11565/And Lots Of Big Belly Sauce

And Lots Of Big Belly Sauce
Date of Scene:	12 June 2022
Location:	Big Belly Burger - Amusement Mile
Synopsis:	Helena B, Carrie, Dick and Stephanie do some investigative work on Amusement Mile, then turn to Big Belly Burger for some food.
Cast of Characters:	Stephanie Brown, Helena Bertinelli, Carrie Kelley, Dick Grayson

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Stephanie Brown has posed:
A few unusual things about Amusement Mile had shown up on their proverbial radar of late. So it was that a small group went to do a little information gathering. Nothing that required a costume, though they had those close by just in case they found something more than expected.

Stephanie had wandered the boardwalk, and 'inspected' several rides. Especially the roller coasters. A few of the carnie booths were checked out. Cheating the customers as expected, but nothing more nefarious than that. She'd planned a few sensors here and there to help keep on eye on things. Before she knew it, the sun was down and her stomach felt like it was a black hole inside her torso.

<< I'm calling it for the night on my end. And heading over to Big Belly Burger if anyone else is hungry. >>

After sending out the comms message, Stephanie heads across the park to the little bit of fast food goodness that is announcing its presence with the scent of grilled burgers. She goes inside and gets into line.

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Helena Bertinelli was able to be far more active now that it was Summer Break and she wasn't teaching five days a week. She'd wandered down by the Cyclone and the bumper cars, some of the games of chance. Those were always suspect regardless.

<<Cyclone end appears to be clear. I could use food myself. On my way.>>

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Having recently taken up the position of Eye in the Sky, another of the Oracles, Carrie was still getting used to having so many comms that talk in her ear. Outsider, Birds, Bats... though the Batcomm had been exceedingly quiet as of late.

So when Stephanie spoke, her first reaction was to jump out of her skin. The second was to grab her satchel and head for the door. Food. Babs had reminded her she needed to come out of the lab more often, and the mere mention of Big Belly reminded her she had forgotten to eat again.

<<Wow, actual talking... er, yeah, I should eat, really... forgot to again. On my way!>> is offered as she darts down the stairs to her motorcycle.

Dick Grayson has posed:

    Dick had spent the last few hours in very similar pursuits, and also came up with nothing out of the ordinary. Really, he was just running interference for the girls to do their thing, because a Wayne heir wandering the boardwalk just screamed for attention.

    It took almost a full ten minutes for the paparazzi to show up and start following him and shouting questions about various and sundry aspects of his private life. He was used to it, but it sure focused almost everyone's attention on the mobile news event. By the time Steph called for a change from spying to food, he was more than ready.

    << Burgers sound good, I just have to do something about this horde following me. >>

    Walking into Big Belly once the others are in, he closes and locks the door and heads over to the cashier. "Here, I'm renting the place for while we're eating. And desserts on me for the folks I just locked in." He hand her a credit card, adds a large number to the tip area of the receipt, and heads over to the other Bats.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie Brown turns to smile at Dick as he arrives. "See, I'm just never going to think of doing that," she tells him. Given the paparazzi outside she doesn't engage in too much PDA there with him, even though by now she's had her photo taken with him enough that they will have recognized her through the windows.

<< Come in the back way when you get here. Door's locked to keep press out. >>

She turns back to the board, chewing her bottom lip while deciding what she wants. "Ok the chicken sounds good, but I really can't pass up the Belly Burper with extra Big Belly Sauce and the side of curly fries," she says. Thank god for the hero life that burns all of those calories!

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Helena Bertinelli arrives at the restaurant. Rolling up on her bike, she parked and walked inside. looking around, she sees Dick and Stephanie. Walking over she offers a light smile. "Hello." She falls in with them, looking up at the menu to decide what she wanted to order. When it's her turn, she speaks up, "A Double Big Belly Burger combo. Curly fries. And a chocolate shake." Hey, she's Italian. She was born with a big appetite. And nine hundred sit ups a day keep her in shape.

Carrie Kelley has posed:
The ride through Gotham was pleasant enough, the usual problems with traffic and pollution, but Carrie was used to that. Thankfully for her however, there was no worry about press or anyone knowing who she was. It paid to be the red-headed step child.

<< I'm pulling up now, but no worry about media for me! Ha ha! >>

Entering in the back all the same, Carrie wears a pair of simple jeans with ankle boots, a white short sleeved t-shirt with a computer virus joke on the front, and of course the satchel strap over her chest. On her face is a pair of thick rimmed glasses in forest green, the lenses spotless because there's goggle around her neck she wore to protect them. The one item that might stand out of her attire is the silver dollar sized metal spider on her left shoulder.

Walking right up as if she'd been there all along, she looks up at the menu. "Double burger, curly fries, large coke and hey... how you all going?" And then she waves at them, even though they are standing right there.

Dick Grayson has posed:

    Now that everybody is in and ordering, Dick looks up at the menu board, considering for a moment. In the end, his order pretty much mirrors Helena's, except his shake is vanilla. Once they all are sitting at a table, he waves to the photographers through a window then turns back to the group, saying very quietly, "Anyone find anything while I was playing decoy? I sure as heck didn't with that crowd following me."

    He looks over to Steph and shrugs, "I've been rich a lot longer than you have, it takes time for things like common sense to decay to the point that you start throwing money at problems. It's shockingly effective, however, so why not use whatever advantages we have?"

    His shake arrives and he takes a pull of it through the straw and relaxes back into his seat. "There's a reason I have food delivered when I don't feel like cooking. Stepping foot outside the manor grounds is instant media circus."

Stephanie Brown has posed:
As first Helena and then Carrie arrive, Stephanie greets them warmly. The older Helena gets a hand that hangs from her shoulder and gives her a squeeze there. "Hey. Everything go ok?" she asks, without using any language that would reveal she's talking about the surveillance they were doing.

Carrie gets a wave through her way which frees up Helena's shoulder again. "Hey Carrie, glad you made it," she says with a warm grin. "Just grabbing our food. Oh, yeah, let me have the barrel o' soda-sized Sprunk Cola," she tells the clerk before turning back to them.

Stephanie can't help a little chuckle. "Yes, Bruce said, well not that but basically said, don't let it sit there and go to waste when it can be making life better." She gets her tray of food and carries it over a table then. Lots of people are flashing Dick grateful looks and thumbs up and other such gestures as their free desserts are delivered.

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Helena Bertinelli looks to Dick and laughs. "Well I hadn't expected that sort of a plan of attack, Dick. But.. thank you. At least we can talk." She then shakes her head, "Nothing out of the ordinary along the Cyclone or bumper cars areas. The games of skill? I'm going to always call those suspect. But no signs of what we were looking for."

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Collecting her tray, Carrie walks over to the table while listening to the conversation. She wasn't about to speak openly about watching everything going on in Gotham, well everytyhing that she could with the Oracle set up. She'd added a few drones if her own to that, giving her mobile eyes in the city, but it wasn't something talked about outside of secret lairs.

"I really should get out more," she then comments as she settles in at the table, taking a drink of her soda. "Too much time in the lab when I'm not working." Yes, working, that's how you define being an Oracle.

The little spider on her shoulder runs down her arm and onto the table and immediately starts dancing... eight metal legs of funky right there for everyone to see.

"Crap," she mutters then grabs it up in her hand. "I've got to get that fixed."

Dick Grayson has posed:
    Dick shrugs a bit, saying "Yeah, I suppose we can let work talk wait for later. Since everything looks negative, we can move onto the relaxing part of the evening. Or at least as relaxing as possible when we are besieged in a Big Belly. At least we know there's a good amount of food here, so they can't starve us out that easily."

    He takes another sip from his shake as the curly fries are delivered to the table. "Why does everything bad for you always taste so good?" he asks rhetorically as he pops a fry into his mouth.

    The dancing spider gets a raised eyebrow and a bit of a grin. "You could market those as entertainment, you know. Carrie's Funky Bots."

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie Brown nods in agreement with Helena. "Might pick something up later," she says, likely referring to the cameras that were setup, and taps on some of Amusement Miles' own phones and security feeds.

As the little spiderbot plops down on the table, Stephanie grins. "Adorable. Doesn't even make me want to reach for a shoe," she kids to the redhead. She agrees with Dick then as he talks about relaxing.

Stephanie unwraps her burger, looking at how tall it is. She opens her mouth a bit, then peers at the burger again. As if she's doing some kind of comparison. Finally she reaches out and smooches the burger with her hand, flattening it a bit. "Ok, that should fit," she says with a grin. She picks up the burger, the extra Big Belly sauce getting all over her hand. Stephanie takes a bite and then lets out a sigh. She mutters something that can't be understood because her mouth is full. Waits until she's swallowed then tries again, to Dick, "I know, right!?" about how bad stuff tastes so good.

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Helena Bertinelli smiles back to Steph as she gets the question about the games of skill. "Yes. If it's there we'll find it. Nothing goes unnoticed by us for long these days. Eyes everywhere. She looks to the spider bot. "Speak for yourself, Steph..." She winks at Carrie. "Sorry. They're.. just not right." A shudder. She consoles herself with a sip of her shake.

". Other than wandering Amusement Mile just for the excercise.. what have you all been up to?"

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Curly fries, sooo bad and yet sooo good. Carrie usually didn't bother watching what she ate, because she was so active. Lately though, she spent more time inside, in the lab, so had started carb counting. Not having eaten today, the burger and fries were in the safe category.

"Babs has thrown a shoe at one," she admits with a soft sigh. "Surprised her is all. They're a pet project, no pun intended."

She grins and devours a fry. "Right now they patrol my place of employment," smooth way of saying clock tower. "And I'm working on more defensive capabilities, but for now they are extra eyes. One malfunctioned, started dancing for no reason at all, so now I've programmed several to do that... this one isn't supposed to be dancing, so clearly I grabbed the wrong one."

Another drink of her soda is taken, before she eyes the burger. "They also play music," is then added before she looks to Helana. "Would a beetle be better? They need that many legs, or at least numerous legs, for where they go."

Dick Grayson has posed:
    "Well, the usual round of horribly exciting charity events, mainly. Have to have a Wayne at each and every one. At least I think I've convinced Bruce to make Tim take a turn so I don't have to do quite so many. Jason on the other hand, I wouldn't even begin to suggest. Love him like a brother, but a brother with a somewhat short fuse and entirely too many guns."

    He doesn't bother to measure, just squishes his burger before picking it up and taking a bite. Once he's swallowed it, he mmms. "I don't know why, but these things always hit the spot. Alfred cooks amazingly, but somehow these are just as good, grease and all."

    Glancing out the windows to judge the crowd, he nods and goes back to his burger. "Crowd looks like it's getting a tad restless, we probably shouldn't keep the place closed down for more than another half-hour or so." He looks at Steph and says, "That's the other part you have to learn, not just to buy places, but when to give them up so you don't go from 'eccentric rich person' to 'bastard hogged my favorite eatery and I couldn't get dinner.' You always want to make them shake their heads at your antics, not want to throw a rock at your limo."

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie Brown picks up a curly fry, and gives a little wave of it for emphasis as she replies to Dick, "See, now I'd not have thought that with the whole place. I'd maybe have bribed the clerk to take the bag out to the back door or something. Or deliver it."

She looks to Helena then to add to Dick's answer. "And we got moved into the lake house at the estate. It's pretty nice. It seems pretty cozy and small just looking at it. But really it's a great size for not having to have a lot to keep clean and everything. Don't want Alfred to be going out there and having to do it." Even if he will anyway.

Stephanie peers back at where the spider was. "I don't know, I think what's-his-face probably has a trademark on the use of those," she says with a grin. Blue Beetle.

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Helena Bertinelli nods to Carrie, "I'm aware of them, yep. Still kind of creepy. Soulless eyes." She shakes her head. "But they're impressive. You've got a real talent, Carrie."

Listening to Dick she arches a brow. "And I thought my family was bad just because it was full of liars, cheaters, thieves and murders. I think I got off easy if you have to go to all those evens. No amount of reward is worth that, to me, I don't think.." she laughs. "You have my admiration that you pull it off so well, though Dick."

She looks at Stephanie and smiles "Well that doesn't sound so bad. I'm happy for you both." It's hard to find stability or even short term love in this chosen life after all.

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Carrie was all kinds of glad she didn't have to worry about all that Wayne rich stuff. There was no way she could tolerate being watched by people, loved by people, people wanting her attention or to have her babies, so to speak. How the Wayne boys all managed to deal with that, she had no idea. She knew Damian didn't handle it well, because he'd told her that flat out, the others? No idea.

"I can make whatever little critters I want," she states with a soft snort. "I'm not trying to sell them, they're for work..." she pauses, one brow lifting.

"Should I be trying to sell them? I mean, the one I gave Gabby, is like the one I gave Cassie, they just play music and dance, the others are way more serious."

A hint of pink lands on her cheeks as she glances to Helena. "Thanks for that, I keep thinking I'm wasting my time, but the flying drones that can go invisible are very, very useful."

Now she goes silent as she seems to finally get a clue what Stephanie is talking about. So she looks at Dick, then Stephanie, then Dick again, and finally Stephanie and stops there. "Holy... congrats on that!" she blurts out.

Dick Grayson has posed:
    Shaking his head at Carrie's question, "Nah, you don't need to sell them, giving them to friends is just fine. I just tend to look at new things through the Wayne Enterprises filter, which begins 'Can we market it?' I guess Bruce's business training actually took hold here and there."

    After another bite of burger and sip of milkshake, he continues, "As long as you aren't using any of the Wayne proprietary tech in the ones you hand out, feel free." Said tech would include things like uplinks to the Bat-Computer network or built in comm units. He's fairly certain she already knows, but better to say it and be sure.

    He glances over at Steph and asks, "Ok, who else have we forgotten to tell? We need to make sure we haven't snubbed anyone by accident." Looking back to Carrie, he smiles and tells her, "Steph and I are engaged, sorry we didn't tell you more directly. You would be amazed at how many people crop up on the list of people we need to tell."

Stephanie Brown has posed:
The expression from Stephanie also shows surprise and an apologetic response as she realizes Carrie didn't know. "Just wrangling up Dick's brothers to tell them all was like herding cats," she says. Stephanie slides her hand out onto the table, though doesn't lift it up or otherwise make it look to any of the paparazzi outside like she's showing off a ring.

https://i.imgur.com/AX47g6l.jpg

The ring has three faceted amethysts, with 24 smaller diamonds that run along the ring to either side of them. "We haven't made any announcements outside of family. And we haven't set a date yet, might take it slow. But we're talking about maybe having it on a boat so we can keep it just friends and family and not have to deal with the press."

There might be some tech employed to keep press helicopters away, but that can be handled in its own time.

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Helena Bertinelli looks over and smiles., "I used my deductive reasoning to put various statements together... But it's okay. Our circles don't always mesh. I'm very happy for you both." She offers a genuine smile. "I have a line on a villa in on a vineyard in Siciliy if you've not decided where you want to take the honeymoon." Just don't ask about all the vehicles with blacked out windows that come and go from the main house.

She devours her burger, then polishes off her fries. A sigh. She sits back and sips at her shake. "But this? This is nice. Working together. But also time to talk. I'm... on the fringes of the... Family. But things like this make me feel a little closer. It's nice. Thanks."

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Carrie makes no attempt to conceal that she is leaning to look at the ring, perhaps she's just looking at something on Stephanie's hand? Honestly she didn't care if people saw her, after all, it's just a hand.

"Nah, you wouldn't think to tell me, it's alright," she offers brightly, sitting back with a slow whistle. "That is beautiful, I'm totally jealous, and I can keep the media away if you need it." The last is said with a sly grin applied to it.

"I'm dense to some social cues," she then says as she looks to Helena. "I /should/ have figured it out sooner, but let's face it, I spend more time with dancing drones then I do people these days."

Taking a bite of her burger at long last, she allows herself a moment to savor it before swallowing. "There's no reason to rush anything, right? I mean taking time ensures everything is perfect, every little detail is just how you want it and of course on the day of the magical event, everything will go wrong and people like me will be there to help put the pieces back together. See? That's what family, who isn't part of the herded cats, do."

Dick Grayson has posed:
    "Thanks Helena, we'll keep that in mind as a possible spot." Almost at the same time Carrie says it, he says "We're not rushing into it, so no date yet. And if you weren't part of the family, you wouldn't know the things that you do. You're as much part of the family as any of us. You put yourself out there, and that's all I need to see." He's carefully dancing around saying anything specific, which is a pain, but these are the things heroes deal with.

    "You would not believe the list of people who seem to need to be a part of this. I swear it would take at least six months just to make the guest list. Bruce has connections to entirely too many people."

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie smiles gratefully to both ladies for their reactions. She turns to smile to Dick then, leaning against him gently. "Thank you," she tells them. "Yes, we haven't even gotten to the honeymoon. Though I wouldn't mind seeing some of the world, including Italy," she says.

She shines one of her big warm smiles at Helena. "And you're family, H-girl," she says with that grin. "You too," she adds for Carrie. But then Carrie was more a part of the family than Stephanie for the longest time, after Bruce had told her she needed to hang up her cape. That was before Barbara decided to bring Stephanie back in and mentor her.

"Just want my mom and you guys there, really," Stephanie says with a little shrug. "But I realize there's other obligations so, it won't just be two dozen of us on a beach somewhere," she says. Sighing as if that sounds so nice an idea.

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Helena Bertinelli smiles, "Thanks, Steph." A nod offered to the couple. "No obligation. But I can guarantee the privacy. No over flights, the works.." she smiles. "My other.. Family. The clean side. They know how to make things happen still."

She looks to Carrie, "You're exactly who you're supposed to be, Carrie. Perhaps you're not as quick to catch social cues. But your technology skill and knowledge is something I'll never have. We've all got our talents. That's why we're pare of The Band to begin with." Making it equally vague for public reasons.

Carrie Kelley has posed:
"Oh no, no, no... your wedding can be just who you want," Carrie corrects with a grin. "The reception however, that's where you have to accept half of the world coming. The wedding though, that's all you and those you want there. Don't let anyone tell you other wise. I'll fight for your right to have the wedding /you/ want... can't help you with the reception though, you're stuck with that one."

Finishing off her fries, she wraps the burger up in it's paper and a couple of napkins, then pulled a ziplock bag from her satchel and puts it in there. Once it's all sealed up again, it gets poked back into satchel. "Can't eat it all, eyes bigger than stomach," she comments, latching the satchel closed.

The spider escapes the satchel just to get grabbed again. "Thanks Helena, that... means a lot. I've been trying to find my place in this real... world," that was almost to much information for public. "Anyway, I should get back. If this little guy is malfunctioning, I'm afraid what the others are doing to Babs right now."

Standing up, she picks up her tray. "You two," she looks at Stephanie and Dick. "Let me know when things are happening, and if you need eyes anywhere, call me... it's what I do."

Dick Grayson has posed:
    Glancing out the window again, Dick turns to the others and says "I'd say we're about five minutes from that 'throwing rocks at the limo' point. We should probably let the Big Belly get back to having customers. I'd say slipping out the back will probably avoid a good part of the crowd. There will still be people there, of course, but not as many as the horde out there." He smirks and adds, "If only this was a more sturdy building, I'd call for one of Wayne Enterprises helicopters to collect us. As it is, we must brave the crowds of our fellow man."

    He stands, taking Steph's hand and says "Keep in touch guys, never know when something might crop up." He and Steph wave and slip into the kitchen and out the back door. As a large part of the crowd either goes looking for them or surges into the Big Belly to get dinner, the girls will probably have a pretty simple time making their way out.