5743/The demon and the Demon

The demon and the Demon
Date of Scene:	08 November 2018
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Stardust, Robin (Wayne), 87, Brick

---

Stardust has posed:
    Oddly the Tower has been quiet since Raven left. You would almost expect it to get noisier, as if Raven's quietness was a mystical negation of sound. Maybe people have been tip-toeing past her door more than usual, out of a kind of respect. Maybe it's the lack of Vorpal, busy trying to remember what he forgot; Robin, busy being a Wayne; and Stardust, busy... doing whatever she does during her abscences.

    Perhaps that will change. The Titans had planned to give Robin space to deal with the Wayne family issues, but Raven's disappearance called for his detective skills. Meeting him on his arrival back is Stardust, who'd sent him the warning, and has been trying to keep things organized in his absence - mostly because nobody's mentioned to Vorpal that he's supposed to be Robin's number two yet.

     Stardust leads the way into Raven's room... perhaps lair would be better. The blinds are open, and more sunlight fills the room than it has seen in a long time. It's instantly apparent that Raven has left a lot of her possessions, and less apparent but obvious to the eyes of a master detective that the place has already been searched.

    "So, really don't know anything," Stardust explains as she holds the door open for Robin. "She seems to have taken anything valuable. No computer, no helpful diary with the last entry explaining her plans, no forwarding address. One or two papers and things left around. She might be planning to come back to pick things up, but I set a movement alarm for the room and nothing."

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     Damian had come back momentarily for this reason. It was Bat-Family policy to place Gotham first, but this was also as pressing as Bruce's sudden departure.

  Robin, in all his regalia, lowered his hood, searching around, getting the lay of the land. "She had a computer here. He almost immediately starts searching through the desk. "No sketchbook like last time."

  Damian even goes so far as to change viewing modes through his mask. "How long has it been since she was last seen in the Tower?"

Stardust has posed:
    "Ah... " Stardust replies. "I guess two days before I sent the message. Moon Moon and I saw her... acting odd. She went into her room. Then, portal. Portal voice asked after her, gave some spooky enigmatic warning about disaster. So I came to check. No Raven. No goodbye letter. No computer."

    Startdust opens a wardrobe and pulls out a folder, holding it out to Robin. "No sketchbook, but a few sketches. Loose. I gathered them together. I don't think they're relevant though. No maps with 'Raven's Secret Hideout' marked on them. "

    "I've been trying to figure out why," Stardust says. As she talks she moves around the room, opening drawers and wardrobes and comparing the contents to photos on her phone. "I think she sensed something through the portal that worried her. And I think she's left to protect us from it."

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     Robin starts flipping through the sketches, their subjects and such may give a clue. "So, she's taken enough that it's not permanent...But enough that it is going to be a while before she does.

  The closet is next on the search, handing the file back to Stardust. looking for things such as empty hangers, other items that would indicate just how much she took with her. "Given her size, she can only physically carry so much. So she either is: Living in a hotel or other means. Living in a car, which she doesn't have. Or possibly a storage container."

Stardust has posed:
"I don't think she plans on coming back," Stardust says. "She portals. She could have taken everything if she wanted to, so my guess is she's travelling light. Could be staying with a friend, but..." She lowers her head and shakes it. "I'm not sure if she has any. There is this though...". Another folder is produced, containing a few items of paperwork.

    "Not much to go on, but it's all I could find that might be useful." Stardust flicks the folder open and holds out a certificate. "Highschool diploma there. Parent's address. She's not there. 'Rachel Roth'. I always thought the 'Rae' was short for Raven. She'll be using an assumed name though. If she'd wanted us to be able to find her... well, she'd have left us a goodbye note if she wasn't trying to..."

    Stardust sits down on the edge of Raven's bed, suddenly changing tack. "Da... Robin, can I ask you something? It's about... who you are. Or who you feel you are. You have these two different sides of you. Two different bloodlines. Do you ever worry that... your choices aren't your own? Or that... well, you picked a side. But the other side is still there inside you. And you use it, right? You're in control. But do you ever worry that one day you won't be? That the blood will win out?"

Vorpal (87) has posed:
"So we're all portamentau people in one way or another," Vorpal says, as he fades into view. He is leaning against the door, arms crossed. "There are some days where keeping yourself together is harder than others. It's extra hard when half of you isn't really you- is that what you mean?"

He takes a few seconds to take in the scene, and adds. "I hope this is not a panty raid thing you're doing, 'cause I don't agree with that sort of thing. That, and Raven will kill you."

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     "I disagree. If she wanted to leave, she would have not left anything. Making it seem like she would be back soon. She knows the art of deception."

  Damian looks over the documents, quickly running a search for Rachel Roth on the batcomputer from his gauntlet terminal. "Rachel Roth, list any recent activity."

  The questions about his blood illicit a pause in Damian. But with the arrival of Vorpal, he doesn't answer. Instead shifting directly to what he's said. "Panty raid? What the hell is wrong with people?" Then back to his gauntlet's holo-screen.

Stardust has posed:
"Hey Vorp. Nothing like that. In fact I have a security camera up, so nobody better try it." Stardust holds out a folder towards Vorpal, containing a few of Raven's sketches. "Take a look. She's good. Maybe better than Damian." She gives Damian a quick wink.

    "So, if she made it look like she's coming back soon, wouldn't that be a way to discourage people to look for her?" Stardust asks. "I mean, if you were leaving for good, deception would be tricking people into thinking you're coming back, right?" She gestures around the room, still containing so much stuff. "She could have taken it all. Either way. Portals are like that. But she's taken small things. Valuable things. There's very little here that's about... her. Things that you would expect to be important to her. So I think she's planning to never come back."

    Stardust leans back on the bed, resting on the palms of her hands. "Keeping yourself together..." She tilts her head towards Vorpal, thinking it through. "Yes, there's an element of that. I mean if there's something there, something inside you, which you question... I mean that doesn't really need a... well, any of us, if you think about it. If we went bad. We could hurt a lot of people, right? So I wonder about what it's like to be the grandson of the demon." She looks back towards Robin. "Do you ever feel like... are you ever worried that you're not who you want to be? That there's a monster you can't control?"

Vorpal (87) has posed:
"Conjectures are pointless. They are only useful when you draw upon your knowledge of your subject, and let's face it- we know nothing of Raven. She's made sure of that."

He paces across the room, flipping through the sketches, "Yeah, she's pretty good. She's a good observer," he says, noting the quality of the sketches, "But that comes with the territory of staying in the shadows."

He looks up and shrugs, "I could never read her. I don't think Gar ever made her smile once, and everybody loves Gar..." he trails off.

"Personally, I could never figure out whether she loathed me or only hated me." He pauses and raises an eyebrow. "Hm. She certainly seems to have kept an eye on the comings and goings here. That's Rory, if I am not mistaken- and I'm not, because he's very distinctive." He looks at the sketch. "Good likeness, too." He flips through some of the sketches. "That's that brunette Amazon that looks like Wonder Woman's younger sister... she was with you guys when I was taking my hiatus... gah, what was her name?" he says, shaking his head.

He puts the sketches down on the bed and looks up at Damian. "Any blips?"

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     Damian continues to type in the holo-display. "It could take some time. The terminal queries multiple sources."

  "On the contrary. We have had a good working relationship. She stayed out of my business, I stayed out of hers..."

Stardust has posed:
"Actually I don't think that's true, Vorp," Stardust says slowly. "About loathed or hated. I think the word you're looking for is 'liked'. I think... she doesn't even really hate me. It's an act." She shakes her head. "It's difficult to understand. Because all the ways you normally read people... none of that counts for Rae. There's something I saw... Ash had an idea what it means. But..." She puffs out her cheeks and shrugs. "I think she's left because she's convinced being here puts us in danger. And I think that's more of a... price, for her, than we would have thought."

    Stardust gives another shrug. "I think it's partly my fault she's gone. Sorry. I guess I didn't stay out of her business." She looks down in thought for a moment. "I mean... has she told either of you guys anything about herself? Like apart from the vague spooky stuff that doesn't really tell you anything and you at least half assume she's saying as a private joke. 'Cos I got a bit of a gothsposition from her and it was... everything you'd expect while at the same time assuming wasn't actually the case, if you know what I mean. And that's kind of why... " her eyes go to Damian. "Well, turns out you and she have something in common. And it made me think about what might be going on with you, too."

Brick has posed:
Intrusion alarm says that someone has opened Raven's room and observation speck says it's the Titans. This is weird enough that Maire Boit lets it past the filters. Brick adjusts his eyepiece, scanning the nodules of peculiarly heavy iron that dot the surface of this crater-like feature, then closes the scan once he has the information.

"I suppose it's probably a good idea to find out whether it's suicidal action or something going wrong," he says to Maire Boit. "Earth Landing Zone Four please, then hush us to the Tower in the hall outside Raven's room, if you don't mind."

*PING*

"Sure, you can offload the math to me, I don't mind."

Thus it begins: Space warps twice, the second time without the sharp and rattling noise of mismatched plenum curves.

"Knock, knock? Guys? What's up?"

Vorpal (87) has posed:
"She once told me that if she lost her temper, her powers would get dangerous, but that is all she said. Sounds like you got more info on that than, though." Vorpal crosses his arms and leans against a wall. "So this is the point where you have to wonder if she is in some sort of danger, and whether the danger is enough to overstep whatever vows of secrecy you made about her secret, in the chance that we could help her. I don't envy your position."

He looks over and grins as he hears Brick's voice, "Well, this is becoming a little gathering, here."

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     Damian receives one ping on his readout. "A phone contract, matching Rachel Roth. I'll see if I can run a GPS trace."

  With the addition of Brick, Damian simply stays on his work. Letting the other three carry on conversation.

Stardust has posed:
Stardust calls out "Come in on, Brick!" when he knocks. Quite loudly. It may be a reaction. She finally has the chance to be loud in Rae's room without risking eternal oblivion. "Rae has gone. We're trying to figure out where," she explains.

    "Dangerous is a good word for it," Stardust assures Vorpal. "That's what... " she turns to Damian, "That's why I had that argument with Moon Moon. I kinda may have got Rae a bit mad at me. Like about a five. And I'm talking Richter scale. I don't think she's in danger though. What I can't figure out though is if she thinks she's a danger to us directly or indirectly. Something in that portal spooked her. And maybe that little incident a couple of days before, maybe that made her worry about what she might do. If... whatever happens." Colette gives a long sigh, stands up and stretches. "Worst of it is, Vorp? I didn't make any vows of secrecy. Honestly I don't think she had any intention of telling me what she did. You or Damian, Maybe. But if she wanted to tell people, she would have."

Brick has posed:
Brick winces at the revelation of taunting. "You shouldn't make her angry. You wouldn't like her when she's angry."

He looks around and frowns as he observes Damian, letting Maire Boit determine whether he's doing anything that she can help with, or that she should tell Brick about. As Colette finishes her confessions, Brick raises one eyebrow spockishly.

"This is about those stupid wretched cross-temporal meddlers again, isn't it. The ones who didn't QUITE say 'We come in peace, this is our favorite book, To Serve Man, would you like to join our brunch-and-books club.'"

He walks over and gives Vorpal a side-hug, letting the information sort itself to reveal anything at all helpful.

Vorpal (87) has posed:
Vorpal leans into the side-hug and slips both arms around Brick's waist. "This is serious, though. She took enough to be useful but not enough to give us the suspicion she's gone for good, like Starry pointed out. Which might be aimed at making us think she'll be back when she's not. She acted pretty darned spooked at the portal revelation dude..." he trails off, and then shakes his head. Don't think about that, not right now, he focuses, "So, what do you suppose is so bad that she thinks we can't handle?"

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     Damian doesn't look at Brick directly, he's focused on his search. His brows raise at the newest revelation. "Payments on a storage container...on the other side of the country. Told you." He scoffs, thinking to himself. "So, next steps. Investigate the container, be prepared to be kicked out. Best case: she isn't there, but we learn more. Worst case: she is there, and pissed that you've decided to look."

Stardust has posed:
    "Actually, I /know/ what she thinks is so bad that we can't handle it," Stardust says with a sigh. "But I'm really uncomfortable about telling you, because she said it's better for us if we don't know. Even though she told me. Which... look, let's at least try to get her to explain it herself, okay? I think you need to know. But I'd prefer not to be the one to tell.

    "It may be in some way connected to the portals," Stardust continues. "Because that was when she really freaked out. So I guess that makes it a future thing. But also it might not be that, because of the whole... "she nods her head in Brick's direction. "The whole wouldn't like her when she's angry thing. So she may have been trying to protect us from herself. I just..." she shakes her head. "It's annoying. It's like all the tools you have to understand people just break down when you try to point them at her."

    With Robin's announcement of the storage container, Stardust focuses her attention on him. "Wait. Under her own name? You're kidding." She peers at the screen, trying to see for herself. "Oh, since he's arrived, something else I wanted to bring up, Robin. If my vote counts, I vote Brick be made a full member. Associate member my ass, he more than deserves the recognition."

Brick has posed:
Brick has the odd, scorched-steak-barbecue smell of outer space and hard vacuum and ionized, super-heated metals about him, but it's gradually fizzing away as his suit repairs its surface.
"Huh? Oh. Uh. Right. I don't vote on that."

Brick is getting the coordinates of the storage container from Maire Boit, and starts tapping on his gauntlet, sending a Shoop Tube cartridge with a monitoring pod from his Lair to the indicated area. The cartridge hides itself on a rooftop while the monitor pod configures itself to look like a small flying creature, and starts to stake out the location, sending video to the relay in the pod, and from there to the relay in Brick's Lair, and from there to the relay in the Tower.

"The portals freak ME out, but Raven's problem with emotional frangibility well pre-dates this group. The question is, how correct is she? I don't blame her for not wanting to make us susceptible to whatever Chthonian monstrosity she doesn't want us to be eaten by. I don't even blame her for spooking. I just want to know if we need to prepare for her stuff or for some OTHER stuff."

Vorpal (87) has posed:
"Well, I vote on it," the Cheshire cat says with a smirk, resting his chin on Brick's shoulder and staring at him, trying to out-stare him without blinking. It's a cat thing. "And you smell funny. In any case, if you get me a street address and a street-view of the area, I can open a Rabbit Hole there and we can pay a visit. Just... you know. To make sure sure she's alright. I may be under the impression she hates my guts, but she could be in trouble... and where would we be if we didn't lend a hand to our own?"