2012-09-09 Off to the Circus

Tickets to Haly's Circus had been provided to those Titans who wanted to go. As far as Circuses go, while it wasn't 'Cirque do Soleil', it wasn't schlock, either. These are first-rate acrobats and animal handlers and the show is classic 'Circus' without all the bells and whistles that look impressive but are nothing but icing. 
Once the circus has ended and the tent has been cleared out, Nightwing appears,
"Well, as I promised, we have free reign. Just...try not to break anything and no,
you cannot pet the lions or tigers. The animals aren't part of the deal." But all
the equipment is! "I'm happy to help if anyone has questions about how to use any of this stuff," is offered with a grin.
When the opportunity to go to the circus is presented the newly made probationary Titan, Bunker just jumps at the chance! And Nightwing said he didn't do fun! It is a let down though to hear he couldn't pet the lions but he's always one to look on the bright side. Walking down to the center ring, he looks around, turning in place and then grins. "Who want to join me on the trapeze?"
Illyana is mildly familiar with the acrobatic equipment, given that Nightcrawler has a similar background to Nightwing. She's never had the same aerial grace though, and so she's sitting on one of the platforms, letting her feet dangle down as she watches the others. Magik's been quiet and exceptionally snarky the past week, but she's also not been around folks much.
Nightwing saunters over to the latter leading to the trapeze, "You ever been on
that, Bunker?" he can't help but grin some. "At least they have the net
up..." and the grin falters. "Sometimes the acts perform without it."
Right. But this always happens when he visits. "Come on, I can give you pointers if you want." Looking over at Illyana, he offers, "You might like the silks...or
there's always the tightrope."
Mend looks around. "Never seen it when it's...not active before, you know. When
there isn't somebody using it and all the lights." She eyes the tightrope herself.
"I could try it...there's a net so if I make a fool of myself I'll just get laughed at."
"I've never been to the circus before." Bunker says, grinning broadly at
Nightwing. "It was amazing the way they fly around without any powers of their
own!" Which is probably a 'no' to the question. "I am not afraid of falling. I
jump off buildings all the time and make my own cushions. But these 'pointers' would be good!"
Illyana hooks one ankle behind the other, leaning forward onto palms that rest on the platform as she watches Nightwing climb up. She shakes her head, offering him a slight smile. "I'm good."
"When you fall," Nightwing instructs, "Be careful to try and turn so your
bum is the thing that lands first. Even on the net you don't want to land on your head or neck. Wait until you've stopped bouncing and then roll over to the edge to get off of it." He looks to Illyana, "All right..." before gesturing Bunker to lead the way up the ladder. "It is, isn't it?" He's grinning again before he starts to give instructions on how to start one's adventure on the trapeze.
Mend wanders over to the tightrope. "Hey...where's the...you know, the balance
poles?" She knows they use the pole thing for a reason and is *totally* not
attempting this without it. She'll fall anyway, but...well...
Bunker starts climbing up the ladder but after about five feet just steps off onto a brick platform which levitates him up to the top. On the way up, he listens to the instructions, nodding here and there. He looks over to where Mend is considering the tightrope then up to Illayana. "This is going to be fun! See Nightwing? You DO know how to do fun!"
"I think you're cheating." Magik tells Bunker as he takes his 'elevator' to the
top. Not that *she* climbed the ladder either. "Everyone's got their brand of
fun." The blonde says simply. "Anyhow. Try not to get hurt, hmm?" She
pushes herself forward and off the platform, arms stretching out to the side and cape flaring as she falls feet-first towards the net. Before she hits it though, a circle of light opens and swallows her away.
Nightwing pauses on the ladder as Mend asks the question about the balance poles. He climbs back down and then heads on up the ladder for the tightrope to get the safety cable, "I never said I didn't, Bunker." He then offers the cabe to Mend,
"Stick this around your waist...if you lose your balance, you won't immediately fall off." He looks about for the poles..."I suppose I can get one for you. I don't think the performers use them very often...some sort of insurance issue if it flies off towards the audience sort of thing, I think."
Nightwing also looks over as Illyana disappears, "What's up with her?"
Mend says, "I'll try with the cable. I just was...and who knows. Something magical, maybe? Or maybe she's scared of heights." Which Magik would never admit, of course, were it true.
"She did not look scared of heights when she was sitting up here or falling
off." Bunker points out. "Some people are just moody and need to have more
fun." There's a great view from up here and he looks around.
Nightwing will help Mend with the safety cable, "Just take it slow...one step at a
time." He then hops down into the net, rolls off, and climbs the ladder to the
trapeze platform again. He grabs the line for the second trapeze so that he can get it going when it's needed. "Use the chalk..." he points to the little bucket of chalk dust off to the side, "And keep your lets together and your toes
pointed." He grabs the closer trapeze bar as well and holds it up for Bunker to
take.
Mend nods. She actually, even, manages a few steps before she starts to wobble. And, like every novice, to flail and windmill her arms around all over the place.
"Eeeep!" This is harder than it looks...and it already looked pretty hard to
her!
Bunker takes his gloves off and tucks them away before chalking his hands and taking the bar. "Legs together, toes pointed. Do we need another person the other trapeze bar? I can make one." He leans out to look over at Mend on the tightrope.
Nightwing grins over at Mend, "Just go slow...one step. Don't look down,
either...find a fixed object ahead of you and focus on that." He then looks over at Bunker, "You can make a person?" He then looks over at the other side, "If
this is your first time on the trapeze, you might want to get used to how it moes and how you can move with it before you start with catches."
"Okay." One step, then another, then a third...which is so off center that she
starts to topple again. This time it doesn't look like she's going to recover. Even if she's not looking down. You always look the way you *want* to go, after all. Poor Mend.
"Well, sort of." Bunker thinks a moment then holds out a hand to direct things.
Complicated shapes are more complicated! From the feet up, bricks start appearing till there's a life sized Lego figure stand next to him. "That'll work to keep the
trapeze swinging."
"No, Bunker," Nightwing chastizes, "You keep the trapeze swinging. The
other trapeze doesn't need to be swinging until you're used to swinging on the one you're on." He's actually fairly firm in this. "I'll get the second one going after a bit so you can practice going one from the other."
The good thing about the balance cable is that it's going to keep anyone in it from falling. Which means that she doesn't fall, but it does take her a while to recover. "Thanks, Nightwing!" For the cable, of course, which is sparing her some of her embarrassment. "How many *years* does it take to get any good at this?"
Bunker shrugs and the brick Lego man disappears instantly. "Okay. So I just start
swinging on this one then?" He jumps upward and then lets momentum do the rest,
swinging out over the net. That's the easy part. Pumping? Not so much. It's harder than it looks.
"Depends on how long and how often you practice, Mend. If you want, we can put up a wire in the gym...it's not really high-ceilinged enough for a trapeze though." Nightwing looked into it. Turning back to Bunker, he nods as he works at trying to keep the trapeze moving, "Use your abs..."
"I probably have enough things to learn for right now. But I definitely
have..." Now she's steadier. "...respect for the people who do this for a
living." She's half-listening to Nightwing instructing Bunker, as best she can, just because.
"I have very good abs." Bunker grunts, trying to imitate the motion of the
trapeze artists he watched not too long ago. It's a trial and error thing but eventually he hits on the right method to get a steady swinging going.
Nightwing grins, "Never said you didn't," before he takes the other trapeze and
easily swings over to the other platform. No tricks yet. He holds it up and watches Bunker find his rhythm. "All right. I'm going to swing the second trapeze at you. Watch it and wait for it to come close to you before letting go to grab it." He also says to Mend, "It's a little different when you're learning now...kids can do everything easily."
"Yeah. I sort of wish I'd learned stuff that was...but eh. I'd never have *thought* of any of this." She just wanted...still wants...to build spaceships. Mend shakes her head, then regrets it as that throws her balance off just a little bit again.
Bunker doesn't bother nodding to what Nightwing says and just watches and waits for the other trapeze to get close. He waits a couple swings so the timing is right and the reaches for it but times the release badly and ends up holding onto both in each hand. "Oops. Got it though!" Letting go of the one he came from, he quickly gets both hands ont he second.
"Not many do...some people are exploring Aerial Arts as exercise and creative
outlets now," Nightwing explains before he grins at Bunker's catch. "All right,
now go back to the first trapeze the same way and swing back to the platform. We'll do it again." He'll use the lead line to catch the second trapeze.
"I saw ads for that. The silk stuff." She finally, one foot in front of the
other, reaches the other side of the tightrope. "But then, some women, uh, think of the 'vertical pole' as a good exercise and creative outlet." MEND!
Bunker needs a couple of swings till he can get hold of the first trapeze again. Like swinging, it's going to take practice to get the hang of it. Fortunately, he's an athletic guy. Once he's back on the platform, he says "I've seen some videos of guys pole dancing. Some are very good at it and it does not look easy."
"Trapeze work is also a part of that. I mean, if you think about it, a lot of the
polework -is- strength-based and a lot of what they do on the silks, just not mostly naked." Nighwing catches the other trapeze and holds it at the ready for Bunker again. "I think it's about upper-body strength."
"I think you're right." Bunker agrees. "It's all about core strength." He pulls up the bottom of his shirt and then pulls it off over his head.
With the mask still on, he looks just like a circus performer! He's got the body for it too. "I read a lot on the internet about how to build up your body." So he
could get the hot guys, of course. Tossing his shirt onto the platform, he hops up and starts swinging again.
Mend grins up from the tightrope platform. "That's good in our business. I've
learned pretty quickly that you need to be fit." She detaches herself from the
balance cable, looking over at the silk. Hrm. Might as well try it. "And with guys, big helps. Intimidating."
Nightwing doesn't seem terribly impressed when Bunker removes his shirt -- he's not really into that sort of thing. "Building up your body for strength is different than building it for looks, you know." He swings the second trapeze for Bunker again when the timing is right, "Fit is definitely important."
"I grew up on a farm." Bunker says as he swings. Seeing the trapeze coming to
him, he's maybe a little impatient this time in his reach for it and his grip on the second bar isn't as solid as it should be when he releases the first. His fingers come off and then he falls... all of a foot before the brick platform appears under him and he bounces on it slightly.
"What kind?" Mend hops down from the tightrope platform and walks over to the
silks, looking for the correct way to, as it were, mount. "Of farm, that is."
"Cheating," Nightwing sticks his tongue out at Bunker. "You should learn
to fall too. Everyone should learn how to fall even as they learn how to fly." He
notes Mend going to the silks, "Make a loop at the bottom for a foothold and then
you climb up..."
"The kind people live on to raise food to eat." Bunker says as his platform
raises him up to the proper level for him to grab the trapeze. He grins over to Nightwing and then the platform disappears and he falls down into the net, landing if not expertly, quite safely. "I jump off buildings a lot." he says again.
Mend snorts. "Okay, okay, too close to the secret identity." Make loop, climb
up. THAT part she doesn't have too many problems with. "Jump off buildings
why?" She's curious about how Bunker operates, how the new guy will fit into the
team.
Nightwing also listens, waiting with the trapeze until he climbs back up. He can't help but smile a little to himself as Mend stays away from the whole identity thing.
"What? No. We had cows and chickens and pigs and grew vegetables just like half the people in the village did." Bunker says. He has a thick Mexican accent so that
probably helps explain it. Rolling out of the net, he uses a platform to get him quickly to the top of the platform again and starts swinging. "And because it's fun. And the quickest way down."
Mend laughs. "I guess it is if you can catch yourself. Me, I'm not jumping off a
building unless I have to, 'cause I'd go squish and that hurts."
"To each their own," Nightwing offers as he tosses the other trapeze. "When you feel comfortable doing that, try hanging from your knees and keeping the
trapeze swinging."
"If you want to learn to fall, I can make bricks to catch you." Bunker offers
before he gets to the part that he needs his breath for. The third time he makes the switch awkwardly but without breaking the rhythm and then does it again to go back to the original trapeze. At Nightwing's suggestion, he frowns and just lets the trapzes swing as he thinks about how to do it.
"There are ways to fall off of buildings...we just need to equip you with a grappel gun," Nightwing offers. He watches as Bunker thinks about how to hang from his knees, "Spread your hands on the bar and pull your knees through and over."
"Grapnel gun?" Oh dear. She's drooling. And halfway up the silk. "Okay,
what do I do now?" Not that squishing would be permanent for her, but she's sure it would hurt. A LOT.
Bunker gives Nightwing a look taht questions the man's sanity but he does recall them doing it that way once it's pointed out. Moving his hands to the far ends of the bar, he discovers that the maneuver requires a certain amount of flexibility and expertise he's lacking. In other words, yeah right. He gets only one knee up but not through and ends up losing his grip on the bar with one hand before it - and he - all comes crashing down into the net. He does fall well though. "I don't think I'm ready for that." he says as he looks up at Nightwing.
"It's one of the ways I try not to go 'splat' when I leap off of buildings,"
Nightwing grins at Mend before he notes her on the silks. "Well...usually someone
comes down there to swing so you're going around in a circle as you do your tricks. Or...wrap your foot up in the silk so you have an anchor and see what happens if you hold on with only one foot and one hand?"
Bunker gets another nod, "I'm going to get some gymnastic equipment in our gym, a
high bar especially You could practice that move on the high bar until you get
comfortable with it." Taking the trapeze, he swings over, doing a flip between
letting go of one bar and catching the other. "It takes practice."
"Okay!" She does that...not gracefully, but with no real problem. "And
that would be good. Anything we can get in there will be helpful. A balance beam would be really useful, too. There's times when running across something narrow might come in handy.
Miguel Barragan rolls out of the net and looks up to watch Nightwing. "Can we set up a trapeze outside the Tower if there's not enough room in it so we can do this? That would be fun and now I want to learn how!"
Nightwing nods, "Already ahead of you there, Mend. It's going to be part of an
obstacle course I'm thinking about putting in. Modular, of course." He lands on the platform easily and climbs back down to help her with the silks. "Probably not
outside, but I can see if there's a place in Metropolis that has it." 
"We can work something out, I'm sure." Mend swings on the end of the silk a
little, not, apparently, wanting to move from that position right now. "And an
obstacle course would be great."
As Nightwing climbs down, Bunker keeps looking up and above the platform a, a brick rakes appears and a moment later, his costume shirt comes fluttering down. "Good. This is a lot of fun and good practice too."
Nightwing takes the bottom of the silk, steps on it, and starts to swing it in a slow circle for Mend, "Glad you guys thought so. I appreciate you coming to this...I figured it would be fun to get out and play around here. If you guys want, I can see if the Circus can give us another night before they leave."
"I wouldn't turn it down." Mend doesn't, of course, ask how Nightwing knows
these people, what relationship he has with them. It's becoming obvious to her that he's 'one of them', and she doesn't want to know beyond that.
Bunker picks his shirt up and puts it back on. "Now I know why they do not wear
shirts! It is very hot doing that! I would like to come back and the others should get a chance too."
"They sometimes wear shirts...but it's the same reason why most of our costumes are tight and move with us. It's all about the ease of movement and not much getting in our way." At least, that's how it is for Nightwing. To Mend, he offers, "Just slide down the silks if you want to get down." And to the both of them, "I'll see what I can do."
"I thought circus people didn't wear much because they, well, want to show off their physiques." The spandex thing, of course, Mend understands. She finally slides down, landing on her feet, lightly.
"They're both good reasons." Bunker certainly took both into consideration when
designing his costume. "Functional and fashionable."
Nightwing points at Bunker, "Exactly." Mend gets a grin, "Yes and no. In
the beginning, I'm sure there was a measure of being a big scandalous, but now it's about the art and tradition. At least it is with Haly's"
Mend nods. "Yeah, scantily dressed women and all." She stretches...not that her
costume's scanty, but its *clingy*, like those of most heroines.
Bunker walks over to stand next to Nightwing and Mend. "This was a very good idea.
We should get some ice cream or something on the way back. Or maybe pizza if we're hungry for food and not dessert."
"Scanty in the 19th Century is very different than what it is now," Nightwing
grins. "Pizza and ice cream? I think we can manage that...I know some great places
around here."
"Yeah. Not pizza OR ice cream. Pizza AND ice cream." Not like they haven't been
working out. Mend grins broadly. "Let's go." Of course, knowing her, it'll be
chocolate ice cream...
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