Twisting and Turning, Your Feelings Are Burning...

[not_a_wonder]

Parkman Plaza, Boston Common -- Vanessa Kapatelis is seated on the concrete retaining wall that connects the three bronze statues known as Learning, Industry, and Religion. She is between the man depicted using a compass and reading a book (Learning) and the man using a jackhammer (Industry).

Nessie is dressed rather smartly in a light pink skirt, pale mint green sleeveless blouse, and a blazer of a slightly darker pink. Her curly hair has been tamed with a flat iron and braided back away from her face. Her brown flats match the brown purse that she clutches on her lap. She would blend in with any of the young professionals that frequent the business sector of Boston. However, Nessie looks rather stiff and nervous as she waits, scanning the crowd for familiar faces.

A message was left on her voicemail a few days ago, instructing her to call back at a particular number. Jason Todd answered and confirmed that he'd located Donna Troy. They arranged a time to meet in Boston, when Julia Kapatelis would also be in the city. Nessie would get a chance to explain things to Donna, and hopefully they'd go on to meet up with Julia.

The therapist said it was necessary to talk out her feelings with her mother, but despite all her own training in the field of counseling, Nessie was still frightened of it. Julia hadn't meant to harm Nessie, ever, but the harm had still occurred. Addressing it... was not something that the Kapatelis women did.

And if Donna decided this problem was not worth her time... Nessie would either have to do this alone, or resort to having Jason come along as backup instead. (Nessie appreciated his willingness to help, but worried about how Julia would react to Jason.)

Nessie clutched her purse closer and silently counted to time her breathing, 'In -- two, three, four, five -- and out...' just like she'd done for Jason once. She had to stay calm.

Comments

[red_hood_rat]

"Hey."

Jason's wearing a suit for once, standing with his hands shoved into his jacket pockets. It is, fittingly, surprisingly reminiscent of a similar arrival to speak with Donna Troy not long ago, before the entire multiverse mess had started. Jason tilts his head, gesturing behind him. "She should be arriving soon, if she didn't blow me off."

[not_a_wonder]

Nessie practically leaps to her feet when she hears Jason's voice -- there's a faint flicker of disappointment across her features when she realizes Donna isn't there yet, quickly chased away by fear that Donna won't show up.

"I... I thought you were with her. I thought you were travelling with her."

[red_hood_rat]

"I spoke to her in person, but she has her own flight setup," he said.

"She'll be here. She might be pissed at me, but she only gave me the time of day when I mentioned you."

[not_a_wonder]

Nessie tries to smile -- it shakes a little too much to be called that -- and asks, "No punting?"

[red_hood_rat]

Jason snorts.

"Not when I've got connections like you, right?"

[not_a_wonder]

Nessie takes another moment for a deep, deliberate breath. At least, if Donna does decide to ditch them both, Nessie still has Jason as backup. And on that subject...

"You got all dressed up. T-to meet my mom?" The idea that he wants to make a good impression on Julia, as a way to help Nessie, makes her smile (and this one is a lot steadier). "Thank you, Jason."

[red_hood_rat]

"Least I can do is not fuck this up for you," Jason says. "Don't know I'll be of any help, but if things don't work out with Donna, right?"

[not_a_wonder]

Donna has been hanging back, within earshot but unobserved by them (so far as she knows). The conversation they're having certainly seems to point to the fact that Vanessa was the instigator of this meetup -- which is good, because Donna really would punt Jason again if it turned out that he was using her friend.

Her friend... it's been a long time since Donna saw this particular friend. The superhero life is so busy, and it's so easy to fall out of touch with those outside the life. Donna walks up to the pair of them, letting her heeled white boots clack loudly on the paving so that they are aware of her approach.

Nessie looks up, and furrows her brow slightly at the sight of Donna in the sparkly black bodysuit that is the current Troia costume. But Nessie gives a welcoming smile and calls out, "Donna! You made it!" as if the doubt was Donna's ability to show up, and not her willingness.

[red_hood_rat]

"Gee," Jason says, giving her a glance over. "Now I feel overdressed."

[not_a_wonder]

The sarcasm in Jason's tone makes Donna pause, and she frowns at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, nothing!" Nessie hurries over to Donna and takes a hand in each of her own, giving them a squeeze. 'Please don't leave.' "It's just... we're meeting up with Mom, maybe, and I don't think either of us were expecting you to show up in... your work clothes."

Donna squeezes Nessie's hands gently in return, but the explanation does make her raise an eyebrow. "I thought I might have to... protect you." The 'from Jason Todd' is unspoken but the message is likely received loud and clear by Jason and Nessie both.

[red_hood_rat]

"Yeah, 'bout time one of you protected her, right?"

...

... why are they looking at him like that -- oh, fuck, he said that aloud, didn't he?

[not_a_wonder]

Donna drops her hold on Vanessa's hands and takes a threatening step toward Jason, clenching her hands into fists. "What did you just--"

"He's right." Nessie says, cutting Donna off. "If... if Diana bothered to keep me in the loop at all, maybe some of the bad things that happened to me wouldn't have." She speaks quickly, raising her voice a little to stop any protest from Donna, "I'm not saying it's her fault, or yours! But if she'd even called the once, to cancel our meetup... I wouldn't have been so upset. I might have seen the driver who lost control of his car, before it hit me!"

[red_hood_rat]

"Or had someone to see Sebastian fucking grooming her," he adds.

Donna, for her part, looks stunned. "I -- I didn't know."

timeskip

[not_a_wonder]

Nessie has changed into more comfortable clothing -- sweatpants and a t-shirt -- and brushed her teeth (gently) to get rid of the bloody taste in her mouth. She's seated on the bed, cross-legged, with a cup of tea cradled in both hands. There's a round table in the room, near the bed, with two seats. Nessie insisted, via the Notes application, that the others order from room service for themselves as well.

Now she's got her cell phone beside her and is waiting for one of them to say something.

Re: timeskip

[red_hood_rat]

"... the thing is, I don't get why you're so fucking mad," Jason finally says to break the silence as he fiddles with his sandwich. "We were in a tight spot, and I had to improvise. And yeah, it sucked, but I got us all out alive. It worked. Why'd you freeze me out for it?"

Donna gives Jason an incredulous look. "Do you think... I'm angry because you shot me? Jason, you killed someone."

"See, I don't get that either. You're an Amazon," Jason continues. "All 'warrior who protects the peace.' What kind of warrior goes out of their way to save the guys who hurt the people you're trying to protect? I mean, that weird fucking... not evil Joker died. I didn't like him, but he got killed in that battle and he was supposed to be on our team. Someone died already and everyone's mad I killed someone to help save the rest of us. I don't get it."

[not_a_wonder]

"This is what I mean!" Donna exclaims. "How do you not understand that killing people is wrong? How is that your first resort?"

Vanessa throws a sugar packet at Donna's face. She leans forward and puts the teacup on the table, then snatches up her phone, typing furiously.

You don't KNOW if it was his first resort! You probably never even asked, just assumed!!

[red_hood_rat]

Donna looks at Jason. "And how much time did you spend thinking of other options?"

"... not a lot?" It's not even an admission, from how casually he says it. "I spent the whole mission before that playing nice, but then one of our team died. If that's not a sign to take the kid gloves off, what is? I mean, if I hadn't have killed him, how well do you think my gambit would've worked?"

"So you killed him just to sell your lie? That's not better."

"I killed him because he was trying to kill us! The whole damn army was! We couldn't take 'em, we needed to get out of there!"

[not_a_wonder]

As the yelling gets louder, Nessie pulls up a song on her cell phone, turns the volume all the way up, and presses play:

"Shut up, just shut up, shut up!" Fergie sings on the track, "Shut up, just shut up, shut up!"

Donna glares at Nessie and snaps, "Will you stop taking his side? I swear you're just doing it so that I'll think you're a lost cause! Well, you're not!"

Nessie closes the music app and types out: Arguing in circles. Being mad at the people still here is not going to bring the dead ones back to life. Believe me, I know.

You don't have to like him or trust him, but you DO have to respect that he's MY FRIEND and that I trust him!

Nessie looks over to Jason and mouths at him, 'Please stop arguing with her'.

[red_hood_rat]

Jason looks genuinely confused as Nessie mouths the words to him.

"But you're the one who wanted us to talk?"

[not_a_wonder]

Vanessa nods rapidly, raising both eyebrows. And then she gives a very exaggerated smile and taps her chest, before mouthing, 'About me...?'

"..." Donna goes bright red.

[red_hood_rat]

Embarrassment is not a look Jason wears often. But right now, he actually visibly flushes as Nessie clarifies.

Ohhh, God, he's an idiot. He'd legitimately thought this was Nessie wanting them to resolve their problems so her friends would be friends or something. Now he feels like, uh, a self-centered dumbass?

Jason and Donna stare at each other, argument forgotten in their mutual mortification.

"I, uh..." Donna says.

"... where did we... want to start?" Jason asks falteringly.

[not_a_wonder]

Nessie holds out her phone to Donna, and the screen reads: Donna, what do you know about my accident? What do you know about Sebastian Ballesteros?

After reading the message, Donna passes the phone back to Nessie.

"Well, I know that you were in a car accident, and that Circe and the others used that as an excuse to implant the cybernetics into you. I know that Sebastian Ballesteros was financing the plot, and that at the time, he had stolen the power of the Cheetah from Barbara Minerva." Donna glances between Nessie and Jason. "That's... not the whole story, is it?"

[red_hood_rat]

"Sebastian was the first one to find her in the hospital after, right after she woke up," Jason says. "How the hell did he find out so quick? He just happened to have all this cybernetic shit lined up to implant Nessie with? After she got hit by a car on the damn sidewalk?"

Jason shakes his head. "No, I don't buy it. He was manipulating her already, fucking grooming her. My money says he planned it from the start. He was just waiting for the right time to strike, and pretend it was all a horrible accident."

[not_a_wonder]

Donna sits there for a moment, mentally fitting Jason's info-dump details into the framework of events that she already had. Clearly, he's made up his mind about how deep the plot against Vanessa -- and by extension, Diana herself -- went back in the day. But it does make sense.

"You've said..." Donna stops, swallows down the anger that's threatening, and then continues, "That's the second time you've mentioned grooming."

It's Nessie's turn to blush. But she slides the phone between the two of them so that they can both read:

That's what happened. At first, it seemed romantic... he said he loved me, he was always willing to listen to me, that kind of thing.

But when he got me back to his place, when they started messing with my body and my brain, it was more about sex. Not all of the implants were cybernetic.

Donna glances up, and repeats, "Not all of the implants were cybernetic?"

Nessie cups both hands under her own breasts and pushes them up to mimic the bustier that she wore as the Silver Swan. It's rather obvious that there's not as much volume to them now.

Donna's eyes go a little wider as she 'gets it', and then she scowls darkly. "That piece of shit..."

[red_hood_rat]

"She might've done it for her own reasons," Jason says, "But some days I think I should send Barbara Minerva a 'thank you' for ridding the world of that son of a bitch."

"Not that Veronica Cale doesn't have plenty to answer for, too."