2012-09-03 Time Out For Fuzz

Nothing like sirens and pretty red and blue lights to spoil a meet-and-greet. Fortunately, escape wasn't hard. Between grapple lines and a conveniently located old office building, it was easy to find a place out of the weather, yet still with a good view of the scene below.
Jubilee stoops at the window of the empty office now, watching as the cops look over the area and take Gimme and Gommer into custody. She stifles giggles as one of them holds up Gimme's gun arm. "I think they just found your crossbow bolt," she says softly to Huntress. "By the way, good shot!"
The masked Gothamite paces a bit as she watches the police do the clean up, Lois's questions along with the photo she'd been shown very much bothering her. "Thanks for stepping in, by the way. You didn't have to."
Jubilee giggles. "I would've missed the arm, too," she replies, reflexively stooping a little lower as someone flicks a car searchlight around the area in a cursory look for any obvious vigilantes. She'd closed the window behind them, but that light's awfully bright.
She glances back at Huntress. "Actually, I did have to. I know it leads to trouble, but I couldn't just let those guys rob No-Face... since I didn't know he was No-Face and all, not then."
Huntress puts her back to the wall next to the window when the searchlight aims up, and waits for it to move on. "Yeah, true. Still. How many people in this damned town would actually make that decision?" She leans back toward the window and peers out briefly. She has to give the younger woman credit, this is a pretty nice vantage point.
Jubilee nods, noting the excellent point. "How many people in this town are mutant freaks like me?" she adds, more softly and slowly. "I don't think I could've done much if I didn't have these powers. Makes the decision to help a lot easier, though."
Serious moment aside, she winces and shifts positions, reaching down to undo a few buttons on the jeans that are pinching her uncomfortably in the middle. Fashion and surreptitious activities don't mix. "I totally need a costume like yours. My wardrobe's totally wrong for sneaking around and other hero-stuff," she comments, giving the Huntress an embarrassed little smile.
Huntress looks over at Jubilee and looks amused. "Honestly? I liked the yellow coat the other day. Other than that, wear something easy to move around in, like yoga pants or something. At least until you can get the real thing."
Jubilee claps a hand over that embarrassing floral-print gap between jeans and jacket. "Which I could really use right now!" she agrees, stifling giggles. "I like it too, but it'd be totally wrong with yoga pants. Wardrobe update time, for sure. Know any good stores for that kind of stuff?" Fitness stores aren't exactly mall rat territory.
She glances back down to the street, watching the cops take the two into custody. "I guess that's it for the show," she muses. "Gotham cops must be really used to you guys by now. Crimefighters, I mean. Batman and you and all."
Huntress relaxes as well, looking back down at the street one last time. "Well, some of them are. Some of them I think would be happy to shoot to kill on sight. But, either way, you probably want to wear something designed for exercise or sports. REI's a good place to start."
"They're stupid, if they think that way," Jubilee says adamantly. "You do a lot of good. It's not like the official-type law people can be everywhere they're needed at once, not in a city like Gotham."
"Yeah, well, I'm guessing that they don't like that we get to skip the paperwork aspect of their jobs." Huntress checks again to see the impound truck starting to tow the car away.
"Nobody likes paperwork," Jubes agrees, chuckling softly. "But getting hot and bothered because somebody else doesn't have to do it is just silly. Kinda petty, too."
She looks down. "Y'know, it's probably a good thing Miss Lane turned off the rhythm pounder in the Abomination-Mobile. If not, it'd probably be shaking off the hook, if it didn't shake the tow truck apart!" she observes, keeping in giggles with her hand.
Huntress rolls her eyes, but is more amused than annoyed. "I'm pretty sure if Lois hadn't done it the tow truck guy would have. It was friggin' annoying."
"Probably," Jubilee admits, though she does sound a touch pained. Nobody goes along with her jokes, it seems. "I guess we should give 'em a few minutes, then make our own exit, stage right. There's only one cop car left now, and I don't see any blues on foot."
Huntress takes another look as well, but she's scanning the adjoining rooftops, not the street below. "Yeah, it looks clear. Do you need a ride anywhere?"
"A ride? Please?" Jubilee's dullened expression brightens again. "I got lost following someone. I need to get back to 688 Avogadro Street, or at least someplace close." She follows Huntress's gaze. "Wait... whatcha lookin' for up there?"
Huntress says, "The Bat and his ilk. They seem to think I'm just waiting for a chance to go Lizzie Borden or something." She looks at Jubilee. "You were trying to get to Avogadro?" She hehs. "How the hell did you end up /here/?""
"Um, no... I need to get to Avogadro because that's where I'm staying. I'm /here/ because I followed someone down here, and I couldn't remember the way back," Jubilee explains. "I was looking for a convenience store to ask directions when the Abomination-Mobile showed up."
She blinks at the thought. "The Bat? Batman? He thinks you're a psycho?" She looks over the taller woman's gear. "Okay, a crossbow is a little bit dangerous, but I've never seen you aim for anyplace vital."
Huntress hehs. "That's 'cause people get all frowny face if I even go for a flesh wound." She takes one more look at both the street and the rooftops, then opens the window. "Ready to go?"
"Oh... that's kind of harsh," Jubilee murmurs, remembering Gimme's cheap .38. "Especially when the opposition has guns."
The question pulls her out of that considering frame of mind, and she shakes her head and stands, stretching to relieve stiff muscles. And that's about when her forgotten jeans decide they need a break, slipping on her hips and beginning to fall. "Oh!" She snaps her knees together before they can slide all the way to the floor. "Um, not yet..." she says, reaching to pull them up.
Huntress smiles and looks away, though it's clear she's trying to not laugh. "Well, say when."
"It's not funny!" Jubilee hisses, very red-faced, keeping her voice down since the window's open now. She quickly tugs her jeans back into place, fumbling with the buttons in her impatience. It's several long moments before she says, "Okay, let's go."
Huntress glances back at Jubilee then nods and steps out the window, leading the way.
Jubilee follows, risking a quick glance down, then keeping her attention firmly on Huntress and what's under their feet. At least her sense of balance is strong!
Huntress checks on Jubilee for the first little bit, but then on realizing that the girl is fairly nimble-footed, she trusts her to keep up. Eventually they reach where the Ducati is hidden and Huntress quickly adjusts the back of the bike to accomodate a passenger.
Jubilee does keep up. Mostly. She does fall behind a couple times when she loses track of where the taller woman was putting her feet, and with Huntress's 11-inch height advantage, she has to take /very/ long strides or even hop to keep up. But she gets there.
She pauses at the sight of the Ducati, staying clear but watching the whole time. Very cool bike, but her attention is on the owner. "Um... I, like... keep forgetting to ask this. Who are you? Your name, I mean."
Huntress looks over at Jubilee as she turns on the digital readouts on the bike. "Call me Huntress. You?"
"Call me Jubilee... 'cuz that's my name. Most of it. Actually, it's Jubilation Lee, but it's a lot easier to go with short form," Jubilee replies, seeing that the bike is almost ready and moving closer, wanting to be ready to go. "Cool bike. What kind is it?"
Huntress settles on the motorcycle then pulls her cape around and tucks it into her belt so Jubilee doesn't have to deal with it. "It's a Ducati. Italian." She turns the key in the bike, then presses the ignition, causing the motorcycle to rumble to life promptly. It's not a deep, rumbly engine like a Harley, but it's not a little droning mosquito like a Kawasaki either. "Ready?"
"Ducati..." Jubilee murmurs, with the distracted air of someone memorizing a word. But that engine sound is her cue, and she quickly mounts up, wrapping her arms firmly around Huntress's waist and tucking her legs in close, but not too close to the rear wheel. Someone's been on a bike before. "Totally!"
Huntress is actually glad the girl understands passenging on a motorcycle, though the death grip around her waist is maybe a bit more than she's accustomed to. "All right. I'll try to not go too fast." She's used to riding alone and treating every road like a race circuit. 688 Avogadro Street. ETA, fifteen minutes. Ten, depending on traffic and Jubilee's intestinal fortitude.
"Go as fast as you want!" Jubilee encourages cheerfully. She's used to riding with more than one boyfriend with a bike, the kind who tended to excessive speed. Granted, she probably never rode with a cyclist as skilled as Huntress, so she doesn't really know who she's talking to. She also has never been on a Ducati racer-quality bike. Clueless, totally.
Huntress says, "You sure?" She revs the engine, the Ducati making a sound like a large cat snarling, and then they shoot out into the thin late-night traffic. Having a second body on the Ducati changes its ride characteristics enough that she can't ride like she usually does, but she's definitely not going easy just for Jubilee's sake. They whip around a sedate taxi at way more than the speed limit, leaning into the course changes more than actually turning. ETA recalculated. Six minutes. "Speak up if you need me to slow down, okay?"
"I'm good! Speak up if I'm holding too tight!" Jubilee fires back, her arms tense on the taller woman's middle. She's taken some fast rides, but never anything like this. At least, not on the ground!
Huntress takes a corner at what is probably considered VERY unsafe speeds, the Ducati leaning not quite to a forty-five degree angle before straigetening up again. The rest of the journey is equally fast and completely controlled, though possibly even a little faster because she realizes that Jubilee isn't off-balancing the motorcycle in any way. Actually kind of impressive.
Hanging on for dear life and following the moves of the rider tend to produce that effect, in Jubilation's admittedly-limited experience. She tries to watch where they're going, but it's hard to see around Huntress's billowing tresses. Still, she can feel the bike's breakneck speed slackening now. "Are we there?"
Sure enough, the bike slows and actually comes to a gentle stop in front of 688 Avogadro. "Yep. This is your stop." The Ducati just rumbles evenly, almost contentedly, as if the really fast travel was FUN.
Jubilee, lowers her legs, lifts her head, and takes a deep breath, in and out. The cold air of their passage was burning her throat a little. But she still leans over a little to grin perkily at Huntress. "Can we do it /again/?"
Huntress actually laughs a bit at that. "Seriously? Uh, yeah, sure."
"Seriously, I shouldn't keep you away from your patrol," Jubilee says after a moment's thought. The look in her eyes is regretful, not relieved, though. "But maybe on my next visit? Is there a way I could contact you? I know better than to ask for your name..."
"Seriously, I shouldn't keep you away from your patrol," Jubilee says after a moment's thought. The look in her eyes is regretful, not relieved, though. "But maybe on my next visit? Is there a way I could contact you? I know better than to ask for your name..."
Huntress considers. She's never had anyone she'd consider an ally to keep in touch with, and Oracle doesn't really count. That computer-voiced person supplied the hardware. "Well, I don't really have a cell phone on me." She sounds sincerely regretful about it, too.
Jubilee's expression turns thoughtful again. Then inspiration strikes, and she pulls something from her pocket. "Hold still a sec..." And then she finds a pen and she's /writing/ something on the back of Huntress's cape. Okay, maybe not /on/ it, but she's using a vigilante for a clipboard. That's just wrong.
Huntress frowns and tries to look over her shoulder at what Jubilee's doing. She can tell the girl is writing on something and using her back as a support surface, but still.
Jubilee finishes with a flourish and passes over a piece of scrap paper that must've come off of a fast food bag. "Here ya go!" Written on it is: FireworksGrrl@mailslot.com. Below, 'Jubilation Lee' with hearts dotting each 'i', and below that 'Write me!' The exclamation point continues as a line up to the first line, where it becomes an underline, then drops down to underline the last line, with two more underlines for emphasis. "Just say who it's from in the message. I can give you a number through that."
Huntress looks at the note. It's so.... 8th grade. But, appearances not withstanding, she tucks the bit of paper into a compartment on her belt. "That I can do." Well, once she figures out how to make a secure email address. Maybe she can hunt down Robin and ask him. The Bat types always have all the neatest gadgets, and she's guessing computer tech isn't excluded. "So, see you later, Jubilee?"
Well, she was in 8th grade two years ago. Jubilee dismounts and nods. "Probably not for a week or two. I've got weekends off, but the school's pretty strict. And it's /boring/ there. Looking forward to getting your message!"
Huntress ohs, now wondering what school Jubilee's talking about. But, she's not going to pry. "Well, don't get too bored, okay?" She turns to set the Ducati's tail back to its original configuration. "And I'll definitely send you a message soon."
Now that she knows Huntress is going to be still for a moment, Jubilee risks a quick hug. "I'll be watching for it. Be careful out there!" It's definitely quick, and the Chinese-American teenager turns and skips up the steps into the dingy old hotel at 688 Avogadro. The background is definitely at odds with the subject. But maybe this city needs a little cheer.
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