4263/Training Day

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Training Day
Date of Scene: 12 April 2018
Location: Unknown
Synopsis: Robin finds Stardust modifying things in the danger room, but for once she doesn't appear to be trying to use it as a giant gaming rig. Can she be finally taking things seriously?
Cast of Characters: Stardust, Robin (Wayne)




Stardust has posed:
Someone has been messing around with Damian's holo-programs again. When this happens it's basically a fifty-fifty between Raven changing the names and occasionally graphics in an attempt to annoy Damian, or Stardust doing something annoying, incomprehensible, or irresponsible. Her efforts to combine the Danger Room holo projection system with a Playstation has caused a number of issues, but she also has a habit of making small modifications to Damian's programs for reasons all her own. Usually she manages to remember to modify a copy rather than the original, but there was that one time when she gave every enemy the ability to fly, which was a nasty shock.

  This time, she's remembered to work on a copy. No doubt Damian would be aware of this anyway, as he's probably put in a few safeguards after past experiences. The program she has modified is one of Damian's favorites, the Mountaintop Ninja battle. Right now she's obviously in testing mode, as there's just a single ninja present, and it's running around in a circle while she stands there watching. Also it has two bars floating over its head, video game style. One is green and full size, the other is a dull orange and is currently half full. Whether she's doing this because she's now trying her gaming ideas the other way around and wants to try to import the ninjas into a game or for some other reason is really anyone's guess.

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     he had been alerted that someone was using his programs, Damian had decided to have a peek in on people. Though to his dismay, he sees the one ninja running around in circles. Robin steps in fully, watching the stray ninja run. "What is this?" He asks, looking at the lifebars. His tone certainly is different with Colette than it is with everyone together, nicer at least.

Stardust has posed:
Colette turns and raises an eyebrow. "Damian. How goes life, Angry Bird? I'm just trying to get a little enhancement working. Someone... well I wanted to give them a fatigue level. Like they slow down the more they do. That's why he's..." she gestures with a finger, spinning it around in a circle. "I'm trying to guage it right. I mean, don't want them tiring too fast. Or too slowly. Honestly though, I'm not sure how quickly ninjas should tire." She takes a few steps forwards until the ninja's circular path takes him right in front of her. She watches it run, the orange bar dropping a little on each lap. "Too fast," she concludes before tripping the running ninja up and making it poof into a cloud of pixels by stamping on its head.

With a faint sigh, Colette turns back around to Damian. "I think I have the principle of it now though, just a matter of getting the numbers right. So. I wanted to ask you something. Breathmints. She keeps trying to shoot people with blowgun darts." Colette pauses a moment, blinking to herself as she realizes how that came out. "This isn't a complaint. She hasn't been trying to shoot me or anything. I mean... she's got this incredible super-power, and she's using it to try to replicate a gun. Which seems pretty pointless. Can you have a word with her? She'll listen to you. I thought maybe something like... fold up a mylar sheet into a pipe, have her blow that at someone to entangle them. A few hundred square feet of mylar sheeting blown at you at high speed would cause anyone difficulty. Or... maybe she should be breathing out something other than just air? I mean given the air pressure, her lungs must be basically indestructible. Can we teach her fire breathing? Because that would be both useful and awesome."

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     "The problem with Breath is that she needs to learn tactics. She's focusing on what her powers can do, instead of how she can augment her fighting with her powers." Damian looks at the ninja, running in a loop more. "It's about knowing your limitations. Seems like some of us know more than others about that subject. Or maybe 'just having gadgets' makes people seem like we aren't to be taken seriously." A very pointed statement, right to the Titan that uttered it: Rayner. "He's lucky he didn't meet me last year, I would have killed him where he stood."

  Damian huffs, taking a seat in the lotus position. "Nevertheless, I've already spoken with Breath over the original subject." He also takes out a small thermos, pouring a cup of oolong tea from the vessel.

Stardust has posed:
"Right, tactics. But tactics includes knowing your potential as well as your limitations." Colette turns back to the control console as she speaks, tapping in a few adjustments. "I feel like she knows her limitations all too well, but hasn't really thought about what she can do with her powers..." she drifts off a little, a frown of concentration creasing her face as she enters a new set of paramaters for the ninjas. "...uh. Well, like think how much air she's breathing in and out. Just on sheer volume she must be able to hold her breath for a week. She can probably create near vacuums by sucking the air out of things, if she tries. I mean... well if you're on it, good. She could be a lot more useful than she realizes.

Colette taps a few more buttons with a theatrical flourish, then turns the simulation back on and steps away from the console to watch as the ninja reappears, looks around, and immediately starts running in circles. This time the orange bar is going down much more slowly, and Colette gives a nod of satisfaction.

"Hmm?" Colette turns, giving Damian a puzzled expression as her brain catches up with his words. "Killed who? Breathy? What gadgets?"

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     "Oh, yes. That's correct, you weren't there when Raijin made the comment about Red X 'just having gadgets' alluding to X being an easy foe because of that." He takes a sip from his tea. "By that same token, he thinks that of me, and all the other non powered people. I brought up to the fact that had he said that to me a year ago, I would have ran my sword through his throat. Tea?" He asks, holding a cup in his other hand.

Stardust has posed:
"That's... that doesn't make... that was uh pretty thoughtless of him," Colette says as she nods her head to the offer of tea. She steps lightly over and joins Damian in sitting, though she opts for the easier crossed legs rather than going full lotus. She takes the cup with a smile, and inhales some steam. "And not smart. I mean Iron Man 'just has gadgets'. Batman 'just has gadgets'. You 'just have gadgets'. If you think about it, the US army just has gadgets, but I wouldn't rate my chances against them. "

Colette blows on her tea, then takes a sip. "You're mad at him. But you didn't stab him." She looks up, regarding him carefully over the lip of her cup. "What persuaded you to change? It's like... you've got these two competing legacies in you. One... is all about killing. The other is famous for not killing. What made you change your mind about which one has it right?"

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     Damian takes a hefty sip from the cup. "Exactly." He comments, he knows himself, and his father and brothers are in the top percentile of fighters, some of the best humans on the planet.

  Damian's green eyes look back to Colette. "I never stopped wanting to. But this is what we do, I took an oath to not take a life again." Robin kept sipping the tea. "I'm not just a weapon for my grandfather, I'm the heir to the Cowl."

Stardust has posed:
"Do you ever question that?" Colette's eyes lock with Damian. "The not killing thing. I mean... taking an oath means accepting it. But it's kind of part of a package, right? Swearing an oath doesn't necessarily mean you agree with everything that's included in that oath. Maybe it just means you consider it a price worth paying."

She breaks eye contact, and looks down into the cup of tea, watching the tea leaves at the bottom of the cup move as she gives the cup a swirl. "You get the gadgets thing from your father, I guess. But from your mother's side..." She looks up from the tea again, just a hint of a questioning arch to one eyebrow. "Well nobody can accuse you of being just gadgets. Your level of training is insane. I guess this..." her hand sweeps the room in an all-encompassing gesture. "Well, it's in your DNA I guess." She grins slightly. "You're probably more prepared for this life than anyone else has ever been. Do you ever regret that? Wish life had dealt you a different hand?"

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     "Stardust, I'm a product of eugenics. My mother, and grandfather designed me to be the perfect heir to the League of Assassins, to one day be the Demon's Head. I was grown in an artificial womb." Damian looks to his chest, at the R badge on his breast. "The amount of blood I've shed, on my hands. I see them every night I try to sleep, the skulls, bodies, and limbs of my victims." He takes a moment, looking into his teacup, at the reflection of himself in the brew. "Goliath is the last of his kind. I killed them all, just to prove myself to my mother with the treasure they guarded for generations." When he mentions it, he can see himself, driving his sword in the chest of the Bat Dragon alpha male, almost a perfect copy of Goliath, but deep blue instead of fire red. When it comes to it, Damian only responds to her last question with three words. "I do not." His life had been horrific, but he can legitimately say he was born to do what he does now.

Stardust has posed:
"Good." Colette answers three words with just one. She nods, satisfied, then looks away suddenly, smirking slightly as if trying to smother a laugh. "You're a weird guy you know, Damian. And..." she gives a slight shrug. "Possibly the most dangerous human alive, who knows. But I have the strangest feeling you'll make it all work out, somehow." She turns back with a smile.

"You need to learn to relax though. And I don't just mean meditating." She takes deep swig of her tea, finishing off the cup and placing it on the floor between them. "I mean..." her smirk reappears. "All that tooth grinding must be hard even on a Wayne dental plan..."

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     Damian gives a chuckle, perhaps the first one he's ever given to a teammate. "I just lost my last tooth a year and a half ago. My teeth are actually remarkably strong, if not stubborn." The young hero collects the two cups, and places them on the thermos. Her last statement goes mostly unanswered, Damian was hardly the relaxing type. He seemed most at peace when fighting, it showed when he trained, as disturbing as that sounds.

Stardust has posed:
"I got punched in the face by a Parademon," Colette replies with a widening grin. "No dental work needed. What I haven't been able to establish is if my general physical resilience applies to tooth decay. Being able to eat endless quantities of sugar would be a power worth having. And with the amount of working out I'm putting in these days, I don't imagine I have to worry too much about my figure.

Colette hops to her feet and makes her way to the console. The lone circling ninja now has barely anything left on its fatigue bar, and is staggering through the laps, struggling to put one foot in front of another. She watches it for a few moments before pressing the 'end simulation' button. "That looks better," she comments. "You uh... you wanted to do some training? The simulator's all yours. Hope you don't mind that I stole your program, by the way. It's... I just like fighting ninjas, I guess."

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     "I've got patrol with Batman tonight." He offers, towards the offer of training. "I just wanted to see who was using my programs, taking the initiative." a small smile is given when he says that. A modicum of satisfaction for the efforts it seems.

Stardust has posed:
Colette nods her head and goes to the door, stopping there as a thought occurs to her. She turns back with an impish smile. "Well, you know, you've got that thing running really well. The simulation. I mean if I want to turn this room into the best version of Grand Theft Auto ever, I've got to figure out how it all works, right?" Her smile widens slightly. Provocation? Joking? Serious? All three?

"Good hunting on your patrol tonight then," Colette says. "Don't break anything I wouldn't."