6813/Cucpcakes and Favors

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Cucpcakes and Favors
Date of Scene: 08 March 2019
Location: Gotham - Clocktower
Synopsis: Red Hood shows up at the Clocktower to offer cupcakes and surprises for Oracle. Always beware a Hoodie bearing gifts.
Cast of Characters: Red Hood, Shadow, Oracle




Red Hood has posed:
The Clocktower. It's one of those places that Wayne Enterprises bought for who knows what reason. It's a 'historical' site, supposedly, but never was fully renovated to allow people access to the clock part of it. That's because there were other plans for it. Only a few people know what those plans were.

That's why it might not be completely out of the ordinary for the 'Fondante's Inferno' Bakery Company truck to pull into the alley behind the building. And perhaps even more so that that the man steps out of it is dressed in black body armor with a brown leather jacket - and a nice red helmet that covers his whole head.

Standing directly under where he /knows/ the security camera is, he waves at it. One can imagine the grin that Jason has on under that helmet as he reaches inside the truck and pulls out a box.

He opens it to show the camera. Cupcakes. Really? Yes. Delicious looking cupcakes.

A good Red Hood knows to bear gifts when asking favors.

Shadow has posed:
    Natasha Cranston has a great many friends. Wealthy people often do. Some of those friends are even actually friendly.

'Janine' has a lot of friends, even if she can't make it to a lot of the post-roda parties and has to claim one excuse or another.

The Shadow has a number of... Associates. Agents that provide information, or act in proxy where the Shadow can't.

    ... What Natasha doesn't have many of are people -- friends -- who know these identities are intertwined, and who she can talk with about the occasional stress of a double or triple lifestyle. Who'll understand.... And, almost as importantly, who make excellent tea when a friend comes by. She's sitting in one of Barbara's comfy chairs, sipping her tea and making a vigilante's version of smalltalk -- how cold the weather is when perching on rooftops, the latest trends in petty thefts and organized crime, which named villains are in and out of town this week -- when the Red Hood shows up on the security system.

    She raises an eyebrow at Barbara even as she reaches for her coat, hat and scarf. "Were you expecting other company this afternoon?" she asks mildly.

Oracle has posed:
Babs is barefoot, in sweatpants with unicorns on them, and a tanktop. Huddled up in her big chair infront of the massive bank of screens and rediculously powerful computer unto which they are all connected. She's her hair pulled back in a tight ponytail and a pair of glasses resting on the bridge of her nose as she goes through the nights patrols with a few keystrokes between sips of tea and an absent bit from a bagel sitting on a saucer nearby.

Aside from the obvious busy work of tracking all the information in Gotham, Oracle is coordinating between teams like an ever present voice to make sure everyone is moving effectively without over extending or over lapping their various routes. This includes the occational bone tossed to the police or redirecting EMTs around potentially dangerous obstacles in the more militant parts of Gotham.

Absently spinning in her chair as she and Natasha share horror stories of the black ice and the yeah, I'm pretty sure she's got a man-friend she doesn't want anyone to know abouts. Just the run of the mill, vigilante girl talk to fill the space between action on her monitors.

Which is bound to change when the security beeps for her attention and she glances up at the Red Helmet filling the screen holding up cupcakes. Up in her apartment, Babs laughs, literally, out loud and hits the lock release. Down on the street there's a series of quiet clicks and Hoodie is given leave.. Cup cakes are a noble and acceptable gift.

"I've learned that it's btter not to expect a whole lot of anything when it comes to Hood.." Still laughing and rubbing at her mouth. "At least he brought cupcakes this time.."

Red Hood has posed:
Oh good, because Red Hood was just sticking his head up at the monitor, and trying to buff out a scuff mark on his helmet. Supposedly. When he hears the click of the doors unlocking, he blows a kiss to the camera before returning to the truck to pull it into the garage. He'll wait. After all, he has something important to share with Barbara.

Pressing the intercom button that leads to the clocktower, Jason speaks, "Hey Oracle. I have something in the back of this truck that's a little bit bigger than a breadbox that you might want to check out."

Last time he did this, he had brought back a criminal for interrogation to Batman.

He can never bring home a stray kitten or puppy, after all.

Shadow has posed:
    "... Does he this often?" Natasha asks as she dons the Shadow's trademark longcoat. "Either way, I suppose we'd best find out what he's come here for," the Shadow finishes as the scarf and its voice mask slip into position. "Would you prefer to do the introductions right out of the gate, or should I stay out of sight until you know what he wants?"

Oracle has posed:
"Get them out of the way early... you know I kind of hope it's one of those sentinel's heads? I'd LOVE to get my hands on one..." Babs doesn't bother hiding her identity from either of them, as if it would matter at all if she tried at this point anyways. While she waits for the Hood to make his dramatic appearance, she pushes back away from her computer desk to put her bagel in the kitchen. Padding quietly towards the sink, drying her hands so she can reach for the intercom, "Do I need to come down there?" Her voice is distorted through the intercoms, genderless and robotic.. few people make it beyond the intercom phase.

Red Hood has posed:
"You don't get cupcakes if you don't~" Jason sing-songs in response.

Would he deny a girl a favorite treat? Probably. Possibly. It's Barbara though, and he's always been a bit of a softy when it comes to her. "Fine. Turn on your camera. You know the one."

The one she snuck into his helmet the last time she did maintenance on it. What, she didn't know he would find it? Or maybe she knew he would and realize someone was looking out for him. Either way, he moves around to the back of the truck, opening the back of it and exposing a white and red armored suit. It will take Barbara Gordon a few moments to match it - it's the Crimson Dynamo's airstrike armor.

Shadow has posed:
    "... Impressive," the Shadow murmurs as they take a look at the armour. "I suspect he can't wait to tell us all about where and how he found it. This should be interesting..."

Oracle has posed:
"I literally have no idea what you're talking about." Babs says as she returns to her computer to turn on the exact camera of which he's speaking because she knows exactly what he's talking about. When he moves around the back of the van to reveal the contents, however, she furrows her brow just a little and crosses her arms over her chest. "Okay..." She says with a slow nod, "Okay yeah I'm impressed..." Into the intercom, glancing back over her shoulder at Natasha, "Let's head down and get a look at it up close.." Stopping only to pull on a pair of shoes.

Red Hood has posed:
The Hood waits for the two to come downstairs. Of course, as Barbara comes out of the elevator, Jason greets her with a tight hug, and starts to say. "Hey Babs, haven't seen you in for--" And then he realizes she has comapny. He steps back, a brow arching beneath his helmet as he tries to take on a looser posture.

Folding his arms over his chest, he smirks. "Didn't tell me you had company, I'd brought more cupcakes." As he assumed Barbara would want them all to herself. "So I have two gifts. But you have to get past the first to get to the second. Because the second is more.. a personal favor." The first is clearly professional.

Shadow has posed:
    It's a greatcoat and a hat rather than a cowl and cape, and Batman doesn't wear a crimson scarf, but the way the Shadow's eyes seems to bore into the Red Hood's featureless helmet as if they know exactly where their face is is a very familiar flavour of unnerving. Still, after silently regarding Jason for a few moments more they nod their head as if in polite greeting. "Good afternoon," they offer, through what has got to be a voice mask with some unconventional settings. One hopes.

Oracle has posed:
"Oh, yeah sorry." Babs says after the hug, which she returns in kind, and motions at the dark figure shadowing her into the garage, "Hood, this is Shadow. Their eyes are invaluable at getting places even I'm not able to reach." Reverse of her hands to motion at Jason, "Shadow, this is Red Hood. He's a little rough around the edges, but few people I trust as much as him." Teasing is a two way door. Since she's not been given cupcakes yet, she raises a brow at Jason with her head cocked off to one side. With her face all scrunched up and a hand rubbing her mouth hungerily, "Alright, I'll bite. What's the favor?"

Red Hood has posed:
"Hey there, Darth Vader." comes the Hood's response to Shadow's greeting as he moves. Climbing into the truck, it takes him several moments of rooting around, and finally pushing the Airstrike armor out of the back of the truck to get to the back of it. "Oof, move, you big piece of Russian junk." he grunts.

Finally, he finds the other part and pulls it out on a dolly. It's a large piece of purple and grey armor. A Sentinel. Part of it at least. It's a processor, with a large metal tendril through the middle of it. No fusing. No forcing it. It was two seperate items, and just - suddenly one.

"There's someone I know. She says that's she's able to .. phase things. She's already done it once with me. Need to know if this is her handiwork." She can make her own assumptions on why this is a personal favor.

Shadow has posed:
    "It appears you got your wish, miss Gordon," The Shadow opines, examining the armour. "Given the damage, it appears to have been removed in combat. Yet Trask Industries continue to assure everyone they aren't deployed as such... Another 'accidental activation'? Or did another of them fall into the hands of an 'overzealous third party' that we'll be assured has no liability connections to Trask himself?"

    They approach the gauntlet to get a closer look at the metal tendril. "No seam, no ridges, no apparent damage along the interface. Phasing, you said? Given that this is a Sentinel, the most likely culprit would be a mutant..."

Oracle has posed:
"yes!" Babs actually says it through clinched teeth when the sentinels processor is pulled out of the back of the van, "Hoodie, you always bring me the very best toys..." There might actually be some truth to her teary eyed grin as she gazes upon the very thing what she put upon her christmas list this year.

She also nods to Shadow and kneels down beside the processor to examine the hard lines that still appear very much intact without forced removal and rubs at her chin with the tip of her thumb. It brushes her lips, eyes narrowing behind her glasses, "I'd have to have pretty intimate data about the individual in question-" Not hard for Oracle to get, all things considered. Especially if this individual has ever been to the Mansion or worked with Hood in Gotham, "-but without hooking it up and accessing it's memory core, I'd say it's a fair bet that this was phased out.. in line with what //she//-" Good intel, "-says she can do."

Red Hood has posed:
"This came courtesy of our 'Friends' of Humanity." The word Friends is said with the same tone of voice of a six-year old tasting a brussel sprout. Jason chuckles a little, and considers. "What, want me to bring her over to dinner?" he asks. "They already know about her." They being Bruce and at least one 'brother', but Jason is keeping it vague because he doesn't know the Shadow from a shadow on a wall.

His attention turns to Natasha for a moment and her comment. "Yeah. Don't know where this one came from, but from the reports I got, this was an older model. Nothing that we may be able to use; but it's a start."

Then he returns to the other subject. "I can introduce you, but you have to promise. That mutant phasing part? That doesn't get mentioned to them, either. They don't know yet, and I think she's neverous on how they'll react." There's a shrug of the Hood's shoulders. "Anything you can pull from the Processor I'm sure will be useful to everyone. Now for this.."

He gestures to the armor. "Arsenal and I freed this from some Russians. I have a house guest in the form of the Crimson Dynamo. She's defecting - this is one of hers. I wanted to ask you to give it a good scrub down and upgrade of it's systems. If it's not too much to ask."

Shadow has posed:
    The sound coming from the Shadow was probably a derisive snort before the voice mask went to work. "With... 'friends'... like those, who needs enemies?"

    Jason's use of vague references for the sake of operational security earns him a nod of acknowledgement. "Oh, I'm sure the actual technology of its workings won't be of much help, but the fact that he just can't seem to keep from... 'misplacing' them should be more remarked on than it is. These are /military/-grade or higher pieces of hardware. What do you think would happen to Lockheed-Martin if they... 'misplaced' not one, but several fully armed F-35 Lightning craft, some of which later turn up in the hands of terrorists?"

    "... And yet, Mr. Trask has not yet been asked to explain his shortcomings. Curious..."

Oracle has posed:
"I can use it." Barbara assures Jason even though he was talking to Natasha, "Maybe not to gain any insight into the newer models I've seen flying overhead, but definitely to get a basic source code.. they might be upgraded beyond this-" Motioning at the gem Jason's just given her with both hands spreading across the surface of the processor, "-It's still got a basic source code it shares with all future models.. somewhere to start, anyways."

How couldn't Oracle get excited by a robot army? She's practically giddy... at least for her.

She did hear him about the armor, however, and glances at it with a tug of her bottom lip. "I can do that. Does she want it rearmed or just a systems overhaul?" She's not yet mentioned his invitation to meet this mysterious individual, so no time like the present right?

"You told them?" She sounds kind of impressed, honestly. "Mums the word. I'm pretty good at secrets, besides, I'd love to meet this individual."

Red Hood has posed:
There's a dryness in Jason's voice. "You mean they don't do it all the time already?" comes the response. He's seen enough gear in other powers hands to know better than to expect military companies to be 'squeaky-clean'. "I'm sure Trask's story is going to be 'it got sold, what happened to it after it was done with it's operational life is none of my business'." It's said bitterly, because he knows it's true.

"The Dynamo doesn't know I have it yet. Scrub it down - don't rearm it. I don't know if she's going to be staying around or going off on her own yet." Barbara knows that Jason has his own little group, just like she has the Birds.

"As for the other individual." he gestures to the Sentinel part, "If you want neutral ground, we'll figure something out. You know how to contact me. Except for tomorrow night. Have plans."

Shadow has posed:
    The Shadow nods, conceding the point. "Oh, there are always people willing to sell 'surplus' materiel to anyone who can make the right offer, and many of them know or suspect that their buyers are bad people indeed, but dont care. But beyond a certain treshold, sales of this sort do need to be... Sanctioned, shall we say, or various law enforcement agencies start taking an interest -- even if it's only to find out who is trying to muscle in on their territory. Either way, I believe it's well past time that Mr. Trask answered some questions..."

Oracle has posed:
Babs stands up from her kneeling before armor and processor, "We can all agree that Trask is definitely letting these fall through the cracks and probably hasn't left anything behind for us to find in one of the older models." She considers thoughtfully, still tugging at her bottom lip, "So if the Friends of Humanity are controlling these maybe I can piggy back into their system and follow the chain of ownership." She considers out loud, motioning for someone to help move the armor/processor upstairs where she can actively start working on it.

"Her systems will be so clean you can eat off of it.. now where are my cupcakes." Grabby hands at Hood, grinning a little as she hooks those same hands into the armor to hoist up onto her shoulder. "It'll take me a few days with the armor, but I'll move it to the top of my 'to-do' list, just for you Hoodie." Wiggling the shoulders of the armor as she starts for the elevator.

Red Hood has posed:
Taking out the box, Jason presents it to Barbara. "Payment for services rendered, Babs." comes the response. "And hey, when you feel like knocking on Trask's door - let me know, I really want to see if the views better when everyone has their nose up your ass." There's a snort at that before he's moving to climb back into the truck. "Alright, got some deliveries to make!"

Yes. He has /plans/ for the truck. But nothing he cares to share as he fires it up and backs it up to head out of the garage, leaving the two women with their cucpcakes and armor.