(no subject)

[teambatgirl]

It's been a week. No rescue, no communication with anyone outside their tropical prison, and Damian finding fun and exciting new ways to work on her last nerve. It has been a very long week. Not bad, exactly, but Steph is not exactly good at rocking the restful and idyllic life style. At home there was always something she needed to be doing: if it wasn't patrolling it was schoolwork, and if it wasn't schoolwork then it was training, and if it wasn't training it was a desperate attempt to make sure all her friendships and family relationships didn't collapse while she was busy doing other things. Here there was nothing but rest and relaxation and making sure Damian was getting through the days more or less intact.

She needed to be doing something. So this morning she had wrestled a swimsuit from the clothes box and hit the beach. The bikini means her scars and faded, nearly-gone stretchmarks are all on display, but she'd need a wetsuit to hide them and, anyway, Stephanie doesn't care who sees them. She is this person and that includes all the ugly parts. It doesn't hurt that the polka dot pattern is really cute.

Stephanie is standing out in the surf when she notices a class gathering down the beach, Jason Todd included. It looks less like a class and more like an organized asskicking. Much with the running. She spends the next hour doing the beach babe thing, swimming and then drying off in the sun with a copy of The Handmaiden's Tale for a while. But when the class starts breaking up, she wanders over to the guy running the operation.

"Hey," she offers a little wave. "Sorry to interrupt. Is this the cardio class mentioned in the school's course list?"

Comments

[onlyapassenger]

"If you're willing to go out with an escort -- and I'd suggest you be willing -- you won't have to defeat anything," says Bucky, shaking his head slightly. He has no respect whatsoever for Tony Stark as a person, but he can't deny the man's a genius -- even if he is an ass.

"The ITF has access to a device known as a Re.Di.Re.C.T. It activates the collars the dinosaurs wear and prevents unnecessary snacking on the locals, whether it's a T-Rex or those little ones that spit."

[teambatgirl.livejournal.com]

"That would be the sensible and responsible thing to do," she agrees and manages to sound only slightly disappointed. Probably better all around for both her and the dinosaurs, even if it cut down on the danger level. That was okay, though. She had almost entirely curbed her adrenaline junkie urges. And it was still dinosaurs. "I will definitely do that then- bring an escort. And ITF is basically the equivalent of Island Special Forces, yes? The Green Berets of island living."

[onlyapassenger]

"Basically," he says, because it's a fair enough comparison, if not a perfect one. "Island Task Force. Myself and Captain Kara Thrace are in charge of its operation."

[teambatgirl.livejournal.com]

"Oh, cool. Captains all around." Stephanie nods and files Captain Kara Thrace away in her growing depository of island names. "What does one do if one wants to join? Not-" she adds quickly. "That I necessarily want to, because I'm not really the...organized quasi-military type, but, you know, for curiosity's sake."

[onlyapassenger]

She's the second teenage girl to ask him about the criteria for joining the ITF lately; she's also the second he'd turn down in the blink of an eye.

"You need significant military experience before we'll even consider you. Sorry, kid."

[teambatgirl.livejournal.com]

"Hey, I could have significant military experience," she protests and then grins because that doesn't sound convincing even to her. Not that there weren't girls her age who did have the experience they were looking for, but she was worlds away from structured, military environment they were looking for. "But that's cool. I'm just trying to get the lay of the land and decide what to do with my oodles of sudden free time."

[onlyapassenger]

"My advice?" says Bucky, considering her for a moment with a calm, level gaze. There's a noticeable switch in demeanor; the lingering evidence of laughter he has disappears in favor of an expression that implies he's not someone to cross. Given her connection to Jason, it's deliberate. "Stay out of trouble."

[teambatgirl.livejournal.com]

Stephanie meets his gaze steadily. There was a time when that would have been a challenge to rise to with a tilt of the head and a reckless grin. Irresistible. You don't wear a cape to stay out of trouble. But she's grown now. Maybe she still wants to chase after trouble, but that's to put a stop to it not seek it out.

She smiles, and it's a Stephanie smile, not a Batgirl smile. "I will do my very best. There doesn't seem to be much trouble here and I will endeavor not to cause any."