[Open] To Find a Bat

[acro_bat_ic]

Who: Barbara, Batman, and whoever wants to meet her (Specify whether before or after she meets up with Bats, though0
Where: Everywhere (not off limits, anyway)
When: June 10th, through the day.
Summary: Exploring the town, and teaching Sissel how not to lick himself in public.
Warnings: Batglares.

It was another night in costume for Barbara, standing on a rooftop with her cape fluttering behind. It made little snapping noises as the wind pulled it taught. Both hands on her hips, creating an image for anyone who might look up. She'd usually use it to scare criminals. Right now she was using herself as a bat signal, though, her eyes looking not for criminals but for her favorite caped crusader.

She'd stay up there for maybe half an hour before getting bored, and taking to the streets - whether he showed up or not . Barbara knew he was around somewhere - in one identity of his or another. She just had to find him. 

Comments

[acro_bat_ic]

Back home? She was the only Batgirl... and she almost said as much. But she was just getting along with Steph. It didn't seem right to antagonize.

"Yeah," she said, simply.

[ichoosefight]

Steph took a deep breath and let it out in a huff, still giving the girl a critical once-over, hands firmly on her hips.

"Thing is, I know her. She's... careful. You're not." It was blunt, but definitely true. Steph had been able to connect her to her civilian identity right away, even assuming that it wasn't actually Barbara Gordon. That was pretty careless.

[acro_bat_ic]

"I've been careful enough to survive so far," she pointed out, desire to play nice momentarily lost in sudden offense. "I've been doing fine for the last two years."

[ichoosefight]

Two years. Two years she had gotten by in Gotham of all places, without even a basic attempt to conceal her secret identity. Hell, Steph had covered her whole face when she first started out. But it was possible she was dealing with an alternate universe. She basically had to be. The question was, how much was truth and what was lies?

"Okay, okay. Obviously you get by. But with the limited population here you might want to be a bit more cautious with the secret ID." She dropped her hands to her sides, then clasped them behind her back.

"So how'd you get started?"

[acro_bat_ic]

She shook her head, not willing to start dropping secret-hints after being told off like that. She really wishes she had more of a lead on this girl's identity than the random guess that it could be her blonde rommate. She guesses they have sort of similar chins and stuff, but...

"Your name first," she challenged.

[ichoosefight]

Steph considered the other girl, weighing the pros and cons. She certainly wasn't sneaky enough to be playing some trick. She didn't really think that anyone could hear their conversation, either. And she already knew what Barbara would claim her name was.

"Stephanie Brown."

[acro_bat_ic]

"So not the ditzy roommie then," she muttered under her breath - perhaps barely audible if a blond was listening. She didn't intend for the woman to hear.

"Barbara Gordon," she admitted, after a moment. "As int he commissioner's daughter. ...once I realized pops was never going to let me join the police academy..."

[ichoosefight]

She had to restrain a smirk. It came out as more of a grimace. Ditzy roommate? They didn't even share a room. But her act had work out perfectly. Eventually Barbara would hear that Fay Wray was only a fabrication. She could make her judgments then.

"Yeah, I know. You weren't exactly hiding it."

[acro_bat_ic]

In combination with the fake name, at least. She didn't figure on two blondes with fake identities. As for later - she'd just reply with "I knew it."

"Well apparently you already knew me."

[ichoosefight]

She shrugged. She was never the best detective, but it didn't take a great one to connect the two redheads.

"Actually I thought you were lying. And I'm still not convinced. You didn't try to disguise your voice or speech patterns and the number of redheaded girls with your haircut is pretty tiny. Speaking of which, if you want to keep the secret ID you may want to work on that." Apparently Steph's disguise worked just fine.

[acro_bat_ic]

"Because there's a ton of blonde haired girls around here?" she asked, reaching out toward the woman's clothing.

"I don't know about your Barbara, but Pops still hasn't figured out who I am."

[ichoosefight]

Steph took a step back, out of the other girl's reach. She still didn't trust her, not completely.

"Gordon's smart, but he's also quiet. He's had decades to figure out who Batman is. He doesn't want to know."

[acro_bat_ic]

"So that's why Batman's the only one who figured it out?" she asked, resuming her glare at Steph as her eyes continued glaring.

"...You still don't trust me." There's a bit of hurt in there. And bruised pride.

[ichoosefight]

In Gotham there were tons of redheads, and no real reason to assume that Batgirl would be someone known or even from in town. Finding someone in a population of a couple hundred thousand was a lot harder than it a population of a hundred. She gave Barbara a flat look as though to say 'really, you should be smarter than this.'

"Why should I? Barbara Gordon is a genius. You're not exactly up to snuff." There it was again, that meanness. What was the point? Was she really worried about the girl, or just mad that she wasn't so special anymore?

[acro_bat_ic]

She doesn't know whether to be insulted or... well. Slightly les insulted. The girl thought she was supposed to be a genius? Sure, she was smart... she was really smart. But it wasn't like she'd ever been tested on that stuff. Schooling had never been as important as everything else.

What comes out of her mouth is a surprise to her, though. "You... kinda hero worshiped the other me. Didn't you?"

[ichoosefight]

Steph's eyes widen just a touch and her mouth opens to speak - then she closes it. She can feel the slight flush to her cheeks and hopes that Barbara can't see it. Her arms cross.

"It's not hero worship. She's my mentor." She gave Steph a chance when nobody else would. She knew Barbara Gordon before she even had the chance to know Bruce Wayne.

[acro_bat_ic]

"Well, I'm not her... Yet, anyway," she admitted. She stepped forward a little bit, not reaching out this time.

"If I didn't ignore Bats half the time, I wouldn't even get to go out..."

[ichoosefight]

"That much is pretty obvious." She gave the girl another critical look, almost a warning to keep her hands to herself. But ignoring Bats? That's something she can relate to.

"So I'll ask again. How did you get started?"

[acro_bat_ic]

"I told you," she said, rolling her eyes faintly. But. She'd come that far, hadn't she?

"My best friend turned out to be hiring someone to bomb buildings. When I tried to stop her.... Pam got chemicals dumped all over her. Pops was so mad, he was never going to let me join the academy... Not that he ever wanted me to be a police officer. A few hours later, I was saving him from a man eating plant while wearing tights and a skirt."

[ichoosefight]

"Pam?" Man eating plants, chemicals. It was too similar to be a coincidence. Her hands uncrossed and dropped back to her sides as she leaned closer instinctively.

"Pamela Isely, the botanist?" She was Barbara's friend? This was way too weird.

[acro_bat_ic]

"Pamela Isley the high school student," she corrected, trying to cover her surprise and fight the urge to lean backward. She shouldn't be surprised there was another Ivy where Steph came from.

"We used to go on protests together. Until I found out she was using them for scouting missions..." She sighed, though, looking more sad than angry. She wishes she could save her friend.

[ichoosefight]

High school student. Pamela Isely was a high school student and Barbara Gordon's friend, and they protested... what? Chemical plants, probably. And Pamela became Ivy and Barbara became Batgirl.

She looked almost through Barbara, trying to read the truth out of her soul. It didn't sound like a lie. It didn't make sense for psychosis, latching on to familiar names and stories. It read like the truth.

It was far too weird to be anything else.

"And you got in a fight, at the chemical plant?" If it was true, it was really horrible. Clearly they really were dealing with alternate universes.

[acro_bat_ic]

"Kind of," she admitted. "With Tremblor. Her mercenary got a bit testy when he found out he was working for a penniless teenager..." Another of those sighs, rubbing at her arm a little nervously. She didn't like the close staring.

"It was my first time seeing Batman up close. He totally took down Tremblor." Fr a moment excitement lit her face, as she recalled the scene... and then faded again. "But not before she got their chemicals dumped on her."

[ichoosefight]

Against her will Steph felt a hint of a smile rising to her face even as an eyebrow raised. She recognized the look on her face.

"Looks like I'm not the one with the hero worship." Steph had felt like that once. Like Batman was some wonderful hero hiding away in the night. That he would come out of the sky and save her from her miserable life. That illusion lasted about until she hit fifteen.

[acro_bat_ic]

"You're probably thinking of pops," she offered, trying to hide any discomfort the question caused her. She and Batman... her feelings towards him were completed. No one infuriated her more. No one's opinion - besides her father - mattered to her more.

"You should hear him talking about Bats, sometimes..." She paused. "You know, hew as the one who decided got the police working with Batman."