2316/TITANS: Meet and Greet and Shop Talk

TITANS: Meet and Greet and Shop Talk
Date of Scene:	04 September 2017
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	87, Raven, Amarok, Robin (Wayne), Wonder Girl

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Vorpal (87) has posed:
Shared down-time is conducive to good team interaction on and off the field. That is what the Manual For Good Teambuilding says. It also notes that one should do considerate things for one's team-members, such as inviting them out for coffee, or occasionally sharing a treat.

It should be pointed out that the Manual itself was written by Eileen Schicklemeyer and was clearly intended for implementation on a field that was more prone to cubicle-farming than, say, crimefighting. Thus, while Eileen's suggestions for de-escalation of conflict involving sugary treats and a mediated face-to-face may not work quite as well with, say, Doctor Light, some of the other suggestions are, perhaps, feasible.

Which is why there is an assortment of brownies (regular and vegan, just in case) and a few flavors of soft drinks and juices at a little table in the back area of the lobby.

>>Hey guys! Goodies and drinks in the lower level, my treat!

He sent the message out a few minutes ago. As he sits down on one of the comfortable chairs, he hopes he's not the only one who ends up showing up.

Not only would that be embarrassing, he's sure that if he ends up having all the sugar to himself, it will all end in tears.

Raven has posed:
Raven is there before it seems like anyone else should be. The benefits of empathy. She walks through the doorway as Vorpal is setting everything up, and reading... Which means that her presence is unknown until the cat is finished. Well, until the cat-themed-dude is finished. She doesn't seem to partake, but when Vorpal turns around to send the text, there is Raven, already fixing a cup of tea.

"That's very nice of you." she offered, this one compliment coming with this lack of inflection that almost makes it seem sarcastic. It's very frustrating to deal with that monotone at times- but, hey, she suppresses most of her emotions so the optimistic can just brush it off as unintended sarcasm.

Amarok has posed:
As the offer of sugared confections and hydration is made, the Urban Wolf arrives at the entrance of the tower, droplets of half dried blood still painting the knuckles of his gauntlets, boots, and visor as he steps in from out of night air, the canting of his head signaling a reflexive scanning of the room before entering. After a moment's hesitation as he eyes everyone in turn, he steps into the room proper and makes for a corner, leaning back and slowly relaxing, physically if not mentally.

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     >>When has it ever occurred to you that...SNOOORF! I'll be down in a moment.<<

  True to his word, from outside, a shake on the ground as Goliath lands with a thud. "I don't care how much you like everyone, bat. It is training time." SNERF SNORF "Fine, we will take a break, but only for fifteen minutes."

  Damian holds the door open, allowing the large bat-dragon to come in, his wings folded down and walking on all fours. Damian himself comes in to prepare himself a cup of oolong tea while Goliath helps himself to a bowl of water in the corner, lapping it up quite heartily. "Raven." He offers, nodding to the others around while he steps his tea.

Vorpal (87) has posed:
Should Raven be open to sensing her team-mate's emotions, she would perceive a sharp spike of fear coming in the direction of Vorpal as Goliath makes its entrance. To his credit, though, his expressio doesn't waver but for the slightest of instants. Not likely to be overlooked by the Boy Terror, though.

Vorpal looks at those assembled and realizes that the social awkwardness in the room is now over nine thousand. Wolf, he can't make head or tails of, Raven is a monotone enigma, and at one point he was convinced that Robin was a robot built by Batman. He's not sure anymore- Robots can't have pets, can they?

"H-hey, nice to see everybody." He tries not to think too much about Raven being there before he had put the clarion call out- how doe she *do* stuff like that? "Nice of you to bring G-Goliath, Robs. Say, I don't' think you've ever told us where you got him from?"

He's trying his best not to look at Goliath. The creature has accted like a total puppy so far, though. It's really rather silly.
Just look at him already.

Vorpal turns to look at Goliath, and then there's that spike of fear again. His glance ends up on Wolf instead. "Hey, wolf... want some punch?" he gestures to the bowl.

Raven has posed:
Raven isn't that kind of person. She doesn't necessarily spy on the emotions of her other Titans- more that she is aware of new emotions around her. Kind of like detecting a new device on the wifi but not connecting. She is sipping quietly at an overhot mug, as the others enter. "Robin." she greets, the smaller, angrier bird enough to get her attention, and as Dan had not said anything on his entrance, she didn't give him a greeting just yet. ON the outskirts, she just sort of lingers. Looming.

Amarok has posed:
The Wolf remains perfectly still in his corner as Robin and what must surely be Batman's attempt at a Frankenstein esque monster arrive. If Raven's feelers are out, all the Wolf seems to be putting out is anxiousness and bottled aggression. As Vorpal offers punch, the Wolf's LED glare snaps over to appraise the cat-man like his namesake, a noticable moment passing before he grunts out a monotone 'no' through the minor modulation of his mask. Another moment passes and he lifts his head up to look at Vorpal again, "....Thanks though..." He says in the same quiet monotone, apparently having needed a minute to remember his manners.

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     A steamy cup of oolongin his gloved hands, Damian take a hearty sip before nodding to Vorpal. "I got him in...Bialya... he's the last of his kind that I know of." The Year of Blood, it was still something he didn't like talking about.

  He kicks back on the couch, splitting a small brownie in half. "Thank you, Vorpal." He offers. snorf Goliath offers as well, a bit more thankful than the Angry Bird.

Vorpal (87) has posed:
"Bialya? I've never been." He wonders if he should ask what Robin was doing in Bialya. But he thinks better of it and decides not to, in case it had something to do with removing someone's spleen.

Wolf's monotone modulator reminds him of Raven's own monotone, and for a moment he goes back to Eileen Schicklemeyer's advice about breaking the ice.

Try to find something in common. Yes, that was it. Maybe they had motivation or history in common? It was a good possibility.

"You two were already in the team by the time I joined," he says, trying to draw Raven and Wolf into the conversation, "So... what brought you to the Titans?"

Raven has posed:
Raven actually gave a short pause, spending genuine time tinking about this particular question. She's silent for perhaps half a minute before she finally deigns to answer, and her answer is incredibly short, and not entirely very touchy-feely. "Necessity." she said, after a moment.

Then, another thing occurred to her. "Have we found out anything about who was in my room? I fear it may have been the people that abducted Robin."

Amarok has posed:
The Wolf grunts at Vorpal, sounding similiar to a car with engine troubles when it goes through the mask, and after a few moments of silence replies with, "....I find goals easier to achieve as a group.....Even I need to sleep sometimes......What about you?" Raven's question draws his eye and another grunt, "...News to me. I've been underground the past few weeks. What happened?"

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     "You wouldn't have been. It is a culture filled with philistines who used to worship a man that held a staff as a god amongst men. I proved them wrong."

  Robin keeps sipping his tea. He spares many many more details and what he was doing there.

  The mention of someone in Raven's room only keeps him silent for now. He won't say anything more, even if Raven's theory was incorrect, it serves as a good distraction from who was actually snooping around.

Vorpal (87) has posed:
It should be noted that Tommy, a.k.a Vorpal, is an extrovert. As such, when placed in a room with a population primarily made up of introverts and secretive people, he tends to be all thumbs. He was thinking of writing a strongly-worded email to Miss Eileen when an actual topic of concern does pop up.

"Oh, yes, we've had a little Goldylocks poking around in our rooms. So far, they haven't eaten our beds or slept in our porridge, but nevertheless we seem to have an intruder who can go undetected and rummage through our things." the Cheshire cat crosses his arms, clearly oblivious to the fact that he got the storybook wrong. "The night of that bogus fire alarm, for example, I came back to find an overturned box and... a hair that wasn't there before!" Yes. He had been thorough. "And I checked that it wasn't mine because it wasn't red. It wasn't Cass' because it wasn't blond, and it wasn't Kaldur's because... it wasn't blond. Again. I just need to get a hold of Red Robin so he can analyze it and see if we can find something from it."

Wonder Girl has posed:
Speaking of extroverts, rummaged rooms, and blondes named Cassie, the young woman who all of these may apply to in some fashion or another makes her own appearance amidst the little gathering, taking her usual shortcut down the elevator bypass, ie, the big empty hole for people who don't need elevators. Descending casually, her feet touch down, and she readily lifts a hand toward those gathered. "Hey, what's the occasion?" For those who haven't seen her since, she's looking a lot less stabbed! For those who never saw it at all, well, she wouldn't give any outward hint to discomfort or lingering thoughts about the rescue and its details.

Her brows do knit a little, as she catches what Vorpal is talking about. "Yeah I think it's still happening. Some of my drawers looked like they'd been shuffled around a bit, and my closet too. And even if I've been giving Kori some fashion tips, she's not really my size to go and borrow anything. So I wonder if it's not more of the same thing? I hope it's not some weird, creeper villain."

Raven has posed:
Raven nods a few times. "There was someone in my room," she begins, explaining in that dreary voice of hers. "They were snooping. I found my terminal had been disturbed, and several of my books had been gone over. It is... These things are unsafe. There is much in my room that should not be disturbed. Very much that is... Private. That should not be anything other than private." There's a tension in her voice- as if she takes this... Very, aggressively, seriously. It seems like she's very dire, about it!

Amarok has posed:
The Wolf watches Vorpal from behind his mask with rapt attention, "....If you want, I could tighten security, see what I can sniff out. If it's bound to the material plane, it cant hide from me forever." He boasts in the same dull monotone he declined punch in mere moments ago. Cassie's arrival draws his head for an appraising stare/glare, before it jerks back over to watching Vorpal for a response.

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     Goliath gets up from his corner, walking over to Cassie and gives her a lick across her cheek.

  Robin had only breathed deeply as Cassie mentions what had gone on. "I would think that it could be the one who took me, but that would mean he survived the warehouse collapse. Given his strength level, I could believe it."

Vorpal (87) has posed:
"I don't know. Why would someone who is super-strong go about hinkle-pinkling in a bunch of teenagers' rooms when he could just... you know, kidnap us? Doesn't make sense." The cat shakes his head, and smiles at Cassie, "It's good to see you up and about. I heard you had gotten hurt. Here, have some punch, you get the cup with the extra fruit bits," he says, presenting it to Cassie as if it were a trophy or a medal of valor.

"Do that, Wolf, maybe it's time we started adding some traps. Raven, can you set up wards or stuff like that to account for spiritual or magical intruders? I'm afraid I don't really have much training in the actual... you know. Mechanics and theory of supernatural stuff. All the magic I do is instinctual."

He reaches over and grabs a cup of juice for himself, and then smirks at Robin, still not looking at Goliath, "So that would account for physical and magical. So far the only room that hasn't been broken into that I know of is Gar's and Kaldur's. If I were our snooper, I'd go after Kaldur's room- because nobody would rifle through Gar's overdue dirty laundry unless they had a death wish. So... we should talk to Kadur and set some traps to catch ourselves a booby."

Raven has posed:
Raven offers this small nod. She's pensive for another extended period of time. "It is at least slightly comforting to know that it wasn't a targeted attack. This is beginning to get... Rather intriguing, however." She states, setting her tea down and making her way around the counter into the dining room proper. "It seems like nothing was... Taken. Just... Rummaged through. That is interesting, because that means it was not a thief of some kind. Maybe someone who has it out for us, but I do not know for sure. However, if we have a hair, it will make it... Easier for us to determine who it was."

Wonder Girl has posed:
"Oof, erm, heya there, big fella," is Cassie is surpised but not totally unhappy reaction as this creature of Damian's that's now apparently become the Tower pet comes over to greet her like nothing more than an overgrown puppy. She's not upset by it, other than however slightly awkward his size may make it.

"Hmm, well, I couldn't really say. I didn't see much of what happened, to the guy in the armor anyway. I was losing it just as that flash nearly blew us all away. Didn't see if it hit him, or where he might have gone," she admits. But she shows no particular suspicion, and definitely not the degree of discomfort at her violated privacy that Raven does, just more the usual 'hey stay out of my room, dorks' that's commen of basically anyone her age.

Vorpal's greeting gets a smile, and his points a nod. "Aw thanks. Really I'm fine, thanks to Raven especially. But I kinda agree. I dunno how he could get in here that easily, and if he could... if he'd just go rummaging through our rooms? This was a guy that STABBED two of us at different times, was willing to kidnap, maybe to kill. He had bombs and other serious hardware. Seems strange he'd show up and not try and take someone with him, or blow the place up, or who knows what. Just figure if he had gotten in here, we'd have been in even bigger trouble."

Amarok has posed:
The Wolf grunts and nods to Vorpal, "Come talk to me in a couple days and I'll tell you where the traps are. Send everyone else my way to, when you get the chance. I'm not getting blamed for any infections or necessary amputations because people got lazy and didn't wanna find out where the traps were ahead of time." If he's joking, Bill Murray could take lessons on deadpanning from him, as the monotone cannot be stopped. With that, he pushes off from the wall and starts walking away, apparently to prepare for turning the tower into a T shaped deathtrap.

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     "Correct, this is most likely the work of some other person." Damian looks to Vorpal as he walks over to him. "I have access to the lab in the batcave and can run the hair against a DNA database of known criminals. As long as there is a follicle, and they are in the database, we can know who they are." Robin looked to all around. "I can get the results back in 24 hours."

Vorpal (87) has posed:
The cat doesn't hesitate. Bat-trained is Bat-trained, after all, and the Cheshire cat does get a little thrill out of having Damian use the Bat-Cave's resources to aid the Titans, just because of how their first encounter went. Is he petty? So be it, that will teach Batman to spray that goo of his on him. "I've got it in my apartment, I'll drop it off your room after the meet's over and you can work it over..." he watches Wolf walk away and takes out his smartphone: "Note to self: Tell everybody to talk to Wolf abou traps. Because amputations."

He doesn't know if Wolf is serious or not, but in circumstances like this it is better to cry wolf than to cry because your arm is now a foot shorter.

"Agreed, Rae, it's good to have the hair. Although I have to admit I was looking forward to doing some more detective work on it before the forensics kicked in. You know..." and for a moment, he is the spitting image of Hercule Poirot, dapper if outmoded suit, scrupulously twirled military moustache and everything, "... 'ave a chance to get ze leetle grey cells working?"

The illusion vanishes, and he sips his juice, "But I guess it's hard to do that when we're dealing with kidnappings and stuff like that. I do have to wonder about that alarm that went off, though. Did our rummager set it up? Or were they skulking about and decided to use the glitch to their advantage and go into the nearest room- which may have been mine at the time?"

He chuckles and walks over to Cassie, "This is like playing Clue. Hey... maybe we could talk to Hasbro and see if they'll release a Clue- Teen Titans edition. It would be good publicity, no?"

Raven has posed:
Raven nods over at Cassie, but with the woman's presence, she becomes a touch more... Reserved. It's almost comically delayed, too, as Cassie has been here for a short while, but by now, she's actually noticing and keeping track of the others in the room. Silently, she regards the blonde, for a few moments. "That is... Interesting." she states, "An intriguing thought. Either way, we have been... Heavily engaged. It is probably not as... Important as I am making it out to be." There is a pause, as she makes her way over to one of the couches, and sits herself down. "Either way, we will know soon. That is good."

Wonder Girl has posed:
"Sure, and we could use the money to hire a chef," Cassie quips back, smirking a little at Vorpal's suggestion. The chef bit may be half an 'in' joke, although the overall amount of junk food and weirdly-flavored pizza they all end up eating is no small secret.

But, with talk of bat-scanning the thing to reveal whatever clues it might, she seems pretty satisfied with that approach, for whatever it might yield. "I figure that first alarm *had* to be intentional, it was for a fire, and there wasn't a fire, and the chance of it both malfunctioning to go off AND them being there to take advantage? Nah, whoever it is, they're smart enough to mess with us." Then a glance at Dan. "I dunno about traps, but some extras eyes out, people on security shifts, might be a good idea. Catching them in the act would make the whole thing way simpler. We don't just get an identity, we get to do something about it."

"It's still important," she tells Raven, reassuringly. "Just it definitely doesn't seem as hostile. But we've just dealt with one crisis so we've got some time to sort it out. Well, unless we don't Anyone got word on any other kinda trouble we need to look at?"

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     "Sounds good, I will make sure to get the results as soon as possible." Damian offers, looking back to Goliath. "He just likes you all it seems, so much that he likes to shirk off training time to say hello." SNOOORF! Goliath gives his agreement too, but in a much more positive way. Robin though starts to futz with his wrist computer, maybe there had been a connection somewhere he didn't see.

Vorpal (87) has posed:
"Well, then I'd say this downtime meet-up has been a success!" The cat grins. And then frowns. "Except we didn't do any downtime stuff at all, we talked shop."

He takes a long sip from his juice. "Now this is depressing. There's got to be more to us than just our costumes and who is messing with us."

He goes and grabs a brownie, reveling in the comfort, sweet embrace of chocolate. Well, so much for that book. There's bound to be one written for superheroes. Somewhere. Right?

Raven has posed:
Raven looks off for a few moments, before responding to Cassie. "It's... It's not that important. I'm... Over-reacting." she states, trying to sort of play down something she'd been playing up for quite a while. "It was just a... Matter of privacy. Nothing was taken, and that means that whoever it is was just trying to find out things. That is... Less of a problem."

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     Damian puts a finger to his mask. "Okay Goliath, lets go, I want to get that maneuver polished." He offers, walking towards the door. "Thank you for the refreshment, Vorpal." Robin offers, looking to the Bat Dragon, pointing outside. The monster follows, letting Damian onto his shoulders and flying off once they are outside.

Wonder Girl has posed:
"Eh, not your fault, just hard to relax when someone's creeping your home turf," Cassie tells Vorpal with a quirked half-smile. "I don't even care that much but uh, I know some people have a lot more they care to keep private than I do. And it still gives me the creeps. No girl wants someone rifling through their undies." Which is hopefully not at all something that actually happened! She glances sidelong at Rachel, and shakes her head. "It's still a problem, I mean, it's important we all feel safe here. But yeah... I don't get the big time villain vibe from it?

Which sets her thinking, although thinking is done, on Vorpal's lead, with a brownie in hand, or in mouth. Chew, chew. "Mrph, so like, I dunno, it's not that heavy, as shop talk goes." She gives a little shrug. "If I had to guess, I'd say... snooping reporter? Overenthusiastic wannabe teamate? Something like that. Maybe someone's jealous ex!" With a little laugh, it's clear she's making light on all of it now.

"Have fun, you two," is called after the bat-duo.

Vorpal (87) has posed:
"Well, we can rule me out, I don't have any exes." The cat smirks and waves after Damian and Goliath, now relaxing a little more now that the bat-dragon wasn't in sight. He needs to get a hold of himself. Being scared like that makes him angry, it's rather... embarrassing.

"In any case, I was planning maybe a movie night next? Do either of you have any suggestions?"

He pauses and adds, "For the record, I want to subject Robin to Mamma Mia, just to see if he finally breaks. What do you guys think? Could even make it a sing-along."

Raven has posed:
Raven doesn't bid farewell to Robin. She doesn't do goodbyes, because she'll see the man again. folding her arms on her lap, she speaks along with Vorpal. "It could not be mine, I have never dated." she states, in a somewhat roundabout fashion. It takes her a bit to admit that about herself, admittedly. "That sounds good. There is also a movie called Samurai Cop that I think may finally do him in."

Wonder Girl has posed:
As everyone shoots down the exes idea, Cassie gives another kind of helpless laugh. "Ok, ok, maybe not that. At this point I'm kinda running through TV plots anyway, more than serious scenarios. Maybe it was someone's evil twin!" Except that's more like a serious villain plot in this 'reality', so... nevermind?!

"Movie sounds cool," she readily agrees, and though she pauses to ponder some suggestions, Vorpal's own (and the commentary that accompanies it) has her break out laughing. "Oh jeez, that'd be too perfect." Raven's, in turn, she actually takes seriously, probably because she doesn't know what it is: "That sounds cool, Rach! Yeah, like maybe a mix so we've got action and something lighter."

"Anyway I don't really care too much, so it sounds like a plan. Just an excuse to hang out and just relax a little is fine by me. Semester's just starting so my workload shouldn't be too bad yet. So whenever!"