5078/Themyscira: Vigil for Diana

Themyscira: Vigil for Diana
Date of Scene:	08 February 2021
Location:	Hall of Justice, Medical Wing
Synopsis:	Donna, Caitlin, Terry, and Gar meet at Diana's bedside to discuss options for the Titans' next move.
Cast of Characters:	Caitlin Fairchild, Donna Troy, Terry O'Neil, Gar Logan

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Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
There's been a rotating number of friends and family keeping watch on Diana's bedside. No hospital would be a safe place to keep her; it would be too attractive a target to put the Princess of Themyscira in a mortal hospital. So she's billeted at the House of Justice, provided medical care by some of the best doctors in the world and constantly guarded by not just Epione and the other Amazons from the embassy, but also the constant presence of heroes and allies from around the world.

It's Caitlin's turn to sit at Diana's side. The redhead's curled up on a window bench, propped awkwardly up and snoring lightly. Periodically she opens her eyes to look over at Diana and check her phone, but then goes back to the light doze. Low top trainers, grey calf-length leggings, and a pale blue hoodie make for a comfortable and informal look for the Titan while she waits for any sign of distress or improvement from the Princess.

Donna Troy has posed:
    The door opens quietly and Donna peers in to see both Caitlin and Diana asleep, the former in the shallowest of dozes, the latter in the deepest. She smiles a little, then looks over to her shoulder to the recently re-catted Terry, and raises a finger to her lips to warn him to be quiet.

    Donna steps quietly into the room, and to Diana's bedside. She looks down at Diana for a few moments, and gently brushes a stray strand of hair from her eyes before moving a couple of chairs over to the bed. "Caitlin's either going to be sleeping very lightly and will wake any moment, or would sleep through an earthquake. You can never tell with her," she says quietly to Terry with a grin. "Let her rest though, she probably needs it. We'll tell her if she wakes, otherwise it can wait.

    Donna fetches a spare blanket from a cupboard in the room, and takes it over to the window bench to gently drape it over Caitlin's dozing form. Either it will wake her, or it'll let her sleep more comfortably.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry nods quietly and walks in after Diana. He is in his feline shape- for no other reason that it had been far too long since he'd been able to. He was himself again! Right from the start, Donna could see the difference. There was a spring in his step, and an underlying enthusiasm and optimism had appeared. Kate had been right all along... it felt like half of him had been missing all of this time.

"Roger. No sound." He's a cat, so he's naturally quiet. He's not wearing anything remotely heroic, because his outfit had been mostly destroyed in the re-merging. Not only that, his fur color had turned closer to the ginger tabby coloration, but with blood-red mane and markings. Including a 'mask' of red across his eyes and down the bridge of his nose, which had never been there before.

He was back to wearing the jeans and hoodie. At least, until he comes up with a new outfit. 'She totally out?' he mouths at Donna, gesturing to Cait.

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin stirs a little when the blanket's put on her. She inhales, then blows out a long sigh. "mmmphkay I'll meetchu unner th' waterfall," she mumbles, and shifts in place.

The presence of the blanket alerts her to the presence of others in the room and she comes to alertness with a few blinks. "Oh. Oh! Hey guys," she says, and lifts the blanket to her mouth to stifle a yawn. The redhead leans against the nook wall supporting her back. "Nothing new to report. Diana's still out. Numbers haven't changed in the last six hours." The blanket's hugged a little closer. "Oh, hey Terry," she says when she squints at Vorpal. "Looks like everything went to plan, then?" she inquires hopefully.

Donna Troy has posed:
    "Apparently not," Donna replies to Terry with a broad smile as she takes one of the seats by Diana's bed. She rolls her shoulders, then unhitches one of the lassos from her belt and places it on the bed next to Diana, and slumps back in her seat.

    Everything went to plan," she confirms. "One doppelganger down, three to go. Three /Titan/ doppelgangers, anyway. There's another four thousand something other doppelgangers out there, but luckily the vast majority of them aren't quite such a serious threat."

    "Everything went very smoothly, no unexpected twists. Our Terry has hopefully learned an important lesson about how much smoother things go if you don't forget you are part of the team, and the other Terry is depowered and safely locked away in a cell. We have strict instructions that our Terry is not allowed to visit him in case he attempts to make out with his double again. That's how he lost his powers in the first place."

    Donna waits a few moments to let Caitlin digest that before asking "So who were you planning on meeting under the waterfall, Cait?" There's no trace of a grin on her features, she's playing entirely innocent.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry is about to say something, when Donna just... rats on him like that. He pointedly avoids Caitlin's eyes and he pretends he didn't hear anything. "Oh yeah. I'm back to my usual self.... well, with a few differences." He points to his raccoon-like mask. "Gar says there's one in the shape of a 'V' down my back, but he might be pulling my leg. It's bizarre but it feels... new." He glances at his sleeve, and then he raises an eyebrow. "Waterfall rendezvous? Did you catch a re-run of Return to the Blue Lagoon?" yes, let us not talk about Terry making out with himself, let us talk about Caitlin Fairchild's suggestive dreams!

Oh, speaking of which... Terry reaches over and opens the fold of his hoodie pockets. "The coast is clear," he says. Wait, who is he talking to?

Gar Logan has posed:
"He looks weird. Weirder." It's a familiar voice, coming from within one of the pockets, in the form of a small, hidden creature. A scaly head pops up for a few seconds to look around. Green lizard. It's inconspicuous, at least. Gar takes in the sight of Diana and holds that way for a moment, then shifts attention toward Caitlin and Donna. "Hey."

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin's smiling with relieved approval as Donna relays the tale of the DoppleTerry. When the princess mentions Terry making out with his alternate self, Caitlin titters a little and puts fingertips to her mouth. It fails to hide the mirth in her eyes.

The questions about the waterfall make her eyes go wide and a bright pink touches the tips of her ears. "What? Nothing. Nevermind. What?" She gets to her feet a little quickly and starts folding up the blanket over her forearm.

"Ohhey, it's Gar! Hi Gar!" The presence of a talking green lizard doesn't phase her much. It's not even the weirdest thing Gar's disguised himself as.

Donna Troy has posed:
    Donna doesn't push Caitlin on the waterfall question, because she'd never do that, trying to embarrass her friend about such things. Never.

    Not with Gar and Terry around, anyway.

    She'll probably bring the question up again later, though.

    "It's safe to come out properly if you like Gar," she says, turning her attention away from Caitlin's ears. "It's secure here. In fact I'm kind of thinking at this point you probably no longer need to hide. That particular surprise was very handy for dealing with Terry's doppelganger, but you can hardly pretend to your doppelganger that you are really him."

    "Cassie's doppelganger is our next priority though," Donna says with a frown. "She still has Cassie's mom captive. We really ought to be putting a trip to Cambodia together to get her, but I'm kind of torn by it. I don't want to leave Cassie alone, but taking her along unpowered seems like a really bad idea."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"That's true, Donna, but Gar's doppelganger doesn't know he is alive. Gar's the element of surprise in this as well, so we should keep him well hidden out in public until we're hunting him down and ready to face him. It's safe here, Gar. There's Amazons watching our back."

The Cheshire cat raises an eyebrow. "Quick question- I know DoppelCass had Cassie's phone. Do we know if she still has it? Second- we can go to Cambodia in a /second/. Rae is no longer the only teleporter of the team now."

Gar Logan has posed:
Gar Logan slides out of the pocket and assumes his normal form, in the new costume that was given to him around Christmas. Bare arms, legs exposed from about the knees down. There just hadn't been many chances to see it in the wake of the attack. He rubs the back of his neck. "Yeah, I think it's still a bad idea to be out there in the open just yet. /He/ thinks I'm still dead. You saw how surprised the other Terry was when he found out the truth. When the other me finds out what happened, he's probably gonna want to attack even more so we should be ready to set a trap for him, too. I'll be able to surprise him because he won't be expecting me."

He's quiet about the Cassie thing - he'd not been there for the attack - and he gives Diana another look before returning his attention to the Titans with him.

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin sobers up when talk shifts to Cassie, and she stands with the other Titans in their loose square. The partially folded blanket is put across Diana's legs. "I'm pretty sure me and Donna can handle Evil Cassie," Caitlin points out. She nods in solidarity at the princess. "I'm not saying I want to do it with the two of us-- I'd rather have some backup." Diana's given a wistful glance.

"But Evil Gar, on the other hand, that's... well, no one knows better than you, what you're capable of," Caitlin tells Garfield. She gives his shoulder a sisterly squeeze. "I think you're better equipped than anyone else to know what he's thinking, and what moves he might make next."

Donna Troy has posed:
    "I'm not sure of that," Donna says, giving Terry the side-eye. "These doppelgangers have lead very different lives to the people in our world. Assuming they will think the same is a potential trap we have to be careful not to fall into. And so far Terry's done a good job of being outwitted by his own double."

    Just because the cat is back now doesn't mean Terry's heard the end of it. While there is still heat in the universe, Terry will go on hearing of it.

    "There are any number of ways we can surprise your double, Gar. That particular surprise isn't necessarily the one we should be trying to pull off. I'm wary of trying to play the same cards twice. However, as you say - set a trap for him. And he's going to want to finish the job. So letting him know you're still alive is probably the best way to set a trap for him."

    Donna's eyes move over to Diana, sleeping peacefully. "Diana wasn't able to handle Evil Cassie," she points out to Caitlin. "Not when she was taken by surprise. I was pretty convinced that Vic, Banshee, Thunderbolt and I would make quick work of her, but we weren't expecting her to bring along a gang of zombies. She's resourceful. That armor she's wearing -- from what we've been able to discover, it's something constructed by alien sorcerers. She found it in Cambodia, and when she turned up in our world she was resourceful enough to go and check if it existed in our world too, and give the second copy to her sleezy boyfriend to wear."

    "On the other hand, we've seen her fight now. She's all brute force, no Amazon training there. And we know that getting that armor off her will weaken her. We don't know if she has powers without the armor, but our Cassie without the benefits of her training would not be a big issue."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry reaches over and puts an arm around Gar's shoulders. "Your 'Ganger, your lead. I've learned my lesson. Now, the question that I have in my mind..." the Cheshire looks over at Donna, "How does it react to chaos magic? You said it was created by magic. If Deez Nuts has been deprived of his armor, we could conduct some... experiments?"

He wiggles his fingers, "It might behoove us to see how it reacts. Once we have adopted all necessary precautions and safety measures befitting experimentation."

Gar Logan has posed:
Gar Logan frowns. "I don't think it's a good idea to go with just a couple people against any of these things, especially someone with the power to do..that," he says, gesturing toward Diana's prone form. Obviously, that's very dangerous.

"As for mine..you might have a point. He's used to being in control. He ambushed me, didn't give me a chance to fight back. That's not gonna happen a second time." He inches into the arm from Vorpal, giving his newer features a closer look, smiles slightly at Caitlin's show of support as well.

He goes on to say, "If he suddenly saw me popping up on social media again, I'm sure it'd make him mad. We could get him to come to a place we can set up to our advantage, but he's dangerous because he's me..unleashed. Nothing to hold him back. I'm gonna fight him, and it's gonna be dangerous. Anything he can be, I can be too. I know I can outsmart him, and I know I've got backup that he doesn't."

Then he questions, going back to the other topic, "You mean that armor stuff? Trying to test it somehow? What does it do?"

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
"Guys-- we're still kind of thinking on our heels," Caitlin points out to the other Titans. "Which, I mean, we're heroes. That's kind of our thing. We don't spend a lot of time plotting how to go after people. They usually come after us. But we're thinking defensively, still."

She starts counting on fingers. "Cassie ambushed Diana. She maneuvered us where she wanted us. She brought unexpected resource and gear. Evil Gar and DoppleTerry both hit us where we were weak. But we can take the element of surprise from them," she suggests. "Understand how Cassie's armor works. Figure out what Evil Gar wants and where he's going to strike next. If we can get in their heads, we can neutralize their advantages. I'm not saying we should let everyone else sit at home on their hands," Caitlin clarifies. "Just that we've got a lot of moving targets and we're a little thin on the field right now. We've got to think strategically instead of just throwing force at the problem."

Donna Troy has posed:
"    We don't really know /what/ it does, Gar," Donna replies. "What we know is that it is very, very old. It is magical. And the metal was forged at a temperature and pressure which makes it look like the work of Hephaestus' forge, though the style is wrong."

    "We do know that Diesel is a nobody. Whatever he could do, the armor was doing for him. He can only have been wearing it a few days, while Evil Cassie has had hers an unknown amount of time and may be far more attuned to it. Also the armor is kind of alive. I mean not fully, but after I disarmed Diesel, it... it wanted me to wear it. Nobody is trying it on by the way. It's too dangerous."

    Donna lets out a tired sigh. "It's /possible/ that everything we've seen Cassie do comes from the armor. She may have no powers from Zeus, who might well have decided not to grant his boon to /that/ sort of a daughter. On the other hand, being who she is, it is possible Ares has got to her instead, so essentially - we don't really know. But we do know that it allowed her to beat Diana, at least when she took her by surprise. Given its magical nature, I suspect it can go invisible too. I think that's how she took Diana by surprise. It's a headache."

    Donna's eyes had been drifting down to Diana as she spoke, but now she raises her head to look at the three other Titans, one at a time. "There's another headache coming too, that you don't know about yet. This information goes no further than this room for now. Our friends the Guardians of the Galaxy are going to be taking the Kryptonians into space for a while. We're going to be without Supergirl, Superman and Powergirl for an indeterminate amount of time."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"I wonder if she would attack again if she saw that Diana had recovered?" Terry muses. "We could set up a trap, some bogus Embassy event taking place at a deisgnated location. With Diana attending, courtesy of my illusions. She'll see what I want her to see, and we can be hidden from her until it's time to ambush her."

Terry blinks a couple of seconds, and then stares at Donna. "Wait... wait. Go over that again... they are- /why/?"

Gar Logan has posed:
Gar Logan spends some time being quiet. Good points are being raised, making him consider angles he hadn't before. "I've never been, like, a great strategist. I've never even been a leader. But I'm not the newest Titan any more, and maybe it's time I started acting that way." Quickly he adds, "Not /all/ the time, but a little more. Anyway. The other me wants us all dead, but I don't think he knows what he's in for. This armor..yeah, uh, probably not a good idea to wear if it does that to someone, but what if it's the only way to beat her? I hope it's not. It just sounds dangerous."

He, too, looks confused suddenly. "What's this about the Guardians? I didn't talk to them much. I heard there was a video?" If it's going to have Kryptonians gone for a time..he hrms, hands at his hips.

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin rubs her face at the news, as if suddenly exhausted. "Golly. Terrible timing, Kara," Caitlin mutters. It's as close at the redhead ever comes to sounding vituperative. "That leaves us a little shorthanded. We might need to recruit some help from outside the roster," she suggests. "Maybe the Justice League or the Avengers can offer some support."

Caitlin shivers and rubs her arms as if suddenly chilled. "At least we've got Evil Kara handled. I wouldn't want to run into her again."

Donna Troy has posed:
    "They are going on a trip... a pilgrimage, I guess. To visit the ruins of Krypton," Donna answers Terry. Because there may be a whole city full of survivors who aren't miniaturized and stored in a bottle. Thousands more Kryptonians, who it sounds aren't generally nearly as nice as Kal or Kara. That bit she doesn't say though.

    "Cait..." Donna shakes her head and rubs the back of her neck. "We're not exactly the only ones short-handed. With Diana out of action as well... both Diana and Power Girl double up with the League and the Avengers, and the League will be missing Superman too. If anything it's going to be the other way around. I intend on letting Batman know that the Titans will be stepping up in the absence of their heavy hitters, even if we're missing one of ours."

    "I'm hoping that they won't be gone too long, but people are likely to notice. And it's possible some of those people will see it as an opportunity. There's a lot of responsibility on our shoulders now."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Are we... supposed to know? Because I'd like to see Kara before she leaves," Terry says. He squeezes Gar's shoulder and keeps him close to him, with a reassuring touch. "This... is tough, but we'll step up. The Titans are more than ready, and we've got good friends in the Outsiders. We can do this. This makes getting our doppelgangers under control our first priority, so that we can be on hand for anything that happens."

He glances over at Gar, and reaches over to stroke his hair. "...looks like we're taking a rain check on that week-long break I suggested we take after the Doppels were dealt with. When Kara comes back, she's going to owe me so many shifts at the Planet..." he smiles a little.

Then he glances at Diana, and frowns a little. He had already whispered to her that he would steal her tiara if she didn't wake up. He might have to up the ante. Her boots. She'd certainly come back for them, right?

Gar Logan has posed:
Gar Logan frowns, and this time his silence lingers longer before he says, "They have to do what they have to do, and so do we." Vorpal would notice there's a tightening of his shoulders, a stiffening of his posture, like he's putting on a stronger, braver attitude. Terry especially saw how long it took him to progress mentally from what happened to him, but it's come along. He handled himself well with Terry's dupe, pulled off the ruse. "We'll get through it."

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin grimaces at the ceiling as a thought occurs to her. It takes a few seconds of equivocating, shoulders working back and forth, and finally she lets loose a distressed noise.

"Not that we don't already have -enough- stuff on our plate, but we might need to do the switcheroo on the Kryptonians if they're all leaving," she says. "I've doubled for PG before," she clarifies, for Terry's benefit. "Cassie could probably pass for Kara with a little makeup and the right costume. No idea who could double for Kal, though. Captain America, maybe?" she hazards. "The chinline's a little distinctive. But with PG and Kara both around, maybe no one will be wondering where Superman is," she suggests, tentatively.

Donna Troy has posed:
    Donna's expression darkens with a frown. "I've thought about it, Cait. I've been wondering for the last few days whether I shouldn't put on Diana's armor and lasso some bank robbers or something, just to keep people on their toes. I really don't like it though. It feels dishonest. Besides..." she looks up with a grin. "Be unfair on the people we're pretending to be if we mess something up, wouldn't it?"

    "I think it's less of a problem if people think they could be turning up again at any time though. With the Kryptonians... my plan is we don't mention anything until the media starts asking questions. No Terry, that doesn't mean you. Then we'll let people know that the Kryptonians are taking a short break to visit their homeworld, and we don't know exactly when they'll be back but it shouldn't be long."

    "But maybe we can delay those questions a bit with some slightly less dishonest trickery. Terry, it might be helpful if Kara is seen flying into and out of the tower from time to time the first few days after they've left, think you can manage that? Maybe have Kal drop in for a visit one day too. And yeah, of course you can say goodbye to Kara. We just don't want this information getting out is all."

    Donna looks down at Diana, smiles softly, and takes one of her hands between her own. "Hurry up and waken, sister," she says softly.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Sure, I can do Kara and Kal, I've seen them up close. I can also do Power Girl flying about Metropolis at intervals when I'm at the Planet. I can take pictures of it and upload it to the Planet's social media." The beauty of his illusions. They were very convenient.

He leans over and places a quick kiss on Gar's cheek, "Yes we will."

He glances at Cait and Donna, and says "Why don't I go get you some food, Cait? You and Donna can continue hashing things out..." he glances at Gar, holding his pocket open. The food detail must, by necessity, include Garfield. it was his perpetual sub-quest, after all. "Something to consider... remember Phoebe? And the effect that that healing spell of hers had on me and how similar it was to the effect of the lasso when I held it? Maybe we should try..." he tilts his head towards Diana. "Can't hurt, right?"

"C'mon, greenie. Let's go get you some leaves to chew on and some food so Cait doesn't eat the furniture."

Gar Logan has posed:
Gar Logan turns just in time that the cheek ends up being the corner of the mouth, then before anybody can say anything he goes scaly and lizardy again, clinging to the fabric of Vorpal's top before crawling back into the pocket. It's warm in there, too. "Forget the leaves. I could eat a whole cheesesteak."

Others can do some of the heavier planning. A good meal is not to be passed up.

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin smiles with warm affection at Gar and Terry. "Thanks, Terry. Oh! Lemme get you some cash." She turns away, the task giving the two of them a moment to themselves. Her small purse is retrieved and Caitlin digs out her credit card, then moves back to Terry and gives it to him. "Today's two-for-one at the Burger Hut. Why don't you guys get a meal, and bring me back a few of their Chonkie Burgers?" she suggests.

Leaving Gar and Terry to make their way out, Caitlin moves to stand next to Donna and look down at Diana. When Donna whispers her plea, Caitlin reaches up and hugs Donna's shoulder with one hand. "She'll be okay, Donna," Caitlin promises. "Just wait and see."

Donna Troy has posed:
    "Yeah I've thought about Phoebe, it would be a good idea," Donna agrees. "The problem is finding her. Things have got complicated in her life. Some people turned up who are claiming to be her parents, but she doesn't seem convinced. Maybe we should talk with Impulse about her. I would be wary of stepping into Outsider's business, but they might appreciate me showing up somewhere with Diana's lasso."

    Donna lets go of Diana's hand with one of hers, but keeps the other hand holding, and leans back in her chair, getting comfortable. "I wouldn't say no to a burger either. Just get me half as much as you're getting Cait, and try not to impoverish Caitlin while you're out there." Donna says, giving Terry and Gar a wink as they head out.

    Donna puffs her cheeks out and raises a hand to place it on top of Caitlin's. "She's... I know Cait. She's strong, she'll pull through. She's looked more comfortable the last few days. I think she's mending, but... I've got you and Rae, Cait. And that means the world to me. But seeing Diana like this just..."

    Caitlin has known Donna long enough she doesn't need to finish the sentence. Caitlin knows how much Diana means to Donna -- not just as a sister, but as a symbol of strength and an ideal she constantly seeks to emulate. As a comfort when things get hard, and as the rock she stands on.

    Donna looks up from Diana to smile a soft, sad smile at her oldest friend.