2012-07-24 A Meeting of ... Monsters?

Titan Tower still has that New Building smell. OK, so 'new building smell' is actually the off-gasing of the paint and flooring and whatnot of volatile organic chemicals but it still screams 'brand freakin' new'. The newly-formed team hasn't really gotten into a rythm yet and so it feels... empty. That lack of personal touches or messiness that comes with being lived-in.

Magik appears in the communal area that the rooms lead off of that has couches and a kitchen and other such amenities, her signature disks of light flaring into being and leaving her in its wake. The blonde is in her white outfit of which she pushes the hood back and heads to the 'fridge.

Raven hasn't been seen since she claimed her room. As promised, she'd attached a note to the outside saying 'Raven's Room. Do Not Enter'. It has taken her a little while to successfully transfer her belongings from Azar, but, whilst everyone else may be feeling like this place isn't home... for Raven, it is already far more like it than anywhere she has been for weeks.

Now, she finally emerges. Still dressed in her costume with her hood down (though thankfully it seems to be a clean version), she too makes her way to the kitchen. When she sees who is already there, she pauses. "Hey." She says, "Magik, right?" Magik has pulled a bottle of water out of the 'fridge and looks over as Raven joins her. She arches a brow at the other girl and holds up the bottle with a questioning look, mutely asking if she wants one as well. A nod is given to the question. "And you're Raven." She gives a slight grin then, her tone holding dry amusement. "I like your choice of costume." Since theirs has a lot in common. Magik hasn't claimed a room, as far as one can tell.

Raven nods her head to the water question. She's, pretty difficult to read, though. "Thanks." She says to the fashion statement. "Yours is good as well." The teenager begins to inspect the kitchen area with a little curiosity, opening the various cupboards so she can get an idea of what they have actually been furnished with. It seems basic but, serviceable, which is really all that she'd been expecting. "I was surprised it was so easy." She adds, "But seems like we've got a good team. Although I was disappointed that man decided not to join us."

Magik passes off the bottle that she'd pulled out to Raven and gets another for herself. She shuts the 'fridge with a bump of her hip and opens the bottle to take a drink as Raven pokes around. "Someone else did the hard work for us, putting their rap on the line to say we could do the job." She nods in agreement about Wiccan. "It's too bad. I might track him down later, at least say hi. I don't meet a lot of people with the same mystical bent that I have. Speaking of..." Magik hops up to sit on the kitchen island, letting her feet dangle down as she pins Raven with hard blue eyes. "You've got black magic hanging so thick on you that I can taste it." Magik's is at least a bit more subtle when she's not in her Darkchilde form, the human portions of her soul subduing the demonic aura so she doesn't creep people out at twenty paces.

The accusation actually makes Raven startle. Her eyes widen and she bumps back against the counter. The funny thing is that Magik is the first person to actually point this out to her. Satana had implied she knew but, given Satana's own state that is hardly surprising. It takes her a second to rally and, regain her composure. She does not meet the blonde's eyes, though. "Its, a curse." She says, which is true enough without being the whole truth. "My ... father, is the one responsible. Its also the source of my powers, though. And why I have to stay calm."

Magik's tone has stayed calm and even, and she takes another sip of her water though the blonde doesn't take her eyes off of Raven as she listens. A pause, bottle still held to her lips, and she gives a nod. "I can understand that." A whisper of a sigh. "I... can really understand that." She says in a softer murmur. "Look, someone stood up for you, so I'm gonna trust in that. That you're," Now she smirks. "On the side of the angels." Yeah, that amuses her all to hell. "And it doesn't bother me. But I think you're going to put our new teammates on edge, and you should explain to them why the hair on the back of their neck is standing up."

Magik watches Raven with what might be an unnerving amount of focus as the darker girl takes her time answering. "I was born human. Or, mutant more specifically I suppose." Now it's Magik's turn to take a moment in answering a question. A subtle tension tightens her shoulders as she finally answers. "I was taken by a demon sorcerer who pulled out bits of my soul and filled it with black magic. So I'm still part human and part... not. Controlling the Stepping Disks, that's my mutant power."

"I'm sorry." Raven says, and, well, she feels guilty. She IS holding back, and there's something in the intensity of Magik's stare which makes her feel uncomfortable for doing so. Moreso given that the woman is opening up to her about her trauma. The young girl steels herself, and closes her eyes. Maintaining her focus is imperative. "The truth is... it isn't, exactly, a curse. My father is a demon. So... I'm mostly human, and partly, him. As much as I dislike it."

Magik's attention is a heavy thing when it rests on a person, which is why she so often has that mocking, sarcastic front. It may grate on people but it's usually less uncomfortable for them than her regard. But Raven has it all now. No mocking smile, no teasing tone. Finally, the blonde gives a terse nod. "And no matter what you do, or how much you wish it otherwise, you'll never escape the fact that underneath it all... you're evil. And the only thing that makes you 'good' or 'heroic' is that you make a conscious choice to do so. Even though it doesn't change a damned thing." There's a long moment of silence before Magik speaks again. "We might scare the hell out of them when we come clean." The rest of the Titans, so bright and bubbly and... human. Innocent.

Raven exhales long and slow. There's definitely truth in what Magik says but, she isn't sure she can agree with it. Perhaps she just doesn't want to. "It is why I don't just... tell everyone, everything." She admits, "I am perfectly controlled. I don't give in to my destructive urges, and, I never will." And she'll never let herself feel unbridled joy, happiness, or love, either. "I don't want to scare them before they've gotten a chance to know me. If they kick me off the team..." She trails off. She's got nowhere else to go, and precious few other people she could lean on. After a second, far more quietly, she adds. "I don't want people to think I am a monster."

"You obviously haven't taken enough multiple-choice tests." Magik notes. "Any time there's 'always', 'never' or something like 'perfect'? You know the answer is false. Nothing's perfect, and there's no such thing as never. You can bet on it." A nod is given to Raven wanting to let them get to know her. "I can understand that. I'm not exactly keen about 'fessing up myself. People always have more questions that I really want to answer. I mainly cornered you because like I said, I can practically taste it and it's not the sort of thing to instantly put me off of someone. And, if they try to put you off the team just because of that? Them and I will have some Words and Colossus in the JLA will back me up."

Raven is being confronted with a lot of uncomfortable thoughts. She does have a very strong handle on her emotions, but that doesn't mean that she doesn't feel them. Thinking about this sort of thing is never pleasant, at least partly because she doesn't know what the exact outcome would be of a loss of control. Nebulous horror is always worse than something known. "I'll, think about it." She says at last. "Until we do tell the others, though, at least we can watch each other. I just think it would be wise for them to have proof that we're... trying to be good people, and can help them, whatever else we might be."

Magik nods in agreement. "We're all mostly unknowns to each other. Some of them have the big shiny reps." And the big shiny cousins. "I don't really think that it's their business about my demonic side if my actions prove me. But... I'm pretty sure that I'm going to get called on to teleport people around, and the way my power works we jump through a demonic realm and they're going to want answers." A slight shrug. "With you, I figure they're gonna want to know why they get a chill down their spine whenever you enter the room. The details... that comes when they're earned. But yeah, until then you watch me, and I'll watch you." She offers her hand over to Raven.

Physical contact! Another barrier she doesn't like to cross very often. But... after just a half second of uncertainty, she reaches out and takes Magik's hand. Her grip isn't very firm, but she shakes the hand, and nods her head. "Deal." And she seems to relax just a little bit. Whilst she felt like Satana would help her where she could... that woman's way of life is very different; just trying to survive! In Magik... she senses far more of a kindred spirit.

Magik's grip is more firm, and her hands have the rough calluses of a swordswoman. She nods towards Raven's sign on her door with a small, lopsided smile. "Hopefully that'll work. I remember one time a friend busted in on me without knocking. Surprised me. I think she had nightmares for a week."

Raven lets her hand fall back to her side, and picks up the water again. Sipping that, her eyes drift to the sign. "Yeah..." She says, "I considered bringing it up when the General said we might have to double up." She shakes her head a little. "I'm not really a, people person."

Magik can't help but snicker a bit at that. How many times as she told people that recently? She bobs her head in a nod. "I'm dorming at a University. I am *not* looking forward to Fall semester, when I'll probably end up with a roommate." She shakes her head. "But it shouldn't be an issue for a while. Lotta rooms and so far, not that many of us. Especially those of us looking to stay here full-time."

Raven looks a little surprised about the university thing. "That's cool." She says, "I'm trying to bring myself up to speed on ... Earth." Her tone implies that this is a very, very broad subject. "Starting with America. I thought it would be useful to know a little bit about what, exactly, I agreed to do when I took that oath. Something tells me that it is going to cause trouble at some point."

"That was why you asked about Brazil." Magik recalls in a soft murmur. "Looking over the Constitution is a good idea. A lot of it is pretty broad and so was the Oath. I mean, it was pretty much a 'do what I think is right' kind of deal. And it's Superman. If you can manage to keep that whole 'public good' in mind, you should be golden."

"That was why you asked about Brazil." Magik recalls in a soft murmur. "Looking over the Constitution is a good idea. A lot of it is pretty broad and so was the Oath. I mean, it was pretty much a 'do what I think is right' kind of deal. And it's Superman. If you can manage to keep that whole 'public good' in mind, you should be golden."

Raven nods her head at that. "Yeah." She says, "I... got that impression." She actually smiles herself, again. "But... it doesn't take an empath to figure out that people are nervous and untrusting of the Government right now. With Oracle being... part of the team but not part of the team, too..." She shrugs her shoulders, "Perhaps I'm wrong. But I'm expecting some, difficulties, between us and the General until we all learn to work together."

"It doesn't exactly help that we've got someone that's not willing to show their face or even their voice that clearly doesn't trust them, hmm?" Magik gives another shrug. Her emotional state is mostly calm, but not that enforced-calm that Raven has. "They didn't say we can't leave, so we should be able to walk away if things go south."

Raven shrugs her shoulders, "I hope it doesn't come to that." She says, "If we all have good intentions, it is just a matter of coming together and finding the path that all of us can walk together." If Magik is going to research Azarath later, this sentiment would be something echoed time and again in Azar's teachings. Although... more extremely so; Azar being strongly pacifistic. "The first step is always to accept the good intentions of others. We'll come to see that from each other in time." Or... they won't. But Raven seems to believe it is there.

Magik hops down from the kitchen island and tosses her empty water bottle in the recycling bin. "I should get going, but if you want to get to know this place, you should walk with its people." Magik pauses for a moment. "*I* think... that it helps. To see the people that you're trying to help, and putting your life on the line for. Not just at their worst, which we'll get to deal with all the time, or just their best, which half the time is just media hype but just... as people." Her voice drops a little softer. "And maybe remind yourself that you're one of them too."

Raven has only drunk about half her water, but she'll keep it for studying. The girl nods in agreement. "I arrived in New York." She says, "Which is... an overwhelming place, but, I agree. Thank you. I look forward to working with you." With that said, she waits for Magik to start to leave, and then walks back to her room. She WILL get to know people... but later. Right now, she'd like some time to reflect on everything that they've shared.