Charity Drive

[batgirl_babs]

[An image swims into life, and it's a carefully posed tableaux. A baker's dozen worth of them - twelve small girls of a frankly astounding variety of heights, shapes, colours and races, and their coach. Every last one of them is dressed in a light purple leotard with lighter purple tights. But they're all saluting, which might have something to do with the costume aviator coats they have on, the scarves around their necks, and flight goggles. Some have them on their foreheads. One, rather intensely, has them over her eyes as if about to engage the enemy. You'll see more of Ruby later.]

[They're all saluting and looking off into the distance, posed very dramatically. Then they all fall into a semblance of ease, with a gaggle of giggles echoing outwards. Barbara, their coach, waves at the viewer.]

Hey, everybody out there! I'm Barbara, Barbara Gordon - for the...pretty much most of you who don't know me, I'm an imPort and I got assigned as a gymnastics coach when I got here, which is how I met these little hellions.

[There is another titter of laughter at that. One girl, Aiko, approximately ten, yells out 'woo! Hellion!']

Meet the De Chima Spitfires. Thus the costumes, really - but the name was all Rima's idea: it sure fits, and it's sure graceful - and that's what these ladies are!

[Rima, a tall girl of twelve in a hijab, waves nervously, but with a proud smile.]

But to get right to it, we're going to take on a regional competition in the next couple of weeks, and if anybody can spare a few dollars to help us rent out a bus, that'd just be swell.

[She herself put most all of her free cash into getting the uniforms and costumes - she'd started the team specifically to help talented girls who, as a rule, didn't have the money backing them to compete otherwise. It meant living on cup noodles for a while, but she'd been a student. She had done it before, she could do it again. Not that her stomach would thank her.]

If there's anything left over, we'll be getting buttons made, so you've got a souvenir of doing something great. And you'll feel great when these awesome kiddos put on a show.

[Which is when Ruby bounces forward. Short, nine years old, black and with a mass of frizzy chestnut hair over gleeful green eyes - and apparently powered by a nuclear reactor from a naval sub. One day, in the future, Ruby's going to win a few Olympic medals on the balance beam, even if Coach Barbara had never been a thing - attitude and sheer energetic will would see to that. But right now, she's just ready for her first competition, goggles over her eyes like she's about to take on the whole Luftwaffe herself. She pumps both fists in to the air, grinning happily.]

We're gonna kick some buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuutt!

[Everyone dissolves into laughter and cheering, including Barbara, applauding and 'wooing' loudly. Ruby may run a circle of the group, arms out as if she's a flying airplane.]

Well, you heard Ruby. Help us out if you can. And if you want to cheer the girls on, c'mon out to the De Chima Gymnastics Club Thursday night for our exhibition.

Comments

Video;

[fridgeflower]

Nice to... [ Sorry about the slight lull. What do you call it when you've met another time-and-place of someone? Did imPorts ever pin down official etiquette on that one? Give her a second and she snaps out of it, looking a bit embarrassed. ] Sorry. Nice to meet you, Barbara. And the Spitfires, of course.

Very coordinated. Everybody's so sharp!

Do you know how much you're looking to raise? I can definitely contribute something, but I've got friends with better cashflow than me. I'm more than happy to appeal to them.

[batgirl_babs]

[She tilts her head a little at that, but catches on soon enough. This isn't her first particular rodeo there.]

Yep, that's us. And you would be?

And let's see...rough total, if we include room for buttons, let's say $4,000 even. Covers the bu and some motel rooms for the girls.

Also, thank you so much for the help!

[fridgeflower]

Right, sorry. I'm Laurie Collins!

And, wow, that's a pretty good chunk of change. I can do, like, a couple hundo right now, probably a little more if I root around in my accounts for a bit.

But I know a doctor and a TV personality, so that's got to be good for something, right?

[batgirl_babs]

[She winces, nodding.]

Nine hundred smackers, per day, just for the bus. One day up, one back. With gas that's nearly two grand right there.

[She smiles, though, at he rest and flails a bit.]

Oh! That is so very generous! I wasn't expecting anyone to chip in that much...you're sure it's not too much of a drain?

[fridgeflower]

It's not a problem. I try to set stuff aside for good causes, particularly imPort-related projects. I wish I could do more, but work's kinda hit-or-miss by month.

I'll definitely ask around, too, like I said.

... Actually, would it be an issue if we could, like, magically procure a bus using superpowers? Because that's also a possibility.

[batgirl_babs]

[If it weren't for the company she has kept over the years, Zatanna chief among them, she'd have had a lot of questions about that. Most of them incredulous. But as it stands, she snrks behind a hand.]

So long as it doesn't turn back into a pumpkin in the middle of the freeway, sure. And that must be some hat you're planning to pull this out of.

[She's a bit irreverent, as may become apparent.]

Also so long as the bus isn't being, y'know, magically pilfered. I don't want to make an episode of World's Littlest Accessories-after-the-Fact.

[fridgeflower]

No pumpkins or pilfering required! I know a guy who can, like... manifest things out of dreams? I'm not sure how it works, but he made my boyfriend an RV once, so a bus seems pretty possible.

I'll have to ask, of course, but I'll let you know ASAP.

video; un: FinnMertens

[punchpunchkisskiss]

Hmm. I don't think I have much money...

[ He doesn't know how to check his balance. He just kind of buys food and hopes for the best. ]

But I bet I could help out in some other way!

Do you know any good dungeons? There's always loads of treasure in dungeons. [ please Glob somebody find him a dungeon he gets so bored here ]

Oh! Or, I work in a candy store! They said there's a great discount for my friends.

[batgirl_babs]

[She smiled. It was a nice offer, and she couldn't resist the lousy pun.]

Well that's sweet of you in two different ways, but hoo boy do I want to keep these kiddos away from sugar right now. And unfortunately I don't know of any dungeons...I mean, there's catacombs and such under any major city in the U.S. but that's not exactly the same.

[punchpunchkisskiss]

Heheh. Thanks.

[ He thrives on puns. ]

Catacombs are totally dungeons! Especially if the entrance is hidden.

[batgirl_babs]

[Well, he was nice. And she might have a fact he doesn't know.]

Well, if you can ever meander up to New York, that city is built on layers of tunnels, catacombs...all sorts of things. Nobody knows where they all go.

[punchpunchkisskiss]

Shmowzow that sounds rad! I wanna meet this dungeon!

Where's New York? Is that one of the cities you can hop in a porter and zip-zap over to?

[batgirl_babs]

Up in the Northeast...I'm not honestly sure, come to think of it - I never asked.

[She shrugs.]

But hey, worse comes to worse you get a good old fashioned American-style roadtrip, right?

[punchpunchkisskiss]

Hahah, yeah! I don't know what that means, but it sounds cool!

[ Finn's current understanding of geography: He lives in Nonah-North-Carolina, and planets are not the same thing as continents. ]

video;

[restingstitchface]

[Crane looks her in the eye much as he can with his work laid out on his desk. He folds his hands together in his lap and leans forward, attentive.]

I can throw a donations sheet up at the local university.

If you're not offended by the idea, of course.

[batgirl_babs]

[It is literally all she can do to make sure she doesn't start when it's his face that shows up. She's helped by having to half-hop back as Ruby barrels by, saying something about 'chasing down the Heinkels.]

Oh, wow, that's really generous of you! Kindness of strangers is a heck of a thing! So, no, not offended at all! Feel I should add a 'kind sir,' there.

[restingstitchface]

[His face remains impassive as that young girl rushes by; too reserved to congratulate, too polite to criticise or condemn. He leans back in his chair and begins adjusting the sides of his glasses before setting them back on his nose.]

Kind sir and, oh, a kind myriad of students, really. Most of whom are a tad more collected than your, well, collective.

[Let's talk about your kids, shall we?]

[batgirl_babs]

[She shrugs, managing a smile.]

They've got a few years on them, so I'd hope they manage it. Then again, I remember college as being fairly disorganized in its own way.

[Skin crawling. What a wonderful feeling.]

video

[khajidont]

[ Oh, god. She's a baby. And she can walk. Oh, boy. He hates this. He plasters on a smile anyway. ]

I think I can probably spare a few bucks for your band of munchkins.

It's nice to meet you, Barbara.

[batgirl_babs]

[She'd object very strongly to the 'baby' comment - but she is younger, significantly so. But the gregariousness is layered over the steel, nevertheless.]

Thank you! Every little bit helps! And there's a button in it for you, so hey - a good deed and a button's not a bad use of a few bucks, right?

And you would be?

[khajidont]

Oh, I'm Jaime. Reyes.

...the name wouldn't happen to sound familiar, would it?

[batgirl_babs]

[Well that's a loud hint in the long underwear department, so to speak. Every single time someone has said that to her so far.]

Unfortunately, no - but I think there's some stories there I'd like to hear.

private

[khajidont]

Yeah, I think so. Gimme a sec, 'kay?

[ With that, he switches the feed to private. ]

So! How up to date are you on alternative universe theories? As long as you know some basic sci-fi, you've probably got the gist of it.

[ If this Babs is anything like Oracle, she already knows more than Jaime does. But considering his own alternative universe selves, he knows better than to make any assumptions. ]

Re: private

[batgirl_babs]

[She moves away from the kids, letting them break into a bit of unofficial practice, sighing and rubbing her face briefly.]

Let's just say that the basics I know have been suddenly given a crash course expansion.

private

[khajidont]

Gotcha.

Does that mean that you've already been informed that there was a you here before?