Owner	Pose
Terry O'Neil	Last week, the Titans received important information on where to find a certain Quinton Uffish, former jester to the Queen of Hearts and Inventor Extra-ordinaire. Or plain Extra. Unfortunately the team could not go forth as planned because they broke their lantern and they had to take the poor boy back to the real world and medical attention, else a little Wonderland seep through his much-abused nogging. Fortunately their journey through the Monarchy of Hearts is easier on the second time around, since they are considered personal friends of Queen Amy. "Well... this looks to be the place," Terry, the very non-cheshire redhead says. The cottage is in a clearing in the midst of a garden full of enormous flowers, some of them as tall as trees, but that is not the most unusual thing here. Rather, it is the cottage itself. This building could be said to be a ' just cottage' in the same way that Gormenghast is 'just a castle.' It has multiple roofs that somehow still managed to only be one story heigh, ad by the windows it might be surmised that there might be one attic- or four, or a very strangely-shaped attic. If this cottage were on any maps of Wonderland, there would probably not be a 'There Be Dragons' scrawled on the margin near its marker, but probably 'There Be Architecture.' The door is massive and it has as many knockers on it as ornaments on a christmas tree. "Those are some nice knockers," Terry observes.
Kate Bishop	The sigh from Kate is suffering. Of course there is a 'knockers' joke. Frickin' Wonderland.     "Okay so before we go a-knocking, quick recap to make sure us nto as nonsensical sortws know the 'plan'."     "We need to get Quinton Uffish, the grand Inventor of the Queen, to invent us a way into the Woods of No Names, safely, so we don't lose our own names and ourselves." mostly she is double checking the score, because as far as Kate is concerned it very well could have changed on the trip out here.     Recap done, she does look around at the forest sized flowers "If Wonderland wasn't so damn dangerous it would be a really nice place to visit and maybe vacation..."
Victor Stone	"That's about the whole of it," Vic agrees with Kate. "I'm curious to meet the guy anyway. I mean, Nadia and I have been studying magic for a while now--she's got some really great theories about how magic and science interact--and maybe this guy would have ideas on that!"     A pause. "Or, you know, it's Wonderland. Maybe he's got nothing and 'Scientist' is just a word for the guy who makes wacky inventions but it's really magic. Who knows." He shrugs. "Worth a shot, though. The house is... something, that's for sure."
Irie West	"Wow," Iris says, looking up at the cottage. "That's something alright." She tilts her head trying to make sense of it. "I didn't know angles like that /existed/. It hurts my eyes."     She turns away from the cottagrocity and rubs her eyes trying to get at that little pain in the back of them after looking at all those attics. "Did we try the note trick yet to get through the Woods?" she asks. "Like, we can write an entire instruction manual and send people through. With flowcharts and everything. Kinda like a choose-your-own-adventure."     She turns to Cait and gives her a goofy grin, "It's easy to do stuff like that when you're a literal god." She looks thoughtful and taps her chin, "I mean... if it came down to it I might be able to do stuff with lightning too. You never know with the Speed Force."
Kian	Kian just shakes his head.  "I suppose it makes as much sense as anything else around here," he says with a sigh of resignation.  "And magic and physics, in my experience, *don't*.  I'm definitely on the physics side and staying there.  But that's how I can throw electricity and not get hurt by it, maybe."     The birdman is not grumpy, but he would like to be back to some sort of normality, even the limited normality of Earth.     Considering *both* of his boyfriends are alternately the Cheshire Cat now, his definition of normality has definitely slipped over time.
Caitlin Fairchild	Caitlin rolls her eyes behind Terry's back at his 'knockers' joke. The Amazon is in her armor, and busy cinching up a stubborn arm strap that nominally holds her left pauldron in place. "The sooner I'm outta here the better, Hawkeye," Caitlin tells the archer. "None of this makes sense to me. How can you lose a name? If it's just some amnesia there are ways to deal with it." She gets the strap in her teeth and pulls it into place long enough to reset the strap latch. It's hard to fix armor while you're wearing it. "I just don't see how magic and physics interacts *at all*," she says to Vic's commentary. "I've seen Thor stand around channeling lightning like he can aim it somehow. I couldn't do that reliably with a Tesla coil and an arc reactor. How he doesn't shock himself with all that wind and rain he does..." Grumble mutter grumble! Caitlin's in a bit of a mood; this expedition is not her idea of fun. Wonderland reminds her too much of Echon. As per always, she's the only one carrying any substantial weight: an aluminum backpacking frame with a heavy, handmade leather bag attached to it. Food and medical supplies, no doubt. Cait had to go hungry on a trip gone wrong, once. She's not eager to repeat it.
Nadia Pym-van Dyne	Nadia is still dressed in what could be called 'Alice' attire, a beautiful yellow summer dress, white pinafore, and black patent leather Mary Janes shined to a mirror finish. With the cat out of the proverbial bag at this point, it seems like she has decided she might as well play the part and it is a testament to Janet's bespoke seamstresses how closely she looks it, down to the last detail. Though the fact she already had an uncanny physical resemblance to Alice Liddel certainly helped.     "A scientist in a realm of Chaos Magic, his theories have got to be fascinating, the real question is if the physics of this place can be folded properly into a greater multiversal model and how the magic interacts with those physics. The Color Principle definitely seems to apply here." Yes, Nadia has named the theory that colors are very important to magic. Because of course she has. "Apparently his inventions have a tendency to be slightly off like coming up with the giant mecha Alice when someone wanted help turning up Alice and he came up with a giant Wind Up Alice instead, but I still wonder if there isn't some deeper principle at play, if only we could quantify the Chaos principles of this realm."
Colette O'Connail	Inside the cottage, on a chair that looks like it had an accident with a motorbike, Quinton Uffish sits with his chin in his hands, looking morosely into the fire that flickers, half-dying, in the fireplace. Were he to be listening in on the conversation outside his door, he might be somewhat cheered by it. /Nobody/ in Wonderland talks about science to him. Rather they consider him quite eccentric to even consider the subject.     Kate's description of him as the 'grand inventor to the Queen' would certainly be cheery. No, Quinton Uffish has no illusions about his place in Wonderland society -- his role in the Queen's court may have a grand title, but in a realm where science is considered a foolish way to regard reality, the position of court scientist is one of providing amusement. He was, in truth, deemed more of a court jester.     The very idea that reality could be explained, measured and contained, this is not an idea that meets with a great deal of respect in Wonderland. And can you blame the Wonderlanders? Science is based on the principle that there are rules, that effect follows cause, and most importantly that there is a continuity of consequence. That what has been measured in the past is applicable to the future. Such concepts are deemed folly here.     And yet, Uffish has persisted. He /believes/ in science. He /knows/ it is real, and that it is powerful. He has /faith/ that his researches have lead him to a greater understanding of the universe.     And why not? Certainly he has performed miracles of science. He has invented devices that /work/.     Kind of.     There's the problem. The real reason Quinton Uffish is never taken seriously. Because he, a Wonderlander as much as any of the other denizens of this realm, looks upon the scientific miracles he has created, and sees failure.     Yet there are those who will give him a chance from time to time. After all, though he and most around him deem him a failure, his devices generally do /something/. He's sure that his reasons for failing are not the fault of his philosophy, his grasp of the underlying mechanics of the universe, his scientific reasoning. No, he's quite sure there's an altogether different failing behind the problem. But sometimes people are impressed by the results, even when they are not quite what was intended.     The Church of Alice, for example, saw possibilities, and they were desperate. Wonderland found Alice all those years ago, and she changed everything -- but then she was lost again. Perhaps it was in the Scientist's power to invent some device to allow them to re-find Alice. If only he hadn't misunderstood the commission, and built them the Automated Alice, something that allowed them to re-wind Alice, instead. A mistake anyone could have made.     Not that the Church saw it that way. Apparently they have not finished with Quinton Uffish, and he's not happy about it. He stares down at the floor, where the shadow of his seated form stretches out across the wooden floorboards, filling half the space between himself and the dying fire, the only source of light in the dim cottage interior.
Terry O'Neil	"I am not entirely sure that'd be a wise thing to do," Terry says, in regards to quantifying the principles of Wonderland, "Hakw's got the plan right. So... let me just go and bang with the knockers. At least we're closer to getting some answers. I hope." Terry goes up to the door and chooses the largest knocker he can get his hands on, assuming it will give him the biggest bang and therefore have the highest chances of being heard. He swings. Bang, bang, bang. And silence. It's only when he tries the knocker again that he realizes that the door is not a door- it is ajar, and all he needs to do is open it. And that is when they come into the presence of Quinton Uffish. Poor, sullen, desolate Uffish. "Quinton Uffish, I presume?" Terry says as the team comes in. He's always wanted to do that line. "We are the Titans, and are in need of your help." He can't introduce himself as the Cheshire Cat, it is dangerous for him to be it right now. And it was generally agreed-upon that GarShire should not come on this mission as he has developed the propensity for knocking things off tables, which does not go well with inventors.
Kate Bishop	Kate is fully geared up and loaded for bear. Are there bears in Wonderland. She comes in behind Terry and looks around the room quietly as he does the introductions.     He is, questionably, the expert in this situation, at least until inventions and science comes out. She just quietly takes it in, including the morose inventor. I mean sure the information had the court 'jester' bit in it, but seeing the poor wonderlander so depressed is something.     "We need science and you. Quinton Uffish, you are truly our only hope."
Victor Stone	Vic nods along with Nadia. "I'm really curious about that myself. Anything can be explained with the right perspective." He looks to Caitlin. "I mean, look, magic /exists/, right? That means as long as it's subject to falsifiable hypothesis, it's subject to the scientific method. So we can try to understand it. We /could/ make Thor a test subject, y'know, if that was... ethical." He's /trying/ not to be a /completely/ mad scientist. Really.     He steps into the cottage and looks around curiously at whatever might be there, though he mostly focuses on Quinton himself. "Hi! Nice to meet you, we're the Titans, like he said." He nods to Terry. "We're trying to save Wonderland." That's what they're doing here, right? Trying to save Wonderland.
Caitlin Fairchild	Caitlin goes in right behind Terry, looking around for monsters or playing cards lurking in the shadows. Seeing none, she takes her backpack off and lets it dangle in one hand so it's not swinging around and knocking people over. She holds the door to count noses as everyone passes by, ensuring no one's lost. When all the Titans are accounted for she heads over to Vic's side and stands next to him, flashing a friendly smile to disarm the implicit threat of the heavy combat maul carried diffidently on her shoulder.
Irie West	Iris steps in after the others and looks around the place, eyes narrowing and putting her hands on her hips in consternation. "Where's all the stuff? All the gadgets and gizmos? This is scientist's house in Wonderland. There should be..." she waves her hand at the general emptiness of the room, "you know. /Inventions/ and stuff."     Her eyes are drawn to, perhaps, the only other interesting thing in the room (other than Professor Uffish, that is.) A large clock hung up on the wall, studded with buttons and levers. "Oh! What's this?" she asks, stepping up to it. She looks at it curiously and just can't help herself. She pulls a lever.     First the clock pings, and then the grinding of gears can be heard followed by a soft put-a-put-a-put as steam billows out of a smokestack. Then there's a ratcheting sound as the coo-coo pops out holding a steaming mug of hot chocolate and it hoots, "Co-coa!"     "Neat!" Iris cries and takes the offered hot cocoa and takes a sip. "Tasty." She turns to the others and asks, "Anybody want some?"
Nadia Pym-van Dyne	Nadia steps into Quinton Uffish's abode looking around the place with wide eyes brimming with curiousity. "Hello Dr. Uffish!" Scientists are Doctors right? Nadia isn't but most of them are! "I hear you are an absolutely amazing scientist. I /love/ Science and I want to hear /all/ /about/ your scientific discoveries and Wonderland Science! But right now, we need your help!" Nadia stands upon his threshold as an overly exuberant Alice proclaiming her love of SCIENCE!
Kian	"Just because something is chaotic doesn't mean it doesn't have an underlying organization," Kian remarks, getting that slightly vacant 'thinking' look.  "The math gets complicated, and you have to surrender precision for statistics sometimes, but--"     That's when the scent of cocoa hits his nose, and he turns towards Irie.     Half under his breath, he mutters, "No, chocolate would be a *very* bad idea right now."     Trying to re-focus on the matter at hand, he adds, "There's really nothing incompatible about chaos and physics.  Believe me on that, I live with quantum instability every second of every day."
Colette O'Connail	Quinton Uffish is a man that looks like he is made out of angles. As he cranes around to look at his visitors, long bony limbs that are too extended for his chair cast acute shadows on the floor. As one leg stretches out to give himself room to turn, the too-long leg forms an obtuse shape in the dim light. Sharp shoulders shift, and elbows extend like spikes. One bushy eyebrow on a face with pointed chin, sharp cheekbones and beak-like nose raises doubtfully.     The scientist manipulates some control on the arm of his chair, and with a whir of motors the chair legs shuffle and extend, stepping in an efficient quadruped dance that turns him to face the Titans. Oddly enough, his shadow turns with him. At least that means that now it points away from the light source rather than towards it, which is as it should be.     "You're not from the Church are you?" he asks, frowning. Small, dark eyes peer at Nadia for a few moments before he heaves his bony shoulders in an emphatic shrug that could take out your eye if you got too close. "Well. You have come to mock me then, I suppose. Nobody here needs my science. Or at least they don't want it. Honestly I've been wondering whether they are right and I have wasted my life." He expels a soft sigh. "No... I should persist. One day I'll get something right. I'm sure of it. I have come so close so many times. I am sure if it were not for my atrocious handwriting, my genius would have long been recognized."     "Handwriting! Yes, that's the key to it all. Take my word for it. If you do truly have an interest in science, make sure of your handwriting first. Practice your calligraphy! It is the key to invention. Of this I have become certain. If you would make the keys that unlock the secrets of the universe, you must first learn to write so beautifully that your grocery list would make a poet weep. "     He gestures with a wildly flailing arm towards Iris. Though it is a limb of flesh and bone like any other, somehow you cannot help but imagine a rattling and clanging as the bony limb waves about. "Case in point! I had set out to make myself a cuckoo clock. By the time I got around to it, I misread my notes and... that. I kept it because at least it tells good time. "     "You want to hear of my inventions?" Uffish says to Nadia. "Nothing much to say. A litany of disasters. When I started out, I set my sights on alchemy. I invented the Philosopher's Tone. A simple mistake. But who has a use for a musical note that turns base metals into gold? Ridiculous. I burned my notes, and for a while turned to biology instead. Frenetic Engineering. I had it to the point where I could turn any biological system into any other in an absolute frenzy of rapid transformation before I realized that I had not even begun to consider manipulating the genome! Another disaster. Physics, then? My Grand Unified Theory of Anything signally failed to reconcile classical physics with quantum mechanics, though it would allow the solution of any other problem you could imagine. And don't even /ask/ about my attempts to make a vehicle that can go vaster than light."     He looks back to the fireplace with a sigh. "Well, at least my project notes keep the fire well fed. But as for helping you? No, no. I'm sure you should find someone who's less /useless/ than I am."
Terry O'Neil	"Those... inventions sound brilliant!" Terry says, eyes widening, "That is exactly the sort of thing that we need, Mr. Uffish. Although I do know what you mean about handwriting- I tried to write notes to myself to keep my name about me in the Woods of No Names and I thought my name was 'Turry' and that Raven's name was 'Ramon.' It... we don't talk about that." He glances at the team. "Right?"
Kate Bishop	"I mean. A hot chocolate clock... well.. that is pretty awesome in my book." she steps over and eyes it, then pulls the same lever that Irie did, so she can get herself a hot chocolate as well. She looks to Irie making sure she hasn't grown big or shrunk small, and then sips hers as well.     Irie is now the official wonderland poison taste tester for Kate.     "Did you not hear about you being our only hope Quinton?" she shakes her head. "I was serious about that. Also... one of our most famous inventors wrote everything backwards after teaching himself to read and write. Perhaps you need better glasses." she offers helpfully. "Right now though we have brought a few of our greatest scientists to work with you... so I imagine we won't have that kind of mixup."
Victor Stone	"Well, maybe we can help you out, there. Glasses definitely sound like a good idea, or someone else can write the notes. But specifically... well..." Vic gestures to Terry. "We need to go into the Wood of No Names to find the Red King. And so we... need to be able to remember /our/ names. Because, y'know, in the woods you can't remember your name, it's not like the desert."     Uffish has probably not heard the song Vic is referring to. Alas.     "Anyway, do you think you could help us with that...?"
Kian	Faster than light travel is pretty straightforward, at least to Kian, but mentioning that is probably not the best idea right now.  And the birdman has no more idea about what Vic is talking about either.     "I don't know how the Woods works, but maybe if there's a way to... well... I don't know," he says helplessly. Wonderland logic remains opaque.
Colette O'Connail	Quinton seems to slip into a morose reverie as he considers the many failings of his scientific endeavors. Some might regard the inventions he describes, even in accidental form, to be something he would celebrate, but apparently not the Wonderlander scientist. He snaps out of it only when Vic is finished explaining what the Titans hope from him.     "Oh... trying to find something? I did recently try to make something that would help for that," he says in a distracted fashion. "A Mnemomic locator. The idea was that it could locate anything you think of. Alas when I wrote my initial notes I forgot the 'M' from the beginning, and invented a Nem..."     He stops himself, blinking furiously. "Actually, that might be just what you need," he muses. "Hmm. Perhaps I can help you after all. If you help me, that is. You see... the church has me a prisoner in my own home! Observe."     Uffish gets to his feet, and starts striding towards the door. His shadow remains in place for a moment, but soon catches up with him, and a shadowy hand peels away from the floorboards to grapple his ankle before he is able to exit.     "You see my problem. They bribed my own shadow to become my jailor!" He bends down almost double, and shakes a fist at his own shadow. "TRAITOR!" he yells at it.     Uffish sighs again and turns to walk back to his chair. The shadow permits him. "It's a conundrum. One cannot knock a shadow senseless to escape it, nor slip something into its coffee. Stabbing it doesn't work at all. I had hoped to defeat it by creating a lights source that shines equally in all directions, but instead of an omni-light, I made a somni-light and fell asleep."     "No, the only solution I can see is to remove my shadow altogether. It may be a little lonely at times to live without a shadow, but I have grown to hate the damnable thing these last few weeks. Free me by finding a way to make my shadow softly and suddenly vanish away, and I will help you."
Terry O'Neil	"Softly and suddenly vanish?" Terry frowns and looks at his team. "Well, the Cheshire Cat can disappear softly, but it's an illusion, it isn't really vanishing away..." he scratches his chin and thinks. "This has to be either wonderland lore or-" he frowns, "I'm thinking. I'm thinking. If anyone else has an idea ... like, I don't know, can we blast the shadow with light from multiple angles? Like Vic's light cannons?" He starts pacing, trying to jostle his mind and doing his best Winnie-the-Pooh impression, even though this is the wrong book. 'Think think think think' is muttered under his breath.
Kate Bishop	"Uh..." after watching the shadow in action. She just stares at it thoughtfully. "Maybe we can bribe it to triple cross the church instead. That seems easier than trying to remove it entirely. Especially when confronted with being severed or removed entirely?"     She cocks her head. "What about it shadow... want to be bribed to switch sides again maybe?"
Victor Stone	Vic stares at the shadow for a long time while he considers the problem. "Bribe it, hit it with light from all sides like Terry says... unstitch it from you like in Peter Pan?" He looks around at the others, for a moment, but then goes back to analyzing the shadow. Gathering data, see.     How are they ever going to understand Wonderland if they don't gather data?!
Caitlin Fairchild	"I mean..." Caitlin starts looking around the cabin for options. "We could create a ... I don't know, a ring of light. Maybe with some bioluminsecence or a phosphor compound. I don't know if I brought enough with me for that," she admits, and manages to stop herself before actually digging into it. "...but your shadow is apparently a living, thinking creature, so I don't know why on earth I thought it'd work to come at the problem with physics," she admits.
Irie West	Iris' eyes go wide when the shadow suddenly reaches out and grabs Quentin's shadow. She takes a sip of the cocoa and considers the shadow problem for a minute or two. "Why don't we use scissors?" she asks.
Kian	"I can give you all the light you want, wherever you want it," Kian says, 'holding' a white glow in his upturned hand.     He shines it on a bit of the shadow -- not overwhelming bright blast, just enough to see what happens, both to the shadow and to Uffish himself.  He doesn't *think* anything untoward should happen to him... but no need to take chances.
Colette O'Connail	At Kate's mention of bribery, a sharp observer would notice the shadow's head turns while Uffish's does not. They might imagine that it is looking her way, perhaps curious as to what she will say next. However the blast of light that Kian produces causes the shadow to vanish...     ...And of course instantly reform the /other side/ of Uffish, where a new shadow (or is it the same one? A truly metaphysical quandry) is cast by the light he generates     "Yes, that was my idea with the omni-light," Uffish says, nodding his head towards Vic and Caitlin. "If there is a universal light-source, a light that is not a point source but rather a volume source that entirely surrounds me, that might work. But simply surrounding me with multiple light sources -- well, think about it. No... no, I'm sorry. I shouldn't expect you to understand scientific principles. But you see, light sources radiate photons, and... well the point is that it's not exactly straightforward to create an entirely even light. If there is more light in one direction than another, you get a shadow."     He gestures at his newly Kian-formed shadow as a demonstration. "Well, you see the issue. And having multiple light sources that somehow create a continuous ring without interfering or overlapping in the slightest? Difficult."     He taps at his chin, giving Irie a thoughtful look. "I did have an idea. There's a rumor that a Snark hunter in Armscyeshire has managed somehow to trap a Boojum. If it were to be released in my cottage -- well, I could shut my eyes, but a shadow has no eyes and therefore could not do the same. However I imagine it would be very hard to persuade a snark hunter who has managed to trap a boojum to part with such a rare treasure. Your notion of scissors now, that's a truly intriguing one! I must think, think..."
Terry O'Neil	"A BOOJUM!" Terry says, eyes wide, and instantly begins to recite: "But oh, beamish nephew, beware of the day, If your Snark be a Boojum! For then You will softly and suddenly vanish away, And never be met with again!" He smacks his fist into an open hand, "The village of Armscyeshire? Isn't that just over the hill?" Terry says, his Wonderland geography a little more solid nowadays. "I propose we go there! Or we could... you know, try shadow-boxing. One of us who is really good at boxing can try to get Kian to create a /really big shadow/ of them and then try to use it to knock out the other shadow? But..." he glances at Uffish, "Your Boojum theory might work, too. Team, what do you think?"
Kate Bishop	"Shadow boxing seems viable. I do not want to go on a fetch quest." she frowns.     Then she crouches down closer to the shadow. "Hey. So they are going to beat the shadow shit out of you or find a way to undo you eventually. What would it take for you to just.. knock it off. What bribe does a shadow want?" head cocks to the side. "Tik tok. Clocks ticking on these genius busy bodies."
Victor Stone	"Man I am /so/ done with that snark... crap," Vic says, clearly eyeing Caitlin for a moment. He doesn't want to owe any more to the swear jar, Wonderland or not. "I'm with the shadow-boxing. Or scissors."     He looks around at the others. "Kian and I could provide light to make a really good strong shadow if someone wants to box the shadow. /Or/ we could make a box to put the shadow /in/. Y'know. Shadow-boxing." Wonderland runs on puns, after all. "Maybe if we box it up you can carry it out the door with you."
Caitlin Fairchild	Well they're on the right track. Bribery, coercion, kidnapping-- before they escalate to all that, Caitlin seems to be weighing her options for a more immediate solution. She quietly deploys her little drone to buzz around near her head, and starts positioning herself at an odd angle relative to Uffish. She waits until things line up and nods sharp at the drone. A high-intensity LED snaps on, painting a crisp circle of light with Uffish in the center. The brawny redhead watches her shadow on the wall (what would Plato think of that) cross over to Uffish's umbral companion. She reaches with fast hands for his shadow's shoulders and walks through the motions of delivering a soul crushing sweep and slam. Marginally more graceful than the suplex, and fortunately leaves her on her feet instead of flat on the floor.
Irie West	Iris looks rather disappointed that they're not going to go with her scissor idea, but watches what Cait is doing with fascination. Is this really going to work?
Kian	Light is directional, fortunately, and it can be directed with considerable precision.  So what Kian does is cast a gentle glow at Uffish's shadow to weaken it without creating additional shadows.  Not a bright blaze, just enough to hopefully make a difference.
Colette O'Connail	Uffish watches with curiosity as Kate attempts to negotiate with his shadow. In response to her question, a shadowy hand reaches out (though the scientist's own hand does not move) and shadow fingers rub together, the universal gesture for money. What kind of currency would tempt a shadow though, and how much?     However negotiations are interrupted when Caitlin's shadow goes on the attack! Her mimed assault sends Uffish's shadow, weakened by Kian's glow, flying into a table. The table's shadow is knocked over, though the table itself does not move.     The shadow is made of stern stuff though! It quickly bounces to its feet, and raises its fists high. The shadow dances back and forth, apparently a proponent of Queensbury rules, as it turns rapidly to face the shadows of all the Titans, readying itself for an attack from any angle.     A quick riposte! The shadow's fists lash out, one-two and an uppercut that sends Kian's winged shadow flying into the wall! The bird himself may be startled, but it doesn't hurt at all. Wary of Caitlin's powerful shadow, it makes a move on Irie's!
Terry O'Neil	"Oh my god, the little shit is putting up a fight. Kian, give me some glow! I'm gonna make my mom proud for having spent all those hours teaching me this." What is he going to do? Terry brings his hands close to Kian and- honest-to-god, makes a shadow puppet. "This is a Tyrannosaurux Rex. It's dinner time, asshole!" Terry's going to have to put some greens into Caitlin's swear jar, alright. He maneuvers the projection of the shadow to try to bite Uffish'shadow's head off ^as it moves towards Irie's shadow. He even makes dinosaur 'Reeee Reeee Reee' noises as he does so (note: he doesn't know if that's what they sounded like, but it's what every little boy will swear they sounded like.)Even if it ducks it, Irie can probably speed-shadow-punch the living lights out of the shadow with her speed.
Kate Bishop	"Okay.. so what do you think one bribes a shadow with. Shadow currency. Loan sharks. That sounds promising... " she is still musing about bribing it. She did say shadow boxing seemed viable. "Think of this as a negotiating tactic. The more you prove unreasonable to being bribed.... the more boxing happens."     "Lets see... " she reaches over and swipes, her shadow strikes the shadow of a cup, perfectly angled to fly through the air right at the head of the shadow she is negotiating with. "Knock it off. You aren't going to win this."
Nadia Pym-van Dyne	Nadia has been standing quietly during all of this. A most unusual situation in and of itself. Perhaps it is Uffish's derision of his own inventions. "A musical note that turns base metals into gold, that is amazing! How does it work?! It's not ridiculous. No these are all amazing, inventions, SCIENCE, should not conform to any rigid ideas, the rules exist to inform but if our experiments run counter to them then new rules are made. Who cares about stones or tones, genetic or frenetic, all SCIENCE is valid!" She steps forward now having watched the earlier attempts at getting the shadow's cooperation come to naught. "I /am/ Alice." She informs the Shadow, giving it her best Alice look. "That Church exists in my name, and I order you to release this brilliant scientist so that he might continue his work in order to help me!"
Victor Stone	Vic angles himself to try to provide strength to Kian and Caitlin's shadows, and Terry's T-Rex, and... aaaa, so many shadows! It's everything in his power not to just bring out a disco ball and start a massive party in here.     Focus, Vic. Focus. The sonic cannon remains currently light cannon and not party cannon, as much fun as that would be. But he /does/ start playing the Rocky music in the background of the shadow fight, underscoring Nadia's words.
Caitlin Fairchild	"Irie!" Caitlin cuts sideways, which makes absolutely zero difference except for shrinking her shadow by an inch. The redhead watches the dynamic motion of the flickering shadow and puts her own doppelganger in the way every time it tries to lunge for someone. Big as she is, Caitlin's fists move like pistons with sharp and efficient motions, perfectly balanced as if she was working an imaginary opponent on the training floor. The only awkward part is looking to the side the whole time. When Nadia speaks, Cait falls back a step into a defensive posture to give the shadow a chance to respond.
Irie West	Irie recoils when Uffish's shadow comes for her! Well, her shadow. She likes her shadow! It's always been there for her. Through thick and thin. Through bad times and good. It's one of the only things she can count on!     She dodges back, and hold out her fingers making snipping motions with them. Makeshift scissors! "Quick! Box it in so it can't escape!" Even without using the Speed Force (she'd been wisely advised against using it again) she's pretty quick, so she darts back in trying to 'snip' the Shadow free.
Kian	Kian gives Terry a strong light just behind his hands to make a big and dark shadow, while trying to keep Uffish's shadow weakened.  He actually didn't notice his own shadow take a hit, he was too busy concentrating.     He releases his attention on Uffish's shadow so that he can concentrate on Terry's hand puppetry.  "Get that dik-hed!"     Vic can pony up to the swear jar for /that/ one.  It's his fault that's part of the bird's permanent vocabulary now.
Colette O'Connail	Vic's musical theme does not work as intended -- rather than underscoring Nadia's words, it undermines it. Perhaps otherwise the shadow might have been persuaded, but the driving chords of the Rocky theme has the shadow's blood up! How can it not shadow-box, when the Rocky theme is playing!     However the shadow's footwork is less Rocky and more Clay. It dodges and ducks and weaves, and it certainly float like the shadow of a butterfly, but Caitlin's intervention to protect Irie's shadow stops it from stinging like the shadow of a bee.     If Caitlin's shadow had proven a match for Uffish's shadow, what can he do when Terry adds a dinosaur to the fight? Well, there are limits to what Terry can do without Vorpal magic to aid him, and the honest truth is that his hand shadow puppet looks far more like a deformed rabbit than it does a dinosaur. However with the brilliance provided by Vic and Kian, it's a might powerful looking deformed rabbit!     The shadow goes on the defensive, giving ground -- until Kate's expertly-aimed shadow teacup beans it on the head and sends it sprawling. Irie is able to dive in and with a *snip* of her fingers, her shadow-scissors cut the shadow loose from Uffish!     The shadow is separated from its host -- it has lost the boxing, but can it be boxed in, before it escapes?
Terry O'Neil	"... okay, so I haven't /practiced/! Sue me." Terry sighs. And then, he gets an idea, as the shadow is cut loose, he changes the shadow puppet and now simply points. A shadow gun. "Hold it there, pal! Freeze, or I'm going to give you a new peephole. You feelin' lucky, punk? Well, DO ya? Go ahead. Make my day!" It's the best he can think of in the spur of the moment.
Kate Bishop	"Well I tried peace." she notes amused.     She steps to the side and then swings her hand making her shadow smack the teapots shadow next, sendign it right for the head of the downed shadow. Keeping it down while the others figure out how to box it in.
Victor Stone	Vic sighs as his music inadvertently undercuts Nadia's speech. He turns it off, and focuses on keeping up the light. He can't help but laugh at Kian's statement, though.     "Sorry, Cait! My bad, I'll get that one. Kian, try, uhh... jerk face!"
Kian	"Well, what's the difference between a dik-hed and a cherk-face, and how am I supposed to know?" Kian shoots back, although he's definitely more focused on keeping Terry's shadowy assault going.  "It's not my fault if your language is as fuk-tup as your planet!"     Okay, *that* one is probably on Kian himself.  At least now he has income from being the only drug... er, chocolate dealer on either of his people's worlds.
Nadia Pym-van Dyne	Nadia watches the shadow not even have the decency to answer her and just keep fighting. "Well this just won't do at all. See here Shadow, I am Alice, you serve the Church of Alice, so you serve me! Stop this boorish fighting at once, you'll never make any friends or receive any reward if you insist on such violence against my friends! I need the scientists help! Or are you a traitorous shadow, naught but a shadow of your former self who thinks nothing of breaking oaths and pledges?" She steps forward growing slightly, "Now I said /STOP/!" By the time she reaches the last word she is 12' tall and positioning her shadow to bring her foot down in a stomp near the shadow aimed to knock it from its feet in an intimidating manner.
Colette O'Connail	By the time Nadia starts threatening the shadow, it is already well and truly cowed. Threatened by Terry's finger gun, pelted by Kate's shadow tea-set -- this would be bad enough, but it seems to be particularly upset by Vic and Kian being /rude/ to it. You can almost hear the shadow objecting to being called a jerk-face, or cherk-face indeed. After all, it might perhaps be miming, shadows have no faces.     She shadow's shoulders slump in defeat, but the scientist on the contrary is elated. He dances around his own shadow, which under Nadia's foot stays put. "It's not so much that it is a shadow of its former self as it is my former shadow!" the scientist cackles delightedly. "Look at him lying there. Can't catch me now!"     "Very well," the now shadow-free Uffish says to the Titans. "You fulfilled your part of the bargain, now I will fulfil mine. Let me show you..." He steps over to the table from which Kate has been knocking shadow crockery, and picks up a bundle of notes. "See... the Mnemonic Locator. I was about to burn these designs when you stepped in. I have already destroyed the device, but I can rebuild it from my notes. You see -- I left out the 'M'. You understand what that means? I made a Nemonic Locator, rather than a Mnemonic Locator. Instead of finding anything you think about, it finds nobody. Someone in the Nameless Forest has no name. You can't think about them, because they are nameless. The Mnemonic locator would be of no use. But with this... why you could locate every single nameless person in the Nameless Forest!"     Uffish gives a grin of contentment, and collapses back down into his chair. "At last!" He declares. "I may have failed to invent something that I intended, but it turns out that what I made was what people wanted after all. This could be a new lease of life for me! I shall develop an entirely new science from this. Erratology! By closely observing the nature of my errors, it may be possible to guide them, you see. Instead of intending to develop what I intend on developing, I shall intend to develop something that is almost but not quite what I intended to develop. Once I have calibrated the errors, I will..."     He looks up again. "So much to think about! But I will not bore you with my new and wondrous branch of science. Thank you my friends! Come back to me in a couple of days, and I will have the Nemonic Locator ready for you. Thank you, thank you!"
Terry O'Neil	Once everything is said and done and the shadowplay has ceased, Terry feels the urge to recite, "If we shadows have offended, Think but this, and all is mended: That we have beat your ass here While these visions did appear!" He grins, and walks over to shake Uffish's hand. "Professor Uffish, for that should be your name, that is simply wonderful! Thank you very much for your help. We shall come back within a few days to check on your progress, we are simply elated! We shall be on our way, then!"
Kate Bishop	"Okay. Great." Kate will walk over and have her shadow tap it with her boot. "Don't do anything dumb. Just sit there and behave." she threatens mildly.     Then she looks around. "Go team science. Or something right. I have no idea why this solves our problem.. and mayeb that is for the best...."
Victor Stone	Vic beams at Uffish. "That's great. Seriously! Look, don't let the haters get you down, man, everything you've brought up sounds /amazing/." He grins at Nadia, and adds, "We'd /love/ to come pick your brain about all of these theories sometime." He holds out a hand to shake!
Nadia Pym-van Dyne	Nadia is positively elated at the change within the scientist, so much so that she forgets she is being a 'serious Alice' for the moment. "Yes, that sounds like a fantastic avenue of research. I want to hear all about all of your discoveries! They're not failures, think of them as Differently Successful!" She beams at him as she returns to her normal size, though she remains seated upon his shadow keeping it pinned in place of her foot. Will it ever be let go, who can say, perhaps when it learns to behave itself and listen.     But then it is time to go and the question must be asked. "What do we do with the shadow?" She points down at it, before looking at the shadow directly and asking, "Can you be trusted to remain and behave yourself properly?"
Kian	Kian does not offer a hand to shake, but he does bow towards Researcher Uffish.  If anyone knows how intense Wonderlander minds are, he does.  He gets that from two directions these days.     "Always trust the science, Researcher Uffish," the birdman says, bowing again.  "Even if the observations make no sense, if they're repeatable, they must be right.  It has been an honor to meet you and a privilege to help you."     He glances at Uffish's shadow, in case it looks like it needs a blast of bright light to calm down.