9321/Standing on the Shoulders of Titans

Standing on the Shoulders of Titans
Date of Scene:	28 December 2021
Location:	Memorial and Meeting Rooms - Titan's Tower
Synopsis:	Dawn and Donna discuss death, dreams, duties and Don.
Cast of Characters:	Donna Troy, Dawn Granger

---

Donna Troy has posed:
    There's always so much to do. Whether Wonderland is invading Metropolis or Angels are invading New York, the Titans are bound to be involved in some way or other. There's a missing Titan, and of course that's the priority. If you're Donna, you take a keen interest in all these things. If it's Titans business, it's your business. All those things, vying for your attention with the needs of Themyscira and the running of an embassy.

    A missing Titan is personal, though. They aren't just Donna's team-mates, they are her surrogate family in America. In the relatively short time Dawn has spent with the Titans so far it won't have escaped her notice just how seriously Donna takes the whole 'family' thing the older Titans at least keep talking about, and it does seem like she cares a lot about her team mates. One going missing is something she takes pretty personally.

    Of course someone new to the Titans doesn't instantly become a beloved family member, but that doesn't mean they aren't important to her. They are, both as a part of the team Donna is so keen to keep working smoothly, and as a person who has entered her life who she does not yet fully know, does not yet fully understand -- but wants to.

    Donna had spent much of the morning working on the more tedious and less glamorous side of the Titans. The prosaic side of keeping the team going. Making sure bills are paid. Making sure equipment stocks are kept up. Dealing with the money people. Yes, there are money people -- the 'Titans Foundation' -- and sometimes they insist on having meetings. When today's meeting with the foundation is over, Donna remains in the meeting room, relaxing in a chair and looking out through the window at the cityscape of Metropolis below. Part of her is unwinding, and another part is keeping an eye on things, checking for any visible signs of another intervention of Wonderland Wackiness, perhaps. After a while she picks up her T-Com, checks who else is in the tower at the moment, and sends a message to Dawn's T-com: 'Hey Dawn, got a few minutes? If so please come down to the meeting room, I'd like a chat. Nothing to worry about, just getting to know each other better kind of thing.'

Dawn Granger has posed:
Universe work doesn't magically go away, unfortunately. In her down time Dawn has been working on the coarse work. She was reaching the point where a break was necessary and had thought of texting Hank. She had been sending him gifs of spiders fairly regularly since the practice room incident.

Instead, though, she receives a message from Donna. the intimidating Amazon with the pretty Greek-like accent. If there's one thing she is keenly aware of it's that she's still in over her head. The practice room proved that. Out of the four of them that day she was the one who should have said No.. Stop.. but instead she put on a sherlock hat and dived in to the danger while Hank dug in to furry spiders.

She heads out of her room and takes the elevator down to the meeting room. She's been here a few times - mostly because of the previous Dove. Sometimes she likes to just stand before his space and stare wishing she could talk to her predecessor. There are so many questions she'd ask him.

"Hi Donna," she says as she enters the room. A calmness follows her and her words.

Donna Troy has posed:
    Donna greets Dawn with a wide, friendly smile and gestures to the seating, the gesture intentionally vague so as not to seem like she's indicatinig a particular seat. "Heya Dawn, grab a seat and get comfortable. Want a drink?" There's a bundle of bottles of mineral water in the middle of the table, and several opened ones scattered around at various places, the only real sign left of the meeting that had taken place earlier. "If you want something other than water, I'll zip up to grab something from the main room," Donna adds, her smile turning into something of a grin.

    "Just wanted to catch up a little, see how you were settling in, that kind of thing," Donna says. Her eyes rove across the room for a moment before returning to Dawn. "I remember when we first got the tower," she says. "All these chairs. It seemed excessive. Twenty seats at the table. Like... when were the Titans ever going to have /twenty/ members?" She gives a short, musical laugh. "We may need to get a new table. If we ever have a team meeting, I don't want half the team being forced to stand."

    "Have you been here before?" she asks. "I'd kind of assume you probably have, because of..." her eyes go to the doorway that leads to the memorial room. "That. I know I would. He was a good man. I don't just mean because of what he did as the former Dove. I'm sure Hank's told you all about him by now."

Dawn Granger has posed:
Dawn takes in the meeting room mess and she decides to pick and choose her battles. "It's good that we recycle our hard plastics but it'd be better if we didn't order mineral water to the tower at all," she begins. "It's a waste of money when we have a perfectly good water supply from our taps, as well as taking water from half way around the world and shipping it here. It makes no sense for us to support that kind of industry."

She lifts a hand to stop herself and then places it to her stomach. "Sorry, it's just recycling isn't enough if we're going to save the planet," she says and takes a seat roughly where Dawn indicated. She nods her head to the first question though, "Yes. I have. It's usually quiet in here so I can sit and study without the banging sounds of the kitchen." She looks slightly amused though.

"It's a good sign. So many people wanting to help make the world a better place. Some times those challenges are too hard for regular people and we're needed. " She looks over to the memorial and a touch of sadness in her eyes, "He tells me some stories about Don. But, there's still a lot more to learn about him. In his own time, he'll tell me about the Don he wants remembered."

Donna Troy has posed:
    Donna stares at Dawn for a few moments, then turns her attention to the computer embedded in the desk in front of her. She taps away at the keyboard for a few moments, then taps at the screen a few times, and taps away a little more at the keys. When she's done, she looks up with a smile.

    "Good point Dawn," she says. "I've taken mineral water off our regular order and put in a requisition for water coolers instead. Please don't apologize for making a valid point for how we can do better You have as much voice at this table as anyone."

    She pushes away from the table and leans back a little. "Sometimes... at night, when everyone except Rae is asleep... I come down here for a chat with him," she confides. "He doesn't answer back of course. It's a way of talking to myself really, of thinking things over. I remember how /calm/ he was. I first came to America with a lot of biases, a lot of pre-conceptions about the new world I was entering. One was that men were doomed to immaturity. That they may be every bit as intelligent as women, but they lacked wisdom." She blinks a couple of times then grins. "I still curse the day Vic introduced me to 'Dungeons and Dragons'. Anyway, Don was a huge part in making me understand that was wrong. I loved all the Titans, but I admired Don in a way that... was different. Unique."

    She sighs slightly, and leans forwards, facing Dawn directly. "Dawn, if you ever... if it ever feels like any of us are projecting Don onto you, call us out on it, okay? You're not him, and we have no right to expect you to be him. It is never fair to compare someone to another person, because if you judge them on the basis of another person they will always fall short simply because they are not that person -- and that ignores their /own/ strengths. You're Dove, but you're also Dawn, and that is more important. Don was Dove but he was also Don, and that too was more important. You have things in common. I guess the Lords have a type for who they call on. But you are a very different person too, who I am very sure will prove herself just as much an important member of this team, and just as much a person we will all be thankful to have had the chance to know."

Dawn Granger has posed:
Dawn has the ability to read a person pretty rapidly, even before she calls upon Dove. She watches Donna with interest but the empathy comes to the fore the moment she confesses to how important Don was to her. She rises from her seat and approaches the impressive warrior. Her hand rests on her shoulder.

"This team can be more than it knows. It already has but even I can see the potential and I've not exactly been the most active prospect. I left, because I was afraid of what you speak. About Don. I felt the discord here and knew I wasn't ready to help. I am now. I never thought I'd meet Hank - but strangely the day I knew I was ready to help the Titans he turns up."

"There's no coincidences with the Lords." A gentle squeeze with her hand, "Because this team is suffering. Everyone of us. No one is talking about it, no one feels strong enough to let the tears out. Not even you. But if me being here helps remind everyone that it is okay, that it's a strength to share our hurt. That leaning on each other makes us stronger.. well.. you don't need to worry Donna. I'm not going to run away again."

Donna Troy has posed:
    "We talk about it," Donna says, smiling up at Dawn. "Just generally not at team meetings. And perhaps not enough. I think that's just a part of what we do. There's never enough time, and a team like this... well it's no surprise if we're generally the kind of people who'll put our own pain aside because we see someone else hurting.

    She reaches her own hand up to give Dawn's a pat. "We're here for each other. That's why this team exists. Everything you have said applies to you, too. You're still new to this life, and it's a life that comes with a lot of stresses. You're not that new to the team but as you say you haven't been that active, so we're all still kind of new to you. That's another stress. I wanted to make sure you know you're not alone in facing those stresses. I want you to know that you can bring any worries or concerns you have to me, any time. I'm not lecturer or drill instructor you need to impress, even if I act that way sometimes in the Danger Room. I'm a team-mate, and I hope a friend."

    She tilts her head to the side, and gives a small shrug. "I wasn't here when Don was killed. I was home in Themyscira. I didn't hear about it until a few weeks afterwards. I didn't even get to go to his funeral, though when I came back I had my chance to say goodbye, just there in the memorial room. I carried a lot of guilt about not being here, and I'm not fully over it. I've dealt with it on an intellectual level, but I've had recurring dreams ever since... I know that it's my guilt that triggers them."

Dawn Granger has posed:
Dawn nods her head. She really does have soft eyes and a gently touch. A small not really a joke, but said light heartedly, "We need to up our recycling game and separate hard from soft plastics." She nods though.. the stresses of trying to do this job. She took on the mantle of Dove and while she knew what she was getting herself in to the reality of it is always so much more.

"We are friends Donna. I am a patient person and with friends, my patience is boundless. I try to be patient with myself too - but that's harder sometimes."

She listens though, when Donna talks about her guilty about Don. "What is the dream?," she asks. The strangeness of being a Titan means she is learning to listen for even the oddest things. When it comes to the past Dove she wants to know as much as she can. "If Don was anything like me, he wouldn't want you haunted by guilt. What happened happened. He knew just as well as I do the danger we're putting ourselves in doing this work."

Donna Troy has posed:
    "Tell you what," Donna says with a grin. "I'll be patient with you so that you don't have to. And you be patient with me, so that I don't have to. Deal?" She shrugs off the question about her dream, but answers anyway, if briefly. "Details don't matter. Just... coming back to the Tower and finding it empty. Being the last Titan left alive. It's... it's complicated, anyway. My mother and sister are always telling me I have an over-active sense of responsibility. And I guess it ties in with... well, if I don't get killed in action, I'll probably live a very long time. That brings along its own concerns."

    She waves an arm slightly, a gesture that seems to be attempting to wave those concerns away, and with it that part of the conversation, as she rapidly changes subject. "I saw how frustrated you were in the Danger Room the other day. Wanna talk about it? One thing I'll say up front. And... yes, this does come from the lessons of Doomsday. With just about every new member, at some point I'll put them through a scenario that they aren't going to win, and it's deliberate. It's not fun for any of us. I certainly don't enjoy it either. But it's important to know that everybody loses sometimes. Failing to really realise that is the reason why Don's death hit us so hard."

Dawn Granger has posed:
Dawn takes a seat once more and nods her head, "I can see that.. you taking responsibility. We must seem like little children to your people." A small but slightly amused shrug is given. It may be true. But the discussion about the danger room has her lips press together just a little more. She looks out over the empty chairs in the meeting room.

"I'm the kind of person who would rather do nothing than to do something wrong. I believe most of the people here in the Titans are the opposite. They do something immediately without knowing if it is right or wrong. If that had been the real world..." she trails off. Thunderbolt would have maimed or killed many innocent people. It's clear she thinks that is her own fault.

"Even small teams need someone to be the voice of reason. I should have taken on that role. I am far more cautious than Hank... but when I'm around Hank my sense of calm, my ability to be calculating.. It gets foggy. I made rash decisions and allowed the team to rush in three directions at once."

She lifts her palms up and rests the backs of her hands on the table top. "And who am I to tell people what to do. I am a new person still. Thunderbolt has been with you much longer. Hank is part of the original team. Thunderbolt perhaps rightly did not listen when I gave her a target and Hank... went off in his own world. Can I even keep him focused and help others at the same time? That... that can't be my full time job."

Donna Troy has posed:
    "I was born in 1994," Donna tells Dawn. "My sister was born in the twelfth century, and was the next youngest Amazon, but she wasn't around for the first ten years of my life. Until I first met her, I hadn't met anyone less than a few millennia old. Now I'm twenty-seven and my people still have a hard time remembering I'm no longer a child."

    She gives a what-can-you-do shrug, and crosses her legs in her chair. "I have promised myself that I will never judge someone by the number of years they have lived. I hope I remember that promise in a thousand years time. Some of the members of the team we have recruited recently are very young. From time to time I hear disapproving things about this, from people in the wider community. And yet I'd be a hypocrite if I suggested someone was too young to be doing something that I was doing at their age."

    "Some of the Titans have been doing this for ten years. Some more like ten months. Generally with the older members of the team, you'll see that we don't often make those kinds of mistakes. If it seems like we act immediately without thinking, keep in mind that you're seeing the results of that experience. We know that sometimes it is important to act as quickly as possible, and we trust our experience to help ourselves make the right choices. But nobody is infallible."

    She tilts her head in Dawn's direction, a half-nod. "You are a member of the Titans, and that's who you are to tell people what to do. Because nobody is infallible, we rely on each other. That's what a team should do. Never be afraid to say what you think, regardless of how new you are. As for Hank..." she grins suddenly and shakes her head. "Hank is Hank, and that's all there is to it. It's not your job Dawn, it's /our/ job. It's just that you are very probably going to be a lot better at it than the rest of us."

Dawn Granger has posed:
Dawn nods her head slowly. "There's a balance I need to find. We need to find. Hank and I. We haven't found it yet. The first time we went out together I took the lead and it.. my attempts to stop the fight before it even began failed. And this time, Hank took the lead and ended up in a pile of spider bodies. That was also wrong."

She lets out a small sigh but smiles, "We're working on it. It's our thing.. we'll figure it out. he's a much nicer guy than I ever imagined he'd be. It's weird but sometimes you just know when someone is going to be your friend. May be even your best friend. That's what it feels like with him. It's easy."

She taps a finger to the table top. "I'm not expressing myself well. I think I want to learn how to be a better team leader." There's a nod, "Yes, that's what I mean. I think I could be good at it, but I need to practice."

Donna Troy has posed:
    "Hank is difficult," Donna says with a look of faint amusement. "But difficult isn't necessarily a bad thing. He's a complicated man. Back in the old days -- well, Hawk wasn't exactly people's favorite Titan. He had a tendency to say things he shouldn't when there were microphones around, and he had a reputation for being... over-enthusiastic, shall we say. If you'd been paying attention to the Titans back then, if you'd been seeing things from the outside, you might well have got a rather negative impression of him. Now you've met him, you've got to see that the story is more complicated. When you first came here, I'm sure you'll remember the rest of us being concerned how Hank would react to knowing about you. I'm sure our reaction worried you. But that's still seeing things from the outside. We told you it'd be okay, that it would work out in the end, but I don't think we persuaded you of that. You had to see for yourself. There's a reason why despite the bad press, despite the ill-chosen words, the aggression, and the all-round grumpiness, he was part of the team and part of the family. "

    Donna leans back again, and pushes against the ground with her feet, letting her chair swivel back and forth in an idle fashion. "You've got the potential for leadership, Dawn. A lot of it is about being a good talker, and you're a good talker. But perhaps the biggest part of it is being trusted by those you're leading. Showing them that when it comes down to someone making the call, you're the one they trust to make that call. A good brain for tactics. Take the time to study and think about everything you see and do with us. Be patient and don't try to rush things. And show everyone that you make good calls."

    She stops swivelling, turning the chair one last time to make sure she's facing Dawn again. "When we met Nadia's mom -- you're right. The Titans will always do what we can to avoid unnecessary deaths. We certainly will not cause them. But not everyone agrees with that philosophy, and you need to know when to pick that fight. Janet was not about to run off and strangle anyone. We haven't even figured out where NOWHERE is hiding, yet. But she was angry and scared and shouting her defiance to the world. It just wasn't the best moment to call her on it, that's all."

Dawn Granger has posed:
A small smile at the depiction of Hank. Strangely, she had followed the Titans before she became one herself. She rather liked Hank and Don.. or Hawk and Dove. "Hank is both the worst and the best at the same time," she says with a touch of amusement in her voice.

She nods her head, "I understand what you're saying. Time will tell if I'm any good at it.... but with all due respect Donna, what we say and do matters. Even if no one else is listening but us. What Janet said."

She shakes her head, "She meant it. You may want to believe she was just blowing off steam but - no, I could see it written all over her. She meant it. Like it is our responsibility to call our friends out when they commit casual racism, sexism, homo or transphobia.. it's our responsibility too to remind each other who we are and what we stand for. I gave her the excuse she needs to tell herself she didn't really mean it... but I know in my heart that she meant it Donna. When we find them.... she may still want to act on it too."

Donna Troy has posed:
    "I'm not saying she didn't mean it," Donna counters. "I'm saying she said it in a moment that her state of mind was not open to anyone telling her she was wrong. As you say, when we find them she still may want to act on that impulse. And that's exactly why it's important that at that time she sees us as allies, and is willing to listen to us, rather than seeing us as an obstacle to be avoided. Calling someone on /casual/ racism, or sexism, or anything else, is different. This was anything other than casual. Timing your blows is all important to winning a battle, whether those blows are with fists or words."

    Donna shakes her head slightly and looks away, to the window and the view out over the city. "Janet's a complicated woman," she says. "And not one I entirely approve of. Or her influence over Nadia. Oh... her heart is in the right place, but her mind is... not always. Nevertheless, she loves Nadia, and Nadia loves her. "

    Donna gives a flash of a wince, just a momentary thing, but perhaps foretelling a headache coming on. "We love Nadia too. We'll get her back. And we'll do what we can to ensure that nobody dies when we do so, even if there are times when anyone might feel the people involved deserve it. My beliefs are a little more flexible than some on this team when it comes to ending lives. I don't think that it's always the wrong choice to make. But I do believe it's always a /bad/ choice. One that should only ever be taken if it's the least bad choice still left on the table. Dawn, you've got my word I will do what I can to stop Janet killing anyone."

Dawn Granger has posed:
Dawn shrinks her shoulders down a little bit. "You're right," she says in response to that logic. "Your logic is impeccable.. and thank you for sharing your thoughts on Janet. Nadia.. I don't know her, but I know of her. She seems very committed to her core values. I do know she's one of us and that means I won't stop until we've rescued her. Whatever else is going on, she deserves her life autonomy."

Her smile returns and she sits up on the chair just a touch more. "Thank you. For understanding. And for listening. If there's ever to be an end to the cycle the other side needs to realise that we value their lives too. If their masters value their lives less than may be they will walk away. Even the random guard wearing a faceless mask and gloves... there is no evil empire if the minions quit."

Donna Troy has posed:
    "Do not cause death if it sufficient to wound. Do not wound if it sufficient to subdue. Do not subdue if it is sufficient to persuade. And do not raise your hand in war before extending it in peace." Donna gives Dawn a smile, and gets to her feet. "That is one of the laws of Themyscira, though it would perhaps be better to call them rules to live by," she tells Dawn. "One of the laws given to us by the goddess Aphrodite. Even in war, we Amazons are guided by love. The balance you need to find between yourself and Hank is a balance every one of us needs to find in ourselves. Try not to take too much of this burden alone."

    She walks around to where Dawn sits, and this time it's her turn to rest a hand on Dawn's shoulder. "You're going to make a great Titan, Dawn. In your own right, not just because of what power the Lord of Law granted to you." She tilts her head to the side. "I suppose we should start referring to her as the Lady of Law now. Remember that everything is about balance. There's a great deal that Hank can teach you and help you with, too."

    " Thank you for coming," Donna says, smile growing a little wider. "And remember that if there's anything... well, if you have concerns about how team training is going, or about people threatening violence, or about plastic bottles -- you don't need to wait for me to call you. I'm never more than a comm call away. Now -- how would you feel about a training session that doesn't involve far too much being thrown at you at one go? Gotta make sure you get the wins in too. There's a new scenario Kate has been working on that I'm in the mood to try out. Feel like joining me?"

Dawn Granger has posed:
Dawn rests her hands in her lap and listens to the mantra of the Amazons. She smiles a moment, learning more about her team mate. "That's a very wise mantra. I like Aphrodite's way of thinking." She nods her head again and chuckles, "Actually yes. It'd be nice to get a win under my belt in training for a change."

She slides off of the chair and stands up smoothly. Her dancers grace evident in the way she moves when she's changing mental posture to training or field work. "Let's go see what Kate has cooked up..."