2012-08-08 Where's the Wingster?

Even with the shades being worn, Arsenal shades his eyes as he studies the new tower. Such an interesting base, already up in a few short weeks. "Man, whoever paid up the bills for this sure got his money's worth," he says out loud. As he presses the button to ring up whoever was in the Tower, Arsenal's wicked grin can practically be heard in his voice. "Hey... this's Arsenal. Whoever's listening in, I'm a friend of the Wingster's. And if he's got a problem with me stopping by to say hello, you tell him he let me in or I'll tell -everybody- about the pixie boots."

It wasn't so much hearing the doorbell that Karolina knew that someone was at the door. Their fancy little communicators could have various alerts shown, and Karolina still had everything on; including the front doorbell. Tapping the screen of the communicator, Karolina says, "This is Lucy; I got it. Um... does anyone know who Arsenal is?" He seemed to know Nightwing, though, so it was probably okay, right? It would be a handful of moments before she could get down to the front door, so Roy might be waiting a bit.

Karolina Dean was dressed casually - blue jeans with flared bottoms, her favorite pair of sneakers - a fitted T-shirt with a multi-colored star on the front, and yellow and black arm warmers that ended in kinda half-gloves, looping over her thumb. Oh, and a medic-alert bracelet over her left wrist; not to mention that she had her hair braided, and pulled back in a long french braid.

Regardless of such things, she opens the door to the tower, blue eyes peering curiously out at the guy beyond. "You know. I think I'm the only one here right now - did you want to meet with Nightwing or something? You can hang out in the kitchen or whatever."

Magik wasn't actually at the Tower, but like that matters to a teleporter. She didn't hear the doorbell but she *did* get Karolina's message. Silly technology. She must have to switch a setting or something. While Karolina opens the door, Magik teleports in a dozen or so feet behind their visitor. The sunlight makes the flash of her Stepping Disk harder to pick up and dressed in her white cloak and hood her identity is pretty easy to pin down. Arms crossed she gives 'Nightwing's friend' a once-over.

That there was a pair of female blue eyes peering out from the door nearly causes Roy to break out laughing, simply because of all the things he'd have expected to answer the door, -that- wasn't what he would have expected. Instead, Arsenal flashes a roguish half-grin at Karolina, lowering his head and shades so that his own eyes are visible to the younger girl. "Well now, hi there. I really hope you're one of the Wingster's teammates... and you probably shouldn't be opening doors to people you don't know. I take it they haven't gotten the security systems squared up so you know who's calling? I knew Nightwing was too busy, but not to even call me and tell me he needed help like this..." A rueful shake of his head, and then Roy peers over his shoulder towards Illyana, eyebrows raising. Whoa there. "Helllooo. Name's Arsenal. And you lovely ladies would be...?"

The presence of the stepping disk behind the new visitor draws Karolina's eyes that way, which might have been another clue that someone was behind him. Drawing her eyes back down towards him, she opens the door a little further, crossing her arms a bit. There was a faint blush to her cheeks, but opposed to how his charming demeanor might normally affect young women, the blush just seemed a little more awkward than anything else, at least, when coupled with her gaze falling away from his a moment, and a little lift of her hand to brush a lock of her hair from her eyes.

"Well. I'm Lucy in the Sky," she says, biting back her usual apology for the wierd codename. "Well, there's probably a way to work it, but I don't know it yet. Besides. If you were someone weird, I'm sure Magik and I coulda taken you - and maybe you're here to try to join up, too, right?" she says, gesturing to the other young woman standing there.

The flirtatious greeting gets a single raised brow from the blonde in white, Magik's expression not moving from that impassive mask. When Karolina gives her name, Magik gives a nod along with it. The impassive facade cracks when Lucy says they could have taken him to give a faint smirk and there's a dark glint to those icy blue eyes of hers. "You're certainly dressed for it." Magik says in an amused drawl with no real trace of an accent of any sort.

Yes, he'd felt far warmer receptions from supervillains than the one he receives from Magik, but that doesn't faze Roy, as he cheerfully brings two fingers to his eyebrow, and then gives a flippant acknowledgement salute to the Russian lass, before turning towards Lucy.

Hands motioning towards his crossbow and his weapons, Roy shrugs. "Occupational requirements. I'm working with the goverment." Reaching for his wallet, he even pulls out and shows his ID. At least for now, he was still with the goverment agency. Depending on when his transfer came through. "Well, I'm not really here to join up, I just came to see if the Wingster had his hands full and needed any help." Another glance towards Magik over his shoulder, and then he leans over towards Lucy in a conspiratorial whisper. "Does she always have that look, or is she really one of those ice maidens I've heard about? You know, the kind that would kill you with ice dagger stares?"

"CBI? Is that kinda like the FBI?" Karolina says, glancing from ID to man, then back again. A little beat, and Karolina kinda shuffles to make room for him to enter, the young woman glancing to Illyana, kinda with that sort of wide-eyed gaze that was asking for help a bit. "Well; you know, I haven't talked to Nightwing much. I mean to, but... it's not that he's hard to get in touch with, he just keeps to himself a little bit, right?" she says. Her own voice bore a little bit of a Californian rhythm to it, although it was more subtle than stereotypical.

Karolina gives Roy a quick little glance at the whispered words, and she shrugs one shoulder, getting a cheeky little grin to her lips. "I like Magik; she's, um... good people." Just a little bit of hesitance there. "...and she only looks at you like she can kill you, because she probably could and, um. Might."

Magik steps forward to follow Roy as Karolina invites him in, though her approach is a bit slower as she touches her communicator to contact the military staff they have. "Someone want to check him out and give me an all-clear?" She murmurs. The whispered conversation between the two has her giving Karolina a curious, and also suspicious look.

"Sort of like the FBI, yeah," Arsenal grins, as he puts his wallet away. "And yeah, not surprising Nightwing keeps to himself a lot. I mean, you'd be a bit nervous too, if you had the big bad Bat hovering over you all the time, right?" Following Karolina in, waiting for her to show him around, or at least to guide him towards the right locations, Roy risks a glance over his shoulder. Heh. At least -someone- knew better. Then again, if he didn't miss his guess, that was the russian girl... Magic, was it? Or with a k? Whatever.

Returning the cheeky grin to Karolina, Roy quirks a lip. "Well, well, how interesting. Must make her quite a handful for Nightwing." Looking at Lucy in the Sky up and down, Arsenal flashes a quick grin. "You know, you're not quite what I expected. I wasn't sure whether Nightwing would form a team a lot like the JLA, or whether it'd be more of a..." He ponders a phrasing. "Training team." Back to glancing at Magik. "So, like what you hear yet?" he asks, as the staff returns the all-clear for 'Arsenal, CBI'.

Oh, it's fine. Karolina was pronouncing her name as 'Magic' all this time, too. Karolina would serve as a guide, of sorts. All in all, she wasn't altogether sure just what to /do/ with him, so she wasn't showing him anything sensitive, likewise, she wasn't avoiding going near those sorts of places. Her intent was to take him to one of the common rooms with a television, kitchenette, and whatever else, until Nightwing emerged again. So they were going through the halls when her communicator beeps, and she reads the all clear. "You'll be happy to know that you're checked out and everything, so we won't have to throw you in our cool little force field prison thing we have," Karolina says, giving Roy a smile then.

"Hmm. I couldn't say if Magik is a handful or not. I just... well... um..." There were things not being said here. "She's a friend, and a resource to the team," she adds. She could feel those eyes at the back of her head, and she brings up a hand to awkwardly rub at the back of it. "I think we're serious. If we weren't, then I wouldn't be here, really," she says, animatedly. "I mean, well... I'm just grateful for the opprotunity and all, to be something more than just... you know, another person. So, how long have you been working for the government? Did you meet Nightwing through that?"

When they finally get to the common area, Magik doesn't bother to hang back at the doorway or anything. She keeps walking towards them, reaching up to pull her hood back and shake her long hair loose. "You check out." She says, echoing Lucy. "But if you're asking if I'm satisfied..." She turns her head to look at him as she passes him by, gaze dropping to give him a brief once-over. When her eyes come back up to meet his she just smirks. "Hardly." Then she continues on by him to perch on the arm of one of the couches. "I'm fairly sure that Nightwing didn't pick the Titans. I'd move into 'damned sure' he didn't assemble us. And the Titans operate a lot like the JLA." The common room was just fine, and Arsenal nods approvingly, even as he made himself quite at home, fishing out cans of soda for himself, arching an eyebrow at the girls as if to ask if they wanted some too, and then tossing a can at them if the answer was affirmative without much care if they caught it or not.

Seating himself and chugging away, Roy grins at Karolina. "Good, good. You're all prepared if there's ever a siege or something," he says, motioning all around.

The up and down by Magik is returned, followed by a saucy grin. "No worries, princess. I'd be worried if you were satisfied with just a look. Now handling the merchandise to make sure everything's just -right-..."

But the saucy grin is quickly dismissed with a wave, as Roy turns back to Lucy. "Oh, a while, Since probably when I was around your age. It'd probably have been a good thing for me if a team like this had been around back then. But no, I met Nightwing long before I even got involved with the government." There was a wry grin. "Maybe they're worried about having loose cannons out there that don't know. Whatever it is, it's probably a good idea to get you guys together." There was a wistful look as he considers what could've been, before it's dismissed with another handwave. "What're you guys going to do with this opportunity, ya think? And you have any idea where the Wingster's at?"

Karolina manages to look surprised. "Actually, sure. I'll take a..." Evidently, cola was chosen for her. She manages to catch it, with the same amount of dexterity one would expect from someone on the street. "Oof!" Laughing melodically regardless, she takes a step back, letting Arsenal find whatever kinda seat he would like - she'll hang out near the kitchenette, opening her soda with a 'fssh'! "Really? You don't look /that/ old," she says.

"I... kinda like it. You know? Making new friends, learning more... it's a bit rough, starting out, but what isn't, you know? So it'll be good if an old friend comes by, says hi - I think Nightwing could use someone in his court a bit," she says, checking her communicator. "I... also have no idea where he is, he's not answering. He probably would if I hit the emergency button, but... I'm not gonna do that."

Magik gives a short huff of amusement at Roy's suggestive manner and that's all the reaction he gets. No blushing, no tittering. Maybe if she was one of the sixteen-year-old girls that make up the Titans. But no. Next to them she's positively old! She shakes her head at the offer of a drink, her gaze tracking him as he moves through the room without even being terribly subtle about it. Since Karolina seems to have the conversation well in-hand, she falls into a very attentive silence.

"Ha. I'm the Wingster's age, and -he-'s not that old. At least it's better that you got together in a team. It's easier to work with others your own age when you're just starting to get to know the world, share stuff... otherwise, you probably end up where I did for a while, and then it's a lot of work to get back out."

The note of amusement from Magik is noted with a grin, followed by a motion of his hand. "Hey, look, have a seat -on- the couch. You're going to break some... what am I saying, damn it? I'm starting to sound like an old man. Sorry, habit." Not wanting Lian to get hurt on the armrests of couches. "I saw some of the clippings, but you knew the news, they don't tell everything. You kids doing all right, really? No problems? Unca Wingster not being too hard on you guys?"

Yes, her teammate was sitting silently, but yes, Karolina kinda wished she would speak up more. As it was... well... she couldn't keep her eyes on Roy. They just kept flickering over towards Illyana, the sentinel, and she bites her lower lip thoughtfully. "Well, um... yes," she says, sounding distinctly a little more nervous about it. "I guess we're doing fine, though - um. Nightwing is... Nightwing. There were problems at the first training session, and one of our friends got kicked from the team, but I... well. I think that was a little heavy-handed of him, really. I keep hoping he'll bring them back."

Magik can tell that Karolina would *really like her to jump in here*. Another smirk teases her lips, but this time her gaze has flickered over to Karolina. It doesn't last long, her expression slipping back into that expressionless mask. "I think there are some differing ideas and expectations from those involved." Is all she says on the matter of Nightwing and the team.

The furtive glances Karolina darts at Magik is noted, and Roy grins the next time the young girl looks at him. "Don't worry," he says, as he stands up. "If Nightwing ever gets too batty, just tell him to take a chill pill, pixie boots." Okay, that advice might work only for him, but then again, with the right attitude, someone might get to pull that off. And then Karolina can find out exactly what the grin is about, as Roy crosses the gap to where Illyana is perched on the armrest. Since she wasn't exactly -listening- to his advice, as old-man-as it sounded, Roy just smiles. "You're trying to be one of -those- people who wear a mask, are you? And I'm not talking about the sort that you wear on your head. C'mon. What's your name... Magic? What do you -expect- when you don't say anything?" And there's a quick reach out with his hand to try and nudge Magik over onto the couch.

Well, at least it was nice to see that it maybe was just Karolina that was a little leery of the Queen of Limbo. At the first thing he said, however, Karolina manages to laugh lightly, shaking her head, "No, I don't think he'd like that at all. It wouldn't be the same coming from someone he's supposed to be leading, I think. But good suggestion!" she says brightly. It was then that she watches him approach Illyana, her eyes widening as he goes to /nudge/ her. "I... just don't think...!" she protests.

Magik's expression doesn't change as Arsenal gets up and starts over towards where she is. Her head tilts a little over to the side as he gets closer, but otherwise she doesn't move. While she has to tilt her head back a bit to keep looking at him as he gets close, there's very little sense that she's being looked *down* upon. Roy's quick, and he gives that small push, toppling Magik over onto the couch. She gives the slight twist to land on her back enough to still be facing him, her white cloak spilling down onto the floor and her eyes narrow a bit at him. And then she grins. If something that has a dark, feral edge to it can be called a grin and a point of light on the floor snaps open to nearly thirty feet in diameter and everything beneath it starts to fall through the plane of light. Couches, coffeetable... people.

Whatever he was expecting in tipping over Magik, that the girl would react in -this manner- suddenly has Roy bemoaning himself that sometimes, just sometimes, girls react in -really- drastic ways, as Lian would have taught him. Too bad Roy could be such a slow learner sometimes. That Karolina managed to give him just enough of a warning has Roy immediately shifting to leap at the creator of the portal, attempting to nab her long enough that he can shout, "Turn it off!"

All that Karolina really knew was that Illyana 'teleported'. And had 'magic'. She... really wasn't sure if she wanted to find out more. As the ground fades away, her instinct was to fly upwards, towards the ceiling - her power suppressor on her wrist meant that was slow going, but she had been learning to work through it. Basically, she could just hover. And hover she did, her hand whipping to her wrist to pull the medalert bracelet off, her body exploding into a rainbow of colors as her eyes track towards the pair... were they still there? If she had any hope of grabbing someone before they dropped through the portal, she would try. "...w... wait!" she cries out.

Magik isn't afraid of her own portals, and since Roy was right next to her, leaping at her still puts him very much in the radius of it. He grabs hold of her, getting a handfull of her white tunic as he sees the things around him slip into that pool of light. Including her. Arms, shoulders, head along with his lower body as well. There's a faint tingling and he sees Karolina explode into color and fly at him to try to grab him... but by then his eyes are already passing through the event horizon. One moment Titans Tower the next... Hell. As soon as Arsenal's head disappears the circle of light snaps closed and is gone. Along with Magik, Arsenal and some of the furniture, leaving Karolina hovering there. Alone.

The couch lands with a hard *thump* and, expecting it, Magik tries to use that to push Arsenal off of her and roll away, gving herself some space. Above is a blood-red sky without sun or moon or stars. All around them is a blasted wasteland with twisted plants and craggy outcroppings of rock. And in the shadows, things move, with glowing eyes and the rasp of claw over rock. Scraaaaaape.

... Right. This one was a whole -new- thing for record books. Whatever writeups they had on Magik, Arsenal noted, they weren't -complete-. Perhaps because whoever Magik had dealt with so ... swiftly never came back? He wasn't even -going- to let go of Magik, and while she may have managed to slip free for a bit, Arsenal's quick reaction is to dive for her ankle, to nab it. And then if she's fallen, to immediately try and get her in position to be immobilized so that he can at least say -things-. ... after he indulged himself in a bunch of cursing, of course.

The furniture that fell through with them lies scattered in similar location as they were in the Tower, some pitched over onto their sides or tilted on the less-than-level ground. A sharp curse comes from the white-clad mutant as Arsenal manages to get ahold of her ankle after she pushes away. She twists around to face him as he starts to drag her closer to immobilize her and one hand comes around, fingers spread. Arsenal's treated to an up-close look as shadows and flame spawn in her palm and start to twist around each other for a brief moment. "No touchie." And then a conical blast erupts outward at him.

Well, there were much -better- ways to be rejected, perhaps. A splash of water to the face, maybe. Fingernails to the face. Maybe a punch to the face.

... and that was just from Cheshire.

But Arsenal had never been one for fighting conventionally, and as soon as he saw -something- start to glow out of the corner of his eyes, there was the reflex to grab at it, and re-direct it -somewhere- else. Whatever position the object was that was flashing at him, he didn't care, he was holding it down and making sure it stayed DOWN. And while he could do it, coming face to face with Illyana long enough to say something. If she'd stay still long enough to be listened to.

OK. Magik wasn't expecting someone to come *towards* the danger. What sort of crazy person does that?! The cone of energy fires off, hitting a recliner and knocking it over but doesn't make it go kaboom. Arsenal gets hold of Magik's hand and gets it pointed away as he grabs and pins her, his face inches away from hers. Those blue eyes that are like deepwater ice spark, but less with anger and more with dark amusement. Her teeth are beared in something like a grin and she clucks her tongue at him. "Bad idea. They won't like that." She says in an almost sing-song manner. Roy's got great perception. He can see the... things that start to emerge from the shadows. Some the size of rats, but a few the size of a Volkswagon. While Magik looks amused? They really, really don't. She leans up, and he can feel her breath against his lips. Her words are almost whisper-soft. "Get. Off." The government's report on Magik? Oh yeah. It missed a few things.

Why yes, the reports definitely missed a few things. Big teethy large things. "Aw c'mon, I'm not getting off, sweetheart," Roy responds, keeping his grip on the girl and trying to pin her with one hand so that he can get at his inventory. Throwing stars or crossbow? Probably crossbow first. "Tell you what, though..."

Because if he could get her pinned with one hand, he was going to try and flip her so -she- could be used as a shield.

"... you can be on top."

When Magik's in Limbo, she gets a bit cocky. She doesn't even put up much of a fight as he works to get her flipped around. Her head tilts over to the side, so she can try to see him with her perephial vision as the demons close in from all around. "Well, I do like being in charge. Stand down, soldier. Before you get hurt." Either she figures he'd never hurt her since he's a Good Guy (tm) or she's awfully confident that he can't hurt her.

"Fine, you're in charge," Arsenal comments, as he fires away with his crossbow at the demons. "Guess you can take control of these things, if you're not even -nervous- about them. So we can do this the easy way, and you call them off and then we can have a little talk about unlicensed pets, or we can do this the hard way."

The demons do try to get out of the way, but that doesn't help most of them. There are squeals and roars of pain, though a few of the arrows bounce off of the heavy armor plating of others. While Arsenal is busy firing at her critters? Magik entirely idle. "Let's go high way instead." Another portal opens beneath them and with Roy prone and distracted and Magik on top, he's likely not going to be able to roll away. The sensation would be familiar. He's felt it recently! And he's falling and he's falling and... there's no sudden stop. But if he turns his head he can see the ground waaaaaay down there!

At least he was maintaining his grip on Magik. And oh fun, the free-fall! Just for a moment, his grip slips, as he loses the crossbow, his other hand losing his grip on Magik's wrists long enough for his hand to slide down before his arm locks around her shoulders.

And suddenly he's freefalling, and glancing at the ground, and trying to get a better grip on Magik.

"I don't usually get fresh on the first date, babe, but you're not leaving me much choice," he manages to say, trying to lock an arm around her waist so that there was -no- way she could squirm out this time.

Magik speaks a word in something that doesn't even sound human and suddenly her cloak flares outward and it's like bunjee jumping as that downward acceleration comes to a gentle stop. Without the shooting back upwards. They hang like that for a moment, Arsenal keeping that tight hold on the now-floating Magik. "You don't know when you quit, do you?" She sounds dryly amused. He can see Limbo spread out below, harsh browns and reds and a citadel that claws its way to the sky amidst sharp mountains in the distance.

"Well, I usually -stop- when the lady says no, but somehow I don't think stopping right now is a good idea," Arsenal retorts dryly, lifting his eyebrows up as he shifts his grip a bit so that he could maintain a better sense of both decorum -and- life-saving measures. "Next time you're going to sweep a fellow off his feet and send him onto cloud nine, at least buy him dinner first."

What has Magik learned from this? Don't let Arsenal get close. He's like a tick! Sadly, she doesn't know that keeping him at range is an even worse idea. "But no matter what I do, I can't get you off." She says with a mock-sigh. "Hold on." Like he'd let *go*? What Arsenal has probably figured out are her teleport gates opens below them, but this time they don't fall. The circle itself moves upwards. There's that tingle and then his toes touch floor. A moment later he sees the common room of Titan Tower around them again and it's no longer Magik holding him up as she's no longer floating. A few more flashes around them and the furniture reappears as well.

"Well, -now- you can ask me nicely to let go," Arsenal retorts, as he drops his arms from Magik. "Besides, I don't fool around with minors," he adds, as he brushes himself off. "Even if they look the way you do." There's just the slightest shift in posture, though, that would indicate Arsenal is prepared to jump -at- Magik again if something even hints at popping out of nowhere. Magik gives Arsenal a flat look as he lets her go and steps away so she's got some room. "I'm twenty." Ish. time is weird for Magik. Don't think too hard on it. "Not that I want your attention, thanks." There's a roll of her eyes as she catches that attentive look in his eyes. "Oh quit that." She stalks towards the kitchen area. Karolina's not here anymore, probably trying to figure out where they went.

Arsenal snorts. "Brr, don't worry about it. You could probably freeze ice just looking at it. But you've got my attention anyway." Following Magik, Roy comments, "So what -was- that place? That a place you just dump people you don't like or something? I thought you were basically a teleporter..."

Magik of all things, puts a kettle on. And then starts to get out some tea. "My mutant power is to open portals between here and there. It's noplace, really. So it's normally just called 'Limbo'." Neither here nor there. "So when I teleport I go from here to there and back. She glances at him with a hint of a smirk again. "And yeah. Works great for sticking folks I'm not fond of."

"Limbo. Great. I don't suppose the team knows about this place?" Arsenal says, as he glances at Magik, and starts trying to help by seeking out cups. "Because that's not in -any- reports I've seen. Although there -were- missing people reports..." No, he's not looking hard at Magik at this. Just looking somewhere else, la la la.

Magik gives one of those short huffs of amusement. "Some do. It freaks out Wildebeest. He keeps trying to hide behind me. And when he's twelve feet tall, it's really kind of comedic." She flicks her gaze over at him as he says it wasn't in the reports. "I'm not here to be a flunky for the US government. They wanted my help. I'm willing to give it on my terms. They said they'd take it so long as I operated under theirs. I take suggestions. Not orders."

"Well, that explains some of the comments about you," Arsenal notes, as he puts cups next to Magik, before pulling himself up onto the counter. So he was 24, big deal, he's used to doing it and he'll keep doing it. "You realize the agency doesn't look too fondly at rogue operatives, right?" A large conspiratorial grin crosses his face. "I ought to know. Which terms're bothering you?" he asks, quirking a half-smile. "Just ask Wingster about me, he'll probably tell you all sorts of things. Well, when he's not busy tryin' to live up to the Big Bat Bat."

"We were told we could run our own investigations." Magik says with a shrug. "I don't consider that 'rogue'." She does give him a glance and a questioning arch of a brow at the mention of 'comments' but she doesn't actually ask. She's used to the 'comments' that the younger kids at Xavier's would make about her. "I didn't say any were bothering me. It was pretty much 'do what you think is best for the people'. I'm fine with that. I've seen Nightwing all of twice. If I see him this week, I'll probably have more important things to talk to him about than about his college fratbrother."

"Like the team," Arsenal nods, thumping his boots against the counter as he glances towards the kettle, wondering just how much longer it was going to take and generally conveying the air of a large overgrown kid. Whatever comments those would e, Arsenal leaves behind. No need to discuss whatever info they were sharing over sharepoints about the groups. "Well at least you got some autonomy. Though I'm surprised you'd choose to stay here."

Maybe it's Arsenal's impatient glare that has the kettle starting to whistle then. Magik reaches over to try to knock Arsenal's feet off of the counter as she starts to pour. She nods at the observation and then asks, "Why's that?"

"Well, you wouldn't know it yet, I suppose, but there's always someone who promises you things, and then when he leaves, a new person comes in and wants things done his way, and then you have to follow it. You're old enough, you know this stuff, right?" Arsenal respond, tapping his finger against the counter as he shifts his feet at Magik's attempt. He does, however, leap off the counter, so at least -that- got the job done. "So how long do you figure it'll take before you take off?"

Magik gives a short chuckle as he surmises the situation and she shrugs. "I haven't enlisted or anything, so they have no say in if I stay or go. And yeah, I know how that works out. And if it happens, I'm sure that both my brother and I would be leaving. I'm not expecting that Superman's going to let that happen though." She gets out both cream and sugar as the tea steeps.

"Oh, you have a brother?" Well there was -something-. Whoever assembled the Titans had to be -really- someone high on the ladder that most security clearances didn't even have access to.

"... Superman, huh?"

Or that. Someone who could -really- make people listen. Although that would still require someone -else- to make that happen. And that was bound to drive some of the secret operative agencies crazy, no doubt, given who was in charge of some of them.

"No cream or sugar, thanks," Roy adds, as he reaches for a cup. "So it's easier to just join a goverment-organized team than to do your own thing? Funny, I never would have taken you for the type."

Magik gives a nod at the not-quite-question and chuckles, nodding. "The President tapped him and so I think a lot of this is riding on his shoulders. Good thing he's supposed to be super-strong hmm?" Magik adds both cream and sugar to her own, stirring slowly. She gives him another one of those smirks at his next observation. It's like she doesn't know how to smile. "I'm not. And I like to think 'goverment-sanctioned' more than 'government-organized'. I'm here because my brother wants me to be, so I said I'd give it a chance. After finding out that aside from our illustrious and often-absent leader I'm the oldest one here and most are barely in High School? Let's just say there are times I want to strangle him."

"As long as you can deal with the sanctions, I suppose." Quirking a grin at Magik, Roy tilts his head. "Well there -is- that. It's a pretty young team, aside from Nightwing so... there were concerns." Waving a hand towards Illyana, Roy comments, "Sorry about thinking you were jailbait, by the way."

There was the sound of running feet from outside the room, and Karolina Dean, wild-eyed and frantic, "Oh my /god/ I couldn't get ahold of anyone, and I didn't know what to..."

'...Sorry about thinking you were jailbait, by the way.

Karolina looks wide-eyed at Illyana, then turns that same confused gaze towards Roy, and slooooowly starts to slink away from the door, as if she can get away without being seen. And she might have... except that she was talking frantically. Magik's gaze pins Karolina like a poor colorful butterfly in an display case. "Relax, Luxy. We're back from the moon." She says dryly. "And in once piece no less." The bit about being jailbait just gets a smirk. Because technically she's what. Ten?

"Right. Pow, zoom, to the moon. Baby you're the greatest," Arsenal comments, making fish-sucking faces at Illyana before rolling his eyes, and then waving Karolina in. "Don't mind me, kiddo. We practiced safety regulations. Miss us?"

Karolina freezes in place, the Californian woman blinking at her teammate. "I er... um..." she looks towards Illyana, then looks again to Arsenal. She takes a single step into the room. "...yes, yes I did miss you guys. Did you go to the moon, really?"

"No. I'm sure that Arsenal wishes we had, though. I hear it's lovely this time of year." Sarcasm. Magik's best friend. "I have hot tea." She says, glancing at Arsenal. Apparently, that's all she feels she needs to say.

"Probably much better than where she took us," Roy comments lightheartedly. "Lions and tigers and bears..." A dismissie motion with his hand, as he waits for Karolina to do the obvious rejoiner and takes the sip of his tea.

You'll have to forgive Karolina. She had her brow furrowed, and her expression was twisted in a look of distress. "Oh, come /on/. You guys disappear through the /floor/, I'm running around outside, flying, trying to find people but I dropped my stupid communicator through that portal, so I was looking around outside, worried sick that you... you..." Karolina had a hand raised, and she was just quivering, pointing a finger of judgement at Illyana. A long pause, and she releases a sigh, her eyes drooping down towards the ground. "I... would like some tea, please. I am... glad you both are alright."

Magik chuckles a bit and pours Karolina some tea. "You were worried I was going to kill him, huh?" She doesn't sound terribly insulted that her teammate might think such a think. "I open portals to another dimension to teleport. Then I teleport back. Sometimes I spend more time there than others." Walking dark, empty halls late at night. Magik slides the mug over to Karolina. "Thanks."

"Well, can't say anything about killing, though it's generally discouraged." Arsenal sighs. "So don't do it, 'kay?" This was more for Karolina's ears, but somehow one got the feeling that Arsenal wasn't -really- against it when it was absolutely necessary. "Besides, I was just getting a demonstration of her skills, that's all. Bit soft defensively, but all in all, pretty good."

"Well, um..." Karolina's eyes flicker from tea to HellQueen. "Maybe a little bit? I just..." Karolina sighs, and gives up, stepping forward to wrap her slender fingers around the mug of tea. "Thank you for the tea. Is there sugar anywhere?" she asks, glancing to the counter. "Yeah, well. I was worried," Karolina says to what Arsenal was talking about. "So, what were you guys talking about before I rudely interrupted?"

Magik slides the sugar over to Karolina. "It wan't rude. If we didn't want to be interrupted well... I have a nice quiet place for long chats." Siiiip. Magik gives Karolina a smile. You know? That's actually more scary than when she smirks at you. Then she slides her attention over to Arsenal, making a soft sound of annoyance. "I didn't want to hurt boss-man's boyfriend. I hear he's testy lately."

"Just having a bit of a discussion about the team and her position, that's all," Arsenal says, sipping his tea. There's the briefest of pause as Roy quirks an eyebrow. "Wait... what?" There's a brief check of his fingers to make sure he was drinking his tea properly, before Roy settles his fingers tightly over the handle. Right. "Nightwing... has a boyfriend?" No, clearly this was something that'd slipped under Roy's radar.

Picking up the sugar, Karolina was behaving calmly; it was strange. Just minutes ago she was dashing around like the end of the world was night. It all felt a bit surreal. The smile was eyed dubiously by the alien, and Karolina takes a sip of her newly sugared tea. "Nightwing's boy...friend?" Karolina says, looking towards Roy. Why not, right now? "It's okay, Arsenal. I won't tell anyone," she says, pursing her lips, as she looks back towards Illyana. "That /does/ kinda explain some things..."

Magik just smirks into her tea. "It's a shame, really. I think my brother was kinda into him."

"Uh... damn." Putting down his tea, Roy runs a hand through his hair, tilting his head. "I never thought the Wingster would be, uh... then again, I haven't seen him in a while." There's the briefest of pause, and then Roy shakes a fist at the ceiling. "DAMMMMMN YOU, BATMANNNN! YOU MADE HIM WEAR PIXIE BOOTS!"

There was a long pause, and Karolina looks towards Roy, tilting her head to the side, that look of distress not quite having left her yet. "...what is going /on/?" she asks, glancing to Illyana for clarific... on second thought, she looks to Roy. "Aren't you gay?" she asks, perhaps a bit bluntly.

Magik ducks her head now, her elbows on the counter supporting her and the cup of tea mostly hiding her face as she tries hard not to snicker. Or worst, burst out laughing. Also, mental note. Batman made Nightwing wear pixie boots.

There's just the briefest of pauses, before Roy jerks a thumb at Magik. "Unless -she's- a trap, can't you tell I'm not gay?" There's another pause, as he considers the implications, before saying slowly, "Hold on a minute. She -is- a trap, is that what you're saying? Is that why you think I'm gay?"

And there was just another sigh from Karolina Dean, and she takes a long step back towards the kitchenette, distancing herself that much more from the conversation as she gives the laughing Illyana a withering sort of stare.

Magik just grins back at Karolina and... that might actually be a real grin, instead of that feral bearing of teeth, touching her eyes and for a moment... it's not all hard ice. "Hey, the way you keep going on about him, it sure sounded like you were his boyfriend." She says unrepentantly. "And what, is there something wrong with being gay?" Magik arches a brow at Arsenal. There is only one right answer here, Roy.

"I didn't even say anything other than that we were old friends," Arsenal sighs, rolling his eyes. "Nothing wrong with it, just not something I'd associate with the Wingster. I haven't even talked to him in a few months..."

There's a brief scratch of his chin, before Roy narrows his eyes at Magik. "... wait. no. Not -me-." Okay, -that- sank in belatedly.

"Don't look at me. I have very little idea anymore - and I /think/ I'm going to start going to bed. Um. I would leave you a message for Nightwing," Karolina says, "But my communicator is on the moon now. So Illyana is going to have to help you with that," she sips her tea. "...goodnight, guys?"

The communicator is actually probably being worn as a hat by one of Illyana's critters. Ah well. Magik flashes another brief grin as Roy narrows his eyes at her. Apparently, the annoyance of others amuses her. She sips at her tea and nods to Karolina. "Will do. Night Karo. Thanks for being worried."

"I get the impression this girl likes messing with people's mind," Roy mutters, as he brings two fingers to his brow and then salutes Karolina. "Thanks. Tell Nightwing he's got an interesting crew, call me, and for god's sake, ignore anything and everything Magik says."

Karolina really just has enough energy to kinda make a wave over her shoulder. She was trying for kinda a goodbye, will do sort of thing, but it was a bit lackluster and limpwristed. "See you guys later, maybe. If you don't go to Mars or anything like that," she says, stepping out the door proper.

Magik smirks over at Roy, arching a brow. "Now that's terrible advice. What about when I tell her 'duck' when someone's shooting at her?" Overall her general mood seems much better now though. Despite their little tustle.

There's just the slightest eyeroll. "Only about anything Magik says about -me-!" Roy calls out after the Californian girl, amending his previous statement for Karolina.

Shaking his head at Magik, Roy dusts his hands off. "Well, can't say it hasn't been interesting meeting you, but I've got things to do. I really came in to see how the Wingster was making out with his team. If you haven't seen enough of him, tell him I'll kick his butt." There's just enough of an edge in his grin to indicate he means it.

Magic smirks over at Roy. "Can I watch?" But then her manner seems to slide into something more serious. "You're good." She lifts her chin at him. "Is he as good as you are?" Because he wasn't the only one taking the other's measure during all of that. "Need a lift?" It just means another hop through Limbo!

"Better," Roy says, with a grudging admiration in his tone. "But I'm a better archer. And I fight dirty." There's a wry grin, mostly because Illyana probably had already figured this for the most part. There's a brief pause, before the saucy grin returns to Roy's face. "Sure. Are we doing the free-fall thing again?" he says, as he steps up to Magik.

A circle of light opens on-edge, like some kind of minature Stargate, without the ring. "Nah." Illyana says, gesturing for him to lead the way. "Now that you know I'm legal and you've confirmed you're not gay, I'd worry about where your hands might end up." The tone is wry, but there's a glint in her eyes. Yes. She's teasing.

"That's easy," Roy says, bringing his hands up in a waltz-like stance. "Just make sure you keep your hands..." He motions to his waist and neck. "And keep them there. And we can go to the moon." A grin, a tilt of his head, and then Roy waits. Mostly for Illyana to join him. "Not that I don't trust you, but..." he adds. "I want to at least be sure I'm going where I -want- to be..."

Magik gives a roll of her eyes as she walks up to him. She grabs his jacket by the shoulder and just starts to walk in, pulling him along and into the portal. "Well first we're not going anywhere that anyone *wants* to be. And you have to tell me where you're going first. I'm not a mind reader."

Laughing, as Roy drops his hands back down, he adds, "Heading back outside the Titans Tower. I've got a cycle, so I can head back home. I've got a kid to pick up."

Magik lets her hold on Roy drop as well. Step one, through the portal and into Limbo. As they enter another flashes open. Step two, step three, step four and through the second portal and out downstairs. Magik stays just outside the portal and crosses her arms. "I'll tell Nightwing you dropped by." She says with a faint smirk.

"Sure." There's the briefest of pauses, as Roy digs out his wallet again, fishes out a business card, and then passes Magik the card. "Call me if you need anything. Just in case something happens." A wry grin, a wink, and then Roy hops onto his bike, grabs his helmet, and heads off. Got a kid to pick up, after all.