Post by Batman on Jul 30, 2016 7:35:40 GMT -5
A woman’s eloquent voice narrated “The future is today, ladies and gentlemen. Cybernetic technology is thought to be science fiction and horror but, today we take a remarkable step into human evolution. Human and Machine join together to create a remarkable individual. I present to you Jacob Chandler the first evolutionary man of B-High Advancements.” The man stepped out into the public seen - a convention hall full of people saw the man with otherwise a human appearance with cybernetic metal places upon his cheek bones and above his eyebrows. A fiery glow originating from his neck underneath his skin and three USB outlet plugs within the man on his left and right wrists mirrored on the back of his wrist as well shaped with tree plates in a triangle formation. At his temples were also a set of metal plates that quickly unfolded along with his eyebrow and cheek attachments to reveal a sunglass visor that conceal his eyes. [c]
“Imagine this kind of technology for navigating through stormy conditions. For identifying children running into the street as they play. Enhancing human interaction and improving your durability whenever participating in a sport or while involved in a car accident. The future is today. B-High Advancements.” The audience would applaud and cheer as Tim Drake stared lazily laying on his back in his bedroom at Wayne Manner, his laptop sat upon his stomach as he was dressed in nothing but his sweat pants and a white T-shirt. Alfred passed by the door and examined Tim’s room as a mess. “Master Drake, I would ask that you clean this-erm…pig style at once.” “Sure, Alfred…Just not today…A little tired. Steph , Cass, and I were busy last night wrapping up that whole syndicate ring…” Tim yawned. “And I felt like relaxing today. Besides I’m way ahead in my classes.” “Hm, a shame you’re behind in your house routine…” “Don’t worry Alfie, I’ll take care of it.”
Stargirl Who knew that buses were capable of the most asshole-ish behavior known to the teenage mind. How could the yellow and rusted tin can, an unseemingly reliable source of transportation, sputter it's last polluted breath outside of the Gotham City Museum of Art during a mandatory class visit? It had been an impossibly long day of empty droning about facts she couldn't retain, mainly because they were simply not important and were, quite actually, useless in her mind. A scowl was ripe on the typically easy-going blonde's visage as she glared at the glass as she trailed after her classmates along the darkening sidewalk, her phone twisting endlessly in her palm with her underlying restlessness. The teacher had arranged for the group to walk down a few blocks to the nearest hotel, where they will stay overnight in their alphabetically assigned rooms before hopefully getting shipped back to normalcy in the morning. And the mixed blessing of her evening was, being the last and /c
Stargirl odd-numbered pupil with the surname of 'Whitmore', Courtney got to spend her night alone. It wasn't that she minded her privacy. Oh no, she just didn't know how in the hell she was going to pass at least another twelve hours in a confined space without going insane. Luckily for her... she was in Gotham City, the home of shadows and the characters who thrilled in their depths. Her previous frown shifted into a half-grin, blue eyes lighting with mischief. Well well. She'll have access to all the new channels in about ten minutes and she'll have her pick of fun for the night. There was a new spring in the cheerleader's step as she hurried to catch up to the sluggish herd of youth, a newfound eagerness to begin her forced isolation. /e
The crime scene outside the B-High Advancement facility was that of Doctor Leslie O’Reilly, apparently jumped out of the enormous building and fell flat against the ground making her cause of death outside of any apparent physical condition to be unknown. As Tim found this out upon the news stream he sat up and ran his hand through his scalp shortened hair. “Whoa, I need to check this out.” [R} This is kind of a cool story to look into…despite the tragedy. There aren’t many in the tech-geek world who would soak up this kind of thing. B-High advancements was the way of the future - like Terminator kind of stuff. The sci-fi elements you see in movies. The kind of stuff that makes Cyborg mass produced. Normally I would call Steph or Cass to help in a case…Maybe I should call Dick or Terry? Damian? Er…he’s still upset that I wiped American Ninja Warrior from his hard drive with my experimental virus.] [c]
Red Robin would be out on the rooftops in minutes swinging from his grappling hook. [R} I mean, it just seems like some days I’m the only one trying to keep this family together. I’m a cancer; it’s my job to look after the welfare of other people’s emotions.] Red Robin looked over the chalk marked crime scene that was now evacuated of cops. [R} Hey Dick, Barb didn’t mean it when she said that. Bruce, Stephanie didn’t leave batclaw in the freezer, that was Jason and he did that because of an experiment. Try keeping track of all these kids and fight crime…AND deal with college classes…and by deal with college classes, I mean deal with the social hierarchy of college because the work is easy…dealing with classmates isn’t.] Red Robin was kneeling before the crime scene his cape sprawled out behind him as his black helmet curved and fit to the shape of his head. Detective vision would activate [c]
And allow him to begin reconstructing the crime scene. [R} The point of impact suggests the person was thrown or they were perhaps carrying something heavy. There are no objects in the area, so what happened?]
Stargirl A more discerning individual would have taken a pause at how easy it was to find her flavor of danger for her impromptu evening 'out'. Garbed appropriately to fit the fairly new name of Stargirl, after having been the Star-Spangled Kid for her more formative years, the girl made haste to meet her fated distraction outside of the B-High Advancement Facility. If the news report rang more truth than fiction, a sudden and unexpected death occurred tonight and the causation was yet to be discovered. "Not too flashy on the headlines, nothing too gruesome and hopefully just villainous enough to get me until dawn," she murmured, scrunching her face as she silently gave the dead scientist an automatic apology for her callousness. It wasn't her intention and she did have every desire to look into this untimely demise, whether it be intentionally murderous or accidentally tragic. The flight was swift with her Cosmic Staff in hand, almost too much so as she brought herself down along the sunny {C
Stargirl yellow crime scene tape that kept the gawkers at bay. She liked the color of the flimsy plastic, the warm yellow that was irrepressibly bold. "Shut your jaw, kid," she pointed to a boy who was fumbling with a gadget to aim at, in some sad attempt to capture a potential grisly detail behind her. He had to be her age and her brows lifted in question. "I'm going to remember your face, just in case your sordid fascination leads to you becoming the next Zodiac Killer." Pointing her index and middle fingers at her eyes before jabbing them in his startled direction, Stargirl gave an expressive eyeroll and eased to the other side of the fragile barrier. It was then that she spotted a male crouching on the ground in his own heroic gear, giving her a new direction as she quietly made her way to his side. Without introductions, Stargirl knelt beside him in her patriotic shorts and long-sleeved crop top. A bright flash of teeth could be seen despite the later hour as she smiled her greeting. {C
Stargirl "Hi. Whodunit, Miss Scarlet?" Borrowing the title from a popular murder mystery board game, she dubbed him the one that wore red. It wasn't her fault the character happened to be a woman. {E
[R} There’s serious inconsistency here…Recalibrating the drop from that height the fall would range about 30 miles per hour at 140 pounds…but the Doctor was 120 and fell at 80 miles per hour…Something’s not--] Red Robin would hear a girls voice and a smile crept upon his face when he smiled to look at Steph--“Hi. Whodunit, Miss Scarlet?” came at him from a blonde girl in spandex. “Who are you supposed to be? An X-men?” Red Robin stood up revealing his height of 6’0” and his frame of 170 lbs of muscle. His shirt was made of a dark red fabric with matching titanium plates much like Batman’s outfit. A bandolier wrapped around his chest with an X shape with the center having the symbol of Red Robin; a Yellow bird’s head surrounded by black insignia, his black cape had inner red layers that allowed his cape to spread apart and create ‘feathers’ [c]
Upon his lower back was a holster for his folding staff - a gift from Lady Shiva that was incredibly cherished by Red Robin as defeating let alone being taught by Lady Shiva was a great honor and great experience. When he caught Stargirl in his vision he wasn’t sure what to make of her. She reminded him of Steph, which was weird to comparing a stranger to his girlfriend. “Uhh…Is that a -Clue- reference? Everyone knows its Mister Green, it’s always Mister Green.” Red Robin gave her a soft smile taking note that she had to be about two or three years younger than him. “It looks like the vic was thrown or dropped with an air conditioner attached to their ankle.”
Stargirl So, he was tall. Ate his Wheaties, probably had a dented and well-used punching bag in his bedroom that he affectionately named Verna or something of that ilk. The blue-eyed Californian gave him a quick perusal from her still lowered position by where the body had fallen, quietly in-taking some details to retrain for possible future encounters. "I mean, Wolverine is pretty and all, but he should sue his manicurist. That bitch is out to ruin him. His toys are too dull." She crossed her forearms and splayed her fingers wide, miming the X-Man's claws. "It's a waste on him anyway, if you ask me. Boys, boys fight only to win. Winning doesn't always require maximum effort." She stood slowly, a natural languidness that came from growing up in the west, as her slim body unfurled into a standing position beside his taller stature as a shrug eased off one shoulder. "Now girls? Girls fight to survive. I could show him a thing or two." A testing swipe at the air with her left hand {C
Stargirl curled, pretending to snag and rip with delicate precision. Soon enough, though, Stargirl dropped her hand and laughed winsomely. "You're Miss Scarlet for now, kid," she used a generalized term, though she was aware she was the younger of the pair. "Until I see you turn green. Or you give me a name, whichever happens first." Because she was here for a reason, one that was darker than her easy jesting could cover as she made her presence known, her gaze finally found what brought her out in the first place. Or rather, what wasn't there. The grim splatter of blood made the cement look oily and the chalk stood out in startling contrast. "Is it certain that she died due to the impact with the ground, or could this still be a potential cover-up? Have you made it up to the room itself?" Stargirl gave him a sideways glance at her last question. One of her follies, perhaps, was that she was not known for her sleuthing. Youthful impatience often got in the way of her studying the details, {C
Stargirl as action was always a more desirable time spent in her mind. {E
“It’s Red Robin, Ms…or-auh…Star spangled girl.” Red Robin took note of her and then shook his head. “I was gathering those details just now. We can sneak up to the office room now.” Red Robin armed his grappling hook and aimed it towards the roof and shot it out. A loud pop of the grappling gun and friendly enough extended his hand to her. “Need a lift?” [R} She seems friendly enough.] If she was willing he would reel them both up otherwise he would see her up at the office room where they would see it was a typical office with nice ivory textured carpeting a picture of the doctor’s family upon the table. Motivational pictures upon the walls and a computer that seemed to be turned on. [R} Hello…just my area of expertise…] Red Robin sat down on the computer and began attempting to login by hacking the computer. “So…Do you do this kind of thing often?”
Stargirl Her imagination lacked the details that came with experience; the girl was new to the field of detective work, as it was vastly more entertaining to smack around a belligerent baddie than to go digging around in their minds, their motives for the horrid things they may or may not have committed. Stargirl had taken Red Robin up on his offer for a lift up toward the office, despite that she had the ability to fly with the aid of her staff, and had begun to move freely around the room after their arrival while he made his way to the technological cluster on the large desk. Might as well stay on friendly terms with the local heroes if possible, she thought idly, tugging lightly at the corner of a manila folder that seemed to have been haphazardly discarded to the surface of a bookshelf. "It's Stargirl now," she corrected belatedly, sending a glance his way from where she stood. "And this may be my first murder where I didn't have an obvious villain present."
“Stargirl huh?” Red Robin spoke with amusement and perhaps a small crush that he was trying to bury. [R} Gosh, she looks like Steph…Not as down and sad as her though…Which is assuring to know she’s not Steph.] “Well that’s a cool. I’ll show you the ropes…Right now we’re looking for something out of the ordinary. Motive for suicide or proof that someone killed him...Possibly wanted him dead. I don’t know…it’s what we look for in cases like this.” Red Robin searched for a few documents when he found something that stood out. “Emergency information…Hm.” Opening the document he began to read through information regarding H.I.V.E, a secret research organization focused on experimenting on metahumans. “Well then! This gives us a motive. The doctor was involved in a H.I.V.E operation!”
Stargirl "H.I.V.E. operation? Does it specify?" Stargirl pinched the folder into her grasp more solidly, bringing the unmarked file with her as she moved toward Red Robin. She came to pause by the side of his chair, leaning over to peer at the monitor and the scribble of words that denoted his exclamation to be true. "And recently? It would be less of a motive if it was, like, forever ago." Sure, the girl had her moments of maturity where her definite youth blurred and she became more of the hero she sought to become, though her personal idiolect was that of a teenager with the unnecessary additions of words like 'like'. Restless knuckles rapped against her leg, waiting for the answers that would hopefully draw them toward the conclusion that might involve saving the day. Research and the proverbial pencil-pushing activities? Totally not her scene. "I would say that I don't got all day, but it's night and you might not like me if this lasts until daylight breaks." A quick-silver grin --
Stargirl flashed across her features, though the taunt corners that bracketed her lips hinted at her edginess. /end.
“--Well, in a normal case you would be right. But H.I.V.E isn’t a normal case. These people hold grudges and these people don’t want any trace of their operations. The Doctor might’ve worked for them years ago without even knowing it. I mean, he was smart enough to put a log right here in his emergency info, so it’s very possible it was ‘forever ago’ as you say.” He took note of her eagerness to rush in and deal with the situation. “Well, in the past H.I.V.E typically dealt with Superhumans or cybernetics…I suppose we could have a look around. This thing says he was working on a cybernetic project 4 days ago. We should look around the labs of this place for something cyborgy or robotic.” [c]
He popped a flash drive into the computer and began to copy the files he needed and then pocketed the flash drive. “Evidence for our case. You can’t put away the bad guys without proper evidence.” He smiled at her and then began walking towards the large brown door that was incredibly thick leading into a gray hallway with a dark blue rug. The place looked like a dull laboratory or office building with doors on each side of the hallway - each leading to a new office or a laboratory for test experiments.
Stargirl "Safe bet is that we've gotta go deeper into the building to find all of the doc's dirty little secrets. People tend to think that burying and hiding are synonymous and all that jazz," The female gave an easy shrug of her shoulders as she followed in his directing wake, giving the hallway to the right a side-long look before turning her back to it and wandering after Red. He seemed to know what he was doing, even if the destination was unclear. Stargirl wasn't worried and leaned more toward inviting danger to try to lay a finger on her. To taunt it, coyly playing the cat-and-mouse ploy with the capricious nature of fate and villaintry. "I forgot to ask if this was your first rodeo, with no victim and no murderer?" The shadows slid along the walls as their footfalls were softened by the carpet, though it sounded loud to her ears in the absence of activity around them. Silence tended to unnerve her and the girl had little issue with filling the void with the sound of her own sassy --
Stargirl remarks. He had yet to tell her to shut-up, so perhaps this being nice thing was something she had enough patience to pull off on the occasional crime-solving case. /end.
He took note of the design and layout, he wondered what kind of information they would stumble across - equally he was curious as to what powers Stargirl possessed that made her so brazenly confident, it wasn’t like she was the daughter of Superman, was she? Red Robin pulled off his belt a Cryptographic sequencer - a tetris-shaped device that looked like a small horizontal bar with a vertical handle on the right side of the horizontal bar. His thumbs aligned with yellow pads that he circled to control the devices options. A small projector would create a 3D display that would look scrambled to Stargirl, but to Red Robin’s cowl it gave him information regarding the computer message and what the layout of the building looked like. Stopping at the cybernetwork laboratory, Red Robin waved the Cryptographic sequencer before a keypad and promptly it gave the right combination code to open it. [c]
Inside they would see a blue room with white floor panels and an upright exo-skeleton made of cybernetic parts just idly standing within a display case. Wires and exposed parts of his body made of what looked like steel and titanium. “Whoa, holy terminator…”
Stargirl "This is where nerds are born," the sunny blonde remarked after a long pause, in a droll tone of voice. In truth, technology wasn't her strong suit, but then again she was a firm believer that if it was more interesting, she'd take a note. For one as seemingly carefree as Stargirl, she had a proclivity toward destructive behavior. But what else is a teenage girl to do when she's powered by starlight? Binge-watch Back to the Future on Netflix while text-flirting with the cutest boy on her phone? Nah, man. This kid was gonna crush things. With a flick of her wrist, she sent the cornsilk curtain over a shoulder and strut confidently into the laboratory and straight up to the display case that held the exoskeleton thing. "Where's your nerd leader, huh buddy?" Nimble fingers tapped a light rhythm on the glass, peering up at the top of the form. "We sorta wanna know, like, if he's a murderer. And uh... where the body went!" A grin flashed over her tanned features, sending the expression --
Stargirl over her shoulder to share in her humor with good ol' Red Riding Hood.
Red Robin listened to commentary about nerds, he wasn't sure if he should be offended by it, but he knew that people had various ways of couping with the deadly nature of their work. "Yeah, this isn't my first adventure..." Tim said, answering her question from earlier. He began walking towards a computer where he began typing to look over the lab files. "That is apparently a prototype model...That would be...kind of scary if they used a robot to kill someone." The doors to the room would open and a scientist would enter to see the two teenaged combatants. "What are you doing here?" He fumbled to reach into his pocket to pull out a key ring with an alarm. Pressing it the building lights would flash orange and black. Red Robin stood up and pulled his bo staff from his lower back. "That's usually the sign of a guilty person!" Robin explained to Stargirl just before the ceiling would open up and the scientist would speak. [c]
"You've stumbled upon our Hive and now you'll suffer the same fate as the late doctor!" The dropping out of the ceiling was a large Bee-like cyborg with plates colored gold and black. Bright yellow eyes and cybernetic veins trancing up its body to give it a muscular humanoid appearance. It stood a towering 6'5" with a Jetpack mounted onto its back with yellow thrusters indicating its method of propulsion and flight. It wasn't armed with any weapons and as it swung its arm to slap Red Robin and Stargirl, it's movements were slow due to the hunk of metal weighing down it's skeleton. Red Robin would drop to the ground and kick it's leg only for the leg to refuse budging and a loud thunk! could be heard as Robin's metal boots clashed against the leg's metal.
Stargirl Her type of snarky repartee meant she was blatantly pressing her thoughts to her tongue, verbalizing them exactly as such. Her humor was an acquired taste, but it didn't bother her that she wasn't everyone's cuppa tea. So when he exclaimed over the fact the newcomer was acting suspiciously, the California-native couldn't help the bright burst of laughter while her ocean blues avidly traced at the robot's movement in their direction. "Oh, good! I thought those," a wide gesture swung in a circle toward the new technicolor lighting, "where just our cue to dance. I like to break a sweat." Obviously she knew what it meant, but her quip had a need to be freed. Her left fist came up and her thumb's tip brushed against her smirk, elongating her lips as it skimmed. "Let's dance, transformer." Stargirl pivoted to miss the sluggish swing of the metallic limb, twirling up behind the other as she flipped her Cosmic Staff into her dominate hand and gave it a toss, sliding her frame onto it before --
Stargirl shooting up in the air to hover several feet above ground. Tall enough that she could peer down at the robot, glancing back at the mysterious scientist that still loitered frenetically near the door. "Lemme go grab that one real quick, I have a feeling we may need him." A promising smirk locked in place as she zipped over to the adult with the intention of staying any hopes for retreat. Can't have answers from the tinman, but surely this one could rub two braincells together and give the crime-fighting duo their necessary answers!
The scientist watched as she approached. "Your nosey friend will be panned cake in a moment and YOU are worried about me?!" Red Robin flipped and rolled about the floor dodging the attacks from the machine, as it's boots clunked against the floor, Robin attached a snapflash to the back of it's leg, onto it's calf. He tumbled to the front of the machine and tossed another snapflash to it's chest. The first snapflash turned red and began counting down, while the second glowed orange and released a thruster to throw it off balance before the red exploded. This would throw the machine onto it's back only for a moment. The machine's jetpack ignited and it took to hovering, its arm would transform into a black beam gun with a yellow laser. The beam would eradicate the ground as it shot towards Red Robin, whom barely dodged it's blast with a backflip.
Stargirl A brow rose high beneath her blue domino mask as she jerked a thumb over her shoulder. "Have you met that kid? His demeanor screams of competence." It wouldn't do to just admit that she hardly knew the male herself, but she also doubt that the lumbering pile of trash that was trying to squish him would have adequate responses to their inquiries. While her staff gave her some abilities, it was her belt that hugged her curved hipbones that enhanced her natural talents. With cat-like grace, she flipped off her ride and landed by the doctor, swinging out a booted heel to trip the other should the foot connect with her arm. With her asserted strength and if he hadn't been prepared for the tumbling blow, it would knock him down and potentially out. Long enough for her to go after tall dark and shiny weaponry at her back. Assuming that this one and down kick would have to do, for now, the girl spun and began to sprint back to the fray. "Hello~! Did ya miss me?" Her voice chimed impishly --
Stargirl just as she did an agile duck and sliding between the robotic legs, twisting until her spine touched the floor with her arm shoving up above her with her staff in its grip. In that moment, a force field flung from the spear-like tip, all aglow. "Mm, I love when it's both pretty and useful." A swift glance told her that Red Robin seemed none the worse for wear, also blocked momentarily with her screen of protection. "Oh. You're fine. Cool. But I'm still gonna tell everyone that I saved your ass from Bumblebee after this." Another grin. Did this girl ever worry?
Red Robin flipped a series of times to avoid being blasted, he watched as Stargirl knocked out the scientist. As she raised her forcefield to protect. "Sounds good to me!" Red Robin stated shooting out a grappling hook to wrap around the Hive Drone, Red Robin swung through the air and moved to kick the drone from behind, attaching another snapflash to it's thrusters. He back flipped off and retracted his grappling line landing on the floor the explosive would force the drone to crash into the ground before it began plating its hands onto the floor before rolling onto its back and firing a projected beam at Stargirl, the blast powerful enough to throw her backwards and damage her shield's strength.
Stargirl "Whoa buddy!" The iridescent film that kept her protected from blasts gave a glittering blink, singling that that blast was strong enough to mess with her star power. "Yeah, I'm not cool with that." Her upper lip curled in a snarl as she gave a jerk of her staff, dropping the shield to return fire. A colorful array of star-based projections shot out of her cosmic weapon, powerful in their own right as they arrowed in a thin arch toward the metallic adversary. "Don't you know better than to mess with a girl's accessories?" Her typically laid back gaze was narrowed, and sharply, as she slowly advanced and sent more blasts in sporadic bursts.
“Imagine this kind of technology for navigating through stormy conditions. For identifying children running into the street as they play. Enhancing human interaction and improving your durability whenever participating in a sport or while involved in a car accident. The future is today. B-High Advancements.” The audience would applaud and cheer as Tim Drake stared lazily laying on his back in his bedroom at Wayne Manner, his laptop sat upon his stomach as he was dressed in nothing but his sweat pants and a white T-shirt. Alfred passed by the door and examined Tim’s room as a mess. “Master Drake, I would ask that you clean this-erm…pig style at once.” “Sure, Alfred…Just not today…A little tired. Steph , Cass, and I were busy last night wrapping up that whole syndicate ring…” Tim yawned. “And I felt like relaxing today. Besides I’m way ahead in my classes.” “Hm, a shame you’re behind in your house routine…” “Don’t worry Alfie, I’ll take care of it.”
Stargirl Who knew that buses were capable of the most asshole-ish behavior known to the teenage mind. How could the yellow and rusted tin can, an unseemingly reliable source of transportation, sputter it's last polluted breath outside of the Gotham City Museum of Art during a mandatory class visit? It had been an impossibly long day of empty droning about facts she couldn't retain, mainly because they were simply not important and were, quite actually, useless in her mind. A scowl was ripe on the typically easy-going blonde's visage as she glared at the glass as she trailed after her classmates along the darkening sidewalk, her phone twisting endlessly in her palm with her underlying restlessness. The teacher had arranged for the group to walk down a few blocks to the nearest hotel, where they will stay overnight in their alphabetically assigned rooms before hopefully getting shipped back to normalcy in the morning. And the mixed blessing of her evening was, being the last and /c
Stargirl odd-numbered pupil with the surname of 'Whitmore', Courtney got to spend her night alone. It wasn't that she minded her privacy. Oh no, she just didn't know how in the hell she was going to pass at least another twelve hours in a confined space without going insane. Luckily for her... she was in Gotham City, the home of shadows and the characters who thrilled in their depths. Her previous frown shifted into a half-grin, blue eyes lighting with mischief. Well well. She'll have access to all the new channels in about ten minutes and she'll have her pick of fun for the night. There was a new spring in the cheerleader's step as she hurried to catch up to the sluggish herd of youth, a newfound eagerness to begin her forced isolation. /e
The crime scene outside the B-High Advancement facility was that of Doctor Leslie O’Reilly, apparently jumped out of the enormous building and fell flat against the ground making her cause of death outside of any apparent physical condition to be unknown. As Tim found this out upon the news stream he sat up and ran his hand through his scalp shortened hair. “Whoa, I need to check this out.” [R} This is kind of a cool story to look into…despite the tragedy. There aren’t many in the tech-geek world who would soak up this kind of thing. B-High advancements was the way of the future - like Terminator kind of stuff. The sci-fi elements you see in movies. The kind of stuff that makes Cyborg mass produced. Normally I would call Steph or Cass to help in a case…Maybe I should call Dick or Terry? Damian? Er…he’s still upset that I wiped American Ninja Warrior from his hard drive with my experimental virus.] [c]
Red Robin would be out on the rooftops in minutes swinging from his grappling hook. [R} I mean, it just seems like some days I’m the only one trying to keep this family together. I’m a cancer; it’s my job to look after the welfare of other people’s emotions.] Red Robin looked over the chalk marked crime scene that was now evacuated of cops. [R} Hey Dick, Barb didn’t mean it when she said that. Bruce, Stephanie didn’t leave batclaw in the freezer, that was Jason and he did that because of an experiment. Try keeping track of all these kids and fight crime…AND deal with college classes…and by deal with college classes, I mean deal with the social hierarchy of college because the work is easy…dealing with classmates isn’t.] Red Robin was kneeling before the crime scene his cape sprawled out behind him as his black helmet curved and fit to the shape of his head. Detective vision would activate [c]
And allow him to begin reconstructing the crime scene. [R} The point of impact suggests the person was thrown or they were perhaps carrying something heavy. There are no objects in the area, so what happened?]
Stargirl A more discerning individual would have taken a pause at how easy it was to find her flavor of danger for her impromptu evening 'out'. Garbed appropriately to fit the fairly new name of Stargirl, after having been the Star-Spangled Kid for her more formative years, the girl made haste to meet her fated distraction outside of the B-High Advancement Facility. If the news report rang more truth than fiction, a sudden and unexpected death occurred tonight and the causation was yet to be discovered. "Not too flashy on the headlines, nothing too gruesome and hopefully just villainous enough to get me until dawn," she murmured, scrunching her face as she silently gave the dead scientist an automatic apology for her callousness. It wasn't her intention and she did have every desire to look into this untimely demise, whether it be intentionally murderous or accidentally tragic. The flight was swift with her Cosmic Staff in hand, almost too much so as she brought herself down along the sunny {C
Stargirl yellow crime scene tape that kept the gawkers at bay. She liked the color of the flimsy plastic, the warm yellow that was irrepressibly bold. "Shut your jaw, kid," she pointed to a boy who was fumbling with a gadget to aim at, in some sad attempt to capture a potential grisly detail behind her. He had to be her age and her brows lifted in question. "I'm going to remember your face, just in case your sordid fascination leads to you becoming the next Zodiac Killer." Pointing her index and middle fingers at her eyes before jabbing them in his startled direction, Stargirl gave an expressive eyeroll and eased to the other side of the fragile barrier. It was then that she spotted a male crouching on the ground in his own heroic gear, giving her a new direction as she quietly made her way to his side. Without introductions, Stargirl knelt beside him in her patriotic shorts and long-sleeved crop top. A bright flash of teeth could be seen despite the later hour as she smiled her greeting. {C
Stargirl "Hi. Whodunit, Miss Scarlet?" Borrowing the title from a popular murder mystery board game, she dubbed him the one that wore red. It wasn't her fault the character happened to be a woman. {E
[R} There’s serious inconsistency here…Recalibrating the drop from that height the fall would range about 30 miles per hour at 140 pounds…but the Doctor was 120 and fell at 80 miles per hour…Something’s not--] Red Robin would hear a girls voice and a smile crept upon his face when he smiled to look at Steph--“Hi. Whodunit, Miss Scarlet?” came at him from a blonde girl in spandex. “Who are you supposed to be? An X-men?” Red Robin stood up revealing his height of 6’0” and his frame of 170 lbs of muscle. His shirt was made of a dark red fabric with matching titanium plates much like Batman’s outfit. A bandolier wrapped around his chest with an X shape with the center having the symbol of Red Robin; a Yellow bird’s head surrounded by black insignia, his black cape had inner red layers that allowed his cape to spread apart and create ‘feathers’ [c]
Upon his lower back was a holster for his folding staff - a gift from Lady Shiva that was incredibly cherished by Red Robin as defeating let alone being taught by Lady Shiva was a great honor and great experience. When he caught Stargirl in his vision he wasn’t sure what to make of her. She reminded him of Steph, which was weird to comparing a stranger to his girlfriend. “Uhh…Is that a -Clue- reference? Everyone knows its Mister Green, it’s always Mister Green.” Red Robin gave her a soft smile taking note that she had to be about two or three years younger than him. “It looks like the vic was thrown or dropped with an air conditioner attached to their ankle.”
Stargirl So, he was tall. Ate his Wheaties, probably had a dented and well-used punching bag in his bedroom that he affectionately named Verna or something of that ilk. The blue-eyed Californian gave him a quick perusal from her still lowered position by where the body had fallen, quietly in-taking some details to retrain for possible future encounters. "I mean, Wolverine is pretty and all, but he should sue his manicurist. That bitch is out to ruin him. His toys are too dull." She crossed her forearms and splayed her fingers wide, miming the X-Man's claws. "It's a waste on him anyway, if you ask me. Boys, boys fight only to win. Winning doesn't always require maximum effort." She stood slowly, a natural languidness that came from growing up in the west, as her slim body unfurled into a standing position beside his taller stature as a shrug eased off one shoulder. "Now girls? Girls fight to survive. I could show him a thing or two." A testing swipe at the air with her left hand {C
Stargirl curled, pretending to snag and rip with delicate precision. Soon enough, though, Stargirl dropped her hand and laughed winsomely. "You're Miss Scarlet for now, kid," she used a generalized term, though she was aware she was the younger of the pair. "Until I see you turn green. Or you give me a name, whichever happens first." Because she was here for a reason, one that was darker than her easy jesting could cover as she made her presence known, her gaze finally found what brought her out in the first place. Or rather, what wasn't there. The grim splatter of blood made the cement look oily and the chalk stood out in startling contrast. "Is it certain that she died due to the impact with the ground, or could this still be a potential cover-up? Have you made it up to the room itself?" Stargirl gave him a sideways glance at her last question. One of her follies, perhaps, was that she was not known for her sleuthing. Youthful impatience often got in the way of her studying the details, {C
Stargirl as action was always a more desirable time spent in her mind. {E
“It’s Red Robin, Ms…or-auh…Star spangled girl.” Red Robin took note of her and then shook his head. “I was gathering those details just now. We can sneak up to the office room now.” Red Robin armed his grappling hook and aimed it towards the roof and shot it out. A loud pop of the grappling gun and friendly enough extended his hand to her. “Need a lift?” [R} She seems friendly enough.] If she was willing he would reel them both up otherwise he would see her up at the office room where they would see it was a typical office with nice ivory textured carpeting a picture of the doctor’s family upon the table. Motivational pictures upon the walls and a computer that seemed to be turned on. [R} Hello…just my area of expertise…] Red Robin sat down on the computer and began attempting to login by hacking the computer. “So…Do you do this kind of thing often?”
Stargirl Her imagination lacked the details that came with experience; the girl was new to the field of detective work, as it was vastly more entertaining to smack around a belligerent baddie than to go digging around in their minds, their motives for the horrid things they may or may not have committed. Stargirl had taken Red Robin up on his offer for a lift up toward the office, despite that she had the ability to fly with the aid of her staff, and had begun to move freely around the room after their arrival while he made his way to the technological cluster on the large desk. Might as well stay on friendly terms with the local heroes if possible, she thought idly, tugging lightly at the corner of a manila folder that seemed to have been haphazardly discarded to the surface of a bookshelf. "It's Stargirl now," she corrected belatedly, sending a glance his way from where she stood. "And this may be my first murder where I didn't have an obvious villain present."
“Stargirl huh?” Red Robin spoke with amusement and perhaps a small crush that he was trying to bury. [R} Gosh, she looks like Steph…Not as down and sad as her though…Which is assuring to know she’s not Steph.] “Well that’s a cool. I’ll show you the ropes…Right now we’re looking for something out of the ordinary. Motive for suicide or proof that someone killed him...Possibly wanted him dead. I don’t know…it’s what we look for in cases like this.” Red Robin searched for a few documents when he found something that stood out. “Emergency information…Hm.” Opening the document he began to read through information regarding H.I.V.E, a secret research organization focused on experimenting on metahumans. “Well then! This gives us a motive. The doctor was involved in a H.I.V.E operation!”
Stargirl "H.I.V.E. operation? Does it specify?" Stargirl pinched the folder into her grasp more solidly, bringing the unmarked file with her as she moved toward Red Robin. She came to pause by the side of his chair, leaning over to peer at the monitor and the scribble of words that denoted his exclamation to be true. "And recently? It would be less of a motive if it was, like, forever ago." Sure, the girl had her moments of maturity where her definite youth blurred and she became more of the hero she sought to become, though her personal idiolect was that of a teenager with the unnecessary additions of words like 'like'. Restless knuckles rapped against her leg, waiting for the answers that would hopefully draw them toward the conclusion that might involve saving the day. Research and the proverbial pencil-pushing activities? Totally not her scene. "I would say that I don't got all day, but it's night and you might not like me if this lasts until daylight breaks." A quick-silver grin --
Stargirl flashed across her features, though the taunt corners that bracketed her lips hinted at her edginess. /end.
“--Well, in a normal case you would be right. But H.I.V.E isn’t a normal case. These people hold grudges and these people don’t want any trace of their operations. The Doctor might’ve worked for them years ago without even knowing it. I mean, he was smart enough to put a log right here in his emergency info, so it’s very possible it was ‘forever ago’ as you say.” He took note of her eagerness to rush in and deal with the situation. “Well, in the past H.I.V.E typically dealt with Superhumans or cybernetics…I suppose we could have a look around. This thing says he was working on a cybernetic project 4 days ago. We should look around the labs of this place for something cyborgy or robotic.” [c]
He popped a flash drive into the computer and began to copy the files he needed and then pocketed the flash drive. “Evidence for our case. You can’t put away the bad guys without proper evidence.” He smiled at her and then began walking towards the large brown door that was incredibly thick leading into a gray hallway with a dark blue rug. The place looked like a dull laboratory or office building with doors on each side of the hallway - each leading to a new office or a laboratory for test experiments.
Stargirl "Safe bet is that we've gotta go deeper into the building to find all of the doc's dirty little secrets. People tend to think that burying and hiding are synonymous and all that jazz," The female gave an easy shrug of her shoulders as she followed in his directing wake, giving the hallway to the right a side-long look before turning her back to it and wandering after Red. He seemed to know what he was doing, even if the destination was unclear. Stargirl wasn't worried and leaned more toward inviting danger to try to lay a finger on her. To taunt it, coyly playing the cat-and-mouse ploy with the capricious nature of fate and villaintry. "I forgot to ask if this was your first rodeo, with no victim and no murderer?" The shadows slid along the walls as their footfalls were softened by the carpet, though it sounded loud to her ears in the absence of activity around them. Silence tended to unnerve her and the girl had little issue with filling the void with the sound of her own sassy --
Stargirl remarks. He had yet to tell her to shut-up, so perhaps this being nice thing was something she had enough patience to pull off on the occasional crime-solving case. /end.
He took note of the design and layout, he wondered what kind of information they would stumble across - equally he was curious as to what powers Stargirl possessed that made her so brazenly confident, it wasn’t like she was the daughter of Superman, was she? Red Robin pulled off his belt a Cryptographic sequencer - a tetris-shaped device that looked like a small horizontal bar with a vertical handle on the right side of the horizontal bar. His thumbs aligned with yellow pads that he circled to control the devices options. A small projector would create a 3D display that would look scrambled to Stargirl, but to Red Robin’s cowl it gave him information regarding the computer message and what the layout of the building looked like. Stopping at the cybernetwork laboratory, Red Robin waved the Cryptographic sequencer before a keypad and promptly it gave the right combination code to open it. [c]
Inside they would see a blue room with white floor panels and an upright exo-skeleton made of cybernetic parts just idly standing within a display case. Wires and exposed parts of his body made of what looked like steel and titanium. “Whoa, holy terminator…”
Stargirl "This is where nerds are born," the sunny blonde remarked after a long pause, in a droll tone of voice. In truth, technology wasn't her strong suit, but then again she was a firm believer that if it was more interesting, she'd take a note. For one as seemingly carefree as Stargirl, she had a proclivity toward destructive behavior. But what else is a teenage girl to do when she's powered by starlight? Binge-watch Back to the Future on Netflix while text-flirting with the cutest boy on her phone? Nah, man. This kid was gonna crush things. With a flick of her wrist, she sent the cornsilk curtain over a shoulder and strut confidently into the laboratory and straight up to the display case that held the exoskeleton thing. "Where's your nerd leader, huh buddy?" Nimble fingers tapped a light rhythm on the glass, peering up at the top of the form. "We sorta wanna know, like, if he's a murderer. And uh... where the body went!" A grin flashed over her tanned features, sending the expression --
Stargirl over her shoulder to share in her humor with good ol' Red Riding Hood.
Red Robin listened to commentary about nerds, he wasn't sure if he should be offended by it, but he knew that people had various ways of couping with the deadly nature of their work. "Yeah, this isn't my first adventure..." Tim said, answering her question from earlier. He began walking towards a computer where he began typing to look over the lab files. "That is apparently a prototype model...That would be...kind of scary if they used a robot to kill someone." The doors to the room would open and a scientist would enter to see the two teenaged combatants. "What are you doing here?" He fumbled to reach into his pocket to pull out a key ring with an alarm. Pressing it the building lights would flash orange and black. Red Robin stood up and pulled his bo staff from his lower back. "That's usually the sign of a guilty person!" Robin explained to Stargirl just before the ceiling would open up and the scientist would speak. [c]
"You've stumbled upon our Hive and now you'll suffer the same fate as the late doctor!" The dropping out of the ceiling was a large Bee-like cyborg with plates colored gold and black. Bright yellow eyes and cybernetic veins trancing up its body to give it a muscular humanoid appearance. It stood a towering 6'5" with a Jetpack mounted onto its back with yellow thrusters indicating its method of propulsion and flight. It wasn't armed with any weapons and as it swung its arm to slap Red Robin and Stargirl, it's movements were slow due to the hunk of metal weighing down it's skeleton. Red Robin would drop to the ground and kick it's leg only for the leg to refuse budging and a loud thunk! could be heard as Robin's metal boots clashed against the leg's metal.
Stargirl Her type of snarky repartee meant she was blatantly pressing her thoughts to her tongue, verbalizing them exactly as such. Her humor was an acquired taste, but it didn't bother her that she wasn't everyone's cuppa tea. So when he exclaimed over the fact the newcomer was acting suspiciously, the California-native couldn't help the bright burst of laughter while her ocean blues avidly traced at the robot's movement in their direction. "Oh, good! I thought those," a wide gesture swung in a circle toward the new technicolor lighting, "where just our cue to dance. I like to break a sweat." Obviously she knew what it meant, but her quip had a need to be freed. Her left fist came up and her thumb's tip brushed against her smirk, elongating her lips as it skimmed. "Let's dance, transformer." Stargirl pivoted to miss the sluggish swing of the metallic limb, twirling up behind the other as she flipped her Cosmic Staff into her dominate hand and gave it a toss, sliding her frame onto it before --
Stargirl shooting up in the air to hover several feet above ground. Tall enough that she could peer down at the robot, glancing back at the mysterious scientist that still loitered frenetically near the door. "Lemme go grab that one real quick, I have a feeling we may need him." A promising smirk locked in place as she zipped over to the adult with the intention of staying any hopes for retreat. Can't have answers from the tinman, but surely this one could rub two braincells together and give the crime-fighting duo their necessary answers!
The scientist watched as she approached. "Your nosey friend will be panned cake in a moment and YOU are worried about me?!" Red Robin flipped and rolled about the floor dodging the attacks from the machine, as it's boots clunked against the floor, Robin attached a snapflash to the back of it's leg, onto it's calf. He tumbled to the front of the machine and tossed another snapflash to it's chest. The first snapflash turned red and began counting down, while the second glowed orange and released a thruster to throw it off balance before the red exploded. This would throw the machine onto it's back only for a moment. The machine's jetpack ignited and it took to hovering, its arm would transform into a black beam gun with a yellow laser. The beam would eradicate the ground as it shot towards Red Robin, whom barely dodged it's blast with a backflip.
Stargirl A brow rose high beneath her blue domino mask as she jerked a thumb over her shoulder. "Have you met that kid? His demeanor screams of competence." It wouldn't do to just admit that she hardly knew the male herself, but she also doubt that the lumbering pile of trash that was trying to squish him would have adequate responses to their inquiries. While her staff gave her some abilities, it was her belt that hugged her curved hipbones that enhanced her natural talents. With cat-like grace, she flipped off her ride and landed by the doctor, swinging out a booted heel to trip the other should the foot connect with her arm. With her asserted strength and if he hadn't been prepared for the tumbling blow, it would knock him down and potentially out. Long enough for her to go after tall dark and shiny weaponry at her back. Assuming that this one and down kick would have to do, for now, the girl spun and began to sprint back to the fray. "Hello~! Did ya miss me?" Her voice chimed impishly --
Stargirl just as she did an agile duck and sliding between the robotic legs, twisting until her spine touched the floor with her arm shoving up above her with her staff in its grip. In that moment, a force field flung from the spear-like tip, all aglow. "Mm, I love when it's both pretty and useful." A swift glance told her that Red Robin seemed none the worse for wear, also blocked momentarily with her screen of protection. "Oh. You're fine. Cool. But I'm still gonna tell everyone that I saved your ass from Bumblebee after this." Another grin. Did this girl ever worry?
Red Robin flipped a series of times to avoid being blasted, he watched as Stargirl knocked out the scientist. As she raised her forcefield to protect. "Sounds good to me!" Red Robin stated shooting out a grappling hook to wrap around the Hive Drone, Red Robin swung through the air and moved to kick the drone from behind, attaching another snapflash to it's thrusters. He back flipped off and retracted his grappling line landing on the floor the explosive would force the drone to crash into the ground before it began plating its hands onto the floor before rolling onto its back and firing a projected beam at Stargirl, the blast powerful enough to throw her backwards and damage her shield's strength.
Stargirl "Whoa buddy!" The iridescent film that kept her protected from blasts gave a glittering blink, singling that that blast was strong enough to mess with her star power. "Yeah, I'm not cool with that." Her upper lip curled in a snarl as she gave a jerk of her staff, dropping the shield to return fire. A colorful array of star-based projections shot out of her cosmic weapon, powerful in their own right as they arrowed in a thin arch toward the metallic adversary. "Don't you know better than to mess with a girl's accessories?" Her typically laid back gaze was narrowed, and sharply, as she slowly advanced and sent more blasts in sporadic bursts.