meet-and-greet | January 2016

[governors]

The Governors do this, sometimes; they hold a meet-and-greet for the new arrivals to help them get acclimated, and also to distract them from destroying their rooms. A message goes out to all the new arrivals informing them of a party with free food. Everyone likes free food, right?

In one of the recreation areas - sadly, not one of the ones accessible by slide - there are some chips, dip, some sodas and Solo cups, several large pizzas, and a surprising amount of Oreos.

Party.

Comments

Tim Drake | OTA

[mrsarcastic003]

Even the pile of pizzas and Chocos (or Oreos, or whatever they call them in this dimnsion), isn't enough to distract from the fact that this is... honestly a pretty fail party. No one seems happy to be here, and there's not even any music.

Not that Tim really thinks there would be any dancing or frolicking even if there were music. The people who have turned up to this soiree seem pretty grumpy, and if he's honest with himself, he's not really any exception. He can't think of anyone who would want to be kidnapped from their home dimension and held in an underground facility, told they couldn't leave "for their own safety."

Possibly he just doesn't know the right sorts of people.

He leans back against the wall with his cup of soda (alas, not Zesti), and watches while others arrive. He's curious as to how the other new arrivals are taking things. While he's keeping his own irritation and frustration to himself at the moment, he's got plenty of both to spare, and he's pretty sure he's not alone in that.

WELL FANCY MEETING YOU HERE

[cisskabob]

Cissie's been mingling for a while, meeting some of the others and finding that most everyone here is also newly kidnapped. It's not exactly comforting, but it's nice that so far most of them seem to be equally perturbed about the whole mess. Nice, and helpful that none of them seem to be taking it out on each other either--yet.

Despite the fact that most everyone has been friendly enough, she's still wary. It's hard not to be, given their circumstances. She's been mostly keeping to the sidelines, playing the wallflower, but in looking around, it seems a lot of people are doing the same. She's scanning the room, taking stock of the others there (and the possible exits), when she spots Tim.

...Or rather, when she sees Tim and looks right past him because she absolutely does not expect to see anyone she knows here. It takes her brain a few seconds to process that--wait, was that... no, it couldn't be... and she almost gives herself whiplash looking back to double-check. At first, all she can do is stare. And then she's moving without thinking about it, weaving through the crowd and working her way toward him.

He's watching the door, and not the people showing up, not the people in the room, so she manages to get close enough that she doesn't have to shout before he sees her.

Still, as much as she wants to just throw herself at him and hang on because they're friends and it's been a long time, and it's both thank God, he's here and oh no, he's here at the same time... Part of her still doesn't really believe he's here. So she stops a few steps away and clears her throat.

"...Tim?"

O HAI THAR

[mrsarcastic003]

He hadn't really been expecting to see anyone he knew either, so Cissie's voice actually startles him slightly, though he's quick to cover. He turns toward her, eyebrows raised in surprise. "Hey, Ciss," he says with a small smile. "Long time, no see."

[cisskabob]

She laughs, and it's both because it is Tim and because that's exactly how she'd expect him to greet her if they were at home instead of... wherever they are. And because she doesn't know quite what else to do. It doesn't hurt that she did manage to surprise him, either.

"Too long." She shakes her head and moves to grab him in a hug. "I never thought I'd see you here."

[mrsarcastic003]

Oop, surprise hugging. He can do hugging. He hugs her back. "This isn't exactly anyplace I ever expected to be." He holds his left hand out to her, palm up to expose his fatemark. "This is ridiculous."

[cisskabob]

She starts to laugh a bit, until he holds up his hand and she sees the mark there. Her laugh dies, and she just stares for a moment before shaking her head--and holding up her own hand to show him her fatemark. "Tell me about it."

[mrsarcastic003]

He blinks at it a few moments, then shakes his head a little. "I'm honestly surprised we didn't end up on the other end of things." It would make much more sense for the two of them to protect others, than to be on the protected end of things, considering it's what they've both been doing in various forms since they were preteens. It's part of what's so frustrating to him about the whole situation, honestly.

[cisskabob]

"Right?" Cissie gives a heavy sigh and leans back against the wall next to him, crossing her arms over her chest. She's more relieved than she can properly express, having him here and in the same boat. It's nice to not have to explain how she's feeling, because if she finds this so completely backwards, she can only guess he's about ten times more frustrated. "It's like... Who's running this place anyway? Did they even do their homework?"

[mrsarcastic003]

He lets out a quiet laugh. "I'm thinking probably not. Because if they were so concerned about keeping us safe, they could have just... I don't know... talked to some of our world's heroes about it." He gives her a wry little grin. "I have a feeling that the Justice League might have been able to sort something out without dragging us from our home dimension."

Not that he would have trusted his fate entirely to the Justice League, of course. But between the two of them, he and Cissie have a lot of friends among their world's heroes.

[cisskabob]

She nods in agreement and lets out a quiet sigh, shaking her head. "It seems... short-sighted, right? Collecting all of us and sticking us in one spot. Wouldn't it make it more difficult to take us out if we were, you know. Back home, all spread out and not in one big group?"

[mrsarcastic003]

He nods his own agreement, then gives Cissie a wry grin. "But what do we know, right? We're not strategists, or anything like that. I'm sure this is the safest place in the multiverse, right?"

[cisskabob]

She groaned and bumped her shoulder against his. "Oh, great. Now you've totally doomed us. Nice going, Tim."

[mrsarcastic003]

"Some one was going to say it," he said with a laugh. "I figured I might as well get it out of the way."

[cisskabob]

She shakes her head and rolls her eyes, biting back a smile. "Look, when we're under attack and everything is terrible, I'm letting everyone know you said that. It is absolutely going to be your fault. Definitely not the fault of whoever brought us here. All yours."

[mrsarcastic003]

He nodded sadly. "I'll just have to learn to live with that, I guess." He grinned a little at her. "Maybe if I tempt fate enough, they'll send me home. Too much trouble."

[cisskabob]

She laughed, smiling fondly back at him. They might be literal universes or realities away from home, and they might not have spoken in person in years, but just knowing that he was here made her feel about a thousand times better than she had when she'd decided to come join this silly party.

Hell, she felt a thousand times better than she had since arriving.

"Well, if you manage that, don't forget me."

[mrsarcastic003]

He gave her a sidelong look. "I figured you'd be right alongside me, getting into trouble. Like old times." He paused. "Well, not totally like old times. I don't think anyone will steal your clothes on you, but, you know."

And also, no capes or anything like that, but he thought she knew what he meant anyway.

[cisskabob]

She blinked, and burst out laughing. It had been a long time since she'd thought about the boys stealing her clothes. She reached out and punched him in the arm, though it wasn't with any real strength. "If we're talking old times, then I think you mean I'll be right alongside you, getting you back out of said trouble."

[mrsarcastic003]

"I was a paragon of virtue," he said solemnly. "I'm sure I was never in any trouble."