7909/A Nightly Visitor: Bat and Bird

A Nightly Visitor: Bat and Bird
Date of Scene:	21 September 2021
Location:	The Narrows - Harper Row's Apartment
Synopsis:	Having gotten wind of her activities, Batman pays Harper Row a surprise visit. Provides advice, a training manual and makes it clear he'll be keeping abrest of her activities. It's on her to prove worthy for anything more.
Cast of Characters:	Harper Row, Bruce Wayne

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Harper Row has posed:
Its a little bit after midnight on the 21st of September. As it is a school night for him, Cullen Row is long asleep while his sister is still up, tinkering with plans for her gun. Harper's got a sketch of the dream casing for the gauss/railgun on her worktable and is brainstorming materials she can afford (and some that she cannot) for making it a reality on a piece of paper that also has notes for the needed components to reduce the size and weight of the prototype that is still assembled on the table into a more portable format.

Her hair's in a disaray of blue and purple failing to match her 'work ready'/down blue style nor her fauxhawk up purple with blue highlights that she teases it up into when 'concealing' her identity as the newly christened Bluebird. Already dressed for bed she's wearing a pair of black satin boxers, an oversized purple Grumpy Bear t-shirt/night shirt and a pair of pale blue socks with matching poms on the ankles and the same cartoony ursine character on the top of them.

The Row apartment is locked up tight except for Harper's fire escape-facing, bedroom window which is opened about an inch to allow air flow from outside.

Bruce Wayne has posed:
For all the locks and home security in the world, there is still a sudden feeling of a cold and unsettling stare from just outside of view. A tall figure who seems to wear the shadows around him like a cloak, leaving only the piercing white of his eyes visible. Outside, a car passes by and headlights momentarily outline the figure of Batman. He's clad in grey and black, scalloped cape drawn about himself to conceal most of his body. When he speaks, it is like the distant slamming of a crypt door.

"Harper Row."

Harper Row has posed:
Harper jerks with a start, she drops the pencil and grabs her desk lap to turn it in the direction of the voice. She recognizes it, unmistakable for any other voice she has ever heard and when the light shines at the Dark Knight the recognition is confirmed. The agitation, likely a trace of fear, remains.

"I've gotta look into better locks," Harper mutters to herself as she reflexively drags a convenient sheet from the far corner of the table over the prototype and her notes. With an air of 'why did I bother with that', she says, "Uh... hello." with a quickly added, "Sir. Um... Batman..." as she's unsure how to address the figure of her recent obsession.

Bruce Wayne has posed:
"Save yourself the trouble," the Bat replies, not flinching as the light hits him and his eyepieces immediately compensate for it, "Don't operate out of your apartment."

"You've been busy," he continues, not moving from the place he's standing in the corner of the room, "You were at the murder scene for the Riddler case. Showed ingenuity breaking in through the servant's hallway. More activity all across Gotham."

A pause, eyes narrowing slightly.

"If you go on like this, you're going to get yourself hurt or killed."

Harper Row has posed:
The ciriticism strikes Harper hard emotionally and she nods. "I got similar advice recelty from someone else recently," Harper admits, referring to an anonymous visitation by X-23. Only then does the compliment sink in though and she smiles slightly at that. "Any suggestions for a gal on a tight budget?" she asks, adding, "I'm not going to try to commandeer a closet at work, that'd be just as smart as staying here I figure," pointing out her limited resources.

Her eyes briefly shift towards the bag barely visible under her bed containing her kit and the small phone she was recently given that connects her to Red Robin and allies (the Outsiders, but she's unaware of that even at this time). Its not a full shift, more a microexpression, but to a trained eye it is as clear as a roadside signpost.

"I've gotten hurt already. Just a bruised rib... lied to the clinic and said I fell down the stairs. So laim of a lie but... they didn't pressure me about it."

Bruce Wayne has posed:
"Another suggestion, learn first aid. Borrow a copy of Gray's Anatomy from the library. Teach yourself basic medical care, because you're going to get a lot more than a bruised rib and you'll need someone you can trust to sew up the bullet holes and knife wounds."

He remains still, though behind his cowl his eyes flit to the hidden bag. Complex hardware built into the suit examine the electronics within, examining the phone. It doesn't take long for him to connect it to its origin. All of this is only express outwardly as a slight increase in his frown.

"Here."

He produces from somewhere in his cape a softcover book, very faintly dog-eared and worn at the spine. The cover simply reads 'Combat Medic Field Reference'. He tosses it across the room expertly, watching as it lands in Harper's lap.

Harper Row has posed:
Before the book is produced and tossed, Harper says, "Well, I know /some/ already..." and then there's the book, plopped down into her lap. She stares at it for a moment. When she looks up again her eyes are moist. It's not sadness though, more a result of knowing that something has fundamentally changed that feels like a hint of acceptance. "Thanks," is all she can muster to say, expecially after that glower she percieved from the increased frown.

A quick glance at the first few pages is then followed up with a question with a mix of innocence and precaution. "I can trust you and Red Robin though, right?"

Bruce Wayne has posed:
"You shouldn't," Batman replies flatly, "In time you'll find those you can trust. Respect. Those you can rely on. But you need to earn that. Those people don't just drop into your life. You need to be self-sufficient, Ms. Row. When you're lying in an alleyway with your organs threatening to spill out through your fingers, you need to know you can sew yourself up if it comes to that."

He extends a finger, pointing to the book she now holds.

"It's clear you don't plan to give up despite being woefully ill-equipped for this life. So, the onus is on me to equip you. Advise you. But when the night's closing in and you see those knives in the dark, the only person you should be relying on is the woman in the mirror."

Harper Row has posed:
Reflexively, Harper corrects Batman with a quick but polite, "It's Miss," about the title before saying, "Yeah, I get the ... ugh, graphic but I get that. I didn't necessarially mean for the patching up thoug with the question." She pauses again, nods about the further details and then says, "So... I should listen to your advice but I also shouldn't trust you," with a dripping sense of irony in the non-question statement. And then, yet again, her tired mind catches up with his statement. "Equip... equip me?" she asks in shock as she, again more a microexpression, darts her eyes towards the currently covered up 'grocery list' for the things she's needing to realize the gun she's been developing for herself.

Bruce Wayne has posed:
There is the faintest, barest line of a smirk as the corner of Batman's mouth ticks upwards. A smile or just a tick?

"Now you're starting to understand."

He withdraws his hand into his cape, once again taking up his statue-like position in the corner.

"Don't be mistaken. You're not getting anything from me until you prove you've earned it. The book? This visit? Acknowledgement of what you did at the murder scene. Show me you can do this. Show me this isn't a hobby or a game."

When her eye flicks to the covered list, however, he's finished speaking. When she looks back, there's nothing there. The shadowy corner is empty, and the window is still closed. Not even the sound of distant footsteps can be heard.

Harper Row has posed:
Harper snorts and nods in response to the first. As he's departing Batman may hear her asking, "Any chance I could get a better mask? I think the tinted shooting goggles may not be cutting it..." and then she notices he's gone. "I bet he's the one that taught the others that trick," she muses as she gets up to close and lock the window.

Contemplating options for relocating her 'base of operations', Harper checks the door lock then looks in on her brother briefly before heading to bed.