16374/Gotham's Night of Mayhem: Robin Edition

Gotham's Night of Mayhem: Robin Edition
Date of Scene:	17 June 2024
Location:	Gotham Streets
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Ghost Spider, Robin (Wayne)

---

Ghost Spider has posed:
Damian's departure is bittersweet.

Gwen had only been planning to stay for the weekend, and it's the second night. On one hand, she hadn't been planning to sleep with Damian _either _ of the nights, so even getting one with him _far_ exceeded expectations. On the other, now that it happened, trying to sleep in his bed without him feels... wrong.

But Damian had work to attend to. He's a Wayne, after all, and presumably that work sometimes keeps him up at night. She wasn't so needy as to beg him to stay or ask to go with him -- at least she still had that much of her dignity left.

What she _needed_, she realized as she laid there, staring up at the ceiling, was to go bust the Bodega Bandit. Or fight Vulture (it's almost too bad he's in lockup after the run-in with Wonder Woman). Hell, she'd even take Bebop and Rocksteady as a villain of the week, at this point. Anything to remind herself that she's not just some star-struck, love-sick ninny. She's freaking SPIDER-WOMAN. Well... Ghost-Spider. But STILL.

So really, the timing couldn't be better when a text notification on her phone went off. With her web-spinners safely tucked away in her backpack, she actually had to get out of bed to check it, but it was Glory.

GLORY> Girl. Aren't you at Wayne Manor with Billionaire McHotness?

GWEN> Yeah. Why?

GLORY> You're gated off, right? Like... protected?

GLORY> <livestream link>

Gwen quickly pulls up a live stream, her eyes widening as the chaotic scene unfolds on her screen. Gotham is in turmoil, and the usually dark and brooding city is now alight with the chaos of a widespread street riot. The news anchor's voice is strained, barely keeping up with the flood of updates pouring in.

"Tonight, Gotham City is under siege as a series of coordinated crimes erupt across the city. Reports indicate that the chaos began shortly after sundown, with multiple gangs launching simultaneous attacks on key locations. The GCPD is stretched thin, struggling to contain the violence that has spilled into the streets."

The screen flickers to footage of looters smashing storefronts, cars ablaze in the background, and civilians running in terror. Police sirens wail in the distance, their flashing lights casting eerie shadows across the urban battlefield.

GWEN> OMG. Yeah. I'm safe. Thanks for checking.

GLORY> Stay safe. Check in, okay?

GWEN> I will. Thanks, Glory.

But Gwen was already out of bed, throwing off the sheets, and getting dressed with her Ghost-Spider suit under her clothes. Damian's motorcycle keys were still on his dresser, and she knew where he parked, so she scribbed out a quick note in case he came back from work earlier than expected.

"I needed some air, so I borrowed the bike. I hope you don't mind. I'll be back soon."

And then she was gone, riding out the front gates of Wayne Manor, with no idea if she could actually get back in without him.

Ghost Spider has posed:
...The night had been chaotic, at best. There looters on multiple streets, some wearing masks, some not.

At some point, Oracle had relayed to the rest of the Bats that Batgirl had encountered an anomalous vigilante in the form of Ghost-Spider. As played through Batgirl's video feed:

...

Ghost-Spider flips off of a web-line, webs a goon's club, flips over the group, jerks the club so it hits one of the other guys in the face, webs another guy's butt, jerks him backwards, flips again, yanks another guy so that he trips over that guy _and_ hits another one with his crowbar...

"Oh! Careful! You shouldn't run with sticks... OW! That looked like it hurt... Ooop, nope! Missed me. Sorry... hey... you guys aren't wearing masks like the other guys!" Gasp. "Maybe you should have worn a mask. I mean, it wouldn't have made you fight any better, but at least you'd have looked cooler..."

It's straight up slapstick, and she's taking her time.

But when she's done with them? They're all webbed up, back to back, around a light pole, and groaning from near-unconsciousness.

... The video skips, then ...

And when Cassandra stands? Batgirl's looking into Spider-mask-eyes that are twice the size of normal.

"OH MY GOD! BATMAN!" Total fangirl.

Pause. Eyes narrow a little.

"...You're a _lot_ smaller than I expected you to be."

Pause.

"And scarier." Hands go up. "Not in a bad way."

...

The two, Batgirl and Ghost-Spider, had run off in the night together, but Oracle had tasked Batgirl on a mission to investigate an incident across town, leaving Ghost-Spider alone again and on the prowl for more action.

The only difference now was that the Bats knew she was there, where she was, and at least approximately what she was up to. At least Batgirl seemed to trust her intentions.

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
Wayne's always have business to attend to.

The past two nights iwth Gwen have been amazing. He hadn't anticipated bedding Gwen on the first night at the manor but it certainly wasn't something he disliked. In fact, he *deeply* enjoyed it. But, when that signal hits the sky? Damian knows he has a duty beyond his personal likes and dislikes. He has a duty to protect Gotham City. As Heir to the Cowl, Damian's taken on his father's mission, his crusade, to fight against the infestation of crime wherever it may be.

And sometimes, that requires his personal life to suffer. And so...it meant Gwen had to sleep in Damian's bed alone. He had at least kissed her goodbye, in case it was his last night. But, the riots needed to be fought. With Oracle and Batgirl already out there in the night and Cassandra Cain doing what she does best, Damian was free to engage without much worry.

Criminals are a cowardly and superstitious lot. They were easy to frighten, easy to scare, even the ones they deemed fearless. All you need is a little theatricality. All you need is to prey on what terrifies them.

All you need is to break every bone in their body.

And so it is that a figure curtained by a thick, black cloak stands there, watching over some thugs trying to raid a few stores. The lights all go out. Their calls of confusion are suddenly replaced by pained cries, the sound of firm things breaking, the sound of bodies hitting the floor. Until only one remains. But when the lights come back on? There's no bodies. Just a shaking thug with his gun in his hands, looking like he might drop from a heart attack: literally scared to death.

"Where are you?! Where are-"

He looks up.

"You..."

about two-dozen criminals are hanging from the edges of rooftops by ropes tied to the ankles. They hang there, straight out of a nightmare or horror movie. And before the man can even scream, a shadow overtakes him.

Silence.

All by one man. One young man. The student of Batman. One half of the dynamic duo.

Robin.

Hooded, yet armed to the literal fucking teeth underneath that cloak, that figure leaps across rooftops and uses his training to be as though one with the shadows. But...he sees something: a woman in white. A Spider? Here, in Gotham?

Thought all of them were in New York.

And so it is that while the Spider is leaning over the rooftop's edge, perched and ready for any other call for help?

There's suddenly a sentence. A presence.

**DIRECTLY BEHIND HER.**

"Long way from home."

Ghost Spider has posed:
Dark, meet Light.

Seriously, if Gwen had stumbled into that store and found all those bodies hanging there, she might be traumatized for life. No wonder there are so many people in Arkham. But where the Bats have one way, the Spiders have their own.

Have you ever seen those cartoons where one of the characters gets spooked off of a ledge and just sort of hovers in the air until they look down?

That doesn't happen in real life.

In real life, Ghost-Spider's scream can be heard echoing through the alley as she plummets from the rooftop, but a mere blink later, the end of her webbing *THWIPS* to the nose of the gargoyle she'd been crouching next to and she launches herself back into the air, landing lightly in a squat on top of its head, fingers touching concrete between her feet -- perfect balance, perfect grace, perfect poise.

"What is it with this town?! Can't a girl stalk some bad guys for FIVE MINUTES without being jumped on by a freaking Bat?! I thought bats liked caves!"

Through the marvels of costumed physics, her hood doesn't even fall off. Stark white with a pink lining that has a teal web pattern in the inside, it barely obscures the white mask she wears, her big eyelets _so_ expressive they're almost comical.

Unlike the Bats, the top half of _her_ costume is almost all white -- white hood, white sleeves, white gloves, white mask. The bottom half is black, and her teal Chuck Taylors add a unique pop of color...

...and they're _so_ familiar. As is her voice, and probably a few other things about her height, her figure. It had only been 24 hours, after all. 24 hours since she and Damian had...

"Hey, you're not a Bat."

Those big eyes squint appraisingly, then widen a bit.

"You're that BIRD guy! Falcon.. or.. The Owl.. no, that's a bad guy... hold on... I know it's not Vulture..."

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
"Hnnh.Definitely New York. You're out of your element. Dong think anybody told you, but white? That's a bullet magnet here. Better off finding some kind of darker shade in this side of town."

He doesn't seem bothered at all that she fell off of her perch and nearly plummeted to an early demise. He doesn't seem bothered at all how quickly she got back up to her perch. He doesn't answer her quips when she starts calling him names that is certainly NOT Robin. Instead, the domino mask covering his eyes? The film seems to slightly narrow as though in realization.

Same body language.

Same shape.

Same rambling.

Same tone.

Gwen Stacy.

For a moment, Robin seems to approach. His steps are light and easy, yet simultaneously heavy and foreboding. Her chicks give it away.

He reaches for her mask, tucking fingers underneath it just enough to lift it, to show him her chin, her sweet lips.

"You need to be more careful."

His tone sounded A LOT like Damian in that moment. But, if she doesn't stop him?

He's going to kiss her. Longingly. Deeply. Passionately. The kind of kiss that puts authors to shame and poets to the sword. He needs no further words. He needs nothing else.

Just her.

And, as soon as he found out? She would've figured him out sooner than later, most like, with his sudden disappearances at the first sign of trouble.

Ghost Spider has posed:
Gwen knows what his name is, but she can't seem to resist fucking with him. That much is obvious as she seems to simply trail off without any more guesses.

Just like she knew Clint's name wasn't 'Brown Arrow' or 'Robin Hood.'

"You know, I _tried_ going all-black," she didn't, "but this kid mistook me for his shadow and started calling himself Peter Pan. The whole thing was _super_ tragic. Plus, it was _really_ hard to find on laundry day until I realized I'd accidentally kicked it under the bed."

Of course, while Gwen's rambling, Robin's getting closer, and there wasn't really a good place for her to scoot back, anymore. She could _always_ jump and web away. But... _why_ was he getting closer?

"Oh.. hey! You're... awfully friendly..."

He's reaching, and she's dipping her head, setting her hand on his wrist so that she could stop it if it went so much as an inch farther than what she was comfortable with.

"Is this like a... Bat-greeting? Like how the French do the cheek-kiss thing? 'Cause, I'm sort of attached..."

'You need to be more careful.'

Her hand went limp, her heart fell into her stomach at that voice, but before she could get her wits about her, she was already being kissed...

...and not just kissed. _Kissed._

Her mask-eyes closed and she tilted her head, her hand leaving his wrist entirely to slip up behind his neck and pull her up against him, crushing her slender body against his.

The mask was caught just above her nose, but it didn't stop her from giving him just as much as he gave her, sucking in a deep breath as her whole body shuddered from the unexpectedness.. from the force.. from the way he made her tingle all the way down to her toes with just that kiss.

And after what felt like hours, when they finally parted, she barely pulled away from his mouth, just letting out a quiet little laugh.

"If I'm wrong, I'm going to be in soooooo much trouble, later..."

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
You're awfully friendly.

It his like a bat greeting? I'm sort of attached'

Then that *kiss*.

Ith as just the right amount of lips, of tongue, of breath. Robin....Damian kisses Gwen like the very idea of her being far away from him was too terrible to bear. To know that he didn't need to protect her, that she was very much so capable of protecting herslef? Itm ade him love her all the more. He felt her hand teasing the back of his neck to pull him firmer against her lips. He feels her every curve against him, the strenght of her.

Only when their lips suddenly pull away from one another, nice and slow, does Damian look upon Gwen in that moment, lips just barely parted from one another. "You're not." He whispers to her lips. "And you...should protect your identity better." he nuzzles her nose ever so gently, ever so softly.

"Did Cassandra figure it out already?" Her identity, anyhow. His hands still curl around her waist, still pulling her tightly against himself. It's taking everything in his power not to do something *even more drastic* right now.

Ghost Spider has posed:
"Says you! I'm not the one that goes around kissing people to give away my secret! And I've honestly _never_ had this problem before," Gwen whispers back, arms slipped up over his shoulders. "But I don't make a habit of sleeping with vigilantes..."

Her still exposed lips quirk into a grin that falters a moment later.

"How would Cassandra figure it out? I haven't seen her since yesterday, when I was apparently trying extra hard to kill the whole 'cool new girlfriend' vibe with my super-awkwardness power."

Beat.

"Oh... and I might have told a little while lie on the note I left about borrowing your motorcycle. Please don't be mad. I didn't _actually_ take it for a joy ride to clear my head. I mean, I did, but.. that obviously wasn't the whole reason."

She cringes, because that's a _lot_ of things to apologize for all in one sentence. She wasn't even sure if he was okay with her borrowing it, yet.

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
She says that, but her arms are neatly nestled around his shoulders. A little smirk on the confident young man's face as he meets her eyes without any kind of outward reaction to her playful outburst. "Sorry. Force ofh abit, looks like, to kiss you best as I can." Damian remarks to her slightly. "Though sleeping with vigilantes...am I in trouble if you're the only one?" Damian asks her, that little smile.

"She's quiet, but she's smart. She probably had you pegged the moment you tried to leave." He smiles at her. "But don't worry. She likes you. If she didn't, you probably would've been punched at least once." he tells her with a little chuckle. He tilts his head though.

"I'm not mad about the bike. I have a hundred more just like it. If you want, you can take it with you when you inevitably have to go back to New York. Call it a goodwill commitment to be long-distance with you." And yet, after her apology, he couldn't help but give her a few more kisses all over again.

Because he has discovered through empyrial evidence that he *really* likes kissing her.

"I'm sorry you had to find out this is who I was. My life is dangerous, Gwen. Very dangerous."

Ghost Spider has posed:
'Am I in trouble if you're the only one?'

Gwen pulls a face -- something she can't normally do in her mast. Ordinarily, she has to rely on those big eyes to convey everything, but with it still pulled up above her nose, she can actually cringe with her lips.

"I mean... yesterday I would have said that I inexperience isn't attractive..." She's _totally_ lying just to screw with him, her voice is full of sarcasm. "But..." And here she sobers, smiling again. "After last night? That doesn't seem to be a problem."

The Cassandra thing though? That gets a little laugh. "I'm actually kind of surprised she didn't. I was _really_ making an ass out of myself."

The bike.

Ugh.

She audibly groans, but that smile still lingers on her lips as he leans in to kiss her again. Her eyes close. Her body seems to sink into him, clinging and pulling and giving him her weight all at the same time.

She's so swept up in it. So lightheaded, even for a few seconds afterwords, that the visible parts of her cheeks are flushed bright red.

"You... You can't just _give me_ a vehicle, Dami -- _Robin_." Rooftops have ears, after all, and she might be fine calling Peter 'Peter' on top of some of their buildings in New York, but she knew which ones had security cameras. "And you don't have to buy my love. I want to be very clear about that. Like... crystal clear. I like a _lot_ of things about you, and _none_ of them are printed on currency."

And she really did seem very serious about that.

But that last part?

That makes those mask eyes squint and her hands slip from his shoulders to fall back to her sides.

"Because mine isn't? Do I _look_ like some helpless little girl who can't take care of herself?"

And even as she's finishing asking that question, her web-shooters go off, *THWIPPING* a heavy dose of webbing around his boots before she gracefully back-sumersaults right along the edge of the building away from him.

She has a dancer's grace in every movement, and when she's standing away from him like that, she's even standing in third position -- body long and erect, feet pointed in opposite directions and touching, like it's been drilled into her through years of study.

He'd be able to break that webbing with a lot of effort -- the goons she normally subdues can't, but they're not Damian Wayne, either. It's not easy, but for him, it's doable.

"If it's so dangerous, maybe you should stop."

And then she's tugging that mask back into place.

_This_ was the 'full' Gwen. Both halves, merged as one. Proud, loving, vulnerable, confident, prideful, cocky, fun, serious, and so many other things. For once more in her life, she had someone she didn't have to hide who she was in front of, and though she didn't seem 'angry' about that 'my life is dangerous' crack, she definitely took it as a straight-up challenge.

You don't think I can take it?

Fight me.

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
"Inexperience isn't attractive huh?" Damian seems to look amused for a moment. Though despite seeming a little offended, Damian is clearly fucking with her right back. Sh admits that after last night, thre will be *no* difficulties regarding 'inexperience'. And that was before the kiss. She melts against him and he happily holds her against him. It was...nice to be in a relationship. He kisses her with as much tenacity as he had done before.

And when they part from each other, he looks at those expressive eye slots of her mask and notices how lightheaded she is, keeping her close to him. "I know I don't have to buy your love. Just in case you needed something to get around in. You can always say no. Money isn't my identity." Damian remarks to her ever so softly. "But, I appreciate you liking me for more than I can offer you materially." He seems to smile ever so slightly at her.

"Yours are nicer." Damian remarks to her ever so softly. Add in that Gwen was gifted with incredible powers and Damian has nothing but training and sheer willpower and Damian firmly believes there is a divide between Gwen's vigilanteism and Damian's own. However, she suggests he should stop. "And let people die? Corruption fester? Politicians buy in to Gang members and are released as soon as they are locked away. I don't see Spiders in Gotham City other than the one in front of me." New York and Gotham were /very/ different cities. "I don't get a bonus when I retire. So no." He remarks to her, though suddenly she THWIPS the webbing right at his feet, the boy wonder not even bothering to evade the 'attack'.

A small frown on his face as she tugs that mask back into place.

Kneeling down, he pulls out a cartridge from his utility belt, pouring a small amount on it. The mysterious concoction seems to quickly begin weakening the chemical structure of the webbing itself, attacking the very atoms that compose it until it's but a whisper in the winds. His cape flourishes, revealing a black and red ensemble with a yellow inner lining to the cape itself.

"Huh. Your webbing is similar in composition to a villain named Black Spider, but slightly more advanced. I recommend isolating the polymers to avoid substance meltdown." Damian remarks to her as he starts to approach where she was on the ledge.

Ghost Spider has posed:
Were they having their first... well, it wasn't really a 'fight.' Their first... spat? Lover's quarrel?

First, Damian gets upset at her calling him inexperienced -- which was meant to be a joke -- then Gwen gets offended at Damian suggesting his life is too dangerous for her, then Damian's getting upset that she tried to throw the 'dangerous' thing back in his face and taunt him into quitting.

Suddenly, Damian's boots are all covered in goo and Gwen had given herself a little distance, looking like she was fully expecting a retaliatory strike... that didn't come.

She's _so_ on edge. So defensive. She's so ready for him to tell her that she's doing the wrong thing, that she's not good enough to live in his world, that he's disappointed in her, that...

...that her webbing needed a chemical modification?

Shoulders sag a fraction of an inch. Mask-eyes soften. She seems to simply deflate when she realizes that he's not going to fight back, not going to stand there and point a finger and tell her that she's all wrong for him because she's not good enough.

"I... designed it myself." Her voice is softer, both the quips and the anger gone. "It uses water vapor from the air, so I don't have to carry cartridge refills. I'll... see if there's anything I can do."

Softer. "Thanks."

She doesn't move away. She doesn't approach, either, but she does reach up and rub the side of her neck, masked face turning up towards him when he's right in front of her.

Softer still. "I'm sorry. I thought you... I thought you were trying to tell me you didn't want..."

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
In many ways, their lives *are* too intense for the other.

But, Damian lives in intensity. He is intense. He lives intense. He loves intensely. Though as Damian stands there, looking at her in her defensive posture as he proceeds to eliminate her webbing in practically record time only to suggest for her a chemical solution to solve that problem? Damian doesn't seem offended or upset with her. Instead, he approaches her with careful steps. "It speaks of your ingenuity. It needs it's tweaks, but being able to use the water vapor from moisture is a good idea. Nigh unlimited in earth's atmosphere unless you're in a thermodynamically unfortunate circumstance."

Billionaire AND scientist.

She thanks him, and for a moment, his hand lifts to touch her cheek, even as he keeps her mask on her face. He doesn't try to remove it. He doesn't try to kiss her. What he says next will be said without any promise of a kiss in return or even physical or verbal affection.

"I want you."

It's a simple phrase yet filled with so much. "If you can accept all of y life...then I accept all of yours. You're not getting rid of me that easy, Spider." He tells her with a little smirk touching his face, even if most of it is concealed due to a combination of his hood and his own mask.

Ghost Spider has posed:
Those big, white eyes in her mask. They're so expressive.

The closer Damian gets, the bigger they get. The closer his hands gets, the bigger they get, until she's looking up at him with almost a sense of... wonder. Or maybe fear.

Or both.

The heel of one teal Chuck Taylor is against the middle of the other. She's still in that dancer's posture, legs straight, back straight, chin tilted up onto the hand that cups her cheek.

"I couldn't do anything with my webs in this one factory where they made batteries, this one time..."

Either her brain was still back on humidity, or she just didn't know what to say.

'I want you ... You're not getting rid of me that easy, Spider.'

"How does this work?"

It's such an abrupt change of conversation.

Those eyes narrow a bit again, relaxing as she rests her cheek in his hand. She looks... sad, maybe. Confused. Forlorn?

"You're in Gotham. I'm in New York. I can't bail on my city. Not with Spider-Man basically AWOL..." Which was, itself, a complication. "I can't expect you to abandon Gotham. Not to mention that you live in a... palace. My apartment is only two rooms because one of them is a bathroom. Which is... kinda whatever, you know. It's not a big deal. It's just that... we live in different worlds."

Her shoulders sag.

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
Is she afraid of him?

He wouldn't want her to be. But, there's a reason why Damian is so adept at Psychological Warfare. He's good at making others feel afraid, even those he can't do anything meaningful to. Though as he's standing there, looking directly at her like she's the only thing in the entire universe that truly matters. Let the other vigilantes clean up the thugs. They need this moment. They need *now*.

"I can imagine. The lithium cores would build up too much heat for vapor to be easily absorbed, egardless of hte efficacy of the system." Damian meets her eyes in that moment just a little bit longer. But she asks him how it will work.

"Long distance, most likely. Though wit hthe amount of trips I need to do between Metropolis, New York, and other locations, I'll probably be in New York more than you think." Damian suggests to her, the weight ofh er face on his hand is met with an affectionate touch, merciful and kind. "Don't see this as two different worlds, see it as two different ways to solve the same problem that we both happen to agree with in our fierce independence."

He smirks.

"So just call when you're away."