InsaneJournal

Who: Donna, Kate and Raven
What: Donna’s emotions are loud so Raven has a way to deal with that
When: 21 January 2021 - morning to late morning
Where: Donna’s condo to the Danger Room at the Agency
Warnings: Low
Status: Log | Complete

The life of a Titan was never easy - even when you were supposedly on sabbatical. But the losses of Raven, Joey, Danny and Arella had hit hard. Yet life had to move one. Vic still needed help and they weren’t going to give up on him. Only...Danny wasn’t dead but instead Phantasma? She wasn’t sure. It wouldn’t be the first weird thing to happen. Besides, she’d been feeling sick for weeks now.

No. She knew what it was. She just didn’t want to admit it. To be pregnant was… Donna wasn’t sure. But there was an attack and something was wrong. Her child was growing at an abnormal rate. What it meant, who knew. But it couldn’t be good. Even so, a change was going to have to happen and while she’d been on sabbatical, perhaps retirement was the answer. It wasn’t like she could continue being Troia while raising a child.

Except apparently her son was supposedly going to destroy the world and had to be killed before that could happen. Because Donna was going to let that happen? Gasping in pain, it was clear something was still wrong - only someone showed up, Lord Chaos, who took her.

“You’re going to give birth to a god.”

It was impossible. She shouldn’t be giving birth yet, it was too early. And yet… pain. Pain and suffering and darkness as she was killed. Murdered. Only to be in space and the Titan-God within her awakening. Donna Troy might be dead but Troia lived and headed to earth to reclaim her child. Logic from the others didn’t matter. Just a primal need to have her child back.

Getting Chaos, she went to New Cronus and the Titans of Myth. No more powers. Not for her, not for her son. She just wanted a normal life for him. The rest? She would be the best mother she could be.

Waking up with a gasp, Donna looked around, her heart aching as she held her stomach. She’d known in the previous dream when she’d been feeling sick the likelihood of what was happening, that she was pregnant. But she hadn’t wanted to acknowledge it. To remember the pain of losing Robbie here. In the real world. But to see him grown. Killing her. To give it all up for him.

She would do anything to have her son back. What did powers mean if he was dead?

Or Raven could suddenly be there.

“What the hell, Raven?” She was used to the empath’s perchance to just show up and leave. And honestly, having just mourned the loss of her in the Dream, it was good to see her, but she was still caught off guard.

As for Raven? She’d just woken up from Donna stopping Kory from killing her, of Gar dying and calling forth Trigon to save him (that was going to blow up in her face, but thirteen year old her didn’t know that. She just wanted to save her friend) and it was...rather unnerving to see him in a human form. The same as her father here.

She didn’t have too much time to process what had happened though given she was feeling waves of anguish and overall emotion from Donna. Sure. That was something better to deal with. In theory. Heading to the living room after changing, the empath took one look at the roomba and ouji board carpet, shook her head and portaled to Donna’s.

“Get dressed. We’re going to work through your emotions.”

“I…”

“Bring the bracelets and lasso.”

All Donna could do was just stare at Raven, her mind still trying to come to terms with what was happening. She was used to the empath being, well, the way she was. But she had to admit that punching something sounded like a great plan. And since Raven said to bring the bracelets of submission and lasso of persuasion with her…. Might as well just put on the Wonder Girl outfit.

Knowing this place, it probably would be good to be comfortable moving and fighting in it as well. Dick already went out as Nightwing, she had a feeling Raven did her own patrols…. So why not. It was better than sitting around and dwelling.

Once changed, she headed out to the living room.

“Okay, so now--”

Being dropped into a room, the brunette looked around.

“What….”

Only for things to start moving and Donna was quickly having to leap out of the way to avoid injury, knocking aside a bullet with the bracelets.

Well at least the powers she’d been getting hadn’t vanished because that would have made this a lot more complicated.

“Seriously, Raven?!”

Not like the empath said anything and Donna just found herself quickly beginning to fall into a groove with the routine, instincts taking over.

The tried and true plan of 'work on someone else's trauma instead of your own! Kate was an expert by now, so she'd totally understand. She'd also understand having a kid and losing a kid, only in her case that had never been real (but it was real, she'd experienced it, she remembered it, it was real).

She'd have tossed Donna into the Danger Room too, in fact.

But there was someone in the Danger Room, which was interesting. Kate was glad she'd decided to build one beneath the Agency - going out to the Ranch to train had become a pain in the ass, and it had been simple enough to replicate.

She walked into the control room, "Okay then so what's going on?"

Raven never gave a reaction to when Donna got frazzled by what she did. She knew the older woman would appreciate it later. Besides, it was good for her to be prepared for whatever Orange County threw at them. Raven just...was Raven and had issues with tact and people.

Not even being phased by Kate’s arrival, she upped the level ever so slightly before looking over her shoulder.

“Donna has some things to work through and well…” Shrugged. Orange County.

Donna meanwhile had no idea that there was now someone else watching, and as it seemed lightning was involved (seriously, what was this place?!), she instinctively used the lasso to grab onto it and pull herself out of the way of what could have been a high impact collision that would have definitely hurt if not done more - she still wasn’t sure the level to which her powers were at the moment - before crossing her arms and a bullet bouncing off the bracelets before backflipping and going back to fighting and dodging.

It was strange dreaming of being Troia while still in her Wonder Girl outfit but no matter.

"She has some things to..." Kate rubbed her temple and took a look at the settings, "Kind of throwing her into the deep end, aren't you?"

Except then Donna did that, Kate raised an eyebrow, and pushed the lever up another notch.

A towering sentinel landed behind Donna and swung out one massive foot towards her.

It might seem excessive, but Raven was on standby and wouldn’t let anything actually happen to Donna. If it was too much, she’d stop and heal whatever she had to. But Orange County didn’t care about if someone was ready or not to face something and so best to go feet first into the deep end. Or something.

“She was trained by the Amazons. Or Titans of Myth. It’s hard to keep up.”

As if that answered everything. Except in a way it did based on how well Donna was doing. Yes, she was still adapting to her dreams, her abilities. But some things were instinctual after a while.

The sentinel was new. And after dodging the foot, an annoyed look was sent to wherever she felt Raven was, figuring the younger woman had decided to add that in as well.

“Seriously?”

No time to really say much more as it was back to avoiding and fighting back, wrapping the lasso around the thing to hold it in place and then hurl it into something else.

Strength was clearly still there and increased despite having given up her powers in the Dreams. So that was something. As was her agility.

Thrown face first into the deep end was an X-men tradition, so Kate would allow it. Still, she kept one eye on the readouts and hoped if something went wrong the safeties would kick in and shut it all down. “It’s kind of like watching a few people I know in my dreams. Captain Marvel. Or Rogue, after she stole Cap’s powers for a bit. Or Britain. There was a saying about Captain Britain and his wife Meggan.”

Kate smiled nostalgically, “Being hit by one of them was like being punched in the face by god, but being hit by both of them was like having a freight train dropped on your brain. Or maybe it was the other way around…”

And thus why Raven wasn’t too worried. So long as it wasn’t April Fool’s Day or Friday the 13th where things would go wrong, she figured it was safe no matter what it might seem like to the person inside the room.

Part of the empath debated telling Donna she was doing great, give her a thumbs up, but somehow she doubted that would go over well because it was, well, her. That wasn’t her style and it would probably end up read as mocking or something. So instead she just listened to Kate and nodded.

“Huh. Though with Donna that is...basically what it would probably be like.”

Donna definitely would not be amused at any of the options. Mostly because she knew Raven. Her showing up randomly and then dropping her somewhere? That was to be expected. She even had her own way of encouragement. Thumbs up and comments of doing great? Not so much.

So for now, she was once more falling into a rhythm as she got used to the latest setting. She did have to give the empath one thing, this was definitely helping her work through her issues in regards to the Dream she’d just had. Not a complete bust then.

“Remind me to avoid getting punched by her,” Kate quipped. She looked at some of the controls, and another readout, before giving up and just observing Donna; no computer could judge a person as well as another person, as far as she was concerned.

The sentinel had gone down like a tin can under foot, and she didn’t appear to be breaking a sweat.

“Quick question, how badly a beating can she handle? ‘Cause I’m not sure if I want to throw a freight train at her, or introduce her to the Hulk.”

And she made the Hulk sound worse.

“Good thing I can’t see her just punching people just to do so.” That definitely wasn’t Donna’s style. Of course Orange County could be a jerk at which point, well. Then she wasn’t too sure. But no matter. And there really was only so much a computer could tell you about a person.

“The only thing that killed her in the Dreams was heat ray vision through the heart. And then she later came back. So….”

That basically summed that up given she knew which set of Dreams Donna was on.

Things Donna wasn’t sure if she wanted to know or not. Yes, Kory had suggested she talk to Raven because of the constantly changing history that could give any person a serious identity crisis. And while it may have been nice to have advanced warning of things to come, would she be able to live her life always wondering when some major trauma might come along?

So thus, she hadn’t asked. She didn’t even know if she’d have wanted warning on the dream she had woken up from this morning. Not that Raven was even around for it given she’d died and they’d been grieving her.

Punching things though was definitely better. At least for now.

“Freight train then.” Kate tapped her thumb on her chin as she considered the options. Something to wear Donna down at least, and she’d leave it up to Raven when to pull the plug.

The Hulk? He’d have to wait, even if she kind of did want to see what might happen.

Instead, a man in a white costume with the Union Jack on his chest and mask dropped down from the sky like a bomb. Captain Britain was an ideal, a bit like how Captain America was the America that Kate wished existed. But unlike Steve, Brian’s powers came from mythology. From the belief of people.

And she set belief to maximum. “This ought to be fun.”

There were a lot of ideals. Things to fight for and believe in even when they never existed as people were told. The darkness, the shadows, all masked. But they still fought for it because someone had to. Even Raven, in all her people are annoying why do I bother, in the end she still woke up and fought for it. Perhaps that was why Robin said she was the most hopeful person he knew in that first set of Dreams. Seeing so much darkness but still fighting.

Perhaps that was what separated the ‘heroes’ and the ‘villains’. Knowing the truth but still fighting to protect it instead of giving into nihilism.

Instead she just nodded and crossed her legs on the chair she was sitting on before she began to levitate.

Spinning around, Donna just looked at the man before her, using the energy force to her advantage, rolling her neck.

“Okay, so we’re doing this.”

Eyes narrowed, she thus began to fight, analyzing Captain Britain’s moves even as they parried and fought.

“Brian is basically like Superman, in terms of speed, strength and agility,” Kate explained. Now that would be a fight she’d like to see. “I gave him an old weakness, one he grew out of eventually. If she can do enough damage to his costume he’ll start to weaken. Think of it as the physical manifestation of belief.”

She grinned as they fought; Britain was a brawler, favoring slower but more powerful punches and kicks, and quite effective with a double fisted uppercut.

Somehow, it made her miss both him and Meggan. As well as the rest of her old Excalibur family.

Raven nodded some. “Well if anyone can go up against a Kryptonian, it would be an Amazon.” Or Titan Seed or whatever Donna was. So that would be a good challenge for her.

Brawlers were annoying but not impossible. Even ones who were exceptionally strong. So Donna just kept fighting, noting what happened whenever she hit his suit. Okay. She knew where to focus her attacks on, using her surroundings to give herself more leverage in the fight.

Leave no option off the table, use everything you have. That was what she’d been taught and that was how she fought.

Kate tried to ignore the slight pang in her chest at the mention of Amazons. She’d dated one for a while, after all, though bizarrely she could barely remember her name. Perhaps an OC thing.

Britain was gradually worn down, though he tried to give as good as he got. Kate paid close attention, letting the Danger Room analyze the data. Next time, if there was one, there’d be even more of a challenge for Donna - or anyone else with super strength.

Hopefully they’d never need that data to take Donna down herself.

“Think she’s had enough?”

Watching as Donna took down Britain, Raven was doing a different type of reading. She knew this wouldn’t help with what the other woman had dreamt, but it was clear that she was calmer and her emotions weren’t all over the place. Which was the important thing. So at the question? The empath nodded.

“Yeah. Probably.”

Could Donna keep going? Most likely even though she didn’t know what the two (or that there were two now) were discussing. She was just keeping a wary watch on her surroundings having easily learned that anything could happen or strike at any moment. Running her fingers through her hair, she was also taking stock of her abilities. Those she had to stay on top of, to mitigate so as not to accidentally break things. But they were definitely continuing to grow. They may not be quite at full strength yet, but they were getting closer.

Tabling the question on if she could use her powers to beat Donna (after all Kate liked a challenge), she nodded and deactivated the danger room. Everything faded until Donna was left in an empty room with a glowing grid, lines that crisscrossed and made diamond patterns on the walls and ceilings. “She probably deserves a break anyway.”

It was a valid question, one that Raven probably felt would lean in Donna’s favor. Kate’s advantage would be years of experience versus Donna who was just adjusting to her abilities but based on how well she had handled the danger room? She wasn’t sure the advantage would lead to a win. So instead, the empath nodded, disappearing in a portal and into the danger room proper. She’d leave it up to Kate if she wanted to introduce herself or not.

“Feeling better?”

As the danger room was turned off and all that was left was the glowing grid? Donna looked around and took it in. It was definitely impressive, that was certain. And suddenly Raven was there because of course she was.

“You have an interesting way of getting people to work through things but….yeah. I do. Could use some breakfast though.”

What, it had been an intense workout.

“Pancakes or waffles?” Kate’s head stuck out from the wall and she grinned at them, knowing Raven’s preference just by osmosis, “I know a place that makes the best possible pancakes and waffles, actually. Been going there for years. Also, hi, I’m Kate, I work with Raven and you can thank me for this place existing.”

Was that even a question?? Okay. So it could actually be a question for Donna but still. How was it ever a choice if waffles were involved? Still, she would go with whatever Donna chose. After all, she was the one who needed to work through her Dream issues, not Raven.

And suddenly there was a random woman sticking her head through the wall. Because of course there was. This was Orange County after all and honestly, not the strangest thing she’d seen thanks to the Dreams.

“That sounds good.” True she hadn’t chosen yet but if the place had both? Well, she could figure it out there. “Is that so? Well it’s very impressive. I’m Donna. Nice to meet you.”

“Okay, I’ll drive! If you wanna clean up there’s a shower down the hall and to the right.” Kate nodded, then her head phased back through the wall, leaving them alone. She needed to get one of the vehicles out of the Vast Underground Labyrinthine Vault that was the parking garage.

Super reinforced against everything from earthquakes to alien invasions, even! Kate tried not to think about watching Jemma die in there, but she still frequently thought about that.

The empath still felt awful about what had happened to Jemma and Kate, not like she could have controlled it. Even so, she was more than content to wait for Donna to get showered and dressed and then go for waffles.

Given Raven’s ability to portal, Donna wasn’t really too phased. Especially as she’d already seen Kate stick her head through a wall. So instead she just nodded.

“I’ll do that.”

So with Kate going to get a car, Donna headed to where she’d been directed for a quick shower and to change out of her Wonder Girl outfit into something much more fitting for breakfast.

With that done, the photographer went and joined the two who had been running the room.

“Well, let’s go then.”