3309/Up, Up and Away

Up, Up and Away
Date of Scene:	10 September 2020
Location:	Stephanie Brown Apt - University Apartments
Synopsis:	Roberto having revealed he is a mutant, takes Stephanie flying. So awesome.
Cast of Characters:	Roberto da Costa, Stephanie Brown

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Roberto da Costa has posed:
Roberto had swung by Stephs apartment after shooting her a text that reads:

-> Fly time. Bring a change of clothes or a bathing suit just in case.

He shows up not long after in his 'Gotham car' a new beamer, and takes Steph out to the Jersey Shore. Not the annoying reality show of yesteryear but the real thing, and a nice secluded part of it too. Turning off the car Roberto looks over at Steph, "Ready?" he asks her brows raising in an amused challenge, dressed in a designer t-shirt and some shorts that could double as swim trunks.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie is almost literally bouncing after getting that text. Well, there was a little actual bouncing, so literally then. She hurries to her closet, pulling out some clothing. Looking at it. Tossing it aside. Something else. Tossing it aside. Not just anything will do.

Finally she decides on a pair of shorts. Her great ass shorts, as she calls them privately. Every girl has a pair of those. And her favorite top. And a bikini to boot. The clothing is tossed in a small bag, and she's hurrying to the stairwell rather than take the elevator. She peers down below and then just hops over the railing, falling two stories before grabbing hold of the railing to halt herself. Drop again. Drop again. One more and she's on the ground floor!

She hurries outside, shining a grin as she sees Roberto in the new car. She hops in and leans over, grabbing that designer shirt lightly to help pull him into a kiss. "Ready," she says brightly, her blue eyes just luminous with emotion.

Roberto da Costa has posed:
Roberto is more than happy to grab Steph's shirt in return as he kisses her back and when he breaks away from the kiss he smiles, "You know we coooould just go back up to your place," he suggests with a mischievous sparkle in his eyes.

He leans in and kisses her again, but ultimately puts the car in gear and pulls into Gotham traffic, heading for the Jersey Shore.

"Figured we'd split the difference and do our flight near dusk, way prettier than night and more fun than during the day," he says as he drives.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
The energetic blond grins and fastens her seat belt, turning sideways on the seat then to face Roberto rather than the windshield. "Oh, I think after this it's pretty much a surety you're going to get invited up. Assuming you don't let me plummet to my death," she tells him, eyes shining with the same bright warmth as her grin has. "Actually, now that I say that, it seems like that's probably a really good insurance policy for me?" she suggests.

She rests her head on the seatback. "That sounds beautiful. I've never gotten to see a sunset from up high up. I bet you can see the stars better up there when you get high enough above the city lights too?" she asks.

Stephanie eyes the rugged Brazilian and that soccer player build of his. "So are you stronger than normal people too? I don't remember if you mentioned that or not," she asks. "Ribs are better too, so...I think I'm going to WANT you to hold me tight on this one," she says.

Roberto da Costa has posed:
"Yeeah, that's a pretty good point, not that I'd let you plummet to your death," Berto says with a wink. "And yeah, I'm a little bit stronger than normal, can bench around 20 tons, it's not a big deal."

He carries on driving out over the bridge into Bristol headed for the freeway.

"Anyhow things have been sort of crazy, helped save the world over in Met the other night and then me and some friends went to this race and fought some giant spiders. It was pretty cool. Definitely going to look up this race next season though, looked like fun, it was in the old New York subway tunnels. How's Gotham, still dealing with whatever got your ribs?"

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie Brown's mouth falls open just a little bit. "20 tons," she says softly. A little bit louder. "20 tons? Oh my god. And I think my bo staff feels heavy after fighting for about ten or twenty minutes," she says.

As he drives, heading out of town, Stephanie reaches over and gives the muscles in his arm a squeeze. Her fingers slide just a bit. Another squeeze. A little bit more, moving over that line where biceps and triceps meet. "Oh yeah, I feel them, that's like 15 tons right there alone," she says with a big grin.

The girl slides her hand up to his shoulder, just a light touch to not distract his driving. She alternates between watching the scenery as they move away from populated areas, and looking over to Roberto as her tells her about his recent happenings.

"Ok, I would have bet probably a lot that after "helped save the world" that your tale probably would have not surpassed further that level of interesting," Stephanie tells him. "Boy would I have lost. Race in subway tunnels where you fought giant spiders? You don't have a glowing sword and some light made of elf juice too, right?" she asks. "Seriously... I'd love to see this race," she says.

She reaches into her bag, pulling out a pair of bottles of water, opening one to see if Roberto wants it, the other for herself if he does. "I don't really know I have anything to compare with that. Was attacked by the pair of assassins who are totally dead to pain so they just keep coming no matter how hard you hit them. And stopped this woman who looked like a cheetah from auctioning off some ancient aquatic statue to millionaires, supervillains and maggia bosses on a yacht out at sea. Kept her from escaping with it when the yacht was swarmed with these Creature from the Black Lagoon looking monsters who were apparently after the statue until I knocked it overboard," she says.

She lets out a forlorn sigh. "You have all the fun." she says, crossing her arms and harrumphing.

Roberto da Costa has posed:
Laughing as Steph inspects his arms, "It's when I power up, no extra muscles, or Arnold body, just get to lift small trucks, and the odd intergalactic conqueror," he says with a grin before launching into the tale of how he saved the world. Mostly him pushing a van driven by a turtle with the aforementioned intergalactic conqueror strapped to the top. "Anyhow, yeah we kept him out of the reach of his army, and basically saved Metropolis. I mean, the Amazons helped a bit, same with Green Arrow and the Superfolks." He shrugs, smiling brightly.

"And figured you would want to see that race, but what do you think about driving in it?" he asks glancing over with another of those Roberto da Costa grins. "Thought about getting a couple of cars and seeing if we can get in on one of them in New York or Jersey if they do them out here after the spider thing."

He takes the water, drinking deep as they drive towards the shore, traffic thinning out as they go. "And both of those sound super dope," Berto says. "Undead ninja and Black Lagoon monsters. Now if your issues were like just classes and jobs, you'd have a point but that definitely counts as fun."

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie shines with pride as Roberto fills in details about the battle in Metropolis, asking him a few questions and letting him revel in the details. Such successes should be celebrated!

"Drive in it? Drive in an underground subway race? Does the pope shit in- no wait I mean is a bear Cath- er... yes. Hell yes!" she says with a big grin. "Most of my experience is on a motorcycle, but, hey I'm willing to branch out. There's this cute little purple compact I've seen for sale forever," she says, considering, but then shrugging and saying. "Better I focus my funds on getting through college for now."

She sips her water as well, running her hand lightly over Roberto's shoulders. "Your physique is perfect. Don't need Arnold arms," she agrees, before he brings up her own activities. "Okaaaaay," she says, accepting Roberto's verdict. "Maybe it was kind of... adventurous," she admits. "Going to be nice to get away and go flying. Going flying with my boyfriend. God I like the sound of that," she says, grinning over to Roberto. "Hey, how's your mom settled in? I called and offered to stop by, but the timing didn't work out," she says.

Roberto da Costa has posed:
There's a grin as Steph stumbles over her phrasing and he leans over to kiss her, road rules and safety be damned "Awesome, let me know about that car, I'll totally get it for you. Call it cost of admission, we're going to have to supe it up too if we're going to stand a chance of winning this thing."

"See, told you you are awesome, wouldn't be dating you otherwise. I mean I'm Roberto da Costa, I have a rep to maintain," he says with a wink, before making a turn for the road to the beech. "You are definitely going flying with your boyfriend," he says, "And my mom is doing alright, misses her place and her stuff, though it's a good thing most of it is still in Brazil she hadn't gotten it all shipped up to Gotham yet. And speaking of Brazil, the wedding is back on," it had been a whole on again off again thing all summer. "If you can be sprung for a weekend we can still go if you want."

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Mmm. Kiss. Stephanie keeps it short despite the desire to do otherwise. She can delay gratification to get their in one piece. The blond teen's excitement climbs a bit as she sees them take the turnoff and there are glimpse of the ocean up ahead where trees aren't blocking the view. "Well, I know you just got one," she says, reaching a hand out to run it over some of the leather of the interior. "And a very awesome car it is too, Mr. da Costa," she tells him.

But she doesn't say no to the car, just defers the conversation for later. Though in truth, images are already in her head of repainting it a better shade of purple. Adding some lights to the undercarriage.

Maybe a pop up gun turret on the roof. Does Wayne Enterprises have that for sale on their websites. She'll have to ask.

She squeezes Roberto's shoulder softly as he fills her in on his mother. "I'm glad she didn't lose everything," she agrees. "When she gets a new place, we can help her set it up and get moved in," she says.

"And Brazil is definitely on. Whenever you want me. I got a passport now and boosters and everything so I'm ready to go," she says with a bright smile. "I really do want to see where you came from," she tells him. "So, question. When you think of 'home' where is it that you think of?"

Roberto da Costa has posed:
Berto looks over, "Sure, it's awesome but totally the wrong car for what I've got in mind, going to need to get something else, something to supe up. It'll be fun, a joint project," he says already deciding to buy Steph that car she wants.

"Me too, she's still not happy about losing what she did but mostly, I'm just glad she's safe."

"Awesome, I'll call my dad back and let him know we're coming and confirm the date is actually on this time," he says before he gives a thoughtful look at Steph's question. "Xavier's," he answers. "It's where I feel the most at home."

Stephanie Brown has posed:
The side of Stephanie's head rests against the seatback, eyes on Roberto as he talks. "I think it's really great how you had such a good experience there. School for me was... well, it wasn't necessarily Hell. But it was more or less Hell-adjacent. Ok maybe I'm overstating it, but the good memories from it seem outweighed by the bad. Really, I don't know where I'd be today if I hadn't gone after dad and ended up running rooftops at night," she tells him.

She smiles and says, "I hope you're able to keep in touch with the people there now that you're in college and our lives end up going different ways."

The blond's head swivels back to see where they are as the car pulls into a good area to park. Her excitement ratchets up a bit and she leans forward so she can look up at the sky. "So what do you consider good flying conditions anyway? A little breeze a nice thing, or deterrent? And, what's it like going through a cloud? I kind of picture it being all... cool and soggy."

Roberto da Costa has posed:
Roberto grimaces about Steph's school experience, "Yeah, I can relate, before Xavier's before I even knew I was a mutant, I got flack at school," he says as he brings the car to a stop near a secluded strand of beach. "Mostly because my grandfather was black, and that's sort of a thing with the rich kids in Brazil. Most of them are descended from the Portuguese and stuff that settled there, even if really they're all mixed on some level. Anyhow there were a few kids who made my life hell because of that, and maybe a little bit because I was dating the girl he liked, but anyhow, was glad to leave that all behind for Xaviers. So, maybe college will be your Xaviers."

"Oh, we'll definitely keep in touch, most of them are sticking around, after graduation, it's a big building with a small group of students so there's always room for alumni to bum around the campus and enjoy the free room and board."

As for flying conditions, "Mostly not being shot at," Roberto says. "Or having things thrown at me, like in training, really anything's good as long as there's sun."

He opens the car door and then looks back to Steph. "Shall we?" he asks about getting out onto the beach as a prelude to their flight.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie climbs out of the car, and lets out a soft laugh. "Well, while I'm not planning to shoot at you or throw things? It's pretty much a standard part of my training that I get pelted when least expected. I wouldn't put it past certain people to suddenly buzz past in the Batwing and shoot a paintball gun at us," she tells him as she walks around the car to join Roberto.

"Which is mostly joke, but seriously, I get ambushed all the time as training," she says. "So... ok I figure this isn't a question that is out of line, but if it is just say so. With Doctor McCoy being an Avenger and all, I assume he's given you a lot of training then? It's a serious thing, really focusing on being able to fight supervillains?" she asks him. Stephanie seems to be trying really careful not to ask more than she should.

She glances down at her sandals. "Probably the worst idea for flying," she says to herself, taking them off and sticking them in a back pocket so they don't fall off along the way.

Roberto da Costa has posed:
Roberto gets out of the car and closes the door behind him, leaning across the roof as he watches Steph, "Hmm, going to have to remember the paintball ambush thing," he says. "Definitely calling that training too."

"Can't really say," Roberto says about who trains him. "Not my story to tell," he says. "But the training is serious, but less superhero more, what happens if we have to defend mutant kind," he says. "Not like we're going looking for a fight it's more like hmm, Miyagi-do karate from Karate Kid. 'First rule of mutant powers, is for defense only'" he grins. ""The second rule of mutant powers is, remember rule number one'," he says in a pretty good Pat Morita impression, if he doesn't say so himself.

He nods, as Steph puts away her sandals. Giving her butt a slap just to make the extra loud nois of hand hitting sandal. "Okay, so, we'll do a test flight first, learned this lesson before when someone threw up on me, after that, if you're good, we'll do the real deal, sound good?"

Stephanie Brown has posed:
At the mention of Miyagi-do karate, Stephanie shifts into the crane form from the movie. The college freshman probably looks quite nice doing it, in her shorts and the shirt that fits her snuggly. Though that she's able to hold it with such balance might be the most impressive thing about it.

"I don't think I have a first rule. Don't die, probably. That might be the second rule too," she says, before jumping towards Roberto. Not to deliver a crane kick. Just jumping at him and grabbing his shoulders, legs going around his waist as she clings to him, assuming he doesn't dodge out of the way or something.

"Uh oh, no one told me there wasn't any throwing up allowed on this flight. Not even an airsickness bag?" she asks. "I'm /probably/ good, though if you push it with enough tight barrel rolls I'm not promising you won't end up seeing a slice of pizza from lunch," she warns him with a little laugh.

She does glance at the ground and waggles a finger at it. "You'll not have me today, my old nemesis. So don't even think about it."

Roberto da Costa has posed:
"Don't die is definitely a good one," Roberto says, fighting hard not to make a joke about death never sticking anyway. Too many questions.

When Steph jumps onto him and clings to his front, "Well that answers the whole how do you want to be carried thing," he says with a grin.

A perfectly sculpted brow rises, 'Rock' style at Steph's apparent chiding of the ground, "The ground is your nemesis, you guys really do have weird enemies in Gotham." That ground by the way is getting further away, as Roberto's skin turns black and a gust of wind pushes the sand away from them as he rises upwards.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
"Well it's more gravity that- OH WOW!" Stephanie says, letting out a joyous laugh as Roberto takes off. She looks down at the receding ground, not seeming to have a problem with heights. Though she definitely does hold onto him a little tighter!

Stephanie looks back up from the ground and over to Roberto's darkened face. "Not even a burp," she says with a grin as it seems at least so far, he's not going to be seeing her lunch reappear. "Wow, I think that gets me is how quiet it is," she says. "So peaceful!"

Her hair is whipping about her a bit. Stephanie reaches into a pocket and pulls out a scrunchy. She uses both hands to get her hair into it so it's not in Roberto's face, which means she's comfortable enough with him holding her, and just her legs wrapped around him, for the hairstyle maneuver.

Stephanie goes from looking down, then at Roberto, to looking up. There's a little blue sky left but the sun is beginning to set enough there is starting to be some red visible. Though the higher they go the more they seem to undo the sunset, making it seem to lift higher from the horizon. "Wow, this is so amazing," she says with a big grin, leaning her head against Roberto's shoulder. "So if I should get an urge to kiss you soundly at some point, not going to distract you and make you fall or anything like that, am I?"

Roberto da Costa has posed:
Roberto grins at Steph's enthusiasm for the flight, making sure to hold on tight as they lift off the ground.

"Yeah, it's more hot air balloon than jet fighter. Makes for a nicer ride," he says taking and releasing a deep breath.

That last comment though gets a smirk from Roberto, "Only one way to find out, isn't there?"

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie face flashes one of her big warm smile at Roberto, the sunset off to the west providing a backdrop for the sight of her. She moves one her hands up into the hair on the back of Roberto's head. "I suppose maybe I'll live a little dangerously then," she tells him with a grin.

She leans in close to him and offers him a slow, tender kiss. Her fingers slip through his hair, caressing along his scalp. Warm lips pressing to his, her feet moving a bit where they are crossed behind him as her legs wrap around Roberto's hips.

"Mmmm," she murmurs into the kiss, and he can feel her smiling, like her lips are wanting both to show that expression and to kiss him both at the same time. "I could get used to this," she whispers to him.

Roberto da Costa has posed:
"Guess you will," Berto grins, before his eyes close and he leans into the kiss. His skin is warm, like cement in summer time, not burning hot, but definitely warm, and his arms wrap with careful strength around her.

Then as the kiss breaks and she whispers, he nods, "Me too," he says, honestly, before adding. "Open your eyes."

If she does, she'll find they've rise quietly and steadily upwards, a good hundred feet in the span of that kiss, the beach and the ocean laid out around them.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie slowly drifts her eyes open, though the soft blue eyes just look into his own at first. Requiring him to give a little motion down wit his own eyes to get her to look down. "Oh this must never get old," she tells him, snuggling in against Roberto's chest and giving a happy sigh.

"So, what is it like for you?" she asks him curiously as she soaks in the gorgeous view. "I mean... is there a feeling of exertion akin to doing something athletic? It doesn't take enough concentration I can't break it with a kiss, but... can you just float here without paying attention? I assume you'd fall if you dozed off, or no?" she asks.

She laughs. "Do your other women you've taken for flights asks so many questions?" she asks him. And then she gives him a mock suspicious eye. "have there been many women?"

Roberto da Costa has posed:
"Surprisingly you can get used to anything, even things as awesome as flying and me," Roberto teases before he steals a quick kiss again and looks around them., He was used to this but he found taking people up with him made it seem all brand new.

"What's it like?" he, hmms, thoughtfully as he lets them drift further out over the water to give them a better view. "It was harder before when I was just learning had to focus the whole time and I got tired really quick, but now, it's second nature. Hovering like this especially, it's all just downthrust, changing the heat around us so the air gets forced down, flying and doing maneuvers is way harder, you have to adjust thrust on the fly, and constantly have to switch up where you're focusing the heat and all of that, plus everything's backwards, so if you want to go down you need to focus the heat up, if you want to go up you have to focus the heat down. I mean, I'm awesome at it," he spins them end over end until they're back right side up again. "But it's really hard to get the hang of, even for me."

"But yeah, if I doze off or get knocked out, down I go. But no, haven't taken too many girls up on fights, most of them have been friends rather than girlfriends, people I'm practicing with, or friends that can't fly but want to see what it's like, didn't date too many of those types of friends and the girls I did outside those friends, didn't tell them about the powers. Safer that way."

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie gives little nods as Roberto explains what it's like to get into more complicated aerial maneuvers. "That makes a lot of sense. I can imagine you probably were practicing all the time. I probably would have my mom coming out and yelling at me, 'Stephanie! Get out of the sky and come to dinner already!' she says with a gentle laugh and one of those big, pretty grins.

She slowly slides her hand over Roberto's shoulder. "I really am glad that we found out about each other. Or, well, you found out about me, and then shared. Don't think you didn't gain big points for being willing to do so, when I didn't realize it was you," she tells him, giving a very warm, pleased smile to Roberto.

"So if it's heat that you fly with, do you have to worry about cold, or water? I mean, can you zoom about underwater as easily as you can fly? Or would it ground you if it starts raining?" she asks curiously.

She glances down and reaches down with a hand. Moving it very cautiously so if it's super hot beneath Roberto she would feel it long before she would burn herself.

Roberto da Costa has posed:
"Was more or less like that," Roberto says with a fond grin of the memories of his earliest flying practice. "But back then it wore me out pretty quick so I couldn't push things too long. It was more like really long powered jumps at first then I worked my way up to this stuff," he explains.

"Can't do underwater, need air, but rain's not a problem," he explains "I can manipulate the heat well enough to do this in winter too but it takes more out of me, plus it's usually cloudy which means I'm getting less energy back from the sun while I'm doing it too. Usually a bad combo."
    he heat below isn't that bad, like a very warm hair dryer, but not hot enough to burn, that was further down.

"Anyhow now I can do this and do other things as well," he says. "Like-" he draws heat into himself, dropping the temperature around them for a moment before letting it back out into the air warming it back to where it was. "And of course my personal favourite," he grips Steph hard with one hand and then reaches out with another, a blast of dark energy, flies from the outstretched hand and hits a boulder on the beach driving it into the sand like it was hit by a truck. "That," he says, looking back to Steph.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie soaks it all in, especially as Roberto blasts the boulder. She looks up from it to him, and then rests her bent elbow on his shoulder and rests her head on her hand in a position that is obviously meant to look humorously casual given she's so far up in the air, legs wrapped around ROberto as he flies them about.

"I think I have just about the best boyfriend ever," she says as she looks at him from that posture. "Wow. I really am jealous. This is just the coolest stuff ever. I don't understand how anyone can not think of it that way," she says with a shake of her head.

Stephanie rests her forehead against his for a moment, then turns it into a soft kiss. Just a short one though as she wants to turn and look down at the sea below them, and then look up at the sky and over where the reds and oranges are starting to form as the sun gets nearer to the horizon, though still shining on them warmly. "It's just so beautiful and peaceful," she tells him. "Thank you for this, Roberto. I just..." she says, shaking her head. While she's good at blurting things out, finding great words to express herself? Not always so much.

Roberto da Costa has posed:
Roberto chuckles even as he tilts them about forty-fived degrees to throw a little startlement into Steph's pose, all the while wrapping her tightly in his arms to make sure she stays safely in place.

He grins broadly, "Right? I mean I can get people being jealous of it, I mean seriously, people were going to be jealous anyhow, look at me," he teases, "But mutant powers are a real gift for the most part," he makes a face. "I'm lucky, some people get some cool stuff but it comes with a price bigger than you have to look like someone dipped you in Vantablack paint. One friend, well, friend of a friend anyhow, can't touch anyone with skin to skin or bad things happen," he says. "On the other hand, she flies way better than me and is way stronger, but yeah, still a gift, and what's more, we don't pick them we're just born with them. Good powers or bad. Which is why you doing what you do is awesome by the way, you didn't get born with powers, you worked hard, and you learned how to be a badass, which is super awesome," he says before he realizes he's rambling.

"Anyhow, to sum up, mutant powers are awesome and so are you."

Roberto accepts that first kiss, and when Steph stumbles for her words, he smiles and says, "I know exactly what you mean," before he kisses her again, longer, more deeply while lit by the setting sun a hundred feet above the ocean.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
The sudden tilt garners a squeal from Stephanie, but it's just a tiny one. It makes her grin and laugh, and also has the effect, which Roberto might not mind, of making her press her chest and upper body against him a little more closely.

Hearing about some of the unpleasant side of the unnamed Rogue's powers causes Stephanie's face to soften with empathy. "Wow, that would be... I'm really sorry she has to deal with that. That's not something I'd wish on... ah... very many people anyway. A few residents of Arkham possibly excepted."

She gazes into Roberto's eyes. "Mutant powers very awesome," she says, and his praise of her, and what she's done with her life, makes her smile so beautifully. It really does seem to mean to to Stephanie hearing that.

She sighs then and sinks into the kiss. Floating in the sky with the first boy she's truly come to love. Held in his arms, and holding him. Sharing secrets she doesn't tell anyone else, sharing herself in ways she never has.

Roberto da Costa has posed:
Roberto loses himself in that kiss as well, enjoying the moments of sharing it encapsulates, before slowly he breaks the kiss and meeting Steph's eyes, he glances down towards the beach and the car, "Let's head back home."