Owner	Pose
Phoebe Beacon	Most often when Phoebe does physical training, it's done in the Robin's Roost or in the Batcave. Today she was working with something more violent.     She wasn't patrolling tonight, and she knew she could push the physical limit of what she experienced in a fight.     That's why the Training Room in the Velvet Room castle was the ideal place to work out. Today its blue walls were blackened sandstone, blasted with fire and brimstone. THe reek of sulfur hung in the air like the blade of a guillatine, waiting to fall upon the helpless people who were to wander too deeply in to the ebon maze.     Inside the walls the sound of combat ensued, char sticking to brackish water, ashes coating the surface in dirty foam.     In the midst of the battle a figure in black stood with a sun-bleached headress of bone, a crocodillian smile full of conical teeth and glowing red eyes, baring a spear that rattled with fetishes tied to it, in the midst of combat against another figure with a snake's head in a headress.
Lydia Dietrich	Normally Lydia would train on the training room on the Asteroid, but she's been secretive about her ability to turn into bats. Getting the hang of two took a while. Having your consciousness split between two entities is a disconcerting and dizzying experience. Four was even worse, but she got the hang of it a little bit better. Now it's time to try eight.     Only.... it looks like somebody's already gotten to the training room first and set it on some sort of demonic epic battle. She's dressed for a workout. Yoga pants and trainers, and a crop top short enough to titillate Raven under which she wears a sports bra. Her curly hair is tied up and back into a ponytail to keep it out of her eyes.     "Hello?" she calls out tentatively, wary to keep out of the middle of battle. "Anybody here?"
Phoebe Beacon	The figure with the snake head turns, the cobra's mantle flaring out as red eyes focus on Lydia's yoga-pants clad form and she gives an evil sounding hiss, and launches herself at Lydia!      -- only to be struck from behind as the figure calls out in a muffled voice "Ignatis! Desine apparitionem!"     And before the Cobra-woman can strike, the room appears to burst into heatless flame, leaving just the figure with the boney, crocodile's smile.     Which gets pulled off to reveal Phoebe, sweaty and heaving a breath.     "Hey, Lyds."
Lydia Dietrich	When the snake woman looks like she's about to strike, the twinkling stars of Lydia's ectoplasmic aura reflexively snap into chitinous armor around her, and spikes shoot out on every surface making her more prickly than a porcupine. She squeaks in surprise and leaps back, a good twenty feet or so, crouching to go on the offensive.     She relaxes a bit when her attacker is engulfed in flame, and turns her red eyes warily at the crocodile woman, ready to defend herself. However, when it's revealed that it's Phoebe, she relaxes even more, dropping her armor and standing up.     "Wow. Phoebe. That scared the crap out of me," she says with a chuckle. "This was /not/ what I was expecting to see when I came into the room. I like the crocodile look. New costume?"
Phoebe Beacon	Phoebe looks at the cocodile mask, and she gives a shrug.     "It's supposed to be a Shawl of Sobek, allowing you to see under water. I think I've been had. Thing's made of resin." she states, and tosses the hat to the side as she brushes herself off, and is just revealed to be wearing a black unitard, and the walls go back to how they were before.     "Trying to build up some weaponry, armory, you know. The bits and bobs."
Lydia Dietrich	Lydia nods in understanding. "Always be prepared," she says. "I always wanted to be a Girl Scout, but my mother always thought it'd be beneath me." She walks up and picks up the shawl and turns it around in her hands. "Still. Looks more intimidating than a regular pair of swimming goggles."      "I'd find something that'll let you breathe underwater first," she suggests. "Maybe let you move around easier. If Batman or Red Robin have any contacts with the Atlanteans it might be worth checking out." She shakes her head and chuckles, "I need to find something for myself, though I have the opposite problem. While I don't need to breathe, I just kind of.... sink. And if I'm in salt water, then, this is useless," she says waving a hand through her aura.
Phoebe Beacon	"Coming from someoen in the scouts at one point? Yeah, probably." Phoebe admits to Lydia, and she looks at the shawl, and then gives it a hapless toss towards a pile of stuff and a duffle bag with rainbow Baphomets shooting sparkle rainbow lasers from their eyes and NOT TODAY JESUS scrawled in happy pink letters.     "Honestly, they'd just give be a rebreather and call it a day. Simple for them to do." she gives a small smile, and rubs the back of her neck.     "ALong with a face mask, but y'know. *STYLE*." she motions with one hand, carelessly over her head and then looks to Lydia's work out outfit.     "Jazzersize?"
Cael Becker	Great minds think alike, it seems, as Cael steps into the training room, dressed in her own workout clothes, and carrying a water bottle with her. She pauses a moment as she spots Lydia and Phoebe, offering the pair a nod of her head - a hint of something wary lurking in her expression.     "Am I interrupting anything?" she asks in a calm, polite tone of voice - as the white dog beside stops, and sides at her feet. "I could always come back another time," she suggests.     The new tattoo at her throat - a broken wrench - has healed completely, and she's redone her hair hair with bright, flame-like colors dyed into the lower layers.
Lydia Dietrich	Lydia's eyes are drawn to the bag and the sparkly Baphomets. "Okay. Those are just awesome," she says, gesturing at them. "Where did you get them? I want a few. I don't know where I'd put them but I'll find a place."     When she's accused of Jazzersize she looks down at her outfit and scowls. "What's wrong with this? It's comfortable, keeps out of the way, and makes Raven go crazy." She gives her abs a couple of pats, "There's nothing like showing a little tum."     When Cael enters she turns to her and gives her a wave. "Not really," she says. "Phoebe was just trying out some new equipment and I was going to practice my bats. You're more than welcome to join us." She turns and gives Bear a closed mouth smile, not showing any teeth. "Hi, Bear!" One day that dog will get used to her presence and she'll be able to pet him.
Phoebe Beacon	Phoebe looks as Cael comes into the training room, and she bends over, grabbing the shawl of Sobek and using it to pantomime     "No one here but us Heathens!" the jaw clicks and snaps, Phoebe's voice taking on an overly sweet quality as she answers Cael, and then she dumps the bag out of its remaining towel, and gives it a toss over to Lydia. "Here. I have another bag. You can have this one. One of my friends convinced the seller they mispelled Gee-sus and Hey-soos, so we got the three of them on discount."     And she looks to the cloud with a tongue. "Hey Bear."
Cael Becker	Bear considers the attention being tossed his way - and responds by simultaneously showing some of his teeth - and thumping his tail on the floor. Really, he's just not sure how to respond to being addressed so cheerfully by a vampire - but Phoebe's help at least earns the wag.     "Practicing your... bats. Are you taking up baseball?" Cael asks with confusion, setting down her things. She scritches at Bear's head before adding, "I was going to see if the room could conjure up an opponant for me - for some hand-to-hand combat."
Lydia Dietrich	Lydia chuckles at the Sobek-puppet and deftly catches the bag. "I am /so/ going to use this to cart around my magical supplies." She giggles to herself as she spreads out the fabric to look at the sparkly Baphomet in closer detail. "I love it. Thank you, Phoebe."     She sets the bag down near the entrance, she turns to Cael and shakes her head. "Nope. Literal bats. I can turn into four pretty easy now. I was hoping to work on eight for a bit."
Phoebe Beacon	"No problem, Lydia. May it serve you well and horrify the normies." she comments to the vampire as she pulls out another bag, this one plain black, and tucks her assemblage of stuff into it before plopping on the floor for a sit. "They really are kind of adorable bats." she adds in commentary, and then she purses her lips.     "Conjure an opponent? What kind of hand-to-hand are you going for?" Phoebe asks of Cael curiously.
Cael Becker	"You can- right. Okay. ...of course you can," Cael remarks, seeming at first caught off quard by this - and then bemused. "Are they like... really big bats? Or does the magic say 'who the fuck carries about conservation of mass? Science is bullshit!'?" She really, really wished magic would stop contradicting science. She wasn't a scientist - but she //liked// having something concrete to rely on.     Shae shakes her head for a moent, then adds, "I was thinking of starting with unarmed combat, and then maybe going back to practicing with an axe. I... grew sort of fond of them." While using the amulet, of course. While talking, she reaches back with one hand, rubbing idly at the back of her neck.
Lydia Dietrich	Lydia nods in agreement with Phoebe. "They're cute little fist size things," she says. "I found out that they're Pallid Bats. Ground hunters. They only use echolocation to navigate around while flying, but divebomb to the ground to eat hapless insects." She holds up a finger, "/And/ they're immune to scorpion venom."     She gives Cael a sympathetic nod. "It's the 'science is bullshit' kind of thing. Otherwise I wouldn't be able to turn into a crow. Or be moving around when my body is technically dead. I mean, I have all the innards of a human but none of it works, really. So you can stab me in the gut and all it does is just inconvenience me. Believe me. I have /so/ many questions about how I work, and the best answer I can come up with is... " she shrugs helpless exaggerated shrug, "magic."     "Well, if you want, you can fight me," she tells Cael. "Though I warn you, I'm still not that good at hand to hand. Better than I was, since Raven insists on training me just in case I ever lose my mutant powers, but...." she shakes her head. "Nowhere near as good as Phoebe would be."
Phoebe Beacon	"Magical bullshitery!" the Sobek skull clappers again, and then gets tossed in the bag.     "Same way that I can glow in the dark if I get too angry and how I was able to restore Vorpal's spleen and dry my socks after lobbing my boots at Jubilee." she gives a wry smile, and she stretches out her fingers. "Or how you pulled a rope toy from under a couch cushion." she smiles back to Cael.     "And I mean, I'm allr ight at martial arts. Aikido, mostly. A bit of capoeira. Judo. Jeet keen do. Two years working with the Gotham folks and six months with occasionally bareknuckle bouts."
Cael Becker	"God I wish magic would stop doing that shit," Cael mutters under her breath. "Life was EASIER when I didn't believe in any of this SHIT." She lets out an aggrevated sigh, then gets a distant look on her features.     "I- ...don't know the names of any of the things I know. I mean, yeah, I learned some Aikido when training with the NYPD, and the FBI, but- most of what I know... It just- it's instinct. It just sort of //appeared// in my head when I started using that amulet. I just... became a better fighter. I knew what to do."
Lydia Dietrich	"Magic has its own set of rules," Lydia tells Cael. "Sure, they're different from physics set of rule and there's different flavors of them, but there are rules nonetheless." She gives her a slight grin, "The trick is figuring out what the rules /are/. Not unlike physics."     She takes a breath to let it out with a sigh. "One of the things about magic is that once you touch it, it never leaves you alone. It's like..." she gestures impatiently, "once you become aware of it, it becomes aware of you. You can try to put it aside, but sooner or later it'll come back into your life, and for what it's worth, I'm sorry you got tangled up in our mess."     She grins at Phoebe, "I'm sure you're better than me at it. I might have the advantage in speed and strength but I like technique and experience." She holds out a hand, and her twinkly aura condenses and forms into a sword. "When I wield something like this, I cheat. I just let my arm go slack, and use my will to swing it about. Makes it look like I know what I'm doing, but it's just bait and switch. It's what worked against the archangel that I fought."
Phoebe Beacon	"I know the feeling. And you can go back to not believing. It's not easy, but it can be done, but it's messy. And you won't want to do it, because then you have to forget about Jon and Agnes and Martin, too." Phoebe replies, and she leans down to take off her shoes.     She has paler spots on her feet.     "Whenever anyone asks how I learned the rules, always goes - one, 'sokay to puke. Because it happens a lot. Two, paying the price for the knowledge - magic will always cost, because knowledge is power, but ignorance is bliss." Phoebe recounts quietly. "Friends. Family. Opportunity. Normalcy. Home." she states, emitting a ball of light and tossing it back and forth in her hands.     "Humanity."
Cael Becker	"And that my sister was here. And that I had... another six or so months with her?" Tears well up in Cael's eyes at that thought, and her fingers go to tattoo just to one side of her neck. "So... no. There's no forgetting - but magic is //such// bullshit," she remarks fervently.     She lets out a snort as she adds, "If you give up your humanity - you've given up too much. I don't mean- physically. Because I know you're not exactly human anymore, Lydia," Cael remarks, nodding to Phoebe. "And the same applies to Chas, and the arguement could be made for Jon - but I mean..." she touches her chest. "Your //humanity.// Who you are, inside. What you believe in. Your moral compass - if the magic you want tries to take //that// from you? Spit in its fucking face and walk away. You know? ...not worth it."
Lydia Dietrich	Lydia looks thoughtful for a moment. "I put my humanity behind me," she says. "I moved on. But I didn't give up my moral compass." She looks out into the distance of the room as if seeing something out there. "There are other beings out there who aren't human, but they have the same moral compass. Aliens and whatnot. They're not human, and never have been, but they still know right from wrong, and they stay in the light." She shakes her head. "When I realized that, it was easier to give up on the things that had made me human. I won't say that I've /embraced/ what I've become, but I'm getting there."     She snaps out of her reverie and turns to address the pair, "Anyway. The price you pay for the magic that you wield isn't always your humanity. Dark magic is the kind of magic that will do that, but we don't deal in it. That's the kind of thing that we fight against."
Phoebe Beacon	"I'm not just talking about the sense of morality, ladies." Phoebe states, slinging her ball of light between palm and palm.     "First you dip your toes in. A little bit of power. You can make a light form between your fingers, or do a fancy card trick. And then you go a little deeper, it's not so bad. You get a little more power. More knowledge. You start not being able to see the world as it was and now as it is. You get to learn about the Soul Trade that goes on in the dark magic underbellies of cities. That some of the people who go missing from the little cabals and covens end up falling astride of some people who really love the taste of human flesh or blood. And then you start seeing more signs. Vampire raves where they slit throats into goblets and laugh about it. You feel that the guy on the corner with The End is Near might be right. Suddenly having the right Beeswax Candles and blend of herbs stuffed into your pocket becomes the most important thing because you don't want any more ghosts following you, because once you have the knowledge--"     Phoebe comes closer, her eyes subtlely glowing, purely for effect "You can't go back. You only give up your hand when you fold, and you better be sure that your conscience is clear when it's done."     She takes her hand with its magic ball, and squeezes it, snuffing it out.     "One year it took me to go from basic magical healing to learning the names of demons and their symbols by wrote so I can pull them out of thin air or from people."
Cael Becker	Cael can't quite help herself - she let's out a snort as Phoebe comes in towards her with glowing eyes. "...I'm sorry. Do you think only in the magical world does sick fuckin' depraved things happen? Stomach churning and completely mundane things happen world wide - including in the good ol' US of A. Children being trafficked. Slavery. Torture. Murder. Did you know there are parts of the world where families are so desperate for money to feed their kids that they pull their children out of school and force the to - get this - //mine for gold underwater// - breathing through a tube. Saw that one on the news the other night - pretty fucked up. And that's... mild."     She shakes her head then adds, "I was talked into being involved in a drive by shooting when I was seventeen - supposedly to get back at the guys who killed my sister. But you know why else? ...so I wouldn't be able to leave. So I'd be in too deep to turn my back on them. That's how gangs //work// - they do that to children. Initiate them little by little - deaden their souls to the pain and suffering they cause until you end up with- ...with people like the guy who killed me. No magic involved. Just sick fucking human nature."     Cael gives a shrug of her shoulders. "They're human - but they lost their humanity, if you ask me. No magic involved. The world's a //dark// place - welcome to reality."
Lydia Dietrich	Lydia winces at the part about the vampire raves. She knows that kind of thing goes on, and that's more par for the course for most vampires, and she resists the urge to apologize. "It... doesn't always have to be /quite/ so dramatic," she says. "But that's the general gist of it. You dip your toes in it and soon enough you're swimming in the deep end."     She sets her lip into a thin line as Cael talks about the depths of depravity regular old humans can do. "I've seen things," she says. "What people are willing to do to mutants. It's an evil all on its own. People's unwillingness to do anything about them even though they're aware is a kind of evil as well. It's why I joined the Brotherhood. Sometimes action needs to be taken by people who aren't afraid of the politics behind it."     Her eyes stray to Cael as she talks about the gangs, and she shakes her head. "I think there's balance in the world," she says. "While, yes, the world can get very dark at times, there's also light in it. There's hope, and kindness, and love, and these things need to be nurtured." She shakes her head and chuckles, "You two would probably call me naieve, but I honestly think that humanity isn't completely lost."
Phoebe Beacon	"You're comparing apples to fucking Panzer tanks, Cael. You think I grew up in Gotham and came out thinking sunshine and rainbows? That I don't know about gang warfare and the little ways they drag normal people into it? About kidnappings and rape? I was fourteen when I found out I could heal people and sewed leftover ballistic ceramic into a wool coat. That was my armor. I saw people die of cold on the street. Of tooth infections. I saw kids tossed out by parents who were too shamed to go to the Wayne shelters and lived in sewers. You want real?"     Phoebe is deadly calm, but her voice is terse     "I *was* trafficked. I was beaten and stabbed with needles to see how my healing ability worked. I broke out and walked three miles in negative four degree storms and through broken glass on the hope that someone was still looking for me, that someone cared enough about me. I was kept heavily drugged on the edge of my ability to exist because it was the best way they could hold me to charge *money* for access to me, whoring my magic out. A month in a salt water bath with a nasal feeding tube and a catheter line, praying to whoever would listen that they would just--" and she forms a fist, and punches a little upward "-- overdose me so I could die. Just that little bit more to stop my respiratory system. At least /you/ only lost your /sister/." she states, her body shifting, drawing her weight to the balls of her feet.     "You want out of the magic shit, talk to your boyfriend. Have him call one of his winged buddies to sort your memories and put you back on Normal. Pretty sure the asshole knows how to do it."
Cael Becker	"If I thought there was no light in the world - why would I still try to save it?" Cael answers Lydia - flashing her a smile. "I know there's good out there, and I have good things in my life."     But as Phoebe speaks, Cael's teeth grit - and her hand bunches into a fist at her side - but her feet remain rooted where she is, and Bear lets out a quiet, but worried whine as he leans his weight into her leg - turning his head and nuzzle into her stomach, and lick at her. "No one... is going in my head," she manages to spit out.     "And you don't know what I've lost, or what I've been through. You don't know my past - doesn't seem like you actually care to either. I'm sorry you been through shit. You know what you need? ... help. I've told you this before - you need help. It's okay to need help. //I// needed help. I //still// need help. I see a therapist every week - sometimes every day when it gets bad. //Get help,// Phoebe. Please."     Turning on her heel she adds, "Com'on, Bear. We'll go run in the garden instead, yeah?"
Lydia Dietrich	Lydia just kind of stares at Phoebe as she goads Cael into leaving. "Woah, woah, woah," she says, positioning herself between the two women. "I don't know where this came from but everybody needs to cool down, okay? Phoebe," she says gently, "just take a breath for a moment and center yourself."     "Cael..." she pauses for a moment. "Probably a good idea to go for a run in the garden. We're on the same team, and there's no reason to antagonize each other."
Phoebe Beacon	Phoebe's arms cross, and she turns her head to the side. "I don't need to center myself. They don't give a flying leap. Further away from me they are" she huffs, and turns her back "- the better it is for everyone." Phoebe frowns, and then brings her hands up crossing them at the palms and then uncrosses them slowly, rolling her fingers closed as everything neatly throws itself into the bag.     "... Cael's trying to pour from an empty cup. She just needs to stay away from me. I'm not exactly good for anyone's health." she states quietly, tapping herself a moment, and then reaching into her bag, and pulling out a battered cardboard package, she just looks at it for a moment.     "Just another thing he was right about."
Cael Becker	Cael's steps don't falter as Lydia intercedes between the two women - she simply keeps striding for the door, and out into the hall - Bear at her side, his head tilted up and towards his owner.
Lydia Dietrich	Lydia turns to Phoebe, fists clenched, a hint of red in her eyes. "/Stop that/. You're /insufferable/ when you get this way." As she talks a little bit of her Bronx accent starts to leak out in her anger. "People /care/ about you, Phoebe, and yet you keep pushing them away. You're so afraid that they're going to hurt you that you hurt yourself first before they can."     "If /anything/ is bad for our health it's being part of the JLD." She can feel the beast rising to her anger and she struggles to contain it as she talks. "You're /not/ cursed. People /aren't/ going to stay away just because you wallow in self pity. So..." Her fists clench hard enough to put divots in the palm of her hand. "So... /shut up/ and let people love and help you."     Before Phoebe can reply she turns on her heel and throws her hands up in the air in frustration. "God! Sometimes talking to you is like talking to a brick wall." She stalks out the room, slamming the door behind her and heads back to the Lounge so she can go back to the Asteroid to practice.
Phoebe Beacon	Phoebe sits in the silence. She counts breaths, heartbeats, and then she turns the worn cardbord box with its warnings about smoking causing all manner of health issues, and she turns it right side up, looking at the Silk Cut logo. She runs her thumb over it a moment, her eyes softening.     "That was a low blow, I know." she murmurs, and then she sticks the worn box back in her pack, and looks up. The room's returned to its default setting, and she shoulders her bag, and goes to return to Gotham.