13204/Perfect Piston Timing

Perfect Piston Timing
Date of Scene:	27 October 2022
Location:	Batcave
Synopsis:	Phoebe and Bruce have a flat conversation over the sound of jet engines and high tech cars. Phoebe's left a little confused, but was correct that the timing on the Piston was off.
Cast of Characters:	Phoebe Beacon, Bruce Wayne

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Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uUqrkAXIec

    Phoebe enjoyed working out to music. It was one of the few things that has always been a constant with her, regardless of where, or who, she was working out with.

    This particular version of Kashmir was a little heavier with the baseline, like a heartbeat as she worked through.

    It was easy to see, with a practiced eye, she had gotten training from Tim on staffs, though changed for her center of gravity. She was wearing compression pants in burnt orange and a top in cream, working with one of the extendable staves that she and her best friend and adoptive brother favored. Barefoot on the mats, it was plain to see the paler splotches that were coming in on her feet.

Bruce Wayne has posed:
The sheer size of the Batcave made it difficult to tell who was there at any given time if they weren't readily visible, especially since Bruce was so reluctant to share any of his tracking telemetry with the rest of the Family. But across a chasm that drops around fifty feet to a dark pool of water there is a great, open space centered around a rotating platform. On that platform sits the newest iteration of the Batmobile, half-assembled with much of its armor plating not yet attached.

Seeing it sat there in silence, it might be easy to assume it's one of Bruce's many projects that get worked on when there's time. Abandoned for the moment as there's no need for a new car just yet. But then the engine roars to life like jet fighter, a gout of flame briefly illuminating the shadowy depths of the Cave around it. The engine considers to growl as Bruce, wearing a grease-smeared t-shirt and jeans, emerges from beneath the half-assembled vehicle to look at it critically.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Who needs Family-tacking telemetry when you've got a jet engine roaring at you?

    The jet engine overtakes her music, and Phoebe reaches up and hits 'pause' on her phone, before she leans out of the training area and spots Bruce wearing the most casual set-up she's ever seen him in, and she gets curious.

    The roar of the Jet covers the sound of her crossing the chasm, and landing to the side and front of the new batmobile, her head tilting as she watches him work.

Bruce Wayne has posed:
"Piston's slapping," Bruce says to the air in general - perhaps to Phoebe - as he holds up a finger in a 'listen to that' motion. It's almost impossible to ehar anything over the roar of the engine echoing through the Cave and the angry screeches of a disturbed bat colony, "Listen. That hollow sound."

It takes a while but it's there under all the noise. A hollow sound muffled by the depth of the engine. He clicks his tongue against his teeth irritably.

"Oil level should be fine. Cylinders are brand new. Hnh. Have to re-tool the pistons."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe's eyes narrow a moment, and she closes her eyes, and she listens. She can hear the bats above them, barely. Feel the flapping of the wings. The roar of the engine, the humming, throbbing of the she tries to pick out the sound.

    "... what about the timing on the pistons? Could that be at fault?" she asks, reaching back to listening to Chuck Beacon fix his truck or to Tim or Jason working on their vehicles. Tech wasn't her strong spot.

Bruce Wayne has posed:
"You're a mechanic?" Bruce asks of Phoebe without turning to look at her, his tone suggesting he's dismissed the suggestion out of hand before something gives him pause, "Alright. Get in the driver's seat."

He moves towards a large diagnostic machine, retrieving a length of red cable from it and tossing it in the young vigilante's direction.

"Plug this into the port under the dash and keep an eye on the RPM. Hit the gas when I tell you."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "No, but Chuck Beacon had a F-150 that someone messed around with the engine and made the timing weird. It's supposed to go in a certain order, I remember, and it didn't. This was after we moved to the place near the college, after... after the flooding and everything. And you know, Tim and Jason work on vehicles. And I lived with a taxi driver who fixed his own cab." Phoebe explains, and as she makes the approach, she grabs the cable out of the air neatly, her eyebrows rising up.

    She's not exactly familiar with being in the diver's seat, least of all of the Batmobile. She slips in and plugs the cable into the port, and then rises up, looking to the RPM.

    "This is a great time to remind everyone that I don't have a driver's liscence."

Bruce Wayne has posed:
"Dick was driving the Batmobile at thirteen," Bruce tells her flatly, listening to her explanation but not offering anything in the way of opinion or understanding, "I'm breaking several state and federal laws - not to mention a dozen local ordinances - by even having this. You're an accessory to that. Driving without a license is the least of your concerns."

He moves around to the diagnostic machine, eyeing it critically.

"Not that you'll be driving anywhere. You're not ready for the Car."


It's true. Bruce never calls it the Batmobile.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Yeah, but Dick had special circumstances on account of him being Robin and you being Batman. I'm not a Robin." Phoebe replies, sitting up and watching the RPM's on the meter.

    "Speaking of being ready for the Car -- Jason made the suggestion that I should look at some updates to my suit. And after a conversation with a ghost hunter I occasionally work with last night, might end up using a different callsign when working specifically Family related things. Can I get you opinion on that?"

Bruce Wayne has posed:
"You put too much weight on titles," Bruce answers, "Robin was just a nickname his parents gave him. Became his operations moniker as a sign of respect. Kept it after him to throw the enemy off-balance. There's nothing more or less important about Balm. As for the callsign ... I will say it's always grated that you haven't stuck with the theme."

If that's a joke, he doesn't smile or laugh or even change his tone to suggest it. He doesn't look up as he continues to speak.

"Your suit could use an overhaul. Or just a new one entirely. If you're using a staff, we'll build one balanced for your frame. More effective."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "To be fair, a Phoebe is a kind of bird; I'm already built into the theme." Phoebe replies with an equal level of conversational flat expression.

    "Yeah, the suit I'm using now was based off Tim's Red Robin design and reconfigured for my bodyscan, but I tend to use my legs more than he does. And... magic."

Bruce Wayne has posed:
There's an audible clicking of the tongue at the mention of magic, but the elder vigilante doesn't press it. Instead he turns a dial on the diagnostics machine, looking over the displays.

"You're right. You need something new. Not based off of anything."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe is careful to keep her hands off the wheel and any other controls. She knows roughly what they do. She's gotten instruction, but not use. She gives a small swallow of nervousness, and then breathes out.

    "IS the RPM's supposed to be rising and falling so sharply?" she asks, changing the topic of conversation.

Bruce Wayne has posed:
"No."

Bruce adjusts something on the diagnostic machine, and a moment later the engine's sound changes. The hollow sound fades away, and the engine sounds healthier all at once.

"Good. Hit the ignition switch and get out."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Yep." Phoebe replies, double-checking the ignition switch and she hits it, and then lifts herself out of the unfinished interior of the new car, bare feet striking the cold surface of the floor beneath them as she stretches her left shoulder. "Was it the piston timing?"

Bruce Wayne has posed:
"Yes."

That said, he unhooks the diagnostic machine and steps away from it. Apparently satisfied with the car for now, he points back towards the training area.

"Keep working. Your downward rowing block needs work."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe opens her mouth to protest, and then just rubs the back of her head, and gives a nod. "Right. Nice talk." she breathes out, and then she makes her way back over to the training area, extending her pole and tapping it against the rocks as she reaches for her earbuds again.