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[So Maps has only been looking forward to the Gotham County Fair for aaaaages now. She had *~plans~*. She and Olive were going to go together, and hit all the high level screamer rides, then maybe play a few games (Move over Kyle, Maps was totally gonna win her a stuffed octopus or something), and then cotton candy and corndogs, before finishing the night out on the ferris wheel or carousel or something. They weren't set in stone or anything. But they were TOTALLY PLANS OKAY.
Except then things with Olive fell through and she couldn't make it. Maps tried Pomeline who had better things to do, and even Colton had "business" to take care of (and even though she expressed intense curiosity at his so-called 'business' and a willingness to be his wingman - or whatever you'd call a partner in crime in that event - he just waved her away) Even her greatest rival/match??? Eric had a trip with his mom to Metropolis and couldn't weasel out of it (the loser)
So she's stuck at the milk bottle booth with Kyle, watching him repeatedly set the bottles back up as people try to knock them down. Mostly because no one wants her "wandering off on her own and getting into trouble" EYEROLL. She did get to play the watergun race game at the booth next door for a while until things got a little too competitive and eventually the booth runner chased her away. "Bad for business" he muttered. (she did spend the next twenty minutes plotting how to overthrow him and take all his prizes)
Revenge scheming aside this is not how Map's Super Spectacular Carnival Experience(tm) is supposed to be going. If only there were someone to rescue her from this tale of woe and tragedy.]
[Reconnaissance, they had called it. There was a new dealer in town and they had popped up the same time and in the same area of town as the county fair. A coincidence was possible of course, but highly unlikely. Whether they actually worked at the fair was another story altogether.
As far as Damian was concerned, this could have been far more easily accomplished at night as Robin, checking over the files and names registered to each booth. Grayson and Father disagreed, citing that fairs were notorious for inaccurate and inefficient file keeping, and that actually walking around as a paying visitor was the most efficient way to get a look at who might be a suspicious figure.
Except Damian is pretty sure a good sixty percent of the vendors he has encountered would fall under the label of 'suspicious figures.'
He grumbles as he passes a happy family, each consuming a stick full of fried-only-god-knows-what. The possibilities were endless. Fried oreos, fried bacon (?), fried soda (????), among other just as awful heart attack inducing concoctions. Seriously, the city didn't need villains attacking them, they were shortening their own lifespans just fine on their own.
He shoves his hands into his pockets, eyes narrowing when his fingers brush against the crumpled bills that he had dropped in there earlier. Pocket change, Grayson had said.
"So you can get yourself something-to fit in of course."
Two hours in and no sign of anyone more suspicious than the rest, Damian is beginning to suspect that perhaps his family had had other ulterior motives for sending him on this 'mission.' If it turns out to be the case, he is going to make them very sorry for conjuring such a ludicrous idea.
Damian strolls into the game area with a furrowed brow and a sulk clear on his face. Most annoying mission ever. The sight of a few games based off of throwing accuracy and skill have him perking up and wandering closer. At the very least it's something to pass the time. After a moment's deliberation, Damian fishes in his pocket for the 'pocket change,' and approaches the booth advertising prizes for knocking down milk bottles.]
[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.]
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Totally not Batman.... I mean... Damian....
Haunted House, winning prizes)OOPS I FORGOT TO REPLY TO THIS
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because it was either that or possibly water fights.
which is always still a possibility imeanwhat...do you want me to put up a starter?
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Except then things with Olive fell through and she couldn't make it. Maps tried Pomeline who had better things to do, and even Colton had "business" to take care of (and even though she expressed intense curiosity at his so-called 'business' and a willingness to be his wingman - or whatever you'd call a partner in crime in that event - he just waved her away) Even her greatest rival/match??? Eric had a trip with his mom to Metropolis and couldn't weasel out of it (the loser)
So she's stuck at the milk bottle booth with Kyle, watching him repeatedly set the bottles back up as people try to knock them down. Mostly because no one wants her "wandering off on her own and getting into trouble" EYEROLL. She did get to play the watergun race game at the booth next door for a while until things got a little too competitive and eventually the booth runner chased her away. "Bad for business" he muttered. (she did spend the next twenty minutes plotting how to overthrow him and take all his prizes)
Revenge scheming aside this is not how Map's Super Spectacular Carnival Experience(tm) is supposed to be going. If only there were someone to rescue her from this tale of woe and tragedy.]
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As far as Damian was concerned, this could have been far more easily accomplished at night as Robin, checking over the files and names registered to each booth. Grayson and Father disagreed, citing that fairs were notorious for inaccurate and inefficient file keeping, and that actually walking around as a paying visitor was the most efficient way to get a look at who might be a suspicious figure.
Except Damian is pretty sure a good sixty percent of the vendors he has encountered would fall under the label of 'suspicious figures.'
He grumbles as he passes a happy family, each consuming a stick full of fried-only-god-knows-what. The possibilities were endless. Fried oreos, fried bacon (?), fried soda (????), among other just as awful heart attack inducing concoctions. Seriously, the city didn't need villains attacking them, they were shortening their own lifespans just fine on their own.
He shoves his hands into his pockets, eyes narrowing when his fingers brush against the crumpled bills that he had dropped in there earlier. Pocket change, Grayson had said.
"So you can get yourself something-to fit in of course."
Two hours in and no sign of anyone more suspicious than the rest, Damian is beginning to suspect that perhaps his family had had other ulterior motives for sending him on this 'mission.' If it turns out to be the case, he is going to make them very sorry for conjuring such a ludicrous idea.
Damian strolls into the game area with a furrowed brow and a sulk clear on his face. Most annoying mission ever. The sight of a few games based off of throwing accuracy and skill have him perking up and wandering closer. At the very least it's something to pass the time. After a moment's deliberation, Damian fishes in his pocket for the 'pocket change,' and approaches the booth advertising prizes for knocking down milk bottles.]
Excuse me, I would like to purchase a-Mizoguchi?
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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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