A Study of Titans

Summary:
November 9th, 2014: Lois Lane interviews Vorpal and Bunker.

A Random Cafe in NYC.

Coffee shop. Stuff.


Characters

NPCs

  • Random people with cell phones

Mood Music:
[*<http://insert.video.or.music.link.here>]


When a reporter from the Planet calls you, you don't say 'no' if it is positive PR for your team. Originally he had wanted Gar, the Zataras and Bunker to come, since the Zataras were used to the publicity and Bunker, being the newest member of the team who was not a Robin (they had two. TWO. That was a bit excessive), could definitely use the publicity. Out of those, though, only Bunker was available. Gar still had his head buried in schoolwork and training spreadsheets for the team, and the Zataras had to do their show.

Not that he minded in the least- Bunker being one of his closest friends, but he had hoped for a little more media-savvy backup. Nevermind, they were Titans and they were going to carry things through.

Unless he said something completely awful. Oh god.

He arrives at Lane's selected spot- somewhere informal with coffee, to set things at ease. And so, the Cheshire cat (purple, black and red) walks into the coffeehouse with Bunker (purple and maroon). They do not exactly blend into their surroundings. That's Raven. And Keith didn't bring Raven along because he was afraid she'd eat Lois' soul if she hated a question.

Bunker saunters in alongside Vorpal, the purple-clad Titan's very stride confident and even a little cocky. The cowled teenager gets some stares but not many, this being a large city used to it's heroes. He slips into a chair and smiles, adjusts his mask a little as he looks to Vorpal and then back to Lois.

Lois was never late, she was fashionably on time, which meant, she probably was in the coffee shop long before they were, slamming back ice vanilla grande's like they were going out of style. Substitute for the real. She wasn't sent here by her superiors, she knows a good story when she sees it. Though, if she were to ask for permission, one may have said yes while the other probably would have said no.

But this was huge, they saved a senator at a public rally. They deserved the recognition, so who would be better to write a piece on the Teen Titan's who saved the girl and the world full of hurt?

So at the table she sat, her eyes lifting as the pair walked in. Inwardly, she was glad for such a small meeting, even though others probably would have requested the entire lot. "Have a seat guys."

She had no pen, no paper. No voice recorder, only a phone, which was obviously turned off.

"Thank you, Miss Lane. It's a pleasure to meet you," Vorpal says. He's not wearing his usual uniform, which looks like a wrestling singlet with modifications- that's his Summer, as Gar calls it. As soon as the temperature started dropping, it became painfully evident why having arms and legs bare was not such a good idea, even if in the Summer it kept him from overheating due to the fur. His fur was thick enough to last through Fall, but when Winter came around- well, it was not that thick. That's why he'd asked Zelinsky for a second set- one with sleeves that went all the way to the wrist in black, and legs that went all the way and covered his feet as well, in red.

He sits down, after brushing his tail aside in a gesture that has become second nature to him. At first, he used to sit on his tail all of the time, and it was pretty darned painful.

Bunker's costume covers him neck to foot and he doesn't seem to have any problems with the cold winds so far. He sits casually, gloved hands in his lap. "Thank you for this opportunity, Miss Lane," he says, his voice rich with a Spanish accent. He has a sly smile that never seems to leave his lips, and a twinkle in his eye.

"It's a pleasure to meet you two as well." Loins grins. "Heroes.." That word wasn't said in ire, it had a hint of admiration in it as she does for all heroes. These two guys? They'll suffer the same fate of Lois' fandom. Constant, frickin', mothering. She'll baby the crap out of them because they're young, possibly much as she does the other. Naturally, people stare, some even take pictures with their cell phones and then move right along. They should be used to that, out in the public as they were.

Lois on the other hand? Wore nothing to shake a stick at. Pair of jeans, Nikes', a regular T-shirt with a jacket. Boring. But that was alright with her, she was comfortable.

"So to start, tell me about the Teen Titans."

Hard hitting questions, folks!

Vorpal gives a few of the picture snappers a grin, he's getting used to being pointed at. After all, he goes out in public with Gar even when he's not in fur, so there is always someone gawking at them. "Well, we sort of came together by accident, really. It just so happens that all of us were at a bank, or near it, when it was robbed by the Eensie Eight… boy, it was not their day." He shakes his head and chuckles, remembering the short work they did on them.

"Flash was the first to get the impetus of getting us together as an actual team. You know, he used to be Kid Flash back in that other team with Robin, Beast Boy and the others. At first we used my rather hideous apartment in Jersey as a meet-up place, but soon we started getting involved in more high profile cases, and then there was a Tower…" he quickly glosses over WHAT, exactly, happened to the tower, though, because he is a cat of his word. "When it comes down to describing who we are, though, I guess it's safe to say that we are a team of people who want to make a difference, although still getting experience. We're also pretty tightly knit… like a family, I guess. Some of us don't have those anymore." He grins and sips his coffee. Hmmm. Coffee…

Bunker flashes a sign and smile at the picture-takers as well, his attention staying on what Vorpal and Lois are doing. He sits quietly, though it might be apparent that doing so takes some effort from him. He takes his own coffee when it arrives and sips it slowly, savoring the rich taste. It's something he's had since he was a kid and it certainly hasn't stunted his growth or anything.

"Si. I am, I think, the next-newest member and already I can see that we are all very close. It's been a very interesting thing, to work with other heroes. I came to America to do just that, to use my powers so I could hopefully make things better than they are."

There was a slight pause in Lois' actions, almost as if she were mentally constructing an article right that second. As the questions were answered, she nods at both of them, the smile never waning, just so she could keep up with those who take pictures, and offer smiles and little waves in return.

She even scrunches up her nose towards a little girl, who snaps a picture and runs away giggling.

Bunker is it?" She asks, then continues. "When you first joined the Teen Titan's, what were your first impressions on the team? Did they do anything differently than you would have in your home town? And.. how hard or easy was it to adjust to such different personalities under one roof?"

Vorpal gives Bunker a raised eyebrow and a smirl (It's half smirk, half smile, all Cheshire). "And how hard was it to get used to all the purple fur flying around?"

Bunker rubs the small patch of stubble on his chin, considering. "It was interesting to say the least. I'd never been around a lot of super-teens before, and it's pretty challenging to just get everyone together in one room. Well, I was the only superhero in my hometown, so this has been a very different experience. I've had to get used to the big city, to America, and to being a costumed crime-fighter all at the same time." He flashes a smile at Vorpal. "I already had my costume done when I came here, but that just means the purple fur doesn't show up on mine. Poor Raven…" he says, shaking his head.

That's what she really wanted from the two, a show of natural chemistry that sometimes isn't seen when there's more than one upon a team.

"Awesome." She blurts out, though that smile never falters, she continues her little line of questioning, pacing herself until she gets to the good bits.

"And your mantra? What is something you both believe completely in?"

"Well…" Vorpal looks at Bunker, and then at Lois. "One thing we always do is… we stick together, through thick and thin. I was dying just a few weeks ago… and the guys and gals stuck by my side. They were my lifeline- and I'd do the same for them. So I guess… Titans Together? How's that for alliteration?"

The smile that Lois has fades, her head tilted slightly to the side. She was all about the big media, she had heard him somewhere before but didn't want to bring up that little incident that was broadcasted over the channels.

"I'm not talking about that." She leans back into her chair now, eyes boring into him, "Killing, is what I'm asking. There are plenty heroes or those who claim to be heroes with powers that can possibly be far more than all of the Teen Titan's put together. What I am asking you is this."

She leans forward, fingers lacing together. "Are you one of those ones who use your powers to permanently stop threats, or are you a fan of the temporary solutions."

Vorpal's ears perk, "Aha, that particular bit there. Well, the Titans don't kill as a policy." He gets a brief memory of Phobos, standing in the middle of a pile of- shudder, "And anyone who likes that particular strategy has no place with us."

He takes a sip from his coffee. "I also know that there have been times at which heroes who do not kill as a policy have ended up with a bad guy who doesn't make it, either because he was setting a death trap and they had to get the civilians out and didn't have time to get him out, or something like that. While I wish I could ask my Fairy Godmother to spare my team-mates from anything like that in the future… we both know that it is likely to happen at some point or another. We don't kill… we will never kill as a policy… but sometimes you end up at a spot where you have to choose whom to save, and the life of an innocent person takes precedent."

He grows silent. "And… well, as you know, the thing that broke up the previous team, in part, was the death of one of its members." The traitor. He doesn't name her, because he'd rather not dig up that- she doesn't deserve the dirt her grave was dug in for what she did to Gar and the others. "We do all we can to keep others and each other alive. The Titans aren't killers."

Bunker folds his arms carefully. "I will not kill, even if it means my own life is at risk. Far too often, even with known supercriminals, the root cause of a situation might not be known to us. So many factors could be in play. Killing someone is a risk we can't take, even if we had the authority to do so." He rubs his chin again. "I can talk, though. I have powers that allow me to subdue people without permanently harming them."

"So you kill by proxy." Her head tilts a little to the side, then she lets out a little sigh with a shake of her head. "I've had this conversation with heroes and normal people alike. It is -very- hard to keep that policy. And it is very hard to forgive those who break it."

She smiles just a little, eyes gone to both of them, "No matter the power, no matter anything that anyone can do, in the end. We're all .. just human." She glances out the window for a moment, gaze fixed to a sigh as a little smile curls her lips. "But you boys do your best. From what I've researched and read, your entire time has always done your best. What keeps you both going?"

"Kill by proxy… not really. Like I said, we can only do so much at any one moment. Death isn't something any of us wants to perpetrate…"

The second question makes the cheshire think quietly for a few seconds. He stirs his coffee.

"It's been… what, six years now? Yeah, must be. I must've been sixteen at the time Wonder Woman arrived. I was this kid in high school… picked on, so far back in the closet that I was about to get to Narnia at any moment, mom was sick all the time." He shrugs, "It wasn't a good time for me. When Wonder Woman started doing stuff… well, I don't know. There was something different about her. The things she spoke about, the tolerance. I don't know, I felt that she would understand. More importantly, I felt like she wanted to see the kind of world I would've liked to grow up in…"

He trails off. Coffee sip. "So I sort of started following her. Collecting clips, watching the TV, that sort of thing. It sort of kept me going, for a while, knowing she was out there-"

He sets the cup down. "Mom died when I was eighteen and we lost the house. I sort of went into auto pilot for years. I'd go to work, come to the apartment, eat, sleep, repeat. I stopped caring about everything and tried to keep to myself. Then the night I died and I got my powers…"

He purses his lips. Or muzzle, what have you. "Second chances like that make you think. Suddenly I was alive, suddenly I could do things I had never dreamed I'd ever do. I could have done just about everything- I could have been the greatest cat burglar ever." Not that he considered it for long, but he couldn't resist the implied joke. "And that night at the warehouse I asked myself what I wanted to do, and I remembered her. Suddenly I saw that that's what I want to be, why it means what it means…" he spreads his hands, "It's hope. It's inspiration. It's what kept me going as a teenager. Even when things went from bad to worse and I lost mom and the last I had of a family, I remembered. Maybe it's what kept me from doing something stupid and irreversible and instead went into auto-pilot…"

"There's lots of kids out there who are just like I was. Somebody's got to tell them that it can get better. And someone has to be around to hit people upside the head when they want to make it worse for them, you know?"

Bunker nods as he listens to his friend's story, and puts a hand on his shoulder briefly. Support. He sips his coffee and considers the question, even as Vorpal is answering it.

"I am from Mexico, but a small place away from the ganglords and narco bosses. We were lucky in many ways. But I saw many, many places that were not so lucky, where fear ruled the streets. That is why I do what I do. So people do not have to live in fear," he says, dark eyes behind his mask a little distant.

There was a soft hum from Lois, her own eyes grown distant. She knew what she had to do, and pretty much, at the cost of her own life it'll happen. This interview? It probably was her last hurrah.

"Well boys. I'm done." She lets out a slight sigh and a smile, brows raised to show that she was at ease. "Sorry for the hard questions, I just wanted to know. Superman suffered worse but, it'll be a great help at explaining who you are and why you do what you do."

She pulls away from the table, the chair scratching against the floor as she stands. People were still taking pictures, which was fine, but the little crowd that gathered at the beginning had slowly dwindled down after a time. Her own phone was snatched up, turned on and looked at, her pace taking her behind Bunker and Vorpal as she squeezes in between them with a wry grin on her face.

"Selfie time!"

For the paper, ya' see.

Vorpal grins, "Thank you for your time, Miss Lane- and, you know, if you ever need anything and Superman isn't around, you know how to ring us…"

He laughs and stands up, striking a pose next to Lois and giving his best Cheshire grin. He restrains himself from doing the victory sign, because that would be too much.

And, besides, he knows Zatanna would totally mock him for that. In a light-hearted fashion, but still.

Bunker certainly does not restrain himself from the victory sign, and he flashes it. Flashes from cell phones capture it, indeed.

Lois was horrible at taking pictures, where was Jimmy when ya need 'em?

But, the phone was held aloft and a picture was taken, victory fingers and all! She takes a few more for good measure, even allowing a few passer bys to snap a few photos as well, then draws her phone down to stuff into her pocket.

"I might take you up on that. Thank you Vorpal." She smiles a little, but it fades as she glances around and lets out a huff. "Back to work. I'll email your team a copy of the article before I put it up. I hope it does everyone justice." She gives a faint nod, then turns to head off. Somewhere in there, she forgot to wave. The blame would be her mind is somewhere else.


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