Kara and Dick in New York City or Dick is a Dick for the carpet

Thursday October 30th

Kara had traveled in the limo from Gotham to the Wayne property in New York City with Dick. Dick was getting dressed in the rest of his wolfman outfit (flannel and fur shirt and hood). Kara had worn the un-shined latex catsuit under a sweatshirt. Kara was applying polish to the outside of the catsuit.

“You need help with the eye make-up?” Kara asked.

“Naw,” Dick said, “I am expected to have it bad makeup.”

“Don’t blind yourself,” Kara shrugged.

Kara looked at belt, sweatshirt, purse, make up bag and sneakers on the bed. The black leather knee boots were next to the bed. Kara finished polishing her suit and then pulled on the belt. Kara looked at herself in the mirror of the vanity in the penthouse bedroom. The Jack-O-Lantern face on the chest of the catsuit was very festive. She turned around and looked at her backside. The Jack-O-Lantern face on her butt stared back with a grin. She knew people would love to slap that face, but she intended to turn off the dampeners so she would have the cliché “Buns of steel.”

“You know people are going to play with that rear zipper,” Dick said.

“They can try,” Kara said, “Let’s see…”

Kara went to the makeup bag and pulled out the mascara and eye makeup set. Kara did her eye and then turned back and got the face paint. She drew the triangles around her eyes to make for a third Jack-O-Lantern face on her face. Dick came over and stuck his finger in the face paint and closed his eyes and smeared the paint around his eyes.

“You are an artist,” Kara muttered sarcastically.

“Thanks,” Dick smiled, “You ready?”

“Let me get my boots,” Kara shrugged.

*

The pair left their stuff in the limo as they got out and posed on the red carpet for the event. The photographers took pictures Wayne’s adopted children as they walked down the red carpet. A few of the interviewers tried to call them over to answer questions.

“What are you wearing?” one of them asked.

“The laziest Wolfman costume I could find…” Dick said, “Which is still really good when you have an English Butler in the house.”

“Is that a stuffed animal in your pants?” one reporter asked.

“No, I taped one of Kara’s furry hats to my knee,” Dick snickered.

“Hay!” Kara protested for the cameras.

“Where did you get that outfit Miss Wayne?” a fashion mag asked.

“Freaks of Gotham made it for me,” Kara smiled, “Such wonderful people.”

“Can you turn around?” a camera man asked.

Kara did a slow spin and frowned. She leaned in to say something to Dick.

“What is that on your ass?” Nasty Luthor said walking up.

Dick moved to be between Kara and Luthor’s niece.

“Jack-O-Lantern,” Dick said, “Kiss it and you get good luck.”

“Isn’t that childish?” Nasty snapped.

“No,” Dick quipped, “Obnoxious.”

“Let’s be honest, how many of you were looking to take pictures of my butt?” Kara asked.

Most of the camera crews raised their hands.

“What are you wearing Miss Luthor?” One of the fashion reporters asked.

“Custom Channel She-Devil dress,” Nasty smiled and did a spin for the cameras.

She was irked that most of them kept trained on Dick and Kara.

“I thought the devil wore Panda,” Dick smiled

“Prada,” Kara corrected.

“Bless you,” Dick quipped.

“It’s ‘The Devil Wears Prada.’ You took Barbara to the movie,” Kara said.

“I wasn’t paying attention to the movie,” Dick said into a microphone.

“And who did that horrid make up?” Nasty snapped.

Dick raised his hand proudly.

“No one,” Kara rolled her eyes, “He grabbed my lipstick and asked if it goes on his face and then smeared it on before I could answer.”

Dick beamed with pride.

“Wait, that was lipstick?” He asked, “Whatever.”

“Miss Luthor over here!” one of the reporters shouted.

“I am right here,” Nasty smiled like a predator.

“Hello Nat. Kara, who is this?” Lori Luthor asked.

Kara and Dick sized up Lex Luthor’s other niece, Lori Luthor. The Blonde had dressed up in a pink satin dress form Marilyn Monroe’s Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend movie. It was done well, Kara had to admit, not a nightmare of sequins and feathers like Nasty’s devil dress.

“Who made your dress?” the fashion reporter asked.

“Oh, I contacted the fashion department at the university,” Lori said, “Gave the students a project to get red carpet experience. They should have a page up shortly with the making of and the names of the specific students.”

“Who are you here for?” Nasty asked, “I am representing Uncle Lex’s charitable works. And they are representing the Carnival.”

“Excuse me,” Dick interrupted with a Joe Peshi voice, “I am a circus freak, not a carny.”

“You most certainly are,” Nasty sniped.

“I am here on behave of Lionel’s Legacy,” Lori said, “How have you been Kara?”

“Dealing with the circus freak,” Kara slapped Dick on the back, “Trying to make Gotham a better place one act of kindness at a time.”

“Didn’t you three all go to Saint Agatha’s private school together?” a new reporter asked.

“Yes,” was the collective response.

“I didn’t get to go to Saint Agatha’s,” Dick complained.

“It’s an all girls’ school,” Kara reminded Dick.

“Why I wanted to go to Saint Agatha’s,” Dick said in a Groucho Marx voice.

“And he hasn’t even had any candy yet,” Kara sighed, “Come on, lets go find you a trapeze.”

Kara and Dick started walking away and making their way into the club. Inside there was more press at various corners ready to do interviews. Dick and Kara avoided them.

“I get it, but I don’t get it,” the son of an NFL team owner said walking over to Kara.

“I wanted to go with an ugly holiday sweater,” Kara smiled, “My friends had a ‘better idea’ as you can see.”

Dick wondered off. The young man smiled and looked around.

“I don’t think I would ever call that outfit an ‘ugly sweater’,” he smiled, “But your friend made you a great outfit. Excuse me.”

The young man left Kara. Kara went and took a seat on backless couch. Many paid close attention to her as they went past. Kara kept her poker face as Lori Luthor walked up to her.

“Can I talk with you?” Lori asked.

Kara gestured to the backless couch across from her. Loir took a seat carefully. Kara noted she was being mindful to not ruin the pink satin dress or the bow at the small of her bake.

“Look,” Lori said, “I know I was a bitch to you at Saint Agatha’s. It’s just I had managed to find a group of friends and was fitting in, so when someone had the idea that you weren’t ‘one of us’ and they turned on you… I embraced that mentality. I know I was horrible, what I did was horrible… you must have wanted to hit me so hard.”

“Like the Honey Mooners tv show implied,” Kara kept her poker face, “Punch you so hard you fly to the moon, Alice.”

“You must have inhuman self-control,” Lori looked down.

Lori took a deep breath.

“What really made me look at myself was over hearing the admission staff complaining that you picked a community college to enroll in. At first I figured they had wanted that big Wayne money…” Lori said, “But that was shot down when someone mentioned that Wayne is already paying for a dozen students who can’t afford it. Then I thought it was because they wanted the Jorel…”

“It’s Jor ‘ell,” Kara cut Lori off, “There is a hyphen and hyphens are pronounced as a pause.”

“You are right,” Lori admitted, “Like I was saying, I thought they wanted Jor-El for the fame that you had as the celebrity orphan. In reality they wanted Kara the student, Kara the academic, Kara the humanitarian. And the admissions staff were revolted that they had to ‘settle for a Luthor’, even if I was quote, ‘the least repugnant of the Luthors,’ I was still a Luthor. And I was living down to their dismal expectations.”

Kara kept her poker face.

“Then rumors started to come out of Gotham that you were tutoring the other students at the community college for free and still hanging out with your ‘Gotham Goth Girls,’ and I got to admit that you created a hell of a paradox in the women’s lit classes I have been taking. Talking about you really shows which positions people take on different topics,” Lori sighed, “And every conversation about you leads people to look at me and I can feel them judging me against the high standards you set.”

“What do the look to about me?” Kara asked.

“How you travel from the higher social circles to the street sides so seamlessly and try to help other. You are such a good person for befriending that ‘Anna’ girl,” Lori said, “Hanging out with the Atlantean Diplomatic girl and the Police Commissioner’s daughter.”

Kara noticed people pointing up at a corner of an arch on the second floor. She knew what was about to happen…

“I keep hearing about how much good you try to do just by you doing your daily life,” Lori sighed, “I keep finding myself looking at what you do as asking how do I be more like Kara?”

“Don’t,” Kara said.

That response struck Lori like a slap across the face.

“Don’t ask yourself ‘what would Kara do?’ because that is the wrong question,” Kara said, “Ask yourself, how will this action affect those around me? Trust me, I do it all the time. Alfred taught me to apply chess to real life. And sometimes the best thing to do is nothing, and some times it is to act in a dramatic fashion.”

“I guess you are right…” Lori said.

A noise got the Luthor spawn’s attention.

“What the…” Lori asked.

“And that would be the Circus act,” Kara rolled her eyes.

Dick in the Werewolf “costume” was hanging upside down from a chandelier, swinging it back and forth to gain momentum.

“Is that…” Lori started.

“Yes,” Kara cut her off.

“He doesn’t do anything like that at the manor does he?” Lori asked.

“Alfred keeps special fire extinguishers on hand to get him to get down,” Kara sighed.

“You are joking,” Lori said.

Lori looked back at Kara and realized it wasn’t a joke, a lie, or hyperbole.

“Shit,” Lori commented.

*

“What’s wrong with you?” Robin asked.

“I have an urge to spray Master Dick with the circus repellent,” Alfred said over the video link, “Now master Bruce, I have the updated plans for the modifications to the dinner. Will send them over now.”

“Thank you base,” Batman said.

“You know Batman, I could have the building’s security system hacked remotely…” Batgirl chimed in.

“No you can’t,” Alfred said, “There are no computer systems in the building.”

‘We will take care of it,” Batman intoned, “Finish your work and spend time with your father.”

*

Kara sighed. Dick was swinging from the chandeliers, Lori and Nasty were fighting and Kara was just sitting by the bar with a can of tonic water. Something put her on edge instantly. Kara didn’t react visibly, rather she just looked around with the sides of her eyes. She spotted it. It was Talia Al’ Ghul, she was dressed in an Elvira outfit with a young man. Kara racked her brain and then thought of the name for the man. It was Ahmed bin Jamal. He was the grand child of a Saudi oil merchant and nominally tended to the family’s “charitable endeavors.” And those endeavors were well documented in the criminal charges database back home. Kara didn’t move her head but kept her targets in her vision. Talia excused herself and started walking right over to Kara. Kara turned to see her approaching.

“Hello child,” Talia smiled with her face.

Kara could tell Talia was playing, keeping a seemingly friendly sounding tone. Both of them knew they were next to a potential killer.

“What are you up to?” Kara asked.

“Representing my father’s interests,” Talia said, “And you?”

“Representing the Wayne legacy with the acrobat,” Kara pointed behind her at the ceiling.

“He makes for a show,” Talia said flatly.

“What would you like?” the Bar Tender asked.

“Bottle of water,” Talia pulled a fifty dollar bill out of her purse.

“What does the acrobat hope to accomplish?” Talia asked.

“Let’s see,” Kara pulled out a cell phone, “Five hundred and twenty-seven thousand likes. And a big fat dislike.”

Kara hit the dislike icon on the livestream site.

“You are over five hundred and twenty-seven Circus boy!” Kara shouted as she turned around.

Dick did a double backflip and landed on his feet like an Olympic gold medalist. The crowd cheered. Dick noticed the man in the suit and the two New York Police Department patrol officers in their uniforms. Dick did a bow for the crowd and then slowly put his hands behind his back.

“Just get him out of here,” the man in the suit said.

“You are getting lucky kid,” one of the officers said.

“I was going to donate three times the legal fees to charity,” Dick said.

“Trust me,” the other officer said, “Just go home to Gotham where they don’t mind that crazy stuff.”

“Excuse me, we are being kicked out,” Kara said with a smile and went to leave with Dick.

“You don’t have to go miss,” the man in the suit said to Kara.

“We came together,” Kara walked past him, “We leave together.

“Ah… Officers!” the man in the suit called.

“Too late,” Kara kept walking.

AS they exited, the Cops kept walking Dick half way down the red carpet before stopping.

“Next time kid, get a permit before you start the high wire acts,” the first officer said, “Have a good night miss.”

Kara smiled at the cops and put her arm on Dick’s shoulder.

“Let me guess, you haven’t learned your lesson,” Kara whispered in his ear.

“There was a lesson?” Dick asked loud enough for the cameras.

*

Kara leaned back in the limo as it drove back east on I-95 to Gotham. Lori and Nasty were clearly no longer working together like they had in high school. Kara contemplated what the implications of that were. She didn’t think that Lori would be up for Humanitarian of the year any time soon. Kara stopped with the mental exercises Bruce had given her and went back to some of the possibilities exercises her father had used. She considered the possibility that Lori Luthor actually wanted to be a better person. Maybe that would make life a little easier in the world. Then Kara remembered a line of human wisdom; “Optimism will be punished by the gods.”

*

Barbara looked at the alert on her laptop as she brushed her hair. It was a text message from an unlisted cell phone, and the message was sent to a known goon. It was a meeting at eight in the morning for a job. The sender promised cash for a delivery across town. Barbara saw there was statement that if they were interested to text them back for the pickup address. That particular goon texted back to not contact them again as they were leaving Gotham and all it’s crap.