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[Maybe, just maaaaaybe, leaving Maps alone to watch the booth while Kyle ran to the bathroom wasn't the most genius idea in the world, but he just couldn't wait for his relief to show up. So here she is inspecting each milk bottle very carefully, squinting and wishing she had some sort of analytical visor so she could fully scan them and understand their secrets. After all, like Colton said "Everyone knows those games are rigged." Maybe she can figure out the trick, and once Kyle gets back, she'll play a round and win.
She's scrutinizing two bottles in her hands, testing the weight of each of them, when she hears Someone at the booth counter. Crap! Doesn't everyone know these things are rigged? And they want to purchase a what???]
Sorry we Mizoguchi's are not for sa-- Hey! It's you!!!
[She haphazardly drops the bottles back onto the deck and rushes the counter, slamming her hands down on it, and leaning forward until she's practically nose to nose with him.]
Are you here on a secret mission? [Whispered with furtive glances to either side of them, in case anyone might be listening.
Please, please, please, please, please let him be here on a secret mission. That's just the out she needs!]
[The familiarity of the young voice makes his eyes widen momentarily and then he abruptly pulls back from the sudden extremely close proximity. All previous annoyed thoughts are immediately placed on hold and it takes him several long seconds to formulate a response.]
A secret...? No! [Except maybe. He's honestly not even sure at this point.] I'm just here to [Ugh] enjoy the festivities.
[Skeptically] Aren't you too young to be running one of these booths?
[Wait escort. What escort. He's distracted from the declaration (that he has a terrible feeling involves him) by the claim about the game, and he narrows his eyes.]
[He catches it instinctively, frowning at the milk cartons. After an extended pause, he nods and hands over a ten dollar bill without bothering to check the actual price. #Richkids.]
Alright. [Shifting into position, his eyes lock on the target and a second later the ball is soaring through the air at a velocity and trajectory aimed perfectly to take the cartons out.]
[Sweet loot!!! Maybe she can convince Kyle for a cut of his pay for helping him out. (probably not, but it's worth a try. She's making him total bank here!)
She stuffs the money in the apron pouch her brother left behind, and steps back. She watches the ball pitch forward as closely as she can. (Boy does that kid have an arm on him). It sails by knocking right into the bottles, and... only two fall over.]
Ooooh. Sooo close! I thought you would have nailed it too! I wonder if they're magnetic.
[She leans down to scoop up the two that fell and squints at the bottom of one.]
[He narrows his eyes, glaring at the offending bottles. There was most certainly some sort of scam to be had here. At the question he eyes Mizoguchi in contemplation.
Yes, yes he has metal on him. But nothing that is appropriate to pull out in public. Though it's not a problem if he pulls out a batarang in front of her, (she already knows he has some sort of access to them) he hardly wants to pull one out in front of everyone else at the fair.
...but not finding out how this game is rigged is also not an option.
It's totally less weird to pull out a knife, right? He covertly slides it over.]
If not magnets, then it's something else. My pitch was perfect. [ and he's sure of it. >| ]
[Hel-lo, beauty! Maps snatches it up, looking it over from several angles. Not nearly as cool as the batarang, and nothing compared to the grapple hook, but still awesome none-the-less. This kid has the hookups, and Maps needs to be in on this.]
We really need to hang more. [She looks up at him with a grin, before holding the knife to one of the bottles, he knocked over.
Nothing.
Then the next....... Nope.
She's about to pick up the third, the one that didn't fall, when Kyle returns, taking the knife out of her hands.]
Mia, what are you doing?
[Drat! Foiled by sibling rivalry again!]
And where did you get a knife? [he adds, eyeing Damian, suspiciously]
It's fake, I won it at a booth. [He rolls his eyes, lying smoothly (for once) and slipping the knife easily from Mizoguchi's hand, mindful of making sure he doesn't cut him in process.]
And we are trying to discern the method by which this so called "game" deceives a clientele out of their money. [He crosses his arms, fixing Kyle with a glare as if he is personally responsible for the scam.]
[He's doesn't recall any booth giving out fake knives as prizes, but he's also not going to press the kid. He does look between his sister and Damian though, pinning Maps with a particularly accusing look, like maybe this is her fault.]
How many times have I told you, Mia, the games aren't rigged.
[Maps crosses her arms mirroring Damian.] And I keep telling you they have to be! It's long held tradition that carnival games are rigged, Kyle! Maybe it's just no one's told you how.
[He's starting to wish Olive had been able to come. She could probably occupy Maps somewhere else, figuring out how these games were "rigged". He turns to look at Damian again.] If you want to to give it a try, it's $2. It's a game of chance and skill, and we're not deceiving anyone out of their money.
If you don't, please step aside so someone else can try.
[Someone else in this case just happens to be a scrawny teenager standing awkwardly to one side.]
[Damian bristles, offended by the notion that he could have missed out of his own lack of skill.]
The games are very obviously rigged whether you choose to believe it or not and I have no interest in wasting any more money on something so trivial. [He raises an eyebrow and turns back to Maps. Perhaps driven by a need to annoy the elder Mizoguchi (and also because wandering around on his own has gotten excessively boring), he motions away from the booth.]
[This is it! The moment she's been waiting for. An exit strategy. An escape plan. Freedom at last! This is an answer to her dreams and prayers in the form of a bratty, probably superhero, rich kid.]
Heck yes I would! [She fairly easily hops over the counter of the booth, grabbing her pack once on the other side. She's about three steps from escaping with Damian, when she remembers her brother and turns back, biggest, most pleading expression in place.] Kyle, can I hang out with Damian?
[The look he gives in return is skeptical, but it's at her savior and not her.] Pretty please with sprinkles on top! I solemnly swear we won't get into any trouble, at all. [Just in case though, she crosses her fingers behind her back, grinning widely.]
Fine [He says] Just don't get kicked out, Mia. Mom will never let you come again.
Yesss! [Maps pumps her fists in the air and grabs hold of Damian's hand to drag him off.]
[Damian tosses a smirk over his shoulder for Kyle's benefit.]
Don't worry Mizoguchi, they'd have to actually catch us in order to kick us out. [And before Kyle can come up with any sort of reply to that, Damian allows Maps to drag him off. It's not that he has anything personal against Kyle so much as his straight laced attitude was annoying. And possibly, it was fun to mess with him. Once they've gone far enough into the crowd to lose him, Damian glances down at his hand entwined with Maps' and pulls his own back with a roll of his eyes, giving her a meaningful look.]
Oh! Probably a good idea. Not that we make a bad team.
[It is hard to do anything when you're stuck together though. Especially at a carnival probably.]
So ye of mystery and intrigue, if you're not here on a top secret mission - which I'm not sure I believe by the way [She narrows her eyes suspiciously at him] - How about we take a trip through the haunted house! According to one of my sources it's considered pretty high on the spooky scale.
[Look Maps, even he's not convinced he's here on a secret mission, okay? Damian makes a show of rolling his eyes and then shrugs in response.]
I don't see what anyone finds "spooky" about cardboard pop-ups and loud noises but it's not like I have any other suggestions. [And because like a good Bat he had memorized the layout of the carnival even though he is uninterested in all of the exhibits, he shifts to head in the direction of the Haunted House. It doesn't take long to get there, but when they do there's a short line and they take their spot to wait.]
I see you've managed to stay out of any significant trouble at school since I left? [What with the whole not being expelled thing.]
[She thumbs the straps of her pack as they wait, rocking back and forth on her heels.]There's been a couple of crazy incidents with Calamity, rescued some werewolf on campus, did you know Clayface has a kid? Yup. Turns out she was my roommate at the Academy, can you believe it? She's pretty cool though. I'm thinking of having her over for a sleepover adventure night with pizza.
[She ticks them off one by one, like it's just another day on campus, which if you're part of the Detective Club it pretty much is.]
Next in line! [The attraction attendant calls irritably as they start letting the next set of people in.]
[He knows about Calamity of course. Has read the entire file on Calamity and what had happened to Silverlock's mother. He glances away from Maps casually as she speaks, pretending to look for how much longer they have to wait as he schools his expression back into something neutral. It helps when she drops that bit about Clayface.]
How did you find out Clayface has-[Wait. Uh.] Clayface has a daughter? [Damian Wayne, everyone.]
This line needs to be put on hold for a second because someone is being Su.Spi.Cious.
She leans in real close, narrowing her eyes at him. Maybe if she stares long enough, the answer will come to her. After a moment though, nothing new comes to light in her mind. Just that she's pretty sure he knows Batman. Like personally. Which is super cool in her book.
Maybe someday she can convince him to introduce her.]
If you kids aren't going in, get outta line. [The attendant calls again.
Maps leans back and shrugs.] Roommate. Pizza sleepovers. Rescuing her from her super jerkface dad. We're tight.
[With a grin, she turns to head into the haunted house. Damian Wayne was a mystery she would solve someday, for sure.]
[Damian flushes at the slip up, monumentally relieved when she doesn't push it and even moreso when it's their turn to enter, thus stalling any further commentary on the subject. He flashes the attendant a dirty look as he jogs to catch up with Maps, finding her easily enough.]
Well, according to my source, it's not just your average joe carnie haunted house. They've got some real scares here, that no one really sees coming. I was really hoping for some centuries old legend about burial grounds, but this should be fun.
[The inside is bigger than it looks from the outside, and is set into a maze like design. Once inside the maze, any light is provided from the few and far between bulbs placed around the structure. Fake cobwebs hang from corners with fake spiders scattered about them, and fog filters around their feet. There's no creepy music like she expected, and the screams coming from up ahead are audible.
Maps pulls her bag around in front of her and digs out a couple of flashlights, passing one back for Damian to take.]
[After a pause of consideration he accepts the light, though he doesn't immediately turn it on, instead allowing his eyes to adjust to the darkness as much as they can. His eyes fall on the fog and he eyes it critically. It is of course, just fog, but it occurs to him how easy it would be for someone like Crane to slip his fear toxin into the machine, and of course a haunted house would be right up his alley. Frowning, Damian takes a step closer to Maps to make sure she's in immediate reachable distance not that he's paranoid or anything.
They come to a corridor that gives them the option of turning right or left and he turns to his companion.]
[This is where it starts, she can feel it. Along the wall in front of them are "blood spattered" signs covered in more fake webs. One points to the right reading "Arkham Asylum" the other points to the left and reads "Gotham Heights Cemetery"
She shines her flashlight on each sign, hearing movement in the distance in either direction. This is totally what she's here for.]
We take the asylum route.
[She turns to the right, marching down the dark corridor and coming around the corner to an area lined with knock off cell doors. Here there are more lights, but they flicker as if always on the verge of going out. A few of the doors stand open, and she anticipates people jumping out at them there, steeling herself for it.
Two steps in and a loud pounding on the first closed door, actually manages to startle her, and she whips in that direction. More pounding. She settles down a little.]
[The pounding doesn't startle Damian. It doesn't. What he will admit to finding startling is the likeness with which the doors have been painted to resemble the actual cell doors of some of the halls of Arkham Asylum. They're over the top of course with blood spattered walls and flickering lights, but then Damian knows better than most exactly how many break outs have resulted in blood being spilled in those halls.
Clearly whoever designed the set had done their research. He frowns and instinctively puts himself between the pounding and Maps. Which is totally ridiculous and would make him groan in shame if he stopped to think about what he was doing. Thankfully, he does not.]
Tt. Unimpressive. [Just as the word is out of his mouth, there is a sudden banging in front of them, and one of the doors bursts open for someone to come flying out at them.
Damian can't help it, he pulls Maps out of the way and takes a step forward towards the man, checking himself at the last minute and remembering that breaking the arm of what was probably some idiot college student would probably not go over well with Grayson. This time he does groan, exasperated at his own foolishness.
Okay so maybe haunted houses and paranoid vigilantes didn't mix well. Who'd have thought. At least he isn't bored anymore.]
[It's probably a good thing he pulls her back, because she reaches out to grab him at the same time. That's the real reason you need someone with you in a haunted house after all - to have someone to hold onto.
So yeah, she's grabbed one of Damian's wrists, peeking over his shoulder as he steps up like he's going to fight the guy. He seems to stop short, and she's almost surprised he didn't clobber him one. Damian has to be a fighter class of some sort, right? Assassin, maybe.
The guy, dressed in a stylized asylum uniform - artfully ripped and spattered in blood - gives them a quick grin before disappearing back into his hideaway. Maps lets out a breath, feeling her heartrate begin to settle.
So her source wasn't entirely wrong.
Once the guys tucked away waiting for his next victims, Maps moves forward again to take the lead. The fun is just getting started! She doesn't let go of Damian either, and in fact, she slips her hand into his and pulls him along. Fate be damned, this is a haunted, after all.]
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She's scrutinizing two bottles in her hands, testing the weight of each of them, when she hears Someone at the booth counter. Crap! Doesn't everyone know these things are rigged? And they want to purchase a what???]
Sorry we Mizoguchi's are not for sa-- Hey! It's you!!!
[She haphazardly drops the bottles back onto the deck and rushes the counter, slamming her hands down on it, and leaning forward until she's practically nose to nose with him.]
Are you here on a secret mission? [Whispered with furtive glances to either side of them, in case anyone might be listening.
Please, please, please, please, please let him be here on a secret mission. That's just the out she needs!]
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A secret...? No! [Except maybe. He's honestly not even sure at this point.] I'm just here to [Ugh] enjoy the festivities.
[Skeptically] Aren't you too young to be running one of these booths?
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Then again... if the mission is secret, maybe he can't tell her. That MUST be it! She's onto you, pal.
She shrugs in response to his question.]
Kyle had to run off, he should be back any time. And now that I have an escort, I can blow this popsicle stand.
OH yeah! Did you wanna try and win a prize? They say these things are rigged, though.
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Rigged how?
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Kyle thinks it's just carnival superstition. [Extravagant eyeroll.]
So, wanna give it a go?
[Setting the bottle back down, she picks up the ball and tosses it his direction, with a grin.]
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Alright. [Shifting into position, his eyes lock on the target and a second later the ball is soaring through the air at a velocity and trajectory aimed perfectly to take the cartons out.]
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She stuffs the money in the apron pouch her brother left behind, and steps back. She watches the ball pitch forward as closely as she can. (Boy does that kid have an arm on him). It sails by knocking right into the bottles, and... only two fall over.]
Ooooh. Sooo close! I thought you would have nailed it too! I wonder if they're magnetic.
[She leans down to scoop up the two that fell and squints at the bottom of one.]
Hey, you have anything metal on you?
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Yes, yes he has metal on him. But nothing that is appropriate to pull out in public. Though it's not a problem if he pulls out a batarang in front of her, (she already knows he has some sort of access to them) he hardly wants to pull one out in front of everyone else at the fair.
...but not finding out how this game is rigged is also not an option.
It's totally less weird to pull out a knife, right? He covertly slides it over.]
If not magnets, then it's something else. My pitch was perfect. [ and he's sure of it. >| ]
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We really need to hang more. [She looks up at him with a grin, before holding the knife to one of the bottles, he knocked over.
Nothing.
Then the next....... Nope.
She's about to pick up the third, the one that didn't fall, when Kyle returns, taking the knife out of her hands.]
Mia, what are you doing?
[Drat! Foiled by sibling rivalry again!]
And where did you get a knife? [he adds, eyeing Damian, suspiciously]
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And we are trying to discern the method by which this so called "game" deceives a clientele out of their money. [He crosses his arms, fixing Kyle with a glare as if he is personally responsible for the scam.]
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How many times have I told you, Mia, the games aren't rigged.
[Maps crosses her arms mirroring Damian.] And I keep telling you they have to be! It's long held tradition that carnival games are rigged, Kyle! Maybe it's just no one's told you how.
[He's starting to wish Olive had been able to come. She could probably occupy Maps somewhere else, figuring out how these games were "rigged". He turns to look at Damian again.] If you want to to give it a try, it's $2. It's a game of chance and skill, and we're not deceiving anyone out of their money.
If you don't, please step aside so someone else can try.
[Someone else in this case just happens to be a scrawny teenager standing awkwardly to one side.]
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The games are very obviously rigged whether you choose to believe it or not and I have no interest in wasting any more money on something so trivial. [He raises an eyebrow and turns back to Maps. Perhaps driven by a need to annoy the elder Mizoguchi (and also because wandering around on his own has gotten excessively boring), he motions away from the booth.]
Mizoguchi, would you like to join me?
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Heck yes I would! [She fairly easily hops over the counter of the booth, grabbing her pack once on the other side. She's about three steps from escaping with Damian, when she remembers her brother and turns back, biggest, most pleading expression in place.] Kyle, can I hang out with Damian?
[The look he gives in return is skeptical, but it's at her savior and not her.] Pretty please with sprinkles on top! I solemnly swear we won't get into any trouble, at all. [Just in case though, she crosses her fingers behind her back, grinning widely.]
Fine [He says] Just don't get kicked out, Mia. Mom will never let you come again.
Yesss! [Maps pumps her fists in the air and grabs hold of Damian's hand to drag him off.]
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Don't worry Mizoguchi, they'd have to actually catch us in order to kick us out. [And before Kyle can come up with any sort of reply to that, Damian allows Maps to drag him off. It's not that he has anything personal against Kyle so much as his straight laced attitude was annoying. And possibly, it was fun to mess with him. Once they've gone far enough into the crowd to lose him, Damian glances down at his hand entwined with Maps' and pulls his own back with a roll of his eyes, giving her a meaningful look.]
I'd prefer we not tempt fate this time.
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[It is hard to do anything when you're stuck together though. Especially at a carnival probably.]
So ye of mystery and intrigue, if you're not here on a top secret mission - which I'm not sure I believe by the way [She narrows her eyes suspiciously at him] - How about we take a trip through the haunted house! According to one of my sources it's considered pretty high on the spooky scale.
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I don't see what anyone finds "spooky" about cardboard pop-ups and loud noises but it's not like I have any other suggestions. [And because like a good Bat he had memorized the layout of the carnival even though he is uninterested in all of the exhibits, he shifts to head in the direction of the Haunted House. It doesn't take long to get there, but when they do there's a short line and they take their spot to wait.]
I see you've managed to stay out of any significant trouble at school since I left? [What with the whole not being expelled thing.]
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[She thumbs the straps of her pack as they wait, rocking back and forth on her heels.]There's been a couple of crazy incidents with Calamity, rescued some werewolf on campus, did you know Clayface has a kid? Yup. Turns out she was my roommate at the Academy, can you believe it? She's pretty cool though. I'm thinking of having her over for a sleepover adventure night with pizza.
[She ticks them off one by one, like it's just another day on campus, which if you're part of the Detective Club it pretty much is.]
Next in line! [The attraction attendant calls irritably as they start letting the next set of people in.]
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How did you find out Clayface has-[Wait. Uh.] Clayface has a daughter? [Damian Wayne, everyone.]
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This line needs to be put on hold for a second because someone is being Su.Spi.Cious.
She leans in real close, narrowing her eyes at him. Maybe if she stares long enough, the answer will come to her. After a moment though, nothing new comes to light in her mind. Just that she's pretty sure he knows Batman. Like personally. Which is super cool in her book.
Maybe someday she can convince him to introduce her.]
If you kids aren't going in, get outta line. [The attendant calls again.
Maps leans back and shrugs.] Roommate. Pizza sleepovers. Rescuing her from her super jerkface dad. We're tight.
[With a grin, she turns to head into the haunted house. Damian Wayne was a mystery she would solve someday, for sure.]
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And exactly what's so great about this place?
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[The inside is bigger than it looks from the outside, and is set into a maze like design. Once inside the maze, any light is provided from the few and far between bulbs placed around the structure. Fake cobwebs hang from corners with fake spiders scattered about them, and fog filters around their feet. There's no creepy music like she expected, and the screams coming from up ahead are audible.
Maps pulls her bag around in front of her and digs out a couple of flashlights, passing one back for Damian to take.]
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They come to a corridor that gives them the option of turning right or left and he turns to his companion.]
Your call, Mizoguchi.
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She shines her flashlight on each sign, hearing movement in the distance in either direction. This is totally what she's here for.]
We take the asylum route.
[She turns to the right, marching down the dark corridor and coming around the corner to an area lined with knock off cell doors. Here there are more lights, but they flicker as if always on the verge of going out. A few of the doors stand open, and she anticipates people jumping out at them there, steeling herself for it.
Two steps in and a loud pounding on the first closed door, actually manages to startle her, and she whips in that direction. More pounding. She settles down a little.]
+5 for ambience [she mutters]
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Clearly whoever designed the set had done their research. He frowns and instinctively puts himself between the pounding and Maps. Which is totally ridiculous and would make him groan in shame if he stopped to think about what he was doing. Thankfully, he does not.]
Tt. Unimpressive. [Just as the word is out of his mouth, there is a sudden banging in front of them, and one of the doors bursts open for someone to come flying out at them.
Damian can't help it, he pulls Maps out of the way and takes a step forward towards the man, checking himself at the last minute and remembering that breaking the arm of what was probably some idiot college student would probably not go over well with Grayson. This time he does groan, exasperated at his own foolishness.
Okay so maybe haunted houses and paranoid vigilantes didn't mix well. Who'd have thought. At least he isn't bored anymore.]
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So yeah, she's grabbed one of Damian's wrists, peeking over his shoulder as he steps up like he's going to fight the guy. He seems to stop short, and she's almost surprised he didn't clobber him one. Damian has to be a fighter class of some sort, right? Assassin, maybe.
The guy, dressed in a stylized asylum uniform - artfully ripped and spattered in blood - gives them a quick grin before disappearing back into his hideaway. Maps lets out a breath, feeling her heartrate begin to settle.
So her source wasn't entirely wrong.
Once the guys tucked away waiting for his next victims, Maps moves forward again to take the lead. The fun is just getting started! She doesn't let go of Damian either, and in fact, she slips her hand into his and pulls him along. Fate be damned, this is a haunted, after all.]
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