10794/Bats in the Moonlight

Bats in the Moonlight
Date of Scene:	16 April 2022
Location:	Amusement Mile
Synopsis:	Helena becomes the Purple One
Cast of Characters:	Tim Drake, Helena Wayne

---

Tim Drake has posed:
    Why people still come to Amusement Mile is something Red Robin just doesn't understand. That Joker maintains a presence here seems to be fairly common knowledge, and yet it's not just tourists that spend hours--days, even--waiting in line for the attractions and wasting their money on overpriced, low quality garbage masquerading as food. It's locals.

    Maybe there's a case to be made for some sort of city-wide PTSD. Too much exposure to the kinds of horrors that Gotham's supervillains perpetrate on the general populace.

    Either way, all he's done is stop a mugging in a dark corner of one of the parking lots and point a kid towards the medical office because she had a nosebleed. Quiet night.

    Which is never good, because it never stays that way for long.

    He stand silhouetted against the moon, which is an ominous presence in the sky tonight, nearly full. For now all he does is scan the crowds below who are all too busy trying to get one last ride before things close up for the night.

Helena Wayne has posed:
Red Robin is scanning the crowd when he hears something on the rooftop close by. A grapple hook clangs softly, then a dark figure swings up onto the roof. She arcs high, the caped form using the elasticity of the line to pull her forward into a tumbling roll.

Huntress rises smoothly, about 10 feet away from him. "You make a perfect target silhouetted against the moon like that." she offers. Giving the line a shake, the hook frees and begins to reel in.

"This isn't normally your neighborhood. Need directions, or something on your mind?"

Tim Drake has posed:
    Still as a statue, Red Robin doesn't so much as twitch as Huntress alights upon the roof near him. He's definitely channeling the Bat himself tonight, if that's anything to go by.

    "I know. I'm hoping someone will try."

    If not for the fact there's definitely a smile in the tone of his voice as he says that, it'd be almost a bit too much. "At the very least, the people who scan the rooftops are always the ones to keep an eye on. And their reaction when they spot you is kind of fun."

    He does step away from the edge of the rooftop then, as he looks way from the crowd, towards Huntress. "Just making the rounds, you know how it is," he says as he folds his arms over his chest. "I don't want to get too set in my routine, is all. I'm not trying to step on your toes, if this your regular patrol route?"

Helena Wayne has posed:
Helena Wayne nods, holding her position as he moves away from the roof's edge towards her. "I put down stakes in the Amusement Mile when I first arrived in Gotham, so it's sort of sentimental for me." she replies. "Nothing personal, however. Definitely not anything worth drawing a crossbow on you."

Again, like at their first meeting.

"I just don't expect to see many good guys around here, is all. There IS a new kid patrolling the city now. Goes by Wraith, and I'm pretty sure his abilities don't from from his suit. Or in a can. He's tough, fast, and strong, all to supernatural levels. But he's talking to me, so I'm trying to see what he's about. I'll keep everyone posted."

Tim Drake has posed:
    The domino mask obscures Red Robin's eyebrows, but there's a brief moment where his forehead wrinkles, so it's obvious he's raised his brow anyway. "I suppose it has a certain..." He clucks his tongue as he looks over his shoulder at the rest of the Mile, silent for a moment, before he turns his head back to Huntress. "Well, it's, you know. Maybe an acquired taste, but sure."

    Tim rubs the back of his head. The name-drop has his chin lifting, though, and then Red Robin's frowning, thoughtfully. "Can't say I've heard of that one, but I know we have some new people trying to make a name for themselves. At least the influx seems to be mostly vigilantes and not more criminal supervillains."

    That only hangs in the air for a second or two before he adds, "I feel like I should knock on wood or something, but..." He gestures to the empty rooftop. "Thanks, though. There's a new guy I know who's starting to work with us too, though I think his codename might be tee-bee-dee aye-tee-em if you know what I mean. Work in progress."

    Pause.

    "Double-you-eye-pea," he says with a grin.

Helena Wayne has posed:
Helena Wayne tilts her head at the spelling. "Work In Progress?" she echoes. "Guy can't even come up with a codename, or what?" She shifts, letting the long cape sway about her ankles. "But yeah, they do seem to be coming out of the woodwork lately." Huntress replies.

"When I first ran across Batgirl I asked her about a Union Hall and signing the books. I was only half kidding." Stepping slowly closer, she leans against a rooftop chiller unit.

"I've seen so many Robins and Bat-women since I arrived here, I'm almost ready to start making people sign a logbook or something. It's starting to get confusing, even for me."

Tim Drake has posed:
    "More like he's trying to stick with the bird theme but Raven is already used by a Titan, there's an Avenger going by Falcon, and I think Shrike was a guy... or maybe a girl, that Nightwing fought back when he was running around in the short shorts."

    Then Red Robin pauses, hand against his chin. "Or maybe that was during Red Hood's tenure...."

    He's silent for a moment, then gives a quick shake of his head. "Batgirl's a good contact to have though. Counts for both the redhead and the blonde versions and yeah I think I'm starting to see your point here," he says. "Look, I tried to get people to start adding colors in front of Robin, but no one wants to join my super sentai group."

    There's a moment where his chin tilts, giving the impression that he's looking off to the side somewhere. Possibly it's something on the HUD of his mask. "Pretty sure blonde Batgirl would punch me if I suggested she become Purple Robin, though." Red Robin opens his mouth as if he's going to say something as a follow-up to that, but then he, probably wisely, decides not to.

Helena Wayne has posed:
Helena Wayne smirks, wrinkling her nose. "Nothing wrong with wearing short-shorts and a colorful outfit, you know." she replies. "But not everyone can stay Robin for long. Some of us move on as circumstances change."

Helena laughs softly, then. "You have a super sentai group? Please tell me that's not like 'hentai'. I really don't want to shoot you." Huntress lifts both brows, her mask raising a little when he starts to say something but stops.

"Okay, I AM going to have to shoot you, aren't I?"

Tim Drake has posed:
    That little nugget of information -- the implication, by Huntress's words, that she was once a Robin herself -- gets tucked away safely for later perusal. Outwardly, Red Robin only nods his head along with her, supportively. "I've never had the legs for it, but yeah, no shame in that game," he says.

    His face does a complex thing when Helena mentions hentai. First his forehead does the wrinkle thing again, but in a different way, suggesting his brows have drawn together. And then his mouth does a fish-like sort of open-close motion, before his expression crumples into abject horror. "No! No, no. Super Sentai is--it's the Power Rangers. That's what the original show is called! I was just saying it's like that, but, you know, without the weirdly racist implications of the original American version."

    He takes a deep inhale. "Please don't shoot me, that would suck. I do have a group, though it's unfortunately not color coded. Mostly just a low-key thing, working on things external to Gotham. Mostly."

Helena Wayne has posed:
Helena Wayne purses her lips as he starts to explain, but her hand is already lowering to that crossbow at her hip. Just in case. "Wait... like Power Rangers?" Okay, so at least she knows what THAT is.

Helena's fingers relax, hand raising to hook a thumb into her utility belt. "Not color coded? And here I was gonna call dibs on Purple." she replies wryly. "Do we all wear Robin emblems or something? Because, like I said, some of us have moved on from that." Then again, Helena has moved on from a lot of things.

"So tell me about this group."

Tim Drake has posed:
    "You're definitely in the top spot for Purple Robin," he agrees. "But no. It's--." For a moment he's silent, pondering his next words. "Mostly just a group of like-minded folks who work together to make sure the threats outside of Gotham threatening to come inside stay out there."

    Yes. Red Robin nods. Nailed it.

    Though the quirk to one corner of his mouth suggests he's purposefully being a little obtuse. "Sort of an 'if you know, you know,' kind of situation." He reaches into a pocket of his utility belt, careful to telegraph his movements for Huntress, and produces... a smartphone?

    Which he tosses to Huntress. Catch!

    It's a no-name brand, as in there's no brand. Completely custom. With only a single app on the home screen with a stylized O logo.

    "I figure you'll have that taken apart within the day. Once you have, link up your comms with the encrypted channel it broadcasts to."

Helena Wayne has posed:
Helena Wayne watches his body language as she considers. "So the focus is outside of the city. Got it." She looks curiously at him now. "If you know, you know...?"

He tosses the phone and she snatches it out of the air, one-handed. "I'll add this to my collection, then." She looks down at it. "O for Oracle? Does the mysterious Oracle run everything around here?"

Back in her day it all ran through the Bat Computer.

"So who else is on the Team, or is that need-to-know only?"

Tim Drake has posed:
    That brings Red Robin up short, and he frowns. "Not O for Oracle, but I realize now that... a lot of our naming schemes are kind of confusing, aren't they?" he asks.

    "It's the Outsiders. When we started out it was just me and a few friends from out of town, getting into trouble. There's a few Bats too, but mostly it's an assortment of super-folk who get to stay in Gotham so long as they make sure the less nice super-folk don't relocate too."

    No names get named, specifically. Mostly because they, with some plausible deniability, don't actually live in Gotham. Wink wink nudge nudge and all that.

    He gives a quick shake of his head. "Either way, if you're up for some business travel, we could always use someone on the team that's a good shot."

Helena Wayne has posed:
Helena Wayne looks down at the phone again before tucking it into her utility belt. Dismantling can wait for later. She nods slowly at the not-introductions, already figuring that she'll have to sort it out later.

"I'm always up for a little business trip, so long as you and the boys realize that I'm more than just a pretty face with an itchy trigger finger."

Yeah, he knows she's a good shot alright. And she has restraint as well

"I'll meet people when the time is right, then. Hopefully before someone's life is dangling out the window."

Tim Drake has posed:
    The itchy trigger finger comment makes Tim bite back laughter. "Right. You don't have to worry about that--and also, it's not just a boys club, either."

    Again, he does the tilt of his head that suggests he's looking at something on his HUD. And this time it keeps his attention for longer. "Robbery in progress on Fifth and Main... and a Condiment King spotting down by the pier," Red Robin announces.

    "I'm going for that robbery so that I don't get hosed down with sriracha ketchup or something. Last time it was avocado mayo and I swear I can still smell it sometimes..." he's saying as he unclips the grapple gun from his belt. "Talk to you later, Purple Robin!"

    And then he dives off the roof before he gets shot with a crossbow bolt.