12162/A Lannister Always Repays his Debts

A Lannister Always Repays his Debts
Date of Scene:	11 September 2020
Location:	Abandoned industrial parks between Gotham and Bludhaven.
Synopsis:	Dazzler had one stipulation for her help with Superman; and Nightwing provided the bikes. A Bat always repays his debt.
Cast of Characters:	Nightwing, Dazzler

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Nightwing has posed:
This is not normally the sort of place Nightwing goes to meet folks. The two abandoned industrial parks are a remnant of the urban blight that overlaps the borders of Bludhaven and Gotham. WHere th almost glamorous and ecstatic brilliant urban desolation of Gotham meets the depressing, oppressive gloom and despair that is Bludhaven. They are two separate flavors of horrible that both only combine into a morass of decay.

Precisely at the coordinates and address he gave her, is Nightwing. The twin Nightcycles, also sometimes called a wing cycle, are both sleek, fast, but heavy engined bikes on a medium frame. The tires are brand new, and he has carefully disarmed the one he means to allow Dazzler to drive. Perched on one bike is a black helmet with a blue sheen that has a rainbow airbrushed onto it. Nightwing has his own helmet under his arm. There are not too many lights, but a bare minimum. Safety is an issue, but Dazzler wanted to have a night to blow the throttle on one of the bikes; safety cannot be paramount.

The bikes are on electric mode. Their lights are on, and drawing from the electric motors, meaning they are absolutely silent, yet slung low and crouching like predators.

Dazzler has posed:
Alison Blaire arrives in a high-end Audi, the engine growling as she pulls up and angles over to the side. The door opens, and the woman who steps out is dressed nothing like Alison, or even Dazzler. It's like she's prepped for some sci-fi battle show, strapless blue top, leather pants, and plenty of chrome armor scales. Her hair is pulled up, and she's even wearing the signature blue starburst over her left eye.

No, this is neither the rock star nor the celebrity, but someone almost dangerous.

Closing the car door, she approaches Nightwing at a brisk walk, but her gaze is distracted by the pair of motorcycles. No, she's not surprised to see him. But she is definitely pleased. "Nice night for a ride." she offers.

Nightwing has posed:
"No." Nightwing replies, lips quirking in a slight smile. He doesn't critique her gear. He cannot fire a laser from his finger tip that will blast through most objects. He knows better than to bring a stick to a laser fight." "It is not a bad night at all. You ready? They can be a little temperamental."

Nightwing indicates the one bike with the rainbow helmet. Now that she is closer, she can see the starburst on the top and back of it. "You get the rainbow warrior bike. I have unloaded it as much as I can, but I left the requisite dummy ordinance in to keep it stable. You do not have permissions to fire. I wager if we get into trouble, the engine noise will be enough to allow you to Pew Pew any trouble that might occur?" His left brow quirks as he speaks."Toggle to gas engine is on the instrument panel?" He lifts his two-tone gloved left hand to indicate the bike. "If it gets too bad, the bike's autopilot will kick in if you say, "Nightwing is the best'." His tone carries the smile that flashes across his lips.

Dazzler has posed:
Dazzler chuckles softly as she picks up the helmet, tucking her hair up to slip it on. She flips up the visor to be able to talk. "Thanks, and that's a nice touch." she means the helmet, of course. "And yeah, I can take care of myself if we get into trouble." At the autopilot phrase, she beams again from within the helmet. "Never ridden a bike with a safe-word before."

Then she swings a leg over to straddle the bike, settling and rocking it off the kickstand. "You know Gotham's streets better than I do. Or are we going to stay out here in the middle of nowhere?"

Nightwing has posed:
"Always use a safeword." The quip is quick and the tone dry. Nightwing walks her through. "Gas. Electric." He points as he speaks. The controls are intuitive, "Try to keep it under 125 miles per hour, will you?" He gives her a flat look after saying that. Still, that is plenty fast for a motorcycle.

Giving almost regretful sigh, Nightwing bobs his head once. "I would prefer we stay out here. If you can handle the bike like you think you can this place and the one across the highway are both abandoned and except for a few folks, uninhabited. Gotham I cannot say that, and the GCPD and BPD would not enjoy being antagonized by us joyriding. I have to maintain a certain professional relationship with those agencies."

Nightwing pauses. "You helped save a good man, Miss Blaire. It sucks you cannot get the accolades you deserve for it. Regardless, thank you." He offers her his right hand and gives her an encouraging, if slightly grim nod. "This feels like too little for what you did and the trust you showed."

Dazzler has posed:
Dazzler almost pouts at the guidelines on speed, blue eyes bright and challenging. Then with his thanks her expression softens and she accepts the offered hand in her own, firm grip. "Trust comes in small steps, Nightwing. And it's appreciated, on any level. I know why you keep your secrets close, and I respect that. Hopefully we'll have the opportunity to work together again."

"We'll stay out here and away from the civilians, then. It gives me more of a chance to see what this thing is made of." Then she flips the visor down and reaches for the controls. Touching a button, the starter chirps and she twists the throttle, revving the engine a few times.

Nightwing has posed:
"Careful when you say that. We tend to have favored operatives and contacts. If we need, we call. The Bat appreciates what you did, and I like to think he understands the trust you showed. You climbed into a vehicle literally sight unseen, and you were kept blindfolded longer than a reasonable person might expect. We have secrets, and we keep them. Our paranoia about them is as much for you as it is us. People will hurt others to get our secrets for any number of reasons. That is the worst part of all of this; you deserve recognition. Don't worry, Superman and Batman know who stepped up."

As she flicks it over from electric and starts the gas engine it roars to life and revs like a caged beast. It is a deep, throaty, well-tuned engine. It is both abused and babied; ridden hard but meticulously maintained. The engine purrs like a caged lion at idle and roars like a panther when she throttles up.

Nightwing moves over to the other bike and pops his helmet on. He adjusts the strap, and in her ear, his voice is quiet as the helmet to helmet kicks in. "I'll pop the radio out when we're done. You can keep the helmet." His own bike growls to life. "Lead on."

Dazzler has posed:
<Copy that> she replies into the radio. Dazzler sounds more like a military professional than a pop star at this point, settling on the bike and letting it idle while he prepares. Once his own engine roars to life, she takes off.

It's not a careful, testing, easy take-off. Dazzler pops the clutch, the rear tire smoking as rubber literally meets the road. To her credit, the bike fishtails very little and the blonde crouches over the handlebars. <YEEEEEAAAAAAAAAH!!!!> she yells into the comm as she accelerates through the gears.

Nightwing has posed:
The bikes are monsters. If there is one issue on them, it is that hers, despite having some dummy ordinance on board is so finely tuned the suspension is tuned for Nightwing's weight, and there is more of him that there is of the Dazzler. It rides a little higher, not by much, and it is easy to adjust to. Still, that is the level of attention to detail to the bike It roars down the road, smoothly shifting with her inputs. It has torque galore in the engine. It is responsive and intuitive.

Nightwing roars after, staying about 15 feet back and on the left in a close pursuit stance. His low voice can be heard chuckling as she lets the engine out. "Just remember they don't fly." He cautions her. "We aren't the Avengers."

Dazzler has posed:
<Feels like it just might. Or at least it's getting pretty close.> she replies, a bit too calmly. Dazzler compensates for the ride, but she definitely has to adjust as she leans into the first turn. She almost leans in too far, compensates with the throttle, shimmies a little, then catches it before powering out of the curve. Only then does she speak again. <I don't want to know what kind of ordnance this thing carries, but I can feel the weight. More than enough power to compensate, though. You sure I can't get a civilian model?> As for speed, she passes 125 coming out of that first turn, and doesn't even pause. The bike is intuitive, but Dazzler definitely knows what she's doing as well.

Nightwing has posed:
As she climbs past 125, the electric kicks in, giving a little lurch as she gets more torque yet. The shimmy is easy to compensate for. It is not the engine that is the issue at those speeds, it is the armor, the heavy frame, the extra linkages, the weight of the light machine guns and the electronic suites. It's the cost of having all those other pieces of equipment. The tuning on the bike and the gyroscopes can only be pushed so far before the pesky laws of physics, torque, weight ratios as well as pitch and yaw begin to lift their heads to a point where the bike, while still performing at a superb level begins to become a little more unwieldy and.

"If we sold a civilian model, well, it wouldn't sell. I think you might actually need a pilot's license for that." Nightwing says as he chuckles. "Swing south. There is an old, massive parking lot that is perfect for getting some serious laps in. If you are feeling comfortable, there are some abandoned vehicles that make a great slalom course."

This is apparently not the first time he's come out here to play.

Dazzler has posed:
Dazzler chuckles into the mic, her voice shifting into an ooooooh as the electric drive adds more torque. <Well if you change your mind on that, I'd be happy to give a celebrity endorsement. Like Arnold with the Hummer, or something.> Not that they need the money. Alison has been inside the Batcave; she knows better. The helmet has a HUD with, among other things, a compass indicator. She angles over, swinging south towards the wide-open lot.

Alison spends the next few hours putting the high-end bike through its paces, taking lap after lap after lap. She even runs a slalom through and around the abandoned vehicles, slower at first but picking up speed with every course.

At last the two bikes slow to a stop, leaving Alison breathing hard and sweaty as she pulls of the helmet. "That was DEFINITELY worth it." she laughs. "And I consider us even."

Nightwing has posed:
Nightwing is quite happy to play for a few hours. What is the point of having toys if you never play with them. Nightwing is not the sort to leave one mint-in-box. As she pulls off, Nightwing follows. As she strips off the helmet, he reaches for it. He pops the side on it. "I cannot let you have our radios. No more than you could let us have yours." Nightwing then rotates the helmet and pops a second compartment and plucks the GPS tracker off the integrated battery. Nightwing points to the charging cable coiled up inside as well. He then hands the helmet back over. "You earned this too. If you need to get a hold of us, the Justice League or the Titans know how to find me." Nightwing then offers Her his right hand again in a firm, friendly handshake. "Remember that every life Big Blue saves, every good thing he does, every life he changes, is on some level because of you." His white lenses regard Dazzler as he says that. He sounds sincere. "Thank you, Dazzler."

"Our heads are all far too large to fit that helmet, anyways" Nightwing's tone is more jovial but still sincere.