373/Titans Life

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Titans Life
Date of Scene: 11 May 2017
Location: Titans Tower
Synopsis: Summary needed
Cast of Characters: 87, Starfire




Vorpal (87) has posed:
Donna Troy had mentioned the Titans that fateful night when Vorpal turned into an unwilling art critic. Since that, cat people had rained from outer space, he had met a French cat superhero, and he had mostly survived his first set of finals. He had gotten so busy, he had totally forgotten to check up on what Wonder Girl had told him.

Today was the day, though. He was free for the day (the next battery of finals awaited him tomorrow, but he had crammed like crazy for them) and had nothing planned.

And so, Barker Island was his destination.

Vorpal wasn't quite sure what kind of security measures the tower had, but he had an inkling that they might go into Mr. Sulu Red Alert were he to open a Rabbit Hole leading right to the door... so instead the cheshire cat does what any civilized person would do: He opens it at the shore, and then walks his way towards the tower.

As he approaches, he pulls out the earbuds from his ears and hits 'pause', stuffing the wireless earbuds in the same hidden pocket that his ultra-slim phone is hidden in. He gives the tower an admiring, impressed look, though. "I wonder who finances something like that.. big giant 'T' in the middle of an island. Bit of a target, though..."

Starfire has posed:
    Sadly, the tower was on an island, so walking there was going to be a little difficult. Vorpal would have to find a different way there.

Or would he?

"Greetings Friend!" comes a cheery voice from above and getting closer as an orange skinned, red haired girl lowered herself to Vorpal but kept a few feet away. "Are you the Vorpal that Donna Troy told us about?"

Vorpal (87) has posed:
Yyyyeep. It looked like the civilized approach wasn't going to work after all. He briefly considers Rabbitholing over when the voice from above startles him. Not that he will ever admit it, but he is freaked out at the fact that //anyone// could sneak up on him, with those ears and his nose. His tail frizzles and he takes a jump back.

He will never admit this to anyone, ever.

As soon as he feels his heart coming down to a more normal rate, he takes a deep breath and says "-y-yes, I am the Dorpal Tonna told y... that's me. I'm... I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name..."

Starfire has posed:
    The girl floats there for a bit, but smiles. "I am called Starfire. Donna told us about you before she went back to her Paradise Island. when you came out to the tower, I flew out to meet you. I didn't want you to get the 'blasted' if you crossed into our defensive perimeter."

Vorpal (87) has posed:
"AHA, so there -is- a ... well, I'm glad you came to meet me. Donna told me about you guys but she didn't really have time to tell me much because of the repairs. This fur coat is expensive enough an upkeep without having to mend holes in it."

The cat looks at Starfire and offers her a grin, and his hand. "Starfire? Nice to meet ya."

How did he ask what he wanted to ask? The girl was clearly not your ordinary human, but... "So... er, you can fly!"

Lame. So lame.

Starfire has posed:
    "Yes! I am able to fly. One of many things I am able to do. But we should not talk of what we can do here. You should come with me to the tower. Donna did say you wanted to join the Titans. Is that still true?" Starfire says....

Vorpal (87) has posed:
"I.. o-of course! But Donna didn't really tell me what I have to do or if there are any tests..." the cat looks over troubled water, but sees no bridge, "How do we get to the tower without me getting all fricaseed? Or is that... one of the tests?"

Oooh, a test. This... yes, this is probably a test!

Starfire has posed:
    "It is not a test. Donna saw something good in you in the museum, and she told us about you. If you truly wish for a test, we could think up one for you, but....Donna saw something good in you." Starfire finally lands on the ground. "And I haven't had a reason to think DOnna is wrong."

Vorpal (87) has posed:
"Well... I guess I can't argue with that." Yeah, like he was going to contradict a recommendation from Wonder Girl. 'Oh no, I am actually rather awful, really.' Who says that? Not even awful people. "I would love to see the tower... are the others around, too?"

He waits for Starfire to lead the way, uncertain how things are done on this Titanic island.

Starfire has posed:
    "Joy! allow me to lead the way and show you around the tower! I do not think the other titans are in the tower at the moment." Starfire says as she lifts off the ground. "Do you wish me to carry you, or can you make it to the island?"

Vorpal (87) has posed:
"I... er, could I get a ride? I can Rabbit-hole over there, but I'm not sure where I can land without getting 'the blasted', so I should probably take it from you!" He smiles and holds out his hands.

His tail betrays how excited he is, though. He is going to get to fly- he has always wanted to fly! Any powerset that doesn't include flying is, in his mind, a lame-ass powerset.

Starfire has posed:
    "All the right." Starfire says as she wraps her arms around Vorpal. "Hang the on." It's quite obvious she's not from around here, since she hasn't mastered english yet.

And up they go. She follows an arc of flight to the.....roof of the tower, where they are met by deploying turrets, and a scanner. Starfire puts her hand on the scanner and it scans her hand rather quickly. "Koriand'r, plus one." And the turrets retract. "Cyborg works tirelessly on the defenses for us...."

Vorpal (87) has posed:
"That.... that was amazing!" Vorpal says very quietly, a goofy grin on his face. "I flew. Like, without an airplane. It must feel so good to be able to do that all the time! It's the one power I always wanted to get!"

And instead he got turned into a walking furball. Life just sometimes was... "Where... I mean, where did the tower come from? It must have taken a lot of dosh to build a place like this... heck, even to get the land title."

He looks curiously at the retracting turrets. He is so tempted to reach out and poke. Cat. Curiosity. But he refrains. Today will not be the day he dies by his own hand. Unless he were to buy some dye and become a suicide blond- dyed by his own hand.

This is what his mind is like, people.

Starfire has posed:
    "the tower did not go up quickly. Cyborg and Robin double and triple the check people before they go to work. Then, they check them again before they leave. She says floating over to a room that has doors slide open. "In here, please." She says gently as she doors open. "and please, do not touch the turrets. if I am not with you, you be the shot."

Vorpal (87) has posed:
"Good to know!" Voral skip-hops away from the turrets and steps in behind Starfire as the doors close. "Wow... so Robin is here, too? What's he like? Is he awesome? Is he mysterious and Bat-like and does he have a million gadgets and does he train you all in ... in Bat-things?"

Ascended fanboy begins to surface, alright, "And... where are you from? I mean, I think I detect a hint of an... accent?" Not really, but it was better than saying 'a slight blunt force trauma handling of the language at times.'

Starfire has posed:
    "I am Tamaranian. I am not from this planet, so I am not like humans. I can learn a language by touch, I can also absorb sunlight and use it to fly, and use it for starbolts and beams from my eyes. it's also the source of my strength." Kory says to Vorpal. "You also do not have to tell us your true identity. We respect dual identities...."

Vorpal (87) has posed:
"Well, If I can't trust the people a Robin is running with, who can I trust?" Vorpal says, muses. "There are some... compications with my identity, and I guess it's better that the team knows about it before you guys decide whether you truly want me in or not."

"Tamaran... I've never heard of it, of course. What's it like?" he asks, lightening up, "Your people sound so cool, can all Tamaraneans do what you do? I'd love to visit someday." Vorpal. Open mouth, insert foot. "As you can see, I'm a cat. Actually, -technically- speaking I'm sort-of famous, but since you're from outside of this world, you probably have never heard of where I'm from... a place called Wonderland."

Pause. "Well. Part of me comes from there. It's complicated. And kind of ridiculous."

Starfire has posed:
    "I.....cannot take you to Tamaran." Starfire sounds sad about that. "I can never return there, so I cannot bring you." She then takes a deep breath. "But we are on earth, and it is joyous!" She then tilts her head. 'Wonderland! It sounds woundrous!" Happy girl, isn't she?

Vorpal (87) has posed:
Good job, Vorpal. Her planet probably exploded. "... Weeeelll," Vorpal says, eager to jump away from the topic where he basically just made a fool of himself. "It is wondrous. Sort of. It's also very mad. Rather insane. And illogical. Fairly irrational. Reality is in flux there and it responds to your thoughts, so if you are in a bad mood- like the Queen of Hearts is all the time- things get to be not too pleasant." Not that he ever had to worry much about it, he sort-of remembers. "SO... who aside from Robin and Cyborg are in the team? And Donna, of cour- or is Donna not part of it anymore now that she's gone back to Themyscira?"

He tries to walk carefully and not deviate from the path Kory describes. Just in case they have tazers hiding in the potted plants.

Starfire has posed:
Koriand'r says, "She is still a part of it, just not active." She then smiles. "Uhm, Streak, Raven, Supergirl, me, Raven, Cyborg.....""

Vorpal (87) has posed:
Supergirl, too. He starts walking slower as his mind goes into overdrive. What WAS he doing here? He was going to make a goof of himself in front of the Batman's protege and Superman's cousin?

"Starry, how about we stop the tour and I tell you about that problem I told you? I'd rather... y'know. Field it by you instead of the whole team-" and their potentially judgy mcjudgeyfaces -"And you can tell me if you think that might be too much of an obstacle for me to be in the team. Sounds good? Can we go to... I dunno. A commons. A cafeteria. Anywhere here where I can tell ya in private?"

Starfire has posed:
Koriand'r says, "We do have a place that we eat. tell me there?"

Vorpal (87) has posed:
"That works," Vorpal nods, and lets the alien lead the way. On the way there, he tries to fight down the not on his stomach.

When he finally sits down with her, he looks around. Just as she said, no-one was around at the very moment, but that might change anytime. He had to get it out and in the open.

"So... my secret identity. I sort of work for a ... website. Blog. Media thing. It does all sorts of stories... when I first came in, it was differen than what it is. Than what it is now, I mean. It got bought."

Starfire has posed:
Koriand'r says, "How was the site bought? Could you explain please?" She says landing on her feet."

Vorpal (87) has posed:
"Well, it was owned by a small company, and then a bigger company saw potential in it and bought it out. The person at the top is... let's just say she's responsible for some rather spicy publications. This site I work at, it's focused on superheroes. It's called 'HeroWatch' and you probably haven't been around long enough to know of its reputation..." or maybe she was. HeroWatch wasn't one of the main media outlets, but it was the one that gave platform to 'rumors' and wild conclusions. It was the paparazzi and yellow journalism of the superhero media circle. "There's a certain... kind of content you have to put out... I was actually recording a fight at the museum when..." he pauses. He died. "When I got my powers."

Starfire has posed:
Koriand'r says, "mmmm...so it was bought by a larger company? And that is bad? What is the larger company's name?" Seems she's paying attention, at least."

Vorpal (87) has posed:
"Moon Inc. It is bad only insofar as it means that I have to... come up with things that could be seen as not terribly flattering or scandalous about... heroes." Vorpal looks away, embarrassed. "I- I happen to be pretty good at getting footage. I've gotten lots of fights on our 'book page live before the 'real media' even arrived at the scene. For a while I thought I could just get away with that sort of stuff under the new management, but I was invited in for a 'talk'."

He sighs and taptaptaps on the table with one of his claws. "They want 'juicier' stuff. And you don't say no to them. Olivia Moon is a very 'salt the earth' kind of person. If you try to defy her she'll make sure you have a really hard time finding a job in the industry if you don't have someone's backing. And I'm in kind of a bind since I didn't leave the site when it was bought out, thinking it wouldn't change that much. Right now, if you've been working for the Moon Mafia, as people call it, you're toxic if you want to try more legitimate work. It's... it's a mess." He sighs and rubs his forehead. "And I'm basically in charge of trying to get candid pictures and footage of people like you. Or Robin..."

Starfire has posed:
    "That....will not do." Starfire says with a sigh. "What does the 'candid' mean?" She says softly.

Vorpal (87) has posed:
"Basically... catching people unawares. Usually in unflattering situations." Vorpal grumbles to himself and rests his chin on his hands. He knew it was too good to be true- his luck always tended to come up pear-shaped. "I mean, I could quit, I guess. Or... maybe land a legitimate scoop that will get me picked up by a legit site. Nothing sleazy or cheap- an honest-to-goodnes scoop that'll put me on the map."

"But how do I get one without giving away who I am... or giving away anybody's secrets?"

He growns and puts his forehead down on the table. "Nnnnngh!"

Starfire has posed:
Koriand'r says, "You must be true to yourself, no matter what. if you mean catch me without my clothes on, that is easy enough to do, for I sun myself on the roof on a daily basis. But if you do not feel you are doing well there, or you are compromising your integrity there, then you should leave, or find something legitimate and go somewhere else. the karma will take care of her.""

Vorpal (87) has posed:
Vorpal stares at Koriand'r after what she said.

She was perfectly factual about it, too. Of course, Daphne Moon would pay through the nose for a picture of one of the most beautiful women on earth, and the most exotic, sunning herself au naturel. In the altogether.




"I... gosh Starfire, I just couldn't do that!"


You can almost hear the explosive rage of every horny straight male teenager across the planet shouting in a clamor of voices, only to be extinguished in blind stupor.

"That's just not right, I mean." The fact that he's not interested in women in -that- way may have something to do with it, but also the fact that he is, basically, a decent kid. While he was making money as 'just a blogger', he didn't really have many reasons to think about the repercussions of his work. Not that he had done anything as sleazy as pull a Prince Charles on some unsuspecting soul... but still. Now that he had actually met some of these people and seen them up close, risking their lives and being kind to him, it forced him. He couldn't -not- think about it anymore.

"I.. I guess the best solution is quitting. I'll get some footage of fights and quit after my finals are done and the semester is over. And then... I'll guess I can try to make a name for myself independently... maybe start a Patreon..." he mutters.

"I really want to be part of this team."

Starfire has posed:
Koriand'r nods. "I understand, Vorpal. She will not like the things she is doing when she realizes that people will not help her, if she is that mean to the people that are helping her." She then lets out an exhale. "If I may." She then takes Vorpal's hand and places it on the hand scanner. "Scan. Codename: Vorpal. Authorization: Starfire." A bwip can be heard as it scans his hand......

Vorpal (87) has posed:
He gulps and stares at his hand for several seconds after the scan has been made. "Tommy. You can call me Tommy, Starfire."

He looks up and then leans back on the chair, exhaling. "I'm going to make sure I earn this. And I need to drum up the courage to slay the dragon."

Starfire has posed:
Koriand'r says, "I am Kory, Tommy." She then smiles as she lets go of his hand. "Welcome to the Titans. Also, you'll find you'll have more friends than just the titans, Tommy, but outside of the tower, I will be calling you Vorpal.""

Vorpal (87) has posed:
"Thank you, Kory. Of course... outside the tower. Unless I look like this-"

A quick thought and the spell takes place, leaving a red-headed human where the Cheshire cat used to be. "It's all an illusion, I can't really change my shape. It's why I wear these..." he holds up his hands. The biker gloves with the fingers cut off. "That way if I shake someone's hand they won't notice the fur."

Starfire has posed:
Koriand'r says, "Mmmm...that would do it, yes. An Illusion would be a good way. I cannot change what I look like, nor do I want to." She then smiles. "I should head back to my room, Tommy. I must sleep.""

Vorpal (87) has posed:
"Right, then- I should see myself out. I've got to study for my finals and... thank you, Kory." He smiles and stands up. "I'll be back after my exams, though. I've got an early one in the morning."

He stops, and suddenly something comes to his mind.

"When -exactly- do you sunbathe up there?" because he doesn't think he'd be able to survive the embarrassment of appearing on the rooftop to find .... well. He'd probably have to run away to Japan or something.

Starfire has posed:
Koriand'r smiles back over her shoulder. "when I feel like it. And certainly not when it's raining." She says stepping into her room, and the door closes.