2151/Wrong Button

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Wrong Button
Date of Scene: 18 June 2020
Location: Batcave
Synopsis: Grenades, more grenades, and clean up before intentionally wrecking a bike.
Cast of Characters: Stephanie Brown, Bette Kane




Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie has spent her entire crime-fighting career using just her own equipment, except for the occasional item that Tim Drake would pass to her. Since Barbara has taken Steph under her wing, it has been quiet the learning experience then. Not just fighting and detective work and criminology, but also getting used to all the gear that a billionaire and his company are capable of dreaming up.

Today Stephanie is trying to a disc launcher that delivers little payloads of different types. Sticky explosive bombs, electric charges, gas. The only limits were the imaginations of Bruce and the others.

Also there are a number of grenades, whether the normal kind of pellets, set out which she's also working on mastering. She's wearing her Spoiler outfit, sitting on a box with the array of equipment on a few other boxes around her. At the moment she's assembling and disassembling the disc launcher itself.

Bette Kane has posed:
The ride from Starling City back to Gotham was a hard one. Every bump on the road shot straight up her side. Motorbikes don't do much in the way of shock absorption; you need that feeling of tire to the road to stay reactive after all. The rumble of her bite echos through the carpark of the Batcave. She parks off to the side, leaving the bigger more important equipment such as the Batmobile with easy access to the run way.

With a grimace and a small grunt Bette dislodges herself from the bike and slings her back over her shoulder. Her limping is obvious as she walks up in to the more common area of the cave and finally slumps in to a chair with another wince of pain. Oliver Queen is efficient at stitching wounds.. not good at it. Good enough for now though.

Under her civilian clothing Bette is still wearing most of her Flamebird uniform because the armored pieces are helping hold her side together. She gives a wave to Stephanie and does her best to catch her breath.

"Hey Steph," she says as her eyes roam over the gear she has out, "testing toys?"

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie gets the launcher reassembled and sends a sticky round up the test range to hit a corner of a doorway where it might be used to surprise someone where it a real scenario. She sets it aside then, turning to look and see who has arrived as the rumble of the bike makes itself felt.

Stephanie picks up one of the grenades, eyeing it at first, but then turning her attention away from it as Flamebird dismounts the bike and moves with that noticeable limp towards a seat. "Uh oh. Looks like you had a rough go of it?" Stephanie comments.

Suddenly there's a noise kind of like a combination of a 'whoosh!' and wet spaghetti hitting a wall. Tendrils of some gummy concoction shoot of the grenade and splatter all over Stephane, restricting her movements until such time as she manages to free herself.

"Argh. Wrong button," Stephanie says.

She struggles to get a hand over to her utility belt. It takes a little of wiggling and fighting, but she finally manages to get from a pouch the compound that can quickly break down the sticky grenade's payload. It goes to work and she finally rises, pulling bits of the goo from her. "Ah... totally meant to do that. You know. Testing," Stephanie says, not trying to make the lie sound true.

Bette Kane has posed:
Bette's eyes go wide in surprise at the sudden explosive goop grenade. Then, she starts to laugh. This is interspersed with ouches and groans, gripping her side, then the resumption of laughing. "Ow ow ow.. hah."

She grins and sits a little more side ways to take pressure off her side. "You are your own worst enemy Steph. That's good news, no one will ever get the drop on you." Her smile remains as she explains, "So I track a people smuggling ring from the docs all the way to Starling City. Modern slave trade and people trafficking. The usual affair - goons with big guns who think they're in charge. Well their boss certainly wasn't taking chances. I guess he's seen what Batman and Green Arrow do to businesses like his. But.. he got me instead of them and I got the nasty end of his M203 grenade launcher."

Watching the progress of Steph release herself from her own mess is cathartic. "I thought I was doing a good job of staying out of his target range, but then he shot the cement ceiling and part of it collapsed on me. Given I was in Starling City, I used a pager the Arrow had previously given me to call for his help. He was pretty close already. Two v One with a grenade launcher, we won."

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie pours some of the solvent on the goop in her hair. She looks over to the laughing that is bringing Bette pain. "See now, each laugh those are little shards of karma poking you painfully for laughing at someone else," she claims, though with a soft, goofy grin on her face.

Stephanie manages to get the worst of it off of her costume. The rest will need to be dipped in the solvent or maybe sprayed with it. She walks over to Bette, only having to pause once because her foot sticks to the floor until she scrapes the goo from her boot.

"Ok, maybe little shards of shrapnel instead of karma then," she amends after hearing the tale. "Glad that he was in the area. Haven't gotten to meet him before," Stephanie says. "Really, I just know us," she says, giving a little twirl of her finger to indicate the Batcave, and those who know about it most likely.

"Not that I'm probably any better, but anything you need help with there, medically? I do tend to my own injuries normally. And have a nurse for mother so I've at least learned how to do stitches right," she says with a soft grin. "Glad you were able to shut that guy down though. That just..." Stephanie says, shaking her head. Human trafficking is one of the things that gets to her.

Bette Kane has posed:
There's a nod of agreement from Bette, "You're not wrong." She lets out a sigh and says, "I'll have the base medic look at me when I get back. I have to crash my bike first though. A decent excuse for injuries this bad that will affect my duties. Gotta keep up that cover identity. Sometimes I fantasise about being Flamebird full time.. but then I also know I'm really mercurial and I'd get bored and start taking even bigger risks."

"I can't believe I get to move back to Gotham soon.. no long trips from West Point and back again every weekend. But, I will have to go to schools and encourage kids to sign up to the armed forces." There's a small shrug and a smile, "But I'm okay with that. It was a good degree. May be one day I'll go continue my education and become an actual doctor of psychology."

"...hmmmmm unless you want to smash up my bike? could be fuuun. Wanton solicited destruction of my beloved bike."

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie pokes at her hair to see how gummy it is and sighs, refocusing her attention back on Bette. "I'm jealous. I start at Gotham U the end of the summer and... um. I'm a little apprehensive. My grades weren't the best in high school as it was. And I still don't know what I want to study yet. Though, getting to leave high school behind has its perks." Like no more seeing Tinsley. Thank God.

Stephanie's blue eyes grow brighter and wider at the mention of smashing up the bike. "Oh yes. Please? I had this idea bout riding at high speed and then grappling up to something up above and the momentum..." Stephanie says, using her hand to demonstrate. "And then.." she says, her hand inverting like she plans to do a flip, "And then, WHAMMO! Well, if there's a bad guy there. If not, just..." and Stephanie mimes a gymnastics landing, even down to arms upraised and turning to do the same the other direction.

"Though I spend more of my time trying to keep my bike running, than messing it up," she says. "Intentionally anyway."

Bette Kane has posed:
Bette begins to laugh again and then once more also adds in several ouches. "Wow you have thought this through. That's kinda.. bizarre, but hey." She opens up her bag and takes out the bike key. "Trash it just outside of Gotham. Don't get hurt yourself please." She slides the key across the table in front of her toward Steph. "I'll just.. chill here for a bit and then make my way to base to file a 'black ice on road crash' incident report. Easy peasy. Those happen all the time. They're no ones fault, no one else got hurt, no need to involve police and the insurance goes through quickly."

"Then I whine at people for a few weeks until the insurance cheque clears and I buy a new bike." She nods to herself mostly, it's a good clean simple plan. This is the most elaborate ruse she's ever come up with to cover her vigilante life style for real life though. The easier way is to not have cement fall on you as a result of a grenade explosion.

"Hey.. university is a breeze. I mean, you do have to stay on top of your studies but you can really let your hair down. Uh.. unless you go to West Point. They make a specific point at the Point about //not// letting your hair down. But, you catch my drift. More adult, more life, ... sadly more responsibility too. Also, significantly more sexual exploration." She furrows her eyebrows a moment and thins her lips. "Best not to get too distracted with that. The life of a crime fighter is too dangerous for those kinds of attachments."

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie gives a small grin, one that for being restrained, doesn't really hide her anticipation of getting to intentionally rough up the bike. "You know I'm going to want to help fix it or something after though," the younger woman comments.

She leans on a counter for a seat, nodding about college. "I'm looking forward to a lot of that. Getting treated like an adult. Or, like more of one anyway," she says. "Heh, whether I deserve that or not is a subject of many lectures in my home," Stephanie adds with a soft laugh.

She crosses her arms, a small grin at the sexual exploration part. "Well, yeah, that's not bad either," she says, a little bit of color coming to her cheeks and she looks away before venturing, "So... curious how it is you came into all of this. I mean, vigilante, Flamebird, all of that. I looked you up, the tennis career and all. Quite a bit of a change going from that to this. Am I prying to ask?"

Bette Kane has posed:
There's a small smirk on her lips and she glances over at the Bat suits, then back to Steph and says. "Okay but it's really dumb and you're going to think less of me when I tell you. Just a content warning." She sits up on her seat a little taller and says. "Growing up I was a //huge// fan of Batman and Robin. The dynamic duo was just.. the best, you know? I had a huge crush on Robin.. Nightwing."

She can't help but blush, "So while I was at West Point I thought.. hey I could do that too right? I'm fast and fit and strong. I kicked serious butt in the dojo. Fighting crime was a pretty big change from the dojo though. I know you know what I'm talking about there."

Rubbing her side gently, so as not to tear the stitches but to relief some of the pain she continues, "So I got some.. tutorlage from.. someone. Someone who shall remain nameless for now. Annd I hit the streets as Hawkfire." She says it with a touch of flare and nostalgia.

"That was such a huuuge mess. I quit after stuff got too real and focused on my studies. But, then there was this hostage situation on a bus and I couldn't help myself. I sprang in to action and that flame inside me to be a vigilante just reignited fully. So this time I took the name Flamebird. I'm a sort of okay at it crime fighter I guess? You're going to be amazing - the way you integrate your gymnastics in to everything. So, yeah, that's how I got here. An itch that just never quite goes away. What about you?"

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie Brown gives a little wave of her hand as if dismissing the thought that Stephanie is going to think Bette's reason is dumb. "I don't know there's a particularly sane reason for any of us," Stephanie quips with a little shrug of her shoulders.

She listens quietly, crossing her arms as she does. It turns out later to be a mistake as the tale winds to a close and Stephanie tries to uncross them, only to find they are stuck together. She grimaces and pulls hard, getting them apart finally.

"Yeah, once you get a taste of it, get it in the blood, it's kind of hard to stop, isn't it?" Stephanie says. "It's a rush. And seeing the people you help, seeing the impact you made on their lives? That's just... irreplaceable," she says.

At the question of how Stephanie got into the line she gives a soft sigh. Instead of answering verbally at first, she turns to the Batcomputer. Removing a glove so she doesn't sticky up the keyboard, she types in a few commands, and an image of the C-rate villain Cluemaster. Beneath it in his bio, Stephanie motions to his name. Arthur Brown.

"So, yeah. I grew up the only girl in my grade whose father was repeatedly sent to prison by Batman and Robin," she says. "You can imagine what it was like. Take the movie Mean Girls and consider that just the start. He was gone more than he was around when I was growing up," Stephanie says. She removes her other glove, looking down at her hands. "I resented him. Still do. More than I can say. So... he got out when I was 15. And I wanted him back in prison. So... to bring down Cluemaster I became his Spoiler. Left clues to guide Batman to him. Which, it turns out, also guided him to me."

Bette Kane has posed:
Bette nods and lets out a soft 'oooh' of understanding. "That's really rough. I'm so sorry Steph. Yeah, Spoiler really is a nice Screw You to Cluemaster isn't it. Very clever." She lets out a small sigh as she considers Steph not having a loving family growing up - not like her. Her only complaint is that Kate doesn't take her seriously because she never seems to live up to Kate's expectations.

"Batman has an eye for talent," she says and then groans as she stands up and picks up the solvent from the kit and boxes. She looks at it under the light and then peers back at you. "You know, may be you should have a shower? That stuff is wicked sticky." Was she ever this awkward? ..probably. Military school tends to drill it out of you though. Then again, she's always been in the spot light because of her sport.

"You can't crash my bike if you're stuck to it. And yeah, I'd love the help fixing it after too." She starts to strip off, first her civilian clothes, then her Flamebird costume. Under that she has on a sports bra and shorts. The inside of her suit is covered in blood on one side and the side of her body is covered in purple bruising. She takes the armor plates out of her suit to wash them down later. "Well my downtime is going to give me a chance to clean up this mess at least." The stitching on her side looks like it was done by a field medic rather than a doctor.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
"Thanks," Stephanie replies about her choice in name. "I think even the street goons still have no clue who I am though. Should have gone animal-themed, obviously," the blond girl says with a faint, wry grin.

At the comment about Batman having an eye for talent, Stephanie's eyes drop a bit, and she glances over to a spot nearby in the Batcave. The conversation that happened there plays out in her head again as she was told she didn't have what it took to be a crimefighter. "Yeah, he really does," she says, trying her best to keep her expression and tone nondescript.

Stephanie lets out a breath. "Shower, right. And, really you don't need to tell anyone else about the grenade, ok?" she says, batting her eyes at Bette in an overly dramatic pleading look. "You should take care, that can reopen easily enough if you overdo it," Stephanie agrees.

Bette Kane has posed:
"Hmmm, are you sure? because.. I feel like all the birds of prey would absolutely love to hear about your grenade accident, right after I tell them about my grenade accident. You know.. to compare accidents and grenades and how we dealt with them." There's a delighted twinkle in her eye. "I should have taken a picture."

She'd be up to fight it out too if she weren't so injured. "Hey may be I should walk around with a walking stick for a week, that'd be fun." The armor plates and bloodied uniform are carefully stowed in to her backpack, then she puts back on her civilian clothing. Slow deliberate movements each of them, with a slightly pained expression on her face. This is the look of victory - probably the biggest victory she's ever had as a crime fighter and she still needed someone elses help to pull it off.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie goes over to a medicine cabinet, getting whatever they have available for helping with the pain, and then grabbing a bottle of water to help with swallowing them and bringing them back over to Bette. "Here, might help," she says. "You could probably ask about having a bike left here for you, and then just take the HyperLoop back and forth to Annapolis. Until you're ready to make the move," Stephanie suggests.

She pulls at a bit of goop in her hair, wincing as it want to hang onto the blond strands. "Ok, definitely shower time for me. Once I'm cleaned up I'll go take care of the bike. I won't be too dramatic with it," she promises. "Don't want it being so spectacular it makes youtube or something."