Return 3.0 (Open)

[rose]

The smell of cigarette smoke hung in the air around her, alleviated only by the salty breeze coming off the bay. Rose was not generally one to compromise, but she had at least agreed that she would keep her smoking restricted to the rooftop where the rest of the team didn't have to choke on the smoke. She personally didn't mind the odor, nor the smoke; she had grown used to them long ago. She brought the cigarette to her lips, then exhaled a stream of smoke through thinly parted lips. It wasn't a bad habit, as many believed. If anything, smoking kept her from doing anything stupider. It was relaxing, and it gave her something to do. There were much worse things she could be getting into. Rose closed her single eye, bobbing her feet over the ledge of the roof. She returned the cigarette to her lips and, after lowering it, mouthed an "O" so she could puff the smoke out in more of a shape than its natural state.

She still wasn't sure how to feel about being back here. Titans Tower had never felt completely like home to her. Over the years Rose had grown more attached to it (though she would be hard pressed to admit such) but somehow that seemed to have ebbed away lately. Maybe it was because her friends - make that friend - was gone. Maybe it was because she was convinced that her mother was alive and that the Titans were no longer her only option for a family and a home. The corner of Rose's lip twitched with mild frustration as she took another hit off her cigarette. The Titans wouldn't be her only option if she could find anything out about her mother's presumed death. So far her investigation had been disappointingly fruitless. She would have thought that, out of anywhere, she could find the most information here; not for the first time in her life, Rose had been terribly wrong. "Big shocker there," she muttered to herself, looking down at the half-burnt cigarette between her fingers. Nothing ever seemed to go the way she wanted it to. If it did, she certainly wouldn't be here.

At least things to go better when she was here. It was when she left that her life really took a turn for the worst. Rose sighed through her nose. Too much had happened lately. Her brother being attacked, her fight against her father, Eddie's death, everything that had gone on in Russia... as much as she disliked being here a good deal of the time, she had to acknowledge that it served the purpose it had always been meant to: it kept her safe. Rose couldn't be sure if it was just coincidence or if she just had a knack for getting into trouble everywhere she went, save for when she was locked away in a tower. It was like she was some imprisoned princess, if princesses smoked, drank, and stabbed people for the heck of it.

Her lips and the cigarette met once more before she crushed the lit end against the roof, then flicked its remains over the edge. Rose tossed her head back, letting the ocean breeze pull at her silvery hair. At least this view couldn't be beat. One thing she could say for the Titans: location, location, location. They had some prime real-estate right here. Though the company was undesirable at times, she never grew tired of staring out at the water. The super soldier shifted, allowing herself to stand and brush off her denim-covered backside. If she had any sense at all, she would change into her Ravager gear. Night would be falling soon and with it came all of the morons who thought that disregarding the law in a city protected by a team of superpowered teenagers was a good idea. She couldn't tear herself away from the roof, though. Not yet. It was so strangely peaceful, silent even with a roaring city placed just across the water. Rose threw her upper body backward, forcing herself into a flawless handstand. Her long hair fell down, brushing against the roof's surface, as she held her body perfectly straight in the air. "Ta-daaah," she announced to nobody, as though this was some great feat and not something she had been doing without effort since she was about eight. She moved her hands, turning them so that her fingers faced each other, and bent her elbows in order to perform a handstand push-up. At least if she was going to smoke, she could do something healthy immediately after.

[Atlee]

The sound of clapping could be heard as the young woman clapped her hands enthusiastically at the other girl’s display of talent. The young black haired girl doing the clapping was sitting on well, on a rock some several stories in the air, that if most people did that, well they wouldn’t be in the air for that much longer.

“That was great!”

Atlee couldn’t help but give praise for the amazing feet this girl did, she wanted to know if she could do something like that, maybe, but it seemed the point was to do it of your own power and not cheat. She was also so very openly curious about what else the girl could do.

“What else can you do? What other tricks?”

Her questions spilled out of her, without so much as offering the girl a chance to say much as she kept butting in to the conversation she’d started with question after question. Violet eyes watched the girl with silver hair, as she hovered on her large rock, she didn’t come on to the Titians Tower…while yes, she was here to have a chat with them, it had been far too many years, for her to openly set foot on the grounds…at least in her mind it was.

“Oh…right, we’ve never met my names Atlee and it’s a pleasure to meet you”

Terra really should probably have realized that it well, this wasn’t the smartest move, just popping up unannounced, with no warning at all, she could be considered a threat, and she’d pretty much dropped off the face of the earth for the last three year. Atlee knew a lot of superheroes, but only a few had she ever officially met, most she simply happened to remember their descriptions or the few times Power Girl had pointed them out at a distance, they’d been too busy or other things had been going on at the time.

Atlee did tend to forget things such as the social graces of this plant every so often when she gets overly excited about things. Karen had done her best to correct them, but there were only so many times you could repeat yourself till you’re blue in the face.

Fingers ran casually over the rock at rock she was sitting on, as her legs dangled over the edge, she wasn’t worried about the drop, more than willing to bet she’d have no problem at all stopping her fall. As she did each little design on the rock, a few pieces broke off from the slate that wasn’t being used and hovered in the air behind of each design that she’d drawn. There were 3D shapes such as squares and triangles, to the more advanced rock animals, such as your regular household cat, or dog. She drew a dragon the rock miniature opened his mouth to expose teeth and looked incredibly lifelike as she used her index finger to allow the creature to flap his wings in flight as he flew from where she was sitting, over a short distance to where Rose was on the roof.

[rose]

It was a little distracting, trying to work out when there was a girl sitting on a floating rock and clapping like she had just performed some kind of sideshow act. Rose's eye slimmed as she looked up, still upside-down, at the dark-haired girl. Great. She shouldn't be surprised that her quiet moment to herself would come to a close in such a way. The Titans had a way of showing up just when she didn't want them to, though to be fair there weren't many moments when she wanted them around. For someone who willingly chose to live with them, Rose found herself more frequently irritated and frustrated by her teammates than not. Hazards of the job, she supposed. They gave her a roof over her head, food on the table, and access to some of the most advanced technology in the world, and in return she put up with their insanity.

The girl introduced herself as Atlee, but Rose recognized her by another name. The media had gone crazy with stories of the girl who could control earth a while back, pinning the name Terra on her in the blink of an eye. Because of that, it was a bit awkward to be standing - er, hand-standing - before her now. She was pretty certain that this was not the same girl as the one who was so infamously linked to her father, but the name was still tied to some weird stuff that she frankly just did not want to think about. Ever. Rose scowled and shifted her weight forward so that she could land smoothly on her feet. "It's an exercise, not a trick," she snapped as she straightened. "I'm not somebody's pet Labrador." Atlee's approval appeared to be taken more as an insult than anything, though it was her presence that Rose was more concerned with.

What was she even doing here? Last Rose had checked, Atlee wasn't even on the roster. Not that she would have been surprised if the older members decided to rope her in without even mentioning it to their resident loony bin outpatient. Even though she had been a part of the Titans for years, most of the other members still held seniority over her and that apparently meant that they could do whatever they darn well pleased. Rose would have complained by now if she could actually bring herself to care about the politics of the team. The least they could do was let her know when someone new was showing up, though. "Rose," the former assassin returned the introduction, and her bare arms folded across her tank top-covered chest. "Something I can help you with?" Her blue eye fell to the shapes morphed from the rock that Atlee was perched upon, and she arched one thin brow. This would be interesting, if nothing else.

[Atlee]

Atlee may not know a lot about the customs around here, but she was very perceptive to the change in tones of voice and some body languages, but it didn’t necessarily mean she completely understood them and sometimes she did manage to get them confused or crossed. If there is one thing she did well it was giving people multiple chances to warm up to her, and she did her best to see the good in everyone. She watched her, even as she seemed so casually relaxed several hundred feet in the air.

She honestly hadn’t expected to get honored with the silver haired girl’s name, so she chalked this up to being a good thing, perhaps there was hope after all, for some sort of acquaintanceship if she could be so lucky. She moved her finger, now adding a second finger as another rock creature was pulled from the rock slab she was sitting on. This one like the dragon was just as detailed, but it was a rather large cat, an ancient creature, people called a saber leopard or something like that. She smiled a little bit to herself and while the dragon flew around the large cat with big teeth ran along the roof, making little pattering noises with every step.

“Yes, there is something you could help me with…”

Terra said pausing as she chose her words carefully as though to make sure the words weren’t taken incorrectly and that what she wanted to say came out right. A small frown touched her lips as she furrowed her brow thinking.

Atlee stood from her rock and leapt over the short gap to the roof top, with a shake of her wrist, the rock shattered into little pieces before coming to rest along her wrists in the shape of little bracelets, about four along each arm, the rest of the rock, disappeared into a small pouch that was hooked onto the belt of her jeans, it looked an awful lot like a chalk bag climbers would use when climbing.

She dropped her fingers, the movement not needed to allow the rock creatures movement, it showed her larger control by not needing to focus her attention on them sever second.

“I’m looking for a sparing partner, someone who won’t see me as their pervious friend. I don’t know the Titians, I’m not one of them and I am not like the other Terra’s before me, but that doesn’t mean they would take me seriously. I know I probably bring up past for you, but perhaps we can make a trade?”

[rose]

She probably shouldn't have asked that, Rose realized too late. Atlee had evidently taken her words, which had actually been code for "get the hell away from me," and decided that the girl standing before her could possibly help her in any way. Rose didn't see that happening. She might be a Titan, but helping old ladies across the street or rescuing kittens from tree tops wasn't her thing. She didn't know this girl and she had no reason nor desire to help her. Rose minimally pursed her lips, her blue eye fixed apathetically on the floating girl as she awaited further explanation for what she needed help with. The sooner she found out what Atlee wanted, the sooner she could send her on her merry, rock-floating way.

Atlee's words instead brought a scowl to Rose's face. So she wasn't the old Terra, but she sure had picked a hell of a name to pick up. She wouldn't understand why some heroes chose code names with such negative ties. At least her own name, while used previously by some unsavory characters, had originally belonged to the older brother she had never known. Becoming the Ravager had been a way to bring it back into the Wilson family, and even after she had fled from her father's care, Rose couldn't bring herself to change it. It would always be Grant's name, which meant that it would always be a connection to the aspects of her family she wished she could have hung on to. "Terra wasn't my friend," Rose said flatly. That whole business had gone on long before she had joined the Titans, but that didn't mean it wasn't still something of a sore subject for her. It was just another plot cooked up by her father to tear the Titans apart, another reason for the team to hate him and, by association, her. Anything that reminded Rose of either Deathstroke or any of his actions was enough to put her in a sour mood.

"So, let me get this straight," she continued skeptically. "You show up out of nowhere with your little magical pet rocks, at the headquarters of a team that you're not only not a part of but probably not welcome around, looking for someone who will greet you with warm fuzzies while you bludgeon them with rocks?" She regarded Atlee for a few moments, her blue eye slimmed, before she shrugged one shoulder. "Okay. What's the trade?" The girl had cajones, at least, and Rose wasn't one to turn away a sparring partner. Anyone who would willingly let her try and beat them up was okay in her book... or, if nothing else, more tolerable than those who made a big fuss whenever she tried to punch them. Wusses.

[Atlee]

"She wasn't mine either, I don't want to be known as Terra, but not all of us get a choice"

Atlee couldn't help the emotion that spilled through her system, the anger of being compared to someone else, someone she didn't know, but everyone had her under a microscope watching what she did, analyzing what she said. The Titians they were the worst, often hoping that she'd display something, something to show that she was like their old teammate, their friend.

"No, what I was looking for was a sparing partner, one who could look past the name I must take to be here on the surface world."

She couldn't help but correct her in her anger, Atlee needed to get a back bone and she hadn't yet, she was too nice, too willing to let people walk all over her, to use her. She wanted something more, she wanted to be her own person, to not have herself defined by a name that wasn't her own.

She ran her fingers through her long hair, pulling the long black hair away from her face. She needed hair cut and it was on her todo list, just a little ways at the bottom.

"You spar with me all out, no punches pulled. I won't use my powers. I need to be get back into training. I need someone who won't back down, who won't feel bad over broken bones."

She let her words sink in, she had laid it out for her, told her exactly what was looking for. Now it was up to Rose to see if she'd commit to doing this.

"In exchange for helping me, you name what you want at the end of each session, or you can wait till I can hold my own with you. I will get you what you want, all you have to do is name it. It doesn't matter what it is, I'll get it"

That was a big deal, offering an open ended trade such as this, but she wanted this and she'd do whatever it took. 

At least you knew she was determined and not easily deterred.
This was ballsy.

[rose]

Whether Atlee meant to make a comparison between the two, that was what Rose took her words as. The two were alike in one major way: both had been had an unpleasant association forced upon them that would likely never fully leave them. Rose had her connection to Deathstroke that no one would ever let her forget or ignore themselves, while Atlee had the name and abilities of a woman who rubbed every Titan the wrong way. It wasn't a great place to be. The anger that the other girl displayed was understandable, though Rose said nothing in response to it. She knew where it was coming from and she wasn't going to chastise or mock Atlee for it.

Maybe that was why Rose was more inclined to help her. Maybe the promise of an intriguing new sparring partner was enough. Either way, she was strongly considering agreeing with the proposition save for one thing. If Rose didn't pull her punches, Atlee sans powers wouldn't be getting a sparring lesson: she would be getting a beating. While she wasn't the most morally stringent member of the team, she wasn't one to needlessly thrash someone who didn't clearly have it coming, either. She couldn't be sure of just how much training Atlee had had, but most heroes like her - those who relied on their powers rather than hand-to-hand combat - were lacking when it came to martial arts... or at the very least, they weren't at the level of those who, like Rose, relied almost entirely on their fighting prowess.

Still, Rose wasn't an idiot. Favors were a rare and valuable currency, and she knew that at one point or another she would find herself in a situation where having someone owe her would come in handy. Terra had made it clear that she wanted someone who was willing to go to the extreme. In a way, it was smart and the most realistic kind of training. An enemy wasn't going to go easy on her out there in the real world, so training with safety gear and someone who was going to hold her hand wouldn't get her very far. Rose considered the dark-haired girl for another moment, standing silently as she thought, before she extended one hand while the other rested on her hip.

"Then I'm your girl," she replied. "As long as you know what you're getting yourself into." Rose, while still physically imposing for a young woman, was far more dangerous than she appeared. If Atlee hadn't even known her name, then it was a safe assumption that she was also unaware that her new sparring partner was a retired assassin with superhuman abilities and the daughter and former student of one of the world's most deadly mercenaries. She would find out soon enough, she supposed.

[Atlee]

Atlee in all honesty hadn't expected the young woman to say yes, she'd expected to have to do something a little more drastic or prove herself. She didn't look a gift horse in the mouth though and couldn't help the grin that stretched along her lips at the idea that, she'd have a sparing partner, and this girl could help her get back in shape, it was a comforting thought, she knew there would be times when she couldn't rely on her powers alone.
"Thank you, when would you like to start?" she asked hoping to get an idea of what Rose was looking for, she would catch on, she knew she would have too. She didn't know that Rose's past and as far as she was concerned it was none of her busy, if Rose told her anything it would be on her terms. Atlee was no one one to judge based on someone else's past, it was their past for a reason and everyone could redeem themselves, in some way. Call her naive but this mentality worked for her, and it was no ones business what she thought.


She held out her hand for the silver haired woman to shake, she wasn't at all deterred that she was missing her eye either, the woman was still pretty in a very deadly sort of way, just something she was picking up. She wasn't worried and she had a feeling Rose would uphold her end of this little deal, she didn't seem the type to go back on her word, once it was given.

Atlee was more than willing to get started right away. The sooner the better, she wanted to learn as quickly as she could and it would seem jumping in feet first might just be the best way to start.

[rose]

This wasn't what she had been expecting when she first stepped onto the rooftop, but Rose would be lying if she said she wasn't pleased with how this had turned out. As far as she was concerned, this was a massive win-win; she had a steady sparring partner, and whenever she wanted she could cash in her IOU and have Atlee help her out. There was a huge advantage in having a person owe her something. It wasn't something that Rose could claim very often. Typically, she was the one who was doing the owing. She was always the one getting into trouble and having to call out to someone for aid... which she really hated doing. Putting herself in that situation was never enjoyable, though somehow Rose wound up doing it fairly often. She was just a slow learner, she supposed.

Besides, helping train someone... she kind of liked that idea. Everything Slade had ever taught her had mostly been used to harm others, and while Rose was hardly opposed to dishing out a heaping plate of hurt on a regular basis, she couldn't help but feel as though she had marred what her mother had taught her as a child. What she knew was to be used as self-defense and nothing more. She should never use it to attack others or inflict more damage than necessary. Rose had already done a fantastic job of screwing that up, but maybe helping Atlee would somehow make up for it. She would be passing her knowledge on to someone who would very likely use it better than she. It might not completely redeem her, or even at all, but at least it could help.

The dark-haired girl had no idea how dangerous the question she had just asked really was. Rose grasped Atlee's hand, but instead of shaking it, her lips curled upward in a smirk. "Right now." Without any warning, she went to pull the other girl forward and bring her knee up to strike at her gut. If Atlee ever wanted to get to the point where she could hold her own against a super soldier, she was going to need to learn to be prepared for anything and everything. Real enemies wouldn't wait until she was ready. They wouldn't give her any sort of head's up, nor would they demonstrate any other kind of mercy. Atlee had wanted someone who wouldn't hold back, and she had found her.

[Atlee]

"Right now."

The words shocked her, and Atlee  was in no way expecting that sort of quick maneuver, but she knew she should have. 

You should of seen that one Atlee She scolded herself mentally. Even as she body came forward, she tried to plant her feet, but that wouldn't of done her any good as Rose's knee hit her gut and forced the air from her lungs. A choked gasp sounded from her parted lips as she tried to suck in air and it only made the coughing worse.

Don't think...

She reacted in instinct, not trying to pull her hand away but striking out with her elbow on her free hand, she twisted forward towards Rose's face, the side of her face.

Atlee wasn't without the power behind her moves, but there was no real training or form, just raw instinct. Atlee was one who'd never had to rely solely on her own strength; she used her powers. With the blow that landed to her own body it was as though the earth itself took the blow as well, a subconscious slip of her control as the ground shook with a low level of notice, it was hard to ignore.

It had been a long time since Atlee had known true pain, her years away had made her soft, but it had given her a chance to find herself, but that didn't seem to matter here, here, everyone still wanted Tara Markov. It made her angry and it was easy to force that anger into her swing.