Truth or Dare

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Each titan finds a DVD with their name on it. When viewed, the DVD shows scenes during the previous night (the night after the encounter with the Amazons) apparently done at random intervals over a few hours. In order:

1) Krypton, topless but otherwise in costume, flies out and "buzzes" the San Francisco airport - verbally making a buzzing sound as he flies by. Something along the lines of: Buzz-buzz buzzzzzz, buzzzz buzz-buzz.

2) Troia flies out to the top of one of the supports of the Golden Gate Bridge with sheet music in hand, sings the chorus of "If I Were a Rich Man", and no her way back to the tower retrieves pieces of paper she "lost" on her way to the bridge.

3) Troia, not in costume but instead in street clothes consisting of hip hugger jeans and a low cut shirt, goes to a club on the waterfront as it's closing and gets people leaving to Walk Like an Egyptian with her. She looks like she's actually having fun in this time and stays for maybe ten minutes showing people how to "properly" do several Walk Like an Egyptian moves, even gets a line dance going. (As a note, this would likely be the first time anyone on the team has seen her out of costume.)

4) Krypton exits to the top of Titan Tower wearing a tuxedo, top hat, and cane. Light spotlight on him as Madonna's "Vogue" starts to play. He performs the entire dance to the song, Vogueing some serious poses at the end.

5) Natile (Stargirl) goes to the San Francisco Zoo wearing only a sheet. She goes into the chimp area, climbs into the closest tree, then does a Jane version of Tarzan, swinging and yelling and all.

6) In the common room, Krypton poses 11 times in different outfits - formal, farmer, casual, one swimsuit - as if doing his own calendar. The twelfth picture has Natlie and Troia holding a plate between them with a fruitcake on it, both girls are looking at the fruitcake like it's icky, and Krypton between and behind them holding a sprig of mistletoe over each girl's head with a devilish grin.

7) Natlie wakes Steven Tyler to get his autograph. He agrees, wondering aloud in surprise about how Stargirl is a groupie. He personalizes the autographs with "To the Teen Titans, my most interesting friends."

8) In the common room, Troia does an (awkward and with some amount of embarrassment) Gypsy Rose Lee impression while Natlie and Krypton cheer her on so she doesn't feel bad.

9) Krypton plants a kiss on a sleepy Kyle.

10) In the common room, Natlie flies up to the ceiling, hangs upside down, clucks like a cockatoo and invents what is nicknamed the "Stargirl Strut".

11) Krypton modifies the displays in the tower to write "BEST" over Vic's virtual face.

12) Troia goes into each of Kyle's and Hawkgirl's bedrooms, carefully lifts and turns around the bed. She then re-arranges the whole room so it's a mirror image of what it was.

Then she goes Batgirl's room. While trying to get past the lock on the door, she trips an alarm. As she braces for whatever counter measures are about to occur, the door opens and a sleepy Batgirl sans outer cowl - B has hair! - peers at Troia. Troia tries to convince Batgirl to let her in to turn the bed around, when asked why Troia says because she has to or she fails on a promise of trust (or somesuch). Batgirl realizes somehow someone managed to put Troia up to it, and so agrees. She flips over a picture as Troia enters, then helps Troia re-arrange the parts of the room she says she has to mirror. Troia does so very carefully and without moving anything that might contain personal stuff she's sure Batgirl wouldn't want anyone seeing. She specifically stays away from pictures. The girls then say good night.

Troia then goes to Krypton's and Natlie's bedrooms and mirror image them as well.

13) Krypton goes to Janet Jackson's, convinces the guard it's urgently important he speaks with her now (3 am), is allowed into the house where her body/guards are now clearly on alert but back away when Janet says so at Krypton's request. He tells her that someone with "slightly villainous" intent requires he brings her autograph. She personalizes it with "To My Greatest Fan" and has to be assured by Krypton that everything will be okay with just that.
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Each DVD still has room on it, possibly for more escapades? ;)


Not on the DVD:
14) The trio visits a nine year old boy at Boston Children's Hospital sick with cancer, avoiding waking or bothering anyone else by Troia checking on her own which room he's in and then the trio tapping on the window of the room. The boy's father, surprised, lets them in and wakes up the boy. Troia hangs back, standing by the father the entire time, while Natlie and Krypton talk with the boy. Baseball is the longest topic in conversation. At one point Krypton gives the boy his costume's belt buckle. The visit lasts only about 20 minutes before the boy becomes tired from both excitement and being sick and falls back asleep. The father thanks the trio. Krypton lingers by the window as they leave.



15 Little Sisters

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Original picture at http://www.brosh.co.uk/lubofscot/images/Sunday1.jpg
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Later that day Troia goes off to DSS to check on the girls' status and make a case for DSS to keep the girls together, explain why it's important, even though she knows it would be hard since there are 15 of them.

When she comes home she's in a bad temper. Beast Boy eventually confronts her the next day. (He and Wildcat were said to be visiting for a week.) After his talk with her, a thoughtful Troia jets off to find Krypton and B.

She asks the two what kind of resources the Titans have, as she doesn't know. She explains that DSS won't (or can't) keep the 15 girls together, and Beast Boy suggested perhaps the Titans can. Troia wants to set up a place for the girls sponsored by the Titans, a home were the girls can live and be cared for together while still remaining under the jurisdiction of DSS. Like a halfway house. The Titans could help run it. She turns to Krypton specifically and says: once the 15 are taken care of, we could then open the facility to girls *and* boys.

Before she can tell them the other half of her and Beast Boy's idea, Vic interrupts to tell them how hard it is going to be to get such a facility up and running. He starts listing steps, inspections, restrictions... and says even if the process is accelerated by connections (B's idea), and professionals are brought in instead of the Titans being trained (Troia's idea), and a building is found instead of built (Troia's idea) it could still take a long time and a lot of money for everything physically to get done - legally. Troia gets frustrated as the argument with Vic goes on. Finally she looks to B pleadingly. B makes a call, confirms she can get the resources to fund such an undertaking, but also confirms we don't have the connections in government to get it done in time to help keep the 15 girls together.

For a moment Troia's very disappointed. Suddenly she and B look at each other, then the two go scrambling off. B for her phone. Troia to find someone else.

By the end of the day Tim Drake (Drake), Cassie Sansmark (Wonder Woman), Batgirl, and Troia are on the news at the State House to announce that the government has agreed to the 15 girls being relocated to a wing in the Themiscarian embassy (which is in California). The Themiscarian's have offered the wing and care for the girls as repayment for the recent actions of some of their ex-patriots, and have allowed full access to the wing to DSS workers to come and go as they please, and to state inspectors as necessary. They have agreed the girls will be raised under U.S. law and customs. The JLA is supporting the arrangement 100% and has guaranteed the girls' safety and education, as well as the safety of the DSS and state workers involved with them. And, the Titans have access for visitations.

Right after the announcement is made, Troia gives Cassie a big happy hug then bounces off excitedly to go visit the girls.

Later, in private, Troia corners B and gives her a hug of thanks too.



Turkey

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Sparring... learning. Bettering ourselves, and each other. The Hard way.

I get Krypton into an arm bar, holding him down. He starts to spin to free himself, so I have to compensate by - no wait, he's turning towards me, so I - did he just kiss my nose?

Quite surprised, my head jerks back and my hold starts to loosen. Then suddenly, instincts kick in and his face is in the ground. That wasn't smart of him. Lucky he didn't get the same reaction as Brother Blood did.

Wait, he's laughing. Weird. Though, he has been a bit distracted all afternoon, playfully so. I shake my head at him and let him up. If he had wanted to he could have burned me with his heat vision or a superspeed shoved me away before she could recover. Instead he kissed me and now is laughing.

"What's going on with you?" I ask as I rub my nose.

"Ok, ok... you win. I can't do this today," he responds while still chuckling. He sits up. "I am in too good of a mood to fight hard. Sorry. I know we usually end up laughing about something by the time we are done, but I have a case of the sillies a mile wide..."

"I noticed!" I grin slyly at him, not hiding at all my insinuation: "You and Natlie?"

"Nah, holiday happies." He swallows at the mention of Natalie, but quickly shrugs that off. "Oh quit... I'm bugging you right now. You looked so cute blushing."

I didn't know I had been blushing. But I'm certain I am now.

He winks at me. "You doing anything in about a week or so?"

I shrug. "I dunno. Why? What's in a week?"

"Thanksgiving. A big holiday here in the states and I was wondering if you might be willing to... you know, come to my folks house for dinner. Some of the others are coming..."

"Oh! Right!" I smile at the thought, and that people down here don't seem to know that Canada celebrates Thanksgiving too. Ours is a bit different though, it's to celebrate the successful harvest.

"We celebrated our version of that last month, I-" I start to explain. But then memories of this last Thanksgiving surface with a vengeance. My- Anita's voice rings in my ears as if it were that moment all over again. I try to push it all aside before tears start flowing, now's not a time I want to be dealing with this again. I look at the ground when I answer Krypton, I don't want him to see whatever might be in my eyes.

"I, uh, don't know. I don't think I'm doing anything, maybe... I'll get back to you."

I feel his hand going to my shoulder, almost as if to turn me into a hug, but he stops short of that. "Hey... I didn't mean to drag anything bad up."

I wave off the emotions, but not him. "No, it's okay. I mean, it's not, but you, you didn't know."

"I'm your friend Troia... I'm here for you. You don't have to be strong all the time. We all hurt sometimes." He pauses. "You don't have to explain it, but if you need me..."

I look back to him and try to smile. "Thanks. I do appreciate it. Heh, but someone else beat ya to it. No, I'm," I almost say I'll be fine, but that is so much I lie I can't even attempt to say it. So what then? I exhale somewhat heavily, he might as well know. He is the team's leader, he should know if something's wrong with one of us. But I just can't seem to say it. "I'll never be fine," I say as I shake my head. "But I know what I have here now, you all. This is my home now. Things will be okay."

He offers a hand. "You know you have some family," he says, then his voice changes to imitate an animated character named Stitch, "its little and broken sometimes, but still good. Yes still good."

I nod. He is right. I do have other family, a whole lot now in fact. My fifteen little sisters, the Amazons, and even the Titans are starting to feel like family. Mine, not just Donna's. You know, it would be nice to meet some of their family.

"Yes," I tell him. "You know what, I would like very much to meet your parents and celebrate Thanksgiving. I'll be there."

He smiles and takes my hand between both of his and shakes it softly, then gives me a hug. "Great, we will have the Ruebarb-Strawberry pie waiting... and thanks Troia."

I hug him back, holding tightly for just a second. Why is he thanking me? "Welcome?" I venture as a response.

"Always..." he replies.