concoursec | She gave you everything she had, but she was young and dumb

Character(s): Stephanie Brown and EVERYONE ELSE
Location: Balamb Town
Rating: PG
Open/Closed/Finished: Open
Summary: One second she was in the cave, the next she was... where was she?

The first thing she thought was "this can't be happening." Whether she was talking about her strange new surroundings or the fact that Batman had just fired her? For one stupid mistake? It was a combination of the two.

Her second thought was "this must be a test." She messed up, and now... what? He wanted her to go through some creepy training? Why couldn't he just say that? He had to know that she would do whatever it took.

Or maybe he didn't know. Maybe the reason behind this whole charade was because he wasn't sure she was really devoted to the mission. Her mission, not just his. Well she was up to the challenge. She could do it without his help. It was the same thing she had been doing this whole time. The only reason she went to him at all was because she wanted proper training and proper recognition. She wanted him to acknowledge that she deserved this chance. Instead she got a probation. Well if this was what it took, she'd play along.

First that meant changing out of her costume, which hurt, considering Batman's final words to her. She kept it in the bag her civilian clothes had been in, reminding herself that she would be putting it on again. Next she re-read the letter, then re-read it again and again. When she had it almost memorized, she knew what she needed to do.

Putting on her best 'innocent civilian' face, she found a crowded area and looked around somewhat helplessly.

"Hello?" she called out, hoping somebody who knew the area would find her. "Can somebody help me? I'm lost."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Questions. She should have a million questions. There was no way that short letter and the little class catalog contained all the information she needed. What would Batman want her to ask? No, that was a stupid way of thinking about it. Just because he was her boss these days didn't mean she had to model her every move after what he wanted. What did she need to know? Best to go in chronological order.

"Thank you so much, I'm just hopeless with directions." Utter bull, but it couldn't hurt to make her seem just that much more useless, especially considering the stream of questions she was formulating in her mind.

"I got this course catalog, but how soon am I supposed to start classes? Like, right away?"

"Really? And here I was kind of impressed that you got this far. Most people just seem to wander the quad and dorms aimlessly," Marco grinned down at her lightly. "I'd recommend starting as soon as you can, they're difficult to make up. Especially if you're not used to magic. But I'm sure no one will notice if you take a week or so to get acclimated, eh."

"Am I someplace it's good to be? It's purely accidental, I assure you." She smiled shyly up at him, trying to ignore the sheer force of height difference.

The thing about magic sounded a little iffy though. There were tons of superheroes in Gotham alone, and certainly a couple of magic users, but Stephanie was not one of them.

"Soooo what if I can't use magic?"

Marco shrugged, "The Garden is definitely a nice place. Balamb town isn't a bad place to be or anything, just not exactly helpful if you're lost. And anyone can do magic here, it's just a matter of learning it. I'm terrible at it though. Other than just learning it, I just about never use it. Easier to rely on people who are good at it, eh."

So she could do magic now? That was just plain weird to think about. She looked down at her hands and wiggled her fingers around. She didn't feel any different.

"Cool. What about money?" After all, the only clothes she had on her were her Robin suit and the outfit she was wearing. She needed to do some shopping pretty fast.

"If you're from another world, there's sponsorship programs that cover it. It should be in your letter which group is sponsoring you. Though of course, when you graduate and go on SeeD missions yourself, you're expected to anonymously help sponsor the next generation of newcomers, eh," Marco explained and held up the small ring with diamond in the band. "You only have to wear these for formal occasions. Same with the uniform, otherwise, anything goes." Of course as a pirate though, he liked it. And it served to remind him that not only did he have people looking out for him, but that he would return the favor.

She dug out her own carbuncle ring, mostly just to reassure herself that she hadn't lost it.

"So no shopping, huh?" At least, that's what it sounded like. Not having any physical money probably made it a little difficult to buy clothes in regular stores.

"There's some shopping or extra allowance. It's a mercenary school after all, eh," Marco shrugged again.

"What is a mercenary school, anyway? This course catalog looks more like a military school than anything." Or a vigilante boot-camp, but she was still playing along.

That really just elicited another shrug. "I don't have much to compare it to," he explained slowly. "Academies in my world are rare and usually only for the very rich or near royalty."

She frowned at this answer, trying to wrap her head around a mercenary school.

"So if we're mercenaries, that means we get paid, right?"

"When you graduate and go out on missions, yes," Marco nodded, still leading the way to food.

That was... kind of cool, actually. Completely unethical from a vigilante's perspective, but gratitude was gratitude, right?

"I feel like there's more I should be asking, I just don't know what."

"That seems to happen for a lot of people who arrive here," Marco reassured the girl and offered a handshake. "I'm Marco. If you think of anything else, I'll be around to ask."

She took it with a smile. "Steph. And thanks a lot, Marco. I really appreciate it."

"Any time," Marco shrugged. "Here, this is the Garden, of course. And the cafeteria is this way. Any idea what kind of classes you might like?"

She already had several lined up that she planned to take, but she flipped through the catalog none the less.

"This one... Military movement? I'm on the gymnastics team back home."

"I see," Marco nodded. It seemed to fit the girl. "It's a little like that I guess. Bit more acrobatic and martial arts I suppose, but a good start at least."

"I figured it would be," she shrugged, closing the catalog again. "At least I won't be starting from scratch."

"Exactly, eh." Marco rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "You don't need to pick a focus yet, but if you figure one out, it might help you pick which classes you want."

She gave you everything she had, but she was young and dumb

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