Owner Pose
Kian     Seventy-five percent of the birds are in the lounge: Kian, Keth and Kala.  Shiri is apparently up in the roost.  They're gathered around the main island over multicolored tumblers of supersaturated sugar water -- no, it's not just Kian, apparently this is a bird thing.  There's also pizza (of course), and animated conversation.
    Which is probably why Kian hasn't been keeping up on his English assignments.  If someone might be curious why the bird has been out of touch -- besides angels invading and Wonderland popping up here and there, that is.
Terry O'Neil "We should get you back to your world this week," Vorpal says magnanimously, drinking his Kool-Aid, "Even though Kian has not kept his end of the bargain and adopted a costumed identity. But there is no reason why you should suffer for his stubbornness." The cat flashes a grin at Kian, and then looks at Kala, "But I think you should come tomorrow- we have a Roller Derby thing going, and I think you might find it positively /edifying/ to see a human sport played. My best friend Harley is absolutely tops at it, but her performances are not for the faint of heart... so it's probably a good thing we're going with Hank's."
Colette O'Connail     Colette has not been around for a while. In fact she has been pretty scarce lately, having only visited the tower once since the whole business with her doppelganger last fall. That a rather brief visit to drop off Kian's latest lessons, and she hadn't hung around to socialize.

    She has had word that Kian has regularly been using a translator device, but she didn't respond negatively to this news. A year and a half earlier she had been somewhat outraged by Kian gaining a short-term magical mastery of English, but that was then and this is now. The bird speaks far better English anyway, and she apparently feels his grounding is sufficient that such artificial aids won't be holding him back.

    She has however not yet received news that that Kian is Not Alone. Nobody has mentioned to her that there are currently not just one but FOUR Akiar on Earth right now.

    Colette enters the tower with one of the guest passes that sends a low-level alert to everyone currently within the tower that it's being used. A warning to make sure that anyone who wants to protect their identities should do so. Thus when the elevator doors open, it's not a surprise that Colette strides out of it and into the main room. What happens next may be less predictable though.

    Colette comes to a half after taking no more than half a dozen steps into the room, her eyes falling on the flock of birbs guzzling pizza and faux Kool-Aid. She blinks a few times, and says "No."

    Colette turns around and returns to the elevator, pressing a button. The doors close on her and the elevator begins to descend once more.
Garfield Logan Gar Logan hangs out as well, in a new costume! He's been going through a few different versions in the last couple years, and the latest is a red and white number that contrasts against his green rather nicely.

He's got some fruit punch of his own, milling about between a couple of the Akiar with Vorpal nearby as well.

Colette's arrival, pause, and subsequent departure again - or so it seems - leads to a green eyebrow rising. He deadpans, "If nobody else saw that, neither did I. And there's nothing you can do to get me to put on a pair of roller skates and try to go around a track while other people are trying to knock me out."
Emiko Queen The scent of PIZZA precedes Emiko's arrival, the young woman walking in somewhere underneath a huge stack of large pizzas from a New York pizzeria that was on the way to the Tower. "I heard peole were hungry!"

She makes her way towards the main part of the room, navigating by instinct and learned familiarity of the layout. Setting the boxes down on the table, Emi turns a smile towards everyone, "Hey! How's everyone doing?"
Kian     "When aren't they hungry?" Kala asks.  "Gar is here, so the extras are probably needed."  She flicks the green shapechanger a grin.
    Keth glances at Terry and nods once.  "I suppose it is time to go back.  I'm sure Shiri never thought we'd be here as long as we have.  It's been... interesting.  But we're going to see an Earth sport in person tomorrow?"
    "That's what he said," Kian affirms.  "I've only seen it played once, and Harley was involved, and there was a whole... it was... it got complicated.  It usually does with her.  And -- Colette!"  He's learning -- he checks his T-Com to see where she is rather than immediately bolting from his seat to follow.
    Keth refills his tumbler.  "I think it's going to be a relief to get back home where it's quiet and normal."
    "Shiri would say boring," Kala remarks.
    "Our sister," Kian states flatly, "is *weird*."
    Keth fixes Kian with a look.  "And my physics-breaking godling brother *isn't*?"
    "I... you have a point," Kian admits.
Terry O'Neil Vorpal leans back and smirks. He is wearing a new uniform, too- one that is decidedly less colorful than his previous choices. This one even has arm warmers. "I would say Shiri gets it just fine. I should have gotten her to convince your brother to get a uniform..."

And then Colette just /nopes/ out. He takes a sip of his drink, "You know, Kian, in my two years of knowing Colette, even /I/ haven't gotten her to do /that/." Dubious honor indeed. But he doesn't drive the point in further because Emiko arrives with extra food, "Aaah, just in time, I was afraid Gar would go feral by being deprived of food! How did the tea party with Theophilus end up? I hope he didn't make you switch seats too often. It's a thing he does."
Colette O'Connail     It is only a short time before the elevator pings again, and the doors open once more on Colette. She can't have actually gone down all the way to the lobby. This time she doesn't nope out, but walks over to the fridge, opens it, and grabs herself a beer. Only after she has taken a swig of the beer does she turn once more to consider the offense of multiple Akiar.

    "/I used to think that Kian was sensible. If he was sensible he would not advise planet-friends to come here,/" she comments. "/I blame Terry./" The words won't make sense to the humans there, but aside from the obviously invented compound she uses for want of the vocabulary to offer something closer to 'compatriots', it's a quite passable attempt at speaking Akiar'shak. Her time helping Kian learn English has been a bit of a two-way street, and apparently she now speaks a bit of birb.

    Colette narrows her eyes at Terry, gives Gar a nod, then lets her eyes fall on Emiko. "Guys," she says. "Guys. There's a stranger in the tower. She's probably invading or infiltrating or something. Under cover of pizza. Everyone knows that's the Titan's main weakness."

    She takes another swig of beer, then nods her head to Emiko. "Another newbie? Run. Run far away and don't look back, while you still have time," she says. "Hi, I'm Colette. Kian's English teacher."
Emiko Queen "Well, so... I ordered twenty extra large pizzas. There's three pepperoni and sausage ones in there, so if anyone is vegetarian, be aware. Oh! And there's two vegan cheese pizzas on the top. Just in case." Emiko glances around the room, lips pursing up, "If Bart swings by we'll need more. I'll order some more."

She does one of those one-handed vaults over the back of the couch to drop down into an open space, already pulling her phone out. She goes with somewhere nearby for the new order, tapping on the screen, "Any requests? Garlic knots? Soda?" She scrolls through the options, flicking a glance around the room with a lifted brow.

Terry gets a grin, as Emiko looks up from the phone, "It was fun! And he did, at random intervals, but its okay. I think I managed to entertain him with finding strange places to sit. Even managed to do the upside down on the ceiling part for a minute. Have to say I was happy when he did a seat change after that one though." She lifts a shrug, "His rhyming scheme was a little hard to get into at first, but he seemed pleased by the end. I'd do it again."

Colette gets a smile next, "Emiko Queen. I help to supplement the food budget, host impromptu tea parties, and occasionally dress up in a costume to go fight crime. Pleasure to meet you."
Garfield Logan Gar Logan sets his drink down and dual-wields slices of pizza before looking Emiko's way as she brings in more. "Oh, great. We were starting to get low. We.." He stops at Kala's words and adds, "See, she gets it already."

The matter of roller derby gets an added, "I'd be a cheerleader before you get me in that, even with a helmet and padding and everything. If people were meant to roller skate, they'd have been born with wheels for feet. Don't tell Harley that. And another thing.."

It's Colette's return that has him stopping /this/ time, a mild frown crossing his face. Whether or not he gets much of what she says in her efforts at Akiar - for he has learned some of the language himself - he returns to his fruit punch after finishing off the crust of a pizza slice, and he tells Emiko, "Don't listen to her. You're fine here."
Kian     "It's only partly Terry's fault."  Kian of course comes to Terry's defense, sort of -- and obviously has a translator on, judging by the clarity of his speech.  "He opened a Rabbit Hole to my world so we could send some chocolate through, and my sister grabbed my brother and decided they should visit Earth, and Kala here," he continues, indicating the birdwoman with a toss of his head, "joined them without thinking about it because she's like that."
    He rolls his eyes at her; she innocently smiles back.
    "Anyway, this is my younger brother Keth and my /qihar/ coach and lunatic friend Kala," Kian carries on.  "Me and Keth's sister Shiri is up in my room."  When he gets to the matter of introducing Colette, his tone softens.  "This is Colette.  She's the one who pulled me out of the water when I fell into this world, brought me to live here at the Tower, /and/ taught me English.  I... owe her quite a bit, actually.  Not least my life."  He still really doesn't know what to make of Colette... but there is *always* going to be that.
Terry O'Neil "Indeed he does," Vorpal agrees to Kian's statement, "She is also still super pissed off at me because I screwed up on something a while back, so she will blame me for anything." Sip. "It stands to reason- but do listen to Gar and don't listen to her vis a vis us, Emiko. Colette was raised by feral Schopenhauerians and thus is prone to think the absolute worst outcome of any situation, unless that situation involves the consumption of alcohol, in which case she will think of the absolute worst outcome for /everybody else/ involved if that should also happen to include Harley as a drinking partner."

"But Kian, I am not even /partly/ to blame. I was carrying out a regular and profitable transaction. I can't help the fact that I am so fascinating that people just /run/ over each other to get the full Vorpal Experience." He smirks.
Colette O'Connail     Colette raises an eyebrow to Emiko. "What, they're charging for membership in food, now? Scandalous. Don't pay. They can afford food. If anything they owe you food, if you're going to dress up in a costume and fight crime with them. I mean you've seen this place. Do you have any idea of property values on St. Martin's?"

    She gestures with her bottle in Terry's direction. "Don't listen to him either. Harley is a fun drinking partner. And good with roller skates. Though Gar would make a cute cheerleader. He's right about that."

    She smirks in Terry's direction. "What. Don't tell me you weren't thinking that. I know you were thinking that. Like the new costume, by the way."

    "Hi Keth and Kala," she says to the birbs. "Kian likes to tell people that Earth is an insane planet. He's right. You should have listened to him. Still, you know. Welcome to Earth and all that. We're going to put a big sign up in orbit, but we didn't get around to it yet. You know, something that says..." she gestures, indicating a line of letters in the air. "Something like... 'number of days since last invasion: 3.' Just to let other sentient species know that it's not the best vacation spot."
Emiko Queen "Do you mean the roller derby? You guys are going to watch the try-outs for it?" Emiko started with Gar, but her gaze sweeps around the room to encompass everyone before landing back on Gar. "I'm going to be trying out for the team. Should be fun!" She smiles, pulling a bottle of water from a small satchel at her hip. Taking a drink from it, she adds, "I should find out if they'll allow rollerblades over traditional skates."

She turns a smile towards Gar, then Terry, "It's fine guys. If I could scare that easily I wouldn't be wearing a suit and mask. But I appreciate the support." Her nose wrinkles in that cute way young people can manage when they smile.

Then she's looking back to Colette and laughing, "Nobody is charging me anything. I do it because I want to, and because my boyfriend consumes a ridiculous amount of food, so I have to imagine some of the other people here do as well. Seems like the nice thing to do." She pauses, then adds, "I just bought a building in Union Square, so I can imagine how much higher the property value is on the water."
Garfield Logan Clearing his throat, Gar reminds, "There /are/ male cheerleaders, in case you forgot. And there's no such thing as enough food around here. The budget alone is higher than I can count."

He keeps his mouth shut about Terry when it comes to the Akiar stuff, considering how they first /got/ to Kian's world before the birdman's relatives and coach returned the favor. All he says instead is, "If we were back there, I'd be helping lead their /qihar/ teams to victory in no time. Then we'd be celebrating. Right, Kala?" A much more civilized sport than roller derby, too.

He's eyeing Vorpal and the new costume he designed, with Terry having reciprocated with the one he's in. "You know, with all the costume changes we've been doing, we're covered for the action figure variants. I've been talking to my people and I think we can make some good money on that. You know how collectors are. But, no NFTs."

He snaps a finger. "Oh! Kian, Vic helped you learn some words, too. Do you want to share any with Colette?"
Kian     "I *would* have warned them if I'd had the chance!" Kian protests.  "But Shiri--"
    As if that was a summoning, another birdwoman flits out of the open shaft.  "/A Shiri takh-tai/?"
    Kian just shakes his head, slips off the translator circlet, and frisbees it to his sister.  "We need four of those.  Shiri, this iss Colette," he says, filling her in on Colette's life-saving and home-finding and langauge-teaching telepathically.  "Colette, this iss my sister Shiri, who iss the one who iss /really/ at fault for my kin bein' here."
    Shiri lets the accusation bounce harmlessly off an innocent grin, and bows shortly.  "/Kie/, Colette!"
    Kala grins at Gar, and drapes a wing around his shoulders.  "Only until you and Kian got snapped up by the interclan league, but it'd be a great season!"
    Kian chuckles at Gar.  "She already knows them.  The difference iss that Vic would tell me what they mean."  Reminded of another of the many conversational threads floating around by one of Gar's comments, he turns on Terry.  "An' I do not need a uniform.  What if I am needed immediately?  To change into a uniform would be a waste of time," he says, as if that settles the matter.  It probably doesn't, but he can try.
Terry O'Neil "Oh hush, Garfield, between the two of us we /still/ haven't changed outfits nearly as much as Supergirl has, she still has the record." He grins, and then raises his eyebrows at Colette, "You like? He designed it for me. That means I can't change it for at least a year without breaking his heart." He peers at Kian and snerks, "Come on, Kian. How do you think Diana gets into that outfit of hers when she's out and about in fancywear? She just... twirls around real fast and WHAM, her costume appears. She can teach you how to do it, too! All you need to do is just get a uniform!"

Is he speaking truth? Donna ain't here to suss it out. "Wait, did I just hear you say you bought a /building/?" he glances at Emiko, raising an eyebrow. "Hot damn, am I like the only pauper in this team? Gar's adoptive dad has a mansion with its own zip code, and Donna is a princess. And Mister Feathers over here is a demi-god of his world and they pay in platinum for chocolate!"

"But it's good Theophilus has someone to distract him while we figure out who this Not-Alice is. Just... make sure Kaida isn't around or he might insist on stuffing her into a teapot and then it will only end in tears."

There's a brief glimmer, but Vorpal doesn't make a move, "Yes, I agree. Gar would make the /cutest/ cheerleader. He's got great legs, the better to show off..."

He sips his Kool-Aid. Gar has been briefly overlayed by an illusion, where his outfit has become a male cheerleader outfit with a giant 'T' (for Titans) across the chest, "Although I am not sure I'd trust him with swinging pompoms around."
Colette O'Connail     "/Kie/, Shiri," Colette replies, saluting the latest Birb invader with her bottle. She arches an eyebrow in Gar's direction, then flashes a significant look to Vorpal. What the look signifies may well be unclear even to him though. "Kian's grasp of English is sufficient now that he can go ahead and learn as much slang as he wants," she says with a shrug.

    "St.Martin's estates are pricier, but that's residential only," Colette tells Emiko. "This end of the island is almost reasonable by comparison. Whoever chose this spot for Titan's Tower knew their stuff, probably doubled in value since they built it, prices here just keep going up and up. Give it another ten years and all the cute little spots on the boardwalk will have gone out of business due to rising rates and the place will be one more soulless realm of corporate greed. Still, my family is in the property business so I probably shouldn't complain."

    She raises her bottle to Kian. "You tell 'em birdy buddy. No uniforms needed. It's not like people aren't going to recognize you unless you wear a logo telling them who you are, after all. Besides..." she nods in the direction of the Cheer-Gar. "That's what happens, Kian. Don't encourage them. Don't encourage Terry, particularly. You can superhero just fine as you are."
Bart Allen Bart Allen comes up the elevator shaft at speed. The speedsters hate having to wait for the elevator at time. He skids to a stop, in his civilian clothes today. He looks around a moment, to see whats going on, waving to folks with a goofy grin and heading to stand next to Emiko.
Garfield Logan Gar Logan will swing something else around. As soon as he figures out what's going on with the cheerleader illusion, a fresh slice of pizza is flying at the feline. "Fool," he states flatly. "Now I'm afraid I'd be too much of a distraction for you on the track. And hey, Shiri. Your brother was just talking about how responsible you are." Lie.

He makes nothing of the wealth of others, family members or not, and Kala's wing being used to go across his shoulders leaves him to grin, reaching out toward her back to give them a light ruffling. "I'll get back there sometime and fly more, you can count on it." Eyes do roll briefly at Kian's continued objections to a uniform or costume of any kind.
Emiko Queen "Mmhmm. I needed a place for myself in the city, and having my own... lair type of place as well, seemed like a good idea. Just in case the Titans weren't looking to take on new members," Emiko nods to Terry with a smile, sipping her water before adding, "I bought a commercial space that has an apartment just above it. So now I have street access, roof access, maybe even sewer access if I can grease the right palms. I'll have a place where I can practice my martial arts, close combat, and archery. And also somewhere I can have friends over, host get-togethers or parties... you know, normal life stuff." She flashes a grin, "I have a trust fund set up by my billionaire half-brother because he feels bad that our dad ignored my existence. And because he's awesome. Mostly because he's awesome."

Lifting her bottle towards Colette, she gives a nod, "I can imagine. I checked prices near the water because I thought it would be fun to get a boat but... ugh. Prices tripled just for having water access. Anyways, I got a really good deal on the place. Looks like the building had been vacant for a long time, so they were probably pretty eager to sell. But it's a great neighborhood, near two subway lines, has a great open air market a five minute walk north, tons of restaurants, ESU is like 15 minutes away... I got lucky."
Emiko Queen Bart's arrival has her grinning up at him and reaching up to tug him down onto the couch with her and kiss his cheek. Mwah. "There's pizza."
Kian     "They don' pay yet, Terry," Kian says.  "That batch was mainly for my family an' friends, and a gif' for the /q'San/.  It probably won' be long before they ask for more, though."  He adds with a bit of a smirk, "Of course, since you are the delivery service, you shoul' get a share.  I don' think they will try to set up a regular courier service jus' for chocolate.  Yet."
    He greets Bart with a smile and a "/kie/!" -- and slides two more pieces of pizza onto his own plate, just in case.  "Yis... yes, thank you, Colette, that iss what I have been tryin' to tell them.  I don' need a code name for the same reason, and I may not have one anyway."  He spreads his arms and raises his wings.  "This iss the bird man you are stuck with!"
    Keth shakes his head.  "How can you change your name?  You swore yourself as Kian at your First Flight."
    "That iss exactly what I keep tellin' them!"
Terry O'Neil "It's not changing your name, Keth. Think of it as a nickname- in fact on Earth, certain performers come up with names that they think better suit them than their every-day names for the purposes of the public sphere. Like- Norma Jeane Mortenson didn't think her name sounded like it had enough 'bite' to it, and so she became known as Marilyn Monroe. Stefanie Germanotta wanted to create a persona of the surreal and outrageous, and so became Lady Gaga. Gar goes by Beast Boy because it pretty much says everything he does as a superhero- he's the animal kingdom. It's just /tradition/ that you choose an appellative that either encapsulates what you fight for, or what you do. And, trust me Kian, it is /better/ that you choose it before the press chooses one for you. Diana got Wonder Woman and Superman got Superman because the press chose those names for them- but I have seen some others that didn't come out as well. You do /not/ want 'Chicken Wings' to catch on. You could be risking that, for the rest of your natural life on Earth, you are going to hear 'Look! Up in the sky! Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No! It's Turkey Man!"

The Cheshire cat grins and crosses his arms. "Oh, hush, Gar, we know you enjoy distracting me..." he glances at Emiko and Bart, "Oh hey, Impuls-- waaaait. Are you two...?" he raises his eyebrows. "Nice! Good for you guys!"

And he's distracted enough that the slice lands with a 'splut' on his head. "-HEY!"
Colette O'Connail     "So the new girl has hooked herself a Bart already?" Colette says with a grin, observing the interaction between the pair. "I'm just going to assume all the 'fast mover' jokes have been made already, so I won't indulge. Hi Bart."

    She returns Emiko's bottle salute with one of her own. "Oh hey, trust fund living is the best. Really, everyone should be born into a rich family, I'd recommend it to anyone. I'm more kind of fast cars and fancy vacations than lairs, but then I don't do the whole..." she gestures with her bottle at the world around. "... The superhero thing. Honestly I don't know what I'd do with a lair if I had one. "

    "C'mon Terry, the press gave those guys nicknames because they didn't know what else to call them. There's no reason why Kian shouldn't just be known as Kian. I mean what would the point be of Kian having a secret identity? Most days there's a grand total of one Akiar on the planet, I'm pretty sure even if he called himself Superbirb, people are going to figure it out. Nice hat, by the way. Is that a part of your new costume?"
Bart Allen Bart Allen grins and kisses Emiko back, and says "You know I ordered no onions for you right?" He grins and will put his arm around Emiko, and looks over to the rest of them, considering warning Terry, but getting in the middle of another couple, nit the brightest thing. He looks over to the others and says "Emiko and I met at college, and then ran into one another here imagine our surprise." He admits. He looks over to Kian, and says "Both sides have a point, but I think honest, someone in the press could probably do an interview with you and declare you Kian, so it was out there. And if you need a heroname, how about "Akiar?"
Emiko Queen Emiko flashes a grin at Terry and winks, "For once, Bart wasn't the one moving fastest. I snagged him before he had a chance to catch his breath." Then she's laughing as the pizza spluts onto his head. A nice, large linen hanky is pulled from a pocket and flicked his way, "I think you might need this, Terry. Spider-man suggests brushing it out then using the cloth to help soak up anything left."

She grins back at Colette and gives a nod, "He's right. We met at the college campus. After fifteen minutes, I knew I'd found a keeper and asked him out. Then the next day I came here to call in a five year old invitation to the team and guess who happened to show up at the Tower right then?" She flicks a glance to Bart, smiling. "So we got to find out we each had another life that day. Which is prefect really. Dating non-heroes is such a hassle."

THere's a small chuckle and nod at mention of recommending being born rich. I wasn't born rich, but I got to be rich after the fact, which works just as well. Childhood kinda sucked, but I got the best brother in the world and a trust fund by sixteen, so I can't complain."

Bart gets another quick kiss and smile, "I know, and I appreciate it."
Garfield Logan Gar Logan nods once toward Vorpal. Served him right! He makes like Stephen Curry, holding the follow-up of his shot for all to see.

"Like I said before, a codename isn't changing..right. It's like a separate name. Look, everyone knows who I am because of my skin color, but super names are tradition. Just because Wonder Woman is known as Princess Diana of Themyscira, that doesn't mean she stops being called Wonder Woman. And just because Nightwing wants to keep his identity secret for safety reasons, that doesn't mean he stops being called Mr. Tightbutt."

Yes, he just said that.

"Oh, good for you guys," he remarks to Bart and Emiko, then adds, "Superhero names should say something about you, like part of how you look or how you act." Pointing to Bart, he says, "Impulse? Very appropriate. Starfire? It just fits. Cyborg? Like, duh. Vorpal? I know it's from the stories, but I'm still kinda working that out. Look at the definitions."

Holding up the phone he's dug out of a hidden pocket, there are definitions:

* resulting in or capable of causing death
* bringing ruin; disastrous
* decisively important; fateful
* decreed by fate; destined; inevitable

"I guess you could say he's inevitable. The rest? Man, I dunno." He grins, much like the Cheshire Cat might. "So Kian, long story short, you'd better come up with something on your own before one of us starts calling you Sam the Eagle or something like that."

Then, not completely out of left field, he shares something that's a little more real at what Colette says about the money. "I'd give up all the money and fancy stuff if it brought back my parents, but..you know, that's not happening."
Kian     Kian listens to the discussion over his lack of a code name with a slightly pained look.  The other birdfolk, however, pretty much have shock, disbelief, and even offense covered.
    And then all of them -- save Kian, who's sitting there pinching the bridge of his nose as if warding off a headache -- are talking at once.
    "That's impossible!  He can't--"
    "Do you have any idea what you're *asking*--?"
    "He is *sworn*!  He can only ever be Kian!"
    Before matters degenerate any further, Kian keens sharply, like a hawk -- it's a good way of getting everyone's attention, and probably damned loud indoors, even in a room the size of the main lounge.  "Look," he says a little wearily, addressing his fellow Titans, "this iss not a matter of a personal preference.  I may *not* take another name.  Asking me to take one iss askin' me to turn my back on my own First Flight.  I will never do that.  The question of a code name for me is /closed/," he says firmly, in a tone Terry may think approaches the way he spoke to the priestess Aela, on his world.  "I haf tried to explain before, an' now I must insist.  Do not ask me to take another name.  I can not and will not."
    His siblings nod in unison; Kala, however, returns to Gar's side and curls a wing around his shoulders again.
Colette O'Connail     "Yeah, just because you guys want to have codenames doesn't mean Kian can't just be Kian," Colette agrees. "You guys are all just jealous because even though half of you are public heroes and don't have secret identities, it never occurred to you that you could just /not/. Remember the trouble you had picking a codename for yourself, Terry? Finally you got something you were happy with, then a few months later you came out as Terry. Now the world knows you as Vorpal brackets Terry O'Neil close brackets. What was the point?"

    "Besides, there's Caitlin Fairchild. She doesn't have a code name, does she? So no reason Kian should. You just stick to your real name and don't listen to them, Birdy Buddy." Colette gives Kian a wink -- the irony of what she says may be intentional.

    "Oh..." Colette remembers something and pulls a thumb drive from her pocket, sliding it over the island towards Kian. "Just because you've got a translator device doesn't mean I don't have more lessons for you," she says."
Bart Allen Bart Allen looks over and says "I got it drilled into my head how ya needed one, and then Wally pulled an Iron Man, so who knows. He looks to the birds and says No one is trying to disrespect Kian or your people, but it seems names have a different status and value on Earth than your home planet. Can, I ask something though, what were you called before your first flight?" He seems honestly curious.
Emiko Queen Emiko flashes a grin towards Gar, "Thanks. We're enjoying it." Then she's sitting back to watch everyone going back and forth over Kian's name, eyes jumping from person to person, dipping over to Kian for a long moment. Studying him. Flicking glances towards his brother and sister. Then over to Colette as she adds her piece to the discussion. And finally to Bart.

Looking back to Kian, she smiles gently, "Names are important. But more than that, they're personal. And it sounds like in your world, the name you choose for yourself has some very deep cultural attachment to it. If Kian is who you are, then be Kian. Whatever else, be the name that you choose. I keep my public name and super name separate because I can and I like the freedom being Emiko Queen affords that Red Arrow doesn't. And vice versa. But Colette is right. There are many who don't take a codename and are openly who they are. We'll respect your choice, your culture."
Terry O'Neil "That's easy, Colette, 'VORPAL' is easier to remember than Terry O'Neil. Besides, there's already a famous surfer by that name and you have no idea how many times people think I'm..." he waves his hands, "I already have enough of a brand management problem as it is. 'The Cheshire Cat is Vorpal' is much easier to remember than 'The Cheshire Cat is some guy called Terry O'Neil no not THAT one the other one' thank you very much."

The cat gratefully takes what Emiko offers, to wipe off the pizza from him. "I am not going to tell you how many times I was called 'Snagglepuss' by the media before I set the record straight about who I was. And don't think I didn't notice that they wrote /him/ gay in the interim between my debut and before I came up with a codename and all. I almost suspect Colette was behind all of that..." he glances a her, an eyebrow raised.
Garfield Logan Gar Logan holds up his hands, after covering his ears from the keening Kian does. If anyone doubted his bird side...

"Okay, okay. Forget the idea! We get it!" He has more experience around the Akiar, and /as/ an Akiar, than most others, but his human/Earthling side is what it is. "You're Kian, and that's that."

All the same, he grows quieter whether as a direct result of that or letting the old scars back up, and Kala's gesture sees him subtly shifting toward it. Regardless of the relationship he has with Terry, there are things he'll miss when Kala leaves. "/h'qien/" is what he says to her, an Akiar word of thanks.
Kian     "It has been explained to me," Kian says to Bart as he slips the thumb drive into a small belt pouch, "why many Earth people use multiple names, an' I have respected that, even if I don' understand it.  But we are not given names at birth, we choose them at the Firs' Flight, that iss part of why they are so important."
    He takes a breath.  "Before then, I was /Ta'Kai'Eryn/ -- Second child, of Kai and Eryn.  Shiri was /I'Ila'Kai/, First child, of Ila and Kai; we share the same blood-father, Kai.  Keth was /She'Taran'Eryn/, Third child, of Taran and Eryn -- we share Eryn as blood-mother.  And now there's /So'Ila'Taran/, a baby sister born since I came to Earth.  Eventually she'll choose her own name."
    Shiri smirks.  "Funny thing is, Kian, you disappearing is what got Mother Ila and Father Taran to finally decide to have a child together.  So she's a little bit your fault, too!"
Colette O'Connail     "I have no idea what you're talking about Terry," Colette says. "Which makes two of us. Incidentally, all this crazy stuff that's been happening around the city? Yeah." She points two fingers at her eyes, then at Terry, in an 'I've got my eyes on you' gesture. "If I find myself crashing my car into a giant mushroom, I know who to blame."

    Colette gulps down the last of her beer and lets the bottle drop into the recycling with a crash. "Be nice if you guys could get that whole thing sorted out. I had some idiot guy trying to recruit me to go hunting a Snark the other day, and he wouldn't leave me alone. Kept claiming he knew me and that I was a famous Snark hunter or some nonsense like that."

    " Aaanyway. I should get a move on. Nice meeting you Emiko. Run. Enjoy the rest of your stay on Earth, Akiar people. Seeya, Kian, Bart and Gar." She de-leans from the counter-top and makes her way to the elevator. "As for you, Snagglepuss... Giorgio's. Been a while. Later, losers!"