1885/Every Day Is Exactly The Same

Every Day Is Exactly The Same
Date of Scene:	08 August 2017
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Domino, Nightwing

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Domino has posed:
(OOC - Scene Music: https://youtu.be/-Aj9_8t1eQc )

The sliding doors to the fire escape balcony are left open, moonlight streaming in, pale mauve curtains swaying in passing breeze before settling back down. They're left open on purpose, an invitation for certain birds to land and perch for awhile.

The apartment is even more sparse than it was before; person effects are gone from display. The living room, with door out to the all, is lit by a single tall floor lamp in the corner, near a round table with two chairs. The kitchenette, bedroom and bathroom are all dark beyond. Things have been cleaned, secured - everthing but an expensive bottle of wine on the coffee table in front of the couch, two empty, dirty glasses, and a worn out manilla folder with a few photographs peeking temptingly from just beneath tan edges.

The workstation is on, email in progress. Two silver, metallic secure cases are parked nearby, locked and waiting. Domino is sitting at the lone table, a set of weapons spread out all across the top, ammo cases open, fill tools half loaded with heavy caliber rounds, full and empty clips nearby. She's geared up in black. She's oiling and cleaning her weapons.

Domino has posed:
(OOC - Scene Music: https://youtu.be/-Aj9_8t1eQc )

The sliding doors to the fire escape balcony are left open, moonlight streaming in, pale mauve curtains swaying in passing breeze before settling back down. They're left open on purpose, an invitation for certain birds to land and perch for awhile.

The apartment is even more sparse than it was before; person effects are gone from display. The living room, with door out to the all, is lit by a single tall floor lamp in the corner, near a round table with two chairs. The kitchenette, bedroom and bathroom are all dark beyond. Things have been cleaned, secured - everything but an expensive bottle of wine on the coffee table in front of the couch, two empty, dirty glasses, and a worn out manilla folder with a few photographs peeking temptingly from just beneath tan edges.

The workstation is on, email in progress. Two silver, metallic secure cases are parked nearby, locked and waiting. Domino is sitting at the lone table, a set of weapons spread out all across the top, ammo cases open, fill tools half loaded with heavy caliber rounds, full and empty clips nearby. She's geared up in black. She's oiling and cleaning her weapons.

Nightwing has posed:
    The informal working relationship with Domino was a curious tentative thing. She had been given approval by the Bat, and... though she didn't know it, a job. So she was part of their network, a person who was trying to make good in her own way. But this sort of probation that the Batman had placed her on, it had her being watched at times by the family. Nightwing had a rapport with her, a decent connection, and he had been keeping an eye on her. All had been good, she had been lost in her position... but then there was the day when she had disappeared.
    The clues were thin, the witness accounts and the video showed a kidnapping by a mutant operative. Tentative tendrils had been put out to gather information on Sabretooth and to connect him to a mutant cause. But before they could bear fruit she had returned. It was on this evening that her window would darken with the silhouette of the young man who had been her contact. He had landed silently, though the change of the shadow's fall across her would announce his arrival enough.
    "Evening."

Domino has posed:
"Thought I might see you. Come in, Nightwing." There's no jokes, no quips. She doesn't even get up to greet him, continuing to clean and set her weapons; she looks like she's gearing up to go to war.

With her back turned and her mood apparently almost numb, the manilla folder on the table is open to being quietly looked through, if the junior detective was inclined to look.

Nightwing has posed:
    Rising to his feet gracefully from that perch, he steps into the room and gives it a once over, a casual look as he regards the moment and the surroundings. But for now his attention is on Nina and her efforts, his brow furrowing as he walks over towards her. "I know of what passed with the van. No idea where you went or what happened. Are you alright?"
    He looks around for a chair and pulls the one over from the table so he can straddle it from behind, resting his arms on the back of it as he looks to her, "You seem... out of sorts." He frowns a little, brow furrowing behind that domino mask as he looks to the side, then back to her.

Domino has posed:
She sighs, setting down a brush that had just been used to sweep carbon out of the star chamber of high powered rifle. "I should have known there'd be eyes on me even here in the Narrows. Y'know, in some places, that would be considered stalking." There's a little hint of humor there, a little bit of world weariness.

"I'm fine though, thanks for checking in on me. Don't worry, I'm a big girl, I can handle two guys like Creed before I have my first cup of coffee in the morning." She doesn't give details, but the fact that she has enough munitions to take down a small Central American dictatorship has plenty to say in protest.

Nightwing has posed:
    "Well," Nightwing leans forwards, resting his head on his crossed arms on the back of that chair, his eyes aside on her as he watches her manner, then eyes the surroundings. It is quite an arsenal. "I was worried. I knew you are pretty into your new job and you wouldn't up and leave. And the guy who took you is a bruiser."
    He straightens up a little and then reaches a hand out to one of the prepared bullets, turning it over in between the fingers of his gauntlet as he considers it. "And you've got enough guns here to have your own arms show. And m'sure they're all licensed and all of that."
    He smiles faintly then says, "If something is going down, Nina... you know you can talk to me about it, and Mr. Wayne even. Even if you figure it's your own luggage you gotta carry, no harm in getting a hand."

Domino has posed:
"Why do you have to make this even harder?" Neena murmurs under her breath, smiling a little eyes closed. Score one for the charm of Dick Grayson; he's grown on her just a little.

"I don't think I can stay here anymore, and I sure as hell ain't bringing Wayne in the middle of any of this. The guy can't go to his car without fifteen crime syndicates lurking in the back seat, nets and chloroformed rags waiting." There's a little bit more of the humor coming out. She doesn't prevent Nightwing from looking at what she has, or moving her things, which says quite a bit about her level of trust in him.

"So. How honest do you want me to be tonight? "You have something stuck between your teeth" level of honest or "I've *never* liked your spinach puffs" level of honest?"

Nightwing has posed:
    The young vigilante smiles a bit and sets the bullet down, precisely back in the place from whence he found it. He refolds his arms and looks at her closely, his brow furrowed with his consideration as he watches her and then he tells her, "How about, 'I faked all my orgasms.' level of honesty?"
    His lip curls a bit but then he'll push on a touch, brushing past his own attempt at humour, "But seriously, Nina. Don't think you can't talk to people or get help with this. We've had people... who have been trying to leave rough times behind them so they can try and make something good with themselves. You have people gunning for you, don't think you have to go it alone."
    There's a small moment of a hesitation, then his smile again a little warmer, "Heck, happens to people so often in Gotham I think we have like a 'Dealing With Your Dark Past' self-help section in the book stores."

Domino has posed:
"Oh honey, I never faked them with you~," Domino teases. Better mood: engaged.

She sets down her guns and turns halfway in her chair to lean her elbow over the back, looking Nightwing directly. "Yeah, this city seems like the type to eat childhoods and [censored] out trauma. The costume to normie ratio is high enough to draw that conclusion."

She stands up now, and gestures towards the open door. "But this is your city. Your turf. You, Batman, the rest of his Bat Brady Bunch are the head of this house, no matter how crazy it is. I'm just a squatter on the front lawn that you've been nice enough to send a tent and some instant noodles out to."

"So I played by your rules. I didn't have to - God knows I wanted to just walk into Arkham and put a bullet in the heads of all your repeat offenders as a personal favor - but I respected all of you too much. It's your fight. I get that."

She takes a few steps and stares at that manilla folder. "You can't help me with this. This outside of your pay grade. And I'll be damned if I let more monsters follow me in."

Nightwing has posed:
    "If it's this serious, Nina." Nightwing sits up, easier to meet her eyes as he frowns a touch, his features twisted with a concerned look. "Then take it to the Bat. If you go off and act on your own, don't trust him to help or at the least give advice and the option to help cover... then it just doesn't help to build a working relationship. Ya know?"
    "And," He says this, stops for a moment with a frown, but then he presses on, "And if it's something beyond that, then on a personal level maybe I can help. I mean..." He lifts a hand to rub at the back of his neck, then meets her gaze again. "If you really didn't want help, or really had to get this done and couldn't let anyone in on it. Then why leave the window open tonight? Why even come back here to operate from? I know you, you're resourceful. You could have come at this any number of ways.

Domino has posed:
"You and I know Batman isn't going to care. It's outside of Gotham. Unless something threatens Gotham, he isn't going to move. He's married to this city. No man runs off and leaves his wife vulnerable to fight another woman's war."

She keeps her eyes on his. "I wanted to start over again, I really did. I was stupid enough to think I'd get lucky and pull it off, but let me tell you a little secret: Even my powers don't work on impossible odds."

She rubs the upper half of her left arm with the hand of her right, looking down at the floor. "There's a point of no return that everyone can cross. Some people are pushed into it. Some people race to cross it. Some people dance over it and never know they did, until they look down and see they're not even in the club anymore. That's me, Nightbird. I don't get to start over, even if I want to. I'm locked like a bullet in a chamber and all I can do is wait to be fired."

Nightwing has posed:
    "That's not true, Nina." Nightwing holds up a hand as he tries to stay her from that comment, "He does spend a lot of focus on Gotham, that part is true. But he's in the past helped with global situations. Even further." The young man chews the corner of his mouth, frowning as he leans forwards. "And if I bring it to him with you then he'll give it consideration. Not dismissive, not toss you aside. Actual consideration. Don't take that lightly."
    He reaches out and takes her hand should she not draw back and he'll smile a bit as if trying to draw her out of the dark mood and more to his, "Don't accept this fatalism, don't just give up and into one course of action. I know it might feel right and romantic on some level, but c'mon." He gives her a nod, "Don't buy into this screenplay John Wayne go it alone crap."

Domino has posed:
Domino lets him take her hand, looking up into those hope-filled eyes. It hurts more than she'll say. She keeps her poker face regardless. "Trust me, I'd love to get romantic with you right now," she replies in a softer voice, keeping it light. Keeping it under control. "but like I said before, I don't get to have a normal life. I can't take off a mask, get therapy, get a job, have 2.5 kids and a sedan I secretly wish was a Hummer."

"I don't even have a name. I was born in a lab, and the people that whipped me up out of a test tube have a real hard-on about retaining the rights to their property." Her eyes tellingly go to that manilla folder. "Everything I am is a lie, and I've been a killer for so long that even God himself wouldn't absolve me of my sins."

She offers a weak smile. "So. I've just gotta go with it. I just don't think it's fair to take bats along for the ride."

Nightwing has posed:
    "Domino," He says that a little firmer, almost adominishing as he shakes his head. He gets to his feet, "You aren't thinking this through." He rises from that chair with a smooth motion, turning it around and sliding it back under the table, so entirely polite even when he's unhappy.
    And I'm not talking about you facing down these people. Just because they helped create you doesn't mean you're worth any less than the rest of us. And you knew I'd feel that way." He smiles a bit and extends a hand towards her, open as he gestures. "Do you see any scenario in this where I sort of smile, shrug my shoulders, and leave you here alone to do what you want?"
    He shakes his head and rests his hands on his hips. "Most of them I just kick your butt and take you with me. Some of them I convince you to come along with me. Maybe there are a few with us coming to some kind of agreement."
    He shakes his head and steps towards her, "But none of them have me just leave here with you having no hope nor help. Alright? So do me the credit of accepting that."

Domino has posed:
"I can see a lot of scenarios. See, that's kind of tied into the whole luck thing. I can give you the odds of combat situations, missions, people doing stupid things, and what I see is an unacceptably high probability of you trying to save me and coming home in a pine box," Domino counters.

She looks away. "I'm suiting up to go do something that is going to put me on global terror watchlists, and I'm doing it because it's the right thing to do. Do you really think you want to be a part of that? Do you think I can just come back to Gotham like nothing happened after that?"

"You're forgetting something in all of this. You're human. I'm not. There is no happy ending for me. I've accepted it. Why can't you?"

Nightwing has posed:
    "Because I have the freedom to do so, Domino. Just like you do." And as he says that he will step close enough to rest his hand on her shoulder, trying to meet her eyes even though his own irises are hidden behind that mask. "Which... is why no matter how much I want to, I'm not just going to knock you out and throw you over my shoulder." His lip twists, and to be fair... he's not sure he could take her in a fight. Mostly sure. But not /entirely/ sure.
    "But if you think anything at all about me as a person, think I'm not a total screw up. Then give me some time. Alright? Just some time to go to the Bat, and get him to come back and speak with you. You left a window open for me tonight..."
    He steps back and holds up his hands as he says, "I'm just asking you to leave it open a little longer. Alright?"

Domino has posed:
"I left the door open because I care," Domino says softly, as Nightwing rests a hand on her shoulder. She folds her own over her chest. She can't look him in the eye, not right now. "I'm trying to back out of Gotham for the same reason. People like Sabretooth are going to keep coming. They already have. They're coming for -me-, and I'm trying to do the right thing by keeping your city out of the way."

Nightwing has posed:
    "Just give me the time I need, Domino." Nightwing rests a foot upon the window sill, his hands upon the sides of it as he looks back to her. His brow knits together firmly as if he were trying to use some newly discovered telepathic power to convince her to do as he says. "Please."
    And as he says that he will offer her a small sad smile, even as he /leaps/ out of the window and off into the abyss, a small single grapple line firing to arrest his descent and let him swing off and out of sight.