5870/Something Doesn't Add Up

Something Doesn't Add Up
Date of Scene:	28 November 2018
Location:	Gotham City
Synopsis:	Batgirl finds Spoiler at a safehouse.
Cast of Characters:	Oracle, Spoiler

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Oracle has posed:
Part of Barbara's function as Oracle is to keep tabs on the Bat-family. This includes not only the ones currently residing in Wayne Manor, but those of the extended family as well. And their assets, which can be extensive. But that's what an over-watch agency does, right?

So when Barbara's network notices some unusual network activity coming from one of Tim's safe houses, the redhead figures it's worthy of a follow up. If it's just Tim, she could stop by in her civilian garb. But if it IS just Tim, he's familiar with her Batgirl costume as well.

Time to put on the cape and cowl! The Batgirl cycle takes her across town in good time, and since she's in costume Barbara decides to hone her skills by climbing the building's exterior to check in a window.

Spoiler has posed:
Spoiler wasn't sure how fully she trusted Red Robin. Or whatever his new vigilante name was. THe fact he knew who she was in her regular life really didn't sit well. But he did offer her a few upgrades last time. And he gave her access to a safe house. She half expected bars and spikes to erupt all over the place the moment she stepped inside. But the system disarmed for her as he'd shown and GCPD didn't roll up on the place so.. maybe he was being truthful with her. Mostly.

Sitting at the computer she began some research on a local shipping company. All-Ways Transport.

On paper they seemed clean. Family owned and operated. No ties to criminal organizations. No workplace issues. No labor complaints. It was entirely too clean but Spoiler just wasn't finding anything to prove otherwise. Not for the lack of trying. But even the best efforts of the unpracticed and untrained will be cumbersome to a trained eye. Like bashing through a brick wall when simply entering through a side door would have worked just as well and with less attention.

"c'mon... c'mon. Give me SOMETHING. Do I have to beg?" Spoiler huffed as yet another Giggle search came up empty.

Oracle has posed:
Clinging to the window frame outside the building, she's hard to see from inside with the lights on. Blonde hair and blue eyes. Younger than Barbara, but about Tim's age. Give or take. A girlfriend? Well wouldn't Bruce find THAT to be amusing?

Watching for a few moments as the girl gets frustrated at the computer, Barbara quickly and quietly lets herself in through the window. Tumbling to the floor, she does a smooth shoulde-roll that puts her in the middle of the room near the computer desk. This isn't her first rodeo.

"Well you're not entirely who I was expecting to be here." Batgirl offers, long cape parting enough to show the trademark emblem upon her chest. Her voice is low and husky, not quite a growl. Another Bat-trait.

Spoiler has posed:
Stephanie Brown was so focused on trying to figure this search out that she had no prayer of noticing she had company. COnsidering the heritage of said company, she'd never have a chance to notice first. Ever. Silly rookie mistake. Or costly.

A blind and the blonde haired would-be vigilante looks up at "-- Batgirl?" A blink. "Uh. Hi. I didn't know this was such a popular clubhouse.." She had pealed her hood and mask back to see better while working on the computer. She had assumed she'd be alone. Now it was not only too late, she didn't even realize she'd left her mask off as she gawked at the armored redhead standing just beyond arm's reach.

"Oh SH...ooooot....!" she says, trying to correct her words in real time as she also tries to grab her mask and tug it on. Terrible rookie mistake. SHe gives up when the mask proves to be rolled up upon itself behind her head and just won't cooperate. Stephanie sighs, "Well. That could have gone better." Looking up cautiously at Batgirl, she offers a pensive, "Hi? Red Robin said I could use this place to do investigations. But. You're gonna kick me out, aren't you?"

Oracle has posed:
Batgirl's smile is wide and full of amusement that reaches her green eyes. Not that her eyes are visible beneath those starlight lenses. Stepping forward, her boot heels are soft and gloved fingers cool when she touches the back of the blonde's hand.

"Relax. Red Robin should've told you that we have this habit of checking up on each other as well. I also know that the security system in this place would've booted you a long time ago if you weren't welcome."

Glancing over at the screen, she crouches a bit to get more onto Stephanie's level. "So. You figure out how to get the training wheels off of this thing yet?"

Spoiler has posed:
Stephanie Brown is more shocked she's not tossed to the curb than anything else. She nods dumbly at the questions and observations. ".. yeah. Make sense. I'm Spoiler, by the way. Or. Well. I should be. Right now I'm just spoiling private life I guess." She adds, "I'm Stephanie. But I'm sure you probably already knew that or will know it soon anyway." Looking back to the screen she explains. "I know how to use computers, sure, but he didn't show me how to use any of the techno-widgets you guys use. So I'm just trying to find what I'm after with searches. And -- not finding anything. Obviously." She sighs in frustration.

Oracle has posed:
Batgirl tilts her head to get a better look at the blonde's face, lips curling into a wry smile. She speaks, and it's pretty apparent that she's talking into a headset. "Oracle, give me a full workup on Stephanie. Female. Human. Approximately 19 years of age. Uploading image from lens-cam now."

A moment later she looks directly at Stephanie, then adds. "I'll have your full bio when I get back, if that makes you feel any better. Which it probably doesn't." Still crouching close, Batgirl offers. "Everything you're telling me only supports the fact that Red Robin let you in, of course." Yeah, Barbara knows that Tim would overlook some of the details. Like, say, telling people that he's letting someone use a safe house?

"So what're you researching? Maybe I can help?"

Spoiler has posed:
Stephanie Brown rolls her eyes and shrugs. "It's no different than what Red Robin pulled. So I wouldn't expect any less. Just. DOn't judge me by my dad, okay? I'm nothing like him. At all." She frowns. "And my mom is trying. She may as well be a single parent and the stress is hard on her." Leaning back in the chair, Steph shrugs, "I can't tell you anything else that will make you believe me. I helped him stop a group of ninjas that were attacking him. Okay. -I- stopped one. But I really kicked his aaaaaass---butt..." she tries to correct after it's too late. VIgilantes are supposed to be polite right? She's trying.

"After that, he brought me here and set up access for me. For all I know the custom programs on here I can't run anyway. So I just went standard search. Giggle works for everyuthing else. I figured it had to give me something. But I figured wrong." She pauses, "I'm trying to look into the records for All-Ways Transport. I heard on campus that a few Gotham U students went to work there as interns then suddenly dropped out of classes and really just disappeared. The company seems to be clean. But -too- clean, you know? Like they're trying too hard to be perfect. It's like.. Pleasantville sorts of perfect."

Oracle has posed:
Batgirl tilts her head at that, pursing her lips a little. "No one likes to be judged by their parents, no matter how good they are." she replies, voice becoming softer and even more normal. The redhead listens to the account, nodding a couple times and then offering. "So you took out a ninja by yourself? That's a lot more impressive than most people think, Stephanie. But if you're serious, perhaps we can see about setting up a training regimen for you. Sparring partners, that sort of thing."

She lets the offer hang in the air for a moment before turning her attention to the computer. "All-Ways Transport? Here. Would you mind if I try a couple of things? Scoot your butt over a bit."

Spoiler has posed:
Stephanie Brown starts to reply with her usual snark but bites her tongue before words get from knee-jerk response to tongue. It'll smart later but it's better than what she was about to say. She pauses and nods, "Red Robin talked about that too. I'm serious. I'm not stopping. I haven't got the equipment that you all have. Or the support. Just the drive to make a difference in this city and stop as much crime as I can. I'll get better gear soon. I think. Hope.." She shrugs. It doesn't matter as sub-par gear and protection won't stop her anyway. She then moves to stand, arms crossed over her ribs. "Go for it. I wasn't getting anywhere with what I was trying."

Oracle has posed:
"Believe it or not, the drive and the will to make a difference is more important than a whole trunk-load of fancy gear." Batgirl replies softly. And when Stephanie gets up she wastes no time in sliding into the seat. Off come the leather gloves, set neatly on the desk by the keyboard. The palms are worn from climbing ropes. Nails are short and painted red. Professional manicure.

One hand drives the mouse, minimizing windows and opening a few others. The typing sounds like a machinegun, and then more windows open. Sites that Stephanie likely hasn't even heard of. Barbara is being careful, for all that. She COULD have just logged in with her Oracle credentials, but that's a part of her identity she doesn't want to compromise. A status bar begins ticking, very slowly, and she looks over to Stephanie while they wait. "So you met Red Robin while fighting off ninjas?"

Spoiler has posed:
Stephanie Brown stands there watching. Trying to make mental notes of what programs and commands were used. In the end it'll all end up as a pile of mental spaghetti she'll have no prayer of untangling into useful knowledge anytime after, oh, the next three seconds. Aaaaand it's all confused as of -- now. She sighs silent and just watches. She glances to Batgirl as the question is asked. "mmmno. We met once before that. Probably two months ago. He told me to get off the streets. I told him to jump off a building because that wasn't going to happen. So he challenged me to take out the purse snatchers we were both following, as quickly as I could. When I did, he told me I wasn't good enough and was going to get myself hurt or killed and threw another ultimatum at me to quit and then he left." She smirks. "I have problems with authority. Or. Those who think they have authority over my life and my choices and don't."

Oracle has posed:
Batgirl nods slowly to that, letting the search engine percolate a bit. She crosses one leg over the other, leaning back a bit in the chair as well. "We all got our start pretty much like that." she admits, exhaling a low sigh. "And don't you dare tell anyone else I told you that, either. But we've all made mistakes. We've all either gotten hurt or have seen others get hurt. It's just his way of trying to protect you, really."

Batgirl rises, then, smoothly and without pushing up with her hands. "Listen. I won't throw down the challenges or tell you to stop what you're doing. It's apparent that you're already well beyond that. I can help you get better, but it won't be easy."

Spoiler has posed:
Stephanie Brown smirks at the 'threat' not to tell anyone about how 'everyone' started. But she nods, "I won't." And she means it. She looks back to the computer and listens. "It may be that. It's nice. But it's not his job or his right to tell me what I can or can't do. I accepted the risks and danger when I first put this... costume on" she says as she looks down. "But yeah. It's really pretty lame and useless in a gunfight.." she notes ruefully. A nod. "None of this has been easy. I don't expect it to ever be easy. If it isn't hard, then I'm not really making a difference as far as I'm concerned."

Oracle has posed:
Batgirl steps aside with a swish of the cape, picking up her gloves as she yields the chair back to Steph. "It's never easy." she replies simply. "We all have our share of scars; not all of them physical." Patting her belly, then, she adds. "Kevlar helps quite a bit, but not if someone's using a magnum round or a rifle. Or a knife, for that matter." Raising a hand closer, Stephanie can see that the gauntlets are armored. "I'm not one to string you along, I promise. But I'd like to give you the opportunity to earn a better suit, all the same."

Spoiler has posed:
Stephanie Brown watches, admiring the armor. Because, who wouldn't? It's the zenith of badass. She nods. "Thank you. I appreciate it. Any training would help me get better. I have some gytmnastics and track history but just JV stuff. Never made Varsity. But it's something." She offers a faint smile. "Thanks. For.. not kicking me out." She then tugs her mask down over her head, two white ovals allow her to see through without giving her features away. Not like it matters here and now any longer. But she's trying to be mindful.

Oracle has posed:
Batgirl smiles again as the hood is pulled down, nodding once. "You'll get your data shortly." she replies. "Gymnastics and track are a really good start in this business. When you're ready to start a hard martial arts regimen, give a call." Her hand slips back and beneath the cape, pulling out a burner phone. "The number is in the phone. We'll tell you when and where to meet."

Spoiler has posed:
Spoiler takes the phone, looking at it then nods. "Alright." She tucks it away in the pack she carries. "Again, thank you. Batgirl."