2012-06-18 Come Here Often?

Supergirl is still getting used to patrolling Metropolis. SHe's learning the neighborhoods and where the trouble spots may be. And Suicide Slum is one of the most troublesome areas of Metropolis. And Kara has to admit to herself, that she feels very uncomfortable flying over the economicaly depressed area. She can almost feel the aura of despair this neighborhood has, and she has to fight down her own feelings of loss.
Suicide Slum is a rough neighborhood, sure enough, but Robin's from Gotham City. The worst Metropolis has to offer just, well -- it isn't worse than what he's used to. So, as the silhouette of Robin's cape flares out to aid him in gliding from building to building, he hardly notices the despairing nature of the place. He's too focused on The Job. And, as he crouches over an officially "empty" warehouse, the costumed crimefighter crouches down to train his long-range microphone through a crack in the place's skylight. Supergirl goes unnoticed for now. In Gotham, watching the skies just isn't as necessary as watching the streets.
Inside the warehouse, the shady deal that Robin was tipped off to is starting to go down. Drugs from Gotham in exchange for high-tech weapons from Metropolis. The Vietnameese man from Gotham has a briefcase full of smuggled heroin on the table, and the representititve of the Metropolis crew is testing the product. Hands are on guns and the tension is obvious.
Kara is unaware of all this, instead flying overhead and trying to keep an eye and ear out for any trouble.
And trouble does come, as someone says something wrong inside the warehouse, and the gunshots start to ring out.
Robin's carefully planned surveillance is disrupted when violence breaks out, and so his plans to observe and report go out the window. Instead, he unclips a device from his belt and quickly sprays a circle of foaming gel onto the skylight. The "foam gun" also injects a tiny device into the mix, a device that will emit a tiny electrical impulse once Robin presses a button on the handle of the sprayer. And, just as he hops down off the roof to make his way in quietly via the back door, Robin does push that button. An instant later, the skylight explodes into a spray of smoke and glass shards.
Batman may love to make a dramatic entrance, but Robin prefers to make a big distraction and sneak in where they aren't looking.
The weapons fire and the explosion catch Kara's attention. Switching direction, she zooms down, breaking through the wall and into the chaos.
Robin's diversion draws a lot of attention. Both conventional automatic weapons and energy blasters fire at the explosion, the shots ricocheting around the room while the Teen Wonder sneaks in through the back door. When Supergirl breaks through, the big suns switch to her, knocking the Girl of Steel back a bit.
The sudden arrival of the Girl of Steel is a surprise, but Robin knew there might be that kind of surprise in Metropolis. Part of him is really impressed, actually, but he manages to hold it together and keep focused on the job. With most of the attention now focused on Supergirl and the rest lost in the general confusion, Robin slips up behind one of the gunmen and reaches around to clamp a hand over his mouth and put him in a sleeper hold until he goes down for the count.
Supergirl recovers from the energy blasts and plants her feet. She braces herself and weathers the hailstorm of energy. "Surrender now!" she shouts. "The police are on their way, you will not escape." To emphasize her point, she bends down and strikes the ground, sending a shockwave through the floor that knocks over several of the attackers. And is headed right for the hidden Robin.
"Damn! Shoulda known a Super would show up!" The Metropolis gang leader fires off a few quick shots at Supergirl. "Andre! Break out the big stuff!" And one of the gang members heads towards a crate to pull out a rather large and unwieldy gun.
Crate. Weapons. Target acquired. Robin cuts through the shadows, rather more like the cliché of a shark than the actual shark, and finds a position where he has a good view of that crate. He palms a pellet from a belt compartment and then throws it hard and true at the crate, hoping to coat it in a quick layer of super-cold frost to discourage anyone from playing with the more deadly toys.
Andre yelps in pain as the gun he was picking up frosts over, giving his hand freezer burn. He looks around in confusion, wondering what just happened.
Since it looks like the thugs aren't surrendering, Kara decides to end this quick. Her eyes glow red and twin beams of energy shoot out. She sweeps her heat vision over all the visible guns, which happen to be shooting at her, and the weapons are quickly droped as they get superheated. THere's a few crooks that are choosing the better part of valor and start running towards a back exit, past Robin's position.
The back exit may start to look like a bad idea, as Robin palms a few other pellets of a different variety, scattering them across the floor by the door. One second later, the pellets explode in a glorious peppering of tiny fireballs -- not enough to seriously hurt anyone, though probably enough to discourage trying to get out that way.
The crooks that are making a break for it stop as the micro-explosions go off in front of them. Then, Supergirl appears right in front of the stunned bad guys. She reaches out and casually pushes them away, sending them flying into a group of crates and knocking them out. Kara looks around, having seen the explosives going off and wondering if she's all alone here. Her x-ray vision catches sight of the crouching Teen WOnder, and she smiles at him. "Thank you...."
By now, Metropolis PD has arrived and is starting to secure the building. Cops begin filling in and gathering up the surrendering criminals. Supergirl lifts up into the air and waves to the police. "I don't think they'll give you much trouble. There's also several energy weapons in crates here, something to be careful of." And with anothe wave, she lifts up out of the skylight.
Fortunately, the place is now pretty hazy with smoke, so Robin just fires his grapnel gun right up through the skylight and zips up and away, swinging up onto the roof swiftly and silently enough that no HUMAN eye or ear is likely to have caught him. Once on the roof, he turns to make his way off again, back to where he parked his ride.
As Robin turns to head back to where his vehicle is parked, he comes face to face with Supergirl. She saw him exit and swooped down to meet the boy that helped her out. "Hello," she says with a smile and a wave. "Thanks for the help, I think those two would have gotten away f you han't surprised them like that."
The surprise is met with a sharp stiffening of Robin's posture, a certain sense of the lenses in his mask widening in surprise as it flexes to match the muscles of his face. He composes himself quickly, though, and answers with a curt nod. "Just following up on a lead," he explains, and then he adds, almost an afterthought, a memorized-sounding, "Don't worry. Batman's not looking to do extended maneuvers in Metropolis. I was just chasing down a lead on the Quan drug trafficking operation."
"Oh, no! It's fine." Supergirl seems almost apologetic, like she's the one on someone elses home turf. "I'm sure my cousin wouldn't mind. And anyone that helps is always appreciated." Yup, she's very...perky. "Ummm...I'm Supergril, by the way. But you...probably...figured that out..."
Robin delicately avoids pointing out the S-on-chest thing. She's a girl, after all. It'd be... tactless. Instead he takes refuge in, "Yeah. I've heard of you." Then he approaches the sleek, black custom motorcycle parked along one side of the alleyway, clicking off the remote to the security system built into his belt. He slings one leg over the bike, though he doesn't start it yet. For a beat or so he's silent, then: "Robin." The one word is all the introduction he offers, but in spite of himself, the Bat-façade slips a little -- one corner of his mouth turns up in a small smile.
"Like the bird?" Supergirl says. "That's a nice name." She looks over the motorcycle, knowing what it's for but still curious as to why someone would drive something wih far less protection than a car. "So...do you come here to Metropolis often, Robin?"
"Not often," Robin answers, shaking his head slightly. "Like I said, it was... a case. Normally I stick go Gotham." Another beat, somewhat awkward, and he admits, "People don't break through walls there. Much. Usually." He glances down, moving deliberately, and picks up the helmet from his handlebars, slipping it on over his head.
Supergirl smiles bashfully. "You know, you're a hero and you don't break through walls. Power doesn't matter, a desire to make a difference does. Police and firemen are just as much heroes as my cousin is. And without you here, I would have had a lot harder time dealing with these guys."
Robin stares blankly at Supergirl for a moment or so, unsure quite how to respond to that, and then he answers a bit hesitantly, "Er, thanks, but -- I just meant, back in Gotham, I'm less likely to have walls exploding open on me. I appreciate being called a 'hero,' but it's more just a... well, a safety issue, really."
"Oh," Kara says with a blush. "Sorry, I'm still new. To being a hero. Sometimes, I don't know how to act or what to say around other heroes." She blushes and looks at the ground. "I haven't even heard of this 'Batman' before..."
She MUST be new, Robin reflects. He can still smell the wet paint of her "S." He fiddles absently for a moment with the bike's starter switch -- on his belt, not the bike -- without actually triggering it, then he answers, "You've obviously got stopping crooks down. So, er -- good job with that. And Batman, Batman's in Gotham. It's his city. You can ask Superman about that. He can explain."
"Oh, okay." Supergirl smiles again and looks at Robin; it's clear he's etting ready to leave. "Anyways, it was nice to work with you, RObin. I hope to see you again soon." She starts to lift up into the air. "Driv safe!"
Robin hesitates for another moment. He SHOULD already be gone by now, but he doesn't get to meet many other "heroic" teens. So, he makes a bit of a snap decision and reaches into another belt compartment, producing a small item about the size and shape of the cap of a pen, complete with a little clip. He tosses this lightly to Supergirl as she begins to ascend, saying, "Here. Click the end if you ever need to page me. And you can plug the flat end into the data port of your cell phone if you need to call me."
Supergirl smiles wide as she flies back down to take the dvice. "Thank you! I promise I'll only use it in an emergency. And...my cousin is still working on getting me a cell phone. But I'll have one soon, I'm sure."
Nodding, Robin says, "Cool. Tell him to make sure it's got a micro-USB port. That's what the pager plugs into." He pauses again, then thumbs the switch on his belt. The bike hums quietly to life, the powerful engine making surprisingly little noise. "Anyway, I better get back to Gotham. Stay safe, Supergirl." He gives the pedal a kick, pushes off, and then shoots off down the street, taking back alleys and less-traveled roads as he makes his way for the nearest bridge off the island and out of Metropolis.
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