Bobblehead (bobblehead) wrote in dc_nextgen,
@ 2012-10-19 18:57:00

Entry tags:

Gotham Fashion Week
Gotham wasn't quite New York or Paris, but its yearly high fashion show was one of the rising stars of the industry, recent and small enough that a lot of independent designers were there, big enough to start getting some of the names. Definitely big enough to draw Pippi's attention. She had her mom's handler arrange everything for her for all the events, her hotel, transport while there and so on, along with a chance to survey the town a little. She's heard all sorts of interesting things about the city - but mostly that no one there likes clowns. The circus even has to not use its clowns when they go through... she figures that's probably why everyone is so gloomy there.

(Read comments) - (Post a new comment)

	bobblehead 2012-10-23 05:26 am UTC (link)
	"Oh, I'm Pippi, Mr. Circus Man." As if that answered everything. "Ok, so we need to find those guys, right?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

cantkeepmeout
2012-10-23 11:25 am UTC (link)

"It's Robin. Not Circus Man," he frowned. "And, Pippi, I meant do you have a codename? Are you on a superhero team? What can you do?" Because if he was going to have to team up with this girl (who had to be on a team, she just didn't strike him as the type to be safe to leave unsupervised) he wanted to know what she could do. It reduced the unknown factors in this operation and would make things way easier.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

bobblehead
2012-10-23 04:23 pm UTC (link)

"Oh! Ok Circus Man... I mean Robin. We can work on a first name basis. Yeah, I'm on the JLI. Those letters stand for... something, by the way. I thought it sounded weird at the start too, calling ourselves Juhlee - it didn't mean anything. But its like, Just-us something or other, cause we totally fight a lot of stuff without backup, I think. Now, let me go ask those pigeons to help us find your escapee clowns and we can talk when there's not a big chase going on. And I want to talk too, because with just a little change in color palate and materials, I could do great things with that outfit!"

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

cantkeepmeout
2012-10-23 08:23 pm UTC (link)

Robin blinks for a moment. Not because he can't process it but because her way of thinking required...adjustment to get used to. And she'd only answered one of his questions. "You can talk to animals? And my uniform is fine." JLI, hmmm he had files on the new team it'd be worth looking through hers while she fed pigeons or something.

"So what abilities do you have Pippi? I need to know if you want to help me save the hostages." While he talks he detaches a part of his belt that looks to be a small control pad or tablet of some sort. He notes where the tracker he gotten on the leader was now and then starts pulling up whatever was in her file.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

bobblehead
2012-10-23 09:25 pm UTC (link)

"All sorts of abilities. I can handle nails, hair, skin, wardrobe. I don't think I'd be very much help for your circus though. I'll be happy to help save people though. That's what us super heroes do."

She doesn't precisely talk to the pigeons, she just works on developing an understanding with them, seeing if they could help lead to the noisy people with all the bright colors.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

cantkeepmeout
2012-10-23 09:35 pm UTC (link)

He just sighed a bit at that answer. Good thing he had a file on her here, but he couldn't be sure how comprehensive it was. "Okay, stylist superhero it is...And I don't have a circus."

Did she not know the name Robin? If not then something really needed to be done about it. "I'm Robin. You know...as in Robin, sidekick to The Batman? I don't have a circus or any affiliation with one and I have no plans to either," he explains while watching her and the pigeons, not bothering to explain that he already knew where the Jokerz were thanks to the tracker.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	bobblehead 2012-10-23 09:44 pm UTC (link)
	"Oh! THAT Robin. I've heard of you. You're one of the ones Batman dresses in bright colors so he doesn't get shot at. Ok, let's go!" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	cantkeepmeout 2012-10-23 09:47 pm UTC (link)
	"...The R on my chest and the uniform didn't tip you off," he mutters under his breath as he dives off the buildings and starts swinging towards their destination, figuring she'd follow along. But he'd have to stop a few blocks away and give her a rundown of the rules before they did anything. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	bobblehead 2012-10-23 10:24 pm UTC (link)
	"That makes sense. I thought you might have just been supporting Mitt Romney or something." She super-leaps along, going rooftop to rooftop, keeping up fairly handily. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

cantkeepmeout
2012-10-24 01:23 am UTC (link)

"..." What had he gotten himself into here?

They make their way across rooftops towards a less reputable part of the city, where they stop on the roof of a low rise apartment complex a few blocks from their destination.

"Okay, we're stopping here for a moment because I need to explain something." Hopefully he can make this clear as possible. If not he'll need to resort to trying to translate things into her logic.

"The priority is getting the hostages out safely. So you need to listen to me and follow my instructions, got it? Gotham works differently and it takes getting used to. I don't want you getting hurt on my watch and I don't want to have to constantly supervise you to make sure. So listen to me, we'll get the job done safely and...I'll find you something for your trouble. Are we clear?"

Please oh please let this be clear, he even threw in an incentive in there in case, because this was clearly a test of patience.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	bobblehead 2012-10-24 02:25 am UTC (link)
	"You don;t need to give me anything for helping people. Don't worry, we'll make sure everyone is safe." Her jewel is telling her so. "Do we need a distraction? My friends are very big on distractions, and I figured out how we could do one." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	cantkeepmeout 2012-10-24 02:27 am UTC (link)
	Phew, at least she seemed to get this superhero thing. "Your friends? And what was your idea?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

bobblehead
2012-10-24 02:30 am UTC (link)

"Yeah, see, there's this girl, Dinah. And she's really, really smart. Its a family thing, see. Her dad is really smart too, like... he wears glasses, and has a company, and does computer stuff. I think he might be Bill Gates. Anyway, she's really smart. And she says distractions are good. So I figured, since they're here to help, the pigeons might make a good distraction for the clowns."

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

cantkeepmeout
2012-10-24 02:34 am UTC (link)

"Yes, I know who you're talking about but you might not want to mention knowing her to anyone. Secret ID concerns and you're clearly powered and all," he sighs. "First things first. Can you control the pigeons in some way? Because the key to a successful distraction is good timing. And if the pigeons do their work before we want them to and they blow our cover...well you see the problem here."

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	bobblehead 2012-10-24 02:42 am UTC (link)
	"Oh, they wouldn't do that. They want to help. I'll get them some food afterward for doing good and starting when I tell them." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

cantkeepmeout
2012-10-24 02:47 am UTC (link)

"But are you sure," he has to stress. "What if they get scared by us or a..." He looks around for something as an example and on cue a kitten happily runs into view, wanting to see the new people on his roof. "Okay, there, what if the pigeons get scared by a cat or something? Not that we can't use your idea, but I don't want to risk people's lives because of pigeons getting spooked. So if you've got animal understanding powers now would be a good time to say so."

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	bobblehead 2012-10-24 03:33 am UTC (link)
	The Pippi you're dialing is not currently in service on account of kitten. "Eeee! Kitty!" Despite the noise, the kitten doesn't seem at all startled, bounding right over to her. "I'm sorry kitty, but we're fighting crime right now. We'll talk later." Pippi explains while snuggling it. Not much question, she has something with the animal kingdom, anyway. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

cantkeepmeout
2012-10-24 03:49 am UTC (link)

Thomas sighs, and decides to wait out the kitten squeeing. Though he feels a tug on his cape and sees the kitten's friend trying to climb his cape. He carefully picks the other kitten up and puts him on his shoulder while giving the little guy ear scratches.

"We'll try the pigeon thing but if they do it too soon then the priority is getting the hostages out safe, the clowns are secondary." He couldn't dislike her if she appreciated cats like that.

"So summary: pigeons, hostages, clowns, and then kitten time. Deal?"

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	bobblehead 2012-10-24 04:14 am UTC (link)
	"Deal." she agrees readily, on noting his appreciation for the other kitten. Definitely earns him some points. She meanders back to the pigeons once she convinces the kitten to leave them alone, and does her best to communicate their role in things. No guarantees, but she seems to think it will work. "Just say when." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

cantkeepmeout
2012-10-24 04:22 am UTC (link)

Thomas isn't really banking on the pigeons but he'd let her try, backup plans were always ready. While she communicates with the pigeons, Thomas is busy with a kitten on each shoulder, fondly petting them while he finds a safe spot to leave them. They each get a kitty treat from his belt (yes that thing was stocked with a lot) to keep them in place and he goes back to Pippi.

"Alright. We go sneak in, stay on the rafters if you can and then I'll signal for the pigeons. Deal with the bad clowns and I'll deal with the hostages. Let's go."

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	bobblehead 2012-10-24 09:35 pm UTC (link)
	"Ok, got it." She assures. Which, with Pippi, may or may not be at all reassuring. Nonetheless, she springs into action, actually making some effort to sneak. "You're going to need to give the pigeons a way in though, if you want their help." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

cantkeepmeout
2012-10-24 10:17 pm UTC (link)

"I know. I'll blow a hole in a wall and your pigeons can flock in through there. You and I will use the distraction to get the hostages to safety first. Then we wrap up the clowns."

The odd twosome sneak towards where the clowns have the hostages, and Thomas breaks them both into the place before signalling her to stay put while he sets up the explosives on the side farthest from the hostages. Once done, he moves to a perch on the opposite side of the warehouse from Pippi and begins counting down with his fingers so she can see.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	bobblehead 2012-10-24 10:26 pm UTC (link)
	Pippi has a few last words for the birds, who mostly seem to be doing pigeon things. Amazingly, she does know how to count on fingers, and has enough attention span, currently, to wait for the signal. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	cantkeepmeout 2012-10-24 10:42 pm UTC (link)
	Good thing he only counts down from three then. Best to keep it simple. If the pigeons didn't do their job at least the explosion would be enough of a distraction to give him time to smoke bomb the hell out of this place. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

bobblehead
2012-10-24 10:55 pm UTC (link)

When he hits three, there's an explosion. And then... well, nothing at first. Pigeons are pigeons.

Then Pippi points towards the shocked looking clowns.

"Those are the guys hiding french fries from you."

That small reminder cues a not-quite-as-lethal scene reminiscent of Hitchcock's The Birds. Apparently, its tough to get the pigeons motivated, but once they get going - well, there's a lot of them.