16080/You Need to Fill Out Form 74B.

You Need to Fill Out Form 74B.
Date of Scene:	22 February 2024
Location:	The Narrows, Burnley
Synopsis:	Dinah does a bads, Bats corrects her.
Cast of Characters:	Black Canary, Batman

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Black Canary has posed:
As the brick came flying at her head as she blocked a punch from the second thug she was dealing with, Dinah had a moment to reflect.

It wasn't a life-flashing-before-her-eyes sort of reflection. These guys weren't good enough for that. In fact, she was almost disappointed considering the reputation of the Narrows in Gotham City. Not that she had realized she was coming to the Narrows when she was following the map app over to the address of the lovely home she'd seen online.

Now she knew why they didn't show the exterior, just the newly renovated interior. She had to wonder if it was newly renovated because it had been torched or something. The sad thing was, there seemed to be a lot of nice people in this area but they spent most of their time indoors or looking around as though expecting something bad to happen when conversing with her about if this was a good place to live. None of them had recommended it.

She grabbed the arm of the man she was blocking and tugged him toward her. It was not something he expected and it threw him off balance. Just enough he took that step and BAM, the brick struck him in the head instead of Dinah. As he screamed while crumpling to the ground immediately, clutching at his bleeding nose, Dinah was already leaping toward the man who had felt masonry needed to be brought into things. Three quick moves--kick, kick, punch--and he was down as well.

She pulled her phone out of the pocket of her leather jacket, preparing to call the police to come pick up the would-be-muggers. Dinah was not in costume at the moment. Though the upper part was certainly it, she had a pair of black leather pants instead of her usual fishnets. Then the matching jacket worn to keep out winter's chill. Her blonde hair was loose as she watched the duo to see if they were going to be stupid enough to get up.

Batman has posed:
    She was bringing that phone up to key in the call when the device gave a faint furtive 'brrt' to signal that its power was on but there was no signal. The small icon of a radar dish with a lightning bolt slashing through giving its own silent explanation as to its inability to function. Which was strange considering that the night sky was clear, not a cloud in the sky... and distantly the nearby cell tower... was clearly visible upon the city's skyline.
    That realization likely came quick on the heels of the voice from the shadows. "You've been spending a lot of time in Gotham."
    Just that low rumble from the alleyway, then those shadows resolve into an inky large silhouette that moved out and into the halo of light provided by the street lamp. Cloak flowing around him wraith-like, he stepped out to kneel beside one of the fallen thugs, a weasel-faced man with now shattered glasses and two fewer teeth. A gauntleted hand rested upon the side of the man's neck for a moment, then in the next moment that hand moves to the man's jacket pocket. A small snap as the button is undone, then a phone is withdrawn as the figure of Batman rises to his full considerable height.

Black Canary has posed:
Dinah practically jumped out of her skin. This was given form in her spinning toward the voice, a foot shifting back to give her more power should she need to defend herself, as her hands came up to a ready position. Then she realized she should've known the voice by this point in her life. It wasn't like she hadn't met him, worked with him, seen him in the Watchtower, all those things. Yet here she was jumping like a kid afraid of the boogeyman.

She quickly schooled herself back to a more relaxed position as she eyed him then the phone in her hand. She closed it and put it in her pocket for now. Though that was more to put her hands in her pockets to keep them warm. She watched curiously as he took the phone from the fallen man, arching a brow curiously at him.

"Yeah, been visiting a lot as I'm looking for a place to live. Hopefully will have something figured out before the week is out." The one that had still been conscious suddenly was kicked in the face, sending him off to unconscious island with his buddy. Maybe they were dreaming of surf and gals in bikinis together.

But at least now both were out cold so she could speak more freely. "So is there a strong market for florists around here? Need to scope out the competition. Or, what seems to be the lack thereof."

Batman has posed:
    If what they're having is a conversation, the Bat gives no sign of it. Instead he moves forward several steps, the phone in his hand being disassembled with several quick shifts of his hand. The back slides off, some of the elements shifted, the SIM card slipped free. That he pockets in one of the compartments on his hip. Then the crystal oscillator is removed and a quiet _crunch_ is heard as he crushed that in his hand.
    Which is when she'll hear that voice again, though his back is still partially to her. "You'll have more luck uptown." There's a slight whisper of fabric as he turns to kneel beside the second fallen man, repeating that process as he takes up the now unconscious man's cellphone out of his back pocket. Again the SIM card is removed, the oscillator shattered with a low crunch. The phone is dropped down back on top of the man.
    He pushes himself to his feet, rising up to stand looking face to face with Dinah, though his height puts him a good bit above her. Those thin white eyelets in the mask narrow slightly then he says. "If you're deadset on broadening your horizons."

Black Canary has posed:
"I am not exactly rolling in the dough so my options are limited. Metropolis and New York are a bit out of my price range," Dinah said, voice rising as she stretched out the word bit for emphasis.

"I'm suspecting uptown will be the same. Until I get my business going. Though.." She glanced around at the neighborhood they were in as she shrugged slightly. "Thinking this area probably wouldn't be good for business either. The pics on Zillow lied," she added with a smirk. Because even though he was Batman, she was her. And she usually had a sense of humor about things.

Unlike him.

"If you know a good realtor, send them my way." As though he had time for that. Or had moved in his entire life. But he'd probably bought properties at some point, though all that was unknown to Dinah.

Batman has posed:
    A slight 'mm' is heard from the tall man then he turns and starts to walk past her, footsteps silent as he moves. Over his shoulder he addresses her with that steady gravelly voice, "It's a challenge to start a small business in Gotham. But there are options." He does not go on to elaborate on what those options are. Instead he unhooks the grapple line from his belt, settling the grip into the palm of his hand.
    "I'll assign one of the others to get you caught up." He turns and looks at her directly then, one eyebrow ridge of the mask rising slightly as those irisless eyes focus upon her.

Black Canary has posed:
"Caught up?"

Dinah's confusion was as evident as her blonde hair at the moment, trying to figure out what she was being caught up on. Unless he meant the way to start a small business in Gotham in which case she'd be all over it. However, she had the feeling that wasn't what he meant.

It took a moment then she had a theory so she went with it. "Oracle probably can help me out, since we already work closely together," she suggested. "But not sure why you want me caught up. Not really part of your crew." Which is about as close to you're-not-the-boss-of-me as she was coming. At the moment.

Batman has posed:
    It was as if she hadn't said anything, the way he moved past those words she gave to him. As he stepped back into the alleyway, his silhouette blurred a little more with the shadows until he was more just a dark shape in that night. She heard his voice again as she saw him move, raising an arm as the grapple-line came up.
    "Once you're up to speed, you can tell me what you did wrong." And as quick as that, with those final words, it was as if the door was closed. For the next sound that was heard was the suppressed snap-hiss of the grapple-line firing, the line unfurling as the hook hurled across the skyline, embedding into the side of the nearby building.
    She had a single moment, perhaps two, before the line snapped taut and then launched him into the air, cape flaring open with a snap as he became little more than a dark shape against the night sky.

Black Canary has posed:
"I didn't automatically punch you when you spoke behind me?"

The words were said in a saccharine sweet voices as Dinah put on her most dazzling smile. Because honestly? She'd done nothing wrong in the fight itself.

And she hadn't gone pickpocketing the bad guys! Since she just planned on the cops getting them. But maybe Batman had been tracking them for something.

"You're welcome for taking down these thugs!" she added as she pulled out her phone again, checking to see if she had a signal yet. She had a sneaking suspicion why she didn't and it had nothing to do with her cellular provider.