Summary:Rose shows up the Wayne mansion, and invites Helena to go to a party. Bruce & Selina aren't thrilled. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
Related LogsTheme SongNone |
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Mid-Afteroon, and there is the sound of a powerful motorcycle revving and coming up through the long driveway to Wayne Manor. It is not a motorcycle that has been heard here before, it one is attuned to such noises. It's a BMW S1000RR, jet black. And the figure riding it is not wearing a helmet.
Platinum hair flows behind her, and one eye has a black eyepatch over it. She's wearing an open leather jacket over a top that leaves little enough to the imagination and exposes her bare midriff which has some muscle definition. Below her waist, a pair of leather pants and some ass-kicking boots.
Rose Wilson pulls the bike to a stop, dismounts the motorcycle and walks up towards the front door like she's come here several times before, moving to ring the bell.
Selina's been a little on edge ever since her family was held hostage. Granted, she half expected an attack since Jason reappeared, but she didn't expect it to come from a freaking rabbit lady! So when a motorcycle noticibly announces itself in front of her house, a book gets carelessly tossed aside, and Selina Kyle opens the door just in time for the doorbell to ring, wincing one eye closed as the sound basically goes off in her ear. She's wearing a black jacket over a purple top and black trousers, and she basically looks incredulous as heck at the sight of the cycloptian arrival. "Can I… help you?"
Down in the Batcave, Bruce is finishing up debriefings from last night. "That's not the first villian to use the White Rabbit guise - I was suspicious of the whole Wonderland theme, which is why I was there." he explains. And not totally creeping on his daughter, as much as she may think so. There's a frown as he brings up some info. "We may need to revisit the assistance to Starfire.. actions like hers last night is what caused the Registration Act to gain momentum in the first place." There's a slight scowl to his features. He's not used to misjudging people. And he's hoping he hasn't in this case.
With Alfred finishing treating Stephanie's hand, he glances up at a signal. "Master Bruce, Miss Stephanie, Miss Helena, I believe we have a visitor." Bringing up the video feed from the front door, Rose being greeted by Selina is shown on the screen. Bruce glances to the two women. And then nods. "Go ahead. I'll be along shortly."
The shame of pretending to be afraid of a bunny, no matter what kind of teeth it had, shall stain Helena's soul forever. Luckily, that's about the only stain on it, so she can probably live with that. "I kind of feel like if SHIELD is running alien Ellis Island, they could do a better job on the orientation," she grimaces.
Before she can offer any other defense of Starfire though, the doorbell rings. "Oh hey, it's Rose," she says as she checks the screen, hopping up. As if it's totally normal. Although anyone who checks the logs of the computer will know that she's already done her research on that one.
It doesn't take her long to run up the stairs to the study, then back down to the front door. "Hey, Rose!" she exclaims as she trots down the stairs. "I didn't miss a text, did I?"
Stephanie Brownis dress is set to the side, the young woman having changed into some jeans and a t-shirt with a logo that is too faded to be made out entirely, just that it had something to do with fish. Her pretty dress is set to the side, a long dark streak marring the white from where she'd dove across the cabling from the DJ boothe.
"Thanks, Alfred," she tells him as she tentatively closes her fingers and hand a little bit atop the bandage that wrap her right hand. She does her best to hide a wince. "Yep, good as new," she lies, not wanting to risk being taken off the patrol roster. Her hand was burnt where the microwaves hit the metal baton she was holding, it flaring up and sparking like metal placed in a microwave does.
Stephanie rises from where she'd sat, and moves over nearer to Bruce. "Hope I didn't screw up too much," she tells Bruce, remembering his expression when she was in the DJ booth. She hesitates a moment there, but then will turn to head up the stairs at a slower pace than Helena, not familiar with the visitor.
Rose looks Selina, "Yeah you can tell Helena to get out here," she says, bluntly. She has the sweetest disposition, doesn't she? Rose does not look all that impressed with Selina, but at least she's not smoking in the woman's face, or throwing cigarette butts out on the porch. So that's something.
As Helena comes down the steps, Rose does grin, just a bit. "Nah. Figured you needed to have some fun, after the shitshow last night. Heard about it.
Despite having only the monocular vision, Rose does catch Stephanie in her peripheral vision, tilting her head towards the blonde. She makes a faint noise between pressed lips and looks back at Helena, jutting a thumb towards her bike. "Let's go."
A very stiff smile comes to Selina's phase as she narrows her eyes at Rose, "Can I get you a drink while I'm taking orders? Who even are y-" At that moment Helena appears and Selina blinks in bewilderment, brows raising slowly. "Heeeyyyyy, honey, is this a…" one eyebrow arches slightly higher than the other, "… friend of yours?"
"We got lucky, Spider-Man showed up," Helena says as she makes it down the stairs, knowing that look on her mother's face all too well. She leans in to deliver a quick hug and a kiss on Selina's cheek. "Rose, this is my mom. Mom, this is Rose. We met at the market then ran into each other again at that concert I went out to." She leans over to peek out the door toward the bike, a grin spreading. "You'll have to give me a minute to get my own stuff together. You have a destination in mind?"
"You did the best you could do in the situation, Stephanie. It was a bad situation to begin with and one that nearly made itself worse." Bruce says, and gives the older girl's shoulder a squeeze before he's following after her up the stairs to join the others. As he comes down to join the others, Bruce comes up to set a hand on Selina's hip. A reminder that they're all well. "Hello, Rose." he greets. "I'm Bruce, Helena's father. And this is Stephanie. She's staying with Helena."
Bruce's propency to take on wards is pretty well known - there's no need to go into Stephanie's story. She's staying here - that's all there is to it. But then they're discussing going out, and there's a frown. Though Helena asks the proper question, and he waits on an answer.
The words from Bruce seem to help Stephanie's mood, a bit of a smile coming back to the blond-haired girl's face. She walks up the stairs with him at a measured pace, making sure the way is clear before leaving the secret passage and then making their way through the mansion towards the front door.
When she's introduced, Stephanie raises a hand to give a friendly wave towards Rose, the hand bearing a bandage wrapped about it. "Hey there, Rose," she says, adding a nod to the greeting as well. Stephanie drifts over to the side then, not interjecting herself in the matter of Helena going out with her parents standing there. She spots the mail sitting in a little container on a table along the wall, picking it up and going through looking for anything of interest.
"Rooftop party downtown," Rose answers, Helena back with a grin. "Pop up event. Exclusive. C'mon."
Her blue eye looks back to Selina, and she grins. "That's who I am. Rose. Helena's friend." She doesn't pass out her last name. "She didn't mention me?" She makes a disapproving sound, and looks back at Helena, accusingly, followed by a chuckle.
A hand is lifted to Bruce, "Hey," she greets him, with mostly a passing interest. She's here to pick up Helena, afterall. Not hang out with Bruce or Selina. A glance to Stephanie again, "Hey," she greets Stephanie back, eye moving to the wounded hand. "Let me guess? You were at the lame party last night too, with Helena?"
Selina's head tilts slowly as wheels turn in her head. On the one hand, she's not sure she approves of Helena's friend. On the other hand, Helena can probably just google the New York City Sirens. Selina suddenly seems a whole lot more okay with this situation by the time she kisses Helena's temple and gives her shoulder a squeeze and says "Well, nice to meet you Rose," before regarding Rose with a long-suffering look. "It was a little more exciting than anybody planned."
"You guys gonna be okay if I go?" Helena asks with a look to her parents, heading to a side table to open a drawer and grab a set of keys. "Hey Rose, you have room for one more?" she asks, flashing a grin in Stephanie's direction. "If you're feeling up to it," she adds with a nod toward the hand. "Like you heard, kind of a crazy day yesterday. There was someone there in some sort of…hazmat suit, throwing around radiation or something. Meant well, but, you know. Ouch."
"I'd like a little more information than pop up party." Bruce's concern is clear, and was about to say more, when Helena offers to have Stephanie go along as well. That seems to quell some of his worries. Though, however, he glances between the others, and then to Selina. "While they get things together, would you like to come in and have some refreshment, Rose?" he asks, "I believe Alfred just finished making an afternoon repasse."
Stephanie Brown tears open a letter. "No Publisher's Clearinghouse $10 million for me," she mumbles aloud at the contents. Stephanie is pulled back to the other conversation by the question from Rose. "Yes, though it ended up being… ah, I don't even know how to describe it. Kind of woke up from a daze and it was nuts in there," Stephanie replies. "Wonder if that's how my hand got hurt," she comments as if it happened while in that daze.
The offer from Helena to join them gets a smile from Stephanie. "If your friend doesn't mind," she says. Though then Bruce is inviting the visitor inside instead. Stephanie stuffs the mail with the magazine offers into her back pocket while she waits to see what is decided.
"Sounded lame to me," she comments to Selina. "Alice In Wonderland? C'mon. Only people who like that shit are candy ravers, or perverts." She snorts. "But, sounds like the idiots got what was coming to them, all the same."
"Don't worry," Rose assures Bruce, "It's tame compared to some of the parties you've attended." Then the young woman looks Stephanie over once, "Long as you got a ride. My bike only seats two." Meaning, her and Helena. "But, sure. If you were at that lame party, you probably need to have some real fun, too."
Rose looks exasperated though as she's invited in, almost as if she really didn't want to. There is a party to be at, and parents are lame! She rolls her eye, and suffering, takes a step inside, "Sure, whatever," she agrees, as she shoves her hands into her pockets and passes the threshold.
"Yooouuu'll get used to it." Selina assures Rose, delighting in her obvious suffering as she steps into the house. "I'd offer you a drink, but you're driving my daughter around, so…"
"You say that like I don't have my own bike," Helena smirks over her shoulder at Rose, dangling the keys. There's a suspicious cough from her direction when Rose calls out her father's partying ways, though. "Okay, gimme one minute to run upstairs and change, I'll be right back!" It's hard to tell if she's abandoning Rose to her parents, or her parents to Rose…
"Actually…" Bruce starts to say, as the others start to figure out how they're going to travel. "I figured it would be a good time for Helena to get used to her graduation present." With that, he reaches into his pocket to take out a set of keys. "Take the Lexus LC." The car that was just delivered a few weeks ago. Though Helena knows of Bruce's like of collecting vehicles.. cars, motorcycles, planes… space shuttles, boats.. etc etc..
She probably assumed that Bruce had just added a new car to the collection. Not you know. Bought her a car.
He helped Stephanie with the Ricochet and Compact. Other Bats with vehicles. So he spoils his daughter just a little. Sue him.
"I don't have a bike, but I've got a car," Stephanie replies to Rose, and seeming fine with driving it if the other two are on a bike. Or bikes. Stephanie eyes Rose for a moment trying to guess at her age and seeming to decide she might be a bit older than Helena.
Stephanie glances down at herself and says, "Shoot, I don't have too much over here to choose from." She follows Helena upstairs though, heading to her room to find something better than a faded t-shirt to wear out for the night. Also, she swaps out her flats for some boots.
Which leaves Rose with the parents, to either torment then, or to be tormented by them. She glances around the place giving it a brief, nearly disinterested once-over, before leaning against a free space on the wall with her back. She looks pointedly up the stairs while the girls change, then looks back to Bruce, and Selina. It doesn't seem she has much to say with either of them, and she's more interested in partying with Helena then she is being snarky at her parents. At least, for right now.
The 'present' of an expensive luxury car for Helean's graduation present doesn't even register a blink from her, save, "Guess we'll be taking her car, then." She does not ask if her bike ought to be moved.
Helena's brows rise when Bruce produces the keys, a grin spreading. "Are you serious?" She doesn't even wait for an answer before she flings her arms around his neck, snatching the keys in the process. "Thanks, Dad! You're the best!" At everything. It is known.
A kiss on the cheek, and she's flying up the stairs. "Be right back down! C'mon, Steph, we'll find you something. And then we can have a real race there!" she winks back at Rose.