2420/What's For Lunch

What's For Lunch
Date of Scene:	11 July 2020
Location:	Grand Hall - Wayne Manor
Synopsis:	A lunch at Wayne Manor brings Alfred and some of the Batlings together
Cast of Characters:	Stephanie Brown, Dick Grayson, Alfred Pennyworth, Damian Wayne

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Stephanie Brown has posed:
Summer is still underway, which for Stephanie Brown is that wonderful time between high school ending and college starting when someone her age feels that sense of accomplishment. Finally having reached the end of a school career that has been going on for most of her life.

Of course she's spending a lot of her free time training heavily with Barbara, and patrolling at night. So it's not quite the summer that some others get. Today she has spent the morning training down in the Batcave. A quick shower is had and she changes into some clean shorts and a tank top before heading up to the manor.

"Oh please let there be something going for lunch," she comments to herself. If not, the manor fridge is far better stocked than the one at home. Heck, one shelf of it is better stocked than her fridge at home. But it's not the lack of ability to find food, should something not be underway already, but the hope she'll get to eat some of Alfred's cooking. For the girl from Widowstone, one of the more downtrodden parts of Bristol, a visit to the manor to eat is like going to a five star restaurant.

Dick Grayson has posed:
Dick has spent the last few days at the manor, recuperating from getting shot not so long ago. It was about lunchtime and he was feeling a bit hungry so the eldest Batling made his way downstairs in a t-shirt and athletic shorts, the bandage from his shoulder visible from under one of the sleeves. The sound of his bare feet herald his arrival to the kitchen, seeing Stephanie, Dick gives a wave, "Steph, glad to see you here. I see we both had a similar idea."

Alfred Pennyworth has posed:
Indeed, it would hardly be an afternoon at the manor if Alfred weren't busy in the kitchen, whipping up delicacies for the master of the house to ignore. Today he is working on a pasta dish, the scent of mushrooms, garlic, and cream sauce filling the kitchen. When he notices Stephanie and Dick enter -- and, even in a household of superlative sneaks, Alfred is surprisingly aware of everyone's comings and goings -- he waves them toward the large kitchen island.

"Good afternoon and good morning, respectively," he greets them in his habitual dry tone. "I'm just about to finish lunch. I trust you had a productive training session, Mistress Stephanie? I daresay you might have built up an appetite." He glances over at Dick, the line of his mouth growing even more ruler-straight for a moment, and adds, "Do let me know if your dressings need to be changed, Master Dick."

Damian Wayne has posed:
     For the most part, Damian had been away from the mansion for a number of days to spend them in Metropolis and Titans Tower. The young man had come home for a day or two before going back to help where he was needed.

  Last night, the youngest Wayne had returned to the mansion, and spent the better part of ten hours sleeping.

  Damian had stepped out of his room, venturing out for food. His hair wasn't riddled with bed head, as he kept it short enough that it would return to its normal shape without much fuss. He was wearing a pair of basketball shorts and socks, along with a dark grey tee. The exhaustion was still on his face as he trudged towards the kitchen, not having much energy to be his normal self, overly critical and an overall pain. He simply was on a mission for sustenance.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
The blond girl flashes Dick a grin and waves back towards him. "I'd say great minds think alike, but that would be too big of an insult to give someone I like," she says in a jovial tone to the eldest Wayne ward.

The aromas of the cooking reach her just before Stephanie steps into the kitchen. It takes a little effort to restrain herself from giving a first-pump, but she does give a quiet, "Score!" that is probably audible to the others just the same. "Alfred? Have I told you lately how much I love you?" she asks, batting her eyes at him. "Do I ever have an appetite," she agrees. "Best thing about the training... ok best thing is hopefully, less chance of being shot. Second best thing is not having to watch my calories too closely for how many are getting burnt," she says. Even before turning vigilante, the standout gymnast was incredibly fit, but Barbara's training regimen has only added to that.

She goes over to get plates and begin setting the table. "How's the healing coming?" she asks Dick. She looks over as Damian comes in. While he has little energy, she's kind of overflowing with it. "Lil Wayne!" she exclaims warmly at the sight of Damian. Followed by a Dave Chapelle parody-like, "YES!"

Dick Grayson has posed:
Pasta is never a wrong option, or at least Dick thinks this as he arrives, "Smells great, Alfred, thank you for making it!" The mention of his bandage gets a shake of the head, "So far, so good, I was able to apply it well enough this morning." Damian gets a wave, "Damian, long time no see. Hope things are going well?" Stephanie's comment gets a laugh, "Fair enough, fair enough. The healing is fine, it will just take time at this point."

Dick then makes his way to the fridge and gets himself a glass of iced tea before taking a seat at the table, "How about things for everybody? Everything going all right, mostly, somewhat, maybe a little?"

Alfred Pennyworth has posed:
"Ah, young Master Damian as well, back among the living," Alfred comments approvingly. He smiles -- just slightly -- at Stephanie's enthusiastic reception. "You have not, but you have been occupied, so I shall forgive you." He glances around the room at the assembled group, a slight twinkle in his eye, and then turns to scoop the pasta and sauce into a serving dish. "If not for Master Bruce's habitual inattention to his meals, I might start to suspect my cooking had improved. I can promise that I have not spared the calories." He dips his head slightly to Dick's thanks, adding, "You are, as always, quite welcome, sir."

He sets a serving fork and a large spoon for the sauce into the dish, then lifts it and sets it on a cooling pad, which is already set in the center of the table. Without waiting for requests, he shifts generous helpings into each of the dishes that Stephanie has set out. "Eat well, all of you. It has been a difficult time, and you should take the chance to recover your strength."

Damian Wayne has posed:
     "Grayson." Is about as much of a friendly greeting as Damian can muster at the moment. He sounded a bit friendlier than normal, as if he started to allow himself to open up to the rest of the family. Baby steps though, especially as Stephanie's comments only have the young teen's eyes flare open in surprise, reeling back at the YEAAHHH! "I do not want to know." He says, half enthused.

  The meal however, is looked upon with gusto as he serves himself iced tea along with Dick. "Thank you, Pennyworth." He offers up before digging in, not ravenous like he hadn't eaten in days, but with a little more zeal than normal.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie Brown leaves the table setting to head over to Alfred, and if he doesn't fend her off he's given a hug from behind. Though a short one as she frees up her arms to say, "Love you this much," with her arms outstretched. Then she returns to finishing getting the table ready for the food Alfred brings over.

She grins at the Wayne boys as she takes a seat, waiting for everyone to get food before she digs in with a hearty appetite. "Good news though, from New York," she comments, without going more deeply into the alien attack that was repulsed. "Mmm, you outdid yourself, Alfred," she tells him. Stephanie looks over to Damian. "Were you up there?" she asks, probably referring to New York.

Dick Grayson has posed:
Dick nods to Damian, "Glad to see you doing all right, bro." He begins serving himself some of the pasta, taking a sip of his tea when he's ready to begin eating. After the first bite, he gives Alfred a thumbs up, "Great work, Alfred, so par for the course." Dick gives a grin and looks to Stephanie and Damian, "Good, and oh, hope your little trip went well?"

Alfred Pennyworth has posed:
Alfred is quite happy to accept the hug, answering Stephanie's wide-armed gesture with a smile and a simple, "I share the sentiment, young lady." He serves himself a somewhat smaller portion than the ones for the rest of the group -- unlike Stephanie, he has a quite reasonable exercise regimen, and eats accordingly -- and seats himself at the table, as well. This isn't strictly proper protocol, but within the family, such things are rarely observed.

The butler tastes his own handiwork with a critical eye, commenting only, "Perhaps a bit longer on the noodles." He's just as much a perfectionist, in his way, as anyone in the family. Still: "I'm very glad you're all enjoying it." He sits back to listen to their recounting of their respective activities, as gnomic as ever about what, exactly, he is already aware of.

Damian Wayne has posed:
     "I was on the ground." Damian offers, between bites and of course, clear of food, like a gentleman. "Others were up on the ship. All of us performed admirably." As much as he kept most compliments to himself, there was no doubt that The Titans were back, and in a big way.

  "The combined efforts of...a lot of heroes defeated Brainiac. We all took part." He says to Dick, before continuing in on his meal.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie has to pick spots between bites to talk. "Par for the course?" she repeats. Eat, eat, eat. "Only if the course is all hole in ones for par," she says with a quick grin before going back for a couple of mushrooms wrapped in the pasta.

A sip of her tea is taken as Stephanie listens to Damian's summary of what happened. "Was on watch here in Gotham, but thankfully didn't have any reports of attacks here," she says. Her tone is a little glum on that point. Not that she wanted Gotham attacked, but she wanted to mix it up with some aliens, no doubt.

She takes another bite, pausing to savor the flavors. "Saw some empty street corners where there are often dealers," she comments. "Haven't figured out yet what was going on," she adds. "Down in Little Italy. If you notice anything like it elsewhere give me a heads up."

Dick Grayson has posed:
"Good, sorry I could not make a trip recently, been recovering, though once it is healed up might go on a ride up there," Dick notes to Damian, "Though glad to hear it went well."

Alfred gets a frown, "They are perfect, Alfred. And I will fight anyone who speaks to the contrary!" He gestures vaguely with his fork like a rapier.

"I'll keep my ears open, Stephanie. Not a lot of stuff that I hear anymore since I'm no longer on the force, but I can ask my old co-workers and see what they've heard."

Alfred Pennyworth has posed:
"The ground sounds like a perfectly sensible location, if you ask me," Alfred tells Damian, leaving implied: 'not that anyone ever does.' "As I have reiterated to Master Bruce many times, simply wearing a cape is not sufficient to allow one to fly. I hope your compatriots escaped serious injury."

Stephanie gets a bit of a look, over the top of the butler's water glass. "Perhaps these dealers have had a sudden attack of sense? Between vigilantes and the threat of alien abduction, I might take the night off, as well." The very idea of Alfred taking the night off might be enough to elicit some spontaneous laughs, but it's clear he didn't intend it as a joke.

"If you must defend my honor as a chef, Master Dick, please schedule the duel for after your shoulder has had more time to heal," Alfred answers dryly. "Every wound tended to is less time in the kitchen, after all."

Damian Wayne has posed:
     "I will keep an eye out. It may have something to do with Drake's unknown substance." He mentions, looking into his bowl of pasta and sauce. "I would not underestimate the danger factor of yesterday as well. Rats, like dealers tend to abandon ship at the first sign of trouble. And last night...could have turned out much worse, for the planet as a whole." Damian knew full well the stakes had been huge. And Earth had made out as best it could have been.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie Brown seems to consider Alfred's thought on the missing dealers between bites. "Maybe," she agrees. "Could be they decided to get away from the city. Enough other people left town," she says. Traffic was such a snarl in the days leading up to the attack as people wanted to get away from population centers.

She takes another bite, swinging her gaze over to Damian and nodding towards him. "We should be able to tell if they were just heading for the hills or not, soon enough," she says. "Planning to go back out that way, I'd been working on tracking back to their source," she adds.

Dick Grayson has posed:
"Some might have found religion," Dick notes, and nods to Alfred, "I shall withhold all challenges until I am cleared by a doctor," he chuckles at this. "But hopefully it was a change of mind on the dealers' part and not something more malicious, let some good come from this, if at all possible." Dick resumes eating a little more, using his left hand a little more often instead of his right.

Alfred Pennyworth has posed:
"I confess, I retreated into the Cave last night myself," Alfred comments. Whether he was using the subterranean refuge as a bottling-beam bomb shelter or as a hub from which to monitor feeds of information from the battle, he leaves for the rest of the table to speculate upon.

He nods his approval at Stephanie's plan to gather more information on the absent dealers. "Better to establish a firm pattern than to read too much into one data point," he says, straightening in his seat. "I shall see if I can compile information from the various nocturnal characters who use our communication channels. A larger sample size should help us to determine whether this is truly a trend." He might not be a detective, but the butler understands basic statistics.

"I do appreciate it, Master Dick," he says finally, favoring the eldest Wayne ward with a smile. "It's so rare for one of you to choose self-preservation."

Damian Wayne has posed:
     Damian continues with the meal, agreeing with the topic of the dealers. "The best we can do is keep an eye out." He offers up, before he was finished with his meal, he was smaller than the rest, but he had his fill.

  His plate was picked up, along with his drink. "I am going back to bed." He says, softly. The kid had spent days awake, his battery had been well and truly drained. "I will be good to go on patrol tonight." As if he would let sleep keep him from doing something he enjoyed.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie nods at Damian's saying he's heading back to bed. "Get some rest, Lil Wayne. Soon you'll be dropping mad rhymes again," she says, blue eyes twinkling merrily towards him, her smile trying to get out though she does her best to suppress it.

The pasta is attacked with renewed vigor. "Appreciate the help," she says to Dick and Alfred. "I'm afraid as things get back to normal that's going to include a bit of a crime wave as those who left are out looking for a score. Might do an extra patrol long patrol tonight, now that I think about it."

Dick Grayson has posed:
"Sensible, Alfred," Dick says, also uncertain of what Alfred was doing, but he would trust Alfred with anything. Damian gets a nod, "Seeya, Theodore Brosevelt!" He eats a little more and listens to the talk about the dealers, "Fortunately they usually act in groups, and there are probably connections made in police files on them if they have a record. Should be easy enough to get that web figured out."

Alfred Pennyworth has posed:
"No one will look askance if you decide to sleep in a bit longer than usual, young master," Alfred tells Damian as he leaves the table. Then he sighs, gazing wistfully at the grounds through the window. "You would think they might do us all the favor of taking a vacation," he grumbles. "You all did just save the planet. It might be nice to take a week off from worrying about street crime."

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie is near to having cleaned her plate. She wasn't kidding about having an appetite worked up, obviously. "No rest for the wicked," she tells Alfred. "Which unfortunately means no rest for your wicked-opposed caped crusaders," she says. She caught that in an article about Batman and Robin when she was a girl, and always liked the phrase.

"Figured Barbara could help pull up some of the police files. Which reminds me," Stephanie says to Dick. "Just how much do the police keep on their computers today versus... you know. Little notebooks. Or just..." she taps at her temple with a finger. "Up here. Do they have requirements to keep things recorded electronically?"

Dick Grayson has posed:
"None indeed," Dick says and looks to Alfred, "Low level criminals are more a hobby to keep sharp with. Fairly predictable and not a huge challenge." Most of the time. Except when they aren't. Stephanie's question gets a moment's pause before he says, "Lots on computer files, some still on paper. I know I kept field notes on paper, quicker than typing into a phone, but there is plenty fo correspondence by email or text, especially if we've been saving metadata on a case."

Alfred Pennyworth has posed:
"I resent your dismissal of my wickedness," Alfred interjects, deadpan. "Why, just the other evening I moved Master Jason's boots from the middle of the floor to where they belong, knowing full well it would take him nearly a quarter hour to find them."

Moving to the topic of police files, he shrugs and points out, "I daresay if Miss Barbara can't turn up the needed information electronically, you can find a volunteer or two to snoop through the physical files. It's only a police station, how secure could it be?"

Stephanie Brown has posed:
The blond teen gives a nod towards the information from Dick. "Ok, just wanted an idea of how much Oracle can get at and how much there might be offline," she says. The girl's blue eyes swing over towards Alfred and she flashes him a grin. "I like your moxy, Alfred," she tells him.

Stephanie finishes up her plate and then carries it over to the sink to begin washing up. "She glances towards the stove nearby and asks in a tone she tries to make sound like casual conversation, though it hides far more interest, "So anything on the plans for dinner tonight? Mom's on a late shift tonight so just me if I'm eating at home," she says.

Dick Grayson has posed:
"Fairly secure, especially with the chaos going on," Dick notes, "But there are ways. Or if you can get a good enough attorney to make it easier on them, or find a cop that owes you a favor," Dick shrugs. He turns to Stephanie, "Online you should be able to get a bit, offline will be a pain on some things. Also if it's drugs, federal might have more, but it's a bigger fish and one with more teeth." The topic shift to dinner gets his attention, "If it's all right with Alfred, I don't see a problem with one more. I doubt Bruce will care."

Alfred Pennyworth has posed:
Alfred glances over toward Stephanie as she starts the washing, cocking his head to the side. "If you would like to join us, I would be more than happy to set out an extra place," he says. "Additionally, if you can think of a preference, I have always liked to let our guests choose the menu." He flashes a smile at Dick, then stands and starts to gather what dishes remain. He takes a definite quiet satisfaction in setting out a meal to be enjoyed by a group.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Both men receive a warm and grateful smile from the young woman. "Thank you, if it wouldn't be poking my nose in too much," she says. She eyes both men for a moment, gauging their reaction. Not the first time she's shown signs of trying to figure out how she fits in with the group since her return to it at the invitation of Barbara Gordon.

"I... oh Alfred I don't even know all the wonders you're capable of. If you want a suggestion though... ah... maybe fish? And just, let you take it from there?" she says uncertainly. She comes over to help Alfred with the remaining dishes, bringing them back to the sink and getting back to work washing them.