3848/Following In Her Footsteps

Following In Her Footsteps
Date of Scene:	18 October 2020
Location:	Historic Clocktower - Training Facility
Synopsis:	No description
Cast of Characters:	Stephanie Brown, Barbara Gordon

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Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie is working out at the Clocktower today. The facility might not be equal to the Batcave, but with Barbara as her mentor, it's a spot that a lot of Stephanie's training has taken place, particularly where fancy hard light simulations aren't needed.

Today she's going through some combat exercises. Practicing different katas. Doing weapon strikes with her telescoping bo staff. Steph is wearing spandex shorts and a sports bra, and her entire body fairly glistens with sweat that shows she's been at it for awhile. A trio of water bottles, two empty already, sit nearby showing how much she's been rehydrating as she works.

And one thing that stands out... Stephanie's better. Far better than she was six months ago when Barbara took her on. The brawling style has given way to precise strikes that are not broadcast. Stephanie uses her body to get power behind her strikes. Good footwork and technique. She's really come a long way from the girl who sewed herself a costume to bring down her father.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Where Bruce offers far more extensive equipment and resources, the Clocktower has privacy and one on one training sessions with one of Bruce's first proteges.

Babs is sitting on a weight bench in a pair of spandex shorts and black sports bra, hair tied up in a tight bun, and bare feet flexing into a the wrestling mat. Taking a break from cardio training to get a better scope of just how far Stepanie has actually come. How much her style is starting to look polished, more like Barbara's a few years ago...

Like Batgirl...

"You're getting better." No surprise that shes there, shes been working along side her for at least an hour or more.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Whack! Thwap! Pow!

Spoiler's bo staff slams into a practice dummy in a succession of rapid-fire hits. Moving with speed she's always had, but now her form is tightened up and the hits each have a power they never had before.

Another trio of strikes, then a pivot and a swing at a dummy with a knife in hand, hitting the wrist to knock the weapon free, followed up by a kick to the head that would have downed a real person.

Stephanie relaxes then, turning towards Barbara and walking over. She grounds the metal staff on the ground and picks up her water bottle, then leans on the staff, chin on the tip. "Thank you. I have a pretty good teacher," Stephanie says with a bright-eyed grin. She's breathing a little hard, but not too bad for the amount of workout she's done. Much better cardio than when she first began training under Barbara. "I can feel the difference out there too. I mean, I always kind of had the trust in myself when I went into a fight. But now... I suppose it's that it's more warranted?" she says with a little self-deprecating laugh.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Babs sees thoss details, the fluidity of motion as practice commits moves to muscle memory. It brings a smile to her face as Stephanie crosses over to where she's sitting with her arms dangling down between her knees.

"Oh, I know what you mean. Like everything is starting to click into place..." Tapping yer own temple with two finger, then against her chest, "Here and here. Mind and body starting to act as a single unit..." A little smirk.

"And you're not just flailing at the air anymore."

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie takes a sip of the water and then says in a voice of protest, "Hey! I never flailed at the air!" She takes another sip, then finishes. "I flailed at the bad guys." She flashes the redhead a grin that admits that flailing was an appropriate term.

"Seriously though, yes I never really knew just how raw I was. I mean, I realized I wasn't at the level of you guys. But... now I realize just how how many holes I had. How it must have looked to you guys when you saw me," the blond collegian says quietly.

She looks thoughtful for a moment, eyes moving away from Babs. "Maybe too, a bit why Bruce turned me away," she says. But the look away is short and the blue eyes swing back, and Stephanie doesn't seem brought down by the memory. "You're really the best, Barbara," she says. "I can't imagine what it was like for you, paving your own path as you did."

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Babs just grins at the redress, a little half quirk of her lip.

"A lot of that is a test. Where it comes to Batman, you have to realize everything is a test. See where your resolve is... For him, this is everything." Motioning around. The traijijg room, the building, even Gotham.

"It... I'm glad I was in a position to do so. I wont bore you saying it was hard, you know it was, but it's open the door for some talented young women to follow me. You and Carrie, and Orphan." She nods, "It's worth all the hard work."

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie's smile for Barbara is one of the warmer ones the girl is capable of giving. It's fair to say that Barbara has come to be something more than a big sister to her. Too much to call her a mother figure, yet there are elements of her feelings for the other woman that big sister just wouldn't do justice.

"Well I really do appreciate it, and all of the work you've put into me. I know I'm hard headed and prone to jumping before I quite know where to land the grapple sometimes," she says. She undoes her hair from the ponytail and runs her fingers through the blond locks. "And, ah, I'm not good at this feelings stuff," she says, blinking and looking away, and then just going over to give Barbara a big hug. Better at actions than talking.

She'll let Barbara go soon enough. "Though we weren't able to bring in Penguin at the museum, this training made all the difference with it. Planning to go after this freezer storage spot the tracker showed he headed to after the museum robbery. Misfit wants to come along as well when we go, but I said that'd be your call."

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Babs isnt a touchy feely person, but she makes exceptions here and there. The big hug from Stephanie is returned, releaaing her once the other woman does, and settling back onto the bench.

"definitely worth taking a look." Babs agrees with a nod, wiggling her fingers gently at the mention of Misfit. Her mouth quirks to one side thoughtfully, "Hm... I dont see why not, but Id like to be there, see how she does in a real mission situation following orders."

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie nods in agreement, giving the timing for when they were planning on it. "In the meantime, figured could look into the site itself, see what there is in the ownership and history of the place that might connect to Cobblepot," she says, with a look towards Barbara's computers as if to confirm it would be ok to use them for that.

She gets another sip of her water. "So Roberto bought me a car. Nothing expensive. It's that little purple compact that has been for sale forever over at that little used car lot in that triangle patch of concrete next to Fifth street by the University," she says. "There's this racing circuit he came across and he wants to race in it. Got the car for me and is paying to have it souped up so I can drive it in it too," she says. "I'm kind of excited about it. Guess he saw the finals in New York."