Patreon LogoYour support makes Blue Moon possible (Patreon)

Batgirl Begins (dbspock/WendyTheRed)

She huffed quietly when she heard the two men speaking. "I'm not used to being half naked in front of men. That's all. Sara is fearless. I'm just not there yet." She took a few long, deep breaths, totally unaware of how doing so would show off her breasts even more. She was attempting to get herself back under control. The men didn't know it, but they'd actually done probably the best thing they could have done to get her to stop blushing. They'd poked the competitive side of her. She paused briefly in her movements then resumed, focusing intently on her kata now and centering herself, the blush fading away as she turned inward. She didn't know it but she'd achieved a state of inner calm that Daniel Larusso would be proud of, even if he might not approve of why it happened.

She heard Rick and nodded, closing her eyes. "Alright." Her gymnastics training would come in useful now. She started with essentially warm up stretches like she had done before track meets at her old school. And then she went into more complicated stretches, holding a leg up nearly parallel with her body then repeating with the other leg. She followed that up with one of the other stretching exercises she'd been taught as a gymnast. She didn't know it but a yoga practitioner would call it the upward bow pose. She laid on her back on the floor then planted her feet and palms on the floor and gradually lifted her hips up until she was arched up. She held it for a few breaths then laid back down and rolled to her feet, moving on to simple stretches such as leaning down to touch her toes, twisting and gripping her elbow to turn at the waist as much as possible and similar movements.
 
Bab's assessment of the situation had been just what Rick had been trying to say, he'd just been trying to be more delicate about it. Any comment he had about the matter was driven from his mind as Bab's chest expanded and she put on her inadvertent show. Try as he might not to stare, there weren't a lot of other places to look, especially as her image also filled the TV screen on the wall. Jack also noticed the effect her kata was having on her as he watched the readings go back to normal. "There...that's better..." He said softly, pleased his equipment seemed to be working right after all.

At least until she went into her stretching routine. At first, the readings looked normal, but as soon as Bab's lifted her leg up, an alarm went off on the console, and Jack quickly wheeled over to try and track down the source. Rick glanced over at Bab's for a moment and got a far better view between her legs than he'd counted on. But her position did explain the alarm. "I think we need to adjust the parameters. The human body is more flexible than we gave it credit for." Rick observed as he silenced the alarm. Or at least, Bab's body seemed incredibly flexible. There's no way Rick could have pulled that off.

Oh, boy. Rick thought again as she arched her back. He doubted she had any idea what it was doing to her breasts, but it was hard for the men to miss. Just as it was hard for them to miss her panties had slid down a bit, and she was showing a bit more butt crack than when she had started.
 
She heard the alarms but did her best not to let it distract her from her stretching exercises. He was correct she had no idea what the position was doing to her breasts but only because she was so focused.

In spite of her renewed focus it did eventually sink in how they were looking at her and the blushes resumed though not as bad as before and she furiously worked on regaining her focus. Ironically all the stretches felt great in spite of the situation and she glanced over at the thardened.

"Should I keep going?" Unknown to her, when she turned they'd have a good side view of one of her breasts and in spite of her exercises the cool air was making her pink nipples harden.
 
Oh boy. That was one of Rick's favorite phrases, at least when it came to teenage girls doing topless stretches in front of him it seemed. As she turned, Rick got a great look at her breast, right down to the hardened nipple. Jack, for his part, was trying to stay focused on the read out, but the read out was so sensitive it too picked up on her hardening nipple and highlighted the discrepancy. "What's..." Jack began as he looked up and focused on Bab's, and his eyes widened as he spotted her breast and realized what the problem was. "Oh." Jack said softly as he focused on the read outs again, not even hearing her question.

"No, I think we're good." Rick told her. As valuable as the information they were getting was, he could feel a bit of an erection coming on, so he decided to end the procedure, and Jack did not protest. Rick stepped a bit away from the console, trying to stay as far from Babs as possible in the cramped room. He walked over to the desk, intending to hand her her clothes, but his hand froze when he realized he'd have to touch her bra first.
 
She saw Jack look at her and his eyes widening as he stared very briefly at her chest. She glanced down, for the first time finding out that her nipples had reacted to the cool air.

She nodded in relief when Rick said they were done and moved away from the X. She placed her forearm across her breasts since now that she wasn't focused on moving around she was starting to get self conscious again.

Ironically, she was helped slightly by when she saw Rick hesitate. It wasn't hard to guess why and she quickly moved over, snatching up her bra. She slid it on and clasped it then quickly grabbed the robe and was about to slide it on when her eyes fell on he blouse. She shrugged and laid the robe aside long enough to put the blouse on and carefully button it up. That done she put the robe on and cinched the belt.

"So, I'll arrange overtime for the next couple of days. Is there anything else about the armor we need to go over?" She looked between the two men as she cinched the belt on the robe. "And Rick if they find my skirt where will they take it?"
 
Rick saw her move towards him, remembering her modesty it seemed as she covered her breasts, and he quickly moved aside, allowing her access to her clothing. He grinned briefly when she put on not only her blouse, but the robe as well, covering herself by every means available. Hopefully he made his face impassive again by the time she turned to him.

He shook his head when asked about the armor. "I think we have enough to get started on it, at least. If anything comes up during the manufacturing process, I'll get with you, but that shouldn't happen until normal business hours. As for your skirt...lost and found is typically in the break room, but they might put in my office instead. I'll check with maintenance...they are tracing the robots path and cataloging the damage, so they will probably find it first." He took out his phone and tapped out a brief message, then looked up and opened the door for her.

"In the meantime...let's go to the armory, and you can pick up the equipment you requested that doesn't need to be customized."
 
She nodded, surprised that he so easily accepted her role in all of this. Then again, she had come with a letter from Bruce Wayne, so why wouldn't he? She nodded to him when he explained the plan about the armor. "Even if it comes up during the overtime, feel free to reach out. I can give you my cell number if you'd like. We're on a bit of a time crunch so I want to be available if needed." She nodded at his plan about her skirt. "That would be great, and much appreciated. It's new too and hopefully not damaged." She sighed and just shook her head as she exited through the door he opened with a quick wave to Mary Ann.

She smiled at his suggestion about the armory. "That'd be great. Will you be able to have a belt and holsters on the armor for carrying those batons? And is there any other equipment you can think of that might be useful to have that isn't covered in the request?"
 
"I'll do that, but if there's a serious glitch in the automation process, I'm not sure there'd be much you could do." Rick admitted. That was pretty much the only reason he wanted to work a bit of overtime tonight, to keep an eye on the so far seldom used process. If something went wrong, he wasn't sure what he could do, much less her. "But give me your cell anyway, just in case." In any event, having the cell number of Mr. Wayne's personal assistant might come in handy for other reasons.

He walked down the hall with her and nodded as she asked about the holsters. "Did you want a belt and movable holsters? Or would you rather have the holsters permanently attached to the armor? If so, we should probably discuss their location, which doesn't have to be on the hips. The backs and thighs are popular options as well." Rick stopped walking as she asked the next loaded question, and a frown came to his face. That was an incredibly broad question, and there was no way he could answer it. Was she setting him up so she could blame him when something went wrong? That was his first instinct, and if she'd had more experience in the corporate world he probably would have stuck with that assumption. But she was young, and this was her first day, and he sensed no guile from her, so he gave her the benefit of the doubt...for the moment.

"There's no way I can answer that question." He admitted with a shake of his head. "There are so many unknowns when you go out in the field, that there is no way to predict what might be needed. I could make some educated guesses, but I haven't seen a threat assessment to know who might be after this shipment, so I don't know how to counter them. I also don't know your capabilities. Do you have a concealed carry permit? Much experience with swords? How far are you willing to go to keep control of the shipment? Would you destroy it before letting it fall into enemy hands? Would your father approve of letting us use the GCPD crypto scheme for comms? How much gear do you want to carry? Are you concerned more with stealth, armor or mobility? " Rick shrugged helplessly. "I can give you a utility belt equipped with what I think might be useful, but there's no way I can tell you what equipment might be useful for something like this."
 
She rattled off her cell number to him when he responded. "Well, this armor is important. Might keep me alive, you know? So I just want to make myself available if you need me." She hoped he wouldn't need her tonight as she'd be training first with Miyagi-Do then with John. Thinking about John made her think about his earlier moodiness that she still didn't understand. She mentally replayed their interactions, trying to figure out what she might have done to upset him but nothing came to mind yet.

She considered his question. The idea of the holsters on her back appealed but that could have problems, especially if, as she hoped, she someday had a cape of her own. "I think a belt and movable holsters would be best. Who knows, over time we might work together on different ideas." She stopped when he did and wondered about the frown. She could see some kind of internal struggle on his face and it felt like he was trying to decide if he trusted her.

She listened and nodded along as he ticked off points. She replied to them as accurately as she could. "I know. I don't expect you to have specific answers. I just thought maybe you could think of things I didn't. Or Hell, maybe you had a piece of gear you wouldn't mind seeing field tested." She nodded and took a breath then looked up and down the hallway to insure they were alone for the moment. "The government people don't think costumed criminals will be interested in the cargo. I think those people are unpredictable enough we can't rule it out. They believe any attempts to take the cargo will be from hired mercs. Which worries me since mercs could conceivably have some heavy firepower."

"I've had martial arts training but I'm not even close to Sara's experience level yet. I've also had track and field and gymnastics training. I know how to shoot but don't have a concealed carry permit. Even if I did, when I'm in this armor, I don't want it to be connected to Barbara Gordon." She arched an eyebrow, wondering how he'd react to that. "I don't have formal training with swords, well, not a lot. I've done a bit of sparring with wooden practice swords in one of my past dojos. But a real knowledgeable user would take about ten seconds to beat me. However, I can get training with swords if you think it could be useful in the future."

She considered his other questions. "I don't know what my father would allow, I somehow doubt he'd be comfortable at the idea of Wayne Enterprises being able to listen in on the GCPD. That reminds me though, I will need communications gear in the helmet, and please let me know what frequency it will use and any encryption keys needed to communicate with it. I'll get them to the people that need it. If you have some already made that just needs to be adapted that'd work fine."

"The utility belt would be wonderful and greatly appreciated. As for your questions about the cargo, well, the problem there is, they haven't told me exactly what it is. Only that if it is taken it's bad but not 'Gotham will be destroyed' bad or anything. So it might be a judgement call in the moment sadly." She thought on his last question. "Well, as far as the balance of the armor goes..." She looks up and down the hallway again. "Have you made similar armor before? I mean, you made that armor for Sara right? Perhaps go with the balance between stealth, armor and mobility you used for her?"
 
Rick took out his phone and entered her in his contacts when she gave him his phone number, even as he listened to her response. "Well, I'm sure your father would agree keeping you alive is important." He said with a small smile, so let's see what we can do to accomplish that. If you don't want the belt and holsters integrated into the suit, we can pick those up from the armory."

He gave a small sigh of relief when she indicated costumed criminals weren't the primary concern. "That's good...I doubt the suit would stand up against Corrosive Man, and if we stacked Bertha with all the equipment needed to counter the others, there'd be no room for the package. But conventional firepower...I think we can give you an edge when it comes to that." He listened thoughtfully as she listed off her experience. "So mobility sounds like your forte." He mused silently. "I'll make the armor a bit more lightweight so it won't slow you down. Probably best if we let Dad and the government agent wield the firearms if it comes to that. We can go over some alternatives in the armory and see what you like, since all of them might be a bit cumbersome." Rick was too concerned with the logistics of the armor to care about the fact she wanted to hide her identity. It wasn't a factor in his decision making process, so he ignored it.

She seemed to miss the intent of the question about swords, so he spelled it out a bit more. "So you've never stabbed a man." He stated bluntly, then shrugged. "Before you spend time training to wield a sword, you need to ask yourself if your really capable of using it. It's not like in the movies where everyone just waves a sword around and no one gets hurt. You'll seriously injure or kill someone. Make sure your prepared for that before you bring it into the fight."

"I was planning to integrate comms into the helmet. Cellular and bluetooth connections, of course, along with radio. But if you aren't going to be talking to the GCPD, who did you want to talk to? If it's just a backup comm system for those in the vehicle in case you get separated, I can give you an encrypted channel, and provide the others with radios." He nodded thoughtfully as she talked about the cargo. "If it's what I think it is, destroying its probably not the best choice. But you might want to ask the agency if they'd like that option. If so, I can include a self destruct charge in the case."

Rick nodded when she asked if they'd made the armor before. "You'll be the fifth person we've made this for, but our first field test. Sara rejected the armor after she tried it out, but maybe you'll like the balance I came up with better." Rick shrugged and began to walk again. "That's the problem with working with protypes. There isn't a whole lot to base a decision on."
 
She nodded thoughtfully as he commented about his thoughts on the armor and what might happen. "Options are always good. I didn't think I'd be wielding a gun to be honest, so no worried there." She listened to his clarification on the sword question and realized she'd taken it a bit too literal but also that he had missed a point of her own which would have answered it. "There's a reason I asked for batons or tonfa sticks with shock ends. I want to disable attackers, not kill them. I'm not looking to be an action movie hero who guns down thirty people and barely blinks an eye."

"Well, first, we might need to communicate with the GCPD. And each other in the vehicle though, again, in that case I need my voice changer to work over comms so Captain Gordon doesn't realize who the driver is." She bit her lip, thinking for a long moment about how to respond. She decided it was best to be as honest as she could with Rick. "I had in mind sharing the frequencies with someone I believe will be unofficially watching over the delivery. I'll give you a hint: When you write a program capable of piercing the Batmobile's ability to go unseen on traffic cams, you better be damned sure it cant be traced back to you. I was. No one in government or the police knocked on the door. But it didn't go totally unnoticed. And the one who noticed? They came in through a window."

She shrugged. "Ironically, no one has told me what it is. But I suspect the people who know aren't aware I'm the actual driver. They think I'm helping put the team together but not actually involved in the delivery." She paused, looking thoughtful. "No. I take that back. At least two people who know what it is have also figured out that I'm the driver but haven't shared it with me and I haven't asked. Still, you have a good point."

She nodded and walked with him. "Five sets of armor. Two female sets. Who were the others for?" She was dying to know if her suspicions about Batman getting his armor here were correct or not.
 
Rick nodded thoughtfully when she stated her intention was to disable and not kill her attackers. "You might want to talk to your dad about this." Rick didn't want to butt in where he didn't belong, he doubted Babs was looking for a mentor, but given the level of secrecy she was talking about, he doubted she'd want to speak to her father about his opinion on deadly force. "But you may not always have the option of disabling someone. But I'll make sure the armor is insulated...can't have someone trying to use your own weapons against you."

"Communicating with GCPD may be a problem if we don't have an agreement in place with them. One specific for this operation, at least." Rick claimed. "Of course, 911 is always an option. Your voice changer will work over the comm system...though if someone records it, theoretically they could decode the scrambler and figure out who was using it." Rick stopped walking again as she mentioned her late night visitor. It wasn't hard to guess who she was talking about. "You met the Batman already?" Rick asked with a shake of his head. "If you can ger him a spare radio, I'll make sure you have an extra, though truth be told, from what I've heard of the guy, he'll probably listen in whether we want him to or not. If he's interested."

Rick raised an eyebrow when she asked about the armor. "Your a curious thing, aren't you?' He observed as he began to walk again. He then shrugged. "No reason not to tell you, I guess. I'd wager your clearance is high enough you could look it up if you wanted. Anyway, Jack made the first set. He's in charge of the project, and he needed a guinea pig, so he figured he was as good a choice as any. And Mr. Wayne pushed the project as a safety net for high value targets, so he wanted a couple suits he could show off to his friends when its ready to go to market. Jack wanted another model to try some experiments on, so he asked me to model one of them. And you already know who the female suits were for."
 
She shook her head when he mentioned talking to her dad. "I can talk to him about some of it. But I also don't want him to worry about me." She nodded at his reply. "I know. I've thought about that. I know what my intentions are and I know that a day may come where I have no choice. But hopefully, it doesn't happen anytime soon."

She smiled at Rick's comments about the GCPD. "Well, for this operation, we'll have a GCPD Captain riding shotgun. Worst case, I can ask him to pass information on if needed. I'm cautious about the GCPD though beyond my dad. They don't have a good reputation. In fact, at the meeting to plan the delivery I discouraged their involvement as much as possible. I don't think my dad was pleased about it." She looked at Rick and nodded. "I did. You haven't had a fright until you wake up in the night to Batman asking you who you are and why you hacked his Batmobile systems." She shook her head at the memory. She smiled. "I'm not pretending I can just walk up and give him a spare radio but tell you what, give me one on the same frequency and if I can find a way to get his attention in a way that doesn't involve him getting angry with me I'll give it to him."

"So you have one, this Jack has one, Mister Wayne has two, you made one for Sara and soon I'll have one." She was practically giddy when he confirmed that Bruce Wayne had two. "Did Mister Wayne request any customizations for his? Also, are these paintable? If, say, I needed to put camouflage on it or something?" She considered what else to ask. "Oh, and did Mister Wayne have a utility belt on his? Or any gadgets he thought would be a fun toy to show off at parties?"
 
Rick smirked a bit when she mentioned not worrying her dad. "He's your father. I'm pretty sure worrying about you comes with the job description, especially in this town." he didn't push her on the subject, though, and his smile faded as they moved onto more serious topics. "Good intentions are all well and good, but they won't buy you a cup of coffee in this town." he warned her. He too, hoped it not only wouldn't happen anytime soon, but that she wouldn't be faced with that choice at all, but he was not optimistic. This town leached the optimism right out of you.

He nodded when she mentioned the GCPD would be riding shotgun. "Well, I'm sure he'll have his own link to the GCPD if needed." He replied, not commenting on how trustworthy the GCPD might be. That was a debate for another time. He shook his head with a light chuckle at the image her words portrayed about her meeting with Batman. "Yeah...I can imagine." he agreed as he did indeed picture the scene, except in his imagination Bab's was clothed, unlike the reality. "I'll have a couple extras you can hand out to however needs them." He said, not sure how it would look on the requestion form if he listed 'Batman' as one of the recipients.

He chuckled again as she said Bruce had two suits. "Mr. Wayne has about six sitting in storage. He wanted a few variations for different target audiences." Rick told her, still not sure why Babs was so curious about the program, but there was no harm in discussing it. It wasn't classified or anything. He shrugged at her next question. "No ones ever painted one before, but there's no reason it shouldn't that I'm aware of. As far as camouflage goes, we could include the LED package so you could program various patterns depending on the environment. And no, so far its just the suits. We might add gadgets on when its ready to show off, but we aren't there yet."

By now, they had reached the armory, though a more accurate description might be the vault, as the door resembled a bank vault. Rick scanned his badge, punched in his code (shielding the numbers from Bab's view as a reflex) before he put his face in front of the scanner. Only after he'd verified his identity did the door finally swing open. The armory didn't look that impressive...just a metal room with a table in the middle of the floor, until Rick walked up to a wall panel and laid his hand over a section of the wall. it lit up as it scanned his handprint, then a section of the wall slid out, revealing an array of batons, staffs, canes, Nun chucks, and of course Tonfas on both sides. The material ranged from plastics and resins to more traditional hardwood, and some of them did indeed appear to have a power supply and electrodes attached to them. Rick took Babs arm and gently guided her out of the way of the display as it slid to a halt just a foot from the far wall. "Is this what you were looking for?"
 
She nodded. "Of course he worries about me. Especially in Gotham. But this...well...it's a worry he doesn't need." She had little doubt that her dad was smart and eventually he'd figure out her secret. She suspected when he did they'd enter into some kind of unspoken agreement where he simply never asked her about it and she never talked about it. Then again, he might confront her, especially if she ended up with a Bat logo on her armor which she fully intended to make happen. "I'm not totally naive Rick. I know that I may have to cross that line if I keep getting involved in situations with mercenaries attacking or God help me, some of the costumed villains in this town. I am just not going to choose that as my first option, you know?"

She nodded once more when he said he'd have a couple of extras. "Thank you Rick. That reminds me, will you guys here at R&D want to be involved in communications? Or will you just be waiting for the delivery. And let's keep the potential involvement of you know who quiet. The government types seemed nervous when I mentioned I wouldn't be surprised if we get unofficial cover from him."

She actually stutter-stepped when he mentioned the LEDs. "Wait...so...I could program the suit to be any color or pattern I wanted with these LEDs? Yes. Please. And I'll need a full user guide on how to use them." She watched as the vault door slid open and grinned slightly as he hid the passcode from her. Her eyes widened when they stepped in and he opened up the shelves. She felt like she was in a sci-fi movie or maybe a John Wick movie as she looked over everything that was available. She barely noticed as he gently guided her out of the way and didn't object. She moved to the tonfas once the shelves were in place and lifted a few, testing their balance and weight. "This is amazing Rick. I figure I need something strong but also light so I don't wear myself out using it." She grinned at him as she stood, holding a pair of Tonfas that had the electrodes built in and seemed to have the correct weight and strength.

She looked at Rick, wondering how much she could trust him and what he'd do if she became...what? Batwoman? Batgirl? She'd think of a name when the time came. Surely he'd recognize the suit and the tonfas if she should get caught on camera or something. She looked at him. "So, gadgets. I'm not talking necessarily about built-in stuff. Stuff that could go on that utility belt you mentioned. For example, please tell me you have some kind of grapple gun that could assist in climbing buildings? Just in case I have to chase these mercenaries up to the roof of a building or something. Smoke pellets I can use to distract maybe? That kind of thing."
 
"I'm sure your dad has enough to worry about trying to be a cop in this town." Rick agreed, and it wasn't his place to get involved in family dynamics. He nodded at her next statement as well. "I'm glad you thought of it...when the bullets start flying is not the place to start trying to make that decision. Can't have you freezing up out there." Rick wasn't sure why Mr. Wayne was letting his assistant be at the forefront of what she clearly thought was going to be a dangerous mission, but it wasn't his place to second guess Mr. Wayne.

He shrugged when she asked about comms. "I'll be listening in. If you have any technical issues just give a shout. It's a small network, so I don't think we need fancy call signs or anything. Just call me Rick, though that does raise the question...what should we call you?" If she wanted to keep her identity secret, clearly her name wouldn't be an option. He widened his eyes theatrically when she obliquely mentioned Batman. "Outside support? Whatever do you mean?" He asked, clearly of the opinion that it was best if he didn't officially know anything.

he almost laughed when he saw how excited she was about the LEDs on the suit, though he shrugged when she asked about a pattern. "I don't think that's ever been tried, and I'm not sure there are enough of them to do anything really detailed, like a patch or something. But if you wanted to put a literal target on your back, yeah, I suppose that would work. And I'll be sure to include a CD with the user manual with your suit, though some functions and a help manual will be available via the heads up display. But don't count on it...we're still working on that. There hasn't been much interest in the program lately, so it kind of got neglected I'm afraid.

He grinned, pleased at her reaction to the array of weapons available to her, and nodded when she chose the resin variety. Those were his personal favorites as well. He nodded when she asked about a grapnel gun. "Sure, we have something that would work. But before we get you loaded down with accessories, why don't we take a look at the utility belt options? We can fill in the slots later."

He gently moved her a bit to the side again, and then pressed a section on the wall, but this time a section of the ceiling came down, and there were a half dozen belts of various materials, thicknesses, and weights hound around a column. None of the belt exactly matched what she had seen around Batman's waist, but there were undeniable similarities. There were two smaller columns off to the side with a few more bands wrapped around them, clearly arm or thigh holsters. "What do you think?" Rick asked once the display was in place.
 
She looked thoughtful at the question about a callsign and just shrugged. "How about Scarlett? Or do you think that's too obvious?" She motioned to her hair. She snorted when he played dumb about Batman. There seemed to be a lot of that going around though she did listen carefully when he talked about the LEDs. "So, they could change the suits overall color and maybe do a decent sized area in a different color but not super detailed?" She debated this then nodded. "I see. Maybe I'll test that and put a logo on my chest or something while I'm learning just to see how detailed I can get it."

She raised her eyebrows when he mentioned a HUD. "It'll have a HUD? Will this be part of the helmet then? Or in the goggles I also requested?" She frowned when he mentioned the suits had been neglected. "That's too bad. Is there someone who works on them primarily or is it a team effort? I guess what I'm asking is, does one of you see the suits as his, or her, personal project?"

She nodded, barely suppressing a grin when he mentioned a grapnel gun was available. She obediently stepped aside when he lowered the selection of utility belts and her eyes slowly took them in. She pointed at one that reminded her of Batman's but was lighter weight and would probably work better for her. "This one." She then moved to the holsters and selected a couple of thigh holsters. "These would work." After a brief hesitation she pointed at a couple of the arm holsters. "These too. I'd rather have the option and not need it than need it and not have it."
 
"Scarlett works. Anyone who is a fan of GI Joe won't think anything of it." Rick claimed, then nodded as she repeated his explanation of the LEDs showing they were on the same page. "Well, if you figure out how to display a logo, let us know. I don't think we've ever tried anything like that." He nodded again when she questioned the HUD. "It'll be a display in the goggles, but it will be linked to the helmet and your suit so you can control the radio, and get some environmental readings as well. Not to mention browse the internet if you get bored." He chuckled. "I recommend adding a small keypad interface to your utility belt, but a lot of the functions will be accessible just by your eye movement. It takes some getting used to, but it works." He shrugged when asked who was in charge of the suits. "That would be Jack. You met him a few minutes ago, but he forgot to introduce himself." Rick shook his head a bit as he recalled just how Jack had been distracted from normal courtesies, but he didn't want to embarrass Babs by reminding her of that.

Rick nodded as she selected the belt, then chuckled as she selected one for each of her limbs. "That's a good philosophy." Rick agreed as he took the items and laid them on the table. Satisfied that unless Babs grew an extra arm, she was done with her selection, he retracted the display back into the ceiling, then moved to the wall and opened a drawer. This was flat, unlike the baton display, and so was only on one side, but otherwise was comparable. The display showed a variety of cylinders, most of them helpfully labeled with 'smoke' or 'tear gas'. Half the drawer was accessible, but the other half had a clear locked lid on it so Babs could see the items, but not take them. This section was labeled 'grenades' and 'explosives'. "You'll need special clearance to sign out any of those." Rick warned her as he gestured towards the lethal end of the display.
 
She laughed quietly. "Mister Wayne and I had a brief talk about GI Joe in the car. He doesn't seem to know much about it. I'm a weird girl who knows a bit about it though it's mostly because I used to get compared to Scarlett." She nodded thoughtfully, relieved he didn't ask what logo she would try for. She'd most definitely program in a new logo if she could. She nodded when he told her what the HUD would display. "You don't have a holographic keyboard that'd only be visible in the HUD or something?" She smirked slightly. "And here I thought you all were high tech." She let her tone be obviously joking so he didn't take offense at her words hopefully. In spite of Rick not mentioning why Jack forgot to introduce himself she still flushed at the memory. "Maybe I'll pick his mind about the LEDs. If I want to talk in-depth about the capabilities of the suit he's not a gossip or anything is he?"

She briefly glanced at the lethal grenades, mostly out of curiosity. "We just had that talk Rick. I want to avoid lethal force if I can. And I certainly don't want to use something that could cause collateral damage if I ever was in that position." She shook her head and looked the others over. She motioned to a few of the smaller gas grenades and a single tear gas grenade. "What about these? In general, I'm thinking of using them primarily for cover."
 
Rick laughed when she mentioned her talk with Mr. Wayne. "Somehow that doesn't surprise me. I don't think supermodels talk much about paramilitary organizations." He shrugged when she asked about the holographic keyboard. "We tried it, but neither Jack or I really cared for it. I guess I'm too old fashioned, and like to feel the keys under my fingers. If your interested, let Jack know and we can try and integrate it into your suit. It won't be ready by day after tomorrow though." He grinned in response to what he recognized as teasing. Clearly no offense was meant, so none was taken. he shook his head when asked about Jack. "He takes need to know very seriously. If Mr. Wayne, myself, or Mr. Fox asked about the status of your project, he'd tell them. Anyone else would have to be need to know or have a written request for information."

Rick nodded when she mentioned her lethal force reluctance again. "I know. But just in case anyone else asks you to sign them out, just wanted to let you know we have very strict controls for that kind of thing." He nodded when she motioned towards the gas grenades, and took them out to place them on the table. Then his eyes lit up as a thought occurred to him. "Just a moment..." He said as he took a big step across the room and used his palm print to open up another drawer. This one was smaller and Babs couldn't see inside as Rick reached in and took out a device that looked like a metal baseball. "If your concerned about collateral damage, you should try sonics." He suggested as he handed her the device. "Just make sure your allies are all wearing hearing protection, and this thing will...should...knock out anyone in a twenty foot radius. Or at least stun them for a bit."
 
She nodded, a bit amused that Rick seemed to take Bruce Wayne at face value. Then again, he worked for the man and hadn't been in his presence as much as her most likely. "Mmmm...true. He did compare himself to a Gi Joe but when I tried to continue the conversation he told me that was his total knowledge of the source material." She nodded at his explanation about the holographic keyboard. "That's fine. It was just an idea anyway." She smiled when he told her how good Jack was at keeping secrets. Her cheeks warmed slightly as she imagined talking to the man about, well, anything. He'd probably be super uncomfortable after how they'd met.

She raised her eyebrows at his comment. "You mean, like....someone might try to trick me into signing them out for them? I wouldn't do that, never fear." The idea made her slightly uncomfortable and she wondered if there was something she didn't know. She watched when he stepped to the other drawer and took out the metallic orb. Her eyes took it in and she nodded, added it to the collection of gear. "Nice. Anything you can share to disable an enemy vehicle since the EMP device is a no-go? And am I allowed to look in that secret drawer?"
 
Rick raised an eyebrow at her response. "I'm surprised he knew that much. One of the first things he did when he returned was shut down most of our military contracts. I don't think he's a fan of that type of thing." Rick didn't want to say anything negative about his boss, of course, but that was public record if Bab's wanted to look it up anyway. If he noticed her blush in response to his mention of Jack, Rick was diplomatic enough not to mention it.

Rick nodded at her question. "Industrial espionage is a real thing. I'm sure Lexcorp, for one, would love to get their hands on some of this stuff. Ands I figured you wouldn't...just wanted to warn you, is all. Can't be too careful."

He shrugged at her question about disabling vehicles. "Well, depends on the type of vehicle. For an ordinary vehicle, honestly I'd probably recommend caltrops. Can't go wrong with the classics...there's a reason they've been around for thousands of years." Rick moved to another drawer and removed a small package, which he placed on the table with her other gear. If Babs looked in the bag, she'd find a small collection of metal spikes...crude, but effective. "Or if you want to go a little more high tech, there's the glue bomb, but it hasn't really been field tested, so no telling how effective it would be." He frowned for a moment when she mentioned a secret drawer, then shrugged and stepped aside when he realized what she was probably referring to. "Your badge gives you the clearance to at least look inside all the drawers." he told her. But don't get your hopes up about that one." Indeed, if Babs looked in the drawer, she'd just see a couple more spheres like the one she'd already seen, along with a half dozen headsets nestled next to them.
 
She wasn't surprised Bruce Wayne didn't want to be involved with the military. She suspected the remaining contracts were simply to help in development of tools he used. She was a little surprised he worked with SHIELD though in light of this. Surely it had to do with more than Agent Johnson? Right? She rolled her eyes briefly at the thought that she wasn't totally sure.

She shook her head at his mention of Lexcorp. She couldn't understand why people worked for Lex Luthor but then again, she'd seen lots of rich guys fool people into giving them the benefit of the doubt. She realized from the outside people might think the same of her and Bruce Wayne but that was different, assuming she was right about him. "I understand." She frowned thoughtfully. "Though now I realize I have to be careful if someone acts too friendly. I'd probably be a coup for some kind of industrial spy." She sighed softly at the thought.

She nodded at the caltrops mention and decided that was better than nothing. She moved to the shelf and looked inside, her eyes being drawn to the headsets. "Are these the headsets we'll be using for the mission or are these used for something else? And what kinds of things can I find in the other drawers? That grapnel gun we discussed maybe?"
 
"Well, there are some genuinely nice people in the world." Rick didn't want her to think everyone who said hi to her was out to exploit her position. "But it's something else you may want to talk to your dad about." She was also a cops daughter, Rick knew, and given what he'd heard about cops in this town, well, it wouldn't be unheard of for someone to make friends with someone cop adjacent in hopes of getting a favor.

He shrugged when she asked about the headsets. "Well, we should probably give one to your dad, at least. Sara has her own...I'm not sure about SHIELD. That's something else you'll have to ask them. As for yours...well, that depends on what kind of helmet you want. Some have that function built into them. And since you asked..." Rick smirked a bit as he would have shown her anyway, but he moved to another part of the wall and pressed a button, bringing down another section from the ceiling. This one had about a dozen heads of mannequins, each fitted out with a different style of helmet. Some looked like the basic military helmet you might see in an old war movie...unless Bab's examined one more closely, and she'd see the circuity inside. Some looked as big and clunky as the helmets worn by Sorm Troopers in Star Wars, while other heads just held a pair of goggles.

Rick activated another button, and another drawer slid out of the wall. This one contained a selection of multitools, lockpicks, some small torches and rebreathers, and the promised grapnel guns.
 
She nodded thoughtfully, then glanced at him. "If you mean people might try to get close to me to get on my dad's good side, well, no one in Gotham trusts cops. I have met a few who've called my dad 'the hero cop' but just as many shy away when they find out my dad is a cop. I suppose it's possible someone might try to get close to me in hopes of getting to my dad to bribe him or something but..." She shrugged. "They'd be wasting their time." She said it with conviction, she had no worries at all that he was bribeable. It did suddenly occur to her though that she might be a weakness of his so she'd have to be careful in general.

She looked the helmets over and sighed softly. She examined the goggles closely, seeming to try to figure out what features they had and finally settled on a pair, laying it on the list of 'loot' she'd collected so far. She then examined the other helmets, trying to find one that covered her features but wasn't too bulky either. She tried to find one that was somewhat stylized and hopefully had multiple pieces, for example, if she found one with a removable lower face plate so she could bare her mouth she would take it, particularly if it had 'features' engraved in it. She suspected that they'd all simply be functional so she did the best she could and laid it with the other items.

When he activated the next shelf she literally stood, her eyes wide as she saw what was, to her, a treasure trove. She grinned widely and grabbed a set of lockpicks, a multitool, a small torch, a rebreather and after eying the utility belt she turned back to the drawer to see if anything else caught her eye. "Anything in here you'd recommend Rick beyond what I've already grabbed?"
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom