10162/Titans: Alternating Currents

Titans: Alternating Currents
Date of Scene:	23 November 2019
Location:	Danger Room, Titans Tower
Synopsis:	Volt and Kian experiment with combining their powers, while Stardust prompts and heckles. Robin does not approve. Of ANYTHING.
Cast of Characters:	Stardust, Volt, Kian t'Kaeh, Robin (Wayne)

---

Stardust has posed:
    It has been a few days since Drake was given entry to the Tower, but clarity is little nearer.  He's been given little in the way of instructions other than to spend some time trying to figure out the T-Com he'd been given, and even there it's hardly clear what he's supposed to be figuring out.  He's had time to meet a few people, but that's about it… until today.  Earlier in the day a message popped up on his T-Com, with a time and a location—one of the floors of the Tower he has not up until now had access to.
    Kian received a similar message, although in his case the location is more than familiar to him, somewhat to his sorrow.  The Danger Room.  This looks horribly like it's going to be more training.
    When the two arrive (and Drake will find doors opening for him that would previously have stayed closed, they will find the door to the elevator opening on…
    …A hilltop.  The doorway appears to be floating in the air, though any attempts to go behind it will result in a bumped head as that's all wall.  A slightly raised catwalk leads from the elevators to a staircase leading down onto the grass on one side, and a circular area with an obviously very high-tech computer console standing on it.  A rectangular area (approximately the size of one floor of the top of the tower's T, of course) is delineated on the hilltop as a barely visible wall of blue light.  Downhill, apparently about a mile below the delineated rectangle, can be seen a monumental palace of white marble, with elaborate formal gardens and water features.  A stone-lined spring head bubbles up near the hill top and runs down the hill in a shallow stream.  By the spring head are three picnic chairs placed in the shade of a tree, with a cooler filled with drinks.  Floating in the air by the chairs is a message written in 3D letters, saying 'Sorry guys, slightly held up.  Be a few minutes late.  Stardust.'

Volt has posed:
    The doors have been so much more accommodating today.  Volt hasn't really known what to do about that.  But he did have a little fun testing out their sensor range; a hop back to let it close, then a hop forward, and a repeat!  Just to make sure they were meant to be opening for him, and it wasn't some mistake and an invisible Titan were nearby.  That's why.  Not at all the novelty of it.
    He's shirked the baggy and extremely unbecoming hoody ensemble in favor of something much less concealing and entirely more pleasant-looking.  Fashionable, but functional.  Trendy, but not overt.  It hangs on him a little differently than it had when he first got it.  A year spent fighting and in hard conditions has considerably toned him up.  But thankfully he didn't go from skinny kid to linebacker.
    The last door is located, and he steps through—only to nearly stumble and trip at the very unexpected scene before him.
    "Whoa, what!?  You guys got a, a garden or something in here?  A—is that a castle?"
    Marveling at what can't possibly be real, the teen trots down to enter what his mind is already calling Green Hill Zone and stops by the table.  Floating words.  That ain't right.
    "…I've finally gone nuts," he concludes with a tight frown, hands jamming into his pockets.

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    "I," Kían says a little tartly, "am waiting for the hill to explode before I take to the air.  I recommend the same.  Co… uh, Stardust's training can be challenging.  This is all holography, you're not crazy."
    He adds, after a moment, "Well, not as far as I know, anyway.  But anyways, what you see isn't real.  But it's a pretty good simulation."

Stardust has posed:
    Thankfully Colette is not too late.  She enters with a bounce in her step and gives a wave to the pair.  "Hey Birdy Buddy!  Hiya Volt!  You guys have got to see this!" She bounces over to the console, plugs something into it, fiddles with the controls for a few moments then hops down from the control platform onto the grass and stalks over.  She draws a rectangle in the air with her fingers that bursts into video life, displaying a still image that's rather unclear, but appears to show a number of people lying on the ground.
    Colette turns to the pair with a grin.  "So, there was some stuff going on at a bank.  Show down between some trashy robots and the police.  I show up and help out with the robots, and then this happens.  Watch!" She grabs one corner of the floating screen, stretches it wider, then taps it to start the video playing as she flops down into one of the chairs and grabs a can of soda from the cooler.
    As the image starts moving, it's clear that this is a city street.  A building that the camera sways past might be the bank; on the other side a semi-circle of police cars is visible.  On the floor can be seen several injured or unconscious cops, and the remains of a half-dozen or so robots, with slender humanoid bodies and flat monitor screens for heads.  Visible on one of the monitor screens is a circular yellow face with two X's for eyes.  The camera pans across the scene, the wearer of the body cam obviously looking for remaining combatants.
    The scene shakes and several loud thumps can be heard.  The camera swings around rapidly, revealing another, MUCH larger robot unfolding from the back of an articulated truck.  A shoulder-mounted missile launcher tracks towards the camera wearer, and an arm with a multi-barreled cannon is raised to take aim.  This robot also has a monitor screen for a head, but the face on it is more obviously human, a white-bearded face.  "You seem to have destroyed all my emojibots," a voice booms out.  "How annoying.  You'd be… hmm, Stardust of the Titans, I believe?  None of your team-mates with you today?  Well that's going to be…."  Suddenly the voice stops, and the screen flickers.
    After a few moments the face on the robot's screen/head is replaced by a field of blue, with white text written on it:
Your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart
    Colette waves a hand, causing the floating display to vanish, and looks to the other two with a broad grin.  "I've fought some trashy robots in my time, but that's the first time I've seen one Blue Screen right in front of me.  So!  How are you guys doing?  Had a chance to discuss any possible synergy between your powers yet?  You settling in, Volt?"

Volt has posed:
    He's not insane, and yet Kian's advice seems exactly what an insane mind might hear.  Volt squints at the Kian R.  Birdman.  "I can't fly." Can he?  Can he fly in this room?  It's all a hologram, right?  Shelving how crazy that is on its face, who's to say what the rules are?  He looks at his feet in the not-actually-grass, knits his brow, and hops.
    Nothing.  He lands right back where he started like a flightless jerk.
    "Yep.  Still can't fly," he confirms.
    It's all the time he has before Stardust makes her appearance, seemingly perfectly at home in all of this.  She's even Fantasia-ing some imagery into the air, which makes him question the rules here further.  As he watches, he glances to his hands and attempts to emulate whatever techno-sorcery she used to pull up a video feed.  He makes the rectangle.  That's likely all it accomplishes.
    "They just installed the new Windows patch.  Should always wait a week," Volt remarks.  To her question, however, he glances again to Kian.  "Not really.  Uh, to both.  It's hard to get a handle on anything.  You guys still don't know me, and I'm still basically a guest here.  Been fiddling with this," he adds, lifting the communicator, "but I'm used to being out there and doing things."

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    The text on the robot's face is utterly lost on Kían, who still hasn't mastered written English, though he is working on it.  "It just stopped?  What poorly made robots," he remarks with a whiff of disdain.  "The ones on my estate could at least automatically return a damaged one to the repair facility for diagnostics."
    He gives the hillside one more suspicious look, then shrugs and just sort of hops into the air.  He makes it look utterly effortless, and hovers there easily.  "No, I've been studying—and letting him get used to the place.  And you know how I am about my rhy'thar anyway—although I have to admit that the idea of having someone to work on it with, whom I can't hurt with it, has made me… curious."

Stardust has posed:
    Stardust watches Volt's attempt to open a display in the air with a supressed smile.  Once he's given up, she explains "That won't work by default, it's something I set up for myself in this simulation.  This is the Danger Room, by the way.  It's called the Danger Room because it's able to simulate real dangers, for training purposes.  It has holograms and force projectors.  I also use it for playing video games, which are seriously awesome using this as a display, movies, and generally relaxing.  Um.  And training, though often not the kind of training it was intended for.  But then my training routine is kinda weird, no doubt because it was designed for me by a bunch of aliens.  Anyway your currently security level allows you to activate approved programs, not reprogram things.  We're kind of cautious about people reprogramming the Danger Room because that's kind of gone wrong a couple of times.  Anyway, there's a manual.  You can read it on the network."
    There's a moment's awkward silence.  "Did you find your access on the network yet, Volt?  Um.  If not, here's a clue.  T-coms are designed to be used while in combat.  So, voice.  But in a team, each person's T-com needs to be able to know who's speaking.  And uh… the security is multi factor.  I suggest you figure this one out fast, because you'll need your access to be able to put in requisitions.  Oh, and a tip.  You can make petty cash requisitions, keep 'em modest and you don't have to account for it."
    Stardust cracks open her can of soda and takes a deep swig.  Talking is thirsty business, and it may just be that talking is her main superpower, she seems to be able to do it non-stop.  "That, Birdy Buddy, is why I called you two here.  We need to figure out what Sparky here is capable of, and see how you two can work together.  So, first things first, how about you two outline to each other roughly what you can do?  Roughly how much power you can put out, what kind of level of control you have over it, what effects it has on you, the degree to which you can manipulate as well as generate, all that stuff."

Volt has posed:
    Drake Riley's expression flattens a little when she calls him 'Sparky', but he shakes it off—somewhat literally, with a shake of his head.  He instead focuses on processing what she's saying.  And since he's already holding the device, he raises it again.  "Think I already did that.  The network access, I mean.  Not the money thing.  Don't like the idea of taking money from a group I'm not in, so… cross that bridge when we get to it."
    The device is put away again, and his gaze slants awkwardly sidelong to Kian.  Didn't they already go over this?  Twice?  "I electrocute things.  The power ranges from you-won't-even-feel-it to things might explode, there might be a hole where they were once, or it'll look like that Elephant Foot thing in Chernobyl.  I can also…"
    He cuts himself off and sighs, only to look more directly to Stardust.
    "Can I just get a powersource?  A car battery or something?  A lamp plugged in?  Is there an exposed wire around here?  Sometimes you need to see something to understand it."

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    "I… genuinely don't know my limits," Kían says.  "I've always held back,  You know I don't even like my extra abilities, much less like to use them.  Always so much risk of breaking something or worse, hurting someone."  Still hovering, he shrugs.  "And the electricity is only one part of it.  The rest is even more dangerous."

Stardust has posed:
    "I said modest amounts," Stardust tells Volt with a shrug.  "Being a super takes time and money.  And it would be pretty dumb to let a crime happen because you didn't want to take the money out of petty cash to pay for a new pair of shoes that don't slow you down or whatever.  Talking of which, think about a costume."
    Stardust holds her hands out and a holographic keyboard appears beneath her hands.  She types a few commands on it, and a metal pillar appears out of the ground.  "Okay, first test.  This is an energy sink.  Both of you can have a go at pumping power into it.  If it turns red, stop.  That means it's reaching the limit of how much it can sink out, and may flash over.  Which means lightning arcing to the walls, which runs into money and I'd have to go down into the basement to change the fuses.  Volt, I guess from your question, that you're saying you can draw electricity out of things to?  I mean no exposed cables here unless you mess up with the flash over thing and blow stuff up, but the room can generate a force field with approximately 20 tons of force, which is some kind of electromagnetic thingy.  Maybe you can draw power from those?  And Kian, think you could reshape one of the holographic objects?  Let's experiment."

Volt has posed:
    "Modest amount, large amount, it feels wrong." Volt has already traipsed long enough on the side of the morally dubious.  He's trying to change that without spilling too much about his past forays into the ethically gray.  And not taking money from a group he isn't sure he's even a part of feels like a good way to keep that wall up and fortified; to establish those personal boundaries.
    Thankfully, there's more to focus on here than that.  Such as the metal pillar that has suddenly sprang into existence.  And hearing the explanation puts such a smile on Volt's face—anticipatory.  But also maybe a tinge devious.  He has plans.  It'll take a little setup, though.
    "Tried to do that once at a museum, but I couldn't get ahold of it.  Maybe I'll be able to if it's steady.  Worth a check," he asides concerning the electrical absorption.
    Now, he and Kian are both meant to hit this pillar.  That's not going to be a true estimation of his full power output, but it will play into what he has in mind, and probably in very little time.  His right hand extends, and a stream of brilliant blue electricity begins feeding from his palm and onto the object.  The ionic energy coils and twists, but remains unerringly on target, keeping his power output at somewhere in the middling range.  Lethal to normal humans, and depending on the chassis of the pillar, potentially leaving melted plate or scorch marks.
    "Kian, c'mon, get in on this.  It's like one of those mallot carnival games, but on two-player."

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    Kían regards the pillar dubiously, and then regars Colette with something less than blind trust.  She has pulled surprises on him in the Danger Room before… but he sighs, and concentrates… and a blinding arc of electricity snarls and crackles between his hand and the pillar.  "At least this is easier than the other atomic forces," he says over the hiss and spit of competing currents.  Around him, there is a blue glow that slowly brightens as he ramps up the power.

Stardust has posed:
    There is no melting of the pillar.  The pillar is not real—it's a holographic projection, covering over an ionized force projection which shunts the electricity the pair are pumping into the pillar into the Tower's ground lines.  Whether either of the pair have guessed this or not, they'll see the pillar apparently unharmed but beginning to get rather yellow.  Not in the red yet though, and it was red that Stardust had warned them about.
    Stardust watches the show, still sipping her Soda.  "Hmm.  Question.  If you two continue pumping out the same amount of power… can you double your output but switch it on and off rapidly?  And if so, could you get it into sync with each other?  And uh… can either of you control like… the direction of the current?  Just a thought, but maybe between the two of you, you could generate like a kick-ass electromagnet?"

Volt has posed:
    "Bolt-slinging is what I was working on when I met Kian," Volt replies.  "It's not as easy as you'd think.  Involves a lot of concentration and rapid corrections, plus the length of the bolt has to be kept in mind—and in rhythm—with your movements.  Otherwise it turns into wild chaos real quick.  So it's kind of like an aerobic workout.  You get faster and better the more you do it."
    This, however, seems rather effortless.  Does he know the construct doesn't actually have a physical presence?  Why no, no he does not.  He's still dealing with the whole 'this room is a lie' thing.
    Volt does, however, spare a glance aside to Stardust and the table.  Are those real drinks she's drinking?  On the chance that they are, he can't go with his first impulse.
    Volt spreads his fingers a little, an unnecessary semantic component for feeding more energy into the stream.  The brilliant blue intensifies, and the electrical bolt thickens into a radiant cord.
    "Reverse the direction of the current?  I dunno.  Put it in practical terms for me.  Are you talking about draining something?  Or…?"

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    "c'Rhys'yw, I don't know.  I would probably need mental contact with him to coordinate that kind of precise timing," Kían says.  "And this is the most I've generated since being studied at the Imperial University.  I never tried doing anything really weird with it."
    He returns his attention to Drake.  "She's talking about a simple dynamo, same thing that makes an electric motor spin.  I suppose it's theoretically possible, but it'd be a lot easier for us to do as individuals rather than as a team.  Too much split second coordination, unless we were mindlinked—and I can't do that without touching him anyway, which would take out the need for synchronization since we'd be a common anode or cathode.  And as for an electromagnet, that's easy—it only takes an iron bar."

Stardust has posed:
    The drink probably is real, as Stardust finishes hers, crushes the can, and places it back in the cooler "I'm not sure what the practical terms are for you, Captain Zap.  Maybe a sense of whether it's going in or coming out.  Electrical current has a direction of flow.  If you two were generating currents which flow in different directions, you could be generating a magnetic field.  Yeah, what Kian says.  I dunno how you guy's power works, if it's easier for you to do it individually.  I was thin…."  She pauses suddenly and raises a finger.  "Wait.  Shh.  If… no.  I didn't… Okay, okay.  Kian, can you generate a… shaped magnetic field?  Like a tube with…."  She gestures with her raised finger, making spirals in the air.  "Helical… charged… wait, hold on, you're going too fast."  It's not entirely clear who she's talking to.
    Stardust takes a deep breath.  "Okay, start again.  Kian, can you generate a free-standing magnetic bottle or tube which Volt here could then send a current through?  Like you're creating a charge path for… and then once he's charged it up, you suddenly compress your field?  That wouldn't require nearly as much timing… by the way, don't try that right now.  Just wondering if that's something you guys could do together, not asking for a demonstration."

Volt has posed:
    "That's… wait, what?  Hitting with electricity in reverse?," puzzles Volt.  No, that did not make much sense to him.  After all, he's striking an object with electricity, not being struck.  "If you're needing me to pull electricity out, then I'd need to be touching the thing." There's a pretty good chance he just doesn't understand what's being asked.  But he's trying!
    His fingers curl, and the electrical current snaps to an end.  What they're talking about seems more important, and the focus is shifting anyway.  Still, he saunters over to the pillar and reaches out to place a hand against it.  In his mind?  Totally normal pillar, unless it feels distinctly different or off somehow.  And unless it does, all of the power that's been building up into it is rapidly reversing, draining away from anywhere approaching the red zone.  And unless Kian continues to supply electricity, those levels will very soon drop into the nominal range.
    No outward change in Volt, one should note.  He looks as content as can be, still trying to follow along with what's being said.  "Of course I can send currents through metal objects.  That ain't even a thing," he grins.

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    Kían is not supplying further electricity; instead, he first looks at Drake, then back to Colette, then repeats the process.  "Uh.  That will take some fine control.  you can't have a magnetic field without an accompanying electrical current, and vice versa.  That's why it's called electromagnetism.  I suppose it could be done, but interference is almost a given without a lot of practice… and I can't say I see the practical use, beyond teaching control."

Stardust has posed:
    Stardust watches Volt's performance with as slight nod.  Not so much an acknowledgement of what he's done as of her guesses being confirmed.  It's clear to her that Volt can do quite a bit with electricity, but doesn't really know what himself yet.  "Okay.  I'm not the one to explain about directions of current, and even less the one to explain how you determine the direction of a current you're generating.  That's something you two could work out together.  Kian's pretty good with science and we have a laboratory.  Kian, can you work with Volt on some of the ah… practical physics of what he's doing?  We need to get a solid handle on how his powers work."
    Turning to Kian directly, she gives him a nod of the head.  "Fine control.  Makes sense.  Work on it.  The practical use is that if you uh…."  Her forhead creases into a frown of annoyance momentarily before she continues.  "…collapse a field of magnetic flux, you change the density of the lines of flux.  Essentially your field would operate as a kind of guide for his current.  A rapid compression of the guide would cause a rapid compression of the flux, which means a very rapid and very powerful pulse of electromagnetic energy.  Much more efficient than generating a pulse through field switching.  And I am OUT of this discussion.  I am not a science person.  Someone else can talk to the damn voice in my head.  Or uh… figure it out for yourselves.  But not too near any electrical equipment, because what I described is basically how electromagnetic pulse bombs work, and that would be great against robots or whatever but it would be nice if you don't destroy every computer in the tower.  They're shielded, but still."

Volt has posed:
    "Hey, if you want something vaporized, I'm your guy," jokes Volt.  Then to Kian, the mirth fades.  "Fine control was the first priority when I found my powers."
    His lips twist.  Well, if he's going to be on a team, he should be straight with them, right?  They should know.
    "It's why I only have a body count of one." Emerald eyes sideshift guiltily, and he steps away from the pillar.  Said pillar should be showing all green, as if it were waiting on the first little jolt of electricity from them.  Deliberately keeping his gaze off of the other two and on the pillar, he raises his right hand again.  The surroundings flash in a brilliant snap of white as a ropey tendril of electricity arcs from his palm and onto the device, feeding it back to the state it had been before the draining began.  "And that amount of effort would've normally made, like… a twig's worth of a bolt normally?," he offers, hoping to gloss past his previous admission.  "So, imagine that, but with actual effort added.  Gimme a car battery and watch me work."
    After another moment, he turns to the others at last.  "I can do EMPs.  I was gonna show ya, but… yeah.  Didn't wanna short out the building.  And I can't extend it that far yet.  Takes a lot of… like… granular control.  You won't even see it happening."

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
    It's been a long time since Titans Tower has seen Robin in its halls.  Before the incident with Superman and Batman, since then, Damian's focus has been Gotham.
    However, things seemed to be getting better at least a little, as Robin is now walking down the halls, towards the Danger Room itself.
    Robin's boots don't clap on the floor, their soles were softer to absorb the sounds of his footfalls.  But the hiss of the doors opening do announce his arrival.  The hooded teen's white eyelets peer through the shadow of his hooded cape, and as soon as one person is seen, those eyes glower for a moment, then returning to normal as Robin steps forward and towards Colette, he walks with purpose and not rushed.  All business.  "Stardust, Pacifist." He says, acknowledging Kian in turn, pacifist very much said like it was a insulting pox, to be kept at arms length, with gloves, and a face mask.

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    "If you need me to, Stardust, I can directly read any thought you're having trouble expressing," Kían says, although certainly she knew that already.
    He returns his attention to Volt.  "No battery, but I can provide you direct current as if I were one.  Will that do?"
    Robin doesn't even get acknowledged.  There's no point in engaging with barbarians.

Stardust has posed:
    "Robin," Stardust acknowledges the arrival of Their Glorious Leader in an equally business-like fashion.  She pulls a bottle out of the cooler and offers it to him.  Not a sugary soda of course—mineral water.  "We have a new prospect.  Robin, meet Volt.  Guess what his powers are based on.  Volt, meet Robin.  You've probably heard of him and are now thinking you were expecting him to be taller.  It's complicated, but there are multiple Robins.  Kind of a franchise deal."
    What she really wants to talk about right now is not going to be talked about in front of the other two.  'How's Bruce doing' is not the sort of thing you ask a Robin unless you are in very particular company.  Then there's the Superman stuff that Red Robin brought up, which has raised some interesting questions that would probably rank somewhere around Top Secret on the Titans internal security scale if they had such a thing.
    Kian's suggestion gets a thoughtful tilt of the head, then a nod.  It's very useful having a head full of alien super geniuses who can give you helpful tips and pointers on a wide range of things, but it can also be a little problematic communicating these things at times.  They may encompass a huge range of scientific knowledge, but they also have weird an alien names for things like 'Lorentz force' and 'Z-pinches', which makes explanations hard, particularly as the not very scientific Colette is not best equipped to translate the concepts and diagrams appearing in her head.  She places a hand on Kian's shoulder, and concentrates hard.  The images appearing in Kian's head will be much easier to interpret, showing shifting lines of current and magnetic force.  The principles of flux compressions should be quite easy for the Akiar to comprehend.
    "I'm explaining to Captain Sparks and 'Pacifist' how between them they may be able to work together to disable robotics, weaponry, force-field generators etcetra at long ranges over a large area," she explains to Damian with a sardonic grin.  "I feel that could be of some use to us."

Volt has posed:
    Oh, good.  No one pursued what was said.  Instead, a convenient distraction just walked in.  Volt expected them to be young, really.  About his age, or somewhere in the neighborhood.  So the height thing?  Easily passed off.  The way he addresses Kian, however, gets a curious glance to the birdfolk.  He recalls what was said outside upon first meeting Stardust, but hearing it in person, from someone in superheroing costume…
    It just hits the ear wrong.
    A hand raises to scratch at the back of his neck.  There are some things he wants to say; to both Stardust and Damian.  But that's not going to happen here.  Instead, he politely nods to the shorter male.  "Yo.  Was wondering when I'd run into ya."
    Then to Kian, he cants his head.  "I've never tried sapping power out of a person before.  That could be pretty dangerous, since I'm pretty sure your heart needs electricity to pump." Beat.  "Or it might not, you're an alien.  I'unno.  But we could try it.  Very, very carefully."

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
    Damian approached Colette slowly.  "Why?  It's not like the pacifist will see the other side of a fight," he comments scathingly, before he continues.  Drake gets a looking over quickly, before he comments.  "Are you hopelessly positive and/or some kind of space hippy?" he asks, glowering at Drake.

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    Kían blinks at Colette, expression clearing with understanding.  "Oh!  You're talking about containing a fusion reaction, I think?  A magnetic field can certainly do that, but it won't do anything about the heat generated"
    He grins at Drake.  "I think it's fair to say I'm not a typical person.  You won't be drawing it from me, you'll be drawing it from what I produce," Kían says.  "At least I hope not.  Just don't try to take more than I'm generating, and there shouldn't be any problem."
    He adds more quietly, with only the barest flicker of the eyes in Robin's direction, "I tried to warn you…."  And then his hand is glowing, slowly growing brighter, like the corona on a Tesla coil.  "Ready."

Stardust has posed:
    "Yes and no," Stardust helpfully replies to Kian.  "Forget about the plasma fusion, that's small scale.  We're thinking about the effects of the extremely rapid change in magnetic flux density on nearby electrical circuits, where you're going to suddenly create a very powerful transient current.  Wires melting, sensitive components burning out and so on.  " Her eyes flicker towards Volt.  "Birdy Buddy?  I'm going to suggest that for now at least you create that charge well outside your body.  Maybe giving it a nice visible light component so Volty knows where to be vampiring your amps from.  Safety first."
    Stardust turns to give Drake a 'go ahead' nod of the head, and gives the pair some room, standing beside Robin as she watches.  "He's not a space hippy," she tells him.  "He is extremely positive, though.  Or possibly extremely negative.  We're not clear on that yet, so I asked Kian to take him down to the labs later to check.  It's all potential difference though." Did Colette just make a science joke?
    She's hardly unaware of the undercurrent of tension between Robin and Kian—and perhaps just a hint of it there with Volt, who's probably not expecting the best from Robin anyway.  Her simple answer to this is to tell Volt "He was raised by wolves—you'll get used to it." Her next words come from the side of her mouth, muttered to Robin though not so quietly nobody else could hear, were they trying.  "He's been in fights before and come out.  And I've been giving him training in evasive moves.  Also we'd be dumb to put our energy manipulation guy on the front line.  Give him a chance, hmm?  You've been wrong about people before."

Volt has posed:
    Volt's first focus is on Damian, but before he can respond, Stardust has taken that initiative.  But he supplements his own, "I'm not an alien.  But I'm happy to be here.  I think." He has some mixed feelings about how things have been.
    Hurdles to jump later.
    Stardust gets a glance, followed by a single-handed shrug.  He's confident he can avoid causing injury or cardiac arrest.  And if he does, the convenient thing is he's a walking defibrillator.  He looks back to Kian and lifts his left hand, index finger extended.  "E.T.  me." After a beat, he clarifies, "Fingertouch.  Just the tip."

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    The glow around Kian's hand brightens as it condenses to one fingertip.  Before contact is made, he says, "Clear your mind.  I'm a contact telepath.  If you're prepared, I won't hear your thoughts and you won't hear mine."  Rather than reach to touch, he holds his hand steady to let Drake make the decision whether and when.  If he can sense an electric field, the little birdman has quite a charge built up, rather more than a standard car battery… but at least nowhere near a lightning bolt.

Volt has posed:
Clear his mind?  Contact telepath?  That doesn't bode well.  But he's glad for the warning, at least.  No pesky thoughts will be getting read today!  So Volt does just that, and lightly taps his index finger to Kian's.  His mind?  Largely a blank.  Except for some lingering sensation of feeling patronized.  It's vague past that.
    The power tap is, as he promised, extremely mild and controlled; no more than a trickle.  His free hand raises, fingers splaying in a small, but noticeable and sustained shower of blue sparks.  "Voila.  How's that?  No palpitations, right?," he muses.  He doesn't intend to keep the connection going much longer.  Baby steps when it comes to something potentially outright fatal.

Stardust has posed:
    "It's a start," Stardust declares, clapping her hands together.  "Your homework for the next few days is to get together in the labs, test out power levels, work on that super-EMP, see if you can generate some kind of incredibly dangerous energy feedback loop between the pair of you that destroys half the tri-state area, that kind of stuff.  Mostly the first two, not the last one.  Teams are about synergy, you two have the potential for that.  Pun intended."
    Stardust glances sideways at Robin, suddenly awkwardly aware that she's doing leadership stuff in his presence again.  It's not her fault.  Damian hasn't been around much lately what with one thing and another, and someone's got to do it.  She gives a barely perceptable shrug, then nudges Robin.  It's a personal liberty you shouldn't take with Robin unless you know him very well, or are stab proof.  Ideally both.  "Got some news for you that you're just gonna love," she tells him.  "We've been asked to entertain the press for a day.  I'll tell you all about it, but you've got to promise not to murderize the people at the foundation who organized this stuff.  END PROGRAM."
    These final words cause the world of the hilltop and palace to fade into nothing, revealing a huge empty space filling the entire floor of the tower, with odd machinery in the walls.  Only the catwalk to the elevators and the control console remain.  "Okay.  Enough training for one day.  I need something to eat." She side-eyes Kian.  "The good news is that fried chicken is off the menu."