9731/Star Spangled Kid learns to get up and dust herself off

Star Spangled Kid learns to get up and dust herself off
Date of Scene:	20 January 2022
Location:	A lonely rooftop
Synopsis:	Star Spangled Kid gets a pickmeup from the Huntress
Cast of Characters:	Courtney Whitmore, Helena Bertinelli

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Courtney Whitmore has posed:
Smoke and flames billows up from a few cards that are on fire, and people are running about in fear. The Hobgoblin had made an appearance, looking to make an immpression. And he did. According to reports, a super hero tried to stop him, and was thoroughly trounced.

To any who approach the scene, the Hobgoblin has flown away, although the trail of smoke from his glider is still visible in the sky. It leads back towards a rooftop, upon which lies the crumpled body of a super hero. Although she looks a bit less than super right now.

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Helena Bertinelli had just returned from Starling City where she had had some, well, personal business to take care of. Given how it turned out, it was better to leave that city far behind for a while if not forever. Never say never, of course.

She was gazing absently out the window of the Uber ride she'd called when she noticed the smoke and what appeared to be a figure flying off into the distance. Her dark eyes narrowed as she considered the implications and her options. Looking out to determine just where they were she spoke to the driver, "Actually, you know what? Can you just drop me off at the corner? I'll give you the full ride fare. I just need to get some fresh air after flying all day." She offers a tired smile as she is let off at the corner, only her duffel bag slung over her shoulder. After paying for the ride, Helena turned and found a side alley. She knew where it led and that there was a city maintenance shed built into the base of one of the buildings. It wasn't hard to force the lock and slip inside where no one would bother her.

Changing quickly, her duffel and street clothes stashed securely, it was Huntress that emerged not long after. Firing off a grapple bolt, she ascended easily to the rooftops and set to scanning the skyline for the smoke she had seen a few blocks previous. Once she had her bearings, Huntress took off at a run, leaping rooftop to rooftop to close in on the site, eyes still alert for other dangers.

Courtney Whitmore has posed:
Luckily for the Huntress, the Star Spangled Kid had absorbed all of the Hobgoblin's rage and anger. It is a few long minutes after the Hobgoblin flies away before the Kid starts to stir. She slowly pushes herself up, trying to uncurl her legs. She reaches out to the ledge of the rooftop and begins to pull herself to her feet, wobbling clearly. She puts a hand on the wall to steady herself. Or try to, anyway. A small stream of blood is flowing down from a cut on her thigh, and she has a bruise starting to form on her face, along with a busted lip.

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Dropping silently to the rooftop from behind the place where the other heroine is trying to stand, Huntress has her staff in hand as she scans the area for any other dangers before approaching the blonde. She speaks quietly, "Hey.. take it easy. I'm Huntress. One of the good.. girls.. " it always sounded silly to say it. She takes a few steps forward. "It's just us, you're safe now. Just take a seat for a minute." Huntress looks over the young woman, "What's your name?"

Courtney Whitmore has posed:
Not much encouragement needed. The Star Spangled Kid drops down onto her ass, a small wobble predicting that. Her eyes are kind of glassy, and she definitely looks like she was concussed. "The guy on the glider..." She tries to stand up. "Is he still here?" Her legs quiver as she pulls herself up, struggling to regain her footing.

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Huntress tried to close the distance before the blonde collapsed again. It wouldn't help if she were to hit her head and either make an existing concussion worse or to give herself one on top of it all.

"No. Stay down. It's okay. Just sit here for a minute, okay?" She looks around again, "No. The guy on the glider is gone. He flew off to the north." Kneeling there, Huntress tries to triage the situation. "Look at me, okay?" her voice firm but quiet and calm. "Look at me. What's your name?" Pulling out a small pen light, Huntress would try to shine it into the blonde's eyes briefly just to check on pupil response.

Courtney Whitmore has posed:
The eyes try to follow the command as given, but have a tendency to wander a bit, unable to focus. "Courtney." manages the girl. Apparently not having the presence of mind to use her made-up name. "Courtney Whitmore." She fights to focus, looking at Helena. "Who are you?" Her eyes start to roll back, but she keeps herself upright this time.

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Huntress shifts for the girl to lean on a bit. Anything to keep from falling over. "Take it easy Courtney. You've been in a tough scrap it sounds like. Just sit here for now, okay? Keep talking to me."

"I'm Huntress. Courtney do you know where you are right now?" she asks carefully.

Courtney Whitmore has posed:
Slowly, some awareness comes back into her eyes. "Uh. A rooftop. In the fashion district." Courtney starts to rise and then winces as she pushes on her leg. "Ow. I made a rookie mistake, and couldn't recover." She looks up into the sky, and then back to a spot on the roof which looks like it has a her-shaped indentation. "I could have been killed. He could have killed me."

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
"Hey - hey... just take it easy." Huntress looks over the blonde, "We've all been there. To some degree. Some of us didn't walk away. The learning curve to this crime fighting thing is steep" she says with the voice of experience.

"Okay. Yeah. Sounds like it. Or worse. But whatever reason, it didn't happen. You're still here. Let's focus on the positives and make sure you continue to live to fight another day, deal?"

shifting a little, she asks, "Other than obviously crashing into things not meant for that to happen, are you hurt other than the leg you're having trouble putting weight on?"

Courtney Whitmore has posed:
Thinking for a long moment, Courtney shakes her head. "Mostly my pride, I think." She reaches down and brushes her hand over the cut in her thigh. "He was out there and I ran at him, and I forgot to turn on my force field. How dumb is that?" She tries to stand again, and this time is a bit more successful. "I must look like a rank amateur."

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Huntress smiles a little. "If it was just your pride that was badly injured, you'll make it." Standing as well, she offers a hand, "Easy. Easy. There's no reason to rush."

However in the distance are sirens that are clearly drawing closer.

"Then again. We probably don't want to be here when the police arrive. They tend to have more questions than is good for our kind of folk to have to answer." She looks up at the skyline. "It'll be dark soon. I'd ask if you were from around here. But I'm pretty sure you're not, unless you just got here." Another smile, "C'mon. I've got a safe house a few blocks. We can make it without drawing more attention. Get you cleaned up and make sure you're good to go. Deal?"

Courtney Whitmore has posed:
Taking the offered hand, Courtney pulls herself to a stance. "Thanks. That's true, I guess. Seen plenty of folks not make it." She dusts herself off and then looks to Huntress with a smile.

"Yeah. Probably for the best. Don't want to attract too much attention." She looks down at herself. "And can't exactly take the subway home like this." She shakes herself off. "Lead on. Thank you.

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Huntress nods. "Alright. Can you walk? Need me for balance?" she asks, offering an arm if needed. "It's this way. We don't have very far to go. C'mon.." she offers an encouraging smile before asking, "Got everything you came with?"

Courtney Whitmore has posed:
A quick nod, and Courtney reaches out to slide an arm around Huntress. "Probably a good idea, until I can figure out how bad the leg is." She smiles weakly at her, and nods. "This is all I've got. No weapons, just me and the suit."

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
The rooftop trip isn't complicated but it does take a little time just to be sure Courtney is able to make it without further unjury - and to be certain they aren't being followed.

Stopping atop a run down apartment building, Huntress nods. "Alright. We're here. Hang on." She walks over to a roof top access hatch. Unlocking it, it swings up to reveal a narrow iron staircase that has more in common with a ladder than stairs. At least it has narrow railings. "Think you can make your way down okay? Need me to go down first?"

Courtney Whitmore has posed:
"I think I am good now." And indeed, The Star Spangled Kid is able to navigate her way down gracefully. Clearly she does have some natural talent and skills, despite what looks to have been completly inadequate to take on that enemy today. "I appreciate the help. Clearly you've been doing this longer than me/."

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Huntress nods, letting her descend, "Okay. Just take it slow. There's no need to rush." She lingers on the roof top till Courtney is fully into the small apartment. With a last glance around, Huntress slips inside, closing the rooftop hatch and locking it again.

Once inside, she flips on a few more lights. It's a simple studio apartment that was outdated easily seventy years ago. But as a safe house it has everything it could need. A bed, some food. A shower and plenty of fresh towels and clothes.

A wry laugh is offered, "Not long. But you could say I was raised with some knowledge that laid the groundwork for what I choose to do these days with my spare time."

She walks over to the 'fridge and pulls out two ice cold bottle of enhanced water with minerals and electrolytes to replenish the body. "Here. YOu should probably drink this. It should help some." A nod, "And the bathroom's there if you want to clean up. Towels are all fresh. Use what you need. I'll send you the bill later" she jokes.

Courtney Whitmore has posed:
"Ah. My step-dad ran with the JSA, but he has been pretty useless in terms of training me." Courtney walks around the studio for a moment, nodding in appreciation. "Not bad. Serves the purpose." She looks over at Huntress at her comment. "Was one of your parents a superhero, too?"

Courtney walks over to accept the offered bottle of water and nods. "Thanks." She puts it against her forehead first, and then opens it up to drink. "Thanks. I'll try to avoid bleeding on your stuff." She grins a bit.

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Huntress tilts her head at mention of step-dads and the JSA. She sips at her bottle of water and almost chokes at the logical question. A small cough and she clears her throat.

"Uh. No. No, he wasn't. I'm the first in my family to decide to do this you could say." She avoids the topic for the moment and nods, "It wouldn't be the first time. If you do, there's a separate hamper in there. Also some sweats and a hoodie if you want to change into something else. Should be some nice fluffy socks too. Socks can never be too fluffy after a good shower" she declares with a nod to own wisdom on the matter. "Take your time. You've earned it" she says with a smile.

Courtney Whitmore has posed:
The Star Spangled Kid flashes a grin. "Kid of a supervillain? I know some of those, too." Some of her personality is starting to come back as the haze clears. "And yes, thank you. That would be great." She pauses. "I really appreciate you looking out for me. Some of the other heroes I've met - total dicks!" She looks towards the bathroom, and then back to the Huntress. "I owe you one."

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Huntress smirks, "Mafia Don. No wild costumes but a lot of zoot suits" she jokes. She smirks, "There are a lot of dicks in this lifestyle."

While Courtney is in the bathroom, Huntress walks over and avails herself of her private reserve. A nice bottle of Red, from a little built in wine cooler. After checking the cork, she pours herself a glass and walks over to drop onto the comfortable sofa. Idly, she swirls the wine in the glass a few times before taking a light sip. Sighing, she props up her booted feet on the coffee table and lays her head back to rest her eyes in the momentary silence as the water runs through the old pipes to the bathroom.

Courtney Whitmore has posed:
The shower runs for quite a long time - no doubt a good measure of washing off the ego hit as well as the grime. A few minutes after it stops Courtney Whitmore emerges wearing as discussed a borrowed pair of sweatpants and a hoodie. "Can I borrow a bag for my costume?" she asks, her hands running a towel over her hair as she does so. "Last thing I will impose upon you. And I'm really sorry. I'll find a way to pay you back." She glances over at the wine in Helena's hand. "I'll get you a bottle of wine sometime?"

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Helena Bertinelli is in no way concerned with her water bill, more than happy to let Courtney take her time and recouperate. The hot water helps with sore muscles as well as bruised egos. Of this Helena knew first hand.

Glancing up at the blonde as she emerges, Helena - for she had pulled off her mask as she sat, half dozing on the couch. Brown eyes opened and looked over without concern, nodding, "Sure." She sets her glass on the table and stands, walking over to the small closet by the proper door to the apartment. She checks inside and takes out a designer bag from a fashion house in Italy most likely. She offers it over to Courtney with a smile, "You don't owe me anything, Courtney. We look after our own. If we don't, no one else will." It's said with a mixture of convicition and, perhaps, some training to the younger heroine. "Just pay it forward sometime when you can." She then offers her hand, standing there unmasked, Courtney Whitmore? Helena Bertinelli. It's nice to meet you."

Courtney Whitmore has posed:
A warm smile from the blonde, and she nods quickly. "Thank you...I really appreciate it." As the hand is offered, Courtney beams, and gives it a firm shake. "Nice to meet you, Helena."