7505/There's More to Life than Bats.

There's More to Life than Bats.
Date of Scene:	16 May 2019
Location:	Titans Tower: Danger Room
Synopsis:	Kestrel visits the tower to fight Holo Ninjas. Kian refuses to fight Holo Ninjas, but agrees to help their Holo Victims. Negasonic visits to apply for the non-existent social media internship for a laugh. Colette takes it seriously, possibly also for a laugh. Kori fetches the pizzas, and everyone hopes she doesn't leave the mustard-free pies at the pizzeria.
Cast of Characters:	Stardust, Kian t'Kaeh, Carrie Kelley, Danger, Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Starfire

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Stardust has posed:
    Some time ago, Carrie Kelley, AKA Kestrel, came visiting Titans Tower to try to track down Robin when he was on walkabout.  She got rather short shrift from Colette, who hasn't been impressed by the Bat-clan in general.  When Robin had okayed her, Colette partly as an apology for her shortness invited Kestrel to come drop in on the Tower any time—an excuse to get away from the crazy Bats.  Arriving at Titans Tower is a somewhat different experience when you're not accompanied by a member—there's an automated ferry boat that brings to the island the tower stands on, which requires you to get through a first layer of security.  Then you have to walk across the small island, being watched by various cameras, before you arrive at the lobby doors.  There you can announce yourself over the intercom and hope there's a Titan actually there at the tower who isn't asleep, meditating, or just ignoring everyone.
    Today the response is pretty swift, as Colette is in residence and knows who Kestrel.  She's not only given admission, but is trusted with instructions to head to the elevator on her own.  The elevator is programmed to know where it's going…
    When it's taken, the elevator will open up onto the largest room in the tower, taking up the entirety of a floor.  However it looks even bigger.  The space immediately in front of the elevator is a narrow, slightly raised walkway, which leads to a short staircase down on one side, and widens out to a space with a high tech control console on the other.  The edge of the raised area is rimmed with faint guide-lights.  Beyond this small raised area is… a mountain.
    The sky is dark, moonlight, occasionally brightened by a distant crack of lightning.  Some twenty feet forwards stands the walls of what looks like some kind of eastern monastery, in a state of poor repair.  A hard stone pathway leads up the side of the mountain towards the gateway in the monastery wall, and on this pathway stand Stardust, Kían and Danger.
    "Obviously Danj knows how all this stuff works pretty well," Stardust is explaining to the other two.  "The important things to remember though Kían, is you CAN get hurt here.  Not badly, but you can get hurt.  Be careful.  The other thing to remember is that nothing here is real.  There are no moral quandaries.  It's all computer generated.  The final thing to remember is the command word to pause the scene.  Just call out 'PAUSE SIMULATION' and everything stops in an instant."

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    The little birdman swallows hard.  He had been poised, even tensed to take flight, until the words 'you CAN get hurt' hit him.  "Why would you build a room that can hurt you?" Kían asks, quite seriously.  The idea certainly doesn't sound reasonable to him.  "I mean, this room made perfect sense before, when it was just large and empty.  This," he goes on, slowly turning around to take in the illusory surroundings, "is interesting, but I don't understand."
    His wings flex and fold, like he's about half a second from taking flight, and resisting the urge only barely.

Carrie Kelley has posed:
    Security and red tape were expected.  During the trip here last time, she'd at least gotten a run down of the usual security in case she ever needed a trip back.  Of course it had been some time since Red Robin had actually needed to go through the security checkpoints himself, and there were quite a few things that Kestrel feels he didn't really accurately portray.  Like the boat.  And the walk.  And… okay, most everything.  She's rather glad once she finally announces herself that the wait is rather minimal, and she's quick to enter the elevator with a bit of relief.
    It's a relief that fades just a bit when the door opens revealing an entirely different landscape than what she would have expected.  None the less the ginger newbie heroine walks in further toward the apparent center of this area.
    When she catches the familiar tones of Stardust's voice she clears her throat lightly to announce her own presence as her gaze moves over the others present with a small nod of greeting.  "Hope I'm not interrupting," she offers with a lopsided smile.

Danger has posed:
    For Danger, the illusion is lost.  She can see right through it without even missing a beat.  She actually sees all the layers of it, how it comes together, the various data that makes it up, the… oh well you get the picture.  For her, none of this is real and it is all real.  It's both.  For a while, it was her whole world.  She looks to Kían and then at Colette before looking to Kían again, "You cannot learn without true danger.  If there was no chance at damage, you would likely not take it as seriously."  She then looks to Colette, "Also, you can very much get hurt.  You can get hurt very badly as a matter of fact.  The setting can be set so you can't get hurt badly though."  She nods her head, "I included the capacity for it to all but kill you.  I felt that some might appreciate the ability to turn the danger up to maximum levels."  She then considers, "Hopefully no one uses that setting too often."  She then shrugs.  "It seemed like a good idea either way."
    And then she turns and looks to Carrie Kelley and hmms, "Technically you are interrupting something.  I'm sure it is fine though as you were directed to come here.  I really never fully understood that statement.  If you enter anywhere or go anywhere or arrive anywhere, you are by default interrupting something even if you are expected."

Stardust has posed:
    "Training purposes, Kían."  Stardust smiles at the birdman.  "See, we put ourselves in dangerous situations all the time.  This room can simulate pretty much anything, and we use it to simulate dangerous situations, so that we can practice being in them.  To make it accurate, you need to know when you've made a mistake.  As Danj says, if you can't get hurt you don't take it seriously enough.  If it wasn't a simulation, the mistake could be very costly.  This way we can learn to avoid making those mistakes in the real world.  HEY KESTREL!  So, with Daro's help, I intend on putting together a simulation for you that has lots of humans wandering around doing random things, and you can use that to learn when interfering might help someone and when not to interfere.  Also the consequences of interfering.  OVER HERE!  But for now, we're in danger mode.  This is a simulation Robin put together.  When things go bad and you know you're in for a fight?  This helps you learn the best techniques to employ.
    It has been observed by some of the Titans that it's almost impossible to stop Colette when she's in full flow.  She doesn't even stop herself.  Talking to Kían is, in her eyes, no impediment to talking to Carrie at the same time.  She gestures with a hand as she calls out the over here, and turns to give Carrie a big grin when she's finished explaining things to Kían.  "Hey Kestrel!  Welcome to the danger room.  Don't worry Daro, the safeties are on.  I've put them on maximum in fact.  Nobody's going to get worse than a light bruise.  So, Kestrel, do you feel like fighting some ninjas?"

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    The deeper into the explanation Colette gets, the more dubious Kían looks about the whole thing.  "Can't I just avoid normal humans so I don't have to make those decisions?" he asks—quite sensibly, he thinks.  "Or make a point of spotting fight situations ahead of time so I can avoid being involved with them?"
    He thinks about the few times he got drawn into actual fighting—one is recalled with justification, and the other with a little regret.  It does not seem that mentioning those right now would be helpful.

Carrie Kelley has posed:
    Kestrel flashes a grin at the talkative Colette as she strides closer to the grouping.  It's Danger's remark that earns a tip of her head along with a small shrug in response.  "It's… sort of a politeness for coming in on something already occurring."  It's as best an explanation as she can give to Danger at least having not really thought of it before.  "Or a way of asking what's going on," she adds after a second of consideration.
    Kían's remarks of avoiding 'normal humans' earns a lift of her eyebrows along with a bemused smirk.  "Civilians you mean?"

Danger has posed:
    "Well, the statement normal humans does work for some though I suppose civilians makes sense."  She then considers, "However, given what I know of some people who are heroes are just normal humans is an argument for those same people to not be normal humans and therefore normal humans work.  Is it not abnormal to put on costumes and run around fighting crime?"  She then shrugs and looks to Kían, "Running into normal people and danger is fundamental to being part of the Titans.  Do no worry, we will give you something at your level, I'm sure.  I will simply stand to the side and watch.  Any opponent that would challenge me would likely be far too much for you."  She smiles.  "Fear not."
    She then blinks a few times and turns to Colette, "Oh, I forgot.  I am now considered a tech ally to the Justice League, I may be going to space, and Superman punched my head off and now I have an extra head though it is damaged."  She nods her head, "I am sorry, this all may make me unavailable for a set period of time in the future."

Negasonic Teenage Warhead has posed:
    Ellie will take just about any excuse to get out of the upstate prison… school for gifted youngsters these days.  What with all the bullshit with the Sentinels and the curfew.
    In this case she swung down to the city, checked in on the club in Mutant Town, gathered some material for the social media campaign around it.
    When it didn't take nearly as long as she thought it would she pondered what to do, and a potentially very bad but also maybe amusing thing struck her.
    The Titans on their official account did mention they might need help with Social Media and Barker Island isn't that far from the City.  It is better than just taking the train back to the Mansion.
    The automated ferry ride is interesting, she isn't one to make small talk with the guards and they don't stop her from riding it.  "Okay that is a bit on point… I mean good branding but wow I thought Stark Tower was something else."  Mostly just muttering to herself when she watches the Titan Tower loom.
    The intercom on the front door is buzzed and that is the point that Ellie falls into a long conversation, turned argument with the A.I.  that handles that stuff.  "Look.  Right."  Listens.  "So I don't have an appointment… I am sure someone can talk to me."  Pause.  "Yeah social media."  Pauses, listening.  "For god's sake… look I am not a normal door to door sales person…"
    Which is the point that she turns her hand and gives it a split second charge and then pops a small explosion out into the water off the island.
    Which is also the point the AI/intercom will route to Colette about a surly teenage goth girl visitor.

Stardust has posed:
    "Space is fun," Stardust tells Danger with a grin and a wink.  "If you go to Knowhere, tell Cosmo I said 'hi'."  How do you go to nowhere?  Is this some kind of Colette humor?  "Simulation, set one, fifteen seconds," she announces as she takes a few steps towards Kían.  "Suppose you avoid being in a fight, but someone else is unable to avoid that fight, and gets hurt?  Better to be inolved and stop the fight before that happens.  Or suppose…"
    "KIAAAAAAAEEEE!"  The yell comes suddenly from three voices.  Three black-clad, sword-swinging ninjas come running towards the group, two from hiding places behind rocks on either side, and one through the archway, straight towards Stardust's back.  Not reacting to the yell, Stardust continues, "…you just get attacked by surprise?"
    At this moment, Stardust's comm pings.  She pulls it out of a pocket, frowns at it, and presses a button.  "Hello out there," she says, voice relayed to the Negasonic over the intercom.  A fist snakes backwards and the lead ninja runs into it.  Stardust's timing is impeccable, she may know this program rather well.  "Our system tells me you want to apply for a job doing social media.  It also tells me you're trying to set fire to the river.  It won't work, it's made of water.  Either the AI is confused, or I am.  Or you are.  Come in, follow the lights on the floor to the elevator, step out when it arrives and do not cross the line of lights you'll see in the floor there, or you might get attacked by a ninja."

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    "KI-AI!!"  Kían rockets skyward with one sharp snap of his wings—this is what happens when you have reflexes already on a hair trigger.  The next thing he says is a rapid-fire string of syllables, both staccato and musical, followed by a frustrated, "Nnh!  What are those?"
    He's still going up—how high is the ceiling anyway?

Carrie Kelley has posed:
    Kestrel holds up her hands a bit with a chuckle at all the talk of normal.  "Hey, guilty in that regard.  Not much 'normal' about me… Just thought I'd make the distinction."  Civilian.  Yep.  Then, ninjas!  That was unexpectedly fast, and though she comments, "Wait do they actually yell?  I've never seen them yell…" Then again she was kind of the hostage at the time.

Danger has posed:
    "I will attempt to find this Cosmo if I ever find nowhere which I'm sure is somewhere."  She nods her head and then looks over at the ninjas briefly before looking to Kían as he goes up.  She hmms before glancing to Carrie and stating, "I wished the ninja to be silent.  Something that makes sense.  Colette insisted upon them being loud.  This makes no sense.  Many things Colette requests makes no sense."
    She then looks over at Colette and smiles, "Technically, with the right chemical mix you could set the river on fire."  She nods her head.  "Do you wish to see?" she asks and then looks at the communicator and then at Colette, "Also, do we often making hiring decisions based on violence?  I am now no longer surprised why you were all so quick to trust me."

Negasonic Teenage Warhead has posed:
    Ellie peers at the intercom.  "Well it got some of it right actually, not bad for a glorified chatbot."  There is a pause.  "I actually like fighting Ninjas for the record…."  A recognizable voice to Carrie, though they have only met once so perhaps not.
    When the doors open up Ellie shrugs and follows the interactive lighting to the elevator and gets in for a ride to the danger room.  There swill be maximum irony when she realizes other people have rooms named Danger Rooms.
    She spends the whole ride on social media, texting, messaging, browsing her feed.  Stepping out when the elevator doors open and then looks around for whatever line she isn't supposed to cross and what is going on.  Her fingers still moving on her phone as she finishes a tweet without looking.
    Honestly the girl looks pretty unimpressed with the universe despite being in Titan's Tower, maybe it is resting sullen face.

Stardust has posed:
    "Where are you going, Kían?" Stardust asks as she floats up alongside the birdman.  "I mean apart from straight at the ceiling.  There isn't really sky here, remember, you're about four feet from hitting your head."  One of the ninjas stands below the pair, leaping up to try to reach them with his sword and failing.  The other engages Carrie in non-lethal deadly combat.  "What these are is holographic projections of ninjas.  For practice.  We've been through this.  Go down and disable it."
    The aforementioned line is easy for Negasonic to see.  It's a line of tiny lights in the floor, which demarcates a short drop, not to mention the Danger Room holographic projection area.  A few feet in front of Negasonic, the building gives way to a mountainside, where Kestrel and the Titans are fighting—or ignoring—ninjas.  Or in the case of Stardust, leaving Kían to deal with his ninja in whatever way he sees fit, while drifting through the air to greet Negasonic.
    "Hi!"  Stardust stops and blinks a couple of times.  "You probably want to speak to Raven.  Or are you not here to discuss how lame Hot Topic is, and how everything is pointless?  Oh wait, social media, right?  Hi, I'm Stardust.  Don't mind the ninjas, they're not real."

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    It's a near thing—Kían peels away from the ceiling at the last possible second, and anyone watching closely might see his wingtips bend as they brush the surface above.  He says something in his own language that has the tone and sharpness of strong language.  "They screamed and jumped at me!  I'm getting away from them!" Kían explains—again, he thinks, quite sensibly.  Not very calmly, but sensibly.
    It's a measure of how unnerved he is that he's limned in a blue glow.  He has not otherwise used his powers, and doesn't look like he plans to any time soon.

Danger has posed:
    "Colette, you can change the settings so that the projectors act upon each of you differently and the visual projectors then use an additional projector to make it appear as if you are looking at each other from a distance away which will then create up to seven different simulations within the whole simulation to produce the effect of infinite space while at the same time allowing you all to interact with one another."  She then considers.  "Though I suppose that is awfully complicated and convoluted."  She looks at Colette.  "Simply tell the machine how many of you plan to participate and whether or not you will stick together."
    She then looks over at Negasonic and smiles.  "You must be the one who set the river on fire, or attempted to.  I am Danger."  She then looks to the other two.  "I will see you both later.  Unless I am destroyed in which case, have a good rest of your existence."  She nods and then heads for the exit, saying in passing, "Good luck in your interview or whatever it is Colette plans."  And with that, Danger is heading out.

Negasonic Teenage Warhead has posed:
    "I feel like this goth bigotry, just because Raven has excellent taste in clothing and color palettes doesn't mean all goths dislike hot topic.  That said yes most people and things are pointless, so you kind of have me in a box with that one."
    The young woman looks over the scene before her and the mountain side.  Also the ninjas.  "But yeah one of you from your official account on that mutant AMA said you didn't have anyone working on social media and since I was down in this neck of the woods I thought I'd see if that was accurate."  She just watches the ninjas and then looks up at Kían.  "So… is the glowing bird guy afraid of ninjas?"  She finally looks Colette in the eye.  "Also can I take on a ninja… I can't believe you have a holographic fighting simulator room… big mood."
    There is a pause and then Ellie nods to Danger.  "Nice to meet you and I blew it up I didn't light it on fire….  also try not to be destroyed?"  With that she looks back to Colette and arches an eyebrow.  She has mad eyeliner skills.

Stardust has posed:
    "Kían, you're missing the point."  Stardust frowns in the birdman's direction, and considers giving the ninjas flight powers.  "I'm considering giving that ninja flight powers," she adds.  "Just zap it, Kían.  That's the whole point of this exercise.  It's an evil murderninja, out to kill everyone it can.  Stop it!"
    Stardust turns back to Negasonic.  "Sorry, training.  He's an alien, he's not used to ninjas."  Jerking a thumb in Danger's direction, she adds, "Daro there tells me it is actually possible to set a river on fire.  Which sounds like a lot of fun.  Wanna see if she can do it?  Um.  Yes, we have a danger room, and there she is."  She doesn't seem in a hurry to explain that one.
    Colette holds her hands out in a 'you got me' gesture.  "Yeah, total goth bigotry.  Reflex, I have nothing against goths.  Some of my best fr…" she pauses, looks askance, then shrugs.  "Well, you know.  Do you know Raven then?  Uh.  Social media.  Damn yeah, that was me…." She looks everywhere but Negasonic for a few moments, finally settling on Kían, and the ninja hopping around beneath him, trying to slash Kían's feet.  "ZAP IT!  It may be planning to smoosh your peeps!" she calls out in encouragement.  Finally she turns back.  "Uh to be honest I dunno if we have an opening for it.  Do you have training?  Or is it something you just like to do between fighting ninjas?  Which is awesome fun by the way.  You didn't say your name.  Or if you did I missed it.  That happens sometimes.  Usually because I was talking at the same time.  Did you bring a résumé?"

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    "I don't want to zap it!" Kían protests with an edge of panic in his voice.  "I want to be away from it!"
    Something Colette said earlier percolates back up in Kían's mind, and he bolts for the line on the floor, the other side of which is not part of this madness.  No, of course he doesn't remember the room's "safe word".

Negasonic Teenage Warhead has posed:
    There is an ooh about Kían and him being an alien training to fight ninjas.  It really doesn't seem to surprise the girl.  "I figured he was a mutant, but you know… alien makes sense too… also I imagine you would just use napalm to light water on fire… unless she has fire powers… then yes.  Yes I do."  Pause.  "Want to see it that is."
    "As to knowing Raven no, haven't met any of the Titan's I don't believe before now.  I just have seen the media coverage and did some research."
    There is finally a blink from the young woman with the shaved head and piercings.  "Oh… huh… you know I did not bring a resume.  I manage the social media for the big club in mutant town… and I pretty much live and breath it."  She is still typing on her phone while she is talking, looking up to watch the ninjas and Colette (also of course the glowing bird guy).
    Finally she tucks her phone into her pocket.  "I tend to go by Negasonic Teenage Warhead, though you can call me Nega or Negasonic."
    When Kían bolts onto the safe side of the line well Ellie smiles, it's a slight thing, and then steps down past the light and charges for just a heartbeat before sending a blast out at the ninja that was trying to engage Kían… it wasn't a lot of build up but damn if it isn't exceptionally effective if it hits the holoninja.
    Man, Ellie should have made sure these were hard light holograms… here is for hoping.

Stardust has posed:
    Stardust watches Kían's flight with a roll of they eyes.  She turns to Negasonic with an expression that speaks volumes.  'See what I have to deal with?' it says.  'When did I agree to be the newbie trainer?' it says.
    They are indeed hard light holograms, supported by field projectors designed to keep the walls from breaking when people cut loose.  It's a risk.  The ninja is blasted quite satisfactorily, ending up in a heap at the base of the wall.  "Not bad," Stardust says, smiling approvingly.  "So, social media and zapping things.  I take it you're a mutant then.  Negasonic Teenage Warhead…" she pauses, thoughtfully.  Maybe she's trying to remember if she has heard of this mutant.  More likely not, she pays very little attention to the powered crowd for someone who's part of it.  "So, what happens when you hit twenty?  Do you become Negasonic Young Adult Warhead, or going to go for a complete change in name?"  No, obviously she was just curious about the ramifications.  "Nega.  Hmm.  Negasonic is better.  Or how about Warhead?  That's kind of a cool… nah, I'm wrong, it isn't.  Negasonic it is.  Actually I'm not sure now…" she frowns.  "That kind of sounds like you might be an evil ant-matter universe hedgehog.  Actually wait, that would probably be pretty cool."  Welcome to planet Colette.
    "Simulation override: pause, respawn ninja one, spawn three random civilians.  Delay unpause 60", Stardust says before turning back to Kían.  The simulation responds by respawning the ninja Negasonic had trashed, and three thoroughly out-of-place looking civilians standing not far away.  All are unmoving.
    "Okay, birdy.  In one minute the program unpauses and the ninja will try to kill the civilians.  You wouldn't like the ninja to do that, would you?"  Stardust points at the ninja again.  "So when the simulation starts up, zap it.  You can do this!"

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    Kían is in a three-point landing crouch—left foot, right knee, left hand—head down and breathing hard.  His wings are tight against his back, and spread wide, tips pressing against the floor.  And he's still glowing.
    "No."  The word is bitten off, hard and sharp.
    Slowly, Kían looks up.  "It's a simulation.  It's just photons and programming.  I am not betraying my soul over an illusion."  He slowly unfolds himself and stands up, and now that he's a little calmer, he clearly says, "Pause simulation!  Stardust.  Please come here."

Negasonic Teenage Warhead has posed:
    Ellie will step back out of the simulation past the line once more and shoves her hands in her leather jacket pockets.
    Honestly, she just waits out Colette when she is riffing and theorizing about her name, pretty nonplussed about the whole rambling and theorizing.  "Probably just Negasonic Warhead, maybe keep it though like a good band name… title not just a codename and all.  Also mutant, meta, or fabulous.  Does it matter?"
    "Also blowing things up and social media… not zapping… definitely blowing up."  Arms crossed as she looks to Kían.  "Come on Bluebird, don't let the poor innocent people get stabbed by a ninja… zap the ninja… super easy."  She is being as encouraging as she can be, though she can't resist nicknames.
    When he refuses though she pauses and looks between them both "Wait… are you a pacifist?"  Confused.

Stardust has posed:
    "It matters in that if you're not one of those three you generally can't zap or blow things up without help," is Stardust's quick response.  With a moment's further consideration, she adds, "Unless you're an alien, of course.  At least a non-pacifistic one."
    Stardust turns and taps her foot at Kían, which is kind of interesting when you're not actually standing on the ground.  She's a few feet above it still, but doing a good imitation.  "Kían.  It's just photons or programming, so you are not betraying your soul.  It's just a glorified video game.  However, one day it might be real.  There might be a ninja, and there might be civilians who will die if you do nothing.  You could stop the ninja.  You don't have to kill the ninja to do so.  But if you don't stop the ninja, the civilians will die.  This is to give you some experience in such situations, without anything other than photons getting hurt."  She explains this slowly and patiently, like talking to a child.  She does not follow Kían's invitation to come there.  "Kían, we've been through this before.  I've seen you zap dozens of parademons.  Sometimes it's necessary.  You even agreed about that."

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    "And if I let myself get used to doing it for pretend, I might be willing to do it for real without thinking about it," Kían replies, probably answering Ellie better than had he actually turned his attention directly to her.  "c'Rhys'yw, you're asking too much too fast.  Are you even dimly aware that there's a vast difference between admitting to a point intellectually, and being able to act on it emotionally?"
    He straightens up, folding his wings neatly behind him, and holds out his hand.  "Please.  Come here.  I think you need to see my mind, so you can understand what you're trying to work with.  I can promise you that going about it the way you are isn't going to work—I'm not human, I wasn't raised human, I don't react like a human, and I won't respond intellectually or emotionally like a human, and you're expecting me to be a human."

Negasonic Teenage Warhead has posed:
    Ellie notes in her own defense, "I just gave my ninja a concussion and blew him back… like a flash bang really it should have been weak enough to not blow him up to death… I mean maybe broken rib."  Yeah, she feels the need to point out that she used reasonable force even though they are just hard light holograms.
    When Kían explains or tries to.  "He does have a pretty good point about being an alien, he probably has a very different set of wired instincts than us monkeys."

Stardust has posed:
    Stardust folds her arms and stares at Kían expressionlessly for what feels like a long time.  Finally she nods her head.  "Simulation override: remove spawns.  Daytime."  The sun rises over the mountain top like a Hollywood time-lapse and suddenly the room is bathed in light and feels HUGE.  "n'Cha'kr."  It sounds like it might be Akiár.  She might have been trying to say 'agreement' or 'understood' or something similar, but if so her Akiár is truly appalling.  "Okay, sorry Kían.  I'm attempting to employ a method we call 'throwing people in at the deep end'.  If it ever gets too much, just say.  But you know, life does throw you in at the deep end sometimes.  The idea of this is to try doing it in a way where nobody gets hurt.  We'll… work on it."  She doesn't seem to be jumping at Kían's offer of a mind-meld though.
    Stopping to quickly pinch the bridge of her nose, Stardust gives Negasonic a nod.  "Believe me, I know a lot about aliens being wired differently.  That's a story.  This particular alien is tough to get through to though.  I thought we were getting somewhere with the peep-smooshing.  So… Uh.  I don't know how we go about hiring people, to be honest.  I'll ask.  Um, what's the best way to do this?  Wanna send us like a dozen sample tweets that you'd have posted for us over the last week?  We'll probably have to do some kind of complicated insurance thingy if you plan on blasting, zapping, or otherwise inconveniencing ninjas as part of the job, though."

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    "It is too much," Kían says, with a feather-ruffling shudder, collapsing on himself a little.  "When I say violence is unknown on my worlds, I mean it literally.  It only happens when there is a gross mental problem.  You can't commit violence on someone whose mind you can feel, immediately and directly—it becomes committing violence on yourself."
    He shudders again, and draws a deep breath.  "I know I can't feel your minds, but that makes you no less sentient.  Even if I can't feel the mind of someone I might hurt here… I know I am hurting them.  I know it," he repeats for emphasis.  "And doing that anyway would be worse than a crime.  It would be a sin."

Negasonic Teenage Warhead has posed:
    Negasonic will nod lightly at Stardust's words and nods.  "Oh trust me I can sympathize."  Pauses.  "About the alien and people from other timelines or dimensions… or… well, yeah."  She smirks.  "I am relieved that my life is not the only incredibly weird life though, for sure."
    The other part, about hiring, well, to be honest this whole social media thing was mostly a lark but here Colette is taking it pretty serious.  "I suppose I could do that, the tweets… hmm though don't forget Instagram."  She flicks her phone up and snaps a couple shots of Kían and Colette now before the phone slides down.  She is really surprisingly practiced with taking photos on that phone.
    "Wait, do you guys have all of you insured for when you go zapping or punching evil ninjas….  I didn't even know they sold superhero insurance… are you jerking me around?"
    Negasonic is standing looking pretty both, on the safe side of the Danger Room as she chats with the other two now.  She studies Kían.  "A planet of peaceful Bluebirds… okay that is trippier than usual.  Is it okay to protect people where you are from if someone is going to actually hurt you or others?"

Stardust has posed:
    "But we're not sane, Birdy," Stardust counters.  "Our entire species, like the vast majority of species in the universe, is basically deranged.  Some more than others.  The worst ones hurt people for fun.  Sometimes many people.  Sometimes thousands or millions of people.  How can it be a sin to stop them doing that, even if they get a little bit hurt themselves in stopping them?  Your Goddess doesn't hold that violence is always wrong, does she?"
    Stardust snap points at Negasonic.  "Don't ask about insurance, I have no idea.  I'm not jerking you around.  I honestly haven't paid attention to that stuff.  We've got this foundation that handles the money things.  And don't ask about aliens and wierd lives, either.  I have nine hundred and sixty-two aliens camping out in my head.  Long story.  Instagram, Snapchat, Reddit, WeChat, Wiebo, FriendFace, I don't mind.  Just some samples.  No promises.  I honestly have no idea if we have an opening anyway, I just posted that for a laugh.  But I like your style."
    Stardust slows down, looking around as if figuring what to do or say next.  "Anyone hungry?  I could order pizza.  We could have a mountain top picnic."  The professionalism is strong with this one.

Starfire has posed:
    Koriand'r walks into the Danger Room, looking around—then blinks.  "Oh—no ninjas?" she asks faintly, looking disappointed, then smiles as she sees her three friends just relaxing.  She walks over to them.  "Hello, Friend Colette, Friend Negasonic, and New Friend Kían," she states.  "I never considered using this scenario for… just relaxation… Damian would be so mad!"  She giggles.

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    Kían just shakes his head.  "I'm sorry, Co—"  He breaks off and glances at Ellie.  "I'm sorry, Stardust.  You don't understand me.  You're still giving me human actions and human rules and expecting me to react like I'm from this world, and I'm just not.  And even if every single Terran was insane, that doesn't mean I need to be as well."
    He jerks, and turns, startled… then bows.  "Kíe, Kori.  I… wouldn't call what we're doing 'relaxation'.  Stardust is trying to get me to react like a Terran to situations.  I am…"  He glances back at Colette, not angrily, more sadly.  "…not Terran, therefore not co-operative."

Negasonic Teenage Warhead has posed:
    "You say don't ask about insurance… but I really want to.  Is there someone I can ask about insurance at some point… mostly because when I have to blow up big alien monsters or Sentinels or such I tend to do a lot of collateral damage."  She keeps her hands shoved in her pocket, I mean she threw the blast from her hands so nothing has indicated that the young woman is the warhead, not fist style zap booms.
    "I'm still curious if you are allowed self defense or protection of others from the insane or not."  Ellie isn't trying to wheedle or bully really, though her expression is pretty flat and for once she isn't being mean.  Honestly, Kitty or Rogue would be shocked, but then Kían isn't human and this makes things a lot more complicated in her book.
    To Stardust: "I like your guys' style too, so I figured it would be fun to stop by and see if you were totally kidding or serious.  I also like your danger room, and I have a good deal of danger room experience."  A smirk, then she blinks and looks over to Koriand'r.  There's a slow pause but then she attributes it to the AI or surveillance or such.  "I am almost always in for pizza in holographic locals."  A finger wave to Koriand'r looking her over thoughtfully and then nods.  "Yup, definitely like your style."

Stardust has posed:
    "Hey Kori," Stardust greets with a wave.  "No ninjas.  Kían doesn't like them.  Also, the sunlight isn't real.  In case you got it into your head to use this place for sunbathing during the winter.  Won't help.  I guess that means we put in regular order number two."  She turns to Negasonic.  "Don't eat the pizzas with an X marked o the box.  You know Kori already?"
    Stardust presses a button on her comm, and as if by magic pizzas are ordered.  It's one of the perks of being a Titan.  Of course it's even better when Vorpal or Raven are around to collect the pizzas from the pizza place via portal.  "My solution to collateral damage is to scram before anyone notices I did it," she continues.  "There's a government scheme dealing with capes, but there's some kinda insurance thingy too.  I'm sure if we employ you as our social media intern that'll get sorted out, I'm just not the person to ask.
    Stardust closes the distance to Kían, giving him a light pat on the shoulder, which inevitably causes the same flash of psychic connection Kían's probably used to by now.  Not enough to convey to her just how alien he is, but then not enough to give Kían a headache with all the alienness that's tucked away in her mind either, which is rather a lot all things considered.  "It's okay, birdy.  We're trying things out, if it doesn't work we'll look for other ways to address things.  Don't let it worry you."

Starfire has posed:
    Koriand'r raises an eyebrow as she looks between the three.  "Oh, I'm Koriand'r," the orange-skinned alien states as she extends her hand to her.  She nods to Kían, respecting his personal space.  She then asks, "So—what is the misunderstanding here?  He's not the first alien you've had to deal with after all."  She then pulls back as she asks, "What's going on, Friend Kían?  I assume it's some kind of cultural difference?  Please—could you explain it?  It'd help us understand each other better."

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    Telepathy is a two-way street, and for the duration of the contact, Kían's fear and confusion and revulsion at the idea of violent action—if anything should be clear after that, it's that when Kían says he can't, he can't.  Not that he doesn't want to, but that he genuinely can't bring himself to deliberately unleash his powers on another sentient… and maybe just a tiny flash of how much Kían hates his powers, and wishes he didn't have them.
    He turns to Koriand'r, and says something in his own language.  It's easier to express what he has to say that way.

Negasonic Teenage Warhead has posed:
    Negasonic reaches out to shake Kori's hand now "Nice to meet you."  Then she looks after Colette "I mean… that is how I tend to deal with collateral damage while fighting supervillains myself right now.  Really though I don't need to be hired as a social media intern, though that was really amusing.  I am fine helping you all with social media… and occasionally blowing up super villains instead of intern pay."  Pause.  "If you like the samples that is."
    Which is the point at which she peers at the Birb and then Kori and then the Birb.

Stardust has posed:
    The problem with trying to convey anything about alien viewpoints to Colette telepathically is that she pretty much spends her whole time ignoring such contacts.  She'd probably have gone quite insane by now if she didn't.
    Nobody say anything.
    That's not to say that Colette doesn't get a flash of it, but what she does get doesn't really tell her anything new.  She's been trying to figure out some middle ground that still means she gets her way for some time.  Hence the peeps.
    "So, are you saying you want us to pay you with supervillains to blow up?" Stardust asks Negasonic, intrigued by this concept.  "I think we can arrange that.  We seem to get annoying numbers of them.  You have to leave some of them for us though."

Starfire has posed:
    Koriand'r nods.  "Well, Kían…" she muses softly, wondering what Negasonic's powerset is.  "I understand.  It would be blasphemous for you to use your talents for war.  X'Hal would be saddened if I let the innocent get hurt—but that's my God-given talents… augmented by mad science of course."  She ponders.  "You could help evacuate civilians when a villain's attacking—or perhaps learn Terran first aid so you could help the wounded.  We can find use for you.  Right, you two?" she asks, as she glances over.  "Oh, I'll go get the pizzas!"  She then steps out of the simulator and flies away—she can move fast.

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    "Yes," Kían says, nodding once to Kori.  "That is exactly the problem.  Using my rha'thar to harm would be blasphemy."  He spins quickly, facing Colette.  "I can freely act to rescue.  May I not be trained to specialize in that?"

Negasonic Teenage Warhead has posed:
    "That does seem reasonable, rescue, evac, first aid."  Ellie is problem solving already.  "Can you carry people while you are flying?"  Nega looks Kían over curious and then nods.  "Very photogenic… the whole glowing angel thing going on would appeal to a lot of the media both traditional and social.  Especially saving people."
    A quirk of a smile shot to Stardust.  "Hot stuff, and yes I want to be paid in supervillains to blow up.  Definitely.  I think there will be plenty for you all to deal with as well of course.  If I tried to deal with all of them fast enough to not share… well… the collateral damage would be way too much."  Which, well, the teenager seems confident she could maybe actually do that.  Her powerset is a very good question, really.

Stardust has posed:
    "No problem Birdy," Stardust agrees.  "Rescuing it is, then.  We'll get a program made up.  But I'm going to want you to try some of the combat simulations anyway.  I actually have a private version of this simulation where I added stamina to the ninjas and try to defeat them by tiring them out, without hitting them.  It's a great workout, we'll try you on that.  Another time though, we have pizzas coming."
    To Negasonic, Stardust answers with a nod.  "It might have to be regular cash and supervillains as a bonus payment, we'll have to work something out.  I'm sure it'll be fun either way."  She smiles, then after a moment's thought adds, "But yeah, collateral damage is usually best avoided."  Apparently she's not too worried about Negasonic's powerset.  Which probably has something to do with her own powerset, which isn't that good at layout out massive damage, but is extraordinarily good at surviving it.  That rather colors her view on risk taking and hanging around people who might be able to cause massive damage.  Someone should probably talk to her about that some time.

Kian t'Kaeh has posed:
    Kían blinks at Ellie.  "I have heard this word 'angel'.  I think I am not one.  And I can carry others, if they are not too heavy.  I could work on that, extend my physical range.  That would be good."  He says nothing about being photogenic, although one might notice that he straightens a little, and squares his shoulders.
    Colette, for her part, has earned the most relaxed smile Kían has given her in quite some time.  "Yes, I can definitely use my rha'thar to help, to rescue, to save.  I had some training with Imperial Disaster Services back home for exactly that.  I even helped out once when there was a major storm not far from my home.  That is definitely something I can do."

Negasonic Teenage Warhead has posed:
    Ellie nods to Kían when he talks about saving people and his whole morale seems to rebound there.  "Cool Bluebirb."  Because while she is a sullen snarky teenager, she isn't an asshole at all, not really.  Also she has a lot of mutant friends who don't have big boom offensive powers.
    To Colette "Works for me.  I'll DM you some sample tweets and a couple of Instagram posts using those photos I took."  And finally Ellie looks to the elevator.  "So the Skygoddess is getting the pizza, right?"

Starfire has posed:
    "Skygoddess," comes Kory's voice from the door as she's carrying a huge stack of pizza boxes.  Two of them have purple stars on the lids as she sets them to the side.  "Oh, please, call me that ANYTIME."  She giggles.  "I'm actually a princess.  No, seriously, I am."  She opens one of the special boxes, and the most UNGODLY smell of onions, sauerkraut, mustard, garlic, anchovies, and other smells that probably would smell nice by themselves but were awful in concert wafts out as she eats one.