2012-07-03 - Visiting Titans Tower

Well, there is a Lobby area at least in Titans Tower, that will permit some public visitors. Fellow heroes and reporters count. Though right now, there is only Vanguard there. Arsenal is the one assigned to monitor duty today, and actually have Lian inside. She's coloring or doing 'homework' as she says, talking away while Roy is dozing on the job.

That is when Lian suddenly says, "Daddy, someone's on the camera!"

Roy jerks straight up, almost falling out of his chair when he stares at the screen. "Huh?" He stares at the image of Vanguard, wondering who the hell it is. He then starts playing with the controls before his voice can be heard from the reception desk that Vanguard is standing by and who knows if he is wondering why it is empty: "What can the Titans do for you?"

Vanguard looks upwards when the speakers come on. He didn't recognize the voice speaking so he clears his throat before saying anything. "Um..hello. My name is Vanguard..I'm a friend of Kara's...but I was looking for a man named Arsenal. Is he available?"

"Depends what you want with him." And he winces when Lian's cute voice gets caught on it, "But that's you daddy!"

A quickly, "Shhhhh!"

That really sounded like a kid...or is that Titan just perverted as hell? Vanguard pauses. "Daddy?" He shakes his head and shrugs faintly to himself. "Well, Starfire told me that I should meet him when I asked about joining the Titans. I understand if he's never heard of me, I primarily operate out of Metropolis, and I also understand if he's busy. I can come back another time."

"Why did I get stuck with...ah, darn it, hold on a second." It's Arsenal. Upstairs with the communication system off, he kisses his daughter's cheek. "Stay in the control room, don't touch the spinning dials, and watch Daddy on camera or color baby girl." He then moves to leave the control room and go to the elevator.

After only two minutes tops, Arsenal is coming out of the sliding doors of the elevator and entering the massive lobby area. He looks wary, but otherwise fine. And he's armed when one looks closely with not only arrows, but also guns, knives, and who knows what else. "I'm Arsenal," obviously. He moves across the room toward Vanguard, moving to offer a hand. "Welcome to Titans Tower, Vanguard."

Vanguard shakes the offered hand with a firm grip, "Thank you, Arsenal. It's a pleasure to be here, I hope I'm not catching you at a bad time?" Despite his entire face being covered with a mask, his voice is not muffled. "I heard about that take down you were involved with a few weeks back. I'm a fan of your work." Arsenal just checked you out.

"Ah, right." Arsenal isn't even sure which one you are talking about. "Thanks. You mentioned you were a friend of Kara's earlier?" He is wearing sunglasses to hide his eyes, but his expression still seems a bit wary or perhaps professional even if he doesn't sound like a jerk (thankfully). He motions toward some chairs, "Want a seat?"

Vanguard dips his head. "Thank you." He sweeps his cape behind him before settling into a chair. "Right. Kara and I met during an armored car robbery. Afterwards we had coffee and became fast friends." He didn't know how much to say, considering Kara was dating Dedrick Jones and not Vanguard. He continues. "We partnered up a lot after that."

Arsenal will not laugh at the cape. He has seen both Robins do that before. He flops down, just careful to lean forward a bit so not to bang the box-like quiver against the back of the chair. "Oh. Well, it's good to make friends. Considering how young she is, and how different things were on Krypton, she's had a bit of a hard time. But also considering how young she is, she has time to figure it out." Was Arsenal purposely noting how young she is? Mostly to himself as a reminder... "Sometimes I feel bad she is assigned to the Senior team. Most of us have almost a ten year jump on her. Would it be rude to ask your round-about age?"

Vanguard replies truthfully. "I'm 20. I'll even go so far as to tell you that I'm a student at Metropolis University." That wasn't enough to give himself away. Not to mention that once trust is built, he'd have no problems unmasking himself at that point, but for now, he'd keep his identity to himself. "We've spoken at great length about Krypton and her having a bit of a time adjusting to Earth. She was really upset about that red kryptonite fiasco." He looks around the room. "The last time I was here I had lunch with Starfire." He idly rubs his stomach. "I..won't make that mistake again."

"College? That's pretty kool." Not something Arsenal has done. He got P.I. certified though! "Oh...ummm, ya," Arsenal looks anywhere BUT at Vanguard. "Sucky business. I totally didn't hide in a box." He totally did, but at least he had pants on by then. He then starts laughing! "Oh gawd, and I remember when Solarflare fixed dinner for Kara. I would have warned her if I knew. Poor girl ended up throwing up in my bathroom! So much for a Kryptonian stomach. And let me guess, you didn't have the heart to tell Starfire the truth either, huh?"

Vanguard shakes his head. "I couldn't. She's just so nice and I didn't want to hurt her feelings. Kara warned me, but I thought she was exaggerating. Turns out she wasn't." He pointedly doesn't comment about Solarflare. He chuckles a bit. "Kara's a remarkable girl. She's teaching me Kryptonian martial arts." He spreads his hands. "I'm pretty strong, but unfortunately I never really learned a bonafide fighting technique. Nightwing offered to let me work out with him, but I never got the chance to take him up on it."

"Bludhaven got crazy busy again, not uncommon for Nightwing to disappear for a while because of that. It isn't that he wants to, but duty calls and all," Arsenal explains. "You get used to that with the Bat Family if you get to know them. They care, they just have a lot of responsibilities on their plate." Roy really does defend Dick too. "So, why the Titans?" Roy seriously doesn't do the interview thing, he's floundering, but trying.

Vanguard replies. "I've been going it alone since the first time I decided to put on this costume and attempt to make a difference. I've had to gain my experience the hard the way and it wasn't until recently when I spent all that time in the Labrynth that I understood the benefit of working with a team. The Titans strike me as a team that doesn't mind getting into the trenches and fighting for the common guy. From street crimes to supervillians, you guys don't care about who you help as long as you get the opportunity to help. You guys are close knit. A family. I admire that, and I want to be a part of it."

"Well, you got that right. A number of us even do community service when we can. I'm big into it. It's just just a hero's mask, you should be a hero twenty-four seven. Least, that's how I think. It's a way of life, not just make-believe you dress up for like cosplay. And there are lots of ways to be a hero than just shooting arrows, throwing punches, or being made into a very annoying cartoon character." Arsenal grins at the last part.

Vanguard smiles underneath the mask. He was a fan of the Titan cartoon. "Arsenal, believe me I agree with you totally." He looks around again. "And if this is a secure room, I would be willing to show you just how sincere I am about all of this." If told that the room is indeed private, he begins to reach for his mask.

It makes Arsenal cry, especially when it hits the mark. "Titans Tower is secure, even if some of the upper levels still look like hell...it's only cosmetic." They have done a lot of rebuilding from what was barely more than a skeleton in the last month plus. "But don't, it's fine." He doesn't touch Vanguard's hand to stop him, but his voice is almost gentle. "To us, revealing an identity is just an accepted part of being 'family'. It's not something that proves seriousness or trust. After all, revealing one's face or even name doesn't mean you still wear a mask, we have been betrayed before." Arsenal then moves to stand. "That's why it's just part of the growing process. Hard, painful, but rewarding. No need to force it though."

Vanguard lowers his hands and stands as well. He nods. "Well, if nothing else if you need help with anything, or just need some extra muscle, just let me know." He reaches into his utility belt and produces a card with a number on it. "I have a makeshift com unit that I built myself...this is the frequency." He ahems. "I'm pretty good with computers, too." He begins to float off the ground, hovering a couple feet in the air.

Arsenal accepts it, "You should chat it up with Cyborg. He can talk about it for hours...and hours...and days...and weeks...," he sighs dramatically. But the card is examined and then slipped into a pocket. "Thanks for stopping by Vanguard, I'll let the crew know you did."

Vanguard offers a mock salute. "No problem. Take it easy, Arsenal. And tell Cyborg that I'd love to talk shop with him sometime." And with that he floats to the door and outside. As he goes airborne he hovers around the Tower for a moment and then shoots off like a rocket.