5582/Rooftop visit

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Rooftop visit
Date of Scene: 14 March 2021
Location: Roof - Titan's Tower
Synopsis: Irie and Kian have a rooftop talk, while Nightwing swings by for a midnight dip.
Cast of Characters: Irie West, Kian, Dick Grayson




Irie West has posed:
    Irie has been out and about all day, running around as Kid Flash, fightin' crime and generally trying to burn off some of her excess energy.  It's a bit late at night when she finally returns to the Tower, deciding to test herself to see if she could run up walls like her father.  Turns out, she can!  Neat!  So now she's up here, giving her legs a good ole stretch before she winds down for the night.

Kian has posed:
    You would think that Kían would be used to people arriving in unusual ways by now.  Once, he would have bolted into the air and remained there until he was convinced it was safe to land again.  Today, he's a much more relaxed birdman—well, relatively anyway—and greets the appearance of someone literally running up the side of the Tower with no more than a wingflutter and a "Kya!", followed by a smile of recognition.
    What a difference a year makes.
    He flits up from the corner he was sitting on, gazing out over the ocean, and lands a couple meters away, bowing slightly.  "Kié, Ýri," he says by way of combining a greeting and mishandling yet another Earth name.  "I think that iss a way I haf never seen someone come up here.  Flyin', climbin', teleportin' or elevatorin', but never runnin'."

Irie West has posed:
    Irie grins, pulling her calf up behind her leg to stretch her muscles.  First one leg, then the other.  "Bart never did this?  Hunh.  I could have sworn he would have done this by now."  She grunts as she performs another stretch.  "How're you doing tonight, Kian?"

Kian has posed:
    "I do not know if Bar' has never done that.  I haf jus' never seen anyone do it," Kían answers logically.  "I am well.  I haf been jus' watchin' the ocean an' the stars.  I am still not use to the star pattern in your sky.  It iss quite pretty, but your worl' has lost the night.  Everythin' iss lit so bright at night."

Irie West has posed:
    Irie nods in understanding, and starts walking it out.  "It's the only sky I've ever known.  I take it the cities on your homeworld aren't quite so bright?" she asks curiously.

Kian has posed:
    Kían shakes his head once.  "We do not haf cities like this," he explains, glancing over at the nearby skyline, "on our worl's.  Even the Imperial capitol has only several tens of thousan's, an' that iss very spread out."  He taps his temple.  "We are all telepat's wit' each other.  The noise up here gets too great when we gather in large groups."

Irie West has posed:
    Irie comes around to sit by Kian as they talk.  "I could imagine," she muses.  "Are you telepathic with us, too?  If not I guess…."  She looks downcast and sounds a little sad, "That must be kinda lonely if not."

Kian has posed:
    "I haf got use to it," Kían says.  "An' I can reach human min's when I touch them.  It iss why I usually stay a little away from people, I haf learn that mos' Earth people do not like the min'-touch.  I still fin' that har' to belief, but then, I guess you are as much not use to it as I am use to it."

Irie West has posed:
    Irie nods in understanding, pulling at her Kid Flash costume, and smoothing it out.  "Yeah.  We all think of our thoughts being private and when somebody comes and reads them, then it's not really private anymore."  She purses her lips in thought.  "It's like… being at home and you're an introvert.  If somebody just barges in and rifles through your things then it's pretty unwanted."

Dick Grayson has posed:
    Nightwing walks out of the men's dorms wearing an actual, honest to God pair of Nightwing swimming trunks.  He's also got his mask on, and a towel around his shoulders.  Spotting Irie and Kian talking together, he waves and heads over their way.  He doesn't know them yet, so this is an opportunity to touch base with a couple of newer Titans.
    "Hi guys, hope I'm not interrupting anything private… I can leave you be if I am.  Just wanted to say hi, introduce myself… I'm Nightwing, by the way.  How are you guys liking being part of the team?"

Kian has posed:
    Kían bows in greeting to Nightwing; his only interactions with him have been fleeting, indirect, or both.  He himself is clad in little more—kilt, sandals, pendant—so the senior Titan's outfit doesn't strike him as at all odd.  "Kié, Night-win'.  I am…."  He genuinely trails off to think about it a moment.
    Finally, he says, "Much to my surprise, I think I am likin' it.  I recen'ly said that becomin' a Titan iss maybe not the bes' thin' to ever happen to me, but it iss the bes' thin' that coul' haf happen to me after comin' to this worl'.  It iss a home like I coul' not haf imagine before.  Now it almos' feel…."
    Bit of a pause, while Kían tries to figure out the right word, and when it comes out, it's with another look of surprise.
    "…normal."

Irie West has posed:
    Irie hops off the ledge and sticks her hand out to Nightwing.  "Hi!  I'm Kid Flash!  As you could probably tell by the costume.  Fastest girl alive!"  A pause.  "I think.  I haven't heard of anybody faster than me in any case."
    She grins at Kian and shakes her head.  "I know what you mean, Kian.  I'm still getting used to it."  Kian would know that Irie is talking about being stuck in the past.  "I always wanted to be on the Titans and here I am!"

Dick Grayson has posed:
    Nightwing shakes her hand.  "Nice to meet you.  And Kian, yes, think we've kind of passed each other but never really talked, so nice to officially meet you as well."  He looks between the two of you.  "And I'm glad to hear you're fitting in here.  Normal is what we're shooting for.  We may all be different, but we're a family and we all accept each other."
    He swings the towel off his shoulders and drops it on a chair.  He chuckles and adds, "We've had some interesting friends, let me tell you."  He walks over to the pool and dives smoothly in, cutting the water cleanly.  He comes up and swims over to the edge of the pool closest to the two of you, crossing his arms on the edge so he can stay in the conversation.

Kian has posed:
    Kían sits on the end of a deck chair, leaning forward a little,  "It iss the firs' time I haf been aroun' others who also have rhy'thar'yw… sorry, special powers.  It iss amazin' how much that alone makes me feel normal.  Home, I was a research project an' was always in danger of bein' made a religious figure.  Here, I can actually use my rhy'thar to be he'p-ful.  I haf start to think if I ever fin' my worl', I do not really wan' to go home unless I can come back here when I want.  I haf never felt useful before."

Irie West has posed:
    "I never got a chance to be normal back home," says Irie.  "Not that I ever really wanted to be normal.  But that was because I was with my family most of the time and we were anything but normal so I guess that was kind of normal to me."
    She looks down and kicks at an imaginary rock.  "I still don't want to be normal," she admits.  "But I do want to fit in."  She looks up, grinning.  "And the Titans have been wonderful at that.  It's like having a whole different, weird family!"

Dick Grayson has posed:
    He laughs, nodding at Irie's words.  "Yeah, that pretty much sums it up perfectly.  A different, weird family is exactly what we are.  I grew up with a lot of the older Titans, they're the closest thing I ever had to a real family."
    Nightwing looks to Kian and goes on, "And we're both happy to have you helping, and to give you a place you feel valued.  That's what we're all about, really.  The Titans formed because we were a bunch of kids with abilities who wanted to help, but the adults always told us we weren't ready, so we did our own thing and proved them wrong.  And I'm proud to see a new generation of Titans with that same attitude joining us."

Kian has posed:
    "I am not really sure I join," Kían says with a small laugh, "as I jus' sort of became one over time.  I was brought here to gif me a place to be while I got use to Eart', an' somewhere alon' the way, I foun' myse'f blowin' up robots an' lookin' for frien's los' in space an'… an' stuff I coul' never haf imagine a year ago."  Helping beat up duplicates of his friends is a little too recent for him to talk about aloud just yet.
    He looks up in to the sky.  "I guess Eart' has won, I belon' here now," he says, with a slight smile, then looks back to Nightwing and Irie.  "c'Rhys'yw tavéi, at leas' I am wit' frien's."

Irie West has posed:
    Irie nods to Nightwing.  "I got to be a superhero with my Dad.  He wanted me to be a part of his life, and because I probably don't have a lot of time, he wanted me to experience the best of it."  She doesn't seem to be to down on this.  More wistful than anything.  "I haven't gotten a chance to blow up robots or go into space, but now that you've mentioned it I really want to."

Dick Grayson has posed:
    Nightwing smiles at Kian.  "That you are, friends and maybe family.  And I think we've all ended up doing things we never could have imagined.  I could go on for hours about insane things I've done that I never would have even dreamed about.  But you don't have to sign a paper or anything, sometimes joining is exactly what happened… you just become part of the team from being here and doing things with them."
    He looks quickly over to Irie as what she said hits him, and asks, "What do you mean, probably don't have a lot of time?  Is there something wrong, and what can we do to help?"  He would have commented on her getting to do the hero thing with her dad, but the concern for her wipes that right away.

Kian has posed:
    "Frien's yes, family… it iss hard to say.  That has a special meaning.  Prob'ly, though."  Kían does not elaborate further on what that might mean, at least to him.
    He too is surprised by Irie's choice of words.  "You are not sick, are you?  I think you haf said you come from the future… iss there somethin' you know?"

Irie West has posed:
    Irie winces.  She shouldn't have said anything, since people blow it way out of proportion.  "My mom was in the Speed Force when she was pregnant, so I kind of have these growth spurts where I age up suddenly."  She chuckles lightly.  "I'm really only five years old."
    She shakes her head.  "I think I've got it covered.  The Pyms want to find a solution, and, really, there aren't that many people who's smarter than them, so if anybody can find a way to fix it it'd be them."  She shrugs, with a wave of her hand.  "It honestly doesn't bother me all that much.  I'm gonna live my life to the fullest no matter how long I live.  It's not really about how long you have, it's about what you do with what you've got."
    She looks over at Kian and heaves a deep sigh.  "I was being good about not telling people about that."  She turns back to Nightwing.  "Yeah.  I'm Wally's daughter from the future.  Iris West, but everybody calls me Irie.  Kid Flash when I'm in this costume."

Dick Grayson has posed:
    Nightwing nods.  "Okay, well, at least you seem to be dealing with it fairly well… but if you ever need to talk, I'm never more than a T-Comm away, alright?  And if the Pyms are on the job, yeah, I'd say you're in very good hands, so I'll do my best to let it go.  And don't stress it, I probably would have been filled in anyway.  I promise not to ask about the future, I know how much of a mess that turns into.  But always let me know if I can help with anything."
    He pulls himself up to sit on the edge of the pool as he replies to Kian, "Well, it's true different cultures have different opinions of family.  So at the very least, you're with friends who will always be glad you're here."  He hops to his feet and collects his towel, drying himself off.

Kian has posed:
    Kían exhales.  "I was afraid you mean some sort of immediate danger, Ýri," he says, not getting her name any better.  Close, but not quite.  "If there iss anythin' I can do, please ask.  Time science iss not my area of study, I am sorry, but of course I haf learn a little.  If it iss biology, then I am not much use."  He shrugs; feathers rustle.  "No one can know everythin'."
    He nods once to Nightwing.  "We haf family by blood, an' family by choice.  There are some here I woul' make family by choice, but I already haf one, an' he mus' haf a say, I can not decide on my own."  Whatever that means.  Alien sociology can be weird.

Irie West has posed:
    Irie snaps her fingers as Nightwing says something to jog her memory.  "Oh yeah!  These lightningbolt ear thingies have a comms unit built into them.  Dad and I used them to communicate to each other on the field, and I was wondering if I should have it be hooked up to the T-Comm?"
    She nods to Kian.  "I don't think anybody really understands the Speed Force.  They certainly didn't in my time, so I'm not expecting miracles.  Still.  It really doesn't bother me."

Dick Grayson has posed:
    Nightwing nods to Kian.  "Certainly, whatever is proper for your people is of course completely acceptable.  You're part of the team whether you term it friends or family."
    He nods to Irie.  "Sure, we can get you on the network, just like my costume's communicator is on it so I don't have to hold a T-Comm to talk to the team in fights.  Any of the tech folks should be able to get you hooked up, I don't see a problem with that at all."  He hangs the towel back around his neck.  "Hate to swim and run, but I need to get back to Gotham, got an investigation going there.  I'll be around a lot, so I'm sure I'll see you both soon."

Kian has posed:
    Kían waves to Nightwing as he leaves, watching.  After he's gone, he comments mostly under his breath, "If that iss his new costume, I hope he iss aroun' a lot."
    Oblivious to whether he's been heard or not, he says, "I haf gotten use to miracles happenin' aroun' here.  Our frien's were los' in a black hole, an' we got them back.  We all thought Gar was killed, an' he was not.  An' everyone iss sure we can fin' my home worl', even though I can not be sure I am in the same universe I was born in.  So while I agree it iss not a good idea to expec' a miracle… they do happen."

Irie West has posed:
    Irie waves to the parting Nightwing, and turns her attention back to Kian, giving him a wicked grin.  "Oooh?  You're into featherless birds?"  She looks back to where Nightwing is departing.  "He does have a nice butt," she concedes.  She blinks.  Now there's a new thing.  Noticing a boy's butt.  Hm.
    She nods.  "Don't get me wrong.  I'm going to help them try to find the cure, if there is one.  It's just… I realized this a long time ago.  Long before my brother ever did.  He even tried to hide it from me when he found out."  She leans over and stage whispers, "He can be kinda dumb sometimes."  Leaning back she says louder.  "But I love him and I hope we do find a cure for his sake."

Kian has posed:
    "I did not know you haf a brother," Kían says, sitting up a little.  "Iss he still in the future?"
    He considers further—Irie probably doesn't know it, but Kían has advanced degrees in physics.  "Speed an' time are related," he says slowly, piecing it together as he speaks.  "It iss maybe possible to exten' your life an' his jus' by movin' close to the speed of light.  Pas' that, I am not sure.  We haf star drives based on tachyon conversion, an' time spent above the speed of light iss kept.  A ship that takes ten days internally to go from Kyshán to Akiár takes ten days externally.  I do not know if that also works jus' from movin' faster an' not actually converting to tachyon matter."

Irie West has posed:
    Irie nods at Kian.  "He is.  Don't tell Dad about him.  He's already freaked out enough that he's got a daughter.  I have no idea how he'll react when he finds out he's got twins."
    She sighs, and relaxes by sitting on the edge of the overhang.  "Yeah.  I've got some basic physics, and I read up a whole lot on relativity… some of which I was able to retain, so I get the gist of it."  She shakes her head.  "But the Speed Force just kind of breaks all of that.  It's a force that kind of exists outside of speed and time, while being a part of both speed and time, and then things get all wibbly from there."
    She raises a hand and lets it flop, palm up.  "That's how I got here.  I went so fast I kind of punched a hole through spacetime and right into the Speed Force itself.  Then I kind of zeroed in on Dad's…"  She flops her hand about in a circular motion as she thinks.  "…signature, I guess?  When we tap into the Speed Force we become a kind of conduit for it and while I was in it I could kinda feel everybody's connection to it.  What I didn't realize at the time is that all those connections were scattered about through time as well as space, so when I popped out I popped out in the past."
    She nods, letting her arm hang down now.  "And now you know as much as I do about the Speed Force."

Kian has posed:
    Kían goes quiet, trying ot absorb that.  "So.  Users of the Speed Force can sense other users, iss that correc'?  That implies it iss a deep law in reality.  Like the mass particle, the… Higgs, that iss what you call it here.  Speed as its own force iss not somethin' that we haf discover on my worl' yet.  But if it behave in a regular way, it mus' haf laws that can be under-stood an' calculated."
    And then he sighs.  The common problem—keeping secrets is alien to Kían.  "I will not offer that you haf a brother unask.  If he ask me, I can not say I do not know.  I do not think he will ask me, but I haf to tell you that I can not lie."

Irie West has posed:
    Irie purses her lips to Kian's first question.  "Not normally, no.  Not until they get close then it's kind of like this tingling sensation.  No, I think what I was experiencing was unique because I was in the Speed Force which is like…."  She flails trying to explain.  "Subspace or warp speed or something.  It's not really a dimension but it's kinda like a dimension.  I don't think anybody really understands it.  I certainly don't.  I understood it more when I was in it, but that's like saying you understood electricity better by sticking a fork in an electrical outlet."
    To the latter point, Irie nods.  "I understand.  I won't ask you to lie then."

Kian has posed:
    "It soun's a little like the way I see atomic forces," Kían says.  "I haf never been able to ex-plain what it looks like to me.  Even after studyin' the physics of it myself.  Even goin' min' to min' did not help the researchers, even while usin' my power.  It just happen from somewhere deep inside me.  I do not under'stan' it myself."
    As to the rest… "An' I thank you.  I can not say untrue thin's.  We will hope he does not ask."

Irie West has posed:
    "Yeah, it's like…" Irie begins, "I was born with the Speed Force in me.  All my life I've been surrounded by it and only recently it's full potential opened up to me."  She shakes her head.  "But if somebody were to ask me how to describe what it's like I just… couldn't.  Language just doesn't have the words for it, because I can count on my hands the number of people who've experienced it."
    She lets that rest for a moment of comfortable silence between them.  "So, you can see atomic forces," she says finally breaking the silence.  "What else can you do?  Besides fly, of course."

Kian has posed:
    "An' beside the min' touch?" Kían adds.  "The ki'thar an' kan'thar, the min'-touch an' wings, all my people haf those.  They are not special powers."  Well, not among his people, anyway.  They're not exactly common on Earth.
    "I seem to haf control of atomic forces—elec-tro-magnetism," he explains, stumbling over the long and complicated Earth word, "an' what you call the stron' and weak forces.  The forces that drive fusion an' fission.  My people did not know what to do wit' me other than study me.  We do not haf the sort of violence there that iss here.  The mos' I do there iss with Imperial Emergency Services, doin' recovery work after natural disasters."

Irie West has posed:
    Irie mouths the words, 'ki'thar' and 'kan'thar' committing those to memory.  She nods as he explains what he can do and say, "Well, that's not nothin'.  Being a hero isn't all about punching bad guys.  Sometimes you gotta stop and save a kitten from a tree.  It may not be much, but to that kitten, and their owner, you just saved the day."
    She gets up onto her feet and looks into the sky.  "Okay.  I need to go feed myself and then take a shower, and then I'll probably sleep.  I had a good run today."

Kian has posed:
    "Yis, is iss good to know you better," Kían says, getting up from his deck chair.  "I am never goin' to be a fighter, but it iss good to know that I can still be he'p-ful to this worl'."