253/A Star Shines Over Gotham

A Star Shines Over Gotham
Date of Scene:	03 May 2017
Location:	Gotham City
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Batman, Stargirl

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Batman has posed:
NOW

On the roof of an old building crouches Batman, looking over the building's art-deco facade into an alley so pitch-black its contents are indeterminable.

NOT LONG AGO

"I appreciate the help, Pat," the dark knight growls over the phone. "If she's half as good as you say, then this won't take long at all."

He pauses, listening.

"Alright. Tonight, then." He ends the call.

BACK TO NOW

Batman looks out over the Gotham skyline, waiting.

LESS LONG AGO THAN BEFORE

"Alright, kid," Pat says, hanging up his phone. "You got a doozy of a request. The big bat of Gotham himself wants you on a case. Well," he adds, "he wants me, to be honest. But...I think you're up to this. And I'll be on standby for you."

Stargirl has posed:
Back then

"He does? Batman?" Court asks her step-father in surprise. "Oh." and she wrinkles her nose. "He's going to be mad, you know." She shrugs, though. "Maybe he's heard about me helping stop the Joker from blowing up a bomb the other day? Or not. Well, anyway... it's a long way back, so I'd better hurry."

Later, which takes us back to now

Stargirl figues that the Bat won't want do draw much attention to himself or to her, so she tones down the usual light show and drifts in near the address given for the meeting.

Batman has posed:
On the roof, Batman waits with his arms at his sides, slowly standing as Stargirl approaches in the night sky.

As she nears, he nods toward the rooftop.

"Stargirl. I'm glad you could make it. You come highly recommended from someone I trust."

Batman turns and looks back over the side of the building.

"How well-versed are you in the Starman legacy? I'm hoping you might have knowledge of--or maybe access to--some information I don't." He purses his lips for a moment, glancing back to the woman.

Stargirl has posed:
"I have some of his papers." Stargirl replies, doing her best to be serious and not fangirl over the Dark Knight. "I know some old stories told by Stripesy, but I never did meet the original Starman. He had already passed on." She adds, hovering just an inch or two above the rooftop rather than sit on the staff. Seems more dignified. "What did you need to know?"

Batman has posed:
Leaning slightly over the edge of the roof, Batman points down toward the alley.

"The other night, I fought something...unusual...whose movements I was able to track back here, below. The darkness in the alley seems to have some extraordinary qualities as well."

Batman rubs his chin. "I'll confess that I'm hopeful that this has something to do with the Shade. If you hadn't heard about him, he was one of Starman's old foes."

"Here," he adds. "Watch." Batman retrieves a small light stick from under his cape, turns it on, and drops it into the shadows. It lightly illuminates the alley walls for a time, but is quickly and entirely engulfed by the opaque blackness.

Stargirl has posed:
"Courtney scratches her nose a moment in thought. "I think he decided to stop being evil and tried to show another Knight the ropes. If I remember right he used to fight a Flash." She lifts her staff. "Let me try." and the staff emits a beam of light which she sweeps over the entry to the alley and the darkness.

Batman has posed:
As Stargirl's light gleams, the darkness in the alley recedes--but much slower than it should, like it has mass or inertia.

"Hh," Batman says, observing the activity.

"Didn't the Shade's dark matter act out against light in this sort of situation?" He frowns slightly. "I should have learned more about Starman's exploits."

"Perhaps," Batman adds, "we should investigate. If you think you can keep the shadows under control for a short while."

Stargirl has posed:
"If I remember right, which I might not, his darkness is somehow alive or something. Not just normal darkness." Courtney mentions after a moment, "I can put us in a forcefield and float us down there - that should keep the shadows out. Still, let's see if they like real starlight!" and the staff sends out a wide-angled beam of pure bluish light." She looks back to the Bat. "Did you hear about the Joker planting a bomb in a store. Luckily we didn't have to ddo much to stop him, because it was just a cream pie-filled bomb and not the nuke he claimed it was."

Batman has posed:
The darkness continues to recede, slowly but surely, in response to the intense light from Stargirl's staff.

"Let's move, then," Batman says. "As far as the bomb...I wanted to let you bring it up. It can be a difficult experience. You did well--"

He stops, staring at something on the ground in the alley as the light continues to beat back the shadows. It looks like a circle of some kind, drawn in chalk.

Stargirl has posed:
"I should've just put him in a bubble and called the police, or taken him to Arkham." Stargirl says. "Or punched him in the face until he stopped laughing. Something about him made me stop thinking, though." she complains. She drifts out over the alley, still spreading the light over the shadows. Just in case she prepares to throw a field around the Bat in the first real sign of trouble.

Batman has posed:
"A moment spent near him places you in a lifetime of risk," Batman replies. "Despite the madness...he has a long memory. And he hates..." The dark knight pauses for a moment, the hint of a smile stirring in the corner of his mouth. "...hecklers."

Batman states, matter-of-factly, "Cover me," and drops off the edge of the building into the alley where it's illuminated. He slows his fall a bit by expanding his cape like a parachute.

The chalk circle on the ground is faint or old, and it seems incomplete.

Batman lands outside the circle, not touching any part of it.

"Do you see it?" he asks. "What do you make of it?"

Stargirl has posed:
Courtney turns upside down in the air, drifting near the circle but not crossing it. "Aren't there magic circles and things like that? I don't know anything about magic, I guess, but don't people use circles to summon things? Look, it's broken." she says, pointing. "Could someone have summoned some kind of darkness demon or whatever and then it got out? Or they let it out?"

Batman has posed:
Nodding, Batman kneels just outside the circle. "That was my hypothesis, too." He holds a small device in his hand, roughly the size of a USB drive, and a green light fans across the area, although the darkness seems to try to slowly creep, or slide, back in toward the circle. "Scanning for closer examination later," he says.

"The entity I fought...initial signs pointed to a shape-shifter. But it seems there's more to the case," Batman adds as he places the device back in a pouch on his belt. "More questions give us more facets of the situation to explore. If this is something magical: who or what was summoned? Who did the summoning? What was the purpose?"

The caped crusader stands and nods back toward the roof. "Let's retreat back up. I don't want to tell you more in the middle of...whatever this is. But your help would be appreciated."

Stargirl has posed:
Stargirl nods to the Bat. "Alright." She rights herself then looks to the darkness and addresses it, a hand on a hip. "You'd better behave, or I'll come back and you'll really be sorry." is said firmly. "OK, let's go." She tries to catch Batman in a field this time and fly them both back to the rooftop they started on. Of course he could dodge out of the way if he wanted, since she's not trying to snatch him up.

Batman has posed:
Allowing Stargirl to give him a lift back up to the roof, Batman stands patiently until he's placed on top of the building.

"So this is /probably/ not the Shade. I don't want to rule him out entirely, though," Batman says. "For all we know, /he's/ the thing that got summoned. Or did the summoning."

He folds his arms across his chest. "Gotham police has possession of a relevant object. One that my opponent was holding--might have catalyzed her shape-shifting. Or maybe caused it. Did the Shade's powers come from some device? So many of the Flash's rogues rely on them..."

Stargirl has posed:
"Well, we could probably go find him." Courtney replies after depositing the Dark Knight on a rooftop. "He tends to hang out in Opal, I'm pretty sure." She thinks again, silent a moment. "I don't think so. I think he always carried a cane, but I think I remember reading some mention that the Shade claimed to be hundreds of years old. Maybe I'm misremembering again." and she shrugs. "I don't think he did this, though. He wants to be left alone, mostly, I'm pretty sure." She frowns. "There were other shadow-guys, though. Ian Karkull, or Eclipso. What about wizards like Mordru or the Wizard? Hey! I remember seeing a picture of the Wizard. He looks a little like the Shade - in the same kind of suit with a top hat and cane."

Batman has posed:
"Hh," Batman replies, looking out into the night for a long moment.

"We'll pursue the other leads first, then," he says. "This doesn't seem like Eclipso's work. Perhaps it's Mordru. Maybe a new arrival altogether."

Batman steps closer to Stargirl. "I'll check in with GCPD to see what, if anything, they've uncovered. I've been told they have a specialist consulting. You may want to talk further with Pat...and perhaps someone like Zatanna."

He stops for a moment. "I am just slightly hesitant to suggest you talk to Constantine, if you've never met him. He does not bring out the best in people."

Stargirl has posed:
Courtney smiles brightly. "How bad could he be? I had the Joker a few feet away from me and it more or less turned out alright... except for the kid he murdered earlier in the day before I got there, but still." She blinks as she realizes what Batman said. "Zatanna? The stage magician? Zatanna Zatara?" and she lowers her voice. "She works with you? Wow."

Batman has posed:
Batman stares back at Stargirl, his expression flat. "I try to be in contact with experts of all types. Zatanna has an incredible repository of knowledge about magic. Only /some/ of that knowledge deals with stage performances."

Then, he nods. "You talk with Zatanna. I'll get in touch with John."

Batman's brow furrows just enough for his mask to shift. "This is strange territory. I won't think less of you if you decide to sit this out...but your contributions would be welcome. I work in the shadows. I'm comfortable there. But I'm not so proud to ignore the power of a helpful light cast into the darkness."

Stargirl has posed:
"I'm honored, Batman." Stargirl says. "I guess there has to be light to cast the shadows to work in, huh?" She nods at the mention of finding Zatanna, though. "Will do. I guess you know how to get in touch with me if you need anything from me, huh?"

Batman has posed:
"Yes," is Batman's only reply before he moves toward another edge of the building, away from the dark alley, and dives forward off the roof, gliding away into the night.