14877/One Night In the Batcave

One Night In the Batcave
Date of Scene:	09 May 2023
Location:	Batcave
Synopsis:	Various Bats gather at the Batcave. Cassandra is up to something, but we know not what. Jason is helping the kids. Stephanie needs more sleep. Phoebe looks great in a bathing suit despite what she thinks. Dick's a good big brother.
Cast of Characters:	Stephanie Brown, Dick Grayson, Phoebe Beacon, Cassandra Cain, Jason Todd

---

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Evening has fallen on Gotham City. With the creeping spread of night to hide their illicit deeds, Gotham's criminal underbelly has begun to emerge from whatever dens they used during the day. Or possibly Big Belly Burger, because it's not like they are vampires and can't move about during the day.

And with them come the heroes who keep the city safe. Ever vigilant, ever alert to-

The sound of Stephanie snoring comes from the raised dais where the Batcomputer sits. Stephanie is in her Batgirl costume, leaning back in her chair as far as it reclines back, feet up on a corner of the desk. Mouth hanging slightly open as she snores away.

Dick Grayson has posed:
    Dick is sitting in a chair next to her, actually awake and doing something or other on the Batcomputer. He's in his Nightwing suit, but without the mask at the moment, that's sitting beside the keyboard on the desk.

    As he hears someone enter the Batcave, he twists slightly to see who it is and raises a hand in greeting. "Hey there, anything exciting going on tonight?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    In comes Oriole -- well... OriPheeb, not wearing her hood or her domino and looking a bit like a truck hit her already. She pauses at the sound of Steph snoring, mid-step, one leg literally up in the air as she finishes affixing a skullcap to her head to cover her recently-shortened hair, and she motions at stef, and makes an 'OK' sign with raised eyebrows, looking to Dick to answer if Steph was OK or if Phoebe should continue to be quiet.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
We like to call her OriWeeb, but only when she's not around. Phoebe's emotions can be hurt after all. Also it's not true, there's love here.

However, there's the sound of a motorcycle in the distance, coming this way. The computer shows Cassandra incoming. And for a miracle, her motorcycle seems to still be working. First time, most likely.

Nothing to say yet, she's not actually in the room.

Jason Todd has posed:
The sound of a modified engine echoes down the entrance tunnel. After a moment the engine is allowed to drop to an idling rumble as it nears the cave. Once the form of a matte black '69 Mustang Mach 1 with blacked out windows emerges from the tunnel, it rolls to a stop in the garage area. After a quick rev, the engine is shut off and Red Hood steps out of the car. As he shuts the door, the wheels begin to rise up into the wheel wells and the car lowers itself to rest the frame rails on the garage decking; no one will be stealing these wheels without great effort. There is irony for those who find it.

Seeing the others, he reaches up and removes his mask as he walks over. "Hey." As always a man of many words.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Dick Grayson would know that Stephanie was out on patrol last night, and then came home and had to study for chemistry. It's never been her best subject, though the necessity of it for a forensic examiner, not to mention mixing nifty concoctions for batarangs, has made her try extra hard with the class.

Thus she's managed to pass out in the chair before tonight's patrol even started. Her cowl is off, blond hair spilling over her shoulders and the back of the chair.

The rumbling engine of the Mustang cuts through the lack of sleep though, blue eyes opening and Stephanie sitting up a little bleary eyed. She moves a hand to her mouth to make sure she wasn't drooling. "Whew," she says at finding that wasn't the case. She looks around to see who all is here. "Hey, guys," Stephanie says, giving a wave of a gloved hand.

Dick Grayson has posed:
    Nightwing raises an eyebrow at the number of Bats around this evening. "Heya all, looks like a busy night. You all realize that since we have a bunch of us around, the criminals will take the night off, right?"

    He looks over to Steph and says "See? There's coverage. We can afford for you to take the night off and get some sleep. Chemistry is never good to mess with when you're only half awake."

    "So anyone have anything new and exciting to share with the group since we're all here?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Morning Steph, Dick. Hey Jay." she states, passing by Jason and offering a fist-dap. Still not a hugger, seems a little more on edge than usual. Phoebe hops up onto an flat bit of rock in the cave to take a seat, her eyebrows rising up as she draws her gaze to the ceiling of the cave.

    "Not really anything to share with the group tonight that pertains to anyone else I guess... what about you?" she questions, "How'd the chem test go, Steph?"

Cassandra Cain has posed:
The motorcycle that's coming up the path slows, then stops. Slightly sideways, the rider puts her feet down and balances the bike beneath her, then reaches up to remove her helmet. Yes, even Cassandra Cain wears a helmet. Some things you just DO.

She pulls it off and shakes out her hair, letting it get its usual level of messy, and then looks at the gathering. Her eyes say nothing.

Then she gets off the bike, letting it fall over and scrape Jason's car a little as it does. She really has no respect for the things, does she? Besides, if he liked it so much he'd take care not to let her near it. Right?

Still not saying anything, she looks around and puts her helmet under her arm.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie Brown waggles a gloved finger at Dick as if he's onto something. "So what you're saying is, all we need to do is all get together every night, and then we can take the night off?" she says in a voice that sounds far more hopeful than any belief that would actually work.

"Eh, will help me sleep tonight if I get to pound some of Carmine Falcone's goons tonight," she says. Though the yawn that follows right after the words suggests she probably could sleep fine with that.

"Decent. Think I probably got a 'B' at least," Stephanie says to Phoebe. "Not really holding out hope of an 'A'. But I'll take it."

She raises a hand to Jason and Cassandra in greeting. "I think I could go for some caffeine though. Maybe a double shot of espresso with a LexEnergy chaser?"

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason Todd stares at the offered fist for a fraction of a second. The gears can almost be heard to turn in his head while he tries to figure out why she's holding her fist up out to him. Oh. Right. Still looking a little confused he returns the bump. "Hey."

Greetings handled the second time, he makes his way to the kitchen area while the others talk of chemistry and group sharing.

He reflects on Dick's question as he opens the fridge to study the contents. For a moment he considers the pineapple cubes. Nah. Grabbing an apple, he turns and walks back toward the edge of the losely gathered group.

Biting into the apple he replies as he chews, manners be damned. "Nope." Nothing to share. He has an apple.

Dick Grayson has posed:
Nightwing chuckles, getting roughly the answers he expected. "Ok, so nothing going on at the moment. Steph, you still need to get some sleep before you fall asleep on a roof. Plummeting is bad for your health."

    He winces slightly as Cass' bike leaves a scrape down Jason's car, but at the same time... at least it wasn't his car. Silver lining, people. "Ok, who thinks Steph should take the night off? I say we have enough people awake to cover for the half-asleep one."

    "Cass, you really shouldn't damage other people's toys. Some people get attached to their things."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoeb winces as the motorcycle drops down the Mach 1 Mustang, and she leans slightly away from the poor car, and then rubs the back of her head again.

    "Well, I did come across a werewolf last night who helped against some of the Underbridge Boys, so I'm sure they're gonna be riled up tonight." she considers, drawingo ne leg and setting her chin on it as she looks to Jason, her eyebrows rising.

    "No pineapple?" she teases lightly.

    "I think a caffeine detox for Steph is in order along with sleep. But that probably works about as well as when I told Tim to do it." she snorts in amusement.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Cass' only response is to walk past everyone. She ducks into a bunch of stuff, her feet dangling in midair for a hot second. Then she comes back out with a stuff. Seriously, it's just 'some stuff'. A single nightstick, some rope, and a flash drive that she sticks between her teeth.

She puts the first armload down and then goes back in for more junk. Seems to be on a quest or something, because some extra lockpicks and a collapsing socket wrench get added to the pile. She shoves them all into a sidecar bag, then starts back toward her bike.

Not a word, to anyone, though she does give every person a smol smile in passing.

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason Todd looks up at the sound of the bike hitting the car. He looks at the door for a moment then shrugs. The fact there is no dent or even a scratch to the paint may be why. Or maybe he's just found his inner zen for the day. It stands to reason if he's going to use what would be considered a classic muscle car as his 'Mobile he'd have built it to handle the small stuff. Batman would.

Munching on the apple, he looks to Dick, as he mentions damaging toys. "It's fine. She was just proving gravity still works."

To Phoebe he shrugs a shoulder. "Nah. Didn't look fresh enough." Someone's become a pineapple snob.

Finally he adds something toward the group's conversation. "Nothing new here since Joker killed the judge at the courthouse." He doesn't even seem that upset in mentioning that name.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
"Oh I don't know," Stephanie replies to Dick as she slowly climbs to her feet out of the chair. "I've plummeted on many occasions with so little ill to show from it. I mean, bruises, yes. Contusions. Lacerations. That broken wrist. Twisted ankle landing that fall from the one fire escape."

She pauses as if evaluating what she just said. "Huh. It's almost like... gravity doesn't like me," she says, eyes narrowing in suspicion.

She heads for the coffee machine, a pat given to Phoebe's back on the way. "Yeah, I don't even want to know what that kind of withdrawal would be," she says. She starts up some espresso going in whatever amazing machine Alfred has for them to use when he's not making it personally. "Hey, Cass?" Stephanie calls over. "You doing ok? Looked like you maybe took some how recently," she says, concern leaning into her voice.

Dick Grayson has posed:
    Watching Cass collect things seemingly randomly and pack them away in her saddlebags gives Dick a somewhat quizzical look as he tries to mentally connect the objects in some way. He shakes his head, failing to figure it out. Still, she normally has a pretty good reason for the things she does, so he's not too worried about it.

    Looking around at the rest of the folks in the cave tonight, he asks, "Anyone have the slightest idea what she's up to? I'm kind of hoping it's something interesting, things have been a little slow."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe stiffens at the pat on the back, a bit like a cat that was touched in the wrong way.

    "As Tim would say -- we have all been the victim of physics." she states, her arms coming up as she gives her body a shake-out.

    "Yeah -- I'm with Steph on this one Cass -- you seem a bit off." she calls out to the other dark-haired bat-girl-who-is-not-Batgirl. Her eyebrows rise up as she looks out over the cave to Cass loading up her bike.

    "... maybe for you they have been. Just because it's not Bat business doesn't mean some of us haven't been busy."

    Phoeb rolls her shoulder a moment, hopping off her perch to walk after Cass.

    "Hey, Cass -- what's up? Do you need help tonight?" she asks.

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason Todd falls silent again, just the sounds of biting into the crisp apple at slow intervals. He watches Cass along with the others. He really has no idea what she's doing. He hasn't seen her since Phoebe's party months ago, so this somehow seems not that odd to him so he watches how the others handle it and how Cass responds.

As he finishes with the apple he saunters to the nearest trashbin and discards the core.

Moving to sit on the corner of one of the desks, he adds finally, "Been working on the garage. Have a few things in mind."

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie Brown returns with her double espresso, though she doesn't add an energy drink to chase it. At least not yet. She settles into the seat again where she'd dozed off. "time always had a good way with words," she says, before shrugging towards Dick. "I'm not sure. Unless it's something to do with Mother." Which might be a statement that could cause some confusion depending which 'Mother' they think Stephanie means.

She takes a sip of the concentrated caffeine and then lets out a sigh. "Oh? What kind of ideas? Are they of the build something with armor and missile launcher variety? Or like... the free windshield washer fluid fill up with an oil change, sort?"

Dick Grayson has posed:
    "It's Jason, it's more likely to be the missile launcher option. Looking at his car, I think he's got armor covered already." Looking over to the man in question, he asks, "When did you decide to turn your car into a mobile bunker? It's a pretty good call for someone who uses ranged weapons, though you may need to add some gun ports to it."

    "Every once in a while I wish I had a better ranged option, but it's just to easy to kill someone by shooting them." He shrugs, "As always, you do you Jason. You do a hell of a job out there, and we can't ask for more than that."

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason Todd looks to Stephanie then to Dick. "Ha ha." About the missle launchers. He adds offhandedly, "Bruce has had guns on his before." Like fashion, armament comes and goes out of style on a whim.

"It's a ceramic-titanium coating and some extra armor inside the body panels. Not like I'm going to try and prove it but it should stop anything up to .50 cal. Should keep everyone inside alive as far as an RPG. Not going to drive away from that" he adds as an overstatement of the obvious.

Changing subjects from the car even if he is pleased with how it's turned out, "Haven't been doing anything with the garage. Figure it should have a purpose. Want to review and harden the Red Cave. It's been a few years since install."

Setting his mask down, he gestures with his hands. "I'm thinking. I can use the garage as a workshop. I keep my gear working, sure. But more than that. Bring in a kid or two from the neighborhood. Teach them how to repair and build engines. Give them a chance at a vocation that doesn't involve gangs, drugs or murder."

Then he pulls one pistol from its holster and looks at it. "I don't know Dick. Taser rounds have turned out pretty well for me." Sure he still smiles inside his mask when the criminals wet themselves. But at least they're not bleading out. It's growth.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie Brown sips her espresso while listening to the two Wayne wards. "That sounds like a great idea, Jason," the blond coed tells him. "You know what it's like out there, can probably get through to a few of them like other people couldn't," she says to the man who was a youth was stealing the tires off the Batmobile when Batman returned to it.

She swivels the chair to face the monitor, pulling up a summary of police alerts, 911 calls and other signs of nefarious deeds on a map of the city. A quick survey of them show mostly normal sorts of events that don't really require their intervention. She swivels back around.

"We got the boats back in the water and cleaned up," she comments, looking at Dick but directing the comment to the others. "If anyone wants to come out waterskiing, or canoeing or anything?"

Dick Grayson has posed:
    "The garage idea sounds really good. I'd rather give the kids a way to avoid becoming criminals than chase them down and arrest them. Maybe I'll talk to Bruce about sponsoring some workshops to teach these kids some marketable skills. One of these days we need to make this city a little brighter rather than just constantly chasing down the problem of the day."

    Glancing over to Steph, he says "You're the one she talks to, maybe find out of she needs a hand with.. whatever the heck she's going to do with all that stuff."

    Looking around at everyone he nods, saying "Yeah, it's more than warm enough to start with the summer activities, so feel free to use the boats and such if you feel like it."

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Cass nods. "Happens," she says, addressing Steph. She smiles a bit more at Phoeb, then bends down and lifts her bike back up into rideable position. Looks a bit banged up itself, as she slaps the sidecar onto it, then mounts back up.

She pauses, then looks at Phoebe. Then at everyone. The one person here who isn't actually part of the family. And she shrugs, then says, "Is fine. Am fine."

Then she toggles the On button to start the bike.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe pauses a moment as she opens her mouth, dark eyes set on Cass a moment before she rubs the back of her neck.

    "You know if you need me, I will find you. We have that still." she gently replies to Cassandra's 'is fine, am fine'. And she breathes out a soft huff. "Be safe." she states to Cass, and takes a couple steps back.

    "Dunno if I'm up for any water fun. I look awful in swimsuits." Phoebe comments, though she keeps her eyes on Cass for a moment more before heading to the kitchenette to grab herself some fruit.

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason Todd shrugs noncommitally to the invitation to go play on the lake. "Maybe."

Watching Cass be fine and load up, he moves to stand and heads over to the garage area's computers, "Anyway. Just stopped in to optimize the fuel management software." Assumedly in the car. He drops into a chair and plugs an SD card into the reader and launches one of the custom apps that help keep all the vehicles working their best.

A glance is aimed toward Phoebe at her comments about swimsuits but he doens't say anything as the program chirps and draws his attention back to the display.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Cass hasn't put her helmet on yet, and is watching folks around her. She glances over at Steph, then gives the woman a thumbs up and a meaningful glance. Then she turns and watches Phoebe leave, realizing that she may have missed a cue there. But, apparently something has her mind on other things, because she does go. She puts on her helmet, and turns away.

Then she rides off, her motorcycle carrying her off, alone, to whatever she's doing. Which she isn't telling, sharing, or asking for help on. This is how we lose teammates, people..

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie watches Cassandra ride off, a slightly worried expression on her face. She makes a mental note to talk to Barbara about finding out if something related to Mother is going. If they can even manage to uncover that on their own.

Rising from her chair, Stephanie stretches. "Ok. Right. Vim and vigor and... you know I have no idea what 'vim' even means apart from that phrase gets used in moments you're trying to portray having energy," she quips. "Ok, time to go kick some bad guy behind. Then, bed. Who's with me!?"

Dick Grayson has posed:
    Dick stands, grabbing his mask off the desk and saying to Steph "Well, if you're not going to go to bed, I might as well tag along in case you fall asleep on the way."

    Looking at the exit Cass took, he adds, "Try and find out what Cass is up to, will you? She still seems to keep mainly to herself, and we're a team here. She doesn't have to do everything solo." He waves to the others as he heads over to his bike, "Night guys, keep yourselves safe. Time to go work on cleaning the city a bit more."