Scene #9717: Path of Glory: Love Them As Yourself

Owner	Pose
Tim Drake	The refugee camp that has overtaken Gotham Stadium is quiet, in the still of night. Not deathly so, but with the retractable roof closed and the big overhead lights dimmed, there is only a low murmur of background noise to reflect the staggering amount of people who are currently housed here, set up within tents on the stadium grass, along the exterior hallways where the once-overpriced food stands are now run by harried volunteers, and basically just about anywhere that space can be found. Along interior corridors, in side rooms, even among the stadium seats in some cases. The employees of the Wayne Foundation are out in force, and have been since the beginning. They're split roughly 50-50, half here and half in Robinson Park. There's no arguing that the stadium postings are the cushier of the two, given how bracingly cold it outside. Even still, if you're not set up in one of the tents with heaters, best to bundle up. One of the central tents is the makeshift headquarters of the volunteer effort, and Tamara Fox--daughter of Wayne Enterprises' Lucius Fox--stands amidst cramped surroundings, every spare inch of floor filled with boxes of supplies. Even at this late hour, she's bent over a table where a map of the stadium has been laid out beneath piles of other documents. Her eyes move between the tablet in her hands and some of the monitors set up around the tent as she coordinates many dozens of people and puts out several fires at once. "I hate to ask this," she says as she accepts the cup of coffee being pressed into her hand, "But we're having trouble down at the loading bay, some sort of issue with incoming deliveries? Would you mind checking it out?" Tim Drake, provider of said coffee, sips from his own cup. "Yeah, sure, I'll go see what I can do." And then he's off to do just that. There's certainly some kind of commotion down at the loading bay, where several trucks have been awkwardly jammed into a space only fit for two at most. Tensions are high, between the flood of people, the cold, and the possible impending biblical apocalypse. Things are just shy of outright violence as drivers begin raising their voices and harried volunteers try unsuccessfully to mediate.
Inque	Inque is here. Normally this spells trouble but she's.... helping? The monochromatic woman has a satchel around her neck full of mylar blankets that she's passing out from tent to tent. This is an unexpected display of charity, to say the least. She didn't check in with the central volunteer organization. That would have caused too much trouble. No, she just... stole the satchel and is helping out. It's hard to miss the woman as she passes by the central tent like she belongs there. In a sea of color, she's black and white with overtones of blue. She even seems to smile as a young child of about nine comes up to her and asks her for one of the blankets. She pats the child on the head, hands her a blanket, and gently shoos her away. Her expression then hardens into something else. Regret? Perhaps anger.
Austin Reese	If Tim had checked the volunteer roster, he would have found a name on there that stood out: Austin Reese. While part of the reason Austin may have been volunteering was to have a place to get out of the cold of the Narrows, never the less he was here helping out how he could, even if it was just carrying boxes. Sometimes it pays to be the big strong guy. At the moment he had a box of coats, and was moving around handing them out to folks who needed them. Even in the huge stadium it was still cold. Maybe not as cold as outside, but never the less a lot of folks didn't get to grab anything before they got evacuated. Austin may also have another reason for being here. One of the groups that had to evacuate from NYC was the Death's Head Motorcycle Club, who he's had more than a few run-ins with. And he wanted to make sure they weren't trying to use the situation to make some cash or sell their poison.
Charlie Gage	Tim may be working the ground and doing his job as Tim Drake instead of Red Robin. Charlie on the other hand is fully suited up and parked in the roof of the overhang staring at the wintery night sky. Out of sight but not out of mind. She has a PiP of a couple of Oracle drones that are circling overhead and mapping threads in the upper corner of her right goggle lens and the internal stadium camera feeds in her other lens PiP. She is mostly running overwatch because this is a whole lot of prey in a small place and even if there is a bunch of charity down below it is Gotham and this city preys on the vulnerable like no where else on this coast at least. The system flags Tim on the move from the central tent, then also highlights Inque nearby passing out blankets of all things. <Hey Timbits. Look to your left all subtle like, it looks like Inque but doing charity. The hecks?> a pause <Also there is some trouble at the loading dock, needs like a firm hand at the wheel or something.> Another pause. <Want me to tackle Inque and demand answers polite like?> which honestly isn't what one thinks when they use Tackle as the verb.
Tim Drake	Even Tim, multitasker extraordinare and general perfectionist, has missed the name Austin Reese on the volunteer list. Though if he'd seen it, he certainly would have recognized it and made note. However as he exits volunteer HQ and starts making his way along the path laid out between tents, he passes by where Austin is handing out coats. There's only a second or two where his gaze shifts to consider the other young man before moving on, but Austin's presence is filed away for later. He doesn't reply to Charlie verbally, but his hand tucks into one pocket of his coat--wool, nice quality but not advertising it as such with obvious labels or branding--and types out a quick message to her on his phone: i see her And he does. Indeed, she's hard to miss, but there are enough mutants and metas among both the volunteers and the refugees that Tim does his level best not to react to her presence. Instead he types out another message: keep an eye on her. i'm headed to the loading dock. At her last message, Misfit just gets a thumbs up emoji. How he manages to do all this without looking at his phone's screen is a mystery. Before long, Tim has disappeared into the interior hallways of the stadium, against the flow of concerned volunteers looking for someone higher up the ladder to help calm things down between the delivery drivers.
Inque	As soon as Tim walks away, Inque's eyes are on him, tracing him as he heads towards the back. She gives a knowing smirk and goes back to handing out blankets. She gets to a particular tent and does the nefarious deed of.... striking up a conversation with one of the inhabitants. It lasts for about five minutes, and she flashes him what /looks/ like a genuine smile and continues on her rounds.
Austin Reese	Austin is out of coats to hand out. Thankfully he saw another box on the loading dock. So he starts to head that way, not sure why there's such a commotion going on from all the people. He ducks in a side exit to bypass the majority of the crowd, and then cuts back across through a backstage area to come out onto the loading dock proper. He just needs to get the box, hopefully he won't get caught up in whatever is going on out there.
Charlie Gage	Charlie rolls to sit up and then scoots to the edge of the overhang and peers down into the sea of tents and refugees below. She lets her goggles do the whole zoom zoom, highlight, tag, mark etc, that makes the HUD so useful. <<She seems to be just be ... doing good deeds Tim. Very odd. I'll inquire if she plans to do nefarious deeds. I mean she has a slew of warrants and is wanted... but charity...>> With that she vanishes from the high up perchy perch and a moment later is boots on the ground behind one of the tents along Inque's route. When the monochrome person of interest walks by with her satchel of blankets Misfit clears her throat and asks from where she leans agaisnt a support pole. "Working an angle or actually doing good deeds Inque?"
Tim Drake	It's only when Tim is similarly ducking through a side exit just like Austin is, to get from point A to point B a little bit faster, that he finally replies over comms to Charlie. "<<No one's too far gone to be saved. Maybe this is a turning point for her,>>" he says, voice muted but hopeful. Except the Joker. The Joker doesn't get a redemption story. But that goes without saying, among the Bats. He's only a moment or two behind Austin, coming out onto the loading dock. And whatever is going on out there is, in a word: chaos. Absolute chaos. There's a man standing atop the trailer of a delivery truck. Ostensibly he'd climbed up there to try and help guide one of the other trucks out from the wedge several of the vehicles are stuck in, but now he's just yelling. Two other men are standing in front of their own vehicles, eyeing each other up. They haven't yet devolved to getting physical only by the presence of a tiny woman, no more than five feet tall, with a pencil tucked behind her ear and a clipboard in her hands that she's wielding like a shield, keeping them separate. Beyond the three vehicles that have all tried to park in the loading dock at once, there are several more 18-wheelers idling in the parking lot beyond, but so far only one driver, a woman with greying hair, has left her cab to come see what the hold up is. Immediately, Tim brushes past Austin and inserts himself next to the clipboard-carrying woman. "Hey, Mary, you okay?" he asks as he stares down one of the men she's managed to keep separate so far. "I'm so far from okay right now," is all the response she can muster up. From inside one of the tents near where Misfit and Inque are about to face off, a head pokes itself out through the tent flap. "Do either of you have some pain medicine?" the woman asks, hurriedly. "My daughter is running a fever and isn't feeling well."
Inque	Inque's attention is drawn to the costumed vigilante who's decided to come and meet her. She gives Charlie a condescending smile, "I was wondering when one of you would show up," she says. "Which one are you? Bat-mite?" She waves a hand dismissively and goes to the next tent to hand out a blanket. "Who says I can't do both?" she asks coyly. "Besides, what are you going to do? Make a scene and stop me from handing out blankets to needy refugees?" She shrugs, "Maybe I have an angle. Maybe I just want to poke the hornet's nest and see who comes buzzing by." She stops walking and turns to Misfit, "Maybe, just maybe, I'm not as heartless as you think." She opens up her chest to where her heart should be to reveal only a hole on the other side. "Metaphorically speaking." Her attention is drawn to the woman appearing from the tent. Sealing herself back up she shakes her head. "I don't, no." She points to one of the tents that's clustered near the center. "That's the medical pavilion. They'll have something there for you." A helpful reply, but still, she's not offering to go get it for her.
Austin Reese	Austin is surprised a bit when Tim shoots past him, but he's trying to figure out what the hell went wrong here. He frowns a little bit and moves to see if he can help. Mostly by putting himself between one of the truckers and the small lady. The one that Tim isn't staring down. Lets see if the guy wants to have the same attitude when someone a bit more his size is looking him in the eye, "Why don't we settle down and use our words like adults here?"
Charlie Gage	"I'm Misfit... Batmite is like... this tall" she holds her hands about three foot apart there and frowns. "Don't be a jerkface just because you are a criminal." is tacked on there. At the interruption, before she can reply about the poke and display of no heart, non-metaphorically speaking, she turns half her attention on the lady asking about medicine. "The ... lady is right. Medical tent is your best bet they have supplies and doctors and nurses who can look at your kiddo. I have like some painkillers on me but I shouldn't just in case it is something more serious than just a cold." being responsible and agreeing with Inque at the same time. Oddness. She turns her full attention to Inque. "Of course we are keeping an eye on the stadium. There are a lot of horrible people who would take advantage of refugees. Also no.... I won't be making a scene unless you do something to force my hand." she pauses and echos Tim. "Almost no one is too far gone or beyond hope." Except the Joker. Jason would be way too pissed if he had a redemption arc.
Tim Drake	Tim is an unexpected bit of backup for Mary. And then Austin is a (semi-)unexpected bit of backup for Tim. Between the two new arrivals and Mary herself, who is certainly something of a firebrand, the men who were only seconds ago about to start throwing punches both calm down. They're definitely glowering at each other still, but they've zipped it. For the time being. The man on top of his truck calls out a relieved, "Thank you," and then gestures down to his truck. "This rickety piece of junk can barely make it up a slope with an empty trailer and right now I've got 20,000 pounds of frozen meat in the back. If we can get it unloaded I'll get out of the way, but until that happens she ain't moving." This is when the woman who is coming to investigate from one of the 18-wheelers lined up in the parking lot makes her appearance, and she rolls up her sleeves. "Well what the hell are we waiting for? I got a truck full of medical supplies! We gotta get to work, people!" Said supplies are in desperate need within the medical tent inside the stadium right now. The woman, obviously a New Yorker born and raised by her accent, hardly takes note of Misfit's vigilante gear or Inque's unusual appearance. "I sent my son over there thirty minutes ago to ask for some but he said they're all out. And I can't leave my other kids alone--I have two toddlers in here and my newborn!"
Inque	Inque barks out a laughter. "Ha! Not everybody wants to be redeemed, kiddo. It's a harsh world out there. Use or be used. I'd rather be the use/er/ than the use/ee/. You think Batman took you under his wing out of the goodness of his heart? He's getting something out of it, but God knows what." She waves a hand derisively at the costume, "Free child labor I guess." She looks down at the woman and just shrugs at her. "Sorry, can't help." Apparently her charity has limits. She jabs a thumb at Misfit, "/She's/ the one with painkillers who isn't giving it to you." "Still," she says, looking about the camp. "I'm not heartless. I was a refugee once, but nothing like this. I would have killed to have been in a refugee camp as luxurious as this." Black eyes look back to the vigilante. "Mine was hot and wet with three families per tent with barely enough food to feed us all, and armed guards that were just as likely to shoot you as the enemies that we were running away from."
Austin Reese	Austin looks at Tim for a second, and then at Mary who seems to be the one directing traffic, "Pretty sure medical supplies would need to take priority over frozen meat." He hmms faintly to himself, as he looks around. It's cold enough out here that if they just take the meat off the truck, they could set it aside. It'd be quicker than doing a full unload, anyway. "Anybody got a forklift? I've got an idea.."
Charlie Gage	Charlie narrows her eyes behind those orange goggles at Inque when she barks a laugh at her like that. "I'm not a minor and I chose to do this line of work. Thanks." sourly. Not mentioning she was a minor when she started being a vigilante. No need to feed the fire. She looks to the mother. "What age is the kiddo needing the painkiller for fever ma'am?" Waiting on that answer she looks back to Inque and then around at the refugee. "It definitely has more food than where I grew up." which wasn't a refugee but despite supply constraints, this kid did grow up in Suicide Slums in Metro as far as she has memories of at least. "It's nice you are helping refugees Inque. Seriously. Also don't spite me for saying something nice and make me regret it okay..."
Tim Drake	"She's nine years old, and she can take tablets or pills if you can spare them," the woman says. As Inque and Misfit have continued their uneasy confrontation, she's only grown more pleading, her eyebrows drawn together. "Look. Whatever you two have going on, that's none of my business. Just... please. We're already suffering." And then, solemnly, she retreats back into the safety of her tent. Which admittedly isn't safe at all, but even four walls made of fabric are better than nothing. And while the situation on the stadium floor proves just how true Austin's comment is, in the loading dock it's not that simple. The driver of the meat delivery truck shakes his head. "If I could clear out of here right away I would, but she locks up in the cold like this. If we get the trailer emptied, I can park her outside and come back to help unload the others. Promise. Scout's honor." And whether or not he's telling the truth, they need to get to work. "Okay people!" comes Mary's voice, booming out of her like she's three sizes larger than she actually is. "Let's do this as quickly as we can. Bobby! Bring that forklift over! Jen, Lucy, clear that corner over there with the pallets--just toss them into the back hall there, we'll clear it up after! Everyone else, gather up!" Then she looks at Austin. "Okay, kid, tell me your big idea." Tim, meanwhile, has stepped away and pulled out his phone, putting in a call for more volunteers to come down to the loading dock. He flashes a quick thumbs-up at Austin from the sidelines.
Austin Reese	"Okay so not the best idea ever, but basically I was thinking we unhook the trailer and lift the front of it up with the forklift.." He motions towards the trailer, "We'll probably lose some of the meat, it's true. But I think it'll clear it out of the back, at least enough to get the truck out of the way and get the one with medicine in." He looks at the guy who's driving the meat truck. It's his property so they'd need permission of course, "Way I see it, it's cold enough out here that the meat'll take a while to thaw out. At least long enough to get the medicine unloaded. Like I said, might lose some of it but it's better than not having meds."
Inque	Inque gives Misfit a cursory glance. "Poor? Hmph. There's inner city poor and third world war torn country poor." She falls silent as the woman speaks, and gives the vigilante an expectant look. "Well, here's your chance." "If I was going to spite anybody, I'd make it worth my while," she says once Misfit is done playing the hero. "Like Batman himself. Or one of the Robins. How many has he got now? Three? Four? I've lost count." Already she's moving on to the next tent, having lost interest in the plight of the young woman that Charlie is helping.
Charlie Gage	Charlie reaches down and pops two utility belt pouches at once. One small. One on her thigh much larger. She pulls out a small waterbottle, disposable, sealed from the thigh pouch. A disposable packet of Advil from the other and shifts to offer both to the woman asking for help now. "Make sure the kiddo gets plenty of water too, can be dehydrating." "Robins.. probably like half a dozen." okay she can't resist a small jab at the flock of Robins. "I'm at least unique... even if I rip some style off Batgirl." she lets Inque continue onwards to distribute blankets. Keeping her tagged in the video feeds. She pitches it subvocal <<How are the docks?>> without saying loading docks. Yeah she has the PiP view still in the corner of her left eye, but eyes on the ground is better. <<Is the truck stuck, do I need to yeet it...?>>
Tim Drake	It's not the woman that had previously emerged from the tent that steps out to take the supplies from Charlie. It's a young man, early teens, though the family resemblance is there in his face. The same freckled cheeks and brown eyes. "Thank you, miss," he says. "I like your costume!" And then he's back inside. There's some muted conversation from within the tent, but otherwise, silence. Which is not the same out in the loading dock. "You'd lose a whole lotta meat!" the driver exclaims. Mary asks, "But it would work?" And eventually they get a begrudging agreement out of the driver. Which is when Tim returns, and after being brought up to speed on the plan, he nods. "We could lay out some of those pallets to catch some of it," he points out. He's texting as he speaks, half to Tam, half to Charlie. On Misfit's HUD, 'how much meat can you teleport at once?' pops up. No context. Then: 'could use your help'
Inque	Inque gives Charlie a wry smile, "That's the batling do gooder that I've come to expect," she says. As she's talking a small tendril of her sneaks out through the shadows. She stops at a tent, "Hello?" she asks, looking inside. "I've got blankets if you need one." The tendril, thin as a wire creeps around behind Misfit and raises up. The man inside the tent nods, and indicates that he could use one, sure, and she hands it over. The tendril pokes in one of the pouches in the vigilante's belt, and extracts what looks like a smartphone. It's probably one of the ultrasecure Oracle Phones, but that's even better. Inque could sell /that/ at a higher price. The tendril quickly engulfs the phone and retreats back into her body, hiding her spoils from view. Inque lets out a sigh. "I think I've had my share of charity today," she says, taking the satchel and handing it to Misfit. "Time for me to make my exit."
Austin Reese	Austin nods a bit at Tim's suggestion, "Yeah, see? We can totally try to catch it with the other pallets. That way we can try to save as much of it as possible." Plus it's frozen, and packaged. So it should be okay overall, Austin thinks. "Look if I was Superman I'd just pick up your truck and move it out of the way, but he's probably fighting angels in NYC right now so we have to do things the best way we can."
Charlie Gage	Charlie is overconfident if nothing else. That much is always true. She doesn't notice the shadow stealing from her as she hands out the goods. The footage later will reveal it. <<Well. I need to touch it. So if it is on pallets or in crates or something... as much as I can make contact with?>> she is pretty sure of herself there. That is good right. Tactically it might be better for her to teleport the medicine to the medical tent. It all depends on how each load is actually loaded and stored really based on her description. Regardless Tim sent the could use help message. So she pivots a step vanishes with a small cloud of pink and purple smoke. A moment later there is another pop of the smoke atop the meat truck and the small costumed vigilante is sitting up there. "Need a hand?" she asks all the folks below. She will port whatever Tim or Mary tell her too really. "Want me to move the truck out of the way?"
Tim Drake	The volunteers, the truck drivers, and of course Tim himself are all Gothamites. So they as a group all share a moment of pause when a Bat just... emerges out of nowhere. Sure, the colorful cloud of smoke somewhat downplays the whole broody Bat thing, but still, someone shrieks. It's Bobby, the dark-haired guy driving the forklift over. He's slammed on the breaks, for now. Tim begins to open his mouth, to reply--but Mary actually beats him to it. "There's a big stretch of the parking lot just out there that we've kept blocked off," she calls out, up to Misfit. "Get this truck out of the way and we'll handle the rest!" Already she's pushing the two drivers that were previously about to throw down with each other to get back into their vehicles. It takes come coordinating, but they both manage to get their trucks up the ramp and pulled off to the side, out of the way. More volunteers are arriving by the moment, though now they're lining up by the pallets, ready to begin carting supplies back through the corridors to the medical tent. "You know how to drive a forklift?" Tim asks Austin. Because Bobby's still in shock. He's in no shape to be behind the wheel.
Austin Reese	Well Austin did steal and go on a joyride with a forklift in a Home Depot once...But he doesn't need to tell Tim that part, "Yeah." Austin replies, "I can drive one. At least well enough for this.." He looks at Bobby, "Or until he gets his head back on." He moves to hop into the driver's seat of the forklift, ready to do what he needs to in order to unload the medical supplies once the meat truck has been moved out of the way. Should be easy enough.
Charlie Gage	"Woah woah... no.." she looks alarmed. "No!" firmly to Mary and the driver of the meat truck. "No one in the truck when I move it. It won't work if they are in the truck." which is very vague. Honestly she doesn't want to explain that the poor driver would be a fine meat slurry if he was in the cab of the truck when she moved it over to the clear spot in the parkingf lot blocked off over yonder. Once she is very. Very clear she crouches down, places her gloved hands flat on the top of the meat truck...... and concentrates. There isn't even the sound of air displacing, just a much larger splash of pinkish purple smoke spilling over her and the turck. It's almost redder though this time. Ruby almost. Over in the cordoned off section where Mary wanted the truck moved there is a simultanious slash of smoke. The truck is maybe a foot off the ground and there is a loud noise as it hits the pavement, but probably nothing damaging. It is on shocks and tires and suspension. Hopefully the axel doesn't break. <<Ugn crackers ....>> is what Charlie says next upset and then leans over and throws up off the side of the truck before sprawling on top of it panting heavily. She lifts a glove and wipes some blood away from her nose there out of sight. <<That sucked>>
Tim Drake	The driver dutifully gets out of the truck. He's not going to argue with a Bat, nope. And then he stands there, mouth agape, as said Bat manages to teleport the entire truck several dozen yards away. "Holy sh-" "Let's go, people!" Mary calls out. The other two trucks are out of the way and the one carrying medical supplies is backed into the loading dock within the next minute. Most of the supplies are packed onto pallets which means it's up to Austin to unload, but as soon as each one hits the concrete floor the volunteers descend on them like a swarm of locusts. The plastic shrink wrap is cut open and soon enough a long line of people, arms full, begins to make its way back through the stadium's hallways. With Tim's help, Mary organizes the remaining trucks into a line so that unloading can continue through the rest of the night. Soon enough the medical tent is fully stocked once again and the stadium stalls that have been providing the bulk of the meals to the refugees are ready for another day of food prep. Eventually, Tim pulls himself away from the volunteer effort to find a quiet corner. "<<Thanks for the save, Misfit. Tam has a cold drink and some meds for you if you need them.>>"
Charlie Gage	<<That sounds great. If no one minds I will just lay up here for a while.. maybe someone can toss me a couple of bottles of water and some painkillers.. I gave mine away to a sick kiddo...>> she isn't panting anymore but at the moment she just wants to lay there and suffer quietly. <<I think I need to practice moving stuff more... maybe it will get easier.>>