?  We have that device that can track your doppel if he teleports.  We are going to find him.  We are going to fix this."  He appears at a sink full of suds with the dishes washed.
    "Well I got stuff to do tonite at home, so I will head out.  Don't let Terry do anything drastic while I am gone."  He appears in his costume again and hands out hugs to everybody who wants em.  "Well it was nice seeing you Mary and Hawk, I hope to see you all again."  He then zips out.

Donna Troy has posed:
    Donna tilts her head towards Terry and mutters "Hera give me strength."  She turns to look back down at the cloak for a moment before resuming staring at Terry.  "Terry.  Were you not listening to what I was saying the other day?  'Not much use around here'?  You're the Cheshire expert.  You're supposed to be working with the team…" she puts a notable emphasis on the word "…to figure out how to get the better of your opposite number.  You're the one who knows how the powers work, so you're the one who has the insight into how to deal with those powers.  Right now your priority is helping us come up with a plan, remember?  We can track him when he teleports, but we need to figure out how to stop him just teleporting away the moment we try to pounce."
    Donna gets up to give Wally a hug on his way out, and when that's done she turns to Kate with a thoughtful expression.  "What's more, I'm not happy with how prepared Terry is for being without his powers.  Kate, would you mind?  He could use some specialized training."
    Donna picks up her cloak again, folding it away as she grins to Mary.  "It's not that long since you were in space Mary, it's just we were kind of occupied with things and didn't get much of a chance for sight-seeing.  Next time, you're welcome to my place though.  I've seen enough and could do with a bit of time on Earth for a change!"

Terry O'Neil has posed:
    "There's nothing to fix.  I'm just fine."  This is a line that normally would have been delivered with some emphasis.  It isn't.  There's something slightly off about Terry—his movements arent't exactly sluggish, but they are less energetic, and although his appearance hasn't altered drastically, there's a touch more of pallor to him.  A slightly duller green to his eyes.  "The cat was always a part of me from the moment I was born, Kate, but I don't see what that has to do with anything."
    He glances at Donna, leaning against the counter, "You know as much as I do about his powers.  The Rabbit Hole responds to will.  He thinks of it, up it comes.  Long distance ones require focus, so if you want to stop him from getting away… keep him too busy to focus.  But he can still open short-range line-of-sight ones, which he can chain up.  Those don't need any focus, so…."  He shrugs.
    "Animating objects requires him to be touching them.  Illusions—well, you were there."
    He shrugs again, "I've no clue how the fuck he does the thing with the sword.  I never did, except when I almost murdered Gar's doppel."
    He rubs his forehead and looks at Kate.  "I've got no powers and no week-long training is going to make me useful.  You'd be wasting time training me that you could spend on capturing our doubles."

Kian has posed:
    The flutter of large wings coming down the open shaft generally means Kían is on a Kool-Ade run, and he comes flitting out in quest thereof, waving in the direcion of the gathered, and touching down lightly—wait, what?
    He diverts course from the fridge to land about a meter from Terry—the only thing he caught was the last part, about no powers.  "Tavárik'h, no, you haf only los' half your powers, an' we talk about how to get them all back, remember, yis?  You will be whole again.  Like Gar."

Kate Bishop has posed:
    Kate says dryly, "My pleasure," to Donna about training the powerless Terry.  "Honestly I think it would be ideal to strip people of their advantages and powers even if we have to use the danger room to cheat and hamper… just for situations exactly like this."
    "Also I don't have a double as far as I can tell Terry…."  She sighs there and sips her drink looking to Donna then back to Terry.  "Seriously it is like your animating force has been removed… how exactly did your dopple get all of the cheshire cat anyhow?"  She resists "you idiot" there.
    She looks to Kian.  "Uh no he evidently lost the other half now too."

Donna Troy has posed:
    Donna looks at Terry incredulously.  "So what, your plan was to just leave it to everyone else to sort it out?" she asks.  She stares at him for a few moments, then looks away, shaking her head.  "No.  You are a Titan.  We fix our mistakes.  Together.  And you will do the training, because it may help keep you alive.  If not this time, then maybe later."  She nods her head towards Kate.  "See, she gets it.  You need this anyway, it's just more urgent right now.  We are not letting you get yourself killed, is that understood?"
    Donna gives a wave to Kian and sits back down on the sofa, the cloak folded in her arms.  "Terry… please, for once, how about listening to what I'm saying?" she says with a sigh.  "I mean just on the basis that not listening to what I was saying is how you got into this situation in the first place, maybe it's worth a try?"
    She unfolds the cloak again, just enough to show an expanse of the fabric to stare at studiously.  "You know, if this is a star map, Kian's world might be on it somewhere.  Unfortunately it doesn't seem to have come with a map key."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
    "I'm fine, Kate.  I'm fine.  I just… I'm getting a cold or something.  I'm just feeling off."  And sounds off.  And looks off.  "I've been feeling under the weather since last night.  Maybe I caught something sleeping at the Planet."
    He looks away, avoiding Kian's eyes when he says, "Kate's right… I lost all of it.  To him.  And Gar is pissed at me."
    That's the first hint of intonation that breaks the near-monotone he has maintained up to this point.  And then he sighs and looks at Donna.
    "Fine.  I'll do as you ask.  I wish you'd—"  he stops himself, and then pours himself some more water.  "It's not that I don't respect you, Donna.  I moved under fear and I made mistakes.  I can accept that.  But I already feel enough like shit already without adding you and Gar rubbing my nose on the carpet.  It makes me want to…."  He trails off.  It really is rather strange to hear him speaking with so little inflection.

Kian has posed:
    Kían just stares at Terry for a second, then at Kate, then at Donna.  Briefly, he touches Terry's shoulder, just to verify this is the right Terry, and snatches his hand away and backs up a step.  "I thought we had a plan," he says, very calmly.  "I think you mus' have gone off on your own for some-thin' an' face him?  That iss a Terry thin' to do, yis."
    He sounds… well, if he's mad, it's a very controlled sort of mad.  Angry Birds: Akiár Edition is apparently more of a casual game.  "Firs' thing.  Remember what I tol' Gar: you can not change the pas', you can only accep' it an' think of a way to not let it happen again.  I can do dream work wit' you like I did for him."
    He sighs heavily.  "An' secon' thin' is you do not make plans now.  You throw out plans wit'out warnin' people.  Donna make plans.  You listen to her, yis?"
    At least Kían gets practical when he gets angry.  Truth be told, though, he looks more unhappy than actually mad.

Kate Bishop has posed:
    "Kían is right and you should probably buddy up more than anyone right now.  Your dopple has to be able to figure out you work at the Planet… he could off you now way too easily.  Though he is a cat… he may just toy with you for a good while first."  she frowns.
    "Does them rubbing your nose in it make you… wanna go nuts?"  Maybe she is hoping there is some spark of emotion in him.  Though it is probably something Kían or Gar would need to draw out of him.
    She sips her drink though and shakes her head.  "Ugh… please listen to your friends and loved ones Terry… they only are trying to help you and give you marchin' orders because they care about you.  Well except Rae…."

Donna Troy has posed:
    "'Rubbing your nose…'?"  Donna stares at Terry incredulously for a few moments, then turns back to her cloak, folding and unfolding it to look at different sections of the pattern.  "Gods, seriously?  You really think that's what…?  Get your head out of ass, Terry."
    It's not exactly a typical way of speaking for the Amazon.  Must be a doppelganger.  Donna focuses intently on the starry fabric.
    "Including Rae," she says quietly.  "Rae cares, she just doesn't like people knowing it.  She's not going to forget what you three did back at the beginning of all this, you know.  When all this started and you three put your lives on the line to try to help her.  The Titans means a lot more to Rae than you realize.  The fact that there were new Titans there, working together, looking out for each other… being a team.  That alone was a big part of the reason we won.  You gave her hope that there was a future."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
    "He kidnapped my mother, Kian.  And gave me an hour.  I panicked," he fills Kian in, "I didn't have a cockeyed plan to do this by myself.  Everybody's talking like I didn't have the only family I have left threatened for the first time in my life."
    There it stirs, a slight ember of emotion, faint though it may be.  "Your mother is an immortal warrior goddess, have you ever gone through that?" he says to Donna.  He glances at Kate, and says nothing.  Then he glances at Kian, and adds, "This came right off from watching my boyfriend get torn to shreds and then believing he was dead.  And then trying to help him get through that.  You all may be old hats at this, but I'm not.  And I don't have the benefit of having grown up among Amazons or wealth or telepaths and perfectly calm people.  I was surrounded by fucking nuns who made me feel like shit because I was never good enough.  Never bright enough.  Never serious enough."
    He slams his hand on the counter.  It isn't a big slam, rather it's something on the anemic side.  "And my mom worked so hard to get me into that goddamned school, I wasn't going to tell her this… mess that I am hated it there every minute."
    He exhales and closes his eyes.  "… why am I even talking about any of this?  You're right.  Kian's right.  I'll do as I'm told, and I won't move until I'm told to move."
    He opens his eyes and looks at the duffel bag.  "After the stakeout.  I still have a job to do."

Kate Bishop has posed:
    Kate rubs her face.  "Terry.  IF someone is threatening any of our families even on the clock.  For gods sake call the team for backup.  We literally have three people with superspeed that move faster than even you with your Cheshire-Cat-Dom powers can see… like woosh… hostage rescued."
    Deep breath Kate.
    "That said.  This is done.  No need beating a dead cat.  We need to make sure you are safe to get your powers back and we need to figure out how to do it… probably tranqs and superspeed before he can rabbithole."  she cracks her neck.
    "I fought a stupid Matador themed villain tonight.  I need a shower.  I'll talk to you all later."  heading to the dorms now.

Kian has posed:
    "c'Rhys'yw," Kían breathes.  "Terry.  Tavárik'h.  All I am going to say is that you coul' haf call me."  He pats the T-Comm at his belt.  "We talk about what we woul' do if we met your double.  I can not even think how I woul' reac' if someone threaten q'chal… threaten any of my chal'yw, my parents.  It iss not possible where I am from.  But I hope that I woul' not go off on my own, with or without my rhy'thar."
    He adds, with emphasis, "I know what happen to your tenár, Terry.  I was there in Nadia's castle wit' you.  All three of us were in the healing dream together.  I saw what happen to Gar too.  An' you are not going to say this is normal for me.  I am calm because panickin' solves nothin'.  An' I do not know what a 'nun' is, but I don't think there are any here.  Has anyone here not jus' take you for who you are?"
    He catches the glance at the duffel bag, and positions himself between it and Terry.  "You are not alone, and you are not goin' anywhere alone.  Not tonight, not now.  I will watch over you."

Donna Troy has posed:
    Donna keeps her eyes on the fabric, but her ears on the conversation.  "Later, Kate.  Enjoy your shower, and don't worry about that extra training just yet.  That can happen tomorrow, go relax.  Any more bull-themed crimes happen, the rest of us will deal with them."
    When Kate is out of the way and the sounds of a shower can be heard, at least to sensitive Amazonian ears, Donna briefly tilts her head towards Kian, then looks over at Terry again.  "As Kian said, you have a T-Com.  And maybe next time you think about opening your mouth to tell everyone how hard you have it, you should consider what you just said about Kate, who can't even tell her parents what she does, because they are don't give her the love, trust and security your mom does.  You think her family being rich makes up for that?  Or Kian, who is stuck here unknown light-years from his entire family and planet?  Neither of them is any more an 'old hat' at this than you are.  I think you owe them both an apology, Terry."
    Donna looks away again, folding up her cloak and slinging it over her shoulder.  "My family gets threatened every day, Terry.  Every single day any one of you goes out there and risks their life to help save people, my family is threatened."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
    "I'm not thinking straight.  I haven't been since it happened."  Terry bites his lip, "Every day it's been more and more like I'm watching a movie instead of being in it.  And that should scare me, but it doesn't."
    He toys with the handle of his duffel bag.  "It doesn't.  And that, again, should scare me but it doesn't.  And I'm not sorry about how insensitive I just was.  But I know I should be.  I just can't feel it."
    He frowns a little.  "It's like my connection to everybody's just…"  He waves a hand in a vague gesture.  "…shut off.  I remember it starting yesterday night.  I caught myself thinking to myself that I didn't care about Robin and my only consideration for him was insofar as he was useful to the team."  He pauses.  "And that sounded sociopathic.  And it's gotten worse, like a cloud that's settling inside me."
    "Maybe when I lost half of my powers, I lost half of something else.  And now… all of it is gone."
    He looks from Kian to Donna.  "And I'm an asshole.  Apparently."

Kian has posed:
    "Tavárik'h, of course you are not thinkin' clearly.  Think what you haf been through in the last month… days… c'Rhys'yw.  That time in Nadia's castle has confuse my sense of time.  You know what I mean, I think."  Kían's eyes gleam.  "But never tell me you are not connect to us," he says, and lightning-fast, grabs Terry's wrist, and Donna's.
    {You're connected to all of us.  Donna is your tavár.  I am your tavárik.  And Gar is your tenár.  I won't let you give up your connection to me without a fight, and that's nothing to what Gar will do to hold on to you.  We're family, by friendship, deep friendship, or love.}
    He locks eyes with Terry.  {I dare you do test me on that.  I am peaceful.  I am not weak.}

Donna Troy has posed:
    "You're not an asshole Terry, you're hurting."  Donna sighs again, folding the cloak fully and setting it down beside her before she stands to face him.  "You're filled with doubts and self-recrimination and you're hiding away from them by trying not to feel anything.  That's why you are being so defensive.  It's not helping."
    {You've lost something that you have come to rely on, but you can rely on the people who love you too, so long as you do not push them away like you have been doing.  Your mistake was our mistake, because we are all in this family, all a part of it.  It is my mistake because I thought I had made it clear to you what needed to be done, but I was wrong.  Your pain is our pain too, and it hurts all the more because when you chose to act alone, you shut us out.  You didn't turn to us.  You treated us like we were not your family.}
    Words segue easily into thoughts as the mental connection forms, but here in this realm of memory there is always more than the words, more than the conscious thoughts of the Amazon intends to reveal.  There is the sensation of pain too, a sympathetic pain for Terry's own, but overlaid with an odd sense of disappointment with herself.  There is a sharp awareness of how much Terry's thoughtless words about Kate and Kian were felt by Donna, who feels a deep admiration for Kate's bravery in the face of a family that she has to keep secrets from, and a deep sympathy for Kian's plight.  There is the odd realization that Donna has a strange sympathy for Terry's admission of his struggles with self-worth, a reflection of the fact that Donna had spent her childhood on an island filled with ultra-competent superwomen who have trained for millennia longer than she has.
    There is a feeling of betrayal.  Not a betrayal of herself, but the sense that she feels that Terry has betrayed himself.  That she is disappointed in Terry, not so much for his actions, as that she is struggling to reconcile the strong faith she has in him with his actions of the last few days—and she blames herself for it.
    There is, almost overwhelmingly, a sense of duty.  Duty to Themyscira, duty to the Titans.  Duty to two families that have adopted her.  A duty that fills her every waking moment and drives her with a ferocious intensity.
    Donna feels she is sharing too much, and snatches her wrist away, stepping to the side.  She folds her arms, frowning, and says nothing.  Her phone bleeps.
    Donna takes a deep breath, shakes her head, and walks back to the sofa, pulling her phone out to check her message.  She stops suddenly in her tracks.
    When she turns back, her face is shockingly pale.  "I… I have to go.  If anything… anything happens, send me a message.  I may be a few days.  Tell Rae.  That was Adrastea."  She puts the phone away, and moves quickly to the empty elevator shaft.
    "Diana's… Diana's hurt.  It's serious."
    Donna disappears up the elevator shaft.  Moments later the loud rumbling boom of a supersonic shockwave shakes the tower.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
    Terry is overwhelmed, and he clearly doesn't know how to answer, or process, everything right away.
    But he doesn't really get a chance to do so.
    No sooner has Donna sonic boomed away that he turns around and leaps into the air-
    And crashes into the counter.  He had momentarily forgotten that he didn't have his Rabbit Holes.  Old habits die hard.
    "We need to get—" Terry says, suddenly springing towards the dorms.  And stops.  Kate would be showering.  He turns around and grabs Kian by the wrist.  "Let's go to the Embassy!  Send Kate a message over the comms, I left mine in Gar's room…."
    He remembers something else, too.  "Garage.  There's a motorcycle down there.  I'll drive."