SUPERHERO HIJINKS LOG

[hawkingbird]

WHO: Hawkeye, Red Robin, and Batgirl
WHAT: Red Robin introduces his new girlfriend to his old one so they can plot superhero things and be awkward, possibly.
WHEN: Not too long after Lydia's party, late at night / early morning.
WHERE: Rooftops of New Moore.

Hawkeye is tapping her foot, impatiently, arms crossed. She had expected Tim to be annoyingly early, and yet, here she is, the first one at the set meeting place.

She should have insisted they come here together. She's not very good at waiting.

So. Batgirl, huh. She had considered making fun of the name, but hell, she calls herself Hawkeye, and it's not even like she came up with the name herself--she took it from someone else. Well. Was given it. Still, not hers. She can't really fault someone for "Batgirl", I mean, at least that girl probably came up with it on her own.

She starts drumming her fingers against her crossed arms now. She's been on edge since the party, wondering what kind of person would take advantage of someone as obviously vulnerable as Lydia -- no matter how Lydia tries to deny it, there's something that girl needs to tell someone, even if that someone isn't Kate. It pisses her off. She doesn't like people going after her friends.

That thought just reminds her of her hallucinations.

Maybe she really should go to therapy. Not the I'm-spying-on-Dr.-Crane kind, but maybe those people at the hospital have someone she can talk to. At the party she saw nothing but the people she loved, dying, over and over again, unable to stop it.

Cassie, in the midst of it all, dying a hundred different ways.

She shudders, but not from the cold.

Tim had better get here quick.

Comments

[detectivewonder]

Tim really hadn't intended to run late, but there was a mugging by the docks, and then he'd spent five minutes flipping through his camera feeds, first looking for the culprit and second because something seemed vaguely off and he couldn't put his finger on it -- and then he'd noticed the timestamp in the camera frame and realized he was still thirty-two blocks downhill from where he needed to be.

Now, he's swinging across the rooftops as if his life depended on it -- because the notion of Steph and Kate -- Hawkeye and Batgirl -- meeting without him present -- fills him with a totally irrational terror that he can't quite describe.

He just wants to get there first. Well. Second is fine. As long as he isn't the last to arrive... and he can see the building now, just six blocks away.

[eggplantier]

Look, it's not like Steph is stalling, or anything.

Okay, Steph is totally stalling, but to be fair, there is a lot more drug activity than she expected on an island of this size. And like, even more than there was just a few days ago.

When she's put a nice little bow on the last two guys she caught exchanging stuff—not Scarecrow's stuff, or at least, she doesn't think it's his stuff, but she puts a sample in her belt just in case—she finally starts making her way to the rooftop they've agreed on. Sometimes Steph likes to pretend she's not a weirdo who wears a cape, too, and wonder about why it's always rooftops. She doesn't have time for that, though—Crane is here and drugging people already, and maybe it's like weird poetic justice that the guy who messed with her when was trying to prove herself is here to mess with what's supposed to be her new home.

She catches sight of RR a few blocks ahead, and immediately dismisses the passing thought of catching up with him. Showing up together would be...just, not a good idea, probably.

Steph's looking forward to meeting Hawkeye, though. Not only is anyone who wants to take Crane down a friend of BG, but girl vigilantes are always like, way cooler than boy vigilantes. She would add no offense, but it's in her head, and besides, she does kind of mean some offense.

[hawkingbird]

Kate glances out and notices two shadowy figures approaching. The one that's a little closer - it's definitely Red Robin, so good, Tim will be here to make introductions. She stops tapping her foot, tries to put her worries behind her, and gets ready to greet them both with a smile.

[detectivewonder]

He hotdogs the landing, just a little, because there's nobody around to tell him not to show off, and flashes a grin at Kate.

At Hawkeye. No getting overly familiar during a professional meeting. neither one has given him the okay to out them to the other, and he can't even hint that he's capable of doing so to either of them. He's made that mistake before, and he won't again. Even Jack has signed off on a certain degree of confidentiality. And he knows better.

In any case, he times his introduction so that he's gesturing to Batgirl as she lands.

"Hawkeye, meet Batgirl. Batgirl; Hawkeye."

[eggplantier]

Steph lands behind Tim in a much less flashy manner, which she's personally proud of. There was a time when she would have tried to pirouette, or something, for—reasons, but that time is definitely not now.

Tim's perfectly timed intro does result in a snort on Steph's part, though, because, of course Tim would.

She walks forward til she's shoulder to shoulder with Tim, and then walks forward a little more so she's just ahead, just 'cause. She smiles at Hawkeye, hoping she's projecting friendly, but it turns out that projecting anything isn't actually necessary at all; she can feel her smile widening more naturally when she takes in Hawkeye's clothes. Purple is score one for Hawkeye.

[hawkingbird]

Kate's smile widens as she takes in the purple lining Batgirl's costume. It's a nice touch. She notes the cape, and wonders if that's a bit more iconic for their heroes. It's certainly a little less "en vogue" with the Avengers these days.

Kate holds out her hand, and says, "Nice to meet you, Batgirl. I've heard good things from T-- from Red Robin."

Whoops. Maybe Batgirl doesn't know Tim's identity. He is pretty secretive, and the only reason she found out his identity was the kiss, so... She'll just keep referring to him as Red Robin.

[detectivewonder]

Tim doesn't wince. Yeah, Steph's probably going to notice that. The only question is whether she'll bring it up now or save it for later.

"So. Chemical analysis is still out, but Crane's the likeliest culprit for a disturbance at a New Year's party."

He realizes with a sinking feeling that at the moment, he's the only one who knows all three of them were at that party, and he can't be the first to bring it up.

"Batgirl's tangled with Crane more recently than I have, so I thought I'd let her do the briefing."

He turns, opens his mouth, closes it before he says 'Steph?', and silently gestures her on.

[eggplantier]

Steph grasps Kate's hand, and shakes firmly. She's choosing to ignore the slip-up for now, but she throws a quick, pointed glance Tim's way.

"I've heard some stuff about you," Steph says, taking her hand back. "All pretty good, too, though."

It's better to get to business as quickly as possible, she knows, but she wishes she had some time to actually talk to Hawkeye—she seems pretty cool, actually. And Steph misses Kara. And...other people.

Still. Her hand twitches at her side with Tim's reminder of the party. It was easier to deal with the fear toxin this time around, but it doesn't mean it was suddenly fun.

"Yeah," Steph says, at Tim's prompting. "I've had the pleasure."

She looks around for a place to lean against. She doesn't want to just stay here, awkwardly trying to find a good position to stand in, but it doesn't seem like there's anything.

"I don't have extensive experience with him, or anything, but." Steph rolls her left shoulder, and it stings—she might have pulled it when she threw those guys up on the street lamp, or maybe she's just uncomfortable with talking about this even now that it's happened to her a couple of times. "His thing is fear toxin. He works with other substances, too, but that's his main."

"It messes with your head," Steph continues, "makes you imagine your fears. Your worst ones, usually. He likes spraying it, but he does injections sometimes, so I don't doubt he can find another way to distribute it."

Unnecessarily, she adds, "He's kind of a psycho."

[hawkingbird]

"So then spiking the punch isn't too far out of the realm of possibility?" Kate asks, knowing full well the answer to the question. She doesn't even stop for an answer before she goes on to her second question, "Are we sure this Jonathan Crane is the same guy you're familiar with? Or is it possible it's an unfortunate naming coincidence?"

She pauses, and glares at the ground. She wants certainty, surety; she wants to be able to protect her friends and be sure they don't end up like her visions. She wants to take action, she wants to bring him down.

She's never been good at being patient.

"The older Loki on the island-- he has no memories of anything I know he has done. Absolutely no clue about any of it. I don't like it. Makes him more unpredictable. I don't want us to get ahead of ourselves here with your Dr. Crane, if there's a similar situation going on."

[eggplantier]

The idea that this Crane might not be their Crane's been weighing in Steph's mind since Tim mentioned that was a possibility.

And the thing is, Steph knows gut feeling isn't really a thing the bats are supposed to go for—they're supposed more about the careful and detail-oriented planning, but something in Steph's gut says this was Crane.

Maybe the fact that when the hallucinations started, the first thing she thought was, oh, not again. She cant't do the cool thing and add that her gut has never been wrong before; her gut has been wrong a lot, but Crane is the best lead they have.

"I mean, honestly, it could be a weird coincidence," Steph admits. She glances at Tim. "The, uh, information we used to have on him, he doesn't match the pictures exactly?"

Saying 'files' would probably give away a level of organization she's not sure Tim had revealed yet.

"But there's some stuff that does," Steph says. She clenches her fist. If he's already done this at the party, who knows what he could do next? "And I don't wanna dismiss it."

She blows out a breath, her cheeks puffing out. "Besides, I don't know if we have any better suspects."

[detectivewonder]

"We don't have enough to go for an arrest," Tim confirms. "But we have enough to start an investigation. Hawkeye," he didn't say Kate, but it was close, what was with him tonight, had a good idea about our next step, but I'm not sure which of us would be best at acting neurotic enough to pull it off."

He turns to Hawkeye and echoes his earlier gesture. Go ahead.

[hawkingbird]

Kate nods to Tim, and takes a deep breath. The more she thinks about her suggestion, the crazier it seems, but they need to do something.

So she launches into the craziest idea she's had yet.

"This Dr. Crane--he's a psychiatrist. I wouldn't say it's a stretch that we might all need counseling after this, so between the three of us, maybe we can gather enough information to prove he's the one behind this. Or at least confirm our suspicions. Red Robin and I were both at the party, so it won't look weird if we ask to see him for therapy sessions after everything."

She holds her breath, waiting for Batgirl to either shoot her down or agree. She knows Tim considers it a good idea, but she's not sure what to make of this other caped crusader yet.

sorry you keep getting my one icon of steph as batgirl

[eggplantier]

Both the plan, and the easy admission of being at the party are kind of surprise. Steph might gape a little, and then she looks at Hawkeye more intently. If she was at the party, too...but, maybe secret identities aren't as big a thing wherever Hawkeye comes from.

"Yeah," Steph says. It's a risky plan, putting them both directly in Crane's hands, but it's not like Steph can talk about risky with a straight face. She stares for a little longer, and it's probably starting to look weird, but now Hawkeye looks familiar, and Steph doesn't do well with letting go of stuff. "It's good, yeah, I think that could probably work."

She tears herself away from Hawkey, and looks over her shoulder instead, while she thinks it over, her gaze going distant. If she offers herself up to help, she'll be admitting she was at the party, too. Plus, she's not crazy about getting counselling, not to mention getting counselling from Crane. She clenches her jaw, decision made. The decision is screw it.

"And," Steph says hesitantly. "I could help you out with it, too, if you want."

It's kind of vague, but it probably gets the point across.

[detectivewonder]

"That puts me on backup," Tim says, and realizes his voice sounded far too disapproving to be safe. He edits himself before he can be glared at.

"I can do that. I can give you some bugs -- one or two to plant if you have the chance, a flash drive to plug into his computer if one is handy, and one for you to wear, in case things go wrong while you're under cover."

He pauses a moment.

"How much information are we comfortable sharing? It's a small island. If you two run into each other on your way to or from Crane..."

[hawkingbird]

Kate sends a searching look Tim's way, and silently asks, "Can I trust her?"

She can tell the answer is an emphatic yes.

Fine. That's enough for her. She's worked with Tim long enough now-- she knows his scruples as Red Robin, and that is enough to fill in the gaps on how she feels about Tim.

Kate nods, then removes her sunglasses. "I'll go ahead and spill, if that makes you more comfortable, Batgirl. I'm Kate Bishop. It's nice to meet you."

[eggplantier]

Holy crap. Steph is going to kill Tim. She gets it, she really does, but she's gonna kill him.

"Yeah, that actually does help a little," Steph says. She means both the secret identity reveal, and the fact that Hawkeye is Kate.

She reaches for her cowl, and pushes it back quickly. Instead of something useful, what comes out of her mouth is, "So, hey."

[detectivewonder]

Tim, reflexively, runs the odds of there being some unseen observer or undetected surveillance program before he pushed back his cowl as well -- they might both already know who he is, but if he stays hooded while they're not, he fully expects Steoh to give him an even harder time later.

As it is, he's pretty sure he's in for it. Maybe on both sides.

"Thanks," he says, and in a probably-futile attempt to move the subject on before his girlfriend and his ex start talking to one another, continues. "This makes it a lot easier to talk about how we know what we know about the party."