6916/Ladies Unmasked

Ladies Unmasked
Date of Scene:	16 March 2019
Location:	Gotham - Redcave
Synopsis:	Red Hood and Shadowcat return to the Redcave. Kestrel and Shadowcat share their identities
Cast of Characters:	Shadowcat, Red Hood, Carrie Kelley

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Shadowcat has posed:
The garage door swings open to admit a pair on a motorcycle. Shadowcat rides behind the Hood. No, not that Hood. The Red one.

The night had been a bust. Kitty had come into town, bringing her costume. And Lockheed. With Jason in his Red Hood costume and Kitty in her X-man, the trio had gone down to the docks. Seeking some information around the transport of Sentinels that Kitty had told him she'd fought in the area beforehand.

Only the people and information they sought was not to be had tonight. A few small leads were generated, but nothing that looks particularly promising to be honest.

Once inside, Lockheed takes flight, the miniature purple dragon moving to explore the space he hasn't been in before. Shadowcat hops off the back of the motorcycle, brushing her hand over Red Hood's back. "Well, I appreciate you going down there with me," she tells him.

They'd stopped at the spot of the battle. The signs of it that she'd mentioned were there to be seen. Bullet holes, even some bits of wreckage where Batman's missiles had blown up a Sentinel. Though most of it was long since cleaned and hauled away. Though that had not been their focus tonight. "It was a long shot anyway. But it was worth it just to come into town and see you," Shadowcat tells Red Hood with a smile. She undoes her mask, removing it.

Red Hood has posed:
"You know, wearing body hugging spandex doesn't really help my concentration." Jason says with a snort as he turns off the motor to the motorcycle. "And show up too many times, and eventually you'll get the Bat showing up all.." he he husks, terribly. "This is my town, I pissed on every corner! Get out!"

"Looks like the Friends of Humanity angle was a bust as well, huh. You get any information off that contact you said you were working with?" Unlike Kitty and most of the Bats, Jason fully believes in pants with zippers. And easily removed for bathroom breaks.

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Kestrel, that red headed vigilante that had breifly stopped by for a pit stop the other night, was already in the apparent 'living area' of Jason's place when the two arrive. Seated on a couch in fact. Ever so slowly, as they dismount from the bike and Kitty removes her mask, Kestrel sloooowly slides down the couch as if trying to make her presence less known. Down further. Even less known. If she can just make it to the floor maybe she can slither out like a snake by inching along the floor. Probably not.

Instead she pauses, eyes darting toward the pair with eyebrows raising high over her mask. A slow grin emerges as she realizes that, yes, that WAS Kitty in that outfit. An impish grin comes over her as she calls out, "Took you long enough to get back."

Sitting up just a bit more she drapes her arms over the back of the couch to pillow her head while gazing over at the pair with amusement. "I think maybe it's time we tell her about us, don't you, Jaybird?" Us. What is this US she speaks of?

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty tells Jason of her body-hugging costume, "If you think wearing it messes up your concentration? Wait until I take it off." Her grin is more than playful for him as she runs a hand over his shoulders before laughing at his comment about the Batman. "Hey he blew up the remaining Sentinel that was trying to kill me. I'm not going to throw stones," she comments with a grin.

Kitty looks up as she hears the voice calling out, then, her eyes swinging over and seeing Kestrel peering over the couch. There's a moment of alarm as Kitty realizes she has her mask off. But it passes quickly, her eyes going over to Jason. Only a small amount of question there. He trusts the woman to be here, to know about him. So hopefully she can be trusted to know about Kitty, that look seems to say.

Though the choice of wording catches in Kitty's mind and she glances over to Jason. Kitty's expression is a testament to her feelings for the man. Looking over just for confirmation it is a joke, without any sign she expects to find other from him.

Lockheed? He swoops down and lands on the couch beside Kestrel. A little larger than a cat, the purple dragon has horns on his head, his wings folding on his back as he looks over at the costumed redhead.

Red Hood has posed:
"Oh, should I, Kestrel? I mean, you already have bathroom privledges. Next time, flush, will ya?" Jason ashs as he heads over to the vending machines, taking off his helmet in the process. "What was it, one terrible date where you got mad at me for getting you thrown out of a strip mall dojo?"

If Kitty's been keeping up, that was a slow and obvious clue as to who is beneath the Kestrel mask. "What are you doing here anyway? Thought you were all cozy snuggly with the other guy.. you know, Mister All-American? These days, at least." he shrugs his shoulder as he punches in a code and grabs a can of soda when it pops out, before getting a second one to toss to Kitty.

"So what's the deal? Two nights in a row. Starting to think you miss me. Or you're just bored to tears." What the other two may notice that Jason already has is that the Crimson Dynamo armor is /not/ present in the cave.

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Joking aside, Kestrel has a dragon land next to her. A tiny one. But a dragon. There's a small frission of tension that runs through her as her head sloooowly turns toward Lockheed to greet with an overly casual, "Hey there." Please don't bite her. Even if she's teasing your owner... friend? Eh heh. "I thought Robin had all the interesting critters."

Then Jason gives the clue as to who she is earning a groan from her in response. "You are such a spoilsport, Jay," she shoots back only to add abruptly, "I am NOT with him! Seriously you need to get over your weird sibling rivalry thing. I came here to find out what you know about Robin's trip." Head shaking, she flashes a grin toward the apparently tense Shadowcat.

Lifting a hand she gives a wiggle of her fingers in her direction with a simple, "Hey, Kitty. I guess the cat is out of the bag. Or spandex as the case may be."

Shadowcat has posed:
It seems that Kitty did indeed pay attention to the details of Jason's prior involvements, as she gets a knowing look after Jason lets the Carrie Kelley out of the bag. Mask. Whatever.

Kitty ahs softly as she walks over to the couch where Carrie sits. Kitty catches the soda can, tapping the top to get the carbonation to the top so it won't go off when she opens it after the toss-and-catch. "Ah... so... you really -are- into masks," Kitty says, flashing a smile down to Kestrel where she sits. Kitty reaches a hand down to pull Kestrel up to her feet, if allowed, and give her a great big hug.

Two women in tight spandex hugging each other. Look away, Jason.

"Well, I'm kind of glad. I mean, not having to keep secrets from you and all," Kitty says warmly. "And now you can meet Lockheed," she says brightly. The purple mini-dragon flies over to land on her shoulder. "This is my bestest friend," she says of the dragon. "And this is Carrie that I told you about," she says to the dragon. He gives Carrie a little head butt, not unlike a cat might. "He doesn't talk much," Kitty says.

Red Hood has posed:
Look away? Naw, this is going on Instagram. Fine, maybe not. Something else has gotten up in Jason's craw, though. "What, so you can go back to him and tell him everything? Fuck that. He wants to know, he can come down from his gilded tower and ask himself." Oof. So much for that whole spirit of cooperation thing.

"Robin needed some time to figure out what he wants to be. We've all been there once. It's his turn. Don't bother him, he'll be back when he's ready." the Hood clearly isn't worried about Damian.

Not like anyone gave a damn about me at his age.

Of course, he was also dead by the end of that fifteenth year. "So if that's all you're here for, you can take that back to Nightwang."

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Carrie Kelley gives a little laughing chuckle when Kitty pulls her to her feet, and she easily wraps her arms around her in a hug. "Jason said he told you, but I'm still new enough to this... I wasn't really sure what to do. Though he didn't tell me about you," she adds assuring her that he was good to keep secrets. Lockheed is met with a grin, and she accepts the bump with a raise of her hand to give a little scritch between his horns if he allows. "A pleasure to meet you. That's okay, I know a lot of people that don't talk much."

Now that proper introductions had been made she reaches up to take off her own mask with just a hint of relief at having it off. It always felt good to remove it, even if it felt comfy to have on as well. Before she can say anything else though, Jason reacts earning a small frown from her.

"I did suggest he come and talk to you, but he's worried out of his mind. I was going to try to go find Robin myself but he caught me when I was leaving. I'm not going to stop him from whatever he wants to do. I just want him to know he doesn't have to be alone out there, either." There's more to say on that, about his father mostly, but she bites her cheek to keep from saying it. Now was not the time.

"Whatever."

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde motions to a spot along one of the ridges on Lockheed's head as Carrie rubs the dragon, as if pointing out a good spot on him. Kitty is smiling warmly to the redhead, saying, "I'm not very used to revealing myself to others. Though, this seems to be the week for it. I revealed myself to the Avengers this week," Kitty tells Carrie quietly. "And? Janet Van Dyne hired me to do an IT project for her company. And she's making me a dress," Kitty says with a smile for Carrie.

As the topic turns a little less pleasant, Kitty takes that moment to drift back over in Jason's direction. The can of soda is opened then and a sip taken. She moves over to Jason's side, a hand gently resting on his shoulder as if hoping that touch might help moderate any aggravation from whatever it is they are discussing. Kitty can figure out the gist at least, if not knowing the details.

Red Hood has posed:
There's a roll of his eyes. "What, the dutiful babysitter lose his charge? Maybe if he wasn't screwing around on the couch all the time.." Jason rumbles as he lifts the can in a vague gesture at Carrie. "Did he come to you before he left? Did he say 'hey, come with me on this one?' He didn't even ask his Titan friends to go with him, Carrie. There's a time where you have to realize that he's not a child - but a killer trapped in a child's body, and he has to figure himself out."

Even Kitty's touch isn't doing much to relax him. The whole topic has him wound up and his shoulders tense in aggrevation. "He knows he doesn't have to be alone. He /wants/ to be alone. And Nightwing, of all people that have stepped out of /his/ shadow? He should know what that means, and back the hell off."

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Carrie Kelley follows Kitty's suggestion for a good scritch for Lockheed with a wink of thanks given. Though yes... the topic does get far more tense. She'd seen Jason upset before but not to this level. A deep breath is drawn, and exhaled slowly as he starts off insulting Nightwing. There's a tension to her as she clenches her jaw to keep from responding. And then?

"He left his cat with me to take care of. As for the rest?" She stalks across the room, eyes narrowing as she peers up at him. "I don't give a damn. I'm new to the 'family', I don't have all these issues and hangups you all do. If someone I know is hurting? I check in on them. I would do the same for you."

Turning away without waiting for a response from him, she speaks to Kitty. "Seems I've worn out my welcome for now." An apologetic smile is given and she asks, "Catch up later? I want to hear all about this job and dress at some point."

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde sees the touch isn't doing much. Or not as much as she'd like at least. Kitty leans against him gently, her head against the back of Jason's shoulder, letting him feel her body resting forward against him as well. Just sort of clinging to the one shoulder lightly.

The brunette looks up and over to Carrie, not having met eyes while they were discussing things. As if to be as nonintrusive as she could be despite being in the room. "Sure. We definitely have some new things to talk about," Kitty agrees towards Carrie. She moves her other hand to give a little wave towards the redhead before looking back to Jason to see how he's doing, emotionally.

Red Hood has posed:
"Next time, don't be the errand girl." Jason says. Half-jest, half-warning. "I don't mind you visiting, Carrie. But if he wants information, he can come get it. Robin's going to be fine. You know his lineage. You know his training. And he's got a dragon with him. He's a step ahead of where any of us were at this time." he points out as he sets down the can of soda.

Kitty's glanced aside to. He knows he's in foul spirits. And he's not going to make her stay here and deal with it. There's a momentary squeeze of her hand, then he releases it in case she wants to pursue her friend and give him time to brood and cool down.

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Carrie Kelley nods toward Kitty with a reassuring smile. "We do. Take care for now," she offers as she turns to walk for the exit tossing a wave over her shoulder at the pair. "I wasn't, actually. Told you I was going myself to begin with. I'll keep it in mind though." Brothers. UGH. Boys were always so pig headed...

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde's eyes send a quiet message of support and friendship over to Carrie even if she stays silent while the other woman leaves. Once Jason releases her hand, Kitty does exactly what Jason expected she might.

Well, if he were smart, anyway.

She moves around to the front of him, and presses in against him. Her arms going about his body to hug herself to him. There's a moment's pause and then she's taking hold of his body armor, removing it from him by phasing it through his body, setting it to the side. He should be getting used to that by now. "Much better," she says as she can hug herself to him without feeling the armor between them. "How you doing?" she asks him softly.