Dick Grayson (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
bildungsromans) wrote2031-01-13 10:12 pm
bildungsromans) wrote2031-01-13 10:12 pm
Nightbunny ( PSL with bunnyhopped )
Dick Grayson (
bildungsromans) and Hana Song (bunnyhopped)Nightbunny ( PSL with
Dick Grayson (
bildungsromans) and Hana Song (bunnyhopped)
here she is!!
Some people know about the White Tiger. Not so much outside of Korea - but one trip to Seoul or Busan and it's easy to catch wind of the masked vigilante that prowls through the streets at night, righting the wrongs of those who seek to take advantage of people who really need help - who may be protected from the threat of an omnic attack by D.Va, but aren't protected in their own streets, against other people.
But barely anyone knows that all three are, in fact, one in the same.
Those who do - like another former pro-gamer friend of hers who'd taken to brokering information - sometimes argue that Hana is taking on too much. She's already got a lot on her plate as D.Va, why does she need to take up another mantle and be the White Tiger? To which she answers - it's not enough. What good is it to protect her country when the people living in it are suffering in their day-to-day? As D.Va, she can't exactly act as law enforcement on the ground. That's the police's job, and as part of a different branch of the military, it would be disrespectful of her to try and do their job, even if the police force doesn't actually do their job - too busy trying to 'keep peace' in the cities, where people are continually displaced and impoverished by the war.
But as the White Tiger, she can protect them.
Exhibit A: a warehouse within the ports of Busan, well into the night, where human traffickers attempt to coerce young women into 'work' with the promise of being able to leave the war-torn country. White Tiger had been on their trail for weeks now, and she'd been tipped as to where their next 'operation' was going to take place. She intends to stop said operation and get some information out of the lackeys participating.
She's found in the months that she's now spent as a vigilante, though, that plans don't always go the way you want them to, as is certainly the case for this. Because when Hana arrives to the scene, it's - all over. The bad guys have been busted and the victims are being assisted by a tall man in black and blue. ]
Nightwing?
[ The disbelief spills out of her before it even occurs to her to not reveal herself so soon. She's still new to this. But she recognizes that get-up, that symbol on his chest, and the weaponry. That's Nightwing, alright. ]
What are you doing here?
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Your job.
[ He turns to meet the gaze of a fellow vigilante, the infamous White Tiger. ]
You must be the new kid. I've heard a lot about you.
[ Nightwing extends a hand, almost businesslike as he hopes White Tiger will oblige him. ]
You do good work. I'm impressed.
[ Though Nightwing brought a grim scowl to the fray as he subdued this den of human traffickers, he wears a small grin as he addresses White Tiger. While he does want to show he's unfazed by the mess he'd just cleaned up, he can't deny his own excitement at the prospect of acquainting himself with some new blood. ]
Consider what I did tonight a courtesy. A friendly pat on the back, if you will.
[ He raises his grapnel gun and aims for a high point in the distance, though. ]
We'll see each other soon.
[ On the one hand, Nightwing doesn't want to overstay his welcome. On the other hand, he's starting to realize he's a bit nervous around her. Not because he's intimidated, but because...
Because of something he's unwilling to name at the moment. ]
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I'm not a kid.
[ — which is very much a D.Va, Hana Song thing to say. As the White Tiger, though, she doesn't speak with the same bubbly, chipper notes that she does when she's streaming or making an appearance as D.Va, different still from her regular voice as Hana. She may be a rookie as far as vigilantism goes, but she's not a kid.
She's still trying to wrap her head around the fact that Nightwing is here and that he's taken care of business here - but why?
Is there something even bigger going on, such that someone as big as Nightwing is in Korea?
She snaps into action when she sees him take the grapnel gun out, the hand that had just been shaking his now outstretched toward him, toward the gun. ]
Wait!
Why are you here? In Busan. Is something going on?
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That's Nightwing's take, at least.
Once White Tiger comes at him with such questions, he refrains from firing his grapnel gun after all. ]
Let's just say the traffickers were my break from something much bigger.
And far worse.
[ He doesn't want to tell her she's 'not ready' for it. God knows how many times he's been told that by older superheroes in his day. ]
If you want in, [ God, Dick, the risks outweigh the benefits. Don't-- ]
We'll talk. Just follow me.
[ He finally fires his grapnel gun. ]
The cops will be here any minute.
[ And naturally, the wire pulls up him into a distant rooftop. ]
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Almost as soon as she's paused to contemplate that thought, though, Nightwing's effectively disappeared, and she looks up just in time to see him abscond toward a rooftop. ]
R...ight. Okay.
[ Hana glances around once more just to make sure there aren't any stragglers or more bad guys hiding (there aren't any, of course, which just speaks to Nightwing's thoroughness) before she gives herself a running start before activating her the rocket boosters on her boots. They aren't too unlike the boosters on D.Va's mech - powerful in bursts, but not exactly for sustaining flight. So she uses them to take her up to places that she can use to climb up and then propel herself further. It's not too long before she manages to catch up with Nightwing on that distant rooftop. ]
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But Nightwing opts to speak with his actions. He tosses a wingding in White Tiger's direction, testing her - seeing if she has the reflexes to actually catch it.
Whatever she decides to do, Nightwing already charges in her direction with an eskrima stick in each hand. Though he literally just contemplated his own sympathy for the new girl, that doesn't mean he isn't going to put her through the ringer. He refrains from opening with a stick strike, though, and instead performs a somersaulting axe kick. He's going to let White Tiger's reflexes decide if the kick actually connects.
These days, though, superheroes fighting each other is as cliche as can be.
Luckily, this isn't a fight so much as it's an initiation. ]
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Hey! What the hell?!
[ She doesn't receive an answer, of course, at least not a verbal one - as he's already charging toward her with his signature eskrima sticks. She kicks off with her feet to try and leap out of the way of his incoming strike. Hana had been drafted into MEKA for her almost inhuman reflexes when it comes to piloting; that they've translated into hand-to-hand combat seems natural, but she is still fairly new to it, only having learned martial arts as part of her military training. So her landing isn't as clean and finessed as she would have hoped but she reaches behind her back to reveal her own eskrima sticks - only that she connects them, both ends extending to form a bo staff. She takes a stance, ready to try and block or parry any incoming blows from Nightwing. In the meantime though, she calls out: ]
I have no idea what you think you're doing, but I'm not your enemy, here!
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[ And naturally, Hana blocks and parries whatever blows come her way. Consider Nightwing impressed, though he's not exactly bringing his A-game just yet. Whenever Hana blocks a stick strike with her forearms, the fact that her suit buffers the impact of Nightwing's eskrima sticks is pretty telling of the technology she has access to. In his mind, that's rapidly narrowing down the list of possible alter egos that pertain to this White Tiger. ]
You ever heard of some friendly sparring?
[ Not that Nightwing's definition of the word 'friendly' is anything credible. He manages to sneak in a side kick to Hana's side that sends her off her feet. Had the kick been any harder, she'd have fallen off the ledge - but if this isn't a sign that he's holding back, then Nightwing wouldn't be sure what is.
Might as well up the ante while she's got a bo staff, though. His eskrima sticks quickly activate their tase features, now suddenly shock batons.
That might be harder to block and parry, but Nightwing knows the new blood is more than capable of dodging. ]
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Didn't realize we were on a friendly level already.
[ This entire encounter has been wild so far, she thinks - she's never run into another vigilante of Nightwing's caliber, much less had a 'friendly spar' with one. As far as White Tiger knows, she's the biggest act there is on the Korean field of vigilantism. It's undeniable that it's the work of those like Nightwing, though, that first spurred Hana into action, into essentially taking on a third identity.
The thought is enough to distract her that when Nightwing lands a kick into her side, she's actually winded - even as she quickly realizes that he was holding back. Otherwise she'd have toppled off the edge of this rooftop instead of landing on her back the way that she had. She doesn't have a second to dwell on it before she sees his eskrima sticks emitting arcs of electric energy. Under her breath, she mutters an expletive or five in her native tongue as she leaps back onto her feet, all the while splitting her staff apart so that they retract back into her own eskrima sticks and then even further for holstering at her hips. She manages to leap again just as Nightwing comes in with a flurry of electrifying strikes, dodging and rolling as she reaches for another item -
a whip of sorts that sparks to life as she lashes out at him with it, glowing with a blue energy that very much mirrors the shock effect of his batons. ]
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[ Dick knows he sounds like a walking PSA.
That said, no one's ever heard of a backflipping PSA. Nightwing tumbles backwards to dodge the electric currents emitting from Hana's whip, let alone the whip proper. He even performs an artful spinning backflip to keep his distance.
The second he lands, however, he simply catches Hana's whip in his hand, letting it coil around his forearm naturally, currents and all. ]
Spoiler alert: suit's insulated.
[ With a jerk of his arm, Nightwing pulls Hana close to him, their chests meeting as his other harm hugs the small of her back. Under the moonlight, there's no mistaking the mischievous smirk on his face.
The contact only lasts a moment, though, as Nightwing only held Hana in such a way to turn and toss her over his shoulder, whip unraveling from his wrist in the process.
Before Hana can perform a superhero landing, Nightwing launches some bat-bolas at her to properly ensnare her, causing her to fall flat on the ground. He imagines he's got a few tricks up her to sleeve to escape such a rudimentary trap, but he stands over her with a confident look. ]
You've got potential, I'll give you that.
Few have lasted as long as you have against me.