3491/Ulterior Motives: Metrpolis edition

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Ulterior Motives: Metrpolis edition
Date of Scene: 22 September 2020
Location: New Troy
Synopsis: Batgirl comes BACK to Metropolis to see Power Girl. There are probably ulterior motives.
Cast of Characters: Barbara Gordon, Karen Starr




Barbara Gordon has posed:
There was no reason to come back to Metropolis.

Okay that's not entirely true, there were always reasons to come to Metropolis if Barbara needed one, endless business oppertunities for her fledgling security company, but tonight there wasn't really a reason she put down on paper. Instead she just came... and sat back down on the roof where she'd been the last time. Her knees are up, but she's not craddling them as before, rather just using them to rest her elbows as she watches the skyline behind the Hall of Justice.

"There are literally six million things you should be doing in Gotham, you realize that?" Of course she realizes that, wiggling gloved fingers hidden beneath the finned gauntlets dangling down the front of her shins. "Which you can absolutely do remotely." Reaching for her suped up cellular device to fiddle with the access program linked to the Oracle Array back at the clocktower. Something to do with her hands.

Karen Starr has posed:
    There are plenty of reasons for Barbara Gordon to come to Metropolis. Many of them, even, were mentioned- but there are not particularly many, if any, for Batgirl to make the journey. Just coming to this city alone might have been enough for Power Girl to be paying attention, but that the other woman has made her way to a specific rooftop is an act that somewhat blatantly invites Karen's presence.

    Still, the blonde isn't aware of Barbara's presence until the redhead speaks, and that's what invites her attention. It isn't long until she arrives, mercifully for Barbara, as it doesn't leave her waiting. There's a raised brow when she appears, lifting up on nothing from below the rim of the building. She has a confident posture, with her arms folded, and seh floats up to about eye level. Considering her height, a fair portion of her remains below the rim.

    "There's a lot I could say about you coming here again so soon, but the first thing I have to ask, is if everything's okay."

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Welp, decisions have been made, and now Batgirl has to live with them. Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, she's not entirely sure yet, but with Power Girl receiving the invitation and accepting it, there's a decidedly awkward sigh. Up off the edge of the roof, popping onto her feet to turn in the confident womans direction with her own arms crossed over the symbol on her chest.

"Yeah, getting better anyways.. I actually came just to talk to you. Which, to the casual observer, might seem rather odd given we were just sharing theraputic advice the last time I came out this way." Her head inclines, a little half grin on her face just below the cowl. "But now that I've showed up and you've showed up, that seems overtly stupid. What are we suppose to do, right?"

Arms unfold, motioning out around her, "This is pretty much the end of my expertise with hanging out, and as far as I know there's no super hero discount at the movie theaters." Ramble over. Fist balled rests against her lips, throat clearing into her knuckles, "Has it really only been so soon?"

Karen Starr has posed:
    When Barbara stands, Power Girl starts to rise. This effortless slip up into the air, over the ledge, and then down onto the roof proper to stand alongside the woman for a few moments. She feels, though, that there ought to be a more casual air- and so instead of standing tall- where her over six-foot height might be more than a little imposing, Karen seats herself calmly on the aforementioned ledge.

    "Well, that's good to hear. Getting better is an important step to things being as okay as they can get." she notes, before setting her gloved palms down on the wall she was sitting on. "I had my suspicions, but you're right, there's really no protocol. Whenever the Bat wants to speak to Superman, he just kinda shows up, from what I've been told." There's this small shrug, then.

    "Yeah, it's only really been a little bit. Depending on your timescale, it could be an eternity, or less than a blink. But, the important thing is, you came to the city to talk, so... I imagine there's got to be something you're looking to talk about?"

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Babs opens her mouth as if she's about to get right into the what she's looking to talk about, then closes it with her head canting to one side curiously, "Actually there wasn't. Not really anyways.. I just wanted to. Which is odd, I guess, in an objective sort of way, but still true." With Power Girl settling down to sit on the ledge, Batgirl follows. Returning to the half-wall with her hands down on eitherside of her armored legs.

"I have a fairly good concept of time under most circumstances, mathematically speaking anyways. Sometimes the minutes blur a little, but ultimately I know how long it's been since I /did/ something. In this case, it's sort of a muddled. I left Metropolis feeling really good about things I don't really have any reason to feel good about. I'd say you were right, that it was just the act of talking to someone, anyone, about things bothering me..." Her shoulders jerk upwards in a shrug.

"If that were the case, I could have talked to any number of individuals without even leaving home... and certainly not taking a few hour drive south to Metropolis for the express purpose of talking to /you/. So I'm going to go out on a limb and say that, at some level, I just wanted to see you."

Her cowl looks down at the roof, whiteouts hiding her eyes behind while her mouth twists as she chews at the inside of her cheek. "Okay, that sounded way cooler in my head."

Karen Starr has posed:
    For her part, Power Girl just leans onto her arms somewhat, waiting for Babs to speak. She was invited here, after all- so she assumed there was some matter of importance. As it were, she was... Kind of right? Just wanting to talk is important enough, even if there isn't some other pressing issue taking precedence.

    "Okay, sure, it's not quite counting the nanoseconds, but I bet it's a whole lot less tedious." she offers, letting out this short, amused chuckle that should, in many ways, be against one or more laws.

    "You could have, but you just didn't. Don't laud me over people who've known you longer, and don't make light of how good it can be to speak to a total stranger about these sorts of things. There's a whole profession about it." she notes, but offers this trillion dollar smile to follow.

    "But, I get it, and I'm flattered. It sounded cool enough to me. So, if there wasn't anything specific that brought you here, is there anything you want to talk about this time?"

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Again Babs opens her mouth to say something, but nothing comes out. The Palm of her gauntlets glove rubs against her mouth, jaw, and cheek in a sweeping motion to hide the chuckle rocking her shoulders. "I didn't really think that far ahead, if I'm being honest? Every scenario ended with you laughing and flying off when I said I just came to rooftop and chill." Flashing a grin sidelong at Power Girl, her hand falls back to the half-wall she's seating on.

"Why do I feel like a million car jackers just burst into flames when you chuckled? You have a decidedly lovely laugh, it should not feel like it /actually/ hurt you to do it." Adjusting her palms so they're pointing away from her hips. "Besides, nobody is watching, it's okay to laugh. If for no other reason than a Bat crossed super hero jurisdictory lines just to hang out with you."

A potentially over inflatted opinion of the strength of her company aside.

"So is this all you do?" Motioning up and down with an extended hand, "It can't be right? You have hobbies, you have the entire power to do anything you want, please tell me you don't use it expressly for embarassing grossly outmatched criminals?"

Karen Starr has posed:
    Karen gets that a lot. People want to say one thing, but then think better of it and figure out something else. This, she doesn't mind. When Barbara calls it Rooftop and Chill, Power Girl's brow raises momentarily. "I wasn't going to laugh you away, but I'm not sure how wise it is to call it rooftop and chill." she notes, offering a short shake of her head. She's clearly amused by that, more than she is cautionary.

    "No, I mean, maybe one or two?" she admits, and then offers her own small shrug. "But I know I'm allowed to laugh, so I did. If it sounded so painful, maybe I need to work on it." There's a short pause, then, but frankly- the whole of their conversations so far was founded in Power Girl calling Batgirl out, just a little. "I don't really find you guys changing lanes particularly comical. We're always happy to see you, even as rare as it is." she chides, before pondering Barbara for a few short seconds.

    "I have hobbies. We don't... Use power that way, though. It's not right. There are some things that I do on my own that I use it for- but... A lot of that is just for my own edification. Not really a whole lot I can talk about." A soft, quiet sigh, at that. "Not all of them are grossly outmatched. I kind of wish that was the case, but we both know it isn't." She turns her head, then, a brow raised somewhat quizzically at Barbara.

    "I kind of feel like there might be a measure of ulterior motive to this line of questioning, Batgirl."

Barbara Gordon has posed:
"No, that was probably a poor choice in wording." Babs freely admits, but she admits it with a little grinning smirk, shoulders extending up in a tight shrug against the sides of her neck. Settling once more like it ultimately doesn't matter, since she couldn't change what she said anyways, pragmatism is a common ally of the Bat-clan, as it turns out.

Trying to fix a broken egg just isn't in the cards.

"Using powers you have just from being yourself is wrong if you're doing it for personal satisfaction?" That's clearly odd to her, looking sideways at Karen with a raised brow left unseen behind her short cowl. "Isn't your super powered nature like ... I don't know a normal person being intelligent? If you're right than anyone playing chess competatively is a big ass cheat and doing something inherently wrong by dent of being naturally superior in some form." Careful not to call either the intelligent or the Kryptonian better.

There is a grin spreading at the mention of a few hobbies, which wans as the conversation goes to less than overmatched villains. "I know, but it sounds good to say sometimes, even if it's not true." Lord knows she's seen her share of villains what aren't pushovers.. been the victom of one of them, in fact. It should be a sore point, but how else could she cope with it besides joking.

"Wanting to get to know you isn't an ulterior motive, Power Girl. Unless you don't want to, which is acceptable and I'll stop. I'm not compiling a database entry on you or anything, I just..." Another shrug, ".. I like you, but I don't know jack shit about you and I wanted to change that."

Karen Starr has posed:
    Nodding along, Power Girl can only agree that the wording might have been unfortunate. Her hands slip up from the roof that she's seated on, and she reclines a bit more, sitting up straight. She has to admit that the pragmatism is admirable, even in this small thing. "Can't change it now, might as well roll with it." she admits, to the other woman.

    "It's not quite like that. I mean, there are some things I do that I use my powers for, but plenty of things I can't. If I sat down with a person for a game of chess, I could play a thousand games of chess at every move, before the clock even kept ticking. I'd -have- to limit myself, and sometimes, it's better just not to get into those things at all. My abilities are as natural to me as anyone else's, but it's not the same. I'm not human, so a lot of the time, it's just not fair. It's hard not to spend time thinking about what might be a better use of my time, and how many people might agree. For now, I have a few pursuits I apply myself to, but only so much. I don't like exploiting advantages I have."

    Power Girl's arms come up, and they settle behind her head for a moment, as she reclines a few inches above the half-wall, floating into the air and lounging there for a time. "Yeah, it feels nice to pretend it's easy, I'll give you that. I just don't like getting lost in it- and don't think it's healthy for anyone if other people get lost in it, too."

    While she'd been gazing skyward most of the time, she turns her head, raising an inquisitve brow at Batgirl. "Wanting to get to know me is the motive, and I never said I disagreed with it- but I'll admit I'm often a little suspicious that it isn't the only thing that's going on. I'm afraid there also isn't a whole hell of a lot to know about me in context, and we're probably not at the point where we should move to a different context. Yet."

Barbara Gordon has posed:
"Roll with it." Babs bobs her head along, lips still pressed into a line beneath the end of her cowl, eyes watching gravel do...nothing.. beneath her boots. It just sits there unmoving, but is surprisingly interesting when applied as a distraction because natural patterns begin to develop. By most peoples standards, almost all really, Barbara Gordon is a genius. The fact that she sees code lines in gravel might be an extension of that or it might be a flight of a mind grasping at straws.

Hard to tell.

Probably not something she's going to figure out tonight, anyways.

"I guess I meant like painting or bird watching. I can see how being in competitive sports events might prove grossly unfair, but so is having to pretend you're someone different for the sake of interaction in something you hypothetically enjoy... since you're being vague." The most gentle of playful ribbing, still not sure how far she can go with her banter where it pretains to Power Girl.

The last of it, that has her inclining her head, "I admit I'm not very good at this... and I'm not entirely sure what it is I came here expecting. Like I know what it isn't? But not what it is.. It's strange, probably even more so hearing it out loud. It is for me anyways.. everything makes more sense before you say it." No frown, only a smirk, "I doubt that's true though, regardless of context."

At some point she pretends not to be jealous of open air lounging, it's fairly obvious by the way she's staring and scowling in a way that's /almost/ a grin. The comical jealousy of a grounded heroine. "'Yet' has a lot of connotations."

Karen Starr has posed:
    Karen knows that look. The way Barbara is staring down at the gravel until data starts to emerge about it- or, perhaps, about something else unrelated, with the gravel acting as more of a sorting mechanism for other thoughts. Back on Krypton- another world, another time, another universe away, the woman who would come to be known as Power Girl, and Karen Starr, was a genius by Kryptonian standards. They're not so different in their habits, despite the difference in species, and cultures.

    "Oh, no, I-" she sighs, "Yeah, I don't have any hobbies like that, really. Probably should pick one up, though. It'd be way easier than lifting weights under a red sun lamp." With that, she offers this little chuckle in response at her little joke. It's the same as before, but as before, it's not forced. The levity is genuine. "Yeah, the pretending is definitely the worst part. I imagine it'd be a lot easier to be taken seriously, for the both of us." she notes- a sort of 'stab' in the dark, there, but it makes more than a small degree of sense.

    "Honestly, who is?" she states, offering this roll of her eyes that's hard to see as she's facing skyward again. "Unless I'm recalling incorrectly, nobody in our line of work met each other on the greatest of terms. Frankly, we're pretty lucky that some weird contrived circumstance didn't start a fight before we got a chance to actually talk." A pause. "I... Really wish I was joking. Really."

    She rolls in the air, then, stabbing idly at the jealous nerves by going from a quiet recline to a proper sidelay in midair, as if there was an invisible couch beneath her. "Sure does. I don't think, even in context, that either of us can pretend that Superman and Batman aren't actual, legitimate friends. We can debate the semantic of the word, sure, but it still applies. Doesn't mean that the same can't happen here."

Barbara Gordon has posed:
It's calming. Babs brain can go a mile a second compared to other humans, tearing about decisions, thoughts, and rogue eyes as effortlessly as Power Girl tears sheets of steel.. So focusing on something into which she can pour those equations and seek out patterned solutions slows down the rage of rapid processors to a managable level. It keeps her from getting anxious, it has since she was child, and did before Batman taught her how to deal with them more effectively. The casual observer wouldn't even be able to see she's struggling.

Power Girl just isn't casual by observer standards.

"You should.. I cannot help thinking that Power Girl, professional bird watcher is probably the most amusingly awkwardly incidentally adorable thing." Smirking sideways, turning her head just a little to watch the Kryptonian lounge mid-air. A smirk that faulters a little.. "Yeah." Agreeing, with a furrowed brow, to the assessment of being taken seriously. "Sometimes feels like I'm swimming up stream there, but I stopped doing anything for recognition a long time ago. It doesn't come, no matter how hard you struggle for it, and it's ultimately not as satisfying as you thought it would be anyways. Now, the only person I aim to please is myself... Which works just fine since she and I get along pretty capitally."

She's not necessarily cocky, but she's confident. At least where it counts.

"It's never too late. We can go fire up the ol' Playstation and play a little Avengers Vs Loki." Avengers marketing has action figures, why wouldn't they have video games? "I'm pretty god damned good at Black Widow." No meta, all canon.

Chewing at her lip, then, she grins around the puckered bit of skin between her teeth. It flops out from between them when she speaks up, "I do believe I'd like that... being your friend, I mean. Yet." tacking on the last word with a smirk and a glance back at the gravel. Adjusting her foot to displace those patterns and create a whole new set. Which is a clever way not to watch Peej not so subtly showing off.

Murmur, "Show off." Tiny grin.

Karen Starr has posed:
    Though the sympathy and understanding isn't required, really- it's not as if Barbara is having any real issues. It just might be nice to have someone offer that friendly glint of understanding. To understand what it's like to have a maelstrom of information in your head. Before the yellow sun gave Power Girl the ability to percieve the world at the pace of her own mind, she had her own little techniques- things to provide the static needed to sort things out. To focus on one island in the storm.

    "Oh for sure. Flying around out there, stopping robberies with my observation journal in hand. I've got the... Telescopic sight for it, don't need binoculars." she offers, adding a layer or two to the comedy. Though, she does nod a time or two, after the other woman's statement. "It's not about -recognition-, honestly. It's about being taken seriously. Just once I'd like someone to give up before assuming I'm less bulletproof than Superman. That'd be nice. For people to know beforehand I can hit them with the moon rather than just considering it a hypothesis. Would probably help out on the other identity side of things, too."

    Resting her cheek on her fist, she watches the other woman in silence for a few moments. "I don't doubt that you are, but I've never played, and I'm not sure your controllers can handle the torsion if I get frustrated. I've been known to laser-eye a television or two. Nobody ever said we were -that- perfect." They just look it. And can lift buildings. And never get back pain.

    "I think that's a pretty good idea. You can come to Metropolis and complain about the last guy in a silly suit that tried to weaponize something ridiculous because that's somehow a -plague- in Gotham, and I can complain about which brand of vehicles is most annoying to be hit with." It's a bonding exercise, but... "I heard that." she confesses.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
That glint of understanding is seen, if only out of the corner of her eye, and Babs lets a smile curl across the corners of her visible face in response. Nodding herself, acknowledging that shared commonality between them. It felt good. Mostly people either didn't see it or didn't get it. Not that she's always the smartest person in the room, of course.. she keeps pace with Batman, afterall. He's just an enigma, to everyone, including his own family.

Babs grunts.. "Ugh, yeah.. Next goon that says oh, it's just Batgirl when I show up is definitely going to have trouble using his dick for the foreseeable future. It gets old, fast." There's the point about the other identity too, "I've got things going better on that front, at least. Still a lot of big shadows, a lot of old hangups, and a healthy helping of 'let me hold that door for you ma'am' to deal with, but whatever. If they want to be idiots, I'll take advantage of it for them."

Never let it be said the ever feminist Barbara Gordon cannot capitalize of a bad situation. Smirking again, this time amused at her ownself.

"Well, controllers aren't that expensive, if it helps. I'll just make sure to have a few dozen extras if you ever come play.. can't go letting a little thing like unmeasurable strength and a glass ceiling anger stop the signal.. You can't stop the signal, Mal." She is a nerd.

This is not a surprise.

"is that an invitation to come hang out? You mean I don't have to sneak up to a single building where I know you'll find me for the express purpose of being found by you anymore? That's a load off... I can't take the elevator in this suit-" Knocking her knuckles against the deceptively hard plates on her abdomen, "And those stairs are shit on my knees."

Side smirk. "You were meant to. Reminds me that Kryptonian super hero or not, you're not above showing what you can do. I dig it, don't stop."

Karen Starr has posed:
    "Honestly. It didn't -get- old, it -started- old, and is just getting older every time. The number of times I've heard how unexpected it was for 'a blonde what looks like that to punch like Supes does' is about the-number-of-times-I've-heard-it more than the number of times it was okay." There's an appreciative expression on her features, a look that says she's impressed. "Some things make it easier, but honestly, take the advantages where you can get 'em. Doesn't really matte if you feel it's exploitation, as long as you're taking advantage of things that people were going to use to exploit you."

    "Sure I suppose they're not particularly prohibitive, but frankly, I'd rather not send shards of plastic flying all about your place." she states, giving off this confident smirk, the kind that could crash a train or two. Doesn't mean I won't come by, though. Might just mean we'll have to figure out something that isn't expensive-console-based." She offers a short pause when she notes this, before offering a little nod.

    "And of course, it means that you can come by Metropolis anytime. If the Bat gets an open invitation, so do you." That smirk turns into a crooked smile, and she offers another little laugh. "Yeah, I wouldn't know what that's like." Is that a super-knees comment, or a flight-comment- Really, honestly, it doesn't matter, to be frank. What it is, is not fair. So very not fair. Were it not for the everything else about her, it might be the most unfair thing.

    "Okay, now -that-, I am going to call -that- having an ulterior motive."

Barbara Gordon has posed:
"Testify, sister." Babs says in a mock evangelical tone, raising both hands in the air as if she's caught the imaginary holy ghost. Her palms slap the stone half-wall and a grin slaps onto her mug, head tilting slightly so her red hair curls out over the front of her shoulder like a curtain half covering the bat-symbol on her chest. "I use to hate taking advantage of it, felt like doing so was the same agreeing it was somehow fair.. I chalk that up to being young and stupid. I work twice as hard for half the respect. Not that it's necessary, but because I /am/ better and I don't want anyone to ever think that me falling short of an unquestionable destruction of the competition was anything short of skipping leg day, for me. Which is why I keep putting this god damned thing on." Motioning at her cowl, "I had a perfectly understandable escape plan from vigilantism, but Gotham girls didn't have a ton of people to look up to." Whether she feels like she, personally, deserves it? It is what it is. She takes great pride in that reality.

"I came back from being crippled. Six years in a wheelchair... a year of rehabilitation.. and I'm not just /a/ bat.. I'm /the/ Batgirl. Symbols are important, for more reasons than fear."

To that, however, she laughs and shakes her head. "I hope you like left over chicken parm, if not.. definitely don't come on Wednesday. It's cheat day and I'm definitely going to be eating chicken Parm and watching Disney movies." Playing or not, she's grinning. Bright and genuine.

"Ooooh look at Ms self assured, strong back, and unbreakable knees over here..." Teasing the kryptonian with a smirk. "As Mel Brooks would say, If you've got it, flaunt it.." That smirk carrying right on over to the talk of ulterior motives. Hidden behind her cowl, a brow perks, but she nods easily enough.

"Guilty as charged, you caught me red handed."