2718/Trying Her Best

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Trying Her Best
Date of Scene: 05 October 2017
Location: Gotham City
Synopsis: Summary needed
Cast of Characters: Bluebird, Black Canary, Batgirl (Cain)




Bluebird has posed:
    "You better back off, got it? I'm with the Batman! -- H-hey, what are you laughing at, you dicks?!"

    And this, in essence, perfectly summarizes how things have gone for Harper Row since she took up the whole 'crimefighting in Gotham' thing. Frankly, she expected something a bit different. More terrorized criminals, less 'bad guys laughing in her face.'

    But you do what you can with what you've got.

    It's a point of order, however, that while people might fear the Bat, there's probably half a dozen other costumed lunatics running around Gotham; and the newer and less well known your name is, the less likely you're going to have a lot of weight to throw around. It's all about legacy. 'Bluebird' has exactly none. Nobody cares for a newcomer that hasn't even established themselves, after al. And Harper, well...

    "Oh that's it! I hope you like getting tazed in the junk, you jerkoffs!"

    ... Harper's still got a while to go before she can do that.

    And so it is that Harper Row, aka Bluebird, faces down a group of thugs related to some gang of smugglers or another -- she's not exactly sure which, to be honest, which is just another point against her. Nestled away amidst the many crates lining the China Basin Docks, Harper stares down the group of seedy-looking men with lips twisted in an irritated -- frankly frustrated -- snarl. They are, of course, all laughing -- up until the point that Bluebird produces one of those handguns of hers and does exactly as promised.

    There's an electrical BZZZZT, a high-pitched squeal, and down goes one of those thugs, hands clutched between his smoking legs as the others just stare, aghast.

    "Yeah. That's what I thought," says Harper Row, flat as can be. "Who wants some -- ah crap don't come at me all at once!"

    And this is how Bluebird winningly starts her night of crimefighting, shooting electrical discharges wildly at a group of gangsters as she lunges headfirst at them. To her credit, she does fairly well -- she manages to get the ones packing firearms to take them out of the fight first before one of them breach her personal space, getting cold-cocked with the butt of her gun in the process before she's thrown off-center just in time for another one to tackle her into the ground. She's probably expending way too much effort sloppily kneeing him in the gut to roll him over and just start punching -- especially considering there's a few more still up and coming at her with many a blunt and sharp instrument -- but well. She's new. So sue her. "Come! Get! Some! You smoosh-faced-- oh, there's more of you, right, oh damn--"

    She's trying her best here!

Black Canary has posed:
    She's not as regular at patrolling Gotham as she once was...joining the League has expanded her horizons in that regard, in that she's teleported all over the world now. But when she's home...sometimes it's good just to run the rooftops and deliver a beatdown. She's a big believer of the 'we were good, they were bad, and they made a satisfying thud as they hit the floor' sort of night.

    The screams and the sound of the odd handgun going off draws her attention, to where she's just arriving about the time one of the thugs tackles the costumed girl to the ground. Her eyes widen slightly at that, before she speeds up, glancing around as she spots a metal cable being used to support an antennae on the roof, then leaps for it, reaching to one of her combat gloves to out a leather loop as she slaps it over the cable, then leaps off, sliding down it as she picks up speed. And then when she's pick out her target, times it to let go, dropping as she plummets straight into one of the thugs, slamming him into the ground to use him to break her fall as she rolls, slapping the ground to take some of the force from the impact.

    Then she's up, throwing a right cross at one of the thugs trying to use one of those knives on the downed girl, then lowers her shoulder and charges him. There's a low grunt as her shoulder hits him solidly, knocking the off balance thug backwards as he stumbles then tumbles right into the other thug on top of Bluebird, slamming him off the top of her as both men go down in a heap. "C'mon boys, seems like a lot of you and just the two of us." She grins. "....wanna go back and bring more?"

Bluebird has posed:
    She doesn't hear the arrival of someone else. Not at first. Another point against her, but, in Bluebird's defense -- she's a -bit- busy right now.

    "You have -no- idea how hard your ass is gonna be kicked! Guh, just stay still for a second --" CRACK "-- wait, what the hell?"

    To her credit, at least, by the time she hears someone shoulder-checking a guy behind her, she deduces something is amiss. Especially as said guy goes barreling into the -other- guy she's dealing with, knocking him away just enough for her to flexibly spin her way to freedom and sweep the ground with her leg, planting her foot squarely in Bad Guy #1's face with a CRUNCH of cartilage.

    "-Told- you," she mumbles to herself as she lifts back up, brushes herself off, and picks up those twin handguns once more. It's only then that her masked gaze turns to regard the other vigilante who's made her way to the scene -- and those eyes widen, just a bit, in recognition.

"Whoa. Black Canary?" wonders the newbie aloud; to her credit, the surprise lasts only a moment before she quickly readjusts to this newfound support, rolling with Dinah's arrival expertly as she looks to punctuate Dinah's warning by shooting one of those downed thugs. In the ass.

    "Last chance to do the one smart thing in your life and give up," she notes afterwards, guns pointed forward. Some of them run. Some of them lift their hands. The remaining two or three?

    Considering how they rush at Black Canary and Bluebird with knives and bats in hand, it'd seem they're choosing to remain consistent about their poor life choices. But...

    "Oh, this'll be cathartic." ... Bluebird's pretty okay with that.

Black Canary has posed:
"Yup!" the blonde bombshell says, stretching her fingers then forming fists, then brings up her arms as she waits for the first stab to come at her. There's always someone who thinks they're the tough guy. As the first slashes at her, forcing her to lean back out of range, then to twist as the knife stabs, her hands chopping upwards to redirect it before she grabs hold of the extended arm, smoothly rolling him over her shoulder as she sends him airborn into one of the thugs on the ground who's still trying to get up.

    "So, taser gun? Nifty...a little difficult to use sometimes..." she says, then lunges towards the man behind him, bringing up her knee to smash it into his side in a brutal Muy Thai knee strike at his ribs, doubling him over, before she follows it up with a more dirty trick sort of knee to the groin, the man letting out a high pitched wheeze before he crumples.

    She's watching how Bluebird is doing out of the corner of her eyes...not in a rush. She -could- immediately move to support her...but she wants to get an idea if the girl can handle herself without the gun...was she just unlucky earlier?

Bluebird has posed:
    And in they come. One of them, Bluebird rather quickly picks off with a shot for center mass, and in that much, the girl seems to have her head in the game -- good aim, quick shot -- she knows her way around those weapons like someone who was born using them. And it's not even that far from the truth. "Yeah, kinda. They're... well, they're based on the same principles, but they're designed to function a lot more like conventional -- aah, shit!" But for the rest, well...

As Canary starts to engage the rest of those thugs, another one gets into the purple-haired vigilante's defenses once more. Out of the viable range of her weapons, Bluebird looses a curse and stumbles backwards just a bit. Her booted heel hits ground in a scrape to brace herself, ducking down just barely beneath a pipe that whizzes by overhead before swinging back up to -jam- that knee into the man's gut. He lurches -- and then grabs her to shove her bodily against a wall with a, "OH COME ON--" and a CLANG of impact.

"Oof--" wheezes Harper as the man struggles with her. Her hands lift up -- and she -boxes- him in the ears with the handles of those guns before -shoving- him away, looking to coldcock him right across the jaw with a right hook after. One thug seems to be tying her up with more problems by far than Dinah is having with multiple targets; she looks like she has a rough idea of what to do in melee, but 'rough' is about where it ends. Someone hasn't had that same kind of training many of the rest of Gotham's vigilantes have had. And it shows.

    Especially in how she doesn't even see any of the other men coming, so focused is she on just kind of... booting the first guy in the ass to send him into the earth. "Stay down already! Jeez!"

Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
    ... Bluebird doesn't see the other men coming for her.

    ... Sadly, for the men converging on Bluebird, they don't see the shadows behind them.

    One of those shadows, imparticular, moves. And it moves with such a fluid grace and speed it, for a moment, might be an illusion. An extension of a moving car. Clouds passing over the moon. For the shadow moving is small, slender, and absolutely makes no sound, whatsoever.

    And then the shadow is connecting with the first man. Connecting in a hard, vicious way. There's the sound of impact, of body against concrete as Batgirl literally sweeps the legs out of the man in the rear, and the back of his head slams into the ground, hard. If he's not knocked out, he might very well have a concussion.

    And then Batgirl is dashing forwards, catapulting herself by using the shoulders of the next front man to push him down, and stand vanguard between Bluebird, and the three others who were seeking to gangpile her and take her down.
    She stands there, drawing her cape around herself to stand still, silent, vigilant.
    And then she's moving.
    And if each person, when fighting, is an insturment, Batgirl seems a symphony. Two men swing at her, viciously but she is already gone from where they were targeting her, and one of the men's arms begins to snap, crack, pop, in a sickening audible sound and his scream is carried with him as he's forced to collide by pure, effortless motion on Batgirl's part into his partner.
    She moves again, and the third man, drawing his gun on her suddenly loses all feeling in his arm which suddenly drops, lifeless, as she nerve-strikes him, and then a palm-strike to the upper-chin sends him to the ground.

    Then, and only then, does Batgirl move to survey the rest of her surroundings, briefly.

Black Canary has posed:
    Canary tchs to herself, her attention returnign to the oncoming group as she narrows her eyes. Well she's definitely a diamond in the rough, she figures...but she does like her moxy. This thought as she launches a short hard kick into the lead thug's chest as he comes at her, knocking him back, then crouching as a woman with a bat with spikes in it takes a wild swing at her head, before lunging up with a snap chop at her right wrist to loosen her grip, then backfist as she spins, her other hand grabbing the bat as it drops from nerveless fingers to slam the handle into the throat of the third, causing him to gag and grab at his throat as he chokes, before she hauls back and headbutts him hard, sending him tumbling to the ground, before she drops the bat.

    It's about then she hears the sudden grunts and gasps and the sound of asskicking behind her as she turns, then raises a brow as she sees Batgirl laying into the thugs, grinning a bit as the last one drops. "Nice to see you Batgirl..." she says, sauntering over, then puts her hands on her hips thoughtfoully, studying Bluebird. "Okay you know me, you definitely know her, I'm guessing...so who are you?" she says, honestly curious. She does like to keep an eye on new heroines in particular in Gotham...the city isn't nice to female vigilantes often.

Bluebird has posed:
    They don't see the shadows moving. But, as she turns with the sudden revelation that there are -others- coming in on her, too late to get the distance she needs --

    --Bluebird sees the shadows -attack. "Wh--"

    It all feels like it happens in a flash, so dizzyingly that Bluebird can scarcely keep up with it. Like a thunderclap of motion, in the time it takes the fresh-faced vigilante to take the neurological leap to realize that someone -new- is here that isn't her or Black Canary, one man has already fallen. Within the next instant where her thoughts connect the smudge of visual clues to something vaguely bat-themed, another thug is a broken crumple on the ground...

    ... and she finds herself faced with a very darkly-dressed knight in shining armor.

    "Uh," Bluebird begins, eloquently.

    "Hi. I think there's a Batgirl in my way--"

    And just like that, Batgirl is off like a shot; Bluebird responds with only a second's delay, at least, using her as cover to fire another shot of high-voltage into the duo that Batgirl crams together before the black-clad vigilante effortlessly disposes of the third.

    In the end, Bluebird is left standing amidst a heap of broken bodies, a tiny fraction of which she is responsible for. She tries to tell herself she should be proud of that much. It almost works.

    "I coulda handled that," she insists, with, to be fair, only partially stubborn commitment, as she runs a hand through the shaved back of her head and frowns. "... probably." A second passes. "Still... uh, thanks."

    She looks between Canary, and Batgirl. There's a simple, flabbergasted nod of acknowledgment at the blonde's observation, before the punkette of a vigilante clears her throat. "Oh. Uh. Bluebird. My name's Bluebird. Batman -- well, he kinda--" She just shakes her head, holstering her weapons. "I'm new. Minty fresh. Or whatever."

Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
    Batgirl tips her head to Bluebird, but the small female in the dark suit, and oddly sewn-shut scarecrow-like cowl says nothing. But it's clear that her gaze is solidly on Bluebird, and the lack of any facial skin or revelation of whatever her mood is, Bluebird might find slightly disturbing - a faceless mask ceaselessly staring at her.
    Yet, Batgirl, after a few moments, seems to get what she wanted, and her gaze turns to Black Canary, then. And, she nods, once. Either, perhaps, in verification, or in an understanding of meeting the other crime-fighter.

Black Canary has posed:
    "...Batman?" Canary says curiously. "What's he got to do with that?" She glances at Batgirl curiously, nodding back once. "Haven't heard he had a new Batchick in training..." She looks thoughful. "And lightning guns really aren't his thing. Your work?" she says, wandering over to Bluebird. She's a bit curious, professionally speaking. Just because she prefers hand to hand doesn't mean she can't appreciate a well made ranged weapon too. "Though, next time, maybe make sure you can shoot them nice and safely from where they can't get to you. And you have cover." she says wryly."

Bluebird has posed:
    Disturbing. Yes. That's a good word for it. Fortunately, the domino mask she wears helps to conceal any completely obvious reactions to that face save for the faint twitch of her lips as she feels that faceless stare weighing down on her.

"Uh. Hi. ... Again," she ventures, slowly, and resists the urge to reach out and poke Batgirl because right now she's doing an -amazing- impression of a statue. "Not really, er, all that chatty, huh?"

    If she has other things she to say to try to trick Batgirl into saying something -- and doubtless she does, because she is just that stubborn of a person -- Canary's questions distract her. "What? Oh. It's a long story. He was uh... kind of an inspiration, I guess. He's not really training me." She just got the okay to run around risking her life fighting crime after endlessly haranguing and just doing it anyway. Because, again, stubborn. At the mention of her weapons, she looks down, a proud smirk tugging at her lips. "Yup. Homebrewed. They're kinda like a marriage of taser tech and conventional firearms, it's non-lethal, but--"

    The follow up, fortunately, cuts off Bluebird's tech talk. She blinks. Clears her throat. "Yeah, I know," she insists after a moment. "I mean, I -know-, I just... forgot." She's just making herself sound like an ass, she realizes. "I swear, I'm not incompetent or anything, I'm just, uh -- it's a lot to get used to. But I'm getting there!"

Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
    Batgirl looks back to Bluebird, without answering anything Canary says, or addressing anything Harper is saying either - at least, not verbally. The silent shadow of the young girl looks instead at those aforementioned projectile weapons, but she does not have a case of the Grabby Hands, thankfully. The silent vigilante instead moves to the felled thugs, and begins to zip-tie their hands behind their backs, with a professional effort that suggests this might be something she does on a fairly regular basis. Which. Batgirl.
    She will let Dinah handle all the -- complicated things. Like talking.

Black Canary has posed:
    Canary's lips twitch a bit as Bluebird stammers over the explanation for a bit, then shakes her head. "So...exactly how much training have you had, then?" she asks, simply. "In general. Not from Bats." Yes, she calls him Bats. She'll stop doing it when he stops disappearing whenever she turns her back. It's just rude!

    "You're not bad..." she offers after that. "But you could use some work to be better. You focused a bit too much on guys who were already down...that's why they were able to run up on you so much, because you took your eyes off your surroundings to kick that guy in the ass, for example." Her blue eyes regard Bluebird curiously. She's trying not to chide her, because, well, if she's just starting out, she doesn't particularly take the same joy Batman does sometimes in crushing young vigilante's hopes and dreams, but...seriously, she just feels her teacher senses twitching at that performance.

Bluebird has posed:
    "What?" begins Bluebird as the young Batgirl's faceless attention tilts towards her weapons. Gloved hands reach down to grab them in what one might assume to be a defensive gesture to ward grabby hands -- save for how she pulls one free a second later, to hold out in offering. "Wanna take a look--?" she begins, as if guessing to Batgirl's potential interest.

    Right in time to notice the silent vigilante has already moved on to tying up those thugs. Her head tilts. "Uh. Guess not. Good talk."

    It's only then that she turns her attention back on Dinah, rubbing the back of her neck with her free hand while the other starts to holster her weapon anew. "I mean, I took some lessons," she begins at Canary's question. "Y'know, some self-defense stuff. I know it's not like all that cool karate chop action stuff you guys do, but, well--" she hasn't quite cajoled Batman into teaching her any of that yet, either, despite her insistence that she needs to be able to do -totally awesome- things like that. And well. She's not -entirely- wrong.

    Still, though she frowns as Dinah critiques her, it's not necessarily the frown of someone who's upset -- more like someone who's deep in thought, mulling over those words as she nudges at one of those tied up criminals with the toe of her boot. "He had it coming," she insists, first and foremost, because he totally did. "... but... I get you. Gotta learn some situational awareness, and all that, right? Easier said than done, though, I don't have a lot of martial arts masters on speed dial." And Batman, well -- he's been busy. Obviously. And with that whole 'horrifying invasion thing,' well... "I've just been learning by doing." And all things considered, it's been going distressingly well. Though she's clearly starting to run up against the obvious downsides.

Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
    Batgirl cleanly finishes hogtying up the last mook, and then she looks back at the two, her friend the Black Canary, and the 'new' person that Batman hadn't gotten around to telling her about whom he gave leave to move about in the city. Not that such is a surprise to her. Batman doesn't tell a lot to her - though, he tells more than he might to others, thanks to her being able to read body language. Just as the two women in front of her do, even now.

    So, she walks over to Bluebird, and waits, patiently, until she has the other girl's attention. And then? Well. Then, she, slowly, takes a firm stance, tilting her head with meaning to Bluebird. And, proceeds to kick one of the tied up men, hard, on the ground with a perfect flowing kick, using her body momentum, and weight, into the point of her toe to extend every muscle perfectly. The man grunts, and shifts.
    She had, afterall, observed Bluebird's kick. And while effective? Well. Batgirl is trying to point out a way to do it better. Because, she's helping. It's, apparently, a teaching moment.

Black Canary has posed:
    Canary winces faintly at the kick, but doesn't exactly move to stop the dark-clad girl from doing it. He DID kinda have it coming, and she's reasonably sure that was a soft tissue only damaging kick. So far. "As Batgirl just demonstrated...more precise ways to make sure someone stays down." she says, looking faintly amused at Batgirl's teaching moment. "...no offense, kiddo, but you need a bit more than that." she says slowly, looking back at Bluebird, then gestures to Batgirl. "She's that damn good because she drilled a lot...and you need to be good, if you're going to be on this gig. You're almost always going to be outnumbered." She folds her arms under her chest, frowning thoughfully, as she walks around Bluebird slowly, looking her over. "...you've got potential though." she admits after a moment, stopping in front of her again. "...if you wanted to pick up a few tricks...I wouldn't mind taking you on for some training." Her blue eyes sharpen. 'If you're serious, that is, about wanting a teacher. I take training seriously. And you'd have to as well."

Bluebird has posed:
    "So, try to get the high ground next time before engaging... probably put together a few more tools for that, and... huh?" Bluebird looks up from her reverie of mulling over her various lessons learned today, white-lensed gaze falling squarely on Batgirl just standing there; it's a credit to the undercut-sporting vigilante's adaptability that she seems to already be piecing together Batgirl's particularly unique way of conversing, eyes fluttering in a blink. "What's up? You wanna show me something--?" she asks, and just like that--

    --Bluebird watches as the black-clad vigilante demonstrates that almost liquid glide of a kick with more grace than she's ever managed to muster in her entire life. She looses a whistle, genuinely awe-struck. It's probably the most impressed she's ever been with watching someone get kicked while they're down.

    "Wow. Okay. So, like..." And here, Bluebird moves forward, and proceeds to try to mimic that kick even as Dinah starts to size her up. To her credit, she doesn't kick the man -again-, because she's not quite that sadistic. She just spins, hooking her leg out with the momentum of her twist in a kick that attempts to approximate Batgirl's own. It's not an instant success -- she doesn't nearly have the lifetime of training that's made the other vigilante the honed weapon that she is, she's not nearly at that level -- but it's a start.

    "Like that?" she wonders, looking Batgirl's way. "Or maybe..." And she's in the middle of trying another angle, as if testing for which ones feel -right-, before Dinah speaks up.

    "Yeah, I get that, but I--" she begins, before that follow up makes her eyes flutter in a blink. "Wait, what? Seriously?" she asks, attention wheeling instantly upon Dinah. "You're seriously serious? You're not just trying to punk me or something, you're totally, for really real, serious as the grave serious?" It seems she's a lot more talkative than Batgirl, at least -- but rather than tempt fate, the girl just grins a bright, exuberant kind of grin, hands clapping together as she gives a single, firm nod. "Oh yeah! Hell yes! Of course I want to! I'll give it all I've got, I swear!" And at least in this much, she seems absolutely, whole-heartedly sincere.

Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
    Batgirl nods one final time, and with such cemented, she reaches beneath her cape and pulls out the traditional bat-grappling gun, and points it into the sky. She fires it, and then only a second, perhaps two later, she's whisked away, up into the rooftops of Gotham, without ever having said a word.
    

Black Canary has posed:
    The older woman watches Batgirl go sailing off, smirking a bit at that. Very Batfamily, she feels. She turns her attention back to Bluebird. "I'm not punking. I'm serious." she says, simply. "I have a few heroines around town I train on and off. And I don't mind adding another, as long as you're going to take it seriously." she says simply, tilting her head. "Hmmm...so...what -have- you done before? Rooftop running? Climbing? Parkour? Or mostly tech stuff?"

    There's no judgement in her voice...everyone has their own schtick, she figures. "Because a lot of it is going to be pure workout to toughen you up and improve your stamina."

Bluebird has posed:
    "Thanks, I owe you one--!" Bluebird calls out to Batgirl as she goes flying off on that grapple line. She watches the vigilante go, before her shoulders lift with a slow shrug. "Definitely takes after Batman," she decides with one, firm nod before returning her attention back towards Dinah, and the offer she's put on the table.

    "I'm serious. About all of this." And those words come, clear, crisp, and determined. If there's any possibility she's just doing this for the thrill of it, well -- she probably wouldn't be wearing that costume in Gotham to begin with.

    "Uh, yeah, a bit of all of that. Parkour stuff, I've gotten used to using grapple lines and everything, too, but mostly... I'm pretty damn good at making stuff." It's probably a claim most would see as arrogant; but Bluebird utters it not so much with arrogance, as she does confidence. She knows her strong suits, at least. Arms stretching over her head, Harper looks Canary's way before she looks down, poking herself once in the side. "... Yeah. Okay. I could definitely use some toughening up." Growing up in the Narrows, after all, only affords you a very particular kind of endurance and survivability.

Black Canary has posed:
    "Right. Deal then." She offers one of her combat-gloved hands, though her eyes flick down at the poke. "...anythign serious?" she says, a faint note of concern entering her voice now. "I mean, our first lesson can be some first aid tips." Her eyes twinkle faintly at that, as she watches. So far, the girl impresses her with her confidence. She doesn't seem overconfident either...just inexperienced. Ignorance and lack of training, she can correct. Dumb, she can't do much for.

    "We can grab something to eat, if you don't mind chatting some. Wouldnt' mind hearing why you decided to get into this." she admits. Because reasons for the fight are important. Some are short term, some are long term, some are self destructive. She doesn't seem like she lacks for self preservation instincts....though maybe a bit prone to getting in over her head.

Bluebird has posed:
    With that offered hand, Harper reaches out, clasping it with her own in a creak of glove on glove. With a firm shake, she pulls that hand away, arms crossing over her chest before that concerned question reaches her ears. "Oh -- I mean, I had to learn first aid pretty young, but... I guess there's always more to learn, yeah?" she ventures after a moment, looking back down at herself. "S'ok though. Really, just got a little banged up. Maybe some bruises, but... this armor's really amazing. Lightweight, durable, flexible -- I swear, I need to find out how they make this stuff." She has some ideas, but...

    But, that offer catches her attention first and foremost. She looks up, a faint smile decorating those lips as she looks over those broken, beaten bodies -- and then off towards the distance. "Yeah. That sounds kick ass. ... And definitely better than sticking around here, I'm not, like... great at dealing with cops."

    That? Amazing understatement.

Black Canary has posed:
    Canary's lips twitch a bit at that, her grip firm as she shakes once, then releases the younger girl's hand. Her eyes flicker a bit at the mention of learning first aid young, though she hides any further reaction. But now she wonders what might make it necessary to learn it that well, her mind jumping to..well, less than savory reasons. It could be innocent, she supposes.

    But this is Gotham. The realistic and slightly cynical explanation you come up with is likely mostly correct.

    "C'mon then. My bike's not far from here, I know a good late night Chinese place. CAn drop you off wherever after." She twitches her lips. "Though if you're going to wear those guns in, might need to do takeout and find a more private place to eat." she says amusedly.