19143/Hello Mr. Friend

Hello Mr. Friend
Date of Scene:	23 September 2024
Location:	Barbara's Penthouse (Clocktower - 25th Floor)
Synopsis:	Dick stops by the tower to give Babs her birthday present! They chat and talk Vampires, which is certainly the talk of the summer for the Bat family.
Cast of Characters:	Barbara Gordon, Dick Grayson

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Barbara Gordon has posed:
Barbara had been out and about for her birthday. Her father had come by in the morning, given her a few gifts, and then Jason had stopped by shortly there after to take her out for lunch on his bike. They'd enjoyd a nice ride through the city, a bit of tasty bar food from a nice place in Bludhaven, and made their way back again.

Now, it was just after nightfall, and the GGE Blimp had just pulled out of docking pattern beside the Clocktower. It had just dropped off its last feed of solar energy from the day's sunlight, in to the power station on the tower, that shunted power in to the city itself, which was all connected to the Gordon Green Energy systems that helped with Gotham City power needs.

As foar Barbara? She was seated on the chocolate leather sofa within the middle of her finely appointed penthouse. The penthouse was a lovely place, restored nearly a decade ago, and Babs had spent a fair amount of time and money making it a high tech affair. It was a lot of dark wood grain hues, reds, purples, and oranges, with a comfortable atmosphere, a balcony level that spanned around the north and western edge, with a computer dias and sitting area in front of the large windows that accessed the balcony on the exterior of the building. The four Clockfaces loomed large on the walls of the very tall ceiling space, casting subtle light in to the tower itself, and down toward where Babs was lounged with one foot up on her coffee table, and a leather bound journal on her lap. She was dressed casually, a pair of dark grey track pants, a black t-shirt and her hair down, cascading around her shoulders in fiery locks that fit the time of year perfectly. She was wearing a pair of black framed reading glasses, and she flipped through the journal that her father had gifted her, full of family lineage information.

Soft jazz played on the internal speakers throughout the penthouse, and the large television across from where Babs sat was showing many different camera feeds around the tower, as the tower AI monitored tower security, and the city itself.

Dick Grayson has posed:
The tower's AI security monitoring alerted to the presence of an interloper no more than sixty seconds again. The source of that trespass originated some twenty feet above the tower's base and was ascending rather quickly. The ascension wasn't the sort achieved through propulsion or some other rocket technology, but through good old fashioned human capability. It didn't take but a millisecond for the tower's security system to localize and transmit the potential threat to Batgirl. Even if the presence wasn't truly a threat, the system did its job in noting a potential risk and declaring it for its owner's review.

Meanwhile Nightwing nimbly leaps from one handhold to the next foothold. The once Flying Grayson puts his body to the test, often leaping before he looks and trusting in his own learned skill and natural talents to keep from falling. For Nightwing the feats are as routine as breathing and the high-wire daredevil's blind leaps could readily end in peril or calamity, yet he is Nightwing and his playful ego is well-earned at least.

The music that plays in his ear seems to fuel him and the smile that he wears seems as natural and truly happy as any that a human could muster. The music seems to set the pace for his movements and even acts as a tempo for his momentum, which means that it's quick, but not necessarily urgent. It has a good flow.

By the time he's ascended the tower and come to a crouch upon the balcony's northern railing, Nightwing's left to sit and wait for Barbara to decide to come out to the balcony to check in on her latest visitor. Regardless of the wait, no matter how long, Dick seems to be wearing a rather customary smile as awaits the arrival of his host. While his feet cling to the railing, along with a single hand to steady him; his free hand rests at his back, clearly keeping something hidden from sight.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Once Nightwing was spotted, and identified, the AI had the image of him pulled up, a video feed in fact. Babs looked up at the alert, and after seeing who it was, she smiled. "Oh boy." she quietly said, seeing him taking the hard way up to her tower's balcony level. "Jason... I answered you too soon, it seems." She says to no one, since Jason wasn't here anymore. He had asked her earlier, how many men had scaled her tower to get a chance to swoon her this afternoon, and she'd answered with just the one. A cat man had done the same over a year ago, and now it seemed maybe another was tonight?

She put the journal away, and went to gather up her black denim light jacket off of a chair beside her sofa. On her way to the balcony, she stopped off to grab a couple of bottles of mineral water, since she assumed he was working up a thirst out there... and by the time she was bounding up the five wooden steps to the balcony level that lead outside, he had already found a place to relax on the balcony's edge.

The glass doors were pulled open, and Barbara stepped outside. She had a smile on her face, visible since a few spot lights were shining down on to the balcony. "Well hey there, tresspasser." She said in a warm voice, as she walked toward him, offering him one of the bottles of chilled water,m sealed inside a glass bottle.

"You know my elevator is really nice, right? Even my stairs have music playing in them to help entertain you if you're looking for exercise." She was teasing her oldest friend in the Bat-family.

Dick Grayson has posed:
If Nightwing feels at all awkward with simply sitting there and waiting for Barbara to make her way out onto the balcony? He doesn't show it. Instead he seems perfectly content to take in the view from the high vantage point and the sound of Barbara stepping out, ascending those few wooden steps, and stepping onto the balcony proper seems to draw Dick's attention away from Gotham and back to his friend. His smile grows once again as she presents him with a bottle of water and in exchange his hidden hand slips from his back and extends forward.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so thirsty!" Dick answers with a bit of playfulness injected into his tone. He accepts the bottle of water and continues to hold the head-sized box, gift wrapped and complete with a bright purple bow, toward Barbara. "I heard it was some nerd's birthday," he says with a playful smile, "and figured I should pop by and offer up a gift. I thought about just gifting you a few boxes of breakfast cereal so that you'd have some if I swing by, but I figured something more suited to you would be better".

Dick's smile doesn't falter though and when Barbara does finally accept the gift wrapped box, Dick sets to the task of opening the bottle of mineral water and giving himself a well-earned drink.

The box itself contains a rather fine replica of a helmet from a character within the Star Wars universe. Whether that character is seen as a hero or a villain is up for debate by some, but that doesn't negate the fact that the helmet of Darth Revan with an attached cowl and cloak is a mighty fine gift for any nerd's collection.

"You have an elevator?!" Dick asks suddenly and with eyes widened behind his domino mask, as though this revelation was sudden and unexpected news for him. The lopsided grin does at least seem to soften that sound of surprise, turning it into something bordering on playful humor.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Naturally, the playful nature of Dick gets Barbara to respond with a large grin. She'd opened her own bottle up with a twist of the cap, before she watched him handing her that big gift box. "You climbed all the way up 25 stories with that thing?" She asked him. "You really are a monkey, aren't you?" She asked, affection in her voice. She set her bottle down upon a glass patio table, and accepted the box, with a little gleeful squeal noise. "This is why birthdays are so much fun!" She exclaimed, as she laughed a hungry for fun little laugh, whilst setting the box down beside her bottle of water.

"And yes, I am the Queen of Nerds of this city, self proclaimed. Out and proud, as they say."

She began to open the package up with care, not the kind of person to tear in to them without remorse for the packaging that made up the gift's outside joy.

Once she had it open, she pulled the contents out, and spun it around to view it. "Oh my god, a Halloween costume presents itself!" She declared, as she quickly looked inside it, then removed her glasses.

The too were set down on the table with a clatter, before the redhead was raising the helmet up to drop it down over her head, the cape slung off to her right side, not yet situated properly around her shoulders.

She turned to face him. "Maybe I can mod in a vocalizer like the suits have." She says in a muffled voice, her red hair poking out under the helmet on all sides, as she stares at him with it adorning her head.

Her right hand came up, and she waved it at him. "You will use the Elevator next time. You will not scuff up the exterior of my building again."

She's doing a silly voice too, making it comically deep, when really it is still the arguably meak feminine voice that comes natural to the Irish heritage woman in the partial costume.

"Happy Birthday to me." She said as she walked toward him, helmet and all, to get a hug.

Dick Grayson has posed:
Dick's chin shifts and turns his gaze first to the gift, then toward Barbara and he offers up only a light shrug of his shoulders before he answers, "It's not even that big of a gift. That was an easy climb". He then stands up from his crouch upon the railing. He begins to walk nimbly along the length of the rail, his feet seeming to curl and cling to it as he walks one foot in front of the other. He even adds a little spring here and there for personal challenge and effect. Nor do his antics seem to deter him from carrying on the discussion, a sly smile turning sideward to regard Barb, "I saw it and just felt you'd love it. Who wouldn't? It's great! I do hope you like it though."

Then Barbara's carefully plucking the gift from within the box and lowering it onto her head. The cape's swept to her shoulder and Dick's grin grows broader as he spins about on the rail, performing an about-face as he begins to practically hop and skip along the length of the rail. Despite his casual acts of acrobatic prowess, Nightwing carries on with the conversation even as Barbara begins to modulate her own voice and wave her hand about. To which Dick mindlessly answers without missing a beat or showcasing a hitch in his acrobatic step, "I will use the elevator nice time. I will not scuff up the exterior of your building again."

Then he's back to normal, twirling about and beginning another lap down the length of the balcony's railing and carrying on with their conversation, "Seriously though," he says as Barbara begins to approach. He drops from the railing and the intent of her hug is obvious. His arms spread wide and his smile grows, cheerfully bright and wholesomely warm, "The biggest, happiest birthday to you, Babs". Then he's attempting to wrap his arms about Barbara in order to bring her into a big hug that threatens to lift her from her feet as his back arches.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Nightwing's acrobatics had always impressed Babs, and he'd taught her quite a bit back in the day, back when she was a fresh faced teenager and entirely optimistic about her future as a vigilante. That was a long time ago, but at least she was laughing now, as Dick hugged her and picked her up.

The laugh continued through it, muffled by the helmet, and when he sat her back down upon the stone floor of the balcony, she backed up, giving his chest a few pats with both of her hands.

"I don't care what Wookieepedia says, I am the canon Darth Revan now." She replied to him, clearly illustrating just how far deep down her Queen status goes for Gotham Nerds.

She did some mock Darth Vader breathing anyway, though, because she had to. But a second later, her hands went to pull the helmet up and off again, the cape falling over her right forearm. "This is great. It'll look great on my display shelves too." She adds, as she looks it over again. "I haven't got a lot of Star Wars stuff either. I've considered a few of those expensive lightsabers, just to goof around with, though. Now it is a must..."

She shot him another smile. "Thank you." She told him. "Where is Steph, anyway?" She asked. "She's not birthday snubbing me, is she?"

The helmet was set down on the table beside the box it came in, and the cape was given a once over, as she took it in both hands, spread it open and looked over the design of it. "Pretty." She quietly said at the light bouncing off of the otherwise dark material.

Dick Grayson has posed:
Barb backs away and Nightwing leans back, planting his elbows upon the railing he's only just dismounted from. He watches while Darth Barbara tries out her best Vader impression and his smile returns, seemingly pushing back to the gloom of a Gotham night with its intensity. Though when Barbara speaks of being snubbed on her birthday, his eyebrow dances a little higher above his domino mask. His head cants and a lone shoulder rises, along with a shake of his head from side to side, "Birthday snubbing you? I wouldn't think so. Have you tried calling her?"

The question is left to hang.

Dick offers the cape a glance, then turns his attention back to Barbara while she studies the gift. "I think you should definitely get some of those expensive lightsabers. The dueling ones?"

Then, suddenly, Dick Grayson gasps aloud and his hand moves to clutch at his chest. "Get two of them! Then we can have rooftop duels!!"

Dick immediately spins about, peering out into the gloom of a Gotham night in order to survey the rooftops arrayed before him, far below. Already he's seeking a suitably dynamic rooftop for future lightsaber dueling.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Barbara let out a soft laugh at the thought of having rooftop battles. "As if the city doesn't see enough weird things happening on the rooftops around here." She told him, shooting a grin back his way. "I texted Steph recently, asked her how she was doing. I haven't talked to her since the fight at the gun shop a few weeks back."

Barbara picked up some of the pieces from the pretty box, and slipped them inside it, as she reached for her water bottle. "Besides. More than likely I'd spend all that money, then just decide I could make them better myself, and set about doing just that.." She said with a smug grin, one hand on her hip, as she took a sip from the cold drink.

When she lowered the bottle again, she shot him another soft smile. "I'm definitely going to make this my Halloween costume this year, though, if I can figure out a party to go to. I did Hellfire last year, in Manhattan, but I'm not sure if I will go quite that far again for another round... They do throw some good soirees though."

She up nodded at him, "What about you? You seem pretty chipper tonight. Allmost like ya just got lucky." She chided him.

Dick Grayson has posed:
"Hellfire," Dick seems to make a face at that. He shrugs lightly before he adds a mention of his own experience, "I attended some end of the world party that they were having. It was blood in the water and sharks all around. That one vampire queen or whatever? She was paying way too much attention to me. So were a few others. I'll avoid it next time. Too much risk," the masked vigilante answers.

He moves to settle his backside onto the railing again. Perhaps a precursor to his imminent departure. Though he remains perched there, carrying on the conversation as he sips again from his bottle of mineral water. "Me? I'm always chipper, I think. Guess I should start paying more attention to myself to see if I'm wrong".

He spares a glance toward his shoulder and down. While most would be terrified to look into the metaphorical abyss that is the plummet down in wide open space from such heights, Dick seems to marvel at it. He considers the leap and the danger that it imposes. Then slowly begins to lean back. His heels hook and his feet plant themselves among the vertical bars of the railing. This provides him all the support he needs to lean back and back and back, until he's practically lounging upon the open air.

Despite that feat, he carries on with the conversation regardless and doesn't seem to miss a beat within it, "Maybe I need to gruff myself up a bit. Be a bit more like the Dark Knight, huh? Drop the timbre of my voice and get all growly?"

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Babs had gone back to looking at her birthday gift, her mind considering how disappointed she was in the KOTOR remaster project being canned, but it was what Dick said that drew her attention back.

She watched him as he spoke, not feeling any anxiety toward his acrobatic feats, as she was confident in his abilities... more than anyone she knows, in fact.

She quirked an eyebrow. "That woman was there? That monster?" She asked. "Kate wants to kill her, you know? As does Selina, I think... Well, I'm not sure about Selina, actually." She stepped toward him, and moved to stand beside him at the railing. She glanced out at the city, then back to him on her right.

"Kate was here just two nights ago. I gave her a whole host of Vampire hunting gear, and she'd actually gotten together some of her own. Gosh, I wish I'd been with you at that party." She grimaced, and shook her head from right to left.

"I guess I would have ended up blowing our cover, though, huh?"

Dick Grayson has posed:
"I don't blame her," Dick answers back regarding Kate Kane's desire to hunt and destroy a vampire. Though there is the more wholesome side of Dick Grayson that is soon to follow, "But I'd like to think instead of destruction, we should bend our minds toward rehabilitation or curing. She probably wasn't born a monster," Dick offers back with a bit of moral compass to add to the equation. "Though she definitely looked at me like food. Had there not been a whole room full of Hellfire people? I imagine she'd have made a late night snack of me. Violently so."

Dick nods once and he begins to flex at his midsection, bending himself gradually upright once again. He remains seated on the railing however and looks aside to Barbara where she's arrived to stand next to his seat upon the rail.

"I would definitely hope you didn't blow your or anyone else's cover. I think I almost did just by being present," Dick remarks with a slow shake of his head, "I know if I see her again and I'm not in uniform, I'll definitely be giving her a wide berth. Observe and report, all of that. Not direct engagement if I can help it."

Nightwing's hands come together then and his forearms rest across his thighs, making him looking a fair bit smaller as he sits practically huddled on the railing. A glance aside to Barbara earns a little smile and a faint nod of his head before he comments, "I know you'd have done the right thing though. On that note..."

Dick reaches to his right shin. That leg unhooks from the vertical bars of the balcony's rail and the leg extends outward. A small compartment slides open and from within it Nightwing fishes a pair of objects from within it. It's uncanny just how much those compartments can hold, but in this case: it can't hold much else.

An applicator is offered, along with a firearm's magazine. Then Nightwing holds them out toward Barbara, commenting as he does so, "These were given to me and I was going to give them to Batman, but we haven't crossed paths. I'm giving them to you. The applicator allegedly has some synthetic blood that can be used if their need gets high. The other are apparently bullets that harness UV light or something. Think you could come up with something from them?"

Barbara Gordon has posed:
"I didn't let anyone down, nope." Barbara softly replied, as she watched him closely. "Last year, I went in my Fallout jumpsuit. Had my whole Vault Girl outfit on. I looked damn good too, and totally won the costume contest... I think, anyway. I never bothered to check the results." She smirked, as another swig of her water was taken. "It's hard though... Vampires are, I'm not used to thinking of them as being real. But the more we do this job, the more things like this seem to be coming out of the woodwork. I mean, if aliens are real, of course Vampires and Werewolves are too..." She glanced toward the sky, as she thought about the Werewolf pack that she fought all the way back to Hungary a year ago.

When Dick moved, Babs put her eyes on him. She watched what he produced, and when he offered it to her, she reached a hand out. "Selene..." She said in a near-whisper, as she looked to Dick, her green eyes centered on him. "You met her?" She asked, a glint of a grin showing.

"Elektra Natchios introduced us. I've seen these. She gave me a few already... I offered them to Kate, actually."

She reached out to accept them, and turned them over in her hand. "They're fucking cool..." She stated, actually cursing, which is a very rare thing for her to do.

Dick Grayson has posed:
"Vault Girl?" Nightwing asks back rhetorically. It's followed a moment later by a chuckle after Barbara's insistence both that she looked damn good in the outfit, but also that she'd definitely won the contest. "I have no doubt of that, Babs. You should check up on those results though. If you're the reigning champ, you should make sure to defend your title if it becomes contested again."

Dick's feet hook anew and he uses it to leverage himself up, unhooking his feet to do so. It seems that he's probably preparing to depart, even if not with any great haste.

The mention of Selene, Elektra, and the coolness of the tech earns a little bob of the head from Dick before he answers, "I met Selene briefly, yes. She was going to shoot me, but when she realized I wasn't trying to do her any harm, she relaxed. When I wasn't staring down a couple barrels? Pretty nice lady."

The omission of any mention of Elektra Natchios likely means that Nightwing hadn't had any significant interaction.

Though the commentary regarding the tech does earn a little nod as Dick resumes his casual pacing along the balcony railing, his arms casually held out to his sides now that they're not attempting to conceal a gift. He keeps his bottle of water in one hand and the fluid inside it shifts gently from one side to another with each of his steps and turns, "It's pretty freaking cool," he agrees with another little nod before he adds, "I have to wonder if we could make them less lethal and less bullet. Something to weaken, without destroying the target or something?"

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Barbara had grinned at the talk of the costume contest, but she hadn't commented on it any further. Were those results even available anymore? Who knew! She was too afraid to look at the Hellfire website.

She had a warm smile touch her pink lips, as her green eyes remained on the magazine of bullets, but with a light shake of her head, she lowered them back down, and offered them back to him. "I think you should keep these. I don't want you to get turned by this bitch, if she catches you out there in a vulnerable place. I know, you're not looking to 'dust' her, but... it could be a good way to get her attention, if nothing else."

She extended it back to him, should he wish it.

"I've actually broken a few of them down, and gotten them in to a newly designed delivery system too. I made a few silver batarangs with... grooves in the edges. They'll know when they are embedded in a target, and they'll leak the serum through the grooves, in to the victim. But... the serum? It is harder for me to work with. Not my speciality. I am sure Batman could handle it, but like you said... He is a bit hard to get the attention of, lately." She huffed out a heavy exhale. "I could try diluting it, but I'm afraid I'd cause it all to break down, if I messed with it. It is some pretty serious chemistry."

She looked out at the city, then back to him. "I've seen them work too. They set the Vampire on fire, within seconds. It's horror personified..." She explains, as she makes a grimace, and a soft shake of her head. As she notes him seemingly antsing around, she nods once at him. "You hanging around? Want to watch a movie? Or you got some trouble to get in to tonight?" She inquired.

Dick Grayson has posed:
"Yeah, good point!" Dick answers with a wry smile, "Though I'd like to think I can fend her off, because aren't I just that good?" He says in jest. He does at least accept the two items in return and, again, stows them away within the compartment built within the shin of his suit. He plants his fists upon his waist and comes to a halt amidst is railing acrobatics. The bottle of mineral water is, of course, resting against his side in doing so. "I'd like to not be turned into a vampire either. The less I'm around them, the better. I'll fight them," he asserts, clearly indicating that he's not about to shirk his duties, "but if given the option, I'd much rather not deal with them. Life's complicated enough without having to deal with a ton of imaginary creatures that someone thought would be good to include in reality."

The explanation behind Barbara's concerns with diluting the serum or otherwise manipulating it are noted with a nod and Nightwing asks with a tilt of his head, his dark hair fluttering in the high elevation wind, "Do you think Red Robin could do anything with it? He's all super smart and stuff, too". Dick smiles at that, though he doesn't seem to be teasing in the slightest.

The question of his remaining though earns a shake of his head from side to side, "Not tonight, but thank you. I've got to patrol a bit and then have to get a little sleep before I have a shift for work in the morning. Raincheck?"

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Once he accepted the magazine of bullets back, Barbara crossed her arms over her stomach, her hands holding on to her elbows. She looked out at the city again, letting her gaze linger there for a brief moment, before she put her eyes back upon Dick's visage. She showed him a soft smile, as she had trouble not smiling at him any time she looked at him. His question of Tim had her shaking her head from side to side.

"I haven't spoken to him in awhile either." She replied, before nodding once. "If you get a chance, and do run in to him... I'd be curious what he could come up with. I am sure Elektra could ask Selene too, but I have been giving them some space. the two of them went through a Hell of a lot in Budapest, when I was there helping out. If Selene is back in town, though? Maybe I should reach out to the lovely, and mysterious, assassin." She said, showing a small smirk. "Our lives include sentences like that one. Why should they not also include ones involving Vampires and Werewolves?"

Uncrossing her arms from her stomach, Babs turned to walk back to his present for her. She picked it up, and its container, before she looked back to him. "Thank you again. Tell Steph she has to be my Bastila Shan." Babs adds, a grin displayed for him.

Dick Grayson has posed:
"I'll try to link up with him and see what he might think. Assuming that I can nab him," Nightwing answers with an uncommitted roll of his shoulders. The smile never seems to falter though, even if it's often a sly little half-smile, "Sounds like an opportunity for you to collab, though. That term's super big these days, right?" Dick's smile grows for a moment, but it disappears in order for him to finish off the remainder of his water.

"No need for your thanks. It's your birthday. That's when you're definitely supposed to get gifts!" Dick shifts himself about so that he faces Barbara and his toes angle toward the tower. He considers Babs a moment more before his smile surges back to life in all its full strength, "I'll definitely let her know. I bet she'll love having an idea delivered to her."

He takes in a deep breath. It's surely the deep breath before the plunge. "I'm going to get back to work though. Again, happy birthday, Babs. Maybe we'll get together soon for a night of gaming or a movie or something. See you later!"

Those final words seem to be the starting gun for Nightwing. He springs back and his heels follow his head. His head directs itself downward and the rest of him follows. He falls fast, but it's Nightwing. He's in no danger. Soon he's swallowed up by the shadows and darkness of Gotham's night.