2013.10.26 - Girl On Fire

Titans Tower is not exactly Fort Knox. It is also, however, not a self-serve 24 hour looter base where criminals can walk in and take what they want. It has defenses, it has security systems, it has super-powered and/or butt-kicking residents, and against most bad guys that's pretty good as a deterrent.

Against the Assanti, it might not even qualify as an annoyance. That is why Princess Pyre's bodyguard, Caela, an Assanti herself and a former assassin, is working to analyze and upgrade the defenses to the best of her capabilities. She does not have magical alien technology creation powers, so it's not so much adding new technological gadgets as optimizing existing ones, identifying locations where ambushes are likely and setting up counter-measures, organizing information for everyone about the risks of assassins in general and the Assanti in particular, and so forth. Right now she's just at the analysis stage, though she would REALLY like to find allies able to contribute some additional resources, as is made clear once everyone is situated in the meeting room and/or around the table.

"This is not a very defensible structure against Assanti assault," the blue-haired alien woman asserts. "Remaining mobile would honestly be a better option, and better still would be returning the princess home to the Fire-Planet." She leans on the table on her palms while remaining standing next to Pyre's chair. "However, I'm still learning about this world and I'm not sure I'm informed enough to arrange an on-the-move defense on an alien world without having to make a lot of things up along the way. Returning home is not presently an option without serious repairs to the vessel the princess and I arrived upon. It would be more feasible to repair the FTL radio, contact the Fire-Planet, and then stall for time until help can arrive. Any and all help in this capacity would be greatly appreciated."

The red-haired alien princess sitting at the table seems to be doing something on her arm-mounted super-computer during all this. There's videogame-like background music and sound-effects undercutting the seriousness of Caela's words, and Pyre is very focused on her game such that she makes little grunts and noises of effort and determination as she tap-tap-taps the holographic buttons. Caela pauses to look at Pyre and asks, "Princess, could you please focus on the matter at hand?" Pyre answers, "No is. Birds is being especially angry today."

Kaydin comes to the meeting room with a woman alongside of him. "Everyone, this is Roxie, a girl with extordinary psychic ability. Roxie, the red haired one is Princess Pyre, an alien from a world of intense heat. The blue haired one is her bodyguard, Caela. Recently a race of genetically modified assassins is trying to kill the princess and Caela is specifically trained to stop that." He says as he looks to Caela. "I have checked the waters about the island, there is no way they can enter below us." He says calmly to them as he then waits for reactions.

The new girl closes her eyes for but a moment. A strange key shaped symbol lights up in brilliant violet from under her top. "The good news, the only ones in this building are supposed to be here. I can sorta hear their thoughts." She gives a smile. "Hi I'm Roxie if you haven't heard. I'm the new girl." She gives a glance to Princess Pyre and her body guards, "Well. More aliens. I assume you are good ones."

Wonder Girl is there too. Sitting at the table. So she was introduced when Kaydin and Roxie entered the room, prior to the meeting started. Basically, 'trainee of Wonder Woman, has magic gauntlets and sandals, explaining her entire history and so on is not needed because this isn't show-and-tell and they don't need to worry about this right now'. It's probably already been recorded and people have already met and been notified of everything before now. Still, a refresher is good, since Pyre seems to be distracted with Angry Birds throughout the meeting thus far. "So, not to knock what these two said before or anything, but can we really just assume everything is safe because someone swam around or checked the tower for thoughts? Also please stay out of my head and thoughts unless you have my consent, thank you."

Waving a hand, the blonde says, "Just the two we faced last time had means of attack that we couldn't have predicted. We lacked the knowledge of their capabilities, their technology, their powers, and from what you said, randomized powers are common //specifically so that they're harder to predict//. Is that right? The one that nearly got Pyre could meld with machines and used that to pop up in the spaceship and stab her through the chest. From what I recall, if Heather hadn't grabbed her at the last second and pulled her back, those rods would have went through the princess's lungs and then she wouldn't have made it to medical. The one that nailed me while I was outside hit me with some kind of psychic paralysis stun attack. It was invisible, silent, and there was no warning. If Kaydin hadn't gotten to me I'd have drowned in the ocean... To say nothing of the sonic blasts the guy used to try to take your guys's space ship out of the sky and liquefy the rest of us."

Cassie shakes her head. "We thought we were safe while I was flying patrol. We thought we were safe in a mile-long spaceship with lots of walls. Now you're saying this building is not only not safe but not even suited to defending. What are you suggesting we do?"

Caela shakes her head. "We most certainly can not assume any such thing. Saying there is 'no way' they can enter below us is simply not true. They have ways of doing just about everything. They could employ an agent who can turn into water. They'd be invisible in the ocean. They could send someone with the power to turn intangible. They could simply go into the ocean floor a few miles out, travel to the island we're on through the ground instead of the water, and then come up through the earth without being visible even once. Then there is invisibility itself, cloaking against mechanical detection, body possession, mind control, shapeshifting, or -- to be perfectly blunt -- simply using a high-powered, long-range weapon to 'snipe' this entire tower off the face of the planet from hundreds of miles away. And yes, there are those who can render themselves invisible to psychics as well. At the bare minimum, each and every Assanti has a defense against interrogation via mental persuasion, 'truth drugs', and so on. In some cases it's as simple as a bomb going off inside their skull to keep the enemy from getting anything out of them. I have one of those myself."

Pyre finally loses her game of Angry Birds and looks up, looking distractedly at Kaydin and Roxie and trying to remember their names even after being introduced to them at least just now, if not before. "So what has do? Kaydin Swimmy Shorts and Roxadoodle say is safe. Is not safe? Then why has sit around like lump of grass!? Could be being attacked right now!" Pyre leaps up, toppling her chair, and yells, "Noh-meh-daa! Pyre is run!" Then she attempts to run out of the meeting room. Caela snags her with the scarves she wears in place of clothing, and drags her back. "Calm down, your highness. It's true, we MIGHT be compromised already--" Pyre tries to take off again, flying this time. She drags Caela several feet before the Assanti drags her back to the ground. "--BUT we have no defense strategy at the moment, so I would like to discuss the threat first. What we need is people with technological expertise who may be able to assist in fixing the radio. After that, it's a matter of, as I said, buying time. For now the best we can do is attempts to move the princess somewhere other than here without obviously doing so."

"Swimmy shorts?" Kaydin asks as he looks to his legs, wearing pants it seems. "We stay around Princess because running around with no strategy is worse then staying put with no strategy." He tries to explain before looking to Caela. "I can do basic repairs on surface based tech, Atlantean tech is much more advanced." He offers to the blue haired alien, waiting for the tasks to be assigned it seems.

"Roxadoodle? I can dig it." Roxie gives a brilliant smile and then turns her attention to Cassie. "If you don't want me reading your mind try not to think so loudly." She lets out a little laugh. "How can I help here. I may be new but I want to help out as much as I can." She listens and tries to understand what in the name of all that is holy that this Princess is saying. "Sorry I am a little skittish these days over aliens. Being hunted like a deer does that." Back to Wonder Girl. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be a complete smartie but yeah. Fun."

"What, so you can't turn it off or anything?" Cassie responds with annoyance. "Hmm... Moving Pyre... Maybe we could hide her in Themyscira. Or get some kind of magic-using person to stick her in another dimension or something. That second one would have the added advantage of her not having to visibly leave the building. As far as they'd know, she's still here. And while they might have mind shielding, maybe someone in disguise combined with Roxie doing some kind of mental illusion projection could make it look like Pyre's still here." She turns to the new girl and asks, "You can do that, right? Anyway, um, Pyre's people's technology seems to be a lot more advanced than surface technology. I don't know if it's compareable to Atlantean. But I do think it's pretty important to realize that anyone helping out tech-wise needs to probably be a specialist in that field, probably quite experienced, and so on. Casual dabbling because your native civilization is more advanced relative to someone else probably isn't going to work."

"But!" Wonder Girl holds up a finger. "But, I do think that there's some stuff we can do even without being experts. Supergirl was helping to fly around repairing stuff as-directed without being a scientist. Karkel -- that's the computer on Pyre's right arm -- seems to know what's up with repairs, so there's probably stuff even us 'primitive humans' can do. I dunno'. Can Atlanteans help? And also, this is kind of important: How are we going to defend against shapeshifters and body-possessors like you said? Shouldn't we get some kind of code-word system set up? DNA-scanners? Some kind of sci-fi stuff like that?"

"Advancement is relative," Caela agrees. "While someone very smart and very experienced in a number of scientific fields would be best-suited to learning how to repair and operate the systems of a Fire Nature vessel, there are manual repairs that can be conducted by anyone. I understand not wanting to have the privacy of one's mind violated, Wonder Girl, but depending on Miss Roxie's capabilities, we may be able to at least determine if someone's mind is protected or not. If it is, then it's not one of us. Unless we have members with mental shielding and I have not been informed. I will also mention that the Assanti have psychics of their own amongst their number. It would be better if we didn't run into any of them, as they tend to be the most dangerous, but we don't have much control over whether that happens or not. For now, Karkel and I can give Mister Kaydin a primer on Fire Nature technology to get him up-to-speed and we can work out a code-and-counter system for identification purposes."

The blue-haired woman turns her head to look at Pyre as the princess darts her red eyes around the room as though a t-rex might burst through a wall at any moment. "Also, let's look into both of those ideas. Alternate locations to conceal the princess and those who can convey her from here to a hiding place without it being apparent from the outside."

"I could try and track down Zachary Zatana. He is a magic user I met on my first coming to the surface. Perhaps he can offer advice." He says as he nods to them before approaching Caela. "As long as I am not required to be in the intense heat, I will do whatever I can." He says calmly.

"Great. Alien Psychics? I think I need some practice. I wonder if Black Adam is running around." Roxie comments quietly. She looks at Wonder Girl and nods, "I might be able to learn a few things. I will get in contact with Martian Manhunter and a few other sources I have. I can chat with Zatanna as well. She helped me out a lot." A smile crosses her lips, "Wonder Girl, I am still learning to control my abilities. Surface thoughts, Like thinking about what you are going to do today, Or school work, Or anything you really don't think much about. Those things are very hard for me to drown out. Trust me I try my hardest. After this happened to me I spent several days hiding in room with music blasting to drown it out."

"Well, as long as you're trying. And yeah, Martians are psychic too I think, so maybe that's a good idea. He can teach you how to hunt men and also to do mind stuff better. I'll check with Wonder Woman and a few other friends to see if they have anywhere particularly secret to hide Pyre." Noticing how nervous the princess is, Cassie smiles and says, "Hey, cheer up! We're the Titans! We're not going to let one of our own get taken out by a bunch of science freaks!" She pauses, remembering that Caela is technically one of the creepy lab clones they're up against and adds on, "No offense, Caela."

At that same moment, a dozen miles away, a weapon was being prepared. One that, even with only slight exposure, would terminate the problem posed by Queen Blazei's daughter and ensure the successful completion of the Assanti's contract. The best way to deal with a fire, after all, even a very dangerous one, was to simply take away its fuel.