tushanshu_logs | Don't run away. 'cause that's the deal with it

Entry tags:

Don't run away. 'cause that's the deal with it

Characters: Stephanie Brown and you! Also Brandon I guess.
Location: Earth Sector, Metal Sector, everywhereelse Sector.
Situation: A day in the life! Feel free to pick from one of the many places mentioned in the log, if you want, you can put time/place in the header!
Warnings/Rating: Vague references to physical/sexual child abuse.

Life is weird.

Steph tries to keep that in mind as she deals with her new existence in Tu Vishan. She's met aliens, she's travelled to magical dimensions to punch witches, and she knows people who have travelled through time, but somehow none of that compares to the current situation. A city on the back of a giant turtle is just taking it one step too far, and when the hostility of the locals is added on top of that, Steph ends up spending her first night sleeping underneath her bed, with the blankets pulled down with her like a nest. It's a coping method she developed when she was eleven, and this is the first time she's had to do it since coming back from Africa. But she manages to sleep without dreaming, so it's worth it.

Upon waking the next day, she resolves not to let the fear and weirdness get to her. It's a hostile environment, but she spent most of her life living in a hostile environment, and at least now she has allies (friends might be pushing it) in the form of Bruce and Damian, and she's going to work on befriending the other superheroes that have been brought here. If the Kedan turn against them en masse, she'll be ready, but until then she's not going to let fear control her.

The first thing she decides to do is shopping. She's already bought one set of clothes, but she'll need at least one more, and probably a set of shoes that aren't her Batgirl boots. Being in the Earth sector makes that a easier, what with the fact it's a textiles based area and she spends a few hours in the morning walking through shops, finding the cheapest places to pick up what she needs, and then lingering at the more expensive places over nice fabric and sewing machines. Logically, she knows she can't afford to splurge on a machine before she gets a job, but that doesn't stop her wanting one; in the end she just buys needles and assorted thread, hand-sewing will take longer and won't look quite as nice, but she'll survive.

When she passes a little stationary shop, she goes in to buy a notebook and some pens. For all her training, Steph has little experience in maintained fake identities, and she doesn't want to risk getting caught out in a lie by anyone here. Her best bet is to keep everything written down, in code of course, so that she can keep track of the identity she's building for herself in the city.

Her next stop is a market in the Water Sector - after someone in one of the clothes shops recommended it to her, and after a rather considerable walk - to pick up some basic foodstuffs. It's not often she only buys groceries for a single person, and the thought hits her with a wave of homesickness. She treats herself to some chocolate in between buying serious items like bread and vegetables, and spends the rest of her time at the market popping pieces of the confectionary into her mouth and trying to decide if it tastes that different from chocolate back home. (The results are inconclusive; she'll have to buy more later to test again). When she's done, she runs the expense of hiring a small rickshaw so that she doesn't have to trek all the way back to her suite.

By the time night falls, she's ready to go out again, dressed in the black lycra underlayers of her Batgirl costume, and the hooded cloak she made herself during the day.

For the first time in a very long time, Steph goes dumpster diving. It's something she learnt a long time ago out of necessity, and with the city the way it is right now, after the attempted executions, she wants to get back into practice, and to search out the best spots in Keeliai. If push comes to shove, she wants to know where she can get food for free, and she wants to know before she gets desperate. It rankles a little that she has to, and she does her best to stick to the shadows and stay hidden, out of fear that another "foreigner" will spot her; she's seen how quickly people's opinions can change when they discover someone is willing to eat discarded food. (She has a lot of arguments about how it can be perfectly sanitary and actually nice if people know where to look, but she wishes it wasn't necessary).

She doesn't take anything, because it's going to be a long night, and she doesn't want to be carrying food around for it, but it settles her nerves to find a few good spots. Restaurants and grocers are always fairly reliable when it comes to throwing out edible food, as are bakeries, though often she's found those donate their leftovers to shelters, because while a self-respecting baker won't sell day old bread, there's actually nothing wrong with it. She could go around her neighbourhood in less than hour and come home with a few days worth of meals for herself and her mom, but it takes her longer in Keeliai, despite the fact she sticks only to the Earth sector for the first night.

After around two and a half hours, she brings out her grapple gun and moves on to more general reconnaissance. It's rare for her to work anywhere but Gotham, where she grew up, the streets that she knows like the back of her hand, so she knows that learning the lay of the land in Keeliai is important. As much as she hates to admit it, even to herself, she could be trapped for a long time, and it's going to be vital to be able to navigate through the city quickly and easily.

In moments of freefall, where the wind rushes past her before she catches herself with her line, Steph is confident she can survive this.

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No, she just spends her time around superheroes that she can't sneak up on, at least not often. But Brandon's reasoning works well for her cover, and her expression twists into something contrite. (She also doesn't miss the worry in his tone, and finds herself glad to hear it).

"They're only in comic books where I come from, remember," There's no hint of anything condescending in her tone, just a gentle reminder, "I'll be more careful from now on."

And remember that not all superheroes are as controlled as her friends are.

"Must be a pretty boring place. But I bet you guys don't have to pay anything near the property insurance rates we do in New York. There's like, a battle for the universe there every other Tuesday. I don't even know how many times downtown's been trashed." He's relieved to be able to... maybe not drop the subject, but at least talk about something only tangentially related. He's mad at himself and embarrassed that he almost lost control and he very much doesn't want to be here all of a sudden.

It's not her. No. She's -- well, she's cute and he likes her and they get along well enough when she doesn't have a death wish and he really wants to think that maybe this time--

He sighs, runs a hand through his hair, ruffling that white streak. His mom always complained that it made him look old. Well, he feels old. And it's a good reminder.

"Come on. Coffee, right? If you still wanna go?"

"See, they never talk about that sort of thing in comic books, why does anyone even stay in New York if it gets blown up every second week?" She wishes Oracle was in her ear, listening to this conversation, because it'd make Babs laugh and the sound of that always helped Steph relax.

But Babs isn't here, and Steph will have to remember how to navigate social interactions without a handy super genius to guide her through it.

"I'm still game," She smiles for the first time since coming face to face with a ball of lightning, and the nervous edge to it is only somewhat put on, "You're gonna have to climb a tree, but it does have steps."

Which makes the coffee shop easy enough to spot; the biggest tree in this area, with winding steps carved into it's side.

"Well it's not like I can levitate. Yet. Who knows, I might be able to. Electro-magnetic manipulation and everything. I mean, if Magneto can do it..."

He knows he's powerful. That he's potentially one of the top kids in the graduating class of Fuck You Norman Osborn. But there's never really been anyone who could teach him. He's not a mutant, and the Avengers... they're interested in containment. Not making him better.

Whatever. He's babbling now. Nervous. He takes a moment and imagines he's in front of a camera. It's a trick he developed years ago now, but it still works. His grin is a little bit practiced, but hey, that's nothing new.

"C'mon." And he'll just head that way, shall he?

As Steph follows Brandon to the cafe, she's wondering if it's a good idea to respond to his thoughts about electro-magnetic manipulation; Livewire can fly, and Steph had read into the science behind it after fighting her. The problem is she can't think of a way to explain how she'd know so much about the topic without raising suspicion.

This secret identity thing is hard.

Once they're up in the tree, she leads them to a slightly more private corner of the cafe, so they can talk without anyone overhearing. It's an automatic thing, she doesn't even think about why she choses that particular spot, just sits down with her back against the tree wall and a view of the exit.

"How does it work, the whole lightning thing? In the books it's always a freak accident or something, but that always seems like flimsy reasoning," It's a relief that she can cover any inquiries with the sort of general curiosity that'd come from someone who's never had contact with superheroes. Plus, Brandon seems like the kind of guy who'll enjoy talking about his powers.

Oh Steph. You can't possibly know how right you are.

"Nobody knows. I'm not a mutant. I don't have any genetic markers or anything. I just..."

...Killed somebody one day in a limousine.

"Woke up one morning and could manipulate electricity. At first it was kinda cool, you know? I mean, I did acting and stuff, and producers, man, they loved not having to have an special effects team around. It was worth the price of a few fried cameras to get some of the stuff I can do on tape. Eventually I caught the eye of this guy, Osborn. He's like... this super rich evil genius type, I guess. He came and recruited me. And that was... pretty whatever in my books. He's a jackass."

He flags down one of the waitstaff, a kedan that looks like some sort of Marilyn pin-up, and orders the closest thing to an iced coffee the joint could hope to produce, and then he turns to Steph and raises one eyebrow in question.

Mutant earns him an odd look, since it's not a word she's heard before outside the... obvious, though she's wondering if it's the equivalent of a metahuman, except they know so little about the metahuman gene in her world, she doesn't think there's a test for it.

"That'd be something to wake up to," She looks suitably impressed by the mention of acting, "I bet stunt guys hated you," It's meant to be a joke, even if she thinks stunt guys probably would have hated working with someone who can manipulate electricity.

She waits until she's added her order - whatever they've got that's equivalent to a triple shot americano, Steph has a caffeine problem - to Bradon's, and for the waiter to leave before she speaks again.

"Is that what you meant about being from the wrong side of the tracks? You being recruited by this Osborn guy?"

It doesn't sound good, she's already comparing Osborn to Luthor, and thoughts of the Everyman Project sit like a weight in her chest.

"Naw. I jumpstarted a guy's heart once on set. Everybody loved me. Netted me a bunch of interviews, too." Because why would he do anything if not the fame? Honestly.

He leans back in his chair - it's carved straight into the tree itself, isn't that weird - and folds his hands behind his head. He's the quintessential picture of lounging.

"Osborn wanted an army. I was... just along for the ride. But he made a lot of promises he couldn't keep, and people got hurt-- so when the Avengers showed up - they're kind of a superhero team back home, pretty big deal - I went with them. A few weeks later I found out the only reason they took any of us in was because we were the ones most in danger of, you know. Devolving into maniacal laughter and puppy torturing."

The way he talks about it is like it happened to someone else. He's just telling a story. Someone else's life.

Everything about jumpstarting a guy's heart goes straight out of Steph's mind as soon as Brandon mention mentions armies and puppy torturing.

She honestly has no idea how to react to that, not just as this persona she's playing at, one with no idea about superheroes and supervillains and personal armies, but just... as herself. The best she can do at first is keep her expression neutral while she tries to work out what to say.

It doesn't help that she can't really pick how he feels about the whole thing, she's not buying how casual he's acting but it's good enough that she can't tell what he really is thinking. And she has no idea why he'd tell her in the first place; she'd keep that sort of a thing secret.

After about thirty seconds of silence, she settles on, "You don't really seem like the type of person to go for puppy torturing."

He plays with a napkin on the table and doesn't look at her.

"No. Though I am more of a cat person."

As for why he's telling her... it's nice. Freeing. To have it as an option. So many people know everything that's happened back home - he's done plenty of TV interviews - that the novelty of just being able to explain it straight-up is... well, it's nice. And he likes the attention.

Her smile is a little unsure, as if she's not certain she should run with the joke or not, "I've never understood cats, they're so grumpy."

That's just because the last cat she met was giant, magic and tried to eat her. Even though she did decide to run with the lighter comment, she's not quite ready to move on completely.

"Have the Avengers helped?" Because if the reason they took Brandon and the others in is due to the fact they're likely to end up on the path to supervillainy, she'd think the Avengers would be trying to, you know, stop that happening.

"Maybe they'll help the others. Dunno. The whole team thing just wasn't in the cards for me."

Which is just a polite way of saying they expelled him, all things considered. Good thing their coffee chooses that moment to arrive, because he can reach for his glass without... feeling uncomfortable about the way she's asking her questions.

Like she expects that he's a better person than what he really is. It makes him shift awkwardly under the scrutiny.

Coffee is a welcome distraction in Steph's opinion as well, and she takes a moment to add about five sugars to hers before taking a careful sip. It's hot, but that's the way she likes it even if it burns her tongue a little. That's just something else to focus on beside this conversation.

"I've never been much of a team player, it just doesn't work for some people," Underneath the comment there's some scrutiny, but she's trying not to let too much of that show through.

She feels guilty that she's probaby going to have to share some of this information with Bruce, in case Brandon is a potential threat, but she just - doesn't want to treat him that way until she really knows. Klarion was a potential threat, and he wasn't all that bad.

Clancy was a potential threat, and he died because of her.

Edited 2012-08-27 03:19 (UTC)

"Yeah, well. Different strokes, I guess. So what about you? I feel like I've talked your ear off and I don't even know your last name."

... Is that a spark of self-awareness? Ye gods.

"My life's pretty boring compared to yours, I wouldn't ask me about it, either," She pauses to take another drink of her coffee, but it's clear she does actually plan to continue.

Her life isn't boring at all, she just has to work out what she can tell him, and to try to ignore the urge to - be honest in return for his honesty, that might be a bad move.

"Brown, is my last name. I grew up in North Elizabeth, NJ, with my parents, though a lot of the time it was just me and my mom while dad bounced in and out of prison," It's a small concession, a truth in exchange for Brandon's, but she doesn't have to mention the supervillain part, "I guess things were pretty normal growing up, for the situation. I graduated two years ago, spent some time travelling, and now I'm studying at NJCU."

She looks wry, like she's apologizing for the fact her life isn't full of powers and supervillains and meglomaniacs. It's almost completely put on, but she's good enough at acting.

"Maybe I like boring." That's not a lie, at least. Sometimes he wishes that's all his life ever was. No TV, no acting, no million-dollar mother, no Rick-- definitely no Osborn. Would he have ever even gotten these powers if his life had just... been normal?

He's always known there was something his mother wasn't telling him. Whether it was about his real dad (because he's always wondered if the guy she gets child support from was it, or just someone who was content to pay her to shut her up) or something in her own life...

No clue. But he's always been curious.

"That sucks about your dad. I'm... sorry to hear it."

Wow that's not a word he uses very often.

Steph shrugs, as if it doesn't matter all that much, "S'alright, it was better when he wasn't around, anyway." That sentence is full of unspoken things, but she's not too concerned if Brandon picks up on them. Shit like that happens, it's just a part of life.

After a second, she adds, "Oh, and I'm a gynmast, hence the whole... tree thing."

She'd decided early on to make that part of her story, it doesn't raise too much suspicion (plenty of people do gymnastics) and it explains the serious callous problem her hands have, as well as her muscles, in case she ever wears something fitting or short sleeved.

"A gymnast. Wow. That's hot." The playful leer is nothing short of pure, unadulterated teenage fratboy. He even winks at her as he takes a drink of his iced coffee.

You know? All things considered, it's not that bad.

She rolls her eyes at him, but can't hide her amused smile, "I guess I shouldn't mention that I've done poledancing classes, then?"

Now she's just being terrible on purpose. The worst part is she's already thought up a story for it, despite the fact she has never actually taken poledancing classes. She's trained using ariel silk, though, and figures the skills are probably transferrable.

"Yikes, babe, are you looking to get me all hot and bothered? Cruel and unusual punishment if you ask me."

He really is just teasing though. He's met plenty of women who did pole for the stripper chic aesthetic of it all and she doesn't really fit the image. If there's one thing he's good at picking up on, it's image.

"Maybe that's what I'm into," Referring to that cruel and unusual punishment comment. She even makes a good show of quirking an eyebrow, but she can't keep a straight face for very long, and it only takes a few seconds before she's covering her mouth with her hand to hide her laughter.

"Sorry," No, she's not.

He groans, and leans forward so he can thunk his head against the table. Such a cruel mistress, Stephanie. He can hardly stand it.

That really doesn't help with the laughter situation, but Steph composes herself enough so that she can pat Brandon's head in feigned sympathy.

"This is why you should be careful who you flirt with, they might turn out to be terrible," Somehow she manages to say terrible as if what she really means is awesome; it's a skill she has.

He rolls his eyes as he straightens, and then lounges back against his chair as before, tipping his coffee cup in a salute. "It's okay. I think I like terrible."

"I hope you know that's practically issuing me a challenge," Steph tries her best to look innocent as she says that, as if she doesn't love a challenge, "I'd be careful, if I were you."

She's missed this sort of flirting, Tim was never any good at it, and she hasn't really - talked to a lot of guys at college. Detective Gage doesn't count, because he's probably like ten years older than her and crushing on Babs, anyway.

Don't run away. 'cause that's the deal with it

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