14409/To Pull from Thin Air

To Pull from Thin Air
Date of Scene:	13 March 2023
Location:	Robinson Park - Miagani Island
Synopsis:	Thanks to Tim Drake's idea, Phoebe Beacon attempts to ask the spirit of Gotham City for a new callsign. Austin Reese is in attendance. In the most Gotham-friendly result, Phoebe's smacked in the face with trash, which results in a new callsign for the Batling. �c#FFA200�O�c/��c#EEA11A�R�c/��c#DEA034�I�c/��c#CEA04F�O�c/��c#BE9F69�L�c/��c#AE9E83�E�c/�
Cast of Characters:	Phoebe Beacon, Austin Reese, Tim Drake

---

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    In the middle of the night -- I was walking in my sleep, through the valley of dreams, to the river so deep --

    It's a cold night in Robinson Park, and Phoebe was sitting on a picnic table that had been tablenapped by some ne'er-do-wells at one point to play Magic: the Gathering in the thematic 'middle of the woods' in RObinson Park. This particular section used to be a garden, at one point in the not-so-distant past, and helped feed families in Gotham.

    Hers included.

    The moon was out and hung like a pale bulb in the sky, with its occasional pinpricks of light and the orange of light pollution, occasionally punctuated with the reds and blues or whites of a passing police or rescue vehicle.

    Phoebe was rather casual, wearing her oft-repaired leather jacket over a peach-colored zip-up hoodie and a pair of jeans, her knee-high bicycle boots. Her worn magic go-bag was at her side...

    As was Idu, who was in a bright yellow reflective dog jacket and was wearing a knit cap that let his tall ears stand up. Batman-like.

Austin Reese has posed:
Austin, for his part, wouldn't ever say no to Phoebe. It started when she tried to talk him down from being a vigilante in the first place. Now when she asked him to show up at a park at midnight for something that wasn't beating up drug dealers or gang bangers, he didn't even hesitate to agree.

Dressed in cargo pants and a Gotham Knights hoodie, he strolls up towards the bench. Spotting the bag, his head tilts a little bit, "You said this wasn't going to be work." He's not opposed to it being work, but he just likes to be prepared to go to work.

Tim Drake has posed:
    Tim's fresh off a Wayne Enterprises social responsibility, and there's only so much twisting and contorting you can do in a Bugatti, okay? At least the $4 million dollar one Tim bought for himself a few birthdays ago, which is a two-seater. Not a whole lot of space.

    The point is, he's here, but he's in a tuxedo, or at least the remains of one. Pants and shirt, at least. In fact he's still rolling his sleeves up to his elbows as he arrives, stepping over a fallen branch that definitely snags on one of his expensive shoes.

    Oh well. It's not like he can't afford to have them cleaned or repaired.

    "Hey," he says to Phoebe and Austin, while at the same time extending a hand to Idu in greeting for sniffs and then eventual pets. Despite the chill, he's happy to be out of the confines of his suit jacket, taking a moment to stretch his arms over his head (until something pops) before letting out a sigh. "Yeah. What's the plan, Pheebs? We're here to support, whatever it is."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    It is, indeed, not beating up drug dealers or gang bangers, driving lessons or requiring of a tux. Phoebe didn't draw the short straw of THAT social event, but her dark eyes are glittering with a bit of mischief as Austin makes his appearance first. She gives a grin and hops off the table, Idu hopping off and shaking down a moment.

    "I promise, work-related, but not work. Tim--" and speak of the devil, he steps out of the woods, and Idu immediately goes to his second favorite person for sniffs, snuffs, and headpats, practically sitting on the fancy, expensive shoes.

    "Man, now I feel under-dressed." Phoebe gives a grin, and she holds out her hands as she pushes up her sleeves.

    "Tim gave me an idea on how to solve one of my indecision problems. 'Balm' has an entry under SHIELD. And I'm going to try and keep my Supernatural work separate from my Gotham work. For everyone's sakes." she makes a FACE.

    "So Tim had the suggestion to reach out and magic a new callsign up."

Austin Reese has posed:
"Magic up a callsign?" Austin asks, as he glances back at Tim and grins for a second, "Sure I'm game." He says, as he sits down on the edge of the picnic table, "It's not the weirdest thing you've suggested to me."

Tim Drake has posed:
    Sniffs, snuffs, and headpats happen in precisely that order, and now there's a dog sitting on a pair of Berluti shoes in the middle of a Gotham forest. Stranger things have certainly happened, though.

    Tim looks up from giving Idu his dues, one shoulder bumping up and down in a sort of half-shrug. "Look, I don't know much about magic and I'm working hard at accepting that fact," read: still tracking down sources of occult and mystical knowledge as a hobby during his limited free time, "But sometimes I have good ideas. And if Phoebe's meant to have a presence amongst the Gotham vigilantes, then..."

    One hand gestures to the dark trees around them. It's meant to indicate the city as a whole, of course, and then Tim's tucking his hands into his pockets as he strolls around the perimeter of the clearing, taking a quick survey. "The city will tell her, right?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Right he is." Phoebe states, "Not the weirdest thing I've invited you to Austin. Definitely that's The Flipside. Which after Batman crashed it had to take a much closer look at its security. It assumed." she states, and she whips the stick back and forth a moment, and then turns, using its tip to begin to carve into the soft ground of the thawing late-winter lawn.

    "Now, I did some research. A lot of cities *do* have spirits and their own magics. New York? Sometimes appears as a short cabbie type, gives people directions when they're lost. I heard Los Angeles is a beautiful woman. And wouldn't you know it, Gotham has one, but no one's ever seen it. Which means either it's formless darkness or something, I wager, or it looks like Solomon Wayne. Which would be *Weird*." she states, wrinkling her nose a moment as she rolls one shoulder.

    "But I wasn't born here," she recounts, "so I'm not a hundred percent sure what'll happen. Maybe something, maybe nothing, maybe ah... well." she states, and she looks to her bag.

    "If things go *really* south, my I-C-E Gee Arr I know can fit at least five in his ride." she states quizically.

    Everyone should have their 'In Case of Emergency' lists kept updated, remember, kids!

    "So here's the plan, I've got this circle. I'm going to activate it. Might be a bit of a light show. I'm not anticipating trouble, since it's basically kinda like doing a really fancy google search and hitting 'I'm Feeling Lucky', but --" she looks to Austin, and then to Tim, and then to Idu, and then back to her human brothers.

    "... I figure after my last summoning disaster might be better to have some... ah..." she struggles a moment "... grounding."

Austin Reese has posed:
Listening to the plan, and Phoebe's reasoning behind it, he hmms, "So you think Gotham's ghost will show up and we can...What, ask it what your name should be?" He asks, as he is just trying to fully understand, "I mean I'm down for whatever you think needs to be done, Phoebe."

A quick look over to Tim and then he nods, "It's a fair point though." He takes a few steps around, and then gives Idu a quick pat on the head, "You know I've got you 100%, Phoebe. I think we've helped the city enough, the city should want to help us."

Tim Drake has posed:
    The area apparently gets a checkmark of approval from Tim, because he completes his walkabout and returns to Phoebe and Austin, hands still in his pockets. Though soon enough he's retired to the picnic table, phone in hand. "I'll keep an eye on the police scanner, make sure no one calls in a report of a suspicious group of youths out in Robinson Park," he says, a corner of his mouth lifting in amusement, but then his expression sobers.

    "Whatever happens, Phoebe, we'll be here. And Austin's right, if the city cares at all about the work we do, then it'll show up for you." He nods to her once, seriously, and then sticks his free hand out to beckon Idu over, to keep the pup out of the way while Phoebe does her work.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "We're hardly suspicious." Phoebe counters, but she rubs the back of her neck a moment as she finishes tracing the intricate circle in the mud.

    And she steps into the center of it.

    "The way it was designed should keep all the 'energy' on this side." she states, and looks back around.

    And she takes a breath.
    "O urbs Gotham, una de filiabus tuis bellatoribus ad te vocat, audi eam, et nomina!" she calls out, drawing her hands down, fingers spread, palms out.

    For a heartbeat, nothing happens.

    And then the wind picks up. It sounds like the urbarail, like a train rattling through, rumbling, grumbling, a belly full of hot coals and steaming metal, the burning of rivets and trashfire and woodsmoke.

    The wind strengthens, and it begins to swirl. The array Phoebe has traced begins to glow in the cold blue of old glass and the rippling of the sun on the city street as the train rattling begins to roar, trucks and locomotives, the crying of sheep and barking of dogs. The laughter of clowns and the teeth of explosions roaring. Phoebe begins to float, inches off the ground, toes pointed downwards as her hair wrap is ripped from her, joining debris as it begins to cyclone around the array. A trash can is knocked over, its contents -- a Bat Burger bag, an empty cardboard cup, newspaper bits all beginning to orbit Phoebe.

    ... no demons though, Idu looks oddly alert. His ears are up, as if he hears something, but he stays very close to Tim and Austin.

Austin Reese has posed:
Austin is sure to keep himself out of the way of the debris as it starts to swirl around. He keeps eyes around them, for anything that jumps out at them. Austin takes a knee next to Idu and pats him on the back, "She's okay, we're here for her."

Tim Drake has posed:
    Whether or not the energy's going to stick inside the circle isn't work Tim can check, and part of him hates that. Being emotional support is something he can do, though, even if he wishes he could do more, so he nods one more time to Phoebe and waits for the magic to do its thing.

    And eventually, it does. At first Tim just thinks it's the breeze picking up, and he looks around, only coming to the realization some moments later that this wind is not borne of nature. He stands, looking over at Austin a moment as his brow furrows with concern, but then the thump of the trash can falling makes his head jerk in that direction.

    He braces one hand on the table, in preparation for a potential cyclone, but for now Tim is just waiting in the wings.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    The rippling of energy, the roaring of several itinerations of The Batmobile. Sparks of pink and orange and blue, yellow and gold and --

    WHAFCK!

    Phoebe is hit *DIRECTLY* in the face with a damp wad of newspaper, her concentration suddenly cuts as she flails momentarily in the air and is DUMPED unceremoniously into the now wet, recycles-strewn mud and gras and puddle as the roaring and motors and heat-smells of hot metal and cold concrete and stinking low tide ebs away as quickly as it all came on. Phoebe's braids are now full of mud.

    She's wheezing, the wind knocked out of her by getting dumped.

    And the newspaper is for the baseball pre-season:

     ORIOLES BEAT ROGUES 27-2 IN PRESEASON!
    'What The Hell IS Baseball?' Coach Pitcher Asks

Austin Reese has posed:
Austin is doing his best to make sure that Phoebe is okay when whatever comes out does. But it never happens. Instead she suddenly tumbles out of the air as debris and trash gets strewn everywhere.

He's quickly back up to his feet, moving over to help her sit back up from where she landed hard on the ground, "Easy, easy." He moves to help take the paper off her face so she can breathe easier.

Tim Drake has posed:
    Tim's at Austin's heels, though a second or two behind as expensive shoes really aren't made for trudging through mud. He's liable to lose a shoe if he isn't careful. As he crouches down, he's also mindful of not putting his knees down in the mud.

    Tuxes really aren't the best gear for field work, as it turns out. But a few inconveniences wouldn't be enough to keep Tim away.

    "Was that, uh... it?" he asks, confusion in his voice, because he has no idea what happened. It's not as if he was expecting to see anything from his end since this was supposed to be Phoebe's quest for guidance, after all. But also... that didn't seem like it worked. So he asks, "Did it work?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe gives another wheeze, and she helps peel the paper off her face. There's also a banana slug on her cheek. It's too cold for slugs. She feels the slime and gives a groan as she's helped to sit up, and then she looks at the paper.

    "... Orioles beat Rogues." she reads the headline slightly, then looks down to her peachy-orangey-pink hoodie, and then back up at Tim.

    The slug looks confused.

    Idu looks *alarmed*.

    "... Oriole!"

Austin Reese has posed:
"Oriole?" He asks, as he looks down at the headline, then at Phoebe and her passenger, who he reaches out with a hand and peels off of her, before tossing it into the trees. "I don't understand. Did it work?"

Tim Drake has posed:
    The arc of the slug through the air is tracked with more than a mild amount of confusion because "It's too cold for slugs," before Tim refocuses his attention on Phoebe.

    "Baseball?" he asks, because... well, they're apparently talking baseball. It's not until he leans forward to see what's in Phoebe's hand that he understands it's a headline. "Oh." For some reason he sounds mildly disappointed, apparently believing it didn't work. But then Phoebe repeats the team name.

    He crosses his arms over his chest. "That could work," he says, thoughtfully.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I think it did. My attention was cut from the silence I was hearing once I got hit in th' face," she winces, drawing herself up with the help of the two, Idu circling around, his tail giving little wags of concern as she breathes out. She looks at the now distinegrating newspaper bits, since newspaper tends to not stick around well after it.

    "Orioles Beat Rogues. Birds beat Badguys... besides --" she takes a deep breath, and then she motions to the skyline outside the park.

    "What's more freakin' Gotham City than answering a presumptuous question with hitting someone in the face with trash?"

Austin Reese has posed:
"Well." Austin says, as he pats Phoebe on the back and brushes off some of the debris stuck to her jacket, "I have to say, I for one am very happy you have opted to join the Birds side of the equation."

Tim Drake has posed:
    Tim picks some grass and other debris off of Phoebe's jacket from all the wind blowing things around, and then he nods. "Bird team is best team," he agrees, flashing Austin a thumbs up over Phoebe's shoulder.

    And then he steps away, out of the mud and towards the relative safety of a nice grassy patch. "So, how does some late night dumplings sound as celebration? My treat."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Yeah, yeah, I'm Team Birds." she gives a bright smile, letting the rest of the newspaper go, shaking off her hand a little as she looks to her brothers, and loops her arms over both their shoulders. She does get some mud on them too, but she's in too good a mood to let it get her down.

    "Dumplings sound *amazing*. You both are great, but isn't your car a two-seater?"