5036/Knowhere to Run

Knowhere to Run
Date of Scene:	28 July 2018
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	A tale of the lovelorn and the indecisive.
Cast of Characters:	Stardust, Raijin

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Stardust has posed:
A few days earlier...

    Apparently some of the Titans are going on a road trip tomorrow. Colette, Robin and Brick are scheduled to be out of town for a few days on a hunt for mushrooms. The word is that they will be unreachable, even in case of emergency. Packing has been happening, including a crate that just arrived in a heavily-guarded Stark Industries armored vehicle, stampled with SEVERE BIOHAZARD warnings all over it. The whole thing is honestly more than a little mysterious.

    Brick has been preparing elsewhere. Robin has rarely been seen since the Red X debacle, keeping to his room most of the time he's in the tower while he waited to see if anyone would respond to his invitation. Nobody did. That leaves Colette, who has been doing the heavy lifting when it comes to mystery deliveries from Stark Industries and official phone calls. She also found time to make a political statement from the Titan's official social media account, so her mind is apparently not entirely on the journey.

    In fact, right now her mind is on training. Brick had brought swords, and Colette has not had a whole lot of experience with swords, so she's be snatching an hour here or there to practice her defense against the parry practice bot, or her slices on a veritable army of synthetic bamboo poles, which she's trying to slice into as many delicate slices as possible. At this moment it's the latter, with small shards of plastic flying around the gym as she hacks away.

Raijin has posed:
Rayner caught wind about Colette and a few other members of the Titans heading off to God knows where. So...once he especially found out that they would be unreachable, untouchable, unable to be communicated with? Well, overwhelmed with Worry, Rayner moves to look for Colette...with whom...their friendship might be complicated after the last time they simply talked alone by themselves. Either way, he walks in to find Colette doing her self defense! AGAINST....a bunch of bamboo poles? huh.

Regardless, Rayner has been trying to help Brick crunch the numbers and has offered himself up to deliver the toxins to the mushrooms. Since on the team, he was the only one fast enough to do so in such a manner that the shrooms won't be able to react or even notice. so...he's also here to partially prepare himself.

Dressed in his superhero garb with his hood over his head, he sees Colette and he immediately blushes, memories fludding in before he approaches, but not close enough as to bother or disturb her bamboo smashing. "Hey...Hey! Letty! Got a second?" Rayner lowers his hood to reveal his face, his hands resting at his sides as he tries to chat.

Stardust has posed:
Colette stops her slashing when Rayner calls over. She doesn't turn to face him, but gives a nod of her head as she catches her breath. "Sure Rainy. What's up? Wanna join me in a bit of practice?" She gestures towards a weapons rack, where a few more of the swords Brick had brought are waiting. The ones in the rack are all of a similar design, a little shorter than the one Colette is, but heavier. Single-edged, and broader bladed. "You given one of these a try out yet?"

Slashing resumes. She cuts into the pole in front of her, angling down to the left, then down to the right, then trying a flat slash. The sword action is repetitive, almost mechanical, but she continually moves her distance from the pole so that she can't just repeat the muscle movements. After each triple-slice, she stops to inspect the damage she's done. "Grab a pole," she says. "Swords. Who'd think that swords would turn out to be such an effective weapon in this era? It's okay for Robin and Moon Moon, they're used to them. Though honestly every time I've seen Cass fight with a sword, it's kind of made me envious... none of that fancy Samurai stuff, just chopping stuff up. " Slash, slash slash. Grin.

Raijin has posed:
Rayner smiles softly to her as he's invited to practice. "Sure. Though I warn you, not exactly good with a sword." he's never really..NEEDED to use a sword. he knows hand to hand martial arts and he's fast enough to usually blitz opponents...so why would he need to use a sword?! But! it's always good to learn something new, right? Anyway, he comes down to the weapons rack and takes up a sword in his hand, walking up near Colette as he starts whacking at bamboo sticks.

Slash slash slash! Wow, he knows why this is so fun now! Though his eyes never quite leave Colette's. "Heh, yeah, I hear you. Honestly, sometimes I get jealous of our resident ninjas when I see them just swordin' it up, you know?" he shrugs though. "But...it is what it is. But...I hear you're leaving soon? and I won't be able to contact you at all?" he pauses then in what he does, turning to look at Colette. concern written on his face. "I'm worried about you, Letty."

Stardust has posed:
"Don't worry, I'm not exactly good with a sword either," Colette confesses. "But it's not exactly rocket science. Stick 'em with the pointy end, hmm?" She glaces a grin towards Rayner. "Don't let Robin hear you say that though, he'll grind his teeth to dust. Eyes on the pole. Try to cut off as little as possible with each cut, but so the cuts don't overlap. Forty five degree cut, forty five the other way, then flat. Too little and the line won't be straight. But take as little off with each cut as you can."

    Colette shifts her stance a again, and starts circling around her pole, varying the cuts a little. "Yeah, we're going to be out of comm range, and you don't get a good cell signal in space. Don't worry though, we'll just be gone a few days. We have a potential breakthrough with the mushrooms. "

Raijin has posed:
Rayner chuckles softly, slashing away at the pole with precise, but still extremely sloppy strikes. At least teh sword is sharp enough to make sure it's a clean slice. either way, he gives Colette still a bit of a worried look. Despite her telling him how it will benefit them all in the long run, she can see it on his face. Hell, everyone could se it on his face. He wasn't comfortable with the idea. So, eventually, he plants the sword down, and he walks towards Colette.

"Letty..." he pauses then before he can get too close, still uncertain how....they'll figure that out, but, he looks worried. "But...if something happens to you, any of you, we can't help you. You'd be on your own. No assistance, no reinforcements...and we don't even know what all is out there. Are you sure it's worth the risk?" He'll try to reach for her hand then. as if to drive the fact that he's legitimately worried about her well being home.

Stardust has posed:
Trying to get too close to Colette's hand would not be wise, as she isn't stopping her slashing for now. And those swords are indeed ridiculously sharp. She gives a quick shrug of her shoulders between swings. "You were fine with the idea of us getting into a sub and going under the sea, how's that any difference? It's not like you can get a signal at ten thousand fathoms either, however much that is."

    Finally she does stop the swinging, to remove the now demolished pole and set another one up in its place. "Robin has a tactic for every situation. Brick can boom tube us away from trouble and has scanners so advanced an atom would have difficulty sneaking up on us. I am virtually indestructible. And we have a native guide who's a member of the space police. It'll be fine. Let's face it, Earth is a pretty dangerous place these days with mushrooms and dark gods of Apokalypse and so on, we'll probably be safer there than if we stayed here."

    There's a short pause from Colette, then finally she turns to face Rayner. "Please don't try to talk me out of it, Rainman. I'm real bored of people telling me it's a mistake. The fate of the world could rest on this mission succeeding, it's not a mistake to try."

Raijin has posed:
Rayner then pauses as she stops swinging that crazy sword at bamboo poles like a maniac and looks at him to speak. Yes, she made excellent points. They had every way out. Every possible exit carefully planned. They could get out. Colette would be fine. But...perhaps it was just the feelings of Rayner's heart that was speaking and not his mind. "Yeah..but.." he honestly wishes he was with her on this mission, but they all agreed (Rayner included) that he'd be better put to use on earth. SO, he takes a bold step closer to her, looking her in the eyes.

"Alright....I won't talk you out of it, I just worry about you Colette. I do care what happens to you." he tells her then before he takes a deep breath. "Just promise me you'll come back and we'll be square." he looks her in the eyes then, his hand reaching, inching to simply touch her own if she allows it. Clearly he was attempting to be affectionate.

Stardust has posed:
Colette reaches her hand out to lightly touch Rayner's fingers with her own before withdrawing again, a rather awkward gesture. She's trying to keep a bit of distance, while not wanting to come across as distant, a subtle distinction. "You should be worried about them, not us," Colette says with a grin. "The universe won't know what's hit it." She looks at him smiling for a few seconds, then quickly turns to her pole and resumes slashing.

    "I'll only be gone a few days." Slash, slash, hack. "Less than a week." Slash, slash, hack. "Really nothing to worry about at all." Slash, slash, hack. "But it's really important that I... that WE do this. The information we have has the potential to change everything." Slash, slash, hack. "And I have no intention of allowing a bunch of mushrooms to eat our planet. I saw what they did to their homeworld, Rainy. Not happening here. Gonna stop them. Save the world. I mean, we're meant to be superheroes. That's kind of like the best you can do as a superhero, right? Saving the world."

Raijin has posed:
That light touch was all Rayner needed. He didn't want or need anything humoungous or public, but his fingers to graze along hers when she touches his with hers, only to have them pulled back apart, with Rayner smiling..then having it fade. Only mildly distant but...suppose that's just the way of things. Either way, he simply stands there, watching her as she resumed her striking. A smirk coming across his face at her determination.

"A part of me wishes I had that enthusiasm." he says with a tone of admiration, watching as she speaks about saving the world. "As best as we can. We're not alone either. The Justice League and the Avengers are in on it too, I guess. So we won't be alone. Hopefully we have a few world leaders backing us too." he smiles warmly then, letting her hack and slash away. "Though...Letty, can I ask you something?"

Stardust has posed:
"Enthusiasm," Colette echoes a little flatly. "Mmm. Yeah. Justice League and Avengers. We're playing in the big leagues. We've got the swords as well. And more. " Slash, slash, hack. "They are affected by loud noises. Disrupts their communications. But not for long. So they adjust. But nobody has tried altering the frequencies. So we try that. Something you could work on while we're gone. Pump some subsonics out of the back of a truck, constantly shifting frequencies. Hopefully keep them disrupted, while Breath and Moon Moon cut a path and you run in with the toxin. My guess is that'll make them a lot easier to target. If it works, pass it on. Also, Raven. They are vulnerable to shadow magic. But more. Telepathic network of some type. And there are some unscrupulous telepaths trying to control them. Maybe Raven can hit them, through the network. Two big options. You think you guys can get onto those while we're in space?"

    Colette stops slashing and turns to face Rayner. She looks at him silently for a moment, face blank. "Of course you can ask me something. I'll let you know whether I'll answer after you've asked it."

Raijin has posed:
"Playing with the big boys now." Rayner adds to Colette's initial words, though he listens to her with a smile. "Loud noises? I'll see what I can cook up. there's actually a sonic wave cannon I've been meaning to put into affect. I've had a few members of my R&D draw up simple schematics, but since you and a few others of the band are heading out, I'd be more than happy to test it out and see what we get." he smiles then. "Well...isn't everything vulnerable to magic? It's like everyone's kryptonite ain't it?" he asks curiously, before he shrugs lightly. "But yeah, we can work at that. Definitely." the resident speedster agrees, though when she agrees to let him ask her something, he nods. "It's a bit personal.."

He looks away for a moment, as if building courage. "so...maybe, I was wondering, hopefully.." he takes a single step closer. "Maybe when you come back, we could...grab dinner? Or maybe see a movie? O-only if you want! We don't have to...but uhm." deep inhalation out of annoyance with himself. "would you like to go out with me?"

Stardust has posed:
There's a loooooong silence. "You mean like... a date." Colette takes a deep breath. "I... I don't know. I haven't... there are things I haven't figured out yet. I mean... I like you, Rainy. But it's more complicated than that. " She looks around, uncertain where to put her eyes, then settles for more swordwork. Slash, hack, hack.

    After a shorter silence, she says "Look, if you want to go and grab dinner... but just to you know. Socialize. Umm... without the pressure. You know? Then... well I just don't know where I stand with certain things right now. I need to..." she shrugs her shoulders. "I'm probably not the best person to be asking on date, Rainy. " Slash, slash, hack.

    "I don't think it needs to be a full on sonic cannon." It's not entirely clear how the conversation changed thread, but it seems to have. "I mean the emphasis here isn't causing damage, it's making a loud noise. Doesn't need to be perfectly focused or anything. Just loud and varying subsonic frequencies. If you can get that tested... it could make a difference. Could be a coup for your company too, if it works. Serious PR opportunity."

Raijin has posed:
Uh oh. Long silences are never good! Though..it does feel good to here Colette vocally admit she likes him. Or was he taking that too literally? Well, only time can decide that! But he approaches her, looking her in the eyes. "Letty, it doesn't matter if your the best person in the world. You're the best to me, and that's the only thing that matters here. Stop downplaying yourself." and if she lets him, he'll give her forehead a playful poke with his index finger. Though he looks at her like a lovestruck fool.

"I like you Letty. A lot. and if it's complicated....ya know, we can work it out. But..I really do want to go out with you, Letty."

Theeeen it's back to the sounic can. "Aww..but I really do like the idea of a sonic cannon..and yeah, it could make a difference. I mean, wouldn't it be cool if we ended up saving the world? maybe the galaxy, by extension? Would be pretty cool." Though he seems to think for a moment. Probably about something stupid, since judging by the way he's looking at the clock, he doesn't have a lot of time left.

Stardust has posed:
Colette stops slashing when her forehead is poked. "Careful Rainy. These swords are sharp. I mean like ridiculously sharp." She sheaths the sword. "Sonic cannon is good. I'm just saying, don't wait on getting it perfect. Time is short. So long as it makes a loud noise, and varies the frequency, that's what is important. Anything else is a bonus. Though remember, you don't want to blast them so hard you end up spreading spores everywhere."

    She stands still for a few moments, just looking at him, then goes to pull a crate of swords from the stack. "I should finish packing. And I'm not doing myself down. I'm looking out for you, here. There are things about my life... that I haven't figured out yet. That's all." She takes a few steps towards the elevators before stopping at turning back. "I promise. I mean what you said earlier. I'll come back. Don't worry about us, it'll be fine. "

Raijin has posed:
Rayner smiles warmly to Colette as she threatens him with sharp swords! "It's alright, I'm really hard to hurt, so swords probably arn't too big a deal for me." he teases her before he nods. "Yeah, I guess you have a point there. But hey, I'm not necessarily going for a full on GOD OF ROCK AND ROLL blast, I'm just going for a sharp frequency to give them a world of hurt and to strongly discourage them from trying harder to multiply on our lovely rock of a planet." But when Colette tells Rayner that she needs to figure stuff out about her life.

"Oh...alrighty. But hey, I'm the one looking out for you too, yeah? My job to worry." at least as a dude who is so heavily into her that she has no idea, but when she stops at the elavator and promises him that she'll come back? He smiles warmly to her, nodding. "I'll hold you to it." he winks. "and don't worry, we'll make sure the world is still here when you get back." he smiles to her. "Now go make sure you're ready." he smiles to her before in an instant he's gone. a lightning trail marking his path.