2013.08.23 - Wayne Enterprises @ The Expo

The main pavilion of the Expo has been a flurry of activity all through last night once the gates had closed, and well into today. For the very limited amount of time the crew has had to work with, they've done a spectacular job.
There are now additional platforms to either side of the main stage and a vast structure of lights, pulleys and assorted contraptions hanging above it. Several more raised platforms have been constructed throughout the area where the crowd is already assembling. Most support large screens above them, though a few are empty.
It's not quite half past, yet, and the event doesn't even start until 7, but most of the pavilion is already filled. A crowd to rival the opening show, though with the lack of powered armor as a draw, there's still some room in the back. It's almost impossible to hear yourself over the sound of the crowd.
Until the music starts, at least.
It's faint, at first: string instruments and woodwinds, but the crowd at the front starts to notice activity before too long, and like a wave, silence rippled through the assembled masses all the way to the back.
A beat of silence, and then pounding tribal drums, guitars, and the lights on the stage start to strobe. The music is live but impossible to tell where it's coming from, until several spotlights point down at the previously empty stands in the crowd to show the musicians and their instruments.
More lights focus in on the stage. Ropes and ribbons begin lowering from the assembled structure above the stage with darkly costumed men and women hanging from it.
Think Cirque du Soleil, except from Gotham.
The acrobatics show starts with a roar; there's a girl hanging upside down from a trapeze playing the violin, and others soaring through the air on harnesses with guitars. People breathing fire over the edge of the stage and multi-colored lights shining up into the air. Lightshow, circus and concert all in one.
Keith blinks as he takes in the pavilion, arms crossed over his chest with a smirk. Looking at the performance going on, he lets out a low whistle. "Wow... they've certainly outdone themselves this year. Nice to know there's something far more noticeable than me going on." The chance of less people staring at his purple self was a good thing. "Very impressive..."
The Expo. Bad memories for Marissa Sometimes, although now? With classes starting next week, she can officially call herself an engineering student. And now she's watching the concert. True, she could have shown up in costume, but she's Off Duty. Unless somebody tries to blow the place up. She's here to look at what cool stuff people are doing, not be a superhero...so she's wearing jeans and a nice blouse and watching the acrobats. Well, she does notice the glowing Keith but politely pretends not to.
Technically, Michael Jon Carter is not here to enjoy himself; he is attending the Expo as a Stark intern, but the fringe benefit of this is that he gets to see all the cool exhibitions anyway. His clothing is nice if unassuming, aside from the yellow-tinted lenses of his glasses which are on the subtly flashy side. Skeets, his little robot assistant, is flying high overhead to record the acrobatics display in lovely full-color holovision. Now and then, Michael manually inputs some data via a ghostly interface that only seems to exist when he lifts his hand to use it.
Tousaint grabs hold oa glass of a red wine off a server's tray as she passes by, then quips to no one in particular, "With all the crazies in Gotham I am not sure if I should applaud or start looking for cover." Tousaint raises his left hand to clink his wine glass as sound of approval to his own joke."
After a morning in the park and working all afternoon, Fern managed to get out of the Anita Bella booth in time to change into a t-shirt and shorts and then scoot over to the Wayne demo at the main pavilion. She's hanging out on the fringes of the crowd, not really feeling like pushing her way through so that she can see better. And it turns out, that's not necessary anyway. Munching her way through a steak on a stick, she watches in silence as the spectacle starts. 
Try navigating through crowds of people when your head barely crests the bottom of their rib cages. It's a further challenge not to run over toes or bark shins with errant wheels or foot pedals, never mind navigating areas not always well-made for wheelchairs. Once upon a time, Barbara Gordon loved going to tech expos. Nowadays? It's a mixed back. She still enjoys the tech and the shows, but the hassle leaves a lot to be desired. 
Add to it the acrobats now soaring above, and the serious young woman in a wheelchair, finds herself trying to manage an unexpected mix of emotions. She inhales a deep breath, sets her jaw, her shoulders, and her mind... and pushing it all away. Might as well see what Bruce is presenting to the public again this year.
David didnt look anything like he did the last time Wayne had saw him, and so when he came to this expo, he almost went through it without any real hassle except for the fact he had to leave any weapons behind. He notices the woman in the wheelchair and moves behind her. "May I offer you assistance, Miss?" He asks, his voice seems to have a gritty growl to it as he offers to push Barbara's chair for her.
Grayson; back stage talking with Tim, chuckling and trying to ease his 'brother's' nerve a bit by doing what Dick does best... be a prick. No seriously, he's not. "You've out done yourself, Tim. Seriously. This is impressive." Jutting his chin out through the curtains a bit before the 'show' starts. "I had faith in you, just... just good job. You'll do fine." It's not that congradulations are rare in this family... oh who are we kidding, yes they are. 
When the black lights come on, however, a little groan escapes Keith. Why? Because he finds himself glowing under the black lights.
"Oh great.... I look like a Glo-Friends doll... only purple." (http://youtu.be/zECeh5Mt1D8)
He briefly considers putting an illusion over himself... but eventually he'd have to take it down so as not to get migraines, so he just mentally throws up his hands and goes with it, grabbing a drink from a tray and sipping the non-alcoholic beverage. Outside of his apparently calm demeanor, it is his tail that betrays his annoyance, as it sways from side to side, accidentally bapping people standing too close. 
He says, in his best Roseanne Roseannadanna voice, to himself "It just goes to show you, if it ain't one thing, it's another. You're either covered in fur, or you're day-glo."
Terry McGinnis stands just behind Grayson, his eyebrows raised at Dick's commentary. He adjusts his tie and cuffs absently. "So if we are all here," He whispers to himself more than anything. "Then who is in Gotham?" He shakes his head, not really wanting a reply. He shoves his hands into his pockets and waits for instructions. This is Bruce and Tim's show, not his.
There's something stirring in the crowd behind her, and Marissa turns, then rolls her eyes. "Let her through!" She actually makes push aside gestures to try and get a path cleared for the wheelchair-bound woman, smiling at Barbara. Why yes, she'll let the other in front of her, ruining her prime position. Not that hard to see over her, after all. She doesn't quite know who she is, but she does know she won't let anyone struggle if she can help them.
Another day, another presentation to attend at the Stark Expo. The CEO in the three-piece suit arrives just as the spectacle begins, making his way through the crowd. Justin Hammer frowns lightly as the 'Vegas Gone Gotham style show starts. Looks like Wayne is as much of a show off as Stark is. After pausing to talk to a couple of folks, the Hammer Industries founder spots someone he recognizes. The bright red hair is a dead giveaway, even if she's not in her usual bright colored attire. "Miss Fern Fiddlehead, is that you?" he asks the young woman s he approaches her.
Barbara looks up, somewhat started at Marissa's attempt to clear the path for her. People do move back out of the way. She gives a tight smile. "Thanks," she says, awkwardly moving forward, trying not to roll over people's toes. She moves up a little closer to the stage, looking up at the acrobats. Her fingers tap absently on the outside edge of her tablet. It's shoved down between her leg and the arm of the chair. But never far from her fingertips. She can't help it. 
Karen Starr is here for a number of reasons, not the least of which is to form important business connections. Maybe the tall blonde isn't in it for the money, but she still NEEDS money to keep Starrware running and doing what she needs it to do. That being help people. So, though she's not terribly fond of it, schmoozing a bit with other people in various tech fields is kind of requried at times. Karen is dressed in a manner appropriate to an event like this, not entirely formal businesswear, but also not very casual. She, of course, has on her costume underneath in the event of an emergency, because that's kind of standard procedure after all her years of heroing -- except in a swimsuit or cocktail dress sort of situation -- but she's hoping this is one of those nights there's no such emergencies.
She's just arriving, and so she has yet to take in the entire set-up.
The familiar voice has Fern turning, smiling broadly around a mouth full of skewered steak. "Justin!" Possibly more enthusiastic greeting than the CEO typically gets, complete with a side step so she can wrap her arms around him (carefully because of the food she's not yet finished) in a hug. She expects his typical less than entirely comfortable response, but one of these days she's sure he'll slip and hug her just as enthusiastically. Stepping back, she beams up at him. "I knew you'd be here somewhere. Some show, huh?" 
David stands there having been ignored by the person he was trying to help. He just shrugs and begins to walk off now, looking up to the acrobatic people above him. He then begins to make his way across until he finds a familiar man in a suit. "Hello Boy toy, Witch." He says to Justin and Fern in passing, seeming to melt within the crowds despite his large side. Now he simply waited, his target will reveal itself eventually. A hand rests in his pocket.
"No problem." Marissa moves back to more or less where she was, just behind Barbara. She hasn't really noticed anyone else...there's nobody she *knows* here right now, so she's content to watch the aerialists perform, assessing the amount of skill and training that went into the display casually.
There's a handful of professional camera crews scattered throughout the crowd, helpfully providing video feed for all of the many screens available for watching the spectacle. A few outside, too, just in case it might catch a passing eye.
The performers are all dressed in dark colors, tight-fitting, costumed as the gargoyles that Gotham architecture is famous for. Acrobats, contortionists and gymnasts weave their arts together in a fluid, seamless show, backed by nearly fifty musicians and quadruple that backstage, working the lights and the sound systems.
As the music starts to rise higher, mechanical systems built into the stage whir to life and the scaffolding begins swinging out across the crowd. A dozen men and women on the trapeze and the ropes are now flinging themselves left and right above those lucky enough to be nearest to the stage, and more reveal themselves, emerging from the smoke rippling across the stage.
It's very Gotham. The music is dark and pulsating, punctuated by large gouts of fire exploding upwards into the sky from the firebreathers on stage and firecracker-like explosions tossed upwards by those hanging from the rafters. The lights flash.
One camera feed shows up on screen as a performer drops down nearly to the ground from the scaffolding, giving a momentary up-close-and-personal view of the mask on his face, before he snatches the camera away and the crowd is treated to a birds-eye view from the performer's perspective as its tossed back and forth across the stage.
--
Tim musters a less-than-confident smile for Dick. "Thanks," is all he can say before he's glued back to his tablet again, resolutely ignoring Terry's commentary. He's stressed enough as is, thanks. After a moment, he touches his ear- the WayneTech bluetooth there, actually, and then frowns. "Rogers, someone's spotted the Commissioner's daughter out in the crowd. Section B18. Could you please go out and escort her backstage?"
Soon enough, a friendly but haggard-looking intern somehow materializes by Barbara's side, sporting a Wayne Enterprise badge and a smile. "Ma'am, would you like to view the show from backstage?" he asks her.
And then Keith notices someone who looks very familiar. Of course, she was in costume then... but no mask. And it was hard to forget this face, considering the last time he saw her..
Sidling along the crowd, the cat appears by Marissa's side, behind Barbara as well, and grins "Hello there!-- I was wondering if you were okay, considering the last time I saw yo---" he pauses "... er, you do remember me, right?" asks the purple, currently day-glo, cat.
Michael is cheating somewhat in that he has a ticker-like readout scrolling past in the HUD provided by his glasses; if any emergency arises that requires hero intervention, he'll fly off. He vaguely waves his hand to dismiss the barely visible holo-interface and lightly folds his arms, turning his head to look over the crowd. Nothing too crazy out there at a glance. Other than Keith, anyway, but that guy always looks like that. Michael gives him a wave.
Hahaha an important expo thing for Wayne Noodles or whatever? Why would Katherine "Kate" Kane, rich socialite and heiress who likes to party and cause scandals on occasion have any interest in attending such a thing? Because she kind of has to, that's why. She's in a similar boat to Karen in some ways, except she's not really trying to gain anything out of this aside from keeping certain people happy. But hey, maybe this will be fun. The fact there's some kind of circus or something going on when Kate arrives in a black one-shoulder dress that makes her pale skin stand out even more than it normally does when contrasted with her red hair, just convinces Kate 'okay, yeah, this looks interesting.'
Justin returns Fern's hug in his typical manner. He may even be a hint more distant this time, thanks to recent circumstances. "'Course I'm here," he replies. "Gotta keep an eye on the competition." His eyes flick upward as one of the acrobats swings across above him. "Yeah, pretty out there, that's for sure," he replies, obviously not too impressed with the display. Again, this has nothing to do with technology, and is just blatant ego-stroking. At least, in Justin's opinion. The man that moves past them and growls out what could be construed as a greeting gets a double take. "Was that...?" Hammer looks to the waitress for confirmation, to see if she saw him as well.
Marissa Sometimes blushes scarlet. "Yeah, when...uh...can we not talk about that?" Mindscrewed by her own ally. So embarrassing. Almost as embarrassing as being dayglo. Which Marissa pretends...well. He's a dayglo cat. She doesn't care and she makes it obvious that she doesn't care. "But you're...somewhat hard to forget."
Fern did see him as well, and she steps closer to Justin, dropping the last bite of her tasty tasty steak onto the floor as her hand goes for the bag that hangs at her hip. She wouldn't normally litter like that, no more than she would normally go that greenish shade of pale. Wide blue eyes look after David, and Fern turns to hiss at Justin, "We should tell security or something, shouldn't we?" She's also not really opposed to missing the demo, suddenly. 
"I get that a lot. I don't know why." Keith says, sounding competely innocent, but he's totally teasing. He's the first person to admit he was bizarre looking. "I'm glad that you're okay... Snickerdoodle?" he says, offering her one. He had grabbed two in case Patrick showed up, but he had gotten a text telling him there had been 'delays'. Well, at least nobody would be stealing his churro this time, if he got one.
Barbara looks a little startled as the intern shows up. She glances up briefly, as she hears Keith's voice speak to the woman who gave her space. Ah. Well. At least she won't be abandoning the Good Samaritan to solitude. 
"Thank you," she says to the intern, now. "That would be great." She feels her tablet vibrate beside her leg and picks it up. A message flashes up on it from Tim. She grins. Keys light under her fingers as she sends back simply: Thx. OMW. :) 
"Excuse me," she says, turning her chair now, and giving Marissa and Keith an apologetic smile. "I, I need through again." She moves past them, now, the intern walking with her as he escorts her backstage.
She sees the gathered boys in the wings, as she wheels along, raises a hand and gives a smile of greeting as she coasts forward to join them.
After finishes his wine, Tousaint decides on a seat in the back. He takes a few moments listening to the music for a bit which only makes he remembered he never really followed up on that exploding building that occurred the last time was in Gotham. Tousaint raises his arms in shrug at the thought and scans the room for familiar faces.
Marissa Sometimes accepts the Snickerdoodle. "Thanks. It's quite a show...they must have put in hours of training to pull it off." Yes, she can appreciate the skill, even partially distracted by the cat. As long as he doesn't bring up the demon again...
The young waitress' reaction immediately has the CEO on edge. Why? Because he may actually care about Fern. Yeah, stop the presses, Justin actually cares about someone other than himself! "Yeah, we need to find security," he says, brows furrowing. "I saw a newspaper article about some eco-terrorist, had a mugshot with it. It's the same guy who went fuzzy on us the other day. He's double-dangerous." Putting an arm around the woman's shoulder he starts scanning the area for security. He catches sight of what looks like a plain-clothes guard, being familiar with how they carry themselves, and gently guides Fern in that direction.
Keith steps aside for Barbara, "Of course, miss. Enjoy the show..." he says to her, he is the perfect model of a model perfect gentlecat. Or whatever. He senses that Marissa wasn't comfortable talking about the demon, so he lets the topic drop down into Hades. "It is quite a show..." Keith says, looking at the acrobats. For a moment, he realizes he could get gigs like these if he ever went out of the hero thing. And he'd need little in costuming, come to think of it.
The Commissioner's daughter? 
Dick suddenly perks up a little, barely preceptable over the usual jovial cant of his expression. It's not a day and night change, so much as a little extra flare to his grin or that he's standing a little taller, even if it is with a cane supporting his right leg. When she comes rolling back stage, that grin becomes one of greeting and he waves in return, if a bit goofy. For a second he actually feels like when you're out in public and someone waves, then you realize it was to someone behind you... Thankfully, or at least he hopes, that's not the case here. 
"Hey Babs. Was wondering if you'd show up tonight." Of course she would... Tech, support. Dark eyes turn to regard Tim and his tablet, then Terry behind and slightly to his right, finally answering his question. "Batman, of course. Not like he's here or anything, right? Nope, just us... nothing to see he- Hey I know him." Pointing to a glowing cat caught on screen by the flung about acrobatic camera. 
Terry McGinnis shakes his head at Dick and Tim. He gives Barbara a wiry smile and a small wave. He steps backwards, and leans against the back wall crossing his arms. Terry looks around, seeming very out of place here.
Pepper Potts walks though the Expo like she owns the place... or at least 12 percent of it. She had intended to see the Wayne Enterprises presentation from the beginning, but, well, stuff happens. Slowing as she sees Justin leading a young lady along toward one of the Expo security guards, she detours sharply to get there the same time they do. "Is everything okay?" She's genuinely concerned.
Fern flips open the flap of her bag, her hand diving in and then just remaining there. Hidden inside, her fingers are wrapped around a canister of mace, because it worked last time. As Justin's arm goes around her shoulders she moves even closer to him, as if trying to meld into his side, and she nods, her head bobbing rapidly, all the fun gone out of Cirque du Wayne for her. She's lost sight of the man, but her eyes dart around quickly, trying to find him again, wanting to keep an eye on him. Her eyes aren't quite panicked as they shift to find Pepper as the woman steps up to them, but she's clearly afraid. "Miss Potts," she says softly. Otherwise she stays quiet, letting Justin do the talking, more reassured by him than the mace she clutches. 
David been watching the intern and when he comes back there with that woman, he begins to follow back there as well. When stopped however from going backstage, he looks to the guards. "The it will be on your heads if I do not return a piece of property to Mr. Wayne. I have to get it back to him, it is important." He says as he tries to look backstage with the gathered group and then the woman in the wheelchair.
Babs flashes a wider grin as she spots Dick amidst the batboys. "Hey," she greets him. "Of course, I'd be here, tonight. You know how I love these things." He may even know how she rails at the crowds and lack of wheelchair-friendly spaces. 
She gives Terry a nod of greeting, now, too, since she now has some vague idea who he is. "Nice to see you all."
The camera eventually gets returned to its laughing, out-of-breath operator down on the ground, before the thief darts away back up into the air. Whatever it is that Wayne Enterprises has built into the stage for the night, it continues to whirr and move, extending so that the performance spreads out across several levels and from one end of the multi-platform stage to the other.
Some of the acrobats seem to come dangerously close to the crowd, flying just out of reach.
Soon enough, the music begins to crescendo. The performers begin leaping in sync, moving so rapidly that a few of the cameras are even having trouble keeping up. Just as the music ends on one thundering beat, the performers alight in their final positions, posed as gargoyles hanging off the stage's support structure.
Then, off in the distance, a low whistle.
Suddenly the sky above fills with the rapid pop of fireworks, bright enough that for a moment it's almost daytime, and as the final one goes off, the performers raise a hand in unison and throw something downwards. A plume of smoke explodes around each of them, and as it clears, they're gone.
The lights on stage dim until it's just a single spotlight on the back of the main stage, and as the crowd's very enthusiastic cheering begins to fade, Lucius Fox, CEO of Wayne Enterprises, strolls on stage towards the podium rising from the ground. All of the scaffolding begins to retract back.
"Welcome to Wayne Enterprises at the Expo," he says, voice deep and mellow but eyes dancing.
---
There are nearly enough security guards on-site to start an army. Mr. Wayne's recent kidnapping comes to mind, of course, and while most are in obvious uniform, there are some plainclothes officers. Mr. Hammer has indeed located one. There's recognition in the man's face, and he looks at the three of them- recognition for Pepper Potts there, too- and then asks, "Has something happened?"
The security guards blocking backstage access don't even seem to look at David. Hard to tell with the sunglasses, though. "No entrance without express permission, sorry," one says.
---
Tim steps aside to give Barbara room to join. "Hey," he says, though that's all he's got for now. Today, he's even more glued to his tablet than she is.
Keith steps closer to the front to get a better view, forgetting to care about his fabulous glowfulness. He claps at Fox's entrance, clearly getting into the mood thanks to the Cirque Noir introduction. He finally spots MIchael and gives him a wave and a grin.
Well, Fern kept hoping for Justin to be less distant, so now he is. Just not the best circumstances. Pepper's arrival is quickly noticed, and he addresses the Stark XO with a nod and a quick, clear reply. "We saw a man, a guy who's a known and wanted terrorist, in the crowd. We're hoping to get security on it." As he finishes speaking the plain-clothes officer approaches the trio and Hammer alters his focus, repeating what he just told Pepper. "We spotted a man who's a known terrorist- his name is David LaGrange, something like that. I've run into him before, and we just saw him again here in the crowd. Lost sight of him." At no time does the CEO let go of the little waitress.
As the entertainment portion of the presentation comes to an end, Skeets flies to a lower vantage point, hovering somewhat above Michael, to focus on Lucius Fox now. Michael tilts his head to one side as he watches, looking thoughtful. It takes him a moment, but he joins the applause, as if he were distracted.
While Dick isn't 'officially' part of the security for the Wayne Tech show, he is noless listening in on their comm chatter all the same. A small bub in his ear feeding him the security back and forths was, for the most part, just background noise to his socializing until one of the guards out front repeat news that a possible terrorist might be amongst the gathered. 
The one speaking to Fern and Justin brings his fingers up to relay this back to central, I.E. Tim. "Sir, we have a couple out here who are saying they've spotted one David LaGrange." 
Dick glances to Tim, perks a brow, and starts walking with his cane clicking on the ground. "I'll keep you posted." Strolling up beside Barbara as he heads towards the backstage entrance he pauses long enough to give her a quick, but tight, hug. "Meet up with you later?" Smiling, if a bit coarse, on his way towards the guard who's just now said there is someone demanding to see Bruce Wayne. 
On arriving, Dick lays a hand on the guards shoulder and smiles charismatically at David. His free hand is wrapped around his cane and his weight is shifted off of his right leg. "Hey, I hear you've got something you need to return to Mister Wayne? He's a little tied up right now..." Flicking his hand around with a quiet laugh, "Maybe I can give it to him, for you?" 
Dick is dressed in black slacks, shoes, and a button up shirt with a crimson red tie. It's businessy, but still comfortable looking. And his cane is simple, if a matching his attire. 
Fern thinks that a vital piece of information has been left off, and she speaks up, "He's a wolf." That doesn't really convey it, although her fear is almost palpable, so she expands, "He went all fangy and grew hair and got, like, huge and stuff." That's much better, isn't it? But all she wants to get across is that this isn't just some ordinary terrorist. He's potentially a walking weapon himself. "Right Justin?" she says, looking to the CEO at who's side she is glued. "Rar," she adds, less than fiercely, but just to make a point. 
Pepper Potts's eyes quickly and sharply take in Fern's obvious fear and Hammer's protectiveness, then turn putatively dangerous when David's name is mentioned. "LaGraize." Her eyes snap to the officer. "Coordinate with Expo security, they already have his info on file. Find him and detain him. Politely if possible." From her paying, politely is only a mild suggestion. She pulls her phone to give the man the way to link his communication gizmos with Stark's security, then turns to the pair again. "Would you like an escort until LaGraize is located?"
Marissa Sometimes claps as Mr. Fox emerges. Now, now for the interesting part, where they find out something of what Wayne Enterprises has been up to lately...and it might spawn some ideas for her, in the long term. That's why she's here, not for circus acts. Even very cool circus acts.
Barbara returns Dick's hug as well as she can, given his quick departure, saying as she does, "You got it. Just text me." She's more or less living at the Expo this week, anyway. She watches him head off and turns back to the others. 
Hearing what is said to Tim, she frowns. LaGraize... Her eidetic memory flips through what she knows of his activities, which, actually, isn't much. She considers it, pulls out her tablet, and glances to the others. "I'll see what the archives have." Oracle's archives, of course.
Fujiko is attending yet another thingy at the Stark Expo. The last one had gotten pretty scary with the whole malfunctioning drone nearly killing everyone, but in the end apparently it had just been a gimmick. Once again she's near the outskirts, and she's carefully chosen an escape route in case she feels the need to blow up. The acrobats are a nice touch, and soon they've got the girl forgetting that she's at some tech thingamabob, but then Mr. Fox shows up. Time for a super duper flying tank destroying suit of armor? Or a tank destroying flying robot? Or maybe a tank destroying tank? "They need one of these for like something with less exploding." she says to no one.
Leo caught the end of the circus act, only appearing mildly curious. Interesting when normal humans can do crazy stuff like that, right? Still, his eyes and ears are searching for a feminine voice and image...one he finds in Fern Fiddlehead. A slight smile touches his mouth, and then widens at seeing Justin Hammer. Was that grin a...little sadistic? Maybe. But luckily it's quickly gone so it doesn't terrorize anyone.
Leo weaves through the crowd with ease, eyes in the prize as they say. When he moves up he gets into view of Fern and company (including bodyguard). A blonde eyebrow raises, "Seriously? Rar? You are supposed to be an actress Fern," his tone lightly teasing. "Remind me to pick up some pepperspray for you, I'm sure werewolves would love that stuff."
"Uh..." Michael was focusing on Fox's presentation, but the buzz he is starting to get through his communication systems is starting to get his attention. "Skeets, stay with this, please," he tells the small robot, gesturing to the stage. Michael is not one of the Stark security guards, being just an intern, but he is more than capable of dealing with explosions. Although, hopefully, there will not be any explosions. He heads towards Pepper Potts.
Justin nods in agreement. "Yeah, guy can shapeshift into a wolf-thing," he supplies, backing up Fern's statement. As for the escort, the CEO offers a light wave of his free left hand. "I think we'll be alright, though I am going to call in my own security detail." The actual presentation itself is mostly forgotten, and Hammer is actually seriously considering asking Fern if she would like to leave. In all honesty, he'd prefer leaving at this point. When the young man approaches, his attention shifts to the newcomer. Justin can't help but scowl lightly behind his glasses, recognizing the Luthor kid and not approving of his somewhat snarky comments. He still offers a nod in greeting, though.
Tousaint chuckles softly at Fujiko's comment and says, "I think they only do that when Expo falls on the Fourth of July." Tousaint waves over a server so he can grab something to eat.
Mr. Fox is a charming man. Most CEOs can't take the stage as calmly as he can, but he looks as comfortable up there as he would at home in his bathrobe.
He's dressed much more sharply, though. Three piece suit, with a well-matched scarf around his neck.
"Thank you all for coming here tonight," he says, once the applause has died down. He's all smiles still as he looks out into the crowd. "My name is Lucius Fox. I've been CEO for Wayne Enterprises for over ten years, now, and I have to say, we've never done something quite like this before. It's an honor to have been invited. I think we all owe a round of applause to Mr. Stark and his company for such an amazing Expo."
He claps along with the crowd, and as it quiets, again, he smiles. "Mr. Stark, thank you. Now, some of you out in the crowd and watching at home may have noticed I'm not quite looking myself."
Actually, he looks fantastic. WayneTech is great at lighting, apparently.
"Unfortunately, someone had to stay behind and make sure the company keeps running while you're all having fun. And I drew the short straw." He chuckles, all in good fun, and for a brief moment the stage surrounding Mr. Fox expands to look... rather like his office back in Wayne Tower. Even his desk, which he's standing in front of. It narrows back down to just Lucius, after a moment, and he tilts his head in mute apology. "I'm broadcasting this from back here at home, in Gotham. I really wish I could be there with you all tonight- it looks like I missed out on quite a show."
"Alright, before I wear out my welcome, let's get on with it, shall we? We have a great deal in store for you all tonight, still. First, it is my great pleasure to introduce my personal friend and esteemed coworker, Mr. Bruce Wayne."
---
The security guard is quick to radio in the sighting of Mr. LaGraize, then willing to coordinate with Pepper to bring Stark security into this.
It transmits through to Tim's ear, and he looks worriedly at Dick as he passes by, then over at Terry. "Go with him, please," he requests, then shifts to stand closer to Barbara. He can't get involved right now.
"Wow.. now that's a nice trick," Keith mutters. Sure, he could do that with his illusions. But that was just wishing for something and poof, magic. Waynetech had to do it with circuits and vacuum tubes and... and... he realized he really was rather bad at the technology thing when the best thing he could think of was a vacuum tube.
Terry McGinnis nods to Tim, and turns to follow Grayson. He stays about five feet behind Richard at all times, with an eye on the young man. His grins at Fox's demonstration. "Always wondered when they invented that little jewel," He says with a smirk. He keeps an eye on Dick while Bruce is announced to the stage.
Fujiko blanches when someone responds to her. Her cheeks start to take on some color immediately after as she looks at Tousaint and says, "Crap. Sorry. I was talking to myself. But...are you sure they aren't going to blow something up?" She pauses at the reveal of the hologram, "Oh shit! That is totally cool! That's way better than stupid armor suits! Talk about the ultimate phone! How soon can I get one?"
Marissa's eyes narrow a bit. That's one heck of a holographic projection. She wants it to play with, although she'd want a plane more., Or a helicopter. Or even better, a rocket ship. "That looks pretty seamless," she notes. "You can't quite tell where the hologram ends and reality begins." To anyone who happens to be near enough to hear her, that.
Fern's reaction to Leo's arrival is dramatically different than Justin's, as the little waitress finally finds her smile again. She knows a secret that she won't tell, but it's reassuring to see the young man who already saved her life once this week. Who says being a waitress is dull? There's a sheepish cast to her face as she brings her hand out of her bag just enough to show Leo the mace clutched in a white knuckled grip. While she doesn't break away from Justin, remaining glued to his side, her eyes are on Leo as she says, "I'm glad you're here." Even if he's ragging on her for not being more dramatic with her werewolf moment. Plus, the intervention of Pepper Potts does a lot to relieve her as well. 
Pepper Potts takes Fern's description of David in stride, nodding, and she looks at Michael when he approaches at the same time as she addresses her phone even though she never places a call. "JARVIS, add lycanthropy to the security bulletin." 
 
"Done, Miss Potts," the AI's voice says from her phone.
 
She keeps the phone in her hand as she adds, "Michael, can Skeets scan for LaGraize in there while recording the presentation?"
 
From the darkness, Bruce Wayne steps onto the stage.
Back in his trademark black, the only major departure from signature is the gold braiding at his cuffs. His wingtips click across the ebony and gold parquet stage like each step was the opening shot to the salvo of an armada from across the bay. The subtle music that accompanies his arrival is almost too easy to miss, like a heartbeat. It seems almost too much of a coincidence that his stride matches the beat perfectly. Separating the richest man in Gotham's steel-cut figure from every other neon curiosity and shimmering bauble out on stage is a piercing bright blue-eyed gaze. No hesitation at all. The man with the bright blue eyes shows no fear--and never has.
Still, he isn't alone.
On Bruce Wayne's arm and walking in perfect sync is a woman, five feet and nine inches worth of a supermodel blonde wearing the exact kind of stop-traffic-cold dress meant to mesh with the overall shadowy and pulse-pounding atmosphere presented by the Wayne Enterprises side of the expo. Though his expression is always just a touch cut from stone, he doesn't seem displeased with the arrangement. An astute eye will recognize her as Miss Heather Danielson, the current front face of Victoria's Secret. It's inevitable that a few camera flashes will go off--no matter what kind of processors WayneTech is fielding tonight, all the computers in the world couldn't simulate the caliber of woman that Wayne brings to the field.
The executive slips a card out of his jacket, consulting it with an absent wave to the crowd as he reaches the automated lectern, nodding once to the Fox broadcast briskly. He seems just as comfortable around holograms as he is around anyone else.
"So, ah... I just heard back from the adjuster," Wayne begins, eyes sweeping the crowd and looking for all the world like a boy who just got out of bed. Just for a moment, at least. He leans over the lectern, conspiratorially.
"According to this report, Stark owes me two hundred and eighty five dollars for the tie," he notes, gesturing back to the screen behind him with a palmed remote control no larger than a quarter. The screen agrees with him, there's definitely no question about it. Wayne is almost as dry as Bond's martinis. At least, by the measure of the sly grin he flashes.
Wayne moves on rather quickly, so there isn't a lot of time to question him. If there is a concern as to what's going on out in the crowd, Wayne doesn't seem to let it wear at his rhythm.
"First off, I'd like to thank everyone for attending Wayne Enterprises at Stark Expo tonight, and everyone involved in making it possible. Please, feel free to take advantage of our hospitality, eat, drink, and relax. As Fox said, there's a lot to see and to do, and I know you're eager to get on with it. But before we get to the presentations, I want to talk about the theme of tonight's showcase."
"I want to talk a little bit about hope."
Leo nods at Justin, and then smiles at Pepper. Then toward Fern he smiles with some warmth. "If you see him, point him out to me Fern. I'm sure a 'discussion' can be arranged if he is threatening you." Discussion is far from what Leo means, but he gentles it for Fern. There is no sense of fear or wariness about him in reference to a 'werewolf'. Though Leo does make a point to keep an eye out for this 'werewolf'.
Barbara glances up to Tim as he stands near her and sends Terry off with Dick. She connects through to OracleNET and starts a bot crossing-referencing LaGraize. Then, she glances toward Lucius and smiles at the technology it demonstrates. She glances up to Tim, again, and gives him a small smile. "Remind me to show you what I've done to upgrade my system."
"I would rather hand it back to him personally if you do not mind sir. I have a few questions to ask him which he failed to answer on the internet about his capture." David says and when Wayne is Seen, David turns and leaves. He tries to merge back into the crowd, slowly making his way towards the stage now. The man was good at blending in it seems, even for one of his height and size. For now he simply remains remains hidden in the crowd.
"Have you ever been to Gotham?" Tousaint grabs another glass of wine, "There is always a chance that something is going to get blown up or shot at if Gotham is involved in anyway. It really is a truly dark city, but with really nice buildings." Tousaint sips on a glass of wine and offers a wave to Kate, "You were the one that was breaking out at the last event. Well, you started breaking out before everyone else did."
"Yes, Ms. Potts. So can I, in fact, once Skeets routes the data to me." Michael points at the glasses he is wearing. He looks to the stage, and most of the people at the presentation are focused on Wayne and his lovely companion. Michael therefore floats a few feet into the air to give him a better vantage point. He is not shy about flying while in 'plain clothes' but it's rude to detract from someone else's exhibition. Skeets also flies higher, doing a broader scan through the crowd.
Fujiko shrugs, "Sure. I've been to Gotham plenty of times. But not recently. I never saw anything blow up, except maybe some fireworks at games." Watching the stage she shakes her head, "That Wayne guy is really something. He always has a new supermodel on his arm. Must be nice being incredibly rich and good looking all at the same time."
There's a muted chuckle from the crowd; it seems a decent number of people read the article about Bruce Wayne's recent kidnapping- it was front page news, obviously- and get the joke. Most seem to be keeping quiet as Gotham's most elligible bachelor speaks.
Lucius Fox may command the stage with his charm and his voice, but Bruce Wayne simply commands.
---
Most of the flurry from security happens backstage, several passing by Barbara and Tim as they head out to the crowd. There's a steady amount of them, plainclothes and uniform both out there, working their way through.
Tim scrolls through about a million video feeds on his tablet. That's how many it feels like, at least, and he's having trouble getting any kind of luck on locating the suspected terrorist in their midst. He glances up and exhales slowly, before nodding at Barbara. "I'd... really like that. A lot. I'm having dreams about the Expo at this point," he tells her. Leading a secret life as Robin is hard enough work, but even with the relaxed workload he's had the past couple of weeks, adding everything he's done for the Expo on top of that is pushing his breaking point. It's pretty obvious by the expression on his face; he doesn't have to bother hiding it backstage.
That fade into the crowd thing might have worked when he caught someone off guard, but Dick Grayson is neither a casual observer, nor letting his prey escape without a hunt... and he's quite the hunter. 
When David declines letting him take the 'package' to Mister Wayne, Grayson only wears a friendly, charismatic smile. The contacts he's wearing is already doing a facial recognition back on the Batcomputer, not to mention OracleNET, feeding information right to her massive computers and then back to her tablet. 
"Maybe later, then?" 
And David heads off, but Dick is tracking him all the same. There's an eco-terrorist loose in the pavilion and a man whose not on the list asking to see the very man who kidnapped the man now on stage. A man who, once he's appeared, the unlisted visitor darts off towards... 
It wouldn't take the world's greatest detective to connect these dots. 
Glancing towards the Security guard beside him, motioning towards David, "I think you should probably go get him, yeah?" 
Then to Tim, Babs, Damian and Bruce: "David spotted, security on intercept, but he's headed your way, Bruce. F.Y.I." 
And to Terry, casual, if tight, smile. "Got a change of clothes with you? Might be Gotham's 'show' is going to need a little specticle, afterall."
Despite being thirteen years old, Damian Wayne the biological son of Bruce Wayne. He seems completely at home in the full tuxedo and exudes a strong sense of self confidence. "Drake." He says as he looks towards Tim. He gives Barbara a smile,"Hello Ms Gordon." He says pleasantly. Right now he's actually managing to seem like he isn't a little psycho. His thumbs hook into the pockets of his black trousers. "I hope you're doing well Ms Gordon." But doesn't say anything about Tim doing well.
The arrival of Michael gets a nod, far more pleasant, from Justin. He falls quiet, letting Pepper and Carter organize the security and search for LeGraize, and Leo and Fern greet. He has to bite back several comments when Leo seems to posture about giving a werewolf a piece of his mind, reminding himself that Leo is someone Fern thinks fondly of. So he can't say a word. Not even a word. He still doesn't take his arm from around the waitress, unless she moves away or otherwise indicates for him to step back. The presentation is to his back, and he's missed all of it so far.
Marissa Sometimes is peripherally aware of the chaos. Or at least that security is on high alert. Which puts *her* on high alert too. She responds to it by moving a bit closer to the stage, and glancing through the crowd. Somebody's here who shouldn't be, perhaps? Or maybe they're just nervous after the kidnapping.
Fern did her research after meeting Jazmin, looking up some of the names her now-friend mentioned. Booster Gold was one of them, and there was a lot of information on google about him. Not so much the future stuff, but about his modeling and the things he's doing in the now time. So, for once, Fern actually recognizes a superhero! But... he's a superhero, so she doesn't actually speak to him. He's got superheroing things to do! Still, it's noted, filed away for the next time she talks to Jazmin so they can go all girlified over the golden boy from the future. Fern would step toward Leo and the assured security he offers, but since it would mean stepping away from Justin, she stays put. Her loyalty to the HI CEO is unwavering, for whatever reason, and she would sooner face the werewolf herself than let him be in jeopardy. It would be like putting one of her own brothers into the path of danger. But Leo's words get a shake of her head, "No... there's security." She wouldn't point him out to Leo right now if the wolf walked up and scent marked the chairs in front of them. It's not that he can't handle it, as far as she thinks, but that it might blow his cover. 
Keith noticed something was probably off, as his ears twitched with snatches of conversations here and there. But he didn't have anything to put a ful picture together. Nevertheless the young vigilante decided to pay more attention. Standing as he was at the front, he casually glanced around like a spectator trying to take everything in. But what he was really doing was trying to spot any suspicious behavior.
Terry looks at Grayson with a wiry smile. "Rule One," He says quietly. "Always come prepared. I'll head back stage and get suited." He pats Dick lightly on the back and pushes his way back to Tim and Barbara. "I'll be right back." Terry picks up a metal suitcase, and starts to head into a back room very casually.
Pepper Potts nods her thanks to Leo for his offer to help deal with LaGraize, but says, "I appreciate your willingness to help, but it might be best if we let security handle it right now." As Michael does the flying thing, she nods to Hammer and Fern and moves quickly on toward the presentation proper. She's got her teal bag with her, and as much as she'd rather avoid it, she will deploy Rescue if she has to.
It took some doing, evading security was indeed much more difficult but in the end, he got to his goal so his next action will definatly draw. He takes a few steps back and leaps up with almost above human dexterity, climbing the stage easily as his coat flutters and soon every one will know where the eco-terrorist is indeed.
"Indeed lets talk about hope, Mr. Wayne. As I said to you before, Only when humanity is put through an ordeal is any sign of change capable. Your internet announcement proved my theory quite well. Phil says Hello and I am curious as to your escape, because you and I both know there was more involved." He says as he pulls his hand out of his pocket to reveal....a worn TIE! "I think I could probably get ten times the amount you listed if I sell it on Ebay."
Barbara casually slips her hand into her purse and pulls out a bluetooth, fixing it to her ear. As the network returns information to her, she starts speaking softly, breaking into Dick's security earpiece to speak with him. "David LeGraize is a former Spec-Ops officer, a marine wanted for desertion and murder. Military DB shows him to be a complete psychopath of the slice-and-dice variety. We're talking jars, baggies, and boxes. Police DB IDs him as an eco-terrorist, a far cry from the military officer he was. But, if he's here tonight... it's a good bet he's pissed at something WayneCorp has done. Assume him to be armed and highly dangerous."
She turns then and glances to Damian, giving him a small smile. "Good evening, Damian. Nice to see you again. I'm doing... well, all things considered." Like the fact she's playing Oracle backstage while they track an ecoterrorist through the crowd. 
This guy may or may not be manageable by either Wayne or Stark security. But, then, neither of those companies hires fresh-out-of-school rent-a-cops. So, they may indeed be up to the task. 
Then, there are the batfolk there as backup, right?
Oh. Brilliant. Security didn't stop the crazy before he got to the stage. Casually, Marissa heads for the base of the stage herself. Unless security tries to stop her...but hopefully they'll recognize the young woman as a Titan, a registered hero, and somebody known to be quite, quite competent for her age. Getting ONTO the stage? That's going to take her slightly longer than it did the bad guy. But she's got a plan. And Heather's there. VERY good that Heather's there. She's not aware of anyone else, but the two of them plus security can handle one ecoterrorist. She hopes.
The benefit about having sensitive ears is the fact that you can hear a lot of things. Often in crowded spaces such as this, it tends to be a curse with the constant droning of background chatter slamming you. But he heard the man making his way through the audience... and he saw him getting up onto the stage and...
ZAP!
With a moment's teleportation, the purple cat is onstage, claws drawn and leaping to put himself between David and Wayne. "Step away from Mr. Wayne. Now." he growls.
Michael gives a brief nod to both Justin and Fern, and to Leo who had come up during this, but he is clearly pretty distracted. There is a lot of data going up on his HUD, not to mention what is filtered through his communication units and into his earpiece. Then, he is suddenly flying off towards the stage. There is quite a crowd there, of course, but in one spot people get nudged aside gently but firmly by something invisible. Then, Michael is landing and extends an arm out towards David, with the intention of throwing a force field around the man.
"Well, I am moderately rich, and no one has ever called me ugly." Tousaint thinks to himself, "It has been awhile since anyone has called me ugly. A very long while." Tousaint shakes his head as he returns to talking to Apple, "I think you only get supermodels, when you are incredibly rich in this area of the United States." Tousaint looks up at the stage and turns to Fujiko, "See, I told you. Feckin Gotham!"
A blink from Leo, and then his smile actually softens. He catches Fern's meaning apparently, though others may find his accepting demeanor...'strange'. "You really are something, aren't you Fern?" The tone used to say that though, is...actually flattering and perhaps a bit awed. Still, Leo actually finds Fern fascinating! So he keeps a looking for anyone matching the description and the activities of security...which will make him appear 'distracted' at times as he extends and fine tunes his senses.
Another odd action, may be how Leo shifts is weight toward Fern, so she is not required to step closer to him for a feeling of security. "Micheal is a good guy," he says toward Pepper. "Very interesting fellow," and the words aren't empty flattery. Leo says them, before he meant them. And then....
"Wait a second...," and Leo's blue eyes narrow toward the overly dramatic fellow on the stage. "That's strange," muttering to himself. He recognizes the man 'promising' and not 'threatening' Tony Stark, and whom Stark corrected the grammar of. Course his eyes changed color, his hair is longer, voice changed slightly..., "Did he dope up on steroids in the last week or so?" Yes, Leo asked himself a question out-loud as he attempts to make sense of it. Still, he concentrates on security again and the Waynes. There is a sound beneath his breath...likely a curse word as frustration edges his expression. Fern...likely will quickly realize why.
Tim acknowledges Damian's appearance with a brief nod. Their shared animosity is set aside for tonight, because there's far too much riding on this presentation going well for them to be bickering like children.
Thankfully, it seems as if Damian is of the same mind.
"Security, get on him /now/," Tim says into his own earpiece, and then grimaces faintly. He's one step away from having a serious moment about why they're paying all of these security guards to guard things and yet they can't even keep one crazy off the stage.
Marissa slips through. Someone is either not paying attention, or recognizes her. Who knows. Michael and Keith both have easier times of it, for obvious reasons.
And there are also a dozen or two guards pointing a variety of weaponry- from tazers and batons up to actual sidearms- at the man on the stage. "Get on your knees!" one shouts, as a few others clamber up after David.
As Booster takes off toward the stage Justin's gaze follows him. He's just in time to see the mad man climbing up and taking over the presentation. Well, this is certainly making his look like it went smoother, though he knows deep down that Wayne will be made into a martyr for it instead of being blamed and shamed. He turns slightly to be able to watch the events without straining his neck. "Holy shit," he mumbles to himself as he watches the events unfold with a look of concern. "Fern, if you wanna get outta here, I'm more than willing to get us a ride somewhere else." Leo is given a glance and another light scowl, then a look of more concern as Hammer notices the minor changes in the young man. The hell?
"Holy Crap!" cries out Fujiko at the goings on on stage, "Is this staged? Like that thing at the MC Hammer show? With the drone that didn't work, just so they could show off how great it was even when Thor came and threatened to punch it into the next dimension?" She checks to make sure her safe spot for potential self exploding is still clear. "Man...Dad was sure right about going to trade shows!" She does take a moment to see if the guy talking with her was any contender to Wayne's hotness though.
There is a roar and the sound of rockets. A black shaped silhouette with red wings soars over the crowd and angles down at the Eco-Terrorist. "I think that Mr. Wayne would like you to leave," the Tomorrow Knight says, landing in front of David and next to the Cat on stage. "Something tells me you made the worst life decision possible." A batarang unfolds from his wrist. "Mr. Wayne, I think you should leave this to us."
Fern looks up to the stage, paling again as David leaps up to confront Bruce Wayne. "We should have said something sooner," she hisses to Justin, looking frightened and guilty. She looks immediately toward Leo, reaching out her non-mace-holding hand to land on his arm and grab hold. "Don't," she hisses again, this time at the young Luthor. There are enough people there to handle the situation without him getting involved. Yet. If it becomes an issue, she'll be the first to let him go, but until then she'll stay pressed to Hammer's side with a hand tight on Leo's arm. 
Dick winks at Terry when the future Batman heads off to 'change', then whatever smile he might have been wearing vanishes when Barbara feeds him the information from here data search. "Right... Thanks, Babs." Now it's Grayson who's headed towards the stage, but he's going round about from the back area so that he doesn't have to tussle with the crowd on his b-line approach of his 'father', who is anything if helpless, being confronted by a madman. 
Did someone just say Feckin' Gotham? Yeah... fits. 
Dick's leg is giving him a bit more trouble than he'd care to admit, what without the armored brace to add some support, so when he gets to the stage he has to lean against the wall and takes a deep breath. All the heroes diving in to protect Bruce is good... but there's something about this David, something beyond what Barbara told him, that really has Grayson edge. 
Or maybe it's that he can't get out there and help. 
"Be careful. He had to know people would jump to defend Bruce... He might be expecting it..." 
David is hit by the forcefield and thus frozen in place with a chuckle and strain on his face as it seems he is trying to move but something is imprisoning him. "My Wayne...Where were all these adoring fans the last time we met?" He asks with a chuckle before the people come between the man and the terrorist. "I simply came to have a word with Wayne and to return his property. Surely not all this is necessary." He says as if they were the ones overreacting as the tie flutters in his imprisoned hand.
"I would move, even more, but I cant. One of the toadies got me in a forcefield. Have him take it down." He says calmly as if he found the whole thing amusing more then anything, golden eyes looking straight to bruce with an almost knowing gaze, as if he now looked to the rich man in a different light.
As Bruce Wayne speaks, the numbers of Stark's invoice fade to the image of a grassy field from a park in Gotham. In the distance of that image, the city looms as black as ever, but to look at the details of it, the focus of the picture--the scene is everything short of completely idyllic.
"When my family lived through the depression in Gotham City, they were privy to some of the worst elements of humanity. When the people become desperate, anyone can become a criminal..." Wayne echoes, the faintest of haunted tones slipping behind the calm, confident finish of his presentation. That's something that's always marked his style. One doesn't have to stray too far off the beaten path to see the ghosts that follow the man.
"But they believed in the spirit of that city. They believed in humanity. That's why they came just shy of spending every dollar to our family's name towards bringing the people back to prosperity. Because if anything, the inverse is also true. When the people have hope, they are capable of great things. Great acts of kindness, and spirit."
He looks up, when he receives the transmission from Dick. Actually, those with enormously sharp eyes can tell he's wearing a microtransmitter tucked behind his ear. Leagues ahead of the standard covert earpiece, and part of the broadcast equipment that allowing him to speak over the PA system without a visible microphone rig. He pauses thoughtfully for a moment. It takes a considerable feat of showmanship not to frown in the middle of his presentation right there.
"Now, the state of technology has advanced. We can do so much more now for the people and for the world than what our predecessors did. I'd like to present to you the new initiative of Wayne Enterprises: Automated Hope."
On cue, a new logo appears--this time using the same holographic emitters that displayed Fox's transmission, a ribbon pattern in a circuitboard. The display hovers over and behind Wayne, rotating slowly to mild fanfare. Mild fanfare that might get drawn out by the sudden guest that joins Wayne on the stage.
Suddenly, the stage is an explosion of activity, with his former captor bursting onto the stage with his tie, and then Keith and the energy of a forcefield appearing to seperate the two. To that end, Bruce Wayne slides his hand into his pocket, looking over to his date for the night, and simply nodding once. As if to explain himself, he takes one step around the lectern, and sets a hand on Keith's shoulder from behind, apparently not at all minding that there's a giant cat leaping to his defense.
"It's alright."
Standing beside Keith, Bruce Wayne stares on at David coldly.
"The tie? Take it, it's yours. I have to really hand it to you, though. You seem to be able to pick the worst possible times to pop up."
Bruce squints at the terrorist, taking in his new face.
Right about then, another(!) Batman lands at his side.
Bruce doesn't even miss a beat.
"Are you really sure you've thought this whole thing through..?"
Marissa Sometimes vaults the rest of the way onto the stage, but doesn't move to join the others. She's staying where she is so that they have the man flanked. Hopefully, he'll be ignoring her in favor of the flashy powers, the armored Batman...and if need be, she can hit him over the head from behind. Of course, there's the little problem of that forcefield...but she's ready for whatever might happen next.
Leo's eyes flicker back toward Fern when she touches his arm, as if surprised for a moment. He then forces himself to relax and smiles a bit, "Of course." For now. It is the wise choice anyway, as Leo forces himself to appear more casual and unconcerned. He then says toward Justin, "Stealing Fern away? You know she will be worried if she doesn't see the end of this." Leo though is studying the logo of Automated Hope. "That is acutally a catchy name..." He must tease Hope Summers about it later.
Keith looks over at Wayne, and nods. But he doesn't take his eyes off the assailant. Good old Booster had him in a forcefield so that was good. He couldn't think of any way a normal man could pop one of Booster's bubbles... unless, of course, he had superpowers. He steps aside after Wayne speaks to him, but he maintains his vigilance. If the man tried anything, he was going to find an anvil coming down onto his head.
"Okay. First off, while I do work for Mr. Stark, I'm -not- a toady." Michael is pointing at David as he does a brief flight just to get onto the stage. His focus remains upon David as he says, "I'm really sorry about this, Mr. Wayne. We'll get him out of your way immediately." He puts his hand on David's shoulder, and is going to drag him off to the embrace of the security working for Wayne and for the Expo. Michael eyes Tomorrow Knight and wonders, "...are you part of the Waynetech security?"
Tousaint shakes his head and says, "No, this is not stage." Tousaint finishes off his wine glass and looks at the other heroes rushed the stage and thinks to himself, "We were not sent here for this purpose." Tousaint turns to Fujiko and says, "Automated Hope, he probably should be making a product called, Automated Security, because his guards did a lousy job."
Not so much set aside as working together in spite of it. "Sounds like someone is standing up for father." Damian says looking at Tim,"Should we go lend a hand?" Might work out. He's not sure what to do in this situation. Normally he'd just go after him as his alterego but there are illusions to maintain. He was raised opposite of the way that Bruce was raised. Humanity towards the unfortunate was not high on his mother's list of things they should do. "If anyone lets him near father, I will meet with them."
Barbara adjusts her wheelchair, now, moving back further into the wings. As much as she wants to see what's happening on stage, she wants to be in the line of errant fire. And there are a lot of guns out there. 
Call it a character flaw. 
Or personal experience. Whichever. 
She can hear the nutjob on stage, though. And, once more, she's very much annoyed to have to sit on the sidelines. She looks down at her tablet, brings up her messaging app and inputs Tony Stark's name. (Doubtless, Pepper will see it, too.) 
She types a simple message: 
I've looked at the research. Let's do this.
Yes. Barbara Gordon wants to walk again. ASAP.
And so, dressed in her nighttime best, Heather was just looking good, smiling, and looking like she was the vapid blonde armcandy. She's good at that, the acting part that is. It's all a part of what she does. However, as things approach the stage, her baby blue eyes sharpened visibly (to those who might be looking at her... well, face), and she subtly touched Bruce on the arm with a nod for him to move back a bit. She was just a bit late, not expecting utter insanity to reign, at least not yet. And when everything is all said and done, she essentially moved and stood between Bruce and... well, whatever. However, on the off chance that this is all a lure to draw attention forward, while someone comes from behind to nab her principle, she retained a hold on Bruce's wrist... just in case. That is, unless Bruce might object to that. Hey, she thinks he's the playboy and not someone who could kick her ass without breaking a sweat. "Seriously.." she says to David. "Are you stupid?" she adds.
Pepper Potts watches from near the back of the presentation crowd, watching the stage worriedly... until a message pops through on her phone that doesn't really make much sense to her out of context. She mentally dismisses it for now.
They've got a perfect view of this from backstage, and every gut instinct Tim's developed over his years as Robin says he should be out there. He steps forward when Barbara moves back, but he grits his teeth, glances at Damian- the look says "Stay back, let Bruce handle this" and forcibly makes himself stop moving.
He starts searching through frequencies on his tablet, tied into his earpiece- it's custom tech, thank you very much- but finding little, he eventaully conceeds to just opening up on every frequency currently accepting transmissions in the local area. "If the man on stage can here this, there will be a metahuman-capable SWAT team outside the east entrance in less than 30 seconds, they are armed and willing to escort David LeGraize into custody."
He pauses. Is Michael receiving this, even? There's no way to know. "Get that man off my stage /now/."
The comment from the young waitress draws Justin's attention back to her. "We told security as soon as we saw him," he tells her, voice low and uncharacteristically gentle. "Don't you even start to feel bad about this." Fern's protectiveness of Leo grates on Hammer, but he pushes it back. Now is not the time to ponder that. Eyes narrowing at Leo he replies, "I'm offering to take her out of a dangerous situation." /Which is more than you're doing.../
"Well, the guy is in a force field. I mean, how do you stop the unstoppable? Ugh." Fujiko rubs at her forehead, "Damn. My Dad's been hitting me with questioins like that nonstop. How do you protect someone who can't be protected? You can't stop everything. At what point do you just say that it is an acceptable risk? I mean, teleportation alone means that unless you somehow know exactly how each and every person's teleportation power works, you are just going with a best guess right?" The Japanese teen looks over at Tousaint, "Huh. I think I've seen you before though. At these things. With wine."
"To put it simply I knew wayne would be here. So what better way for a wanted criminal to get a face to face audience with the man then simply do what everyone expects. I only wished to talk and return his tie. However a minor suggestion, may wanna speed this up." David says as he looks to the distance, and for those who can look may notice that a flock of birds seeming to head this way and more seem to be coming from other directions. "If you want a re-enactment of the famous hitchcock film with the entire animal kingdom, drop this force field, my 'need' for help is drawing every animal for miles. Drop the forcefield and I will give myself up, the last thing I want to do is hurt innocent lives."
Keith snarls and raises his hands, summoning an illusion towards the birds: bright flashes of light, and explosions of sound to assault their senses. "Call your birds off, or I will be eating crow pie tonight. And you don't want innocent animals hurt. Do you?" the cat's voice begins to echo with a strange distortion, eyes glowing purple as the illusion appears.
Dick watches from the side of the stage, half leaning on his cane and half on one of the support beams leading out onto the little scene of this bit of 'entertainment'. Like Tim, he really wants to be out there, but with all those faces suddenly in to protect Bruce, it would be moot... That being said, he's still watching David like someone would a cougar. More so when he presents his ultimatum. 
Grayson's eyes go to the flock of animals, then out to the crowd which will inevitably be the animal's target... "This is absurd." 
Fern doesn't let go of Leo's arm, no matter the barbed words her two companions may exchange. Boys do things like that, she doesn't know why and she doesn't bother to try and process it in the middle of everything going on. But there's a look to Leo, meaningful, not needing words to convey "Don't blow your cover." She does finally release the mace, letting it fall back into her bag, feeling it no longer necessary as not only Keith, but Booster Gold take the situation well into hand. And really, who knows how many more supes are in the crowd, not yet stepping forward, but ready to should the need be there. So, one hand holding on to Leo's arm, the other slips around Justin's waist under his suit coat, and she holds her two security blankets, letting neither one go. 
Michael touches the earpiece he is wearing, and replies to Tim's message with a quiet, "I copy." Skeets is doing a good job of getting pertinent communications to his boss. To David, he says, "If you think I'm going to drop it -here-, you're nuts. We're dealing with this off of this stage." He then jerks his head towards the East, just some non-verbal communication to the security personnel and heroes nearby to give them an idea of his intentions. Then, gripping David by the upper arm, Michael actually lifts the big man up off the stage floor as if he weighed little more than a toddler, and flies off with him towards the East entrance. All he can do is hope that Tim is correct with that promise of a SWAT team.
 
Interestingly, despite Wayne's subconscious urge to protect Keith everyone on the stage, he finds himself anchored with surprising firmity by his date, the blonde tugging him back to a position of relative safety. Held still so, Wayne is kept relatively out of harm's way. He gives Heather a glance, devil-may-care at its finest, before looking after David.
"You had your face-to-face with me, LeGraize," Wayne interjects simply, and then nods once to the forcefield.
"You didn't like what I had to say."
He looks up after the forcefield, after the flashing lights and birds in the sky. The apology doesn't seem to faze him. "I'd listen to him, actually..the field shouldn't be necessary. I'd like to trust that he's not going to cause any more trouble." He's a little bit more commanding than he seems. Unbeknownst to anyone outside of his social circle, Wayne has just issued an implicit order.
Marissa Sometimes stays where she is. It's Wayne's show, and if the forcefield stays up she can't hurt the guy anyway. If it comes down and he doesn't do anything, she'll gladly stand down. Gladly. She was here for the demo, after all, not to be a hero. She tries, for a moment, to meet Heather's eyes, just an acknowledgment.
"Dangerous? Well, I suppose of the masses stampade, or security starts to randomly fire firearms." Are humans that stupid? Well...maybe, sometimes? But Leo then looks at Fern, "Your choice." He stops picking on Justin and actually asks Fern what she wants. Leo mmms, head tilting as he listens to the incoming birds. Should he bother? No...Fern first and foremost, he won't leave her side unless absolutely required or she chooses to leave this establishment. "Never mind, you look stubborn." Basically, he already knows Fern isn't going to budge and he smiles slightly. "I don't know if I should call you crazy or brave, Fern."
Though toward Justin, Leo shrugs slightly, "Don't worry about it. She's safe with 'us'," a peace offering to say us instead of 'me', which is what Leo really means. He smiles politely at Justin Hammer before he offers his free hand, "Leo Luthor," in introduction....as if there isn't a crazy battle threatening to break out in front of everyone.
"I cant call them off, they feel what I feel and feel I am in danger because I cant move." David says and when it is even thought of the animals could be hurt, he gives an almost animalistic snarl. "Touch them and I will not be so cooperative." He growls at the cat man. He then looks to Wayne. "Wayne you know that the animals respond to anything which is a threat to me. Tell your toadies to drop the forcefield and I will go quietly. I may be willing to kill off as many people as possible, but not at the cost of animal lives." David says and when Wayne issues the order he nods. "Thank you Wayne." He says with almost relief.
The first of the animals to show up probably would be rats, which seem to be rushing towards David's direction almost like a flood, the birds keep trying to push on despite the assault on their senses. Once the forcefield is removed however, the animals seem to almost return to normal immediatly, the mice and rats heading far away from the people, though a few may try to attack the snack bar now. The birds finally disperse and David puts the tie in a pocket before raising his hands. "See." He says calmly with that growling voice.
Right now Damian's trying to keep himself from going out there. Gritting his teeth a little and trying to seemed relaxed, Damian does NOT like when David threatens his father. Truth be told if Tim hasn't said for them to remain here and was doing so himself, he would be out there. Right now he begins schooling his expression and taking nice slow deep breaths in. His bright blue eyes are cold as he looks out.
The terrorist's threat cements in Justin's mind that they need to leave. They should have left already. Hammer looks upwards, spotting the birds, then back down toward the stage. Keith's display gets his attention, and some admiration. The cat has talent, and he's willing to step up when things go south. Good traits in a hero, and it further solidifies the idea to sponsor the Cheshire's career. Fern wrapping her arm around him gets a glance, but he doesn't move. Instead he gives her shoulder a light squeeze. Nope, he's not leaving without her. Chances are she also now knows he's armed, given that he's carrying his .40 caliber pistol concealed in a mid-back holster. "Fern we should go. Now." Leo is just given a look, Hammer doesn't take the offered hand. "Why don't we take care of the pleasantries when there isn't a life threatening situation?" He can only hold his tongue so long.
Although Michael does drop the force field from around David, he does not drop the guy himself. He wants to get him away from the stage. He does tell him, "You are so freaking lucky I'm not wearing my blasters right now, dude. Un. Cool."
There is a mistaken impression, a thought that seems to drive some of the modern day criminals and terrorists, the idea that if they give an ultimatum, then don't get what they want, any damage they cause is somehow the fault of those who didn't cave in. Heather has been through a few similar things, one at the hands of Harlequinn. She really thought that was one of the more stupid nights she spent anywhere near Gotham.
Narrowing her eyes, Heather doesn't give her political viewpoint, her feelings on the matter... she just does her job. She remains professional, aloof. Her job is to keep her principle safe. Now, the fact that Bruce Wayne isn't exactly likely to be -easy- to keep up with and/or protect if he felt like mixing it up is beside the point. He might've actually not expected Heather to really be as competent as she is at this either. Who knows?
Either way, she just holds her positon. No more words spoken by her... she is fixated on her one task at hand. To that end, she retains an awareness of the area, not JUST staring at David. Keeping her eyes flickering about... she notices Marissa, and gives a very subtle, small nod to the woman before moving her gaze on. At the very least, those who are concerned for Bruce ought to appreciate her whole... focus here.
"I own a transportation company, so the only fear I have about transportation is that someone is going to start up a transportation service that puts me out of business." Tousaint looks at his wine, then back at Fujiko. "Well, If you forget about the ducking for cover, watching super heroes making appearances, and seeing cool tech...Tousaint is about to mention how drinking the free wine is one of the best things at the expo, but is distracted by herd of animals charging then retreating. Tousaint shakes his head in digust, "Feckin Gotham!" Tousaint turns to Fujiko and hands her a business card. "I am Tousaint WAlter of Walter's Transportation. It was nice meeting you. Have a wonderful night."
Tim toggles back to the private frequency Wayne Enterprises is using, "Ms. Danielson," he says. "Do you read? So long as he doesn't make a move at Mr. Wayne, don't intervene. Of course, if he does anything...." It goes without saying that he is more than fine with Heather using her best judgment.
He pauses, hand still at his ear, and then looks over at Damain. After a moment, he reaches to squeeze the young man's shoulder. Very, very briefly, but they're not exactly on the best of terms, and that's all Tim has, right now.
True to Tim's word, though, there is a SWAT team armed with the best anti-meta tech waiting outside to take David away.
"If you want to talk to him," he says into his earpiece. "I'll make an appointment for you at Belle Reve."
That's all Bruce gets from Tim. That, and a very long sigh of relief-slash-frustration that transmits across the private Bat-channel.
Marissa Sometimes relaxes once the animals stand down. Interesting powerset. She's even making mental notes about it. It's a shame he has to be one of the bad guys. For right now, she stays where she is, close to the edge of the stage. Once the situation is over she can hop down, but it isn't yet, not in her mind.
Keith maintans his position, even after Booster starts lifting the man up. "Go ahead, I'll stay here in case we get a Country Bear Jamboree. I have no compunctions in killing animals," the cat says coldly towards David, "let it all fall on our dear Doctor Dolittle's shoulders. He who cares so much about animals that calls them to the slaughter..." when David growls, he shows his own teeth. "You do not get to make threats, scum. Decide not to cooperate and I will flatten you with an anvil the size of a Bronco." the cat says, a growl rumbling deep in his chest. His hands clenched, and the glow in his eyes turned from purple to red. Hearing someone discussing the slaughter of people in such a cavalier manner touched something in him he could not explain. It was only the better part of his control that prevented him from assaulting David with living nightmares. 
"You kill one human in this city and the Batman will have you. You are unworthy of humans and unworthy of animals. You're a monster who is even too good for the gallows," he spits.
Dick hears the command for what it is, but he's not in a situation where he has to acknowledge it... and is one of a very few handful of people who would dare not do so, even if he were. Instead, he leans on his cane and narrows his eyes at the gathering of heroes out there doing what he feels, like Tim and Damian, he should be. His knuckles are white around the black grip of his support, eyes burrowing into David. 
Grayson pushes away from the stage and leans on his supporting cane as he makes his way over to Barbara where she's moved back away from this added piece of circus to the already spectacular Waynetech show. One of the chairs positioned around the backstage area is pulled along with him and turned so he can flop down beside Babs and toss his cane up on a nearby table in favor of rubbing both hands straight down the center of his face. "What the hell..." 
One mouse however didnt leave the charge. It was a small white mouse but in it's mouth was a piece of shrimp. David had went willing and made no attempt to resist his captors but he does stop and lean down to pick the mouse up. He moves inside of the truck with his friend, feeding the shrimp to the mouse. Any attempt to pull the mouse away gets a growl. The mouse if tried to be reached for would try and hide on the eco-terrorist.
Fujiko bids Tousaint farewell as the man quickly exits stage left, and once he's gone she edges towards her boom spot, looking a lot less comfortable after the charge of the rodent brigade. She's never seen The Birds, so the thought of being afraid of birds doesn't even cross her mind. At worst it would be like the pidgeon attack in whichever Home Alone had the pidgeons in New York City. Guarding her spot, she stands on her tip toes to try and see what's going on, "They totally need to get him off stage and off camera. He's a terrorist. You can't let them get camera time."
Barbara Gordon looks over at Dick as he pulls up a chair. "Don't look at me," she says to him. She doesn't figure there's anything more she can do. There are a bunch of hero types here and... She passes her tablet to Dick for him to see the OracleNET feed. "Check out his record." Unless, of course, he's already seen it.
Fern is torn. She wants safety, of course, it would be insane not to. But she wants to see what happens to the wolf that threatened not only her life but Justin's. She may be normal, she may be a civilian, but in the end she's just a girl who loves her people and wants them safe. And Keith is up there, also one of her people. Her arm around Justin squeezes lightly and she whispers, "Wait." And then.... it seems that the danger is over. The spectacle may have been ruined, but the outcome brings a sigh of relief from the young woman. She leans more heavily against Justin, not yet releasing Leo's arm, and then looks between the two. "Justin, this is Leo. Leo, Justin." Why the heck not make introductions, even if it's a weird time. They're both important to her. And the introduction also holds a note of 'stop puffing your chests out.' 
Marissa Sometimes vaults neatly back off the stage, fading as best she can back into the crowd. Well, not TOO far back. Just because one bad thing happened doesn't mean no more bad things are going to happen. That's the way of things, after all. Oh, and she didn't see the mouse.
Dick takes the tablet and turns it around on his lap with his head propped up in the curve of his palm with the elbow braced against the edge of the table. "Mmm..." Pinching at the bridge of his nose with two fingers, he just shakes his head and gives the stage another once over with his mouth cast down in a half frown. "You realize, this is why we can't have nice things, right?" To Babs, half joking... but also half very serious. In a way, he can understand why she's sent that message to Tony, even if he doesn't explicitly know she 'has' sent it. Sitting on the sidelines watching... that's for the birds. 
"I hope Bruce has something amazing as hell up his sleeve, after this.. Otherwise, this is going to be the only thing anyone takes away from the Waynetech show..." 
The Tomorrow Knight growls as the Terrorist is taken away. He glares at Michael, then the other vigilantes. The rockets go off, and without a look he is up and away.
Michael seems fairly ruffled and a bit unhappy about the whole situation. He arches a brow at Tomorrow Knight in return for that glare, then finger combs his hair back into place, heading back towards the stage area once it seems that the threat has been contained and dealt with by the SWAT officers.
Babs gives Dick a grimace in response. "No kidding," she agrees, far less than pleased. "Tony won't be happy, either." A terrorist on the Stark Expo stage? No. Iron Man will be very, very unhappy. 
But there's nothing she can do about it. 
As the terrorist is led away, however, she looks at Dick. "Hey. Do you have any more responsibilities here, or... do you wanna go someplace a little less crazy?"
Keith steps back once the officers take care of the situation, the glow vanishing from his eyes as the animals return to normal and the birds don't come close enough to get blasted by his illusions. "... sorry Mr. Wayne. Miss," He says, nodding to Heather as well, "... I'll get off the stage and... er... let you proceed. A thousand sorries..." 
He, however, glares back at Tomorrow Knight's glare. It ruffled his fur to have someone give him the stink eye for doing what was basically his job- to protect the innocent. It is because he has regained control of his temper that he does not give Tomorrow Knight the one finger salute such treatment usually inspires in the chaos-born cat. He slinks off the stage, because teleporting back into the audience would just give some poor unsuspecting person a heart attack.
"Good job with the forcefield, buddy... thank you." he whispers as he passes Michael and leaps back into the public. He can't hope to blend into the crowd like David did because he's STILL GLOWING PURPLE. Like a purple glowstick. He realized that probably had made him look less... well, intimidating to the terrorist.
Eff Emm Ell, right?
 
Bruce Wayne grins after the whole display.
Or maybe it's because he heard Tim's transmission.
Absently, and entirely for show, Wayne holds his date just a little bit closer as LeGraize is physically drug off the stage by a mob of angry heroes. He pauses for a moment for effect, and continues, quietly sliding a small deck of keynote cards, paging through them absently, breathing out quietly, and easily. There's a kind of rhythm to him, as if everything has gone as expected, and it's just... not that easy to throw him off. For a few seconds that seem to stretch on into infinity, Wayne takes a moment to find a card. "Well, ah... we're going to just discard the whole segment I was going to do on security technologies," he says simply, flicking a card away.
He makes it transparently clear that he's joking, and no such segment was planned. The card he flicked away was blank.
"Automated Hope. What does that mean? Technology, is what it means." It seems as if he's just seamlessly transitioning back into a speech, but it becomes entirely clear to anyone paying attention that he's simply going off of things as he thinks them.
Heather, in particular, might notice that all of the cards Bruce Wayne is holding are blank.
"Whether it's to help a child in bed dying of inoperable cancer or a desperate man rushing a stage for answers, technology can lead the way now in fashions never before dreamed of by my parents." He slides the cards away, breaking away from his date for the evening for a moment, slipping away like a leaf on the wind. "You know, when I was in that cage, I had time to think a lot about Stark's challenge. As first I thought--wow. What a pompous tin can. You know, cancer-fighting technology has been a linchpin in the Thomas Wayne Foundation's area of supporting research and development for ages now, and then he gets me caught by some tree-hugging maniac."
"But then I asked.. you know, why not?"
Bruce activates the holographic imagers, showing through a gallery of technologies. The first is aggressive cancer-fighting laser tech, operating on a human without need for painkillers or invasive procedures. "Why can't we cure cancer through commerce and collaborative cutting edge technologies? Why can't we work together?" He shrugs simply. "The answer is.. there's no reason not to but our own misconceptions about eachother. If you think about it, even a terrorist can have some decent ideas. From technologies that allow us to pinpoint an individual cancer cell in the human body, to universal communications networks that allow for the seamless transition of data and objects no matter where you are anywhere on the globe, to even something as small as improved targetted medicine for livestock..."
Though he flips through technologies rather quickly, one stands out--it's a massive, truly massive by any scale of the imagination, satellite. It's clearly something on the scale that dwarfs anything else Wayne Technologies has announced so far, especially at the Expo.
And most importantly, nobody present but Bruce actually knows how the hell it got into the show. It's something he quickly glosses over.
"The idea of Automated Hope is that through infinite collaboration, we can start working on tomorrow's solutions, today. I'd like to take a moment to introduce to you the first step in Automated Hope, ensuring people's safety by saving them before they come to harm. I'm going to give up the floor here, and introduce the WayneTech 425ARH--the 425 Series Automated Rescue Hoverdrone."
With that, the lights on Wayne's lectern go out, dousing the billionaire and his date in darkness.
Probably just as well it was quick because if it had lasted even a moment longer Damian would have been trying to flip Tim. As it is the young teen just shoots Tim a look for a moment that isn't QUITE loathing that he would normally give Tim. They're getting along better! He hasn't tried to stab, flip or otherwise injure Tim the entire time they've been together and there have been no nasty derogatory comments about Tim made either!
Dick glances over at Tim and while it probably goes unnoticed, he offers his brother a tight smile. He knows how much work Drake put into this, how hard he's been at putting it all together... and to have it so effortlessly HIJACKED? Even Grayson is a little peeved, and this really isn't his scene. 
His gaze shifts over to Babs with a tight smile, reaching over for his cane and twirling it in one hand before it clicks down on the ground and is used to lever him up to his feet. "Let's... " 
He steps over and hangs the cane off the back of Babs' chair and wraps his hands instead around the grips to wheel her in a tight circle towards the backstage exit. Using the chair as support for his leg, "Got somewhere in mind? Have you ever had Shawarma?" 
But then Bruce isn't going volcanic... he's going right back into his speech as if nothing had happened at all. Somehow, deep down, Dick knows he should have seen that coming. Seen that and the hover drones coming, because when one of those hovering machines makes their way on stage, Grayson's eyes go as wide as saucers. Saucers he points down at Babs... "That... will be interesting..." 
Leo actually rolls his eyes at Justin, "Right, danger over," his tone dry. He then moves his free hand instead to pat Fern's hand atop his arm. He turns his attention toward Bruce, appearing attentive, though in reality...he is searching out for Damian Wayne with his senses to make sure the boy is fine after his Father had been threatened.
Oh. Marissa's ears, they perk. Automated Rescue Hoverdrone? She wants one. Very glad she didn't go that far back (in fact, she's still slightly within the security cordon). "I. Want. One." she says out loud. It's beautiful to an engineer's eyes. Of course, she wants it to take apart and find out how it ticks. Which Bruce would never allow without an employment contract. In fact, technically? She's part of the competition.
Justin stays put, but only because Fern requested it. Things seem to be wrapping up, the werewolf eco-terrorist is in custody at last. As far back as he is, there's no way the CEO would have noticed the stow-away. Hammer lets out a sigh of relief and relaxes slightly. That doesn't mean he's any more jovial toward Leo, however. He keeps a cool, professional air. "Nice to meet you officially," he offers to the young man after Fern introduces them. He then turns his attention back to Wayne, who seemed to recover flawlessly from the event. That gets a scowl, though the expression deepens tenfold at the mention of drones. Rescue drones? Really? Like /those/ are going to be accepted any more than his are. People hate drones, doesn't matter what they're for. Not that the MQ-28s /couldn't/ do rescue work, of programmed... The CEO's mind goes off on a tangent as he listens, arm still around Fern.
Keith manages to go invisible and slip away unnoticed. Mostly by going invisible and then hovering over the audience, gliding out.
Hey, at least he didn't glow when he was invisible, right?
Babs doesn't really have handles on the back of her chair. But, there are escrima sticks that stick out of the tops of the two upright bars of the back of her chair. And they'll serve the same purpose. "Schwarma sounds great..." she begins, as the lights go off and the rescue bot is displayed. 
"Wow," she says quietly. "That could be a serious game changer..."
Maybe people will take something more than a deranged killer's assault on the stage away from this evening.
Michael gives Keith a friendly finger-gun in response before the cat leaves, but otherwise returns his focus to the stage. Skeets continues to record the presentation, although the little droid remains on alert. Michael does seem a little unhappy; someone is probably going to get yelled at for letting a terrorist get through. -He- might get yelled at for that. Oh, well.
Pepper Potts spent the entire intervening time with her phone pressed to her ear, listening in on the security chatter and offering suggestions as needed. Now that everything is calming back down, she finally turns her attention to the actual presentation, and is duly impressed by the drones. You know, for being drones.
Fern breathes a sigh of relief, now that the danger is well and truly over and Mr. Wayne goes on with his presentation as if that had been a planned glitch. The performer in her admires that more than she might admit, because the show must go on, after all. And she does have the peace of mind of knowing that she and Justin were instrumental in bringing the threat to the attention of the right people, even if the superheroes stepped in to save the day. Chalk one up for the norms! With the danger over, Fern's posture loses it's rigidity, and she leans against Justin a little more heavily. Many more weeks like this and she'll be on the next bus home. But... 'her boys' play nice, mostly, and that makes her happy. All she ever wants is for everyone to get along. She's totally lost all focus on Mr. Wayne's speech, suddenly exhausted as the events of the past week catch up to her. Fear Monster, werewolf squared.... never a dull moment. 
"Game changer isn't exactly how I'd phrase it..." Dick says, hands around the escrima sticks sticking up from the back of Barbara's chair. It's no secret that, eventually, almost all of Waynetech's best toys ends up employed in the Gotham's night war... Automated Drones under Batman's control? 
Yeah, that's enough to put Dick on edge. 
Still, he leans down and crosses his arms on the back of Babs' chair, watching the show through the little curtain. "So... should we stay or should we go now?" Yes, he sang it. 
Babs has her own reservations... and hopes for those drones, truth be told. She is, after all, the queen of remote surveillance. When Dick begins to sing, however, she actually has to giggle. She even bops her red head a little, and glances up at him. "Let's blow this pop stand," she says then. "It's not like we won't get the inside track on it soon enough." Because, one way or another, they will. 
And she's had enough of this place for one night.
Well, more like Leo just pointedly ignores Justin at this point, not even responding to his pretend polite comments. But at least he isn't being sarcastic, right? But finally, Leo turns to Fern and smiles a bit. "Pardon me Fern." He raises her hand from his arm and touches her knuckles briefly to his mouth, though there is no 'kiss', it is merely a light touch. "I have some duties to tend to. Text me later tonight if you feel up to it." Leo then moves to take his leave.
Things are getting back on track. Or so Tim is hoping, here, with his stomach in his throat. He can roll with the literal punches, but this is a bit much, even for him, and he snags a bottle of water from a passing (lesser paid) intern and guzzles it in maybe two or three gulps. "Fucking fuck," he mutters, which, is really notable because Tim doesn't swear all that much. He very much ‘’doesn't’’ take after his brothers in that way.
Trust Bruce to be able to recover when Tim is still gripping his tablet so hard his knuckles are white.
"Okay. Okay, we're doing this," and his hand returns to his ear. "Back on cue, everyone. Techs, be ready. You know how Mr. Wayne is."
There's a brief moment where Tim is flat-out puzzled at the giant satellite pictured on the screens, and he shares a confused glance with the rest of the Bats backstage. Okay, he's out of the loop, here, someone want to clue him in?
---
For a moment, it seems like the techs are lagging behind a little bit, though there are many people in the audience noticing quick, fleeting shadows passing over them. Just as Lucius's hologram appears back on stage, walking forward casually but lacking some of the deep sea calm the man usually displays, the running lights kick on.
"The 425 Series Automated Rescue Hoverdrone, ladies and gentleman," Mr. Fox says as a sleek piece of dark grey machinery glides in a slow semi-circle around him. The drone is all gentle curves, designed for aerodynamics but hiding a hell of a lot of tech inside it. The large camera "ball" on front rotates, its single large eye illuminating the space where Mr. Fox's hologram is currently occupying, before giving a beep of acknowledgement.
With moments, more drones begin lining up along the stage. Most are the same dark grey, though there are several other models being displayed. Some in forest green or silvery white.
"This is the first step in a program we have been developing at Wayne Enterprises for years, now. The 425ARH-A, the model you see here," and Mr. Fox lays an almost fatherly hand on the grey drone still in the air next to him, "Is designed for urban deployment. New York and Gotham have survived through some very destructive natural disasters in the very recent past that I'm sure most of us remember less than fondly. The urban drone is designed to rescue personnel from collapsed buildings. Telescoping lenses, thermal vision, listening devices combined with programming designed to scan damaged structures for possible weak-points and means of access. The ARH-A can navigate some very tight spots to locate, assess and rescue."
Several attachments lower from the bottom of the drone. Drills, grasping tools, laser attachments for cutting. "We've worked tirelessly to ensure that the ARH can reach anyone in need of assistance. We also have the ARH-B and -C," one of each temporarily turning on its spotlight as a way of saying 'that's me', "Built for heavily wooded and snowing conditions. They can sustain continuous operation for over 48 hours in hazardous conditions without requiring outside assistance, meaning they can operate when human search and rescue parties cannot."
Pepper Potts can't help but raise her eyebrows at the drones, and can't help but glance toward Skeets. How much of a resemblance is there? Enough of one, and she might feel the irrational need to giggle just a bit. But, while things are starting to move smoothly again, she taps a quick text message into her phone for Michael. |Thanks.|
Hammer just eyes Luthor as he makes his departing comments. It takes every ounce of willpower not to roll his eyes. Can the kid be any more cliche'? What does Fern see in the cocky youth. And yes, the irony is lost on Justin, who can be just as cliche and cocky in his own right. He doesn't say anything either, remaining oddly silent and looking back toward the presentation. It's between Fern and Leo.
Michael tilts his head to one side, then looks up at Skeets. "Are those relatives of yours?"
The little golden robot regards the hovering drones, then says, "I suppose they -could- be ancestors of mine, sir. Do you think I should say hello?"
"Uh, not right this moment," Michael hurriedly replies. He sees the message from Pepper pop up in his HUD, adjusts his glasses slightly and then uses the ghostly holo-interface to send her a response. <I'm sorry I couldn't grab him sooner.>
Dick straightens when the drones actually make their appearance and whistles quietly under his breath... They're impressive, he'll give them that... and he trusts Lucius' when it comes to these sorts of things. So with a nod to Babs, he's angling them first over to Tim. "Hey, we're going to go get some shawarma. I hear there's a great shawarma joint just around the corner and I really want shawarma." 
Before he heads them back towards the backstage exit, however, he slaps Tim in a brotherly manner, "Nobody else could have pulled this off, Tim." Pause, "I mean that. Bruce is lucky you're here." 
Fern gives Leo's hand a soft squeeze, nodding to his words. "I will," she promises, not holding him, but letting her hand slip from his as he moves away. His duties could be anything, and she won't question them, trusting in him as she does with few others. One of those being, of course, Justin Hammer. As Leo goes to do what he needs to do, Fern leans against Hammer. What concentration she had for the evening is shattered, and she really just wants... her blanket. Yeah, she has a blanket, what of it? She tilts her head up, looking to Justin. "I think I wanna go home," she says softly. "You stay, you have things to follow up on. You're ok though, right?" Her eyes are earnest on him, and she won't leave without that reassurance. 
With the show winding down, Fujiko heads for the exit, pretty pleased that she didn't freak out with the rat invasion. At the same time however, she's vaguely disappointed. Some part of her had been hoping she'd get that whole 'about to explode' sensation again. Not that she really wanted to explode. "Well...maybe just a little." she murmurs to herself while making her departure. She'd never become a superhero if she didn't figure out how that most basic part of it all worked.
Babs reaches out to grab Tim's hand... even with the tablet. "You did good, Tim," she says, echoing Dick's sentiments. "You did all you could, given the situation. Call me later, I'll give you what I've got." On the madman, of course. 
With that, she smiles up to Dick. "Okay. Anytime you're ready. My van's parked close." Gotta love the little blue wheelchair permit.
Justin turns his head to look at Fern. "Why don't I take you home?" he offers to her, his voice uncharacteristically quiet. "I think I've seen enough here, and I can always watch the rest on video later." He sounds, and looks, rather tired. It's been a long week, and he's likely going to be at the Expo all weekend anyway. Might as well call it a night early.
Pepper Potts skirts around the edge of the presentation area, trying to catch up to where Michael is without getting in the way of anyone. When she finally stops next to the bespectacled man she offers him a smile. "You caught up with him faster than any one else besides Keith. You don't need to apologize."
Fern nods at Justin's suggestion, for once not making an excuse to get home on her own. She lives in a rough part of Harlem, but this time, she's willing to let Justin into her life a little bit more. "Yes, please," is her soft reply, as she still leans against the taller man. Maybe she's just got to stop leaving the apartment at all. She'll think about that more later, when she's not feeling quite so wrung out. 
"Yeah, but he nearly got within arms reach of Mr. Wayne," Michael points out, quietly, to Pepper. "What if he'd like... grabbed Mr. Wayne and eaten his heart or something." Awkward, and impossible to put a good spin on that even with sterling PR. "Now I'm wondering if I should always wear a weapon, just in case." He puts his hands in his trouser pockets and gives the drones on stage a glum look.
With that, Dick rolls them out while using the chair itself as support for his own gimp walking thanks to his bum right knee. "I don't know about you, but I'm getting pretty excited about shawarma." He says, since it is clear he needs to say it a few more times. Go ahead and say it out loud, it really rolls off the tongue. I'll wait. 
"Watching a criminal get stopped cold in delivering their 'crazy speaches' really gives me an apetite." 
And away they go, to Babs' van, which is parked not far away. 
"C'mon, I drove myself, so the car is already here," Justin gently guides Fern back toward the exit of the main stage area. Not having a driver will also hopefully make it feel a little less awkward for Fern, who's already shaken up. When they reach the exit, Hammer gets the door for them both.
Both Dick and Barbara receive a grateful smile from Tim in return for their reassurances, and Tim squeezes Babs' hand back. "Thank you, really. I- well, I didn't plan for this, and you know he'll say I should have," he says, with just a little bit of mirth. Teeny tiny bit. Not much. He's strained.
"Save some shawarma for me, I'm not going to be home any time soon. The PR's going to be a nightmare. At least I managed to cut the public video feed early on, but it's already hit YouTube."
He waves to them both, then turns to Damian. He's not sure what to say, at this point. Finally, he sighs. "Go grab a tablet from one of the interns, if you'd like to help." Yes. Actually /offering/ to let Damian get in on this, however unofficial in capacity.
---
Onstage, Lucius Fox begins a very well-written speech explaining all of the finer, technological points of the drones. This is, after all, the Stark Expo. They have to do /some/ tech talk.
Most of the crowd sticks around for it. There are police, SWAT, and security nearly forming a wall around the pavilion, checking people as they leave, but it seems that Wayne Enterprises has been given the go-ahead to continue.
Eventually, Mr. Fox moves into other projects. New phone and computer models on the horizon, Wayne Electronics' vision of a new home theater system, a big piece on Wayne Medical & Biotech. The presentation continues for a good hour more.
Category:Log